Nicole's Workout Blog

I Suck at Losing Weight. Period.

Nicole — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 04:36:23 +0000

In order to get my butt in gear and lose those 15 pounds that I would like to lose, Garrett and I agreed that I will get a reward when I meet that goal. If I lose 15 pounds, then I will have $150 (on top of my current monthly budget) to spend on new clothes. For every pound I lose, I get $10 to spend…minimum of 5 pounds. If I can do it, that’s a good chunk of money to spend and will go a long way at Kohl’s! Apparently just the reward of looking and feeling better isn’t enough, because I’m not shedding those pounds…so hopefully upping the reward will work! I’m back up to 136 again…and not too happy about it.

Wish me luck…yet again.

Goal Met!

Nicole — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 06:07:09 +0000

Rather than bore you with the details of what I consumed today, I’ll just give you the bottom line. I ate 1345 calories today, and then walked at a steady pace tonight for an hour (about 3.5 miles) and burned about 250 calories doing that. Then I went home, did some weight lifting and 215 crunches. Feeling pretty good about myself! So according to the calculations I did, I cut out around 5oo calories-ate 300 less than I would eat to stay at this weight, burned about 250 walking (not counting the calories I burned while lifting weights and working on my abs…I’ll just count those as an added bonus) which if I continue to do this everyday for a week, I should lose one solid pound. Keep this up for 2 and a half months, and I might just be able to cut off 10 pounds! The beauty about this is, if I know that I won’t be able to walk more than just on my lunch break in any given day, I can just make sure I make up for it by the calories I’m consuming. I can just cut out 100 calories (trade the ranch for fat free italian, or pass up 2 of those mini chocolates) and I’m good to go. Just wouldn’t want to get into that habit, working out feels good. I have found that when I jump in too far, and make too many extreme changes, I just give up. Its too hard to change that drastically, and counting calories, and just walking is doing a world of change, without the complete life makeover. Baby steps….and one day I’ll run a marathon! Or not. =)

So far, not so good.

Nicole — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 23:51:49 +0000

Today I had a lunch that consisted of 1190 calories. DISGUSTING! I don’t think I have realized how many calories I can eat. I don’t do it all the time, but enough to be an issue. So my current goals are to do the following:

Drink more water. I barely drink any, so I need to drink more. However I found this interesting article about the myths of dieting/working out http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/workout/tips/strategy/top-10-fitness-myths/ . Check it out.

Eat no more than 1400 calories, but no less than 1100. I have been doing research and found that eating less than 1100 can be bad for your health, and you shouldn’t do so unless monitored by a doctor. Sounds like serious business, that I’d rather not try so I’m shooting for just under 1400 calories a day!

Work out for at least 30 minutes a day. Preferably an hour. Not only is it good for your heart, but how else can you burn calories? I have picked out a few activities that I want to do:

Walking burns 245 calories/hr (going at 3.5 miles per hour)
Pilates (on a mat) burns 160 calories/hour
Walk/Jog intervals buns 385 calories/hour

In order to drop weight we need to know how many calories to either cut out or burn to drop a pound. If you burn 500 calories A DAY then you will lose one pound a week. One pound equals 3500 calories…and thats 7 days of working out hard! You can cut out 250 calories, and work out to burn 250 calories and BAM there is your pound.

Another thing I learned today was to eat snacks. Make sure to eat breakfast, and then eat low calorie energy boosting snacks throughout the day, smaller lunches and dinners, and it will keep your metabolism going, meaning you will burn more calories…doing nothing but sitting there. Might be a few, but hey, every bit helps =)

Alright, let’s see where this knowledge takes me!

Back on Track

Nicole — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 18:25:57 +0000

Hello readers(All one of you)! It’s time to get back on track. I’ve gotten back the few pounds I lost, and then some. I weighed myself this weekend a few times and I am officially at 136 pounds.
Time to lose that weight! My goal is to be 120. As for a date to lose that weight by, I’m not sure what is realistic. So I’ll say by the end of summer I’d like to lose 16 pounds. I’d like to be 120 even with the muscle weight that I may gain from working out.

In order to lose that weight, I need to start working out regularly again. Eating right isn’t really that hard for me, I just need to chose to do it, and I usually do fine. The biggest issue for me, is trying to drink water and eat breakfast. Those will be two goals I will have in regards to my eating habits.
As for my workout plan, I started it this weekend. My goal is in 8 weeks to be able to run for 30 minutes without stopping to walk/rest. I’m going to follow the plan here:

Week 1:
Walk for 6 minutes, jog at easy pace for 1 minute. Repeat 3 times. Walk for another 6 minutes slowly to cool down.
Aim for 3 sessions in week one.

Week 2:
Walk for 5 minutes, jog for 2 minutes. Repeat 3 times. Walk for another 5 minutes slowly to cool down.
Aim for 3 sessions in week two.

Week 3:
Walk for 3 minutes, jog for 4 minutes. Repeat 4 times. Walk 5 minute cool down.
Aim for 4 sessions in week three.

Week 4:
Walk for 2 minutes, jog for 5 minutes. Repeat 4 times. Walk 5 minute cool down.
Aim for 4 sessions in week four.

Week 5:
Walk for 2 minutes, jog for 8 minutes. Repeat 3 times. Walk 5 minute cool down.
Aim for 4 sessions in week five.

Week 6:
Walk for 2 minutes, jog for 9 minutes. Repeat 3 times. Walk 5 minute cool down.
Aim for 4 sessions in week six.

Week 7:
Walk for 1 minute, jog for 11 minutes. Repeat 3 times. Walk 5 minute cool down.
Aim for 4 sessions in week seven.

Week 8:
Walk for 5 minutes, run for 20 minutes, cool down for 5 minutes. Do this for the first three sessions this week. For the 4th session, walk 5 minutes, run for 30, cool down for 5.

If I can do this, I’ll be pretty excited. Wish me luck! Or pray for my motivation!!!! =)

Been slackin’…

Nicole — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 22:08:50 +0000

Well, I have lost some weight. I’m now down to about 128. I love it. However, I haven’t been eating that well the last week or so, and that’s putting me on the fast track to gaining it back. I also haven’t worked out at all this week…NOT GOOD! I have been gathering up some recipes for next week that are healthy, so hopefully I will get back on track!

As for going to the gym….man I need to get my butt into gear!!!!

What got into me???

Nicole — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 06:20:11 +0000

I don’t know if it was the dr’s visit that scared the crap out of me or the fact that I was at 136 when I last weighed myself…but in this few days, I have become addicted to working out…in fact, I almost didn’t today….but then realized I have started craving it! I feel better. Physically…which is awesome! I”m sore as heck but I’m loving it because it means progress. I have also been quite happy with my eating…mostly. I can’t remember the last time I had ranch! It might have been a couple weeks ago…but thats monumental considering I used to eat at least 4 times a week on something.

As for my weight. Well I have been at 132 for 3 days now….I”m hoping it keeps going down! It might only be one pound, but hey, every pound counts!

Reality check at the Dr’s….

Nicole — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 05:44:10 +0000

On Friday I went to the dr’s for a regular check up. I actually went because I have decided that I need to be healthier, and wanted to check everything out. When I went in, they took my blood pressure….and it’s high. NOT A GOOD THING. My heart rate is high as well. So in order to get those under control, cardio is now my focus. I need to do at least 30 minutes of cardio EVERY DAY in order to lower my blood pressure and my heart rate. Now there is no excuses! This week I go in to get my blood drawn and they will be checking my cholesterol, iron etc. I have a feeling my cholesterol will be high, since high blood pressure, heart rate and cholesterol usually go hand in hand. So not only do I want to look better, but I also want to be healthier. People don’t realize how important cardio is and every little thing helps. Parking your car on the far end of the parking lot, taking the stairs, walking to a restuarant all help to improve health.

So more important than what you eat (although thats important too!) is making sure you get your heart beat pumping for at LEAST 30 minutes a day, preferably 60 (don’t forget one day of rest! .)The goal heart rate for our age is 155 while working out. That is the target rate to condition your heart. The longer it takes your heart to get there, the better! Once your heart is conditioned, the target heart rate to lose weight is 126. You’ll burn less calories, but more of the calories you burn will be fat calories. Shoot for that heart rate 3 times a week and the cardio heart rate the other 3 days and you’ll be in pretty good shape!

As for the eating, healthy choices are always best. Working out and eating junk will make your workout be in vain, but don’t forget to cheat sometimes. We want to be healthy, but every once in awhile, its ok to eat those fries, or have that piece of chocolate…we need to reward our efforts! Just don’t let those “once in a while” turn into “often” =)

Alright, I weighed myself today, and I weigh 133. My goal is to weigh 120. TIME TO BURN THOSE CALORIES!

Time to get back to work!

Nicole — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 23:02:04 +0000

Alright….I tried to post last week, but for some reason it deleted it, and I was just too lazy to retype the whole thing. Today while I have time, I decided it’s time to update my blog again!

So far I have been doing pretty good with getting my cardio in. I have been riding at least 15 miles on a bike every time I go to the gym. I haven’t yet noticed a difference in my weight, but I sure have noticed a difference in how I feel! I haven’t been able to do much with toning my muslces, because unfortunately, I chose this time to start going to a chiropractor. Well every time I go, she says not to lift anything and I have been super sore. Hopefully either the soreness will subside shortly, or I will not be going to see her anymore….

The coolest thing I have to report right now, is that I have been going to the gym and enjoying it, despite the busy schedule that always wants to get in the way!

AHHH!

Nicole — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 21:27:55 +0000

So I weighed myself this weekend and I weigh 134. I gained 10 lbs! What’s weird is, I have been eating better than I was before…but I must say, it’s probably my lack of exercise. Embaressingly, I haven’t been putting any effort into working out, which if I hope to lose weight, or gain muscle (come on nice abs!!!!) then I have to work for it!

Well I hope to change that, now that we just signed up to workout at 24 hour fitness. I plan to work out on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We will see how that goes! But they say, 30 days of routine, and it sticks…so my goal is to stick to that schedule for a month, minus the time I will be in Colorado this weekend…maybe I should start the month countdown after that trip, and count this week as a bonus week=) Wish me luck! Or just pray for me!

Weight

Nicole — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 03:21:04 +0000

Today is the day I decided to weigh myself….I weighed myself this morning before any food. I weigh 126.5. I’m not really sure that I have a goal weight, but I guess ideally I would like to be down to 120-122. In order to do that, I’m going to start doing pilates and walking. I would work out more than just that, but with my dizziness issue, I still think I should take it easy till it gets figured out. My goal is to go on a walk everyday and do pilates. I will be tracking this progress (or lack of) on the page “Burn, baby, burn”. Wish me luck!!!!!

I have also started tracking what I’m eating. Right now, I have been happy with what I’m eating, with the occasional slip up. I will slowly incorporate healthier eating into my menu, especially once I’m tracking it and able to see my intake. You can follow that on the page “Feed me!!!!”

My personal goals are to have a flatter stomach, and tighter buns and thighs….but I really wish I could keep my chest! I’m hoping that its not the first to go, once I’m able to really start working out! I’m pretty happy otherwise….just need to tone up!

Alright….here I go!!!!!