How I’m Slowly but Surely Getting Back in Shape

Let’s get PHYSICAL and talk about getting back in shape! (even if it takes far longer than initially planned)

tbh I may start putting background music into every blog post from now on..

ANYWAYS.

A while ago I talked about my fitness journey and my goal to get back in shape on the blog. It’s been a while, so I wanted to share a bit about what changes I have made to my eating + exercise plans, what has been working, what’s been a flop, and my progress so far.

Note 1: I was going to insert progress photos into this post, but to be completely honest, they barely have a difference and so far the changes I have made mainly make me feel better, which is just as important!

 

Note 2: I had a few people comment that I don’t need to be losing weight – I agree. I still fit in all my size 26/27 jeans and weigh roughly the same as I did when I was super fit. This is about getting back to the shape I used to be in, not dropping 20 pounds!

 

Overall, I would say that I have slimmed down 3-5 pounds, and lost a half inch from my waist. I mainly care about the fact that my arms are getting more toned as are my legs! My thighs and calves will always be larger than most other women from the figure skating muscles I had, so I think toning those up to look athletic versus just big is a huge goal of mine. Easier said than done 😉

 

Change 1: Limiting When I Eat

I hesitate to call this “intermittent fasting” because 1: fasting has an unhealthy connotation in my opinion and 2: I am not at all depriving my body.

I work from home a lot, and when my desk is roughly 30 feet from my fridge, it becomes really easy to snack. I read recently that eating 100 calories more a day can ultimately make you gain 10 pounds in a year, and that motivated me to stop grazing throughout the day and eat solely at meals and designated snack times.

I now eat breakfast around 9, have a snack around 11, eat lunch around 1, have another snack around 3, and then eat dinner at 6ish. The big changes here are that my snacks are preplanned and scheduled and that I can’t snack after dinner!

 

Change 2: Recognizing my Shortcomings

I’m going to be completely honest, I am soooo bad at forcing myself to get up and work out. I have drive for a lot of things but working out ain’t one. For a while I told myself I would get up every morning and go walk or run by the lake. It worked for a week. After that, I would wake up to emails and instantly go into work mode without giving myself “me” time to workout. When I have a class to attend, I know I’m going to pay a fee if I skip – so I actually go. I know everyone is different in this regard, and some people have the sheer will to do it on their own. I applaud you. However, for me, this is what works, and I’m not ashamed of it! I also really enjoy having someone one-on-one with me during class to help me perfect my form or push me to give 110%. I recently got my Pure Barre membership back and it really is one of the best workouts I have ever had!

 

Change 3: Wearing my Apple Watch

I used to wear my Apple Watch 24/7 when I was at my desk job. Since then, it’s become something I don’t really do. Sure, it tracks your heartbeat and steps, but I mainly got it so I could respond to texts without being on my phone at my desk. I sat right next to the department head, so I felt soooo bad anytime I would pull out my phone!

Now that I am my own boss and quite literally HAVE to be on my phone for work, I am slowly easing into wearing my Apple Watch purely to get me standing throughout the day as well as tracking my steps and calorie burn. I also am competitive, so the activity sharing between contacts is pretty great. Seeing my friends burn 350 calories makes me want to beat them 😉

 

Change 4: Recording my Food

I do not want this to come off as “counting calories” because, again, negative connotation. However, tracking the number of carbs, protein and fat I eat every day has greatly helped me see what foods are truly healthy and unhealthy. MyFitnessPal is fantastic for tracking macros and calories, and I think my knowledge of food has greatly increased this summer!

 

I will definitely be doing a Pure Barre progress post at some time in the future but I feel like for body changes to happen, it does take some time. Maybe 60 days, 90 days? My Euro trip may throw off those results too 😉