This is mostly to do with a knee injury I sustained (although how still eludes me). After a couple of weeks of missing one workout here or there, I decided to finally go for a week straight rest. The good news is that this seems to have finally worked and my knee finally feels fine again!
So tonight, I was back at the gym on the cross trainer doing my HIIT! It felt great to be back and working out. Looking forward to my 1st strength training back tomorrow too!
So here we go then, with 3 weeks updates! I've still been tracking all my stats and this week is the 1st week I've seen no change in my weight loss (but then no exercise this week). Meant that on the whole, I was being super careful with what I was eating, so I'm pleased to see that there was no gain.
Actually looking at my other measurements, it seems that there was still progress and loss happening through just diet control alone (again showing what a HUGE impact eating correctly has on your overall success).
Business should resume as normal now, and hopefully I'll be posting again next Monday with some hopefully improved stats!
My car decided last Monday - whilst trying to get onto a dual carriageway - that it was NOT going to engage in gear (I drive an automatic). Needless to say, that was terrifying. Needless to say, much swearing, crying, stressing and phone calls ensued trying to figure out if this was a fixable problem (which is turns out it is, yay!) or if I needed to buy a new car (which I totally cannot afford).
I'd taken my stats down last week, but as some may or may not have noticed, didn't post anything.... Bad Niky. But, in my defense... *mumblemumblestoopidcarmumble*
So, the car is now in the garage, and I'm 5lbs lighter! Not sure how much the stress contributed to the weight loss this past week, but I'll take the loss regardless!
For anyone paying attention... I now weigh 12.9 st. That's now only 1lb away from losing 3st from when I started in January! I can't quite believe that I've lost so much, but it's spurring me on for the final 2st that I've left to lose!
A thing to be proud of this week... I proved to myself that I didn't have to resort to eating the things I used to when I got stressed (chocolate, crisps, ice cream, soft drinks). I stayed on track! Still ate healthy and Paleo and I still kept up with my exercises! In fact, I'd go so far as to say this was something that actively DE-STRESSED me, way more than indulging in something sugary. In amongst the chaos and panic of trying to sort out my car and worrying about finances, and this bunch of stuff that I couldn't control... This was something that I had complete control over, something that I could rely on and also a great way to work out those feelings. If I'd eaten something bad, however nice it might have been for 5 minutes, I wouldn't feel the benefit of it once I'd finished it, in fact, I'd likely feel worse for it in the end.
With my diet and exercise staying on track , I had the feeling of self-accomplishment and general well-being. My body was still cared for, and I controlled how I did that. That feeling is more awesome than any ice-cream or crisps!
With that lesson learnt now, here are my results for the last two weeks!
Only a short post this week, as I seem to be very busy this evening! It was a tough week, I managed to do all my routines (bar Tuesday as I was out at an event), but I felt like I struggled keeping my head in the game. I think it was just general tiredness.
After an awesome weekend tho with a good friend, spent laughing and relaxing, I am happy to say I feel recharged and ready for another week of hard exercise and healthy eating!
Hope you all have a great week ahead! See you next Monday :)
Just as a note, I've updated all my stats now starting back from April, so the table is a little larger this week:)
That's right, I still managed to make it into the gym on the Bank Holiday Monday!
And I felt a lot better for it.
Yesterday, I took as a lazy rest day, and that really didn't seem to sit too well with my body! I felt more tired than I should, and I realised, even when I have been taking 'rest' days on Sundays before, I've done a bunch of housework/gone into town walking around/done the weekly shop... just SOMETHING. Yesterday was my first real day of 'nothing' and I won't make that mistake again. It took me all the way up to getting into the gym again today to start feeling more like myself again.
Something else that I think I need to concentrate on however. Sleep.
I don't get enough of it generally. And not the 'sleep in till 10 on the weekend' kind of sleep. The kind I should be getting every night. So I want to set myself a challenge. I'm going to start small (as I've learned that's the way to build habits) and just ONE night a week, I want to be in bed and lights out by 9. That might seem early to a lot of people, but I get up at 5am every weekday, so it's really just about right for me. So just once a week, for the next 4 weeks... going to sleep at 9. It's harder than it sounds when you are trying to cram so much into your days, but it will be a start.
Onto my stats for this week...
It seems it was another productive week with 5lbs lost. No change to diet but have now added deadlifting to my workouts. (I got a new barbell this weekend... never thought that would make me so happy!).
I'm looking forward to weighing in at under 180lbs soon... It's a nice goal to look forward too!
This week has been a good proving ground for myself. I've managed to lose 4 lbs whilst being busy at work, seeing friends over the weekend (and surviving take-aways) and my birthday!
I kept up with nearly all my workouts (I missed my Zumba class, but I had a sickly husband and a MOUNTAIN of housework chores calling).
I got a new recipe book... Nom Nom Paleo. It's completely awesome and I've already started trying recipes from it. There is definitely no compromising flavour with any of these dishes!
Plus it's a super cute book, with loads of photos and cartoons. It's pretty much written for me!
Ok! So here are my stats for this week! This week there is nothing to compare it with as this will be my starting point (at least on here), but I have managed to lose another 1 lb.
Scary fact! You have to burn 3500 calories to lose 1 lb of body fat. That little 1 lb doesn't seem so small when you factor that in. Also, I hope I'm starting to build some muscle mass too, but my strength training workout tomorrow will be the test that theory when I see if I can complete more than 3 good form incline pushups!
For the time being this will have to be a screen capture as I can't figure out how to either insert a table or to have some kind of link to a place where I can log my stats.
If anyone knows, please let me know!
I hope I manage to maintain a good level of progress (especially difficult as it's my birthday this week) but I don't yet feel any dark pull of temptation for cake, so I reckon I should be able to stay on track!
Over 3 years has passed...and I'm not really sure what I've achieved in that time.
I can tell you what I have gained...
Weight.
This year in January I weighed the most I've ever weighed in my life (218 lbs). I decided that 2015 was going to be the year that I changed something. I just couldn't keep going the way I was going.
The Times They Are A-Changin'
I started by deciding that I was going to go to the gym 3 times a week.
I worked on the elliptical on a Monday, I started going to Zumba on a Wednesday, and I went swimming on Fridays.
This was ok for a few weeks, but I didn't notice any great difference in my appearance.
I added Bodypump classes once a week into the mix. And injured myself.
I'm not saying that the classes or instructors are bad, and if you know what you are doing and enjoy the class environment, then its's all good.
The issue that I found was in a class of 50 or so people with one instructor at the front and me at the back, is that no-one was checking your form for some of these exercises.
I thought I was squatting for Britain and feeling great that I was doing so many! BUT... I was actually using really bad form. I was balanced too far forward on my feet, and as a result, hurt my knee quite badly.
I took things slower for a couple of weeks, and luckily my knee pain cleared up on its own.
What happened next...
I realized I needed to start educating myself. I found a website that changed everything for me.
I'm not going to go on and on about this site. Visit it if you have 5 minutes. I think it sells itself and most importantly, it has the information I needed to start applying the kind of changes to my life to get the results I wanted.
(Steve Kamb is seriously my hero).
The first truth I was confronted with (that I have always tried to ignore) is that diet will prove to be around 80% of your success or failure rate when losing weight. That's HUGE.
I've been making the changes gradually, but now follow about a 90/10 Paleo diet. (I don't personally think having some dairy hurts, but it's been drastically reduced for me).
At first I thought this was going to be so difficult. To cut out grains (BREAD!!PASTA!!OMG!) but I've actually found that I've started to enjoy the challenge of cooking this way. I'm finding new things to eat every week, I'm never hungry (which I always was before), and if I do need a snack, I always have my go-to favourite snack... Apples with almond butter.
I also started applying discipline over motivation to my workouts and weirdly, I began to enjoy them even more! I know what I have to do and when I have to do it. It's a regular part of my week, and something I can count on.
My week currently looks like this:
Mon: Gym - HIIT
Tues: Home - Bodyweight workout
Weds: Zumba! ('Cos it's too fun not to do)
Thurs: Home - Bodyweight workout
Fri: Gym - HIIT
Sat: Home - Bodyweight workout
Sun: Rest
It might sound like a LOT. and SCARY. But actually... Each session of HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) is only 20 mins. I go into the gym, do what I need to do, and leave. Then I get on with my evening.
My bodyweight workouts I do at home. I spend around an hour warming up, doing my workout and cooling down and having a shower, which is not that long for all of that...and I'm already at home, so it's win-win!
I do Zumba with a good friend, and it's such a giggle. I'm not the most co-ordinated person, but I've learned not to care. As long as I build up a good sweat, it's job done.
This lady does AWESOME Zumba classes, if you are in the same area as me you should check her out:
I'm not done with the changes with how I want to train yet. I'm aiming to start strength training.
Free weights. And not light ones. I want to lift HEAVY.
This is something I'm still building confidence towards. Through my bodyweight workouts, I'm already starting to get stronger, and it makes me feel GREAT.
This will be something that makes it onto my own "Epic Quest" list, as it really will be a goal fulfilled when I start doing this.
I May Not Be There Yet, But I'm Closer Than I Was Yesterday
Currently I'm now 194 lbs. That's 24 lbs lost so far! (Yay!).
I want to start writing about how I'm doing for 2 reasons.
1. To list my stats weekly.
2. It makes me more accountable.
I'm sure that I've still got TONS to learn and I'm looking forward to that. I'm already chuffed to pieces how much I've already learned, and I know now that every small change, every new positive habit that I instill is all working towards a goal I've only ever wished about.
My challenge here is to post every Monday.
I want to list my stats, share new recipes I find, and start compiling my EPIC QUEST log (which I guess I already have #1 for! To start strength training in the free weights section in my gym).
Lastly, about motivation...
Even though my workouts are about discipline, it doesn't mean I don't have things that inspire, and yes... motivate me.
Here are the people who inspire me:
My Husband
He's awesome. He inspires me to do better everyday, just because it's what he does himself.
I love this man with all my heart.
His energy is boundless and he's a great example of what you can achieve in life if you are willing to work your ass off to get it.
Steve Kamb
I've already called him out above I know, but it's thanks to him starting Nerd Fitness that I've finally started to get to where I want to be.
Plus he's a nerd. Which is AWESOME.
I mean... he's dressed as Nathan Drake!
So. Freakin'. Cool.
I'm finally learning what I can actually attain. Both in fitness and in life.
Blake Griffin
Anyone who knows me, knows this guy is my favourite NBA player.
My amazing husband took me to New York just so I could watch him play.
This guy is 6"10, weighs 251 lbs and he has a freakin' 3ft vertical jump.He shows me what we can do when we push ourselves to attain greatness.
