PGH – 3/13/13

So far this week I am on top of my fitness game.

On Monday I did the Callanetics workout I should have done on Sunday.

Yesterday I did Level 1 of Jillian Michaels Killer Buns and Thighs.

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It follows the same format at 30 Day Shred and Ripped in 30.  3 workouts, 3 levels, 30+ minutes of fat burning torture fun.  I found it to be challenging.  The previews of levels 2 and 3 scared me as they both involve a chair!?! O_O  I am not sure I will get to discover that joy as I only have this video until Saturday and I have another Jillian video to try out.

Tonight’s fun and good times will be Level 1 of Shred It with Weights.

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Doesn’t that look like a world of fun?

Tomorrow I will do another Callanetics workout, my 6th so far.

While cleaning up my room last month, I found a workout tracking book that I got from joining a boot camp back in Sept 2010.  My measurements were recorded in this book.  I did the boot camp for 8 weeks and managed to lose a lot of inches. The trainer did not have a scale so I have no idea what I weighed or lost.

When I started on this voyage back in Sept 2012 I gave myself 3 months to lose weight/inches by myself.  If I wasn’t able to motivate myself I would go back to boot camp at $300 for 8 weeks.  Needless to say I kept my money. 🙂

What made me sad about finding the book was when I look at my start measurements from Sept 2010 and Sept 2012 there is a difference of 3 inches in most of the areas that were measured.  In 2 years I gained 3 inches all around.  How did I not notice that?

In 2010 I went to boot camp because I noticed I was putting on weight.  I lost some size, I can’t tell you how much right this minute as I don’t have the book in front of me.  At some point over the past 2 years I would have returned to the size that prompted me to start working out.  I am thinking now that time might have been April 2011 when I did 30 Day Shred for 90 days straight.  I think at that time I built muscle under my fat.  But since I didn’t have a scale and rewarded myself constantly for working out, I did not get the full benefit from all that exercise.

Until I joined myfitnesspal.com I don’t think I realized how much more important watching your calories is than working out.

In the words of the great Maya Angelou, “When you know better, you do better“.

PGH – 2/28/13

I am still on my quest to become a healthier version on me.

The cleanse did jump-start some weight loss.  But since it’s been over, I managed to gain back 3 of the 7 pounds lost.  I figure it was not in the cards for me yet.  Probably due to re-introducing the fun stuff back into my diet.  Dang you sugar, wheat and diary.

Last week I worked out 4 times.  So far this week … once. 😦  But in my defence I was feeling terrible on Tuesday and Wednesday.  Tonight was the first time I didn’t feel bloated and uncomfortable.  I am blaming the sandwich I had on Tuesday for lunch.

So far I am down 14 pounds.

I made a bet with a good guy friend of mine.  He too would like to lose weight and thinks that because he’s a dude he will be able to get rid of his 30 lbs before I get rid of my 15 lbs.  Before I gained back the 3 lbs I was feeling confident, now not so much.  Although I don’t think that he has really started doing anything to get rid of his weight so I might still win.  The weigh in date is May 1.  Wish me luck. 😉

Other than that I have just been chugging along.

 

Long time

Man it’s been too long since I have been here.  Sorry.

I am suffering from there really isn’t enough time to do everything you want to.

Work has been crazy busy and when the day is over I am finding it hard to sit in front of my computer for any long periods of time. I am so very behind on my blog reading.

I’ve been trying to get back into reading.  I recently finished The Glass Castle and Let’s Pretend This Never Happened.  Both were fantastic.  Right now I am reading The End of Your Life Book Club.  It too is good, but … it  lists other great books to read.  Where do people find the time?

I am still focused on my health, trying to go to bed at a reasonable hour, eat well and all that other good stuff.  Bed bedtime is not going as well as it could.  At 10 pm I feel like I should stay up later I’m a grown up.  And I do, usually end up going to bed closer to midnight, then the next morning I am crying to get out of bed. 😦

I am trying to limit the amount of TV I watch but that seems to be easier said than done.  It really is a time suck.  Once it’s on, it stays on.  Sometimes just as background noise.

I bought myself some wool last week.  I saw this on Pinterest and fell in love.

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Sad part is after buying the wool I realized I could have just bought the already made scarves.  And it would most likely be cheaper than buying just the wool.  But there’s something to be said for doing it yourself, right?  I am going to attempt the black one first.

 

PGH – 2/6/13

The scale did not move on Monday’s weigh in. 😦  Lucky for me I am going on my cleanse of good “clean” food.

Since I have lost 10+ pounds, every weigh in myfitnesspal.com asks me if I would like to recalculate my nutrition needs and I always say yes.  In the past there were no changes.  Well surprise, surprise this week there was a change.  I am now at 1330 calories/day instead of 1400. 😦  I am going to miss those 70 calories. LOL

Again I feel grateful that I am going to be eating well for the next 9 days.  It will make the transition a lot easier.

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On the exercise front, I have a new Leslie Sansone video, Burn Fat and Sculpt your Arms.  This one has 1, 2, and 3 mile walking options.  Yesterday I did the 1 mile set.  This video incorporated weights for a little upper body workout.  It was a quick 18 minute workout.

I decided to start slow since I am detoxing.  With no sugar in my system I don’t want to over-exert myself.

On a different note, I just learned that guacamole is 40 calories for 2 tablespoons.  Yummy. 🙂

No better time

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This week-end I decided Monday was going to be Day 1 of the my detox.  My meals are to be unprocessed meat, grains, veggies and some fruit.  On this cleanse I am to avoid dairy, flour, sugar, yeast, vinegar and tropical fruits, among other things.

In preparation, on Sunday I made a big batch of chicken soup.  In the pot I put:

1 cup of yellow split peas
the left over Costco chicken
1 cup of quinoa
celery
baby carrots
salt/pepper/cayenne pepper/oregano/thyme

The soup was light calorie-wise and yummy. 🙂  The quinoa was a surprise addition.  My cousin gave me the idea as she tells me that she usually has cooked quinoa in her fridge that she adds to any meal that she wants to make healthier.  While I have had quinoa in my home for a while, I have only used it as a substitute for rice.

Yesterday I baked the salmon I bought from Costco; all of it.  I originally was going to put some of the fish in the freezer for later but then I remembered I am allowed all the fish I want. 🙂  So I baked it all 1.308 kg of it!!  I seasoned it 4 different ways.

All pieces were covered with lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper.  I then put Mrs Dash on one piece, cayenne pepper on another and Old Bay on the third piece.  I didn’t add anything extra to the last piece.

I made quinoa and brown rice for the very first time.  The brown rice took forever to cook and was not a hit with my girls.

On this cleanse I can have all the fish, brown rice and almonds I want. 🙂

At the end of the evening, half the fish was gone.

PGH Update – 12/4/12

What did 4 weeks of Ripped in 30 do for me?

Well on the weight loss front, not so much. 😦  My last 4 weigh-ins have been about the same.  It’s official, I have plateaued. 😦  It’s a little frustrating especially since I spent the last 4 weeks with Jillian kicking my tail.

My co-worker says my body has gotten used to my new lifestyle and as such is comfortable or something to that effect.  Either way I am not impressed.  She says just keep at it and something will give … My cousins tell me to eat less or workout longer and change will happen. Neither of those are particularly appealing right now.

The news is better for my measurements.  I’ve lost at least half an inch everywhere except my upper thigh, which lost nothing.   Grand total 4.5 inches lost.

I do feel stronger and more physically fit.  This was evident by yesterday’s level 1 workout.  Much better than the last time I did it.  I still am not at the advanced level yet but I am not getting as winded as soon as before. 🙂

I will keep at it.

It’s got to get easier, right?

November Goals

I can’t believe that it’s November already.  The year is almost over. 😦

I don’t want to put too many goals on my list this month.  I would prefer to do 2 things well than fail at 10 things.

So here goes.

New Goals

1. Ripped in 30; 5 times a week for 4 weeks
2. Complete my Christmas shopping
3. Start and possibly finish my vision board

On-going Goals

1. Reducing my debt
2. Increasing my savings
3. Tracking my food/calories
4. Track my spending and try to stay closer to the budget

I think this is enough for this month.

My Christmas list is relatively small compared to most; only my parents (3), siblings (3) and kids (2).  Grand total 8!!  *small dance*

I have no idea what to get most of these folks.  I would like to not spend a fortune in total.  I have counted and rolled most of what’s in my sealed pot.  It adds up to $412 so far.  I would prefer not to use it all, but right now it is about $50 per person.  Do-able but it would require me to be creative.  I think I am up for the challenge.

My Dad wants men’s yoga shorts like these from Lululemon, but doesn’t want me to spend the big Lululemon price tag   In fact he would be very annoyed with me if I bought him a pair of the desired shorts. *big sign* 😦

My Step-mom is usually easy enough.  She likes sparkly things and nice scents.

My Mom … needs nothing.  Not sure what to do for her as I don’t want to give her another “thing”.

My sister (from my Dad) is easy enough; either gift certificate to the movies or something sparkly.

My brother (from my Dad) is not so easy.  He likes Best Buy … would probably love a gift card from there but that makes me uneasy as how much does one give without it appearing “cheap” or “too expensive”.  (My Dad is old school and still believes $20 is a lot of money.  Well it is, but it no longer has the buying power like it used to.)

My other sister (from my Mom) usually gets $50 cash from me.  But that was before she worked.  Now I am not sure if I really need to give her that much as she now has cash of her own.  She likes brand name things and is at an age where if she doesn’t like it she won’t wear/use it. 😦

Princess doesn’t have a lot of wants.  She is “sitting” on a bucket load of cash from working this summer and has purchased very little, mainly food.  I know she needs some undies as there was a laundry mix up … I’ll leave it at that. But other than that I am at a loss.

Diva wants to change her hair colour.  I do not want her to use chemicals.  She would like hair chalk.  I am agreeable to this option.  As my luck would have it one of those daily deal sites had a set on sale.  So this gift has been ordered.  I would also like to get her the latest Dork Diaries book.

Some where I read about getting your children 4 gifts for Christmas; something to wear, something to read, something they want and something they need.

Hopefully I can think of a few options for my kids and 2 of my siblings and my Mom.

Any ideas?

PGH – 11/1/12

This Monday was the first time since I started Project Get Healthy that the scale didn’t move. 😦

While it didn’t go down, it didn’t go up either. 🙂

So I need to step up my exercise game.

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Having said that I am going to do Ripped in 30 again starting on Monday.  I will only workout on the week days.  This is the kick in the pants I think I need. The plan is to workout first thing in the morning so I can come home and relax after work.

I’m fairly certain I can do the 4 weeks, it’s the 5th week I am concerned about.  I am really hoping that I can get into the habit of morning workouts.  Right now I am having a hard time getting my tail out of bed.

As for the food, with the exception of going out to brunch on Sunday, I have been at or below my 1400 daily calorie allowance.  Keeping track of what I eat is working out really well for me.  I just can’t say enough nice things about myfitnesspal.com.  They have just about everything I eat already in their database so I don’t have to do any formulating or calculating of calories.

During the week I eat the same thing for breakfast, oatmeal with almond butter, craisins and flaxseeds.  Lunch is either leftovers from dinner or a wrap/sandwich etc.  Once I have entered my breakfast and lunch choices, I put in my evening cup of tea and cookies.  Then I backtrack to see what dinner will look like.  If I don’t have a lot of calories left for dinner I workout to earn some. 😉  Easy peasy!

This weekend I will take my measurements again to see if I’ve lost any inches since starting this journey.  Also to get a baseline to see how effective working out 5 days a week for 4 weeks is.

Wish me luck or better yet, wish me perseverance.

I am sick

And I don’t like it. 😦

I prefer not to take any drugs and I am suffering because of it.

I’m not sure if it’s just my time to catch a cold or whether or not my reduced calorie diet made me susceptible.  Either way I am afflicted.

To make matters worst, we are short-staffed at work so I feel obligated to go in.  A lot of folks are sick there too.  It is probably where I got the germs from.

I am willing the long week-end to start so that I may sleep in and get some rest and hopefully return to the land of the well.

Project Get Healthy – Day 1 recap

Alright I really hadn’t thought out my day yesterday when I decided to start tracking my calories.  I think I went from eating 2500+ to 1400 basically overnight and my belly was not happy with me.

After my lunch of pasta & meat sauce, I was left with 200+ calories for the rest of the day.  This forced me to get somewhat creative for dinner.  I punched in various veggies until I hit 200-ish calories.  Then I remembered dressing.  I do not eat salad without the sauce. 😉  Based on the size of the salad 1 tablespoon would not cut it.  Did I mention that I don’t diet so everything I buy is full fat???  Things you notice when you start tracking calories.  I now understand why my cousin eats sugar substitutes; those 15 calories add up!!

Anyhow, after the salad I was 15 calories over for the day.  Not ideal but whatever.

WAIT!!!  Before you start congratulating me, my night did not end there. 😦

Princess heated up a Jamaican patty and I was ready to fight her to the death for it.  My belly growled so loud I thought it was trying to contact people in China.

Looked up the patty online, 300 calories.  No way José.  I wanted to eat some Cheetos twists, so I had some Greek yogurt instead.  I also for the first time ever counted out a serving of twists; only 7. 😦

Add in a mug of tea and I was over last night by almost 350 calories.  For my first day out I can’t complain.