Well today didn't go as well as I had hoped. It was quite a hard day, which started with my son's teacher calling me at 8:30am asking if I could drive a teddy bear to his school since she forgot to email me that apparently today was something to do with a teddy bear, like really??? Sigh. So off I went with two small kids in tow.
I needed groceries in the worst way, I have been putting off shopping for way too long and I literally had no more produce! Which isn't good if your clean eating like I am... so I thought "hey! two birds, one stone. I will drop off the teddy bear and go straight to the grocery stores and be done before my son is out of school, that way I don't need to take all 3 kids!" genius, right? wrong. I totally had a brain fart and I realized A) my daughter didn't have a coat on since we park in the garage, and wasn't even dressed for that matter and B) she hadn't even had breakfast or nursed since 6AM; sigh. what a bust, I even went to the trouble of getting her clothes before I left figuring I could quickly change her in the van.
So back home I went, after it was all said and done it was really too late to go shopping. I think I always have a bad time frame of how long it actually takes me to shop. I had a mile long list today and I figured it would only take an hour, how wrong I was!
It was a stressful day and I literally just grabbed a granola bar as I headed out the door to drop off my son's teddy bear and was too busy with the kids when I got home again, next thing I know I need to go out again and get my son from school. From there I went straight to the grocery stores.
It took 3 hours to shop, got home, put everything away which took an additional 40 minutes if you can believe it and by this time it was 3PM. At this point all I had to eat today was a granola bar and a sample piece of black forest ham at the grocery store. I was starved. So I figured I would just have a late lunch! Fed the kids cereal for lunch - yes I rock as a mom I know, as I said today was a hard day! I heated up my chili from last night and got to work on separating all my meats and peeling all my bananas for my smoothies (tip: when I am at superstore and notice their 50% off bags of bananas I snag them and take them home, peel them and freeze them for future shakes/smoothies! way cheaper) so again I got too busy to eat, and forgot about my chili then I had to get started on supper.
Long way to say: I literally had the worst nutrition and water day imaginable! =( Super disappointed in myself, I am not sure how I could have done better though? I guess I could have eaten oatmeal in the morning, had a frozen fruit smoothie for a snack... ideas are pouring in now. As they say hind sight is 20/20.
I made goolash for supper with brown rice, it was so good. I was worried I wouldn't have any energy to workout tonight due to my incredibly poor nutritional day but I did it. I did one of the hard ones which is Speed 1.0 which is a really difficult cardio based video, as per usual I was soaked in sweat.
I decided to put off my ab challenge a day (or two) since I only have the last one to do and I don't want to push myself too hard because of the day I've had.
Today is totally a curl up under the blanket with a good glass of wine day, however tomorrow is my weigh in. I am nervous for that due to my lack of eating properly a couple times this week so I am not going to indulge in a glass of wine. I am hoping for a positive weigh in tomorrow. My goal for tonight is to push fluids, fluids, fluids! I need to get my water in at the very least. We all have bad days and nobody is perfect.
I guess stay tuned for tomorrow's results!
Friday, 31 January 2014
Thursday, 30 January 2014
T25 - Day 10
I had a very productive day today! Vacuumed my main floor, made two pots of chicken chili for supper (one was for a good friend), and made home made from scratch whole wheat buns! It was ah-mazing. My family devoured it.
I really enjoyed the recipe that I made the whole wheat buns from. It was:
Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls for the Bread Machine:
Ingredients
1½ cups water
3 tablespoons butter, softened
1 large egg
3 cups whole wheat flour
1¾ cup plus ⅛ cup bread flour (I didn't have this so I just used regular flour)
¼ cup plus ⅛ cup sugar (I used cane sugar instead)
1½ teaspoon salt
4½ teaspoons instant yeast
Directions
Place all of the ingredients in the order specified according to the directions on your bread machine.
Select the Dough cycle.
Remove the dough from pan and place on a lightly floured surface.
Let it rest for 10 minutes. Divide dough into 24 sections
Roll each section into a ball and place on a greased 12″x18″ baking sheet (rows 6 x 4).
Cover rolls and let raise until doubled, about 30 minutes.
Bake at 375F for 12 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned.
Tops can be brushed with melted butter. Makes 24 rolls.
My chicken chili wasn't too hard either, I just took about 5 chicken breasts (since I made 2 pots) seasoned them in the pan with Mrs. Dash and pan fried them with coconut oil. I always add in green/red/orange/yellow pepper and some celery and onion. I pureed them (not into a soup but more so really finely chopped) in my Vitamix and then added it to the chili mixture. I use red kidney beans, pork and beans (maple/bacon really whatever one I have on hand) and a can of diced tomatoes. I cook that in my crock pot (or pot on low) with a bunch of chili powder. Really that's it but it turns out amazing!
Tonight was really hard without my bud. I had my husband do it with me but it was more distracting then helpful - haha. I love that he did it with me I'm just not used to my workout partner sounding like they are dying beside me (LOL) but in all fairness he barely did the modification moves, he mainly did the advanced (why? I'm not sure!) but he did say at one point "oh my gosh there is still 20 minutes left! no wonder you guys are losing weight this is hard!" yup! it sure is.
He reads my blog faithfully but also told me that it gave him a new perspective of what we go through for those 25 minutes. He's only ever read about it and tonight - he lived it! It was really encouraging at the end of it all when he was huffing and puffing he commented how proud of me he is and how I amaze him. It meant a lot to me knowing that he knew exactly what I had went through!( and really the cardio workout, which is the one we did tonight, is honestly probably the easiest of all five) I am so happy to have a husband that will put himself through that for 25 minutes just so I don't have to do it alone, he did the P90X3 with me that one day too and said this one was more difficult. So I do appreciate him being my "stand in Joelene" lol. Thanks babe, I love you!
On top of that I did my AB challenge tonight (my hubs didn't though that would have been asking way too much since I've spent the last 22 days building up to this) -- say whaaa? 22 days! Yes, that's right. Which means I'm only 2 days till completion!! (Actually the last day is a rest day so tomorrow is my very last AB challenge exercise).
My AB Challenge tonight was...
I actually had to chuckle as I mentioned to my hubby before we did the Focus T25 tonight "my abs are killing me!" to which he responded "I guess it's a good thing it's cardio tonight then, right?" yeah... right. The thing with the T25 workouts is yes the cardio video focuses mostly on getting your heart-rate up but it also incorporates legs and arms and abs in with it. They all do really, even the solid abs video incorporates legs and arms and a bit of cardio. It is never just one move. Like I said, tonight was definitely an eye opener for my husband. =)
Well I am off now to have my after workout shake and relax a bit!
I really enjoyed the recipe that I made the whole wheat buns from. It was:
Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls for the Bread Machine:
Ingredients
1½ cups water
3 tablespoons butter, softened
1 large egg
3 cups whole wheat flour
1¾ cup plus ⅛ cup bread flour (I didn't have this so I just used regular flour)
¼ cup plus ⅛ cup sugar (I used cane sugar instead)
1½ teaspoon salt
4½ teaspoons instant yeast
Directions
Place all of the ingredients in the order specified according to the directions on your bread machine.
Select the Dough cycle.
Remove the dough from pan and place on a lightly floured surface.
Let it rest for 10 minutes. Divide dough into 24 sections
Roll each section into a ball and place on a greased 12″x18″ baking sheet (rows 6 x 4).
Cover rolls and let raise until doubled, about 30 minutes.
Bake at 375F for 12 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned.
Tops can be brushed with melted butter. Makes 24 rolls.
My chicken chili wasn't too hard either, I just took about 5 chicken breasts (since I made 2 pots) seasoned them in the pan with Mrs. Dash and pan fried them with coconut oil. I always add in green/red/orange/yellow pepper and some celery and onion. I pureed them (not into a soup but more so really finely chopped) in my Vitamix and then added it to the chili mixture. I use red kidney beans, pork and beans (maple/bacon really whatever one I have on hand) and a can of diced tomatoes. I cook that in my crock pot (or pot on low) with a bunch of chili powder. Really that's it but it turns out amazing!
Tonight was really hard without my bud. I had my husband do it with me but it was more distracting then helpful - haha. I love that he did it with me I'm just not used to my workout partner sounding like they are dying beside me (LOL) but in all fairness he barely did the modification moves, he mainly did the advanced (why? I'm not sure!) but he did say at one point "oh my gosh there is still 20 minutes left! no wonder you guys are losing weight this is hard!" yup! it sure is.
He reads my blog faithfully but also told me that it gave him a new perspective of what we go through for those 25 minutes. He's only ever read about it and tonight - he lived it! It was really encouraging at the end of it all when he was huffing and puffing he commented how proud of me he is and how I amaze him. It meant a lot to me knowing that he knew exactly what I had went through!( and really the cardio workout, which is the one we did tonight, is honestly probably the easiest of all five) I am so happy to have a husband that will put himself through that for 25 minutes just so I don't have to do it alone, he did the P90X3 with me that one day too and said this one was more difficult. So I do appreciate him being my "stand in Joelene" lol. Thanks babe, I love you!
On top of that I did my AB challenge tonight (my hubs didn't though that would have been asking way too much since I've spent the last 22 days building up to this) -- say whaaa? 22 days! Yes, that's right. Which means I'm only 2 days till completion!! (Actually the last day is a rest day so tomorrow is my very last AB challenge exercise).
My AB Challenge tonight was...
- 140 crunches
- 55 leg raises
- 1min 25sec plank
I actually had to chuckle as I mentioned to my hubby before we did the Focus T25 tonight "my abs are killing me!" to which he responded "I guess it's a good thing it's cardio tonight then, right?" yeah... right. The thing with the T25 workouts is yes the cardio video focuses mostly on getting your heart-rate up but it also incorporates legs and arms and abs in with it. They all do really, even the solid abs video incorporates legs and arms and a bit of cardio. It is never just one move. Like I said, tonight was definitely an eye opener for my husband. =)
Well I am off now to have my after workout shake and relax a bit!
Wednesday, 29 January 2014
T25 - Day 9
Holy crappola!
What an awesome and intense workout tonight! I feel SO PROUD of myself (yet again)
Tonight we decided to do the double workout with each other instead of doing it Friday because Joelene may not be able to workout on Friday, and since it is a tough one it is always nice to have someone push you through it.
So our workout tonight was 25min of lower body and 25min of abs. I seriously felt like I was dying after half way through the second workout. I mean the first workout was difficult, which is usually all we ever do and trust me, it is more then enough! I was sweating so much, it was dripping off me! I am so glad I decided to bring a towel tonight. My legs are like cement again and my abs hurt.
We were supposed to do our ab challenge too tonight but clearly after an hour of non-stop working out, that would have been over doing it! I hate double days though. You really have to bring your A game and dig deep because you know Shaun T is going to completely take you to a whole new level of pain and discomfort!
I had a very trying day so I actually was not wanting to workout at all. I felt so emotionally and physically exhausted as my 2 year old still is recovering from being sick, he is incredibly clingy and wants me to carry him everywhere, then my 7 month old is also starting to get a cold so she is incredibly clingy! Packing two littles around was really hard on my arms especially after last nights workout.
I often dread working out (not always, because sometimes I do look forward to it and get excited!) but I am addicted to the high afterwards! I just feel so cleansed and pure and happy after working out, it is hard work and I am suffering during it and I hate every minute while I am working out but afterwards -- wow! I just feel so accomplished. Like I ended up sitting on my couch most of today holding my babes and at least doing this makes me feel like I did something today.
I still maintained eating today, however dinner was quite the rush. I couldn't very well cook while holding both kids so I needed to wait till my husband got home. Fish was on the menu tonight and I literally felt like I just wanted to curl up in bed with a glass of wine and I felt like I couldn't come up with a delicious sauce for the fish (that would also be healthy!) in time.
Then I remembered I bought this "Jerk Marinade" from Margaritaville from Costco last summer. I quickly googled it and discovered they did actually have a salmon recipe, so I pulled it up and it said I was supposed to marinade the fish in the sauce for 8 hours then grill it. Grr... I didn't have 8 MINUTES to wait let alone 8 hours, so I just dumped the sauce on anyway and added some pineapple juice (I didn't like the sourness of the sauce without some sweet to balance it) popped it in the oven and it was great.
So this is what my dinner looked like when it was all said and done:
It's actually interesting because I cooked rice yet again for my husband and thought, "hey it's been awhile since I had carbs for supper I might try some" -- so I tasted the rice and it was disgusting! I was quite happy without it. So many little changes are taking place in me since I started changing the foods I put in my mouth.
For instance, I know I mentioned yesterday that I had oatmeal for breakfast and only did 2 tbsp of brown sugar, today I made oatmeal and only did 1 tbsp of brown sugar! It was just sweet enough for me and it tasted so great, I sprinkled some cinnamon on and it was the best. This is coming from someone who #1 usually hates oatmeal, and #2 if I ever eat it I pile about 1/4 cup of brown sugar on there and still struggle to enjoy it, so the fact that I was able to only use 1 tbsp and some cinnamon and actually really enjoy it -- what a long way I've come!
So I know I shared with you all that I absolutely love my PB shake, but discovered it was pretty high calorie. I worried if I didn't use the same amount of PB then it just wouldn't taste very good.
Well last night I made my peanut butter shake but I only used 2 tbsp of PB instead of the 1/4 cup and only 1 banana instead of 2, and I used almond milk (1 1/2 cups) instead of the 2 cups of 2% milk and I completely took out the honey, it doesn't need anymore sweetness! Actually it's funny, I used to be such a sweet tooth person and I have been noticing that since I have been clean eating for 4 weeks I can actually taste sugar in things like I never used to.
Also, I have actually come to really like Almond milk, the thought of drinking it before made me gag because it isn't actually "milk" in the sense that I am used to thinking.
Outside of food and taste I have noticed having more energy in the morning! I have never been a morning person but lately I can't seem to sleep past 7:30am on weekdays and when my husband lets me rest on the weekend I am up, and ready for the day by 8:45/9am. I think partly because my body is waking me up for food but also the food I am putting in my body is making a good kind of energy for me.
I think I mentioned yesterday how I am swimming in a shirt that used to fit me? Well tonight I decided to see just HOW baggy it was to share with everyone. I asked my husband to crawl inside it while I was wearing it and it fit both of us (obviously with NO stretch room but still).
The neck part wasn't big enough but the rest was. Too funny.
I also was able to wear this Tinkerbell shirt today my Mom brought me back from Disney World last year. It is a smaller fitting shirt and I wasn't able to really pull it past my breasts without it completely restricting my movement, and the arms, specifically in the armpit area would chafe! Well I wore it today with no issues at all, it could stand to be a little looser still but it isn't anything I can't deal with.
All of this amazing change has occurred in only 4 short weeks. The FocusT25 program is a 15 week program altogether, I am beyond excited to see what more changes await in my near future!
Alright that's all the news for now.
~Toodles!
What an awesome and intense workout tonight! I feel SO PROUD of myself (yet again)
Tonight we decided to do the double workout with each other instead of doing it Friday because Joelene may not be able to workout on Friday, and since it is a tough one it is always nice to have someone push you through it.
So our workout tonight was 25min of lower body and 25min of abs. I seriously felt like I was dying after half way through the second workout. I mean the first workout was difficult, which is usually all we ever do and trust me, it is more then enough! I was sweating so much, it was dripping off me! I am so glad I decided to bring a towel tonight. My legs are like cement again and my abs hurt.
We were supposed to do our ab challenge too tonight but clearly after an hour of non-stop working out, that would have been over doing it! I hate double days though. You really have to bring your A game and dig deep because you know Shaun T is going to completely take you to a whole new level of pain and discomfort!
I had a very trying day so I actually was not wanting to workout at all. I felt so emotionally and physically exhausted as my 2 year old still is recovering from being sick, he is incredibly clingy and wants me to carry him everywhere, then my 7 month old is also starting to get a cold so she is incredibly clingy! Packing two littles around was really hard on my arms especially after last nights workout.
I often dread working out (not always, because sometimes I do look forward to it and get excited!) but I am addicted to the high afterwards! I just feel so cleansed and pure and happy after working out, it is hard work and I am suffering during it and I hate every minute while I am working out but afterwards -- wow! I just feel so accomplished. Like I ended up sitting on my couch most of today holding my babes and at least doing this makes me feel like I did something today.
I still maintained eating today, however dinner was quite the rush. I couldn't very well cook while holding both kids so I needed to wait till my husband got home. Fish was on the menu tonight and I literally felt like I just wanted to curl up in bed with a glass of wine and I felt like I couldn't come up with a delicious sauce for the fish (that would also be healthy!) in time.
Then I remembered I bought this "Jerk Marinade" from Margaritaville from Costco last summer. I quickly googled it and discovered they did actually have a salmon recipe, so I pulled it up and it said I was supposed to marinade the fish in the sauce for 8 hours then grill it. Grr... I didn't have 8 MINUTES to wait let alone 8 hours, so I just dumped the sauce on anyway and added some pineapple juice (I didn't like the sourness of the sauce without some sweet to balance it) popped it in the oven and it was great.
So this is what my dinner looked like when it was all said and done:
It's actually interesting because I cooked rice yet again for my husband and thought, "hey it's been awhile since I had carbs for supper I might try some" -- so I tasted the rice and it was disgusting! I was quite happy without it. So many little changes are taking place in me since I started changing the foods I put in my mouth.
For instance, I know I mentioned yesterday that I had oatmeal for breakfast and only did 2 tbsp of brown sugar, today I made oatmeal and only did 1 tbsp of brown sugar! It was just sweet enough for me and it tasted so great, I sprinkled some cinnamon on and it was the best. This is coming from someone who #1 usually hates oatmeal, and #2 if I ever eat it I pile about 1/4 cup of brown sugar on there and still struggle to enjoy it, so the fact that I was able to only use 1 tbsp and some cinnamon and actually really enjoy it -- what a long way I've come!
So I know I shared with you all that I absolutely love my PB shake, but discovered it was pretty high calorie. I worried if I didn't use the same amount of PB then it just wouldn't taste very good.
Well last night I made my peanut butter shake but I only used 2 tbsp of PB instead of the 1/4 cup and only 1 banana instead of 2, and I used almond milk (1 1/2 cups) instead of the 2 cups of 2% milk and I completely took out the honey, it doesn't need anymore sweetness! Actually it's funny, I used to be such a sweet tooth person and I have been noticing that since I have been clean eating for 4 weeks I can actually taste sugar in things like I never used to.
Also, I have actually come to really like Almond milk, the thought of drinking it before made me gag because it isn't actually "milk" in the sense that I am used to thinking.
Outside of food and taste I have noticed having more energy in the morning! I have never been a morning person but lately I can't seem to sleep past 7:30am on weekdays and when my husband lets me rest on the weekend I am up, and ready for the day by 8:45/9am. I think partly because my body is waking me up for food but also the food I am putting in my body is making a good kind of energy for me.
I think I mentioned yesterday how I am swimming in a shirt that used to fit me? Well tonight I decided to see just HOW baggy it was to share with everyone. I asked my husband to crawl inside it while I was wearing it and it fit both of us (obviously with NO stretch room but still).
The neck part wasn't big enough but the rest was. Too funny.
I also was able to wear this Tinkerbell shirt today my Mom brought me back from Disney World last year. It is a smaller fitting shirt and I wasn't able to really pull it past my breasts without it completely restricting my movement, and the arms, specifically in the armpit area would chafe! Well I wore it today with no issues at all, it could stand to be a little looser still but it isn't anything I can't deal with.
All of this amazing change has occurred in only 4 short weeks. The FocusT25 program is a 15 week program altogether, I am beyond excited to see what more changes await in my near future!
Alright that's all the news for now.
~Toodles!
Tuesday, 28 January 2014
T25 - Day 8
Just a quick blog update today as nothing much is new. Although I did notice that I had a new appreciation for oatmeal this morning *gasp!* that's right. I guess my taste buds are changing and requiring less sweets in my diet. I actually sat down to a bowl of oatmeal with only a couple teaspoons of brown sugar in it, I felt great about that!
For our workout tonight we did the Total Body workout for the T25 again, I have a love/hate thing going on with that one. It is so hard, and I sweat buckets when I do it but I feel so great after doing it.
After that we did our AB challenge of course which tonight was:
Of course it kind of sucks as I am at the point where my clothes are starting to sag on me but I don't want to go out and buy new stuff yet since my body will just keep changing. My bra ($90) that I just bought a few months ago is now getting smaller too. I had it on the loosest setting when I first bought it since it used to dig into my rib cage, well now I have moved it up a notch. I lost a whole inch off my chest, and trust me for a chesty person that is like the lottery to me (almost).
Tonight I experimented with a new recipe again. This is what I made:
I made this with home made chicken strips which I will quickly share what I did there.
What you need:
I am going to be experimenting with some fish tomorrow so hopefully that turns out, then Thursday I am making chicken chili for myself and my dear friend. I feel the more prepared I am the less chance I will fail. :)
Alright! Shake time, then bed! Let me know if you try any of these recipes what you think. So far we love them all and I am pleasantly surprised.
~Ciao
For our workout tonight we did the Total Body workout for the T25 again, I have a love/hate thing going on with that one. It is so hard, and I sweat buckets when I do it but I feel so great after doing it.
After that we did our AB challenge of course which tonight was:
- 130 crunches
- 52 leg raises
- 80 second plank
I am noticing so much weight loss now and I have just started week 2. I have a surge of excitement. Like I am actually believing that this time the weight will stay off. I am enjoying clean eating and trying out new recipes and it helps to motivate me to actually physically see my body changing.
When I look down I don't see a huge stomach anymore, it is slimming up and I am melting that fat away, when I flex I can feel a nice 6 pack starting to be created underneath. I still can't picture how I will look when the transformation is complete but I am getting a better idea.
I was wearing a t-shirt today that used to fit me, how do I say this... snugly? but not tight. I put it on and it fit but it showed my body shape if that makes sense. Well I am SWIMMING in it! Like literally it is huge on me now.
I also tried on my old pair of lululemon pants, which are not a comfort fit pant so they are tighter. I fit those again too! So curious to weigh in on Saturday but even if it isn't a huge loss the fact that my clothes are getting baggy is enough proof for me.Of course it kind of sucks as I am at the point where my clothes are starting to sag on me but I don't want to go out and buy new stuff yet since my body will just keep changing. My bra ($90) that I just bought a few months ago is now getting smaller too. I had it on the loosest setting when I first bought it since it used to dig into my rib cage, well now I have moved it up a notch. I lost a whole inch off my chest, and trust me for a chesty person that is like the lottery to me (almost).
Tonight I experimented with a new recipe again. This is what I made:
 |
| "Cheesy Cauliflower Pancakes" Ingredients: •1 head cauliflower (or a 16 oz bag of frozen cauliflower) •2 large eggs •½-3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese (I love cheese, so use closer to ¾ cup) •¼ cup diced green onions •½-1 cup bread crumbs (I usually need closer to 1 cup) •½ tsp cayenne pepper (more of less to taste) •salt (I skipped this, less salt in my diet the better) •olive oil •light sour cream (optional) (I actually used tzatziki sauce instead, as it is healthier and it tasted great!!) Instructions: 1.Cut cauliflower into florets and cook in boiling water until tender, about 10 minutes 2.Drain and mash the cauliflower while it is still warm 3.Stir cheese, eggs, green onions, bread crumbs, cayenne & salt to taste 4.Coat the bottom of a skillet with olive oil over medium-high heat 5.Form the cauliflower mixture into patties about 3 inches across 6.Cook until golden brown & set, about 3 minutes per side 7.Enjoy with your sauce choice! |
What you need:
- 3 chicken breasts, cut into strips
- bread crumbs (or grinded up oatmeal if you don't have any) seasoned with salt/pepper and I used Mrs. Dash as well
- 1 egg
- take your chicken strips and dip them in the egg mixture
- coat them in the bread crumbs (I find rolling them around easier)
- put in a frying pan with a bit of oil and pan fry on medium until golden brown and crispy
I am going to be experimenting with some fish tomorrow so hopefully that turns out, then Thursday I am making chicken chili for myself and my dear friend. I feel the more prepared I am the less chance I will fail. :)
Alright! Shake time, then bed! Let me know if you try any of these recipes what you think. So far we love them all and I am pleasantly surprised.
~Ciao
Monday, 27 January 2014
T25 - Day 7
What a long weekend I had! I didn't even have the chance to blog. My little guy got terribly sick Friday night, and was down and out all day Saturday with a high fever we kept trying to keep down.
I ended up taking him to urgent care on Sunday, and thus missing my "Stretch" workout and my AB challenge. Life happens.
It sucked so bad, I ate breakfast before I left not thinking to bring a snack or anything and sat at urgent care for 4 hours. Missed my morning snack, missed lunch. Forgot my water. As you can see my mind was scattered! By the time I got home it was around 3PM and I was beyond famished. I was actually feeling pretty sick to my stomach.
My body is so used to food now that it literally felt like I was starving it, which probably wasn't the best for it either. So my husband dashed out and got me a whole wheat veggie/turkey sub with light mayo. I ended up eating the whole thing, which I guess considering everything else that was going on isn't too bad. It was mainly healthy and I ate it before 4PM which is apparently when they say is the best time to consume carbs.
For supper I just had a salad and forced myself to drink 5 of those 24oz water bottles, I did try to put in an effort once I got home. I only share all this to make a point that even if you think you have everything figured out and your eating well and exercising life still could throw you a curve ball and you just need to do your best to pick up the pieces, and pick up the pieces I did!
Today was back on track. I had my quinoa breakfast, apple for snack, and I made this delicious greek wrap for lunch, veggies for snack and then I made this for supper:
You can find the "Roasted Garlic Cauliflower" recipe in my previous blog. I can't recall which. This was so satisfying! I didn't even need carbs with it as it was so filling as is. I made up some "oriental" wild rice for my family in just one of those Uncle Ben's Bistro microwave ones. We usually buy those a lot now since I am not eating as much carbs it makes mealtimes easier in my house to not have to worry about cooking rice along with all the copious amounts of vegetables I am cooking - ha!
Tonight's workout was a bit more challenging then I expected considering I didn't find it overly bad on Saturday... we also had to do our AB challenge tonight which was brutal:
For my actual T25 workout it was Cardio again. It wasn't as difficult as the first time I did it but I expected it to be easier as it is my third time doing it!
It is amazing what crappy food can do to your body. Within a couple days I am noticing my energy level isn't the same, the exercises were more challenging and I had more cravings then normal. I still don't want to cut myself off completely as I still think it is fine to treat yourself, it is just all apart of the adjustment period.
Saturday I ended up indulging a bit more then I wanted to. I had about 3 pieces of pizza (over the span of a couple hours) and my friend brought over an apple caramel cake she baked and I had some of that. So I am sure that is what effected me. I did take a paper towel and dapped my pizza to soak up as much grease as I could (a nifty trick I learned from somebody awhile back)
I am nervous for this week as I am likely going to be on my own a few days (Thursday/Friday). Thursday is Cardio again so that should be ok and the double day on Friday is Lower body and Abs. Sucky!
Well I think that about covers my blogging for the last few days. I'm off to drink my shake now then go to bed!
~Ciao!
I ended up taking him to urgent care on Sunday, and thus missing my "Stretch" workout and my AB challenge. Life happens.
It sucked so bad, I ate breakfast before I left not thinking to bring a snack or anything and sat at urgent care for 4 hours. Missed my morning snack, missed lunch. Forgot my water. As you can see my mind was scattered! By the time I got home it was around 3PM and I was beyond famished. I was actually feeling pretty sick to my stomach.
My body is so used to food now that it literally felt like I was starving it, which probably wasn't the best for it either. So my husband dashed out and got me a whole wheat veggie/turkey sub with light mayo. I ended up eating the whole thing, which I guess considering everything else that was going on isn't too bad. It was mainly healthy and I ate it before 4PM which is apparently when they say is the best time to consume carbs.
For supper I just had a salad and forced myself to drink 5 of those 24oz water bottles, I did try to put in an effort once I got home. I only share all this to make a point that even if you think you have everything figured out and your eating well and exercising life still could throw you a curve ball and you just need to do your best to pick up the pieces, and pick up the pieces I did!
Today was back on track. I had my quinoa breakfast, apple for snack, and I made this delicious greek wrap for lunch, veggies for snack and then I made this for supper:
 |
| "CHICKEN CABBAGE STIR-FRY" Ingredients: 3 chicken breast halves 1 teaspoon oil 3 cups green cabbage, shredded 1 tablespoon cornstarch 1⁄2 teaspoon ground ginger 1⁄4 teaspoon garlic powder 1⁄2 cup water 1 tablespoon soy sauce 1/2 green bell pepper (or more as desired) 1/2 red bell pepper (or more as desired) Broccoli (whatever amount is to your liking) Directions: 1. Cut chicken breasts into strips. 2. Heat oil in a frying pan. 3. Add chicken strips and stir fry over medium-high heat, turning constantly until done. 4. Add in red pepper/green pepper 5. Add cabbage and sauté 2 minutes until cabbage is crisp-tender. 6. Mix cornstarch and seasonings; add water and soy sauce, and mix until smooth. 7. Stir sauce into chicken/cabbage mixture. 8. Add broccoli 9. Cook until sauce has thickened and chicken is coated, about 1 minute. 10. Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours. TIP: Instead of using "green cabbage" you can buy a bag of Dole mixed cabbage typically used for coleslaw and use that instead, and as an added bonus it has carrots and purple cabbage in there too! |
Tonight's workout was a bit more challenging then I expected considering I didn't find it overly bad on Saturday... we also had to do our AB challenge tonight which was brutal:
- 120 crunches
- 50 leg raises
- 75 second plank
For my actual T25 workout it was Cardio again. It wasn't as difficult as the first time I did it but I expected it to be easier as it is my third time doing it!
It is amazing what crappy food can do to your body. Within a couple days I am noticing my energy level isn't the same, the exercises were more challenging and I had more cravings then normal. I still don't want to cut myself off completely as I still think it is fine to treat yourself, it is just all apart of the adjustment period.
Saturday I ended up indulging a bit more then I wanted to. I had about 3 pieces of pizza (over the span of a couple hours) and my friend brought over an apple caramel cake she baked and I had some of that. So I am sure that is what effected me. I did take a paper towel and dapped my pizza to soak up as much grease as I could (a nifty trick I learned from somebody awhile back)
I am nervous for this week as I am likely going to be on my own a few days (Thursday/Friday). Thursday is Cardio again so that should be ok and the double day on Friday is Lower body and Abs. Sucky!
Well I think that about covers my blogging for the last few days. I'm off to drink my shake now then go to bed!
~Ciao!
Saturday, 25 January 2014
T25 - Day 5
Well today we did a double day. I am so unbelievably proud of myself and Joelene for how far we have come and I am amazed at how strong we are getting in such a short time.
We started out with the Cardio workout that I mentioned on Day 1, and I remember struggling through that and this time it was actually easier. We did the lower body workout for the first time today and my legs, and hip flexors and calves were on fire. It hurt so bad! I was sweating so bad my shirt sleeve was getting pretty wet from wiping my face.
Bottom line though: WE DID IT!! Woot woot!!
WEEK ONE IS DONE!
We didn't do our AB challenge today as a double workout (50 minutes non-stop) was enough for today, so we will do that tomorrow.
Now I have some extremely exciting news... as you know today was our "STATurday" and we needed to take our measurements and weigh in. Today I am down 4.5lbs from 9 days ago, bringing my total weight loss for the month to 9.5lbs!!! AMAZING! I was through the roof as I was pretty nervous stepping on the scale today. Joelene was such an amazing sweetheart and bought these beautiful flowers for me and hand made me this pretty card to congratulate me on making my monthly goal mark, which was 8lbs. I beat that goal by 1.5lbs so far and there is still a whole week to go!
I am seriously blessed to have such amazing people in my life to help me work towards my goals and bring me up when I am down and to encourage me the whole way through!
Tonight (besides caring for a sickly little boy who I think may have H1N1) I will be babysitting for a friend of mine and she is treating us all to pizza as payment. I am so looking forward to a treat, I have been working so hard at eating clean and after weighing in today and seeing a 4.5lb drop, well dangit I deserve a bit of a treat!
So I plan to have 1 to 1 1/2 slices of pizza and I am going to make a nice garden salad to go with it for myself.
We checked out tomorrow's video and to my surprise it is still a 25 min "workout" but more like an active rest day, because we started this program a day late this next week is going to really be a long haul. We would have been working out 11 days straight without a "day off" by the time next Saturday rolls around. We had our break on Monday instead. Pretty long haul but we can do it.
I am more motivated now then ever before! We sat here and did the math on where I could be if I keep doing what I am doing in April and June and it still is pretty mind blowing to me. I haven't been below 200lbs in over a decade. I know I haven't shared my start weight with you all yet but that is because I am just not ready for people to know. I just don't want people to look at me and attribute a number to my size, not until I have melted that size down. However I am sure it is obvious that I was over 200lbs.
It's actually kind of a change of pace working out in the day time. We had the windows open, sun was shining and the fresh breeze was blowing cooling us off. It was nice. I still prefer night time exercise though, however at least I can enjoy the rest of my Saturday.
So on that note I am going to do just that! Hope you all have a great weekend too!
We started out with the Cardio workout that I mentioned on Day 1, and I remember struggling through that and this time it was actually easier. We did the lower body workout for the first time today and my legs, and hip flexors and calves were on fire. It hurt so bad! I was sweating so bad my shirt sleeve was getting pretty wet from wiping my face.
Bottom line though: WE DID IT!! Woot woot!!
WEEK ONE IS DONE!
We didn't do our AB challenge today as a double workout (50 minutes non-stop) was enough for today, so we will do that tomorrow.
Now I have some extremely exciting news... as you know today was our "STATurday" and we needed to take our measurements and weigh in. Today I am down 4.5lbs from 9 days ago, bringing my total weight loss for the month to 9.5lbs!!! AMAZING! I was through the roof as I was pretty nervous stepping on the scale today. Joelene was such an amazing sweetheart and bought these beautiful flowers for me and hand made me this pretty card to congratulate me on making my monthly goal mark, which was 8lbs. I beat that goal by 1.5lbs so far and there is still a whole week to go!
Tonight (besides caring for a sickly little boy who I think may have H1N1) I will be babysitting for a friend of mine and she is treating us all to pizza as payment. I am so looking forward to a treat, I have been working so hard at eating clean and after weighing in today and seeing a 4.5lb drop, well dangit I deserve a bit of a treat!
So I plan to have 1 to 1 1/2 slices of pizza and I am going to make a nice garden salad to go with it for myself.
We checked out tomorrow's video and to my surprise it is still a 25 min "workout" but more like an active rest day, because we started this program a day late this next week is going to really be a long haul. We would have been working out 11 days straight without a "day off" by the time next Saturday rolls around. We had our break on Monday instead. Pretty long haul but we can do it.
I am more motivated now then ever before! We sat here and did the math on where I could be if I keep doing what I am doing in April and June and it still is pretty mind blowing to me. I haven't been below 200lbs in over a decade. I know I haven't shared my start weight with you all yet but that is because I am just not ready for people to know. I just don't want people to look at me and attribute a number to my size, not until I have melted that size down. However I am sure it is obvious that I was over 200lbs.
It's actually kind of a change of pace working out in the day time. We had the windows open, sun was shining and the fresh breeze was blowing cooling us off. It was nice. I still prefer night time exercise though, however at least I can enjoy the rest of my Saturday.
So on that note I am going to do just that! Hope you all have a great weekend too!
Friday, 24 January 2014
T25 - Day 4
I had a busy day today, but it started out with a good healthy breakfast:
It actually wasn't too bad to eat. I still have a weird thing going on with Quinoa though. The texture gets me every time, even though it is fully cooked it still remains somewhat crunchy. I don't like that. I am hoping my palate adjusts and I can get over it because it is extremely healthy for you. I can eat this though, I will make due.
I had a lot of cravings today with my one friend describing the birthday cake she made her husband (caramel apple) and texted me a picture of it, wow it looked good. Then I was visiting with another friend and she shared all about her cruise vacation and of course the food and the desserts. Meanwhile my 2 year old was munching away on nacho corn chips and when he was done he needed me to clean him up, and the smell was intoxicating! I had instant cravings for chips and cakes and donuts and everything. Of course now that I have been clean eating for so long I can want it but when I indulge (which I haven't) I will feel so sick.
I didn't do myself any favors by not eating my afternoon snack. I ended up leaving it on my pony wall on the way out my door.
For supper I was actually proud of myself, I went to my sister in laws and she made a pork tenderloin with garlic mashed potatoes and carrots, and I brought a caesar salad. I tried to eat more salad although I know it isn't the healthiest type, and I had a small amount of the potatoes.
I just hate how my brain makes me feel like this is a diet, it isn't. It is a life change. I feel like if I have a couple tablespoons of potatoes then I will instantly gain back everything I have lost. Yes it is irrational and I acknowledge that but I can't help it. It makes it hard for me to enjoy a treat or a cheat night.
Tomorrow I babysit for a friend so she is treating us to pizza, I plan to make it with a salad and restrict how much I have. It works out that my cheat night ends up being on a Saturday now because in the T25 program I am required to weigh myself and measure myself every Saturday (or STATurday) so not eating bad on Friday will really help the numbers on the scale.
I am feeling super nervous and anxious about my weigh in tomorrow. I am worried that if I don't see a drop then I will get discouraged and want to quit. My friend said she notices changes. I have taken a before picture and she told me to take another one every month starting Feb 1st, then March 1st and so on... then I can do a collage comparison. Good idea, I just wish I could see what everyone else sees.
Regardless, I am focused and I am committed. I know that there is no way in heck I can continue to eat clean and exercise like this and remain my size so I will just keep on pushing through.
I completed Day 4 of my T25 and it was ALL abs tonight; 25 minutes of non-stop abs, it was painful. On top of that I had my AB challenge which will be ending on Wednesday.
AB Challenge Tonight...
For the 70 second plank tonight it wasn't nearly as hard as the 65sec last night (which seems weird I know!) but again another sign that I am getting stronger, which means building muscle, which means melting fat. I take measurements tomorrow and it has been 3 weeks since we took our initial measurements. I will definitely post the losses tomorrow (providing there is!)
Well I am off to make myself a protein shake and enjoy the rest of the Friday night with my husband!
Have a great night all.
 |
| Quinoa Breakfast Bake: Ingredients: 1 cup uncooked quinoa 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves (I didn't have any of these and it worked fine) 2 apples, peeled, diced (I actually ended up using 3 apples since mine were on the smaller side) 1/4 cup raisins 2 eggs 2 cups vanilla soy milk (can substitute regular milk, I used almond milk) 1/4 cup maple syrup 1/3 cup almonds, chopped Directions: 1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 7-by-11-inch baking dish (an 8-by-8 works too). 2. In a small bowl, mix the uncooked quinoa with the spices. Pour into greased dish. 3. Sprinkle the apple and raisins on top of the quinoa. 4. In that same small bowl, beat the eggs. Whisk in the soy milk and maple syrup. 5. Pour the egg and milk mixture over the top of the fruit and quinoa. Lightly stir to partially submerge the fruit. Sprinkle the chopped almonds on top. 6. Bake for one hour or until the casserole is mostly set with only a small amount of liquid left. 7. Allow to cool, and then cover and refrigerate. In the morning, cut a square, microwave it on a plate, and enjoy alone or with a few dollops of Greek yogurt. |
I had a lot of cravings today with my one friend describing the birthday cake she made her husband (caramel apple) and texted me a picture of it, wow it looked good. Then I was visiting with another friend and she shared all about her cruise vacation and of course the food and the desserts. Meanwhile my 2 year old was munching away on nacho corn chips and when he was done he needed me to clean him up, and the smell was intoxicating! I had instant cravings for chips and cakes and donuts and everything. Of course now that I have been clean eating for so long I can want it but when I indulge (which I haven't) I will feel so sick.
I didn't do myself any favors by not eating my afternoon snack. I ended up leaving it on my pony wall on the way out my door.
For supper I was actually proud of myself, I went to my sister in laws and she made a pork tenderloin with garlic mashed potatoes and carrots, and I brought a caesar salad. I tried to eat more salad although I know it isn't the healthiest type, and I had a small amount of the potatoes.
I just hate how my brain makes me feel like this is a diet, it isn't. It is a life change. I feel like if I have a couple tablespoons of potatoes then I will instantly gain back everything I have lost. Yes it is irrational and I acknowledge that but I can't help it. It makes it hard for me to enjoy a treat or a cheat night.
Tomorrow I babysit for a friend so she is treating us to pizza, I plan to make it with a salad and restrict how much I have. It works out that my cheat night ends up being on a Saturday now because in the T25 program I am required to weigh myself and measure myself every Saturday (or STATurday) so not eating bad on Friday will really help the numbers on the scale.
I am feeling super nervous and anxious about my weigh in tomorrow. I am worried that if I don't see a drop then I will get discouraged and want to quit. My friend said she notices changes. I have taken a before picture and she told me to take another one every month starting Feb 1st, then March 1st and so on... then I can do a collage comparison. Good idea, I just wish I could see what everyone else sees.
Regardless, I am focused and I am committed. I know that there is no way in heck I can continue to eat clean and exercise like this and remain my size so I will just keep on pushing through.
I completed Day 4 of my T25 and it was ALL abs tonight; 25 minutes of non-stop abs, it was painful. On top of that I had my AB challenge which will be ending on Wednesday.
AB Challenge Tonight...
- 110 crunches
- 48 leg raises
- 70 sec plank
For the 70 second plank tonight it wasn't nearly as hard as the 65sec last night (which seems weird I know!) but again another sign that I am getting stronger, which means building muscle, which means melting fat. I take measurements tomorrow and it has been 3 weeks since we took our initial measurements. I will definitely post the losses tomorrow (providing there is!)
Well I am off to make myself a protein shake and enjoy the rest of the Friday night with my husband!
Have a great night all.
Thursday, 23 January 2014
T25 - Day 3
Tonight's workout was brutal. It was beyond intense. I am actually not sure how I made it through it, I think I might have blacked out (just joking) but seriously, it was so incredibly hard by the end of it I was feeling like crying, that is how exhausted I was!
Shaun T did say in the video that this would be the hardest workout in the Alpha series which is good to know, not looking forward to having to do it again next week. I am getting comments on how I am slimming up though so that is encouraging at least. I just wish that I could see it. It sucks when you can't see your own changes.
So tonight we still had to do our AB challenge (yesterday was our day off from the challenge) which super sucks because today we already did a full body and tomorrow is 25mins of non-stop ab workout and then we still need to do an AB challenge. Good news is? We only have 5 days left of the challenge. The AB challenge tonight sucked. It was:
Today I had some cravings which I did not indulge in. I was on Pinterest looking at birthday stuff for my son's upcoming birthday and of course, there was cake! I had such a hard time not buckling and finding some serious junk food especially since supper was almost ready and I was FAMISHED!
I am finding that I am actually always hungry, which isn't necessarily a bad thing but I am just surprised.
I like reading back on my blogs and seeing all the food I've eaten. In a way it serves as my own personal blogging food journal and also helps me out because I know someone may read it and correct me and say "you can do that recipe much healthier if..." I am absolutely NO expert on this, I am just starting out. So that being said...
Tonight's supper was an amazing hit and a MUST TRY! It was:
After our workout tonight I had a "dessert" type shake called "Pina Colada" it was so amazing, the protein powder gets frothy in the blender which kind of makes it seem like whip cream on the top. It tasted SO good, but I agree with my friend it could have used a touch of coconut rum ;) ha!
Ok well that's all for tonight!
Shaun T did say in the video that this would be the hardest workout in the Alpha series which is good to know, not looking forward to having to do it again next week. I am getting comments on how I am slimming up though so that is encouraging at least. I just wish that I could see it. It sucks when you can't see your own changes.
So tonight we still had to do our AB challenge (yesterday was our day off from the challenge) which super sucks because today we already did a full body and tomorrow is 25mins of non-stop ab workout and then we still need to do an AB challenge. Good news is? We only have 5 days left of the challenge. The AB challenge tonight sucked. It was:
- 100 crunches
- 45 leg raises
- 65 min plank
Today I had some cravings which I did not indulge in. I was on Pinterest looking at birthday stuff for my son's upcoming birthday and of course, there was cake! I had such a hard time not buckling and finding some serious junk food especially since supper was almost ready and I was FAMISHED!
I am finding that I am actually always hungry, which isn't necessarily a bad thing but I am just surprised.
I like reading back on my blogs and seeing all the food I've eaten. In a way it serves as my own personal blogging food journal and also helps me out because I know someone may read it and correct me and say "you can do that recipe much healthier if..." I am absolutely NO expert on this, I am just starting out. So that being said...
Tonight's supper was an amazing hit and a MUST TRY! It was:
 |
| Pineapple Chicken Teriyaki with Vegetables: Ingredients: 2-3 lbs organic chicken breast, chopped fresh broccoli 4-5 large carrots, sliced Pepper flakes, optional (I didn't do this) 2 Tbsp olive oil Sauce: 2 Tbsp ginger, chopped 1/3 cup reduced sodium soy sauce 1/3 cup cold water 2 teaspoons cornstarch 1/3 cup cane sugar (or honey) Directions: In a small bowl mix the Teriyaki sauce ingredients set aside. In a wok or large frying pan cook chicken in oil until just about cooked, add in carrots, pineapple, snap peas, red & green pepper. Cover & cook for 20-25 min. Add in broccoli and cook covered for another 10-15 minutes. Serve with brown rice (or other healthy choice rice) |
Ok well that's all for tonight!
Wednesday, 22 January 2014
T25 - Day 2
Barely Made It!
Wow. Ok so I completed Day 2 of my T25, and I think I posted last night that tonight should be easier? Yeah, I was so sadly mistaken. Last night on the form for the exercise I checked off "Nailed It!" because I was able to finish without being afraid that I would literally collapse on the floor.
Tonight when there was 5 min left I thought to myself "holy crap, I'm not going to make it" but I did. Just barely. I would definitely say tonight's workout was comparable to the P90X3: Extreme!
Tomorrow we do a total body workout and we took a peak at that and holy crap I am so scared. The professionals on the video are grunting and struggling to complete each move and there are puddles of sweat underneath them! Even the modification girl is sweating and struggling. Tomorrow is going to be a lot of brain work and mentally working myself through it, and that is only Day 3? It's going to be a long hard haul.
So I mentioned last night about being concerned with my nutrition and if I should be tweaking things. I sat down with Joelene today and we had some tea and discussed food, we worked out that my lovely "peanut butter banana" post workout shake is actually extremely high in calories. The recipe I posted a few days ago makes about 1000-1100 worth of calories, now granted I am not drinking the entire amount as I share it with my husband so I would half that, so my post workout shake is in and around the 400-500cal mark. Which is still a lot! I can make it way healthier by A) using less peanut butter B) using less bananas and C) using less milk (and actually I could probably omit the honey in there or even just reduce that to 1 tbsp)
So being disappointed at the realization my yummy shake is a no-go anymore, I went on pinterest and actually found a bunch of really yummy "post-workout" shakes that are right within the realm of calories that I am wanting. Now I am not calorie counting by any means but it is a good indication on if something you are eating is probably not the best. The shakes I found are around the 250-400cal mark which is much more appropriate. The T25 has a nutrition plan and you work it out by questions to figure out how many calories you would need.
There are 4 questions to figure out how many calories you should be eating per meal (which is cool that it breaks it out per meal and not just per day) which I will share with you so that you can try and figure out where you should be at, hopefully this helps you along your way for weight loss, because as I've said time and time again... weight loss is 80% nutrition (and yes my wonderful friend Joelene does need to remind me of that sometimes too!)
So here it is:
Also on question number 3 where it asks how active are you "outside of FOCUS T25"? Obviously not all or more likely none of you are doing this program, so I would say compare the T25 to something like P90X or P90X3. They are pretty intense weigh loss programs. If you are just doing a Jillian Michaels workout I don't know if that is enough to put it in the class of the other two mentioned above but if you would like to that is fine too.
So based on the above information that you worked out, this is your "suggested calories per meal"
YOUR 1,200 CALORIE DAY
BREAKFAST- 300 calories
SNACK 01- 150 calories
LUNCH- 300 calories
SNACK 02 - 150 calories
DINNER - 300 calories
YOUR 1,600 CALORIE DAY
BREAKFAST - 400 calories
SNACK 01 - 150 calories
LUNCH - 450 calories
SNACK 02 - 150 calories
DINNER - 450 calories
Now one thing I have to say that I don't agree with on this is that they don't have a third snack time. I am eating six times a day not five and now my body is used to that so I couldn't omit that. I workout at night time (which is also when I blog) and I always have a post-workout shake. It is always important to give your body protein after a workout. Your body uses carbs for energy during exercise. If your cache of carbs is low, your body will use protein as an alternate fuel source, and your muscles won't grow as much as they would if you were feeding them a cocktail of protein and carbs. Post workout protein help to revitalize your muscles and health, as it is essential for your muscle growth and recovery. So it works out really that I have an extra 500 calories in my diet that I can put towards a SNACK 03.
Now these suggestions are just a guide. Don't worry too much. Just don't starve all day is the main thing or eat a 1,200 calorie dinner. The idea is to strike a balance. Your daily calorie totals should include beverages too so be sure to account for that latte you drink between breakfast and your first snack, or if your a coffee person. I find now that I am drinking SO much water I honestly don't drink anything else at all. Just water and my shakes (one for breakfast and one post-workout).
Speaking on nutrition. I made THE BEST chicken parmesan tonight. I didn't have breadcrumbs so instead I put some "saltine" crackers in my blender and made it into a fine powder, put some oregano and Italian seasoning in there and wow! I was good.
Seriously so good and this recipe is only roughly about 250 cal for the chicken and however much for the pasta (you'd have to check the nutritional information on the box of whatever pasta you use) but all in all a really low calorie meal. For an even healthier option you could serve this chicken alongside a garden salad. It has been so long since I had pasta though so I wanted it. I find if I indulge in small amounts of my cravings I can keep them at bay, however if I would have ignored my craving for pasta then I may not have had as much self control the next time I did cook it. I was actually really full after this.
I have managed to get my body trained to proper portion sizes, I specifically used a small sandwich plate to show you all that you don't need a large amount of food, especially if you are eating 6x a day.
For my post-workout shake tonight I made a shake I found on pinterest called:
"Tropical Protein Paradise"
1 scoop Whey French Vanilla protein powder
1 cup unsweetened almond breeze
1/2 cup frozen pineapple chunks
1/2 cup frozen berries (your choice)
stevia (optional)
4-6 ice cubes
Nutritional Information:
245cal, 12g fat, 30g carbs, 21g protein
Now I didn't make this exactly as shown because I didn't have everything so I modified to make it work. I didn't have "French Vanilla" protein powder but I do have "Vanilla Whey". I didn't have almond breeze (whatever that is?) so I used regular milk instead. I didn't have "frozen" pineapple chunks so I just used a can and measured 1/2 cup and reserved the juice in the can and the rest of the pineapple for another recipe later on. I had 1/2 cup (maybe more) of frozen strawberries which I used. I omitted the "stevia" as I find with pineapple and protein powder and strawberries that is WAY sweet enough for me.
It tastes delicious though, try it out!
Well I'm going to enjoy the rest of my night and try not to think about tomorrow's impending doom of a workout - ha!
~Ciao
Wow. Ok so I completed Day 2 of my T25, and I think I posted last night that tonight should be easier? Yeah, I was so sadly mistaken. Last night on the form for the exercise I checked off "Nailed It!" because I was able to finish without being afraid that I would literally collapse on the floor.
Tonight when there was 5 min left I thought to myself "holy crap, I'm not going to make it" but I did. Just barely. I would definitely say tonight's workout was comparable to the P90X3: Extreme!
Tomorrow we do a total body workout and we took a peak at that and holy crap I am so scared. The professionals on the video are grunting and struggling to complete each move and there are puddles of sweat underneath them! Even the modification girl is sweating and struggling. Tomorrow is going to be a lot of brain work and mentally working myself through it, and that is only Day 3? It's going to be a long hard haul.
So I mentioned last night about being concerned with my nutrition and if I should be tweaking things. I sat down with Joelene today and we had some tea and discussed food, we worked out that my lovely "peanut butter banana" post workout shake is actually extremely high in calories. The recipe I posted a few days ago makes about 1000-1100 worth of calories, now granted I am not drinking the entire amount as I share it with my husband so I would half that, so my post workout shake is in and around the 400-500cal mark. Which is still a lot! I can make it way healthier by A) using less peanut butter B) using less bananas and C) using less milk (and actually I could probably omit the honey in there or even just reduce that to 1 tbsp)
So being disappointed at the realization my yummy shake is a no-go anymore, I went on pinterest and actually found a bunch of really yummy "post-workout" shakes that are right within the realm of calories that I am wanting. Now I am not calorie counting by any means but it is a good indication on if something you are eating is probably not the best. The shakes I found are around the 250-400cal mark which is much more appropriate. The T25 has a nutrition plan and you work it out by questions to figure out how many calories you would need.
There are 4 questions to figure out how many calories you should be eating per meal (which is cool that it breaks it out per meal and not just per day) which I will share with you so that you can try and figure out where you should be at, hopefully this helps you along your way for weight loss, because as I've said time and time again... weight loss is 80% nutrition (and yes my wonderful friend Joelene does need to remind me of that sometimes too!)
So here it is:
- What's your gender?If you're a woman (+1) point
If you're a man (+2) points - How much do you weigh?If its 130 pounds or less, (+1) point
If its more than 130 pounds, (+2) points - How active (outside of FOCUS T25) are you?If you're sedentary, (+1) point
If you're moderately to highly active, (+2) points - Add up your pointsIf you scored 3 points eat at the 1,200 calorie level
If you scored 4 or more, eat at the 1,600 calorie level
Also on question number 3 where it asks how active are you "outside of FOCUS T25"? Obviously not all or more likely none of you are doing this program, so I would say compare the T25 to something like P90X or P90X3. They are pretty intense weigh loss programs. If you are just doing a Jillian Michaels workout I don't know if that is enough to put it in the class of the other two mentioned above but if you would like to that is fine too.
So based on the above information that you worked out, this is your "suggested calories per meal"
YOUR 1,200 CALORIE DAY
BREAKFAST- 300 calories
SNACK 01- 150 calories
LUNCH- 300 calories
SNACK 02 - 150 calories
DINNER - 300 calories
YOUR 1,600 CALORIE DAY
BREAKFAST - 400 calories
SNACK 01 - 150 calories
LUNCH - 450 calories
SNACK 02 - 150 calories
DINNER - 450 calories
Now one thing I have to say that I don't agree with on this is that they don't have a third snack time. I am eating six times a day not five and now my body is used to that so I couldn't omit that. I workout at night time (which is also when I blog) and I always have a post-workout shake. It is always important to give your body protein after a workout. Your body uses carbs for energy during exercise. If your cache of carbs is low, your body will use protein as an alternate fuel source, and your muscles won't grow as much as they would if you were feeding them a cocktail of protein and carbs. Post workout protein help to revitalize your muscles and health, as it is essential for your muscle growth and recovery. So it works out really that I have an extra 500 calories in my diet that I can put towards a SNACK 03.
Now these suggestions are just a guide. Don't worry too much. Just don't starve all day is the main thing or eat a 1,200 calorie dinner. The idea is to strike a balance. Your daily calorie totals should include beverages too so be sure to account for that latte you drink between breakfast and your first snack, or if your a coffee person. I find now that I am drinking SO much water I honestly don't drink anything else at all. Just water and my shakes (one for breakfast and one post-workout).
Speaking on nutrition. I made THE BEST chicken parmesan tonight. I didn't have breadcrumbs so instead I put some "saltine" crackers in my blender and made it into a fine powder, put some oregano and Italian seasoning in there and wow! I was good.
 |
| Chicken Parmesana with Spaghetti You will need: 1/4 cup parmesan cheese 3 cups (approx.) breadcrumbs (I used saltines) - seasoned how you like 4 chicken breasts (thawed) Spaghetti or Marinara Sauce 2 Tbsp melted butter 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese box of whole wheat (or smart) spaghetti pasta Make your sauce like normal. I used "Healthy Choice" Spaghetti Sauce (the one w/ the chunks of carrots & zucchini in it) Add parmesan cheese to breadcrumb mixture Coat the chicken breasts with butter on each side and dip into bread crumbs, make sure they are coated nicely. Put your chicken on a baking sheet that has been coated with oil. When all 4 breasts are on sheet bake in oven at 425F for 20 minutes, meanwhile cook pasta and sauce Turn chicken over and back another 5 minutes, pull out and put about 3 tablespoons of sauce on each breast and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Put it back in the oven and bake for an addition 5 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve! I served on a small sandwich plate with 1 cup of measured cooked pasta. |
I have managed to get my body trained to proper portion sizes, I specifically used a small sandwich plate to show you all that you don't need a large amount of food, especially if you are eating 6x a day.
For my post-workout shake tonight I made a shake I found on pinterest called:
"Tropical Protein Paradise"
1 scoop Whey French Vanilla protein powder
1 cup unsweetened almond breeze
1/2 cup frozen pineapple chunks
1/2 cup frozen berries (your choice)
stevia (optional)
4-6 ice cubes
Nutritional Information:
245cal, 12g fat, 30g carbs, 21g protein
Now I didn't make this exactly as shown because I didn't have everything so I modified to make it work. I didn't have "French Vanilla" protein powder but I do have "Vanilla Whey". I didn't have almond breeze (whatever that is?) so I used regular milk instead. I didn't have "frozen" pineapple chunks so I just used a can and measured 1/2 cup and reserved the juice in the can and the rest of the pineapple for another recipe later on. I had 1/2 cup (maybe more) of frozen strawberries which I used. I omitted the "stevia" as I find with pineapple and protein powder and strawberries that is WAY sweet enough for me.
It tastes delicious though, try it out!
Well I'm going to enjoy the rest of my night and try not to think about tomorrow's impending doom of a workout - ha!
~Ciao
Tuesday, 21 January 2014
T25 - Day 1
Just a quick blog tonight...
So I was able to do the T25 program today. My husband got it for me and I mean seriously, wow. I am a little scared right now for the rest of the 90 days we have to do this. However in comparison to the P90X3 last night I would still say that the P90X3 is harder. Joelene suggested doing the P90X3 program after the 90 days of T25. Yikes!
About the program:
The program is 25 minutes a day & 5 days a week with resting and recording your STATS on Saturday (or STATurday) as they call it, then a stretch video on Sunday. However I didn't realize that Friday's is a double day - so you are required to do two 25 minute videos; now 50 minutes may not seem like a lot but you can't stop the entire time. There are 3 levels of programs too, you start out doing the "Alpha" program for 5 weeks, then move to "Beta" for 5 weeks and finally finish with the hardest one: "Gamma" for 5 weeks.
The 25 minute workout tonight was difficult and there was no break, it just went from exercise to exercise to exercise to exercise. I managed to push through it which I am so proud, by following the modified girl which still is challenging.
The most difficult part of this work out is that you don't get ANY rest and the workout we did tonight was called: "Cardio" so just like the name says you are doing 25 minutes of intense cardio (non-stop!); my lungs were burning, my throat was so dry my legs burned like you can't believe. Be afraid, be very afraid - ha!
Day one. Done! Woot!
Tomorrow we are supposed to do a less intense exercise (from the glimpse I seen) and it is called "Speed 1.0" which involves cardio, strength training moves and incorporates stretching in with the workout, so basically your stretching is your rest period. Anyway more on that tomorrow.
Honestly I can't really break down this workout as it is such a complex program, it involved a lot of squats, lunge moves and combinations, lots of jumping jacks, and jumping moves. It was just really exhausting.
I did it though... on top of that, yep I still did my AB challenge.
Day 15:
**~HIGH FIVE TO ME~**
I finished off tonight with my classic post-workout shake.
My nutrition today was good (I think), water take was great to. All in all a great day.
I have found myself questioning the foods I am eating. Again that mentality of if it tastes good can it be good for me? For breakfast I had an orange creamsicle tasting shake, snack I had vanilla greek yogurt and an orange, lunch was a veggie whole wheat wrap, afternoon snack again was a small container (or maybe medium?) of mixed nuts and I had a small container of cucumber, then supper was leftover roast and vegetables.
I am just unsure of the nuts part. I am not sure how much is too much, then of course having my peanut butter shake every night I question if that is something I shouldn't do either. Maybe I should mix up the type of shake I have? Ugh. Maybe I am just over thinking this.
I don't have all the answers. All I can do is try.
Well I am curious to find out what my weigh in is on Saturday and my measurements.
Wish me luck on tomorrows T25 workout!
So I was able to do the T25 program today. My husband got it for me and I mean seriously, wow. I am a little scared right now for the rest of the 90 days we have to do this. However in comparison to the P90X3 last night I would still say that the P90X3 is harder. Joelene suggested doing the P90X3 program after the 90 days of T25. Yikes!
About the program:
The program is 25 minutes a day & 5 days a week with resting and recording your STATS on Saturday (or STATurday) as they call it, then a stretch video on Sunday. However I didn't realize that Friday's is a double day - so you are required to do two 25 minute videos; now 50 minutes may not seem like a lot but you can't stop the entire time. There are 3 levels of programs too, you start out doing the "Alpha" program for 5 weeks, then move to "Beta" for 5 weeks and finally finish with the hardest one: "Gamma" for 5 weeks.
The 25 minute workout tonight was difficult and there was no break, it just went from exercise to exercise to exercise to exercise. I managed to push through it which I am so proud, by following the modified girl which still is challenging.
The most difficult part of this work out is that you don't get ANY rest and the workout we did tonight was called: "Cardio" so just like the name says you are doing 25 minutes of intense cardio (non-stop!); my lungs were burning, my throat was so dry my legs burned like you can't believe. Be afraid, be very afraid - ha!
Day one. Done! Woot!
Tomorrow we are supposed to do a less intense exercise (from the glimpse I seen) and it is called "Speed 1.0" which involves cardio, strength training moves and incorporates stretching in with the workout, so basically your stretching is your rest period. Anyway more on that tomorrow.
Honestly I can't really break down this workout as it is such a complex program, it involved a lot of squats, lunge moves and combinations, lots of jumping jacks, and jumping moves. It was just really exhausting.
I did it though... on top of that, yep I still did my AB challenge.
Day 15:
- 90 crunches
- 42 leg raises
- 1 minute plank
**~HIGH FIVE TO ME~**
I finished off tonight with my classic post-workout shake.
My nutrition today was good (I think), water take was great to. All in all a great day.
I have found myself questioning the foods I am eating. Again that mentality of if it tastes good can it be good for me? For breakfast I had an orange creamsicle tasting shake, snack I had vanilla greek yogurt and an orange, lunch was a veggie whole wheat wrap, afternoon snack again was a small container (or maybe medium?) of mixed nuts and I had a small container of cucumber, then supper was leftover roast and vegetables.
I am just unsure of the nuts part. I am not sure how much is too much, then of course having my peanut butter shake every night I question if that is something I shouldn't do either. Maybe I should mix up the type of shake I have? Ugh. Maybe I am just over thinking this.
I don't have all the answers. All I can do is try.
Well I am curious to find out what my weigh in is on Saturday and my measurements.
Wish me luck on tomorrows T25 workout!
Monday, 20 January 2014
P90X3
Today wasn't the best of days. I didn't have a great start. I woke up a bit late and then rushed to get my kids breakfast and my son off to school, then while my husband kindly did dishes for me I decided to begin folding laundry that was left last night until my daughter woke up. So finally she woke up and then it was a madhouse. My sons were fed but she woke up quite distressed so I needed to nurse her/change her then she was demanding actual breakfast, so I needed to make her oatmeal while I tried so hard to make myself a smoothie. By the time all this was said and done it was just after 10AM and I still needed to prepare my dinner in the crock pot since after I pick my son up from school it seems to be "all hell breaks loose" so I didn't want that stress.
I didn't manage to even sit down to my smoothie until about 10:20AM (when I finally got my roast in the crock pot) and of course by that time I should have already had a snack. sigh. see what I mean? not a great start.
I quickly chowed down a 7-grain granola bar from "Kashi" and then off I went to pick up my son, came home and then it was the lunch rush.
I'm a busy mom of 3 and my life doesn't stop because I am exercising and trying to eat healthier, sometimes life throws you a curve ball and you just have to roll with the punches and do your best. I got back on track at lunch, made myself a ceaser wrap with apple slices on the side.
For my afternoon snack I had cottage cheese, sugar snap peas and an orange.
Supper was delicious it was a slow cooked roast which I threw in celery, yams and carrots and spices of course. My family just loved it!
(recipe for my roast rub: take a bit of dijon mustard and rub the roast, sprinkle rosemary, thyme, italian seasoning on top. Add one package of lipton onion soup mix. Add to it 3 cups of beef broth. Then add your vegetables. Cook on low 8 hours)
Well I was left on my own for working out tonight as my workout buddy isn't feeling well. I could have done a Jillian Michaels workout but instead I opted to try the P90X3 workout that I managed to get my hands on.
I will never ever ever complain about another workout at Joelene's house again. Holy crap, I can't even put it into words what that was. I did it though. I mean seriously, I DID IT! I don't know HOW but I did. That is a special place in exercise hell only insane people would go.
It is 30 minutes of incredibly intense exercise. Like INCREDIBLY INTENSE!
Ok so now that I've got that all out, I bet you all are wondering: "What the heck did she do that was so hard?"... I will tell you what I did, although you may have to google some of the moves as I am not sure I can really describe it. I will say that each exercise is 1min 10sec long and he does double time twice in that time frame:
My workout tonight:
My husband is such a sweetie he actually did the P90X3 with me. He is SO out of shape but he wanted to support me and so he did as much as he could along side me! <3
All I can say is if that T25 program is anything like this, Lord have mercy on me! This was so hard. In fact I can say for certain that it was the hardest workout I have ever done! By 10 minutes in I was sweating so bad, he really kick starts your heart rate.
So on top of this of course I did my 24 day AB challenge. Today was Day 14:
I am walking proof you don't know what you are capable of until you try. I never in a million years would have though I could do something like that at my size, yet I did it. I struggled, and wasn't able to go the whole time, and had to modify some of the moves or take a quick breather but bottom line is I did it!
Protein shake time! Have a great night all.
I didn't manage to even sit down to my smoothie until about 10:20AM (when I finally got my roast in the crock pot) and of course by that time I should have already had a snack. sigh. see what I mean? not a great start.
I quickly chowed down a 7-grain granola bar from "Kashi" and then off I went to pick up my son, came home and then it was the lunch rush.
I'm a busy mom of 3 and my life doesn't stop because I am exercising and trying to eat healthier, sometimes life throws you a curve ball and you just have to roll with the punches and do your best. I got back on track at lunch, made myself a ceaser wrap with apple slices on the side.
For my afternoon snack I had cottage cheese, sugar snap peas and an orange.
Supper was delicious it was a slow cooked roast which I threw in celery, yams and carrots and spices of course. My family just loved it!
(recipe for my roast rub: take a bit of dijon mustard and rub the roast, sprinkle rosemary, thyme, italian seasoning on top. Add one package of lipton onion soup mix. Add to it 3 cups of beef broth. Then add your vegetables. Cook on low 8 hours)
Well I was left on my own for working out tonight as my workout buddy isn't feeling well. I could have done a Jillian Michaels workout but instead I opted to try the P90X3 workout that I managed to get my hands on.
I will never ever ever complain about another workout at Joelene's house again. Holy crap, I can't even put it into words what that was. I did it though. I mean seriously, I DID IT! I don't know HOW but I did. That is a special place in exercise hell only insane people would go.
It is 30 minutes of incredibly intense exercise. Like INCREDIBLY INTENSE!
Ok so now that I've got that all out, I bet you all are wondering: "What the heck did she do that was so hard?"... I will tell you what I did, although you may have to google some of the moves as I am not sure I can really describe it. I will say that each exercise is 1min 10sec long and he does double time twice in that time frame:
My workout tonight:
- Start with something called a "Speed Salutation" (1:10sec)
- "Twist and Pivot" (1:10sec)
- "Foot Pursuit" or "High Knees" but bringing your hand from cheek (bum) to cheek (1:10sec)
- "Get up/ Get Down" get down into a plank, then stand up and repeat fast (1:10sec)
- "Jumping Jacks" alternating with "Punch Jacks" <-- where you punch the air above (1:10sec)
- "Balance Burpees" sumo position, then do a plank and twist one arm in the air each side doing a push up in between each arm switch at some points (1:10sec)
- "Slalom Hops" take two towels about two feet apart side by side and you hop in the middle between, then to the outside, then back to center, then to the other side (1:10sec)
- "Mountain Climbers" (1:10sec)
- "Spin Stops" twisting squat jumps tapping the floor briefly (1:10sec)
- "Plank Walks" pretty much what the name is, you walk to whichever direction he calls while holding a plank position the whole time, left/right/forward/backward etc.. (1:10sec) At this point you are allowed a 30sec break
- "Joel Jumps" Right leg. Stack your towels in a line, start on right foot and jump to opposite side of the towel and tap, jump back to start position and repeat. He calls FREEZE! during this move and you literally freeze in a position you are in. (1:10sec)
- "Plank Circles" oh yes, exactly what your thinking. You hold a plank position and you turn into whichever direction he calls and you go in circles. (1:10sec)
- "Road Runner" you hold a lunge position and alternate slowly like you are running in slow motion, arms are bent and moving along side like you are running, then you do double time when he calls it out (1:10sec)
- "Double Trouble Climbers" or "Plank Twists" you hold a plank position and you bring opposite knee to opposite arm under, you will feel this incredibly in your abs, then you lower yourself to your forearms (sphinx position) and bring each knee to each elbow, then back to plank etc.. (1:10sec)
- "Diamond Hops" put a face cloth or towel in the middle of the floor and you hop around each side to whichever direction he calls (1:10sec)
- "Swimmer's Planks" you get into a plank position and you raise opposite arm/opposite leg, if you can handle the harder move of your raised arm does a "back stroke" or "breast stroke" (1:10sec)
- "Speed Skater" (1:10sec)
- "Plank/Sphinx Combo" alternate planks and sphinx position and raising a leg when in sphinx position (1:10sec)
- "Squat Hops" hold a squat and shuffle from side to side, and then hop from side to side (1:10sec)
- "Donkey Kicks" (1:10sec) ok these I could NOT do. You basically have to be able to do a hand stand, or at the very least kick your both legs out (out or up in the air) and then you take your left leg and twist it under you to your right side and do the same to the other side. I couldn't do the 'kick' part so I just did the opposite legs under me similar to the plank twists but with a straight leg under not a bent knee.
My husband is such a sweetie he actually did the P90X3 with me. He is SO out of shape but he wanted to support me and so he did as much as he could along side me! <3
All I can say is if that T25 program is anything like this, Lord have mercy on me! This was so hard. In fact I can say for certain that it was the hardest workout I have ever done! By 10 minutes in I was sweating so bad, he really kick starts your heart rate.
So on top of this of course I did my 24 day AB challenge. Today was Day 14:
- 86 crunches
- 42 leg raises
- 55 sec plank
I am walking proof you don't know what you are capable of until you try. I never in a million years would have though I could do something like that at my size, yet I did it. I struggled, and wasn't able to go the whole time, and had to modify some of the moves or take a quick breather but bottom line is I did it!
Protein shake time! Have a great night all.
Sunday, 19 January 2014
What's my secret?
Ok so I have literally had 5 or more people ask me lately, "What is your secret Tara? How do you stay motivated?" so I thought I would blog about it as I am sure it won't be the last time to come up.
For me I just got to a point where I was tired of being big. Tired of hating myself and thinking I'm fat and ugly, tired of being embarrassed in my own skin. I can't walk through a mall without getting upset that I can no longer fit into Le Chateau's clothing (which used to be my favorite place to shop), I admire those who wear those dressy boots with the skinny cut jeans, and a nice sweater with a poofy vest, you know what I am talking about. That just wouldn't look great on me. My intimacy level isn't where it should be either.
I just got tired of breaking a sweat and being out of breath when I walked up a flight of stairs. I can't find a pair of snow pants that will fit me so I can't go tobogganing with my children or play in the snow with them, I hate my picture being taken.
Looks aside what about my health? That's important too, which is also fueling my motivation. I want to set a good example for my children, how can I restrict pop and chips if mom is having them? My children have never really had pop and junk food is rarely allowed. I want to set a good example for my daughter because I don't want her to have the life I did!
I want to live longer.
I want to be able to do more things, like family bike rides and going on family hikes. I want to go ziplining again, or try parasailing; maybe if I even get the guts to bungee jump or skydive someday. I can't do ANY of that being overweight.
There are so many reasons why.
So really there is no secret. I just got to a point where it mattered enough to me. I had tried before and failed because I kept telling myself "who cares, I have a husband who loves me, why do I care if I am fat?" but honestly I only believed that long enough to indulge in some junk food then soon after regretted it. Enough is enough. You have to want it bad enough, it is hard work. I struggle through my workouts each time, I groan and moan and huff and puff and think in my head "I can't do this"... although recently since I've got into a good routine instead of saying I can't do this I say "oh man how many more... I don't know if I can do this" see how even 3 weeks can change a person's way of thinking??
I went from "I can't" to "I don't know".
I watched extreme weight loss before getting really into this which also helped to push me through it. I don't know how many people read this blog but it doesn't matter if your 180lbs, 250lbs, 400lbs... you can do it! On extreme weight loss there are 450-500lb people working out. Just remember 80% is food, so if you don't think you can work out right now then start with the hardest thing to change and then exercising will come and it will actually surprise you that it is the easy part.
Make yourself a meal plan, stick to it, stock your fridge with fresh produce and fruits (all kinds!) and cottage cheese and yogurts and eggs. Switch to whole wheat and brown grains instead of white.
Most importantly remember: this is a life change, not a diet!
The difference between a life change and a diet is:
A life change is something you plan to keep up and do forever, and it is ok to not be 100% clean all the time, you can still have cake and wine etc. everything in moderation and restrict the crap as best you can, try to eat clean most of the time but if you don't always it isn't a big deal, its life;
A diet is something that is short term and only meant to make you lose weight faster but after you get to your goal weight you go back to eating however you want
See the difference?
I know you may be saying, "well I can't do what she is doing it's too hard." If I can do this so can you! It will be hard, but nothing ever worthwhile comes easy now does it? I know the workouts I post seem so challenging but you have to remember I didn't start out doing these workouts, I started out small and worked my way up. Speaking of working out, tonight was a doozie and I think my wonderful friend broke me...
My workout tonight: (repeat 3 times)
10 burpees
30 sec squat with weight between legs
8 burpees
30 sec push up
6 burpees
30 sec bicep crossover curls
4 burpees
30 sec tricep extensions
2 burpees
30 sec lunges
(note: as an added way to make this more challenging, as if it wasn't hard enough on its own, try not to stop. Try to do 10 burpees in 30 secs allowing only a 10 sec rest and keep going as much as you can with minimal rest. During rounds 2 and 3 we needed to take a 30 sec rest before starting the burpees but we tried to push through the rest as much as possible to harder you push your body the better!)
Ok seriously, did you do the math on those burpees? 90 BURPEES! OH..EM..GEE!! Wanna talk about hard, that was hard! On top of the above work out we did our AB challenge tonight which was incredibly hard
I was able to get my 3.5L of water in yesterday, was so proud and I am well on my way today.
Nutrition today was so-so, again this is a life change not a diet. I was rushed for lunch after church today so I grabbed a couple burritos in my freezer and heated those up - then for my afternoon snack chowed down an apple quickly then on to supper. I made homemade honey garlic porkchops which were supposed to be healthy as that's what it said on pinterest.
I had made sweet potato mash with this (basically peel and cut your yams, steam them till they are cooked, beat them in a bowl when cooked with 1/2 cup of unsweatened apple sauce (or one of those individual ones) a bit of brown sugar and cinnamon. For my other vegetable I made this recipe that says "the best broccoli you will ever taste" super simple, take your broccoli and cut them off their stems so you have bite size broccoli heads, put about 5tbsps oil over them with salt and pepper and about 4 cloves of garlic. Place in oven at 425F and roast for 20-25 minutes. When done squeeze a fresh lemon over them and top with a bit of parmesan cheese. So good.
Again the recipe I used for the pork chops were supposedly healthy but even if they aren't really nobody is perfect and I certainly could have had worse. I busted my butt tonight so I think it's ok that I had them.
I am not sure if I posted about my absolute favorite post-workout shake before but if I did oh well here it is again, it is so yummy!
Peanut Butter, Banana Shake:
It is seriously the best.
Alright well I am going to wrap this up now, I hope I was able to bring some encouragement to some of you! Have a great night!
For me I just got to a point where I was tired of being big. Tired of hating myself and thinking I'm fat and ugly, tired of being embarrassed in my own skin. I can't walk through a mall without getting upset that I can no longer fit into Le Chateau's clothing (which used to be my favorite place to shop), I admire those who wear those dressy boots with the skinny cut jeans, and a nice sweater with a poofy vest, you know what I am talking about. That just wouldn't look great on me. My intimacy level isn't where it should be either.
I just got tired of breaking a sweat and being out of breath when I walked up a flight of stairs. I can't find a pair of snow pants that will fit me so I can't go tobogganing with my children or play in the snow with them, I hate my picture being taken.
Looks aside what about my health? That's important too, which is also fueling my motivation. I want to set a good example for my children, how can I restrict pop and chips if mom is having them? My children have never really had pop and junk food is rarely allowed. I want to set a good example for my daughter because I don't want her to have the life I did!
I want to live longer.
I want to be able to do more things, like family bike rides and going on family hikes. I want to go ziplining again, or try parasailing; maybe if I even get the guts to bungee jump or skydive someday. I can't do ANY of that being overweight.
There are so many reasons why.
So really there is no secret. I just got to a point where it mattered enough to me. I had tried before and failed because I kept telling myself "who cares, I have a husband who loves me, why do I care if I am fat?" but honestly I only believed that long enough to indulge in some junk food then soon after regretted it. Enough is enough. You have to want it bad enough, it is hard work. I struggle through my workouts each time, I groan and moan and huff and puff and think in my head "I can't do this"... although recently since I've got into a good routine instead of saying I can't do this I say "oh man how many more... I don't know if I can do this" see how even 3 weeks can change a person's way of thinking??
I went from "I can't" to "I don't know".
I watched extreme weight loss before getting really into this which also helped to push me through it. I don't know how many people read this blog but it doesn't matter if your 180lbs, 250lbs, 400lbs... you can do it! On extreme weight loss there are 450-500lb people working out. Just remember 80% is food, so if you don't think you can work out right now then start with the hardest thing to change and then exercising will come and it will actually surprise you that it is the easy part.
Make yourself a meal plan, stick to it, stock your fridge with fresh produce and fruits (all kinds!) and cottage cheese and yogurts and eggs. Switch to whole wheat and brown grains instead of white.
Most importantly remember: this is a life change, not a diet!
The difference between a life change and a diet is:
A life change is something you plan to keep up and do forever, and it is ok to not be 100% clean all the time, you can still have cake and wine etc. everything in moderation and restrict the crap as best you can, try to eat clean most of the time but if you don't always it isn't a big deal, its life;
A diet is something that is short term and only meant to make you lose weight faster but after you get to your goal weight you go back to eating however you want
See the difference?
I know you may be saying, "well I can't do what she is doing it's too hard." If I can do this so can you! It will be hard, but nothing ever worthwhile comes easy now does it? I know the workouts I post seem so challenging but you have to remember I didn't start out doing these workouts, I started out small and worked my way up. Speaking of working out, tonight was a doozie and I think my wonderful friend broke me...
My workout tonight: (repeat 3 times)
10 burpees
30 sec squat with weight between legs
8 burpees
30 sec push up
6 burpees
30 sec bicep crossover curls
4 burpees
30 sec tricep extensions
2 burpees
30 sec lunges
(note: as an added way to make this more challenging, as if it wasn't hard enough on its own, try not to stop. Try to do 10 burpees in 30 secs allowing only a 10 sec rest and keep going as much as you can with minimal rest. During rounds 2 and 3 we needed to take a 30 sec rest before starting the burpees but we tried to push through the rest as much as possible to harder you push your body the better!)
Ok seriously, did you do the math on those burpees? 90 BURPEES! OH..EM..GEE!! Wanna talk about hard, that was hard! On top of the above work out we did our AB challenge tonight which was incredibly hard
- 76 crunches
- 40 leg raises
- 50 sec plank
I was able to get my 3.5L of water in yesterday, was so proud and I am well on my way today.
Nutrition today was so-so, again this is a life change not a diet. I was rushed for lunch after church today so I grabbed a couple burritos in my freezer and heated those up - then for my afternoon snack chowed down an apple quickly then on to supper. I made homemade honey garlic porkchops which were supposed to be healthy as that's what it said on pinterest.
 |
| INGREDIENTS 5 pork chops, not too thick 2 eggs 4 Tbsp water 2 cups flour (use whole wheat flour) 1 tsp salt and pepper 1 tsp garlic powder oil for frying (again I use the healthier kind which is grapeseed oil) THE GLAZE 1 1/2 c honey 1/2 c brown sugar 1/2 tsp ginger 1/2 c soy sauce 1 Tbsp garlic, chopped 2 Tbsp butter DIRECTIONS: 1. Whisk the eggs and 4 tablespoons water in a shallow dish. 2. Mix the flour, salt, pepper and garlic powder in another shallow dish. 3. Dip the chops in the flour, then over into the egg, then back over into the flour mixture again. 4. This is what puts the extra crispy coating on the chops. 5. Be sure to get plenty of flour on this last coating, then shake them a little and place in a pan with about a half inch of oil. 6. Be sure the oil is hot, but not too hot or the chops will cook too fast. You need to get it good and hot and then turn to about medium. 7. Cook for about 6 minutes on each side. Try not to turn more than twice or your breading will come off. 8. Remove from the pan to a 9x13 baking dish. 9. Saute the garlic a little in the butter. Add the honey, soy sauce, brown sugar, cayenne and garlic. 10. Bring to a boil then reduce to low and simmer for about 5 minutes. Watch this carefully because it will foam and might boil over. 11. Pour the glaze over the pork chops (the recipe said to pour 1/2 on one side and then flip them but I found the batter was falling apart and I didn't care for that so I just put it all in at once. You will have lots of glaze and the pork chops can only absorb so much so it seems like a large waste but oh well tasted good!). 12. Place uncovered in a preheated 350 oven for about 20-25 minutes. This sets the glaze and finishes them to be sure they are cooked through. |
Again the recipe I used for the pork chops were supposedly healthy but even if they aren't really nobody is perfect and I certainly could have had worse. I busted my butt tonight so I think it's ok that I had them.
I am not sure if I posted about my absolute favorite post-workout shake before but if I did oh well here it is again, it is so yummy!
Peanut Butter, Banana Shake:
- 2 cups ice
- 2 cups milk
- 1/2 cup peanut butter (tip: if you spray the measuring cup with pam first it falls right out)
- 2 tbsp. honey (use pam trick again works like a charm)
- 2 bananas
- 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
It is seriously the best.
Alright well I am going to wrap this up now, I hope I was able to bring some encouragement to some of you! Have a great night!
Saturday, 18 January 2014
Active Rest Day
Yesterday was kind of an off beat day. I am right in the middle of dealing with insurance crap after someone hit my parked van and I was hunting for car seats. I went to pick my son up from kindergarten and then immediately went to Wal-Mart. I thought I would just be in and out and grab 3 car seats and be done (the time I pick my son up at is usually when I'm supposed to have my mid-morning snack).
So I get to Wal-Mart and virtually all their seats are sold out due to their spring selection coming in. So shopping took up a huge chunk of my day.
I missed my mid-morning snack as a result, came home and made lunch -- I was so hungry I felt sick to my stomach. I have to learn to be more prepared on the go and have snacks in my van. For lunch I quickly made up some tuna and had a tuna sandwich on whole wheat bread and an apple.
Shortly after that it was off to shop again. By the time I made it back home after yet another failed attempted to pick up all my car seats it was just after 4pm so I almost missed my afternoon snack, I felt so sick again as my body is used to eating now and being frazzled and upset with the unsuccessful shopping trip I grabbed the first thing I could in my pantry: Crispy Mini's. Not the worst thing in the world, and I ate about a half a bag (so roughly 200cal snack -- not great but not going to sweat about it).
Friday's are always date night in my house which consists of Sushi after kids go to bed and a movie with the hubs. I have to say for the first time in years eating sushi was not as appealing as it used to be. I used to crave this stuff so bad! It didn't taste as good as I remembered and certainly didn't sit well with me. I couldn't even finish it (which is a first) and afterwards I felt sick and I immediately got a headache. This was a change in my body I was NOT expecting. I'm not really sure how to handle this in the future. I never expected my body to reject "treating" myself. I guess it's a good thing though because I definitely won't crave it after how I felt afterwards.
My water intake for yesterday and today hasn't been that great. Need to try super hard to get more water in. My friend told me she read about an effective weight loss technique during a plateau which is to drink your body weight in ounces for a week. So that would mean I would have to consume roughly 7 L of water a day for a week. Yeah talk about IMPOSSIBLE! Even half that amount would be challenging, course I am on the heavier side so maybe some of you reading this can work it out for yourself and try it if you are finding you are at a plateau.
So I guess that brings us to today... I have been finding the aftermath of treading myself is I feel sluggish and lethargic the next day. Water consumption has been at an all time low today -- not even sure I got through one of my waters, tisk tisk.
After finally finding the third and final car seat today we came home and sort of chilled out on the couch. I got a text from my workout buddy asking if we could workout "right now" as she has a date night tonight herself. I was so not wanting to. Like really really REALLY not wanting to, but I got up and got ready and headed over to her place.
She had a workout from bodyrock on her computer -- a quick 12 minute workout which was day 2 of this 30 day challenge, each day getting progressively harder. So again the same as I've done before, 30 sec exercises with 10 sec breaks. I barely broke a sweat. I am definitely getting really strong. Something like that before would have really intimidated me, now it's a piece of cake, hence the "active rest day" it was more like a rest day today but instead of sitting on the couch the entire day we actually did some form of exercise.
On top of that we did our AB challenge too:
Joelene measured me today -- nothing that we are keeping record of or anything but just out of curiosity since it is visible that I am losing. I lost 3/4" off my waist (in 2 weeks!) and 1 full inch off my hips (IN TWO WEEKS!) AMAZING!!
I was so discouraged on Friday morning, I weighed myself on the scale and broke down into tears (which is mainly why Joelene wanted to measure me quickly to show me that I am losing weight just not on the scale) I texted her that I didn't understand this whole weight loss process, how I am eating so clean and working out so hard and drinking my water and yet it isn't reflecting on the scale, not only that but I gained a pound back on Friday. I was so sad. However when you are building muscle you are losing inches and it will look different on the scale because muscle weighs heavier then fat.
I'm not going to lie, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and noticed my gut was smaller and thought to myself "hey hey there! now that is a good looking chick!" LOL
I know that exercise will always be apart of my life, I can't just work that hard to get to the size I want and stop and eat the crap again. I like the way exercise makes me feel. I have more energy, it's a great stress release, I feel healthier and I have way more confidence. Anyone who knows me knows that I have a low self esteem so for me to say "I look good" is leaps and bounds ahead from when I started. I can even make it up a flight of stairs without being out of breath or breaking a sweat.
Change is good, just gotta keep on keeping on and I am so happy that I know I lost a whole inch in two weeks, it is very encouraging. The pounds will come off. I can't be this # forever if I am shrinking.
Tomorrow Joelene is planning a brutal workout for us since Friday was our rest day, and today was an active rest day its time to make it hurt so good, lol.
Keep you posted!
So I get to Wal-Mart and virtually all their seats are sold out due to their spring selection coming in. So shopping took up a huge chunk of my day.
I missed my mid-morning snack as a result, came home and made lunch -- I was so hungry I felt sick to my stomach. I have to learn to be more prepared on the go and have snacks in my van. For lunch I quickly made up some tuna and had a tuna sandwich on whole wheat bread and an apple.
Shortly after that it was off to shop again. By the time I made it back home after yet another failed attempted to pick up all my car seats it was just after 4pm so I almost missed my afternoon snack, I felt so sick again as my body is used to eating now and being frazzled and upset with the unsuccessful shopping trip I grabbed the first thing I could in my pantry: Crispy Mini's. Not the worst thing in the world, and I ate about a half a bag (so roughly 200cal snack -- not great but not going to sweat about it).
Friday's are always date night in my house which consists of Sushi after kids go to bed and a movie with the hubs. I have to say for the first time in years eating sushi was not as appealing as it used to be. I used to crave this stuff so bad! It didn't taste as good as I remembered and certainly didn't sit well with me. I couldn't even finish it (which is a first) and afterwards I felt sick and I immediately got a headache. This was a change in my body I was NOT expecting. I'm not really sure how to handle this in the future. I never expected my body to reject "treating" myself. I guess it's a good thing though because I definitely won't crave it after how I felt afterwards.
My water intake for yesterday and today hasn't been that great. Need to try super hard to get more water in. My friend told me she read about an effective weight loss technique during a plateau which is to drink your body weight in ounces for a week. So that would mean I would have to consume roughly 7 L of water a day for a week. Yeah talk about IMPOSSIBLE! Even half that amount would be challenging, course I am on the heavier side so maybe some of you reading this can work it out for yourself and try it if you are finding you are at a plateau.
So I guess that brings us to today... I have been finding the aftermath of treading myself is I feel sluggish and lethargic the next day. Water consumption has been at an all time low today -- not even sure I got through one of my waters, tisk tisk.
After finally finding the third and final car seat today we came home and sort of chilled out on the couch. I got a text from my workout buddy asking if we could workout "right now" as she has a date night tonight herself. I was so not wanting to. Like really really REALLY not wanting to, but I got up and got ready and headed over to her place.
She had a workout from bodyrock on her computer -- a quick 12 minute workout which was day 2 of this 30 day challenge, each day getting progressively harder. So again the same as I've done before, 30 sec exercises with 10 sec breaks. I barely broke a sweat. I am definitely getting really strong. Something like that before would have really intimidated me, now it's a piece of cake, hence the "active rest day" it was more like a rest day today but instead of sitting on the couch the entire day we actually did some form of exercise.
On top of that we did our AB challenge too:
- 65 crunches
- 33 leg raises
- 42 second plank
Joelene measured me today -- nothing that we are keeping record of or anything but just out of curiosity since it is visible that I am losing. I lost 3/4" off my waist (in 2 weeks!) and 1 full inch off my hips (IN TWO WEEKS!) AMAZING!!
I was so discouraged on Friday morning, I weighed myself on the scale and broke down into tears (which is mainly why Joelene wanted to measure me quickly to show me that I am losing weight just not on the scale) I texted her that I didn't understand this whole weight loss process, how I am eating so clean and working out so hard and drinking my water and yet it isn't reflecting on the scale, not only that but I gained a pound back on Friday. I was so sad. However when you are building muscle you are losing inches and it will look different on the scale because muscle weighs heavier then fat.
I'm not going to lie, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and noticed my gut was smaller and thought to myself "hey hey there! now that is a good looking chick!" LOL
I know that exercise will always be apart of my life, I can't just work that hard to get to the size I want and stop and eat the crap again. I like the way exercise makes me feel. I have more energy, it's a great stress release, I feel healthier and I have way more confidence. Anyone who knows me knows that I have a low self esteem so for me to say "I look good" is leaps and bounds ahead from when I started. I can even make it up a flight of stairs without being out of breath or breaking a sweat.
Change is good, just gotta keep on keeping on and I am so happy that I know I lost a whole inch in two weeks, it is very encouraging. The pounds will come off. I can't be this # forever if I am shrinking.
Tomorrow Joelene is planning a brutal workout for us since Friday was our rest day, and today was an active rest day its time to make it hurt so good, lol.
Keep you posted!
Thursday, 16 January 2014
Small victories!
Today I am celebrating the small things that show big change.
As I was walking down my stairs today I caught a glimpse of my cardboard recycling and in there is an old Tim Horton's dozen donuts box, it has pictures of donuts on the outside of the box.
I wasn't even phased by it!! I wasn't tempted in the slightest, nor did it set off any cravings at all. Usually when I even SEE something junk food like on a movie, or pictures or whatever I go wild and can't get it out of my head until I satisfy that craving.
My second victory today was when I was making my kids lunch and they wanted some burritos. As I was cooking them, they smelled so good but I didn't indulge in that. I made myself a caesar salad instead with a big bowl of grapes and my water. This was hard but it was a victory.
My third victory I noticed today was when I was tidying up my kitchen I noticed someone left a "lindt" chocolate on the counter above where my dishwasher is, that part of the counter gets quite hot and as a result the chocolate had melted. I wasn't even tempted in the slightest to eat it. I picked it up and threw it away. Lindt is my absolute favorite chocolate, and to not even crave a taste surprised me. I am shocked at how fast my body has adapted to clean eating.
I haven't had a craving for sugar in weeks or for any other bad food for that matter. I am making healthier decisions in all aspects of my life.
They say it takes 21 days to form a habit and 21 to 30 days to break a habit (which is actually controversial but still the consensus of it seems to be that it works for the majority). Currently I am on day 16 of my fresh start on clean eating and go hard exercising and I do feel that it is getting easier. I have all my "substitute" snacks at my disposal and so therefore I really have no need to go out and eat the crap. One bag of crispy mini's rice cake things is about 400 cal (give or take) if you look at the average bag of doritos (big bag to be comparable) is roughly 1350 cal. Pretty gross. Or if you take one of those 100 calorie bars versus an actual chocolate bar, you are looking at roughly 500 calories for a chocolate bar. All this to say you can still treat yourself but you don't need to eat hundreds to a thousand calories to do that!
Since I am giving my body everything it needs I guess it doesn't crave the bad stuff. I haven't had any pop since just after Christmas, I can't remember the last time I had a carb for supper,
Tonight I made the butternut squash soup again (less the red pepper flakes) and it was a major hit. My daughter (7 months) chowed down two "baby sized" portions of it. It feels so good to be eating clean and as a result I know my family is too. We have cut out processed foods by half! I try to make everything from scratch as much as I can.
Ok so I saved the best for last. It may not seem like much but since I am doing a lot of weight training in with cardio it actually is a lot. Today I weighed myself .... I am down a whole pound! which is saying a lot since muscle weighs heavier then fat and I certainly know that I am building muscle. For this reason I am actually glad I was unable to make it to my "biggest loser" weigh in today. I think that stepping on her scale (which isn't the same as mine) would have been defeating and it would have stolen that victory from me, and instead of celebrating it like I am I would have been beating myself up again and fighting against that "why do I bother if I am not even losing" mentality.
So yay! I count 4 victories. I'm so proud of the person I am becoming.
Tonight J texted me "please don't hate me after tonight's workout - its going to suck" so you can imagine where my brain was going with that text, needless to say I was nervous when I got to her house, and suck it did!
My workout tonight (we did this 4 times!):
As I was walking down my stairs today I caught a glimpse of my cardboard recycling and in there is an old Tim Horton's dozen donuts box, it has pictures of donuts on the outside of the box.
I wasn't even phased by it!! I wasn't tempted in the slightest, nor did it set off any cravings at all. Usually when I even SEE something junk food like on a movie, or pictures or whatever I go wild and can't get it out of my head until I satisfy that craving.
My second victory today was when I was making my kids lunch and they wanted some burritos. As I was cooking them, they smelled so good but I didn't indulge in that. I made myself a caesar salad instead with a big bowl of grapes and my water. This was hard but it was a victory.
My third victory I noticed today was when I was tidying up my kitchen I noticed someone left a "lindt" chocolate on the counter above where my dishwasher is, that part of the counter gets quite hot and as a result the chocolate had melted. I wasn't even tempted in the slightest to eat it. I picked it up and threw it away. Lindt is my absolute favorite chocolate, and to not even crave a taste surprised me. I am shocked at how fast my body has adapted to clean eating.
I haven't had a craving for sugar in weeks or for any other bad food for that matter. I am making healthier decisions in all aspects of my life.
They say it takes 21 days to form a habit and 21 to 30 days to break a habit (which is actually controversial but still the consensus of it seems to be that it works for the majority). Currently I am on day 16 of my fresh start on clean eating and go hard exercising and I do feel that it is getting easier. I have all my "substitute" snacks at my disposal and so therefore I really have no need to go out and eat the crap. One bag of crispy mini's rice cake things is about 400 cal (give or take) if you look at the average bag of doritos (big bag to be comparable) is roughly 1350 cal. Pretty gross. Or if you take one of those 100 calorie bars versus an actual chocolate bar, you are looking at roughly 500 calories for a chocolate bar. All this to say you can still treat yourself but you don't need to eat hundreds to a thousand calories to do that!
Since I am giving my body everything it needs I guess it doesn't crave the bad stuff. I haven't had any pop since just after Christmas, I can't remember the last time I had a carb for supper,
Tonight I made the butternut squash soup again (less the red pepper flakes) and it was a major hit. My daughter (7 months) chowed down two "baby sized" portions of it. It feels so good to be eating clean and as a result I know my family is too. We have cut out processed foods by half! I try to make everything from scratch as much as I can.
Ok so I saved the best for last. It may not seem like much but since I am doing a lot of weight training in with cardio it actually is a lot. Today I weighed myself .... I am down a whole pound! which is saying a lot since muscle weighs heavier then fat and I certainly know that I am building muscle. For this reason I am actually glad I was unable to make it to my "biggest loser" weigh in today. I think that stepping on her scale (which isn't the same as mine) would have been defeating and it would have stolen that victory from me, and instead of celebrating it like I am I would have been beating myself up again and fighting against that "why do I bother if I am not even losing" mentality.
So yay! I count 4 victories. I'm so proud of the person I am becoming.
Tonight J texted me "please don't hate me after tonight's workout - its going to suck" so you can imagine where my brain was going with that text, needless to say I was nervous when I got to her house, and suck it did!
My workout tonight (we did this 4 times!):
- 10 burpees
- 10 push ups
- 10 single leg squats (per side) <-- that's right you read that right. SINGLE leg squats! ouch.
- 10 skaters (shuffle side to side like your a professional skater super fast)
- 10 sec single leg wall sits (per side) x3
- 10 mountain climbers (per side)
- 10 reverse crunches
- 10 shoulder press cross over (per side)
- 10 lunges (per side)
- 10 running men (basically instead of a jumping jack you just stiff leg run army like)
- We had to do 50 crunches
- Then ... 50 leg raises
- Finally ... 38 second plank
For the initial workout, again it was a different kind of exhaustion (I think I have said this about other workouts). My muscles felt weak but yet I still had energy, I just couldn't stand to do another squat, or another push up, and definitely NOT another burpee. Everything was like jello -- and after doing 50 crunches, 50 leg raises (which I DID!) I had a fire in my belly and my ab muscles burned and killed like a son of a gun, they were vibrating too. I am so sore right now in my legs especially from all those single leg exercises.
Well try some of these exercises out. You may feel like you are going to die but you will thank yourself later on, especially when you start to see the results!
Don't forget to celebrate the small victories, they are what will fuel your motivation on your journey.
Wednesday, 15 January 2014
Exercise kills stress!
So I didn't blog yesterday because well it was a pretty busy and kind of crappy day. I ended up not working out. I was visiting a girlfriend and someone backed into my parked van, long story short it involved a lot of information getting and as a result I didn't get home till just after 5PM. I had planned to make fish that night but I had no time by that point so we were faced with eating out.
Now eating out doesn't always have to be greasy fries or burgers. My family had subway and I had a chicken sharwarma on a vegetable pita and loaded with vegetables and hummus and tahini sauce I think? It was one of the acceptable wraps to get when I was with "Simply For Life" nutritionists. So it was a healthy supper choice.
I was feeling too overwhelmed and I was very happy when J had texted me and told me she was not able to work out due to a hectic day on her part too. I really needed the night to gather my thoughts and deal with some other stuff on my plate at the time too.
So I woke up this morning quite exhausted, didn't sleep well even though I had less pain with my sciatic nerve it was just an overall uncomfortable sleep. I was still hurting pretty bad from the day before working out -- that workout was extreme! However I had no choice, so up I went and off to the RCMP to file an accident report and get on with my day.
As a result of taking my son to school and going to the RCMP right after I didn't get breakfast until around 9:30AM or so. My body was not happy about that. It's amazing how fast your body adjusts to an eating schedule, by that time my body would be used to breakfast and almost ready for a snack. Life stuff happens, all I could do was try harder to keep on my nutrition. I think I succeeded and I feel proud of it today despite the stressful day I had with life stuff and kids and all that encompasses being a stay at home mom.
For lunch I had cut into chunks and cooked up a chicken breast and seasoned it with various spices, and had that with the left over salad in my fridge, some vanilla greek yogurt, some strawberries and a tomato sliced up. When I looked at everything I wondered if it was too much but then I remembered my body was a bit off kilter from the morning and therefore was famished. I was able to finish it all and felt full until my afternoon snack time.
Orange Creamcicle Shake for snack! Yum!
For supper I tried out Quinoa. I've never made it before and was pretty nervous and made that with maple glazed salmon and I was very satisfied. It did taste good but the texture is definitely something I need to adjust to. Here is a picture of what it looked like, not really sure the picture does it justice:
Shortly after dinner I had to go work out, it was very intense. We did workouts with medicine balls tonight, it was a different kind of intense though -- not like the other day where you are physically exhausted from the cardio, we didn't do any cardio tonight, we didn't have to because it was incorporated in with each exercise. I will do my best to describe each exercise but it may be somewhat confusing, I will try not to be though, everything was done and repeated twenty times.
My workout tonight: (using a 6lb medicine ball)
Lunge ball twist (x20/side) - Reverse lunge; step back, twist on the side of the leg that is bent forward
Ball Throw (x20) - Hold the ball over your head and slam it to the ground hard, squat and pick it up
Overhead squat press (x20) - Squat down holding ball in front of chest, stand up & raise over head
Wood chop (x20/side) - Squatting take ball to one side & opposite arm. (L) leg, (R) arm above head
Wall sit/squat holding ball out in front of you for 45sec
Russian twist (x20/side) - Side on the floor & plant your feet or lift them, twist w/ ball side to side
PLUS we did our AB challenge. Today was 30 crunches, 30 leg raises, 35 second plank
We did this above workout 3 times. It was so so so so soooooo hard because we tried not to rest and holding a 6lb medicine ball the entire time, I was out of breath. Tomorrow we plan to go lane swimming and we will see how many laps we can do and maybe try to see who can do the most, make a game out of it. I also am planning to do the same type thing with my other friend Maggie.
The AB challenge today was brutal especially after working our abs so much in our workout. Almost every exercise we did worked our abs in one way or another.
I want to share with you guys something J texted me yesterday which I so needed to read because I weighed myself and I was only down about a pound in the week and it was instantly defeating. My brain started rolling with it and I started thinking "what am I doing wrong? I've been eating so clean I don't get it!"
How awesome is that? It is so true too. It is so easy to obsess over the scale; J shared with me that she also felt frustrated at the scale when she showed a slight gain, but she didn't let it defeat her, she didn't let it break her down and you know what else she told me? She went to put on a pair of jeans and they were looser then before! Weight loss isn't always measured by pounds. My husband commented to me that my stomach is getting flatter and I am also noticing that too, I'm curious to see what my measurements will be like at the end of the month.
I needed to work out tonight, after all the stress I've had. I honestly didn't even want to work out tonight I just wanted to sit on the couch. I can't allow myself to do that though, you just need to stay motivated. It was amazing though, it was hard when I was in the moment but now it is done and I can enjoy my night and know I ate clean today and I exercised. I did my body a huge favor and I feel great. I feel like my exercising killed the stress.
I am so happy to hear that I am motivating so many people out there. I can't wait to show you all before and after pictures, I just want to wait a bit longer until I actually have a noticeable difference.
Try some of these exercises and recipes I'm posting & you will notice a difference in yourself too. Change isn't easy but it can only start with you!
Have a great night!
Now eating out doesn't always have to be greasy fries or burgers. My family had subway and I had a chicken sharwarma on a vegetable pita and loaded with vegetables and hummus and tahini sauce I think? It was one of the acceptable wraps to get when I was with "Simply For Life" nutritionists. So it was a healthy supper choice.
I was feeling too overwhelmed and I was very happy when J had texted me and told me she was not able to work out due to a hectic day on her part too. I really needed the night to gather my thoughts and deal with some other stuff on my plate at the time too.
So I woke up this morning quite exhausted, didn't sleep well even though I had less pain with my sciatic nerve it was just an overall uncomfortable sleep. I was still hurting pretty bad from the day before working out -- that workout was extreme! However I had no choice, so up I went and off to the RCMP to file an accident report and get on with my day.
As a result of taking my son to school and going to the RCMP right after I didn't get breakfast until around 9:30AM or so. My body was not happy about that. It's amazing how fast your body adjusts to an eating schedule, by that time my body would be used to breakfast and almost ready for a snack. Life stuff happens, all I could do was try harder to keep on my nutrition. I think I succeeded and I feel proud of it today despite the stressful day I had with life stuff and kids and all that encompasses being a stay at home mom.
For lunch I had cut into chunks and cooked up a chicken breast and seasoned it with various spices, and had that with the left over salad in my fridge, some vanilla greek yogurt, some strawberries and a tomato sliced up. When I looked at everything I wondered if it was too much but then I remembered my body was a bit off kilter from the morning and therefore was famished. I was able to finish it all and felt full until my afternoon snack time.
Orange Creamcicle Shake for snack! Yum!
For supper I tried out Quinoa. I've never made it before and was pretty nervous and made that with maple glazed salmon and I was very satisfied. It did taste good but the texture is definitely something I need to adjust to. Here is a picture of what it looked like, not really sure the picture does it justice:
 |
| Quinoa: 1 tablespoon butter 2 1/2 cups chicken broth 1 cup uncooked quinoa Sliced carrots Broccoli Celery Small onion 2 tablespoons of parsley 1 tsp thyme Melt butter in pan and add quinoa, toast the quinoa for 5 minutes (stir often so it doesn't burn). Add to the mixture broth, carrots, broccoli, onion, celery, parsley and thyme and cook on medium heat stirring occasionally for about 25-30 minutes until all the liquid is absorbed in the quinoa. Maple Glazed Salmon: 1/4 cup maple syrup 2 tablespoons soy sauce 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder 1 garlic clove Add the above ingredients to a small bowl and mix, pour over salmon in a shallow baking dish and let marinade for 30 minutes. Bake salmon at 400F uncovered for 20 minutes or until salmon is cooked and flakey. |
My workout tonight: (using a 6lb medicine ball)
Lunge ball twist (x20/side) - Reverse lunge; step back, twist on the side of the leg that is bent forward
Ball Throw (x20) - Hold the ball over your head and slam it to the ground hard, squat and pick it up
Overhead squat press (x20) - Squat down holding ball in front of chest, stand up & raise over head
Wood chop (x20/side) - Squatting take ball to one side & opposite arm. (L) leg, (R) arm above head
Wall sit/squat holding ball out in front of you for 45sec
Russian twist (x20/side) - Side on the floor & plant your feet or lift them, twist w/ ball side to side
PLUS we did our AB challenge. Today was 30 crunches, 30 leg raises, 35 second plank
We did this above workout 3 times. It was so so so so soooooo hard because we tried not to rest and holding a 6lb medicine ball the entire time, I was out of breath. Tomorrow we plan to go lane swimming and we will see how many laps we can do and maybe try to see who can do the most, make a game out of it. I also am planning to do the same type thing with my other friend Maggie.
The AB challenge today was brutal especially after working our abs so much in our workout. Almost every exercise we did worked our abs in one way or another.
I want to share with you guys something J texted me yesterday which I so needed to read because I weighed myself and I was only down about a pound in the week and it was instantly defeating. My brain started rolling with it and I started thinking "what am I doing wrong? I've been eating so clean I don't get it!"
I needed to work out tonight, after all the stress I've had. I honestly didn't even want to work out tonight I just wanted to sit on the couch. I can't allow myself to do that though, you just need to stay motivated. It was amazing though, it was hard when I was in the moment but now it is done and I can enjoy my night and know I ate clean today and I exercised. I did my body a huge favor and I feel great. I feel like my exercising killed the stress.
I am so happy to hear that I am motivating so many people out there. I can't wait to show you all before and after pictures, I just want to wait a bit longer until I actually have a noticeable difference.
Try some of these exercises and recipes I'm posting & you will notice a difference in yourself too. Change isn't easy but it can only start with you!
Have a great night!
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