Sweat It Out Sunday Week 3

Well gang, I'm halfway through the Revolt Fitness plan and it continues to amaze me every week.  Let's get straight to it...My stats this week are:

-down 4 lbs.
-down another 2% in body fat.
-lost 1 inch off my waist.
 
One thing I don't really like talking about is my weight.  It seems like people never believe me when I tell them how much I weigh.  I guess that's because I've become a bit of a ninja when it comes to covering up certain areas and making it seem like I'm slimmer than I am.  It's all part of the whole being super self-conscious thing, which is something I'm working on.

Well, this is my weight currently and I'm honestly pretty happy about it!

Before I had my son I hovered around the 130 lbs mark.  I've always been on the curvier side and I'm perfectly happy with that (keep in mind I'm 5'1").  The heaviest I had ever gotten in my life was during my pregnancy when I went up to 185 lbs.  It was bad for me, as I could hardly move around or do much of anything.  The weight just killed my hips, back, and legs.  Now I have issues with sciatic nerve pain.

It's been a struggle to lose my baby weight, and I'm pretty grateful to have found a fitness routine that actually works with my schedule.  Oh, and not to mention having to worry about going to a gym and being surrounded by strangers.  I really hate that feeling, don't get me started.

Anywho, that is my progress for now!  This past week has been a tough one with working longer shifts and figuring out how to eat properly when working late.  So far it's been ok, and I hope the next little while will be decent as well.  

OH, before I forget, this week is Free Kickstart Week over at Revolt Fitness.  If you're curious about the program I'm on, come give it a shot! 

Later gators,

~E  

Sweat It Out Sunday Week 2

Hey guys!

I thought I'd give you a little update with how my workout regiment is coming along.  I've finished up my second week of Revolt,  and I'm still in love with it.  I'm continuing to get up at 7 am to exercise, which can be a bit tiring but completely worth it.  This week's menu was more tolerable for me, as it wasn't the detox menu plan...for example, this week called for salmon.  I love salmon, so this was a nice change!

Size wise I'm going down!  I've lost roughly 8 lbs of weight and 7% body fat.  You have no idea how excited I was to see those numbers when I did my measurements yesterday.  Initally I was worried that I wasn't losing any weight at all thanks to my PCOS, but low and behold the weight is coming off.  

This photo was taken yesterday by Raimund.  We decided to go camping, and I can see the difference in my size.  My pants are also starting to fit a bit looser too, which I never thought I'd say.

So all in all I'm pretty happy with how week two went.  I'm looking forward to seeing what changes week 3 has to offer!

Later gators,

~E

(PS...I've been absent on here lately, but don't fret!  I plan on writing up a lot more posts in the next little while.  Between work and kiddo time seems so limited, as I'm sure a lot of you busy cats know!  Love you all!)   

Sweat It Out Sunday!

If you would've told me a month ago that I would be getting up at 7 am to exercise, I wouldn't have believed you.  

If you would've told me that I would be following a diet plan, I probably would've told you "No dice bud, now pass me that chocolate bar."

Well, it's happened, and I'm digging it.

If you've been around the blogosphere for a while, you may have come across other bloggers involved in a fitness plan called Revolt Fitness.  I was lucky enough to be contacted by the team and asked if I wanted to participate in their next "Uprising", aka 6 week diet and work out regime.  Hell yes!  I jumped on the chance to join in.  I've been struggling to lose my baby weight since having Ben 4 years ago, and I was even going to the gym to see a personal trainer twice a week.  As awesome as that was, I didn't really feel motivated.  Something about seeing Jersey Shore-esque bros watching themselves lift weights and grunt in front of the mirrors (and at passing female gym users) really didn't appeal to me, and I stopped going.  Shortly after I had broken my wrist, so working out was really not on my horizon.

This past week was my official week of following the diet plan and exercises.  We were asked to follow a specialized detox diet plan, and honest to God I don't think I've ever eaten that much spinach in my life.  I won't go into the details of what all we had to eat, but it involved a lot of protein and iron rich food, and spinach was one of them.  It was almost hard to stick to the diet too, I won't lie.  I work in a busy news room, and the smells of other people's lunches was hell: take out Thai, home made stew, food truck delights...nope, I had to pass it all.  Spinach salad for one, please!  I'm happy to say I stuck to the diet plan throughout it, no matter how many times I was offered candy and treats from the other co-workers.  They've since started to remember that I'm on a diet and haven't asked if I wanted their last piece of candy or whatnot, which is nice.  It makes life easier.

The exercises are something that I love.  No, really, I do!  It's been a few months since I've had a proper work out, and it's such a blissfully good feeling after a session is over.  Revolt's founder, Nichole Huntsman, has videos for us to follow along with in our living rooms, and she is truly a gem.  What I love about it is that Nichole shoots her videos from her home.  It's not a super glossy, fake feeling Hollywood-style production for these work out videos.  If there's a mistake, she doesn't edit it out, but rather says "Whoops, I meant this..." and continues showing us all what we should be doing.  I love that.  Nichole knows her stuff too -- she's had 4 kids and has experience first hand on what it's like to lose baby weight, and I find that pretty damn encouraging.

Yup, I cropped this. One day I won't be so self-conscious.  One day.

It is now the end of my first week, and I'm down 3% in my body fat.  The weight is coming off rather slowly for me, as I have some unresolved issues with polycystic ovarian syndrome that I still need to address with my doctor.  Nonetheless, I'm definitely not deterred.  I plan on keeping on with this program, and I look forward to seeing the changes in my body six weeks from now.

Are any of you on a work out regime?  I'm kind of curious to know what you guys do to work out or stay in shape.

Until next time,

E.  

Backyard Exploring

This past Sunday we decided to go on a walk and explore the area around my grandparent's acreage.  I grew up out there, but it's been a long time since I've wandered along the river path and explored the wooded areas.  Seriously it's been ages, and that makes me a bit sad when I think about it.  Raimund and I were feeling a bit adventurous and decided what the heck, let's go on a walk.

Along the way we found a cellar/bomb shelter (?!), a derelict picnic table, an abandoned couch that was facing the river, and this random sign saying "Killer Ants".  My first thought after finding the sign was "Please, oh please let this be the name to some teenager's crappy home horror movie."  I'm still holding out hope.

It's when I go on little adventures like this that make me realize how much I miss living in the country.  Sure, it's great to live near downtown and have all the convenience of stores and theatres and restaurants nearby, but I miss the solitude of woodland areas.  I miss wandering into the wilderness, and damn do I miss the smell of fresh grass and dirt.  Maybe I'm part hippie, who knows.  I love me some nature.

If you had a choice, would you live in the country or city?

~E 

PS...yes, Raimund is a pipe smoker! He has a collection of them!  Tobacco only though, in case you were wondering. 
 

Adventures With Tungsten Film

All's been quiet on the blog front here as you may have noticed.  Not much has been happening in our lives.  We've been experiencing snow storm after snow storm, and that always dampens my inspiration to write and take photos.  My bad.

On one of the days when it hasn't been snowing, Raimund and I took a stroll along the High Level Bridge and I tested out my Lomography Tungsten film.  Sadly this film has been discontinued, but I've found a store in Edmonton here that sells it.

I love the warmth of these photos!  They're pretty red, and somewhat remind me of Lomography's Redscale film.  These came out better than I had expected.  Also, you may have noticed that I like street art.  It's always fun going on random walks in the city and coming across interesting graffiti.  Definitely a highlight of living in the city for me.

Well, that's all for now!  Have any of you played around with tungsten film?

Later gators!

~E