Friday, December 14, 2012

Run For Your Lives

Side bar for a moment.  Have you ever heard of the 5k obstacle race Run For Your Lives? It looks totally awesome!! You run a 5k but there are zombies coming after you as well as obstacle courses you have to go through. I imagine it would be a huge adrenaline rush. I would probably pee my pants.

I saw that there will be one in my area next year. It would be so cool to do. Downside is that it is uber expensive.  It is like $90 to run. That is insane for a 5k. Maybe one year I will do it.  I just wanted to share the link with you in case anyone else wants to shelve out the money and do it.


Thursday, December 13, 2012

P90X

My dear friend Jennifer and I decided to be work out buddies.  We are going to workout three days a week together. It's really great because we live in the same apartment complex and we can motivate each other. I have done a few 5ks but would like to run more.  Jenn says she would like to run a 5k. So I found a 5k for us to run in March.  We are going to do a couch to 5k program together that Jenn found. It starts in January. To get a head start on working out we are going to do workouts together starting now.  Jennifer has the P90X program (google it if you want to know about the program) so we are going to try it out.

On Wednesday morning we started the P90X program.  We watched the "welcome" video that talks about the program and eating/exercise plans.  Then we did one of the cardio workouts. It seems like a really good program if you stick with it.  On the program it has you working out 7 days a week. I personally don't work out on Sunday so if I truly stick to the program I will only do 6 days a week.

I did the shoulders and arms workout today. It is an hour long weight lifting workout. It. Was. Brutal.  I really felt it in my arms.  I am not quite equipped to do all the exercises for arms.  I only have 10 and 25 pound weights.  I need a couple lighter weights to do some of these workouts.  The arm workout was crazy.  30 minutes into it I was like "What?! There are still 30 minutes left??!"  I was screaming in pain.  I was whining that I couldn't do it, then I continued on.  At 45 minutes the P90X guy was like "You can stop here or go on." Well if someone gives me the option to stop then I will. And I did.  They were doing some exercises that I didn't have the right weights for.  But the 45 minutes that I did do were crazy awesome. I really worked my arms.  I know I will feel it in the morning.

I am not truly sticking to the program.. They want me eating 2400 calories a day. They have some recipes and they are like 55g of protein and I just don't think I am at that fitness level yet.  I would gain weight and I don't want to do that. I want to lose weight.  I am going to stick to my 1300 calories for now and see how it goes. I may increase a little if I need to.

This program has a variety of workouts for all different parts of the body and also yoga and stretching. I really feel that even if I did this workout 3 times a week it would benefit me.  I'm going to try it out for a month and see how it goes.  I'm pretty excited to tone up my arms!


Monday, December 10, 2012

Motivation is Flowing Through Me Today

I have lost 2 pounds so I feel on top of the world today! I feel like I can keep going. It is motivating to lose weight.  I also found myself a workout partner this weekend. My dear friend Jenn is going to workout with me 3 days a week. She has P90x and I have always wanted to try it but not pay for it. Win Win guys.  We will start on Wednesday morning and I am really excited.

I need to start planning out my exercises in advance. I don't get a really good workout in when I find one last minute. This morning I decided to do some weight lifting for 15 minutes.  I used 10 pound weights and I did a lot of arm stuff.  I kept to about 8-12 reps each arm and mixed up different ways of using the weights.  I also did a few varieties of push ups and sit ups.  I know I could have done a better workout if I had planned it out ahead of time. Still I did something, right?

I also need to make goals for myself. Of course I have the goal of losing 20 pounds, but I need mini goals within that huge goal.  I need to reward myself for the little accomplishments (but not with food). I saw somewhere to give yourself $1 each time you workout. Then after 100 workouts take yourself out to buy new clothes or shoes or get a manicure or something. I thought that was a great idea. I am not financially able to do that at the moment, so I need to come up with some kind of reward for myself sticking to the plan and eating well.

I used this website as a guideline for my workout today. It is really neat. You click on the body part you want to workout and it tells you exercises you can do to work on it.

My goal today is to plan out my workouts for the rest of the week.

Friday, December 7, 2012

The 5-4-3-2-1 Workout

Over Thanksgiving break I got an iPhone. I love it! One thing I love about it is all the apps you can get. I got an app that tracks my food intake.  It also makes weight loss plan for you. I can reach my goal weight by March by losing 1.5 pounds a week.  I think that is doable.  It is a 1300 calories/day plan which I think is also doable and realistic.  I wouldn't go under 1200 calories a day to lose weight.  I really need to make an effort to eat better--make those 1300 calories worth while and not waste them on naughty food.

I have a weakness for naughty food, especially during the holidays.  I love eggnog.  Eggnog is super naughty! We need to stop justifying naughty foods by saying things like "but it has dairy in it so it must be healthy" or "at least there is some nutrition in it". No! We can't do that to ourselves.  I was in Walmart yesterday looking at the eggnog selection. You see, I am a Foodie. I can't just get any old eggnog. It has to be good. Bolthouse has come out with a "healthier" version of eggnog.  I almost bought it.  It has like 60 fewer calories, less fat.. But when I looked at the bottle and it was labelled 'low fat'.  As a Foodie anything labelled 'low fat' is kind of a no-no to me. So without looking at the label of the full of fat eggnog I just grabbed the one with the prettiest packaging and lowest price.  It was something like Southern Comfort Traditional Eggnog. I should have known by the 'southern comfort' part that it was N-A-U-G-H-T-Y.  I went to have a cup of it yesterday and as I poured a mug full I looked at the nutrition facts.  The serving size is 1/2 cup.  First of all, who drinks just 1/2 cup of anything? And it is 200 calories per serving.  What a JOKE!  If you don't pay attention and have 1 cup of this stuff than you are downing 400 calories in 1 minute. So crazy! So according to my 1300 calorie/day plan that 1 cup of eggnog would be a meal for me!

So from now on Eggnog will be a once in a while treat for me to have. I might go back to the store and get the Bolthouse just to see if it's any good. If it tastes good than that delicious naughty regular eggnog can go right down the drain!  It has 9 grams of fat in that 1/2 cup! Why are delicious holiday foods so bad? It just isn't fair.

This morning I decided to do this workout that I found on Pinterest:
I decided to make it an interval training 50 seconds on 10 seconds rest.  I did 15 minutes worth. I might do another workout tonight.  Here are the scores:
high knees 140
jumping jacks 52
diagonal knee-ups 45
run in place (just ran in place 50 seconds)
scissor jumps 86
lunges 28 back,15 front
mountain climbers 70, 82
10 push ups  3 sets
15 tricep dips 2 sets
squats 6,10
jump sqauts 9,8
1 minute plank

I feel pretty good about this workout. Maybe I should have done it 2x through but Bran left for school and the kiddos needed me.  My 18 month old daughter likes to "work out" with me sometimes. When I did push ups she cam and laid down on the floor then lifted herself up and looked at me like "hey mom, look at me! I am doing what you are doing! I am working out!"  It is fun to workout with her if she is not in the way or trying to climb all over me.

I had a protein shake for breakfast. It has ground oats, water, whey protein, a banana, ice, and spinach in it. I stuck it all in the blender and just blended until smooth.  I shared it with my sweet girl because like me she is also a Foodie and a mooch.  And I logged this breakfast into my nifty new iPhone app and that was that! I also had a clementine because tis' the season to eat clementines!

I want to note that I am 153 today and my goal weight is 130. I think it is obtainable and realistic. I think most of my extra weight is in my butt and my stomach.  I should do more butt workouts.



Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Struggling to workout

I was on vacation in Utah when I started this blog.  I came home on the 30th. I got one or two workouts in Utah since my last post. And I only worked out twice since I have been home.  It has been a struggle to workout.  Traveling with young kids is exhausting.  I still feel so tired from the trip.  I worked out on Monday--just abs and arms--but I didn't workout yesterday.

I also haven't been eating the best.  I ate Nutella AND chocolate today.  Naughty girl. And then I watched Glee and saw a bunch of skinny girls that I want to look like.  And that made me feel fat so I ate some more Nutella.  I need to be better. I need to make huge changes in my diet.  It is so much harder to actually do though.

Tonight I bucked up and did this BodyRock workout.  I did modify it. I didn't use any weights.  I did the half burpee and jump up. I also modified my push ups. And that inner thigh thing.. yeah it didn't happen.  I did lay on my side and lift my hips and hold for the 30 seconds.  I didn't give 100% tonight but I did a workout. That is a start.

Here are my scores for the burpees and push ups:
half burpee/jump: 7,6,6,5,6,6
1 leg stagger modified push up: 7,7,9,8,9,8

You don't need to spend money to workout.  I do it for free.  I use this free online interval timer and this stopwatch.  I do have some dumbells that I purchased forever ago; just some 10 pound and 25 pound cheapo weights.

Tomorrow is a new day.  I will try to go to bed soon so I am not a zombie in the morning. Then maybe I can actually get a start on my day and get things done.

Saturday, November 24, 2012

BodyRock-30 Day Exercise Challenge

30 days ago I decided to take on a workout challenge from BodyRock.tv. I have mixed feelings about BodyRock. I love their workouts. I like the interval training. I hate that they never wear clothes--they are working out in practically nothing.  I hate how they have all these sexy poses in their sports bra and "shorts"--more like underpants. I wish they would show their pantry instead of their panties. I need to see what they are eating. I know exercising is not enough because I live it. Just because I workout doesn't mean I will loose weight because I just ate a pint of Ben & Jerry's in one sitting.  Can anyone show me a FREE website that has both eating plans AND workouts?

I digress.  Back to my exercise challenge.  30 days ago I took the 7 minute fit test, and started on my 30 day journey. They way the workout was set up was you worked out 5 days-Monday through Friday, and had two "rest" days. I think they wanted you to have an active "rest" day by running or hiking or something.To be honest, there were days I didn't do the workouts. I got sick, some days I was sore, I was also training for my 5k, excuse, excuse, excuse. I did enjoy the 30 day challenge though. I do feel that I have improved, and that I have muscles growing where they never existed.  The workouts were tough. Some days I couldn't walk after working out, or I woke up so sore.

Throughout the challenge there were 3 fit tests: a fit test on day one, one in the middle, and one the very last day.  As you know yesterday was Black Friday. It was also day 30 of my challenge.  I had stayed up til 3am  shopping and then I got up at 5:30am for more shopping. I had taken a 3 hour nap around 11:30am and so by the time I got to doing the Fit Test I was pretty exhausted.  Part of me wishes I waited until today to do it.  Maybe my scores would have been even higher. Never the less I did it yesterday. I still beat my original scores so I should be proud. Proud that I have improved and I went through with the challenge and didn't give up.

Here are the scores from my fit test, going from test #1 to #2 to #3:

Squat Jumps- 25/32/30
Push Ups- 3 reg 10 modified/19 mod/24 mod
Burpees- 8/10/12
High Knees- 70/96/110
Switch Lunges- 15/25/28
Tuck Jumps- 12/18/23
Straight Abs- 7/10/17

Now I need to figure out if I will continue BodyRocking or find other workouts to try. I am always up for suggestions.

Thursday, November 22, 2012

My Second 5k

I ran my second 5k this morning. My first 5k was in Texas where we live right now. I ran it is 33.5 minutes. I felt pretty good about it seeing as I beat my practice 5k and I haven't been running too long. I used this as a guide to train for the 5k.

I used the same training guide for this 5k, but only did the last two weeks of it.  My second 5k was the Fleet Feet Turkey Trot in American Fork, UT. We are up in Utah visiting family for Thanksgiving. I wanted to run another 5k and thought it would be fun to run with my sister and brother-in-law. I found a 5k and we ran it.

Yesterday I went to the doctor and it turns out I have strep. Just. Great.  Luckily I got on medicine before the pharmacy closed. But I didn't do the 15 minute run I was supposed to. And I felt kind of yucky last night. I honestly didn't know how I was going to do it this morning. I slept ok but not great. When  I woke up I was still a little blah feeling but I got dressed and ready to go.
We drove down to American Fork and got ready to race. There were A LOT of people there. I would say over 500 runners were there. Adrenaline kicked in when the raced started and I was ready to go. I had my ipod in and was listening to the last part of Breaking Dawn. That's right, I said it.  Only a few minutes in though my ipod died (dang it!) and I had to run with nothin' to keep me going.

It was a hard race. We ran through parking lots so there wasn't much of a view. I hadn't trained in this high altitude. I didn't feel like I was breathing enough. I felt weighed down by all my fat.  But I trudged along and made it through the 3 miles.  When we got to the end it was a little confusing. It was actually a 3.1 mile race, but there were so many people that at the end a line formed. I never got my finish line. I was just a sudden stop. And I missed seeing how long it took me to run it. We calculated and I think we ran it in about 33/34 minutes (well Bran and I. Dan ran it in 21 and Mer in 27 minutes). So I am very proud of that!  Especially for having strep and this altitude.

I know there is more running in my future. But now I am ready for the Thanksgiving eat-a-thon to begin. I've earned it.


*****UPDATE*****
Our times were posted online for the race. There were 798 people who ran and completed the race and about 100 that were listed as Did Not Finish. I ran the race in 34:34. I am proud of that.  I placed 35 out of 59 in my age group and placed 491 overall. So I wasn't last place which is great. And for not being a runner I did good. Under 36 minutes is less than 12 minute mile. I am not ashamed!

Introduction

I have been thinking a lot lately about doing this--starting a blog to keep track of my road to being fit. I have been logging my workouts on facebook, but I think it more beneficial to blog it. I have a hard time finding people like me (a mom of 2 who doesn't have that pre-baby body anymore and struggles with weight and eating healthy) so maybe there are people like me but they aren't blogging about their struggles/triumphs. Or maybe there are and I just can't find them. No matter, I have decided to do this so here I am.

I love food. I LOVE food. I want to be healthy and fit. Those don't really go together well.  I find myself seeing naughty food (aka Nutella, ice cream, anything sweet) and saying to myself "Screw it. I'd rather eat this than loose weight." But I need to STOP doing that. It's getting me no where. I have been steadily working out for two month now and have lost 0 pounds. In fact, I think I may have gained some weight. What the?! I have heard that eating right was more important than working out. I am starting to agree with that thought. Of course, I need to get myself into the process of doing both: eating right AND exercising.

This blog is to help motivate me, and hopefully others, to be better. To make positive changes in my life. Not only to be thin, but to be fit. I do hope that writing it down will help me in those moments when I want to eat the whole pint of Ben & Jerry's ice cream. Maybe I can go here and look at my progress and say, "no, it's not worth it. The fat in that ice cream is not worth all the work I have put into my workouts."

So here it is world: my blog of attempting to get myself fit.


I am 26 years old and 5'1". I am 154 pounds. I have given birth to two children. When I was in high school I weight like 118 lbs. Why is it we always say "I wish I looked the same as in high school." When I was in high school I would say "I can't wait to be out of high school" but I would go back in time in a second if I could. So anyway, I have some extra bits on me now, so extra fat. Yeah, my boobs are bigger than high school. That's a plus. But my butt is also bigger and thighs and stomach and arms. I have more cellulite than I did in high school. I am just not happy with my body right now. Especially when I see people that look like this:


I know it's all me that I am not looking better. I eat too much, sit around too much, don't work out enough, don't eat enough healthy food. It is hard. I have a really hard time. But I am slowly getting better. I know it takes time. I just want it to happen instantly. And as I am writing this I just ate a peanut butter cup. hahaha. Oh man.