This and that

I slept in today, and have just have felt sluggish and not with it in general, so it's no surprise that I decided to skip my morning workout. Usually, this is when I'd go all "screw working out" and quit, but I've been so proud of me the last two days that I guilt tripped myself instead. While my lunch heated up, I did my push-ups and squats. When I go back to nuke my popcorn, I plan to do my crunches and plank. I'm 1,779 steps in toward my 3,000 step goal, and plan to go for a walk when I get home as my warm up before Les Mills.

Motivation can be an interesting thing - you can ride the wave for a while, then suddenly crash. It's even harder when you don't have people that have your back, cheering on your progress. I have a great group of friends (several of whom are also into fitness), a wonderful husband, and a fabulous group on Facebook to cheer me on and help me with my motivation through the good and bad times. A few of people in that group I've known for years, the rest I've just met along the way and have never met in person. We help build each other up when we get low, and make sure to put up articles, photos, and anything else that may help someone else, as well as rejoice in the others' successes, help build them back up after an off day. I truly don't know what I would do without that group of ladies, in addition to the rest of my friend and family circle.

If someone tells you you suck for being skinny, eat a cheeseburger, or you're too big, eat a salad, just smile sweetly and go about your day. Don't let them into your head, as they're just jealous because THEY aren't doing what you're doing. Are they capable? More than likely, they just lack the motivation it takes to get up off the couch and do what needs doing. The little voice in your head that keeps saying you can't? Tell it to shut up, as it's a lying whore. You can, and you know how I know? Because I have, and if I can do it, anyone can. My tactic is this - any time that little voice shows up in my head, "You can't do this. They're going too fast - you'll never be able to get there, so why try? Feel that pain - that's from yesterday. Why would you want to feel like that all the time?" etc. - that's when I say, out loud so I can HEAR it, "I can do anything through Christ who STRENGTHENS ME." I'm not doing this alone. I have a support group of my dearest friends, family, and my spiritual father, and everyone else can be jealous from afar.

Give it a try. You know you want to.

Deux

Got the morning workout in after forcing myself to roll out of bed. I say roll because sitting up was not an option. Want a good core workout? Do Les Mills Body Combat.

I have added drinking a ton of water to my to do list, and I'm already 16 ounces in. From what I understand, a person is supposed to drink half their body weight in water. I refuse to be a slave to the scale, and instead go by how I feel, so I'm not entirely sure what I weigh. Last I checked, it was around the 124 mark, so I'm going with 62 ounces. Only 46 ounces to go. My water bottle is a 24 ouncer, so I may wind up with 48 ounces total. I'm sure the last 2 won't kill me.

Oh, and I took my before photos last night. I'm thinking I'll take them once a week, and watch the progression.

Here's to a stronger, leaner me!

Les Mills done, and 2587 steps in. 4 workouts in 2 days! 

And so it begins

50 squats (modified to 25, because 50 two days in a row is insane), 5 push-ups (that will probably modified to more as I wait for my lunch to heat up later), 25 crunches (modified to bicycle crunches, because why not?), and a 20 second plank. 306 steps of my 2,000 in so far for the day. I was able to get to 6,735 steps yesterday, getting 2.5 miles in (approx.) before collapsing on the couch. The best part of all this? I did it with a mild headache that is still plaguing me at the base of my skull. Now to finish breakfast and get rid of the headache, as I have work to do, and don't want to have to deal with this later this evening when I do Les Mills.

Breakfast is a scramble of sorts - eggs, sausage and sweet potatoes. Left over from this weekend, but still good and nutritious. Diet is just as important as exercise, so don't leave it out!

End of Day: Got my Les Mills in. 30 minutes of boxing! I've got sweat pouring off of me, and it's awesome. My steps? 2,742, thank you, and part of that is due to forgetting to take it out of my pocket before starting Les Mills. There's some kicking in the program. Looking forward to tomorrow, but now, a tall glass of water and a shower.

Revive!

Between buying a house, a little remodeling, moving, a semester from hell (which I wound up with 2 B's and a C, my 3.2 GPA still intact), it can easily be said I fell off the exercise bandwagon with a ginormous *THUMP*. BUT I also am having boudoir photos taken in August. They're paid for, I just have to make the appointment, so I need to get my butt in gear.

Since moving, we have changed our diet to that of one that is about 90% Paleo. I tried starting the C25K program (Couch to 5K), but day one brought me a knee that gave out and awful shin splints. I decided I needed to work up to that. Today is the first day of the rest of my life, so at lunch I walked the .8 miles to and from the West Lafayette library to get my hold, resulting in 1.5 miles walked. I set a goal for myself this morning to reach 8,000 steps by the time I went to bed tonight, and I'm currently sitting at 4,230. On a break from work, I searched Pinterest for some 30 day challenges, and found several. I took my 5 favorites - or, the ones that looked doable - and put them into a spreadsheet, creating my own workout. My goal is to do these in the morning before work, then come home and do my Les Mills DVD's. With any luck, I'll have a flat stomach (or at least a less flabby one) by August. Either that, or I'll die of exhaustion and over exertion, one of the two.

 

I'm hoping the step potion of this - as the 'walking' is how many steps taken in a day - will help get me prepped for trying at the C25K next month. One way or another, I want to get into a groove that is hard to drop as easily as I have other things. This is definitely a lifestyle change, and it's hard to change 29 years of couch potato-ness in just one shot, and Lord knows I've tried often enough.

Tomorrow is a brand new day, and I'm going to make it count. Tonight, I'm going for another walk to get in my last 3,770 steps, and get a good night's rest. 5:30 is going to come early, and I plan to greet it with awesomeness.