This week started off pretty good for me.  I had a lot of fun things planned and I was excited.  However, work got in the way two nights in a row and messed up those plans.  Tonight isn’t looking much better.  Oh well.  C’est la vie, I guess.  Here are some pictures from my week.  Enjoy!

I’ve been knocking out the week 1 workouts for JM’s Body Revolution and I’m liking it so far.  Not so sore I can’t move the next day but definitely feeling it and sweating buckets.

(such beautiful people in this video.  Motivation?)

I’ve also been killing the 7-day kick-start meal plan.  The food is pretty tasty!

Top: 5 oz pepper crusted steak on bed of spinach with a tomato, red onion, and olive salad tossed in olive oil and balsamic vinegar

Bottom: roasted carrots & brussel sprouts (the brussel sprouts were better than expected but I quickly switch to carrots and asparagus instead!)

In addition to the program I’ve been trying to fit in as much biking as possible.  This pic is from earlier this week when I took my brand new road bike outside for the first time!

I affectionately named him Darkwing Bike.  His coloring (black/purple) was the main reason.  And the name is awesome.  Darkwing Duck is the shizz, people.

You know how some people resemble their dogs?  At least in personality, Dean and I are definitely alike.

Sometimes a couch potato

Sometimes excited and ready for a workout, possibly using the yoga mat!

That’s all I’ve got for today.  I’ll leave you with a picture of a koozie I got at work during a department Easter party last month.  Take this advice and get down with yo’ bad self.

Well, I said I would be accountable and weigh in every week and here I am!  So far the weight loss goal is progressing.  I’m down for the third week in a row.  Not much, but a loss is a loss.

This weigh in is before starting Jillian Michael’s 7-Day Kickstart.  I’m hoping that next week I will show a big loss!

Other than that its been a good week here in my little world.  More tomorrow.

How are you?  Who else is on a weight loss journey?

That’s right, all!  As part of decision to focus on losing weight rather than training for races this year, I’m taking on Jillian Michaels’ Body Revolution.  So what is it?

It’s a 90 day weight loss program that includes both a meal plan and workouts.  Let’s break it down.

The Workouts

The great thing about this program is that the workouts are designed to take only 30 minutes/day.  Who doesn’t have that, right?  HA.

The workouts are broken down into month-long phases.  Each month has 4 strength workouts and 1 cardio workout.  During the first two weeks you alternate the first two strength workouts, which work different muscle groups.  This way you’re changing your workouts every two weeks so it should keep the program interesting.

If that was confusing, this is what a week looks like:

• Mon –     Strength 1
• Tue   –     Strength 2
• Wed –     Cardio
• Thu  -     Strength 1
• Fri    -     Strength 2
• Sat    -     Cardio

The strength workouts are done in circuits of 3 or 4 moves at a time with no rest in between.  In between circuit sets there are 1 minute cardio intervals to get your heart rate up.  The idea is to keep you moving and your heart rate up for the entire 30 minutes.  This allows you to burn more calories while the strength moves help build up the afterburn (how long you burn calories after a workout is over).

I will most likely be skipping the cardio DVDs and supplementing with biking since I need to be getting ready to ride across Iowa later this summer!

The Meal Plan

There are two pieces to the program’s meal plan:  The 7-Day Kickstart & the regular Fat Burning Meal Plan.

The Kickstart is a restrictive plan to get you on the right track.  For 7 days you eat mainly meat, seafood, and veggies with some dairy (greek yogurt) and other accompaniments like hummus, olive oil, and salad dressing.  The program claims you can lose up to a jean size in 7 days by following the kickstart.  I’m taking that bet because I’m pretty skeptical.  The only thing I’m not sure I can give up for those 7 days is my 1 diet pop every morning.  It’ll be interesting to see the results.

The regular program meal plan is far less restrictive.  It focuses on cutting out processed foods and eating whole grains, fresh produce, and good quality meats and seafood.  This I can get behind.

The plan also calls for eating only 1,200 calories a day.  I understand why she recommends that however I’m not sure I’ll be that restrictive.  My goal is to track my calories during this challenge using the Lose It app.  The app says my daily calories should be closer to 1,750.  I will do my darndest not to go over this, but I won’t limit myself necessarily to just 1,200.

So there you go.  I hope to see really good results from this challenge and I’ll be updating my progress as I go.

Have you ever done a program like this?  What was your experience?

All, I’ve just got to share this experience with you because it was too funny.  And maybe it won’t come across that way, but hopefully you enjoy the story and a few of the pictures I took along the way (I’m loving my new Canon Rebel DSLR!).

(overlooking the Mississippi River)

Months ago I heard about a local hiking club that goes hiking all over the area 3 Saturdays a month.  I’ve been wanting to check it out since January but the timing was never right.  Then last week I met a guy at work who is in the club and said it was a good time, a good workout, and they had a good group of people with a good range of ages.  So I decided to check it out yesterday.

 (wildflowers on the hike)

I drove just over an hour to Mississippi Palisades State Park, saw people gathering at the pavilion, and honestly thought I was in the wrong place.  Almost everyone had white hair!  No joke.  I was the youngest person by about 20+ years.  I was there though, so no turning back!

I found out that the club has been around since 1900 and they always have a short hike and a long hike.  The short hike yesterday was about one hour and the long was just over two hours.  And it was hilly.  I did the short hike because I wanted to make sure my ankles held up on the uneven terrain and because I had a Cinco de Mayo dinner to get to afterward.

Along the way I talked to several of the people and they were just a hoot!  Talking about this and that, making jokes.  It was like hanging out at the senior center my Mom worked at when I was younger.  I took a ton of pictures along the way and this man who called himself “Old Earl” kept grabbing my camera and telling me to “go stand over there and I’ll take your picture!”.  Good photographer, wasn’t he?

The day was certainly not what I was expecting at all.  Yet, I had a blast.  I got a good workout, good pictures, and all of the people said they are hoping I’ll come back.  I think I probably will!

And to finish off this story I’ll give you my Mom’s reaction to this story.  ”Maybe one of them will have a cute grandson!”

Hope you had a great weekend!

Random thoughts from yours truly!

1) I ordered a brand-spanking-new 2014 Mustang!  

I went to my car guy (a salesman who’s been good to me) and asked him to look for a 2013 Mustang with the features I wanted.  They couldn’t find it.  So using an employee discount program he told me was available through my company (awesome for him to do that!), I was able to order a brand new 2014 Mustang GT for a very reasonable price.  AND I got everything I wanted.  I may have been teased that there wasn’t a feature left to add, but that’s an exaggeration.  Sort of

2) My place is HOT HOT HOT.  

I live in a townhouse apartment on the 2nd floor of a new building.  This past winter was great because heat rises and I barely needed my heat on at all.  Summer is going to be a totally different story.  I came home earlier this week on a warm day and it was 83 degrees inside!  I can handle it… just turn on the ceiling fan and change into shorts and a tank top.  I can’t, however, justify leaving my poor pup in a place that hot all day.  You know it’s bad when he lies on the hard wood floor rather than his fluffy dog bed!

 3.  I’ve been painting my fingernails recently.

I never do that.  It’s helping me not bite or pick at my nails and the skin around them though.  This is something I do a lot when I’m bored/anxious/nervous.  Now my nails are so long that I can feel them when type and I am NOT a fan of that feeling.  Apparently I need to keep them a little shorter.

4. I potted some fresh herbs.

I had a rosemary plant for almost three years but it finally passed on.  I used it regularly for cooking so I went to get another one and I went a little herb-crazy.  I only got four: basil, rosemary, cilantro, and mint.  I figure I can find uses for the other herbs.  Cilantro in salsa, guac, etc.  Mint in iced tea and mojitos.  Yum!  Also, the yellow and blue pots match my yellow and blue dishes.

Well, with May starting today I decided it was time for a challenge.  A much-needed one.  Lately I have been ordering in dinner a LOT.  Way too much.  It is just laziness.  I have food I could make here but I don’t want to do it after work.

This challenge should make me eat healthier.  It will also save me money.  Not just the cost of the delivery food but the healthy groceries I buy won’t go bad while I eat other food!

This challenge isn’t meant to be restrictive.  It’s not a no eating out challenge.  If I want to go to dinner with my friends, I’ll do it.  It’s just meant to prevent me from taking the easy way out and ordering in food when I am perfectly capable of making something for myself.

What are you challenging yourself to this month?

I have to admit that it is embarrassing starting and stopping (or failing) at my weight loss goals in front of an audience.  There is no shame in continuing to try though.  Failing only means I’m human and I won’t get anywhere if I don’t keep trying.

I really want to make it stick this time.  My plan to help me sleep better and wake up for work on time is really working so far.  I have to believe that a plan to help me stay on track with my weight loss will be just as successful.  I’m working on it.  So far, I’ve been consistently losing weight (not much, but all downward movement is progress) for the last three weeks.  I’ll be posting measurements and body fat percentage in the future too. Let’s hope it sticks this time!

Have you stopped and started your attempts to lose weight?  If you were successful, what finally made it stick for you?

One thing I have been really struggling with lately is getting to work on time.  For years I went in to work between 7:30 and 8 am, leaning towards 8.  On top of that, I was in a work environment where I had proven myself for years to be reliable, productive, and efficient.  My boss and teammates knew me and knew that everything that needed to get done would always get done whether I worked at the office, from home, or was going between buildings for meetings.

I’ve recently started a new job that requires me to be available for 7 am meetings about three times a week.  I am finding getting to work an hour earlier than usual very difficult.  I am in a new building with a new team that does not know me.  So I need to make sure I prove myself once again.  This means being consistently on time and spending the vast majority of my time in the office.  Flexibility is earned and I need to earn it in this environment just like I did before.

In order to be successful, you need a plan.  So I made a plan to help make myself successful at getting to work before 7 am.

The first thing I did might seem silly, but it is working.

I put my alarm clock in my bathroom.

What?  That’s right!  I’ve gotten to the point that I can turn my cell phone alarms off without ever waking up.  Half the time I don’t even remember them going off.  It’s high school all over again except I don’t have my parents to yell at me until I get up!

To combat this, I got out the big loud alarm clock I used back then and plugged it in on the bathroom counter. My bathroom is connected to my bedroom and the alarm is loud enough to wake me up from there.  Now I’m required to get out of bed and go into the bathroom to turn the alarm off.  Already being in the bathroom, I get right in the shower.  No snoozing, no clock within arm’s reach.  So far it’s working!

I am also trying to get in an evening routine that will help me stay organized, healthy, and get out quickly in the morning. Obviously some of these things I’ve been doing already (yes, I do brush my teeth) so I’ve highlighted the ones that are additions.  Here’s what I’ve come up with so far.

Evening Routine

• Stretch (5-10 minutes)
• Take Dean out (5 minutes)
• Prepare / pack lunch for next day (5-10 minutes)
• Brush teeth, floss, wash face, etc (10 minutes)
• Set alarm (the one on the bathroom counter!)
• Lay out clothes for work next day (5 minutes)
• Read and/or journal (20-30 minutes)
• Lights out!

This routine can take anywhere from 30-60 minutes and it does some really good things for me.

First off, packing my lunch and laying out my clothes for the next day means that I can get out of the house quickly in the morning without doing too much thinking.  This is good.  I’m not known for being a morning person.

Packing my lunch means I can eat healthier and save money which will be important in meeting my weight loss goals.  Flossing is something I do once every great while so hopefully this way I’ll at least do it once a week!  That and regular stretching will keep me healthier overall.

The reading and journaling are for me.  I don’t read enough and this gives me dedicated time to do it each day.  Journaling is something I’ve found helps me deal with stress, emotions, and depression.  Plus, they are both away from the blue lights of cell phones, TVs, and computers so they will help my body power down and get sleepy.  Unless it’s a really good book.

Do you have an evening routine?  What does yours include?

I’ve been MIA from blogging and frankly, life lately.  I’m doing a lot better than I was last year but my depression still floors me sometimes.  I’ve been in a funk for a while now.  I think I’ve been letting it do this though.  I’ve been so negative.  Depression makes everything harder.  But not impossible.

My biggest mistake is not having a plan.  I’m working on that.  On being positive.  On making changes.  I’ll post more on this in the next few days and weeks.

For now, watch this video.  It’s a good one.  It combines the motivation from all kinds of movies like Rocky, Any Given Sunday, and The Pursuit of Happyness.  Quotes from Ali and Jordan.

There are two lines that are my favorite.

It’s not about how hard you get hit.  It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.

Make a choice.  Right?  You just DECIDE.  What it’s going to be.  Who you’re going to be.  How you’re going to do it.

Seriously.  Watch the video.  Every time you need a kick in the butt.

(I’ve tried to embed the video below but if that doesn’t work, here is the link to the YouTube video!)

I think yesterday was a tough day for all athletes, especially runners.  Hearing about the bombing of the Boston Marathon finish line area broke my heart.  The runners I know are such a good, friendly group of people.  Why would someone chose to target them?  It is so senseless.

Regardless of the reason, my heart goes out to those that were killed, injured, and affected.  I had a good friend out there for the race and it took me a few hours to hear that she and her husband were okay after I heard the news.  I know that time was very scary for me and I’m sure it was for many others as well.

I saw this on Facebook yesterday and I really liked it.  It’s true… there’s so much good in the world.  We can’t lose sight of that.

I find it amazing what can be accomplished in such a short time on the internet.  There is a movement called Runners United to Remember.  In honor of the people affected by yesterday’s events I will be joining runners all over the world on Wednesday April 17th by wearing a race shirt (underneath my work shirt at the office) and going for a run.  I will not let anyone’s actions make me afraid to live my life and participate in a sport that I love.

This sport will come out of this tragedy even stronger than before.

God Bless & Run Strong, friends.