Well, folks, here we are: it's almost over, only one week left in my challenge! Since losing the 15 pounds, I have tried to stick with my plan and see if I can lose any more weight, but I have to admit I've been particularly lax, especially last weekend. I had friends in town visiting, went to a beerfest, and it was cinco de mayo. I may have partied a little too hard because of those things, but really I only have myself to blame for my week 14 results.
Physical Fitness:
-5/4/13: ran on the treadmill for 45 minutes
-5/6/13: went on the elliptical for 30 minutes and then ran 1 mile on the treadmill
-5/7/13: BODYATTACK
-5/8/13: BODYSTEP
-5/9/13: ran outside for 35 minutes, went 3.2 miles
-5/10/13: ran on the treadmill for 45 minutes
I tried to work out extra hard to make up for my weekend fun. I've been doing a lot of running and it's grown to be much more bearable than it was in the beginning. I used to hate running, now it's something I tolerate. After all, it's one of the best forms of straight up cardio you can do. So far the spring weather has been perfect for running outside, but I'm concerned that once the DC summer weather really kicks in it'll be too hot and I'll be relegated to the treadmill. Or maybe I'll try to force myself to get up earlier more often to fit in morning runs before work, and before the temperature rises too much for the day.
Food:
I did a good job with food during the week and ate pretty much all the normal things. The problem during week 14 came from my weekend partying. In particular, on cinco de mayo my friends and I all went to a beerfest and despite my best intentions, I let the alcohol influence my food choices and I wasn't strict enough about it. The beerfest was followed by a cinco de mayo dinner, complete with margaritas. I know I've talked about this before, but alcohol really is just completely terrible for you if you're trying to lose weight. Not only is it empty calories with little to no nutritional value, but alcohol itself slows down the fat burning process, and influences you to make poor decisions food-wise. That's why as of the seis de mayo, I decided that I wouldn't drink any more alcohol until my challenge is over and I'm at the beach with my friends. The Outer Banks trip that I'm taking over Memorial Day weekend was what inspired me to start losing weight in the first place and marks the end of my weight loss journey, so what better place to celebrate my success and end my detox than a sunny beach vacation surrounded by my friends? God, I can't wait to have a gin and tonic...
Cooking:
Once again I didn't use my time efficiently enough to schedule in a night to cook something new. I am making up for it by making 2 new recipes during Week 15, though! One of them was a healthy tuna macaroni salad that I made last night - recipe to follow.
Weigh-In:
Thanks to my partying ways last weekend and depite my attempts to make up for it with 6 workouts throughout the week, last week I lost...
0 POUNDS!!!
That's right, once again I have stayed the exact same. It would have been nice to lose another pound, but I'm still very pleased with making my 15 pound goal so it's good to know that I didn't derail all that progress by gaining weight back last week. I also think at this point my body has completely gotten used to my new lifestyle in terms of diet and exercise so I'm hitting that plateau I've been dreading. I'll try and push through that to see if I can lose any more weight in the last week of my journey. I'm motivated and ready to move forward through the 15th and FINAL week of this challenge!!!
Showing posts with label bodystep. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bodystep. Show all posts
Monday, May 13, 2013
Monday, April 22, 2013
Week 11 Update
Week 11 seemed like just another week to me in terms of my eating habits and my physical activity. I didn't do anything too crazy or different, but still achieved amazing results, which is totally fine with me! Nothing too special to note so this post will be a little shorter than usual...
Physical Activity:
-4/13/13: ran on the treadmill for 45 minutes
-4/14/13: ran outside for 35 minutes (went 3.5 miles)
-4/16/13: BODYATTACK
-4/17/13: BODYSTEP
-4/18/13: swam laps freestyle for 20 minutes, 650 meters total
I can finally run 3 miles without stopping!!! Never in my life did I think I'd be able to do that. It just goes to show you that practice makes perfect and if you keep at it you really can make progress. I found that when I run outside I can typically go faster than I do on the treadmill, so I was pretty impressed with myself for that too.
Food:
Nothing too special happened during week 11 in terms of food challenges. I ate well consistently throughout the week and still went out and had fun with my friends. I'm only human, and there have definitely been weeks during this process when I splurged a little too much or binged on the weekends and then had to make up for it throughout the week. Week 11, luckily, was not that kind of week. It was smooth sailing over the weekend and during the week.
Cooking:
I tried out a new quinoa recipe last week, but this time it was quinoa with lots of yummy veggies mixed in and a lemon-basil dressing. It was a great summer salad that was filling and delicious, and I was able to eat the leftovers all week long. Recipe coming soon.
Weigh-In:
Let's just get to the good part already! For the first time I actually wasn't too nervous about my weigh-in. I was confident in the fact that I had done well all week long and pretty much expected to make my 1 pound goal with ease. It was nice to not be freaking out before getting on the scale for once! Little did I know that I actually over-achieved last week, because in the end I lost...
2 POUNDS!!!
That's right, 2 pounds last week, which brings my total weight loss in 11 weeks to 14 pounds!!! I still have 4 weeks to go in my challenge and I'm only 1 pound away from my goal weight! It's such an amazing feeling to know that I'm almost there. I'm going to carry out my plan through the full 15 weeks to see if I can lose more weight than I initially hoped and work on my other goals as well. Here's to hoping the last month of this challenge goes smoothly!
Physical Activity:
-4/13/13: ran on the treadmill for 45 minutes
-4/14/13: ran outside for 35 minutes (went 3.5 miles)
-4/16/13: BODYATTACK
-4/17/13: BODYSTEP
-4/18/13: swam laps freestyle for 20 minutes, 650 meters total
I can finally run 3 miles without stopping!!! Never in my life did I think I'd be able to do that. It just goes to show you that practice makes perfect and if you keep at it you really can make progress. I found that when I run outside I can typically go faster than I do on the treadmill, so I was pretty impressed with myself for that too.
Food:
Nothing too special happened during week 11 in terms of food challenges. I ate well consistently throughout the week and still went out and had fun with my friends. I'm only human, and there have definitely been weeks during this process when I splurged a little too much or binged on the weekends and then had to make up for it throughout the week. Week 11, luckily, was not that kind of week. It was smooth sailing over the weekend and during the week.
Cooking:
I tried out a new quinoa recipe last week, but this time it was quinoa with lots of yummy veggies mixed in and a lemon-basil dressing. It was a great summer salad that was filling and delicious, and I was able to eat the leftovers all week long. Recipe coming soon.
Weigh-In:
Let's just get to the good part already! For the first time I actually wasn't too nervous about my weigh-in. I was confident in the fact that I had done well all week long and pretty much expected to make my 1 pound goal with ease. It was nice to not be freaking out before getting on the scale for once! Little did I know that I actually over-achieved last week, because in the end I lost...
2 POUNDS!!!
That's right, 2 pounds last week, which brings my total weight loss in 11 weeks to 14 pounds!!! I still have 4 weeks to go in my challenge and I'm only 1 pound away from my goal weight! It's such an amazing feeling to know that I'm almost there. I'm going to carry out my plan through the full 15 weeks to see if I can lose more weight than I initially hoped and work on my other goals as well. Here's to hoping the last month of this challenge goes smoothly!
Monday, April 15, 2013
Week 10 Update
Slow and steady wins the race, right? That's exactly how I feel about my progress over the last few weeks. I'm not seeing the big numbers I was posting towards the beginning of this challenge, but I am still consistently getting results and I'm doing it in the healthiest way I know how. Read on to find out how week 10 of my challenge went!
Physical Activity:
-4/6/13: ran on the treadmill for 45 minutes
-4/7/13: ran outside for 30 minutes (total distance was about 2.7 miles)
-4/9/13: BODYATTACK
-4/10/13: BODYSTEP
-4/12/13: ran outside for 28 minutes (did the same 2.7 mile loop - I got faster!)
The weather is finally turning spring-like in DC, which means I've been able to start running outside more instead of always heading to the gym for the treadmill. Even though running outside presents challenges in terms of keeping pace etc, it's also much more enjoyable thanks to the changing scenery. Living someplace like DC really helps because most of the time I go run around the national mall, which means I'm looking at the Washington Monument and the Capitol Building, as well as beautiful museums along the way.
I also tried another new class this week, and I think I might be hooked! BODYSTEP is another Les Mills class that they offer at the Gold's Gym I go to. I've always been nervous about taking step classes because I'm not the most coordinated person and I'm always afraid that I'll trip over the step. This week I decided to get over that and I ended up really enjoying the class. The instructor was the same woman who teaches the BODYATTACK class on Tuesday and she is really great. She's very positive and motivating throughout the whole class and she never makes you feel like you're not doing something right, she just encourages everyone to do what they can and to keep moving. All in all, BODYSTEP was a great workout and I'd like to keep taking the class to switch up my workouts throughout the week.
The biggest proof that my drive to stay on track with this challenge continues is that I actually woke up extra early on Friday morning to get a run in before going to work. I had only fit in 4 workouts last week and I knew my schedule wouldn't allow me to exercise Friday evening after work, so I did what I had to do and forced myself out of bed bright and early. For anyone who doesn't know me, I am not a morning person, so the fact that I woke up even earlier than I normally do on a work day in order to EXERCISE is really saying something. It all comes down to the fact that I just really don't want to fail in this challenge. I want to make sure I accomplish this goal I set for myself, so I'm willing to do whatever I have to do to make it happen.
Food:
I have to honest and admit that I did not make the best choices in terms of food and drink at the beginning of week 10. Last weekend was filled with a lot of food-centric activities, and when that happens it's hard for me to be as vigilant about calories etc. I can at least say that I was very aware of all the choices I made in regards to food and alcohol, and even when I didn't make the best decisions, I still tracked everything that I consumed, and that's really important. It would be very easy to just leave things out when I'm tracking my food intake, but that wouldn't be honest and I need to see all those things written down in order to stay conscious and responsible for what I eat and to make sure I balance things out during the rest of the week.
For example, my friends and I always do family dinner together on Sunday evenings. It's a wonderful tradition we started to give ourselves one more thing to look forward to every weekend and it's a great way to bring all our friends together to catch up and regroup. Last weekend we had a guest join us for Sunday dinner and she cooked the most amazing Mexican food for us, she made a dish called Chicken Tinga. The food was phenomenal, but the problem was I had already treated myself earlier that day at a brunch picnic that some friends and I had attended, and I also ended up consuming more alcohol that day than I originally intended, merely because of the fact that I took on a careless attitude that day. I definitely enjoyed myself a lot at both activities and I worked hard during the rest of the week to make up for the binging I had done over the weekend, but I still wish that I had made better choices and been a little more selective with my choices on Sunday. I didn't need to have a bloody mary AND a mimosa at brunch, and I didn't need to have a glass of wine AND a beer at dinner. I think this is very common for people who are trying to lose weight and are watching their diet. You want to eat and drink the things you normally would when you're out and about with your friends, but it's important to maintain the balance between enjoying yourself in the moment and putting in effort towards achieving your long term goals. That's something that I'm definitely still working on!
Cooking:
I decided to tackle something new last week and opted to make dessert! I had yet to attempt a dessert recipe throughout this challenge and there was a skinny raspberry lemonade cupcake recipe that I had been wanting to try. It was a gorgeous day when I made them so the raspberry lemonade flavor worked perfectly. The cupcakes turned out to be a really nice treat and didn't endanger my diet plan at all! Everybody enjoyed them and I didn't have to feel guilty about eating one, so that's a win-win! I'll post the recipe later this week.
Weigh-In:
Like I said before, I was really concerned last week because of the decisions I made during the weekend. I did work very hard and was very disciplined during the week in terms of food in order to compensate, but I was even more nervous than usual before my weigh-in. Maybe I need to start thinking about those nerves when I'm making decisions about what to eat! With that said, this week I lost...
1 POUND!!!
I was so relieved to see that I still managed to lose another pound this past week, despite the fact that I was very worried I wouldn't. I'm happy that I'm still progressing, but I need to use Week 10 as a lesson that cheating too much or binging on the weekend and then trying to work double time during the week to make up for it is not the best strategy. Moving forward into the last 5 weeks of my challenge I want to keep that in mind at all times. I'm 12 pounds down and 2/3 of the way through my challenge and the end is in sight, but there's still plenty more work to do!
Physical Activity:
-4/6/13: ran on the treadmill for 45 minutes
-4/7/13: ran outside for 30 minutes (total distance was about 2.7 miles)
-4/9/13: BODYATTACK
-4/10/13: BODYSTEP
-4/12/13: ran outside for 28 minutes (did the same 2.7 mile loop - I got faster!)
The weather is finally turning spring-like in DC, which means I've been able to start running outside more instead of always heading to the gym for the treadmill. Even though running outside presents challenges in terms of keeping pace etc, it's also much more enjoyable thanks to the changing scenery. Living someplace like DC really helps because most of the time I go run around the national mall, which means I'm looking at the Washington Monument and the Capitol Building, as well as beautiful museums along the way.
I also tried another new class this week, and I think I might be hooked! BODYSTEP is another Les Mills class that they offer at the Gold's Gym I go to. I've always been nervous about taking step classes because I'm not the most coordinated person and I'm always afraid that I'll trip over the step. This week I decided to get over that and I ended up really enjoying the class. The instructor was the same woman who teaches the BODYATTACK class on Tuesday and she is really great. She's very positive and motivating throughout the whole class and she never makes you feel like you're not doing something right, she just encourages everyone to do what they can and to keep moving. All in all, BODYSTEP was a great workout and I'd like to keep taking the class to switch up my workouts throughout the week.
The biggest proof that my drive to stay on track with this challenge continues is that I actually woke up extra early on Friday morning to get a run in before going to work. I had only fit in 4 workouts last week and I knew my schedule wouldn't allow me to exercise Friday evening after work, so I did what I had to do and forced myself out of bed bright and early. For anyone who doesn't know me, I am not a morning person, so the fact that I woke up even earlier than I normally do on a work day in order to EXERCISE is really saying something. It all comes down to the fact that I just really don't want to fail in this challenge. I want to make sure I accomplish this goal I set for myself, so I'm willing to do whatever I have to do to make it happen.
Food:
I have to honest and admit that I did not make the best choices in terms of food and drink at the beginning of week 10. Last weekend was filled with a lot of food-centric activities, and when that happens it's hard for me to be as vigilant about calories etc. I can at least say that I was very aware of all the choices I made in regards to food and alcohol, and even when I didn't make the best decisions, I still tracked everything that I consumed, and that's really important. It would be very easy to just leave things out when I'm tracking my food intake, but that wouldn't be honest and I need to see all those things written down in order to stay conscious and responsible for what I eat and to make sure I balance things out during the rest of the week.
For example, my friends and I always do family dinner together on Sunday evenings. It's a wonderful tradition we started to give ourselves one more thing to look forward to every weekend and it's a great way to bring all our friends together to catch up and regroup. Last weekend we had a guest join us for Sunday dinner and she cooked the most amazing Mexican food for us, she made a dish called Chicken Tinga. The food was phenomenal, but the problem was I had already treated myself earlier that day at a brunch picnic that some friends and I had attended, and I also ended up consuming more alcohol that day than I originally intended, merely because of the fact that I took on a careless attitude that day. I definitely enjoyed myself a lot at both activities and I worked hard during the rest of the week to make up for the binging I had done over the weekend, but I still wish that I had made better choices and been a little more selective with my choices on Sunday. I didn't need to have a bloody mary AND a mimosa at brunch, and I didn't need to have a glass of wine AND a beer at dinner. I think this is very common for people who are trying to lose weight and are watching their diet. You want to eat and drink the things you normally would when you're out and about with your friends, but it's important to maintain the balance between enjoying yourself in the moment and putting in effort towards achieving your long term goals. That's something that I'm definitely still working on!
Cooking:
I decided to tackle something new last week and opted to make dessert! I had yet to attempt a dessert recipe throughout this challenge and there was a skinny raspberry lemonade cupcake recipe that I had been wanting to try. It was a gorgeous day when I made them so the raspberry lemonade flavor worked perfectly. The cupcakes turned out to be a really nice treat and didn't endanger my diet plan at all! Everybody enjoyed them and I didn't have to feel guilty about eating one, so that's a win-win! I'll post the recipe later this week.
Weigh-In:
Like I said before, I was really concerned last week because of the decisions I made during the weekend. I did work very hard and was very disciplined during the week in terms of food in order to compensate, but I was even more nervous than usual before my weigh-in. Maybe I need to start thinking about those nerves when I'm making decisions about what to eat! With that said, this week I lost...
1 POUND!!!
I was so relieved to see that I still managed to lose another pound this past week, despite the fact that I was very worried I wouldn't. I'm happy that I'm still progressing, but I need to use Week 10 as a lesson that cheating too much or binging on the weekend and then trying to work double time during the week to make up for it is not the best strategy. Moving forward into the last 5 weeks of my challenge I want to keep that in mind at all times. I'm 12 pounds down and 2/3 of the way through my challenge and the end is in sight, but there's still plenty more work to do!
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