Getting Fit
Last year I posted about how I started going to the gym again and how I was trying to feel like a better me. After a full year of exercising and tracking my daily fitness with my Fitbit, I feel like I've made quite a bit of progress. As a way of further motivating myself, I thought I would share that progress, my updated workout routine, and my new goals.
My previous goal was namely to feel better, which I've accomplished. I'm much more energetic and even though I still love sleeping and am addicted to slapping the snooze on my alarm, I feel like I don't need quite as much sleep to feel refreshed in the morning. For example, a few years ago, I would be so exhausted at the end of the day that I would fall asleep around 9PM and when my alarm would go off at 6AM, I would be completely miserable. These days, I'm usually up until 10:30PM and I tend to wake up naturally just before my alarm goes off (though I still laze around in bed for a bit before actually getting up). My clothes are fitting much more comfortably, my skin is much less temperamental, and I look thinner.
My new goal is to look fit and maybe get some abs. I still go to the gym 2 to 3 times per week, but I've mixed up my routine a little. I mostly run for cardio, because it's the only thing that really gets me up to peak heart rate for a good duration. And I haven't learned to enjoy it yet, but I'm much better at it so I don't despise it quite as much as I used to. And I throw in the elliptical once every other week just to mix it up and because it's great for the booty. Also, I do much more weight training now because I'm trying to build a lot of good, strong, hardy muscle that will help me burn more fat while I'm just sitting around.
I started going to the gym in January 2017 and got my Fitbit in April 2017. And when I first got my Fitbit, my treadmill running was so pathetic, it wasn't even registering it as running; it just thought I was walking.
Finally, about a month into having the device, on May 22, 2017, it declared that I had just done a run! It was a pretty pathetic run burning just 151 calories. I ran less than a mile and a half in 17 minutes; I had a 13-minute mile. Fast forward to March 22, 2018 when I ran for the longest duration since my college days and burned 298 calories. I ran about 2.5 miles in 28 minutes (11-minute mile), heart rate in cardio mode for 10 minutes, peak heart rate for the rest of the time. That was a day I tried pushing myself particularly hard just to see how well I could do, and I was pretty proud of my increase in endurance.
I've also become comfortable enough with my running to run outside. And when I run outside, I'm able to sustain a 10-minute mile. And I think this means that the next time we have a 5K at work, I might actually try and run it without fear of collapsing and embarrassing myself.
Recently, I've changed up my diet a bit because I started to hit a bit of a plateau with working out and because my sister told me that my body does not reflect my gym-going habits and I realized it's because I still shovel loads of cake in my mouth. I didn't want to give up cake entirely but I knew I had to do something different.
I'd read so many great things about intermittent fasting so I started doing the 16:8 method, which is when you fast for 16 hours and only eat within an 8 hour window. I've been doing it for a little over than a month and I've lost about 4 lbs., and compared to the 10 lbs. it took a year to lose whilst working out (though I think I've built a lot of muscle so I want to say I probably lost 15 lbs. of fat but gained 5 lbs. of muscle), it just shows you how diet is the biggest factor in changing your weight.
I wanted to try and do one of those time-lapse videos that shows my body transforming, but honestly, it hasn't been quite that drastic of a change and I didn't take nearly enough photos to make it that interesting. But I thought I'd share some progress photos anyway because they're always fun to look at and now you can judge my body! The gif below is just the photos above animated in order.
Keep me motivated, you guys! Tell me some mean things so I can feel badly about myself and work harder to bounce back! Kidding. But also not kidding.
xoxo.
My previous goal was namely to feel better, which I've accomplished. I'm much more energetic and even though I still love sleeping and am addicted to slapping the snooze on my alarm, I feel like I don't need quite as much sleep to feel refreshed in the morning. For example, a few years ago, I would be so exhausted at the end of the day that I would fall asleep around 9PM and when my alarm would go off at 6AM, I would be completely miserable. These days, I'm usually up until 10:30PM and I tend to wake up naturally just before my alarm goes off (though I still laze around in bed for a bit before actually getting up). My clothes are fitting much more comfortably, my skin is much less temperamental, and I look thinner.
I started going to the gym in January 2017 and got my Fitbit in April 2017. And when I first got my Fitbit, my treadmill running was so pathetic, it wasn't even registering it as running; it just thought I was walking.
Recently, I've changed up my diet a bit because I started to hit a bit of a plateau with working out and because my sister told me that my body does not reflect my gym-going habits and I realized it's because I still shovel loads of cake in my mouth. I didn't want to give up cake entirely but I knew I had to do something different.
I'd read so many great things about intermittent fasting so I started doing the 16:8 method, which is when you fast for 16 hours and only eat within an 8 hour window. I've been doing it for a little over than a month and I've lost about 4 lbs., and compared to the 10 lbs. it took a year to lose whilst working out (though I think I've built a lot of muscle so I want to say I probably lost 15 lbs. of fat but gained 5 lbs. of muscle), it just shows you how diet is the biggest factor in changing your weight.
Keep me motivated, you guys! Tell me some mean things so I can feel badly about myself and work harder to bounce back! Kidding. But also not kidding.
xoxo.
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