NYE 8 Week Challenge – ever-changing evermore

8 Week Countdown to NYE – Wrapped Up!

January 2, 2016January 12, 2016 by Courtney, posted in Fitness and Health, NYE 8 Week Challenge

(My progress, week to week, can be found linked at the bottom of this page)

I learned something really important this time around – NEVER make weight loss goals over the holidays. Good lord, I don’t know what I was thinking. I got over-confident and thought that I could keep my weight loss going when… I’m in maintenance mode. So crazy! I started at 140.0 pounds (but was 141.4 pounds just the day before) and ended up at 143.0 pounds – a gain of 3 pounds. BUT – I went from 22.9% body fat to 21.9%, a drop of 1% points and that equated to LOSING 0.75 pounds of fat and gaining 2.25 pounds of muscle and/or water. I think I gained a combo of both.

My physique looks different from when I started this challenge, a challenge focusing on PiYo. I did lose some in inches in places that are hard for me to lose them, and my arms, shoulders, back, and abs got a lot stronger, a lot more defined.

So… I’m happy! No one likes seeing the scale go UP, but as long as the body fat goes down, I need to learn to live with it. At the end of the day, fat was lost, muscle was gained, and the important parts were toned up. Oh – and my butt firmed up, and I trimmed down my worst spot, the saddle bag on my right hip that I call my “fat pocket.” It doesn’t look great, but it is visibly better. So, I keep working at it. HA!

Summary

Goals for the 8 Weeks:
- Finish on 12/31/2015 SAFELY in the 130’s (meaning a couple of weeks prior to 12/31 weighing in in the 137-139 range)
  - Did not meet AT ALL. I got so close at the 4 week mark, but then things got personally tough here and I lost my focus
- I’d really, REALLY love to see a body fat percentage in the 21% range again on my handheld body fat monitor
  - Goal MET – 21.9% at the end and was as low as 21.1%, but mostly hovered at 21.4% until the end
- I want to see major changes in my physique since I’m so dedicated to PiYo
  - Goal MET
- Complete 5+ hours a week of dedicated exercise
  - Goal MET
  - I averaged over 7 hours of exercise a week – 7 hours and 4 minutes a week!
- Run 20-25 miles a week on average
  - Not met AT ALL
  - Moving the treadmill has been a problem that will be resolved in the next few weeks
- Complete the full PiYo 8 week program
  - Goal MET – I did all 48 workouts and didn’t skip a single one!
- Supplement my fitness with at least 2 BOD (bea.chbo.dy on dem.and) workouts a week
  - Goal MET
- Stay within daily net calorie goal of 1390 calories at least 5 days a week
  - Goal met until the last two weeks
Starting/Ending Statistics
- Starting Weight (11/11/2015): 140 pounds
  - Finished at 143.0 pounds on 12/31/2015
  - Gained 3 pounds
- Body Fat %: 22.9% with the handheld (22.2% with calipers, 22.8% with the Tan.ita scale)
  - Finished at 21.9% on 12/31/2015
  - Lost a full percentage point
  - Converted fat to muscle, losing 0.75 pounds of fat and gaining 2.25 pounds of water and muscle
- BMI: 21.9
  - Finished at 22.4
Starting (11/11/2015)/Ending (12/31/2015) Measurements:
- Natural Waist: 27.5 inches
  - Finished at 27.0 inches
  - Lost 0.5 inches
- Belly Button: 32 inches
  - Finished at 31.5 inches
  - Lost 0.5 inches
- Hips: 35.5 inches
  - Finished at 35.5 inches
  - No gain or loss of inches
- Chest: 33.5 inches
  - Finished at 32.5 inches
  - Lost 1.0 inches
- Leg (Left): 19 inches
  - Forgot to measure
- Arm (Left): 11 inches
  - Forgot to measure

Before and After Photos

Left photos are before, right are after. All are flexed abs.

8 week final 3 — I didn’t take before photos of this angle. Left is un-flexed, right is flexed

8 Week Countdown to NYE – Weeks 7 & 8

January 2, 2016 by Courtney, posted in NYE 8 Week Challenge

Week 7 (Ending 12/23/15)

Week 7 Statistics
- Weight: ? pounds
- Body Fat %: ?%
- Time Spent Being Active (>= 5 hours): 5 Hours 26 Minutes
  - Miles Run (20-25 a week when decent weather): 0 Miles
- Days within Calorie Goals per MFP (1390): 4 days
Exercise:
- Thursday – PiYo Sculpt (28:00); 12 DoF (32:00)
- Friday – Rest
- Saturday – PiYo Sweat (37:00); 12 Dof (39:00)
- Sunday – Rest
- Monday – PiYo Hardcore on the Floor(33:00); PiYo (28:00); 12 DoF (36:00)
- Tuesday – PiYo Drench (48:00); Low HIIT 20 (27:00); 12 DoF (18:00)
- Wednesday – Rest
Notes:
- x

Week 8(Ending 12/30/15)

Week 8 Statistics
- Weight: 143 pounds
- Body Fat %: 21.9 %
- Time Spent Being Active (>= 5 hours): 8 Hours 4 Minutes
  - Miles Run (20-25 a week when decent weather): 0 Miles
- Days within Calorie Goals per MFP (1390): 3 days
Exercise:
- Thursday – 12 Dof (45:00)
- Friday – Rest
- Saturday – 12 DoF (55:00); Ab Work (15:00)
- Sunday – PiYo Strength Intervals (22:00); PiYo Sweat (38:00); PiYo Buns (28:00); 12 DoF (28:00)
- Monday – PiYo Drench (48:00); PiYo Core (30:00)
- Tuesday – piYo Sculpt (27:00); TurboFire 60:00
- Wednesday – PiYo Sweat (37:00); TurboFire 60 (51:00)
Notes:
- I’m lucky I work out, because I’m eating like shit
- I’ve learned to NEVER set weight-loss goals over the holidays if your challenge ends right after the holiday – you’ve got to enjoy a few goodies! January is for diet corrections
- Total hours:56 hours, 18 minutes
- Average hours per week: 7 hours, 2 minutes
- Was to take 8 rest days, took 10
- Was to do 48 PiYo workouts, did all 48
- Made up every PiYo and most other planned workouts

Goals for the Next 8 Weeks:

Finish on 12/31/2015 SAFELY in the 130’s (meaning a couple of weeks prior to 12/31 weighing in in the 137-139 range)
I’d really, REALLY love to see a body fat percentage in the 21% range again on my handheld body fat monitor
I want to see major changes in my physique since I’m so dedicated to PiYo
Complete 5+ hours a week of dedicated exercise
Run ~~20-25~~ 15-20 miles a week on average
Complete the full PiYo 8 week program
Supplement my fitness with at least 2 BOD (bea.chbo.dy on dem.and) workouts a week
Stay within daily net calorie goal of 1390 calories at least 5 days a week

Starting Statistics on 11/05/2015

Weight: 140 pounds
Body Fat %: 22.9% with the handheld (22.2% with calipers, 22.8% with the Tan.ita scale)
BMI: 21.9

Oh Good Lord

December 28, 2015 by Courtney, posted in Fitness and Health, NYE 8 Week Challenge

My self-imposed 8 week challenge ends this Thursday morning with a weigh-in and measurements. I was doing really well until my friend’s health took a turn for the worse 4 weeks ago. Scrambling to help them and then be there for her widowed husband and grieving family took priority, and rightfully so. No regrets there.

But, it’s time to buckle down again after the ringing in of 2016. Some gals encouraged me to try the new beachbody program, Hammer & Chisel, and well…. I need a change so I said yes. Now that my box of DVDs and food measuring containers have arrived, I’m feeling nervous. Weight training is not my thing, and that’s what H&C is. I am going to be WAY out of my comfort zone during the first 8 weeks of 2016.

And that’s good. No, that’s great!

But damn, those food measuring containers are small.

8 Week Countdown to NYE – Weeks 5 & 6

December 18, 2015 by Courtney, posted in NYE 8 Week Challenge

Week 5 (Ending 12/09/15)

Week 5 Statistics
- Weight: ? pounds
- Body Fat %: ?%
- Time Spent Being Active (>= 5 hours): 7 Hours 50 Minutes
  - Miles Run (20-25 a week when decent weather): 7.71 Miles
- Days within Calorie Goals per MFP (1390): 4 days
Exercise:
- Thursday – PiYo Sculpt (27:00), ran 5.11 miles in 46:43 outside
- Friday – TurboFire 60:00, PiYo sweat (37:00)
- Saturday – PiYo Drench (48:00), Turbofire low HIIT 20 (18:00)
- Sunday – Rest
- Monday – PiYo Core (28:00), INSANITY Asylum Speed and Agility (56:00)
- Tuesday – PiYo Drench (48:00); Turbofire low HIIT 20 (18:00)
- Wednesday – Walked 2.60 miles in 33:25; PiYo Buns (28:00); PiYo Strength (22:00)
Notes:
- I’ve indulged a bit this week – making cookies and all. It’s been tough to keep the scale under 140.8!
- I need to regain my focus – step it up these final 3 weeks
- It was a productive week in regards to fitness, it was a horrendous week in regards to eating

Week 6 (Ending 12/16/15)

Week 6 Statistics
- Weight: 142 pounds
- Body Fat %: 21.1%
- Time Spent Being Active (>= 5 hours): 6 Hours 10 Minutes
  - Miles Run (20-25 a week when decent weather): 4.0 Miles
- Days within Calorie Goals per MFP (1390): 4 days
Exercise:
- Thursday – Rest
- Friday – PiYo from memory (35:00)
- Saturday – Ran 4.0 miles in 47:00
- Sunday – Rest
- Monday – INSANITY Interval 60:00, PiYo Hardcore on Floor (33:00)
- Tuesday – PiYo Sculpt (27:00), PiYo Drench (48:00), HIIT Low 20 (24:00)
- Wednesday – PiYo Buns (29:00); PiYo Sweat (37:00); 12 Days of Fit-mas (30:00)
Notes:
- I am losing the running battle – moving the treadmill into the living room has proven to be a problem because it’s so noisy and bothers the kids
- 2 Weeks left of PiYo! It’s great – I’ll for sure still do it a few days a week!
- I am pretty bummed about the weight gain, but let’s be honest – this has been one of the hardest 2 weeks of my life with the death of my friend
- 2 Weeks before New Years and it’s time to get (more) serious!
- In better news, I’m down to 21.1% body fat, which is a 1.8% loss in 6 weeks which is HUGE for me
  - To put it in perspective, when I started, I weighed 140 pounds (but was 141.2 the day before, so 140.0 was a touch lower than it should have been) at 22.9% body fat, so 32.06 pounds of my weight was fat. Today, at 142 and 21.1% body fat, 29.96 pounds of my weight is fat – so I’ve lost fat while gaining muscle, which I think we all know is what you want. Still hard though. 😉
    - I am down 2.1 pounds of fat, which is good… no GREAT
    - I took the photo yesterday at 142.2 pounds because I was feeling defeated and wanted to see if there was a physical change to see. I think there is
  - With the weight gain, I will NOT be safely in the 130’s by the end of this challenge

Goals for the Next 8 Weeks:

Finish on 12/31/2015 SAFELY in the 130’s (meaning a couple of weeks prior to 12/31 weighing in in the 137-139 range)
I’d really, REALLY love to see a body fat percentage in the 21% range again on my handheld body fat monitor
I want to see major changes in my physique since I’m so dedicated to PiYo
Complete 5+ hours a week of dedicated exercise
Run ~~20-25~~ 15-20 miles a week on average
Complete the full PiYo 8 week program
Supplement my fitness with at least 2 BOD (bea.chbo.dy on dem.and) workouts a week
Stay within daily net calorie goal of 1390 calories at least 5 days a week

Starting Statistics on 11/05/2015

Weight: 140 pounds
Body Fat %: 22.9% with the handheld (22.2% with calipers, 22.8% with the Tan.ita scale)
BMI: 21.9

8 Week Countdown to NYE – Week 4 – HALF WAY DONE!

December 4, 2015 by Courtney, posted in NYE 8 Week Challenge

Week 4 (Ending 12/02/15) – Half Way Done!

Week 4 Statistics
- Weight: 139.8 pounds
- Body Fat %: 21.4%
- Time Spent Being Active (>= 5 hours): 5 Hours 56 Minutes
  - Miles Run (15-20 a week when decent weather): 5.35 Miles
- Days within Calorie Goals per MFP (1390): 5 days
Exercise:
- Thursday – PiYo Sweat (37:00)
- Friday – Rest
- Saturday – INSANITY Asylum Speed and Agility * 1.5 (67:00)
- Sunday – PiYo Hardcore on the Floor (33:00), PiYo Buns (28:00)
- Monday – PiYo Drench (48:00), TurboFire HIIT 20 * 1.5 (26:00)
- Tuesday – Ran 5.0 miles in 51:00; walked 0.35 miles in 5:00; PiYo Strength Intervals (24:00)
- Wednesday – PiYo Sweat (37:00)
Notes:
- I’m only officially down 0.2 pounds in these four weeks, but the day before my initial weigh-in, I weighed 141.4 pounds, so looking at that (I always thought the initial weigh-in of 140.0 was strange), I’m down anywhere from 0.2 – 1.6 pounds – and considering I’m truly in maintenance mode, I’m pretty happy with where I am
- Body fat is holding nicely at 21.4%, and I started at 22.9% (or 22.4% the day prior to weigh-in) so I’m down anywhere from 1.0% – 1.5% which is HUGE for me – losing body fat has been really hard since I plateaued in weight 15 weeks ago
- I have met all of my goals in regards to doing every.single.PiYo workout and getting at least 5 hours of exercise in a week. My mileage goal was NOT met this past week, but I’m OK with that
- PiYo is working for me.. loving it. My arms are constantly sore and my ass is hurting most days – which means it’s working (remember Binactin from when we were kids? “the burning means it’s working.” HA!)
- Here is my workout schedule so far – I’ve made up every PiYo workout if it was skipped and have stuck to the amount of BOD workouts – so it’s going really, really well and I’m enjoying it
- Also below are my “before and after” photos for the first 4 weeks. The lighting was different, I look like death warmed over in the after photos, but it’s just mid-challenge so I don’t really care 😉 I do see changes, even if just slightly. There is less padding on my belly for sure. In the mirror, my abs seem to pop and so do my shoulders – the PiYo is working! (These photos are all with flexed abs.)

Goals for the Next 8 Weeks:

Finish on 12/31/2015 SAFELY in the 130’s (meaning a couple of weeks prior to 12/31 weighing in in the 137-139 range)
I’d really, REALLY love to see a body fat percentage in the 21% range again on my handheld body fat monitor
I want to see major changes in my physique since I’m so dedicated to PiYo
Complete 5+ hours a week of dedicated exercise
Run ~~20-25~~ 15-20 miles a week on average
Complete the full PiYo 8 week program
Supplement my fitness with at least 2 BOD (bea.chbo.dy on dem.and) workouts a week
Stay within daily net calorie goal of 1390 calories at least 5 days a week

Starting Statistics on 11/05/2015

Weight: 140 pounds
Body Fat %: 22.9% with the handheld (22.2% with calipers, 22.8% with the Tan.ita scale)
BMI: 21.9

8 Week Countdown to NYE – Week 3

December 1, 2015 by Courtney, posted in NYE 8 Week Challenge

Week 3 (Ending 11/25/15)

Week 3 Statistics
- Weight: 139.6 pounds
- Body Fat %: 21.4%
- Time Spent Being Active (>= 5 hours): 8 Hours 43 Minutes
  - Miles Run (20-25 a week when decent weather): 15.25 Miles
- Days within Calorie Goals per MFP (1390): 5 days
Exercise:
- Thursday – Ran 5.0 miles in 51:06; Walked 0.25 miles in 4:00; PiYo Upper (20:00)
- Friday – INSANITY Max Cardio Conditioning (38:00); PiYo Buns (37:00)
- Saturday – Ran 5.0 miles in 49:55; walked 0.75 in 11:00
- Sunday – Rest
- Monday – PiYo core (30:00), PiYo lower (20:00), INSANITY Asylum vertical plyo (40:00); HIIT 20:00
- Tuesday – Jogged 4.0 miles in 51:00; walked 0.25 miles in 5:00; PiYo Sweat (37:00); HIIT 15:00
- Wednesday – PiYo Strength (22:00); 12:00 weight machine; INSANITY Max Circuit Interval (60:00)
Notes:
- Going from one BOD workout to another is really easy and I like the HIIT series with various durations. It’s easy to get a full hour in if you do a 40 minute INSANITY but want another 20 minutes of something
- Heartburn got me on Sunday – so bad I didn’t even know what it was. I was in tremendous pain and decided to take a rest day from everything. I made it up on Monday with almost 2 hours of workouts
- When there’s a little break in your routine, like between getting one kid to bed and then singing to the next one, it’s really easy to dial up HIIT 15 or 20 to kill the time
- Lots of active time this week, with a slight hike in weight and holding steady in body fat – I’ll take it

Goals for the Next 8 Weeks:

Finish on 12/31/2015 SAFELY in the 130’s (meaning a couple of weeks prior to 12/31 weighing in in the 137-139 range)
I’d really, REALLY love to see a body fat percentage in the 21% range again on my handheld body fat monitor
I want to see major changes in my physique since I’m so dedicated to PiYo
Complete 5+ hours a week of dedicated exercise
Run ~~20-25~~ 15-20 miles a week on average
Complete the full PiYo 8 week program
Supplement my fitness with at least 2 BOD (bea.chbo.dy on dem.and) workouts a week
Stay within daily net calorie goal of 1390 calories at least 5 days a week

Starting Statistics on 11/05/2015

Weight: 140 pounds
Body Fat %: 22.9% with the handheld (22.2% with calipers, 22.8% with the Tan.ita scale)
BMI: 21.9

8 Week Countdown to NYE – Week 2

November 19, 2015November 22, 2015 by Courtney, posted in NYE 8 Week Challenge

Week 2 (Ending 11/18/15)

Week 2 Statistics
- Weight: 138.6 pounds
- Body Fat %: 21.3%
- Time Spent Being Active (>= 5 hours): 7 Hours 5 Minutes
  - Miles Run (15-20 a week when decent weather): 13.11 Miles (HORRID weather)
- Days within Calorie Goals per MFP (1390): 6 days
Exercise:
- Thursday – PiYo lower body (21:00); Ran 4.5 miles in 45:00; walked 0.51 miles in 7:00
- Friday – PiYo Sweat (37:00); INSANITY Pure Cardio (38:00)
- Saturday – PiYo Core (30:00); Name Game (27:00); Abs (3:00)
- Sunday – REST
- Monday – Ran 4.5 in 43:10; Walked 0.10 in 2:00; PiYo Upper (20:00)
- Tuesday – Ran 3.0 in 32:30; Walked 0.50 in 7:30; PiYo Sweat (37:00)
- Wednesday – TurboFire FIRE 45:00; PiYo Core (30:00)
Notes:
- I am exhausted and am finding myself rather fatigued quite easily. I’m struggling
- Just two days into the week and I’m at 2.5 hours of exercise. Body fat is still in the 21%’s so yesterday’s wasn’t a fluke. Not sure what to do with this information… loving it but scares me about it going up again, which we know it will
- Exercise room is almost done – and we have a big mat I can use for BOD. This is going to be a productive winter!
- 139.6 On Tuesday morning!!!!
- I’ve updated my training spreadsheet to just list BOD instead of a specific workout. I’m finding that the kids’ schedules are making it hard to commit to a specific program and I need to be flexible
- I have noticed a change in my physique after just 2 weeks, and wasn’t sure if it was my mind playing tricks on me… so I took photos and put them beside my starting photos. I think there’s progress! Things are definitely tightening up
- I am 0.8 pounds away from my all-time low weight, and that’s when I was nursing a baby. I can hardly believe it!
- I got body fat % readings of 21.1% this morning (Thursday), which is an all-time low, but it bounced between and that 21.4% so I went with 21.3%, which turns out to be my lowest ever

2 weeks

Goals for the Next 8 Weeks:

Finish on 12/31/2015 SAFELY in the 130’s (meaning a couple of weeks prior to 12/31 weighing in in the 137-139 range)
I’d really, REALLY love to see a body fat percentage in the 21% range again on my handheld body fat monitor
I want to see major changes in my physique since I’m so dedicated to PiYo
Complete 5+ hours a week of dedicated exercise
Run ~~20-25~~ 15-20 miles a week on average
Complete the full PiYo 8 week program
Supplement my fitness with at least 2 BOD (bea.chbo.dy on dem.and) workouts a week
Stay within daily net calorie goal of 1390 calories at least 5 days a week

Starting Statistics on 11/05/2015

Weight: 140 pounds
Body Fat %: 22.9% with the handheld (22.2% with calipers, 22.8% with the Tan.ita scale)
BMI: 21.9

8 Week Countdown to NYE – Week 1

November 12, 2015November 12, 2015 by Courtney, posted in NYE 8 Week Challenge

Week 1 (Ending 11/11/15)

Week 1 Statistics
- Weight: 140.6 pounds (up 0.6 pounds)
- Body Fat %: 21.2% (1.7% down – and both monitors had the same number – we’ll see tomorrow!)
- Time Spent Being Active (>= 5 hours): 7 Hours 4 Minutes
  - Miles Run (20-25 a week when decent weather): 19.01 Miles
- Days within Calorie Goals per MFP (1390): 6 days
Exercise:
- Thursday – 56:00 of INSANI.TY
- Friday – Ran 4.75 miles in 45:21; PiYo upper body 20:00
- Saturday – PiYo lower body 19:00
- Sunday – Ran 4.0 miles in 40:00, walked 0.4 miles in 5:30
- Monday – PiYo upper and lower 40:00; Ran 5.41 in 61:00 (walked the last 6-7 minutes)
- Tuesday – PiYo core 30:00; Power incline walked 4.45 miles in 60:10 (4.5 mph for the first 4 miles, then 4.0 mph cool down)
- Wednesday – PiYo Sweat 37:00

Notes:
- Kicked off the week with two INSA.NITY programs and I had forgotten how hard those are. Kicked my butt
- Loving PiYo so far – it feels so very good!
- With the treadmill in the living room now, it’s pretty hard to sit on the sofa and watch TV when I could be treading
- What a week! 7 hours of dedicated exercise… I ~~may be dropping~~ dropped my mileage goal just to keep things realistic. 7 hours is a lot
- Very happy with the drop in body fat – I don’t expect it to stay there, but I do think it will stay in the 21%’s with this big jump down. I’m not sure what to attribute this to, but I’m thinking the strain to my muscles with PiYo… burning calories differently
- Gained 0.6 which is just fine with me. Starting at 140.0 was a SHOCK last week and just the day prior to my initial weigh-in, I was 141.4. Weight is fickle – I don’t worry about 0.6 pounds!
- I made butternut squash soup in bulk this week so we have it for Thanksgiving. I made 8 quarts of it! I used coconut oil instead of butter and greek yogurt cream cheese instead of the regular stuff, upping my protein and lowering my fat contributions to the soup. It tastes better than ever, so we’ll keep these little changes going forward!

Goals for the Next 8 Weeks:

Finish on 12/31/2015 SAFELY in the 130’s (meaning a couple of weeks prior to 12/31 weighing in in the 137-139 range)
I’d really, REALLY love to see a body fat percentage in the 21% range again on my handheld body fat monitor
I want to see major changes in my physique since I’m so dedicated to PiYo
Complete 5+ hours a week of dedicated exercise
Run ~~20-25~~ 15-20 miles a week on average
Complete the full PiYo 8 week program
Supplement my fitness with at least 2 BOD (bea.chbo.dy on dem.and) workouts a week
Stay within daily net calorie goal of 1390 calories at least 5 days a week

Starting Statistics on 11/05/2015

Weight: 140 pounds
Body Fat %: 22.9% with the handheld (22.2% with calipers, 22.8% with the Tan.ita scale)
BMI: 21.9

The Plan… For the Next 8 Weeks

November 9, 2015 by Courtney, posted in Fitness and Health, NYE 8 Week Challenge

I joined a challenge to stay fit through the holidays. I got my PiYo DVD’s a little later than the start date of the challenge, but that worked out well because starting when I did gave me exactly 8 weeks until New Years Eve (I mentioned in a prior post that we have big plans for NYE this year). I always like to go into a challenge with a plan.

Here’s my plan:

My “week” will start on Thursdays and end on Wednesdays (NYE is on a Thursday this year). I started PiYo this past Thursday so I am well on my way into week 1.
I will weigh in and measure body fat on Thursday mornings and report weekly on this page.
I will only plan out my workouts in addition to PiYo two weeks at a time so that I don’t overwhelm myself and feel defeated if I have to change daily plans based on how my body is feeling – there are always workouts on BOD that can be done in place of something I have planned in advance. I like to be flexible.
I do still plan to run 20-25 miles a week in addition to PiYo.

The PiYo schedule is set for me, which is nice. I am familiar with INSANITY so I’m doing some of those workouts in addition to PiYo a couple of days a week via BOD (Beac.hbod.y on De.mand) for the first two weeks. The days I don’t do BOD workouts, I’ll run in addition to PiYo. So far, I’ve done everything as planned with the exception of the Align workout (I started it, and then decided to do INSA.NITY instead) and the run on Saturday – we just ran out of time on Saturday.

In regards to nutrition/eating, I’ll stick to my daily calorie goal of 1390 net calories or less a day. With exercise, that is SIMPLE to do – without exercise, it is doable if I’m cognizant of what I’m eating and plan ahead. Nutrition shouldn’t be a problem for me because I’ve been tracking my nutrition daily for almost 1.5 years and I pretty much know how many calories are in the things I eat.

I think it’s pretty simple – just have to stick to it. That should not be a problem!

It’s Go Time!

November 5, 2015 by Courtney, posted in NYE 8 Week Challenge

I started a new challenge today – one that will last 8 weeks and very conveniently ends on New Years Eve! We have BIG plans for NYE – my cousin and her husband are opening a jazz club that night and we will be attending the “Roaring 20’s” themed grand opening. My dress and earrings are purchased, and I’m in the process of securing a hair and makeup stylist. We don’t usually go all out for these types of things, but with this club being the newest hot spot, and the most anticipated opening of the year in our city, well… we’re pretty excited!

In normal “Courtney fashion,” I’ve documented my measurements and stats and I’ve taken my “before photos.” I am not new to these photos, and I’ll post my most atrocious ones soon enough. This is the best shape I’ve ever started a challenge in and these are easy to post, unlike the photos from last year.

Left images are without flexed abs, right images are flexed

Starting Statistics:

Weight: 140.0 Pounds
Body Fat Percentage: 22.9%
Natural Waist (narrowest part): 27.5 inches
Belly Button: 32 inches
Chest: 33.5 inches
Hips: 35.5 inches
Left Arm: 11 inches
Left Leg: 19 inches

I believe goals are important. VERY IMPORTANT. I’m truly in maintenance mode after losing 40 pounds, so over the last 9 weeks, I’ve only dropped 3 pounds. And I’m very happy with that. However, I would like to drop another 5 pounds in a healthy way. I’d like to trim down that body fat number. I’d like to stay active and step it up a bit. I’d like to get stronger and more toned.

Goals for the Next 8 Weeks:

Lose 5 pounds and end up at 135.0 pounds
Drop 1% body fat to be at 21.9% or lower
Workout 4.5-5.0 hours per week
Run 20-25 miles per week
Come within calorie goals 5 days a week
Complete the Beachb.ody PiY.o 8 week program

That’s pretty much it! I’ll post weekly progress each week for sure to keep me in line!