Fitness Friday

TGIF!!

As I approach a whole weekend with no obligations and just time with J, I can't help reflect on the week I have had. And that week has been filled with running and I can't be happier about it! I think I am officially a runner and I never thought I would speak (or type) those words.

I ran Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday after work this week, which in hind sight wasn't the best decision. My right knee now hurts, but I'm hoping it will clear up before my next run on Sunday. We had beautiful weather here this week, so it was hard to NOT want to get outside and work up a sweat! All in all I did 9+ miles over 3 days, so I'm feeling #likeaboss right now. Here are some fun stats for you, since I loved comparing my days and seeing how I am getting stronger and faster!

Monday started out a bit rough because of my dog. I really wanted to run in the nature preserve by our house, but he kept on getting those prickly spores stuck to his paws. So we had to deal with that, but ended up finishing strong. Tuesday I went solo to the nature preserve at it was extremely peaceful! I only saw one other person, but was constantly watching my back to make sure no one was going to abduct me. It's the kind of place that someone could pull that off.... but it's still beautiful!! I managed to take some pictures during my cool down, so enjoy:

See what I mean about someone being able to snatch me and no one would know? There were a few times I considered stopping for a quick walk break, but the extra motivation of not being attacked by a creeper or an alligator for that matter kept me going. :)

Wednesday night I ran with a group from work. My workplace is pretty much awesome and I'm so glad the wellness committee arranged these runs for the next month. I found another gal with a pace a little faster than mine and I kept up for the 3 miles! We are also fortunate to work in The World Golf Village and have another scenic backdrop for running. Here's an idea for ya - 

All in all, I was proud of my week and stayed within my calorie range (but of course got to eat a little more since I was burning more calories). I may eventually want to run longer distances, but I'm really happy with 3 miles. I honestly don't have time in the mornings to do more than 2 miles and not be late for work. I think my biggest goal with running is to work on my speed. If I could comfortably run 3 miles at a 10 minute per mile pace, I would be happy! And I feel like every run that I do gets me closer to that goal.

Another option I have been toying with is more interval running. I think I am past the walk/run scenario unless I had to do more miles, but I want to start trying running at my normal pace and then interjecting sprints to get my heart rate up. I'll report back to you!

Have a great weekend everyone! Have any running tips to share?

[MyFitnessPal]

I decided at the beginning of June that I was ready to start my health journey and I knew I could not do it alone! I had done Weight Watchers in the past and knew that tracking what I ate was a great way to keep me on track and accountable. But I knew WW wasn't right for me at this time and my best friend kept on raving about MyFitnessPal. I decided to give it a try and have been using it now for over 4 months and love it!

MFP also links with other fitness and tracking apps, so I have it linked to my FitBit. It automatically uploads my steps in my daily diary and if I have more movement than MFP accounted for in my calorie goal, it adds more calories.

I took a bunch of screenshots of what I use and view on a daily basis and added my notes to each. I hope this is helpful!

Do you use MFP? What is your favorite feature? Do you use any other apps? Share your knowledge!

Goals [Sept. 10]

I had some hits and misses this last week in terms of goals, but I guess that is all part of the process! I'm feeling grateful for this journey and know I am making decisions every day that are impacting my health and future.

I have finally hit a total weight loss of 15.4 lbs since June 1! It felt really good to update my tracker in the left-hand bar (take a look) and I hope to do this more. The weight loss has certainly been slower this last month. In June and July, I was losing about a pound a week and now it seems to have slowed to half pounds each week. I will take it! But I won't lie that it isn't as exciting to see those small changes on the scale. I know I have been running and lifting more, so my muscles are continuing to build, which in the long-run is a good thing, because I will burn more calories.

I checked off a few other big goals that I had set in June as well. So even though I didn't see a huge loss on the scale, I can focus on the overall progress!

I'm a little behind my August 31st deadline for losing 15 pounds, but progress not perfection! As I mentioned in Friday's fitness post, I ran with a new trail running club in my area on Sunday. The group was really nice and mostly older than me, but I guess when you're running that doesn't matter! I ran the longest distance I have ALL YEAR and hit the 5K mark! This was huge for me and I kept up my speed well. The trail is a little sandy in places, so it definitely was challenging, but it's a nature preserve, so the beauty made up for it.

Circling back to the "progress not perfection" statement, that about sums up my last week's goals, which are below. I didn't hit all of them... whomp whomp. I need to actually look at these every day to remind myself and not just hope I'm doing them!

(remember that you can download these goal templates here)

So some of last week's goals are rolling over to this week. I am a few days behind in the Sexy Toned Arms Challenge, but I am determined to finish it! My arms are feeling much stronger, so I can't wait to share all those details with you next week. I also need to get back to doing squats regularly, because I notice a difference in my backside when I do, PLUS Jamaal also really likes squats, so it's nice to do them together.

As I mentioned above, I know I am building more muscle now and that may be why my weight loss has slowed down. I want to schedule a meeting at my gym to get my body fat percentage calculated so I can start to track this.

Do you have any goals this week? How to you motivate yourself to accomplish them?

Goals [Sept. 1]

It's always hard to get back into a routine after a long weekend, but focusing on my goals will certainly help remind me why it's important to jump back in!

I was pretty happy with my goals for last week :)

I lost some weight about mid-week and was excited to see that change. I felt I had hit a bit of a slump, which is why I decided to do SkinnyMeg's DietBet (more about that soon). I have yet to weigh in this week, so we shall see... I usually like to wait a day after the weekend to weigh-in. I don't think this is bad, I usually don't drink as much water on the weekends and we eat out more, so my sodium intake increases. I like to give my body a day to normalize.

I took progress photos (which I posted here) and my measurements. I was happy to see the photos compared to June 1, but the measurements haven't changed recently. That was a bit of a bummer, but I know I need to keep moving forward.

I did post my normal fitness routine on Friday. It is a nice reminder of what I have been working hard at. I think I will continue to do that for another month or so and then it will be time to mix it up!

Finally, I was proud of myself for staying on track this holiday weekend!

• I had one light beer on Saturday and a glass of bubbly on Sunday. To be honest, I wasn't trying to stay away from the alcohol on purpose, but it just happened. I focused on my hunger signals and stopped eating when I was full. A beer on a full stomach just did not feel like a good move! 
• It was hard to track my food, because I was not preparing the dishes, but I tried my hardest to have balanced meals and knew what to definitely stay away from (cookies and potato salad). J's Mom had the paper plates that were divided into sections and this helped with portion control. I knew I should put my proteins and fresh produce in the large section and keep the smaller sections for mac n cheese and baked beans.
• I also focused on drinking a lot of water and it helped that J's Mom had lemon infused water!
• Instead of making an indulgent dish for the BBQ, I decided to put together a fruit salad with grapes, strawberries, watermelon and pineapple. It was refreshing and just what I needed throughout the day. I was also glad to see that everyone else enjoyed it!

I wanted to keep on top of setting mini goals and this week's are all pretty straight-forward. I will do a post on SkinnyMeg's DietBet sometime this week and be sure to do a recap of Marionberry Fitness when it wraps up on Sunday.

It will be nice to finish cleaning out and organizing my closet. It is a bit frustrating every morning to pick out an outfit when things all fit differently! I already have a small box of clothes that are too big for me and I'm hoping that when I reach my goal, I can easily have some clothes altered to fit. It's also nice to move out the clothes that are still to tight for me to the guest closet. My goal is to open up my master bedroom closet and have it full of clothes that actually fit and work for me right now. When those start to get baggy, I can switch them out for the clothes in my guest room!

Remember, visit my Free Tools page to download these goal templates to motivate you!

What are your goals for the week? Any advice for me?

Progress [twelve weeks]

Looking at my 6 week progress photos got me thinking about how long it has been since I have made the commitment to living healthy. 12 WEEKS!

So when I looked at those photos and it was hard to see the small changes, I figured it was time to take some new photos. Comparing my June 1st photos to ones I took yesterday was eye-opening for me.

I can really see big changes and it's no wonder I had to clean out clothes from my closet that I had bought this spring. My stomach/belly button looks higher from the front and less "soft" and my gut no longer can pass for pregnant! My back roll looks less pronounced too, but I still have a ways to go there.

My main areas that I want to work on this fall:

• Outer thighs
• Arms
• Shoulders/Back
• Booty

I know if I continue with my running (and my running, I mean jogging at a 11-12 minute mile) and core work, that my stomach will move in a good direction without having to specifically focus on it. So I feel good there! My goals currently do not include 6-pack abs.

I still have almost a full-closet in the guest room full of clothes that are too tight on me. I have divided them into 2 groups: clothes that almost fit and clothes that are way too tight on me. It will be nice to try on the clothes that almost fit in another month or so. While it was depressing to keep them, I'm glad that I don't have to go out and spend money on a new wardrobe for every stage of this journey (That doesn't mean that I won't be shopping, but I won't have to).

What areas of your body are you focusing on?

Goals [toned arms]

As you may have noticed in yesterday's post, one of my September goals is to focus on toning my arms/shoulders. I thought I would expand upon that goal here, because I know you were dying to hear more!

When I was regularly hitting the gym in my early twenties, my arms weren't too shabby. In fact, I tried Match.com for a while and the guy I ended up dating for 6 months that I met on there, said my picture caught his eye, because of my arms. Woot woot! Looking at my pictures below from the last 6 months, my arms just look enormous to me. I guess it's all about perspective, but I feel gross looking at them! The picture in the top right corner was taken on Easter weekend and I thought I looked great that day. It was such a buzz-kill to see this photo later that day.

So I am recommitting myself to toning my arms. Boom, it's out there now! For me, I notice someone's arms long before I notice their abs (unless they're in a bikini), so I want to put my best foot forward to the world.

I have been following Marionberry Style for a while now, it's a great fashion blog. She has been branching out to the fitness world and has a great fitness-themed Facebook page that I check every day. Definitely check it out! She also does challenge groups each month that focus on certain areas. I am currently doing her 14-Day Sexy Arm Challenge and on Day 3. I won't divulge too many details of the challenge, but if you are interested in it, click here to request to join the group. It is all body weight exercises, so no equipment or gym needed!

I'm really excited to stick with this challenge and 2 weeks seems so reasonable. To keep myself motivated, I took some before arm photos yesterday. I can't wait to see the difference this challenge makes!

And just in case I wasn't motivated enough, I've made an inspiration board of some nice toned ladies you might recognize!

Do you have any secret moves for toned arms?

Goals [mini milestones]

Ground-breaking news everyone: setting smaller goals for yourself makes it easier to achieve your larger goals! (please note my sarcasm and get used to it) You could probably find a million other great articles about this, so I'm not going to pretend to be an expert. I will share with you what I have found to work for me, in case it is helpful!

When I decided I was ready for change (get it?!), I looked at my BMI and historical weight data for myself to guide me in setting my big goal. I used the CDC's website to look up my BMI, I figured they were a pretty reputable source. You can check out their calculator and charts here. My beginning BMI was close to 29, which put me firmly in the overweight category. This scared me, for real. I knew I had weight to lose and was "fluffy", but I guess I was in denial that I was "overweight". For my height, it is suggested that you should be below a 25 BMI to be in a healthy range. So I went from there and determined that I wanted to banish 35 pounds from my overweight body. I'm not opposed to setting new goals once I reach 35, but I had to start somewhere.

35 pounds is a lot! According to this fun little chart I saw on Instagram, that's the weight of a cinder block or mid-size microwave! It wouldn't be fun to walk around with a cinder-block in my arms all day, and that's basically what I have been doing. (It is cool to see that I have already lost a bald eagle)

So I have broken my weight loss goals into 5 pound increments and staying focused on that. You can see my progress in the side bar. I have set a goal of losing a total of 15 pounds my August 31st and I am dangerously close to that goal. I have to remember that when I am at a family BBQ this weekend... will you remind me? K, Thanks.

In addition to my weight goals, I have been leaving little notes for myself on my bathroom mirror to keep me focused. Here are some examples of my quick notes:

I decided moving forward, that I like to look at pretty things, so I made this template for myself to print. You can check out my Free Tools tab for the printable PDF's. Sharing is caring. Your welcome.

Below you can see what my goals are for this week and for September. I tried to focus on my health goals holistically and not just focus on pounds lost. I will try my best to post my weekly goals each Monday and report back on the previous week's successes and failures (hopefully there won't be too many of those, but let's keep it real here). 

Next, I need to determine a "prize" of sorts if I complete all my goals each week. Perhaps something like $5 in the jar for new clothes (in smaller sizes), a mani/pedi or something else entirely. I don't think rewarding myself with food would be a good option :)

What are your big health goals? Do you have/plan to have any mini goals set? How do you reward yourself for reaching goals? I would love to hear your ideas, since we all need fresh ideas and encouragement!

New Beginnings

Welcome to "Ready For Change"!

I am avid blog reader myself and have considered starting my own for a long time - well that time is now! I have started a journey to get fit and have had success so far the last 3 months and I want to stay motivated to continue. This will keep me accountable and can hopefully help others who are focusing on their health too!

(I'm going to try and not use a million exclamation points in my posts, but I can't promise anything)

A lot of this information that I'm going to share can be found on my About Me page, but I will be fleshing it out more here for my first post. If you're not into reading a ton, just check out my nice timeline I created for your viewing pleasure.

Now for the details:

Growing up, I never had weight issues. I was very active as a teenager, as I was a dancer. I danced for my high school team (and was the captain my senior year) and also danced at a studio. I was had 20+ hours of dance classes and practices each week and loved it. I didn't always love to competitive nature of dancing, but I absolutely had a passion for it. I remember leaving classes and I would be soaking in sweat - it was such a good feeling! I was fortunate enough to have a home-cooked dinner most nights and they were usually well balanced. However, I do remember eating straight junk food for lunch most school days once I was old enough to buy my own lunch. I honestly had a bag of hot fries for lunch each day (so gooood, but so gross at the same time).

I went into college and as most students do, gained weight steadily. I was continuing to eat junk food and not working out regularly. I also adding alcohol into the mix, something I never did in high school. So it wasn't shocking that I gained weight, but I was having a great college experience, so I didn't really care too much. My Mom and sister would make comments to me about gaining weight when I would come home for breaks, which definitely bothered me, but not enough to change my habits. Guys were still into me, so I couldn't have gained that much weight, right? Ahhh the power of alcohol...

College was an emotional experience for me in many ways, but my Mom was also battling colon cancer at the time and passed away in between my sophomore and junior year of college. That honestly rocked my world and I didn't handle it well. I continued to eat and drink more and gained even more weight.

Post college, I was living in Baltimore and still drinking regularly and eating out a lot. The first apartment I lived in was across from a Chipotle... you can guess how that turned out for me. The one good thing about my early twenties, was I did regularly work out and looking back, it showed. I looked more toned and not as bloated. I was fortunate to be working for a college that had a great gym and locker room, so I could workout in the morning and get ready there.

I really thought I needed to lose weight constantly after college, and I did, but looking back at these photos I look skinny to me. I guess I had to gain more to finally do something about it.

I moved to North Carolina after living in Baltimore for 4 years and it was the best decision I have ever made. I was closer to family, had a great job opportunity that taught me a ton and met my the love of my life. We met about a month after I had moved and we got pretty serious pretty fast. We just knew this was it. I didn't have the perfect body and he didn't have the perfect body. We were comfortable around each other and it worked! I would say I worked out 2-3 a week, and attempted to eat healthy. But we got into a bad fast-food rut and it showed. My job really stressed me out and my clothes started fitting me less and less. I definitely wasn't happy about how I looked, but I learned to hide my weight. I was too focused on my relationship and career, that my health wasn't a priority.

Since moving to Florida together we have focused more on our health and are fortunate enough to be outside 95% of the year here to encourage movement. I made the ultimate decision in May to make my health a priority. Looking at the photos below, I had that light-bulb moment, I was sick of feeling and looking like crap! Our upcoming wedding serves as a catalyst, but this is much bigger than looking thin at my wedding. Cancer, diabetes, and heart disease run in my family - and health and diet play a role in them. The more I can do to take care of myself now, the better!

My plan is to not share my actual weight on the blog. People (including me) get so focused on a number and not all the other factors. I constantly compared my height and weight to other women when reading their blogs and it's not healthy to compare! I remember reading a blog post last year and she was trying to lose weight post-baby. She wrote that 9 months pregnant, she weighed less than I currently do now and she was my height. It was just crushing... so I will not be doing that to anyone! I will instead be focusing on pounds lost and occasionally talk about my clothing sizes. Here are my goals below. I will keep updated this in the side bar as I make progress.

I think that is enough writing for one post!