#fitwit

"𝘛𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘠𝘰-𝘬𝘢𝘪'𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘰𝘳. 𝘏𝘦 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘵."

The new way to “handshake” and greet people during COVID

FITWIT To Open In Decatur

AWARD-WINNNG OUTDOOR GROUP EXERCISE PROGRAM, FITWIT, TO OPEN FIRST BRICK AND MORTAR LOCATION IN DECATUR/KIRKWOOD

Happy Monday!! I just received some amazing news. FitWit, an award-winning outdoor group exercise program with four Atlanta-area locations just announced the opening of its first physical studio and gym location. FitWit campers become members of a positive, challenging, and supportive…

Well, the 28 Day Transformation Challenge is finishing up Sunday. I have to say, I'm glad, and kinda sad. Sad? Yeah. I mean, it almost feels like the training wheels will come off Sunday, and we'll have to ride on our own. April and I have totally changed the way we eat, and the foods we eat in this short time. Instead of snacking on junk food, we snack on fruits, nuts and veggies. Instead of sweet tea everyday, we've replaced it with water. Instead of cake, brownies, cookies or pie, we're eating fresh fruit. 

"So, what are you gonna do now that it's over?" Lots of my friends have been asking me this very question. Well, I'm gonna eat real food, and lots of it. "Real" food being the keyword. Gone are the days of the cheapest, processed foods and meats. Now, we're eating healthier alternatives. April's excited about adding cheese back into our diets. She's excited about adding honey into her diet. Me? Craft beer, an occasional burger, and lentil soup. I'm actually going to keep going with it as long as I can. I'll keep almost all added sugar out. I'm going to come as close to eliminating bread from my diet. And I wasn't eating or drinking a ton of dairy anyway, but occasional cheese will come back in. 

How do I feel? Well, I feel tons better! I feel healthier, my face looks thinner and more clear. I feel like I have more energy. I am more motivated to workout. I'm more motivated to change the way I eat for my future health. I'm excited about where I'm headed. April's excited, she said her pants are getting loose, and she's wearing shirts she couldn't before. Me? Well, I've had to go up a notch on my belt. I've got one pair of jeans that are not just too big, I've had to put them up in my closet. I've lost good weight off my stomach. It's made a huge difference.

Considering that I've not really worked out as much as I wanted to, or as often, I'm amazed. Which is exactly why I'm going to keep going, because if I could lose without working out as much as I wanted, I can only imagine what it will look like in a month after working out more. I'm committed, because I've seen the change already, and I know more is on the way. This was not and is not, a New Year's resolution. This just happened around that time. This is about challenging myself to do more, to see if I can really do it, and the more change I see, the more it motivates me. 

So, where did I end up at the end? Well, I feel tons better. My clothes are fitting better. I've lost 12 pounds total. And I'm excited to keep going. I'm not a quitter, and I love a good challenge, so that's just what I'll do. I'd like to personally thank Jenn Purdy at FitWit, as well as Fiona Sites-Bowen, as they've inspired, educated, and motivated us to eat better and live better. Their FitWit program is a great mixture of eating better and fun workouts, and I highly recommend it. There's a reason they're so popular and well-reviewed. 

And here's the results of my measurements at FitWit's weigh-in Feb. 2nd.

(BTW, the second measurement is Waist.) 

Eight days ago, I started the 28 Day Transformation Challenge with FitWit. It's 28 days of both physical challenges and diet changes that are said to lead to a healthier body in just a month. I accepted the challenge right away, as I knew I wanted to be healthier, I wanted to lose some weight, and I was curious as to what the fuss was about with FitWit. I have several friends that have done FitWit's camp and they absolutely loved it. So, I committed to it, not really knowing what to expect. 

I'll start with the diet. The diet you're asked to follow is loosely based on the Whole30 and Paleo programs. What's that, you ask? Well, no dairy, no grains, no sugars, no legumes and nothing processed. You can eat all the meats, veggies and fruits you want. When I first took a look at the list, it didn't seem that hard, honestly. I don't have to have bread with each meal, can do without the sweet tea, and figured the no dairy wouldn't be that bad, either. Eight days into it, going gluten-free and no sugars, has been interesting. It certainly causes you to think about what you were eating before, and what you're eating now. You become more aware of what's in what you're eating and you see the crap that companies are putting in your food. Nitrites, high fructose corn syrup, so much junk. 

So, how am I doing with it? Well, I will admit being tired of eating sweet potatoes already, sandwiches wrapped in lettuce are still weird, and I miss simple things like A1, the occasional craft beer and corn. I feel fine, and keep in mind that last week I was still recovering from the brutal flu I had. Going out to eat is a real chore, you have to research it before you go to see if they have things you can eat. Then, you may have to ask the server to leave certain things off. It's more of an inconvenience than anything. Have I lost weight? Well, sure. How much? Well, you'll see. 

What about the FitWit workouts? Well, I attended one on Thursday, and despite being honestly scared, did okay. I'm still battling a very sore back/rib cage from coughing when I had the flu, and I wasn't back at 100% when I went, but I worked out a solid hour with them. Learning the various kettle ball exercises and cardio, I was able to hang with them for the most part, but did get to a point when at least for me that night, enough was enough, and the solid rain we were doing it in didn't help. I will say that the leaders are super-encouraging and friendly, and Casey, whose my leader, has been very supportive. I'd definitely recommend FitWit for this kind of program. I hope to rejoin them when I return on Monday, as I'm carless at the moment and can't get there and back. 

What will I take away from this? Well, thankfully I didn't go gluten-free because of a specific health issue, the things I've done were by choice. That means I can put some of the things I've taken out back into my diet after the 28 days. Does that mean back to old bad habits? Well, no, it doesn't. I've learned an awful lot about what good food is, and how bad bad food is, and I'll let that lead me in the future. I will certainly cut back on bread and sugars, especially at night. I'll certainly look for foods that aren't so processed with words I can't even pronounce. I'll make sure the lessons I've learned matter. 

No sugary drinks today. Or yesterday, for that matter. I've had plenty of water and some coffee (black) with cinnamon powder added. So far, so good.

Worked out this morning at 7 with FitWit. Did I mention I'm doing FitWit? It's a boot camp here in Atlanta that a lot of my friends have done and been successful with. That's been the catalyst for this whole recent lifestyle change. My girlfriend Amie and I both attended a free session about 4 weeks ago and signed up for a month-long session the very next week. Yes, it costs money, but that's what's so incentivizing about it. If I don't workout, I'm wasting money. We originally signed up for a month, but last week I went ahead and signed up for a YEAR. It's a big commitment, I know, but I'm ready for a change and I can't wait to see how I look and feel a year from now.

Actually, this morning's workout was a bit rough for me. Let me explain. I started reading a book last night by Tim Ferriss called "The 4-Hour Body". It's all about getting maximum results from minimal effort (not that I intend to only put minimal effort into this, but I figured I could use some 4-hour body techniques in addition to working my ass off and be even better off...). Before I even got through the first few chapters, I had decided to go ahead and implement a tip he said as a brief aside in the intro chapter (to be expounded upon in later chapters, I assume). He said something to the effect of "people who do nothing else differently except eat 30g of protein within 30 minutes of waking up every morning lose XX% more body fat than before making that one single change". So, this morning, before my 7:00 workout, I mixed a scoop (30g) of pea protein powder with a little bit of almond milk and downed it in two gulps.

Anyways, I got nauseous about halfway through the hour, and skipped a bunch of exercises after that. Our FitWit coach, Amy, finally asked me if I did something different before the workout, so I told her about the protein, and she sort of gave me that "uh huh, well there you go" face and said "Uh huh. Well, there you go."

So she recommended that I do one of the following:

Wake up earlier and allow the protein shake to digest before my workout.

Wait until after my workout to drink the shake.

The lazy part of me wants to just do #2, but I feel like doing #1 would be more beneficial... We'll see how I feel in the morning.

One other thing I read in 4HB in the intro chapters that I went ahead and started doing yesterday was that it's a good idea to take pictures of your meals before eating them. Just doing that alone is supposed to help with fat loss. Psychologically, I suppose it makes sense. If I get in the habit of taking photos of my meals, I'll undoubtedly be more conscious of my meals. Knowing I have to take a picture of that jumbo bag of M&Ms will probably make me less likely to buy it. But the next level, of course, is posting those pictures online for the world to see. So, here you go, internet. One meal from yesterday and all my meals from today:

Not too bad. However, that July 8 meal includes a big bowl of gouda grits. I haven't read the diet tips for 4-Hour Body yet, and I haven't read the nutrition guide for FitWit (btw, they recommend this book: It Starts With Food), but I'm pretty sure gouda grits isn't an optimal choice for a side item. So, perhaps that wasn't the best idea...

Today's menu, all from MetroFresh: Egg whites with turkey sausage and salsa fresca for breakfast. Turkey chili and chicken salad w/tzatziki sauce for lunch (note: I almost forgot to take the photo, which is why the containers are already empty!). Tomatilla, chicken, & hominy soup and more chicken salad w/tzatziki for dinner.