Progress – January 2019

Hey loves! Welcome to my January progress post. If you haven’t checked my December post, make sure to read it here.

I know it’s mid February already, but I took these photos on Feb 2nd, as well as my weight and measurements. I’m behind schedule because of other projects (that I’m excited to share with you soon!), and I just haven’t had the time to sit down and write about my January journey and my goals for the next 8 weeks.

So, I started January with one extra pound I gained over the Holidays, which is not much but I was still a little bit upset because I never stopped working out in December but whatever. I’m over it (sort of). I went to the gym 5-6 times a week, I ate around 1800 calories a day and  kept myself active as much as possible. I had a couple cheat meals a week, which is not ideal… Overall, I don’t think my January results were great. I did lose that extra pound, but I feel like I want to see results faster. I’m eating for maintenance and I love it, I honestly do, but I still want to see some changes in my body. My overall goal is to reach 15% body fat and I feel like I don’t want to wait until the end of the year to make that happen. Right now I’m at 19%.

I’ve been reading a lot and you all know how much I love Sascha Fitness, and she was saying last week that once you reach your weight but want to push yourself a little harder and lower that fat %, you have to be uncomfortable, really control your calories, type of food you eat and macros, the time of the day you eat carbs (because of your circadian cycle or rhythm? not sure how it’s called in English), and you have to sacrifice yourself. Honestly, I’m not sacrificing myself that much these days LOL. I feel comfortable with my daily calories and comfortable with my workouts, so I do need to step up my game a little bit.

I’m eating good food, but my calories are a little high for what I’m burning daily. Winter is very rough. I order stuff for delivery instead of walking, I use Uber, Lyft or Via instead of taking public transportation or walking, and going to the gym is not enough. I do workout 6 times a week (except during the polar vortex), but being active during the day is what makes all the difference. My calories are all over the place. Most days I eat 1800, but then some other days I’ll eat 2200. So I need to get it together with that.

Changes I made this month: (compared to December 2018)

* I also kept doing all the things I changed last month. Read them here.

• I started taking BCAA’s during my workouts (I use the Sascha Fitness brand). I like them, they do give you a lot of energy, but it’s just another expense that I’m still not sure is worth it. Will keep using them for February & March though… not so sure after that.
• I’m trying to burn 100 EXTRA calories at the gym. (I did this 50% of the time, not for every workout).
• Started eating 1800 calories a day.
• I set up a new goal for daily calorie burn of 2300. According to my Fitbit my daily average is 2100. I could only reach the goal 7 days this month, so I really need to step up my game with this.
• I increased the weight on most of my workouts.
• I pushed harder during cardio time. Same time, but more intensity. I’m not going to lie and say I did this every single time, but I did get better at it. Some days I just don’t even feel like going to the gym at all. (but I still go!)
• I did a little bit of cardio or planks in between reps to keep my heart rate up the whole time while I’m doing weights.

Sounds like a did a lot right? I think so too. I did a lot to only lose 1 freaking pound. I feel a little desperate now that I’m closer to my goal, so I’m going to try something different for the next 7 weeks. Why 7 weeks? Well, because I leave for Florida on March 26th and that’s exactly 7 week from now. I started last week and it was terrible by the way. I had cravings and didn’t feel like working out at all. But, this week I’m doing a lot better.

I took this photo on December 20th 2018. I want it to be my ‘before’ photo by March 26th. Let’s see if I can do it:

I understand that what I want to achieve with the way I look this year is 100% vanity. I have a healthy weight now and have lost over 20 pounds since I started this journey a year ago, but I want to look a little bit leaner, that’s all. That’s why I have to work extra hard these next few weeks. This is not for everyone and it depends on what you like and for me that thing is to have more definition. There’s nothing wrong with the way I look now, but I’m curious to see how I will look with 15% body fat. I just wanted to make that clear 😉

Things I failed at in January:

• I had so much anxiety so I snacked a lot! Chips, fruits and little bites here and there do add up and will keep you from reaching your goals. This doesn’t really affect me when I’m in maintenance mode, but right now that I have such a specific goal, it does.
• Not burning 2300 calories every day, which I needed to do because I was eating 1800 calories. BUT, I’m changing my approach on this. Just keep reading 🙂

Macros and calories for January: 

Daily calories: 1800 (2 cheat meals a week)

Macro distribution:

45% carbs

25% protein

30% fat

New macros and calories for February: 

Daily calories: 1600-1700 (1 cheat meal a week – except this week LOL)

Macro distribution:

45% carbs

30% protein

25% fat

Weight, fat percentage and measurements: (I’m 5 ft 4 for reference)

January 7th:

124.5 lbs – 19.5% body fat

Chest:  83 cm – Waist:  66 cm – Hips:  93 cm

February 1st:

123.4 lbs – 19.3% body fat

Chest:  82 cm – Waist:  64.5 cm – Hips:  92.5 cm

Photos:

January 7th (left) – February 1st (right)

As I mentioned before, I am a little bit desperate to see the results I want, but I will not take any extreme measurements. My health comes first. I need to be patient. I’m not going to lie though, I hate and it’s a little embarrassing to post these photos that look pretty much the same.

I hate these photos yes, but these monthly posts keep me grounded and aware of what I’m doing wrong and they motivate me to work harder to see the changes I want to see.

Hopefully, I’ll see better results in the next 7 weeks. I honestly hate posting this and show you guys basically no progress, but at the same time, please learn with me. This doesn’t mean I’m going to give up, it just motivates me to work harder to reach my goals and take action and ownership of the things I’m failing at.

I want to see better results, so here are the things I will change in the next 7 weeks: (My next “progress post” will be at the end of March)

• Move more during the day. Make it a point to have a daily deficit of 500 calories. On a day that I workout and are moderately active I burn around 2100 calories, so this means I’ll be eating around 1600 on most days. Which brings me to my next point.
• I will lower my calories to 1600 and adjust my macros to 45% carbs, 30% protein and 25% fat. I was really hoping 1800 calories were good enough to reach my goal, but it seems like that number is more for maintenance.
• I will try to eat my carbs during the day and not so much during dinner. This is extremely hard for me, but I will try it for at least 3 days a week and see how I feel about it.
• No snacking!! It’s so hard when you have anxiety and crazy cravings, but I will try to rely more on chewing gum or drinking a sparkling water when I feel like eating for no reason in the afternoons.
• Only one cheat meal a week, if I feel like I really need it. To be honest, most times I’m ok without it. But, these cheat meals usually happen when we go out with friends and stuff, so I go ALL IN hahaha
• My workouts will remain the same. I’ll go to the gym 6 times a week and do my weights and intense cardio for 25-30 mins. The changes I’ll see (hopefully) during these next 7 weeks will come thanks to my calorie intake.

You can read more about how and why I started here.

So, I know this post might not be super useful, but it is my journey and I’m still learning. What I’d like you to take from this is that you shouldn’t give up when you are not seeing the results you want. You should sit down and evaluate what you are doing wrong and what you are failing at and keep trying. If you fail, please don’t go back to old habits, just get up and try again. Hopefully I’ll have better news to share in 7 weeks, so wish me luck!

Thanks so much for stopping by! Let me know your thoughts in the comment below.

XO,