I forget this blog for a while and then when I come back and see that people are reading it I'm shocked.
So I'm worse off than the last time i blogged. At 214 or so (official weigh-in tomorrow). I'm dangerously close to where I was in 2008 when I started this (about 225). I'm going to try out Jason Vale's 7lbs in 7 days program starting tomorrow. It's a juicing plan and I hope it will kick start healthy eating.
Why over thanksgiving? I'm not going anywhere and have 5 days home so figure I would have the time to get into the swing of juicing.
Wish me luck.
Official starting measurements tomorrow.
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Week 5 day 3 - Couch to 5k
I completed this on Sunday!! I am so proud. 20 mins!!! Me? That couldn't run 1 minute at a time! I could have wept for joy. I really can't believe this programs works this well. Gosh I am so proud. I had to slow my speed down to 5.0 because of all I read (if you are doing this program I totally recommend this). Otherwise, I would have been unable to complete it.
Guys, I am a runner!
Did week 6, day 1 today. I thought it would be easier because it was back to intervals but the last 5 minute run was a killer. It might have been because I upped it to 5.2. Who knows. But I did it!
If i actually build up to 30 mins I will be so stoked.
Guys, I am a runner!
Did week 6, day 1 today. I thought it would be easier because it was back to intervals but the last 5 minute run was a killer. It might have been because I upped it to 5.2. Who knows. But I did it!
If i actually build up to 30 mins I will be so stoked.
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Couch to 5K Update
I finished day 3 of week 4 in the couch to 5k yesterday. I am SO proud of myself because this was the hardest week and I am a bit scared of what is to come next week. Here's my review of the couch to 5k program.
Let me start from the beginning. The first week was pretty easy for me. I wasn't a runner at all but I did a lot of other types of cardio so I wasn't exactly a couch potato. I would get a bit tired during the last 2 or 3 runs but I completed the runs with no problem.
Week 2 reversed the run times with the walk times and in the last 2 or 3 runs I would find myself glancing at the time to see how much longer i had to run.
In week 3 you walk and run the same number of minutes. This also introduced the 3 minute run. I had to pick songs wisely so I stayed motivated throughout the 3 minutes. i found the 3 minute walk after was very necessary. I think this was the first week I didn't find it easy but it was doable.
Week 4. Ah, week 4. This week was a 3 minute and 5 minute run with minimal walking times in between. On day 1, I thought i would die. i had to slow down my pace (from 5.5 to 5.2) on the last 5 minute run in order to complete it. When I was done, i felt like I would throw up like the contestants on the biggest loser. Honestly, this took everything out of me.
I didn't work out the next day because I was in the middle of moving and I really felt I needed to recover. On wednesday, I woke up and I was not mentally prepared to try it again so I decided to do it after work. Which I thankfully did not put off. It was hard too but actually not as bad as the first time. I still had to slow down for the last 5 minutes and I had to keep mentally motivating myself ("you can do it" "you're a gazelle" "imagine a lion is chasing you"). I didn't fell like throwing up after and I was quite proud.
Yesterday was a totally different story. I was actually looking forward to running. I completed the runs a lot easier than the last 2 times. I didn't have to slow my pace for the last run and in fact I increased it for the last minute and a half.
I don't konw how I will fare next week because I hear there is a 20 min run in there but i have chosen to trust in the program. There is no way I could have done what I did yesterday 4 weeks ago so it is definitely making me better. Sometimes I really wonder if I will be able to run 30mins without stopping but we'll just have to make it to week 7/8.
2. if you are running in a gym, run next to someone who is doing it easily. i find it motivating to look next to me and running at a 6.5 easily. I tell myself if they can do 6.5 for 30 mins straight, I should be able to do 5.5. for 5 mins
3. If you are running on a treadmill, cover up the time. You don't want to focus on what you have left. I use the zenlabs app on my ipod and it tells me when to run and walk...so I can focus on something else.
There you have it. I definitely recommend the couch to 5k so far. No significant weightloss yet but I can definitely see and improvement in my legs.
Let me know if you have specific questions in the comments.
Let me start from the beginning. The first week was pretty easy for me. I wasn't a runner at all but I did a lot of other types of cardio so I wasn't exactly a couch potato. I would get a bit tired during the last 2 or 3 runs but I completed the runs with no problem.
Week 2 reversed the run times with the walk times and in the last 2 or 3 runs I would find myself glancing at the time to see how much longer i had to run.
In week 3 you walk and run the same number of minutes. This also introduced the 3 minute run. I had to pick songs wisely so I stayed motivated throughout the 3 minutes. i found the 3 minute walk after was very necessary. I think this was the first week I didn't find it easy but it was doable.
Week 4. Ah, week 4. This week was a 3 minute and 5 minute run with minimal walking times in between. On day 1, I thought i would die. i had to slow down my pace (from 5.5 to 5.2) on the last 5 minute run in order to complete it. When I was done, i felt like I would throw up like the contestants on the biggest loser. Honestly, this took everything out of me.
I didn't work out the next day because I was in the middle of moving and I really felt I needed to recover. On wednesday, I woke up and I was not mentally prepared to try it again so I decided to do it after work. Which I thankfully did not put off. It was hard too but actually not as bad as the first time. I still had to slow down for the last 5 minutes and I had to keep mentally motivating myself ("you can do it" "you're a gazelle" "imagine a lion is chasing you"). I didn't fell like throwing up after and I was quite proud.
Yesterday was a totally different story. I was actually looking forward to running. I completed the runs a lot easier than the last 2 times. I didn't have to slow my pace for the last run and in fact I increased it for the last minute and a half.
I don't konw how I will fare next week because I hear there is a 20 min run in there but i have chosen to trust in the program. There is no way I could have done what I did yesterday 4 weeks ago so it is definitely making me better. Sometimes I really wonder if I will be able to run 30mins without stopping but we'll just have to make it to week 7/8.
Some tips
1. Run to music that motivates you (and is not too slow). I find some songs really motivate me to keep going. Sometimes I focus on the music instead of the time.2. if you are running in a gym, run next to someone who is doing it easily. i find it motivating to look next to me and running at a 6.5 easily. I tell myself if they can do 6.5 for 30 mins straight, I should be able to do 5.5. for 5 mins
3. If you are running on a treadmill, cover up the time. You don't want to focus on what you have left. I use the zenlabs app on my ipod and it tells me when to run and walk...so I can focus on something else.
There you have it. I definitely recommend the couch to 5k so far. No significant weightloss yet but I can definitely see and improvement in my legs.
Let me know if you have specific questions in the comments.
Monday, July 30, 2012
Carbs WILL slow you down
Today I got an unexpected nutrition lesson.
I've been trying to focus on losing weight the entire month of July by exercising and counting calories. While i don't eliminate any food, counting calories has indirectly reduced how much carbohydrates I consume simply because their calorie content is high.
Today I went out for lunch with my coworkers and I ordered a 1/2 roasted chicken and some mashed potatoes. I took a bite, didn't like it (sugar in chicken? wtf?) and opted to get a chicken sandwich and some fries.
Normally, I'm not a fan of french fries but these were good. I ate the fries AND the sandwich which came on a very thick bun. I didn't really mind because even though it was high calorie, i wasn't really planning on eating anything else.
This was at noon. At 3.30 pm it was a struggle to stay awake. I drank some coffee in an attempt to stay alert at work. It didn't help. I got home from work at 6.30 and I was still very sleepy. I fought it for a bit and then gave in an took a nap. I woke up at 7.30 to go to zumba and it was a big struggle. Luckily, I convinced myself to go and that finally woke me up a bit. Throughout the class, I kept having to burp and that's when it hit me that i was STILL digesting the food I ate almost 8 hours ago!
That's crazy. If I eat a tuna sandwich on wheat bread, in 3 hours it's out of my system. This is something I'm going to research further. It makes sense how if you eat a lot of "bad" food you feel sluggish and not motivated to exercise.
If I hadn't been in the habit of working out, I probably wouldn't have forced myself to go because I was so tired.
I just feel...heavy. Talk about an incentive to eat light.
Anyone else notice something similar?
I've been trying to focus on losing weight the entire month of July by exercising and counting calories. While i don't eliminate any food, counting calories has indirectly reduced how much carbohydrates I consume simply because their calorie content is high.
Today I went out for lunch with my coworkers and I ordered a 1/2 roasted chicken and some mashed potatoes. I took a bite, didn't like it (sugar in chicken? wtf?) and opted to get a chicken sandwich and some fries.
Normally, I'm not a fan of french fries but these were good. I ate the fries AND the sandwich which came on a very thick bun. I didn't really mind because even though it was high calorie, i wasn't really planning on eating anything else.
This was at noon. At 3.30 pm it was a struggle to stay awake. I drank some coffee in an attempt to stay alert at work. It didn't help. I got home from work at 6.30 and I was still very sleepy. I fought it for a bit and then gave in an took a nap. I woke up at 7.30 to go to zumba and it was a big struggle. Luckily, I convinced myself to go and that finally woke me up a bit. Throughout the class, I kept having to burp and that's when it hit me that i was STILL digesting the food I ate almost 8 hours ago!
That's crazy. If I eat a tuna sandwich on wheat bread, in 3 hours it's out of my system. This is something I'm going to research further. It makes sense how if you eat a lot of "bad" food you feel sluggish and not motivated to exercise.
If I hadn't been in the habit of working out, I probably wouldn't have forced myself to go because I was so tired.
I just feel...heavy. Talk about an incentive to eat light.
Anyone else notice something similar?
Monday Morning weigh-in
193.
Down 1.4 lbs. It totally doesn't seem worth it for all the time I have been logging at the gym. It also annoys me that I was 191.8 on Friday. I wish I had taken measurements when i started because this is not really encouraging. For the whole month I lost about 3.5 lbs. And I worked out 3 times a day for half of that.
Blegh.
This can't all be about building muscle. I hope August is better. I'm tired of trying to get into the 180s.
Down 1.4 lbs. It totally doesn't seem worth it for all the time I have been logging at the gym. It also annoys me that I was 191.8 on Friday. I wish I had taken measurements when i started because this is not really encouraging. For the whole month I lost about 3.5 lbs. And I worked out 3 times a day for half of that.
Blegh.
This can't all be about building muscle. I hope August is better. I'm tired of trying to get into the 180s.
Friday, July 27, 2012
Sometimes you just have to skip a day
I've been working out HARD. Maybe too hard. Who knows? All I know is that I have been tired and felt like my body needed time to rest. Yesterday was the first time in the week I only had to work out once a day. It was refreshing not to go to the gym after work. This morning I woke up for body pump and I was just.not.feeling.it.
I wanted to sleep. So I did. I feel MUCH better now. The good thing is, the habit is so in me that I feel bad about skipping it so I'll go in the evening. I still think that 24 hours of rest will be great for my body. Next month I'll adjust my schedule a bit and see if that will shift the lbs.
As much as I like going down in inches, it would be nice to be under 190 Someday...And maybe even weigh something normal.
I wanted to sleep. So I did. I feel MUCH better now. The good thing is, the habit is so in me that I feel bad about skipping it so I'll go in the evening. I still think that 24 hours of rest will be great for my body. Next month I'll adjust my schedule a bit and see if that will shift the lbs.
As much as I like going down in inches, it would be nice to be under 190 Someday...And maybe even weigh something normal.
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Couch to 5K - Week 2.
Just a quick note to say I'm about to do week 2 of the C25K. I'm a little nervous because week 1 was pretty easy for me to complete and I'm not so sure how I will do with these slightly longer runs! Weighed in this morning. Still the same as yesterday :(. Will try to not check till at least Friday. I'll be back to update
#UPDATE: I survived it. The last 2 runs were not as inspired as the first ones but I did them without any problem. My right achilles tendon hurts though so have to look into taking care of that. I sprained my ankle 2 months ago (in ZUMBA!) so hopefully this is not a side effect. I didn't expect the 2 minute walk so that was a nice bonus and definitely let me recover.
#UPDATE: I survived it. The last 2 runs were not as inspired as the first ones but I did them without any problem. My right achilles tendon hurts though so have to look into taking care of that. I sprained my ankle 2 months ago (in ZUMBA!) so hopefully this is not a side effect. I didn't expect the 2 minute walk so that was a nice bonus and definitely let me recover.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
