Fit Friday

***Warning....long, long, long post***

In search for a witty title I figured Friday would be a great place to start documenting my fitness journey.  I don't want to say weight loss, because as that is a definite bonus, my real goal here is to get fit and healthy.

Before I start, I must put in a disclaimer.  I am NOT a nutritionist or a personal trainer.  This post is meant as a personal record for myself, however, if I can help out one person in their journey as well, then great.  This is my plan, what I am trying, be it right or wrong.  If you are here to judge, please keep moving; however, if you have suggestions for exercises I can try or recipes I might like, then by all means I would love to hear them.

The Beginning:
A little background.  I am 41 years young, 5'7" and have always carried around extra weight. I was athletic growing up so I was able to keep my weight in check, but that changed during college and my early 20s.  I joined Weight Watchers in the late 90s and lost quite a bit of my college weight.  I was also in the Air National Guard so I needed to maintain my weight but I was always pushing the max limit.  My exercise was pretty limited to my yearly run.

In 1998 I was at my thinnest of my adult life when I got married.  I was able to maintain that weight and then became pregnant with my first child.  I gained 86 pounds with her (yes, 86) because well, I was eating for 2.  I think I lost about 20 pounds between my first and second child.  I only gained 13 with my son, but still....I was severely overweight. I tried fad diets and rejoined Weight Watchers.  I exercised occasionally.  I was on WW for about 4 years and lost and gained the same 10 pounds....not their fault, mine, I had no will power, no control over what I put in my mouth.  Every time I cheated I would eat out of control for the rest of the day and try again the next...it was a viscous cycle.  At my heaviest I weighed somewhere around 225 pounds, that was in 2011.  I was miserable and needed to take control. 

On April , 2011 I walked into the Key Hypnosis for my first session.  That decision changed my life.  I haven't stepped on the scale since but what I can tell you is that I went from a tight 18 to a 10 by just changing the way I ate.  I started exercising more and the changes in my body (not only the weight loss but the way it looked and felt) became noticeable.

Fast Forward to November 2013:
I was still in a size 10 and felt great.  I was working out, ran my first 5K in March of 2013 and was loving being 40.  I hadn't been off the Key program and got a bit too confident and started taking liberties in the way I ate.  Which is fine, the Key program is designed for you to be able to eat on maintenance, it isn't a diet but a lifestyle change.  (In short weight loss is meat and veggies, you start to add foods in during maintenance); however, I took too many liberties and started going back to the way I was eating pre Key....bad idea.  I was able to quickly squash that but since I started working full time I had a hard time managing everything at home and exercising, so while I was still a 10...I started to become a tight 10 and frankly felt like a stuffed sausage. 

When summer rolled around I no longer fit in my shorts from last summer....ok, back on the exercise train...I had come this far, there was no going back.  I had pretty much lost my endurance for running and needed to start building that back up.  I started running each morning and going back to the gym 3-4 times a week.  I also started eating right again.  (I won't go into the Key program in too much detail because there is a lot of reasoning and background to it.  It is very close to Paleo though.  I will share recipes and plan on posting my menu on Mondays).

Where I am Today & Fit Friday:
Things have started getting busy around here prepping for back to school and with football, fall ball and field hockey starting up.  My morning runs are continuing but I had to get creative in my workout schedule, which is what brought me to Fit Friday in the first place.  I made a 30 day calendar of daily workouts (with Sundays off).  I plan on incorporating challenges found on Pinterest, my runs and other things.  I need this to be doable for my time constraints and the fact that I probably won't be able to get to the gym all that often so I need to be able to work out in my home with minimal equipment.  I also need this to be something that I will do and that I can increase each month.

My plan is to post a recap of the week on Fridays with the workout for the following week.  My weekly workouts will consist of a run (that I try to do Mon-Sat), a few challenges (following the challenge schedule) and a HIIT workout 3x/week (I will post the ones that I did that week on Friday).  Please remember, this is just what I am doing (and hope will work).  Sunday will be a rest day.  Obviously weight loss is an added benefit but I don't weigh myself.  I go by how my clothes feel and how I look.  I am taking measurements and will post those once a month as well. If you are on your own journey, I would love for you to join in on Fridays and let me know how your week went as well.

This month I am doing a squat and plank challenge and throwing in some push ups and dips to help build my upper body strength.

Week 1 - Walk/Run (1/4w, 1/4r, 1/4w, 1/2r, 1/4w, 1/4r, 1/4w)

Monday - 15 squats, 20 second plank
Tuesday - 25 squats, 20 second plank
Wednesday - 40 squats, 30 second plank
Thursday - 30 squats, 30 second plank, 10 push ups, 5 dips
Friday - 40 second plank
Saturday - 30 squats, 45 second plank, 12 push ups, 7 dips

This is the week I am in and I feel great.  I have accomplished everything so far with the exception of the run on Thursday as I went to a Red Sox game Wed night and getting home at 2 am does not make a productive morning.

Here is the plan for next week:

Week 2 - Walk/Run ((1/4w, 1/4r, 1/4w, 3/4r, 1/4w, 1/4r, 1/4w)

Monday - 45 squats, 45 second plank, 14 pushups x2, 9 dips x2
Tuesday - 25 squats, 1 minute plank, 10 pushups x2, 5 dips x2
Wednesday - 25 squats, 1 minute plank, 16 pushups x2, 11 dips x2
Thursday - 1 minute plank
Friday - 60 squats, 1 1/2 minute plank, 18 push upsx2, 13 dips x2
Saturday - 20 squats, 1 1/2 minute plank, 10 push ups x2, 5 dips x2

HIIT 3x/week

I used the 30 day plank challenge from www.shrinkingjeans.net (the one from 12/2013 but sadly can't find the original post) and cut the number of squats in 1/2 (I know my own body....I'm on Friday of week 1 and sore). 

I apparently deleted the plank challenge from my photo stream so I apologize that I can't give credit where it is due.

For accountability my measurements at the beginning: 

Waist 40"
Hips 43 1/2"
Bust 41 1/2"
Arm 11 1/2"
Thigh 21 1/2"

Would love to hear your thoughts and any links to great challenges or at home workouts I can try.

Tracy





 

   

Movin' Right Along

*This is my second post of the day...if you are looking for the CTMh Jackpot June deal, scroll down one post.

As I write this post, I can't stop myself from humming the song Moving Right Along from the Muppet Movie. As they say, half the fun is getting there and that is what my post is all about today. I think I have transformed myself into a runner {gasp}. Who would have ever thought that I would actually ever say that, certainly not me. I hate to run. Growing up I was a swimmer so I didn't have to play sports where running was involved. I would get hit playing baseball so I had to walk to 1st base (honestly I was really bad anyway...but that is the excuse I am using) and I opted to have the soccer ball coming at me full force in goal so I wouldn't have to run the field...I hated running. Now, though I actually am becoming quite fond of it.

A few months ago I started the C25K program and went through week 2...loved it and well, all excuses aside I had to start over 3 weeks ago. This is a wonderful program that takes you from the couch to running a 5k in 2 months with baby steps. I am now day 2 into week 3 and up to running 3 minutes straight...might not sound like alot but for a 37 year old who is overweight and hated to run...it is a lot to me and I am tooting my own horn. you are supposed to run that weeks workout 3 times...since 3 minutes is a jump from the 90 seconds of last week, I am chugging right along...but still moving. I plan on doing day 3 on Friday and if I am still chugging will most likely repeat the workout until I have 3 minutes down pat...next week I think we up to 5!

Along with the running/walking I am still doing the kick boxing and thinking of adding Jillian's 30 minute Shred in the mornings (cuz I want this weight off...I might as well melt it off with all the exercise!). I am also faithfully tracking and the scale nudged in the right direction last week (which after 4 weeks without a weigh in...I will take that nudge!). Who knows I might be wearing a new summer wardrobe by August. Right now...I am still covering up!

Have a great one -

Tracy

3.4 Down

I suppose that happy dances are the thing for me to be doing...because I have...all week! I had a tough week last week with my obsession with food. When I am out of my element, I tend to let go of my good intentions and eat...eat like there is no tomorrow. Last week with it being a holiday week - I thought for sure my weight loss plans were going to suffer. We attended 2 picnics had one late night fast food run and a retirement party. I was as good as I could be, ate what I really craved and skipped everything else....well, something I did was right because I am 3.4 lbs lighter for doing so (yep...whoooo! hooo!).

So with that great news, I trudged on and really started working at this. When I got home Saturday from my WW meeting, I put on my running clothes and out I went. I ran...high from the thrill of the great victory at the scale and can run almost 1/8th of a mile...almost...the whole way. I know..it is only 1/8th mile, but to me, that is a victory in itself. It has been a long time (a very very long time) since I last ran and I only did it because I was in Basic Training and had to do it, but now I am at it again...a whole lot older, a whole lot heavier and with all those extra jiggly parts...it hurt...like hell. But, off I went again on Sunday and Monday...took a break on Tuesday, and off again on Wednesday. My short term goal is to work up to run a whole mile....long term is to complete a 5K. But the whole benefit of putting my body through this torture is for health and weight loss...and to loose a few of those extra jiggly parts...you know, the ones that shouldn't jiggle.

So...keep those fingers crossed for me. I have been tracking my points, being honest with myself (I do have to admit that I haven't always been honest on this journey...but I realize it isn't going to work if I am not), eating healthy and yummy foods, and exercising, so I expect my adventure at the scale Saturday morning to be a happy one. Stay tuned for next Thursday's update and I hope to be back with some fun stuff on Mojo Monday.

Take care and stay positive,

Tracy

3.4 down....41.6 to go until the new and improved me!