Sunday morning I woke up with a piece of light shining through the heavy curtains on the floor.
The room was warm and there were heavy, unforgiving footsteps moving down the hall.
Oh yes…
It took me a moment, a headache before I realized I was alone in my own hotel room…
…in Milwaukee.
…for the Active Moms’ Club weekend retreat.
Sunday is day 14 of my 30-day personal experiment.
My behaviors on Saturday night were not aligned with my intentions. 🥸
I chose wrongly, or two.
But let me get back to my intentions…
…if you’ve been following along — you know I’m committed to eating a specific number of daily calories, and adding strategic weight training to my routine for 30 days with the goal of creating new consistent habits for body recomposition. (Read the first 3 discoveries here).
Last week I had THREE big successes to share with you.
(#3 may surprise you)
First, let’s look back at AMC’s super fun weekend retreat and my first breakthrough moment…
#1) ALL WORKOUTS ARE NOT CREATED EQUAL
Yes, you probably already know this.
I know this.
But it became clear in the form of significant fatigue and muscle soreness after participating in two, personal fitness classes on Saturday and Sunday mornings at Train Moment.
…TM a new fitness boutique I discovered in the Third Ward next to the Kimpton Hotel in Milwaukee. (Highly recommend both, BTW)
I signed up for a 50 minute small group training class on Saturday morning (before I made bad choices at night… more on those in a moment).
There is nothing unique about the exercises or session format.
I’m just really excited to be a client instead of a coach.
The co-ed group completed three, 10-minute circuits that included reverse lunges, rows, pushups, squats, presses — functional exercises that I prescribe and do each week in AMC training sessions.
The difference…
…I used heavier weights than what I have at home AND the VOLUME of reps was greater with less rest between sets. #gamechanger
It means I’m gassed, pushing myself out of my comfort zone in the fourth set of each 10-minute segment.
This is an above average set, with a heavier weight than usual, in PAGPAP.
THIS IS THE DIFFERENCE.
The fourth set in each round was the game changer that made me, “oh-my-goodness, I-can’t-pull-the-door-open-fatigue” 12 hours later.
I regularly remind my clients of the importance of working outside their comfort zone to gain strength, to increase fitness levels, and/or to support fat loss*.
*This is especially important as we get older.
Clearly I wasn’t changing my routine enough or pushing myself as hard as I *thought* I was doing.
#PROTIP
As you think about your fitness goals, how can you change the type of exercises you do, the frequency, or the intensity to get to the next level or break a weight loss plateau?
…need support? I’m here for you. ❤️
#2) MY BODY IS STRONGER AND THINNER
I am starting to see and feel strange things in my body.
A measure of progress: last week, I used a 16kg kettlebell to do a Turkish Get-Up
To my surprise, I lifted my body off the floor with KB overhead with ease — on both sides!
wow This is NEW.
I returned to this workout in the fall after taking a 9 month break from strength training and noted how difficult a 14kg KB was for me at the time. (I couldn’t get my hips off the floor).
Another measure of progress: my favorite Kut Mia High Rise skinny jeans glide more effortlessly over my hips and have non-suck-it-in buttoning at the waist.
Focusing on the daily process of my personal experiment has its rewards.
🙋♀️ My former self, and many of my clients naturally like to use scale as their primary measure of progress.
FUN FACT— did you know your body weight can change 4 PERCENT on a daily basis?
For example: if your average weight is 150 pounds, your weight on any given day may increase OR decrease by six pounds.
This variation is due to many factors: hydration, hormones, food choices, water retention, inflammation, etc.
I am— what I will call— a victim of daily weighing.
And I use the word ‘victim’ because the number on the scale no longer provides unbiased information or feedback…
…the number on the scale dictated my mood, my thoughts, my food choices for the day.
It’s not healthy.
If the number is on the low side, it puts a smile on my face and gives me permission to eat more.
If the number was on the high side of my so-called threshold, it embarrassed me and it became a day to exercise longer and eat less.
This. is. tiring
What I have learned with the support of my nutrition coach, and what I help my clients cope with, is that there are other, more reliable ways to measure progress:
- Reduce body aches and pains
- How well favorite articles of clothing fit
- Ease of doing routine tasks— lifting kids, hauling laundry…
- More endurance
- Increased physical strength
- Progress photos
- Weigh-in once a month (the goal is a general trend that scales down or up based on goals).
How do you measure progress?
Do you weigh yourself on a scale? What does that number mean to you?
Is this “just feedback”. Do you shrug your shoulders, go off and go about your day like every other…
Or does the number on the scale immediately send conflicting thoughts into your head and change your pre-scale mood?
…need support? I’m here for you. ❤️
So Saturday night… let’s talk about that.
As mentioned, I organized an Active Moms’ Club retreat in Milwaukee with eight wonderful AMC moms for some personal connection, intentional movement and fun times. #glorious
My nutrition has been consistently on par for 14 consecutive days for my challenge.
And like the last 14 days, I have a nutrition and hydration plan for Saturday and Sunday to stay on course for the challenge.
Saying, “I’m leaving for the weekend” is not an option. That’s not my style.
Which leads me to my third breakthrough moment…
#3) I MADE BAD CHOICES BUT DIDN’T CHOOSE THEM
We had reservations at Kimpton’s rooftop bar and restaurant on Saturday night.
Looks like so much fun!?
This is!
I got caught up in the flow of the night and made the bad choice to order not only a second, but also a THIRD skinny margarita.
I honestly do NOT remember the last time I had three alcoholic drinks in one night, let alone THREE margaritas in ONE night.
Here’s the thing with me and alcohol… I tend to make poor food choices when I drink alcohol, and I don’t like how I feel the next day.
The saving grace for me Saturday night was threefold:
- I slowly drank the margs and over five hours
- I drank a LOT of water between cocktails
- I somehow managed to stop myself from eating my two planned fish tacos and I didn’t have any food in my hotel room mindlessly. #WIN
As far as I can estimate, my Saturday nutrition is 300 – 400 calories more than my ‘budget’ of 1500 calories.
This included my planned indulgence of a lemon poppy seed glazed donut on Saturday morning after my workout.
The biggest success…
I didn’t think about the options on Saturday. They are what they are.
I wake up and use the “clean slate” rule — a new day with new choices ahead of me.
This is a big step of development. My old self laments about these choices, embarrasses myself with family members, and is generally not in a good place about the “missteps” I made the day before.
My new self drank a lot of water in the morning and we all messed around on the way, back to Train Moment to endure another 50 minute workout. (Yes, double the pain on Monday!)
After class, we went back to the hotel, drank coffee, showered and all met for brunch.
As big as I am and want to dive into hangover worthy food…
…my second biggest win of the day was staying on par with today’s nutrition goal; 1,500 calories and 125 grams of protein. 🎯
It feels really good to be consistent.
Every day is a new day to focus on the process.
xoxo Coach C~
PS If you thrive on accountability— like me— drop me an email, cassandra@activemomsclub.com and share what goals you’re working on. I will personally respond with encouragement and answer any questions that may be related to fitness or nutrition.
PPS Find out how my 30-day experiment ended (hint, it was an eye-opening journey)… read the last episode here.
