What was i thinking!?!? its 90 degrees out there:(

After running a very hilly 2.9 miles in the 90 degree weather today I though I was gonna croke!!! I must have blocked out how crappy it feels to run when it is that hot!!! The pollen was high the cottonwood was blowing in my face so I felt like I was running through cobwebs and what the heck was I thinking when I decided to run hills today!?!?!? Yeah, your right I wasnt! 

Now today was day 2 of Legs this week. My first mistake was even though I was off work today I should have gotten up ate my breakfast took my vitamins and moved. Instead, the bed was super cozy and warm, the coffee was so dang delicious that 1 cup simply wasn’t enough, I needed a haircut and I wanted to be productive… I wasn’t don’t worry!!  I wasn’t horrible with my diet but I did have a craving for something sweet. I ate a great chicken and veggie plate and then I  had two chocolate chip cookies. They were delicious and they satisfied the little chocolate monster that was poking out!! Remember please, when you are craving something its not the end of the world to allow yourself to have something not on the approved list of foods that you may be following. If you are craving chocolate one day, have some, Im not saying have the whole Lava Cake with a gallon of ice cream as a chaser but a couple cookies or a brownie is not gonna make you gain 10 lbs. Moderation is the key to any diet regimen. I read a great quote yesterday and I am sorry I don’t know the author it wasn’t listed, it said: “You didn’t gain the weight by eating one day, don’t expect it to go away in one day either.“ I love this, it reminds me that to get where I want to be I will have to put the effort in and do this the correct way! 

Now back to the workout. WOW!! Leg day again?? After the hilly run and the heat the leg workout was a killer. I took the chance to really focus on my form today. I used a lighter weight on some things and the same weight on others. Then on the lunges and the single leg dead lifts I did NO weight at all. I concentrated on my form from start to finish. I went super slow and man did it burn!!!  All in all the workout was pretty spectacular when I look back on it now. I was really proud I finished each of the sets without failing. 

Tomorrow is the last day of week 3 for me, that means that I have 2 days off then doing it all over again!! I cant wait I am really gonna push next week and see if I can do form and weight on the second leg day!! Im feeling stronger each day which is what I want!! 

So question of the day,  do you have a motivation picture? A picture that you are striving to be close to?? I found mine in a clothing catalog. And its not because the model is thin or beautiful,which she is of course, she is in a catalog for goodness sake!! But I love the way her muscles are defined yet she is still feminine. 

Show me what your motivation is!! 

Barm... what the heck!?!?!? that needs to go AWAY!

Working the Chest and the tri’s on day 3 of week 3 was not so bad. I was thinking it was gonna make me cry but guess what?? I did each and everyone of my reps in all 3 sets!! I did my push ups on the bench but I made sure that I spread my arms out wide and I was up on my toes this time not on my knees (proud of me moment)!! I really wasnt a fan of the decline fly’s they really had my elbows at a funky angle it seems. But I did them and made it to the dips. Dips have really not ever been my favorite thing but again I want to get rid of that “after wave”!!!  So I propped my heels up on one bench and my hands on another and I dropped all the way to the floor and pushed up for all 30  reps!! Hopefully soon I will be able to do it on the roman chair with out really hitting the floor!! 

During the Pilates class that I teach we were talking about the program that I am following and I was saying that I really want to tighten up my upper body and loose some weight out of my lower half. I talked about the “after wave” and then I said and you know that bulgy area where your arm and your boob meet… I really hate that area too!! One of the girls said “ yeah the BARM!!” I couldn't help but laugh out loud she explained  how you really don’t know if its Boob or Arm so its the BARM! How perfect of a name is that for that area!?!? So yep that is an area I am defiantly gonna focus on making a definite Boob or Arm. I don’t want any more BARM!! 

I know I have stated I was gonna do my stats every two weeks and I seem to be late by almost a week now…. I cant find my tape measurer anywhere!!! I am going to wal-mart tomorrow after work and grab a new one. So Sunday will be 3 weeks from the first set of stats, I am hoping for at least a little loss. 

Hope you have all gotten outside and enjoyed the sunshine today! Its too pretty to stay cooped up in the house all day. Experience life, don’t let it pass you by!! 

no more after wave;)

I come from a big family. When I say big I mean there are a LOT of us!! My mom is the youngest of 14 children. I am the baby of her 4 children. Now that said, half of the women on my moms side are tall and lean, the other half are shorter and not so lean… but they are all wonderful and I love them a lllllll:) big or small each one is beautiful! 

I have this thing about what I have dubbed the “after wave”. You all know what it is, and as women we all hate it! Its when you wave goodbye and say all the I love you’s and then you look at your arm and there it is… still giggling!!! Your triceps!! ( this is where the look of shock hits your face!) for me this makes me want to do the Psycho scream, I hate the after wave!! So today was Back and bi’s week 3. Even though its not targeting those nasty little tri’s specifically they got some work too. I have upped my weight slightly since last week since now its 10 reps instead of 12 and I want to make sure I am working to exhaustion with each set. The workout was great, had it blasted out in 50 min and the sweat was rolling again today. Luckily it was nice outside and I had Blueberry’s windows down ( thats my Jeeps name, yeah I know I’m that girl, the one who names her vehicle) so the wind was blowing thru my hair and was oh so refreshing!! 

Before I hit the weights today I did have a lovely little 2.2 mile run with Little Bear, my border collie. He wasn’t so sure err first, he hasn’t been on a run with me lately, I’ve been a bad mom I guess. But once we got started it was great!! I love having him there with me, he is amazing!! And he too loves the wind blowing in his hair in the berry after a nice run!!

Do you ever run with your dog? Do you have the after wave and want a tip on how to get rid of it in your free time?? Let me know :) 

Have a great day tomorrow and get out and enjoy life! Its too perfect to miss!!! 

Squats, Lunges and  one leg Deadlifts oh My!!!! Ok in my defense I LOVE leg day but WOW!!! Week 3 of LiveFit is kicking it up a notch and I like it a lot :) 

First off let me say I am sorry, I cheated. I had started the program on a Tues and was working out Tues, Wed, Thurs and Fri, then having my off days Sat, Sun and Mon. Due to et fact that I teach a Pilates class on Monday and Wednesday. But since week 3 starts us working out 5 days a week and off 2 I had to re align because I know me Saturdays will be tough to get to the gym for now anyhow. 

So the day started as usual the alarm going off and me reluctantly geting out of the bed and waking my 11 year old up. Then sitting back on the bed and watching the news to wake up. I finally got up and grabbed a bowl of oatmeal and a big glass of water!! The day has finally begun :) 

After work I ran home changed clothes and off to the gym for a nice 3 mile run!! No luck. Have you ever really wanted to do something but then you get caught by a friend who simply wants to talk? Yep, that was yesterday. I ended up with enough time to get on the treadmill for a mile. But hey it was a mile and I was sweaty and out of breath form it, so I felt like it was an accomplishment.  Pilates was next up on the plate. We did 30 min of core work and the ladies in the class were awesome! They were grunting and moaning a little but they stuck it out and finished strong!  Legs. Yep my favorite day of workouts and it was day 1!! Whoo oho!! Yeah that was me until round 2 and then it was holy crap batgirl!! Where did this come from!?!? I did each and everyone of my sets and all the reps that were in included there too!! Yep. I was a nasty , sweaty mess when I finished. And isn’t that how we should be after a great workout?? 

Im loving the barbell squats! I love that I can get waaaaay down in the squat and use my big lo butt to push me back up! 

Whats your favorite day of the week?? Do you have a favorite part of the body?? Tell me about your body accomplishments!! I really want to know that Im not here alone. I can just imagine there are tons of other mommies gettin’ fit and having fun doing it!! 

Day off and i was sad about it... am i crazy!?!?!?

So today  was my day off from the gym take 2! I was doing all kinds of things just to stay busy. I planted a flower bed and mulched it. I took my yard swing apart and cleaned it the painted it chocolate brown. Wow! what a difference a can or 2 of spray paint can make!!! I also painted the little side table that holds a pretty potted plant, so happy i did it looks great now. still not being ready to go inside i grabbed my potted plants and painted the pots!!! no i really am not nuts i promise. I just wanted to infuse some color into the yard. the pots turned out really cute. i did brown on the edges around the tops and then a bright blue on the base of a couple. i did one with polka dots too :) could be my favorite!

I did pretty good with my diet today. nothing crazy. i had a wonderful veggie and egg white omlett and 2 cups of coffee for brunch ( because i slept in , whoo hoo !!!) some homemade salsa with whole grain chips for a snack and then for dinner a yummy chicken breast off the grill, corn on the cob, small portion of mac and cheese and then a bit of oven roasted squash, mushroom caps and potatoes!! They were delicious!! I found these delicious little Yoplait frozen yogurt bites and had two for a treat, at 30 calories each they were perfect and just the little bit of sweetness that i needed!!

So tomorrow is day 3 of my off day for week 2. But as usual I wont be fully off. Now I did forgo my run that I had planned for today, but tomorrow I teach a 30 min Pilates class and i will be taking that much needed run!! While my little one is taking his Plyometrics class for Kids, I will take the time and hit at least a couple miles outside, and finish off with 15 min on that damn Stair Master.  I have seen far to many pictures of great butts from that machine!! mine will be back there soon too!! 

So my question for tonight is do you have a motivation board? pictures that motivate you, words that push you, a little black dress or a swimsuit you are determined to fit perfectly into??  I have found that I really enjoy this idea. it makes me aware and reminds me why I want to push a little harder at the gym or in that run makes me remember why I am not drinking that soda or eating that ice cream. 

feelin like I ate my Wheeties

Sorry I didn’t make a post yesterday, I ran out of time, literally!! 

Last day of  week 2 LiveFit made me want to do more and more!! Shoulders and abs were the poison for the day. I have never been a fan of working my shoulders and I do work on abs when I teach Pilates on Mondays and wednesdays, but as I have said before I think I was only half hardly working them. I was feeling good, I was pushing the weights and working to the point that my muscles were a bit shaky. Thats a good thing last time I looked ;) 

Once I finished the 3 sets of exercises I just wasn’t ready to be done so I got up on that horrible and dastardly stair climber. 15 min again was the goal and I stepped it up to level 7. At about min 4… I was wishing I had left it at level 5 like the day before!! Sweat dripping from the end of my nose and my legs were burning at each lift!! Ok, maybe. And that is a big MAYBE!! I could learn to like this thing. By min 15 I was so excited! I had been singing along to the music and looking around the gym, watching the stock ticker on the bottom of the T.V. Scroll by, opened twitter on my phone and read tweets!!! Anything to keep me from watching as the seconds ticked off on the clock!!! Then there it was 30 seconds!!! And in my head was the sound of lovely cherubs singing! Finally DONE! 

So. Now what?? Is that it?? I was sweaty and out of breath and happy to be done with the stair master yet I wanted more. i guess you could say i was feelin like i ate my wheeties today!!  So I did 10 min more of abs!! By the time I am done with this I still have energy. Where is it coming from?? I haven’t felt  like this for so long. I don’t want a coke, I don’t want to simply go home and climb in the chair and curl up with a movie, a blanket and a bag of chips!! This is what I have been needing. 

I worked, I ate my meals like I was supposed to do, I took my vitamins,  I drank my protein drink ( yummy yummy for real!!) and I have all the energy that I need to keep going!! In fact after the gym I came home got a quick shower and change and off to the song writers showcase for a great night of raising money for the local YMCA. I finally got home about 11:30. Sleepy! That was the word at that point. I am sleeping much more soundly now that I am working out. 

So today is Saturday and it was an off day. I felt like I really wanted to get to the gym and do something. Something!!!  But I didn’t I held to the plan. But tomorrow, I am going for a run. Like I have mentioned I want to run at least 2 half marathons this year and there is a wonderful 10K here in town that I am super excited to get to run this year. I have to get some milage in where ever and when ever I can. Tomorrow I will not go to the gym. I will keep to the plan I promise!! Ill get up eat my breakfast, drink a cup of coffee to get me going and then off for a run!! Oh, and tomorrow is measurement day. I have decided to take my measurements every other week and take a picture. I will post the numbers but I wont be posting the pictures yet, Imo simply not that brave yet.  

Since I have been doing this little blog and experiment for myself I have been looking for some tips and places to help keep me motivated. Below are two sites you may want to check out they were interesting.

This is a great article that I think most women would benefit from reading. Little facts that make a big difference in our thinking about training our bodies. Hope you like it.

http://helpwithweightloss.org/fitness/why-women-should-train-different-than-men///

This is a great site with wonderful tips!!

http://www.girlyeverafter.com/workout-gear-for-your-body-shape/

gonna make the stair master my.... Friend;)

We all have a part of our body that we like the best. And Imo sure most women are like me and have several parts of their body they don’t like. For me the part I like the best is my butt. Even when I am at my biggest I like my butt. So needless to say I love LEG day!! Why, you may ask do I like leg day so much?? Well because I get to do squats and they work your booty while working the legs too!! I must be a bit of a sadist because  I love squats and lunges! I love when they hurt and make me squeal! Because I know if I am squealing then I am doing what needs to be done to make my butt look GOOD!! 

I had every intention of running about 3 miles today. I mean I was dressed and ready. I was pumped. And guess what?? Nope. No run. But….

What I did do was I got up on the stair climber. I only did 15 min. But I DID 15 min!! I may not like it but I know it is the best way to blast calories if Im gonna be on a machine. I was sweating like crazy after  5 min and by 15 I was soaked! And I hadn’t even started my leg/calf workout yet.

The leg work out was great:) I jumped 20 lbs on the leg press from last week. So I am up to 130 lb. Leg press. Added 5 lbs to my leg extension,  45 lbs.  Sumo squat is still my favorite so far! I got low low low with a 25 lb. Weight in my arms

70 lbs with the leg curls, 120 lb. Calf raises and 35 lb. Seated calf raises. I was proud of my self, especially when I wasn’t paying attention to what I was doing and did my standing calf raises wrong so I ended up doing another set the correct way so really I did 4 sets of standing calf raises!! Whoo hooo!! Gonna have some sexy calves this summer and I love it. I mean really what is better than having a great butt and sexy calves for those cute little summer dresses?? 

 I got some new weight gloves today. Not really what I wanted but they will do for now. Simple basic black:/ I really want some cool turquoise or some wild green….some with personality!!  Then I decided ok I need some to get serious about the diet part of this. For me its hard to get my meals and snacks in each day when I am at work. I eat my oatmeal for breakfast and I try my best to get some yogurt in too. I do my vitamins and then I get a snack in about 3 hours later. But the next one is a bit tougher, Im a mail carrier and I sit in my car for about 5 hours a day. There are not many places to stop and get a healthy meal out on the route, so I decided to grab some meal replacement shakes from the local GNC. And they are YUMMY!! Taste just like really god chocolate milk. So this may be easier than I thought it would be. I ordered a really cute cooler bag form Thirty-One ( I got the cute blue one)

and Imo gonna stick some ice packs and my shake and maybe some string cheese in there. This should get me through until I am done and its time for my next meal. Man Jamie Eason wants us eating A LOT of food!! But she is right eating more times a day stokes the fires of the metabolism and when that happens your body understands that more food is coming in a couple hours so it better burn up what is in there now or else!! 

Tonight I got some of the chicken breasts that I grilled up on Sunday afternoon and some Tri -colored pasta noodles and lots and lots of yummy veggies! I cooked the pasta up al dente sprayed the pan with some olive oil pam and put in baby carrots, mushrooms, bell peppers, and some yellow squash cooked those all until they were fork tender. Then I got some of the yummy philadelphia pesto cream warmed the cubed grilled chicken in the skillet and mixed approximately ½ cup of the sauce with the pasta, veggie, chicken mix. WOW!!!! Everyone in the house loved it. That even includes the 17 year old wonder cat, Pepper!!

Got any yummy low cal recipes you have tried out?? Let me know I need some ideas! I love food and I want to make the recipes that are good for us. So that everyone even wonder kitty healthy!