As of today (07/07/2015), there are 8 weeks left until September 1st, which in my mind, is the end of summer.  It’s true that there is an extra week until Labor Day (09/07/2015 this year), but to me, it’s over on the 31st of August.  We are taking a big family vacation out to Colorado Springs in August and our departure is 4.5 weeks away.  I’ve gotten bit soft lately with all of the birthdays and holidays that have involved cake and ice cream (Memorial Day, Father’s Day, Matthew’s birthday, Bryson’s birthday, 4th of July) – in fact, I just polished off a leftover piece of ice cream cake as I sat down to write this post.  Ugh.

So it’s time to get back at it and harden up my abs and ass!

I was reading old posts of Josey’s when I ran across her mention of “200 Sit Ups.”  Curious, I looked into it.  This is just what I need!  I will do that and 100 Push Ups and 200 Squats (after checking out all of the programs (lunges, pull-ups, dips), I realized why people stick to sit ups, push ups, and squats – HA!).  Yes I will.  I will also keep running 20-30 miles per week.  I will log food in MFP, but not here.  It’s just so redundant to put the food in both places.  I don’t mind double logging exercise, but not food.  Nope.  Instead, I’ll log my consumed calories per day hi compared to the net goal set by MFP.

I like to run my weeks Saturday-Friday, so I’m backlogging to last Saturday when I finished up my Marathons for Sammy.  I will use that weight and body fat percentage for my starting stats even though I’m chunkier than that right now.  HA!  I will test in my sit ups, pushups, and squats tonight (7/7) and then start Week 1 of Saturday and do them weekly on Saturday, Monday, and Wednesday/Thursday.  So there will be no core strength logging until the start of Week 2 here.

So far, I’ve logged 9.51 miles this week:

• Saturday, 07/04/15    5.00 miles
• Tuesday, 07/07/15    4.51 miles

Starting Statistics on 07/07/2015

• Weight:  146.4 pounds (9.6 pounds higher than when I weaned Bryson on 01/23/15)
• Body Fat %:  23.7% (0.8% higher than on 01/23/15)
• BMI:  22.9 (2.0 higher than on 01/23/15)
• Measurements:
  • Natural Waist: 28.25 inches (27.25 on 01/09/15)
  • Belly Button: 32 inches (31.5 on 01/09/15)
  • Hips:  36.5 inches (35.25 on 01/09/15)
• Core Strength Starting Stats:
  • Starting Sit Ups:  105 (starting at Week 5 of the program)
  • Starting Pushups:  32 – (starting at Week 3 of the program)
  • Starting Squats:  100 (starting at Week 5 of the program)  After testing in and seeing that I’d start at week 5 Day 1 after stopping at 100 squats out of boredom, I’ve decided not to do the squats right now.  My legs are getting what they need from running.  And, it’s nice doing the pushups Sun/Tues/Thurs and sit ups Mon/Wed/Fri.  Working squats in would just be too much to think about… and they’re boring  😉
• Net Calorie Goal per Day:  1330 calories

Goals for the next 8 weeks:

• Completely finish the core strength programs (200 sit ups, 100 pushups) weeks 2-7
• At least one (1) cross training session a week (this is hard for me to do in the summers because I’d rather run)
• Bands/resistance training once a week
• Clean eating with just one cheat day a week (I will not be logging food here though, but I will confess my sins in the notes section each week – HA!)
• 20-30 Total running miles each week
• At least 5 hours a week of exercise (this includes running, core strength, resistance, cross training, lawn mowing, and HARD yard work that makes me sore the next day)
• Keep within my net calorie goals (1330 per day) 6 days per week (allowed 1 cheat day a week)

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Week 1 (07/04/2015 – 07/10/2015)

• Week 1 Statistics
  • Workout Days (goal is 6 days)/Time Spent Being Active (goal is 5 hours):  5 Days/4 Hours 31 Minutes
    • Days of Core Strength (200 SU, 100 PU, 200 SQ) (goal is 1 day this week due to just initial testing):  1
  • Miles Run:  20.01 Miles (goal met on Thursday!)
  • Days within Calorie Goals per MFP: 3 days (out of 3 because first 3 days weren’t tracked and I allow a free day)
• Net Calories (1330 goal per day): 
  • Saturday – Not tracked
  • Sunday– Not tracked
  • Monday – Not tracked
  • Tuesday – 1199 (131 under goal and that’s after a slice of ice cream cake!)
  • Wednesday – 1053 (277 under goal)
  • Thursday – 1116 (214 under goal)
  • Friday – Free Day
• Exercise: 
  • Saturday – Ran 5.0 miles in 49:13 minutes (9:48 pace – with Bryson)
  • Sunday– None
  • Monday – None
  • Tuesday – Ran 4.51 miles in 41:00 (9:05 pace – without Bryson)
  • Wednesday – Ran 5.5 miles in 51:48 (9:25 pace with Bryson), 9 minutes testing in with 200SU, 100PU, 200SQ
  • Thursday – Ran 3.01 miles in 27:17 (9:04 pace without Bryson), walked .09 miles in 1:28, ran 2.00 miles in 19:04 (9:31 pace), walked 0.71 miles in 12:48
  • Friday – 60 minutes of mowing and yard work involving brisk walking entire time
• Notes: 
  • Good week in regards to net calories.  Of all the days I was tracking (skipped Sat-Mon because I hadn’t started this plan yet), I was nicely under my goal
  • I have been premenstrual and started spotting on Thursday, so I know that 2-4 pounds is from that so I’m not freaking out.  My body fat should be higher than expected too because of that.  I’m not taking this week’s weight and body fat to heart
  • Speaking of weight and body fat, they fluctuate so much that I’m thinking of not logging them until week 4 – half way through the plan. I am in maintenance mode, and weight loss is not the goal here, so why am I logging it weekly?
  • I am a little disappointed in my initial testing for 200SU, 100PU, 200SQ because the squats and sit ups are starting me at week 5 because I can do so many already.  I know, first world problems, but I wanted to really push it and progress those 6 weeks.  I will stick with it and just keep repeating week 6 over and over again for weeks 3-7 of this plan
  • Exercise has been going strong with 25 miles met a day before the week ends.  It may be hard to hit my 5 hour goal, but once I start the core training, that shouldn’t be hard
  • Great start to the plan!

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Week 2 (07/11/2015 – 07/17/2015)

• Week 2 Statistics
  • Workout Days (goal is 6 days)/Time Spent Being Active (goal is 5 hours):  5 Days/3 Hours 45 Minutes
    • Days of Core Strength (200 SU, 100 PU) (goal is 3 days each so 6 sessions/days):  4
  • Miles Run:  21.16 Miles
  • Days within Calorie Goals per MFP: 4 days (Daily average was 1,283, so 578 total over for the week)
• Net Calories (1330 goal per day):
  • Saturday – 1600+ (free day)
  • Sunday– 1060 (270 under goal)
  • Monday – 1079 (121 under new goal of 1200 a day for the rest of the week)
  • Tuesday – 1125 (75 under goal of 1200)
  • Wednesday – 1541 (341 over 1200 goal, 211 over 1330 goal)
  • Thursday – 1011 (189 under goal of 1200)
  • Friday – 1562 (362 over 1200 goal)
• Exercise: 
  • Saturday – None – rest day
  • Sunday (100 PU) – Ran 5.38 miles in 50:55 (9:27 pace) in 90% humidity.  Did 100 PU Week 3 Day 1 and spent 2 minutes doing true work (88 total pushups):
    • 15
    • 18
    • 15
    • 15
    • 25 (had to do 22+ and max out)
  • Monday (200 SU) – Ran 5.17 miles in 48:00 (9:17 pace) on the treadmill at 2.5% grade.  Did 200 SU Week 5 Day 1 and spent 11 minutes doing true work (300 total sit ups):
    • 58 (was supposed to do 54 but I got confused)
    • 58
    • 45
    • 38
    • 101 (had to do 60+ and max out)
  • Tuesday (100 PU) – Ran 4.56 miles in 41:12 (9:06 pace) outside. Did 100 PU week 3 day 2 in 3 minutes of hard work (106 total pushups)
    • 25
    • 20
    • 15
    • 15
    • 31 (had to do 25+ and max out)
  • Wednesday (200 SU) – Did 200 SU Week 5 Day 2 and spent 13 minutes doing true work in 13 minutes (300 total sit ups):
    • 30
    • 30
    • 36
    • 36
    • 26
    • 26
    • 35
    • 155 (had to do 105+ and max out)
  • Thursday (100 PU) – Ran 6.05 miles in 56:00 (9:15 pace)
  • Friday (200 SU) – None (slacker)
• Notes: 
  • I needed to trim myself down so changed my calorie goals to 1200 for Monday – Friday.  I plan to move it back up to 1330 on Saturday
  • Doing pushups and sit ups on alternating days is working much better than doing them both on Mon, Wed, Fri
  • I find that I dread doing the pushups and sit ups, but they’re really not that hard – just time consuming.  The app on my phone has a timer that forces you to take 60-90 second breaks, so that’s where the time really adds up.  I’m always happy once I’m done with them!
  • 1200 calories a day is TOUGH.  I can’t believe I stuck to that for 7-9 months from June-February.  WOW!
  • I decided to give my legs a break on Wednesday, even though I needed to burn the calories. Always a good choice after many days running in a row
  • We had my Australian friend here for 9 nights and at the end of her trip, I decided that spending time with her was the priority over running on the treadmill.

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Week 3 (07/18/2015 – 07/24/2015)

• Week 3 Statistics
  • Workout Days (goal is 6 days)/Time Spent Being Active (goal is 5 hours):  6 Days/5 Hours 56 Minutes
  • Days of Core Strength (200 SU, 100 PU, 200 SQ) (goal is 3 days each so 6 sessions/days):  2
  • Miles Run:  31.00 Miles
  • Days within Calorie Goals per MFP: 5 days
• Net Calories (1330 goal per day):   
  • Saturday – 1347 (147 over 1200 goal)
  • Sunday– 973 (227 under 1200 goal)
  • Monday – 995 (205 under 1200 goal)
  • Tuesday – 1136 (64 under 1200 goal)
  • Wednesday – 788 (412 under 1200 goal)
  • Thursday – 897 (303 under 1200 goal)
  • Friday – 1800 (600 under 1200 goal – it was date night)
• Exercise: 
  • Saturday (100 PU, 200 SU) – 16 minutes total spent doing both pushups and sit ups
    • Pushups
      • 24
      • 28
      • 20
      • 20
      • 30 (had to do 28+ and max out)
    • Sit ups
      • 31
      • 31
      • 36
      • 36
      • 29
      • 29
      • 40
      • 150 (had to do 75+ and max out)
  • Sunday (100 PU) – Ran 6.1 miles in 57:48 outside (9:28 pace), spent 35 minutes mowing the lawn
  • Monday (200 SU) – Ran 6.22 miles in 60:01 outside (9:38 pace)
  • Tuesday (100 PU) – Ran 5 miles in 47:30 (9:30 pace) at 2.5 grade
  • Wednesday (200 SU) – Ran 6.01 miles in 57:24 (9:32 pace) outside
  • Thursday (100 PU) – Ran 4.67 miles in 46:00 (9:51 pace) outside
  • Friday (200 SU) – Ran 3 miles in 30 minutes and walked at 4.0 mph for 10 minutes
• Notes: 
  • I hurt my wrist badly on Saturday doing pushups and am unable to do pushups or sit ups yet on Monday
  • No pushups or sit ups still on Wednesday
  • Wednesday was a good disaster with a lunch date with Hottie that involved 3 courses of…. cheese. I still came in under goal, but only because I ran my ass off and wasn’t hungry for dinner
  • My legs are tired…. It’s Wed and I’ve logged 23+ miles with 2 days left…
  • I’m really enjoying my late night runs in the neighborhood!
  • Thirty one miles in one week is a lot for me – and my legs feel it.  I’m taking a bit of a break for my legs
  • Friday night was date night, so we ate real food and enjoyed it!

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Week 4 (07/25/2015 – 07/31/2015)   HALF WAY

• Week 4 Statistics
  • Weight:   144.4 Pounds
    • Pounds Lost or Gained:  2 Pound lost
  • Body Fat %:  23.4%
    • Body Fat % Lost or Gained:  0.3% Lost
  • BMI: 22.6
    • BMI change in 4 weeks (starting was 22.9):  0.3
  • Workout Days (goal is 6 days)/Time Spent Being Active (goal is 5 hours):  5 Days/5 Hours 16 Minutes
    • Days of Core Strength (200 SU, 100 PU, 200 SQ) (goal is 3 days):  0
  • Miles Run:  26.37 Miles
  • Days within Calorie Goals per MFP: 6 days based on average of 1140 per day
  • Measurements:
    • Natural Waist: 27.5 inches (28.25 on 07/15)
    • Belly Button: 32 inches (32.0 on 07/15)
    • Hips:  36.0 inches (36.5 on 07/15)
• Net Calories (1330 goal per day):   
  • Saturday – Did not track
  • Sunday– 1511 (311 over goal)
  • Monday – 873 (327 under 1200 goal)
  • Tuesday – 1396 (196 over)
  • Wednesday – 1086 (114 under)
  • Thursday – 1047 (153 under)
  • Friday – 925 (275 under)
• Exercise: 
  • Saturday (Core) – None
  • Sunday (100 PU)– None
  • Monday (200 SU) – Ran 5.02 miles in 52:16 (10:24 pace), walked 1.12 miles in 19 minutes
  • Tuesday (100 PU) – Ran 5.0 miles in 47:30 (9:31 pace) treadmill, walked for 4 minutes
  • Wednesday (200 SU) – Ran 5.1 miles in 49:11 (9:38)
  • Thursday (100 PU) – Ran 6 miles in 59:24 (9:53), Mowed for 33 minutes
  • Friday (200 SU) – Ran 5.25 miles in 51:44
• Notes: 
  • Average calories per day excluding one free day was 1140 which is under goal and I like it!
  • I lost 0.75 inches in my natural waist and 0.5 inches in my hips. I’m happy with that!
  • Very happy with 4 week results. It’s hard to shed weight once you get to a good spot, and I’m in a good spot right now.
  • 2 pounds down and safety in mid-140’s… Very satisfying!

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Week 5 (08/01/2015 – 08/07/2015)

• Week 5 Statistics
  • Workout Days (goal is 6 days)/Time Spent Being Active (goal is 5 hours):  4 Days/5 Hours 27 Minutes
  • Miles Run:  28.37 Miles
  • Days within Calorie Goals per MFP: 5 days
• Net Calories (1330 goal per day):   
  • Saturday – Did not track
  • Sunday– Did not track
  • Monday – 845 (355 under goal)
  • Tuesday – 1038 (162 under goal)
  • Wednesday – 1159 (41 under goal)
  • Thursday – 1170 (30 under goal)
  • Friday – 997 (223 under goal)
• Exercise: 
  • Saturday (Core) – None
  • Sunday (100 PU)– None
  • Monday (200 SU) – 5.51 miles in 54:16 (9:51 pace)
  • Tuesday (100 PU) – 6.61 miles in 1:03:22 (9:35 pace)
  • Wednesday (200 SU) – 6.0 miles in 59:55 (9:59 pace)
  • Thursday (100 PU) – 5.25 miles in 50:34 (9:37), mowed lawn 35:00
  • Friday (200 SU) – 5.0 miles in 49:47 (9:57)
• Notes: 
  • Trying to gear up for a trip away and that’s making food difficult – easier to eat out than make the mess at home

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Week 6 (08/08/2015 – 08/14/2015) – Colorado Week

• Week 6 Statistics
  • Workout Days (goal is 6 days)/Time Spent Being Active (goal is 5 hours):  7 Days/ 8 Hours 45 Minutes
  • Miles Run:  34.73 Miles
  • Days within Calorie Goals per MFP: 7 days
• Net Calories (1330 goal per day):   
  • Saturday – 1013
  • Sunday– 1100
  • Monday – 1100
  • Tuesday – 1100
  • Wednesday – 1100
  • Thursday – 1100
  • Friday – 1082
• Exercise: 
  • Saturday – Ran 5.03 miles in 48:29 (9:37),walked 1.63 miles in 34:00 (20:00)
  • Sunday (100 PU)– Ran 5.16 miles in 55:40
  • Monday (200 SU) – Ran 5.10 miles in 56:47 (11:07)
  • Tuesday (100 PU) – Ran 5 miles in 50:45 (10:09), walked for 10 minutes
  • Wednesday (200 SU) – Hiked 5.06 miles in 1:41
  • Thursday (100 PU) – Hiked 4.37 miles in 1:31:01, hiked 10 minutes
  • Friday (200 SU) – Hiked 3.38 miles in 1:06:50
• Notes: 
  • Lots of miles this week because I had to run with Bryson every morning while on vacation while Hottie and Matthew slept
  • 8.75 hours of activity which included running in the at elevation, hiking in the mountains, and lots of shorter walks here and there
  • We were banished from lots of meals before the mid-way point, so there was no way that I was getting in even 1200 net calories a day – NO WAY
  • My sister commented after 4 days that I was looking gaunt and too thin, not surprising given I was burning so many calories and not eating much at all
  • I lost 2 pounds on this vacation

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Week 7 (08/15/2015 – 08/21/2015)

• Week 7 Statistics
  • Workout Days (goal is 6 days)/Time Spent Being Active (goal is 5 hours):  6 Days/4 Hours 28 Minutes
  • Miles Run:  13.5 Miles
  • Days within Calorie Goals per MFP: 5 days
• Net Calories (1330 goal per day):   
  • Saturday – 1100
  • Sunday– 682
  • Monday – 1943
  • Tuesday – 1271
  • Wednesday – 1208
  • Thursday – 865
  • Friday – 1805
• Exercise: 
  • Saturday (Core) – Walked for 40 minutes
  • Sunday (100 PU)– Mowed the lawn for 35 minutes
  • Monday (200 SU) – None
  • Tuesday (100 PU) – Ran 5.0 miles in 46:30 (9:17)
  • Wednesday (200 SU) – Walked for 60 minutes or more
  • Thursday (100 PU) – Ran 5.01 miles in 43:49 (8:44 – FASTEST EVER!), Walked for 8 minutes
  • Friday (200 SU) – 3.5 miles in 33:00, walking for 10:00
• Notes: 
  • I feel famished and constantly hungry after the week I came off of in Week 6
  • Mileage will be short, I took several days to come off of 12 days in a row of running/hiking between weeks 5 and 6.  I’ll be happy with 20 miles this week!
  • State fair on Wednesday! I ate within reason, given all of the temptations, and still netted under my goal

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Week 8 (08/22/2015 – 08/28/2015)

• Week 8 Statistics
  • Workout Days (goal is 6 days)/Time Spent Being Active (goal is 5 hours):  5 Days/5 Hours 35 Minutes
  • Miles Run:  24.56 Miles
  • Days within Calorie Goals per MFP: 6 days
• Net Calories (1330 goal per day):   
  • Saturday – 1717
  • Sunday– 864
  • Monday – 1226
  • Tuesday – 1318
  • Wednesday – 1195
  • Thursday – 1150
  • Friday – 775
• Exercise: 
  • Saturday – None
  • Sunday – Ran 5.6 miles in 54:39 (9:45), bikes 10.39 miles in 1:04:00
  • Monday – Mowed the lawn (40 minutes) and walked the neighborhood for 16 minutes
  • Tuesday – Ran 5.0 miles in 46:15 (9:13), walked for 14 minutes at 4.0 mph
  • Wednesday – Ran 5.5 miles in 51:08 (9:17)
  • Thursday – Ran 5.1 miles in 50:00 (9:48)
  • Friday – Walked 3.36 miles in 45:00 (13:20)
• Notes: 
  • A really good week so far mid-week, hoping for good stats on Saturday
  • Eating/food is very easy to manage. I do log it all and continue to do so, but there are very few surprises anymore
  • I really think I’m in maintenance mode now, and weight loss cannot be a goal any longer. I think my next challenge will be keeping my weight at or below 145.0 pounds every Wednesday. I have fully recovered from the weekend by each Wednesday and that’s usually my “solid” weight. 145 will be my line in the sand, the line that, if crossed, sends me into “fix it” mode.

   

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Summary (07/04/2015 – 08/28/2015)

• Weight:   142.2 Pounds
  • Pounds Lost or Gained (started at 146.4 pounds):  4.2 Pound lost
• Body Fat %:  22.7%
  • Body Fat % Lost or Gained (started at 23.7%):  1.0% Lost
• BMI: 22.3
  • BMI Points Lost or Gained (started at 22.9):  0.6
• Workout Days (goal is 48 days)/Time Spent Being Active (goal is 40 hours):  44 Days/44 Hours 35 Minutes
• Miles Run (goal is 160-240 total miles):  199.70 Miles
• Days within Calorie Goals per MFP (goal is  45 days with an average of 1330 or less per day): 45 days
  • 49,983 Total Calories in 45 days (average was 1110.73 calories per day
• Measurements:
  • Natural Waist: 27.5 inches (28.25 inches on 07/07/15)
    • Loss of 0.75 inches
  • Belly Button: 31.75 inches (32 inches on 07/07/15)
    • Loss of 0.25 inches
  • Hips:  35.75 inches ( 36.5 inches on 07/07/15)
    • Loss of 0.75 inches

 

Past Fitness Logs

• First 10 Weeks (06/14/2014-08/23/2014)
• Fitness Stat-urdays – Second 10 Weeks (08/30/2014-11/22/2014)
• Happy Healthy Holidays (11/26/2014-12/31/2014)
• First 10 Weeks of 2015 (01/01/2015-?)
• Marathons for Sammy (06/06/2015 – 07/03/2015)