Weekend Weigh In

Last week really kicked off my weight loss journey and I am very proud of myself for sticking to my guns and following through. I set a goal of working out at least four times a week for 60 minutes and logging everything I ate through the My Fitness Pal app. Well, I am happy to report that I worked out four times last week for a total of 250 minutes and I burned a total of 2,529 calories! I also logged into My Fitness Pal everyday and logged every single thing that I ate, the good, the bad and the ugly. By setting a goal and sticking to it, I lost exactly 3 pounds last week and I am so excited about it! I realized that I was much more conscious of everything I ate because I was journaling it and tracking my calories. When you are not counting calories and tracking your food intake, you are more likely to over indulge (at least I know I am). Now, I know a lot of people who say they don't count calories because it's too tedious or time consuming, but it definitely works and if you want to see weight loss results, you have to do something that holds you accountable for what you consume. Whether you download a tracking app, join weight watchers or just keep a little food diary in your purse, you have to be conscious of what you are eating. It really does make a difference. Don't believe me? Try it! It certainly can't hurt.

As for my exercise regimen, I did 60-65 minute workouts on the elliptical all four days. Now, I know that many experts would disagree with this workout and say that I need to switch it up and incorporate some strength training. However, I'm no expert and this works for me (right now). Besides, 60 minutes on the elliptical beats 60 minutes sitting on the couch doing nothing any day. #babysteps
I plan on trying other cardio exercises and incorporating some strength training in the coming weeks. Right now, I'm just getting used to working out four times a week.

I figure there are 24 hours in a day, so why not take one hour and dedicate it to working out? Download some good music, watch a movie, flip through a magazine, do whatever it takes to get you through that hour. You'll be glad you did it.

Do you track your food intake, and if so, how? How often do you workout and what's your exercise regimen? Please share in the comments section below.

Weekend Recap: Four Miles and an Oreo Cookie Face Off

   So, between nursing my daughters through a stomach virus, housework and having a face off with a pack of Golden Oreo cookies (get to that in a minute), I still managed to get in some exercise and eat healthy!
 
   The weather was beautiful this weekend so I decided to take advantage of that and exercise outdoors as opposed to hitting the gym. I absolutely love working out outdoors whenever possible. Something about the fresh air, nature and the scenic landscape really motivates me as opposed to the monotony of the treadmill at the gym. #noshade Now, don't get me wrong, I have nothing against the gym it just bores me sometimes so I like to switch it up to keep myself interested. Anyway, I ran a little over 4 miles between Saturday and Sunday and I was very proud of myself considering I am a novice runner. I joined my local Black Girls Run group a few months back but only ran with them once due to scheduling conflicts. However, I'm building my stamina and endurance so I can adopt the 'no less than tres' (no less than three miles) per run motto that I learned from my group.  My overall workout goal is to hit the gym or the park for 60 minutes of exercise at least 4 times a week.  I have to workout and eat right in order to see results. In the words of Big Daddy Kane 'aint no half steppin'!

    During my run I noticed that someone had chalked the word 'Inspire' on the path and it definitely spoke to me and made me push forward. Now, I must say that this run was not a cake walk for me. As previously stated, I am a novice so I can't run the entire lap (yet) but I do run 75% of it and briskly walk the remaining 25%. I do this by setting milestones for myself using markers on the path. Those markers can be anything from a park bench to the basketball court. I just pick a marker, run to it, pick another, walk to it (as I catch my breath) and then continue this throughout my run. To keep track of my time and distance I downloaded an iPhone app called 'Pedometer' (see the bottom right picture in the collage). It's really cool because it not only tracks your distance and time, but also your average speed, number of steps and calories burned. You can even add your music playlist to it which is nice. There's some other functions too that I haven't explored yet but I'll get to them eventually. Granted, I have never used an app like this before so I have nothing to compare it to, but it's free and user friendly so...SOLD! Another great app that I use is 'My Fitness Pal', it's also free (see the pattern here) and it's good for tracking your meals and activity. My user name is 'ckjones03' on My Fitness Pal so feel free to friend me if you'd like:-)

My Weekend Run Collage

   Now, about those Golden Oreos that almost knocked me off my game this weekend. So...I'm in the kitchen, cleaning up after dinner and minding my own business when I remembered that I had Oreos in the cabinet that I had bought for my daughter (pre-stomach virus). So, I go to the cabinet and there they are, all bright and shiny in that golden packaging, looking like temptation and defeat all in one. I shall not tell a lie, we had a face off for about 2 minutes while I mentally went over all the reasons why I should eat them (I don't want them to go bad, I'll only have 3, they're healthier than the chocolate ones, I deserve a treat, etc.). In the end, I forced myself to just close the cabinet and walk away because I did not want to undo my day. Overall, I ate healthy all weekend and maintained my 1200 calorie/per day allottment. #shewon I also changed my privacy settings on 'My Fitness Pal' since I started writing this blog, so if you friend me (ckjones03),  you'll be able to see exactly what I am eating.

   How did you Sweat Heart this weekend? What apps do you use to help you on your fitness journey?


Corrin K. Jones