Emma’s Journal – Update

So, here’s the deal . . .

At the end of this week my beautiful family and I will be heading off for three whole weeks on our first ever real family vacation!!!!! So excited!

This will mean I wont be posting any menu plans for the next few weeks because well . . . I’ll be on holidays, yo!

I also wanted to give you an update on how my workouts are going.

Have you been sticking to your workout routine? How is it all going?

Me . . . well . . .I’m just heading into the final week of the first “burn phase” of Chalean Extreme. I have to tell you I am feeling strong! Less residual soreness, which was pretty intense in the first week, let me tell you (to be expected I know but um . . . ouch!!!).

I have also managed to increase my weights by up to 5lbs for some exercises! And, I have noticed my metabolism has sped up significantly, I now wake up hungry. Like stomach growling at 5 am hungry. Ahh, lean muscle I love how you boost my metabolism. Go you good thing 🙂

Seriously, don’t fear the heavy weights and building muscle ladies. More muscle means faster metabolism which in turn means you get to enjoy more yummy food.

As promised here are some progress photos. I’ll be honest with you . . . they are somewhat shocking. Like I said, 2011 was a rough year for our little family, which left me neglecting my own health and wellbeing to the point where I lost a significant amount of weight. An unhealthy amount of weight. Unintentionally. Which led to my suffering through a few other associated health concerns of my own. Not cool 2011, not cool at all.

You may be wondering why I am sharing these photos and this part of my story. The answer is somewhat tricky. It’s as much for my own growth and healing as it is an out reach to hopefully assist someone else’s healing. There is so much information about losing weight but the few of us that find ourselves needing to gain weight and looking to do it in a healthy way rather than heading to the nearest fast food outlet struggle to get the help we so desperately need.

So, brace yourselves . . . Here is a pic of me looking far from healthy although I had been medically cleared to exercise (with limited cardio though focusing on building muscle) looking very, very unhealthy . . .

Here is me currently….looking much healthier 🙂 Still quite a bit of work to be done but I am on my way

My plan for our family vacation is to take my workout DVDs with me and a resistance band so I can keep up with some of my resistance training. However, I plan to relax, enjoy my little family in our new surroundings and take lots of walks making sure to slow down and just take it all in.

I will share some pics and posts along the way, so stay tuned.