Her Bizzy Diet – Day 8

Welcome to week 2 of my challenge!

The weekend proved to be a big obstacle.  Saturday during the day was very easy because I was at work and able to keep on my regular schedule.  After work I picked up my step-daughter, took her for birthday manicures, and then we met up with my husband for her birthday dinner.  We wanted her to pick the restaurant, since after all it’s her birthday.  She chose Macaroni Grill.  I knew from the start that it could pose a challenge because I looooooove pasta, but I wanted to be good so I veered away from that portion of the menu.  However, so many of the dishes have pasta of some sort and I really wasn’t in the mood for chicken or steak since I can make that at home and not pay $18/plate.  I thought I had decided upon a dish until I noticed the calorie contents next to them.  I can’t remember my first choice, but I do remember that it had about 1100 calories in it.  Thanks, but no thanks!  I opted for a Caesar salad and added shrimp.  First off,  yeah, I know, Caesar dressing isn’t healthy, but remember I don’t really care when it comes to fat.  Second, don’t order shrimp to add to a salad because it was a total rip off – $4 to add shrimp and I only got 4 shrimp.  I ended up coming home and making some beef strips so that I could get in more protein.   The next morning I was up about .8lbs which kinda sucked.

Next comes Sunday.  I always wake up earlier than my family so I spent the first couple of hours in my normal breakfast routine catching up on all my trashy reality shows on DVR.  I even made pancakes when the other two woke up and didn’t so much as even taste it.  Then come the temptations.  First it was lunch.  My husband wanted taco bell so the two of them went and picked it up and brought it home.  We all sat at the table and while they ate tacos, gorditos and chalupas I sat drooling, staring and quietly ate my tuna salad.  Later that night we met up with friends for a BBQ – we brought steaks and asparagus so I don’t feel bad there.  However, after dinner the family wanted ice cream.  ICE CREAM!  I dropped them off and went to fill up my car with gas so I didn’t even step foot inside because I knew I would have ordered something.  They brought their ice cream home and I made a chocolate peanut butter protein shake.  I thought I did a pretty good job, although this morning I was up another .8lbs.  GRRRR!!!

That’s ok, because at the end of the week I still ended up down 7lbs from my starting weight.  Today was totally on point, so here’s what I got:

Workout:

Day 1 – Cardio & Upper Body

 

Meals & Supplements:

• 3:30am –  2 Burn (according to the plan I am supposed to take 2, this morning I only did because I was exhausted) , 1 Tone
• 6am – 3 Balance, 2 whole eggs, 1 slice center cut bacon
• 9am – 1 scoop Vanilla Chai Delight Protein
• 11:30am – 1 Burn, 1 Tone
• 12pm – 6oz chicken, 2c mixed greens, olive oil/vinegar dressing
• 3pm – 1 scoop Vanilla Chai Delight Protein
• 6pm – 5 oz shrimp, 1 bunch chard, 1/3c coconut milk, 1/2 lemon juice and chipotle pepper flakes
• 8pm – 2 Cleanse, Cup of Vanilla Sleepy Time Tea

Weight: 136.6

Consistency is key…

Consistency is key, however something I have not been keeping up with. Ever since I started training I haven’t been working out consistently. I’m going to try to fix that. Today I did my first post Christmas workout and posted it below.

(This pic really has nothing to do with working out but I just wanted to show off my Giants hoodie, lol!)

Warmup:
12 minutes on the treadmill. Intervals of 1 min at 4, 30 seconds at 9 from 0-9 minutes, then 3 minute cool down.

Workout:
8 rounds, 20 sec on 10 sec rest.
Round 1: Squats w/ sandbag
Round 2: Static lunges, right
Round 3: Squats w/ leg raise
Round 4: Static lunges, left
Repeat rounds 1-4

Treadmill 0.25 miles:
.05 at 4
.05 at 6
.05 at 8
.05 at 6
.05 at 4

8 rounds, 20 sec on 10 sec rest.
Round 1: Push-ups
Round 2: Pull up using dip station
Round 3: One-arm press using sandbag, right
Round 4: One-arm press using sandbag, left
Repeat rounds 1-4

Repeat 0.25 treadmill interval

8 rounds, 20 sec on 10 sec rest.
Round 1: Ab roller
Round 2: Leg raise using dip station
Round 3: Shovel right using sandbag
Round 4: Shovel left using sandbag
Repeat rounds 1-4

Repeat 0.25 treadmill interval

8 rounds, 20 sec on 10 sec rest.
Round 1: Squats with sandbag
Round 2: Basic crunch
Round 3: Push-ups
Round 4: Reverse crunch
Round 5: Squats w/ leg raise
Round 6: Plank twists
Round 7: Shoulder press w/ sandbag
Round 8: Bicycle crunches

Repeat 0.25 treadmill interval

If you have a treadmill at home, this is a great workout to do while feeling like you are skipping the gym. I think the more I can work at home the better. If you do it, let me know how you feel afterwards. Hope everyone loves it and there will be more to come! ENJOY!

Heart Rate Monitors

Ok, lets talk Heart Rate Monitors.

This is fairly new to me.  I’ve heard of them before, but haven’t had much experience.  When my dad purchased his elliptical it came with two chest straps for monitoring heart rate and accurate calorie counting.  This is the only time I have personally used them.

Heart rate monitors however, are becoming something that I am seeing and hearing about more and more.  After I taught a group class at my gym, one of the women came up and showed me that she had burned 340-something calories during our 30 min session.  AWESOME!  A friend of mine posted a pic of her HR Monitor on Facebook and I was super impressed with her results – 1074 calories burned in a 1 hour 40 min gym session.  SUPER AWESOME!!  Then my bestie tells me yesterday that her mom got her a monitor for her Christmas present.  So of course, now I am intrigued.  I must find out what all the hype is about. 

I have done a little research and found the one I want.  It’s a Polar (because I read that is one of the best rated brands out there) FT40.  Looks a little something like this:

Image courtesy of http://www.polarusa.com

It has a few features that I liked such as:

• The ability to show if your workout is “fitness improvement or fat burning”
• An accurate calorie count based on several different factors
• A chest strap that is specially designed to not have any “cross-talk” when working out at a gym
• The chest strap should work with most Polar cardio machines which is what my gym uses

It is available at Polar USA for $179.95 which is a little pricey, especially considering I don’t know if I’ll even like it.  Of course I had to check ol’ faithful – Amazon – to see if it is available there, which it is for $104.85.  I’m asking the hubs for it as a Christmas present.  Hope to find it under the tree!

Do any of you use HR monitors?  If so, what kind?  What is your favorite feature?  How useful do you find it for your specific goals? Does anyone have experience with Polar HR Monitors or this one in particular?  I’m extra curious so hit me up with your opinion!

Week 1 Done – New Challenge Accepted

I did it.  I’ve completed week 1 without the tiniest bit of a slip. Oh, did I mention that I joined the Military Challenge on BodyBuilding.com?  Because I did.  And, I’m determined! I’ve been eating clean, keeping up with workouts, and even had time to fit in some homework.

Today I woke up with a little extra motivation and decided to make use of the treadmill that sits in my home gym. This gym includes a treadmill, dip station, sandbag training system, light dumbbells, yoga mat, ball, and band, resistance bands, jump rope, E-Z bar, punching bag and I’m sure I’m forgetting a few things.  It’s a very small room, but it holds a lot.  A lot that NEVER gets used.  I thought having all of this stuff at home would make it impossible to not work out.  No excuses when it’s all right there in front of you, right?  Wrong!  Most of the time the door to the gym is shut and we never think twice about it.  Ugh, what a waste. (Here’s a pic – disregard the awful wood walls, we rent.)

I have decided that this week I am going to give myself an extra challenge.  Nothing major, but a small goal that I can accomplish and feel good about.  I’d like to wake up early and do a 45 minute low intensity incline walk on my treadmill at least 3x’s this week.  I’m going to shoot for Monday, Wednesday and Friday.  I hate getting up before I have to so this won’t be easy but I think the pros will definitely outweigh the cons. I need to start using this gym so challenge accepted!!!

My very first 5K!

Oh yeah, that’s right, we did it!  My girls and I participated in our first 5K today.  I gotta say, we looked cute with our puffy painted, glittered and bedazzled t-shirts, ribbons and purple eyeshadow.  Yes, I realize it’s a race not a fashion show, but c’mon you still gotta look cute.  Check us out!

That’s future mamma Katie, Kendra, me, Lori, and Jackie.

This is me before the race.  I was READY to go!

And here’s me after the race.  Plenty of people got this view as I jogged blew right past them. I got a time of 32 minutes and change.  I’m feeling pretty damn good about that!

WAY TO GO LADIES!