Happy Happy Day!

Yesterday was my Extreme Tuesday.

Plyometrics came first at home and I burned 510 calories.

Then last night came the gym. 25 minutes on the ARC, CX, Body Flow then RPM. I am totally hooked on RPM but more about that in a few.

Get this...last night at the gym...I burned 1281 calories!!
Total for the day: 1791 calories. I was very happy with that number.

I was even happier with that number when I woke up this morning and got on the scale. And the number staring back at me was 160 lbs. Yes folks. You read that right. 3.5 lb loss since yesterday! Holy crap!

I must have sweated out the sugar and stress that had me retaining weight. I really shook that monkey off my shoulder...at least for now.

Now back to RPM. I LOVE it. It takes a lot to get me sore and that class guarantees sore legs the next day. In fact, I am thinking about switching up my exercise routine again. Constantly changing arent I? I am trying to keep my body confused.

Because I gave up Body Pump on Thurs, I looked at the new gym schedule to see if Thurs held an AM RPM class. It does. HOWEVER it is at 6:15. And I have to get there about 45 minutes before class starts to sign up. And my drive to the gym is about 15-20 minutes. Ugh. So instead, I may be doing the late evening RPM class at 8pm.

The reason for picking up another RPM class is a very simple one. My upper body is getting into great shape but the majority of my weight is still in my lower half. My cousin told me that RPM and spinning in general give you great results in your legs which is something I really want to achieve before my sisters wedding in July and well before swimsuit season too.

So Thursday workouts will now be P90X yoga with ARC and RPM in the evening. Whew.

Then my husband was looking at the gym schedule for today and said the class that looks really fun is kickboxing and why don't I go to that one? Well why not? My cousin goes to that class tonight, so I texted her to find out about it. She said it is awesome cardio and I will need 2 towels to wipe up all my sweat. LOL. Sign me up. I am all about a new class. She also said that I need to get there really early to sign up for the class because it fills up within 10 minutes. You are allowed to sign up a max of 45 minutes before class and they only have so many spots available.

I totally cant wait to see how many calories I burn in this class.

This morning I already completed my P90X Chest, shoulders and triceps and Ab Ripper. Oh buddy. Feel the burn. So far, 477 calories gone. Wee haw.

Onward and Downward to the 150's (hopefully tomorrow)!!

Tip of the Day:

Hardcore Tuesday

Ok I am feeling a bit back to normal now.

I drank a gallon of Sassy Water yesterday and while it helped a bit, I am still struggling to get back on track with my regularity.

Yesterday I did P90X back, biceps and ab ripper. I burned 428 calories.

Then last night I ran for approx. 35 minutes. My aunt called a few minutes after I started and stupid me forgot to pause the elliptical. Originally I had set the elliptical on the Fat Burn setting for 45 minutes. I did bring the phone back down and talked to her while I ran. Boy does that sky rocket your heart rate!! For the approx 35 minutes, I burned 500 calories.

This morning I weighed in at 163. A half pound down from yesterday. Heading back in the right direction.

Today is Hardcore Tuesday. Normally before my sons Playgroup, I do Plyometrics but I have a few errands I have to run before hand so Plyometrics will have to wait until about lunch time. I will do it while the kids eat and then when they nap, I will have my lunch to refuel.

Tonight is gym night. ARC training, CX Works, Body Flow, then RPM. If I don't get back on track from today, I dont know how I will. LOL.

I know that part of the reason for my weight gain besides the sugar is stress. I have been immensely stressed lately with some financial difficulties my family is going thru right now. It will get better, and is already starting to ease a bit, but until some major things are done, the stress will be lingering.

This whole time that we have been going thru this, I have put my stress into Gods hands. It really is all about not fretting. God will provide. And I truly believe everything happens for a reason. I have been pretty calm and at peace.

Then last Friday I received a piece of mail that rocked my world and threw me into a loop. Really sent my stress level skyrocking. Finally last night I broke down and called my parents. This whole time I have felt like I havent had anyone to talk to about this...that besides Aarons family this was something that needed to be left in the dark...that I have to figure out and get thru it myself. I was worried about how my family would judge us by what we are going thru. That they would see it as our fault. After talking to my parents, I felt a huge sense of relief. Aaron worries that my parents will look at him differently. Like he isnt providing for his family. I hope that that isnt the case. Right now, I hate having to depend on family, but then again, if you cant count on family, who can you count on? Aarons family has been a huge support. They understand and know what we are going thru. And that is a blessing that cannot even be expressed into words.

Unconditional love...what an awesome thing!

For my fellow bloggers and readers, please keep my family in your prayers as we go thru this difficult time.
I will keep you filled in as to how we are doing.

Tip of the Day:

What was that about???

All I can say is "whoa".

Yesterday as you all know if you read my blog, I had a birthday party to go to. They made home made tortilla chips, salsa, guacamole, chicken fajitas, carrots, hummus, celery, veggie pizza, strawberries, carrot cake, angel food cake mixed with fat free cool whip and had heath bars crushed on top, and finally margarita cupcake complete with soaked in tequila.

I started off with bunches of carrots and celery.
Then I had a little fajita with some salsa, guac, and some onions. I didn't add cheese. And it was on a whole wheat tortilla.

I did have a few chips and guac and some hummus.
For dessert, I had a very small piece of the angel food concoction. It was awesome! And as a treat I had a margarita cupcake which I scraped most of the frosting off of. All very good and I knew I would gain some weight, but this is a treat and sometimes we just need treats.

I did very good by not drinking a margarita. I did have a sip of Aarons and while it tasted good, I just didnt want a whole one. One sip was enough. I stuck to plain water and hot plain tea.

We didnt get home until almost 10pm last night so I did not get on the elliptical like I had originally planned.

Now gets me into the "woah" part.

Everyone that has been reading this blog for some times knows that I am really trying to Eat Clean. Last night was the first night in a long time that it was kind of thrown out of the window for a full meal.

Last night I had some of the most vivid and scary dreams I can ever remember. I mean we are talking graphic dreams in which some unspeakable things were done to me against my will and then I was kidnapped (if you get my drift). I woke up just before 4:30am and almost started crying. I really had to catch my breath and calm down. And of course after that, I had a really really really hard time falling back to sleep.

Now I am wondering if the nightmares were from the sugar and processed foods. Dont get me wrong, most of the food was pretty healthy even if it did have some processed things in it. I am thinking more about the cupcake and decadent frosting and the alcohol.

Has anyone else had that happen? Is it a user dream like Czesia had? It just really creeped me out.

This morning when I stepped onto the scale I weighed 163.5. I am ok with that. I didnt get to work out yesterday and I had some processed food and sugar. It wasnt surprising. Hopefully today I will start flushing my system back out and get back on track. After I am done writing all this up, I am going to make a modified Sassy Water. I think my mint has expired in the fridge so I will just be doing cucumber, lemon and ginger.

Hopefully this drink will help me in other areas besides my bloat as well.

This is a TMI alert!!

Before I started losing weight, I could go #2 up to 2, 3, or sometimes more a day.
Since losing weight, number #2 only comes maybe once every other day. Probably because I am not eating as much and the body is able to use more of what I am eating. I get that.

But man. For the past 3-4 days, it feels like I have to go. I have constant pressure down there. But when I go into the bathroom, (TMI again) either nothing comes out or just a very little bit.

Not to get gross, but does anyone else have this problem?

If it doesnt change soon, I may have to resort to an enema to do a clean out. Dr Oz recommends that for constipation because it provides pretty immediate relief. Where as drinking prune juice or something like X-Lax may not even work.

I am sure that this problem has a bit to do with my weight gain too.

What a stupid problem to have huh?
So that is another reason I am doing the Sassy water. Hopefully it will work as well as it did last time and help clean me out.

Ok nuff weirdness for today.

Today is P90X back, biceps and abs.
Tonight is one hour on the elliptical.

Hopefully this will get me back on track with the weight.

Tip of the Day:

Sunday Musings...

Yesterdays recap.

I did Kempo with Aaron and burned 459 calories.
Then last night I did a full hour on the elliptical for a burn or 631 calories. Total calories burned yesterday from exercise: 1090. Nice.

This morning when I stepped on the scale, I only lost .5 pound. My weight this morning was 161.0. It is a loss and I will take it.

BUT I know what went wrong yesterday and it was multiple things.

1. I didnt get my normal smoothie for breakfast to kick off the metabolism. And instead because I was stuck at the doctor, I had to eat what was in my purse which was dried cranberries. Dried fruit you would think would be good for you, but most of the time it has a LOT of sugar added to it. Not good for me.

2. When I got home I had lunch. And I finished off my left over sandwich from when I went out Thurs. Really yummy but again, with the bun and the guacamole, not the best thing. Plus I still had 2 hard boiled eggs, an english muffin with natural peanut butter and some baby carrots. Did I mention that I was hungry???

3. For dinner I had my missed smoothie from that morning. Nothing wrong with that. I finally had gotten to the store to get more spinach.

4. After I ran and took a shower, I had a glass of wine. It was the Berringer Red Moscato. Very tasty and a little sweet. I limited myself to only one glass. And I had a few kernals of popcorn. Aaron had popped it the night before with coconut oil and sea salt. Normally I could eat a whole bowl, but it didn't really sound good last night.

So these few things threw me off track yesterday. A loss is a loss though and I will take it. And I am back on track for today.

I had my smoothie, and I will have my normal lunch. English muffin with Natural PB, 2 hard boiled eggs, a handful of baby carrots with a wedge of laughing cow cheese.

Tonight I will be making spaghetti for the family with sausage sauce. For me, it will be some quinoa with sauteed spinach, tomatoes, garlic and onion.

And then after the boys go to bed, I will be hitting the elliptical again. No P90X scheduled for today. It is a rest day.

Now my next question and I would like readers to weigh in:

You all know if you have been following me, that I set my goal weight for 155. I am now 6 lbs away. My question to you is, in all of your various stages of weight loss, have you set multiple goal weights?

The reason I ask is this... When I get to 155, because it is only 6 lbs away, I know that I still have a lot of fat and flab on my legs, hips and stomach. That is where I hold most of my weight. I don't know if I will be able to get into the 140s or if I will look too skinny, but I am trying to decide if I should go for more weight off or not. I mean, if I keep losing weight, apparently it will mean my body isnt finished yet, but at that point do I reset a new goal?

Very exciting to think that if I stay on top of things, I could be to my goal weight in about 2 weeks. That is, if my elliptical keeps helping me burn like it has been!

Tip of the Day (which could have helped me yesterday):

Some good news, and some great news!

This morning I stepped on the scale...
and got some great news!

Staring back at me the scale said 161.5!! Down 1.5 lbs from yesterday! Whew! I cannot wait to get into the 150s!! My lowest weight from starting this whole thing was 159. Almost there again!

Then I got ready and headed off to the doctors to have my ears rechecked.

My appointment was at 8:30. I didnt get into a patient room until 11:00. And stupid me..I didnt have breakfast before leaving this morning because I didnt think it would take that long. It was my first time going here so I didnt know how their procedure went. I really cant complain though. Luckily I had some dried cranberries in my purse that I keep as a snack for the kids in case they get hungry while they are out. So that was my breakfast.

And I got a bit more of good news from the doctor when I finally saw him. My ear drums are healed. I don't have to worry about showering anymore. However, I still have some fluid back behind my ear drums. This could either go away on its own or could cause another infection. So we are treating me with multiple over the counter drugs to try to dry it up. If it doesn't, and becomes a reoccurring problem, I will have to see an ENT for ear tubes. Shocking because I always thought those were for little kids.

So if my blogs seem weird the next few days, it is because I am taking Sutafed, Benedryl and a nasal spray. LOL.

This afternoon I will be doing P90X Kempo. Originally I planned on doing it while the boys napped but because my appointment was so late, I opted to eat instead. LOL.

Then tonight once they go down for bed, I will run on the elliptical again. Trying to go a bit hard core because I really would love to be in the 150's by Monday.

EDITED TO ADD:
So I was so excited about my ears and weight loss, that I forgot to add my calorie burn and exercises from yesterday.

Yesterday I did the P90X Legs back and abs for a calorie burn of 433 calories.
Then last night I went on the elliptical for 45 minutes on the fat burn mode. I was originally going to do an hour but for whatever reason my heart rate kept going to the high side of my range so I did 45 minutes instead. That burned 481 calories. So my total for the day was 914 calories from exercise.

After the boys napped today, I did the Kempo with Aaron. I am soaked with sweat right now. LOL Calories burned so far today: 459. And tonight I will probably do another 45 to an hour on the elliptical again.

For whatever reason, my elliptical usually guarantees me a pound loss a day. I have no idea why. And I have no idea why I stopped using it... wait I do. It was because we moved. Then I joined a gym and the elliptical just stopped getting used. Well forget about that! The at home elliptical is my new best friend and we have a standing date every night I am not at the gym!

Ok. Tip of the Day!

Restaurant Recap

I had a great day yesterday.

Besides the one bummer of the boys being sick (their fevers are gone finally and they just have a nasty cough now) it was very pleasant.

Yesterday morning I did P90X yoga. Nice stretching and no problems (which I said yesterday) and burned 342 calories.

Last night I had a really nice dinner with my friend Melissa at Max and Erma's. It was a pleasant evening and it was so nice to be able to talk to someone about everything I am going through right now. Life for us is rough at the moment but we are working through it. It was funny that on the way to the restaurant, I heard a new to me song on the radio- "what doesnt kill you makes you stronger".

Anyways, we switched restaurants from the one that we were originally going to go to, so this is what I ordered.

I ordered the Cajun burger (which has caramelized onions and jalapeno cheese). I asked if I could get a grilled chicken breast with the seasonings instead. YES. I asked for no cheese and no mayo or what ever they put on it YES. I asked if instead I could get avocado and jalapeno slices. YES. And as my side, I had a small garden salad with a bit of olive oil and vinegar. The waiter messed up a bit and put guacamole on my sandwich instead of avocado but no big deal. There wasn't a ton on it so I wasn't worried about the extra calories. Also on the sandwich was lettuce and tomato. Yum!

I immediately dug into the salad and cut my sandwich in half. I pulled the breadstick that came with the salad off and set it to the side. I ate my entire salad and half of my sandwich. It was really really good and I told the waiter they should add it to the menu. It had excellent flavor and lots of spice. Capsacian (spelling is wrong on this, I am sure) that is found in hot peppers helps to burn calories you know.

I also had water with dinner. No soda or alcohol. Just plain ice water.

I got a To Go box and brought the other half of my sandwich home along with my breadstick.

And even though it was late (9pm), I went upstairs and changed into my work out gear and hit the elliptical for 45 minutes. Total calories burned from that: 458 calories.

And I went to bed tired.  And I slept good.

This morning I weighed myself (of course) and I stayed the same at 163.0. I couldn't be happier. I went out to eat and didn't gain. 

Today on my schedule is P90X legs, back and abs. Normally I go to Zumba and CX tonight, but the school is having a fundraiser pizza and dance party and I am in charge of decorations. So I will be up at the school at 5 tonight and then at 8 for clean up. I wanted to go to the party but because the boys are sick, I will just go and set up and come home then go back for tear down.

I will do P90X legs, back and abs in a little bit here and then I will run on the elliptical again tonight once I get home from tear down.

Tip of the Day:

Computer is back!

I got my computer back up and running...stupid user error I suppose...

The power cord wasn't unplugged from the wall but was unplugged from each other under the couch (if that makes sense because it is a 2 piece cord)...so even though I had my computer "charging" it really wasn't.

ANYWAYS....

To make up for it, I thought I would do some fun little facts and motivational sayings...

And finally...my favorite picture that I LOVE!

Boring post today...sorry!

Today is kind of a blah day for my blog. No fun pictures or motivational sayings all because my computer will not start up. So instead I am using my husbands computer in hopes that later today after my computer is plugged in for a while, it will turn on. I am not really hopeful with that though.

Ok on to my work out recap yesterday.

Last night after my poor sick boys went to bed I did P90X Chest, shoulders and triceps. Oh man! I have never done so many different kinds of push ups in my life. I am talking about standard push ups, military push ups, wide push ups, slow push ups, staggered push ups, one handed push ups (Yes really one handed!), clap push ups when you push yourself up, you clap before going back down...the list goes on. I really like working my arms, however I really HATE push ups! Plus I dont have a very good range of motion because my right shoulder for whatever reason hurts when I try to bend it a certain way. So I just did my best and forgot the rest.

Afterwards was the dreaded but oh so good Ab RipperX. My only complaint with that is a move called fifer scissors where your legs are up in the air and you slowly scissor them back and forth. For whatever reason my hips pop while doing that causing some pain. So I did a couple and skipped the rest not wanting to cause an injury.

Then I finished my work out off by going on the elliptical for 15 minutes on the fat burn session. I went kind of slow because my legs and butt were really sore still from RPM and got JUST under a mile in.

My total calories burned for my workout was 499. Not bad for a light day!

The best part was this morning. I got on the scale and it told me I weighed 163. Another pound gone! Not sure why the weight is coming off easily now after being stalled for so long, but I will definitely take it! 8 lbs to go before my UGW! Getting close!

This morning I did P90X yoga. I was originally worried about my ears but I didnt have any pain what so ever. The only move I skipped because of some ear pressure was the crane and truly I am not that upset I had to skip it. I am not very good at that move yet anyways. LOL.

So my calorie burn this morning was 342.

Tonight I am meeting a friend for dinner so I will have to be creative with my calorie consumption. I have already gone online and looked at their menu to mentally prepare what I am going to order and change. I plan on going for a grilled chicken sandwich, hold the brie cheese, and I will ask if they can hold the mayo or whatever they put on it and instead put some sliced avocado on it. Instead of their pasta salad I will see if I can have a small side salad with some olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Then if it isnt too late by the time I get home, I want to run on the elliptical again just to offset some of the calories. We will see if it is in the cards for me.

This leads me into the Tip of the Day:

If you know you will be going out for a meal at a restaurant, see if they have a menu online that you can look at before going there. Many restaurants have nutritional information on their websites and it may not be 100% accurate, BUT it at least will give you a good idea of where you stand. If they dont have a nutritional listing, look for things like grilled chicken, steamed veggies, etc. Skip the fattening things like cheese and mayo and instead give yourself good things like avocado that are creamy and add some flavor. I may even ask if they have red pepper flakes to spice it up.

And just remember that if you gain a couple pounds that it comes with the territory and you will probably drop them back off in a day or so.

Final tip for eating out- when I order my meal tonight, I will be asking for a to go box when the food arrives. That way I can cut my meal down and pack it to go so I dont eat the whole thing. It helps to keep portion control.

Oh so sore...

Yesterday was a hard day but oh so good.

And today because of it, I am oh so sore!!

I mentioned yesterday that I did Plyometrics in the morning. I burned 574 calories from it.

Last night I went to the gym and did 30 minutes on the ARC trainer, 10 minutes stretching, 30 minute CXWorx, Body Flow, and then my coup de gras, RPM.

I have talked about CX and Body Flow before, but last night was my first time taking RPM since the spring launch. My legs hurt so bad and I sweated so much and I climbed so many hills and mountains and it was good! I will be adding RPM to my insane Tuesday workout schedule. It will be my hardest workout every week with about 4 hours of training.

 Last night at the gym I burned an incredible 1404 calories in 3 hrs 48 minutes at the gym. Crazy huh?
Total calorie burn for the day from exercise was 1978!! The year I was born. How funny is that?

After class was done, I talked to Eric who teaches the class and also will hopefully be my personal trainer come April/May. He totally encouraged me and was glad to see me in class but wants to make sure I am not over training. He said there is a very fine line and if I feel that I am getting sick more often, I am overtraining and need to cut back.

So I have decided that if I am picking up another class on Tuesday, something has to give one of the other days. Unfortunately as much as I like Body Pump, that is going to have to be the class I give up. At least for now. Pump just doesnt make sense because I weight train with P90X on Wed and then again on Friday and I dont need to be training the same body parts two to three days in a row. That will free up another night to be home with my family.

So my workout schedule (at least for the next week until the new gym schedule comes out) will be:
Monday: CX in the am at the gym, P90X pm at home, 15 minutes on elliptical at home
Tues: P90X in the am at home, ARC, CX, Flow and RPM in pm at the gym
Wed: P90X in the pm at home with 15 minutes (at least) on the elliptical
Thurs: P90X in the am at home, elliptical in the evening at home for an hour
Friday: P90X in the am at home, Zumba then CX in the pm at the gym
Sat: P90X preferably in the am at home
Sunday: rest.

That should help decrease the intensity level a bit.

This morning I was down another pound to 164.0. Whew! Can't believe it. I am now 9 lbs away from my UGW.

I did not sleep well at all last night so I am extra cranky and tired today. Both my boys are getting sick AGAIN and have bad coughs that wake them up in the middle of the night. Landry (the youngest) screams during the night from having a hard time breathing. Not a pleasant thing to constantly keep waking up to. So I will be resting while the boys nap today so I have the energy to work out tonight. This winter season has been so hard on my household for sickness. I dont know if it is due to the major fluctuations in temperature or what but it is really annoying.

Tip of the Day:

Broke thru my Plateau

Yesterday was a GREAT day!

I went to the gym and only got 10 minutes on the ARC before CXWorx started, BUT it was great for a warm up before class.

Class was great. We did all new songs and routines so it really made it challenging for me. And I could definitely tell that it had been two weeks since I worked out my core. I was very sore afterwards.

My burn for the gym yesterday was 346 calories for 50 minutes. Not bad.

Last night meant starting up Phase 2 of P90X with Back and Biceps and Ab Ripper. I am going to be honest here and say that I was just dog tired last night and thought about not doing anything and just veg out on the couch. But curiosity got the better of me and I went into the basement and popped in the dvd. OMG! I LOVED it! I think I may have mentioned it before, but my arms are my favorite body part to work out. My triceps need work because of excess skin from losing weight, but my biceps are starting to look oh so nice. And I only have to say one thing about this new dvd....corn cob pull ups. Nuff said for those of you who know P90X. I even use bands and was still breaking out in a huge sweat from them.

Afterwards was Ab ripper. And once again I thought about just turning off the dvd...but I didnt. I pushed through the work out.

And after that? I said yesterday in my blog that I wanted to go on my elliptical after P90X. And once again I thought about not doing it. BUT I drug myself over to the elliptical and got on it for 15 minutes. Luckily Real Housewives of Atlanta was on with an episode I havent seen and I love the drama they all have. It made the time go by quickly.

SOOOO...last night I burned 511 calories. Total for the day was 857 calories. Good job to me!

This morning I was soooooorrrrreeeee. I could tell that my biceps got a great work out last night. My butt hurt from CX. ARC and elliptical.

And I got on the scale (after I peed of course) and what number was staring back at me? 165.0 lbs!!!

I think it is official that I have broken thru my weight loss plateau of 170. Whew! AND it means that I only have 10 lbs until my UGW (ultimate goal weight). Trust me...I did a happy dance this morning!!

This morning meant  Plyometrics and boy oh boy I could tell I havent done Plyo in 3 weeks...one because it was a recovery week, one because I was sick, and one because I was sick and had family obligations/funeral things.

It kicked my butt royally. But it felt good once I was done. A few times I thought about only doing 30 minutes but that would be cheating and not benefit me so I pushed thru it. And I am glad I did. Calories burned this morning...574. Nice start to the day!

Tonight means warm up on the ARC, CXWorx, Body Flow and then I am going to do RPM. I think I may be dead tonight. LOL. But I am working so hard because I am so close to my goal that I can taste it! I mean...right now I am down 103 lbs from when I started!! 10 lbs is nothing!

Today is Fat Tuesday. I will not be having any Paczki today. Nope. No way. Doesnt even sound appealing anymore.

But my question to you all is...what will you be giving up for Lent?

I honestly have no idea what I will be giving up yet. I eat clean so I really dont eat junk food, I gave up alcohol except wine and I havent been having any of that lately, I dont smoke and I really dont swear with the little kids so I need to do some deep thinking before tomorrow. And dont even think about me giving up exercise...that isnt an option. LOL. And I wont be giving up my blog or FB so you dont need to worry about that.

Ok onto the Tip of the Day!

This one totally pertained to me yesterday when trying to start P90X back up. But I am so glad I did!!

Ready...set....go!

Well I am back!

Last night I went on my elliptical for an hour and I got a great sweat. My shirt was soaked! I used the fat burn mode on a level 10 and wore my HRM.

This was the first time that I have been on my elliptical using my HRM and I was very surprised to find that the machine UNDER estimates my calorie burn!! For the hour I was on it last night, my HRM says I burned 636 calories. The machine only estimated 500 and some odd calories. That is a significant difference!!

This morning I stepped on the scale and I am down another pound!!! My weight this morning was 166.5. My lowest in a long time!

So today I start back with my regular exercise routines.
I head off to the gym this morning for some ARC training before CXWorx.
Tonight is Day one of Phase two of P90X. Biceps, back, shoulders and abs.
Then to mix it up, I think I will be running on the elliptical for a bit after that.

I used to run on it every night for an hour before we moved (and before I had a gym membership) and it was the way I lost a significant amount weight. So...I had such good results last night, I am going to try it again tonight!

Right now I am going to set a goal weight. I don't know if I will make it there with adding muscle or not, but it is a good thing to aim towards. Right now my BMI is 27 which is in the overweight range. My goal is to get to a weight of 155 and a BMI of 25 which would put me well within the normal range.

Tip of the Day: (this one pertains to those of us who have been sick over the winter)

Great to be back at the Gym

Yesterday was a great day.

We had Xaviers ice skating lesson in the morning and though he got to be lazy and said he was done and waited for help from the instructors, once I got on the ice at the end with him I made him skate for himself. If he fell, I made him get up on his own. When he hit a hockey puck, I made him skate over to it to hit it again.

After that we came home and I made kale chips and rice krispie treats.

I packed our food items up while Aaron fed the boys an early lunch and then we were off to Aarons grandmas house.

I went to Michaels to return and get some flowers for my sisters bouquets and then I was off to the gym.

I started on the ARC on a 9 incline and 25 resistance on the manual setting. I also set it for an hour thinking- this is no problem. I can do this. I turned the tv at the machine to Bravo and got involved in a show so the time was going by pretty quick. Then it started to feel like I was going to die. The time was going by slower and slower and my butt was getting sore. Finally I came to the realization that I am not going to be able to do a full hour my first time out on this ARC. So after 30 minutes I stopped and went and did leg presses, some crunch exercises, and seated rows.

After I was done with my circuit I went back to the ARC. This time I set it on the fat burn session on level 9. Ouch. But good. And I made it thru the full 30 minutes. And I was soaked with sweat.

Then I thought "what the heck". The gym was pretty empty and my other favorite machine was free. The Step Master. The one that is like walking up an escalator. I set that for 10 minutes on the fat burn session and it was a very...long...10...minutes. But oh so good! I had to wipe down the bottom of the machine because I dripped so much sweat.

So my total calorie burn yesterday for the gym was 839 calories for an hour and a half. I do have to say that the ARC is not very accurate at calorie burn. When I first started, it told me I was close to having burned 200 calories when in actuality, my heart rate monitor said I was at 86 calories burned. So my calorie burn total is from my Polar and not from the machine.

I dont know if you burn more than normal because of the type of the machine and should go by that number or if my HRM is more accurate. If anyone has any info about that, let me know!!

My weight is still 167.5 for today and I am very happy about that. I ate a healthy dinner yesterday, but when I got back to Grandmas from the gym, I had a piece of pizza. Then I had wine with dinner. So it was good to know I counteracted some of the bad stuff I ate yesterday.

Tonight I will be hitting my home elliptical for an hour and maybe do some light weights.
Monday I am starting back up with Phase 2 of P90X. Not really sure if I should just start over on Phase 1 after being off from two weeks or if I should just pick up where I left off but I figured I will just finish out where I left off so I can move onto a full 90 days of P90X2.

Tip of the Day: A fun little workout that I found on Pinterest.

I'm Back Baby!

Last night I hit the gym because:
1. with the exception of my blocked ears, I feel fine
2. I am going nuts not working out!!!

I belong to a group on Facebook called 2 miles a day in 2012 and everyone kept talking about ARC training. I had no idea what that was except that everyone kept raving about it.

Yesterday when I went to the gym I found out that we indeed have ARC trainers there. They are a cross between a stepper and an elliptical. Non impact, gliding like an elliptical, but steps are high like a stepper.

It is awesome!!! I was on it for 21 minutes before Zumba class and I burned a little over 222 calories. I say a little over because I thought I started my heart rate monitor and it didnt start so I was a couple minutes in already when I caught it.

After that was Zumba. And it wasn't a problem for me. I thought that my ears may hurt but it had no affect. I had to stop between songs and wipe my face down though because I didn't want sweat getting into my ears. LOL.

All in all, my workout last night with ARC and Zumba totaled 905 calories burned. Woo hoo!
ANNNDDDD... this morning I was back down to 167.5 lbs. Yesterday morning I weighed in at 170 so not too bad!

I know I keep saying that I don't have a "goal weight" and that I would be happy being a size 6 and a muscular 180...BUT really I would LOVE to get back down into the 150's. My lowest weight ever was 159 and once we sold our house and moved in with the in-laws while we were all in transition, I went back up into the 160's. Once I started lifting, I went up to 170. Which is fine. But once I got back down into the 160's, I realized how much it would mean to get into the 150's.

So now today I am going to head back into the gym and do 1 hour on the ARC. The gals on Facebook gave me some suggestions for incline and resistance and I cant wait to try it out. You burn so many more calories on the ARC than what you do with regular running.

Tonight I will be making dinner at Aarons grandmas house. Spaghetti squash, regular spaghetti and sauce for those who dont like spaghetti squash, my sauteed veggies of red peppers, garlic, onions, tomatoes, spinach and mushrooms which I will top on my squash, and also grilled chicken breast. And for dessert: rice krispies. Yummy!!

Tomorrow will be my day of rest and then Monday I will be back in my workouts full force. I think the only one that I will need to take it easy with is Yoga because my ears hurt a bit when I bent over and my head went below my heart.

Woo hoo! I am back baby!

Tip of the Day:

Catch up

Let me play a bit of catch up here because I didn't end up posting yesterday...

Yesterday was a very busy day for the family. We had Speech Therapy for Landry, then a Fundraising meeting for Early On Education. After that, that evening we had the funeral to say good-bye to my husbands Grandpa Gerry.

I am one of the Sob Sisters when it comes to funerals but this time it was a little easier because Aarons Grandma chose to have the body cremated. It was much easier to look at photos and remember the good times rather than stare at an open casket.

The service was excellent and touched on many stories about Gerry. That was the hardest for me and I shed quite a few tears.

Afterwards we went back to Aaron's Grandmas house to visit with family. Finally about 10pm, the kids started melting down and we booked out of there.

Prior to the Funeral and Service we were at Aaron's Grandmas house awaiting to go to the Funeral Home together. Aaron's mom does Healing Touch and I asked her to do some on me in hopes of healing my ears and sinuses. In the past it has been very affective at getting rid of my headaches and body aches. I am a huge believer.

If you arent familiar with healing touch, here is a clinical definition:

What is Healing Touch?
Healing Touch is an energy therapy in which practitioners consciously use their hands in a heart-centered and intentional way to support and facilitate physical, emotional, mental and spiritual health.

Healing Touch is a biofield (magnetic field around the body) therapy that is an energy-based approach to health and healing.

Healing Touch uses the gift of touch to influence the human energy system, specifically the energy field that surrounds the body, and the energy centers that control the flow from the energy field to the physical body.

These non-invasive techniques employ the hands to clear, energize, and balance the human and environmental energy fields, thus affecting physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health. It is based on a heart-centered, caring relationship in which the practitioner and client come together energetically to facilitate the client's health and healing.

The goal of Healing Touch is to restore balance and harmonies in the energy system, placing the client in a position to self heal.

Basically she can detect where on your body is hotter and cooler by hovering her hands above your body. The areas that are hotter generally mean that is an area in pain or inflammation. By using shakras and unruffling, she can help drain the negative energy and restore positive energy for healing.

Today I am feeling better. Yesterday was the first day that I didn't need Motrin for migraines. So I see it as a step in the right direction.

Tonight I will be going to the gym for the first time in two weeks. I am going to try the Zumba class and see how it goes. Consider me a coward, but I Facebooked my friend and instructor requesting that the class not be high cardio tonight. LOL. My cousin Jen and I both have been sick and we are very afraid we might die during Zumba tonight.

While I am at the gym, I will be dropping the kids and Aaron off at his Grandmas for a visit. I was always concerned that loved ones that lose someone always have everyone around after the death, then suddenly "poof" they are gone. Back to their lives...and meanwhile the grieving one is kind of lost and missing a part of them. So I want to make sure that she isn't alone after having a house full of people.

So that folks, is the news for now...

Tip of the day: (I know it is hard to read, but the top says...the pictures below show 100 calorie portions for some healthy vs traditional snacks.) You can get the gist of the sizes by the picture.

Not much new...

Not much new here today...

Yes I am still sick...Ugh. Fricking sinuses.

Yesterday evening we went over to Aarons grandma's house for dinner with the family. Masticholi (I know my spelling is wrong), garlic bread, salad, strawberries, green beans and of course- dessert. Custard pie, and blueberry pie from the Amish and Valentine cookies.

I did pretty good...well at least I thought I did. I had a very small amount of the pasta, a large salad and then I had 2 pieces of garlic bread. I had some strawberries and a very small slice of blueberry pie for dessert. Later while we played Phase 10, I had a 64 calorie beer.

Ugh. I think the sugar, pasta and beer did me in. Somehow I gained two pounds between yesterday and today. I am sure it is a lot of water weight probably from the spike in insulin and sugar.

Today I will be going back and really watch what I eat. I am dying to exercise and may try to do some workouts while the boys nap this afternoon even if it is just on the elliptical.

I also will not be having any beer. Ha. Beer always bloats me.

Normally I would be saying ok, no biggie because I can work it off later, but now that I have that bridesmaid dress I am really conscious because I do not want it to be tight come July.

Eventually I know that I will be able to really start exercising again. Hopefully next week even though my ears are still plugged.

Tip of the Day:

60 Day Challenge

Ok everyone...One reason I started this blog was to keep myself motivated and accountable to whomever decides to read what I write...

So because of that, I am starting a new challenge to keep me on course and I am extending the invite to anyone who wants to join.

To me- the more, the merrier, and it will help us ALL to keep on course.

Here is the Challenge...

I am starting on a 60 Day Beach Body Challenge.

Basically you can do P90X, P90X2, Insanity, Turbofire, etc. and the best part is.....

You can win Money. Thats right folks...Money!

If you are interested in doing the Challenge and trying to win some money, go to: www.beachbodycoach.com/dkeith48 and click on the banner on the lower right hand side.

I did and have already uploaded my photo and measurements.

We are talking about starting this beginning of March, so our results will be considered for the 2012-2013 contest period. Either way, it is a huge win-win.

Now for a little sad news...Yesterday afternoon we lost my husbands grandfather. Gerry had dymensia and was in a nursing home so it was for the very best. Many times he had trouble remembering simple things like how old he was, or who I was, but other times he was sharp as a tack.

Yesterday evening after we all said our final good-byes at the funeral home, we went back to Aarons grandmas house to just spend family time together and to make sure everyone got something to eat.

Aarons Aunt and I picked up Little Ceasars hot and ready pizza, breadsticks and salad.

I will admit...I fell off the wagon and did some (well a lot) of comfort eating. I did eat salad...and a couple breadsticks...and honestly? Three pieces of pizza and a beer. Yes I said three...don't judge...LOL.

I really didn't care last night and I figured that I would just work it off on the elliptical this week.

And surprise, surprise...I only gained one pound. This morning I weighed in at 167. I was very happy with that and I guess it shows that my body is becoming used to this size. That helps me mentally that I can have a whoops day and not blow my weeks worth of work outs.

Ok...now it is time for...(drumroll please)....

Tip of the Day:

Monday Monday...

I got my Bridesmaid dress this weekend courtesy of Davids Bridal.

It was the first one I tried on (4 total) and this one was by far the winner.

And my sister loved it.

And I liked it.

And my husband said it is very sexy. (grin)

To which my sister said...well it is a sexy dress!

The color is watermelon so it is a slightly darker form of fuchsia.

I still have to figure out shoes for it. I found a pair of platinum wedge platforms at Davids that I love...but my mom wasnt crazy about them. I found another pair of shoes at Pennys that were silver with rhinestones going up the front (kinda like a strappy sandal with a wide band of rhinestones from toes to ankle height) that I liked too but again, my mom wasn't sold.

No biggie. The wedding isn't until July. I have time.

The dress is a size 10 (wahoo) and is just a tad snug. I can get it up and on and zipped no problem but the lower waist is a tad tight. On the plus side, it keeps the strapless dress from sliding down. LOL. My sister wondered if I should wait til closer to the wedding thinking I might need an 8, but I do not see myself getting that small. If anything, I would just need it taken in slightly. SO I bought it. And am very excited to wear it.

Saturday night I did do some exercising. I originally wanted to run 13.1 miles, but I knew that was no longer an option with my ears. So I started off walking 4.0 mph which got boring really fast. Finally I decided to try running and pumped it up to 5.5mph. Much better and it didn't hurt my ears too much. So I ended up just running intervals back and forth for the better part of an hour. Total time on the treadmill was 1 hr 8 min, 4.5 miles and I burned 619 calories. Not shabby for just getting back on the work out wagon.

My dad also did something very generous and very unexpected. He offered to buy me a pair of Vibram running shoes. He heard so many good things about them from some people lately that he thought I could benefit from them. I know they take a while to get used to, but from what everyone says, they are lifesavers and the most comfortable shoes out there.

I am sure that will be a blog posting for another day.

As of this morning, I am also down to 166.5. Not bad considering that the tasting that was on Saturday was not at all low fat or clean. Plus, truly clean food at my parents house (or anyone that doesn't clean eat for that matter) is hard to come by.

My mom had blueberries at the house so I ate a ton of them all weekend. Plus I made an egg white omlette with grape tomatoes, garlic, orange and yellow peppers and onions Saturday night for dinner. Sunday morning after church, I made a breakfast sandwich with an english muffin (not clean but oh well), 2 eggs (yolks and all) onion, jalapeno slices, and a piece of swiss cheese. Yummy. Last night for dinner was a turkey sub from subway because I was on the road going home.

All in all a great weekend...Oh and Friday as I was driving north, a snow/ice storm hit. I just drove slow and thankfully my exit was before a 62 car pile up on I-75. Yes I said a 62 car pileup.

So I didn't get in an accident, lost some weight, found a bridesmaid dress and got the flowers to make the bouquets and got to spend time with my family. Love it!

Another dress picture...sorry it is a bit blurry...


Tip of the Day:

On the Mend

I am feeling So much better today!

My eyes are almost white and they did not glue together last night while I slept. So I think that means I am no longer pink eye contagious.

My head is still cloudy but I know that is mostly from my ear drums being ruptured. My nose is draining nicely...LOL.

Next week I will be driving an hour to go to my doctor. We moved this past summer and I havent found one out here yet. Go figure.

But I want to have my ears looked at and make sure they dont get infected and that they will heal with little problems. I also will be taking it easy with the exercising until I talk to her about what I can and cant be doing with ruptured ear drums. I definitely do not want to lose my hearing.

Because I am not contagious, I will be heading north to go do bridal stuff with my mom and sister. Woo hoo! I will probably be leaving tomorrow just to make sure I get another full round of meds in my system but we will see.

I will probably keep with my original notion of going on my moms treadmill tomorrow night because I am dying to start exercising again, but I will only be walking. From what I read online, exercise should be light and your head should not go below your heart to avoid excess pressure. Originally I thought of doing yoga, but some poses would be a problem so I think walking would be the best way to start out.

If anyone else has experience with ruptured ear drums, please drop me an email or a comment. I am floundering here because I have no experience with this.

Ok short and sweet today because there isnt much to talk about...LOL.

Tip of the Day: I love this tip!

Mail Time!

I am so excited!

Look what was on my doorstep yesterday! P90X2!!!

My mom bought it for me to try when QVC had it as "Todays Special Value"...yes she shops QVC...and I admit...I occasionally do as well.

My kit has the 13 discs, the stability ball and pump and a trial of chocolate shakeology. Plus the nutritional guide and getting started guide.

After reviewing this new program, I have to admit...I am a little scared. LOL. Everything gets kicked up a notch and now instead of 6 days a week of training, we only do 5.

What I plan on doing is finishing out my regular P90X which is now set back a week due to my sickness. Not a biggie though.

So second week in April, I should be starting P90X2! BUT with QVC you have 30 days to try it out and return it if you don't like it for your money back. SO I will be reviewing the discs before actually doing the program to make sure the moves are do-able (I am sure they are. It will always be hard starting out). A couple things they recommend though...one is the stability ball which came with my kit...another is bands...which I have from P90X...Chin up bar...I use the bands...A foam roller for stretching...and medicine balls (or two or three or four the manual says ha!). Then the typical equipment like yoga mat, free weights, yoga blocks and push up stands.

I will probably use my kids balls in place of medicine balls at first. But Tony says that the med balls are more sturdy which will allow you to master difficult balance movements and progress quicker to more advanced positions.

Looks like it will be a very fun program. This time there are no recovery weeks built in...it is all up to you. They give you what you do during the weeks you choose as recovery. And you start off the program with Core right away. And remember Plyometrics? This time it is called Plyocide. Wonderful. LOL.

Today I am starting to feel better. I did not sleep well at all last night though. All night long my ears popped and drained (did I mention that my left ear drum ruptured too?) and my eyes kept getting stuck together. So everytime I woke up to flip over, I had to fully wake up to unstick my eyes, the deal with the popping and fizzing of my ears. Ugh. So tonight I will be going to bed early again.

But on the plus side, (TMI warning!) my mucus is turning from yellow to clear so I think the infection is starting to subside.

Also I got on the scale this morning...bad I know...and I lost 3 lbs since yesterday! I know that I have been drinking a ton so it wasn't from that...I ate well yesterday so it wasn't from that...that only leaves one thing. Ugh. My muscle mass is diminishing. Oh well. No biggie. I will get it back. It was kind of nice seeing the scale at 167 lbs today. LOL. I wish that I could get into the 150's and still be built. I don't know if that is possible but honestly I would really truly be happy at a good, muscular, fit 170.

Ok...onto...
The Tip of the Day:

Sick Sick Sick

Yesterday my right ear started to ache really badly. I thought maybe I might have some impacted wax so I broke out my moms cure- hydrogen peroxide and put it in my ear to bubble.

It helped- a lot BUT my ear still felt stuffed.

My wonderful husband let me go to bed early last night- so I was off to bed at 7pm.

I slept til 7am.

My ear no longer hurt, but my eyes were literally glued shut. Wonderful.

I got up and wiped my face and came face to face in the mirror with two red...and I mean RED eyes.

Ugh. So I got the boys up and decided that I needed to take a trip into Urgent Care. As I was waiting in the room with the boys to see the doctor, my left ear slowly started to feel "stuffy". I noticed when I got up this morning that my boys sounded like they were talking into window fans...ya know that garbily sounding voice?

Sure enough, the doctor confirmed what I thought. An infection that caused a double middle ear infection as well as pink eye.

Double Ugh. So off to Meijer I went to get the prescriptions filled and to pick up milk.

Thankfully when we left I had some bottled water from the gym in the car so I took my antibiotic right away. And I gave myself my first round of eye drops.

As I was laying at home on the couch and the boys were having lunch, I noticed my right ear start to make small popping noises. Then guess what? I think my ear drum ruptured. Fluid started coming out and it was a little pink which I think was blood. Really? Could my day get any better? On the plus side, I think it helped because my ears no longer ache. Could be because pressure was relieved or could be from the motrin I took or maybe...just maybe...the antibiotics are kicking in already.

It just blows. I was supposed to go shopping this weekend for my sisters wedding. I was so excited about it and now it looks like I wont be going at all. Maybe next weekend. We shall see.

Tip of the Day:
Make sure you get your rest....so you don't get sick like me! And take a good multivitamin and drink lots of water...so you don't get sick like me. Ha!

A couple Dr. Oz tips....

Ok so because I am sick and laying on the couch, I thought I would catch up on my Dr. Oz shows I have taped.

After watching the one that was on yesterday, I had to share a couple tips...

For those of you trying to lose weight, Dr. Oz suggests taking 100mg Raspberry Ketone tablets at breakfast.

I unfortunately cant save the video clip to my computer to upload it, but you can go to their website and look at "Miracle Fat Burner in a Bottle". In the clip they keep mentioning getting the most organic...Read the labels if you are interested in getting them for yourself. Lots of them have fillers like green tea. I found a pretty clean one online from Swanson. However, they are out of stock.

The Raspberry Ketone has ectoponectin (I am sure I spelled this wrong)...it is a hormone that tricks your body into thinking it is thin. It causes the fat cells to become excited and release the fat. He did a very cool experiment/visual aid for it. I finally got the link for the clip. Here it is: Raspberry Ketone Hopefully it works!

Also at the end of his show, he included an extra tip. Add 1 tsp of cinnamon to a meal that you eat. It will help release fat and lose weight as well.

Additionally if you have time, it was an excellent episode because it goes over your body types and he gives you a supplement and a meal that you should eat to help lose your stubborn area (think big belly, or big butt, or big thighs). Very interesting!

Ok enough of me for the day. See? This is what happens when I am sick. LOL.

Have a great day everyone!

Still under the weather...

Unfortunately, not much to report today. I am still under the weather.

I have an awesome husband who came home early yesterday and let me go upstairs to sleep. I slept til nearly 8pm then came down and had some food. I was still tired so about 9pm I went upstairs, and read for about 45 minutes before calling it a night.

I have still been trying to eat really well. And I didn't gain or lose yesterday so I am happy.

Howevery, I am not happy that once again, the gym and P90X have to wait. BUT I am hoping to be recovered by this weekend. Besides shopping for wedding things with my mom and sister, my mom is going to the symphony Saturday night SO that gives me the perfect excuse to try to run a half marathon on her treadmill. It will just be me visiting, not my husband and kids, so I will have no distractions.

This morning I had a green smoothie for breakfast and will be drinking hot tea with honey all day. I was supposed to start the flat belly cleanse again today but decided to wait until I could exercise along with it.

Anyways, because bananas are a staple in my smoothie, I thought I would share some banana recipes and facts...

Tip of the day:

Sunday recap

Yesterday was a lot of fun!

My mother in law and I did the P90X yoga while the boys napped. It was a good workout- I pushed further than I had previously and was really sore last night. I ended up burning 407 calories.

We made Clean soft pretzels- they were really yummy!

Aaron also made the Clean bbq sauce for our wings as I made the salsa, guacamole, tortilla chips, etc before the game.

We had a lot of fun during the game. All of the food was a big hit and we ate a ton! I didn't feel guilty at all because all of it (except some regular chips and rice krispie treats) was clean. I stayed away from the chips, but had one rice krispie treat. I even had one beer and one small glass of white wine.

This morning I was VERY surprised when I got on the scale and had lost 2 lbs from yesterday. Ha! Guess that shows how good the clean food is for you.

On the bad note, last night I felt like I was starting to come down with a cold. My throat was a little sore and my nose had started to get plugged. I drank some Airborne vitamin C drink and then had a zycam later.

Last night I awoke at 3am to swollen lymph nodes in my neck and a running nose. UGH. I knew I was getting a cold. After 3 am I did not sleep much. Just couldn't get comfy.

So this morning I am having some tea with honey, I just had my zycam and will be having an Airborne in a bit. I will not be making it to the gym this morning but am hoping I feel up to round 2 of P90X tonight.

I cant afford to be sick. As my husband always teases me " You need to take control of my body". LOL. Missing the gym today isn't a biggie because I do CX 4 times a week, but tomorrow is CX, Body Flow, followed by the new RPM class. I really don't want to miss the gym tomorrow.

Tip of the day: Goes hand in hand with the picture above