Insanity - Day 1
Well, today I started the Insanity workout and I am hoping that the results are huge!
Last week was not a very good week for me when it came to eating well and working out. I was just in a slump and needed to take a break. I did workout three days, so even during a slump, I got something done!
I have planned my entire week’s worth of meals loosely based off the Insanity nutrition guide. The thing with programs and nutrition plans like Insanity is that they are clearly not made for working individuals. I have a regular old desk job with no refrigerator at work, so my food has to be able to stay packed in a lunch box with ice packs. That said, I can’t enjoy an Ai Tuna wrap at 2:30pm for my afternoon snack. I am making due with yogurt, some wheat crackers with cheese and my protein shake and hopefully that will help me through the plan and get the same results.
Also, they are trying to push their Shakeology mix and while I think that would be a great add, I am not going to pay $120 for a 30 day supply of protein shakes. Maybe once I actually see some results and find that it is worth it, but at this point, I think I can manage without it.
For dinners, I am just trying to lighten up the meals by using “better for you” foods. Tomorrow I am making spaghetti and meatballs with whole wheat pasta and turkey meatballs. I am also making my own sauce because 1) it tastes better and 2) I can control what I put into it for flavor.
For Insanity today I had to take my fit test which I was pleased with. I would say mostly the fit test is caging your recovery and how quickly you can slow you heart rate down after each burst of cardio (1 minute on, 1 minute off). In that respect, I have, for some reason, always had a pretty decent recovery. I will mostly blame that on dance and cheerleader as you go out and are doing pretty intense “cardio” for about two and half minutes, then you are done. Somehow I have been able to maintain a good recovery so I am ready to go full force with the next exercise in a minute, which is helping.
I will say that my upper body is beyond weak. There were really only two segments of some sort of push up and I just struggle with those in any facet. I am hoping that I will be able to get better as time goes.
Hopefully I will be able to keep my blogging up, last week was pretty crazy so I just never got to it.
Have a great day!!
Monday, January 30, 2012
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Well this morning SUCKED!! I didn’t want to get out of bed and with it being so cold now the motivation to go to the gym was just not there. I managed to drag myself to the gym, but the workout was mediocre at best! I just didn’t want to be there and although I did most of what I had planned, I could tell that my lack of motivation was creating a miserable workout.
Trying to stay positive, at least I went! I have also realized that I need to be a lot more accountable for my food consumption, so bring on the photo food log. I am going to try, emphasis on try, to take pictures of everything I am eating that day and share the results. If I don’t get to take a picture, at the very least I want to record what it is I am eating on the blog. I want to try and do this because I just have no idea how much I am really eating and I am hoping that this will not only make me think twice about putting unnecessary food in my mouth, but also make me more aware of the kinds of foods I am eating and the portions.
This is new for me and I hope it works out. Even though I didn’t love the gym this morning, I am starting to feel the routine come together and that makes me pretty proud. Andrew bought the Insanity workouts and I am pretty excited to get those started. Maybe it will bring more motivation because I won’t have to go out in this cold nasty weather.
Today’s blog is pretty short and I am going to blame it on my lack of motivation to do ANYTHING today. Honestly, I just want to go home, get under the blankets with Skeeter in my nook, watch some stupid show on TV and stay warm!!
“Love yourself first and everything else falls into line.” - Lucille Ball
Trying to stay positive, at least I went! I have also realized that I need to be a lot more accountable for my food consumption, so bring on the photo food log. I am going to try, emphasis on try, to take pictures of everything I am eating that day and share the results. If I don’t get to take a picture, at the very least I want to record what it is I am eating on the blog. I want to try and do this because I just have no idea how much I am really eating and I am hoping that this will not only make me think twice about putting unnecessary food in my mouth, but also make me more aware of the kinds of foods I am eating and the portions.
This is new for me and I hope it works out. Even though I didn’t love the gym this morning, I am starting to feel the routine come together and that makes me pretty proud. Andrew bought the Insanity workouts and I am pretty excited to get those started. Maybe it will bring more motivation because I won’t have to go out in this cold nasty weather.
Today’s blog is pretty short and I am going to blame it on my lack of motivation to do ANYTHING today. Honestly, I just want to go home, get under the blankets with Skeeter in my nook, watch some stupid show on TV and stay warm!!
“Love yourself first and everything else falls into line.” - Lucille Ball
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Good morning!! This morning I had a great workout! It was pretty intense and had me worn out, which I love!!
I did the circuit training room at Planet Fitness. Usually I would just do some variation of stepping from step class on the cardio intervals, but I felt that I just wasn’t getting as much out of the workout as I wanted to. Today I didn’t more of a run or hop or skip (not sure how to describe it really) on the cardio and I was feeling it after the first exercise. It made all the difference in the world! I could feel my heart rate getting faster and the strength intervals were even more challenging because of it!
There are 20 intervals (10 cardio and 10 strength exercises) and I maintained my run step throughout 7 of them and had to take a few breaks on the last three. It was my first time doing the circuit with that level of intensity, so I was pretty pleased that I could do that many! I left feeling a lot more energized and excited about my workout than I have in the past.
I am still a little concerned with how this week will turn out with my weekend extravaganza, but I am still working hard and trying to get back on track. The important thing for me is to not let this get me down too badly, no matter what happens. If it is a gain, then I know why it happened, there won’t be a mystery! You have to learn from your mistakes and work through them. This has been a difficult thing for me in the past and we will see how it all works out Friday. Typically, I will get so discouraged, I will stop working out and eating whatever it is I want to fill that “disappointed” feeling.
It’s tough to stay on track when things don’t necessarily go how you planned or hope for them to go. However, I can’t expect to have a weekend like I did this past one and come away from it guilt free. I knew I was making bad decisions when I made them, so I just need to move on and begin to overcome each bad decision. Learn from the mistake and don’t let it ruin all the effort and progress I have made!
Something I still need to work on is figuring out some healthy recipes that I can make at home! I have been cooking a lot and trying to use low/no fat or reduced calorie options as well as just smaller portions, but eventually I would really like to add a lot of healthy, easy recipes to my belt. I love to cook and have been on Pinterest like it’s my job, but a lot of things on there are high in fat and calories. That will have to be another chapter I suppose!
So long for today!
“Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you’ll start having positive results.” - Willie Nelson
I did the circuit training room at Planet Fitness. Usually I would just do some variation of stepping from step class on the cardio intervals, but I felt that I just wasn’t getting as much out of the workout as I wanted to. Today I didn’t more of a run or hop or skip (not sure how to describe it really) on the cardio and I was feeling it after the first exercise. It made all the difference in the world! I could feel my heart rate getting faster and the strength intervals were even more challenging because of it!
There are 20 intervals (10 cardio and 10 strength exercises) and I maintained my run step throughout 7 of them and had to take a few breaks on the last three. It was my first time doing the circuit with that level of intensity, so I was pretty pleased that I could do that many! I left feeling a lot more energized and excited about my workout than I have in the past.
I am still a little concerned with how this week will turn out with my weekend extravaganza, but I am still working hard and trying to get back on track. The important thing for me is to not let this get me down too badly, no matter what happens. If it is a gain, then I know why it happened, there won’t be a mystery! You have to learn from your mistakes and work through them. This has been a difficult thing for me in the past and we will see how it all works out Friday. Typically, I will get so discouraged, I will stop working out and eating whatever it is I want to fill that “disappointed” feeling.
It’s tough to stay on track when things don’t necessarily go how you planned or hope for them to go. However, I can’t expect to have a weekend like I did this past one and come away from it guilt free. I knew I was making bad decisions when I made them, so I just need to move on and begin to overcome each bad decision. Learn from the mistake and don’t let it ruin all the effort and progress I have made!
Something I still need to work on is figuring out some healthy recipes that I can make at home! I have been cooking a lot and trying to use low/no fat or reduced calorie options as well as just smaller portions, but eventually I would really like to add a lot of healthy, easy recipes to my belt. I love to cook and have been on Pinterest like it’s my job, but a lot of things on there are high in fat and calories. That will have to be another chapter I suppose!
So long for today!
“Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you’ll start having positive results.” - Willie Nelson
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Why do I have such a love/hate relationship with the weekends and holidays? On one hand, I love that I can sleep in (which for me now means 7am) and just relax, but at the same time it’s when I get myself in trouble with my healthy lifestyle.
I did great Saturday morning, got my workout in, treated myself to Panera and head home. I had to run a few errands and on my way back I pick up lunch for Andrew. I stopped at Chick-Fil-A and got a kid’s meal for myself (it’s all about portions). I was proud of myself that I had enough control to get the small version of the kid’s meal. I had plans to have a girl’s night and go to wine tasting that I thought would have a substantial amount of good available. Having eaten a small lunch I should have known better and ate something a little more for dinner. There is always good news and bad news when it comes to me drinking lately. The good news, I just don’t do it that often. Once every month MAYBE I go out and have more than a few drinks. In fact, I would probably say once every other month, if that. The bad news is, due to my lack of drinking regularly, I am finding it difficult to cut back and control my intake, when I do drink. It didn’t help that I had very little to eat, but combine that with not drinking much lately and my trying to keep up with the other girls, I was GONE. It was terrible and I always hate that feeling. All day Sunday was just bad decision after bad decision. Why is it when you are hung over nothing by fast food and crap food seems appealing?
Anyway, I am pretty concerned about my progress this week, although I was able to pull myself together yesterday and today and get my workouts in and eating back on track. My fear is that four days isn’t going to be long enough! My workout Monday was a lower body and abs strength training day and I really pushed hard. Boy do my legs feel like Jell-O today! I had cardio this morning so I did about 20 minutes on the up-right bike then 15 on the treadmill. I wanted to change it up a little bit so I wouldn’t get too bored. I ended up burning about 300 calories. I was pretty shocked how few calories I burnt on the bike versus the treadmill. Even the slightest incline on the treadmill goes a long way for calorie burn which is my goal on my cardio days.
My eating has been pretty good so far this week (outside of Sunday). I pick up some protein powder to drink before I hit the gym. I am hoping this will start helping me develop muscle. I am not very good at eating my daily recommended amount of protein, so we will see how these shakes workout for me.
I am still working on my portion control and eating slower. I am not sure why I eat so fast, but I really think it contributes to my over eating. If I took it slower and savored my foods I am thinking that I might get more out of each meal.
Well that is it for the day. I am feeling a little sleepy today, but I have a feeling my body is still recovering from my evening on Saturday. P.s. Getting old SUCKS!
“Stop being afraid of what could go wrong and think of what could go right!” - Unknown
I did great Saturday morning, got my workout in, treated myself to Panera and head home. I had to run a few errands and on my way back I pick up lunch for Andrew. I stopped at Chick-Fil-A and got a kid’s meal for myself (it’s all about portions). I was proud of myself that I had enough control to get the small version of the kid’s meal. I had plans to have a girl’s night and go to wine tasting that I thought would have a substantial amount of good available. Having eaten a small lunch I should have known better and ate something a little more for dinner. There is always good news and bad news when it comes to me drinking lately. The good news, I just don’t do it that often. Once every month MAYBE I go out and have more than a few drinks. In fact, I would probably say once every other month, if that. The bad news is, due to my lack of drinking regularly, I am finding it difficult to cut back and control my intake, when I do drink. It didn’t help that I had very little to eat, but combine that with not drinking much lately and my trying to keep up with the other girls, I was GONE. It was terrible and I always hate that feeling. All day Sunday was just bad decision after bad decision. Why is it when you are hung over nothing by fast food and crap food seems appealing?
Anyway, I am pretty concerned about my progress this week, although I was able to pull myself together yesterday and today and get my workouts in and eating back on track. My fear is that four days isn’t going to be long enough! My workout Monday was a lower body and abs strength training day and I really pushed hard. Boy do my legs feel like Jell-O today! I had cardio this morning so I did about 20 minutes on the up-right bike then 15 on the treadmill. I wanted to change it up a little bit so I wouldn’t get too bored. I ended up burning about 300 calories. I was pretty shocked how few calories I burnt on the bike versus the treadmill. Even the slightest incline on the treadmill goes a long way for calorie burn which is my goal on my cardio days.
My eating has been pretty good so far this week (outside of Sunday). I pick up some protein powder to drink before I hit the gym. I am hoping this will start helping me develop muscle. I am not very good at eating my daily recommended amount of protein, so we will see how these shakes workout for me.
I am still working on my portion control and eating slower. I am not sure why I eat so fast, but I really think it contributes to my over eating. If I took it slower and savored my foods I am thinking that I might get more out of each meal.
Well that is it for the day. I am feeling a little sleepy today, but I have a feeling my body is still recovering from my evening on Saturday. P.s. Getting old SUCKS!
“Stop being afraid of what could go wrong and think of what could go right!” - Unknown
Friday, January 13, 2012
Happy Friday the 13th!! Normally this day might freak people out, but 13 is my lucky number, so I kind of love the hype about it. That said, I can be a little superstitious so the scale was pretty scary this morning. I gave myself a good pep talk before I stepped on it just reminded myself that I have been working hard and no matter what the outcome might be then I will keep moving forward and working hard. Well, no need to worry because this week I am down 2.7! That is a total of 4.1 for the last two weeks. I am very happy with that result, but I am not getting too hyped up because that was a very good week and I know that 1) I still have a long way to go and 2) that won’t happen every week.
I am still very happy with my efforts this week and I am feeling great about next week. I get to rewards myself with Panera tomorrow, so I am going to work on planning my workouts and really upping the intensity a lot! After getting good results this week I am even more motivated to continue on.
I am also going to need to step up my game when it comes to the foods I am eating. I think I have the breakfast thing down, kind of. I have been eating half a grapefruit and a banana with my coffee, but I think I need to get more protein in. I am going to add 1-2 slices of turkey bacon in the mix to have a little more volume to my lunch and hopefully not make me hungry so early.
Lunches are a little trickier because I just never know what to bring. I do enjoy bringing salads, but that doesn’t always so the trick for me and I end up hungry two hours later. I am going to some thinking today and tomorrow to see what else I can add to my salad that might make it a little more exciting and filling.
For dinners, I actually haven’t done too bad, I just need to watch my portions. I love making dinner for Andrew, so I can continue to do that and only take a smaller portion of the food.
Unplanned binge snacking has to be out…ugh!! This will prove to be the hardest thing for me. I don’t know if it is my lack of will power or what, but I have the hardest time getting my snacking under control. If anyone has ideas on how to make this happen, please share because I think I will struggle with this until the day I die!
Well, for now I think that is about it! Yay for a successful week and my treat tomorrow morning! Hope everyone has a great weekend and I will report back on Monday!
“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.” – Unknown
I am still very happy with my efforts this week and I am feeling great about next week. I get to rewards myself with Panera tomorrow, so I am going to work on planning my workouts and really upping the intensity a lot! After getting good results this week I am even more motivated to continue on.
I am also going to need to step up my game when it comes to the foods I am eating. I think I have the breakfast thing down, kind of. I have been eating half a grapefruit and a banana with my coffee, but I think I need to get more protein in. I am going to add 1-2 slices of turkey bacon in the mix to have a little more volume to my lunch and hopefully not make me hungry so early.
Lunches are a little trickier because I just never know what to bring. I do enjoy bringing salads, but that doesn’t always so the trick for me and I end up hungry two hours later. I am going to some thinking today and tomorrow to see what else I can add to my salad that might make it a little more exciting and filling.
For dinners, I actually haven’t done too bad, I just need to watch my portions. I love making dinner for Andrew, so I can continue to do that and only take a smaller portion of the food.
Unplanned binge snacking has to be out…ugh!! This will prove to be the hardest thing for me. I don’t know if it is my lack of will power or what, but I have the hardest time getting my snacking under control. If anyone has ideas on how to make this happen, please share because I think I will struggle with this until the day I die!
Well, for now I think that is about it! Yay for a successful week and my treat tomorrow morning! Hope everyone has a great weekend and I will report back on Monday!
“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.” – Unknown
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Good Morning! It’s a snowy one out there today, but I still got my butt to the gym early!
There is some good news and some bad news about the gym yesterday. The good news is that I made it to the gym and did an upper body workout that was, I will say, OK. The bad news is that it was PACKED so much so that I couldn’t think! I wasn’t able to concentrate and focus too well, because I am one of those that care about what EVERYONE thinks, especially when I am at the gym. It also doesn’t help that there were two bozo guys on the machines in front of me that were just taking their sweet time working out on the machines so I just wasn’t able to move very fast. I like to keep my workouts, even the strength training ones, at a good pace. When I am strength training I always feel like I am not doing anything, so by moving through the workout with some speed I can also get my heart rate going a bit and sweat some. So I don’t think I got the same kind of workout that I would have if I didn’t over sleep, but oh well, at least I did something!
This morning was pretty good. It started snowing here, which sucks pretty bad seeing as to how it was 50 degrees just yesterday, and I was a little worried that the roads wouldn’t be very good to drive on. They weren’t the best, but being the only car on the road at 4am helped a lot. I did the circuit training workout they have at my gym and really tried to push myself a little harder today. It felt really good and I am already feeling a little “Jello-y” and that is a feeling I love. There is just something about not being able to laugh without hurting due to a workout that makes me happy!
I got in my goal water for the day yesterday too and no unplanned snacking at all! I did bring some planned snacks because I knew that I would get hungry between lunch and the time I got home for dinner, so a few slices of ham did me good and helped me through the weak workout I had.
I have to say that in general I feel a lot better about most things. I know that it has only been two weeks and that realistically I just haven’t changed that much, but working out increases my confidence significantly! I don’t see myself as just worthless and lazy. The fact that I am doing something and have remained committed just makes me think my clothes fit better, and who knows, maybe they do!
That feeling is probably the most important thing for me because in all really I am pretty healthy and not really all that overweight. I went to the doctor for a physical and he even mentioned that if I was happy with where I was weight wise then he would be perfectly fine with it. Well, I am not happy and he gave me a good weight range to shoot for, but it really is about the feeling of confidence!
I am going to weigh myself tomorrow and I really don’t know what to expect. I worry about weighing in sometimes because you just never know what is going to happen. I feel really great and would hope for something, but that is where this blog will be nice. I can read through the other entries about how much better I am feeling and focus on that, not the number. Let’s face it, I am 5’10” with a pretty athletic build (aka huge leg muscles thank you Dance and Gymnastics), I will never see a very small number.
Wish me luck and I will report back tomorrow!
“Aim for the moon, even if you miss you will land among the stars” - Unknown
There is some good news and some bad news about the gym yesterday. The good news is that I made it to the gym and did an upper body workout that was, I will say, OK. The bad news is that it was PACKED so much so that I couldn’t think! I wasn’t able to concentrate and focus too well, because I am one of those that care about what EVERYONE thinks, especially when I am at the gym. It also doesn’t help that there were two bozo guys on the machines in front of me that were just taking their sweet time working out on the machines so I just wasn’t able to move very fast. I like to keep my workouts, even the strength training ones, at a good pace. When I am strength training I always feel like I am not doing anything, so by moving through the workout with some speed I can also get my heart rate going a bit and sweat some. So I don’t think I got the same kind of workout that I would have if I didn’t over sleep, but oh well, at least I did something!
This morning was pretty good. It started snowing here, which sucks pretty bad seeing as to how it was 50 degrees just yesterday, and I was a little worried that the roads wouldn’t be very good to drive on. They weren’t the best, but being the only car on the road at 4am helped a lot. I did the circuit training workout they have at my gym and really tried to push myself a little harder today. It felt really good and I am already feeling a little “Jello-y” and that is a feeling I love. There is just something about not being able to laugh without hurting due to a workout that makes me happy!
I got in my goal water for the day yesterday too and no unplanned snacking at all! I did bring some planned snacks because I knew that I would get hungry between lunch and the time I got home for dinner, so a few slices of ham did me good and helped me through the weak workout I had.
I have to say that in general I feel a lot better about most things. I know that it has only been two weeks and that realistically I just haven’t changed that much, but working out increases my confidence significantly! I don’t see myself as just worthless and lazy. The fact that I am doing something and have remained committed just makes me think my clothes fit better, and who knows, maybe they do!
That feeling is probably the most important thing for me because in all really I am pretty healthy and not really all that overweight. I went to the doctor for a physical and he even mentioned that if I was happy with where I was weight wise then he would be perfectly fine with it. Well, I am not happy and he gave me a good weight range to shoot for, but it really is about the feeling of confidence!
I am going to weigh myself tomorrow and I really don’t know what to expect. I worry about weighing in sometimes because you just never know what is going to happen. I feel really great and would hope for something, but that is where this blog will be nice. I can read through the other entries about how much better I am feeling and focus on that, not the number. Let’s face it, I am 5’10” with a pretty athletic build (aka huge leg muscles thank you Dance and Gymnastics), I will never see a very small number.
Wish me luck and I will report back tomorrow!
“Aim for the moon, even if you miss you will land among the stars” - Unknown
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Well, I hit my first snag this morning. I am not 100% sure what happened, but I looked at my alarm and it was 5am! I would have tried to make it to the gym still, but I have plans for this afternoon, so I will have to go to the gym after that. I can’t skip because I don’t want to make it a habit.
I am not overly upset about missing the gym this morning, so long as I get my workout in tonight. I worry that I will get carried away with other things and come up with some excuse to not go. No matter what happens, I am committing right now to make it to the gym and get my scheduled workout in.
Other than my speed bump this morning, things have been going pretty good. I made a delicious dinner last night and resisted the urge to go back for more! That is so huge for me because I could have eaten my weight in dinner last night! I do need to watch out with some of the dessert candy that I am eating. Andrew and I got more chocolate than we could eat for Christmas and it is currently in a drawer in the kitchen. I am pretty good at not eating it until I get a little craving for dessert. I don’t pig out but I will have 2-3 truffles, which just adds to my calorie count.
Aside from that issue, I didn’t snack again yesterday when I got home, not even mixed nuts. I got right to making dinner and it was pretty nice to have that distraction from food. The reason I snack is not because I am hungry but because I am bored. When I don’t have anything to do but watch TV I typically will just rummage through the refrigerator or cupboards to see what might be available.
I didn’t drink as much water as I wanted to yesterday, but I didn’t get two huge cups at water. I probably could have gone for another one, but I got busy with something and didn’t really think about going down to get it.
Since I didn’t get my workout in this morning, there isn’t too much left to talk about L. I will give a full update on how it all went down tomorrow!
“Remember, you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem and smarter than you think” – Unknown
I am not overly upset about missing the gym this morning, so long as I get my workout in tonight. I worry that I will get carried away with other things and come up with some excuse to not go. No matter what happens, I am committing right now to make it to the gym and get my scheduled workout in.
Other than my speed bump this morning, things have been going pretty good. I made a delicious dinner last night and resisted the urge to go back for more! That is so huge for me because I could have eaten my weight in dinner last night! I do need to watch out with some of the dessert candy that I am eating. Andrew and I got more chocolate than we could eat for Christmas and it is currently in a drawer in the kitchen. I am pretty good at not eating it until I get a little craving for dessert. I don’t pig out but I will have 2-3 truffles, which just adds to my calorie count.
Aside from that issue, I didn’t snack again yesterday when I got home, not even mixed nuts. I got right to making dinner and it was pretty nice to have that distraction from food. The reason I snack is not because I am hungry but because I am bored. When I don’t have anything to do but watch TV I typically will just rummage through the refrigerator or cupboards to see what might be available.
I didn’t drink as much water as I wanted to yesterday, but I didn’t get two huge cups at water. I probably could have gone for another one, but I got busy with something and didn’t really think about going down to get it.
Since I didn’t get my workout in this morning, there isn’t too much left to talk about L. I will give a full update on how it all went down tomorrow!
“Remember, you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem and smarter than you think” – Unknown
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