Aftermath of Couch to 5k attempt

My last post I wrote how I decided to try to do Couch to 5k and this is a follow-up to that.  I found out over the days that followed that running/jogging is too jarring for my back.  There were muscle spasms going on throughout my back but surprisingly most of them were in my upper and mid back rather than my lower back (where my herniated discs are).  Needless to say I WON'T be doing that again.  At least now I know that for me right now that is not realistic and I will be looking for something else I can do instead.  I rock the planks with no issues and have no problems with my lower back from doing them thankfully!!

Also I just recently downloaded an app that is called Tribesports which is free....as I don't like paying extra to have an app.  Yes I am cheap haha anyways you can go through the challenges they have on there and choose which challenge you want to take on.  I like it because there are so many to choose from.  I am doing the plank challenge right now where I hold a plank for 1 minute and do this 10 times in two weeks.  I usually hold a plank for 1 minute and then have a 10 second rest before I do the plank again and repeat this three times.  I have already held a 1 minute plank 3 times and I just started this challenge....looks like I will be done with this challenge in 4 days not two weeks :) 

Easing into Exercise...

It's amazing how you never really think of not being able to do something until your doctor or someone else tells you that you can't!  Ever since he said no exercising that is all I have wanted to do.  I know I have to do something so my back doesn't keep getting worse and so my muscles don't keep getting weaker and weaker.  I figured that I know my body and will just listen to it and see what its telling me.

So I decided to start doing more core strengthening exercises and try to do the Couch to 5k today.  I did plank holds for 1 min with 10 second rests in between a few times and only made it 10 minutes on the Couch to 5k but I was drenched in sweat.  I figure that we all have to start somewhere and I can see how I am feeling later on to see if I need to cut back a little bit or if my back can handle it so I can step it up some more.

After I did this I used my AMAZING foam roller to work out my muscles that felt like they were so tight that they were literally pulling my body over.  Doing this for about 10-15 minutes did the trick and now I am feeling a lot better than when I got off the treadmill!  My muscles don't feel all balled up and I actually feel really really good...YAY!!

Don’t wait. The time will never be just right. –Napoleon Hill

24-day Challenge...are you ready to take it on?

After doing the Advocare 24-day challenge I thought I would do a post on the results I saw in myself after taking the products.  Before I go into that though I am going to share what I felt like before.  I was extremely tired ALL the time, it didn't really matter if I slept the whole night and got 8 hours of sleep, I was still dragging and felt like I was fighting my eyes to stay awake.  My mind was foggy and it was hard for me to concentrate when I was trying to do homework or studying for my college classes.  It seemed like all the information I was taking in was going right back out.  I would get worn out really easily as well.  I have several herniated discs and was told by my doctor that I was to stay away from exercise for the time being.  This was hard hearing as I wanted to get back to exercising to start losing this weight again. This was very frustrating to say the least!

After starting the 24-day challenge I started feeling a little more awake and after a few days I felt like I was at full speed.  It is amazing how focused I felt and was able to go all day doing all kinds of stuff from cleaning the house to walking for longer than 10 minutes.  I didn't need to take any naps during the day either to refresh myself, I just kept going!  I felt amazing and within 4 days I had lost 5 lbs!  I kept on with the challenge and in a little over 2 weeks I had lost 10 lbs...needless to say I am very excited and this was the jumpstart I needed to get started with my weight loss.  I will be sure to keep updating this with my progress.

If you want to take a look at the 24-day challenge just click on the Advocare we build champions and it will take you to the site.  The challenge is under the trim line and I think its absolutely amazing and have continued to take some of the products that it came with such as the Spark and OmegaPlex.  I also bought the Catalyst and Thermoplus to take as well which are optional.  I LOVE these products!!

The Bod Pod

So when I first started this challenge I had to do a bod pod testing.  I had mixed feelings about this as I wasn't sure if I wanted to see the results...if I didn't know then it would be easier to just ignore my situation as I wouldn't know how bad I had gotten.  So I was dreading the bod pod as I was sure I was going to have very little muscle on my body, and the day finally came to go in and get the test done.

I was uneasy because I thought the person doing the test was the same person that was there when I signed up and it was someone I knew from church when I was younger and he was a guy.  I was told to wear skin tight clothing so it would be more accurate...great I have avoided tight clothes for years for a reason!!  Luckily the person in the room for the testing was a woman...*WHEW*...she still insisted that the least amount of clothing (bra and panties) I had on the more accurate the test so I sucked it up and left only my bra and underwear on.  It didn't last too long maybe 10 minutes altogether and then I was done!

While I was still embarrassed I knew it was a step in the right direction for me.  This would tell me with extreme accuracy what my fat mass was and what my lean body mass was while also telling me my weight.  Since this is about my weight loss journey I figured I would share my results...hey why not right?!  I went into the other room where the man was that helped me register for the test and he went over the results with me.

On June 18, 2013 my test results were:

Fat Mass:    46%      88.9 lbs.
Lean Mass:  54%     104.4 lbs.
Body Weight:          193.3 lbs.

Mind you my weight was about where I thought it was but dang I thought my lean mass would be a lot lower!  The nice thing about this test is they can tell you what the lowest you can weigh would be.  I was told I should never try to go under 123 lbs. because that would be considered unhealthy for me.  He said some people are just made to be smaller or even bigger.  It all depends on the person's genetics and how they are built.  I thought this was really interesting and never really thought about that.  Good to know since I always said I wanted to get down to 110 or 115 lbs.  Now that is not even considered realistic to me after finding this out.

I mostly want to strive to obtain a healthy and realistic weight or fit goal.  This was a GREAT start to my journey for sure!!

FitGirl-ItGirl Beginnings

Hi I am a 27 year old single mother of two amazing children.  I was never "fit" and never saw myself as small or even average.  After having my girls and having problems with a few herniated discs I decided to get myself on track to a healthier, happier me.  

Back in January 2012 I started on this journey at 192 pounds...I was very overweight and miserable.  I wanted to lose weight and get into a healthy lifestyle.  I found a plan called LiveFit that was created by Jamie Eason and I loved it because it did not involve a ton of cardio and it was a 12 week program that I thought was realistic and something I could do.  Three months later I had lost 22 lbs and was heading in the right direction but I went on a trip and even though my family was accommodating my eating I felt bad and told them not to worry about it...big mistake on my part...I should have kept to my routine and kept working out on this vacation.  After this two week vacation, all the flying and driving I found that the discs in my back were out of sorts and I had a flare up.  

This flare up resulted in extreme pain and me having to stop the workouts for the time being.  I did what the doctors tell you not to do and laid down a lot because it was the only thing that helped alleviate some of the pain.  I slowly got worse and worse and slowly gained the weight back.

I had hit bottom again I did not want to go out and do anything because I was ashamed of how I looked and that I had let myself go back to that place.  I had to do something, I did not want to just sit by as my girls grow up and not be able to do all the things I had planned to do with them.  It was at this time when I was so depressed and down on myself that my sister talked to me about going to a Bod Pod Challenge at CrossFit Milltown and doing the 24 day challenge through Advocare.  I thought..."I can't do any working out and I am tired all the time as it is, I am not going to be able to lose weight and compete against these people who are fit, or can even exercise!"  I had all these negative reasons going through my head about why I couldn't do it but there was this little part of me that said "You CAN do this!  Just give it your all and maybe it will be enough to jumpstart you losing weight".  

My journey to being fit was revived through this Bod Pod Challenge and by accepting it I took the next step.  I was so excited when the 24-day challenge came in the mail the following week.  I went shopping to buy the foods I needed to do the plan and planned out what I was going to eat while I did it.  It's time to live with no excuses and do whatever possible to get healthy!!