I'd like you to meet Cori - Cori trained with Body Beyond Baby after the birth of her first child, Hayden and has more recently returned after the birth of her second. I noted Cori's dedication and determination the first time round and often spent time chatting to her after sessions about ways she could improved her results, eat better and general health and fitness. Back with a vengeance and taking part in our 8 Week Challenge here she gets us up to date with how she is going.
After having two babies in two years I decided it was time to get my body back and the 8 week Find Your Summer Body Challenge was just the kick start that I needed. I have a 2+ year old boy, Hayden, and an 8 month old girl, Sloane. Although I love both of them more than anything, I don't like all of the extra fat that they left on my body after giving birth. So, now it's time to get back to where I was 2 years ago. My goal is not to lose a lot of weight, but to lose some of my body fat and to increase my fitness level. I would also like to find out once and for all if there are indeed abdominal muscles under there somewhere. I am pledging to exercise at least 5 times a week and to finish eating every night by 8pm. I am also cutting out all sugar, other than pretzels as an occasional snack and sushi at lunch time only. One of my biggest challenges will be eating enough calories for the extra exercise and breast feeding. Not to mention, I work full time, 4 days in the office and 1 at home, so I have no idea when i will even have time to train. Wish me luck, I know I'll need it!
Week 1:
I am feeling good about my new eating and exercise habits. I trained 6 times, doing a good mix of cardio and strength training. I forced myself to go in the evening, which wasn't easy because Brian doesn't get home from work until 8:30pm, at the earliest. I have successfully changed my diet, cutting out all sugars this week. I didn't even have any pasta, which is a big effort for me! I am still having cravings for chocolate at night, and it doesn't help when my husband comes into the room eating dessert (chocolate). This week made me realize how big my portion sizes are and how often I snack during the day. My biggest problem is eating whenever the kids eat, especially at dinner time. When I get home from work I am starving, but I can't eat until after I feed Sloane and put Hayden to bed. So, I came up with some quick recipes and I make myself dinner as soon as I get home and eat it before putting the kids to bed. I feel a bit guilty because I would rather just be playing with them, but I try to make enough to last a few nights so that I don't have to cook every night. At the end of the week, if nothing else, I definitely feel less bloated have I have been.
Week 2:
This should be an interesting week, as I am in China for work. What China means to me: a lot of rice, many different sauces, family style food and alcohol. And, that is exactly what it was. How can I follow the challenge here?? For starters, the hotel had an awesome gym. I went every morning, Monday through Friday, before work started. For breakfast I filled up at the Western style buffet, which allowed me many healthy options. I also stole fruit and hard boiled eggs for my snacks. Lunch and dinner proved to be a lot harder. Everything was family style, and every dish had a sauce. So, it was either eat what was on the table, or don't eat. I decided that I would not eat any rice or noodles, so at least I was cutting down on the carbs. I didn't eat anything that was fried, but there was nothing I could do about all of the delicious (and probably filled with a ton of sugar) sauces. So, I just tried to eat less. That worked for most meals, but not all. I was also able to finish eating at least two hours before I went to bed every night except one. It was helpful that I brought corn thins, canned salmon, brown rice crackers and mung bean crackers with me for snacking. And, I drank Perrier when we met for happy hour at the bar. My co workers think I am crazy now, but at least I stuck to the challenge!
Week 3:
Jet lag and training so do not mix. I hear Jen telling me what to do Tuesday morning, but I think I am still asleep. I somehow manage to exercise 5 times, but my running is definitely not progressing at the level I would like it to. Before I got pregnant with Hayden I was about to run a half marathon and I want to get back up to that level. Unfortunately, it's not going as quickly as I would like it to. I am trying to do a distance run each week and interval training at least once a week. But, for some reason I don't feel like my cardio is getting progressively better. In the beginning it was going well, I went from running 5k to 7k, at 10.5 on the treadmill, without stopping, in a week. But, now it seems like I can't seem to get much better than that. I can run a little bit faster, but I am tiring too quickly. I need to be better and more diligent with my interval training. How am I supposed to do that with 2 kids and a full time job? Luckily I have some extra motivation because a few of my friends and people at work have told me that I look like I lost weight. I don't know if that's even possible in 3 weeks, but I'll pretend it is because it makes me feel better. :) I may or may not have had some peanut butter this week, but if that's the worst that happened, I think I am doing pretty well. Everything else I have been eating has been all natural food and small portions. I am feeling good and I can already see changes in my body. Those abdominal muscles still elude me though...
After having two babies in two years I decided it was time to get my body back and the 8 week Find Your Summer Body Challenge was just the kick start that I needed. I have a 2+ year old boy, Hayden, and an 8 month old girl, Sloane. Although I love both of them more than anything, I don't like all of the extra fat that they left on my body after giving birth. So, now it's time to get back to where I was 2 years ago. My goal is not to lose a lot of weight, but to lose some of my body fat and to increase my fitness level. I would also like to find out once and for all if there are indeed abdominal muscles under there somewhere. I am pledging to exercise at least 5 times a week and to finish eating every night by 8pm. I am also cutting out all sugar, other than pretzels as an occasional snack and sushi at lunch time only. One of my biggest challenges will be eating enough calories for the extra exercise and breast feeding. Not to mention, I work full time, 4 days in the office and 1 at home, so I have no idea when i will even have time to train. Wish me luck, I know I'll need it!
Week 1:
I am feeling good about my new eating and exercise habits. I trained 6 times, doing a good mix of cardio and strength training. I forced myself to go in the evening, which wasn't easy because Brian doesn't get home from work until 8:30pm, at the earliest. I have successfully changed my diet, cutting out all sugars this week. I didn't even have any pasta, which is a big effort for me! I am still having cravings for chocolate at night, and it doesn't help when my husband comes into the room eating dessert (chocolate). This week made me realize how big my portion sizes are and how often I snack during the day. My biggest problem is eating whenever the kids eat, especially at dinner time. When I get home from work I am starving, but I can't eat until after I feed Sloane and put Hayden to bed. So, I came up with some quick recipes and I make myself dinner as soon as I get home and eat it before putting the kids to bed. I feel a bit guilty because I would rather just be playing with them, but I try to make enough to last a few nights so that I don't have to cook every night. At the end of the week, if nothing else, I definitely feel less bloated have I have been.
Week 2:
This should be an interesting week, as I am in China for work. What China means to me: a lot of rice, many different sauces, family style food and alcohol. And, that is exactly what it was. How can I follow the challenge here?? For starters, the hotel had an awesome gym. I went every morning, Monday through Friday, before work started. For breakfast I filled up at the Western style buffet, which allowed me many healthy options. I also stole fruit and hard boiled eggs for my snacks. Lunch and dinner proved to be a lot harder. Everything was family style, and every dish had a sauce. So, it was either eat what was on the table, or don't eat. I decided that I would not eat any rice or noodles, so at least I was cutting down on the carbs. I didn't eat anything that was fried, but there was nothing I could do about all of the delicious (and probably filled with a ton of sugar) sauces. So, I just tried to eat less. That worked for most meals, but not all. I was also able to finish eating at least two hours before I went to bed every night except one. It was helpful that I brought corn thins, canned salmon, brown rice crackers and mung bean crackers with me for snacking. And, I drank Perrier when we met for happy hour at the bar. My co workers think I am crazy now, but at least I stuck to the challenge!
Week 3:
Jet lag and training so do not mix. I hear Jen telling me what to do Tuesday morning, but I think I am still asleep. I somehow manage to exercise 5 times, but my running is definitely not progressing at the level I would like it to. Before I got pregnant with Hayden I was about to run a half marathon and I want to get back up to that level. Unfortunately, it's not going as quickly as I would like it to. I am trying to do a distance run each week and interval training at least once a week. But, for some reason I don't feel like my cardio is getting progressively better. In the beginning it was going well, I went from running 5k to 7k, at 10.5 on the treadmill, without stopping, in a week. But, now it seems like I can't seem to get much better than that. I can run a little bit faster, but I am tiring too quickly. I need to be better and more diligent with my interval training. How am I supposed to do that with 2 kids and a full time job? Luckily I have some extra motivation because a few of my friends and people at work have told me that I look like I lost weight. I don't know if that's even possible in 3 weeks, but I'll pretend it is because it makes me feel better. :) I may or may not have had some peanut butter this week, but if that's the worst that happened, I think I am doing pretty well. Everything else I have been eating has been all natural food and small portions. I am feeling good and I can already see changes in my body. Those abdominal muscles still elude me though...
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