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

Day 10.... groan

Not such a great day for my exercise routine. Hit the gym after work with Hubs. We tried to do the Body Rock workout but it was frustrating. The moves were super awkward and it made us both self conscious. Couple that with a lack luster amount of sweat after the first round (usually we're panting and dripping buckets) and we were not feeling it. So we decided to run it out a little. Half a mile in, my shoe was untied and my legs were really tight. I stopped and tied the shoe and gave my legs a little stretch. Got back to it and they were hurting even more!! I pushed through the rest of the mile but it was misery. My time was the slowest yet (only by 11 secs but still) and nothing felt good. I wasn't sore from TKD but I was definitely tired in the muscles. I probably should have taken a day off but you know hindsight... 20/20. By the time I got home I was in pain. I think my pelvis twisted and was pinching my nerve in the left leg. This is not an uncommon thing for me so I'm not overly concerned. But dang does it hurt!!

I felt this incredible sense of guilt at having a sucky workout. Strange considering I never cared about the gym leading into this and now I feel bad I only did a mile!! I keep telling myself that something is better than nothing...

TKD tonight again. Hopefully this is a better experience!!

In positive news, I've just about kicked my Diet Coke/caffeine habit. That's a major accomplishment for me. I loved Diet Coke more than anything. Now its all water baby! (And my JM tea!!) My sleep has been strange. Usually no caffeine leaves me passed out by 7pm. Now I can barely nod off and I'm up every couple hours. I'm not tired in the morning so I'm not going to be too concerned. My body is adjusting to this major change so I need to be patient with it. :)

Press on!
Liss

Day 9 - Kiyap!

Oh my sweet, sweet friend, TaeKwonDo. How I've missed you! 

I'm guessing you can figure out that last night's class was fantastic! I was so nervous about going back because I thought it was going to be brutally hard and I'd feel like such a cow. I was also worried I'd look like an idiot in front of all the low belts when I should be setting the example for them. Not true on any account! I breezed through the warm up (which had I been returning to HapKiDo, it may have been a different story. Those classes are WAY harder, or at least they used to be). I started to get a little burning in the thighs while we practiced punches and blocks in horse stance (basically a squat) but so was everyone else so I didn't feel out of place. Then we did some kicking practice and I was loving it (kicking is my favorite form of exercise!). I even got to demo a few of the kicks for the lower belts. Yay! The only thing that I noticed that was different about my kicking was that my massive boobs were totally in the way of my axe kicks. Argh. I hate that my fat gets in the way of my flexibility. I can't stretch as far as I'm capable of because there is too much junk in the way. One more reason to shed the pounds! We practiced our techniques after a quick water break and I quickly recalled all my kicking and sparring combinations. I was ready to test for this tip a long time ago but never did. I'm glad its all coming back so easily! We did some rolls and handstands too. I was totally cool with the rolling. I've done those so many times, its like riding a bike. I did a few handstands too, even though I couldn't hold them. At the end of class, my master pointed out to everyone that "Moissa is back!" and then everyone clapped. It was a little embarrassing but still cool. And I was so sweaty. But that's normal for me! ;)

The best part of class was afterwards in the locker room. One of the HKD girls I don't know (because I've been gone so long) was asking me about how I know so much about HKD (since I was in my TKD uniform). Another girl, who I do know and who we share the lovely bond of having dated the same jackass, told her that I'm a black belt in both and I'm super awesome. I was so flattered!! I've been away so long but people remember my fierce attitude. It was so cool. And then I spent about 10 minutes in the parking lot after class chatting with my new friend about HKD and all that fun stuff. 

It was so great to be back! And while I regret being away so long, I am glad I took time to hit the gym regularly to build my cardio back up before returning. It made a nice transition so that it was all positive and no horrible feelings about anything. Class again on Wednesday!

The next testing at my school is August 16. I cannot wait to break some boards like old times!

Now, go do what you love and burn those calories!!

Liss

The Week After a "Stay"-cation

This past week was a vacation week for the hubs and I so there was some serious slacking happening over here. We didn't go anywhere very special and got to spend some good quality family time together. Quite a few parties happened where a lot of food and adult beverages were consumed. God Bless the U.S.A. However, yesterday the weather finally turned nice enough to not melt your face off just by walking out the door so we took a family walk along a path near our house. We went about 2 miles total and I was pushing the stroller with child #3 in it so I felt better about myself when we got back to the car. I also did not indulge in my ritualistic glass of wine while watching my Sunday night shows with the hubs (including but not limited to True Blood and Weeds). I replaced it with a glass of green tea with half a teaspoon of honey we got from a local distributor. Have to say it was quite delicious and I will substitute with that more often.

In a comparison study of "detoxing drinks", I have decided to try something a little different then Liss and then compare results if and when we see them. Mine is steeping in the fridge right now so I'll start drinking tomorrow. It's basically a mint cucumber lemonade ( http://sitnoseckano.blogspot.com/2011/07/sassy-water.html ) I did NOT add the ginger though so I'm just not sure how much of a difference that will make. I can always go back to the store and grab some if I need to. It's suppose to help reduce bloat and boost weight loss. We'll see. If anything I may just have a new favorite way to drink water because it sure smells delish! I am also now the proud owner of a mint plant. It was cheaper to buy the plant itself then a small package of leaves. Win for me! Now I just have to hit my sister up for some cucumbers from her veggie garden and all I'll need to buy is the lemons (assuming I can keep the mint plant alive). 

We will take another family walk after dinner tonight which will be my workout for the day. It's just about 1 mile around our little neighborhood and we'll go around twice to make it worth while. I may even bring the four-legged beasts (which is a workout in itself) so they can enjoy the nice cool refreshing 85 degree weather as well. :)

Walk Strong Friends!
~Jules~

Days 7/8 - No Regrets and WI Day

I'll start off my saying that my official weigh in was Sunday and I'm down 6 lbs!! Yay! Now, I'll add in that I weighed again this morning (because I'm nuts) and was up 3 lbs. Grrrr. I ate sushi and teriyaki on Sunday afternoon and I think it was super salty (I couldn't drink enough water) so I'm *hoping* its just that. Because I know I didn't eat enough calories to gain 3 lbs!! I was hoping this dandelion tea thing would help but now I'm not totally convinced. But I actually LIKE drinking it so I won't quit. I might even keep it up beyond the 7 days. Now, the workouts.

Saturday was a lovely day for the gym. I went with my hand written Body Rock notes and the plan to run another mile. I changed up the Body Rock workout since I didn't have a HIIT timer, I just go by the stopwatch on my iPod. The recommended version was 3 rounds with 30 secs on, 10 secs off. That was too much for me to try to remember when to start/stop with a running clock so I did 2 rounds with 50 secs on, 10 secs off. I wrote down my scores but they aren't handy so I'll post without them:

Surfer Kick Outs

Upright Row, alternating left and right

5 High Knees, half burpee

Back Lunge with Kick, left leg

Back Lunge with Kick, right leg

Jack Pushups

High Knees

Exploding Push Ups (I did them on my knees)

I also ran a mile again. I walked far less than on Friday yet still posted a time 5 secs faster? (11:19 if you're keeping score) Maybe walking more gives me that boost to run faster. I walked a lap to cooldown, got a drink, and decided to go for another 3 laps since it wasn't painful to do 1.5 on Friday. I did that and walked another "cooldown" lap. Turns out Hubs needed more time so I ran another 3 with another "cooldown" lap. So I did 17 laps total, which is just over 2 miles!! I was so super excited. And the best part is that my knees are not punishing me for it. Last time I did 2 miles my body was angry at me.

Saturday night was a UFC night that was apparently a big deal or something. So Hubs convinced me to go and sit at the Tilted Kilt (blech) for 4 hours with him. I got a super yummy salad there though with balsamic vinaigrette on the side. Yummm.  And lots and lots of water. I'm so far beyond 64oz of water a day. I must have had well over 200oz. Fine with me, just keep off the bloat!

Sunday was a major sleep in day for us. 10am is sooo late for me to be snoozing. I couldn't believe it! I got up and made protein shakes for Hubs and I. Then we ran some errands, which is when I remembered my Groupon for sushi that was expiring this week. The restaurant was on the northside of the city so we'd never make it there on a weeknight. Impromptu lunch it is! It was super delicious and we had fun hanging out in a new part of town. Hubs was determined to hit the gym after but I was less convinced. I thought about taking a rest day, especially after cranking out 7.5  miles this week (from not running at all for a very long time before this) and knowing that I'm going back to TKD this week. He went to the gym without me. And I mustered up the courage to do a JM workout. I'm so glad I did. Twenty minutes of torture to leave sweat all over my floor and make me feel like a champ. I did Ripped in 30, week 1. I really like her 3-2-1 system. Its sort of Body Rock-ish but with a different flavor. I took a running rest day and I think that was smart. My arches were starting to nag at me a little.

Tonight is my first night back to TKD!! I'm excited and scared at the same time. I got my pants on Saturday and immediately put them on. I started walking around my living room throwing kicks. There is just something lovely about the sound of starched pants snapping with each roundhouse. I also *had* to put on my full uniform, just to see how it looks. Hubs kept telling me to get away from him with all my kicking. :)

I'll be sure to update with how awful/wonderful going back to class was tomorrow. I just hope I don't look like a total white belt when I'm supposed to be an "expert". :/

No Regrets,
Liss

Day 5/6

Thursday night turned into a busy one as Hubs was running late so I was on my own for exercise. I popped in one of my MANY Jillian Michaels DVDs and got to it. I love love love kickboxing so her Kickboxing Fast Fix was my natural choice. I did workout 2, which emphasized the legs. In only 20 short minutes, the workout was over before I knew it and I was sweating like crazy. Yay JM! Running was out because it was still 100 degrees outside, no exaggeration.


Hubs and I made an awesome, healthy dinner. Salmon patties with a FF dill sauce, grilled asparagus, and couscous with pieces of turkey bacon. I have a pic I'll have to post later. It was so yummy! And only 400 calories.


We then went grocery shopping and loaded up on healthy foods. I mean LOADED. We hit Aldi, his favorite store EVER and then Tony's to pick up some of the more exotic things we needed. Our fridge and freezer are stuffed. And its all so healthy and delicious so I'm excited about that. I've decided to not do a specific "diet" but instead learn to eat clean in everyday life so its something that I keep up in the long haul.


With that segue, I picked up the ingredients for the JM dandelion tea cleanse today. I made a double batch of it. Its actually pretty good! Tastes like watered down lemonade to me. If you aren't sure what I'm talking about, its a cleanse where you still get to eat but its supposed to reduce your bloat. You mix 60 oz of water with a dandelion root tea bag, 1 TBS of sugar free cranberry juice, and 2 TBS of lemon juice.  Today is day 1 of that so we'll see how it goes. I think its funny how people online are saying how its too much liquid. You're supposed to have 64 oz minimum of water a day. Just replace with this! I've already drank half of it plus another 60+ oz of water today. And its only 3pm!


I already hit the gym today since my work closed for excessive heat. Seriously. I was ecstatic!! I did my Body Rock workout (www.bodyrock.tv) and also did some running. I put in 1.5 miles today (yay!) sort of on accident. I did my usual 1 (in 11:14, shaving off 5 whole seconds...) and then walked another lap to cool down. Hubs said he still needed 5-10 more mins so instead of sitting around waiting for him (my usual routine), I did 3 more laps to complete the .5 miles. I didn't time it since it was impromptu but I was happy I did it! And I remembered to write down my Body Rock scores. Look at me today, doing everything right! ha!


Body Rock (50 secs work, 10 secs rest, 2 rounds)
-Lateral side jumps (44/45)
-3 walking pushups into 5 mountain climbers (4/3)
-5 hops to left elbow (from plank) followed by 5 squats with left knee raises (2/2.5)
-5 hops to right elbow (from plank) followed by 5 squats with right knee raises (2/2)
-Plank jacks (23/35)
-Bent over rows with 10 lb weights in each hand (32/35)


I got some new protein shake flavors today. I'll be sharing recipes with you all when I start playing around with them!


Be sweatastic!
Liss

Peach Protein Shake

I had a delicious protein shake for breakfast today. Thought I'd share the recipe:


1.5 cups water (skim milk would make it even better)
1 cup frozen peaches
2 scoops of cake batter Muscle Milk
Dash of cinnamon


Whirl it all around in your blender until smooth. Enjoy a dessert like breakfast treat! Yum!
Liss

Day 3-4

Tuesday night I had a choice to make. I was very sore from pushing hard the last 3 days (when I haven't done much of anything physical leading into it), I was super hot from the 100 degree days we've been having, I was so hungry, I was crampy, and we had friends coming over in 2 hours to watch the fireworks. Yes, excuses. But when I thought about what Wednesday, the 4th, would hold, I decided it was better to take the night off and recover a little. The gym was only open 7-12 in preparation for the 4th of July festivities so I knew my workout would be early. A late Tuesday workout paired with an early Wednesday workout would not give me ample recovery. So I took the night off and my body was so happy I did. I did my Body Rock (www.bodyrock.tv) workout followed by my one mile run. That run felt so much better than Monday's run. So rest was key. I ended up doing 6 laps nonstop (my furthest yet!), walking part of the 7th lap, and then running the rest. My mile time was 11:19. I haven't been timing them but I figured I should start so I know how I'm improving. I didn't think that was too bad considering I'm out of shape, I walked some, and I had done tons of leg exercises right before. So YAY! For Body Rock, here was my workout:


3 rounds of these 4 exercises. Timer set to 50 secs work, 10 secs rest
-Forward lunge then squat, alternating legs
-Full burpees (with push up) and 2 jump squats (man did these burn!)
-1 arm get ups (I did 2 armed)
-Kettlebell swings


I ended up taking longer breaks between rounds but I did them all and that's what counts, right? I'm also not so sore today that I had to limp down the stairs, which I have been the last few days. Getting back in shape hurts so good!


Hubs and I decided we're going to the Gladiator Assault Challenge on September 29th. The day after my birthday. Happy 31st to me! Its a 5-7 mile race with 20+ obstacles along the way. Guaranteed to have you wet and muddy at the finish line. Seems like fun and having something to train for always makes working out more of a priority.


I also ordered new TaeKwonDo pants that should arrive this week. This means I can finally go back to class!! I haven't been going because, well, I "outgrew" my very nice, very expensive Adidas uniform and feared the tightness of the pant legs would cause an embarrassing "RIIIIIP" in the middle of a spin kick. I'm really hoping that getting back to the gym and class will get those nice pants fitting again really soon. Like by the end of the month? Please? I'll keep you posted on that goal. Maybe even a pic!


Stay sweaty my friends!
Liss

Dance Your Ass Off

I don't necessarily like working out. However, I love dancing around like a fool. I'm good at it. I embarrass the hell out of my kids. It's wonderful. And it just happens to be an awesome way to burn some blubber off. That's why I LOVE Just Dance 3. I can sweat my ass off and feel accomplished and KNOW that I'm going to reach my goal one day and HAVE FUN DOING IT. I find it very hard to stick to workout DVDs long-term. I tend to get bored easily and give up. It's been a vicious cycle for nearly a decade now. I spend money on a DVD thinking it's going to be "THE ONE" and I'll get maybe a week's worth of workouts out of it before it starts collecting dust. The kids got Just Dance 3 for Christmas last year and I couldn't be more grateful. I started doing it almost daily nearly 3 months ago and lost about 10 lbs in less then 3 weeks. I would keep telling myself "Just one more song!" and before I knew it, an hour and a half would fly by and I'd be drenched with sweat but still smiling. Life happened, I stopped, I gained all the weight back (and then some). On July 1st I started up again and, according to the game, I worked out enough to be the equivalent of climbing the steps to the Eiffel Tower (which, incidentally, is approximately 1665 steps ). I felt awesome! Tired, but awesome. I actually look forward to playing again the next day. Because that's what it feels like: playing. It doesn't feel like an actual workout and for me, that works best.

~Jules~

Day 2

Body Rock was my go to again. Hubs did it with me and he even wanted to quit half way through! It looks so easy on paper but it is HARD stuff. I didn't track my reps (shame on me!) bc I didn't have a pencil and I couldn't pay attention long enough to keep counting. But here's the workout with my modifications:


50 seconds work/10 seconds rest (we did 20 bc we had to move around the gym a lot)


1. Chin ups (I did the assisted machine kind)
2. Jump Squats
3. Hanging Knee Raises (we did Tuck Abs)
4. Mountain Climbers
5. Clapping Push Ups (I did them on my knees then just straight push ups when I was really tired at the end)
6. Switch Lunges
7. Bicycle Abs
8. Tricep Dips (I used a bench to do the backwards kind, Hubs did the real thing)
9. Forward and Backward Lunge Left
10. Forward and Backward Lunge Right
11. Side Crunch Left
12. Side Crunch Right
13. Burpees


So around the end of round 10, our legs were on FIRE. But it was good. We pushed through, we finished. YAY!


I then ran a mile with Hubs. Well, we each ran one at our own pace. It sucked. So much less pleasant than yesterday's run. I can't wait until I'm fit enough that a mile is easy. I know I just need to build strength up and rest my legs but its so frustrating, especially when I know that once upon a time I ran 5-7 miles daily....


I've been tracking food too. 1800 calories yesterday. Down 2 lbs this morning. YAY!


Sweat on!
Liss

12 weeks

12 weeks is nothing. Do it. 

OWWW. Day 1

Bestie and I decided Day 1 would be July 1. I was (and still am) toying with how I wanted my workouts to go so I went with what I know and did Body Rock. Of course, the WOD for July 1 was super intense and I'm mega sore today. Here is what the workout was and how I did, my scores in purple. (full video and instructions at www.bodyrock.tv)

1) Clean & Press – 20 Total - 20 using 10 lbs in each hand

2) Straight Abs - 20 Total - 20

3) Get Ups & Jump  – 5 Total - 3 (I felt ridiculous doing these so I quit)

4) Lunge & Twist - 10 Each Side (L & R ) 20 total with 20 lbs

5) Press Ups – 30 Total - 30

6) Wide Leg 1/2 Burpee – 20 Total - 20

7) Oblique Lifts – 20 Each Side (L & R)- 20 each side

8) Squat & Press  – 20 Total - 20 using 10lbs in each hand

9) Jump Mountain Climbers – 30 Total - 30 without a jump

10) Upright Row – 20 Total - 20 with 15 lbs in each hand

11) Bicep Curl & Press –  20 Total - 20 with 10 lbs in each hand

12) Wood Chops - 15 Each Side (L & R) - 15 each side with a 22 lb kettlebell

13) High Knees – 30 Total - 40 total, 10 butt kicks, 10 high knees x2

14) Ab Twists - 40 Total - 40 with 22 lb kettlebell

15) Sandbag Swing - 20 Total - 20 with 22 lb kettlebell

16) Bent Over Row – 20 Total - 20 with 25 lbs in each hand

17) Tuck Abs – 20 Total - 20

18) Side Oblique Jumps – 10 Total - these looked silly to do in public so I skipped them

19) Tricep Dips – 20 Total - 20 I did overhead triceps with a 30 lb dumb bell

At this point in the workout a super creeper was working out very close to the mats I was by. I couldn't deal with him being there any more and I was exhausted so I stopped here. I was going to move to another area of the gym but I decided to run instead. More at the bottom.

20) Ski Abs – 20 Total

21) Push-Up, Burpee & Tuck Jump – 5 Total

22) Spider Push-Ups – 10 Total (L & R Alternate)

23) C Sit Bike Abs – 20 Total (L & R Alternate)

24) Squat Up Down Punches – Total 15 Each Side (L & R)

25) 1 leg touch jumps – 15 Each Side (L & R)

26) Ski Jump Hooks - 15 Total (L & R Alternate)

27) Push-Ups & Oblique Drop – 15 Total (L & R Alternate)

28) Over Head Abs – 10 Total

I decided to try to do some running since I REALLY miss it and I know I've been slacking on getting back to it. I was nervous about trying it because its been a while (almost a month) since I've run and I was tired from yesterday and today's workouts. Hubs reminded me that its not a race and to just do what I could. So I hit the indoor track. Its 8 laps to a mile which is somewhat torturous. My plan was to run 2 laps and walk a lap until I did all 8. Well I ended up behind a girl with the perfect pace for my current level of fitness. I ran 5 laps non-stop! I stopped to tie my shoe, walked a half a lap, and then finished with the last 2.5 laps of jogging. I was so proud of myself for doing a whole mile almost non-stop. YAY! 

Now, the next day, I'm so sore. But good sore. Like my body is reminding me I did a good job sore. :)

Keep sweating my friends!

Liss

Foxy

Inspirational quote of the day. Because if you're not sweaty and gross at the end of your workout, you didn't push yourself hard enough.

Source: Uploaded by user via Julie on Pinterest