This post may contain affiliate links. The price you pay as a consumer does not change, but I may make a small commission based on your purchase. Thank you for supporting Fit Happy Free!
So here it is, finally, some progress pictures to show for all the work I’ve done.
I began this journey to a more physically fit body in September of last year, along with my boyfriend. We both had goals that we wanted to achieve as far as our physique goes, and we took our first pictures on September 7th. Here is mine:
As I look at it now, it doesn’t seem as awful as it seemed when I first saw it, although it’s a long way from where I’d like to be.
We continued to take progress pictures every 2 weeks. Here are the rest from last year:
Maybe I’m a bit too impatient, or it’s just me, but after the change in the abs in the 9/23/2012 photo, I didn’t really see anything changing after that. I know things take time, but I have seen others make a more dramatic change in the same time frame than I. I started thinking that it may have something to do with my diet. I was monitoring my calorie intake daily, but the majority of my calories came from simple carbohydrates. I wasn’t eating much protein at all.
So in the beginning of February, I made a change. I started eating paleo and added more strength into my routine along with running at least 3 days a week.
But I was a bit disappointed when we took pictures on February 22nd:
I didn’t see much of a difference at all, and if anything it seemed like my belly was a bit bigger! This could have been leftover from whatever I gained over the holidays, but I had to step back and think a little more.
Although I adopted a paleo diet, I seemed to fill up more on nuts and fruits than protein and veggies, and thought this might have something to do with it. Also, in my Cardi-no? post I mentioned that in researching cardio I came up with multiple articles that said I should increase my strength training and decrease my cardio to get better results.
So in the two weeks after this photo was taken, I made some changes. I changed my macros on MyFitnessPal to a higher percentage of protein and fat than carbs to train myself to eat more protein. I also noticed that I needed to improve my posture. I stopped running for 40 minutes straight every day, and replaced it with 15 minute HIIT cardio sessions every other day.
Two weeks of doing this, and this was the next photo I took:
I saw more of a difference in between those 2 weeks than from before. Here they are side by side:
I’ve got a ways to go before I’m where I would like to be, but I’m proud of myself for working hard and sticking to it, even if sometimes it seemed like I wasn’t getting anywhere. The point is to keep going, and not give up just because it’s taking longer than I’d like. And although I’m not in the best shape, I am in the best shape that I have ever been, and I can be proud of the changes I have made so far!
*
*That’s supposed to say 9/07/2012
In the future I will have more progress photos!
