Happy Fit Friday, friends! Anyone else as excited as me that this week is almost over? We’re off to my girlfriend’s house for the weekend while our husbands are away hunting. Besides wrangling 5 kids, my biggest challenge this weekend will probably be finding motivation to run and do BBG.
Speaking of BBG…can you guys believe we’re already on week 4? If you’re not already part of our Fleurdille Family on Facebook, you should definitely join! It’s a fun group where we can encourage each other and ask questions about just about anything! For those of you that are on this BBG journey with me, how is it going? Are you sore? Have you been consistent? Since we’re a third of the way through the 12 week program, I thought I’d share a little update with you guys as well as some tips to stay on track.
BBG 4 WEEK UPDATE:
Having never done BBG before, I didn’t think it would be that bad to be honest. Three 28 minute workouts a week seemed easy almost. Boy was I wrong. Even Travis couldn’t finish the Abs and Arms circuit with me – it’s tough!
Full disclosure – the first two weeks I was only able to do 2/3 of the resistance workouts simply due to the craziness of life. These past two weeks though, I’ve been a lot more dedicated and will be on track to complete all 3. You’re supposed to complete each 7 minute circuit within your resistance workout as many times as you can; so far, I can only do 2-2.5 rounds per circuit. I’m realizing just how weak I really am, haha.
With only 4 weeks in I haven’t seen a real difference in my body visibly speaking. I opted in the beginning to not weight myself simply because I’ll be gaining muscle and losing fat. I didn’t think my number on the scale would be a true reflection of the transformation of my body. I will say however, that is has helped my half marathon training significantly. I am most definitely building more muscle in my legs and it’s making a huge impact on the quality of my long runs. So, I know changes are starting to take place.
From week 1 I also started changing my diet. I’m not following the BBG nutrition plan (although I hear it’s great). I did however cut out all added sugar, all processed food, most gluten, and I haven’t been drinking caffeine since November. I’m also trying to not drink wine during the week, which is the hardest part, haha. The main difference I have seen here is an increase in energy and therefore better performance during workouts. I have also eliminated feeling bloated, which is huge. I actually didn’t realize that I was bloating almost daily simply because of food.
TIPS FOR STAYING ON TRACK:
- Skip the Scale – daily or even weekly weigh-ins are not advised. If you’re working to gain muscle, you may actually gain a bit of weight as fat takes time to burn off. So, I would measure by the way your clothes are fitting. If you’re a number person and need to track somehow, I would suggest measuring your waist and problem areas and watching the inches fall off instead.
- Don’t Let Nutrition Sabotage Your Fitness Efforts – if you’re committing to working out 3+ times a week, don’t let a poor diet sabotage progress. Make sure you’re supporting yourself with good, nutritious foods – the right fats, carbs, and veggies. You owe it to yourself to let your nutrition reflect your fitness efforts.
- Don’t Calorie Count – this is big and this is coming from a girl who used to calorie count every day. I don’t necessarily think calorie counting is a bad thing if you’re trying to lose a ton of weight. However, calorie counting can lead to a diet void of the proper nutrition. Instead of calorie counting, make sure you’re getting the right nutrition. I suggest using the “my fitness pal” app. I’m doing the 1 month free trial right now and what I love about it is that you can plug in your foods and it shows you the amount of carbs, protein, fat and calories you’re getting. Now that is what you should be tracking!
- Stretch – when you’re working your body harder than normal, it is that much more important to stretch before and after you work out. If you’re feeling super tight and can’t seem to work out kinks with stretching, I would consider a deep tissue massage. My sister and I both got one a couple weeks back and it’s made a huge difference. It got us back to a good, healthy place, and has helped us run better on our long runs.
- Monitor Your Water Intake – you guys, water is so, so important. Don’t skimp here. I usually struggle with drinking enough water, but having my POGO Bottle with me has been a tremendous help. When you’re well hydrated you’ll be able to work out better and more efficiently. I can tell you from experience that when I’m running, if I haven’t had enough water I can feel it instantly. It hinders my ability to really push myself.
- Create Accountability – accountability always helps us stay on track. If you don’t have a person to be your accountability partner, I would encourage you to write it down in a journal. Write down what you’re eating and write down what you’re doing for exercise.
You guys – let’s chat about this outfit. If you missed me talking about it on instastories, no worries! I was raving about this look because of how comfortable it is. These leggings are right on-trend with the colorblocking we’re seeing. They’re also um…THE softest leggings. They kind of feel like PJs. The material is thick enough, too, that it doesn’t show cellulite and if you’re a runner, there’s a zip pocket for your keys. I got this top when I got these pants because it serves multiple functions. You can wear it untied, which I do when I run. I like the looser fit when I’m running and it helps keep by body cooled down. I love that you can tight it in the back though if you’re doing yoga or just wearing it out for errands. Super flattering and super cute!
Good news – both my pants ($42) and my top ($20) are on sale, too, so grab your size quickly. If lighter leggings aren’t your thing, I’ve linked some other favorite below that are super reasonably priced!
top: gap | leggings: gap | shoes: similar | sunnies: karen walker
photography: fort lion studio
