It’s been a little over a month since I finally completed my first Beachbody fitness program, 80 Day Obsession (80DO)! 👏 I’m giving myself a round of applause because it’s taken me almost an entire year since signing up with Beachbody to see a program through without getting bored or giving up. And completing 80DO is quite the accomplishment itself as it’s a 13-week program with hour long workouts six times a week coinciding with clean eating, timed-nutrition.
To cut to the chase…
Unfortunately, through no one’s fault but my own, I did not see the results I envisioned prior to starting this program. Why? Because while committing to 60 minutes of exercise six days a week was actually the easy part, I struggled to commit to the timed-nutrition. I did really well the first three weeks, but then for whatever reason I let my cravings get the best of me, and from there it snowballed. Nutrition has always been my biggest struggle, and it’s so true that you can’t out exercise a bad diet.
My numbers
My initial weight was 137 lbs. At the end of 80 Day Obsession, I weighed in at 140.6 lbs, gaining 3.6 lbs as well as gaining 2.75 inches. 🙈 Now… these numbers aren’t everything. Not only is it important to record your weight and take your measurements at the beginning and end of a program, but where the real truth lies is in the before and after photos. With that being said, I did see progress, most noticeably in my booty. 🍑 But other non-scale victories included a strengthened core and overall increase in strength as I had to up my dumbbells the further I was in the program.
Life after 80 Day Obsession
Since completing 80DO, I joined Autumn’s Path to Progress Facebook group where she’d be taking us through a round of Chisel, 21 Day Fix Extreme (21DFX), and three rounds of A Little Obsessed. All of these workouts are only 30 minutes vs. the hour long workouts of 80DO.
As I type this, I’ve currently completed Chisel, and I’ve given up on 21DFX. Here are my thoughts on why. First off… it was nice to switch things up and go from hour long workouts to now 30 minute workouts. I had always wanted to try both Chisel and 21DFX.
I liked Chisel; I definitely sweat, and I think it’s a great strength training program when you only have 30 minutes to commit. I tried to incorporate the resistance loops and sliders used in 80DO, but didn’t have much luck. I realize now how much I miss those dang loops and sliders as I really enjoyed that extra muscle engagement I’d get out of them.
With 21 Day Fix Extreme, I’m a little sad I ended up not caring for this program despite it and its predecessor 21 Day Fix being very popular programs. Coming off 80DO, I didn’t feel as challenged with 21DFX. I voiced this opinion in the Path to Progress group and the majority of commenters disagreed with me, suggesting I up my weights. On top of missing the resistance loops and sliders like I had missed in Chisel, I also missed compound moves as featured in 80DO. After attempting the first three workouts of 21DFX and still not “feeling it”, I threw in the towel on that program and realized it’s just not for me. Apparently I miss 80DO too much. 😋
Luckily! Autumn announced in the Path to Progress Facebook group that she will be running another 80DO Facebook group as part of The Today Show featuring 80DO on their show all summer long. So I took her announcement as a sign that I am meant to start a second round of the program because clearly I found this program to be most suitable for my fitness needs.
In conclusion
I know I went off on a tangent regarding “life after 80DO”, but I think the morale of the story is despite not completing my first round of 80DO perfectly, I still completed it, and I still saw results even if it wasn’t in the form of the scale. The nutritional aspect of 80DO has truly changed the way I structure of my diet. I know that if I can dial in my nutrition, I will see results. In the end, it all boils down to self-control, self-discipline, and my desire to change must be greater than my desire to stay the same.