Yesterday and Today

SUCCESS!!! I can't believe it. I put on my music and ran for 30 solid minutes yesterday! I got over 2.5 miles on the treadmill! I burned over 500 calories!

Finally I feel that I can accomplish these goals that I have set.

Tonight I'm planning on doing it again!

I can't wait...to exercise. Can you believe that!

Here's to 2009 being the best that it can be!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Christmas has come and gone (and it was a wonderful holiday :D) and now it is finally time to get back on track. I've taken some time off, but if I want to meet my goals for the summer I really need to get back into my routine.

Thank you to Laura, whose blog has helped me realize that I shouldn't give up just because I took an extended break from my work outs. Thank you Laura, sincerely.

Anyway, today is the day I start anew. I plan to run for 30 minutes (with a good episode of Pushing Daisies on in order to distract me). After that I will complete my crunch workout. Hopefully all goes well, and depending on how my run goes (treadmill), I'll determine how much I plan to jog in the coming days.

Thank you all for supporting me. I hope your holidays were as wonderful as mine. For anyone on the same adventure as me: KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK! WE CAN DO THIS TOGETHER!

Thank you all. Have a happy New Year!

Starting Again

Thank you all for being so patient. Finals week is over and now I am finally going to find time to get back on track. Though I'm probably back to square one, the fact that I'm ready to continue is truly a good sign of progress.

Here's to hoping that I'll get back on that wagon and start trucking toward the goal.

Thanks for the support!

Day Off

Finals week...I'm going crazy. I'm taking time off even though I shouldn't.

I'll start my workouts up again later this week.

It's cruch time (no pun intended :D)

Please keep up and keep me motivated!

Thanks everyone!

Another Good Day!!!

So today I got up early to work, and right after work I went to the gym. Today, for something new, I went and worked on weight machines for about 15 - 20 minutes. It was actually fun! I'm a little self-conscious going in there alone, but hopefully I'll have the courage to keep up with it!

Then I went and did my cruch routine. It was a success. I think I'll need to start pushing myself to do a little more than what I'm currently doing.

I decided not to run today. Instead, I slowly rode one of the bikes - slowly, because I was studying notecards (it's finals week and all).

But overall a good day!

I feel like I'm making headway!

Thanks to everyone out there who's supporting me (especially Laura :D)

Average Day

Today was...well...an average day. I didn't stick with my eating plan, but I didn't eat anything in gross portions, so I consider it a success.

At the gym I ran half a mile and then did 20 minutes on the bike. I finished off my doing my cruch work. I'm still not enjoying myself, but I do feel like I'm getting into a routine and that is good.

Tomorrow is an off day, but I'll still do my cruch work.

Sunday...drumroll please...I'm supposed to run three miles, but I'll be happy to accomplish the 2.5 that I missed last week.

:D Enjoy the adventure!

Thank you!

I just wanted to say thank you: to anyone who follows this, and to myself, for finally decided that it's time to do something about my life.

A Semi-Good Day

So, I went to the gym. I decided to run a half mile...and GET THIS...I ran an entire mile! I felt great.

Then I went and did my sit-up routine. I was technically five shy, but I felt the burn and I'm proud of that too.

Then I moved over and did 25 minutes on the cardio bike. An accomplishment for me.

The only downer today was that there was a dorm pizza party. I ate four pieces and two cookies. Oops! But tomorrow will be an even better day and I'm glad that I feel like I'm finally getting into the swing of things.

Tomorrow's goal: Run 20 minutes (fingers crossed!) and cruch routine.

Tomorrow' food goal: 8:30 breakfast bar or oatmeal, 11:30 sandwhich, 2:30 crackers, 5:30 turkey sandwhich (leftovers), and 8:00 chex mix snack. (Not the healthiest I know, but I'm hoping that after Christmas Break I'll have some healthier food to choose from.)

Here's to hoping tomorrow is an even better day!

Optimistically....2 for 3

So today was the day. Weigh-in One. I've been "active" on this adventure for 7 days now. Goals for today were this:

1. Since I slacked off yesterday, I wanted to run a mile even though I was supposed to take the day off.
2. I wanted to finish my entire sit-up routine.
3. I wanted to lose weight.

Well...if you have guessed, I went 2 for 3.

I weighed myself upon arrival, and the scale slapped me in the face with 201.2 pounds.

Furious, I went up and ran a mile to help myself vent. (there's one accomplishment) It was still difficult, but I did it. Then I did my sit-up routing (25 sit-ups, 25 alternate heel touches and 30 seconds body plank). Yay for accomplishment two.

To make sure the scale wasn't just on the fritz (and to calm my angry soul) I weighed myself again post-work out. This time the scale read 200.4. Therefore, I'm going to take the average and assume that I currently weigh 200.8 pounds. This is wearing running shoes, shots and a T-shirt.

Therefore, I did not accomplish goal three. Hopefully next week will go better.

To try and make a little more progress I'm going to attemp a six-small-meal day diet, with at the very least 30 minutes of activity per day. I'm also going to plan out what I hope to eat the night before, because I seem to make more progress when I follow a plan.

Tomorrow's goal: 30 minutes cardio, oblique work, cruches


Wish me luck (again)!

Ouch!

So how long do you have to be on the wagon before you can fall off? Why do I ask? Because my ass hurts from hitting the pavement pretty hard today.

I wanted to run 30 minutes and do my sit up work out. I ran for 6...that's right....SIX minutes before I gave up. I then did 25...that's right TWENTY FIVE out of my 75 count sit-up routine. To make up for this I told myself I'd go lift weights. I got to the weight room and decided I didn't feel like and I changed and went home. To make matters worse, I just ate a big meal from a take out Chinese restaurant at 7:30 at night.

I can't explain how guilty I feel. That's not an excuse - but I think it is a step in the right direction.

Tomorrow is supposed to be my rest day, but I'm going to try and go for a light jog and do my FULL cruch routine.

Other news about tomorrow? It's my first weigh-in day. I'm worried about what the results will show, but if I did happen to go up, I will use that to push myself into a great week this week.

Stay posted, I'm going to go put another ice pack on my ass.

And again

I never realized how out of shape I was until I decided to get in shape...

Holy crap. Who knew it could be so hard to run for 30 minutes? Who knew it could be so difficult to do 50 sit ups? Well, now I know. On the bright side, my pathetic performance tonight has given me even more motivation to succeed. The first weigh-in is on Wednesday and I've decided either way (higher, lower, or no change at all) I am going to use that number to my advantage (more to come on that topic Wednesday).

Anyway, tonight I ran for approximately 12 minutes (ie: basically what I did yesterday) before stopping. I then continued a walking pace for about 5 more minutes. Ran another lap, decided I wasn't going to do anymore of that, and went on the bike for 10 minutes. After burning 125 calories on the bike (according to its read) I went and tried my sit up routine. As you can deduce from the intro paragraph, it didn't go so well.

It took much longer than I wanted to, and I had to break down the 25 sets into smaller sets after the first 25.

Anyway, I'm not one to be a Debbie Downer, so, like I said, tomorrow is another day and I plan on heading on.

Tomorrow: Run 30 (I hope :D) and 25x3 leg pull ins.

Day One (but really 5)

So I technically started this "adventure" on Wednesday. The plan I found, and decided to stick to, had me working out over the week with the goal of being able to run 2.5 miles by...today.

I started off slow, because I was supposed to start on Monday, but ended up waiting two days. Therefore, you might be able to guess that I was unable to run 2.5 miles today.

When I finally stopped about half way through my goal run, I got pretty down on myself. I felt bad that I was unable to finish the run I wanted to. But then I snapped out of it and realized that I have been doing this for less than a week.

When I started, I had to push myself to even get to half a mile. Today I more than doubled that. That's progress!

I went to do my abdominal work out, and a guy was doing one next to me. When he came up to where I was, he was breathing very heavily. He sort of collapsed to the floor and immediately began his sit up routine. This is my goal. I realized at that moment that maybe I had not pushed myself hard enough to finish my run. I wasn't nearly as exhausted as this guy was when I finished. Now, I'm not naive. I realize that he has probably been working out much longer than I have - but still, it is something to work toward.

So overall, even though I was a little disappointed with my progress today, I am not going to let it discourage me. I realize that I have only been at this since Wednesday and the transition will be slow.

Tomorrow's goal: 30 minutes running/cardio, 25x3 cruch work out

Wish me luck!

And so it begins...

I'm hoping some people begin following this blog. I know I can't be the only one out there right now going through this. I figure, to pass the time, I'll get into a little more detail:

I used to run in my spare time, but now I'm completely out of shape. I'm in a serious relationship, and of course my girlfriend tells me she loves me just as I am - and I believe her 100%. I've never been consumed by my appearance, but I've decided that for myself, and for my future children and grandchildren, I'd like to get in shape.

My plan, to accomplish the goals above, is this:

1. Do some form of extended cardio exercise 3-4 times a week.
2. Do some form of abdominal work out 3-4 times a week.
3. Eat healthier
4. Enjoy myself while I do it!

I know that this may not seem particularly interesting right now, but imagine how great this adventure could be if we got some folks together and we all worked together to turn our lives around! I know I can't be the only one out there who would like to lose some extra weight and get in shape. Please, take the time to join this blog and together we can all make a difference!

So here is the adventure...

The Healthy Lifestyle Adventure - give me a break, I thought of it in about 3 seconds, but that's what I'm calling this.

I'm in college. The freshman 15 has greeted me. It's right before the holiday season (ie: more is to come). I've decided that today I am starting a new healthy lifestyle.

Here's the catch: I've made this 'decision' numerous times in the past. I've always been slightly overweight, but I've never kept up my end of the bargain; hence, I'm still slightly overweight today.

According to the health websites, my goal weight is somewhere around 165. I'm 200. I've never been one to care about the number on the scale. My goals are these:

1. I want to look good.
2. I want to be physically fit (able to run long distance, stay active for more than 5 minutes, etc)
3. I'd like to get more muscular

It's as simple as that. I don't care if I weigh 150 or 250, those are my goals.

So, the aforementioned "adventure." Today is the day that I begin. I'm going to start exercising regularly, eating healthier (or at least attempting to) and all-around changing my lifestyle.

Wish me luck!