If I Can Do it Anyone Can!

I was the girl who hated gym class. Everyone else questioned how we'd use math, science, history, etc. lessons in our futures. I questioned the point of gym class, turning my nose up at any exercise. I refused to eat most fruits and veggies, telling my dad he was trying to poison me. Over many years when the news reported another illness or death from bad fruit or veggies I'd say that proved my point all those years ago.

Since starting my journey to improve my overall health and wellness I'm now eating a few more fruits and veggies and exercising 5-7 days a week (before work and on the weekends). I'm enjoying it so much that it clicked with me that this thing that I've avoided for so long is my passion, my purpose for life. I am working towards becoming a full time Wellness Coach.

Below is how I started along with each program I've completed and my results. There are other programs I've done parts of as fillers in between as I wait. Jillian Michaels and Kelley Coffey-Meyer are my favorite trainers for this.

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I joined Weight Watchers in March 2013 (WW USERNAME: CASSI98791) as a part of a diabetes prevention study. Everything just clicked right away. I immediately took hold of the portion control. I quit drinking sodas cold turkey. The weight started falling off right away. I lost 12.8 lbs by the beginning of May.

During this time I wanted to incorporate some kind of exercise to help boost my journey. Originally I just thought I'd walk every day. I was introduced to Beachbody's programs on Facebook by Coach Ny.

I knew that I'd have no chance if I jumped in head first to a program like Insanity or P90X. I probably wouldn't even last 5 minutes with anything like that. Even the 10 Minute Trainer was too much for me. So I decided to start with Tai Cheng to restore my balance and flexibility. I ended up also virtually stopping the pain I'd had in my right leg for years!

During this time I lost:

* 20.8 lbs

* 4 dress sizes

* 3 inches off my hips

* 1 inch off my arms

* 1 inch off my waist

* 5 inches off my bust

* .5 inches off my thighs

At first I wasn't sure what program to do next. My husband said that I should work on my midsection. Boy, was Slim in 6 hard work! I think it would've been easier had it not been the heat of the summer while I was doing this program. I got lightheaded and overheated a lot. Because of this I couldn't give it my all and didn't lose as much over these six weeks as I'd lost before.

During this time I lost:

* 4.8 lbs

* .5 inches off my hips

* 1.5 inches off my arms

* .5 inches off my bust

* 2.5 inches off my thighs

I'm actually going to do Slim in 6 again in November for a challenge group I'm hosting to see if I get better results in cooler temperatures.

There's quite a variety on the Body Gospel workouts as you're not doing the same thing every day.

Now that I received this heart rate monitor I can see what I'm doing every day. Over the first week of using the HRM (10/6-12/13) the calories I burned ranged from 132 (Core Revelations & Stretch in the Spirit) to 417 (Strength & Spirit). My heart rate averaged 128 over the six days. The average maximum rate was 152.

During this time I lost:

* 7.6 lbs

* 1 inch off my hips

* 1 inch off my arms

* 2 inches off my waist

* 2.5 inches off my bust

Everyone participating in my challenge had some success in one way or another.

During this challenge I lost:

* 4.8 lbs

* .5 in off my thighs

* Nothing off my arms or hips

* 2 in off my chest

* 2.5 off my waist

After a long bout with vertigo (began Christmas Eve 2013) I started on Rockin' Body. I didn't follow the suggested schedule (would like to at some point) but instead completing workouts according to my energy level and the time I had each morning. I felt totally uncoordinated but still was able to complete each one.

During this program I lost:

* 6 lbs

* .25 in off my thighs

* Nothing off my arms, hips or chest

* 1 in off my waist

With the program selling out on the first day I had to wait almost 2 months to receive the 21 Day Fix. I was both excited and nervous about the eating plan. At first glance it looked more complicated than the Weight Watchers points system.

Although I didn’t lose what I was expecting I still enjoyed the program. It was too restrictive on the nutrition plan for me but I highly recommend it for someone who needs a more rigid structure for portion control to achieve their weight loss goals. I learned that I’m a heavy carb eater and wasn’t eating as much protein as I thought I was.

Total Weight Lost: .8 lbs

Total Inches Lost: 2.5 in

After doing a little kickboxing with Jillian Michaels I rather enjoyed the sport. I know that I may not be doing all the moves right or pack much of a punch but it's fulfilling. So it was time to bring on Les Mills Combat (which I was afraid of before)!

Total Weight Lost: 15.4 lbs

Total Inches Lost: 12 in

Started learning the ropes of weightlifting with Body Beast. Normally, that's not what you'd say but I only have 3 & 8 lb dumbbells to work with.

As this was my stabilization period and I reached goal I lost my last 4 lbs or so but didn't have any significant inches lost.

I continued learning new weightlifting techniques and got heavier weights (adjustable dumbbells with weight plates up to 15 lbs). I grew stronger, enough that my husband even noticed! No significant losses or gains in measurements.

On my blog, The Long and Winding Road to Wellness: Cassi's Journey, I go into more depth of the workouts as I experience them with the Weigh in Wednesday posts. Once I complete a program and all the measurements have been taken I'll update this hub with my results.