Mini Challenge #1

This Thanksgiving I will be traveling and staying with my parents in a hotel suite for 3 nights and 4 days. This is going to make eating well and exercising difficult. I will be packing all my exercise gear and hope to get in several workouts including some beach runs/HIIT workouts. I can go in with the best intentions but I know that things may not work out as planned. Plus, I really love Thanksgiving and eating all the yummy food and drinking delicious wine!
I've decided to come up with mini challenges over this approaching holiday season to help ward off all the unpleasant side effects of over indulging and general slothiness that takes over. My first challenge will begin on Sunday and will last for 3 days. I'm hoping it will keep me motivated to stay focused through the long weekend.
I will work out for 2 hours each day
Eat 3 meals of around 400 calories each
Eat 2 snacks of 150 calories each
Eat around 100 grams protein
Eat between 40-50 grams of fiber
And that's it!
My next challenge will start the Monday after Thanksgiving and will be similar but with more specific fitness goals and will last up to 3 weeks depending on holiday events.
After doing the slim down and gaining the weight back, I realize that loosing weight that quickly will not stay off! I won't do it again until January and even then I will modify so that I can hopefully keep some of it off!
Tomorrow I have 2 big birthday parties so will be a blow out for sure! Will be doing Tonique Premier in the morning and eating healthy until the evening.
This week I have been eating clean but as much as I want with some minor spurges here and there. I have dropped a few pounds that I gained over the weekend and am hanging in the low 130's. I'm pretty fine with that. I have been getting up every morning and working out for at least one hour so it seems that as long as I only eat when I am hungry, I can maintain this figure. I'd love to be able to get through the holidays at this level of fitness and I'm hoping that my mini challenges will help me to do that.

Back from the weekend

I had a beautiful weekend with my husband, enjoyed some wine tasting, dinner at my favorite restaurant and an almond croissant and latte from my favorite bakery. Compared to my past trips I think I fared pretty well, drank and ate a lot less, got in loads of water and even had a raw food lunch on Monday.

However, when I weighed in today the number was not looking good.  I am going to focus on eating clean this week and not worry too much about counting calories. I will be hitting my workouts hard and getting in extra cardio when I can. Feeling pretty discouraged about trying to loose and maintain weight. Seems like I have to be an absolute saint in order to keep off even a few pounds.

Ate clean today and did all of Tonique Premier in 82 minutes with 4 sets of drills. Next time I will try to add hand weights during the lunge section. I received Tonique 2 in the mail on Friday but am waiting until December when I will start a new fitness rotation.

I am also starting a new blog that will focus on the recipes I am trying out. I have been getting requests from my friends and family to look at my blog and this one is entirely too embarrassing!

Weekend Game Plan

Good Morning!

Even though it is Saturday I still woke up before 5:00. UGH! I do not know what to do about this. I guess it's okay as I am getting in killer am workouts but 4:15 is a little ridiculous. I lay in bed until about 5 and then proceed with my day. It's about 7:45 and I've completed the entire Tonique Premier workout with 4 sets of drill, at the beginning, in between sets and at the end. This took me nearly 100 minutes to complete. I still am taking a lot of breaks in the lunge section but none in the squats and maybe one in the mat work just so I don't cramp and die! Also I am using 3lb hand weights for the whole squat section and hope to be using them for lunges soon.
Today is my nieces birthday party and I'm a little worried about the food/cake situation. Luckily it's in the afternoon and I have to work tonight so I will be on my own for dinner and alcohol will not be a factor. I had planned on doing a run this morning on top of Tonique but decided that adding in all those drills was enough. I also made a southwestern inspired quinoa salad (stay tuned for the recipe) that I am bringing to eat for lunch.

So the question will be Cupcake? or No Cupcake? I will just wait and see how I feel and if I think they are tasty enough to warrant a cheat. I really love cupcakes...
I am going to wine country tomorrow so s*%t will be hitting the fan diet wise. I plan to get up and do a HIIT routine outside including jogging, running stairs, pushups, plyo-lunges and crunches. I will pack the quinoa again for lunch on Sunday but after that it's kind of a free for all. I will check back in either Monday night or Tuesday morning to let you know how things turn out.
Also, I haven't gained any weight back! Still 126.6.  I upped my calories to 1,500ish yesterday and still was fine this morning. I'm hoping that some of the water weight has come back and I'm loosing more fat. My older pair of Seven jeggings, size 28 were falling off me yesterday.  I had my hubby wash and dry them last night!
Have a fantastic weekend!
Cheers

Thursday November 10, 2011

Just a quick check in today. I am maintaining my weight and got in my exercise (Pump It Up) for the day. I've also stuck to my diet plan as well. It's been really easy getting up to work out, so much so that I wake up before my alarm and get moving before 5:30. This has been great as I feel less rushed in the morning, have time to check Facebook and email, get my water in and stretch! I know everyone is complaining about day light savings, but it has been working out in my favor!
I am also not tempted to cheat on my diet. My jeans are super loose and I want them to stay that way. Plus this weekend is going to be full of land mines. I will have to pick my battles wisely. I am coming up with a strategy to make sure I compensate for the cheating this weekend. For example, on Saturday we are going to celebrate my nieces third birthday. I will be bringing my own lunch and will have a cupcake or slice of cake. This means I not only have to do Tonique but I will go for a three mile jog afterwards.

Today's Menu:

Meal One-protein pancakes (made with blueberries, strawberries and banana), 2 Tbs. greek yogurt w/ stevia, coffee with 1/8 c milk and stevia
Meal Two-homemade lara bar, 1/2 c greek yogurt
Meal Three-vegan crepe with 1 scrambled egg, 1/8 c black beans, 6 tiny tomatoes and 1 tsp parmesan (more on this later!)
Meal Four-chia pudding (more on this later!)
Meal Five-Turkey burger (no bun), 1 chopped tomato with a tiny bit of salt and balsamic vinegar. I wanted to have some avocado but it was not good. boo! So I had 1 Tbs almond butter instead.

This was about 1,250 calories, uping my calories slowly to 1,500.

I have some fun recipes I've been testing out and more on the horizon for next week, so stay tuned!

Cheers!

Lean Turkey Burgers

After my diet of mostly chicken, spinach and asparagus, I was ready to eat a real dinner. I made these turkey burgers with what I had in my fridge that needed to get used up. They came out great, but I regret not adding salt as they needed a bit. I'm a bit salt phobic right now, so I just dipped my burger in a smidge of ketchup.

Chopped up some leftover shiitake 

Added this awesome combo from Trader Joe's. Love this as my eyes are super sensitive when I cut onions.

 Seasoned with pepper, cayenne, garlic powder. 

 Added in some chopped sage and parsley that I had leftover.

 And about 1/4 cup egg whites

 Mix and form into patties

 Ready to eat

 Yummo!

I normally don't eat cheese or starch after lunch but I thought I'd splurge a bit tonight to celebrate how awesome I've been doing. I think this would be great with some black beans and avocado on the side and of course some type of green veggie. But you understand, I needed a day off!

I'm Back!

Hello all!
I've decided to re-enter the blogosphere and share my new found success, goals for the future and new fun and healthy recipes. I just finished doing an 8 day very restrictive diet to get myself back on track and get some fast results to motivate me to continue to my dream body.

Dream Body, Katrina from Tone It Up

 Current Body

Super embarrassing picture (like the heels!) haha! But I was trying to capture all my hard work on film. I lost 7.8 pounds in 7 days and so far have maintained this weight loss for one day. woo hoo! I'm 5'4.5" and now am 126.6. I'm not set on a specific weight but I'm thinking closer to 120 and I will be getting to where I want to be.

My current fitness rotation is:

2 days Tracy Anderson Method Original Mat DVD

2 days Tonique Premier

1 day outdoor HIIT routine

1 day Pump It Up cardio (This is hilarious and super fun, btw.)

I also try to go on as many walks as I can. Today I was able to get in a good 5 miler and that is pretty typical. I also throw in pushups, dips, lunges, plies and crunches whenever the mood strikes me.

My diet is 5 small meals each day. Here is what I ate today for a sample:

Meal 1: Protein pancakes with 2 Tbs. of greek yogurt, coffee with a splash of milk and stevia

Meal 2: 1/2 c greek yogurt and a homemade lara bar

Meal 3: vegan crepe with 2 tsp. sunflower seed butter and sliced strawberries

Meal 4: 1/2 avocado with 1 tsp each sunflower seeds and honey

Meal 5: lean turkey burger with light swiss on a whole grain bun

This came out to around 1,200 calories. I am slowly uping my calories to 1,500 a day to come off my restrictive diet and back to normal eating. I splurged tonight on the bun and cheese, usually carbs and dairy are reserved for breakfast and lunch.

My short term goals are:

1. To maintain this weight loss for the month of November. This will be challenging as I am making another trip to wine country to pick up wine (it's been several months!) and also eat at my favorite restaurant and bakery. I also have a good friends birthday party and let's not forget Thanksgiving to contend with. I will be coming up with strategies to get through these times without over indulging and also so I can enjoy myself. If I gain the weight back, I have to do the diet again. So that should help keep me focused.

2. Keep up my fitness regime as listed above. This means getting up at 5:30 3 mornings a week and only 1 day off, which I may choose to do further cardio.

3. Blog at least 3 times per week and 1 time per week will include a recipe and review.

Come December I will have new goals and a new fitness rotation. I am really liking mixing things up. My main focus is to tone up all over but with an emphasis on my thighs and butt.

I'll be checking in soon! Feel free to ask any questions or leave a comment!

Cheers!

Jessica

17 more days! Let the count down begin!

I finally started Hip Level 8 this Wednesday (took Tuesday as a rest day to recover from too much food and wine over the long weekend, per usual) and I feel like I'm in the home stretch as far as Meta goes. Level 8 is tough! But more doable than level 7, I think. I'm still adding in mat arms and standing abs nearly every day as well. I think my arms are actually showing some improvements!

Unfortunately, my results haven't been that startling and I blame that mostly on my diet. I've been stuck at around 129-132 for weeks now. I am toned. I am fit. But that stubborn layer of fat is making me nuts! I loose a few pounds then gain them right back.  It's mostly because my diet gets off track on the weekend and in the evening. I've informed my husband that we can no longer keep chocolate, chips or cookies in the house as a tired and stressed Jessica has a little to no will power at night. Thank goodness he's supportive! I really want to get into the 120-125 range before this whole thing is over. I'm feeling really motivated to make this happen! Need to be in a swim suit for work at the end of the month several times a week. Yikes!

Last week I started drinking green smoothies (click for the recipe) for breakfast and this Tuesday I started drinking them for both breakfast and lunch. Then I have a protein and veggie packed dinner and maybe a little wine. ;)

We had this yummy salad with rainbow trout Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday I had lentil soup, chicken breast and this vegan pumpkin bolani, which is a current obsession of mine as well. Anyways, low cal and filling dinners. I also had a babybel cheese and an apple for a snack Thursday afternoon since I exercised 4 times in 25 hours (getting after it!), I was a bit more hungry than usual. I'm super sore too! Must be the new level, the sprints or a combo. Either way, I'm definitely swollen. Hopefully by next weekend I'll be making real progress.

So far in 3 days I've dropped 2 pounds and am at 131. I'm have a wedding next Saturday and a big 90th birthday party this Saturday, tomorrow. Both events will be filled with family members I hardly ever see, so would like to leave a good impression. I am going to do my best to watch portions at these events and eat as well as I can. Since I will be traveling over night(s) this will be tough.

Happy Friday to you all!
Cheers!

I am also continuing with my changed up cardio. After work Wednesday night, hubs and I did a walk, jog, sprint, jumping jack circuit at the nearby park. It was so fun to have a friend to workout with and keep me challenged! I hope we can do this weekly, but all depends on the weather and Ed's schedule. If he can't make it and it's not pouring, I'll do my best to do it alone.

I am also adding in Jillian Michael's Banish Fat, Boost Metabolism. It's such a great cardio workout! I did it Thursday morning before work and I was still sweating after my shower. Today I have a long walk with lots of hills and possibly some stair climbs planned as I run errands on foot. Got to fit in cardio when you can!