Week 6 Summary Operation Get Fit No Excuses

Week 6 has finished and Week 7 has come in with impossibly cold weather, freezing rain, and hints of snow! Yes, snow here in Tuscany! To say the least, this icky weather has put a damper on my outdoor walking excursions. But, it hasn’t made me stop or even pause in my pursuit to get fit and healthier!

The bad weather has made me look into other alternatives and forms of exercise that can be done at home because I don’t want to go to a gym. I have researched and found many great workout videos on YouTube that include cardio, all over body toning, as well as strength training - all without needing any special equipment. I’ve tried different combinations that work diverse parts of my body and ends up in a 25 or 30 minutes workout. I like to mix it up so that I don’t get bored, but also so that I make sure to try to work every part of my body. I highly recommend trying this to see if it’s something that would inspire you in your own fitness journey.

I’ve changed my diet over the past few weeks even more than I first mentioned in my previous blogs. I have returned to eating a mostly soy based diet. While these types of foods are not ‘low calorie’, they are on average higher in protein and lower in carbohydrates. They have also helped me with my heartburn and reflux problems. I don’t eat bread, I’ve substituted wraps instead. I don’t use sugar or sweeteners because they can spike blood sugar levels. I use a natural sweetener called Stivia.

I have heard from a good friend of mine that Almond flour is a great low carb substitute to wheat based flour, so I have ordered some and will attempt to make a low carb bread and some low carb tortillas next week. I will let you know how that turns out!

As far as supplements, I have added 500 mgs of Tumeric Curcumin into my daily supplement intake. This spice is a natural anti-inflammatory as well as an antioxidant. It is hard for the body to absorb so needs to be combined with other ingredients to help it. If you decide to add this supplement to your own daily regimen, do your research into the brands before you buy the pills because every brand is not equal. Many manufacturers will add fillers in an effort to make the Tumeric go further. You want to get the purest form with the least ingredients possible.

I thought that more time had passed since my last measurements post, but it was only 2 weeks ago! So, since I took them, I’ll go ahead and post it so you can follow along with my progress. My weight before I started my journey to a healthier lifestyle was 91 kg / 200 lbs. Now it’s 84.5 kg / 186 lbs. That’s 6.5 kg / 14 lbs difference in 6 weeks!

Here are my measurements and pictures from January 7, 2018:

Hips - 124 cm (48.8 inches)
Waist - 98 cm (38.5 inches)
Bicep - 39.5 cm (15.5 inches)
Thigh - 81.5 cm (32 inches)

My measurements and pictures from February 7, 2018:

Hips - 121.5 cm (47.8 inches)
Waist - 94 cm (37 inches)
Bicep - 36.5 cm (14.37 inches)
Thigh - 73 cm (28.7 inches)

My current measurements and pictures as of February 22, 2018:

Hips - 120.5 cm (47.4 inches)
Waist - 90.5 cm (35.6 inches)
Bicep - 37 cm (14.56 inches)
Thigh - 66.5 cm (26.18 inches)

Thank you all for following me on this journey! If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please leave them below!

Week 5 Operation Get Fit No Excuses Summary

Week 5 is finished and I’m 2 days into Week 6 already! Wow time has been flying. 

Over the past several weeks, I’ve had inflammation in the ball of my right foot. I have tried different running shoes as well as a couple of different inserts so far and nothing has worked. I spoke with my Mom and she suggested a different type of shoe as well as adding Turmeric Curcumin to my daily vitamins. Apparently, this spice is good for a multitude of things, inflammation being one of them.

So, until I get that situation figured out, I’m going to limit my walking distance but work on increasing my speed/pace. I will still get the benefits of walking but without the increased length because it just gets too painful. Before you say it, yes, I should go to a doctor, but I’m very stubborn. I want to exhaust my options first and then I’ll go if I don’t see any improvement with the additional vitamins and shoes.

I found a great YouTube Walk At Home video that anyone can do. It’s completely low impact and only 15 minutes long. It makes a great warm up before a walk outside or as an additional at-home workout to mix things up. 

Here’s the link: https://youtu.be/35G7AW78kxo

So, now that I cannot drink sodas or anything with sugar in it, I thought I would try a 0 calorie/0 sugar pre-made Tea with Lemon. It was sweetened with an artificial sweetener that was not a Stevia product. For 2 days, my blood sugar readings were much higher than normal. Padrone and I knew immediately that it had to be the tea since that was the only thing in my diet that was different. I had only drank 2 8oz glasses of it and it stayed in my system for 2 days! So, lesson learned and back to water only. 

This past week, I have added Soy based food products to my diet (diet meaning what I eat) in order to increase my fiber intake. I happen to love food made from soy, but for those of you watching calories, this may not be an option because most of the products don’t have decreased calories. Fortunately, the products I picked are high in protein and low in carbs. 

On to the good news, I fit into jeans that haven’t fit me in 4 years! I can’t tell you how happy this has made me! It’s another way to not only keep motivated but to also measure my progress. I highly recommend you do this also if at all possible.

Hopefully you will continue to follow me on my journey to getting healthier! Thank you for reading! 

Operation Get Fit No Excuses - Week 4 Summary

I can’t believe that 4 weeks have gone by since I started my journey to get fit and healthier. The funny part about it is that I just happened to start in January. For me, it had nothing to do with New Year resolutions. My motivation was to try to control my spiraling blood sugar, a weird eye problem, and eczema that popped up out of nowhere. When you’re 44 and it feels like your body is falling apart, it’s a powerful motivation to get up and do something.

The changes I have made are becoming a way of life, not just a diet or exercise scheme. I’ve made little changes to my food choices that have not had a great impact on the variety of things I eat, but have had a huge impact on my body. I substituted bread for flour tortillas. I substituted sugar for a pure Stevia sweetener product. I don’t eat sweets or drink any sugary beverages. I drink a ton of water every day. I limit my caffeine intake to 1 espresso per day, but will sometimes make a decaf espresso during the day. I also drink herbal teas.

I had previously cut out most fried foods because of reflux problems, so now, most of my food is baked, cooked in our NuWave oven, or on the stovetop, but not in a lot of oil. All of these changes have improved my overall health tremendously in the past 4 weeks.

For exercise, I walk every day between 3 - 5 kilometers (1.8 - 3.1 miles). I started out slow, but my pace has steadily increased. Now, I’m able to alternate fast walking and jogging throughout my daily workout. I added Yoga stretching to my exercise routine also because it helps keep my muscles from getting extremely stiff and sore.

This past week, I injured my calf so I was unable to get out and walk like I normally do. This made me look up beginners level in home cardio workouts. I found several different types and substituted one for my walk. It made me realize that I needed to add variety into my exercise regimen so I am going to start alternating days with cardio at home workouts and walking. This will provide me with a better overall level of fitness as I continue on my Get Fit journey.

Remember to tailor your own personal fitness experience to suit your situation and not feel pressure to keep up with me or anybody else that you may be following. Every person is different and everyone has a different level that are at physically.

Here are my measurements and pictures from 4 weeks ago:

Hips - 124 cm (48.8 inches)

Waist - 98 cm (38.5 inches)

Bicep - 39.5 cm (15.5 inches)

Thigh - 81.5 cm (32 inches)

Here’s my current measurements and newest pictures:

Hips - 121.5 cm (47.8 inches)

Waist - 94 cm (37 inches)

Bicep - 36.5 cm (14.37 inches)

Thigh - 73 cm (28.7 inches)

I am so happy with my results so far! I have weighed myself once and have not weighed again because I’m scared the numbers will discourage me and that is the last thing I want or need. So, I will continue my slow but steady pace of losing weight and using measurements as a way to chart my progress in another 4 weeks!

Be sure to continue to follow me on my weekly written blog as well as my daily video on YouTube.

Thank you all for your continued support!

Operation Get Fit No Excuses: Week 3 Summary

Week 3 has finished and Week 4 has begun! I can’t believe that the time has flown by so fast. I have to say I’m surprised and proud of myself that I’ve continued to walk and exercise every day despite health issues that pop up and crap weather. Some days have been a struggle for me to actually get up and go but I did and I’m extremely happy that I did!

I’ve learned many things about my body that I didn’t know and had to adjust my diet and stretching times to accommodate some weird sore muscles. 

Here are this week’s main points that I think are important to touch on:

1. Stretching. Remember that it’s very important to stretch all your muscles, this includes feet, ankles, and toes. Oftentimes, we forget the importance of stretching parts we think don’t need it but they do. After so many weeks of daily exercise, my toes and the balls of my feet started cramping up and that’s when I realized that I forgot about stretching them. I searched for videos and information and found a great many different techniques that has helped. Look for ones that you are comfortable with doing.
   
2. Weight. I can not emphasize enough the importance of not weighing yourself every day or even once a week. Chasing a number on a scale will discourage even the most dedicated person. Many people don’t realize that while losing weight, you can gain lean muscle mass that will change your weight. If you want to record your journey, measure the same body parts every month on the same day. That should help you stay encouraged without going crazy chasing some magical number.
   
3. Food. You have to eat. It’s that simple. It’s what and how much you eat that you have to be aware of. I don’t eat fruits and vegetables. I have never been able to because my system rejects it. Never figured out why, it just does. For my unusual dietary needs, I have substituted sugar for Stevia, which is a natural sweetner. I have substituted bread for a tortilla, so instead of a Chicken sandwich, I will have a chicken wrap. I also snack on a mixed variety of nuts that are all natural, no salt or preservatives added. I drink water all day. Probably 2 liters per day on average. I also will drink warm tisanes which are all natural, caffeine free teas. So, don’t stop eating to lose weight, just change little things that you do eat and that will make a huge difference.
   
4. Clothes. While I have said in the past that you do not have to go out and buy all new fitness gear, if you are planning to walk/run outside, make sure you have the right clothes for the weather. If it’s raining, invest in a good waterproof jacket. If it’s cold, look into warm but lightweight outwear so you don’t harm your body parts in extreme weather. Mainly, use common sense.
   

Those are all the topics for this week. I want to thank each of you that continue to follow me on my journey to get into better shape. Week 4 Day 1 is officially coming to a close and we’re getting closer to the next set of measurements and pictures of my progress that I will reveal in my blog the week of February 10th. 

#getfitnoexcuses