A Small Effort

Today, I am going to an event after work.

I knew I needed to wake up early so I could work out.

I forgot that my workout was 45 minutes today.

I did 20 minutes of it.

Then I realized that I didn't just have to shower and get ready, I needed to wash the dishes, unload the dryer, and leave the check for the cleaners, and gather the errands to run at lunch. And still get showered and ready.

So I left off Lean Circuit 3 at the pushup to side plank. I may try to complete the workout later tonight when I get home, but that may be a bit ambitious.  Perhaps I'll finish the Fire it up video for extra cardio.

Regardless of cutting my workout short, I was DRIPPING sweat for at least another 10-15 minutes while I was getting the kitchen ready to actually be cleaned.

I reviewed my ActiveLink last night, after doing both of the workouts.

This is my output during Burn Intervals, notice the periods of low intensity when I'm lifting weights, and moderate intensity when I'm doing things like lunges and squats. I was doing this from 0 to 45 minutes before I took a break and cooled down and watched the Fire It Up intro.

 Now, this, from 8:00 pm to 8:20 pm, this is when I was doing the Fire Starter Class. Followed by sitting down and blogging. There is barely any moderate intensity activity after the warm up.

WOW! What a difference, huh?

I know that I'll probably be throwing one of the TurboFire Workouts in every so often in this last few weeks of my challenge before I start the ChaLEAN/TurboFire Hybrid program. And that my workouts will be taking a lot longer to do. I need to start actually waking up when my alarm goes off. And that may mean going to bed earlier than midnight, as much as I hate it.

~Katie

Progress Report

Today's going to be a busy day at work, so I'm trying to get this all up and ready before I leave so I can focus on the presentation I'm giving tonight at a University on what I do at work and what opportunities there are for physicists.

Today was tracking day.

It has been 60 days since I started ChaLEAN Extreme, and 4 weeks since I started Weight Watchers.
The Push Month mostly focused on building muscle, and my legs, butt, and arms definitely benefitted. I can actually do real push-ups, now! I can do at least half of the burpees in Burn It Off without modification. I outlifted my set of weights and needed to go up a notch or two or three.  And I'm planning on starting TurboFire/ChaLEAN hybrid after this next coming month. I think that this was a great program to start with, since I've never focused on building much muscle. The weightlifting progress is a great Non-Scale Goal for me. The slimming will come with more cardio, but the power, and strength can only come from resistance.

I have been busting my buttocks since Monday to make it a successful tracking day. I'm talking taking walks. Going RUNNING, for heaven's sake. And watching every damn thing that I eat and drink since I'm out of weekly points until Friday. Because I wanted to see the results that I feel. Because I feel the results. I know that I'm looking better and slimming down. I'm also building muscle, so some places are actually staying the same pretty much.

The Push month has been good to me, overall.

Here's the photos:

Front View Progress

Side View Progress

Back View Progress
SOON, There won't be any of those rolls at my waist! They are going, going, going, (soon to be) GONE!

Measure it up

 I am quite pleased with this month's progress! Down 6.3 lbs from the last weigh-in! My waist is down 2 inches, too! And that's the waist around the belly button. My natural waist is shrinking, too!

Okay, off to work!
~Katie

Changes, All the Little Changes

Before I get to the actual post, today, I slept in. So my workout will be between work and girls night. It will be Push Circuit 2, so it's 35 minutes and weightlifting-focused, so I think I can do that, shower, and walk to the restaurant in time after work today. The front room rearranging has taken a toll on my bedtime.

Okay, on to the Changes.

I've been documenting the daily stuff on here, but sometimes, I like to make a retrospective.

Today, I realized that there are a lot of little changes that have been adding in to the big changes.
And some of them aren't so little. But all of these changes have been since the beginning of this year.

• I see a therapist every other week. We are evaluating different possibilities of the root of my high anxiety issues & panic attacks as well as my scatterbrained-ness and overall mental health. I want to be able to have a plan of attack that is appropriate to what my brain is doing rather than guessing and worrying about it. 
• I am following the ChaLEAN Extreme 90-day Challenge. I'm following the schedule, and while I may have missed a day or workout here and there, I have been very good about giving it my all every day. I'm glad that I chose a program with workouts close to 30 minutes each day rather than over an hour. It's manageable, and I can fit that in to my schedule. It's a small commitment, but I'm seeing the results. (Dude! I have BICEPS!!!!)
• I'm taking a daily multivitamin.
• I'm drinking Shakeology every day, which I didn't quite realize until yesterday how much it has been working for me. When you drink something that filling every single morning and then you have to fast until 11 am one day, let's just say that my sweet cravings were off the charts yesterday. I wanted to eat everything in sight! I have really been loving the chocolate flavor with a healthy dash of Cayenne Pepper added to it.
• I am attending Weight Watchers meetings and tracking my intake as well as my activity. We'll see how ActiveLink works for me once I get past the assessment phase. This has been a really good change. I've been dropping pounds since starting this. It has been the impetus to cooking at the house more, drinking less beer and alcohol, and focusing on fruit, vegetables, and protein sources to fuel my workouts.
• I'm cleaning things up. I'm making places for everything. I'm getting rid of clutter. I'm removing the excess (but I'm not getting rid of my jeans. My jeans will stay in my closet forever. I think I still have maternity jeans somewhere.)

So lots of little and big changes. They are all starting to add up. I can see muscle in my body. I feel better. I feel happier. I feel less like the world is going to crash in on me. I am getting stuff done. And I am moving forward. Little changes. They make for big leaps.

~Katie

Here we go again! Weight Watchers

So a big part of my struggle is with my intake. I've been eschewing tracking because I don't really want to be honest about what I eat and what I drink every day. And I've been shooting myself in the foot. As evidenced by the only slight change I experienced over the past month.

My mom emailed me with an idea. Join Weight Watchers meetings with her for Lent. Commit to going to the meetings and tracking and using the tools for the rest of Lent.

She used to be a leader & weight watchers has been a side part of my life for a very long time. And I have always thought that I could tackle my weight without it. I could "do by self" to quote a two year old me. This past summer, I used the etools to moderate success. I lost 10 pounds or so. Then I fell off the deep end and stopped tracking & ballooned up t20 lbs. So starting again & committing the hour a week (or two hours today) seemed like too much. When I'm already stressed about what I'm eating, how I'm working out, putting in the work at work that I need to, spending social time with loved ones, and investing time in my business, how am I supposed to cope with one more thing?

How am I supposed to add another thing into a bag that's already bursting?

Except then reason stepped in. This is a tool. It is an organizational method to manage a few of those things that I'm handling loose-pack. It gives me a focus for how to plan meals and how to think about things.

So maybe it's one more hour a week. Maybe, just maybe, it will alleviate some of the load. I have promised to follow through, so I will follow through.

~Katie