Reality check and Challenge Games Part 1

Hey all you fiiiine lookin' folks!  Happy Monday to ya!  Hope its been treating you all well.  Today was a good day, and I've got lots to talk about :)

Workout: Day 30 LiveFit - Chest, Abs & Cardio
                                          18 min. stairstep - medium intensity
                                           400 meter run

Today was an OK day in the gym.  I did a lot of new-to me exercises so I wasn't super comfortable with them, and didn't quite know how heavy my weights should be, so I think I took it a little to easy, oops.  Oh well, at least now I know what to expect next time.  The thing I've come to realize is that there will rarely ever be a time where I totally know everything.  There will always be something new/challenging.  Which is good cause it keeps me and my body on its toes so I don't get to comfortable.  Which brings me to my next point.  So I know in my roundup I set more mini-goals, but apparently I didn't take into consideration that weight lifting and cardio will result in me feeling like I haven't eaten in 5 million days and come home STARVING!
I've come to the conclusion that I need to use this week to really figure out what I need to eat to keep me full, and to fuel my workouts so I don't come home ready to eat my own arm, which leads to handfuls of cereal, toast and Swedish Fish - which I am currently shoving in my mouth

So for this week I'm putting the mini-goals on the back-burner to figure things out.  I'm going to try and keep and handle on my eats.  I'll let you know what I learn - if anything, at the end of the week.

Today I also had my first company challenge game.  It was a 400 meter relay against 6 other area businesses.  We had a fun team, and met at the High School track a bit early to stretch and stuff.

the scene of the crime - where dreams are made and egos broken





the dream team.  why do I look like such a nerd



ugh, the only pic of me running and should probably be the last...woof



 Our team took 3rd.  I ran my leg in 1min. 15 sec.  Which I think is good, but I'm not really sure, I don't know much about track and sprints so I don't really know what a good time is.  I sure didn't feel fast though, felt like I was running with cement blocks for feet.  Despite that it was really fun!  I have another game tomorrow too, so be on the lookout.
By the time I got home it was waaaay past my dinner time and I shoved this banana in my mouth faster than you can say "that's what she said".

with a side of skanky running shoes

Then when I got around to actually eating a legit dinner, J-Bobby Flay cooked up this tasty dish

grilled chix & curried rice

It was a pretty eventful and fun Monday if I do say so myself.  Hope you all had an equally entertaining day :)  Have a good evening peeps, catch ya tomorrow!

Holy humongus roundup!

Hey friends!!  This is going to be a large roundup today.  I missed Friday, my bad, so this will have all three days all rolled up into one tasty blog casserole.  So lets get this train rollin'!

Friday 
 "Workout" Day 27 Livefit - rest day
                     5.05 mile run - slow and steady wins the race :)

In an effort to start increasing my miles on my rest days, I really wanted to go for 5 miles today.  There is a pretty flat trail a few miles from my house that I thought would be a good place to go.  Jake let me borrow his Garmin to I could track my pace and distance.  FYI, Garmins are officially AWESOME!  I want one.  There was one little hiccup though when I got the the trail.  I turned on the ol' Iphone for some tunes ( I never run without music), and it decided to be a turdnugget and stop working!  So I had to put on my big boy girl undies and take off with just the sounds of nature.  Turns out, it was actually pretty nice, the trail was pretty and I could hear the birds and water as I ran past streams.  I also felt really good the whole run, and kicked it towards the end - such a solid run!

aahh nature...

I had stopped running at this point so the distance and pace are a little off/slow - but I LOVE this thing, I might steal it from J :)

After my run, I had some errands to run, then we headed to a friends house for dinner.  We grilled out and it was BYOM (bring your own meat)

TJ's chicken veg. sausages, carrots, asparagus, watermelon and strawberries

We hung out with our friends for awhile and made are way home.  It was a nice relaxing start to the weekend

Saturday
"Workout": Day 28 LiveFit - rest day
                      P90X Stretch

Per usual I wanted to get in a long stretch this morning.  J-bob randomly had a P90X stretch DVD so I thought I would give it a whirl.  Turns out I need to just stick with what I like cause I did NOT like this stretch.  It was longer which it fine, about 55 min, but all of the stretches were really static and stiff - not the yoga flow that I'm used to.  It was fine, and still stretched me out, but I will go back to my Turbo from now on, lesson learned.

Today was also the day to weigh in to see if I made my weight mini-goal, and I'm happy to say I met it and am down 2lbs!  Yippee.  Now, I weighed myself in the a.m before breakfast, but I don't care, I'll take it!  So, since I met all my goals, I kept my promise and bought a new outfit.  Its real cute, and I'll post a pic once I wear it :)

It was rainy and gloomy all day today and I ended up taking a nap while J went to the gym, yep, I really am that lazy.

Confession - I don't know about you all, but I have a thing for the bubbles.  Champagne bubbles that is.  I don't know what it is, but I just love the stuff.  So, because of that, one of my New Years "resolutions" was to have "Champagne Thursdays!" with J on the last Thursday of each month.  Its just a fun thing to look forward to.  Well we missed it, so decided to crack the bottle tonight along with our dinner

grilled pork, tiny taters and salad

Sunday
Workout: Day 29 LiveFit - Back & Cardio
                 TM run: 3.5 miles 31 minutes

Well we made it kids!  Phase 2 is now in effect. With this phase I go from working out 5 days a week to 6, so I only have 1 rest day.  I have a feeling I will be pooped by the end of the week.  Today was some back work and cardio.  On my cardio days I can do anything I want (run, elliptical, bike, ect...) for 30 minutes.  We are also introducing what are called "supersets" for my weight exercises. That means you have 2 sets of exercises and you do them back to back with no breaks.  Awesome for muscle building.  So after all that, I hopped on the t-mill and did my run.  It called for medium intensity so I took it nice and easy, and felt great.  Looking forward to tomorrow already

before the gym - egg wrap and berries

When I was leaving the gym I was craving a pineapple shake, so I made it as soon as I stepped in the door

craving satisfied :)

I had more boring chores to get done around the house while Jake the Tool Man Taylor worked on our fence in the backyard.  I will post pics of the demo tomorrow, but we've got the fence posts in on one side so they need to sit with the cement for 24 hours.
Contrary to what it sounds like, we actually got a lot accomplished this weekend.  We finished getting all the supplies for the newest family member that will be joining us soon, so I feel much more prepared.

Being that its the beginning of a new week, and that last weeks mini-goals went so well, I'm setting more for myself, with a new spring/summer dress and wedges being the reward :)  I'm again going to stick with the goal of tracking everything I eat and stick to eating clean, aka: no bowls of cereal after dinner, and A goal of losing 1.5 lbs this week.  I'm getting very close to my ultimate goal weight, I've actually been flirting with it for about 4 months and I need to get serious.  The thing I've realized is that, losing the weight is actually the easy part, it the maintaining part that the toughest.  So if I can get down to that weight, I can focus on what I need to do to keep it there, give or take 1-2 lbs for fluctuation.  I know I can do it, it will just take some focus on my part, and not eating copious amounts of cereal...

please, take some so I don't eat it all

Well folks that's the down and dirty of my weekend.  This week my company is partaking in local business Challenge Games.  Larger companies in town compete each year in different events, and I signed up for two of them.  Tomorrow I'm in a mile track relay with 3 of my coworkers.  We each will run a lap.  I haven't ran on a track since middle school, so please send me speedy vibes, or vibes that I don't make a complete ass of myself, which I will probably do anyway.
Hope everyone had a great weekend too!  Have a lovely start to the week :)

I need a vacation

Hey you guuuyyys! Goonies....anyone?  Whatever, hope everyone's having a great Thursday!  You know I love my Thursdays, last workout, 2 rest days on deck, fav. shows on the boob-tube...aaahhh its almost like a vacation...almost

i wish!

Workout: Day 26 LiveFit - Shoulders & Abs

Today was a good workout.  I didn't up my weights cause I'm weaksauce, but I do feel like this time around went better than last week.  I felt like I had much better form and more control on some of the exercises, which is good.  I also love a good ab workout so I'm always pumped when I see it on the schedule.  This was my final workout of Phase 1.  I do have 2 rest days until I'm officially done, but this was the last workout with no cardio - yippee!  4 weeks sure does go by fast in the grand scheme of things :)  I will recap my thoughts/results of this first phase on the ol' roundup so be on the lookout, cause I know you don't have more important things to do.

So in the meantime, lets eat!

eggy sammy with a cutie

#1

this combo is becoming a favorite!

thats a spicy meat-a-ball!

big salad with a capital B!  I added a piece of Ezekiel toast for starch

Welp, tomorrow's Friday friends, its also payday so that means I get to go to my version of a mall...the grocery store!  Is it weird that I would rather buy food than clothes or shoes?  Its probably why I look like a homeless person and am always trying to lose those 'last 5 pounds'.  But, If I reach reach my mini-goals I do get a new outfit, so cross your fingers!!  I'll make sure to do a fashion show, another thing you can all wait desperately for :)

so theres this guy I know...

Hi guys!  Happy hump day, hope its going just swell :)  You are all in for a real treat tonight!  I'm sparing all of you my totally awesome lame food pictures.  That's right, your off the hook!  But you still have to read this anyway :)  I'll get the boring stuff out of the way first...

Workout: Day 25 LiveFit - Legs

I don't know whats going on with me, but I was feeling really sluggish at the gym again today.  I increased my weights on a few, but I also had to take it down on 1 - yikes!  Oh well, I felt good when I was done, but a bit discouraged.  I'm on track with my goals that I set on Sunday, and have written down everything I've eaten and added up the calories.  I'm not going to step on the scale until the end of the week.  If I hit all my mini-goals then I promised myself a new outfit, cause this girl needs new clothes!


So lets talk, by now you all probably are aware that I don't live alone - scary!  Well, sometimes scary, other times is pretty great.  I'm talkin' 'bout J-slice ya'll!  Since I've been writing now for a few weeks, I figured it was time to give him his own post - he's so lucky to be my husband :) 

isn't he handsome!

*Disclaimer, he was in the process of shaving off his beard and had a little mustache fun - he's such a creep

he also loves to bike....and wear spandex

J and I have been friends since high school, dated for about 3 years, engaged for 1.5...

we look so young!

and then we got married!

best day ever

October 3rd 2009 was by far the best day of my life.  I am so lucky to be able to spend the rest of my days with my best friend.  I will love this guy to the moon and back, even if we are just a couple of fruits...

 Halloween '11

So there you have it, and little trip down memory lane.  Makes me want to go back and do it all over again.  I always joke that I want to get married in every season and at different times of the day. So unfortunately for him, he's stuck with me for all of them.  I'll invite you all when I get my tropical island wedding, so find a skimpy bikini and look for the save the date!

"tofu pizza"

Happy Tuesday everyone!  It was super nice here today, my car read 76 degrees on the way home :)  I was tempted to skip the gym and be outside, but I didn't.  I just hope its this nice on my rest days this week so I can workout outside.  Oh, and I just finished watching Biggest Loser, and am high on positive vibes! I don't care how cheeseball that show can be, it's just SO inspirational.  Unfortunately being overweight is something that will probably never go "out of style", but as long as there are shows like this, it will continue to reach millions of people and help make the changes some of us need.  So if your knee-deep in fitness, have hit your goal, or just getting started, KEEP GOING!  There is always something new and great to find out about ourselves, that's the best part of any journey I think.

Ok, wow, can I get some wine with my cheese?!  To bad it's true :)

Workout: Day 24 LiveFit - Chest & Triceps

My arms were feeling pretty tired and heavy today, so I wasn't able to up any of my weights, but I still gave it all I had and left with my arms like limp noodles.

I get to give my upper body a break tomorrow so I'm ready to kill it!

Lets eat stuff!

bfast = eggwhite wrap & pineapples

snacko uno = this yogurt & 2 cinn. bars

lunch = my "reese's pb cup" shake

 Ok, know what really gets my goat?  When people say certain "healthy" foods taste just like its' more unhealthy relative.  Like, "OMG this tofu pizza tastes JUST like Domino's deep dish!".  No it doesn't.  It never will, so lets just call a spade a spade, and say this shake was good, but I would have rather blended up a cup full of Reese's -  but I guess it will have to work...

snacko dos = melons & pineapples w/carrot protein bar

Dinnah! = TJ's Veggie burger, corn, and carrots w/hummus

Question:  Does anyone else have a "tofu pizza" version of a certain food/meal?

If only we could all just eat the regular version of everything, but I also wish I had a money tree and a unicorn...

I hope everyone had a wonderful day, and if it was as nice where you are as it was here, I hope you were better than me and went outside to enjoy it!  Adios Amigos!

meatless monday...

...but not on purpose.  I realized once I was done writing down all my eats that I had a total vegetarian day.  I'm not complaining, but I never thought that would ever happen!  It was still an all around tasty day, even for a Monday

luckily, I have faith it will never come to this...

Workout: Day 23 LiveFit - Back & Biceps

There was a machine out of order that I needed for 2 of my exercises, so I had to wing it a little bit.  I think I overcompensated and did a little to much.  My arms were totally spent by the time I was done.  I did however come to the conclusion that I officially need weight-lifting gloves.  I've avoided getting them to keep myself form looking like a complete tool but my calloused hands don't seem to care.  So if anyone has any ideas on where I can get a good pair let me know.  Preferably with rhinestones, if I'm going to wear them I might as well look like the biggest turd in the weight room right?

Chow time!

foggy breakfast = egg wrap & cutie

a.m. - this yogurt w/unpictured pumpkin protein bar

yummmmm

New find from TJ's

baked them up with salad and TJ's peanut dressing for dinner - SO GOOD I COULD DIE!

I had a mini watermelon that I cut up and ate the bowl for dessert :)

Doesn't watermelon just taste like summer?!  I don't eat it very often and I'm not sure why.  It is so good.  This will have to be a fruit staple from now on I think. I also think salads are back in full force.  Warm weather always makes me crave salads.

* Are there any foods you eat more of in the spring/summer time?

That's all for me folks, have a great start to the week friends.  Last week of April - make it a great one!

Weekend Roundup!

Hi hi all!  I feel like its been forever since I've talk to ya!  Maybe cause I did such an early post Friday...  anyway, hope you all had a fabulous weekend.  Mine was great, it felt busy, but I didn't actually accomplish much.  In any case, I'll still force you to read about the few things I actually did do :)

Like I said earlier, Friday night J-bob and I met some of his Ragnar buddies out for a few adult beverages

we clean up alright

Saturday

"Workout": LiveFit Day 21 - rest day
                  Turbo Fire 40 min. power yoga

Since I ran the day before, and have a leg workout on Sunday, I thought a nice stretch was in order.  I love this one cause its more like a power yoga so I feel like its still a bit of a workout, but it always stretches my muscles out really well.  A nice long stretch is SO important during your regular workout routine.  I feel that people overlook stretching, and it's such a benefit.  So DO IT!

After my workout, I had a quick hair appointment to trim up my bangs and ends, then it was off the holy land!

stocked up!

J had a tennis tournament during the afternoon, but when I got home he was back.  We pretty much laid low for the rest of the night, I know, we are so exciting I can barely stand it

Sunday

Workout: LiveFit Day 22 - Legs

Well I'm on week 4 of my program.  Its hard to believe its been a month already.  I have to admit I feel like I have definitely gotten stronger since I started already.  Makes me excited to see what the next 4 weeks are going to be like.  Another lower body workout today.  I upped my weights on a few of the exercises from last time, and it was a killer workout. 
I have set a few simple goals for myself for this last week. I have been really terrible about writing down and tracking my eats/calories.  I haven't gained any weight, but I also haven't lost any either.  I know that's partially due to the fact that I'm hardly doing any cardio, but I know I need to clean up my eats - there is a lot that doesn't make it onto the blog.  So my goals for this last week of Phase 1 is to clean up my eating, and write down everything that I shove in my piehole.  My other goal is to lose 1.5-2 lbs this week too.  So send positive, healthy vibes my way friends!  I'll let you know how it goes at the end of the week!

Today was pretty relaxed as I started it out with waffles!

with almond butter and sf syrup

After the gym I met J who was rock climbing with a few buddies.  I've rock climbed before, but my legs were toasted from the gym so I took a rain check and just watched.

Jake in the blue, our friend Matt on the wall

We J did some yard work today too. We're in the process putting up a new fence in our backyard and started the demo today.  I will take pics along the way and let you know how it turns out.  Oh the joys of home-ownership.  Then we grilled up a tasty dish...

TJ's veggie-chix sausage, asparagus, and tiny taters!

I would call this another successful weekend.  I hope you all got a chance to get out there and enjoy it!  Have a lovely rest of the evening friends, talk to ya'll tomorrow!

afternoon delight

Wait…what time is it?  I haven’t eaten dinner yet, and it’s still light out, this must be one of those rare afternoon blogs!  Coming to you from my porch…

“Workout”: Day 20 LiveFit – rest day

                   4.7 mile run - steady & solid

It has been super sunny all day,  I kept looking out the window and waiting for 1:00 so I could get off work to go for a run.  I haven't been running over 3 miles lately, or ever when I go, but I had a loop in mind and wanted to see if I could hang.  It was such a great run!  It was a perfect combo of a few hills, a few downhills, and flats.  I felt really good the whole time - so this just proves that when I got out for a run, I can up my miles.  So if you see anything on here that's less, call me out!  It got to be pretty warm at the end, and I kicked it the last 1/4 mile, so I ended up a sweaty mess

exhibit A of the nastiness

So, does anyone have clothes in there closet that, you don't really know why you keep them around, but you have them just in case and basically never wear them?  Well I do, and I unfortunately proceeded to wear a top to work today that I haven't worn since last fall.  Well turns out it has gotten a tad on the baggy side.  I know that 's a good thing as it means I've lost a few lbs and toned up, but I hate the hassle of buying new clothes (poor me right?).  Anyway, I was already running late to work so I just had to commit and wear it.  I was uncomfortable all day. Not to mention its kind of a puffy shirt with ruffles down the front - I felt like a clown, or pirate...

not excited...

cause i felt like this

I think it will go in the donate pile, someone else can feel like a pirate cause I don't wanna!  Alright cats, I'm bustin' outta this joint, its to nice to be sittin' around!  If it's nice in your neck of the woods go out and play.  See ya later :)