FHHM - Week 4 Results (and Super Bowl Sunday!)

Happy Super Bowl!  I hope you are all taking some time out today to watch some of the game and get together with friends and family.  Or, like me, you are anticipating with dread the season finale of This is Us.  My tissue box is full and ready!

Week 4 was an awesome week for so many reasons. I love switching up the days and starting on Monday.  I love that I get to play volleyball on my mid-week rest day.  I'm beginning to get into a groove with the meal prep, and I still love the food!  We have keto chili in the crockpot now to be ready in time for the game. It's already starting to smell delish in here.

A couple of my favourite pics from this past week :)

Me and Maddie

Sweet William helping Maddie drive

The Workouts

This week the workouts were a great blend of running and strength training.  In fact, I didn't need to hit the gym at all this week since the workouts could be done at home or on my street.  The cold didn't seem to bother me much at all.

Monday's workout was a circuit of 400m runs followed by medicine ball squats, though I just did regular squats since I didn't have a medicine ball with me.  The circuit was done four times.

Tuesday was a bit less intense though more challenging. It was a circuit to be completed as many times as possible in 18 minutes.  The moves included squats, leg raises and pushups.  The challenge for me here was the leg raises.  This is where you lay on the floor with your arms overhead holding onto a piece of furniture for leverage, then you lift your legs from the floor to over your head, ideally having your feet touch the couch/bench.  This was a major ab workout!  (Funny side story to that: A few days after my abs were still feeling it.  I was helping Maddie walk in a new pair of shoes which made the most ridiculous sound when she walked I couldn't help laughing.  I laughed so much that I kept pulling an ab! Luckily Isaac was there to grab Maddie while I corrected myself).  I did complete the circuit 6 TIMES and had my wonderful family cheering me on while I did it.

Wednesday was back to a running circuit and it was HARD.  It was a cold -15C and snowing when I did this one.  I ran 200m up the road and back (making 400m total) then did the 30 swings (using a dumbbell) and 30 jumps up onto my front step.  Then I repeated this FOUR MORE TIMES.  It took me 32 minutes in all and was a great workout!

Thursday, rest day, I played a great game of volleyball with my lady friends.

Friday was a double workout day and I was able to space them out during the day.  The first part was a circuit that consisted of running only: 2 minutes run, 2 minutes walk.  This was to be done between 6 and 8 times in all (so total run of between 24 and 32 minutes).  I did the circuit 8 times and managed to run 4.11km in that time. It was a great outdoor run!

Finally, Saturday was my 5km time trial and I shaved another 40 seconds off my run!

 Week 1 5K - 38:00  Week 2 5K - 35:58
 Week 3 5K - 35:32
 Week 4 5K - 34:50

In all, the workouts this week were fabulous and I feel fabulous for completing them!

The Food

The whole family enjoyed the meals this week.  I made a variety of meal items from Suzanne Ryan's cookbook including chili and cauliflower bacon soup.  Paul jumped in and made some oven roasted chicken last night that was so juicy and tender.  I also learned to make little chocolate peanut butter balls that make a great sweet treat or afternoon snack.  In fact, one serving of these delightful bites is about 150 calories but is 2 chocolate balls.  And they are yummy!

I made chicken wings on Wednesday night.  These were made with butter, garlic and parmesan cheese and were so tasty.  In fact, Paul prefers the taste of them over regular bbq wings!

The Results

I tell you, I've never been so satisfied while also LOSING weight.  Keep in mind that I also increased my calories to about 1600 per day. So here it is, my end of week 4 (and halfway point) on the program.

Down another 3lbs this week and a few more inches all over.

I'm going to go ahead and enjoy this super bowl sunday with family.  I hope you all are making progress on your journeys as well.  Each day you make the choice to take a step in the direction towards your best self; the self you aim to be.  I wish you lots of luck and love!

Peach