Today I have five days left to my 30 day fitness challenge. This was a lot more difficult than I expected for no other reason to try and do this every single day for 30 days. There were a couple days where I did not do the exercises, I won't deny. One day was a Saturday & I had been up since 0400 to be at work by 0600. It was a long day, I was exhausted when I got done with work and I woke up the next day realizing I had forgotten.
I am quite excited and proud to be able to say yesterday I pushed myself to jump from a 70 second plank to a 90 second plank. It seemed last nights plank was easier than this mornings, however, I still wanted to be able to do it.
With just five days left I have increased the reps and time on every exercise I am doing. My squats are up to 3 reps of 60, wall sit is up to 65 seconds, all the "sit ups": bikini twist, bikini crunch are up to 40 reps. I have found I have gone from struggling to do a 'lean back' for 45 seconds to leaning back with ease for 60 seconds.
Another exciting part of this process is seeing the change in my legs. I have been on and off the treadmill since January. How thrilled I was to feel and see the beginning stages of muscle definition coming through. Although, I have not "seen" the physical difference from all these exercises, I have felt it. Where I have seen it is the ease that has transitioned to doing most of these exercises. I can do the reps more easily and feel a challenge as I add on more reps or time.
The next step is over the next five days to pick out new and different exercises for my next 30 day challenge The biggest change to the next month of exercises is I won't be doing them every single day. These past 30 days was simply to give myself a boost and a much needed push to get focused on getting in shape. The next challenge I will alternate between five or six days in a row. Some exercises I will transition into the next challenge, and more than likely these are exercises which will continue with me once this four months of challenges are over.
Now to pay more attention to focusing on the weight loss part of this entire process I am writing down everything I eat. EVERYTHING! This isn't easy to be so focused on what one puts in their mouth. One item I was going to have as a snack, I sent a pic of it to my best friend for her thoughts on it before I ate it. Her response was, "That is something very heavily processed". I put the item back in the kitchen at work and decided not to eat it. Being conscious of what I eat is something I really want to do. I am not out to be 100% organic, but I do want to eat cleaner and healthier. Most certainly I want to be conscious of what I am eating and how it affects my body. Where I am not one who will ever be a size 6, and I am perfectly at peace with that fact, I do want to strive for good health. I won't be cutting out everything I like or enjoy, but moderation is coming into full affect. Beer is one of my most favorite things, but it is something I am slowly cutting back on more and more. At least once a day I am trying to eat a salad. I do try to bring my lunch to work with me every day, and that lunch I try to make a salad to bring along. I have backed off a lot from fast food, and that process has been interesting. I am reaching a point where now I will get sick when I eat at certain fast food places. Those where I can eat I need to be very selective with what I choose for my meal. As much as I love Chinese, the last couple times I had Chinese food, the end results were not good. With that being somewhat eliminated I redirect myself to Thai food, which is absolutely scrumptious!!
I know what my end goal is for my weight. I also have an expectation for what I want and hope to look like when I reach these fitness and health goals. I'm not sure if trying to lose 26 lbs over the next six months is realistic, but I am going to do my best and give it my all. I realize "26 lbs" may seem odd, but I'm not your average gal and I thought to myself, instead of doing 20 or 25 lbs, why not push that typical number to one pound more and see what I can do. Right now I am struggling with these two pounds I keep dropping and regaining. Which is why I have begun to write down every single thing I eat. I am hoping if I begin to track my food consumption maybe I can find the culprit which is keeping me from a quicker drop in weight. Even with the muscle gain, I feel I should be losing fat. Now I have a new work schedule and routine and I will be going to the gym Monday - Friday before work. I will be working out five days a week hitting the treadmill and weights. Maybe the regular routine and the extra day or two of working out will help with stepping up on the weight loss.
If you have a goal, whether weight loss, to read more, eat better or whatever it may be that you want to accomplish the first step is deciding to do it. The second step is dedicating the time to do it. Be Nike and "just do it", that is the biggest aspect to accomplishing any goal is just making yourself do it. Before you know it you will have five days left to your first 30 days.
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