Life Got in the Way

I used to write on this blog often. That was a few years ago. When I got into working out.



I used to hate working out.



I only did it because I thought I had to.



Since My last post in 2011 much has happened. I got pregnant. Which I found out was twins! I worked out by running stairs, using an elliptical, doing push-ups and yoga classes, until I was 19 weeks along and my doctor told me I should stop as a twin pregnancy is considered "high risk". We had two gorgeous babies in January 2012. A little girl and a little boy. I was busy.



I decided to go for a run outside in my neighbourhood when I was six week post partum.



I'm pretty sure I just about died. I was so dizzy and tired, and quickly realized that taking that much time away from running I was going to have to start all over again at square one.



I took it slowly and decided to try to eat better and got exercise by running with my two infants in our chariot stroller. I loved it. I went out as much as I could, which wasn't. Heck of a lot but I did it for fun. I'd also walk with them in the stroller for an hour or more at a time. Most of my baby weight fell off, and I wasn't really even trying very hard.



When I had just 12 pounds (out of the approx 70lbs I'd gained in pregnancy) to go, I found out I was pregnant again and expecting baby number three.



I didn't exercise much at all during my second pregnancy, and I ate much more sugar than I had in my first. I gained about 60lbs while pregnant and lost 20 of those when I had a beautiful baby boy in December 2013. I was busy.



I stayed right at that weight until April, when I decided to do something about it. I re-joined Jenny Craig and I ran a few times. I love running now but I find it hard to do and to find the time to actually go outside by myself, is like winning the lottery. If I could find a jogger which would fit three small kids I'd buy it, but it doesn't exist. So we bought a treadmill. I used it in the spring when the weather was still not so nice. Now that it's summer I haven't used it in a bit, but I plan to this fall and winter.



Three weeks ago I bought the new workout series PiYo and started following their schedule of a workout per day.



I've now lost 59lbs total since having my son and I feel great. My old pre-baby clothing is starting to fit again and some of it is even too big now. I'm feeling more toned and stronger than I have in years.



I've got another 4.5 weeks to go on PiYo to compete the 60 day challenge and I'm going to do it. I'm determined and I am stubborn.

I am Back!

I've taken the past few months off from any type of fitness regime and have found that a) I missed it and b) that I'm getting soft. So back onto a lifestyle plan for me.

Lately I've been getting blood draws due to some health issues and the most recent came back with low liver enzymes indicating a possible underlying infection. I feel fine, but just in case I've decided to do my best to cut out sugars and refined carbs (which act like sugars) from my diet. I've also made a deal with myself that I would bump up my exercise and try to get in something once per day. A walk, a workout at the gym, a personal training session, a yoga class. Whatever it is, once a day.

My progress thus far has me proud of myself. I am on day 3 and feeling good about my choices this week. I find that it is actually a bigger mental hurdle to overcome than a physical one. I have to make choices each day, sometimes many times a day. Some of which can be very tempting. It is easier to give in to sugary sweets than it is to say no. It is easier to laze about the house than it is to exercise. I realize that these are conscious choices that I need to make. Not only for myself but for my family and my future. It's a life long battle and I'm knee deep.

Tuesday (aka day 1) I went for a nice long walk with my neighbour and our dogs. It felt good to just get out in the sunshine and get moving. Wednesday I went to the gym for a late evening workout with my husband and my neighbour. I slept like a log. Today I avoided all of the sugary snacks at two different St.Patty's day meetings here at work, and I also spent my lunch hour doing yoga. After work I'm headed to see my Naturopath Doctor for some acupuncture and herbal treatments. Tomorrow is my first appointment back to see my personal trainer.

Things are on track and I'm looking forward to feeling amazing again soon.

On Hold

I've decided to put this blog on the shelf for now and take it easy. I'll be doing small things like taking the stairs and walking with my dog instead of going all crazy with the fitness camps, and running. I need to find balance in my life and am off to so.

See you when I get back!

Hitting a Wall

My lunch hour this afternoon consisted of another couch to 5km run. It was a beautiful sunny day in the low 20's; nicer than most of our summer was this year.

I hit the button for week 4 day 3 which is running intervals of 5 and 3 minutes. I started out not too badly but soon realized what a month away from running outside can do.

I ran great through the 3 minute intervals, no problems and not out of breath. So far so good.
But then the 5 minute intervals start and I found that I seemed to be slowing down quite a bit and kept hitting a wall at the 3 minute mark. The good news is that I notice that I am recovering very rapidly during the downtime in-between.

I decided to run down to Eau Claire market and around Princes Island park. The trees are all changing color and the grass is still green. People were everywhere walking, biking and running along the river pathways. I hope that Wednesday will be just as beautiful so I can get outside again.

Stairs, stairs and more stairs

We spent the past three weeks traveling around western Europe and we walked pretty much the entire vacation. We took the stairs at each hotel. At Sacre Coeur in Paris we walked up over 300 stairs to the top for the view and at the leaning tower of Pisa we did the same. I've gotten very seasoned at stair climbing.

Since getting home from vacation last week it's been raining non-stop. So running outside, although much more enjoyable, is not something I plan to subject myself to. My lunch hour today consisted of jogging on the treadmill in the tiny gym at the office. I took it a bit easy and walked 3.5mph and 4mph in between intervals of 6mph minutes and 7-7.5mph at 30 sec.
So that's a fastest time of 8 minute miles. Maybe someday I'll be able to run actual full miles at that speed. For now I'm just happy to get in some fitness.

Run in the Smoke

Calgary was filled with smoke today which drifted over from the BC forest fires. The weather was beautifully hot and I decided to go for a jog at lunch hour without realizing this. I noticed it was a bit harder to breathe but figured that I was just having a tired day.

I ran week 4 day 1 which involved 3 and 5 minute intervals. I'd never attempted to run 5's before outdoors but was nicely surprised. (A treadmill is much easier to run on.) I jogged week 4 with no problems and it wasn't actually as difficult as I had anticipated. Imagine if there had been clean fresh air to breathe!

My route was the normal downtown circuit that I've been following. From City Hall to Eau Claire Market area along the south side of the Bow river, across the bridge and back along the north river side pathway. All and all I think it's about 4km.

Late in the afternoon I read the local news online and discovered that asthmatics have been warned to stay indoors with the windows closed. Oops. Ah well, I seem to have done just fine. Feels great to jog.

Weekend at the Lake

Spent the weekend out at the lake with my husband and my brother. We spent a good portion of the time doing chores around the house. Mowing the lawns(it's a few acres big), feeding the cats and the fish, watering the houseplants and my moms flower gardens. So we got a bit of exercise in that form. We also got in some beach time riding the seadoo.

Sunday I went for a jog with my dog River. We did the c25k week 3 day 3 again. It's 3 minute intervals of jogging, which I can handle. The next level is 5 minute intervals and I'm not quite sure I'm ready for that yet. Soon..

We ran along the hilly gravel roads and then back to the house. Grabbed some water and then switched the program to a new fitness app I downloaded called lolo. We hit the gravel again and ran from the house down to the beach to meet the family for some more seadooing.
All and all a great weekend.