March 7, 2011

small successes

Chris and I were sitting in bed last week the night after I published my post for accountability.  I was reading through the comments, looked at him, said a couple choice words, and "I actually have to do this."  Thank you so much for your encouragement.

Week one towards a healthier me, complete.

Was it fun?  Not at all, really.  I'm proud of myself for trying to commit to a new lifestyle, and I know I will like the outcome if I stick with it.  But making myself workout everyday, and keeping track of what I eat/worrying about what I eat is really hard.

Every morning when I would come upstairs after being on the treadmill, I would tell Chris "It sucked.  But I did it."  And that is exactly how I feel every day so far.  It sucked.  But I did it.

Surely it is going to get better and more rewarding right?  I am seeing a little bit of success, I lost 1.6 pounds this week.  Not a ton, but definitely a great start towards loosing five pounds by Ryann's party.  Just under three weeks to go!

Right now I am just making sure that I am getting in 30 minutes AND two miles on the treadmill each morning.  Sometimes it takes me just over 30 minutes to get the two miles in.  Typing that out makes me so mad, because I know I used to be able to get a lot farther in 30 minutes.  But Chris was correct, I can't work out one time and expect to be back in shape.  Boo.

Someone asked what I planned to do for my workouts… like I said at least 30 minutes walking and jogging on the treadmill everyday.  Except Fridays, I decided Friday I was going to take my hour of free time to clean.  I still burned calories vacuuming, picking up, etc, but it was nice to have a clean house at the end of it :o).

I've also started following the C25K program.  Today I completed Week 2 Day 1.  I'm not going to lie, I'm a little worried I'm not going to be able to do it.  By the end of week six (I think) it looks like at least 25 minute runs (jogs :o) the rest of the way out.  Even though I've completed a 10K, I don't know that I've ever actually run 20-25 minutes straight, let alone 30.  Maybe a few times when I was training for the 10K, but rarely.  Really, I kind of hate running.  But for some reason it is my exercise of choice.  It always has been (well, sometimes I would use the recumbent bike, but let's face it, I didn't go very fast and I only did it at the rec so I could sit and watch TV and pretend I was working out :o).

I've been using a couple of iPhone apps to help me out with this new lifestyle.  Seriously, what did I do before my iPhone?  For the C25K, I've been using C25K (Couch to 5k) by Bluefin Software, LLC.  It seems to be a pretty decent app, and it is nice to have it timing the intervals for me.  Really the hardest part about the program right now is that it takes a while for my treadmill to speed up and slow down, so I've had to figure out when I need to change my speed so the treadmill is going the pace I want it, when I want it.  About 3 seconds before a run, and 8 seconds before a walk :o).  I think if I use it outside I might do a little better even, because I won't constantly be watching the timer.  I can just listen to the little dude tell me when to walk and when to run, while letting my mind wander and listen to some music.  But I'm not a fan of being outside in 30 degree weather so it will have to work for now.

I do have a question for all of you out there who have done C25K.  I'm a little scared to take two days off from running, but also don't want to rush through the weeks.  Do you take two days off between weeks?  Or do you run every day?  Not quite sure what to do...

The other app I've been using is Calorie Counter PRO by MyNetDiary.  I am really liking it so far.  When you start it up you input your current weight, height, and activity level, as well as your goal weight and when you want to reach it by.  It then comes up with how many calories a day you should be eating.  It has sections for you to input your meals, your exercises, the number of glasses of water you drank and probably a couple other things I can't think of right now.  It supposedly has 30,000 some foods entered into it's database, and you can also look up packaged foods by scanning the barcode on the box.  I've personally been mostly inputting my own nutritional information for food, because being slightly OCD, I don't trust that the information is correct.  When you enter foods it lets you know how many calories you have left for the day.

Keeping track of my calories is really helping me the most, I believe.  Obviously getting in exercise is great for weight loss and my overall health, but my problem usually has more to do with what I am putting in my mouth.  Really my biggest problem?  Portion size.  We did have Panda Express for dinner one night this week(still a bad choice, but whatever), but I immediately dumped half the rice from my container into Chris's (which I think he ended up throwing away, don't worry I'm not making him fatter on my behalf).  That saved me over 200 calories on the meal.

Hopefully I continue to be successful!

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm in Week 4 of C25k....I definitely reccommend taking the time off in between runs. I try to space the days out to where I always have at least 1 and sometimes 2 days off in between runs. I've heard from many seasoned runners that rest days are just as important as run days, as your body needs that time to recover. If you want to work out on off days you might want to try something that uses different muscles groups. I've been following your blog for quite some time now, and really enjoy reading it-love your sense of decorating style! Good luck with C25K!

Former Fat Bride said...

Honestly, I hate running too. But, like you, it is my "go to" workout. I'm training for a 10k right now and doing the good 'ol C25k on the treadmill and then distance running outside. I'm trying to run 5 days a week..taking Tuesdays and Thursdays off. I'm going to keep running through the weekends to hold me accountable. keep up the great work!!

Sharstin said...

way to go girly! that is awesome! i have no doubt you will reach your goals:)

Kristen said...

I am completely impressed! You have given me some inspiration to get myself in gear. I am pretty sure I weigh more now than right after I had my daughter a year ago... thanks to sweets. Reading your post has given me some encouragement to start doing something about it! Keep up the hard work, I know it's not easy!

Brenna said...

I am going to check out the iPhone apps you mentioned. I have been tempted to try the C25K program but havent done it yet. The weather is finally getting nice outside- so it may be time to do it...
Also- I keep hearing that weight has to do with 10% genetics, 10% exercise and 80% what you put in your mouth! Not sure it is 100% accurate but seems to make sense!

Jeane said...

This is very impressive!!! You are doing awesome!!!

I did the program last fall and I'm not a runner as well. Running just 3 min straight seemed impossible at the time. Eventually it got easier (for me it was after week 5).

I did take the days off in between and also the 2 days between the weeks. I tried it once to just do it without the break and my legs just weren't happy about that at all. They were way more sore and the next run didn't feel good.

I just started the program again (didn't run during the winter months since I don't have a treadmill and we live in Ohio ;-)) and am having a hard time again with it.

What helped me is to have a goal. At the beginning of the program last fall I signed up for a 5K and will sign up again for one in a couple of months.

Keep up the great work!!!

Momfish said...

I read in a magazine (I think it was Women's Fitness?) just the other day that it takes around 2-3 weeks for a new routine (like exercising daily) to become normalized/a habit. Which means in another week or so, instead of feeling like it sucks, it will feel like just another part of your routine - a habit. Push through!!! It sounds like you're doing AMAZING.

Lauren said...

2 MILES EVERY MORNING??! lol. No way I could ever do that!

I'm so impressed & proud of you!!

Kristy said...

I am currently doing weight watchers and C25K. I have an 8 month old and I am trying to get down to the pre-baby on the brain size. Not just the pre-prego size (I think I kind of let my healthy eating and exercise go when we decided we were ready to become Mommy and Daddy). So that's about 10 lbs to go.
I was doing okay until we had to move. I was at week 3 before the move then took a month and a half off. I didn't want to start completely over so I started at the end of week 2 I am now on week 4 and it is TOUGH. It is even harder when I bring the baby along in the stroller. I don't know why I just feel like it is harder to jog with the baby. I think I will be doing week 4 a couple of days longer than I am supposed to so I can catch up.
Anyway, I agree it is mainly about what you eat. So keep up with that. I think on my days off of running I am just going to walk and do some upper body with free weights and maybe lunges. Maybe you could try that so you get some upper body in?
I am sure you will do awesome keep up the great work!

Unknown said...

I'm a calorie counter myself since I usually have no self control when it comes to eating. I guess I hold myself more accountable if I keep track of everything. I just started using a new iPhone app that I'm slightly obsessed with. It's free and it's called Daily Burn. You can track nutrition, workouts and your weight. It even makes a little graph of your weigh-ins everyday so you can see you are making progress :) As far the running goes, I think you need a few days off in between runs so your muscles have time to heal. When I was training for my half marathons there were at least 2 days a week of rest and one day of cross training since running is kind of hard on your knees. That's my two cents! Hope it helps! :)