I worked out all through December, even with family visiting for Christmas I dragged my sister to my kickboxing classes!
We went my usual three times in the week and we really kicked but! It was great!
I brought my sister and the rest of the crew to the airport New Years Eve and took new years day to rest.
January 2nd my sister and I started matching workouts in our respective states that I was going to add to kickboxing!
The 2nd was great, my workout on the morning of the 3rd also great.
By the afternoon on the 3rd I started feeling pretty off, but I got myself together and went to kickboxing!
Which was definitely a mistake.
My body was so sore, my throat hurt, my sinuses were throbbing! I was 100% sick!
So it is now the 14th and I have not worked out since the 3rd! 🫣
This sinus infection knocked me on my but for sure!
However, I’m not letting it keep me down!
I’ve tried to eat in a healthy way and stay hydrated and I didn’t push myself before I was ready. I wanted to be sure that I was ready and healthy enough to workout so I didn’t prolong my illness.
This time last year I was 24lbs heavier, and while 24lbs in a year doesn’t seem like much at my weight, I know that it’s something to be proud of.
I know this may seem like a small win to some but it’s really big for me!
This is the first time I have weighed under 230 since October of 2020!
This is also my lowest recorded weight since I started tracking my weight in October of 2014!!
This is a major major win for me and I am so very happy about it!
I tried to take side by side pics but it’s still a minimal difference at least to me. Maybe I’ll have to take a pic in the same outfit from my front page and see if anyone reading this can see the difference.
I can feel some difference though, I’m not always hungry anymore, and I have some core strength! I had absolutely no core strength before so even a little is a major improvement.
I think I really owe all of this to my sports group.
I joined to have fun and realised that it was actually fun, being active was actually fun! I had always been a little afraid or intimidated by activity, afraid I’d get tired or that I wouldn’t be able to keep up.
So when I saw a group called Lazy Sports and Fitness I thought, finally! I can play tennis meet some new people, have fun, and not worry about if I could keep up.
To my own surprise I could keep up, and I pushed past keeping up, and started being really active.
I really started focusing on things mid September, we’d play tennis and other sports twice a week and I just kept feeling better and better.
Then in November our sports group had slowed down due to the cold and the dark and I was afraid of being inactive again.
Then came an opportunity, kickboxing.
It’s a 40 minute drive and expensive, but they had a trial month for cheap so I tried it.
I loved it.
It’s a great workout, and it’s fun!
As November came to a close and the promotion was up I was again afraid that if I couldn’t afford kickboxing, and my sports group was on pause due to cold, that I might back slide.
So I sat down and went through my finances, I talked to my family. Instead of Christmas gifts they agreed to give me money to help pay for kickboxing. It was such a wonderful gesture and I’m so happy that the people around me chose to support me in this way.
Because now it’s mid December, I do kickboxing 3 times a week, I drink as much water as I can, and try to eat lots of protein. And now I’m at my lowest recorded weight!
I know its going to be work to keep going but I’m really happy with how far I’ve come. I think at the end of this month it will also be the longest I have consecutively kept up a workout routine.
The 40 minute drive when snow hits will be hard but I’m sure I’ll be able to figure something out. I’m determined to not lose my progress this time.
I’m also glad I started this blog, to see the ups and downs, the luls between posts. It’s all a part of the journey, and I can’t wait to see what’s next.
We all know the benefits of working out, but what about the costs?
It’s not something you think about at first right? When you start out you put on some old clothes and go for a walk!
Well that’s great but then you realize that your feet aren’t as happy about the walk as you are and you realize you probably need new shoes. It only makes sense right? You weren’t walking this much before, so you didn’t really notice that your shoes probably weren’t the best for all that walking.
OK so new shoes, your wallet isn’t feeling great but your feet sure are! You get over the hit to your wallet, push through and keep up your new walks, great!
So now you’ve been walking a while and you wanna step up your game. How would you do that? Find some free exercise videos on YouTube! Great you can keep pushing.
Until you notice you’re not getting as strong as you want to be. So maybe you should get some weights, and Holy cow $$$$. OK maybe buying a bunch of weights may nit be the right call maybe you should join a local gym! But again $$$$ ouch. Plus the gas and motivation it’ll take to get yourself out of the house!
OK you but the bullet and got some weights, your wallet is now a lot lighter but hey you’re making even more progress than before! Wonderful!
After a while though, doing your same old routine, you get bored. You start neglecting your walks, your weights, and you just can’t keep up the motivation. That expensive weight set keeps staring at you though. And those expensive shoes judge you each time you leave the house in your comfy old loafers.
So you look around and see what else is out there, maybe that gym idea wasn’t so bad. Or maybe you could join a fun workout class like kickboxing or zoomba!
It’s easy to say that you’ll do whatever it takes to lose weight. Unfortunately it’s not always that easy, people need novelty to keep themselves engaged (I know I do). The worst part about novelty in working out is it come with a very large price tag.
So make sure you look around you for activities that may be free! I joined a sports group on MeetUp that was free, fun, healthy, and engaging! The only problem with that now is that it’s winter. But I know this group will be there for me in spring.
Get social with your workouts, ask friends to workout with you. Maybe workout with other friends via video chat, find fun free activities you can do together that are still healthy. Take advantage of sales that local gyms may have where you can sign up for a class for a month at a discount.
These things are out there, you just have to look.
It can be hard to drop a lot of money on workout supplies and equipment or classes. It will be worth it but it’s not always feasible, don’t get discouraged though! Do what you can when you can and it’ll always be better than giving up.
I myself am pretty bummed that November is almost over. The gym I’m trying kickboxing at had a promotion that was $30 for a full month of kickboxing, as many classes as you wanted.
I know when the month is over even with their black Friday sale, I doubt I’ll be able to financially keep doing it. Which makes me sad because I do really enjoy it.
I’m grateful for the experience though, and on the off chance their black Friday sale is extremely discounted, I’ll know from this trial that I’d want to keep going!
As soon as you read the title you probably had a picture in your head. Maybe of discouraging words you’ve said to yourself or discouraging words someone else has said to you.
Because we’ve all been there right? We’ve had these moments where we tell ourselves we can’t do this. Where we maybe talk down to ourselves and get into a funk.
And we’ve all had the well meaning friend, the one who knows everything you’re doing to get fit, to push yourself, to make positive changes. Only to have that friend say, “well maybe you’re losing weight but only from your chest and your backside”.
Which, sure, when women start working out we do tend to lose fat and our breasts have a lot of fat tissue. However, unless your goal is to reduce your chest size that’s really something a lot of women would try to avoid, at least I know I do.
So to hear that all this work and effort I’ve been putting in leads to only one visible result, a result I don’t even want. It’s just flat out discouraging.
It really got in my head too, as discouraging words are wont to do.
I know these words are going to get stuck in my head, I know it’s going to be a while before I can let them go. But I also know that I can’t dwell on them.
Dwelling on the discouraging words said to you will make you internalize them and then they’ll mesh with the discouraging words you also tell yourself. And no one wants that.
Part of this journey of becoming a fitter and better version of myself is trying not to let anyone else get in my head. To let discouraging words from not only myself but from others roll off me and not let it affect my progress.
It’s far easier said than done, words can be powerful.
All you can do is let it go, and keep pushing. Eventually you’ll see the changes you actually want to see, and you’ll be glad you didn’t let words of discouragement stop you.
I never really saw myself doing a kickboxing class, but I’m really glad they had this special of $30 for unlimited classes in the month of November!
It’s a fairly intense workout but it doesn’t feel difficult.
This sounds counterintuitive I always thought a workout like this would be hard to do as well as intense. It’s really not though, it’s actually pretty simple and you can put as much energy into it as you have.
You get a few simple instructions for five types of upper-body hits, and for types of lower-body kicks. These are given in different combinations throughout the 45-minute workout, along with cardio bursts. You really go at your own pace though, the instructor gives you the combo and you move through them with as much energy and power as you have that day.
Some days my heart rate spikes up high, and some days I’m in a comfortable range, but I still feel like I’ve gotten a good workout.
I highly recommend checking out a CKO gym to see if it could be good for you because I believe it’s good for any fitness level. At the CKO in Warwick, the instructor Mel has created a very comfortable atmosphere that really makes you feel comfortable learning but also still gives an intense workout to those who have been coming for a long time.
I’m a bit worried about what’s going to happen come December, I would like to keep going to these classes but between the gas it takes to get there, the cost of the classes, and the potential for snow, I’m a bit worried about my ability to continue. I would really like to keep it up but I guess we’ll see what happens with the winter!
The last time I posted was in June, and the last time I posted my weight was in January. So I’ve decided to drop by and post an update!
Since January I have successfully lost 20lbs
This of course was not steady, my weight has gone up and down over the year to this point but I am currently on a downward trend!
Average weight for January to November 248.7 Minimum 233.5 Maximum 259.7
I think this time my downward trend is because of a new sports group that I’ve joined. I saw it posted to Reddit and then found it on Meet Up. It’s a group called Lazy Sports which sounded pretty perfect to me!
I have always loved tennis, but haven’t been able to play it much for quite a few years. I don’t know anyone who really likes tennis, or knows how to play. So when I found this group of people who want to be active but wanted to prioritize fun while doing so I knew I finally found a way to play!
We started with one or two get-togethers in July and August then really started to find our stride in September. We would meet up every Thursday and alternate which sports we play, we’ve played tennis and basketball, soccer and kickball, and a few other different sports.
I can’t even begin to express how much I love this group, I love going out and meeting new people for the first time in two years! The pandemic has made hermits of us all and I finally feel like I’m getting out and connecting with the world.
It’s a really great group of people and it has really helped me with my fitness goals.
I actually have my weight recorded at the beginning of August as 252! Meaning that my nearly 20lbs has come from the past few months, In September I hit 248, and in October I hit 237. Now that it’s November I’m weighing in at 233. The last time I weighed anything close to this was in 2019 when I had complications from my gallbladder surgery, and before that was when I was living in Barcelona where I walked everywhere and ate much fresher food.
I’ve started recording my weight every day which I think is giving me a better understanding of how the foods I eat and the exercises I do affect my body. It has fluctuated a lot but it is definitely in a downward trend!
I’m kind of excited to see my weight in the 220s which I think is funny, I know a lot of people focus on Onederland and I would be excited about that but right now I’m really just interested right now in the 220s or even seeing 219 on my scale would be super super cool!
The only thing I’m worried about is winter.
Winter has been my downfall in the past, it’s dark and cold, and just so hard to make myself keep exercising when I want to just curl up with a blanket. My sports group is also having to pause because again, it’s cold and dark. The darkness is what is really a hindrance, the sun setting at 4:45 makes it nearly impossible for anyone to meet up after work.
But as I have been saying since I started this blog, I don’t want to give up. I’m going in the right direction and I am going to keep going. Here’s looking towards 219!
What happens when it’s been over 6 months since you lifted weights?
Well you’re back to square once of course! Haha
I had gotten to a point where I was easily lifting my little 15lb weights for most of my exercises and even using my single 30lb weight for some.
Now I’m sure 10 will be tricky for me!
Ah well, that’s what you get when you start and stop and start and stop. Maybe this time I won’t stop? I suppose we’ll see won’t we?
I’ve had this determination before, again and again, I think the longest I kept it was probably 2 1/2 to 3 months. So I’ll think about bragging of accomplishments when I hit 4 months of constant effort.
I’ve decided to start some weight lifting a few times a week.
I don’t wanna add too much too fast but I think I can handle this without giving up.
I believe I’ve mentioned in the past that I struggle with ADHD. It affects my life more than I want it to and it’s always something I deal with.
For the past two months, as I was trying to stick to my workout routine, I’ve been trying a new medication.
It’s been absolutely awful.
I’m normally a happy person, I always look at things in a positive way as much as I can.
With these new meds though I was getting more and more depressed. I could barely do anything and I could barely get any work done and even working out I couldn’t manage to lose an ounce of weight because the only time I felt happy was eating junk food.
I was doing my best to try but I felt like I was in the dark. It took me a while but I connected it to my new meds.
I was able to go and talk with my doctor, and I told her how lost and depressed I was feeling. We had a good conversation and decided to go in a different direction with my treatment.
I’m glad that I was able to see the changes in myself, and see that something wasn’t right.
ADHD is not fun, it affects my whole life. I try not to let it get in the way of what I want to do but I can’t always help it. However, I do try to see how it affects me and know what’s going on in my own head. It’s not always easy but I do my best.
Mental health really affects your physical health in a lot of ways.
It’s not always easy to know why you feel a certain way, but you can try and listen to your body and talk to someone to help you figure it out.
I don’t pretend to be an expert, I’m still figuring out my own mental health.
It’s a lifelong journey to be sure just as with physical health.
Now you may be saying to yourself “we’ve all been there just push through its worth it!”
I’d agree with you, but somehow my plateau is right now! In the beginning of this new journey! The beginning!
That is just so rude!
I have been working out for nearly 4 week, I have been doing intermittent fasting.
I have made 0 progress.
The scale hasn’t moved.
My clothes don’t fit better.
My measurements haven’t changed.
This shouldn’t be happening right off the bat, which means I’m either A. Not doing enough or B. Still somehow eating WAY too much or C. I’m doing something very wrong.
I’m trying to get steps in, I’m working out, and I’m doing some fasting.
So I think I’m doing enough.
With the fasting I’ve been doing 18:6 I don’t know that I eat more than I used to. Though when I make food at 2 I’m not really hungry by 6 when I have to cook dinner for others. And no matter how hungry (or not hungry) I am, I will eat a full helping.
I love carbs, give me a plate of spaghetti and I will eat the entire thing no matter how big the dish.
So maybe I need to go back on fasting because I’m pretty sure I’m supposed to be eating more protein than carbs.
OK I’m not pretty sure I’m very sure. It’s just so much easier said than done!
So I’m back on a mission to find protein and sneak it in anywhere I can.
So many recipes call for avacado or cottage cheese both of which are absolutely disgusting to me lol. A lot of protein recipes call for cheese and just 🤢
When I look up dairy free protein recipes I get mostly vegan recipes but I like eggs and meat!
So yes back to my main point.
Something has to give so I can break past this ridiculous starting plateau.
And it all comes back to Nutrition.
Sighhhh maybe one of these days I’ll figure it out.
Rachel Finally Gets Fit 