11/30/11

What a great day I had yesterday!

Kelly and I did some Pilates moves plus the Sun Salutation over lunch. We worked hard to get the breathing right. I read the instructions first and she did it and then we switched. Maybe we can do it together today without reading, there's lots of inhaling and exhaling that needs to occur at specific times. The Pilates stuff was hard I'm always proud when I can keep up with her and hold positions just as long as she can.

I decided to work out after Aidan's dance class last night instead of going this morning. It was pretty busy at the Y and I wasn't in the mood to share the weight machines so I did the following:

elliptical machine - level 8 for 15 minutes

bike - level 7 for 15 minutes

This was a good workout since I usually go fast at level 5, instead I went a little slower but could feel it and kept my heart rate up!

Eating went well. During the day I'm fine but the evening is always tough. I had a 1/2 of an enchilada for dinner and green beans. Of course, I wanted snacks in the evening but had the almonds and was o.k. I just usually go to bed hungry but I guess that's better than going to bed stuffed! Watched one of my favorite shows, "I used to be fat" which is always inspiring.

My neck feels better today! Maybe is the yoga? Maybe it's just luck? I'm going to keep at it.

Happy Wednesday!

11/29/11 continued..

Just received the ever dreaded email - "birthday treats in the lounge, enjoy!" I avoided the welcome-back muffins yesterday so hopefully I can avoid these birthday treats today. Please don't be sprinkle doughnuts, please don't be sprinkle doughnuts, please don't be sprinkle doughnuts...

11/29/11

Kelly and I had a nice little workout over lunch. Here's what we did:

plank - 1 minute

reverse plank - 45 seconds

side plank on each side - 30 seconds

rowing with bands - 20 reps

crunches with bands - 20 reps

bicep lunge using bands - 25 reps

I had a great eating day yesterday! I got home a little late so I ate alone (or with an audience) but no one seemed to care that I wasn't having exactly what they had. I had my cocoa roasted almonds for dessert (s0 good!) and then stayed out of the kitchen. Lots of playing with the kids and online shopping for Christmas so I was away from food!

I thought I might try some yoga even though it has never appealed to me since it seems so quiet and slow (which is not like me at all) but I'll try anything that might help me change my body and maybe help my always sore neck and back. After consultation with the internet and Kelly, I decided to start with the sun salutation. Actually felt kind of nice but hard to get it in to one fluid movement. I'm going to do it twice a day to start and see what I can do from there. Here is a great example of how the movements should be fluid, you should have seen me trying this by my desk this morning!

http://www.abc-of-yoga.com/yogapractice/sunsalutation.asp

Here's to another great day avoiding snack with my students, treats in the lunch room, and late night snacking!

Fit and Healthy Sara - November 28, 2011

I've decided to document my journey to get healthy once and for all for myself and anyone else who needs motivation or just wants to hear what I'm doing!

About a month ago I set a goal to lose 10 "new" pounds in preparation for a shopping trip and managed to lose 8 through eating right and lots of exercising and through the support of several friends. I emailed these friends daily for the 3 week challenge and it felt good to report how I was doing and I loved the feedback too.

By doing it on this blog I can keep track of what I'm doing and hopefully inspire at the same time!

Here goes...

Well, I was down 8 lbs on Saturday, 11/19/11 and since then I'm up 4 lbs. I'm o.k. with that because I really haven't been following my "plan" and it's been nice to not worry too much about what I eat. I've worked out consistently every other day since the 19th and I feel really good about that. I'm mainly doing strength training which I guess is the "way" according to the many books and magazine articles I read about losing weight (one of my many obsessions!).

I'm so proud because I actually worked out this morning before work!!! I've been threatening to do this for years but never do. Our evening schedule is so busy and I really want to keep up with the every other day thing so I just did it! Since Kevin has been laid off I've been getting up at 5:10 and getting to work by 6:30 but I don't need to get there that early every day so why not use that time more wisely??

I didn't really prepare well so I was rushing this morning to find a workout outfit, clothes, etc. in the dark while Kevin slept! Brought some of the correct times from the morning routine but forget the all important moisturizer. I will be more organized on Wednesday!

I made it to the Y at 5:45 and was surprised to see many cars in the parking lot and a spinning class going on. Really? Here is what I did today:

Leg press - 2 sets of 12 reps at 205 lbs

Leg extension - 2 sets of 12 reps at 115 lbs

Squat - 25 reps at 100 lbs

lat - 8 then 10 reps at 70 lbs

triceps - two sets of 12 reps at 55 lbs

chest press (band machine) - two sets of 12 reps at 45 lbs

fly (band machine) - two sets of 12 reps at 20 lbs

I decided to "get ready" at work since I can barely look at the floor in the gym locker room let alone take a shower there! Nothing like getting ready in dim kid's bathroom but it's better than the alternative.

I'm back on the Belly Fat Cure today and will do my 15 min lunch workout with my assistant/friend Kelly. She's super fit and always inspires me to try new things. Kelly attends many classes at her gym (the one's I'm too afraid to go to) so we do some of her stuff using bands, weights, or therapy balls. She's really into planking so I'm moving up in how long I can plank. Thanks Kelly for always listening to me complain about being fat and inspiring me to do better!

Here's my favorite part - something to inspire us all....

Happy Monday!
Sara