I'm BACK!!

I'm back in the gym!

Monday was the day I was re-released to go to the gym. I was told not to over-do it, and stop if I had the same problems like I did two weeks ago.

Thankfully, I did not have those problems, and was able to complete 2.7 miles on the treadmill on Monday. I did incline intervals for the first 15 minutes at 4.0, and then 15 more minutes of walking at an 8% incline at 5.0 (which is almost a run), and then about 3-4 minutes of cool down for a total of 34 minutes and 396 calories. I am so happy with that, as my average mile was around 11:30. I'm really happy with that because that's a personal best for me right now.

JP bought me my Valentine's Day gift a few weeks early, too, and I got to try it out Monday. I got a Polar FT4 heart rate monitor/calorie counter. I love it. It is pink (of course) and came with one of the chest straps (which provide the most accurate heart rate calculations). I was pleasantly surprised to see that I burned around 150 calories more than what the treadmill showed, about 70 more calories than MyFitnessPal showed for the workout I inputted, and about 200 calories more than what CardioTrainer showed. I also learned that my target heart rate for calorie burning is between 130-165, and during the incline intervals (and during my super fast power walking) my heart rate stayed around 180, which is 89-92% of my max heart rate (which is what gave me the extra calorie burn, most likely).

I'm excited to finally try Shred, and the other Jillian Michaels DVDs, and see what kind of calories I burn doing those.

I STILL haven't gotten to start Shred yet. Another little bump in the road was that my sweet, wonderful toddler L decided she didn't have to sleep at night anymore (and as a result, Mommy and Daddy didn't, either). Thankfully, after discovering FOUR new canine teeth and treating a case of the snotty noses, she seems to be sleeping again (mostly) which means Mommy gets to sleep again (mostly) which means 5 am won't be so harsh. When you don't get to sleep until 4:30, there is no 5 am meeting with Jillian. Since L has stated sleeping again, and is spending the night away from home tonight, I am going to attempt to try Shred in the morning.

I did the Banish Fat Boost Metabolism DVD by Jillian this evening and HOLY CRAP. 777 calories and I had to stop a few times throughout because my heart rate went too high and I started getting dizzy. She is a killer, but I can totally see how she gets results out of people so quickly! I LOVED it, and can't wait to get to where I can make it through the whole DVD without stopping.

You may have also noticed that there was not a Monday weigh in. This is because I was tired of reporting "no change" for the last several weeks, and there was, in fact, no change on Monday. What I have learned through being sick is that there is only so much that eating well can do as far as weight loss, especially when you're like me and didn't eat completely terribly to begin with. In order to continue to see results, I have to incorporate cardio and weight training. I have also learned that sometimes the scale is not the be all end all indicator of weight loss. Once I start the weight training program, especially, the numbers on the scale may not move as dramatically as I want because muscle does weigh more than fat. As I tone up and add a little muscle, the scale might be deceiving. BUT, the tape measure won't lie. Inches are going to add up!

I am going to post a new weigh in on next Monday, and start again with the regular Monday weigh-ins. And, on the 1st of every month, there will be new measurements. I can't wait to see all these numbers shrink!

People are also starting to notice something is going on with me, too. I have been getting a lot more "You look different, but I can't put my finger on what it is" comments, and "Did you do something different to your hair? Is that a new outfit? Something looks different about you." I have run into a few people who I haven't seen in a while, who know I'm doing this weight loss journey, and they've all said they've been able to tell I've lost weight. One said my face is thinner, and another noticed my jeans were too big! I am happy to report that my total weight loss since June 2011 is 22 pounds (and from what I read, it starts to become noticeable to people after the first twenty). Of course, when you think about it, that's nothing compared to what I'm going to lose this year (amazing what some dedication to getting fit can help one accomplish, huh?) but it is still a start in the right direction.

I had planned to start the Couch To 5k program this week but I think until the weather gets warmer, I'm going to take a different approach. I am going to do the treadmill at the fastest walking pace I can, and work on increasing my miles per workout. Then, once I can start doing some running outside, I'm going to work on increasing my walking pace to a run, and then work on trimming my run time down.

Why? Why not just run on the treadmill? (I know you're thinking this). Well, let me let you in on a little secret.

I am terrified of actually running on a treadmill.

I know, this is completely ridiculous, but I am. I have, possibly, watched too many youtube videos of people flying off the back of treadmills. I am, more than likely, the least coordinated person I know. Plus, I feel like I look ridiculous when I run. I am sure, on all counts, I am overreacting, but I just can't get up the nerve yet to let go of the handles on the treadmill, up the speed just a little (I already walk at 5.0, running is anything over 5.5), and jog.

The idea of running outside, on a track, doesn't phase me at all. In fact, I'm a little excited about it, and looking forward to springtime. Plus, there are no 5ks run on treadmills. They're all run outside, on pavement (unless you're doing the Warrior Dash, then it's through mud, hay, gravel, etc). I have also read that running on the treadmill is nothing like running on actual pavement, so I figure if I want to start doing 5ks and eventually half marathons, I need to get my butt outside.

A few afternoons this week, I had a workout buddy, which was awesome! I can go to the gym at the same time as JP, but we cannot work out together. The nice way of putting it is like this: We are not motivated by the same things, and we do not respond the same way to the "coach" mentality. The not so nice way of putting it: JP tends to try to motivate me by pushing me (like a football coach would) and it just makes me grumpy and mad. But today, my best friend since we were 10 came to the gym with me. It was fun having a friend there! We tried Step Aerobics, Cardio Dance, and Aerobic Dance. I realized I'm completely uncoordinated, but, managed to burn an average of 500 calories doing each workout (if I would've been able to actually DO some of the stuff, I probably could've burned 1000 calories each! But, I did the best I could for having two left feet).

(If any of YOU would like to try my gym out, send me a message on Facebook. Anytime Fitness is the BOMB!)