Wildcat

Tough break! I know work can throw curveballs into diet and exercise. If you feel like you failed, that's okay. Don't panic! The important thing to do after failing is to get back on the horse (metaphorically). You made these changes before, so all you have to do is recommit! The first thing I would say to do is to start making your own food again. Even if it's a pre-made salad from the grocery store, or a packet of tuna. Don't expect to stay satisfied without protein! My guideline is one serving of protein a meal (about 4 oz or a palm-sized hunk of meat) and then fill up on salad and other veggies. What you eat can affect your performance lifting weights and doing exercise classes. Remember, one small change at a time. Say you start with making yourself a healthy breakfast, and the rest of the day you continue on trying to be healthy. Then after a week or two, when the first change is solid, add a new change, like carrying a water bottle or making a healthy snack to take to work or taking the stairs. Motivation is one of my favorite topics to expound upon... but you're in charge of that. True motivation comes from within. Here are some ways to make working out more attractive: Simple workouts that are full body workouts, because it is easier. Name your workout routine! I have my one day that I am committed to go to the gym and lift each week, and my workout for that day is called Slay 'n' Play Gym Day. State your goals (the challenges here are helpful for that). Even if you tell no one else about your goals, telling yourself means you remember the reason you are doing the workout. Remember every pushup, crunch, step, and smile counts- even if it's just a quick set at your desk. (I have smile workout in my repertoire for my crap days.) A tape measure can give you an idea what your bodyfat is. There are a few calculators on the internet that require different places to measure, so I would find one and use it. Also, take a photo of yourself and then in a month do it again. You'll be able to see changes or lack thereof. Keep working! You've made big leaps so just keep going. It is possible!

To me, functional fitness is all about being able to do daily tasks like walking up the stairs with your bag in hand without getting out of breath and lifting objects you might encounter in your everyday life. The other huge component of functional fitness for me is core strength. The last thing about functional fitness is mobility/flexibility, especially in the lower extremities, because I struggle there. Balance is also key to everyday health. What isn't "functional fitness" to me are things like isolation exercises (bicep curls), treadmills, and machine lifts. While I use machines, especially for my upper legs, it's usually because I'm trying to work on a specific deficiency that I've discovered. Possibly good for supplementation, but not for the basis of a fitness regimen.

After a long five months of barely being able to work out, I am back to squatting 65 lbs! That's not really exciting until you know that I couldn't do even bodyweight squats four months ago. I tried, and called my chiro the next day to put me back together. At that time, I had a nasty case of trochanteric bursitis (hip bursa), sacroilliitis, and a tight, inflamed IT band. After three months of physical therapy, I'm finally as close to 100% as dedicated P/T will take me and I'm back to doing it on my own. Three weeks ago, after about a month of successful and increasing bodyweight squats, I finally picked up the bar and did three sets of ten with just the measly bar. I concentrated on form and made it through. The next day I could barely walk up the stairs at work, but the next week I tried again, and this week I added 20 lbs to the bar, just as an experiment. I did four sets of ten, so I'm going to add some more weight next week, as long as I can keep my form. P.S. I'm getting married! Time to double down so I look fantastic in my wedding dress! Three months!

http://wildcatspeaks.blogspot.com/2012/08/week-2-of-challenge.html Week 2, folks. I'm here, even when I'm not!

#1. At my last weigh-in I weighed 178 lbs. This is down five pounds from my last weigh in about three weeks before that. #2. I'm in the beginning of a good relationship! #3. Abovementioned boyfriend doesn't mind that I'm trying to eat Primally (he likes the food I make for him except he likes his bacon burned) AND #4. He just put money down on his first real bike so we can ride together! Woohoo! #5. Took my friend Amanda into see my chiropractor and she's finally getting treatment for her back issues! (not really mine, but my friends are important to me and I try to take care of them when I can) #6. I finally felt how to swim downhill! Plus I bought a book about swimming. #7. I glued my first puzzle! It's a hobby I've been meaning to start for a few months now. I'm about to put another one together.

http://wildcatspeaks.blogspot.com/2012/08/challenge-week-1.html Here's my blog post for Week 1. It's short! I plan to keep these going up every Monday, or at least once a week.

GOALS: Diet/Fitness: Swimming: Swim for 30 minutes a minimum of 3x a week, up to 6x a week, and keep a record. The pool is closed Sundays, so I figure it's an enforced rest day! Actually, I'm pretty psyched about swimming. I'm going to try to go every day, but I won't beat myself up if I miss a day or if work goes insane and I work 20- and 15- hour days again. I want to count beach days, but they usually end up being tanning time with Chris where I jump in the water every hour or so. Food Journal: Keep a food journal! For every completely Primal meal, a star. For every completely Primal day, a sticker. For six Primal Day Stickers, one small frozen yogurt. I want to see how much I'm really eating Primally. I want to see an increase in the percentage of Primal eating from week one to week six. Also, I'll be able to see where I'm giving in to SAD and/or the boyfriend's taking me out to dinner. Commute: Use my bicycle for commuting to work and PT. I actually work & PT (for work) 6 out of the 7 days in a week. I work strange hours, so I need to make sure the bike is up to the laws on lights and stuff. These rides will be fairly short, but there will be hills. She's had her yearly checkup, so she should be in good shape. I have a super-nice helmet and I even have gloves for longer rides. I may be getting a rack or a basket so I can haul my swimming things easier. That way I won't have any excuse to not go right after work. Until then, I'll probably drive myself to the pool. Level UP!: Read The Primal Blueprint by Mark Sisson. I've started it, so this is just one of those completion goals. Once I've read it, application begins. I'm going to put a check mark for every day I work on reading it and make a note in my food journal when I try something from the Blueprint. I'm going to try to drag Chris, my boyfriend, along with me for some of these adventures. He's not a fan of exercise; however, I've gotten him in a new pair of runners, and since I like to bike, he's agreed to look into getting a bike to go with me. I'm also starting this out injured, so I'll be taking it easy on intensity and probably adjusting for my hip and feet.

I came in to read an epic challenge and of course got a good laugh out of this. The worst thing in the world is chafing. I have to agree with the tight shirts. I've heard of vaseline, bandages, snug shirts not made of cotton. Your cheapest option will be bandaids, but a good shirt is best. As a female, chafing on the nipples means a new, properly fitting bra is needed. You know how tight those are. I have also heard of males (not overweight ones) using sports bras... you will be significantly less embarrassed and look way cooler with an underarmour fitted shirt or something similar.

Natalie Dell, member of quadruple women's sculls team, is from my hometown, and those four ladies won bronze in London. I'm inspired to see a girl I was on the soccer and track teams with in high school make it to the Olympics and medal! My hometown's not very big and we don't produce a lot of star athletes, but this goes to show how hard work and dedication can make you great, no matter what your circumstances.

Anyone had this? I'd like to know how long it might take to heal. I'm not a patient person and I don't like to be told I can't work out (especially when I need to get my legs strong). I had hip pain for about a month, and about a week ago I started having trouble sleeping, so I finally dragged my rear end into medical and came out with 14 days of light duty (limited PT) and this diagnosis. I got the usual: High dose of Motrin, "rest", ice. Any other tips, stretches, exercises to help heal faster? I need to be back on my feet, so to speak.

I think I'm doing rather badly at meeting my goals. I can say I've worked out at least 5 days every week, so I've had some kind of consistency. Unfortunately I've missed going to the pool, and I'm not close to having the endurance to last for 1000 m. I've been eating mostly Paleo, but I've been eating too much, so I haven't lost weight like I should have. In fact I gained weight over the fourth of July holiday and during the time I was home for Bobby's funeral. I've succeeded in not using my credit cards except to fly home for the funeral. That was a blow anyway.

I tried the swimming version, but I am worn out from this week for some reason and didn't want to get out of the water at the ends of the pool. I'm going to give it another go on the track this weekend instead of the pool. I need to do some sprint work anyway.

There are butterflies in my pool! I learned how to do the butterfly yesterday at my swimming lesson. Today I did it for 50 m straight! I don't even know how many laps I did total today, but I was super psyched to do 50 m of fly. It's definitely a full-body workout and it worked my coordination. Also, I didn't fall out or even back in the battalion run this morning. I dislike formation runs. I get kicked in the feet all the time but even that didn't happen too much today. So a double woot!

I made a meal plan for the week, and for five meals in a row I've stuck right to it! This has made shopping for food so much easier (and cheaper).

Today I warmed up with 5 minutes of jumping rope and spent fifteen minutes after my workout stretching all sore parts from the week. I feel pretty good from that, so I'll probably continue with making myself warm up. Haven't made it to the pool yet this week.