I honestly have no idea where the weeks have gone! There's been a lot of chaos at home lately, what with birthday parties (Jett is 3!) and company (my niece and nephew stayed for a couple weeks!) and summer just being busy. I don't even remember where I left off so I'll try my best to get the last three weeks straightened out in my mind.
First of all: my knees. I've been seeing a physical therapist once a week to get those figured out. The biggest problem is that I overpronate. There's something called a navicular drop: it measures just how far your arch falls when you stand up. My physical therapist said that he typically starts recommending orthotics when someone's navicular drop is 5 mm. Mine is 10 mm. Ha! No wonder I've had knee pain. He gave me some orthotics to try and they have helped tremendously! However, years of overpronating have caused muscle imbalances that need to be corrected. My hip abductors are considerably weaker than they should be, so he has me doing exercises to strengthen them. I'm also doing exercises to increase core strength, as that can sometimes be a culprit too. I'm learning a lot about how my body works together, or doesn't, and it's helping me to be more conscious about having proper form even with the simplest things, like going up or down stairs.
Secondly: I did the Shakeology cleanse for three days. Actually what happened is that I started on a Sunday but it also happened to be a graduation day and I went to one graduation where I simply couldn't resist the pulled pork sandwiches and cupcakes. I decided to officially start the cleanse the next day, but what happened is that I think by the third day (technically the fourth day) my body was done with it and I really struggled. I felt great on Monday and Tuesday but by Wednesday I was just weak and miserable and enduring to the end. I even felt terrible on Thursday, like I had just had the flu practically. I lost weight that has stayed off but I'm not sure if I would recommend it to others. I haven't decided if I really felt it benefited me. Well, let me put it this way: I doubt I would do another one based on how I felt the last day and the day after. It wasn't worth it to feel that awful afterwards. Not even to lose a few pounds.
My mindset has totally changed. I used to juice fast just to drop weight, and now my preferred method of shedding pounds is to exercise. It feels healthier to think that way.
In the last three weeks, my diet and exercise have been quite lackluster. Between resting my knees and having company, I've been struggling for the last week or so to get back to a diet I can live with. It's hard to get up at 6 these days again. I will get back to it, but it has been a struggle. Incidentally I've also been too busy to really weigh myself either, let alone take inches. I will try to remember to do it tomorrow morning and post those changes as that is one of the main purposes of this blog.
I'm currently starting a week of doubles with this program. I know it's a lot to take on, but I am looking forward to the cardio boost. I have 28 Insanity workouts left. I would like to complete them in 20 days. It will be a challenge, to be sure...
I'm sure there's more I could share but that's all I have time for. I will post updated measurements tomorrow.
*Update*
This morning I weighed 146.2. That's a loss of 5.6 lbs since I started. Not a whole lot of loss over the course of 13 weeks, but I have done nothing but gain since starting Insanity. However, I can tell it's not fat that is coming on because my clothes are fitting better than ever.
Also, since beginning I have lost 5 inches in my waist and an inch and a half in my hips. I'll take it!
Monday, June 18, 2012
Monday, May 28, 2012
Weeks 9 and 10
I really shouldn't do these double posts. I always forget what I shared last time, and a lot can happen in two weeks!
Like, for example, a person's knees could go out.
This is a boo hiss poor me post. Last week there was a night where I had trouble sleeping from the pain in my knees. I woke up the next morning and knew there was no way I'd be working out that day or any day real soon. That was last Friday. Words can't really express how crushed I was by that, as, once again, my knees failed me just as I felt like I was getting close to accomplishing something.
Time to go see a physical therapist.
I plan to make some calls tomorrow and see how this whole process works, but I want to get this figured out for good. If my kneecap simply isn't tracking properly, then maybe it's just a matter of correcting a muscle imbalance. Maybe I can wear a brace. If there's a cartilage issue.. it could be a bit more troublesome. I don't know anything about this stuff, all I know is that it has plagued me my whole life and I am willing to do anything to get it fixed. That is my current focus.
So... yes. I am currently on hiatus from Insanity. And man do I miss it. I was almost done with week four, just about ready for recovery week and then month two.
But there's nothing I can do about that right now, so I have to look at other options. I'm considering P90X with some modifications. I think I would really benefit from the strengthening of P90X in the long run. Perhaps it would even help strengthen my quadriceps enough to get my kneecap tracking properly, who knows. (not me.) I think P90X is more doable with bad knees than Insanity is.
So that's where I'm at.
My weight. It has steadily gone up since starting Insanity. I'm sure birthday week and a whole bunch of graduations didn't really help though. I'm currently at 148.4. I think I'm up 1.5 inches in my waist and a quarter inch in my hips. Not a whole lot of good news in this post.
I am on day one of a shakeology cleanse, however. I know it sounds like a gimmicky thing, but it's three days and it'll be my way of easing into a sugar-free diet. The diet includes three shakeology shakes per day, one piece of fruit, and a salad with lean protein. It only amounts to around 900 calories which sort of makes me cringe, but I will press on through three days as long as I keep feeling okay. Then it's time to move on to my new way of life: the white-out. Mentally I'm there. I have no cravings for sugar today. I'm anxious to start taking care of my diet. I'm confident I will start losing once my diet improves.
I hope everyone is having a great Memorial Day. See you next week.
Like, for example, a person's knees could go out.
This is a boo hiss poor me post. Last week there was a night where I had trouble sleeping from the pain in my knees. I woke up the next morning and knew there was no way I'd be working out that day or any day real soon. That was last Friday. Words can't really express how crushed I was by that, as, once again, my knees failed me just as I felt like I was getting close to accomplishing something.
Time to go see a physical therapist.
I plan to make some calls tomorrow and see how this whole process works, but I want to get this figured out for good. If my kneecap simply isn't tracking properly, then maybe it's just a matter of correcting a muscle imbalance. Maybe I can wear a brace. If there's a cartilage issue.. it could be a bit more troublesome. I don't know anything about this stuff, all I know is that it has plagued me my whole life and I am willing to do anything to get it fixed. That is my current focus.
So... yes. I am currently on hiatus from Insanity. And man do I miss it. I was almost done with week four, just about ready for recovery week and then month two.
But there's nothing I can do about that right now, so I have to look at other options. I'm considering P90X with some modifications. I think I would really benefit from the strengthening of P90X in the long run. Perhaps it would even help strengthen my quadriceps enough to get my kneecap tracking properly, who knows. (not me.) I think P90X is more doable with bad knees than Insanity is.
So that's where I'm at.
My weight. It has steadily gone up since starting Insanity. I'm sure birthday week and a whole bunch of graduations didn't really help though. I'm currently at 148.4. I think I'm up 1.5 inches in my waist and a quarter inch in my hips. Not a whole lot of good news in this post.
I am on day one of a shakeology cleanse, however. I know it sounds like a gimmicky thing, but it's three days and it'll be my way of easing into a sugar-free diet. The diet includes three shakeology shakes per day, one piece of fruit, and a salad with lean protein. It only amounts to around 900 calories which sort of makes me cringe, but I will press on through three days as long as I keep feeling okay. Then it's time to move on to my new way of life: the white-out. Mentally I'm there. I have no cravings for sugar today. I'm anxious to start taking care of my diet. I'm confident I will start losing once my diet improves.
I hope everyone is having a great Memorial Day. See you next week.
Monday, May 14, 2012
Week 8
Current weight: 144.0. That is a loss of 1.6 pounds from last week. Granted I went up like three pounds that week, but at least we're on the right track now.
And honestly, I can't say the number on the scale has affected me much in this process. I know if I'm putting in the work, so even if the scale doesn't show it, all that matters to me is that I feel better. Which I do.
Inches lost. I lost another half inch in my waist for a total of five inches so far. Hips are holding steady, so just an inch and a half lost there. Side note: it is really hard to keep track of inches. Half the time I can't remember where I measured the previous week so I'm hoping that I'm following this correctly. For my waist measurement I'm going with the narrowest part, and for my hips I'm going with the widest part.
Some have asked why I don't share what my waist and hip measurements actually are since I share my weight. I don't have a ready answer for that. I think of someone's weight just being an arbitrary number for the most part. Someone my height might weigh anywhere from 120 to 160 and look and feel healthy, so I've never put much stock in that number. But measurements are different somehow. Maybe a bit too revealing. I'm not sure. I'm happy to share the difference I'm seeing each week, but sharing the actual number feels too personal.
Okay. Exercise! I have finished two whole weeks of Insanity. I can officially say that's further than I've ever gotten through the program without missing workouts. Since I began Insanity, I have lost three inches in my waist and a quarter inch in my hips. I have been very, very happy with this program. Not even because it's helping me to lose weight or inches. Ultimately it's just something I want to complete, and I feel very accomplished when I log that workout every day. I saw something on Pinterest but can't find it now. It was something like this:
I just recently began getting through the entire warm up without taking a break, and I can't even say that I do that every time. His warm up is no joke. In fact, a few months ago when I had decided I couldn't do Insanity yet, I had thought about just doing the warm up for my daily workout. It is absolutely wicked. So yes, getting through these workouts is a huge victory for me. Insanity is helping me in other areas as well. I was itching to go for a jog last night, and I ended up going four miles in 50 minutes. I previously could go around a half mile. That's after just two weeks of Insanity. So to say that I'm excited to see what happens after all nine weeks is a massive understatement.
Getting long-winded here.
Diet: guess who has two stubby thumbs and wants to try something new? Story of my life. Ever since I got pregnant with Ember, I have had intentions of going back to my no-sugar diet. I call it a diet not because it's a fad but because it's a lifestyle change I want to make. (I hate it when people say lifestyle change, by the way.) It's basically a white-out diet: less than 20 grams of table sugar a day, no white flour, rice, potatoes, dairy, or bananas. Why bananas? I think I'm prone to insulin resistance, and bananas are on the nix-list for people who are trying to overcome it. I think the rest of those are fairly self-explanatory.
The reason I want to get back to this diet is because I can't even explain how fantastic I felt when I was avoiding those foods. I already generally avoid dairy, rice, potatoes, and white flour. I want to make more of a conscious effort though, so I can really see how it affects how I feel. Plus, when I did this before, I lost over two pounds a week without exercising, so I would love to see how it stacks up when doing Insanity as well. And I like that it doesn't involve calorie counting at all. It just precludes me from making bad decisions almost entirely.
This has gone on long enough. Oh, I did want to add that I most definitely am a morning exerciser. After two weeks of getting up and getting it done, I won't do it any other way. I love getting it done first thing.
Have a great week, everyone! See you next week.
And honestly, I can't say the number on the scale has affected me much in this process. I know if I'm putting in the work, so even if the scale doesn't show it, all that matters to me is that I feel better. Which I do.
Inches lost. I lost another half inch in my waist for a total of five inches so far. Hips are holding steady, so just an inch and a half lost there. Side note: it is really hard to keep track of inches. Half the time I can't remember where I measured the previous week so I'm hoping that I'm following this correctly. For my waist measurement I'm going with the narrowest part, and for my hips I'm going with the widest part.
Some have asked why I don't share what my waist and hip measurements actually are since I share my weight. I don't have a ready answer for that. I think of someone's weight just being an arbitrary number for the most part. Someone my height might weigh anywhere from 120 to 160 and look and feel healthy, so I've never put much stock in that number. But measurements are different somehow. Maybe a bit too revealing. I'm not sure. I'm happy to share the difference I'm seeing each week, but sharing the actual number feels too personal.
Okay. Exercise! I have finished two whole weeks of Insanity. I can officially say that's further than I've ever gotten through the program without missing workouts. Since I began Insanity, I have lost three inches in my waist and a quarter inch in my hips. I have been very, very happy with this program. Not even because it's helping me to lose weight or inches. Ultimately it's just something I want to complete, and I feel very accomplished when I log that workout every day. I saw something on Pinterest but can't find it now. It was something like this:
I just recently began getting through the entire warm up without taking a break, and I can't even say that I do that every time. His warm up is no joke. In fact, a few months ago when I had decided I couldn't do Insanity yet, I had thought about just doing the warm up for my daily workout. It is absolutely wicked. So yes, getting through these workouts is a huge victory for me. Insanity is helping me in other areas as well. I was itching to go for a jog last night, and I ended up going four miles in 50 minutes. I previously could go around a half mile. That's after just two weeks of Insanity. So to say that I'm excited to see what happens after all nine weeks is a massive understatement.
Getting long-winded here.
Diet: guess who has two stubby thumbs and wants to try something new? Story of my life. Ever since I got pregnant with Ember, I have had intentions of going back to my no-sugar diet. I call it a diet not because it's a fad but because it's a lifestyle change I want to make. (I hate it when people say lifestyle change, by the way.) It's basically a white-out diet: less than 20 grams of table sugar a day, no white flour, rice, potatoes, dairy, or bananas. Why bananas? I think I'm prone to insulin resistance, and bananas are on the nix-list for people who are trying to overcome it. I think the rest of those are fairly self-explanatory.
The reason I want to get back to this diet is because I can't even explain how fantastic I felt when I was avoiding those foods. I already generally avoid dairy, rice, potatoes, and white flour. I want to make more of a conscious effort though, so I can really see how it affects how I feel. Plus, when I did this before, I lost over two pounds a week without exercising, so I would love to see how it stacks up when doing Insanity as well. And I like that it doesn't involve calorie counting at all. It just precludes me from making bad decisions almost entirely.
This has gone on long enough. Oh, I did want to add that I most definitely am a morning exerciser. After two weeks of getting up and getting it done, I won't do it any other way. I love getting it done first thing.
Have a great week, everyone! See you next week.
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Week 7
The body is a funny thing. After an entire week of working out harder than I have in years (or ever), I somehow managed to put on three pounds. My official weight on Monday morning was 145.6. I could sit and analyze what happened or speculate about reasons why it went up rather than down, but ultimately all that matters to me is that I feel great. I feel stronger already. I don't have any knee pain, which surprises me. And I'm starting to be able to do the pushups unmodified, although my wrist still hurts a little bit at times. I don't push it too much.
Another reason I'm not agonizing over my weight too much is the fact that I dropped 2.5 inches in my waist in one week. A quarter inch in my hips. Overall that's 4.5 inches lost in the waist and 1.5 inches in the hips.
Insanity is different this time. The first few times I tried it, it was a constant inner struggle to start the dvd, let alone finish it. This time I look forward to the workout, and I have more mental stamina to push through the difficult parts. It feels very empowering.
I've been trying to get my workout started by 6, but it poses a dilemma where breakfast is concerned. I don't like to eat too much right before working out, but it's not recommended to try to do this workout on an empty stomach either. My solution? I need to get up even earlier. I'm going to be setting my alarm for 5. That way I can eat breakfast and start the workout about 30 minutes later. I would like to start by 5:45 daily because in a few weeks we'll be hitting the hour long workouts and I'll need to get up earlier anyway.
One of the biggest things I'm learning is that a support group is vital to sticking to this program. I am meeting a lot of new people who are starting out with this program for the first time and a few that have completed it before but are doing it again. We network with each other and help to keep each other accountable. We share tips and motivations, and congratulate each other on progress made. It has made a world of difference for me this time.
Now: diet. Couple of things. First, for the rest of this program I'm going to give up coffee. I've already quit drinking anything but water and coffee, but now it's time that coffee gets the boot. I need to get my water intake up and coffee is hindering that.
Second: Shakeology. I bought a 30 day supply of chocolate shakeology. The instructions say to mix one scoop with 8 oz of liquid, but that is way too chocolatey to be palatable. I use half a scoop for 10-12 oz of liquid. I have to say I do enjoy it that way. I use it as a snack every day and it tides me over for a very long time. I kind of wonder if it has acted as a recovery drink as well, because I haven't had any soreness or stiffness to contend with.
Third: meal planning. There is a nutrition guide with the program. I am reviewing the recipes and compiling my grocery list so I can start after I get groceries on Thursday. I was also given a copy of the "Slim in 6" diet plan. It's very clean eating, lots of lean protein and veggies, very few carbs. It's only recommended for 6 days but I want to see if I can modify it a bit so it's more balanced. I don't like to "diet", meaning I don't like to try eating plans if I don't think it's something I can do forever. If I can only do a plan for a few days or a week, it must not be healthy in the long term.
I have a lot on my plate right now. I'm very anxious to give the nutrition guide a try and see how it reflects on the scale and in measurements next week. In the meantime, I'm just going to keep pushing play.
Another reason I'm not agonizing over my weight too much is the fact that I dropped 2.5 inches in my waist in one week. A quarter inch in my hips. Overall that's 4.5 inches lost in the waist and 1.5 inches in the hips.
Insanity is different this time. The first few times I tried it, it was a constant inner struggle to start the dvd, let alone finish it. This time I look forward to the workout, and I have more mental stamina to push through the difficult parts. It feels very empowering.
I've been trying to get my workout started by 6, but it poses a dilemma where breakfast is concerned. I don't like to eat too much right before working out, but it's not recommended to try to do this workout on an empty stomach either. My solution? I need to get up even earlier. I'm going to be setting my alarm for 5. That way I can eat breakfast and start the workout about 30 minutes later. I would like to start by 5:45 daily because in a few weeks we'll be hitting the hour long workouts and I'll need to get up earlier anyway.
One of the biggest things I'm learning is that a support group is vital to sticking to this program. I am meeting a lot of new people who are starting out with this program for the first time and a few that have completed it before but are doing it again. We network with each other and help to keep each other accountable. We share tips and motivations, and congratulate each other on progress made. It has made a world of difference for me this time.
Now: diet. Couple of things. First, for the rest of this program I'm going to give up coffee. I've already quit drinking anything but water and coffee, but now it's time that coffee gets the boot. I need to get my water intake up and coffee is hindering that.
Second: Shakeology. I bought a 30 day supply of chocolate shakeology. The instructions say to mix one scoop with 8 oz of liquid, but that is way too chocolatey to be palatable. I use half a scoop for 10-12 oz of liquid. I have to say I do enjoy it that way. I use it as a snack every day and it tides me over for a very long time. I kind of wonder if it has acted as a recovery drink as well, because I haven't had any soreness or stiffness to contend with.
Third: meal planning. There is a nutrition guide with the program. I am reviewing the recipes and compiling my grocery list so I can start after I get groceries on Thursday. I was also given a copy of the "Slim in 6" diet plan. It's very clean eating, lots of lean protein and veggies, very few carbs. It's only recommended for 6 days but I want to see if I can modify it a bit so it's more balanced. I don't like to "diet", meaning I don't like to try eating plans if I don't think it's something I can do forever. If I can only do a plan for a few days or a week, it must not be healthy in the long term.
I have a lot on my plate right now. I'm very anxious to give the nutrition guide a try and see how it reflects on the scale and in measurements next week. In the meantime, I'm just going to keep pushing play.
Monday, April 30, 2012
Weeks 5 and 6
Disregard everything I said about holding off on Insanity. I start tomorrow! More on that in a second.
Last week I weighed in at 144.8. Today I weigh 142.8. I seem to alternate weeks of losing nothing and dropping two pounds, but so far it has kept me on track for the most part. Frustratingly, my inches have stayed the same. But since I started this round, I have lost 9 pounds.
However.. I don't take much comfort from the numbers on the scale. I don't feel like I look much different, and I still feel pretty tired and weak for the most part. I want to feel strong and healthy. I have been following a Beachbody coach on facebook, and she recently posted an invitation to an Insanity challenge. She created an accountability group, and the timing was just right for me. I decided to join. I do much better when I have people who hold me accountable. The group involves doing the Insanity program, which is six days a week, and the Shakeology 'diet'. I'm not looking to cut calories; in fact, if anything I'm looking to add more. I don't think I get enough calories as it is now. So I'll be adding my daily shake as a snack and not a meal replacement. I do like that the Shakeology shakes are all natural and have no bleck sweeteners. I have yet to try one though, so we'll see if they pass muster when I get my bag tomorrow. I've heard they are fantastic though.
Today I do my Fitness Test and we start Insanity tomorrow. My biggest concern is finding the time to do it every day, so my current plan is to roll my bones out of bed at 6 and attempt it then. I think after a week or two of getting up early I'll be hooked on getting up early and getting it done. I'm going to stick it out for two weeks before I decide if I'm a morning exerciser. I just know that I'm usually so exhausted by evening that it's hard to commit to a workout then.
On a different front: my protein shakes. I have finally found a recipe so good that even my kids love it! It's 3/4 a scoop of vanilla protein powder, a handful of strawberries and pineapple, a couple tablespoons each of vanilla yogurt and orange concentrate, organic unsweetened soy milk, and a handful of ice. I pop it all in my Magic Bullet and I have my shake in just a minute. I have to sneak around the house drinking it or my kids scarf it all.
I have modified my goal weight to be 130 rather than 135. I can tell that I have more to lose than 8 pounds.
Next time I write, I will have completed six Insanity workouts. I'm hoping for big results!
Last week I weighed in at 144.8. Today I weigh 142.8. I seem to alternate weeks of losing nothing and dropping two pounds, but so far it has kept me on track for the most part. Frustratingly, my inches have stayed the same. But since I started this round, I have lost 9 pounds.
However.. I don't take much comfort from the numbers on the scale. I don't feel like I look much different, and I still feel pretty tired and weak for the most part. I want to feel strong and healthy. I have been following a Beachbody coach on facebook, and she recently posted an invitation to an Insanity challenge. She created an accountability group, and the timing was just right for me. I decided to join. I do much better when I have people who hold me accountable. The group involves doing the Insanity program, which is six days a week, and the Shakeology 'diet'. I'm not looking to cut calories; in fact, if anything I'm looking to add more. I don't think I get enough calories as it is now. So I'll be adding my daily shake as a snack and not a meal replacement. I do like that the Shakeology shakes are all natural and have no bleck sweeteners. I have yet to try one though, so we'll see if they pass muster when I get my bag tomorrow. I've heard they are fantastic though.
Today I do my Fitness Test and we start Insanity tomorrow. My biggest concern is finding the time to do it every day, so my current plan is to roll my bones out of bed at 6 and attempt it then. I think after a week or two of getting up early I'll be hooked on getting up early and getting it done. I'm going to stick it out for two weeks before I decide if I'm a morning exerciser. I just know that I'm usually so exhausted by evening that it's hard to commit to a workout then.
On a different front: my protein shakes. I have finally found a recipe so good that even my kids love it! It's 3/4 a scoop of vanilla protein powder, a handful of strawberries and pineapple, a couple tablespoons each of vanilla yogurt and orange concentrate, organic unsweetened soy milk, and a handful of ice. I pop it all in my Magic Bullet and I have my shake in just a minute. I have to sneak around the house drinking it or my kids scarf it all.
I have modified my goal weight to be 130 rather than 135. I can tell that I have more to lose than 8 pounds.
Next time I write, I will have completed six Insanity workouts. I'm hoping for big results!
Monday, April 23, 2012
Combined post next week.
I will cover weeks 5 and 6 next week. Today my mind is on a woman to whom we will be paying our last respects. Sometimes when I was sick growing up, she would take me in if my parents had to work. She knew how to make a kid feel special and pampered. She was the sweetest person I've ever known, and she always made us feel so welcome (even though I'm sure we were a bit daunting, the seven of us). I will never forget the twinkle in her eye when she would smile, or her laughter which was frequent. She had the most infectious laugh.
To know Thelma is to love her and think of her fondly. We'll say goodbye today but she and her influence won't soon be forgotten.
Until next week.
To know Thelma is to love her and think of her fondly. We'll say goodbye today but she and her influence won't soon be forgotten.
Until next week.
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Weeks 3 and 4
My apologies. I had a particularly busy week last week, and by the time things slowed down I decided just to combine two weeks in one post.
Last Monday my weight was unchanged: 148.4 if I remember correctly. This morning it was 145.2. That's a loss of 3.2 pounds from week 2, and a total loss so far of 6.6 pounds. I feel like I'm on track finally!
Couple of things: my review of the Gorilla app and some news from the doctor.
First of all, the Gorilla app. I really like it so far. I love that I can do it anytime (even without shoes if I'm so inclined) and I can easily keep track of how many workouts I have done for purposes of my reward system. However, I want to add in a few other apps to try as well. I have four separate apps that have 5 minute workouts for targeting certain areas: abs, arms, butt, and legs. I'm going to throw those in as well. I can rarely make a schedule of workouts for the week and stick to it, so I need to learn to make use of time as it comes available. That's why I like these short little workouts. And so far they seem to be helping. Once I get a bit more advanced I'll go back to attempting Insanity.
Secondly.. I had a doctor's visit and they wanted to do some blood work. The results came back that my thyroid levels are low, my vitamin D levels are low, and I'm low in iron. No wonder I've been exhausted and light headed all the time! I just attributed it to being a mom. I need to go back in 90 days to recheck everything, but in the meantime I'm taking mega-doses of iron, Vitamin D, and a whole bunch of other vitamins. It's funny.. as much as I think I know about vitamins and their deficiencies, I did not see this news coming at all. I had no idea. It's nice to have a diagnosis that should be relatively easy to fix. I was getting frustrated with my ongoing exhaustion.
I feel great having dropped over 6 pounds so far. I really felt like I wasn't capable of losing weight without doing something drastic. I'm kind of ashamed to admit that. I didn't think I'd see results. I guess now I know that I just haven't tried hard enough in the past. One battle I've always had is compulsive eating. I don't have one serving of ice cream, I have three. Or six. I cannot stop at one candy bar or one brownie. And I can't even do it with things that aren't treats, like my regular meals. I hadn't really noticed how rare it was for me to only take one helping of whatever I was eating. In the past two weeks I've really tried to pay attention to that. I stop after one serving. I avoid the foods that I think I can't stop with. And it's showing on the scale, which motivates me to stick with it.
So here's to another week with good results. Until next time! Thanks for reading!
Side note: I did not take measurements this morning. I'll do that tomorrow morning and update this post at that time.
**Update**
As promised, here are the updated inches lost. From two weeks ago I have lost another half inch in the waist for a total 2 inches total so far, and another inch off my hips for a total of one and a quarter inches. I don't know if it's realistic to have "goal" inches but I'm currently 4.5 inches from my goal in the waist and 2.75 inches from my goal in the hips.
And as I sit here and update this, I'm drinking a protein shake made from a scoop of vanilla powder, organic sugar-free soy milk, about a cup of tropical fruit (pineapple, mango, and strawberry) and a couple tablespoons each of vanilla yogurt and OJ concentrate. It's pretty good, but even all that fruit doesn't drown out the vanilla taste of the powder. Next time I'm going with flavorless I think. But for now I think I'll reduce to 3/4 of a scoop and see how that goes.
Last Monday my weight was unchanged: 148.4 if I remember correctly. This morning it was 145.2. That's a loss of 3.2 pounds from week 2, and a total loss so far of 6.6 pounds. I feel like I'm on track finally!
Couple of things: my review of the Gorilla app and some news from the doctor.
First of all, the Gorilla app. I really like it so far. I love that I can do it anytime (even without shoes if I'm so inclined) and I can easily keep track of how many workouts I have done for purposes of my reward system. However, I want to add in a few other apps to try as well. I have four separate apps that have 5 minute workouts for targeting certain areas: abs, arms, butt, and legs. I'm going to throw those in as well. I can rarely make a schedule of workouts for the week and stick to it, so I need to learn to make use of time as it comes available. That's why I like these short little workouts. And so far they seem to be helping. Once I get a bit more advanced I'll go back to attempting Insanity.
Secondly.. I had a doctor's visit and they wanted to do some blood work. The results came back that my thyroid levels are low, my vitamin D levels are low, and I'm low in iron. No wonder I've been exhausted and light headed all the time! I just attributed it to being a mom. I need to go back in 90 days to recheck everything, but in the meantime I'm taking mega-doses of iron, Vitamin D, and a whole bunch of other vitamins. It's funny.. as much as I think I know about vitamins and their deficiencies, I did not see this news coming at all. I had no idea. It's nice to have a diagnosis that should be relatively easy to fix. I was getting frustrated with my ongoing exhaustion.
I feel great having dropped over 6 pounds so far. I really felt like I wasn't capable of losing weight without doing something drastic. I'm kind of ashamed to admit that. I didn't think I'd see results. I guess now I know that I just haven't tried hard enough in the past. One battle I've always had is compulsive eating. I don't have one serving of ice cream, I have three. Or six. I cannot stop at one candy bar or one brownie. And I can't even do it with things that aren't treats, like my regular meals. I hadn't really noticed how rare it was for me to only take one helping of whatever I was eating. In the past two weeks I've really tried to pay attention to that. I stop after one serving. I avoid the foods that I think I can't stop with. And it's showing on the scale, which motivates me to stick with it.
So here's to another week with good results. Until next time! Thanks for reading!
Side note: I did not take measurements this morning. I'll do that tomorrow morning and update this post at that time.
**Update**
As promised, here are the updated inches lost. From two weeks ago I have lost another half inch in the waist for a total 2 inches total so far, and another inch off my hips for a total of one and a quarter inches. I don't know if it's realistic to have "goal" inches but I'm currently 4.5 inches from my goal in the waist and 2.75 inches from my goal in the hips.
And as I sit here and update this, I'm drinking a protein shake made from a scoop of vanilla powder, organic sugar-free soy milk, about a cup of tropical fruit (pineapple, mango, and strawberry) and a couple tablespoons each of vanilla yogurt and OJ concentrate. It's pretty good, but even all that fruit doesn't drown out the vanilla taste of the powder. Next time I'm going with flavorless I think. But for now I think I'll reduce to 3/4 of a scoop and see how that goes.
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