The 90 Day Challenge ~ Fighting the Pounds Off!

[Izu]

Day 25

Uh, been up and down all day long. I took Wed-Fri off work (fake sick days - yey![sometimes I love our laws and regulations over here]) so today was spent with getting my car fixed. I was quite sure that I will not get much time for myself today, so after I left my car at the shop I walked home, and when I went to pick it up - I walked there. All together roughly about 10km of walking. I got home hardly 15 minutes ago, but I'm beat with all the stress around the car. I didn't workout as I had foreseen, but that walk is better than nothing. Tomorrow I'm hoping for a double workout and sleeping in and resting. If I don't manage to live through a double workout I will do it on Friday.

Food is getting much easier to pick and match to make sure that I've got all I need calories and nutrition value wise. The myfitnesspall app helps so much. It's become an inseparable part of my daily routine. I recommend it or simply creating an account on their website to anyone who is trying to lose weight.

P.S.
Today I measured myself - I was 500 grams down from my last measurement even if tomorrow is my day to measure. :P

[Caeli]

Since you mentioned that your family has a history of joint/knee problems in your family, I probably don't need to caution this, but be careful with knee pain.  I couldn't tell from your description whether your whole body was in a post-exercise ache and the knee just stood out, or if it was isolated pain, but I am always incredibly wary when something in my body feels off because exercise is not meant to be painful.

I think getting a knee sleeve can be a good idea (though I personally couldn't deal with it - it just got in my way).  It is more important that if you're outpacing what your knee can handle, that you focus on strengthening all of the muscles in your leg, which support the knee.  This is the kind of thing that only a personal trainer can really do for you, though, unless you also happen to know enough about human anatomy to work on it on your own.

If it's possible, I'd try easing up on the exercises that are harder on the knees for a few days to see how it feels during the exercise(s) or throughout the day.  Please see a doctor and have it checked out if you think it might be something serious or if it gets worse. *hugs* It is a much greater setback to get injured, than easing back on the exercises to avoid injury.

[Izu]

*hugs and nods* Thank you, hon. I am cautious, trust me. Today I actually bought knee sleeves, so I will try them out tomorrow. But I think it's more of a full legs post exercise ache with having the knee standing out. I've also got myself some balm to rub in to cool/help ease any possible inner inflammations. And I've already googled and gathered a full set of exercises to strengthen the knees. And I plan on doing them daily, replacing the ones that get me hurting during my other workout.

I will get it checked if it keeps bothering me. Otherwise with my minor hypochondriac-ish tendencies I will run myself completely crazy xD 

[Caeli]

*more hugs* I'm really happy to see that you're taking care of yourself, and that you're feeling so great about exercising, and that you're enjoying these work outs!  That is just so fabulous and it's exciting to watch this transformation happening, day by day. :-)

[Izu]

*blushes and grins and nods* Thank you <3 I love seeing the transformation as well. I mean... I do notice changes in my body that make me happy, but right now it's not about it at all. Seriously. At all. I keep doing it not to lose weight, but to keep on feeling the way I've been feeling the past one month - energized, content, just... I dunno... overall great. It does feel great knowing that you are doing something good for yourself. I just feel like I'm achieving a balance within myself with myself... And it's... I dunno... I really can't put it to words. But it's all good.

[Oreo]

How good it feels to be high on life!! That's why I loved and miss backpacking. It made me feel powerful and exhilarated.

[Izu]

Yes, indeed! ^___^

Day 26

So, I'm leading an inner battle with myself. Should I workout today or not? I do feel some light ache in the knee area, but not sure whether it's really there or me concentrating too much on this thought is making me think I feel it. O_< I want to workout, but I'm afraid to workout. And I do feel a bit guilty about not working out yesterday and today :/ But again.. I keep on thinking that if I do have some minor inflammation as it feels like one I might ending up getting a much more major injury. And I don't want that... And most of my workouts consist of all sorts of lunges, jumps, crouches and so on and so on - everything involving the legs and mainly the knees. Uh... I don't know what I should do. I might not workout today either... I will see about tomorrow, hopefully by then I will be feeling better. :(

But on Saturday I will be starting my Phase 2 of the program no matter what!

[Oreo]

Could you do some upper body workouts to keep up the cardio part? Sit ups, pull ups?

[Avis habilis]

Bookmarked for future cheering on.

Also - have you ever done any shadowboxing? That would be an all upper-body activity that would burn some calories without stressing your bum knee.

[Izu]

Yeah, I guess I can do some exercises like these. Along with the ones I found about strengthening the knees. Right now, after reading some on the matter,  I think that a bit of rest might come well. On the other side... mh... the guilt trip -___-'

Avis, mh... not really. But it's an interesting idea. Still I don't think that it's all upper-body. Legs are a major part of boxing moves even if it's shadowboxing... I think...

[Avis habilis]

True, you're usually moving around while you do it. But if you wanted to protect your knees you could practice staying up on the balls of your feet in one place the whole time & not worry about the slipping & stepping. Unless that would stress them too - I don't know how sensitive yours are just now.

[Izu]

Not much really. It's not a sharp pain, or a constant one. Sometimes I feel a dull ache in my right knee and that's it. The left one is alright. I think a bit of rest would be best. At least from all I've read so far. I did some resistance band exercises that I found for strengthening the knee, showered and applied that anti-joint-inflammation balsam that I bought yesterday. Right now it feels alright.

I will see how it goes, but if it hurts too much, I will rest for the rest of the week, only go out to bike as biking seems good for strengthening those knee muscles. And next week I will repeat this last week of this phase and only then move onto the second phase. Hopefully this will be only a temporary problem. But if it continues next week I will find and see a specialist.

Either way, I will not let this demotivate me or as always get me discouraged and give up on all of this. I will not give up. I will not stop.

[Beguile's Mistress]

When you do go back to working out wear your sleeve during the exercising then remove it.  My ortho doctor told me that is the best way to support the joint during activity but help it gain strength the rest of the time.

[Izu]

*smiles, nods and hugs* That was my intention. I might have not been an active person the past... 13+ years, but in my younger teenage years I was a volleyball player (my team was 6th in the country :P ), so I do know a bit about injuries and rehab :P *hugs* And I do read a lot as I get all panicky as I am right now XD

[Beguile's Mistress]

Great!  I wasn't sure if you knew about that but since you played volley ball and it's a sports-related technique as well you've got the plan. ;D  I've been reading along and cheering for you from my corner. 

*\;D/*

[Izu]

*blushes and hugs* Thank you <3 It means a lot <3

[Oreo]

Me too! ;D You inspired me to do a few things even though they wear me out really quick. I have to be careful or I'll set off a dizzy spell, but I have been jogging on my trampoline for a few minutes a day. This thread is so inspiring and makes me so happy to read and follow.

[Izu]

*blushes even more* Oh... wow... thank you guys ;u; You sticking around and supporting me is giving me strength. <3 *hugs*

[Izu]

Day 27 - Measurements!

Alright, so today I woke up early as I had to drive my car for yet another fix - something that they forgot to do on Wednesday -__- (yey for 50% of my salary gone within the first 3 days of the month -___-). And after I left it in the shop I walked home  - 5km. And when I got home I worked out. Slowly. I did my workout 4 video, but whenever I felt the tiniest bit of discomfort during any of the hardcore knee-involved exercises I would stop and instead I would do some of the strengthening exercises that I found. (I keep on referring to them but there is the link to see those exercises - they are easy, and explained well in this mini article, and from what I've read over the past few days they seem to be the best for this kind of pain and problem. :)
So, yeah. I survived my workout - the knee sleeve also helped, and the balsam that I bought the other day is simply magical. After the shower I applied it and immediately my knee felt simply perfect. Herbal stuff are really good as it turns out :3

So, now to the measurements. This week I've done "more poorly" compared to the previous few weeks - from everywhere I've lost roughly 0.5cm, only from my legs/hips I've lost a full 1.5cm and from above my knee 1cm. Weight-wise only 0.5 kgs (I guess it's the week of the halves xD). But this is rounding up my total loss so far to about 2.5kgs or 5.5pounds, and measurement wise - from around 4cm (legs mainly) to up to 7cm (butt xD). This week I'm quite happy, considering that I've hardly worked out. Still going down, which is the important part. :)

As for what I've decided to do about my workouts - I will repeat my last week of phase 1 of the Body Revolution program. And I will keep up today's pattern - if I feel any discomfort - stop right away - do strengthening exercises. But my knee is feeling better right now. I think if I keep things a bit on the lower impact for the next week, treat it well with my sleeve, balms and massages (my muscles are really tight in my legs >.> which might be the reason why my knee is hurting), I think that by the next weekend I will be done to fully engage myself with the beginning of phase 2.

P.S. Today I had a lighter breakfast, due to being in a hurry, so I had some 150 calories to waste tonight. And as I didn't want to get a heavy dinner I went for a little bit of dark chocolate. ^/////^ 20 grams of pure delight.

[Izu]

Day 28 - Back on track

So today is turning out to be quite busy. I woke up early to go change my winter tires with my summer ones, then when I got home, my brother and I decided to go to the capital (we're normally living there, but on most weekends we are at my grandma's at a city 15ish miles away from the capital), to hit a few stores and then go see the new Captain America movie. The program as we planned it is quite tight, but I'm happy to say that I found that 1 hour I need to do my workout and shower :3

Today I restarted the last week of phase 1. But before I started the workout I spent 5 additional minutes on stretching out my leg muscles. And who would have guessed - my right one is sooooo tense it's ridiculous. o.o No surprise that my knee was bothering me so much. After the stretch I had absolutely not problems during the workout. None. I did finish up with the additional leg stretching exercises that I found, prior to which I did my strengthening ones with the elastic band. And I'm feeling great. :) I think this is going to be the way to success and no injuries - additional stretches :3

:)

[Oreo]

Oh my, I had forgotten all about that. It's always good to stretch before and after intense exercise. Congrats on getting back on course. *cheers from the sidelines*

[Izu]

Oh, well, the program does have stretching, though in the beginning of each workout they are what is called 'dynamic stretching'. And obviously this is not enough for me. So I will be doing my additional ones in hopes that it will help me with my knees.

[Kurzyk]

You're doing a great job Izu! And I bet your body is happy and thankful for what you're doing.  :-)

Be careful with the knees. Definitely listen to your body... if it keeps bothering you, take it easy on that aspect of the workout and mix it up with something else.

[Izu]

Thank you, Kurzyk! :) I'm being extremely extra careful. So far my knees are feeling better and from my extra stretching I am assuming that it all has to do with over-tense muscles - just the difference between right and left leg while stretching out is enormous - right leg feels like all muscles are about to burst, left leg is all loosen up and light. So,  I guess I've overworked my right leg, which by the way is also the one that got badly injured when I was a kid and with bad doctor's decision I had to wear a cast for 2 months instead of 2 weeks if I had been treated better. So... yeah... a bit of extra attention going to my legs now :)

Day 29

So, as I've been saying I did my workout as planned - some extra stretching, and then as the weather outside is bad - raining, windy, just not pleasant to go out and ride a bike, instead I dug out my old stationary bike out of tons of clothes (it has been a faithful hang for a over 7 years now), and rode it instead for a solid 45 minutes. And after that I did my workout 4 video. My knees felt quite well after being warmed up so well, so I did just about all of the exercises, but one, which is just crazy - lunge-like, then drop on one knee, then on both knee, then opposite leg goes out and pushes you back up to a lunge-like position and then you step back. Instead I did my strengthening exercises. I'm also discovering that I might have not been doing some of the exercises properly, which might have led to the stress of the muscles and the joints - there are a lot of plyo jumps incorporated in those workouts, and I've been doing some of them with straight legs. I tried one - it killed my knee, then I tried doing more of a bounce movement - where I'd start off the jump with a slightly bent knee and when landing I'd immediately sink lower to a bent knee instead of landing on a straight leg - and, oh miracle! - no pain.  I have a feeling that in the next few days and weeks I will be doing a lot of other findings like this. And I have to admit - I do enjoy learning all of this. Little 'a-ha!' moments when the light bulb in my head goes on. :) It's amazing finding out more about your self, your body and the strength that you've got, that you have never even thought you had in the first place.

[Izu]

Day 30 - The things that have changed in the first 1/3rd

Wow. I can't believe that I'm already 1/3rd through the Body Revolution program. I've never believed that I'd stick to working out 6 days a week, pushing through stress, tiredness, discomfort and general laziness. I'm extremely surprised of myself. And even more proud of myself and what I'm accomplishing - rebuilding my entire lifestyle and way of thinking. It's actually quite amazing how once you've manage to win over that little voice in the back of your head that keeps on whispering 'Eh, skip today. Get a pizza, drink a coke, get a beer', it gets easier and easier to just push it away and ignore it and stick to what you are doing.

And now that I think about it a lot of things have changed during those 30 days. I don't know whether it is due to the fact that I'm eating better, healthier foods, and have got rid of all the junk food, or whether it's the fact that I'm working out so much, but I do feel like my way of thinking has changed. Or at least the way I feel. Don't get me wrong, I'm still incredibly insecure and I still have a crazy social anxiety most of the time, but I don't think I dislike myself anymore. You know... before I'd go in a store, like something, try it on and if it didn't fit or it fit but didn't look well on me, I'd end up devastated - full breakdown guaranteed, while now I go in and out and my attitude 'Not now but soon! Grr!*smirk*'. Before whenever I was stressed or upset I'd go for a few-thousand-calorie snack, now... I don't. It's really interesting observing my thought process when I'd get upset or just get a bit down. I'd think about 'Ohhh... I'll go grab that cookies or the chips or the chocolate or all', but then I'd open myfitnesspal account, look at my calorie balance so far, see how well I'm doing and I'd think about just how much effort those thousands of calories would get out of me in order to burn them. And by the time I've had those two thoughts run through my mind, I'm already shrugging off on the idea and just moving onto calming down in other ways.

It's... completely different from how I used to be. And those who have known me for a while, will confirm that.

Other than that I've been able to go to bed with no medications 95% of the time. And as an ex insomniac and a person who would need a handful of sleeping herbal pills to calm down enough to doze off... well... this is major. This is actually the second most important thing that has happened to me during that one month other than not allowing myself to stress-eat.

And cutting pretty much completely all sodas has made my stomach so much calmer. And having had not trans fats in the past month has helped my skin clear up some.

Well... in other words other than the minuses in my measurements there have been only pluses in everything else. It's... quite energizing thinking about all of that. It makes me look forward to the rest of this program and actually to the rest of my life. I can definitely see working out and eating healthy staying a part of my life for life. :)