It's Been So Long! But With Time Comes Good News - Week 5 Results

Sorry it has taken me so long to give an update. I actually have had a lot of progress in the job search lately. Lots of interviews - 10 in about 2 weeks. Which means more good news that I will post about once it is all finalized! However, this kept me really busy and I did keep working out and journaling, but never got around to posting. So this may be a long one.

Workouts and Week 2 Results

It is the end of week 2 already, can you believe it? I can't! It seems to be going faster this second time around. Maybe it is because I am now used to the portions I eat, journaling my food and pushing hard at the gym.

I was talking with Matt the other day about goals and he was trying to persuade me to join the Gold's Gym 12-week Challenge. It is a National challenge divided by sex and age group. Typically the winners are the ones who went from fat to flat, and somehow got professional hair, make-up and a spray tan. Michelle and I mocked these photos when we first started this challenge, trying to stick our bellies out as far as possible and refusing to inhale. It's winter so I didn't need to work on being pale as a ghost.

Oh New Year's, We Have A Love Hate Relationship!

Obviously, the first round of "6-week health challenge," is over. What does that mean?

It means that I spent the following weekend partying rockin'. We went out with friends each night, had a delicious but HUGE New Year's Eve dinner and drank lots of champagne. Now, lets be honest now that we're blog friends, that means I probably put on 1 or 2 pounds in between the end of challenge 1 and beginning of challenge 2. But, I was celebrating!

When Monday rolled around the truth showed on the scale! I was at 169.something after drinking and eating delicious Japanese food. So my goal for this week was to get back to where I was at the end of the first challenge and maybe surpass that number. So, what happened?

Today I jumped on the scale and I was at 167.5 - the exact weight I was at after challenge 1. I'm going to guess that this is going to drop a bit more over the week since it's Lucky Lady's Week. If you know what I'm saying (John refuses to use the P word and we just say I'm sick.) I have a few fun facts to share with you today that John found for me when I didn't lose as much as I wanted one week.

Fun Fact #1 - If you poop once a day your body is retaining 6lbs of poop. If you poop every other day your body is retaining 9lbs of poop. That's a LOT!

Fun Fact #2 (GUYS MAY NOT WANT TO READ) - You can gain 2-5lbs during your period. Lovely huh? It's usually water weight and comes off, but still annoying.

Now - Even though my weight stayed the same this week, which was actually only 5 days (from the last challenge), I did still have Matt do my measurements and they have changed.

Round 2 Starting Stats: Weight: 167.5 Neck: 12.25 Chest: 37.5 Waist 1: 33.75 Waist 2: 30 Hips: 44 Bicep: 12.25 Thigh: 25 Calf: 14

Week 1: Weight: 167.5 Neck: 12.5 Chest: 37 Waist 1: 33 Waist 2: 30 Hips: 43.25 Bicep: 12.25 Thigh: 25 Calf: 14

For a total of 0lbs lost and a total of 1.75" lost. Notice my neck measurement went up? I think it just never went down lol. Lost from waist and finally a decent amount from hips.

New Workouts and New Goals

For the last 3 days I have been battling a pretty nasty cold. My workouts had not been nearly as hard and thankfully that is ok since I took the weekend off for NYE and to prepare for round 2! Which starts today!

So today I went to the gym with the goal that I was going to hit my targets and do it hard and fast. I tried out some workouts on the Workout Trainer App, mixed in with some of my standard cardio. I normally do circuits with my cardio, but this week I'm gearing up for heavy reps and decided I would do all cardio as a transition. I didn't want to spend 60 minutes on a treadmill so here is what I did. I'd love to hear from you - try out the workout at the end of this post and let me know what you think.

Keri's Round 2 Goals:
Workout 6 times a week
Burn 1000 calories each workout
Lose 8lbs
Drop Waist 1 measurement to 32"
Drop Waist 2 measurement to 29"
Hip measurement to below 43"
Thigh measurement to 23"


Michelle's Round 2 Goals:

Workout 5x a week

Burn 1200 calories each workout

Get Waist's 1 and 2 under 30 inches

Hips under 40 inches

Chest lose 1 inch

Thighs lose 2 inches

See some friggin abs!!!

Finale: Michelle's Final Numbers

Michelle's Stats

Start Stats	End Week
Weight: 158 Neck: 13.5" Chest: 38.5" Waist 1: 34.25" Waist 2: 32" Hips: 42.25" Bicep: 11.5" Thigh: 24.5" Calf: 14.5"	Weight: 149.2 Neck: 13.25" Chest: 37" Waist 1: 31" Waist 2: 30" Hips: 40.5 Bicep: 11" Thigh: 23" Calf: 14"

Finale: 6 weeks of workouts and nutrition and what are the results?

Keri's Stats

Start Stats	End Week 5
Weight: 174.6 Neck: 13" Chest: 38.5" Waist 1: 36" Waist 2: 31" Hips: 44.5" Bicep: 12.5" Thigh: 26.5" Calf: 14"	Weight: 167.5 Neck: 12.25" Chest: 37.5" Waist 1: 33.75" Waist 2: 30" Hips: 43.85" Bicep: 12.25" Thigh: 25" Calf: 14"

Week 5 Weigh-In and Measurements, Only 1 Week Left!

It doesn't seem like it has been 5 weeks already. But, it indeed has. This challenge has been great for reinstating some values of fitness and nutrition in myself. Even after this challenge, I'm hoping to continue this and will solicit new challengers with new goals in the new year! If you feel like joining me, send me an email at kerilong13@gmail.com, or leave a comment on this post.

The benefit to a challenge is that you are not alone in working toward your goal and you have something holding you accountable other than yourself. It kept me from cheating, when otherwise I would want to. It kept me motivated in the gym to hit my goals and it kept me interested in learning more about fitness and nutrition.

Now for the results:

Keri's Stats

Start Stats	End Week 5
Weight: 174.6 Neck: 13" Chest: 38.5" Waist 1: 36" Waist 2: 31" Hips: 44.5" Bicep: 12.5" Thigh: 26.5" Calf: 14"	Weight: 168.2 Neck: 12.5" Chest: 37.75" Waist 1: 34.25" Waist 2: 30.25" Hips: 43.85" Bicep: 12.25" Thigh: 25.75" Calf: 14"

For a total so far of 7lbs and 6.4 inches! A lot of that coming from my waist. I feel good about that, and am going to work VERY hard over Christmas Eve and Christmas to limit my eating, especially since we celebrate with my extended family on Christmas Eve, my immediate family on Christmas and John's family on the following Monday. Plus we have my mom's 65th birthday and my mother-in-law's birthday! Lots and Lots of sweets to avoid. My strategy to avoid eating sweets is to stay out of the kitchen, always have a water nearby and to be the one bringing the healthy options to the party.

Halfway There - Keep On Keeping On

We are halfway through the 6-week Health Challenge! After the first week things got easier. Not that results were huge, but once we got into a routine staying on track became easier.

I have been in the workout routine for about a year and a half now, but my nutrition has always been the part that swayed. I like working out, and there are activities I love. I love food also. However, I do not want to put weight back on and have to lose it again. Have you ever noticed how it becomes harder each time? It's like you're working twice as hard. So, lets just keep it off and save ourselves some time.

Now for week three stats!

Feeling Good This Week - New Challenger, Nutrition and PARTY

The benefit to setting reasonable weight loss goals is that you can afford to have a cheat day or meal. However, the first two weeks of this program I felt like I went overboard with my "cheat day." So, I am now doing a cheat meal.

I'm still staying between 1200-1400/calories a day. And I average 5,000 calories burned each week in my workouts.

The downside of a cheat day is that the next day you are going to feel heavier, probably because you are. As with any carb-cycle that I've ever done, I always gain week on the high carb days. Then it takes a couple days to get that weight off and the rest of the week is growth. This week, I didn't see as much gain after my cheat day. So, I'm feeling good with my goals for this week.

Week 2: Weigh-in and Measurements

Well, we are two weeks into the six week challenge. I measured with Matt yesterday, and today I weighed in. I started off weight at 11am originally, so I've tried to keep the time the same even though I'm about a pound lighter in the morning.

Taking a look back at where I started:

This Challenge Is About More Than Weight Loss

I will preface this blog post with this statement: I am currently unemployed!

With that said, my day consists of waking up and eating breakfast, surfing job boards for marketing and communication positions I can apply for, stumbling out of my pajamas and into workout clothes which look strangely similar, then heading to the gym, coming home to eat lunch, working on my freelance projects: invitations, holiday cards, websites, and watching way too much reality television or CSI. It seems like those are my only options.

So on Tuesday, I met up with Matt D. at Golds Gym to fit in my weekly personal training session. I knew going into this workout that we were going to weigh and measure since I wouldn't see him on Thursday. Up until Tuesday morning, I was feeling a bit defeated but was trying to convince myself that weight loss would happen. I had been working SO hard to burn 1000 calories each workout and was tracking my food and felt it just was not happening.


After my workout on Tuesday, I felt like someone punched me in the throat it was so hard to breathe. But honestly, I think I just get frustrated with how easy it is for some people to lose weight when I know how hard I have to work to get there. As a woman, it is slightly frustrating to look at someone who is the same size as you but weighs 10 pounds less than you. You wonder why you aren't there or why it seems to be so much harder for you to get there. Then when I got home I watched "I Used To Be Fat," one of those reality TV shows I've caught now that I'm jobless. The girl on this week's show talked about how it was really hard to stay with it when the people around her weren't also willing to follow a diet or exercise. This could not be more true. I find it extremely hard to stay on the right path when people close to me are not also working hard at the gym or journaling every little thing that goes into their body.

I am happy to say that after weighing in with Matt on Tuesday, I was down one pound and my measurements have dropped. So, I'm going to stay focused on that and less on how easy it is for others to drop weight.

Tuesday, Matt set up a deadly little workout for me:
50 reps of the battling rope (as a warm-up) and I hate this thing as is.
10 18lb kettlebell double swings
Sprint width of the gym and back
8 18lb kettlebell double swings
Sprint width of the gym and back
6 18lb kettlebell double swings
Sprint width of the gym and back
4 18lb kettlebell double swings
Sprint width of the gym and back
2 18lb kettlebell double swings
Sprint width of the gym and back

Repeat with cleans instead of swings
Repeat with high pulls instead of swings and sprint after every 8 and 2
Repeat with snatches instead of swings and sprint after every 8 and 2

50 reps of the battling rope
10 drop squats
40 reps of the battling rope
10 drop squats
30 reps of the battling rope
10 drop squats
20 reps of the battling rope
10 drop squats

Then we did 10 reps on both right and left sides and overhead with slamming a ball against the wall.

Let The Games Begin - Keri's 6 Week Challenge Goals & Measurements

It begins tomorrow morning - officially.

My job for the next 6 weeks is to better my fitness level through nutrition and exercise. I've recruited my sister-in-law, Michelle; my lovely friend, Kelly; and my husband, John. They will be participating in this challenge with me over the next 6 weeks. And as long as they allow I will share their journeys also.

So, the idea is to establish a body composition goal for 6 weeks, bringing us straight to New Year's Eve. However, first we should take a look at where I am starting. I just got married, I say just but it has been 3 months already. I recently lost my job and have put back on some of that wedding weight I worked so hard to get off.

Keri's Starting Stats:
Age: 27
Gender: Female
Height: 5'6"
Weight: 174
Chest: 38.5"
*Waist 1: 36"
*Waist 2: 31"
Hips: 44.5"
Bicep: 12.5"
Thigh: 26.5"
Calf: 14"

*Some of you may be confused about my having two waists. One is a measurement around the bellybutton. Two is a measurement around the small of the waist.

When I was thinking of a goal, I really thought of several things I wanted to accomplish:

• Workout a minimum of 5 times a week
• Burn at least 1,000 calories each workout
• Decrease my Waist 1 measurement to 34"
• Decrease my Junk In The Trunk to 42"
• And my MAIN GOAL - lose 12 pounds