Fitness: Week 3 to Weight Loss

Recap

• Click Here for the original post about getting back into shape
• Click Here for last week’s workout update

Goals and Check-ins

• Current Weight: 133lbs
  • Goal Weight: 113lbs
  • Weight Needed to Lose: 20lbs
  • Amount Lost so far: 0lbs
• Current Chest Measurement: 40in
  • Goal Measurement: 38in
  • Amount to Lose: 2in
  • Amount Lost so far: 0in
• Current Waist Measurement: 32in
  • Goal Measurement: 29in
  • Amount to Lose: 3in
  • Amount Lost so far: 0in

Staying Motivated…

Sigh… it’s so demotivating to jump on the scale hoping for weight loss, only to see weight gain. Last week I did the research and learned about micro-tearing during exercise (which is part of how you get stronger) and the inflammation response that comes with it and causes water-weight to become a thing. I was hoping that’d be gone by now but… apparently not. (￣ヘ￣) Best guess I have is after just how badly I bruised my leg adductors, I’ve had quite the healing response. At least I’m hoping what it is, because much more of this and it will be even harder to keep at it.

Thankfully, my snap squad is going strong and helping keep me at it. This is why I’m blogging this whole journey, and why I’m glad I have others trying to lose weight, because otherwise I would likely just give up. Keeping yourself motivated is not easy, especially in the face of immediate setbacks. Knowing you have friends and family helping to keep you accountable, and traveling the same journey, is a big encouragement.

Exercise Through the Week

Day 1: May 27, 2019

Today is Memorial Day, and part of me really wanted to skip the workout because it’s a holiday… but I didn’t. Well, not technically, anyways. Instead of a traditional workout, I walked around a mall for about 4 hours straight… shopping. LOL Since my sister lives in Connecticut I don’t get to see her very often, so when we had the opportunity for a sister date today I decided that was far more the priority than a traditional workout. Sometimes family has to come first. 🙂

It really does count for something though, because this particular mall is huge, and we went from one end to the other, and then back again. Up and down and all around! I didn’t have an app turned on to track it (I didn’t want to totally kill my phone battery), but I would guess we did at least 2mi of walking just working our way around the mall and through the stores.

On the super plus side, I finally own shorts again. A big part of this shopping trip was me getting clothing better suited for working out in. Long pants trap in more heat after all, and that’s all I had. Not to mention when it comes to pole dancing, the more skin that can touch the pole, the better. So the trip accomplished a few things: sister time, exercise, and acquiring helpful clothing.

Day 2: May 28, 2019

Ugh… today I was 100% unmotivated. Not even just for exercise, for anything. It’s miserable weather today, being so cold and rainy. My one desire was to lay in bed and sleep. It doesn’t help that I slept poorly, had to get up early to go do a massage, and even after a nap once I got back home I still felt meh. Part of me thinks I might be getting sick, but I really hope it’s just the weather in general.

Ideally I wanted to go for a walk on a nature trail. If it had remained a drizzle like it was doing before I started my massage I would have, but when I left after completing the massage it was a down pour. It’s one thing to take a walk in a light rain, and totally another thing to do so when it’s enough you could shower in it.

Instead I decided I would practice some belly dance on my own in the comfort of the apartment. I was aiming to do an hour of dance, but that demotivated feeling just didn’t want to give up. I made it 30 minutes of just going through the motions, non-stop, before I stopped. When I don’t feel creative, dance is not easy. 30 minutes is all I could force out of myself, and while I’m not pleased I didn’t do more, I’m just glad I did anything at all.

No one said this was going to be an easy journey. I could beat myself up for my lack of solid performance or improvement, but that’s not going to help me either. I’m still doing better than I was just three weeks ago. I can take my time with this, and bad days happen.

Mental Health Day: May 29, 2019

I mentioned that my motivation was suffering, and today it just bottomed out. As much as I wanted to work out, in the end I never did. There was a major disconnect between what I wanted to do, and what I was willing to do. This may seem strange, but anyone else who deals with mental health issues likely understands what I’m saying here.

Last night was riddled with anxiety and more poor sleep, and the early parts of today carried the anxiety with it. So I was tired and uneasy, which is not a good way to start things off. Despite the sun being out I had no mental boost from it, or if I did I’d hate to see what I would have been like otherwise.

Do I feel super guilty for missing a day? Absolutely I do. My wonderful fiance though has reassured me that it’s okay to take a mental health day, and I know he’s right. I just have to bring myself to truly accept that. Sometimes mental health wins out. There’s always tomorrow, and it’s not like it’s the end of the journey. Besides, I’m sure if I tried to push myself when I’m in a space that numbs me to how I’m actually, physically, experiencing things that I will be far more prone to injuring myself. Likely was better to just let it be today.

Day 3: May 30, 2019

Motivation is still super low, but I managed today to get out and do a little over a 2mi walk with my fiance. It was later in the day, but it kind of worked out nicely because the sun wasn’t beating down on us. He needs the exercise as much, if not a bit more than me; so it’s nice when he is able to join me for this stuff. Plus, it gives me someone to talk to.

Entertainment during this walk featured the random stuff people had put on the side of the road for removal (how about what looked like crosses from a cemetery), and someone who had a yard that was either trying to be a fairy garden or the Blair Witch project. Yikes!

So overall not really a big day, kind of feel like I’m stagnating, but some movement is better than no movement. I just keep reminding myself that if I keep at it, it will improve. I just have to keep at it…

Day 4: May 31, 2019

Alright, today I went on a small walk with the intention to do more… and more never happened. Not for lack of motivation, oddly enough.

My walk was just under a mile long (0.92mi to be exact) on a fitness trail near my massage practice. It was a nice brisk pace, peaceful with lots of nature, and I enjoyed it. Almost got to pet a sweet dog, but she was worried I was going to take her frisbee away. Hahaha. Since the trail isn’t that long though, I figured I’d head home for the time being, and when Pete got home we could do something together.

Plans sometimes don’t work out that easily though, because Pete mentioned to me that he was going to pick up an old couch at his parents to dispose for them (we have a truck, they do not lol), and his mother had offered to make us dinner. That sounded nice, so off we went. Normally when we visit his folks it’s a quick visit, but tonight we were there until sunset. It was a lovely dinner and we had some great conversation, but it meant we didn’t get home until almost 9pm (we left around 4pm), so there was no more exercise this evening. Oh well, I can live with family taking priority. 🙂

Day 5: June 1, 2019

Started my day off bright and early with giving a 60min massage, and then it was back to the fitness trail. This time I did just a little over a mile though, because instead of moving my car closer to the trail head (I wasn’t quite sure how long it was yesterday, thought one way was a mile and I was wrong lol), I walked over from my massage space. I even remembered my earbuds today, so I was able to listen to some music which was nice. Having music in the background helps keep my mind from getting bored with walking and focusing on all the things I’d rather be doing. Hahaha

I didn’t just walk the mile this time though. It was brief, and I mean very brief, but I did jog some of it. It was enough to get my heart rate up a bit further at least. I would have done more, but I’ve yet to get a good system in place for keys and phone that don’t involve something smacking against my body when walking, let alone jogging or running. Yesterday I had a small cross-body bag (it’s literally just big enough for phone/wallet/keys), today I tried just a hoodie pocket… both were meh. So we’ll see, I’ll find something eventually I’m sure.

Again I planned to do a bit more, but came home and my fiance and I ended up running errands instead. On the plus side we spent a good two hours or so wandering Target and Home Depot so I mean… that’s movement too, right? LOL

Final Thoughts for the Week

It was a rough week overall. Wednesday and Saturday were both plagued with anxiety wake-ups, and my IBS has been a bit rocky (potentially part of the anxiety and mental health stuff). Saturday was easier than Wednesday though in terms of mental health, thankfully. Wednesday saw a lot of anxiety coupled with a really low self-esteem day as far as my depression and self-worth go. I’m super grateful that these days don’t last like they used to though since I started acupuncture. That really has changed my life for the better in the past year, and I’m hoping as I get more physically fit (and thus more active) it will have a similar effect.

I’m really hoping that by next week instead of seeing weight gain I see some weight loss. That’s a super discouraging thing to see, and it would be beneficial to see otherwise for a change. Since my weight has been increasing I haven’t bothered to take new measurements either. I just don’t see the point. Without the loss it’s unlikely my body has done much changing. I likely won’t remeasure honestly until I’ve lost 5lbs.

You may have noticed a lack of pole dancing this week, too. That’s because the classes are offered in a series of four, and this was the in-between week to try and get more sign-ups for the next series. Probably for the best honestly, gave me more time to heal. LMAO So next week I’ll be back to pole dance for another four weeks, and that will be fun.

Finally, I joined a group started by another friend that’s part of a fitness challenge app on our phones. So it’s a 21 day challenge starting on June 4 to work on fitness and nutrition. It’s supposed to have some guided 30min exercise sessions and such which will be helpful to me, plus we can help keep each other accountable. This will be a nice addition to my Snapchat squad and to this blog I think. 🙂

Upwards and onwards! Here’s to hoping next week I can get more mojo back! 😀