Courtney's Journal - comments welcome

[FonFon]

I figured it would be good to start a journal here about my "New Year's Resolution". Every now and then, I need someone to tell me I'm doing a good job. (LOL, the vanity!) And I need a place to be held accountable for what I am doing. (Hopefully, it will keep me going!)

My problem is that when we moved away from Nashville, I 'lost' my gym that had spinning, yoga, Body Pump classes, cardio theater, the whole 9. Here, there is nothing. I will get to San Diego in June sometime, and maybe there I will join a gym - or maybe this plan will stick with me and I won't need to.

DH bought me a weight set for Christmas, so I could do Body Pump at home, and a pedometer, for when it warms up outside.

My goal is a 5K by June, a 10K by the end of the year, and hopefully a marathon in 2005. I have downloaded the training programs, and will post my day to day accomplishments (or failures, lol) here. Please feel free to comment - kick me in the butt when I need it, and congratulate me when I need it too!

Here we go...

 

[FonFon]

Couch to 5K Training Plan

Week One, Workout One: Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.

Did this on the treadmill. Walked at a 4.0 pace, and jogged anywhere between 5.2 and 5.4. It said a total of 20 minutes, but I wasn't sure if it was 20 minutes of the entire workout, or 20 minutes of jogging, so I did 20 minutes of jogging. (5 minute warmup, 20 minutes of jogging, 5 minute cool down.)

For breakfast today, I had a granola bar before running the car off to the dealership to (finally) get the seat cover replaced. For lunch, I had some swiss and crackers (maybe 12?). Dinner was a can of Campbell's chicken soup, and I had a fudgesicle somewhere around 11. I didn't drink nearly the amount of water I know I'm supposed to.

 

[DoeWDW]

Courtney, welcome to the WISH journal board!! It sounds like you're off to a great start. Where did you find the Couch to 5K training program?? I need to start training for the 2005 WDW half marathon and am looking for a program to get me started.

Being a Navy wife and moving around a lot must be really tough! WISH gives you a great stable support system - we'll be here as long as you have internet access!

What type of eating plan are you doing? There are people here doing every kind of plan you can imagine, so I'm sure you'll find some help and support in that area.

Again, welcome! Glad to have you join us on the journey to healthy living!

 

[FonFon]

Thanks Doreen!! There are training plans on coolrunning.com. I am starting with the "Couch to 5K" plan, and then moving onto the 10K, and then the half marathon, and then (maybe) the marathon.

I'm not really doing a set eating plan...just watching calories and fat, and staying relatively nutritious and balanced. Although, according to the coolrunning website, I'll get to eat more carbs, the further I run. Woo!! (I love bagels.)

 

[lulu201]

Welcome, Courtney! It sounds like you're off and running! You're going to find lots of friendly and supportive people here on the WISH journal boards. Anytime you need a lift you won't have to look too far.

Congratulations on that fantastic workout. Tomorrow I'm going to try that walk/run thing, but maybe not every 60 seconds.

Take care,
Erin

 

[FonFon]

Yesterday was my 'off' day in running training. Skipped breakfast (woke up late), had cheese and crackers for lunch, and beanie weenies for dinner.

Today, had a granola bar for breakfast, cheese and crackers for lunch (LOL, see a pattern here?), and we went to a New Year's buffet at a local casino for dinner, and I was bad. Oh well, gotta live it up on the holidays!!

As far as running:
Week One, Workout Two: Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.

Did the walking at 4.0, the jogging at 5.2 - 5.5 (got faster as I got further into the workout.)

I'm really starting to feel it in my calves!!

 

[FonFon]

Week One, Workout Three: Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.

Walked at 4.0, jogged between 5.3 and 5.5 on treadmill, and everything after the warmup was at a .5 incline (lol, just threw that in for extra measure). The jogs are getting easier.

DH and I also did a lot of shopping today, and I probably walked at least a mile doing that.

Unfortunately, we haven't gone grocery shopping since we got home from our Christmas weekend, so the food in our house is limited. Since we were shopping far away from home (about an hour away, in a different state), we stopped for Taco Bell for lunch (I didn't eat breakfast). I had two soft tacos and an order of pintos and cheese. Could have done worse.

It's almost 8pm here, and I'm not even really hungry for dinner, so I may end up just having a small snack later in the night.

Doing better on my water consumption today, but still not where it needs to be. (Forgot my water on our shopping trip, and we were gone for 5 hours.)

So, week one is complete with the running plan. Major grocery shopping trip is tomorrow. Next week I will add in two days of strength training with weights.

 

[TammyNC]

You are doing great. I do have to say that drinking enough water is a big deal to stick with. At least you have noticed when you haven't been drinking enough and you are working on that. Your exercise program sounds like a great one and someone else had recommended that site to me as well. I am not a runner but a walker for the most part but it was a very informative site.

I know what you mean about have the kitchen stocked with the right type of foods. Ours has had the not so good foods in there since before the Holidays. We are going grocery shopping today and I am stocking up on healthy snacks, etc.

Keep up your great work.

 

[FonFon]

I took the weekend off as far as exercise was concerned, although we did some massive housecleaning over the weekend. I'm getting better with the water...not all the way there yet, but I'm getting there. I am burning extra calories running to the restroom every 10 minutes. (LOL, I would drink more water, but I feel like it goes right through me! My sewer bill is going to be ridiculous this month!)

Monday, 1/5, it was back to the routine.
Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes.
DH got home late, so we didn't get around to going to the gym until 7pm. I was going to do this outside, with him, but the weather was NOT cooperating with us. It went from mid-seventies to REALLY cold overnight.

Anyway, did the walking part at 4.0, the jogging at 5.4 and 5.5. I also did the first 1/2 at .5 incline, but soon grew tired of that. It surprises me how much easier the jogging is getting, and I'm not getting that icky, "Ew, I'm running, it hurts my legs and I can't breathe" feeling as much, which is a good thing!

Today was my off day, and thank goodness because I was sore. I usually stretch for 10-20 minutes after working out, and I was so ready to jump into the shower that I didn't stretch as much as usual, and I think that may have been what caused the soreness. I did do some light upper-body weight lifting, so the day was not a total loss.

As far as food goes, we did finally go grocery shopping. DH and I love to make a huge salad and throw it into a huge Tupperware-type container, and eat that all week, so I had that for dinner on Monday, and for lunch today. Two kinds of lettuce, cukes, carrots, tomatoes, onions, broccoli, cauliflower, the works. We found this Caesar Parmesean dressing that tastes SO good. It's got 5g of fat per serving, which isn't wonderful, but it's very flavorful, so I don't use that much, and it beats 16g of fat in Ranch dressing!

There is this show that they play randomly on the Food Network called Lighten Up...the women on it aren't necessarily small, but one of the things that one of them says is, "You don't have to be perfect, you just have to be better." I have adopted that saying, and DH catches me saying it a lot.

 

[lulu201]

I like that quote, Courtney. I'm going to be saying it to myself all day!

Definitely not perfect, but trying to be better,
Erin

 

[FonFon]

Erin - it's so nice to have a "mantra" that gives you an out - it's nice to not try to be perfect!

******************

Today, I did much better with the water, but I probably went to the bathroom 15+ times today...that drives me crazy, and is probably why I have such a hard time drinking so much water!

As for the workout...
Week Two, Workout Two:
Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes.

I did the walk at 4.0, the jogging at 5.5, all at a .5 incline. My arms are sore from yesterday, but the jogging really is getting easier. I am pleasantly surprised.

I'd love to get out and jog on the road, but it is still too cold here. This is the south, it is not supposed to be this cold!

I ate a few too many Reduced Fat Chips Ahoy today, but it could have been worse. Had a small salad for lunch, and cooked a pot roast and potatoes in the crock pot for dinner. Had a couple of scoops of Healthy Choice cookies and cream ice cream after dinner. (Which is the only low-fat ice cream I actually enjoy.)

 

[FonFon]

Haven't checked in in a few days...I think I'm scared to check in on non-workout days, lol!

I have been eating better, though I must be honest with myself and admit that I haven't been a COMPLETELY good girl. I did have a couple of slices of pizza last night (it's a Friday night ritual for DH and I, and it's just one of those "cook in the oven" pizzas, not a Domino's pizza, of which I can eat more than a couple of slices!) Mostly I've been skipping breakfast, having leftover pot roast/potatoes, a salad, or turkey on wheat with mustard for lunch or dinner.

The doctor changed my meds this week, since I had heard such great things about Wellbutrin for not so much helping people lose weight, but not inhibiting the weight-loss process, as the meds I was on did. He told me that I may not be hungry at times, and boy is it the truth. Sometimes I check the time, and wonder why I haven't gotten hungry. It's a nice side effect.

I'm getting a lot better with my water. Once I realized that I could fit 16 oz. into one large glass, and to get to 64 oz, I only have to drink four glasses. It's usually three of water, one of Crystal Light lemonade, and I also happen to drink a lot of skim milk, though I don't know if that "counts" or not.

I took Thursday and Friday off in terms of workouts, and picked back up today.

Week Two, Workout Three:
Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes.
I was going to do this one outside, but the weather here just does not want to cooperate. I used a different treadmill, which has been known to be calibrated differently from the usual one I use (there's two treadmills in the fitness center at the apartments where I live, and one is faster than the other - or the other may be slower than the one, not sure which!)

Anyway, I did the walking at 3.7, the jogging at 5.2 - 5.3, 2 miles total again. This was the toughest workout I've done so far...not sure if it was the pizza, or the two days off, or just the fact that I'm a beginner. I realized about halfway through that it was mostly mental, and forced myself to finish. It doesn't do me any good to make a committment to something and then wimp out - it will never get easier if I don't work hard. (LOL, that may be the new meds kicking in!!)

I also did a couple of weight machines. Since I skipped my scheduled weight training day (Thursday), I had to make up for it today.

Week Two complete, on to Week Three!!

 

[FonFon]

Yesterday, because DH had duty all day on Saturday and overnight, when he came home, we went out for unlimited pancakes at IHOP. The ONLY reason we did this is because every other time they have had unlimited pancakes, he has been gone (we've only been together for about 5 months over the past year or so). Normally, I could go through two rounds of pancakes, easy. Stacks of 5. I couldn't even get through ONE stack yesterday. Which is probably better for me in the long run, but the meds trigger my brain to tell me I'm full, and I can't stuff another mouthful in (no matter HOW hungry I am). I didn't have anything else to eat all day, because I honestly wasn't hungry, until about 10 when I felt like having some (Healthy Choice) ice cream.

DH on the other hand, ate three (or four?) rounds of pancakes, along with 2 eggs, 2 slices of bacon, and an order of hashbrowns. How do they DO that and still manage to not gain weight?!

Anyway, onto today, where I had to make up for those pancakes...

Week Three, Workout One:
Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then do two repetitions of the following:
Jog 200 yards (or 90 seconds)
Walk 200 yards (or 90 seconds)
Jog 400 yards (or 3 minutes)
Walk 400 yards (or three minutes)

Since I was on the treadmill (no excuses for not running outside today, it's not really chilly, I just didn't want to miss the 30 Minute Meals episode that was coming on. ), I did my running by time, not distance (i.e. 90/90/3/3). Did the walk at 4.0, the running portions at 5.5. I did up to the last 3 minute run at .5 incline.

I must have pulled the side of my calf muscle from my bonehead fall off the curb yesterday, because I was feeling a little bit of pain from there when I was walking. I didn't notice it when I was running - maybe because I was focusing on running for three whole minutes than I was on my leg - or maybe just because it didn't hurt when I was running. Who knows?

It wasn't horrible. In fact, running three minutes at one stretch makes the time go faster, I think. But don't think I wasn't checking the time on the treadmill frequently, to see when I could go back to walking. I guess the trade off is that the 90 second runs were easy cheesy compared to that.

Since I was up at 5 today, and since I have been chastised for it, I had a bowl of cereal for breakfast. I mix Brown Sugar and Oat Total (LOVE that stuff) with regular cornflakes. Half of the reason that I do that is because Total is freakin' expensive, but the other half is that it is too crunchy for my taste (yes, I like soggy cereal), and the cornflakes sog it down some.

I had a slice of leftover pot roast (yes, we are STILL working through the leftovers of that!) and two small red potatoes for lunch. Because we moved our move date up so much, now we have to work on eating all of the food that we have in this house, so dinner will probably be broiled pork chops and Rice a Roni.

All in all, a good day. Yay me.

 

[FonFon]

Checkin' in...

I wasn't the world's best eater yesterday. Cereal for breakfast, turkey sammy with a pickle for lunch. We had baked boneless, skinless chicken breasts, green beans, and salad. My stomach didn't really enjoy dinner though, for some reason...

Took yesterday off in terms of lifting weights because, well, because I felt like it.

Today I had slim-fast for breakfast, a small salad for lunch, and will probably have more salad with some of the leftover chicken for dinner. I got inspired to bake, so I made sugar cookies, with icing. Only had two though, and licked the beaters clean. DH will be happy when he gets home tomorrow, and they will be gone by the weekend.

As for running...
Week Three, Workout Two:
Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then do two repetitions of the following:
Jog 200 yards (or 90 seconds)
Walk 200 yards (or 90 seconds)
Jog 400 yards (or 3 minutes)
Walk 400 yards (or three minutes)

Did the walk at 4.0, the runs at 5.5, and the WHOLE thing at .5 incline.

Again, the 90 second runs seem like easy cheesy compared to the 3 minute ones. After I went through the rotation twice, the show I was watching wasn't over yet, so I threw in a one minute run at 5.6 after the last 3 minute walk, and then took the last 5 minutes to slow down, slowly. Ended up at about 2.15 miles, as opposed to the usual 2. (LOL, like that's a lot.)

My calf is feeling better, but I still have a little pain when walking. It will probably be gone by Friday.