Week six. Can you believe it? Because I can’t! This program has seriously been flying by.
I am officially at the half-way point of the 12-week Jamie Eason LiveFit trainer. And to be honest, I don’t know what I’m going to do with myself when it’s over! Yep. I’m loving it that much.
So let’s recap phase one, shall we?
Four weeks. All weights. No cardio.
At first, I thought this no cardio thing was going to be really difficult. And at the beginning, it was. As someone who has struggled with their weight for as long as they can remember, wrapping my head around constant eating, high protein and all weights was really difficult. For years I had thought that high fibre, lots of cardio and a little strength training was the answer to the body of my dreams. Boy, was I wrong! Let’s break this down:
Food
The food plan on this program is very straight forward. The premise is that for each meal, you have a serving of protein, a serving of starch and unlimited veggies. For snacks, you either have a “mini meal” or a protein of sorts. Here’s what my food days have looked like:
Breakfast: 5 egg whites scrambled with red pepper flakes, red, green or orange pepper and mushrooms with one slice of ezekiel bread, either sprinkled with cinnamon, with a little bit of sugar-free jam, or plain.
Snack 1: Either two lean turkey muffins, four home made protein bars, non-fat greek yogurt or fat-free cottage cheese mixed with sugar-free jam.
Lunch: 6 oz of grilled chicken, one serving of starch (often sweet potato or quinoa), and unlimited vegetables. Once in a while, I’ll swap out the chicken for tilapia (I hate fish, so this is a big deal).
Snack 2: A choice from what is listed under “snack one”. I rarely eat the same snack for both snack times. I need to be excited about my food. I am not excited about eating the same thing twice in one day… unless it is ice cream… and unfortunately that is not on the list of approved foods.
Dinner: 6 oz of grilled chicken, one serving of starch, unlimited vegetables… or sometimes I’ll have a three-bean chilli or even lean turkey muffins and rice.
No starches after 7 pm. If you have to eat past 7 pm, egg whites are encouraged.
So. That’s a lot of eating, right? Well, I’m already used to it, and it’s done WONDERS for my metabolism. I actually wake up hungry… I never used to get hungry before 11 a.m. I’m totally adjusted to this way of clean, constant eating and (hope) it’s something I can do for the rest of my life.
Cravings haven’t really been an issue. If I have a really intense craving, I try to wait until the weekend and have it then. I really loosen things up on the weekend within reason. I’m working on tightening things up on the weekend, and each weekend that goes by, my choices become a little better and I gain a little more control. That said, I will always allow myself to have at least one cheat a week. I love food way too much to not be able to indulge once a week.
The meal plan has not been hard to follow. I have designated Wednesdays as official food prep days, and fill in the cracks on Saturdays/Sundays as necessary. The trick is honestly being prepared. You can’t eat it if you don’t have it available!
I should also mention that I’ve been taking two fish oil capsules per day which aid with digestion. Also, my protein shakes have been saving me after a really intense weight workout. They keep me from going into a full on hunger rage… and no one wants that to happen!
Training
To be honest, the first two weeks of this program had me wondering whether I was wasting my time. During the first few workouts, the body parts I worked felt fatigued. But as I kept going through the first two weeks, I was doubting how difficult it would be. I’m certainly no expert in the weight room, but I also was not new to weights. The workouts went by really quickly during the first few weeks and I had three rest days. THREE. That was insanely difficult for me as I was used to working out six days a week. I was doubting that I was going to get the results I wanted with how little work I felt like I was putting in.
Thankfully, I have great friends who are a great source of knowledge. One of these friends was into phase three of this program when I was having my doubts, and she insisted I should stick with it because it got much, much harder. I decided to stick with the program, and I’m thrilled that I set my doubts aside and just trusted what was laid out in front of me.
Weeks three and four were when things started to get a little bit more difficult. More sets were added to the workouts, and my quick 25-minute workouts suddenly turned into a solid 45 to 50 minutes. I also began working out five days a week instead of four. I was satisfied with working out for five days a week, and even though I was sometimes tempted to throw in an extra workout on day six, I told myself that the program was about to get much more difficult and that I should enjoy the extra rest day while I had it. I am so glad I did!
Week five is when I absolutely fell in love with this program. It’s also when I REALLY started to see results. The weight workouts continued to intensify and a half hour of cardio was added onto non-leg days. For the first time in this program, I felt like I was putting in WERK and I loved it! The weight workouts take a little under an hour to complete. Tack that on top of a half hour of cardio and you’re working in the gym for an hour and a half, not including the time it takes you to get changed before and after. That is a big time commitment, and I’ve found it easiest to split the workouts out into two-a-days. It is recommended that you always do your weights first. Some days, I do weights in the morning and cardio at lunch time. Other days, I do weights at lunch time and cardio in the evenings. And on my really sleepy, busy days, I suck it up and do the entire workout in the evening. It’s all about making it work for you… and never missing a workout!
Body
Okay, here’s the exciting stuff! The changes I’ve seen in my body are INSANE. The first changes I started to see were in my arms and my stomach at the beginning of week three. My arms and stomach were both were pretty “lean” to begin with, so it wasn’t hard to notice the amazing muscle I was building underneath almost immediately. My arms and stomach are both looking much more toned and sculpted. It looks like my bugs bunny arms are a thing of the past. I’m also starting to get that little “V” in my lower abdominal area (my boyfriend has verified that I am not crazy that the V is on its way), and the lines on the sides of my stomach (don’t know the proper term for these) are much deeper and more noticeable than they were before. I certainly am no where near having actual abs yet. I have a lot more body fat to lose before those little babies shine through.
The next change I started to see was in week four, and it was in my shoulders. I’ve never really been into or noticed shoulders, but now that I’m developing nice ones, I’m totally into and noticing them! Mine are now looking much more rounded and defined. And this may sound weird… but having more defined shoulders and arms honestly makes the rest of you look leaner… and your girls look bigger. I’m not even joking. Try it. Work those shoulders. You’ll see what I’m talking about.
The latest change I started to see was in week five. And let me tell you, it is BY FAR the most exciting change I’ve had to date! My legs are looking MUCH more toned and my booty is POPPIN’. Seriously. Things are lifting and tightening in ways that I did not know possible. I carry majority of my weights in my thighs/butt, and I had no idea I had it in me to ever make these parts of my body look as tight and muscular as they do right now. I legitimately did not know if it was genetically or physically possible, but LiveFit has shown me that it is… and all it took me was some more protein, some more lifting and a lot less cardio to figure it out.
So, what’s next?
Now that I’m into the thick of week six, I am more motivated than ever to give it my all. I’m trying really, really hard not to eat too much ice cream on Saturdays. If I can clean up my Saturdays, I will be even more successful. That is the biggest challenge in front of me.
Another challenge I’ve faced and have been doing well with overcoming lately is changing my relationship with the scale. In my former days of my high fibre, high cardio lifestyle, I would weigh myself multiple times a day.
No more.
I’ve actually managed to more or less maintain my weight within about two pounds on this program, yet the changes I’ve seen in my body are drastic. This has taught me first-hand that the scale is not and cannot be the only indicator and measure of our success.
I have taken my body fat percentage and am currently at 22%. This is in the “ideal” range, but my next goal is to get into the “lean” range at 19%. I will measure my body fat at the end of phase 2, and again at the end of phase 3 and will make my next moves from there on out.
These past six weeks on LiveFit have truly been life changing. After having shed 40 lbs and achieving my goal weight this past December, this program was exactly what I needed to get my mind out of “weight loss mode” and into “fitness lifestyle mode”. I am so thankful that this happened so soon for me.
I cannot wait to continue following this program and see what the next six weeks have in store. I will be sure to post again at the end of phase 2 with my results.
If you’ve ever doubted the low carb, low cardio, high protein, high weight training lifestyle to get the results you’re longing for, please do yourself a favor and just give it a try. If you don’t like it, you can always go back to what you were doing before. After all, not everyone is built the same and one size does not fit all.
What I can tell you is that friends of mine who are super into fitness have been trying to convince me of this change for years, and it took me a solid month of following this plan to become 100% convinced that it is the way to go. For a year and a half I had been busting my butt in the gym on the treadmill and in group exercise classes killing myself to try and get the results that the principles of the LiveFit program have given me in just five weeks.
I can’t wait to check in with everyone again at the end of phase 2.
Until next time… xoxo
Oh PS: Here’s a little progress pic I snapped mid-way through week five last week. I’m definitely leaning out and toning up and could not be happier with the progress I have made:
Oh, and just remember…
Jillian Blackman 