Showing posts with label walking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label walking. Show all posts

Monday, 8 August 2011

Day 13 - Tight muscles, unsupportive brother, nachos

Muscles, mainly hamstring, is so tight still. But after my walk tonight (only a bit of jogging due to tightness and a desperate need for new running shoes), I stretched the hell out of my legs using one of my new health books with diagrams.

A couple of days ago my oldest brother (25yo) made some remark about how many vegetables I was having with dinner and I openly stated that I've put on weight since dating my bf and am trying to be healthier. Then tonight he makes another snide remark when we were having nachos for dinner ''isn't that a bit unheathy for you (in a stirring tone)" and I said "yes it is but I've got some vegetables in the microwave to have also" and he said "yeah I'm sure that will take away all the saturated fat". Gosh. I just said "yep thats the idea". I just don't get his attitude. Is he threatened by me being healthy or something? He himself does no deliberate exercise, only the exercise he gets a work stacking fruit at the grocery store. I think the roots of his nastiness lie in his own insecurities and I'm trying not to let it get to me it just makes me wonder how strange people are...

Also, the day goes too quickly! I just want to read my new health books but I have to sleep before uni, sigh.

P.S. My arms are so muscley and firmer already, they look nicer! :-)

Thursday, 4 August 2011

Day 9 - Yum! Veggies! and Miranda Kerr

I don't know why I have never been a big vegetable eater. But, I've had large mixed servings (with the 'gross' stuff like beans and broccoli I wouldn't normally ever touch) 2 nights in a row now and they have tasted fine, nothing poisonous about them.
Perhaps though it is because I have been so damn hungry after my runs that I really will eat anything?
Either way I'm getting my veggie intake properly now.

So yes I went for a walk/run tonight - was feeling very tired and unmotivated when I started off though. So, I told myself I deserved to just power walk this one and listen to my music relaxingly.
Well that didn't last because before I knew it I found myself pounding the pavements - and for much much longer  distances than the previous times too.

Did you see Miranda Kerrs return the catwalk on the news tonight? She looked bloody amazing in the cossie. It's definately not the body I am aspiring to achieve but she did look really good since having a baby!

No tae bo. I thought this whole weight loss part of the journey was going to be centred around tae bo. But the only place I can do it is in the lounge room, when noone is home - which is rare because my brother does shiftwork, so the lounge room is usually occupied. I did try it in my bedroom but there just wasn't enough room (or air!).
Plus I do like listening to my own music and getting out the house rather than steaming up the lounge room with Billy Blanks yelling at me. That said, I do love tae bo; it just doesn't fit well with my schedule at the moment in that its hard to find the TV free and its much much easier to just step outside and run!

I'm still dwelling on how much I weigh. Can't believe I weigh 72. Disgusting.

Oh! Good news though, my boyfriend has been inspired by my sudden desire for a healthier me and has started his own training as well. He's always been a healthy eater and gone jogging regularly but thinks he has slacked on the strength training part lately so he is focusing on improving that area now. Its great!

Thursday, 28 July 2011

Day 1 and 2 - Starting exercise again

I haven't been completely lazy for the past 18 months. I still walk to and from uni and do bush-walks, go swimming etc..

But, since starting a new relationship and being sooo comfortable in it...I began  to slack on keeping track of what I ate and stopped doing deliberate exercise like going for walks; which I used to do once a night for about 30 minutes. At one point I was even doing 3 (THREE!) half an hour walks a day.

I felt so much happier about my body back then.
I'm happy in general with my life at the moment, but partly that's because I feel like I don't have to impress anyone any more...yep...my poor poor boyfriend is getting a happy but slowly fatter and fatter girlfriend. That's the harsh truth.

I always felt like I never really put on weight. I've never been skinny, but, I've always seemed to stay around a moderate weight, nothing too serious or depressing but nothing spectacular either.
But, since being in this relationship, my first ever one, as well as starting university 18 months ago, I've been tired and stressed but content with everything. Too relaxed. When winter came I started having porridge everyday without a care in the world. You may think porridge is just oats and milk and surely isn't that bad for a person. And that is true....when you don't heap tablespoons and tablespoons of brown sugar over it. Which I did. I would have a bowl of porridge as an afternoon snack after uni! Disgusting, I know.

Anyway, back to what every person trying to lose a bit of weight wants to know - what exercise am I doing?

Well, since I've been through these fitness phases time and time again, each phase ended because of one crucial factor- sheer and utter BOREDOM!

So I really want to vary my workouts this time.

DAY ONE:
High intensity intervals on the exercise bike; 8 second sprint, 12 second rest for 20 minutes.

As the bike clock told me I was nearing the 10 minute mark I was beginning to suffer from a bad case of boredom which made me focus on my tiredness. So I stopped at 10 minutes. Watched some more of my tv show and did another lot of 10minutes a bit later.
So day one 20 minutes of exercise... definitely not enough but definitely better than nothing! And I felt great afterwards, just great. My bad mood which I was previously in left and I felt more energised for the rest of the day. My lack of exercise might explain why I keep falling asleep in all my lectures, you have to use energy to create energy.

DAY TWO
5-10 minutes of 12kg dumbells weights. (Did moves like squats, bicep curls, triceps, side lifts)
2 minute warmup on the exercise bike
20 minutes (approx) of Tae-Bo exercise video called Tae Bo Basic
8 minute Tae Bo workout (which uses similar moves to the basic video but faster and less reps - its pretty intense)

So, overall I did about 35 minutes today. I really want to build up some arm muscle, I used to have heaps from surfing regularly and lifting shopping bags at my old job, but now I don't do either.

Another thing I aim to regain is some definition in my legs. You know that line that appears around your inner thigh area when you lift your legs - like when your walking or even just lifting your leg up and forward in front of the mirror. I used to see that so clearly. And now its pretty much disappeared altogether.

They say you should stick with something for 6 weeks before you will get into a routine. So if I can keep this blog going for 6 weeks recording my journey, that will be a major achievement!

And my 2 weeks goal? Feel less tired at university.

I will also weigh myself this week (argh I'm scared! I've never been over 70kg...but I have a feeling I will be well over that now...I'm so scared to look at the scales...It will really put how hard this journey is going to be in perspective).

Stay tuned...