This isn't a Race: Lessons Learned from Les Mills Pump

Fitness is not a race.  Let me repeat that, because I so often hear people stress about not losing weight fast enough: Fitness is NOT a race.

 

Our society glorifies people who can lose 30 pounds in 30 days (or even 90 days).  That's great for that individual, but it is far from realistic.  Success stories in particular frustrate me.  I think it's amazing that these people have transformed their bodies and are living happier, healthier, and more energetic lives.  That's completely awesome.  However, the stories that are chosen by fitness companies (and while I love Beachbody, they are no exception) are the exception and not the rule when it comes to speed.  I fully believe that I can lose 77 pounds (now only 63 left after my 90 days of Pump!) using Beachbody workouts, eating clean, and drinking Shakeology.  However, I'm not going to do it in 180 days.  Heck, it might even take more than 365 days!  I've seen success stories where people lose all their excess weight (even when they have 60-70 pounds to lose) in just two rounds of a 90 day program (180 days or 6 months).  I'm hear to tell you that losing that much weight in that short of time, while clearly possible, is not realistic.

 

I'll admit that I've been discouraged many times by success stories who lost a ton of weight in 90 days.  I have to remind myself that fast weight loss like that is not realistic, that it's not the norm.  This past weekend I completed my 90 days of Les Mills Pump.  It was a fantastic program and I loved it.  I'll admit that the last three weeks were not great nutritionally, but the first 10 were awesome and the whole time I pushed really hard in my workouts.  Overall, I lost 13.8 pounds.  Let me rephrase (or I guess, re-punctuate) that: I lost 13.8 pounds!!!  That's something to celebrate!  Who cares that it wasn't the 30 pounds some success story lost.  That is 13 pounds of fat that is no longer weighing me down.  I am celebrating my success instead of stressing over what I *might* have lost if I ate perfectly the whole time.  I can't change that, so there's no point in worrying (plus, even if I did it would not have been a "success story" high number).  And, not only did I lose 13 pounds, I gained muscles!  I feel so much stronger, and my biceps are starting to show.

 

This morning I started my next program, ChaLean Extreme.  I've eaten well all day and have healthy things packed to eat during class.  While I loved Pump, mentally I was ready to do something different, and I'm sure my muscles will appreciate the change as well.  Would it be awesome to lose 30 pounds in this next 90 days?  Well, yeah, it'd be cool.  But that's not realistic.  My goal is to lose 15 pounds (just slightly more than I lost the past 90).  But beyond the weight loss goal, my more important goal make eating clean a habit again.  I want to nourish my body with healthy nutrients and build strong muscles by working hard during my strength training sessions.  And if I only lose 10 pounds instead of my goal of 15, that's ok!!  So long as I am moving my health forward, I am happy.

 

If you are just getting started on your journey to fitness, do me a favor, ok?  Don't stress about how fast or slow things are moving.  Just focus on making healthy choices and you'll be just fine.  Ease in slowly.  Take it easy on your body.  If you can only do 10 minutes of activity at a time, that's ok!  Do what you can, and always remember that nutrition accounts for 80% of your results.  If you're not ready to workout, start eating healthy.  If you're not sure what that should look like, pick up a copy of Tosca Reno's Eat Clean Diet and that will teach you what eating clean looks like.  And if you fall back into old habits (like I did the last few weeks), don't worry!  Just dust yourself off and keep moving forward.  I'm here for you if you need a gentle push.

 

Stay healthy!

Learning to Take My Own Advice

Last night I had a wonderful date night with my boyfriend.  We met up for dinner, where we raced to see who could finish the word find first (he won), then we played tick-tack-toe (I cheated and he still won), and just overall were immature and ridiculous and it was so much fun.  After dinner we stopped at Walmart to buy the Avengers and spent the rest of our evening snuggled up watching a movie.  We even had a "no phones" rule so it was a really very nice night.  So much so that we've decided to make it a monthly occurrence.  Yay for date night!

After the movie was over, I intended to write a post before I went to bed (the movie finished up around 11:30, which is way past my normal bedtime anyway).  The post was to be titled "losing focus" and I was going to share my struggles the past two weeks with staying focused on my health and fitness.  Every day the past two weeks I woke up thinking "ok, today I'm going to eat clean" and every night going to bed knowing that I was far from that goal.  I even started having trouble waking up in the morning and missed a couple days of workouts (that I'll be able to make up this weekend and next to finish off the Pump/TF hybrid by next Saturday).  It had been a bad couple of weeks and I felt as though I had lost my health and fitness "mojo."

Instead of writing that post (and let's be honest, at that time of night it probably would have been full of typos anyway) I read through some of my past posts, and stopped on my post reminding people that giving up is not the answer.  As I read the post, I thought to myself "she's right!"and that I corrected myself..."I was right!"  I can't give up.  I may have had two unhealthy weeks (including drinking soda, eating candy, and all sorts of unhealthy things) but before that I had ten weeks of super healthy habits that made such a huge difference in my health.  I can't go back to all those unhealthy habits.  I'll just regain all 16 pounds (I probably already gained back a couple; I haven't checked) and then some!  I was so close to getting under 200 pounds, which would have been a huge victory for my health.

So, I'm taking my own advice.  I am NOT giving up!

Luckily, even though I missed a few workouts, I'll be able to catch up this weekend and finish off my final week of the Pump/TF hybrid strong.  I will likely not be under 200 when I finish the program like I had hoped, but I do believe that I'll be able to lose anything that I gained the past two weeks and weigh-in the same or slightly lower than I did before these two weeks of silliness.  If I can do that, it will be victory enough for me.  And even if I am up a little from that last weigh-in, if I'm back to my healthy habits, who cares?  Once those habits are back, I know the weight will start melting off again and I'll be under 200 before Thanksgiving for sure!

Well, it's time for me to change and get my workout done.  I have plenty of homework to do today, too, so I really need to get moving.  Have a wonderful weekend everyone!  I'll be sure to report back tomorrow to let you know that I was able to get my "eat clean mojo" back!

Stay healthy!

Not Every Week is Perfect

I'll admit it.  I'm human.  And as much as I would like for my nutritional intake to be 100% clean 100% of the time, I know that isn't reasonable.  I do strive to make good food choices 90% of the time, limiting bad choices to only once or twice a week, occasionally I fall short of my own expectations.  I'm not really sure what has made this week different than the past 10, but I have not eaten very clean this week.

 

Sunday was mostly clean, with just some boxed rice (high in sodium) and a handful of pretzel M&Ms while visiting my grandparents.  In and of itself, really not going to impact my week much.  But then Monday came around and while I packed enough meals for the day, I had left my bf in charge of the Crockpot on Sunday and I ended up with severely overcooked chicken for lunch on Monday.  So I got a calzone.  Now, that really was not a healthy choice, but I was able to share some happy news with my friend who owns the place (a mutual friend got engaged the day before!) so at least it was semi-productive (even if not for my health).  Tuesday was great up until about 6 PM when I came down with a cold and made myself some Lipton soup (again super high in sodium) and had a few pieces of candy (chew sprees that I snagged from my bf's stash).  And finally, yesterday, we had a meeting with a few students and our office supplied bagels and muffins.  I splurged on a plain bagel with cream cheese, and if that had been it, it would have still been a pretty good day.  However, I later had a coffee cake muffin (or whatever it was called) and ordered a chicken wing sub for dinner.  What was I thinking?!

 

In reality, if any one of those days had been the *only* day I splurged, it really would not have been a big deal.  The problem arises when those little (or not so little) "treats" start to become a daily occurrence.  I will be lucky if I lose anything this week.  In fact, I'll be happy if I don't gain!  My weigh-in this week is on Saturday (usually Sunday) because I have an engagement party to attend Saturday night and I don't want a "false high" on Sunday.  So, what am I going to do between now and then to mitigate some of the indulgences this week?  Well, I am not going to "punish" myself by eating very little or over exercising.  That is never a good thing.  What I am going to do is jump right back on track by eating clean today and tomorrow and drinking plenty of water.  I will do my workouts as scheduled, and enjoy them because they make me feel good.  I did miss my workout yesterday because of my cold (I took a rest day because I felt awful when I woke up) so I may make up that workout on Saturday morning, or I may not.  It was a cardio workout so I'm not terribly concerned if I miss one day of cardio in 3 months.

 

My plan now is just to get right back on track.  There's no sense in feeling guilty or upset because I have a few not-so-great days.  Truthfully, I feel that guilt is a useless emotion when it comes to getting healthy.  You never truly fail until you give up, and I am FAR from giving up.  As I've said many times, this is a lifestyle, not some quick fix.  I want to be healthy for the rest of my days.  If you had a bad week this week, too, don't stress!  Just get back on track today.  This minute in fact.  Go get a drink of water and have a healthy meal next time you eat (which should be 2-3 hours after the last time you ate...but you knew that already, right?).  You can do it!

 

Stay healthy.

Staying Fit When You're Crazy Busy

One of my college friends sent me a Facebook message asking me to do a post on staying fit when you are super busy (like working 14+ hours of the day busy).  So, Keri, this post is for you!

As a grad student with two part-time jobs (one is a graduate assistantship and the other is a for-credit internship) I am very busy.  Some days I literally get up as 6:00, workout and shower, head to work, and then don't get home until 10 when I promptly fall face first into my bed.  Days when I'm actually home at a reasonable hour, I have to read for class, write papers, cook dinner, and attempt to keep the apartment at least semi-clean.  With all that, where's the time to stay fit and healthy?!

It really comes down to one thing: preparation.

First, let's look at the workout part of the equation.  It is very important to not only schedule ahead of time what workouts you are going to do, but when you're going to do them.  Because I'm doing Beachbody workouts, they come with a 60-day or 90-day schedule pre-set for you, so the "what workout to do each day" piece is already taken care of.  If you're doing your own set of workouts, maybe going to the gym to use the treadmill or weights, then you'll need to come up with your own calendar of workouts.  This may seem like more work up front, but it will save you time in the end.

Now, as far as when you will workout, this depends on your schedule but it is universally important to schedule them into your day.  If you try to "find time" you're unlikely to workout.  You have to carve out that time in advance to really commit to working out consistently.  For me, I find it easiest to workout first thing in the morning.  That way, nothing else gets in the way.  For other people, they find it easiest to workout when they get home.  You need to decide what works best for you, and then put it in your calendar like anything else that needs to get done.

One of the reasons I love Beachbody workouts so much is that I can save time by working out in my living room, rather than needing to drive to the gym.  I don't have time to waste 20-40 minutes round trip heading to the gym to workout.  And why would I want to when I can get just as good of a workout (or better) in my living room?  Plus, I have complete privacy so I don't have to worry about looking ridiculous while I workout (and I'm sure I do.  Look ridiculous that is).

If you're someone with only about 10 minutes a day to workout, there are a couple options for you, too.  One, you could get a program like Beachbody's 10-minute trainer, which has well rounded workouts that take literally 10 minutes to complete.  Or, if you find you do a lot of walking during the day (city folk, I'm talking to you!) use those 10 minutes to focus on weight training.  You can do six days a week, 10 minutes at a time, and strengthen your whole body by doing one or two muscle groups each day.

Now, the other part of the equation is nutrition, and preparation is a huge help here, too.  Every Sunday I create a meal plan for the entire week, including all six meals for each day.  A lot of it is repetitive (I eat the same breakfast and snacks each day) but it makes packing food for the day super easy.  The night before, I gather all the meals I will need for the next day and put them in a pile in my fridge (or on the counter if it doesn't need to be cold).  In my meal plan, I star the meals I will need to take with me based on how many hours I will be out of the house.  Some days I bring five meals with me, most days it's only three.  This may sound like it takes a lot of time but it really saves you time and your health.  This way you don't have to run to a take-out place to get food and it's way cheaper, too.

In addition to planning your meals in advance, having a super quick and healthy breakfast is very important.  My time in the mornings is very limited, so I like to blend up a high quality protein shake after my workout.  Shakeology is a great option for breakfast, although I prefer to have it for dessert every night instead.  By drinking Shakeology, you get maximum nutrition in the shortest time possible.  My morning protein shake is fast and convenient, with very little clean up, so it allows me to get out the door quickly.  Another time saving tip that I have yet to try (although I do intend to test it out this Tuesday) is using a crock pot or slow cooker.  You can throw all your ingredients in the pot in the morning and by the time you get home dinner is ready.  You could also throw everything in a plastic bag (or a number of bags if you plan to do a few different meals that week) on Sunday and then just dump it into the crock pot and turn it on.  How much easier can it get?  I'll be sure to give an update on how well that works after I try it out this week.

And that's about it.  Once you decide that your health and fitness is worth the extra effort to do a little planning, these day-to-day tips make staying on track easy.

Stay healthy!

Giving Up is NOT the Answer

I use the website myfitnesspal to track my exercise and participate in a community of people who are all working to get fit, whether that means losing weight, gaining muscle, or some combination thereof.  It's a great website and I highly recommend it to help you stay on track (you can also track calories really easily if that's something you want to do).  Feel free to friend me if you want to join the site.

The website includes a number of different message boards where people can post questions about anything.  Whether they're looking for meal ideas, want answers to why they're not losing weight, searching for buddies to keep them motivated, etc., there's a message board for every topic.  I've noticed over the past few weeks, that at least once a day someone posts a message about wanting to "quit" or "give up" on their fitness or healthy eating plan, often after only a week or two on the plan.

Since it's such a common concern on the message boards, I'm guessing some of you reading might feel the same way.  Perhaps you changed your eating habits and lost weight the first week but the second week you didn't lose anything.  Maybe you "only" lost a pound this week and feel like throwing in the towel.  If that's you, or you want to give up for another reason, I have a message for you:

Giving up is not the answer!!!

I know this journey can be slow and arduous.  I know that it can be incredibly frustrating and I know it isn't fair that some of us have to try harder than others to lose weight.  I get it; I really do.  I've been overweight my entire life with the exception of about one year in high school.  But what good is giving up?  I gave up for a couple months last semester and gained 25 pounds!  How is that helpful?!

You did not get where you are today overnight.  It probably took months or years to get where you are now.  How can you expect to get to your goals in a week or even a month?  I've been working hard for over two months and I'm still in the obese category, I haven't gone down a pant size (though I think I'm getting close), and I certainly don't have a six pack.  I'm still a very long way from my ultimate goals, but that's ok!  My heart and lungs are healthier from all the cardio.  My muscles are stronger, which makes daily movement easier.  I've lost 15 pounds of unnecessary body fat which makes my joints happier, and my insides thank me for the highly improved nutrition I've been eating.  It doesn't matter what the scale says: what I'm doing is making me a healthier person.

And what do you get if you give up?  You're way of life isn't going to just remain the same.  You'll probably gain more weight, incur more weight related health issues, and your quality of life will likely deteriorate.  Maybe not today, but a year or two down the road it will.  Don't let one bad meal, a disappointing weigh-in, or one missed workout cause you to throw in the towel.  You are worth every effort you make to get healthier.  Let me repeat that: you are worth the effort!

I'm not saying you have to stick with a workout program that you don't enjoy or an eating style that isn't working for you.  What I am saying is that you should never give up on trying to get healthier.  By all means change the type of workout program you're doing, but don't give up on working out.  Feel free to try a different way of healthy eating, but don't go back to eating junk.  No program is right for everyone, but doing something is always better than giving up.

If you feel like giving up, send me a message, friend me on Facebook, join my fitness support group, reach out to someone and get back on track.  You can do it.  It may not be as fast as you'd like, but you will get there, and I will be here to help you.  All you have to do is ask.

Stay healthy!  (Because giving up is not the answer.)

"Oh, hey, I know you."

Today starts the 10th week of my new lifestyle.  I'm down 15.4 pounds and feeling good.  I've also reached a milestone that speaks to the title of this entire blog.  I'm starting to recognize myself in the mirror.  My face is less puffy and finally looks more like me!  Being able to recognize myself in a mirror is worth so much more than any number on the scale.  It's very exciting.  Add that to the fact that I'm in the last week or two of my Invisalign treatment (not counting retainers of course), and I really like what I see in the mirror.  Additionally, I am very proud of myself for making significant change to my eating habits.  This new lifestyle is not some yo-yo diet where I'm going up and down every couple of weeks.  I've lost weight consistently over the past nine weeks and I know my body thanks me for that.

My cardio workouts have been really great the last week or so and push ups are starting to get much easier, too.  My knees are feeling better so I can do more high impact options in my cardio, and I've been able to increase my weights on lunges.  I'm loving the longer Pump workouts this month because I get plenty of focused arm work which is shaping them up nicely.  This gal is on her way to some serious guns!  Love it!

My next workout program, after I finish Pump, will be ChaLean Extreme (CE) with Turbo Fire for cardio.  Since the CE workouts are much shorter than the full hour Pump workouts, I've been thinking about adding some additional targeted training after the CE workouts.  Once a week I'll add some additional booty work (from Brazil Butt Lift) and once or twice a week I'll add core work.  Each Pump workout includes a core track but CE doesn't have a targeted core section built into the workout.  I still have four weeks before I move on to the new program, so I may change my mind by then, but for now that sounds like a good idea to me.

In January I was planning to do Insanity, but I may push that back a couple months to do the new (doesn't come out til December) Les Mills Combat 60-day program.  From what I can tell so far, it's similar in intensity to Insanity, maybe slightly less, but is a mixed martial arts program rather than sports specific.  Since I love Turbo Fire, which combines kickboxing with dance, I thought I'd like Combat more than Insanity.  Plus, Combat has the same trainers from Pump, who I think are great.  I still want to do Insanity, and Asylum, but I think I'll push those back and do them when I'm closer to my goal.

Here's a quick trailer for Combat.  It looks SO MUCH FUN!

Stay healthy!

60-Day Progress

Today is the first day of the final month of my Pump/Turbo Fire hybrid, which means it was weigh-in and picture day.  Drumroll please!............................

In 60 days I have lost:

14 pounds
4.5 inches from my waist
2.5 inches from my hips

Woohoo!!

The past four weeks alone I lost 6.6 pounds and 1.5 inches from both my waist and hips.  While I know the weight loss could have been a bit better if I hadn't eaten out those few times, I'm not going to dwell on that.  I'm very happy that I've been consistent enough to lose weight eight weeks in a row, something I haven't been able to do in years.

Here are the 60-day progress pics. I don't think these pictures necessarily show the extent of the changes, but I'm super happy with the progress.  I think I was leaning back a bit in the side shots which made my tummy stick out more than normal.  Either way, I can definitely see changes (especially in my face) and I'm looking forward to day 90!

The changes may be slow, but I remind myself that I took the past five or six years to get to my heaviest, it won't magically fall off in a few months.  That said, 14 pounds in two months is really still in the higher range of a healthy rate of weight loss so I'm very happy.  Furthermore, the healthy lifestyle I've created for myself makes it feel easy.  I just follow my daily routine and the fat melts off.  That's important because once I reach my goal weight/size/fitness level, I can continue all those healthy habits and avoid gaining back the weight.  What I'm doing now isn't a "quick fix," it's the beginning of a life long fitness journey!

Coming up in Month 3

I'm heading into the final month of the Pump/Turbo Fire hybrid, which also brings along some changes in fitness routine.  The Pump workouts have left the 30-45 minute range behind and now each workout I do this month is 55-60 minutes long.  The Turbo Fire side of the equation includes more HIIT workouts and longer 45-60 minutes workouts.  This final month is also five weeks long instead of four so my goal is to lose another 5-10 pounds (although I'm hoping for closer to that 10 range).  Nutritionally, I'm keeping things clean with just one or two planned unclean treats (such as a trip to a HS friend's restaurant for lunch).

Stay tuned for more updates!  I'll try to blog more than just during the weekend if I can.  If you do want daily updates, you can join my private Facebook group by sending me a message and letting me know you want to be in the group.  You can also join the group if you want help getting on track with your own health and fitness.  

Stay healthy!

Finding Balance

Grad school is back in full-swing and, while certainly no where near as bad as last year, the stress has returned.  That being said, I am very happy to report that I have kept up with all my workouts!  I've done a good job making myself go to bed at 10 each night and getting up early to get my cardio or weights done before work/class.  I feel confident that I will be able to complete my Pump/TF hybrid without missing a single workout (only five weeks left!) and then move into my next 90 day program.  And it feels good to start my day on a healthy note.  I don't drink coffee so it wakes me up.

While workouts have been going well, my nutrition has slipped just a bit.  Most of my meals have been spot on and clean, but a few have been not so great.  In the past two weeks, I made an unplanned trip to Friendly's (which ended up in a really unhealthy meal), I ate way too much macaroni salad visiting family, and this Thursday the lentil dish I attempted turned out pretty gross, which led to me ordering pizza (I got a sub from the pizza shop which was less unhealthy than the calzone I wanted but still wasn't clean).  I've also noticed myself craving junk a bit more than I had been.  Part of me wonders if the cravings are because of the few instances of junk giving me a "taste" for it again.  Regardless, I think it's time to review my food choices and make sure I'm really nourishing my body properly.  Furthermore, most of the times I ate unhealthy foods were times I was unprepared or a meal I cooked didn't come out well.   That just reinforces the importance of planning ahead and having back-up food available when I accidentally make something gross for dinner.  

I think my life is just slightly out of balance right now, which is contributing to some of the cravings.  I used to be a big "stress eater," especially when doing homework or writing papers, and I think that is part of what was going on last night.  My computer was acting up, which made me super stressed, and when I stress out, I get this weird knotty/empty feeling in my stomach.  When that happened, I immediately craved junk.  Luckily, I texted my mom and she reminded me to just stay focused and remember my goals.  I just had my normal nightly Shakeology and avoided everything else.  I really need a better way to deal with stress.  Next time I think I'm going to crank some tunes and see if that helps.  And remember to breathe!  I've noticed that when I'm stressed (and when I drive, strangely enough) I hold my breath or breathe really shallowly.  Deep breaths, Sam, deep breaths!

I also feel like I'm letting school work take priority over family, which is not the balance I want.  Family, including spending time with my boyfriend, is my number one priority and I need to remember that.  I went to my brother's soccer game on Wednesday (he plays Division III college soccer), but I stressed like crazy making the decision to go because I was worried about missing an entire night of school work (to get to his game was a little over an hour drive).  I'm glad I went (even though the coach never put him in) but I shouldn't have felt so stressed about it, knowing that making time for my family is my top priority.  Same thing happened the other night when my boyfriend wanted to hang out but I decided to focus on my homework instead.  And there was really no reason for that since it's now only Saturday afternoon and all my work is done.  I could have easily spent an hour just hanging out and still gotten all my work done in plenty of time for class.

I need to remember that my priorities (in order) are as follows:

1. Family
2. Health
3. School

School should not be trumping the other two!  I take my education very seriously, but it should not compromise my health or my relationships with my family members.  This is especially true when I have plenty of time to get my work done but I stress out about not getting it done "as fast" as I had planned to.  That's just silly and causes unnecessary stress.  I think putting the proper amount of emphasis on each of my priorities will bring my life into better balance and my stress will decrease.

So, with that in mind, I'm off to spend quality time with my guy and have a healthy, stress-free day!  Stay tuned tomorrow for my 60 day weigh-in and progress report, complete with photos!

Stay healthy!

You Can Always Get Better

I've been eating clean for seven weeks now and so far it's going great!  Next week I'll be doing my 60-day check-in (weight, pictures, measurements, etc.) and I'm confident it will show good progress.  *As a reminder, after the first 30 days I had lost about 7 pounds*

Now that eating healthy has become a habit, I'm looking for ways to fine tune my daily meals to make them even more nutritious.  I've been reading a book about vegan nutrition, Becoming Vegan by Brenda Davis (recommended to me by a friend who's a long-time vegan) and it's very interesting.  I'm only up to chapter three (grad school readings have taken precedent) but so far I'm intrigued.  According to what I've read so far, plant nutrition is just as good, or better, than meat-based diets.  I'm certainly not ready to jump into a vegan lifestyle, I think there are some basic changes I can make to move toward a healthier diet.

On the subject of meat, I decided this past Sunday to eliminate red meat and highly processed meats from my diet.  The amount of energy that goes into raising cattle and then the amount of waste they produce is rather gross, and there have been plenty of studies that show the dangers of eating too much red meat.  So, no more for me!  I will continue to eat chicken and lean turkey for now (I also eat pork occasionally but I'm not really a big fan).

As far as dairy is concerned, I already don't drink milk and almost never eat cereal, so I will continue to keep milk out of my diet.  I rarely eat cheese so I will continue to limit my cheese consumption until it's gone, too.  The only dairy I'm currently eating daily is Greek yogurt.  Taste-wise I'd be happy to give it up, but I'm not sure what I'd replace it with.  I have yogurt and grapenuts everyday for breakfast (usually at work) so I'll need to find a suitable alternative that is super easy to pack and eat at work before I drop that as well.  If you have any ideas, leave me a comment!

Finally, I will be trying out some vegan recipes once or twice a week.  As it is, I only really eat meat in two of my daily meals, so it should be too bad to swap one out occasionally.  I'm looking forward to trying my friend's chili recipe and I'm contemplating swapping meat for beans in tacos!

Stay healthy!

Why You Need a Fitness Partner

I had a really hard time getting up this morning.  So hard, in fact, that I got up 80 minutes later than my first alarm.  Yikes!  That meant no AM workout for me.

By the time I got home, made dinner, and bought groceries, I was tired and not at all interested in working out.  I'm fairly sure my boyfriend was highly annoyed by all my whining about not wanting to workout.  (Sorry, hun!)  This exact scenario is why I workout in the morning 95% of the time.  I just know that after a day of work and school that I have zero motivation to workout.  Plus, a morning workout replaces the need for a morning pick-me-up.  And since I don't drink coffee, it's a great way to wake up before I head to work.

So, there I was, moments away from deciding to skip my workout, when I decided to text my fitness friend (aka workout buddy, accountability partner, etc.) to see what she thought about me skipping my workout and moving it to my next rest day instead.  Normally, that would be fine, but since I already missed Monday because of my trip, deep down I knew I should workout.  Her advice was to replace my scheduled workout (Fire 45) with a shorter, more intense workout.  A HIIT workout (high intensity interval training).  As soon as she said that I thought: "Duh! Of course!  That'll be perfect!"  I completed Low HIIT 20 with some extra stretching for my legs, because oh my was that intense on the quads!  Ouch!  Her advice and support has helped me many times in the past, whether it pushed me to workout or helped me pick healthier options at a restaurant.

I am so glad I worked out tonight instead of skipping it.  Sometimes it's hard to remember how good it feels at the end of a workout, how proud you feel when you give your fitness priority.  That's when it's great to have someone there to push you forward when you need it.  You can push them when they are craving junk food and they can push you when you're motivation is low.  So, whether you are just starting your fitness journey or are already super fit, I highly recommend you find a fitness buddy to keep you on track.  They don't need to be someone who lives near you.  My fitness partner and I met through Facebook through our mutual love of all things Turbo (Turbo Jam, Turbo Kick, and Turbo Fire).  We are part of a TurboFire fitness group on Facebook and we text occasionally when we need additional support.  My only suggestion for you when choosing your partner, is that it needs to be someone who will help you stay committed to your goals.  If you have a friend that you tend to eat unhealthy with or that you go drinking with, they probably won't be your best bet for a fitness buddy.  Choose wisely and you will be rewarded by those extra workouts you do because he or she pushed you to get it done!

Stay healthy!

Getting Back on Track

This weekend I made an unexpected trip to Albany to visit my bff (Sunday-Monday).  Typically, when the two of us get together, it is a junk food fest.  This time however, we really did pretty well.  Overall, however, the weekend wasn't as "clean" as I would have liked.

Sunday was actually pretty good.  I was able to workout before I left (Pump & Burn) and ate well all day with the exception of about 2 servings of Doritos.  I skipped the ice cream, cup cakes, s'mores, and all the other chips/popcorn that were there (she was hosting a movie night so there were lots of snacks). The big bummer of the day nutritionally was that I missed my Shakeology.

Monday I missed my workout (Fire 60) but that's a super easy fix since I can just count Monday as a rest day and do that workout on Saturday.  I also missed Shakeology again which was a bummer.  The rest of the day was pretty good.  We attempted to make Indian food.  It tasted good but didn't taste very Indian, so we ordered actual Indian food for dinner but I watched my portions and I have leftovers for lunch today (which is good since I didn't get to cook this weekend so don't have any leftovers of anything else).  The worst part of yesterday from a nutritional standpoint was the stop over at Friendly's on the way home.  My bf and his friends were meeting there anyway and since I had to drive by that exit on my way home, I decided to stop in and hang out (otherwise I would have gotten home to an empty apartment anyway).

Now, if I had just ordered the chicken noodle soup, it would have been a fine trip.  Unfortunately, I didn't think to do that and instead order the buffalo chicken wrap (swapping fries for applesauce).  For those that don't know, that wrap is about as unhealthy as you can get at that restaurant.  Yuck.  I only ate half but I still felt pretty gross last night and this morning.  Note to self: next time I end up at a place like that unexpected...get some chicken noodle soup!

Overall, it was a super fun trip and I'm really glad I went.  I am happy to be back to my normal eating schedule though.  I got right back on track this morning with Pump Revolution (which was completely insane and super hard but I loved it) and had my Isalean Pro with greens as my post-workout meal, as usual.  I'm looking forward to a great week of clean eating and awesome workouts!

Stay healthy!

I'm Just as "Real" as You

Excuse me for a moment while I step up on my soapbox.

*clears throat*

Can we please stop with the never ending comments about what constitutes a "real" woman?  It's sexist and demeaning to women everywhere.

I am Facebook friends with a number of highly fit and healthy women, many of whom I consider inspirational and role models of healthy living.  These women are very strong and have incredibly toned/fit bodies.  However, I am so tired of seeing some of the comments people make on their pictures.  Such comments that assert that these individuals are the epitome of "real women."  I know these commenters are trying to be nice and supportive of women with muscled physiques, but I think their choice of words is misguided.  Body size or types does not make one woman more "real" than another.  Women come in all shapes and sizes (and races, ethnicities, sexual orientations, etc.) and being overweight or being a bikini model does not make one more of a woman than the other.

A variation to these comments that is perhaps more common is: "real women have curves."  Can we stop trying to externally define what makes a woman a woman?   I'm not a woman because I have boobs and wide hips, and I'm not less of a woman because I'm overweight.  Choosing to lift weights does not make me more or less of a woman than my friend who loves the elliptical and looks at the weight room with disdain.   We can argue the health merits of different exercise regimens and body compositions, but that doesn't change our womanhood, our essential female-ness, our gender expression.

So, people of Facebook, I ask you to stop defining what a "real" woman looks like, how she should act, and inadvertently tell all women who fall outside that look that they aren't good enough.  I propose that a better expression to use when you find a person's physique inspiring, that you describe that physique as what it is: a great example of someone committed to living a healthy and fit life.  She is not the embodiment of the perfect or most "real" woman.  She is but one of countless expressions of what it means to be a woman, no more or less valid than any other.

/end soapbox/

Stay healthy friends!


PS

I wouldn't be surprised if the same thing happens to men, and my same thoughts apply to that phenomenon.  I just haven't seen it in my Facebook or broader social circle, and this rant is focused on my lived experience.

Yeah...About That...

Grad school is back in full swing and the first few days have been exhausting.  Monday and Tuesday were both roughly 12-hour days, and today I finally had a chance to start doing my reading and catch up on life.  While the next few months will be considerably more busy than the last few weeks, so far it seems like that will be exponentially easier than last year.  Today I was able to finish reading for one of my classes in just 2.5 hours.   That is unheard of in my program.  I'm looking forward to a good final year of graduate school.

With the addition of classes and an internship this week, I've felt exhausted by the end of the day (12-13 hour work days will do that to you!).  This morning, I seriously considered sleeping in and doing my workout after I got home from work.  However, I got up anyway, and I am so glad I did.  I felt amazing after my workout and it was nice to come home and not have to worry about finding time to workout.  I really recommend to everyone that they workout before they start their day, if possible.  It feels so good to start my day off on a healthy note, and by the time I get to work, I'm completely awake and ready to tackle my day.  Try it for a week and let me know how it goes.

I had hoped, before school started, to be able to continue my daily blog posts.  Unfortunately, with my busy schedule, that's not likely going to happen (hence the title of today's post).  I have to put my priorities on my personal health/fitness goals and my education (while making time for my family and boyfriend, of course).  I haven't missed a workout since school started and only one meal was unplanned and not up to my clean standards (my office went out to lunch on Monday).  I did make the best of the lunch out, swapping fries out for fresh fruit.  The chicken wrap I had wasn't ideal, but it wasn't terrible either.  And, more importantly, my next meal was back to my normally scheduled clean meals, helping me stay on track.  I'm determined to maintain my healthy lifestyle while I continue my education.  I will do my best to keep you up to date with how my fitness journey progresses.  Next week I move up to even longer/harder Pump workouts, so I'll be sure to share how that goes!

Stay healthy!

You Are Stronger Than You Think

It's truly amazing how much progress the human body can make in such a short amount of time.  I think back to last Sunday when I first tried Pump & Shred and I was dying.  I couldn't get through half the push-ups (at only about half depth, too), and even with no weight on my bar, I wasn't able to finish all the lunges either.  Well, today was a completely different story.  I increased my weights on two tracks: lunges (now 5 pounds/side), and Legs & Back (up to 15 pounds/side).  On top of that, I finished every single push-up with a much deeper range.  I'm seriously impressed that my strength improved that quickly.  I also have to admit that I was shocked that it was possible to sweat that much lifting weights. Holy cow!  If you had seen me you would have thought I'd just run a 5K.  It was pretty awesome.

Now that I've experienced first hand what can happen in just a week, I urge each and every one of you to really push yourselves.  You are capable of so much more that you imagine.  For myself, I predict that I'll be able to do toe push-ups by the end of this program.  Before today, I thought toe push-ups probably wouldn't happen until I got to Insanity.  Now, I know I'll be able to do them by the end of Pump if I really push myself.  The same goes for you.  Whatever fitness journey you're on, push yourself harder than you think you can.  Try to do a little more each time.  Run a little farther or faster, lift a little heavier, dance a little longer.  You can do it!  And if you don't want to do it alone, leave me a comment or friend me on Facebook and we can do it together!  I'm starting a private Facebook group for people who want to workout "together," and you're welcome to be part of it.  Just send me a message and we can get fit together.  It doesn't matter what workout program you're doing.  It doesn't matter if you are brand new or have been working out for years.  Push yourself and you will exceed your own expectations.

Stay healthy!

Don't Let an "Off" Day Get You Down

Well, I'm back from an overnight stay in Albany to go to my boyfriend's grandfather's retirement party.  The party went well and it was very nice to spend some time away and visit with his family.  Unfortunately, I did not eat very well while I was there.  In the past, a day of poor eating would spill over into the evening (I likely would have bought candy or cookies to go with the movie we bought on the way home) and, often, this would have meant poor nutritional choices for the next few days or even a week.  This time, however, is different.

Why is this time different?  Because I made a lifestyle change.  None of this is a quick fix and a poor meal or couple of meals won't make me give up.  When I got home from Albany (a little after 8 PM), my knee felt pretty good so I decided to do Fire 45, the workout I missed on Friday.  I even followed up my workout with Shakeology to get my nutrition back on track.  I had an amazing workout (my energy was great and the choreography was very fun), and I'm mentally back on track with my healthy lifestyle.  I printed out my meal plan for next week, and I'm ready to keep moving forward.  I am incredibly proud of myself for getting back on track the same day I "slipped."  I'm also glad that I stayed away from the diet soda while I was there (thanks in part to my boyfriend who reminded me that diet soda really isn't good for me) even while I ate poorly.

I am very much looking forward to tomorrow's workout.  I'm also going to deep clean the apartment since classes start Monday and free time to do extra cleaning will be non-existent until about Thanksgiving.  You probably think I'm exaggerating but, if this year is anything like last year, I'm not!

Stay healthy!

When It’s Okay to Skip Your Workout

This morning I was supposed to do Fire 45; however, when I woke up this morning, I had one of those “oh, heck no!  I am NOT getting out of bed right now,” moments.  I hit snooze, and as I laid there in bed, I contemplated the pros and cons of taking a rest day instead of doing my workout.  Normally, if I were to skip a workout, I would switch around my rest day and make up the workout on Saturday.  Unfortunately, I’ll be out of town tomorrow and won’t be able to do my cardio then.  But then I realized that perhaps this “I want to sleep in forever” feeling was my body telling me that I need a break.

You may remember from an earlier post that my knee has been bothering me the last week or two.  In response, I decreased the amount of jumping involved in my cardio routines and I’ve been very conscious of my form.  Unfortunately, my knee isn’t feeling any better.  It doesn’t hurt, exactly; it’s more like it feels swollen or inflamed a tad and it doesn’t feel like it tracks properly when I bend it.  There’s something that kind of clicks into place when I bend it.  Not good.

So, I decided to take today as an extra rest day, rather than just moving my workout.  That way, I get two days off in a row to let my knee rest.  I will also be stretching all the muscles around my knee (everything from my hips to my calves) and I may try icing it as well.  I will also add foam rolling to loosen up the muscles in my quads, calves, and behind my knees (something I learned from the Tai Cheng program).  My hope is that between the extra rest and the stretching/rolling, I’ll be back to normal soon.

I will also say that I would rather miss a cardio day than a strength training day.  While cardio burns more calories during the workout, strength training builds muscle, which increases your metabolism so you burn more calories overall.  Additionally, I find the improvement in my strength very important and the toned muscles will look great as I continue to lose weight.  So, overall, I am happy with my decision to take today as an extra rest day, given the need for my knee to recover and that I only missed a cardio session.

Stay healthy!  

When Your Favorite Take-Out Tastes Gross

Tonight I ran into an unfortunately, although semi-common, problem.  I ran out of leftovers earlier than I had planned.  So, I decided to order Chinese food for dinner.  I hadn't ordered any take-out in about five weeks and figured, since what I order isn't fried, it'd be ok to have for dinner tonight so long as I kept my portions in check.

Well, wasn't I surprised to find that the food I used to crave and order at least once a week no longer tasted good to me!  I didn't even finish 1/3 of what I ordered and I threw out the leftovers instead of saving them for lunch tomorrow (I know, Mom, I wasted food, but really, it wasn't "real" food anyway).  And not only did I not enjoy the taste, I immediately felt kind of gross.  I guess I won't be ordering Chinese food again any time soon.  I was really surprised, but kind of happy to know that all my clean eating has changed my tastes buds, making junk taste bad to me.  That's pretty cool!  And, luckily, I should get out early enough from work tomorrow to come home and just make some eggs for lunch.

So, while my dinner wasn't as clean as I would have liked, I learned an important lesson about myself.  In the future, I'll make sure I have easy stuff I can make if I run out of leftovers.  I probably should have made an egg sandwich for dinner instead, but now I know!

Stay healthy everyone!  And feel free to post a comment about a food you used to love but you no longer enjoy now that you're eating healthy.

Spice Up Your Rice

Rice.  It comes in all sorts of forms, some great for you and others not so much.  I'm a fan of brown rice, but it can get bland when you eat it all the time.  There are a lot different rice mixes in the grocery store, but none of them meet my nutrition standards.  They tend to have a lot of sodium and all sorts of preservatives and unnecessary fats.  So, to avoid boredom and keep the health of my rice in check, I spice my own rice!

I start with low-sodium, fat free, chicken broth instead of water.  This adds a depth of flavor without a ton of sodium.  Then I add garlic powder and Mrs. Dash salt-free extra spicy blend to the mixture before I start cooking.  I also add a dash of Himalayan salt (which is supposed to have tons of trace vitamins and minerals) instead of regular table salt.  Finally, I just flip on my rice cooker and let it cook. When it's done, I have very flavorful rice without all the junk in those packaged box rices.  Yum!

I've also noticed that I've become much more in tune with the quality of the food I put in my body, rather than just how many calories it has.  I think that's a great benefit of eating clean rather than counting calories.  In the past, when I used to count calories, I'd find ways to "fit" junk into my day.  I would save up calories in order to eat chicken wing pizza or to have a candy bar.  Now that I'm eating clean and not tracking calories, I don't eat that stuff because I know it's bad for my body.  I'm more concerned with great nutrition than a number.  Your body responds very differently to 400 calories of donuts than 400 calories of grilled chicken and rice.  Granted, my way of eating (not counting calories) doesn't work for everyone.  There are plenty of people who can eat clean while counting calories and that works great for them.  I just know that it doesn't work for me.  I become too obsessive and start finding ways to sneak in junk.  So, for now, I'll continue to eat clean and train smart.

Stay healthy!

Excited to Workout?

I had the weirdest thought this morning after my workout.  After completing today's installment of Pump & Burn, and sitting down to my post-workout meal, I thought to myself, "I can't wait for Thursday when I can try Pump & Shred again."

What?!

Did I really just think that?  I was actually disappointed that I had to wait two days to do the 45 minutes of strength training agony (aka Pump & Shred).  So, weird!  I've enjoyed all my workouts the last four weeks but I never thought I'd actually be impatiently waiting for my next one.  It's a new feeling for me, for sure.  I think part of that feeling was due to the fact that Shred kicked my butt on Sunday and I really want a rematch!  This workout added lunges and shoulders, both of which seriously kicked my butt and I could get all the way through those tracks without breaks.  I am determined to push myself to get my head in the game and push through the muscle burn.  Look out world!  This former couch potato is turning into a future athlete!

I've gotten some questions about how I keep myself motivated to continue working out and eating clean day after day.  I think a big part of that is due to my goals.  While weight/fat loss is one of my goals, many of them are fitness or health based.  For example, I really want to complete Insanity.  I know I won't be able to do that unless I increase my current fitness level and lose a significant amount of excess weight.  That keeps me pushing through my workouts.  Additionally, I feel so amazing since I've started eating better and drinking Shakeólogy.  I have so much more energy; I'm more focused, and my skin and hair looks great.  I also consider what the food I eat will do to my insides, beyond just whether it'll make me gain or lose weight.  I avoid preservatives and man-made chemicals because who knows what kind of damage those will do in the long run (and the research shows that whatever it is it isn't good!).  I want to feed my body with high quality protein, complex carbs, vitamins, and minerals.  That's a big reason why Shakeology is non-negotiable for me.  I drink it every day because I know that when I have my shake, my body gets more high quality nutrients than through anything else I eat during the day.

And speaking of Shakeology, I just ordered the Vegan Chocolate flavor.  I'll be sure to give a review once I try it!  It has all the same great health benefits of my current Tropical, just with added chocolatey goodness.

Stay healthy!

Working Out Like a Pro

Fitness is a journey.  You do not workout for months and months, get into amazing shape, and then poof, you're done.  It just doesn't work like that.  Getting in shape and unleashing that inner athlete is a life-long journey.  I am currently only one month into that journey but I'm looking forward to the amazing progress and fitness challenges that lay ahead.  If you've check out my "Workouts" page (on the right side of this post) you know that I really really want to do Insanity.  In fact, I've even set a start day: January 13, 2013.  I have about 5 months left before then to get fit enough to take on the Insanity challenge, and I'm going to be smart with that time.  That's why I'm building up my cardio endurance this first 90 days, and then I'll be adding in High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) in my second set of three months (leading up to Insanity).

After Insanity, I should be in amazing shape and ready to take on the Asylum (aka Insanity part 2).  I'm crazy excited about doing Asylum.  I always felt like I had an athlete hiding inside me and I'm also fairly competitive so it would be so cool to be as fit, or more so, than my brother who plays soccer in college.  When I saw this video of Olympic Gold Medalist, Hope Solo, who is the goalie for the US soccer team, saying how much she loves Asylum, well, let's just say "look out little brother!"  I won't get to Asylum until March, but I'm so excited!  Today I leave you with this awesome video.  If this doesn't pump you up to want to get fit, I don't know what will!

Stay healthy!


P.S.

Be smart if you want to do a hard core program like Insanity or Asylum.  If you haven't worked out in years, it's probably a good idea to start with a less intense program and work your way up (that's what I'm doing).  And you should definitely check with your doctor if you plan to go from zero physical activity to something like Insanity.  You don't want an injury keeping you away from your workouts.

30 Day Progress!

It's weigh-in day!  Normally, that sentence would not have an exclamation point, but after four weeks of consistency in both my workouts and my eating habits, I'm happy to say I've made some progress!  I know you're all excited to find out how I did so I'll cut to the chase and just tell you.

In four weeks I lost:

7.4 pounds

3" from my waist

1" from my hips

Woohoo!  Those might not seem like super high numbers, but they are near the high end of a healthy-rate of weight loss so I am very happy with those results.  And because my strength has increased steadily during the past month, I can be pretty sure that those seven pounds came from body fat and not muscle, which is exactly what I want to happen.

For those new to my blog, here's how I lost the weight.  First, let me tell you want I did NOT do: I did not starve myself (I ate 5-6 meals every day), I did not count calories, and I did not spend hours and hours at a gym every day.  What I did do was this: I ate clean (small, healthy, meals every 3 hours), I drank Shakeology as my final meal of the night, and I worked out with both weights and cardio for about 30 minutes a day.  The workouts were Les Mills Pump and TurboFire, both done in the comfort (and privacy) of my living room.

Here are my progress pictures.  Please note that I have a long journey ahead of me, but I'm happy to see some changes happening already.

I see the changes most in my face and in my waist from the side view.  Like I said, I'm in the very beginning of my journey, but I know that what I'm doing is working so I'll keep at it.

Coming Up in Month Two

So, what's changing in month two?  Nutritionally, I will continue to eat clean every three hours and drink Shakeology.  What'll be new this month is that most of the meals will take place at work or in class, rather than at home.  This will require even more planning but it'll be worth it!

The workouts in month two will be longer and more intense.  Instead of averaging 30 minutes a day, the new workouts will take about 45 minutes.  I'll still be using Pump and TurboFire, but now that I have a solid foundation of fitness to work from, I'll move on to the harder workouts in those programs.  You can check out the post on my fitness schedule here to see what workouts I have coming up this month.

And finally, a special note to you, my readers.  If you're reading this and thinking you'd like to get in shape (whether that means losing weight, getting faster, adding muscle, etc), I would love for you to be on this journey with me.  If you're interested in trying Shakeology, getting one of the workouts I've been doing or that I talked about on my "Workouts" page, or you just want someone to help you stay motivated, please leave me a comment or send me a message on Facebook.  I'd love to work together to meet our goals.

Thanks for reading, and remember, stay healthy!

No Pain, No Gain?

Anyone who ever took a gym class in high school has probably heard the phrase "no pain, no gain." I'm not a fan of that phrase for a couple of reasons.  Mainly because it causes some people to push through the wrong types of pain.

When working out, there are a number of different types of "pain" you may experience during your program.  Some are good and others can be very dangerous.  For example, when strength training, if your muscles are burning and hurting, that's probably a good thing.  That means you're adequately taxing your muscles in order to build more strength or endurance, and you should push through that "pain".  Joint pain, on the other hand, is nothing something to take lightly.  Often, this results from poor form when performing an exercise, so check with a qualified fitness professional to have them evaluate your form to make sure you're doing it right.  Or, if you're working out at home, have a friend or partner compare what you're doing to what the instructors on your DVD are doing to make sure they look the same.  Either way, you do not want to push through joint pain.  If you do, you run the risk of further injuring the joint which could end up in an injury so severe it requires surgery (and no one wants that!).

A couple days ago I noticed that my right knee felt a little funny.  It doesn't hurt, but it doesn't feel quite "right" either.  The last thing I want as I start a fitness journey is to find myself sidelined with an injury. So, what am I doing?  A couple of different things actually.  During my strength training, I make sure I'm paying close attention to my form, especially during squats.  And during TurboFire, I took out a few of the high-impact options (so less jumping overall) to put less stress on my knee.  If the weird feelings continues, I'm planning to look into a joint support supplement, and if that doesn't work, of if the weird feeling start to turn into a feeling of pain, I'll make an appointment with my doctor.  However,  I also know that losing weight is one of the best things I can do for all my joints.  It's not good for them to have to carry around 70+ pounds of extra weight.  So that means I need to continue to stay focused on eating clean and working out safely.

So, moral of today's post?  If you're not experience joint pain, push yourself to workout hard during your workouts.  Push past your comfort zone and lift a little heavier, work a little harder during your intervals, while always maintaining good form.  However, if your joints hurt, check your form, reduce the amount of jumping, and see your doctor if things really hurt or don't improve.

And as always, stay healthy!

Next Week's Menu

I've been getting a lot of questions about what I eat.  I like to make my life easy and pre-plan all my meals for the week.  This makes grocery shopping, deciding what's for dinner, and packing enough food for work really simple.  I post the list on my fridge so each morning I can check it out and know what I'm doing for the day.  It takes a little time up front to plan ahead, but it saves even more time and hassle later so it's definitely worth it.  You'll notice a lot of repetition, especially for breakfast, and that just keeps it simple.  I love my yogurt and grapenuts; so, why mess with a good thing?

Here's what I'll be eating next week.

You'll also notice that I include weekly goals and notes about which meals I'll need to pack for work (or for my trip away for the weekend).  I do this to help me stay focused and to make packing for work very easy.  I don't always end up with the same number of leftovers (anything noted as LO on the list indicates leftovers) as what I plan for, but I make it work the best I can.  Feel free to borrow any ideas from my list you want!

In case you're wondering what I consider a "healthy taco salad," that will be made with lean ground turkey, a taco seasoning that's low sodium and without preservatives (I'll be reading lots of nutritional labels!), on a bed of lettuce and baked tortilla chips (about half a serving) and topped with all natural salsa.  Should be yummy!  Oh, and the thighs are boneless, skinless, chicken thighs.  I don't eat them often but they're cheaper than chicken breasts and the difference in fat/calories is minimal.  Like I said, I don't eat them often but I get sick of the same old chicken all the time and don't want to eat too much red meat.

Stay healthy!

Up Before the Dawn

Today was my first day back at work (I work in a college office part time as a graduate assistant) and I have to say that I'm glad to be back.  I work with some really amazing colleagues and I'm excited for our students to return.  I'm also truly looking forward to having a set schedule again.  I tend to not do so well when I have days upon days of nothing to do.  All that said though, I don't enjoy leaving for work before my boyfriend is even awake!  I woke up at 5:30 this morning so I could get my workout in before I left for work at 7:40 (which is earlier than usual but there's construction on my road right now and that added about 15 minutes to my commute).

But hey, I got my workout done!  It felt really good to get home from work and know that I'd already taken care of my fitness for the day.  I succeeded at work nutritionally as well.  I packed enough food for the hours I was scheduled to work and was able to eat every three hours like usual.  It was a very successful day, and I even got a lot of "work" work done, too!  It is going to be a productive year in that position and with my health and fitness, too.  I know it!

The working out without eating first went better today.  And luckily, after this week, I should only need to get up at 6 AM instead of 5:30, which will be better.  I was also worried that the blender would wake up my partner, but he slept through it (hurray!).  Now I don't have to worry about waking him up when I blend together my post-workout protein shake.

There's not too much else to report today, other than I'm super excited to continue my fitness journey.  I planning to do INSANITY in January and then Asylum in March, and I am so excited to do those!  I know I have a long way to go before I'm physically ready so I'll keep pushing hard during TurboFire until then.

Oh, in other news, I achieved my first rank advancement as a coach today.  Now, I'm an Emerald Coach!  As an Emerald Coach, when someone calls into an informercial to buy a Beachbody product, I can be assigned as their coach.  It also means that I'm eligible for team cycle bonuses, but I won't get into all that.  If you're interested in coaching you can message me, I'm not going to write about it on here too much, since this place is really about my health and fitness journey.  And with that in mind...

Stay tuned for my month one weigh-in on Sunday!

Pre-Breakfast Workouts

When work starts tomorrow, I will have to wake up early to workout (around 5:30 or 6:00 AM).  This also means that I won't have time to eat breakfast before my workouts anymore.  I know there are a lot of different opinions about whether it's good to workout on an empty stomach, or eat first, so I'm just going to share what I noticed seems to work for me.

When time isn't an issue, I prefer to eat before I workout.  I feel that I have more energy and can push harder during the workout.  The downside to eating first is that I have to wait at least an hour after the meal before I can begin my workout.  That's a long time when you need to fit everything in (including a shower and packing a lunch) before 8 AM.  So, unfortunately, starting tomorrow I will be forced to workout right after I wake up (giving myself about 15 minutes to drink some water and wake up first, of course).

I decided to go ahead and "test-drive" this immediate workout thing this morning and I have to say that my workout wasn't great.  I made it through and I was super sweaty, but I didn't push as hard as I did on Monday in my cardio.  But this could also be because I did a 45 minute cardio instead of a 30 minute workout.  I have to admit that I went into the workout expecting it to be harder than when I get to eat breakfast so that could be a factor as well.  I'm going to try again tomorrow and Friday and see how those workouts go.  If I'm still having a hard time working out with nothing in my stomach, I'll try different things to see what works best.  Whether that's a half a banana before I workout or trying out a pre-workout drink, I'm not sure yet, but I'll be sure to report what I try!

I also want to emphasize that even though my workout wasn't my "best ever" it still helped move my fitness forward.  Even a lower intensity workout is way better than no workout at all!  I'm proud of myself for pushing through and I know that consistency over the long term is what will get me in shape, not sporadic 110% effort workouts.  So, even if you're not feeling it today, get your workout done.  Even if it isn't a great workout, you will feel better and your body will thank you for it in the long run.

Stay healthy!

You Can't Do Everything

I am a huge fan of to-do lists.  In fact, I make one every single day.  I have a to-do list app on my phone (Awesome Note) that keeps my list at my fingertips all day.  I put everything on that one list; there are no separate lists for fitness goals, work projects, or household chores.  It all goes on one list.  I have one "whole" life so I have a holistic list.  I do separate my list, however, by timeframe.  I have one to-do list for things that must be done "today," and others for "this week," "this month," and "this year."  They are all housed within the same app so it's easy to transfer activities from one list to another.  I truly believe a daily to-do list is essential to reach your goals.

So, what goes on my to-do list?  Everything!  Now, you can't really do everything without getting burned out or feeling so stressed that you lose sight of why you're working towards your goals in the first place.  However, I do put everything that needs to be done on my list; I just make sure I choose the most important items to put on there.  Anything I need to do to get fitter and healthier, any household chores that need to get done, homework that needs to be finished, and reminders to email my boss back or call my mom about something goes on there.  Any of that stuff that needs to happen today goes on, you guessed it, my "today" list.  If it would be "nice" to get to today, it doesn't go on the "today" list.  Instead I move it to my "this week" list.  That way, only the most important things go on the "today" list.  Because I really can't do everything.  But I can make sure I get through each "today" list and then move on to the "this week" if I have time!  That way, every night when I go to bed, I feel very accomplished because I finished my list.

I review my lists throughout the day to make sure I'm making the best use of my time (and yes, updating this blog is on my list!).  Once all the tasks are checked off, I can either move on to the less urgent tasks or, just as important, take some time to relax!  I also review my longer term lists to see if any item needs to be moved up in priority.  Maybe it was on the "this year" list but now it really needs to be done "this month."  I make those changes accordingly.

I also have a number of to-dos that are reoccurring.  These items I star so that at the end of the day, before I delete all my completed to-dos, I "uncheck" these items so they are back on my list for the next day.  My reoccurring to-do items include: workout, drink shakeology, and blog.  These three items move me toward my big goal this year of losing 70 pounds.  They comprise the daily action steps for fitness, good nutrition, and accountability.  I used to include eating at the table, but that's become habit and is no longer necessary to include on my list.  However, when work starts on Thursday, I'll probably add "pack tomorrow's meals" to the list so I remember to get my food ready the night before work.

There's nothing magical about my list.  I just do it everyday to make sure I get the most important things done each day.  Each task either moves me closer to one of my 10 goals for this year or is something mundane that just needs to be done.  Once work starts, work tasks will also find their way onto my list. Productivity at work will mean less stress at night worrying about what I didn't finish that day.

So, what's on my list today?  Here it is:

• Workout *
• Drink Shakeology *
• Blog *
• Call parking
• Respond to S.K.'s message
• Review Coach back office
• Look into planning a Shakeology taste-testing party
• Research timeframe for starting workout challenge group
• Research successful fitness blogs

See, nothing special there.  Just productive :)

And, what's on my "this week" list?  Things that would be nice to do today but don't have to get done today:

• Pick up parking pass
• Post meal plan to blog
• Weigh-in and take measurements: share on blog, Facebook, and twitter
• Order birthday present for bf
• Check online to see if book list was posted for class
• Request loan refund from school

I don't move to this list until the "today" list is all complete.  Now, could I finish all of those things today?  Probably.  (Except the weigh-in which is scheduled for Sunday.)  But remember, we can't, or maybe the better saying is that we shouldn't, do everything!  We need down time to enjoy our progress!   This feels especially important for me right now because once classes start, even with the best to-do list, I will have next to no downtime.  Grad school is hard and takes up a lot of time.  But I know I can't do everything, which is why I'll cut other non-essentials from my list when school starts.  While I'd love to continue to blog every day, it's probably not going to happen.  I'll do it at least once a week (the accountability is important to reach my fitness goals) but if I have to choose between spending an extra 15 minutes with my boyfriend after finishing homework versus writing a blog post, I'll choose the free time over the blog most days.  Things that grad school will NOT push of my daily tasks are those related to my health: my workout and my shakeology.  Grad school is not worth sacrificing my health and fitness over.  And besides, a workout takes about an hour or less so I can make that a priority and fit it in first thing in the morning.  And Shakeology?  All of 2 minutes in a blender.

Alright, that's my rant about the awesomeness of to-do lists.  Stay healthy!

Fitness Progress!

I wanted to share some of the non-scale progress I've made since starting my fitness journey.  While I do have my monthly weigh-in coming up this Sunday, getting fit is about more than a number on the scale.

You may remember from my post about my workout schedule that I've been doing the same cardio workout, Fire 30, for the last three weeks.  I had Fire 30 again today and I am so thrilled with the progress I've made on that workout.  While the workout still felt as intense today as it did on "day one," I'm doing so much more in that workout now.  The first week I couldn't do ANY of the high impact exercises.  I had to follow the low-impact modifier the entire video.  Today, however, I did about 90%-95% of the video high impact!  That's 0% high impact to over 90% in just three weeks!  I still felt just as "spent" at the end of the workout as I did on the first day but I was able to push so much harder during the workout.  That's why trainers will often say working out never gets any easier, you just get more fit and therefore push harder.  It was truly an awesome workout.  On Wednesday, my next cardio day, I'm moving on from Fire 30 to tackle Fire 45EZ.  Can't wait!

On the strength training side of things, a similar thing has happened.  Every workout feels as hard as the one before but I'm lifting so much more than I was in the first week.  I've added 20 pounds to my squats, 15 pounds to my back rows, and 5 pounds to my chest.  Tomorrow I plan to increase the weights I use on the chest so that'll be 10 more pounds than week one!  So, the workouts truly don't get any easier because I'm lifting more and getting stronger.  If your workout ever feels easy, you didn't go hard enough!  Unless of course it's supposed to be a rest day in which case, go ahead and take it easy ;)

Regardless of what the scale says on Sunday, I know that my fitness is moving forward every day and by eating clean I get a bit healthier each day, too.  And that, more than any number on the scale, is what's important.

Stay healthy!

Shakeology Review: Guest Blogger!

Last night my little brother (age 14) spent the night at my apartment.  Most of the night he spent glued to his laptop but I did make him a Tropical Shakeology for dessert!  It was nice to see him enjoying something so incredibly healthy.  I asked him to write a guest blog for today sharing his thoughts on Shakeology.

Take it away Tristan!

"Shakeology is a majorly healthy drink that gives you your needed amount of fruits and vegetables for the day. It tastes fairly good alone with just water, but to make it healthier and make it taste better you can add frozen mixed fruits. Obviously Shakeology is a tasty and healthy drink/smoothy to have as a dessert a couple of time a week."

Thanks bro!

I drink Shakeology every night and I love getting all that great nutrition.  The price tag can seem a little steep but when you compare the per meal cost to a meal at a fast food place, it's actually cheaper (and cheaper than your Starbucks, too!) with a bazillion times the nutrition!  But to make it easier on my bank account, I decided to sign up as a Beachbody coach.  This way, I get 25% off on Shakeology and any other workout program that I buy.  And since I ordered it on monthly auto-ship (called home direct) I get free shipping, too.  I love saving money on great nutrition!

You can check out my own personal shakeology website by clicking here.  I drink the Tropical Strawberry flavor but they also have Chocolate and Greenberry flavors.  The Tropical and one of the Chocolates is also vegan for any of you who are vegan or can't handle dairy.

And just one week until I weigh-in and share my progress on here (complete with pictures!).  That means it's time to hit up today's workout and keep my nutrition clean.  I'm a little nervous but also really excited.  I know I feel better and I think I look better but I'm anxious to see what the scale and tape measurements say.

Stay tuned and stay healthy!

The Value of Your Rest Day

Rest days are an important component to any fitness program.  Most programs schedule one or two rests days a week.  This is because rest allows your body to recover and rebuild stronger than before.  Without rest, you risk overtraining and stalling your progress.  That's why you can't train the same muscle group on back to back days, and why you can't do a HIIT workout on consecutive days either.

While rest is important for your body, a rest day doesn't mean you should lay on the couch all day watching television.  Our bodies are built to move, so it's important to move them daily!  You should "rest," so activity shouldn't be intense or very strenuous.  Active rest can look like a gentle walk after dinner or some housework or gardening.  This is also helpful when you're feeling sore.  A nice walk can loosen up tight muscles, whereas a day on the couch can make you more stiff.

For my rest day today I did some cleaning (vacuuming, kitchen, etc) and I'm trying to talk my boyfriend into playing mini-golf with my little brother who's staying the night with us (my brother is 14).  None of those activities are strenuous but they are more active than being a couch potato!  And then tomorrow I'll be well rested and able to go heavier during my Pump workout.  Can't wait!

I do have to say, though, that I really enjoyed sleeping in and staying cozy in my bed without feeling guilty about running out of time to workout.  Very nice.  I did make sure to keep my nutrition nice and clean today to support my body's repair efforts.  And the burgers I made with the homemade breadcrumbs?  Awesome!  So yummy and juicy and just delicious.  I was very happy with them and I look forward to having leftovers for lunch tomorrow :)

Stay healthy and don't forget to rest!

Build a Better Burger

I love summer cooking because I love to cook on the grill.  While I try to keep my red meat consumption down to two meals a week or less, I love me a good ol' burger on the grill.  Tomorrow, my grandparents and my little brother are coming over for dinner, and I decided that'd be a perfect time to make some burgers.  I've been having a hard time with my burgers lately, though, not coming out very moist.  My friends suggested adding breadcrumbs and an egg or two to the ground beef along with my normal seasonings.  I'm going to give that a try, but I didn't want to settle for some processed breadcrumbs made from refined white bread.

So, I made my own!

I had a loaf of Ezekiel bread in the fridge (aka a super clean, whole grain, bread) and dried out a few pieces in the oven (at 300 degrees for 10 minutes) and ground them up in my mini food processor.  I added my own seasonings and stuck them in the fridge.  The bread has zero preservatives so I keep the bread (and the crumbs) in the fridge to keep it fresh.  This way, I have complete control over the quality of the breadcrumbs I'm using in my burgers.  Unfortunately, I can't go too crazy with the burgers because my boyfriend is super picky.  No "funky" feta burgers for him.  I may grill some onions to top the burgers though.

For a side, I'll be serving the left over sesame soba noodle salad I made a few nights ago and I'll probably skip a bun since I'll have the salad.  I'll also be making oven baked french fries for the boys who won't like the soba noodles.

As far as picking the ground meat for the burgers, I tried ground turkey a few weeks ago and my boyfriend did not like them at all.  So, to compromise, I use 90% lean ground beef.  I know burgers are typically made with 80% but I don't want that much fat in my burger.  I'm fairly adventurous, though, so I may experiment with different types of meat.  I've seen recipes for lamb or bison burgers; I may give those a try some time.  If I do, I'll be sure to let you know!

Stay healthy!

My Workout Schedule

I few people have asked me what my workout schedule is, so I decided to share it here.  This is the TurboFire/Les Mills Pump hybrid I put together:

On cardio days (Fire or HIIT days) I also do an extended 10 minute stretch when I'm done.  Day seven is my rest day and I like to do either some additional stretching or I do a Tai Cheng workout.  Doing something on a rest day is often referred to as "active rest."  Basically that means a rest day isn't an excuse to lounge on the couch all day.  You should be active but be gentle with your body.  Going for a nice walk or doing additional stretching are great ways to incorporate active rest.

You'll also notice a lot of repetition and shorter workouts in the first four weeks.   This was intentional to allow my body time to build a foundation of fitness before adding more challenging/longer workouts.  Additionally, the couple times I have HIIT 15/30 or 25/30 means I'll pick one of those workouts depending on how my fitness level has progressed by then.  I'm not doing both.  The Pump workouts (Burn, Shred, Extreme, Revolution) follow the order outlined in the guide that came with the program.  The cardio workouts I organized myself with progressing intensity over the course of the program.

Today was Week 3 Day 5 so I did Fire 30 and Stretch 10.  And, for those of you waiting patiently for my first "real" progress update, I will weigh-in at the end of each month (aka the first day of week five, first day of week nine, and after week 13/day one of the next 3 month program).

Feel free to try out this workout schedule (or create your own).  Just remember to check with your doctor first and stay healthy!

Like a Kid at Christmas (Isagenix is here!)

Around four o'clock this afternoon, I headed into the kitchen to prepare my snack (grapes and almonds) and the UPS guy showed up with my Isagenix!  Woohoo!  Needless to say, I ran to the door, tore open the box, and just had to have one of the IsaLean Pro shakes for snack instead!  Starting tomorrow the IsaLean Pro will be my post-workout meal and Shakeology will move to after dinner but I was just too excited to try it to wait until tomorrow.

So, here's the scoop on the shake (pun intended).

It has 290 calories, 35g protein, 23g carbs, and 6g of healthy fat.  It also has tons of vitamins including 150% of your daily B12 and 60% of Vitamin D and Folate.  Between this and Shakeology I may not need a multivitamin anymore!  I'll keep taking what I already have but may not buy more vitamins when I run out.  And it tastes really good for a protein shake.  While it certainly doesn't taste like a vanilla milkshake, it doesn't taste bad at all.  It wasn't gritty or weird tasting, which tends to be a tall order for protein shakes so I was pleased about that.  I think this will be perfect for after my workouts and I can't wait to share how it goes once I've had more time to see how it affects my body and my progress.

Also, I decided to sign up as an "associate" with the company to get a discount on the product.  The fee was about $25 a year and I can save about $40/month on my supply of shakes.  And now I even have my own nifty website where people can order the product if they want.  You can click here to check it out!  You can either click "buy now" to check out products or click "sign up and save" to, well, sign up and save money on your order (that's what I did!).  I'm pretty stoked about being able to save almost $500 a year on my protein shake!  I love a deal, that's for sure!

Anyway, it's time to start thinking about dinner.  I'm making grilled chicken with a soba noodle salad.  I want to get the salad cooked now so it'll have time to cool in the fridge before dinner.  And later, I'm getting a new computer!  Trading in my 6 year old Macbook Pro for a new iMac.  Can't wait!

Keep it healthy!