One Month!

Anyone else agree that this summer has gone by way too fast??!! September officially makes one whole month of me being on my new fitness fix. I guess this means I get to go shopping and buy myself a new workout outfit! Ooh, exciting! (That's right, it's important to set little milestones and reward yourself when you achieve them.)

What I've learned:

1. Food intake makes a huge difference- Every day for the last month I have been writing down the exercise I for the day, the calories I've consumed and my weight that I measure first thing in the morning. And, from what I see on my calendar, the amount of calories I eat is what affects my weight the most. I'm going to be honest here and say that there were days that I did not eat right. In fact, most weekends that would be an understatement! lol And every time, without fail, my weight went up a little bit. So lesson 1: If you want to lose weight, control your calories!

2. Lifting weights is fun, it's just getting to the gym- If it's Zumba or any other class, I look forward to being at the gym. But when I have to design my weight lifting schedule suddenly I'm too tired, or there isn't enough time, etc. Sound familiar? If I wasn't so motivated I probably would have flaked out a while ago because it's not a social event, like the classes are. But, once I get to the gym and I get going, I really enjoy it. Plus, I've been able to see my progress.

3. I have very little self control when it comes to dessert- Pretty sure I already knew that... :) But, I've figured out that if I don't have it in the house, I don't eat it...usually.

With those things in mind I've made a couple of goals for this new month.

1. Manage my food better on the weekends. It's been hard to control what I eat on the weekends, especially because it's summer and life is more spontaneous on the weekends. I'm not sure how I'm going to do this yet. Any suggestions?

2. Plan my weekly workout schedule in advance. And stick to it!

3. Make dessert in individual portions so that when I make something, I only eat it once and not daily until it's gone.

4. Target my legs and butt for more toning. I've noticed that this area is more stubborn for fat loss.

Even though I didn't follow my plan perfectly (I'm only human!) I'm still going to buy a cute new workout outfit. Know why? Because I made progress! There were times when I didn't want to go to the gym but I still did lift weights 4 days a week for the last month. Actually, pretty much every week I exercised more than 4 days sometimes even everyday.

I'm sure you're wondering if my little plan even worked? Answer: YES! The progress wasn't drastic (probably because of the above mentioned weekends) but it was significant enough for me to notice it. Here's a tally of the results:

I've lost 5lbs. My clothes fit a little more comfortably. My muscles are more defined, especially in my arms and stomach. I've been able to increase the amount of weight I lift by 5lbs. But the most exciting of all: I lost 1.5% of my body fat!! Truly, I am proud of that!

Overall, I feel like I've accomplished something. The trainer says that even 1% is a significant change in body fat for one month. So with that in mind, I am on my way to reward myself. TJ Maxx here I come!