Awkward Re-introduction

Ahem. Hi, it's me, again. I'm not really sure how to start this post. I have no idea where the last 2 months have gone. I have no excuse for falling of the exercise wagon (again). I just got lazy, and it shows in my stomach.

Here is a short update:

1. I did not get the job, and I think I was more upset about it than I wanted to admit to anyone, even to myself.

2. My son started first grade and my daughter started 4 year pre-school.

3. I had my first garage sale.

4. My husband and I worked out together for just under 2 weeks (doing the 30 Day Shred), but my husband hurt his shoulder and had to stop.

5. We took a family vacation to Walt Disney World which truly is the "Happiest Place on Earth." I credit the vacation with helping me get out of my funk.

So, I'm back. I had a coupon for a two week trial of Weight Watcher's "etools" program, so I'm trying it. I've been eating like absolute crap for the past two months. I hope that by documenting it, I will be more thoughtful with my choices.

3d30Day10: Haven't gotten my "Shred On"

Ok, so I didn't get up this morning to Shred. I had a 10 am training session scheduled, and I decided to give myself a break. I still have my workout outfit on (I know, gross, but I'm planning to wash the car with the kids after lunch, so I may as well wait to shower and change...) so, there's still a chance that I'll get my Shred on, but I'm only doing Level 1!

Today's training session was led by Nick. It's official, I think Nick knows what he's doing better than Aaron. By my calculations, I only have 3 more sessions left in my package, so I need to decide what I'm doing. The price jumps up significantly now that I'm no longer considered a "new client," and I just don't know if I can afford it. I need a job, is what it boils down to. Our trip to Mexico is 3 weeks after we get back from Norway. I'm thinking that I'll have to purchase one more set of 8 sessions and go 3x per week. If I purchase additional sessions, I'm going to tactfully ask that the majority of my sessions are with Nick, or at least, I'm going to have to tell Nick that I need Aaron to "step it up." Not quite sure how to handle that situation, but it's my money and my body, so I better figure it out.

Now, onto the Flat Belly Diet portion of the post.

Breakfast: I woke up in a decent mood. I allowed myself a little extra sleep, so that's always a good way to start the day. My kids all woke up in good moods, too, so that's a bonus for mom, also. Happy mom = Happy kids = Happy mom.

Hunger before breakfast: 0
Hunger after: 3

Lunch Mood: I had a great workout session with Nick, and it's translating into a decent mood for the afternoon. My son came off the bus still in a good mood, so all is well.

Hunger before: I drank one of my protein drinks directly after my workout, so I wasn't as hungry as I normally am at lunchtime. I'll say I'm at a 1.

Hunger after: I ate more than I thought I would. I mixed in a few craisins with the sunflower seeds, and it was pretty good...3

Will update dinner later.

Dinner: We are still in decent moods as the evening begins to roll in. It's another gorgeous day here. The kids spent much of the afternoon playing with their friend across the street while I washed the car.

I'm not all that hungry for dinner again, but the problem is, I can't really wait to eat until later. I have to eat when the kids eat or at least close to their time. I pushed the dinner hour back a little bit, I know they were hungry from all of the running around outside.

I am now done with dinner, and I am satisifed; not too full. I'm hoping I can convince the kids to go back outside for a short after dinner walk around the block.

3d30Day9: Modifications Here and There

I did Level 1 of the Shred this morning and followed it up with 20 minutes of Pilates (legs and abs). After my training session yesterday, I was going to give myself a break and just do either Level 1 or Level 2 of the Shred, but I was feeling good and decided to keep going with the Pilates.

Today is my second day 2 of the FBD jumpstart diet, and I had to modify things again. I had some routine bloodwork done this morning at 9 am prior to which I had to fast, so I didn't eat any breakfast. So, I was not able to follow the diet to the letter today, much to my chagrin. As I said yesterday, it's always something with me, and there's never a good time to start an actual diet, but I'm determined to muddle through and make good choices as best as I can.

Breakfast: I'm hungry (but, surprisingly not starving) after I break my fast. I'm also in a decent mood this morning. I'm wearing a pair of pants that were pretty tight on me a month or so ago. Today they are kinda loose, that is addimg to my perky mood.

Hunger before: somewhere btw. -3 and 0.
Hunger after: 3

Lunch: Hunger before: Not hungry, somewhere btw. 0 and 3
Hunger after: 3

Mood: I'm in an ok mood.

Snack: skipped the pinapple smoothie b/c I was not hungry... but later, I took the kids and a friend for ice cream, and had a small vanilla... I know, I know, but it was my reward for the afternoon... again, I know, I know, that's no way to lose weight.

Mood: Fine. It was hectic at the park trying to keep track of 3 kids.

Dinner: Hunger before: 0
Hunger after: 3

Mood: It was a long afternoon. The little one was tired and cranky after having too much fun ;) It was an absolutely beautiful day today, the kind we don't see enough of around here. What is it with kids? The more you give 'em, the more they want... My mood is fine.

3d30Day5: What a difference a pound makes...

While I'm doing the Flat Belly Diet [FBD], I've decided that as much as I hate it, I better keep track of my weight better. So, this morning... I weighed 1.5 lbs less than I weighed the day before. Do I actually think I lost over 1 lb over night? No, of course not. It's all part of FBD's anti-bloat plan. The book is clear that losing a pound of water weight is not nearly the same as losing a pound of fat, but it's all about my psyche. If I see the scale moving down, then hopefully I'll think it's working and be motivated to keep going. That is exactly what I need and exactly why I wanted to try this program, to see if I could get the scale to move down.

After my training session yesterday, I decided to give myself a "break" from Shredding back to back this morning, so I decided to do Level 1 with 8 lb, 5 lb, and 2.5 lb weights. It's so ironic to me that I consider this a "break," it wasn't that long ago when I could barely get through Level 1 using 2.5 lb weights. I followed up Shred with 30 minutes of Yoga Sculpt. I haven't done yoga in awhile, and it felt really great. I say that every time I've gotten away from yoga, I wish I had more time to do it more often.

Today is day 2 of the Flat Belly Diet's Anti-Bloat Jumpstart Diet, look for my journal in an additional post later tonight.

3d30Day3: Moving forward

Today I was extremely sore when I woke up, but I managed to get up and Shred. I decided to try Level 1 followed by Level 2 today. That's a little earlier than I had planned, but I wanted to see if I could do it. It was definitely harder for me than doing level 1 two times in a row. I used a variety of weights throughout the workout; for some of the exercises I used 8 lb weights and for some I used 5 lbs. I incorporated my 2.5 lb weights for some of the cardio work. I was whipped at the end, but now, about an hour after I've finished, I feel great.

Scale disappointment: I weighed myself this morning. I'm still at 138 lbs. Very disappointed, but that's all I'm going to say right now. I'm obviously doing something wrong. It has to be how/what I'm eating. I'm going to give myself another week of counting my points, and see where I am. My clothes are all so loose, I thought for sure I was down around 135/136. I'm also going for routine blood work next week to check cholesterol, etc, and I asked if they could also check my thyroid again to see if there's a problem there. I doubt it, but if I'm having the blood drawn, it can't hurt to confirm what I already know.

I've been so conflicted about weighing myself because I know me, I know I'll get frustrated and quit, but I'm hoping that I can muddle through, keep working hard, and maybe something will click.

The Biggest Loser: Helen! Yay for Helen. I don't think I'm alone when I write that I'm shocked by her results. Don't get me wrong, I think it's awesome that a 48 year old woman can beat the pants off of two much younger competitors, but she's down to 117 poounds! That is amazing! I need to find her trainer. She lives in my area, so I'm hoping her trainer is around here, too.

3d30Day2: I think I might be nuts to even try

I'm determined to keep up with the "sisters" and their shredding for the next 29 days, but in order to do that, I have to incorporate shredding on the days when I have a training session. On the days when I have a training session, I'm not going to do back to back sessions of the Shred, at least not at first. I'll stick to doing Level 1, one time through, in the mornings before I go for my training seesion. We'll see how it goes. If think I can handle doing back to back sessions, I'll re-evaluate as I go along. I simply don't want to be too tired to get a good training session in. I only have 8 or so sessions left, and I don't want to waste any.

Today I trained with Nick again. He worked my legs again, which is exactly what I need. In addition to the walking lunges with 15 lb weights and the walking squats with the 8 lb medicine ball, he had me running sprints outside and running on the treadmill. My legs were like the proverbial jelly at the end of the workout. I'm going to be sore in the morning, I hope I can get my butt out of bed to Shred. The plan is to do back to back level 1. This blog will keep me honest.

Second verse, same as the first

The first time I did my own 30 Day Shred challenge, last fall, I had been working out consistently, and I was "skeptical" that Jillian's 20 minute workout would be enough for me. After previewing the DVD, I thought the moves looked simple enough, and my plan that first morning was to do Levels 1 and 2 back to back. Shortly after starting the workout that first day, I realized I would not be able to do both levels, so I contemplated repeating level 1. I contemplated this for about 35 seconds. By the time I was done with the 30 Day Shred that first time through, my sweaty-headed self was just happy to be alive. Doing the cool down stretches was about all I could handle at that point.

I finished that first challenge at the end of October 2008, and my major accomplishment was surviving it. Period. I got to Level 3 during the last week, but I was only able to do it a few times.

The second time I did the 30 Day Shred Challenge was about 3 months later. I had fallen off the exercise wagon, and I needed a way to climb back aboard. I figured the 30 Day Shred would be a good way to jump back into a fitness routine. In the middle of my challenge, I lent my DVD to my sister so she could preview it. Levels 1 and 2 are On Demand under the Sports and Fitness Category, so I was able to do those levels, and by the time I was ready to move on to Level 3, I got my DVD back. Also in the middle of the challenge, I discovered Jillian Michaels' other workout programs, Boost Your Metabolism and No More Trouble Zones, also available to me On Demand. To me, both of these programs are the 30 Day Shred on steroids. I incorporated these programs into my workout routine as well. Near the end of that challenge, I was beginning to think that I could do something that not that long ago I thought was near impossible, doing back to back sessions of the 30 Day Shred.

Well, today I did it! I did Level 1 of the 30 Day Shred two times in a row! Back to back, baby! I'm hoping I can keep this up. It's not easy, but it's doable. My plan is to gradually move from back to back level 1, to level 1 followed by level 2, then eventually, level 2 followed by level 3, and maybe, just maybe, we'll see if I can do back to back level 3!

Shredding with the Sisters

Today is 2d30D26, and I did 45 minutes of Cardio Autonomy Yoga. It felt really good. My sore muscles needed the relaxing stretches!

I've decided to embark on yet another 30 day challenge involving Jillian Michaels and her 30 Day Shred DVD. This will be the third time I'm challenging myself with the Shred, but this time I'm going to make it harder. I'm going to do the levels back to back to make it a 40 minute workout, instead of 20 minutes. I've already made the schedule for the challenge which will start on May 11. On the weekends, I'm going to alternate "No More Trouble Zones" and "Boost Your Metabolism" just to keep things from getting too repetitive. I'm going to attempt to do Level 1 (one time only) on the mornings that I have a training session, but we'll see if I can actually keep that up.

I'm doing this challenge with the ladies over at the Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans, and it starts on May 11. Anyone care to join us?

2d30D22: Not creative, but feeling good

I didn't post this weekend, but I did do workouts for Days 20 and 21.

This morning I was up and at 'em by 6:20. I did Level 3 of the 30 Day Shred and 30 minutes of Yoga Sculpt. I haven't done Yoga Sculpt in a while and it felt really good. I must have tweaked my left knee a bit, because it was bothering me during the "dancing warrior series," but it was fine for everything else, including the Shred. The Shred felt good too. I still don't do the Rock Star Jumps, but I'm 100% happy with my efforts. I'm able to follow Natalie for all of the other moves!

I gave myself 4.5 activity points for this morning's workout. (3 pts for 25 mins of high intensity; 1.5 pts for 30 minutes of Yoga which is somewhere between moderate and high intensity, but probably closer to moderate.) I realized this morning, though, that most of my activity points are taken up by my protein drink, which comes in at 3 points.

Still haven't weighed myself. I almost talked myself into stepping on the scale, but I just couldn't do it. I have a doctor's appointment next week, so I will for sure step on the scale before then, because I don't want any surprises at the doctor's office.

2d30D19: A New Day

In keeping with my new efforts to wratchet up my weight loss, I worked out for just over an hour this morning. I decided to do Level 3 of 30 Day Shred and Cardio Yoga. I was really close to getting outside to run this morning, but I could hear wind howling, and I thought it was going to be cold. But, when I took my son to the bus stop a little while ago, I realized that it's a "warm" breeze. Maybe I'll run tomorrow as my warm-up.

Also, in keeping with my effort to eat less sugar, I skipped my morning OJ when I realized that it has a whopping 24 g of sugar. I knew OJ had a lot of sugar, but I had no idea it was more than half of the recommended 40 g of sugar alloted for an entire day.

I've already had more than 16 oz of water this morning, so I'm well on my way to 40 oz.

2d30D14: Level 3, repeat

I did it again! I did level 3 of the 30 Day Shred for the second day in a row, and I followed Natalie! The only move I have difficulty with is the "Rock Star Jumps." I can feel my brain jarring around when I do those, so I must admit that I look more like Anita when I do them. I can only manage a half kick. That said, I'm really proud of my efforts!

I still have to do my 100 push ups sets, but I forgot what the sets are. I'll finish those up just as soon as I hit publish.