Day 5/6

Day 5
   Yesterday was day 5 of my new lifestyle. :-) The hubs had the day off yesterday so he went with me to work. We planned on taking Max for a walk after he woke form his nap, but the weather had other plans. It was thundering, lightning, and POURING rain until well into the evening! We had to go by the mall (my mom works at Old Navy) after I got off work, so we ended up walking the mall at a fairly quick pace a couple of times, but I wouldn't necessarily call it working out. It was certainly better than sitting on the couch, but not nearly as effective as a good workout. We decided that since neither of us got a good workout yesterday that it will be this week's "off day," which means we'll be working out tomorrow, on Sunday, which will normally be our off day.

Source

Day 6
   Today, we ate like crap. We had pizza for lunch and popcorn at the movie theater. We both came home and worked out, though, so the day wasn't a complete waste. I did 10 minutes of yoga, 10 minutes of expert boxing, and 20 minutes of step aerobics. According to the Wii Fit, I burned about 324 calories in that time. Yay!


As for Couch to 5K, we've decided to put the brakes on that for a bit. My body is giving me too many issues as far as true pain. It isn't soreness. It isn't cramps. It's bone pain. That isn't good. We're going to try it again once I lose 20 lbs. Instead of Couch to 5K, we're going to do brisk walking. It puts less of an impact on my bones and still burns calories. I'm ok with this idea, as I don't want to seriously hurt myself, but I am a little disappointed that we aren't doing C25K right now. Baby steps, right?

Day 4

I'm doing two posts in one day because I actually have time to update about my day on the actual day.

Instead of sticking to my original plan of 10 minutes yoga and 30 minute step, I did 10 min yoga, 10 min boxing, 20 minute step. Apparently, I burned more calories doing that than the 10 min yoga, 30 min step. That's probably what I'll stick with just because it seems to work better AND it's working out my arms, which is nice! I weighed myself before my workout and I'm down 1.8 lbs as of now. I don't consider it a true measure of weight loss until the 1 week point since weight fluctuates daily. HOWEVER, I am proud of my progress and look forward to see a "truer" number on Monday!

Source

As for the change of plans, I'm ok with it. I'm a planner and I DON'T like when things change, but I feel like this is a good change and is more efficient than the old plan. P.S. Ask my husband. I am one of those people that can't stand not doing something the most efficient way possible!!!

Tomorrow is C25K Week 1 Day 1 repeat. I hope to finish it this time. I'm determined to as long as I'm not in PAIN. If I'm just tired, I'll push through it.

Day 3

Nothing happened last night. I was/am having ankle issues, which are mostly resolved now. I chased/played with a 14.5 month old yesterday, so I did get some movement, even if it wasn't really exercising. I didn't do the Wii Fit because I knew I could do it today since we are shifting our C25K run to tomorrow. We're going out for my friend Emily's birthday party tonight, so by the time the hubs gets off work and we go celebrate, we won't be home in time for us to do what we need to do as far as C25K goes.

Source

My main goal today is to get 10 minutes of yoga, 20-30 minutes of step aerobics, and not to over-eat tonight at Olive Garden. Maybe I need to do what my mom used to do. Ask for a to go box right up front and put half of my food in the box for another meal. Eat only the half that's on my plate and save the other half for tomorrow for lunch! Not only will I be eating 1/2 the calories in one sitting, but I also get to enjoy my meal TWICE! Sounds very win-win to me!

Day 2

Last night...sucked. It s-u-c-k-e-d SUCKED. I have never felt so out of shape in my life. Last night, the hubs and I started Couch to 5k. I figured I'd have some issues. I figured I'd be exhausted afterward. I figured I'd really wanna stop. All of those things did occur. However, I did not anticipate the pain. Oh the pain! My lower back was killing me!!

Week 1, Day 1 of C25K has you warm up with a 5 minutes brisk walk then alternate between 90 second walks and 60 second runs. By the 7th run, I couldn't take the lower back pain anymore. The hubs convinced me to stop before I really injured myself. After being a moody, pissed-off mess for about 45 minutes after we got home, I realized he made the right call. I was never angry at him, though. I was angry at myself. Angry that I couldn't do even the basic, beginner's level of this program. Angry that I was in pain. Angry that I let myself get this out of shape and overweight. Angry that I quit. I posted about it on Facebook last night. Friends who are currently on week 8 of C25K encouraged me. They told me over and over again how the first couple of weeks make you want to die, no matter what weight you are. One friend said she woke up sore every day during the first week or so...and she's MUCH lighter/thinner than I. I felt encouraged, but I still felt like a failure to myself and to my husband. The hubs pointed out something to me that put things into prospective, though. He said, "You didn't quit, Sweetpea. You stopped." That one little tweaking of the word completely changed my mentality about this whole C25K thing. He's right. I didn't quit. I haven't quit. I just stopped when my body said (read: screamed!!!!) enough. I did what I needed to do to not cripple myself with pain or truly injure myself.

Source

Last night after I snapped out of my bad mood, I figured out how much time I actually had left to run. I only had 3 runs and 3 walks left, which is a total of around 7.5 minutes left. I made it through around 19.5 minutes, including the 5 minute warm-up. I guess I didn't do as bad as I thought I did.

Am I happy with my progress so far? Eh. I'm not thrilled I had to stop. However, I am thrilled I started and as one of my friends told me recently, that's more than half the battle!

Day 1

Today is Day 1. Day 1 of the rest of my life. Day 1 of a better body. Day 1 of feeling better. Day 1.

I got back on the proverbial horse today and used my Wii Fit. Geesh. What a let down. I didn't realize I'd gained THAT much weight. Yeah, my clothes still fit, but not the same. Exhale. Well...it's still time to make a change. Change doesn't happen over night. It takes time. It takes patience. It takes perseverance.

I've set up a schedule for myself. I'm one of those people that needs a schedule in order to be consistent. Plus, if it's in my calendar, I consider it a "to do." I always function better with a to do list that I can check off. Not only does it make me feel accomplished, but "Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don't shoot their husbands." (Hahaha...oh Elle Woods, we'd totally be friends.)

My schedule:
Monday-- AM or Early PM-- Wii Fit 10 Minutes Yoga/30 Minutes Free Step
Tuesday-- PM-- Couch to 5k with the hubs
Wednesday-- PM-- Wii Fit 10 Minutes Yoga/30 Minutes Free Step
Thursday-- PM-- Couch to 5k with the hubs
Friday-- AM-- Wii Fit 10 Minutes Yoga/30 Minutes Free Step
Saturday-- Early AM or PM-- Couch to 5k with the hubs
Sunday-- Rest

Today is Monday, so I followed my Monday schedule. I did my 10 minutes of yoga including deep breathing, the half moon pose, the warrior pose, the sun salutation, and the chair pose. Next, I got the 30 minute free step set up, turned the tempo as high as it would go and watched Millionaire Matchmaker off of my DVR while keeping to the beat pumping out of my Wii remote. MAN...I could feel the fact that I have gained weight and that I haven't exercised enough, but I'm feeling good now!

Stay tuned for an update about our first day of Couch to 5k tomorrow...if I'm not dead. :-)

So About That Whole Making A Change Thing...

I haven't started this routine yet. Before you deem me a slacker and stop reading, please hear me out!

The week after I wrote the last entry, the hubs and I went on a week long vacation with my parents, sisters, and maternal grandparents to Avon, NC, which is on Hatteras Island of the Outerbanks. We had a glorious time and ate a ton of seafood! Overall, I didn't eat poorly (minus the three ice cream cones I had that week...) I just didn't eat well. As for exercising, we walked...a lot, so I'm not too worried about that. However, I vowed to get started the week after we got back. Well...as much as I love my husband, he wasn't ready to give up the vaca eating habits, so I didn't either. The following week, I was struggling with how I felt. And then the next week. And then the next week. I was trying to figure out what was up. I also realized I was periodless. Hmmm....could we be pregnant after all this time of trying (12 months)? I don't know. We took four different urine tests, one being in-office and all were negative. I took a blood test yesterday. We are waiting on the results as of now. So...this whole blog revival might have to "weight." Ha. I'm hilarious.

I'll keep ya posted!

xo,
A


UPDATE HERE

Where Do I Go From Here?

Can I be honest with you?

Sure I can! What's a blog for after all?

I have gained weight since I got married.
Yep.
Shocker. I know.

The hubs and I have not done an amazing job staying fit. Right before we met each other, which was a few months after I stopped writing in this blog, we both lost about 15-20 lbs each. I managed to keep it off and lose a few more before we were married in June of 2010. After the wedding, which in 5 days will be one year ago, we started being lazy and not working out/eating as well as we should be. We've been discussing it lately and we're both sick of it. SICK, I tell you, SICK! Literally. My immune system has suffered this past year. My right knee has started hurting. My clothing is snug/not fitting as well as it should. I don't feel very good either. I just don't like it. I don't have the energy I once had. I hate feeling tired, sluggish, weak. It's time for a change, my friends.

I keep waiting on the hubs to initiate, but since his words aren't being backed with action right now, I've decided I'm just going to do it, even if it's alone. I am not the woman that's going to sit there and nag her husband about exercising. I may have to be the strong one about doing my part and hoping he follows my example. I may have to convince him to move the Wii into another room so that our working out doesn't interfere with the other's TV viewing. We shall see. Now, don't get me wrong! The hubs WANTS to lose some weight and get back into shape and he is very supportive of I doing the same. He just sometimes doesn't have the get-up-and-go mentality that was ingrained in my mind since I was little, so he needs a bit more encouraging.

I may need to figure out a "schedule" for myself. I don't do well with mornings. At all. Currently, I work W/Th 7:30-5 and F 12-5. I don't have a problem with working out on F morning before work or during the day M/T, but W/TH are going to be my hard days. Hopefully, since Max just turned one and since he's the only baby I have right now, I won't be as worn out at the end of the day and I can work out immediately when I get home. The hubs works til 5 every other week and until 6 the opposite weeks, so I can probably get it done most days before he gets home and on the other days, then I can finish while he makes dinner (he went to culinary school after all!)

I plan on mapping out some Wii Fit Plus workouts and sticking with them on a regular basis since going outside to walk is highly unmotivating. It's 90+ degrees here already and it's just mid-June! I don't plan on starting until AFTER we get back from our OBX (Outerbanks) vacation, but it's still nice to figure some things out and get myself motivated and pumped up to start when I get back. :-)

Thanks for listening!

~A