Commiting to Consistency - Lets make it stick!

Today I had the day off to take care of my son who was sick. I took it as an opportunity to get a soft start on some of my goals. I looked into a couple of options for my fitness goals. First I thought I would do the empowered abs program. I laid out mat and got started doing the exercises. One set in baby started crying. After tending to him I tried the next two abs body weight exercises. One of them was very uncomfortable and I realized this program wasn't going to work for me. I am just not a fan of bodyweight exercises like that.

baby png from pngtree.com/

I didn't let that stop me from doing my exercises for the day. I decided to take a walk. The rain had stopped (it was a thunderstorm). In the past I had walked a mile around the neighborhood with the stroller, which is 3 laps. This time I decided to challenge myself and walk with baby in the Moby wrap (baby carrier). I thought it would be comforting to him and would also give me some more strength training. He weighs almost 19 lbs now. I needed to get 30min of exercise in for the healthy lifestyle tracking (more on that later). So I did 4 laps (1.5 miles) instead of my usual 3 (1 mile) to get 30min. And the average speed was was actually .3mph more than usual even with the extra weight. I could definitely feel like it was more of a workout with carrying the baby. But it wasn't too much just a little more strength needed, rather than a leisure stroll.

My walk workout summary

So at work we have a healthy lifestyle incentive program. If you workout 90 mins a week basically 30 min three times a week, you get $5 off your insurance each pay period. This is my accountability.

July 6 first entry 30 min

So instead of doing the bodyweight exercises (abs program), I looked on YouTube for some rowing exercise plans to loose weight. I know I like this form of exercise and I feel it is the best option for me to do something I enjoy and is effective. It is a full body workout. And if I am at the gym and have some extra time I can do some arm strength workouts as well.

I took a screenshot of the YouTube example rowing workout

So this program seems like I could follow it. I don't have to watch a YouTube exercise each time, I just follow the simple plan and do it. The program alternates from a HIIT (high intensity interval training) one day and a steady row the next day. With four days of active rowing and 2 days of leisure exercise such as walking or hiking. And one rest day. I think I would like to go to the gym M-T-W-TH, 4 days in a row, so I have Friday to get ready for sabbath. If I have a week where I have counseling on a Tuesday I might switch my gym day to Friday (sunset) time allowing.

Last quarter I had the intention of doing the healthy incentive program, but didn't follow through. I did go to the gym several times but not consistently. And I forgot to track it on the sheet. Also on days I missed, I kind of felt oh well I missed it this week so I guess that's it... And kind of gave up.

I need to think of the reasons why I wasn't able to have consistency last quarter.

There are barriers to my consistency that I need to accommodate for:

Challenges I have with making it to the gym are:

• Packing my gym bag the night before
• Arriving and leaving work at the correct time

So part of packing my gym bag the night before is going to be a part of my nightly routine that I am trying to develop as part of the flylady system (more on that in another post). These routines are developed to help get in the habit of doing things on the regular so you don't get bogged down when it piles up.

Some of the things I am utilizing for tracking my habits is an app called "Habit now". I am still playing with it to see how I can best utilize it. Currently I have habit tracking for night meds at 9pm and bed time at 10pm. I'll have to see if I can add some of the flylady routines in there. But so far it had been helpful with reminders and tracking if I did it. I just added tracking for clocking in at 8am. Waking up on time has always been a problem for me. I have the tendency to press snooze and lay back down. THIS IS A CRONIC PROBLEM for me. Developing those habits of taking my meds a 9pm or earlier and start winding down so I can fall asleep at 10pm is so important to starting the next day right. Lately I have been needing sleep aids to help me fall asleep and I don't take it right off the bat so it will be 11pm and I'm still not asleep when I finally decide for that extra boost with the additional pill. It is all a part of my bipolar illness.

Well that was a lot to post about, but I know it is helpful writing it and tracking it. It is a form of accountability and also helps me get in the right frame of mind. If I discuss my goals iny blog it helps me process and see how I am doing.

Until next time, Keep being determined 2b determined to find excitement in the mundane!

Day 3 - Last day of detox - $1 30 day Challenge

I woke up a little bit earlier than the day before but not ideal. I got my smoothie ready with pineapple, avocado, and kale among other things. 

Lunch was a kale and parsley salad with red and yellow bell pepper, carrot shavings, walnuts and blueberries. The fruit was a nice addition. It had a Balsmic vinegerette, with lemon and honey. It was pretty tart. It was a lot to eat. I had some left over. Which I ate as a snack later. 

Pictured from top to bottom dinner, lunch, breakfast.

After a brief respite when I got home I got the spaghetti squash ready. Put it in the oven and went to the grocery store for week 1 groceries. It had to cook for an hour. I was able to fit half in my tiny oven. I got a little charred being so close to the burner, but it worked okay. 

I saved the pumpkin seeds for roasting. My trick is to boil the for 10 min in salty water and bake for 10 - 20 min at 400 temp.

Dinner was the spaghetti squash with kale/spinach and broccoli sautéed in garlic and olive oil. My husband ate it as well, I just cooked him a big piece of salmon in addition. He liked it. He also ate day two dinner. 

It was pretty late when I got my breakfast and lunch prepared for the next day. I was asleep about 11:30 pm. 

I am happy I am done with the detox. Day 4 is when I start exercises 

I checked my weight before bed and was down 5lbs. I checked it again in the morning and was down 8.5lbs. And I lost about inch thtoughout my body measurements. This is really exciting. I am truly amazed that I list this much in 3 days. Excited for more to come.