A Belated Evaluation of May's Goals

Today I realized I had set the goal of being able to touch my toes by the end of May. Hah. That didn't happen.

My doc has said no weightlifting, no crunches, no cardio, and no yoga. Apparently I'm one step above bed rest, which is infuriating given that I'm not having any pain from my abdominal tear. Whatever. I'm being re-evaluated on the 22nd, so hopefully I will have a clean bill of health and be able to go back to the gym.

Speaking of the gym, I don't think you understand just how much I miss it. I recently joined Fitocracy (a cool fitness based social network which I will be reviewing once I get more use out of it), which has only made me more anxious to return. It's just frustrating knowing that while some people get hurt doing something typically understood as dangerous (skateboarding, mountain biking, etc), I get injured at the gym.

It's frustrating and I'm really starting to lose motivation. I know that diet is 80% of your fitness, but it feels like I'm wasting my time without being able to lift.

The Competition has Begun!

If my fiancé has a fault, it's that he's very competitive. He needs to lose some weight...and by some I mean he could easily lose 45 pounds and not look underweight. I too could stand to lose 55 pounds. We're both in about the same boat. Now in light of his competitive nature, we (I) decided to start a competition: whoever loses 19% of their weight by November 18th, my birthday, wins! I won't go into what they win, but trust me when I say he's very motivated.

Now, I'm not competitive. Not even a little. On the other hand, I exercise more and eat far healthier than my fiancé and I hope that I'll lose a little faster and motivate him.

So what are the terms? He'll have to lose 47 pounds and I'll have to lose 39. It seems like a lot, but it puts him at less than 2 pounds a week. Nice and healthy pace.

Anyway, so this is my current medium goal- though it does seem like almost 40 pounds should be a big goal. Anyway, I'll be doing updates on the 18th of every month.

Measurement Monday: May 11th, 2014

Alright, so this week's Measurement Monday is actually on a Sunday because I don't know if I'll have time to do it tomorrow. I doubt there'd be a huge difference between today or tomorrow.
Here's this week's progress:
Abdomen: 44.125 (-.125)
Waist: 35 (0)
Bust: 43.25 (-.25)
Chest: 37.5 (.25)
Hip: 46.5 (.25)
Left Arm: 14.75 (.5)
Left Forearm: 11 (0)
Left Calf: 16.25 (0)
Left Thigh: 27.5 (0)
Right Arm: 14 (-.25)
Right Forearm: 10.75 (-.25)
Right Calf: 16 (0)
Right Thigh: 27.5 (-.25)
Shoulders: 43 (-1)
Neck: 14.75 (-.25)
Current Weight: 201 pounds (3)
Inches lost: -1.37
Running total: -2.12, + 5 pounds
 Although I've put on more weight this week than last week (bummer), I'm down 1.37 inches, where last week I only had a change of -.75 inches, this week I lost almost an inch and a half. Yay!
I have to say, this weekly analysis of my inches lost really is helpful. I don't feel disappointed that I've gained 5 pounds in two weeks (seriously? Ugh.), I'm more excited that I've lost more than two inches total. This is real progress. It's not much, but it's progress.
My goal for this upcoming week? Commit to trying a Ketogenic diet for a full week, and I still would like to try to lose two inches next week. I'm hoping a keto diet will help with that. This week was a good start, but the extra .63" would mean a lot (mentally, at least). Besides, two inches off my entire body isn't a lot. I measure 15 places for a total of  357.75 inches currently. Two inches is .6% of my current inches. I can manage a .6% loss.
Anyway, I highly recommend measuring weekly. For those of you not doing it, start! It really is motivating, and it only takes 10 minutes (and the first four minutes are spent trying to find the tape measure). So, get measuring and share your progress in the comments!

Maybe I'll Become a Yogi?

In my last post, I mentioned that in lieu of running I was going to be taking up yoga instead. I originally thought it was going to be a pretty easy workout compared to heavy lifting.
I was so wrong.
Yesterday I did some research and decided to run through this beginners workout:

I held each pose for five deep breaths and ran through it twice. It wasn't too taxing, but I could tell how limited my core strength is (due in part to an injury that I'm recovering from), and how inflexible I am. It's pathetic. I have never been able to touch my toes.
Today I found a very informative article from PopSugar claiming that their yoga sequence that would get me my "best bikini body". While I don't believe that doing just that yoga sequence would get me a "bikini body", it seemed rigorous enough. I was two poses in when I realized I needed to stick with beginner poses.
I decides this sequence might be more my speed:

I've realized that not only can I not touch my toes, my down dog looks more like the London Bridge. New goal for this month: master down dog. How hard can it be?

Couch to 5k: First Impression

Periodically,  I'm going to be testing different fitness trends. First up is Couch to 5k. For those that haven't heard about it, it's supposed to be an easy introduction to running. Woth just nine weeks of training, a couch potato can run a 5k.

One thing you should know about me: I'm not a runner. I have short legs, I'm prone to side stitches, I throw up when I run a quarter mile straight, and I had pneumonia a few years back which scarred my lungs. I'm really not a runner.

Why the hell am I doing this? Well, I've never been any good at running, not even as a kid. I want to be able to say I can run. I want to prove to myself that I can do it. It's that simple.

 Yesterday I tried day one of Couch to 5k. The directions were simple enough. Five minute brisk warm up walk, then alternate between running 60 seconds and walking 90 seconds   for a total of 20 minutes followed by a five minute cool down walk. This sounded pretty reasonable...until I started doing it. The first minute was good, but the 90 seconds of walking wasn't enough to really catch my breath. Things went steadily down hill from there. I stopped running when I had two running intervals left. I felt like I was going to barf. Barfing with a hernia is a bad idea.

Not a great first run for a program that claims to ease beginners into running. Has anyone else tried Couch to 5k? What were your thoughts?

For those of you wanting to give this a try, the guide can be found here and I reviewed a Couch to 5k running app here.

End Goals, Big Goals, Baby Goals

When it comes to weight loss, so many people have huge goals: to drop 50 pounds, get into a size 3, or have a six pack. Its great to have goals, but a lot of people have lofty goals - attainable, but big. I feel like big goals require huge amounts of willpower and motivation.

I like to have multiple goals running at the same time. You'll notice that every Monday I'll set a goal. I like having little goals, weekly goals. Because I'm only setting up a goal for the week, I like it to be attainable. Eat a new vegetable, only have fast food once, lose an inch or two. Small goals that break up a big goal (like losing 50 pounds) and help work toward the big goal helps guarantee that motivation isn't lost.

In addition to big goals and little weekly goals, I'll be setting medium fitness goals. I've signed up for a color run 5k! It isn't until October or November. For those of you without a calendar nearby, that's 5-6 months out. That's a long time to train for a measly 5k. My goal is to be able to jog the entire thing without stopping.

As someone who vomits after a quarter mile, I'll need every week to train. 

App recommendation: Lift

If you can't tell, that's a little frog on top. The whole thing is covered in frogs. I feel silly writing in my froggy diary at the gym while men nearby bench press twice my body weight. If ycan't tell, that's a little frog on top. The whole thing is covered in frogs. I feel silly writing in my froggy diary at the gym while men nearby bench press twice my body weight. t tell, that's a little frog on top. The whole thing is covered in frogs. I feel silly writing in my froggy diary at the gym while men nearby bench press twice my body weight. I really wanted to find  an easy to use app to record which lifts I'm doing, how many reps, and the weight. Here's what I'm currently using:

If you can't tell, that's a little frog on top. The whole thing is covered in frogs. I feel silly writing in my froggy diary at the gym while men nearby bench press twice my body weight.

So I thought Lift by Lift Worldwide was the answer. It wasn't, of course. Nothing is ever easy when it comes to technology. Why am I recommending it? Because it's a great app, of course! Lift is basically a goal achieving app. The publisher's description reads: Lift breaks your goals down into simple habitra and routines, then prompts and encourages you to take regular steps towards healthy life change.

There are all kinds of neat goals you can work to achieve. I currently have one goal I'm working on and one goal lined up for next month.

It's easy to use, which is the best part. Want to check in with a goal? Just select it then tap the checkmark. All done!

The reason I think this is such a great app is because it makes lifestyle changes small and manageable. As a girl who drank a two liter of soda every two days, giving up soda was a big deal. I've been 11 days soda free now. Sure, it doesn't seem like a big deal, but to me, that little green check and the note that says I've hit that check for 11 days is my pat on the back.