Fitness can be fun!

ive made a livejournal to track my progress... add me if you want to catch up and see how many weights i lift : )

oprahsfitclub

i think this is the best way only because i can look back and see all my progress in one place. i also posted nearly naked "fat pictures" taken the day before i joined the gym, and recent pictures (last week) to show the progress. 

i will be posting updated pictures in a week or so (maybe pictures every two weeks) 

im back to doing the elliptical everyday and noticing the biggest change from it. also lifting weights every other day without excuses. and doing 50 situps almost everyday. as my "cooldown" haha.

ive also given up eating at restaurants for lent and we are eating a ton of chicken and veggies. getting into the habit of filling up on protein instead of the rice, or breads which we used to do. also we are eating chicken for lunch almost every day now too. that helps a lot. lots of nuts for snacks and green tea in the afternoon. 

still all whole grains (we even made a whole grain pizza the other night!).

still drinking, but im pretty much only drinking budlight (which i drank before too, but would sometimes have white ales or guinness). and i pretty much drink every day, but no more than two drinks, and usually only one. also drinking a lot of water still. about two pints per day (or more). and my wife has been making us protein shakes for breakfast every morning. 

thats about it. 

ive lost about 10 pounds and im feeling pretty great. tired, but great.

Thanks Casey for starting the thread up again!

Sad to say I have very little to report apart from my lameness. It's been stupidly hot here and I've had a cold that won't die for over a month. I've taken antibiotics and overdosed on vitamin c and drinking enough water that growing gills is in my near future but to no avail. My hippy aunt is sending me some stuff in the mail that will apparently fix me right up. huzzah.

but: I today signed up for a special deal at one of my local gyms, so i've got 30 days to get my arse back in gear and start exercising again. I've had to cancel my swim membership because I wasn't going and can't afford it, so this is my kick start.

I'm also hoping that working out will somehow get rid of this cough.

.m

how is everyone doing with workouts? keeping with it?

i took a few days off due to sickness, but im still going everyday. we changed our day off from fridays to mondays since we work out so hard on the weekends it makes the most sense and the gym is packed on mondays. on fridays its really slow and we get a lot done. 

anyways, i just wanted to check in on the rest of you.

so ive lost about 6-7 pounds and i am now really starting to notice a big difference in my body. 

i was sick so i took a week off from the gym but started to get into yoga (a show on tv version that i tivo)

and now ive been doing the yoga everyday since friday and i really love it so now that im back at the gym everyday too and then the yoga before i go to bed, things are looking exciting again.

im also being really careful about what im eating and getting much stricter which is helping too. thats all for now.

i havent been to the gym since monday because i have been real sick. body aches. ugh. and i am missing it terribly. 

i think i will take today off too, but do some good stretching on my mat at home and then try to go to the gym tomorrow. im hurtin though. we will see. i just hate missing all this gym time! the good news is, that my weight has maintained for the week, so at least i dont feel like im going backwards. 

its really discouraging to stop working out though. im looking forward to doing something tonight though. that will make me feel a little better. then maybe the gym on sunday. 

isnt it weird though that ive been working everyday (except this week) for a month and only lost 4 pounds?

I have lost 5 pounds and I feel great.

Ability so far: (remember when i first started it was hard to walk for 30 mins at 3mph)


Treadmill:
Walk 3.7 ten minutes
Walk 3.3 for thirty minutes
(ive been doing a fast walk at 3.7 for ten minutes for a warm up, but i start to get a little cramp in my side nearing ten mins)
Run 3.50 minutes at 4.6 speed (i just tried this the other day for the first time, i got bad leg cramps so ill need to stretch way better next time, my goal is to be able to run for 5 minutes straight in a week or two)

Elliptical:
30 minutes (not everyday, i usually do every other day 30 mins, every other 15 mins)

Bike:
4 miles (I've been riding the bike for a 10 minute cool down, real slow and relaxed and I really like it. i am hoping that ill be strong enough by spring time to ride my bike to and from the gym as my warm up and cool down... but we will see since i only have a BMX which means no speeds and i live on a giant hill)

Rower:
10 minutes (i could probably go longer on this, but i havent tried)

Situps:
25 (10, rest for a few seconds, then 15-- my goal is to be able to do 25 in a row every day, then build up to 50)

We have been going to the gym everyday (we took one day off) for over three weeks. We are going to continue this, but take Fridays off every week because we really need one resting day. I have been sleeping really well and eating really well. We have been good about snacks throughout the day and eating three meals.

I havent had any major knee, hip, or ankle (my problem spots on the right leg) problems much since the first week. The elliptical is really easy on my joints, so if i feel anything starting to tense up on the other machines i just slow down and go to the elliptical. Also, i have been able to just work through minor cramps and tightness and see it clear up on its own.

My anxiety issue is almost completely resolved. It really helps to be so active.

We are eating only whole grain pastas and breads (when we eat them) generally and are lucky to have a good grocery store close by. I am also getting used to protein shakes and we are starting (today) to have them every morning before we leave for work.

I feel all rubbery.

Tonight, I ran three miles. Slow miles (averaging about 12 minutes each), but this is progress.

In other news, coworker's in-office birthday party found me eating pizza and ice cream cake yesterday. The ice cream cake was the first processed sugar I'd had in weeks. I was giddy for a bit, then I totally crashed. And I didn't even have that much! Next time, I'll just have a few bites.

Yay!

I've lost three pounds and three inches as of this morning! woohoo!

So far I have gone to the gym every day (for a minimum od 30 mins) for 11 days. 

I am making progress. I'm able to walk on the treadmill at 10% incline for about 40 mins with no pain.
I can usually do the elliptical for about 30 mins (some days are better than others)...

I was having a weird numbness in the side of my left foot (which is my healthy foot!) on the elliptical so i bought some really really comfortable new running shoes (for only $50!)... womens shoes this time, not mens, so we will see if that makes a difference... they are definitely way more comfortable. and i got some more shorts and sweats (with my old navy card from christmas!)

anyway, things are going great. i love going to the gym and look forward to getting stronger.

as far as eating goes we are eating all whole grains and things are going great there. there is a coop on the way home from the gym so we are eating really well and not eating out as much at all. 

drinking... we are drinking alcohol WAY less and it feels great.

weight: i havent lost really any weight yet but im sure i will start to see something soon. 

anxiety: i havent had any real anxiety problems since i started working out. 

overall, everything is going great. im still really motivated and it is starting to really feel like a routine...

I ran two miles at the gym again last night, slightly faster than the day before. I was a little more tired while running, but by the time I left the gym, the soreness was setting in. Today I'm really fucking sore, so much so that I drove to work. I don't really mind, though. I remember when I was in high school, I'd feel this way all the time after practice or long club rides. I think this is the feeling of progress, of muscles growing and being used.

Fit Day says I'm still not getting enough protein, and still eating too much fat. Funny, that, I can't imagine how bad the stuff I used to put in my body would look on that pie chart! To combat the protein issue, I grabbed some soy protein powder at Whole Foods and will be adding it to yogurt or soymilk every day. I also got baked tofu for my salads. This stuff is so yummy! My salad today is kicking butt. It's just mixed greens, citrus baked tofu, sunflower seeds, and lime juice, but it's delicious.

That's my update. Not point really, except to document where I am in all this.