Happy Turkey Day!!!

Today I ran/walked my first 7k! I did the Mile High 7k Turkey Trot! My time was 48.21 minutes, which is pretty good considering I've never done a 7k ever in my life! I'm way proud of myself. It was fun. I think I'm going to do one in phoenix when I go there for xmas, the Reindeer Run, its a 5k, which will be nice and I should be able to run the whole way =]

Off to look at the sale ads =]

Sorry...

Lately I've sucked at writing on here, I don't even know where to start... Well I kinda do, Last week was a poor week weight loss wise... I only lost .2 lbs, which is pitiful. but this week I was determined not to fall off the horse, and I lost another 4 lbs!!!

Today marks the end of my 3 week at p90x, which is thoroughly kicking my butt! But definitely in a good way. There was only 1 day that I missed working out, and instead I just pushed everything back by a day, so whereas today is normally my day off, I'll be doing kenpox today. I finally got a pull up bar so that i could do pull ups yesterday, which was nice, except I didn't have a steady chair to put my legs on which made it really difficult, my chair kept turning every time I went up... Hopefully next week I'll figure out something better than that. Or maybe I'll just move the bar to the bathroom door that way I can just put my feet on the sink which is super stable...

Overall the workouts have been good, last week i was really disappointed since I had tried my hardest and only lost .2 lbs, its disappointing, and you think wtf I'm trying my best with no results, why! but thanks to the people at livestrong.com, they really helped me to stick with it and keep going, cause there definitely are those days where you just wanna give up.

So far, I've noticed that all of the workouts are becoming easier and I can do them all without feeling the need to fall over and die after them, which is big progress cause that is definitely how I felt with the first week. Although I have had some shoulder issues which required me to cut back on my weights, over all phase 1 has been a success. Next week is measurements, so we will see where those have gone, I forsee large changes =]

Wish me luck!

wanted to...

post tonight, but i'm just too tired, so i'll do it tomorrow when i get home from work.

fitness journal

So, since with p90x you should keep track of your weight lifting and all of thats stuff, not to mention the food part of it, I'm starting a real fitness and food journal. I bought a real nice journal at walmart yesterday, and I'm going to start it today and fill in my last few days, to help me keep track of what portions I ate, to make it a little easier, I will still be doing livestrong, and this, but I'd like to have something I can carry with me to help me out a little. Plus having a detailed account on paper should help me stay motivated.

Yesterday was jackson's first birthday so I cheated a little and had a SMALL piece of cake with chocolate frosting (that I made from scratch, yum). I didn't have my carb earlier in the day so that i would be able to eat it... And I also counted it as my fat and my snack for the day. So I kinda cheated, all in all calorie wise I was still at the same place, but I had more carbs and fat during the day than I have all week, but I'm back to normal this week.

Yoga was really difficult yesterday, I've never really done normal yoga in my life, little bits here and there, but never a full on yoga workout. I've done bikram yoga but that is COMPLETELY different. But I finished it, I fell all over the place, but I finished it. Hopefully next week it will be a little easier for me. About to go on a run, Haven't done that in a while, but I figure, why not... So I'll do that and then come back for my legs back and abs routine.

Wish me luck!

so far so good!

I started p90x on sunday and its been going really well so far. I'm really proud of myself not only am I doing the workout but I'm actually keeping with the nutrition plan, which is awesome. I weighed myself today because I'm changing my weigh in to saturdays and I still wanted a few days between my weekly weigh in and my new weigh in. So here are the results for this week

Weight - 135.2 lbs
body fat - 26.6 %
body water - 50.6 %
bone mass - 6.8 lbs
muscle mass - 42.3 lbs

I just keep getting lower, which is super exciting! Day off today, from work, doing yoga soon, gonna go eat breakfast now.

Wish me luck!

Very happy with my progress this week, I'm now below my lowest adult weight, but I still have a lot more to lose. Its nice though cause my clothes are fitting loose, except my skinny jeans which fit perfect =] So happy with that. Start p90x on sunday so we will see how that goes.

weight 136.4 lbs
body fat 26.3%
body water 50.9%
bone mass 6.8 lbs
muscle mass 43.2 lbs

I'm only 2.4 lbs away from my 3rd mini goal. I've now lost over 20 lbs, which is a huge acomplishment, especially since I've been doing it on my own, no help aside from livestrong.com and beachbody.com. Hopefully by next week I will be at my next mini goal of 134 lbs!

Today we are making a haunted gingerbread house, and carving pumpkins, I'm so excited it will be so much fun! =] I hope everyone has a great halloween!

Wish me luck!

Aggravating day...

So today was definitely my cheat day... Whether I meant it to be or not. My boyfriend has been babysitting our nephews 8-5 for 5 days, and then had them both Friday-Sunday all day long... So I thought I'd be nice and wake up early to make everyone breakfast so that it was one less thing that he had to do. So I made whole wheat pumpkin nut pancakes, which were super tasty, along with eggs and center cut bacon. Plus a cup of juice, and my breakfast came to 500 calories... Which is almost 1/2 of my daily calories in 1 sitting... Lunch I tried to keep on the low calorie side because I wanted to be able to still eat something decent at work, so I just had a serving of cereal with skim milk, a yogurt, wheat thins with laughing cow light cheese, still not too bad except I was up to 900 calories already... So for dinner i was not allowed to have too much, so i stuck with a veggie burger no bun, 2 oz of turkey, and a small salad. but come midnight I was hungry again, so I had some club crackers and a 1/2 of a banana with some nutella fondue on it (there was some left over, and i only had about 1.5 tbsp...) Either way, I'm disappointed because not only did I not work out today, but this week I really wanted to be good, I wanted to be able to stick to it. These last 15 lbs are going to be the hardest and I know that, but cheating and eating badly isn't going to help the situation.

I'm considering getting some sort of supplement that boost my metabolism and helps with appetite control because that seems to be my biggest problem. I'll look on the website Dave looks at all the time and see what I can come up with.

On another note, we took the p90x fitness test yesterday and we both kicked some ass... My arms are killing me because at 8lb weights i maxed out with 50 bicep curls (i didn't have any 10s and thought 15s would have been too heavy, I was wrong) I was only able to do 1/4 pull up from the hanging position, If i started standing, I could do 2 1/2, so that's not too bad. the flexibility part I was good on +6.5 inches i think, and the vertical leap 13 inches. Although I learned that my heart rate drops awfully quick after stopping an intense work out. Within 4 minutes I was back at my resting heart rate, which is just CRAZY! Course that was only after 2 mins of jumping jacks with the last 30 seconds sprinting. Push ups, I did real ones, because I figured it would be a little tougher for me, and I did 18! I was really proud of myself. Over all it was nice to see that all the work we have been doing is paying off to the point where we can do things we couldn't before.

Hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to stick to the plan, eat healthy and not cheat AT ALL, and not taste at work (I have a habit of tasting things even though I don't need to... and although I account for it in my diet, I wish I didn't have to, and that's what I'll be working on, technically I should only have to taste when I am working the morning shift because that's when everything is prepped, working at night I just cook for the restaurant, I don't do any prep)

Wish me luck!

a little better

So, I lost a little this week, which is good, not as much of as loss as I would have hoped, but a loss is a loss, and its a step in the right direction from last week. This week has been hard, well these last couple weeks have been hard, I haven't quite felt like myself, and its making it hard for me to believe in my progress, I need to get out of this rut, its really causing my losses to not be what they could be. Next week I am going to try really hard to stay motivated, work hard, and keep an up beat attitude. Here were my results

Weight - 138.8lbs
Body Fat - 26.4%
Body Water - 50.8%
Bone Mass - 7lbs
Muscle Mass - 44 lbs

kinda a disappointment...

So its weigh in day... And I gained 1.4 lbs, however according to my fancy scale, all of that was muscle weight, which is good, and my bodyfat went down, I took my measurements today, and I'm down 7 inches overall. Here are the results...

Weight - 139.4
Body Fat - 26.9%
Body Water - 50.5%
Bone Mass - 7 lbs
Muscle Mass - 43.6 lbs

Neck - 13" +.5
Arm - 12.5" -.5 (x2)
Bust - 35.5" -1.5
Chest - 32" 0
Waist - 29.5" -1.5
Hips - 38" -1.5
Thigh - 21.5" -.5 (x2)
Calf - 14" -.5 (x2)

overall -7", which is great for only 4 weeks. I wish I would have gone down in weight, although it is nice to see that i'm going down in inches and body fat. I bumped up my weights this week to 8lb ers for everthing, and i think it might be too much, only because I really want to slim down before I bulk up, so I am going to go back to 5lb ers and see where I get with that, I am also going to start doing cardio again on sculpting days, but I'll be doing sweat 1-2 so that I can make it through the entire sculpt workout.

Wish me luck this week

another 1.8 lbs AND...

Thats right, so this week I lost another 1.8 lbs, almost 2 lbs in 1 week! So exciting!!! On top of that the weight is the same I weighed at my fittest point in high school (and what has been on my drivers license since i was 16), and is the same as the lowest standard weight I've ever had in my teen/adult life! I am very proud of myself. On top of that, for the first time in a long time I have a normal BMI, rather than over weight. =] Here are my stats this week:

Weight -138 lbs
Body Fat - 27.8%
Body Water - 49.7%
Bone Mass - 6.8 lbs
Muscle Mass - 42.3

Day 45

Well, yesterday marked day 45, and the start of power 90 3-4. And it kicked my butt, I was so exhausted by the end of it that all I wanted to do was sleep! And I did, seeing as how it was 1am. =] Today I did sculpt, and that kicked my butt as well. I started doing real push ups rather than girlie push ups, and I was surprised at how many I was able to do. I did 8 decline push ups and then did 7 regular, then on the next bout I did 8 regular, but then had to switch to the girlie ones. My upper body was just too tired, after that. Although another goal of mine is to do regular push ups through the entire workout by day 90, I think I can manage that.

Thats really all I have right now, just thought I'd update you =]

Wish me luck!

Amazed...

So, its been a rough week, with working 14 hour days at work and going to the Great American Beer Festival, I didn't think I was going to lose anything this week, but I did, and I'm very proud of myself. I also didn't work our quite as much as I should have because of working such crazy hours. But on the days off and day I didn't work 14 hours I did work out, and this week has been easier and I've managed to stick to things. Here is the update on my weightloss

Weight - 139.8 lbs
Body Fat - 28%
Body Water - 49.5%
Bone Mass - 7 lbs
Muscle Mass - 42.7 lbs

I passed my 2nd mini Goal of 7 lbs, now onto 6 lbs, so 133 is the next goal, that will be the least I've ever weighed since I can remember in my adult/teen life.

Wish me luck!

1 lb away from goal 2!!!

So, I managed to lose 1.8lbs this week! Which is amazing, It was a really crazy week, between having a small cold in the beginning, having an out patient "surgery" a few days later, and working 21 hours in 2 days, it has been insane, which probably helped a whole lot! Here are the results

Weight - 141 lbs
Body Fat - 27.8%
Body Water - 49.7%
Bone Mass - 7 lbs
Muscle Mass - 43.4 lbs

I am only 1 lbs away from my second mini goal, and hopefully I am able to hit that next week! If so then I'm going to reward myself with something, I think maybe a subscription to Women's Health or something like that, maybe go buy a couple of magazines or something.

Either way I am very pleased, it has been an utterly crazy week, but I've managed and I am so glad I did.

Great American Beer Festival is today (free tickets from work), So I will be tasting a bunch of different beers I'm going to try to eat light all day to help with the empty calories for beer. They only pour a 1 oz tasting which is good and hopefully there won't be more than say 16 breweries which will be only 1 pt of beer. My fingers are crossed!

Wish me luck!

Re Weigh-in

Ok, so as stated yesterday it seemed like my results were slightly off and that made me really sad... So I decided to re weigh today because of eating and drinking yesterday before my weigh in and its a good thing I did the results were off and here are the newest-

weight - 142.8 lbs
body fat - 28.7%
body water - 48.9%
bone mass - 7 lbs
muscle mass - 42.9 lbs

I lost a pound and a half a percent of body fat! and my body water went up! I'm very pleased with the results in deed! It seems like a pound a week is what I'll be doing and I'm ok with that, slow and steady is better than fast and burning out. I really feel I can do this, a couple more days till our 30 day pictures and I can't wait!

Wish me luck!

So I was a little disappointed this morning... I weighed myself, and I only went down .2 lbs... and everything else stayed the same for the most part....

weight 143.6 lbs
body fat 29.2%
body water 48.7%
bone mass 7 lbs
muscle mass 42.9 lbs

Although I did have a little issue this morning which made things slightly different... I went to bed last night with my stomach growling and when I woke up early this morning I felt like I was going to get sick, which often happens when I go to be over hungry rather than just slightly hungry... So I had to drink an entire bottle of water and eat a piece of bread in order to curb the sick feeling. Which could have thrown off my results slightly. I'm debating on reweighing myself again tomorrow to see if it did. Not sure though, Although it is a little sad that I've worked my butt off and i only lost .2 lbs...

I did take my measurements which I will only be doing once a month... And they are as follows from the top of the body down...

Neck - 12.5"
Arm - 13"
Bust - 37"
Chest - 32"
Waist - 31"
Hips - 39.5"
Thigh - 22"
Calf - 14.5"

Hopefully on October 16 they will all be down lower... My fingers are crossed

Wish me luck

those favorite red shorts

So, back in high school Nikki and I split the cost of these red shorts from anchor blue (back then millers outpost) and we shared them, later on she gave them to me and said to keep them. I tired them on today, and they fit, they were snug, and not quite as comfy as I remember them, but they zipped up and didn't have anything hanging over the top! I was excited, so I then tried on all of my jeans and shorts, my other shorts are still a little snug, but I can zip and button them up now, before I couldn't, but I still got about another 5 lbs before I can wear them again whereas the red ones maybe just a pound or 2 till they are comfy again. As for my jeans, all of them fit comfortably except 1 pair, which are still a little tight in the thighs and waist, maybe another 5-7 lbs till I'm in those, but it was really exciting to know that all the clothes I have right now fit me nicely except 2 things, which is something to look forward to. I weight myself tomorrow, and I'm going to add measurements to that too, I bought myself a tape measure so we will see where my measurements are at, not that I really remember where they were at before, but regardless it will be nice to start keeping track of. Just another thing to judge where I am at =] Over all I feel really good about myself today. I feel prettier than I have felt in the recent past, and I feel better about myself, which is always a good thing. I'm keeping myself busy with reading magazines and a book, to keep my brain active. Overall I am content right now... That is all. Oh and keep your fingers crossed for tomorrow!

Wish me luck!

So, I've been continuing to kick my butt on a daily basis with my workout. I'm almost to day 30 on power 90, Dave and I will be taking photos to see where we are compared to where we were, and I'll be sure to post those on here when its done.

I've noticed myself being bad at work, eating a lot of sweets... I've cut out all the fried food from work (except last night I was starving and had some fries, and man did I regret it, I was bloated and hurting all night) I seem to want some chocolate a lot, which is weird cause usually chocolate isn't my thing, but I like sweet stuff and when thats all I have near, I'll go for it, which isn't good cause its really fattening.

I'm really trying to do better though. Its just really hard, I think maybe I should bring a sweet snack to work with me so when I want something I have something there for me that is better than nutella or chocolate. Just have to find something that i can bring with me.

I have a total of 22 pounds to lose... 123 ending weight seems like a good number, right in the middle of the average bmi. I'm excited about it, Sometimes I feel like my goals are a little outlandish, so for right now I'll keep focused on my 140 lb milestone. Only a couple pounds away from that. I'm determined to be healthier this week than I was last week! I'm determined! I'll do it!

Wish me luck!

Finally got a scale!!!

So, after 2 weeks of waiting, I finally got my scale!!! And I finally weighed myself this morning! And...... drum roll please....... I lost another 4 lbs! And another 2.5% body fat! I haven't been able to weigh myself in a long time, since the day after i got back from the wedding, and then I was up 3 pounds from the vacation! So, really I am down 7 lbs from then, but 4 lbs from my recent lowest =]

We got the taylor scale that does weight, body fat, body water, bone mass, and muscle mass, and although I'm not sure what I need the last 2 for, it will at least give me a few more things to keep track of every week.

Weight : 143.8 lb
Body Fat : 29.2%
Body water : 48.6%
Bone Mineral Mass : 7lb
Muscle Mass : 42.9lb

So, I am at the half way point to my 2nd goal of 7 lbs. I've been kicking ass in my workouts, doing power90 sweat every day and sculpt every other day, and on the occasion a biggest loser workout, like I did today.

Dave has been doing good too, he is down about 10 lbs! Its nice working out together, although right now we are on opposite schedules because of 1 random day where I did both and he only felt like doing one, which is fine, it makes for some entertaining workouts!

So, here's to 14lbs down, 3 more to go on this mini goal, then another 5, then another 5, but thats getting ahead of myself, down to 140 first!

Wish me luck!

Well I wanted to be really good and do a double workout today, but after I got home I was waiting for Dave to finish eating, and then he didn't even want to work out in the end... Although his sister worked out with me instead, by the time we were done with just the weight lifting it was midnight, and I didn't wanna do an hour of cardio after that, it would keep me up all night... So instead I'm going to do 2 workouts tomorrow, 1 in the morning and 1 in the evening with dave's sis again so she can see the other power 90 work out.

I feel a little better today, hopefully tomorrow with a double workout I'll feel even better about myself, and hopefully I get my scale soon so I can find out what I weigh finally, fingers crossed for under 145!

Wish me luck!

ugh...

So this new job is killing my healthy eating habits! I can make myself 1 meal per day for free, and I'm trying to keep it healthy, like today I had a 1/2 turkey sandwich with egg and cheese, which is relatively healthy, but then I had to try making a crape, since I'd never made them before, so i had 1 filled with strawberries and bananas and topped with cinnamon and vanilla glaze, not to healthy... Although it was either that or stuffed with banana and nutella... which woulda been way worse... I'm trying though, I really am and after putting it into the daily plate, I'm right on target, technically i have another 40 calories left for me today, but I'm not going to use them. Still have to workout tonight, I'm doing double duty, both an hour of cardio and a 30 minute weight lifting... It will be my first full day in a long time, but it is definitely needed. I still don't have a scale to see where I'm at, but I ordered one for super cheap on amazon.com, and i should have it tomorrow or tuesday, my fingers are crossed. Either way, I'll keep you posted - for those of you if there are any, who want to check out where I work, go to www.thecheekymonk.com

Wish me luck

Super sore today...

So yesterday I did the biggest loser Cardio Max workout. I did a warm up, level 3, level 2, level 3 and then a cool down. And it kicked my ass beyond belief!!! I hurt so bad this morning. Kinda felt like I got hit by a truck or something... I didn't let that stop me though! I did the power 90 sweat workout this morning with dave, and kicked my butt again. I didn't slow down during the whole thing, I'm proud of myself for doing now 4 days in a row... Looks like it will be 9 days in a row before I get a day off, since Dave insists on taking Sunday's off, and I didn't quite feel like taking Sunday off, so that means 9 straight days for me. That means I'll be kickin my butt!

Wish me luck!

2 days

In a row, still don't know what I weigh. Yesterday was a cheat day for me, It was dave's nephew's birthday, so I made him a cake, and it turned out tasty, but that was the only way I cheated, it brought me above my calorie count, and although not too bad, after working out it still put me about 200 calories over my allotted calorie count... But 1 day out of a week, is not bad, and only 200 calories isn't as bad as it could be. Over all I'm still determined, I will work out today even though dave refuses to work out with me. And hopefully I can get ahold of a scale within the next few days to see where I'm at, I think I'm back down to my 10 lb goal, but I now have another 7 lb goal... So hopefully I am maybe down a pound in that too so that I only have 6 to go, I know I'm being overly optimistic here but sometimes ya just gotta be, right?

Wish me luck!

Finally

Today was the 2nd day I finally felt better, and you know what that means... I worked out for the first time in a LONG time, and it felt great! Aside from the slightly wheezed feeling I had thanks to my asthma that kicks in when I'm sick. Aside from that I feel great that I worked out, and I made Dave work out too. He is apparently really out of shape when it comes to cardio, we will see tomorrow how he does with weight lifting.

I have no idea what I weigh as of right now because I don't have a scale down in the basement where I'm staying, although Dave says his sister does have a scale, hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to weigh myself and see where I'm standing vs 2 weeks ago before the wedding. My fingers are crossed that I'm still around the same spot.

Wish me luck!

Still Sick...

went to the doc yesterday, got a virus, just gotta tough it out, and hopefully I'll be better in a few days. My fingers are crossed.

Sick Days...

Kinda fell off the barrel a little bit I guess... On vacation, didn't do a whole lot of working out, haven't done any since I got back... Driving to Colorado didn't help either, being in the car and stopping at triple D restaurants. They were good, and REALLY unhealthy. Luckily we split everything. Anyways, now I'm sick and I really don't feel well enough to work out, i'm back to eating healthy and making sure my calorie count is in check. Which is better than nothing while I'm sick so.

Wish me luck...

Well, I fell off the wagon, kinda... I was on vacation for my best friends wedding this week and I didn't do as good as I hoped to. For the most part I wasn't bad, but I wasn't good either. I wasn't eating balanced meals like I should have, I drank water and only water until the night of the wedding, so that was good. But I ate a lot of sweets... And last night Dave and I spent the night in Boston. We ate at a place called "finale" which was effing delicious, but I ate probably my entire day's worth of calories in 1 sitting... we had both dinner and dessert cause of their $30 special. Which was so good, but it was so bad for me. I barely slept last night because of 2 reasons- 1, my stomach was KILLING me!!! It hurt so bad, I can't even tell you, I was bloated and crampy, it was terrible, but then there was the fact that I just felt guilty for eating so poorly... Earlier that day we ate at Cheers in boston as well, and i had their petite cheeseburger, again, not healthy, but at least it was only a 1/4 lb rather than the 1/3 lb the rest of their burgers were. It was just a bad day overall for food yesterday... I was disappointed in myself. The day of the wedding I was good except for the 2.5 glasses of champagne and the 1 glass of beer... aside from that though the dinner was a caprese salad, grilled salmon on top of garlic mashed potatoes and spinach with mushrooms, and dessert was the cake, a white cake with a light strawberry filling and buttercream icing. It was pretty tastey, but overall when all i had was that, a few pieces of fruit and cheese and a small piece of coffee cake for breakfast it wasn't too bad.

Hopefully I didn't gain too much, I'm hoping only a pound or 2. I did work out 2 days while I was there, I wish I would have more... but what can ya do, you're on vacation... Tonight I plan on doing an hour+ workout, to help me out, days on flights are never easy cause you just munch on flight food all day long... And being stuck here in salt lake city for 3 hours doesn't help either... I only have 1 hour left till my flight takes off, so about 30 mins till boarding, I hope, I dunno, I'm on one of those tiny planes, the ones that are only 4 seats across and only like 15 rows... So I'm not sure when they attempt to board... Either way, If I could workout right now I totally would, but I think that would look a little odd in the middle of Concorse E...

Well I'll let you know tomorrow what the damage is of the trip... Tomorrow I drive to colorado, but we are stopping in sante fe, nm, and my mom is all for working out, so we can just workout while we are there in the hotel, and I'm ok with that. But it will be a long couple days before things are back to normal, or as much as I can consider back to normal living with my future sister-in-law and her family...

Wish me luck!

Almost There...

Things seem to be continuing to go well, I've lost another pound which means I'm only 1 pound away from the original goal, and tomorrow I'll be weighting again (a little early, but I was hoping to hit the 10 pound mark by the time i go to Maine). Hopefully I hit it! I've been really good these last few days, eating really healthy and drinking tons of water, and working out every day.

After I hit this goal, my next goal with be 7 more pounds, which will put me at 140 pounds when I'm done, after that I have 2 more goals at least, 5 pounds each, putting me over all at 130 pounds, a very muscular 130 pounds, hopefully around a size 3/4ish! I feel like for the first time I can do this on my own, no gimmicks no nothing, just eating healthy, and eating what I want within reason, and working out on a regular basis, with tons of cardio... 6 days a week cardio, 2 days a week strength training.

And I found pictures of what I would like to look like when I'm done

body 1
body 2

I'm bound and determined! I can't wait!

Wish me luck!

A few little tweaks...

I'm still goin strong with the healthy eating and the fitness. I've had some ups and downs, and it hasn't been easy but I have made a couple of changes. Instead of my calorie goal being at 2 lbs a week weightloss, I lowered it to 1.5 lbs a week, which allowed me an extra 200 calories if necessary. Some days they aren't, like today, but other days they are. I started with the Power 90 dvds, which again I already had on hand, and they actually seemed too easy for me, which was surprising, but kind of nice. So I adjusted it... Last time we noticed that we were bulking up too much with them, so I lowered the sculpt to only 2 days a week instead of 3, and on the days I do sculpt I'm also doing sweat, which brings it on an hour workout. The 4 days a week I'm supposed to be doing sweat, I added one of the biggest loser mini sessions, 20-25 minutes. I figure I'll do this for about 2-3 weeks and then I'll jump to sculpt/sweat 3-4. And hopefully that will be a little more of a challenge. All in all so far I am pleased with the results, I haven't weighed myself since I the last time, which I think is a good thing, usually I have a hard time doing that lately, but on sunday or monday I will update my weight again and hopefully it will be down some more =].

I was stressed out the other day because we were going out to breakfast, and out to dinner, so I wasn't planning on having much for lunch other than a fruit salad, and my mom started lecturing me about how I need to have cheat days every once in a while... But i don't really feel the need to have cheat days, for the most part I allow myself to have the things I want within reason and therefore don't really need to cheat. I understand it was a rough day, early breakfast, late dinner, very light lunch, and I was cranky in the first place (stupid womanly issues), so it was just annoying. I didn't feel I needed to cheat, and it bothered me that I was being pressured into it. I mean my cheating is still healthy like only 8 frozen yogurt, or coldstone tart and tangy yogurt, or having a sub sandwich for lunch instead of just some lunchmeat or something like that. I don't feel the need to have massing cheating or to over eat calorie wise. If I have to I will, but I would really rather not... Which I think is an ok thing. Right? That is all for now...

Wish me luck!

Feeling of progress!

So- Today I finally lost another pound! That means I've lost a total of 8 lbs! I'm so happy, mostly because I'm finally below 150lbs! Only 2 lbs away from my bet with Dave to lose 10 lbs first. And for those of you who have been following along, I did not work out that day, I decided I really needed to have a day off. So I did, then I worked out the next day, and then yesterday was another day off, today again i kicked my butt and I will again tomorrow. Especially since I am now seeing some results =]. I know I'll be able to do this, and get down to what I want to look like! Its going to be amazing when I get there! I'm not sure what brought on this confidence but whatever it was I'm grateful for it!

Wish me luck!

To work out or not...

Today was my day to relax, or relax as much as one can when they have to work. I've worked out 6 days in a row and today I needed a break. It was a day for my mom and I, for us to both have a day off, one of a few before I move to Colorado. We had decided a few months back to try to visit as many Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives as possible in the az before I leave, and so far we had only made it to 2 places - Thee Pitts Again and Al Forno's... So after contemplation- We decided to go to Giuseppe's on 28th, and we shared our meal, and it was delicious. I still feel like I should be working out tonight, like I'm cheating, and cheating doesn't help my situation at all. My mom says I deserve a day to myself, but to me I feel like I should just cut back, ya know just do a 20 minute workout instead of the normal 60-80 minute workout. That way its enough to make me feel like I did something but is also a break from the normal. I dunno, I'm just not sure what I should do. Want a break, but feel the need to keep it going.

Wish me luck.

Feeling a little disappointed...

So, I've been at this for a few weeks now, 2 months from when I came back from Disney, strict fitness and weight loss for about 3-4 weeks of that... And I feel like I'm stuck. My starting weight was 157 lbs, and my starting body fat was 35%. In 2 months I've lost 7 lbs and 4.5% body fat. Which is awesome, however in the last week and a half or 2 weeks I haven't lost a pound! And I've only lost .5% body fat in that time! I feel like I'm busing my ass with little result. Its really disappointing.

Food wise I've been eating pretty healthy, I mean my calorie counts over the last 3 weeks (thanks to livestrongs - the daily plate for making it an easy comparison) has only ranged from 900-1500 calories, with only 2 days being above 1350! And those 2 days happened to be a family bbq and a special night out with the family to Outback steakhouse... And most of the days my net calories are anywhere from 700-900 calories after working out, minus my days off which are still in the 1000-1200 calorie range... I feel that with keeping track like this and being sure to put every little thing I put in my mouth on here, keeping track like no tomorrow, I should be dropping weight super quickly, and unfortunately I'm not.

I've noticed that I like working out 2 day on, 1 day off, 2 days on, 1 day off, and I'm trying to get passed that to doing 6 days a week. Its been hard to but today is day 5 for this week! Although yesterday I only did a 20 minute work out, i figure 20 minutes is better than nothing. I've maintained doing my fitness DVDs, which kick my ass every time I do them. "Burn It Up" by Slim in 6 is a staple and so are The Biggest Loser "Cardio Max" and "Boot Camp". Every day I do them I'm sweating within 10-15 minutes, and I keep that up for 50minutes to an hour!

I'm just really disappointed that I'm not losing weight as quickly as I feel I should. I'm still not down the 10 lbs I bet my boyfriend I could be before him. Granted he isn't either, but I really want to be the one to pick where we go on out "first date" back together after being apart for 8 months. And after 8 weeks of working at it, and 4 weeks of that, kicking my ass, I feel I should be there already. I'm not going to stop at it, I just need to re-evaluate the way I'm eating and the times I'm working out and adjust to make this a more successful fitness plan. Today so far has been an excellent day with an 80 minute cardio kick, doing both burn it up and level 3 cardio max! I've also eaten very healthy today with protein powder oatmeal for breakfast and lunch being turkey lunchmeat and a slice of cheese. Dinner I'm unsure about but I'm determined to make it a healthy option!

Wish me luck.

Just one of those days...

Today was just one of those days... you know, where you're just tired most of the day, mentally... Physically I felt like I had all the energy in the world but my brain was working in slow motion. I still managed to work out today after I got off of work and after dinner, which was a tasty bbq chicken salad. Still having an issue with Kraft light ranch dressing, but nothing I can do about it... other than no eat it anymore, and once the bottle is gone, that will be it.

While working out tonight I did feel awfully exhausted, my asthma seemed to kick in earlier than it usually does during the same workout. I also had to take more water breaks than I usually do. I'm not sure what this means, other than maybe I was pushing myself too hard, too many days in a row.

Tomorrow is Les Mills Bodycombat with my mom, she is a veteran of doing that system, and I've never done it before. I'm excited though, I like to switch up my dvds and fitness classes, and what better way than to do it with mom!

Refridgerated pools?

Although today was a fairly uneventful day, I feel tired today. I kicked my ass in my workout (burn it up, slim in 6) and then went swimming (only for about 10 mins). Why you ask, did I swim for only 10 mins? Well... I jumped in just after my workout, dripping sweat, super hot and in need of something refreshing, and I jumped into the pool expecting it to be like 86 degrees or something around there, and it was 92 degrees... It was hotter in my pool than it was for a high in Denver today... How could that possibly be refreshing? Oh wait, it couldn't! So I jumped in swam for a minute or two then jumped out to have the breeze cool me off (it was unseasonably windy today), did that a few times until I just didn't want to anymore. You see, our cool decking got a new sealant put on it about 6 months ago, and it didn't take, so the cool decking is about 120 degrees which was hard to stand on while cooling off... All in all, an annoying day for swimming. I know there are such things as heated pools, why are there not such things as refridgerated pools for those of us living in the desert? Aside from that, and cooking a veggie burger for dinner, I didn't really do anything...

Overcoming Difficulties

I've noticed that I have days where I really want to work out, but I'm just so tired. Long days at work, lots of running around, whatever the reason I have a hard time pushing myself to work out. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. But I try to at least do something, even if its just 2 sets of 10 push ups, or a couple sets of crunches, anything to at least burn a couple calories and make me feel like I didn't waste a day. Other days I would shorten my workout from 1 hour to 20 minutes. A good set of DVDs to do this are "The Biggest Loser" dvds, they are customizable to how long you want them, and you can do a 5 minute warm up, 10 minute work out, and 5 minute cool down. Its enough to make it feel like you did something worth while but not so long that you drain yourself. It is also a good thing for if you are running out of time or just need to fit in a quick workout. The point is to do something, anything to get yourself moving, if its taking your dogs for a walk or going window shopping at the mall, but speed walking while doing it, or swimming. Anything that will keep you moving that day to help out with the exhaustion that seems to happen every so often.

The Epiphany

When I returned home from Disney, staying with my parents for 2 months, I decided I needed to get in shape, mostly because I needed an outlet to get out my frustration and aggravation about random situations (that lets admit, we all have). Not just that but after being away from my boyfriend for 5 months and another 2 on the way I wanted to look amazing the next time I saw him. Not because he would love me any less looking the way I looked coming home from Disney, because he would, but because I wanted it, for me, to look better. It was finally that time- to take charge of my life and make it happen.

My dad offered to pay for a 1 month membership to the gym my mom goes to, but to do that would have cost $59, which even though my dad would be paying for, I didn't want him to have to pay that much. At that point I started looking at other options. My mom has always been one to get random fitness things and had Slim-in-6 on dvd so I decided I would just do that for a few weeks and see how it went. The first week went well, I worked out 5 out of those 6 days that you are 'supposed' to. However once the 2nd week came around to do the "Start It Up" dvd, I was bored! SO BORED! (Which tends to be a reoccurring factor with me in all aspects of my life, but I can't be alone in that right?). Being bored slowed me down a little bit, I found myself not wanting to work out that week, just because I didn't want to do the same thing day after day, so I decided to skip up to the "Ramp It Up" dvd, and that helped drastically. I felt the burn again and was suddenly motivated once again to get into shape.

After a week of "Ramp It Up" it happened again, I was bored. Luckily there was a third dvd to this program "Burn It Up", and although you aren't supposed to start that one until you've mastered both of the other programs, I couldn't do those anymore they were too boring. The third dvd kicked my butt! The first time I felt like I was going to die, it was so intense, I was sweating within the first 15 minutes which was nice for a change I finally felt challenged, in a good way. Towards the end of the workout I didn't think I was going to make it, but finally just as I couldn't do anymore, it was over. I was so relieved, proud... exhausted. This continued for a couple of days. I seemed to be maintaining a 2 days on 1 day off workout schedule, which worked for me, it still gave me about 5 days a week but with a day off in the middle so I didn't feel overwhelmed or exhausted. And before I knew it after 3 weeks of working out I was down 4% bodyfat and 7 lbs!

Aside from the workout aspect I decided I needed to keep a handle on what I was eating regularly to see what could be improved upon. A few years ago I had found the daily plate which is a food tracking website that has just about every food on the planet on it to enter into your food journal. I started tracking my food intake, not just major things, but minor things too, every single thing I put into my body I put on this site. It helped a lot, I realized how much I was overeating in certain aspects of my life. Excess in snacking, drinks, and in going out to eat. This taught me to be a little more conscious of what I was putting into my body. I stopped drinking soda alltogether and decreased the juices to a minimum, allowing usually just 1 glass in the morning with breakfast. I started eating healthier snacks like a handful of almonds or a Fiber One bar instead of a candybar, something just as satisfing but that would keep me feeling full longer, making it so I would eat a little less.

Although keep in mind I like the taste of Fiber One bars, you may not, this doesn't mean you have to eat them, just try to find something that is high in fiber, lower in sugar, higher in protein and lower in calories, so that it keeps you feeling satisfied longer. Even something like a Nutrigrain bar is better than a candybar. It has more of a natural sugar rather than refined sugar and is filling with whole grains. The point is- don't just do things because its what someone else did, find something that you like to do in order to make this a lasting situation.

It wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be to keep a food journal, espcially using the daily plate. If you have a blackberry or iphone, they even have applications you can download so you can do this straight from your phone as you are eating regardless of where you are. It is more convenient than ever, and makes it so much easier to keep track of things. It also helped me to make a more educated decision on what I was eating when I went out to eat, especially if I was going to a place that doesn't have the nutrition info listed. I could look things up before I left the house to give me an idea of what would be a healthier option when I did go so that I wouldn't feel excluded by not being able to eat out cause "I'm on a diet." Come on you know, you've all heard that excuse used by someone or you yourself have used that excuse. Well I'm here to tell you that you don't have to use it! You can still go out to eat with friends and family and eat normal food. You may have to compromise a little, for instance- if I'm going to eat some of the bread that is brought to the table before the meal (or chips and salsa) I make sure to eat a meal that has veggies instead of mashed potatoes. Just little things that help lower the calorie count to make it a little healthier.

In the beginning...

Ok, so here is some back story. I've struggled with my weight all my life, well most of it, and for all of my adult life. I've had skinny times and fat times just like most of us, but unfortunately my fat times have been more prevalent than fat times. At my skinniest I was at 138 lbs after doing the Cookie Diet, which helped me lose 20 lbs. Unfortunately while in culinary school with my hectic schedule I managed to gain it all back. My problem was I lacked the time to work out... Seems like a lame excuse (typical but lame), but that was my excuse. Once out of culinary school I moved to Florida to do my externship working for Disney. Which was an amazing experience but not so much for the weighloss aspect of it. There wasn't room in the fridge for healthful foods (sharing an apartment with 5 other girls) and Disney serves HUGE portions, which are so amazingly tastey that you eat the entire thing. I was there for 5 months and upon my return decided I needed to do something. So here we are. The beginning of my road to fitness.