Thursday, January 28, 2010
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Control
I didn't realize how out of it I really was in regards to food until now. I am proud to say that I am now being more aware of what I am putting in my mouth. I am also thinking of the consequences of what I am eating.
Up until I left work yesterday I ate:
- Yogurt, PC blue menu granola and strawberries
- 20 Almonds - This is the portion size that Jillian Michale's had listed in her book for a snack. 20 didn't sound like a lot but when I actually counted them out it was almost more then enough.
- Ham sandwich with romaine lettuce and 4 slices of cheese
- A PC chewy oatmeal cookie
Shortly after eating the cookie an email went out at work that there were "deserts" in the lunch room. And I stayed sitting at my desk!
When I actually thought about it I couldn't justify eating some square when I had just eaten a cookie. In the past I might have tried to lie to myself and pretend that the square could have been small and wouldn't have made a difference. I am a terrible lier though and the evidence of how much squares and all the little snacks I had been eating mattered was easy to see considering how few articles of clothing I own that I have been able to confidently wear recently.
Anyway, I stayed in my seat thinking about how I was going to work out when I got home. I knew I didn't want that time I spent working out to just go to canceling out snacks. It wasn't until later that day that I realized how significant it had been that I turned down the food. I also realized that the day before there were also snacks in the lunch room and I only took one even when there were others that looked quite tempting.
When I got home my apartment was freezing. This was quite odd considering I live on the third floor of a 150 year old building with stone walls three feet thick. As a result all the heat from the bottom floors comes up through the floors and it like like I have in floor heating. I never turn my heat on and usually have to open the windows while wearing a tank top just to survive. As a result of it being super freezing and being at a really good part in Memories of a Geisha I decided to hop in to bed and read for a bit.
Next thing I knew it was 7 o'clock and my stomach was growling. I wanted dinner but I knew if I ate I would feel even less like exercising then I already did. I had made the decision that Tuesday would be an exercise day and I didn't want to go back on that. So after two crackers with PB and some water I turned on the 30 day Shred DVD.
Day 4 whoo! I think the 30 Day Shred is supposed to be done for 30 days straight but #1 Even though the high intensity workout only takes 25mins I sweat so much that I have to take a shower afterwards of course and I really don't have time for that every day. #2 I don't feel like dieing at the age of 20. So three times a week seems like a good amount to me.
Work out schedule so far is:
- Tuesday - 30 day shred
- Thursday - 30 day shred
- Saturday afternoon - 30 day shred
The Saturday works really well because I usually like to go to the farmers market Saturday morning so I am already up and about and get home around noon. If I didn't exercise when I get home there would be a high chance of me coming home after being out in the cold and climbing into bed for a nap and then waking up late afternoon feeling like I wasted half the day. So I am killing 2 birds with one stone. Tuesday and Thursday seem like good compliments to Saturday plus they are my least busy days of the week.
I might be fitting in a day or two of running soon as I have a friend who wants to start running. Plus I am going to be doing run for the cure with girls from work work (Our team name is Techies for Tatas :D ) and while I know you can walk it I think it would be fun to be able to run at least part of the time. I am not sure about this though because I have trouble breathing sometimes even when fast walking in cold weather. This doesn't happen in warm weather or when I am inside though so I am pretty sure it has to do with the cold air. Not sure I want to get all the gear needed to run in the winter outside to go on to find out it won't work for me. This coupled with icy sidewalks makes me think it might make more sense to wait until it warms up to start running outside. Any suggestions or tips on winter running for noobies?
After I was all done my workout I was starving so I popped a little pot pie in the toaster oven and hoped in the shower. I then made a nice big salad with romaine lettuce for the side and snuggled with some TV for the rest of the night. All in all I think it was a good day in terms of progress.
Now to see how the pre choir dinner tonight goes. Wish me luck!
Wow I really need to learn to stay on topic or all my posts will turn into small novels like this one.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Rewarding Myself
I am doing it wrong. I realized recently that I tend to reward myself with food. For instance I was doing quite well yesterday up until dinner when I decided I deserved a Wendy's Burger for dinner because I had eaten well up until then. To continue to think this way is going to end up as a total disaster. Working out and then writing it all off by eating junk is not what I want to be doing.
Rewards still sound like a good idea though, just not ones that go in my mouth. So once I loose 10 pounds from my starting weight I am going to buy a camera. This reward is good in two ways. For one I don't have one and I have wanted one for a while. And two it should make my blog a little more interesting both to read and to write. I will think of more rewards later and post them on the side bar.
I tried out the 30day shred dvd on Friday and it was great. I will write more about it later.
Rewards still sound like a good idea though, just not ones that go in my mouth. So once I loose 10 pounds from my starting weight I am going to buy a camera. This reward is good in two ways. For one I don't have one and I have wanted one for a while. And two it should make my blog a little more interesting both to read and to write. I will think of more rewards later and post them on the side bar.
I tried out the 30day shred dvd on Friday and it was great. I will write more about it later.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Weigh In
I know I should be in bed right now but I think if I wait any longer to post the results of my weigh in and fitness test I will chicken out.
On my way home from work today I stopped at Wal-Mart to get a scale and a measuring tape among other things that I have been meaning to pick up. I got the Weight Watchers scale which was on sale for 29 dollars. It is nice and simple looking and very light which is a good thing when taking things home on the bus.
When I finally got the battery to stay in the thing I weighed myself. I seem to have gained a bit more then I thought I did. Not the end of the world though, just means more motivation to loose it.
The fitness test did not go exactly as planned either. I can't do push ups. At all. Apparently my upper body does not contain any muscle what so ever. I did average on the sit up test(how many can you do in a minute) and the wall sitting test (back against the wall, legs 90 degrees and hold.)
I am waiting to try the the step test to check your palse. I am going to do that next time I am visiting my parents. There are no stairs in my apartment and I wasn't so keen on doing the stair climber in the hall way. I am pretty sure I will do well in that department though considering it takes about a minute of climbing stairs to get up here and I haven't died yet.
I also took mesurements and calculated my BMR (the number of cals your body needs to keep you alive.)
Here are the details.
Weight: 193.2
Height: 5'9"
Bust:43"
Chest:34"
Waist:36"
Hips:43"
Thigh 27.5"
Arm 13.75"
As long as I don't get home from work at 9 again tomorrow I will be trying out the 30 day shred dvd. Wish me luck!
On my way home from work today I stopped at Wal-Mart to get a scale and a measuring tape among other things that I have been meaning to pick up. I got the Weight Watchers scale which was on sale for 29 dollars. It is nice and simple looking and very light which is a good thing when taking things home on the bus.
When I finally got the battery to stay in the thing I weighed myself. I seem to have gained a bit more then I thought I did. Not the end of the world though, just means more motivation to loose it.
The fitness test did not go exactly as planned either. I can't do push ups. At all. Apparently my upper body does not contain any muscle what so ever. I did average on the sit up test(how many can you do in a minute) and the wall sitting test (back against the wall, legs 90 degrees and hold.)
I am waiting to try the the step test to check your palse. I am going to do that next time I am visiting my parents. There are no stairs in my apartment and I wasn't so keen on doing the stair climber in the hall way. I am pretty sure I will do well in that department though considering it takes about a minute of climbing stairs to get up here and I haven't died yet.
I also took mesurements and calculated my BMR (the number of cals your body needs to keep you alive.)
Here are the details.
Weight: 193.2
Height: 5'9"
Bust:43"
Chest:34"
Waist:36"
Hips:43"
Thigh 27.5"
Arm 13.75"
As long as I don't get home from work at 9 again tomorrow I will be trying out the 30 day shred dvd. Wish me luck!
Monday, January 11, 2010
Beginnings
Hello all :)
I have decided to start a blog for a couple of reasons. One of them being that now I have finished school and have a full time job. Full time jobs mean money and money means that I am going to take a vacation next winter to somewhere much warmer then Nova Scotia. When I am on the beach having a wonderful vacation I want to be wearing a bikini and I want to feel great doing it. Now don't get me wrong, I feel like I am in decent shape and overall I like my body but I would be kidding myself if I thought I was in bikini shape. Up until recently it has been impossible to find a normal one piece bathing suit that fits me properly let alone a two piece. When I found this site though I knew I had to get a bikini from it. I also want to buy some dresses from there but at those prices I want anything I buy to be things I can wear for years to come. This is the fun goal but more importantly I just want to get in better shape overall.
I have a moderately active lifestyle in that I live in the middle of Halifax in a third floor walkup. My fitness regimen therefore consists of walking everywhere and lots of stairs. I don't binge eat but I don't eat as well as I could. Ever since I have been a teenager my weight has fluctuated up and down and right now it is up. Most of my pants are size 11 but I have some size 13 that I have had to wear recently and they are getting to be on the tight side. I refuse to buy more clothing unless it is because everything I have to wear is to big (I would enjoy being forced to do this). So I am going to start eating better and exercising regularly.
To hit the ground running I have picked up the biggest loser trainer Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred DVD and her book Making the Cut. For the DVD all you need are free weights and a mat if your floor is hard. I already had some weights so I picked up a super cute Gaiam yoga mat. It is hot pink with lighter pink hearts on it. I figured I may as well like the look of my mat because I am going to be seeing it a lot in the near future.
I have heard great things about the DVD from friends and the book looked good when I researched it. I have read most of the book already since buying it yesterday and it looks like it will be a great resource for me. It has tons of recipes that actually look very yummy for healthy meals and snacks. I will do a more through review them it later.
The deal with the book and the DVD is that you work out and eat properly for 30 days (hence the 30 day shred title) and by the end of it you should be more lean and toned. I am going to stick to it for 30 days and chronicle my progress here. By the end of the 30 days I am hoping this lifestyle change will have become habit and will be something I can stick to for the rest of my life.
This isn't going to be about transforming my body by magic. I know that it will take hard work and discipline to achieve the results I want. But I do want them and am willing to put the work in to get them. This blog is to make me more accountable. If I say I am going to write about each day I will want to have good things to write. At least that is the plan.
Stay tuned for the initial measurements, weigh in and fitness test! O:
I have decided to start a blog for a couple of reasons. One of them being that now I have finished school and have a full time job. Full time jobs mean money and money means that I am going to take a vacation next winter to somewhere much warmer then Nova Scotia. When I am on the beach having a wonderful vacation I want to be wearing a bikini and I want to feel great doing it. Now don't get me wrong, I feel like I am in decent shape and overall I like my body but I would be kidding myself if I thought I was in bikini shape. Up until recently it has been impossible to find a normal one piece bathing suit that fits me properly let alone a two piece. When I found this site though I knew I had to get a bikini from it. I also want to buy some dresses from there but at those prices I want anything I buy to be things I can wear for years to come. This is the fun goal but more importantly I just want to get in better shape overall.
I have a moderately active lifestyle in that I live in the middle of Halifax in a third floor walkup. My fitness regimen therefore consists of walking everywhere and lots of stairs. I don't binge eat but I don't eat as well as I could. Ever since I have been a teenager my weight has fluctuated up and down and right now it is up. Most of my pants are size 11 but I have some size 13 that I have had to wear recently and they are getting to be on the tight side. I refuse to buy more clothing unless it is because everything I have to wear is to big (I would enjoy being forced to do this). So I am going to start eating better and exercising regularly.
To hit the ground running I have picked up the biggest loser trainer Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred DVD and her book Making the Cut. For the DVD all you need are free weights and a mat if your floor is hard. I already had some weights so I picked up a super cute Gaiam yoga mat. It is hot pink with lighter pink hearts on it. I figured I may as well like the look of my mat because I am going to be seeing it a lot in the near future.
I have heard great things about the DVD from friends and the book looked good when I researched it. I have read most of the book already since buying it yesterday and it looks like it will be a great resource for me. It has tons of recipes that actually look very yummy for healthy meals and snacks. I will do a more through review them it later.
The deal with the book and the DVD is that you work out and eat properly for 30 days (hence the 30 day shred title) and by the end of it you should be more lean and toned. I am going to stick to it for 30 days and chronicle my progress here. By the end of the 30 days I am hoping this lifestyle change will have become habit and will be something I can stick to for the rest of my life.
This isn't going to be about transforming my body by magic. I know that it will take hard work and discipline to achieve the results I want. But I do want them and am willing to put the work in to get them. This blog is to make me more accountable. If I say I am going to write about each day I will want to have good things to write. At least that is the plan.
Stay tuned for the initial measurements, weigh in and fitness test! O:
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