The Results Are In!

I'm not going to jerk you around here. My results:              

                        July 1                           August 1

Weight:           197.2                            186.4

Thighs:             R 26" / L 26.5"            25.5 / 25.5   
Butt:                 43"                              42
Hips:                45"                               43.5
Belly:               44"                               42
Waist:              39"                               37.5
Bust:               43"                                41
Chest:             *did not measure           36.5
Biceps:            R 14" / L 13"                13.5 / 13

I am beyond psyched to see real results in black and white. I have felt the results over the past few weeks, but you never know what you're going to see in the numbers.

I should have started my August workout plan yesterday on the 1st. Instead, I went and did 45 minutes on the arc trainer at the gym. My reason was because day 3 on my calendar would land on a Friday every week. It's interval training meaning I will need access to stadium stairs for running.

Friday is boys night out for my husband, which means this would be nearly impossible for me to complete. So by putting off my start for 1 day, my interval training will be every Saturday which fits perfectly into my schedule. Yay!

Congratulations to my partner in this, Emma, for also making July her bitch! Cheers to August, I'm coming for you!

xo

I have slacked in my blogging for the past week. I've had other things weighing heavily on my mind. In any event, I'm not sure when I did what. I do know that I have stopped calorie counting in the formal sense. I haven't been tracking on my fitness pal, but mainly because I know how much is too much, etc. I'm confident that I am keeping it to my target or below.

I did take the full rest day this past week. I needed it. I didn't stick to each workout as prescribed. I did a lot more cardio at the gym and some extra walks, but stayed away from high intensity/impact workouts. Today is the last day of July. I CANT BELIEVE IT! A full month has come and gone. Tonight is my last workout of the July schedule: Cardio X!

Tomorrow is my weigh-in and measurements. I've cheated a few times taking my weight, so I know about where I'm at... but I have not picked up the tape measure even one time - so I'm really looking forward to seeing some type of results (i hope). I know my clothes are looser and I've tightened my belt a few notches, and that's pretty awesome.

I know that I feel like I look better. I'm looking forward to jumping into August. I need to re-read Carroll's plan for the month and really take it in. There's a lot of information and lots of changes. Maybe I'll read it once Patrick goes to bed.

I'll be posting weight and measurements tomorrow. Wish me luck! <3

Day 25
Spartan
Time: Not completed
Bonus 2 Mile Walk

At lunch I took a bonus walk. Look how happy it made me!

The story behind the picture is that I tried to take a full body shot to show my mad style during my lunch walks. Showing the full business attire and my Asics running sneakers. haha It's quite the sight! But I couldn't fit everything. Ah well.

My walk was lovely. I fully enjoyed strolling through the rich neighborhoods near work with my tunes. The walk was a little over 2 miles, but I accidentally closed the map my walk app while I was shutting down other apps to save battery life. So i'm not sure exactly how far it was. That's okay though because it was just a bonus walk.

By the time I was able to do the Spartan it was after 9pm. We had pizza for dinner (2 small/medium slices) and I had 1 Pepsi. Really really stupid to eat a dinner like that before doing the Spartan. I did everything but the walking planks and burpees. I just had no strength or desire to continue. Note to self- never have a meal like that on Spartan night.

Tonight is my rest night. I did have plans to meet some friends for drinks in Somerville after work, but with the shitty weather on the way we decided to postpone. This gives me the chance to make up for the Cardio X I had skipped. That makes me happy.

Days 22, 23 + 24

I'm just going to jump right into the workout wrap up for the last few days. 


Day 22
Cardio X 30 minute arc trainer + 2 mile walk

I was supposed to do Cardio X on day 22, but when I woke up, my knee's were so sore. This is starting to concern me a little. I couldn't even imagine doing all the kicks and the squat cross press (which is the most painful of all for my knees).  Instead, I went to the gym... I mean, why not? I pay $48 a month for the silly membership and I haven't been in weeks. haha. I did the arc trainer for 30 minutes and then went home. I should have done 45 but I didn't want to push it. Later in the day I went for a 2 mile walk out at pond meadow with Patrick and my mom.

Day 23
3 mile walk + ab ripper x

Yesterday I went out to do my walk during lunch and it was raining. I waited a half hour, and checked again and it was fine. So I ripped through my walk at my best pace.

I had planned on doing ab ripper x after Patrick went to bed. Without getting into it, because that's not what this blog is for, I was in a really awful mood... stress + concern + mild depression = me taking the evening off from working out and instead watching Desperate Housewives. That leaves me with 1 Cardio X and 1 Ab Ripper X to make up for. Tonight is Cardio X and although my knees don't feel great, I will get through it so I don't fall further behind.

Day 24
Cardio X

Done! Tired, hurty knee but so happy to mark it off the calendar.

Now sleep!

Days 20 & 21

General Update

I'm tired exhausted. My body & mind. Just completely drained. I've been taking Osteo Bi Flex for maybe a week now to help the aches in my joints, my knees specifically, and really haven't felt any relief. I hope it eventually kicks in and does something for me. When I come down the stairs in the morning I feel like I'm 80 years old. I'm having a negative few days but I know I just need to push through it.


Day 20
Skipped :(

I was not feeling well at all. Skipping wasn't really a choice. I was not able to work out. I will try to make up this workout at some point during the week. 


Day 21
Day 7 Workout
Time: 25:45
Calories: Unsure

Day 7 workout. I still wasn't feeling good, but I didn't want to skip two days in a row and be that far behind again. At almost exactly halfway through the workout I had to stop to help Mathieu with something while he was fixing my brakes. It didn't take long.. maybe 5 minutes. I had paused my clock during the break, and started it back up.

That is sort of just the reality when it comes to doing workouts at home when you have a husband, a kid, and two dogs. There are plenty of interruptions. I usually get pretty frustrated when I'm interrupted, but I really need to let go of that.   

Food: Breakfast was a strawberry banana smoothie made with greek yogurt, strawberries, bananas, ground flax seed and a splash of orange juice. This smoothie was almost 400 calories. Holy crap! I had no idea there would be that many calories. Anyhow, the reason I am unsure of calories is because I ate out. I have absolutely no idea how to track the calories I ate. I had beef teriaki with noodles and a little rice. It wasn't like your typical greasy chinese food... it was more like real steak teriaki. In any event, I ate what I ate and I don't know how to track it. I also had my 2 beers for the week. Two Sam Summers. I chose to just go home after dinner because the rest of the night I would just be faced with more food and a lot more beer. I went to bed at 8pm.

Day 19
Rest Day - Day 7 Workout (makeup)
Time: 26 minutes (ish- I didn't stop my timer right away because I forgot)
Calories: 1,985 * 1 Pepsi

Food first this time. Yesterday for lunch I had a buffalo chicken salad. Since I didn't make it myself, or know exactly how it was prepared, so I based my calories as worst case scenario. I can't imagine that there were as many calories in that salad as I tracked for, but I don't want to under count. To be more specific, I marked 990 calories for the salad. haha. Well, in my fitness pal there were entries for all kinds of buffalo chicken salads... This one had the highest calorie count, so I selected that one. Chances are it was more like 600 calories, but I wanted to be on the safe side.

Last night after dinner cleanup and Patrick's bedtime I had to make the decision to work out. I said all day that I wasn't going to use my rest day. I laced up my sneakers and got down to business. I did my Day 7 Workout (lots of jumping rope, pushups, burpees & squats).

My body was exhausted by the end of it. It was a lot to do the Spartan 300 and Day 7 workout back to back. My knees have been bothering me for a while now, and I definitely felt sore after finishing last night. I've been taking Osteo BiFlex for the past 4-5 days, and I hope to start feeling the benefit of that by next week.

Day 18
Spartan 300
Time: 27.55 

Calories: 1,478

I'm pretty sure I'm still on cloud 9. Last night I felt stronger than I've ever been. I was ripping through the workouts faster than I've done [side note: by that I mean my personal best time. my partner is still embarrassing me with her incredible time, but I digress], until I hit the walking planks. I psyched myself out wicked bad. I did 3 and fell on my face. Rather than get discouraged, I moved on... I did not modify any workout. I did real situps, but I did anchor my feet under my coffee table. (is that modifying?).

I struggled through the burpees and looked at my time. 21.48! I was energized to finish completely. I did all 30 walking planks at the end. My total finish time was 27:55. I couldn't believe it. The first time I ran through this workout a few weeks ago, I was modifying a few of the parts, and I still wasn't finishing all 30 of a lot of these. Last night, my time was better than it's ever been, and I finished everything.

Granted, I did do the walking planks at the end. So I did move that piece. But now that I know I can do them, and I don't need to psych myself out, I will not shift a single thing next week. At the end I felt like I could vomit. I felt a little nauseous for about a half hour, but I also felt high. :)

Tonight is a rest night, but I think I have determined that rest nights are actually bad for me. I may do that Day 7 workout to make up for the one missed. If I'm feeling a little too stiff, I might just take a nice long walk. A piece from Cardio X has sort of become my mantra. The guy says "I don't care if it looks pretty, I just want you to keep moving."

It sure as shit doesn't look pretty, but I'm going to keep moving.

Day 17
Cardio X
Calories: ??  *1 Pepsi

I didn't track my calories yesterday. I started half the day, and just haven't done the other half. If I don't track it as I'm eating, sometimes I don't remember. I will try to plug through that later on. For now I'm just going to say it should be neatly under 1800. I've gotten pretty good at judging how much I can eat in a day, so that's nice to not have to keep looking up food.

Cardio X was last night. I did not want to do it. Yesterday was filled with lots of unnecessary drama, and what I really wanted was to relax on the couch with a few beers. I didn't do it though. I did Cardio X, with a little less fire than I've been putting forward, but I finished. I have been thinking of asking Carroll if one of my Cardio X days can be a different type of Cardio. For example, Spinning or running on the arc trainer. Etc. Cardio X felt boring last night, but it was the second night in a row & I was in a shitty mood. So I should just ignore the negative feelings.

Tonight is Spartan 300, and I'm looking forward to it for once. I'm going to play by the rules. Do the workouts in the order they are listed, and not modify until it's completely necessary. Wish me luck. xo

Day 16
3 mile walk, ab ripper ex, cardio x (makeup for skipping over the weekend)
Carlories: 1,375

Despite the heat yesterday, I went for my 3 mile walk during my lunch break. My pace was slower, but I'm pretty sure my heart-rate was up because of the heat. I sweat my ass off, then had to go back to work... but that's okay. My coworkers are used to it. :) Here are my results: 3.40 miles in 52:36

When I got home from work, I cooked dinner... A terrible unhealthy dinner, because that's all that was in the house. But, I had really small portions and managed to keep my day's calorie count really low. So there's that. For lunch I only had 3/4 of a green bell pepper and a tuna to-go packet. So, at least it wasn't unhealthy all day.

After Patrick went to bed I did Ab Ripper X. I was really excited because some of the parts that I couldn't even do a single repetition of the first time I tried the DVD, I was able to eek out 3 or 4. Some I still couldn't do at all, but I'm not quitting, so there's that.

After that, I took a 10-15 minute rest, got myself some water, and popped in Cardio X! So, I was able to make up one of the workouts I skipped over the weekend. Last night I was able to cross two days off my calendar, and it felt great. Tonight is Cardio X, and I still need to fit in the Day 7 workout that I skipped over the weekend, But I'll get to it.

Also- my knee's have been bothering me over the past week. I think it's all the squats? I started taking this:

It's helped in the past, it's just so damn expensive. Hopefully it will take care of me this time too.

Days 12
REST DAY
Calories: 1,815 *including 1 Pepsi

Day 13
Cardio X
Calories: 1,662 *including 1 Pepsi

I didn't want to do this. I had done a little running around preparing for a camping trip, and didn't get home until 9pm. I wrote Emma and told her I wanted to skip the day, and that I needed her to talk me out of it. Just writing her and admitting I wanted to skip made me put on my sneakers and just do it. By the time she wrote back I was already half way done. YAY.

Days 14 & 15
Day 7 Workout & Cardio X

I was camping, so I did not complete these workouts. I vow to not completely skip any workouts, so I will be making them up. So far today I have already done my walk. I plan to complete ab ripper x when I get home. And then do the skipped Cardio X when my I put Patrick to bed. I'll update if I complete all this.

I'm not exactly sure where I will fit in the skipped Day 7 workout, but I will fit it in.

I did not track calories on my fitness pal over the weekend because I had no cell service. However, I'm about 99.99% sure I kept it under 1800 calories. Both days the only snack food I had was carrot sticks and grape tomatoes, despite there being plenty of crap food I could have eaten.

This update is shitty. Hopefully I'll have a good one tonight/tomorrow.

Day 11: Spartan 300
Calories: 1542
Time: 29:03

I did better on the Spartan than last week. My time is still garbage, but I finished way more this go round. I do need to ask Carroll if it's okay to jump around on the workouts. (It's not okay! See update below)  For instance, start with the 30 squats, but then do 10 pushups, 30 lunges, 10 pushups, 30 jumping jacks, then finish the 10 pushups. And the same for the rest of the workouts. Sort of sprinkle them in there. Last week I felt like I lost a lot of time on taking a rest between sets where I wasn't doing anything at all. I'm not sure if moving the workouts around defeats the purpose though.

Anyways, I still did leg lifts instead of sit ups. And I only did 20 burpees. I had done 10 at 25 minutes in. It took me another 4 minutes to do the other 10. And I felt like I was close to pulling a muscle,so I did not try for the last 10. Although I was 10 shy on the burpees, I still did much better than last week. So that's good, aye? I'm a sweaty mess, and I need to put my kid to bed so I can have some quiet time. I'm going to enjoy every minute.

UPDATE: The verdict is in... Do not jumble around the workouts or modify unless completely necessary after doing as many of the right ones first. So I inadvertently cheated a little bit last night on the Spartan. Next week I'll be sure to do the real deal. My finish time might be somewhere around the 1 hours mark, but fuck it. It will only get better from there.

Day 10 Part 2: Cardio X
Calories: 1,670

It's a good thing I got in a bonus walk yesterday. I got home late for work, had to handle dinner, and then Patrick came with me shopping for some provisions for Mat and my camping trip this weekend. I got home at almost 9pm. Got Patrick settled and ready for bed by 9:30. At 9:45 I had to completely FORCE myself to get changed and pop in Cardio X.

I did the workout, but as I was already tired before starting, I didn't do very good. I did get through it though, so I should focus on that success. I am glad I did that walk though, so I hope that makes up for my less than stellar cardio x'ing.

Today I'm feeling really tired. I had a hard time getting out of bed this morning. Tonight is the Spartan 300 workout. I need to change my mindset at some point today because I know that workout is going to crush me if I have a bad attitude.

Day 10 Part 1
Bonus Walk! I took a stroll at lunch and wanted to share. I'll be back later with the days calorie count and the Cardio X update.

PS. I really love this App. I highly recommend downloading it and giving it a try. It gives you the courage to go out and get lost on a walk because you are never really lost. You are watching your path of travel as you go. It gave me the courage to just walk into the neighborhoods around my work, even though until I tried, I never knew what street connected where, etc.

Day 9!
Calories: 1,463 - although I do plan on having some fruitcup when I finally sit down.
Exercise: 3 mile walk / ab ripper x + bonus

Since I wasn't able to walk during my lunch break, I did it right when I got home. I put together a little snack for Patrick, and brought him with me in the stroller. My pace was a little slower than I did last week, but I was pushing the carriage,so that makes sense. I'm using this great app - Map My Walk. And it's FREE! Anyways, I took two screen shots... The first I snapped when I went just past my 3 mile target so I can keep that for reference purposes, and the second screen shot is when we got home. Pay no attention to the current pace on the second screen shot as I was currently standing still. :)

I know I walked a really strange route, but I had no idea what 3 miles would be in my neighborhood, so we just found our way around a little bit, adding a little more distance when necessary.

Ab ripper x I did shortly after Patrick went to bed. I still struggled with this one, but I think I did a better job of modifying the workouts to be something I could do. All in all, I finished out the day and feel comfortable x'ing it off the calendar.

BONUS: 10 sets of pushups in descending order (10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1), 30 tricep dips
On nights that feel light, for instance the walk/ab ripper x night, I'm going to start working in some bonus exercises. They don't take long, and after doing the Spartan + Day 7 workout, I know I have lots of area's that can use work!

Days 5, 6, 7 & 8
Shit! I definitely let the blogging slide a bit here. In an effort to not get overwhelmed I'm going to give a quick overview of the last few days.

Day 5: Rest Day 
Calories: 1,644 (including 1 pepsi)
I didn't really keep this as a rest day. I took a 2.5 mile brisk walk on my lunch break to keep my momentum going. I needed it. I think full rest days are too dangerous for me!

Day 6: Cardio X
Calories: 1,424 (including 1 pepsi)
This workout was awesome. I'm really really enjoying Cardio X. It's by far my favorite workout of the week, which is good since it hits the calendar 3 times! haha. I really enjoy the yoga part, except that when I'm in plank I can't swing my leg to my chest to get into runners pose because my stomach gets in the way. I don't skip it, I just have to get up a little- get into runners pose, and then continue from there. One day, in the not too distant future, I hope to not have to modify.

Day 7: 3 minutes Jump Rope, 10 sets of Pushups in descending order (set of 10, set of 9, set of 8 etc.), 3 minutes Jump Rope, 20 Burpees, 3 minutes Jump Rope, 30 Squats, 3 minutes Jump Rope (for the rest of July, this will be known as Day 7 workout)
Calories: ???
Time: 32 minutes 
I did my workout in the morning. WHEW! I did not use a jump rope. I did the Cardio X version of jumping rope so that I could do this inside my house. The 10 sets of pushups shredded my arms! I didn't skip out on any, but my rest time was close to 45 seconds in between sets. I don't think we needed to time this workout, but Emma did - so I did, too.

Later that day we had a pig roast/bbq to attend. I was nervous about it because I've already said I have a hard time with temptation. Mathieu and I picked up a 6 pack of Mayflower IPA for us to share. Assuming that would mean at most, I'd be having 3 beers, which would already be 1 more then I'm allowed. I'm not going to  harp on it, because I'm enough upset at myself as it is... but when our beers were gone, we went to the packie. Once I was drunk, I made poor food choices and had a cheeseburger + potato chips. I didn't track my calories for the day because I could really only venture a guess. Like I said, I can't sit here and dwell on it, because this is typically when I spiral down and lose sight of the big picture. I'm deciding instead to just move on.

Day 8: Cardio X
Calories: 1,116
My penance for sabotaging my progress on Saturday was to do my Cardio X hungover. I paid for it in full, but I finished. Taking a pause for 45 seconds to not throw up. As far as food and Calories, I thought it would be best to detox my body of the shit I had the day before. I made a huge pot of home made veggie soup, and a huge bowl of fruit cup. Both will last a few days. Fruit cup for breakfast, chicken breast for lunch, and soup for dinner. I ate the fruit cup throughout the day for snack whenever I needed something. I mean- who could resist this!

And the finished product:

I was hoping to do my 3 mile walk during my lunch break today, but I had a meeting that I forgot about. Ooops! So I'll try to do the walk as soon as I get home. It's very dangerous to get comfortable at home after work... I'll try not to skip too many days blogging. It's really too much to remember. I'm glad I've been tracking calories in the my fitness pal. One less thing to forget.

Days 3 & 4

I totally copy-cat'ed Emma and made a workout calendar. There's just something so invigorating about putting a big red X through the workouts/days completed.

Day 3 Total Calories: 1308

I ate really lean throughout the day, and for dinner had a boiled pastrami sandwich on a whole wheat bulkie roll. This is one of my favorite quick meals, and I normally would eat two on white bulkies. Having just 1, and sticking with whole wheat, I kept the calorie total to 310 calories including my mustard. I stopped after 1, and normally I would have had another... I waited and really felt like I was satisfied. I need to remind myself of this often. I'm notorious for eating just because something is tasty, and not because I am particularly hungry.

Exercise: Cardio X

Cardio X was fucking awesome. I really love that workout. I did much better then I did the first go round as I was more comfortable with the moves and progression. It didn't take me as long to wrap my head around "jab, cross, hook, uppercut" combinations, etc. So I feel I got the full value of the workout. Bonus? My son joined in and did it with me toward the end! He wanted to exercise with Mommy. :D Reason number 1 million why I am doing this? Do be a better role model for my son.  Check! His favorite was the squat run. Which he really felt was just crouching down and throwing punches. He's 3 1/2 and kept saying things like "Wow you're doing really good, Mom" - best kid ever!

Day 4 Total Calories: 1530

Exercise: Spartan 300

Time: 25:56

I did not do well on the Spartan. I broke down many of the workouts into 3 sets of 10, taking a rest in-between. My time is above, but it's not really a complete time as I did not do 100% of the workouts as instructed.

squats - 30 in a row without issue

pushups - 3 sets of 10 from knees - but no real issue

lunges - 30 in a row but harder than I anticipated

opposite knee to elbow - fuck off. I ended up doing these like 6 at a time: yikes!

jumping jacks - 30 in a row without issue

walking plank - fell on my face, literally. I only did about 15 of these. I kept trying after that for a little while, but it just wasn't happening. 

squat thrust - this one was a joke. at this point I was exhausted  and I'm not even sure I can call what I was doing squat thrusts. It was more like flailing my legs back and forth. this one needs work.

tricep dips - 3 sets of 10 - the last two in each set burned like hell, but I completed them.

situps - I modified here. I can not do a regular situp. I did 3 sets of 10 leg lifts in it's place.

burpees - Not only did I not finish these, but I think I may have blacked out because I have no idea how many I did.

I know my bud did this badass workout in a humbling 17 minutes, and freaking smoked me. But I'm okay with that. I know I pushed myself to the limit, and a little bit beyond. I'll get there. 

A couple hours after doing the Spartan, Patrick and I walked down the road to watch the 4th of July parade. I walked him back on my shoulders, so I'll add that in as a bonus workout for the day. My body is aching from my shoulders to my calves, and tomorrow is a much needed rest day. 

Triumph note: I have completed through day 4 without a single Pepsi or beer! I am going to a big party on Saturday, so no doubt I will have my beers then. 

Day 2 - check!

Exercise

3 mile fast paced walk / ab ripper x

Carroll said it was okay to split up this work out, so I opted to do my 3 mile walk during my lunch break and saved the ab ripper x for after I put Patrick to bed. I work in a wicked nice [wealthy] neighborhood, so it's a really pleasant place to stroll.

It's like freaking Wysteria Lane, eh? Huge mansions, beautiful landscaping... Yeah- I'll be doing that shit again. :)

It was pretty warm. I ended up a hot/sweaty mess- but happy!

ab ripper x is a dirty whore jerk.

I laid out my yoga mat, poured myself a nice tall glass of water, grabbed a towel, and popped in the dvd. That shit is HARD. It's only 12 minutes, but it's 349 exercises, some of which I was not able to do. During the parts I physically couldn't do, I did a modified version, or just started doing leg lifts... whatever I could think to keep it going and complete the workout using my abs. My main focus right now is to stay positive. Remind myself that it's okay that I couldn't do those workouts, because if I keep moving - I will be able to soon.

Food

kashi cereal bar

homemade chili
1 slice whole wheat toast w/ 1 tablespoon peanut butter

dry tuna
3 cups blueberries (not in one sitting)
4 large cherry tomatoes (about 1.5 cups)
haddock breaded with lemon and ligh breadcrumbs (1/2 fillet)
watermelon (about 3-4 cups)

Total Calories: 1,714

Day 1 was a complete and total success! I used 'my fitness pal' to track my calories throughout the day. I did what I often do on the first day of watching what I eat... I ate too little. At the end of the day I had 435 calories left before reaching 1800 for the day. Today I have planned better for meals and snacks so that I reach the 1800 mark with healthy calories.

I don't plan on always blogging exactly what I eat, but I will blog about my total caloric intake. In the beginning while I figure out this new way of eating and what works/doesn't work energy wise - I'll keep record.

Food

whole wheat toast w/ tablespoon peanut butter

1 1/2 cups fresh tomatoes

1 1/2 cups home made chili

spring mixed greens salad with grilled chicken

2-3 cups watermelon 

6 oz spiral ham

2 cups blueberries

Total Calories: 1365 

*A little note on the food- I know this doesn't fall in line with the outline that Carroll gave me for daily eating. I want to take this first week (or two?) to explore what I can use to make up an 1800 calorie diet. I did pickup some to-go tuna packets to help make the protein more portable (and easy). I may find I don't have enough energy to get through the workouts without all the protein she recommended. 

Exercise

Cardio X - P90X

Cardio X was friggin awesome! I really enjoyed the workout, while simultaneously having my ass kicked. It sure as shit wasn't a pretty workout, but I completed it. I took 2 breaks just long enough to refill my water. In some of the moves I was slower than the DVD, but I kept moving through it. For example: During Superman/Banana - I focused more on holding the position, and rolling to the other position properly rather than keep up with the insane pace they were keeping. I'm cutting myself slack since it was day 1. 

This morning my upper back/shoulder blade region is sore, but the good sore. I brought my socks & sneakers and I hope to do my walk during my lunch break.

My real triumph of day 1 was the willpower I exhibited at my brothers yesterday. I declined pepsi, beer, pizza and brownies.

One day down and a lifetime to go.

Today is the real start. I have my diet plan and workout schedule for the full month of July. Thank you Carroll!

The diet piece will take a lot of some getting used to. I downloaded My Fitness Pal to my iPhone to track my calories. (Emma, when your phone comes you should totally download it. It's free!) I just had to adjust the calorie intake to allot for what Carroll gave me as a daily target. I don't want to over think food. I have been known to just think about food all day when trying to watch what I eat. All day I'm thinking "I really want  ______." Eventually I give up and binge. I want to make some grand statement... THIS TIME WILL BE DIFFERENT! But really, how many times can you say that and still take yourself seriously? This time, my actions will speak for themselves, and I'll skip the big dramatic proclamation. haha.

At some point today I'll be doing my first day of P90X. Wish me luck.

193.8

I'll post my weight progression each week if I remember. I'm down a couple pounds from the original weigh in. At the beginning of last week I was doing pretty awesome exercising and eating right... The last few days have been a challenge.

I must be doing something though. Not a day has gone by where I haven't felt extremely sore in one spot or another on my body. Last Monday I donated blood. Each workout since has been more difficult then it should be, but by now my body should be restored fully.

I'm not sure what today's physical activity will be. After work one of my dogs has a vet appointment. Once I get home from there it will be around 8pm I'm guessing. I need to make sure that before I sit down on the couch, I do something. Anything.

Goals, stress factors & what I'm looking forward to most.
Thursday already? This week pretty much got away from me. I want to finish up my homework so here goes...

Goals - Carroll has always emphasized the importance of both short term measurable goals, and the long term goal. I have my ultimate goal(s) figured out, but I've only got a few short term goals for now. I'll have some more once July 1st rolls around and I see what this journey starts to shape into. 

Ultimate long term goals

Drop my weight to 150lbs

Run a 10k

Complete a Spartan Sprint (or similar endurance/obstacle race)

That number isn't as random as it sounds. 150lbs would give me a BMI of 25, bringing me at the high end of the "normal weight" range for my height. I remember my body at that weight, and I know it's a doable number if I really push myself.

Short term goals

Lose 10 pounds

Run a 5k in under 30 minutes (current personal best 32:26)

What scares me the most: Failure. I have lost weight and gained it back more times that I can count. This time I wouldn't just be letting myself down... I would be letting Carroll down. I plan on using that as motivation. So, aside from that obvious fear, taking and posting my photos was terrifying.

Stress factors: Temptation. I have no kind of will power to speak of. Offer me a beer? Yes please! Pepsi? Sure, I'll have one! Cookie? Don't mind if I do! For real, I need to work on that. There's temptation everywhere and that stresses me out. 

What I'm looking forward to the most: Feeling comfortable in my own body! I'm so insecure in the way that I look and I'm tired of that. It's as simple as that. 


It's hot as hell today. I'm not sure what type of workout I will get in tonight. It may be that I just go to the gym for some cardio. I will do something, though.

Carroll is formulating a workout plan for me to start July 1st. In the meantime, I'm going to blog about whatever workout I get in for the day. 

Goal #1 Between now and July 1st, do something physical every single day. Even if that means just getting out for a walk, or standing up and doing some squats while watching a show. I know when I see what type of workout regimen Carroll has planned, I'll likely need 1 day of nothing, but for now... everyday works. 

Morning workout

30 pushups - 3 sets of 10

50 leg lifts - 5 sets of 10

45 squats - 3 sets of 15 

Mathieu is at bike week in Laconia. If he gets home early enough I'll get out for a run. I really need a jogging stroller so I can just take Patrick with me. If Mats not going to be home until late, then I will just get out for a walk with Patrick. 

Yesterday's healthy choices. Patrick and I took a walk to the supermarket instead of getting in the car. I was picking up meat and veggies for chili. Instead of buying hamburger, I got ground turkey. Can I be honest? Not really a fan. Next time maybe I'll just use half the amount of hamburger or even try meatless (gasp!) I only had 1 Pepsi. Today I plan to have zero.

I'll be back later to blog the rest of my homework. I'll probably be posting a lot in the beginning to help keep myself on track.

Alright Mother F'er, it's gut check time. 

Weight: 197.2

This was particularly disturbing as the last time I weighed myself, sometime in April, the scale was giving me a more palatable 186. If the scale didn't just re-affirm my commitment, then nothing will. Numbers don't lie, and all that skipping workouts and eating shitty food is bringing me nauseatingly close to that evil 200 number. A number that when I dropped below back in February I said I would never see again. Anyways, moving on.

Measurements

Thighs: R 26" / L 26.5"
Butt: 43"
Hips: 45"
Belly: 44"
Waist: 39"
Chest: 43"
Biceps: R 14" / L 13"

Pictures? Oh yeah, the pictures. My best friend of over 13 years came over yesterday to help me take my photos. Was my husband home? Yup. Would he have taken them for me? Absolutely. In fact, I'm pretty sure I hurt his feelings by having Sherry drive over to do them. He has never given me reason to feel embarrassed about how I look. He's loved me through thin to pregnancy and everything in between, but there was something about standing there, in shorts too small for me, feeling the shame of where I let myself get... I just couldn't let him see me like that. That might sound completely absurd, but fuck you. haha

Have I stalled enough yet? Okay fine, here they are.

This is where I give my back story, eh? Well, shit. My twinsie + partner in crime for this little journey already published her first post, and it's frigging hilarious. Tough act to follow? Indeed. 

My name is Nicole. I'm a 31 year old wife and mother living in the suburbs of Boston. 

Oh hiiiii!

Last September I got sick of looking at myself in the mirror. No, really. Anyone who has battled with their weight knows the moment I'm talking about. The moment where you are giving your own self the stare down... Making the decision to either give up all together and let yourself go completely to hell, or actually do something about the disgust you feel. I DID SOMETHING.

I started running. I ran for a lot of reasons. I ran to prove to myself that my fat ass wasn't a lost hope. I ran to show my (at the time) 3 year old son that his Mommy wasn't giving up. I ran to be more attractive to my husband. But, above all else, I ran for my life. The picture above is just before I ran my very first 5K in March of 2012. (PS I kicked that 5Ks ass!) 

I have run in several since, but lately my motivation to push beyond that goal has faltered. Life gets in the way, and sometimes you find any excuse to not lace up your sneakers. Getting lazy in my running lead to getting lazy with food. Getting lazy with alcohol. Suddenly, the number that used to be getting smaller on the scale is starting to get bigger. This is where my friends come in...

Have you ever had a friend inspire you so completely that you want to push harder just to be worthy of their support? For me, that's Carroll. Carroll, with nothing more than an encouraging conversation, has challenged me to get back on track. To do so by being more vulnerable than I've ever been: by doing this all... PUBLICLY. Obviously, I accepted... otherwise I wouldn't be typing right now.

Then there's Emma. My Twinsie from my roller derby days. She has had my back for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 5 years? haha. And I dragged her ass into this with me! Bwahaha! 

Okay there you have it. The journey has begun. My homework is as follows:

1. pics

  2. measurements

  3. goals

  4. stress-factors / what your nervous about

  5. what you're looking forward to the most   The pictures have been taken... It ain't pretty. I'm looking forward to calling them my "before" photos and not my "current" photos. I will post tomorrow. 

Here we go...