Youtube new video for my Bodyshred, weight loss and tone up, grand finale: click here
This post is a few days late, but it’s important I share it nonetheless. I decided to end my body shred challenge at day 8. My weight clocked in at 127.8, nearly 5 lbs down from the official start date of the challenge (132 lbs) and close to 9 lbs down from the day after my final birthday celebration on June 20th (136 lbs) – I had cleaned up my diet a bit and lost most of the inflammation and water retention that came from the few days of festivities, so that 4 lb loss I didn’t count.
I know the formulas for weight loss, body shaping, muscle development, dropping subcutaneous water for aesthetic goals, etc., like the back of my hand; but, when I employ the concepts from myself, that doesn’t exempt me from the difficulty. I was reminded of my strengths and weaknesses, of body and mind, while on this challenge. They say it takes a minimum of 3 weeks to make something a habit, and my personal dedication to a disciplined high protein, plant based lifestyle is unwavering. My excitement for physical activity and discomfort however, not so stellar.
I have mastered both bulk and fresh-made food prep, I always carry my Sun Warrior powder during travel both local and long distance, I have fresh produce aplenty in my fridge, and I know every salad bar/healthy restaurant in any town (I use the yelp app as my aid, and I’m writing this post as I sit in a Madison, Wisconsin cafe called Lazy Jane’s that has gluten free bread, organic egg whites, seitan and tofu for vegans, and has non-dairy alternative like almond milk for their drinks).
Purified alkaline water is refreshed in my 5 gallon jug each week, and nearly every gas station carries Fiji for when I’m on the road…I very rarely drink tap water (have you seen the LADWP drinking water quality report? If not, click here ) because neither I nor most establishments have sufficient water filters for optimal health. I use and carry stevia in my purse for my sweetener (my affinity for sweets and desserts will never die, so I either make my own, just say no, or choose to eat sugar-laden conventional treats for those rare days out of the year where socially I’d feel bad for not going with the flow), and I only drink alcohol on very special occasions (and yes, I still love the taste of a good cocktail or glass of wine so self control has its issues along with its rewards).
Each morning I woke, I followed my priming routine (I got that reference from a Tony Robbins interview, and it stuck with me): use bathroom, take weight, gratitude and protection meditation as my water slowly heats for my matcha latte, put on exercise clothes, then check emails. The next step would be to head down to the gym and get my cardio on, but that probably only happened 3 of the 8 days. My body became sore and lethargic, I dreaded the sweat that would ruin my hair, I anticipated gym boredom, and I would justify procrastination with all the other things I needed to do; so, I’d end up squeezing cardio in and rushing around before other work obligations.
For the first time in years, I didn’t lift weights while being in the gym. For some reason, I only had room in my mind for the cardio, tabata, and/or plyometrics. I set my goal at 15-20 minutes of high intensity interval training each day, but I also incorporated functional warm ups and active cool downs for a total training time of 35-45 minutes. Delaying my arrival to the gym usually meant I didn’t have time to do anything other than the cardio, and that’s a problem for my long term goals. What I decided to do was get a caffeine-free BCAA pre-workout powder with beta alanine, from MRM, that gives me a little flush. I add a scoop of Ajipure non-gmo BCAA powder to bring the total intake to around 10 g of Leucine, Isoleucine, and Valine, and I take it right after my matcha. The mildly uncomfortable tingling it brings, gives me a reminder to head down to the gym asap. Since the challenge, although I’m away from home, I’ve managed to wake early and successfully workout prior to meal 1, with the help of my Ajipure/MRM blend BCAA, and have plenty of time in my day after. It’s been great!!
My flight to Milwaukee was scheduled for July 2nd, and I needed to cook all the vegetables in my fridge on day 8. I sautéed 3 whole spiralized zucchini with onions, black olives, and coconut oil; 2 packs of asparagus with olive oil and added truffle salt and black peppercorn; and 2 heads of broccoli with organic tofu then added cumin, salt and pepper.
I ate everything but one serving of tofu broccoli for my flight on day 9. My day of travel was great as I enjoyed a Sun Warrior chlorella smoothie prior to leaving my house. Then, I bought a banana at the airport, and noshed on it, my tofu, and a Fiji during the flight. Once I arrived in Milwaukee, my boyfriend Jake took me to a restaurant called Beans and Barley, where I had a kale coconut smoothie and a roasted vegetable salad. Both were awesome. We then head to Whole Foods and I gathered some groceries for a Nobu inspired, fresh, locally-sourced organic peach ceviche. For the main course, I made yummy tempeh tacos and used organic corn tortillas as the following morning brought nearly 3 hours of exercise at Milwaukee Power Yoga, then hiit treadmill intervals and a full resistance training routine for my shoulders and rear delts in the gym.