July fitness goals

The month of June was quite interesting. I did very well but my baby got the croup and I was not sleeping at all then I was gone all day at the Alt conference. The week after that my daughter who is my babysitter went to camp. So I got 2 weeks with no working out. I still managed to loose 1 pound. I am 9 pounds away from my goal. Slow but surely.

For July I want to workout 15 days. It's very hard with the kids at home this summer and it takes a lot of will power to fit my time in. 15 hours seem doable to me.

14 days with no chemicals in my food. Have you read your labels? It is insane the amount of crap they try to feed us. Is there such thing as natural and out of the garden anymore?. In France there is no way we would put so many chemicals in our food. So for 14 days. If I can't understand the label it is not going in my body. Also your body stocks those chemicals because it doesn't know what to do with it sabotaging your weight loss.

1 gallon of water everyday. Still working on that one. I do pretty good but I want to make sure it is a priority.

No sugar for 14 days. This one goes with no chemical too. Only fruits and no sweeteners. No chocolate, no snickers, Very hard for me but really needed because the treats always get me.

Do you have goals for July? Make sure to tell me and even link your post in the comments. 
By Isabelle Thornton

This is where I shop:

week 7 and 8: My skirt fits!

Week 7 was still a struggle since I was a little bit sick with a sore throat. I still managed to work out 4:45 minutes. My eating was pretty bad but on Sunday I fit one of my skirt that I was not fitting last month, so I have been loosing weight anyway.

Week 8. I had to deal with sick kids again. I swear we never got out of colds since this winter. I still worked out 3 hours and my eating was pretty good. I have been a little discouraged but I know that if I continue to work out. Even if it's just walking I will get fit and finally fit my old clothes.

My legs are really looking great and I have to focus on the positive about my body. A lot of people I know are working out too since I started and I am happy I can be a positive influence. 
There has been some viral clips on Facebook about "loving your body how it is" Meaning it's ok to be fat...Well I have to tell you. When you hit 40 you better be ready for diabetes and cholesterol and high blood pressure. It's around the corner. I really don't care what your body looks like but you have to be healthy.

I had gestational diabetes with my last pregnancy and I did not take medicine. I went super strict with the diet and I made it but it was super hard.
There is no way on earth I am going to have diabetes in few years. It was my wake up call for me. I want to be healthy and being overweight when you are older is not being healthy. 

Week 6: Le sick Fiasco

Last week was a real fiasco. Baby was sick and then when she was better I got sick. Bla.

I still managed to fit 1 hour of work out. Pilates and Yoga. I now fit my "medium jeans" and I am at 141 pounds. My goal is 128 with muscles. It really sounds hard to me but last year I was almost there with 131 pounds and muscles.

I had my cheat meal at 5 brothers and I thought about it all week until Saturday when I had it. I was full super fast and did not even finish my burger and fries. I thought that was funny and disappointing at the same time! I guess I shrunk my stomach.

What is your favorite cheat meal? Do you have one?

week 5: progress and favorite fitness treat

My favorite fitness treat: It keeps you full and the protein get digested slowly witch is perfect for a late night snack.

Cottage cheese treat:

1/2 cup fat free cottage cheese,

Drizzle with honey and 12 Raspberries.

You can add 1 teaspoon Chia seeds. They make you feel more full because they expand during digestion.

Last week was pretty brutal: I had to work out 8 hours to make up for the week before. My goal is 5 hours a week.

I was doing super good and did 7 hours then my baby got a nasty cold and I got stuck home with her coughing and crying at home. 

She wanted to be held all day and I could have done the last hour but I didn't sleep the night before because of the baby and also my back was feeling uncomfortable. I think I stretched it to much in my yoga class.

Result: I still feel pretty good about the 7 hours. I did all my normal class plus weights and extra yoga at home. I have been working on my arms with the weights.

I did very well with my healthy and clean meals. 

Perfect with 1 gallon of water a day.

I had a piece of thin mint chocolate cake for cheat dessert.

I had this: My favorite Pancake peanut butter and banana stacks for cheat meal.

I did great on the green juice at every meal.

I really feel more happy and get exited about cute work out clothes.

How is your fitness journey going?

Week 4: Pounds lost and May goals

This week was pretty horrible. I was super busy and lots of things came up so I only worked out 2 hours and 30 minutes. I had 1 hour Zumba and 1 hour Pilates. The pilates really are effective and I am "dying" during the class. 

I lost 3 pounds so far in 4 weeks. I am not super happy about it but I will take it. I have lost inches on my stomach in particular because of all the core exercises.

I have done super good this week with the clean diet.

I need to work out 7:30 minutes this week because my goal is 5 hours a week and I fell short this week.

My goals for May:

- Drink 1 gallon a day,

- One vegetable at each meal or some green juice, even at breakfast.

- One chicken salad at every lunch.

- One cheat meal a week.

_ one cheat dessert a week.

- Reducing the amount of calories I eat each day.

- 15 minutes of yoga on my own every evenings. 15 poses, 1 minute each.

- Focusing on myself. Getting my body healthy and positive and not focusing on my problems.

Do you have goals for May? Fitness or things you want to accomplish?

If you make a post about it, share in the comments the link.

Week 3: my working out every day.

This week the kids were on spring break so I was able to work out more. I made a little mistake last week with my post. I try to work out everyday but not 4 hours a day. 1 hour a day. My goal is to work out everyday.

Last week I did: 

1:15 Kickboxing, 1 hour Zumba, 1 hour Pilates, 1 hour yoga, 1:30 walking/running.

I also did 30 minutes of cardio. I was going to try this new class but the baby would not get up and eat so it took us longer to get there and I only did 30 minutes of the 1 hour class. It was not my favorite and I was actually bored. I also did the 30 minutes abs class and did not like it. I could not do any of the floor exercises correctly. I guess I need to improve but I did not feel it was very effective. The Pilate class is way more effective. I did 15 minutes of weights for my upper body. Total of 7 hours for last week.

I started to really like Yoga and looking forward to the class. I am still not good at it.

My diet was pretty good and I started eating a chicken salad for every meal for 3 days. I can see my waist shrinking but the scale is not showing anything yet. 

7 hours in a week is my top achievement. 

My fitness journey can be very frustrating at time because results are very slow and I can't quit. I guess it's like everything. I have to keep going otherwise my efforts are gone.

I had 4 cinnamon buns for my cheat day and it made me very sick. I count it as a positive. I am eating less sugar and white bread and my body notices.

Fitness progress: Week 2 of 4 hours a week workouts

Last week I did 4 hours and 20 minutes of fitness.

1 hour Kckboxing, 1 hour Zumba, 1 hour Pilates and 1 hour of Yoga. 20 minutes of weights for my legs and arms.

This week was pretty good for the workouts and I burned 1 pound of fat: 3500 calories. My scale doesn't work so I am not sure if I lost pounds. Also I ate a lot this week. I find it hard to prepare dinner for my family and eat something different. I felt like I was starving the whole week though.

Dropping the baby at the gym day care was very hard this week because she would cry. She was very happy when I would pick her up and would say that she had fun with her friends.It still pretty much would destroy my first 20 minutes of my workouts because I was sad.

Soleil also started waking me up at night. I felt more tired than usual. 

I drunk 1 gallon of water or 8 glasses of water a day.

If you are new to my page, this is my second year of working out. After no activity for 15 years and 4 babies. I did 1 to 2 hours of Boxing and kickboxing with walking to total to 4 hours a week of working out for 8 months. The last 4 months I had no activity. Pretty tough winter. I gained at least 12 pounds back.

My goal is to keep working out this year, loose the weight and be fit.

How was your week?

Trying new things in fitness: Zumba, Yoga and Pilates

I haven't blogged about my fitness journey for a very long time. I stopped exercising for 4 months. Pretty much all winter.

But I am back in full power. I am trying new things and new classes.

This week I had:

- 1 hour kickboxing at a new gym: It always makes me very sore the next day.

- My first Zumba class: Super fun. Not a lot of calorie burning.

- My first Pilates class: Very  hard and I was very sore the next morning. 

- My first yoga class: Not a lot of calorie burning but wonderful stretch after one week of working out.

I go to a gym with child care because working out at home with a 2 year old is a real joke for me and pretty stressing.

I exercise in the mornings and I am not a morning person. Very hard! But I want to be home in the evenings for my family and it works better that way.

My baby really likes to play for 1 hour almost everyday with her new little friends. We are both happy then.

My goal is still to be fit and it is going to be hard but it is making me happy. 2 months before it gets warm and I want a killer bod!

I am trying new classes again this week.

Have you tried those classes? What do you like?

Katy Perry - Roar (Official)

This song is my official motivation and inspiration for 2014. I am continuing my journey to my fit body. It's hard but I can do it!
Do you have a favorite song that motivates you?

week 24: weight loss journey

Week 21: Only 1 hour walking
Week 22: 20 minutes running
Week 23: 1 hour running. I thought it would be hard but even thought I was slow it was not hard. I guess I am really getting fit.
Week 24: 1 hour kickboxing and then I got sick. After tending to sick kids for 3 weeks and being stuck in the house pretty much, I got sick. GRRRR
My working out this month has been no good. I really need to get back on working out more. I think I have gained a few pounds and my body doesn't feel as fit. My diet has been no bueno either. I need to eat more healthy.
I started to fit some clothes I haven't fit for years, on a good note while some are still too small. I think my clothes are way too old too. I still feel like I can't buy anything new because I still have those few pounds to loose. The other day I went to the store to look for flannel shirts because I like them a lot and I am wearing my husband's...Super big on me. None would fit at the chest. It was kind of frustrating. I am still on the hiding mode and reach for cardigans and sweaters. A lot is in my head too. 

Now I want to talk about the week during the month when you have your period. AWFUL. Trying to workout during that week is awful. The cramps are awful. The soreness worse. That week completely is a struggle and a failure. I am bloated and all I want to eat is junk food. My friend said that yoga is actually a good workout for that week. I'll try for sure.

Next month: Lots of greens, more workouts. Positive thinking
How was your month?

By Isabelle Thornton

weight loss Before and after pictures: week 16

 week 16 progress: 17 pounds weight loss. Before and after pictures
148 pounds / 32% body fat
131 pounds / 30% body fat

Before in inches:
Waist 36
Hips: 38
Chest: 41

After:
Waist: 32 1/2 
Hips: 36
Chest: 39 

I am still on denial when I look at those pictures. I still see myself fat and then I remember how I could only zip the zipper of that skirt in the picture half way and I still wore it and went to an event, because it was all I had to wear and "kind of fitted". pretty sad. now I can put 3 fingers between me and this skirt at the waist.
The skinniest of my jeans is not skinny anymore and all my shirts fit better than before my 3rd baby as far as I remember. I went from a size L to a size S and it is not tight. 
I find myself not trying to find at the store whatever fits but Whatever I love. I am being picky and it feels powerful to me. Not being limited is a great experience.

131 pounds on my scale

Week 15: I did very good that week. I boxed 4 hours and walked 1 hour. My clean eating and calories were pretty good.

I am starting to feel good about my boxing and my moves and being confident. I have been working on keeping my wrist aligned to my body to avoid injuries on my wrists.

Week 16: I was super tired and did pretty good on my diet but I  did not work out. I thought I would just relax and stay home but it was not relaxing at all and I ended up running around and doing things for everybody. Next time I will go boxing or leave the house and do something else for myself.

Food:
I have been adding more and more veggies and eating only wheat bread and brown rice. I cut out dairy products completely and replaced it by coconut milk and almond milk.
I added some CLA supplement but only one  pill a day.
I started drinking a wheat protein shake after my work outs.

Body:
I can finally see my ribs and my collar bones. My stomach is flatter but it is my problem area and will be the last place the fat will go away completely.  I have less muscles on my legs because I stopped walking everyday but it still looks good.
The middle of my back is getting muscles. I have for the first time of my life muscles on my butt. My shoulder muscles are starting to stand out and  I am getting the curves of a fit arm. See in the picture my right arm.
My waist in not anymore underneath my chest but at my waist. 
I am super happy how fit my body is transforming.
My goal is to be down to 128 pounds.

Fitness goals:
I want to start doing squats, lunges and sumo squats with weights  everyday to get stronger muscles on my legs because they are the biggest muscles on your body and burn most calories than other muscles.

I want to have more define arm muscles and do arm and shoulder exercises with 10 pounds weight on each arms everyday. I will use a You tube video.
Amazing abs so when I loose all the fat I will have a 6 pack. (my dream). Planking for 1 minute 5 times a day.

Kick boxing and boxing between 2 and 4 hours a week.

It seems like a lot but I am trying to "shock" my body to loose the last pounds and If I train my body hard enough I will get to a point where I will do less and stay fit.


I really encourage you to start exercising and eating more healthy. There is so much satisfaction in it. None in Cholesterol and diabetes that's for sure.
I am not being sponsored or seeking money from this journey or being a coach or anything. If you could be inspired and find the motivation to do it for yourself it would be amazing!
You can check my weight loss journey posts right here 

Thanks to my friend Dash Cox at AlignFiles for taking my body fat. I went from Being Obese to a healthy weight. He says that 2% body fat loss is a lot and he was kind enough to measure my body fat 4 months ago and last week.

Weight loss journey: week 14

Look back and smile

This week was pretty bad. My 1200/1400 calories per day was a fiasco. I stuffed my face with cookies and treats. My daughter needs a snack in first grade at school. So I bought some treats for her and ended eating it all. Yes, I can't have things like that at the house. That's it. 

Then, I went boxing 2 hours instead of 3 (my goal a week). My wrist started bothering me so I skipped the 3rd hour. Well I could have gone walking. Nope, I stayed home and all I could think about was when hubby and I could watch more vampire diaries episodes (I am on season 2).

I got super depressed about my failure this week and  what I want my body to look like. I told myself that it was ok because I have come a long way from not working out for 15 years to even doing boxing or walking for 1 hour easily.

I am going to look back and worry less about how much I have to go.

I still manage to burn 1000 calories for 1 hour of boxing. That's pretty good!

What is your motivation to exercise?

Please share

Weight loss tip: focus on the positive

I have been thinking about body image a lot since I started loosing weight. I really think we are our worst critics and seriously it doesn't help with our weight loss and getting back in shape. Look at this droopy butt, those love handles are hideous... Your stomach is a lost cause and too damaged etc...

 If you are telling yourself these kind of things. STOP

You need to focus on the positive as your body changes. Your body is made to change, to renew itself and adapt. Focus on what qualities it has. For me the first parts of my body I started focusing were my legs. They were the first to get muscles and become pretty. I would look at them and think...WOW You are really looking good!!

I want you to look at your body and each time a nasty thought comes through. Think about the parts you like and compliment it: Eyes, hair? Smile...And I want you to accentuate it. Wear eye makeup or lipstick. Do your hair...

I right away got running shorts and sunless tanner for my legs. It made me happy, proud and motivated me for more areas of my body to get pretty. 

Do not listen to the know it all friends or family...You can't loose weight like that. Girls with muscles are ugly etc...

There is so many negative people out there. Don't do it for their approval, do it for yourself. Listen to the positive people who want you to succeed and maybe have done it before or do it for a living.

 Instagram has great inspiration and motivation quotes. You can see real athletes' pictures and be inspired to see your body change like theirs did.