Previously:
Ahh, yes. Today is my last day of complete freedom for quite a while. Classes start tomorrow! Which means from this point forward, my life will consist of a teetering balance between a social life and an 18-credit workload. Yikes. Before the madness starts, I want to kind of wrap up my story (though it isn't actually finished yet!). Here we go.
A couple months after I started dieting, I decided to add exercise into my routine. The newest Weight Watchers magazine that came to our door had something intriguing in it: a triathalon training schedule. Hmm! Now, take note that I had no plans to actually compete in a real triathalon. Still don't at this point. However, right in front of me was a fully planned-out exercise schedule. Good deal? Yeah! That plan became the foundation for my fitness schedule for the next 8 weeks or so. I didn't follow it exactly, but instead used the exercises it had written out as well as some other things I wanted to do too. The finished product was a calendar full of running, biking, swimming, zumba, yoga, and weight training. I intended to work out 6 days a week, resting on Sunday. Yes, I know... I started full force. Kind of crazy. But you know what? It worked!! With the exception of a couple days, I completed every workout I had written out. My fitness calendar ended up being covered in happy little check marks.
My theory with exercise is to get a little bit pretty much every day. Some days I go all-out and am exhausted when I finish; other days I take it easy and simply find satisfaction knowing that I was active for 20 minutes or more. I also like to do something different every day. Not only does that help me rest certain muscles in between each type of workout, it keeps things interesting and I don't get bored and discouraged as easily!
Having a calendar written out of exactly what I'm planning to do really helps me as well. Not only does it help me fit my exercise plans into my day, it serves as a sort of fitness record. I get to see all the days I exercised, what I did, how far I've come... it's really quite cool. I can't help but smile when I think that I used to only be able to run for 15 minutes at 4.5 mph, and now I can run a 5K in around 33 minutes. I would say that's a pretty decent improvement!
The interesting thing about adding exercise into my fitness plan was that now I was not only losing fat, I was gaining muscle. That actually complicated my weight loss some weeks. A whole week of exercising and dieting and I didn't lose anything? What?? Nevertheless, I continued to slim down because muscle is leaner than fat - even though it weighs more. My weight may not have changed, but my measurements did. Anyway, eventually things started balancing out and I continued losing weight.
Today, I am 24.5 pounds lighter than I was when I started my journey back in May. Can you see me smiling through your computer screen? Cause I am. :) Initially I was pretty timid about admitting that I was trying to lose weight; I wasn't sure what people would say and whether or not they would be supportive. Now, though... I'm just excited! I've been putting a lot of hard work into this and the results are beginning to show! Hooray!
I wanted to include some progress pictures in this post, to show you how far I've come in the past four months. I never actually took real before pictures (something I still regret!), but I was able to scrounge up some random pictures on facebook that seem to work. Here they are...
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| Fun fact: the after pictures I included here were taken two weeks ago. I've lost two more pounds since then. Also, these are not my final after pictures, as I still want to lose another 6.5 pounds. |
So what are my plans from here? Now that I'm back at school, I plan to sign up for a couple of the fitness classes they offer here. They usually have zumba, an aerobics class, yoga... quite a few different options. Once they release the schedule I'll be able to choose whatever strikes my fancy! Well, as long as it doesn't interfere with my classes! Haha. Anyway, I am also going to continue swimming and biking, and I found a 10K training plan that I am starting today. Exciting things ahead! Senior year is looking like it's going to be a good one. :)
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