Up In The Gym, Working On My Fitness

We all know that the best way to lose weight and get fit is to work out and watch what you eat. I have personally found that to be what DOES work for me. Although I have struggled to get the body I want ever since I had Baby K. I've had the best of intentions and tried a lot of things and about six weeks ago I realized what would really help me...

...encouragement and accountability.

Six weeks ago I was at my in-laws, squeezing myself into a bathing suit everyday and absolutely hated the way I looked. And then I realized, with the exception of 2008 (when I was basically starving myself, so I was still miserable), I have always hated my appearance. Why on earth am I allowing myself to be "ok" with hating the way I look? I've talked on here before about how I want to teach my daughter to love her body and to teach her a healthy lifestyle and I've tried my hardest to do that. And I think I have finally found something that I really want to stick with.

I discovered Kayla Itsines and her Bikini Body Guides (BBG) on instagram and I am hooked! Basically the guides are designed for women to workout at home and use their own body for weighted exercises. Instead of just doing cardio, BBG focuses on strength training and cardio with a healthy/clean diet. But the guides alone really are not what has done it for me - I've done a lot of these exercises before and didn't see much change and therefore I wouldn't stick with the program. What has really made me enjoy the program and stick with it is the community! I'm now six weeks in (one free week of workouts plus 5 weeks of the guides) and don't see myself stopping.

I encourage you to check out the following hashtags on instagram to find motivation:
#bbg
#bbggirls
#kaylasarmy
#bbgcommunity
#deathbykayla
#bbgprogress

There are a TON of women on instagram who follow the guides and encourage each other daily. I really loved that there were pictures of real women, women who looked like me when they started and then transformed their bodies. The community of BBG is incredible and has kept me motivated, encouraged and even held me accountable. I actually look forward to my workout because I cannot wait for what my after photo will look like. I've started to see some changes and that is definitely keeping me excited about the program.

The one thing I really want you to take away from this post today is to find community in whatever workout you do. I truly believe that has been the biggest difference for me this time around. I've tried other workouts and even talked about them on here, but I never really stuck with them. This community is what changed that for me. So find your community, find the people that you want to surround yourself with and start encouraging each other. That will take your workouts to a whole 'nother level.


(In addition to completing the guides, I'm also starting a plank challenge with some of my friends TODAY. We are all going to hold each other accountable and at the end of 30 days be able to hold a plank for 5 minutes. I'm nervous about that, but excited to try it.)