Well we did it! Or at least, 1/3 of it! We completed phase 1 of 80 Day Obsession! I had a horrible phone incident that resulted in my losing all of our day 0 photos except 1 which I'm so incredibly grateful to have!
WHO WE WERE BEFORE WE STARTED:
ASHLEY: I was a Weight Watcher taking advantage of the 0 point foods. I ran 2-3x a week usually 3-6 miles. My pace was around 13 minutes a mile. I lifted weight or took a Body Pump class maybe once a week. I had been stuck at 203ish pounds for months and although I was sometimes motivated to push past the plateau I'd usually eat my feelings or overeat or quit tracking and end up back where I was. I have done an intensive diet program and T25 which is an intense workout program.
JOSH: He had a good understanding of portion control and wasn't one to typically overeat. He had a little weight to lose, but not a lot like me. His starting weight was 204lbs. He lifted weight 2-3x a week primarily lifting his arms and chest with a little shoulder work mixed in. He played basketball with coworkers maybe once a week for cardio. He also ate a lot of fast food during the work week and has never done an intensive diet/exercise program.
GOALS:
Ashley: Lose weight and tone as I go so I'm not dealing with a lot of excess skin. Build confidence and reestablish good eating habits which I'd lost.
Josh: Develop better eating habits, gain muscle mass, lose a little weight, bulk.
WEEK ONE:
Week one was extremely hard. We were exhausted, cranky, hungry, emotional (well, I was), angry (well, he was), had headaches, and were so sore every single day. Looking back we contribute most of this to sugar detox. We both consumed a lot of sugar by the way of coffee creamers or sodas and then of course the sugar added to bread or sauces you don't think about in day to day life.
The work outs were hard, but manageable for both of us at our fitness levels. Josh wasn't used to cardio but could do it, occasionally modifying and I also could do everything with the occasional modification.
In this week we also realized that our food prep had been too much. By Thursday the meals I'd packed for Josh's lunches were a little slimy and by Friday they were disgusting. Since we have a better prep system I'll share below. We also realized we needed way more produce than we imagined! Our grocery budget has increased since starting 80DO, but so has our health and so has our kids' health by proxy because they are eating so much more produce.
WEEKS 2-4
These weeks were so much better for us. Our energy returned by Sunday of week 1. We got used to the food and started getting a little more creative with it. We understood our workouts. Here's some more of the food we ate.
I am on eating plan C and Josh is on eating plan E. Here's what a typical day looks like for me:
THE HARDEST PARTS:
Timed nutrition. Hands down. That is hard. We scheduled all our 5 meals and set alarms for them but it can still be difficult to eat. We don't forget, but for example when 3 o'clock rolls around and I need to eat a large meal but also wrap up my day before getting kids from school... it can be a meal I "slam" instead of an enjoyable meal. Some meals for us are divine and some meals we treat like medicine. For me this has ultimately been great because the intense structure has helped me with my struggle with binge eating. I'll talk more about that in a bit.
Taking care of our home. This is getting better, but when we began we felt like we didn't have enough time to maintain the whole of our lives. We ate. Worked. Parented. Ate. Parented. Ate. Exercised. Ate. Slept. Most evenings we'd tidy we were too exhausted so for a few weeks there everything was behind. Anyone starting 80 Day Obsession should realize the program demands you to get pretty obsessed with your health. This is absolutely good for you! BUT something else will suffer until you develop this new routine. For you it may not be house work (we aren't the best at this to begin with), but it will likely be something. Our initial resolve was that the one thing that wouldn't suffer would be our kids.
THE BEST PARTS:
Well, obviously the results! Weighing in and measuring each week was so exciting! We also took photos each week which I highly recommend to see our results as they happened.
The connection with each other! Although the first week we may have been cranky and in "surviving not thriving" mode, as the weeks have gone on we now look forward to our evenings together. Before we'd just watch a show and talk some, but now we have this purpose together. We exercise which usually results in laughter (I have this one move I do really strange and sometimes things are just funny in exercise!) and motivating and encouraging one another in the same goal. We haven't had something like that ever since we prefer two different kinds of exercise. We also have our last meal of the day together around 10-11pm and let me tell you, it's been about 7.5 years since we got to peacefully cook a dinner and eat together every night without interruption. That's been really nice!
We feel awesome. Our bodies are more flexible and stronger. We have a lot more energy from eating better. We have more discipline in this area of our life which is starting to produce more discipline in other areas of our life... funny how decisions like this can have such a trickle effect!
SUMMARY:
I am so glad we started 80 Day Obsession. I'm so glad my husband is doing it with me. I'd highly encourage any of my challengers to get their husbands on board with their program because having your best friend and the other adult living in your house doing a hard thing along side you just makes it so much better!
I am SO excited to see our results. I know results vary based on genetics, but more so they vary based on what you put into the program. I have been 100% with my diet never once cheating or missing a meal or eating the wrong amount. I have also been 100% with my exercise never missing a workout and trying to give 100% of me at each workout. Josh has been 99% with nutrition because we have to talk about his one bite of pizza (which didn't undo him) about half way through "just to remember what it's like." I would never do that but my personality can't handle varying of the straight and narrow. One bite for him was enough, one bite for me would have undone me. He's also been about 95% with his exercise only missing 1 workout.
If you're doing this program, COMMIT. Commit to being 100% for the duration of the program. You will not get the results unless you do. And you can! Anyone can if we can.
ADVICE:
Meal prep! When I meal prep now I do it in phases usually every 4-5 days. Over the weekend I may cook 2 kinds of chicken. Usually one is a Mexican style and one is a more plain style so I can work into pasta or other dishes (that's right! We can eat pasta and our kids now prefer the whole grain pasta too!). I usually chop or prep about 3-4 days worth of fruit and veggies at a time so it's grab and go within it's freshness and I'll make up 2 cups of rice and some roasted potatoes. Then the night before or in the morning we have big containers full of what we need... meat, potatoes, veggies, and we can grab and assemble our meals. This has made our food last longer and be fresher and also made the diet more palatable because it gives us room to change up our eating.
Treat yourself! Every Saturday we order buffalo burgers with grilled onions and double veggies with a whole wheat bun (which we remove most of) from a local burger joint. We look forward to this meal so much and it's such a nice break from cooking and what we're used to eating! Also once a week or so I'll get a grilled Chick Fil A club sandwich with double veggies and no bacon, colby cheese and toss the top bun... Get it with a side of fruit and an unsweetened tea and BOOM. Meal on the go!
Shakeology! I was really against it to begin with because I didn't want to have a product, necessarily... I just liked my cheap Target protein! Then I realized Shakeology is so much more than a protein shake. It's a meal replacement shake and the $3.50 per serving price tag is ultimately 1/3 of the cost of the healthy meal I mentioned above from Chick Fil A. I have mine every day at 11 with whole grain toast with a little peanut butter and sunflower seeds. It's such a treat now and it keeps me more full than any other meal.
So that's all I have! At least for now! That's our experience with 80 Day Obsession. I'd LOVE to chat with you about the program if you read all of that and are interested in it. The best part of being an oversharer is that sometimes it lends you to inspiring or motivating people and as a Beachbody coach I get to do that and actually provide you with the tools you need to succeed! If you don't have a buddy, I have a free challenge group for you that will provide accountability and even prizes for consistency! My mission as a coach is to be encouraging and motivating my challengers through my consistency in my own fitness, through reaching out and contacting you for check ins (if you want it!) and to be someone who's on your side cheering you on! Please email me at tbbinsideoutashley@gmail.com to chat more about trying 80 Day Obsession yourself or find me on Instagram at @insideoutashley to follow along the rest of my journey!
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