Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Survival of the fittest...Thanksgiving version

Well i'm pretty sure i successfully survived the biggest eating holiday of the year. Anyone else with me??? I indulged a couple of times for sure, but kept it to a minimum and i'm already back on track. No fattening leftovers in this house! I didn't even bake a single sweet thing, there was no need. It would either be A) Eaten or B) Wasted, and i'm really not sure which is worse.

I'm really excited with a new weight loss plan i have going on. I have some good friends of mine coming up with workout routines for me to try, review, and then i will be choosing my master trainer of the week based on which workout i found most effective. The only guidelines are that the workouts have to be things i can do at home, in a short amount of time (no more than 30 minutes), using only my body, hand weights, and resistance bands. They can be timed challenges, done all at once, or they can be reps challenges spread throughout the day.  I invite everyone to send me workout routines and i will review them! In a couple of weeks i will also start doing different workouts on my wii and to videos and reviewing those but i want to help out the people at home that want to lose weight but don't have the money for videos.

The workout i did yesterday was submitted by my friend Sam -

With resistance band: "do 3 sets of 8-10 reps of squats with arm curls...3 sets of 8-10 reps of short lunges with opposite arm from back leg up doing shoulder press...next do 3 sets of 8-10 oblique crunches with the band under one foot and holding both handles in one hand crunch to the side....In between each set do 10 jumping jacks, 10 kick yourself in the ass ups and 10 high knees!! Also take one foot back and put the bands in the back foot...next take your arms above your head with the bands as if you were going to do a tricep press....next bend forward at the waist with your abs not your arms.....do these crunches as well to work the middle part of your abs."

Super amazing workout. The cardio about kicked my butt. I had fun with it, cranked my music up, and was done in about 20 minutes. I'm also a pushup junkie so i added plain squats and pushups at the very end of the workout, just to blast my heartrate up.

I'm nearing my Dec 1st weigh in. I'm hoping that the few little indulgences i had on Thanksgiving won't hold me back, i have high hopes for this weigh in. I have cut out my fast food, soda, sweets, and most potatoes. I've also been making sure to take my vitamin b12 daily for a metabolism boost, and have been trying harder than ever to eat fresh veggies on a daily basis. My goal is to be 180 by Christmas. It's going to take some major workouts to get there but i'm ready to be toned again.

I have some really exciting (at least for me!) goals coming up soon. I will post them along with my December 1st weigh in. In the meantime, start sending me those workout routine ideas!

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Turkey Day

Tomorrow (Today? Haven't slept yet!) is Thanksgiving. The day that most of us use as an excuse to eat whatever the heck we feel like eating. Now the old me, that would be about 4 servings of mashed potatoes, 5 or 6 rolls, 2-3 servings of ham, mac and cheese, a HUGE hunk of dressing (southern style, of course), and probably half a cheese cake. At least. I'm sure i would also down a whole 2 liter of soda on my own too, because that was how the fat me rolled. Rolled...ha!

Now i'm not saying that you should pass on the goodies and only eat salad while everyone else around you is actually happy, but following my previous example, yeah that will just get you into a pair of fat jeans faster than you can say "pass the cheesecake".

My last couple of Thanksgivings have been incredibly different. I still eat the ham (one slice) and the potatoes (one serving), but i pass on the mac and cheese and cheesecake. My biggest issue is still probably the soda and the rolls, but even those have drastically changed. I attempt to fill up on water before dinner, and have only one glass of soda, if any, and remind myself that those amazing, buttery, flaky goodies will get me back into my size 24 clothing, and all of my hard work will have gone down the drain.  This year i'm going to take it up a notch. I plan to workout this Turkey Day, something i have never done before, and i also vow to try the healthier options on the table. I may not like what i taste but i will be more adventurous in the hopes that i will find something more nutritious to replace those items i'm trying to stay away from. Tomorrow will be dinner with family, i can't control what is there so the plan is to just eat as cautiously as possible. Friday will be my own personal dinner, my menu is this...

Ham and Turkey
Baked potatoes (light butter and sea salt. Baked potatoes are easier to portion so that you won't overeat)
Roasted Asparagus (olive oil, sea salt, and minced garlic)
Sweet Corn ("I can't believe it's not butter", and sea salt)
Fresh Garden Salad (sea salt, pepper, light ranch)
Whole Grain Mushroom Stuffing

I had planned to make oatmeal cookies for dessert (since i'm still nursing, they provide multiple benefits) but i'm not even sure i will do that now. I think i will just have a small bowl of low carb ice cream, it's not fancy but it will satisfy. It kills me to not bake up a storm, but baking equals eating so i might as well just skip it and avoid the temptation.

So this is my plan, who's with me on making it a healthy day? I refuse to let the holidays stress me out about my weight. To me, it's just another day, not a reason to slack off.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Slow and Steady Wins the (skinny) Race

My weight loss has, sadly, stalled. Probably from all the junk i shovel in my mouth. My diet is less than healthy these days. I've always been an advocate of eating your cravings so that you don't wind up over indulging but my cravings are taking top priority these days. Now not to use my beautiful kids as an excuse, because this is all on me, but it is partly due to the fact that i don't sleep. Ever.

I'm finding it harder to fit in "diet" and exercise with 3 kids underfoot. It was pretty easy with Lori. Everyone was always asking me how i did it but there was no real secret. Lori went to bed at 10pm and i went to workout. She was a great sleeper, so there were never any problems. Now i have a 2.5 year old that absolutely refuses to sleep, and 4 month old twins that wouldn't know the meaning of sleep any more than how to solve an algebra problem. They are cute, but sleepers they are not. So sleepless babies + sleepless toddler + cooking and cleaning for a family of 5 = a lot of junk food and little time for working out. I will not be defeated!

I'm still hovering around 190lbs. My lowest was 176, and i got pregnant around 181. Not too bad on the whole, but not where i want to be. I don't want to be fitting in my prepregnancy clothing, i want it to be too big, and i promise that soon it will be. I have 35lbs to ultimate goal, and i will make it. My short term goal is 10lbs by Christmas, the rest by Lori's 3rd birthday, it just seems fitting. My journey started after she was born, losing close to 150lbs by the time she is 3 is a fantastic achievement, i can totally do it.

I have started back at the bottom. I did lose tons of muscle while on bed rest with the twins, so jumping back on the wagon with Bob Harper workouts and p90x is totally not happening right now, but i started with my wii fit, and that's where i'm starting again.

I will not fail. The countdown is on.