People have asked me about results: how much weight lost, strength gained, etc. So, I’ve done the measurements after 12 weeks of commitment and here they are:

Weight: lost 3 lb         % Body Fat: down 1.6%             % Muscle: up 2.3%

Inches: down 2″ on waist, down 1.5″ on hips, down 1″ on thighs, and yes, I’ve evened out my arms! (My left arm was 5/16″ bigger than my right when I started, and it’s now just 1/16″ inch larger.)

Not bad for 58 years old! I’m most delighted with the inches and reshaping of my body. It takes me back to when I first started my ‘fit journey’ in 2004. I started with running, then yoga, then weight lifting. Each one empowered me for different reasons.

Running didn’t come easily to me. I’d tried to run on my own, my cardio was pretty much non-existent = sucked. Gradually with the learn-to-run method of the Running Room, I trained and ran 5k, 10k, half marathons. 2 years into it, and I ran two full marathons. Felt victorious with each run, no matter how hard!

Yoga came next because of little injuries starting: hamstrings, piriformis, calves. I needed to learn about my physical body and yoga gave me both the kinesthetic and intellectual acuity that I wanted, so I could heal and prevent injury. Fell in love with it for so much more, and love teaching others to find the same benefits: physically, mentally, emotionally.

Strength training came about because of me complaining on a run: ‘I’m stuck in my middle aged body.’ My friend (a die-hard weight lifter who was adding running for cardio) taught me how to lift weights. I could not believe how quickly my body adapted. I was hooked!

I think one of the unsung heroes of changing your body is SLEEP. So many of us short change sleep, driven to do/accomplish more, and keep up with responsibilities. I’ve written about sleep earlier in this blog. I have to say that this shift of honouring the amount of sleep I need, has been HUGE. I’ve been getting almost 8 hours at night and I still take the mid afternoon nap. I don’t feel as fatigued as before. Yes, I feel dips in energy, but not so much that I need to curl up in a fetal position on a concrete floor!

Bottom line: I am going to keep on with this focus. At least 2 challenging strength training sessions per week (many thanks to my training partner, Joy, who keeps me motivated), 3 runs, rope skipping every other day; plant-based diet with a lot of effort to get enough protein in; and sleep. I feel great and even though my metrics aren’t dramatic, the changes have been profound.

I’d love to hear your experiences with any of this! And if I can help you work through your jigsaw puzzle of health, let me know – comments below or email me at sandy@fitjourney.ca.

Sandy

ps. next blog entry will be about WHY I’m doing this! We’re building an online course for Cross Train Runners, and oh boy, is that a lot of work!