"Not so good Chalene"

That's what I usually say when she asks "How're you doin'?". I've been trying to find a new swimsuit the past couple days. We're taking a trip in a while and I need one. Last year I struggled with my old one all summer long and this year I just can't do it again. It has no support, it's two sizes too big. I just can't. While it should make me feel good that I don't fit in it anymore, it means I have to shop for a new one. I have to have an underwire bra in it (remember what I said about big boobs) and it's really hard to find them. There were 8 swimsuits at Nordstrom that had them. 6 of those were one pieces (which I can't wear because I am oddly shaped). And the other 2 were horrible. Same situation at Dillards. I did buy one at Dillards but when I brought it home My Man said "It's cute. It's not like...Super Cute. But it's ok." And I don't want to feel like that's what he's thinking. So anyway. I've continued working out. I did the 20 Minute Cardio and Ab Jam yesterday. Oh, and I don't really mean "not so good" when she asks. In general I really like these workouts. They're fun and not entirely annoying.

Hey a quick question...you guys said her boobs are fake, right? Is that why they don't move? Do fake boobs not move? The other girls are either small chested or they're chests bounce when jumping around. But hers don't. I was just curious.

Calorie Counter

Pitter Patterson told me about www.sparkpeople.com as a place to track calories and exercise, etc. I have to say that I was skeptical at first. I was doing South Beach. I didn't need it.

Well, I registered. Just as I created a spreadsheet to track monthly spending and find patterns in it, I need to track what I ingest and look for patterns. Yesterday, for example, I consumed 3000 calories. Actually, that is a low estimate. It makes me slightly ill to think about, but half of those calories came from the "healthy" choice I made for lunch... Chinese food with BROWN rice instead of white. Ugh!

You know something, though? It would be wrong to 100% cut oneself off from all food favorites. It's the perceived deprivation that leads to downfall on any plan to improve your health and fitness. My problem yesterday was not that I ate a 1500 calorie lunch, but rather I came home and ate Cheetos, Taquitos, and handfulls of Golden Grahams instead of something a little better for me for dinner. No vegetables entered my system at all yesterday.

Come to think of it, the "Breakfast of Champions" was probably a better choice for breakfast than the one I made for lunch.

On the exercise front, I'm not necessarily seeing results from my 6-day all-out blitz, but I'm also not seeing the results of my aforementioned lunch, either. Must be a correllation there somewhere. What I am noticing in myself, though, is that I am starting to look forward to the workout. I'm looking forward to rolling my eyes as Chalene asks me if I'm having a good time. And when I'm done, I want to do more. And I feel so much more relaxed afterwards.

Overdoing It.

I have worked out for at least an hour a day since Saturday.

I really should have taken today off. But I didn't. I did Turbo Sculpt instead.

I'm tired.

Dear Ab Jam:

I. Hate. You.

I've been having trouble with cardio since I got the flu. This happened last winter too. I went to the doctor (last winter) and she said I have asthma and gave me medicine. I took it, the problem cleared up and I stopped taking it. Yes, I know that's not what you're supposed to do. However, I've been doing cardio since then and haven't had a problem until I got sick again last week. Now I can't jump around for more than 15 minutes without having a coughing fit.

So I did 15 minutes of my good ol' CardioJam. Then I did the Ab Jam and thankfully, no coughing. Just pain. I'm good usually until about the third "walk your hands up and snake back". Then I'm ok until the "sit up and lean back, lift your legs and pulse right, center, left etc". Those things kill me. But! I can do them all. So that's good.

So...do you guys recommend getting the 2nd or 3rd sets of TJ? I'm weighing it still. I still think I should make myself do more of this stuff before I buy more. I just get bored with the same old routines...maybe I'll pull out the old Windsor Pilates DVDs.

Suggestions? Advice? Motivation to get my big ass moving?

Breakfast of Champions...

It actually sounds really good, but honestly, I cannot imagine consuming the amount of calories that are involved...

At the checkout at my work cafeteria...

Two women
Each with a large Coke
Each with a bottle of full fat chocolate milk
Each with a bowl of Cocoa Puffs

I am a sucker for sweet stuff, chocolate milk, chocolate cake, cookies, donuts, you name it. And I do not believe in denying myself as that only leads to me eating an entire pie in one sitting (not that that's ever happened). But I know several things that are guaranteed for those two women today...

1) They will have a ton of energy for a very short amount of time
2) They will crash and crash hard
3) They believe that the cereal and milk choice (as opposed to bacon and eggs) makes them "healthy"
4) They will probably over eat the rest of the day because they were so "good" for breakfast

Yes. I'm judgmental. Didn't you know that?

Four in a Row...

Fat Blaster and 3T. I'll feel this one in the morning.

59 workout days left until I go to Mexico... Maybe I should do a Cardio Party soon...

I feel like I'm not doing enough...

Working Through the Soreness

Today was the second day after I did strength and boy, did I ever feel it! I was planning on doing strength again today, but since I gorged on Chinese food, I decided that I needed to burn calories so I did Fat Blaster and Ab Jam.

I'm still sore. But I really want to do strength. But it's time for Prison Break. You see where my priorities lie?

Back in the Saddle Again...

At least on the exercise front...

Yesterday, I did the 3T strength workout (32 minutes) and the 20 minute cardio workout.

Today, I did Punch, Kick, and Jam... It's around 50 minutes long, 42 minutes of cardio and 8 and a half minutes of tubing/strength. I didn't do the strength stuff because I'd just done it yesterday, and I wussed out of about 5 minutes-worth of the workout, so I did about 37 minutes.

Ms. Patterson, you could totally do the Punch, Kick, and Jam if you can do the Fat Blaster. Just FYI...

Last week, I bought one of the Carmen Electra Aerobic Striptease DVDs at Wal-Mart. It was a waste of my money. It is SO slow!!! It's created for people who have never, not once, ever even looked at a workout before. Bo-ring!

Oh, and I'm eating like a pig. I've effectively undone the good that South Beach did in a matter of two days. Literally.

So, What's Been Happening?

#1, I'd like to see some entries on Janna and Pitter Patterson's pages. ;-)

#2, I'm so far off my diet, it is pathetic. I will get back on and I will start working out again. On the bright side, my illness made me drop a couple of pounds. :-)

#3, Emily, are you feeling better?

Welcome Janna!

Welcome to motivation central, Janna! I look forward to reading your blog, too! You need to start posting stuff. :)

I've been out of pocket for the past couple of days and my workout/diet program has suffered... I did really good at the lake on Sunday, barely cheating (only with whole grain bread and a little chex mix, while those around me snacked on chips and fattening stuff). Then we got home and no dinner was made.

Yesterday and today, I've been down with a bug so no working out, and no diet. Basically, if I could keep it down, I was eating it. I think that tomorrow, I'll be back on track.

Two Days Off

So the last time I did the South Beach Diet, I cheated every day. And I cheated with bad things... Chips, Hostess cup cakes, chocolate cake, well, you get the idea.

This time, while I haven't been 100% faithful to the plan, I've done much better. The majority of my cheating has been via alcohol (pom martinis, wine) and a little too much fat and maybe a bite or two of dried cranberries and bagel chips. But I am very serious about the eating plan and the philosophy of the plan, so even my cheating has been sparse and wracked me with guilt.

What has been my salvation this time around has been the exercise, namely Turbo Jam. I took Thursday and Friday off, so today I really got into it. I completed Fat Blaster!!! It just about killed me. Then I did about 15 minutes of 3T, stopping only so my husband could record Cops (then I never started back).

I have to say, I am very proud of myself. I'm almost smug with it. I know the smugness will be my downfall, however, so I'm trying to temper it with issues of Shape magazine. ;-)

And on Thursday, I was bad...

On Wednesday, I cheated on my diet. I cheated with three martinis. Three Pomegranate and Pineapple martinis. But at least I worked out.

Yesterday, I didn't cheat on the diet really, except for a bottle of red wine (oops!), but I didn't work out at all. I now have a wine hangover.

Eating Out.

Another day, another gripe. We met The Man for lunch today at a local restaurant called Wingers. They do all kinds of chicken and burgers, their specialty being wings. Eating out kills me because I love to go out and I never follow the rules. I don't ask them to half my portion, I eat bread, sometimes I even go for dessert. I did ok though today, I think. I got a turkey blt sandwich. I know bacon isn't great and neither is the mayo, but it's waaaay better than a fried chicken sandwich or even the salad with chicken on top. But even though I made a (fairly) good choice, I feel horrible about it. I tend to get to the point when I'm dieting when I feel bad about eating at all. Which is sort of not a good place to be... Did I mention I ate fries too. I did.

Anyhow, I worked out tonight. I did the 20 Minute Cardio and the whole Turbo Sculpt. I've been using 5 lb weights. What are you using? Am I chumping out here? I don't think I can pull off 10, maybe could try 6 or 7 lbs.

Even though I exercised for more than an hour, I still feel crappy because of the big lunch. I should've done the Ab Jam too. Something tells me I won't be thinking that in the morning though.

Maximum Results

I just did the 3T (Totally Tubular Turbo) and I loved it! It's a shorter (30 min) version of Turbo Sculpt, but it is a little bit higher intensity. You can use either the resistance band or hand weights or no weights at all.

I then did 10 minutes of Fat Blaster. VERY good. I'm just a wimp. It's an interval workout with a higher intensity warm up than on the first group of Turbo workouts and then four intervals of low intensity/high intensity aerobic training. I can't wait to make it through the whole 30 minutes.

I'm still a big fan of my old standbys, though... Turbo Sculpt, Cardio Party Mix 1, and Ab Jam. For a diverse, complete workout, these three cannot be beat.

I Think I May Have Cheated...

Today, my group brought in barbecue. Mmmm! I thought I was being so virtuous, forgoing the cole slaw (my favorite!) and pickles and sauce. I had chicken (I pulled the skin off), lean brisket, and pinto beans. I didn't eat the cookies. That's a HUGE thing for me. But somehow, I feel like I did bad. Maybe because there was no salad. I don't know. South Beach is HARD to do, y'all!

Just means I'll have to work out that much harder this evening. Bleh. I'm planning on trying T3 (Totally Tubular Turbo) tonight. It's the one with the resistance band and weights. I should do cardio, but I need some muscle definition and haven't focused on weight training at all yet.

No work out!

I didn't work out today. It's a combination of cramps and major soreness after two days of the Ab Jam. I'll get back on it tomorrow. I did eat well, so at least I did that right.

I'm down another pound. Not ideal weight loss for a week, but I ate pretty much awful crap all week long. Better than nothing.

Dear G*D, I'm out of shape!

Turbo Jam Maximum Results came today. I think I may have been a bit too big for my britches with this one...

I made it through fifteen minutes (fif-teen. 1. 5.) of Cardio Party Mix 3 before collapsing. I couldn't even do the other side of the first punch and kick series. It may have had something to do with the weighted gloves, but seriously, I thought I was going to die!

I then tried to do Ab Jam. 5 minutes. That's it.

At least I haven't cheated on South Beach. Yet. That's saying something. Usually by Day 2, I've already eaten a twin pack of Hostess cup cakes. ;-)

To the back, baby doll!

I'm here. Thanks very much Ellen for letting me play. I did end up fitting in a Cardio Jam last night after the kids went to bed. And again, I hated it until the last 15 minutes or so. I think it's a combination of being a bit bored with the same old routine, it still being a hard work out, and me generally feeling crappy. I try to work out during the day because first thing in the morning, I'm entirely useless and after the kids go to bed I turn into a zombie. Oh well. I see now why they make several different workouts.

There's a point about half way through when I always start talking back to the t.v. Chalene says "Hey, Ho" and I echo her. She asks "How're you doin?" and I say "Not so good, Chalene." Like I'm insane. My kids asked me "What does 'to the back baby doll' mean?".

Whatever gets me through the workout, right?

Welcome Emily!

Thanks for joining the team. See your name to the left? Cool, huh? ;-)

If any other bloggers would like to join the "need to work out" team, send an email to mrspop007 at gmail dot com.

I promise I'll check it!

Ouch!

I. Am. Sore.

Saturday was spent planting and pulling weeds, although I didn't do much of the pulling of the weeds.

On Sunday, I cleaned house for two hours, then took the little one on a wagon ride to the park. We ran around for a while, then it started raining. Dr Pop came and picked us up, but I chose to run/walk home in the rain. I then did the "standing abs" portion of Ab Jam.

I. Am. Sore. Today.

On another note, Dr Pop and I are going to do South Beach phase 1. Well, a modified version of it. We're going to cut out bad carbs, and eat lots of lean protein and greens. But we'll still enjoy our alcohol. ;-) It's 9:42AM and so far, so good for me. Not sure what Dr Pop had for breakfast, though.

Turbo Jam

I received notification that my Turbo Jam Maximum Results is on the way complete with resistance band and weighted gloves... :)

I've been walking to the park and back with my son for the past two days and running around the park. On Wednesday, I did the standing abs portion of Ab Jam, too. Today my obliques are still sore.

This evening, I won't be able to work out because I have a hair appointment. My last thought before falling asleep last night was that if I happen to wake up before my alarm, I will get out of bed and do Turbo Sculpt. Yeah. That didn't happen.

Tomorrow is Turbo Sculpt and a long walk/run for me.

Motivation

I've seen several posts around about lack of motivation... So tell me, what inspires you to make healthy food choices and work out?

Is it an upcoming vacation?
Do blogs like this help?
Seeing other people who look good?
Seeing other people who look bad?
A spouse?
What?

For me, it's all of the above. One of my guilty pleasure TV shows is The Girls Next Door and seeing Holly and Kendra (not Bridget, because, well, frankly, Hef could do better) make me realize that I have work to do. And seeing people in real life whose bodies are better than mine, especially if they are people that I absolutely cannot stand (I'm shallow, sue me), fuels my determination to step away from the cookies. Getting a release from the frustrations in life (petty and major) is a pretty major motivation factor for me. Lately, I've been extremely stressed out and I see a direct link between the stress and not finding an appropriate release for it all. Also, having a husband on my ass to make better choices helps... Sometimes... I work better on positive reinforcement, so when I get it, I am encouraged to do more. And keeping a journal on it helps, too.

So what inspires you? And if you'd like to be a part of this and track your progress online with me, post a comment and I'll make you part of "Team NeedToWorkOut". :)

What is this?

*This* is a self-motivation tool.

*This* is a place to be held accountable.

*This* is a place for lists.

*This* is where I plan to track my progress toward getting beach/summer-ready.