Piyo Results Day 1 to Day 30

PiYo Before and After Results  at Day 30

It has been a month since I started the PiYo workout and diet and I am very happy with my results. I have 30 more days to go before the official before and after but I wanted to share what I have accomplished so far. I used to shy away from sharing anything personal like this and would be sad about the way I looked. But, I have found new confidence that I am making changes in my health and the way I look so I shouldn't be afraid to show these photos. I hope that they help someone else get started on the road to a healthier lifestyle.

Day 1 to Day 30 Side view

Day 1 to 30 Back view

As you can see their are definitely changes made! How exciting! This is the longest I have stayed with a workout program consistently and not been bored. My core is so much stronger than it was even before I was pregnant. PiYo is definitely the workout to use for building core strength.  My overall changes in measurements are:

Waist 46 1/2" to 39"
Chest 45" to 44"
Arms: no change but more muscle now
Left Thigh: 29" to 24"
Right Thigh 28" to 24"
Weight 228   Total weight loss 6 pounds

I have added a contact me on my page if anyone wants more information on PiYo or fitness. And of course anything on motherhood and new babies. I look forward to getting to know more people through this blog. I will be adding more about the PiYo diet and eventually my Day 60 results. Stay Tuned!


Are you looking for someone to help you stay motivated while completing your Piyo workouts? Already have a copy but need extra motivation? Feel free to send me a message.

Interested in purchasing a copy of either program? Let me know if you need further help picking a program.

Piyo workouts

American Ninja Warrior Kacy Catanzaro

This video of Kacy Catanzaro completing the finals course for American Ninja Warrior is so inspirational. This makes me want to push harder and achieve any goals I set for myself. Enjoy!

Baby essentials

As our son approaches 6 months I thought it would be fun to post the items we have used the most. These are the items that have gotten us through the first few days to where we are now.

My Little Lamb Swing-Fisher Price

We really used this swing daily until about 4 months old. After that our son was too long for it. But, it helped so much in the beginning it was worth it! The first few weeks when you are so tired and need a break this got us through so I highly recommend a nice swing. Plus it runs on plug in power and not batteries.


Ingenuity Washable Playard with Bassinet


 A great starter set because the Bassinet was the perfect height next to our bed and the playard is a great size for when he can use it soon for play time. Also, the Bassinet cover was washed a few times when he was little and it kept its shape and form well.

Comfort & Harmony Portable Swing Elepaloo

Our next swing we purchased and this one is the best. I take it with me to work and on the road for trips. It runs on 4 C batteries and I have yet to replace them in the 3 months we have had it. It works well for bottle feeding and playtime. It is low to the ground but it works well in our living room because it doesn't take up too much space.



Graco Pack n Play on the Go

 


This pack and play is smaller and worked well when we took trips in the beginning. Our son has outgrown the bassinet portion but we will take this with us when we go on trips for play time. It folds up much smaller than a large pack and play.

 
Kiinde feeding system



This feeding system is one of my favorite finds as a new mom. When I researched what to put pumped milk into I read so many reviews about other bags leaking or no sealing well. These bags twist closed and store and travel well. You can then use their bottle system and feed from the bag easily too.  Once your baby gets older the bags can be used for baby food and they have a spoon attachment. Also, you can pump directly into the bag which is great. They can get expensive but usually they have 50% off sales or buy one get one free so you can stock up.


These are my favorite baby must haves. I will try and post toys in an upcoming post. Enjoy!

Bad day?! No way!

Well, my Tuesday has tried to turn into a Monday. I have forgotten just about everything I possibly need today. From my cell phone to parts for my breast pump they somehow all managed to stay at home. I also noticed my scrub pants had a hole in them this morning and I had to wear my smaller size pants to work. They were tight but it was pretty exciting that I could fit in them. I meant to bring my other pants to repair them at work, but guess what they stayed at home too!

Why do I bring all of this up? Because for about 5 minutes this morning I wanted to get upset. I felt worn out from lack of sleep and extra tasks I've been doing at home each day. Then one of my fellow employees lifted my spirits by thanking me again for our talk we had the day before. She said I helped her out a lot and made her feel much better. She was much calmer today and felt great about the situations we had discussed. That right their lifted my spirits too and helped me feel better. All the things that had made me upset before just melted away.  My bad day turned immediately into a good day.

I hope that if you are having a bad day today and are reading this that you can find your happy moment too. Take time to have that extra cup of great tasting coffee or step outside to enjoy the sunshine. Or talk to someone who makes you laugh and relax.


Here's to a Happy Tuesday!

Before & after results, Piyo review

I am so excited about the progress I am making with the Piyo workout and diet! I really want to post my before pictures and some of my progress pictures, but I will wait until at least my 30 days are here. It is super exciting to feel proud of myself with how strong I am becoming. Piyo seemed so much harder on day 1 than it does at day 14 of the workouts. So far these are the workouts I have completed:


Align -The fundamentals: workout that takes you through the moves you will need to be prepared for the workouts. A slow tutorial to get you ready to move.

Define: Upper Body:A 20 minute rocking workout that will have you using the moves you just learned in Align. No weights needed because your learning to use your own weight to get in shape.

Define: Lower Body: Another awesome 20 minute workout that will use your own weight to help you sculpt and define your lower half.

Sweat: This title lives up to its name! Be ready to work hard but feel great after this 40 minute workout. I was sweating from the end of the warm up until the end. All muscle groups are used in this workout.

Core: If you want a new favorite workout for your abs this is the one. From standing core, pilates core, and some good old fashioned ab workouts this has it.

So, far just alternating these workouts has remained excited and fun. I must admit sometimes I have trouble staying focused if the same workouts are repeated in a program, but not with Piyo. I have seen a big difference in my strength and my abs are already toning up.

Be ready in two weeks for some awesome before and after photos! See the video below for a peek at what Piyo has to offer. If you have any questions feel free to contact me.

For my full review, please visit my later post. PiYo Review and my 30 Day PiYo results

Baby toys and dealing with tongue tie, lip ties!

This week has been so much fun with our son! After the scary talk at daycare I as determined to find some new toys to help with his learning to stand and use his legs. I found an Exersaucer for a pretty good price. I  brought it home on Tuesday and put it together and put our son in it. He loves it! And just after a day or two he is already using his legs more. We only put him in it about 20 minutes a day.
Here is the one I bought:







Also, he has started trying to talk a lot more. Another thing we are dealing with is his tongue and lip tie. We have struggled since he was born with breastfeeding. I finally had him checked a third time 6 weeks ago and had an ENT agree that he is both tongue and lip tied. What a relief to finally find a doctor who seemed to understand my concerns. He is having surgery in less than two weeks to have both corrected. Tuesday night he started saying blab, blab, blab, blab! It was so cute! He is getting better with using his tongue so I hope the surgery will help get us back to nursing well.  If your child ever struggles with nursing, can't stick his tongue out past his gums, and has trouble with bottles and pacifies get them check out. Also, their are a lot of other symptoms when it comes to breastfeeding that are listed on the second site below. If you have one doctor tell you no and your pretty sure they are tied don't take no for an answer! The lactation consultant when he was born didn't catch it or tell us anything about it. I assumed they would check him but I don't think they did. A pediatrician said he wasn't tied and everything look fine. A second lactation consultant said he had both. Another pediatrician said eh maybe since he was nursing well and to go to a pediatric ENT. Finally, the pediatric ENT looked at him and said his upper lip is very tight and tongue is tight too. In the end the take away is go with your gut instinct as a parent. If you want more information here is a great website to read about them.

https://breastfeedingusa.org/content/article/tell-me-about-tongue-ties
http://www.kiddsteeth.com/articles/ttfactssheet.pdf


Have a great weekend everyone!!

Seeing results=motivation, motivation!

It has been nine days since I started Piyo and 11 on Shakeology. When doing workouts this week I am already stronger and noticing my clothes are getting bigger. It is pretty exciting to see such a change so quickly. I'm finding with the diet that I am doing well on not wanting bad food. I am really impressed so far with the ease of everything in this system. I'm super excited to see where I am at the halfway point of the first 30 days. This is great motivation to push toward my final goal.

I also discovered a pretty good version of the Vanilla Shakeology. It is a Creamsicle  recipe.

Ingredients

1. 1 serving vanilla shakeology
2. 1 cup water
3. 1/2 cup orange juice
4. 8-10 ice cubes

Instructions

1. Put all ingredients in a blender.
2. Blend to consistency you prefer, add more ice if needed.

I used Almond milk instead of water and it was really tasty and the bitterness was gone.

Weight: 232
1st goal: 190

In other news our son's daycare teacher worried me a little bit this morning. She said he should be standing better supported than he is at this time. She said with his age (she thought he was 6-7 months) that we needed to ask our pediatrician about his development and that some 2-3 month babies in his class are better at it than him. Inside I thought I was doing something wrong and that we were behind on helping him with this. I told her that I have started working more in seeing if he will stand straight and doing this 4-5 times a day or more. I also let her know that he is stronger every week and we were looking into purchasing an exersaucer. She said that was all good but that I needed to make sure that the pediatrician noticed how behind he was on this and to get another opinion. Of course as I drove to work I tried not to panic and remain calm until I research a little on this particular milestone for babies. Our son is 5 months and 1 week so I thought I needed to make sure before I went into full worry mom mode. I am learning quickly why my mother acted the way she did with us and I relate a little more now. I of course googled this milestone (of course google is not replacement for a doctor but its easier than calling the pediatrician since he has an appt in a few weeks). After reading certain reliable sources I am ok with waiting until our next appointment and just working with him even more. I appreciate his teachers concern but its hard being sort of clueless as a new parent and worrying you aren't doing the right things. We will know so much more in the future for the next baby.

I can be your free coach!

The most exciting about this journey I am taking in getting healthy is that I can share my enthusiasm with everyone. Beachbody lets you have a free account to track your workouts whatever type they may be. It also lets you have access to the message boards and exploring what Beachbody has to offer to get you into shape. I had a free page for 4 years before I decided to become a coach. I enjoyed using the supergym to track my workouts with TurboTire. It is also nice to check out what it means to be a coach through this free log in and explore the different workouts Beachbody offers. I would love to be your free coach and for us both to get healthy together!






In other exciting news of mom world, I am up waaaay too late at the start of a new week. Our son is starting to teethe and it has made for some interesting learning moments being new parents. It was hard to tell if he was hungry or his gums hurt throughout today. Thankfully I picked up some orajel natural and we tried it tonight and it worked very well! Hopefully it will continue to help him over the many long months this continues! He is also wanting to sit up more often instead of lying down in the floor on his play mat. It is amazing how fast things change!

Shakeology review

One of the perks to doing a challenge pack with Beachbody is you get a months supply of shakeology also. It is nice that you basically get the workout for free on most challenge packs. This is my first time to actually try shakeology and use recipes they have for their flavors. My pack included the vegan choices of chocolate and tropical strawberry. I chose these to try out a brown rice based drink. My favorite so far is this recipe:

Chocolate Banana Nutter

1 serving of Chocolate Shakeology

• 1 Tbsp. natural peanut butter
• 1 medium banana
• 1 cup water or 1 cup of almond milk

Blended until smooth. The flavor is actually really chocolatey and the banana cuts down on the bitterness. I also like the tropical strawberry but I have not found my favorite way to mix it yet. I will try and post my favorites as I go along. I did try the vanilla regular shakeology today and tried to make Snickerdoodle as listed:

Snickerdoodle

1 scoop vanilla Shakeology
 1 cup skim milk or unsweetened almond milk
 1-2 cups ice
 1 tsp honey
 1 tsp peanut butter
2 tsp cinnamon
 1 tsp vanilla

Blended until smooth. But, all I could taste was  the cinnamon and the bitterness of the shakeology. I think if I make this one again I would leave out the honey and vanilla because I couldn't taste them. And the shakeology was from a coworker and it had use by June 2014 so I think the product was old. I hope to try the vanilla shakeology again in a future order.

I will say overall it still helps curb my appetite and the pre and probiotics help me feel better. I will let you know what other good recipes I find. I have posted a link to the recipes at the bottom of this post and on the side of my blog. Enjoy!

I finally made the commitment to be a coach

Well I have finally made a new commitment to myself and I'm so excited about it! I have looked at being a beachbody coach since turbo fire came out and I purchased it. But, I was always too busy or working other part time jobs and didn't feel I had the time to commit and succeed. I also wondered if it was truly worth it to be a coach. Was it worth the money and time? But, last week I decided that with ordering the challenge pack for PiYo I wanted to take the next level and become an independent coach. I feel so far that it was a very good decision for motivating myself to reach my fitness goals. I didn't know that when you purchased the challenge pack that if in a certain amount of time you want to be a coach the sign up fee is waived. My coach that I signed up with has been a contact of mine on Facebook for awhile and always very motivating with her posts. I'm excited to learn from her and her team and become more fit in the process. It will also be exciting to share my story as I reach my fitness goals.

I must also say that so far PiYo is everything I hoped it would be. I am so sore just in the first two days!!  Also, this is my first time to experience shakeology as a constant source for my daily diet. I am highly impressed with the recipes that are now available. I can't wait to post my results at the end of the 60 days for PiYo.

I look forward to helping others with this coaching. I'm still setting up my pages but I want to see where it takes me in teaching others to be healthier and a part of my team. Feel free to visit my pages and check them out!

Coach site

Shakeology site




Weight today: 234

Success in commitment to workout and be healthy

So far things are going really well in my endeavors to be more healthy. Using T25 and 21 day fix paid off for me getting back on track with a set workout schedule. I was still not eating the best I could be but I have started a new program with a great diet plan included. It is PiYO by Chalene Johnson. She is awesome! She also has other great workouts I have done Turbo Jam, Chalene Extreme, and Turbo Fire. But, this workout is great because it is low impact but with great results. I'm only starting my third day and I am so sore! It is a combination of pilates and yoga moves with some new moves mixed in. I can highly recommend it to anyone on any fitness level.

The other thing is the diet plan. It helps you calculate your calories and also provide ideas for what to eat and stay on track. I also decided to try Shakeology which is Beachbody's nutrient rich diet shake. I am highly impressed by the energy it has given me and made me feel a few pounds lighter too! The recipes they have for it are awesome. So far my favorite is the Vegan Chocolate with peanut butter and banana. I'm feeling like this workout and diet are going to get me so close to my goals of becoming healthier.

On another note our son is now 5 months old. It is so amazing to see him grow and change. He is a sweet boy and is always happy still unless he is hungry or tired. I'm always energized by his growth and wonder at the things around him. He has a strong grip and is able to grab things and hold on tightly. He has rolled stomach to back quite often and is so close to rolling the other way too. He is not ready to sit yet but we are working on it.