And so it begins...Inspiration and Rock Bottom

If you noticed, the first blog post was dated for 2022. However, it was just published on 1.22.23. Why? Well, it took me that long to actually decide to make this blog a reality. In 2022, I had just begun toying with the idea of creating this site. I had many reservations about it, and I've finally decided to just jump in both feet first!

What is the Cavill Challenge?

I came up with this title, and also my name after listening to Henry talk about his fitness journey in a video from Muscletech.

The video was summarized on Men's Health:

"When asked by the site to share what's the best fitness advice he could give someone, Cavill advised beginners to be unafraid to approach fitness with their specific needs at the forefront.

'Do it your way,' Cavill said in the video. 'Get the right information, get the right knowledge from someone who knows their stuff. But also, do fitness your way—whatever you enjoy doing—and you'll get the most out of it.'

But that's not the only wisdom beginners can take away from Cavill's video. When asked what advice he would give his younger self, Cavill said he wished he would have gotten his head right for a challenge early on in his fitness journey.

'It is not supposed to be easy. And with that kind of mindset going into workouts and training, I think I would have benefited from that enormously,' Cavill said. Link to original article.

What to Expect?

I invite you to join me in taking the Cavill Challenge! This challenge is to do fitness and nutrition YOUR WAY. No one likes to be told what to do, especially if they don't enjoy it! I will be highlighting my journey, but yours may differ!

I will document my progress, including my stats, any research I read, Henry's Instagram posts about fitness (which were my initial inspiration), food I eat, training I do, and more.

Where I'm Starting: Rock Bottom

Here I am. Starting from my rock bottom. Since 2017, I've had a lot of physical issues. From dealing with two miscarriages, to having my rainbow baby, to a car accident, to breaking my wrist, to dealing with HS and PMDD. All of these things took a toll on my physical and mental health. I'll get more into these specific stories as I progress.

Now, in 2024...

I'm 5'3" and weigh 190lbs. This means my BMI is 33.7 which falls in the "obesity" category. Sigh. It truly doesn't feel good when your doctor lists this as a "symptom" for other issues. Am I right?! I've never carried this much weight (wasn't even at 190 while pregnant!). However, I've come to realize that at I truly have never been happy with where I'm at. So that's a huge hurdle I need to jump. Right now, the goal is to work on being HEALTHY, not just weight loss.

Fat vs. muscle

Not all pounds are created equal. In fact, your total body weight isn’t a clear indicator of how you look or what health risks you may face.

Two different people who weigh the same amount can look very different when one has a high percentage of fat and the other has a high percentage of muscle.

An extra 20 pounds of fat may give you a softer, less toned appearance. But an extra 20 pounds of muscle will look firm and sculpted.

Muscle also serves a different function than fat. Fat helps insulate the body and trap in body heat. Muscle boosts your metabolism. This means the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn when you’re at rest." From Healthline

So, the goal? Not necessarily to lose a bunch of pounds...but to convert some of those pounds into muscle. While I might aim for 150lbs right now, this will account for the addition of muscle.

Today... I resigned up for MyFitnessPal which is basically a caloric tracker. It suggested that I aim for 1200 calories a day after I input all of my information. It doesn't sound like much... but I'm NOT EATING ENOUGH! I'm not an overeater, and rarely binge eat. I do love my carbs... but I'm notorious for forgetting to eat. So, this is my step one. Focusing on eating an appropriate amount of healthy (and filling) foods for the day.