Moving My Body Forward - Phase 2
So I survived my first phase of getting my fitness back and moving my body forward.
The first week felt pretty good. I started my Piyo workouts and my new habits on a Sunday morning. The workouts were both easy and difficult at the same time. The workout consisted of simple moves that I have done all my life, but I haven't done them much in the past year. My body hasn't moved in certain ways for a long time. I really had to struggle with some of them. However, muscle memory began to kick in after two or three workouts and they felt more comfortable.
Midway through the first week, I was tempted to check in. I wanted to see if I had made any progress at all. I found myself staring at my scale and tape measure, wondering if I'd see a difference. Is that crazy or what? I wanted to see if I had results after 5 days? After all this time trying to learn that my body is going to change slowly and on its own time, I still want instant results. I knew that a few days of mild workouts wasn't going to change my body, but I still wanted to believe it could. I was smart enough to tell myself to wait until the end of the month to check in when I could see more accurate results.
The second week presented some challenges. There was Thanksgiving of course, as well as a pre-Thanksgiving dinner out with friends. There was a day I went out to lunch and just didn't feel like eating any vegetables. Even though I did my best to stick to my habit, I know I was eating too much.
Plenty of times I found myself thinking I should start giving my diet more structure and be more attentive to planning healthful meals, but I realized that part of the strategy for success is sticking to one habit at a time. I will not overwhelm myself. I would stick to one habit with each phase.
Week 3 brought a few more challenges with the workouts and a return to saner, post-holiday eating, but I still had some weak moments. I was almost positive I was backsliding badly. At the end of the week I reviewed my compliance stats and saw that I had stuck with the habit for over 80% of my meals. I was doing better than I gave myself credit for.
During the last week I finally felt as if the habit was going in the right direction. I was noticing the changes in my satiety levels as I ate. I found myself leaving a few bites at the end of some of my meals. I now like to think I will be well prepared for my next habit.
In terms of the workout, how do I feel about PiYo? I have mixed feelings for sure. I do the workout and I'm covered in sweat and out of breath. It is intense, but for the first 1-3 weeks, it didn't feel effective. I worked hard and diligently with each daily scheduled workout, but wondered if it was really doing anything for my body. By the third week I started to notice more effectiveness. The program was incorporating harder workouts, but it was more than that. I think in the early stages I was just going through the motions to learn the moves. Once I really had the moves imprinted on my body and the muscle memory kicked in, I could concentrate on them harder. I was beginning to work deeper into my muscles and even had some soreness. While I don't love the workouts in general, there are some aspects I enjoy. The workout called "Sweat" has a segment that is all balancing moves and when I do it I feel very flowy and graceful. The second phase will incorporate only the most difficult and longest workouts, so we'll see if I still feel the program is ineffective.
I haven't suspended my gym membership for the two months I'm doing PiYo because I assumed I would want to pop into the gym now and then for some time on the cardio machines or to take Zumba classes. I admit this hasn't happened yet.
No it's on to Phase 2. What is the plan?
Habit: Eat only until satisfied
Workouts:
Sunday: AM Scheduled Piyo workout, PM riding
Monday: AM Scheduled Piyo workout, PM dance class
Tuesday: Scheduled Piyo workout
Wednesday: Scheduled Piyo workout
Thursday: Scheduled Piyo workout
Friday: Scheduled Piyo workout
Saturday: Riding
This month I really should try to get to the gym and hit the cardio machines or at least do a Zumba or dance Kinect program.
The habit will be tricky with Christmas coming. I have a party on the 19th and then I'm making Christmas dinner. I need to buy a lot of gum so I don't sample and nibble too much when cooking.
So what are the results of Month 1?
Weight: 149.4 lbs
Waist: 32.25
Hips: 41.75
Bust: 39
Arm: 13.75
Thigh: 25.25
I lost 2.4 pounds (two pounds a month is pretty typical for me) and I lost a quarter inch in my hips and my waist stayed the same. I gained a half an inch in my bust and arm and a quarter inch in my thigh. Visually I don't look any better.
First I have to post a cute little fuzzy bunny photo so the fat photos don't display when I link this on Facebook.
Now for the photos of me....
I'm not giving up. I did this before and I can do this again.
The first week felt pretty good. I started my Piyo workouts and my new habits on a Sunday morning. The workouts were both easy and difficult at the same time. The workout consisted of simple moves that I have done all my life, but I haven't done them much in the past year. My body hasn't moved in certain ways for a long time. I really had to struggle with some of them. However, muscle memory began to kick in after two or three workouts and they felt more comfortable.
Midway through the first week, I was tempted to check in. I wanted to see if I had made any progress at all. I found myself staring at my scale and tape measure, wondering if I'd see a difference. Is that crazy or what? I wanted to see if I had results after 5 days? After all this time trying to learn that my body is going to change slowly and on its own time, I still want instant results. I knew that a few days of mild workouts wasn't going to change my body, but I still wanted to believe it could. I was smart enough to tell myself to wait until the end of the month to check in when I could see more accurate results.
The second week presented some challenges. There was Thanksgiving of course, as well as a pre-Thanksgiving dinner out with friends. There was a day I went out to lunch and just didn't feel like eating any vegetables. Even though I did my best to stick to my habit, I know I was eating too much.
Plenty of times I found myself thinking I should start giving my diet more structure and be more attentive to planning healthful meals, but I realized that part of the strategy for success is sticking to one habit at a time. I will not overwhelm myself. I would stick to one habit with each phase.
Week 3 brought a few more challenges with the workouts and a return to saner, post-holiday eating, but I still had some weak moments. I was almost positive I was backsliding badly. At the end of the week I reviewed my compliance stats and saw that I had stuck with the habit for over 80% of my meals. I was doing better than I gave myself credit for.
During the last week I finally felt as if the habit was going in the right direction. I was noticing the changes in my satiety levels as I ate. I found myself leaving a few bites at the end of some of my meals. I now like to think I will be well prepared for my next habit.
In terms of the workout, how do I feel about PiYo? I have mixed feelings for sure. I do the workout and I'm covered in sweat and out of breath. It is intense, but for the first 1-3 weeks, it didn't feel effective. I worked hard and diligently with each daily scheduled workout, but wondered if it was really doing anything for my body. By the third week I started to notice more effectiveness. The program was incorporating harder workouts, but it was more than that. I think in the early stages I was just going through the motions to learn the moves. Once I really had the moves imprinted on my body and the muscle memory kicked in, I could concentrate on them harder. I was beginning to work deeper into my muscles and even had some soreness. While I don't love the workouts in general, there are some aspects I enjoy. The workout called "Sweat" has a segment that is all balancing moves and when I do it I feel very flowy and graceful. The second phase will incorporate only the most difficult and longest workouts, so we'll see if I still feel the program is ineffective.
I haven't suspended my gym membership for the two months I'm doing PiYo because I assumed I would want to pop into the gym now and then for some time on the cardio machines or to take Zumba classes. I admit this hasn't happened yet.
No it's on to Phase 2. What is the plan?
Habit: Eat only until satisfied
Workouts:
Sunday: AM Scheduled Piyo workout, PM riding
Monday: AM Scheduled Piyo workout, PM dance class
Tuesday: Scheduled Piyo workout
Wednesday: Scheduled Piyo workout
Thursday: Scheduled Piyo workout
Friday: Scheduled Piyo workout
Saturday: Riding
This month I really should try to get to the gym and hit the cardio machines or at least do a Zumba or dance Kinect program.
The habit will be tricky with Christmas coming. I have a party on the 19th and then I'm making Christmas dinner. I need to buy a lot of gum so I don't sample and nibble too much when cooking.
So what are the results of Month 1?
Weight: 149.4 lbs
Waist: 32.25
Hips: 41.75
Bust: 39
Arm: 13.75
Thigh: 25.25
I lost 2.4 pounds (two pounds a month is pretty typical for me) and I lost a quarter inch in my hips and my waist stayed the same. I gained a half an inch in my bust and arm and a quarter inch in my thigh. Visually I don't look any better.
First I have to post a cute little fuzzy bunny photo so the fat photos don't display when I link this on Facebook.
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