Thursday, June 30, 2011

Happy Thursday - Money Talk!!

Hey everyone! I hope you're having a great Thursday! I am having a good day so far - and definitely looking forward to the holiday weekend!!

I know this is usually updated with fitness & nutrition stuff, but I am also a very firm believer in financial security & stability as well. I have always been meticulous with money, and I have the good credit to prove it. When my hubby and I got together, I had to help him get a grasp on his finances and now he and I have worked together over the past years to really set ourselves up for the kind of life that we really want to live! We have a house, 2 cars, a motorcycle, fully stocked home gym, lots of electronic toys and a very comfortable lifestyle - all of which we've worked super hard for - so we've earned it!

So now back to my recent story and why I'm super excited today, after a few weeks of hard work and buckling down on finances a little bit, I am proud to say that one of our credit cards will be totally paid off tomorrow (this was my treadmill/elliptical purchase last year - $820 remaining!) and another bill totalling around $1300 will be gone by the end of August! Woot!

This would mean that starting in September, the hubby and I will only have my car payment (his car is already paid off), the motorcycle payment, my credit card & his credit card left (other than mortgage & house bills of course!) When I start Zumbatomic in September, that means ALL that money can be thrown towards my credit card - which I'm embarassed to say has around $9,000 (mostly wedding expenses so it was worth it). Most, if not all of it will be gone with the extra money I'm making starting this fall!! I am super stoked about this!!

The hubby and I are shooting to be completely debt free (with the exception of the mortgage - but that doesn't count) by the beginning of next summer! At this rate, I totally think we can do this!! I am super excited!! It seems like there's finally a light at the end of the tunnel! We aren't just struggling to get by, we are working hard for the inevitable "greater good" of living debt free - and after a few years of working our asses off, that future is starting to seem more real!

In other news, tonight is Zumba - which is always an awesome experience!! I love it!! There's rumors we'll be getting out early from work for the holiday tomorrow - which would be super awesome & fabulous! I'll be updating through the weekend with my running workouts and stuff and I'm looking forward to a weigh in tomorrow morning or Saturday (it will probably be Saturday because I have to go into work earlier than usual tomorrow morning). I'm looking forward to making progress towards my first $100 Zumbawear goal (which I have budgeted into the next few months! haha!) I'm already down about 3lbs and can't wait to see if I can make some more progress by staying in line over the next few days! I'm keeping today as a low sodium day and hoping for a WOOSH overnight! haha!

Hope you all have a stellar Thursday and a great Friday!!

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

W3D1 - So Nice, I did it TWICE!!!

Alrighty peeps - so here's my workout blog for today! I ended up with an unexpected 15 mins earlier today, so I added a break onto it and got my run completed early!!! THEN, my running buddy at work still wanted to run on lunch - so I ran the same workout again (but a little faster!). I am super stoked! I feel awesome!!! It was definitely a good day!!! Tonight is date night with the hubby (since I don't have a class) and we might go see a movie! Totally looking forward to it!!!

So here's the information for both my workouts today:

Workout One:
Warm Up
Run for 90 Seconds at 6.5 MPH
Recover for 90 Seconds at 3.5 MPH
Run for 3 Minutes at 6.5 MPH
Recover for 3 Minutes at 3.5
Run for 90 Seconds at 6.8 MPH
Recover for 90 Seconds at 3.5 MPH
Run for 3 Minutes at 6.8 MPH
Cool Down

Total Workout Time: 24 Mins
Total Distance Traveled: 1.63 miles
Total Calorie Burn: 230 Calories

Workout Two (I had a little more time for warm up/cool down on this workout - thus the workout time difference)
Warm Up
Run for 90 Seconds at 6.5 MPH
Recover for 90 Seconds at 3.5 MPH
Run for 3 Minutes at 6.5 MPH
Recover for 3 Minutes at 3.5
Run for 90 Seconds at 6.8 MPH
Recover for 90 Seconds at 3.5 MPH
Run for 3 Minutes at 7.0 MPH
Cool Down

Total Workout Time: 28 Mins
Total Distance Traveled: 1.89 miles
Total Calorie Burn: 245 Calories

After two running workouts, I've determined I really don't like running in my Zigs. They are a little heavier than my ASICS, so I felt like I was "thumping" my way along my workout and I didn't feel as "light" as I usually do. Its not bad, but they aren't my ASICS - which I'll be sticking with from now on!! I am still interested in trying on the Reebok ReeFlex shoes, but for now, I'm sticking with the shoes I already have!

In other news - My horoscope today totally hit home for me and I felt the need to post it here. In a sense, today is a brand new beginning day, but I've had many of these over the year so far - so this reminded me that THIS one has to be different from all the others!

Leo: June is almost over. Can you believe it, Leo? Time really flies. And what a shame because you never got around to doing what you intended to do, did you? Oh, well - there's always July. But July only has 31 days, and they will surely fly by too. But don't panic... August is after that. The point is that you might very well procrastinate away a very good opportunity if you don't take action soon. Don't put off a goal any longer. Once you get started you will gain momentum quickly, and the rewards will be fabulous.

Total Miles Ran in 2011: 50.58 Miles
Total Calories Burned "Running From My Issues": 7,392 Calories GONE

Girly Moodiness is GONE!

Alrighty peeps - thanks for putting up with my horrid mood yesterday! I am feeling much better today. I realeased a lot of water weight, am back down to 178lbs, had a great Zumba class and slept terribly due to a family emergency - but thanks to caffiene I'm feeling good. Its Wednesday - so today is a running day! YAY! So excited! I start Week 3 today!

Today starts pushing for the longer runs, so its going to get tougher to maintain my speeds - but I'm determined to do it! Also, today I am wearing a different shoe for my workouts. Instead of my usual ASICS, I decided to give my Zigs some love - since I don't wear them to Zumba anymore. Since they are technically running shoes, I figured that I'd try them out in my workout today! *does happy dance*

Yesterday afternoon - in the middle of my funk, I figured out a new way to hold myself accountable and I'm going to start creating a reward system for myself. I have a goal to rock the Zumbawear midriff in class - so this is (and has been) my motivation. When I lost all my weight the first time around, I took it 10lbs at a time - just so the whole process didn't feel as overwhelming. So this time around, I'm going to do the same thing. My reward: for every 10lbs I lose, I will give myself $100 to spend on Zumbawear (since that seems to be the only thing I want to spend money on! haha!). Potentially, by the end of my journey, I could have $200-$300 worth of Zumba gear! EEP! So excited! I haven't told the hubby this, but he will be okay with it.

So, since I'm back down to 178lbs - I only have 8 pounds to go from my initial starting weight of 180.8 before I get my first $100 to spend (is it sad that I already know most of what I want to buy???) haha!!!! If I really buckle down and focus, I'll have this gone soon enough! My body is weird - I'll drop a ton of weight quickly and then spend a few weeks maintaining before it drops again. I just need to continue my downward movement - having Zumbawear is definitely motivation to keep positive! I guess I've just turned into one of those people who needs that material physical motivation to keep moving towards my goals. Oh well! Whatever works, right???

I'll be updating with my running workout later today and keeping nutrition in line again! So excited!! I love having a new fire to keep motivated!!! New Zumba gear at 170lbs - let's go!!! Wahoo!!!!

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

OY - sabotage!

Those damn ninjas won again yesterday - the hubby and I went out to dinner and I ate entirely too much food. I also ate more dairy than I usually do and now I'm really not feeling good today :-(

My mood has been funky the past few days - just overly girly & moody so feeling bloated & squishy just doesn't help with this either. Granted, my weight has stayed the same from yesterday morning & this morning even after my foodfest last night - but I still feel like a lard butt. UGH!

I'm pushing fluids like crazy today and hoping for it to balance out tomorrow or the day after. I'm planning on walking on the treadmill for lunch today just to get myself moving and hoping I feel better. I've started noticing trends with my digestion issues & food - whenever I eat a diet that's higher in fats, I feel like crap almost immediately after eating. I'm worried that this might be a precursor for gallbladder issues. Either way, I need to keep my fats down to keep my body healthy. Hopefully I'll be able to do this! For some reason its super difficult to stay on track right now and I can't quite pinpoint why :-(

I'm toying with the idea of breaking down my remaining weight loss goals into 10lb sessions (drop 10lbs, then diet break, drop 10lbs then diet break, etc) so it isn't so overwhelming for my body and my brain. We'll see how it goes.

Alrighty - enough whining from me. I have Zumba tonight and hopefully it will help get me out of my funk. Tomorrow is a running day so I'm stoked about that too. Hope everyone has an awesome day!

Monday, June 27, 2011

W2D3 DONE!!

So I was absolutely WIPED out today (as stated in my prior post) - but I sucked it up and made it through my last workout for Week 2 today! I took it easier since I was still pretty sore from yesterday - I left out the incline and kept my speeds to 6.5 MPH max - but I still completed my goal of a sub-10 min/mile time and I feel good afterwards! The first 2 intervals were a bit of a push to get my body into the groove of running again, but by the third round I was in the groove and just chillin'

So - now here's my official workout post! I'm proud of myself for completing Week 2 of my 10K training - especially considering I really REALLY wanted to skip it today!! I think that is truly the key to success as an athlete - pushing your body past the limits you think you have to put on yourself!! Yippee!! Now I really just might be a lazy brat for the rest of the day! Somehow I think I've earned it! haha!! Now - I think an energy drink is truly necessary *runs off in search of caffienated fizzy beverage*

W2D3 Workout
Warm Up
Run for 90 Seconds at 6.2 MPH
Recover for 2 minutes at 3.5 MPH
Run for 90 Seconds at 6.5 MPH
Recover for 2 minutes at 3.5 MPH
Run for 90 Seconds at 6.5 MPH
Recover for 2 minutes at 3.5 MPH
Run for 90 Seconds at 6.5 MPH
Recover for 2 minutes at 3.5 MPH
Run for 90 Seconds at 6.5 MPH
Recover for 2 minutes at 3.5 MPH
Run for 90 Seconds at 6.5 MPH
Cool Down

Total Workout Time: 25 Mins
Total Calorie Burn: 230 Calories
Total Distance Traveled: 1.73 miles

Total Miles Ran in 2011: 47.06 Miles
Total Calories Burned "Running From My Issues": 6,917 Calories GONE

Zumbatomic, Weigh Ins & Tantrums

OY it was a crazy weekend! I'm struggling to get through today and I'm totally hurting on energy right now (I think an energy drink might be necessary!). Saturday night we had people over for dinner and I had 4 adult beverages (though didn't go over calorie burn). I swear, I retain water like crazy when I drink and it made my weigh in on Sunday completely inaccurate. Throughout the whole week I'd been averaging around 178lbs (meaning I had dropped about 3lbs of water weight) - but Saturday night, due to the booze & food, I completely shot back up. UGH! Maybe Sundays aren't the best days to weigh in. I'll figure something out I suppose. Once my weight balances back out (today or tomorrow) I'll do a weigh in and then figure out the best days from there. Maybe I'll go back to Friday/Saturday weigh ins until I know the summer BBQ temptation is over.

I had my Zumbatomic licensing class yesterday and it was amazing! I couldn't have asked for a better experience!! The class was incredible - but I am totally wiped out today. I burned a total of 3500 calories on my Bugg yesterday, 23,483 steps and over 4 hours of activity time. My joints are sore and my energy levels aren't what they usually are. Given my calorie burn yesterday, I didn't really care too much about nutrition (I still ended up at a 1,000 calorie deficit even though I ate what I wanted - though I'm still super bloated!). This morning I was sore & tired, so I got take out for breakfast - but it was filling enough to keep me full all day at work and I'll have a light dinner if I'm hungry at all.

Now that this class is finished - I'm eyeballing the next licensing classes that I can take! I love learning new stuff and getting more Zumba licenses is the next way to go - plus I LOVE having all those icons next to my name on my Zumba profile and now I want them ALL!!! haha!! I was already looking at a B2 class in August - but I'm not sure if that one is going to work out! I'd love to get a Toning & Gold license too, but they don't have any in the state coming soon! OY! I'm trying to convince the owner of our studio to host them so that we can all get the licenses :-D

I read an interesting blog post from one of my Spark friends this morning - who described her binges and occasional "F it all" attitude as throwing a tantrum. I actually think this is a perfect analogy for it! Whenever my weight shoots up again, I can get pissed off and in response, I don't care what I eat....Its just like a child throwing a tantrum! I don't care what happens, I eat whatever, then I grow up, get over it and get myself back on track. What in the world can I do to stop this? Am I really taking such a childish approach to my nutrition??? Why in the world am I doing this??? I can't stand that once I seem to fix one of my mental issues, I seem to develop another...growl....oh well, I'll overcome this one just like all the other ones

Even though I'm wiped out, today is a running day - since I couldn't do it yesterday. I will focus on getting my speeds above the sub-10, but I am not really counting on this workout containing the 7.5 MPH and inclines that I pushed for last week. If I can make this a quick but "easy" run, I really think my joints will appreciate it. I'll be sure to post the run workout once I'm finished with it!

Friday, June 24, 2011

W2D2 DONE!!!

Hey peeps!! How are you all??? So today has just been one of *those* Fridays. I'm definitely earning my weekend today! haha! But before I get to that - how did I do yesterday?? Nutrition has been spot on for yesterday and today! Weight is back down where it was before my Brazillian Grill food-fest on Wednesday, which is awesome and I'm hoping for some killer progress for my weigh in on Sunday!! After work, I was totally ravenous when I got home - so I needed a filling dinner before my Zumba class.

This is what I ended up with - Grilled Cheese Sammiches (2!) and Popcorn! I am super stoked with the calorie counts I was able to do! The entire meal was 340 calories!! Wahoo!! It definitely helped me feel nice & full!

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So now - back to my Friday Awesomeness! It took everything I had just to get out of bed this morning! I was wiped out!! So I had to stop at a gas station for an energy drink & found this little wonder!! It was SUPER yummy, only 20 cals for the whole can and totally fabulous!! I'll definitely pick it up again soon!!!

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I was planning on running a mile on my first break today and then my W2D2 workout on lunch today - but there was some confusion around the new Zumba schedule and for a while I thought I was going to have to teach a class tonight! So I skipped my initial pre-run mile run just to make sure I didn't exhaust myself too much.

After working some things out - I don't have to teach tonight and we're starting Fridays next week (as initially planned). I got my W2D2 run completed on my lunch and I feel AHH-Some!!!! I hit the same speeds & incline that I did last workout so I'm really proud of myself!! Yippee!! My legs are always feeling exhausted for the last 2 intervals at that speed with the incline added - but its super worth it!! Hopefully I'll be getting my runner's glutes back soon! haha!

W2D1 Workout:
Warm Up
Run for 90 Seconds at 6.2 MPH
Recover for 2 minutes at 3.5 MPH
Run for 90 Seconds at 6.5 MPH
Recover for 2 minutes at 3.5 MPH
Run for 90 Seconds at 6.8 MPH
Recover for 2 minutes at 3.5 MPH
Run for 90 Seconds at 7 MPH
Recover for 2 minutes at 3.5 MPH
Run for 90 Seconds at 7 MPH
Recover for 2 minutes at 3.5 MPH
Run for 90 Seconds at 7.5 MPH
Cool Down

Total Distance Traveled: 1.80 Miles
Total Workout Time: 25 Minutes
Total Calories Burned: 236 Calories

I think that's about it for now! I might try to run some more later now that I don't have to teach - but we'll see. Depends on how I'm feeling!

Total Miles Ran in 2011: 45.33 Miles
Total Calories Burned "Running From My Issues": 6,687 Calories GONE

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Oodles & Oodles of Food!

So last night's dinner out was fabulous! We had a great time with my mommy and I definitely ate more than expected (but still not over cal burn for the day). I enjoyed small portions of yummy pasta & seafood salads, marinated mushrooms, steamed veggies, Mozzerella cheese, a few pieces of California Roll Sushi, grilled pineapple, some small bread rolls along with all the fabulous Brazilian meats (we had small portions of fish, chicken, sirloin, pork & sausage). Also for dessert - mommy and I split a Passion Fruit Mousse which was super amazing & perfect for summer! Granted, I ate more than I wanted, but it was worth it and we had a blast! Today is already back 100% to nutrition and I'm confident I'll drop this water weight off in the next 2 days (just like I always do!)

I even had the nerve to take some pics of myself in the gym this morning - and I'm glad I did - I think I look better already (especially considering this is "bloated" pics!). I'm hoping for more continued progress for my weigh in on Sunday morning! I must say - I am happy with my "natural" (i.e. NOT flexing) definition on my arms - especially between my delts/biceps & on my forearms in the full body pic! I also think I've got some nice curves from my waist to my hips in the closer tummy shots (both covered and not) - definitely not as squishy as last week was!

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In other news - tonight is Zumba at Curves, which is always a blast! I love all the people there and its a killer workout! Since my Zumba class days are changing at Baila! in July, I'll have to change my running days in the next few weeks. Now they'll probably be Mondays, Wednesdays & one other day (probably Saturday) so that I don't have 2 running days back to back. Saturdays are the only day that I can Zumba in the morning and recover enough to get a run done in the afternoon - so this will probably be the plan at least for the next few weeks!

I have my Zumbatomic licensing class on Sunday which is going to be super awesome! I'm a junkie for learning new things, so this should be super fun!!!

I think that's about it for me! Happy Thursday everyone!

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

W2W1 DONE plus some extra just for fun!!!

So today has been AHHH-SOME so far!!! Yesterday, I had a great day too! Zumba was killer, we have a new plan at Baila! for July (classes are now on Fridays instead of Mondays) and I'm super stoked for what the next few weeks will bring!

People keep asking me what I want for my birthday since its about 6 weeks away - and I honestly can't think of anything that I really *need* this year. There's plenty of stuff that I *want* but nothing that I really *need* - which I definitely see as a difference. I really wish Zumba.com did gift certificates - that would make life super easy. I can never seem to have enough Zumba gear for my classes. I'm trying to think of practical things that would be great to have - I'm currenty pondering some continuing education classes, stuff to help my running, random stuff like that. Who knows - I'll come up with something in the next few weeks!

Okay - so back to today! Its a running day - which automatically makes it a fabulous day! I was SUPER antsy this morning and didn't want to wait to run on the treadmill (which was scheduled for lunch later in the day) - so I went and ran a mile in 9:54 on my first break and burned an unexpected extra 160 calories today! DAMN it felt good!!! It was a push because I haven't ran that time in a few weeks, but it felt awesome!!!

Then on my lunch break, I just finished Week 2 Workout 1 - which was another awesome running session!! I also added incline to the 2nd half of the workout again which really raised the intensity of it!! I hit my goals AGAIN - Every one of my runs today (including my surprise run earlier) was at a sub-10 min mile pace!!! Wahoo!!!

W2D1 Workout:
Warm Up
Run for 90 Seconds at 6.2 MPH
Recover for 2 minutes at 3.5 MPH
Run for 90 Seconds at 6.5 MPH
Recover for 2 minutes at 3.5 MPH
Run for 90 Seconds at 6.8 MPH
Recover for 2 minutes at 3.5 MPH
Run for 90 Seconds at 7 MPH
Recover for 2 minutes at 3.5 MPH
Run for 90 Seconds at 7 MPH
Recover for 2 minutes at 3.5 MPH
Run for 90 Seconds at 7.5 MPH
Cool Down

Total Distance Traveled: 1.90 Miles
Total Workout Time: 30 Minutes
Total Calories Burned: 260 Calories

I'm keeping nutrition light for today and we are going out to dinner with my mommy tonight! I am super excited to see her! Its going to be awesome! I'm not going to stress too much about what I'm eating - but I'm going to try to keep nutrition in line. I'm finally starting to see some progress again (scale was a nice 178lbs again this morning) and I'm not really wanting to have any more setbacks right now. Hopefully it goes well!

Total Miles Ran in 2011: 43.53 Miles
Total Calories Burned "Running From My Issues": 6,451 Calories GONE

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Happy Tuesday!

Well - its no longer Monday! haha! Day job is always rough (getting to work before 6am is tough on sleep schedules) but Zumba was super fun! I took my stepson with me last night and he had a blast! I had a great turn out and hopefully will continue to see an improvement in attendance over the next few weeks!

This morning I was back down to 178.2lbs so I got all the water weight off yesterday from this past weekend! Woot! I'm enjoying feeling leaner again! Last night for dinner, I made a Veggie Stir Fry with Whole Wheat Spaghetti that was definitely yummy - it was lacking something though. It had baby corn, water chestnuts, snow peas, peppers & other yummy stuff. Might throw in some shrimp or chicken next time just to liven it up a bit! OH - and this WHOLE bowl was only 255 calories!! Woot!!!

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This morning was spot on again! Had a cup of greek yogurt with sliced pears & banana - super yummy and totaled 375 calories

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Lunch was 2 cups whole wheat pasta, with pasta sauce & some cheese on top - totaling 378 calories. It was yummy, but I forgot to grab a picture of it (sorry!)

Today we celebrated my boss' birthday at work, so they brought in birthday cake. I allowed myself a piece with minimal frosting (never really like the stuff anyways) and had a piece that was about 2"X 2". It was a nice little treat that didn't put me over my calories for the day - which is always awesome!

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Tonight is Zumba again!! Excited to do the new Circuit tonight - the ladies are getting more confident with it, which is always super fun!!! I always love Zumba nights! I also have a meeting with the owner of the other dance studio today - we are working out a new schedule for July - so hopefully that will go well *fingers crossed*

Tomorrow is a running day (woot!) and I'm totally looking forward to that! It should be super fun! This week is Week 2 of the program! Wahoo!! Making progress!!!

I think that's about it - not much else going on! I am planning a grilled cheese sammich for dinner - I figured out a way to make it super yummy for only 140 calories a sammich!!! Go me!!! :-D

Monday, June 20, 2011

TGI Friday's = EPIC Nutritional FAIL!

UGH! So I had all the best intentions of eating well at Friday's yesterday. I researched their menu and had about 4 different options for food that would have worked for me.

Little did I know that TGI Friday's rotates their menu regularly AND it is different from the website based on region. SO - every one of my healthy choices wasn't on the menu....anywhere....

I was SO frustrated! The only salad options available were 900+ calorie salads, and it was near impossible to find something around my 400 calorie goal (that wasn't just a plate of broccoli). So, I decided to just say "F it!" and stopped stressing about it. We don't go to Friday's regularly anyways (and this just reinforces why I will probably NOT go back any time soon). There was a group of 5 of us - so we split potstickers, shrimp cocktail & potato skins (I only ate 1 of those) as an appetizer, then I had the Jack Daniels Chicken & Shrimp with mashed potatoes & sweet potato fries. It wasn't the best choice - but it was certainly better than the cream sauce pasta dishes I was eyeballing! Then, we got dessert (since it came with our meals - we did the 2 for $20 thing) so we all split a slice of Red Velvet Cake & a slice of Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie. We got the kids each a "Cup of Dirt" - which was probably the yummiest dessert out of all 3 of them that we ordered! Chocolate pudding, cookie crumbs & gummy worms!

The 4 year old daughter of a friend ended up looking like this when she was finished with hers! haha! She is just super cute!
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After that, we went and walked around the mall a little bit. We found my friend's daughter some super cute Converse shoes - look! They are little pink piggies!!! Tail & all!!!!
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Once the mall closed at 6 - we all went for a small & light dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings. We all split a few orders of nachos & hot wings and just hung out on the patio. It was really nice to just kick back and relax for a little bit.

Today my weight is up about 3lbs of water weight from where it was yesterday morning - but that's to be expected after all the sodium I ate yesterday! Nutrition is back on track and I'm pushing fluids again today as well to get rid of the water weight! I got bored today and snapped some photos - so here they are :-D

Even though my weight is up - I'm still feeling leaner than I was last week - so I see this as progress!
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YES - I am rockin' the Rainbow Brite T-Shirt! haha!
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Tonight's workout is Zumba! Looking forward to another awesome class! I'm hoping it goes well!! I'm going to wear my super cute new Zumba clothes - so that is exciting as well! haha! I think that's about it for me!! I'll update later (or tomorrow) with more foodz porn & workout updates!

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Week One 10K Training - DONE!

So things have been awesome for the past few days! Weight is down, I'm feeling leaner, I got my first week of training completed, I'm learning how to balance healthy nutrition with a normal variety of foods and overall things are great! Zumba classes are going fabulously - everyone loves all the new music I rolled out last week! I'm in a really good spot right now - and I'm happy about the way everything is going!

So - I made myself something new for breakfast that was really different (for me at least) but it was super yummy! I had to tweak the recipe a little bit - but it worked out well!! Once again, I can't wait to see what I can do with this one! Next time I might use some Greek yogurt to thicken it up a bit, but overall I'm happy with the way it came out

Here is - Rice Pudding made with Almond Milk topped with Dried Cranberries!
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It was super yummy and it kept me nice and full for a few hours - which is awesome! It was a little time consuming to make - so I want to try to simplify it down so I can make it a regular breakfast during the work week. We'll see how that works out, but this modification of the recipe came to 388 calories, 7.3g of fat, 68.3g of Carbs, 10.5g of Protein, 144mg of Sodium, 265mg of Potassium & 5g of Fiber. Not too shabby for a breakfast!

After letting my food settle a little bit - I got in my last workout of Week 1 of 10K training! It went awesome! I know I originally said that Sundays would be outdoor running days - but I don't have anyone to watch the kiddo right now, so I chose to stick with the treadmill (and probably will for the next few weeks). To push myself a little harder, I added an incline to the second half of it and I can definitely tell a difference! My legs were totally wiped at the end of it!

Warm Up
Run for 60 Seconds at 6.0 MPH
Recover for 90 seconds at 3.5 MPH
Run for 60 Seconds at 6.5 MPH
Recover for 90 Seconds at 3.5 MPH
Run for 60 Seconds at 7.0 MPH
Recover for 90 Seconds at 3.5 MPH
Run for 60 Seconds at 7.0 MPH
Recover for 90 Seconds at 3.5 MPH - Raised Treadmill to 2% Grade
Run for 60 Seconds at 7.0 MPH
Recover for 90 Seconds at 3.5 MPH
Run for 60 Seconds at 7.0 MPH
Recover for 90 Seconds at 3.5 MPH
Run for 60 Seconds at 7.0 MPH
Recover for 90 Seconds at 3.5 MPH
Run for 60 Seconds at 7.5 MPH
Cool Down

Total Workout Time: 31 Minutes
Total Distance Traveled: 2.06 miles
Total Calories Burned: 260 calories

Today is off to spend time with grandparents and friends for Father's Day. We are going to TGI Friday's for lunch - and I honestly haven't been there in SO long I have no idea what to order that's reasonably healthy. I've been doing so well the past few days that I don't want to ruin it today. I'm going to see if I can find their menu online and try to keep my lunch around 400 cals - which is tough for eating out, but it IS possible! We'll see if I can do it at this restaurant!

Tomorrow is back to Zumba at Baila! Last week's class went really well - hopefully tomorrow will be just as awesome! I've had a few more days to practice the new songs - so I am getting lots more confident in my choreo for those songs

Total Miles Ran in 2011: 40.63 Miles
Total Calories Burned "Running From My Issues": 6,031 Calories GONE

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Foodz Pornz!!!

So I prepped a TON of food today! I now have whole wheat pasta, regular pasta & brown rice prepped and hopefully it will last most of the week! I also updated my Spark nutrition favorites with the new food and it should be easy to track my food throughout the week!

For dinner - I used some of the regular pasta and made up an awesome meal for us all!!

And so I give you Pasta with sausage, white beans & broccoli!!!

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This recipe made a TON of food and we have enough for lunch tomorrow as well!! When it was all prepared, the whole meal was 346 Calories, 9g of Fat, 15g of Protein, 50g of Carbs, 550mg of Sodium, 8g of Fiber, 467mg of Potassium! It was DAMN tasty too! I think the next time I make it, I'll use whole wheat pasta and add an extra flavor - like maybe some feta cheese or gorgonzola. Hmm...lots of opportunities for awesomeness with this one and we'll keep it in our recipe arsenal for the future!

Now I'm all excited to test out all the other recipes I have planned (all of which are 400 calories or less BTW!!!) WAHOO for healthy foodz pornz!!!

Running Workout #2 & Zumba!

Hey peeps - so yesterday I was super busy, but I still managed to squeak in my running workout #2! I had to run it at home - which felt different than running on the treadmill at work. I really think my home treadmill is better calibrated for speed than the treadmill at work - so it was a more accurate way of running speeds. Also - since our treadmill is in the garage and its been 90+ degrees every day this week, I didn't want to push it too hard and risk any kind of bad reaction to working out in that kind of heat. Even though I ran slower than last workout - I still met my goals of running everything at a sub-10 min mile pace, so I'm happy about that!

So here's the workout I got yesterday:

Warm Up
Run for 60 Seconds at 6.0 MPH
Recover for 90 seconds at 3.5 MPH
Run for 60 Seconds at 6.5 MPH
Recover for 90 Seconds at 3.5 MPH
Run for 60 Seconds at 7.0 MPH
Recover for 90 Seconds at 3.5 MPH
Run for 60 Seconds at 7.0 MPH
Recover for 90 Seconds at 3.5 MPH
Run for 60 Seconds at 7.0 MPH
Recover for 90 Seconds at 3.5 MPH
Run for 60 Seconds at 7.0 MPH
Recover for 90 Seconds at 3.5 MPH
Run for 60 Seconds at 7.0 MPH
Recover for 90 Seconds at 3.5 MPH
Run for 60 Seconds at 7.5 MPH
Cool Down

Total Distance Traveled: 1.81
Total Workout Time: 25 Mins
Total Calories Burned: 240 Calories

This morning was Zumba - which was a fabulous time! I rolled out a new circuit at Curves on Thursday so we did that workout again and LOVED it! I'm really happy they're enjoying all the new songs we're doing. After meeting my hubby for a healthy lunch at Dion's - the kiddo and I went grocery shopping to fill the house with healthy foods for the next week or so.

I've decided to take a different approach to food throughout this process. Instead of stressing about vegan foods most of the time - I'm just going to focus on keeping everything within a great calorie range for dropping weight. I am going to make some killer recipes (and of course food porn pics will follow!) that are all lower in calories. I think this will be easier than trying to stay vegan while hanging out with the hubby and the kiddo. It was hard enough trying to do it in February - but its next to impossible now! So, instead of stressing about it and making things harder for myself - I'm just going to modify some things to make this work. I've dropped weight on a normal diet before - I can do it again. I just need the self discipline to make it happen.

Tomorrow is running workout #3 and the end of week one. Overall I'm feeling good with this plan. My knees feel a little jarred from all the new workouts this week (the new Zumba circuit is tough on my legs, but that's how I know its working! haha!) I am definitely thinking that this is a good plan for me to keep everything in line.

Weigh ins will be weekly - and I think I'm going to do them on Sundays to help keep me accountable on the weekends. Since I just weighed in a few days ago - I think I will skip this Sunday but will definitely weigh in next Sunday for sure. Other than that, things are going well. I think that's about it for me! I'm just being lazy at the house before I start prepping food for the next few days and make dinner for all of us when the hubby gets out of work! Have a great weekend all!

Total Miles Ran in 2011: 38.57 Miles
Total Calories Burned "Running From My Issues": 5,771 Calories GONE

Friday, June 17, 2011

10K Training - "Before" Pics & Stats

Alrighty peeps! Here's my "Day One" blog for my 10K training!! I am super stoked!!! In reference to a blog I posted a few weeks ago - this is my new "ROCK BOTTOM" - this is my starting point. It is my goal to be at goal weight within a few months and ready to ROCK this 10K in October!

Alrighty - so here it goes - the Good, the Bad and the Squishy:

The good - In the past 2 months, I think I've managed a slight recomp. My weight is up about 7lbs from the last official weigh in, but I'm only up about 3 inches all over - so some of this was unexpectedly muscle gain (which isn't a bad thing). I'm also noticing bigger burns on my BodyBugg, which is definitely explained by the difference in muscle/fat composition as well

The bad - I'm a numbers person - so the 7lb gain on the scale is driving me batty! I'm trying to get over this, but its definitely tricky. I've been 180lbs before and it was ALL fat - no muscle and I looked terrible - so this is a hard image to shake from my head

The squishy - I'm holding some water weight right now so I feel squishy - hopefully a good week on a solid nutrition program will get rid of the squish and my weight will balance out.

So here's my starting info and "Before" pics -

Starting Weight: 180.8lbs

Measurements taken 06/17/2011
Clothing Size -
Shirts: Small to Medium
Pants: 6-8
Neck: 13.5. inches
Shoulders: 40 inches
Bust: 38 inches
Chest (under bust): 33.5 inches
Waist: 33 inches
Belly Button: 36 inches
Hips: 41 inches
Right Thigh (Up/Mid): 25.5 inches/23.5 inches
Left Thigh (Up/Mid): 25.5 inches/23.5 inches
Calves (Right/Left): 16 inches/16 inches
Biceps (Right/Left): 13 inches/13 inches
Forearms (Right/Left): 11 inches/11 inches
Wrist: 6.75 inches

And here's the pics - some of which were taken by hubby post-Zumba class, so pardon the *fabulous* pony tail look, and some were taken earlier in the day with the camera on the self timer - and "NO" I didn't wear the "short shorts" to Zumba class - I am totally NOT confident enough for that! I just wanted something that would give me a decent pic of my legs & was snug on my hips to see definition - so I changed before pics were taken! haha!

Front:
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Side:
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Back:
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Overall I don't think the pics look too bad - I think I look strong and muscular. However, strong and muscular is the physique of a sprinter - not an endurance runner, so I've got some work to do!! OH - and I LOVE my new Zumba Sports Bra Top (this is my new "goal" top BTW)

So I think that's it. Workout 2 for training will be this afternoon after work and I'm really looking forward to it!! Can't wait to see how I continue to improve throughout these workouts! Woot! Weigh Ins will regularly be once a week - trying to figure out which day though. I'm toying with the idea of Sundays to keep me accountable during the weekends! Either way - its time to cut some weight!!! I might go to a bookstore after work - I found a book specifically designed for Vegan athletes that I might need to pick up. It might help get some variety in my diet (which I think is why I cheat so much - I get bored...)

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

10K Training W1D1 - DONE!!

Wahoo!! Workout One is DONE! Program is officially started and it feels great!!! I know I could have done more (and next time I'll probably add some incline on the treadmill to help with the challenge a little more) - but I think this was a great start!

W1D1

Warm Up
Run for 60 Seconds - 6.5 MPH
Recover for 90 Seconds - 3.5 MPH
Run for 60 Seconds - 7 MPH
Recover for 90 Seconds - 3.5 MPH
Run for 60 Seconds - 7 MPH
Recover for 90 Seconds - 3.5 MPH
Run for 60 Seconds - 7 MPH
Recover for 90 Seconds - 3.5 MPH
Run for 60 Seconds - 7.3 MPH
Recover for 90 Seconds - 3.5 MPH
Run for 60 Seconds - 7.5 MPH
Recover for 90 Seconds - 3.5 MPH
Run for 60 Seconds - 7.5 MPH
Recover for 90 Seconds - 3.5 MPH
Run for 60 Seconds - 8 MPH
Cool Down

Total Distance: 1.76 Miles
Total Workout Time 25 Minutes
Total Calories Burned 235

Total Miles Ran in 2011: 36.76 Miles
Total Calories Burned "Running From My Issues": 5,531 Calories GONE!

OY I've been absent...

Okay - so I know I haven't been good about updating this thing much recently, but that's changing as of TODAY!

First of all - the Zumbathon was amazing!! I had a blast and a new motivation to hit my goals!!! I blogged with pics on Spark, so here's the link for that:
http://www.sparkpeople.com/mypage_public_journal_individual.asp?blog_id=4295563

Next - today begins 10K training!! Yippee!!! I had a weigh in this morning & I took measurements. I tried taking "before" pics last night but the lighting was really bad so they didn't turn out right. Also, I'm toying with the idea of taking them tomorrow when I get my new Zumbawear in - I ordered a new Sports Bra Top that is motivation to get my abs in shape, so I'm thinking about taking all my pics in that top throughout this process. Either way - there will be a blog post with weight, measurements & pictures within the next 2 days

Because I'm stoked about my new Zumbawear - it will probably be tomorrow afternoon! haha! Either way, the workouts start today! I'm super stoked!! Its going to be fabulous!!! I brought my running gear to work so I'll get the workout done while I'm at work - which is awesome! I'll post a workout blog about it later today! Wahoo!!

Hope things are well with everyone!!

Friday, June 10, 2011

I have a direction...

So after yesterday's realization that I have the FREE time to train for my own race this fall - I haven't stopped thinking about it! You all know what this means....Hilly is training for distance again!! Wahoo!!! Starting on Wednesday - I'll be doing a 3 day a week split (Wed, Fri & Sun) to train for a full 10K.

I am going to be starting 5K training over again (even though I can run the distance now) - and work on speed the whole time. I want to be able to comfortably run the distance at a sub-10 min mile pace, so that's what I'll be working on for the next 7-9 weeks. Once I finish that training, I'll be starting 10K training, which is 6 weeks past that.

I'm also contemplating running the same 5K this year that I did last year (which is in late September) - only trying to best my time from last year! I really think this is possible! I surprisingly have some people who want to run the relay with me who I never expected - I actually might be able to get a group of 5 people ready for this! I am SO stoked!!! This is going to be awesome!!!

I also found that having something to train for triggers my brain to want to drop weight and eat better. Having to drop to "racing weight" is huge and definitely a motivator to keep myself in line! My current eating plan should work out really well actually - high carbs = high energy for runs, low fat = fat loss for me (not everyone is like this tho). Last year when I trained for my 5K I was in super shape (it was the only time I saw the 160s regularly and my abs were starting to show) and I'm stoked to get back there. I've got some endurance nutrition stuff to read so I'm looking forward to that. Not sure which one I'll do yet - but I think I might start with the Quick Start Guide for Racing Weight and go from there. Last year I stuck with around 1,400 cals a day on training & non-training days and it worked really well. I also incorporated strength training a few days a week for the last month - we'll have to see how that works out with Zumba classes tho - don't wanna overtrain!

I am planning on currently running Wed & Fri on treadmills (during my lunch breaks at work while I can, then once they get longer I'll do them at home) and Sundays outdoors (since I can run outside in the mornings before it gets super hot) so I'm conditioned for all terrains. I'm also currently looking into getting myself a Garmin Forerunner for running outside. I've found a few for a good price online - but who knows whether I'll actually buy one yet. Money needs to go elsewhere currently - but it would be nice to have one.

No Zumba class for me today - might go out and run some hill sprints with a client after work today. That could be super fun! Otherwise I'm going to enjoy my 2 rest days (today and Sunday) until next week - since its going to be a while before I will rest again! Especially since the big Zumbathon is tomorrow!! So excited!!!

I will be sure to get "before" photos, weight & measurements before Wednesday next week. I want to track my progress throughout this program like I did last year - especially since its the same program but I'm pushing harder & faster this time.

I think that's about it for me. I'm super excited about all this! I can't wait to get it started!!! I am totally antsy!! YAY for awesomeness!!

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Getting better little by little

So things are gradually getting better than earlier days this week. Last night, the hubby, my stepson and a friend of ours went out to eat at Buca Di Beppo and it was really nice to just relax a little bit. Spent a fair amount of money on dinner (we had appetizers & dessert too) but it was worth it. I had enough leftovers to eat today as well! YUM!

Yesterday, I made myself start running again. It wasn't the best run and I struggled to get through it - but I made it. Today's run was much easier. Made it through my first mile without much of a struggle (its amazing what 3+ weeks off from running will do for conditioning). Today, I had an extended lunch today so I decided I wanted to keep moving again. I went and ran another mile and this time something clicked. It took me 3 runs, but I'm back in my groove and am in love with running again

I didn't want to push myself too hard today - I have Zumba tonight at Curves - so I stopped after 1 mile. Since I still had some free time before going back to work and no one was in the gym, I ran through the choreo for 2 of my new Zumba songs. It was fun! In total I've burned 420 extra calories just on my breaks at work today - definitely not too shabby! haha!

Today I also found out that there's a Marathon Relay in my city in October. OMG am I interested in training for that! I know a super long distance is too much to train for right now - but I really think a 10K is doable (which is about what the lengths of the relay are). I'm going to think about it this week and see. I need to run on the treadmill this weekend (maybe Sunday) and just let myself go and see how far I make it - just so I know where to pick up my training from.

I know I'm conditioned enough to not have to start from week 1 again, but not conditioned enough to run a 5K multiple times a week with all the other fitness classes I'm doing. So I need to get myself conditioned from there. However, I might just start from square one and condition myself for quicker running as well. I'd love to be running a 10 min mile or less for the 10K in the fall. That would be super awesome! Ahh...decisions decisions.....training days (since they're 3 days a week) would be Wednesday, Friday and Sunday (all 3 of which are currently days off from Zumba)....this could work for sure!

The bridge to 10K program is also 3 training days a week, so I would be able to easily transition from one to the other. C25K is 7-9 weeks (I was running the 5K distance in 7 weeks last time I did it) and the Bto10K is 6 weeks. So a full training plan that lasts 13 weeks would put me in the first week of September (if I started next Wednesday) - which is right before the wedding!! The idea of having something to focus on, keep me distracted, having a continuing goal and working towards something I've never done before - between now and then is truly appealing!!

Since I'm not teaching at Rhino's anymore and I only have 4 Zumba classes a week, this is definitely something that can take up my free time and keep me occupied until Zumba classes pick up in the fall. I really think I'm going to do this! I can't believe I'm planning on starting a running program in the dead heat of summer...again....I must be a moron! haha!

Okay - enough from me for today! Happy running & happy Zumba!! Gotta love it!!

Total Miles Ran in 2011: 35 Miles
Total Calories Burned "Running From My Issues": 5,296 Calories GONE!

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

And it keeps raining...

So I know everyone is familiar with the saying "when it rains it pours" - well in the case of my past week...its just kept raining....and raining....and raining....

And all I'm doing is treading water, which is about the best I can do right now. Nutrition has been good the past 2 days and my weight is coming down. Dropped 4lbs of water weight last night and hopefully will balance out some more today and tomorrow.

I am going to totally re-vamp my Zumba classes and workouts. I need to get some extra "oomph" in my classes and attendance needs to go up (noticing the typical summer decline right now). So I'm going to be working on that a lot in the next few weeks.

The big Zumbathon is this weekend. I haven't been asked to instruct, but I'm honestly really thankful about that. On top of everything else going on, I really don't need that kind of stress added to all the craziness that's happening in my life right now.

I really think that's about it for me - just trying to keep plugging along right now. I'm ready to see some downward movement on the scale and I'm ready to start feeling better about some situations that are going on right now. Hopefully everything will happen this week *fingers crossed*

Monday, June 6, 2011

Evil Weekend From Hell....

OY - this weekend was a nightmare. Friday started out REALLY well for nutrition. Friday afternoon, I got a call from one of my best friends (who is practically family) that he is having a family emergency. His mom's BF of 4+ years is in the hospital and the prognosis isn't good. On top of this, he is 3 months away from his wedding day AND having severe plumbing issues in his house (his landlord actually suggested he moves off the property because the issue is so bad, but with everything else it just probably isn't going to happen until after the wedding).

So on Friday, after work - I picked up my stepson, ran to the grocery store and bought stuff to make him, his mom, his fiance & her daughter dinner. I didn't want them to stress about trying to cook food on top of everything else. I made homemade lasagna - which overall wasn't TOO nutritionally poor (I used skim ricotta, veggie filled tomato sauce etc), but it definitely wasn't the vegan nutrition I was shooting for - plus I succumbed to stress eating that day...go me....

The only thing I can do to alleviate his stress is to help with the wedding stuff - so now I've taken on almost EVERYTHING to do with the wedding while he and his fiance focus on spending the necessary time with their family. Granted, I don't mind this, its something I think is really fun - it just makes things super busy for me

Also - on top of all that, I had a falling out with the owner of one of the gyms I train & lead Zumba classes at. We had a severe conflict of interest and it was aparent that I needed to move on. So this past weekend I held my last class there and that was just additional stress and drama that made the whole situation worse. I would go into further detail about why I left - but overall, it was no longer a safe environment for me and my classes. I needed to leave....I didn't need the stress....

Nutrition was overall yucky this whole weekend. I am back on track again today and hope to have a realistic weigh in by this weekend. Right now I have a horrid amount of water weight and I feel horribly squishy. The only workouts I've done are for my Zumba classes. I spent 2 hours on Saturday coming up with new choreography, but didn't get as far along as I wanted to (boo!) so I'm not sure if I'll be able to debut either of those tonight or not. I am not 100% confident in myself with these new songs yet, so I might wait until next week to roll them out.

The hubby wanted to start his workout plan today as well - so hopefully it will be easier for us to get through all this together. I'm honestly tempted to become a hermit for the next few months until I'm satisfied with the weight I've dropped. I'm tired of maintaining right now. I am ready to reach my goals - however it seems like others don't understand what that involves. I am truly tempted to post ALL over Facebook that I am going Vegan until my birthday (end of July) just so EVERYONE knows that I'm not going to be eating crap food anymore and stops putting me in situations where I'm around food I shouldn't be eating - I know its my responsibility to hold myself accountable too, but its hard if we visit a friend and all they have for dinner is pizza & beer. I always feel really rude if I bring my own food, but it seriously might have to come to that at this point

I'm tired of feeling sick and yucky. I'm tired of not sleeping well. I'm tired of feeling horrid in my own skin. I'm tired of always feeling like the fat girl - even if I'm not. I've been in situations where I am SO much more confident with my body - and this is definitely NOT one of those moments. I'm having a bad self esteem day today...hopefully this will turn around tomorrow. The evil demons in my brain are screaming much louder than they normally do - I can't shut them off. AAARRRRGGGGHHHHH!!!!

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Back on Track as of Today!

Hey everyone! So I had an awesome 6 days off of the day job and am now back at it!!!

I wrote this fabulous blog talking about EVERYTHING that's happened over the past few days - and since there's a ton of pics I'm being super lazy (plus still catching up on almost a week of being absent), instead of uploading it all to here...I'm just going to post a link to my Sparkpage! haha! Enjoy!!!

http://www.sparkpeople.com/mypage_public_journal_individual.asp?blog_id=4272318

Also this morning I got my butt up at 345am to get some strength training done! I did Jillian's 6 week 6 pack Level One - not sure if I'm going to stick with it (probably not as I really didn't feel challenged) but I'd like to continue with the strength training in the mornings. I think tomorrow I might try the Ripped in 30 workout instead. If that doesn't work out, then I will just start up the Biggest Winner DVDs again - at least I know those are challenging for me :-D

I think that's about it! Tonight I have Curves which will be a fabulous workout! I can't wait!! Other than that - things are good! Looking forward to lots happening in the future weeks!!!