Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Getting in the groove

I haven't written since my first post, but I haven't fallen off the bandwagon! I'm just getting into the groove of this whole healthy eating and exercise business. I've already had to make modifications, but I think that they are overall for the better! 


First off, eating. After trying my best to eat intuitively my first week and a half, I was becoming terrified of not knowing how many calories I was consuming - whether it was enough or not enough or this or that. I decided to weigh myself (only a week and a half in) and discovered that I had not lost any weight. Now, I'm a big girl and after a week and a half of healthy eating and exercising, I should have lost SOMETHING if I was fueling my body correctly.


I decided that I needed an eating plan and decided to count calories while still trying to eat as many whole foods as possible - i.e. not slimfast bars, 100 calorie packs, lean cuisines, ect. I downloaded this app on my iPhone called LoseIt! and am absolutely in love with it. It was free and asks for weight and basic stats at the beginning to set up your caloric needs based on what you want to do (lose, gain, or maintain). It has me eating 1500 calories which I feel is a good number. When I eat the right foods, I feel satisfied all day. Also, it's not so drastic that I feel like I can't have a night out every once in a while. My mom had a birthday two weekends ago and I was able to go out to Outback Steakhouse with my family and enjoy myself without sacrificing my diet.


The second thing that has changed is the goal for the half marathon. Now don't get me wrong, I still want to be able to run 13 miles by next year. The problem is that the Disney 1/2 marathon requires proof of speed from a previous race. I just don't think I can prepare for another half marathon BEFORE this one while being a full time college student. We'll see how it plays out, but I just don't see the Disney 1/2 Marathon as being a realistic goal for me at the time! 


That being said, I'm actually having fun at the gym! I've been trying to do a variety of activities as to not burn out or get too overwhelmed. I'd say my two favorite things right now are Zumba classes and the individual weight training plan that the trainer created for me. I feel like such a beast pumping iron - or maybe I'm just a nerd haha. I've also done two BodyPump classes and HOLY COW those are hard. SN - after my very first BodyPump class, I was so sore the next day that I could barely move. I actually laid on the couch to eat my oatmeal during breakfast so my arm would have a shorter distance to travel to reach my mouth!


I'm gonna try and upload some pictures so we'll see how this goes. Totally new to blogging!


WARNING!!!!! These pictures are extremely unflattering! If you see me on the street I'll (hopefully) look much better!




March 12, 2012
First day going to the gym
Side View
I'll leave you with this little gem because I'm a cat lady. She needs to lose some weight too. We're a work in progress ;-)