a quickie

Tonight I jogged for 20 out of my 30 minutes on the treadmill.

I didn't do any intervals under 3 minutes (which are starting to feel "easy-ish") and none over 5 minutes (still a challenge, but I think I can go 6 next time).

Next scheduled cardio is Wednesday.  But if I want to walk tomorrow, I will not deny myself.  :)

What got me through today's workout?  Thinking about my trip to New Orleans in June and how awesome I want to look!!

back in the game!

After a week of no exercise and only some food tracking, I am BACK!  I totally blame last week on post-holidays January slump.  That plus all the snow made it hard to get out of bed, much less do anything else.

Anyhoo, today I had to work for 3 hours, and then went straight to the gym.  I did a total of 45 minutes on the treadmill, 2.56 miles.  My average pace was 3.4 mph.  Please don't laugh.  With my short legs, I'm happy to walk 3.0 mph!  :)  Plus I burned nearly 400 calories, and jogged a total of 12 minutes in 2 and 3 minute intervals.

Did I mention Weight Watchers here?  I can't remember.  Sadly, due to a nasty electric bill, I can't go anymore this month.  I'm going to attempt to get back into it next month (depending on bills, sigh).  However, I know how to do the tracking, and I've been doing it anyway.  I weighed myself this morning, and will record my weight every Monday morning.  My short-term in-sight goal is to get to 250 (13.6 pounds away).  To reward myself I'm going to buy a Nike+ gadget to make my walks/jogs outside much easier to track.

After all, I'm going to have to get used to exercising outside to do that half-marathon in November!

snow day!

Today I had a snow day.  It's the first official one I've had in many years (I took an "ice day"...only 4 hours annual leave...last month). 

My first thought?  Well, after being tickled about not going to work?  Damn, I'm going to miss my workout at the gym.  Now that is a different mindset, let me tell you. 

But then the day went on.  I knitted.  I napped with the kitties.  I could have done all sorts of working out with the Biggest Loser Challenge on the Wii (and it *is* a challenge!).  So why didn't I?  I guess old habits are hard to break. 

If I'm going to be ready to meet the challenge of that half marathon, I have to get more active.

If I want to meet my goal of getting under 200, I have to get more active.

a new adventure

Hi!  Remember me?  The girl who forgets to blog??

I put a bookmark to my blogger dashboard where I will see it on a regular basis, and I hope that helps with my consistency problem here.

(And thank you, Beth, for the gentle nudge today!)

My new adventure??  I'm going to do a half-marathon this year.  For reals.

I keep telling myself that as my weight goes down, running (and fast walking!) will get easier.  That just makes sense.  So far I've worked out 3 days this week, a personal best in a long long time.  And I plan to work out at least two more times this week.  :)

It's just about bedtime now, so I will have to do more writing with actual specific things soon.  Perhaps tomorrow night.  

Consistency

Wow, I managed to go over a month without a blog post.  If I'm going to keep this up, I really need to keep writing!

I've been thinking a lot about consistency lately and how I don't practice it on a regular basis.  Put simply, I suck at it, and I need to work on that.  

I'm doing a little experiment with myself this week: I'm taking care of my nails.  As in, they are polished with a clear coat, all the same length, and are filed daily.  I'm using lotion and cuticle oil.  I started this on Sunday night, and now (Tuesday morning), they still look awesome.  I'm proving to myself that it takes just a few minutes and tiny bit of effort to see results.

So...next I need to get consistent with working out and eating well.  Doing these things just part of the time when I feel like it is not getting me the results I want...the results I need to be healthy.

(Side note: I did lose a pound over Thanksgiving weekend, so that is something good!!)

back to the blog

Amazing how I can forget to blog.  It's just not a habit yet.  Perhaps one day it will be a habit, like picking water over soda.

This month in summary:

1) I've pretty much given up soda.  In that I've had one 8-ounce glass bottle of Coke since October 9.  I had it yesterday and it tasted fantastic.  My rule is that I can have no more than one soda per week.  For me, it's pretty huge that I'm able to stick with this so far.

2) I've gotten to the point where I can jog for six minutes straight.  :)  Tomorrow I might just go for 7-8 minutes.

3) I put away my scale because I've decided that I know how I need to eat (and how much) and know I need to exercise.  I want to weigh in no more than twice a month.  I really need to focus on health and not on a number.  I need to trust the process.

Next month?  I want to be able to jog 12+ minutes.  Ultimately, I want to be able to go 30 minutes straight by Christmas.  Then I can work on my speed.

Also, I am a big believer in enjoying the holiDAYs.  As in, for Thanksgiving, I'll eat my mashed potatoes and gooey pumpkin dessert* without guilt.  Because I know it's just one meal on one day, not the start of a free-for-all until January 1.

*My stepmom makes this instead of pumpkin pie.  I can't tell you what's in it, as I opted to not get the recipe from her.  I knew I would eat it constantly if I did!

So far, so good

For once, the weekend wasn't a total wash.  Besides getting some much needed rest, I managed to get my apartment clean & mostly in order, ate reasonably well, and even got in a couple of workouts.

On Friday after work I did go to the gym like I said I would.  I did intervals on the treadmill for 30 minutes, followed by stretching.  Five minutes walking for a warm up, then 2 minutes jogging, 3 minutes walking for the rest of the time.  When I say "jogging" I mean sloooooow jogging.  On Friday I walked at 3.1 mph and jogged at 3.7 mph.  I feel there is no shame in slow jogging.  It gives me that wonderful dose of endorphins, and I want to keep on jogging!

Today (Sunday) I did my yoga DVD for the first time in ages.  It's a relaxing, stretchy yoga that I adore.  Really, I love it, I just haven't felt motivated to do it in a long time.  

It's good to be active again.  I've already made a plan for my week ahead in terms of food & exercise, so I'm ready to go!