Bump in the Road. Need to pick it up.

So I did not have a good week last week. I missed a workout and my legs just felt stiff and sore. My weekend was busy with out of town wedding and etc. Now I feel kind of crappy cause I feel like I am out of my routine so this week I am redoing week 4 of the couch25k . I hope I am able to get back into the swing of things.
I also started using the app my fitness pal to try and keep track of what I am eating everyday. The app is really cool. You can scan bar codes of foods and search foods so you can keep a calorie count. You can also log your physical activity on there too.

So tomorrow I restart week 4. Wish me luck!

Update and thank you!

So today is a rest day for me and oh man do my legs feel yesterday’s run. My shins are sore and my calves feel tight. I must give them a nice stretch. I hope my shin splints don’t kick in again. If you have never experienced shin splints well pray you never have to because they hurt A LOT! When they flare up it feels like every step I take there’s someone beating my shins with a baseball bat… yeah NOT fun.
Also I wanted to take this opportunity to say thanks for the likes and follows. I just started this blog and to see that people are reading it is quite exciting. I have never wrote a blog before so wasn’t sure what to expect really. I thought I might just type these things and it would get lost on the world wide web haha. 😀
Hope everyone had a good day!

Best pace and distance!!!! Week 4 Day 1.

So today I started my week 4 of workout. I was worried about this workout because you run for 3 mins walk to 1.5 then run for 5 mins and repeat. I was worried about the 5 min jog. Honestly it went way better than I thought it was going to. The first 5 min jog was definitely easier than the last. The last 5 mins I was pretty tired by that point. The picture above is what I have posted in front of my treadmill so I try to focus on that while I ran and when things are getting harder. I would definitely recommend trying something like that. 

I can definitely feel a difference in my endurance and I am excited that I reached my best pace and distance yet 😀 Super big accomplishment for me! I will admit that after running and then spending all day on my feet at work I am pretty tired right and ready for bed.

Goodnight.

Week 3 Day 3 workout

So today I finished the week 3 workout. I felt a lot better on this run than the last one. Probably because I did my run in the morning before I ate anything and probably cause my body is adapting to the workout. I felt really good after the run cause according to my app today I ran at my best pace!! 😀 yay!!!

The next workout is going to be harder because it alternates 3 min jog with 1.5 min walk and 5 min jog and 1.5 min walk. I am probably going to have to run slower for the 5 min jog. I think the first workout will be hard but by the 3rd day I should be ok.

I am also upping my strength training. I printed a whole bunch of exercises you can do with dumbbells cause I got a new set of interchangeable dumbbells and a easy curl bar. I am excited to use them. Tomorrow I might just do weights since I generally take a day break between running sessions. I hope the easy curl helps with my bicep workout as I have been having some wrist issues and dumbbells have just been aggravating it. Hope tomorrow’s weight training session goes well!

Week 3 Day 2 of workout

So I just did my week 3 day 2 workout today. I usually do my workouts in the morning before I have eaten but today I was lazy in the morning and ended up doing it after lunch. I waited about 2 hours before running but still it was NOT GOOD. I was getting cramps ugh. So I felt crappy after the run but then I did weight training after for another 40 mins or so.

Last post I mentioned the app I am using for the couch to 5k. Here is the link to the program:

http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml

I find that this app helps me stay motivated cause I an document my distance and pace and so when I look back and see that I am improving it really helps.

I am also a bit frustrated today as my weight hasn’t really been changing all that much. I feel good and I do feel like my body has changed but I am just not seeing it being reflected on the scale. My family has even said they see a difference. I am just trying to focus on how I feel than that number on the scale. I have about 40 lbs I would like to lose but ultimately if I lose 35 lbs and feel great I will be happy. I am trying to let this transformation be about myself and my body and not the number on the scale.

I have been feeling pretty motivated to workout the past weeks so I thought I would share how I am staying motivated.

1) Logging my workouts on the couch to 5k app.

2) Using social media to my advantage. I use instagram to post pics of healthy choices I am making and I have followed some other fitness people and people who post recipes for healthy meals and snacks.

3) The workout itself has helped me stay away from junk food because I don’t want to waste those hard earned calories I burned on crappy food.

4) Getting fun workout clothes that make me feel good.

5) Making a good music playlist to keep me going while working out.

6) I stuck inspirational messages in front of my treadmill to keep me motivated like “You can do this” or “Miracles don’t happen. Sweat and hard work happens”. Looking at these while running the last bit has helped a lot.

That is all I can think of for now… Will add more if I think of any 🙂

About me…where I am and where I want to be

So I decided to write a blog just to help myself clear my thoughts and if anyone came across it that was dealing with the same thing that maybe they would feel good knowing someone else is going through it too.

So I had always had an issue with my weight and image. I remember feeling fat when I was as young as 9 but now when I look at pictures of myself at that age I realize I was not even close to being chubby. I was an average kid but for some reason I got it in my head that I was chubby. This thought continued on throughout my life. I am now in my mid 20s and I still feel that way. But I think for the first time my thoughts are valid. I started gaining weight a few years ago and my emotional self and self image has just been taking a toll ever since. I have tried so many times to lose weight and get active but I always ended up falling off the bandwagon either cause the diet was just too restrictive and hard or I would lose my will or school would consume my life and I’d get busy and sidetracked.

I finished my degree this year and have been working part time while I figure out what my next career goals are. I decided I needed to make this change for myself. I want to be healthy so I can be around for those I love and feel good about myself. I started following the couch to 5k program. I am now on my 3rd week (I just did the day 1 workout yesterday). I chose to do this program because I have NEVER enjoyed running honestly I hated it but there are a lot of health benefits to it and you can run anywhere all you need are running shoes. I chose to start mine on a treadmill in my basement as I just dont have the confidence to run outside yet and I know doing it on a treadmill will be easier to stick to for me. If you havent checked out this routine you should definitely look it up. It is a 9 week program that gradually gets your ready to run the 5k without stopping. I also downloaded an app for it that way I can keep track of everything and if I was running outside the app would keep track of my distances and pace.

So right now I am determined to make myself healthy and happy. I have a supportive family and a loving relationship and I think I owe it to myself to be happy. I don’t want to feel so uncomfortable anymore. I don’t want to feel like no clothes look good on me or feel so uncomfortable that my natural state is to suck in my stomach at all times (I have had this habit since a teenager). I want to live my life and be happy.