week in review

so, i am officially back into the swing of things. since last saturday i have worked out 6 times total. here's what i did:

• 9/11: 25 min walk, 1.27 miles
• 9/13: 60 min walk, 3.16 miles
• 9/14: 45 min walk (because of blisters), 2.34 miles
• 9/15: 4 sets of 7 laps in apt pool, 40 min swimming
• 9/16: 4 sets of 7 laps in apt pool, 40 min swimming
• 9/17: 4 sets of 7 laps in apt pool, 40 min swimming
• 9/18- grocery shopping, 40 minutes ;-)

So, yeah, it was a good week, and a very good start. tonight i have lazer tag with the youth group kids, so no swimming today- i don't wanna pass out in the dark! HAHA! But tomorrow morning i'm right back to it!

Back to work

so, long story short, it'd been 4 months since my last real workout when i hit the gym again yesterday. not good. but we are back on track and after a successful 60 min/3 mile walk last night, i'm looking for a repeat. i'm really sleepy atm- 4:00 on tues afternoon, but i won't let that deter me from this. oh- starting weight for this round is 194. shooting for the nice, round, 150 by new years. that's 16 weeks (well, 15.5 from right now...) and i think 44 lbs in that time is doable... this week i am also attemptin g to get my home back in shape. wonder how many calories that'll burn. ok, time to have a pre-walk nap. laters!

Progress! Finally!

I bought this dress years ago, thinking i'd wear it when i felt comfortable in it. well i finally do, but i'm not sure if i'm ready to wear it yet. here are pics. it;s a size 12, which i have not worn in at least 3 years. :-)

Intervals Part Deux, and thoughts on my program

after sleeping on it and waking (at 6 AM!!) with no discomfort or soreness in my ankles at all, i'm thinking i'll keep going with my endurance building interval training. i'm going to start taking Glucosamine soon and s long as i'm careful, i should be fine. Also need to learn and become familiar with the difference between soreness and pain- i mean, my ankles hurt while i run, yes, but they are also getting stronger in theory, which is something i really want. hopefully these runs will help me accomplish that. So WOOOO! :-D
Secondly, i've worked and reworked my training program on paper more times than i can count. particularly this week. (one could argue that if i'd spent the time i was thinking and planning actually working out i'd be better off- and they'd be right!) i need to figure out the smartest and most effective way to work out. i really do think interval training is key. keeping the heart rate up and burning max calories while i tone is super important. so that will be my focus, especially in the short term. the Biggest Loser Last Chance Workout is interval based, and doesnt let up, so YAY! i think the key isn't to spend more time working out neccesarily, but to make the time i do spend count. 2-3 hours a day of working smart can be just as effective as 6 hours working moderately hard.
all that said, i should get dressed and start my day! Woo!

intervals

tonight i tried something new at the gym. i did an interval program on the treadmill. i lasted 10 min on an program of 3-6mph. i am really split on my opinion on it. on one hand it felt AWESOME! i wanted to keep running and running- but here's the problem: my ankles hurt badly after that 10 min and they still kinda do. i dunno if this is the kind of thing that will get better or if i'm just gonna get more and more sore if i keep it up. i don't want to make it so i can't run at all even on the elliptical, but at the same time i loved the intensity of that workout. thoughts? Please?

thoughts

Feeling uneasy about workout plans. I know they are doable. I have got to push myself because as things are I'm getting almost no results. I'm sick n tired of sick n tired. I literally have to treat working out like a job and the paycheck is feeling and looking better. I've embraced this philosophy successfully before, why am I struggling now? 2-3 hours of the 16 I'm awake each day is not too much to invest in my well being. Have got to DO this!

Medications

This falls into a category slightly more personal than i usually share on here, but it's relevant. I've been struggling with my weight off and on since i was 12- it's no new thing. I've successfully lost about 4/5 of my weight twice before, in 03 and 05. i have not however lost it successfully since my miscarriage in 06. part of this is about perseverance, priorities, etc. I've never really stuck with it long enough to get out of the 190's, which usually takes me 2-4 weeks (oh yes, I've started a number of times...) and never gotten further than that while on my birth control and antidepressants. a few weeks ago i stopped taking the latter because someone had convinced me that it was part of the cause of my weight issue. i was contemplating going off the pill too. now, PCOS has no medical treatments specifically for it- we kinda borrow from other illnesses and mix and match based on symptoms and needs. the way my doctor and i are managing mine is through the two medications i mentioned above, as well as diet and exercise. it's the most low maintenance way to do it, and works well for me because though i display most symptoms of PCOS, the most dangerous ones i display mildly- let's face it, my facial hair is not hurting anything but my pride, my migraines become less frequent all the time, and my weight is a mild issue compared to many women with PCOS who can't get below 250. as evidenced by my pregnancy in 06, i don't have a fertility problem, i have an ovulation problem, which proves to be solved by diet and exercise. birth control regulates my irregular period, and the combination of the BC with the antidepressants normalize my depression/anxiety disorder. so, yeah. maybe not the smartest thing to drop the two things that are the only medical involvement i have going on to treat this illness. I'm fairly healthy now (other than the things I've listed plus fatigue and pelvic pain from the cysts and the fact that I'm 40 lbs overweight)but this disease is no joke. just by having it i am at exponentially higher risk for all the female cancers and type 2 diabetes. these reasons, and the desire i have to be a mother and a healthy one at that are the reasons i am losing this weight knowing all that, i researched the meds I'm supposed to be taking and found they actually contribute to weight loss according to studies and the lady who told me otherwise was wacko. so, all that to day I've gone back on my meds and am gonna look at them as what they are-tools to help me on my journey.