Level 4, day 1.

This week has been crazy for me at work, I've been working a lot of 9-hour shifts when I'm used to working maybe 4 hours, so it's made it pretty difficult to find time to work out - I don't know how everyone else does it!

I started level 4 today - I did arms without weights, since it was my first day, and I found that abs on the floor were relatively easy compared to last level's. The leg section was fantastic, I actually managed around 15 reps for almost every exercise, except the second one where she has you in a plank moving from one side of the mat to the other - I HATE planks, my upper body strength sucks, so I only managed maybe 5 of those, hahaha. I'd like to get up to at least half of the reps Tracy does this level - so when she does 40, I want to get up to 20, and when she does 30, I'll do 15. Of course, I'll continue to work my way up to the full 40, but my short-term goal for the next couple of workouts is to manage at least half.

I also rediscovered my Run 5k app, and I'm going to start doing that for cardio, because I remember how much I loved jogging when I was doing it last summer. The app says to do it 3 times a week, and I am also going to modify my MS goal to a MINIMUM of 3-4 times a week; 5-6 times a week will still be the ideal, but I want to be doing at least 3 MS workouts a week. I also won't necessarily do my MS and cardio together every time, I might do MS one day and a run the next, because I feel like 30-minute workouts are way more manageable for me, especially when I'm working longer shifts - I'll push myself to get up early and do 30 minutes of either. I think that by giving myself more realistic goals, it'll help me work up to where I want to be.

Level 3, days 9 & 10 and measurements.

So I finished level 3 in 28 days - I think that's the longest it's ever taken me, but I do have to factor in a week or two's worth of mental breakdown. Blech. As much as I liked level 3, I feel like it was one of the hardest ones to get through after the first half, because I got hit with a total lack of motivation and so much overwhelming anxiety in my personal life, I don't think I did a single day of cardio, and the past two weeks I ate pretty much nothing but crap.

However, level 3 somehow also managed to still sculpt my body in little ways, like seeing my little arm muscles, and feeling my butt lift and tighten, and starting to see, when I sit or stand a certain way, a line of muscle along my outer thigh (!!!).

Measurements, day 30:

weight: 199.4 lbs (-1 lbs)

bust (cup): 40" (-1")

bust (band):  33" (no change)

arm (L): 12" (no change)

arm (R): 12.5" (no change)

waist (smallest part): 31" (no change)

stomach (belly button): 38" (-2")

hips: 43" (-1")

thigh (L): 23" (no change)

thigh (R): 23" (no change)

bikini (L):  27.5" (-.5")

bikini (R):  28.5" (-.5")

calf (L): 15" (-.5")

calf (R): 15" (-.5")

I'm a little anxious about level 4, since I've heard it's a rough one - I haven't previewed it yet, but I also haven't ruled out the possibility of redoing level 3 for another 5 or 10 days, since it did take me so long. We'll see how I feel when I watch level 4, I guess.

I also really want to commit to doing 30 minutes of cardio at least 5-6 times a week, and I know I need to clean up my act where food is concerned - the past two weeks have been nothing but a long binge, and it just feels gross. I'm nowhere near where I thought I would be when I started level 1; I haven't made any significant progress, and I want to change that.

It turns out my mental state is the hardest thing to change, but I feel confident that once I get myself on the right track there, all the physical stuff will follow.

Level 3, day 8.

I don't know how it happened, but it seems that another six days flew by between my last workout and today. I feel like I've hit a roadblock, like I just don't want to do it anymore. Which isn't entirely accurate, because I do still love my Tracy. I guess it's just one of those slumps, maybe after getting past thirty days of workouts, where I'm feeling like, ugh, why do I even do this. It's a mental problem and I plan on fighting through it, because I know why I do it - I feel it in the way my muscles have woken up, in the burn after a particularly tough workout, in the feeling of accomplishment when I can say I did my Tracy today.

So I just wanted to give some signs of life and let everyone know I'm still out here. I have to leave for work in a few minutes, but I plan on catching up on everyone's blogs this week - hopefully that'll help kickstart my missing motivation!