April didn't go quite as planned

Wednesday, May 01, 2013

I had hoped to get in more than 11 workouts in April so that I could beat the amount of workouts from March, but that didn't quite happen. Instead it was a tie.

I totally could have gotten in more... especially since I went an entire week without doing anything, but there's always May, right? I did pass 500 fitness minutes for the month for the first time in a very, very long time though so that made me feel good.

I've been drinking plenty of water. That's always an easy thing for me to stick with, thank goodness.

I'm tracking my food this week and staying in my ranges. I even managed to say no thank you to some foods that I would normally inhale without a second thought... like cake. I was surrounded by cake today and didn't touch a bite of it. It's a small victory, but I'll take it!

I completed Week 2 Day 1 of the C25K program this week. I should have done Day 2 tonight, but my mom came over so that'll get bumped to tomorrow instead.

I'm still dealing with some emotional stuff right now, but I'm hoping it'll get better soon. At least I'm not using it as an excuse to stuff my face so far.

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Tight calf muscles... suck on running days!

Thursday, April 25, 2013

When I was running before. I occasionally had some knee pain (thanks to a case of bursitis a couple of years ago)... and some shin splint pain from time to time.

I don't recall ever having super tight (to the point of being painful) calf muscles though until now.

I did C25K Week 1, Day 1 on Monday and my calf muscles stayed tight throughout my workout... and the entire next day.

Wednesday when it was time for Week 1, Day 2 my calf muscles were still a little tight... and then they got super tight again.

I made it through the workout, but it was a struggle.

At one point I accidentally pulled the little magnet thing that must be in place for the treadmill to work (talk about an abrupt stop!) so I got a bit of a break mid-workout. I seriously considered quitting, but I finished the workout instead.

Today I'm pleasantly surprised that my legs feel awesome! No tightness... no pain!

I'm hoping that remains true tomorrow for Week 1, Day 3! *crossing fingers*

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What's different now?

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

I've been thinking about the things that are different now from when I was doing really well with the weight loss.

It seems like it's been forever since I was losing... and it has been forever! It has been over a year since I've been able to log a loss!



I'm mad at myself for gaining back a big chunk of what I lost... and embarrassed that I've become one of "those" people. You know, the people that do great for a while and then gain it all back... or the people that have been on SP for a couple of years and don't have much to show for it according to their weight loss ticker.

So what's different now?

I am not consistently tracking what I'm eating. I track here and there, but that's obviously not good enough. Estimating how many calories I'm eating each day is clearly NOT working! I need to see exactly what I am eating and how much... in black and white! I've been fairly good with portion control and I still measure/weigh my food each day, but there's room for improvement! My goal is to start tracking my food again next week!

I am eating out more often. I lost 50 pounds by being mindful about what I was eating and that included a LOT of meals at home because I am more likely to eat healthy at home. I will choose something unhealthy almost every single time if I am eating out. The unhealthy stuff always seems to taste better, but I need to remember that it doesn't help me reach my goals. I am good at preparing my meals ahead of time during the week, but I need to start planning for my weekend meals too!

I am not going to the gym. This really shouldn't matter because if you saw one of my previous blogs I have my own little gym at home now! I don't even have to leave the house to workout! I have NO excuse for not working out several times a week, but that doesn't stop me from lounging on the couch instead more often than I care to admit. When I was going to the gym I treated it like it was my job. I HAD to show up on scheduled gym days. It didn't matter if I was tired or hungry or just didn't want to go. I went anyway! I need to start treating working out like it's my job again... at least until it becomes a habit rather than something that I just make myself do.

I'm not blogging. When I was really losing weight... I was blogging almost daily. It was an excellent outlet for me to express my hopes and fears, to vent about my frustrations or whatever might be bothering me, to celebrate my accomplishments, and to be an active part of this community! Sitting back on the sidelines is not working... maybe getting more active again will help. It can't hurt to try, right?


Yesterday I started the Couch to 5K program using the Zen Labs C25K Free app on my iPhone. I have an elliptical that I love, but I felt awesome when I was running and I've missed it. When I was running before I didn't follow any particular program. I just walked a minute, ran a minute, walked a minute, ran a minute. I gradually increased my running time and had worked my way up to running 15 minutes straight. I was SO excited about that! I was walking 5 minutes for a warm up, running 15 minutes, walking one minute, running 15 minutes and walking 5 minutes for a cool down. I REALLY want to get back to at least that! This time around I decided to give the C25K program a try. I figured it'll be more structured than what I was doing and it'll force me to push myself a bit more. Week 1 Day 1 went well... I didn't feel like I was going to die at any point during the workout and I feel great today.

They recommend that you give yourself a rest day between workouts. I was feeling so good today that I considered skipping the rest day by using the elliptical, but I reminded myself that I can't keep the "all or nothing" mentality if I want to stick with this... so I'm taking my rest day so I can do Week 1 Day 2 tomorrow.

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My little gym!

Monday, March 18, 2013

We've finally got the home gym all set up and I'm super excited!

I've been neglecting the treadmill lately because I LOVE the elliptical! The plan is to use the elliptical to get back down to my pre-pass out weight and then start alternating between the elliptical and running on the treadmill. I miss running, but it's a little tough on my knees with the extra pounds.

The house has a "loft" on the second floor, which has been turned into the cardio area. The treadmill and elliptical are in that room. I also have my stability ball and some dumbbells in there right now.

One of the spare bedrooms houses our new Bowflex! Hello strength training... boy have I missed you!

I really need some stuff on the walls in these rooms now! I want some bright, motivational things (pictures, decals, etc.) to hang on the walls, but I haven't been able to find what I want just yet.









So far this month I've managed to exercise twice a week. I'm looking to bump that up to at least 3 times a week starting this week.

I really need to start doing better with my food though. I do really well during the week, but the weekends are messing me up. The weekends are the only time that I have with my boyfriend right now, so we usually end up eating out at least once and it's generally not something healthy. I need to work on that!

Everything in my life right now is completely crazy and I am kind of hating life right now. =( It has been a struggle to keep myself from eating a pint of ice cream every night when I get home from work. Unfortunately, I don't expect things to get any better for quite some time so I'm just trying to take it a day at a time right now.

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Elliptical awesomeness for real this time! =)

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

The new console for the elliptical arrived yesterday and in a matter of minutes the elliptical was fixed! Yay!!!



I found another piece that the delivery people broke and called Sole Fitness about it. They are sending a replacement part ASAP, but luckily it's not a part that really matters. By the way, their customer service has been AWESOME!

Today I thought about waiting until Monday to start using the elliptical... but then I thought why not start using it right away? What sense does it make to put it off?

So I got home from work and immediately got ready to get on the elliptical... before I could try to talk myself out of it!

I now realize exactly how out of shape I've gotten!



I wasn't really pushing myself because I have a tendency to over do it and I want to avoid that... so I made it 2.1 miles in 35 minutes and burned 466 calories. Definitely not my best workout, but that just means there is a lot of room for improvement!

I'm ready to start seeing GOOD changes!

Oh and I need to remember... tight laces on the treadmill... loose laces on the elliptical! My toes used to go numb on the elliptical at the gym occasionally... but I think both FEET were numb by the end of tonight's workout! lol

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