Four Weeks of Workouts

Sorry I haven't posted about my workouts in quite a while. You probably thought I quit! Admit it, that's what you thought! :)

Well for once, it's not the case. I've now been going strong for 4 weeks. I haven't always met the 3x per week, but other times I've done 4, so it evens out. The important thing is I have kept it up consistently for 4 weeks now and I feel great about that. I also have firm plans to work out again tomorrow morning with my dad.

I already posted about week one of my workouts ... I don't know if I have the desire to post play-by-play of 3 more weeks LOL. But let me go over some of the things that have come up.

I have really enjoyed mixing up my workouts where I do 2-3 different things in each one hour session. It really helps me to keep it going.

My mile has not improved much on the track. My speed improved a bit during the first week but has pretty much stayed the same since then. My leg, foot, and back problems really affect my regular walking, and I think it's going to be that way for a while. But, every time I go I start out with my mile on the track, and I hope that eventually I will see improvement there. If I keep it up, it's bound to get better.

I noticed I was developing bad pain in my right knee and calf. I finally realized it was because of the track. See, the direction of the track changes based on the day of the week. M,W,F,Sun you go one way and Tu,Th,Sat you go the other way. Since we were going M W F, I was always going the same direction on the track. That's why I was getting pain in my right leg. So now we were alternating so that one week we go M W F and the next week we go Tu Th Sat. I think this will really help. This is the first week of going Tu Th Sat so we went yesterday and are going again tomorrow.

Also, I've really improved at the ARC trainer. I started with 15 minutes hill intervals, level 1. Now I do level 2 for 30 minutes, and yesterday I even upped the incline manually to the highest it would go, for about a minute 3 different times in the workout. So I'm doing really well with that.

The newest addition to my workouts is my Wii Fit! I got it for Christmas, but today was the first day I really tried it out. I had a lot of fun with it. There is so much to do on there and to see yourself improve at things. I also have the Jillian Michales game for it, but that will have to wait. I might try it out on Friday if I am so inclined.

I was SO happy about the Wii Fit NOT forcing me to look at my weight. It does weigh you, to give you your BMI - but you can choose whether or not to see the weight. It has a separate chart. Did I peek? YES. Hahaha. But the important thing is I can look at it only when I want to. I was afraid I'd be forced to look every time and start fixating on the number on the scale again, which is not the life I want to lead anymore.

Anyway I had a LOT of fun playing the games on there. Here's my cute little Mii character and my chart showing that I did training today:

Isn't that cute? A lot of the games were so cute. If you guys are interested I can take more screenshots and stuff the next time I play, just let me know if you are interested or not :)

So yeah, that's about it but I just wanted you guys to know I've been on top of this! Whoo hooo!

Cheesy Crock Pot Chicken

I just had to post this recipe because MMMMM - yum! Let me start off by saying it's not the healthiest, because I don't eat diet food anymore. LOL. But, with portion control this recipe isn't too bad. I added steamed broccoli pieces - a lot of them - on top at the end.  That tasted VERY good with it. Also, I served over egg noodles but you could do whole wheat pasta, brown rice, mashed potatoes... or, nothing! You could just eat the chicken! So there are definitely options. Pair with a salad if you want to eat less of the main dish. But it's so good...... haha.



Cheesy Crock Pot Chicken

Ingredients

   
• 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
   
• 2 (10 1/2 ounce) cans condensed cream of chicken soup
   
• 1 (10 1/2 ounce) can condensed cheddar cheese soup
   
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder (NOTE - I used a whole TABLEspoon.)
   
• salt and pepper (optional)

Directions

1. Place the chicken in the crock pot.

2. Mix the undiluted soups together with garlic powder and optional salt/pepper; pour over chicken.

(NOTE: I greased my crock pot and mixed the soups/garlic powder in there, THEN put in the chicken and stirred around to cover the chicken. The soups are so thick I figured I'd lose a lot of the sauce mixing it in a separate bowl.)

3. Cook on low 6 hours.

4. Serve with the delicious sauce over rice or noodles.

(NOTE: I used steam-in-the bag broccoli and cooked it while I made the noodles. It went fantastically with the meal, and I always like adding in veggies whenever possible.)
SO there's the recipe. It was a crowd-pleaser. And by crowd, I mean Ian. Haha. But I would definitely serve this the next time I have my friends over.

First Week A Success

Well, if I do say so myself, my first week of working out again has been a complete success. I've got the sore muscles and the extra energy to prove it :)

Brandy set up an awesome calendar for us to keep track of our workouts on, to help motivate one another. It's a google doc shared between us so we can both use it and both view it. I have never tracked my workouts this way before, and so far I'm really liking it. When I used to track what I did, all I cared about was minutes of exercise and calories burned. It was all about the weight loss. Now my priorities have changed. What I care about now is getting stronger, healthier, and being able to DO more. Well I have seen in just this one week a big improvement! Here are the days I worked out this week:


Monday 12/15:

9 laps track - 20 mins
15 mins Elliptical
Hills Level 1
15 mins ARC
Hills Intrvl Level 1
2 cooldown laps
TOTAL 55 mins

Wednesday 12/17:

1 mile track - 22mins
(11 laps)
20 mins ARC
Hill Intrvl Level 1
15 Mins Elliptical
Hills Level 1
TOTAL 57 mins

Thursday 12/18:

30 mins strength
training & stretches
15 mins treadmill
2.5-3.0 mph

Saturday 12/20:

1 mile track - 20 mins
(11 laps)
20 mins ARC
Hills Intrvl Level 1
20 mins TrueFit
Elliptical, Hills
TOTAL 60 mins

Firstly, I have to pat myself on the back for already doing a strength training day on Thursday. I wasn't going to even think about starting that until the week after Christmas. However, Ian and I had a talk that day and he was wanting to start getting some activity as well, so I went with him that night. I am STILL very very sore from the stuff I did that night! I did some things with hand weights that have me very sore, as well as doing squats with an exercise ball like this:




Let me tell ya.... OW. It huuurt. But surprisingly my legs aren't sore anymore, even despite working out again today, but my arms still are! I guess because I use them less than my legs on a daily basis.

What I am truly amazed and happy to see is that my cardio has made drastic improvement in only 3 sessions. My mile time went down from about 24 mins (have to guess as it was split up the first time because I couldn't COMPELTE the mile in one shot! ha!) to 22 minutes, to 20 minutes today. The first day I did 15 mins & 15 mins on Arc and Elliptical, then 20 & 15 the second time, and 20 & 20 today. I can only imagine where I will be in a month.

This is what it's all about... getting healthier and stronger. I feel so good about this and also I'm so happy that Ian is joining in. He went with my dad and I today, too!

Plus - I have to tell you how good this felt. When I got done today I walked out to the lobby and my dad and Ian were both sitting there, looking like they had been waiting quite a while... and they had! Like 15 minutes! It felt good to outwork the men :)

Much, MUCH Better

My workout today felt MUCH better than the one on Monday did! I can't believe what a drastic difference I felt on only my second time. My lungs feel a bit tired but they didn't hurt at all, whereas on Monday they really HURT. The pain in the instep of my left foot was MUCH less today as I walked around the track, and wasn't bothering me after the workout, whereas on Monday it hurt very badly the whole day.
Today I did 1 mile around the track in 22 mins... just slightly quicker than Monday but at least it's something. Then I did 20 minutes on the ARC trainer on hills intervals level 1. Then I did 15 minutes on the lifefitness elliptical, hills level 1. Finished off with a couple cooldown laps around the track and some stretching. It felt really good actually!!! I was tired, but I was able to push through it quite a bit easier than Monday. It gave me hope again, feeling like... in a month, how great will I feel??? That's what I care about!
I was talking to my dad about how in a couple of weeks I want to start using Tuesday and Thursday for strength & flexibility training at the other facility. He said he would like to try that out with me as well. That made me very happy, because I will have more accountability to go if he goes, and also because I'm happy he wants to take another step forward with his health and fitness!!!
I had lunch today with Melissa (sis in law) and if she gets offered the part time position she applied for, and we can work around her schedule, she said she'd like to do some of this working out with me too. That would be cool, but I'll try not to count on it, because that doesn't work out too well for me.
One good thing about my dad for accountability.... it's still really relying on myself. I feel more compelled to go because he's going, but he really doesn't say anything if I don't go. I could easily make an excuse and he would say nothing. So I am still learning to make the commitment on my OWN, which is something I need to do. I am done expecting someone else to nag me, urge me, whatever. I need to learn to make that commitment and follow through on it.
Anyway... I am happy to feel such an improvement today. I've been super busy today and have actually had a lot of energy to carry me through the day, which feels really good too!

Back to the Gym

I finally made it to the gym today. I am barely hanging on by a thread to the whole working out thing. I think it's been like 2 weeks since I last went. True, I had to wait for my heel to get better. It still hurts to the touch and hurts to have my sneaker against it, but I am using corn cushions with bandaids over them to cushion it, and with that I was able to make it today.

On one hand, I feel great about my workout today. I walked 20 minutes on the track, did 15 minutes on the elliptical (hill mode), and 15 minutes on the arc trainer (hill intervals), and then a couple more laps around the track to cool down. Nearly an hour altogether which is good for not exercising regularly. I remembered today how much I love that dang arc trainer!

On the other hand though, I couldn't help feeling a bit down about how much my fitness level has changed. Just a couple months ago when I was working out with Brandy I could do a lot more. And when I think back to the days when I was near my lowest weight, in the 240's, I could pretty much kick ass at the gym. Nowhere near my ultimate fitness goals, but compared to today, a very drastic change.

I am sad to say that in the 20 minutes I was on the track, I did 9 laps. That's 2 laps short of a mile. In 20 minutes I didn't even make it a mile. And I was going as fast as I could!!!! That was disappointing to me as I could easily walk 3 miles in 40 minutes before. I also had a pretty hard time on the machines. Everything I do now is riddled with aches and pains, and affected by a smaller lung capacity.

I can't let this give me a negative attitude because there is no room for that. What I did today is a step toward making this BETTER, so I feel very good about that.

Brandy and I had a talk this morning about how our plan of working out together really hasn't been... well... working out! Haha. Her life is much more complicated than mine since she works and has two kids to take care of. It is hard for her to control when things happen and make it there at appointed times. And I have a tendency to rely on these plans and then when they don't happen, I don't go on my own. Part of that is because we plan to work out at 3 or 4 pm, when my energy is lower anyway, and it's too easy to just feel too tired. The other part is I will take any excuse. Ha.

So for now Brandy and I are going to support one another in separate workout efforts... we're trying to set up a google document we can share, like a spreadsheet, to track our workouts, make goals, and keep one another accountable. And maybe in the future we can try working out together again, when we are stronger about sticking to it on our own if plans change.

For now I am going to commit to working out with my dad 3 days per week. Since he's done with his cardio rehab and is on his own, he is sticking to his schedule of 3 days per week, an hour each. It's already a habit for him since he's been doing the rehab since August. He likes to go in the morning, 9-10am, which works much better for me because that is when I have energy and that is when I like to do it and get it out of the way for the day.

I plan to do these 3 days a week with him this week and through christmas next week, and then starting the week after that I would like to add in two days a week of strength & flexibility training. I think I've mentioned this before, but the swim & fitness center near my house has an awesome room for this. They turned one of their raquetball courts into a room just for strength & flexibility stuff. In case I've never posted pics before, here they are:

So anyway, the hope is that by the beginning of January, I'll be working out 5 days a week - 3 cardio, 2 strength training days. Of course the timing sucks as that will be in the midst of all the new years resolutionists, and the gym will be really crowded all the time for a month or two. Oh well. I'll deal. :)

As for Ian... he is on his own. Again, the plan to work out when he gets home is hard for me to stick with because if he says he doesn't feel like it, there's no way I'm doing it on my own at 7pm. Therefore anytime he doesn't do it, I don't do it. He is just going to have to make his own decision to get active. I hope that if he sees me making progress and hears me talking about it all the time, he'll make the effort. I believe in him :)

I'm just tired of sitting around making excuses... time for me to make this happen and start FEELING better!

Wow... Accomplishments!

First things first - Ian is home!!! Yay I am so happy. Four days without him was sad and lonely.

I have been SO freaking busy while he was gone. You know everything I said I was going to do - well - I did ALL of it. For once I got off my lazy butt and accomplished a LOT of stuff around our house.

- Cleared out the 2nd bedroom of all my junk, got rid of some things, and stored things neatly in the basement bedroom.

- Cleared away 5-6 boxes of stuff that have perpetually been hanging around our dining room for months and months. This incliuded clearing out a kitchen cabinet to make space for my collection of mugs, and putting a bunch of stuff downstairs for ebay.

- Made several trips to Goodwill with a ton of boxes Ian had downstairs that he pulled out of that extra bedroom to make space for me. Also took most of the huge "trash" pile from that some project out on trash day.

- Finally cleared off all of our dressers and furniture in the bedroom, that had a ton of random stuff on top of them that had been there since we began painting our bathroom quite a while ago.

- Did a ton of laundry, because I found so many clothes buried under stuff in the room as I cleared it out.

- Cleared out and organized my entire closet. Donated some stuff, separated out some too-small stuff that I wanted to keep for later, got my shoes organized and all my drawers too. Even organized my tops a tiny bit, they were a complete jumble. Check it out, all spiffy:







Whew, that felt good. Not to mention you can now see the FLOOR in that room. We just need to get rid of all the furniture now, and Ian needs to go through his stuff that was in there.

So yeah - I feel very accomplished. I am now doing laundry AGAIN since Ian is home and he has off today. We also hope to get that furniture out of that room this weekend. AND tomorrow our dining room table is getting delivered! That should be fun.

One thing that kinda sucks is I slipped on some ice on Wednesday night. I didn't fall, but oh man did I pull some muscles!!!!!

I was heading to Cori's apartment - Kellie and I were both going there for dinner. I had my arms FULL of stuff that I'd been meaning to bring to each of them for a while... both of their bridesmaid dresses, a bag full of paper scraps for Cori, some scrapbook prints for Kellie, a scrapbook organizer for Kellie, a 2-liter soda I was bringing to have with dinner, and my purse. So my arms were full and out in front of me and I couldn't really see below me. I am still wearing Crocs because of hurting my heel, and they have no traction at all. So I didn't see this huge ice patch and I slipped SO fast and hard. I did the splits practically, but SOMEHOW managed to save myself from falling. As soon as I got upstairs I called Kellie to warn her, since I knew she would only be a few minutes behind me. I thought I was fine.

Well, I'm not fine. I pulled like 80 muscles. I didn't even know until halfway through yesterday my left ankle and left hip started hurting. It got worse and worse through the day. I thought it was just from all the work I have been doing around the house. But when Ian got home and I told him the story, while re-enacting it... it was a light bulb moment. OH THAT IS WHY THIS ALL HURTS!!!! I could feel it pulling when I acted it out. Well I barely slept last night because everything was aching so bad (even though I took medicine)... and through the night new things kept starting to hurt. Today my arches of my feet, ankles, calves, hips, middle lower back, middle upper back, biceps,and shoulders ALL HURT! I mean holy cow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I must have so quickly and severely tensed up all my muscles to keep from falling, that now everything is sore. Of course I am grateful that I was not flat on my face on the pavement with my stuff everywhere. In my mind I saw that happening, LOL... amazing how quickly we can imagine something. So at least I'm not all cut up and bruised. And I know in a day or two my muscles will calm down... but WOW. Especially my hip area, that is the worst part. I am so totally drugged up and it's barely making a dent in any of the pain!

Anyway sorry I haven't been blogging, but that is why. I've been soooo busy. Today and this weekend will probably follow suit, but I'll see if I have time for any more blogging.

I'm getting a new blog theme for my blog soon - made by one of my favorite digital scrapbook designers, Shabby Miss Jenn. I have made some customizations to it, but I need a professional to install it for me because wordpress is harder than blogger to customize. She has to make the whole theme and then I can put it up. I am so excited about it though because it's fun colors and will look like a scrapbook!!!!! Hopefully next week I'll be able to reveal it :)

Also - I am so excited about this cute thing on Etsy... this girl makes customized felt pictures of your house, with whatever details you want like trees, flowers, pets, etc. How cute would that be!!!!



Click the photo if you want to be taken to the Etsy page and see it. It's $55 so kind of pricey but I think it's so cute and unique. It would make a nice keepsake since the house we live in now is both Ian's first home, and our first home together. I thought it would be cute if we had her put a little black cat in the window with a little pink heart, just like Phoebe :) We'd have our last name at the top, but where this example shows est. 2003, I think we'd put our house number.

Ok I have babbled on enough. :)

Exercise & Lunch

I worked out yesterday, finally! Yeah! I was feeling pretty sick to my stomach all morning, so I really had to push myself to go. Now that my dad has finished rehab which was 1 hour of exercise 3 times per week, he has to do it on his own, so we went together yesterday. I was a little concerned that he only did 35 minutes when he has been doing an hour every time. He said he was being cautious since it was his first time. But I argued, you've been doing 1 hour 3x per week for 3 months! But I guess he was a little worried since he's no longer hooked up to electrodes that monitor him and he wanted to make sure he didn't push too hard. That's fine but I hope it's not an excuse. He is doing so well and I want him to stay that way, nice and healthy.

Of course I don't have much room to talk because I am nothing but a bucket of excuses myself. Yesterday although I felt sick, I did go. I walked around the track for 15 mins and my back and feet were screaming at me so then I got on the arc trainer and did 20 minutes there. So 35 mins total, but, I was proud of that. Even with the fact that the rubber part of one of my earphones came off and it hurt my ear.
Today, though, despite waking up and saying "no excuses", I didn't go. I do HAVE an excuse, of course. Last night I only got 2 1/2 hours of sleep. Ian is still sick and for some reason last night he was louder than any other night during his illness... if he was slightly awake, he was coughing loudly almost continuously. When asleep he was either snoring very loudly or making these very upset/sad-sounding moans and groans. There was seriously not a moment of silence. So I did not get any sleep until he got up at 7:30 am and then I slept until 10:00am. Normally I would have slept longer, but I had plans to get together with my soon to be sister-in-law for lunch at 11:30 so I had to get going to that. Lunch with her was great by the way and I'll get back to that in just a moment.

The whole reason for an early lunch at 11:30 is that all day I was planning to work out with Brandy and/or my dad at 3:15. But when she had to cancel, even though I could have gone with my dad, I bailed. I was just feeling SO very tired. And I knew I couldn't just relax all night because I told Kellie I would come over to her place (where I am now) and be here for moral support while she bangs her head against the wall working on a school project :)

Anyway, I am disappointed in myself for skipping today but at the same time, Intuitive Eating tells me that I shouldn't push my body when I honestly don't have the energy. And I would like to think that was the case today. I am planning to go tomorrow and Friday as well. We shall see.

Now about that lunch with Melissa. We had a very nice time!!! I was a little bit nervous because we have never spent any time together one-on-one before. We have always gotten along well at family functions... we have occasionally talked on the phone when her and Ian were already talking...and we have kept in touch through email while she was living in Arizona. But we haven't had the opportunity to do anything together or just sit and talk. I was feeling nervous because I so badly want this to work out. She is kind of my only chance to have a sibling.
Well, I had nothing to worry about :) I didn't feel awkward at all. She hugged me when she arrived which surprised me because I was already sitting at the table and she hugged me while I was sitting, so she really went out of her way for that one. We had a lot to talk about which was nice, and afterward talked about getting together soon for a coffee at Starbucks since it's been so cold, or maybe seeing a movie soon.

In other news, I've had a couple of good talks with my best friend Sarah in the past week. I really hadn't heard from her much for 2 weeks after my visit out to see her... she had been feeling down and had a lot on her plate. I am glad she's doing better now and that we've had a couple of very nice talks. I love her to pieces!!!!! And I hope she moves back here someday.