My Five Month Progress Update

I can’t believe I’m typing this – it has officially been five months since I embarked on my new health journey. As you probably know by now, I made the decision earlier this year to hire a fitness coach to help me get on track. I was at the point where I just felt unhealthy and lacked confidence and, to be honest, just didn’t feel good. To be clear, it wasn’t all due to my physical health. There were a lot of things going on emotionally + mentally that led me to this point but at the same time, I wasn’t happy with the weight I gained and the effect that it had. I was sluggish, getting tired walking up the stairs and was having digestion issues – I swear my stomach was always hurting and I’m pretty sure I was close to having cholesterol problems. It was time for a change.

I shared my progress after completing my first 8-week phase with Sumeet and got such a positive response from you guys. I’ve never felt more supported, encouraged, motivated and empowered! It was the fuel and the fire I needed to continue my journey. While I was SO happy with my progress, I still had work to do. On September 1st, I started my second round with Sumeet. My goals were simple: continue to get stronger, accentuate curves and trim some fat. I wanted to maintain a strong, curvy figure while also leaning out just a bit. I didn’t and still don’t have a weight in mind (I wrote about this here) but I did have some other goals like getting to the point where I could do 120 pounds in hip thrusts and 40 pounds in shoulder presses. Guys – I did that! And a lot more.

Updated August 2019: Since starting my journey with Sumeet, I made even more progress on my own and took my passion for fitness one step further – I received my certification in personal training in July 2019 and would love to work with you to create a custom coaching plan tailored to your needs!

But before we get to that, let’s dive into the before & after (everyone’s favorite part):

I get so many questions on the specifics of what I’m eating and what I’m doing at the gym. While I can’t give away my full meal and workout plan, I will give you a few tips that I’ve learned over the past five months:

Don’t be afraid of weights: I was definitely that girl that did cardio for 60 minutes 5 days a week. I was that girl afraid to lift even the smallest weight because I didn’t want to get bulky. I was also the girl that wasn’t seeing any changes. Thanks to Sumeet and my workout plan, I now do weight training for the majority of my workouts and it’s been the best thing. I am getting stronger AND leaner and losing fat…all because I’m lifting heavy weights. I still do cardio but it’s not more than 15-30 minutes unless I’m doing a spin class as an extra bonus for the week. You need to create strong muscles if you want to achieve a toned, lean physique!

 Don’t starve yourself: I think I might have mentioned this before or on Stories, but counting calories isn’t going to cut it. Sumeet created a comprehensive meal plan full of protein, veggies and GOOD carbs – yes, I still ate carbs – and I was full pretty much all day long. Three meals and two snacks is a lot more than I’m used to eating and while some days I could barely get it in, knowing the importance of fueling my body for the changes I wanted to make was the most important thing I could have learned. You can’t expect to see long-term HEALTHY changes to your body if you’re only eating celery and yogurt for every meal. You need protein, and carbs and healthy fats. Just eat, girl! And it’s okay to indulge and have a cheat meal – it actually can help with your metabolism!

Don’t skimp on the water: To be honest, I’m not much of a water drinker. Or I wasn’t before. I would have some during a workout but never really sipped on water throughout the day. That has probably been the most challenging thing for me throughout this process. I try to drink as much water as I can and have gotten so much better. On the days that I truly hydrate, I notice a huge difference in the way I feel and even how my food seems to digest -if that makes sense. When I don’t drink enough water, especially on heavy workout days, I feel lethargic and bloated and just blah. So ladies, drink water and a lot of it.

I can’t say it enough, as awesome as I feel physically, the biggest changes have truly been internal. I constantly get comments about my “glow” and I really do feel like I’m glowing. I feel SEXY. I feel confident. I feel healthy. And it’s okay for those feelings to stem from physical changes. It’s okay to want to be healthier and if that means losing fat, so be it. But at the end of the day, my biggest goal has been to work towards a body that I’m supposed to have instead of trying to change to fit someone else’s idea of beauty. I love my curves. I will always have a little cellulite in my booty. I might get a few abs but I don’t think I’ll ever that washboard stomach and that’s OK.

I can’t wait to continue sharing my journey with you guys. If there is anything you want to see more of, please leave it in the comments! I’m planning to do more workout videos, fitness tips, meal prep and of course share some of my favorite workout wear – but as always, I want this to be a resource of inspiration for YOU. So comment below!!