Great iPhone apps to help with C25K and diet tracking

SparkPeople is a good application for tracking diet and exercise


C25K application is helpful while running/walking (it tells you when to run and when to walk as you go).  This one has a picture of a runner with a green background.  I tried another that was not as user friendly.  This one allows you to change songs through the app itself.

C25K Week 1 Workout 2

Today started out rough for me.  I felt like my legs were super heavy for the first half of the workout.  I figured I'd be dragging on the second half of the route (my iphone app tells me when it's the halfway point) but I had to add to my route at the end because I was going faster.  I did my crunches and now it's off to the shower...

C25K Week 1 Workout 1

I just did my first workout on the C25K plan and it went very well. It was freezing cold (okay 40 degrees) so my ears are hurting a little. I downloaded an iPhone application for it in order to not have to keep checking to see when I needed to run or walk. It was cool how it dings and tells you to warmup, run, walk, and cool down. It also allows me to play my music directly through the application.

I came home, stretched, and did my crunches in an attempt to get my tummy back to it's flatter state before my pregnancy with Kailee.

I saw most of my neighborhood today throughout the workout. I'm glad we live in a huge residential area with many subdivisions so I can go different routes and not get bored.

I plan to take tomorrow off and then do week 1 workout 2 on Wednesday.

I downloaded an iphone application to track my calories and exercise.  I plan to update at least the days I workout (Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays).


Today, I consumed 1590 calories and burned 302 calories.  Not bad!

When I began this fitness journey, I was 5'6, 166.6 pounds with a 3.5 year old and a 5 month old. Now I am (still 5'6) 140 pounds with an almost-6-year-old and a 2-and-a-half-year-old. This has been my place to document my weightloss and fitness and now is mostly dedicated to my maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Being fit is a commitment that I choose to make each day. I hope to inspire others to be healthy.

I have tried various ways to get fit since I began this blog. First I did the Couch-to-5K program but learned quickly that my joints were not amenable to my plans. Around week 4, I started a run/walk and discovered I could hardly walk faster than a normal walking pace. I was devastated and thought all hope was lost.

For Valentine's Day in 2010, my wonderful husband got me an elliptical trainer. I worked out with it sporadically until April and then consistently throughout April. The scale did not budge that month and at the end of the month, someone on babycenter.com introduced me to Jillian Michaels' workouts.

It all began with the 30 Day Shred (Which I did do exactly 30 workouts with the DVD). In the 30 workouts, I only lost 5 pounds but I could see results. I took before and after pictures and was shocked by how much my body changed just by incorporating some weights into the routine. I was not able to do some of her cardio exercises so I would jump on the elliptical during the ones I could not do (like jumping jacks--which KILLED my joints).

I then moved on to No More Trouble Zones and JillianMichaels.com. Both helped me finish losing the baby weight and I have stayed between 141-146 pounds since August.

I had a goal in 2010 to workout 100 times. I could have done it but got burnt out after I reached my goal and only worked out sporadically from August-January.

In 2011, I almost didn't reach my goal of 100 workouts but I managed to get the last 30 workouts in during November and December.


Now it's 2012 and naturally, I have a goal.  This year it's 200 workouts and significantly improved flexibility. Stay tuned to see if I accomplish my goals.

Couch-to-5K running plan

I might have to try this out:

Cool Running :: The Couch-to-5K Running Plan

It seems like a practical, easy, realistic way to get on track!

My first workout postpartum

So yesterday I had a HUGE pity party about the fact that I still fit in the same clothes I wore when I went back to work after having Kailee. I knew the only way I'd feel better would be if I did something about it, so I did! Brady cancelled our gym membership so the only option was to get outside.

Thankfully it was a warm last night... I downloaded a pedometer for my iphone, grabbed the pepper spray and took off. I only ran .72 mile but that's not bad for having not worked out in over a year. I came home, stretched, did crunches and ate a snack. My bloodsugars got a little out of wack during the night but exercising will help me control my type 1 diabetes better once I work out the kinks.

Here are my goals:

By the end of January--be able to run a mile comfortably in 10 minutes

By the end of February--be able to run 2 miles comfortably in 20 minutes

By the end of March--be able to run 3 miles comfortably in 30 minutes

By the end of April--be able to run 4 miles comfortably in 40 minutes

Summer hits early in Texas so I may go back to running 3 miles May-September but we'll see. I ran cross country in high school and hated running more than 3 miles in the summer (though the training plan got us up to 5 miles--for short distance runners--by August 1st). I don't want to hate running so I'm going to be realistic with my goals and try to make this fun.

I'm not going to put pressure on myself to run daily as that will make it not fun and not something I will stick to. I have secretly wanted to get back into running since college but most people weren't supportive. I also was a perfectionist and would give up when it was hard (I expected myself to jump into running 2-3 miles immediately when out of shape and would beat myself up when I couldn't). Last night my goal was to run to the end of our subdivision (.36 miles) and I managed to run there and home. I'm patting myself on the back for that.