Post: #61

Lol!! Love your enthusiasm and energy!!
Go for it Matt!!!
I'm sure you'll do very well!

Post: #62

(02-27-2012 05:04 PM)Matt Wrote:  My 30 Day Health and Fitness Challenge Raaaargh!

I've decided that I'm going to really kick my health and fitness into high gear. That's why I'm going my own 30 day health and fitness challenge! Beginning tomorrow I'm going to really kick my fitness into high gear.

Wow Matt, looks like we are both focusing on the same thing! I am also challenging myself to exercise for 30 days. I'm on Day 6 so far, and already see a huge improvement in my strength and energy.

Good luck with your own fitness challenge! I know you can do it!!

"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."
Find me at My Studio Blog or My Facebook Page

Post: #63

Thanks, Sejal. It's great that you have become so active on the forums since arriving just a few weeks ago. Your a go getter.

Hi Kimberly. I'm glad we both have similar goals. I will be sure to check out your journal.

Day 01

Today was a great day. I got up and went jogging. I haven't really been jogging during February like I had been in January. The weather has prevented me from doing that. We had snow and I decided to stop jogging after I slipped on the ice and landed on my elbow. (ouch) I have been walking nearly every morning instead.

Now I'm jogging again. My endurance isn't what I hoped it would be. It's difficult for me to jog for 20 or 30 straight. I'm going to have to slowly build up to that. I'm alternating between jogging and walking for my exercise. I will eventually be jogging for my entire exercise.

Here is the plan I am following.

running by Matt Leyva, on Flickr


It's week 1 so today I ran for 1 minute and walked for 90 seconds and repeated for 25 minutes. It felt great to get out there and get my heart rate up. Also I have read that alternating between high intensity exercise and low intensity exercise is better for you than simply running nonstop for the same period.

When I arrived home I had a kale smoothie. Yum! Actually it's not that tasty but it really doesn't taste bad either. I eat it because I know it's super healthy and I just have so much energy after eating it! I feel vibrant! My recipe is just throwing an orange, kale, spinach, and some ice into a blender.

My diet for the day was pretty good. I didn't have any sweets or soda. I drank only water. The kale smoothie was my breakfast then I had a bunch of brocolli later. Dinner was meatloaf, brocolli, and pineapple. The dinner may not have been as healthy as it could have been but at least I wasn't eating processed food.

I'm going to be lifting weight tomorrow so I may try eating before working out. Maybe tuna and an avocado would be good?

I haven't lifted weights in several months. I have never enjoyed lifting weights to be perfectly honest. I think it might be because I always did these intense hour long workouts that my body just wasn't ready for. I'm going to start with a simpler routine than I was used to in the past. I will be making it more intense as the weeks and months pass but I'm going to start with a routine that is fairly simple. You can view my workout routine here.

Post: #64

Hi Matt, you have a great plan - I am sure you will achieve your goals. Go for it

Post: #65

Thanks so much Ish. It's nice to still see you around here. Are you joining March's challenge?

Day 02

Another great day. I woke up a little later than I planned but as soon as I was up I got busy. I made myself a roast beef sandwhich then got to exercising. I only did my resistance work out today.

Oh boy I'm out of shape. I could only do maybe 5 pushups at a time. I can't do a single pull up either. Wow I have a long way to go.

I have to see I feel more motivated and focused than I ever have before though. I honestly feel like it's going to be relatively easy to stay focused on my diet and exercise for these 30 days and beyond. I think this is partly because I'm starting off small. I only have 4 exercises to do for now. In the past I have had 8 or 9 exercises to complete in a 60 minute period. Before exercise I always thought to myself "Okay let's just get this over with." I hated every moment of it. This is much more manageable. I will be making my exercise more and more intense as time goes on but for now this is a great fit for me.

As soon as I was done I had a green smoothie.

I should have eaten more throughout the day. Once I was at work I had a sandwhich and a salad with vinegar. I was still hungry after eating and I only thought of food the last 5 hours of the day Now I know to pack a little more to eat when I go to work.

I thought about getting a hot dog from the cafeteria but I immediately squashed that idea because that's extremely negative progress.

When I got home I had some leftover meat loaf, potatoes, and brocolli.

Overall I'm very happy with my diet and exercise. It was another fantastic day!

What Did I Learn Today?

1. Bring a little more lunch to work. Don't eat less just to lose weight. It's okay to eat and get full as long as I do it with healthy foods.
2. Resistance training was a lot more fun than I thought.
   

Post: #66

Hi Matt!! I´m following the exact same plan and I just started too! I´ve never been much of a runner, so I thought this plan would be a great way to start. I will be looking forward to your entries. And good luck!

Post: #67

Day 03

Another great day. I ate a reasonable amount so I wasn't hungry all day. I was a little tempted to get some junk food by I just said no thanks to that.

This morning I went jogging for twenty minutes. I alternated between 60 seconds of jogging followed by 90 seconds of walking. My legs are quite sore. I'm very happy with how things are going so far.

---

Hi, Sara. You posted at the exact moment I did!

Please keep me posted on your progress. You and I will both be running 5k a day in no time. I glanced at your journal today and I saw you completed a three day fast. Congratulations! I'm a little bushed right now but I will be sure to read the rest of your journal tomorrow.

Post: #68

Hi Matt, finally I finish reading your thread! You are so good in drawing!! And from your post, I discovered the Concept Art forum, a lot of nice pictures there as well!! Awwww.... I'm going to be crazy about it!!

By the way, losing weight is also one of my targets. I hope that today I will be able to achieve it, at least lose for 7 ~ 10kg if possible... One thing, I'm now learning to eat more vegetables. Keep on reminding me to have more vegetables... XD

Post: #69

Matt Wrote:Thanks so much Ish. It's nice to still see you around here. Are you joining March's challenge?

I am Looking forward to these 21 days
I am trying to lose weight as well, but still procrastinating on the exercise. But doing well on the healthy eating part. What do you put in your green smoothies ? I usually only make fruit ones.

Post: #70

Hi, Jaleen. Thanks so much. I don't draw nearly as much as I know i should though. The concept art forums are amazing. Don't forget to check out the sketchbook threads. They will blow your mind.

Hi, Ish. I'm glad you joined 21DPC. I haven't had much chance to read other's posts yet. I hope to catch yours during the challenge.

When I make smoothies I usually combine an orange, spinach, and kale. The result looks like this.


IMAG0015 by Matt Leyva, on Flickr

Day 05

Sorry I missed posting yesterday. It was a great day though. I went for a long walk in the morning and stuck to my planned diet.

Today was fantastic. I did resistance training this morning. I'm enjoying it more than I ever have. I think because I'm starting off fairly small. I think I will need to get some pushup bars though. My wrists are hurting too much from putting my hands on the ground during pushups.

My diet was great today. I knew I was going to be working out first thing in the morning so I had an avocado and tuna for breakfast. Hey don't knock it till you tried it! It was good. Then after working out I had my usual green smoothie.

Just before lunch at work I began to get super hungry. The salad and tuna sandwich I had packed for myself did not sound appealing. I kept thinking about getting something fried from the cafeteria. I was totalling trying to rationalize how it wouldn't be a big deal and I wouldn't go too far over my calorie budget if I had some fries. In the end I exercised real will power and only ate what I planned. I'm really glad I did. I would have been so disappointed with myself if I broke down and at crap.

I feel really proud of myself for sticking to my diet so well the past 5 days. I'm glad I am exercising and taking control of my diet. The idea of eating fast food sounds disgusting to me now. I'm glad I am eating lots of fresh fruits and vegetables rather than the crap served at my work.


IMAG0018 by Matt Leyva, on Flickr

That's a pic I snapped today of the vending machine at work. The food in it looks revolting but believe it or not I have coworkers who eat the vending machine food every day! The only time I ever ate something was when I forgot my lunch at home. I decided I would have some pizza rolls. They were even more disgusting than I anticipated.

Post: #71

Hi Matt! You´re doing so great! I admire your will power. Isn´t crazy how our mind can start rationalizing everything and convince us to do something we don´t want to do?
It´s funny, I was actually thinking about getting push up bars too! My wrists hurt a lot from the push ups and I even stopped doing them for a while. Now I´m doing exercises to strengthen my wrists and I´m also taking collagen and magnesium pills.
I will do weekly updates in my journal about the 5k program. I´m loving it so far. Today is my last 1st week run!
Keep up the good work!!

Post: #72

Hi, Sara.

If your wrists hurt one alternative is doing pushups on your fists. You might want to use a pillow or a folded up towel on the ground so it's easier on your knuckles. One of my goals this year is to do 100 pushups. I will be following this plan until I reach my goal.

30 Day Health and Fitness Challenge: Day 07

I'm still exercising, eating well, and feeling amazing!

Today was a jogging day. My plan for today was to jog 90 seconds, walk 2 minutes, then repeat 6 times. It was invigorating and I loved it! Of course I made a big kale smoothie afterwards.

I have been so hungry for something different than what I have been eating lately. I decided to break a little and bake a frozen pizza and have some soda. I know, I know, that's not at all healthy. I just wanted something sweet to drink and eat something flavorful. I think I still stayed until 1700 calories today (which is my goal) so I think I'm okay. Tomorrow it's back to all healthy diet though.

I'm happy to report that I am still losing weight. This morning my weight was 196.8 lbs! That means I lost about 3.2 lbs since I began my challenge 7 days ago. I'm so happy with my progress. My ideal weight is 165 which I will reach in late June if not earlier.

Tomorrow is resistance training day. I'm psyched to get started tomorrow morning and do my best!

Post: #73

Hi Matt! Thanks for sharing.
I think I might join you on the 100 push up challenge. It is something I´ve been meaning to do for a while, but never had the strength to actually start it. I will try to do push ups on my fists, I´ll let you know how it goes

I usually take a break from the healthy foods once a week. My body just asks for it.
I´m a very big fan of pizza, and if I have time I always try to make them at home and put my own "healthy" ingredients.
I while ago I changed soda for water Kefir. It tastes sweet, it´s healthier and it has the bubbles. Have you tried it?

Post: #74

Hi, Sara. I actually just started the 100 push ups program today. You might actually want to start off doing the counter top push ups he shows at first. At first I thought that method is just for total wimps. I did it today though and I found that doing 5 sets of 20 pushups on your kitchen counter is much more difficult than I anticipated.

Yes I took a break from healthy eating yesterday and again today. Neither were really planned in advance so I feel like I'm cheating. I will be getting back to normal healthy eating tomorrow though.

30 Day Health and Fitness Challenge: Day 08

Today was an okay day but it didn't go as smoothly as I had hoped.

Things started off well. When I woke up I ate some avocado and tuna then got busy with resistance training. I love working out in the mornings. It gives me so much energy for the rest of the day.

I made myself a hamburger for lunch with white rice. Not the healthiest I know. Next time I will substitute the rice with a big helping of broccoli.

When I arrived home I made myself a big BLT, 2 fried eggs, and washed it down with orange juice. Oh man that was dumb. I was just really hungry. I'm sure I went way way WAY over my calorie limit today. Back to the drawing board.

Things may go better if I plan out my diet the day before.

Tomorrow I will have a green smoothie for breakfast. I will have chicken and broccoli for lunch. Then maybe some bacon and eggs for dinner with fruit.

Yes I know bacon is hardly a healthy food. This month my diet is mostly focused on weening myself from soda, fast food, processed foods, and refined sugars. Bacon and other unhealthy items is something I will be cutting from my diet in the coming months.

Post: #75

30 Day Health and Fitness Challenge: Day 09

Today wasn't the best. It started off pretty good though. When I woke up I got dressed and went jogging. Today was another day of jogging 90 seconds followed by walking for 2 minutes and repeating 6 times. I did pretty well and I enjoyed myself.

Things went downhill when I went to work. Something upset me at work and I ran to the cafeteria to deal with the issue. I had french fries, mozzerella sticks, and soda. *smacks forehead* I think I literally picked the unhealthiest meal possible.

Girl at cafeteria: "What can I get for you?"

Me: "I want some cheese but regular cheese just isn't unhealthy enough for me. Could you possible bread the cheese and then deep fry it? You can? Great! I would also like a sugary drink loaded with high fructose corn syrup that will damage the enamel on my teeth and the lining of my intestines. I would also like some potatoes. But make sure you deep fry those too!"

I wasn't even really craving those foods like "oh man french fries sound so good right now". I was just upset so I decided I wanted something fried. Bleh. Obviously I still have emotional eating issues.

How can I better handle this next tme? Next time something upsets me at work the first thing I am going to do is simply stand up and drink some water at my desk. I sit down all day and just doing a little work while standing can help. If the issue continues to upset my I will take a short break.

Tomorrow I'll be back on track. Tomorrow is a resistance training day. I'm looking forward to it.

Post: #76

It looks like you're doing the 'Couch to 5K' programme, which is the one I completed a couple of weeks ago It does work!
You can actually download podcasts for it that tell you when you're supposed to be jogging/walking, at this site - http://www.c25k.com/.

It sounds like you're doing really well with your goals, it really does! Even if you did have a couple of less healthy meals recently, if you're suddenly working out a lot more regularly, your body probably needs the extra fuel. Sure, it'd be best to have something more healthy, but don't beat yourself up about it

(Especially if you grill the bacon...)

(Mmmm... mozarella sticks... *is glad she doesn't have any in the house* )

Post: #77

Hi, Sarah. Yes I have seen the couch to 5k program before. I know this system works because I used it during 2010 to go from being a couch potato to jogging 5 miles. During the second half of 2011 though I gained weight and stopped working out. Now I'm back to square one and must start over. I'm confident I will make it back to my former level of fitness and even surpass it.

30 Day Health and Fitness Challenge: Day 10

Oh man. Another day of eating poorly. I exercised but again I felt very frustrated at work and ran to food to fill an emotional need.

Yikes I need a new plan. I want to reach my goals of cutting out junk food from my diet and reaching 190 lbs by the end of this challenge. I absolutely will do it. I just need a better strategy for following my plans. I think I need a little extra motivation.

One this that has been motivating me lately is keeping what I call a manifestation journal (that's the best name I could come up with. Let me know if you think of a better one). It's basically where I write down my vision for my goal everyday.

Everyday when I wake up, I roll out of bed, open my journal, and write page describing my goal of being at a healthy weight and fitness level. I describe what I do, how I feel, the benefits I have now, my emotional state, etc. I write a page every morning. When I just keep writing and writing and writing I can usually finish a page describing my goal in 5 minutes. I do the same thing right before I go to bed at night. This way I am thinking about my goal first thing in the morning and immediately before I go to sleep each night. I have done this since the beginning of my challenge and will continue to the end. After this challenge ends I will start a new challenge with a new goal and will be journaling about that goal each morning and night.

This has worked out pretty well so far for motivating me. It's positive motivation but I think I need a little bit of immediate negative motivation. Luckily I have a good idea about how I can implement some negative motivation to help me in my goal.

The US presidential election is heating up. I am honestly not paying much attention to it but I do know the candidates from both parties. There is one candidate who I particularly do not like. (I'm not going to say who because I don't want to start a political debate on the forums) I decided that being forced to help his campaign would be something painful and that's what I am going to use for negative motivation.

For everyday that I either (a) do not exercise (b) eat something I did not make myself or (c ) drink something other than water my penalty will be donating $20 to his campaign.

Yes, yes, I do realize this journal is becoming more and more ridiculous each day!

This is something that will put a little needed pressure on me to reach my goals. Also it's kind of funny! Instead of thinking about how I want eat some junk food I will be thinking about how I don't want to lose the $20!

I will allow myself one "cheat" meal each week. This will usually be Sunday or Monday because I sometimes eat with family then.

Okay that's my plan. I also sorely need to read Celes's emotional eating series again. I will get to that this weekend.

Tomorrow is a jogging day. My plans for my diet are an extra big kale smoothie in the morning, chicken and veggies for lunch, and maybe some eggs for dinner. I will have a salad if I need a snack. Wish me luck!

Post: #78

30 Day Health and Fitness Challenge: Day 11

Okay I am officially back on track and heading toward my goal at full speed! I did fantastic today!

Just like planned I exercised first thing in the morning. I really love jogging. I can't wait until I am able to jog 20 or 30 minutes nonstop in a few weeks.

My diet was great and I ate just what I had planned.

My "donate $20 to a cause I hate" plan is very silly but it does give me that extra boost. I just feel like the idea of not following through is no longer and option.

Lately I have been wondering if there would be a way to take a green smoothie to work. I wonder if it would last if I put it in a sealed container and left it in a fridge for 4 hours or longer?

Tomorrow I will just be going for a walk in the morning.

Post: #79

30 Day Health and Fitness Challenge: Day 12 & 13

Yesterday was an okay day. I went for a long walk in the morning rather than jog. My diet was fine. Sunday was my cheat day so I allowed myself to have a cheeseburger and a little candy.

I am at 196.6 lbs today. That is about the same as the last time I reported.

This morning I went running. This week I am running 90 seconds, walking 90 seconds, running 3 minutes, then walking 3 minutes. I repeat that twice before I finish. I can't believe how winded I get after 3 minutes of running! I was able to finish my planned run though. I will get back to my former level of fitness.

I'm going to have to adjust my fitness plans from here. My work schedule is changing so now I go to work at 8 am. That means I will need to wake up around 5:30 so I have time to exercise. That will be a big change but I'm sure I will do fine.

Also I will be trying to cut out most carbohydrates this week. That means no bread, soda (which I don't drink anyway), corn, potatoes, or rice. Bread will be the hardest to let go of. I'm not going to be upset if I don't do this but I will do my best.

I'm so happy I am getting healthy!

Post: #80

Yay! It sounds like you're doing really well

Can I just say - I LOVE the penalties you imposed for your 'negative motivation.' Inspired!