Week Five Recap

Continuing where I left off last week, I seen a chiropractor for my injury. When I called for pricing they had a promo going on. Bring in $25 of school supplies and get your X-ray and exam for $25! I couldn’t pass that up especially when a first time appointment with X-rays are a couple hundred dollars. 

After going over my X-rays, she was pretty concerned with my upper back and shoulders. They’ve been messed up so long, I’m just used to it. She did a small adjustment because there is so much work to be done but needs to be done at a slower speed to give other areas time to adjust. She’d like for me to come in 3x a week for the first month but at $50 a session that would be $600 in one month. I won’t be doing that. For now I’ll start with a few sessions and then just explain that financially I can afford that kind of commitment. 

I’m still having the lower back pain but it isn’t nearly as bad. Manageable as long as I avoid one movement. I see her again today so I’m hoping it’s the last week having to deal with it. I also started this week with my time of the month. I did take a rest day on the start of that and then worked more on cardio the next two days to avoid doing any core movements.

We had family come in on Friday. My brother who has helped me along with this journey, his kid and my stepmom. It was the first time I’ve seen any family since we moved here in mid July. Both of their reactions to seeing me was a huge motivation this week. I don’t think my stepmom knew I had been working out or losing weight and was really surprised I had only lost 8 pounds at that time. She insisted it had to be more or that I was losing a lot of inches. My brother could also tell a difference. Just the boost I needed. 

We had half a day on Friday with them and all of Saturday. They came down to go to the beach. We went out Friday for dinner and I stuck with water and 1 sushi roll. It was a real test on how dedicated I can stay when we have people visit. Which tends to be a monthly thing when we are not close by. Saturday we spent at the beach. The one thing they wanted was fresh seafood. We found a place on the island to try. I tried one piece of the calamari appetizer and all I can say was wow! I’ve had calamari plenty of times but never has it been so fresh and not over cooked. As far as healthy options, there was nothing. I settled for a seafood Mac n cheese. Also just as yummy. 

One of our favorite places to go when traveling, if the area has one, is Mellow Mushroom! My brother had been talking about it since the day I posted it on my Snapchat. We’ll we ended up there for dinner. I had two slices and although it was amazing pizza, tossed the rest so I wasn’t tempted to eat anymore of it. After three cheat meals this weekend, I decided to do a fast. The following day I had my protein shake after my workout and then a healthy lunch. I fasted from lunch until breakfast the next morning. My brother swears by intermittent fasting. I’ve tried before but I need my morning coffee! I refuse to do black coffee.

I believe it did help after my weekend. I tried to keep my portions in check and only had water but I think it ensured I didn’t back track in the progress I had made this week. Sunday came and I got right back to working out as well. I have started to add more weight to my routines, another non scale victory! I started out using 5/10 pound weights. I am now using the 15/20 pound weights. Monday I decided to do a full body workout. Felt like jelly afterwards and Tuesday my body was so sore. Tuesday became my rest day. I don't really plan my rest days. I just take one as needed. Some days I'm good to go and knowing it is a rest day ahead of that just puts me in the mindset that I have to rest. Other days, like Tuesday, I am sore all over and know I need the rest. I just take it day by day and try to listen to my body instead. I'm averaging 1-2 rest days a week. Never in my life did I think I would be that person that says they work out five days a week. Never in my life have I done two workouts in one day. This whole process has been surreal. Starting month two and it has become so easy because I just made it a priority and a habit.

All in all, I ended up with more rest days this week and more cheat meals than I normally take. But I also went hard when I was in the gym, made better choices when I was faced with cheat meals, stayed active on rest days to reach my step goals and am staying dedicated!

I’ve also decided I want to share recipes with you guys. I have a bunch of great, healthy meals and am constantly trying new ones. I’ll be making a new tab at the top so they are easy to find and posting them in individual posts so that they are easy to link in that tab. I’ll try to add in all the nutritional information as well as pictures of when I make them. I’ll add mine and possibly some family thoughts on the taste of the meals. I won’t be wasting time posting any of the ones we decide we won’t make again. I think this will also help me along the way. Having all of them in one place will make life so much easier when meal planning every two weeks. 

If you’re new here, I started in August with a weight of 188.0. My last weigh in was also my last for August at 181.0 pounds. Today I am weighing in at 177.8…. My goal is five pounds a month. I have officially hit ten pounds lost and reached my September goal within the first week. With a five pound goal for each month, I was ahead from last month and only needed 3 to reach this months. Because I hit that goal so early, I am making an off the record goal of 3 more pounds this month. I want to still strive for something but if I don't reach it, I at least have reached the monthly goal of hitting 178. My in-laws are coming to visit in the middle of next month and I'd love to reach my 60's by that point just to see how much they notice a change.

Week 4 Recap | Monthly Review

My last week of August. I can’t believe it’s been a full month already! I am actually very proud of myself for committing for an entire month and pushing myself a little more each week. 

I started off this week having just worked out everyday for seven days, trying to accomplish a “perfect week” on my Apple Watch. On the last day of Week 3, I realized it wasn’t seven days in a row but instead a Monday through Sunday challenge. At this point I had a decision to make. Don’t take a rest day for a few days or try again on a Monday. 

I made the decision to just keep going. Mostly because you can challenge other Apple Watch users to a week long competition. During Week 3, I asked my SO to join me so that we could figure out how the competitions worked. It’s based off the three rings you close daily but you max out at 600 points a day, for a total of 4,200 max points for the week. Because we had started this, I figured I would be trying to win that anyways so why not just continue towards the "perfect week" as well. 

Then comes Thursday. The Apple Fitness app on my phone, that shows my progress towards my rings, also has workouts. It popped up with a free month and I’m all about branching out, especially when it’s free. I had tried a couple at this point but this one in particular, I was struggling to keep up with one of the moves. 

The move required you to stand center, jump forward and to the right and squat down. Stand back up, jump back to center and repeat on the left side. We did this for roughly 30 seconds. After all three exercises were performed you went back through them again. I probably did this move 4 or 5 different times. Because I was focusing on keeping up, I wasn’t keeping my form and hurt my lower back. It is now a week later and I’m still in pain from it. It feels almost like a pinched nerve but I’ll be seeing a chiropractor today. 

I pushed through the next couple of days to finish my competition and my "perfect week". On the last day of my competition, I did a ton! I was only 300 points behind at the start of the day. We’ll, I was close to catching him when he went for his workout, adding roughly 300 more points. I went on 2, hour long walks, I did weights and cardio. Burned over 1,000 calories and was at 18,000 steps for the day. This is about double what I’m used to. I was 16 points from taking the lead when I maxed out my daily 600 points. I had totally forgot about the max and was a little annoyed I'd worked so hard that day when I wouldn’t have been able to win regardless. Mostly because I had injured my back and was pushing through that pain. 

I did have fun doing it and it was a great motivation. As soon as I feel back to normal, we will definitely be doing another one. I finished my "perfect week" on Sunday and have taken several rest days to try and not exasperate my lower back. This week I found a protein powder I wanted to try. I researched the benefits and when was best to have it and even found a recipe for it. I am using 1 scoop of it with 1 tsp of unsweetend cocoa powder, 1/2 cup of almond milk and 1/2 cup of ice. Because it is coffee flavored and blended with ice, it feels like I am getting to enjoy an iced coffee. I normally don't like protein powder but I am loving this one. I have also switched to an almond creamer in a caramel flavor that is also not bad at all! Just a few small changes at a time really add up after a while.

The end of the August just happened to be on a Wednesday. I love when that happens. Makes my weigh ins easier. I started this month at 188 pounds. My goal for the month was a five pound loss. My final weigh in was at 181.0 for a total of seven pounds lost this month. I’ve also taken my measurements. My starting measurements are posted in my Goals tab at the top and I will be updating that next with this months results.

 

Again, I am sorry about the huge pictures. I've tried every way it suggests to make them smaller and they just don't change. This is a huge reason I haven't added my pictures from the start of August because they would simply take up a whole page. Maybe I can try making a collage on my phone so the file isn't so large. Anyways, go check out all my progress as I update my goals tab.

End of Week 2 & week 3 Recap

Towards the middle of Week 2, I decided it was time to add some range to my workouts. At this point I was only doing cardio on the treadmill. I didn’t want my body getting used to the same muscle groups being used and I wanted to try something fun. 

I decided to Google and the first thing I came across was jumping rope. We have one and after seeing the benefits, I decided I would start off each workout day with it. It’s great cardio that works the whole body and burns calories in less time. It helps with bone density, agility, balance and coordination. Plus it’s great for the heart and a more efficient cardiovascular workout than jogging! I started small with only doing 30 seconds and am now doing a full minute before my workouts. 

The second thing I tried was rollerblading. I bought blades about a year and a half ago and haven’t used them. From what I was reading, you can get the same benefits as running but it’s easier on the body. I got the younger two in the stroller and went around my neighborhood. The road was too rough and the wheels were getting caught so we ended up on the sidewalk. The problem was just getting going and then having to cross a street. I couldn’t just go! On the way home I was really worn out and barely made it home. I wouldn’t mind trying again but I’d have to find a decent place to do it. 

After that fail, it was time to add in weight training. Muscle burns more calories at rest than fat does. My brother was also telling me that with cardio, you burn while doing it but with weight training, you keep burning calories up to 24/48 hours after doing it. At the end of Week 2, I was trying to switch days between cardio and the next day weight training. This continued into Week 3 with a random rest day as needed. 

I started Week 3 weighing one pound more than the day before. I know I shouldn’t weigh myself daily but I can’t help it. I also had my first cheat meal. After being strict for 15 days I decided to grab sushi. No guilt here about it. There has to be a balance. I’m working hard to reach my goals but I am still going to enjoy a meal here and there within reason. I also go by something my brother says; "Make it a cheat meal, not a cheat day. A cheat day could ruin a whole weeks worth of progress."

My brother has been my rock through all of this. Halfway through Week 3 and I was feeling a little defeated. The pound I had gained was not coming off and I was working out daily, eating clean with only one cheat meal and just crushing it in general. He has lost a ton of weight, built a ton of muscle and now working on reaching a 12% body fat. After talking about not dropping any weight, he sent me a video and it really put things into perspective. Titled; Lifting Weights & Not Losing Weight. It goes on to explain when you first start using weights, your muscles will store glycogen, energy for your muscles. When you store glycogen, you are going to store some short term water weight. Also when you workout you tear your muscle fibers apart which lead to inflammation. This also stores some short term water weight. But after about 3-5 weeks, the water weight will start to go away. 

This really changed my attitude for the week. I know I am making progress even if it is not on the scale. I am doing things that are great for my body and the scale should not be an end all be all for my motivation and goals. I ended Week 3 yesterday with my weigh in and I was still up that pound. I am okay with it! I’m still at a five pound loss for the month, with one more week to go. I worked out for seven days straight so that I could close out all three rings on my Apple Watch to earn a Perfect Week badge. Only to realize this morning that it has to be from Monday- Sunday. I’m okay with that too! It was a great motivation and gives me something to work towards next week. I’ve even noticed some non-scale victories. My stomach and chest both look smaller when I look down, as well as in the mirror. I’ve also noticed a huge difference in cellulite. I had a lot on my legs and hips and it is almost completely gone. I’ll take that as a win for this week. At the end of my next week I’ll be taking measurements along with my weigh in and I’m excited to see the difference off the scale. 

Finding My Balance

As I start Week 3, I wanted to share what my schedule looks like, how I fit it in with young kids and finding new ways to balance it with an ever changing schedule. 

At the beginning of the month, my oldest started school and my SO went back to work. I started with my workouts only while he was home but this left me doing them typically in the evenings. This just didn’t work for me. I did commit to do them but by the end of the day I’m a little more run down. It takes a lot more effort for me to want to go do it. So I switched it. 

My new schedule looks like this: We all get up really early except my oldest that I wake up at 7. I get the kids fed, dressed, vitamins and teeth brushed as well as pack my oldest lunch. We go drop him off for school and then I set the younger two up in the living room. This means I get them a drink, a snack, turn on a movie and give them an iPad. I realize it’s maybe not the best but this allows me to get in the garage to workout. I take my supplements, eat breakfast and change. I prop the garage door open so I can hear them and they can come and go as needed. They usually spend the first 15-20 minutes in the living room then come join me in the garage for the remainder. I take a few minutes to cool off after then bring them upstairs to play while I shower. 

We’ll, this week my middle child started PreK. She gets dropped off with my oldest but only goes for a couple hours. I once again needed to change things up. I work out after I drop them off. I have enough time to workout, eat and get showered and dressed in time to go pick her up. It’s been an adjustment with the babe but he’s done really well after the first day. 

What I’m trying to say is this, when you start, don’t get caught up in how you think things should go. Make your plan and if it doesn’t work for you, find a way that it does. It’s a learning process so take the time to find the things that work for you and please don’t compare your journey with anyone else. I see so many articles about getting up at 5 am or going after the kids are in bed and that would never work for me. So now I just choose what I can be consistent with and I make it work for me!