Fitness PHAT Fridays: 1

Today I find myself frustrated. I was able to keep my weight at 140 for 8 months and then once my husband comes home, We take 4 weeks of vacation and somehow I managed to gain 7 pounds. :( Well, that being said, I've been trying to lose those 7 pounds ever since, and I've been failing miserably. I actually gained another couple of pounds for a couple of weeks, and then I dropped them again, but I consistantly see the scale average right around 147. The problem is, when you're thin, 7 pounds really makes a BIG difference on the way things look on you. It's the difference between a size 4 and a size 6. All the size 4 clothes I bought still fit, but I look like I SQUEEZED into them and that's NEVER flattering. SOOOO, today I'm saying enough is ENOUGH! I'm starting to blog again to help keep myself motivated and I want to invite anyone who wants to join me on my quest once again to begin today. Here are the assignments for the week (they might sounds familiar, but I'm modifying them slightly):

1. Take your measurements:
(Since the scale is driving me NUTS, I'm going to focus on my inches once again, and we'll see if the pounds drop or not.)

2. Find a Large water bottle... i.e. 32 oz. and try to fill it a drink it all twice a day... throughout the day. TIP: Don't drink your calories. I drink only water 95% of the time. When I do drink something else, it's normally for a special occasion.

3. Get in at least 20 minutes of cardio work everyday (except Sunday for me). Figure out how hard you're pushing yourself through perceived exertion meaning, you should be pushing yourself hard enough where you can still breathe, but maintaining a regular conversation would be difficult.

4. Strength Training: Get a set of resistance bands, unlike weights, you can't cheat. Do 2 sets of 15 each every other day. I do legs one day, arms the next.

Arms:
Bicep Curls
Hammer Curls (Elbow next to head, bend hand down behind then straight up to the sky)
Shoulder Press
Rear Shoulder LIfts

Source: leehayward.com via Bonnie-Jean on Pinterest

Wing Beats (Like a bird, you raise your arms up and out to the side, then lower back down)
Elbows-In Pushups (Hands shoulder width apart, elbows pinned near sides, push up. Beginner: Lean against the wall, Medium: pushups on your knees, Hard: Back and legs straight)

Legs:
Squats (Back straight, butt out by bending at waist) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDdSZmWNYQI
Lunges Forward and Back
Plies (squats with toes pointed out to the sides, bending legs apart)

Abs while Standing:
Side bends ( 1 minute)
Waist Rotation ( 1 min)
Elbow to Opposite Knee (1 min)

Bonus:
Finally, for those of you extra motivated, here's another cool chart you can incorporate. http://cdn.imgfave.com/image_cache/1300061101139208.jpeg

Fitness Friday:4

If you're lucky enough to have time to do strength training, here's the advice the Orthopedic specialist gave me the other day:
Set the weight on the machine to a level where there's resistance, but it's not really difficult either. Then you do four sets of repetitions in a 12, 10, 8, 6 pattern resting 30 seconds between each set. By the time you get to the final 6 you should be working pretty hard!

Example: I set the leg extension machine at 65 lbs.
Set of 12 reps
Wait 30 seconds
Set of 10
Wait 30 seconds...etc.
This works great! I get an awesome work out when I circulate through the machines applying this technique.

I worked hard today and right now I have the nice, slightly sore feeling. :)

Remember, muscles increase your metabolism so to lose weight effectively, it's important to try and increase your muscle mass. (If you're a lady, don't worry, unless your hormones are really screwed up, you won't become the Incredible Hulk!)

Week 11: Runner's Knee and Carpal Tunnel

I'm trying to get myself to the best me possible which includes fixing ailments etc. This week I went to visit the Orthopedic specialists and Occupational Therapists to see what could be done to not have knee or wrist pain anymore.

Although I did my seated leg raises, I have still been having a lot of knee pain. Well, the awesome specialist told me I have 'Runner's Knee' and he gave me a Quad strengthening exercise routine. Then once that's done, he also gave me a 'Walk to Run' program. So, after a few weeks of focusing on building my Quads I can resume my goal of running a 5K. :D He told me to go home and measure my leg right above my knees so I can see my progress as my muscle builds!




As for my wrists, I saw the Occupational Therapist today and he gave me some guidelines to follow to help my pain go away. I'm not a fan of surgery until you've done everything else possible! I don't have the typical numbness and tingling that people associate with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS), instead I have a constant dull pain that radiates toward my thumb and I have a relatively weak grasp. Anyway, for the next few weeks I'm going to NOT be doing things like pushups and pull-ups or anything that requires constant/repetitive grasping/flexing. I am allowed to use the arm machines at the gym that don't require a grasp so I'm not giving up my arm strengthening goals. Tomorrow I go in and get some custom wrist splints made too! I'm excited and I'm going to follow the directions I've been given faithfully! :)

Overall, I feel as though I look better in my clothes and I have reason to hope that I won't be in constant pain anymore! Hooray!

Finally, since I said I'd post some pictures of my progress this week, here you go. What do you think? Do I look like I've made progress?

Week 7- Getting Back on Board

I woke up this morning and decided that I've had enough pity-party time and I need to get back into the regular swing of things. That said, I decided to walk to the library this morning. I went to the doctor last week because of pain I've been having in my knee and he said I've developed tendonitis in the knee and I need to cut back on some things and increase on others. I was in pain and my husband was getting ready to leave so I just stopped exercising all together until now. I figure I want to be as attractive as I can be for the next time I see my handsome hubby. I am glad that I've continued to lose some weight, at least I didn't gain any of it back. I admit that my diet has not been as healthy as I normally enjoy and my energy level has definitely been affected negatively by it. I was simply trying to make whatever my husband wanted before he deployed and wouldn't get any more of my home cooking for a year so we had cookies, cakes, brownies, ice-cream.... etc... I did still try and make things a little healthier like the cookies were made with whole-wheat flour and oats, the brownies had half the oil cut out, and the cakes were made with applesauce. So, I guess I wasn't too horrible but based on the way I feel today I've decided to definitely limit my sugar intake.

Things to change for now:
I am not to do any lunges or jogging for awhile. (This makes me sad because I was up to jogging 1 1/2 miles without stopping)
I am to walk, use the elliptical and use stationary bikes as much as I want as long as there's minimal resistance.
I am to add seated front leg lifts to my routine to help build up the muscles directly around my knee. (see directions below)
I am to take Ibuprofen 3 times a day and ice my knee after I exercise to help minimize swelling.

My new goal is to eventually be able to run a 5K in under 45 minutes.



Seated Leg Lift Directions:
Step 1
Sit on the floor with your legs straight in front of you. Touch your legs together. Pull your toes back. Sit up straight. Put your hands on the floor next to your hips and straighten them. Fingers should be pointing forward.
Step 2
Lift your right leg straight into the air a couple of inches. Keep pulling your toes back. Maintain a straight spine and do not lean back. Exhale as you lift. You should feel this in your quad, which is the large muscle on the top of your upper leg.
Step 3
Lower your leg with control back to the floor. Inhale as you do so.
Step 4
Lift your left leg the same way as you did your right leg. Alternate lifting your legs until you have done at least 12 reps per leg.

(Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/79574-slim-down-legs/#ixzz0sNtRNxgU )

Week 3 - The Magic of W's

I'm definitely making progress and it makes me smile! :) I don't know how long I'll be able to keep up such dramatic progress (for me it's dramatic), but I'm happy with it so far! I feel confident in saying that sticking to my goals works for me, and might work for someone else if he or she follows them faithfully. It's not too late to join me! :D

Anyway, to get to my goal's for the week remember W's:

WATER minimum 64 oz. daily

WALKING/jogging 45 minutes daily

WEIGHTS 2 sets of 10 reps of the exercises described last Friday

WATCH what you eat, paying special attention to serving sizes, calories, and balance.

Then of course you have the crunches and pushups. This week I will do 25 crunches and 13 pushups daily.

Something else I forgot to mention is STRETCH! If you work out regularly you need to make sure to stretch all of your major muscles. On Friday I'll show you what I do to stretch. :) Being flexible is a major key to preventing injury.
Good luck! :)

Fitness Friday:2

So, I've been working on running a mile and I've gotten to the point where I can jog half a mile without stopping. :) Anyway, in my weekly post I said that I'd describe my resistance work so here it is: If you'd like further detail, just say so in a comment!
(Each exercise is linked to a video showing how it's done.)

2 sets of 8 repetitions of the following with 3 or 5 lb barbells:

-bicep curls (arm at side slightly bent, tuck elbow next to side, slowly bend arm raising weight up and then back down again)

-tricep extensions (kneel on all fours/lean over, tuck elbow into side arm bent 90 degrees and slowly straighten arm out, and bend again)

- over head shoulder press (hands next to head, elbows out, slowly raise hands over head until almost straight and bring them back down)

-lateral arm raises (arms slightly bent at side, raise them out to form a T and then slowly lower them back again)

-squats (feet facing front, bend knees and waist until knees reach 90 degrees, bring arms forward)

-lunges (one leg forward, lean forward until knee reaches 90 degrees, back knee close to floor)

-pelvic/hip raises (lay on back, bend knees, feel flat, raise hips until straight line from shoulder to knee, slowly lower back down again)

Do 1 minute:
standing twists (stand feet shoulder width apart bring barbells in close to chest and twist at waist)

As many as you can:
crunches (minumum 20)

push ups (minumum 10)

Week 2 - Add Weights to Lose Weight

Here I am after a week of trying to shrink and I've made some progress. I keep a record of it on the sidebar if you're interested. :)

I've been pretty good about drinking my water although I admit I haven't written it down, but I know I've been drinking plenty.... of water that is.... hehe.

Anyway, I write my calories and food group servings down so I can stay within the 1800 calorie guidelines.
This week I challenge you to really start paying attention to labels. At the very least compare the calories and fat calories per serving. i.e. Light Ice-Cream: Serving size 1/2 cup, 90 calories, 50 from Fat, but notice that the serving is only 1/2 cup! Pay attention and you may be surprised by how many servings/calories you're actually eating.

This week I'm increasing to a minimum of 10 pushups and 20 crunches every day. I've walked/jogged 5 of the past 7 days and a couple of those days it was for a couple of hours... not too shabby! :) I'm going to continue to walk/jog as frequently as I can for at least 40 minutes everyday.

I'm also going to add weights to my routine. If you really want to lose weight successfully, you have to increase your muscle mass which in turn increases your metabolism, besides I want to have awesome arms like Jillian from the Biggest Loser. I don't have time to write down each exercise right now, but I'll give you a summary on Friday. :) Just pick up a set of 3 lb. barbells and keep them with you and when you have a free minute do some basic exercises.

Week 1- Let's Get Started

So I'm not going to overwhelm you with a million things to worry about this week, we'll start slow and build more stuff in.

GOALS FOR WEEK ONE:

-Take picture of self in a bathing suit, print it out and put it on the refrigerator. Nothing motivates me to stay healthy quite like seeing a real picture of myself looking not so gorgeous...lol!

-Purchase/Borrow/Find an accurate scale that you can check your weight on once a week or every other week.
(TIP: Check your weight no more than once a week because doing so every day can be really frustrating.
Also, always check it at the same time of day because your weight can fluctuate a pound or two throughout the day.)

-Get a measuring tape and record your starting measurements.

-Get a large 32 oz. water bottle and make it your daily goal to drink at least 2 full bottles of water every day.

-Get a notebook to use as a food diary and write down everything you eat every day. I find that if I have to write it down I tend to make smarter choices.

-Do at least 5 pushups (can be modified) and 10 crunches everyday.

-Finally, make an effort to take a walk for 30 minutes everyday minimum. (other forms of exercise are fine too.)

EXTRA-TOOL
-For those who are extra motivated, here is a link to a daily diet guide. :)
http://www.mypyramid.gov/downloads/worksheets/Worksheet_1800_18.pdf