9 Week Boot Camp - Week 2

I mentioned last week in my weekly goals that I have challenged myself to a 9 week boot camp. Honestly, I just needed to give myself something to motivate me to get moving again. It has been far too long since I have exercised on a regular basis. The last time I was in decent shape, feeling great, and exercising regularly was before I got pregnant with Nathanael about 2 years ago. 2 YEARS ago! How can that be!? :-).  I tried to get back on the exercise wagon after Nathanael was born, but even though he is 1 year old already, I still don't feel like I have settled into a regular routine of any sort. Housekeeping. Organizing. Exercise. Umm.....yeah. I guess having 2 kids kind of threw me for a major loop - it's okay, though. It's a good loop, I promise :-).

I have been sick a lot this winter and generally feeling unwell for the past few months. Often I have no energy and just feel very blah. I recall that I felt fantastic when exercising wayyyy back when Elianna was just a baby. I had tons of energy even though she (and I!) never slept. If I can just get back on track with the exercise, I know there is a good chance (make that a pretty much guaranteed chance) my health and energy level would improve. Well I'm on week 2, and I can tell you that I'm already feeling a difference. Hooray!

Some of you might want to know what I'm doing. Here is the plan:

Eat better. Move more. 

Seriously, that's pretty much all I'm aiming for, though I have a few more details to help me see results. I like to see that I'm improving and that my efforts are paying off, so I need to have a bit more of a plan.

Exercise: I'm aiming for at least 30 minutes of intense exercise, 5 times per week

* I'm following the Couch to 5K program. It's 9 weeks of workouts to get me to running 5 kilometres. I am doing this 3 times a week and using my app on my iphone to track my progress. I love this program because I can see significant improvement in my endurance each week. That motivates me.
*I'm doing the 30 Day Shred dvd at least 2 times a week (on the days that I'm not running).
* I also do short bursts of activity or exercise videos when the mood strikes me. Last week working out was a HUGE challenge...a major chore. This week I'm actually enjoying it?? Thus, the short bursts when the mood strikes. Okay, maybe enjoying is a bit of a stretch. But I'm definitely not hating it as much as last week.

Food: I am keeping a food & exercise journal (in the past this has been extremely effective in helping me curb eating out of boredom). The food journal helps me to look back and see where I can improve such as eating too many sweets or empty carbs, not enough fruits & veggies, etc. There are no off-limit foods for me. I will still drink pop, eat cookies, cake, ice cream, and chips. Everything in moderation. Thus, I am cutting back quite a bit on these things; they are full of empty calories and things that do our bodies no good. A treat once in awhile is still okay. I am also trying to be intentional about eating more of the veggies in a meal and less of the main meaty/carb dish. I try not to overeat during the day, and I try to choose a healthier snack (think...an apple or some cottage cheese for the afternoon snack instead of crackers and cheese or chips & salsa). I might have crackers and cheese on occasion but just less of them and less often. Late night snacking is a big problem for me, so this week I have decided to stop eating after 9 pm on weekdays.

Am I trying to lose weight? Well yes and no. Truthfully, my main motivation is to have more energy and feeling better. I really want to feel healthy again. I want more energy. Truthfully, though, I would also really like to lose 15 pounds to get me to my pre-pregnancy weight. Last week I was down  0.6 lbs, which was a bit of a disappointment. Oh well...I'll keep you posted. :-)