Reaping the Rewards

I haven't always enjoyed working out.  I was never good at team sports that we played in gym.  I'm scared of the ball, so I'd typically strike out while playing baseball.  I usually can't catch a football.  It hurts my wrists to hit a volleyball.  I didn't mind kickball, it's not too difficult to run the bases.  I even did track for a couple years--but avoided running as much as possible.  Instead, I threw discus and shotput.  I ended up running the 4x100 meter relay, but that was the extent of it.

In college, I decided to actually start working out.  Mike bought me a Wii Fit, and later the Biggest Loser.  I enjoyed using those to work out, but I still felt like I wasn't doing enough.  I used both of those programs to get in shape for our wedding. In the fall of 2010, I kept seeing some friends posting on Facebook about a running program, the Running Mate 5k.  They were doing it, and for some crazy reason, I decided to join in.  I don't know what prompted me, but I gave it a shot, and I ended up loving it! 

Crossing the finish line of my first 5k!

Since then, I've completed five 5k races.  I have a sixth coming up later this month, and my first half-marathon in September.  I've challenged my body in ways I never thought possible!  Last May, I bought a Groupon deal, and got both Mike and I a summer gym membership.  I dedicated myself to getting up each morning when Mike was getting up for work, and we'd leave the house at the same time, he'd go to work and I'd head to the gym.  I fell in love with daily workouts.  I love to push myself.  I set goals, and do what I need to do in order to achieve them.  I'm not where I want to be yet (I still can't do a full pull-up), but when I look in the mirror, I see muscles that I've never seen before!

Sometimes though, it's hard to find the motivation I need to keep going.  Some mornings, the bed is so warm and comfortable and an extra 1.5 hours of sleep sounds so much better than sweating my butt off.  But I get up and do it anyway (though every once in a while I do choose sleep!). 

I was determined not to let the lady behind me pass me--and she didn't!

When it's tough to stay motivated, I turn to external sources.  I've done a couple rounds of the Accountability Adventure with a group of ladies from church.  It was great for the accountability to eat right, drink water, and exercise, but that wasn't what I needed.  That's where the blogging community comes in.  Last month, I participated in Carissa's Fit2Flex50 Challenge.  Every week, she posted two exercises for us to do each day, 50 of each exercise.  Sounds fairly simple, right?  What if I told you that the exercises included burpees, v-sits, and plank push-ups?  I'm telling you, it was tough!  But I did it, and my body thanked me!  Although I did the challenge for myself, it was a nice reward to be drawn as the Grand Prize winner and have these items delivered to my front door:

I love Chobani Greek yogurt! 

This is my first experience with Designer Whey.  I had a protein bar for snack today, and it was delicious!

I'm currently participating the Best Body Bootcamp, hosted by Tina. Again, this is exactly what I've been needing to challenge me.  For example, I have a schedule for my running, but I don't mix it up a whole lot.  This morning's workout from Tina consisted of running a faster pace than normal, and then bumping up the treadmill incline every 20 seconds, then doing a sprint at my peak incline!  Wowza...definitely not a run I would have scheduled for myself, but I felt awesome when I completed it!  I went on to lift some weights, and I was challenged to do a couple new moves.  I left the gym this morning feeling like I could accomplish anything!

I think my whole point in this (rather long and wordy) post is that I've found things to keep me healthy and motivated.  Even when BBC ends, I'll have a variety of workouts to fall back on that will keep me from being bored.  I've seen changes in my endurance and athletic ability, as well as my body.  And that is why I do what I do!

Accountability Adventure Update

Last month I shared with you the Accountability Adventure that I took part in.  Someone made a Facebook group for the participants and it was really neat to see everyone encouraging each other, sharing tips, beneficial articles, and lifting each other up.

The adventure came to an end last week (I know I'm late in sharing this), and I'm really proud of my accomplishment!  Over the course of the 4 week adventure we were challenged to do a variety of activities (see details here) to earn a maximum of 26 points a week (78 per team) for a grand total of 104 points per person (312 per team).  I got a perfect score of 104 points for the entire 4 weeks!

Not only did I feel healthier because I was making better food choices, I was also able to see those results in my body.  I lost a total of 8 pounds!  So I am now halfway to my "ideal" weight.  I also lost 1 inch from each thigh, 2 inches from my hips, and 1-1/2 inches from my waist.  I can see definition in my legs, thighs, arms and stomach that wasn't there before.

I just want to take a minute to encourage you if you are on a weight loss or get healthier journey.  You can do it!  If you have a group of friends who are working toward a similar goal, support each other.  Maybe exercise together or spend some time making healthy meals with each other.  They say 2 are better than 1 and that is so true!

Accountability Adventure

I've recently embarked upon an adventure--an accountability adventure.  It's basically a group of women who are trying to make healthier lifestyle choices, support each other, and engage in some friendly competition at the same time. 

There are 6 teams, of 3 women each, that are participating in this adventure. Each week we have the goal of getting 26 points.  You can earn points by
*Working out 5 times a week (1 point each time, max of 5 points)
*Doing strength training exercises 2 times a week (1 point)
*Journaling what you eat each day along with the calorie count (1 point each day, max of 5)
*Eating 2 servings each of fruits and veggies a day (1 point each day, max of 7)
*Drinking 6 glasses of liquid a day, at least 4 of water (1 point each day, max of 7)
*Weight loss (1 point)

We weigh in each Friday, and then over the weekend the team leaders report their team's score for the previous week.  Out of a total of 78 points possible, my team got 75 last week.  We all lost weight, a combined total of 11.2 pounds!  I lost 5.2 pounds the first week!  Tomorrow is our next weigh-in day, I think I'll be down again, but I don't know that I'll be able to pull the number I did last week!

I still have about 10 pounds to go before I reach my goal. I'm not sure why this program is working for me when doing it on my own hasn't.  I had been tracking my calories, as well as exercising 6 days a week, and eating all my fruits and veggies before I started this adventure.  I wonder if maybe the water is doing the trick, I used to struggle to drink 1 bottle of water a day and now I can easily drink 3!  I think having some competition is also beneficial as well as making sure I get all my points so I don't bring my teammates down.  This accountability thing really works! :)