Joni's Journal:

Week 1: Commitment
I decided to catalogue my journey to fitness souly for the purpose of keeping me motivated. I also knew that if I shared my journey people would be able to identify with my life and struggles and knowing that if "I" could do it anyone could! I recently just had my second baby and after gaining 45 lbs I knew that I wouldn't be happy until I got back to my pre-pregnancy weight. But being a working mother of two children in the midst of the holiday season wasn't exactly prime conditions for my weight loss. So I sought out the professionals to help instruct me and keep me accountable for reaching my fitness goals. The staff at His and Her Fitness brought me on and assured me that with the right instruction and adjusting small realistic changes to my every day life these fitness goals would be attainable. So here I go, week one, twenty pounds to go.

Week 2: Small Wins (Thanksgiving Week)
Sometimes it's just about small decisions that make the biggest difference. Thanksgiving week was my first real challenge. I was spending the holiday with my in laws and not being able to control the menu was a little unnerving. Christina gave me a simple recipe to rescue me from all the carbs I would be resisting; cauliflower mashed potatoes. I was in charge of appetizers, which consisted of a veggie plate with peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, celery and carrots. I put out a bowl of ranch rice cakes instead of crackers and offered whole wheat crackers and chesses. I made sure to fill up on the veggies before hand so my portions would be under control. At dinner my cauliflower mashed potatoes were a hit. Everyone loved the flavor and could not tell that they weren't potatoes. It struck me that the pinnacle of success is done through very small decisions that set you up to reach your overall goal.

Week 3: Kicking the Habit
Now I'm not talking about smoking or biting my nails, I'm talking about something most Americans do everyday; drink soda. I wasn't an extreme soda drinker it's was a just a soda a day usually in the afternoon when I needed a pick me up. I thought with it being just one it wouldn't pack on the pounds but every soda has an equivalent of 10 teaspoons of sugar. So after making the decision to go soda free I'm giving you 5 reasons to kick the habit too! 1. High Calorie 2. Soda Dehydrates You 3. Save Money 4. Lessen your chance to develop diabetes and 5. Lose Weight.

Week 4:
The challenge this week for me was setting the new normal. This was my first week back to work and wouldn't you know it, I got sick. The last thing I wanted to do after my 8-hour day on my feet and coughing all day was hop on my elliptical. It wasn't a good idea to exhaust myself. So I concentrated on my nutrition. My first three meals of the day were my biggest. I packed my meals with 20 grams of protein and ate every three hours. I kept my water bottle with me at all times and kept hot water with lemon and honey on hand when I needed to sooth my throat. When I stepped on the scale at the end of the week my weight actually went down. I attributed this to really focusing on my nutrition since I couldn't fit in my cardio. Surprisingly, I bounced back to health faster then I have in previous years. So as winter strikes and so does sickness stick to nutrition to get you through while you rest your way back to health.

Week 5: The Key is Cardio
Trying to establish a routine when it comes to cardio and nutrition has been a serious challenge especially when it's the Holiday's; Cookie platters around every corner and Holiday family meals comprised of lot and lots of starches and fats. I haven't seen a lot of changes in my weight and that is due to the inconsistency to my cardio and my nutrition. I made it point this week to see some changes and committed to cardio at least 30 minutes every day. At the end of the week I have lost 4 lbs. So there is the key everyone... cardio! Especially when you're in the midst of compromising nutritional situations squeeze in cardio after cheat meals.

Week 6:
I typically always eat out during the week on my lunch breaks. Most of the time I'm eating salads or piecing together meals at restaurants that fulfill my protein/fiber/starch quotas. Many restaurants now have very nutritional options available, which is great but can add up at the end of the week. I was spending on average $10 a day/ $50 a week/ $200 a month just on lunch. So in honor of a New Years around the corner I made a decision to spend a little more time getting ready to prepare my meals for the day. I've noticed two things: My decisions on nutrition are consistent and being able to have food with me all the time makes it easier to eat every 2-3 hours and not leave in the middle of my work day. The second thing is a lot more money going into my bank account and staying there. Here are a couple easy things to get at the grocery store that can make your lunch dilemma a little easier: I buy a rotisserie chicken and shred all the meat of and put it in Tupperware containers for a quick easy snack. I cut up squash/ zucchini/ onions with a little olive oil and have veggies and starches ready to go. Rice cakes, the little bite size ones have great flavors and are so easy to grab for starches that are so important to give you energy for you work day.

Week 7:
The importance of measurements and having accountability is crucial for your success. I have been working out for 6 weeks and for the most part have been sticking to the nutrition plan and mostly sticking to the cardio plan as well. I say mostly because the timing of the Holiday’s with extra events and keeping up with a busy work schedule left my weight goals mostly unattained. So I sat down with Christina to check in and get my measurements and not seeing the results I had hoped for made me realize that every week seeing these numbers is the real motivator and keeps you fighting to get every one of those cardio’s in and keeps the temptation to cheat at bay. It wasn’t that I wasn’t doing the plan I just wasn’t doing all of it. I just needed to tweak the little things in order to see a big change. This week I have felt a focus and a strength that came from just seeing those numbers. The team at H&H is committed to seeing my goals achieved and the weekly accountability keeps me committed to seeing them too!