Baby Steps

Now that I have lost a bunch of the water weight, it is no surprise that the weight is coming off much more slowly now than what it did end of last week and beginning of this week- even with burning MEGA calories.

So lets start here...

Today I am down another half pound. 174.0. I will take it. Heck I think it was July 23rd when I restarted and I was 183! So 9 lbs down in a matter of what? 2 weeks? Not even?

Eating was on point again yesterday though I have to admit, last night when I got home from the gym I was starving. We really really need to go to the grocery store...so I had to make due with a couple slices of colby jack cheese, a protein bar and my casein shake. Not really nutrient packed but the protein really helped.

Here is what I had:
Breakfast: Arbonne shake
Snack: Arbonne protein bar
Lunch/Dinner- I made up one can of tuna with onions, celery and fat free mayo and split it between lunch and dinner before I left for the gym with some wheat thins
Snack: 2 pieces colby jack cheese, Arbonne protein bar, casein shake

I have to admit...Last night Aaron took the kids to Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner. Part of me was REALLY hoping that he brought me some wings home for me or that he would have some left over. Yeah no. You know what they had for left overs? A few tortilla chips which he brought home for who knows what reason, a quarter of a soft pretzel (again why?) and 2 mini corn dogs. Ah no thanks.

Ok. Now for the gym.

I didnt get to do a whole lot as far as lifting goes yesterday because I had a packet of paperwork to fill out to get paid from when I subbed Zumba. And when I say a packet...I mean 8 pages or so...

When I did get to work out it was only for about 15 minutes. I did some bicep curls on the machine, tricep push downs, chest presses and rows. That was about it. Sad.

So today I am going to concentrate on the back and biceps again before Zumba.

Ok- moving on. After my pseudo weight lifting was RPM. Oh holy hell. We did the same playlist as last week and for whatever reason, this week it seemed harder. Maybe I pushed myself more...not sure. All I know is that by the time the warm up tracks were done, I was already dripping with sweat.

For RPM...I burned 1069 calories. That is serious burn right there. In just over an hour.

See why I am a bit surprised about not losing more weight from yesterday alone? Thats ok though. My body is gonna do what it is gonna do and I know that I am on track.

On to today.
I mentioned that I was going to do back and biceps again. Then it is Zumba. I am only going to do one class because I am going into Dexter to meet with the gals in the park.

Here is my planned out food for the day:
Breakfast: Arbonne shake
Snack: Arbonne protein bar
Lunch/Dinner: Can of tuna with celery, onion and mayo with wheat thins (can you tell I HAVE to go grocery shopping????
Aubrees snack: hummus with celery NO FETA BREAD!!
Home snack: casein shake

ANNNNDDDDD....I tracked my Beachbody shipment and T25 should be here today!!! Woo Hoo!

Because I am not teaching Zumba tomorrow, my goal is to do T25 tomorrow night. I will officially start the program on Monday but I want to try it out!

So it is August 2nd. Lets talk goals. Do you have goals for August??

Tip of the Day:

Shout Out

I have to give a quick shout out to person who helped me today.

As you know, last week I was having computer issues with my router.

Well they never really got resolved and I was still having to reset my router every 5 minutes or so, so I called back the tech support. Now dont get me wrong, these guys are good. They got rid of all the viruses, malware etc. And they updated my router software. But I still was having the problem.

This time I was routed (haha) overseas to India where I connected with Taron.

Not only did he help me fix my router issue, but we got to talking because of how S-L-O-W my computer is about different things with our cultures and what we do for a living.

I told him about my blog and he looked me up and was surprised to see my transformation. He said he would bookmark it to read more in depth at a later time.

So if you are reading this, thank you for your help Taron! I havent had a problem with the router since we talked.

This guy is awesome. He even gave me his extension so I can contact him anytime. And the biggest part? He is so passionate about his job that he took my call on his day off!

Daily Update

Hey everyone! And happy Thursday!

Yesterday was a great day.

Xavier and Landry had their physicals for the year. Both boys are back in their growth curve on the chart. A while back Xavier was above where he should be in weight. It is good to know that with him eating more cleanly and with having a growth spurt that he is back on track. I really dont want my kids to become obese like what I was as a child. The doctor was cute in asking them their favorite veggies and fruit and favorite foods.

Poor Landry had to have 3 shots. He was very tired already and so I tried to distract him but he screamed and screamed. Finally calming down after about 10 minutes.

Then we went to my friends house for the kids to play. On the way home I got the kids Happy Meals.

It was raining pretty good at that point and Aaron was home already. I ate dinner and changed into workout clothes. It was obvious that the boys were exhausted by their 'tudes so we decided not to go to tree fort. I told Aaron he could go to the gym and I would work out at home. Well he fell asleep on the couch at 7pm. I let the kids play til 7:30 and they woke him up. The boys ended up going to bed with no problems and never came out of their rooms with any stall tactics like they normally do.

I decided to do some Turbo Jam Cardio Party. It was my first time doing this one and it was SO MUCH FUN! A mix of dancing, boxing and kickboxing. The 45 minutes flew by so quickly that I put in Ab Jam too. I ended up doing about 10 minutes of that one before turning it off. I had turned up the music (its an option on the disc) and I couldnt hear the instructions which was fine while we were standing and I could see the tv, but they went to the floor for exercises.  Knowing I wouldnt be able to hear or see well, I called "uncle" for the night. In one hour I burned 553 calories. Not shabby.

And today I am SO SORE! My obliques hurt like they NEVER have before! I plan on doing the whole disc on Friday (19 minutes of ab work).

Aaron decided that he was too tired and opted out of any exercise. He went to bed at 8pm.  He better realize he cant do that when we start T25. LOL. I want him committed for the 10 weeks.

Eating was on point.
You can tell I am in dire need to go grocery shopping when you see what I eat between today and tomorrow. LOL.

Breakfast: Arbonne protein shake
Snack: Homemade arbonne protein bar
Lunch: 2 eggs over medium (the last of my eggs) with melted pepperjack cheese, sauteed onions and a toasted dry wheat roll
Dinner: tuna with celery, onion and fat free mayo with reduced fat crackers, a smidge of pork
Snack: Casein protein shake

So today I weighed 174.5. Not bad at all. Half pound loss. I knew I wouldnt be able to maintain a 2-4 lb loss a day. LOL. If I can do a half pound a day that would be excellent though not sustainable in the long term.

Today is back and biceps. Then we also have RPM. Last week was the RPM class from hell and I just found out that we are repeating it. Bring it! It is hard to go backwards after pushing ourselves that much. We must push forwards.

I also got an email last night saying that T25 has been shipped. I am SO EXCITED!

Tomorrow is Friday. I am going to be doing a double hit of Zumba I think...Then it is out with the Dexter ladies.

This time though I am not going to have feta bread. I am going to have water, and some hummus and veggies. I dont want to undo what I have been working so hard to accomplish. Especially because Saturday will not be Zumba because of the memorial for Aarons grandpa.

If T25 comes before Sunday, the plan is to do that before Aaron and I leave for our fun for the day. Then that evening may or may not be to the rec center. Not sure what time Aaron and I will be getting home and if we will be sunburned or not. LOL

So thats it for right now...

Tip of the Day:

Its Official

Well it is official. I have bought the T25 Challenge pack and also have signed up to be a coach.

I hope to help anyone that wants to get fit, meet all their goals! So please, if you would love some help, you can sign up on my Beachbody page (for free!!): www.beachbodycoach.com/mitchellsaz.

So Aaron and I will be partaking in the T25 challenge in just a few days.If you want to join us, let me know! There is a FB page for the challenge that will be great for support as we go thru this all together! It is a 10 week program for 25 minutes a day, 5 days a week and we are both very excited to get started. I said before that I still plan on doing this in conjunction with lifting weights. This will be my morning workout and then lift in the evenings.

Curious as to what T25 is? Here is a video preview. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfi80Wf29_M
It is a 9 minute video but if you watch to about minute 3 or so, you will want to keep watching just to see the results. I would love results half as good as these people got so I will be doing it hard and heavy. One guy that did this (about minute 7) started off in the 290s. By the end of the 10 weeks he was 226.

Ok that is enough out of me...you will hear some updates regarding the T25 as we start but I am not going to be the person that constantly shoves Beachbody down your throat. You know I do it, you know I would love to help. I am here for you so contact me if you want to get going. End of story...well the start actually ;)

So I never got to work on Zumba routines yesterday because I was busy with the Beachbody thing but last night I went to the Rec Center. I did 2 miles on the track. 22 laps. Geeze! Does anyone know of an app or a way to track your laps so you dont have to constantly think lap 2, lap 2, lap 2 as you run? I tried using my digifit app but it doesnt get good gps reception in the gym and I dont know that it would pick up that small of a lap.

After I was done with my two miles, I hopped on the evil elliptical and did the Fat Burn setting with Glute Blaster for 15 minutes.

Then it was back downstairs where I did leg adductors, leg abductors and then went over and did 100 squats using a weighted bar. After that I did leg extensions to work the quads and I called it a night. I walked home from there...0.44 miles. I am sore today.

Eating was on point.
Breakfast was Arbonne protein shake (I am officially out of oatmeal)
I got a little hungry later on and had a homemade protein bar
Then at lunch I had an english muffin, two eggs over medium with melted pepper jack cheese and some sauteed onions.
Before hitting the gym I had some tuna with fat free mayo, celery and onion and some crackers.
After the gym I had a little bit of chicken, a little bit of pork, a half of a protein bar and then my casein shake later.

Today I woke up and was 175.0. Two more pounds gone! How excited am I?

My goal is to get as much of this weight off before starting the challenge. I want to get the best results possible. Dont worry...I am eating what I need to and tracking everything in myfitnesspal.

Today the kids have physicals. Then we are going to a friends house for them to play. Then tonight I will be picking the kids up Happy Meals as a treat for them to eat on the way home. Then it is off to Treefort at the Rec Center so Aaron can work out while the kids play. Then it is my turn.

I think tonight I am going to aim for 2.5 miles on the treadmill then 15 minutes on the elliptical. Then it is back and biceps. I am trying to slowly work my mileage for running back up. When I was training really hard I sort of gave that up and my body can tell. I just dont have the cardio endurance I used to.

My friend Jamie posted this yesterday on her FB page:

It is a great thing to think about before you eat something.

This past Monday I wore my heart rate monitor to the gym while I taught Zumba. I shared with the class at the end how many calories I burned. I think it was 776 or something like that...

Anyways, one of my students said "thats a donut!". And I looked at her and smiled because she always goes to get ice cream after class. She must have realized what I thought because she went on to clarify "I mean that is ONLY a donut!". All that hard work and thats ALL we worked off.

Now I know that donuts arent that many calories, but I would rather have her think about that before she was leaving to go to get her ice cream. She is under the mindset that she gets a double scoop because it is only 30 cents more. And heck...it is sugar free right? My hope is that next time she thinks before she eats.

Also I am wondering what your weakest time of day is as far as snacking goes?
One thing I have figured out is that when I work out at night I really dont want to snack.

Another thing is that if I paint my nails at my weak point of the day then I cant snack because they are wet. A great tip for you.

How do you get your weakest points of the day?

Tip of the Day:

Holy Water Weight Batman!

So yesterday...

Ah yes, yesterday.

Eating was on point. Oatmeal for breakfast w/ unsweetened cocoa powder and some real maple syrup. Lunch was toasted english muffin (dry) with two eggs over medium with sauteed onions and pepper jack cheese.
Snack was a homemade protein bar made with Arbonne vegan protein powder, oatmeal, peanut butter and honey.
Dinner was some tuna and some crackers.

I could tell that  I was shedding some water weight yesterday because I was needing to use the bathroom a lot.

Then yesterday afternoon I was finally able to work on some Zumba routines. I did that for about 15-20 minutes and then Aaron got home. He had bought a bike for Landry yesterday from Craigslist so I had to go open the garage. We bought Xavier a bike too with his birthday money and then we paid for the rest. So we surprised both boys.

And of course the training wheels I bought for Landry didnt work. The poor kid almost fell over on his bike because they were too flexible. Who makes training wheels flexible???

So then it was time for me to go to Zumba. I had one new person for a total of three for class. And so my energy level was really high. In one hour yesterday in class I burned 783 calories.

I did not end up working legs like I wanted to because I needed to return the old training wheels from Landry's bike and get new ones from a different store.

Then when I got home I had a casein shake before bed.

And that brings me to an interesting question.

I found a new show last night on our On Demand that I have never seen before but had heard about.

Extreme Weight Loss.

Ever hear of it?

I had heard about it because the guy that was on it July 16th felt so much pressure to lose weight that he altered his numbers he was sending his trainer. Instead of losing the weight, in 90 days he GAINED 46 lbs!

Do you ever feel pressure to look a certain way? Lose more weight? keep it off? I know I personally feel pressure but it comes from a personal standpoint. It is all from me. What gets me pissed is that I know I am a food addict. I hit a rough point or a busy point and I turn to food to get me thru. I did it with the tornado and I did it again when we just moved. What pisses me off about it is that it undoes all the hard work that I just did!

But there was an interesting quote last night by the trainer: "Transformation is never perfect". And then he went on to say something like: when you fall down you can always pick yourself back up. Yup. Thats me. It doesnt matter how many times I fall down, I will always pick myself back up because I dont want to go back to the way I was back in 2010.

This leads me onto my next thing. I know I said that I want to start training like I was going to be in a competition. I will be buying my "competition" food and prepping it next week. My friend is currently in "getting ready" mode for her first show in April and shared some of her work out and diet tips with me.

She does HIIT cardio in the morning and weights in the afternoon and evening. Usually about 25-30 minutes of it.

And there was this program that I have been hearing about that is 25 minutes and great cardio. My goal is to do it in the morning and then lift in the evenings.

Soooo....

Tonight I will be ordering a new cardio program. It is from Beachbody and is called T25. It is by Shaun T and delivers the Insanity results in just 25 minutes a day, 5 days a week. I figured what the hell? I will give it a shot! And they have a 30 day moneyback guarantee. Have you heard of it??

And because I am going to get the challenge pack, I get to waive my sign up fee to become a coach. So I figured what the heck there as well! If I dont like being a coach, then I can quit at any time. No commitments. What do I have to lose? I hope that being able to inspire people helps me here with some financial freedom. LOL.

So you will have to stay tuned as I will be reviewing the new Shaun T program. I told Aaron I would get it if he can  commit one month to doing it as well. He said he would. I will make sure to take before and after pictures of us. :)

Onto today...

I weighed myself this morning...

Remember yesterday I was 181.5

This morning?

177.0.

Yeah you read that right. -4.5 lbs!

Serious water weight right there I guess! And I never really ate anything that would bloat me or was really salty this weekend either!

Today I am going to work some more on Zumba routines.

Tonight we are going for a walk while the boys bike ride.

Then I will be heading to the Rec Center after the boys go to bed to do legs.

Should be a fun and active day!

What are you all doing?

Tip of the Day: I love this because when I was up at my mom and dads a couple weeks ago, we went to boil eggs and actually had some floaters. I had never had floaters before!!

Checking in- quickly

Hey all!

Well this weekend went pretty well.

Saturday morning I was down to 179.5. Woot!

Then I had zumba class. And even though I burned over 700 calories and ate well, the next day my weight was up to 180.5.

Yesterday I took a rest day. I really needed it. I was starting to get a sore throat again so I hit the tea and honey last night.

Eating was on point yesterday too. I even resisted fig newtons and cupcakes ALL WEEKEND!!

But with not exercising, there was no surprise I was up another pound today to 181.5. Thats ok. I am hoping to get it back off today.

Tonight is Zumba. But first thing this morning I am going to start working on a learning a new Zumba routine. So I will be burning calories all day as I learn. Then afterwards I will be working out. I think I am going to aim for doing 100 squats with a weighted bar. I think because I did the 500 lb leg presses last week that I am going to skip that and do lunges tonight as well. Front lunges, lateral (side) lunges and back lunges. Maybe some wall sits as well.

Aarons parents are taking the kids after his grandpa's memorial on Saturday. Woot! Hopefully that means that I will be able to get my personal training test done and turned in next week!

And I hope this weather warms up. This has been a really sucky summer.

Ok I am off for now. Things to do so I can get this routine learned!

Oh and PS....I posted this picture at the top because I am striving to workout to get a body a tenth of hers. LOL. She rocks! Dana Lynn Bailey if you didnt know.

And I think when I go to the grocery store this week that I am going to start my nutrition differently and eat as if I am training for a competition. 5 small meals...lots of protein...we will see!

Have a great Monday!

What did I do yesterday?

Ok first things first...

I am having major issues with my internet. We found out that it isnt the actual modem from Brighthouse but our wireless router which is netgear brand. Brighthouse said I have to switch the router to channel 11. Anyone have any idea how I do that? lol

I have to restart that damn thing every 5 minutes. Literally.

Which makes it EXTREMELY hard to do my Personal Training test. *sigh*. (Not to mention writing my blog!) Yesterday I had the bright idea to print off all of the essay questions so I can write them in my word processor without being online. So that helps.

But the test is driving me crazy because it is hard, hard, hard. So I am taking a break from it today.

Now.

Day 3 of no earwigs. Whoot!

And my workout yesterday:
I decided NOT to do Turbo Jam. I knew that if I went into Ypsi last night for RPM that that would be plenty of cardio for the day.

So for breakfast I had warm oatmeal with unsweetened cocoa powder and a little real maple syrup.

Lunch was two eggs over medium topped with some melted pepper jack cheese, a 100% whole wheat english muffin, and some sauteed onions (with a smidge of olive oil).

Dinner was a little bit of homemade mac and cheese before I went to the gym. And when I say a little, I mean maybe a 1/2 cup. It was made with whole wheat pasta, a smidge of milk, and colby jack cheese. It is my moms recipe and I always loved how it gets uber crunchy, crusty. Yummy.

The carbs helped get me thru my workout.

When I got to the gym, I skipped cardio and went right to chest and tri's. First thing was pull ups and dips.
Then I did standing tricep extensions, cable chest flys, upright cable chest presses, and cable push downs. Then I did some rowing for a couple minutes on the rowing machine.

RPM time. Last night was no joke. Class was an hour and 10 minutes. And it was my first time doing RPM in a month...or maybe more. AND we did three mountain tracks in a row...towards the end of class. That is 20 straight minutes of mountain climbing.

Boy am I glad that I didnt do Turbo Jam yesterday.

Then I got home and had some tuna with onion and fat free mayo, eaten with celery stalks and then my casein shake before bed.

All in all, in 2 hours and 38 minutes at the gym last night, I burned 1161 calories. Yup. Thats right. I am BACK!!

Today I was down to 180.0.

My goal tomorrow is to be back in the 170's.

So today I am trying to decide what the heck to work out.

The plan is to go to the rec center tonight with the kids. They can play in the treehouse and I will watch them. Aaron can work out while they are playing. Then he will take the kids home and I can workout.

I am thinking that tonight will be more cardio. A mile on the track, the evil elliptical and then shoulders and more back and biceps..core.....not sure though.

Tomorrow morning is Zumba class so as much as I want to do legs again, they will have to wait until Monday. Sunday I will need a rest day.

I am not much of a yoga or pilates person so that just isnt an option for me. 

So that is the news today. Do you have anything fun planned for the weekend? What are you doing for exercise today??

Tip of the day: