In other news

I probably should have posted this when I started running, but whatever!

Mkay so if you go way back in my blog you'll see that I was keeping track of my weight and hip to waist measurements. Well I was doing that every week and it got a lil tedious. So what I was thinking of doing is keeping track of my hip and waist measurements every month. I feel like if I do it every week or even every other week there's not going to be a lot of change to monitor.

But I would just like to say that when I started working out this summer I weighed 186. And even though I wasn't eating as well/ drinking more mtn dew than I should have, I came back from summer vacation weighing 180. Well I just spur of the moment checked my weight before taking a shower this morning and I'm down to 177.

Yay!

I know it's small, but it shows that I'm making progress. My long-term goal is to lose 40 lbs. I don't remember the last time I weighed 140....Probably back in junior high? Idk. I've always looked ok because the weight is all displaced well across my body. I'm thankful for that. I don't have a huge pudge in the middle of my stomach to work around. It's just all in that lower ab/thigh area for me. 

But yea my goal is to eventually lose 40 lbs. I'm thinking of doing something for myself each time I lose 10 lbs. I dunno :) 

Oh! and my roommate got me this dress last year that buttons from top to bottom and it was too small :/ The top part buttoned fine but it was too tight around my middle and thigh area. Well last night just for shits n giggles I tried it on and it buttoned! There was some room to move in it, but it still puckered a bit where the buttons fastened. But hey! I could wear it :) So that dress is gonna be my milestone marker. I'm gonna keep checking myself in it from time to time to see how it fits/how much weight I've lost. 

I guess I could post a pic of me in it....I'll do that later lol

New plan of action

My original plan of action had been to get up at 7 every day, which I do, and then go for my run before my first class at 9. That would give me just enough time to run, shower, and get out the door. But.....the problem has been that I'll wake up to my alarm and then proceed to hit snooze again and again and again until it's like 8:30 and I've got just enough time to put on pants and hop on my bike.

Today followed that same suit. Wake up at 7, stay in bed til 8:30, and then class. But then as soon as I got home I put on my workout clothes and got out the door. I went for my run, took a shower, and had enough time to lazily put on makeup and fix myself my meal replacement shake from Advocare.

The new plan of action is to wake up at 8 and go to class then come back and run, shower, make a shake, and go to my next class. It's still early enough to kind of be considered morning. But really what I'm looking at is I don't want to run in front of people. Yes, I'm insecure. I'd just like to not really be judged for this and so I don't want to run in front of a lot of people. Today there were a few people out but it wasn't that bad because it was still morning and no one likes morning classes.

So I'm gonna try this out and hopefully this should work fairly well.

Breaking in my running shoes

Got up and ran another 2 miles!
Woot!

Making sure to take my Advocare products. I'm through the Cleansing Phase and into the Max Phase. I really like the meal replacement shake. Tastes like chocolate!

Breaking in my running shoes :)

Dealing with Reality

(heavy sigh)
Coming back to school has been so hard for me. When I was taking classes over the summer I was in a regime. I had class. I did my homework. I worked out. I ate healthy (ish). Then I go home and I'm not gonna lie I drank a lot of mtn dew. I'm a sugar queen :/ I was still eating pretty healthy. But I was out of sync.

I had thought that once I got back to school I would get back into a regime. I would wake up early. I would work out. Hell I even bought this product called Advocare from my cousin and I thought I would really give this a try.

All I ended up doing was not doing my homework, spending my excess time on imgur, and watching movies.

I've been using the Advocare products albeit inconsistently.
I've been eating out more than I should.
I've been slacking when it comes to doing my homework.
And I've been hitting the snooze when it comes up to getting my ass out of bed and running in the morning.

Now I could try and do my exercise later in the day, but if I'm really honest with myself I won't do it. I'll get to busy with other things that are going on in my life. I just won't do it. So it's either morning or late at night, which is when I like to hang out with my friends.

But this morning I woke up anxious, again, about how I have no traction right now. We just finished the 3rd week of school and I'm floundering all over the place! I haven't been doing my homework for my practicum classes (important classes for my teaching degree), I haven't been using the product that I spent over $100 on, and I'm not happy.

So this morning I kicked myself in the ass.

I wrote a letter to myself saying how I know that I'm pretty but I'm not comfortable. I at least have some self-esteem, but I'm not comfortable in my own body. I look at myself and I see a smaller me just wanting to get out. Kind of what I'd said in previous entries. But yea, it's really been bothering me that I've been so lazy! And my lil brother is really my idol through all this. I mean he used to be so introverted and so shy and he just flipped a switch and now he's a catalyst and just amps up everything that he's involved in. He's been unhappy with the weight that he gained his freshman year and he's taken it upon himself to go work it off. He's done a Tough Mutter and he's run in all these races. Even when he was in Washington D.C this summer for his internship he found the time to run. He's just all around amazing and my role model right now. And I feel like I'm letting him down.....

I want to change. 

No one else is going to get me to do it.

I have to do it. 

And I'm definitely getting angry enough with myself for being lazy

I'm tired of sitting on the sidelines.

I need to get the fuck up and do something about it.

So today I ran 2 miles.
I'm gonna run another 2 miles tomorrow.

And the day after that.

Until it becomes a system.

When I go over to Germany I'll find something to do so that I stay on track. I will. But this is the present and I need to get my shit together because frankly I hate dealing with all this anxiety. I can't. I need to get my life together. 

So before I could talk myself out of it I did something about it this morning. Now I just gotta do it again tomorrow and the day after that. 

Working out at the rec center

Hey all! I promise I didn't forget about working out. For these next two weeks I'm gonna be visiting the rec center every day before lunch and working out for an hour. So today I warmed up on a stationary bike for 20 min, cuz I got bored after that lol But it was a good warm up. Then I proceeded to do my weight training and ab workout. I did three sets of all that and headed over to my rowing machine. Mmmmm. That was a good half hour. I went approximately 4700m and burned like 220 calories + the 180ish I burned on the stationary bike earlier. Woot! So since I didn't post Friday, whoops!, here's my measurements and pics and such. 

My current weight: 184

My current Waist measurement: 36"

My current Hip measurement: 42"

My current Thigh measurement: 27"

Row row row your boat

Ohhhhhhh I feel so good right now. I just finished telling my roommate all this, but I'll jot it down here too. So earlier today I tried to motivate myself to do Insanity. I was like, "Yea come one. You gotta do this. Come on......." And yea it wasn't happening. Finally I psyched myself to getting dressed and getting my laptop all set up. When I start up Insanity I'm just trying to get myself into it, get motivated. Not happening. I stopped at least 3 times and was just like, nope. I don't want to do this. Nope, I really don't want to do this. Fuck I'm not in the mood for this. I walk away from my laptop. Come back. Close my laptop. And then I'm like, "Well I should do something." So I put on a shirt, hop on my bike, and pedal my way over to the rec center on campus.

This was my first time working out in there! :)

So I'm all cutsy with the guy and obviously a newbee. Not flirting with the guy, pfft but I'm sure I look like a freshman or sophomore who doesn't quite know her way around lol Anywho, I ask the guy if he needs to swipe my card and he says "yes please". So I give it to him and I'm waiting for him to give it back and he quick tells me that he hangs on to it. Yea. I might as well have a stamp on my forehead lol

Sooooo...... I make my way upstairs because I wanted to see all that was up there. I find a digital stationary bike and hop on. Kinda finicking with the settings. Figuring out the resistance, what setting to use, how to pedal. Tell you what riding fixed gear and then coming back to regular bikes is so weird! I'm so use to have the direct relation of effort put into the pedals being constant. I swear it was like I hadn't quite gotten my sea legs or something. I'm sure I looked silly. I set up the program to run for an hour but I got bored 20 min in. I'd been looking around and I'd noticed some weights over yonder. So I paused it after the 20 min and I had the intention of doing some ab work and weight lifting then coming back to it. Ohhh that felt so good. The ab work out was pretty good. Just to cover my bases. I did 20 of those. Then I picked up 5 lb barbells and did some dips behind, lifts to the side, and lifts in the front 10x. I did that circuit 3 times and then I was gonna hop back on my bike.

Well apparently I'd been off the bike for too long cuz it went and shut itself off. I try and finick with it, but then I'm just like fuck it. I look around look around and I spot a rowing machine. I'd seen a girl use it like 15 min ago and I was just thinking, why the hell not? Push a few buttons, strap in my feet, and start pulling. Ohhhhh I fell in love. I was on that baby for half an hour and burned like 200 calories and felt like I was working my entire body. Push back/pull, release, push back/pull, release. Oh it was beautiful. After I got warmed up in like 10 minutes I smiled to myself and said Fuck yea I got this! mmmmmmm it was so sexy. I can't even fully describe how good I felt with that machine. (rolls rrrrrr's) ;)

So I think I'm gonna definitely go back to that tomorrow. Idk about Insanity if I'm gonna still try to keep up with that or what. I've got 2 weeks before I head home. So that's 2 weeks that I can spend in the gym on my beloved rowing machine and doing other stuff.

And hell the way I look at it, Insanity got me wanting to work out. My aerobics class gave me a lot of knowledge about working out and I should do 30 min of vigorous working out or 60 min of moderate working out. I worked out for a lil over an hour tonight and I feel great. Plus, this helps me for during the semester in the fall because we'll have another girl in the house so I won't be able to use it as a workout room. I was gonna have to go to the gym sooner or later.

Oh! I did have an epiphany though. The reason that I was getting so frustrated with Insanity is that it had no weight lifting. It was just all cardio and jumping here and there. That stuff is good and all but from my past experience I would do just lifting weights. I would do a lot of upper body workouts. And I've really been missing that. So maybe what I'll end up doing is having my rowing every other day and having cardio days. Idk. That sounds like a pretty good plan though. But man oh man I do love that rowing machine. I finally feel strong again. I felt so clunky and just everywhere when I do Insanity. Today I felt like I had a real handle on things  :)

Ok din din time then I gotta study for my other exam!!

Hey Sorry

No time to workout today. I'm hardcore working on a final project for tomorrow THEN I need to read and review some chapters for my aerobics final tomorrow.

Deep Breaths

Today was good :)

Work out was good :)

Lots of stretching, got my heart pumping, started sweating

It's interesting to be working up a sweat when just doing stretching, but it gets pretty tricky.

Now time for shower and gotta do homework.

3 days left of classes!!!

Developing a new lifestyle

I'm criticizing myself because I've become somewhat complacent with missing a day here and making it up later. I mean there are arguments for both sides:

For Sticking with the Regimented Workout

• It's proven to work well staying on schedule
• It's creates a better routine throughout the week
• It's designated for a 2 month routine

Reasons It's Ok to Deviate Sparingly

• As long as I'm working out 3-5 times per week I'll stay healthier
• I want to make this into a longer standing routine than just 2 months
• There may be some times where life gets in the way and my workout have to take the back burner

I did my workout today. Sorta? It said that it was Pure Cardio and Cardio Abs and I did the Cardio Abs. I wasn't sure whether or not to do them both because on every other one that it has Cardio Power and Resistance it's all bundled up into the same video. But anyway, I got back into it and I intend to stick with this program (hopefully) without deviating anymore than I already have. 

The way that I look at it is that I want this to be a kickstart for me to have a more healthy life, not just a quick-fix program. After being in this aerobics class and being around my professor I really like the idea of being more physically active. There are new foods that I want to try and cook because I want to get away from packaged foods with trans fats and high sodium. I want to be working out, even though sometimes I really do drag my feet on it because it's hard work. 

Oh! That reminds me. There was this position where we're contorted in a C and we have to life both our legs to our chest, out, then up, then back down and do it over again. Yea my hips were popping at that :/ no bueno. So I don't know if that's because of my lack of abs or something with my hips. Hopefully I'll get better at that. 

But yea, I'm making good progress overall. 

• I've cut out mtn dew from my diet (excluding the mishap back at home, which I'll try to avoid when I go back after classes)
• I've been eating healthier
• Not so much processed foods
• Eating more fruits
• I still need to eat more veggies though
• I think I'll talk to my dad when I go home and see if we can go to the Market and do some daddy-daughter bonding :)
• And I've been active 3-5 days every week even with my mishaps

Um...I have a scheduled Off Day that would fall on Friday, but I think I might just skip that since I had 2 days off this past weekend. However, it's been awhile since you guys have seen an update from me in regard to my weight and such. Tentatively, my weight is currently 186.2 That's me just weighing myself a few seconds ago lol But I'll do another check on Friday with full pics and sizing and whatnot.So hold out for that. 

The main thing I want to walk away from this is a new sense of accomplishment and the knowledge that I can change my weight if I put in the time. And I'm trying to do that. 

Sweat Dripping Deliciousness

I'm actually coming to like having sweat dripping down my back. Means I had a good workout :) But yea today was Plyometric Cardio. Tough shit! This one along with the pure cardio are the worst. There at the end the circuits are up, down, jump back do 4 push ups, run it out then do it again and again and again. It's rough! That shit I could do, not quite as fast as them, but I was definitely doing it!

Then the next circuit had us doing more pushups and we'd have to jump up to the left and then the right. Abdominals! And then we'd jump out-then back in-then back out-then back in....Sounds kinda kinky now that I think about it ;)

Pervertedness aside, that was the circuit I had a lil bit of trouble with. It wasn't necessarily that I couldn't jump up and back in, my arms just couldn't take it. Maybe I should work in some other push ups earlier in the day...?

Anywho, thanks for reading this! I gotta go grab some supper!

Fit Test #2

Hey! Today was another Fit Test. I was kinda dreading this all day because I started this a bit after 7 because I forgot I had to meet with a classmate to go over a presentation for Tuesday. A part of me was like, "Uhg I have to do this..." and another part of me was genuinely kinda excited. I wanted to see if I had progressed or not. 

And I totally did!!

These are the scores from my first Fit Test

1. Switch Kick: 80?
2. Power Jacks: 36
3. Power Knees: 68
4. Power Jumps: 17
5. Globe Jumps: 6
6. Suicide Jumps: 9
7. Push-up Jacks: 11
8. Low Plank Oblique: 30?

And these are the scores from my second Fit Test

1. Switch Kick: 86
2. Power Jacks: 40
3. Power Knees: 78 
4. Power Jumps: 26
5. Globe Jumps: 7
6. Suicide Jumps: 12
7. Push-up Jacks: 20
8. Low Plank Oblique: 32 

I improved in all the exercises :) It kind of interesting just looking back at the first post from where I am right now. And I felt like I had better form on all of these too. The switch kicks I dunno if I'm getting my feet up high enough... The power jacks are a bitch but I'm actually starting to like those. Because they suck so much I'm really trying to do those ones well. Weird I know lol Oh and the power knees were good. The problem that I have is trying to keep my balance.

Oh so while we're talking about things to work on: 

1. Better balance whether it's stretching, or doing power knees, or those leg compressions
2. Making sure to contract my core while I'm working out. Too often I feel like I'm doing the move but I'm not fully utilizing it. 
3. Breathing. I cannot stress how important this is. And there were a couple times in the past couple days where I was worried I was gonna hyperventilate because I just breathed too quickly and then I couldn't slow my breathing down. So big deep breaths is best.

But yea :) Today was a good day. I strove to get a few more than last time and I wanted to shoot for good form. I accomplished both of those today :)

Now I'm outta the shower, in nice clean pjs, I'm gonna grab dinner and sit out on my porch. 

Back on Track

As I sit here writing this, with sweat dripping between my breasts, I feel accomplished again :) Today was Cardio Power and Resistance. There were a lot of great exercises and I felt like I did them all pretty well. Earlier I had said that I was doing the speed but I wasn't doing the moves properly. Remember that? (If you don't go back a few blog posts lol) Anywho! Today I decided to stick with that and I felt like I got a lot more out of it. The move called Power Jumps is awful! You're at a squat position and then you jump vertically from that position. So both knees up to your chest and you have to bring them up to your outstretched hands. I gotta say though that I was not able to do that at all the first time I did it. And today I was doing pretty well. Pretty much all of those exercises I felt like I was doing well.

I remember thinking at one point during my workout, I wish I could just work on my abs and get rid of this belly fat. But doing stomach crunches wouldn't get rid of the fat. Stomach crunches are great for building more muscle, but cardio is what gets rid of fat. :/

So yay more cardio...Since I missed those couple of days I'm gonna try and make it up somewhere along the way. If I'm going by the calendar Friday would be an off day, but I think I'm just gonna skip over that and go right on to my next work out. That'll take care of at least 1 out of the 3 that I missed :/

Oh! That means that Friday is going to be my second Fit Test!

That'll be interesting to see if I've made any progress.

But yea I don't know if I want to mess with the program anymore than skipping my off day. I figure I can miss that because we only get an off day after 5 days of working out. So it doesn't seem fair for me to use that. I'm glad I did my work out today :) I do wonder though what it would be like to work out over at the rec center....I need to get that cycling audio from my boyfriend and maybe try that out.

Ok shower time and then hw.

look at dis happy face :P

Forcing myself to do this

Before I had written that I had missed a couple days :/ Unfortunate I know. And I had such anxiety about starting back up. I genuinely felt like I didn't want to do this. I just had this bad connotation in the back of my head, this idea that this was such a terrible thing. And I didn't want to do it. But I forced myself to do it. And rather than skip the days that I had missed, I just took up where I left off with the Cardio Recovery. I wanted to have a nice transition and I want to get the full experience rather than just cutting corners.

I think I'm just dealing with a lot of pressure right now. And it's all kinda self-inflicted. I love my water aerobics class. I do. I seriously do. And a lot of what I'm learning is great. And I want to make a change in my diet, in my lifestyle, but there's so much work involved. And it's just crazy to think about. It just feels like I'll have to shift so many things. It's something that I want to work on though. I want to cook. I want to have nights during the semester when my bf and I can have a date night and we cook together.

I don't know how to cook :/ And this is just gonna be a big step for me. It doesn't seem like it for some people I guess, but the whole planning ahead and having enough stuff to make food and not just have it lying around for whenever I need it.... I guess it's the planning that I'm getting hung up on.

Planning to make room for working out. Planning to make room for cooking and shopping so I can cook.

But I do want to make an effort.

And thanks to my all time bestie for keeping me motivated and doing this blog and supporting me with everything. Thanks Sweet Tits ;)

Feeling Guilty

I almost didn't want to post this because I just feel really bad about it. I didn't do my workouts Friday/Saturday or Sunday. My cousin got married this Saturday so I had to run home and be there this weekend. So Friday after my classes got done, rather than do my workout like I had intended to do before, instead I just felt so tired from water aerobics that I just immediately started packing to go home. Saturday was a day filled with joy, laughter, and no work out. There didn't seem to be time for it what with the wedding and then my lil brother getting ready to go off to Washington D.C. for 2 months.

And then yesterday when I got back home I dawdled around. I told myself that I was giving myself a well-deserved break and preparing for the work I had in store. As a whole I did feel much better and prepared to tackle the 10 pg paper I had to work on and have ready for today.

While I do feel bad about missing out on my work out days, what I hate most is that I hadn't been eating well in those couple days. It's like...as soon as I go home it's just whatever is around. And my parents are exactly the most healthy of eaters. And they drink mtn dew all the time. And while I haven't had mtn dew in a couple weeks I did indulge in one can. And then on the drive back home I had another. And I just knew. I knew! it was bad for me, but I just fell back into my routine.

Gah...it's so frustrating :/

Here I had made progress and then I stumbled back on what was my routine before...

Well today is Monday so here are my obligatory pics. Though I'm not happy with them.

My current weight is: 188.2 lbs
My current Waist measurement is: 36"
My current Hip measurement is: 42"
My current Thigh measurement is: 27"

I'm not happy that I gained back the weight I was so ecstatic about losing :/ But being honest about this and owning up to it is good. At least me being pissed at myself will actually make me do the workouts. So there's that.

Retrospect

Alright I'm gonna make this quick because I have other shit that I really should be working on

aka this huge ass rough draft due tomorrow in my Edfon class.

So today was Plyometric Circuit. I remember when I had first done this, what the second day in? and I was beat afterwards! Well today quite a few times I was like alright yea we've been doing these exercises, I can do this. There were quite a few times that I had to just recollect myself. And that's what brings me to this question:

Am I hurting myself by trying to keep up with Shaun T?

He says not to compromise form and I felt like I had a pretty good form, sort of. I was mostly getting it and I've been trying to make sure that my heart rate is up because I want to burn calories. But today when I stopped in the rec center to get a salad from Quiznos (delicious by the way!) I looked up and there was this woman and she was holding a weight at her chest and she was doing some of the squats that I've been doing in Insanity. Except she was doing these much better than I was. And that got me thinking, am I really doing the most that I can with these exercises? Do I feel like I'm building as much muscle as the people in the video or that woman in the rec center? No, I don't think that I am. I think that I'm getting my heart rate up and potentially burning calories, but I'm not executing perfect form. There are quite a few times where I just have to stop because they're going too fast and I can't keep up and I'm trying to get back into the rhythm.

So that's what I want to change: I want to focus on getting good form first and not necessarily speed. Because there are some really good squat exercises, and deep jumping jacks that I think could really be beneficial but I'm just not doing them as best as I can. So ultimately I want to make sure that I'm doing the whole exercise and not just sort of doing it to burn calories.

I wonder if I could set up times to meet with my aerobics instructor, if she even knows about programs like this, during the school year....

This is me all red-faced after my workout :/

Off to my homework...

Getting better, sorta

Today was a decently rough day. I think it was partly because I had two days off from working out and my mentality today was, "I don't wanna!!!" I had a good salad for lunch and then I went to water aerobics and that was a pretty good workout there. I'm able to tread water pretty well now :) And riding my bike back home I noticed our front lawn was mowed but the grass is all piled up. So I grab my rake and put all that in the trash. With all that added up it was just a good workout. But I promised myself I'd do this so as soon as I got inside I started strippin and getting my workout clothes on.

Today was Pure Cardio. x_x

I was feeling pretty good through the warm up. I was doing more and trying to regulate my breathing. I felt really good after our first stretch. Letting the heart rate sink back down to a comfortable rhythm not the bu bum bu bum bu bum bu bum!! of before. And then Shaun T is like, "Is anybody else worried about this coming exercise?" First time I head that I was like, "Well now I am!" And yea it gets ridiculous. We did 5 or 6 different exercises and we did them in 3 sets. The first set: I'm like I got this. Second: Alright this is getting tough. Third set: (breathing heavily) Alright ok I'm ok.

30 second break

And then we get right back into it. Tell you what though I am getting pretty good at controlling my heart rate in those 30 seconds. Breath deep. And breath it back out.

But the work out after that. That was what was killing me today. I just couldn't do some of the jump up-crouch-jump back (plank)-jump up to crouch-jump up and do that again. I was just like, "Ahhhh!" I'm not perfect and I'm not doing as many as these people, but I still feel like I'm getting a good workout. I just don't want to push myself too far. I know this is Insanity but when I started breathing really quickly I thought I was gonna hyperventilate. So I took a break.

I did, however, make a slight break through. There's this move called the Heiseman. And you have to square your feet a lit more than shoulder length and go from one foot to the other. But the thing with this is that you have to incorporate a lil step in the middle before you pull your leg up. It's tricky. And I've been struggling with it for the past few videos. I just didn't feel like I was coordinated. It didn't feel right. But now I've got it and I think from here on I can do that move better. So this is good. I'm making progress. If I can figure that move out and get a good rhythm then I can do that for other exercises.... like the super cardio ones that Shaun T has for us.....

Alright time to eat up the rest of my salad and get my ass over to the library. I've got a fun-filled night of reading articles, books, and working on a paper.

Gotta love summer school.

Evenings me no likee

Just did my insanity workout.
Currently all gross.
Sitting on the couch.
Ew.

Yea I missed my opportunity earlier cuz I stayed back and talked to my professor. Then when I finally did get home rather than do my workout right then I decided not to cuz my roommate was still here and I didn't want her to hear me working out. So I waited for her to go to work. Yea I'm just gonna suck it up next time cuz I don't like doing it in the evenings. I feel completely drained.

But now it's time for a shower and my homework.

Life is marathon not a sprint

Hey all.
I'm really sorry that I didn't post yesterday. My friend came to visit for the weekend and it just kinda threw a wrench in my routine. I worked out on Saturday before he came but then yesterday just felt like a blah sort of day and I just didn't do it :/ As much as I want to beat myself up, and I already have considerably, I'm just trying to keep in mind that wellness is a marathon not a sprint. My aerobics professor is always telling us that these changes need to be gradual. And as I was reading my health book today (for a midterm tomorrow!) I was thinking to myself, "You know this really should become a part of my life. Not just for a short time." So I know that I'm going to do this program for the 2 months. And after that I'm either going to keep this as a part of my routine or I'm gonna find something to take it's place because there are SO many diseases and health problems that are directly correlated with having a sedentary lifestyle. I want to still be able to ride my bike and be active when I'm in my 50's. So even though I missed yesterday I'll keep with it and realize that I'm not perfect and I'll keep moving forward.

Even when I mess up and eat pizza from Wal Mart, which I already wrote a note to myself to not do again, I can just tell myself that I'll do better. I want to stop drinking Mtn Dew (already on like week 3 of that), less processed food (like pizza), and I need to get more veggies and fruits into my diet.

And even though I didn't work out yesterday and I'm taking today as my scheduled day off 1.) so that I'm still on schedule 2.) because I'm freaking out about all my summer class work and I need today to work and 3.) I plan on heading outside to work on my flower bed so I can get out of this damn house.

With all that being said it is Monday. I promised my weight, measurements, and pictures. I've also decided that I should take pictures from behind because it really irritates me that I have this sidelong bulge underneath my bra :/ I wanna get rid of that.

My current weight is: 185.6 lbs

My current Waist measurement is: 36"

My current Hip measurement is: 42.5"

My current Thigh measurement is: 27"

Guys! I lost 2.8 lbs!!!
I seriously had to check my weight 3 times to make sure I wasn't doing something wrong. Nope. That's my weight! And I believe that's my proper hip dimension. I took it at the largest point and that's what I got.

So here's to making progress in this marathon of wellness!!

Gradual changes

I'm sorry I didn't post this entry sooner. My friend came to visit for the weekend and I've been spending all day with him and my roommate. But I did still do my workout! Today was an All Cardio day. This was rough! I felt pretty strong in the warm up and I had a good pace after our first water break but man oh man after the break things definitely went up a notch. Those exercises where you have to get down to the ground and hop back up and reach up. Man it was just ridiculous. But hey I still did it. And I felt pretty good afterwards :) I felt really good that some of the people that Shaun T is working with had to take breaks too. It makes it seem more feasible when these really in shape people have to slow down and take a break every once in awhile. I've bee pushing myself, but I keep trying to make sure I don't push myself too hard cuz I don't want to make myself sick. If there's ever something that I can't do I try to make sure that I keep my heart rate up but then get myself back into the exercise. Sometimes though I take a break for too long and I know I could get in a few extra suicides or something. So I need to make sure that my mantra of not making myself sick doesn't lend into me making compromises.

And then to add to that we went to Wal Mart later and I bought two shovels with my nickname that people refuse to call me (Ames), a knee pad thing, and some purple women's gloves to do some gardening. I tore up our flower bed! No, literally, I tore it up.

Before:

After:

AND I also raked our front lawn. 

Before:

After:

So I definitely got some extra cardio working on all this :) I felt so much better after getting all this worked on. It had been bothering me so much. And last night before skyping my boyfriend I was hula-hooping around our lawn. Btw it's totes hard to walk and hula-hoop. But I definitely feel like I've got more energy now throughout the day. I'm actually making decisions to go outside and keep myself off the couch. It feels good :)

I did have a minor? stepback though. My friend treated my roommate and I out to Texas Road House tonight for dinner. Not the most healthy decision :/ But I ordered lemonade (sugary), a salad, I only had a few of the steak fries with cheese and bacon, and I ordered the grilled bbq chicken. Definitely not the worst things I could have ordered. 

And something that my aerobics professor keeps telling us is that this all needs to be gradual. That things don't just change over night and that we shouldn't be that hard on ourselves. We just need to tell us that we'll do better the next day. And that's all I can tell myself. This is all a process. This is a new road to wellness. Yes, I want to lose weight. Yes, I want to lose a few inches here and there. But I need to be patient and accept that it's not all gonna happen just like that. 

Still finding a rhythm

Alright so I'm just now getting to writing my blog. Today was definitely a lil caddywompus. I woke up at around 7:30, hit the snooze, got outta bed around 7:45 and hey! I actually got breakfast this morning! I had oatmeal and it was delicious :)

Took an exam in my Edfon class (Foundation of Education). Feeling good about that.

Had pretty good discussion in my Young Adult Lit class. Alright yea good day.

Here's the hiccup: After class me and this girl Adele (pronounced Add-e-lay) And we stayed there til about 1:20. Shit! So I quick hit the bathroom, not literally, hop and my bike and head home. By the time I get back it's past 1:30 and I'm like, "Well shit this stuff takes like 40 minutes." I wasn't sure if I could do it in time and be able to ride my bike over to water aerobics in time. So instead I dicked around a bit promising myself that I would for do it later. La de da de dah I talk to my boyfriend :) Then it's about 2 and I head on out.

Jeez louise today was a good work out day! Our time in the pool was intense. I mean before I was just trying to find my balance and get things oriented, but today I felt like I was on the ball with it. So I put in some really good effort there. Alright so hey I haven't talked about my water aerobics much have I? Well it's not like what you see those old people doing. We are in the water and we are doing some intense cardio work. We warm up with some kinda-silly-but-still-working-out dancing. Today was danced to Gangnam Style :P That was intense lol Going from one side of the pool and back. (The width of the pool not the length.) And yea we were in the deep end treading water for at least 15-20 min having to toss a ball up over our heads around in a circle then doing exercises with a noodle. Tell you what taking this class was really a superb decision on my part. I'm so glad that I'm able to take this now during the summer. (Not that I wouldn't have loved taking walking with you MaKenzie m'dear!) But this is just so well suited for me right now, especially since she's so open to talking about ways to increase your wellness. We're going to take a field trip to Meijer next week to see what foods to get and what not to get :) I'm excited.

Well after class I biked on home and immediately got all set up, thinking, "Oh man this is gonna be rough!" It wasn't too bad actually. It was perfect for today. I looked it up and today was Cardio Recovery. Thank God! lol But yea to today was some strenuous yoga positions, which reminds me I should maybe get a yoga mat :/ I keep getting random stuff all over my arms and legs and I'm sliding all over the place. Anywho, today was a good stretching/keeping your heart rate up day :)

I'm currently sitting down with a ham and cheese sandwich on wheat bread (no mayo), 8 chips (cuz that's the serving size), non fat greek yogurt with granola, and a bowl of sugar snap peas :) Mmmmm

Mkay ttyl I'm starving!

A lil late, but still worth mentioning

Hey this is late. I know. I messed up my routine just a bit.

I've been working out in the morning and well this morning it got messed up. I hit snooze and I decided that I wouldn't have enough time to work out and get a shower. So instead I just did some of my reading for my EdFon class.

But no worries! I still found time to do my work out today. (Another thanks to my friend MaKenzie for checking up on me.)

I have a break between my morning classes and my water aerobics class. I get home around 1 and water aerobics is at 2:30. So as soon as I got home I got changed, grabbed my computer, and headed into my workout room. I was a bit nervous about this because to be completely honest I don't like working out. I feel like I'm a huge clutz and that I'm not doing them well. But dammit if when I get started I'm not working. It's true I take a few breaks here and there. I just can't go as fast as those beautiful people on my computer screen. (And by the way, why don't they ever show some normal looking person doing this?? That would make it more relatable.))

The workout: So yea I'm feeling nervous about working out just because I'm not in shape, but then I'm like I want to get in shape so I do it. That line of thinking. I was sore from the other days. I can feel it in my calves and especially in my thighs. But I figure, hey that's where I want to lose the most weight. Get off my stomach and thighs! Go on get! I feel good when I see a stream of sweat going down my arm. Gross I know. But it's something new for me. I think the last time I really worked out this hard was when I would lift weights with my dad. And that was back like my freshman year in high school. Yea. It's been awhile. But I felt pretty good today. The fit test was rough. And that plyometric cardio was rough. Today was too, but I felt like I could more of the exercises and do them well. I'm building confidence. Yay! (shakes metaphorical pom-poms in the air like I just don't care). Who am I kidding, even metaphorically speaking I'm not that obnoxious ;) But I did feel good about today.

The plan: But yea what I discovered is that I think I actually like working out in between my classes like that. I have just enough time to work out and get a shower with a lil extra time left over for, lunch? maybe? The thing I was contemplating though was yea that's all fine and dandy on Tuesday and Thursday because those are lecture days in water aerobics. But Monday/Wednesday/Friday are pool days. Can I hold up working out for 40 minutes, riding my bike over there, exercising in the water for 30-40 min, and then riding my bike back? Well hell I'm gonna try.

To be completely honest I find being in the water to be one of the most relaxing things in the world. I could just be in the water almost all the time. I don't want to turn into a prune or anything. But I think that I can manage the aerobics after my work out. It would be a sort of restretching plus a bit more cardio. And who doesn't love cardio?! :D

So that's gonna be my game plan: wake up and actually eat breakfast (since I haven't been eating breakfast), go to my two classes, come back home around 1, work out, grab a shower, dilly dally, ride over to water aerobics, workout/lecture, then ride back and collapse on the couch for an hour before getting back to my studies. Doesn't that sound like the exact schedule that you want to have?

Yea, no lol

Sidenote! I realized earlier today that since I had started my work out a day later than I wanted my off day is going to be Mondays. So that's kinda nice. Worst day. Don't have to work out. I guess I could change it in my schedule if I wanted to, but I don't really want to screw with anything. Just means I'll have to work out on Saturday and Sunday. What this also means though is that my progress weight, measurements, and a complimentary pictures of me will be posted on Mondays.

So look for that.

Red-faced Amy

Woo! Yea! Second day!

Yea that's not how I woke up this morning...

I felt like I was too rushed yesterday getting up at 7:30 so today I decided to get up at 7...well alright I hit snooze once so it was really like 7:10... ANYWAY it worked much better this morning. I still haven't gotten it down so that I can actually have breakfast....but that'll come I'm sure. I usually just grab these newton fruit cookie things. And I mean it's not bad cuz I can't eat a lot in the morning anyhow. At least it's better than nothing.

So today was Plyometric Cardio Circuit workout. Holy shit this got awful! lol Like I was fine the first 15 minutes and then the guy, Shaun T, changed it up. We went from 4 push ups to plank and running in that position to jumping up to a crouch then standing up and reaching up then getting back down and doing that all again. Whew! Yea so I kept up with it all pretty well the first time we did this circuit. But then I got gradually slower. I didn't want to push myself too hard like I did yesterday and make myself throw up so I took a few more breaks. That's not to say I wasn't working hard cuz I still felt like I was getting a good burn going on.

But yea after I worked out I looked in the mirror and I was this bright red still. It didn't look as bad as yesterday though. But yea shower time was me shooting cold water on the small of my back to try and cool my body temperature. Fun trick. Thank you Evan lol

Anywho, I'm off to water aerobics! Today's a pool day! :)

No one watch me, ok?

Alright so today was my first day with this workout. Today was the Fit Test. There were 8 different exercises that I had to do.

1. Switch Kick: 80?
2. Power Jacks: 36
3. Power Knees: 68
4. Power Jumps: 17
5. Globe Jumps: 6
6. Suicide Jumps: 9
7. Push-up Jacks: 11
8. Low Plank Oblique: 30?

The reason that I put ? beside some of them is because I sometimes lost count lol So that's as close as I can reason. 

Well ok so first time doing this. I have a table set up in the room beside mine that I can set my computer on and watch the different cds. So I had a tall glass of water beside my computer for when I needed it. We start this up and we're doing the stretches and I'm already feeling like this is gonna be tough. We do the switch kicks and I'm like, "Yea I got this." Power jacks yea power knees alright. Power jumps and I'm like, "What the fuck?!" I said I did 17, but I'm being honest here they were terrible. Like I was trying to keep form, but I just couldn't get my feet up and I was just landing so hard. Let's just say I was glad no one was there with me. 

These exercises were so extraneous. It was a good feeling though. Like it's been a long time since I've actually worked up a good sweat. I was looking at my legs, arms, and even hands and I was just glistening. Not in the attractive way that they always show those people with ridiculously good-looking bodies, but it was a good sign. When I finished up and looked at myself in the mirror I was beet red. Like, all the heat had gone into my face and stayed there. It was just all trapped heat and I felt so sick. 

I get into the shower and all this heat is just in my head and I feel like I'm gonna throw up. I can't. So I make myself throw up via finger down my throat. I hadn't eaten anything so it was only water, but I felt so much better afterwards. Getting ready for the day after that was a lot better. Get dressed. Blow dry hair. Put on makeup. Grab shit and get out the door. I thought it was going to be a lot harder riding my bike to class after working out, but it was actually a great way to kinda stretch again. 

I think taking into account how much I ride my bike everywhere that totals to at least 20 minutes of exercise daily. Monday/Wednesday/Friday I also have my 20-30 min water aerobics sessions. I think now is a really good time to be doing all of this, but I know that later on I won't have the water aerobics to help keep my motivated. I'll still be riding my bike everywhere so that's not going to change much.

But hey overall, besides the puking in the shower, it's been a good day. 

Got everything jotted down and I'm ready to keep this going.

Getting Up Out of the Dirt

I've been dragging my feet into the ground, leaving these deep ruts in my wake, unwilling to take the first steps towards healthy living. I'm a senior in college and for 4 years I was able to keep away from the "freshman 15" describing the weight gain that people experience upon coming to college. I've maintained a fairly consistent body weight all through high school and college. I believe I was around 170 through high school and there towards the end of my senior year I think I was beginning to gain weight. I was around 180 and I kept telling myself, I still do it actually, that it's fine, that's a fine weight to be at. It wasn't until here at Christmas where I actually felt decidedly fatter. And it kinda came out of nowhere. It all just finally hit me that I've been eating and not worrying about the circumstances.

And if I'm completely honest with myself, I'm not happy. I love and hate clothes. I want to cover up and try and hide the extra weight that I've gained, and I'm very self-conscious about it, but at the same time I try to keep up my self-worth by saying that I'm very pretty. And one the one hand I do believe that I'm attractive. And a lot of that has come from my wonderful boyfriend who tells me all the time how attractive I am. I can see it in his eyes that he finds me attractive. 

But I'm continually fighting with myself about how I perceive my appearance. When I wear clothes I feel beautiful because I can cover up whatever I don't want to see. But whenever I'm nude I don't feel beautiful. I don't like the lumps and bumps that I've accumulated. I can see the potential! I can see a smaller me with those same luscious curves, that same full round butt, she's just trapped beneath this layer that I've accumulated from neglect. 

I've never been the most athletic person. I was in track in junior high and high school, but I was always more interested in throwing shotput and discus. I never wanted to do the running because I was heavier and hated to run. I still hate to run, but I'm sure I'll talk about that later on. But my dad was always into lifting weights and so that's what we all bonded over. My brothers are the big and burly type and our family motto is pretty much strength above all else. And that's what I grew up with. I've always hated the idea of working out. There are always just so many other things that I could be doing with my time. I never really took it to heart. 

But now with my boyfriend we've just been getting this urge to work out. We tried setting up times for him to even show me some martial arts moves just to get us active again, but they never seemed to work out. But really both of us have just been feeling like we're dealing with this weight problem. And I know it bothers him, even though I still think he is a complete stud and I love every inch of his body, but yea it's just time for a change.

That's where INSANITY comes into place.

He had been doing some research into work out programs and he really fell into this program called INSANITY. It's intense 30 minute work out sessions that help give great results after 60 days. And this is where my feed dragging comes into play... Our spring semester ended and there were 2 glorious weeks of just having fun with friends and staying up all night playing games and drinking. And then everyone split up. Some are working. Some went home after graduating. I'm still here taking summer classes. 

I had meant to start up my work out sessions the same day that I started summer classes, but that didn't work out. I couldn't get my hands on the cds until about Wednesday and even then I still dragged my feet telling myself, "Oh I don't want to get started midweek and then not have a full week of working out." Bullshit. It was. I know it was. It was another lie that I was telling myself because I'm too lazy to actually step up and do this. But really, I'm tired of being lazy. I know that there's a smaller sexy curvy Amy in there and I want her to come out. I don't want to keep pining over it. I want to do something about it.

And some of my motivation to do this comes from my younger brother who is just so self-motivated in everything that he does! And he just finished a Spartan run recently and just finished a Tough Mutter over this past weekend. And to see him just taking his life in his own hands, it's just another slap to my face. Why can't I do that? I can. And I will.

I want to be able to sit down at a desk or couch and not have this bulge around my stomach. i want to be able to look down and see my vagina and not this large amount of fat in my way. So this is where I'm going to start. I know it sounds insane, but no never mind that's a bad pun ;)

Anyway, I'm finally going to start on this trek and I'm going to go for the 60 days and see where I'm at at the end of the time. I'll decide where to go from there, but let's get up out of the dirt and start down this road. 

Tomorrow will be my first day doing the program and I intend to write a blog entry every day keeping up with how I'm feeling about the program and undoubtedly about the other classes I'm having to deal with. But this blog is going to be helping me to cope and to deal with this insanity that is my life.

My current weight is: 188.4 lbs

My current Waist measurement is: 36"

My current Hip measurement is: 43"

My current Thigh measurement is: 27"

I plan to update every week with my weight, measurements, and two accompanying pictures both frontal and sidelong for my own personal reference. This is for me. This is now my responsibility to update this blog and to keep myself on track.

*I'm so excited to be finally doing this, but at the same time I'm so nervous!*