Fitness Stat-urday – Week 6

Starting Statistics on 08/30/2014

  • Weight:  155 Pounds (took 0.6 pounds off during my stabilizing week)
  • Body Fat %:  25.1% (took 0.7% off during my stabilizing week)
  • BMI:  24.3
  • Predicted Weight from MyFit.nessP.al:  140 Pounds (targeting 1.5 pounds per week)

Goals for the Next 10 Weeks (Ending 11/22/2014)

  • Weight:  143 Pounds
  • Body Fat %:  23%
  • BMI:  22.4
  • Push-ups:  90
  • Sit-ups:  53
  • Mile Run Time:  7:26

Week Ending 10/18/2014

I didn’t get my pictures or measurements done at Week 5 because we were headed out of town.  I took these yesterday (Friday) after a long INSAN.ITY and kickboxing workout – hence the sweat.  I am not thrilled about that area around my belly button – no matter what I do, I think it will always be there from pregnancy.  BUT – I’m lucky I don’t have stretch marks – so I’ll live with this little bit of loose skin.  After all, it’s the only physical reminder I have left of my pregnancies besides my C-section scar so I shouldn’t complain.  😉  (Taking these photos felt like taking my weekly pregnancy photos – it was a little surreal.  I was not sad to realize that that is all behind me, but it did take me back to that precious time.) (Note to self – self tanners are worth it for these photos.  Holy pasty belly!)

Flexed abs, but not sucked in. Progress!
Flexed abs, but not sucked in. Progress!
WP_20141019_10_37_14_Pro
With clothes on, which is actually more important to me than without clothes on! (This was taken in the new clothing sizes after the first 5 weeks of this session.)
  • Week 6 Statistics
    • Weight:   149.4 Pounds
    • Pounds Lost or Gained:  1.4 Pounds gained
    • Body Fat %:  24.1%
    • Body Fat % Lost or Gained:  0.1% Gained
    • BMI: 23.4
    • Workout Days (goal is 6 days):  6 Days
    • Time Spent Being Active:   7 Hours 1 Minute
    • Average Number of Steps Per Day:  13,042
  • Food:  My husband is back in town for the week – so we are cooking again in this house!
    • Sunday – Free day – came home from night away without kids so kept the party going with baaaaad-for-me pizza!
    • Monday – The hubs brought home cheese and crackers – the fancy good kind. That was dinner (and wine). It was good!
    • Tuesday – Pumpkin soup (out of the freezer) and two small slices of leftover pizza
    • Wednesday – Curry burgers (beef), Brussels sprouts, and peas
    • Thursday – Greek chicken and carrots
    • Friday – Smoked meat, green beans
    • Saturday – Veggie pizza
  • Exercise/Activity: Sunday was set to be a rest day since my husband and I would be driving back from a night out of town without the boys.  This means that there is a lot of time to make up to hit 7 hours of good activity! 
    • Sunday – None (that’s right, none) – 6,700 Steps
    • Monday – INS.ANI.TY (66 minutes) – 12,700 Steps
    • Tuesday – INS.ANI.TY (66 minutes)- 11,700 Steps
    • Wednesday – IN.SANI.TY (27 minutes), kickboxing (24 minutes)- 13,300 Steps
    • Thursday – INSANI.TY (33 minutes), weight training (45 minutes), track walking (32 minutes), wagon walk with boys (15 minutes)- 17,300 Steps
    • Friday – INSA.NIT.Y (50 minutes), kickboxing (14 minutes) – 12,000 Steps
    • Saturday – Afternoon run (49 minutes) – 17,600 Steps
  • Notes and findings:
    • The weekend away was nothing but food and fun – so I don’t expect to loose an ounce this week and am actually hoping to be back at 148 when the week is done.  I’m starting the week with a lot of work to do
    • My little needed a morning nap after dropping my big kid off at school on Monday, so we came home. He slept over an hour and I did 66 minutes of INSA.NITY before waking him to get his brother. That worked out and I hope to do that again!
    • I’m sacrificing steps for more calorie-burning activities like longer cardio and strength sessions.  I don’t feel good about it, but I need to burn some fat this week!
    • I finally got a GOOD strength day in – I’m feeling it more than 24 hours later.  PAIN = happiness!
    • It’s Wednesday and I’m thinking of converting this week to a +1 week since we enjoyed our trip to KC way too much.  I could use a stabilizing week.  We’ll see.  This week proves that fried foods will get you – even if only consumed in fewer than 24 hours.  We had cheese curds, truffle fries, and calamari all on Saturday and I’m still fighting it in both weight and body fat %.  GAH
    • I didn’t get measurements last week, so I did them today. Progress… See belowThe gals who measured me at the gym pulled the tape tighter than I do, so the waist is still confusing me as to how they ever got 32.5 (belly button waist).
    • I have gone down one pants size (from a 10 to a comfortable 8 in the same jeans) and one tops size (large to a medium in the same shirt) after the first 5 weeks of this session.  I’m happy with that and honestly don’t think I care to get into a 6 – too much pressure.
    • I’ve decided not to convert this week to a +1 because that wouldn’t be right, but I do want five weeks from measurements to measurements… So I’m adding an 11th week to my challenge which means I’ll do final measurements in five weeks (November 22 – the weekend before Thanksgiving)

 Measure

 

Fitness Stat-urday – Week 5 (Mid-way!)

Starting Statistics on 08/30/2014

  • Weight:  155 Pounds (took 0.6 pounds off during my stabilizing week)
  • Body Fat %:  25.1% (took 0.7% off during my stabilizing week)
  • BMI:  24.3
  • Predicted Weight from MyFit.nessP.al:  140 Pounds (targeting 1.5 pounds per week)

5-Week Statistics on 10/11/2014

  • Weight:  148 Pounds
  • Pounds Lost in 5+1 Weeks:  7 Pounds
  • Body Fat %:  24.0%
  • Body Fat % Lost in 5 Weeks:  1.1% (note that measuring in “normal” mode and holding the monitor the old (wrong) way, as I did in week 1, registers 23.5% showing a 1.6% loss)
  • BMI: 23.2
  • BMI Points Lost in 5 Weeks:  1.1
  • Predicted Weight Based on 5-Week Stats:  142.2 Pounds (based on a 1.166 pound loss per week which is my average loss in 5+1 weeks)

5 week stats


 

Week Ending 10/11/2014

  • Week 5 Statistics
    • Weight:  148 Pounds
    • Pounds Lost or Gained:  1 Pound lost
    • Body Fat %:  24.0%
    • Body Fat % Lost or Gained:  0.4% lost
    • BMI: 23.2
    • Workout Days (goal is 6 days):  7 Days
    • Time Spent Being Active:  8 Hours 53 Minutes
    • Average Number of Steps Per Day:  16,271 Steps
  • Food:  It’s another week of travel for my husband, so we’ll be doing mostly leftovers for dinners this week.  After two nights/days in a row of eating pretty freely over the weekend, it will be good to dial it back!
    • Sunday – French onion soup
    • Monday – Chicken non-tortilla soup (out of the freezer from my last batch and it was as good as when it’s made fresh!)
    • Tuesday – Oatmeal
    • Wednesday – Smoked chicken and brisket, green beans
    • Thursday – Chicken non-tortilla soup
    • Friday – Smoke chicken and brisket, green beans
    • Saturday – Date Night
  • Exercise/Activity: I really want to hit 7 hours of activity this week.  I was 40-ish minutes shy last week.  Working out solo parenting may prove difficult but I’m committed to doing it every day.
    • Sunday – Mowed the lawn (42 minutes)- 12,000 Steps
    • Monday – Evening run (39 minutes), leisurely walk (30 minutes) – 18,800 Steps
    • Tuesday – Morning walk (68 minutes), INSANITY (41 minutes), track walking (18 minutes)- 20,400 Steps
    • Wednesday – Cardio/strength class (40 minutes), track walking (30 minutes) – 15,200 Steps
    • Thursday – INSANI.TY and kickboxing (57 minutes), after-lunch walk (30 minutes)- 15,500 Steps
    • Friday – INS.ANITY (48 minutes), track walk (30 minutes) – 16,000 Steps
    • Saturday – Walking (60 minutes) – 16,000 Steps
  • Notes and findings: 
    • I ran without my little guy on Monday night and ran 4 miles at a 9:30 pace, which is really good for me (I’m a slow runner).  I want to try to run solo at least once a week, if possible, just to keep that speed going
    • I need to scale back the Diet Pe.psi (just writing that made my mouth water – I am THAT addicted to it)
    • This week is the half-way mark of my 10 weeks.  I’m going to try to do measurements, but will skip pushups, sit-ups, and the mile run because my husband and I are going out of town sans kids on Saturday night and we’ll be rushed to get on the road.  Those stats are more of a 10-week thing, so I feel OK skipping them.  My ankle is so weak right now that my mile run will be longer than it was 6 weeks ago.
    • I tried a new class at the Y tonight (Wednesday) and although it was good, it wasn’t terribly exciting.  I was a little disappointed and wish I’d done INSA.NITY in my garage this afternoon instead.  Taking the kids to the Y for a 6:30 class seemed cruel, but they had a great time!
    • The Wednesday class got all muscle groups strengthened with weights – yay!
    • When I hold the body fat monitor the old (wrong) way, set to “normal” mode (not athlete), the body fat reading is 23.6% which actually should be compared to my starting value because that’s how I was holding it and it was set to “normal” mode.  But this is a minor detail and since I measure daily in “athlete” mode while holding it correctly, I’m keeping the 24.0% for tracking purposes.  But I want to note for myself that based on how I measured on day 1, I’ve lost 1.5% body fat in the 5 weeks so far
    • It’s Thursday and I’m calling it right now – I’m going to end the week where I started on weight.  This is feeling like a plateau/stabilizing week to me.
    • Finally a dip in body fat!  I couldn’t be happier with this week.  There was no weight loss, but gain in muscle mass is way more important to me at this rate.
    • Holy smokes – I lost a pound right there at the end of the week. Hooray!
    • I will be modifying my 10-week goals to match what has happened in the last 5 weeks – want to keep things realistic!

Fitness Stat-urday – Week 4

Starting Statistics on 08/30/2014

  • Weight:  155 Pounds (took 0.6 pounds off during my stabilizing week)
  • Body Fat %:  25.1% (took 0.7% off during my stabilizing week)
  • BMI:  24.3
  • Predicted Weight from MyFit.nessP.al:  140 Pounds (targeting 1.5 pounds per week)

Goals for the Next 10 Weeks (Ending 11/08/2014)

  • Weight:  142.6 Pounds
  • Body Fat %:  22.1%
  • BMI:  22.3
  • Push-ups:  90
  • Sit-ups:  53
  • Mile Run Time:  7:26

Week Ending 10/04/2014

  • Week 4 Statistics
    • Weight:  149 Pounds
    • Pounds Lost or Gained:  2 Pounds
    • Body Fat %:  24.4%
    • Body Fat % Lost or Gained:  0.0%
    • BMI: 23.3
    • Workout Days (goal is 6 days):  6 Days
    • Time Spent Being Active:  6 Hours  27 Minutes
    • Average Number of Steps Per Day:  13,728
  • Food:  This will be a week of cooking dinners at home.  No travel for my husband means kitchen time for me!  We’ve got our favorites lined up this week!
    • Sunday – Greek chicken with homemade apple pie as dessert
    • Monday – Curry burgers
    • Tuesday – I’m too ashamed to log what I had for dinner.  We went to the Y for INSAN.ITY fit testing, which I thought would take 10-15 minutes.  The testing itself was quick, but then we were led through another 20 minutes of class, taking us to 6:50.  We then walked the track for 10 minutes and because we’re putting the kids to bed earlier these days, my hubs said, “DQ for dinner?”  And I agreed.  I had a kids cup of vanilla ice cream – and that was my dinner.  I put the frozen soup (homemade leftovers) back in the freezer for another time.
    • Wednesday – Curried pumpkin soup – This was excellent!  It needed a bit of something more in the way of spices, and we’re not sure what.  I think we’ll try coriander or nutmeg next time.  I subbed coconut oil for the canola oil and it worked out great.  I used low sodium broth which was a mistake – follow the recipe!
    • Thursday – Pear and Ground Pork Stuffed Winter Squash (we used carnival squash instead of acorn squash this time – and we prefer the acorn squash)
    • FridayChicken non-tortilla soup We took the boys bowling tonight and then out for hot dogs for them.  We ate oatmeal – it was the only healthier option there.  It was good!
    • Saturday – Date night!!!
  • Exercise/Activity: I’ll be hitting it hard this week again – shooting for 7 hours of activity.  My goal is 2 4-mile runs (Mon, Tues, Fri), 3 INSAN,ITY and KB workouts in the garage, and a weights class at the YMCA.  I need to keep working hard at cardio but really like the garage workouts for strength and endurance training.
    • Sunday – Mowed the lawn (47 minutes) – 11,200 Steps
    • Monday – Morning run (45 minutes) – 14,500 Steps
    • Tuesday – INSAN.ITY and kickboxing (52 minutes), more INSAN.ITY (28 minutes), track walking (10 minutes) – 14,800 Steps
    • Wednesday – Rest day!- 9,100 Steps (so not proud of this)
    • Thursday – INSAN.ITY and kickboxing (70 minutes) – 13,000 Steps
    • Friday – Track walking (66 minutes), INSAN.ITY core and balance (15 minutes) – 16,000 Steps
    • Saturday – Afternoon run (48 minutes)- 17,500 Steps
  • Notes and findings: 
    • I have a chest cold this week that doesn’t seem to be keeping me down, but it made me want to take a rest day.
    • Working out in the garage is… working out great!  I can’t believe how motivated I am to work out on my own.
    • I tried working out in the basement while the kids played and that proved to be difficult – I’ll keep working out while they nap!
    • We went to the Y on Friday morning to do nothing in particular other than give myself a parenting break.  My big kid was EXCITED to go and my little one couldn’t get to the toys soon enough.  I walked the track for an hour, watching my older son play with his friends in the gym just below.  It was fun – and I think I’ll do that every Friday that my little guy doesn’t nap in the morning!
    • I am done getting “egg white delig.ht” breakfast sandwiches from McDo.nalds.  I figured they weren’t great for me, but they are so tasty and thue “healthiest” option in the morning if I’m choosing to go there (and I go there Mon-Wed after preschool drop-off just for their Die.t Co.ke – which is just so good!).  I have known that they’d have to go at some point, so when I read all about how it’s made, I decided to ditch them.  I had one last one and that’s it – I’m done.  I’ve been there twice since saying “no more” and I’ve just gotten my Di.et Co.ke and I’m perfectly happy with that.
    • I met my exercise goals with the exception of a weights session.  😦

Fitness Stat-urday – Week 3

Starting Statistics on 08/30/2014

  • Weight:  155 Pounds (took 0.6 pounds off during my stabilizing week)
  • Body Fat %:  25.1% (took 0.7% off during my stabilizing week)
  • BMI:  24.3
  • Predicted Weight from MyFit.nessP.al:  140 Pounds (targeting 1.5 pounds per week)

Goals for the Next 10 Weeks (Ending 11/08/2014)

  • Weight:  142.6 Pounds
  • Body Fat %:  22.1%
  • BMI:  22.3
  • Push-ups:  90
  • Sit-ups:  53
  • Mile Run Time:  7:26

Week Ending 09/27/2014

  • Week 3 Statistics
    • Weight: 151 Pounds
    • Pounds Lost or Gained:  0.8 Pounds lost
    • Body Fat %:  24.4%
    • Body Fat % Lost or Gained:  1.0%
    • BMI: 23.6
    • Workout Days (goal is 6 days):  6 Days
    • Time Spent Being Active:   7 Hours  15 Minutes
    • Average Number of Steps Per Day:  15,685
  • Food:  Hottie is out of town until late Thursday night.  I’m not expecting to cook much – I’m feeling quite tired this week.
    • Sunday – No real dinner (sick baby, things to get done before Hottie leaves town for the entire week, laundry from a puking kid, etc.)
    • Monday – Yogurt and an iced chai (I know, I know)
    • Tuesday – Chi.ck-Fil-A grilled nuggets and fruit bowl (and a cupcake – Jesus!)
    • Wednesday – Yogurt, oatmeal, and an iced chai (I was desperate)
    • Thursday – Margherita pizza, roasted Brussels sprouts, grilled corn
    • Friday – Pork and apple sliders
    • Saturday – Cheese fondue – yes – cheese fondue!
  • Exercise/ActivityWith my husband out of town this week, it’s going to be hard to get morning runs in.  I’m planning on tackling this by running with my little guy while my big kid is at school.  Of course – the little is sick so maybe this won’t happen.
    • Sunday – Mowed the lawn (32 minutes) – 14,000 Steps
    • Monday – INSAN.ITY (43 minutes), walk around neighborhood (37 minutes) – 16,400 Steps
    • Tuesday – Morning run (42 minutes), morning walk (57 minutes)- 22,000 Steps
    • Wednesday – INSAN.ITY and KB (47 minutes), Bodypump (43 minutes), track walk (15 minutes) – 15,300 Steps
    • Thursday – INSAN.ITY and KB (47 minutes)- 14,300 Steps
    • Friday – Morning run (44 minutes), walking (29 minutes)- 20,800 Steps
    • Saturday – NONE – So Sick!- 7,000 Steps
  • Notes and findings: 
    • I have a serious sweet tooth this week – SERIOUS.  I need to stop indulging it no matter how many calories I burn in the day.
    • Running with my little guy while my big kid is in school is working out quite well.  I need to plan on that at least 1 of the school days each week.
    • I’ve come to realize that I just cannot put my kids in daycare at the Y unless it’s really necessary (meaning Tuesday nights for INSAN.ITY, Thursday morning for HEAT if my little isn’t napping, Friday nights for swim lessons, and other random times that I just need ‘me time.”).  I don’t want to dump the little guy there without his brother Mon-Wed because that’s supposed to be our special time together, and I can’t justify putting my big kid in there Mon-Wed after going to school all morning.  I can get behind 3 sessions a week per child, but not more than that.  It just doesn’t feel right to me (but that is just me – no judgment if it feels right to you!).
    • The double nap is working out so well for me!  I am doing some KILLER workouts in my garage while the kids nap – and I’m going longer and harder than I would in a class at the Y.
    • Cross training is ESSENTIAL for me.  When I only did kickboxing, I plateaued.  When I only ran, my body always felt a little broken.  Now that I’m doing INSA.NITY, running, kickboxing, and weights – all within the same week – my body is getting rest where and when needed and I’m shocking it a pit, helping to keep the inevitable plateau at bay!
    • This week is shaping up to be a very productive one, and I did not expect that.  I feel motivated!
    • I am super thrilled to be in the 24.X percents for body fat, but do know that I could bounce back up to the 25’s easily enough.
    • I got a terrible chest cold at the end of the week, and spent much of Saturday sleeping and resting.  I hated taking a day off, but it was for the best.

Fitness Stat-urday – Week 2 + 1

Starting Statistics on 08/30/2014

  • Weight:  155 Pounds (took 0.6 pounds off during my stabilizing week)
  • Body Fat %:  25.1% (took 0.7% off during my stabilizing week)
  • BMI:  24.3
  • Predicted Weight from MyFit.nessP.al:  140 Pounds (targeting 1.5 pounds per week)

Goals for the Next 10 Weeks (Ending 11/08/2014)

  • Weight:  142.6 Pounds
  • Body Fat %:  22.1%
  • BMI:  22.3
  • Push-ups:  90
  • Sit-ups:  53
  • Mile Run Time:  7:26

Week Ending 09/20/2014

  • Week 2+1 Statistics
    • Weight:  151.8 Pounds
    • Pounds Lost or Gained:  1.8 Pounds lost
    • Body Fat %:  25.4%
    • Body Fat % Lost or Gained:  0.8% gained
    • BMI: 23.8
    • Workout Days (goal is 6 days):  6 Days
    • Time Spent Being Active:  7 Hours 02 Minutes
    • Average Number of Steps Per Day:  16,100
  • Food:  After coming home from vacation, it’s time to get back on the healthy food bandwagon.  When we cook at home, the rule is still paleo – ALWAYS.  We don’t bring grains or potatoes or any processed foods into our house.  When we eat out, we eat paleo 50% of the time – and try to keep the non-50% as healthy as the menu allows.  The kids eat paleo at all times – when eating in or out.  Actually – they eat paleo 100% of the time unless my little guy is teething something fierce and needs crusty bread to gnaw on.
    • Sunday – Chip.otle dinner – because the kids love it and we love them!
    • Monday – Shrimp tacos and French onion soup out (so NOT paleo)
    • Tuesday – Rotisserie chicken breast and peas
    • Wednesday – Paleo chicken non-tortilla soup
    • ThursdayCoconut corn chowder with shrimp (NOT paleo  but it is our only sweet corn all year!) – I subbed heavy whipping cream for 1/2 of the 2 cups of milk, I used 2% milk (they don’t specify), I added dried parsley and paprika, I sautéed up 10 shrimp to toss in at the very end, and I used an emersion blender instead of my food processor.  It was EXCELLENT!  Oh – and we topped it off with a touch of sour cream when we served it.
    • Friday – Pan.era soup and salad
    • Saturday – Dinner at my folks’ (beef tenderloin is all I know so far)!
  • Exercise/Activity: Back at it and working at a very intense level.  A quick note – I won the steps challenge I was randomly put in by Garm.in last week, and that included this Sunday’s all-time low of 10,000 steps (challenges run Mon-Sun).  That was pretty exciting (not really).
    • Sunday – None – travel day- 10,000 Steps
    • Monday – Morning run (43 minutes), mowed the lawn (40 minutes) – 18,600 Steps
    • Tuesday – Morning walk (106 minutes), INSAN.ITY class (40 minutes) – 24,000 Steps
    • Wednesday – Kickboxing (40 minutes) – 14,400 Steps
    • Thursday – Evening run (33 minutes), walk (13 minutes) – 16,500 Steps
    • Friday – INSAN.ITY at home (47 minutes), walk (25 minutes) – 16,000 Steps
    • Saturday – Afternoon walk (35 minutes)- 13,200 Steps
  • Notes and findings: 
    • It was time for new running shoes – my ankles and knees are killing me.  I found my $160 Asi.cs for $90 at Ama.zon.  WIN!  The new running shoes are so nice – totally worth the $160 I didn’t pay for them!  I would pay full price in the future if I had to – they’re that great!
    • My big kid was having a hell of a time falling asleep for his nap on Thursday, which meant I couldn’t go out to the garage and kick and hit the bag (it’s super loud).  I really wanted to workout though, so I started the interval timer and led myself through an INSAN.ITY workout that I remembered from the class at the Y.  I’ll do that again – it was quiet, still got my aggressions out, and burned over 500 calories in 47 minutes.  And let me just note that that interval timer is the gift to myself that keeps on giving!
    • I gained 0.8% body fat, which makes sense given I lifted no weights this week and the adjustment back from vacation.  25.4% is a rather realistic number for how I look right now, so I like it better than the lower numbers from before that gave me false confidence.    I feel like this is a “corrected” number from the change to athlete mode on the fat monitor, the change in how I hold the fat monitor, and a return from vacation.
    • Wow – 1.8 pounds shed over my pre-vacation weight – I could not be happier with this +1 week to get back to where I was before we left town.  I’m actually where I wanted to be (152 pounds) at the end of week 3, but I’ll keep the +1 week because of the body fat correction.

Fitness Stat-urday – Week 2

Starting Statistics on 08/30/2014

  • Weight:  155 Pounds (took 0.6 pounds off during my stabilizing week)
  • Body Fat %:  25.1% (took 0.7% off during my stabilizing week)
  • BMI:  24.3
  • Predicted Weight from MyFit.nessP.al:  140 Pounds (targeting 1.5 pounds per week)

Goals for the Next 10 Weeks (Ending 11/08/2014)

  • Weight:  142.6 Pounds
  • Body Fat %:  22.1%
  • BMI:  22.3
  • Push-ups:  90
  • Sit-ups:  53
  • Mile Run Time:  7:26

Week Ending 09/11/2014 (the week ended early due to vacation)

  • Week 2 Statistics
    • Weight: 153.6 Pounds
    • Pounds Lost or Gained:  1.4 Pounds Lost
    • Body Fat %:  24.6%
    • Body Fat % Lost or Gained:  0.1% Lost
    • BMI: 24
    • Workout Days (goal is 6 days):  7 Days
    • Time Spent Being Active:  8 Hours 15 Minutes
    • Average Number of Steps Per Day:  17,328 Steps
  • Food:  This week was tricky since we headed out of town (sans kids!) on Thursday.  Dinner reservations were made without concern to the menu and being Paleo.  We were hoping to do lots of walking, to hopefully balance everything out in the end.
    • Sunday – Soccer night = easy dinner = pizza out (thin crust veggie)
    • Monday – Dinner out consisting of a fabulous Paleo salad
    • Tuesday – Pear and Ground Pork Stuffed Winter Squash
    • Wednesday – Meatballs and Carrots
    • Thursday – VACATION
    • Friday – VACATION
    • Saturday – VACATION
  • Exercise/Activity: I have found some group fitness classes at our resort in Teluride that I plan to attend (and drag my husband to with me).  We solely depended on lots of walking to keep us active, but as expected, these numbers did go down this week (except for the amount of steps!).
    • Sunday – Mowing the lawn and some yard work (40 minutes) – 10,800 Steps
    • Monday – Morning run (43 minutes), strength training (42 minutes) – 18,100 Steps
    • Tuesday – Morning run (44 minutes), INSANITY (37 minutes), walking (11 minutes) – 22,000 Steps
    • Wednesday- Morning run (52 minutes) – 19,000 Steps
    • Thursday- Morning run (46 minutes) – 16,000 Steps
    • Friday- Hours of walking (90 minutes) – 18,200 Steps
    • Saturday- Hours of walking (90 minutes) – 17,200 Steps
  • Notes and findings: 
    • So I’m running in the mornings now.  I really enjoy it!  My little guy and I go out as the sun comes up and get 3+ miles in whenever the weather cooperates.  I don’t have a set running schedule, and I’m not trying to become a fast runner.  I just want to get out there and do it!
    • Because we’re heading out of town without the kids on Thursday, I don’t want to drag them to the Y every day.  They need time with Mom and Dad before the big departure.  I’m counting on my running, one class at the Y, walking with my little while his brother is in school, resistance bands at home, and our KB bag to keep me active and productive!
    • We ate dinner before INSANITY on Tuesday and that was a mistake.  Tuesday is now soup night and we’ll eat after class.
    • All stats are from Thursday, 09/11/2014, because I didn’t have access to scales or body fat measurements while in Telluride
    • I did weigh myself after coming home and vacation cost me only 1.8 pounds – not awful!
    • I am adding a week to this little challenge of mine to give myself next week to recover and bounce back from vacation – next week’s post will be considered Week 2+1

Fitness Stat-urday – Week 1

Starting Statistics on 08/30/2014

  • Weight:  155 Pounds (took 0.6 pounds off during my stabilizing week)
  • Body Fat %:  25.1% (took 0.7% off during my stabilizing week)
  • BMI:  24.3
  • Predicted Weight from MyFit.nessP.al:  140 Pounds (targeting 1.5 pounds per week)

Goals for the Next 10 Weeks (Ending 11/08/2014)

  • Weight:  142.6 Pounds
  • Body Fat %:  22.1%
  • BMI:  22.3
  • Push-ups:  90
  • Sit-ups:  53
  • Mile Run Time:  7:26

 

Week Ending 09/06/2014

  • Week 1 Statistics
    • Weight:  155 Pounds
    • Pounds Lost or Gained:  +-0 Pounds
    • Body Fat %:  24.7%
    • Body Fat % Lost or Gained:  0.4% Lost
    • BMI: 24.3
    • Workout Days (goal is 6 days):  7 Days
    • Time Spent Being Active:  12 Hours 17 Minutes
    • Average Number of Steps Per Day: 15,685
  • Food:  We started the week off pretty well, back to our Paleo lifestyle (with the exception of breakfast on Sunday because, well, it was Sunday breakfast!).  I’ve had a strange desire for chai lattes lately and really need to kick that habit (330 calories each with TONS of sugar = NOT OK).  They’re just so good!  Back to cooking on Monday and holy hell did I miss that.  I’m serious!  We kicked the week off with one of our favorite recipes and it was, once again, terrific!
    • Sunday – Fiesta Chicken Soup
    • Monday – Curry Bison Sliders and Curry Cauliflower
    • Tuesday – Shrimp in Horseradish Mustard Sauce and Peas
    • Wednesday – Pork and Apple Sliders with Maple-Buttered Brussels Sprouts
    • Thursday – Greek Chicken with Roasted Carrots
    • Friday – Pan.era Caesar Salad and French Onion Soup
    • Saturday – Date Night!
  • Exercise/Activity:
    • Sunday – Lots of yard work – mowing, trimming, bagging (95 minutes) – 12,600 Steps
    • Monday – Family bike ride (60 minutes), weight lifting and abs (20 minutes), yard work (80 minutes) – 12,600 Steps
    • Tuesday – INSANITY class (40 minutes), walking (10 minutes) – 13,700 Steps
    • Wednesday – Bodypump class (43 minutes), walking (73 minutes) – 19,000 Steps
    • Thursday – Jogged 3.4 miles (41 minutes), yard work (25 minutes) – 18,000 Steps
    • Friday – KB Bags (46 minutes), walking (57 minutes), weights (10 minutes) – 17,800 Steps
    • Saturday – Adventure Triathlon (kayaking 37 minutes, biking 68 minutes, running 43 minutes) – 16,100 Steps
  • Notes and findings: 
    • I am so happy to be cooking again!  When my husband is out of town, there really is no reason for me to slave over a meal that only I’ll truly enjoy, so we eat out a lot.  I was so relaxed chopping veggies, shopping for the week, and preparing fun meals once again.
    • I’m finding that the lattes are killing me – and they have to go.  When you add them up, they’re totaling 1200-1500 calories a week and that’s just not OK.  Those are calories that I wouldn’t consume otherwise, so they really make no sense.  I didn’t have a coffee drink of any kind on Thursday and I felt great about it!
    • I can feel myself getting stronger and stronger, and my weight isn’t changing and that’s being reflected in my body fat % loss this week – 0.4%.
    • I switched the body fat monitor to athlete mode given my level of activity for the last 12 weeks.  I had the dip in body fat in both modes (normal and athlete) because I corrected how I’m holding the body fat monitor (I knew they were doing it wrong at the gym, but I changed how I did it so it would reflect the same numbers that they had.  I’m back to doing it correctly).  Holding it correctly and switching to athlete mode got the same result as normal mode being held wrong.  It’s a wash!

2:28.5

My husband and I did our adventure tri today! 2.5 miles of kayaking, 11.5 miles of biking (9+ of which were gravel roads), and 3.5 miles of trail running. My step counter put the run at 4.6 miles – which it felt like. Ha! We finished together in 2:28.5. We’re quite pleased with that!

We didn’t finish last, which is always my fear, and we came in behind a pretty competitive dude just 2 minutes later. It was respectable!

Oh, and we won our division. We won before we started… We were the only coed team. It’s nice starting the race knowing you’ve already won! Our winnings were substantial – $100! We’ve never won prize money before. It was exciting!

The Second 10 Weeks

I am starting my second 10 weeks of fitness tomorrow.  I did my weigh-in and other stats today, so I’m off and running (I only lost 0.6 pounds this past week during transition, but lost 0.7% body fat).  I’m going to log my progress here (which is also in my main menu) so that no one has to deal with this in their readers – but you can check in if you want.  I expect this to be rather boring for most, but I want to put it out there to keep myself accountable.

I’m happy to report that my “wall of motivation” is doing its job.  I did not want to run yesterday – I was looking for anything to do but run, but when I walked into my closet and saw my B&A photos and my husband’s card, I immediately put on my running togs and hit the pavement.  A picture is worth a thousand words, right?

Right!

A Week of Transition

Next week, summer will officially be over in this house.

I’m sort of sad about it.

We had a really great, busy summer – the type of summer I always envisioned with kids.  Weekend trips away, full weeks of summer camps, swimming lessons, trips to the parks and zoo, and a bunch of other random things thrown in there.  Bryson changed leaps and bounds and turned into a bona fide toddler – walking, more talking, stacking blocks, holding his own with his brother, and turning into quite the comedian.  Matthew turned into a big kid overnight – learning to be confident in the water, becoming an excellent talker (you’d never know there was ever a delay there!), mastering how to introduce himself to strangers and soliciting their names in return, and deciding that “I’ll do it myself!” is his preferred way to do EVERYTHING.  Hottie and I somehow found our way out of a rather concerning slump and ended the summer completely in love with one another once again.

So yeah – a little sad to see it end.

But with this seasonal change, our routine is changing too and that’s a great thing!  Matthew starts school again on Tuesday and will be going three half-days a week this year.  I’m going to be his “room mother” – something I’ve wanted to do since we started talking about school but knew it would be too much last year with a new Bryson in the mix.  Hottie’s role is changing a bit at work and he’s looking forward to the change, even if it means a loftier quota goal.  He’s always up for the biggest challenges, and never fails.  We’ll see how this year goes, but I have high hopes for him!  I’m full-on back into my own health and fitness and have a lot of goals of my own in that department, as well as goals to not make things all about me, me, me while sticking to my health goals.  I am a mother, first and foremost, after all!  If I can find time to go to the gym every day, I can find time and ways to keep my kids engaged and soaking up the good stuff that life has to offer!

So this past week has been about transition.

Hottie had to take a work trip to NYC to better engage one of his clients, all while taking part in this fiscal year’s planning meetings remotely.  The timing wasn’t great for him or his partner, but they made it work well enough.  Kicking off the fiscal year is always a time of stress and extra work for Hottie and all of his coworkers – but it’s also a time of intense energy and optimism!

Matthew had his sneak-a-peak at school on Wednesday and was very excited to meet his new teacher (and sad to finally realize that he’s not going to see Mrs. E and Mrs. Y every day – he loved his teachers last year!).  He did great meeting Mrs. S and Mrs. M and introduced himself to them like a pro!  His new classroom is twice as large as last year’s, and I’m excited for him to have more space to explore.  He’s already talking about going to Mrs. S’s “house” next week (everything is a house – the pork house, the chicken house, the yogurt house, Katie’s house (our hair stylist), etc.) and is super excited to play with his new friends!

Bryson is getting more comfortable with his mobility and is making me very aware that parenting him is going to be an entirely different experience than was parenting Matthew.  He is so adventurous and always trusts that he’ll land on his feet (I hope he always does, literally and figuratively).  He is so hilarious, even though he only has 10 words.  He’s going to keep me very entertained when Matthew is in school!  Bryson is still needing two naps a day, but sometimes he takes just one.  Poor kid – he’s always in the car!  This fall is going to be one of big-time effort kicking that one night-time feeding and probably weaning him.  I just don’t think he’ll sleep through the night until he’s weaned.  He likes to have a visit from mama (and her boobs).

I’ve spent the last week fine-tuning my fitness plan and finally have it worked out to not interfere with school and to maximize my one-on-one time with Bryson while Matthew’s in school.  We bought a punching bag for the garage and I started running this week, so I’ll do those things on strength days and then serious cardio 3-4 days a week at the Y.  I’ll still be going to the Y probably 6 days a week, but at times that work better for the boys.  I’ve also taken a step back from a friendship this week that was becoming a bit toxic.  I need to write a post all about that, just to get it out, but it’s worth a mention because I’ve been trying to find a way to step back for months but finally found a way yesterday – during transition week.

Like I mentioned earlier, Hottie and I have really found our ways back to one another.  We left the boys overnight for the first time ever last Saturday in preparation for our trip to Colorado without them in two weeks.  We plan to leave them again later in the fall for a weekend.  We’ve been going out on more dates and have been really making each other a priority – and it feels great!  We’re getting back into fitness together – the entire reason we met in the first place – and are working out together whenever we can.  When I finished my 10 week fitness program on Saturday, Hottie and I went out for our night without the boys and he had a card for me that was so nice and so thoughtful – that I cried.  He texted me last night after the frustrating exchange with my friend and told me that I’m a great mom and “AWESOME wife” – something I’m not sure he’s said much in the last couple of years (man, having young kids is hard on relationships, isn’t it?  How do we forget to care properly for one another?).  I know I’m riding on a high here, but it feels like a great transition that we desperately needed.

Change is good.  Change is necessary.  Change is the name of the game.  I’m just glad we took a week to really focus on the transition and embrace what the changes mean.  So often, things change without us noticing, but I knew back on 8/1 that this week would be one of reflection and transition – and it’s been good!

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