If you're following me on Instagram then you've noticed an influx of workout and meal posts from me in the last 7 weeks. It's true, I've started taking better care of myself, meal prepping, no binge eating and building up my endurance all because of the ladies at Toneitup.com who are hosting their 2016 #tiubikiniseries.
It was without a doubt a challenge when I started this and I wasn't sure if I would actually make it this far, but I'm happy to say that it's week 7 and I'm still going strong. I'm not gonna lie, it's still hard to get myself to the gym and some days I'm just exhausted and still wonder when the feeling of energy will kick in. Sometimes I think maybe it's because I'm over working myself. I did go from pretty much no movement to several workouts a day.
A few good things have been major improvements in my endurance level and capabilities to actually complete the entire workout with little to no rest breaks, and my body is feeling more firm and I'm more confident in myself even though none of my numbers have changed much.
It never really worked out for me to meal plan or prep on Sunday's, but i did plan weekly, and never on the same day. My eats have definitely improved, but I'm still trying to work on a few areas I'm weak in, like eating real dinner food for dinner. I have a tendency to just keep dinner simple with breakfast foods like eggs and toast.
Week 1: As you can see I just printed out the weekly schedule that they have for easy reference, but it really didn't work for me. I noted which workouts on my weekly plan that I did that day, since I didn't always do that same workouts for the day. I also noted the number of miles that went towards my mile tracker for #100milesbysummer It was also week 1, so it was miserable trying to complete these workout. I really thought I was going to die trying to finish these. I made a ton of modifications as well. I also had a small tracker so I remembered to do my checkins, had a protein shake that day and drink more water.
Week 2: I tried a new layout for my weekly workouts so I could incorporate my tracker into each day, but it didn't quote work as well, again since I didn't always complete that day's daily workout for that day so it just got confusing. My workout frequency was also very minimal in completion. I did sub out Wednesday's workout to attend a Body Jam audition a friend of mine was doing. Friday, and Saturday I headed out of town for dancing events that I counted for my cardio. You can also see that I started playing with my TIU BS header.
I also started to highlight in Pink (it's feint, but you can see a little) the workouts I completed that week so I had a better visual of what i had accomplished.
Week 3: I started adding color to the header, incorporating the weekly phase, moving the time of the workout to the left of the workout, and I continued with a similar tracker slightly modified, but it still wasn't working for me. My workout frequency during the week has increased, but still choosing which workout I completed for that day based on how I felt, and what I had planned. Friday and Saturday I did some of the workouts plus, dancing during the evening.
The weather was also really nice so I went out for a run Thursday evening.
Week 4: I started blocking more of the letters to my TIU BS header and I liked having the weekly phase so I've decided to continue with that. I decided to stop using the larger table for my daily tracker and just went back to my old mini tracker, which worked a little better, but still wasn't very pretty.
I started working out every day and even went for a run, but realized that this week my running shoes would no longer allow me the comfort to run so I headed to our local running store for a new fitting Wednesday. Out of the 3 they showed me I eliminated the newer version of my Brooks, which is now on 9. I just killed my 4's. These were just to tight over the middle of my foot. I also liked a pair of New Balance and Saucony's, but the New Balance wasn't in my exact size so it went on order. No new shoes for me this week.
Week 5: I kept with the same basic layout, which I totally love (well except the daily tracker. I'm still not happy with that). I was getting more workouts in and feeling great in my skin. My dancing has improved tremendously since building up my core strength and it's helped me be more playful and more confident to follow through with some of the moves I had issues with before. This was acutely my week that I had my "OMG I feel amazing" moment when I was dancing. It really was like I stepped out of myself and into a whole new confident me. It still amazes me how much my perspective of myself and how I look has changed considering my actual numbers haven't bugged but a few numbers.
I no longer have to justify what I eat, which honestly is so freeing. People used to say, but you look good, and inside I would say, but I could look better had I have not eaten my feelings twice this week and consumed an entire bag of ores in one sitting. Now I know I've been taking care of my physical healthy and eating healthy, so when I want a slice of cake or a cookie I can enjoy it and not feel guilty.
I had plans out of town this weekend for a dance exchange and I knew with the endless hours of dancing and lack of sleep that toning workouts were just not going to happen. I was optimistic and packed 2 sets of workout clothes so that I could see how I felt, but none happened until Tuesday before I headed back home. Monday I took a much needed rest day.
Week 6: I decided to eliminate the daily tracker, because I was slacking on it a bit last week. Please forgive the water stain on Monday. I accidentally spilled coffee on it while I was planning for this week. I was with friends for Memorial Day and since I had eaten my breakfast already I still decided to join the breakfast table and work on work on my planner, but when I was pouring a new cup of coffee I forgot the spout was cracked and so it ended up dripping on my planner. My heart literally broke that I had done this to it. I should have just put it aside, because I really didn't get much done while at the table.
I posted this pic on my snapchat (raehausfit) Monday 06/06/16 so the win on the scale is pretty minor, and even my measurements are only about 2.5" overall.
Even though my numbers haven't changed more than 3" overall, I'm thankful for what it has given me and that's confidence in myself and so I will continue to work on my self-care and hopefully the numbers will end up in my favor.
What are some things you've done for your health that you may not have seen the numbers change like you had hoped, but overall you felt better about yourself?
