On Motivational Words

You can’t until you can. 

You won’t be able to until you believe that you are able.

On My Weekly Fitness and Health Check-In [08.13.2012]

It’s quite obvious that I’ve skipped some “weekly” updates.  I can’t lie; I was afraid to post because I was hesitant to hold myself accountable.  Which is the exactly the reason why I wanted to start these posts – accountability.

It’s important to hold yourself accountable when trying to form new lifestyle habits.  How else am I going to form those habits if I don’t follow a plan and hold myself accountable for when I deviate?

So, I ate some fast food, and skipped a bunch of exercising stints.  And I ate ice cream – more than I should have.

However.  Something in me just clicked this past week.  Maybe it’s because I just keep talking about with anyone around me that will listen.  [Thanks Cousin Josh and work friends for humoring me continuously!]  I really feel like I’ve turned a corner.

Over the course of the weekend, I noticed a few different things.  Changes, if you will.  First, pants that had gotten a touch too tight are no longer too tight.  The “trousers of truth” as Phoenix called them.  I have a few pairs of those.  And so far, four of those pairs are better.  If only my work pants would be looser – so THOSE are the ultimate truth-tellers!

Second, I just got so fed up with my excuses NOT to exercise:  I don’t belong to a gym; I hate running outside when it’s cold/too far/whatever;  I don’t want to exercise in front of others; it’s too hard to exercise with Q around.  Ugh!  Knock it off. self!  I also read this article which lists excuses that fit women don’t make.  It hit home.  I definitely make excuses.  So, there’s no excuse for making excuses.

Oh, and I downloaded this GREAT app called Lose It! on which you can set your goals and record your progress.  It’s really handy.  I know that there are tons of different apps out there like this one, but I really like this particular app.  It’s also on WordPress!  🙂

And there’s a bunch of tips and words of encouragement I’ve found helpful, as well, such as:

 

and

Other things that have really inspired me to work out more, even if in small doses:

– I can eat just one extra piece of chocolate if I increase the number of calories I burn.  [You’ll never convince me to give up chocolate, no matter how fit I am!]

– Noticing the HUGE difference in caloric intake in my food.  For example, 1 cup of the ice cream I like has the same amount of calories as 3 and 1/4 cups of pineapple chunks – holy cow!  What a difference!!!

And on top of that, I had a definitive mood boost today!  Happy Monday!

On My [New] Weekly Fitness and Health Check-In

So this week, I made it my number one goal this year to maintain a fit and health lifestyle, with the assistance of my awesome PlayStation 2 game, Dance Dance Revolution.  Yes – PlayStation 2 .  I have determined that I need to monitor myself in a way that requires more effort than just mentally saying “Good job you.”  I need a way to check in on myself.  So I am now going to subject all of you to my weekly fitness/healthy lifestyle check-ins.  

Here’s the thing, I can’t eat gluten.  So, that’s actually a big help – preventing me from eating tons of crappy snacks that I used to always buy.  That’s a start.  And at the beginning of figuring out that I couldn’t eat gluten, I lost a ton of weight.  Easiest way to lose weight ever – just get an auto-immune disease, such as celiac disease.  Just kidding, it’s not that fun not being able to just make a sandwich for lunch.  While I haven’t been diagnosed with celiac disease, I am gluten intolerant.  It’s really hard to eat out, but I guess at least I can always order a salad.  Of course, there’s my problem – I don’t always order a salad.  I cheat.  I still crave things like pizza and chicken nuggets.  Gross.   Those foods taste good, sometimes, but come on – all that grease.  Ugh.  Sometimes, I’m ashamed of myself.  But mostly, I just enjoy the dough-ey goodness that is pizza.

But my biggest downfall?  Coffee.

But not just plain, black coffee.  Coffee with cream.  Coffee with sugar.  In short, I basically like to drink liquid candy.  I mean, I don’t drink soda, so there’s that.  But I definitely have replaced soda in my life with candy-flavored coffee.

But what was my original point?  Oh, right.  Losing weight due to gluten intolerance – easy.  I lost 40 pounds in a month and half, approximately.  I had no clue how it was happening, or why, but it was.  And I looked good, all skinny and whatnot.  Now, I have gained about ten of that back, and I say “NO, Savanah, do not let that happen!”  I refuse to buy a whole new wardrobe, again.  [Even though shopping is fun!  ;)]  And I refuse to let myself be that unhappy with my physique, or that complacent even.  I need to be pro-active.  So here we go.

So, first – DDR at least five times a week.  I’ve done three days since Thursday, because I skipped Saturday.

Second, cut out cheating on gluten-free.   I say I’m going to do this all of the time.  Let’s see how much wherewithal I have to stick to it.   I’m much more likely to cheat at home, than in front of others.  Bright side, my cousin coming to room with me, so maybe having someone else around will help.

Third, reduce/eliminate candy-flavored coffee intake.  I can  tell you right now, this is going to be the zinger.  I just heart my coffee so much.

Wish me luck!

 

 

On My Fitness Goal for 2012

I started a new exercise routine today.  It’s not that I feel I need to lose weight.  I am quite comfortable with my 5’3″, 130 pound frame.  However, I am well aware that I am not in the best shape I could be.  I could definitely use some toning.  Some serious toning.  I could also use some work on the “baby pouch” that never quite seems to go away no matter how much weight I have lost.  Those of you who are a mom probably know just what I mean, I would think.

The  problem is that I only have two days out of the week that I can get out of the house to go work on this.  That would be fine, except I know myself well enough to know that I will work on something for those two days, feel great, and then when my son comes home, I will lose any sense of routine that had tentatively formed in those two days.  So, I need something I can do at home, after my kid goes to bed, that won’t end up with me waking my neighbors, i.e. no running in place inside, no crazy dance-move routines.  Something seemingly simple.

In other words, I can’t have a rave in my living room.

 Now, I am not sure what motivated me to finally start an exercise routine.  I mean, I have been kicking the idea around for a while, but thus far have been unable to motivate myself into doing something about it.  It seems today was the day.  Perhaps it was the not-so-great day I had, perhaps my kick of buying mostly fresh foods and/or healthy snacks on my recent trip to the grocery store, perhaps I finally got annoyed with my own lame excuses.

Is that even a valid excuse?  ,’:|

Well, whatever the reason, I got up and did it today.  I found a simple routine that I can do in about thirty minutes.  Yes, I found it on Pinterest, but really, at least I found something!  It consists of:

1. 20 Squats – Easy enough start.
2. 30 Lunges – My apartment is small, so I lunged in a lap around my living room.
3. 40 Toe Touches – I was amazed, and a bit proud, that I could touch my toes at all!
4. 50 Second Wall Sit – I didn’t really know what this is, so I just squatted for 50 seconds, as though I were sitting in an invisible chair.
5. 100 Jumping Jacks – I haven’t done a jumping jack in probably ten years.  Boy, did THAT take me back to high school gym class!
6.  50 Second Wall Sit – Much harder the second time around!
7. 40 Toe Touches – I still handled these like a pro!
8. 30 Lunges – Meh. Same level off pretty easy as last time.  Maybe I’m not doing them right.  Whatever, I’m still doing them.
9. 20 Squats – Oh boy!  Much harder this time around!

After I was finished with this routine, which is meant to be a leg-toning routine mainly, but the jumping jacks definitely got my heart rate up a bit, I decided I also needed to throw something in to target my abs.  Problem right there.  I hate sit-ups.  Anyone who says they enjoy them is a liar!  They aren’t fun, they are a struggle, they are HARD, they make you feel a bit like a failure because you barely have the strength to lift your torso off the ground.  Well, that may be just me. I remember that I once did a quick workout routine with my friend R, and that routine included reverse crunches.  I really liked them, felt the helped me work my abs without the strain on my back, and feel like it’s something I can easily add to my new routine.

So much easier than regular sit-ups and still works your abs!

 From the linked website in the picture descriptor:

1. Lie on your back and extend your arms out to the side, or keep your hands behind your head if that’s more comfortable (top illustration).
2. Raise your knees and feet so they create a 90-degree angle. Contract your abdominals and exhale as you lift your hips off the floor with control; your knees will move toward your head (bottom illustration). Try to keep your knees at a right angle. Inhale and slowly lower.

Easy as pie, easy to add.  So I just added 15 reps of that to the beginning and ends of my routine, and voila!  NEW WORKOUT ROUTINE!

Here’s my plan,  folks:

1. Do exercise routine every single evening.  I may add my 2 lb.weights for a bit of arm toning.  (Yep, I’m strong!)
2. Add walking/jogging 2 mile route in my neighborhood on days I don’t have Q-bear, i.e. 2 nights a week.
3.  Increase reps of each thing in the evening exercise routine.
4. In three months, jog the entire 2 mile route with no walking breaks.
5. In six months, be able to jog a 5k (3.1 miles) with no walking breaks.  

I really want to throw in a 10k (6.2 miles) in the mix, but I am trying to be realistic.  I guess I will just have to reassess in six months!  Maybe I should add buy a jogging stroller so I can jog when Q-bear is home, too…

Anyway, there you have it – my new fitness goals!  Yikes!