So Many Books, So Little Time

#FitReaders is hosted by The Geeky Blogger and That's What I'm Talking About. Hey y'all.  I have had a really good two weeks when it comes to my fitness goals.  Last week I finished Couch 2 5K which was great!  The last run was 30 minutes straight and it was hard but I did it.  It was worth it to do the program again because I feel so much better about running.  I'm glad to be done with it because I like to be able to structure my runs around how I am feeling so I have more flexibility now that I'm done with the program.    Last week I also started the week 2 workout on my Ripped in 30 DVD.  It is super hard but after two weeks I'm starting to feel better about it.  I love that it has really good ab workouts included; week 1's ab workouts weren't very good.  I don't love all the plank exercises.  This week's workout has a ton of plank workouts and my arms feel like jell-o afterwards and I kind of want to cuss out Jilli...

#FitReaders is hosted by Jen at That's What I'm Talking About and Felicia at Geeky Blogger's Book Blog . Hey y'all!  The last two weeks have been excellent with regard to exercise.  I have worked out five days per week for the past two weeks.  I am still doing Couch 2 5K which is three runs per week and I just finished week 7.  Week 7 is the second to last week and it is hard.  All of the runs are 25 minutes long with zero breaks; in a past life (pre-Julia), that would have been no big deal but it feels like a huge feat for me now.  I'm pretty happy that I was able to run the whole time.  I'll start week 8 tomorrow and I know the runs are even longer so I'm hoping that will go okay.   The other two days per week I am doing the Jillian Michaels Ripped in 30 DVD.  I'm still on the week 1 work out but I plan to start week 2 next week.  Because I only do these workouts two days per week, I like to make sure I'm comfortable...

#FitReaders is hosted by That's What I'm Talking About and the Geeky Blogger's Book Blog . Ugh!  This has been a bad week for me when it comes to exercise.  I am doing a check in for the last weeks; last week was great, this week not so much.  Last week, I got in 5 workouts- 3 runs (about 30 minutes each) and 2 sessions of 'Ripped in 30'.  This week my daughter started having sleep issues and we're trying to get ready for company so I only got in 3 30 minute runs.  I did finish week 5 of Couch 2 5K and the last run was HARD but I am proud of myself for doing it.  I had to run for 20 minutes straight; this used to be nothing for me but since I'm pretty much out of shape, it was super rough. I'm hoping to get back on track next week with at least 5 workouts (preferably 6) per week and get back to using My Fitness Pal to track what I'm eating.  My clothes are getting tight so I really need to get on top of monitoring my food intake. ...

I haven't done one of these in a long time but I am linking up with #FitReaders today.  It's hosted by the Geeky Blogger Book Blog and That's What I'm Talking About. I've been working really hard to get back in the groove of doing serious exercise.  For most of the year, I have just exercised by walking; there's nothing wrong with that but my body needs more strenuous exercise in order to lose weight.  I also really need to build some muscle back up because my body just feels awful lately (I feel like an old lady!).  I started doing Couch 2 5K again; this is my third time doing it and I love how it helps my body get used to running again.  I just finished week 3 yesterday so I'm really excited about that. For the past two weeks, I have exercised 5 days.  Three days a week I have been doing the C25K runs and then the other two days, I have been doing Jillian Michael's "Ripped in 30" DVD.  I really love that workout.  It's har...

Blech! I'm so glad that January is over.  The whole month always feels like a giant holiday hangover and it just felt especially crappy this year.  I didn't even touch the blog because I was so burned out on everything. In this post, I'm going to combine my #ReadMyOwnDamnBooks and #FitReaders wrap up since I've been pretty bad about updating.  In January, I read 5 books toward my goal of 52 for the year so according to goodreads I'm right on track. It felt really slow to me because usually I read so much more in any given month.  I had a hard time focusing on books plus I'm taking a class this semester so even though I'm reading whole books, I am reading a lot of articles and book excerpts. Out of the 5 books I read this month, only 2 were books I own and 1 was a re-read so I didn't do that great with reading my own books.  I am currently reading a ebook I own (a move in the right direction!) but after I'm done with it, I really need...

#FitReaders is hosted by The Geeky Blogger and That's What I'm Talking About . I really should stop calling these 'weekly check ins' because I haven't posted one in over a month.  August was a rough month for my diet.  I started off the month having 8 lbs and was hopeful I could lose the last 4.  Well, that hasn't happened.  I have consistently exercised 5 days a week (except one week where I only exercised 4 days) but my diet has been a mess.  I am about 50/50 when it comes to staying within the calories that MyFitnessPal allows.  I haven't weighed myself (too scared) but I'm guessing that I have gained some weight back. For September, I'm hoping to keep up the exercise 5 days a week AND do a better job of sticking to my eating plan.  I've started a new Jillian Michaels DVD (Ripped in 30) and I like it so much more than the 30 Day Shred so that's helping my motivation.  I plan to weigh myself every week because it keeps me acco...

#FitReaders is hosted by The Geeky Blogger and That's What I'm Talking About. Hey everyone!  Tonight I'm feeling pretty good about my fitness goals because I actually lost weight (only a pound but still).  I've been at the same weight for the month of July so it was nice to see the numbers go down.  Last week was so bad with regards to eating.  There were a ton of work luncheons and family obligations and I think I ate out at least once a day (if not twice) almost every day.  Needless to say, I was not surprised that my weight didn't go down.  I've lost approximately 8 lbs and am hoping to keep on losing; my goal is 4 more pounds by the middle of September. I have stuck with working out five days a week which I'm super proud of.  Both last week and this  I ran for 40 minutes three times a week and did Level 3 of the 30 Day Shred twice per week.  I HATE Level 3!  It's hard but not in a good way; the moves are incredibl...

#FitReaders is hosted by The Geeky Blogger and That's What I'm Talking About . Hey y'all!  This is my first #FitReaders checkin in months but I'm glad to be back!  I had a really good week.  I jogged on the treadmill 3 days for 40 minutes and then did the 30 Day Shred Level 2 on the other 2 days.  I've actually done really well at consistently working out five days a week for the past two months or so. My eating this week was spot on.  Even when we had pizza at work yesterday, I still managed to stay within my allotted MyFitnessPal calories.  I had a terrible week last week so I'm really trying to get back on track.  I know next week will be tough (there are a lot of food related events next week) but I will do the best I can. I got on the scale this morning and while I was sad that I hadn't lost any weight, I didn't gain either which is good considering how many bad eating days I had last week.  I'm still at 7 pounds lost but I r...

#FitReaders is hosted by The Geeky Blogger and That's What I'm Talking About . I participated in #FitReaders early this year but then my daughter stopped sleeping and my whole life revolved around that.  I stopped exercising because I had no time to and I stress-ate my way through several months.  I was already heavier than I wanted to be but I added a few more pounds and began to feel like a stuffed sausage in my clothes. In May, my husband changed shifts at work and is now home in the evenings and I decided it was time to get back on track.  In June, I started using My Fitness Pal to track my calories and I started exercising five days a week.  I started Couch 2 5K again because it's a great way to motivate me back into running.  This is the last week of Couch 2 5K and then next week I'll start the 10K program. With all of these changes, I have lost 6 lbs!  I am hoping to lose 4-6 more pounds by the end of the summer.  I'm trying to...

#FitReaders is hosted by The Geeky Blogger's Book Blog and That's What I'm Talking About . The past two weeks have not been the best for me with regard to exercise.  Work has been the epitome of stressful and I have had to work from home in the evenings.  This has cut into some of my workout time.  Also, Julia has been sick for much of the week so that hasn't been helping. Last week I only exercised once-30 minutes on the treadmill.  I'm kind of disappointed in myself because it probably would have helped my stress levels if I had done more.  This week I ran on the treadmill for 30 minutes on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.  I'm hoping next week to get back up to at least four workouts throughout the week. One thing I am proud of is that I gave up sweets for Lent.  I have not had any sweets for a week and a half.  Even though it's hard, I actually feel so much better.  Some of the stomach issues I was having are not really an i...

#FitReaders is hosted by The Geeky Blogger's Book Blog and That's What I'm Talking About . I'm a little late posting this week but I thought I would put something up since I missed last week.  It has been a rough week but I still managed to get in four workouts last week and four workouts this week.  I've been doing the 30 Day Shred two days a week and running on the treadmill for 30 minutes two days a week.  I actually am enjoying working out and hope to add an extra day soon.  I borrowed a Jillian Michaels DVD from the library and will be trying that out next week.  It's a little longer than the 30 Day Shred but the same concept. I plan to work out at least 4 days next week and have a food related goal that I'm working on but am not ready to post about (I keep failing at my food goals so I don't want to put it out there yet).  This week I finished three books:  Make You Mine by Macy Beckett, The Witch Hunter's Tale by Sam Thomas a...

#FitReaders is hosted by Geeky Bloggers Book Blog and That's What I'm Talking About . I didn't check in last week because I had a bad week so I decided I should probably try to post this week.  I only was able to work out three days last week and I worked out four days this week.  Of those 7 workouts, 4 were Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred and 3 were running on the treadmill for 30 minutes.  Exercise-wise, I didn't do too bad, however my eating has been awful. Work has been super stressful and my daughter has been struggling with sleep so I'm just eating my feelings over here.   My first small goal was to lose three pounds by my birthday (today).  I didn't get on the scale today but I'm pretty sure by the way my clothes fit that I did not hit that goal.  I'm sad but not too sad.  This month, I have made it a priority to exercise regularly so that's a great start.  I'm hoping to get back to watching what I eat over the next few week...

  #FitReaders is hosted by Geeky Bloggers Book Blog and That's What I'm Talking About . This was a crazy week!  My daughter was sick and the hubs started working 2nd shift (3pm to 11pm) again and it totally changed up our routine so I was definitely off my game.  I did okay at eating healthy (no vending machine) but we had a couple of work breakfasts and lunches this week so that completely messed up my eating on those days. I did meet my goal of exercising 4 days this week.  I did two days of Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred and two days of running on the treadmill.  It actually felt good to get those workouts in since I was pretty stressed.  I really like the 30 Day Shred but it is only a 20 minute workout so I'm looking for a slightly longer workout DVD to try. I'm shooting for completing 4 workouts again this week; if I can get in 5 that's great but I'm not going to feel terrible if I don't.  I also want to continue to make good cho...

#FitReaders is hosted by Geeky Bloggers Book Blog and That's What I'm Talking About . This year I'm participating in #FitReaders.  It's a great way to work on my health and fitness goals and have a way to stay accountable.  I don't know if I will post a check-in every week but I will try to post updates on my progress regularly. I really want to lose 10 pounds over the next couple of months.  I'm not making any huge drastic changes right now so I know it will be slow.  My first mini-goal is to lose 3 pounds by my birthday on January 30. I want to get back into a regular exercise routine (5-6 days a week) and hopefully run a half-marathon again this Fall.  I also want to start eating better: better quality food, more fruits and vegetables and less sweets.   This week I ran on the treadmill for 30-35 minutes on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.  I really wanted to get in another workout but with it being the first week back to work aft...