Week 42 runs from Monday 12th October — Sunday 18th October, 2020.
For more information on what, why and how I’m tracking everything, including my health & fitness goals, please click here. To skip to the end of week summary, please click here.
The Week in Fitness & Food
10/12 – Monday. Chloe Ting Get Peachy Challenge Day 1 – Completed 11:34.
Videos completed: Natacha Oceane 10min Warm Up, Chloe Ting Best Booty Workout, Pamela Reif 15min Daily Stretch.
Today, I have officially started the Chloe Ting Get Peachy Challenge! After a few months of not doing Chloe Ting, I am back to the woman who kicked off my current fitness journey. And I’m excited again! I purchased weights and resistance bands especially for this and I think it’s renewed my excitement for working out.
I think I was beginning to lose motivation when my health started to wane in the past couple of weeks. Plus I wanted to do reps-based workouts and there weren’t any follow alongs. I guess Chloe must be a mind reader because she released this program at the most perfect time for me. Brett is also very reputable so I fully trust that this will be a good challenge to do.
I don’t follow her warm up or cool down videos – she’s not very flexible so she doesn’t hold the stretches long enough for me, but I’ll be following her actual workout videos. I personally love Natacha’s warm up video so I’ll be using that one for the duration of the challenge. Depending how I’m feeling after, I may follow a shorter cool down video instead.
Today’s video felt like a nice way to ease into and be introduced to this program. It was a perfect length to start and get used to the moves as well as figure out the right weights to use, in my opinion. I realised I wasn’t feeling challenged when she said “your glutes should be burning” and mine didn’t hurt at all, so I started adding in a resistance band then slowly increasing my resistance band weight.
Unfortunately the heaviest dumbbell I have is 10lbs, which I was using the entire time. I didn’t realise I’d become strong enough to need more! Yay! My arms are weak so when I was carrying the dumbbells with arm strength during time of purchase I was dying already haha. Maybe I can buy some heavier weights next time. For the meantime, adding heavier resistance seems to work well.
I think I finally got the resistance right just before the last movement because my glutes were burning but I was still able to do the movement with good form. I went from X-Light to Medium haha. I was considering going up to Heavy but Medium was enough because of the short rest time for the last move.
My one complaint would be that Chloe moves a bit fast for the second move. I didn’t realise she was going so quickly so I stopped when she said so, but in reality I hadn’t completed the appropriate number of steps for some for some of the sets. So if you’re following along too, I’d recommend ignoring her beeps and counter or you may end up short-changing yourself.
Overall, I really enjoyed day one. I’m still waking up with headaches but I can ignore them for the sake of doing exercises that I love and look forward to. We only do this exercise once a week, which is a liiittle disappointing! But that’s okay, I guess I can just do it again in my own time haha ;)
Because I did lose a little more weight recently, here are some updated physique photos:
Yes – my black sports bra is definitely too large for me now but I’m still losing weight so don’t plan to buy any new ones yet heh heh. My green one is in the wash so this one will do.
Sleep-wise, my watch says that I had disrupted sleep twice. I definitely remember the second disruption, but I’m not sure about the first one, which apparently happened around 4:30am and lasted about 15min or so. Actually – I just remembered a second disruption during the night but I don’t recall staying awake for 15min.
Either way, I could not get up this morning when my alarm sounded. I was so tired. My bad for sleeping late last night even when I was already exhausted, really. I will certainly try to sleep earlier tonight or take an afternoon nap.
| Sleep Time | Wake Time | Hrs Slept | Restful Sleep | Disruptions | Awoke Feeling | Weight |
| 01:30 | 09:20 | 7hr 30min | 4hr 25min | 2x | Tired | 119.4lbs |
10/13 – Tuesday. Completed 15:52.
Videos completed: Natacha Oceane 10min Warm Up, Chloe Ting 6 Pack Abs, Chloe Ting Toned Arms, MadFit 15min Stretch & Cool Down.
Surprisingly, I woke up a little sore this morning, but the soreness didn’t last too long. Today was the first Chloe Ting ab and arm workout I’ve done with weights and — whew. I enjoyed it a lot. It certainly challenged me.
I can definitely tell what moves I have more muscles built up for because there were some movements that I felt like I could have gone heavier in the weights, but then the very next move Chloe does is killer for me with my 5lb dumbbells.
Either way, I definitely felt it today, and honestly, I kinda loved it. I know it’s only day 2 but I’m really enjoying this challenge so far. There is a lot of variety and the way that Chloe has put this workout together is exactly the way that I learned would be good for me to exercise had I gone to the gym – targeting either upper or lower body on one day plus abs.
Plus she has us doing different videos daily so I’m looking forward to each day and actually looking forward to repeating these videos next week to see if there’s been any improvement.
I did Maddie’s cool down routine today which was great as she incorporates more arm and upper body stretches. I did add a few of my own in where I felt like I needed more of a stretch, but overall Maddie’s stretches were great for me.
Sleep-wise, I felt awful last night. I had a gigantic headache and ended up passing out for 2hrs. Then I wasn’t able to sleep well through the night. I was awakened a few times and was conscious but since I didn’t move too much, to try and fall back asleep, I guess my watch just didn’t register that I’d woken up.
The app still doesn’t work well, but… ah well. I think I’ve more or less figured out how to get the data before it all disappears now.
Weight-wise, I’m a little surprised to see loss because we had a decently large, salty hot pot dinner last night and I was expecting more water retention. I don’t remember what else I ate aside from leftover Indian curry but I definitely ate when I wanted to throughout the day.
I am starting to crave junk food and chocolate again so I guess we all know what that means… man has it been a month already??
| Sleep Time | Wake Time | Hrs Slept | Restful Sleep | Disruptions | Awoke Feeling | Weight |
| 19:45 01:40 | 21:45 09:00 | 9hr 20min | 6hr 25min | None | Decently rested | 119.2lbs |
10/14 – Wednesday. Completed 11:09.
Videos completed: Natacha Oceane 10min Warm Up, Chloe Ting Side Booty Workout.
This morning Chloe really kicked my butt. Okay, I guess Brett kicked my butt via Chloe. I really felt my side booty working and even shaking at times. I actually had to pause the video to take her recommended 90-120sec rest time. I used my 10lbs dumbbells for the entire thing and grargh they hurt. It’s not necessarily an indicator of effectiveness but I was sweating pretty hard throughout, too.
In fact, it got so difficult I had to switch out my medium resistance band for my light one… and then my x-light one for the last set of the fire hydrants. Lol, originally I forgot about this move and thought it was the side leg lifts that I’d decreased resistance on (I remembered after watching back footage of my workout). I guess it killed me so badly I wiped it from my memory hahaha. Oh man, it hurt.
I couldn’t do the last move because I didn’t have a bench or a suitable bench substitute (I tried the sofa, the daybed, a coffee table… it really didn’t work out) so I did the move on the floor with resistance bands instead. With my Medium resistance band, I was able to feel my side glutes working.
I didn’t find this out until the very last set though because I worked my way up from my extra-light resistance band due to how exhausted I was already haha. I think I may have had a bit more energy for the last move because I took a longer break and ate half a banana. I was working out fasted and was getting really hungry.
Well, I know how I’ll do this video next week at least. But honestly I can’t imagine doing all the extra reps next week though… My legs were already dying with 12-15 reps and I doubt I’m going to magically be strong enough to go to 20-30reps next week but we shall see. I will do my best.
Meanwhile, it is at this very moment that I realised that I have a stinking piano stool I could and should have used for the last move. Genuinely my piano bench would have been perfect. It’s padded on top, height-adjustable and even looks like Chloe’s bench. It’s just shorter but that’s not a problem because I’m so short my torso actually fits just fine. Okay. Well, now I know for the next video.
Anyways, no cool down video because I was hungry by the end of it. I did some quick stretching on my own and moved on. Gotta be honest – I’m still feeling the arm workout from yesterday so I’m not 100% sure I’ll be strong enough to do the workouts tomorrow but I am certainly looking forward to them haha.
Yay yay yay I love this challenge thus far!
Sleep-wise, it’s still a bit weird for me. I’ve been sleeping ridiculously lightly the past couple of days and have woken up a few times in the middle of the night, but I guess only one of those times was long enough for my watch to register it, again.
Food-wise, we had hot pot again last night and I ate quite a lot throughout the day too. Today I also may have overeaten a little because I really wanted more protein in my diet to help with muscle repair, and protein isn’t something that I eat a lot of in my diet naturally.
| Sleep Time | Wake Time | Hrs Slept | Restful Sleep | Disruptions | Awoke Feeling | Weight |
| 01:10 | 09:15 | 7hr 55min | 5hr 20min | 1x | Decently rested | 119.6lbs |
10/15 – Thursday. Rest.
I am very sore this morning oh my goodness. It’s been a while since I was this sore haha.
Last night we ate a lot. Even after I’d ‘finished eating’, I still went back for more. We ended up having instant ramen, which I added fish balls, egg and some napa cabbage to. Then I decided it’d be a good idea to eat a tangerine too haha. Well, I suppose this is slightly healthier than Habit Burger fries!
Weight-wise, unsurprisingly, I’m up a lot. I’m bloated from PMS and probably water retention from the sodium. Not a problem because it’ll go back down after I start my period.
I was out more or less all day visiting a friend and didn’t get any exercise done, but that’s fine, I will continue the workout at my own pace.
| Sleep Time | Wake Time | Hrs Slept | Restful Sleep | Disruptions | Awoke Feeling | Weight |
| 01:00 | 09:00 | 7hr 50min | 4hr 45min | 1x | Somewhat rested | 121.6lbs |
10/16 – Friday. Completed 12:13.
Videos completed: Natacha Oceane 10min Warm Up, Chloe Ting 2 Week Abs, Chloe Ting Complete Upper Body, MadFit 15min Cool Down (loosely followed).
Oh boy, my sleep cycle has been completely out of whack lately. I ended up taking a 5hr ‘nap’ last night, waking up around midnight and then couldn’t fall asleep again until close to 4am. Same with Jacky – though he fell asleep later than I did for his ‘nap’. Since I slept a long time in total, I actually don’t feel as tired as I thought I would this morning.
I had enough energy for a decent workout this morning, though towards the end I was really struggling hard. Chloe has the arm workout after her ab one, but next time I would put the arm workout first because I found this upper body workout far more difficult than the one from day 2.
I’ve heard it’s better to do abs at the end of a workout anyway, and to get the strength exercises out of the way first whilst you still have ample energy. I’ve no idea how I was able to do fine on day 2 and yet struggle so hard today.
Could be because my period is starting, or I’m still a bit weak and sore after the previous days, or that I didn’t sleep well enough, or that I exercised fasted… Lol, I guess there are a multitude of reasons why it may have been harder for me but I also didn’t sleep well before doing day 2 as well.
I had to switch out my 10lb dumbbells for my 5lb ones half way through. That could also be why I found it so hard: because I tried to start with my 10lb dumbbells. I should have tried 7lbs instead. Chloe has the video again on day 9 so I will try doing the arms first with 7lb weights followed by the ab video (which also has weights actually. Man, looks like I will be in immense pain).
She had today listed as a 25min workout. I assure you it was not a 25min workout. Even during the ab video I had to take multiple breaks, and during the arm video I actually did take 90-120sec to rest between sets because my muscles just weren’t having it. I ended up barely pushing through the last couple of exercises with poor form. It’s hard enough for me to do a push up as it is, let alone doing pushups at the end of weight training oh my gosh.
One final note is that I am mostly enjoying her music choices for this challenge, so that’s another plus :) At the end of the workout I loosely followed MadFit’s cool down video, substituting other upper body stretches when she was doing more lower body ones depending on what I felt my body needed.
The new workout clothes I purchased from Amazon arrived! I only like a couple of the pieces so I’ll be returning the rest, but I’ll do a little review on the ones I did keep at some point.
| Sleep Time | Wake Time | Hrs Slept | Restful Sleep | Disruptions | Awoke Feeling | Weight |
| 18:55 03:50 | 23:20 08:30 | 9hr 5min | 6hr 45min | 1x | Somewhat rested | 120.8lbs |
10/17 – Saturday. Rest.
Well, first of all, my sleep schedule is completely messed up haha. I’m blaming PMS. Unsurprisingly, I’ve also been hungrier this week, though it looks like I’ve only been eating at maintenance, and I’m impressed I haven’t had my monthly burger craving.
Usually during PMS I end up gaining more weight and bloating more so I’m pleasantly surprised that it hasn’t been the case this week. Not sure what will happen next week though. Either way, my median weight for the week is in. It’s a meagre +0.2lbs from last week, which is fine by me.
Today I started the day with a homemade pumpkin spice latte, even though it was pretty darn hot. I’d been craving it some time over the past week so I just had to have some. It hit the spot though could definitely have done with a bit of sweetener.
We had some yummy dim sum at home for lunch (we’d bought all the frozen dim sum and steamed it, super simple) then had hot pot again for dinner. I also got hungry between lunch and dinner and had a PB2 & banana sandwich. It wasn’t very tasty to be honest. I don’t think I’ll have it again.
I think my tastebuds may be changing a bit due to hormones too because I had some RYSE protein powder with a bit of almond milk after dinner, which I didn’t end up finishing because it tasted yucky to me. Usually I quite enjoy it.
Workout wise, today Jacky and I were supposed to clean the apt but we were both so tired. I guess waking up feeling like I’d slept enough did not stop fatigue from setting in during the day. So we both ended up resting today and plan to do housework tomorrow. I’ll do day 5’s workout tomorrow if I can, but if not I’ll just do it next week. My Watch thinks I’ve exercised for 28mins though – I guess I played piano hard today? Haha.
| Sleep Time | Wake Time | Hrs Slept | Restful Sleep | Disruptions | Awoke Feeling | Weight |
| 02:00 | 10:30 | 8hr 30min | 5hr 20min | None | Well rested | 119.8lbs |
10/18 – Sunday. Rest.
Today I guess I had planned to work out a little but ended up not doing it either heh heh. I was pretty tired again in the morning and we planned to clean the apt in the afternoon, after which Jacky was going to speak with his parents and I would cook dinner.
We got all of that done, but it did mean that I sacrificed the rest of my energy so ended up with none left to workout with. It’s been a great week overall though! I think 4 days of exercise per week is definitely a sweet spot for me. Plus I think I’m just feeling weak and bloated these days in general thanks to PMS.
The weather is beginning to change and the skies darken earlier… And I think just being home all the time is throwing me off to some degree as well. I really haven’t been sleeping well lately, which has affected my mood, productivity etc. in general.
On the bright side, I haven’t had any headaches this week! I’m wondering if it was from the iron supplement I had last week, and subsequent efforts to eat more red meat. I was going to go see my doctor again if my headaches didn’t improve, but thankfully it seems unnecessary now :)
| Sleep Time | Wake Time | Hrs Slept | Restful Sleep | Disruptions | Awoke Feeling | Weight |
| 01:55 | 08:30 | 6hr 35min | 4hrs | None | Somewhat rested | 120.4lbs |
End of Week Summary
Days Exercised: 4
Pushup Count: ?? Like… 3? At the end of one of Chloe’s workouts? Ahhh.
Median Weight (Tues – Sat): 119.8lbs
Weight Change (if any): +0.2lbs
Days Slept 7.5hrs+: 6
Days Slept Before Midnight: 2? How do I even count this? My sleep was so messed up haha.
Workout Summary
Really happy with my workout this week! I didn’t do all 6 days, but honestly I was planning to do 5 days max. I think 4 days is the perfect amount that I can do without exhausting myself, so 3-4 days/week is probably what I’m going to stick to.
That does mean it’s going to take me longer to complete this workout challenge, but that just allows me to keep going with a schedule. I’m very happy that thanks to Chloe I have a new program to motivate me to keep exercising. I was beginning to feel a bit worn out from putting together a daily program myself and became less excited to exercise as time passed.
This week I was very sore for multiple days, so potentially I went too hard too fast and thus ended up needing more days to recover, so I’ll be more careful next time with my progressive overload. It should be progressively going harder than last time, not jumping to level 10 when I’m not fully comfortable at level 5 haha.
I do feel stronger overall though. I love that it took weights and resistance bands to challenge me more, and I am very impressed that I was able to exercise with the 10lb dumbbells half the time. Back in January, even 5lb ones were too heavy for me.
Weight Summary
It looks like I’ve been eating at approx maintenance this week so my weight barely changed! I have also been bloated thanks to PMS so it’s very possible my weight will drop next week without any diet changes.
Diet Summary
I ate a lot this week. Haha. I don’t think I had even one meal of Greg’s recipes… Our Chinese grocery haul meant that we basically spent the weak eating hot pot and ramen and curry lol. Hey, if this food was maintenance, I am thrilled.
Sleep Summary
What can I say? My sleep sucked this week. Here’s hoping next week will be better once I finish PMSing.
Date | Sleep Time | Wake Time | Hrs Slept | Restful Sleep | Disruptions | Awoke Feeling | Weight |
| 10/12 | 01:30 | 09:20 | 7hr 30min | 4hr 25min | 2x | Tired | 119.4lbs |
| 10/13 | 19:45 01:40 | 21:45 09:00 | 9hr 20min | 6hr 25min | None | Decently rested | 119.2lbs |
| 10/14 | 01:10 | 09:15 | 7hr 55min | 5hr 20min | 1x | Decently rested | 119.6lbs |
| 10/15 | 01:00 | 09:00 | 7hr 50min | 4hr 45min | 1x | Somewhat rested | 121.6lbs |
| 10/16 | 18:55 03:50 | 23:20 08:30 | 9hr 5min | 6hr 45min | 1x | Somewhat rested | 120.8lbs |
| 10/17 | 02:00 | 10:30 | 8hr 30min | 5hr 20min | None | Well rested | 119.8lbs |
| 10/18 | 01:55 | 08:30 | 6hr 35min | 4hrs | None | Somewhat rested | 120.4lbs |
Muchos love,
