Life Changing

On September 5, 2017, I started a journey that I never imagined would take me as far as it has. I have followed Autumn Calabrese on Facebook for awhile. I believe I saw a teaser video for 80 Day Obsession and was very intrigued by the idea of a workout program that was supposed to be like working with Autumn in the gym. She started a group on Facebook called Prepare to Be Obsessed. I thought about joining this group. I had been doing Beachbody programs for a couple of years at that point and had done all of the programs that Autumn was including in this group. I felt like physically I would be capable of doing 80 Day Obsession but I definitely wanted to be ready. So, I took the step and I committed to the Prepare to Be Obsessed group. I went through 21 Day Fix, Chisel, and 21 Day Fix Extreme. Then Autumn did a live stream recording of A Little Obsessed, which she then included in the Prepare to Be Obsessed group. I LOVED IT. Never in my life have I committed to a health and fitness program for as long as I had to commit to this. I wasn't sure if I could do it. At the end of the Prepare to Be Obsessed group, Autumn offered up another opportunity to be a part of a test group. It would be the second test group for 80 Day Obsession, but it was just for Beachbody Coaches who bought an 80 Day Obsession Pack. We were expected to follow the program exactly as written and share our thoughts, results, and struggles. I commit to this like my life depended on it. I'm still trying to figure out how I did it.

Timed Nutrition
One of the most intriguing parts of this program was the concept of timed nutrition. I had used the Fix containers. I knew how it worked and what foods went with each color container. I will say that the food list in 80DO is a bit more restricted than some of the other Fix programs. I found out the reason for that later. The program materials for this program are extensive. Just like all the Beachbody programs, there is a calculation to figure out which bracket you are in. I knew that I wanted to lose weight during this experience so I calculated for weight loss and found my meal plan. Each bracket has it's own set of materials for the meal plan. It includes both regular and vegan plans. The meal plan not only tells you how many of each colored container you get, but it also tells you when to eat certain containers and which ones go together as meals. Within the day, there is what is called a workout block. Certain containers are eaten within 90 minutes before the workout, then 90 minutes after the workout. The rest of the meal options are spread out every 2-3 hours throughout the rest of the day. This took some planning and prepping each week. It was also a lot more food than I was used to eating. I quickly adjusted to the amount of food and eventually started to get hungry every 2 to 3 hours.

Refeed Days
The reason the food list is a little bit more restricted is because Autumn designed it for people to get the best results possible from following the plan the way she wrote it. However, when you work the muscles as hard as the workouts do in this program, you start to lose that glycogen in your muscles. To counteract that, she did Refeed Days. This is NOT a cheat day, however you get more carbs and fruit on these days. They start 6 weeks into the program and come about every 2 weeks in phase 2 and 3. There are healthier desserts that include more natural sugars, and a list of what she called "dirty carbs." Dirty carbs are basically the white grains and more processed flours. It was just enough to restore the glycogen and kill any cravings that start because of how the program is set up.

The Workouts
The workouts were between 40 minutes to an hour long. Using weights, resistance loops, and sliders, Autumn takes us through three phases of workouts. Each phase you do the same moves in each workout. However, what is unique is that each workout is filmed in real time. The rep scheme for each workout is different each week. The first week, she takes you through a 2x15 rep scheme working through all of the exercises and then repeating the whole thing again. The second and third weeks are 3x10 rep schemes. The second week of 3x10, we did each exercise for 10 reps and then repeated all of them 2 more times for a total of 3 rounds. The third week, we did a 3x10 rep with the exercises in groupings to burn them out and then move on. The final week of each phase was another 2x15 with the exercises in groupings to burn out the muscles again. In Phase 1, the moves were simple but challenging. It was a great phase to ease into using the resistance loops and adjust to the sliders. It was sort of a foundational phase. Phase 2 was referred to as the building phase. The movements became more complex and Autumn encouraged us to challenge ourselves with heavier weights. The last phase was the shred phase. We went back down to slightly lighter weights and more plyometric movements. After building muscle in phase 2 it was interesting to see how much our cardiovascular endurance had improved even though the workouts were more weightlifting than cardio. The last week of the program was called Peak Week. We did 2 workouts from each phase and had the option of using a deplete plan for the nutrition. We had 2 deplete days and 1 regular day followed by 2 deplete days and another regular day. It was basically carb cycling and it was completely optional. I chose to do the deplete days for the end of the program but probably would not do it again for myself. It was nice to see what it was like to give others advice on how to do it and what it was like.

The Results
My physical results were amazing. It had been years since I had actually lost weight and I had even started to gain a little each year. The best part of this program was not the number on the scale going down, though it definitely did with a total loss of 14 pounds. I actually lost a total of 17 inches throughout my body with my legs losing quite a few inches around. My legs are the hardest place for me to lose! The physical strength that I gained was shocking. I went from barely being able to do a push up to being able to do full sets of 10 on my toes with a 3 count on the negative. My cardio endurance went up and I was able to breathe through moves that I used to need an inhaler to get through.

What was even more amazing was the mental strength. I went from January 15th to April 15th without cheating. No junk food. No desserts that were not plan approved. I was able to say no when someone offered me food that was off plan. I packed my food and took it wherever I went. I stopped giving reasons for why I wasn't eating food that was offered. I gained confidence in my choices and stopped worrying about hurting feelings when I didn't eat cake or doughnuts. I didn't even want any of it. I began to see food as fuel and not a source of emotional comfort.

I no longer feel like a slave to my taste buds.

2 weeks later
In the name of honesty and transparency, I am not perfect. I relaxed the first week. I fell off almost completely the second week. Here is what it taught me . . . I like eating healthy. I love how I feel when I use food to fuel my body. I don't like the way sugar makes me feel. I don't like the lack of energy, the trouble sleeping, and then overall feeling of yuck when I don't eat right or don't eat enough. What that means is that I will be going back to the timed nutrition with a vengeance. I'm done being okay with having more than one treat in week. I'm done not planning out what I'm going to eat. I'm still not going to be as restrictive in my food as the full 80 Day meal plan, but I'm going to stick to it about 95% and enjoy pizza or going out for ice cream with my family every once in awhile.

Beachbody might be the best thing I have ever done for myself and my family.