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?

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?

Progress [six weeks]

So let's just start this off by saying this is a no judgement zone. I've seen blog post comments and people can be nasty! There is only room for positive encouragement here :)

I dread posting these pictures and haven't shared my new blog with many people I know yet. I'll work up to that! Everyone has to start somewhere, so here is where I am starting. This is pretty much the biggest I have ever been and I think the best word to describe me here is "soft":

It's hard to know how much to weight and measure yourself. Sometime it is bad to obsess over it. I decided to take progress pictures about 6 weeks into tracking my food intake and regularly working out. I felt it was time, because my clothes were starting to fit a lot better (isn't that the best feeling?).

It doesn't look like much change at a quick glance, but I knew my clothes were fitting better. I took some measurements to verify and my waist is more defined and my stomach isn't as bloated. I still have a long way to go, but I think it will be amazing to look back 6 months from now at these photos!

I also starting doing a squat challenge that Marionberry Fitness hosted (I didn't finish it sadly, so I need to start again) and it suggested taking before and after photos of your a$$ to see your progress. I naturally will NOT be posting those here, but it brings up a good point. If you are going to focus on an area, it's not a bad idea to take before and afters of that specific area.

Do you take photos to track your progress? Thoughts? Leave some comments and let's get a conversation going!