Refresher

Stats:
Weight: 199.4 (-15.6 lbs since start)
Body Fat %: 15.4 (-4% total)
Body Measurements: Waist - down 7 inches. Hips - down 4 inches. Chest - down 1.5 inches. Arms - down 0.5-1 inch. Right thigh - down 1.5 inches. Left thigh - down 2.5 inches.

So it's been about 4 months since my last post. In that time, I've started grad school for physical therapy, finished my first quarter of grad school, and also finished my last workout plan I was blogging about. To refresh your memories, I did a 90-day plan that I did actually finish all the way through. I don't know my exact stats at the 90 day point, but I was pleased with where I was given the big change of moving across the country and getting used to a new schedule.

With that being said, a few weeks ago I started a new workout plan. I like to keep my body guessing so I can see more consistent results. This time I've moved to heavier lifting with lower reps to try and build muscle with the intent of losing more fat during and after my workouts. I've said this before in one of my previous posts, but when you have more muscle you burn more fat. Since switching to this, I've lost about 5 pounds and about one percent body fat, and I've done this relatively quickly. I have made sure to keep my diet healthy, which has helped a lot.  A big key is eating protein for every time I eat and having a protein shake after my workouts. I lift three days a week and then do some cardio workouts on the other days (swimming or sometimes some interval training cardio video workouts).

From where I was when I started in March, being down almost 16 pounds, but more importantly 4% body fat, I'm happy with my accomplishments so far.  With my new workout, and based on how it's gone so far, I think I can get to my goals even quicker as long as I stay eating healthy.

A word of encouragement to everyone reading this who may be striving to accomplish something: Keep it up. Don't give up. I know they are simple words, but keep at it. It will be worth it all in the end. Use whatever you have to keep you motivated. Whatever small accomplishments you've made, hold onto them and use them to propel you further towards your ultimate goal. Give yourself constant reminders of motivation that will keep you going!

Full Exposure

I am starting a whole new workout plan and diet. I've gotten to a point where I've hit a plateau, and actually gained some weight (fat and muscle). I've been working out and dieting consistently for over a year now and though I've changed some things throughout to keep things fresh, I've gotta start something new. Something completely different. And something that minimizes my mistakes and helps my discipline.

That's where the Les Mills Pump workout comes in. I made an investment into my health and fitness and am going all out. The workout has become famous in many gyms all over the world. They made it into a home DVD workout series, and I'm excited to get it started. They've provided me a workout calendar for 90+ days, and a whole diet plan for that time period. No joke, they have given me everything I need to eat and do for the next 90 days. And the food recipes look good!

So, by all out, I mean all out. I need to motivate myself like I never have before, so I'm thinking of posting before, during, and after pictures. AND maybe posting some video blogs along the way. What do y'all think?

To be honest, I am embarrassed of how I've let myself, my weight, and my health get to be the way it is. I know I can do this, I just gotta fight through it all. Because of that, I really want to put myself out there to motivate myself to a healthier me.

For those of you who would like to join me on this journey, feel free to stay tuned and follow my blog. This is a friendly and encouraging place for us all. I hope that opening up and exposing some of my weaknesses (both physically and mentally) will encourage others to do so wherever they see fit.

I plan on starting my 90-day plan on Sunday, as I spend the next day or two getting my grocery list together to start off my first week.

I AM EXCITED!

Keeping It Fresh

I know, I know.  It's been FOREVER since I last wrote.  I blame busy school schedules (GRE and exams and finals for two classes in summer school is killer) and then I enjoyed a nice vacation in Libertyville last week :)

To keep you all updated, I have not been slacking off in my efforts to getting fit and healthy.  Since my last entry, I have actually started a new diet and a new workout to try and keep things fresh for not only my mind, but my body as well.

I like to read a lot of articles from Men's Health Magazine/online website to look for new ideas about things.  A few weeks ago, I was reading about the top 25 best beach bodies for males.  I know, it sounds pathetic, but there was actually some good information to read about guys who share what they do and clearly see results.  One of the guys was Ryan Reynolds, and there was a link to his diet.  I liked the simplicity of it and decided to pick up one that is similar.  According to the article he lost a third of his body fat and gained 20 pounds of muscle.  While I'm not looking to gain a lot of weight, I have recently found out it is very beneficial to build muscle in your weight loss efforts.  The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn AFTER your workout.

As far as my workout goes, I have picked up on this one.  Again, I like it for it's simplicity and it's short length of 6 weeks.  I understand that where my body is at right now, I'm not going to end the 6 weeks with visible rock hard abs.  What I do know is that it's a good workout and I can see results already.  I'm currently in the middle of the 4th week and I'm feeling great.  I've read that circuit training and sprint interval training is highly recommended for weight loss.

The biggest thing I've learned in the past few weeks that really sparked me taking on this diet and workout is the fact that in order to see visual evidence quicker, you have to build muscle while you lose fat, otherwise you just look soft and mushy.  Trust me, I've been there.  In the past I've strictly done cardio and cut calories and I did lose weight.  But I got down to 175 pounds twice (from starting at 205 and 210 two different times) and though my clothes fit better, I didn't look a whole lot different to myself.

So, one of the tools I recently purchased was a body fat percentage/BMI reader.  The best part was that it was about $30 on Amazon.  I am VERY excited about this tool, as I can now gage the progress on my FAT loss, not just weight loss.

Who Says Working Out Has to be Boring?

So today I'm having trouble thinking of something to write about.  Of course I had millions of ideas to write about just yesterday, but I keep forgetting to write them down.. I need to work on that.

I think this will be good for discussion though:

Lately I've really been getting into jump roping.  I've wanted to jump into it (yes I just did that) for a while now, and I finally made the purchase of this rope.

When I work out, I like to keep my mind off of what I'm doing if it is something prolonged and boring (I can only deal with this in front of a TV lately).  However, jumping rope is just enough of a challenge to keep my attention span at ease, and it is something that you don't have to do for hours to burn calories.

Since investing in a rope, I've challenged myself to being able to jump rope like the cool boxers do, nice and REALLY fast.  The new challenge has provided me the motivation to keep at this exercise because it is something I can see myself progressing at everyday.  Not only that, but I know it is really good for me! (unfortunately I know this doesn't go over well with people with bad joints)

What is your favorite type of exercise right now?  What are you really getting into and enjoying?  What have you enjoyed in the past and how long do you stay with it?