Rip:60, an awesome husband, and other random stuff

The plan for Saturday was to run 14 miles with my running buddy, Priscilla.  Friday night a storm started to roll in with winds of 20 miles per hour.  I texted Priscilla and told her that I was too big of a wimp for that.  When I woke up on Saturday, it was snowing and blowing (as you can see from the picture that I took from my front porch).  Of course, Priscilla is tougher than me, so she still ran out in this blizzard.  I, however, slept in and went to the gym 2 hours later.  Although I felt like a huge slacker and I felt bad that Priscilla had to run alone, I had ran 15 miles the week before so I didn't feel like I was missing my long run.  I ended up running 3 miles on the treadmill instead.  I wanted to make it quick and just get it over with, so I started out at 6 mph and then as I increased speed, I also decreased the incline.  My last 1/2 mile was ran at a -3 incline at 8 mph.

I think that anyone with a gym membership has their favorite "spot" where they tend to spend a lot of their gym time.  I like this corner in the cardio area at Gold's Gym.  It is upstairs in the back corner, so I'm able to look down from my treadmill and watch the TVs and people.  Yeah, I guess that makes me sound a little bit creepy.  The rowing machines are also over there.  I usually start my day at the gym on the rowing machines for a least 5 minutes. I do this even if I'm going to go to a class or just run on the treadmill.  I love the rowing machine.  Seriously, it works my hamstrings, chest, back, lats, and Monica showed me how to rotate side to side to work my core.  Behind the treadmills and rowing machines is this big contraption (see picture-this is a larger version than the one at Gold's).  I just found out that it is called Rip:60.  I have seen people using it, but I didn't want to look like an idiot trying to figure it out on my own.  I told Monica (my friend who also happens to be a fitness instructor at Gold's Gym) that I was interested in trying it out.  On Thursday she quickly showed me some basics and gave me an outline for an hour workout on it.  Since I didn't end up doing a long run on Saturday, she ran me through the entire circuit.  I started out sweating from my run and I kept sweating for the next hour.  It was really fun!  I found out that the Rip:60 can be used for everything - squat jumps, lunges, core work and mountain climbers just to name a few of the things that we did.  We also did some swings with the kettle bells and she attempted to help me improve my form.  I'm still bruising my arms when I do cleans.  The bruises make me look tough, though!

I have stated this many times before-clean eating and fitness are a lifestyle.  In order for it to become your lifestyle, you have to have support systems.  My support system is becoming larger all the time, but at the foundation of it is 3 people: Mike, Priscilla and Monica.  Monica and Priscilla are my work out and clean eating buddies.  I draw a lot of knowledge and strength from them. They are just as fanatical about fitness as I am.  I am also fortunate to have a husband that values fitness (clean eating not so much).  On my days off  I usually spend over two hours at the gym.  Since I don't like lifting weights at the gym, I sometimes will lift at home in the morning and then go to the gym after I take the kids to school.  Recently I have started going to Monica's tabata class in the morning and then her kettlebell class in the evening.  He never complains about my time at the gym.  Training for marathons and half marathons takes a lot of time and support. He has always encouraged my to run them and to take the time to train for them.  He also likes to spend hours working out, especially during the biking season.  This is a picture of Mike last September when he rode 206 miles in a bike race called Lotoja (Logan, UT to Jackson, WY).  He is pretty much just awesome!  Had I not married someone so active, I'm not sure that I would be on this journey right now.  I'm so glad that we found each other and that we are able to live these active lifestyles.  I think that it is really good for our kids to see their parents taking time for themselves and making fitness important in our lives.

If you have read through this entire post, first of all I would like to thank you.  I know that I can be long winded!  When I started this blog back in September, I did it mostly for accountability.  I felt like if I put this out there then I would have to do it and stick with it.  I knew that I needed a change.  My weight was starting to creep up into the 140 range and running was not keeping it off.   Starting up a facebook page and letting my friends know about it was huge for me.  I put a lot of personal stuff in here.  Sometimes too personal.  It's a little bit scary to put my journal of sorts out there for strangers and friends alike to read.  I just hope that there is someone that reads this and thinks "if she can do it, I can do it!"  One of my friends from way back when, Chris, messaged me that I was an inspiration (which made it feel pretty darn good) and that he had recently lost 45 pounds.  That is so awesome!  So please, leave me some feedback about your journey, like my facebook page and follow my blog.  I would love to form a little community of people that want to become the best version of themselves!

I'm half way there!!!

Holy Moly!!! I am half way done with this 12 week challenge.  Where has the time gone.  Yes, my pants are looser.  No, I have not lost any weight. Yes, my thighs are smaller. No, my waist is not.  Yes, my arms are looking more defined.  No, my abs are not.  Should I go on?

I had an interesting week of exercise for week 5.  On Monday I decided to go to both of Monica's classes.  In the morning I went to Tabata and then in the evening I went to Kettlebells.  Then on Tuesday, I got up at 5:30 am and ran 5 miles.  I was going to lift Tuesday evening, but I couldn't find a muscle group that wasn't sore!  I tried to do a burpee competition with my daughter, but I could only do 10 and she beat me by 1. On
Wednesday, I didn't get up and run in the morning before work and then I regretted it all day because I was super grumpy (when will I learn just to get up and do it?).  I was able to make it to Kettlebells, so that was a huge bonus.  On Thursday I woke up before the kids got up and did Back/Traps, Biceps and Triceps.  After I got the kids off to school, I headed to the gym.  It was snowing, so I had to run my 5 miles on the treadmill.  I ran my first mile on a pre-programmed interval workout.  After a few times at 18.5% incline for 30 second periods, I decided that was not going to work so I had to change it to the rolling hills at a lower incline so I didn't have a heart attack. The rolling hills consisted of 4 miles at -3% to 3% incline.   I kept it at a 6 mph pace so that I could visit with Monica while I ran.  Afterwards Monica showed me how to use some resistance equipment that I have been wanting to try and she gave me an hour workout that I can use anytime. Today I went to Kettlebell class.  The weather is nasty here so I'm not sure what the plan will be for Saturday, but it is looking like a long outdoor run is unlikely.

As far as food goes, I'm still struggling with eating too many starchy carbs in the evening.  Also I was hungry a lot this week, so I ate more clean meals than usual.  I tried the Carrot Cake Protein Bars from Jamie Eason's recipes and they were super yummy.  I added walnuts to the recipe too, just for some healthy fats.  You can just google Jamie Eason recipe and you will be able to find the recipes that I have written about, such as meatloaf meatballs and pumpkin protein bars.  There is also a chocolate protein bar that I want to try out.

I also made a big batch of the cream of mushroom soup from the Gracious Pantry blog and used it to make  super clean Swiss Steak.  The cream of mushroom soup recipe makes a ton so I was able to freeze the leftovers for other recipes.

Swiss Steak
2 cups of clean cream of mushroom soup
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
2 pounds of lean roast (I used a pork roast and it was pretty darn yummy)
Cook in slow cooker

I also made my family fajitas with peppers, onions, and mushrooms.  I sauteed the veggies on Monday and then I just warmed them up with some frozen, cooked chicken when I got home from work.  My kids and husband ate theirs with either a tortilla or brown rice and cheese and sour cream.  I topped mine with salsa and it was delicious.  I also tried out a banana muffin recipe, but it still needs some tweaking before I can share it.

My new favorite afternoon snack is cottage cheese on a rice cake and cucumbers or celery on the side.  This has been my go to snack for about a week now.  I found some rice cakes that are gluten and salt free and are only 35 calories.  Sometimes I even add some raisins for some extra sweetness.  I have been trying to eat more "real foods" and less protein powder during the day since I have been drinking a protein shake before bed.  Which brings me to my new treat.

Chocolate Protein Chia Seed Frosty
Fill a measuring cup with 1/2 cup almond milk, then with ice until it reaches the 1 cup mark.  Blend with 1 scoop chocolate protein powder (I recommend Matrix Perfect Chocolate because it is seriously the most delicious chocolate protein powder I have ever tasted) and 1 TBSP chia seeds.  Blend until smooth like a frosty.  This was honestly the best guilt free "dessert" that I have found yet.  It made my day!

I did have somewhat of a sugar binge today.  I'm not sure what it was all about, but it happened and I feel guilty.  I guess all I can do is remember that tomorrow is another day and that I ate clean the rest of the week.

In other NEWS:
I am so excited about some a development in my life.  One of the ladies in my book club, Libby Wood, is co-anchor on a local TV show called MORE on KPVI.  After much deliberation, it has been confirmed that our book club will be participating in a fitness segment on the show in conjunction with Gold's Gym from March through June.  All of us (except for Monica who will be part of the Gold's Gym crew) plus Melissa's husband, will be working with trainers and instructors to get fit!   I don't know all of the specifics, but I am super excited.  We are going to get together at Libby's house on Sunday to shoot the first segment.  This will be the get to know us segment.  I'm sure that Libby will have to edit it down like crazy, since the last time we talked about the possibility of doing this project, we talked about it for over 2 hours.  It should air in March, so I will add the link to the show then.  Maybe by June I will finally have rock hard abs!  Or at least a trim waist with no muffin top!!!

End of week 4 and into week 5

This post just shows how much of a roller coaster this can be with lots of highs and lows!

I'm 1/3 of the way into this 12 week challenge and I feel like I'm finally seeing results. It's super dorky but I still have the dress that I wore to the lunch after my wedding 15 years ago. I tried it on and it was loose on me. That means that I am thinner than I have ever been in my adult life. That's incredible to me. The best part is that I feel good too. I'm happy, I have more energy and I don't feel like I'm dieting.
In regards to my diet, I broke this 12 week challenge into 4 week increments. I'm doing Tosca Reno's Stripped eating plan and it's a 28 day plan. I made it 25 days and then I took a little break these past 3 days and just ate clean with the exception of my weekly date with my husband and book club dinner. Today will be day 2 and I'm ready to see what I can do these next 4 weeks.
I really like using the fitness pal app. I use the calorie counter as a general guide, but I still listen to my body and I eat when I'm hungry. Sometimes that means 2 mid-morning meals. I mostly use it to make sure I'm getting enough protein and other nutrients. If anything it reminds me to take my vitamins, otherwise I struggle to get enough iron and potassium.
I finally feel excited about this challenge.
5 days later- I started this post on Sunday, but then my family decided to do something (I can't remember what) and I forgot to finish it. I'm glad that I read it this morning though, because I have had a really off week and it has left me down. Part of the reason was that I missed kettle bell class on Wednesday because I wasn't able to get off work in time. I also added starches and nuts back into my diet and I think that might have bloated me a little bit. I see why the stripped program is only 28 days. I really needed a little bit of a break from it. Even though the break was good, it was unwise to take progress pictures yesterday. I need to save those for when my diet has been especially tight.
Yesterday I felt particularly bummed out (probably because I took those pictures). After a challenging long run, lunch at my favorite place and dessert of frozen yogurt (a total splurge this time with lots of chocolate) I felt better. I'm going to finish up the week eating clean, but I'll tighten things up again on Monday.
Side note- to anyone new to my blog. When I write about my "diet" it's not a real diet. It's a lifestyle of eating clean. I do want to lose body fat, so that's why I have decided to eat foods that will speed up the process. By just eating clean I was able to drop 10 pounds fairly quickly in October and November. This weight loss had plateaued however, so I'm trying to shock my body by adding more high intensity interval training (HIIT) and eating a diet with more veggies and less fruit (less sugar), less starchy carbs, and less fatty foods (like nuts and nut butters). The stripped plan is actually one of Tosca Reno's plans and you can find out more about it on her website or in my earlier posts.

Location:End of week 4

Finally!!!

This is huge for me!!! Seriously, huge! I can finally do a decent push up. I can only do 15 at a time, but I finally have good form. I have been working on this since December. My dog really wanted to get in the picture too;)


If only I could just get my chin above this bar though...

Maybe next month! I never thought that I would ever be able to do a push up either, but I just kept trying. The point is- never, ever, ever give up! NEVER!!!

February

  Small successes get me excited.  Today I put on these pants that I could barely button up in October, but as you can see I have plenty of room in them now.  You can't tell but they are baggy in the butt and legs too.  I'm not bragging though, because only minutes before this picture, when I was naked, I was bawling over how flabby my belly is.  Ups and downs.  My life is a virtual roller coaster sometimes.  But this makes me very happy.  I bought these pants 2 years ago when I was working with a personal trainer.  At that time I was about the same weight, but these pants were not this loose.  Also I was on a "diet" then, now I am just living a healthy lifestyle.  I honestly love it!  Since I am doing this 12 week challenge, I have been counting calories just to have a bit of a road map to help me figure out how much fat/protein/carbs that I'm getting and to ensure that I eat enough.  I am using an app called fitness pal, but you can also find it on your computer at http://www.myfitnesspal.com/.  I love the app because I can scan in the food label and presto, there it is.

I am going to mix things up a little bit in February.  I am not seeing the kind of muscle definition that I have been hoping for, so I need to shock my body a little bit.  I found this program on the Body Building website: 30 days to a 6 pack.  I will be doing 6 days of cardio, 4 of these days I will also be lifting heavy like I have been doing, but I will split the workouts.  I will be doing cardio in the morning and lifting in the evening.  The idea is to keep your metabolism burning all day.  I'm not sure if I am going to like this routine.  When I trained for the Ragnar, I was doing 2 cardio sessions one day a week and it got tiring.  The only difference is that I can lift pretty much anytime at home and not work up too much of a sweat, so I won't have to shower and redo makeup and hair again.  I will try it out this week and then report back.

As for eating this month, I'm probably not going to change things up too much.  As I stated above, I'm counting calories right now as a guide.  I am not that concerned about getting the exact calories, I just eat when I'm hungry.  I have noticed that I am still getting too many sugars.  These come from fruits mainly, even though I only have about 2 servings per day.  I do need to stay away from clean treats too because I still have very little self control with anything sweet (I ate 1/2 a batch of protein ball yesterday).  I also need to focus on greens, greens, and more greens.

End of week 3, a long run, and doing what I love

I'm now three weeks into this challenge and I don't even have a six pack yet!  However, I bought some pants this week that are 2 sizes smaller than a similar pair I bought about 3 years ago and my skirt today that I could hardly zip up in September was baggy.  I call that success!  Maybe after another year of this craziness and a tummy tuck, I will get that six pack.
This week I worked really, really hard.  I made every minute of strength training and cardio count.  By Friday I was exhausted.  I had done four HIIT sessions (one was speedwork), I did four days of resistance training and I had run a total of 12 miles.




My running buddy, Priscilla, and I hadn't been able to run together for over a month because of crappy weather, so when the weather looked decent for Saturday, I decided to buck up and do a long overdo run.  Although we froze our buns off running 10.5 miles and I was tired, I was really glad that we were finally able to do it.   It was so much fun to get out and run with her.  The time flew by because we had so much to catch up on and talk about.  I have said this before and I'm sure I will say it again: I would not be still this committed if it wasn't for her.   Having a buddy on this journey has been the key to sticking with it and not getting (too far) off the path.
Because of this 12 week challenge, I haven't been focusing on my New Year resolution of clean family meals.  I have still been cooking clean for myself, but I have also been making separate meals for my family.  This is not the ideal situation, but it is what I am going to have to do for the next nine weeks so that I can meet my goals.  With the exception of yesterday and today (I have been eating popcorn and I made my version of no bake cookies), I have not been eating starch carbs after lunch.  This makes it difficult to prepare meals that my family enjoys, like pasta and potatoes, but I am making it work out.  Their meals are still pretty clean, but they aren't eating salads as their main course.
I have been on somewhat of a smoothie kick lately.  I love it when people post new ones on facebook.  There are some great "green" smoothies out there.  I have mentioned before that one of my favorite smoothies looks like baby poop, but it tastes like pumpkin pie.  I also have been making ones with whatever greens I have: kale, spinach, parsley, celery, and/or cucumber.  I blend these with about 1/2 cup water, juice of 1/2 lemon, flax seed oil, and vanilla protein powder.  I have found that the lemon is the key to deliciousness.  It just adds the right little zing and pulls everything together.  I also love my fruit smoothie: 1/2 banana, berries and protein powder.  I recently discovered a banana cream protein powder and I am in love.  It is really yummy on oatmeal or alone.


Last night, I was perusing Facebook and I came upon an article,  The Happy Diet, by Christina @ The Athletarian,  she talks about Orthorexia, which is an obsession with eating only clean foods.  It's a great article and something that I have debated-where is it a lifestyle and where is it an obsession.  I think that I eat about 90% clean.  My day to day, meal to meal eating is 100% clean.  Even my treats on most days are clean.  The 10% is when I have my weekly cheat meal and/or dessert.  I decided that tonight, since it is the super bowl, I am going to indulge in 1 piece of thin crust pizza with my family.  I will have a big old salad, but I am also going to enjoy a little bit of pepperoni pizza. I'm not going to have any other treats.  I decided this after I read the article and after talking about fitness with Priscilla.  I decided that even though I have my goals and I will eventually meet all of them, I also need to enjoy my life.  Priscilla had said that she is really loving the weight room and that she has been thinking about running less and doing less marathons.  At this time in my life I am just the opposite.  I love to run!  So I am going to do what I love.  I am still going to get my strength training and HIIT in, but I am going to continue to train and run marathons and half marathons.  I am also going to strive to be a 90% clean eater and not develop orthorexia (hahaha). I don't even know if that's a real medical term. I guess I need to google it. My point is that if you love what you do, then you will stick with it. If you are miserable and not enjoying it, then you are more likely to give up.


Since it's Sunday, it's time to plan my workouts for the week. Most weeks I'm able to make everything go as planned, but sometimes I have to jostle things around. I have learned to use a pencil instead of a pen because I do a bit of erasing. I really enjoy putting my little plan together and watching the blank boxes fill up. I love knowing exactly what I have planned. I think this week's plan looks pretty challenging!