I began this blog to help myself be more accountable about my journey to get fit ... frankly I find myself on here following other blogs much more. I'm finding it helpful to hear other people's stories. The problem is I've been leaving my own out. So last week I had pulled a muscle in my groin so I rested all week. I began my week 3 workouts this week instead so I didn't miss any. When I began working out again I found that suddenly I had way more upper body strength. It's so weird but now I can do pushups properly ... granted not a lot yet, but on my toes none the less. I'm also able to follow my workouts closer with less rests. I'm feeling so strong and I love it. NOW the problem is my joints are feeling the stress. I went and got a supplement to help with joint support because Insanity is hard my body. But I still love it. It's hard to believe I'll be starting week 4 next week. My problem before was that I'd begin a weight loss plan and start seeing some results and then stop. I don't know why, but I would never see it through to my goal. This workout I look forward to everyday and I'm so thrilled about that.
One thing that is a struggle for me is my diet. I'm not on a "diet" so to say, but I'm watching my calories and my choices overall more closely. I'll do really well and then have a bad day or two, and then do really well again. I need to learn how to say no to the foods that I love that are just bad choices. It's so hard. Especially at work when people bring food in ... I just can't say no. Which, I suppose, is not a big deal ... but then I need to learn how to just have a little and not gorge myself. I am pretty proud of my alcohol intake lately. I go out with my friends all the time, and now I'm at the point where I have no desire to drink because of the extra calories. I don't need them, or want them. I went out earlier this week and had a drink and a couple of shots and that was it. Tonight I had one shot with a friend and had water or diet soda the rest of the night. I'm pretty proud of that. Most night I wouldn't even know how much I drank because thats just what we would do. That kind of makes me sick to think about it. I'm proud that I can go out and not need to drink because aside from my other weaknesses with food, that was where a lot of my empty calories would come from.
Overall I keep making small steps in the right direction along with my hardcore exercise program ... eventually I'll get where I want to be. I just hope my joints feel better with the extra supplement ... that would really get in the way of my workouts.
~*Sweet dreams*~
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Day 27
Posted by StephanieLea at 2:45 AM 0 comments
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Day 16: a pain in the you-know-what!
Maybe if I get myself to actually blog daily, I'll stay better on track. Who knows, but I know I slipped up again this past weekend. I don't know what it is, I'm usually so great about working out and eating decent during the week but then the weekend comes and *BAM* down the crapper it goes. Well ... regardless I took some measurements on Sunday and my fit test Monday. I've lost 8 inches thus far, and that makes me so happy! No pounds gone yet, but I know that'll come eventually with all this muscle I'm building. I also had improvements in all categories of my fit test ... all except for the globe jumps. Those kick my ass hardcore.
So today I had off, and normally I get my workout done before noon but that didn't happen today. I was up bright and early to take my friends kids to school, but later I came home and took a nap ... a 3 hour nap! :( What was that about? I just couldn't wake up, I felt so exhausted! Apparently I needed the sleep, but it threw off my whole day. Then as the day passed I noticed that I must have pulled a muscle in my groin because it is hurting! Walking up the stairs especially hurts. So I'm going to rest today instead and see how it feels tomorrow. I feel so guilty for not getting my workout in, but I also know how hard Insanity is on my body and I'm pretty sure I don't want to do even more harm.
I hate this guilty feeling though. I've been so into this workout it's ridiculous ... it's not something that I'm used to. I've liked working out before, but not to the point where I look forward to it ... and I sure do look forward to this one! :) So instead of making myself feel guilty, I'll just keep on top of my diet, and jump back into it when my groin is through screaming at me ... hopefully it'll be better tomorrow.
Posted by StephanieLea at 10:59 PM 0 comments
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Day 11: ahhhhh stretches
I love recovery days! And today I am even more proud than usual ... I was able to do almost everything in todays workout. I did have to shake it out a bit during the holds and this one nasty plank exercise, but only for a second and then jumped back in! I can feel my strength increasing. I can feel myself becoming more flexable. And I can already see a difference in my body! I made a resolution not to go overborad on the scale, so I won't weigh myself until 30 days is up. BUT I am taking pics and measurements before each fit test to track my progress. I'm really excited to do that on Sunday. I can't wait for what I see when I put my pics together :)
Posted by StephanieLea at 8:40 PM 0 comments
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Day 10: i'm bad at this game
So I hadn't really been a blogger before, and I haven't kept a journal in years ... but I wanted this to be a daily update of my progress, and somehow I've skipped 5 days. Go figure. The good news though is that I'm still going strong with Insanity. I haven't officially taken any new measurements/weight but I was curious and checked my waist ... down an inch and a half ... as of a couple of days ago.
I'm a bit frustrated with myself, because my eating habits still aren't where they should be. I also need to remind myself that I spent years and years with poor eating habits. And I'm not kidding ... I used to be able to eat so much, and so much JUNK! There has been a huge improvment in my diet. I eat breakfast. I eat regularly. I eat a lot of protein, so I rarely think about eating. This is good and bad. Bad because I should be eating more calories than I think I am during the day. Good because then I don't feel the need to binge. I think my big problem is I'm not writing down what I'm eating. I even have the notebook and pen in my purse ... so what's my excuse?? ... I don't have one. I just don't do it. It's a pain to log my calories ... but even just writing down what goes in my mouth makes me so much more aware. Another downfall of mine is work. There is always food ... and GOOD food! Lots of Mexican food ... and Doritos ... and sweets .... and it's awful!! I really need to learn how to look at my favorite foods and say no. Even if I'm fully satisfied I have such a hard time passing these things up. I really need to work on that.
I also need to work on blogging more. Digging deeper into what I'm thinking and how I'm feeling. I feel like I'm so used to just skimming the surface when I talk about how I'm feeling, that its difficult for me to really get in there and pull out the important stuff. I really feel like my job has gotten me used to small talk, because that's all I do everyday ... with my customers, not my coworkers. Which happens to be the group of people I'm most open with.
Posted by StephanieLea at 9:53 PM 0 comments
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Day 4: officially addicted
Okay okay, so I skipped a day. Blogging that is ... I did my workout for sure, and man was it killer! Yesterday was rough. My thighs hurt so badly I could barely walk up and down the stairs ... literally. I was dying at work, and I was telling my coworkers about Insanity and I demonstrated a move for them, and moving made my legs feel better. I realized then that my day 3 workout would do me some good and I couldn't make the excuse that I was too sore to work out. So I did. And it did feel great. But my legs still killed the rest of the night.
Today though is much better. Only my calves are sore, and they're not even that bad. I realize that I keep complaining about the soreness, but it really does make me feel good. Just when it's not so extreme as it was yesterday. Then I become a baby, and complain to whoever will listen. haha ohh well. But working through it helps. And today's workout Cardio Recovery was perfect. There were some squats and lunges that sucked, but the rest was yoga poses and felt amazing. Still a good workout even though it was slower paced. I also didn't eat too good today. I took a friends daughter out to lunch and she wanted McDonalds. UGH. Makes me sick just thinking about it ... then my body was wanting more bad food after that and I had Chex Mix and some baked Cheetos ... they could have been worse choices but still make me feel guilty. So I just have to jump back in starting over with breakfast tomorrow. Oh well ... I'm not going to deny myself a cheat now and then. I just have to learn to make them a rare occasion, and not let it ruin my whole day. That's a lesson that will probably take a while to learn.
I'm kind of nervous for tomorrow's workout though ... seems tough!
Posted by StephanieLea at 5:49 PM 0 comments
Labels: exercise, weight loss
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Day 2: holy ridiculous Batman
So I work up bright and early this morning easier than ever. I felt like I slept better than I have in a long time ... and I thought I slept good all the time. I ran some errands, made myself breakfast, and worked out all before noon. Now ... I'm 25, on a normal day off I'd barely be getting up much before noon. I felt great.
As for Plyo Cardio ... ohhh my good Lord. It was so hard! Insane doesn't even begin to describe it. Now, I'm not an athlete so I knew I'd struggle at first, but I guess I didn't realize just how little upper body strength I had. Which meant I could barely do the majority of the plank series. I was frustrated ... but I am just that much more motivated to do it. To be able to keep up eventually will be great.
Now though, I am exhausted. My eyes are heavy, my muscles are ridiculously sore, and I'm not looking forward to going to work before 8am. :( Boo! I am however still looking forward to tomorrow's workout. And meals ... I've been doing really well with the eating plan. The odd thing is, when I'm actually watching what I eat, I have a problem eating enough calories. When I couldn't care less it's easy to consume a ridiculous amount of calories ... but I was still a few hundred calories short today. I'm trying to block my meals better, but sometimes it's a challenge. But my body is thanking me for the good food I'm now feeding it ... it's a huge difference from the nutrient lacking junk I used to feed it ... though my digestive system is still getting used to the extra fiber lol ... oh well. Cest la vie!
Posted by StephanieLea at 9:21 PM 0 comments
Labels: exercise, weight loss
Monday, March 1, 2010
Day 1: woah!
Insane doesn't even begin to describe my first impression of Insanity. But for some reason I find myself craving tomorrow's workout. I put off the workout until this evening because I was feeling lazy, I went to the mall with a friend, made dinner, had a headache ... overall I didn't want to do the fit test. Man was it difficult! Now, I'm not an athlete, nor have I been working out regularly for quite some time ... but I'd have to say I did pretty well for my first fit test. My results were as follows:
Switch Kicks: 69 Globe Jumps: 7
Power Jacks: 35 Suicide Jumps: 7
Power Knees: 70 Push-up Jacks: 7
Power Jumps: 5 Low Plank Oblique: 39
Not too shabby for my first time ... and a lot of the numbers are comparable to other people's numbers as well. Except for the power jumps ... I was feeling so exhausted for that one! I am just so excited for the results and progress I will be seeing in the next 60 days, and beyond. I'm thrilled to lose some weight as well as push my body to do things it's never done before. This is a real challenge, and I'm up for it. I weighed myself today, took my measurements, and my before pics. I really want to be able to track my progress; if not in pounds then in inches ... or both if I'm lucky.
I'm exhausted! I'll blog more tomorrow since I have off ... until then, I need more water ... and sleep!
Posted by StephanieLea at 10:25 PM 0 comments
