catching up on this month’s {coaching the coach} series? read week one here and week two here.

Oh we just love/hate the scale, don’t we Tribe? In our obsessive, type-A, results-addicted fashion, we will step on that thing even though we know it doesn’t tell the whole truth. I’ve done this a million times in my former non-bari life and let it deflate whatever progress I had been making. Holler if you hear me.

This is why I love the Bari Coach program and our accountability Mondays this month. Because you have someone telling you what the numbers mean. You have someone to explain why the scale weight hasn’t dropped when your pants’ size has. You have someone to explain that the American Council on Exercise recommends 1% body fat loss per month. And since I’m coaching myself this month, I decided to take my measurements and see how I’ve changed so far.

Drum roll, please.

In two weeks, I’ve lost 2% body fat and 1 lb.

If you didn’t skim the above paragraph, then you get why this is super exciting. With the customized prescription I’ve been following for my lifestyle, in regards to dropping body fat, I accomplished in a week what is usually accomplished in a month. And why just a pound of weight loss? It’s the lean muscle mass, my friends. I built leaner muscle (which is heavier than fat) and that helped me burn more fat than I would have otherwise. So even though the scale stayed relatively the same, my clothes have been fitting looser and my body has felt tighter overall.

I’m more motivated than ever. So let’s recap what worked and look ahead to how I’m going to kick my own ass in week three:

body

last week: I focused on opening up my chest and my back. My lower back is extremely flexible from all my years of being a ballerina, but my upper back has suffered as a result. This week I focused on it so extensively (as you might have noticed if we trained together) that my hubby Craig told me out of nowhere that my posture had substantially changed for the better. I also noticed that my seated posture changed. When I ride the subway or sit down to write, I’m so much more in tune with how my body is either slumped or supported and feeling supported in my body has consistently boosted my mood.

the big takeaway: Good posture isn’t just good for the body, it’s good for the mind.

this week: To reinforce my upper back’s newfound strength, I will:

• focus on my core connection to every movement, specifically in cardio.
• continue lengthening through the top of my head so my upper back and abs have no choice but to work together and stabilize my long upper body.
• use my core strength to create deep twists without collapsing my upper back in sequences like The Jane, Black Diamond and Cannonball.

food

last week: My schedule was a little bit scattered with long days and not a lot of food options. I didn’t get in as many veggies as I wanted in every single meal, but when I was able to come home and cook dinner, I would double dose the green in everything. On Friday, I had a rather long day and didn’t bring any food from home, so I headed over to sweetgreen. Oh dear Lord, it was so good. I had a kale salad with lots of veggies and lots of protein (grilled chicken and a hard-boiled egg) which got me through three hours of teaching with plenty of energy and without feeling weighed down.

the big takeaway: Planning ahead is the key to staying on track, especially when life starts to get busy.

this week: Because I want to set these healthy food habits, I will:

• plan ahead and cook my meals for the week so I am never without a healthy option.
• make sure I’m getting enough lean protein before a very long sweat sesh (3+ hours) or directly after toning (so my fatigued muscles get the nutrients they need to repair quickly).
• continue cutting out unnecessary sugar.

mind

last week: Thanks to Craig who always chimes in with the perfect book recommendation at the perfect time, I started reading The Freedom Manifesto by Tom Hodgkinson. It’s a quirky, somewhat out-there, free-spirited argument for idleness. I know that I can get obsessive and miss out on the vibrancy of life in order to just check things off my to-do list, so this book is a welcome kick in the pants. Going into the next two weeks, I don’t want to just complete a challenge I set for myself, but fortify a lifestyle I can live with forever.

the big takeaway: Creating freedom (from old habits, stale choices, a lifestyle that doesn’t serve us) is just like creating happiness: it’s a choice we can all make at any moment.

this week: I’m going to take full mental ownership for all of the choices I make or don’t make, so I will:

• finally get the massage I’ve been saying I’ve needed for months. This was on last week’s to-do and I never did it. I’m way overdue and not taking it off my list until I practice this self-care.
• walk into every situation knowing that I have the power to make things better.

I’m halfway through and more excited than ever. Let me know if you’ve been following along and keep those sweaty fist bumps comin’!