day thirty-three: re-evaluating and correcting!

Month Two is going to be a swift kick in the ass: I’m stepping up my workout routines and no longer allowing myself to take mornings off. I’m going back to working out two times a day, at least five days a week, and at least once a day on the weekends. 

I’ve been doing so well with planning out my meals every week, that I’m going to make a more detailed workout plan for the weeks as well, this way, I can stick to a plan instead of making it up when the time comes. I find that I let myself be lazy and am not working my muscles as hard as they need to be worked. Exercising has become too easy now, so I have to start pushing myself farther. I know that planning the week’s exercising ahead of time will force me to stick to harder workouts. 

My favorite workout routine, besides jogs around the neighborhood and hard running on an elliptical, is the Biggest Loser Cardio Workout DVD. I am not endorsed by them, or anyone, but I must give the show and the trainers on the workout DVDs a shout out. The workouts on that DVD push me to the limit, sweat pours off me every time, and I feel great after doing them. When the first level gets too easy, you bump it up to level two, and then level three. It’s designed to be a six week program, and I’ve lost over forty pounds before using just that DVD according to its instructions (work out 5-6 times a week, doing two weeks on each level). 

This time around, I’ve been using the DVD sparingly, and only when I really want to sweat because it makes me work hard. I ordered the Power Sculpt edition of the Biggest Loser Workout and I can’t wait to receive it in the mail. I should be getting it on Tuesday, and will be adding it into my workout routines. Alongside cardio, I have to sculpt and tone my body, so I don’t end up with excess flab or skin. I want to be toned and lean and fit, and I know using these two DVD workouts will get me there. 

I also use Jackie Warner’s workout DVD, and that’s a very good DVD as well. She utilizes a circuit training technique to sculpt your body, and I like her style. She focuses a lot on form, and spends extra time making sure the form of her moves is understood and carried out correctly. I like that, because sometimes I may think I am doing the moves correctly, but then when I try again and I do EXACTLY as the trainer says, I’ll feel a whole different muscle being worked and realize I wasn’t doing it right the first time. 

So Month Two will begin detailed planning of my meals for the week AND my workouts for the week. I’m also working on getting a lot more fresh fruits and vegetables into my diet. If I have to go to the store three times a week, I will, just to be able to put some fresh fruits and vegetables into my diet. I deviate from these plans every so often, according to what I want to eat, or if I spend time with friends or family, but for the most part, I stick to them. I make sure not to eat out (have only done so twice in the last 30+ days) or snack beyond my allotted snack between lunch and dinner (which is always a fresh fruit or a fiber bar).

To sum up Month Two’s changes from Month One:

1.   Harder workouts, twice a day Monday through Friday, and once a day Saturday and Sunday. 
2. More fresh vegetables and fresh fruits in my diet. 
3.    Plan workouts like I’ve been planning weekly meal lists. Continue with weekly meal lists.