Just a quick little blog today- because I want to put this out there. Yesterday I weighed in at 134- YAY me, low 130's-go.... go!! This morning I weighed in at 138- I haven't seen a number that high in awhile.
Yesterday wasn't a 'bad' (why do we use these words) day foodwise either and I got a good workout in. I certainly didn't consume 14,000 calories.
This happens sometimes! Last time it happened I freaked out and thought ZOMG, I am doing something wrong, I need to work harder. That wasn't the case at all and in fact doing that caused me to hang onto the extra few pounds.
I don't know why I weigh so much more today. Maybe TOM is coming, maybe I had too much sodium yesterday, maybe my muscles are swollen from upping my weights yesterday. Who knows?
I just know some people are struggling because the scale has gone up and I just wanted to put it out there that it happens to me too!
Have a great weekend all and celebrate those awesome fathers in your life!
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Thursday, June 14, 2012
And we're moving!
I've been avoiding blogging because for some reason I can't find the words to write my review of Les Mills. I want it to be perfect because I don't want anyone spending money on something and hating it because of my review! I know you guys will forgive me for not doing it yet, but I hate it that I said I would and still haven't. One of my favorite quotes I kept on my desk at work was 'Integrity- Do what you say you're going to do'. So- I am sorry!!
I did have to share my news though. The scale is finally moving again.
One more pound and I am in the LOW 130's! Whoot. The once a week sweet thing is working for me as usual! Who knew that diet mattered more than exercise? Just about every expert out there- oh, that's right. Should have listened!
So Les Mills has got very intense and my butt and abs have been constantly sore. I turned on Insanity a couple weeks ago and during the warm up it just didn't feel good. Very jarring on my body. My younger, but wiser husband said 'Maybe there are walk days for a reason'. I have backed off the Insanity hybrid for awhile because it was just insanity.
I am still following Les Mills schedule and on walk days I may walk, I may bike or just do a workout of my choosing. I was surprised that today I chose:
I really like this one! Every time I think about unloading P90X, I think twice because of plyo. I thought it would be hard since I haven't done any hardcore jumping for a few weeks, but I felt really strong and more in control than normal. Les Mills is doing wonders for my legs, butt and core strength.
Other than that- life is great! This morning was such a treat. My husband said that when blueberries were ready for picking he would take a couple of hours off and we would go picking. It was a perfect cool morning and it was so nice to have the extra family time out in the open air today instead of the usual rushed morning start.
We didn't get that many berries and some we picked are a little too ripe, but we had a blast this morning. I have a new appreciation for why these are so expensive at the store!
I hope everyone has a fabulous day!! :) Oh, and if you have any light read book recs that aren't 50 Shades of Porn- please let me know. I haven't read anything 'for fun' since the Hunger Games.
I did have to share my news though. The scale is finally moving again.
So Les Mills has got very intense and my butt and abs have been constantly sore. I turned on Insanity a couple weeks ago and during the warm up it just didn't feel good. Very jarring on my body. My younger, but wiser husband said 'Maybe there are walk days for a reason'. I have backed off the Insanity hybrid for awhile because it was just insanity.
I am still following Les Mills schedule and on walk days I may walk, I may bike or just do a workout of my choosing. I was surprised that today I chose:
Other than that- life is great! This morning was such a treat. My husband said that when blueberries were ready for picking he would take a couple of hours off and we would go picking. It was a perfect cool morning and it was so nice to have the extra family time out in the open air today instead of the usual rushed morning start.
We didn't get that many berries and some we picked are a little too ripe, but we had a blast this morning. I have a new appreciation for why these are so expensive at the store!
I hope everyone has a fabulous day!! :) Oh, and if you have any light read book recs that aren't 50 Shades of Porn- please let me know. I haven't read anything 'for fun' since the Hunger Games.
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Sugar Momma Check In
Not Sugar Momma in the usual sense, just a momma who is trying to avoid sugar. It seems like a lot of us BR bloggers are struggling with this lately and for some reason I thought if we needed a support group 'Sugar Momma' would be a great name for our group.
I could NOT commit to no sugar until after today. Today my little one turned 18 months! And I know it isn't an official birthday, but it just seemed like a much bigger deal than a one year old birthday. He has matured so much in the past couple of months and I am just bursting with pride at his cheerful, inquisitive nature. We just had to celebrate. We didn't have a fancy party with a lot of people, but we did go to one of those kiddie pizza joints with rides, arcade games and go carts. We then went to the Farmer's Market listened to a band, then came home for birthday cake.
So that's it, I'm done- no sugar for awhile. At least a week to get me back on track. That just means no obvious sugar. I'm not going militant on a gram here and there or natural fruit sugars.
That being said, even though I haven't lost any weight-I am feeling pretty good about the old body these days. I am definitely tighter than when I finished body revolution. My abs have a lot more definition. Here I am today after Hard Core Abs:
Really, the only thing I'd like to refine is the pooch in my lower abs. I really don't want to get any thinner in the arms or the upper ab area. Why oh why can't we spot reduce where we want to? I really hate how I drop weight top- down, but I guess that is typical.
Exciting Food News:
First CSA deliver- yay!
I roasted the Kohlrabi today with garlic scapes for a snack. It was okay, but I wouldn't go out and buy one.
I've always been intrigued by coconut water smoothies, but I don't care for coconut water out of the bottle. I bought a young coconut and got the water out for a smoothie today and it was soooo much better.
Then I made an AMAZING smoothie. CSA spinach, coconut water, cherries, a scoop of vanilla protein powder.
Soooo good. My son grabbed it and drank at LEAST half. That's okay, it's his birthday!
See my cup is Starbucks. They are opening a juice bars now in response to the healthy 'trend'. I am calling it now- I think this is going to be a big miss. The target demographic are people who pride themselves in NOT going to Starbucks. Raw foodies are out because they aren't going to dig the pasteurization. And if the produce isn't organic, I think people are going to stick to whipping up their local produce in their Vitamixes and skipping Starbucks. I could be wrong though, it has happened before.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/20/us-starbucks-juice-idUSBRE82I05Y20120320
Have a great night! Gonna catch up on blogs tomorrow.
I could NOT commit to no sugar until after today. Today my little one turned 18 months! And I know it isn't an official birthday, but it just seemed like a much bigger deal than a one year old birthday. He has matured so much in the past couple of months and I am just bursting with pride at his cheerful, inquisitive nature. We just had to celebrate. We didn't have a fancy party with a lot of people, but we did go to one of those kiddie pizza joints with rides, arcade games and go carts. We then went to the Farmer's Market listened to a band, then came home for birthday cake.
So that's it, I'm done- no sugar for awhile. At least a week to get me back on track. That just means no obvious sugar. I'm not going militant on a gram here and there or natural fruit sugars.
That being said, even though I haven't lost any weight-I am feeling pretty good about the old body these days. I am definitely tighter than when I finished body revolution. My abs have a lot more definition. Here I am today after Hard Core Abs:
Exciting Food News:
First CSA deliver- yay!
Then I made an AMAZING smoothie. CSA spinach, coconut water, cherries, a scoop of vanilla protein powder.
See my cup is Starbucks. They are opening a juice bars now in response to the healthy 'trend'. I am calling it now- I think this is going to be a big miss. The target demographic are people who pride themselves in NOT going to Starbucks. Raw foodies are out because they aren't going to dig the pasteurization. And if the produce isn't organic, I think people are going to stick to whipping up their local produce in their Vitamixes and skipping Starbucks. I could be wrong though, it has happened before.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/20/us-starbucks-juice-idUSBRE82I05Y20120320
Have a great night! Gonna catch up on blogs tomorrow.
Monday, June 4, 2012
Food...
I mentioned in my last post that I haven't lost any weight post body revolution. Not for lack of working hard, but it has been a slippery slope for me food wise.
It all started innocently enough. I was listening to Jillian's podcast and she was talking about how she allots a certain number of calories a day to 'treat' foods. In particular she talked about a brand of chocolate named Green and Blacks. The next day I was perusing the Health Market and I saw that Green and Blacks were on sale as well as my trusty favorite brand Newman's Own. So I picked up a little chocolate for the snack cabinet.
Now these chocolate bars have a TON of calories if you were to eat the whole thing, but that was A-OKAY in my mind. I pictured myself breaking off a piece and then neatly wrapping the remainder of the bar back up, putting it in the snack cabinet to be enjoyed another day.
Well, let's just say that isn't exactly how it went down- our girl Jill has really good taste in chocolate! So, if I didn't wholeheartedly believe that I am responsible for all of my experiences- I'd blame Jillian! BUT, I can't sugar responsibly- no more unplanned treats for me. Back to once a week, that's what works for me. It was a good thought though.
I have been doing really good the last couple of days though. I have tried some really good new recipes. Some recent faves:
Dr Oz Fat Burning Chili- I don't like Chili, but I had to make this when I saw it. There are a lot of ingredients, but we froze this- have had it twice and probably have 3 to 4 more meals left.
http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/fat-melting-vegetarian-chili
If you don't like spicy food, skip this! If you do like spicy food- TONE it down.
Unsweetened Coconut crusted chicken:
Asparagus Soup and Tomato Cucumber Salad:
It all started innocently enough. I was listening to Jillian's podcast and she was talking about how she allots a certain number of calories a day to 'treat' foods. In particular she talked about a brand of chocolate named Green and Blacks. The next day I was perusing the Health Market and I saw that Green and Blacks were on sale as well as my trusty favorite brand Newman's Own. So I picked up a little chocolate for the snack cabinet.
Now these chocolate bars have a TON of calories if you were to eat the whole thing, but that was A-OKAY in my mind. I pictured myself breaking off a piece and then neatly wrapping the remainder of the bar back up, putting it in the snack cabinet to be enjoyed another day.
Well, let's just say that isn't exactly how it went down- our girl Jill has really good taste in chocolate! So, if I didn't wholeheartedly believe that I am responsible for all of my experiences- I'd blame Jillian! BUT, I can't sugar responsibly- no more unplanned treats for me. Back to once a week, that's what works for me. It was a good thought though.
I have been doing really good the last couple of days though. I have tried some really good new recipes. Some recent faves:
Dr Oz Fat Burning Chili- I don't like Chili, but I had to make this when I saw it. There are a lot of ingredients, but we froze this- have had it twice and probably have 3 to 4 more meals left.
http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/fat-melting-vegetarian-chili
If you don't like spicy food, skip this! If you do like spicy food- TONE it down.
Unsweetened Coconut crusted chicken:
Asparagus Soup and Tomato Cucumber Salad:
So yeah, back on the wagon and feeling good!
Other great news- I finished body revolution without doing a single wheel push up, I just held the wheel. Today I tried after my Pump and Burn workout and I did TEN wheel push ups. Les Mills must be doing something for my arm strength! Whoot!
Have a great night everyone! :)
Thursday, May 31, 2012
"Success without satisfaction is the ultimate failure." Tony Robbins
Authentic intuition is your best friend-- seriously. I am so happy that I quit P90X- I had a little bit of guilt about it because so many people LOVE it. This workout will change your life... blah, blah, blah. My gut was telling me I would be miserable doing it, so I changed course and moved on. When your gut is telling you something is not right in your life- listen, it is often right. TRUST yourself! Sorry for the soap box, it is very unlike me . I just hate seeing people miserable yet they do nothing to change the situation because they feel they are doing what they SHOULD.
I don't normally use the word 'love' to describe non living things, but I LOVE my new workout schedule. I am doing a hybrid of Les Mills Pump and Insanity. Last week was strictly Les Mills Pump, this week the hybrid began.
Les Mills started off pretty slow last week. The main workout was pump challenge which is a full body 25 minute-ish workout. It was basically just getting you familiar with the equipment, form and how to adjust the movements to the tempo. I liked it, but it was just fine. I feel like this week the fun really began. If you aren't familiar with Les Mills the workouts are high reps timed to awesome music. So we may be doing a squat 'circuit' and you will be doing some squats super slow (down for 4 counts), pick up the tempo to a medium (down and up for two counts), pick up the tempo again for singles, and then finally bottom halves (PAIN- squat down, come up about half way, down, up half way, then up fully, then down again). My butt has been on FIRE all week. LOVE IT.
I did Les Mills Flow this week as well which is a super energized yoga DVD that is only 20 minutes long. I felt so fantastic when it was over. The instructors in Les Mills are amazing. I don't even need to look at the TV, their audio cues are enough so that I know exactly what I need to do.
Les Mills Hard Core Abs- 15 minutes of AH-Mazing. All do-able moves that will leave you sore the next day. The instructors are from all over- UK, New Zealand, etc. They switch on and off for the different circuits and their accents are super motivating.
So I am doing Insanity on non Les Mills Days (Les Mills is 3 days a week for strength, then you do ABS 2 times a week and flow once). Les Mills suggests you walk 3 days a week, but I am doing Insanity.
Tuesday was the fit test, so today was my first actual Insanity Workout. It was Plyometric Cardio Circuit. OMG! Uh, yeah- the warm up was more intense then many workouts I have done. The moves are pretty straight forward and Shaun T is super motivating and not bad on the eyes. There were suicide drills, fast feet, push ups, skier jumps, plank moguls, standing mountain climbers, regular mountain climbers. By the end, I had to take frequent breaks. My HRM clocked the workout at 452 calories for 42 minutes even with the breaks. I was sweating like crazy.
So I am HAPPY, HAPPY with my workouts. I have held steady with my weight and that is because of my eating. In short it has been crappy food in abundance and we all know that food is 100 % of the battle. Tomorrow is a new month, a renewed commitment.
Hope everyone is well. Congrats to all the recent finishers (Catherine and Peach that I know of for sure). AMAZING results and I am loving your post BR updates.
I don't normally use the word 'love' to describe non living things, but I LOVE my new workout schedule. I am doing a hybrid of Les Mills Pump and Insanity. Last week was strictly Les Mills Pump, this week the hybrid began.
Les Mills started off pretty slow last week. The main workout was pump challenge which is a full body 25 minute-ish workout. It was basically just getting you familiar with the equipment, form and how to adjust the movements to the tempo. I liked it, but it was just fine. I feel like this week the fun really began. If you aren't familiar with Les Mills the workouts are high reps timed to awesome music. So we may be doing a squat 'circuit' and you will be doing some squats super slow (down for 4 counts), pick up the tempo to a medium (down and up for two counts), pick up the tempo again for singles, and then finally bottom halves (PAIN- squat down, come up about half way, down, up half way, then up fully, then down again). My butt has been on FIRE all week. LOVE IT.
I did Les Mills Flow this week as well which is a super energized yoga DVD that is only 20 minutes long. I felt so fantastic when it was over. The instructors in Les Mills are amazing. I don't even need to look at the TV, their audio cues are enough so that I know exactly what I need to do.
Les Mills Hard Core Abs- 15 minutes of AH-Mazing. All do-able moves that will leave you sore the next day. The instructors are from all over- UK, New Zealand, etc. They switch on and off for the different circuits and their accents are super motivating.
So I am doing Insanity on non Les Mills Days (Les Mills is 3 days a week for strength, then you do ABS 2 times a week and flow once). Les Mills suggests you walk 3 days a week, but I am doing Insanity.
Tuesday was the fit test, so today was my first actual Insanity Workout. It was Plyometric Cardio Circuit. OMG! Uh, yeah- the warm up was more intense then many workouts I have done. The moves are pretty straight forward and Shaun T is super motivating and not bad on the eyes. There were suicide drills, fast feet, push ups, skier jumps, plank moguls, standing mountain climbers, regular mountain climbers. By the end, I had to take frequent breaks. My HRM clocked the workout at 452 calories for 42 minutes even with the breaks. I was sweating like crazy.
So I am HAPPY, HAPPY with my workouts. I have held steady with my weight and that is because of my eating. In short it has been crappy food in abundance and we all know that food is 100 % of the battle. Tomorrow is a new month, a renewed commitment.
Hope everyone is well. Congrats to all the recent finishers (Catherine and Peach that I know of for sure). AMAZING results and I am loving your post BR updates.
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Floundering
Still here, still working out. Haven't checked blogs for a couple days, but I am checking up on everyone tomorrow and hope to see good news as some of you are nearing the end. I have had crazy set up to do for my new gig which is super exciting. As a technology super duper part time consultant I rarely get good subject matter, but this is fun!
So, this week I have started Les Mills pump and it's good. This is a program based on body pump classes and uses a barbell. It's really FUN and doesn't feel like a chore at all. I think this is really going to be a great program for strength training. I have definitely been sore in the butt which is where I need it the most. The program does have yoga and core DVDs as well (both short:)). I haven't done them yet, but will report when I do. The music is great and there is a strategy around the music chosen. The reps are timed to the beats of the music- so you do slow reps and fast reps and the beats and reps are synchronized. The music is very motivating. My husband has never been interested in my workouts, but he did a workout last night.
So why am I floundering?!?! The program is weak on cardio. On cardio days they just say to do a 45 minute walk. Well I do this pretty much every day anyway with my husband and son. Cardio is my weakspot and I definitely want to train my weaknesses as well as my strengths. So I think I am going to develop my own hybrid plan and hybrid Les Mills with Insanity. There isn't an official hybrid out there, but I have read about people doing this with fantastic results.
I had lunch with a friend the other day and she was talking about Insanity and how she couldn't do it, but really wanted to try another program. She was talking about P90x and I gave her my feedback. Hopefully I didn't talk her out of it, but she doesn't think it's for her given her time constraints. So, we are meeting up again tomorrow and doing an Insanity for Body Revolution swap. I am so excited for her and want her to succeed. I made her some of the blueberry/banana muffins to get her going! Maybe I can convince her to blog? Once I get my fingers on Insanity I'll develop my own customized plan! I am hoping this will live up to Body Revolution. What a fantastic program, we really were spoiled.
I think this new plan is going to work great for me. I am pretty happy with my tone these days and am feeling pretty solid. My problem areas are butt and lower abs so I think some Insanity style cardio and good old fashioned eating right will help get me where I want to be.
My friend sent me this picture of us berry picking earlier today and I was shocked at my post body revolution 'guns'. It just isn't what I see in the mirror (I am the one in the jean skirt and painfully pale legs).
Have a great night everyone!
So, this week I have started Les Mills pump and it's good. This is a program based on body pump classes and uses a barbell. It's really FUN and doesn't feel like a chore at all. I think this is really going to be a great program for strength training. I have definitely been sore in the butt which is where I need it the most. The program does have yoga and core DVDs as well (both short:)). I haven't done them yet, but will report when I do. The music is great and there is a strategy around the music chosen. The reps are timed to the beats of the music- so you do slow reps and fast reps and the beats and reps are synchronized. The music is very motivating. My husband has never been interested in my workouts, but he did a workout last night.
So why am I floundering?!?! The program is weak on cardio. On cardio days they just say to do a 45 minute walk. Well I do this pretty much every day anyway with my husband and son. Cardio is my weakspot and I definitely want to train my weaknesses as well as my strengths. So I think I am going to develop my own hybrid plan and hybrid Les Mills with Insanity. There isn't an official hybrid out there, but I have read about people doing this with fantastic results.
I had lunch with a friend the other day and she was talking about Insanity and how she couldn't do it, but really wanted to try another program. She was talking about P90x and I gave her my feedback. Hopefully I didn't talk her out of it, but she doesn't think it's for her given her time constraints. So, we are meeting up again tomorrow and doing an Insanity for Body Revolution swap. I am so excited for her and want her to succeed. I made her some of the blueberry/banana muffins to get her going! Maybe I can convince her to blog? Once I get my fingers on Insanity I'll develop my own customized plan! I am hoping this will live up to Body Revolution. What a fantastic program, we really were spoiled.
I think this new plan is going to work great for me. I am pretty happy with my tone these days and am feeling pretty solid. My problem areas are butt and lower abs so I think some Insanity style cardio and good old fashioned eating right will help get me where I want to be.
My friend sent me this picture of us berry picking earlier today and I was shocked at my post body revolution 'guns'. It just isn't what I see in the mirror (I am the one in the jean skirt and painfully pale legs).
Sunday, May 20, 2012
P90x Day 7 of 7
Instead of focusing on how much you can accomplish, focus on how much you can absolutely love what you’re doing
~ Leo Babauta
I am using this quote to justify my P90X fail. I am going to be a quitter. But, I only committed to a test run- so technically it isn't a fail.
I can say with absolute certainty that I do not love P90x. I have a greater respect for those who have completed the program after experiencing this week. These workouts are grueling! I really looked forward to the Body Revolution workouts, but with P90x I just kept putting them off and putting them off. They are too long and boring.
Since my last blog I have experienced Legs and Back and Kenpo X. I found Legs and Back to be one of the more challenging workouts in phase 1. Each circuit consists of a variation of a squat, lunge and pull up. There is a 90 second wall squat where you get down lower and lower every 15 seconds or so. By the end my legs were SHAKING, then as you are coming out of the squat Tony casually says "Don't be a hero, if your legs start shaking- come on out". Thanks Dude- it's over. While we are hanging out in squat Tony uses this time to plug the recovery drink AGAIN. Am I the only one who finds this constant commercial off-putting? I definitely felt this workout the next day.
Kenpo X was pretty light weight. This is an hour of punching and kicking. Rarely are you using your upper body and lower body at the same time. I burned less calories in this hour than I did in my 33 minutes of cardio 3.
Plyometrics definitely gets my vote as the superstar of this series. I wasn't staring at the countdown ticker the whole time, worked up a sweat, burned some calories and had a little fun.
Tomorrow starts a new adventure! I am looking forward to it! I hope everyone had a great weekend! :)
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