So, it’s been 4 weeks since I started my fitness routine.

Lets Recap

Week 1: I started Christmas day when we got home that evening and worked out through that Saturday doing only the Cardio section with Karen Voight’s Burn and Firm workout dvd the first 3 days, and then day 4 I did Lower Body/Abdominals and day 5 I did the Upper Body section.

Week 2: I skipped Monday and Tuesday because of New Years, and did the whole circuit on Wednesday, then Thursday I did lower body and cardio, and the same on Friday, and then I ended up taking a break Saturday and Sunday.

Week 3: I was sick toward the end, but I did get 4 days in a row in. I just did Cardio and Upper Body sections the first 2 days and then Wednesday I did Cardio and Lower Body/Abdominals, and Thursday I just did Cardio.

Week 4

So last week, I am glad to say that I was able to work out all 5 days, and then I took the weekend off, which is what I’m planning on doing. I was so tired last week, still hanging on to that cold I had the week before and then having my monthly visitor show up on Monday didn’t help either. But, I pushed through it and made myself workout. Made myself get up at or around 8am and do my morning workout, and then I did my afternoon workout even though I just wanted to curl up in bed and sleep! I also started somewhat of a diet last week too of Slim Right (like Slim Fast) in the morning, Green Protein Smoothie for lunch, salad and smaller portion of whatever I made for dinner (mostly chicken or burritos) and fruit for snacks. I stuck to that diet pretty well all week until Friday when we went out to Chinese food because my mom took the boys home with her to spend the night :)

New Workout DVD Review

Ok, so I ordered a new workout video as I said in the Week 3 update, Karen Voight’s Streamline Fitness (A.M./P.M. Workout). Instead of doing the full circuit every day last week like I had planned, I did the A.M workout in the morning and the P.M. workout in the afternoon the first 2 days I think, just so I could get the moves down and get a feel for it. Then I think I did the P.M. workout in the morning once or twice and the Cardio section in the afternoon the rest of the time. I probably should be writing down what I do each day. I’ll try and remember to do that this week.

So my thoughts on the Streamline Fitness?

I like it, I like it a lot! The A.M. workout kind of had a strange feeling for me at first with the set and the fact that she looks more muscle bound in that one than in the Burn and Firm dvd (I’m not crazy about the really muscley look for women, toned and firm is great, but looking like a body builder is not, which she doesn’t totally look like that, but it was just a bit different than what I was used to). But I’m getting used to it now and the morning workout is really great. It works your arms, butt and legs as well as some cardio too.

The P.M. workout is wonderful. It is a bit difficult and I have to quit a bit early during the abdominal workout which is more difficult than the abdominal workout on her Burn and Firm dvd (I can get through that one). But I’ll just keep doing what I can and eventually I know I’ll be able to keep up. After that is more of a Yoga workout which is very calming yet is also a bit difficult when you have to use your leg strength to hold some of the positions, but, again, it will take time for my body to get strengthened which is the whole point of this, isn’t it? I love the fact though that the P.M. workout does cause me to feel very relaxed afterwards.

I have yet to actually workout in the evening with the P.M. workout because I just don’t have time once I get the kids to bed and then the hubby is usually watching a movie at that time too. So I’ll probably just rotate between that and the A.M. workout in the morning.

Plan for This Week (Week 5)

So the plan for this week, which of course I’ve already started since it is Tuesday, is to rotate, like I said, between the A.M. workout and the P.M. workout of Streamline Fitness in the morning since they both workout different parts of the body and I may also throw in the Upper Body section and Lower Body/Abdominals section of the Burn and Firm dvd. And then I will continue with the Cardio section for my afternoon workout from Burn and Firm.

Progress Yet???

I am happy to report that I am finally seeing some progress in my measurements! I tried measuring myself last week on Friday but It seemed I hadn’t really lost much of anything, maybe 1/4 of an inch around the waist and possibly the thighs. Also, I hopped on my moms scale when we went to pick the boys up on Saturday and was very disappointed that I hadn’t lost any weight at all! (in fact it seemed like I had gained 5lbs, but that could have

So here are my measurements as of today:

Waist: 37.5″ (-1/2″)

Hips: 39.5″ (-1/2″)

Thigh: 24 &1/4″ (-1/4″)

Calf: 16&1/4″(-1/4″)

Now, I know my waist and hips are pretty accurate, but it’s hard to tell exactly where I’m measuring on my legs each time, so those could be a little off. I guess it’ll be easier to tell when there are more dramatic improvements.

So that’s my update! I’m feeling much more energetic this week, and I think my cough is finally gone, so I have hopes that this week will be more productive since I feel like putting more Umph into my workouts.

I will also say that I haven’t been as strict on my diet this week, though I still plan on doing my shakes each day, but I was reading that sometimes when we start working out and trying to get in shape, that we could start cutting out too many calories, therefore giving us less energy. So I’m still watching what  I eat, but I may try eating a little more this week.

Give Your Body a Rest

Also, I think it’s important to give your body a rest at intervals, which is why I’m taking 2 days off instead of only 1 on the weekend like I had planned before. Now, last week I was still getting over sickness, I had just upped my workout, and was on my period, so I’m pretty sure that all accounted for my being so tired, but on Saturday, with the kids all gone, my husband and I slept in. Well, I had woke up earlier in the morning, but didn’t look at the clock, thinking it was still somewhat early. The next thing I knew, I looked at the clock and it was nearly 2pm in the afternoon!! Apparently my body was needing the rest because I haven’t done that in a very, very long time.

So, I hope this report was helpful. Feel free to post a comment below about what has worked for you, or what you are doing to lose those extra pounds or just get in better shape this year!