Hey everyone! I know it has been way too long since I have updated, but life has been kinda crazy lately!

If you follow my other blog, you know about my recent head injury. It's pretty minor, but unfortunately I had to take a few days off from the gym. The accident happened on a Saturday, and I waited until the next Saturday to really work out again. Other than walking, which I did a lot of. I got two of my stitches out on Sunday, and I just ran into my neighbor (the guy who is taking them out for me), and he said he is coming over tomorrow to take out a couple more. So I should be good to go!

Also, I joined a site called Fitocracy, and I've been logging my workouts on there. It is a great site, and super motivating.

Oh, and I am officially 70 pounds down! I was nervous that missing workouts would hinder my weight loss, but I've still been steadily losing... it's the veganism!

Anyway, hopefully I will post more once I'm fully functioning again. But until then, I hope everyone is reaching their goals and working out hard!

I might have mentioned this in a previous post, but I'm finally about two pounds under the weight I was when I started dieting, which was about nine years ago.

How sick is it that I started dieting when I was fourteen?

If I could go back and talk to my former, adolescent self, I would tell her be happy with her body. I would warn her that years of dieting would damage her self-esteem and her metabolism. I would tell her that I would eventually gain almost 70 pounds, just because every failed diet leads to months of bingeing.

My body isn't perfect now. I still have a while to go until I get down to my "goal weight". But,  I know that I have come so far. I look and feel so much better. I am happy here.

More importantly, I am happy with who I am as a person. I feel like I've changed so much over the past few years. And that is more important than what size I wear or what number flashed back at me when I step on the scale.

My biggest regret is that I wasted so much of my time feeling bad about myself.

This is the first summer in a long time where I've actually felt comfortable wearing shorts and tank tops in public. But why? Why did I spend every other summer over the past nine years wearing clothes that were too hot and uncomfortable? So other people wouldn't see my thunder things, or arm fat?

Who was I kidding?

I've made a promise to be more gentle with myself, and to accept my self for who I am.

And I'm so much happier because of it!

Happy Sunday Everyone!

Not only is it a great Sunday morning, but it is also Memorial Day weekend. So, Charlotte, Colt, and I are heading over to our neighbor Joe's house in a little bit for a barebeque with some our neighbors.

Usually, holiday parties are tricky. Typically I'm on some diet, and I don't want to eat a bunch of junk food. But, now that I'm vegan, there are a whole new set of problems. When you think of cooking out on the grill, you typically think of meat... lots and lots of meat. And the sides are usually full of dairy products.

Luckily, Joe knows all about our eating habits, so he made sure to buy some veggie burgers and a few other vegan things for us! We are bringing our favorite black bean burgers for everyone and I just made some really great chocolate chip, banana cookies. So, hopefully this holiday party will be much more guilt free than normal.

In other news, I've been doing a great new exercise routine, that I just have to talk about.

I've been doing HIIT for a while now, but I've always used the little method. Well, out of curiosity, I decided to try the Tabata method, and I love it!

Basically, you do 20 seconds of really high intensity exercise, followed by ten seconds of rest. You do this four times, and the whole workout takes only 4 minutes.

Sounds crazy right?

I was skeptical too, but after adding this into my daily workout routine, I'm already five pounds down.

Now, let me start off by saying that this isn't all I do. But, I do it every morning as soon as I wake up. It raises my heart rate enough that it wakes me up, and helps my body burn more calories for hours afterwards. (Some sources say up to 36 hours.) I should also say that, by "high intensity" I mean, really high. You have to  work so hard that by the end of the 20 second interval, you feel like your heart is going to burst.

Some athletes do only this... four minutes a day and that's it. A quick Google search brings up tons of research and testimonials about Tabata. I'm so glad I found it!

Aside from that, I've been doing a lot of HIIT on the elliptical, and I have been doing a weight routine which I'm going to do for two weeks, to see what kind of changes I see.

So far, I've increased my weight to 30 pounds, and I've been improving my count every day!

I feel really good, and I'm gaining confidence every day!

Happy Memorial Day!

I planned on coming here to post my weekly workouts... but if feel like that's getting old.

Is that getting old?

I'm also tired, so tomorrow I might reevaluate my decision to half-ass this post... or maybe not.

It is just that there are so many things that I want to write about on this blog. I want to talk about body image, fat-shaming, and all of the other issues that I've faced on this journey. But it seems like all I do lately is post about my workouts, which kept me accountable for awhile, but these days most of my workouts are looking pretty similar.

If I'm not doing a fitness class, I'm usually doing some combination of strength training, cardio, HIIT, and circuit training. Which is great, and my workout is different every single day. But, I don't think it is necessary to post a play by play.

So, I've decided (just now, in my head), that I'm going to start posting about the things that I want to talk about. And, if I have a super good workout, I will post about it in detail, which will be more beneficial than just saying I did HIIT for the day.

Anyway, I'm tired... so that's all I have to say.

Goodnight!

I just realized that it has been close to two weeks since my last post.

I had originally planned to write an update while in Ohio, but it was a crazy, hectic, trip and I just really didn't think about it.

I made some crazy realizations while home. First of all, I realized that it is no use planning my diet and exercise while in Ohio. It just never works out the way I want it to.

More importantly, I realized that eating Non-Vegan foods does not agree with my body.

The first night home, my mom excitedly told me that she had been marinating steaks since the day before. So, I hesitantly decided it would be okay to eat one. I also added a little butter to my baked potato, and had a glass of milk with my dessert (blueberry pie).

Let's just say, woke up at 2 am, and spent the next thirty minutes with my head in the toilet.

So not worth it!

I ate an abundance of sugar while at home too. Between Colt's birthday party, and my early birthday celebration, there was enough cake to feed a third world country.

Needless to say I felt pretty gross.

Exercise was pretty lacking too. I had planned some pretty tough workouts, as an attempt to offset the bad eating I knew I might do. In reality the only real exercise that I got was a couple of walks with my mom.

So, I bet you can guess that the scale wasn't happy.

But, I didn't gain too much, and I already have more than half of it off. (Water weight)

So, even though I wish I could have been healthier, it didn't turn out too badly.

We came home on Tuesday evening, so Wednesday I was ready to get back in the gym.  I didn't have my own workout plan ready so I opted to go to a basic step class, and I added a set or risers to make the workout a little more intense.

Thursday, I did a really effective CrossFit workout. It was five rounds of 100 jump ropes ,and 15 overhead squats. My legs and abs are still really sore.

This morning I'm getting ready to head to the gym to take a Kickboxing boot camp class, and if I'm not too tired I will do Pilates afterwards.

I'm really excited to see where I can take my body this month. Going home was a great reminder of how far I've come! I got such a positive response from my family and friends, so I want to make sure I look and feel even better when I go home in July!

I Eat to Live.

I'm sure you've all heard the popular mantra that 80% of a healthy body is made in the kitchen, the other 20%  is made at the gym. Sometimes it's 70/30 or 75/25. Sometimes it takes into account genetic factors. But, the point always remains clear, that what we eat has more to do with the way we look and feel than how much or how hard we work out.

So, I thought that maybe I should talk a little bit about how I've been eating lately, since becoming 100% vegan. After the first two weeks of being vegan, I lost 8 pounds. During the 3rd week, I lost 3 more. Now, coming up on the forth week, I think it is safe to say that my weight loss has gone much faster than it ever has on a normal diet. (By diet I mean "way of eating", not unhealthy food restriction.)

When I tell people I'm a vegan, I usually get questions like "So you don't eat meat, or milk, or cheese, or eggs... so what do you eat.", as if those are the only four foods on the face of the earth. I also get things like "Don't you feel deprived.", and, "How do you get enough protein/calcium/iron."

So, let me walk you through a typical day in our family.

I start off every day with a glass of green tea, with a table spoon of lemon. Lemon helps detoxify our bodies, and helps to balance the body's p.h.

Then, I drink a table spoon of apple cider vinegar, followed be a few gulps of water. It is really repulsive, but it also helps with detox and p.h. balance, as well as digestion, and a few other things.

For breakfast, at around 8, I have a Vega One Nutritional Shake. It comes in powder form, in a few different flavors. I add it to one cup of nondairy milk (usually almond), half a banana, some berries, and some leafy greens (typically kale or spinach). Then, I throw in some chia seeds, flax meal, and ice. I blend it until it is a the texture of a smoothie. It is really filling, and it is formulated to provide vegans with a lot of the nutrients that people assume we aren't getting. Although it is possible, and quite easy, to get protein, calcium, and iron from a plant based diet, Vega One makes it so much simpler.

At around 10:30, I have a snack. Typically I have fruit. Because fruit has such a high sugar content, it is important that it is paired with protein and fiber. So, I usually add a tablespoon of all natural peanut butter, or 2 ounces of raw nuts (cashews, hazlenuts, almonds, or walnuts). If I'm not going to be home, I will pack home made trail mix. Basically, just nuts with raisins and dried fruit.

I have lunch between 12 and 1, depending on the day. Some days, I just have dinner leftovers from the night before. If I make lunch, it is usually something easy to put together, like a baked sweet potato and kale, or sauteed vegetables with soy sauce. Always lots of vegetables.

Around 3:30, I have an afternoon snack. I try to do vegetables for this snack. So, hummus and carrots, or peppers and cucumbers. Just something to keep me full until dinner.

Dinner is the most fun. We have found a ton of great recipes, and already have our favorites figured out. They include black bean veggie burgers, heart of palm "crab" cakes, and peppercorn tempeh. It is really amazing how we can throw plant based foods together to make wonderful food. We are also able to have a lot of our old favorites, with just a little modification. We make vegan enchallidas, quinoa, spaghetti, and pizza. The vegan versions are just as good as the normal versions, and don't leave us feeling tired or gross.

After dinner, we have banana ice cream, which I'm sure I've talked about on here before. It is the perfect way to end any night, and it is an especially nice treat after I get home from the gym.

So, that's it. We eat a lot of good food, and get a lot of nutrients.

A lot of people wonder why we would choose to eat this way. The answer is simple, we eat this way because it is the healthiest way to eat.

I always here things like "our bodies were made to eat animals, humans have always done it." Well, to that I say, that I'm pretty sure that cavemen didn't eat cows and chickens. They most likely ate wild boar, deer, and small rodents. None of which are seen in the traditional American diet.

When we eat meat, we are giving our bodies a huge serving of protein and fat, without any fiber. Which is why meat consumption has been linked to all kinds of cancer.

You think it is healthy to drink milk, or eat dairy products? Think of it like this, when you go to the store, and buy a gallon of milk, you are literally buying cow's breast milk. That milk was designed to help baby calves grow to the size of, well, a fat cow. Clearly, it has the same effect on people. Besides that, we live in a culture that is so judgmental when it comes to breast feeding mothers. Heaven forbid a mother is still breast feeding her toddler (which is absolutely normal and beneficial) but we all pump our kids full of breast milk from a cow and say that it will give us strong bones.

Okay, before I go off on any more of a rant, I'm going to stop. But, to answer the questions you've all been asking- I eat a huge variety of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, grains, and legumes. I absolutely do not feel deprived, and I probably get more protein, calcium, and iron than the typical american.

I can't believe that April is almost over. Time really needs to slow down, so that I can have a minute to prepare myself for what's to come. It seems like it was just yesterday that I was thinking "Wow March is almost over." In a little over a week, my job search starts... yikes.  So, I'm trying to really focus on myself this week. Working out gives me a temporary break from the stress of being an adult, which I think is why I spent so much time doing it this month. If my calculations are correct, I've worked out all but two days this month. Which is a big improvement from where I used to be. I find myself growing more confident every day. Even when I don't notice obvious changes on the scale or in my body, I know that little by little I am become the Stacy that I want to be, and it is an awesome feeling.

Later this week, I am leaving for Ohio for a couple of days. I'm so excited to see everyone, but I'm also nervous about what I'm going to eat and how I'm going to work out. Being a gluten free vegan is easy here, because the people who I eat every meal with are also vegan and gluten free. When I get to Ohio, that will be vastly different. For now, my plan is to mainly focus on the vegan aspect of my diet. For example, spaghetti is vegan, but it might be hard to find gluten free noodles at my hometown grocery store, so I'll have to suck it up. I can also make pizza with no cheese, but I'm not going to make my mom buy gluten-free flour just for one pizza crust. It will be a challenge for sure, but I think I'm up for it.

I'm also going to have to be creative with my workouts. The last time I was home, I did a lot of running, which is great, but I've really been trying to focus on circuit training and high intensity intervals, so I'm going to have figure out a way to do that in my mom's apartment. The only equipment that she has is 3 and 5 pound weights, and I plan on taking my jump rope. So, I'm going to sit down tonight, in between planning for Colt's party, and figure out an exact workout schedule. I need to make sure to work every muscle group at least twice while I'm away, which might prove to be a little tricky.

Anyway, here is my workout log starting with Sunday, April 21st.

Sunday- I had a massage this day, so I didn't want to ruin my relaxed state and pain free muscles with an intense workout, so I just took Colt and Bella on a 2.2 mile walk.

Monday- I did a circuit of 15 minutes on the elliptical doing the hills program, 2 exercises for each muscle group, 4 core exercises, and then 15 more minutes on the elliptical.

Tuesday - I did another 2.2 mile walk, but I mixed it up with some sprints. It proved to be challenging running with a stroller in the wind!

Wednesday- I did a circuit routine. I can't find the sheet where I wrote it down, but it was 40 minutes total on the elliptical and 1 exercise per muscle group.

Thursday- This was one of the toughest CrossFit workouts I've ever done. It was and 800 meter run, 50 burpees, 40 wall balls, 30 squats, 10 pushups, and another 800 meter run. It doesn't sound that hard, but I promise you, my legs hurt until today (Monday).

Friday- I didn't work out today for a couple of reasons. First of all, my legs were so sore that it was hard to even walk. And, even if I had wanted to work out, I spent most of the day shopping with Charlotte and Cassie, so I didn't get home until it was to late to get in a good workout before bed. It was a much needed day off.

Saturday- I did 50 minutes on the elliptical, Pilates, and Zumba.

Sunday- I decided to whip out my iPod and use my Nike Training Center app. It's been a while, and I remember a few months ago thinking that all of the workouts were so hard. While the one that I ended up doing wasn't "easy", I think it is safe to say that I am in much better shape now. It was a fun workout, and it got my heart rate up.

Monday- Today I did a HIIT elliptical routine that I found online. I love the elliptical machines at my gym, they are so easy to program, and have tons of different crossramp/ resistance options. This particular routine was only 30 minutes long (including cool down) but I was exhausted at the end. I think HIIT is going to be so important when it comes to burning fat. I also did a strength training routine, focusing on my upper body.

So, that's all! Tomorrow is the last day of April and I plan to do either CrossFit, or Nike Training Center.

Wish me luck on being healthy at home!

A couple of weeks ago, I scheduled my first massage. When I called to make the appointment the lady on the other end asked if I had a gender preference for my massage therapist. Not wanting to come off as a prude, I said "No", and was given an appointment with a guy named John. 

This past Sunday, the day of the massage, I started to get nervous. What if he is attractive? and What if he thinks my body is disgusting? were just a couple of the thoughts racing through my head. 

When I got there, I filled out some paper work, and answered questions like "Is it okay for him to touch your butt?" ... No.  "Is it okay for him to touch your abdomen?".... No.  "Is it okay for him to touch your feet?"... Sure.  And then I was promptly taken to a dark, calm waiting room. 

A few minutes later, the receptionist came back and introduced me to the man that was about to see me in my underwear. I have to say, it was worse that I expected. I feared a super attractive, Channing Tatum type. But no, this guy was tall and kind of awkward and totally my type. Cue body insecurity. 

So, the therapist takes me back to a dark room with a warm table, and leaves the room while I undress. Laying on the table, I just started to relax. By the time he came back in the room, I was so relaxed that I didn't even care that he was rubbing my thunder thighs, or that he could probably see my stomach fat when we massaged my lower back. It just felt so wonderful. Half-way through the session, I decided that I was definitely scheduling another one. 

When he was done, he left the room, so I could get dressed. When I opened the door he was waiting for me with a glass of water, and asked me how I felt. I felt almost drunk. I was slurring my words, and I almost spilled my water when I handed him his tip. I now understand what the term "hot mess" refers to. 

So I scheduled my next appointment for right after my birthday, and after I got home, I started Googling things like "Do massage therapists think it is gross when they have fat clients?"  The results of these searches kind of opened my eyes to a few things. 

First of all, I'm not that fat anymore. Actually, my body is similar to the average american woman. I'm far from skinny, but I'm no longer a fat beast. I see myself every day, so it is hard for me to see the changes in my body. Most days, I wake up and feel like the same old fat Stacy. But the fact of the matter, is that if I were to see someone my size walking down the street, I probably wouldn't even think she was fat. 

Also, I came to the conclusion that I have a lot of muscle. One of the things that massage therapists had to say was that with really fat clients (which as I just stated doesn't apply to me) it can be hard to reach the muscle to do a massage. So, I laid on my bed feeling the muscles in all of the body parts that John massaged, and I don't even have to apply pressure to know that they are there. 

With that, I concluded that my body is not to disgusting to get a massage, and my therapist most likely just thought it was like any other body that he'd worked on that day. 

So, when June rolls around, I think I will be much more relaxed when it comes time to strip down and climb under the sheets. 

Anyway, here is my exercise from last week!

Monday 4/15- I did a circuit with a pyramid routine for cardio. I started out with 15 minutes on the elliptical followed by a set of 2 upper body exercises, 2 core exercises, and 2 lower body exercises. And then 10 minutes on the elliptical, followed by 6 more exercises, and then 5 minutes on the elliptical, and then 6 more exercises. 

Tuesday- I did the CrossFit  workout of the day, which was 5 sets of 3 deadlifts, using 10 pound plates for a total of 55 pounds. I also did 130 squats. 

Wednesday- 135 squats. Walked a half a mile. At the gym, I did a circuit of 35 minutes on the elliptical, with upper, core, and lower strength training exercises in between. 

Thursday- I decided not to go to the gym, so I created a workout to do in my back yard. I started by running a lap, and then doing 20 crunches, and then I would run another lap and to a different exercise, and then run a lap and do 20 more crunches and so on... I ended up doing 140 crunches, and a lot of jumping jacks, burpees, mountain climbers, lunges, and a few other exercises. 

Friday- I did the CrossFit workout of the day, which was 5 sets of 5 clean thrusters. And I did 20 minutes of cardio. 

Saturday- I did step, which was with a new instructor and was a lot of fun! I also did Pilates and Zumba, and then we all went for a little walk after dinner, probably about a mile. 

So that was what I did last week, I really had an awesome week, and the scale is absolutely reflecting all of my hard work! 

I've had an awesome week, and an even better weekend!

I know I'm supposed to post all of the workouts I've done so far this week, but I'm short on time right now, so I will either post mid-week, or do two weeks worth next weekend.

But, I do want to report that I've lost 4 more pounds this week (for a total of 8 during the two weeks that I've been strictly vegan). I also just purchased a pair of jeans that are two sizes smaller than the jeans I bought a couple of months ago! So, needless to say I'm happy!

I will post more later when I have a little more time! I hope everyone is having a great week!

I Hate Squats.

I've done hundreds of squats and lunges this week. But, as much as I hate doing them, they certainly are effective. My legs are currently numb from tonight's workout, so I though now would be a good time to post my workout log for the last week.

Sunday 4/7- Two mile walk and a crossfit workout. The crossfit workout of the day was 3 rounds of box jumps (I stepped up), overhead presses, and this other dead-lift type exercise that I can't pronounce or spell. 15 reps each.

Monday- Colt and I did one lap around the cul-de-sacs in our neighbor, which took about 15 minutes. At the gym I did 70 squats, and then a circuit routine which consisted of 3 rounds of ten minutes on the elliptical, and then an upper body routine, a core routine, and a lower body routine in between each round of cardio.

Tuesday- Walked 2.2 miles, did 75 squats, and did a crossfit routine which consisted of 5 rounds of three exercises.

Wednesday- 80 Squats. At the gym, I did another circuit routine. 15 minutes on the elliptical, an upper body workout, 10 minutes on the treadmill, 4 mph which is a fast walk/jogging pace for me. A core workout, 10 minutes on the elliptical, and then a lower body workout.

Thursday- I went to kickboxing class, which is always a challenge. We did a lot of burpees and mountain climbers. Overall, a great workout.

Friday- On Friday, I planned on taking a walk with Colt, but it rained in the morning, and then we all went grocery shopping in the afternoon. So, I ended up just doing 100 squats for the night. But, it served as a good rest day.

Saturday- 105 squats, 30 minutes on the elliptical, Pilates, and Zumba. Basically, a typical Saturday.

Sunday (Today)- Today I did another crossfit workout, which is why my legs feel like jello! Today's workout was to do lunges for 100 feet, do fifty squats, run back to the beginning, and then do fifty back extenders using the pull-up band which is about 50 pounds of resistance. Repeat 3 times. It was a pretty good workout, and I love working out outside.

I'm getting ready to create tomorrow's workout, but before I go, I just want to report that my first full week as a strict vegan went great! I will do a post in a couple of weeks to talk about how I feel, but so far I've already lost 4 pounds! I'm super excited about it!

Veganism, Motivation, and my Weekly Workout Report

On Easter Sunday, Matt left to go to Afghanistan for 6 months, and Charlotte and I finally converted fully to veganism. We've been following recipes out of Kris Carr's book, titled Crazy Sexy Kitchen. So far, we've tried vegan chili, and black bean and roasted sweet potato veggie burgers, which were absolutely fantastic! I feel pretty good, but I don't really want to report on how this change is going for a couple of weeks, once my body fully adjusts. But, so far so good! 

What hasn't been good, is my level of motivation over the past few days. When it comes to diet and exercise, I've made myself push through, but in other areas of my life, I feel like I've just hit a wall. 

At the beginning of every month, I make a master list of all of my goals. I do this by looking at my New Year's Resolutions, my future desired self chart, and my one year plan, and picking out steps that I can take to achieve the goals on each list. 

This month, I've given myself a few big tasks, like preparing my resume, planning for my friend to visit at the end of May, reading a few books, and a few other things. In order to accomplish all of this by the end of the month, I need to work a little each day. 

The past few month's this has worked great, and I've made a lot of progress on my goals. April, however isn't off to such a great start. I think I've just been pushing myself to hard. I've been trying to plan what I'm going to do and when I'm going to do it, when what I really need to do, is just work on what is appealing to me at the time. 

So, that is what I'm going to do starting tonight. After this post, I'm going to plan our menu for the next week,  and then read a little before going to bed. One day at a time... 

Anyway, here is my journal for the week! I should start out by saying, that I am currently working on two different fitness challenges. One, is to do 300 flutter kicks a day, and the other is a squat challenge, starting at 50, and then adding 5 every day. 

Monday- Charlotte, Colt, and I went for a walk in the afternoon, and then in the evening I went to the gym. I did ten minutes on the elliptical, did a really tough weight routine, and then went to step class. 

Tuesday- 300 flutters. 100 Crunches. I also did 5 sets of 30 jumping jacks, 30 kick backs, and 30 knee highs. 

Wednesday- 300 Flutters. At the gym, I did ten minutes on the elliptical, followed by an arm routine, ten more minutes on the elliptical, then a core routine, then more elliptical, then a lower body routine, finishing off with the elliptical, for a total of 40 minutes elliptical, and about 30 minutes of strength training. 

Thursday- Thursday, I had all intentions of going to kickboxing, but on the way to the gym, one of my windshield wipers decided not to work, and since it was pouring, I decided to come back home. I ended up doing my squats, flutters, and 15 minutes of light cardio. Obviously, kickboxing would have been a better workout! 

Friday- Flutters, Squats, 3 sets of 1 minute planks, 25 crunches, 25 mountain climbers, and 25 leg lifts. 3 sets of 25 presses, 25 bicep curls, and 25 triceps curls. 65 minutes on the elliptical. 

Saturday- Today, I did step, which was finally a new routine. However, the instructor obviously hadn't practiced it enough, because she messed up a dozen times, and it ended up being a less than great workout. The routine was fun, but I wish she would have known it better! Then I did Pilates, which was really tough. Hundreds of squats.  Then I went to Zumba, which was okay. It wasn't my favorite instructor, but we zumbaed to some Britney Spears, so that was fun. Then, when I came home, Charlotte asked if I wanted to to for a walk, so we went about two miles. Needless to say, I'm exhausted!! 

I'm supposed to do flutters tonight, but I kind of hate them! They hurt my hands, and they only feel effective half of the time. So, I think I might drop that challenge, and just focus on the squats! 

So, that was my week. I'm hoping to see great results on the scale this week, especially thanks to the vegan diet I've been on! 

I'll keep you posted! 

Weekly Workouts!

This post is going to be quick, because I have a whole lot to do! But, I wanted to stop by and record my workouts for this week! I had a pretty great week, and I hit a new low on the scale! So, I'm going to chalk these workouts up as a success!

Monday- Weights and Step. I decided that I wanted to start changing my weight routine up more often, and I actually have a pretty cool idea for that, which I'll talk about in a later post. Step was a good workout, but once again, it was the same routine. I'm not really sure what the instructor is doing. It was fun the first two times, but now it is just super annoying!

Tuesday- I took Bella for what was supposed to be a 4 mile walk. About a mile in she started slowing down, and wanted to go home. So, we ended up getting about two miles in, including a couple of sprints. That night, I did a 10 minute kickboxing video and a 5 minute Ab video.

Wednesday- I did a new weight routine, which was a lot of fun. Then, I went to step. The instructor was Doretha. I've been to her regular aerobics classes before, and they were wonderful, but this class wasn't as great as a workout as I would have liked. It was a super basic step class. We mainly just did variations of basic and traveling kicks, knees, taps, abductors, calve curls, and glute squeezes. At the end of class, we did about 10 minutes of ab work, which was really good.

Thursday- My friend Tracy told me that she was going to try the kickboxing class for the first time, so I decided to try it with her. Before class, I planned on doing an ab workout. I got done with that really quickly so I did the elliptical for about ten minutes before class. Kickboxing was super intense. It was a great combination of cardio and strength training. I definitely plan to go back next week!

Friday-  I'd been pretty sick throughout the week. For a few days, my wisdom teeth hurt super bad, and then Thursday morning I woke up with a wicked sore throat, which carried into Friday. So, I decided to take it easy on Friday. I took some medicine and then Bella and I went on a 1.8 mile walk. Sometimes running makes my throat hurt even when I'm not sick (I'm a mouth breather), so I decided just to walk. When I got back, I did a 10  minute upper body workout and a 10 minute ab workout.

Saturday- I headed to the gym pretty early this morning. I did a 10 minute warm-up on the elliptical (interval), and then I did 30 reps on the triceps extender and the shoulder press machine. I went to step, and once again, it was the same routine. 4 times. It is getting ridiculous.  After step, I did Pilates. We used the stability ball. My muscles were still pretty sore from kickboxing, so this class was hard, but effective. I decided to stay for Zumba, just because my favorite instructor was teaching, and I wanted to give Matt, Charlotte, and Colt, some extra family time, because Matt is deploying tomorrow night.

Tomorrow is Easter Sunday, so I'm not planning on working out. I want to give my sore muscles a much needed break, before I jump back into things on Monday!

This month, I lost 4 more pounds. My leg muscles are really toned. I don't even have to flex to feel them. None of my clothes fit anymore, and my hair is getting really long again, which isn't health related, but it makes me feel good about myself!

Happy Easter!

The other day I had a "brilliant" idea.

While at the gym, I was trying to think about what kinds of exercise I'd done during the past month. But, it was really hard to remember. Days seem to blur together, and I know I have good routines but I can never remember what worked and what didn't. So, I decided that I'm going to start doing a weekly exercise log on this blog. I think it will help keep me accountable, and when I hit a rut I can look back and see what worked and what didn't. Plus, I think it will help keep me accountable. If I look at my week and realize that I haven't worked out as well as I could, then I will know I need to do better the next week.

So, without further ado, here is my exercise log for the past week:

Saturday 3/16- Step and Pilates. Step was really good, but it was the same routine as the previous Monday, which was kind of disappointing. I wasn't going to do Pilates, but my friend Tracy showed up, so I went just to catch up with her.
Sunday 3/17- I can't remember what I did this day. I know I didn't go to the gym, and there is nothing in my running long, so I know I didn't do that, but I know that I did something. My guess is that I either went for a walk, or that I did aerobics at home.
Monday 3/18- I did my weight routine. (Which I will post at the end of this) And 40 minutes on the elliptical.
Tuesday 3/19- I did my weight routine at home, so I used slightly smaller weights, and I went for a run. The distance was 1.8 miles, but my pants kept trying to fall down, so I had to stop a few times to adjust. It was a pretty sucky run because I was trying to hold my pants and iPod with one hand, and pace myself with my other arm. I also went for a walk with Colt later in the day, we put in about a mile.
Wednesday 3/20- Weight Routine at the gym, and 50 minutes on the elliptical.
Thursday 3/21- 1.8 mile run. It went much better this time. Then, at night I did 25 minutes of aerobics , and a 5 minute ab routine.
Friday 3/22- Charlotte, Colt, Matt, and I went somewhere up North and met up with 2 of Matt's friends. Matt and his friends went rock climbing and Charlotte, Colt and I went on a pretty strenuous 4.3 mile hike, that had over 300 steps. It was rough but it felt good to be outside.
Saturday 3/23- My gym had it's second installment of boot camp in the morning. It was pretty intense this time around. My whole body hurt afterwards, and I ended up with rug burns on both of my knees. Afterwards I decided to stay for Pilates. In the middle of Pilates, I remembered that I had an apple and a Cliff bar in my car, so I decided to stay for Zumba so I could burn off those calories. I decided to start taking snacks to eat after the gym, so that I can give my body the nutrients necessary for healthy cellular regeneration, which starts the moment a workout is finished.
Today 3/24 - I've been understandably sore today, and my wisdom teeth are coming in, which is pretty painful, so I'm going to take it easy today, I might do some aerobics tonight, and maybe an ab workout, but that's about it.

This Week's Strength Training Routine (Changes every 2 weeks):

5 Supersets of Straight Leg Crunches and Bicycles- 20 reps each.

2 Supersets of Standing Obliques and Weighted Obliques (20 lbs)- 20 Reps Each

3 Supersets of Squats and Sumo Squats, 10lbs- 10 Reps Each

3 Supersets of Leg lifts, forward leg circles, backward leg circles, and kickouts. - 10 reps each

2 Supersets of Bridges and Toe Bridges- 10 reps each.

2 Supersets of Bicep curls, triceps curls, vertical wings, horizontal wings, and presses. 10 reps each.

60 reps on the low back machine.


So, that's what I did this week. I would say this is a pretty average week, except that I usually do more step and less elliptical, so hopefully I can get back to that this week!

Bootcamp, Booze, and a Beach Vacation

After my last post, I continued to be strangely sick for about three days. The worst part, other than constant cold chills, was the total lack of energy. If you've ever spent the day chasing around a ten month old, imagine doing it while simultaneously feeling like you hadn't slept for days.

Obviously, I wan't making it to the gym.

I only missed one workout day. As of now, my schedule is Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and all morning Saturday. So, I left early on Saturday, and then skipped Monday.

Although that isn't such a tragedy, I knew I needed to kick it up a notch, especially since shorts/tank tops season is days away.

So, I went to Boot Camp...

More specifically, I went to the Boot Camp class at my gym.

When I got there, a woman in Army PT's (who I would later find out was actually retired military) was putting mats and platforms all around the gym's class area.

A woman next to me was saying that she was going to leave if "Basic Training" got to hard, while simultaneously popping pills (I assume it was Prozac).

The real kicker was right before class was supposed to start, some lady walked right past me and, with a smirk, wished me good luck.

I knew I was in for it.

It was basically a circuit training class. Each station had a specific exercise, and we did each one for a minute. Some of the exercises included jumping jacks, mountain climbers, push-ups, squat-jumps, an army crawl, and a tire obstacle course. In between rounds, we all went to the middle of the circle and did "grass drills", which is basically what you would expect real boot camp to be like. The instructor stood in front of us and yelled out commands, "Situps, Push-ups, roll left, roll right..."

It was exhausting.

At the end of it all, we were rewarded with a set of dog tags that say "I survived Boot Camp at For Women Only March 2013", along with the satisfaction of a workout well done.

By the time I drove home and got a shower, I was already sore. My legs ached from the squats, and my abs weren't having fun either. So, when my friend came over for dinner with a bottle of my favorite wine, I knew it was just what I needed to relax my screaming muscles.

Speaking of wine, one of the changes I've noticed lately, is that I don't have to drink very much at all to really feel it.  The first time I noticed, was a couple of months ago at my friend Jessica's birthday dinner. I had one drink (although it was on the stronger side), and I felt like I'd had at least three.

A few months ago, we had a lot of people over for dinner. There was lots of wine. I had three or four glasses (over the course of the night), and just felt really tired. Tonight, I had the same wine, with the same friend, and after two glasses I felt super relaxed and social.

I never really thought about how weight and body fat would impact the effects of alcohol, but I must say, that its a change I'm welcoming with open arms. Drinks are expensive, especially with my friends, so if I can have two and be done, my wallet will be much happier. Plus, now that I'm more in shape, I can spend even more time dancing and having fun!

Which brings me to my last point...

Vacation... it is coming fast.

Last year on vacation, I was super fat. I can't even look at those pictures anymore, because they are all of me standing next to my skinny friends... and I look like something that washed up out of the lake.

My aunt had promised herself the year before that she would lose 50 pounds before she was back at the lake. So, I decided to make the same promise to myself.

At this point, I'm down 46 pounds from last year's vacation, so I think I might change my goal to 75 pounds, just so I have something to continue striving for.

GOTL is just a few months away, and I can't wait to see what kind of progress I can make between now and then!

Guys, I'm sick.

Saturday is always my most important day at the gym. I usually get there around 8:30, and stay until 12:00. I do my weight routine, a step class, a pilates class, and then if I'm really ambitious, I do Zumba. It is just a great time to totally de-stress, and it makes my gym membership totally worth it.

Today, I ended up hitting my snooze button, and sleeping in until 8:15. Even after that, I still felt exhausted, but I was determined to make it to my 9:15 step class one way or another.

On the way to class, I had to stop at Walmart and put some bags in the recycling bin, so I decided to go in and get breakfast. Usually I make a shake and drink it on the way, but the blender was in the dish washer, so that didn't work. So, I picked an apple and a cliff bar and ate during the last 15 minutes to the gym.

Big mistake.

The beginning of class went okay, but about half-way through I started feeling so nauseous. I could feel myself slowing down, and missing steps. I contemplated just leaving, which has never happened before.

I'm sure I looked ridiculous.

But, I powered through the last half hour, but decided to skip the rest of my classes and just head home.

By the time I got home, I felt okay, so Charlotte, Colt, and I went grocery shopping, and had lunch at Noodles and Company. I decided that I probably shouldn't attempt to eat real food before the gym again, but everything seemed to be okay.

By the time we got home, however, I realized I was totally wrong.

For the past few hours, I have felt achy and cold. I have chills, and no appetite (which is super rare). I really just want to crawl into bed and not get out until I feel better.

But, life goes on. I've got to make it work.

To be honest, I'm kind of mad.

I have been treating my body so well the past couple of months. My immune system should be top notch. I've gone through two bags of spinach this week, my Vega One Shake has tons of vitamins, and my water intake has never been higher.

So why am I so dead today?

Wow.

It has been a long time since I've updated this blog. I think it's time to fill you in on everything that has been going on in my world of fitness and health.

I have made quite a few changes over the past month or so, and those changes have given me some great results.

As a family (Charlotte, Matt, & I), we decided to switch to a gluten-free diet. There are tons of health benefits to going gluten-free. I won't go into detail here, but it is definitely a topic worth researching.

We also decided to make a gradual transition to a vegan lifestyle. As of  now, we have cut way back on our consumption of animal products. We've removed dairy from our diet completely, and we only have meat a couple of times a week.

When Matt deploys next month we are planning on making the change completely!

I'm really excited about these new changes, and I've already been seeing a lot of improvement!

I'm at the lowest weight that I've been in almost two years, my body fat percentage has decreased dramatically, and I have more energy than I ever remember having!

I'm excited to see how I feel after going totally vegan!

I hope some of you will come along for the ride!