Well I started a new program with a friend of mine who has been an athlete her whole life, she is taking me to a ladies gym and kicking my butt into gear as best she can. We've done 2 45 minute work outs so far and I have to say, I'm doing okay with it. I need a person to get me into going on a regular basis and then hopefully I can keep myself doing it. I know I may need to hire one of the trainers on staff there eventually but I'm happy to start out with a friend and get into the routine. I still don't feel comfortable going to the gym so having a friend to do it with is nice. I really hope I keep this going better than I have in the past. I know I can't do it alone to start with and as much as I thought doing this blog and joining groups would help it just hasn't.... So I have high expectations with myself to keep up with this new program. I have a goal of 5 pounds a week weight loss and I know that it won't always work that way but you need goals.
This is the beginning of a new day. You have been given this day to use as you will. You can waste it or use it for good. What you do today is important because you are exchanging a day of your life for it. When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever; in its place is something that you have left behind...let it be something good. ~Author Unknown~
Well I've been sticking to my clean eating for the most part but not my workouts... I'm struggling with level 2 of the 30 day shred. That cardio is really kicking my butt, I'm considering adding more cardio in another form to build up my abilities. But I'm not sure if that will help of harm the cause.
Measure up
|
12-Jun
|
|
18-Jul
|
|
17
|
right arm
|
16
|
|
18
|
left arm
|
16.5
|
|
43
|
upper waist
|
39.5
|
|
45
|
lower waist
|
41
|
|
28
|
right thigh
|
27
|
|
29
|
left thigh
|
27.5
|
|
20
|
right calf
|
18
|
|
21
|
left calf
|
19
|
|
52
|
hips
|
48
|
It's encouraging because none of the numbers are the same anymore and I know continuing my workouts will boost the progress but I'm really having trouble staying motivated right now. I think because I'm not having success keeping up like I was in level 1, I may stick with level 2 for an additional 5 days... we will see.
I haven't been MIA because I'm slacking, I haven't worked out but there is a reason. On Wednesday my folks came over and we began an overhaul of my lawn and landscaping of my new home, it was a disaster... I think the neighbors were beginning to get annoyed. So I spent an entire day digging, pulling, and struggling to clear away the chaos that was the landscaping but in that did some serious work on my hamstrings. I'm assuming its from being in an awkward position for long periods of time that my body wasn't use to but whoa did my body ache the next day. It was torture to move and I still had loading and unloading of crap from my yard to do. So after those two days and some seriously sore legs, I took a break today. But I'm ready to get back tomorrow to level 2 of the 30 day shred and fight my way through the cardio.
Food wise I've kept up with the eating schedule to the best of my abilities and haven't gorged myself on some unclean sugar filled meal. So I'm pretty content with things.
Measurement Check:
12-Jun
|
|
13-Jul
|
17
|
right arm
|
16
|
18
|
left arm
|
16.5
|
43
|
upper waist
|
40
|
45
|
lower waist
|
41
|
28
|
right thigh
|
27.5
|
29
|
left thigh
|
27.5
|
20
|
right calf
|
18
|
21
|
left calf
|
19
|
52
|
hips
|
49.5
|
Starting to have 3-4 inch losses... that's exciting, and even though I can't physically see the difference it's still so encouraging to see this.
I have to say I'm proud of myself for keeping all this up. I've never been good at working out, eating writing, or keeping track of things like I have been. I know I had a period of nothing around the cleanse and holiday but I came back pretty solid so I'm patting myself on the back for that. It's the small hurtles that we make that we need to remember to give ourselves credit for, a success is not a failure so way to go me.
Workout: Day 2 of level 2 of the 30 day shred
I think today went pretty well, it's definitely kicking my butt to say the least right now, but I'm learning the moves and keeping up with the "badasses," as Jillian refers to the non-beginner moves, for the most part. I am struggling with keeping up in the cardio department but I'm trying my hardest to keep moving. I hope as the days pass and I've learned the moves better it will be easier to keep up with the cardio. Or I need to amp up in the cardio department and try doing other things...
Intake: (and I did make it up for breakfast, I think my subconscious read my post from yesterday and woke me up)
Breakfast: oatmeal and strawberries (I need another protein for the am, not always eggs)
Snack: hard boiled eggs; apple
Lunch: almonds, whole wheat pasta, Asian pear
Dinner: homemade nachos
Snack: apple with nut butter
I know I missed a snack in there but I'm getting better - 5 meals is better than what I was doing before.
Well I started level 2 of the 30 day shred and it was definitely a change from level 1. I spent a lot of today making sure I had the correct form so not pushing my hardest but I still worked up quite the sweat. There were a lot of moves that involved plank and it was more difficult to get the correct form down than I would have assumed, but that is my first concern to make sure I'm doing the moves correctly so I don't hurt myself and maximize the workout. So I was pleased that it wasn't has horrible as it could have been, even with skipping my workout yesterday, but its definitely going to push me to the next level. And can I say I much prefer this set of exercises rather than the ones she had chosen for level 1, funny that I'm actually saying that I like exercise.
I have been struggling with getting up early enough to eat breakfast. I've been waking up at around 10 and just getting right into my workout so I know I will do it and not find other things to do. But when I do that I skip breakfast and I know I really need to make the time for it. But I'm afraid that if I wait too long I'll skip out on the workout and go about my day. I guess its just tweaking life a step at a time.
I read on another blog somewhere about beginners wanting to see results either from the scale or by looking in the mirror all the time. I combated the first by not really measuring my progress through the scale but my measurements and I have it already planned out when I will check those. The thing I really hadn't thought about was how I would look for changes whenever I looked in the mirror. What I read was that its normal but to remember you probably won't see physical changes for at least 60 days. Now I'm about 15 days into this whole new take on life so I need to give myself a break from looking for some significant change. It's something you know in the back of your mind that you won't see changes for a while cause it takes work but you forget whenever you are in the mirror. So I try to remind myself whenever in front of mirror that its not been very long so you can't see the difference yet, but I know I sure feel the difference everyday.
The progress....
|
12-Jun
|
|
8-Jul
|
|
17
|
right arm
|
16
|
|
18
|
left arm
|
17
|
|
43
|
upper waist
|
41
|
|
45
|
lower waist
|
42
|
|
28
|
right thigh
|
28
|
|
29
|
left thigh
|
28
|
|
20
|
right calf
|
19
|
|
21
|
left calf
|
19
|
|
52
|
hips
|
50
|
See it's nice to see some change, even if its only a few inches at a time...
Well late last night, I got hungry and my brother ran for pizza and got me a grinder :( which I totally ate. Then I slept in way too late today and woke up and ate the remaining half. Then the rest of the day I laid around totally wasted. Now my guess would be 1. I did not workout because my tv was consumed by xbox. 2. I ate terribly. This is probably the first time that I noticed how not working out and eating terribly really make me feel. I've not slept a whole day since I was down with the flu, even before starting to eat clean. I'm not about to have a more balanced salad, which I'm certainly looking forward to.
It just goes to show how much food choices and lack of activity can really effect you once you start paying attention.
Well today has been a success in my book. I got up in the morning ate a bowl of oatmeal with some cinnamon and honey topped with strawberries and a banana. Did day 9 of the 30 day shred and really pushed myself today. I tried a lot harder than I have in a while, now the last set, especially cardio, was much harder to complete but I felt better as a whole cause I was really feeling it today. Then made a protein shake of my own....
Strawberry/Banana Protein shake
1 banana
4-5 strawberries
1 scoop of vanilla whey protein powder
1/4 cup of low fat yogurt
small handful of almonds
1 Tbsp wheat germ
2 handfuls of ice
1/2 cup of chilled green tea
Dinner: Roasted Turkey with cauliflower mashed "potatoes" and steamed broccoli
Snacks: banana with nut butter and the rest of my smoothie before bed.
My goal for this next week is to get lists of breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and snacks that I enjoy as a quick guide for planning my weekly diet and shopping and just ease of getting into a good eat clean schedule. I'm just trying to get as many ideas and recipes as I can so that when the school year starts up I won't have trouble sticking to the eat clean life. Any easy meal ideas?
Well I completed day 8 of the 30 day shred but it was a pretty mediocre workout for me. My shins and ankle were giving me pain whenever I started the cardio portions of the program, not sure what that was about. I don't think its anything serious, maybe time for some new shoes...
As for the food department today was a bust. I did not eat breakfast which is a big no no, had portabella pasta for lunch, chicken veggies and cheesy potatoes for dinner, oh and a piece of cake for mom's birthday. Not a good day in my book.
I am glad that I forced myself to get up and workout because I almost skipped it for no good reason at all. That's really all I need to continue to do, get up and do it, quit making excuses! So I'm very proud of myself today for just doing it.
Happy belated fourth!
Well this holiday and restart of a fresh start did not see eye to eye. I've snacked fairly well but indulged more than I would have liked or expected given that for me I was making pretty good decisions on what I was eating. I think the heartache, period, and holiday were my undoing... or I'd like to blame that. But really I was not dedicated enough the past few days to really stick to my plan. But now that the friends and family are gone there really is no reason for me to slack. So tomorrow its up early to eat breakfast and start day 8 of level 1 of the 30 day shred and stick much better to my clean eating schedule.
What I need to start really thinking about are the goals I want to accomplish with this. I know my overall goal is to become more healthy, yes by losing weight, but more so by making a significant life change in the way I eat and think about exercise so that I stick to it and become a more healthy person. But people always say you need short term goals to keep you motivated... that's what I've got to think about, my short term goals. Any suggestions?
So clearly I've been slacking and not posting just shows I've been slacking. I finished the detox but I wasn't super thrilled with it or the results. Plus I was so tired that I didn't work out and that was not good because it broke the routine I had just started. Needless to say I haven't worked out since before the detox but I'm setting my mind to get started again. I had my eyes opened again through a bit of heartache, typical. This person did not use my size or anything of the sort but I think the problem was that I'm not happy with myself so I'm not acting like myself and why would you want to hang around if I'm not me. So thanks to this person I'm kicking things up a notch. My goal for myself is to check in here everyday to track what I've eaten and what I've done for a work out. Today was not a good day. I slept in till noon, which is completely unheard of for me but I think my body was stopping so my mind and heart could unwind. But I will still track what I did today.
Breakfast/Lunch: protein banana almond green smoothie
Dinner: Chicken breast with homemade strawberry sauce and grilled asparagus.
Snack: banana with nut butter
and of course lots of water throughout the day.
Unfortunately I did not work out, not to make an excuse but I had the worst cramps today and was out helping my mom pick up stuff for her 4th of July party so I wasn't just sitting at home all day.
So tomorrow I plan to get up early, pick up where I left off with my Jillian Michaels 30 day shred and get my 6 clean meals in.
Well I tried the bone broth and I'm not sure I'm a fan of the flavor or consistency. It has this almost oil feel to it that I'm not sure I enjoy but I'm changing things up so it could also be that I just really want some fatty comfort food to really fill me up. I also weighed myself again because I was by a scale and had gained a pound... I'm assuming it is because my body is changing to this whole new plan and is in food storage mode until it gets used to it. We shall see. My measurements are about the same, maybe slightly less so I'm okay with it so far. I'm not so patiently waiting for my Tosca Reno cookbook to arrive so that I can plan out all the wonderful new clean meals I'm going to be eating on in 4 more days. Other than that I feel pretty good, not very different or anything. I expected to feel more different than I do but maybe in another day or too. I'm just not sure all the toxins are really leaving my body through this detox.
So I've started Tosca Reno's detox. I'm at the end of the second day, where you should stick with liquids, I stuck with water and water with lemon until the end of today when I had to eat something because my stomach was churning. I ate a fresco taco from taco bell because we were there. I feel like I've cheated myself some but I needed something to curb my appetite. The first day went quite well though and I didn't feel like I was starving just slightly hungry. I'm currently cooking the bone broth that she suggests for the next 5 days of my detox. I did weigh myself today even though I'm not sure I will continue weighing myself at other points but for a starting point it was 292 pounds, ouch. Well I'm hoping this detox resets my system and I can start eating clean with less toxins.
A couple of days ago I took pictures of myself to look back on when I hopefully get in much better shape. These are rough for me to see but I am going to share them so that I keep myself accountable to not stop this path I am on and move into a healthier life.
So I started making changes with the way I was living my life in the terms of food and exercise, June 11 to be precise. Now you have to understand that I've never really worked out or watched what I ate so this is all very new and very difficult at times for me. I made a decision that I would spend the summer changing my life, I would start exercising and eating better. I started working out using Jillian Michaels 30 day shred. I'm going to run through the days with how much I was able to complete and how I felt.
Day 1: only completed 10 minutes of the whole workout, totally exhausted, not sore right away but sore that night.
Day 2: 12 mins of serious workout and it didn't make me as tired that day, but I was sore from the previous day. I also took my measurements this day (all in inches).
| right arm |
17 |
| left arm |
18 |
| upper waist |
43 |
| lower waist |
45 |
| right thigh |
28 |
| left thigh |
29 |
| right calf |
20 |
| left calf |
21 |
| hips |
52 |
Day 3: 17 mins and I was feeling pretty good.
Day 4: 19 mins of serious workout and I wasn't super tired or sore.
Day 5: Total fail... I couldn't even finish the dvd maybe 3 mins of workout. I was so tired, not at all motivated, it was a flop of a day for me.
Saturday and Sunday I took off. At this point my diet as not changed much, I have started drinking about 2 liters of water though.
Day 6: Completed ALL 20 mins of the shred and felt great after. I even decided to check my measurements cause I was curious and glad I did.... There were a few places where I had lost a few inches which was a total booster!
| right arm |
17 |
| left arm |
17.5 |
| upper waist |
40 |
| lower waist |
42 |
| right thigh |
28 |
| left thigh |
29 |
| right calf |
20 |
| left calf |
21 |
| hips |
51 |
Day 7: 20 mins but it was a lot harder. This is also the day my Tosca Reno Eat Clean Diet book arrived. Needless to say I spent the day reading it from cover to cover.
Day 8: never happened because I started a detox to begin my new eat clean habits.
This is the first post of my new blog that I will be using as my outlet for my fresh start for life. I am working on taking my life in a better direction by changing the way I live, particularly how I eat. This blog will be used as my journal to track the ups, downs, and everything that comes with this journey. Thank you for stopping by to check out the progress I've made.
