Personal Milestones

It's important, no matter how big your progress, to notice it and recognise all your improvements.

Although I've bee trying for a couple months I'm only just seeing results. 

A tighter frame than when I started

New trousers a size smaller than my usual pants

Getting fit makes so many differences. I might still look pale but since I've started looking after myself I have a skin tone, no longer a ghost!!!

What differences do you measure?

Getting Fit Doesn't Mean Losing Weight

Everyone thinks that getting for is measurable on the scales but its not always the case.

Don't get disheartened when you start exercising and the scales go up. It happens to the best of us. I had a tablet review with the nurse who had to take my weight and she moaned about the increase; not even she realised that they aren't always correlated. 

This photo shows the reduction in fat that I have noted with the body fat calipers. The calipers only measure millimeters less than when I started.

Even the doctors don't understand that getting for includes building muscle (you'll weigh more) and taking in more water ( you'll weigh more). 

Even if your weight goes up you're still improving don't give up!!!

Need inspiration? Just head to Instagram. So many to chose from but my fave is #naughtygirlseatclean who also uses #ngec workouts and recipes. She is also on fb head over to SJX Fitness

Today

One of  my friends got back from uni yesterday so we went for some drinks and after getting very hungry, a fudge cake =( 

So today had to kick it back in a little. (I could have done a lot more but am restricted on time, height and various other things)

I was gonna have a nice healthy breakfast but am to short to reach any of the cereals except the coco pops =S but healthied it up but substituting my semi skimmed milk for hazelnut alpro.
This saved approximately 3g of sugar, 60 calories a small victory for the day.

Due to shopping and mum needing my car I didn't have as much time to exercise as I wanted but made the most of what I could.

The floor is still a little messy ( its covered in christmas decorations and boxes ) so I couldn't do proper sit ups - I need the sofa to hold my feet down. Instead I did the better compact movement - Crunches.

Next I did an evolution on crunches - a mix of vertical leg crunch and crunch to your legs if I had a ball I would have used this to make more of the exercise. 

     - start by crossing your legs in the air 90 degrees to the floor
     - crunch raising your arms towards your toes
     - lower your arms back to the floor and engaging your abs lift your pelvis off the floor

        using a medicine ball will make more of the exercise as your burn more calories

After I tried a new exercise for me, kick backs.
     - on all fours, keep your back straight, abs engaged
     - kick your leg back straight for 20 reps, change leg
     - repeat for 3 sets

At the gym I only had half an hour while my mum was in the area so I didn't get much but did 9 min treadmill, uphill with 3 'sprints' and 18 minutes cycling level 4. Not long, or many calories burnt, but a personal milestone, longest cycle I've managed at the gym.

Tonight's dinner, I would have takn a pic but it was too good to resist and I ate it straight away.

1 bell pepper
Cous cous (already prepared) with basil
1 spring/salad onion finely chopped
sprinkle of cheddar

stick it in the oven for 20 mins gas mark 5/6 - our ovens not very reliable so adjust where necessary

=D much better than yesterdays meals/drinks

Enjoy the exercise ideas and my little recipe

How You Know Your Making Progress

How you know your making progress

With so many things to watch out for and so many ways of measuring improvement you might feel like your making no improvement at all, but sometimes the biggest improvement comes from how you feel. There isn't a scale or measurement for that one!!!

Scales are good for weighing mass but not a great deal else. If your doing a full body workout, strengthening or just starting It can feel like your making no progress or even going the wrong way but its could just be your body holding on to more water so you don't dehydrate while exercising.

Important to remember: Muscle is denser than fat!!!!

So just because the scale doesn't move doesn't mean there isn't a difference

Calipers give you a good idea of how much of your body weight is fat and gives a better indication of how much difference you can achieve. even if that scale is making you feel down body calipers can show you how much you've toned up!

Before and after images are the best visual way to see your progress. This picture explains so I need say nothing more

My Favourite method Personal Milestones. So today at the gym I was using the treadmill. instead of my normal time of 10 minutes I pushed my self just that little bit further and went for 12. Recently the fastest I could jog was 7.5kmh but yesterday I managed to hold a jog at 10kmh. Not the whole jog at that speed but intervals at that speed which is much faster than I ever managed before. I have lost or the core strength I used to have so the plank, being able to hold it for just five seconds longer each time shows I'm improving. And being able to lift either at a higher weight or the same weight but at higher reps shows that your body is getting better. But don't just stop there - every exercise should never be easy or your not doing it right. Push yourself to your limits or you wouldn't make a difference!!

Achieving your personal milestones makes you feel good, proud or your accomplishment and that's how I prefer to measure my progress how many of those moments am I feeling?!

How you know your not making progress
When you do a great workout and your friend drives you to McDonald's =( never mind back to the gym tonight!

How do you like to measure you progress??

Disclaimer: These images are not mine and I do not own any rights to them - They just illustrate my points precisely