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