tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14063898366647570882024-03-13T08:06:51.709-04:00Losing It!A spot for me to capture the ups and downs - hopefully ups in how I feel and downs on the scale - of my journey to a healthier weight.A Busy Mom of Twohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09762718477142222520noreply@blogger.comBlogger181125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1406389836664757088.post-14999724600762803442014-02-27T06:51:00.003-05:002014-02-27T06:51:44.308-05:00Day 11...before I head outBefore I head off for an early morning meeting, thought I would share Day 11 challenge. It looks like a good one!<br />
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<b>30 Day Plank, Ab and Squat Challenge</b><br />
<b>Day 11</b> - 20 second Plank plus 15 second side plank, each side, 40 sit ups, 50 crunches, 65 squats<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">I am not a diet or fitness expert. I am a mom, just trying to be healthy and fit. All opinions expressed are my own.</span>A Busy Mom of Twohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09762718477142222520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1406389836664757088.post-23675957767135042192014-02-26T06:57:00.002-05:002014-02-26T06:57:29.053-05:00Middle of the week...You may have guessed by my abbreviated post yesterday that it was a crazy morning and you would have been right. Things are crazy at work right now. I am glad that I have my workout time to help me decompress. I know that my morning workouts fuel me for the day and the evening ones allow me to recenter for the evening.<br />
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Yesterday was a good workout day and good eating day too (lots of yumminess). Morning was a toning class - we used the large workout balls that you sit on for the whole class, only we didn't sit on them, we moved them around over our head as we turned and lunged and bent. And we used them on the ground as we did squats and lifts squeezing our legs together to hold them in place. We did do some work while sitting on them, in the form of crunches. Last night I did week 3, day 3 of the Couch 2 5K workout. Plus, I added some additional distance - I wound up doing 3 miles and including warm up and cool down was at 39 minutes. Considering that much of the C25K is walking (more than half), it makes me feel good. Then, I came home and did my side plank for Day 9. I do hope that if nothing else, by the end, I can get to a point where when we do the planks in class, I am able to hold it the full time and add in the extra lifts and such that the instructor does. <br />
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So, I mentioned good food too. At lunch, I had a harvest wedge salad with a white balsamic dressing. There is something about apples, bacon and cheese together that is so good. With it, we had this vegetable and winter grain soup that was warm and satisfying on a rather cool day. Dinner was turkey roast, pierogie and green beans. Yum!<br />
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Today was spinning. I am a little stiff today and my arms, although not sore are very heavy feeling from yesterday's workout. Tonight is a another session of Bokwa and Day 10 of the 30 Day Challenge.<br />
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<b>30 Day Plank, Ab and Squat Challenge</b><br />
<b>Day 10</b> - 35 second Plank, 10 sit ups, 10 crunches, 25 squats<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">I am not a diet or fitness expert. I am a mom, just trying to be healthy and fit. All opinions expressed are my own.</span>A Busy Mom of Twohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09762718477142222520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1406389836664757088.post-68081882185877420052014-02-25T07:40:00.002-05:002014-02-25T07:40:35.692-05:00Day 9Today is Day 9 of the 30 Day Plank, Ab and Squat Challenge. For the Ab and Squat piece, there is a rest day today.<br />
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<b>30 Day Plank, Ab and Squat Challenge</b><br />
<b>Day 9</b> - 15 second Side Plank, each side<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">I am not a diet or fitness expert. I am a mom, just trying to be healthy and fit. All opinions expressed are my own.</span>A Busy Mom of Twohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09762718477142222520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1406389836664757088.post-62982776591172390772014-02-24T06:54:00.002-05:002014-02-24T06:54:15.835-05:00Another new weekOverall, it was a good weekend around here. It was not overly cold, although a little damp. Some of the snow even melted. I got in a good morning workout on Saturday, but wound up not making it to the special 2 hour Zumba/Bokwa event that I had hoped to attend on Saturday evening. Sunday, well I just didn't work out other than the 30 day challenge. It's not unusual, it is my rest day. <br />
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I baked a lot...I made lemon biscotti, but only ate one because the kittens got on the counter and threw the bag to the floor; I made Butterfinger Cupcakes, which fortunately, I don't eat; and I made two varieties of Rice Krispie Treats - original and cherry.<br />
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Today, it was a bonus spinning class, a makeup for all of the snow/cold weather days that the schools have had that caused our class to be cancelled. She did the workout Tebata style. It was hard, but I actually did enjoy it.<br />
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Today is Day 8 of the 30 Day Plank, Ab and Squat Challenge.<br />
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<b>30 Day Plank, Ab and Squat Challenge</b><br />
<b>Day 8</b> - 30 second Plank, 30 sit ups, 40 crunches, 60 squats<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">I am not a diet or fitness expert. I am a mom, just trying to be healthy and fit. All opinions expressed are my own.</span>A Busy Mom of Twohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09762718477142222520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1406389836664757088.post-45849536053772975952014-02-23T22:31:00.001-05:002014-02-23T22:31:02.816-05:00Where did the day go?Well, it is nearing bedtime and I just realized that I had not yet done or posted Day 7 of the 30 Day Plank-Ab-Squat Challenge. here is today's challenge:<br />
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<b>30 Day Plank, Ab and Squat Challenge</b><br />
<b>Day 7</b> - 10 second Side Plank, each side, 20 sit ups, 35 crunches, 55 squats<br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">I am not a diet or fitness expert. I am a mom, just trying to be healthy and fit. All opinions expressed are my own.</span>A Busy Mom of Twohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09762718477142222520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1406389836664757088.post-27627901288773687522014-02-22T09:48:00.003-05:002014-02-22T09:48:46.311-05:00SaturdayI was a little disappointed to weigh myself this morning and realize that I was flat for the week. This is not what I wanted, I want to get in shape and reduce my weight and be able to wear smaller clothes. Normally, for me, the first couple of weeks are usually good losses followed by weeks of 1/2 - 1 1/2# per week. Now, there are still a couple of days before this 'week' from a tracking perspective is over but still sort of bums me out...hoping I was just retaining and that tomorrow, the 'real' weight will reflect.<br />
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The Friday morning bootcamp workout has left me a little sore, but not too sore to head out for my toning class and some treadmill time. I am glad that I was able to get in a good workout to start my day. My husband and son were planning to go up to the Y to run on the track and so now, I am going to go back to walk on the track with my daughter. <br />
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I completed Day 5 yesterday of the 30 Day Plank, Ab and Squat Challenge. I didn't have my sheet with me, so I did twice as many squats as I needed to. Oh well! There was no plank yesterday, so it was a very quick challenge day. Today is Day 6 and I have already completed the challenge for today. Figured it was best to get it in while I was dressed for the gym. I did the plank both at the beginning and again at the end.<br />
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<b>30 Day Plank, Ab and Squat Challenge</b><br />
<b>Day 6</b> - 25 second Plank, 15 sit ups, 30 crunches, 50 squats<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">I am not a diet or fitness expert. I am a mom, just trying to be healthy and fit. All opinions expressed are my own.</span>A Busy Mom of Twohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09762718477142222520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1406389836664757088.post-51023086789447838042014-02-21T07:11:00.000-05:002014-02-22T09:49:06.264-05:00Friday!It is so nice to be able to go outside and not feel like you are freezing. The dampness of the rain has made it feel cooler than it is, but even that is better than the sub zero temps that we seemed to have regularly over the past two months.<br />
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Yesterday was boot camp day. I thought last night that I was going to be a lot more sore when I woke up today than I was. I feel silly saying it, but I was a bit disappointed by that. Oh well! Today was another boot camp class with a different teacher. It had a slightly different focus - more arms and core.<br />
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I like the 30 Day challenge, but am not yet convinced that I like the ab portion of the one that I chose. The other ab challenges that I have done were more diverse in movement. We will see though, with time the quantity of each exercise increases, so maybe it will prove to be better than it seems. Either way, I'm going to finish it.<br />
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Today is Day 5 of the 30 Day Plank, Ab and Squat Challenge. Have you been joining in? The 5th day is a day of rest on the Plank challenge. So, today there will just be ab and squat exercises.<br />
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<b>30 Day Plank, Ab and Squat Challenge</b><br />
<b>Day 5</b> - 5 sit ups, 10 crunches, 20 squats<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">I am not a diet or fitness expert. I am a mom, just trying to be healthy and fit. All opinions expressed are my own.</span>A Busy Mom of Twohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09762718477142222520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1406389836664757088.post-83068980011691713722014-02-20T06:48:00.000-05:002014-02-22T09:49:17.239-05:00ThursdayIt is like Pea Soup outside. We had inches of snow on Monday night into Tuesday, yesterday was slight warming and today we are expecting near 50 with thundershowers. Not a typical three day cycle in the middle of February. I just wish that we could have 50 and no rain...then, I could get outside tonight for a bonus workout. With the rain, its just not an option.<br />
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Yesterday was a good active day. Spinning in the morning. Walked to lunch with a friend - not far, but we weren't in the car. Bokwa in the evening. 30 Day Challenge at night - with plank at the beginning and the end again.<br />
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It was a good eating day too. Even though I went to lunch with a friend, I was able to keep it healthier by getting the chicken fajitas with no beans, no tortillas, and just having a touch of the rice, which I wasn't supposed to get since I had also said no rice.<br />
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Today is Day 4 of the 30 Day Plank, Ab and Squat Challenge. Have you been joining in?<br />
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<b>30 Day Plank, Ab and Squat Challenge</b><br />
<b>Day 4</b> - 25 second Plank, 10 sit ups, 25 crunches, 40 squats<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">I am not a diet or fitness expert. I am a mom, just trying to be healthy and fit. All opinions expressed are my own.</span>A Busy Mom of Twohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09762718477142222520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1406389836664757088.post-17386352670020777492014-02-19T07:06:00.002-05:002014-02-22T09:49:29.720-05:00It's Hump DaySo, here we are on Wednesday. It seems that the freezing rain we were expecting did not come, which is a good thing. It's supposed to be close to 50 tomorrow, which means that the inches and inches of snow that have accumulated in our yard will start to melt away - I'm not convinced that 50 is enough to melt it all, but the rain that is predicted will likely help.<br />
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Not having the chance to work out yesterday morning because of the snow was a real bummer. Having also missed Monday night and not being able to make up any missed workouts last night, left me with a rough day. I ate right where I should have, but my body was not ready for no exercise. The good news is I was right back at it this morning...although, I did almost hit my snooze button too many times to get there on time. Spinning was good this morning. Tonight is Bokwa. I am considering going to a 2 hour class on Saturday evening, since we have no other plans.<br />
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I completed day 2 of the 30 Day Plank, Ab and Squat Challenge yesterday. Again, I did the plank challenge both at the beginning and the end. It felt good. Crazy that the plank was only 15 seconds and I was shaking...guess I really need to work on planks.<br />
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<b>30 Day Plank, Ab and Squat Challenge</b><br />
<b>Day 3</b> - 20 second Plank, 5 sit ups, 20 crunches, 35 squats<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">I am not a diet or fitness expert. I am a mom, just trying to be healthy and fit. All opinions expressed are my own.</span>A Busy Mom of Twohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09762718477142222520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1406389836664757088.post-62326805946585717602014-02-18T08:25:00.003-05:002014-02-18T08:25:19.785-05:00Snow Day!What a bummer - woke up to a white world, so there was no class this morning. That wouldn't have been so bad, if I could have fallen asleep, which I could not. And, I missed working out last night because of our schedules.<br />
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I guess I will have to be extra diligent in watching my intake today. Yesterday was an easy day for me. I ate and was satisfied and wasn't hungry and wanting to snack. That is a major positive...a hurdle that I am glad to have surpassed, because it is the munchies that are my downfall. I can stop eating after a serving at meal time, but at snack time, if I am munchie, I struggle to stop.<br />
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I completed day 1 of the 30 Day Plank, Ab and Squat Challenge last night. It worked out well for me. I even added a second plank to the end of the 4 moves. I think I will try to do that again tonight. I figure that the additional plank work is only a positive for me.<br />
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<b>30 Day Plank, Ab and Squat Challenge</b><br />
<b>Day 2</b> - 15 second Plank, 20 sit ups, 15 crunches, 30 squats<br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">I am not a diet or fitness expert. I am a mom, just trying to be healthy and fit. All opinions expressed are my own.</span>A Busy Mom of Twohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09762718477142222520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1406389836664757088.post-53910531778234662872014-02-17T07:05:00.000-05:002014-02-17T07:05:06.864-05:00Monday! Monday!Well, my first week back into the groove was less than ideal. I had a Girls Night Out planned with my friend that I haven't seen in ages, a work lunch - complete with dessert, and then we went out to dinner with friends for Valentine's Day. I had a small loss, but not nearly as much as I would have if I had stopped the week on Thursday morning. Never the less, onward I go, knowing that without those hurdles, this week should be easier.<br />
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This week, I am planning on starting a combination of two 30 day challenges that I found - 30 day plank challenge and 30 day ab and squat challenge. What I liked about the last few 30 day challenges that I did was that it was quick to complete the daily exercise and it got progressively more challenging. <br />
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Want to follow along? I will post on here each day what the exercise are. I will be doing them in the evening, but feel free to leave a comment and share how it is going for you.<br />
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<b>30 Day Plank, Ab and Squat Challenge</b><br />
<b>Day 1</b> - 10 second Plank, 10 sit ups, 10 crunches, 25 squats.<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">I am not a diet or fitness expert. I am a mom, just trying to be healthy and fit. All opinions expressed are my own.</span>A Busy Mom of Twohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09762718477142222520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1406389836664757088.post-66421357112555263342014-02-13T06:56:00.002-05:002014-02-13T06:56:51.044-05:00Is it almost Friday?I hate to be one to wish away time, but I am so ready for the weekend to get here. My husband and I have a date night with friends this weekend, which should be a good time. We only have childcare until 9, so then we will come back and hang out together playing games or just visiting at one of our houses.<br />
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Yesterday was an okay day, I even splurged a little on snacks in the evening, eating to the high end of the range. Which brings me to a question...I use SparkPeoople, my husband uses My Fitness Pal...I get a range of daily calories, he gets a number. Is his number the high end of the range? I assume so, but I like that I have a bottom to my range...a point below which, I'm probably not getting enough and my body will misinterpret the signal and hold onto fat. To that end, as well, I find that by varying what I eat and varying regularly through the entirety of the range, that overall, I am more successful. So, if they only have one number, what do they do? I don't really have an answer, I do know that unlike me, my husband has been very successful in losing and keeping off weight. He is somewhere around 50# lost in the past year (started in early March I think)...he toggles around a few pounds, but is pretty steady. I'd be glad to be at half that and able to maintain. I'm on the journey again, which is really what matters.<br />
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For fitness yesterday, I started the day with spinning class...it was the first class where all of the bikes were in use. We have had all but one before, but not all bikes. Then in the evening, I went to a Bokwa class. I had tried it last summer when my instructor was first getting certified, but schedule hasn't made it possible for me to go regularly. I really like it and it was the activity that finally helped her get off the plateau and she has lost several inches and 25# since adding Bokwa to her offering. That is enough to sell me that it can work, especially as an addition to what I have already been doing.<br />
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Happy Thursday!<br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">I am not a diet or fitness expert. I am a mom, just trying to be healthy and fit. All opinions expressed are my own.</span>A Busy Mom of Twohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09762718477142222520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1406389836664757088.post-90155105660920234952014-02-12T06:59:00.001-05:002014-02-12T06:59:36.520-05:00It's Hump DayIt may be hump day today, but yesterday sure felt like a Wednesday. I was dragging. I started my day with toning, so I got up at my normal time. When I got to work, I headed into a three hour meeting. I grabbed some coffee on the way in and then, when we took a break, I topped off. My manager totally called me out...a second cup today, you must be struggling. It's not that a second cup of coffee is completely rare, but in that short of a span it was.<br />
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I think that the issue is that when I first start to really watch what I eat, there seem to be a couple of days for my body to adjust back to good eating. In much the same way that after eating good for a while, you almost feel sick when you eat what you used to.<br />
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I didn't get to the gym for any evening activity, but did walk around the block and then through the snowy backyard with my daughter after dinner. It wasn't much, but at least it was up and moving after dinner. Then we set to work on her treats for Valentine's day. We are doing Minions...I'll share the project on the main blog, if you want to check it out.<br />
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My arms and pecs are certainly feeling yesterday's toning class...I love that feeling.<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">I am not a diet or fitness expert. I am a mom, just trying to be healthy and fit. All opinions expressed are my own.</span>A Busy Mom of Twohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09762718477142222520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1406389836664757088.post-45151494845700842572014-02-11T07:08:00.000-05:002014-02-11T07:08:19.786-05:00It's Been a While...but, it is time to refocus my effort. I had been doing okay last year with my workout and eating. I even spent time on my vacation working out. It was great...then, we had a trip to Disney, Thanksgiving, Christmas, illness, and work travel rolled into a very busy 3 month window and well, needless to say, even with regular activity, I just couldn't seem to overcome the additional food and spirits that I was consuming. So, here I am re-embarking on my weight loss journey. I still have the same long term goal weight, which I still have not met. But, I also have a short term incentive to get there. I potentially have a trip coming up for work that includes time hanging out at the pool. If I am going to hang out with co-workers by a pool, I need to feel good in my own skin. I only have about 9 weeks, but would love to lose at least 15 pounds by then. I recognize that it is a lofty goal, but also know that the first few weeks of renewed focus usually lead to some larger losses, before my body settles into a pound or two per week.<br />
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Yesterday I did Spin Class in the morning and then went for a 1.75 mile walk/run in the evening during the kids' swim lessons. Eating was good...I certainly was hungry, since I am used to eating more, but I moved through and it was all good. I stayed near the low end of my target.<br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">I am not a diet or fitness expert. I am a mom, just trying to be healthy and fit. All opinions expressed are my own.</span>A Busy Mom of Twohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09762718477142222520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1406389836664757088.post-2174804835822022792013-04-18T07:10:00.002-04:002013-04-18T07:10:53.981-04:00Stuck!So, for several weeks now, my husband and our friend have been engaged in a weight loss challenge. My husband is doing great. He is really dedicated to the effort and is really seeing the benefit of his focus. I unfortunately, in that same window have managed to stay completely flat - okay, not entirely true, there have been elements of up and elements of down, but mostly just oscillating around where I am. It has been completely frustrating to me. <br />
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I am eating well - I am even more focused on healthy meals now because I want to set my husband up for success. I am exercising regularly with 3-4 mornings of cardio and 2 mornings of toning/bootcamp focus each week. <br />
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When we have a weekend event or some travel for work and eat a little more than normal, I seem to put on a pound or two that won't come off for a week or two and by then, I have arrived at the next event. The challenge for me is that is very frustrating. I feel like even if I don't eat right all the time, I have the same result of watching most of the time and relaxing my vigilance on occasion. It's not supposed to work that way...there are even diets out there that suggest that if you focus 6 days a week and 'eat what you want' on the 7th day that you will still be successful. So, why doesn't it work for me?<br />
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I think that if I weren't being physically active on a routine basis, I might find it less frustrating. But, I know that I am burning calories during cardio and that I am building muscle with the toning/bootcamp - the combination should make it that much easier for me to weather the peaks and valleys of my calorie intake, but it seems to do nothing. <br />
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One of my coworkers has decided that we should walk at lunch. It used to work real well for me, so I am going to start that up again with her. I know that it is a good thing for me emotionally at the very least, a way to take a mental and physical break mid-day that leaves me less stressed and more focused...a better employee.<br />
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I am signed up for next session's classes at the YMCA. This time there is an official class on Thursday and toning that day won't just be on me.<br />
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I am planning to have a friend meet me at soccer practices, so that I can walk around the park where practice is and use my time at the park in a productive way.<br />
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Something has to give. I have a goal in mind and if I am going to lose 25 pounds before I turn 40, I need to start now.<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">I am not a diet or fitness expert. I am a mom, just trying to be healthy and fit. All opinions expressed are my own.</span>A Busy Mom of Twohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09762718477142222520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1406389836664757088.post-40582194001640287122013-03-26T07:16:00.002-04:002013-03-26T07:16:36.537-04:00Boot Camp - Day 5Another great class. I am completely certain that I will feel this morning's workout in my legs and my core. She did the workout circuit style again. We warmed up by doing exercises across the room - walking lunges, run backwards, run forward, walking lunges, grapevines, grapevines, high knee skip, walking lunges, stationary jumping jacks, walking lunges. (I think that was the extent) Then, we moved into the circuits - 1 minute for each exercise. First, we used balance balls and did push ups and then rolled the ball in with our legs (abs). Second was power lunges - we would get down in a runner's lunge and then jump up raising our back leg as a high knee and then back down - second minute was the other leg. Next, we did kettle bells. In round one we did gunslinger and did each arm for one minute. The second round we did boxing and did each arm for one minute. Then, we did cross jack squats and push up jacks. The next station was the step - we did power steps forward and then across. The last station was abs. We took turns, each doing a minute, of lying on the floor and the other person throwing our legs forward, right, forward, left and so on. We did the circuit twice and then moved on to push ups and planks. We did 15 push ups, followed by 30 s per side, leg lift side plank. Next we did plank and then did this side plank push up thing (that I completely failed at). Then we did a back plank for one minute. As you can see, it was awesome! Next week there is no class due to spring break for our teacher. So, maybe I will try to do some of these exercises at home with my equipment.<br />
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I am still trying to recover on the scale from this weekend. It is kind of crazy to think how much impact one night of snacking and wine can make on your weight and how it doesn't just 'drop' the next day. You would think that a return to normal routine would bring you back quickly...but at least for me, it doesn't. I finally have most of the snacks out of the house, so at least they won't tempt me any more.<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">I am not a diet or fitness expert. I am a mom, just trying to be healthy and fit. All opinions expressed are my own.</span>A Busy Mom of Twohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09762718477142222520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1406389836664757088.post-57393335421504670362013-03-24T09:39:00.000-04:002013-03-24T09:39:00.295-04:00Catching Up!I guess I must be busy...it has been almost two weeks since I updated.<br />
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Things have been going well. The scale was finally responsive...of course, we had a game night last night and now I need to "recover" from the snacks everyone brought to share and the couple of glasses of wine that I enjoyed.<br />
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Boot Camp Day 4 was a great class. We used balance balls for the class and she alternated between 1 minute of cardio and 2 minutes of strength. The after effect of the class was mostly felt in the triceps and upper abs.<br />
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I was worried about missing some classes in the coming weeks due to travel, but turns out that the instructor is going to miss a couple of them and is moving those classes to the 'break' week - makes me feel better that I won't completely miss out. Now, I only have one class that I expect to miss and have to find my own make-up class.<br />
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The Zumba class that I take not at the Y is adding a resistance training class in April that a friend and I are planning adding to our rotation. I really think that the more I focus on both cardio and toning, the overall better my results are. I think that is part of why the scale was slow to respond in the beginning of the year when my workout was more cardio based.<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">I am not a diet or fitness expert. I am a mom, just trying to be healthy and fit. All opinions expressed are my own.</span>A Busy Mom of Twohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09762718477142222520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1406389836664757088.post-20274857202904164222013-03-12T20:19:00.002-04:002013-03-12T20:19:51.028-04:00Boot Camp - Day 3I must admit - I am absolutely loving my Boot Camp class. It probably is a good thing that is only once a week - it took me until Saturday to recover last week. Today's class was no exception.<br />
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We started with a 1/2 mile warm-up run. It became clear to me from the beginning, I am not in good running shape compared to my classmates. The 1/2 mile is 4 laps at the track and although we started in a group, most of them finished about 1/4 lap ahead of me. Not awful, but not great. Then we headed back to the workout room for our workout. We did lengths of the room in assorted fashion - walking lunges with a back kick, duck walk, frog hop, hopping on one foot, shuttle run, and I'm sure something else was mixed in there. In between lengths, while the other half did the same thing, we alternated between squats, lunges of assorted styles, cross over jacks, resting and some regular jacks. We did this circuit of fun twice. Then, we went to wall squats - both regular and one leg. After that we grabbed mats and bands to work on the rest of the body. We did some back exercises, some shoulder exercises, biceps, and triceps. We took to the mats and did superman, v-sits and bicycles. Then we stretched. I can already feel it. In fact, when I arrived at work this morning I could feel the 'tired' in my leg muscles. Now, the soreness is creeping in. I can only imagine what tomorrow morning will be like. I might have to take the elevator to get to spinning class!<br />
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Eating has been really good. I think that my husband watching what he is eating is making it easier. I am trying to make sure that we have meals that he enjoys, so that he realizes that eating healthy doesn't mean not eating what you enjoy. I think I might be convincing him that it is about choices. The 'healthy' pasta is 40 calories less per serving than the standard pasta. Having french bread pizzas is lower in calories than a regular pizza (and both are better than take out - in calories and taste too if you ask me!). We have had more salads in the recent weeks than we have in a long time. I have been buying cucumbers, cauliflower and the like to chop up for the salads. The kids are really enjoying it and frequently have a second serving of salad. <br />
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I'm certain the scale will respond any day!<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">I am not a diet or fitness expert. I am a mom, just trying to be healthy and fit. All opinions expressed are my own.</span>A Busy Mom of Twohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09762718477142222520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1406389836664757088.post-27345170077299397322013-03-07T07:14:00.001-05:002013-03-07T07:14:03.114-05:00Thursday - a day for armsThere was no class this morning for me, for whatever reason there isn't a class offered early morning on Thursdays this session, so I had to come up with a game plan for today. Last night, as I was still experiencing the soreness (a good thing) of having done Boot Camp on Tuesday morning and Zumba with plenty of squats and lunges on Wednesday night, I decided that this morning would be an arm morning. So, in typical fashion, I turned to P90X Arms and Shoulders. It was a great workout, but I must admit, I could barely do the kick backs in warm up and picking up my weights for the workout was a real challenge, my legs just didn't want to. I am glad that I had planned for arms and didn't have any visions of an extended walk or run for this morning. I just don't think that I would have gotten too far if I couldn't even do kick backs in the warm up.<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">I am not a diet or fitness expert. I am a mom, just trying to be healthy and fit. All opinions expressed are my own.</span>A Busy Mom of Twohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09762718477142222520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1406389836664757088.post-53387668900144156362013-03-06T21:03:00.000-05:002013-03-06T21:03:10.278-05:00Boot Camp Day 2 - the next dayTuesday morning marked boot camp. It was another great workout. I think above all else, I am amazed at how quickly the time goes and how greatly I feel the workout when I am done. Yesterday's class was a circuit class. She set up 5 stations and fit in some walking push ups and side planks in between the circuits. We were paired up for the circuit. The first station for me was with weighted balls - we did 1 minute each of slam down squats and torso twists (who knows their real name, that is just what I call them). I think I used an 8# ball. The second station was kettle bells - we did 1 minute of kettle bell swing squats and 1 minute of step back lunge kettle bell figure eights (again, I don't know the real name!). The third station was sit ups - you switched off with your partner, each doing 1 minute of sit ups. The fourth station was step - we did 1 minute of a quick step and then 1 minute of a cross over step. The fourth station was plank - the first minute was plank, the second minute was reverse (backwards?) plank. Then the walking push-ups and side plank. We did the circuit two full times and the third one was for 30 seconds each, in the interest of time. I certainly felt the squats and lunges in my legs and glutes and honestly, still am! I was expecting with the sit-ups, planks and push-ups to feel more in my core - generally, I do - but for some reason I did not. Maybe my form was off because the planks were at the end of the cycle for me.<br />
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This morning's spinning class was a challenge. I felt stiff starting out and around 20 minutes was thinking to myself, now that I am going, I am doing well. Then, we went to position 3 for a song and did a climb...guess what! my glutes and hamstrings were not in favor of that one and I realized that it was really hard to climb when I was feeling yesterday's workout. <br />
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Then, at Zumba tonight our warm up song includes kick-backs...it took a while to loosen enough to really have a spring in my step while I did the workout. She did a few songs with squats and lunges, so I am sure that the legs will continue to recover. She also did a bunch with side bends, circles and other core working activities.<br />
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Eating has been reasonable, but a few work lunches make things harder and leaving me not fully tracking - which is a bit of a detriment come evening and not really knowing where I finished my day. I plan to refocus on that. My husband is trying to more cognizant of what he is eating, so that makes eating at home a little easier. It has helped me make sure that vegetables are more a part of our dinner - be it salad or hot vegetables, or could it be, both.<br />
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Now, if only the scale could catchup, it would make me feel better. Reenforce my efforts and all.<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">I am not a diet or fitness expert. I am a mom, just trying to be healthy and fit. All opinions expressed are my own.</span>A Busy Mom of Twohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09762718477142222520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1406389836664757088.post-33579847629517403462013-03-04T06:31:00.001-05:002013-03-04T06:31:24.119-05:00Time Flies!It is crazy to think almost a full week has passed since I posted. It was a busy week!<br />
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Thursday morning is one without a scheduled class. I had thought about heading up to the Y, but since I haven't yet had a chance to be trained on the use of the strength training equipment I decided to stay home and do P90X Arms and Shoulders. It was a good workout, it has been a while since I have done that DVD. I keep thinking that I will fit in three P90X strength workouts in the evening, since most of my morning workouts seem to be more cardio. <br />
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Friday morning it was back to Spinning. It was another great workout. <br />
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Saturday, I started my day with a one mile warm up, followed by Zumba Toning and then a Zumba class. I was a little surprised by how heavy those little 3# weights feel in your hands after a 45 minute class.<br />
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Sunday is usually a non-workout day for me, but my daughter has been asking me to take her to the track with me. I didn't realize how serious she was. I wore my jeans and a pair of tennis shoes, as we were going to run errands and have dinner out after we went to the track. She wanted for me to run with her...I couldn't really do that in jeans. I told her we could jog and that next week, I would wear workout clothes and then we could run. I think it is fun that she wants to work out with me. She always would join me in the DVD workouts, if she was up when I did them.<br />
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Today, unfortunately, my little girl is sick. She had gotten up in the middle of the night and I was tentative about going to the Y, but when my alarm went off and she hadn't been up again, I decided to go. Right up until it was time to walk out the door and I heard her get up. I headed back upstairs and sure enough, she got sick and I stayed home from Spinning. I had planned to do a DVD, but she was up and wanted to watch a show. So, I will have to see what I can fit in later today.<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">I am not a diet or fitness expert. I am a mom, just trying to be healthy and fit. All opinions expressed are my own.</span>A Busy Mom of Twohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09762718477142222520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1406389836664757088.post-17302927211375075432013-02-27T07:13:00.001-05:002013-02-27T07:13:50.071-05:00The Day After Boot CampIt's been a day since I took the boot camp class and the good news is that I am feeling it! The boot camp workout was amazing and today I have the tenderness to prove it. It is not quite the P90X Plyometric feeling in my legs, but as an added bonus, I can feel it in my back and shoulders and a little in my chest too. This morning at spinning, I could definitely feel yesterday in my legs. It was just that much harder to push myself and get the RPMs at each gear. I forgot my heart rate monitor today, but based on the sweat factor - I would say I was in the zone most of the workout and it was a good one. The cool down walk was a definite necessity today. <br />
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Eating was good yesterday. I finally was headache free all day, which further supports my theory on the source and I will be exploring that in a week or two when I see the doctor. Having no headache left me feeling snacky last night. I had some white cheddar cheese and some Triscuit Thins, which was fine until I had a second serving. Oh well! You will have that from time to time and it is okay. Before my snack, dinner was tasty and reasonably healthy too - <a href="http://www.abusymomoftwo.com/2010/01/cajun-jambalaya-pasta.html">Cajun Jambalaya Pasta</a>. Full of peppers, onions and tomatoes, with some chicken breast too (we skipped the shrimp last night) - it is high in veggies, lean protein and flavor. I made sure to stick with a single serve of the pasta, but allowed a little extra of the toppings.<br />
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Tonight, I plan to fit in a Zumba class. I miss Zumba, now that it is not available at a convenient time for me at the Y.<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">I am not a diet or fitness expert. I am a mom, just trying to be healthy and fit. All opinions expressed are my own.</span>A Busy Mom of Twohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09762718477142222520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1406389836664757088.post-7577824504648032792013-02-26T07:17:00.001-05:002013-02-26T07:17:15.918-05:00Boot Camp - Day 1Wow! That really is the only way to sum it up. Today, I participated in my first boot camp class. It is taught by my spinning instructor and I know most of my classmates. The warm up was very reminiscent of P90X and other like programs. Some cardio followed by stretching. Then, we did a mix of what I would call plyometrics style exercises. None were too long, but all were intense. You were getting cardio, but with the associated squats, lunges, push ups and the like, it was clear that you were working the muscles too. Then, we grabbed a weight bar and a step and proceeded to do some squats, chest presses, upright rows, and more. Of course, we wrapped up with some stretches. The workout was great! I was feeling it by the end - love that feeling! I followed up the boot camp with a 1 mile quick walk at the track (around a 12 minute mile). <br />
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I am confident that by tomorrow, stairs will be a challenge. I sure hope that I can make it through Spinning with the soreness I anticipate. Now, if we can talk her into doing the class twice a week instead of just once.<br />
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Yesterday was a good day. I started the day with Spinning and a 1/4 mile cool down walk. It was a more intense spinning class, based on my heart rate monitor. I had to take some longer breaks to fully recover. <br />
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Eating was good too. I started with my typical protein (MRS) shake and a banana. Lunch was a steakhouse wedge (dressing on the side) with a wonderful horseradish cheddar cheese and apple slices. Dinner was Lasagne. I fit in a snack of a <a href="http://abusymomoftwointhekitchen.blogspot.com/2012/09/homemade-cinnamon-rolls.html">cinnamon roll</a>, made for my manager's birthday (they are just too irresistible - so soft and so easy to make too!).<br />
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The best part, the scale responded in a positive fashion. Not much, but I was down from my previous low. That felt good.A Busy Mom of Twohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09762718477142222520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1406389836664757088.post-75094332280510124202013-02-24T09:30:00.001-05:002013-02-24T09:30:22.925-05:00Slow and SteadyI know that slow and steady wins the race and that the best way to lose weight and maintain the loss is to lose it slowly, but it doesn't make the slowness of progress any less frustrating. Over the past few weeks, I feel like the scale has done little to respond despite the effort I have made to be active and watch what I was eating. Clearly, the loss is more visible than the scale would suggest, because others have commented on my weight loss and the clothes that were tight are definitely fitting better. <br />
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Lately though, the most frustrating thing has been an incessant headache. Not a throbbing, debilitating type of headache, but a constant dull pain. Early on, it was at the top of my head, but as the week progressed, it seemed to be located more where I was used to having a sinus pressure or stress induced muscle tightness headache. <br />
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It started mid-week and just left me unmotivated and trying every combination of ways to address (I'm not one to take medicine, but I did eventually have to take something to see if it would make a difference). I have tried slowly drinking water all day, to ensure that I was evenly hydrated - I almost always drink more water than the recommended amount, but I have a tendency to drink 16 oz before 7 and then a little more before lunch, 16 oz at lunch time and then a little in the afternoon, 16 oz on the drive home and then some in the evening for about 64 oz each day. I was drinking about 8 oz each hour to make sure it wasn't being caused by dehydration. That didn't seem to have an effect, so I decided to cut caffeine - not that I have much, usually a cup of coffee (16 oz cup) and a handful (or two) of M&Ms account for 99% of the daily caffeine I consume. The first day, I made my coffee half regular and half decaf. The next day, I skipped it altogether. I did maintain the chocolate though. This didn't have much effect (I know, caffeine is supposed to help headaches and cutting it can cause headaches, but I needed it gone to make sure it wasn't impacting my headaches), so I tried to eat at regular intervals. I started to spread out my meals. Instead of eating it all at once, I would eat my banana and then have the oatmeal an hour later. I would eat the main course of my lunch and then have the yogurt and then the fruit across the span of the afternoon. This didn't seem to help. I was trying to get to bed earlier and because I didn't have class this week (the break week between classes at the Y), I opted to allow myself to sleep in. This didn't seem to help. <br />
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Finally yesterday, it just seemed to be better. I got up and got laundry folded and put away. I got the dishwasher emptied, the dishes in the sink cleaned and put away. We drove to my son's soccer game and my head bothered me a bit on the drive. I was fine during the game. We drove to roller skating and my head was bothering me again. I roller skated for two and a half hours and was fine. We drove to dinner and my head was bothering me. I was fine at dinner. We came home and my head was bothering me. I rested on the couch and watched TV. I felt fine when I headed to bed. This morning...we are a couple of hours in...I am doing fine.<br />
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Based on timing, I have a sidebar theory that I will explore at my next doctor's appointment. If it comes back before then, I probably will head to the doctor to try to understand the headaches.<br />
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Classes resume tomorrow at the Y, so I am hopeful that I will continue to feel good and can return to regular activity this week.<br />
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The good news is that despite all of this, the slow and steady race continues and I haven't lost ground, just haven't gained much either.A Busy Mom of Twohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09762718477142222520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1406389836664757088.post-86598978868758455182013-02-05T07:15:00.001-05:002013-02-05T07:15:16.627-05:00Keep on Keeping OnI have been like the little engine lately...just sort of chugging along. Not making much in the way of progress, but continuing to be conscientious about what I choose to eat and sticking to a regular workout schedule. I may not be having a scale impact, but I think by now the one thing that I know about my body is that it will seem to not react and then suddenly, BOOM!, I will be down a decent amount and will continue to waffle around a weight for a little while again. <br />
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This morning was frustrating, I will admit. I had been out last night for a concert and got home and to bed much later than I normally do. My husband said to me, it is okay to miss a class. I said that I wanted to try and still make it to class. I got up and headed up to the Y a little late and only had time for 7/8 mile warm up (but I did run a full 1/2 of that distance). When I headed over to the group exercise room, my fellow class mate was there, but no sign of the instructor. We gave her a few minutes and when she didn't show, we figured there was no class. So, here I was - at the Y and warmed up, what would I do. I decided to walk. So, I headed back to the track. It was much more crowded than it is first thing in the morning. I wasn't sure how far I wanted to go, but decided that my workout ought to be twice as long as my warm up, so I settled on 1 3/4 miles. It seemed a bit strange to run the warm up and walk the work out, but it is what it is and I just couldn't muster up the run after having cooled down in prep for class.<br />
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I guess I will have to try to make it to another Zumba class later this week to make up for the miss.<br />
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This weekend was a banner weekend for working out. I went to Zumba on Saturday morning, because I knew the substitute would be there and she does a great workout with lots of squats and lunges and hops. Then, Saturday afternoon we went roller skating with friends. Then, Sunday, my son had a birthday party at Pump it Up and since it was small, the parents got in on the jumping and we ran the obstacle course. It was a nice little unplanned bonus exercise and certainly made me realize that I am not a kid anymore. I was very ready for a nap after playing hard.<br />
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Generally, eating has been really good. I even did a reasonably acceptable job with eating out dinner this weekend and enjoying the Big Game with friends. I tried to snack mostly on the cut vegetables and only have a taste here and there of the buffalo chicken dip and other things that I simply love. I know that I need to figure out the balance, because I want to be able to enjoy life and maintain a healthy weight.A Busy Mom of Twohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09762718477142222520noreply@blogger.com0