Day 9 - November 2

Welcome to Day 9!

I had a GREAT day yesterday which is carrying over into today, and I am in such a good mood!  Just one of the many wonderful benefits of exercising.

I stepped on the scale this morning and had great weigh-in

181.5

SO close to saying goodbye to the 180s!

My run last night went really well, and for the first time since moving to our new place, I was able to run ALL the way up the hill!  

I'll take a step back and explain what that means.

At the end of June, we moved to a new house on a dead end road, in a subdivision in the country.  The road is just under a mile long from end to end, and gradually climbs about 200 feet in elevation from the start to the dead end.  Our house is almost exactly halfway up the road.  My runs have usually had me ending a running stretch and beginning to walk near our driveway, about half way up the hill, and I could not have been happier!  At that point, I have been more than ready for walking breaks.  

My run last night was R5:00, W3:00, R8:00, W3:00, R5:00.  I started by running out of our driveway and down the hill, which meant the 8 minutes of running began right at the base of the steepest part of the hill which meant I experienced the joy of running allll the way up the hill, to the dead end and heading back towards the bottom.  

I was cursing myself for not starting the run by going up the hill first so I could maybe get lucky and have the long running chunk going downhill and walk the incline. 

Surprisingly though, I felt GREAT running the hill.  Yes, it was tough, but not as tough as I was dreading it to be.  As soon as I finished my run and got back home, I burst into the house to brag to Nick that I actually ran the entire hill! 

Not only did I conquer the hill last night, I did my farthest distance (2.30 miles) since the beginning of May (half marathon...I have SO MUCH work to do to get back to 13 miles!!).

The first day of 30 Day Shred also went really well.  I like 30 Day Shred better than the 21 Day Fix workouts because I like not seeing the timer counting down.  I tend to focus too much on the countdown which makes the moves seem to take even longer, like watching the timer on a microwave!

I had also forgotten the 30 Day Shred is split into 3 different levels.  I have never been consistent enough to get out of level 1 before so I am looking forward to the new moves the other levels will bring.

Wow, this turned into a lengthy post.  I'll nip it in the bud by ending with my plan for today.

Meal Plan

B: 2 hard boiled eggs & banana

S: apple with pb

L: butternut squash & apple soup with pumpkin seeds

S: yogurt & orange

D: orange shrimp stir-fry

(I wasn't able to make this last night because I was missing a key ingredient...oj.  Instead, I made a grilled chicken and pesto tortellini skillet.)

Workouts

30 Day Shred (Day 2)

Lower: 12 squats, 12 lunges, 12 calf-raises

Upper: 11 standing rows, 11 hammer curls, 11 rear deltoid raises 

Abs: 10 roll-ups, 10 ankle reaches, 10 leg lifts, 7 reverse crunches

Day 8 - November 1 & November Goals

Happy November!

To start, my plan for Day 8.

Meal Plan:

B: Ancient Grains Cheerios with milk

S: Orange & shortbread cookies

L: Stuffed pepper

S: Broccoli & hummus

D: Orange shrimp Stir-fry

Workout Schedule:

C25K W6D1

Lower: 10 squats, 10 lunges, 10 calf raises

Upper: 11 pullovers, 11 kickbacks, 11 front raises

Abs: 10 roll-ups, 10 ankle reaches, 10 leg lifts, 6 reverse crunches

I went a little overboard this weekend with nutrition (pizza, twice in one day, oops), but overall, I have been doing well.  I have been chugging along nicely with my 30 Day Challenges, but I want to up my workout intensity.  Besides "running" three times a week, my cardio has only been coming from walks.  I love going for walks, but I don't feel that I'm getting my heart rate up enough to really consider them a workout.  I know going for a walk is better than nothing because I am at least moving, but I need a change if I want to see a change.

Starting today, because who doesn't love starting a challenge/setting goals at the beginning of a month, I will be doing Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred.  I have had the video for about 3 years, but have only done the workout about 5 times.  Since I have been doing well with the mini 30 Day Challenges, hopefully I can power through and complete the full 30 days of working out with Jillian.

Besides completing 30 Day Shred, I have a few other goals for the month of November.

Complete C25K and find a race to start training for.
I have 4 weeks of C25K left.  Week 5 went really well, even the dreaded 20 minute run on day 3.  Once I wrap up C25K and start training for a race, I need to work on consistency in my splits!

W5D1 - R5:00, W3:00, R5:00, W3:00, R5:00

W5D2 - R8:00, W5:00, R8:00

W5D3 - R20:00

Log at 12,000+ steps at least 20/30 days.

Attempt to complete all Christmas shopping.

I know this is quite a lofty goal, but it would be REALLY great to avoid the December shopping mania.

Get out of the 180's

This has been plaguing me for months!  I WILL finally see the 170's this month!

That's that.  Go make November GREAT!

Day 3 - 10/27/2016

Yesterday did not quite go as planned, but I still made it a good day.

All day long, it was rainy and cold.  I decided to move my W5D2 run to Friday instead and I did Total Body Cardio in lieu of running in the cold rain.


I did well with my meal plan also, but I got a little bingey after dinner and had not one, but two ice cream sandwiches.  Wahwahwahhhhh.

Today, I will stick 100% to my meal plan!

Meal Plan:

B: Grapefruit & 3 hard-boiled eggs

S: Yoplait Greek 100 yogurt

L: Sushi

S: String cheese & almonds

D: Chicken, broccoli & cheese bake

Workout schedule:

30 minute walk

Volleyball 

Lower: 8 squats, 8 lunges, 8 calf raises

Upper: 10 pullovers, 10 kickbacks, 10 front raises
Abs: 7 roll-ups, 7 ankle reaches, 7 leg lifts

Day 2 - 10/26/2016

Day 1 went well.

I stepped on the scale this morning to get a "starting" weight to see how I do over the new 30 days.

184.2

Day 2 is rainy, dark, and dreary, but I will be making it a GREAT day!

Meal Plan:

B: Oatmeal & banana

S: Pear & almonds

L: Mediterranean pizza

S: Carrots & hummus

D: Pork chop & sweet potato

Workouts:

C25K W5D2

Lower: 6 squats, 6 lunges, 6 calf raises

Upper: 10 back flies, 10 bicep curls, 10 lateral raises

Abs: 6 roll-up, 6 ankle reaches, 6 leg lifts

The seemingly random sets I have listed for lower, upper, and ab workouts are coming from these 30 Day Challenge sheets.  Follow along and do it yourself if you would like!

 

Day 1 of 30 - 10/25/16

As in the past, any time I am silent on my blog, it means I am struggling.  

Weight loss and healthy living is SO simple in theory, but actually putting this simplicity into action is hard.  

So. Goddamn. Hard.

At the beginning of October, I was doing so well.  I was following my exercise schedule and eating healthy, wholesome meals.  As we approach the end of October, I am not doing so well.  I am not doing completely awful, but I have lost my momentum.

I know I sound like a broken record.  I know many fellow bloggers also fall into this vicious cycle of kicking ass and then getting your ass kicked and falling off the wagon.

But I'm tired of the cycle.  I'm tired of my excuses.  I'm tired of starting this blog back up, just to disappear again.

It's time for an ultimatum. 

I am giving myself 30 days.  30 days to blog consistently, and more importantly, honestly.  30 days to develop better habits.  30 days to get my shit together.

If I can't get it together in 30 days, I'm deleting this blog forever.

Welcome to Day 1.

My meal plan for Day 1 is:

B: 3/4C Ancient Grain Cheerios with 1/2C 1% milk, 1/2 grapefruit

S: Apple with peanut butter

L: Grilled chicken salad with black beans, tomato, grapes, feta, and ranch dressing and 1C chicken and dumpling soup

S: Yoplait Greek 100 yogurt cup

D: Stuffed peppers filled with black beans, brown rice, tomato, corn, and cheese

Workouts for Day 1:

30 minutes of cardio

6 squats, 6 lunges per side, 6 calf raises

10 pushups, 10 tricep dips, 10 shoulder presses

5 roll-ups, 5 ankle reaches, 5 leg lifts