Thursday, May 27, 2010

Motivation!

Do any of us remember what real motivation feels like??
If you've lost yours or feel it waning, you may want to take a moment to consider what motivates you. And really allow it to sink in for a few moments... really think about it and how those things make you feel. Re-gather yourself in what you want and what you feel that your body wants.

Here's my motivation:
Knowing that I'm not overweight
Going off blood pressure medication
Clothing that fits different
Making myself wait for my rewards and then buying them
Buying smaller clothing! (How about NEEDING smaller clothing?!)
Sleeping well!
Not feeling self-conscious in a bathing suit (or skimpy yoga outfits, in my case)
Feeling strong and athletic
Feeling in control of my body and my life
The feeling of hitting my goals!
And most of all, the feeling of not feeling heavy at the end of the day, fed, bathed and relaxing...

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

May 24-29th

Weight: 132!!! (As I firmly believe in rewarding yourself, I am including a couple of pics in my reward for hitting 135, I was going to get training clothes, but I traded it for yoga clothes... So here's me in my reward, which was a big step for me as I have not bared my belly in quite a while)


Monday: Rest
Tuesday: Yoga
Wednesday: 60 mins cardio, lower body  and arms workout (Focusing in glutes, need to get those suckers burning!):
-Backward Lunges w/10 lb weights for bicep curls (3 sets of 10)
-Leg Press (to failure)
-Ball Squat (to failure)
-Poly metric Jumps (6 sets of 6)
-Jack Knife flyes w/ tricep extension (10 lb weights/3 sets of 10)
Thursday: Yoga
Friday: 60 mins cardio, upper body workout (Focusing on back, shoulders and core):
-Seated Row (3 sets of 10)
-Wide Grip Lat Pull down (3 sets of 10)
-Straight Arm Pull down (3 sets of 10)
-Front Deltoid Raise (3 sets of 10)
-Cable Chest Press (3 sets of 10)
-Hanging leg kicks (for an ab workout- 3 sets of 10)
Saturday: Painting, painting, painting (and YES! Housework does count for exercise!)
Sunday: Rest

Nutritional goal: More veggies, I've been slacking at night in getting in more veggies.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

New Workout Schedule

So, for the next 6 weeks I have decided to go for strength and endurance over weight loss... I'm still going to track my weight loss etc but I want to work on my core and work on sculpting.

Monday: 60 mins cardio
Tuesday: Yoga
Wednesday: 60 mins cardio, plus leg and core workout (Leg workout will include squats, lunges, ball squats, leg presses, and reverse crunches)
Thursday: Yoga
Friday: 60 mins cardio, plus arm and back workout
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: Rest

Nutritional goal: Back to high protein but still eating by the WW plan! I'm gonna start going to the meetings in 2 weeks, so my workout routine will change, Mondays will become a rest day.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Week 6 and Size 6!

Week 6- May 10th- May 16th

Weight from Friday: I decided not to weigh. :) I don't want to go crazy over numbers... This all started being about how I want my body to feel and get healthy. I am almost there and I decided to skip the weigh-in to remind myself what its really about for me. By the way, I'm into size 6 pants now. :)
Monday: Rest
Tuesday: Yoga
Wednesday: 60 mins Elliptical
Thursday: Yoga
Friday: 60 mins Elliptical? ... I may end up just doing something active that day.
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: Rest

Nutritional Goal for the week: Still just focused on the basics of Weight Watchers. Also, I've decided to cut down how much cardio and weight training I'm doing. I'm going to try to get back to Yoga twice a week since eventually I want that to be my primary source of exercise.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Red Light Foods

Weight: I haven't weighed since Sunday... but 135. :) Love being at my goal!

A current topic of thought has been Red Light Foods. Meaning foods that cause you to defer from your current eating plan and cause an unhealthy chain reaction in your diet. How many times have I gone through my plan... Doing AMAZING on my diet and exercise... then one of my weaknesses shows up... And I find yourself fighting it. But the food pulls me in like a tractor beam.

After much thought, I've decided that there are three kinds of Red Light Foods: Foods that you can't even have in your house or around you because at some point you will binge on them (calling this RLF Category 1) and Foods that cause you to go overboard and binge on them after you begin to consume (RLF Category 2). Foods that are easy to binge on when socializing (RLF Category 3).

As I began to really think about this topic, my Red Light Foods came to mind:
Category 1:
Chocolate/Candy
Chips or crackers
Mac N Cheese

Category 2:
Cheese
Alcohol

Category 3:
Cheese
Alcohol

My strategies to combat over eating:
-Making a point to "JUST SAYING NO" to everything that comes along
-Flossing or brushing my teeth immediately after my last meal
-I keep almonds on me, so I have an alternative that I can whip out if I can't seem to fight it
-Keeping protein cookies (Apex protein cookies found at Oz Finess) in the house for the times when cravings are overwhelming, because even though its not a great choice... At least its some protein and other good stuff
-Pre-made protein shakes (I literally keep chocolate protein shakes made in my fridge)

If you haven't already, think about what are in your RLF categories... because the first step to doing something about a problem, is identifying it. If you know you have a problem with it, the problem becomes easier to overcome. Be aware of the problems and certainly be aware of your own strategies on how to overcome!

Monday, May 3, 2010

Week 5

Week 5- May 3rd- May 9th

Weight from Friday: 135!!!! I hit a goal yesterday, which was exactly 135 and I feel so proud. I even tried on a pair of size 8 jeans and fit! I'll post a picture tomorrow! :) And as I am a firm believer in rewarding yourself for making your goals, I am going to reward myself. I did say I was going to buy new training clothes but honestly... All of my work pants are still a size 12. I plan to buy myself a couple of pairs of work pants out of my next paycheck as a reward.

Monday: 25 min stairclimber
Tuesday: Yoga! (I took two weeks off and my spine is hurting for yoga!)
Wednesday: 30 min stair climber
(5 lb, 2 sets, 5 reps each) 1 leg Jack Knife Flyes & (7 lb, 3 sets, 20 reps) Squat w/Military Press
Thursday: 35 min stair climber
Friday: 40 mins stair climber
(5 lb, 2 sets, 5 reps each) 1 leg Jack Knife Flyes & (7 lb, 3 sets, 20 reps) Squat w/Military Press
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: Rest

Nutritional Goal for the week: NONE! I'm eating by the plan and its effing working. I'm drinking my two protein shakes everyday and not putting any more emphaisis or rules on the plan... because the plan works all by itself!