Goals

I am going to start setting goals on this blog each month until I reach my ultimate goal.

When I weigh in next Monday, I'm going to count that towards April.  Therefore, April will end up being a long month (3/28 - 5/2), and so I think its very reasonable to set my April goal to lose 7 pounds.  I've already lost five, so that is two more to go by Monday.

For May (5/2 - 5/30), I have two goals:

• Lose 5 pounds
• Finish the C25K program

Speaking of C25K, I'm doing Week 7, Day 2 this afternoon.  I'm finding myself looking forward to running days and excited to see what I can accomplish for each run.  When I started C25K, I did it because I thought it would be an effective way to get in shape and lose weight.  I never did it because I thought running was fun.  But the more I do it and the better I get, I'm starting to find it very enjoyable and fun.  It's amazing how much can change is just 7 weeks :)

Weigh In: Week 4

I'm down one pound this morning. Happy :)
I'm thinking about posting my food journal on the blog everyday this week to see 1) if it helps me to make good food choices and 2) if I can get some feedback on what I could do better. What do you think? Would anyone be willing to give me some feedback?

AdvoCare 24 Day Challenge RESULTS

Yesterday (April 21, 2011) marked the end of our AdvoCare 24 day Challenge.  Recall that we ran out of MNS product around Day 17, so we didn't really follow the program 100%.  I did continue to drink Spark, Meal Replacement Shakes, eat healthy and workout in those last 7 days, so I wasn't completely off program.

So, last night we weighed and did our measurements.  Here are the results:

Weight:      -5.00 pounds
Right Arm:   -0.00 inches
Shoulders:   -0.50 inches
Chest:       -3.50 inches
Waist:       -2.50 inches
Hips:        -1.50 inches
Right Thigh: -2.00 inches
Right Calf:  -0.25 inches
Total:       -10.25 inches and 5 pounds!

I can't be disappointed in those results - at least they are results!  My clothes do fit better and I feel better, so I consider that WINNING :)

And what is the moral of the whole story?  The first place women lose weight is.....the boobs!!! :(

Post-Workout: C25K 6-2

I finished my run earlier today and to my surprise it wasn't nearly as difficult as I thought it would be.  Just as a reminder, here is what today's workout consisted of:

• Brisk 5 minute warmup walk, then:
• Jog 10 minutes
• Walk 3 minutes
• Jog 10 minutes
• Cooldown 5 minute walk

I coasted along for the first 10 minute run.  It felt really good and it was challenging but not necessarily hard.  The second 10 minute run was a little different.  I did great the first 5 minutes and then it seemed like as soon as the beep in my headphones went off saying "5 minutes" left, I immediately started struggling.  I think it was all in my head, so I just pushed through and somehow made it through the last 5 minutes without stopping.

Day 3 will really be a true test - 25 minutes without stopping?!?! Holy smokes thats a long time!

Workout Routine

First, a quick update on the scale.  I am down about 1 pound this morning.  Today is a hard workout day, and I swear if I weigh in tomorrow morning having gained weight, I may just stop working out all together.

Now on to the real post, I wanted to just give an update on what I've been doing for exercise.  I am 6 weeks in to the Couch to 5K program (C25K).  The whole program is 9 weeks long, so I can see the end in sight.  It consists of running/walking for about 30 minutes, 3 times a week .  Here is what week 6 looks consists of:

Week 6, Day 1 (Monday)

• Brisk 5 minute warmup walk, then:
• Jog 5 minutes
• Walk 3 minutes
• Jog 8 minutes
• Walk 3 minutes
• Jog 5 minutes
• Cooldown 5 minute walk

 Week 6, Day 2 (Thursday)

• Brisk 5 minute warmup walk, then:
• Jog 10 minutes
• Walk 3 minutes
• Jog 10 minutes
• Cooldown 5 minute walk

Week 6, Day 3 (Saturday)

• Brisk 5 minute warmup walk, then:
• Jog 25 minutes with no walking
• Cooldown 5 minute walk

I did Day 1 on Monday and today, I will do Day 2.  Day 1 was actually pretty easy.  I'm afraid Day 2 is going to be tough.  It might be an easy workout for a lot of people, but not for me!

In addition to the C25K, I just started doing Power Yoga on DVD this week.  I needed to add in some strength training and I thought Power Yoga would be a good start towards that.  Eventually, I will want to add in some weights or resistance bands.

I did Power Yoga on Tuesday and I was so sore on Wednesday and I am still sore today.

AdvoCare Weigh In: Week 3

I am SOOOOO frustrated!  I have been watching what I eat and working out and here I am up TWO WHOLE POUNDS!

Lance and I stopped taking our Advocare MNS on Thursday simply because we ran out of product.  I'll explain in a minute why we didn't order any more.  But, we've still been taking Spark, Meal Replacement Shakes and Catalyst.  My weight was already up before Thursday, so I don't think not taking the MNS has anything to do with the weight gain. 

I still think it is directly related to working out.  After each workout last week, I was up about 1 pound on the scale.  These were pretty hard workouts!  My clothes fit better and I feel better, but the stupid scale hates me....or I hate it....or its a mutual hate! 

I'm trying not to be discouraged and am just going to "keep on going on".  Hopefully the scale will start going in the other direction soon.

Now, regarding the MNS product.  On Thursday, we realized that we were out of MNS and didn't have any more in stock.  We could have easily ordered more and it would have gotten here by Friday, but this is a special month for us.  Why?  Because at the end of the month, we are writing our very last check for my Student Loan and then we will be DEBT FREE!  We will still have our mortgage, but we don't consider that debt - even though I know it technicallly is.  We follow Dave Ramsey and he doesn't consider it debt - so neither do we :)

Anyway, in order to write that last check (its bigger than our normal debt snowball), we have to live very modestly this month and save all non-discretionary spending.  The only non-necessity we have spent money on this month is Easter outfits for the kids.  So, at the end of the day, becoming debt-free was more important to us than getting more Advocare MNS product.  We'll get back on it next month.

AdvoCare Weigh In: Week 2

Well, I am neutral this week.  I am still happy, that is still 6 pounds in 2 weeks!  I started back up running on Friday (after a 3 week break) and I know there isn't a really good explanation for this but EVERY time I start working out, I gain about 1 or 2 pounds and it takes me about a week and a half to get it back off.  Anyway, my point is that before Friday, I was down a little bit from last week.  But after my workout and the next day saw the scale - I knew exactly what had happened.

I know everyone says "muscle weighs more than fat".  Okay, but do I really gain that much muscle in one workout?  I don't know the answer, but it is really frustrating!  Oh well, 6 pounds in 2 weeks - that is what I keep reminding myself.

AdvoCare 24 Day Challenge: Day 11

Just checking in this morning.  I unofficially stepped on the scale this morning and I am down 0.5 pounds from last monday (which would be 6.5 pounds total).  That is about what I expected.  I knew that I wouldn't keep up the 6 lb/week pace, but I was just hoping that I didn't gain any of those 6 pounds back, so I am happy.  Hopefully I'll end up with a 1or 2 pound loss this week.

Yesterday was the last day of the Cleanse.  I am so happy with the results of the Cleanse.  I feel SO GOOD!!!  I have much more energy, I feel lighter and look better.  Before I took the Cleanse I was tired all of the time.  I was just run down and felt blah.  I would have to drag myself out of bed every morning and I dredded the work that lay ahead of me almost every day. 

Now I wake up feeling refreshed and excited about the day.  I still get sleepy at night, but I don't have that overwhelming sense of being tired all day long.  All in all, I'd say the Cleanse phase was a definite WIN!

Today starts the Max phase and I am super pumped about this phase.  I'll keep updating on this blog but that is about it for today.

AdvoCare Weigh In: Week 1

Exactly one week ago today I started the AdvoCare 24 day challenge.  I got on the scale this morning and was down 6 POUNDS!  Out of all the years I've been dieting, that is the most I've ever lost in one week - yay!  Now I just have to keep going strong for the rest of the 24 days. 

Today began Day 8 and we only have 3 more days of the cleanse left and then we get to start on the MNS phase.  For those who aren't familiar with the program, the cleanse phase has a purpose, but it is actually isn't to lose weight.  The purpose of the cleanse is to rid the body of all toxins which allows your body to better absorb all the great nutrition and supplements that come in the next phase, the MNS phase. 

So, the MNS phase is really where the weight loss picks up.  I'm excited that I've been able to lose 6 pounds in the non-weight loss phase and I'm even more excited to see what happens next :)