Week Eight Results!!

My goal for this weigh-in was 134....and after all of the upset in my routine/plan because of the holidays, I was hoping at least not to gain anything and to stay at 135. So I weighed myself this morning, and....134!! It's a Christmas miracle!!! ha ha ha :) This makes me feel pretty good about my ability to maintain my loss when this is all over, since I was eating the things I wanted (within reason, and smaller portions) and working out less. So, once I get to my goal, I can get onto a "maintenance schedule" and hopefully keep at that weight! Plus, I know I will keep active no matter what, and try to run at least three times a week and do pilates three to four times a week, regardless of whether I am trying to lose or not. Now it feels like a habit, something I'm used to doing and something I want to do!
So...four and a half weeks left and it will be the end of the 13 weeks, and I will be in San Diego! I have been thinking recently, and looking at my calendar...if I do maintain this two-pound-a-week loss which seems to be very do-able for me, I will be at 126 the Monday before I leave for San Diego. I wasn't sure when I started out how the weight would come off, or what I would look like after 20 pounds of loss. Most people that I told my goal to at the outset thought I was crazy and said "How are you going to lose twenty pounds, you'll have nothing left!" Because I wasn't huge, and I'm pretty small and short to begin with. But I knew it was there and that it had to go!! Now I look at where I am currently, and I think if I take eight more pounds off I will probably be at my optimal weight. Very slim and not much fat, but I think it is completely within healthy range. I do have a lot more fat on my thighs and butt (and some minimally on my tummy and arms) that could go, thank you very much. So I am going to keep trying for the two pound a week thing. 130 is still my minimum goal, but I'll say 126 is my optimum goal!! I know I am building muscle and that weighs more, so we'll see how it all evens out. I think I'll know when I am at my perfect balance, and at a weight/muscle ratio that is realistic to maintain long term.
So...now that Christmas is behind me, it's time to get back to the gym!! Let's go!

Week Eight, days four - seven....recap time!

So, what with the holidays and all I was a little less than diligent about updating here, and things were all around kind of screwy! But I'm happy to report that I did a pretty decent job with my plan, regardless! Here's a quick and dirty recap...

Thursday, Day four.....today I was planning on getting up and going to the gym to get some cardio in....but I was feeling pretty worn out from work the night before and I only had a small window of time (not to mention we got dumped on with snow overnight and I really didn't feel like dealing with that!) since we were supposed to be leaving for my aunt and uncles' in Lakeville by around 1:00. So I decided to stay home and do some pilates instead.
Then I continued my trend of breaking my diet plan (only in small ways though) and had an amazing meal made by my aunt Patty, beef teriyaki tenderloin, mashed potatoes, salad, green beans...it was SO GOOD! And then like 10 different types of cookies to choose from for dessert. I was in heaven. But I was pretty good and didn't feel like I fell off the wagon too hard :) None of the food was terribly unhealthy either...just a lot richer than what I have been eating lately! YUM.
After dinner we all played many rounds of Apples to Apples (which is kind of becoming our holiday tradition), then drove home in the snow just in time to make it to the midnight Christmas Eve service at church. All in all a great Christmas Eve!!

Day Five, Friday....Christmas Day!! Since my gym was closed today I knew I would be either taking the day off working out, or just doing some stuff at home. So after opening our gifts in the morning (I got an awesome new workout outfit, thanks Dad (and Jen for helping)!) I did some pilates and resistance/weight stuff at home. It was actually a really good workout and got my heart pumping! The rest of the day was very relaxing, we had a yummy beef roast for dinner and then watched Julie & Julia that evening. I didn't realize it at the time, but that movie definitely inspired in many ways the first time I saw it....to start this blog, for one, and just to go after my dreams and realize that it's going to be hard at times, but when you are following your passion, those minor setbacks are to be expected and even embraced! Such a great movie :)

Day Six, Saturday....today I went back to the gym to do some weights and cardio! It felt great! I did some stuff on the machines to concentrate on my legs and arms, and then ran for about a half hour with ten minute intervals of running and three minute rest. Then had to cut it a little short to get home and prepare for having the future in-laws over for lunch :) Then I had to work a lame carry-out shift at work which turned out to be very short, which was nice because I had the rest of the evening to hang out with my sister! We had Dairy Queen. It was SO good. I got a small blizzard and brought half home for my mom, and that seemed to be good enough to satisfy my craving (and treat my mom!) without going off the wagon too bad!!

Day Seven, Sunday....today I planned on resting, and with church in the morning and work all afternoon/evening, there isn't much time for working out on Sundays ever! Weigh in tomorrow...hopefully my lax workout/eating this week didn't make me gain weight! Ah well, it's the holidays...and I still have four weeks left to get to my goal...I can't believe it is coming to the end of the thirteen weeks!!

Workout tally:
Cardio: 2
Resistance: 5
Pilates/Yoga: 3

Week Eight, days one, two and three....here comes the hard part...

....trying to keep my fitness momentum going with work being absolutely insane, working more shifts, trying to get things done for xmas, fitting in workouts when work is weird, other holiday things are scheduled everywhere, and my gym is closed and classes cancelled, trying to eat responsibly when there is temptation EVERYWHERE and my regular routine is all screwy. SIGH. All I can do for this week is try my best to fit things in when I can and realize that it may not happen, and that's ok :). Luckily, I still have 4 1/2 weeks left after this one to get the remaining weight off and get all buff! So maybe next Monday I won't be 134, but I'm sure as hell gonna try to get there in spite of it all. And by all means try to not put ON any weight!!

Day one, Monday.....today I was scheduled to work my normal Monday double, but on Sunday offered my day shift to anyone who wanted it (and like three people jumped at the offer at once, and fought it out, ha! I can see why, it was so crazy busy on Monday and the person who took my shift made really good money. Oh well.) So I didn't work in the afternoon so I could do all the cleaning and stuff for my sister to come stay with us and use my room (actually her room, but I live in it now, ha ha). Then I went to work the night shift and it was pretty insane. It felt busy and stressful like a Friday but it dragged by like a Monday. Go figure.
I didn't plan to work out at all today, which ended up being a blessing because I woke up with the worst cramps EVER, and felt nauseous and pretty awful all day. So I was glad I was just home in the afternoon, cleaning and kind of taking it easy and not getting my butt kicked at work all day and all night. I didn't really feel like eating at all but I forced myself to eat my usual meals, and then by the time I got to work I was ravenous for some reason but still felt queasy. I decided the only thing that would help me in this condition was one of our brownies :) So my manager bought one for me at the end of the night and I scarfed it down on the way home. It really did help, I swear! Chocolate is the only thing that does in those situations.

Day Two, Tuesday....today I worked in the afternoon, and it was as expected busier than usual so I was on for much longer than usual....then my mom and sis stopped by since they were at the mall shopping and we had a late lunch/early dinner at the restaurant! YUM. (This week I am cheating in small ways everywhere it seems. Oh well, it's Christmas!) But we shared some appetizers and one entree between the three of us and did generally healthy stuff so it wasn't all that bad. When I got home after some more shopping, I forced myself to do pilates and weights. I was feeling pretty tired, but felt good afterwards :) Then my mom and sister and I made and decorated cookies (a little more cheating) and wrapped presents while watching "A Mighty Wind" and laughing our butts off :)

Day Three, Wednesday...today I met with my trainer and she worked me really hard! After going through some weights and resistance stuff, she showed me something new to do on the treadmill as part of my cardio...it is basically doing a chasse sideways on the treadmill for a minute both sides (it feels really weird but toward the end I got the hang of it) and then sprinting for a minute. I did this for fifteen minutes, and then finished up with 15 minutes (1.5 miles) of running and some cool down walking. Pretty great workout! I am now running easily at a faster pace too, which is cool! I can easily do a mile in ten minutes without getting winded. Then tonight I work my last shift until after Xmas, don't know what to expect business wise...I feel like it might be a little slow. And people are starting to get nervous about the expected weather we are supposed to be getting...sounds like we will for sure be having a white Christmas! Yikes.

I can't believe that I will be in San Diego five weeks from today!!!! It is going fast now, but I am missing Eben like crazy. I don't like this Phase II of training, I have only gotten two letters in 2+ weeks. BOO to that. But at the end of this week he comes back to the Recruit Depot to begin the final phase and then graduation is just weeks away! So now that it's getting very close it should be extra motivation to get and stay in the best shape ever!

Workout tally:
Cardio: 1
Resistance: 2
Yoga/Pilates: 1

Week Seven Results!!

So this morning I did my weekly weigh-in...goal for the end of week seven was 136. I stepped on the scale and I'm 135!! So even though I missed some workouts I still managed to lose 2.5 pounds last week which is great! I did manage to make up almost all my missed workouts toward the end of the week though which was good. So I only have to lose one pound this upcoming week at minimum to stay on track. Which is good, because with Christmas on Friday everything is going to be a little less than routine this week, to say the least! But I am pretty confident I'll be able to fit most of my workouts in, and cheat responsibly on the eating front! Ha ha :)

Week Seven, days six and seven

Day Six, Saturday.....today I went to the gym and did my weight training routine from my last training session, then did a half hour of running on the treadmill! It was nice to feel back to normal energy-wise, and be able to do a normal workout again!

Day Seven, Sunday...though Sunday is usually my rest day, I did do some yoga and pilates in the afternoon before my shift at work to try to make up for what I missed earlier in the week. I had thought I could maybe fit in another cardio workout to bring my tally up to my goal, but I decided to take it easy and not push too hard--I did some intense running three days in a row and then worked two long weekend night shifts the next two days, and my legs are feeling a little done for!
I know next week will be a little strange with Christmas affecting my gym and work schedule, but I will just stay flexible and keep doing what I need to do to make sure I am getting the rest I need! The recovery and rest is just as important as the workouts, I need to remind myself of that :)

My workout tally for the week--not too bad actually considering my setbacks this week!
Cardio:3
Weights: 4
Yoga/Pilates: 3

Week Seven, day five....I'm BACK!

....and wishing I didn't eat what I ate last night. OY. I actually felt like I was pretty restrained, and didn't feel stuffed or anything at the end of the night, but I felt really gross when I woke up this morning. I think it was the combination of the processed food, sugar, alcohol (I had like ONE rum and coke and I think I'm officially done with liquor now, especially when combined with soda..ack) really did a number on me. Well it wasn't all that bad, but I kinda felt like I poisoned myself when I woke up this morning, and my digestive system was like, WHY? Eeek. So, I guess I've learned my lesson. I will probably not be indulging myself like that again for a LONG time. Nor do I want to. When I do "cheat", it will take the form of yummy steaks and homemade dessert and mashed potatoes, a glass of wine or beer here and there and things like that, not nasty processed food. But, it was delightful to see my friends and watch Friends and play Friends Scene-It :)
Anyway, today I was feeling much better (sick-wise) so I decided to start off with a more advanced pilates routine, and then weights, and wanted to do cardio too if I was still feeling good after that. Which I was, so I went to the gym and ran eight minute intervals with high elevation with a two minute walk between, for forty minutes. Feeling great! Hopefully then the next two days I can make up a missed workout or two. Thank God I am not working tonight, and will have another relaxing day off before it's back to the grind tomorrow! (I want to finish my Xmas shopping tonight, but that is fun anyway. :)
I have come to realize that picking up shifts and working a lot, though good in theory and good for my bank account, is not good for my body OR soul. Balance is everything, and last weekend I definitely overdid it by picking up an extra weekend evening shift and working like 7 shifts in a row. So, though I can obviously use the money, nothing is worth getting sick or feeling stressed or putting my workouts in jeopardy. Especially when things are crazier than normal in every aspect during this time of the year. I'm honestly really looking forward to January when work will slow down and I can maybe spend a little more time at the gym, work on getting my certifications done or at least planned, and maybe start scaling back at the restaurant. My goal is to be working kind of part time at the restaurant in the <3 month period where Eben is in his second phase of training (approximately February - April), to be working on making the fitness stuff my job and to not have to rely on the restaurant for my sole source of income! (Oh, and I almost forgot--plan a wedding) I really do like it there, it's super flexible, good money and I don't hate the job...especially when I can do it on a very part-time basis :)

So, here is the tally for this week:
Cardio: 2
Resistance: 3
Pilates/Yoga: 2

Week Seven, days three and four........I think my body is trying to tell me something....

Day Three, Wednesday.....today I woke up feeling pretty ok (or so I thought), not really stuffy or any cold symptoms left. So I figured I would go to my training appointment at 11:00 and then do the rest of my workouts/appointments/work at restaurant as planned. Right? WRONG!!!
I got to the gym feeling ok, but as soon as I started training I could tell that it was feeling WAAAAY harder than it should. I was getting winded, light headed, and just felt generally weak. I was getting really frustrated with myself for not being able to do it as usual, and my trainer could tell that I wasn't as chipper as usual. I battled through it, even though I wanted to give up. I asked her if she thought I should do my cardio as usual (I'm crazy I guess) and she was like, "NO. Get some rest. Maybe you should call in sick to work tonight". And I'm like, "No way! I need the money!! And I don't really feel sick..." so I went home feeling dizzy and absolutely drained and basically crawled right into bed and passed out for a few hours. I felt just crappy, standing up took too much energy for me to muster. When I woke up, I thought I would give a couple people from work who I know were looking to pick up shifts a text to see if I could possibly get someone to cover my shift for me at this late notice. A few texts later, I had given up my shift. I cancelled all my other appointments for the day and hid my to-do list from myself. I forced myself to do NOTHING for the rest of the day/night. Which was hard, because I wasn't actually feeling sick, just exhausted and drained and not up to my usual energy level. I know my body was working hard in order to fight off whatever bug I had, and the fact that it didn't really ever get full blown was because I was being good about taking vitamins and sleeping extra, but when I thought about it, I didn't really give myself a chance to slow down at all the past few days. I kept on working my long hours and double shifts and expecting the same things of myself that I do when I'm perfectly healthy, which was a little crazy. So, this week will probably end up being light on the workouts, but I'm realizing that's ok :) It's more important to get the rest I need to prevent me from getting really sick and setting me back more, and having to miss more work.

Day Four, Thursday.....today I woke up feeling much better, more myself again :) Still not "normal" (whatever that is, right??) but getting there! I decided that I was not going to go to my pilates class in the AM, since that might be too much right now, but if I felt like it midday I would go to the gym and do some walking/running and just see what happened. So, after taking care of some things around the house in the morning, I felt pretty good and motivated to go to the gym. I got on the treadmill and ended up running almost 3 miles! It was pretty close to the day one stuff I couldn't do on Tuesday, altogether about 25 minutes of running and 10 of walking. And afterwards I didn't feel like I was going to fall over! Although I still don't feel up to par, I do feel better and am so glad I could at least do something today without feeling horribly sapped :) So I am going to nap a little before hanging out with my good friends VD and Chelsea tonight for a Friends-themed Fat Chick night. I will have to be careful, because the whole point of our fat chick nights is that we eat guilty pleasure food and watch Friends or Family Guy and play board games. I figure I can partake of the food in very very small quantities :) And then I have another whole day off tomorrow to rest, get shopping done, and workout a little :)

Week Seven, days one and two....a little bump in the road :(

Day one, Monday....Today I woke up feeling quite crappy! Last night at work I started to feel the onset of a cold..itchy nose, sneezy feelings, etc. By the time I got home and in bed I was all stuffy, and I kept waking up in the night because I couldn't breathe and my throat was all dry :( So I really needed that sleep, with my crazy Friday/Saturday/Sunday nights at work....but alas, did not get it, and was feeling pretty icky. And I had to work my good old Monday double. So, I loaded up on vitamins/herbs/drugs/anything I could do to fight it off, took a short nap between shifts, and got home and went to bed early. I cannot afford to get sick right now, so I just won't!!

Day two, Tuesday....today I did feel a little better, I think my barrage of vitamins and drugs seemed to help, and I did get a better night's sleep thanks to Theraflu :) I had to go to work lunch, and it was CRAZY, but I got done around 3:30 and came home and napped, then got up with the intention to do my pilates/weights/day one running like I usually do on Tuesdays...I did the pilates and weights, but just couldn't muster the running. I tried, but it didn't work. I'm EXHAUSTED from the weekend, didn't have an appetite or a chance to eat much today, worked four back-to-back shifts Sunday night through today, and yes today is like my Friday so I can't really be surprised. Also fighting a cold. So, I guess I'm just going to go to bed early and hope I wake up tomorrow feeling refreshed and ready to hit the treadmill! One good thing though, my legs/bum knee are much better at the end of this work week than they ever have been, and I actually worked more the past five days than usual, so I think my new work shoes are making a difference!
I know that things are going to be a little crazier than normal for the next two weeks, so I just have to try to stay healthy and rested so that I can stick to this insane schedule ;) Luckily I have six more weeks....and January will be quite dead at work so I can probably ease up on work and really hit the gym hardcore for the last four weeks! I WILL be 130 in San Diego!!

Week Six Results!!

My goal for this Monday was 138.....This morning I stepped on the scale and was at 137.5! So I'm still on track despite last week's plateau. My workout tally is right on track as well, with 4 cardio workouts, 4 resistance workouts, and 3 sessions of pilates/yoga. It's hard to believe I'm only 7.5 lbs away from my goal! I am glad that I have six weeks to go though, because I have a feeling things might get a little hairy the next two weeks with the holidays, and I might have a hard time keeping the schedule I have made for myself with work starting to get crazy and having to work more/longer shifts. I just have to remember to keep that balance, and that taking time off and time to fit in my workouts is my first priority!

Week Six, days six and seven....

Day Six, Saturday.....today I went to the gym to do my weights and day five running. I basically did for weights what I did with my trainer on Wednesday, and added a couple more machines. I like that she is teaching me how to use all these do-hickeys! Then to the cardio theatre to do my running....this day is the harder one, where I do twenty minutes running, five minute walk, then ten minutes running, five minute walk. It ends up being close to four miles! When I did it for the first time last Saturday it felt a little rough, but today it was no big deal! I also like doing these long intervals in the movie room (it is a dark room with a movie screen where they show a movie on a loop) because you can kind of let your brain turn off and just let your body go! Then off to work for a looong night....

Day Seven, Sunday....rest day! Feeling pretty worn out from working Friday night and Saturday night, getting up early to go to church and then right to work again. Going to bed early and/or sleeping late any chance I get!

Week Six, days four and five...

Wow the days are really flying by!! I can't believe Christmas is in two weeks, yikes!! Here's the recap:

Day Four, Thursday...today I went to the pilates class my trainer teaches and it was again, really awesome and really hard! :) But soooo good. Then I did my day 3 running stuff, which was eight minute intervals with a one minute rest inbetween for 40 minutes. So by the time I was done with that I had run for over 3.5 miles!! It felt really good! Then it was off to teach my final week of classes with my little kids. It was performance night, so it was a little hectic! I have 3 classes in a row so that's 3 performances pretty much back to back. We rehearsed like mad for a half-hour before with each class, and then all the parents/family came and watched them put on their final "show". It was really cute and they did great, and we all had a blast! I was of course dancing along with them the whole time, so it kinda felt like I got a little extra workout there :) Though it was fun, I do feel a sense of relief that the 12 week stretch is over and it's one less thing to plan for every week. Sometimes those kids can be such an energy drain! I think I'll be able to handle one of my own EASY after mastering keeping 12 K-2nd graders at attention and on task!! Woof.

Day Five, Friday.....today while I was eating breakfast, one of my coworkers texted me asking if I wanted to pick up an extra shift. I decided to take it, as I need all the extra money I can make with the holidays here, a vacation to San Diego in six weeks (!!!!!) and all these certification classes I want to take coming up. So it's gonna be a looong weekend with three crazy weekend shifts in a row, followed by my traditional Monday double, a lunch shift Tuesday, and an extra shift Wednesday night too! If I'm not at work or at the gym I'll be sleeping. Seriously.
Anyway, this morning I did my pilates and weights/resistance stuff at home...now that I've been taking regular pilates classes and working with my trainer, I'm starting to be able to add new stuff and change things up when I do work out at home.
Eating wise I have been much better this week at eating at regular intervals....I just need to really be faithful to writing it down/planning my meals ahead, that seems to be the key.
Also, at work tonight I had THREE people comment that they could tell I was really slimming down :) That felt great! One of my coworkers said, "I feel like you are getting smaller and smaller everytime I see you!" It is starting to be about time to get new work pants....and I just got new ones like 2 months ago...because now I am SWIMMING in them! And using my apron to hold up my pants, not good.
I also found new work shoes, so I hope that helps with my knee/foot pain after these long shifts. I put some icy hot on my bum knee tonight and hope that helps....I'm gonna run tomorrow and then it's off to another crazy Saturday night at the restaurant! For now it's off to bed...I think I'm gonna plan to sleep like 9.5 hours so my body can recover from all this.

Here's the running tally so far this week:
Cardio: 3
Resistance: 3
Pilates/Yoga: 3

Week Six, days one, two, and three....

Another week started, and another week halfway finished already (and no updates, for shame!)...here's what's been happening:

Day one, Monday....today I had to work my Monday double at the restaurant, and it was actually quite busy for a Monday! Which meant I was there until almost ten...so it was a long day, but I made more money than I expected :) No workouts planned for today, but I did do well on the eating plan. I did the stir fry bar again (minus the tummy-upsetting tofu this time) and I loaded up on the green veggies and didn't eat much of the rice. Very good, filling, and pretty healthy!

Day two, Tuesday....today I had to work the lunch shift, and again it was pretty busy which was nice!! Although by today, my feet/legs/knees were feeling kind of worn down and I was just feeling generally exhausted. Monday night I fell into bed and had one of those black-out sleeps that is somehow not very refreshing. I think I am just really tired and my body is a little maxed-out from so much work Friday-Tuesday. I have to remember that for me, Tuesday is like normal people's Fridays, so I can't get too down on myself for feeling droopy. After work I went out and got new running shoes, an early Christmas present from my parents (thanks mom and dad!) I was LOOONG due for a new pair, especially with all the running and stuff I'm doing now. The pair I was using I bought before I went off to freshman year of college which was many moons ago!! Then, though I really just wanted to sit in a chair or crawl into bed, I forced myself to do my workouts...started with my pilates which is always a good warm-up/motivator for me to get my head into workout mode and wake up my body, then did my weights at home, and then ventured out in the snowstorm to the gym to do my running! Who ever said this girl isn't motivated is WRONG!! Ha ha. Anyway, by the time I got there and got on the treadmill, my knee which I injured last spring during a show (and which had been flaring up on and off since Sunday) really started bothering me. So I only did about 2 miles, about half of what I was supposed to do today. I was feeling pretty discouraged about this, but at least I went and got some exercise, on a day when I just felt like being lazy. I got home, iced my knee, and reclined in a chair for TWO hours and watched So You Think You Can Dance, and went to bed early :)
I know that all I can do right now is get as much rest as I can, when I can, and take care of my body however possible because I am kind of putting it through a lot right now with work and training. I just need to tell myself that my knee will be fine, and it will. Getting new work shoes, which is on my to-do list for the week, should help things.

Day three, Wednesday....today I had a training session, and when I woke up from a nice nine hour sleep my knee felt much better :) After shoveling the driveway (ick) I went off to see my trainer, and we had a great session! She told me I looked great and was making really great progress :) After that, I did a half hour of cardio....six minute intervals on high elevation, with two minute rest/walk inbetween. It really got my heart going! It was either that or the fact that 17 Again starring Zac Efron was the movie of the day in the Cardio Theatre ;)
By the way, I am starting to see results on the scale again...it is moving once more! Here's hoping those two pounds will be off at the end of the week.
I have been good at eating healthy, but slipping a little when it comes to making sure I am eating at two to three hour intervals. I need to incorporate more small snacks inbetween meals, so that is going to be my focus for the rest of the week. I have also been slacking a little on recording what I'm eating faithfully every day, so I need to get back on track there too. Things to work on....old habits die hard indeed.

So far this week:
Cardio: 2
Resistance: 2
Pilates/Yoga: 1

Week Five results!!

Well, I think I hit that plateau :( My body is quite comfortable at it's current weight of 140 apparently, and I didn't lose any pounds over week five. Which I guess is ok because I'm still on track, 140 was my goal for this weigh in. I started to tell this week though that I am getting stronger, and think maybe I am starting to build more muscle tone and since I have less fat to lose, things are kind of equaling out. Though I am still seeing and feeling results like my clothes being looser, my endurance and strength increasing, etc...maybe I won't necessarily see those results translated into rapid weight loss for the time being. I am going to talk to my trainer to see what else I can be doing to see those results. I have beenfaithful to the eating plan, doing all my workouts and doing harder workouts this past week, so we will see what she thinks. It might be time to change up my workout plan a little and start incorporating other things like spinning or something to kick my butt into gear again! I need to see some more loss in order to be down to 138 by next week and stay on track....I'm going to make it happen.

Week Five, days six and seven.....

Day six, Saturday.....Today I went to the gym to do my fourth cardio workout of the week, which was the last day in the running plan....and today it asked me to do a five minute walk, 20 MINUTES of running, five minute walk, ten minutes running, and cool down with a five minute walk. I wasn't sure about that 20 minutes straight, but I guess this program is working because I did it no problem! So that was like 2 miles straight there! For someone who is not a runnner, this is real great progress :). I also did some weights/resistance training before my run. So that brings my weekly tally up to my goal of 4 cardio workouts, 4 resistance workouts, and 3 sessions of yoga/pilates.

Day seven, Sunday....rest day! I am long due for a day off too...though I stuck to my diet plan today, it was nice to give my body a well needed break (well besides working 8 hours straight on Saturday and Sunday night ha ha) my knees were starting to hurt a little from all the running I think, so it's a good thing I hadn't planned to do anything today or tomorrow besides work my long hour days. That is quite enough, and I will be ready to hit it hard again Tuesday! I want to try to go to a yogalates class at my gym Tuesday morning before work.

Week Five, day four and five....who's getting toned?? I am!!

Day Four, Thursday....today I woke up and was feeling kinda sore from my hard training session yesterday. But I decided to work through the soreness and go to my trainer's Pilates class at the gym. It was really intense! Much more so than when I went two weeks ago. I think she's trying to break me, ha ha! But I need it. After class I ran three eight minute intervals on the treadmill with a two minute walk in-between, about a half hour all together. Then I went to teach my dance/theatre classes and by the end of the day was feeling pretty wiped out! I had been feeling unusually low-energy all day and I think I just need to sleep more and let my body recover from what I'm putting it through. Also I was feeling down because it had been five days since I'd had any word from Eben and that really started to wear on me! It's surprising how much his letters inspire me and comfort me. But, on my way to teach class this evening I checked the mail and had TWO letters waiting!! Apparently they just kind of stop mail service from Thanksgiving until the following Monday, which means he didn't get anything from me for those days either :( At least he knew why he wasn't getting any word though, whereas I was just sitting here starting to worry :( Welcome to military life.
Eating is going well...it's starting to become habit and routine so I'm not really having to think about it, which is nice. Now I want to get some healthy cookbooks so I can make some more exciting healthy food!! There's only so many more weeks I can eat a chicken breast with broccoli before I get real bored.

Day five, Friday....today I listened to my achy body and slept in!! I slept a total of ten hours last night, it was pretty awesome :) Then I did pilates and weights at home. It's cool...I'm starting to see the pilates become less "challenging" as all my muscles strengthen. It still feels like a great workout but I think as I build muscle the exercises become more quality as I refine my form and concentration/breathing. The combination of pilates/yoga for flexibility, stretch, and tone...weights to build muscle...and cardio to burn fat and increase my endurance--it is all coming together to make a big difference!

Here is the running tally for the week so far:
Cardio: 3
Weights: 3
Pilates/Yoga: 3

So far I'm right on track! I think I'm going to hit the gym tomorrow and do the running day six training and do some weight stuff on the machine. Then I will be right at my goal for amount of workouts in the week!

Week Five, days one, two and three!

Another three day recap....

Day one, Monday.....I worked a double at the restaurant and didn't plan on doing any exercise. I did plan out plenty of snacks and brought stuff to eat during my shifts though so that was good. I thought I was closing lunch which means I would have pretty much gone straight through, but I wasn't so I actually got a little break and went home between for an hour or so which was nice! One of the bartenders at my work knows a lot about nutrition, so for my free shift meal I asked his advice on what I should eat. We have a stir fry bar where you pick your own veggies kinda like a salad bar, and pick your sauce, etc. So I did that and he recommended I do chicken and tofu, with lots of green leafy veggies. I got the healthiest sauce we have (on the side, and I used it very sparingly) and substituted brown rice, though I didn't eat much at all of the rice since I find it fills me up real fast these days. So all in all a real healthy meal with lots of veggies, and the best part was it's free! :) I think the tofu was a little much for my digestive system though...the stuff we have is pretty dense and it was only steamed. So I might skip that if I do the stir fry again. After my night shift though I was feeling really hungry and had a cup of soup....broccoli cheddar...so rich....so good. So that was a little naughty. Oh well. I guess I will have to keep grading myself on the eating...today would get a B.

Tuesday, Day Two....today I did my pilates and weights at home, and then did my running at the gym. I am on to the next phase in my running plan, and the first day is ten minutes of running followed by three minutes of walking, and you do that three times. That kind of scared me at first, since as I said before I am NOT a runner at all and the thought of running for ten minutes straight kind of intimidated me. A year ago I would not have been able to do this. But the program must really be building my stamina, because though it was challenging I totally got through it! I also think I am growing out of my asthma or something because if I had tried to do that ten years ago I would have not been breathing any more. So that's pretty awesome :) I was really good with the eating plan as well, though I did eat some chips later on in the night but kept it really small. Oh and I had dessert after dinner (a chocolate chip muffin top) at Panera. But I didn't feel too bad about either and it didn't seem to matter much. I find that about an hour after dinner my body has burned it all up already and I get ravenous even though I just ate a substantial dinner. So if I eat a little something sweet then it seems to get burned up quickly. Anyway, that's a B+ for the day there :)
Here is the running weekly workout tally:
Cardio: 1
Weights: 1
Pilates/Yoga: 1


Day Three, Wednesday.....today I had an appointment with my trainer and she kicked my butt again! We did some pretty intense leg stuff. Which is the area I need the most toning in so that's good :) Then I did high intensity intervals on the treadmill with a pretty steep elevation for 20 minutes to finish up. I feel like I'm going to be real sore again tomorrow...and I'm planning on taking her pilates class in the am. Which I'm excited for, I just hope I'm not super sore and can do it! Unless I'm dying I'll go. Eating for the day is right on track! A!

So far this week:
Cardio: 2
Weights: 2
Pilates/Yoga: 1