The world we live in as a fat-phobic society

So tonight I was all excited to go back to Zumba class. I'd been looking forward to it since last week. The class is so much more fun than doing the dvds at home! But tonight I was particularly excited because I had some new workout clothes to wear and I was super happy about it! I had some nice capri workout pants with little rainbow stripes on one pant leg and a new tank top with little panda faces on it. SUPER CUTE! And for those who know me, you probably know that the only socks I pretty much own are white tube socks because for whatever reason they're the only socks that my shoes won't eat when I walk or exercise. So I rolled them down a bit so I didn't look silly with capris and white socks up to my knees. Sort of makes wearing capris sort of silly.
I gathered my things and was JUST about to walk out the door and I heard people walking around outside going up or down the stairs near my apartment like they were either leaving or going to their apartment. I stopped at my door and waited until I didn't hear anyone before I left my apartment because I was scared for people to see me in a tank top and my rolled down white socks and capri pants. I got in my car and thought... why did I just do that? Why do I care what strangers think about what I'm wearing?? And the whole thing got me to thinking about when I was younger and I would literally roast myself in the summer because I didn't want to show skin in public because of my weight. I remember my mom constantly trying to get me to wear shorts or something. Anything that wouldn't cause me to be uncomfortable in the North Carolina summer heat. But to me, being uncomfortable in the heat was better than being uncomfortable because of people judging me for what I was wearing at my weight. We hear stories all the time about people being fat shamed, especially at gyms. I've never understood why people think it's fun or cool to tear people down who are legit trying to better their health. What's the point and why should anyone else care? Focus on your own life and workout. I know when I used to go to Planet Fitness, I sort of just put mental blinders on and focused on what I was doing and that was it.

Anyway. I know it all seems silly, but I feel like we do still live in a fat-phobic world. There have been great strides to make it better, but honestly it's still not where it needs to be. When I got out of my car to go into Zumba class... which is in a small shopping center so there were people out and about... I just held my head up and walked right on in ready to work and have fun doing it! When I left, I felt great after my workout and didn't really care.

Now, onto the actual workout! Class was so much fun! Now that I'm getting the routines down a bit and am not completely new to it, I was able to get into it a bit more. Some of the routines were new from last week but some of them were the same so I was able to recall them and polish them up a bit. But I had a lot of fun and the hour just flew right by and before I knew it, it was over! Sometimes I still got my left and right mixed up, but the cool thing about Zumba is that sometimes you don't need to get it right. Its just about being active and keeping yourself going and moving! Easy as that!

Anyway, I need to get going and get ready for work early in the morning. I hope that everyone has had a great week and have great weekend plans ahead of them!

Blessings and Later Days!

--CarryV

Weigh-In Wednesday and Foot Issues

So today was weigh-in Wednesday and while I was a smidge disappointed about the results, at least I didn't really gain anything from the last official weigh-in. I came in at 191 even. Last time I was 193-something, so at least I lost about two pounds in the last two weeks. ... Trying to stay positive. Also I recently had to buy a new pair of work pants (and to be honest I ended up buying two pair). One of them was the same brand and size as my old pair, I just did the petite ones instead of the average because I'm so short. Today I realized that they felt a little loose, which was nice!

Anyway. So recently I've come across this foot issue. It actually started about a month or two ago but it's been just coming and going randomly. Recently I got so frustrated from it that I finally went to a doctor to find out what was going on. Turns out, my right foot has a nice little case of athletes foot. Fun, right??? It's been off and on super duper itchy and irritated for a while. So they've given me the tools to get it better and under control, so hopefully things will come together for it and get it feeling better. Honestly, I know it's been hindering my activity level this week because my foot just doesn't feel good and thus I don't feel like being active with it. I just wanna slather it in Lamisil cream and rest it. But I'm still trying to be as active as I can. I still plan to go to Zumba class tomorrow, and I'm super looking forward to it! I just got some new workout leggings and a new tank top that I'm dying to premier! But I'm also ready to get in there and get to work!
Though last night I did the Sculpt and Tone dvd and it was all I could do to get through about 20 minutes of it before exhaustion set in. But I'm sure I'll be able to beast through the hour long class. The class is different from doing the dvds at home. The time seems to fly by faster! Super ready!!!

Anyway. I guess I need to get going. I hope everyone is having a great week so far!

Blessings and Later Days!

--CarryV

Weekend Activity

This weekend I tried to be active but still sort of take it easy. Saturday we woke up early and drove to the mountains for a day trip. We caught a late breakfast once we arrived to Boone, then walked around campus, went to the outlet mall and walked around, then we drove on the Blue Ridge Parkway for a while before stopping at one of my favorite hiking spots. We got to Beacon Heights and hiked up the mountain for about 10 minutes until we reached the big cliff at the end. We sat out there for a while, then found another section of the cliff that I didn't even know about. Then we left and went to a nearby park to walk around a bit more before returning to town for dinner at my favorite place ever, Macados!! We had a great day in my favorite place in the world, Boone. I miss living there so much! Its such a great place with so many places for outside activities!

Today I went for an afternoon walk around the lake by my apartment. I didn't do Couch to 5K. I just walked around and honestly I played Pokemon Go as I was walking around, but something is better than nothing, right? At least I've tried to remain active this weekend. Weigh-In Wednesday is coming up this week afterall!

Anyway. I am exhausted after a day of cleaning this apartment so I'm going to relax with my furbabies and watch The Walking Dead before I go to sleep. I hope everyone has a great week coming up!

Blessings and Later Days!

--CarryV

Zumba Class REALNESS!!! And Monthly Measurements!!!

Good Thursday evening to you all! I guess first things first, lets get Monthly Measurements out of the way. As per usual I'm giving the disclaimer that I'm not the best at taking my own measurements so they may or may not be very accurate, but hopefully it gives me a ballpark idea at where I'm at and how I'm doing.

So my waist came in at 39.5" which is only about a half an inch loss from last month but I'll still take it! And my hips came in at 45". Both of these measurements may seem like they're still high... and they are don't get me wrong.... but they're important. Because in both areas I have lost about two inches each since I started this whole thing. How awesome is that???? And I have to say, I was bad and popped on the scale this morning to see how I was doing on that front even though its not an official weigh in day, but I was pleasantly surprised that I saw 188.8 on the scale. That's the lowest number I think I've see on there in a long time, so needless to say that put me in a good mood too!

Now onto the bulk of today's post. Today I did something I've been wanting to start for a while, and that is go to an actual Zumba class. The closest thing to a class I have ever done was a 2 hours Zumba-thon we did in college as a fundraiser for Relay for Life. Otherwise, any Zumba I have ever done has been in my living room with DVDs. I had absolutely no idea what to expect. Would it be a large class or very small? Would the moves be more complex than I could handle? Would I be the only new person? Would I like the teacher?
Let me answer all of those questions with one statement. I plan to go back next week! The class was small, including me and the instructor there were four other people, so it made for an easy going atmosphere for my first time there. I had some technical issues figuring out my left from my right some times but I feel like for the most part I got things pretty quickly. I went through an entire bottle of water, which when I do it at home I usually only go through maybe half. When I left I was a sweaty mess, but I felt good all at the same time! The class was definitely worth my $5 and all the other $5 I'll spend on it in the weeks to come! If anyone else in the Raleigh area is ever interested in going, let me know! It definitely has the CarryV seal of approval!

Anyway, I'm going to relax for a bit and get some things done here at the end of the night. I hope everyone has great weekend plans ahead! Be good to each other, always!

Blessings and Later Days...

--CarryV

Probably will be hurting tomorrow!

Today I used a Zumba dvd I haven't done in a very long time. It was my older Sculpt and Tone dvd. 40 minutes (plus a 5 minute cool down at the end) of toning awesomeness! However I feel completely wiped out. Well maybe not completely. But I'm super sweaty and just know I'm going to be feeling it in the morning! I just felt like a change, but I forgot how intense that dvd is! But I was proud of myself in that I did the entire dvd and didn't skip any sections. Below is the screenshot of how my google fit app thinks I did. As I've said before, I'm not sure how accurate their calorie counter is, but I mean... if it is pretty accurate, I'll definitely take it!

Monthly Measurements is on Thursday so stay tuned!

Hope everyone is having a great week so far!

Blessings and Later Days!

--CarryV

Focusing on the Process, not the Progress

Happy Sunday everyone! I hope you've all had a great weekend! This one has been pretty packed for me! I've been pet sitting, I had to work at the hospital on Saturday... which even though it's a half day, it's always quite a doozy! But I still tried to find time to workout to make up for the slacking I was doing the last two weeks.
Yesterday I wanted to go to Greek Fiesta for the first time and I also wanted to go to Goodberry's to get some frozen custard (I mean, the flavor of the day was cheesecake!!!) so I was like "Ok, I'll treat myself to those things IF I do some kind of a workout today". So I did about 35-40 minutes of Zumba. The best part was that my boyfriend jumped in and did Zumba with me, which made the time fly by way faster. He did pretty good for his first time doing some Zumba!
Today was the first day in a while it's actually been a decent temperature outside, so I opted to do some work outside while the weather was cooperative. I know it's been a while since I've done a couch to 5K workout (about 17 days to be exact! Yikes!) so I wasn't expecting it to be easy jumping right back into the week three routine... and I was right. It wiped me out! For the first time ever, I actually had to stop jogging during the jogging portions to walk a little bit because I was so tired. It was only during the 3 minute sections and I feel like I did most of the time jogging. I tried to make up for it by jogging during some of the walking parts too and during part of the cool down since I knew I could do more cool down time after everything was over since I'd have to still walk back to my apartment. I honestly got a little bummed out and disheartened because once again I didn't get as far down the trail as I was when I was doing the week two routine. I feel like I should be getting at least that far down if not further because I'm running for longer. Then again I want to say the third week is about 2 or 3 minutes shorter than the second week. So that could be a factor. But I just feel like my pace isn't very good. ... However, while typing this it made me think and I went back to look over some of my pacing notes from past workouts when I was doing the week two routines just to see. My pace wasn't too much off in terms of how long it takes me to do a mile (which has been averaging about 15 minutes 40-something seconds per mile). But still, my original purpose of this post is to say that I think it's time that I focus on the process and not the progress. Progress will happen in it's own time as I continue the process. In order to make progress I need to make sure I keep doing the work, and doing it consistently which has been difficult as of late for one reason or another. So it's all about just keeping on keeping on.

Anyway. Not much else is going on. Monthly Measurements will be coming up in a few days so keep an eye out for that. Again, with my recent setbacks I don't foresee there being any positive change but that too will come in time as things go. I hope everyone has a great week ahead of them! Be good to each other, always!

Blessings and Later Days!

--CarryV

Weigh-In Wednesday Results

And they aren't good, let me tell you! Woke up yesterday morning and did my weigh-in Wednesday.... 193.2. I went UP! Do not like!! It has definitely grabbed my attention and has me ready to continue to kick some butt!! Time to get to work and get busy!! I was doing so great, but backslides do happen from time to time and when they do you just gotta dust yourself off and get back to work!

I did a Zumba workout on Tuesday that was really nice. It was about 35-40 minutes long and I tracked the workout using my google fit app. I mentioned it on facebook that night but it was pretty cool. It estimates how many calories are burned based on how long the workout is. Now I'm not sure how accurate it is, but it at least gives me a ballpark figure which is nice. I think it told me I burned about 230 calories during that workout, which is nice!

Anyway I hate to type and run but I have a few things to do before I head out to run errands here on my day off. I hope that everyone is having a great week! Stay good to each other!

Blessings and later days!

--CarryV

I promise I'm not MIA!!!

This past week as been an odd one. I've been off and on not feeling well and honestly, exercise just did not happen. But yesterday I did get up and do something about it and did about 35-40 minutes of Zumba, which was nice. I just really need to get my routine back together! I even made a note for myself in my notebook so hopefully that'll help me keep myself going!

Anyway. Otherwise I hope that everyone had a great week last week and have great things in store for the week ahead! I'll be sure to post more this week Lord willing and if the creek don't rise!

Blessings and Later days!

--CarryV

Couch to 5K OUTSIDE

I dragged my ass today making myself go to a workout. Days off from my job are nice and I like to use them for resting but I knew that a workout was going to have to come into play at some point today. But I did allow myself to sleep in until about 10:30am which was GLORIOUS! I haven't slept in that late in what feels like forever! But then I got up and started amongst my to-do list for the day. I did a few things around the apartment that needed to be done. I went to the mall for a small bit of retail therapy.... I got a few things from Belk (including a sweet new pair of PJ pants that are super comfy and have cute London things on them!) and then went to Teavana and bought some flavored green tea I've been craving the hell out of lately. Honestly, I really miss working there sometimes.
One thing at the mall did sort of miff me. As I was leaving Belk and heading for Teavana a guy came rushing out of the store right outside of Belk, which does like.... face cleansers and stuff.... and they've suckered me before when they've been like "Here's a free sample of lotion!" and I go "Oh thanks!" then they're like "Hey come in for a while!" and do demos on me. .... So this time I was just like "No thank you, I don't have the time" and kept going. Which is rude, I know. But he still kept trying to get me to come in even though I said no. No means no. But then after I finished at Teavana I was heading down the mall for a little bit of window shopping and there was a kiosk with a similar product and this guy was obviously not going to take no for an answer. So I did his demo and he constantly told me that I was a tough cookie. I was like "Well I've already said I have products like this that I'm already committed too so...."
Anyway. All of that aside my trip to the mall was pretty nice. I came home and did a few more things and then was lounging around playing with my phone since it had come back while I was out from it's repair. I suddenly looked up and it was 6pm and the sun was setting. I got up, got dressed in my workout clothes and took myself right on outside to do a workout outside. I decided to try a Week Three workout outside of Couch to 5K since I hadn't done it in about a week or so and the last time I'd done it was on the treadmill. To my shock and awe it was easier than I thought. Now I didn't say it was easy... it was just easier than I thought, Though, that last 3 minute jog was a killer right near the end. But it was great because JT's "Can't Stop the Feelin" came on right as it told me to jog that last time which lifted my spirits. I'm sure if there had been more people out on the trail at that time they would've thought I was nuts cause I was starting to sort of like.... dance jog? down the trail to the song, which helped keep me going a bit. But I'm sure if anyone saw me they probably thought I was crazy.

Anyways. I did it though. And while I was sort of bummed out that my pace actually seemed to be slower than it was when I would do week two outside I'm trying to focus more on the fact that I did it. I did it, I finished the workout and didn't have to stop jogging halfway through or anything. So, I'm going to count it as a win I think. I hope that everyone is having a great week and have fun weekend plans ahead!

Blessings and Later days!

--CarryV

Weigh-In Wednesday - Progress Made!

So this will be a short post because I'm so sleepy I can barely keep my eyes open but I did want to report on my Weigh-In Wednesday results from this morning. It was a great weigh-in! I came in at 189.7! I finally went below the 190s! Barely, but I still got there! WOO HOO! Tomorrow I'm going to try Week Three of C25K again since I've been focusing more on Zumba lately. I don't want to lose the progress I have made with it and have to go back to week two or even week one. Gonna keep going!!

Anyway I'm sure I'll post something a little more detailed and conscious once I've had a nice night's sleep. But I hope everyone has had a great week so far!

Blessings and Later Days!

--CarryV