#ProjectFitMe2016: A Renewed Fitness Journey

In 2013, I vowed to commit to a healthy lifestyle most especially, working out. I was on fire and unstoppable in hitting my workout goals from increasing sets, reps, to weights with the hashtags #ProjectMirandaKerr and #ProjectAbs. By 2014, I was at my fittest; all my hard work paid off and it was very visible. In 2015, I decided to start a Fitness diary here on my blog and promised to update it every 3 months regarding my progress.

However, life happened in 2015; it was also the year I started my business and it took up so much of my time, including my time for my workout. By October 2015, I gained about 8-10 lbs., which was half of what I lost in 2013-2015; I was still working out, although less and I was eating more!

That's why I stopped writing my Fitness diary; I was uninspired and my body didn't look it! Thankfully, I had time to reflect on my 2015 in December and I realized the following things:

First, I am not Miranda Kerr; I can work to achieve her body, but I can never have her body just because of inevitable factors like genetics and body type; she was my body peg, but I realized, this has unconsciously created unattainable standards in my head.

Second, the abs frustrated me. By 2015, I realized #ProjectAbs wasn't happening; I reached the dreaded plateau and to be honest, this threw me off. I should have listened to fitness gurus: focus on performance first then the abs/great physique will follow; I did it the other way around.

Third, food became my best friend; I've been through a lot of stress last year and food was there for me; it was also the cheapest escape!

Now I've pin- pointed all the problems, this is now my fitness game plan for 2016:

#ProjectFitMe2016. That's my new hashtag now. I've decided that this year, I will not aim for the body of Miranda Kerr, for abs, flat stomach, lean legs, or whatsoever; I'll just aim to be the fittest me this year; it's a goal that's detached, doable, not demanding, and believable, thus much more achievable!

I went back to jotting down my daily meals and this time around, I count not only my calories, but my macros. I stick to 1,500 calories per day (from 2,000) with the following macro dosage: 1.) Carbohydrates- 160-180g 2.) Protein- 20-30g, 3.) Fat- 15-20g; I'm not doing any crash diet nor the 1,200 calories diet because that's not my RDI; remember, when you take food below your RDI, that's technically crashing. When you crash, weight rebound is much worse!

I also went back to doing Boxing and Conditioning along with heavy lifting; now I feel much more alive; Boxing and conditioning are my most favorite workouts, and it just feels so good to be back.

Speaking of performance, I decided to get over my fear of going over 100 lbs. starting this year; PERFORMANCE is the name of the game for 2017 and I've recently broken through the 100 lb. mark in my front squat, dead lift, and back squat. Here are my current numbers (please take note that these numbers include the olympic bar):

Back Squat- BEFORE: 95lbs; NOW: 155lbs. (I can now squat my weight! :D)

Dead Lift- BEFORE: 120lbs; NOW: 195lbs (I can now deadlift my 5'11 best friend! :D)

Front Squat- BEFORE: 65lbs.; NOW- 100lbs.

To date, I lost around 2 lbs. already for the month of January 2016. I'll update you on my progress for the next three to four months. I'll keep myself accountable so here's my picture now:

Damn, now there's no turning back for me. See you on April or May 2016. :)