Become a Coach NOW!

Okay, so if you've EVER even considered becoming a Beachbody Coach (or even if you haven't).....NOW is the time to MOVE on it!

Beachbody is doing a crazy-awesome promotion until Dec. 31st that waives the $39.99 Coach Starter Kit fee!! That means that you can go to www.beachbodycoach.com/onetoughgirl and click on "Be A Coach" and wha-lah! You will be able to start earning money through Beachbody--and it won't cost you a cent! PLUS, there are all kinds of advantages of becoming a coach--like getting 25% off all your Beachbody purchases for one!

It has been a blessing for me for the past year to earn a paycheck every Friday for VERY little (to almost NO) work. It basically sells itself if you've had success with P90X, Insanity or any Beachbody program because people WANT whatever it is that you have/did.

I'm sure you might be saying...okay, what's the catch?
Well, if there is ANY "catch" to it...it is this: After your first 30 days of being a coach, the regular fee of $14.95/month will start being charged. It isn't really a catch though. I pay that $14.95 every month just as every coach does. The difference is that we all had to pay $39.99 for our Starter Kit and you won't have to do that. Basically, you could cancel before your 30 days is up and not have ever paid a cent...but of course, you won't want to do that because being a coach is awesome and you will easily recover that $14.95 each month.

Anyway, holler at me if you wanna know more or are ready to sign up! I would LOVE to have you on my team!!

Victory is Sweet!

Well, I just got the final update on our challenge and...................I WON! BY A HAIR though! Kate almost had me! We both lost 6 pounds...but my percentage was a teensy bit higher than hers because of our starting weights.
I'm excited to have won...and have the $100 in my pocket (soon to be traded in for a pair of Miss Me Sparkly Cross jeans!)
BUT...
It is bitter sweet to have won...because that means my friend's DIDN'T win! Booooo! I want EVERYBODY to win. Blah! I might have to sneak a little sumpin-sumpin in the mail to my fiercest competator Kate! :)
Love you girls!

Love funky shirts with sayings on them!

I found this shirt at VS the other day and couldn't pass it up! (especially since I had a $10 off coupon!)

And in other news...the Lose Your Holiday Trimming's Challenge is FINALLY over and guess what? Over the past 5 weeks, I've lost 6 pounds! Yay! I started at 142 and was at 136 today! We are all so much better off than we would have been! I think all 10 of us either lost weight or maintained and that is a total VICTORY during the Holiday Season! YAY US!!

Stubborn body!

My body is so stubborn sometimes! I've been fighting like a pro this week in order to keep my first place rank in the Holiday Challenge. I've done an intense cardio workout every single day and 3 days I did 2+ hours!!! Wednesday I racked up 1010 calories on my HRM. Tuesday was like 811 and Friday I think it was 898. The only day I didn't get a SERIOUS workout was Saturday and that is because I was at my AFAA Group Fitness Certification workshop from 8:30 that morning until 5:30 pm. WHEW!--am I glad THAT is OVER!!! :)
I had an AWESOME instructor and only 2 other classmates and we all 4 hit it off wonderfully, so it was actually a really fun day and even though it was sporadic, I did get in a good 30-45 minutes of workout during the workshop. At the end I took my practical exam and written exam and I felt O.K. about it. I have to make at least an 80% to pass....and it takes 4-6 weeks to get our results...so I'm keeping my fingers crossed!! :)
Anyway, I've also been eating GREAT again....and it feels wonderful! Even though I'm eating plenty, I've been filling up on gobs of fresh fruits and veggies, lean protien and LOTS of water. I've been trying to eat my whole grain carbs in the morning so I have fuel for my crazy workouts and then staying away from carbs the rest of the day.
So after all this...you would think the scale would be my best friend this week right? Not quite.
But...I'm still not going to sweat it because I KNOW I've been making my "deposits" this week and the credit HAS to come sooner or later! Just as long as it posts before the 20th, I'm cool. :)

This next week is the final week and I intend to just keep up with what I've been doing. I got upt this morning before church and did Insanity Max Cardio Conditioning as well as Insanity Cardio Abs. Tomorrow getting in a good workout will be tough because I have a fully-booked day...but I'm still gonna aim for one first thing in the morning before I start my errands.

The only thing I can improve upon will be my eating (NO MORE DESSERTS!) and in the end, if I don't win, at least I know I gave it my best shot and at the very minimum, I'll be down a good 5-7 pounds from where I was 5 weeks ago!

I hope you guys are all doing well and enjoying the Holiday season! I know some of you don't "agree" with me on some things right now(especially how seriously I'm taking this challenge) and that's okay. We're in different places right now...and there's nothing wrong with that. I've enjoyed doing the challenge and I'm better off for it, but I will be glad when it is over too. Everything in balance, as my mom always reminds me. :)

The Challenge-The COUNTDOWN!

So, it's December 6th and I am excited about the next two weeks! We are beginning the last 14 days of our Lose Your Holiday Trimming's Challenge and at this point I've only lost 3 pounds (in 3 weeks). So....I'm putting my boxing gloves on this morning and I'm ready to fight. (figuratively, of course! ha ha) My goal was to lose 10 pounds over this 5 week period and obviously I'm slacking. But in my defence, we DID celebrate Thanksgiving one of those weeks and I managed to actually lose a pound that week, so I'm not beating myself up over it. However, enough is enough and if I'm going to have ANY chance at winning this $100, I'm gonna have to focus and quit wussing out every time I'm faced with a temptation. I can't reveal my top-secret plan to get this accomplished though because some of my competitors are reading this blog :)
But if said-competitors are reading this blog....be scared girls! VERY scared! ha ha ha ha I've already spent that money (in my head) and now that I know what the prize will be, I'm extra motivated. :)

Now, in other non-challenge related news....Most of you know, but some might not, that I am taking my Group Fitness Certification Exam on Saturday. I will be there all day (9 am - 6 pm) for a workshop and then at the end will have to complete a 100 question multiple choice test as well as a practical exam (where I actually demonstrate my ability to effectively teach a group fitness class). There is a lot to remember and know (for example what muscles to stretch, naming the muscles we are working, showing different intensity levels, proper breathing, taking HR, etc.) Although I have a lot of studying to get finished this week before the Big Day, I am feeling very confident that I will do well.
Some of you have asked what getting this certification will mean for me. Well, not a whole lot actually. I will still be teaching the same classes I already am at the gym, the only difference will be that I will be making $10 more per class. Basically the gym pays a little more for certified instructors versus non-certified instructors. Since it costs me $300 from my pocket to get this certificate, I was hesitant to do it, but now that I am teaching 2 regular classes a week plus subbing for other classes nearly every week, it won't take me very long at all to recover that $300 and be making a profit from it. Plus, I am a big advocate of learning and understanding all about something I am doing...and I can already see lots of added benefits from learning all this supportive info concerning breathing, muscles groups, proper stretching, effective instructing and so forth.

So, I hope you're all doing well and still staying active despite our busy holiday schedules!?! If there is something I can do to help motivate, inspire or encourage you, please please PLEASE let me know! :)

Lastly, just a quick note in case any of you don't know this, I have deactivated my facebook account for the time being. There are many reasons so if you want to understand why or more about it, you can check out my www.keepinupwiththejoneses.blogspot.com blog later on today. I plan to do a whole post about it over there. :)

Love you guys! You are my core support and I'm so blessed to have you in my lives!
Jen

AFTER-middle of my shirt! This program will kick your booty!

AFTER workout. Soaked in sweat but SO HAPPY to be done!

The middle of my shirt---BEFORE.

Before Insanity Max Cardio Condioning Workout

Challenge-Week 1

So it's been 1 week since we began the Lose Your Holiday Trimming's Challenge and I am down from 142.6 to 140.4 today. That's a 2.2 lb. loss. Yay!
I think, in order to have any chance at winning the cash though, I'm going to have to get more serious and aim for 3 pounds a week. So...out come the Insanity DVD's. Time to wipe the dust off and get crazy-wit-it. :) I'll keep you posted on how it goes...unless I die trying to do these workouts! :)

Endurance...

On the subject of endurance.....it seems like some days I've just got it, and some days, I just DON'T. Really strange. When I first started exercising I could only last for about 30 minutes tops-and that was usually WALKING on the treadmill. Over the course of the past 5 years, my endurance and intensity have increased gradually-as I would have expected it would. Last year when I did the Beachbody program INSANITY, I can say I was very proud of how far I've come. It was a gigantic step up the ladder to be able to complete one of THOSE workouts...and I was doing it!
BUT...
Over the last year something has changed. There is no gradual climb anymore...it's more like the hiccups now. Most days I feel mentally "ready" but sometimes my body just doesn't agree. And not just to the point where I have to "get out of my head about it" and just push through...I'm talking I. Cannot. Get. My. Body. To. Move. What is up with THAT?
MANY times in the past month or two I've been in a group fitness class where the teacher was instructing us to do a particular thing and in my mind, I was doing it-or going to do it...but when I looked up in the mirror I was moving in slow motion...or obviously struggling (and with a quick glance around the room)-struggling more than most of the people in there. On Tuesday we were sitting on the big ball doing triceps. You know where you hold hand weights up above your head and then lower your arms back (bending at the elbow). Some people were using 2 weights, I was using one 9-lb weight and after just a few, I couldn't do it. Like, I'm not being a sissy...I really couldn't get my arms back up once I lowered them down to the back of my neck.
And then yesterday in my Interval class I had them (us) doing Frog Squats for 45 seconds. By about 30 seconds my legs were shaking so bad, I was so out of breath and dizzy that I had to stop. I felt like the ultimate hypocrite! Here I am telling THEM to do something I can't even do!?!?! But I knew if I didn't stop, I was going to trip because I was already losing my balance and getting crooked with my jumps.
Anyway, this whole phenomenon is just WEIRD. Why am I LOSING my stamina? I haven't let up on my intensity. I should be getting better and stronger every day...but I feel like I'm going backwards. Things I could easily do last year, I can not do now.
Anyone else ever go through this? It's really pretty frustrating.
Okay well...that's my "rant" for today! :) Hope you are all doing well and keeping up with your workouts through this holiday season! Love you!!

You found me!

Hey there! If you're reading this, that means you've been added as a "permitted reader" on my blog. Most of you requested to be added...but a few of you, I just added because you're either family, old friends or devout readers that just didn't get the "memo" this morning that I'm going private!
Anywho, I'm glad you're here..and that I'm here and that I don't have to be concerned about freaky weirdos leaving me scary comments anymore!

As for day 2 of the challenge, doing good so far. No sweets yet today, other than my apple! That my friends is a big VICTORY! :) especially with all the left-over Halloween candy calling my name from the pantry!

Lose Your Holiday Trimmings

Today a friend of mine and I decided to host a weight loss challenge for ourselves and some of our friends. For the next 5 weeks, from Nov. 15-Dec 20, we will compete to see who can lose the largest percentage of weight. Each of us puts $10 into the pot and at the end, one person will take home the cash!
(If you're reading this on Monday, Nov. 15th, you can actually still enter! Just leave me a comment and I'll get you the official rules and info.)

As for me, I've done relatively well today. I ate good all day until just now when I ate 2 big bowls of cereal for dinner. It's all I'm having, so I still don't think that was toooo awfully bad, although there were no veggies or fruits or protein (other than the milk) in it. Woops!
Did P90 Sweat dvd yesterday morning before church so I took the day off today (as far as workouts go) today. Tomorrow will be classes at the gym, Wed. class at the gym and Thursday I'll hopefully get a P90X or Insanity workout done at home. Friday I think I'll be hitting the gym again and probably Saturday too.

Anyway, wish me luck! Even better than winning the money (which would be AWESOME), I will be SO EXCITED to drop this extra weight and fit back into my clothes!!
My starting weight today was 142.
Goal weight for the end of the challenge: 130.

A new beginning....P90

Matt and I have decided to try something new. After nearly 3 years of being P90X'ers...we are going to try out the P90 program.
I realize that is backwards to the way it is "supposed" to be done, but I just acquired a complete brand new set of P90 (from one of my customers who bought it and then never even opened it!!!)....so....we decided to give it a shot.
Last night was our first workout. For the first 15 minutes we were laughing about how EASY it was...but by the middle of it, we were sweating and feeling our muscles BURN! Of course, you determine the level of intensity and difficulty by picking the weight of your dumbbells...so it should never get "too easy". It was a LOT different from P90x in that you workout all your muscles (from shoulders to calves) in one workout rather than breaking the muscle groups up into specific days.
Today will be cardio and abs....so we'll see how that goes. I have a hard time thinking it's gonna give me much of a workout when I'm used to doing INSANITY...but we'll see.
We may not do the whole 90 days of this--because more than likely I think we are going to want something a little more extreme before too long--but I'm glad we're trying it out right now. Since it's been a few weeks since I've really followed any program...this will be a nice way to ease back in. I could tell last night when we were stretching that I am TIGHT and not nearly as flexible as I used to be. (boo!)
So, have any of you done P90? Had any success with it? I'm looking forward to making some of the new recipes in the nutrition guide. If I find some that are really good, I'll post on here for you all.
Hope you're doing well and keeping healthy and fit. It's been a long time since I've talked to you guys....:-(
Hopefully I'll be here more as of now...:-)

Alternative to P90X Eating/Exercise Plan

So, I just wrote out this plan for a friend of mine who is hoping to drop 20 pounds in the next 50 days. I thought it might be something someone else might be able to use, so I posted it here. Obviously, feel free to change it up as you see necessary!

You can go to http://www.printablecalendar.ca/ and make up your own workout schedule/calendar. I've used this many times when I was doing P90X...to keep me on track.
You can fill in (using Microsoft Word) each day what you plan to do and then just print it out.

My suggestion is to try to do weights every other day-alternating with intense cardio sessions. For instance, M-W-F you might do an interval session where you do 10 minutes of weights alternated by 5 minutes of some kind of hard-core cardio (jumping rope, running, high-level elliptical) and then back to the weights. In my experience, alternating between these 2 is THE BEST way to drop calories. (but you can’t do it every day because your muscles need a chance to recover). So for instance, let's say that on M-W-F you did this:
5 minutes of mild-moderate walking on treadmill for warm up
10 minutes of weights focusing on chest and back work
5 minutes of running at a pace of 6 on the treadmill
10 minutes of weights focusing on biceps and triceps
5 minutes of jumping rope (HARD to do!)
10 minutes of weights focusing on shoulders and legs
5 minutes of elliptical machine (high level, high intensity)
5 minutes of stretching for cool down
That is a total of 55 minutes

On Tue/Thur/Sat you could do this:
5 minutes of walking/jogging for warm up
Begin circuit training: Go hard for 1 minute, then rest for 30 seconds (rest meaning walking or jogging in place)
Cardio Circuits:
Jumping Jacks
Squats
Mountain Climbers
High Knees
Plank
High Front Kicks
Towel Hop
Tricep Dips
Lunges
Push Ups
Squat Jacks

Let's say you went through that circuit 2 times, doing each one for 1 minute and resting in between for 30 seconds. Then you could finish up with about 10 minutes of abs.
Abs
25 Scissors
25 Bicycles
25 crunches
25 Side-to-Side crunches
25 Twist (punch across)
That should come up to around an hour as well.

Sunday could be your rest/stretch day...meaning no work out, but do take a few minutes to REALLY stretch out your muscles (think yoga or pilates poses)

Also, to help you with your eating, I suggest following a plan something like this:
Breakfast: 1 cup non-instant oatmeal w/ banana
Snack: Apple or orange
Lunch: 4 oz. chicken breast or baked fish with 1 c. squash and 1/2 c. brown rice
Snack: 2 c. celery with 1 TBSP. natural peanut butter
Dinner: 4 oz. chicken or fish, 1 c. asparagus, 1 c. zucchini, 3 cups salad greens
Snack/Dessert: 1 cup fresh fruit

Another alternative:
Breakfast: 3 egg whites, 1 whole wheat toast, 1 turkey bacon
Snack: 1 c. bell pepper with 1 TBSP. light dressing
Lunch: 4 oz. chicken or fish, 1/2 baked potato, squash
Snack: 10 almonds, apple or celery
Dinner: 4 oz. fish or chicken, veggies, salad
Snack: 1 c. fruit

Basically, this plan gives you all your carbs early in the day and fills you up on water-filled nutritent-filled veggies in the afternoon/evening. It is very low calorie (around 1200) and you may need to add in some extra healthy snacks (such as almonds, fruit, low-fat yogurt) etc.
I have always had GREAT success following this eating plan. I don't do it perfectly, but if I at least TRY to stick t o it semi-closely, I will always drop weight.
To make it easy and less tempting to cheat, I usually make several chicken breasts on Sunday or Monday and sautee up all my squash, asparagus and zucchini. I cut it all up into bite sized chunks and measure it out and put it into containers in the fridge. I also pre-cook my brown rice. I chop up all my salad, celery, etc. The only thing you can't cook ahead is the oatmeal. It is totally gross warmed up the next day! :) (and I cut my apple up each day)

These are just some suggestions, but I know that if you get a plan and print it out and start marking it off...it will really help to keep you on track! You will NO DOUBT lose 20 pounds by your vacation this way!

Let me know if you need any explanations on the exercises I suggested. ---or if you have any questions!!
XOXO!
Jen

**Here are some suggestions for the weight days:
Chest & Back: Lying down chest press, push ups, Bent over rows, Back Flys

Biceps & Triceps: Bicep curls front, Bicep curls out (arms to sides not in front), Tricep kick backs, Tricep dips.

Shoulders & Legs: Squat with shoulder press, Leaning forward lunge with shoulder press, Calf raises, In & Out Shoulder Fly.

Day 31--as unto the Lord

So, I'm still learning and figuring this whole thing out, but one thing I know is that the whole weightloss/eating issue is clouding my mind WAY too much. I want my total focus to be on God and I want Him to use me anywhere/anytime/anyhow. In short...I wanna be ALL IN.
But, I've realized that I can't be completely available to Him when I have a hundred thoughts running through my mind all the time about "too fat" "burn calories" "can't fit into that" "need to work out" "shouldn't eat that" "ate too much" "exercise more"....blah, blah, blah. It's all-consuming a lot of the time and it's spilling over onto my daughter. When she had her tonsils out, she was unable to eat solids for about a week...and she was SO excited (like way too excited) to see that she'd lost several pounds. Because there is a scale in the house, she weighs herself very often and complains about "looking fat" in certain clothes. I never ever ever wanted that to happen with her...and yet, how stupid for me to think that it wouldn't. Children imitate what they see...and even though I THOUGHT I was hiding this "dark side" of me from her....it was impossible to keep completely hidden. She's only 9. :(
Plus, there were parts I DIDN'T want to hide...like the times when I eat very healthy and exercise regularly. Those are things I wanted her to see and imitate.
Anyway, it's still a bit of a jumbled up mess in my mind and I'm not 100% sure of how I'm going to "fix this" but I do know that I have GOT to start viewing my eating and working out as things I do "as unto the Lord." I MUST renew my mind daily with the Word. I eat healthy because God gave me this body, He dwells within me and He desires for me to take good care of it. I honor Him and bring glory to him by feeding it food that is wholesome, healthy and fuel for it to use. Likewise, when I exercise, I need to be focused on a goal of being fit and healthy and a valuable resourse to Him......rather than how "ripped" I can look to all the other people working out in the gym. If my focus is on getting compliments from other people and wanting to be "more sculpted than that girl", then my focus is not on God and bringing Him glory.
Having my focus on God will also keep me from slacking...AS WELL AS...from going over-board. God's way is perfect. It is balanced. It is not too much and it is not too little. God's way is going to be my way.
Proverbs 16 says (and I'm paraphrasing) "A man plans his way...but God makes the final decision". So, I will still "plan my way" but now God will be the final authority. I will compare my progress against his Word...not against the unrealistic women in my fitness magazines or the gym instructors that look better/tiny-ier/more muscled up than me. No, I only have one standard with which to compare myself...and that is what God outlines in his Word. A healthy strong body that is fully and completely submitted to Him.
So...all that being said...I did P90X Day 31 today. (took a week off due to being sick and getting some of this stuff figured out) but I'm back in the swing of it and intend to finish this round of P90X.
It was Chest, Shoulders & Triceps today and Ab Ripper. It was TOUGH, but thinking about God and honoring him with my effort was a total energy boost. I certainly haven't "achieved" or figured this all out (by ANY MEANS) but I do know that I am on the right track. And it feels good. Very good!

A Sneak Peek...

God is working on me...and the end result is going to be beautiful. It already is...but He's perfecting some flaws right now...

Anyway...the lyrics of this song are a perfect "Sneak Peek" into what is happening...(gives me goosebumps every time).

Also, if you have time, I encourage you to click HERE to watch the video/listen to it!


Little girl fourteen flipping through a magazine
Says she wants to look that way
But her hair isn’t straight her body isn’t fake
And she’s always felt overweight

Well little girl fourteen I wish that you could see
That beauty is within your heart
And you were made with such care your skin your body and your hair
Are perfect just the way they are

There could never be a more beautiful you
dont buy the lies disguises and hoops they make you jump through
You were made to fill a purpose that only you could do
So there could never be a more beautiful you

Little girl twenty-one the things that you’ve already done
Anything to get ahead
And you say you’ve got a man but he’s got another plan
Only wants what you will do instead

Well little girl twenty-one you never thought that this would come
You starve yourself to play the part
But I can promise you there’s a man whose love is true
And he’ll treat you like the jewel you are

There could never be a more beautiful you
dont buy the lies disguises and hoops they make you jump through
You were made to fill a purpose that only you could do
So there could never be a more beautiful you

So turn around you’re not too far
To back away be who you are
To change your path go another way
It’s not too late you can be saved
If you feel depressed with past regrets
The shameful nights hope to forget
Can disappear they can all be washed away
By the one who’s strong can right your wrongs
Can rid your fears dry all your tears
And change the way you look at this big world
He will take your dark distorted view
And with His light He will show you truth
And again you’ll see through the eyes of a little girl

There could never be a more beautiful you
dont buy the lies disguises and hoops they make you jump through
You were made to fill a purpose that only you could do
So there could never be a more beautiful you
There could never be, a more beautiful you.


Now that your heart is all warm and fuzzy...let me give you something to compare that with...and break your heart:
Click HERE to watch an opposite video...of a very popular song right now, even one that I thought I LOVED until I watched this and read the lyrics. Now I feel sick.
If you have a young girl...please...before it's too late...Train her how to love and take care of her body GOD'S WAY! Read "6 Ways to Keep the Little in Your Girl" now!

**CHANGING**

I hereby interrupt this blog to give an announcement. This blog (and it's author) are undergoing some serious changes in the area of weight/exercise/nutrition.
All former thought patterns, eating patterns and workout habits are being exchanged for new ones that God Himself has been delivering to me in the past 24 hours. As He continues this work, I am putting this blog on "hold" for the time being. I assure you...if you have EVER found this blog helpful in the past...you are about to find it WAY more helpful in the future!

2 Corinthians 5:17

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

Is it EVER enough????

Okay, I'm frustrated. I really don't have a lot of time but I need to "vent" this out. So...I finally got a new battery for my stupid scale. Therefore, you can imagine why I'm mad.

Anyway, what I really want to scream is "Is it EVER enough?"

First, I tried to start working out more. I started P90X again and pretty much began DAILY (except for Sunday's) workouts again. Hard, intense, serious workouts.

Secondly, I started making up my weekly meal plans and sticking to them TO A TEE. Monday-Friday--no dessert, whole grains, raw veggies, fresh fruits, lean meats, only water to drink.

The last and final thing I have YET to do is give up my "weekend eating habits" which involve a lot of unhealthy eating out (at least 2-3 times). If I'm at home, I still eat good. If we go out though, I'm likely to indulge in a few chips and queso, a fried something and/ or possibly a sugary drink. BUT JIMMINY CHRISTMAS--a girl's gotta LIVE A LITTLE!!!

Apparently my body is not going to let go of another stinking pound unless I commit to this 100% of the time though. Which really sucks. Because I'm not sure I want it THAT bad. I want it. Oh yes..I want it SO SO MUCH. But...do I want it enough to decline going to On the Border and using my "free chips and queso" coupon on Sunday after church? No, I don't think I do.

And do I want it so bad that I would choose a boring dressing-less salad at Fish Bones rather than having the heavenly Bang-Bang shrimp that I have a FREE COUPON FOR? Nope...I doubt it.

Ugh. This is really making me mad.
I mean..are you telling me that these girls who have insanely lean bodies (for instance...almost all the other fitness instructors at the gym) NEVER EVER have a slice of pizza? Or a brownie fudge sundae? Or a margarita? Or an order of french fries?
REALLY?
Is it even possible to LIVE a happy life without any of that stuff?
I'm doubtful....

It's WORKING!!!!!!!

Okay...so, it's no surprise that eating right and daily exercise will get the job done-we all KNOW that...so I don't know why I am SO STINKING EXCITED that in the past 10 days of eating right and 24 days of doing P90X daily...that I've lost FOUR POUNDS! That is HUGE to me! I am nearly 1/3 of the way to my goal! (and ironically...almost exactly 1/3 of the way done with P90X too!)
My starting weight was 144. Yesterday's new weight was 140 and the goal is to end up somewhere around 127-130. I have no doubt that I will accomplish what I've set out to do now that I am on the right road. Today (Day 24) is Stretch X and I am really looking forward to giving my muscles (which are in tight balls) and good, relaxing, releasing stretch!

If you're sitting there thinking "man, I wish I could lose 4+ pounds" then JOIN ME! I'm posting my food intake and workouts...so there is no reason you can't copy! :o)

dead scale

So, like I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, the battery in my scale died. I thought it was a 9V so I went out and bought a new one...and when I went to put it in...I found out it's one of those CR23 watch batteries instead...so I STILL don't have a working scale.
I'm not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing.
One thing is for sure, it is FORCING me to rely on how my clothes are fitting and how I'm FEELING to tell if I am getting any results.
So far, my clothes aren't fitting much differently but I do feel a bit lighter and definitely more optimistic about the future. Matt told me last night that he is REALLY proud and surprised at my willpower lately. Yay! That means a TON to me. If he can see a difference (in what I'm choosing to eat) then I must be doing something right...better...good!
Anyway, I probably will try to get a battery for the scale sometime soon so I can get an actual number (because I need that proof-as silly as it is).
Even though I've been doing P90X again for 3 whole weeks...I've really only been eating right for 1 week...so I don't expect a huge loss yet...however, I DO expect a significant loss by the end (as long as I keep this good eating up--and I AM GOING TO!) :o)
The first time I did P90X, I lost 17 pounds total. I'm thinking that sounds like a great number again. Let's see...starting weight was 144.4...minus 17 pounds...would put me at 127.4...which sounds perfect! Cheer me on peeps...I need to stay motivated somehow!

Days 17-22 and Meal Plan

Day 17-Wednesday-Shoulders & Arms and Ab Ripper, ate good
Day 18-Thursday-Cardio X, ate good
Day 19-Friday-Went to gym. Did step class, pump class and Zumba class, ate good
Day 20-Saturday-Did nothing for exercise, ate awful
Day 21-Sunday, Did nothing, ate okay
Day 22-Monday (Today), I am starting my 4th week, recovery week. Since I know I have a crazy schedule this week I am altering the plan a bit. Today I will do Core Synergistics. Tomorrow I have the gym. Wednesday I will do X-Stretch. Thursday I'm teaching 2 classes at the gym, Friday I will do Core Synergistics again. Saturday I'll either do CardioX or go to the gym.

Here is the MEAL PLAN for this next week:

Monday:
B: Turkey sausage scramble (with egg whites), and toast for Matt (not me)
S: Light string cheese and apple
L: Open faced (1 bread for me, 2 for matt) tuna sandwich, yogurt
S: Protein bar
D: Grilled turkey burgers, baked beans, baked sweet potato fries

Tuesday:
B: Kashi oatmeal (and toast for Matt-not me)
S: Almonds and banana
L:Deli wrap (deli turkey, provolone, lettuce with greek yogurt as "dressing", raw veggies
S: Apple
D: Turkey sloppy joes (I'll eat mine open-faced), I don't know what sides yet

Wednesday:
B: Veggie omelet, turkey bacon, toast for Matt
S: Peanut Butter, almond, banana roll up (with whole wheat tortilla)
L: Turkey sandwich, pepper strips, yogurt
S: Apple
D: Turkey spaghetti, veggie, salad

Thursday:
B: French toast (from egg whites and light whole wheat bread), turkey bacon, SF syrup
S: String cheese, apple
L: Chicken salad, Kashi 7-grain crackers, Mousse Sensations chocolate pudding
S: Protein bar
D: Baked fish, baked potato, steamed veggies, salad

Friday:
B: Veggie omelet, turkey bacon, toast for matt
S: apple, almonds
L: Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich, chips? (I'm trying to get some of those Pop chips)
S: Banana, protein bar
D: probably eat out

rant

okay so I'm going off on a rant right now...indulge me.
I just realized something about myself. It's no big "ah ha" moment ...but this morning I posted a picture of myself on face book. It wasn't a good picture. It was a "right now" picture...meaning it was straight from bed. All I'd done is brushed my teeth and peed. No make up, no hair brush and still in my nightgown. Blah. I was showing everyone the "real" me. Instead of people laughing or poking fun at me...everyone was saying things like "gorgeous" and "beautiful" and "pretty"...to which my mouth just hung open.
If I could use some words to describe that picture, I would have said "messy, frumpy, undone". No, I didn't think it was a horrible picture, but I certainly didn't think "gorgeous".
So I started thinking about it...and something dawned on me...and as stupid as this is...I seriously think it.
When people say I'm pretty, I think to myself "if that were true, why didn't anyone ask me to senior prom?" "Why didn't but one guy in my entire high school ever ask me out?" "why did I always feel sorry for the guys I dated, because I always knew they could do so much better"
How RIDICULOUS is that?
Why am I like this? Weird.
I guess I'd rather have a skewed view of myself this way than to think I'm "all that and a bag of chips". :o) Being cocky is definitely NOT attractive.
I guess the thing that maybe makes me so different now than when I was in high school is a huge change in my confidence. Back then I was like a wounded, scared-to-death little puppy dog following everyone else and afraid to EVER have ANY attention on me.
Now I'm comfortable with who I am, how I look and what I have to offer people. I know that THROUGH CHRIST, I can do anything and I refuse to let fear, pride, embarrassment or shame rob me of any of life's pleasures or experiences.

okay...don't really know where all that came from or why in the world I posted it....:o) Maybe some of you needed to read it...!?!?

Day 15 & 16

Yesterday (Monday) was Day 15 and the first day of my meal plan (in previous post). Everything went great! I did Chest & Back right before I had to pick the kids up from school so I kept the TV (in the workout room) paused on Ab Ripper so I could complete it when I got home. uhhh...yah...I really meant to. The problem is that we workout upstairs....and I never went back up stairs yesterday so I HONESTLY completely forgot all about Ab Ripper. Bummer! I wanted to do it to!
Anyway, I ate all the food on my "plan" yesterday and not a bite more or less. I actually ended up having my afternoon snack after dinner because we ate dinner very early yesterday and then I was hungry at around 7:30 and I hadn't had my 2nd snack, so I had it then (which it was a banana and 10 almonds).
We even went to Braums last night for ice cream and I had NOTHING. :o) yay!

Today (Tuesday) is Day 16 and I went to a pump/ball class at the gym and then taught my boot camp class. Tried something a little new today and I think it worked. We split up into 2 groups and while one group was doing a circuit on the floor, the other group did a circuit using the step and then we switched. (40 minute intervals followed by 20 seconds recovery). I thought it was a lot of fun and nice to do something different for a change--plus a GREAT workout!
Anyway, that's my workout for today. I just finished my lunch (oops! eating late! it's 2:37 right now) and it was SOOO good! Wow, I forgot how much I liked tuna! I mean...it never sounds good when I think of it...but I don't think I've ever put it in my mouth and NOT enjoyed it. Today I mixed it up with just a teensy bit of light mayo, a drop of dijon mustard and a glob of dill relish and sprinkled with pepper. Then I toasted a slice of light whole wheat bread and put the tuna on top and then topped that with shredded romaine and ate it with a fork. YUM! I also ate my sliced apple with it (instead of chips) and that was the perfect sweet crunch alternating between my sour/salty tuna bites. YUMMO!
I'm excited that tonight I get to relax in my clean house (cleaned Friday and again today) while the yard is beautifully mowed (mowed yesterday) and eat the dinner that I've already prepared (this afternoon-taco soup) and watch a movie I've been waiting to see for like SIX MONTHS! It's "Letters to Juliet" and I've heard wonderful things about it. I can't wait to see it--and to RELAX!

Days 10-14 and MEAL PLAN

Blah..I haven't been doing good at keeping this blog updated. Here is a quick rundown of the last 5 days:
Wednesday: Did Shoulders & Arms and Ab Ripper.
Thursday: Taught boot camp/weights class at the gym in lieu of YogaX.
Friday: Was supposed to be Back & Legs. Since I had just worked legs really heavy on Thursday (and abs) I decided to just do some back exercises on my own and a few leg things rather than doing the actual dvd. I also cleaned house for about 6 hours straight.
Saturday: Had a meeting at church at 9 am so I went to that and then afterwards hit the gym for an hour long Zumba class.
Sunday: Did nothing in the way of exercise...but did have a serious talk with Matt about my weight/eating habits. Decided to sit down and write out a meal plan for this week (like I used to in the good old days) and then went to Sam's Club and Wal-Mart and purchased $150 worth of produce, whole grains, protein bars, lean turkey, fish, greek yogurt, almonds, etc.
Since it will help hold me accountable AND some of you have expressed that you like me to post my meal plans, I am going to type it all out on here. Sorry it's sort of long and boring...but if you're struggling with eating healthy...you might benefit from copying this plan and trying it. For my portions, I typically eat 4 oz. of meat and 1/2-1 c. servings of veggies. For Matt, since he is not wanting to lose any more weight, I give him about twice as much meat, the same veggies and I sometimes add in an extra carb. (for instance, he has toast with his breakfast and I don't).
I'm trying to stick to around 1, 500 calories a day. Normally I would aim for more like 1,200 when I'm trying to lose weight...but I know that I am doing a lot of exercising right now and I need more than that to keep my energy/protein/fiber levels up. :o)
Matt's diet is around 3,000 calories a day.

Monday:
Breakfast:
Me: Veggie omelet (peppers, onions, tomatoes, egg whites), 1 slice turkey bacon.
Matt: Veggie omelet (peppers, onions, tomatoes, eggs, cheese), 2 turkey bacon, 1 WW toast.
Snack: String cheese; small apple
Lunch:
Me: Chef Salad (romaine, spring mix, spinach, turkey, cheese, tomatoes, bell pepper), light dressing, 1/2 c. yogurt mixed with fresh blueberries and strawberries.
Matt: Chef Salad as above but with croutons, more turkey and cheese and 8 Ritz crackers, 1/2 c. yogurt (no berries).
Snack: 10 whole natural almonds, small banana
Dinner: Marinated grilled chicken breast, brown rice, asparagus, salad

Tuesday:
Breakfast: Kashi oatmeal (Matt will have toast with his).
Snack: WW tortilla with 1/2 banana, slivered almonds and natural peanut butter all rolled up.
Lunch:
Me: Open faced (1 bread) Tuna sandwich, bell pepper strips, apple.
Matt: Tuna sandwich (2 bread and more tuna than me) , bell pepper strips, apple.
Snack: Protein bar
Dinner: Taco Soup (I can post recipe if anyone wants. It is very healthy as long as you eat it withOUT tortilla chips, gobs of shredded cheese and sour cream.) Matt will probably have the chips, cheese and sc....I won't.

Wednesday:
Breakfast:
Me: Spinach scramble (egg whites mixed w/ fresh spinach leaves & FF mozerella), turkey bacon
Matt: Spinach scramble (whole eggs mixed w/ fresh spinach leaves & FF mozerella), 2 turkey bacon, 1 WW toast
Snack: String cheese, small apple
Lunch: Turkey sandwich (me: 1 bread), pepper strips, 1/2 c. yogurt w/ berries.
Snack: 10 Almonds, small banana (Matt takes about 20 almonds)
Dinner: Turkey meatloaf, baked potato, green beans, salad

Thursday:
Breakfast: Veggie & spinach omelet, turkey bacon (Matt will have 2 bacon, toast and cheese)
Snack: Peanut Butter, almond, 1/2 banana roll up (in whole wheat tortilla)
Lunch:
Me: Left over meatloaf, green beans, salad
Matt: Turkey sandwich, chips (?)
Snack: Protein bar, small apple
Dinner: Baked flounder, broccoli soup, baked sweet potato, salad

Friday:
Breakfast: Triple Berry Pancakes, turkey sausage (Matt will have regular syrup, I will have Sugar Free. He'll have 3 sausage links, I'll have 1 or 2)
Snack: Apple, almonds
Lunch: Chicken Ranch Roll up, pepper strips, 1/2 c. yogurt w/ berries.
Snack: Protein bar
Dinner: Grilled turkey burgers, P90X coleslaw, vegetarian beans.

By the way: No soda to drink. Tea or water. We will have 1 cup of coffee in the mornings. Also, in the evenings if we get hungry, we may share a protein shake around 7 or 8 pm. (We eat dinner pretty early--usually around 5:30).

As for workouts:
Monday: (today) Chest & Back and Ab Ripper.
Tuesday: Classes at the gym (weights and boot camp)
Wednesday: Shoulders & Arms and Ab Ripper
Thursday: Either Yoga X or Cardio X or Plyo X...not sure??
Friday: Legs & Back and Ab Ripper
Saturday: Either go to gym for kickboxing and zumba or I'll do Plyo X.

Day 9

Today is Day 9. Since it's Tuesday, I went to the gym for a weights class and then taught my Boot Camp class (Insanity style today). I was wearing a light heather gray tank top and by the time I left the gym, it was DARK charcoal gray---meaning I was SOAKED. Yay--good workout!!

The bummer is that with this schedule, I'm not ever getting to do the P90X Plyometrics workout because it falls on Tuesday--which is my heavy gym day. Not that I miss it..that thing is killer! BUT...I do recognize the benefits I get from doing it...so I really want to figure out a way to add it back in. I'm thinking maybe I'll replace Thursday's Yoga video with it. But then that's a lot of leg work..and Legs & Back is the next day...so that's not really good. Hmm....maybe I could do it on Saturday in place of Kenpo (which I do NOT like). I don't know...I'm gonna have to figure it out though.

Anyway, now I've gotta really get focused on getting the eating back in line. I was doing great..then had the whole typical "Labor Day Weekend" food and messed up a bit. I am ready to get back to my P90X Nutrition Guide STRICTLY.

I tried to weigh myself today to see if I've made any progress with my weight. OF COURSE...of all the times...when I stepped on the scale all it said was "low batt". Blah! Now I'll have to wait until I can get to the store and buy a new 9V battery. I guess I can look on the bright side...now I have a few more days to drop more weight! :o)

can I admit

out loud to everyone that I am totally TICKED OFF about having to do a workout today? First of all...I'm just irritated today anyway. It's Labor Day and it should be a day OFF from the norm, right? But it hasn't been. It's been a boring, lazy, blah day and all I've done is cook, wash dishes, do laundry, do my work, clean up, pay bills, etc. BLAH! Then on top of it, I feel zapped of any energy. I'm pretty sure that is mostly due to a lack of having something to do. Sitting around trying to figure out what we might want to do ALL DAY LONG but not actually doing anything is one of my LEAST favorite things in the WORLD. It's like I wake up thinking "woohoo! we have a whole day to do anything we want" and instead of actually doing anything, we WASTE the entire day trying to think of something and before we know it, the day is over and we're going to bed having done nothing. Yep, that's how this day is playing out.
And I know I'm being a whiny baby...but I am really SICK of doing workouts at home all by myself (Matt's just not into it right now) and the kids act like they're irritated that I'm doing it. "mom...do you HAVE to do that? ugh!"
Furthermore...whether I work out or not, I am not losing any weight! That makes me want to scream and punch something! I know it's the dad-gum food intake that's killing me but I'm also SICK and tired of trying to cook something healthy that everyone in the house won't complain about. I can already tell from doing P90X for one week that my muscle tone is looking better (awesome)...but I don't think I've lost a pound. (which shouldn't be a big surprise seeing as how I've had like 3 cheat days in the past 7 days!).
Okay, I am seriously having a big pity party and I know it. I need to get up from here and get some endorphins pumping.
C-ya!

Days 5, 6 , 7 and 8

Okay, let's see...Friday was Day 5. I did Legs & Back and Ab Ripper X. Did good on eating. Told my daughter that I think I've eaten a salad every day for about 2 weeks now! HA!

Saturday was Day 6. Made pancakes for breakfast since that is one of the very few things my daughter can actually eat (after having her tonsils out). I ate 1 1/2 with sugar free syrup. Then I did CardioX before heading to my parents house for a Labor Day cookout where I ate 1 hotdog (no bun), potato salad, coleslaw, beans, dessert. Didn't do good on eating at ALL. :-(

Sunday we stayed home from church because Brooklyn was still not feeling well and decided to walk over to our neighbor's pond and do a little fishing. I was the first one to catch a fish-yay! After that we came home and I did all the push-mowing while Matt did weed-eating and the riding mower. I ended up getting SUNBURNED and didn't do StretchX even though I really wanted to because my body REALLY needs it...but we took a shower, ate left overs for dinner and watched The Man From Snowy River and then went to bed.

Today, Monday (Labor Day) is Day 8. It's P90X Chest & Back and Ab Ripper X again. I guess I'll do that right now before I take a shower and then head to Walmart for groceries for this upcoming week. Blah. I'm bummed out that we aren't doing anything fun today...but Matt is on call and can't really leave the house, plus Brooklyn is still post-surgery and is having to take pain meds every 3-4 hours, so she's not really up to going anywhere either. I'm really in a funk so I'm sure I'll feel MUCH better after doing my workout!

Day 4

Wow..this was a BUSY day! I got up early this morning to take my 9 yr old daughter to the hospital to have her tonsils and adenoids removed. Because of all the ruckus of the morning, I didn't have time to eat breakfast. I drank my coffee on the way to the hospital. After we got her into surgery, the nurse offered me and Matt a snack and a drink. It was mostly all muffins and danishes but there were a few TLC Kashi granola bars (140 cal) so I took one of those with a Diet Mt. Dew. By the time I finished a LARGE coffee and that Diet Mt. Dew I was shaking bad (plus all the freakiness of seeing your child in a hospital bed didn't help). Anyway, after we left the hospital, we stopped at Arby's to get her a shake and I knew I needed to eat something so I ordered the Chicken Club Market Fresh sandwhich. I'm sure it wasn't "great" but all it had on it was deli-style chicken breast, lettuce, tomato and cheese on toasted sandwhich bread (and a small dollop of ranch dressing). It was yummy. On the way home, the gym called and asked if I could teach 2 fitness classes that evening. At first I was gonna say "no" since I needed to be home taking care of Brooklyn, but then I remembered Matt AND my mom were there so she'd be fine. I said yes and went to the gym and taught a 30 minute ball-abs class and a 45 minute pump (weights) class.

When I got home I had 2 bowls of salad at my moms house (lettuce, grilled chicken, hard-boiled egg white, tomato, croutons and light ranch dressing).

After a shower,(I was EXHAUSTED) we watched the movie Marmaduke and I slowly nibbled on a single white chocolate chip cookie. I didn't mean to eat the whole thing, but I kept picking off tiny piece after tiny piece until it was all gone. Oh well...I think I did fine anyway.

I had FULLY intended on doing the YogaX video today, but since I taught 2 classes at the gym and was go-go-going all day, I just couldn't do an hour and a half yoga video TOO. Oh well. :o)

One thing about it...I just gotta go with the flow and do the best that I can.

Tomorrow is P90X Legs & Back with Ab Ripper and I'm totally looking forward to it!

Day 3

Today was Shoulders & Arms......and I just wanna say that I LOVE THAT WORKOUT! It has to be one of my very favorites. No push ups! No jumping! No pull ups! Woohoo! Plus, I LOVE the intense burn I get in my entire upper body from that routine! Mmmm-hmmmm!! Good Stuff!

I'll admit, I didn't get Ab Ripper done and my excuse is lame. Basically I waited until too late in the day and ran out of time. By the time I was about to do it, I knew that if I did...there was NO WAY I was going to be able to get showered and ready and make it to our dinner reservations at 6 pm...so I just had to say "oh well" this time. If it counts any...I did a lot of abs yesterday and my body probably needed a break anyway. :-)

Tonight we took our daughter on a very fancy date to a super nice restaurant. I tried to order smart, but who really knows!?! I got the Lite Filet Mignon. It was 4 or 6 oz. I believe. TINY. Haha Matt got the Ribeye and it looked gigantic next to my little chunck of meat! We shared some pototoes and asparagus as our sides. We had planned on getting a dessert to share (the 3 of us) since this was a special occasion for Brooklyn...but we ended up being too full and didn't get one afterall, so that was good.

Later on though at home, I had a 100% fruit grape popsicle.

The rest of the day eating was good. I had a 1 slice of wheat toast with 1 turkey sausage for breakfast with my coffee.

For lunch I made an AMAZING salad. It had romaine lettuce, sliced grapes, walnuts, grilled chicken, diced avacado, croutons and light sweet spicy French dressing. It was the BOMB! ha ha

I didn't do GREAT on eating today, but I know for a FACT that I did a lot better than I would "normally"...I mean FORMERLY do!

Tomorrow I can get back to strict P90X eating again and I'm actually looking forward to it because, crazy as it is, I feel like I'm already starting to shape up again and that is SO encouraging!

I hope you're doing well with your fitness/health journey! How about you jot me a note and let me know you are reading!?!? Thanks!

Here are a few pix from tonight I thought I'd share with you, even though they have nothing to do with fitness: This first one is of me and my daughter, Brooklyn after our fancy-schmancy dinner date!

This one is of me and Matt trying on some masks at Pier 1. Fun!

Day 2

I got a call this morning to see if I could teach the class before mine at the gym...so that meant that I taught a 45 minute pump (weights) class and then a 45 minute (cardio) boot camp class. I had full intentions of coming home and doing P90X Plyometrics afterwards...but to be honest, I was so physically spent and exhausted after those 2 classes PLUS sore as HECK from Chest & Back/Ab Ripper from the day before, that I decided to let myself off the hook. Honestly, trying to do 3 workouts in one day is a bit much anyway...so the classes I taught at the gym yesterday will serve as my Day 2 workout.
Eating wasn't great today ...but I knew that would be--even before the day got here. I had already made plans to have Rene over for her birthday for lunch and an afternoon cookie-baking-session. We had grilled chicken salad for lunch (YUM! and very good) but then I made a whole batch of White Chocolate Chip Macadamia Nut cookies and she made a whole batch of Walnut Chocolate Chip cookies. We each ate one of each. Now cookies are not on my "P90X Nutrition Plan" BUT....only having 2 is quite a victory, so I'm not gonna get all freaked out about it.
I made a very healthy dinner of grilled turkey tenderloin, baked sweet potato fries, salad and broccoli soup.
In all, I guesstimate that I had about 1300 calories today.

Day 1

So...here I am...P90X Day 1 (again).
Yes, I am starting a new 90 day run of P90X. I could give a zillion reason why I'm doing this and a zillion reason why I'm scared to death that I won't succeed at it...but I'm not gonna.
Today is Day 1, tomorrow will be Day 2 and so on. One day at a time is what I have to do right now. :o)
So...for anyone who's interested...here's how my day went:
7 am: Coffee
11 am: 1 Whole Wheat Tortilla (130 cal), egg whites, a few bacon bits, sprinkle of cheese
1 pm: P90X Chest & Back and Ab Ripper X. Did the WHOLE thing--which consisted of about a million push ups and pull ups. Owwwch!
3 pm: 1 scoop chocolate whey protein powder (105 cal) , 1 small banana (70 cal) , 1 c. skim milk (90 cal)
6 pm: 6 oz. baked flounder, small red potato, 1 c. broccoli puree soup

In my guesstimation, I consumed approximately 1115 calories today. Actually less than I intended...but that's because I skipped breakfast (unintentionally).
Weight today was 144.4 (ohh mahhh gawwd!!!)

Workout Buddies

Here are a couple pix I snapped of me and Brooklyn after doing Insanity last week. We were both SOAKED! I love the one of the back of her hair....it's dripping wet!

Before (again) Pix

Ugh...This is accountablity. I really don't want to post these, but I know that if I'm ever going to hold myself responsible for the poor eating choices I've been making, that I'm gonna have to admit to myself (and everyone else) that I'm not the lean-mean-exercising machine that I was at this time last year. Oh well....life goes on. And besides, now that the kids are in school, I'm back to working at it. Here I am....at about 142. The goal isn't as much to reach any certain number on the scale...as it is to fit back into my jeans by winter! I'll let you know how it goes!

This last one is of me before Matt and I went out one night. I can't believe how much different my clothes are fitting because of this 10 pounds I put on. Everything is hugging my curves and gathering up in places it didn't use to. BLAH!

You don't really need to know....

So....
What happened on Friday, Saturday and Sunday...you don't really need to know. :o)

Let's talk about today...Monday...a new day. A fresh start RIGHT? :o)

Today I've eaten a whole grain English muffin with egg white, turkey bacon and shredded cheese on it (for breakfast).
A big salad with tomatoes, light sweet spicy French dressing and 1/2 c. taco meat on top and a small apple with 1 TBSP. natural peanut butter. (for lunch)
A small banana with 8 almonds and a Sunsweet Prune. (for snack)

When Matt gets home, we're all FOUR doing a P90X workout together before we have a healthy dinner of baked fish, brown rice and veggies-squash, onion, pepper, zuzzhini (for dinner).

Needless to say, I didn't weigh in on Friday like I had planned. This weekend was a DOOZY for me. PMS and cravings pretty much controlled my body and at one point I actually covered my own ears and screamed at the top of my lungs for as long as I could! Yes...it was bad.

TGIM...Thank God it's Monday! :o)

If only...

As always....I find myself wishing that workouts were enough. If only I could just workout enough to compensate for my poor eating...but alas...I know the truth and unfortunately, this is not possible for me.
So this is the dealio: Last night when Matt got home from work I had set out a pound of ground beef. I know he's been less-than-thrilled with my cooking lately because I have been making quick, healthy food (ie. pre-made turkey burger patties, chicken breast, veggies-all on the George Foreman grill). Basically, it's quick and its healthy...but it's not tasty.
So last night, after a bit of a rough day, I wanted to make him something he'd enjoy. So I went through my recipes with him and he picked out "Hamburger Steak". This is a recipe card I was given by his grandmother at my wedding shower and I've never made. To me, it sounded gross. You take 1 lb. of hamburger meat, mixed with 4 Tbsp. of mayo, 1/4 c. flour and an egg. Mix all together and form into patties and fry in oil on a skillet. Gross. But...in the name of love...I did it. I also made some homemade fries with onions (from red potatoes) and Kraft Mac-n-cheese for the kids. Nothing healthy about this meal at all. He loved it. The kids like it. I endured it. Blah! I don't know why anyone would want to ruin a perfectly good pound of lean ground beef like that. Anyway, I was really happy to have totally satisfied him with that meal...but on the other hand I was really disappointed that I ate THAT. After all this good eating and working out I've been doing...blah! So what did I do? I made me a bowl of that delicious Edy's 1/2 cal. French Silk ice-cream and wallowed in guilt! ha ha (I only had a measured out 1/2 cup serving though)
Thankfully I went to the gym with Rene yesterday and we logged a few miles on the treadmills, a few miles on the stationary bikes and a good half hour of weights/abs.
Anyway, today I went to the gym again and took Shelley's class (bootcamp with weights) and then came home and just ate what I think was a fairly healthy lunch. (a lettuce wrap and then a bowl of raisin bran). Now I am stuffed. :o) Wish I'd have stopped a bit sooner, but oh well.
So that's where I am. Tomorrow I will weight and I'll see if the scale has budged any. I honestly don't expect it to be good. Even though I've upped my workouts CONSIDERABLY and been eating better, I've also done "not-good" several times and I'm thinking I probably won't see a loss this week. Blah! Oh well....better luck next time. :o)

progress report

So, Monday I ate good, lots of salad. I taught 2 fitness classes that night at the gym. 45 minutes of interval step/weights and 45 minutes of hardcore boot camp. It was EXTRA warm in there so everyone left completely SOAKED in sweat! :o)

Tuesday I got up and headed for the gym again to go to Shelley's ball/weights class and then I taught boot camp. I threw in some Insanity moves to up the intensity a bit and it was a great workout. I ate good all day Tuesday because I knew we were going out to Zio's Italian for dinner. I also knew that I had a coupon for a free appetizer and that we would order the Italian Nachos (my FAVORITE). Thankfully, since we were having dinner with some friends, I behaved myself and only ate a "normal" amount of the appetizer instead of hogging it and licking the plate before I let the waiter take it away! ha ha Matt and I shared a thin crust combo (supreme) pizza and I had 2 small slices. Not good by ANY means...but better than I would have done previously. It was my "cheat" day so no biggie.

The proof will be today...a very busy day for me...that I get in a work out AND continue back on my healthy eating. I've already had an inkling to just "throw caution to the wind" and eat something unhealthy...but I resisted the urge. I MUST not let a single cheat day completely change the direction of my path. It's like a speed bump and instead of going over it...I just turn and go down a different road (the road to eating junk again). Ugh! Live and learn, right? :o)

I will (plan to) weigh on Friday and see if the scale shows any progress. Even if it doesn't, I know I've made some VERY good choices over the past week and I'm proud of that. :o)

She's my girl!!!

So, I started out my Sunday by getting up and doing Insanity Cardio Abs before church. Since I didn't have time for a "real" breakfast, I just grabbed a banana and a Lara bar on my way out the door.
After church, we ate Oscar Meyer Turkey Smoked Sausage hot off the grill with a big salad and green beans. I "treated" myself and had 1/2 cup of Edy's 1/2 cal 1/2 fat French Silk ice cream (110 cal). YUM!
We spent the afternoon playing Mario Kart on the Wii (I beat everyone's socks off!) and then we began a new game of Monopoly (which will probably take 2 weeks to finish!) :o)

After that we went to the annual Ice Cream Social at our church where they were giving out free sloppy joe's and all the ice cream you can eat! I ended up eating 1 1/2 sloppy joe sandwiches but not a drop of ice cream! I put some gum in my mouth and refused all the wonderful flavors of creamy, sugary frozen treats!

When we got home from church (at 7:30 pm) the weather had suddenly turned BEAUTIFUL. Rather than hot, it was about 78 and breezy so we loaded up all 4 of our bikes and went riding for about an hour. It felt great to have my quads burning like that while going up the hills and then ahhh....feeling the wind through my hair as we coasted back down. When we got home, I actually felt revved up and ready to go....so...I decided to do something I've never done before :
Insanity Max Cardio Conditioning.
It was almost 9 pm so I told the kids they needed to get in their jammies and ready for bed--which they begged to not have to do. So I made a deal with them (secretly knowing they'd never last) I told them they could stay up for as long as they did this workout with me. HA HA HA I thought...they don't know what they're in for!
Well.....the joke was on ME!
Grant was in and out throughout the workout but BROOKLYN DID ALL FORTY SEVEN MINUTES WITH ME!
Yes...my 9 year old daughter hung in there and COMPLETED A MAX INSANITY WORKOUT. I'm still in awe.
Nothing against her...but seriously, I know very few adults that could even do that...let alone a child who hardly ever gets any exercise. By the time we were done, we were both DRENCHED in sweat (as Insanity promises you will be!)
Before we took a shower, I snapped a few sweaty pics of us together...which are so cute and I would LOVE to post them on here but DUMB BLOGGER won't let me! Grrr!
I guess I'll save them all up and eventually some day when my PC is working correctly again, I'll post them along with my "before" pictures I took.
Anyway, I'm proud of what I'm doing...and if I could reach, I'd pat myself on the back and give myself a MUCH NEEDED deep tissue massage because quite frankly I feel like my back is tied up in about a hundred knots. I'm OBVIOUSLY not accustomed to THIS much working out anymore! :o)
Today is Monday and I'm scheduled to instruct 2 classes at the gym tonight. I haven't checked yet, but I think one is step aerobics with some weight training and the 2nd one is boot camp (45 minutes of hardcore cardio). That'll be my workout for today. I am excited to get another day under my belt of healthy eating and maybe by Friday, I'll be back in the 130's with my weight! Woohoo!

Weight & Measurements

So, like I said, I was going to weigh and take my "before" measurements and post them. Blah! I did it..and I'm not happy...but this is OBVIOUSLY why I'm getting back to eating right and working out again, so at LEAST I'm not just sitting here being depressed, but doing something about it!

So...my weight was 141.6. AUGH! Last year at this time, I was at around 134...so that means I've put on about 7 pounds. (no WONDER why none of my pants fit!)
Here are my measurements (which I know is very boring reading...but it helps me to have a posted list of them so I can check my progress)
Waist (at bellybutton): 32
Chest (around largest part of boobs):35
Right and left thigh (around largest part of leg-about 1 inch from crotch): 23
Right bicep (not flexed): 11
Right bicep (flexed): 12
Left bicep (not flexed): 11 1/2
Left bicep (flexed: 12

I took "before" pictures for you...but I canNOT get blogger to let me upload any images!?! When I click on the "image" button...nothing happens. Anyone have any suggestions?

So far I've been doing good. Worked out at the gym on Thursday, did P90X Chest, Shoulders & Triceps yesterday. We went out for dinner and I ordered grilled Salmon and steamed veggies! Yay! Did have some low-fat frozen yogurt after the movie last night, but not too much, so no guilt. Today I got up and went to kickboxing, Zumba and abs at the gym so I feel like I'm off to a great start!

The overall goal is to workout daily, eat healthy and fit back into my jeans by winter! :o)
I'll try using Picasa to post the pix.

Chutes & Ladders

That's what my weight has been like lately. Up and down, mostly up :-(
But there has been an end in sight...and it was August 12th. The day that my kids go back to school and the day that I committed once again to getting "serious" about being MORE healthy and fit.
So as you know...that was yesterday and in normal fashion, stumbling blocks were in my way even before the day began. First of all was a birthday lunch for my cousin that I was invited to-at a Mexican restaurant. Ugh! Of all the places that I have a HORRIBLE time resisting...it's there. Chips and salsa/queso. Mmmmm! So I knew I needed a game plan before I even left the house. I looked up their menu online to hopefully get some nutritional info before I left, but sadly, they don't have it posted online (wonder why!!!) So, I determined not to even TOUCH a tortilla chip and to order something healthy-ish as I could. I ended up doing well, I think. I had a bowl of tortilla soup for my meal and didn't have a single chip. I drank water and forfieted my sopapilla. Yay! That's check mark 1.

My buddy Rene picked me up before lunch and we ran into town real quick for a bootcamp class at the gym which entirely kicked my butt...but in a good way. I told Shelley, the instructor, afterwards that "that was a miserably good workout"! ha..but really...it was about like doing Insanity for the first time and you start thinking WHAT HAVE I GOTTEN MYSELF INTO!!!!?? So check mark 2---I got my workout done!

Anyway, for dinner, since it was the first day of school, I let the kids pick out anything they wanted for dinner. I totally expected to hear "Pizza!!" but instead they requested my homemade fried chicken and mashed potatoes. I haven't made that since 2008 BEFORE we started P90X. It was difficult for me to "bread" my skinless boneless chicken breasts and then FRY them in oil...but I did it. I figured once every 2 years isn't going to kill anyone. Plus, I only made one piece for each of us, so we couldn't go overboard. I also made mashed potatoes and carrots with a big salad. It was a delicious meal and again, I think I did well. I had half a chicken breast, about 1/2 c. of mashed potatoes and lots of carrots and salad.
After dinner when everyone had chocolate chip cookies and ice cream, I ate my Sunsweet Prune for the day with 4 whole almonds and called it good. Check mark 3. Hooray!

My goal is to eat healthy (no more sweets, chips, breads, JUNK) and workout EVERY day. I'm going to try to post either daily or every other day so I can use this to hold me accountable. You guys feel free to "kick me in the butt" too if you see me slacking!
Tonight I will take my measurements, weight and such....so I can see where I'm beginning from. Eeeeeeeeek! (I'm SCARED!)

Sometimes motivation comes from the craziest thing:

Yesterday when I went to Zumba, I saw someone I hadn't seen in a few months. My mouth dropped open because 1. She looked AMAZING!!! and 2. I didn't even know she was trying to lose weight!!!
After class I said, WOW! You look fantastic!!! I can see a enormous difference in your body!
and she said, "Thanks!, I've lost 23 pounds in the last couple of months."
omg...
23 pounds for a person who is already really fit and not overweight is a LOT. I wouldn't have thought she had 23 pounds to lose! It was SUCH AN INSPIRATION to me because it reminded me of how "okay" I looked before doing P90X and getting more serious about eating right versus how MUCH BETTER I looked after wards!
Now that I've seen her, I have this "oh no she's not gonna look this much better than me" attitude! ha ha (again...who knew I was so competitive???)

I'm finally starting to anticipate school being back in session just for the fact that I know I will do so much better with eating and exercise when I'm not entertaining and feeding the kids all day. Excuses, excuses...whatever...it's the truth. I hope I can start doing posts very soon about my own weight loss! Nothing drastic, but it would be nice to dissolve the layer of blubber that is covering over my hard-earned muscles!
Today, I'm teaching kickboxing and I plan to envision that Wave Master bag as a gigantic hamburger since I ate out TWICE yesterday and had a burger both times! ugh!
"Forgetting those things which are behind and pressing on towards the things which are ahead..."

Picking up the pace...

Well, I've been working out more lately and I'm so glad. Even though I'm not doing NEARLY as much as I once was, working out only once a week was not a good thing either. No exercise = grumpy Jen. Blah!
So, yesterday I did CardioX from P90X and today I got up and went to an hour-long Zumba class at the gym. On Monday night, Matt and I lifted weights together for about half an hour. It felt great and DUDE! He's looking GREAT! Here are some pix I snapped of him that he'd probably kill me for putting on here if he knew (Mr. Modesty)...but since he VERY rarely looks at my blog, I can probably get away with it! :o)It's really very UNJUST cool how easy he stays in tip-top shape. I mean...not to say he doesn't work at it ...but...he DEFINITELY doesn't stress about everything he eats and if he goes 2 or 3 weeks between workouts, it's NO big deal. I have to remind myself that he has a very active job though and I'm sure that helps a lot.
Anyway, I'm not losing any weight...staying at around 140...but that's alright. I'm upping my workouts and being a LITTLE more conscience of what I'm eating, so I'm cool wit it. :o)

How about you? How're you guys doing? Anybody thinking about trying TurboFire?

Read it--U need it!

It's not everyday that I read a post that I am excited about that I IMMEDIATELY hop over to my blog and link to it so all my readers can see it...but today IS one of those times...this is an EXCELLENT post from one of my dear friends! If you aren't sure you're interested...just listen to the name of her blog: "My Body is a Temple....with ample parking in the rear." How hilarious is that?!?!

http://bodyisatemple1.blogspot.com/2010/07/my-bone-to-pick.html

Positive Peer Pressure

You can read that as: Positive = good, helpful, beneficial
or you can read that as: Positive = definite, absolute

Either way...I POSITIVELY peer pressured my hubby into a workout last night and it worked! :o)
It started out with a little "c'mon, let's drop down and do 30!"
I could see the "i-don't-really-feel-like-it" in his eyes. So, without further delay, I got down and started bustin'em out. Well, of course, he couldn't sit there and watch his girl pumpin' out the push ups and not join...so down he went.
Next thing I know he's up to ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY push ups with perfect form!
He got up and together we admired the deep cut down the center of his pecks and the sharp diamond shape of his cut triceps! wow!
I mean, c'mon girls...what's sexier than seeing your guy all pumped, with the veins in his biceps bulging? ahhh...dreamy!!

Afterwards { :-) } he thanked me for "pushing him" to do that and said he never would have done any of it if I hadn't said it and then done it.

I got to thinking about my friend Rene and how disgusted we both are with our recent weight gain. As much as I HAAAAAAATE to admit it, we are probably a bit of a distraction for each other because we both LOVE to eat and lately between the two of us, we always have coupons for yummy restaurants. So we justify eating out together a LOT because it's "cheap". But as she mentioned to me yesterday...what is a bargain for our wallet is sometimes a HUGE DEBT for our body! (we've both also come to the realization (again!) that even though we also workout together a LOT, it still doesn't make up for the food we've been eating.)
So, I resolve to not be fat buddies with her anymore. :o) We can surely find ways to eat together that will be easy on the wallet AND good for our bodies. Like the time I went to her house and the kids ate greasy, meat-laden pizza while she made us cucumber and tomato sandwiches! Normally I NEVER would have turned down pizza for a VEGGIE sandwich, but it was that Positive Peer Pressure that did it for me. I couldn't be "the only one" who ate the bad stuff while I watched her eat the good stuff. (plus, we were wearing bikini's at the moment too and that'll really make ya think twice about what you're stuffing your face with! :o)

So my challenge to you is...try it! Positive peer pressure someone you love into doing something good for themselves today. Maybe it's challenging them to holding a plank for 3 minutes...or a wall squat for 5 minutes. Maybe it's talking them into fruit for dessert instead of that brownie. I don't know...but YOU can make a difference in someones life today! Let's do it!

Here I am...

Wow, I can't believe it's been almost 2 weeks since I last posted! Crazy! Well, in the "meantime" I turned 32 (on Saturday) and celebrated all weekend long with friends and family! It was a great time (with lots of caution-less eating, sadly).

Also, apparently a big number of instructors at my gym decided to go to VEGAS on my birthday weekend which left me picking up the slack at the gym while they were gone. In the past 7 days, I have taught 8 fitness classes! (not that many for a lot of instructors, but I'm used to just doing one a week...so it was a big jump for me). The good thing about that is that I worked out WAYYYYYY more than I have been...AND...I got paid for every workout! Now that's a pretty SWEET deal!

Also a nice plus to all this instructing is that I convinced my hubby to come to all my classes and now he is BACK in weight-lifting mode! He's pumping iron pretty much every day now and chugging down his Cyto-gainer, Muscle Milk, Recovery Formula and Men's Strength & Muscle Formula.
Funny how all it takes is one good hard-core workout, getting drenched in sweat and it re-lights the fire again! I am exactly the same way. It's easy to let the flame dwindle and go out...but once you ignite it again, it's BLAZING. :o)

Since P90X is our first love and was the ANSWER...the KEY...to our success with our bodies, we can't help but want to get back into it again. So...here we go. No plans, no commitments, no schedule...just gonna start popping in a dvd whenever we can and see where that takes us.
Even though I know we would be more focused and succesful WITH a plan/schedule...it's just not the time to be that dedicated. We are living life right now first and foremost--investing in our kids lives while they are home for the summer and I just refuse to be "guilted" into an hour a day workout for this next month.
However...school starts in about 29 days...so THEN we (or at least I) can begin to put a little more dedication into my workouts.
For now, we're using Tony's motto "Do your best and forget the rest."
So how are you doing? Hanging in there?

Another quick thing: What about Beachbody coaching? Have you considered it? I am really realizing that this is a great opportunity for me. Now that the checks are coming in consistently every week, I'm very encouraged! There's something pretty cool about seeing money direct deposited into my account every Friday and knowing that all I did was send out a few emails encouraging fellow workout buddies! It really is a blessing to have a job like this and it's just as available to you as it is to me! Go to www.beachbodycoach.com/onetoughgirl to find out more...or just ask me!!

How refreshing!!!

How refreshing it is to know that you amazing people are still by my side even though I gave you the dreaded "let down post." It was beyond encouraging to me to see that no one said "Jen, I'm so disappointed in you"...but instead you were all cheering me on! YAY!
You know, I don't regret being so "gung-ho" and a total fitness fanatic for the past year or two...it's been a huge tool that has shaped me into the woman I am now (literally! ha ha) but I am sooooooooo glad that it was just a "Season" of my life and that now I've moved into the next chapter, which is "hard core" when I need to bring it...but "laid back" all the rest of the time. Even the best things in life can be taken TOO seriously, TOO extreme, TOO obsessive. I was teetering on that line there for a bit.
I give props to the people who don't have kids or spouses who can devote their LIFE to having a body of perfection, working out insane hours a day, watching every morsel that enters their mouth. Those people who journal every bite, log every calorie burned and could fill a swimming pool with their sweat. Yah..that's amazing.
But as much as that sort of person is deep inside of me, that is not the life I have chosen. I am a momma and a wife and the need for a supermodel body is just not there.
I feel sort of sad and guilty...saying this on this P90X blog. I feel like "wow, what kind of motivation can I possibly be to you all now?"
I hope, I pray...that I will be an even better role model and inspiration to you all now actually.
My hope for my life...and for your is that you'll "Give it all you've got--all the time." During workouts, give 100%. Make the time count. Get the biggest "bang for your buck." Don't just half-hop and half-squat and throw your arms around like limp noodles. Tighten up, squeeze, go low, jump high, strong arms, tight abs-PUSH!PUSH!PUSH! And when you're done...you're DONE! Physically AND mentally. (no thinking about how many calories you can burn while you're doing XXX Rene! :-)
And the same goes for the other areas of your life. Be present. When you're playing with your kids...give them ALL of you. Don't let your mind wander, don't let the ring of your cell phone distract you. They deserve 100% and they will appreciate getting it. And you'll be pleasantly surprised at how fun doing kid-things can actually be when you quit trying to divide your attention into so many categories!
When your with your hubby...be his DREAM WIFE. Ask him "in a perfect world where your every need and desire is met, what would your wife be like?" Then go to any length needed to be that for him. He only gets one wife for all of his life...so why not make his dreams come true?

I could go on and on...but I won't...you can figure out how this applies to the other relationships and commitments in your life--but I will say this: Be the kind of friend you would like to have.

Think about what matters most in your life, what you'll look back on one day and be proud of --or gulp! regret...and then go after those important things with all you've got.

Even when you're relaxing...relax completely. Don't try to take a bubble bath while you read a magazine, listen to music, paint your toenails and scrape the soap scum off the side of the tub. One thing at a time, sweet girl. Turn off everything and let your mind wander in the dark silence. Besides, how are you EVER gonna hear the voice of God if He has to SCREAM in order for you to hear Him over all the chaos and chatter going on?

Give it your all--all the time!
xoxo-I love you guys!

Hips Don't Lie

Besides the number on the scale, besides having to SqEEzE into my jeans, do you know how I KNOW I've gained weight??????
My hip bones disappear.
And yes, my friends, this IS a tragedy. I LOVE my hips. (hey that's not something you hear women say everyday! ha ha) Okay, really, I don't love my HIPS...but I love my hip bones. When my tummy is flat and I've been working out diligently and eating right, they are pronounced and quite shapely and lovely. They frame my hard-earned abs just perfectly.
But today as I stood in the dressing room at Old Navy trying on a size larger pair of white linen shorts, I realized that I CAN'T SEE THEM ANYMORE!
AUGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!
Their absence is honestly the "last straw" for me, I can't stand it! I refuse to let them be suffocated by layers of blubber. I've worked toooo hard to set them free to let this happen!
So what's my game plan? .....Beats me! I've had ENOUGH of making plans/goals/decisions and failing. I'm not exactly sure what I'm going to do about this, but I know a few things:
1. Even my precious hip bones aren't more important than quality time with M, G and B.
2. A hour+ a day of exercise is too much to ask of myself (at least until school starts back up)...but maybe I could give half an hour!?!
3. Dessert is a necessity in my life and while I might be able to cut back, I've proven that I am incapable of cutting it OUT...and quite honestly, if I have to live life without eating a brownie fudge sundae every now and then, --then just go ahead and kill me now! :o)

So...there you have it peeps. The let down post. The one where all you people who think so highly of me just got your "bubble burst". I'm sorry. I've disappointed myself too. But along the way, I've also learned some priceless lessons about family/parenthood/God's calling on my life. While exercise and healthy eating will ALWAYS be a big part of my life and a priority for me, from here on out, they are taking a small baby step down the ladder.