Week 11: Feelin' Pretty Good...

Week 11 of the BABProject and McFatty Mondays finds me sitting exactly where I was last week. However, I did try something different this past week, eating 1,000 calories by lunch and then reserving another 1,000 for dinner/snacks. I must admit, when I did eat my 2,000 a day, I didn't experience those famished, low blood sugar episodes that I usually do, and, I think the best way to lose weight is to be able to trick the body that you're not starving yet still lower daily calories. So, I'm gonna keep at this for another week or so and see if the scale moves. On a side note, my heart monitor shows me burning over 2,500 a day so cutting out 500 per day should make a difference.

In the area of workouts, I got that great run in last Sunday, burning over 900 calories which helped to push this week's calorie burn to over 1900 calories. Yesterday, however, I didn't get my long run in due to family plans and a quad muscle injury from when earlier in the week I did massive squats and I'm still paying for it, however, I did get an hour workout on the eliptical, burning over 700 calories, so that's worth something.

And now on to the bragging part, I went out Saturday and bought a new outfit, and, I bought a size 14 pants that I haven't been in to in years...I mean years. :) Below are a few pics of me and Maddie Sunday morning before church. I couldn't believe how good I actually looked. I'm actually proud and happy with my body image at the moment, however, I'm still striving for more, but for right now, I'm pretty good. :)

and as you can see, motherhood is never ending, not even when you're trying to get a quick pic in. :)

and so Maddie and I took one together...

Overall I'm still learning, working, & training but today I'm happy. I may not be where I plan on being, but I'm moving in the right direction, :)

Workout Schedule:

Monday: morning - 35 minute elliptical

Tuesday: morning - 35 minute elliptical

Wednesday: morning - 35 minute elliptical

Thursday: morning - 35 minute elliptical

Friday: morning - 35 minute ellitpical

Saturday: rest day!

Sunday: 8 mile run

McFatty Mondays & BABP: Week 10

And, here we are again. Wow, I'm pretty bummed about this past week. I had set out to work out every day and honestly, I think I got two days in. Sad. But, what can ya do but write it off as a bad week and move on.

So, on we go....

I did pick up a heart monitor and enjoyed wearing it this weekend to track how many calories I burned. In a 4 hour period I had burned over 800 calories with 10 minutes of an elipitical work out thrown in there, other than that, it was a pretty lazy day. I also got a great run in Sunday, 6 miles burning 930 calories. And, by the time I got home from the gym, I'd burned over 1,100 calories. After that the fam. and I went out for sushi. :)

The one aspect that does bum me out is that I've been at this project going on 10 weeks now, over two months, and I'm still sitting pretty close as to where I was when I began it. I must admit, these past three weeks have been pretty blah...Maddie was so sick and my overall attitude was pretty depressed. I've made some changes though, and I hope this will help with my motivation and feelings. I think I'm gonna have to go back to the ole "it doesn't matter how I feel, it's just gotta be something I do."

And, on a really exciting note, I'm goning to be featuring a guest blogger in the next few days. I am super excited about all the info she'll be sharing, and if you, a reader, would like to share your expertice, please contact me and we'll make it happen. :)

SW: 186

LW: 181

CW: 181

Work out schedule:

Monday: 20 min. eliptical

Tuesday: 30 min. run

Wednesday: 20 min. eliptical (school starts!)

Thursday: 30 min. run

Friday: swim

Saturday: Rest Day!

Sunday: 7 mile run

Counting Calories: MyPyramid.gov

So, calorie counting has got to be the hardest thing for me to do. And, it's not just important for me to count them in regards to losing weight, it's even more so that I know I'm eating enough calories for the day.


I checked out http://www.mypyramid.gov/, and I was surprised to see that it takes 2500 calories for me to maintain my weight, at my current fitness level. I was trying to maintain a 1300 to 1600 calorie diet when in actuality, I was starving myself. I need to consume 2,000 calories a day, 500 less than what my body needs to ensure a safe, one pound a week of weight loss. And, if I throw in another 500 calories burned a day through exercises then I've added another pound of weight loss for the week. Humm, well, 500 calories a day is hard to burn, but I'm trying. :)


And, again, as I stated before, I need to count calories to make sure I'm eating enough, it seems yesterday, by lunch, I would have only consumed 600 calories if I'd gone only by what felt satisfying to me. I actually had to eat another 400 calories just to get enough fuel to last me through the day and my workout. No wonder I feel exhausted by 8:00 pm, I was seriously starving to death. And, in hopes of not being in starvation mode anymore, my weight should make a change. :)


So, yesterday, I maintained 2,000 calories and felt much better. I had no blood sugar crashes, but was still exhausted come bedtime. :) And, I've just been given advice on trying, "paleo eating" to help with the hunger I experienced last night. Oh, and speaking of yesterday, I am a pound lighter today than I started off with. Did the calories make a difference? Only the week will tell!

McFatty Mondays with a side of BABProject, PLS!

Well, week 5 finds me happily sitting where I was last week in regards to weight and inches. No big changes for me, but I am happy to report that I'm on day 5 of my 30 Day Shred as well as week 2 of my Jeff Galloway running program.

I'm breaking my 30 Day Shred up to 3 days a week (Mon., Wed., Fri) which also incorporates well into my run program since those are walk days. I'm also excited about the long run on Sundays. I did 4.26 miles for week one, and hopefully, *crossing my fingers* I'll do my 5 miles this coming Sunday. The only thing I'm worried about there is that I'll be in Memphis and this is the day we're to drive back home. I'd hate to be sore and worn down on my ride home. We shall just see. :)

So, this week's schedule:

Monday: 30 Day Shred

30 minute walk

Tuesday: 30 min. run/walk

Wednesday: 30 Day Shred

30 min. walk

Thursday: 30 min. run/walk

Friday: 30 Day Shred

30 min. walk

Saturday: REST DAY!

Sunday: 4 - 5 mile run

Rewards: I had to rethink my rewards since my goals have changed a bit.

4 week completion of the Jeff Galloway program: SUSHI! I so need some sushi. :)

And, what about you? What does your week look like?? :)

The one thing I've learned:

is to not feel ashamed of my choices.

I'm having chips for lunch. I haven't had chips in FOREVER. I got the lowest cal. ones, you know, the sun harvest. mmmmmmmmmm! And, I plan to enjoy them.

Everything we eat, don't eat, and do is our choice, so why beat ourselves up for it? I choose to eat chips for lunch today. I choose to be happy about that. I also chose to go out and run by butt off, so, there you go. :)

NO SHAME!

How Illegal Is It To Change In Your Car?

Well, it's not as long as you don't get caught. :)

I decided to bring my workout clothes to school today in the chance of getting a run in, and, happily, it happened.

Yeah, the changing in the car was of total laziness, but, like I said, no harm, no faul, I made sure no one was watching. :)

I did about 2.5 miles and wore myself out. I did several sprints, which I hadn't done since I was a kid playing chase around the neighborhood. Do you remember those days? Ya know, when you ran as hard as you could? That's what I did today. There were moments that I thought I'd certainly fall on myself in the event that my legs didn't keep up with the rest of me. I pushed so hard, I felt invigorated as well as a bit taken back that my body could actually still move this fast. I'd like to keep this type of running up. I wasn't able to do more than about 45 seconds at a time, but still, it's a good starting point.

And, now I stink. I don't think anyone else can smell me but, whew, I'm not liking it. Time to change...in the bathroom this time. :)

BABProject: 4 Weeks Completed & McFatty Mondays!

I can't believe it's been 4 weeks since I began the Body After Baby Project! Wow, these weeks sure have flown by. I know I set out with several goals and ideas of where I'd like to be at this point, so, did I make it, did I get everything I had planned to go out and do??

Not exactly...but, I have gained some great insight along the way.

~ Overall, I've removed 6 pounds and 4.5 inches.

~ I've pushed myselt to work out 5 days a week, which I've come to understand is doable, even during stressed out weeks.

~ I've learned a new, de-lish recipe.

~ I've purchased and began using the 30 Day Shred DVD.

~ I've made new friendships, and discovered a great deal about my body and how it works.

So, again, I may not have reached my goal of being 10 pounds lighter, nor the goal of running 3 miles in 30 minutes, but, I've accomplished enough in these past 4 weeks that I'm happy to say I'm still in the game, I'm still pushin' forward, and I'm still lookin' forward to what this next week will bring.

Most importantly, for me, I've found others to share this experience with, and that has made a huge difference in my motivation and stamina. :)

Weekly Workout Schedule:

Monday: 30 min. walk

Tuesday: 30 min run/walk

Wednesday: 30 min. walk

Thursday: 30 min. run/walk

Friday: 30 min. walk

Saturday: off

Sunday: 3 to 4 mile run

I'm also adding a link up so that others can link up and share their posts as well. Link-up and let me share in your success!

Day 2 of 30 Day Shred!

And, I've now completed day 2!

I skipped a day in between my workouts. I discovered by the end of Day 1 I was pretty sore and woke up repeatedly chanting, "microfiber tears," which is what happens when you work your muscles. It's those tears that cause the muscle to repair, rebuild, and become even stronger. For some reason I was OCDing on the fact of it and decided to give my body a 24 hr. recovery moment, especially since the DVD simply repeats the same workout over again.

So, after being so sore it hurt to sit on the potty (butt muscles), I had a great stretch last night with Hubs and felt much more geared up to go at it again today. And, when my computer began acting up and refusing to stay on long enough for me to retrieve the pics I need for a portfolio, I was so reved up with anxiety, a great 20 minute work out was exactly what I needed.

Since my week has been flooded with school and no real down time, I've used this DVD to include some fitness, but have overall slacked off a great deal. It's ok, though, it was my decision, and I'm not beating myself up over not reaching my goals this week. And, I did a sneak peak at my inches and it seems my thighs have given up another .5 an inch just cause. :) I've so far maintained my weekly weight and look forward to getting back into running in a week or so. :)

Day 1 of 30 Day Shred

Seriously??

This workout is in NO way fun! I was drenched in sweat after my 20 minutes. I felt as if I'd just done a really hard ride on my bike. I also think that's the first time I've done jumping-jacks in like...20 years. :) I did, however, rock my butt-kicking cardio moves, but that's only b/c of the running.

When I bought the DVD last night I thought, "I'll work the first week on level 1, second week on level 2, then I'll finish the month out on level 3." Something about the 30 day deal has me thinking in months. *wipes sweat from brow* I think NOW I'll cover the first month on level 1 and then move on to level 2.

Yeah, I'm impressed with the intensitity. I so need you to hold me accountable to using this, cause I so know I could easily *not find the time to do it. :)

4 Months From Today...

I will be running in a half-marathon.

I'm actually feeling butterflies.... :)

Squeezing them in...

Still squeezing in some work out times. Even with a busy schedule, I gotta set my priorities to make it happen!

Working

I've gotten two great work out in over the past two days. :)

That is all...

Body After Baby Project: Week 2, Completed!

Body After Baby: 2nd Week Completed!

So, this week has not been so dramatic as the last, but I have learned a great deal about my body and work outs. I was able to maintain the previous 6 pounds of weight loss but was unable to remove anymore, so, I've opted to look at my work out schedule and make some adjustments.

1. With the help of SparkPeople.com I was able to keep track of my workout minutes as well as calories burned. I had planned to work out 200 minutes, burning 1440 calories for the week. I ended up working out 172 minutes, burning 1520 calories. And yet, I simply maintained my weight loss.

2. I've decided, once again, not to solely focus on weight loss but to try and keep my focus on my fitness. So, I'm making a commentment to strive for 45 minutes of cardio, 5 days a week. This would up my totaly weekly minutes to: 225, burning 1620 calories per week. I had orginally thought I'd up it to 60 minutes of cardio, daily, but instead felt that was a bit unrealistic and will strive to reach that goal within the next coming weeks.

3. Looking back on the previous week, I realize I was able to get in more work out times (259), burned more calories (1757), as well as worked VBS which limited my dinners to 300 calorie frozen dinners, i.e., lower calories for the week and longer workouts = greater weight loss. I gotcha!

4. The only wrench in my plan this coming week is the fact that I start my 8 hour, 10 days, high-intensity, will get me 6 hrs. credit, & a teacher certification, classes. That's right, folks, from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM I'll be bustin' my butt to get two courses completed in 10 days, which normally would take 12 weeks. *chuckles* Do I really think I'll pull off 45 minutes of cardio a day while doing all this? Am I so arrogant to even think I should tackle this challenge as well as school?? I so am. :)

Work Out Schedule:

Monday:

15 minute elliptical

30 minute run

Tuesday:

(morning) 30 minute bike

(afternoon) 15 minute walk (1 mile, 15 min/mi)

3 sets chest

3 sets back

100 crunches

Wednesday:

(morning) 30 minutes elliptical

(afternoon) 4 mile run

Thursday:

(morning) 45 minute bike ride

Friday:

(morning) 30 minute elliptical

15 minute run

Goal:

45 minute workout for a total of 5 days.

Rewards:

Starbucks coffee :)

Day 129: Hard Work

Day 129:

I've written out my work out plan and have discovered it's hard work. :)

My goal is to run 3 miles in 30 minutes, no breaks. I was able to run 3 miles, yesterday, in 33 minutes, no breaks, and felt great. Sadly, running @ a 10 min/mi pace hurt my lower back. I'm still trying to lean but not actually doing it correctly.

I decided yesterday that no matter if it took a life time, I would become a better runner. I'm in this for the long haul. I'd just like to do it with as little injury as possible, and that includes over training. My knees were a bit sore yesterday evening.

Also, after a great workout, going to work 2.5 more hours @ vacation bible school proved to be another workout in itself. :) I was tired by the time I crawled into bed.