Week 10: My Health and Weight Loss Journey to Get Fit and Lose Weight!

Hi everyone, It's the end of week 10 on my Health and Weight Loss Journey. Here is a link to week 9 if
you'd like to check it out.

I think my blog had some kind of glitch and reposted week 1 of this journey somehow, sorry for that.

I am slowly getting better from my injuries and I'm doing what I can while trying to be careful not to
aggravate the injuries.

I've made a few changes this week...

-I have been alternating days with yoga and cardio/weight exercises.

I would like to do yoga everyday even if I do another workout,
but I just can't seem to find the time to do it all. So, for now,
I'll keep this schedule up and see how it goes.

-I have also added a 10-minute walk to the start of each day- before I do anything else.

It's quick, easy and starts the day off right. It's not hard to find 10 minutes, right!?

I do the walk outdoors to get some natural vitamin D and I don't wear sunscreen on my body.
I do this for maximum Vitamin D absorption. You may not agree with this. But, it's something I am 
trying out. It's only 10 minutes and it's not at the time where the sun's rays are at their peak.

Here are some pictures from my walk. I used to do this walk all the time years ago. It's good for the body, mind, and soul to get out in nature. As much as I know this, I don't do it enough.

This is one of the yoga DVDs I used this week. Kundalini yoga is completely different from Hatha style yoga.

If you've never tried it, you should. It has a lot of exercises that are good for hormones etc.

Here is a workout chart that I created for myself. I do these exercises when I'm not doing a workout DVD and I'm just working out on my own. I'll do about 20 minutes of cardio and then use 8lb weights and follow the chart below.

My workouts for the week:

Mon- 20 min Stepper + 8lb weight routine using above chart
Wed- Kundalini yoga - 40 min
Fri- 25 min morning walk (1st day)  + Hatha yoga 20 min

Weight - No change
Fat %- No change

I was hoping to see some changes on the scale this week. But, I know that most weight loss, at least for myself, comes from diet alone. Working out is healthy, but I don't usually lose weight from it. Eating a bit of ice cream everyday doesn't help either. lol  But, realistically, I do my best to eat healthy most of the time, but I'm not going to deprive myself.

It will be interesting to see if the 10-minute morning walk will make any difference as I just started the morning walk at the end of this week.

What are you doing to stay in shape?

See you next week.

Amy

xoxo

Week 1: My Health and Weight Loss Journery to Get Fit and Lose Weight!

I started my fitness journey to get fit and lose weight last Friday, so today it's one week since I started, and I promised to post workouts for the week and any results.

If you missed the first post starting this journey, you can find it linked here.

Week 1 workouts:

Day 1- Jillian Michaels Ripped in 30 (level- week 1)

Day 2- Same

Day 3- Same

Day 4- Same

Day 5- Monthly visitor- workout ruined!

Day 6- 30 minutes on stepper 

Day 7- Jillian Michaels Ripped in 30 (level - week 1)

The Jillian Michael's workout that I did this week is HIIT (high intensity interval training) style. She does 3 minutes of strength (I used 5 lb weights), 2 minutes of cardio, and 1 minute of abs. Total workout is 30 minutes. 

I found the Jillian Michael's workout challenging but doable. I had a hard time completing abs and push ups. I haven't worked out in so long so I'm pretty out of shape.

It will be interesting to see how much harder week/level 2 is compared to week/level 1.

I have always been the kind of person to workout at the end of the day. This time I have started working out first thing when I get up. One reason is because I figured if I got it out of the way, I couldn't find excuses later. The second reason I did this is because I thought that I may burn more fat if I workout after fasting. Since my body wont have food to burn as fuel it will use my fat instead. WRONG! After doing some research on this, it's not the way to go. From what I've read, you risk losing muscle and slowing your metabolism if you don't fuel your body before a workout, you also wont have as much energy for your workout. Also, eating before a workout can speed up your muscle recovery after your workout.  From now on I will try to have a small snack before a workout. It's okay to workout after a fast occasionally but not a good idea to do it all the time.

Here is some great info and suggestions on what to eat before and after your workouts from fitnessmagazine.com. 

I weighed myself first thing in the morning on an empty stomach last week and I did the same this week. 

Pounds lost- 1 lb  
fat lost- 1%

I do feel stronger, like I'm building muscle. I've heard that muscle has memory and as I mentioned in my last post, for most of my life I have done some form of exercise.  

I have a long way to go to tone up the way that I want to but I feel like I am slowly starting to and that's pretty motivating. 

It's all up to me whether I want to be fit and firm or out of shape. I choose fit and firm and I will do my best to get there and stay there.

If you want to start a journey to get fit or lose weight or both, it's never too late! Join me if you like. Let me know what you are doing to get into shape. You can also find me on Instagram (link at top of page).

Amy

xoxo

Fitness: My Health and Weight Loss Journery to Get Fit and Lose Weight!

Like a lot of people, I packed on a few pounds over the winter. Even though I'm 5.7", even 5 or 10 pounds makes a big difference on me. I don't feel or look good.

Last year I did a 30 day fitness challenge -(linked here), which was a bit of a success but not entirely as life got in the way near the end of the 30 days.  I'm not going to beat myself up about it either, because sometimes things beyond our control can get in the way of the best intentions.

This time I'm starting my get fit and weight loss journey with no "end date" in mind. Most of my life I have been involved in fitness to some degree with the exception of the last few years. I've always wanted exercise to be a part of my life, not something I do until a certain date and then stop. That wasn't even my intention when I did that 30 day challenge, it was just something I wanted to challenge myself to do for fun and to get the workout ball rolling.

For this journey, I will document all of my workouts and post them weekly. I usually do various types of exercises from yoga, HIIT (high-intensity interval training), weights, and cardio.

I will also document my weight loss and will weigh in once a week.

As I've gotten older I've found I lose weight very slowly and not as easily as when I was younger. These days, I don't usually lose weight with just exercise, it's going to take some modifications to my diet if I'm going to lose weight. I'm not going to go on a "diet" but I will watch my portions and do my best to eat healthier foods.

I have 9 lbs to lose based on my weight today. It doesn't sound like a lot but it looks and feels like a lot to me. I can just imagine what 9 lbs of fat looks like and it's not pretty! I'm fairly certain that I've seen what 5 lbs (or so) looks like on some Dr. Oz episode.

Ultimately, I do want to join a gym. I've wanted to get into weight lifting for quite some time and the type of weight lifting that I want to do, the amount I want to lift, isn't something I can do at home nor do I have the equipment. I currently have a pair of 5 lb weights and 8 lb weights. I can't go too far with those but it's a start.

I don't just want to lose a few pounds, I really want to get fit, firm, and healthy!

Today was day 1- I did Jillian Michael's DVD "Ripped in 30."

Next week I will post my 1 week update with all the workouts I chose to do over the week and any weight loss results.

If anyone wants to join me on this journey, check in weekly here on my site and share what workouts you are doing in the comments or check me out on Instagram (link at top of page). I'm sure we can get some ideas and inspiration from each other.

Amy

xoxo

30 Days of Fitness Challenge: Update!

I wanted to update those who may had been following my 30 Days of Fitness Challenge, and also put some closure on this one. My last post in my 30 Days of Fitness Challenge was on April 30th, you can find that post HERE.  The original post to the challenge can be found HERE.

It was a pretty difficult summer for me, with sick family members among other issues. So working out was put on the back-burner for much of the summer. I still did go from doing nothing to doing a variety of workouts, from yoga to HIIT and cardio. Despite this and relatively healthy eating, I was not losing weight.

I ended up having blood work done and found out that I am hypo-thyroid. I had been hypo-thyroid years ago, but once I stopped having soy products my thyroid went back to normal. That`s a whole other story. But, I can tell you, I`m not the only one, this happened to a friend of mine also. Needless to say, I've stayed away from soy since then. But, now I find myself dealing with Hypo-thyroidism again.

I have started a thyroid med that was prescribed by an M.D. who practices bio-identical medicines. He does not prescribe synthetic medications. My understanding is that one that I have started is made from a pig. oink oink.  OK, it`s kind of gross.  I am only on a 15mg dose which I think is low, and I am now due to retest my blood and see where I am at.

This doesn't mean that I've given up on working out. I just have a lot of my focus elsewhere. But, when I can, I do short, at home workouts with weights, cardio and yoga. Although I like variety in my workouts, I am really interested in starting to do some weight lifting. I don't mean that I want to look like a body builder, I just want to feel strong and keep my muscle tone as I am aging. I have actually lost muscle tone, so even getting some back would be great at this point.

I have a few free weights at home, my highest being 8 lbs. There is a gym opening up near my house that is a no-frills gym, so it will have cardio and weight machines and that's about it. But, it's only $10 per month, so I am likely going to join and work on my cardio and weight training there. I will always keep up a yoga practice at home with my assorted DVD's.

I'm sorry if I left anyone who may have been following this challenge hanging, that wasn't my intention. So, while I close this "challenge," I will most likely start up a new one once I've joined the gym. For now, I will continue to work on my thyroid issue, trying to eat healthy, and some at home workouts.

Scored these new workout leggings at Winners for inspiration to keep going! :)

Amy

xx

30 Days of Fitness Challenge: Week 4 Update- Final Week!?

Today is technically the last day of my 30 days of fitness challenge. Dealing with a sick family member this last week made it really tough to get my workouts in and although it was on my mind, it wasn't the first thing on my mind for obvious reasons. Due to this, I would like to extend this challenge by a week and kind of pretend this week never happened, and I will make next week the final week of this challenge.  

I did get in a couple of workouts this week and will list and link them as usual, but there's really not much to report this week.  Also, the stress of dealing with a sick family member certainly didn't help with eating a healthy diet. The usual stress cravings kicked in as well as time being an issue so I was reaching for quick foods like pizza more often.. not that I'd ever stop eating pizza anyways, I just ate more of it!

Here is what I have accomplished for the last 7 days:

1. Toning- The Firm's Hi-Def Sculpt complete workout (45 min)
2. Toning- YouTube- Jessica Smith Full Lower Body Exercise  (40 min)- Awesome workout!
3. No workout
4. No workout
5. No workout
6. No workout
7. No workout 

Weigh in:

• Starting weight: 145 lbs
• Last week: 143.0 lbs
• Today's weight: 143.5 lbs 

Wow, it was almost more painful for me typing "no workout" over and over again in the days listed above rather than doing a workout.  But family comes first and I am just reminding myself that there's always tomorrow. And one rule I've always lived by (sometimes to my detriment) is that rules were made to be broken, so I'm breakin' em, and I will continue the challenge this coming week-starting tomorrow.  I am also thinking that once the challenge is over, I may start a Fitness Friday to keep up my workouts and progress, keep me accountable and make sure that I reach my goals and stay there.

As far as my weight goes, I have found from A LOT of past experience that my weight is mostly affected by my diet and not exercise, so yes, i need to tweak my diet too. But, there are so many benefits and results that I am looking forward to from exercising that I really want to keep it up. I don't focus so much on the scale but rather how my clothes fit, how I feel and am I gaining muscle and losing fat, those are my objectives.

If you've been working out, I would love to hear any tips, tricks or even great workout resources that you have found or use yourself.

Xo Amy

30 Days of Fitness Challenge: Week 3 Follow Up + HUGE Skinny Teatox giveaway {over}

The last week has really been up and down with my workouts. I've had some rather large obstacles that made it impossible to workout on some days but life happens sometimes and you can't beat yourself up about that. Despite this I am sticking with the challenge and will update my progress and workouts completed in this post. If you missed the post regarding the challenge, here is a link to it 30 Days of Fitness Challenge.

Here is what I have accomplished for the last 7 days:

1. Yoga- Seane Corn Detox Flow Yoga (35 min)
2. Toning- The Firm's Hi-Def Sculpt complete workout (45 min)
3. No workout- family outing
4. Yoga- Trudie Styler's Weight Loss yoga, total body yoga (24 min)
5. Toning- The Firm Hi-Def Sculpt Express workout (25 min)
6. Yoga- Seane Corn Detox Flow Yoga (65 min)
7. No workout- sick :(

Weigh in:

• Starting weight: 145 lbs
• Last week: 143.5 lbs
• Today's weight: 143.0 lbs

The scale doesn't seem to want to budge very much but I'm definitely firming up and that's enough to keep me going. Hopefully next week will be better. I know that if I keep at it I will eventually see the results I want and that keeps me motivated!

If you haven't heard of Skinny-Teatox yet, they are currently holding a HUGE giveaway right now! I haven't tried their products yet but have been hearing a lot of buzz about them and hope to soon. Check out the contest if you are interested, it's a big one!!

$1,200 Victoria's Secret & Teatox Giveaway- Enter here!

Here is a link to their website if you just want to check them out- skinny-teatox

See you next week!

Xo Amy

30 Days of Fitness Challenge: Week 2 Follow Up

It's been 2 weeks since I challenged myself to 30 days of fitness. It's been a challenge alright. Trying to find the time and having enough energy are my biggest challenges so far. As much as I feel good after completing a workout and keeping up with the challenge, some days I feel like I just can't do it. Despite this, I am pushing myself and that's part of the point; sometimes we need a push and it has to come from within ourselves, no one else is going to do it for us. The motivation comes from whatever it is we desire; wanting a better body, better health, better sleep, a better outlook or just being able to fit into all our clothes.  Whatever our motivation is, we have to use it as a powerful tool to get ourselves going and to stay on track.

I don't want the challenge to end after 30 days, I want this to become a habit, a way of life. That is another point to this challenge for me- to make fitness a part of my daily routine, to find the time, to make the time, to find forms of exercise that I enjoy and keep at it!

Over the past 7 days of this challenge there were some days that I just wasn't up to doing much of anything. But, for the most part, I chose to do some form of activity rather than do nothing (with the exception of one fail day.) I will list the exercises that I chose to do over the last week and you will see that I found many options for those days that I didn't have the time or energy. I will link to items I used in my workouts this week where possible.

Here is what I have accomplished for the last 7 days (Day 9-15):

1. Fail
2. Yoga- Trudie Styler's Weight Loss yoga, total body yoga (24 min)
3. Yoga- Sara Ivanhoe's Candlelight yoga (45 min)
4. Toning- The Firm's Hi-Def Sculpt complete workout (45 min)
5. HIIT- 7 Minute Workout App -it's free! (7 sweaty minutes...lol)
6. Toning- The Firm Hi-Def Sculpt Express workout (25 min)
7. HIIT- Youtube video- Fitness Blender's Brutal Fat Burning Cardio HIIT (27 min)

Weigh in:

• Starting weight: 145 lbs
• Last week: 143.5 lbs
• Today's weight: 143.5 lbs

Despite my one fail day, I chose an activity on 6 out of the 7 days, which I don't feel bad about at all. I'm not beating myself up over a fail day or even a shorter workout day as it's better than what I was doing before this challenge ie. nothing! Even on some of my most limiting days I found a way to squeeze in a little workout. For instance, some of the DVD's I have offer shorter workouts, and I finally used an app that I've had on my cell phone for eons- the "7 Minute Workout." It was a great workout and I actually worked up a sweat! Even though it was only 7 minutes, it felt good to get in a workout that day. I'm impressed with the app. and will definitely use it again.

I've read a lot of research over the last few years which says that they are finding out that short bursts of exercise are more beneficial than longer more traditional workouts.  Along those lines, HIIT or "High Intensity Interval Training" is gaining more and more popularity due to its purported benefits over conventional workouts. Many of you are probably familiar with or have heard of it. HIIT is basically a form of exercise where you alternate high intensity exercises with low intensity ones. One example would be running quickly for a few minutes and then walking for 1 minute (your rest period). This style of exercise is supposed to burn fat much more effectively than a steady paced workout. Here is Wikipedia's description of HIIT.

I may not have lost any weight but that's okay, I feel I am toning up already!

If you know of any great workout DVD's or app's please let me know.

Xo Amy

30 Days of Fitness Challenge: Week 1 Follow Up

Today marks the one week period since I started my 30 days of fitness challenge.  Here is the link to the original post Day 1: 30 Days of Fitness Challenge . I'll be honest, I have had a few fail days where I just couldn't squeeze in a workout for one reason or another. The point for me is that once I fall off I do climb back on. I am not discouraged. In fact, I feel more motivated to do better next week. I am doing this challenge to try and get back into shape, to challenge myself and to try and develop the habit of workout out. I think they say it takes 27 days of doing something consistently for it to become a habit, so I may have to challenge myself to this again once this challenge comes to an end. And, the reason I allow myself to choose to do whatever workout I'm in the mood for is so I enjoy it! If I'm not enjoying it, I wont want to do it.

I think one of my issues is time management. I always plan to workout but some days time just gets away from me. I also struggle with insomnia and severe fatigue on some days and this is a work in progress.

Today's workout

Here is what I have accomplished for the last 8 days (Day 1-8):

1. Yoga- Seane Corn Detox Flow Yoga (65 min purify workout)
2. Fail- migraine kept me down an out
3. Tony Little's Easy Shaper workout
4. Yoga- Trudie Styler's Weight Loss Yoga (18 +24 min workout)
5. Fail- too tired
6. Yoga- Trudie Styler's Weight Loss (24 min)
7. Yoga- YouTube video (15 min)
8. Yoga- Seane Corn Detox Yoga Flow (65 min purify workout)

Weigh in:

• Starting weight: 145 lbs
• Today's weight: 143.5 lbs

I weighed myself at the same time of day- in the morning before breakfast. I didn't lose a lot of weight, but I am happy that I lost something. With such a small difference in weight it could even be a difference in water weight. Although, I did eat a TON of salty popcorn last night (fail) so I would think that I would retain water. I do feel that I am slowly gaining muscle as I can see some toning going on in my legs. *gets excited

It seems like I really was drawn to yoga this week and a little bit of weights and toning exercises. I think I have steered clear from the cardio partially due to a bad knee. Although, since I have started this challenge my knee seems to be getting a little bit better. The yoga DVD's that I have been doing have mostly been the weight loss kind where you use your body own body weight as resistance and I definitely feel it in my muscles the next day.

Yoga has served me well for weight loss in the past. I had a large weight gain (for me) at one point in my life and I worked out hardcore to Turbo Jam every single day only to gain weight after a month of this. And, it wasn't muscle gain as my clothes became even tighter and my scale showed a higher percentage of body fat. So, I dropped that like a hot potato and I started doing 20 minutes of yoga a day using Sarah Ivanhoe's Yoga Body Makeover Series and suddenly the pounds started melting off! I guess that's what my body wanted and needed. Hey, whatever works right!?

I am excited to continue with this challenge and looking forward to the next week of workouts. That's what's great about allowing yourself to do what you want when you want, you don't end up dreading it!

Let me know what tips you have for staying in shape or keeping on track. Or if you want to join this challenge at any point it's never too late! ;)

Xo Amy

Day 1: 30 Days of Fitness Challenge- Yoga, Cardio, Weights and HIIT!

Talk about perfect timing! With a new month starting today, it's the perfect time for me to start my 30 days of fitness challenge. I've packed on a few extra winter pounds and I'm definitely not happy about it. I did well for most of the winter and I didn't feel like I gained any weight until the very end of winter, sometime around February, when I just felt my body suddenly packing on some pounds. Although, I'm not sure why because I hadn't changed anything. It seems like I have put weight on all over, but, I really notice it in my abdomen area as well as my hips and butt. Most of my jeans had become WAY too tight and I started looking like a sausage in them (best way to make you look even bigger!) And, yesterday, I was more than filling out my biggest pair of jeans!

I had been toying with the idea of challenging myself to either a 30 days of yoga or a 30 day workout/HIIT (High-intensity interval training) challenge. Since I prefer to do a little bit of everything: yoga, cardio, weights and HIIT, I just couldn't make up my mind! So, I decided that I will just do a "30 days of fitness" challenge. This way I can do any of the above as long as I do one form of exercise every day for the next 30 days! And, I will use this blog to keep myself accountable and on track.

I did the dreaded "weigh-in" and it wasn't good, but it also wasn't as horrible as I had expected. I guess I was expecting worse considering the extent that I was busting out of my biggest pair of jeans. Sadly, this indicates that it's most likely all fat that I;ve gained and no muscle- since muscle weighs much more than fat. (Picture 5 lbs of fat vs 5 lbs of muscle.) But, I guess it would be wishful thinking to hope for muscle gain when you're not even working out...

Time for change. I wish I could keep working out all the time once I get started. Not only do I look better when I workout but I also feel better! I go through phases though; I'll work out regularly for a while until something sets me back and then I fall off the "workout wagon." This time I stayed off the wagon for far too long,


The Challenge:

• I challenge myself to do some form of exercise activity daily; whether it be yoga, cardio and/or weights. (workouts can range from 15-60 minutes, depending on how I'm feeling and how much time I have.) note: my workouts will mostly be on a treadmill or following along with DVDs as I do not have a gym membership
• to lose weight and gain muscle.
• to fit into ALL of my jeans.
• to lose 5 pounds, minimum! (it doesn't sound like a lot, but I don't even want to picture what 5 pounds of body fat looks like!)
• and hopefully reap some other benefits along the way! 

 My Stats: 

• My start weight today is exactly 145 pounds and ??% body fat (trying to get my height into the scale to find out my % of body fat)
• My goal weight is 140 pounds (my ideal weight is 135 pounds)
• I am 5.7 and a half (just for reference)
• I have taken my measurements and will share how much I lose, if any 

My Tools:

• variety of workout dvd's (yoga, cardio, weights, HIIT)
• free workouts on YouTube 
• treadmill 
• mini stair climber
• kettlebell
• free weights
• resistance bands
• my body weight (lots of squats and push-ups)
• Old Navy workout clothes, I LOVE their workout gear (seriously, check out their compression pants!) hehe.. had to throw in some fashion!

Some of my gear:

From experience, I know that I look and feel my best around 135-137 pounds, and, I also know from experience that it's a little unrealistic for me to STAY at that weight. Usually, 140 pounds is pretty easy for me to maintain without too much effort.

I will be trying to eat healthier as well, but I will not be going on any "diet" per se. No calorie counting, no diet restrictions. Although, I do try to limit my sugar (especially) and carbohydrate intake as I have for years after a rather large, unexpected and sudden weight gain many years ago (and that's what worked for me to lose the weight.)

I will be keeping a journal and I will weigh in once a week (I don't like to weigh-in daily as our weight can fluctuate daily due to water weight as well as many other factors.) I will also document anything else that comes up during this 30 day journey, such as: stress level, sleep, mood etc. It will be interesting to me to see what changes, if any, may occur during the challenge. I could definitely use a boost in the mood and sleep department!

Here I am in a before shot. I knew I had gained weight, but, I didn't realize that I got this large (for me) until I took this pic a couple of days ago! (I once heard a professional photographer say "a camera doesn't lie"-yikes!) ps. don't mind all the cat toys... lol

Day 1 of 30 (April 1, 2015):

Wow, a picture is definitely worth a thousand words. Didn't realize I got so out of shape! (not sure why the picture is stamped March 2015, it was taken today, April 1, 2015)

Note: I have been having problems with my right knee. If it worsens, I may have to modify what I am doing during this 30 day challenge.

If you like, follow me on Instagram. I'll be posting updates on there as well. https://instagram.com/healthandbeautygirl/


Wish me luck! And, I hope you will join me!


xo Amy