Meh.

I wanted this to be a better week.

Weight is down nearly a pound.

Lost another half inch overall.

Average calories 2095 per day.

361 minutes spent working out.

This week I'm adding an additional BodyRock workout. So I'll be doing three a week in addition to walking.

I bought some workout gloves. They helped a lot with the traction when doing push ups, but the seams hurt my fingers. Guess you can't expect comfort for ten dollars. Hopefully they'll soften up over time.

I really wanted to be down two more pounds this week. The average calories per day tells it all. I need to get it at 1800 per day if I want to start seeing more significant weight loss.

More than anything, I'm learning that consistency is key. I can't fall off the wagon and have a 3000 calorie day with several beers in it and expect the weight to come off. Even my workouts suffered this week because of that one day. I didn't exercise at all that day and could only do 30 minutes the next day. I could have had 420 minutes of exercise last week except for that. Not that I should never enjoy myself, but I can't have my beer and drink it, too.

Benchmark Workout

So, I've been doing BodyRock workouts twice a week all this month. Since this is the eighth workout, I did a "benchmark" workout. I'll do this workout once a month and see how I'm improving.

Nightmare 300 Rep Workout

Side Lunge with Knee Tuck Left Side 30 reps

Side Lunge with Knee Tuck Right Side 30 reps

Plank Jump Push up and Rollover 30 reps

Side Crunch 15 reps each side

Sandbag Swing 15 reps each arm

Pull ups 30 reps

1-2-3 up One Leg Half Squat 15 reps each leg

Hanging Knee Raises 30 reps

3 Low Jacks and Jump up 30 reps

Triple Knee Tuck and Side Step Push up 30 reps

My modifications:

Plank Jump Push ups and Rollover were done on knees.

Side Crunch was done with bottom leg on the ground.

Sandbag Swing was done with a 1 pound weight.

Pull ups were actually pull to's.

Hanging Knee Raises were Leg Lifts.

3 Low Jacks and Jump up were done no impact style.

Triple Knee Tuck and Side Step Push up were done on knees and there was no side step, just a push up.

Workout time 33 minutes 29 seconds.

I feel like a dirty wet mop.

***

In other news, we went to the City yesterday to celebrate our anniversary a little early. Two pints of beer and way too much food later and I'm holding water like crazy. (Hopefully this sweat session got rid of some of it.) Otherwise, my calorie intake has been pretty good this week.

Off for a bite, a shower and a nap...

Good Start

Exercised Sunday, Monday and today.

Calorie intake was reasonable, if not perfect on Sunday and Monday.

My weight has gone down a bit each day this week so far.

I did a BodyRock workout yesterday in addition to walking. It was intervals 10/30 seconds and was nine rounds of High Knees and Squats. 12 minutes and I was sweating like crazy.

My foot feels pretty good today. I'm trying to stick with an Ibuprofen and Icing program for the rest of the month. I think if I can get the inflammation down and keep it down, I'll be good to start running in October.

OK, So That Didn't Work So Well...

I guess if I'm going to plan on blogging more than once a week, I probably have to schedule it. It doesn't do much good to say it and then not make any plans to do it.

So, the goal is three blogs again this week. Today, Tuesday and Friday. Let's see how that goes.

I'm up a half a pound. Blah.

Here's why: Average daily calorie intake for this week is 2117.

On the bright side, all my measurements have gone down except my thighs, which went up.

I spent 377 minutes exercising this week.

Big Picture:

I'm down 6.4 lbs since the beginning of Summer.

My waist is down 1.5 inches.

My hips are down 2 inches.

My arms are down .5 inches.

My thighs are down .25 inches.

My average daily calories are down 82 per day. (Damn the pie-hole.)

My time spent exercising is up 244 minutes per week.

I can't tell if I'm getting stronger or faster really. My endurance is way up, I can tell that.

All things considered, I'm doing pretty good. I wanted to be lighter by now so that my foot will be in good shape to start running in October. But, just looking at the last 8 weeks, I seem to either lose pounds or lose inches. I don't seem to do both at exactly the same time. Since I've been about the same weight for the last three weeks, I think I'll probably lose a pound or two this week.

I just really need to rein in the eating. Honestly, it's mostly about being lazy. It's easier to throw a pizza in the oven than to cook veggies and chicken. And, frankly, pizza tastes better. I can make the chicken and veggies taste like pizza, but then the calorie count ends up being about the same, too. **Sighs dramatically.**

See you Tuesday.

Fair to Middlin'

Meh. Only lost a half pound this week. Pie-hole issues. And, ya know, it's that time of the month and all.

That said, here's what the numbers looked like:

• Average calories per day: 1861.4
• Days ate less than burned: 5 of 7
• Total minutes spent exercising: 345

The fact that I'm on my feet at work for 7 hours helps me out a lot. If I had a desk job, I'd have to eat like 1200 calories a day to lose anything.

I have higher hopes for this week. I should shed the last of the "monthly weight" and I'd like to really keep my eating under control. Exercising has been easier than controlling my eating.

I'm also learning that I really should only buy like 2 or 3 days worth of produce at a time. It doesn't last and then I end up throwing it out. Especially leafy things. Other stuff you can freeze or use to make soup. Not an option with lettuce.

I'm planning on posting more often. I know I keep saying that, but I'd like to shoot for 3 times a week. Then I can start detailing my workouts and daily calorie counts. At some point I'd like to actually be able to look back and see how my workouts are improving over time. Especially when I start doing pull ups. I'd be excited to see more than one on there. Hell, I'd be excited to see one if I did it by myself.

Finally!

I feel like I'm finally making some progress.

I averaged 1989.1 calories a day this week. This is the first time I've been under 2000 kcal per day since... well, maybe this is the first time since I started blogging.

I worked out every day except one. On two of the days I walked and did strength training.

According to my FitDay account, I burned more calories than I ate 5 out of the last 7 days.

And, guess what? The scale went down and so did the measuring tape. Odd how that works.

Since I broke a 5 pound barrier, I'm going to buy myself some new hair clips this week when I get paid. Next 5 pound barrier gets me a new pair of jeans.

Onward!!

Not So Much

Well, the second half of the week is not quite as good as the first half. Too much filling of the pie-hole.

Wednesday: 46 minutes walking. Ingested 2170 calories.

Thursday: 65 minutes walking. 2578 calories.

Friday: 39 minutes walking.

12 minutes of Body Rock workout:

4 rounds. 10 seconds of rest, 50 seconds of activity.

Side Plank Burpee (no jumping) 8, 4, 5, 5

Reptile/Butt Lift (on knees) 8, 8, 7, 9

Squat (no weight) 17, 14, 14, 10

Ate 2502 calories.

Today I am sore. Not excruciatingly so. But I know I worked out yesterday.

A thought on food journals:

The nice thing is that you can look back and see where you went wrong. The not so nice thing is that unless you pull your head out of your butt and make changes, you get to see yourself making the same stupid mistakes over and over again.

Pretty Good Week So Far...

Sunday: 45 minute walk. Ate 1565 calories.

Monday: Body Rock Workout "300 Reps of Brutality" which I did the "Super Beginner" version and only did 30 minutes of and made it through 3 rounds. 46 minutes of walking. Ate 2197 calories.

Tuesday: No workout. I was TIRED and I actually slept in. Ate 1711 calories.

The best part? For the first time in MONTHS, I got on the scale and was happy. Like, do a little cheer happy. And I thought I'd be completely wasted by that workout. It was hard, but I'm only a little sore today. I can still walk and everything. It makes me feel like I'm finally gaining some fitness.

Heading out for a walk now. Bye.