Thanksgiving, another week down & more...

Sunday. Measurements day. I didn't get to the gym today, so I will have to weigh in tomorrow but I am happy to report that I am down 2 inches. It was a crazy week because of Thanksgiving but I really tried to stick to good eating and getting into the gym as much as possible. I got to the gym Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday was my rest day and Thursday I was motivated to do a traditional Thanksgiving 10k by my sister. I am soooo glad I did it. I finished in 1:03:20 and according to My Fitness Pal I burned about 1200 calories so that made my Thanksgiving a little more guilt free. However, I did make fairly good choices. I filled up on salad, turkey, green beans, and only had a couple of glasses of wine. I skipped dessert but I did have a couple of handfuls of movie popcorn. (Holiday movies are a tradition). I think the drinking is what I feel the worst about because I felt awful the next day. I was really sore on Friday and missed the gym again but did a ton of walking. I ran on Saturday and skipped today. =( However, I did start to prep my meals for next week and I am committed to getting back on the workout train. Holiday travel made it tough but I wouldn't trade it. Consistency is the key and I am not going to let a few crazy days keep me off track.

1 week down, 11 to go

Just finished a huge report for a big presentation I have to give tomorrow... after spending most of the day hauling out the Christmas decor... so, this is going to be quick because this girl needs to hit the sack.

Over all, I feel very satisfied with Week 1. I made up all my workouts and then some. I hit the gym Friday night after work (good times) and saw my trainer on Saturday morning. She had some extra time before her next client so she offered to do a body fat check. It's been a while since we checked it and I think there was a part of her that wanted to know just as much as me. =) She's awesome. Unfortunantely, something was up with the computer so we weren't able to look up my last reading, but I was pretty satisfied with where I am at. She challenged me to try and go down 2%. So, that's another goal to add to the list. She & I did TRX on Saturday. SUPER AWESOME CORE work out. I felt like I had been hit by a truck on Sunday, but I met my training partner, Ellie at the gym and we did some cardio. Giddy up.

We did measurements today and they were about the same as a week ago except I lost a half and inch and 3 lbs off the scale. Good start.

I am a bit bored with the egg whites so I have to change it up this week. Outside of that I am going to do my best to stick to my plan. Thanksgiving is Thursday so it's a crazy week and prepping meals is going to be tough but I will take it day by day. There are always good choices that can be made, it's just a bit costly at times when you don't plan ahead. But, sometimes you gotta pay for time.

Have a great week everyone!! So happy to see my post counts up, which tells me people are following me on this challenge. Yay!!

V

Missed workout on Day 4

Well, the bad news is I missed yesterday's work out. Despite being adamant about sticking to the plan I didn't make it to the gym. BUT THE GOOD NEWS IS... that my BFF was in town for business and was able to squeeze in a quick dinner with me before heading back to New Jersey. Perfectly valid excuse, however if I rewind my day, knowing that there was a possibility that we would be able to hook up after work I should have worked out in the morning since I already had a lunch appointment. I thought I would be able to work out from 5-6 then meet her at 7:30, but her meeting wrapped early so she was ready to go at 6. Since I am not a morning work out person, my goal for next week is to try and get one morning work out in and start to work that into my routine. Although, next week won't be a typical week because of Thanksgiving...

The other piece of good news is that diet wise I am doing great. Even last night, going to dinner at an awesome restaurant downtown with my bff I didn't have a single cocktail, I also didn't touch the bread on the table and ordered grilled Grouper and steamed veges with a small salad for dinner.

I am doing legs to today and will add in a longer cardio and I won't take a rest day on Sunday as my plan calls for in an effort to make up for yesterday. 

My BFF :: Sue :: can you believe this woman has 4 kids? She also has the best shoes!



I don't regret it one single bit. I have known Sue since I was 5 and for years she lived on the East when I was on the West then when I moved East she moved West. She's the mother of 4. She is a bad-ass business woman, CPA, Triathlete and she is fighting the system to do everything possible to make sure her son who suffers from narcolepsy has the best care possible. She is truly an inspiration and a testament that you can have anything you are willing to fight for.

I miss her already.

Off to another lunch appointment... make it a great day!

V.

Rest Day

Yesterday was Day 3 and since I am trying to be a good girl and stick to the schedule it was a REST DAY which meant, no gym. I know I said I may go in and do some core and a brisk walk, but my work day was jam packed which meant having to hit the gym before work which I HATE to do or after work which I wasn't able to do yesterday because I had a little ah...em... "procedure" done. So, no gym. I actually was glad to be able to rest. I am surprised at how sore I have felt. YAY me!

On the diet front things are great!! I actually don't feel hungry because I feel like I am eating throughout the day. Since my meals are prepped the stress is off. Planning (I think) is the hardest part and making sure everything is ready to go. I will admit that I have been chewing a lot of gum at times. ;-) Also, to make drinking H2O more fun I have been squeezing LOTS of lemon or lime into my water. I do fine chugging water during the day or at the gym but at night it's almost like a treat to have "flavored" water. I know... sounds weird. Yesterday I had a little break from my grilled chicken because I took a client to lunch. She choose a really nice place which had great fish so I got salmon with asparagus. I ended up having salmon for dinner too. YUM!

Nothing earth shattering to report. It's leg day today and I am pumped!!!

V. 

Day 2 : Ouch

Well, I woke up sore which quickly put a smile on my face. Since working out is a part of my regimen I don't always get sore unless I had a session with my trainer or I ran further than usual so the fact that after my 1st day of training on my own I was able to make my body ache gave me a sense of accomplishment.

(Rewind) Day1::  I had a break in my day so since the gym is a block from my office I ran over around lunch time with my workout sheet printed and followed it to the letter. I loved that I knew exactly what I was going to work on and the exercises were different than what I normally do so I was able to change it up. I worked upper body and ended with 20 minutes on the Stair Master (one of my favorites) which is what I was instructed to do. It was nice to fit it all in midday!!  I never ever ever use to go to the gym during my work day. It wasn't until this fall when both my kids had crazy football schedules that I started to pack my gym back in the event that a meeting canceled or a lunch meeting moved. Getting that mid day workout in is a bit of a sanity check. Sometimes it's not as long as I would like but I always feel better that I made it into the gym versus skipping all together.

A tip that's worked from me.... 

As I said, my routine was always, always, always to work out at night after work or on the weekends. I am not a morning person and I never really feel like I get a good workout in the early morning. Having said that...  I loooove my gym and having such a nice facility to train in helped me change up my schedule. The locker room is super plush and I would always see ladies using the showers, steam room, etc. But, since I workout after work, I always came to the gym dressed and ready to go. I never really used the locker room except for in the summer to change into my bathing suit or to go in the sauna.

Well, this summer/fall my boys had football practice every night of the week. Their dad was usually able to take them if he wasn't traveling but he usually travels some most weeks so I usually ended up going to practice 2-3 days a week. On those days in order to get a workout I would run around the park on the trail and I decided so that I wouldn't stress about trying to make the gym that I would try and do it during my work day. So, my tip... Always have a gym bag packed. For me, in my bag I have a set of workout clothes, shoes, and socks as well as a bag with all my toiletries ... mini deodorant, body wash, razor, lotion, and perfume.  I tie my hair up in a real tight bun while I work out and this way I don't have to wash it...that would take forever. I also keep an extra flat iron for quick touch ups and I am good to go. I have really learned to enjoy my nooners and sometimes they allow me to get in Two A Days if I am able to get back to the gym after work for a second workout, usually cardio.

Ok, back to my recap...

Yesterday I got my workout in at lunch and since my boys were all caught up on homework and wanted to shoot hoops at the gym I went back for more cardio and abs. Again, I LOVE my gym which is more like a club so they boys LOVE it too... less mom guilt because I don't have to drag them there.  When we got home I prepped my meals for the next few days. It was a relief to get that done. So, when I got up this morning I had my hard boiled eggs, grilled chicken, protein shake, and green beans all ready to go. Ohhh and one thing that I won't give up... my daily Starbucks.  I don't do any fancy drinks, just a Pike Place with half and half and sweet and low.  I don't use much half and half, so it's staying in the diet. I did have to run to the store in the afternoon to grab a Greek yogurt because after my workout and even after eating lunch I felt "off".  I had a queasy feeling come over me like my blood sugar was low.  It helped.

Day 2:: My workout today was cardio. I went back to the stair master and also did some rowing and finished up on the treadmill. Typically if I am doing just cardio I like to stay on the stair master for 45 minutes. The first 20 minutes are the hardest. ;-) According to my plan tomorrow is supposed to be a rest day, but I think it will be hard for me to do that.  I will probably do some core and a brisk walk on the treadmill.

One of the hardest parts of my day was serving up dinner to the boys which was whole wheat penne pasta with chicken and vodka sauce and NOT taking a bite or two. Luckily, I had my chicken and spinach first so I wasn't starving but boy did it smell good!!!

Ok, gotta go work on spelling words...

V

Link to Plan

One more thing...

Several of you have asked for me to repost the link to the plan I am going to follow.

It can be found here: http://www.bodybuilding.com/guides/female-20to39-fat-loss/intro

For me, it's helpful to have a plan when I go to the gym. To know which body part/ group I am going to work. I think that her workouts are easy to follow. I am going to do a combination of a couple of her plans to change things up. The key for me is to go to the gym prepared and work the entire body on a weekly basis because I tend to be a lower body girl. LOL...

T- minus 30 minutes until first workout!! Since I am not taking a client out for lunch today I will be able to get a nooner in. This is something I NEVER use to do because I hated getting ready at the gym. I now embrace this because the feeling of getting "some" work out in rather than no workout because of busy kids' schedules is something I can control.

Giddy up!

V.

Day 1 of 84 :: Food Prep

Guilty. ..of not starting out on the right foot. Busy mom doesn’t even begin to describe it but the truth is in hind side, I did have time this weekend to do some things I procrastinated about but I spent a little too much time running around instead.  Since I work Monday through Friday my weekends are full of errands to get ready for the next week and this weekend in particular we had 2 parties for the end of football season in addition to trying to work in some fun as well as the day to day. I accomplished everything I set out to from the measurements and purchasing food perspective. Then rewarded myself with new workout stuff, but I didn’t prep my meals like I had planned Sunday night and I am feeling TERRIBLE about that. If there is ONE thing that should have been done it was the MEAL PREP.

DISCLAIMER… I am not a trainer. All my opinions and suggestions come from MY personal experience and my struggles with jumping on the fitness wagon. If there is ONE thing that I firmly believe that is, you can work out till the cows come home, but until you are willing to change your diet you are NOT going to see the results you are capable of. Once I really embraced that, I started to see a major change in my body.

I get so frustrated when I see my sister and some of my friends spending hours at the gym, hours running, hours doing races on the weekends and then see their disappointment because they can’t seem to lose weight. I had the same challenges myself and my trainer would tell me over and over what I was doing wrong, diet.  So, when I got serious about changing up my diet she put together an easy plan for me to follow where I saw immediate results. I plan on following her plan and incorporating some of the diet samples found on the Bodybuilding.com site. For me, I really have to control my carbs. They are my enemy but I know that good carbs are essential.

So, the plan that I follow is basically:

Breakfast or Meal 1 : 3-4 Egg Whites and half cup of oatmeal. I am going to try to eat the oatmeal. Again, carbs make me nervous.

Meal 2 : some sort of protein & fruit. I am not a huge fan of protein shakes, I prefer whole foods.

Lunch or Meal 3: Lean Protein & veggies or Lean Protein & starchy carb

Meal 4: same as Meal 2

Meal 5: Same as Meal 3 except no starchy carb at night

I had EVERY intention on grilling my chicken and steaming my broccoli last night. I purchased all the Tupperware containers, everything was ready to go. But, after I finished a report I was working on I tucked my youngest in bed and after reading together a bit I was soooo tired. I set my alarm to give myself a little 45 minute nap before starting to cook but when the alarm went off I was so tired that I decided to call it a night. I decided that I would just wake up really early and cook before going to work. But, as you will soon discover from this blog I am not a morning person. I hate working out in the mornings and leaving anything to “the morning” is dicey. I am never late but I will cut corners when it comes to things for myself in order to hit “snooze”. Yes, I am the woman you may spot doing her make up at a red light.

The alarm went off and I decided that I would  just run over to my gym in the morning and pick up some hard boiled eggs and buy some grilled chicken from a restaurant close to work so that I didn’t have to get up and cook. So, that is what I did today but I am committed to cooking tonight when I get home and prepping my meals for the next few days. Can I just say, before I wrap this up how much I love my gym? Lifetime Fitness has the best café.

Oh… and I am using MyFitnessPal.com to track all my food. It’s a huge help. I used it in the past and I love being able to look up foods from my phone when I am out and about. For this diet, I plan on sticking to the same stuff as much as possible but since for work I often have to take clients out that may not always be possible so having an app like that helps.

Ohhh... one more thing... buy gum. Sometimes it helps to have something to chew on. LOL

That’s it for now.

Day 1… of 84!!! Eeeks.

V.