September update-Progress, goals met

It's been a while. Usually, when I go missing for a while it's because I have been slacking and nothing has changed. This time, it was because I was so busy at work and I neglected this blog. I have been making a lot of progress this year!

In January 2017 I had the following goals:

• Go to the gym/get a 30 min workout at least 3 days a week
• 5k run without stopping
• Bike to work
• be able to do 20 pushups
• make kickboxer of the month
• goal weight: 165

Except for March, April, and May (crazy stupid busy stress time at work) I did not achieve my goal of exercising at least 3 days a week. Every other month so far I have done it for every week. So far, June and July I worked the hardest. 

TWAS Into the Wild 5k

Dash and Dine

The 5k run without stopping goal took a few times. My friend mapped out a route from the house to go run, and I wrote down how long it took us each time. Our first run was on April 17th, and it took us 38:42 minutes. To try and get even better, we ran a 5k at work called Dash and Dine. 

Dash and Dine is awesome, people can use it as a qualifying time for this big 10k in town called the Bolder Boulder, it only costs $20, and you get food at the end! 

We only had time to do the Dash and Dine two times, but my time went from 36:53 minutes (stopping to walk once) to 35:33 minutes and achieving my goal of no stopping! 

We ran the Wild Animal Sanctuary 5K in June, and with no stops, our time was 38 minutes. This was a huge improvement over our 2016 time, at roughly 44 minutes! 

I have always wanted to bike to work. According to google maps it would take me about an hour and 20 minutes, and that it was about 14miles. I was intimidated, and thought I'd be too sweaty and gross to want to work after biking.

Luckily, Boulder hosts this Bike to Work Day  and I decided this is my year, I'm just going to do it. On a day off in June, I biked it just to see how long it would take. Unfortunately it was a 90 degree day and I struggled there and back. It took me an hour and a half to bike there, so I stopped for food at concessions, chilled out, then biked home which was much shorter (downhill, knew the way now).

On June 28 I biked to work for the official day my friend and I left at the same time, and stopped at a station in Longmont for free Breakfast. I really enjoyed biking to work, and I did it a few more times over the course of the summer. 

My goal for reaching 20 pushups hasn't been achieved yet, but I was busy focusing on other things. Pretty sure I am close, and I can change that number to 40 pushups for 2018.

My goal to make kickboxer of the month was not achieved. The ILoveKickBoxing club I was in closed its Longmont location, and it was around that time that my back was really starting to hurt. When it closed, it felt like it was fate for me to do some less high impact exercise and let my back get stronger again. I am hoping I can get a strong back and core before returning to kickboxing in 2018 at Round House Fitness.

When the kickboxing studio closed, a group of tight-nit kickboxers banded together and through some serious hard work they were able to make a new and better studio. I am dying to go support it, and I am hoping that soon I can.

Left: January 1 2017 Right: September 1 2017 About 15lbs down!

Goal weight: 165. I finally reached that goal in August, and it was a slow process. By maintaining calorie counting using Myfitness Pal, using Fitbit (and then when the band broke) Garmin Vivofit -which I loved, it's water resistant and I could have gone swimming with it if I wanted to) to track steps. I lost the Garmin at the airport a few months ago and tried a cheap replacement...as soon as it dies I am switching back to Garmin.

I have a mini goal to have lost 20 pounds by mid October, which is when I am going on a Disney Cruise. I am just 3 pounds away! So I am upping my gym time and trying to watch what I eat more. September was a bust, had a lot of work stress, plus parents visiting for a week, and then a weekend of visiting my bestie on the other side of the mountains meant less gym time and bad eating. But so far I am at least achieving the minimum goal of a workout 3 times a week.

I have never actually succeeded in losing weight before, so this year has been a huge triumph. I finally figured out what works for me! Of course things can change and I'll hit a plateau sometime, but for now I am going strong!

I have already made a list for 2018's goals, which I will be sure to repost in January. Right now, I am thinking:

• Be able to do 5 pullups
• Goal weight: 150
• 40 pushups
• Beat best 5k time (35:33)
• Run a 10k without needing to stop
• Bike to work at least once a month once its warm enough
• Feel strong/healthy enough to take up kickboxing again

Pie season approaches and I face a few other challenges this time of year. Work is going to get very busy in October/November and when it gets cold I lose some of my favorite outdoor activities, like biking and running. Luckily it never gets too cold in Colorado and winter never lasts too long. I am just hoping to stay motivated.

I imagine just seeing my own progress pictures, and knowing how far I still have to go, will keep me on track! 

March

I don't have as much to post for this month, but I am doing a few things to try to keep up my fitness routine.

It seems that in March and April is when I start to falter. It's cold out, work is picking up and I'm starting to panic over the future stress of summer, but work isn't busy enough that I'm moving around a lot while here.

So, I need to focus on a few things to keep me on track.

1. Keep up with calorie counting. I have been going strong since November, and each month I am doing better and better at staying under.
2. Working out for a half hour or more at least 3 days a week. This includes kickboxing class, going to the gym, 30 straight minutes of Just Dance, or a long walk/hike.
3. Not drinking soda. My roommate and I decided not to drink soda, and it's been about a month since we've had any.
4. Trying new fruit. Whenever I see a fruit I haven't had before, I make a point to try it. So far we've had Guava and Dragon Fruit.
5. 30 day Pushup challenge. My friends and I voted on what challenge we should do, and pushups won. I am doing a core challenge as well, only because pushups alone feels like it's not very hard. And also because my core sucks and I want to fix that.

So that's where I stand right now!

February

The last week of January I was taking care of my friend's pets while she was home in Florida, and the extra work (getting up early to go before work and rushing home to feed them in between work and kickboxing) was draining. The last class I felt groggy and had a migraine, but I pushed through and was happy I did.

I am measuring my progress in as many ways that I can, and these include:
-Getting weight from scale everyday
-Measuring hips, waist, arms and thigh once a month
-Taking a photo of myself in the same clothes once a month
-Keeping track of how many days I exercise for at least 30 minutes
-Keeping track of how many days I hit 10K steps using Fitbit (which has died) or Garmin Vivofit (which I just picked up about two weeks ago).

From the data chart below, you can see I am slowly bringing my weight down month by month. (Both highest and lowest weights decrease each month).

I have been able to increase the number of days exercised each month, and increase the number of times I stay under my calorie goal.

My days in which I hit 10K steps has reduced, and this may be because I just don't moce as much during the winter, and it also may be because the Garmin Vivofit does not seem to be as sensitive to movement at the Fitbit was.

Lastly, I have maxed out the number of weeks in which I fit my goal of exercising at least 3 times a week. I hope to continue this each month for 2017.

Month	Highest weight	Lowest weight	# of days exercised	# of days 10K steps	# of days under calorie goal	# of days over calorie goal	# of weeks exercised 3 +days a week
November 2016	184.9	182.4	6	9	12	18	0
December 2016	184	181	7	3	14	17	2
January 2017	182.9	179.6	14	8	23	8	4 (all weeks!)

My scale has been giving me weird weights the last two days. First it said I weighed 10lbs less than I have been, and each time I weighed myself the answer went up. I kept doing this until I got at least two weights that were the same. 

On the left is January's picture, and on the right is February's. I don't see a really noticeable difference, except that maybe my stomach doesn't stick out quite as much. 

My lunch box! I had oatmeal (added some chia and flax seeds) burnt brussel sprouts with some feta cheese, kiwi and blueberries, sugar snap peas, string cheese, cauliflower and potato soup (that my roommate made). 

I went to kickboxing yesterday, and plan on going tonight too! (Hopefully the roads get better, it's yucky out today). 

January check in!

It's now more than half way through January and I am doing great so far! There is still room for improvement of course, but if I was an expert at dieting I wouldn't be in this mess to begin with!

So far for the month of January I have gone to either the gym, kick boxing or a hike/walk that was at least 30 minutes three days a week. For the 45 day challenge I am doing with I Love Kickboxing studio, I have to go to class at least 15 times of the the course of the challenge. So far I have gone 5 times, ten more to go by February 15!

Tuesday morning class, right round house!

I am trying to go to the gym once a week, because my roommate has a membership too and it's nice to encourage each other (even though I tend to be a solo gym-goer). We usually do arm day or leg day and then hit the treadmills. I am hoping to train for a 5k, I want to run 3 miles without needing to stop! Right now I can do a mile without needing to stop.

Treadmill time!

I have also been trying to take better note of fiber and protein intake. I wanted a meal that would have a lot of both, so I made some turkey chili. It didn't have enough flavor, (I doubled the meat and beans but not the seasonings, oops!) but if you like bland foods, it's pretty good!

I made this with:
2 cans red kidney beans
2 cans black beans
2 cans chick peas
2 cups water
1 can diced tomatoes with green chilis
3lbs ground turkey (browned in frying pan with a little bit of oil)
1 tablespoon minced garlic (should probably double this)
2 Tablespoons chili powder (should probably double this)
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin (should probably double this)
salt and pepper to taste
The actual recipe is: Simple Turkey Chili Recipe 
I just made a bunch of modifications.

 

Lunch today! pineapple, grapes and sugar snap peas, turkey chili with plain greek yogurt instead of sour cream, brussel sprouts with feta cheese, a tangelo, coffee and apple cinnamon oatmeal for breakfast!

 I have rubber bands on my teeth right now (part of the braces process to correct an overbite), and it's annoying to eat now because I have to take them out and put them back in before and after each meal. It makes snacking difficult! I suppose that's a good thing, but at the same time it means I want to eat larger meals, which is not so good. I'll try to behave.

My calorie counting has gotten better too. I went home to Maine last weekend and so I went over calories (I was NOT keeping track!)

 I am also making progress in my weight (slowly, but slow is best if I want to keep it off FOREVER). In November, my lowest weight was 182.4 in December, my lowest weight was 181. I know, not a huge difference, and so far I haven't gone under 181 in January, but it seems to take me half the month to get below last month's lowest. I have to keep in mind I have been working out a lot more this month than I have the past two months, so I will have to remember not to get discouraged if I don't get below 181.

That is my progress so far for 2017!

Ready for a new year!

I have been calorie counting for 2 months now (for me, that's a record!) and this last week I have gone to the gym a lot more often than usual.

I am really hoping to keep this up as long as I can without getting worn out. Everything I have done so far on this fitness journey has been a learning experience.

It seems like my most successful attempt at losing weight has been counting calories, even though I hate it.

However, if it's working, and it's making me learn about what I am eating, then I simply have to continue it. I will NOT let myself quit.

I have put together a workout outfit that is tighter than I'd like, and I am going to use that to take a picture in each month so I have a visual on my progress.

On January 2 we are going to a place where we can start training for a 5k, hopefully the weather doesn't suck! (It might snow)

Looking forward to being successful this year!

December 8 no time for anything!

Recently at work I have started training on a new position. For me, this means more networking within the city I work for, with my goal being to someday find a more permanent place then where I am.

However, between covering coworkers time off and learning this new system, I don't have a lot of free time. Not to mention, I need to be working on my cosplay for March (I am SO far behind) and my back has been hurting since Monday. It's getting better (I think) but it's a weird sort of pain and I am trying to rest it. That means no Kickboxing this week, which is tough!

Anyways, My lowest weight for November was 182.4 That weight is now my new weight to beat for December. I have matched it once, but have not managed to get lower yet.

I was bad last weekend and didn't think about what I was eating, so I went way over calories. Now that I am back to working pretty much every day, I have more control over what I eat (in this case, what goes in my lunch box).

I have found aiming for 300 or so calories for breakfast and having about 600 or 700 calories for dinner seems to be ideal (leaving around 600 or 700 calories for snacks and lunch).

Anywho, here is some of the food I have packed:

Peanut butter sandwhich (190 cal) green tea (0 cal) coffee (35 cal) pomegranate (1/2 cup, 72 cal) mandarine (47 cal) steel cut oats (300 cal) pretzels (100 cal) BBQ turkey (141 cal) = roughly 885 cal

Salad (lettuce, tomato, sugar snap peas and sunflower seeds w/ 2 TBSP of Italian dressing- roughly 300 cal), steel cut oats (300 cal) BBq turkey (141 cal) Pomegranate (72 cal) apple (80 cal) and blackberries (62 cal) = roughly 955 calories

coffee (35 cal) california roll sushi (I believe it was around 400 cal for these) apple (80 cal) 2 mandarines (94 cal) blackberries (62 cal) sugar snap peas (35 cal) string cheese (160 cal for 2) = roughly 866 calories. 

coffee (35 cal) Ceasar Salad (that I didn't end up eating, had Italian dressing roughly 300 cal) apple (80 cal) BBQ turkey (141 cal) two mandarines (94 cal) sugar snap peas (35 cal) hard boiled eggs (pic below) and blackberries (62 cal) = roughly 890 (only 590 without the salad, and I made up for it by eating spaghetti for dinner)

Breakfast is hard, oatmeal isn't always filling and it's calorie expensive. I LOVE eggs, but I never make the time for them in the morning to cook some. So I tried hard boiled eggs. Not my favorite, but still a nice bit of protein in the morning!

I found a new oatmeal! It's Steel cut oats with flaxseed, by Better Oats, Oat Revolution. It's prepackaged for convenience, flavored with maple and brown sugar (yum!) and has 170 calories. So far, it has been getting me through to lunch!
Steel cut oats (170 cal), coffee (35 cal) raisins (90 cal) 2 mandarines (94 cal) sugar snap peas (35 cal) red bell pepper (24 cal) white rice (169 cal) canned salmon (90 cal) spiral ham (280 cal) = roughly 987 cal 

I have been bad already, but am getting more focused now on staying under cal. The new oatmeal really helps! I am using my lowest weight from November to set a standard for this month. I feel pretty motivated to try and drink lots of water and reduce my calories so I can keep going down! 

So far I have been able to bike to kickboxing still, but now it's getting cold and we got some snow. Once my back feels better I am going to try to go again, and hopefully I can bike because I love being able to bike to class!

Bundled up for my bike ride to class

Day 29

Checking in again!

I haven't lost any weight, but I am getting better and better at this calorie counting business. I just spent the last several hours writing down the calories for each of my favorite foods, so when I am packing lunch I can do a better job.

Hopefully this will give me a better idea of how many calories I am packing for lunch/breakfast, and how much I can have for dinner.

The next thing I need to do is look for a good core workout video, and then make a schedule I can stick to so I can workout 5 times a week.

The easiest option is to start bringing my gym bag to work so I can go to the gym right after my shift ends.

This might be my slowest worst time of year (less active, eat more pie than normal) but starting December I get out of work at 4, so that gives me more time to hit the gym or go kickboxing. So, no excuses!

Some lunches that I have packed:

Salmon (280 cal) , pineapple (160 cal), multigrain rice (220 cal) steel cut oatmeal (300 cal) Raisins (90 cal) crackers (190 cal) =1,140 calories. That left only 490 cal for dinner, and I am certain I went over on this day. Oatmeal is great, but it's so calorie expensive!

Raisins (90 cal) cheezits (300 cal) crackers (190 cal) breakfast burrito (270 cal) white rice (169 cal) Canned salmon (90 cal) pineapple (160 cal) =1,269 calories.  This left only 361 calories for dinner. I went over again. I 100% should not have eaten the cheezits. 

Today I have had coffee (35 cal), raisins (90 cal), a granny smith apple (80) and pomegranates (72 cal). With this much fruit, I am feeling VERY hungry, so I am going to eat a peanut butter jelly sandwich soon (430 cal ... yikes! It would have been 190 without the jelly).

I also packed some leftover ham and green olives. If I eat them, the ham is about 140 cal, and the olives are 25 cal, that puts me at 872 cal! I packed 100cal worth of sourdough pretzels (LOVE those) which still gives me plenty for dinner. I am thinking chicken, because chicken is awesome.

Starting December I will be hitting the gym along with Calorie counting (might as well do something new each month) so I'd better come up with a good schedule!

That's all for now.