Hey y’all!
The Tone It Up (TIU) summer series came and went. I can’t believe just six weeks ago we started the summer series and it ending before summer officially starts (even though its been in the 80’s and 90’s here in Florida). When I heard about the summer series (which last year was called the bikini series), I was super excited because this time I was going to push myself harder than I did last year.
My goals this time around was to eat healthier, drink more water, workout at least five days a week, tone my body, and continue to have more grace with myself. Let me back up a little for those who don’t know about what Tone It Up is and why they do these series and challenges. Tone It Up is a company started by two women who are BFFs and they wanted to create something that was body positive, helped women become more fit, and something that built a community. Well TIU does all of those things. It has honestly changed how I see fitness. They have so many tools from accessories to protein to nutrition plans to free videos on YouTube. They even have meet ups when they go on tour BUT also if there’s any fellow TIU babes in your local area, you can have meet ups with them and build friendships from there as well. Tone It Up is life changing.
Anyway, as you’ll see below, I documented week by week my experience with the summer series. It was great in my opinion. I’m not rushing to look a certain way. I’m happy with the way things are going with my body and I’m good with that. I actually still don’t own a scale. I’m not sure when I’ll be ready to have a scale in my house but for now, I’m not ready. I have a very unhealthy relationship with my scale.I’m the type of person who would check the scale several times a day and freak out if i’m not 5 lbs lighter by the end of the week (see? Not healthy at all). So I like to use pictures and the fit and feel of my clothes to see if there’s any change in my body. I did have a small issue though: comparison. Sometimes, I’d compare my body to those of other women on Instagram and I had to tell myself to like chill on that. Comparison can be very dangerous especially when you’re building your self-worth and self-esteem. I stopped by honestly looking at what they were doing, how long they’ve been on their journey and reminded myself that I was just getting into the swing of things. There’s no rush! As long as I work out for at least 20 min a day for five days, I’m good.
Week One: The challenge started Monday, April 22nd. I was real excited for it. I made pancakes the saturday prior to the state date and I went shopping to get a few staples that I would need for the week. Anyway, the first day, I didn’t take a before pic (I did take one a week or two before the challenge started). The first workout was an oldie but goodie and to my shock, there wasn’t a toning move to do that day. Instead, there were inspirational messages and even a parfait recipe that they shared with us. The next few days I was feeling under the weather. I did my regularly scheduled workouts but I didn’t go as hard as I usually do in the classes
Week Two: Decided to choose some recipes from Kristin Cavallari’s cookbook. As you can tell by the yellow sticky notes I chose different recipes that I wouldn’t mind doing. Well Monday I made two recipes from the book and that I was it. I didn’t even actually bother eating it. I also made some sweet potatoes from Kourtney Kardashian’s new lifestyle blog Poosh and they were so good. But the food I made Monday? I wasn’t in the mood. I also started my monthly friend this week (booo!) and so I had a bit of cramps. I decided that instead of doing the workout class for Tuesday that I’d just do some yoga instead. I also went to the movies so I treated myself to some cheese sticks, a coke, and some super buttery popcorn (indulge much?). I did pretty good this week. Worked out six days away including an active recovery day (Tuesday).
Week Three: This week was pretty cool. I’m actually starting to notice some differences in my body (small as they may be). I actually only worked out for 5 days this week and I didn’t do an active rest. I’m really starting to sweat more in my workout and drink more water in my workouts. I have also officially decided not to stress myself out by meal planning and making food from the meal plans and cookbook. Does that mean I’m eating McDonalds or cookies all day? No! But It was very stressful especially when you have $0.75 in your bank account so I decided to eat the food I have at home but not focus on stuff from the meal plan. My mood is much better that way
Week Four: This week has been quite blah. I def have indulged a lot more and honestly I’m starting to get a little worried all because of the simple fact that I don’t own a scale. I refuse to own one right now. I’m not sure exactly how I’ll handle it but for now I look at my clothes. I love how we start the week off doing a meditation. One thing I’ve really noticed this week was how sweaty I get pretty quickly when working out. I didn’t do too many extra abs workouts lately because some of the classes this week focused on abs. I missed the first live workout of the week (which was a core one) but I did make the one they had on that Thursday (dealt with booty). On Saturday, I woke up wanting to do a barre abs class instead of the kettle ball class I was scheduled for. I got through half of the kettle ball class before I just sat down for the rest of the class. I immediately went to the barre class (and completed it I might add) once the kettle ball class was over. I should’ve stuck with my gut and did that class instead of waste time doing something I knew I just didn’t want to do. I also got one of the new tone it up bars, the birthday cake flavor, and it does live up to it’s saying. It taste really good but it’s pricey to pay $7 for a box of 4 bars in my opinion. But it is tasty!
Week Five: This week, I had plans to go out of town for the weekend. Again, I did pretty good with the workouts but not so good with my diet. I haven’t done the daily moves in a while actually. I may add in a few of them for the next week. I’m not sure why I stopped but I always try to add in an abs workout with all my workouts. I only worked out for four days of the week this time and I didn’t feel guilty at all about it. I’m really proud of the progress that I’ve made with my mindset with my body image. I’m not beating myself up over my diet choices at all (the cheese fries at Shake Shack was worth it though!)
Week Six: Can’t believe this is the last week. Monday was Memorial Day and honestly it didn’t feel like it to me. Let me clarify my statement. I expected lots of cookouts and stuff like that but nope. I had like 2 hot dogs and a handful of chips when I went to someone’s house. That was it! That was my indulgement for the day. There wasn’t a mindful meditation (which I felt like that was weird) but I did do the workout. The next day, I went to the movies (saw Aladdin and Pokemon Detective Pikachu which were great btw) and I had popcorn with tons of butter. I wanted mozzarella sticks but I guess AMC got rid of them (boo!!!!). Anyway, I did pretty good with my diet that day as well. Wednesday was a live kickboxing class with Tori and Chyna which was a tough one (any of Chyna’s classes are tough) and man did it bring on the sweat. I did a HIIT class in the studio afterwards as well. There was also a mindful meditation (surprise!) on manifesting dreams. It was soo relaxing after my workout ( I personally enjoy meditating after I workout). By Friday, I told myself that I was not in the mood to workout but I did it anyway, I did an abs class in the on Demand section of the Tone It up app instead of the scheduled class.
About a week or two before the challenge started. Here is what my tummy looked like
Nessa D 