A: NO-GYM WORKOUT: Love your body! (First week update)

I thought writing what I plan to do for the first week of this workout month is difficult, I would have never guessed that giving an update on the “progress” of my workout is a lot tougher to do. But here it goes.

So for those who just started reading entries from our blog site, last week, I started my NO-GYM WORKOUT for the 2-month lose weight challenge we gave ourselves. You can refer to this link (YOUR NO-GYM WORKOUT) for the entry. And so today, as planned, I will share how both difficult and easy my first week of “fitness and health” was. There is not much update to give as it has only been a week, but here are the ups and downs of the past week:

 

MONDAY (8 April 2013)

I want to start with the most-loved day of the week on my update, because it was this day when my back hurt so much that I could not laugh nor sneeze without complaining about the pain. And it was because of this day that my entire week was compromised. And since the days following Monday have already been compromised, this week of workout got easier to summarize.

MORNING JOG

While I was writing my previous entry, there was a part of me that doubted whether or not I could really stick to what I was planning to do. I got to be honest; I am not one that really is too disciplined to always strictly follow a plan. I always find alternatives, easier way of doing things, and sadly, reasons why I can just do it “tomorrow”. Ah tomorrow!

I do not know how many times I hit the snooze button of my alarm and just how long I stared at my phone thinking whether or not I should jog. During this entire week, I only did my morning jog twice. I didn’t have to drag myself off my bed on those two days, but there was some hesitation because I know I should just be resting.

Following what I said I would do for my morning jog; I woke up early, stretched, jogged, brisk walked home, and then prepared for work.

6AM jog: ×

DIET

I will keep this past short and simple. I did not strictly follow my diet plan, but I did make sure that I still had lower carb and calorie intake, higher protein, and more fruits and vegetables. It would be nicer if I have a food journal to present, but I don’t. I promise to have one on my next entry.

Healthy food: ✓

EVENING WALK

You know those days when you don’t need a cab ride to work and you see tons of available cabs drive past you, and then those days when you need to take a cab and you cannot find a single one that is available? That is how most of my evenings last week were. Before we started with this workout month, I always just went home straight from work. There weren’t many places I needed to go to, and so I thought walking home would be a good thing to include in my workout routine. But odd enough, last week, I always had to be somewhere; hence, I only got to walk home once. And that was it.

7PM walk: ×

Now, if you think this blog entry will just be all “bad” news, then you are not-so right.

SOME GOOD NEWS

Because I made sure I ate healthier food, I learned that if I just set my mind to what I need and can eat, I can really survive with just fruits, and egg, meat, and a little bit of rice, and yes, no ice cream.

Unlike before, for the entire week last week, I ate breakfast. And it may not be as heavy of a breakfast as what is on the food plan, the breakfast meals I had were good enough to make me feel full and energized, and to endure me until lunch time. What I am really happy about  is that, I didn’t crave for rice for lunch and I didn’t feel so hungry that I took time to eat my meal, took slow bites, and just enjoyed my meal.

My mind and back were not the only enemies I had when I tried to do my workout last week, nature also participated. There were times last week when it suddenly drizzled just when I was ready to go out and jog (people in Singapore would know how unpredictable the weather here is). So what alternative I found for that? YOUTUBE VIDEOS!

Thanks a lot to DENISE AUSTIN of BeFit, I got to stretch, shake, kick, and work my body in the comforts of my room. I think I sweat more while following her on her fat-burning workout than when I was jogging out, and that was with the AC and fan in my room switched on!

Back condition:

I have mentioned my back and back condition earlier and here is a more detailed explanation why I kept on using it as an excuse:

Monday last week, my back hurt so bad I had to go see a doctor. The doctor I first saw said that it’s muscle sore, but after one day of rest, and taking in all the medications he prescribed to me, the pain still did not subside, and did not lessen a bit. So I sought the advice of a different doctor, and this second doctor told me my back condition; SPONDYLOSIS. I don’t know if there are types of this back/spine condition, but I had to be injected with a fluid at my back/spine to help lessen the pain and I guess to “grease” the joints/bones/spine (see how many slashes I have to use for something I really cannot explain? Sorry) so that it will not hurt anymore when I move. That injection did help. He also scheduled me to have a lumbar x-ray done and advised that while we wait for the results of the x-ray, I CANNOT do any form of exercise aside from the ones done in water.

Yes, he said, I cannot jog, brisk walk, do aerobics, or anything that will make me carry my own weight. If I need to exercise, then swimming will be it. And since I really wanted to go on with my no-gym workout plan, and I really also wanted to see some results, I still tried to exercise for a number of days last week, but yes, I did not stress my back too much.

So I guess what I want to say is, while I wait for a clear explanation about my back (the second doctor I visited said that the condition has been there for years now, and whatever activity I did last weekend may have just triggered for my back to hurt), then I will not try to force myself into doing any strenuous activities yet. I will, however, make sure I still eat healthy!!!

FYI: I am still on 56kg. 

Stay sexy! – A!