Did I Make the First Week of My Goal?

I'd taken some time away to play the role of the brand new bride, and though I'd been running pretty regularly, it felt strange not to check in here.  Then, last week I set a goal for myself: for the next month I will work out 6 days a week, and at least two of those days will be double work-out days.  Did I do it?

You're darn right, I did!

I had a cool graphic of a calendar with all my workouts to post, but I apparently can't upload it from this machine on the new blog format.  In the meantime, here's a hastily slapped together text version:

Monday, 9/20:
6:45am - 20 min Step Aerobics
12noon - 4 mi Run
6:00pm - 3 mi Walk

Tuesday, 9/21:
6:45am - 20 min Step Aerobics
5:30pm - 3 mi Run

Wednesday, 9/22:
12noon - 3 mi Walk
5:30pm - 3.5 mi Elliptical

Thursday, 9/23:
6:45am - 25 min Step Aerobics

Friday, 9/24:
6:45am - 25 min Step Aerobics

Saturday, 9/25:
11:00am - 4 mi Run

Sunday, 9/26:
Rest

So to sum it up, I am on track with my personal goal for the week.  Having that burst in the morning has been really valuable.  Especially with my day and evenings being really busy on Thursday and Friday, keeping up with the morning step aerobics helped me stick to the plan.  I'm also grateful that I have invested, piece by piece, in home workout equipment like light-weight free weights, a yoga mat, and generously donated step aerobics benches and a fitness ball.  I feel like I'm more likely to fit something in before work if I can just power it out in my living room.

I'll check back in next week with another update on how well I'm sticking to this plan, and perhaps I'll have some physical results to show for it.

And Now I'm Back.

Hello.  I'm still working out and watching what I eat, just nothing seemed update-worthy as of late.  Namely because I gained back about three pounds and now I'm in a holding pattern.  I think I need to get back to two moderate workouts a day and just force myself to get up early in the morning to make it happen.

I bought my wedding dress today.  It looks great, but I still want to kick that extra 10 lbs before I get fitted for alterations.  I guess that's just double motivation for be to do what I know I need to do.

Running seems to be my thing, so I'm going to go with that as my main exercise still.  I'm also going to start wrapping up half my sandwich (I'm a sucker for sandwiches, especially if they are grilled) and setting it aside for the next day.  I can get by on less, I just love to eat delicious food.  It's all a matter of retraining myself.

My challenge for the next month:  work out 6 days a week, and at least two of those days will be double work-out days.

A New Technique

Are you one of those girls who gets bored doing any one work-out too long?  Do you start to dread the work-out you once looked forward to after it stales?  You're in good company, gals.

I've  been traveling for over a week and am missing my work-out buddies who keep me entertained on my runs.  Luckily, the places I've been staying have had work-out facilities I can hit in the mornings, so I haven't had to try to hit the pavement in this east coast heat wave.  The challenge has been the boredom.  Even with my ipod, I don't have as much fun as when I'm with my running group.

Luckily, I've come up with a solution that I just may carry over into an early morning workout routine.  I run for 5-10 minutes, then go do a set of weights.  I usually start with my tricep/bicep switch-off, doing 4 sets of 10 reps each, then back to the treadmill for another 5-10 minutes.  Then it's back to the weights for 4 sets of 10 reps focusing on chest and back.  Back for another 5-10, and then focusing on shoulders and squats, and then round it out with another short run.

On opposite days, I've been doing 20 minutes on the treadmill, sandwiching a single abs work-out, which has been working out great.

The reason I like this is it keeps me sweating, keeps me focused, and keeps me from getting bored.  It's also easier on my poor knee, which I'm trying to save, but without compromising my cardio.  The funny thing is, the weights seem like a break from the running, but by the time I'm done with my weight sets, the running seems like a break.  It's a great system.

If you try this routine, post a note and let me know what you think.

8-Minute Workout

My friend Ann sent me a link to this video.  It looks like a great workout for those of us who are time-pressed.  All you need are a couple of hand weights and your own body.  I can't wait to try it out!

Taco Night on the Dock

Ok so abstaining from alcohol hasn't really been happening, but I've been successful in cutting out Coffeemate entirely and cutting waaaaay back on my salt.  So far today I've had about half the recommended sodium intake and I've already eaten breakfast, morning snacks, and lunch.  Go me.

This photo is last night's dock picnic (we ended up not opening the Rainier (pronounced "rah-nyay," if you're fancy... or "Renoir" if you're Andrew and classin' up the beer even more) in favor of wine out of plastic cups).  It was a fantastic balmy evening on the dock - perfect for sitting out in our shorts and chowing on gourmet dogs.  We decided, shortly after this picture was taken, that the following evening (tonight) should be a dock potluck.  I am currently slow cooking some pork for tacos.  Our guests are all bringing a taco topping.  I love taco nights.  Taco taco taco.  Taco.

I'm a Salty Dog

I stepped on the scale this morning and I'm down another three and a half pounds from when I pouted about my weight, making it a total of 5.5 pounds that I've lost in just a couple days.  Looks like that excess salt came with a lot of excess water weight.

Yesterday was my first day of not additionally salting anything, and according to the Daily Plate, I was still over my recommended sodium intake by about 350mg.  This might sound like a fail to you, but when I looked back over my nutrition intake from the last couple weeks, I was averaging about 1000mg to 2000mg over my recommended dosage.  Some select days I was up to something like 4000mg of sodium in a day.  Yowza.

Today is day-three of no Coffeemate.  I had two cups of French press coffee, black, and not an ounce of me wanted to break down and buy creamer.  My two slices of peanut butter toast may have had something to do with that - the peanut butter was sweet and creamy enough that it almost felt like I needed the black coffee to cut the richness.

Tomorrow evening I leave for Sacramento for a friend's wedding.  Wish me luck in staying on track!

Coffeemate and a Check-In

This morning I woke up and I was a little sore, undoubtedly from yesterday's spill.  I don't feel like running today.  I'm not gonna.  I'm tired and my ribs/everything hurts.  I feel like it's hurting more as the day progresses.

Today is day-two without Coffeemate, and so far I'm not really missing it.  My co-worker Jeff calls it "white death."  I have to admit, that was part of my decision (maybe the nail in the coffin) to give it up.  I think I might be able to go cold turkey, but I'm not going to commit to that route just yet.  I think I need a full week of success before I call it out as a sustainable goal.

So I've been getting Jillian Michaels' e-newsletter, and one of her articles was How to Take Off Those Last 10 Pounds.  Her advice is simple, direct, and not at all what I want to do.  But I'm going to try... at least a little.  I drink plenty of water and I work out (but I guess I could more), and I try to stay away from processed foods, but the drinking and the salting are where I definitely over-indulge.  I am going to try really hard over the next several weeks to cut down on both A LOT and see how I feel.  I typically eat about twice the recommended sodium in a day, so this will be an interesting experiment.