Weights - How did it change my body?

When I began this process (changing from a 'runner' to a 'weight lifter') I was post partum 6 months with my second baby.  I had previously lost all my baby weight from the first baby to a somewhat healthy diet, mainly running, and minimal weights. 

Why did I make the change?  I made the change b/c while I enjoy running and am relatively decent at it as a sport, I never achieved physique wise what I thought I could.  So I sought out a different approach.  I've followed certain fitness models for a number of years and have always liked their look.  Not too bulky, nice tone, great shape.  And what do they do?  They LIFT WEIGHTS!  Revelation. 

So how did my physique change? 

The photo on the left is shortly after I ran the Army 10-miler in 2011 at 4 months post partum.  In that photo I weigh about 136 pounds and am 21% body fat.  The photo on the left is April 2012 at 10 months post partum after I spent 90 days doing strict eating clean, following the meal plans from the Jamie Eason Livefit Trainer as well as the workouts from that trainer.  In that photo I weigh approximately 133 pounds and am 14% body fat.  So as you can tell my weight did not change a lot but my body composition did.  What does this mean?  THROW AWAY your scale. I do not weight myself on a regular basis.  Matter of fact, I weigh myself only when I go to the doctor.  I gage my body off of how I feel and what my muscles look like.  When I feel like I need to lean out some, I add in extra cardio in the form of HIIT usually done on a treadmill out of convenience unless my husband drags me to the track.  When I was finishing the trainer, I noticed my clothes were much looser and actually went down roughly 2 sizes when I went shopping for new clothes.  That's always a joy!

In every relationship there is a give and a take.  What did I have to give away to take the tone physique?  Sadly my boobs.  I don't think it was entirely from lifting and probably mostly in part due to nursing and then stopping nursing.  However the two coincided so it feels like it happened from the lifting.  Now I know why a lot of bikini and figure competition ladies get implants.  Sigh

I recommend to anyone wanting to make changes to take progress photos of yourself.  They don't have to be for anyone to see.  It's a good visual tool for you to see how you are doing.  It's encouraging. 

Don't expect to see change right away.  Remember 80% of your results are what you eat and 20% is the workout.  I would give yourself a strict 3 month period of hard core clean eating (keeping your sugars low) and challenging lifting.

A quick down and dirty on what extras I add to my diet now that I lift.  I always take in a post workout protein shake after each workout.  I use the Optimum Nutrition All Natural Whey protein from bodybuilding.com.   I blend this with unsweetened almond milk, ground flax seed, half a banana, and fresh spinach.  I also take a multi-vitamin, calcium, fish oil, BCAA (branch chain amino acids), and a plant derived digestive enzyme. 

What are your questions?