I found an app called the Nike app.... I love it!! It's my new best friend. You should look it up if you don't know what I'm talking about. Best of all, it's FREE. It tracks all your runs, your average pace, distance, and maps out your run afterwards. Better yet, while you are running, you can tap the screen and it will tell you how far you've run and your current pace. It has a free coaching program as well, which is what I'm so excited about. You can train for a 5k, 10k, half-marathon, or a marathon. Each day it gives you a work out to do in order to prepare. How awesome it that?! And it is totally doable. I started training on Monday for a 5k. Here is my week:
Monday - Walk for one mile at a brisk pace.
Tuesday - Run 1.5 miles, alternating walking and running about every minute.
Wednesday - Cross-train
Thursday - Rest
Friday - Walk one mile at a brisk pace.
Saturday - Run 2 miles, alternating walking and running about every minute.
Sunday - Walk for one mile at a brisk pace.
How awesome is that?? It plans out the next 8 weeks for me, increasing the mileage and running each week. I even convinced Ben to do it with me. I can't wait to sign him up for his first official 5k!
Thursday, February 27, 2014
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Habits
To get back on track with my health, the first thing I needed to do was break some bad habits. (Such as eating candy corn on a regular basis.) In January, I decided to join Weight Watchers online to help me monitor what I put into my body and just how much I was eating. Turns out, my portions were huge, and the food was not the best for me! I had gotten in some pretty bad habits during pregnancy.
So I decided even a few small changes could do a lot.
- We switched all our white-grain foods for whole wheat. Whole wheat pasta, bread and rice. I also added in quinoa to add protein to meatless meals.
- We started buying Bountiful Baskets again! If you haven't heard of these, you need to look it up here. You get an entire basket of 50% fruit and 50% vegetables for a great price. It forces us to include fruits and vegetables into almost every meal, so that it doesn't spoil and go to waste.
- Portion control. The plates we have are huge, and I always feel like I have to fill it up. We have a few smaller plates, so I try to use those more to help control my portions.
- Healthier snacks and meals were a necessity. Instead of eating potato chips, I eat veggie straws. I replaced marshmallows and candy corn for apples with almond butter and bananas with peanut butter or a handful of almonds. For sweets, I keep a bag of dark chocolate chips on hand.... I have quite the sweet tooth!
- Exercise. I started out walking a mile or two a day to get my blood moving and my heart pumping.
Even though we are healthier, we aren't totally extreme. We still go out for ice cream, I love making fried chicken, and we bake cookies once in a while. It's all about balance. And I'm proud to say, with these few changes, I am between 176 and 178 pounds! That's almost ten pounds lost since December.
And a big shout out to Ben, for supporting and helping me through this change. He is loving the new meals and snacks, and even exercises with me. This has been a great change for both of us.
So I decided even a few small changes could do a lot.
- We switched all our white-grain foods for whole wheat. Whole wheat pasta, bread and rice. I also added in quinoa to add protein to meatless meals.
- We started buying Bountiful Baskets again! If you haven't heard of these, you need to look it up here. You get an entire basket of 50% fruit and 50% vegetables for a great price. It forces us to include fruits and vegetables into almost every meal, so that it doesn't spoil and go to waste.
- Portion control. The plates we have are huge, and I always feel like I have to fill it up. We have a few smaller plates, so I try to use those more to help control my portions.
- Healthier snacks and meals were a necessity. Instead of eating potato chips, I eat veggie straws. I replaced marshmallows and candy corn for apples with almond butter and bananas with peanut butter or a handful of almonds. For sweets, I keep a bag of dark chocolate chips on hand.... I have quite the sweet tooth!
- Exercise. I started out walking a mile or two a day to get my blood moving and my heart pumping.
Even though we are healthier, we aren't totally extreme. We still go out for ice cream, I love making fried chicken, and we bake cookies once in a while. It's all about balance. And I'm proud to say, with these few changes, I am between 176 and 178 pounds! That's almost ten pounds lost since December.
And a big shout out to Ben, for supporting and helping me through this change. He is loving the new meals and snacks, and even exercises with me. This has been a great change for both of us.
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
Goals
I've decided to track my weight loss progress on my blog to boost my motivation. I have done well so far, but I have a long way to go!
To understand my goals, we have to start at the beginning.
When I married Ben in 2011, I was very fit and healthy. I weighed about 145lbs. For being a thick, 5'9" girl, that is a healthy weight for my range. Over the next couple years, I would yo-yo between exercising and being lazy, eating healthy and eating junk. When I got pregnant in January 2013, I weighed 160lbs - more than I wanted to be. By the end of my pregnancy, I weighed about 210 pounds. What!?! I flipped at that number at the doctor's office. I never thought I would reach 200 pounds. But I did. Thankfully after Charlie was born, I quickly dropped ten pounds, then steadily made my way down to about 185 lbs. That is where we begin!
I've set some goals that I think are realistic.
Target weight: 145lbs
Target date: July 2013
Running goal: Run a half-marathon by the end of the year
Wish me luck!!
To understand my goals, we have to start at the beginning.
When I married Ben in 2011, I was very fit and healthy. I weighed about 145lbs. For being a thick, 5'9" girl, that is a healthy weight for my range. Over the next couple years, I would yo-yo between exercising and being lazy, eating healthy and eating junk. When I got pregnant in January 2013, I weighed 160lbs - more than I wanted to be. By the end of my pregnancy, I weighed about 210 pounds. What!?! I flipped at that number at the doctor's office. I never thought I would reach 200 pounds. But I did. Thankfully after Charlie was born, I quickly dropped ten pounds, then steadily made my way down to about 185 lbs. That is where we begin!
I've set some goals that I think are realistic.
Target weight: 145lbs
Target date: July 2013
Running goal: Run a half-marathon by the end of the year
Wish me luck!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)