#change

A few days ago I finished my first round of 21 Day Fix. Let me tell you, those 21 days went by SOOO FAST! So let’s start out with the good stuff: MY RESULTS!

In 3 weeks I lost 5.2 pounds and 8.5 inches off my body!

Honestly, I was a little down that I didn’t lose more weight but when I added up the inches lost, I was really excited. I tend to put on muscle really easily, so as long as fat is being replaced with muscle, I’m happy! Remember the most important results are the non-scale victories! The scale does not measure success. Remember that when you lose weight you want to keep or gain muscle while losing fat. The number on the scale does not take into account how much muscle you have, what time of the month it is (Hello, water retention and bloat!), it just shows your overall weight. That is why non-scale victories are the most important victories. How do you feel? How are your clothes fitting? Are your muscles showing more definition? Has your skin cleared up? Do you have less cravings?

My non-scale victories completely trump how many pounds I lost! After 21 days I am more flexible, my abdominal separation from my two pregnancies has shrunk significantly, I feel stronger and more energetic, and happier! My face, thighs, arms, and belly are noticeably slimmer. My calves and quadriceps are more defined. My flat-as-a-pancake bum is starting to round out (YAY!). I actually feel off if I don’t workout for a day or two. And of course another non-scale victory is losing inches.

Here’s the breakdown of the inches I lost after 21 days:
Chest: -2″
R Arm: -1″
L Arm: -1″
Waist: -1″
Hips: -1″
R Thigh: -1″
L Thigh: -1.5″

Now for my REVIEW: It takes 3 weeks to make or break a habit. That’s the main goal of 21 Day Fix. Between the simple, daily 30 minute workouts and the nutrition guide based on portion-control, 21 Day Fix provides everything you need to break some bad habits and make some good habits. After my experience I can honestly say that I LOVE this program. Because there is a different workout everyday I didn’t get bored. I enjoyed the workouts and even when I didn’t feel like doing them, I would tell myself that it is only 30 minutes. If I can spend more than 30 minutes to watch my favorite show I don’t have any excuse to not workout for 30 minutes. There are 24 hours in a day, and for most of us we are awake for at least 16 of those hours. If we only count those 16 awake hours, 30 minutes is only 3% of our day. The nutrition guide can be a little confusing at first but once you figure it out, it’s simpler than it seems. There is a formula based on your body weight to help you find your personal caloric needs. From there you fall into a calorie category that allows a certain number of each of your colored containers. Planning is the key to success, once you find out how many containers you get each day, I suggest meal planning for the week. Plan out your meals and snacks, shop, then prepare and pack them. Having your food ready for yourself gives you less of an excuse to not eat the right foods.

It’s only 3 weeks. See how much you can do and how much you can change in just 3 short weeks. If 3 weeks is all it takes to start your journey to a healthier you, would you do it?

If you’d like to know more about 21 Day Fix read my other posts listed below:

I would love to connect with you and help you on your own health and fitness journey. If you want to know more about MY “WHY” on becoming Beachbody Coach or if you would like to BE A COACH ON MY TEAM, let me know!

AND if you’d like to FOLLOW MY JOURNEY you can!

Beautiful. Alluring. Attractive. Cute. Stylish. Elegant. Handsome. Sexy. Gorgeous. Pretty. Graceful. Desirable.

Do you use any of these words to describe yourself?

Unfortunately we live in such a shallow society. Everywhere you look you see attractive people on magazine covers, billboards, commercials, movies, t.v. shows, or even sitting right next to you. Those people are all “beautiful.” It’s enough to make some of us feel inadequate; like we will never measure up. I know I’ve felt it. Have you?

Why do we compare ourselves to others? Look around. Open your eyes and you will see beauty. This world is full of beautiful and unique people. Everyone is different and everyone is beautiful. Look in the mirror. You are beautiful.

I know we have all heard the saying “Beauty comes from within.” It’s true. But why don’t we believe it? Negative body image has become such a huge problem in our world. According to dosomething.org 91% of women are not happy with their bodies, so they diet to achieve their ideal body shape. Their “ideal” body shape is often a completely different shape than their own and even with dieting, it’s not likely they’ll achieve it. If you were born short and curvy, you aren’t going to become tall and skinny by dieting! Only 5% of women naturally have the body type portrayed in the media. Why do 91% of us women desire something that only 5% of us have?

Love who you are. Love who God made you to be. We will never learn to love who we are if we keep comparing ourselves to other people and counting all the ways in which we’ll never measure up. Our identity should not be based on how we look. Iconic fashion designer, Coco Chanel had it right when she said,

“Beauty begins the moment you decide to be yourself.”

Be yourself. It is that simple. Decide to see yourself as beautiful, because you are! Decide to stop comparing yourself to someone else. Decide to accept who you are, inside and out, flaws and all! Accept that in time outward beauty will fade and the beauty that remains will be who you are within. Radiate YOUR beauty from the inside out!