Okay, girls, this is it. I'm finally committed to a schedule and program. My brother-in-law Jon ordered the P90X Extreme Home Fitness Kit, and I am pretty impressed. He's going full steam ahead with the exercise portion of the program, (which is too intense for me), and I'm going with the nutrition plan! It is simple enough and has plenty of food suggestions that seem to be a good fit for me, so here goes! The main thing I like about it is that it is well-balanced with the food groups. It has three phases, and I'm starting with Phase One, Level One, which means my Food Plan is 50% protein, 30% carbohydrates, and 20% fats for 1,800 calories daily. It's broken up into servings and focuses heavily on portion control. 1,600 calories are 5 servings protein, 2 servings dairy, 1 serving fruit, 2 servings vegetables, 1 serving fats, 1 serving carbs, and 3 servings snacks (which will be fruits/veggies to get my 5 a day), and 1 serving condiment. Then I figure the extra 200 calories are a buffer or can be a healthy snack if I'm hungry. Whew!
My exercise plan is custom to what I actually enjoy doing and what fits my schedule. Since I don't work Tues/Thurs/Sat, those are the mornings I will take my 3 mile run through the neighborhood, followed by strength training exercises. Mon/Wed/Fri I work in the morning, so it's getting too hot to run outdoors by the time I'm ready to workout. So those days I will do a workout video in my living room during Emily's nap. Total: 6 days of exercise, at least 1 hour long! Can you believe I'm actually excited?!
I have discovered that I enjoy working out at home since my only audience is Emily. Cheryl got me hooked on Pilates a few years back with the Pick Your Spot Pilates DVD above. I borrowed the 10 Minute Solution from the library, and liked it enough to order it from Amazon (it's en route!)
I heard good things about the Jillian Michaels (from The Biggest Loser) workout DVDs, so I also ordered 30 Day Shred, since it's based on the 3-2-1 method: 3 mins strength, 2 mins cardio, 1 min abs.
No More Trouble Zones came in for me today at the library, so I'm trying this one out until my order arrives! I'll be sure to post reviews of my new workout videos :)
Yesterday I had a mini-breakdown of discouragement because I replaced the battery in my scale and discovered that I've gained 10 pounds since becoming consistent with my exercise. Crap! My eating habits have been self-defeating, and now I am more motivated than ever to see results. I feel like I'm moving to the next level by adding strength training to build muscle and increase my metabolism (which I suspect is low- I'm making an appointment to get it tested). I bought a couple of 2 pound weights that were on sale at Target, so I'm all ready to go!
Wish me luck! Actually, pray for me. I think that's the only thing that will make sure I stick with it and stay motivated! :) And thanks for all your inspiring experiences and advice! You guys rock!
2 comments:
I totally get your discouragement Heidi. I struggle with the same self-defeating food choices and beat myself up over it. The important thing is to not give in and let it ruin the rest of the day or evening. Tomorrow is a new day, to make better decisions! Also, it is a fact that us overweight/obese people can lose a few pounds relatively quickly to start because we are gung ho and cutting out all the crappy food we eat. It's nice to see immediate results on the scale. However, I am at a stalemate and actually have seen the scale go up in the past week, despite my best efforts. It's important to realize that all those runs are building beautiful muscle! And that muscle weighs more than fat, and in the end, having more muscle will burn more fat and calories!! So don't be disheartened my dear. You are definitely NOT alone and the few pound flux on the scale isn't worth stressing over. I swear to you, I still don't see ANY change in my body, but again, have dropped 3 jeans sizes??!! It WILL work and you CAN do it!! YOu are amazing...and always ALWAYS feel free to call me if you are having a low day or outstanding temptation to eat chocolate...it would help me too! : )
Hi-dee! Just go by the way you r clothes fit. Also, the diet is going to change things a lot. Something to go by that Jillian Michaels has said is that 80% of losing weight has to do with diet and 20% is the exercise. I'm so proud of your 3 mile feat! The first 2 weeks I actually changed our food plan I lost 6 pounds. I haven't secured much more weight loss than that but with the whole muscle weight/fat weight thing.. I don't care much. But my clothes are fitting a lot better, 2 sizes smaller!! Yeah!! You got this in the bag!
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