Working Out and Staying Active

One of my biggest downfalls before I started taking my health seriously was my lack of activity. I would wake up in the morning, do the dishes or maybe clean up around the house, play with and help take care of my niece, and the rest of my time was spent sitting on the couch either reading a book or watching tv while mindlessly snacking all day. Occasionally I would be roped into doing something more active like mowing the lawn, going out with my friends, or going into town to shop, but those days were few and far between. On days that I was more active than normal, my body would be totally out of sync and I was always sore and overheating.

A piece of advice I kept on seeing when reading other people's blogs and experiences that were on a health journey of their own was to stay active. It didn't matter what you were doing, as long as you were moving your body a majority of the day and getting your heart rate up.

At the beginning, I didn't workout. Instead, I just started implementing tasks into my day that would get me off the couch and motivated. These tasks consisted of going into town more to get steps in, being more active with my niece, going on walks during the day, cleaning up the house more, and a major way I kept moving was by experimenting in the kitchen with new recipes. This is called NEAT- Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis. The definition of NEAT is the energy expended for everything we do that is not sleeping, eating, or exercise that increases our heart-rate exponentially. So, I really started focusing on my NEAT movement until I felt comfortable enough to start working out regularly. I mentioned before that I have a watch that tracks my movement, and using that was a great way to challenge myself to do better than the day before.

I want to preface what I'm about to say with the fact that working out is different for everyone. Your motivation, your abilities, your drive- it's all different from person to person. For me, I just so happened to live with someone that woke up every morning and did an at-home workout and already had equipment available for me to use. My sister, Kirsten, let me know that when I was ready, I was 100% welcome to join her in the mornings and workout with her. When I started to see progress from just being more active in my everyday life and eating healthy, it motivated me to try and see what progress could be made with actual exercise involved. So, I started working out for at least 30 minutes everyday. I know some people hear that and think, "Wow, everyday? She's going to get burnt out eventually!". But this is what I mean when I say I work out everyday; I get in at least 30 minutes of faster paced movement once a day. This could be a full blown workout that involves strength training or cardio, or it could be walking briskly around the house for a half hour. All I try to do is push my body for at least 30 minutes daily.

Overtime, my body has adapted to this daily movement and I have been able to implement harder exercises, longer periods of working out, and overall I have been able to push myself further and further. When I started, I could only run for about 10 seconds at a time, do about 5 reps of an exercise before I needed a break, and I couldn't do certain exercises like jumping jacks or pushups. Last week, I ran my first mile ever without stopping in 9 minutes and 13 seconds, I can do a minute straight of jumping jacks, and my pushups are improving everyday. I still struggle with certain workouts and there are some things that my body is still learning to do, but the point I'm trying to make is everyone has to start somewhere. And one of the most amazing parts of my journey for me is seeing my body become more capable.

For my workouts specifically, I try to focus on strength training exercises. These are exercises and workouts that focus on building and improving strength and endurance. In my past failed health attempts, I thought the only workout I should be doing was cardio. For workouts, all I did was run. Through doing more research this time around, I discovered that strength training has been determined to be the best exercise for weight loss and overall improvement in PCOS patients or patients that suffer from hormonal imbalances. This is because strength training improves insulin resistance, makes for a healthier metabolic rate, and can lower testosterone levels. Cardio is still a great form of exercise and I try to incorporate it into my workouts at least twice a week, but the other five days I focus on strength training.

When I started researching workouts and different strength training exercises I was overwhelmed because there is a lot of information and tips out there. My sister has always done her home workouts with a woman on Youtube named Heather Robertson. After looking through her Youtube channel, I realized she is the most organized person I could find and had a crazy amount of workouts already uploaded that you could sort by length, type, muscle group, and she also uploads different challenges and programs that you have complete access to at no cost. Just yesterday I finished her 12 week workout program that she uploaded to Youtube. When I started the program on January 2nd I was 221.0 pounds and yesterday I weighed in at 183.6 pounds. On top of that, the change I see in my body strength and muscle tone is astounding. Her workouts may not be for everybody, but I can't see myself ever using someone else's videos. She is a great guide, offers modification tips for exercises that are harder, and overall is a fantastic teacher. She also offers a great mix of cardio and strength based workouts that I both look for and recommend. Another reason I recommend using someone like Heather Robertson is because your workouts are basically planned out for you and all you have to do is show up and put in the work instead of planning out each individual exercise and how many circuits and reps you plan on doing. Some of her workouts require equipment, but you can go to a store like Walmart or Meijer and buy some dumbbells at the weight that is appropriate for you.

Working out and implementing higher activity levels into your everyday life can be a major adjustment and commitment but the benefits are worth it. You don't have to dive in head first, you don't have to workout everyday, and you can go completely at your own pace. Like I said, everyone is different and every journey is different, but you won't know what changes you can make in your life until you take initiative and do it. I hope my advice helps you all, and if you have any questions please don't hesitate to reach out! Check out the link below for Heather Robertson's Youtube Channel and scroll to see some more progress pictures throughout my health journey :)

Heather's Youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOpsZxrmeDARilha1uq4slA

Feb. 20th: 192.2 lbs

March 13th: 187.4 lbs