Sunday, November 4, 2012

Weight Loss/Fitness Journey (Update)


As I have previously blogged: I have taken a vested interest in losing weight and getting fit.  I committed myself to completing the Insanity program.  So far, I have successfully made it through the third week.  I am impressed with myself, in the past I have tried to establish a routine and failed miserably, and with the results.  I do not know why this time is different, but it is...maybe I just got fed up with being overweight and depressed (exercise is proven to fight clinical depression).  Or maybe it is because I am struggling with my confirmed diagnosis of PCOS and the fact that it is in part responsible for my weight...and that losing that weight will decrease my later life risks and current/future symptoms.  Whatever the reason...I am improving my life.

These are my pictures from when I first decided I would do the Insanity workout...kind of miserable and a bit embarrassed, if you cannot see that in my face.



















These are the pictures I took at the beginning of the third week (October 29) before the second Fit Test.  See the difference?  I do.


















Insanity is not easy.  It is sometimes hard to get up early/make time...but it makes my day better.  Excuses lead to lapses and then you are right back where you started.  When I work out in the morning I have more energy, am more focused, and happier the entire day.  Any fitness routine requires dedication...when I miss a day (sick, too busy, etc) I might double up on workouts (one in the morning and one at night...do NOT recommend!) or work out on the scheduled day off.  If you are not sweating, you might want to rethink your exercise routine (I usually am sweating by the end of the warm up).

I have noticed a lot of improvements:  my endurance is better (stopping less, able to do more reps on all Fit Test exercises, able to complete more of each exercise, etc), my clothes fit a little looser, people are noticing, I am starting to get back a 6-pack, and I have the beginnings of my first ever hip dips (you know, the little dips all the underwear models have, which is a result of inguinal muscles)!

I continued using myfitnesspal.com to track my calories, still not dieting just exercising portion control...yes I still eat chocolate, cookies, and ice cream (sorry purists but I am getting results and not inclined to binge.  I am a fan of moderation, if you cannot moderate it might be easier not to eat this way).

So far my largest motivator has been my results:  since I started September 22 I have lost 12 lbs and when I took my measurements for the beginning of week 3 I went down in every measurement *again* ...most notably I lost 1.5 inches around my waist.  That makes for a total of 5.5 inches lost around my waist since starting to watch my calories less than two months ago!

For all of you wondering how...just establish a routine (any routine!) and start tracking your calories.  Calories in<calories out = weight loss.  Make sure if you follow this method you are eating diverse foods and enough calories (for people my age and size, no less than 1200 a day) so your body is healthy and gets the vitamins and variety it needs, and you do not put your body into starvation mode (which can make losing weight harder).

What About You?  What are the excuses you use not to work out?  What foods are your weaknesses and cause you to hit speed bumps in weight loss?

4 comments:

  1. You're doing so great. I'm jealous. So glad you posted today because I was actually thinking about you recently wondering how things were going health wise and Insanity wise. =D

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  2. Wow, that's incredible. I'm glad you're feeling better, too. :)

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  3. You keep mentioning Insanity. Is that the name of a program you are using? And you can certainly tell the difference.

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  4. Thanks Jill! Don't be jealous,I'm jealous of your continued motivation to do workouts...motivation can be a huge daunting effort for me some days.

    Callie, thanks...it's totally worth it.

    Heather, I am following the Beach Body Insanity program, it's a set of videos that you complete over 60 days of workouts and it's intense cardio interval training.

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