75 Medium - Week 1

This last week, Chad and I started our physical/mental fitness challenges. He is doing the 75 Hard Challenge and making sure to adhere to all of the rules. I am doing the 75 Medium Challenge which is not as strict but still a challenge. The rules I'm following are:

• Track all food eaten each day, stay under 1800 calories 
• Do at least 45 minutes per day of exercise 
• Drink at least 100 ounces of water per day
• Read at least 10 pages of any book each day 
• Take a progress picture once a week

So far, it is going well. The hardest past is the 10 pages of reading because I keep putting it off until the end of the day. I have fallen asleep more than once. Making sure to get in enough exercise isn't too hard, but it is a bit tricky when I work in the temple after work. Last Tuesday, I walked 3 times for 15 minutes. I think I'm going to have to do it that way each time. I don't know how else to fit it in. The rest is a bit easier. 

I know I need to make changes in my life. I am the heaviest I have ever been. Not trying because I don't want my clothes to get too big is stupid. At the rate I'm going, everything people have bought me this summer for graduation and birthday will be too small by the end of the year. My hope is that by doing this challenge, I will have new, healthier habits that will continue through the foreseeable future.

My Odd Dilemma

 I have been struggling with what may or may not be a strange dilemma. I want to lose weight. I hate the way I look in pictures, and I am close to the largest I have ever been. I have a plan to once again start the 75 Medium challenge after I get back from my trip for graduation. (Chad will be starting the 75 Hard challenge again, but I don't think my body can take two 45 minutes workouts a day right now.) It would be wonderful to prove to myself that I can take control of my eating and exercise habits, and my hope is that it would be something I can keep up with for years to come. (The past has proven otherwise, but I would like to give this a try.)

So what is my dilemma? I just bought a few new dresses and stuff for the cruise I went on a week ago. I like these dresses and want to still be able to wear them. One of the dresses is already a bit too big and needs to be slightly altered on top. If I start losing weight, will I have to completely give up this dress that I just bought and like. The other dress is more like a t-shirt dress, so I will probably still be able to wear it if it is too big at least as a swimsuit cover up or pajamas. Some of the other clothes that I bought would have to be replaced. This has been a reason for me to sabotage my efforts to lose weight in the past. 

Even though these are the thoughts that are in my head as I think about doing this challenge, I will try it. I have about 4 weeks to try to rid myself of these self-sabotaging thoughts, and I will do my best to do so. 

Yoga Day 7

 

I know. I missed 2 days. Everything is harder when I am off my normal schedule like on the weekends. I'm giving myself grace on this one. 

Today, I did the second to last flow from the runner's yoga series. The one was quite simple, but it felt right. Once again, I was annoyed with Scott's comments. I actually yelled at the phone when he interrupted the rest at the end. I am so glad that I only have one problem left of the series. I can't stand all of his comments. I will be happy to go back to planks and downward dog no matter whet injury I may or may not be dealing with just to not deal with that dude anymore. Why don't I move on? I told myself o was going to complete it and don't want to let myself down one more time. 

Yoga Streak Day 6

 

I was concerned when starting yoga today because I pinched a nerve in my neck somehow this morning, but I committed to this streak and will not give up. Thats right, I have another part of my body in pain. I guess I'm getting old. 

Today's flow was another one from the runner's yoga series. It was fairly good, but a bit harder than the others. I have tight hip flexors, so stretching them is not the easiest. Again, I liked the instruction, but the interruptions were a bit much. I'm getting close to the end of this program, so I'll make different choices for the rest of the streak. 

Yoga Streak Day 5

 

Today, I finally did a flow with very little weight bearing on my arm. This one included chair, warrior 1, and warrior 2 poses. The only time I was low enough to put weight on my arm was the short runner's lunges. Yay! Also, I think I am getting used to Scott Jurek chiming in. I was able to tune him out and relax into this flow. 

I am now halfway though this program and will have to find other workouts in a few days. That's ok. Apple Fitness + has a lot of them. I'm sure I won't run out of workouts. 

Yoga Streak Day 4

 

Today, I did the second program in the Yoga for Runners series. It was simple enough. The good news is that the assisted and side planks were not too painful. Maybe my arm needs these moves to heal. Who knows? All I know is that after a few months, it is finally starting to hurt less each day. 

Yoga Streak Day 3

 Today, I tried the yoga program that Chad has been doing and recommended to me. Since it is focused on the lower body, I can give my arm a rest. 

I liked the flow I did today. The only problem I had with this video was that Scott Jurek chimed it way too much which took away from the relaxation element of yoga that I love so much. 

I will probably follow this series until the end knowing that he will continue to annoy me just to let myself heal. I will also look for her name on more workouts. 

Yoga Streak Day 2

 

I completed day 2 of my streak. I purposely looked for a workout that was supposed to be for the lower body to try to avoid downward facing dog to give my sore arm a break. Well, this one had a lot of downward facing dog and some supported planks. I enjoyed the flow and will look for more from Jonelle, but my arm is killing me. I am hoping that I am not doing more damage to my arm by doing this streak.

Yoga Streak Day 1

 

Chad and I have decided to try a yoga streak until the end of the year. I have been looking for ways to get back into a regular exercise routine in which I will not hurt my ancle or arm, and he likes exercise streaks. 

Today was the first day. I did an energetic flow with Molly on Apple Fitness+. (I will most likely use this app every day.) I liked this one. I did poses I had not even heard of before and am still not sure I did them correctly. Since I have dealing with a bit of tendonitis in my elbow for a bit, I tried to choose one that worked mostly the lower body. I was successful for the most part. I did have to do downward facing dog a few times which did not feel good on that one arm. Other than that, I liked the slightly faster pace of this flow and learning new things. Hopefully, I can continue to find enjoyable routines. 

22 Minute Easy Run -NRC

 

Today, I did a 22 minute easy run through the Nike Run Club app that u have on my phone and watch. This is the app I use to train for the half-marathon I ran with Chad in 2021. I am currently doing a beginner program to help me get going again. After all, I need to be marathon ready by October, and it will be here before I know it. 

My run was good. I knew going in that the focus of this app was to run the allotted time from start to finish not intervals. That made it a bit more challenging, but that’s what I wanted. I am happy to say that I ran 8 minutes nonstop before I had to walk. At this point, I walked for 2 minutes before I started running for 1 minute and walking for 30 seconds for the rest of the run. When I got to 18 minutes 30 seconds, I ran for the next minute and a half thinking that I was only going 20 minutes. Then the trainer chimed in with a 2 minute reminder, and I knew I couldn’t make it without a walk break. I walked for 30 more seconds and ended with a minute and a half running around my cul-de-sac. I was tired when I was done but felt accomplished. This is why I run, to feel that sense of accomplishment. 

75 Hard Fail

I did not do well today. I got one workout in this afternoon and did the intermittent fasting. I did not drink enough water, read, or do my second workout. I had a lot of homework to finish and I went to a party. The combination was not good. The thing is that if I had done the homework throughout the week, I would not have had a lot to do and would have had the time to get other things done. 

I talked to Chad about my failure today and the idea of changing my goals which would take me off of the 75 hard program. He agreed with me that I am trying to do too much because it is taking away homework time. He helped me feel better about my idea of dropping down to one workout per day. I can do that without feeling guilty or like a failure. I can also keep the good habits that I want to create. 

Starting tomorrow, I will be doing the 75 medium challenge. I will be reading only 5 pages per day of my nonfiction book and only doing one workout per day. Other than that, I will keep doing what I have been doing. The graphic I found with the rules days I could go down to half gallon of water, but I drink about a gallon on the days that I work and need to do better on the weekends, so I think I need to keep this goa. I will adjust my tracker in the afternoon. 

75 Hard Day 6

Today was a bit easier than yesterday. I slept better last night. I think that helped. My ankle is doing a bit better which made it a bit easier to get my workouts in. My first workout was 45 minutes on the Gazelle while I watched the news. My second workout was a strength routine on the front porch. I did it in the front because I wanted to do step-ups, and we don't have steps in the backyard. It was a bit difficult and I wanted to quit after about 30 minutes and just walk around the block, but I kept going until the 45 minutes were up. (I'll post my front porch workout on my main blog tomorrow.) Drinking a gallon of water was easy today. I had drank all of it by dinner and kept going until a little while after my last workout. The last 30ish minutes of my fasting period went by so slow. I made a smoothie to break the fast, and it felt so good in my stomach! I need to have them more often. I crave them sometimes and tell myself that they are a hassle to make, but they really aren't. I finished "I am Malala" tonight. I will work on finishing the next book starting tomorrow. I am so thankful for this goal. It has shown me that I can make time to sit quietly and read something other than homework. Overall, I would say today was a successful day. Best of all, I do not feel broken. 

75 Hard Day 5

Today was really hard. I feel like I am breaking. I don't know if it is the challenge, the fact that I didn't sleep much last night, or other life circumstances. Of course, it could be a combination. I have to quit my Glow Up challenge which was specific exercises daily, Monday through Friday. My injured ankle has been getting worse as I do the jumping jacks and butt kicks. I also can't really run until it heals a bit. Today, I did some yoga and went for a walk. I don't enjoy yoga very often, but it actually felt good today. I may need to do this video more often. The fasting part was a bit more difficult than it should have been because I took Noel to 7-11 and had to wait to eat my snack for about 3 hours. I made it and was quite proud, but it was hard. I know I need to make better food choices during my eating window. I have the food in the house, so I will make a better effort tomorrow. Hopefully, that will help me feel fuller longer. All I have left to do tonight is my reading. I will read the next 10 pages of "I am Malala." It is an easy read, so it won't take too long. 

75 Hard Day 4

 

Today was a bit more difficult. I struggled with the desire to workout. I had planned to do yoga with the Wii, but the controllers didn’t work. I hopped on the Gazelle instead. Then, I sat and talked to Noel until I made dinner and left for a youth activity. By the time we got home it was almost 8:30, and I still needed to do my workout outside.  With my right achilles hurting, I opted for a walk. The cool breeze felt good, and I don’t regret doing it. It was hard to convince myself to get out and do it, though. 

Tomorrow, I will hook up my dvd player and do some yoga from my videos. If my tendon feels better, I’ll get that run in that my body is craving. 

75 Hard Day 3

Today was a bit harder in some ways and easier in others. When I’m working is the main time I snack, so fasting until10am was really hard. I sensed up drinking half of my gallon of water trying to clam the hunger pains. I texted a friend who has done intermittent fasting to get some ideas on how to stay full longer and implemented some of them during my eating window today. I hope it will make it better tomorrow. The workouts weren’t too bad. I played tennis with Chad for one workout. That was nice. The other one was a bit more difficult because I hurt my ankle and tried to do jumping jacks. I will wrap it tomorrow to see if it helps. Other than that it is now 9pm and I still need to do a ton of homework that is due tonight. I’ve got to get my schedule figured out better. 

75 Hard Day 2

Today was a good day. I did a bike ride in the afternoon and some strength work tonight. Having a day off helped. Honestly, I’m a bit concerned about it working with all of my other responsibilities. I’m crossing my fingers. 

75 Hard Day 1

I have officially completed day one of 75 Strong. It wasn’t too bad. I know other days when I have more to do will be harder, but I am ready for them. I have a plan. 

Day 1 picture: