Well I have officially finished Weeks 1 & 2 of Country Heat! Since I believe that honesty is the best policy this is a very honest review of my thoughts on the program as well as my progress. So like I said in my post last week I was a bit skeptical of this program when it was first announced. I am just not a cardio dance kinda gal (or so I thought). When Cize came out last summer I tried it and just could not get into it. Learning choreography is just not my thing and I couldn’t keep up which made me frustrated! I know it was a great workout because I was always DRIPPING with sweat but it just wasn’t for me. And that’s ok! So I really was unsure if I would like Country Heat. BUT I made a promise to myself that I would COMMIT to the program for the 30 days. Just coming off of having a baby and my second c-section I knew I needed to do something a bit lower impact. It’s been about 2 months since I exercised consistently so jumping back in with something like Max:30 or T25 probably wasn’t going to be a good idea. Lucky for me I just so happen to love country music so I thought why not!
Week 1 uses two workouts: Country Swing and Giddy Up. Week 2 uses Down & Dirty and Bring The Heat. I honestly could not even believe how much I was sweating throughout all of these workouts! I mean by 10 minutes in it was dripping! For each workout you can watch a breakdown of each of the moves before diving into the routine o
r you can go straight to the routine. I figured out the first day that Autumn demonstrates each move before you do it in the routine anyway so to save time I skipped the breakdowns. In all of the workouts you do 2 moves individually, put them together and then you are done with them and onto the next 2 moves. PERFECT for someone like me who hates choreography!
After I completed each workout one time (you do each one 3 times throughout the week) I was able to focus more on being intentional with each move (i.e. tightening abs, shoulders, squatting deeper) and I was usually SORE the next day. So this stuff really does work!
In my post last week I showed you my meal plan for Week 1. I am following Plan B; again that is determined based on my current weight, caloric deficit and calorie burn. For the most part I am more than satisfied with the food I have planned out. There were a few times I have felt hungry and at those times I just eat a bit more fruit or added a carb. Since I am breastfeeding I know my body likely needs a few more calories each day. My main goal right now is not to lose a bunch of weight (although it would be nice!) but rather to lose inches and start toning my body up again. Gotta get back in those pre-pregnancy jeans! Below you will see this week’s meal plan!
One thing I strongly recommend when starting a new meal plan is to KEEP IT SIMPLE! Trying to overcomplicate things and make fancy recipes makes it harder to track what you are eating and how much. One of my favorite things about this program is the meal plan. It is based on using Autumn’s color coded portion control containers (first introduced with the 21 Day Fix program). You do not have to count calories, just containers. This really lets you focus on the quality of food that you are eating versus how much.
Not only should you keep your food simple but you need to PLAN and PREPARE. I cannot stress that enough and it’s something I am extremely passionate about! I can tell you first hand that if you try to start a new program or new way of eating without planning ahead you are much more likely to fail.
Ok, so how did I do these first 2 weeks? Well, my nutrition was not 100% clean. I had a few too many cheats as well as a few adult beverages. I blame the beverages on my kids….just kidding but you Mommas know where I am coming from! I also missed a couple of workouts. So what went well? I got at least 4 of the 6 workouts in each week! And my nutrition, although not perfect, was FAR better than what it has been! I am not perfect n
or will I ever be! I am a work in progress! So rather than be disappointed that I didn’t follow the plan perfectly or didn’t get all the workouts in I choose to be happy with my PROGRESS! That just means that this week I will strive to do better! To make sure I stay on track I wrote out 3 goals on this Post-It and put it on my bathroom mirror. That way I see it every morning!
Now that I am in Week 3 I already feel so much better. I am down about 3 lbs and have lost that bloated, icky feeling. I am focusing on nutrition and water intake this week as my priorities. I have rough days still but I am in a group of women all supporting each other and it helps me get through those days where I just don’t feel like giving it my all. If you are looking for help getting started on your own health and fitness journey or if you need some extra support please fill out the questionnaire below and I will contact you. My next support group will begin October 3rd and I’d love to stay accountable to your own health & fitness goals and show you what is possible when you have a plan, stick to it and have others supporting you along the way!
Until next time,
Linnea xoxo
