In: Root » » Weight loss
Jahid is a senior manager in the distribution center of a large West Coast retailer and he is also a certified personal trainer. I work from home as a writer and self-care consultant for a growing wellness company. During our 12-week Challenge our schedules weren't much different from what they are today. We participated in the last round of the 2006 Challenge, smack dab in the middle of Jahid's busy season at work. He had longer hours at work in preparation for the holidays, which meant that I did most of the morning and nighttime routines with the kids, on top of squeezing in work for clients and my wellness business. Our Workouts Since neither of us likes to end our day with cardio or weight training, we'd wake up early to get our day started. Most mornings Jahid would work out in our home gym, but some days he would wake up early enough to be at the local gym when they opened at 5 a.m. This allowed him enough time to get in a good workout, come home and get cleaned up, eat breakfast and be out the door. He always packed his lunches for the week ahead of time. I would try to get my workouts finished before the kids got up, but on most days one if not both of the kids would wake up just as I was getting into it. This was frustrating because my workouts ended up getting pushed back to my daughter's naptime (which was also sacred work time), if she napped at all. If not, they were pushed back until after the kids went to bed, and I hated that. I soon began getting up early enough on my weight-training days to get the entire workout completed before everyone else woke up. On my cardio days I woke up at my normal time and, after dropping my son off at school, we'd either head to the local lake or to meet up with a mommy's running group I had joined. I'd strap daughter into her jogging stroller and we'd be off and running literally! For our resistance training, most of it was done in our home gym, so we used a lot of free weights: dumbbells, barbells, a medicine ball and an Olympic-style bench with extensions. Our Nutrition We didn't eat terribly before the Challenge, but I found that I spent a lot of time trying to cook different things for me and Jahid and for the kids. Our daughter was too young to understand, but I explained to our son that we were all going to eat what I cooked going forward. It took some adjustment for him, but he finally got used to it, and has a complete understanding of Free Days. We're not super strict when it comes to the kids. We feel they should enjoy the pleasures of being kids so that means cupcakes at school parties and occasional treats on non-Free Days. Our staples during the Challenge were grilled chicken breasts, tuna, salmon, steamed vegetables and either sweet potatoes or brown rice. I explored the recipe section at www.bodyforlife.com for new ideas the Body-for-LIFE Community is always contributing great recipes complete with total time preparation and taste. It's a simple one, but we especially liked one recipe that we found for turkey burgers. Our Planning Even though our lives were (and still are) crazy busy during the Challenge, we still made it a point to check in with each other to make sure we were staying on track. I used a binder to keep track of my workouts and food. Jahid did really well with remembering all of his numbers in his head (that really bugs me about him showoff ). Every four weeks, on a Free Day before we ate, we would weigh ourselves and take our measurements. Then we would talk about what we could do to improve our results in the weeks to come. We were constantly reading tips and success stories of past Champions on www.bodyforlife.com to keep us motivated. A lot of people think that because I stay home/work from home with my kids that it is easier for me to work out on the contrary! Kids are unpredictable and life is unpredictable. So even the best laid-out plan can get foiled if your kid doesn't nap, your car breaks down or someone is sick. You have to commit to the Challenge by doing whatever it takes. During our 12 weeks neither one of us missed a single workout even if that meant doing cardio or weight training at 10:30 at night. If improving your life and your health are that important to you, you'll find the time and make it f low with the groove of your life.
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