I survived my 8 week strength training program and the final results are in! The fact that I am getting pretty close to my goal weight and the pounds are coming off slower and slower, I am very happy with these results!
Starting Weight: 175.3
Ending Weight: 168.1
Total Loss: 7.2 pounds
Starting Body Fat %: 28.6%
Ending Body Fat %: 25.1%
Total Loss: 3.5%
Starting Fat Mass: 50.1 pounds
Ending Fat Mass: 42.1 pounds
Total Loss: 8 pounds
Starting Fat Free Mass: 125.2 pounds
Ending Fat Free Mass: 125.9 pounds
Total Gain: 0.7 pounds (this one it's good to have a gain)
Strength Results:
Starting Pushups: 25
Ending Pushups: 35
Starting Curlup: 15
Ending Curlup: 25
Starting Chest Press: 117# (one time max)
Ending Chest Press: 124# (one time max)
Starting Leg Press: 350# (one time max)
Ending Leg Press: 404# (I maxed out the weight on the machine, so rather than a 1x max, the trainer had me do as many reps as I could at the max weight - I did 6 reps!)
Starting Flexibility: 27cm
Ending Flexability: 31.5cm
I'm pretty much in the 90th percentile for females of my age for all the strength results - pretty excited about that! For body fat % I am in the 'moderately lean' category, which is defined as: Fat level is generally acceptable for good health - next goal is to drop another 3.1% body fat and I will be in the 'lean' category!! Doesn't that sound pretty excellent?
Now to keep moving in the right direction....I'm running the Turkey Day 5k on Thanksgiving and thanks to some pretty amazing/inspiring friends of mine I am going to register for my first half marathon on 3/16/13. AHHH!!! The furthest I have EVER ran before was 4.3 miles, so I have a long way to go to get to 13.1 miles. Luckily I have 122 days to prepare myself. I plan on following the Hal Higdon Novice Half-Marathon training plan. A typical week on this training plan includes 3-4 days of running, 1-2 days of cross training, 1-2 day of strength and stretching and 1 rest day... so that should keep me pretty busy for the next 12 weeks!
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! To all of my crazy friends who have inspired me, motivated me, pressured me, etc... I couldn't keep going without you guys!
Showing posts with label Workout. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Workout. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Back At It...
I've said it before, and I'm sure I'll say it again - I NEED TO START BLOGGING MORE!!
I need to use this as a place to keep you updated on what is going on in Kara and Macy's life. Ok, I'll be honest - I use it as my scrapbook/baby book/memory log for the girls, so I need to keep it updated so that in 10 years I can remember the first food Macy ate, her first words, when she took her first steps, how Kara's first day of preschool went, when Kara lost her first tooth. Am I the only parent out there that doesn't have scrapbooks or memory books for my kids? Please say no so that I don't feel like such a horrible parent!! :)
Let's start with the girls - Kara has started going to preschool at Sonshine Preschool at Rose of Sharon Lutheran church. We are lucky enough that our daycare provider will drive Kara to and from preschool. If we didn't have that option, Kara wouldn't be going! I don't know how any working parents can work around preschool and half-day kindergarten schedules, it's ridiculous! Anyway, she is absolutely loving preschool and is learning so much! Pretty soon she will be smarter than Joe and I combined. They are starting the year off by learning colors and in the next week or two they will start learning numbers, and then move on to learning letters. They practice writing their names everyday and Kara can now write her name all by herself, granted the letters aren't in the correct order, but she's getting there! :)
Macy is our happy little chunker! She started crawling just after 7 months and quickly learned how to pull herself up onto everything. We have to constantly keep an eye on her to prevent her from eating everything off the floor or hurting herself! She is quite a handful at times! She has started waving, blowing kisses, clapping and giving high fives in the last month or so. I still cannot believe that she will be 1 in just 2 months!! She says bye-bye, momma, dadda, tries to say clap - I'm still waiting for her first real word, Kara's was pinetree - I'm hoping Macy has a good first word like that! She has taken a few steps in the last week and I think she will be walking very soon, and then we are really in trouble! She also has this new obsession with licking things, particularly the floors, but she'll lick pretty much anything. At her 9 month appt she weighed in at 20 pounds 6 ounces and was 28.5 inches - she's about the same size at 9 months as Kara was at 1 year! She's got 2 cute lil teeth so far, but with the way she's been acting lately I'm guessing that a few more are working their way through.
Back in June when I last blogged, I was at 38.4 pounds lost - since then I have lost another 17.6 pounds for a total loss of 56 pounds, total of 73 since Macy was born!! The last 6 weeks or so I have been fluctuating up and down the same 5 pounds. Which I mostly blame on my beer consumption on the weekends :)
I just finished week 4 of an 8 week group strength training class that is offered through work. If I go to at least 13 of the 16 classes I get fully reimbursed. Here is the structure of the class:
First 20-25 minutes is a circuit of 12 exercises. 8 of the exercises are weight machines - chest press, shoulder press, tricep extensions, lat pulldown, leg press, leg curl, bicep curls and calf raises - the other 4 in the circuit are considered 'the line' these are cardio exercises that change up every week, but have included things like burpees, jumping squats, jump onto a bosu, things like that...
The next 15 minutes we do different exercises each week, which include - planks, up and down planks, planks on a bosu, push ups, crunches, squats with shoulder press, supermans, and all sorts of core work, but I don't know what those exercises are called.
Then the last 5 minutes we do stretches and use foam rollers to roll out our tight, sore muscles.
I am really enjoying this class, and I will be so sad when it's over! Another cool thing about this class is we did a pre-fitness assessment and bod pod assessment and will get to do them again at the end of the 8 weeks to measure our progress. The fitness assessment includes doing as many push ups and crunches as you can, one time maximum leg press, one time maximum chest press and a flexibility test. The bod pod uses air displacement to accurately measure muscle mass vs. fat mass - it was pretty cool! My body fat was measured at 28.6% which is in the 'moderately lean' category - this totally blew me away!! I for sure thought I would be in the 'excess fat' category! I'm super excited to do it again at the end of the 8 weeks and see how much progress I have made!
Things I'm happy about with my weight loss:
I need to use this as a place to keep you updated on what is going on in Kara and Macy's life. Ok, I'll be honest - I use it as my scrapbook/baby book/memory log for the girls, so I need to keep it updated so that in 10 years I can remember the first food Macy ate, her first words, when she took her first steps, how Kara's first day of preschool went, when Kara lost her first tooth. Am I the only parent out there that doesn't have scrapbooks or memory books for my kids? Please say no so that I don't feel like such a horrible parent!! :)
Let's start with the girls - Kara has started going to preschool at Sonshine Preschool at Rose of Sharon Lutheran church. We are lucky enough that our daycare provider will drive Kara to and from preschool. If we didn't have that option, Kara wouldn't be going! I don't know how any working parents can work around preschool and half-day kindergarten schedules, it's ridiculous! Anyway, she is absolutely loving preschool and is learning so much! Pretty soon she will be smarter than Joe and I combined. They are starting the year off by learning colors and in the next week or two they will start learning numbers, and then move on to learning letters. They practice writing their names everyday and Kara can now write her name all by herself, granted the letters aren't in the correct order, but she's getting there! :)
Kara also had a birthday back in August that we haven't talked about yet. In true Kara fashion, she wanted a Lightning McQueen (the red car from the movie Cars) birthday party, and the only thing she asked for was a Lightning McQueen Power Wheel. Let's just say that she got what she wanted!
Macy is our happy little chunker! She started crawling just after 7 months and quickly learned how to pull herself up onto everything. We have to constantly keep an eye on her to prevent her from eating everything off the floor or hurting herself! She is quite a handful at times! She has started waving, blowing kisses, clapping and giving high fives in the last month or so. I still cannot believe that she will be 1 in just 2 months!! She says bye-bye, momma, dadda, tries to say clap - I'm still waiting for her first real word, Kara's was pinetree - I'm hoping Macy has a good first word like that! She has taken a few steps in the last week and I think she will be walking very soon, and then we are really in trouble! She also has this new obsession with licking things, particularly the floors, but she'll lick pretty much anything. At her 9 month appt she weighed in at 20 pounds 6 ounces and was 28.5 inches - she's about the same size at 9 months as Kara was at 1 year! She's got 2 cute lil teeth so far, but with the way she's been acting lately I'm guessing that a few more are working their way through.
Joe and I ran (I'm using the term ran VERY loosely here) Joe's first 5k on July 15th. We did The Color Run - they throw this powdered color on you at each kilometer and by the end you are covered in color, it was a great time! The running part was not so great. It was about 98 degrees out that morning, I felt super dehydrated and just couldn't run. Every time we reached one of the color stations things came to a complete halt. Overall I think our time was about 41 minutes, but that's not important, all that matters is that we had fun!
A shot from afar of one of the color throws that happened every 15 minutes at the finish line.
Do you love the hand print I left on Joe's back?
Most of the crew - Me, Joe, Meghan, Emily and Christina - not pictured Roger, Riana, Megan and Ian
After our first, and hopefully not last, 5k together
Here's what 73 pounds lost in less than 10 months looks like - and trust me, if I can do it you can too!
I just finished week 4 of an 8 week group strength training class that is offered through work. If I go to at least 13 of the 16 classes I get fully reimbursed. Here is the structure of the class:
First 20-25 minutes is a circuit of 12 exercises. 8 of the exercises are weight machines - chest press, shoulder press, tricep extensions, lat pulldown, leg press, leg curl, bicep curls and calf raises - the other 4 in the circuit are considered 'the line' these are cardio exercises that change up every week, but have included things like burpees, jumping squats, jump onto a bosu, things like that...
The next 15 minutes we do different exercises each week, which include - planks, up and down planks, planks on a bosu, push ups, crunches, squats with shoulder press, supermans, and all sorts of core work, but I don't know what those exercises are called.
Then the last 5 minutes we do stretches and use foam rollers to roll out our tight, sore muscles.
I am really enjoying this class, and I will be so sad when it's over! Another cool thing about this class is we did a pre-fitness assessment and bod pod assessment and will get to do them again at the end of the 8 weeks to measure our progress. The fitness assessment includes doing as many push ups and crunches as you can, one time maximum leg press, one time maximum chest press and a flexibility test. The bod pod uses air displacement to accurately measure muscle mass vs. fat mass - it was pretty cool! My body fat was measured at 28.6% which is in the 'moderately lean' category - this totally blew me away!! I for sure thought I would be in the 'excess fat' category! I'm super excited to do it again at the end of the 8 weeks and see how much progress I have made!
Things I'm happy about with my weight loss:
- I weigh 20 pounds less than I did BEFORE I was pregnant with Macy (and remember that I gained 51 pounds while pregnant and she is not even 10 months old)
- The weight on my driver's license is more than 20 pounds higher than my current weight!!
- I'm 10 pounds less than the lowest weight I ever got after I had Kara (and I was only at that weight for about 1 week!)
- I wear a size smaller pants than I did before I got pregnant with Macy - since February I have gone from a size 20 to a size 11!
- I feel like I am finally making progress with running
Speaking of running - I ran two other 5ks since my last post - the Big Gay Race to support Minnesota United For All Families - VOTE NO!!! - and the MMRF 5k to support Joe's aunt who has Multiple Myleoma. Both of these 5ks were in the same weekend, and both were PRs for me. The Big Gay Race I finished in about 35:30 and the MMRF 5k was just over 33 mins! Wooohoo!! I track all my running on dailymile and runkeeper - be my friend if you are on either of those sites!
Alright, I must go to bed now. Thanks for reading, I promise to update more frequently :)
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Day 1.
Yesterday was day 1 of my life transformation. I'm not calling it a diet, because it's not. I want to make healthy changes to have a healthy life, but obviously the goal of this life transformation is to lose weight, feel better and be healthy.
I am still holding on to about 30 pounds of pregnancy weight. I have lost this weight before, so it's kind of frustrating having to lose it again, but I know that if I don't make changes that this weight will never go away. And I know that I have done this before so I can do it again! It's also hard starting to workout again. I quit exercising while I was pregnant, so I am pretty much starting all over with that too. It's frustrating having to start from square one with things that I used to do on a daily basis, they are harder to do now both because I am out of shape and I am 30 pounds heavier than when I was doing them before. But, I started somewhere before and made it to the level that I was at, so I know that I can do this and get back to where I was.
To make these changes I am back on the calorie counting train. I lost about 80 pounds counting calories before, so I know this is an effective way to lose weight for me. I have been messing around with the apps My Fitness Pal and Lose It to track my daily caloric intake. I think I am leaning towards My Fitness Pal to be the one for me. With My Fitness Pal it is so much easier to find foods in their library, I can easily find homemade foods, store bought foods and easily add my own creations. With Lose It I have found it very difficult to find foods - I can't just type in 'peaches and cream oatmeal' and find it, everything is categorized funny. It is easy to find things by using the barcode scanner, but you don't always have a barcode to scan, and My Fitness Pal also has this feature. And the deal breaker... My Fitness Pal has beer in their food library, even Surly! I know I shouldn't be drinking beer while I am trying to lose weight, but you better believe if I have calories left at the end of the day, I will be drinking them! You can have 'friends' on My Fitness Pal, so if you're using it too, find me kristinlien04.
I also joined the gym again! They had a deal to join for $14.99/month and if I go 8 times a month I will get reimbursed $20/month by my health insurance, so I'll be making $5/month. Can't go wrong with that! Yesterday was my first attempt at running on a treadmill. It was slow, but it was a start! When I first tried running 2 years ago I couldn't run for 60 seconds straight. After nearly a year off of running I am pretty much back to where I started at. I did manage to have a couple of 2 minute and 2.5 minute stretches, which I consider a success! I did 3 miles in 45 minutes, extremely slow, I know... but I did it! The treadmill that I was on was acting kinda funny, so it made it hard to run... every time I increased the speed the belt would slip. I have to make sure not to get that treadmill again! I am using dailymile.com to log my miles, if you use it, be my friend! My DailyMile profile
I will be doing my official weigh in every Monday. But I am a freak and like to weight myself daily. I know some people say not to do this, but it keeps me in check with where I am at, so I do it!
My first goal is to run the Get in Gear 5k on April 28th, and to be down about 20 pounds by then. The run is 12 weeks away, so that should be plenty of time to drop 20 pounds and to get myself prepared to run.. wish me luck!
My overall goal is to fit into all of my pre-pregnancy clothes, and for them eventually to be too big for me!!
I know this will be a daily struggle, but I need to remind myself that it's worth it. I am ready to enjoy clothes again, to feel confident, to enjoy exercising. Every day is a struggle, but I feel so much better at the end of the day when I know I stuck with my plan!
This about sums it all up for me:
I am still holding on to about 30 pounds of pregnancy weight. I have lost this weight before, so it's kind of frustrating having to lose it again, but I know that if I don't make changes that this weight will never go away. And I know that I have done this before so I can do it again! It's also hard starting to workout again. I quit exercising while I was pregnant, so I am pretty much starting all over with that too. It's frustrating having to start from square one with things that I used to do on a daily basis, they are harder to do now both because I am out of shape and I am 30 pounds heavier than when I was doing them before. But, I started somewhere before and made it to the level that I was at, so I know that I can do this and get back to where I was.
To make these changes I am back on the calorie counting train. I lost about 80 pounds counting calories before, so I know this is an effective way to lose weight for me. I have been messing around with the apps My Fitness Pal and Lose It to track my daily caloric intake. I think I am leaning towards My Fitness Pal to be the one for me. With My Fitness Pal it is so much easier to find foods in their library, I can easily find homemade foods, store bought foods and easily add my own creations. With Lose It I have found it very difficult to find foods - I can't just type in 'peaches and cream oatmeal' and find it, everything is categorized funny. It is easy to find things by using the barcode scanner, but you don't always have a barcode to scan, and My Fitness Pal also has this feature. And the deal breaker... My Fitness Pal has beer in their food library, even Surly! I know I shouldn't be drinking beer while I am trying to lose weight, but you better believe if I have calories left at the end of the day, I will be drinking them! You can have 'friends' on My Fitness Pal, so if you're using it too, find me kristinlien04.
I also joined the gym again! They had a deal to join for $14.99/month and if I go 8 times a month I will get reimbursed $20/month by my health insurance, so I'll be making $5/month. Can't go wrong with that! Yesterday was my first attempt at running on a treadmill. It was slow, but it was a start! When I first tried running 2 years ago I couldn't run for 60 seconds straight. After nearly a year off of running I am pretty much back to where I started at. I did manage to have a couple of 2 minute and 2.5 minute stretches, which I consider a success! I did 3 miles in 45 minutes, extremely slow, I know... but I did it! The treadmill that I was on was acting kinda funny, so it made it hard to run... every time I increased the speed the belt would slip. I have to make sure not to get that treadmill again! I am using dailymile.com to log my miles, if you use it, be my friend! My DailyMile profile
I will be doing my official weigh in every Monday. But I am a freak and like to weight myself daily. I know some people say not to do this, but it keeps me in check with where I am at, so I do it!
My first goal is to run the Get in Gear 5k on April 28th, and to be down about 20 pounds by then. The run is 12 weeks away, so that should be plenty of time to drop 20 pounds and to get myself prepared to run.. wish me luck!
My overall goal is to fit into all of my pre-pregnancy clothes, and for them eventually to be too big for me!!
I know this will be a daily struggle, but I need to remind myself that it's worth it. I am ready to enjoy clothes again, to feel confident, to enjoy exercising. Every day is a struggle, but I feel so much better at the end of the day when I know I stuck with my plan!
This about sums it all up for me:
I also have a pinterest board for all these lovely motivational and inspirational quotes to keep me going.. feel free to follow it! Post Pregnancy Body board
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Road Blocks
My plan to complete the 30 Day Shred and run 500 miles this year has hit a road block that I would like to call shin splints. It all started while I was shredding, my shins were absolutely killing me, I was hoping after a few days it would go away. I made it to day 8 and had to quit. Since I wasn't shredding I tried going to the gym for a run, it had been almost a week and a half since my last run. I couldn't run longer than 2 minutes at a time, and those 2 minutes were absolutely miserable. My shins felt like they were on fire, they were killing me, so after 20 minutes and 1.5 miles I gave up. It was quite disappointing, I can't remember the last time that I had a run that bad. So for now I am going to put running on hold, maybe I will try outdoor running, I have a 7k coming up in March, which is 1.25 miles longer than I am used to running so I really wanted to get myself prepared for it.
In the mean time I have been doing the Biggest Loser Cardio Max. Level one is pretty tolerable, and it will definitely make you sweat!! Level one is 30 minutes including the warm-up and cool-down. The moves are pretty basic, they incorporate some weights, it is Bob as the trainer and then contestants from past seasons. Sometimes its hard to follow what they are doing on screen, they aren't very well coordinated and some of them have bad form...but if you can get past that its really a good workout! I really like it, its a nice change from the shred, which is the only workout dvd I have used recently....well, except No More Trouble Zones, but we don't need to talk about the pure hell that that dvd is...ugh....
Also, I have started a team for The Biggest Loser MN Challenge, our team name is Hotties With Naughty Bodies...Thanks Carly! There are 3 different challenges, weight loss, exercise and nutrition. You can sign up for one challenge or all 3... I plan on doing all 3. The challenge starts on January 24(you have to be registered by jan 23) and goes until April 15th. I am pretty sure our team is going to kick some major butt with this, and we will all be Hotties with Naughty Bodies by the time we are through!
I ordered 3 new dvds to use during this challenge... They are all Biggest Loser dvds. I ordered Power Sculpt, Last Chance Workout and Weight Loss Yoga. I will let you know what I think of them once I get them and have tried them out!
Along with all of these workout dvds I have also started counting calories again, that seems to be the only way that I can really lose weight. So far I have lost 8 pounds(most of which were gained between Thanksgiving and New Years....) Once I hit 20 pounds lost I am treating myself to a manicure and pedicure, for a few different reasons...1. because 20 pounds lost is awesome 2. I have only had two mani/pedis in my entire life and I owe it to myself to have another!! 3. my weight at 20 pounds lost will be an all time low weight for me since I had Kara, and that is definitely worth celebrating!! Only 12 more pounds to go!! When I hit 40 pounds I am treating myself to a massage, which I have never had before!!!
Let me know if you are interested in joining our MN Challenge team, and let me know what your goals/rewards are!!
In the mean time I have been doing the Biggest Loser Cardio Max. Level one is pretty tolerable, and it will definitely make you sweat!! Level one is 30 minutes including the warm-up and cool-down. The moves are pretty basic, they incorporate some weights, it is Bob as the trainer and then contestants from past seasons. Sometimes its hard to follow what they are doing on screen, they aren't very well coordinated and some of them have bad form...but if you can get past that its really a good workout! I really like it, its a nice change from the shred, which is the only workout dvd I have used recently....well, except No More Trouble Zones, but we don't need to talk about the pure hell that that dvd is...ugh....
Also, I have started a team for The Biggest Loser MN Challenge, our team name is Hotties With Naughty Bodies...Thanks Carly! There are 3 different challenges, weight loss, exercise and nutrition. You can sign up for one challenge or all 3... I plan on doing all 3. The challenge starts on January 24(you have to be registered by jan 23) and goes until April 15th. I am pretty sure our team is going to kick some major butt with this, and we will all be Hotties with Naughty Bodies by the time we are through!
I ordered 3 new dvds to use during this challenge... They are all Biggest Loser dvds. I ordered Power Sculpt, Last Chance Workout and Weight Loss Yoga. I will let you know what I think of them once I get them and have tried them out!
Along with all of these workout dvds I have also started counting calories again, that seems to be the only way that I can really lose weight. So far I have lost 8 pounds(most of which were gained between Thanksgiving and New Years....) Once I hit 20 pounds lost I am treating myself to a manicure and pedicure, for a few different reasons...1. because 20 pounds lost is awesome 2. I have only had two mani/pedis in my entire life and I owe it to myself to have another!! 3. my weight at 20 pounds lost will be an all time low weight for me since I had Kara, and that is definitely worth celebrating!! Only 12 more pounds to go!! When I hit 40 pounds I am treating myself to a massage, which I have never had before!!!
Let me know if you are interested in joining our MN Challenge team, and let me know what your goals/rewards are!!
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Happy 2011: Screw Resolutions
Happy New Year everyone, hope you all had a safe and happy new year! This year my resolution is to screw resolutions. I tend to forget what I have resolved to do for the year by about January 6th, probably because I dream up great big giant resolutions while I am intoxicated. So this year rather than resolutions I am going to have challenges, and I want you all to join me...I tend to keep up with challenges better when there are more people involved, so here is what I am thinking:
30 Day Shred Challenge 4 times this year. Complete your first 30 Day Shred Challenge by February 15th. Then we can all start the next 3 together. With start dates of April 1st, July 1st and October 1st. Just so you know.. I already Shredded today so I am one day ahead of you :)
Next Challenge - log 500 miles of running/walking this year. This is a very achievable goal - it would take 2-3 run/walks of a 5k distance per week. Or maybe you could run/walk 10 miles one day and take of the rest of the week....it's up to you, just get to 500 miles however you can!!
Alright, let me know who is in!! I know you all want to do these challenges with me!!
PS - I will try to get a Chirstmas/2010 year blog post up soon!!
30 Day Shred Challenge 4 times this year. Complete your first 30 Day Shred Challenge by February 15th. Then we can all start the next 3 together. With start dates of April 1st, July 1st and October 1st. Just so you know.. I already Shredded today so I am one day ahead of you :)
Next Challenge - log 500 miles of running/walking this year. This is a very achievable goal - it would take 2-3 run/walks of a 5k distance per week. Or maybe you could run/walk 10 miles one day and take of the rest of the week....it's up to you, just get to 500 miles however you can!!
Alright, let me know who is in!! I know you all want to do these challenges with me!!
PS - I will try to get a Chirstmas/2010 year blog post up soon!!
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Random Thoughts
Only 26 days left until I run my first 5k! Over the weekend I did 3 miles in 40 minutes at the gym, which equals 13.3 mins/mile. But, if you take my warm up time and mileage out of there we are at 2.75 miles in 35 minutes which equals 12.7 mins/mile... not too shabby for a girl who doesn't run! Recently I have been wanting some new running shoes... my current shoes are Kohl's $19.99 athletic shoe special... I figured it was time to upgrade. I found these beautiful New Balance shoes from 6pm.com...
the list price is $125, I got them for $50! Score! I think they are last years model and that is why they are so cheap... but I have no problem paying $50 for some $125 shoes. And I am completely convinced that these shoes are going to make me a faster runner! :)
New Appliances... So we ordered new appliances on March 6th and they are FINALLY going to be delivered today! I can't wait to get rid of the nasty almond colored fridge and stove we have. By the end of the day we will have a beautiful brand new black frigde and stove!! I will post some pics after these bad boys are installed in my kitchen... but here are the stock photos of what we are getting.
Kara, Kara, Kara... Kara loves to count! Currently this is how she counts...one - two - three - four - six - eight - ten - leven - twelve - thirteen. I haven't told her yet that she is skipping five - seven and nine, apparently those numbers don't matter to her! I love when she starts counting, it's just too cute!
We are all excited about the awesome March weather we have been having! They are saying 70-80 degrees tomorrow!! WOOHOO!! And this has been a snow-free March, how great is that?? All I have to say is this weather better hold up until my birthday.... or else! We have taken quite a few walks and trips to the park so far! Can't wait to spend even more time outside with the little monster. We are also getting really excited about Easter this year! I think Kara will have a blast searching for her Easter eggs and devouring all of the treats inside!
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Cracked Under Pressure.
I think this calls for another glass of wine...
Due to peer pressure I have registered for the Get in Gear 5K happening on April 24th, 2010. Please pray for me! Oh, and did I mention I had to PAY to run this race? Not only am I running a 5K, but it is costing me money.... damn you Carly!!
My plan of action is to follow this program http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml, and hope that I am prepared by April 24th. Did I also mention that I will no longer be 26 years old by then?
This also calls for some sweet new t-shirts to be made, any suggestions for team names? As soon as I get working on t-shirts I can post my how to instructions for silk screening.
Due to peer pressure I have registered for the Get in Gear 5K happening on April 24th, 2010. Please pray for me! Oh, and did I mention I had to PAY to run this race? Not only am I running a 5K, but it is costing me money.... damn you Carly!!
My plan of action is to follow
The 30 Day Shred: Day 30!!
Woohoooo!!!! I made it all the way to day 30! It definitely got easier as the days passed, and I could tell a difference in my endurance. I will keep up with this program since it is such a great total body workout and I need some serious toning. I love that the dvd covers strength, cardio and abs all in 25 minutes!
Overall Results:
I lost about 7 pounds during my 30 day shred. I am sure the weight loss would have been better if I ate healthier. Apparently pizza, hot dogs, nachos and beer aren't good choices when you are trying to lose weight... who knew?? I can tell a difference in all my muscles - I am noticing muscles that I said goodbye to 10 years ago and wasn't sure if I would ever see them again. I can really tell where I have lost inches and started toning up more, I wish I would have taken my measurements at the very beginning.. but oh well. Oh, and the MOST IMPORTANT thing..... I bought a smaller size in jeans, and all my current pants are getting big on me!!!
After I did my 30th workout yesterday, I went to the gym. I did about 40 minutes on the elliptical and another 15-20 on the treadmill and I even jogged for about 5 minutes. I mentioned this jogging to my friend Carly, and now she wants me to run a 5K with her in April!! So, I am looking at the Couch to 5K running program, which is 11 weeks long, and the 5K run is in 10.5 weeks.... haha, so who knows, I may be doing a 5K in 10.5 weeks. All I have to say, is if I do run the 5K I dang well better run it faster than Carly!! :)
So, Stay tuned for updates on my Couch to 5K progress.....
Overall Results:
I lost about 7 pounds during my 30 day shred. I am sure the weight loss would have been better if I ate healthier. Apparently pizza, hot dogs, nachos and beer aren't good choices when you are trying to lose weight... who knew?? I can tell a difference in all my muscles - I am noticing muscles that I said goodbye to 10 years ago and wasn't sure if I would ever see them again. I can really tell where I have lost inches and started toning up more, I wish I would have taken my measurements at the very beginning.. but oh well. Oh, and the MOST IMPORTANT thing..... I bought a smaller size in jeans, and all my current pants are getting big on me!!!
After I did my 30th workout yesterday, I went to the gym. I did about 40 minutes on the elliptical and another 15-20 on the treadmill and I even jogged for about 5 minutes. I mentioned this jogging to my friend Carly, and now she wants me to run a 5K with her in April!! So, I am looking at the Couch to 5K running program, which is 11 weeks long, and the 5K run is in 10.5 weeks.... haha, so who knows, I may be doing a 5K in 10.5 weeks. All I have to say, is if I do run the 5K I dang well better run it faster than Carly!! :)
So, Stay tuned for updates on my Couch to 5K progress.....
Friday, February 5, 2010
The 30 Day Shred. Day 26.
Day 26 is D-O-N-E!! I managed to get out of bed this morning and Shred before coming to work, which means I don't have to do it tonight.. woohoo! Today was day #5 of Level 3 and I am still enjoying it. I am thinking of going back to level 2 and trying it again to see if I can handle it any better.
Last night I joined Gold's Gym. It is close enough to my house that I could walk there if I wanted to. They had a deal for $20.10/month membership, and I get reimbursed through my health insurance $20.00/month as long as I go 8 times. I would have loved to have picked this option but there was a $319 enrollment fee, and we all know that I don't have $319 laying around. So instead I went with the $39.95/month, no enrollment fee, but $69 processing fee... they always get you on something! I really, really wish I could have went with the $20.10/month since they will never raise your monthly fee from what it was when you enrolled, but oh well. They have childcare, a cardio theater where its like a movie theater and they play a movie on the big screen and have cardio equipment.. so you can watch a movie while you work out, they have a TON of classes that are included with membership, a separate women's area with weights, a pool, a basketball court, and I get a couple consultations with a personal trainer!! Woohoo, I am really hoping they can show me lots of stuff to get me motivated... I am really excited about joining this gym, now I just need to figure out a schedule so I can make time to get there and make it count.
Stay tuned for more information about my 'ShredThis' silk screen T-shirt project!!
A side note.... tonight we are having girls night at my moms friends house. There will be wine, appetizers and JustDance for the Wii.... pretty excited for the wine, appetizers and the dance!
Last night I joined Gold's Gym. It is close enough to my house that I could walk there if I wanted to. They had a deal for $20.10/month membership, and I get reimbursed through my health insurance $20.00/month as long as I go 8 times. I would have loved to have picked this option but there was a $319 enrollment fee, and we all know that I don't have $319 laying around. So instead I went with the $39.95/month, no enrollment fee, but $69 processing fee... they always get you on something! I really, really wish I could have went with the $20.10/month since they will never raise your monthly fee from what it was when you enrolled, but oh well. They have childcare, a cardio theater where its like a movie theater and they play a movie on the big screen and have cardio equipment.. so you can watch a movie while you work out, they have a TON of classes that are included with membership, a separate women's area with weights, a pool, a basketball court, and I get a couple consultations with a personal trainer!! Woohoo, I am really hoping they can show me lots of stuff to get me motivated... I am really excited about joining this gym, now I just need to figure out a schedule so I can make time to get there and make it count.
Stay tuned for more information about my 'ShredThis' silk screen T-shirt project!!
A side note.... tonight we are having girls night at my moms friends house. There will be wine, appetizers and JustDance for the Wii.... pretty excited for the wine, appetizers and the dance!
Thursday, February 4, 2010
The 30 Day Shred. Day 25...
Today will be day 25!! Holy amazingness! Somehow my phone alarm was turned off last night, so I didn't get out of bed in time to workout this morning, so I guess I will need to squeeze a workout in tonight.
I moved up to level 3 on Sunday, which would have been day 21. I cannot tell you how much more I enjoy level 3 than I did level 2! Don't get me wrong, its no walk in the park, but I can actually get through it. It is a serious workout for your core - big time! Level 3 consists of Supermans, scissor crunches, jumping lunges, sumo squat hops, and traveling pushups...just to name a few of the fabulous things it has to offer. I really think the traveling pushups are one of my favorite parts of level 3, and yes, I am serious.
Results: Kinda frustrating, but still at about 5-6 pounds of weight loss. I really think I am seeing inches drop faster than pounds, but I would like the pounds to be dropping too! I can tell where I am gaining muscle, but I still have a long way to go!
Only 6 workouts left(since I still have to get #25 in today).... After my 30 days are up I will definitely be continuing with this dvd. It combines strength, cardio and abs into a 25 minute workout, and we all know I won't be "Shredded" after just 30 days... I am also going to check out Gold's Gym tonight and might get a membership there. I currently have a membership at the U's Rec Center, but really going there and 'Sweating to the Oldies' as we call it for 20 minutes just ain't gonna do it for me!
My Fellow Shredders:
Carly - Day 27!!
Amy - Day 14!!
Kim - Day 11!!
Michelle and Dre - Day 7!!
Karen - Day 2!!
Lisa
Becky
Mom?? did you jump on the bandwagon?
Also, a few other peeps on FB that have said they have started it after seeing all of my updates!
Good luck everyone!! Keep on Shredding!
I moved up to level 3 on Sunday, which would have been day 21. I cannot tell you how much more I enjoy level 3 than I did level 2! Don't get me wrong, its no walk in the park, but I can actually get through it. It is a serious workout for your core - big time! Level 3 consists of Supermans, scissor crunches, jumping lunges, sumo squat hops, and traveling pushups...just to name a few of the fabulous things it has to offer. I really think the traveling pushups are one of my favorite parts of level 3, and yes, I am serious.
Results: Kinda frustrating, but still at about 5-6 pounds of weight loss. I really think I am seeing inches drop faster than pounds, but I would like the pounds to be dropping too! I can tell where I am gaining muscle, but I still have a long way to go!
Only 6 workouts left(since I still have to get #25 in today).... After my 30 days are up I will definitely be continuing with this dvd. It combines strength, cardio and abs into a 25 minute workout, and we all know I won't be "Shredded" after just 30 days... I am also going to check out Gold's Gym tonight and might get a membership there. I currently have a membership at the U's Rec Center, but really going there and 'Sweating to the Oldies' as we call it for 20 minutes just ain't gonna do it for me!
My Fellow Shredders:
Carly - Day 27!!
Amy - Day 14!!
Kim - Day 11!!
Michelle and Dre - Day 7!!
Karen - Day 2!!
Lisa
Becky
Mom?? did you jump on the bandwagon?
Also, a few other peeps on FB that have said they have started it after seeing all of my updates!
Good luck everyone!! Keep on Shredding!
Thursday, January 21, 2010
The 30 Day Shred. Day 12....
This morning I finished day 12 of the 30 day shred! I am still waking up at 4:30 am and getting my shred on before work, which still amazes me cause I HATE getting out of bed. Hooray for me!
A Look Back at Days 2-10... Every morning during the first circuit I would think to myself 'self, why are you doing this? It's horrible, you should be sleeping', but every day I knew that if I got through the first circuit that I would be able to keep moving on. Days 1-3 were definitely the hardest, my whole body hurt and I could barely walk up or down stairs. But even with all the pain I pushed myself each day to do the workout again. By day 4 the pain started to go away, but I was still feeling the burn and knew I was getting an awesome workout! So the first 10 days were dedicated to level 1, and even from day 1 I was able to get through the whole workout, with the exception of a few of the push ups... I hate push ups! By day 10 I was doing great on Level 1, so I guess its time to move onto Level 2....
Days 11 and 12... Day 11 was my first day of Level 2, it is not even funny how much more difficult level 2 is! Have you ever done a plank-jack? Well.. have you? I have! Imagine you are in a push-up position, and then you move your legs like you were doing a jumping jack, sounds fun, right? I think there are around 5 exercises in level 2 that involve the plank position, and each one sucks worse than the one before!! If you want to know what the 30 day shred is like, just google it... every review will tell you how much that person wanted to punch Jillian in the face, or cursed her out the entire workout, but that you will notice results! I am definitely developing a love/hate relationship with Jillian! During one of the cardio circuits Jillian says she wants you to 'gargle your heart'... there is your proof that she is crazy!! You know how most workout videos encourage you to take a break if you need to, or grab some water, Jillian does the opposite! She tells you if you are going to do a 20 minute workout and expect results then there are no breaks, push through it, blah, blah, blah... She has a point, but I still hate her every time she says it!
Today.. Day 2 of Level 2.. I still didn't make it through the full workout without a few breaks(shhh.. don't tell Jillian), hopefully day 3 I will be able to do even more of the moves. My shoulders feel like they are ready to fall off, which makes doing 90% of the moves that much more difficult!
Results: After 12 days I have lost 4.5 - 5.5 pounds, which is sweet since I was stuck in a rut and not losing anything anymore. I still wish I had taken my before measurements though, cause I can definitely feel where the inches are coming off!
So yes, I will continue on my 30 Day Shred challenge, and I will be shredded in 18 more days... bikini, here I come!
And in case you were wondering.. My friend Carly finished day 12 last night, Lisa is on day 2 today and Amy is doing her first day today!! Woohoo!! Anyone else care to jump on the Shred bandwagon??
A Look Back at Days 2-10... Every morning during the first circuit I would think to myself 'self, why are you doing this? It's horrible, you should be sleeping', but every day I knew that if I got through the first circuit that I would be able to keep moving on. Days 1-3 were definitely the hardest, my whole body hurt and I could barely walk up or down stairs. But even with all the pain I pushed myself each day to do the workout again. By day 4 the pain started to go away, but I was still feeling the burn and knew I was getting an awesome workout! So the first 10 days were dedicated to level 1, and even from day 1 I was able to get through the whole workout, with the exception of a few of the push ups... I hate push ups! By day 10 I was doing great on Level 1, so I guess its time to move onto Level 2....
Days 11 and 12... Day 11 was my first day of Level 2, it is not even funny how much more difficult level 2 is! Have you ever done a plank-jack? Well.. have you? I have! Imagine you are in a push-up position, and then you move your legs like you were doing a jumping jack, sounds fun, right? I think there are around 5 exercises in level 2 that involve the plank position, and each one sucks worse than the one before!! If you want to know what the 30 day shred is like, just google it... every review will tell you how much that person wanted to punch Jillian in the face, or cursed her out the entire workout, but that you will notice results! I am definitely developing a love/hate relationship with Jillian! During one of the cardio circuits Jillian says she wants you to 'gargle your heart'... there is your proof that she is crazy!! You know how most workout videos encourage you to take a break if you need to, or grab some water, Jillian does the opposite! She tells you if you are going to do a 20 minute workout and expect results then there are no breaks, push through it, blah, blah, blah... She has a point, but I still hate her every time she says it!
Today.. Day 2 of Level 2.. I still didn't make it through the full workout without a few breaks(shhh.. don't tell Jillian), hopefully day 3 I will be able to do even more of the moves. My shoulders feel like they are ready to fall off, which makes doing 90% of the moves that much more difficult!
Results: After 12 days I have lost 4.5 - 5.5 pounds, which is sweet since I was stuck in a rut and not losing anything anymore. I still wish I had taken my before measurements though, cause I can definitely feel where the inches are coming off!
So yes, I will continue on my 30 Day Shred challenge, and I will be shredded in 18 more days... bikini, here I come!
And in case you were wondering.. My friend Carly finished day 12 last night, Lisa is on day 2 today and Amy is doing her first day today!! Woohoo!! Anyone else care to jump on the Shred bandwagon??
Monday, January 11, 2010
4:30 am
Why on Earth would anyone choose to be up at the ungodly hour of 4:30 in the am?? Normally my answer would be that Kara was crying, so I had to get up with her, or very, very rarely my answer would be that I was still awake from the night before. But this time, it's something totally different! I chose to wake up at 4:30 in the morning to work out.. that's right, I said it... TO WORK OUT!!
Yesterday (January 10th), I started the Jillian Michaels 30 day Shred. I wasn't really planning on actually jumping right into the full 30 days, I more wanted to test out the waters and see what I was getting myself into. But, I heard my friend Carly was on day 2 yesterday, so I knew I had to jump right in, cause I CAN'T let Carly beat me!! And Carly tends to be all talk, and I knew that if I was a day behind her and kept it up that she would challenge herself to keep going... so, really I am just doing this for Carly(and for the simple fact that I want to be able to vacuum my house wearing a bikini.. duh)! After my first day of Shred I proceeded to eat 4 slices of Dominos pizza and drank 3 beers... I think that kinda defeated the whole purpose, oops!
So after day one I decided I was going to wake up at 4:30 Monday morning so I would have time to Shred, take a shower and get ready for work. Once my alarm started going off I was definitely not ready to pull my ass out of bed, but I did... ok so the pulling my ass outta bed may have actually happened at 4:45, but that's beside the point. I pulled myself out of bed, headed downstairs and turned on the dvd player to see that skinny b*tch telling me that if I want to see results I need to work hard... not exactly what you want to wake up to at 4:45 on a Monday morning... but I did it! The Shred dvd consists of 3 circuits and 3 different levels of workouts (I am still on level 1). Each circuit contains 3 minutes of strength, 2 minutes of cardio and 1 minute of abs. Half way through the first circuit of strength(about 2 minutes into the workout) I thought to myself... there is no way I am going to make it all the way through this today.... 1st because I was still half asleep, and 2nd because my body still hurt so badly from my workout the day before. But I did make it ALL THE WAY THROUGH!! WOOHOO!! I do think I need to find a space to workout upstairs though, cause walking up those stairs after the workout was not pleasant!
So, will I repeat this tomorrow and wake up at 4:30 to get a workout in before work? I hope so! If not, I do plan on getting a workout in at night. All I know is the 30 day Shred Challenge is ON!
Before this all started I was hoping to take all my measurements and see what kind of results I actually get from this. Maybe I still will.. who knows. I know this is something I wish I did before I lost all of the weight and inches last year, but I was slightly in denial and too afraid to look those numbers in the face... they are real once they are written down on paper! The next step now is to keep the challenge alive and actually make it through the full 30 days, and to focus more on the foods I am shoving in my mouth... maybe I could get some carrot sticks to keep at my desk instead of peanut butter M&Ms... maybe...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)