C25K

This week I've decided to start doing the Couch to 5K program. For those who do not know, it is a program designed to get you running about 3 miles in 30 minutes. It's a 9 week program 3 days a week. This is the template for it:

Week	Workout 1	Workout 2	Workout 3
1	Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.	Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.	Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.
2	Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes.	Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes.	Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes.
3	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then do two repetitions of the following: Jog 200 yards (or 90 seconds) Walk 200 yards (or 90 seconds) Jog 400 yards (or 3 minutes) Walk 400 yards (or three minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then do two repetitions of the following: Jog 200 yards (or 90 seconds) Walk 200 yards (or 90 seconds) Jog 400 yards (or 3 minutes) Walk 400 yards (or three minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then do two repetitions of the following: Jog 200 yards (or 90 seconds) Walk 200 yards (or 90 seconds) Jog 400 yards (or 3 minutes) Walk 400 yards (or three minutes)
4	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 2-1/2 minutes) Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 2-1/2 minutes) Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 2-1/2 minutes) Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
5	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: Jog 3/4 mile (or 8 minutes) Walk 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Jog 3/4 mile (or 8 minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog two miles (or 20 minutes) with no walking.
6	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Jog 3/4 mile (or 8 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: Jog 1 mile (or 10 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Jog 1 mile (or 10 minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2-1/4 miles (or 22 minutes) with no walking.
7	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.5 miles (or 25 minutes).	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.5 miles (or 25 minutes).	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.5 miles (or 25 minutes).
8	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.75 miles (or 28 minutes).	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.75 miles (or 28 minutes).	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.75 miles (or 28 minutes).
9	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 3 miles (or 30 minutes).	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 3 miles (or 30 minutes).	The final workout! Congratulations! Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 3 miles (or 30 minutes).

I attempted Week 1 Day 1 yesterday. I could not make it the full time. I almost made it 10 minutes but I am not letting that discourage me. It's for my health and betterment of my life overall. Today is break day, but tomorrow, I will get back out there and try it again. 

First Goal Met!

Tools Of This Journey

I'm going to use this post to share the tools that I am using to help me lose the weight. So far, they have been working too!

First thing, and the biggest thing, is I use MyFitnessPal to help keep track of my calories in and out. It will give you a calorie limit based on your weight and how much you want to use (or even gain). It also tells you how many calories you should burn per day or week. I like it best because if I start craving something, I can look at it, then figure out how much exercise I need to do to be able to eat what I crave. It has helped me cut down on soda, as I was drinking 2+ 2 liters a day!!

The second thing, WALKING! I started walking around my neighborhood the week I started using MyFitnessPal and now, I'm able to walk further faster. I hadn't walked that much since I was a teen, no joke! 

Now to keep track of what I am losing (pounds and inches), I bought a scale from Walmart. It is rated up to 400 lbs and came with a FREE digital measuring tape! I was so excited about that. I however told myself that I'd measure every 2 weeks and weigh myself once a month. I'm not doing so good on that. I've been weighing myself every 2 days and sticking to the measuring LOL! However, my weight has been steadily going down, and I know that I won't get discouraged because I literally CANNOT afford too. If I want to be around for my kids (which I totally do), I have to keep at it.

The last resource I've been using is the internet in general. I've found blogs with healthy versions of delicious snacks that are otherwise fat and calorie laden! I haven't tried many yet but I will, like cupcakes with applesauce instead of sugar! I would have never thought of that!

Why I Started This Journey

Me, 4 months ago at my son's Bday Party

I started this journey after enrolling my son in a new school. His new classroom was upstairs and I took a tour with the counselor before leaving him there, which meant "I" had to go up the stairs too. Upon reaching the top, I could NOT breathe at all but I kept going so as not to let on. It was then and there that I knew I had to do something about my weight. I think knew I could not go on like this.

When I started out almost 4 weeks ago, I weighed 315. I had weighed 315 lbs for a few years now. For my height, the high end I should weigh is 164 lbs so that is we're I'm aiming for. I started using MyFitnessPal to count my calories. I love that it takes your weight and goals and tells you how much you should be eating and exercising. Their food database is enormous too which helps a lot.

For exercise, I started walking around my neighborhood. I feel I'm doing really good on that front. I hope to have many more blog posts tracking my success and in turn, many followers who feel inspired!