Fifth Grade Movin' Up: How I didn't get the results I wanted from PIYO

Today was my final workout in PIYO, which for the uninitiated is a pilates/yoga blend workout from Beachbody. I had heard so much about the program and had seen testimonials and since I love Chalene so much, I thought this would be a great summer program for me to work toward my goal of completing three Beachbody programs this year. And it was. The problem was me.

I started out really strong with PIYO. Even though it was summer and I was off from school, I would wake up at 6 am and get my workout in before the kids woke up and we had to be a million places. Somewhere along the way though, I stopped working out in the morning and instead started doing the program in the evenings after the kids went to bed. I became tired and distracted. A couple of times I'm embarrassed to admit that I even QUIT before the cool down or skipped workouts entirely during the couple of heat waves we had (in my defense I made them up later).

The other problem was my nutrition was not in check. I ran a couple of accountability groups over the summer months and while I ate pretty well, I was not as strict in my portion sizes. We also had a number of events going on like everyone does that time of year, and while I would admit in my group that I had gone off the rails, I didn't really take serious measures to NOT reach that point in the first place.

I worked hard in PIYO. I sweated in PIYO. I burned and I yelled at Chalene a few times (I'm sorry I said that you weren't my friend anymore). I completed every workout, although maybe not as prescribed in the calendar. I did get results that I could feel, but not really the ones that I could see, and that's what I wanted. Here's what I did gain.... posture, alignment, CONFIDENCE, inches (which is amazing, I actually love my legs now), my upper body strength is greater than it has ever been, even my husband notices, I just feel stronger and more flexible. But what I WANTED was an amazing transformation photo. I wanted abs! I wanted to lose pounds along with those inches, which has always been a struggle for me. I wanted people to see my transformation and say WOW! But that didn't happen and the only one to blame is ME.

Now, the old me, the before Beachbody me, would not have even completed the program so I have to give myself props for that. The new me is able to recognize my mistakes so that I don't make them again and I'm really grateful for that. So this week I'm going to start 21 Day Fix Extreme and I'm going to remember this experience. I'm going to think of that transformation photo whenever I'm tempted to have an evening snack or to finish the kids food (darn you chicken dinosaurs!). Perhaps after this round I will try PIYO again, because now I know what I need to do get those guaranteed results. And if you are working on a program right now, or thinking of starting one soon, I hope that you'll learn from my mistakes and get the results you have been dreaming of too