Thursday, July 31, 2008

July Recap

Well, before I added up all of my numbers for the month of July, I really thought that they would be much lower than they were for June. Why did I think that? Mostly because my loss for the month was 3 pounds compared to the 7 that I lost in June.

CARDIO: Biking 12.5 hours (-6 hours); 102.6 miles
Running 15.3 hours (+7 hours); 85.6 miles
Pilates 156 min. (-24 min.)
JULY CHALLENGE: 100 pushups (did 8 days, 41 being the most)
JULY NUMBERS: 3 lbs. gone; 5.5 inches gone

So, despite a smaller loss in weight, I lost 2.5 inches more than June! That is something for me to smile about! My biking time decreased but my running has almost doubled and I owe my lost inches to it. I have really noticed a difference in my legs (and those pesky thighs). Once again my goal for August is to increase the workouts with weights. I had 5 days this month which isn't nearly enough. The pushup challenge was strong in the beginning then I got bored so there's work to be done there.

I'm ready for the dog days of August and am looking forward to another exciting month of improvement. How about you? Anything you've been pleased with for July? Something you'd like to work on improving for August? I'd love to hear from you.

Enjoy your day!


27 comments:

Grace Acres said...

you are so great about sticking to your program and it is so paying off. Great job this monthy.

Brightcetera said...

Manuela, you've morphed into an athlete!
Excellent news on the inches lost!

For me the July improvements included more days of healthier eating. I only had 3 crazy days out of 31 and for me that's amazing. Also, getting back on my feet immediately after and not giving up is HUGE for me.
My goal for August is to work out with weights 3x/week.
My mom & Armand loved the blueberry oat muffins, btw. "YOU made these?" hahaha

RunningNan said...

Whoo hoo for doubling your running! My goal for August is to gear up for school and play with my man! ha ha.. Does that count at all? I also hope to keep on track with my running. July slipped away due to heat, eating, over or under fueling, lack of sleep and many other things. I still ended up over 100 miles, so I'm happy.

WWSuzi said...

For july i believe my thinking, as far as eating and doing healthy things for me, has been a lot better.
For August i'd like to continue and hopefully have a couple less binge eating episodes.
But on the whole i pretty happy with how far i've come ;)

Anonymous said...

Well, I must say I am quite impressed with your blog! Keep up with the running, I know that is what always helped me keep my weight down. My trick for the running was to not even think too much about how you don't want to do it, but just get out there and run.

I have lost a total of 10 pounds so far in about 3 weeks. I'm excited, but know I have a lot of work ahead of me. The nice thing is knowing that I can do it.

I do run, but just on the treadmill since it's too darn hot and humid outside. I've been doing Body Step, Body Combat and Body Jam at my gym and from all of these workouts Body Step kicks my butt every single time.

I'll try and keep my blog up-to-date since it's been a long time since I've done anything, especially with my divorce, ugh!

I will also try and get some pictures up with my progress!

Anonymous said...

Oh, by the way, speaking from years of experience in martial arts on doing all sorts of variations of pushups, from knuckle pushups, to okinawan pushups (don't ask!) they never get easier. I would do bench presses, and various other strength exercises at the gym, and while these helped, those darn pushups were still a pain in the you know what.

So, don't fret about the pushups. Just build up to what you feel comfortable doing and you will get there!

This is coming from a person who had to do pushups in karate for 10 years so I know what I'm talking about lol!!

Anonymous said...

That's great results. Your are doing a lot of exercise. Keep up the good work.

Anonymous said...

Great job! You definitely have turned into a very athletic person. I cannot wait to buy my bike next month.

Anonymous said...

Manuela, I am so proud of you. You have done an amazing job. You are inspiring me to really get my butt in gear to get to the gym. August is a new month and it will be MY month.

Thanks for inspiring me :).

Anonymous said...

Great job on the exercise, Manuela. I agree about the push-up challenge....I'm a little bored with it also. I actually am re-doing week two as I lost interest and just couldn't force myself to do it.

Well, I'm off to work out now. Not really 'in the mood' but know that I can't let my mood dictate doing what is good for me!

Cheers

Cammy@TippyToeDiet said...

Oh you had an excellent July! Keep up the great work and you'll see all your goals met!

Pattie said...

Wow - who cares about the pounds: 5.5 inches are history!! That’s amazing.

Congratulations, m'dear. Your hard work is sure paying off!

PS - is that lily from your yard? If so, is it a Casa Blanca? If so, can I come and take a deep whiff??? LOL! They are my favorite flower!

Heather said...

thats fantastic! I think those 3 pounds are great, and the inches are wonderful. I bet you are looking and feeling so good. keep it up!

Lynn said...

Oh my goodness! Your exercise is quite inspirational. I feel like a big, fat lazy lump compared to you. I can't wait until I can run again. I actually dream about running...I am trying so hard to run, but I can't. My dream is obviously a direct reflection about my frustration with not being able to run.

Anonymous said...

you are?
READY?
I guess you are with those inches lost.
me? Im dreading the dogdays.

the nondogdays of JULY nearly killed me :)

102 here today.

KUDOS ON A GREAT JULY.

Grumpy Chair said...

You are so so so awesome with your exercise! And that is great about inches lost.

I owe you and the rest of the contestants of the "Why ride ..." contest a huge apology. I just wasn't prepared for the event that happened.

August goals for me would be to exercise at least 3x's a week.

Anonymous said...

Maybe the reason that you didn't lose as much is because you got some muscle and that can be verify by the amount of inches that you lost.
Losing weight is like that, sometimes you lose a lot and sometimes almost anything.
My results for this week aren't even close from last week but the only thing that I can do is to continue to do what I'm doing because if I didn't lose as much at least I lost a little bit.
If you keep your routine I'm sure that you will achieve your goal.

Erin said...

Impressive to say the least. I admire your I can accomplish ANYTHING attitude! Nothing more from me except that YOU ROCK!!!

Anonymous said...

Your totals are awesome and, yes, obviously running will burn more calories than biking ... maybe you have been building up loads of muscle?

Best wishes for August.

Brightcetera said...

Thanks for the birthday wishes, Manuela! 48! I can't believe it!

Big Girl said...

super impressive numbers...you are quite an inspiration.

Susie said...

Doing great M! I am very impressed with all of your accomplishments! I love how positive you are. Hugs!
Have a great August!

Carole Burant said...

Hello dear Manuela:-)

I'm back from visiting my boys and am now trying to catch up with everybody! You did really great in July and losing inches can sometimes be even greater than losing weight. I wish I could find your willpower, I've just gotten too lazy in my old age! lol Keep up the terrific work!! xoxo

tas said...

thanks for stopping by and thanks for the encouragement to keep accountable by blogging and thanks for your patience with my sparodic blogging... ok... so THANKS! Glad July went so well. you are such a good example of sticking to it! Love the flower pictures!
blessings!
tas

MB said...

You did a great job. Inches or pounds ... as long as it is going in the right direction it is all good.

I'm trying to block out July; August is better already. :)

pointing the weigh said...

Thankyou so much for a lovely comment.

Sounds like you and Katschi had a lovely day....FAB!

Oh! Why do you like us Brits?? I'm curious.

Hugs xx

pointing the weigh said...

Thankysou soo much for your lovely comment!

It sounds like you and Katschi had a lovely day!

Why do you like us Brits?? I'm curious.

Hugs xx