Why I Exercise

First off, I struggle everyday with trying to find the motivation to exercise. There are a million reasons not to, but some pretty important ones to do it for.

My exercise background wasn't simple, but I have always had a passion for exercising. Here's my whole story in a condensed version.

I started out as a teen on the swim team. We'd run drills for two hours swimming continuous laps. I hated it, but yet I loved it so much. Then I started lifting weights a few nights a week at the pool. I trained myself or asked body builders for tips. (I made some great workout buddies who are still friends to this day.) I'd get in a workout and then jump into the pool to swim laps. I also did gym classes in high school, plus filled my spares with TA-ing the gym classes for younger grades. I loved working out. I had all the time in the world and no one to think about except myself.

Then I went to university, and for 5 years I barely exercised at all. I drove everywhere and was generally too focused on classes, studying or projects to take care of me. I gained 45lbs. After university, I moved across the country to a new city, knew no one and work took the focus on my life. I gained approximately another 60lbs.

Then one day I had my ah-ha moment (a story for another time) where I realized I wasn't who I wanted to be. I started my weight loss battle and made changes in my life. It took me just over two years, a new diet plan and rounds of Bikini Bootcamp workouts, three personal trainers, plus attempting to learn to be a runner. I really wanted to run, even though I wasn't good at it. I lost 85lbs.

I got married and then eventually we were pregnant. I gained 70lbs with my twins and it was a mind trip to gain weight back after working for so long to shed it. After my babies were born, it took me 13 months to lose *most* of it all over again, before discovering we were expecting another baby.

I gained 60lbs this time around. It wasn't any easier to wrap my head around but I'd figured I'd done it before and I could do it again. I was determined. Though it never gets any easier. After my baby was born, I lost 20lbs and I started exercising right away. Nothing happened. I tried for three months and lost 1 pound. Disappointment. So I restarted my old diet plan and started seeing changes. That was in March 2014.

I started to teach myself how to run all over again. It was hard to be back at square one! I managed a 5K in the summer and started doing a workout called Piyo. I joined a local 60 day challenge group. I did the workouts 6 days per week for 8 weeks. I did them while we were visiting my parents and even while camping. (Let me tell you a camping trailer does not make a great workout space.) My kids watched me exercise every day and even joined in. They loved trying to do the poses. At 2 years old, it was adorable. They encouraged me to be better. I felt great and was down 25 more pounds. (I also won the local Piyo 60-day challenge! Though I didn't send in my before/after photos for the free Piyo t-shirt yet.)

I was a bit lazy in the fall but kept up my diet and kept losing weight. My husband had an older set of Insanity DVDs and I tried to do a few workouts with him, but the moves seemed ridiculously difficult and the workouts were nearly an hour long. I struggled to not eat tons of sweets over Halloween, my husbands birthday, my three kids' birthdays, and most especially Christmas. (I lose the willpower battle to Nanaimo bars every time! They're my kryptonite.)

Then, in January 2015, Beachbody came out with Insanity Max 30, a 30 minute version of Insanity. My husband ordered the DVDs right away. I didn't think I'd do them at all but once I tried the first day, I was hooked. It was a hard 30 minutes but I felt I'd accomplished something! I figured I could find the time to workout Monday-Friday and started following the schedule in the DVD pack. I would give it my best shot.

Some of the moves make me raise my eyebrows but I get through. (I'm not sure how the people on the video do the HIIT like that for 30mins straight. Huge respect for them.) I sometimes have to do the moves modified, especially the push up ones but I'm getting better. I am now down 80lbs since March 2014. My journey continues.

Back to my important reasons for exercising. I am finally working out again for me. It feels amazing to get through a workout and know you've accomplished some small step in the right direction to getting healthier, stronger, lighter. But most importantly I am working out for my three children. So they can hopefully have a mother who sets a good example for them, who they can be proud of, and who will be around for a long time to watch them grow up.

I wish many things for them. One wish is that they'll become happy adults, who hopefully will enjoy exercising themselves, because they'll have seen it from a young age and just think that is normal. I'm motivated by thinking that my children are watching me.

I'd hope to inspire one person to change a habit, get up and get moving, get fitter, or to try their best. I'll even workout with you. (I am always looking for new workout buddies and they're harder to find than you would think!) It's not about what you can do now, but where you want to go. In one of the Insanity Max workouts (I think it's "Friday Fight Round 1"), Shawn T talks about your muscles. How they are in there and no one can make them work except you, and only you can make them stronger. That resonated with me. No one can do this for me. I have to do it for myself.

It's also pretty cute that my now three year old twins and my baby (14 months) will try to do the exercises with me.

I am going to earn my Insanity t-shirt! Off to do Friday Fight Round 2! I already feel the owie.

Week 5 complete!

Today I finished week 5 of the Beachbody challenge for Insanity Max 30. I'm not signed up in anyone's challenge group this time around, instead I'm just doing it on my own.

Today was my first time through "Friday Fight Round 2" and holy wow was it a crazy one. Shawn T wasn't messing around when he created this workout. I've been trying my best to not do any modified moves if I don't have to and some of these are brutal.

My baby boy was with me for today's workout and he joined right in as soon as it started. I just had to record him in all his cuteness working out to Max 30.

I restarted the workout (for anyone who might think I was cheating in not doing it while this video was taken), and jumped right in for the pain.

My favourite move was this one that reminded me of a ninja. A side ways facing lunge then a tuck jump and rotating in midair to land in a lunge on the other side. I need to master this one just for pure ninja fun.

But the best part is I'm in week 5 and I am feeling great. I don't think I've lost any actual pounds really but I'm definitely getting smaller and I plan to keep on going after this challenge is finished. I'm interested to see how my starting measurements will compare to the end result. Only 3 weeks to go! I want that "I Maxed Out" t-shirt!

Insanity Max 30

This past summer I discovered Beachbody. My husband had previously bought a set of workout DVDs called Insanity. I'd tried them with him a couple of times but thought that the name truly fit the workout. It was insane. No way I was doing all of that jumping craziness for an hour.

I ordered a set of DVDs called Piyo and started a local 60 day challenge. It's a workout which combines Pilates and yoga. No jumping or harsh moves. More like a strength and endurance workout using your own body as weights.

I'm proud to say that I completed all 60 days, working out for 8 complete weeks, 6 days per week. And I never missed one day. I did it out in the yard at my parents house while we visited, in our trailer while we went camping and of course at home. I toned up a bit while doing it and lost about 15lbs. I also won the Piyo challenge in my area. Go me!

Well I finished the Piyo challenge back in September and until now I didn't really have a new plan.

Then the new year hit and Beachbody came out with Insanity Max 30. My husband wanted to buy it. I told him I'd do the workouts along with him. The DVDs arrived and we started the journey, week 1. It was hard but being only 30 minutes long I figured I could make it through.

I've now completed month one and all 4 weeks, 5 days per week, without missing one day. Month 2 is substantially harder workouts but in noticing that I am getting better at the moves which originally I thought I couldn't do. I'm also noticing toning happening and I'm liking it. I'm not losing any weight but I suspect that has more to do with my diet (and eating too little calories each day). So I'm now logging all of my food into my Fitness Pal app and I was very surprised to see that I've been running at a deficit of over 600 calories per day!! I'm excited to eat more!!

I'm down 80lbs since having my baby 14 months ago today, and I plan to keep working on it.

PiYo

I started doing PiYo by Beachbody nearly four weeks ago. Its new. You basically do a different Pilates/Yoga workout everyday, with rest days on Friday.

I took it to the lake along with a yoga mat, took it camping and mostly do the workouts at home. I'm halfway there.

I'm feeling stronger already and can do the advanced moves most days. Though there are days where I do the modified moves when I'm really tired or new to a video.

I took "before" photos and man am I hoping to see a difference when I'm done this 60 day challenge! I *think* that I see a small difference already.

I'm sort of running again as well. I started the year strong, running once a week Sundays but fell off the wagon when storms hit and continued February through March. I ran a couple more times in April/May but nothing on a schedule. June 30th we ran the 5k for Colour Me Rad. Hoping to do it again next year.

Last night, after golfing in the league, I decided to go for a jog after dark. It was nice to be out. I've never ran in the dark before. The streets were so quiet. The mosquitos were annoying but I pressed on. Unsure if I was simply running to get away from them. Someone lit off fireworks which I watched as I ran. I did 8:37 km/min and 3.7km total.

We have another 5k coming up in just over a week here, the Energizer Night Race. I've never ran it previously as I was pregnant but Phil had ran in twice in the past and liked it. We have two good friends, Mandy & Ryan, coming in from SK to run it with us. Looking forward to beating my time this week and hoping the energy of everyone there will help motivate me to keep running.

My weight loss has slowed since starting the workouts but I'm guessing that's because I don't have too much more left to lose or it could be the dreaded summer camping foods sneaking into my diet..

I'm still losing but its much more slowly. As of Tuesday, I was down 60lbs since having my baby in December. Yeah! And in my mind I'd love to drop another 25 but feel like 10 is much more realistic since I had gotten stuck at that weight before. Maybe this time I can beat it!

I'm doing the Jenny Craig meal plan again and while convenient, I do miss eating real food. But it's working, so I'll stick to it. I'm pretty sure I'll hit one-derland this next weigh in on Tuesday and I hope to hit it out of the park!

Will post my before and after photos once I'm done the challenge, September 4th.

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!