By Stephanie Jullien, Member of Renaissance ClubSport Walnut Creek
Preparation is the key to success, and with Rev32, it’s no different. Sunday is slotted as our prep day for the week. It’s time we used to get the shopping done, chop veggies and fruits, and prepare some food for the week. It truly is a vital step in the program and it worked out perfectly for me this week, as I also spent the day getting the kids ready to go back to school and me back to work.
Every week, there’s a nutrition challenge in terms of the type of food we eat. One of the challenges this week was to eat a colorful salad for lunch or dinner and I’m happy to report I passed with flying colors. I ate a salad every single day this week, starting with a yummy salad I prepared for my first night back to work. There was some grilled chicken in there, too, just under all that color!
I also chopped some veggies and made some fresh peanut butter with chia seeds. My children have grown to enjoy it so much that they actually no longer want store-bought peanut butter. This is an example of a healthy lifestyle that I’m so glad my children are embracing.
Perhaps my biggest challenge this week was finding the energy to work out. After sleeping at night for 12 consecutive nights, changing back to my regular routine always comes with a transitionary period to get back into the groove of things. After working two very busy night shifts with very little sleep, I walked into Tuesday night’s workout feeling tired. I pushed through it and, although Curtis was very supportive, I think I could’ve done better had I gotten a little more rest.
Thursday morning was the big weigh-in. As I walked into the club and up the stairs, I felt nervous but mostly hopeful that there would be some improvement and that I would be satisfied with the numbers. After stepping on the InBody, the results came in, and … drumroll … I lost some inches, lost almost six pounds of body fat, and gained over two pounds of lean body mass, so I can say that I’m pleased.
That evening, I went home with questions floating in my head regarding the next four weeks. Do I continue with the same eating plan? What should I change? I emailed Ann, who responded quickly and cleared up my questions. She also reviewed my food log and made suggestions about my protein intake. This accessibility to the Rev32 coaches and their willingness and availability to meet one-on-one and correspond with participants is one of the key pieces that make this such a well-rounded program.
I went to work later that night and a colleague asked if I had lost weight. It’s exciting that someone actually noticed despite the scrub pants. While my family has been telling me they’ve noticed a change, it’s always nice to hear it from the outside.
Looking back to when I started Rev32, I thought about the 32 workouts and told myself I could survive all of them. Now that I’m down to 16, I’m not quite sure how I feel about it being halfway through. On the one hand, I look forward to completing the remaining workouts, but on the other, I know that I’ll really miss the great support and motivation I get from working out in a small group.
Fit Test #2 is coming up and I’m curious to see my improvement. Wall squat, I’m coming for you!
