My Fitness Journey: Daily Check-Ins

momillzz

I’ve been so inspired by people on here holding themselves accountable, so shoutout to 54shadesofblue and mikeyrowlands—seeing your posts made me want to start holding myself accountable in the same way. A little peer encouragement (pressure ;)) isn't such a bad thing!

So, I just turned 21 (whoop whoop!), but truthfully - I’m not where I thought I’d be by now. I don’t want to waste another year waiting for the “perfect time” to start. I read once, "Start today or don’t—the days will pass anyway," and that kinda really made me think about my actions the past couple years. If I had just started small habits instead of going all in and burning out over-and-over again, I’d already have some progress done. But I don't want to think too negatively about myself moving forward.

The bigger picture is, I’m moving out of my shared house with friends and into my own apartment in the city in August—122 days from now. That gives me 4 months to actually build a solid routine and not "let the days pass". I’m not expecting to be some fitness god or model by then (being 5'2 does make being a model hard anyway..) , but I do want to feel good in my body, get stronger, and set myself up for long-term success.

To put it blankly, I’m overweight, haven’t worked out since high school (even though I loved dancing and soccer back then), and I went straight into a consulting job after graduation—so as you can assume with a busy WFH job, movement has been low.

But I work from home at the end of the day - meaning - i'm able to cook, i'm able to step outside for a quick walk, and i'm able to bring movement and healthly choices into my day.

Anyway, my broader goals are to lose 40 lbs, eat 3 home-cooked meals (most days), get to a point where i'm drinking 90-120 oz of water daily, and get back into working out/moving my body consistently.

But I’m not gonna overwhelm myself this time. Starting small.

But I started today! - My wins:

• I ate 3 solid meals!!
  • Breakfast: Egg, toast, kimchi
  • Lunch: Spicy tuna cucumber boats + fruit
  • Dinner: Salmon Caprese salad (10/10, making again this week)

**I did have 2x small brown sugar shaken espresso from dunking and a egg+cheese wake up wrap as well.

• I drank only 1 glass of water today :(
• No workouts done

Tomorrow's Plan

• Eat 3 healthy meals
• Drink 90oz of water
• Attend my 6am cycle class
• Take my pup on 2-3 long walks around a local park (and finish a podcast during)

Thats it! I'll check back in tomorrow :)

momillzz

Day 2:

**The weather today was horrible, non-stop pouring rain. I was unable to take my pup out on anything longer than a couple minute walk for the bathroom.

I ate 3 home-cooked meals:
- Eggs, toast, cottage cheese w/honey
- Cucumber Salad W/Salmon
- Salmon Rice Bowl

I did a stretching and a simple at home workout for upper body after-work to substitute for not going to cycle due to the weather.

I went out with some friends and had a couple vodka sodas + one mango hab tender, kept it light.

Overall a good day! Hoping to stick to a better routine tomorrow as today was a low-motivation day.

momillzz

Day 3 Recap:

I'm starting to enjoy cooking at home! I'm starting to roll into a routine, which I've needed for so long - not just diet but beauty/wellness as well. Still working on the fitness part because I'm a bit scared to go back to the gym.

My Meals Today:

- B: 2 Eggs, Apple W/Honey

- L: Spicy Deviled Eggs

- D: 3 sliced of thing crust bacon, balsamic pizza

- Extra/Snacks: 1 Vodka Sodas W/Mio Flavoring - me and my childhood best friend do "Thirsty Thursdays" get two happy hour drinks and play some slots each Thursday. Balance right?

Other Updates:

- First day drinking 90oz of water! (I'm making it a priority)

- Workout: nothing today, didn't stretch but going on a long walk is my Friday Priority! I'm still in a low-motivation rut, but i feel myself getting on the other end of it. Sticking/starting a routine is really helping me push.

momillzz

Day 4: Friday!

Today was a "me" day after work - I gave myself some time to reset from the week, which helped a lot. I’m feeling excited (and a little nervous) for my Monday weigh-in — hoping to see a 1 pound drop!

Even though work motivation was a little low, I definitely noticed an increase in overall energy and a slightly less bloated appearance, which feels like a win already.

Before diving into my daily recap, here are my pre-journey stats for reference:

- Starting Weight: 185 lbs

- Goal Weight: 145 lbs

- Workout Cadence: 0–1 workouts/week

Meals Today:

- B: 2 eggs, sliced apple with honey

- L: Cucumber salad with a side of deviled eggs

- D: Salmon caprese salad

Other Updates:

I didn't get a workout in today either, hoping to get at least one in this weekend.

Since it’s Friday, I might not update again until Sunday night — but I’ll be back then to set my goals and intentions for the week ahead - tomorrow is a busy day and I have a nice dinner planned with my boyfriend so I'm going to keep my meals light leading up to it :)

momillzz

Happy Monday!

Today was my first official check-in, and I weighed in at 184 pounds—down one pound from last week.

To stay intentional and track my progress throughout the week, I’m setting some clear goals:

Water: Drink between 90 to 120 ounces of water daily

Fitness: Take one long walk each day (weather permitting) and complete 2 to 3 workouts this week

Nutrition: Stay under my daily calorie goal and track my meals accurately

The weekend went fairly well. I did eat above my deficit on Saturday during a movie outing, but I stayed under my maintenance calories, which feels like a small but meaningful win.

Today will be a busy workday, so my focus is on staying motivated and finding ways to be more active than usual.

momillzz

Monday April 7th Update:

I wrapped up my day within my calorie deficit with some wiggle room as well!
Breakfast: Cottage Cheese W/Honey & Fruit
Lunch: Spicy Tuna Cucumber Boats
Dinner: Salmon Caprese Salad (only had half)
Snack: Two Chobani Flips
Water: I drank 120oz of water today!

Fitness wise, I picked up some small dumb-bells and a yoga mat this weekend to start doing some proper at home workouts. Focusing on high reps with low weights & some stretching for Tuesdays workout.

Motivation wise, I struggled a lot last week keeping a solid routine while focusing on work. Today, I was able to write down everything I needed to get done, and focused on getting it all wrapped up - overall a really good Monday (and a good start to my week!).

momillzz

Tuesday April 8th Update:

Yesterday was a start to a really good routine! I woke up at 7, got ready for the day - did some morning cleaning up and started work around 8am! Here are my meals below

Breakfast: Two Eggs W/two pieces of toast
Lunch: Half Sandwich half Tomato soup from Panera
Dinner: Chipotle Bowl
Water:300oz of water

Yesterday I kinda broke my eating at home streak, but I was low on groceries and didn't defrost my protein the night before. Hoping today is better!

momillzz

Wednesday April 9th Update:

Motivation slump hit me hard yesterday morning, wasn't able to really focus in until about 11am (2 hours in) which meant I was working til about 7pm to make up for it. The good news on those days is because I work with an international brand I have some time to connect with our Australian branch before feeling burnt out.

Meals wise, weren't my best - I was pretty busy throughout the day (plus the low motivation).
Breakfast: Skipped and had a Large Brown Sugar Shaken Espresso from Dunkin (230 calories)
Lunch: Subway 6" Grilled Chicken w/honey mustard
Dinner: Buona Beef Salad W/Grilled Chicken
Water: Did not keep track today, but I had 1 30oz water bottle and some glasses of water throughout the day

I'm going to bed late yesterday, around 1am - I know I won't feel the best in the morning but I'm happy i'm going to bed with my space clean, laundry done, and caught up with work.