The Plan

Hello again reader land.  Yes, I've missed you, too.  As I write this, I am very much pregnant. As we say in Texas, I'm as "full as a tick".  Round, swollen, and uncomfortable. Ah, the joys of creating life. Cankles (I prefer the term tankles), broken blood vessels, acne, stretch marks on top of stretch marks on top of stretch marks... That's what happens when you birth five large strapping boys in the course of decade. Baby Waylon Elijah Tones is due to arrive on May 15th. My doctor offered to induce this week (I could have been having him TODAY by golly!), but I opted to wait to try induction for Monday the 14th. My mommy is flying in from California on the 12th, and I have never, ever, ever birthed a baby without my mommy, and I don't intend to start now! :)

As exciting as the impending birth of my fifth and last son is, I have to say I'm really looking past that. My mind dwells on the hard work I have ahead in achieving my health and fitness goals. I have scheduled my tubal ligation procedure and I am ready to move forward with my life as a wife and mommy, never to be pregnant again.  I am excited and dedicated to getting my 27 year old body back in the shape it was meant to be in. Less spherical, more fit! I'm a firm believer that goals are not achieved without 1. a plan and 2. accountability. So let me lay it out for you. I'll tell you the plan, and you hold me accountable. Deal? Deal.

The plan is laid out in two parts. You guessed it - diet and exercise. First - let me help you understand the starting point:

I am currently full term pregnant with my 5th biological son (I have a step son also, so this makes 6 boys total)  I currently weigh 220lbs (up from my pre-pregnancy weight of 185lbs) and I can tell you (from the experience of all those babies) that within about 6 weeks of having the baby, I will be right back around that starting point. So - as of July 1st, I will be about 185lbs. July 1st will be the first date that I am medically cleared to eat and exercise as I wish, in order to achieve my goals.  The first part of the plan is a 90 day challenge. I'm aiming for a 30lb weight loss in 90 days, from July 1st to October 1st. I should be at 155lbs by then. I smiled as soon as I typed that.

What will I put in my face?

My nutrition plan centers around the Body by Vi 90 day challenge. If you haven't heard of it - check it out at http://rtones.myvi.net. After much research and deliberation, I decided that Visalus products will be my secret weapon. I have a close friend who had great results with the products and was introduced to many more people who have had amazing results. After trying the Vi-Shape shake myself, I fell in love with it so much, I became a distributor. Success follows success. I fully believe that this company, its products, and support system are vital to my success. I am going to be utilizing the "Transformation" Kit. Here's a bit on what's in it:

Body By Vi Transformation Kit

The "Transformation" Kit is packed with the ultimate in shaping and nutritional ingredients to help you see and feel maximum results. This Kit contains a 30-day supply of everything needed to help transform your body for a healthier, happier you. Included in this weight loss kit: 2 (30-serving) pouches of Vi-Shape™ Nutritional Shake Mix; an assortment of our Health Flavors, to add flavor variety, and added health benefits to your shake,1 bottle of Vi-Slim™ Metab-Awake Tablets; 1 box of Vi-Trim™ Clear Control Drink Mix; 1 box of each flavor of ViSalus NEURO™ Smart Energy (Lemon Lift and Raspberry Boost flavors); and 1 bottle of our Vi-pak Omega Vitals capsules. Product Fact Sheet

In summary, I'll be using meal replacement shakes twice a day and utilizing additional supplements like omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins and minerals, appetite suppressants, fat burners etc... I'll do a shake for breakfast (I do that now, because it's HARD to make time for a healthy breakfast when you're getting five kids and a husband ready for their day - and it has really helped me stay energized), a mid-morning snack like carrot sticks, raw almonds, kale chips or the like.  I'll have a healthy lunch, a mid afternoon snack, and then a shake for dinner.  This plan aligns really well with my exercise plan.

What is my exercise plan?

Well I'm so glad you asked! I will be joining an elite group of nut jobs at Psycho Gym. Here's why they named it that:

That's right - kettle bells, heavy ropes, suspension training, all burning an average of 20 calories per minute. My commitment is to attend an hour long class, mid day, five days per week. I'll likely be doing some additional exercise, I have plans to walk/jog/cycle Katy Trail with a friend of mine, and may possibly check out White Rock Lake as my schedule allows - but ultimately the minimum realistic commitment is five hour long work outs per week. 

What won't I do?

The nutrition plan is crucial - but I also have to be fully committed to what I will not do. That remains the same as it normally is - but it will be even more important that I stick to it 100% during my 90 day challenge. I will abstain from flour, sugar, and alcohol.  Those substances are poisonous to my body and are only detrimental to my goal. Outside of my meal replacement shakes, I will stick to a plant based, whole foods type of diet. Lean, healthy proteins with plenty of fruits, vegetables, nuts and whole grains. 

So, now that I've laid out the groundwork - will you help keep me accountable? I know I have lots of friends and family who love me and support me. I fully expect and am ready to embrace the check ups of "Did you go to the gym today", and "What did you eat today?", and "Meet me at Katy Trail at 6PM".  I'm so blessed to be surrounded by such support. I'm ready for my transformation. Keep tuned to my blog, my Facebook, and my Visalus page for updates, pictures, and results as they start to happen. Big reveal on October 1st! See you then! 

And it Begins...

Well hi there. :) I'm Rebecca Tones. I'm not much of a writer in the literary sense. Coincidentally, though my last name hints at it, I write music, lyrics. Not blogs.  So why am I here? Well, accountability.  I'm about to make some changes. Very big changes. This blog will serve as a tool to keep track of the journey and to share it with those who know and love me. Or don't love me, or don't know me. Whomever happens to stumble upon it I guess :)

First, a little back story. As of today, I'm a 27 year old mother of five little boys, and expecting the sixth about May 15th. There's Aiden (9), Evynn (7), Seth (5), Jakob (2), Corbin (10 months) and baby Waylon is going to be joining us soon.  Which brings me to those changes I was talking about.  As you can see, I've spent the majority of my adult life PREGNANT. I'm ready to reclaim my body. I'm not just talking about "losing the baby weight". I'm talking about fitness. I'm talking about having the body I've always wanted, the body I'm meant to have. A healthy, toned, fit, muscular, flexible body. How am I going to do that? Well, first I have to evict this womb squatter, but I digress. I have a plan.

I'm currently hovering around 200 lbs. (Mind you I'm in the third trimester of my third pregnancy in four years) I'm 5'7'' and even when I'm not pregnant, that weight is evenly distributed. Between pregnancies, I've stayed between 165-185.  I became pregnant with Waylon only three months after having Corbin, so I didn't get much of a chance to get back down to my smaller size.  I've stayed around a size 9/10 at the smallest and 16/18 at my largest throughout the past decade. I know (from plenty of experience) that I will be at about 185 within a month of having Waylon. What's my ideal size? I don't think I'll know that till I get there. I think my body will settle into that. But I do think that 145lbs is a good number for me to shoot for.  What I end up as once I've put some lean muscle on this body may be more or less, who knows. It's not so much about a number for me as it is HEALTH.  If I am healthy and fit, I will be happy with my size, whatever that is.

Changes - Some of the changes, I've already made.  Food.  I love food. All kinds. Especially the bad for you kinds like deep fried anything and red meat and things that involve flour and sugar.  But alas, I am now armed with the knowledge that those things make us fat and sick.  I admit, I've still been known to occasionally indulge in the bad throughout my pregnancy - because darn it, sometimes all you want after a bout of morning sickness is a hamburger!  And sometimes nothing will quench the pregnant craving other than a cupcake! But, once I'm no longer an incubator and medically cleared to eat and exercise as I wish, I will adhere to the following:

No flour, no sugar
No processed foods
No meat ( I will eat fish and eggs )
No dairy
Beverages - water only

That means I'll be eating a mostly plant based diet that includes a lot of locally grown organic produce. Good carbs will come from sweet potatoes, brown rice, etc.. Protein sources will be beans, fish, eggs, and I will supplement with plant based protein powder shakes (Vega is my choice because it doesn't have added sugars http://myvega.com/ )

I'll also be using portion control to keep myself around 1800 calories a day. Here's what an average day might look like:

Breakfast:
Two eggs
1 oz plain oatmeal(measured when uncooked - not the instant/flavored kind - that has sugar)
6 oz fruit

Pre-workout snack:
3 Celery sticks with raw almond butter

Post work out recovery shake:
1 scoop chocolate vega protein powder, 3 oz blue berries, 1 cup almond milk (unsweetened), 1 tsp spirulina. Blend and enjoy!

Lunch:
1 baked sweet potato
Baked tilapia
6 oz steamed asparagus

Snack:
1 apple
Handful raw cashews

Dinner
8oz Massaged kale and mango salad
4 oz Black beans
3 oz brown rice
6oz Steamed yellow squash

And there you have it. Approximately 1800 calories of nutritious food to help my body do what it needs to.

Part two of the plan is... Dun dun dunnnnnn..... Exercise! It's a good thing I like exercise! ;) My gym of choice will be Psycho Gym in Addison. As you can imagine, it is named for its intensity. It's a kettle bell gym. The trainers utilize heavy ropes, tires, suspension training, all kinds of creative things to help engage your entire body for the hour long work out. Their moves burn about 20 calories per minute on average, so there are some crazy fast results.

Target date to begin: July 1st. This will be the first day I'll be medically cleared to exercise - 6 weeks after I have baby Waylon. Hubby and I are going to do this together and have a little challenge ;). We'll commit to going to the gym 5 days a week over the first 6 week period and measure our results.

Not sure what the winner will get yet, other than a hot new physique :)

The attached pictures show me at my various sizes. From my smallest to pregnant and thereafter, just to give you a good idea of what we're dealing with.