Measurements: Month 3

So it's been 3 months now, and progress is moving right along.  Although I had a lack-luster week because I took off, it's always reassuring to see progress via pictures and measurements that keep me going!
I had lunch with a friend of mine yesterday, and he told me it's time I start to buy some clothes that fit!  Then, when we left, we hugged (as we always do, he's from Columbia) and he said oh my, you have lost weight! So that felt good, and made me smile too!
So now for my measurements... drumroll please:
Click here to review my starting measurements


Weight: 245.5 (lost 35.5 lbs)
Chest: 47" (lost 4")
Right arm: 14" (lost 1.5")
Left arm: 14" (lost 1.5")
Waist: 46" (lost 5.5")
Hips: 42.5" (lost 4.5")
Right thigh: 26" (lost 3")
Left thigh: 26" (lost 2.5")
Neck: 18.5" (lost 1")


And now for the pics... For some strange reason, I couldn't get a frontal pic that was in focus...I even took like 20 of them.  Hmm.

Off to the gym to get a good shoulder work out in, and maybe run a bit. I tried out one of my new pair of shoes last night - the Nike's. Got 2 miles in, my foot started to fall asleep, I think I tied one of them a bit too tight.


Have a great month, I hope you're feeling healthy with all of your endeavors!  Spring is right around the corner, we can get outside soon and feel the sun and breathe some fresh air!

The Demons Within

I've been plugging along at a good pace, and have felt like I've got this down.. the vegan, the working out. I feel good!
I decided to take last Friday off because I had a good workout week.  I had planned to start back on Monday.  But then Monday came and I forgot I had made plans for that night.  Oops. I guess I would go Tuesday.  I forgot I had plans to go to the Wild hockey game. Oops.  I will go on Wednesday.  Tuesday night and Wednesday morning there was a snowstorm, and I needed to go home after work on Wednesday after work to remove the heavy wet slushy snow before it froze solid. (or was that an excuse?)  So, I decided I would just take the whole week off, and let my body rest.  Good idea, but... Now I'm traveling this coming Tues-Friday for work, then my sister will be here Fri-Tuesday, so I'm a bit freaked out about lack of exercise right now.  I will have to focus even more on my eating!


Speaking of eating... without working out, I've had some cravings pop up over the course of this week.  Especially for cheeseburgers.  Now, I haven't had this craving at all since I've started, so it's weird that it's coming now.  It happened several days in a row.  It must be true, that exercise does help control your eating and cravings!  I just proved it. First, I'm excited that I was able to overcome this demon that I have ALWAYS given into during my past "lose weight" schemes.  Score one for me and my development!  I can now use this new found knowledge as power to overcome in the future.  Now I just need to get to the gym for the next 3 days before my trip so I don't go 2 whole weeks without a workout!


Now for some more good news!  Yesterday marked my 2 month anniversary of being vegan, and not having any soda!  That time really went fast, and I've found ways to still go out to restaurants and maintain my veganism.  By asking questions, having them cook the food differently, I've been able to work though it, easier than I thought it would be!


Tomorrow is my weigh in, measurements, and picture day.  Tune in to check on my progress!

New Shoes!

I've had my current Nike and Asics shoes for quite a while. The first half of their life were spent in day to day routines.  But now that I've been exercising regularly, they are starting to get a bit tired and worn out. Especially the Nike's.  So, I went to my favorite (and my other people's favorite) running shoe store and checked out some new pair.  I couldn't decide which I liked better. The guy told me it's actually good to rotate pairs between runs so they have a chance to "recover" Later this concept was confirmed by my sister so that's good because now I feel like I wasn't taken advantage of.  Anyway, if I bought 2 pair, it was 20% off on each.  So now, I have 2 shiny new pair of shoes, and I can continue on my journey!  Yay for new shoes!

Intervals

I did intervals on the treadmill tonight at the gym for an hour.  I've been jogging at 4.7 mph for quite a while, and now that I've hit the 4 mile mark, I want to start improving my speed.  So, I did intervals.  For 20 minutes, I jogged at 4.7 mph for 4 minutes, then at 6.0 mph for 1 minute and kept doing that for the 20 minutes.  Then I changed it up for the next 30 minutes to walking hill intervals at 3.5 mph, going from 6 degree incline, up to 10 degrees and everywhere in between.  I finished with 10 minutes of walking and jogging intervals at 6.0 mph. It really got my heart working, and I sweat a ton. I burned 889 calories in that hour.
It's funny how to this point, jogging at 4.7 was a pretty decent speed for me.  After this one set of 6.0 mph intervals, it seemed 4.7 was a walking pace right when I got done with that minute set.  Nice.  Progress is good.
My 3 month weigh-in is just 12 days away.  What will that bring?  We shall see in a few days!

4.0!

I've been going strong on the workouts, and feel great!  My vegan diet is going well, and I'm still on track!


To change up my workout routine and help avoid a plateau, I'm changing it up this week.  I've deemed this week "cardio blast week."  All cardio, no weight training. (ok, maybe some abs work).


Today I felt pretty good, so I decided to get on that treadmill and go.  And I did.  I hit the 4 mile mark tonight.  No pain, no excessive gasping for breath.  Woo hoo! And I burned 887 calories doing so.  Exercise sure does do wonders for your weight, and allows you to have that "forbidden snack" every now and again.


Looking forward to the rest of cardio blast week!

Project 365: 3 month update

Yesterday marked 3 months since my birthday, and when I started Project: 365.  Things are going well so far!  Here's my pic updates.  The first is when I started, November 19, 2011.  The second picture is month 3, February 19, 2012.  Here it is... I think I look healthier, and I sure do feel healthier!

Are you high?

Yes.  High on whatever chemical exercise releases into your body.  It feels great!

So, I've been in a bit of a rut this week. I had 3 days off last weekend to take a little road trip to visit with Mom and Heidi. I came back on Monday and decided to do intervals on the track, because it had been a while. I did 2 laps jogging, 1 walking intervals which I haven't done yet. Being on the harder surface rather than the treadmill bothered my knee a bit.  So I decided to not jog this week, to change it up.  My workouts started to seem routine, so I changed it up.

I was thinking I hit a plateau today, but then I checked my weight tracking chart and I'm still losing weight, so I figured it's just my routines.  Progress does feel good.

So in my spirit of shaking things up this week, I started with the leg machines, and added 40-60 pounds onto each exercise on top of what I normally would do.   

Then, I decided to do a full 60 minutes walking on the treadmill, at an incline, which I haven't done in forever. I worked to a 3.7 mph pace, and up to a 12 degree incline!  I burned a total of 931 calories during that hour.  (not sure if you will be able to see that in the pic) That felt really good, but I have a feeling with all this leg work, they will be quite sore tomorrow morning, or the next day.  Cheers to pushing yourself!