The Final Stretch

HEY! I'm back!

Starting with a BIG thanks to Beth for my shirt! I won that sweet shirt from Beth for tracking my exercise and diet! WOO! I love it. 

SO, here's where I am with life. I'm still in law school and struggling through my FINAL semester. Go figure, this is the absolute worst semester I've had in three years. It is BRUTAL. I'm relying on exercise more than ever to keep me sane. Add in the fact that we are moving in a little over two months (and I still don't have a JOB) and my brain goes completely haywire.

I've been pretty consistent - 4-5 days a week, which isn't bad. I've found myself getting bored with my workouts, so I've been trying to mix it up, but more on that in a minute.

I went to the doctor last week for a check-up and had to jump on the scale. I had a minor panic because the number is a bit higher than what I'm used to. REALITY CHECK! I jumped on my scale when I got home and again the following day, and I think I was having an off day, but even so, it was a scale punch in the face. 

My exercise has been solid, but my eating habits have slipped. I've found myself turning to food during this stressful period (read: gluten free pasta, cheese, frozen yogurt) and that's not great. I will be refining my food habits over the next few weeks, so I'll let you know how that goes.

In the meantime, I've returned to Jillian Michaels Body Revolution for her strength videos. I LOVE this program - it's worth the money.

I started with weeks 5/6 and have been going to the next level every 2 weeks (or after 4 times with each video). I'm now on 9/10 and I'm feeling good! Her strength videos are a HUGE challenge, but I love them. I never loved the cardio videos, so I've been mixing it up with my cardio.

For cardio, I have been using a Chris Freytag tabata dvd that I mentioned in a previous post. I also rediscovered my TurboFire dvds. 

I like Chalene Johnson and I like the TurboFire program, but I never made it all the way through for a couple reasons. It's all plyometric (jump) training, which means (1) it's pretty much all cardio, which is NOT what you want for weight loss - you need some strength; and (2) plyometric hurts my shins after awhile. BUT, every so often? This is a great way to mix it up. She has a 30 minute HIIT workout (high intensity interval training) that I LOVE. 

Some mornings, I'll just go for a run. It's one of the few things that really clears my mind. I love my Running for Weight Loss app. It has intervals for jogging, walking, and sprinting. It is really awesome.

And that's it! I'm working hard, trying to stay motivated, and most of all, trying to stay positive. I'm in a little rut right now with how I feel about my body, but it's SO important to give yourself credit. I'm working my ass off, and while I may not have the exact results I want, I should still feel proud (and I do!). Give yourself credit. It doesn't do you any good to be down on yourself.

SMILE! Be happy and healthy! I will talk to you all soon!

From Beth:

Just to add to what Madeline is saying above, in a time of life change and turmoil, just moving your body is a win.  Be volcano eruption level proud of yourself for that.  Madeline exercises for health and mental health, although often put in it's own category, is just as key to optimal living as low blood pressure and other health markers.

Thanks for sharing this Madeline!  Good luck in these next few months!

Also check out her foodie blog!