My 6 Month Journey with BBG

Jan 4, 2019 vs. June 27th 2019

Happy Monday!  Coming to you loud and proud with my 6 month BBG update.  I cannot believe I did it!  If you’re new here, you’re probably like what is she talking about? Let me explain.  I started the BBG (Bikini Body Guide) program in January and followed it for 6 entire months.  I worked out 5-6 days per week for almost 26 weeks. If you want some background, you can read my 7 week update here which will provide a lot of info but today I’ll answer the questions you guys submitted via insta stories and share how this program has worked for me personally.

Questions

• What is the program? The BBG program is a circuit training workout done in about 28 minutes.  You can do it from home which is the biggest advantage to me and requires minimal equipment. You need ZERO experience to get started. There are 3 resistance workouts per week and 2-3 cardio workouts per week depending on where you’re at in the program.
• How much does it cost? You pay annually $119 or pay $19.99 per month for the program.  You can download e-books to use but I prefer to use the SWEAT app which is downloaded on my phone. Both mediums guide you through the workouts step by step with timers so you know exactly what to do.  The app is really well done!
• When do you workout?  I workout during Griffin’s nap and take a Soul Cycle class on the weekends.  I also aim to get 10k steps per day which I track on my Apple Watch (which is awesome btw).  I’d love to be a morning workout person but my kids get up at inconsistent times so this doesn’t work for me at this stage of my life. For other cardio, I ride our Peloton bike.
• Did you lose weight/ How much weight did you lose?  Honestly, I have no clue.  I haven’t weighed myself but almost always hover between 115 and 120lbs. The best shape I was in in my life besides right now was right before I got pregnant with Colette and I weighed 117 lbs. I’ve been really out of shape at 115 lbs and in great shape at 120 lbs so for me, it’s more about how I feel versus the scale.
• What do you eat/Did you change your diet when you started/Do you follow a special diet? I cleaned up my diet a lot when I started.  I began the program right after the Holidays and to be honest, I was not eating well at the time and hadn’t eaten well since I had gotten pregnant with Griffin.  I had a complicated pregnancy with him, wasn’t able to workout and basically said YOLO and got to know the Domino’s delivery guy on a first name basis.  I gained over 40 pounds and did not like the way I looked. But it still took me entire year and a half to start working out and getting my health on track after having him. I don’t really buy into fad diets and never really have.  I’m sure some of them work great but I honestly just try to eat as much produce as I can and generally eat clean.  I almost always eat the same thing (so boring, lol) because I’m a total creature of habit. I’m debating giving up sugar again because I felt great when I wasn’t eating it and it’s hard for me to stop once I start!  A typical day looks like this:

Breakfast: Oatmeal with berries or two scrambled eggs with whole grain toast and Earth Balance spread, Nespresso latte with 2% milk

Lunch:  Almost ALWAYS a huge salad which I call the ‘garbage salad’.  I finally started saving them to my Insta Story highlights because I kept getting questions on them.  Basically it’s every single veggie in my fridge chopped up over some type of greens.  I love the Trader Joe’s greek dressing and usually add a scoop of hummus or a Quorn chicken patty on top.  (I eat mostly pescatarian but enjoy a occasional steak or burger). I read the book How Not to Die and it really encouraged me to up my servings of produce for overall health so a salad helps me achieve that.

Dinner: Cauliflower gnocchi with Rao’s sauce, sweet potato enchiladas, taco’s or burrito bowls.

Wine: a glass per night

Treats: I don’t deprive myself…I’ll sprinkle pita chips on my salad for crunch, get ice cream or desert if we’re going out or eat some chocolate or some of the kids treats if I’m home.  My problem with treats is I go buck wild…like could take down a sleeve of Oreos or polish a LOT of chips off in one sitting- if I’m tired or stressed, self control is a problem.  So it is better for me if they just aren’t in my house! That’s hard with kids though.

General Thoughts After 6 Months

This program worked for me because it was easy to be consistent- I swear that is the main reason I had so much success with it.  I could do it from home in under 30 minutes with no equipment.  Was it challenging? Very.  Mentally and physically.  But there isn’t one aspect of my life that hasn’t improved as a result of consistently working out.  I can honestly say I am the happiest I’ve been in a really long time.  My anxiety is at an all time low (which has a direct effect on my happiness).  My body feels strong and even though I get up at LEAST twice each night with Griffin still (I know.), I almost NEVER feel tired during the day- in fact I feel very energized.  In the beginning, I felt bad putting a show on for Coco while I worked out (#momguilt) but then I figured that it was important for her to see her Mom taking care of herself and exercising.  And to be honest, I need that 28 minutes to reset during the day.  The endorphins (with wine of course) work wonders for getting through the 3-7PM witching hour!

There were so many days I wanted to skip in the beginning…but I made a commitment to myself and followed through and that felt almost as good as the workout itself.  I did eventually make the turn and became the person that looked forward to that time but it took a while.  I’m most proud of doing it despite ALL the things that I would have and did use as an excuse to NOT workout in the past.  Too tired, kids being sick, one or both kids being up multiple times, too much work/laundry/things to do…I sometimes had to put all of that aside and just get it done.  Even if my house was a hot mess disaster which you KNOW is hard for me to do.  And as the old cliche goes, I never regretted one workout.  I’m looking forward to continuing on my BBG journey and would love to know if you try it or are a part of the community already!  As always, thank you SO much for supporting and following along. xo

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