Monday, January 18, 2016

Week #2 Update! (Jan. 11 - 17, 2016)


Hello again!

I can't believe it's already the end of the second week already! I can't believe it but at the same time I'm not gonna act like I'm not excited, which I am!

There isn't much else to update about how week #2 went for me, only that I found myself looking forward to when I would walk outside! I love that feeling! I can say that I do notice a difference in how I feel after I walk, it's like I can't get my day started until after I have walked on my walking days.

Granted the other days are proving to a bit more of an issue for me to do and I find myself not looking forward to it like I do my walking days, which are Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I think I need to change what I do on Tuesday, Thursdays and Saturdays because I want to feel excited about doing exercise and I need it to be different from just going out and walking, because then I know that I'll get tired of walking which isn't something that I want to do.

For those wondering, yes I do walk outside as the road that I live on basically makes a loop that is a quarter of a mile in length. As of right now, I walk two rounds/loops which means that for 3x a week I am walking half-mile. Now to some this isn't a lot but to me, I can tell a difference in how I feel and my energy level because last year the thought of me walking a half-mile of anything was downright laughable. I am not going to keep walking half-mile throughout this year however; I plan on increasing my walking by half a mile whenever I feel that my body is becoming to use to the distance.

I am also very lucky in the location of which I live. I live in a nice neighborhood where I pretty much know all of my neighbors, which is nice because I want to know that I am safe whenever I go out for my walks. And since I live in the South then I don't have to worry about snow keeping me from my walks; granted it's still gets cold down here but for me the colder it is, the faster I'm going to walk which is better for me.

I'm going to be doing a post later this week on what I bring with me on my walks, what music I listen to and how I stay safe, so be on the lookout for that.

Anyway, I need some other exercise(s) to do on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. I've been thinking about doing Blogilates but I honestly wouldn't know where to begin with it. I do follow her channel on YouTube and I have heard some great things about it but I have never tried it out for myself. So if anyone has tried it and they think I should give it a shot, let me know! Or if anyone has a different exercise that they think I should try, then please feel free to leave a comment below!

Well that's really about it for this week! As always I will insert a picture of what my Fitness Planner looks like for this week...on another note I need to get some fitness stickers so if anyone knows of a good Etsy shop then please let me know! Thanks!

Until Next Time!

Week #2: Jan. 11 - 17!

Monday, January 11, 2016

Week #1 Update! (Jan. 4 - 10, 2016)


I took this pic while walking this week.
Hello Everyone!

So in short, Week #1 was very successful in my own personal opinion. Granted there is always room for improvement, which is the case in some things that I didn't achieve in week one but I must say that I am proud of myself. I have also included a picture to the left which I took while I was out walking this past week and I just had to share it. Despite it being so cold, it was really a beautiful day to be out walking!

I managed to walk three days last week, granted I didn't walk a mile each day but I did get in half-a-mile for three days last week. That was on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. On Tuesday and Thursday, I did 30 minute meditation and some stretches. Now I'm gonna be honest and say that I didn't really do any form of exercising this weekend and I am disappointed in myself so I've come up with a different exercise plan than what I had last week and I plan on keeping it. Which I have since I have already been up and walked my half-a-mile this morning.

The reason for the change from a mile to half-a-mile is because I talked to a close friend of mine, who works in a gym and she told me that I need to work my body up to walking a mile or more. Because since I'm not used to exercising then my body could overwork itself which isn't too good. Now I know that everyone has opinions on exactly how much exercise one should get but I want to take her advice because I really do trust her as a friend and as someone who cares about me getting healthier. So as of right now I am walking half-a-mile three days a week and the moment I feel that body is becoming used to that distance then I will be increasing the distance by a quarter-of-a-mile and so on and so forth.

Anyway, the diet thing is going okay but there is much room for improvement. I am currently looking for a protein shake that will ease cravings and one that I can replace a meal with. I am going to be trying Vega Pro in about a week so I'm excited about that. I will be posting a review of it on another blog that I have and I will put then link on my weekly update for this blog so that others can read it!

As I stated in my previous blog post, I will be posting a picture of my workout planner that I used during the week to keep up with my exercise, meals and water intake at the end of this blog so keep a lookout for that!

Other changes I'm going to be making will be to my exercise plan, which will now consist of workouts on Tuesday, Thursdays and Saturdays. I will be taking Sundays off on a side-note.
New Exercise Plan: 
Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays: Walk half-a-mile
Tuesdays,  Thursdays and Saturdays: Meditate for 30 Minutes, 10 Jumping Jacks, 10 Sit-ups, 10 Bicep Curls, and 10 Triceps Curls.

Now I will be increasing the distance and amount of exercise I do when I feel that my body is becoming used to it. The walking will be increased by a-quarter-of-a-mile and the other exercises by 10. I won't be increasing the meditation amount because I think 30 minutes is perfect for me, though I might increase it to more than three days a week but right now I feel comfortable with how it is.

Well I think that about does it for this update this week, and once again if anyone has any advice that they think I can use then please feel free to leave a comment below.

Until Next Week!

Shot of my Fitness Planner. Sorry if it cannot be read & sorry for my handwriting.

Sunday, January 3, 2016

2016 Weight-Loss Plan!


Hello all!

I have to be completely honest with all of you...I am so excited to get started on my weight-loss journey this year! I have literally been counting down the days and I can't believe that it's finally here.

This post will be pretty much my setup for the next, my goals that I want to achieve, the exercises I want to do, food that I want to eat/avoid eating, etc.

I am also happy to say that I will be keeping a Fitness Planner from Happy Planner/MAMBI, which I will post a picture of at every update in order to hold myself accountable for what I have done that week and what I haven't.

Now I want to do a post every week on Sunday because the Fitness Planner goes from Monday-Sunday. Now I know that the post will become mundane and boring very quickly because my diet and exercise plan won't vary much at first during the first few months and so. I do still want to post every week, if only for myself; so that I know that I was accountable for myself during that week. I just hope my readers will understand this and not become annoyed with me.

Anyway, as I stated I will using a Fitness Planner throughout this year in order for me to keep up with not only diet but my exercise and water intake. I have already taken a photo of what this upcoming week looks like, Jan. 4-10. This is how every week will begin so I'm only going to post this picture once.

It's blank now but by next Sunday it'll be filled! :-)
As you can see above, the Fitness Planner is very detailed. Each week includes four slots food journal per day, a exercise section for each day and water intake for every day. There is also a Goal section in the margin as well as a small notes section. As you can see I have already decorated this week with motivational stickers, which came with the journal and some stickers that I got from a store on Etsy.

I don't know about anyone else but stickers just make me happy and knowing that I have decorate my Fitness Planner with stickers just seems to motivate me to work a bit harder. But anyway, enough about the planner for now; next up is what I plan on eating during this year on my weight loss journey!

-Diet-
Now this is something that I have spent long and hard on, mostly because I rushed into so quickly last time I tried to diet and I ended up always over-eating or not eating what I had planned to. This year is going to be different, as I am going to stick to my diet and be happy about it.

I do not plan on drinking anything other than water, Green Tea(cold and hot), green juice(Bolthouse Farms and/or Green Machine), smoothies, almond milk and the occasionally cup of coffee, and Sprite. The main reason behind this is because I really have lost all taste for drinking anything too carbonated and that includes coke. That and I feel that even though I have lost my taste for them that I still drink them way more than I should. I am also replacing milk with almond milk, which I will only be drinking as a smoothie base for my protein shakes. The reason behind this is that I feel that I personally need to cut back on drinking milk because I have noticed that my stomach tends to feel sick whenever I drink too much of it.

I plan on eating three meals per day and one snack. The meals may vary from time to time but they will remain pretty much the same. I will go into further detail about my diet in next week's post.

-Exercise-
Now exercising was something that I struggled with for a bit but I think that I have come with a routine that I can easily get into a habit of doing and keep up with.
- Walking: Walk one mile 3x a week. (Mon, Wed, and Fri) Increase by one mile every month.
- Do 10 Jumping Jacks daily. Increase by 10 every month.
- Do 10 Sit-ups daily. Increase by 10 every month.
- Do 10 Biceps Curls daily on each arm. Increase by 10 every month.
- Do 10 Triceps Curls daily on each arm. Increase by 10 every month.
- Deeply Meditate/Yoga for no less than one hour 2x a week. (Tues and Thurs)
- Sunday: Rest

Now as you can tell I pretty much have it planned out and I am very happy with all that I have planned out. My only concern is with Saturday. I want to be able to do something that day other than walking so if anyone has any ideas then please feel free to suggest them.

-Vitamins-
Along with diet and exercising, I will be taking vitamins this year. So far I am only taking two different vitamins but that may change as the year progresses. Currently I am taking Hair, Nails and Skin Vitamins from Nature's Bounty and GNC Woman's Vitamins for Energy and Metabolism.

I have been taking both of these vitamins since the middle of December and so far I am loving them.

-Protein Shake-
I will also be drinking a daily protein shake as a meal replacement. While I know that I will be getting a Whey Protein Shake Mix, I do not yet know which brand I will chose as I am still deciding. But I am planning on a final grocery store prep tomorrow so I will update you guys on which one I have chosen in next week's post.

Well, I think that's it for this week. I really am very excited about this upcoming year! I feel that this year will be my year in not only weight-loss but in other things as well.

Until Next Time!