Re-Cap of the First 4 Weeks of the LiveFit Trainer!

So I said that today I'd post some progress pictures.... As I was beginning to take off my clothes to change into my green bikini I was like, "Why? Why would I wanna take another weekly progress picture when in the past 3 weeks I have not seen a significant difference?"

To be honest, I didn't really want to take any pictures this morning. I just wanted to drink water with lemon juice, clean my desk (to get ready for a thesis writing session) and then eat breakfast.

I remember once someone told me or I read somewhere  that I should take progress pictures every 3 or 4 weeks, not weekly. So I decided that the next time I'll take pictures will be in about 2 weeks from today (at the end of week 6), then every 2 weeks after that.

I can't believe 4 weeks have already passed, October is almost over! I am so glad I started this, I am noticing results, my mind is clearer and I feel happier! So here's a  recap of the last 4 weeks....Phew!

• I feel much stronger, fitter, firmer and toner, but not necessarily leaner. 
• My jeans don't fit me anymore. They are all lose and my smallest size is a 0, but I am not happy my jeans fit me lose. That means I need to go out and buy more, ugh. My goal is to lose weight, but gain muscle and as a result I've lost more body fat. 
• Since I haven't changed my diet much (in terms of cutting out certain foods), I am not as lean. I hold fat and water mostly in my belly and in my legs (especially my inner thighs). 
• My upper body (chest, arms, shoulders and a little of my back) seems to respond faster and gets toned faster. My forearms and hands are getting really veiny because of the lower body fat and I should tell you I like to see my veins ;-) 

• For the last 4 weeks I did not do cardio. (Hmmm, maybe this is why I am not as leaner?) As I had said before, the only low-intensity cardio I did was the 30 minutes total (walking to the gym and walking back home), but I don't think that counts. 

 

• After the last 4 weeks, I feel I am more health conscious than I have been ever before before because I know now that eating properly gives you the energy your body not only needs to survive, but the nutrients it needs to grow.

• I am a plant-based eater; I devour many fruits, vegetables, greens, seeds, legumes and whole grains.
• Since this was the muscle gaining phase, I wasn't so concerned about eating a squeeky clean diet. I was still eating whatever I wanted (healthy, of course) and I ate out this month 6 times. I can even remember the dates, who I was with and what we ate, I enjoyed it!
• I have limited nuts in my diet (even though there were 2 consecutive weeks this month where I ate nuts), cooking with oil, but I have to be honest, I have baked Brussel Sprouts in vegan butter...
• For one week I gave up peanut butter, but then I replased. I ate one bite after a week and then I kept on eating it. 
• I tried to give up soy milk for 1 week, by replacing it with almond dmilk, but then I drank the almond milk so fast that the next day I craved (plant) milk, so I ended up drinking soy milk. 
• My next step is to make my own almond milk; I just have to buy almonds, but I'm ready to start now!
• This month I tried not to eat Ezekiel bread, but I didn't try. Still had it, there is nothing wrong with it. 

 

• Over thelast 4 weeks I placed sleep top pf my priority list. Getting sufficient sleep is crucial for muscle repair, growth and the rejuvenation of the body. 

• There are few factors that have helped me improve my sleeping:
• Because of the medication I am on, I tend to get tired earlier in the day. I either take naps during the day, go to bed earlier/or later, depending on how I'm feeling that evening.
• I am not working right now, so I do get to sleep in if I want to. I usually sleep between 8 to 9 hours a day. 
• But as I said, my medication makes me sleepy and tired. I should remind you that I am doing my best not to let my medication affect me. I know lethargy, weakness and sleepiness are common side effects and so I try to do what I can during the day. I have been sleeping about 1 hour more hour  a night on average, however.
• Bret has a good sleeping schedule; he is in bed by 9:45pm and starts snoring within 5 minutes (well, not really, he just breathes deeply and normally :)! I go to bed at this time also, and if I'm not sleepy, I'll read a book and in 5-10 minutes the lights are out and I start catching ZZZs. 

 It seems that working out is counter productive, since it wears an tears you muscles, it may inflame joints, leaves one sore and tired. Not just in the long-term, but you can begin to see the benefits of exercise right away! But this is not it, there's more to come...

Love,

Bea