Thursday, May 20, 2010

Blah Blah Blah

Drinking grean tea with honey, eating a luna bar and watching UP. Trying to relax my mind.. In absolutely no relation to my getting healthy, but completely intertwined... I am in such a funk. I simply don't know what to blog about today, because I'm feeling so blah. I've been fighting off this bit'o'funk... but this morning it really hit me hard after an awful dream. Unfortunately all of this blah mindedness is making me think "chocolate, latte, ice cream". I'm a stress, and bummed out eater. Proud of myself for making the right chocies so far, but just wish I could shake this feeling. It's not even as if I can just pin point it to one issue bothering me, it's just an over all feeling of ick.

The meal plan has become second nature to me at this point. Thinking I want to start experimenting more with creating my own 300 calorie meals, rather than using the meals from the book. Even if it's only for 2 or 3 of the 5 meals.

Working out is still getting easier. Although the last couple of days I've burned far less calories than usual. That bums me out. Is it because I'm feeling so funked out, or do I need to take it up another level? Maybe both, honestly....

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Week Two; Day 3 ... Boys have it easier!!

Ugh! I'm just going to take a few minutes to rant about my frustrations!

I'm convinced that guys have it much easier than females in the healthy eating/losing weight department. Not only is it easier for males to shed the pounds and sculpt their bodies, but they don't PMS therefore they don't crave greasy, fried foods, icecream and chocolate for at least a week!! Ugh... I'm definitely struggling. I'm craving rootbeer floats... :( it just sounds so delicious.

As for working out and eating.. still going alright. I've been in a funk the last couple of days... sort of grouchy/sensitive... it's making it a little bit harder to stay focused and push hard.. but i'm trying my best.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Made it to the Second Week!

Not doing so well keeping up with this thing anymore. I've been consumed with the world of job search. bleh. That definitely isn't going so well!!! :/

Insanity is going wonderfully. The first week (the second time) was much much easier than the first time. Was able to keep up with much more of the routine before my heart rate climbed. So that's good stuff.

We did our weigh in yesterday. gained 2 pounds of muscle, but have also lost 2 inches in the waist, and an inch in the legs, arms and chest.... kinda crazy. My arms are starting to look a little more defined now, and my legs are feeling wonderful!

The meal plan is going well too. Use to the meals they provide, but have also become comfortable enough with understanding the healthy eating that I've branched out to create some of my own meals using this food pyramid thingie that was provided with the meal book.

All in all things are going really well. I'm feeling much more energetic, less stressed out, and all around more happy again. :) It feels so good to be in a good workout routine again! It was actually hard to take our day off on Sunday. It felt weird not working out for a day. In fact, it was so weird to Jeff that he actually hopped on the cardio bike and did 5 miles. hahaha. Too funny.

Speaking of Jeffrey. He's doing so well!!! I'm really proud that he's made it so far without giving up. I definitely questioned his dedication at first, but he's totally proved me wrong. :) He's so excited about getting in shape and healthy. He's starting to set goals for himself as to where he wants to be by the end of this program. It's sort of a turn on. ;) (don't tell him I said that though!! hehe)

Anyways.. going to try to get back to the daily blog!

Friday, May 14, 2010

Starting Over.... (Ooops...)

Well last Friday my fiancé and I completely slipped. I had a brutal afternoon, and was feeling so frazzled that I let my craving for pizza take over. I didn't have any desire to cook. I just wanted to relax. So we went and got pizza (I ate 90% of a small greek pizza... it was AMAZING!), and then we went and got frozen yogurt from this new little shop Yogurtie (unbelievably delicious!). We told ourselves we'd work out a little harder to make up for the splurge, but after getting the little man to bed we were feeling so sluggish and uncomfortably full that we couldn't bring ourselves to work out. At that point we decided we'd just work out twice on Saturday to make up for the slip. The problem with that was that I had proven to myself just how easy it was to skip a day and tell myself I'd make it up later. Of course we didn't wake up and work out. My mom wanted to take the little man for the day/night, so we dropped him off with her, and went to lunch (where we had margaritas on the patio). Needless to say we didn't feel like working out at that point either. We ALSO decided to go catch a ball game that night. Nothing but beer, cheesy fries, and peanuts there!! Sunday was Mothers day (suppose to be our break day), we decided we'd just work out twice Sunday instead. Sure didn't!! Ate ice-cream and italian food instead.

My point being, we didn't get back on track with our eating until Monday, and our workout routine on Tuesday. We actually just decided to start the entire program over. The first week was so hard for us anyways, what was an extra week going to hurt?? We've almost made it through our first week (again!), this time with much more ease.

The thing about eating healthy versus not eating healthy is that my body is literally craving these artificial, processed, chemical filled foods, but eating them doesn't taste the same anymore, and the way my body is left filling afterwards is just awful. No energy, sluggish, and just an all around feeling of heaviness. Now that I'm back on track eating healthy my body is loving it... so are my tastebuds!! Every meal I have is so filling, yet so refreshing. I don't feel weighed down.

Still having withdrawals from the junk food. In fact... this week has been killer (i'm pms'ing!!), and have been craving nothing but chocolate, onion rings, cheese sticks and soda. I've not cracked, but even typing those items is making me salivate. I'll continue to try and be strong though!! This morning was actually a blessing, I decided to give a Vanilla Almond Luna bar a whirl for my snack, and it was amazing!! It has this perfect about of sweetness, but is this healthy protein bar. It definitely helped curb my cravings... but now I keep thinking about how badly I want another Luna bar! hahaha...

In regards to our workouts this week; I'm feeling a major improvement from last week. Those legs of mine that were in crazy amounts of pain last week, feel so strong this week, and are not nearly as painful as before. I've actually been able to get through the majority of squatting, and other leg workouts!! I'm thrilled about that!! Now if I could just get my heart rate to stay lower longer. :) Yoga seems to keep my heart rate right in its target range, but in yoga you're stretching and taking your time. As soon as we start up with cardio it takes me about 15-20 minutes before my heart rate sky rockets up to 200 (soo not good!). I've decided that I may start some sort of light cardio/aerobic exercise during the day just to work my heart a little and get to a more athletic target heart rate.

Anyways... no more starting over. We're going full speed ahead this time. :)

Friday, May 7, 2010

Day 4: A Slight Slip

ok.... so I had a little slip today. My weakness has always been sweet tea, and i just really got a craving for it today. I went and got a sweet tea from sonic. It was amazing, however completely left my stomache upset. I suppose this means my body is really diggin the whole eating healthy bit.

I've also been really struggling to consume all 5 meals. My tummy is telling me "too much food!!", so I've been having to eat smaller portions than what they suggest in their nutrition plan. We'll see if it affects me or not.

My legs are still hurting so so bad... Even with all of the stretching. We got our heart monitors today!! They are super awesome. Not only does it show our heart rate, but it shows calories burned... so that's cool.

Tonight is a recovery workout, so I'm assuming stretching of some sort. I'm excited for that!!! :)
All in all so good so far. Definitely getting easier by the day. We're already over the hump for the first week. :)

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Day 3: Holy pain in my Legs!!

Oh my gosh.... I've decided I need a wheel chair for the duration of this workout routine. I spent the majority of my day waddling... yes WADDLING around because my calves and quads were hurting SO bad. In fact I didn't think I would be able to make it downstairs!!

It's sad to say that, even inside this petite shell, is an absolutely unfit, unhealthy body. Once my body gets use to all of this (IF it gets use to this), I'm never going to let myself fall off of a workout routine again. It's pathetic that I feel so sore, and exhausted. I did, on a happy note, lose a pound!! Woohoo!! I'm excited for Monday's "official" weigh in and measurements!

My tastebuds are adjusting to these new healthy meals, and I've started to compile my list of meals i really enjoy. Definitely makes the whole process easier and is more encouraging!
I was scared to workout, because I literally could not walk comfortably. In the end, once we started the work out, my muscles stretched, and couldn't even tell i'd been so uncomfortable all day. Even better, I was able to do so much more of the routine!! It seemed easier... which means one of two things; either the workout WAS easier, OR my body is already adjusting!! I was excited to do more work with our upper body too. Can't wait to rip into the ab portion! Abs have always been my favorite workout :D

Another thing I've noticed about this whole process so far is that I've felt so much more relaxed mentally. Hubby to be and I have spent the last 3 nights just talking and talking and talking after our workout. In the past we would usually be vegging in front of the tv, sucked so far in to whatever we're watching, that i'm not sure either one of us are aware the other is there. I'm so glad he agreed to do this with me. <3 He's amazing, I love him, and I'm so incredibly proud of him!

On the other hand.. I think my housework may be lacking!! Since I've been so sore I've found no motivation to get up and clean the house. Not that the house is filthy or anything.. but I'm a clean freak normally, and anything out of place drives me bonkers!! I'm definitely going to have to find the strength (mentally and physically) to keep my housework up!

PS... for anyone considering doing a workout routine like Insanity. If you're not use to working out, don't have a good workout routine in place already, and are not in athletic form, I would suggest finding a slower paced workout to do before hand. We've had a hard time keeping up with the routines while maintaining our target heart rates. It really is no joke... but I think it would be much easier to get into if you've already been working out for an extended period of time. Just sayin! :D

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Day 2 - Schedule is KEY!

OH BOY! Day 2 was, um... fun? My schedule was completely off. I had to drop my car off in Dallas in the morning, and didn't get home until noon! Keep in mind I should be eating every 2.5 hours (starting at 8am!). I have to eat five meals a day, and had to cram four meals into an entire afternoon. By the time dinner rolled around there was no way I could finish. Schedule is definitely key to maintaining my calories!! Overall day two wasn't too bad though. My meals for the day were surprisingly delicious (other than dinner which was a TOTAL nightmare!).

I was almost terrified to workout. Day one was pretty intense, and my quads & calves were killing me. But I pulled through and did the work out, although didn't work out as hard as I should have. I figure as long as I'm still moving that's good enough. Plus I still want to be able to make it upstairs to bed!! I haven't had a "real" workout like this in about 6 years so my body is definitely scrambling to keep up right now. I'm confident if I can make it through this week I'll be able to step it up and take it to the level I need to.

I did realize today that I need one of those heart rate monitor things. Max interval training is a series of workout routines built to keep your heart rate up high for 3-4 minutes, and then you get 30 seconds of rest (where your heart rate drops back down a bit). It's really hard to keep track of a safe heart rate though without some sort of monitor. I've already requested that I get one for mothers day! :)

Today's meal plan:

Meal 1: Bagel with Turkey
Ingredients: 1/2 whole wheat bagel (scooped out), 1 tbsp whipped cream cheese, 2 slices of tomato, 2 oz. deli style turkey

To be really honest with you, when I read that I needed to scoop out the "innards" I had a pretty bleak outlook on the meal, but after I stuffed everything inside the shell of bagel, it was amazing and I really didn't miss the extra bread! I actually think this is an amazing breakfast for anyone!

Meal 2: Vanilla Berry Protein Shake
Ingredients: 1 cup almond milk, 1 cup mixed berries (frozen), 1 scoop whey protein powder, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1/2 banana, ice to thicken (if needed)

After my first experience with the Berry Protein Smoothie I was really scared about this smoothie. Let me tell ya... WOW! this was delicious. I was actually a little sad when I finished it. I couldn't taste the almond milk, or protein powder at all.. and it was like this perfect consistency.

Meal 3: Grilled Chicken Salad
Ingredients: 3 cups dark greens, 1/2 apple (chopped), 1 tbsp pecans, 3 oz grilled chicken, cucumber (as needed/wanted), lemon juice to taste

Amazing!! And quite filling. It was a very refreshing meal.

Meal 4: Cold Cut Platter:
Ingredients: 2 oz deli style turkey, 2 oz deli style ham, 1 oz lowfat swiss cheese, sliced tomato, and 100 calories worth of whole grain crackers (i got whole grain wheat things)

By now I was so full I was having a hard time to convince myself to eat this meal. I ended up eating every 1.5-2 hours throughout the afternoon to keep on track with my meals.... 2 oz of deli meat sure doesn't sound like much.. but wow.. It was 2 -3 large slices of each, 11 crackers, tomato and the cheese. So much food, I actually didn't end up eating the whole thing, but it was very good. Even my son loved it!!! He was very proud of himself for eating healthy. As soon as daddy got home it was the first thing he told him!! "Daddy I ate a healthy snack!!" of course he didn't eat the cheese, but everything else he did. I was SO proud!!

Meal 5: Chicken Meatballs
Ingredients: 3 oz ground chicken, 1 egg white, 1 tbsp bread crumbs, 1/2 cup whole grain pasta, 1/2 cup tomato sauce, 1 cup green beans (steamed)

Um.... chicken meatballs... look, feel, and smell disgusting. Making them was the worst experience of my life. In fact I became so disgusted making them that I couldn't force myself to eat them. I sustituted 1 cup of beans instead.... Everything else was good. Although if you have heartburn issues I definitely suggest taking zantac before eating the tomato sauce (very acidic!)

Anyways... I'm excited to keep moving forward! Day three is Cardio and Resistance training! dun dun dunnnnnn.....

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Day 1 - A complete life style change

Day one was interesting to say the least. You don't realize how many products you eat containing sugar, and processed junk until it's no longer in your diet. In fact, I'm finding it sad how conditioned our taste buds are to finding processed foods so appeasing.

I won’t lie, in terms of meal plan, day one was brutal. I thought I would try to step out of my shell, and eat foods I normally dislike (milk, nonfat plain yogurt, nonfat cottage cheese). I tried them all, didn't like them at all, but found the strength to push through and eat the meals I planned for myself. Here's a little breakdown of what my day 1 looked like:

Meal 1: Berry Protein Smoothie
Ingredients: whey protein powder, almond milk, 1 cup frozen mixed berries and ice

I thought I had it in the bag with this meal.... the first sip I took, I gagged. The protein tasted awful, and I could TOTALLY taste the almond milk. Yuck!! But about half way through I realized my mouth was so numb that I couldn't taste it. I kept telling myself it's for a good reason, and finished it.

Meal 2: Yogurt Bowl!
Ingredients: 1 cup nonfat plain yogurt, 1 apple (chopped), 2 tbps walnuts (chopped), 1 tsp. honey

I completely underestimated the interesting flavor of nonfat plain yogurt. OH BOY! The only thing that kept me going on this was the large amount of apple that was mixed into it. I talked to my mom and she gave me some sound advice "pretend that it's sour cream, that's how I learned to love it".

Meal 3: Whole wheat pasta with steamed veggies
Ingredients: 3/4 cup whole wheat pasta, 1 cup steamed mixed veggies, 1/3 cup feta

Personally.. I love feta. This was a pretty good meal, but a little bland.

Meal 4: Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich
Ingredients: 2 tbsp. peanut butter, 1 tbsp fruit preserve, 1 slice whole grain bread

This was delicious, but REALLY can you mess up a pbj?!

Meal 5: Steak and Broccoli
Ingredients: 3 oz flank steak, 1 cup broccoli (steamed), 1 small baked potato. Was allowed to use lemon juice and Dijon mustard for taste.
I found an extreme love for Dijon this meal, because it was the only thing I could dip my steak (not a big meat eater), and potato in. Ever have a plain baked potato? It's freaking DRY! But decent none the less.

All in all not the worst day possible, but stepping out of my comfort zone is definitely a struggle. I don't want to be stuck eating the same 5 things every day though, so I'm determined to continue a well balanced variety.

Now.. The first day’s work out.

OMG! I literally thought I might die at the end of it. Keep in mind, the first work out for Insanity isn't a true work out it's a "fit test" and WOW I felt about as fit as a hippopotamus after this was said and done. Max interval training is no joke! Half way through the work out my ear was hurting (I have terrible sinus blockage right now). By the end of the work out my heart was racing, I was terribly sweaty, light headed and felt like I couldn't see straight. LOL now THAT'S a work out. I literally curled up in the fetal position, when I mustered up the courage to walk upstairs and crawl in to bed, and called my mommy (I needed some soothing).

I'm terrified of Day 2 workout, but as I said.... I'm not going to give up. Besides, it only gets easier from here right?! :)

Oh!! Two day one pix, to keep a picture diary of my (hopefully) transformation.




Where it started, and WHY?

I've never been overweight. in fact the only time in my life I’ve ever weighed over 110 was when I was pregnant with my son (I think that's a pretty good excuse ;) ). I may not have ever been over weight, but I've never been very conscious of what I put into my body either.

Last year I decided to take a Yoga class for school to get my PE credit. I'm pretty sure that's where my journey began. Within weeks of being in the class my body shifted. I'm not sure how to explain it, but the biggest difference with me was the fact that my body no longer liked me to drink my morning lattes or any alcoholic beverages. I'd get dizzy, and feel disgusting. Of course I listened to my body and tried to cut them out as much as possible.

The class was over, and the months went on, and I just started becoming more conscious of the foods I was eating, and the drinks I was consuming. I started hearing all of this talk about how this generation of kids is the first that isn't expected to outlive their parents. This to me is a very scary and serious situation. I want to be a good role model for my son (who refuses to eat veggies, oats, and most fruits).

I've been jobless for about 4 months. During my time at home looking for jobs, I watch whatever's on day time TV. I decided to watch The Biggest Loser, one day, just to see what it was about. It sucked me in. The show is amazing. To watch so many people completely transform their lives and overcome so many obstacles, and take hold of a healthy life style (that in most cases is literally life saving) is the most inspirational and motivational thing I've ever witnessed. It made me feel like a total jerk though. Here I am weighing 110 pounds, complaining that my body isn't in "pre-baby" order, yet not doing a single thing to fix it. If these people can lose hundreds of pounds and become these tiny toned little things, surely I can find the drive to lose my measly 10-12 lbs, tone up, and find my pre-baby body.

So... I convinced my hubby to be to go on this journey to health with me. We ordered Insanity, put together our meal plans, and completely restocked our cupboards with healthy, organic, sugar free foods. I'm hoping that our son will see us eating healthy and decide that veggies really aren't that bad!

We'll see how this goes. It’s supposed to be 60 days. I have crazy determination to finish this and to create a new healthier life style for myself, and my family.

Wish me luck!!!