Boot Camp - Day 2

Today was a great day in general. I got reacquainted with someone from high school today - well, even more acquainted. We've talked via email & telephone for a little while, but we met up at the great Tim Horton's this morning for coffee. I was good and only got coffee and yogurt w/fruit. This was made possible by eating a breakfast bar before I left to take the kids to school.

I will not name this friend yet, but I think that she may be joining us here soon. She has already successfully lost 50 pounds on her own and already workouts regularly. She is just looking to finish off the last 20 pounds and get encouragement for her continued fitness goals.

I had my second boot camp session tonight. Let me just say that I'm still sore from Monday...but in a good way. I love being able to feel the sore abs when I'm walking or doing other exercises that are considered for the arms or other areas. I know this is why they call it the core. The abs seem to tie into everything. Everything else is sore too. It even hurts to sit down.

Here's a brief rundown of what we did tonight:

(3 rounds of each circuit)

Circuit 1: 5 mins on stepmill, farmer walk w/2 - 25 lb plates, bicep curls - 21's
Circuit 2: 20 pushups w/S Ball, frog jumps, something called "around the worlds" w/25 lb plate, 10 shoulder presses w/25 lb plate, 1 minute plank holds using S Ball.

That was pretty much it tonight...upper body with a bit of cardio. I'm always afraid of the upper body nights, but I usually find them quite easy and enjoyable. Tomorrow I work with other trainer. I don't know what we'll be doing - probably lower body.

I also learned that our pool equipment finally came in. Um....this means that we'll be working out in the POOL?!?!? Glad I've already gotten through the "wearing a swimsuit in public for the first time" hurdle. Scary stuff!

Ok. That's all that I'll bore you with tonight...more tomorrow after Boot Camp - session 3.

Not much to say today

I'm not going to workout today, since I have boot camp tomorrow and Thursday. I've learned from the past that 4 days in a row is just too much for me at that intensity. I will, however, go up to the gym for cardio on either Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. My eating has been good today thus far. I'm hoping to eat plenty of good things earlier in the day to avoid overdoing it at night. So far I've had a breakfast bar, yogurt w/fruit, coffee w/cream and splenda, bowl of chili, hardboiled egg. I will probably have another bowl of chili tonight (it was way good).

That's all I have to say today really....except that I'm getting more sore by the minute.

Please check out phenom's blog. He's trying to lose 55 lbs by Tigers opening day (next March).

Quickie - Edited

My weekend was pretty horrid eating-wise. I really didn't exercise any self-control at all. I'm blaming it on not enough luck wished for me on my last blog...so joking. Anyways, I went for a very short walk Friday evening, but other than that...nothing :(

Today is a new day. I haven't been great, but I don't think I've been bad either. I picked up the kids from school today and told them to get their homework done early so that we could go to the gym. They absolutely love the child center there, so this serves two purposes. They get their homework done in a timely fashion, and they motivate me to go. I could have gone earlier in the day, but no. I guess I should get used to this routine anyways, since I'll be going back to work next week. So far...so good. 3 out of 4 are all done with homework, and the 4th one is almost done. This is a good night.

Ok. Going to serve dinner so that we can get out the door.

Oh, one last thing...I've decided to sign up for the next boot camp session at the gym. It will be well worth it to get me back into the whole workout routine. I can't wait to get some of my tone back.

*Edit*

I went to the gym tonight and asked when the next Boot Camp session would be starting. To my surprise, they told me I could start tonight! I was really happy, because I really didn't want to do cardio only tonight anyways. There is a new instructor for the class, whom I thought did an excellent job. It's good to switch up trainers, in my opinion. She has different ways, and I am surprised at how jello-y my legs still feel 3 hours later. I will be going M W Th for the next 12 weeks.

I am going to be soooo smokin' by Christmas. Look out, Size 6, here I come!

The Great 100 Calorie Snack Pack Debate

First, let me just say that I have been eating well. Nothing bad to report here. Yesterday I went to my old office to have lunch with a co-worker, and I saw everyone and the compliments were abundant...yeah yeah yeah. Same story :) I also ordered a small lunch plate (Ahi Sushi). That's literally all it was...4 small pieces of sushi...absolutely delicious and completely satisfying.

Now onto the important part of today's blog. I found this article to be very interesting. While I disagree with his point that we don't have a choice (see Billy's blog today), I agree that we have mental obstacles that often deter us from making good choices. However, when it comes right down to it, the choice is ours. It's just so important to eliminate temptation where possible.

Please be sure to at least read to the point where it discusses the chip experiment. I found it fascinating, because it's absolutely true. I would have reacted the same way as the test subjects.

I'm going out of town this weekend, so wish me luck on the eating front. I'm not quite sure what types of temptation I'll be facing. I must stay strong :) Maybe I'll go for a walk after dinner.

Interesting Article

This study suggests that exercise is just as effective as drugs in treating major depression. Makes sense to me!

I'm Back

Ok. So I've been back, but I've not been back...if that makes sense :) But now I'm back.

My weekend was absolutely amazing. I had the best time with the best hostess around (Kirsten, of course). Of course, when I try to think of what we did, all I can come up with is...prepare food, eat food, and go buy more food? My kind of weekend! Ok. I'm kidding for the most part. I can't even express how blessed I am to have this girl as my friend. Yes, we had our fun eating great food, but we also got some physical activity in. We went to the zoo on Saturday. On Sunday, we went for a couple of very nice walks (I think we guessed it was around 4 miles or more altogether?). What a great area to live in. Lots of nature to enjoy.

Eating on Monday wasn't great. Eating on Tuesday was better but still not great. Eating today has been great. I also hit the gym. I really am back on track. I can feel it. I mean...it's not exactly my fault that I got off track. My eating hasn't been too out of control, and I really couldn't exercise much due to the surgery. I've been to the gym twice since my doctor gave me the thumbs up last Thursday...not to mention the walking over the weekend.

Well, I think that about covers it. Have a great day!

Proper Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance

In my opinion, one of my biggest problems this week has been breakfast. I am not hungry when I take the kids to school, but this quickly changes while I'm in the car...just as I'm approaching McDonalds or Tim Hortons or whatever. Even if I'm still not hungry, I want coffee, so I stop somewhere and then yield to the temptation of food as well. So, last night, I set my coffee maker on auto and took coffee with me on the drive. I also ate oatmeal for breakfast before leaving to take the kids to school. Guess what? I didn't even think about stopping anywhere. I also left my debit card and cash at home just in case.

The other thing I did last night was lay out my workout clothes. After I got back from taking the kids to school, I did some stuff around the house and then hit the gym. What a great workout! 30 minutes on the elliptical, 10 minutes on the stairclimber, and then 1 mile on the treadmill (about 10 minutes). It wasn't where I was when I left off a month ago, but I think that I did very well overall...and I enjoyed it! I didn't do any strength training, but I might use my bowflex tonight. I also have a lot of chicken breast and lettuce in the refrigerator just waiting for me to make a salad out of it.

Ok. It might be Monday before my next blog entry. Have a great weekend!