New Year, New Me

It's been a long while since I last posted, but I am pleased to announce that over the course of the last year, I lost 8 lbs. I didn't do much in the way of diet and exercise. I was a bit more active this past year, and I ate a little bit less, but not really differently. So, this year, my plan is to be more intentional. That being said, January is all about getting started on a plan and setting up a baseline.

My official starting weight for the year is 1xx. So, I'm not going to reveal my actual weight, but I'll update on pounds lost.

January Goals:
1. Track food and exercise in MyFitnessPal, which is a great App that you can put on your phone or iPad or just use online.
2. Exercise at least 3 times a week.
3. Continuing training for 5K using Couch to 5K program (C25K).
4. Take all vitamins and medication.

So far, I've tracked my food for yesterday and today. My first workout of the year was Jillian Michaels Yoga Meltdown, and I'm still feeling it's effects from yesterday. I'm very very aware of my core today. Tuesday, Thursdays, and Saturdays are the days that I normally schedule for cardio and C25K, but I may have to just take a brisk walk after my doctor's appointment today. I've also been good about taking my medication.

This year is starting off right for me. Just need to keep it up.

Kimberly

Week 3: Motivation Monday

The beginning of the week is always my favorite. Actually, I love the beginnings of pretty much everything--movies, books, music. I do have a love-hate relationship with Mondays. As the beginning of the work-week--I hate it; but, as a fresh start I love it. And I definitely need a fresh start after the weekened, I've had.

Goals:

1. Log food eaten.
2. Drink more water.
3. Work out at least 3 times.
4. Start Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred and review.

Simple start for the week. That's all for now!

Little Victories

"I learn to get by on little victories." - Matt Nathanson

I think one of the biggest downfalls to any fitness plan is the idea that big changes and quick results are all that matters. I like to think of my fitness plan as a journey with lots of hills and valleys, some weeks I'm good and some weeks I'm bad.

The past two weeks were bad for me. I started off trying to make changes, but life got in the way, and I wasn't able to work out like I wanted or keep track of all my eating, but here are some little victories I can celebrate:

• Choosing salad for lunch, not just once but twice this week.
• Skipping a really delicious looking apple pie for dessert at the Women's Forum Luncheon.
• Choosing Subway for lunch, twice this week.
• Taking Josey (my puppy) for a walk.
• Finally writing a second post since the reboot.

Celebrating the little victories is okay at the beginning, but at some point, we must move on. I've chosen to celebrate my little victories instead of giving up on the project. I hope to start fresh on Monday with bigger goals and plans.

Until then, let me know what little victories you can celebrate?

Project Reboot Take 2-Motivation Monday

So what if takes me over a year to get back on the wagon--at least I'm getting back on the wagon, right?

That being said--I hope you enjoy the motivational song for today. Yes, it's oh so pop princess of me, but I think it's a strong, positive message for women (and men) of all ages.

I am officially rebooting the project (again) today. The last time I tried to reboot the project, I posted once and never again, but things should be different this time around.

Now, that I'm happily married, and hubs and I are both over our colds, we can both try to be healthier. We are both diabetic, so a healthy diet and exercise plan are in order for both of us. We thought that we'd be gaining weight after the wedding, but we have both lost weight, and we aren't sure how or why. And it is not because he can't eat anything I make! He's the cook in the house.

I want this blog to be not just about weight loss, but about overall wellness, so I'm also going to write about improving your attitude on life and living positively.

Here are my goals for the week:

1. Create a base-line for food intake. Track everything I eat, drink, or take (medication)> 
2. Limit non-water drinks to two a day.
3. Exercise three times this week.
4. Clear out clutter in the bedroom and make it more comfortable.

Wish me luck!!

Kimberly

Off the Wagon

Well, friends it seems that keeping with blogs has taken a back seat to school and other activities. I totatlly skipped out on Motivation Monday this week, and I really have nothing for Workout Wednesday for today, except to say that the madness stops today, and I will hopefully be back on track. I'm GOING to the gym after class today no matter what, and I'll be careful about what I eat.

In other news, I got an awesome new smartphone, which I love, and I just downloaded an app to keep track of my caloric intake. It's called the myfitnesspal app, and so far I like it. I can search for different foods that I eat. I can track the calories I've burned. According to the app, for me to lose 2 lbs a week, I need to have a net caloric intake of 1200 per day. So, that means I need to eat fewer than 1200 calories per day if I don't work out, or if I plan to work out then the calories I burn need to be more than the excess of what I ate. In other words, if my caloric intake is 1500 for a day, then I need to burn 300 to stay on track. So, we'll see how that goes.

Anyway, I suppose that the lesson here is to just move foward. The week may not have started great, but it can end well. Until next time!

Ab Circle Pro Challenge

I feel like my family collects fitness equipment. We should all be in better shape. One of the pieces of fitness furniture we have in our house is the Ab Circle Pro. I've used it a few times, but not consistantly, so I'm going to try it out for the next 14 days because their claim is that you should see results in 2 weeks or your money back. So, here are the rules of the challenge.

1. Take measurements-will not share what they are, but just know they've been taken and logged in a personal log book.
2. Use Ab Circle Pro at least 3 minutes per day beginning today (February 23-March 8). 3 minutes is what the ad claims or at least that's what I remember. I'm supposed to be able to see results by using this machine for 3 minutes per day. They also claim that you should lose 10 lbs in two weeks, but that involves their nutritional plan, which is a calorie restricted diet, which will make you lose weight without the addition of this equipment, so I'll also report if I've lost any weight, but inches lost around my waist is the main concern of this experiment.
3. Document all Ab Circle Pro time and days missed to be fair.
4. Document all other physical activity (cardio, yoga, etc).
5. Document all eating habits; make no major changes.

I realize that weight loss is attributed to many factors, so to be fair, the results that we are concerned with in this experiment are any positive changes in my waist line. So, I've measured my waist, and will measure again on March 9, 2011 to see if there have been any changes. Look for a full account of the experiement in two weeks.

Third Week Slump

So, here's a little secret.

The third week of any diet or plan that I have is usually the toughest, especially if I haven't seen any results. So, my goals this week are to keep plugging away at last week's goals. I didn't quite meet all of them. I worked out 3 times, kept track of most of what I ate, and I ate a pretty good number of fruits/veggies. I did not to the Ab Circle 10-Day Challenge, or do a single yoga work out.

However, I have found that keeping this blog and my food/exercise journal keeps me pretty motivated. So, today's get motivated tip is to keep a log. Keep a log of all your activity and little victories that you've made so far. Whether you started drinking more water, tried a new veggie, or took a 10 minute walk each day, celebrate those little victories. It's a step in the right direction.