Thursday, January 24, 2013

Workout Diaries: VIII

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This week I totally kicked butt in the gym, and I can already tell that it's paying off!!! Dare I say that I actually don't dread gym time these days? I still don't love it.... but not hating it is nice!
To see past diary entries, >>> CLICK HERE <<<

Weightloss Goal & Pounds Lost To Date:

My goal is to lose a total of 60 pounds this year. So far I've lost a total of 6 pounds and this is only my third week! I was hoping that the beginning would show results pretty quickly, because I've made some drastic changes to my diet and I am active 5-6 days out of the week. I'm really, really proud of myself and as corny as it sounds I just wanted to say that if I can make these changes anyone can. Nobody hated working out or eating healthy more than me... and here I am 3 weeks later and I'm more motivated than ever. The confidence that I've had these past few weeks is unbelievable and only makes me want to continue!

What’s Keeping Me Motivated:

>> THIS << calorie counter is still keeping me right on track - seriously, you really have to check it out. I've found that I get really competitive with myself and that I like to see how many calories I can have left over by the end of the day. Before you get all that's so not healthy on me.... what I mean is that if I have 200 calories left after dinner, I usually don't use them up on a bowl of ice cream because I know now that if I go to sleep too full I just don't sleep as well. I also mean that if I see that my calories for the day are going to break even, that might be my push to eat an apple over a bag of chips, or it might be my push to go for a walk if I haven't been active all day. I really like that I'm challenging myself in this way, because it's made things fun for me. Since I know that I like to compete with myself now, I'm thinking about investing in either THIS or THIS -- so more to come on that later!
I'm also prepping for the (Love Rox) race next month and a 5k obstacle course race (Rugged Maniacs) in May. The last time I did a 10k I was able to finish in a hour in a half, and this year I'm going for even faster! If I want to jog more than half of that 10k, I need to train and so that's helping me to push myself even further in the gym. I know that I can jog the 5k no problem at this point, so next month I'm really going to focus on upper body strength which is going to be a totally new thing for me. The thought of a 3 mile obsticle course is really freaking me out, so I'm going to use that fear in the gym and turn it into motivation!

How I'm Staying Active:

I have been putting in 6 miles per day, 5 days out of the week. The first 3 miles are easy, because I walk to and from work (and those hills are definitely rocking my calf muscles!). Initially, I was splitting the other half of those miles up by jogging for the first mile, walking half a mile, jogging the second mile, and walking the last half mile (on the treadmill - March I start doing all of this outside!) This week was actually really awesome, because I am now able to run the first 2 miles without stopping -or dying!!!!- and then the last mile I walk/run as I feel comfortable. I don't think I've ever been able to do that much without stopping so that difference in my endurance has been really rewarding.

Healthy Foods I’ve Tried:

I haven't been cutting things out of my diet, and by doing that and still losing at least 2lbs a week I feel really good. Last Friday I had McDonald's for lunch and then I ordered pizza for dinner, and the rest of the weekend I was on track and a little more active that I usually am. So I think I'm finding a balance and that's my ultimate goal because this is a lifestyle change, not a crash diet.
 
With that said, I am starting to see my taste buds changing. I've never been a huge fan of fruit, but lately I've been reaching for strawberries, bananas, and grapes for breakfast or a quick snack before the gym. I'm eating a lot more vegetables that I ever have, and I actually like how they taste without needing to add butter to them. One thing I'm really focusing on is eating clean foods and staying away from processed foods as much as possible. I cook dinner each night so that I know exactly what's going into my body, and I make enough for lunch for the next day so that I'm not tempted to eat out.
 
The only thing that is a negative at this point is that for the past two weeks I haven't really felt like "myself" and I'm assuming that's because my body is still detoxing. What I mean is, I'll feel nauseous sometimes when I eat and I'll almost have to force myself to finish a meal... I don't know it's really weird and I just keep telling myself it's normal. When I feel like this, I usually try to go easy with myself and remind myself that these changes I've made so far are really huge. Sometimes I'll treat myself to a coffee or I'll eat a few of these chips that I've really been loving lately. I don't go crazy with those things like I used to, but I'll just have a small amount to kind of help when that yucky-nausea feeling creeps up every now and then and that's really been helping a lot. I really hope that goes away within the next few weeks... has anyone else out there experienced this ever??
 
I wanted to mention that while that has been a negative, I can really tell that the foods that I am eating are making me feel better in other ways. I've always gotten really, really bad headaches/migraines and was getting them several times a week.... and no joke I've only had ONE this month, and it was a pressure headache from the rain we were getting. Also, I had developed acid reflux, and this has totally disappeared and I haven't needed any of my medication for the whole month. I can deal with a little detox-induced nausea if it means that these health issues are gone for good!

Goals For The Upcoming Week:

I really want to continue to push myself in the gym. I was so excited about being able to run 2 miles back to back that I want to see how much further I can go. Also, I want to continue to stay active on the weekends and to continue to stay strong with my diet - I want to keep losing 2lbs per week!
 
A big thing that I realized this week (ok a huuuuge thing!) is that I haven't been craving cigarettes at all for two weeks now so I would like to continue to not smoke. Also, I've never been a big drinker but I think I've maybe had 1-2 alcoholic drinks this whole month and I really want to keep that going because they just add empty calories. What about you guys.... what are you doing to stay healthy??
*Workout Diaries is a weekly post that will track and monitor the progress that I am making as I attempt to lose 60 pounds. Please feel free to follow along and post your success stories or struggles in the comments section!

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