Back from the dead & new workout schedule

Wow, so I'm finally back on my feet after my cold turned into an ear/sinus infection (and I had a reaction to the antibiotics). Antibiotics (when they're not so strong that they make you sick) are pretty amazing. Just a couple hours after my first dose, I was feeling at least 50% better.

favorite movie ever #noshame

During my 2 weeks of being bed ridden, I came up with a workout schedule that will give me a little more flexibility while maintaining my 5-6 workouts a week.

Monday- 2 30 minute workouts at home (most likely run + walk)
Tuesday- Zumba
Wednesday- 2 30 minute workouts at home (most likely run + walk)
Thursday- Zumba 
Friday- Zumba + Group Fight
Saturday/Sunday- hiking or run


I will definitely be adding strength training back in there but am not sure what the plan will be. I love Group Power (like Bodypump) but am trying to avoid being at the gym every single day, so something had to go. I might get a kettle bell and do strength training at home. Let me know if you have a weight program you love!

I am practically giddy looking at our lows this week- our Arizona summer is slowly wrapping up and our nights are once again in the 70s. I went for a walk this morning because it was only 92, which I get is still pretty damn hot, but it was almost breezy compared to the 110+ we've had this last month!

The temperatures cooling off also means my family and I can get back to our weekend hikes! We usually find that the temps are bearable the 2nd week of September or so. I know there are some hard core athletes out there hiking throughout the summer, but I like living and prefer to avoid hiking in 100+ degree heat.

Phoenix, I still love you as much as Sam loves Frodo

Do you stick to a workout schedule?
Do you still workout when you're sick or are you a wimp like me?

My Strange Addiction...

When I first joined the Y, I fully intended to go to group exercise classes.
Then, I went to Zumba a few times.

That, my friends, is exactly what I looked like. (Psst- if you have an ad blocker that video may not play for you and you'd seriously be missing out)

I went once or twice but my complete lack of coordination combined with the full size mirrors showing my full size reflection, and I just couldn't deal. #ihaveissues

So I stopped going and stuck to the machines. Then a friend I'd gotten to know through the Y started teaching a fight class, and having taken kickboxing, I braved the wall-o-mirrors again, at least confident that I'd know the moves. And I had so much fun!

Then Y friends started tagging me on Facebook for upcoming Zumba classes and I was getting SO SICK of the elliptical and I just thought, 'what the hell" and went to a class. I stuck to the back so I wouldn't have to stare at the clumsy girl in the mirror and I had such a good time!  

So the next time I had the urge to be hermit-like and go back to the machines, I reminded myself of how much fun I had and forced myself to go again. And again. And again.

Suddenly I was going twice a week. Then three times. Before I knew it I was ordering Zumba shoes. Now I go at least 3 times a week (sometimes more), and I've even doubled up on classes (Zumba + Fight, or Zumba in morning + at night)!!! And I am started to learn the basic steps which makes it a little easier to pick up new routines (although my moves still far more resemble an awkward hippo mating ritual more than anything dance-related).

this basically sums up my whole post

Star crossed lovers back together. and a new injury

Since my suspected stress fracture in February, I have been doing all my working out at the gym. I told myself that once I dropped a little more weight, I'd get back to running. Like I mentioned in my last post, it's been harder to get to the the gym, and it's way too hot to do anything outside, so on a whim, I decided to run a few weeks ago.
And it. went. AWESOME.

Runner's high is the only excuse/explanation for posting a sweaty selfie

It actually happened to be on the one year anniversary of my ankle surgery so it felt extra amazing!

I was able to do 2 miles with barely any effort! I'm down around 15 pounds since my last run and I've been doing a crapton of cardio, and honestly, it didn't feel like 6 months had passed.

I've had a few more runs since and they've also been great, but I want to really focus on keeping a good balance to avoid injury. I'm planning to limit my runs to 2-3 a week for the foreseeable future and balance my workouts with classes at the gym.

But that is the silver lining on a shitty, shitty thing that happened last week...I've been having an issue when working out- now matter what it is, if I do it for 15 minutes or longer, the outer toes on my right foot start to go numb and cramp up to the point where I have to take a short break or stop altogether (which I rarely do, because I associate quitting a workout with my old, obese self and am very stubborn about it). I finally saw my doctor about it and he thinks it's likely a nerve issue, more specifically a neuroma or tarsal tunnel syndrome. So I have a referral to go back to the team of doctors who operated on my ankle (FML) and get it figured out.

 

what I said to my foot

So there it is, the good (running again!!!), the bad (my effing foot), and the ugly (sweaty workout pic).

Sweet tooth and the realization that losing weight is not my full time job

I am back with an upgraded computer (no more 20 minute post uploading times!!) so I am happy to say I will be posting with regularity again!

 

ooh shiny

And now that I have a super speedy machine, this post (and those to come) will be especially gif heavy!

I have been sick the last few days with a cold.

 

It's been so long since I've had a cold that I feel like it's worse than I remember?

We've had reports of valley fever so of course my neurotic self had to do research to make sure that's not what I have (I'm still not convinced).

I've been working so hard on losing weight and putting so much pressure on myself that honestly, having to take a break feels strangely nice, even if it feels like my head's about to pop off. I've been indulging in binge watching all my favorite true crime shows and taking naps, two things that I used to do all the time when I was morbidly obese but rarely do now. (Well, I still watch enough true crime to convince my husband that I'm plotting his demise, but I usually do it at night. You know, there's nothing like stories of dismemberment and unexplained disappearances to unload the day's stress.)

true story

We went to San Diego at the end of July for a long weekend, and I ate my way through the city's vegan fare like it was my last weekend of eating. Ever.

normal people don't get this excited about nachos, do they?

By my third desert in two days (maple pecan cupcake, mmmmm), my sugar addiction reared its ugly head again and it's been so hard to get it back under control. I haven't been indulging in desert every day or anything since, but it's been so hard to not have a little something sweet every day!

I've also been increasingly busy with work (yay!) but the downside is actually having a life and obligations beyond the gym makes it harder to work out consistently. I know I just have to get used to this new schedule and make time for it, but it's been a reminder that, hey, losing weight is not my full time job! As much as it feels like it sometimes...

I will talk more about what kind of workouts I've been doing in a future post, and I have a pretty epic milestone approaching (did somebody say [almost] 90 lbs lost?!?!?) so expect more from my little corner of the internet!

Back by popular demand...

I've had a few people reach out to me since I disappeared off the face of the earth this blog.

What's funny is that I have at least 5 drafts going that I haven't finished and published!!!

Just because I haven't checked in here doesn't mean I've been slacking on my workouts. I'm still working out at least an hour 5-6 days a week. I had a surge in weight loss at the end of May/beginning of June, but (as my body likes to do) I am in another plateau. We went on vacation for a week in June and eating out nearly every day (regardless of how careful I was) didn't help. Water weight comes on overnight but takes a week to come off- how the hell does that even makes sense?!?

My current workout schedule looks like this:

Mondays: Group Power (basically the same thing as BodyPump and holy shit do I love it)
Tuesdays: Zumba or cardio machines (preferably Zumba, because I am getting super sick of the elliptical)
Wednesdays: Group Power or Zumba (depending on what time of the day I can get to the gym)
Thursdays: Zumba
Fridays: Group Fight (MMA/kickboxing)

As you can tell from the above schedule, I have joined the cult of Zumba. I got over my self-consciousness in class when I realized how much freaking fun it was to just stop worrying about perfecting the steps and just move (more on my new Zumba addiction in a later post)! According to my  Fitbit Charge HR, I burn between 700-800 calories in a class. I've been going to Group Fight for a couple months and it is SO. MUCH. FUN. I burn a crapton of calories during that class too.

Last Friday, for the first time ever, I doubled up on my classes- I did 40 minutes of Zumba followed by an hour of Group Fight. And I felt pretty freaking badass.

Hopefully this surge in activity (I'm only on week 2 of this schedule, before that I was piecing together time on cardio machines with a few classes here and there and not getting as good of a workout as I am now) will help me push past this new plateau.

I am sooooo close to 90 lbs lost that I can practically taste it! And it tastes like cake. Just kidding.... sort of.

Stronglifts update

Today I logged my 6th Stronglifts 5x5 workout. I totally love the program and have become more comfortable in the "scary" free weights area of the gym. And, surprisingly, I've only embarrassed myself twice! The first time I did deadlifts I used the 70 lb barbell. My set went great but when it was time to put the weight back, I couldn't lift it up to re-rack. I left it on the ground hoping no one would notice.

Eventually I went to my instructor and asked for her help (she does Crossfit and is way stronger than I am). She was still laughing about it halfway through circuit training class.

On Monday, I got to the gym and picked out a bench for my bench presses...completely missing the fact that someone was already using it until he came over to move his stuff to a new bench.

Awkwardness aside, it's been awesome to see the amount of weight I can lift increase! I've only been doing it twice a week (supposed to be 3x/week), but am planning to eventually bump it up, probably when I'm done with this 6 week cycle of my circuit training class. If you're wanting to add strength training to round out your exercise, Stronglifts 5x5 is a good place to start!!!

Progress!

As I've mentioned ad nauseum over the last few months, I have been working my butt off to break through a weight loss plateau. Finally after 10 months of bouncing around in the same 5-10 lb range, the plateau is definitely broken!!!

I'm down 4 lbs from my lowest weight. Even though a 4 lb loss over the course of 10 months is slightly depressing, I am so unbelievably relieved and happy that things are moving along again.

Also, I've lost 1-2 inches over most of my body over the last month! That's made a huge difference in my clothes. I had a couple dresses that were too small that I've been hanging on to (one I've had for so long that I don't even know if I still like it) and they now fit.

I've been tracking my weight and inches lost throughout the last 2 years on a massive excel spreadsheet, and I've finally been able to start tracking on there again. It's insane to look at how much I had to lose when I started and how much lower that number is now.

I have changed my workout a little bit over the last few weeks, so I will write about that in my next post!

Happy Monday!