The Year of Me

I decided about a week before my 31st birthday that I am making this the year of me. I'm going to take care of myself and drop these pounds. By the time I am 32, I WILL be a sexy beast. 

Hubs asked me several weeks ago what it is that will be the turning point for me. The moment that makes me stick to something. Because, obviously, I'm not sticking to anything. There are several things that lead to this. One of them was when I was showing an old Halloween picture (2008 or 2009) to a friend on the train and she was like, this is you?!? Ugh did I feel like a cow. So that sexy Wonder Woman costume I was wearing? I better be wearing it Halloween 2013!

I'm also sick of the battle of trying to find something to wear. I hate all my clothes because they are all big girl sizes. Its maddening for me. I have a major disconnect with what I think my body size is and what it actually is. So getting dressed has become stressful. I don't want that anymore. I also don't want to pass up cute clothes because they don't fit me. I wanna be cute again!!!

I hate running into people who knew me when I had a nicer bod. I feel like a slob. I also hate that I have to immediately check any and all pics of me posted to Facebook to make sure they aren't horrid. Its exhausting. I'm over it.

And finally, my mom brought a dress over for me to wear to a family wedding. She said I could have it because "it's too big on her" and Hubs laughed and laughed at this statement. I cannot be larger than my 60-something year old mother. No. Its done.

So there are a handful of examples of my turning point. Its a turning glob really.

I kicked off this year of me with the 7.2 mile mud run that we signed up for in July. It was fun and awful all at once. The obstacles were a blast. The length was horrible. There were 2 mile stretches with nothing but woods, no obstacles to be seen. Hubs and I were doing a walk/jog combo until his knee started bothering him. Then we slowed to a crawl. He did say he was impressed that I did better than he did. Its my stubborn will and German temperament! ha! But really, I was tired and wanted it to be done. So I dug back in my head to all the really hard physical challenges I've completed and that fueled me to the finish. Which happened to be a telephone pole balance beam across a pond, up a hill, under a wall, down a muddy slip n slide, through 15' of black tubing, and finally an army crawl in the mud under barbed wire to cross the finish. Whew! I was sore for a couple days but am feeling much better now.

I'm eating healthy and still struggling to find a workout plan I love and will stick with. TKD is prepping for testing so theres nothing for me this week or next. Hubs started working out at work so I have no gym partner. I definitely need to start outdoor jogging again now that its cool. But I gotta get weights in.... 

I made some killer white chili for dinner last night and just had some for lunch too. YUM. And its healthy, cheap, and easy! I also juiced this morning. Spinach, cucumber, and plum. The worst part is the cleanup. Man do I hate cleaning my juicer!! But I bruise a whole lot less when I juice so I'm trying to give it a whirl again.

So, I will be more faithful here and to my diet and to my exercise. Its the year of MEEEE!!!!

Work it!
Liss

ARGH! Suckin' Big Time!!

Well, color me a slacker. I lost some motivation, big time. I can't explain what happened or why. I just sucked. :(

I did test for my brown tip in TKD so I wasn't a complete loaf. But man was I out of breath during the test! Yikes! You'd think that would get me back on track, right? Nope. Suckin.

I did finally hitch my wagon back on track. Saturday I started Jamie Eason's 12 week program. Holy soreness!! I did Day 1 on Saturday and ran a mile. The mile was not too bad, which I am so grateful for! I then did Day 2 on Sunday with no cardio. My knees took a beating when I was running everyday so I'm trying to be kind to them. But I have to get my miles up since the Gladiator Assault Challenge is on the 29th. EEK!!!

I took yesterday, Labor Day, off. I had a million things to do to prep for a wedding tasting and by the time that was done, my feet were throbbing from standing in the kitchen for hours (you'd think I'd learn to wear shoes to cushion them....), the gym was closed, and I needed a nap. So today I'm hoping to go to TKD or do Day 3 of Jamie's program. Haven't decided yet. I'm exhausted bc I couldn't sleep very well last night (had my first panic attack. in my sleep. weird.). So I may not be feeling up to kicking ass until 9pm tonight and then getting up at 5:15.

The positive thing I can say about this hiatus is that I still ate relatively cleanly. Yeah, I screwed up some but for the most part, I ate like I was supposed to. So that has kept my weight stable. No gains!! Woot woot!

I'm hoping I like Jamie's program. I really need to get this weight off so I can do more intense programs. I really want to try the Get In Shape Girl's 12 week bikini plan but it seems way too out of my league right now. I love reading the blog http://beafitfox.com/ and she's motivating me to stay on track. She's doing the bikini program and I can't wait to be on a program where my goal is actually being in a bikini. That's not anywhere near my radar right now!

I'll be better at blogging. Pinky swear.

Get movin'!
Liss

Slacker City

I've been a real slacker lately. Both from the blog and from working out. I did get a touch of food poisoning this past week though so that excuses me for a few days. ;) I TRY and be healthy and order a salad while my family eats nice greasy pizza and end up getting sicker then hell. Oh well. I feel better now and have a renewed motivation.

My summer is pretty much over as my oldest started her summer band camp this week and it'll go until school starts later this month. I can't believe another summer has flown by! Guess I don't have to worry about looking good in a swimsuit until next year. Which give me PLENTY of time to make SURE I reach some goals by then.

As you can see by the picture of my tv screen, I danced again the other day and went farther then I've ever gone before with the game. I usually crap out right after the 3000 mark but curiosity got the best of me and I pushed myself to get to the next goal because I just HAD to see what it was. I have no reference as to what the distance is for this goal because from my understanding, the Nile is pretty long and I'm sure the width fluctuates a bit. <insert sarcasm> I wish it was a little more concrete info but hey, it's a game right? Right. I do have to say that once I got to this point I may have well just swam in a river because I was SOAKED. If felt pretty darn good. Even if I am still sore 3 days later. No pain, no gain.


In my last post I mentioned doing one of those "detoxing" drinks. I have to say, we've been keeping a pitcher of that water in the fridge pretty consistently since. It is just delightful. I've even gone out and got some fresh ginger to put in there and it really enhances the other flavors. Fresh is key though. None of that freeze dried, powdered, fake stuff. Even my baby who will be 1 this month LOVES it. I can't really say if it's done it's job by reducing bloat and energizing us but I can say that without a doubt it has gotten the whole family to drink more water. Which is always a good thing.

I've always been toying with the idea of starting the Couch to 5K program. http://www.c25k.com/  I've been "thinking" about it for almost 2 weeks now. I have a love/hate relationship with running. I ran on the track team in high school and while I guess I was good, I didn't particularly enjoy it. However, it's always been a Bucket List item of mine to run a marathon. Weird. I know. But I go with it. I hate running so for me to run a marathon would be the ultimate challenge to myself. This program seems to be a good way to get into a habit of running and there are some awesomely great motivational stories on the website. I especially enjoy the ones of overweight 30-somethings who don't start exercising until they're almost 40 and get all toned and fit and awesome. It gives me more courage to start NOW while I'm still just over the 30 mark. I even went out and bought new running shoes. I have yet to break them in. I am the world's best procrastinator. ;) I know I just have to bite the bullet and do it already so I'll probably start today once the hubs is up and functioning. I may even invest in a jogging stroller to take the youngest bub with me. In the meantime, I'll do some squats and lunges whilst cleaning the house. Joy of joys. ;)

Yep.

This too.

Seize the day friends,
~Jules~

Days 19/20/21/22/23 and WI

Dang, I guess I'm far behind!! I haven't had much to post because, quite frankly, all I've done is sleep. Literally Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights were all spend with over 12 hours of sleep. I went to sleep at 5pm one night. For real. My workouts took a hit but I stayed on point with eating. 

Sunday was weigh in day. I was up 2 lbs from last Sunday but I had those magical 7 pounds that appeared last Tuesday so I kinda lost 5. Idk. I was really hoping I'd be pushing close to the 20 pound mark at this point but I'm officially at 9. Which is maddening since I eat clean for most of the week. Sunday we had sushi again. That's my only "cheat". Hmmmm. I was at a conference Friday and Saturday so lunch was not my typical salads, it was boxed lunches with sandwiches and chips. But each day I walked around for at least an hour outside between sessions. We'll see what next week holds...

Now my EXCITING news! I ran a mile on Sunday. And didn't stop!! Its my first non-stop one and sadly, I didn't time it! :( I thought it was going to be terrible because I hadn't been running but it was awesome. I was so happy!! I'm on my way back to being a runner!! YAY! I also did a Body Rock (www.bodyrock.tv) workout. Here it is:

50 secs work/10 secs rest - Do 2 sets for 12 mins total

-Butterfly Jacks

-Burpees

-Toe Touch Abs

-5 Plank Jacks/10 Mountain Climbers

-Kayak Abs

-Woodchoppers

Whew! That was some ab work!! I was nice and sweaty too. :D

Monday was TKD. I've started a routine!! I'm so happy about that. I'm also happy I invested the $25 to get new pants so I could go back. Had I been waiting to fit into my nice uniform (like I originally was going to do), I'd still be sitting on the side lines. Nothing terribly exciting at class. The usual kicking techniques, partner stretches, and practicing for testing. More man push ups! I was paired with a new student (her first class) and she was so adorable. She was so excited to be kicking targets. She was very good too. I hope to see her again! I remember how exciting, and scary, my first class was. Ah, memories...

Tonight will be jogging and Body Rock. I have a cupcake tasting on Wednesday so TKD is bumped to Thursday. I'm not sure if Wednesday is a recovery day or a gym day or maybe a Jillian Michaels day. I should do SOMETHING. Hmmmm.

Go get your jog on!
Liss

Day 17/18 Man Push Ups

Guess who's worked her way up to man push ups? This girl!! I went to TKD last night and did all my push ups the real way, no knees for this chick! I was so excited because I used to be pretty good at them and then stopped training and really sucked. Like 2 crappy ones and I'd fall on my face. So I was quite proud to do the real thing last night. It helped that I'm much too proud to take a knee in front my black belt friends...


So Tuesday night was grocery night. Then I promptly came home and fell asleep. I was exhausted. I think its the whole no Diet Coke (which means no caffeine) thing. I'm trying to add some green tea into my life to counter this. Because going to bed before 8pm is pretty ridiculous!!


TKD was last night. Had some fun again there. I got partnered up with a 14 yo girl, which was not cool. She's got that teen attitude and she's small so I felt like I was beating the crap out of her. And I was WAY holding back. Like not even half strength and she was flying across the room. I asked my instructor later why he did that (my master usually pairs me with a guy but he wasn't there) and he said he thought the girl could use some roughing up! Poor girl. I hope she's not hurting too badly today.


I did some more nun-chuck stuff. Got my 3 routines down for testing. I guess I'm doing them well because my master asked if I had ever done them before. He clearly forgot HE taught me them 2 years ago. We did some handstands and cartwheels too, which is always fun. No insane sit ups or anything. So that was a relief!! I'm hoping I make my goal of wearing my nice uniform for testing August 16. The scale is being a hater this week but I'm upping the water intake and being meticulous with calories so hopefully it pays off!


Gotta get a run in tonight. That Gladiator Assault Challenge will be here in no time! :eek:


Get moving!
Liss

Days 13/14/15/16 plus WI

Dang, I'm behind! I had a busy weekend and not too much fitness to post about so I guess 4 days in one isn't so bad.

Friday found me completely wiped out. I got home, waited for a cupcake pick up (an hour late...), got some dinner with Hubs (awesome Cajun scallops! I took half home), and then crashed. It was supposed to be a "nap". I woke up at 11pm to take out my contacts and set my alarm for the morning. No workout for me. But that's OK because I knew I'd be gone all day Saturday so first thing in the morning was my only workout option. I didn't want to do back to back workouts with only some sleep separating them.

Cue 5am Saturday morning. Dragged my butt out of bed, ran a mile outside before the heat kicked in, did my own version of Body Rock, and hit the shower. I was set to leave at 7am to head up to Milwaukee with some girl friends. We geocached the whole way there and back. Our mission in Milwaukee was to hit the Safe House restaurant, which is a super cool spy themed place. All the walls are covered in spy stuff and there are secret passageways and all that. It was so fun! I have to go back with my nieces and Hubs. They will love it! So I packed dried fruit, water, and my friend brought along some fresh fruit. But the Pringles she brought were my downfall. We munched on those leading into town. I got a salad at the restaurant that cost double what the greasy burgers did. Grrrr. But I was happy I made a healthy choice. We walked around a bit and found some more caches. It was HOT though. Then we cached our way home and didn't get back till after 2. In the morning. It was a long day but it was fun. I have NO idea how many calories I ate but I can't imagine it was too horrible. Even if I ate the whole can of chips by myself, it would be 900 calories. Couple that with my 250 cal protein shake, the fruit, and my salad, I can't have surpassed my daily burn. Right?

Sunday I slept in after being out so late. I was hurting. I need consistent sleep to function. But it was weigh in day! I was down another 5 pounds, putting me at 11 pounds gone! YAY! I had my shake and Hubs wanted to grab some sushi for lunch. We lounged around for a bit and then headed out. We got a TON of food for the 6 rolls we thought we ordered. Some were huge. But amazingly delicious. We then attempted to go to Whole Foods (I've never been there) but it was crowded so we picked up our 2 necessary things and got out of there. I took another nap and then cleaned up the house. Sunday nights are True Blood nights so at 8 my friends came over for that. No workout again. Argh!

Yesterday was TKD day. It was fun! Did some basic kicks while walking the dojang and hitting targets. My master was really pushing the height of my axe kicks (over my 5'8" head!) and something tweaked in my hip. OW! But I kept going... We then moved on to the heavy bag. This time there were no flying kicks so I didn't feel like an idiot and got to use my power. Afterwards, we practiced our testing techniques, which I really need to work on my balance for! We lined up and did some partner workouts. We had to link legs and do sit ups at the same time, punching at the top. Not too bad except I can't tell you the last time I did 50 sit ups IN A ROW. Of course I was slacking at the end but my master wanted me to go all the way up. Amazing how hard you can push when you have a Korean ready to kick your butt if you don't finish! We did squats and squats with kicks with our partners and then reverse sit ups. Let me tell you, 50 reverse sit ups in a row equals a booty on fire! But I didn't quit to rest once. I was so proud! Then I was told to stay after class. I got to learn my nun-chuck techniques! I have never tested with them and haven't even picked them up in 2 years. It was interesting and I look forward to learning more!

Tonight the plan is to grocery shop and run/Body Rock. I hope my hips feel ok!

I'm feeling on the brink of saying who cares to all this. Which is what I normally do 2 weeks in. I'm fighting hard to push past it but its rough. Especially when I weighed in this morning and was up SEVEN POUNDS since Sunday. WHAT?!? How does that happen? No way did I eat 24,500 calories!! I'm hoping its water retention from the salty sushi and that in a day or two it goes bye bye and takes some friends with it. How discouraging! But I'm pressing on. And NOT going to buy some delicious Dairy Queen down the street like I want to to drown my sorrows.

Eat Clean, Train Dirty,
Liss

Day 11/12

I survived another TKD class! Things started out OK, with the small exception of having to squat your partner. My partner was a 15 yo boy who was the size of my thigh. I kept apologizing that he had to pick me up. Why do they do that to us? At least partner me up with a comparably sized person! I learned the rest of what I need to do for my testing in August so I should be all set to go there. He changed some things around so I'm doing a little bit of relearning in addition to remembering. The end of class was fun but frustrating. We had to do some crazy flying kicks on the heavy bags, which can be fun. Its frustrating when your bond with gravity is so tight that you can barely fly. I was probably the worst looking black belt doing the trick kicks but at least I tried, right? And as the pounds come off, hopefully gravity will release its firm grip on me!

I'm taking tonight off. Its a much needed rest day for my aching body. My pelvis is still wonky and I kept battling twinges of pain in class last night. Plus, I have a big cupcake order being picked up tomorrow so I get to bake those after work. Thankfully, I've been super committed to eating right so they *shouldn't* be too much of a temptation for me. I've been super super good about tracking calories and staying in the 1700-2000 range every day. I swear to not break that by noshing on a delicious cuppycake. Guilty habit admission: I used to suck down 3+ daily if they were around. Yeah, can't say I wonder why I'm carrying around the extra pudge... You are what you eat!

I'm still working on a list of "goals" to type up. Not so much lose this by this date but more reasons why I want to lose this weight. I usually get to this point in my training and give up. I have to have this list to remind me why I started this journey to begin with. I also have a few reward ideas lined up for 20/30/50 lb marks so I'll get those up too. 

I am STARVING today. I'm hoping that's a sign of a fired up metabolism. So for once, its a good thing I'm trapped at my desk at work and can't raid the fridge! I slept a little better last night too but today I'm so sleepy. I need a nap!! Is napping a workout? ;)

Keep moving!
Liss