As I scroll through Kayla Itsine’s Instagram feed, I am astonished by the number of women completely transforming their bodies. And I mean, complete and utter conversion. From what I’ve seen with regular Before and After pictures over the years (like the one shown here) the weight has clearly been shed, and the belt is tightened, but the subject has clothes on.
Well, these women posting their progress photos on Kayla Itsines’ Instagram aren’t fully naked, but almost.
And for a few moments I feel so inspired; my abs tense up, my posture improves and a jolt of motivation runs through my veins.
I am in my 11th week (four pre-training weeks included) of doing the Bikini Body workout, #BBG as it is referred to online, and I have to say, I feel strong. I even feel quite tight in some areas. Although the scale doesn’t reflect a huge change, I can see something in the mirror (Kayla says to never look at the scale anyway). Okay so, that’s great right? Sure, but then I got to thinking, could I ever look like Kayla Itsines or any of those women in her Instagram feed?
Since having my third baby I have come to the realization that maybe I have to look at my body as a blank canvas without any previous conceptions. With the other two, I worked very hard to get all the weight off (I gain a shit ton in pregnancy) through diet and exercise and by month 10 or 11 I was back to my old self both times. This time, however, things are proving to be a bit more challenging.
Regardless of age or genetics, I had to look at my lifestyle in order to assess whether or not I could attain that ripped bod. And just as I was recalling glasses of wine and how many sausages I had on the weekend, this pops up in my feed from Kayla herself:
It took my breath away.
No alcohol. The smoking and the drugs, okay no problem without, but alcohol? My chilled glass of Santa Margarita on a summer afternoon? My Pinot Noir with steak frites on a Saturday night? And what about that steak frites? She doesn’t put anything about food in this post, but you know Itsines isn’t throwing back a rib-eye with her boyfriend (this is what they actually do) and dipping fried potatoes into aioli sauce, right?
So I started thinking, what does she do on a Saturday night? I realize there is a whole plethora of other options beyond drinking wine and eating delicious food, but I guess nowadays for me, that is a pretty amazing evening. I mean, when I look back at even just the last six months, I don’t know where I could have done an elimination diet. What about the dinners with my girlfriends? And the new frying techniques I learned and the mayo based sauces I experimented with? What about the trip to California with my family and cocktail hour at 4 pm with my dad? Christmas turkey? New Years steak and champagne? Saturday afternoon beers and poutine with my husband? Ahhhhhh! Too-much-fun-to-be-had! I’m sure for Kayla, working out and eating healthy IS fun! And yes, for thirty minutes three times a week I tell myself the same thing.
Itsines makes it clear that you must work hard, not only in your workouts but the with the choices you make about what goes into your body. WORK HARD=RESULTS. And it is absolutely true. I tell my kids almost every day (tailored for a 4 and 6 year old), you get what you put in.
But as I gear up for my first weekend getaway since my baby was born, I think, you know what? My abs may not look like this:
But man am I going to enjoy dipping some deep fried potatoes into mayo and sipping on a glass of Pinot Noir!
*Published May 2016
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