LIFE BEFORE RISE UP
Before Rise Up, there were a few things getting in the way of both my progress and results. A lot of it had to do with my health issues – hypothyroid diagnosis, hormonal imbalances and the medications for both. The other big hurdles were first, the accountability piece. Yes, I was eating healthier-ish, yes, I was working out but, was I still snacking on cookies or processed things? Sure was. I like to think I had a decent grasp on working out and eating properly but sometimes you just need the kick in the butt to stay accountable.
My biggest downfall before Rise Up? Meal prepping. Before becoming a parent, I would always meal prep dinner for the week. Once I became a mom and was no longer on my own schedule, meal prep became extremely difficult. My husband is a chef and we are on different schedules: when I’m home, he is working, and when I’m working, he’s home. With a toddler at home, it was challenging for me to get into a routine and learn how to navigate splitting and spending time with her, meal prepping or just cooking in general. It simply wasn’t happening, so I’d usually order food multiple times a week or, grab something quick out of the fridge and move on with the day.
Being a mom, dealing with health issues and never having done Rise Up, my biggest hesitation was Rise Up being just another ‘failure’ option: I’d do it for 6 weeks, it wouldn’t work and then it’d be time to move on and figure out something else out. Plus, my health issues made weight loss difficult and at that point, I honestly thought I had tried anything that was reasonably attainable.
Apparently, I was wrong – ha!
After hearing my friends talk about last year’s Rise Up program – how ready they were ready for 2023 and how much it worked last year – I said “Screw it! Why not?!. What do I have to lose?”
That answer was nothing.
It is another step towards creating a healthier lifestyle and sticking to it. For me, it was hearing about the program and realizing that I wouldn’t need to track all of my calories/macros in an app, that this would be mindful eating and not obsessive counting as a means to create healthier eating habits and sticking to it long term.
WHAT HAPPENED WITH RISE UP
Before Rise Up, I wasn’t holding myself accountable. Since completing the program, I can say the constant accountability 100% helped me succeed!
First of all, you are tracking healthy habits daily and turning in your tracking sheets weekly so your coach can provide feedback. Secondly, I was committed and making sure I was showing up 4-5x/week for my workouts. Lastly, it was knowing one of the RF Coaches would always be waiting for me at the gym and looking at what I was doing, making sure I was signed up and planning ahead, that continued helping me set myself up for success week after week.
With that level of accountability came creating and building new habits. I am now meal prepping every week, taking my lunches to work (even though we get free, unhealthy lunches daily), and eating at home vs ordering takeout or door dash. I am just eating a lot cleaner food items compared to the processed ones before Rise Up.
HOW LIFE IS DIFFERENT NOW
In 6 weeks, I saw results I didn’t think I would see. I didn’t think I would be able to stick to the meal plan and prepping, I didn’t think I would see any results, and I didn’t think I would feel any better about myself.
I lost 6 lbs, 9 lbs of fat and inches off my waist. In just 6 weeks, I have come a long way. I am not where I want to be with my results so seeing these results in 6 weeks has me motivated to keep going and see where I am in another 6-8 weeks.
Nutrition wise, Rise Up forced me to dedicate time every week to meal prepping, whether a few hours on Saturday or, at the very least, writing a meal plan and grocery list. I am now able to look at my weekly schedule, figure out when I am going to be off or available to make a few meals from the week and go from there.
I turned down a donut, willingly, when I was offered one this past weekend. That is not something I would have ever done before with my sweet tooth. I didn’t turn it down because I felt like I had to, I just genuinely didn’t want it because I knew it was going to make me feel like garbage for the next few hours. It is so much easier now that I am in the habits of doing it to make more conscious decisions when I am eating.
It is not just the day to day anymore, it is the long-term picture. This will probably shift a bit during our busy season at work which is coming up quickly so I will need to pivot. If that means I need to ask for help with my husband cooking a few meals (which he would do, willingly haha) or, seeing if someone can watch Amelia while I knock out 2 hours of cooking instead of it taking 6 with keeping her entertained, is what I will do to keep this going.
In terms of working out, it has always been my therapy so to speak. I have always enjoyed working out, even as much as I complain about it sometimes, getting in the groove of exercising 4-5 times a week was mentally easy for me. It was the rearranging the schedules that made this difficult. Now that I have prioritized this, I feel good knowing I have my set 4 workouts every week, the days and what times they are going to be at.
Rise Up is different than another other program I’ve tried and for me, it’s the accountability; I didn’t have this in the past. Yes, my husband and family were always supportive and helpful when I was trying to eat healthy, but it may have been what I was eating and snacking on when they weren’t around.
Rise Up is different than another other program I’ve tried and for me, it’s the accountability; I didn’t have this in the past. Yes, my husband and family were always supportive and helpful when I was trying to eat healthy, but it may have been what I was eating and snacking on when they weren’t around.
Knowing I am going to submit my tracker every week was the biggest difference. Not having to count every single macro I ate, or hit each individual macro, in terms of grams/oz, was equally as helpful. It was easy for me to not become obsessed with the numbers like I have in the past. You focus on what you are eating and the quality of food vs. hitting the numbers with the crappy, processed protein shakes because you have to hit your daily marco targets.
If you are where I was at before Rise Up, my advice to you is – TRY IT!
You cannot lose anything by trying it. Even if you are in denial, like I was initially, it will at least set you up to get into the habits of making smarter decisions, mindfully eating, and not always grabbing the fastest, quickest option when you don’t have to. You will feel a difference, and for whatever reason if you don’t, you will eventually see it in the mirror or on your body composition analysis (InBody) at the end of the 6 weeks.
