My First Day and a downloadable plan

I am not waiting for the month of August to officially begin for my challenge.  I am making this a true 10 week challenge and starting today!

 

The link for the plan  can be found here and join me on this adventure!

It is only 5:30 AM and I have already knocked out my 20 minutes of cardio.   Monday mornings are so difficult for me to workout early.  I just want to curl up on the couch and send out silent laments about how the weekend is over!  Today's early morning workout  was extra difficult due to my extremely busy day yesterday.  I spent the day in the kitchen yesterday.  I baked homemade pretzel rolls, cheese crackers and  blueberry cinnamon swirl muffins.  I pulled out my canner and all my canning supplies and made a batch of orange jelly, a batch of corncob jelly (sounded interesting) and a few batches of zucchini relish.   We also ran a few errands and took the dog to Tractor Supply for a bath (which takes over an hour).  And of course I made dinner.   I was wiped out and my body felt it this morning with a sore lower back.    So while I was exercising, I wanted to stop and just say 'not today'.   But I pushed through to complete my 20 minutes!

I have pre-planned my foods for today. I have it all entered into myfitnesspal.  So food should be easy.  I just have to  eat what  planned!  

I have my first 32 ounces of water beside me already and  I am ready to kick the water consumption into high gear!

But first, I am going to chill on the couch with the dog and hang out with Jason until he heads out to work.

10 Week Fitness and Health Challenge

It is time to challenge myself!  And I am going to challenge you too!  This is a 10 week challenge that will be easy to follow and will open the doors to amazing success and progress in our health and fitness journeys!   So join me and lets do this!

 

 Back in 2021 I embarked upon a 12 week plan.  It was a simple plan that I did right about the same time of the year.   I was 12 weeks away from eloping with Jason (one of the best kept secrets I have ever had) and  I wanted to be in good shape for our vacation (which was when we actually tied the knot.....you can read about that experience here) .   I started a 12 week plan that focused on 5-10 minutes of strength training, a burst of cardio, eating within my plan and drinking my water.  (You can read about my 12 week challenge and plan here.)  I followed it and I had some success with it.  (I lost 12 pounds).   

It was super easy to follow!  The strength training portion I was able to do on my 15 minute break from work!   Yes, it was that quick! (notice I didn't see the workout was easy.....push ups are hard for me and surprisingly the wall sits would have my legs shake).   It seemed perfect for me at the time.  Not a huge time commitment but a promise for some positive progress.   

So here I am 3 years (almost to the day) later and I have gained some weight.  And I am not happy with the weight gain.  Not happy at all!  I know that I need to so something to get this weight off!  I need a challenge!  I thought about quite a few things.  Should I do the 75 hard?   Should I do zumba?  Running?  A healthy wage challenge?  What?  I was ready to pull the trigger on a 75 hard and was actually looking at times and time frame and realized that I didn't have 75 days until vacation.  (For some reason I like the idea of a challenge before vacation).  Once I brought the concept of vacation into the mix I realized that i have 10 weeks until vacation!   So a 10 week challenge was born in my mind.    I also knew that I would need a posse of peeps with me as accountability partners!  So while I am calling this my 10 week challenge, I am also referring to it as the August through September Challenge! (that way there is a day or two to gather some peeps to join me!)   So whatever it is to you, 10 weeks or two months.....join me!  Help me.  Help yourself.  And lets see what results we can get!

So what does this challenge entail?  Not a whole lot!   

1.  Follow a healthy plan for eating (if that is WW, calorie counting, intuitive eating or whatever you do.....just follow it).   For me, that is currently counting calories and keeping my calories in my desired range with one 'vacation' day each week.  You may call it a cheat day, but I think cheat is a negative word...so I have vacation days!   It doesn't matter what plan you follow, just follow it!  

2  Drink water!  64 ounces a day!  

3.   Complete 20 minutes of cardio 5 times a week.  Once again, it doesn't matter what you do.  If you like zumba, go for it!  Are you a runner?   Then get out there and run.  Bikes?   Yes that works too!  I will probably do a combination of things, zumba step aerobics and maybe, just maybe a bit of running. (I seriously do miss running).     20 minutes is the minimum.  If you have the time and the energy and the gumption feel free to do 30 minutes..or 40..or 60.   Whatever your heart desires.   Just get the bare  minimum of 20 minutes!

4.  Strength training.   I have a plan worked up.  This is the plan that you can do in 5-10 minutes each day.  Simple and easy to follow!   5 times a week!  

The plan is set up with two rest days.   So you will only do the strength stuff 5 days a week.   If you want to do your cardio the same 5 days that is fine, but I do highly recommend giving your body a rest here and there!

I will be posting on my youtube channel also about this challenge.  I will also be posting daily on my facebook page.  https://www.facebook.com/BelievinginMaryFran/   I would like to invite you go join me there so that we can encourage each other.  (Even if you don't join me on this challenge, feel free to join so that I can encourage you and you can help inspire me!)

Nothing left to it but to do it!  Lets see what we can accomplish in 10 weeks.  I would LOVE to see 20 pounds gone.....2 pounds a week.  But any loss during this time will be a victory!  Even better though, 12 weeks of cardio and these strength exercises and I will be STRONGER!   That will be a great win!  So lets do it!!!!

 

 

So much to say

 I have so much to say!   I have had so little time to actually say (write) it!  It seems as if life just keeps going faster and faster and crazier and crazier.    I set out to make July ‘my’ month in terms of health and fitness.   I had a doctor’s appointment with the gastro doctor..  We had a sale at mom’s house.  Zoey continues to grow and entertain.  So much to talk about, and yet I’ve failed to write.  So here we go, a big catch up!

Mom’s House

We prepped the house and stuff that is left for a sale.  A ‘bakers’ sale if you must.  We planned to have the sale inside and just open the doors for anyone to come on in and purchase.  So on the 20th, we pulled it off.  We didn’t do too bad.  We sold a fair amount…there is still a fair amount of stuff left.  It’s like the house has this magic act that for every item you take out of it, two more will appear!  Ok, it seemed like that at first, the more we cleared out, the more there was.  It’s not that bad anymore, but there is still a fair amount of stuff left.   Small stuff.  Lots of baking pans and utensils.  That kind of thing.  We are getting there.  Slowly but surely.

July, my Restart

Yes, July was supposed to be my month of great new beginnings.  And honestly, I totally nailed the first two weeks in terms of exercise, and step count and water consumption!  Totally nailed it!  But my food was not exactly spot on. It wasn’t horrible, but not perfect.  Add into that my monthly cycle hit (first time in like 4-5 months)  and I  didn’t lose any weight.  And I got totally disgusted.  And at that point it all went to hell in a hand basket.  Exercise?  What’s that?   I didn’t stop totally, but it’s been a struggle to get 1-2 workouts a week.  Water?  I am getting about 32 ounces of water a day.  Not enough at all!   And food!  Well I it was a struggle and honestly, for the last week (I just checked, exactly a week) I haven’t tracked a single solitary thing I have eaten!)  I haven’t gone off the rails with my food,  it hasn’t been totally horrible.  I’m still trying to make wise decisions but I know it hasn’t been ‘good’.

I’m a fraud

Meanwhile, I have been struggling with feeling like a fraud.  I have been posting on here about weight loss for 18.5 YEARS.  Sure I have had some success.  But lately it’s just been failure.  I am the highest weight I have been since before I lost all the weight back in 2007/2008.  I feel horrible.  I ache.  I am miserable.  I am disgusted with myself.  And I continue to post on here and on my YouTube channel.  Sure I’m being honest and talking about my struggles…but I feel like a fraud.   I know, I’m not….I'm authentically honest, talking about my struggles with weight.  But still…..

Doctors Appointment

I had a follow up appointment with my gastroenterologist last week.  This was to get the results of the biopsies from my endoscopy and to also plan how to move forward with this acid reflux dealio that I have been working on since my visit to the ER almost a year ago.   The doctor told me that everything looked great with my endoscopy.  The biopsies were all normal.  The only thing they found was the hiatal hernia that he had mentioned the day of the endoscopy.    We talked about how the medication has not helped me. And he said, that the medicine would help reduce ACID, but the hiatal hernia would continue to cause a ‘back up’ into my esophagus.  It’s just a fact of life with a hiatal hernia.  So with his permission I am not taking any meds. He said the odds of damage is slim to none.  It also helps that my symptom is simply a cough or throat clear once or twice after I eat.  (I have no heartburn, stomach issues, acid taste in my mouth, etc). We agreed that for me an  endoscopy will be something that I have to do every few years, along with my colonoscopy.  Preventative, just to check for damage and take steps to stop damage from getting worse should there be any.  I’m good with that.  So moving forward the focus is on getting the weight off of my body.  In his words all the stomach fat is pressing and squeezing that hernia and compounding the issue.  He said that it is quite likely that my problems would disappear almost entirely should I lose weight.   So there you have it.  

Moving forward

So what is the plan moving forward.   I’m not exactly sure.  I’ve been disgusted enough that I’ve actually for the first time started to contemplate taking a medication. But am still somewhat  resistant to that.

 I know that I need to get myself back to tracking my food!  I also need to focus on getting in that exercise and drinking my water.   The big thing for me is that I know that I have an unhealthy relationship with food.  It’s very unhealthy.    But how does one create a healthy relationship ship?  That is the question of the hour I guess!  (Suggestions welcome!!)    

I have started to question my choices though.  Each time I eat I know what I WANT, but I am questioning myself,  ‘what would a person that doesn’t have an issue with food choose’.  And then I copy what I think a person with a healthy relationship would eat.   So for lunch today I did have a handful of potato chips.  Normally I would either ignore them because they are the devil (if I was feeling strong enough to resist) or I would eat potato chips with wild abandon. (For those days where I lose control!)  today I eat about 5 chips…that sounded ‘normal and healthy’ to me!   I also did that with some homemade bread.  I wanted to eat the rest of the loaf…but I asked myself, is that something a ‘non food addict’ person would do?  And so I didn’t eat the rest of it.  I just ate two slices.    Is this healthy? Maybe not but it is making me really think about my choices!

It’s a small thing, but that is where I am starting.  Hopefully it will help me retrain my mind to a mindset that is less addict fueled and more ‘normal’  (whatever normal really is)

So that is where I am at.   Crazy times.   July wasn’t what I had thought it was going to be…but I can end strong 

 

July!

 July started out with a bang!  And I don't mean fireworks!  I mean with my determination to be healthy!  Yes, I started the month with a spark of determination within me!

I set up my journal again this month much like I have the last few months, creating it by hand.  I have made adjustments each month to take away things that I didn't do and found unnecessary.  I added things that I realized I needed.  I adjusted and reworked things that I didn't like how they worked.  I am feeling really good with my journal!  I may start working on a version that I can print up so that I don't have to get out the good old ruler each month to create my own boxes, lines and gizmos!  I'm excited about possibly getting the perfect planner for me!   Seriously, I've been looking for YEARS for a planner that would have exactly what I needed it to have, or at least something close!  So I am excited to create my own. 

The month of July rolled around and I sat back and started to think about where I am.  And honestly, I wasn't happy with where I am in terms of my health.   So I decided that July was going to be my month to change my behaviors.  

What is changing?   Well nothing really.  But on the other hand, everything!   Last month in my journal I had 4 habits that I was to work on.   The four habits were very simple.  One, I had to keep my calories under 1500 for 6 days a week.   Second, I wanted to work on my water consumption.  I wanted to have 64 ounces of water bare minimum each day.    The third and the fourth kinda went hand in hand.  I wanted my step count to be over 5,000 steps per day and I wanted to exercise at least 3 times a week.   I quickly noticed that if I didn't exercise, the steps were much more difficult to get!     Simple and easy right?    I failed miserably!  Oh, not all of them.  My calories were spot on most days.  However, everything else was a colossal failure.  I exercised the first week or two and then didn't do it again!  Step count was next to nothing most days and my water.  Eii yii yii my water, lets just say it was a drought! So when I decided to get serious, I knew that those last three things would be on my habit page again.  I decided to not include the calories, that was pretty solid and darn near perfect.  I wanted to focus on things that I struggle with!  Easy peasy decision!   

So July first rolled around. And just like I expected, my calories are spot on and everything is going well.

 Exercise:  I didn't want to exercise when I woke up.  5 AM is not a friendly hour!  But I did it anyway!  I did it on July second also!    Now I am writing this on July third and I have to admit that I didn't exercise this morning.  I was thinking it was going to be a 'rest day'.  But after thinking about it throughout the day thus far, I have plans to knock out SOMETHING after work.  It's not so much that I don't want to skip a day of exercise, but rather I know that exercise will help me increase my step count so that I don't miss that goal today also! 

Steps:    I am happy to say that I got my steps in on both Monday and Tuesday, the first two days of the month.  The one day I was a little shy of my goal as the day was winding down. Nope, Not allowed, not happening!  So I  made sure that I moved and walked a bit more around the yard with the dog to make it to my 5K.   (and yes, I know that 5 K is a low goal....give me time and I will raise it gradually, but right now 5K is a stretch!).   And yes, that is why I KNOW that I need to do something after work.  I'm at 2k Steps right now, and I know getting 3 K will be hard.  Sure I'll be on my feet and making dinner and whatnot, but that doesn't garner a lot of steps!  I NEED STEPS!

Water: I didn't forget my water! On the first of July I actually not only got my 64 ounces, but I also got an extra 32 ounces on top of that!  Go me!   Tuesday was not as over the top, and I just made my 64 ounces.    No extra, but I am still proud of myself!    Today is about halfway over and I am more than halfway through my water for the day, so I'm feeling good about my success for the day.

So there you have it.  I am enacting the changes necessary to turn my health journey around.  Sadly, I am not seeing any change on the scales.  But I am ok with that.  First of all, it is only 3 days in.  I am also aware that my body is probably holding on to every ounce of water since it's finally getting what it needs and that within a few days I'll probably be running to the bathroom frequently as it regulates itself, which is when my weight will drop.   But you know what, if it doesn't;  I will still be ok because I know that the habits that I am working on will have a positive impact on my overall health!