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!*