31 Day Fitness Challenge

For some crazy reason I decided it would be a good idea to join Amber on her mission to exercise EVERY DAY in January.

Seriously? Because I didn’t have enough on my plate for the month as it is? And yet, it seemed like a good idea at the time. After all, I’d decided that once the holidays were over, it was really time I got serious again about getting in shape, eating healthier, working out regularly. And what better way to do it than to jump in head first? Commit to doing it EVERY SINGLE DAY for a month?

Right…crazy.

So, here we are, a week later, and it’s time for me to report to you how I’ve done so far.

I won’t lie, it started off rough. After all, January 1st was a Friday, and is typically a day of leisure for me. Up late the night before, no work…we start things on Mondays, right? After a lazy morning I spent the afternoon at my mom’s house, and didn’t get home until after 7pm. At that point, I put on my pj’s, poured myself a glass of wine, and plopped down on my couch, remote control in hand. And then it hit me…I hadn’t worked out yet. Well, I had signed up for this challenge, and I couldn’t very well fail on the VERY FIRST day, could I? So, I actually got up, and went to work out. I did a short 10 minute ab work-out. Not much, but I did it. Day 1, check.

Day 2 was most definitely a pajama day. I woke up to snow, and went to sleep to snow. Seeing as I’m not a fan of winter, snow days when I don’t have to work, are pajama days if I can help it. But I decided I might as well take advantage of my “snowed in” condition, and take down the Christmas decorations. And that, my friends was my work out for the day. It may not seem like much, but I live in a condo, and once the decoration were down, they needed to be stored away. In my attic storage. Three flights of stairs up. With a big box of Christmas tree parts. (once). Then two big (HUGE, HEAVY) bags of decorations (twice). And one more time with a HUGE heavy bin of yet more decorations (three times). In between these there was also a trek outside to clean the snow off my car, and move it so the plow guy could clean our parking lot. Okay, yeah, not much, but I broke a serious sweat and my arms hurt the next day from all that lifting…so, day 2? Check.

Day 3 was Sunday and errand day. I did quite a bit of running around, some shopping, etc. Then I came home and did another ab work-out, this time a 20 minute one. Not much (yeah, yeah, I know, I didn’t say how much I’d work out each day, just that I would), but day 3, Check. P.S. my abs were killing me the next 2 days.

Day 4, Monday, and I opted for an hour of Dance Dance Revolution at home after work. Trust you me when I tell you this is one HELL of a cardio work-out. Day 4, CHECK.

Day 5, Tuesday, is kickboxing day at the gym. CHECK.

Day 6, Wednesday, was a rough day. I was depressed, moody, and just not feeling all that great. I decided to take a brisk walk at lunch…short, maybe 15 minutes. Then after work, completely unmotivated, I forced myself to do a few crunches. I won’t lie…this day could almost be chalked up to a “FAIL”, but I’m going to give myself a pass, just this one time, because at least I did a little something. So…um…check?

Day 7, Thursday. Another tough day, but this one because my schedule was full. A full day of work, and then a concert that evening. If you know me at all, then you know I am so NOT a morning person. Working out in the AM is pretty much an impossibility, as I have a hard enough time being coordinated enough not to walk into walls. And yet, I got up a bit earlier, and did a 10 minute ab work out before work. Go me! So…Check.

There you have it, my first week. I’ve started somewhat slow, and had some days that were pretty weak, but I’m trying here…and I had two high impact cardio days, so I’m pleased for those two. I’m hoping this next week will have a few more of those, and I’m looking into more classes at my gym to fill that quota.

Just a quick P.S., I’ve done really well with food this week. I’m back to the plan of eating every 3 hours, meals and snacks, and I’ve made a decision to completely cut out frozen dinners/lunches/breakfasts. Those tend to make up my daily diet A LOT when I’m not watching what I eat, because they are quick and easy, but I realize how loaded with sodium they are, and how completely unhealthy, so I’ve cut them out. I’m also back to adding a nice hearty helping of vegetables to all my dinners, which only helps to fill me up, and eat less of everything else. So far, so good. I only had one off meal, dinner at mom’s on Wednesday, and even then, I didn’t over do it.

How are you doing?

Happy New Year - Now, get off your couch...

First and foremost I must say HAPPY NEW YEAR to all of you. 2010...wow, wasn't it just yesterday we were kids trying to figure out how old we would be at the turn of the millennium?

But alas, that was then. This is now...and we are no longer kids, are we?

In fact, it seems each year our bodies remind us that we are not getting any younger. And it is up to us to take responsibility for taking care of these bodies.

So, as with probably 90% of the population, we kick off the new year with grandiose plans that this will be the year we will do just that. We will lose that last 10 (20-50) lbs. We will eat better. We will exercise regularly.

As discussed in my post last year (okay, fine, yesterday), I don't make New Year's Resolutions anymore. But I do love the idea of fresh starts and new beginnings. So I set goals, make plans, and...gulp..agree to crazy challenges by fellow bloggers.

My dear twitter friend and blogger Amber has been challenged by her husband to work out every day in January and blog about it, and she asked if any of us were interested in joining her. And I? Well, I must be just a little bit insane, because I said yes.

So here we are, January 1st, time to begin.

A quick note, while I plan to exercise every day this month, I don't plan to blog about it every day. I do plan to blog more often, and I plan on keeping you posted on my exercise progress throughout the month, but blogging daily is just not a reality for me at this moment, so that won't happen.

My cousin PM has, however, demanded I blog more often, because she misses my posts and knowing what is up with me, so I will make an attempt to do that. I promise! (oh boy).

Anyway, back to the exercise. Today is the first day of the challenge, and usually I take January 1st as a lazy day, waiting until Monday to get in gear. But this challenge is not letting me take the weekend off...so I WILL exercise today. Not sure yet what that workout will entail, but I'll share it with you as soon as I do. ;-) I do know I plan on staying in my jammies all day, so I'm thinking a little bit of Dance, Dance, Revolution will do the trick.

I'll be heading back to the gym on Monday, January 4th, and actually have an appointment with a personal trainer, to see if I can budget some PT sessions this year. I'll let you know how that goes too.

I am not, to be honest, looking forward to being at the gym in January, when all the "New Year's Resolution" newbies will be there, occupying all the machines. I'm a firm believer that us "regulars" should have a VIP section in January. I might have to find some at home workouts for the month, and then get back to the gym in February, when they've all given up. (was that mean? yeah, that was mean...my bad).

Anyway, there you go...that's the plan for January...will you join me? Let me know in comments, and make sure to visit Amber's blog and let her know you're in!

Back on Track

Around this time last year I was barely a month into my weight loss journey. In fact, I set off on my “journey” on August 27th, 2008. Don’t ask me why that date is so clear in my mind, especially since I tend to be really bad with dates, but there it is. That was the day I joined Jenny Craig and set off on my journey to lose “a few pounds”.

At the time, I knew I was “a bit” overweight, but having always been “the skinny one”, I don’t think my brain had wrapped itself around the fact that I was actually “quite a bit” overweight.

I am “petite” at 5’2”, and at the time when I started JC I weighed in at almost 150. (149.9 to be exact). I realize that to some this may not sound like a lot, but the truth is, it’s an unhealthy weight for me. Especially because I happen to be one of those “lucky” girls that carries my weight right in my belly area. Belly fat, as we all know, is the unhealthiest of all.

Anyway, when I started JC, I set my goal at 135, thinking that there was no way I would get there, but what the heck, I’d go ahead and put that down.

When all was said and done, I reached that goal and kept adding 5 lbs. to my goal. Eventually I dropped 25 lbs, and went from feeling squeezed tight in a size 10, to being very comfortable in a size 4. At 125 I looked better than I ever have, and was only 5 lbs. away from my final goal of 120.

I set the 120 goal as a safety net. If I could stay between 120 and 125, then I would be in a good spot, not having to stress too much for a few extra pounds, but knowing to get back on track if I started inching my way up past the 125.

I told myself that 130 would always be my do or die…the number I did not want to see on the scale, just to keep me in line.

I should say here that I’m not obsessing over the numbers, I’m just using them as reminders to stay on top of my health.

But the thing about getting so close to your goal is that it gives you a false sense of security. And then, you slack.

A few weeks ago I stepped on the scale to see 133.

Not a dire emergency, not an atrocious number, but…yes, it’s time. Time to get serious again.

So, starting today, I’m back on track. Eating healthy, eating every 3 hours, snacks, small meals, keeping a food journal, lots of vegetables, THINKING before I eat.

And it is time to step up the exercise again. Truth be told, I haven’t slacked nearly as much with exercise as I have with food. But I’m going to make a concerted effort to really stick to a routine. For now, I’m going to take advantage of the gorgeous fall weather and stick to power walks. I’m easily doing a 3 miler a few times a week now, so I’m stepping it up and adding a mile to it this week. My goal here is to be doing 5 miles before the winter sets in and I’m forced inside a gym. I’m also going to be adding some abs and arms at home every other day. (I’ve also bought wrist weights for my walks).

The goal for the scale stands at 120, with the realistic realization that I really just want to be anywhere between that and 125. It’s a healthy weight for me, and it is where I plan to “live” for the long term. I just need to get there first.

So there it is, all in writing to hold me accountable.