I'm feeling it...

It is so interesting to me how your body begins to adjust to exercise.  Remember 2 weeks ago when I started this class, the pain I discussed??  Well, today my muscles feel sore but NOWHERE near as painful as it was last week and not nearly as much as the first week.  I love that I already feel firmer :)  I can feel the muscles in my arms getting more defined and stronger...LOVE THIS FEELING!

Yesterday was a pretty great day! 

My day started with Egg whites, some provolone and mixed veggies :)  Mmmmmm

I was SO HUNGRY around 10am I had some Jif and a banana...

I love PB and Banana (one of my all time fav combos)

Lunch was a treat from a vendor...Yummy salad with Chicken, veggies and some croutons.

Hummus and Carrots with Wheat Thins...Mmmmm

Dinner was sweet turkey Italian sausage and peppers with some motz cheese, I had it over a little whole wheat penne, you can't even see them.

 So the day was great and ended with a McDonalds Kid cone...

and a squish on the squishy Miss Sophie

 

That's it for now

TTFN

P.S. I miss my boys :( 

Motivational Monday and the "dry" weekend pays off

Alright ya'll it is time for a new feature on this blog called:

Motivational Monday! 

Today's Motivational Tip comes from here

Be fair to yourself

Imagine someone walks up a hundred steps but feels a bit tired, so they stop and step back down one step. They tell you bitterly: “Now I may as well forget this whole idea of reaching the top! I’ve totally blown it!”  What?! You’d think that was crazy, right? Acting as if all that progress, the 99 steps they did climb, never happened – because they had one slip! But people do this all the time when it comes to weight loss.You lose weight, maybe four or five pounds, maybe much more. But you slip, have a bad day or a ‘weak moment’, and eat something you shouldn’t have. And what do you tell yourself? “I’ve completely blown it! Now I might as well really binge!”

Beware the perfectionism trap. Aim to eat sensibly and healthily most of the time, not all the time. We all consume more than we should of the wrong kind of food or drink now and then.

Everyone’s weight fluctuates a bit and you should prepare for this (once you’ve reached a healthy weight). Have a ‘sliding scale’ in your mind of a couple of pounds on either side of your target weight. No one can live for long under a self-imposed, too harsh dictatorship.

I had a GREAT weekend!!!  Unexpected fun with the girls Friday night.  I headed to Lynn's house (in the neighborhood) around 8pm with the intention of only staying until about 9.  You know you're having a good time when you look at your watch and realize it is 11:20 and you need to get your butt home!  We talked and talked and talked and laughed and laughed and laughed :)

Saturday my boys went to stay with Nana and Pop for a week in Delaware.  I miss them already and it rained.  Sweet cleansing rain.  We stayed in and I read then I made dinner (turkey brauts, potatoes and home made red braised cabbage, Mmmmmmmmmm)  I should have taken a picture because it was a beautiful plate. 

Sunday, we went to church (Livie actually did pretty well)...then we waited for the clouds to burn off and went to the pool...where we chilled with our friends again!

As you all know...I love a glass of wine (and a half) a few nights a week and had been drinking quite a few beers at the pool each weekend until a few weeks ago.  I realized that perhaps this was one of the reasons I'd gained so much weight recently...so this weekend (after a glass (and a half) of wine Friday night), I decided no beer and no wine and guess what?!?!  It paid off.  I'm back to a decent number on the dreaded scale.  I promise to begin posting my progress again when I get back down to where I was...

perhaps this is why alcohol is a problem...

Alcohol Can Cause Weight Gain (article here)

Because your body can't store alcohol and must metabolize it right away, other metabolic processes suffer. Your body won't metabolize sugars and fats as efficiently during the metabolism of alcohol, and drinking heavily can cause your metabolism to slow. This can contribute to weight gain, as can the empty calories found in alcohol.

Alright...time for me to move it into the shower...

This is the face of one stinky girl :)

TTFN

Conditioning

The class I'm taking is like a boot camp but is really called Metabolic Conditioning.  Her whole goal is to ensure our metabolism is optimized.  This will be an ongoing class and today I just committed to another month.  Every day when class was finished I would think 10 more classes to go or 7 more classes to go...however...now that I'm in for at least another month, there is no need for me to count down anymore.  It has been 2 weeks of pure unadulterated hell.  But I know the end result will be a gorgeous sculpted body :)  Now if I could just get my crazy portions and snacking under control. 

I tend to make healthy choices like this fish taco dish I ordered at Little Havana where we went for lunch yesterday...but then I ate almost the whole thing.  Alicia (trainer) warned that we would become more hungry but if I want to lose weight I can't give into that...wah wah wah...

On the way home I had some watermelon...

 The rest of my food yesterday was a little crazy.  I had some eggs for breakfast and some wheat thins for a snack...Dinner was a left over fish taco and a quick cheese and salsa quesidilla.  Then I had a few animal crackers and some raisin-ettes.

Dear APRIL FLOYD!!!

You are working too hard to blow your workout on some animal crackers and raisin-ettes.  You need to get a grip and STOP NOW!!  If you get it under control you can still lose the rest of this UA weight before the next 4 week session begins.  Come on girl!!!  You got this!

Alright time to get cleaned up

TTFN

My Heart Smiles

This morning...I am sore and I'm still not talking to the scale.  We may have irreconcilable differences :) 

Yesterday my food was outstanding:  My egg white omelet had a few potatoes in it with some ham and fresh tomatos...Mmmmmm

 lunch was a small salad and a hummus pita with greens, cucumber, feta and carrots

 Snack was Hummus and Wheat Thins and I had some watermelon too

Here is where my heart smiles...

When Mason was a little guy I would come home and he would be SO excited for me to be home he would stand at the door and bang on the glass :)  note: definitely one of the perks of working (the kids are so excited when I am home).  There was even a point when Mason would run out to the car to climb in with me to hug me before I could even get out. 

Below is a picture of what I get to see every day when I'm pulling up.  Livie is usually banging on the glass and stamping her feet.  Mason was there before I took this picture and Rocky is usually present too :)  This is definitely one of my favorite times of the day!

Dinner was parm crusted talapia with some whole wheat couscous and stir fry veggies.  The veggies rocked!  They had snap peas, green beans, peppers, onions, water chestnuts, broccoli, squash and carrots...SO GOOD!

 Then we ran some errands.  Went to the library finally to get the book I am reading for my book club.  It is called Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay.  I started it last night :)  Then we hit Target for some odds and ends. 

Below is a picture of my little princess eating her pop pop that was a favor from Aubrey's birthday party this weekend.  She was very into it :)  She is the cutest thing EVER!!

That is about all I have for today

Make it a GREAT one!

TTFN

Oh What a Beautiful Morning...

I know the heat has been CRAZY (mornings around 80) but working out outside is an awesome treat!!!  even if my trainer is trying to kill me :)  This is where we work out in the morning...LOVE IT!  So much better than being in a stinky gym :)

Here is the front of our gym :)

 Today we worked on a circuit that included:

• Cowbell Swings (Butt) 80 times
• Release Push Ups (Arms/Core) 40 times
• An exercise where we sit on our butts, knees bent, heels on the ground, holding a medicine ball we twist from side to side touching the ball on the ground on each side (Core) 100 times (both sides)...so more like 200
• Standing at a picnic table.  Starting with one foot on the bench and one foot on the ground.  Lift the foot from the ground to the bench and back down (gently) 80 times (40 each side)
• Using resistance bands - 80 rowing motions with legs at a slant.  (arms) HOLY CRAP!!!!!!!

In between each circuit, we ran a quarter mile.  HOLY CRAP AGAIN!!!!  Then we came in and did a resistance elliptical (what I'm calling it) for 5 minutes.  The entire workout was CRAZY!!!  It was a circuit on CRACK!  Ouch... But as I've said before it is a good ouch :)

Last night I took all 3 kiddos to the pool to hang out and we had a BLAST!  I love evenings at the pool, I think we'll go back tonight :)  Yesterday my food was really good:

Breakfast was my oatmeal :) 

Lunch was out with a vendor.  I loving eating out but I'm always so worried about the choices.  I chose sushi to be sure I'd be on the better side :)  This is a rainbow roll and a California roll.  Mmmmmmmmmm  I also had a salad with Ginger Dressing (my FAV)

Later in the afternoon I was hungry so I had a salad with some Tempeh...SO GOOD!

When I got home the kids had already eaten and I wanted to get in the pool before DJ had to go to a meeting so we all just got changed and left :)  When we got home and I got the little girl to bed, I couldn't figure out what to eat so I had some eggs :)  They were delicious, especially with some wheat toast.

 I may have cut up a watermelon and had some of that too...

That's all I've got for today

Make it a GREAT one!

TTFN

Minimizing my Gluteus

Well that is where the pain is today...right there in my rump :)  I'm sure the bazillion squats we did yesterday has something to do with that :)  My upper body is also killing me...specifically my Deltoid and Trapezius (see below) :)  I figured I could at least show the muscle groups that were working through the below picture.  Oh and let's not forget my hamstrings...ouch :) 

Yesterday was a pretty great day.

Oatmeal for Breakfast, then I got a call from a buddy who was in the area and wanted to go to lunch.  I had the most Delicious Bento Box at Red Parrot but I can't find my picture of it...must have gotten deleted.  It was Salmon, California Roll, Salad with some white rice.  I ate everything except the rice :) Mmmmmm

Dinner was pasta then the boys and I went to the pool for a night hang out.  I read my book and we had a GREAT time!!!  Came home finished my book and crashed :)

I promise I'll be more exciting tomorrow.

TTFN :)

HELLO Monday!!!

What a GREAT WEEKEND!!??!  Let's look back :)

Friday Night was Sip and Dip Adult ONLY night at the pool :)  Before the pool party at 9pm, DJ and I met up with Terri and Steve to go to dinner at McGerks :)  I got a delicious veggie burger and only ate half the bun but all the chips (a small bag of Utz 120 calories).  I may have a had a few glasses of wine at the pool later and a few cookies but all in all a great night for food and a GREAT NIGHT with friends.  We laughed and laughed and laughed and decided we need a couples trip to Vegas next summer.  Can't wait!!!  DJ and I were the only ones who went swimming (from our little group) and at the end of the night we decided that we drank and sank :)  LMBO!!!! 

Saturday, we attended the birthday party for a cutie pie little one year old, Aubrey...she is such a cutie pie.  Here is is with Mom and Dad (Stacey and Mike)

Happy Birthday Aubrey!!!

Then I had girls night at my house...it was a small group of us and we had the BEST entertainment of all...

Ms. Sophia Marie :)  I HEART this little angel:)

After hangin with Ms. Sophia, Meg and I went to see Magic Mike...

You'd think that naked Channing Tatum would be good enough?!?  Well he wasn't...it was really really bad :)

Oh and note:  I refuse to post a picture of a nearly naked Channing with the above precious babies on the same page so look it up yourself :)  LOL

Think about the above...I didn't get to sleep until Midnight neither night b/c I'm such a party animal...LOL  Let's just say that...Sunday, I was pooped :)  We headed to the pool for a bit after a lazy morning and went to Mom's for Bobby's birthday dinner.  CAN NOT believe that my BABY brother is 28.  Funny I'm only 29...I used to think we were so far apart in age but we keep getting closer and closer :)  BAHAHAHA

I crack myself up!!  Dinner was mexican and I didn't take a picture of my plate...DANG IT!  I gotta get better with that again :)  Anyway...I had a taco salad with lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, chicken and peppers, and a little taco meat with some mexican rice.  It was delicioso!!  Then we had some cookie cake and ice cream (I had a little piece)...Honestly!  WHAT IS LIFE WITHOUT CAKE?!

Happy Birthday Bro!

Then we came home and I got ready for bootcamp and CRASH...I was sound asleep by 9pm.  Good Thing too...that alarm seemed crazy at 5am.  Today was a pretty good bootcamp day.  I definitely sweated my butt off.  We started by running a mile (I ran the whole thing, which I haven't done in awhile!!!)  Then we came back to stretch and worked out outside AGAIN!  LOVE working out on the harbor.  One day I'm going to have to bring my phone outside to the workout so I can show you a picture of my view...it is HEAVEN!  Even if we are busting our humps it is GORGEOUS!

Now it is time to get this stinky self into the shower.

I hope everyone else had a GREAT weekend too!

TTFN