WEEK 1 DONE!
I just finished my first week of the brand new cardio mixed martial arts program, Core De Force. I said before I was definitely nervous about getting started with this program. I have never done any mixed martial arts activities before and honestly, in any group classes I’ve been in that involved kicking and punching, I feel like a floppy fish!
Familiar Meal Planning
I was super happy to be familiar with the meal planning part of the program and I was able to put a plan together pretty easily for my first week. I’ve done a good amount of meal planning in the past and that’s one of my favorite things to do in my challenge groups – help people learn to make GOOD MEALS from GOOD FOOD that is GREAT for their body.
New Foods on the Menu!
A couple of new things for me this week were the steak salad with mango lime dressing from the Core De Force eating plan book. I also cooked up the turkey meat tomato sauce (SO GOOD) and the tomato basil omelette.
Eating Plan
The eating plan guides are so great because – not only do they help you figure out what foods to eat, but also what PORTION SIZES and in what combinations. The eating plan guide is full of GREAT RECIPES and food lists to help you know which foods you like and which ones you want to avoid. For instance, I have a can of anchovies in my pantry because they’re at high on the protein list but I have not been able to eat those and I really doubt I ever will. I should check the expiration date!!
The Workouts
The workout schedule for the week wasn’t too bad – although Dynamic Strength is not proving to be one of my favorite workouts. However, I noticed that the second day of doing that workout was much better than the first so I probably will be able to handle it when I see it pop up again. The MMA speed workout is short and sweet – in fact all of the workouts go by really fast because they’re 3 MINUTE ROUNDS – it’s just a matter of how many rounds are in the workout. MMA Speed is six 3 minute rounds and Dynamic Strength is twelve 3 minute rounds.
The moves can had me feeling challenged, but POWERFUL at the same time! One of my favorites turned out to be the sit-up escape. Although the first time I did it I laughed at myself and wondered if I wasn’t going to turn myself into a pretzel!
I was pretty proud of my ability to stick to the nutrition plan and meal plan I worked out for myself this week. I know I ate a few too many sweets that I should have avoided. I’m seeing some results at the scale and the measurements are looking good also. After one week I was down 2 POUNDS!
TIME FOR CHANGE!
New for me this round- I plan to take pictures and measurements every 7 days! That way at the end I’ll be able to compare each week from the first to the last to anywhere in between. I also think that by checking myself every week I’m able to keep myself more honest than if I say, “oh well maybe in the last week I can make it up if I cheat too much early on.”
Next weekend I’m super excited to be going to Philly and participating in a workout with Joel and Jericho IN PERSON. I also have the opportunity for photos with the two super trainers. I wonder if I can get them to give me some pointers on the Sphinx Blaster? 😉
Week 2!
I’m looking forward to week 2! The workout schedule is all new in week 2, so I am going to prepare in advance by doing the “Learn It, Work It” segments on Sunday. I noticed there are two workouts on a couple of the days which will lengthen the time and I have to decide if I will do them back to back in the morning or break them up and do one in the morning and one in the afternoon. It’s definitely a challenge to be a person who works out in the morning, but I know I benefit from it all day long. Besides feeling great all day – I also don’t feel guilty and have the workout hanging over my head all day. I like doing the workout – but some days it’s easy to think “I just might skip it”.
I find that when I stick to my meal plan – I feel a lot better. I sleep better and I just overall have a more positive outlook. Plus, I’m leading some challengers in the Attitude of Gratitude challenge group where we’re spending a lot of time thinking about things we’re grateful for. But not only things we think about, but making sure to TELL OTHERS the things that we’re grateful for and the things that we appreciate about them.
Challenge Groups!! Key to Success!
When the challenge group gets together and gets going it’s not all about health and fitness – it’s about LIFE. That’s one reason I know I’m looking forward to the HEALTHY FOR THE HOLIDAYS challenge group – that will be a group of support and motivation to maintain where we are during a BUSY, and often STRESSFUL, time of year. It’s so easy to get caught up in the season, that we put our health and fitness on the back burner and start thinking about New Year’s Resolutions. But, really, why take the chance of putting on 5-10 pounds during the holiday season when you can learn and start healthy habits RIGHT NOW! Click here to apply or scroll down and fill out the info form below.
So, right after the free 5 day Water Challenge ends – that’s what we’ll be doing – heading into the healthy for the holidays group doing an individualized fitness program, eating clean and drinking Shakeology. I will be wrapping up Core De Force with the brave challengers that went ALL IN to FIGHT FOR IT with me in the LAUNCH GROUP!!
Here is my meal plan for week 2 – I am off to store to get my groceries. I’ll be prepping two to three meals on this weekend and that way I’m ready throughout the week with lunches and dinners. It’s so much easier to stay on track when I plan ahead – not only plan what I eat, but making sure I have GOOD FOOD at the ready because if I don’t – well, I know I would make other choices that would make me deviate from my plan and MY GOALS.
