Fit Pantry - a Fit Foodie's thoughts, tips and recipe

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

PiYo - Defining Myself

Maintain your body properly and it will serve you long 
and well through the years. 

At 40s, I rethink what I'm doing to my body — what I eat, what activities I do. I’m more cautious of injuries and rightly so because older cells don't regenerate and recover as fast as when I was in the 20s.

Granted I'm more active now and definitely in better shape then I was 20 years ago, I still can't defy time.  I’m not waving the flag or throw in the towel, … heck, I can probably outlast you (younger folks) in INSANITY workout any day if you challenge me.  But,  

I plan to age gracefully, 
              without the aches and pains on my joints. 

So mixing up the workouts is my long term plan. Gradually phasing out the high impact workout is part of the plan, but …. not quite yet :) 

My grand plan will kick start in August, along with my first PiYo Challenge Group. I am excited!  I am too hyper to stay still too long in yoga and too impatient doing pilates. So what makes PiYo different?

PiYo is a combination of pilates and yoga, a workout format created by Chalene Johnson.  It has been exclusively taught at select gyms, until recently Beachbody produced the home version. This PiYo home version is an all inclusive workout program from meal plan, peer support, and of course the workouts (total of 8 + 1 bonus): core, upper/lower body, cardio, strengthening, balance and body alignment, along with calendars to schedule the workouts. The pace in the workout varies from slow to moderate. Holding long enough pose to increase flexibility without falling asleep…. Ok I am exaggerating :)  Basically you move through the workout gradually from slow to medium pace, increasing flexibility, coordination and balance at the same time.

Another enticing factor of PiYo is the lack of equipment needed. Just like INSANITY, my body is the only instrument needed in the workout, making it super convenient!

So, NO JUMPING, NO WEIGHTS. Sounds good to me. 

If you have taken yoga or pilates before, you know that moving at a speed of slow doesn’t mean you won’t be sweating. At times it is harder to hold the pose and maintain your balance.  I know that flexibility means better range of movements and helps me perform better in other workouts — kick higher, squat lower, move faster, etc.  I know core strength is never bad and the benefit will carry on until I’m old — the idea is so that I won’t ever need a cane to walk :)

I have been doing yoga and Body Flow once a week for the past month.  And I’ve noticed the difference by adding this type of workout into my routine already. However, those are gym workouts. I want something I can easily do at home, because my gym time has been occupied with the crazy intense ones, like INSANITY, Body Combat, and Turbo Kick. 

Hence PiYo is perfect. I can do it at home and I have a schedule to follow, so I won’t be sporadically guessing what to do each day.  I want to gather more people into my Challenge Group: Lean and Tone, because it’s just more fun when you know there are others doing it together with you :)

Can’t wait until my PiYo package arrive. Counting the days now…..

A glimpse into PiYo (video) ->
Info on Challenge Group ->
Get PiYo Challenge Pack->
Get PiYo the workout only ->


The quote in the picture above is taken from Chalene Johnson. I claim no ingenuity of the phrase, although, it does apply perfectly in my life.

AUGUST CHALLENGE: LEAN & TONE with PiYo

http://tinyurl.com/xtremecatchallenge 

** I need MOTIVATED PEOPLE to join this Challenge.  Spots are limited (with bonus Reebok top). Simply get your challenge pack here: http://tinyurl.com/xtremecatchallenge choose PiYo, the Shakeology flavor, make sure that XtremeCat is listed as your Coach in the sign up process, then message me your confirmation number.**

This challenge is only for people who are READY and COMMITTED to take better care of their bodies.  

What is LEAN & TONE with PiYo?
Strengthen and sculpt your body with a low impact workout, with no equipment.  Your body is your equipment. It is all you need (plus a yoga mat if you need. I personally like to downward dog directly on the floor :) ).

In PiYo there is no jumping and no weights. Designed to improve core strength, flexibility and balance. The workout will sculpt your body without adding bulk.  There are 8 workouts in the program, including core, upper and lower body workout, cardio, body alignment, strength training and simply sweating you out!  Oh, you also get one more workout as a bonus (think buns!). 

The duration of the program is 60 days. Too long? Try it for 30 days and see if you don’t want to move on the next 30 days.  Get Lean meal plan is included - as we all know, 80% of the result is affected by what we eat.

Why join a Challenge Group?
  • Peer support, guidance and support from your Coach, me :)  - that means I will make sure you push play everyday according to the schedule and help you with meal ideas.
  • Nutrition - supplement the workout with one Shakeology a day. It is part of the challenge to help you get the result.
  • Convenience - your place, your time.

Bonus: Get a Reebok top, courtesy of your Coach (me ^_^). Simply get your challenge pack here: http://tinyurl.com/xtremecatchallenge choose PiYo, the Shakeology flavor, it should say that XtremeCat (or Catharina Soesetyo) is your Coach, then after you have finished with the purchase message me your confirmation number.

NO RISK!
PiYo Challenge Pack has 60-day money back guarantee. So if you are not happy with it, you can return the program within 60 days of your purchase date to get a refund, including the Shakeology, even if you have finished the bag.

New Challenge Group is initiated each month, but bonus gift may change. Email me for details or contact me on Facebook. (http://facebook.com/fitfunbeyond)

PiYo is a home workout program which includes workout videos (8), a bonus workout, Get Lean meal plan, workout calendar, and coach support. PiYo is created by Chalene Johnson. The home workout program is produced by Beachbody.

Sunday, July 6, 2014

21 Day Fix Challenge with Fit Fun Beyond Beachbody Team



For the past 3 weeks, along with 4 ladies, I did the 21 Day Fix challenge. Another challenge, you said?!?  Well, yeah! I love challenges!  Because they make life interesting, keep me focus, and give me goals to look forward to.  I believe in any fitness program, there should be a goal. Otherwise, you aimlessly going through the routine and pretty soon you get burnt out. A goal directs your attention towards something specific and provides you with measurements and gauge for your progress.

Ok. What it is about and why people could benefit from doing it.  First, a quick video on the program itself.




The WHAT is, it is about PORTION CONTROL. In the challenge, you workout 30 minutes a day using the videos provided, while eating within the calorie range as measured by the colorful containers provided. Each color represent a food group - carb, protein, healthy fat, oil, seeds, vegetables, fruits.  There is a simple calculation to determine how much calories you need, which then translated into how many of each color container you need a day.

My calorie range falls in the first range (1200-1499 calories), which then translate to: 3 GREEN, 2 PURPLE, 4 RED, 2 YELLOW, 1 BLUE, 1 ORANGE. In a day, I have to eat and finish that much food.

The WHY is because we tend to either over shoot our calories intake by too much or too little. While the science is not precise, this program still leaves you in the ball park of calorie intake your body needs. The beauty of the program is, it is not that strict and a bit more forgiving. "As long as you can fit it in the container, you can eat it."

Like any other challenges I had done, I approached this one with caution. I workout a lot. And I need to have enough fuel to energize my workouts.  No time for starvation diet.

I read the guide book. Twice. Then once again. Seemed confusing at first. I needed to visualize the amount of food I am allowed to eat in a day. So I cooked all of my food for the day, measured them by color containers and put them all in front of me. I was surprisingly satisfied with what I saw :)  Enough food. Great. This challenge won't starve me. The portions make sense.
The amount of food I need to eat in a day. Nice :)

Divide the food into meals.
After that, the days during the challenge passed quite easy. I started to THINK about FOOD in COLOR. I developed a better eyeballing skill, thanks to this program. I cooked my meals and I also eat out. I even had *gasp* fries, burgers and pizza (thin crust). All in portion that fits my calorie budget, of course.

Be advised that if you eat cleaner and better than me during the challenge, your result would have been better, meaning you'd lose more pounds (if your body still need to lose weight) and more fat and inches.  You also need to adhere to the calorie and food guide. Don't try to skip a YELLOW just because you think carb is "bad" for weight loss. On the contrary, you need ALL of them. Part of the challenge is to eat a BALANCE diet.


The RESULT.

 See this photo? This is Wanda, REAL PERSON, REAL RESULT and REAL FRIEND of mine. She personifies "discipline". She did it by the book and she reaped an amazing result.She didn't skip any meals and hit all the colors in a day. She even brought the containers when she went eating out!



My transformation is less shocking, but more defining. I immediately saw a drop in body weight after the first week.  After the second week passed, I drop more pounds. After week 2, body fat has gone back to below 20%. *whew* :)  I am most happy with the inches lost, especially around my hip and thighs. Those Fighter Girls Combat shorts will now fit more comfortable and not as snug :)

My result from the 21 Day Fix Challenge:

BeforeAfter
Weight112 lbs107 lbs
Body Fat21.2%19.4%
Waist26"25"
Hips34.75"34"
Thighs21"20.25"

Less bulgy, sharper definition. Hello~ abs and hello~ thighs :)

Flatter lower abs. Leaner in general. No, I wasn't holding my breath -__-

More confident showing the side views :)
 
Every month I am hosting a new Challenge Group on Facebook. It is an accountability group within the same program. To join my Challenge Group*, get a program here: http://tinyurl.com/fitpantry-21daychallenge 

*Find me on Facebook.com/FitFunBeyond and send a message or post a comment.