Fitness Friday
Weekly Update
After last week I knew I really had to get back on the wagon. So, I gave myself the weekend off (I was down visiting friends all weekend, which meant no time to exercise, alcohol and a 3am trip to the chippie) and got right back on it on Monday. It was nice to have a bit of a break, but man it's been hard getting back into it! I'm back on level 2 of the 30 Day Shred which I really, really hate. I'd been warned that level 2 was tough, but it is intense! I have so little upper body strength and I feel that's all you work in level 2. I also feel that unlike level 1, there is a big difference between the modified and non-modified versions. In level 1 I felt that modifying each more was simply about doing it "less"- lower jumps, lower squats etc. but the modifications in level 2 completely change the move, so when I'm trying to do the unmodified versions (trying!) it's so much tougher than Level 1! Not long left on Level 2 though- I did day 17 today so only 3 days until Level 3! I am noticing a difference though- I'm actually developing biceps! I am enjoying the 30 Day Shred though, as difficult as it is. I calculated that, given a few days when I know I'm working late or doing something after work, I should complete the shred on 2nd December. I've already got my eye on Ripped in 30, which I want to follow with the Jillian Michaels Collection (reeeeeally fancy 6 Week 6 Pack!). I'm also hoping it will fit in quite easily when I start working. As I've mentioned before, I'm going to be working 9.30-6pm every day, and my work is about an hour away, so I'll be leaving the house at 8.15am and getting home around 7pm. I've already discovered that I don't like exercising in the morning, so my plan is to do the 30 Day Shred every night before bed. For extra cardio I plan to walk the 30 minutes home from the bus stop each night too. I know walking isn't a lot, but combined with the 30DS that's an hour of cardio a day, which is still pretty good for working full time. I think my biggest worry is letting go of my exercise routine when I start working, so I'm determined not to let that happen.
Speaking of cardio, you might have noticed that I haven't mentioned my running. The honest truth? I've decided to stop with Couch to 5K. One of the reasons is that, well, I really, really hate running. I'd love to complete a 5K one day, but I feel at the moment having two goals to work on at once is too much. For now, I've been sticking to walking. Walking is much easier to fit into my schedule (as I said, I can fit it in on the way home from work) and I really enjoy it. Plus, it's convenient. To get my cardio in this week I've been walking to places I actually needed to go. I enjoy walking to actually get somewhere. I can walk 30 minutes to the bus stop when I'm heading to work, walk the 40 minutes there and back to the local college, walk into Stockport instead of getting the bus. Sure, it's not intense cardio like running is, but I can do it every day, I enjoy it, it doesn't require special clothes or equipment and it fits easily into my schedule. Plus, I'm incredibly impatient so I walk really, really fast! I've managed to go a good 30+ minute walk nearly every day this week, as well as 30DS.
The only thing I'm struggling with at the moment is actual weight loss. I know it's quite a common thing when you start to work out a lot, but it is frustrating that I'm not actually losing weight. I mean I am losing inches (I've actually just started to measure that), and I can tell that, plus my clothes are back to fitting pretty much as they did before, but it is hard to not notice a difference on the scale. I read somewhere that after a few weeks of working out your muscles adapt and you should notice a difference so maybe soon. And if not then maybe I have to accept that physical weight loss maybe isn't the only result of a diet and exercise routine.
Foodie Finds
Well after a bit of an indulgent Saturday (but not actually as bad as it could have been!) I've been back to my usual healthy diet. And I do enjoy it! I genuinely like eating healthily. So I've been back on my salads, soups and filling vegetable based dinners. This week I discovered Wartbutons Sandwich thins, which are kinda life changing! They are like bread rolls but they're super thin and only have 100 calories! I've been making low-calorie breakfasts with them and Weight Watchers cheese or egg whites. I'm excited to try them with boiled eggs too! I've been putting a list together of things I can take to work for lunch and for snacks this week too so I can stay on track while I'm working. As you know I'm a big snack fan so I'm trying to think of lots of yummy snacks but also filling lunches. Our plan is to do a big day of cooking on a Sunday so we always have home cooked, healthy meals to come home to during the week. I always like a home cooked meal and I'm usually the one who cooks it but it's not going to happen when I get home from work at 7! This week we've had sweet potato and quinoa chilli, salmon with avocado salsa and homemade quorn shepherd's pie.
Also, a few weeks ago I mentioned my worries about a protein or iron deficiency because I'm always, always tired. Well today I went to the doctors and I had a blood test so I should have the results next week.
Things I've Learned
- There is a difference between pushing yourself and punishing yourself. Doing something you hate is not worth it.
- Level 2 is hard!
- I do enjoy the 30 Day Shred. Just not at the time!
- It's actually really easy to eat good, filling and tasty meals and still keep my calories low.
- I really, really enjoy walking and I'd rather do cardio that I enjoy that also gets me from A to B.
- Working out is easy when you have lots of time on your hands
- Planning and organisation is the key to making routines work
- Sometimes you need to take a bit of a break. These kinds of things are lifestyle changes, not short-term fixes, so you have to let life happen and not beat yourself up over it.
Goals for Next Week
- Bring good, healthy lunches and snacks to work that can keep me full until my dinner at 7
- Walk home from the bus stop every day after work, and get extra cardio in at weekends
- Squeeze the 30 day Shred in after work every night before bed.
I am genuinely worried about sticking to my exercise plans while I'm working, but I'm pretty (okay, obsessively) organised so I'm hoping once I have a plan it will work out. At the moment I'm planning on getting home from work at 7 and having dinner, and then relaxing for a few hours until my dinner goes down and doing 30DS between 9.30pm and 10pm. But of course, I'm going to play it by ear. And if I have to start getting up at 5.30am to work out, well, that's what I'll do!
After last week I knew I really had to get back on the wagon. So, I gave myself the weekend off (I was down visiting friends all weekend, which meant no time to exercise, alcohol and a 3am trip to the chippie) and got right back on it on Monday. It was nice to have a bit of a break, but man it's been hard getting back into it! I'm back on level 2 of the 30 Day Shred which I really, really hate. I'd been warned that level 2 was tough, but it is intense! I have so little upper body strength and I feel that's all you work in level 2. I also feel that unlike level 1, there is a big difference between the modified and non-modified versions. In level 1 I felt that modifying each more was simply about doing it "less"- lower jumps, lower squats etc. but the modifications in level 2 completely change the move, so when I'm trying to do the unmodified versions (trying!) it's so much tougher than Level 1! Not long left on Level 2 though- I did day 17 today so only 3 days until Level 3! I am noticing a difference though- I'm actually developing biceps! I am enjoying the 30 Day Shred though, as difficult as it is. I calculated that, given a few days when I know I'm working late or doing something after work, I should complete the shred on 2nd December. I've already got my eye on Ripped in 30, which I want to follow with the Jillian Michaels Collection (reeeeeally fancy 6 Week 6 Pack!). I'm also hoping it will fit in quite easily when I start working. As I've mentioned before, I'm going to be working 9.30-6pm every day, and my work is about an hour away, so I'll be leaving the house at 8.15am and getting home around 7pm. I've already discovered that I don't like exercising in the morning, so my plan is to do the 30 Day Shred every night before bed. For extra cardio I plan to walk the 30 minutes home from the bus stop each night too. I know walking isn't a lot, but combined with the 30DS that's an hour of cardio a day, which is still pretty good for working full time. I think my biggest worry is letting go of my exercise routine when I start working, so I'm determined not to let that happen.
Speaking of cardio, you might have noticed that I haven't mentioned my running. The honest truth? I've decided to stop with Couch to 5K. One of the reasons is that, well, I really, really hate running. I'd love to complete a 5K one day, but I feel at the moment having two goals to work on at once is too much. For now, I've been sticking to walking. Walking is much easier to fit into my schedule (as I said, I can fit it in on the way home from work) and I really enjoy it. Plus, it's convenient. To get my cardio in this week I've been walking to places I actually needed to go. I enjoy walking to actually get somewhere. I can walk 30 minutes to the bus stop when I'm heading to work, walk the 40 minutes there and back to the local college, walk into Stockport instead of getting the bus. Sure, it's not intense cardio like running is, but I can do it every day, I enjoy it, it doesn't require special clothes or equipment and it fits easily into my schedule. Plus, I'm incredibly impatient so I walk really, really fast! I've managed to go a good 30+ minute walk nearly every day this week, as well as 30DS.
The only thing I'm struggling with at the moment is actual weight loss. I know it's quite a common thing when you start to work out a lot, but it is frustrating that I'm not actually losing weight. I mean I am losing inches (I've actually just started to measure that), and I can tell that, plus my clothes are back to fitting pretty much as they did before, but it is hard to not notice a difference on the scale. I read somewhere that after a few weeks of working out your muscles adapt and you should notice a difference so maybe soon. And if not then maybe I have to accept that physical weight loss maybe isn't the only result of a diet and exercise routine.
Foodie Finds
Well after a bit of an indulgent Saturday (but not actually as bad as it could have been!) I've been back to my usual healthy diet. And I do enjoy it! I genuinely like eating healthily. So I've been back on my salads, soups and filling vegetable based dinners. This week I discovered Wartbutons Sandwich thins, which are kinda life changing! They are like bread rolls but they're super thin and only have 100 calories! I've been making low-calorie breakfasts with them and Weight Watchers cheese or egg whites. I'm excited to try them with boiled eggs too! I've been putting a list together of things I can take to work for lunch and for snacks this week too so I can stay on track while I'm working. As you know I'm a big snack fan so I'm trying to think of lots of yummy snacks but also filling lunches. Our plan is to do a big day of cooking on a Sunday so we always have home cooked, healthy meals to come home to during the week. I always like a home cooked meal and I'm usually the one who cooks it but it's not going to happen when I get home from work at 7! This week we've had sweet potato and quinoa chilli, salmon with avocado salsa and homemade quorn shepherd's pie.
Also, a few weeks ago I mentioned my worries about a protein or iron deficiency because I'm always, always tired. Well today I went to the doctors and I had a blood test so I should have the results next week.
Things I've Learned
- There is a difference between pushing yourself and punishing yourself. Doing something you hate is not worth it.
- Level 2 is hard!
- I do enjoy the 30 Day Shred. Just not at the time!
- It's actually really easy to eat good, filling and tasty meals and still keep my calories low.
- I really, really enjoy walking and I'd rather do cardio that I enjoy that also gets me from A to B.
- Working out is easy when you have lots of time on your hands
- Planning and organisation is the key to making routines work
- Sometimes you need to take a bit of a break. These kinds of things are lifestyle changes, not short-term fixes, so you have to let life happen and not beat yourself up over it.
Goals for Next Week
- Bring good, healthy lunches and snacks to work that can keep me full until my dinner at 7
- Walk home from the bus stop every day after work, and get extra cardio in at weekends
- Squeeze the 30 day Shred in after work every night before bed.
I am genuinely worried about sticking to my exercise plans while I'm working, but I'm pretty (okay, obsessively) organised so I'm hoping once I have a plan it will work out. At the moment I'm planning on getting home from work at 7 and having dinner, and then relaxing for a few hours until my dinner goes down and doing 30DS between 9.30pm and 10pm. But of course, I'm going to play it by ear. And if I have to start getting up at 5.30am to work out, well, that's what I'll do!
I need to start weekly goals for myself, I might actually stay with them and then accomplish them!
ReplyDeleteadoredlife.blogspot.com
True! Organization is key! sometimes it's so hard to find time for working out... but when you look at all the wasting time... you realize that there is ALWAYS time. It is great that you decided to go healthy! Now I feel inspired to keep going to the gym.. yaay! hahaha.
ReplyDeletehttp://lettuceforyou.blogspot.com/