Working Out - One Month Down

I've never been one to work out.

Like, ever.

I hate cardio and attribute my dislike for it because of my asthma and having shit lungs. 

Cardio hurts my lungs.

I've never been overweight or anything, so I'm lucky in that regard.

But I'm not healthy.

I don't eat that well. 

I love sugar.

And ice cream.

And coffee creamer.

And FOOD.

And I dislike working out.

There was a period of a few months that I signed up for a couple of classes at my local rec center. I signed up with a friend, to ensure accountability. 

I kept that up for a few months and it was ok. I didn't LOVE it. But I liked feeling good afterwards.

When I got engaged, I was determined "to get fit"

LOL.

I bought a treadmill and walked/jogged on that sucker maybe 3-4 times a week and after a year? I lost 10lbs. IN A YEAR.

Like WTF. I could've probably lost that if I just ate better and probably didn't need the treadmill at all.

Then I got pregnant and I'm one of those "lucky ones" that drops weight super fast by breastfeeding.

I was 166lbs when I went into the hospital to give birth to Mila.

6 months later I was 115lbs. 

HOLY SHIT.

I was 20lbs lighter the second time I got pregnant.

I think I topped out with Ava around 145lbs.

Again, dropped weight relatively quickly again (and with all of Ava's allergies, I pretty much ate nothing but lean protein, veg and fruit). 

Got down to 115lbs again really quickly. 

Fast-forward a few years and I'm sitting at 125-127lbs right now.

I really should lose about 10-12lbs.

I'm only 5'2"

ANYWAY.

I like low-impact weight training.

I know I'm not FAT, but man I'd like to be TONED. 

My baby pooch needs to GO.

Last May, after my work did a "PLANK CHALLENGE" I started to get motivated.

So I spent like a month doing some kettlebell workouts. I love my kettlebell!

Then my elbow started to really bother me.

So I stopped and got lazy.

Our boat vacation is coming up in 12 days.

LOL. Too late to start?

It's never too late.

I don't plan on getting a "bikini body" like, ever, but may as well use it as motivation to do SOMETHING, right?

So, I started Wednesday (June 17) with a quick 20 minute kettlebell workout for beginners.

People.

I barely made it through the freaking warm up!

But I did it.

And the next day I did it again. Made it through both circuits.

Day 2. I've been sending my selfies to Steve for accountability. 

Day 3

Day 4

I skipped day 5 and 6. So here's day 7. (June 23)

Day 8.

The first 4 days I did the same program. 

Just a Beginners program. 

After that, I decided to try some other things.

So the next time I did arms and glutes.

And yesterday (day 8 above) I did arms and core.

I'm not going to promise to to keep this up, but so far I like it. 

So I'll keep doing it. 

I think I need a heavier kettlebell, too. 

I've gone two days in a row without doing anything, but that's it. It was last Sunday and Monday. Since then, I've only missed one day, which was Rocket Launch Day. And that's because we were just busy - out of the house early and got home kinda late. 

I didn't take pics every single day. 

But, back at it and did arms, back and shoulders today (Monday, June 29). I also did a quick 12 minute glutes circuit. A total of 25 minutes spent. 

Sweat dripping. Felt great! 

I'm actually contemplating bringing my kettlebell with me on vacation...I dunno. 

And before anyone goes judging me and being all proud - I just crushed a McDonald's cheeseburger, some fries and a couple of nuggets. 

So there's that. 

Out of 21 days (starting June 17) I have missed 5 days. 

I'm also trying to focus on my upper body, arms/chest/back.

I used to focus so much on my gut, but I have to come to grips that unless I do cardio, I'm not about to lose the baby pooch I got going on. 

I'll work on arms/back/chest and legs/glutes first. 

I feel like if I see changes happening in those areas, it'll motivate me to do more.

I'm hanging steady at 125lbs as of this morning. 

I definitely feel stronger after 3 weeks of this. 

I just ordered some tension bands (kettlebells and dumbbells are sold out!) to aid in my workouts. I wanted to get heavier weights, but no go. 

Monday, July 6. Arms, chest, back

So I'm not dieting. Well, I'm not officially changing my diet.

I'm being more mindful of the things I put in my mouth.

And quantity. 

Portion control.

For lunch the past two days I've had 2 pieces of turkey lunch meat with one piece of cheese. A handful of regular chips (I can't help it!) and a side salad with vinaigrette. 

I still drink my big coffee each morning with an excessive amount of creamer. 

I'm not willing to give that up.  

I try to limit my carb intake, but again, not willing to give it up. I'm allergic to so much that I have to be able to eat something.

I've been keeping it up.

I continued the rest of the week of July 6 but took a break on Friday and Saturday. 

Here we are on July 12. Arms, back, chest, glutes.

I know it's not about the number on the scale - I really do. I did this as a baseline for me. 

When I started this casual journey of trying to get into better shape I was hovering at 126. Consistently. 

For the last 4-5 days I've been steady at 123lbs. 

I'm trying to maintain this.

It'd be nice if I lost a few more pounds (I mean, ideally, I'd like to be around 115lbs) but again, I know I'm not fat. 

I'm just not healthy.

I'm not toned.

I'm not in good shape.

I'm not strong.

But I want to get better. 

Like I said, I'm not dieting. I won't give up some of the things I love.

Chocolate ice cream? Sure. But only 2 bites.

Chips and dip? Of course. But only like 4 chips and a bit of dip.

I normally would've been able to polish off half a bag and half the dip.

Portion control (minus the moment of weakness when I ate all that McD's).

I'm trying to be mindful of how much food I put on my plate. 

I make sure the salad portion is bigger than any other portion. 

Onward. 

I'm SO not the one to take full body length selfies, but I wanted to document my journey. It's also for accountability.

This pic was taken after I had already done an arms/back/chest workout in the morning. I then opted to do a 20 minute leg circuit as well! I'm not sure what's happened to me. 

I'm currently using 5lbs free weights and a 10lb kettlebell.

They are getting easier, so it's time to find some heavier weights!

Only they are out of stock everywhere.

I found some resistance bands though (that aren't $100!) so those come on July 17 (tomorrow!)

Looking forward to using these guys and learning some new moves!