Changes | My Health and Weight Loss Journey to Get Fit and Lose Weight

Welcome to week 31 of my health and weight loss journey! I've been off track for a few weeks now and due to the lack of activity to report, among other things, I've decided to make this series a monthly post for now.

If I come across any great workouts or health products or services that I feel are worth sharing, I will share those in either the monthly post or a separate post if warranted.

I hope no one is disappointed by this, but without too much to share it's kind of redundant.

The Only thing to report in this post is that I lost 1 pound this week. Nothing new, it goes up, it goes down. Oh, and I've been trying to re-establish 2 daily habits that I did years ago. I would do squats for the 2 minutes that I brush my teeth (about 40 squats) and do 20 push ups during the time that I'm getting ready. I used to do this every day without fail and then I stopped. It's definitely a challenge to make this become a habit again... but I'm trying!

I hope the new monthly format for this post will be more interesting as I will hopefully have more to share.

Until then, stay healthy!

XO

Week 30: My Health and Weight Loss Journey to Get Fit and Lose Weight!

I think this will be my shortest post ever. I don't have anything to report this week. All I can say is sometimes life gets in the way. If I can't get back on track soon and find the time to focus on fitness, I will have to consider coming back to this series or maybe making it a monthly post for now, just until I have the time to focus on fitness again.

I'm not abandoning this yet. I will try to do what I can, whether it be just walking, doing some yoga or the 7-minute fitness app. I will do my best to keep going. Let's see what happens over the next week and I'll go from there.

I hope you are all staying well and are finding the time and energy to focus on fitness and your health.

XO

Week 29: My Health and Weight Loss Journey to Get Fit and Lose Weight!

7 Minute Workout App

Happy Sunday, Everyone and welcome to week 29 of my Health and Weight Loss Journey!

I have to admit, I've had a hard time either finding/making the time to workout or finding the energy to workout this last while. The injury I obtained back in April seems to have finally healed itself.. yay for that!

I decided to go back to an old discovery that I had used a few times and then abandoned. It's the 7 Minute Workout App. I decided since I'm having such a hard time with finding time and energy, how hard can 7 minutes be!? And, there is some science behind the workouts on the 7 Minute Workout App.

Initially, I started off with the 7 Minute Workout Classic workout, then I decided to try the 30-day challenge as the classic one seemed to be the same workout everyday which became boring to me. I know there is a science behind the workouts that they have developed but I just needed to change it up a bit. All the other workouts in the app are locked, so I assume that you have to pay for those. The Classic and 30-day Challenge are both free.

The 30-day challenge surprised me because it's actually a shorter workout than the 7-minute classic one. However, all of these workouts have the option for you to repeat the circuits. I read that it's recommended to do 3 sets of the classic circuit, but I've not had much time lately, so I've just been doing one circuit whether it was the Classic or the 30-day Challenge.

I figure that doing something is better than doing nothing, and I actually work up a bit of a sweat during the 7 Minute Workout and get a bit winded doing the 30 Day Challenge. When time and energy permits, I will do more reps of each circuit.

30 Day Challenge

The photo above is a screenshot from the 30 Day Challenge. Once you click on start from the 30 Day Challenge option the above screen pops up so you can choose your level. I opted for "Medium Plan 1."

7 Minute Workout App

Workouts For The Week:

Day 1- 0
Day 2- 0
Day 3- 0
Day 4- 7-minute workout app (I worked up a sweat!) #outofshape lol
Day 5- 7-minute workout app 30-day challenge- day 1 (1 circuit)
Day 6- 7-minute workout app 30 day challenge day 2 (1 circuit)
Day 7- 7-minute workout app 30 day challenge day 3 (1 circuit)

Weight: Down 1.5 lbs
Fat: Same

So maybe there's something to this! It's such a short workout that it's kind of hard to believe that I'd get any benefit, especially since I'm only doing 1 circuit so far, but I'm going to keep at it and see what transpires.

See you next week!

XO

Week 28: My Health and Weight Loss Journey to Get Fit and Lose Weight!

Well, Guys. I feel like the biggest slacker. I feel like I've completely fallen off the exercise bandwagon. I told myself that I'd keep doing some sort of exercise despite the pain I developed back in April of this year, and for the most part, I kept up some form of exercise until the last two weeks.

This week, I saw yet another Doctor. This Doctor thinks the pain that I've been having since April IS a strain injury from a workout way back in April. I didn't think it was possible to be sore for this long but she said it definitely is. The lesson for me here is not to force myself to workout when I'm too tired, or at least once I start to workout, if I'm not able to get into it in the first few minutes either give it up for that day or do something more gentle like yoga. I basically forced myself to workout when I was feeling really tired and I had very bad form. After the workout, I was sore all over. Once the soreness wore off, I was left with one spot that remained sore up until now. It's just been this last week that it's started to feel better.

I tend to be a seasonal exerciser- I usually start working out in the Spring and Summer. I am so cold in the colder months that I find it REALLY hard to get myself going. I need to find a way around this.

I am hoping to get inspired again this week and get off my butt. When I need inspiration I look to a fellow blogger Shana Emily from ColorBlindBlog.com. She is so motivating and inspiring! She is starting a 30-day fitness challenge on her Facebook page. You should really check it out if you want some inspiration and to join her 30-day challenge. It's starting now! #Teamletemhaveit

Here are my workouts for the week: 

Day 1- 

Day 2- 

Day 3- 

Day 4- 

Day 5-
Day 6- 

Day 7- 

Weigh in :

Weight: Up 1 lb

Fat: Same

See you next week!

xo

Week 26: My Health and Weight Loss Journey to Get Fit and Lose Weight!

 

Welcome to week 26 of my Health and Weight Loss Journey! If you missed last weeks post, you can find it linked here. There are a bunch of links to some great yoga workouts on youtube in that post.

Last week I had decided to change up my diet. I decided that for now I was giving up on the whole counting my macros and trying to load up on protein thing. Instead, I decided that I would focus on mostly eating vegetables, fruits, healthy carbs, some protein, and healthy fats, of course. The only thing I really measure or try to consume small amounts of is carbs that are from grains or starches.

After 1.5 weeks of eating this way, I think it's starting to pay off. This week the scale went down to the lowest it's been so far on this journey, and I only exercised one day this week, which was today, after I had weighed myself!

I plan on keeping up with these changes to my diet and seeing if I continue to benefit. And, hopefully, next week I'll be able to squeeze in some more exercise.

🍓 🍌 🍅 🍏 

Here are my workouts for the week: 

Day 1- 

Day 2- 

Day 3- 

Day 4- 

Day 5-
Day 6- 

Day 7- 35-minute walk

Weigh in :

Weight: Down 1.5 lbs

Fat: No change

Hopefully next week I'll have more good news to report. See you then!

Week 25: My Health and Weight Loss Journey to Get Fit and Lose Weight!

Last week I said that I would switch from doing cardio, HIIT, and weights to just yoga as well as any walks that I squeeze in.  I wanted to do a test and see if this works for me as it had in the past.

I did only yoga this week. I also used YouTube as my source for videos, so if any of you want to try some of the videos I did, you don't even need the DVD, just YouTube!

I did pretty gentle yoga this week due to some back issues. If any of you have back issues, you may find some of these helpful. I also came across some great relaxing videos to help with stress and I found them great to do before bed. All videos that I did will be linked under the list of workouts that I did for the week.

I have also decided to abandon the macro counting in terms of eating., at least for now. In fact, I am changing the focus on my diet. I am not going to focus so much on protein as I had been. It doesn't mean that I may not revisit that at some point. What I have decided to do is to try and make my diet mostly vegetables and fruits with small amounts of healthy carbs, some protein, and try to eat more fermented foods. I have focused on low sugar for years now and I will never stop that. Low sugar doesn't mean NO sugar, I still eat small amounts of treats, especially the 70% dark chocolate squares from Costco! So yummy and healthy too. I know that my heart likes it too.

Here are my workouts for the week: (Links provided below for each workout)

Day 1- 

Day 2- 29-minute yoga for a healthy liver with Adrienne - YouTube

Day 3- 15-minute detox yoga - YouTube, 16-minute yoga for a strong back yoga - YouTube

Day 4- 47-minute yoga for back and hamstrings - YouTube

Day 5-
Day 6- 24-minute yoga to calm your nerves with Adrienne - YouTube (Great before bed!)

Day 7- 29-minute yoga for a healthy liver with Adrienne - YouTube

Weigh in :

Weight: Down .5 lbs

Fat: Down 1%

See you next week!

Week 24: My Health and Weight Loss Journey to Get Fit and Lose Weight!

Pedometer App

Welcome to week 24 of my Health and Weight Loss Journey! Here is a link to last weeks post if you'd like to check it out.

This wasn't a great week workout wise. I squeezed in a few workouts then was plagued by a nasty stomach bug for a few days which threw the rest of the week off. I did lose a couple of pounds but it's probably from eating just soup and crackers for 3 days! Not a good way to lose weight.

This coming week I am going to focus on just doing yoga as well as any walks I squeeze in. No HIIT, cardio, or weights this week, just yoga, and I'm going to see what the results are at the end of the week. I've mentioned this is previous posts but I'll mention it again for those who missed it. Years ago I was doing some fairly hardcore HIIT workouts every single day and I kept gaining weight and fat! So, I gave up and switched to just doing yoga, 30 minutes a day and I immediately started to lose weight and fat. So that must be what my body needed, and maybe it needs that again. I love yoga but I also want to tone up so badly that I keep going back to weights and HIIT. But, this week I'm going to go back to just the yoga and see what happens.

I'll also be trying to meet my protein goals at each meal which I've lowered from 40 to 30 grams. Hopefully, that will be more manageable.

Until next week, here is what I managed to do this week...

Here are my workouts for the week:

Day 1- 

Day 2- 

Day 3- 30 minute walk

Day 4- 34 minute walk

Day 5- 

Day 6- 

Day 7- 

Weigh in :

Weight: Down 2.0 pounds

Fat: Up 1%

See you next week!

Week 23: My Health and Weight Loss Journey to Get Fit and Lose Weight!

Welcome to week 23 of my Health and Weight Loss Journey!

Unfortunately, I don't have a lot to report this week.

Last week (linked here) I lost 2.5 pounds which I think was from counting my grams of protein at each meal and making sure that I met the 40 grams of protein that my macros recommended. I calculated my macros very easily on Jen Heward's website (linked here).

This week I kind fell out of the habit of counting my grams of protein at each meal, and 40 grams for each meal was kind of tough for me as I very rarely eat meat and I cannot wont eat soy because of my thyroid. I have since recalculated my macros and will now strive for 35 grams of protein at each meal and see how I do.

Starting tomorrow, I will start counting my grams of protein at each meal again and see if it helps with next weeks weigh in.

Here are the results for this week...

Here are my workouts for the week:

Day 1- 

Day 2- Tone Trouble Zones DVD: 10 min Butt and Thigh + 10 min Total Body

Day 3- 34 minute walk + 20 push ups+ 40 squats

Day 4-

Day 5- 

Day 6- 

Day 7- 

Weigh in :

Weight: Gained 2.5 lbs

Fat: Down 1%

Have a great weekend!

Week 22: My Health and Weight Loss Journey to Get Fit and Lose Weight!

Welcome to week 22 of my Health and Weight Loss Journey! Here is a link to last weeks post if you'd like to check it out.

I have interesting results again this week.

I only managed to workout one day this week (I know, bad!) and it was just a short walk but I lost a few pounds.... Go figure. Everytime I workout all week, I gain weight but I don't lose any fat, and on the weeks that I hardly workout at all, I lose weight and my fat stays the same as well.

Come to think of it, I have been trying to eat more protein but I've been having trouble getting in the amount of protein that I should be eating. I'm trying to get in 40 grams per meal, but it's next to impossible for me as I'm not much of a meat eater at all and I cannot eat soy. I have not been counting carbs or calories, just been trying to reach my 40 grams of protein per meal.

If you want a great resource where you can get your macros calculated for you, check out this website https://jenheward.com/macro-calculator/. It's really easy to use and get your everything calculated based on your input. You just put in your info and it will tell you how many carbs, protein and fat you should have per day/per meal and how many calories you should be having as well. This is also based on your goal, whether it's to lose weight, gain muscle, or maintain. I really recommend that you check out this site. It's easy to use and it could be the reason that I've lost 2.5 pounds this week when I only went for a walk one day!

As I mentioned, I've just been trying to increase my protein at each meal and haven't changed anything else yet. I like to take baby steps. I have never counted calories before, nor do I want to. This is why I have only been trying to count the amount of protein that I'm having at each meal so far. I'll continue this way and see if I continue to lose. If not, I will attempt to count carbs etc.

I really want to join a gym. Not for the cardio machines, I can do that at home. I want to use the weight equipment and see some big changes. There are a few new gyms around me that are only $10 per month. But, I am hesitant as I know that there is a good possibility that I will stop going, as many people do who join gyms. I've belonged to gyms in the past and gone for a while and then stopped, so I'm trying to be realistic with myself.

Here are my workouts for the week:

Day 1- 

Day 2- 32 minute walk

Day 3-

Day 4-

Day 5- 

Day 6- 

Day 7- 

Weigh in :

Weight: Lost 2.5 pounds! :D

Fat: no change

Note: Last week I worked out 6 out of 7 days and I gained 2 pounds and had no change in body fat!

Let me know what you're doing to stay in shape in the comments.

See you next week!

Week 21: My Health and Weight Loss Journey to Get Fit and Lose Weight!

Welcome to week 21 of my Health & Weight Loss Journey! Here is a link to last weeks post if you'd like to check it out.

I forgot to weigh in Friday morning so I did this morning and I'm perplexed once again at the results.

Everytime I take time off from working out I lose weight. And, everytime I workout faithfully, I gain weight but the fat percentage stays the same. So, it's not like I am gaining muscle and losing fat. Maybe one of my readers who has some knowledge in this area can explain this to me. I just don't get it!

I worked out 6 out of 7 days this week. I did a mix of walking, my regular weight routine (posted below), and a workout DVD.

+ 15 reverse lunges, 15 reverse angled lunges + 15 walking lunges

Above weight routine is done with 8 lb weights

I also continue to use the Pedometer App (pictured above)

Here's what I did this week...

Here are my workouts for the week:

Day 1- 10 minutes on stepper / weight routine

Day 2- 35 minute walk

Day 3- 32 minute walk / weight routine

Day 4- 43 minute walk

Day 5- 10 minutes on stepper / weight routine

Day 6- 20 minute walk / No More Trouble Zones DVD: 10 minute whole body / 10 minute stretch

Day 7- no workout

Weigh in :

Weight: gained 2 pounds!

Fat: no change

This is getting really frustrating- not seeing any results. I am tempted to drop everything and just do yoga. This happened to me in the past, where I gained weight while sweating my but off doing Turbo Jam everyday for months, only to gain weight and fat. I gave up and did yoga and started to lose weight right away. Maybe that's what my body wants. I'll have to try to incorporate more yoga back into my routine and see what happens. But, I don't want to give up lifting weights as I want to build muscle since we tend to lose that as we get older.

Let me know in the comments what you are doing to stay in shape!

See you next week!

Week 18: My Health and Weight Loss Journey to Get Fit and Lose Weight!

Between the crazy summer heat this week and a migraine, it's been a bit of a struggle to workout this week. But, I did manage to get in a few workouts despite these challenges.  Here is a link to last weeks post if you'd like to check it out.

I mixed it up this week and used my stepper, walked, and continued with my customized weight routine (chart below).

I also continue to use the pedometer app when I walk (pictured in the main photo).

Personalized Workout Chart

+ 15 reverse lunges, 15, reverse angled lunges, and 15 walking lunges.

I am still using 8lb weights for the above weight routine.

Here are my workouts for the week:

Day 1- 

Day 2- Weight routine above 

Day 3- 35-minute walk

Day 4- 

Day 5- 30-minute stepper + weight routine above

Day 6- 

Day 7-

Weigh in :

Weight: no change

Fat: no change

I only worked out 3 out of 5 days this week, but it's better than nothing considering the incredible heat during the week. 

Again, we see no change in my weight or fat percentage. 

I was trying to think if there is anything that I have changed since I gained approximately 10 pounds over the last 2 years. The only thing I could think of was that I used to eat nuts daily but I had stopped over the last couple of years. That could be the key as I know that nuts are supposed to help with weight loss, particularly almonds, but I kind of lost my taste for them. I will be trying to eat some nuts daily and see if it makes a difference. This will be an interesting test, and since I'm documenting everything, we will definitely be able to see if incorporating nuts back into my diet makes any difference.

Let me know in the comments what you are doing this summer to stay in shape.

See you next week!

Week 17: My Health and Weight Loss Journey to Get Fit and Lose Weight!

Welcome to week 17 of my Health and Weight Loss Journey.

Workout wise, it was a pretty boring week. I just went for walks and did my personalized weight lifting routine. At least I did a lot better that last week (post linked here).

I continued to use the Pedometer App. which I am still loving!

It has been scorching hot and humid but I've been going for my walks again despite the heat.

I think it's good to sweat, it's an easy way to get rid of toxins.

What!?!?!

Baby Egret

One day, I saw something flying past me that looked VERY strange. It looked like a bird of some sort covered in fluff. I thought it's either got some disease or it's some very strange looking bird. In 40+ years, I have never seen a bird like this. I wasn't able to get a picture of it, but I googled it and found exactly what I saw. I wanted to share a picture of it, it's such a strange looking bird. It was a baby Egret. Never heard of them, but apparently they were almost extinct at one time.

Personalized Workout Chart

+ 15 reverse lunges, 15, reverse angled lunges, and 15 walking lunges.

Note: I'm still using 8lb weights for the above weight routine.

It was a slow start to the week but I finished strong.

Here are my workouts for the week:

Day 1- 

Day 2- 

Day 3- 

Day 4- 30 minute walk + weight routine above

Day 5- 30 minute walk

Day 6- 30 minute walk + weight routine above

Day 7- 30 minute yoga - 5 Day Fit Yoga DVD (Pm routine with Rod Stryker)

Weigh in :

Weight: down .5 lbs 

Fat: no change

Let me know what you're doing to stay in shape this summer!

See you next week!

Week 16: My Health and Weight Loss Journey to Get Fit and Lose Weight!

This is going to be the quickest and shortest weekly update on my fitness journey. Not only did I eat like crap all week, but I only worked out 1 day out of 7 .

If you want to check out last weeks post you can find it linked here.

I did weigh in this morning and nothing has changed. It doesn't seem to change if I workout or don't workout, so what's the point? Being and feeling healthier and stronger even if I don't lose weight!

I know there are going to be weeks like this, so instead of beating myself up over it, I'm just going to do my best to do better next week.

Here are my workouts for the week:

Day 1- 

Day 2- 

Day 3- The Firm Fat Burning, Cardio Toning - 30 minutes

Day 4-

Day 5- 

Day 6-

Day 7- 

Weigh in :

Weight: no change

Fat: no change

I hope to do much better next week. See you then!

Week 15: My Health and Weight Loss Journey to Get Fit and Lose Weight!

As I write this post, I can hardly believe that it's the end of week 15 of my Health and Weight Loss Journey to Get Fit and Lose Weight. 

Here is a link to last weeks post if you'd like to check it out.

I tried a new DVD this week called Happy Hormones by Ana Brett. It's Kundalini style yoga which I've been doing on and off for years. I like to mix up my workouts a lot as you can probably tell.

I was a little disappointed with this DVD as it didn't have any preset workouts. You can program your own workout with the matrix, but I really appreciate preset workouts. I enjoy most of my other Kundalini DVD's by Ana Brett but this one was a bit of a disappointment. I'll still use it and see if it does help with hormones etc. and report back on it.

I continued walking when I could and I also continue to use the Pedometer App. which I cannot recommend enough!

This screenshot above was a longer walk as I decided to walk to the store that day- save gas and get in a little exercise.

I found this great rock while walking. It really sparkles in person so I had to grab it. Now if I could just find some gold!

I also did the Firm's Fat-Burning Cardio DVD that uses resistance bands. It's only a 30-minute routine which I like. I didn't feel that it worked my muscles very much but I did work up a good sweat. Maybe I need a stronger resistance band. 

I really prefer free weights to resistance bands. Although, resistance bands do have their place for things like pilates etc. (which I cannot partake in due to some old injuries).

I also continued with my personalized workout chart. I have to update it as I've added in 15 reverse lunges, 15 reverse angled lunges, and 15 walking lunges.

Note: I currently use 8 lb weights for these exercises.

Here are my workouts for the week:

Day 1- 

Day 2- 57 min walk

Day 3- 

Day 4- Happy Hormones yoga DVD- 1 hr 

Day 5- The Firm Fat Burning Cardio Toning DVD- 30 min

Day 6-

Day 7- 30 min walk + weight routine with 8 lb weights

Weigh in :

Weight: no change

Fat: no change

Let me know if you have any workout recommendations, preferably DVD's that aren't too long and have a mix of strength training with some cardio.. but more focus on weights and strength. 

Thanks for coming by this week, and hopefully see you next week!

PS. Come and join in the Blogger fun at The Best of Blogosphere!

Week 14: My Health and Weight Loss Journey to Get Fit and Lose Weight!

Welcome to week 14 of my Health and Weight Loss Journey to Get Fit and Lose Weight!

If you missed last weeks post here is a link to it.

Read on to see what I accomplished this week.

 I found this on Google and found it interesting. As you can see, it recommends that adults engage in 150 minutes of moderate activity a week. Based on this, If I exercise just 30 minutes a day for 5 days a week, I've met these guidelines. Doesn't sound too bad to me. This isn't to say that this is the "gold standard." But, it's at least a guideline for a minimum to strive for.

This week I continued with my walks, even with the sweltering heat. I'm continuing to use the free pedometer app, which I'm loving. I usually walk about 2600 steps during my 25-30 minute daily walks. I walk an extra 2000 steps on the day shown in the above screenshot of my pedometer app. I decided to walk to the store that day to get a few groceries. Save on gas and get some extra exercise in... why not.

Most days I continued on my usual route.

Coming home one day, I spotted this flock of geese. I guess they got lost and headed into someone's backyard. I'm glad it wasn't my yard as they poop everywhere! Not that I don't feel for my neighbours.

Note: I added 15 reverse lunges & 15 walking lunges to the above chart

I'm including my weight routine chart again as I've continued with this routine regularly. I strive for every other day, and I currently use 8 lb weights for all exercises.

I also got a new DVD to try out. It's another Kundalini Yoga DVD by Ana Brett called Happy Hormones. I just got it so I'll let you know how it goes. Let's hope it gives me happy hormones! Being in my 40's, I can use all the help I can get in that department.

Here are my workouts for the week:

Day 1- 25 min walk + 8 lb weight routine

Day 2- 

Day 3- 40 min walk + 8 lb weight routine

Day 4- 

Day 5- 25 min walk + 8 lbs weight routine

Day 6- 53 min walk 

Day 7- 

Weigh in :

Weight: gained 2 lbs

Fat: no change

I exercised 4 out of 7 days again this week. And, here we go with the scale again, up and down every week resulting in no weight change on the whole.

I'm going to incorporate my new Happy Hormones DVD next week, so we'll see if that makes a difference.

Let me know in the comments what you're doing to stay in shape?

See you next week!

PS. come and join all the blogger fun over at The Best of Blogosphere!