If you remember, my overall goal for round one was to look good AND feel good in a two piece swimsuit again. We had a trip planned with our friends to Cabo and if that wasn’t motivation for me to kick it into high gear, I don’t know what is! I wasn’t necessarily looking to lose weight, more so to tone and tighten, and see some abs again [trust me, it’s been awhile–haha] and also lose some inches [specifically in the leg/thigh area].
Here are my before AND after measurements as well as my before and after images:
Like I mentioned above, I didn’t have a ton of weight to shed, so I was shocked when I took my post-FWTFL measurements at the end of round 1! I can’t believe I was able to take off 5″ in just six weeks… my hardest areas to tone and tighten have always been my hip and thigh area so I was BEYOND thrilled to see that each of those were down an inch from this. I’m telling y’all–small changes = big results and this proof was all I needed to see.
Even more exciting for me was that I was able to ditch my daily scale weigh-ins. I have always been a girl that checks her weight on the scale–mostly to keep me within my “happy weight” range, but also as a daily habit I assumed would be hard to break. I took my last steps on that scale on December 31st and it has sat in my closet ever since until I finally checked my weight and I was down 7 pounds. Part of the FWTFL speaks to ditching that pesky scale and saying goodbye to measuring your success by how much you weigh so I won’t be weighting myself again until after my second round. Now, it’s all about how my clothes fit and I can promise you my clothes have never felt better on and that’s the BEST FEELING in the world my friends!
Hands down, visually the biggest change for me has been in my waist area… I think I might see a few abs peaking out of there AND I’ve definitely leaned out from those pesky love handles, too. Another zone where I can see loads of progress is my hip and thigh region–it’s always been a problem area for me and now my tushy is getting tighter and my hams/glutes/legs are much stronger and leaner!
As for the arms and upper half, that’s always been the easiest for me to workout, but now my shoulders and biceps/triceps have much more definition and lean muscle mass… hell I can even do pull-ups now so that’s a win for this mama because that hasn’t been the case in YEARS!
As for round two, here are my results and before/after pics:
BEFORE I started FWTFL in December, AFTER round 1 in February, and AFTER round 2 in April
More than just the weight and inches that I’ve lost throughout the past 14 weeks, I’ve been able to tone and tighten my problematic areas [especially legs, butt and thigh region] and have educated myself more than I ever thought possible on fueling my body with the right nutrition, as well as continuing to implement intermittent fasting and carb cycling into my daily routine. Another favorite has been my increase in weight and strength training [I LOVE those workout days], and feeling better and more confident than ever before.
The biggest visual difference for me is in my lower abdomen + stomach area–I’m working closer and closer towards that six-pack [a very lofty and long-term goal I’ve set for myself] as well as my thigh area… and seeing my legs leaner has been my favorite difference. At 36, my body is stronger + more fit and it’s crazy to see the changes that have taken place over the last 14 weeks since I embarked on this FWTFL journey.
I can’t believe I’m down another 4.5 inches, which brings me to 8.25 inches lost over the two rounds. Having said that, I didn’t lose any pounds this round which was actually my goal–again, we don’t weigh ourselves at all during our our eight-week training program of FWTFL, but I did do a weigh in before my second round and after I completed this last rotation.
As for workouts, I’ve become intimately familiar with weights and machines at my gym that used to intimidate me. I can now do pull-ups, plank for 2/3 minutes at a time, and sprint for 20+ minutes without feeling exhausted… it’s amazing to see how fast your body can adapt to these new methods of strength training, cardio and HIIT/tabata workouts and I love that I never get bored of doing the same moves and workouts day in and day out. My coach Allie Janszen [THE best of the best I assure you!!] keeps it current and offers us six-weeks of daily workouts so there is no guesswork–it’s all laid out for you and I keep a notebook with all of my workouts written down with me… one to keep me accountable and one so that I can take it with me on the go!
So what’s next?? Now, I am on a “maintenance” plan for my weight and don’t plan to lose any more, as I just want to keep on building lean muscle mass and tightening my core area and lower half.
I’m hoping this helps show a few visible differences in my starting point versus where I am now. Just remember not to define YOUR progress and goals by anyone else but yourself… it’s a marathon not a sprint and it’s a lifestyle, not a diet!
