A feel good weight

While I’ve been away from the blog world I’ve been stuffing my face with all kinds of things.

Husband has been on a kick of cinnamon rolls… you know the size of your head messy goo covered in even sweeter glaze?!

And guess what this chick has been doing?! Give up? Been stuffing her face with the giant balls of fat and calorie. I think I read somewhere that one of these babies has 900 calories… or something to that effect. How freaking gross am I?!

I’ve also been indulging in a glass too many of sweet red wine, soda and of course those sinful little huge margaritas the hub makes. It’s been nice, sitting at home in the hubs flannel pants, eating and working away. Since I work from home, I haven’t really needed to fit into pants or any other form of proper clothing for weeks. So it came as a surprise when I tried to put on my favorite pair of jeans, and ripped a belt loop trying to pull them up.

I did the wiggle, and tried to dance around to get into my jeans. I finally succeeded but it was a whole workout of its on. I literally huffed and puffed my way into the jeans, and than plopped my fat behind on the couch to take a breather.

How freaking ridicules is that?  

I have a nasty habit of getting to my feel good weight, which usually correlates pretty well with getting into my jeans comfortably weight, and than stuffing my face and not going to the gym. So, here is to trying to break the vicious cycle.

I’m going to a 5:30 AM spin class tomorrow morning at the gym. I feel that if I get my workout done early in the morning, I’ll have more energy and time to spend on everything else during the day. My biggest excuse for not going to the gym is that I haven’t finished enough work and still have so much to do. If I get the gym out of the way first thing in the AM then I don’t have anything to worry about for the rest of the day.

I’ll also be back on My Fitness Pal tracking my routine, calories and so on. I’m going to add in three days of spin at the gym, and a mix of P90X. It has been, by far, one of the best workouts programs I have done, with serious results.

Hope this new routine works out for me. My fat hinny needs to fit back into my jeans… because jeans are freaking expensive and I am not about to throw away or replace my $150+ jeans. No sir.

I Jiggle But Not As Much As I Use to…

 

Here is to the first weigh in week of the Weight Loss Challenge hosted by the fantastic Lindsey over at Mr. and Mrs. Smith (check out her fabulous blog if you haven’t yet!!)

 

I am linking up with all the lovely ladies who are participating and trying to lose the last few pounds before the summer season! It’s a great group that helps encourage each other on one of the hardest roads to undertake. Weight loss and fitness are essential to a healthy lifestyle and I am a strong believe that strong and encouraging support groups are the key to staying on track and meeting goals.

Last Thursday was the first week of the challenge and the initial goals were made. You can read all about mine here.

I am 5’7’’

I weigh somewhere around 146 pounds

I’d like to be at about a 125-130

My goal is to lose about 15 to 20 pounds

I am happy to report that when I got on the scale today I weighed 141.2 pounds. Which was surprising, because my weight had not budged at all in the past two months. I’ve been at a steady 145.7 to 146.2. I do have to admit I am really bad about weighing myself continuously, daily or even weekly, so I think my last weight check was about a week and a half (maybe two weeks) ago. Which means that the weight loss might not be all during the last week. However I’m happy with it! *Dancing a little jig and celebrating*

 

You can read all about what I’ve been doing here, here, here and here.

I have started taking fatty acids and a fat burner in addition to my multivitamins, calcium and protein. I am also looking into some other nutrition methods such as consuming more power foods! 

If you want to get more of my tips check out the 25 Days of Fitness!!!

Day 1: 5 Reasons to Exercise

Day 2: Baby Steps to a Healthier Lifestyle – drinking more water

Day 3: The Four Basic Elements of Health

Day 4: Foundational Supplements

Day 5: Performance Supplements

Day 6: Results take some time

Day 7: Power Foods

Day 8: Reasons weight loss takes time

Day 9: Trouble spots – Thighs and Butt

Day 10: Routines

Setting plans in stone

 

Welcome to day 10 of 25 Days of Fitness!

“Desire is the key to motivation, but it's determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal - a commitment to excellence - that will enable you to attain the success you seek.” – Mario Andretti

It just happens that Mario Andretti is one of the best race car drivers in the world. He is a world champion racing driver, and one of the most successful Americans in the history of race cars. He also happens to be one of the only two drivers in the world who have won races in Formula One, IndyCar, World Sportscar Championship and NASCAR!!!

Being the car obsessed nerd that I am, I had to quote him when it came to motivation. I mean a motivation quote that sounds nice is one thing, but one that sounds nice and comes from someone who can back up what he says is a whole different picture.

I must confess that I only did a 30 minute walk yesterday, and the only exercise I got today was walking on campus. However, I have a good excuse, I had ended up staying up till about 1 AM trying to finish my chemistry homework (for that class that I kind of need to pass) and then had to get up at 6 to actually make it to class and take a quiz. So I got a grand total of about 4 hours of solid sleep, and had every intention of going to the gym until I got home, set down on the couch and realized how exhausted I was.

To make up for this I’m going to do double duty at the gym with a day of cardio in the morning and in the evening.

I’ve really been trying to set up a good system for myself to both lose the extra fat, gain a bit more muscle and definition as well as turn the whole thing into a routine. I’ve been really successful with a few things:

Drinking a ton of water

If you didn’t get a chance to read the post for day 2, head over and read it. It’s all about drinking water and why it is good for you. I must say that drinking more water has been hard, trying to remember to drink it is the hardest part for me since my little mind cannot remember to do so unless I drag my water bottle around with me. So that is exactly what I’ve been doing!

Getting more sleep

While yesterday was an EPIC FAIL for getting sleep, I’ve been really good about getting my 8 hours of sleep, and have seen a world of difference in my energy levels. I also don’t wake up cranky or frustrated like I use to.

Eating breakfast

Breakfast has always been a meal I’ve skipped, not because I don’t like food or want to lose weight by skipping meals, but because I don’t roll out of bed any earlier then 10 minutes before I’m suppose to leave the house, which leads to running at least 30 minutes late and for some reason I justify skipping breakfast. This past week, I have had some form of breakfast every day, and I’ve been able to control my hunger much better… it could also be the Fat Burner that I started taking… hummm.

Finally:

Going to the gym and exercising daily

Once again today was an EPIC FAIL, and makes me a little depressed, however I have been sticking to getting some kind of an exercise every single day which is the contributing factor to my almost 5 pound weight loss (I just danced a little jig)!!!!

However, like I said before, I really want to get into some kind of a routine that will allow me to stick either strength training, cardio or Body Pump at the gym.

So here is what I’ve come up with  

Mondays: Body Pump

Tuesdays: Strength training (Upper Body)

Wednesdays: Body Pump (Cardio)

Thursdays: Strength training (Lower Body)

Fridays: Cardio

Saturdays Strength training (Rest  Day??)

Sundays: Body Pump

I know that I should really include Rest days in this as well, and I’m working out on what I want to give up. I might replace a day or two of the Cardio with Body Pump.

Q: Any suggestions on how to set up my schedule. I might have to forgo a day of Body Pump, and I’d give up Monday because I am not the biggest fan of the instructor. hummm….

Q: What does your workout routine look like? Do you have set days for certain things? I really loved the way P90X was set up and have contemplated going back to that schedule as well.

A weight loss challenge

 

One of my favorite bloggers (Meghan) is participating in a weight loss challenge presented by Mr.&Mrs. Smith, so I am going to link up with these girls and play along. Since my 25 Days of Fitness are hopefully leading me to a weight loss, I’d like to keep it up through the 8 weeks and see if I will be able to get to my goal weight.

 

I am technically in the weight range for my height, however I’ve gained about 20 pounds of marital bliss weight, which I’d like to get rid of so that I can fit back into my jeans and dress pants.

 

I am 5’7’’

I weigh somewhere around 146 pounds

I’d like to be at about a 125-130

My goal is to lose about 15 to 20 pounds

 

I would be very happy with just 15 pounds so I’m setting my goal at this for the next 8 weeks, however it would be fantastic if I could lose 20. However, I am also taking into consideration that building muscle is going to cause a weight gain, since muscle weighs more then fat. However, my true measure of my weight loss will be if I can fit into my jeans, the ones that use to fit me like a glove which I have to fight and wiggle to get into now.

 

Here is my plan:

 

Exercise-wise I plan on continuing with my 25 Days of Fitness challenge, running Couch to 5K, taking Body Pump classes at the gym 3 days a week, and lifting weights in-between. Monday, Wednesday and Sunday are my Body Pump classes, before class I usually spend about 30 minutes working on my legs. On Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays I run, work on abs and throw in some other upper body workouts. These past two days my knee has been bugging me so instead of running on the treadmill I’ve trades up and have been using the elliptical (much softer on the knees).

 

Diet-wise I plan on using more supplements (you can read all about them here, and here). I am also using myfitnesspal.com, to track my exercise and calories. I am going to try and stick to a 1200 calorie diet. This is the first time in my life that I am counting calories, so wish me luck.

 

I will be weighing in on Wednesday nights.

 

Sorry this is a day late guys!

I’m very excited to have a goal set and have people motivating me to move towards it.

Hello! Summer vacations and new bikinis! Woohoo!

Good luck all!

Runner’s high

 

… I’m still waiting to get to the point where I get a runner’s high and can keep running. Last night, I repeated Week 2 Day 1 of Couch to 5K, since I missed my week three due to studying for an exam that turned out to be pointless anyways.

With a warm up and a cool down it was a total of 30 minutes on the treadmill. After this I did about 20 minutes of abdominal work, which wasn’t really enough because I can’t really feel it today. I also spent another 2 minutes jump-roping and 8 minutes stretching. I’m really thinking of adding some Yoga into my workout plan. The P90X Yoga was pretty awesome but super hard. Any suggestions for a good beginner yoga class or workout?

I also drank a ton of water! I think I was being a bit of a water hog. 

That’s all for my update from Day 2, keep your eyes peeled for a Wednesday Wants (see previous issues here and here) and a Day 3 of 25 Days of Fitness (Day 1, and Day 2). 

Introducing 25 Days of Fitness

For the past week, I have put all extra activities on hold to study up on Chemistry and the exam coming up on Monday. From Monday to today I’ve really felt a lacking in energy, inability to gain a good nights sleep and constantly feeling tired. Not only that, but my skin has gone bezzerk on me, and started breaking out like mad. Granted I break out when I am stressed, but not to the level of breakouts that I am having right now, so I am contributing all the negatives to my lack of working out.

In order to keep myself motivated I’d like to introduce you to my 25 Days of Fitness Challenge! But first let me tell ya about this new deliciousness that I have discovered! 

Say hello to my little friend FAGE!! It is the king of all Greek Yogurts, and I love it plain, with home made cottage cheese, with fruits, on crackers and any other way that you can think of eating yogurt. It reminds me of my grandmothers homemade strained yogurt, and it is AH-mazing!



This was my breakfast. Two tablespoons of Fage plain 2% yogurt, with 3 fresh strawberries, and a 1/4 cup of Udi’s Hawaiian flavored granola. It was so good! I use to make this with just regular yogurt, and it was good, but no where near as good!

       

I couldn’t help myself, and for lunch I had some more of Fage! This time I made a plate with some Honey Oat granola bites, grapes, and a mix of home made cottage cheese and Greek yogurt. It was unbelievably good!

Bottom line, if you have been on the hunt for a new Greek Yogurt, tries this one. I’ve tried several other brands, and none of them have compared to this! YUM!

 25 Day Fitness Challenge!

I am challenging myself and anyone else who’d like to play along, to go 25 straight days with at least 30 minutes of some kind of an exercise! Studies conducted by the American Heart Association show the following:

Even moderately intense physical activity such as brisk walking is beneficial when done regularly for a total of 30 minutes or longer on most or all days.   

The benefits of regular exercise are crucial to good health. My grandfather was recently diagnosed with lung cancer and underwent a surgery that removed the lower lobe of his left lung. He survived the surgery, and is back at home after only 6 days in the hospital due to his excellent health, which shows when he rides his bike for 80 miles at the age of 78. The American Heart Association states the following regarding regular exercise:

Regular aerobic physical activity increases your fitness level and capacity for exercise. It also plays a role in both primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease. Physical inactivity is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke and is linked to cardiovascular mortality.
Regular physical activity can help control blood lipid abnormalities, diabetes and obesity. Aerobic physical activity can also help reduce blood pressure.
The results of pooled studies show that people who modify their behavior and start regular physical activity after heart attack have better rates of survival and better quality of life. Healthy people — as well as many patients with cardiovascular disease — can improve their fitness and exercise performance with training.

So whether its getting up and going out for a walk, running, jogging, lifting weights, or taking a class such as Body Pump or an at home program like P90X, I encourage you to do at least 30 minutes of it, for 25 days and let me know how you feel afterwards.

I’ll be starting my challenge on Monday, right after I am done with my Chemistry Test! I’ll have a badge to grab up sometime before Monday!

Dreams and Ambitions

 

Upon my gradation from high school one of my uncles gave me a book, with a page reference on the title page. When I flipped to page 108, in blue ink were underlined the following lines:

“You are never given a dream without also being given the power to make it true. You may have to work for it, however.”

The book is called Illusions and the author is Richard Bach.

This book has become somewhat of a bible to me, a book that I re-read every once in a while to get a better understanding of my life, how I live it and so on. My copy has become a bit beaten up, from being lugged around almost everywhere with me for a good two years. It has underlining, highlighting, notes, comments and questions that I’ve written throughout the years. 

I picked up my ratty little book last night, after my brain got fried from all kinds of chemical equations and equilibriums. I’ve really been struggling with trying to find a balance in our current life that’s so dependent on my graduation and full of uncertainty. Much like everyone else, the Mister and I have ideas and goals of where we would like to be in the next 2 years, 5 years and 10 years, however I have a really hard time with accepting that I need to wait for things to happen.

Reading, Bach’s words, as well as the notes that I had made throughout the book really gave me a boost in my mood. We truly are never given a dream without also being given the ability to make those dreams come true.

So if your dream is an awesome bikini bod for this coming summer, then get your butt off the couch and to the gym. There are a million different workouts that will get the job done as long as you stick to them and use the tools provided to you.

Whatever your dreams, aspirations and goals, you can achieve them with a little bit of work and persistence.

I hope you all have a fantastic Saturday!

I’m going to study some more, and then we’re heading to the Mammoth game!

I hate it… but I love it

 

… Sore muscles and all.

After doing my 1st run of the 2nd week of the C25K I decided it was time to work on the pudg that is building around my waistline. So, I went back to my favorite at home workout program, P90X.

 

I am just going to be doing the Ab Ripper X (click here for a outline). I really do have a love/hate relationship with this. It is about 15 minutes, but feels like it lasts forever, 25 reps of everything. While your core starts screaming, the results are fantastic! I love Ab Ripper X!!!

 

Disclaimer: I was not paid or compensated in any way to talk about P90X or any other workout program. This is my personal experience and review of what I use to get my body in shape.

Q: What are some at home workouts that you do? Have you tried P90X, if so what do you think of it?