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My thighs are so sore today. After not working out for months, I think I’ve been pushing myself too hard these past 2 days. Ouch ouch ouch!

I decided to make today a rest day, but then at 11 PM I noticed that my pedometer was only at around 8,500 steps. My daily goal is 10,000 steps with 30 minutes of aerobic steps (quicker-paced steps as recorded by my pedometer). I had one hour before the count resets and despite my aching legs, I slid on some ankle wraps, put on my rocker bottom sneakers, and grabbed a couple of 3-lb dumbbells. I spent the next 40 minutes jogging, hopping and dancing in my living room while watching the news. With 10 minutes to spare, I had surpassed my 10,000-steps goal and logged 41 minutes of aerobic steps. I am so happy I did it!

My pedometer readings for Wednesday, August 11, 2010.

Before my run last night, I did a quick uppper body workout. I was feeling tired and lazy so wanted something simple and fast which would engage several muscle groups at once. I decided to whip out the Iron Gym and do some pull-ups.

Okay, a pull-up. I was only able to do 1 rep but I did 3 sets of 1 so that’s something. I ended up doing 3 sets of 5 chin-ups which are much easier for me to do.

I really like the Iron Gym and it’s one of the best piece of home exercise equipment I own. I even wrote a review about it on my other site.

My legs are starting to get very sore from yesterday’s run. I can’t walk down a flight of stairs without simultaneously laughing and grimacing in pain.

I decided to stop being a baby and cleared off my treadmill.  30 minutes later and I’ve logged a good 3.61-mile run – yay!

It was a lot easier on the treadmill.  When I run outside, I have a difficult time pacing myself. Yesterday I had tried to do a moderate pace for most of the run but I found myself quickly running faster and faster, burning out, pausing, and then doing it all over again. I’d catch myself going too fast and started counting in an attempt to keep a rhythm: 1-2, 1-2, 1-2, 1-2.  It didn’t work very well though.

With the treadmill, I could control the pace and it was must easier to maintain. Go too fast and I’d run off the front of the treadmill. Go to slow and I’d slide off the back of it.  It was a very different experience and I think I prefer it over running outside.  I’ll give outdoor running a few more tries though.

Here’s what I try to do every day to improve my health and fitness:

• Take multivitamin
• Take biotin
• Take fish oil
• Log 10,000 steps on my pedometer
• Get 30 minutes of cardio (either a run or “aerobic steps” on my pedometer)
• Drink a cup of coffee or tea

My diet, for the most part, sucks. I eat a lot of fried meats, salt and white rice. That’s basically 80% of what I eat so I take a few vitamins and supplements to get some of the nutrition I’m missing. I have a very hard time taking pills but liquids and chewables have totally been a game changer. With pills, I was taking them maybe once or twice a week but now I take my vitamins and supplements daily.

The breakdown:

Nature’s Plus Exotic Red Super Fruits Adult’s Multi-Vitamin Chewable
$14.61 for a 3-month supply
Contains your basis assortment of vitamins, a few minerals, and a whole food blend of “exotic” ingredients like pomegranate, green tea, fenugreek, mango and more. I like the taste of this and it’s very easy to take.

Nature’s Way Biotin 1000 mcg Lozenges
$5.59 for a 100-day supply
Helps with my hair, skin and nails. I’ve noticed stronger, longer nails since I’ve started taking this. A tiny chewable or melt-in-your-mouth tablet that tastes like those Fun Dip sticks.

NSI Liquid Omega-3 Purified Fish Oil, Orange Flavor
$16.99 for 50 servings
Mainly for my hair and skin, but seems that everyone is in consensus that fish oil is great for overall health, especially for your mood and heart. Has no fishy taste at all.

There’s been quite a few studies on how dairy helps cut down on body fat.¹ I’ve been trying to drink more milk and eat more yogurt, but there’s something about the texture of yogurt that keeps me from eating it as often as I’d like.

Then I discovered Yoplait Whips. It’s so light and fluffy, not like yogurt at all and I love it! Though it does have more calories, fat and sugar than the low-fat yogurt I’ve eaten in the past, I’m willing to deal with it. So far, I’ve tried strawberry, key lime, vanilla and chocolate. I didn’t care for chocolate at all, finding it too sweet, but love the other flavors. Key lime is my favorite! I’ve been eating it for 2 weeks now and have noticed a slight difference in my abdomen fat.

This will definitely be a new staple in my diet.

Too lazy to clear the clutter off my neglected treadmill, I popped the Nike+ sensor in my new LunarSwift running shoes and headed outside. Then I hesitated. Fight or flight? I thought about my warm apartment and the dinner that was waiting. I told myself I’ll just do this tomorrow instead.

But then I ran. I ran and ran and ran.

I ran around my neighborhood and circled the block a few times. I darted around bushes and dogs and thought for half a second that this would be easy. Of course it wasn’t. I needed to stop more than once. I wasn’t enjoying it. The onlookers. The mosquitoes. The low-hanging tree branches hiding in the dark, whacking me in the face. I didn’t like it one bit!

I sprinted, jogged, walked and, at 99% of the time, uttered every 4-letter word in the book. I obsessively checked the readout on my Sportband, getting a boost every time I saw the number go up. 0.3 miles. 0.75. 1.24. 2.58. I had wanted to quit. My lungs burned. My ears roared with the rush of wind and my own labored breathing. But I pushed. The numbers were going up and up. Just a bit more. Hang in there!

27 minutes later and it was done. I got my 3 miles. It was quicker than a sitcom. I did it and as much as I hated it, it was still pretty awesome.

Now let’s do this again.