Little Accomplishments and High Heat

You may or not have seen this blog about 2 weeks ago: 
www.sparkpeople.com/mypage_public_jo
urnal_individual.asp?blog_id=4927918 


In it I posted a few pictures of my walking route. Well as of yesterday I upped my lap from right at a mile to right at 1.75 miles. Now that doesn't seem like a big deal, but now my route includes another hill/incline. Thankfully its only a slight one. That's not the big thing though. Now my route takes me past some houses. I've been avoiding it because I am silly, but I don't like walking were people can see me for some reason. One of the great side effects of exercising/losing weight is that I don't get as embarrassed as easily. Last weekend while in Tennessee I actually wore sleeveless shirts for most of the two days we were there. We were outside on a sod farm (for a rocket launch) but we were still surrounded by people. Usually I wouldn't mind because its people I don't really know, but one of Cody (hubby's) and my friends from college showed up. It's not much, but I have settle little accomplishments. Wow... I'm rambling. I guess after writing 15+ pages (2 Final Essays and a Weekly Reaction Essay for my Summer Grad class) I'm in writing mode. 

I got up early and was going to get my walk in, but my Final was due at noon. So now its a little warm. I might try and get a mini walk in but I'll probably just Wii it up until it cools off. Although I might be waiting a while since we are under a heat advisory until Sunday at 10 PM. 

 

It's around 102F now (feels like 106 according to weather.com)! By 5 its supposed to be 103 and feel like 109! I guess I can go for a walk after dark when it drops to 86 (and feels like 91). 

Either way I need to get up before I root to this couch... Hope you are having a wonderful Saturday! What are your plans for the holiday/holiday weekend? I'll be going "home" Sunday-Wednesday.

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5K W/J W1/D2

Day 2 of the 5K Your Way Walk/Jog Training Program: 
Walk for 4 minutes, then jog for 1 minute. Repeat 4 more times. 
(Total workout time: 25 minutes) 

Today I actually got out of bed before 9am! Doesn't sound like a big accomplishment but for a teacher on summer break who is not a morning person, I count it as a mission accomplished. It really helped with my outside workout. There's quite a bit of difference (at least mentally) between Mississippi heat at 8:30/9 compared to 11:30/12. I also didn't push myself quite as hard, which I generally think of as a bad thing, but according to the training program I was supposed to skip today anyway. It allowed me to actually focus on the music, which really helps me. Yesterday I couldn't tell you a single song I listened to. Also my iHeartRadio App didn't cut out a bit. Little things excite me :) 

I didn't make the 15 minute mile today, but I did make 16! Not only that but I walked an additional 1.9 miles afterward. I was planning on a "cool down" mile/lap, but I just keep going. I guess its true that it gets easier. All in all I walked almost 3.5 miles (3.43 to be exact) in 65 minutes. A 5k is "only" about 3.105 miles so I know I can make the distance. Now I just need to work on my time! 

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5K Your Way Walk/Jog: Week 1 Day 1

From yesterday


Well I'm actually supposed to be on week 2, but really never started last week so week one it is! 

Day 1 of the 5K Your Way Walk/Jog Training Program:  (through Spark People)
Walk for 4 minutes, then jog for 1 minute. Repeat 4 more times. 
(Total workout time: 25 minutes) 

I haven't really walked since Saturday and that was on a treadmill and only about 30 minutes. All that to say, I probably shouldn't have picked my first day back to start the program, but I have a feeling that I might have to do one of the weeks more than once to make it through the training program by the end of July for the Virtual 5k. 

I didn't think I would be able to make it through all four cycles, but I did! It wouldn't have been so bad if I didn't choose to do it at noon on a day that was in the high 90s, but I still made it. I'm just glad today was one of the few days that only one person passed me on the road. I hate to see what I looked like! 

 

I also ALMOST made a 15 minute mile (within a few seconds)  

 

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Week 3 Recap (A little late)

Hubby and I went to Tennessee for the weekend. We left on Friday and got back late Sunday. Then when we got back on Monday he got stung by a yellow jacket and had a severe allergic reaction. This is not an excuse, but I didn't do as great as I should have. 
I am proud to say that we used the weight/exercise room at the hotel everyday and pretty much stayed on track with eating. Plus we found a Wii Balance Board and I'm watching Cody use it right now (I already have). It really adds to our workout. We're using it with Wii Fit and Wii Gold's Gym right now. 

Week 3 
20.1 miles tracked. I also got some miles in on the treadmill and at the rocket event that were not tracked. 
Appox. 4144 calories burned 
671 Fitness Minutes 

On day 24 on SparkPeople and day 25 of getting at least 30 minutes of exercise every day!

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"Toward the Truest of Destinations... No fear"

I'll admit the first thing that comes to mind when I think of "No Fear" is the decals that were (and still are to extent) very popular as an adornment for the back glass of the trucks of guys back home. 

 

But it's so much more. It's not just a motto or a slogan. It should be a way of life. Now you might wonder why this blog now. If you haven't figured it out by now a big motivational tool for me is music. The song "No Fear" by Terri Clark is one that I probably had heard before but yesterday on my walk it really hit home. It wasn't really the actual lyrics, but more like the spirit behind the song. The fact that if we can move beyond our fear, we sometimes find what we've been looking for all along. 

I've always let fear hold me back. I'm the kind of person that runs all kinds of scenarios through my head about what might go wrong. As I'm working on myself this is a big part of what I'm trying to improve. I want to be able to live by the slogan "No FEAR!" Now I've thought about tattoos, but I'm a chicken and will probably never get one. This would be a great one to get though. 

 

I'm afraid that I won't be able to stick with this. I'm on day 19 which is the longest I've ever maintained a daily exercise program. I'm afraid that if I hit a roadblock I won't be able to work through it. I'm afraid of so much, but with the support of my SP friends, my husband, my friends, and family I know I can work through it. 

What are your fears? How do you work through them? 

As the song says I'm running "Towards the truest of destinations... No fear." 

"No Fear" by Terri Clark 
I want a road stretching out before me 
I want a radio in my ear 
I want a full tank of absolution 
No fear 
I want a rainstorm to pull me over 
Then a sky that begins to clear 
Towards the truest of destinations 
No fear 

I used to hit every wall there was 
I used to run away from love 
All I ever wanted was right here 
But I had to reach way down inside 
I had to have faith I'd find 
No fear 

I want the world to just keep on turning 
I want the dawn in my rear view mirror 
I want to hear my own voice singing 
No fear 
And when I need two arms around me 
And theres no one near 
When I'm alone let the only sound be 
No fear 

I used to hit every wall there was 
I used to run away from love 
All I ever wanted was right here 
But I had to reach way down inside 
I had to have faith I'd find 
No fear 

I want peace, Love and Understanding 
A stogie and an ice-cold beer 
Don't want to live afraid of dying 
I used to hit every wall there was 
I used to run away from love 
All I ever wanted was right here 
But I had to reach way down inside 
I used to stay up all night long 
Wondering what I was doing wrong 
All I ever needed was right here 
But I had to reach way down inside 
I had to have faith I'd find 
No fear 

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I Try to Think About... Running Toward My Goals

If you haven't noticed by now, my playlist is filled with a lot of older country music. I could blame this on my husband's limited music collection, but I enjoy it. I could download my own music, but I just haven't yet. Anyways... today "I Try to Think About Elvis" by Patty Loveless popped up in the rotation. It got me thinking about what I think about while I'm walking/exercising. A lot of the time I focus too much on just getting it over with... how many more minutes? how many more miles? how many more times am I going to have to walk up that @#%&*! hill? and such is generally what's running through my mind. Using the Cardio Trainer (NOOM) app has helped because it gives me updates and stops me from checking it every few minutes, but I've decided I need to focus more on my goals... WHY I'm doing this. 

 

What goes through your mind while you're working out/exercising? What helps get you through? Maybe I'm not working hard enough if I have so much time to think  

The lyrics of "I Try to Think About Elvis" if you're unfamiliar with it... 

Artist: Loveless Patty 
Song: I Try To Think About Elvis 
Album: Classics 

Loveless Patty Sheet Music 
Loveless Patty CDs 


Send “I Try To Think About Elvis” Ringtone to Cell Phone 

I try to think about Elvis 
Memphis 
Oprah in the afternoon 
I try to think about palm trees 
Fig leaves 
The creature from the black lagoon 
I try to think about high heels 
And good deals 
Anything to get me through 
I just can't concentrate 
You're all I think about these days 

I try to contemplate the cosmos 
What goes 
Round and round the sky at night 
I try to think about champagne 
Freight trains 
Slowly rolling out of sight 
I try to focus on the headlines 
Street crimes 
Everytime I think I might 
I just can't concentrate 
You're all I think about these days 

My mind wanders where it will 
When it settles right on you 
I forget what I should say 
I forget what I should do 

My mind wanders where it will 
When it settles right on you 
I forget what I should say 
I forget what I should do 

I try to think about Shakespeare 
Leap year 
The Beatles or the Rolling Stones 
I try to think about hair-do's 
Tattoos 
Sushi bars and saxophones 
I try to think about the talk shows 
New clothes 
But I guess I should have known 
I just can't concentrate 
You're all I think about these days 
You're all I think about these days

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Can't Keep a Good [Wo]Man Down

After Friday's soreness and gaining a pound this weekend I was not feeling great about my progress, but I got out and got back to it today. 

 

I'm so glad I did. I not only shaved a minute off my mile time, but walked 4.5 miles. I only set out to walk my regular 3, but I felt so great that I pushed on. I was going to walk more but I have two papers due today by midnight. Thankfully I got one done before my walk, but I still lack 3 pages on the last one. In the past I would have used the classwork to procrastinate walking/exercise and now I'm using exercise to procrastinate classwork! 

While walking the song "Can't Keep a Good Man Down" by Alabama came on. Now I realize that a lot of people have had larger set backs and recovered, but in the past this little setback would have been enough to stop me. Some of the lyrics hit a chord with me today... 

Oh enough is enough I won't take anymore 
I'm picking myself up off the floor 

Cause you can't keep a good man down 
You can't keep a good man down 

Gonna dress up in my finest 
Clothes that I own 
And take it to the streets 

Now you thought you could break me 
Add me to your list 
Notch me on your gun 
Let me tell you this 
I've got news for you baby 
I don't break that easily 

I'll be out there on the scene 
Hangin' with my friends 
This world's gonna see 
Me smilin' again 
I'm taking some time 
To erase you from my memory 

It's Day 16 and I'm ready for more! I also did an upper body workout after my walk and am planning on some Gold's Gym and Country Dance on Wii later.

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Weekend Getaway

This weekend I went home for Father's Day. My husband went with me which was a good thing. He helped me moderate my spending and my eating.  We went out to eat twice and I still managed not to completely break the calorie "bank."

My friend and I managed to drug Cody bowling. It was the first time he'd been bowling since 2003! None of us are great bowlers. I won with the enormous score of 78! It was fun and got us up and moving instead of a movie or such.

Cody was a wonderful husband and woke me up before 8 o'clock this morning so that we could get a walk in before going to church with my family.  I "somehow" managed to forget my tennis shoes so I had to borrow my brother's.  It was interesting...

I always struggle with getting away from my routine. Have to hit it hard in the morning to get back to it.

Week 2 Recap
Walked 19.4 miles
494 minutes
2723 Calories Burned

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Struggle and Success

Okay, a little background. My walks are usually done on our gravel driveway and the road that we live on. It usually is a least three half laps of the driveway. It is mostly flat except for one slight incline, which I didn't notice until today. Then I walk down the large hill at the bottom of the driveaway 
 
and up the hill on the road 
 
then circle around and go up the driveway. 
 

I say all this to get to my point. I really struggled today. I got my 3 laps in but it was very difficult. I've started using Gold's Gym on the Wii for some more cardio. Last night was my first time "jumping rope." You are given 3 minutes. I only got in around 170 jumps in that time. Unfortunately that was effort to kill my thighs so almost every step was torture today - especially those inclines. On my lap coming up our hill I remember Jacqui from a few weeks ago on Extreme Makeover Weightloss Edition. It was my first time watching it and I didn't see it all, but her struggle and pushing through on a 100k bike ride motivated me. If she can do something that difficult I could walk up a measely hill. Once I decided to push through the clouds covered the hot Mississippi sun and a slight breeze started blowing. I'm still very sore, but feel successful at least. Whereas if I hadn't gone on, I'd still be sore and feel like a failure. 

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The Devil and the Calorie Fairy

Yesterday I talked about the Noom Cardio Tracker App. Here's an actual screenshot after my walk today. Please don't laugh at my horrible 21 min pace. I just can't make myself go much faster with a sore ankle (already wearing an ankle brace) and 90F plus heat. I'm a wimp what can I say. That's why I usually walk in the morning, but this morning I woke up to my new phone telling me that the SD card was damaged. There went all my music. If I haven't already mentioned it, music is a big motivating factor to get me out and walking.  So I tried to use my husband's computer to upload some music directly to the phone. My phone and his computer weren't on speaking terms evidently. This meant I had to connect my laptop to our home network and transfer the songs wirelessly to my laptop and via usb to my phone. By this time I was not amused. I think the devil, calorie fairy, and everyone else were conspiring against me today. I did push through it for DAY 12 though. It helped that when I got up this morning I was down to 199 (first time since at least 2006!)

 

What songs motivate you as you workout?

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I'm in LOVE....

with Noom's Cardio Tracker for Android. Please keep in mind that I only have the free version (Pro is 9.99) but the free version still has a TON of useful features.

Screenshot from Technolik.com

Cardio Trainer tracks using both the pedometer type function and GPS, but my favorite function is the progress updates.  You can set when you want to hear your progress, but I left my own default and LOVED it.  I'm the type of person who checks the time/mileage too often and this allowed me to go more hands-free and get a better work out in.  Plus there was less fumbling with my phone (and less chance of dropping it!)

Other features I appreciate: Pause, Integrated Music control, Daily Reminder, Share (Facebook) Option, and a badge that shows calorie milestones for the week on the "toolbar" of the phone... reminds me I need to get off my butt.  

By the way it tracks other workouts besides just walking/running.  I used it while "Boxing" with Gold's Gym on the Wii. I'm not sure how accurate it was with that though.  It said I burned over twice the calories the Wii calculated that I should, but *shrug*.

Noom Weight Loss is probably next on my list of Apps to try....

If you get a chance check out the link below the picture. It gives 9 other APPS for Android. I haven't used anything else but AccuPedo, but I plan to check them out as well. 

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Who is Joy?

Who is Joy?

Well you might have been thinking to yourself  so who is Joy?  Well my name is Joy and I am 25 years old. I have lived in Mississippi all my life and am currently living in North Mississippi. Teaching junior high history is my full time job, but I have a variety of interests and projects that take up what little "free time" I have left over.  During the school year, my free time is very limited. Thankfully one of the perks of the job is Summer Break.  Please don't get me wrong though. I still work during the summer - preparing lesson plans and so on.     This summer I am getting back into photography and taking two online courses as I am working toward a Master's Degree in History.  My interests include (but aren't limited to) photography, reading, music, crafts, shopping, surfing the 'net (PINTEREST!), outdoors activities, and so much more.

The first picture was taken in 2006 at around 185/190.  

The second was June 2009 on our wedding day, and the third was November of 2010.

WHY NOW?

I have been overweight almost my entire life and the last time I saw under 200 (until now) was 2006 right after moving away to college and during the first part of my relationship with my future husband.  We've been married for 3 years and he has always struggled with weigh as well.  He's lost it before and I've been excused of helping him gain it back.  After all, the way to a man's heart is his stomach right.  In March he got the flu and went to the doctor who basically told him he had to loose weight. Never one to turn away from a challenge he has lost 65+ pounds since then.  His success is definitely part of - we've very competitive even with each other.  But's that's not the only reason.  I want to lose weight for many reasons. The first is to be healthier. Right now my BP/Cholesterol etc is not "bad" but its definitely not "good." I have two grandfathers who both died of heart attacks (both smokers). My mom's mother died after suffering years from a stroke that occurred during heart surgery and my dad's mom had congestive heart failure among other things. Needless to say my family's health history is troubling. Besides health reasons, I want to feel better about myself. I know my weight should not affect my image of myself, but it does. I'm shy as it is and my weight holds me back sometimes. I also want to look better. My husband has lost over 65 pounds and that has pushed me to worked toward a similar goal. I know he's joking when he's talks about all the women who are after him now (at least I hope he is) but I want to be a better woman for him. I realize I'm rambling now but I can't really put all my reasons into words.... maybe I'll try this phrase this more coherently later.

What Now?

I plan to use this blog as a form of accountability and hopefully to help others who are starting (or continuing) their weight loss journey.  I will use it to keep track of my goals and have a weekly weigh-in.  I'll talk about what worked and what didn't work and so much more. I hope you follow me and even join in journey with me.




Join the Web's Only Nutrition & Fitness Program Just For Teens! Diet

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