Greetings and salutations my friends! So here I am, in month number 8 of my fitness journey. I have to say, it's been an incredible ride thus far, and I have learned so much about becoming, and staying, a healthy individual.When I started this journey, I was miserable. I felt fat, I looked fat, my BMI said I was fat...I didn't want to believe it, but I was, indeed, too big for my height and frame. At 5'9 1/2", I was 203 pounds, and growing out (in a bad way) of my size 16 pants.
In the past, I've lost weight. I would spend months and months working out like crazy. I ran, walked, did step aerobics, kickboxing...you name it, I've probably tried it to beat the battle of the bulge that had consumed my life for so long. I generally would get results, but for the results to continue, I found that I had to do so much cardio that my day was consumed by it.
My journey with P90X, and the other products that are offered by Beachbody, has literally changed my life. You see, in the past I left out one integral part to truly managing my fitness goals: resistance training. Yep, if you are serious about getting in shape, burning fat, losing weight, and leaning out your body, you HAVE to lift weights. Now don't think I'm telling you to go out and become a body builder...I'm just saying to invest in some sort of program that requires you to lift weights (3, 5, 8, 12, 15 lbs.) several days each week in addition to the cardio training you do. You see, lean muscle takes up less space than fat (it doesn't weigh less, a pound IS a pound, but a pound of lean muscle takes up less space in your body than a pound of fat), so when you swap out fat for lean muscle, you will get smaller. Lean muscle also burns more calories than fat, so when you carry more lean muscle, your body is a much more efficient calorie burning machine. So, by regularly doing some type of weight training, your body swaps out fat for muscle and gets smaller AND you burn more calories automatically. It's a win-win situation!
I have been using the P90X and the P90X+ products regularly for the past 8 months. I'm now 172 pounds, and down from a 16/18 pants size to a 10/12. The day I slipped on size 10's, and they fit, was a joyous day! I haven't seen that size since I was in the 9th grade (which was in 1986). However, I'm not going to tell you that it's not hard work...it is. I push play every day and workout for 45-75 minutes a day. However, I do not starve myself (in fact, I eat around 2000-2200 calories each day) and I feel good physically and mentally. To be honest, I've been quite surprised how easy it's been to become a fitter person.
If you're interested in a good, well thought out fitness program, one that includes cardio, resistance, and flexibility training, you might consider P90X or ChaLEAN Extreme. Both will get you incredible results, and will allow you to get the body that you desire. They also contain nutrition guides to help you make better nutrition choices. They're not diets, but a new way of thinking about, and eating, food. Of course, it will require some motivation on your part, and a lot of sweat equity. But if it's a new body that you want, the opportunity is available...you just have to want it badly enough.
Along the way, if you need some help, let me know. Send me a message and I'll do what I can to help!
