What have I been up to since April?
Well, I lost some weight after getting braces in January 2016. With a combination of having to have oral surgery to make an expander work and struggling to eat anything for a while, I managed to lose 5lbs and keep it off.
Over the summer I was super busy with work (the most stressful summer at work yet, I got promoted to a new position and the only person to train me got a promotion too so we were both thrown into the fire a little bit this summer. Oh well, we survived!)
I felt like I was doing alright on my diet, but when I participated in GISHWHES for the first time, a photo of myself trying to run in Pineapple shoes and hat made me realize I'm not in a good shape. I'm still not where I want to be.
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| GISHWHES is a scavenger hunt where we do silly or compassionate things. Make the world a stranger place. This task was to make a video of running in a pineapple hat and shoes. This picture doesn't make me look terrible, but still, I am not at the weight I wan to be. |
So, I ended up finding something totally awesome, a Kickboxing club!
Back in college UMaine had an amazing rec center and a free cardio kickboxing class that my roommate and I would go to. It was a LOT of fun, super intense (I couldn't do the whole thing without needed to stop and pant for breath) but it was packed full of people with only one instructor. There was no one to make sure you had good form. No one to teach you how to do a proper roundhouse or hook.
So I checked out I Love Kickboxing, after I kept seeing advertisements on Facebook. (Sneaky facebook ads!) They do this trial where you sign up for a couple classes at a reduced rate, and at the end of the first class they ask if you want to join. If you sign up right there and then you get a discount, but you have to sign up for either 6 months or a year.
That's the only downside that made me feel a little uncomfortable about the whole thing, I wasn't sure I wanted to commit.
However, I decided to commit to a year and make the best of it. So far, I have no regrets!
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| Before kickboxing |
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| After Kickboxing |
It's awesome getting to hit and kick an actual bag, and the instructors make sure you have the right form! They take a lot of pictures and videos too, which if you don't mind is awesome because you can check your own form and see how you progress as time goes on.
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| This is a body cross punch (squat a little to lower yourself, punch with right) |
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| Right front kick. One day I will kick over the bag! The instructor asked my permission before posting these pictures, which was appreciated! |
I have gained about 3lbs since joining in August, but I look and feel better, so I am certain it's just muscle. (Which is awesome!!)
Now I need to focus on the thing that is hardest for me: watching what I eat and trying to eat less. This is cookie, pie, and candy season, and I need to keep my diet in check. 6-pack abs are made in the kitchen, after all!
So I am back to no food after 9pm, and while I would like to go to zero soda, I might just have one a week.
I am also going to try and log what I eat again, but I hate doing that! However, it has made me more aware of what I am eating, so I know I need to keep up with it. Calorie counting sucks, but feeling like I don't love my body right now sucks even more.
I will probably post food pictures when I made healthy food, it's really nice looking back at that for inspiration.
I will try and keep up with this blog! ^^
