One of the goals I have for 2014 is to get back to working out regularly and being fit again. I’ve never been a super athlete, but I’d like to be able to run (or jog) at least half of a 5k. Troy and I did a 5k two years ago and I really enjoyed it, except for the part where I struggled with running the whole thing. I don’t even think I was able to jog 1/4 of it. It was pretty pathetic. Somehow, though, I did enjoy it and I’ve really wanted to participate in another one, though I’d really like to be in better shape.
Sadly, I injured my lower back while working out in November 2012 and was unable to walk for a few days (i mostly hobbled and layed on the couch haha). After going to a doctor, I was told to stop working out for a few weeks and to stop doing some exercises entirely. That, in conjunction with going on trips every few weeks, got me out of my workout habit and I’ve become quite soft. Not that I think I’m fat or anything, I just have lost quite a bit of my muscle tone and now have the egregious “muffin top” if my jeans are too tight.
So, to get myself back to where I want to be, I have decided to make some changes. Today I started eating a different breakfast, one that I hope will help me jump start my attempts to tone up and I am starting to do P90X again. I did it while Troy was in Hawaii two years ago, but it only lasted while he was gone those three weeks. I found that I didn’t have as much free time with him back in town, so I slacked on it. Now that I have more time and the equipment I need, I am going to start doing it again.
Along with doing P90X, I plan on eating healthier. I completely went off the deep end while my mom was here: pizza, McDonald’s, donuts, cookies. *sigh* Now I’m trying to get back to good food. I’ve eaten eggs for breakfast for forever, but I decided to change it up a bit. Instead of two over-easy eggs and orange juice or milk for breakfast, I’m going to do a boiled egg or an over-easy egg along with a protein shake and milk. My protein shake is light yogurt, 1/3 banana, 1T protein powder, 1T flax seed and 1T wheat germ. I used to do orange juice instead of yogurt, but I decided I wanted to get the probiotic effects of yogurt as well as the added calcium. That is going to double my calories for breakfast, but it will also increase my protein, which will keep me full longer. For lunch I’m going to stick with a microwave meal (Michelina) and a salad, then have a pear or orange as an afternoon snack. For dinner I am going to make sure I hit most of the food groups and not eat a ton. Troy and I have shakes in the evenings sometimes, so I just need to make sure I just have half of one instead of a full one.
So, that’s my plan to get back in shape and get healthier. I want to lose some of the weight I’ve gained since being back from Malaysia and get back to my pre-Malaysia fitness level, as well as being able to run for a longer period of time. It’s not going to be easy: I’m used to snacking on junk food during the day and not working out at all. But I want to get my back stronger and regain the mobility I’ve lost. I also want to be able to wear my size 4 jeans again. They fit, but they’re pretty tight around the waist and I have that awful “muffin top,” so I need to trim that up. My size 7 jeans are still pretty loose, so at least I haven’t gained that much. Not that that’s a bad thing, wearing size 7, I just worked really hard to lose that weight and I don’t want to gain it all back again because I’m lazy. Part of the reason I worked so hard to get so healthy and fit was because I have scoliosis and was told by my doctor and also my physical therapist that any pregnancy I have in the future will be hard on my back, so I need to build up strength in my back prior to even thinking about getting pregnant so that I can be prepared for it. So, I worked really hard and got in shape and improved my mobility in my back. Then, I injured my back and was really limited on what I could do for a few months. And then all the trips. And then moving back to the US and not having a gym membership. But now that Troy bought a workout machine and I have all my P90X stuff (i didn’t take any of it to Malaysia), I can get back into working out consistently again. Woohoo! I’m excited to start feeling great again. That feeling when you work out every day is awesome. I’m really looking forward to it.
So, now that I’ve finished transferring the P90X videos from my external hard drive onto my laptop, I can go to the workout room at Troy’s house, set my stuff up there and get my workout on! Wish me luck! (and cross your fingers I don’t hurt my back again!)
