It seems like only yesterday I was gearing up for Beachbody’s newest program, the 80 Day Obsession. Like many people, the holiday’s left me feeling pretty bloated after all the indulgences. I try to do my best to balance living a healthy lifestyle and living LIFE, but sometimes even I get carried away. I actually couldn’t believe what I looked like in my “before” photos, I was pretty surprised at how my belly bulged–that would be from the cocktails and cookies. Needless to say I was READY to follow a plan and get my body back on track.
Something I never really gave a second thought too is my butt. I mean I thought it looked fine, I never really felt self-conscious about it. But even just a few weeks into this program, I noticed it started to take SHAPE! It began to lift and tone up, which I was pleasantly surprised about. My arms and back are also an area I’ve never really focused on, but soon after started, muscles started pop!
If you’ve followed me for a while, then you know I do not use a scale. I’ve had a seriously unhealthy relationship with that thing for many years. However, before starting this program, I had to weigh myself to figure out the calorie bracket I would fall into for my meal plan. I actually chose to stick with the “maintenance” plan as opposed to the “weight loss plan” because I really am okay with the weight I am at. I ended up eating around 2,000 calories for the entire 80 days which is crazy! Before this, I was hovering around 1,200-1,500 calories a day. No wonder I wasn’t seeing results, my body never had enough fuel.
I’ve had a lot of takeaways from this program! Without writing a novel, I’ll sum it up by saying that nutrition and the amount of weight lifted were two surprising factors. As I mentioned, I wasn’t eating enough food. I had also been doing fasted cardio, so having a pre-workout meal 15-20 minutes before my workouts was so different for me. I honestly was so afraid I would feel like puking during my workouts, but what I found was that I had sustained energy during my workouts and also really needed those calories because I would wake up hungry. My body continued to burn so many calories even overnight, AWESOME! As far as lifting weights goes, I really am a cardio queen, I love HIIT training, and anything Shaun T-style. I think before this program, the heaviest weights I was lifting were 15’s. With this program, my strength grew so much that the heaviest weights we own (52.5 lbs) were not enough for some squats and leg exercises. Weights do not make you “bulk up” as many women think. Muscles are sexy, they give your body shape and they TORCH calories like crazy, even when resting/sleeping. Needless to say the weights are STAYING in my daily routine.
I ended up gaining 3 lbs actually! In hindsight, I really wish I would have taken measurements. It’s obvious that I lost inches, just from looking at my before and after photos, but I wish I knew how many. I am really pleased with my results and also so excited for the ladies in my online bootcamp. Their results were BOMB too! I shared their results on my INSTAGRAM if you want to take a look! Get ready to be BLOWN AWAY!
Are you curious about this program? Have questions about it? Or maybe you just need SOMETHING to help get you ready for Summer! I am always happy to talk health, fitness, nutrition, etc. and share more about my online bootcamps. You can email me at brownellbootcamp@gmail.com for inquiries OR go ahead and fill out my online bootcamp application and reserve your spot in my upcoming group!
Be sure to check out all my 80 Day Obsession meal plans, recipes, progress, etc. on my blog! Just search “80 Day Obsession.”