80 Day Obsession Week Three Update

I reviewed the first two weeks of 80 day Obsession. You can read that post here. Now I’ve completed three weeks of this workout I’d like to share my thoughts.

I’d like to post I lost so many inches or pounds. That will not happen for a while. With, the amount of stress I’m under and how inconsistent my sleep patterns are weight loss is a challenge. But with eating well and exercise I should at least be able to maintain my weight.

The 80 Day Obsession has helped keep my weight in check. To be honest, my diet needs work. I stated before I won’t diet anymore because it causes more stress than it’s worth. Sometimes the stress of dieting is not worth it. I eat well but I am not eating enough most days. Because I am a busy mom. My body likes to go into starvation mode so I need to make sure I’m eating three meals a day.

If I count my macros and I eat a very strict diet I lose weight almost immediately. But the stress of counting everything and the starving sucks. I can eat the most perfect balanced diet and I still get hungry every few hours. The second I increase my calories by 150 to 200 calories the weight comes back. In the beginning phases of a diet or exercise program most of the weight-loss is water weight.

In my last post I made to mentions of two things problematic for me. One was the loops. Anytime I used a resistance loop it would roll up. That is a problem. I bought an elastic band from Amazon but it’s not something you can use for some exercises. You can use it for most.

I tried using regular resistance loops throughout the last three weeks. The issue is the bands roll up for me. I wanted to update you loops are still an issue.

I will be honest with you if I weighed 130 pounds, and I wasn’t overweight the loops would not be an issue. I tried several brands. I will try a latex only band next.

The second issue is I wish I’d never bought the sliders. When you sign up to do a workout program or weight loss program you feel like your beholden to it. Like you have to follow it the way they intended. You don’t have to. Many fitness bloggers out there especially Beachbody devoted bloggers make workout mash ups. Like P90X and Turbo Jam. I took a page from their book. Doing something else in place of the 80 Day Obsession cardio workouts.

Can I do the sliders? Yes. I have a bad hip and back to protect. It‘s hard to control of the movements. Momentum and slippery discs affects your motion. I rather not take the risk letting momentum take hold and hurt myself. Even if you are stable and are using your abs, it’s hard to control the movements. So I did a mash up of 80 Day Obsession and YOUv2. I will do YOUv2 on core cardio days. The YOUv2 workouts get my heart rate up better. Because the instructor has you using your arms and legs in the cardio workout.

I feel like there needs to be someone doing modifications for the slide workouts. If Autumn ever does another version, I hope she can include someone who does not use sliders. Sliders can give amazing results. For me they are not worth the risk. I wish that someone showed a similar exercise without a slider.

You need a Beachbody subscription to do 80 Day Obsession, so you do have access to the other workouts. I looked up the 21 day fix Autumn’s original workout. The 10 minute abdominal workout was great, but it strained my back. If you do not care for the sliders, you could try that workout instead.

Here is the perk of 80 Day Obsession for me. I took an unplanned hiatus from running. The last several months my running patterns have been sporadic. I had bronchitis at the start of the year. I recovered, and that took weeks. I developed bronchitis again a month later. This time even worse. If I’m sick, I’ll use my mini stair stepper inside the house to get my 10,000 steps for the day.

When sick exercise can boost your immune system. I was so sick the second time I had to rest. So imagine being sick for 3+ months and having to take about six weeks off. I was coughing so hard for the first for five weeks. I had an inhaler it was terrible.

Disney canceling the runDisney events in California affected my motivation. I lacked the motivation to keep running. I would run when I had a chance. Running was no longer a priority though. Then I did the 80 Day Obsession. When I ran again I was running faster than I was before. Sometimes instead of speed work a break from running is more effective.

If you’re slow runner to get faster, there are speed workouts. Long slow runs can make a huge difference too. I have been running for over 10 years and ran many half marathons and marathons. Since the break I cut three minutes off my mile. After years and I mean 6 years of struggling to maintain a 14/15 minute mile. While running. Not walking or jogging.

As someone whose half PR is 2:06 running that slow was killing me. It made me feel like crap. I got close to breaking a sub 13 minute mile this week. When I was running fast and working towards a sub 2 half I was in great shape. For me to run this at my weight is a miracle. I know the strength training workouts and use of bands played a huge role besides the time off.

So for the past week I ran then come home and did 80 Day Obsession. So as I start the fourth week I am on board 100% for the strength workouts. I don’t care for the cardio workouts and I have no problem substituting it. Some people want to try the 80 Day Obsession and feel it is too hard.

Usually the hard part is is not the strength training program. If you start and it’s too hard use lighter weights or start with no resistance and work your way up. The cardio workouts are problematic for me. You can do these workouts even if they intimidate you if you change it to meet your specific needs. I do not need cardio core workouts. So I am fine with skipping those.

Day 16’s booty workout was one of the best booty workouts I have ever done. I will weigh in and measure next week and report if there are any changes. Until then I still recommend 80 Day Obsession.

After I wrote this post, I went for my run and I got a sub 13 mile. Yay me!