C25K Day One

I officially started the Couch to 5k running plan today. I seriously need some better shoes and sports bras.

I downloaded some free workout tunes from amazon.com and a few Christian ones that I paid for, too.

This was my workout plan today...
Week 1 Workout 1
Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.

This is what I did...
I warmed up for about 5 minutes on the bike and a good pace. Then did upper body workout with machines. Nothing too strenuous. Then hopped on the treadmill. I set it for 27 minutes, long enough for warm up, cool down and all that. I was already warmed up enough, so after three minutes of walking, I ran for 60 seconds and then walked for 90. I repeated this two more times. Then did a cool down because my legs were on fire. Not like a bonfire, like a forest fire. I am not giving up! I have to do this!

I think I'm going to continue week one for two weeks. Until the forest fire becomes more like a lighter.

Pray for me! PLEASE!

Food Tracking and Living A Healthier Lifestyle

Much like balancingeverything I very much dislike food journaling. The thought of writing down everything I put in my mouth makes me nauseous. I know that it works and is a great way to reflect on my poor eating habits but it is just another chore for me to do. So balancingeverything recently started her weight loss blog and shared this tip. I love it and have made my own!

This is for an 1800 calorie day, which is the amount recommended to me by a Registered Dietitian for healthy weightloss of 1-2 pounds per week. You can also go to MyPyramid and find out your serving allowances for each day. This is a great article about making smart choices for weight loss.

The American Heart Association is a wonderful resource for learning about heart attack, stroke and the benefits on daily exercise. You can also learn about your BMI and ways to live a healthy lifestyle.

I'm also reading Gwen Shamblin's book entitled The Weight Down Diet. It is a Bible based approach to weight loss but more importantly overcoming overeating and turning to God to fill us up. Believe it or not it all comes full circle; eating, contentment, peace, joy.

-1 Corinthians 3:16
Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?

-1 Corinthians 10:31
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

-Romans 13:14
Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.

-1 Kings 19:7-8
The angel of the LORD came back a second time and touched him and said, "Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you." So he got up and ate and drank.

Avoidance

It may be easy to avoid but physical balance and health are a very important piece to the life puzzle. I have struggled with my weight for quite a while now. Not my whole life but it started in high school. I can't even blame this weight on my boys. I weigh less now than I did before they came along. It is a huge commitment, so much time and energy, struggles with food, addiction, emotions and hormones. But my doctor, the one who prescribed my high blood pressure medicine, really thinks I need to lose some weight. Don't you think that would motivate me? If only... I highly dislike being told what to do and how to do it. This makes weight loss a bigger challenge. My husband has lost about 45 pounds in the last two years or so and that makes him an expert. I love him so much but he needs to take a class in how to talk to his wife about weight loss. I keep hoping that one day I will wake up and magically want to go to the gym! Or even more importantly, that I'll want to eat nutritious, satisfying foods. I just read this article about having a hungry soul and it really hit home. I wish that I could turn it all over to God but the control freak in me has a tough time with letting go. I guess I need to figure out WHY I eat. Maybe I need therapy. That wouldn't surprise me. Maybe I need to go to the gym. Hmm.
How do you keep physically in balance? What are your challenges? I can't be all alone in this battle, can I? Oh, the picture is me in 1993.