Well, I wanted to start a fitness journal to hold myself accountable for my exercise (or lack thereof) and eating habits (however poor they may be). So here goes...
First, I little bit about me: I'm a 26-year-old female. I started really getting into exercise about 3 years ago when I realized I had officially become overweight (5 years of frozen dinners and convenience foods in college will do that to you). I joined Curves For Women, and started the SlimFast diet plan and managed to lose 26 pounds and get back into clothes I wore in high school. (Not that I was particularly skinny in high school, but at least I wasn't overweight) The SlimFast diet is tough - I was hungry a lot. I would never do it again, to be honest. But I learned a lot about calories and portion sizes from that diet. And that has guided my eating habits ever since. Now I rarely try to eat everything on my plate when I go to a restaurant. And I realize that one of those vending machine bags of Cheetos is actually 2 servings. I still eat both servings in one sitting (Cheetos are so yummy!), but at least I know how many calories I'm really eating. As a side note, good news for all you Cheetos lovers out there - they have Baked Cheetos now that are so good, you won't believe it.
But getting back to my story... I did Curves for about a year before I got pretty bored with it and realized I needed something more challenging. So I joined a "real" gym (a women's only gym), where I had access to elliptical machines, free weights, weight machines, treadmills, and lots of different classes. I discovered the joys of Yoga, and weight lifting.
Then, one day I was wandering around Target and I stumbled across the Firm Body Sculpting System for $39.95. I had seen the infomercials on TV and was intrigued by the Fanny Lifter concept. So I bought it. And I loved it. And so began my love affair with workout videos. Now I only work out at home and I have a fairly good collection of DVD's - all 3 Firm Body Scultping Systems, a bunch of Kathy Smith, all 12 new FitPrime and KickButt DVDs (just got 'em), a few Cathe Freidrich DVD's, and various others. I am constantly adding to my collection because I know that boredom is what really saps my motivation. If I have lots of variety, I'll stick with my workouts.
My latest fitness gadget is a heart rate monitor, so I'll be recording all my heart rate stats for every workout and hopefully what I'll see is an improvement over time - ie, lower average heart rate for the same workout. I'm still learning how to use it properly, so it may be a while before I get some "good" numbers.
So, without any further ado, let the journaling begin!
I'm going to start with yesterday. It was my first time exercising since I had a nasty cold for a week. So I think that's a good start point.
Tuesday, 4/29
Workout: FitPrime FlexPosture
Duration: 54 minutes
kcal/%Fat: 210/60%
Max HR % / Avg HR %: 72% / 57%
Time in Zone: 0
I really enjoyed this workout - I am still getting over this cold, so I've got a mild cough and some residual stuffiness. This workout is very gentle - it involves a lot of Pilates and Yoga-inspired moves, with the aim of strengthening the core and lengthening the spine. You feel taller after doing this workout. This is a good one for rest days, or days when I don't feel 100%.
Breakfast: Smart Start Healthy Heart cereal w/skim milk
Morning Snack: Plain fat-free yogurt w/low-fat granola, herbal tea (unsweetened)
Lunch: Green salad with 1000 Island dressing, chocolate chip cookie, diet Pepsi
Afternoon Snack: Baked Ruffles
Dinner: Cajun Beef & Rice, Honey Wheat dinner rolls
Evening Snack: Pumpkin bread
Thing I shouldn't have eaten: Maple Nut Fudge egg (darn Easter candy is so EVIL!)
Okay, moving on to today...
Wednesday, 4/30
Workout: FitPrime Lower Body Burn
Duration: 43 minutes
kcal/%Fat: 224 / 55%
Max HR % / Avg HR %: 84% / 65%
Time in Zone: 1 min
I am still learning to use my heart rate monitor (just got it a week ago). It's got a narrow range for target heart rate zone, and I need to figure out how to properly adjust it. I believe I was actually in an aerobic zone for more than 1 minute. It wasn't a very strenuous workout - I've done much more challenging lower body workouts. But I still enjoyed it. If I heavied up on the weights, I could make it more difficult and push myself into the aerobic zone.
Breakfast: Honey Nut Cheerios w/skim milk
Morning Snack: Plain fat-free yogurt with granola, diet Pepsi
Lunch: Chicken stir-fry with rice, chocolate chip cookie
Afternoon snack: Baked Ruffles (sour cream & cheddar), apple
Dinner: Chinese buffet because our power was out and I couldn't cook :(
