Running NSV

Dusted off my gym shoes (and actually put them on!!) and went back to day 1 of week 1 of Couch to 5K. In the past I have gotten to maybe week 3 and quit because it just didn't seem like it was getting easier. Then I read something a little bit ago that made the proverbial light bulb go off in my head...on a blog somewhere, someone (a runner) said that the biggest mistake new runners make is going too fast. That is my problem. I would be doing the early days of C25K, but amping up my speed at the slightest indication that I could indeed go faster. Whatever happened to slow and steady wins the race??? Well I'm rediscovering that adage right now. I would amp up my speed so that by week 3 I was running anyway from 6.5-7.0 mph (treadmill talk)....no wonder I had no endurance!! As someone who doesn't run, yes I could run at that speed, but the levels never seemed to get easier...I would be DYING like half way through. Then I just realised, well, no crap, you're not giving your body any chance to get used to what it's doing. Yes we need to up our game, so our body gets confused, but like every session?? No. I'm a new runner, my lower half is heavy, and it takes a lot to move it...I need to focus on slow and steady.

So, today I ran at 6.0 the entire time. And I didn't die. Nor did I feel like I was crawling. It was work, but not so much work that I wanted to quit, or stop half way through. And the biggest bonus of them all??? NOT ONCE did I look at the time when I was running! Not at ANY of the intervals. Even the later ones when you're all hot and red and sweaty and just want it to be done. I ALWAYS peek...but I didn't :D I was very happy. So for my first foray back into exercising in like 2 months, I call that a definite success.

Now, I had also announced that I quit WW. I checked out Herbal Magic yesterday, and they do have a really great promotion going on. Now, I know the pitfalls of fad diets, and on the surface, HM may look like a fad...plus it is EFFING expensive, even with the promotion. They sell you supplements, which, truthfully, I am not convinced on terms of actual benefits. However, they do GUARANTEE your weight loss if you actually follow their program. This means, with only 18 lbs to go, I could be at goal by August. After 3 loooooong years, that is frickin amazing.

Now, I am broke, like so broke I have like $100 leftover at the end of the month after all of my bills are paid, but I squeezed HM in for at least a month. Also, to be honest, I'm going to try and get away with not buying supplements every week like they want you to, cause it is so expensive. I think if I am super diligent on my diet and my exercise, the supplements won't be as needed. Don't get me wrong, I am not looking for super weight loss with no efforts. But I am looking for motivation (you can get individual coaching 7 days a week if you wanted, and it's included in your program price)...so I am slated to go 3x per week. Plus, I needed more structure. WW was great for me when I was learning. But now it's so rote that I don't even try. Now I am trying because I am a little more restricted, like I was when I first joined WW. It's about portion control, and eating the recommended healthy guidelines, and of course drinking your water and making the right choices. I need this to get to goal, then I can maintain at a more comfortable level like with WW.

So I am happy right now. My bf is coming home from Morocco in 3 short/long days, and I am soooooo looking forward to seeing him! I'm not used to living by myself! Which means I should get my butt in gear and clean my disaster of an apt!!

Have a good week!!!

p.s. downfall to living by lake ontario? the frickin bugs! I'm currently on my balcony, and I'm still all sticky from the gym, and apparently that and the humidity is like honey to them!! I'm going inside before I get eaten alive!!

I'm Quitting...

Kind of. I'm quitting WW. I don't like it anymore, it's not working for me anymore. I had great success in my first 1-2 yrs, and with the lessons I learned, I managed to keep my 40 lbs off. But it has not worked for me in a looooong time. Before points plus, but just before. And now, I'm really not loving the new program. It's too much. As I said in a previous post, there is just too much room to screw up! Some leniency is needed and welcomed, but not this much. I have zero motivation to even work the program. So I'm leaving it. I already cancelled my online membership. I am continuing to use my fitness pal (great app, way better than WW), and tomorrow I am going to check out Herbal Magic. I've heard it's horribly expensive, but they have a special on this week, and I'm going to go check it out. You eat real food, but you check in with them like 3 times a week. If that's not motivation, I don't know what is.

Anyway...that is my plan. As well as dusting off my sneakers and giving them a workout. I'm sure they've missed it. As I have. In my non-exercising this past month or so, this is the first time I've missed it. That and a new plan of action, and I feel confident I can succeed.

Back to Struggling

Even with so much motivation around me, I am struggling with my exercise. I am tracking, and I am trying to limit the treats etc. (I survived standing for 10 minutes across from a pizza place that makes excellent pizza when I was tired, hungry, and soooooo not wanting to cook dinner when I got home, which is NSV in my book).

I was OP today. I drank my water, ate my fruit, and planned a WW friendly but comfort food dinner. I did eat some tortilla chips, but I tracked them, and moving on. I am now ignoring those darn chocolate chip cookies on my counter! Gotta stop buying those!! But I didn't exercise. Things are getting jiggly, and that's not cool.

The thing is, I liked the workouts I was doing...now where the heck is the motivation for doing them?? I have a good reward system. I even put my reward as my desktop wallpaper as a reminder. The workouts aren't long, and they make me feel strong and fit. But to actually get to the gym? Proving to be a lil bit of an issue. How do you push to get there? I can justify ANYTHING...so just telling myself, "no excuses" doesn't work for me, lol. My mom told me that I should have been a lawyer cause I could always argue any side of something. I'm actually usually pretty determined just as I leave work...but as I sit on the streetcar for 30 minutes it starts to fade away. By the time I reach my condo, all motivation is gone. I am kinda at wits end at this point. I don't know what else to try! It's super frustrating to not know myself well enough to figure out my trigger to force myself to do the things I don't want to do. You know what's worse?? I will wake up at 6 am to straighten my hair, but when I set the alarm for 6 am to work out, I reset my alarm. How sad is that?? UGH.

I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO! Anyway...Ashley from WW has a 52 days till summer challenge and this week she challenged everybody to do something that scares us. Success scares me. So this week I challenge myself to be successful. I challenge myself to do my frickin workout tomorrow morning cause I have to work till 9pm tomorrow...and I will do it again on Thursday, and again on Friday. If I do that and track my food I will consider my week successful. Something has to click eventually...right?