Update

Hi all!

Happy Wednesday! How are you all doing today? Sorry for not blogging for a few days, but I have been busy and feeling off. However, I am back now and feeling much better. My nutrition was very off and I was making many excuses. I did not even really weigh-in on Sunday because I knew that I would not like the number that I saw. Monday I had ever intention to get back on track but I had a doctor appointment where I had a procedure done and I was quite uncomfortable after it was done, so I just took some time to relax.

Yesterday was the first day this week that I was actually at my calorie goal and I was incredibly proud of myself. Let’s be honest, it is incredibly hard to get back on track, but it has to be done. I missed my arm day on Monday, so I did it yesterday and I had legs today. My shoulders and legs are killing me right now but I am so happy! I have changed up my strength training a bit, doing more reps in the beginning sets and fewer in the reps in the ending sets. It really is helping because I am able to do more sets and ultimately more total reps. Typically on leg day it was difficult for me to do all the sets I had planned, but today, I was able to do all of them. Yes, I was insanely tired after, however I still did them and did not need to stop.  

My best friend is going to be home for a week beginning on Sunday, I am counting down the days. Even though my best friend was just home for Christmas, I miss her like crazy. We talk numerous times a week but it is definitely not the same as being in the same city as her. She and I have already made numerous plans for while she is here. Monday we are going out for coffee together and lunch with a few of our friends. We will be getting some delicious Mexican food sometime throughout the week and going out for coffee again a few more times. Oh how I miss that girl!

Well, it’s time to sign off because I need to start dinner. Tonight I will be watching a few shows and hopefully finishing another discussion post for school. Once I finish those things, I will be ending the night with some reading. I hope that you all have a wonderful evening. Until next time!

~Sara~

Update

Hi all!

Happy Friday! How are you all doing today? I am doing alright today, ready to get back in the swing of things. I will be honest, the past two days my nutrition was off, especially Wednesday. Yesterday I tried to get back on track and was doing well until the evening, I did not eat enough throughout the day and I paid for it in the evening. Today is a new day though and I am thankful for the new beginning that today offers. From now on, I am upping the intensity of my strength training sessions because I have been slacking with it and if I want to see results, I do need to work harder.

Let me tell you, my workout was intense today! I did my 30 minutes of cardio and 40 minutes of strength training. 4 sets of legwork and 3 sets of ab work, I would have done more but I was so shaky because I needed to eat something. So, I stopped because I thought that was better than passing out. On Wednesday, I missed my workout, which is why I did both legs and abs today. I am probably going to be hurting tomorrow, especially my legs, but I love the burn.

I have a weigh-in tomorrow for my challenge, not sure, how it is going to go because of my two off days this week. Oh well, it is just one weigh-in, it does not define who I am as a person. Even though I had two off days nutritionally this week, I am still calling this a decent week. I have 293 fitness minutes and before Wednesday, I was spot on nutritionally. Two off days are not going to derail  me completely, not this time.  

Time to get back to my schoolwork, this week I am trying to get through most of the information for my final paper and presentation. It is definitely time consuming but necessary. Hopefully I’ll be able to update by Monday at the latest. I hope that you all are having a great day. Until next time!

~Sara~

Health

Hi all!

Happy Wednesday! How are you all doing today? It is a dreary day here, but I love it that it's warming up a bit. I cannot believe it's already the 14th, this month is flying by for me.

Today was leg day and let me tell you, my legs are feeling it. In fact, I had to cut my workout short and I'll be finishing it up this afternoon. My legs were killing because I upped my reps on some exercises, so my muscles were yelling at me. Oh well, I can easily finish up later on. I also did 20 minutes of cardio as well. I'm just trying to push myself and remember that sore muscles now means great results later.

Yesterday I realized that my HRM isn't working anymore :( The past few days my calorie burn has seemed off, both extremely high and low numbers. So I have decided to not worry so much about my calorie burn and focus more on fitness minutes and my nutrition. I want to focus more on my health than anything else, so fitness, nutrition and emotions are my priority.

Let me tell you, I have been so unproductive today. So it's time to end this post and actually get some schoolwork done. I hope that you all have a wonderful afternoon and evening. Until next time!

~Sara~

Strength Training and School Work

Hi all!

Happy Wednesday! How are you all doing today? I am absolutely wonderful, feeling motivated and a good sore. It's another cold day here, but I'm not letting that get me down. Today I'm feeling really great, motivated, happy, and just excited for life. It is truly amazing what a positive attitude does for you, emotionally and physically.

This morning I had a killer legs and cardio day, by the end of my strength training session, my legs were shaking. The last 30 seconds of it, I almost didn't make it through because my legs were shaking so much. It was difficult to finish that session but I pushed through and I'm proud of myself. The exercises I did were not difficult by any means, I just haven't done any strength training in awhile. It has literally been months. After looking at my records, I realized that it's been between 11 and 12 months since my last consistent strength training sessions! God, no wonder why my muscles were screaming at me during my workout. I've done some consistent cardio between now and then but never strength training. I just need to ask myself one thing, why?!? Why on earth would I do that to myself? Things could be very different right now if I would have continued with strength training, but it is what it is. Let me tell you, I am ridiculously sore right now. I needed to bring my fitness equipment back upstairs and it was not an easy task. That just means that my lower body muscles are awake now.

This morning I decided to take some photos of myself, baring most of myself. I wasn't able to hide behind clothing. As much as I dislike taking pictures of myself like that, I think that it's crucial. One thing that I'm really trying to do is to not focus on the number on the scale. Comparing pictures, especially one's with fewer clothes, and measurements are really telling. I encourage everyone to take measurements and photos consistently, they may show your progress in a different way. It gives you a different perspective than just relying on the scale. I don't know about all of you, but I would rather feel and look healthier at a higher weight, than the other way around.

My class opened up two days ago, so I'm enjoying getting things prepared for my class to officially start on Monday. I've set up my homework chart, saved everything that I need to onto my computer and began working on my assignments. Yesterday, I turned in all of my week one assignments and began working on week two assignments. I figure, this session of class will not be all that busy because there's only one class, whereas beginning in session two, I'll be in three classes (including the one I'm in now). So I'm working ahead as much as possible, while I do have the time. Starting in the middle of February, things are going to get ridiculously busy again. Oh well, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel for my undergrad work, only 4 months until graduation!

Well, I'm off to work on some school work. I hope you all have a wonderful afternoon and evening. Until next time!

~Sara~