Week 6-8

It has been a while since I have updated on my fitness progress, but I have been so incredibly busy. I have still been working out and eating healthy, but it has been harder for me to keep track of what all I've been doing while I moved. Now that I am settled back in, I will be able to get back into my exercise routine.

During my week 5 post, I mentioned a waist-toning exercise that I was interested in trying. I found this and plenty more exercises that I can't wait to try on a blog called Curvy Thoughts. Simple enough to do and very effective. Begin by sitting on one hip, knees together, with your arm supporting your body. Placing your other hand on your hip for support, use your waist and ab muscles to lift your body out and extending your muscles. Return to the starting position. I started by doing 20 reps on each side.

Exercising and eating healthy have become second nature to me since I started this project. The days that I don't exercise, or eat too much junk food, I feel very self-conscious and more motivated to work harder. I will admit that the first few weeks were difficult, but now I feel like it has become more of a life style. There are still some days that I don't want to get up early to exercise, but then I think about how much I've improved and how much I don't want to waste that.

Looking forward to week 9, I am going to experiment with a fitness ball. Now that things aren't so hectic, I also want to try to increase my running distance. I'm hoping to finish off the summer strong in weeks 9 and 10.

Week 5

Week 5 was tough because I was sick in the middle of the week and missed a day. I also started a new job in the evenings, so I have to make sure to get my exercises done each morning. I will be walking about 4 miles every day at work, though, which should help me stay toned and healthy.

Even though I missed a day in week 5, I was still able to meet my goal. I continued my favorite work outs and paid special attention to my abs.

The exercise that I saw the best results from was the side crunch. Side crunches are much like regular crunches, except your hips rotate to one side so that your legs are on the ground. You still lift you body forward with your abs, even though your legs are twisted sideways. I did 30 reps on each side, matched with 40 reps of regular crunches.

I will be trying a new waist-toning work out in week 6, while alternating between ab and butt-focused exercises. It's been over a month since I started this project and I am satisfied with my progress so far.