TIP OF THE WEEK: Cardio truth- So many people keep telling others to do cardio because without it you can't burn fat. Well, that's not the truth. You can lose fat just by dieting alone without any cardio at all.
Cardio is a physical activity. Since you have to use muscles for movement, the main fuel for this is glycogen. Glycogen is mostly derived from the carbs you intake. So you'll always burn carbs first and foremost.
Now dependent on the intensity of the cardio, eventually fat will work it's way into the fuel burning pathway, but it's NOT as much as many think. If you did an hour of cardio and say burned 400 calories (about average) about only 120 calories of that was from fat. Since it takes 3500 calories of fat to lose 1lbs of it, you'd have to do A lot of cardio at moderate/low intensity to meet that in a week.
What cardio does though is burn calories. And burning more calories than you take in puts you into a calorie deficit EASIER than just dieting alone. I know for me, doing cardio allows me to eat more and STILL BE IN DEFICIT if I stick to the calorie count I need to be in. If I didn't do cardio, I wouldn't be able to eat a little more. Also you SHOULD do cardio because it exercises the main organ that keeps you alive.....your heart. Cardio is also attributed to helping people keep their brains healthier because it moves more oxygen to it than just sitting down and watching a learning show on TV.
Later, I'll let you know how and when we burn the most stored body fat and how to enhance it (some of it crazy but scientifically works).

EXERCISE TIP: Planks- so one of the exercises mentioned by a lot of people who can't do crunches, sit ups and leg raises well are planks. I see people do them all the time, but many with bad form and incorrect position.
So if you're new at them and can't do them on the floor, then start with say a kitchen counter top. As you get better, you go lower and lower till you can do them on knees, then onto your toes and your hands or elbows on the floor.
So two key things here: In order for this to be effective, you need to make sure your torso is straight. If your hips are higher than your chest and shoulders, it's not that effective. It's WAY WAY easier to do a plank if your hips are high in the air because you're NOT focusing on the core, but transferring the resistance to the shoulder and arms.
Second, you DO NOT need to hold this more than 2 minutes. You'll hear about these 5 minute holds, blah, blah, blah, but holding it that long doesn't increase the strength in your core. After 2 minutes, it's just a game of ENDURANCE and rarely in life (unless you're bearing a baby) you aren't going to have to engage your core in flexion for more than 2 minutes.
Good luck and have fun!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZz8FwLfcUM

The pot is now $1,450

Hi Everyone! I just completed the New Year's Transformer and rolling onto this one to keep the momentum going.

I have a wedding to attend in 5 weeks. Hoping that the 3% loss in this first round will help me fit into a dress already in my closet!

Looking forward to the next 6 months with you all!

Posting this publicly as a form of accountability:
I will make my weigh in next month 😤