Fitness to do list, yesterday's workout & SPRING CLEANING!

So last night I realized how much fun working out can truly be, even when I'm dying during it! lol

Started with:

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First let me say that this time around, my kids are much more involved with me working out.. Last time I was on this journey I got a gym membership to a local gym in the area, so most of my working out consisted of going to the gym after I put them to bed. This time around, I have MORE children and less money so a gym membership is out of the question. At least for now. Because of this I had to learn to adapt to working out at home, something I have usually been very uncomfortable with unless NO ONE else was around, well that's all changed. My kids are now a big part of my workout routine, they watch me, join me or run around and make me laugh while counting with/for me on how many of whatever I've done.. I love it, truly. They are not only going to see my transformation but be able to say that they were there almost every step of the way.

 

To top it off, My boyfriend decided last night after watching me do ^^^ that, that he wanted me to find him something - since I couldn't find anything I liked as much as my circuit, I told him just to do that one... So after what I already did, I did this again...

 

(minus the push ups, those things are a big B lol), with my boyfriend and our 3 kids. It was amazing. I loved working out as a family. Even if it's something that doesn't occur ALL the time - it's better than nothing and I know I have tons of support from my clan!

 

I've been thinking a lot about body image, and how I need to accept my body at whatever size or strength it is... I remember as an adolescent I hated my body, looking back I had a WONDERFUL body - it proves to me that if I can't learn to love my body at any size then when I reach my goals I will still be unsatisfied. I am all for pushing myself to the limits and always finding goals to achieve, but I never want to feel as if I wont ever find that self love within myself. I have decided to go through my closets and dressers and start to donate clothes I don't fit. When the time comes, and I am down to a size that works, I'll get new clothes... but keeping clothes I haven't worn in YEARS simply because of the 'hopes' of being that size again SOMEDAY, it's just not working for me any more. Of course I'll keep a few pairs of jeans and maybe some shirts, to make goal clothing throughout the journey, but for the most part I plan to donate it, the same goes with clothes that fit me at my biggest, I have some jeans that fall off me because they were when I was a bigger size, they DEFINATELY need to go too. Besides, it helps with my spring cleaning ;).

 

 

Fitness To Do List:

• 60 second plank
• Become a runner
• Push ups 

 

I have decided to start a fitness to do list, things that I'd like to be able to do eventually, some may take a while and some may not - I'll add things as I go through this journey. I feel that incorporating many different types of milestones to pass in all different aspects keeps it exciting, and something I have to do. Weight goals, fitness goals, health goals, clothing goals, all of it will keep me focused and accountable for my actions.

 

I choose me.

My health is important to me and my children.

My physical body is the only one in this life I have.

My physical ability will help to strengthen my mental ability.

I am strong.

I will prove it.

 

 

~XO
Erica♥

 

 

 

Short & Sweet, plus a project!

So yesterday I skipped my workout, but not because I didn't want to. I think I tweaked my knee a little the other night so I wanted to rest it up for a day before getting back into things. But the night before last, I got in my Wednesday workout circuit, the arm circuit & I watched the beginning of part of the 'Hip Hop Abs' thing off youtube... I definitely need more cardio! As much as the strength training things make me feel good, cardio is what is going to push my limits. 5 minutes in and I was dying...

 

Still not eating the way I want to, but I make myself feel better about that by putting my grocery list together that includes much healthier things, I plan to get fruits and freeze some of them. Tracking is still a struggle - but I am determined to track one way or another. The water is still going strong though I am getting a minimum of 3/4 bottles a day which is equivalent to 6-8 cups of water (the recommended amount is 8 cups a day)

 

I'm not going to get a long blog in right now since it took me much longer to wake up this morning then I wanted it to LOL.

 

I do want to share my art and crafts project though:

 

Even though the scale has NOT been my friend, and I realize there is much more to this journey than losing weight I still want the number on the scale to go down substantially and I believe it will, so I created this...

 

I've seen many different versions of these and loved the idea so I decided I would do it too! There is a pounds lost and a pounds to go jar! The pounds to go has 120 lbs in it, as I loose each pound a pebble will be transferred the next jar. All the supplies were bought at the Dollar Store so it was very cheap to make and gives me a fun visual on this journey!

 

 

~XO
Erica♥

 

 

 

Worked out today, love the greater sense of self...

Hello my darlings! For once I'm blogging not too early in the morning, or even too late at night - It's right after work out time!! So first and foremost I want to say that I have held up most of my goals as of lately, keeping focus on drinking more water and it's becoming much easier to just want water. I know it's hard when you first start drinking it and you aren't used to it.. it doesn't have a taste, it's bland it makes you feel like a whale with all the uncomfortable water bloat, etc... but honestly the more you drink, more often the better you feel! & The more it becomes natural. If I can manage to make MOST of my liquid intake per day water then I'm happy with that and as of lately I've been accomplishing just that! YAY!

Today, finally, I have been tracking everything I've consumed. I don't understand why THAT'S the hardest part of this.. I can manage to workout for AT LEAST 20 minutes a day, but I can't manage to track? I need to get my shit together. Working out without knowing how many calories I've consumed in a day... Of course it helps either way, for now.. going from an almost completely sedentary life to workout out at all. IT IS SOMETHING. I'm not downgrading that - I just know eventually when my body starts adjusting to work outs, it wont do me any good not to track what I'm eating or how many calories I'm consuming so I can then figure out how many I'm burning when I work out and know what's what. So this stays on the goal chart, and I'll do my best and hope that I can get with it.

We're gonna skip over the ACTUAL food I've been eating, all I can say is, I've been on this journey (again) for about a week... it will take time to completely overhaul what my diet consists of. But, I'll get there ;)

On another note, can we say PINTEREST? Wow. I have found tons of motivation, workouts, foods, inspiration... I'm in fitness heaven on there lol. It makes me strive even stronger.. I want to reach my goals, I want to feel and look good, I want to make bitches jealous with my fabulous body and healthy lifestyle!! I'm in love.

So today's workout consisted of :

 

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40 Crunches

 





I hate when I do a workout but then feel like I should of done more after I'm finished.. I think it might be because I need to add some cardio to the regime. Most of what I do is strength training, so if I add some cardio then it would be one well rounded work out :)

I want recipes for protein bites or bars, for pre & post work out snacks. So.... fire away!!

To end this blog I want to point out that everyone reaches that time when they have had enough of dealing with the negative part of themselves. I bring myself down too much and feel as if I can't accomplish the same things other people can. I don't know if it has to do with my adolescence where I felt as though I could never measure up or if it's just from feeling like I was never enough. But either way, I am truly my own worst enemy, but this time, this journey, this whatever you want to call it - this time I am going to succeed. I'm going to get to the weight I want, the body I want. I'm going to bust my ass and focus, and work out, figure out which foods and work outs will benefit me most & most of all, I WILL become the runner I have dreamed of being. Sooner, or later I will be able to run, for fun, any time I want.

 

Side note; Tomorrow is 'weigh day'... well I've been weighing every day and it is just pissing me off because it's fluctuating SO much. Tomorrow morning, whatever weight I get I'll mark it - more or less, I'll stick with the weights Wednesday mornings and it is what it is. & I'll lay off the scale the rest of the week! Maybe...

Damn SCALE!

 

 

~XO
Erica♥

No coffee, but awesome dinner! & Seriously sore legs to boot.

First and foremost I'd like to say... I'm blogging with NO coffee in me.  It's a tragedy really, but I ran out of creamer... & before you say anything, yes. I know the creamer probably isn't that good for me, and no, it's not something that's removable from my diet lol.

Moving on.... all day yesterday my legs were sore. I woke up in the morning mentally planning on working out once my legs loosened up a little, yea well - that never happened! Since I am dead serious about this journey I started to do some research. I wasn't sure if I SHOULD workout with as much pain as I was in. I found a few different articles that pointed out that about 8 hours after a work out is when you will start to feel the pain and it can last from 24 to 48 hours. Whole your muscles are mending from the small tears, it's best NOT to work them out because it can actually be counter productive in building stronger muscles.

So for yesterday's workout consisted of the same arm work out I did yesterday, plus 40 crunches from the Sunday circuit I was planning on doing (that my children ended up doing all of by themselves hahaha) this morning I am still in a lot of pain in my legs, hoping that working and having to be on my feet for hours loosens them up enough to do SOMETHING when I come home tonight, but if not I still plan on pushing through when the pain subsides.

Yesterday, for dinner I made grilled chicken fajitas yummm:


They were so delicious! I don't know the calories in this meal, but I do know that regardless I had lettuce, yellow and green bell peppers, cucumbers, onion, a lot of colorful foods, this meal probably gave me multiple servings of veggies! So big win for me. Now to start finding multiple recipes that are healthy and fairly simple to cook.

So I achieved my goals yesterday

• Made a healthy dinner [Check] it was delicious and I loved it! So excited for more new ideas :)
• Drank 3 bottles of water [Check] BARELY! I had to push it in the evening, today should be better though since I'm headed back to work and I drink a lot at work.
• Worked out [Check] The parts of my body that weren't sore, but it was hard since it's my LEGS that hurt so much.

Today's goals are:

-Keep up with 3 bottles of waters.
-Fit in another arm work out and crunches AT THE LEAST.
-Stay on the hunt for recipes that aren't hard to make and that are healthy and good for you!
-Pick it out a pair of jeans for my non-weighted goal!


I must add - it's absolutely wonderful having a boyfriend who is willing to massage my legs because they are THAT sore from working out. He is very supportive and it's an experience I didn't get to have the last time I took this journey and am very thankful for now!

Now to try and function more without coffee :(

~XO

Erica♥