Action Mom

April Arend wasn’t able to be the mom she wanted to be, so she took action to change her life and the lives of those around her

Vital Stats

Before

Age: 31

Weight: 245lb

Body fat: 42%

After

Age: 38

Weight: 155lb

Body fat: 17%

A Call To Action

In November 2013, I was lying on the couch not feeling well, as was often the case, when my kids asked me to go outside and play with them. I just didn’t have the energy or motivation. Something at that moment made me realize I was not the mom I wanted to be. I wanted to play with them, and build memories with them, and I couldn’t do that from the couch. After that, I was at my brother’s wedding a few weeks later, and when I saw the pictures that would be remembered for a lifetime, I was disgusted with myself. That day, I made a commitment to eating clean and cut out soda 100%. I knew I had always failed on diets, so I needed something I could do long term. At the same time, I started working out at home. I would work out to Insanity videos in my living room with no equipment, just bodyweight exercises. My husband even started running about ½ mile nightly with me.

Overcoming Challenges

Being heavy I was always sick, I had frequent migraines, and often got discouraged because weight didn’t come off fast enough. I would get nasty comments from people very close to me about my weight which would frustrate me. I would get so down on myself. And when I started this journey, I was working as a regional manager for an orthodontic laboratory. I travelled 5-10 days at a time, making clean eating and meal prepping difficult. I just did what I could with prepping and making sure I drank lots of water. I just had to make better choices when I went out. I strived to keep sugar intake to less than 25g a day, no fried foods and keep up some kind of exercise activity while I was in a hotel. I would even take a small DVD player with me to play my Insanity videos.

First Steps

I would meal prep for the week making sure everything was already prepared, which made it easier to stick to the plan. Water is essential, as well as exercise. Exercise made me feel better mentally and then I started seeing change. The results made me excited to stay on track.

My Meals

4am breakfast – Overnight oats (usually cinnamon apple oatmeal I made with added protein powder) or a meal replacement shake.

9am Snack – fruit, nuts, or a fruit smoothie

12pm Lunch – Smoothie or grilled chicken and veggies

3pm Snack – nuts, protein bar, peanut butter/apples

6pm Dinner – We would rotate throughout the week: Veggie burgers and sweet potato fries (baked in the oven), ground turkey sloppy joes, shrimp tacos, brown rice and black beans, lean fillet and protein mashed sweet potatoes.

My Training Plan

Monday

Session 1.

3 rounds of:

10 clean pulls

10 deadlifts

1 min max effort burpees

–

Session 2.

3 rounds of:

30 dumbbell thrusters

400m run

–

Session 3

3 rounds of:

15 knee to elbow crunches

10 Russian twists

20 walk outs

Tuesday

3 rounds:

15 reaching bent over rows

10 x Cuban press

10 behind neck press with shrug

–

5 rounds:

1 minute snatch/ 1 minute rest

–

3 rounds:

1 minute snatch pull/1 minute rest

–

12-10-8-6

Double arm dumbbell row

Standing overhead press

Dumbbell bench press

–

Metcon:

5 minutes: 20 kick sits/15 sl v-ups

5 minutes: 20 devil presses/20 skater jumps

5 minutes: 10 overhead lunges/10 burpees

Wednesday

2 rounds of:

1-minute plank

15yd spider-man crawl

10ea external rotator off knee

5ea bulldog circuit

5 broomstick jumps

–

5 rounds of:

1 minute clean & jerk/1 minute rest

–

3 rounds

1 minute clean pull/1 minute rest

–

15-12-10

Seated dumbbell French press

Reverse curls

–

2 mile run

Thursday

5 rounds of 6:

Close grip bench

External rotators off knee

–

15-12-10

Snatch grip behind neck press

Batwing rows

–

15-12-10

Alternating dumbbell bench

Lateral raises

–

2 rounds of 20:

Push-ups

Dumbbell raise to bus driver

Reverse curls

–

20 minute cardio

Keep your heart rate between 135-155 for 20 minutes

Friday:

3 rounds: of

6 reverse lunge reach

10 wide mountain climbers

15 pipe good mornings

–

12-10-8-6

Dumbbell lunges

Squats

Dumbbell forward lunge

–

7 rounds:

7 dumbbell deadlifts

7 goblet squats

7ea dumbbell snatch

7ea goblet reverse lunge

Advice to Others

Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do something. If you truly want it, it is possible. If I can do it, you can too! I currently own a gym in Ellijay, GA. KIM Fitness, It is named after my sister who I lost in 2009. KIM = Keep In Motion. I plan to train and coach others here at the gym, as well as grow my online fitness business to help more people near and far. I have a virtual training plan where I can train members via Zoom one-on-one, or I also offer a FB Group with access to our daily workouts and videos to go along with them. I want to help others feel better about themselves and get stronger mentally and physically.

Everyday Wins

1. Eat no more than 25g of added sugar a day! NO SODA!
2. Workout every day, especially when you do not want to. Even if it’s just a walk.
3. Don’t >diet. Just eat clean! Cut the C.R.A.P (Carbonated drinks, Refined Sugars, Artificial food coloring and flavors, & Processed foods)
4. Have fun! Find your purpose, set goals and smash them but make sure to find joy in all you do.