September Review

I didn’t really want to ‘review’ September, for a few reasons – 1.  Every part of my routine has taken a major hit  – 2.  I haven’t weighed in since the beginnning of September   – 3.  I didn’t/don’t want to take measurements.

So I will review it, but no weigh in, no measurements, and without being too hard on myself.

 

So as usual here is an + overview of my plan, and = how I measured up.

+  Maintain the amount of execise I managed through August, which means exercising minimum five days a week.
=  I was doing well with this for the first half of the month, but then work got a bit hectic…

+  Weekly Yoga, Step and Shred, starting to incorporate Attack and Pump.
=  Life really got in the way here.  Shred was amazing (x8), Step was okay (3x), Pump (x2), Yoga and Attack were non-existent.

+  Continue jogging, I want to build up my endurance.
=  5 pure cardio sessions, with some jogging.

+  Burn a minimum of 2000 calories per day.
=  I didn’t make it to 2000 calories on 6 out of the 30 days.

+  More accuracy in recording meals, stopping the guesswork.
+  Keeping my calories consumed under 1500, which means a minimum deficit of 500 calories per day.
=  Not so great on either of these points.  The last week of October I stopped recording my intake alltogether.

 

So this review leaves me wondering what I need to be aiming for over the next couple of months.  I am hoping that by November should bring some relief in my work schedule, so I can go strong then.  But what about October?  How many sessions?  What sort of exercise? What is best if I just want to maintain my current fitness level/weight?

Read Full Post »

July Review + August Goals Cont’d

So before getting stuck into planning/beginning August, I thought I would do a brief review of July.

Highest calories burned = 2774 (Saturday, walked 6km)
Lowest calories burned = 1821 (Sick)
Average calories burned = 2260

435 minutes spent at the gym, 40km on the bike, 20km on my feet.

Now on to August!  I previously posted about my goals for August here.  I now want to add to that -

+  An improvement in my average calories burned, anything above 2260 cals.

I am also going to start taking measurements, following others such as Amanda at MeVstheBulge and Alexandra at TheSecretsofThin.

So here is the first round!

Arm: 28cm
Bust: 90cm
Wasit: 74cm
Hips: 98cm
Upper thigh: 90cm
Mid thigh: 55cm

So excited!  Bring it, August! 

Read Full Post »

August Goals

August is going to be a bit of an adjustment for me.

We are moving, so that will affect my exercise schedule.  But also, I will have to drive to the gym, so I will have to make extra time for it – (I live within walking distance atm).

I have made a few points/goals to think about for the month of August:

-  25 out of the past 42 days I have completed some form of exercise, whether it was the bike, walking, 30 day shred, a gym session or a class.  [So about 60% of the time]
+  Aim for around 75% during August, I want to exercise about 23 out of 31 days.

-  Since I started monitoring kms, I walked 31km and biked 40km over the last 32 days.
+  Continue to record through August, and aim for walking 40km, beginning to jog [Not sure how much access I will have to a bike].

-  I missed one yoga session and one step session this month.  Three out of four weeks I went to yoga and step.  It has been a love/hate relationship so far with yoga, but I love the results.
+  Weekly yoga and step.  I want to make it a priority.

-  I only did one 30 Day Shred session this month(!)  I couldn’t believe it when I looked back over my calendar.  I know this is because I’ve been going to the gym more, but I still want to work toward completing level 3 competently  ;)
+  Complete 30 Day Shred level’s 2/3 once a week*.

-  I am disappointed in my progress so far, although I am building muscle, I want to BURN fat.  I have been monitoring calories burned, but not consumed
+  Track calories in and out – every single item of food will be recorded.
+  Focus on calorie deficits.  I want to aim for a 500 calorie deficit every day, which amounts to a 1lb loss each week or 1.8kg for the whole month**.

* This needs to happen because I imagine that I will be going to the gym less often, so workouts at home are a must.
** I know 1.8kg seems like such a small goal, but I want it to be achievable.  I also want to focus on a reduction of body fat %, rather than the number on the scale.

 

When it’s all typed out like that, it looks a bit scary!  There is a lot there to think about.  Nothing is hard and fast, but I do want to focus on nutrition -  I think that this will be key to me seeing some progress.

Once I get to my goal weight/size/shape, I want to hit up the New Rules of Lifting for Women, as pictured here.  Apparently it is a six month program, and I think it will be perfect for a pre-wedding shape up.  So come January next year, I want to be ready for that.

Read Full Post »

On ya Bike

After my disappointing run in with the scale this morning.  I am going to take some advice (sometimes I am too belligerent independent for my own good).  So I am going to stay away from the scale (well I will weigh in less often), and focus on reaching fitness goals.  While also being more consistent monitoring my calorie intake to ensure that I have a deficit every single day.

Anyway, on to the rest of today.  Today was meant to be a rest day, but I know that tomorrow I have a busy day, and I am getting my haircut (finally!).  It’s only been about four months – eeek!  Not looking forward to what my hairdresser has to say to me!

On to more important things   I decided to give the bike another go, even though my butt was still a bit tender after last week.

My legs started to hurt as soon as I got on…  But, I had things to do, and with the goal of matching my distance from last time, I smashed it.  8.5kms in 21 minutes, compared to 8.3kms in 25 minutes last time.Maybe the bike is growing on me … Maybe …  Ha! 

Read Full Post »