Eight In Eight Challenge Runner Up Rachel Repost
Wow...Rachel worked really hard through this challenge and she GOT IT! She understands what the journey is about and has let go of DIET mentality.
Our Eight Pounds in Eight Weeks challenge focused on sound eating with regular exercise. This is EXACTLY what she did and I couldn't be more proud of her. For her efforts, she won a month of personal training with me and we intend on taking her to another level!
Here's some information about Rachel, what she lost, and how she feels. Love you Rachel and I am so proud to be your TRAINER!
Pounds lost in Eight Week Challenge: 7
Inches lost: 13.5
Major Accomplishment: 5K Runner baby and she's lost 50lbs since January!
Typical Workout Week:
Monday: Strength Train (ST) Upper Body day 1, plus cardio
Tuesday: ST Legs day 1, plus cardio
Wed.: ST Upper Body day 2, plus cardio
Thursday: ST Legs day 2, plus cardio (this went to my DOR near the end)
Friday or Saturday: cardio, plus any ST I missed
I followed the routine that Corinne gave and typically tried to start with the strength training early in the week. I have found that I just do better overall if I get to my ST right away.
Cardio: I restarted the C25K program again because I was becoming increasingly frustrated with my running. So, the last few weeks had me doing running every other day and aiming for three miles.
The cardio days in between I would do the treadmill with inclines, the elliptical, or use the HIIT for either. On the days I felt I could push it more I would jump on the Stairmaster after for some bonus calories burned. Sometimes, I would just do 20 minutes on each machine also to switch it up. I enjoy the inclines (a little too much sometimes!), because I can really feel the burn when the incline is up high.
Typical Food:
Breakfast: protein pancakes with sugar free syrup or All in One Breakfast (Trish recipe)
Snack: yogurt and almonds
Lunch: Turkey pizza—one of the great recipes!
Snack: Wasa cracker and cheese
Dinner: protein, veggie, and starch. Example: tilapia, salad, whole wheat pasta
Snack: Casein Shake before bed
I also drink a protein shake after strength training and add in more calories on high burn days.
What Rachel Learned...In Her Own Words...
I feel like I have grown so much in this challenge. The support of the women on the board is totally awesome. I think that the challenges, for me especially, help me so much. You can see that everyone has a time when they struggle and everyone has a time when they totally rock out and just have control over everything. I remember the posts when I find myself going down a bad road and try to get on ASAP to get help.
Accountability is a big thing also, which is what I learned when I started journaling every single day. I thought about what was going into my mouth more…..am I going to want to write this down? I didn’t used to believe that journaling was such an important tool, BUT IT IS! At least the stage that I am in, the losing stage, I believe it has helped more than I can describe. And I can look back and see where my weak points are in a month and see if there is a pattern.
But I have to share something that has really hit home with me. Before I always wanted the weight to come off quickly. If you had asked me a year ago to settle for seven pounds in eight weeks, I would have laughed it off as taking too long. I would imagine losing 20lbs in a month. I wanted it fast and I did not want to wait. So I just ate more. I ate to fill a void, to make myself feel better—about what I had no idea.
Finally, a light bulb has gone off it my head. It’s not about losing 10lbs in a week. It’s about changing myself and my lifestyle. When I look at the week ahead now I look at what meals I am planning, how I can be successful at the gym and what I can do to make myself a better person. Not how I can get the lowest number on the scale on Saturday morning. And as the weight falls off I feel like I am learning new things about myself and pushing myself to further limits on how to be that better person. That doesn’t only happen in a week. Everything builds upon itself and even when I have a rough day/meal of eating it’s not the end of the world. I can control it now because I have now months of exercising and eating properly behind me.
Thank you Corinne, Trish and PnP!