Workout 17 of 2011

Workout Quote of the week: "Tough times don't last. Tough people do." – Unknown

Today I finally had time to catch up on Hunger Games on my elliptical.  In all honesty, I wanted to do Shred it with Weights, BUT yesterday I made a stupid girl move and wore really cute heels that tore up my feet.  The absolutely adorable Cole Haans tore my feet up so badly that the ONLY shoes that I can currently wear comfortably are flipflops.  Thus, the best option was to workout on the elliptical while wearing flipflops.  After my 20 minutes, I did some Jillian Michaels ab moves along with one tricep move (my triceps are WEAK).

Hopefully tomorrow I can manage to wear tennis shoes so I can do Shred it with Weights because as of Tuesday, I'm committing to Ripped in 30!  I already got shipment notification :)!

The Book that Changed my life

After having, Gavin, I was introduced to this revolutionary book,  Intuitive Eating.  From years of yo-yo dieting and having to finish all my food (in order to prevent low bloodsugar), I had lost the ability to know when I was hungry unless I was starving and to know when I was full until being sickly stuffed.  Intuitive eating teaches you to listen to your body's natural cues.  The book warns you that you may gain at first because the program calls for not restricting yourself in anyway.  This means that if I wanted ice cream for dinner, that's what I ate.  BUT, in the process, I had to listen to my body and follow its cues.  This was tricky and took time to master.  I kept with it, ate out when I wanted, ate whatever I wanted and then literally one day in the spring, I woke up and was back in my pre-pregnancy clothes.  I even weighed around 10 pounds less than my weight was when I had last been dieting before the pregnancy.  The program tells you that if you follow it, you will end up at the weight your body naturally is supposed to be; however, it warns you that it might not be "skinny" you want, but it's the healthy weight where you should be.

I have stuck with this program ever since, which to me explains why I did not gain as much with my second pregnancy and why I have an easier time maintaining my weight rather than losing.  After Kailee, I realized I had not listened as closely to my body's cues (though I had listened somewhat) during the pregnancy, and then I had to retrain myself to follow the program.  This time around, I did also have to add exercise to the mix to lose the weight--partially because I did not want to diet.  I didn't want to lose the eating intuitively mindset.

The reason I want to share this is because I do not believe diets are a permanent fix.  I know people trying to lose weight and while that is great in the short-run, maintenance can be the hardest part.  I want to share this so that others may benefit and be able to successfully maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Weekly Weigh-in 2/26/11

Hello old Friend!

I just weighed in for the week and I've seen an old friend, the 130s!  I have not been trying to lose weight--I had Taco Diner, Chuy's twice, McDonald's and various deserts (including Girl Scout Cookies) in the last week and have only worked out twice--but I have been making sure I don't over-eat and I have been listenng to my body to know when I'm actually full.  I am in shock that I've lost .9 this week.  Regardless, I am so excited to be in the 130s!

I even wore my skinny jeans once this week :)!

Workout 16 of 2011

My wonderful husband was so kind as to buy me a Jillian Michaels set of kettlebells so that we could do the workout correctly.  Tonight, I did Shred it with Weights with the intended kettelbell!

As a whole, I do not think this is a very difficult workout compared to some of her others; however, it works different parts of the body that I don't normally work in other activities.  For example: the hips.  My hips have been sore since Monday and I'm sure they will be even more so now that I have completed the DVD with an actual kettlebell.  The next time I do the workout, I will either use the 10 lb kettlebell (I used 5lb today) or try level 2.

Of course, tomorrow will likely be a cardio day as I'm going through Hunger Games withdrawals! :)

Workout 15 of 2011

Brady (yes, you are reading that correctly) and I just tried out Jillian Michaels' Shred it with Weights.  It is intended to be done with a kettlebell but you can also do it with hand weights ranging from 3-8lbs.  As my heaviest weights are 3lbs, we each used one.  All in all it was a good workout but not a very difficult one.  I think I'm gonna have to invest in a kettlebell to get the true experience :).

A week from tomorrow her sequel to The 30 Day Shred, Ripped in 30, comes out!  So excited!!!!

Weekly Weigh-in 2/18/11

I weighed-in today and weigh 140.7.  No complaints here!

I'm actually shocked I did not gain some temporary pounds as I had Taco Bueno, McDonald's and a lot of yummy sweets this week!

Workout 14 of 2011

I finally got workout 14 in!  I had 3 nights of perfect bloodsugar.  While that's AWESOME, it meant I would have had to eat a snack and wait for my bloodsugar to go up before working out.  That's not easily done when I cannot start the workout before 7:30/8pm.  SOOOO... I gave myself some nights off.

Tonight I did 25 minutes on the elliptical along with some Jillian Michaels ab moves.  I felt pretty good until the last 5 minutes on the elliptical but part of that was caused by the fact that my book got sad at that point.  I really want to read Hunger Games all the time but it's the first book that has motivated me to stay on the elliptical so I have to stay strong and only read it during my cardio workouts.

Workout Quote of the day: "If it is important to you, you will find a way. If not, you'll find an excuse."

Workout 13 of 2011

Just did unlucky 13 which as it turns out was not so unlucky.  I finally got on the elliptical with Hunger Games again and easily--yes EASILY--did 25 minutes (exactly 2 miles).  I could have kept going but I wanted to make sure I did some ab/strength training as well.  After my awesome elliptical workout, I created my own circuit of various Jillian moves that I did two times.  I did dumbbell rows in a squat, crunches with chest presses, squirms, plank twists, and triceps kickbacks in a squat.  Needless to say I am feeling AWESOME right now.  I love workouts like this.  I needed it after getting my butt handed to me yesterday.

I've decided to add a motivational workout quote of the day.  Here's the first:
The difference between try and triumph is a little umph.  ~Author Unknown

Workout 12 of 2011

Today I decided to bring out an oldie but a goodie: The 30 Day Shred.  I just did level 2 and it totally kicked my butt.  I forgot how hardcore the shred is and could only find my 3lb weights.  I was seriously missing my 2lb weights but the kids have misplaced those :(.  The hardest part of the shred is the minute long weight exercises.  In Jillian Michaels' other DVDs, you do around 15 reps of each exercise.  In the shred, for each 3 minute strength portion, you do 30 seconds of one exercise, 1 minute of a combo (arms and legs) exercise and then repeat.  I wouldn't have had as much of a problem with lighter weights, but those 3lb weights about did me in.  What's funny to me is that I remember this circuit being hard for the plank moves which no longer kill me as badly.  I guess I've built up some strength for the plank moves but not enough for my 3lb weights while doing the shred.  I'll get there :).

Workout 11 of 2011

Today was not the best workout.  I wasn't particularly in the mood to workout but decided to push on through.  I did 15 excruciatingly long minutes on the elliptical--I tried reading Shape on the elliptical but it was hard to click between the articles and workout my arms.  I then did my least favorite circuit from No More Trouble Zones, circuit 4.  This circuit works the the triceps--perhaps the weakest muscles in my body--including these awful things called Surrenders.  I HATE IT and therefore NEVER do it.  I decided to do it today and cheated my way through it.  Then I combined some exercises from circuits 2 and 5 (abs).  My arms are hurting right now but I'm glad I worked out.  I'm thinking this is a sign to take the next couple of days off :).

Workout 10 of 2011 ~ Celebrating my own 10%!

I'm thinking it's blatantly obvious which trainer I'd pick off this show! :)

It is exciting to reach milestones in this workout journey.  Last night, my bloodsugar was too perfect to workout, disappointing me that I could not reach this exciting milestone last night.  All day today I kept thinking, "Today I'm going to reach 10 and be 1/10 of the way to my goal," and I did it!  In Weight Watchers, they celebrate your 10%.  Well I'm celebrating my 10% workout quota!

My workout tonight consisted of 20 minutes on the elliptical while watching The Biggest Loser.  The time did not pass as quickly as it would have while reading Hunger Games; however, it was still motivating to watch others go after their goals while working on one of mine.  After my elliptical time, I did circuit 2 (abs) of No More Trouble Zones.  I'm feeling pretty good right now.

Now I'm looking forward to making it to 20 workouts!  I hope to make it to 20 by March 1st but won't beat myself up if it doesn't happen.

Workout #9 of 2011!

I just did Level 1 of 6 Week Six-Pack.  This was only my 2nd time to do it so it's definitely still a challenge.  This is not a workout I would recommend for someone to start out with when s/he is out of shape and/or has weak arms.  My arms are not nearly as weak as they were a year ago but they are currently shaking from the plank moves.  My wrists feel a little shaky too.  Even though Jillian recommends doing level 1 five days a week for 3 weeks and then level 2 five days a week for 3 weeks, I think I will only do it once a week (if that).  I'm not sure my wrists can handle the hard work they got tonight on a daily basis.  I have notoriously weak joints that I just can't afford to mess up.

Weekly Weigh-in

I weighed in this morning and am currently 141.2!  I can't believe I actually lost weight this week despite the fact that I've had 4 awesome workouts.  I have eaten McDonald's twice and Taco Bueno so losing .8 was a shocker.

Side note: I am not trying to lose weight right now, just toning/burning up some extra fat if possible, but I certainly wouldn't mind being 139 so that I can say I'm in the 130s instead of 140s :).

Preview of my Favorite Jillian Michael's DVD

Workout #8 of 2011

I thought about doing 15 minutes on the elliptical followed by 2 Jillian circuits or just doing 4 Jillian circuits; however I ended up doing 20 minutes on the elliptical followed by circuit 2 of No More Trouble Zones (abs/chest).  I considered staying on longer because Hunger Games is getting soooooooo good.  I am dying to just read it all the time; therefore, it definitely was brilliant of me to make the rule that I can only read that book while working out.  I have a feeling I'm going to be spending a lot of time on my elliptical in the coming weeks thanks to this awesome book!

As you can see, my magazine rack works great for using the Nook Color on my elliptical!

Workout #7 of 2011

I am doing great this week!  This is already my 3rd workout this week!  Of course, it helps that we are stuck inside.  Downstairs is too cold so that means I sit in the family room staring at the elliptical that I swear mocks me every second I spend on the couch.

Well, I did 15 minutes on the elliptical followed by circuits 5 (core) and 6 (core and upper body) of Jillian Michael's No More Trouble Zones.  This is the first time I've completed a plank-heavy workout since breaking my toe last July.  It felt GREAT!  I love plank twists because I truly feel the burn in my love handles.  Okay, that last sentence was kind of a lie.  I don't LOVE them, but I do appreciate them as I can feel the burn where I'd love to lose some fat.  Here is Jillian doing a plank twist:

If we have another ice day tomorrow, I will probably workout again.  If not, I'm giving myself the day off.

Workout #6 of 2011

Today I decided to stick with circuit training as I haven't focused an entire workout on it in awhile.  I did circuits 1, 2, 3 and half of 5 of Jillian Michael's No More Trouble Zones.  I would have continued but my arms were shaking uncontrollably doing the plank exercises in circuit 5.  I am not actually strong enough for the 3 pound weights anymore but I refuse to go back down to 2 pound weights.

Side note: 2 and 3 pound weights may seem very light but Jillian's circuits are designed for high reps, low weights.  She uses 3 pound weights in the DVD and addresses her methods in circuit 3 of the dvd.

Today was a snow day and I must say I am super proud that I did not eat myself out of house and home.  When I get bored, I do find it hard not to snack to fill the time.  Tomorrow is another snow day--or I guess I should call it an ice day since there's more ice than snow--so fingers crossed and prayers that I don't eat my heart out tomorrow either.

I plan to do mostly cardio tomorrow; however, that will all depend on when Kailee takes her nap.  Unfortunately Brady has to work so I will not have the flexibility I had today.  But that's life!  Just gotta roll with it and make myself workout even if I have to wait until after the kids go to bed.  After all, I'm committed!