The Skinny: Week 7

Hi Friends,

Week 7 was very exciting and not because I've been working out for 7 weeks. I got my prom dress (will make a post about my experience with the Corsage Project at a later time...Maybe I'll wait until June) and the musical is coming so quickly wow.

This week I also walked in the rain and hail. And despite me thinking I wouldn't be able to do Pilates on Friday, I DID! I found a yoga mat at the kids I was babysitting's house and my mom came over with my Pilates DVD and while they were sleeping I did my whole workout with my weights being later at like 11:45pm... Oh I also ordered my possible Hawaiian Birthday Dress (from the Bay despite what a horrible time I had last time and I swore I'd never order from them again...But I ordered over the phone and it was fine). Oh I also went to my Humber College's Degree Mix and Mingle and got financial questions answered and met some of the teachers in my accounting program. I promposed to my best friend who denied me, and then I promposed to my cousin Callie who is SUPER EXCITED and I'm soooo happy to be going to prom with her. We're gonna have a blast...And I bought my first 36DD bra (insert extremely angry face here)

How is it possible to lose weight and go up a cup size!? What ever, it feels better and gives me the best coverage ever so... All I can say is if I'm stuck with these when I'm thin, I'm going to be angry.

Oh...And my trampoline broke on Thursday....My parents have since repaired it but it has put me out for 3 days.

So lets get down to business!

Exercise Log:

Saturday moderate walking while shopping
Sunday nothing
Monday Pilates, weights, thigh challenge, trampoline, planks
Tuesday 45 minute walk in the rain and hail, Pilates, weights, thigh challenge, trampoline, planks
Wednesday Pilates, weights, thigh challenge, trampoline, planks
Thursday Pilates, weights, thigh challenge, trampoline, planks
Friday Pilates, weights, thigh challenge, planks

Plank Log

April 20:

Full plank 1:41

Wall sit 1:48

Teaser 1:49

Dolphin 1:31

April 21:

Full plank 1:45

Wall sit 1:48

Teaser 1:48

Dolphin 1:30

April 22:

Wall sit 1:50

Full plank 1:45

Teaser 1:48

Dolphin 1:31

April 23

Full plank 1:45 (struggle is real today)

Teaser 1:49

Dolphin plank 1:30

Wall sit 1:55

April 24:

Full plank 1:46

Dolphin plank. Approx 1:33

Teaser 1:50

Wall sit 1:50

Looks like I've reached my goal of 1:45! It's really hard. Maybe my next goal will be 1:55. Like I said, it's really hard...

Week 8 here I come!

Goals

• Pilates, trampoline, weights 5 times this week
• continue with no sugar
• drink 1.25L of water a day

Sorry for the lame post, life is getting busy right now...

Wish it. Dream it. Do it.

The Skinny: Week 6

Hey there Friends,

So it's been 6 weeks...a month and a half. Seeing as all my clothes fit now, I've found out that, though I have lost weight, I'm back to where I was before I gained weight so I didn't actually lose weight...if that makes sense?

It was SO NICE this week in Toronto. I've promised myself that, during the week anyway, when it's nice out I will go for a walk. I went for a walk every day this week. It's supposed to rain next week...Thank goodness I walked this week but I'm going to miss those walks! Let's hope week 8 is nice!

I'm going to admit something to you: I'm not perfect especially when it comes to health and fitness. I'm trying to change my lifestyle so I'm not killing myself but I could do better. And looking back on what I didn't do, it's not even that bad but we want to eliminate it all so.

1. I have eaten a little bit of excess sugar this week. Be that some of whatever my mom is eating, a little bit of whipped cream on my no-sugar chocolate pudding, or a bit of ice cream on Friday because I took way too long a nap and felt disgusting after I woke up (and the only way to get myself out of that is to eat ice cream. Trust me, I worked out before I ate the ice cream, I felt worse...Ice cream was given to me, all better Erica). I haven't eaten that much when I do eat sugar, but I still had some.
2. I have not drank at least 1L of water every day. Some days it's more, some days it's less to none. I need to work on this.
3. I've gotten into a horrible habit of not working out on weekends...which needs to stop. I allow myself 1 day off of working out and 1 day off of my basic daily workout. I do the thigh challenge everyday because you can't really skip that. But I've been abusing this. Yes I've had reasons, no I did not know I'd have a massive migraine on Sunday that didn't allow me to workout, but I need to stop this. The next few weeks I know it's going to be hard to workout on weekends but when my musical is over (DON'T WANT TO THINK ABOUT IT) I will be getting back onto the workout weekend horse.

That felt good to admit...

Anyway... lets just do this thing. Nothing exciting happened this week except for the fact that I'm getting more migraines...again.

Exercise Log:

• Saturday: 1.5 hour walk, thigh challenge
• Sunday: ...nothing
• Monday: 45 minute walk, trampoline, weights, thigh challenge, pilates, planks
• Tuesday: 45 minute walk, trampoline, weights, thigh challenge, pilates, planks
• Wednesday: 45 minute walk, trampoline, weights, thigh challenge, pilates, planks
• Thursday: 1 hour walk, trampoline, weights, thigh challenge, pilates, planks
• Friday: Trampoline, thigh challenge, pilates, planks

Plank Log:

April 11:

Nothing 

April 12: 

Nothing (bad!)

April 13:

Full plank 1:35
Teaser 1:44
Dolphin 1:26
Wall sit 1:43
April 14
Full plank 1:40
Teaser 1:44
Walls it 1:46
April 15
Wall sit 1:42
Plank 1:20 (after weights)
Teaser 1:48
Dolphin plank (after weights) 1:30
April 16
Full plank 1:40
Wall sit 1:44
Teaser 1:47
Dolphin plank 1:30
April 17
Full plank 1:41
Wall sit 1:48 (not fully down)
Teaser 1:48
Dolphin plank: 1:31

I know this week, week 7, is going to be hard. I'm working longer at co-op, I'm babysitting Friday which means the most I'll be able to do is planks and thighs, Saturday is busy, and Sunday a lot is going on and I guarantee you I'll get a migraine like I always do after theatre...

Goals for Week 7:

• Lower sugar intake (even though you're doing a pretty good job, Erica)
• Raise my water intake
• Do pilates 4 times this week
• Do trampoline 4 times this week and continuously bounce for 2 videos/songs in a row at least once when it comes to the trampoline workout
• Do weights 4 times this week

Wish it. Dream it...JUST DO IT!

The Skinny: Week 5

Friends, it's been 5 weeks!

Okay so as most of you know, it was Easter this past week. Why was I so excited for Easter this year? BECAUSE I COULD EAT ALL THE SUGAR I WANTED GUILT FREE!

So on Sunday April 5, I splurged big time...BIG TIME! I haven't eaten that much sugar since Valentines day and I started watching my sugar intake February 24, 2015. Do I regret it? ...Not really. Melanie C didn't come and talk me out of it so that's good...But I have now had my fill for the next like month and a bit. My mom's birthday is Thursday though so I'll probably have a sugar on Thursday (which is allowed in a sugar cleanse, it's a special occasion). My dad's birthday is tomorrow and as well, I want to try to get rid of my chocolate tomorrow with one of my best friends so I'm allowed sugar on Monday April 6.

BUT THAT'S IT! I have successfully cut out juice for 2 weeks and counting, I'm really trying my best to drink as much water as I can. I am slowly increasing my daily exercise. Starting Tuesday I will be more diligent with myself than I've been for the past little while. No sugar...I need to do this. June is coming.

I'll admit something...I didn't workout on Saturday (besides planks and thigh challenge) and I didn't plank or workout on Sunday due to my food coma but I did do the thigh challenge. Come the 6th, I will be adding my trampoline into my workouts and possibly weights we will see.

CAN THE WEATHER BE NICE ALREADY!? LIKE WHAT'S THE DEAL? I WANT TO WALK HOME!

I do feel bad for eating all that junk food today, I do feel guilty for not working out 2 times in a row, but I am determined to get over it and move on with my life and I'm committed to make the next 5 days the best 5 days I've had yet. I am making a vow that starting Tuesday, despite possibly having cake on Thursday, I will not be eating any excess sugar. This is a process...

Now excuse me while I try to drink enough water to flush out even a quarter of the chocolate that's running through my blood stream.

I'm now finishing writing this post on Saturday April 11.

This week was HARD! I had very little motivation, I was tired, my stomach was giving me issues (and I think it's because of how much sugar intake I had in total this week...I'm totally not immune any more!) But I pushed through, even yesterday, and I'm glad I did. I wonder what week 6 will be like.

On Monday night Lindsey was with me and we did Pilates together which was a fun experience. My first jumping session on the trampoline proved to me how out of shape I am but as the week progressed, the improvement in my endurance was very apparent. I could take shorter breaks between songs, I didn't feel as tired after...This is the exact endurance training I need!

Let's talk about the Trampoline for a second here. What I've started off with was bouncing to 2 almost 4 minute Spice Girls songs (of course...don't judge) with a break to catch my breath and lower my heart rate in between. Yesterday (Friday), I was noticing that I could probably add another song to the mix. So this week I will add another song; a shorter one though.

I've been talking about the weights training a lot I've noticed but have yet to do it. I'm aiming to actually add it in this week :)

I was complaining to Lindsey this week about doing Pilates and called it "Aka hate my life time"  and she came back with "I will love my life time"

I will love my life.

This is why I'm doing this. I'm unhappy with myself and all the restrictions that are put on me for what I want to do with my life. Both with the way I look, the way I feel, and the way my body performs. Thank you Barb for helping me understand that it's not even so much of what you look like (fat or thin) but what your body can do (strength) for you to do well in this industry.

And thanks to you, everyone who's put up with me and supported me through this process. It is a process. I hate it, but I'm now back to where I started before I gained all that weight this winter. Now the fun begins.

This helped me a lot this past week:

Let's just get down to business. It was a really gloomy week in Toronto (4 days in a row of cloud and rain...and grey...Maybe that's why I lacked motivation)

Plank Log

April 4

Full plank 1:33

Teaser 1:30

Dolphin 1:15

Wall sit 1:20

April 5:

Break day. Easter

April 6

Full plank 1:38

Teaser 1:39

Dolphin 1:20

Wall sit 1:30

April 7

Full plank 1:38

Teaser 1:40

Dolphin 1st attempt :38 seconds,  1:25

Wall sit 1:31

April 8

Full plank 1:33

Dolphin 1:20

Teaser 1:40

Wall sit 1:35

April 9

Full plank 1:35

Teaser 1:45

Dolphin 1:22

Wall sit 1:36

April 10

Full plank 1:40

Teaser 1:44

Wall sit 1:40

Dolphin 1:20

Exercise Log

Saturday: Planks & thigh challenge

Sunday: Nothing

Monday: Pilates (with Lindsey), Planks, Trampoline, Thigh Challenge

Tuesday: Pilates, Planks, Trampoline, Thigh Challenge

Wednesday: Pilates, Planks, Trampoline, Thigh Challenge

Thursday: Pilates, Planks, Trampoline, Thigh Challenge

Friday: Pilates, Planks, Trampoline, Thigh Challenge

Achievements of the week:

• I started my trampoline exercises again
• I successfully went 3 days without any excess sugar
• A couple friends complimented me on my weight loss
• My family noticed a big difference (while eating chocolate on Easter. Vovo: Erica, don't go back to your old ways, okay? You're looking great, don't stop. I can't wait to take in all your clothes.)
• Pilates 5 times
• Trampoline 5 times
• Slight increase in endurance

Goals for next week:

• Pilates 5 times
• Hold a plank for 1:35 seconds or more
• Trampoline 5 times adding an extra song
• At least 3 days of weights
• No excess sugar

Week six here I come!

Wish it. Dream it. Do it.

The Skinny: Week 4

What's up party people!

On Sunday I went to Musical Theatre class again and now we have another 2 week break...sigh.

Oh well, at least now I have another 2 weeks to impress everyone!

I told Barb and Suzy (Anika was away this week. :( ) that last class I could hold a plank for maybe 20 seconds and today I can hold one for a minute and 15 seconds or more! They were very impressed which makes me really happy. I've impressed myself and I've impressed my friends. Very good, Erica! Lets make week 4 and 5 even better than the last 3.

When it came time for planks during warm-up I brought out my phone and headphones and they looked at me.

"Oh I'm sorry, I have to listen to Spice Girls in order to plank. I have to distract myself."
Barb: *laughing* Okay go put on Spice Girls on the speaker then!

That's right guys, I got to listen to Never Give Up on the Good Times on the speaker while Barb, Suzy, and I sang doing our planks.

My lovely cast mates have suggested the wall sit and Barb suggested mountain climbers with high knees and burpees and to try to do side planks (which I will try this week. However, I will most likely fall). So now, on Monday, I start a new routine.

Daily Basic Workout Routine:
1. Full Plank
2. Half-Teaser
3. Dolphin Plank
4. Breath for a song and relax
5. Burpees (as many as I can do)
6. Wall Sits
7. Mountain climbers to high knees (as many as I can do) (aka. MCtoHK)

• Can I just say how confused I am by Burpees and my MCtoHK? No not because the exercise confuses me, but I don't know what my goal is...Is it time? Is it Reps? Is it BOTH? Ultimately I've decided, this week any way, to just try to do as many as I can. I will time it just to keep track and then try to form a goal from there. 
• IF ANYONE KNOWS WHAT MY GOAL SHOULD BE FOR BURPEES AND SUCH PLEASE TELL ME! Should I be concerned about time or reps? Should I aim for the amount of reps in the time and try to shrink my time and increase my reps or just time or just reps? I'm so confused...
• I hope that makes sense.

Try:
1. Side planks
2. Those weird horrible pushups Barb showed us.
3. THIS    

Credit goes to Blogilates (Thank you for showing it to me Henna and Sarah!)

I looked at her basic beginner workout as well and honestly, I'm not strong enough for that right now. Maybe in May? We'll see. I started off with a fitness level on a scale of 0-10 of a -1 so.

Goals for this week:
1. Cut down on sugar even more (please see: last week I had insane mind-controlling cravings that I could barely control and the fact that I only had a little bit of some stuff on some days was huge) excluding Easter Sunday
2. 1 liter of water a day MINIMUM NO EXCUSES! ENOUGH OF DEHYDRATION
3. Pilates 5 times this week

Ultimately my goal is to be able to walk home from school or work or just a 40min-1.5 hour walk a day PLUS the basic daily workout I put together PLUS Pilates. IF THE WEATHER WOULD BE GOOD FOR ONCE IN IT'S LIFE, THAT WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED! IT'S APRIL THIS WEEK GET IT TOGETHER!

I would add like a squat challenge to my daily routine but lets see how I do with this this week. I don't know how my body is going to react. I'll try to take a "before" photo this week because I regret not taking a before photo four weeks ago...

Monday March 30:

Today I woke up sore and as the day progressed I got more and more sore...But I don't know if that's because I did so many exercises or if it was from yesterday's rehearsal warm up. Time was all messed up today, I planked at school and did my half teaser at school during spare because I was bored. I can only do calculus word problems for so long! Then I came home and had snack before a nap. When I woke up from my nap I did my dolphin plank, wall sit, burpees, and MCtoHK. I need to work on the order of my basic workout because burpees followed by MCtoHK's is a very bad decision for me. They're exhausting. As each exercise passed, my body became more and more sore. I went to cake decorating class and then came home and ate dinner. I took a break before doing the 30 day slimmer thigh challenge and then Pilates at 10:20pm. When that was done I grabbed another bottle of water before an Epsom Salt bath with baking soda. I did attempt the side plank on my right side earlier and have come to the conclusion that I cannot do it at the current time. Maybe next week. Maybe I'll keep trying but I'm not getting my hopes up. 

The weather was actually quite nice today if it weren't so darn windy. The weather situation is looking up guys, and I can hardly wait! I successfully exceeded my goal for water intake and did a plank for 1:30 which means I've reached my NEW goal already. I'll try to keep that up for three times in a row before assigning 1:45 as my next goal. 

I highly doubt I'll be able to move tomorrow morning but we'll see. I will still workout regardless of my mobility but if I am extremely sore, I will lower my expectations and not be disappointed in myself for not achieving my usual. This is going to be a long week...

Tuesday March 31:

So the Epsom salt bath really did help because I was able to move today. HOWEVER, My right leg and arm felt very sore. I couldn't hold a plank very long today which was devastating but after the reassurance of my mom, dad, and Cece, I was able to get over the disappointment and move forward. I was going to try it again later but I didn't because I think my body is trying to tell me to rest. Typically I'm able to breathe through the pain and keep going, but not today... It's over, I still held it for over a minute, and I still did it. 

Friday April 3:

The end of week 4. This week I have experienced post-exercise pain like no other. It lasted...and lasted...and lasted. Today, Saturday the 4th, I'm finally feeling like it's over! I wore a character costume last April for 6 hours and literally could not move the next day. I stayed in bed. The 2nd day, it was was better and by the 3rd day I was fine. This week I hurt on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday I started getting a weird nerve pain in my right arm, Thursday was painful, and Friday WAS KILLER! I love the burn, but when it gets in the way of your everyday life for long periods of time, it's not so fun. Every night I did this:

Epsom Salt Bath

1. Fill bath tub with hot water. Not too hot that you burn yourself but I see steam coming off of my bath water.

2. Put 2 heaping cap-fulls from your Epsom Salt container into the bath.

3. Add 1/4-1/2 cup of baking soda to your bath.

4. Watch an episode of Friends on your iPad while you soak. (aka stay in the bath for 20-25 minutes)

And then I would rub voltaren on my arms and legs and abs after my bath. Painful week...But I'm alive!

I've also come to the conclusion that I am not physically fit enough to add the burpees and MCtoHK's right now. I need to build up my endurance which brings me to my next point; I will be adding a daily jumping session on my exercise trampoline next week. Once my endurance is in check, I'll try adding those exercises back.

Achievements of the Week

• I planked for 1:30 multiple times this week which means I achieved my 2nd planking goal! New goal 1:45 (which will be hard because around 1:10 I have to start going all Kimmy Schmidt* and enduring something for 10 seconds at a time.)
• I drank 1L of water or more pretty much every day!
• I did Pilates 5 times this week despite the pain I was in
• Exercising is becoming a habit! Wow...never thought I'd say that! (please see: Fitness level -1)

*If you don't know what I'm talking about, please watch The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt on Netflix.

Plank Log:

March 28:Full plank 1:19
Teaser 1:27
Dolphin 1:15
March 29Full plank: 1:20
Teaser: 1:15 (done in class, very painful so it's okay)
Dolphin: 1:19
March 30Full plank 1:30
Half teaser: 1:29
Dolphin 1:20
Wall sit: 54 seconds
Burpees: 8 in 30 seconds
Right side plank (on knees attempt): 22 seconds
MCtoHK: 4.5 in 60 seconds
March 31: (rough day, sore)MCtoHK 5 in 50 seconds
Half teaser: 1:29
Burpees: 9 in 35 seconds
Full plank 1:04
Wall sit 59 seconds
Dolphin plank 1:13
April 1:Break day but I did a full plank for 1:26 despite right arm pain just to see something
April 2Full plank 1:30
Teaser 1:31
Dolphin plank 1:12
Wall sit 1:10
April 3

Plank 1:30
Teaser 1:25
Dolphin 1:14
Wall sit 1:14

Exercise Log

Saturday- Planking

Sunday- Warm up at Rehearsal, including the planks

Monday - Pilates and planks, thinner thighs

Tuesday- Pilates and Planks, thinner thighs

Wednesday- Walk and pilates, thinner thighs

Thursday - Planks and pilates, thinner thighs

Friday - Pilates and planks, thinner thighs

Goals for Week 5:

• Drink at least 1L of water a day
• Do Pilates 5 times
• Use the trampoline 5 times
• Hold a plank continuously for at least 1:30
• After Monday, control sugar intake
• Maybe add weights?
• Work on Posture

 I guess I'm at the point in my exercising where I've stayed still for a while because I don't notice a difference in my body for the past two weeks...So...Am I at the point where I'll be seeing results quicker yet? I've got a long way to go still. Here we go week 5! (With Easter, it'll be hard) As well, no before photo...not the best looking week for me. Ignore the weird black font halfway through too...Don't know what's going on with this stuff.

This photo speaks to me. I'm closer today than I was yesterday.

Wish it. Dream it. Do it.