Fall Challenge Begins

I suppose this is really a September challenge, but I'm calling it a Fall Challenge because I want it to extend longer.

Now ... for those nasty weight/measurements and starting pics.  Never something most of us want to share, but it's step one towards change, improvement and accountability.  These are from a few days ago.

Weight - 153.6

Chest - 38"

Waist - 34.5"

Hips - 38.5"

Thigh - 22.75"

Arm - 12.25"

Front

Back

Side

Don't love 'em ... don't completely hate 'em .... can't WAIT to see the progress!

Started the challenge off right by doing this workout this morning.  I created another blog to record my various workouts on.  Feel free to borrow whatever interests you.  I haven't added much yet, but more will be coming SOON!

I very badly need to go grocery shopping tonight.  Our cupboards and fridge are nearly bare and I need REAL food!

Keep Active!

Heidi

♥♥♥♥♥

Belly Blast Begins

OMG!  Today I found my measuring tape (it's been missing as my house is turned completely upside down these days with the renovation).

The good news ...  there has been no increase in the following areas:

• hips
• thighs
• bust
• upper waist (the narrowest part)
• arms
• even my weight is the same (147ish)

The bad news ....  HOLY CRAP .... 2" increase on my waist!

SERIOUSLY???!!!!

I had felt like my waist was a bit softer lately than it had been, but really had no idea it was that much bigger.  When I'm sitting down I can feel that belly spillage.  And my waist/belly has always been my weakest point.  It already was the body part that needed reducing last time I did measurements.

I could feel it too, especially while running.  My pants would slip down a bit, my tops would raise up a bit.  My belly would sometimes slip out over the waist band and have that awful jiggle that makes you want to crawl under the closest rock.  Very distracting!

So, here it is for the world (or the few people who are kind enough to tolerate my ramblings and read my blog) to see:

I soooooooo do NOT want to post these pictures.  But I need to be accountable.  I am determined to come back here and post updated AND improved pictures soon!

Ready .......

UGH!  Note ... I am NOT pushing it out so that I can have a super change for my update pics.  Sadly that is me just standing there completely relaxed.  It's all belly baby!

My measurements are an unhealthy combination of 37-35-37. 

I'm getting serious about this and that middle number is coming DOWN!

Last night I had a great workout.  Did 3 miles easy run on the treadmill (taking that focus off of always having to run faster) and I did a lower body and abs workout.

I think today I'll do some fat burning intervals!

I'm also thinking that I need to be paying more attention to sodium in my diet.  Lately I've been feeling a bit like (to quote one of my favourite comedy CDs) a "water retaining sea cow".  I don't typically add salt to my food, but have noticed that some of the things I've been eating have been fairly high in sodium.  Surely that can't help.

Well, I'm off to make a healthy (low sodium) lunch.

Hope you are having a great day and enjoy your weekend !

(long weekend for Americans)!

Heidi

♥♥♥♥♥

30 Day Shred Results

30 Day RESULTS

Maybe could have been better, but I'm not complaining.  There was some change and it was change in the right direction and that's always good.  I don't see much change in the pictures other than in my abs in the front pictures.  That was nice to see.  Seeing some other little pieces of muscle definition here and there, but had to look pretty hard.  And I was happy to FINALLY see some change in my thigh measurements.

Here's the numbers....
WEIGHT - Day 1...148.00....... Day 10....147.6 .... Day 20 ....149.4 ... Day 30 .... 147.2  (down 2.2 this week)

MEASUREMENTS

Chest - Day 1...38".........Day 10...36.5"......Day 20...36.25"...Day 30...36.25"   (no change this week)

Waist - Day 1...33.75" ...Day 10...33.5"......Day 20...33.25"...Day 30...33"        (down .25" this week) (at bellybutton)
..........- Day 1...30.75"....Day 10 ...30.25"...Day 20...30.5"....Day 30...30.25"   (down .25" this week) (at narrowest)

Hips   - Day 1...38".........Day 10...38".........Day 20...37".......Day 30...37"        (no change)

Thigh - Day 1...22".........Day 10...22" ........Day 20...22"........Day 30...21.75"  (down .25" this week)   (at widest - left thigh)

Arm   - Day 1...12.25"....Day 10...11.75"....Day 20...11.75"...Day 30...11.5" (down .25" this week)  (at widest - just under armpit)

Day 1-10 Change   - Down 2.75" - Down 0.4 lb
Day 11-20 Change   -   Down 1.25" - Up 1.8 lb 
Day 21-30 Change - Down 1.00" - Down 2.2 lb

Overall

Chest -  Down 1.75"

Waist - Down 0.75" (at bellybutton)

..........- Down 0.5" (at narrowest)

Hips   - Down 1"

Thigh - Down .25"   (at widest - left thigh)

Arm   - Down .75"  (at widest - just under armpit)

TOTAL - Down 5" and 0.8 lb

And the pics....

Moment of Truth

Today kicks of the 30 Day Shred Challenge which includes all that wonderful starting information.

I took all my pictures and measurements this morning. Got them all ready to go ... then made the fatal mistake of checking out some of the other challengers blogs before I posted.

It's true, there was a small debate going on within my mind as to whether or not I should actually post the information. Insecurity is a tough thing and comparing yourself to others is plain brutal.

But ... I'm sucking it up because I know that putting myself out there will make me stronger. If I don't put it out there then it's that much easier to back out.

30 Day Shred - Beginning Photos & Stats

Weight - 148.0

Measurements

Chest - 38"

Waist - 33.75" (at bellybutton) - 30.75 (at narrowest)

Hips - 38"

Thigh - 22" (at widest - left thigh)

Arm - 12.25" (at widest - just under armpit)

GOALS

♥ Be 144 or less. I know many of you have goals to lose alot more than that, but this works for me

♥ Reduce measurements, specifically Chest & Waist.

♥ Shred or Fitness class every day

♥ Run minimum 3-4 times/week

♥ Track my food EVERY SINGLE DAY

5K = 26:11

Last night I ran 5 Km in 26:11. WAHOOO!!! The last time I timed myself I think I was 27:40ish. And my first 5K race (earlier this year) took me 32:46.

I actually think I could have done it a teeny bit faster. I was SO not motivated to go run last night. I felt lazy & lethargic. But I finally kicked my butt out the door around 8:30 (OK, probably really stupid time to go as it was turned dark while I was out there).

Half way through my time was 13:16, so I knew I had to pick it up on the return run. For that time of night it was still surprisingly hot out.

When I got back I was a sticky, sweaty, hot mess! (not pretty) But so glad that I went. My next goal is to get into the 25s, then I want to be under 25 by the end of this year. I know if I keep at it, I WILL get there.

Now ... for as to why I was feeling lethargic. Hmmm..... see that <------. Yeah ..... that! THAT is why I was feeling so gross and lazy. THAT was my dinner! Argh (grrrrr!). The rest of the family had a nice roast. But I ... well, I was making some cookies (as promised to a certain relative) and way too many found their way into my mouth.

Honestly, this was a new recipe and it's not even that great. I ended up skipping dinner because I was already feeling full enough (and gross) from the cookies and knew there was no way I could run with having even more food in me.

So, I think with better planning, I can knock that 5K time down into the next zone!

I'm off to visit my parents & sister this afternoon until Sunday, so posting may be sketchy. My Mom's computer is painstakingly slow (haha, poke, poke, nudge, nudge Mom - that's a blatant hint that you should go buy a new one!!!), plus we'll probably be spending most of the days laying on the beach or floating in the water. Ahhhh, my last summer outing!

Plans Work and "New" Jeans

I was a good girl yesterday and stuck to my plan. Well for the most part. I didn't feel like making prawns just for myself and instead had a 1/2 slice of pizza which the rest of the family ate. But I 100% stuck to my workout plan and I believe that was ONLY because I had posted it here. A few times I wanted to cut it short, but then I didn't want to have to come here and say I didn't quite do what I had planned. I was drenched in sweat and it felt SO good!!!

Yesterday on my lunch hour I decided to hit up Value Village again to see if I could find some in-between clothes. I'm not in touch with my new size and was thrilled to see that most of the 9/10s I picked out were too big (YAY!). I didn't find a whole lot that I loved and didn't want to buy something that was just sort of OK.

But I did find these Garage jeans for $5.99. I know Garage is more of a teen line, but their clothes seem to fit me fairly well. While in Oregon I bought the black top on the right at Target for $20 and hadn't found anything to wear it with yet.

I also found this Jacob dress at VV, which isn't really something I "needed", but I feel good wearing it and it was only $17. I can wear it to work, even though my job is very casual, but also we have a dinner out planned next month for my co-worker who just retired, so I can wear it there.

Also, I mentioned this a while back, when we were in Oregon I bought a couple of running skirts from Target. I think they were $20 each. The one on the left had a matching top ($14) and I couldn't resist. The top on the right is Adidas and I actually found it at Cabelas Hunting store (who knew they carried running wear???).

The skirts are quite comfy and I've worn the black one quite a bit just for casual wear - like to the beach or hanging out around the house/campsites. I do like them for running, but I did find that on longer runs (especially when it's super hot), that my thighs rub a bit. I'm going to have to get some Glide and see if that helps.

Cheap Shopping!!!

Years ago I used to do the majority of my shoppint at Value Village. I didn't have alot of extra money, I hated shopping, and I didn't like how I looked in most clothes anyway. So I figured I may as well get them cheap.

It became a pretty nasty habit. On my lunch hours, I was bored, I'd go shop. I ended up with bags upon bags of clothing, most of which I never wore. I was constantly buying a "target" outfit, which I would never fit into. Looking back, I would have been better off spending that time getting some exercise.

Then I got to a stage where I realized I was worthy. I became pickier with my clothes and bought less - this was much better! And I still value a well fitting, quality item over quantity.

But with summer coming I really need quite a few items in my closet. Over the last years I've done several clean-ups and it's getting pretty bare in there. I had just 2 pairs of shorts left and really they're too big. I have to cinch up a belt to keep them on and they balloon out on the hips making me look bigger than I am.

To buy everything I need, I don't have enough spare cash. Plus, I'm losing weight again and don't anticipate being my current size for long.

Re-enter my long lost love affair with Value Village!!!!

Today they had a 50% off sale, so really how could I resist. (really???) I bought a pair of capris (almost too big but will do for now), 3 pairs shorts, 1 jean skirt, and 2 pretty tank tops - all for $18!!! Taxes in. Can you believe that??

I even took some pics!!!

Here's the two tanks. The purple one was 75 cents!! The other was $2

.............

This is the capris. After taking this pic I'm not in love with them and they may find themselves back on the VV boutique shelves before long. And beside that is the jean skirt. It is about 5 lbs too tight. I could wear it, but not comfortably. It's snug.

..........

And two of the pairs of shorts. I have one more pair but my camera battery died before I got a pic of them. The other one's are brown and almost knee length.

.........

Here was today's menu:

Breakfast - Red River Cereal (2)
Lunch - Vegetable Beef Soup at Hand, Pear, tangerine, All Bran Bar (4)

Snack - 6 Almonds & 1/3 c. cheese crackers (3)
Dinner - Chili, cornbread (12)

Not nearly enough veggies today and way too much cornbread (but oh it was good!!)

Total - 21 points

Exercise - none, had to drive my son to work. I could workout tonight but honestly I'm bagged and I think I need a bit more sleep tonight.

I printed off a 20 week half marathon training program this weekend. Yesterday was supposed to be a 10K run, but I did 13 instead just because that was the length of the trail :). Tomorrow is a 30 min run. I don't know if I'll actually do a half this fall, but I want to train as if I am. I want to know that I can do that distance and I want to train for it safely.