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.
Well Christmas and New Year has been and gone, and I did VERY well with my pressie's this year!
My husband has well and truely spoilt me this year - I got a limited edition Zelda 3DS....it's SO awesome! I have been playing Cave Story, Super Mario 3D and Ocarina of time on it. I have been getting ever so slightly addicted to the Street Pass on it, and Nintendo Letterbox, which is just an awesome way to be able to send funny little messages to all your friends. All in all, it's my favourite DS to date (having owned the 1st gen, the DS Lite, and the DSi....). :D
Next up, I got a new Xbox 360! It's a limited edtion Gears of War one, and it makes supercool sounds when you turn it on/off and when you open/close the disc tray. I got a whole host of games as well! Gears of War 3 (which cam inside the limited edition 360), Skyrim (which I am currently addicted to in a big way), Assassin's Creed: Revelations (which I started, and am loving, however, after investing so much time in Brotherhood recently, I am enjoying playing a couple of other games), Lego Harry Potter, Halo Anniversary edition, and I also got a couple of PS3 games: Uncharted 3 and Shadow of the Colossus (one of my favourite of all time games) and ICO HD. I can't wait to play these through again. Shadow's I completed when it was originally out on PS2, but I have never completed ICO. Namely because when I first played it, I had been out of gaming for a while and hadn't really developed the patience I now have with games.
I also got Magic cards, a great big carry case for my Games Workshop models, a shared gift with my husband of a GW paint set (it's so freaking awesome!!) and Lego board game Heroica (with all of it's expansions). We are yet to play this, but have heard that it is meant to be one of the best...so I can't wait to give that a go!
I hope that everyone I know that I haven't had a chance to catch up with yet since Christmas also had an amazing time and got everything they wanted! :)
So I have recently had a great push on clearing through my backlog of games that I wanted to play!
In the last two weeks, I have completed Nier (a great JRPG that I highly recommend - the voice acting is great and the music is amazing, and, thankfully, it's not a massive game). The game had an achievement for completing all four endings - which I did! It also wipes your save data after viewing all four....which is linked to the story - but even still, I am proud of the commitment I made to completing that game!
I then moved onto Assassins Creed Brotherhood - now I had almost completed this game before I put down the controller in the lead up to my wedding, but I finished this one too! The storyline has got me so excited about playing Revelations next...really can't wait, and hoping I get that for Christmas!
I also finished playing Halo Reach. I had heard mixed things about this game...notably between those who had or had not read the books that have been written set in the Halo universe. Now if you have read them (as I have) there are elements within the story presented in the game that do not make perfect sense) however, I don't think it ruined it in any way. It told the basic jist of the story through the game for everyone who loves the franchise but maybe doesn't have time to read the books, and I think it worked well.
I also completed an XBLA Arcade title called Stacking - this game was AMAZING! Really....I loved the art style and atmoshpere of the whole game - it was fun, and kept adding some fun new things you could do so that it didn't become too repetitve (which could have happened easily if it wasn't designed so well). I really recommend this game highly. I haven't yet - but will probably get the extra DLC for it soon.
Currently now I am playing Deus Ex. I started this game back when it first came out, but wasn't immediately sold on it, but I have persevered with it, and now am really starting to feel the atmosphere and beginning to not only enjoy it, but pretty much love it. I was told by my husband that it felt like playing through Inception, and I think he is right - there really is that realistic but dreamlike quality in it. The story has gotten my attention, and the sidequests are interesting to keep me wanting to complete those. It's nice that they are linked to Jensen (at least so far) properly and its not just a roundabout 'go collect stuff for someone' side quest. They are adding to the depth and quality of the overall story.
So that's about it at the moment! I am hoping to get a few new titles for Christmas (and also have the time to play them!!) so I will update again when I have gotten through a few more! :)
