Status Update…

It’s about that time…  I need to let you’all know how things are going.  I have started running/jogging 3 days a week and doing a very vigorous toning exercise on the other 3 days a week and relaxing 1 day a week usually Sunday but sometimes Saturday.
My vigorous toning exercise started out as the Jump-off-Jiggle which I was just having a hard time getting through, it’s really high impact on the knees and legs and while the cardio is good with the running I wasn’t working my upper body as much as I would like. Plus my knees were suffering, after being a 10+ year soccer veteran my knees don’t need any more abuse, truly.  I started doing the routine on my sons’ trampoline, while the impact was still there it was cushioned by the give of the floor beneath me. I still will get on the trampoline from time-to-time to play with the kids and jump, it’s a lot of fun and you have no idea that you really are working out.

However, I wanted to start something that worked my upper body… some of my more problem areas like my pesky ‘bat wing’ arms and my post baby abs. I started with some of the things GM had posted starting with the 100 work-out and the weekly work-out that’s listed on Pinterst and combined a few and omitted a few to help me achieve the things that I felt I was capable of doing and goals I wanted to reach.  For example, I omitted the split jumps and running and added different legs lifts and more push-ups and a longer plank. I did various other adds and subtracts as well and so far it’s been working well.  FTR: those russian twists are really terrible but they work I was pretty sore the next few days after doing them.
I also started, as said in a prior post, gardening. It’s hard to get up & run then come home and work the garden but all that raking, weed pulling and bending to plant & such is a work-out.  I spent 6 hours outside one day last week planting, weeding, raking and digging.  Talk about a work-out!   Monday I got up went for my run came back by 6:30am and worked in the yard and gardening till 9:30am. So, I literally worked out for 3.5 hours. The last 3 hours were not nearly as intense of the work-out as my 30 min run but still I was getting heart-rate up and still exercising & toning those arms!!
Summer for me is A LOT more physical outside activity and I enjoy it so much more!! I cannot wait till the weather and the pond is warm enough to swim, swimming is SUCH great exercise!!
Then came Wednesday this week (yesterday)   That blasted monthly cycle we have each month came to visit.  I’ve noticed in the last few weeks that my appetite has increased and that is because my metabolism is increasing so I have been battling that increase in hunger with LOTS of water.  However, I noticed Monday and Tuesday it was even more so and the water wasn’t cutting it. I could feel the change in my body & knew what was inevitable,according the calendar it was about that time anyway. I say ‘ugh’ because this week in the month is SO hard for me, I lose all forward momentum, I lose so much energy and the cycle in itself is VERY hard on me. So Wednesday is usually my running I day but I rested instead, I picked up the toning exercise today and hopefully I will feel better and capable of running tomorrow. I guess I never realized it but your body burns up to 300 more calories a day while cycling then on a normal day which is why it increases your appetite and why you have low energy. The scale also will lie to you the week prior and during your cycle because as your hormones change your body puts on water weight and you have bloating, which if you are watching your weight as much as I am seeing that scale jump in just a day or two is SO discouraging but don’t fret!!   Just try to watch what you eat by making healthy snack choices instead of the entire pint of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream & trust me you will lose all that water weight and bloating and be back to normal in about a weeks time, still though ‘ugh’ for real!! We have enough things to worry about without having to fight our own hormones!

My goals are to be closer to 145-150 by July 4th & to continue with the running/jogging 3 days a week & pushing myself by adding a little farther with each passing week and pushing myself with the toning exercises on the other 3 day a week & only leaving 1 day of rest.  I’m so working towards a new wardrobe for vacation & I’m getting so close, none of my clothes fit as is, YAY!

So… Here’s the numbers:
Week 1:       198 lbs  46/40/45
Last post:   175 lbs 39/33/38
Last Week: 164 lbs  37/33/36

And I’ve included a picture so you can see some of the change:

Left was taken at Christmas &
Right was taken at Easter.