I can’t believe it has taken me this long to finish the saga that was the 80 Day Obsession journey. In the last two months my world has been turned upside down and my blog definitely went to the back burner. But I’m here to reflect and finish out the Operation Obsessed journey with all of you.

80 fricken days of dedication went into this. I learned so much about myself, my strength and the power of sticking to a program…no.matter.what. It was a wild ride, 3 countries, 5 cities, a lot of vegetables… but I.DID.IT. No clue how many inches or pounds lost… those things don’t matter to me. I know,I know. How could she dedicate so much time and effort to this and not even care about the numbers? Well, I like to practice what I preach.  I gained strength, health & confidence in myself & journey. I learned how to totally let go of any misconceptions about how much I “could” or “should” eat. When you are working your body like an athlete you need to be fueling it like an athlete, and that means A LOT of food. The last three weeks were much harder than I anticipated. I found myself feeling “over it.” My visa situation was unraveling and I was so stressed. I cried a lot. I was working a full time nanny position and working my business. I was trying to hold it all together and I just wanted to give up. But I didn’t. Discipline and HAVING A SUPPORT SYSTEM, a PLAN, A GOAL- led me through even when all I wanted to do was chug bottles of wine and house boxes of donuts.

The last week of the program was called “Peak Week.” The creator of the program did bikini competitions so she knows about carb cycling and how to show off those results. There was an optional meal plan to follow that included two days of very low carb, high protein and then one day of regular carb intake. The first day of peak week I felt fine and the second until the last day I felt exhausted. I was so tired I could barely keep my eyes open. And I was so sick of eating vegetables and protein. I planned a trip as my reward for finishing the program so I did my last workouts of the program in the airport in Atlanta and in my college bestie’s apartment in Austin, Texas. In the airport I actually got asked to move 20 minutes in to my workout and had to go literally right in the middle of the gate. I was not willing to sacrifice the last few workouts after working so hard.  Right after that I went on a three week trip from Austin to Delray Beach, Florida and two weeks in Hawaii.

I feel like I barely rejoiced in my success of finishing 80 Day Obsession because I was so immersed in my travels. It was difficult to adjust to not eating so much food and not eating at the specific times. I decided to do bodyweight exercises from Beachbody On Demand like Piyo and Core De Force while I was traveling. I definitely missed the workouts as soon as I finished. Their intensity is something I thoroughly enjoyed. I have even gone back to doing them about 3-4 times a week because I just don’t feel like I want to part ways with them yet. And a lot of people have asked me? Now what? Well… I keep going.. this lifestyle is constant and not one I’m stopping anytime soon! Will I do the full 13 week program again? Absolutely!!  Will I do it during summertime? Absolutely NOT! I love the timed nutrition and the long workouts but it is a commitment. Anyway you slice it. This program is not for the faint of heart. I don’t think I will ever do a program and “half-ass” it so I know that this will be for seasons of my life where I am ready to make my fitness and nutrition my main focus and this season isn’t one of them.

I have learned so much through this process and I am so glad I pushed my body to see how far it could go. But can you? Should you? I highly recommend the program to people who are already on a fitness journey and want to take it to the next level. I highly recommend it to people who need help understanding how to fuel their body for an intense workout schedule or people who crave structure for their eating plan. I don’t recommend it for beginners. I don’t recommend it for people who love short workouts. I recommend it for people who love the gym and need guidance how to step up their routine.I recommend it for cardio bunnies who want WEIGHTS but they also want to look lean and toned. I recommend it for anyone who loves a challenge and will see it through from start to finish when they commit.

Now what? Now I am transitioning into a new mindful eating program. I am testing this mindful nutrition plan to better understand myself, my eating habits, and how to craft the most sustainable way to eat healthy for the rest of my life. It is pretty different from this program but it has come at a wonderful time and season of my life. I am still pushing hard in my workouts and I have created a hybrid between our MMA bodyweight- HIIT cardio program Core De Force and 80 Day Obsession. As always If you are interested in working with me on your fitness and nutrition  journey  you can fill out this form so we can talk about getting you started with a program that’s right for your goals and schedule. I love helping others fall in the love with process like I have and giving them the tools to finally make a lifestyle change instead of just a quick fix.

Like any great challenge in life, looking back it’s the journey along the way that is most valuable. It sounds cliche. I know. But it’s true. I don’t just commit to these programs because it’s my job. I commit to these programs because every time I do, I witness my world transform again. I impress myself. I grow as a person from inside-out. I’m faced with parts of myself I didn’t know were there and that sometimes need healing. I witness the power of having a goal, working towards a goal and achieving a goal. It never gets old. It always fills my cup and my soul and I get the privilege of designing my career around helping others do the same. It’s exciting to change your own life, but it’s simply magic to help change someone else’s. If you are waiting for a sign to start your journey, this is it. Commit to working on your very best self, do the work,  and I promise you will witness your world transform before your eyes.