Recharge

This weekend was, well, yet another indulgent weekend!

I'm not going to beat myself up. Really. I paid for it already with a belly that has no idea how to process the food I gave it this weekend.

I made up yesterday's workout after work tonight.

Right now, I almost feel like I'm just plain not working hard enough. The schedule is mostly abs & stretching based alternating with burn circuit. I am most definitely working hard on the burn circuit workouts! I'm used to dead lifts by now, I've done a lot of them. But I really worked Burn circuit 2 hard on Saturday, and I can feel it in my hamstrings.

Yesterday, I simply was overwhelmed and made a priority of spending time with good friends who I haven't seen in a while. That was the right choice.

Today, I had a really long day at work, and still need to finish up some grading. I got home, had some food: chobani flip & two slices of Ezekiel bread with laughing cow creme cheese. I let it digest and sat in a bit of contemplative stillness, and got ready for my workout.

I did Extreme Abs from ChaLEAN Extreme followed by Recharge. I needed the Recharge. And the Extreme Abs was difficult enough to work through some frustration with the long day, and gain some balance.

Ahhh.

Now back to the grindstone.

~Katie

My next 20 weeks

I've mentioned that I've started a new program.

I'm using a hybrid schedule developed that uses both ChaLEAN Extreme and TurboFire.

I don't know about you, but I have a difficult time just looking at something and grasping what it means. Words come in, words go out, and I'm left just looking at each day as 'what am I doing today' rather than 'how does this fit in with the program'.

And so, I fixed it.

First I color coded it, so that I had some idea of what groups go together, and planned out my tracking days on the rest days closest to the 30 day marks.

This helped, but it's still not exactly where I just know what the clear themes are and how the time is broken up.  ChaLEAN Extreme was very clear cut with weekly repeats and the three phases.  This is a whole different beast to me, and I like to know what I'm aiming towards and what my focus is, and where the phases are, so that I can get in the right frame of mind.

So I broke each program and day down. Was it cardio? Was it stretching? Was it a ChaLEAN circuit? Was it TF strength? Was it abs? Was there a clear pattern?

YES!

Weeks 1-3:      Burn Circuit & Abs workouts alternate with one day of Cardio a week

Week 4:           Cardio with one HIIT and one Abs day

Weeks 5-8:      Push Circuit & Cardio+Abs workouts alternate

Weeks 9-12:    HIIT+Strength & Cardio+Abs workouts alternate

Week 13:         Abs+Stretch & Cardio+Stretch workouts alternate

Weeks 14-16:  Cardio & Lean Circuit+Abs workouts alternate
Week 17:         Cardio with 2 Abs days
Weeks 18-20:  HIIT+Strength & Cardio+Abs workouts alternate

The big blocks are:
Burn
Push
HIIT
Lean
HIIT

And Abs 3 times a week, almost every week.
Cardio gets added in as a regular occurence in the 4th week.

So, look out! I'll be ripped by the time I get to my 31st birthday! All those Abs and cardio combined with strength training? I'm excited!

And now, the plan makes so much more sense to me, I can look forward to it!

~Katie

Slowly

This morning, I woke up, and felt rather poorly.

I know exactly why.

I went a bit hog wild on the beers last night.

And today was my weight watchers day.
So I weighed in at home, recorded it, realized that I was either going to be no change or a gain at WW, and went on with my bloated day.

And then I went to the meeting.

And I was down. Not as down as weeks before, but I was still down.

However, I know that I need to make some changes in the coming weeks.
I need to really get focused on the exercise and about moving around while at work.

But I am not off the wagon!

I repeat, I am not off the wagon!

Perseverance! I'm whittling back down to the weight that I'm comfortable at. I may not be there now, and I may not be there in a month, but I'm making steady progress! I WILL get there!

Goal: Be in the 160's in less than 2 weeks.

~Katie

Deleted

I have been having trouble waking up. Mostly it's because I need 8 hours of sleep. I forget this at night & go to bed at midnight. So the cycle goes. I'm making changes. Creeping up my bedtime so I can naturally wake up earlier & still get the sleep my body needs.

So yesterday evening, I did Burn Circuit 1. It was the first video I did during ChaLEAN Extreme, so it was a nice to go back to my notes and see what weights I was using then & adapt to my strength now. Some exercises, I am leaps and bounds ahead on (chest and legs), others (deltoids) I am pretty much the same as when I started. I thought that it would not be challenging. I thought that I'd been there, done that. I was SO WRONG! The challenge comes from a better form now, and heavier weights. I can actually complete most of the exercises now, even though it's a struggle. I'm not afraid to 'dial it up' and go as heavy as I possibly can.

This morning, after going to bed at 11, and falling asleep at around 11:45 pm, I knew I had about a 30 minute workout in the morning. I also knew that the bug man was coming at 7:30 am and that I needed to leave the house clean-ish for the the cleaners to come by today. With my ideal leaving the house time at 8:35, I needed to get with the program. And I totally didn't.

6:15 my alarm went off
6:30 I started making some grunting about needing to actually get out of bed
6:45 I said I'd do my workout in the evening
7:00 I realized that I could still get my workout in before the bug man arrived
7:15 I was getting in my workout gear, choosing the socks that James got me. Oh yes, those are Cybermen!

7:30 I started my workout, TurboFire Core 20
7:40 the bug man shows up, so I take a break
7:50 I finish my workout while the bug man sprays the house, but don't do the Stretch 10, may double that up tonight
8:00 start drinking my Shakeology and doing the dishes and cleaning up the kitchen
8:15 shower
8:30 dressed and actually ready to start feeding the animals, and gathering my stuff for work

What What!

Yep! I rocked that short workout! Even though I totally procrastinated and said I'd do it later, I still did it this morning!

DELETE, DELETE, DELETE
YOU WILL BE UPGRADED (to a person who wakes up early enough to work out in the morning)

~Katie

Recovery & a Weekend Well-spent

I am mostly healed from the sickness of last week.

On Saturday, I started the TurboFire/ChaLEAN Extreme Hybrid Program with the Stretch 40 while at our Airbnb hosts in Fort Worth.  Now, I had forgotten my yoga mat, and that is a program you need a yoga mat for. I have noted this, and I will now need to remember to pack that in my retinue.

It was a long, long day, and I was still feeling a bit poorly. We set up at 10 am, and broke down at 9 pm. There was beer. We shared an 8 inch brisket pizza. We also shared 2 sliders, there were two flavors, so we each had half of one. And I had packed a couple protein-packed bars for emergency energy.  That day wiped us out!

We did indulge that evening with food and full-sized beers at the Flying Saucer before crashing just before midnight. I did not follow any portion control & had fried chicken and mashed potatoes with a hefty side of broccoli. I had earned 125% of my daily ActiveLink Challenge, so I didn't count it as too much of a loss.

Brunch on Sunday was indulgent, but dinner was reasonable.

I weighed in on Monday morning a tiny bit less than I weighed on Friday morning. So I'm counting this as an overall win. Wouldn't you?

I think that this is the first weekend in a while that my weight on Monday is less than my weight on Friday in a long while! So yay for new habits forming! Yay for things starting to sink in to my subconscious about portion control!  Yay for indulging, but not breaking! Yay for a continuing downward trend!

160's here I come! I'm just a couple pounds away from you, right now!

~Katie

April Progress Report

It's that time again!
Lots of pale flesh on the interwebs!

Tracking day.

Overall, I lost inches everywhere except my arms.
Why?
Because this girl has GUNS!

BOOM!

I can see the difference this time, I'm a few pounds down and I've really toned up. Comparing the way before and the now is HUGE!

And now for a peak at the new bathing suit from the drawer that I picked for tracking for this next round. I start tomorrow with the TurboFire/ChaLEAN Extreme hybrid schedule. It will be exciting! I know that I'll tone up a ton and also shed some of this fat that's staying on me. Why? Because it's more cardio intense. Looking at the schedule between now and September, it's a huge amount of ab work, cardio, and with some of the weights still thrown in there. Not too much, but enough to keep me on track.

Push-ups: 7 continuous on toes followed by 7 continuous on knees before I felt I needed to pause.

Squats weights: 30 lbs

Biceps: 17.5 lbs

Triceps: 10 lbs

Delts: 10 lbs

Row: 22.5 lbs

Shoulder Press: 17.5 lbs

Woot!

~Katie

Staying Strong

I'm so close to a milestone at Weight Watchers. So Close! I'm down 8.6 lbs since I started (on their scale).

I did do Lean Circuit 2 last night. I feel like, with the illness plaguing me, I can more easily complete a strength set than I can a cardio one. But it still burns calories and it still energizes me a bit. I'm hoping to fit in at least most of Lean circuit 3 tonight. It's mostly chest and shoulders, so it's rather fun. I felt like it was important to finish out the weights portion before tracking.

I know that a cardio workout tonight would make my progress shots in the morning pop more, but I just don't think I have it in me. I may try to do a double tonight, but we'll just have to wait and see how I feel. I won't be getting home until later.

Tomorrow is tracking! I can't believe day 90 is here! I haven't been measuring myself in the interrim, so it's really interesting to me when I get to track. I think I'm going to change up my swimsuit this time. Well, I'll do a photo in the swimsuit I've been using and then take one in another. I have a couple suits that I think may work better with the lighting. I don't love having photos of a washed-out whale up here all the time. It's just pale swimsuit on pale person on pale background. I know I have some brighter and/or darker suits that I can shrink in.  This one just doesn't flatter my coloring. And no, I'm not getting a spray tan for tomorrow (though I've thought of doing that).

So I'm working hard tonight. Sleeping hard tonight (because that's when my body seems to do all of it's work). Really, it works overnight. I can go to bed, and then wake up 3 lbs lighter in the morning. It's what my body does. When I don't get enough sleep, I can tell.

Can't wait to get some good 'guns' shots!

~Katie

PS I'm starting the ChaLEAN Extreme/TurboFire Hybrid schedule on Saturday. I have workouts in my calendar until September 7th (a year since the day before I met James)

Under the Weather

Since starting this escapade, I have not really felt physically ill. Low in spirit a few times? Sure. But physical symptoms more than just allergies? Nope. Nada.

Sunday, I started feeling a bit raw in my throat.

Monday, I felt really low in energy. A bit fuzzy in the brain. And the raw throat would not go away.

Tuesday, I stayed home. The full-body ache had settled in and I was feeling so icky and sore throaty that I could not get out of bed except to go to the couch. I alternated between cold and hot things to eat and drink. Anything that would soothe my throat. Shakeology, blended lemonade, I walked down the street to get some ginger chicken ramen (and drank all the broth), I had more blended lemonade. By the evening, I was ravenous. I had been taking in calories, but I was still ravenous. A healing body certainly burns calories. I gave in to my cravings and ordered the first pizza since January. And ate 4 pieces. It was SOOOOO good. And this morning, I'm back down to the weight I was yesterday. Because my body is working overtime to just heal.

Today, I'm still feeling under the weather, but the sore throat is mostly gone. The headache has settled in. The weakness persists. But I came in to work. Because my cleaners come in the afternoon & I hate canceling on them and I don't like being there sick when they're there cleaning.

So tonight, I plan on trying to fit in a couple of exercises, but not necessarily a full workout. I don't think I can handle that.  All in this last week!

~Katie

Routine Restart

I tried to stick to a routine in Denver. But it was difficult.

I ate different food because I was not in charge of lunch. By the end of the week, all I wanted was quinoa & kale, so I left the training center & got my own lunch.

I was waking up earlier, and socializing every night.

But I was also walking every evening.

When I got home, I was definitely ready to just be home. I gave myself one more day of not really being in my new routine (by now, it's not that new, but it still feels like a struggle to get into the routine). We walked to brunch, we watched TV, we chilled, and we just were. And I had a simple dinner.

So today, I still didn't wake up early, but that's okay. I have a couple errands to run after work, but then I have time to get my workout in. I'm adapting this last week, so that I still get in all of the lifting days that I've been remiss about. I track on Friday, it should be Saturday, but we'll be somewhere else, and I'd rather not worry about it there.

Okay. Back to the grindstone.

~Katie

Running

So.

Running.

I used to run all the time.

In middle school, I started running on the cross country & track teams.
In high school, I continued.
In college, I ran at 11:45 pm across & around campus.
And then I stopped.
Grad school was where my running dwindled to a bi-monthly pace.
I have started & stopped many times. Competed in 15Ks, ran at lunch, and regular spurts & intervals. After running for so long, it is the exercise that my muscles remember and crave.

In this restart, I haven't been doing my usual cardio-centric work like running. But it's been working for me. The other day, I went for a run/walk, and was surprised at how easily the running came. And then my friend Jennifer put out a virtual 5K challenge. Whoever you were, wherever you were, you were to complete 3.1 miles. And post your results to the group.

And so I devised a route that brought me to Starbucks so I could have a tea that didn't taste like rancid coffee.

And I told myself, being at 5300 ft above sea level, that I would run until I wheezed, and then I could walk. And I did not wheeze. I did not slow down. I did not feel like stopping. I could have run for another mile or two. And that, that is a fantastic feeling.

Two and a half months ago, I could not finish a half a mile running, much less 3.1 and I think I'll continue making running part of my workouts twice a week.

Yay!

~Katie

Mile High

Lessons learned in traveling to the Mile High City.

1. I guess I'm a little more in shape than I thought because walking around is pretty easy.
2. I forgot my blender, but remembered by Shakeology. Attempted to shake one up in a cup & it was a horrible, disgusting failure. I was hungry all morning. So I went to Walgreens and lo & behold, they had a travel blender!
3. I need to wake up and be working out by 6 am in order for all of this to work.
4. I found a program that can port my DVDs to my iPad! Yay, not having to lug my giant work laptop up to the workout room to use the weights! I still wish that there was an internal Beachbody app that you could register your programs with an then 'rent' the videos for 24 hours.
5. I have a really difficult time curbing my beer intake when I'm in the craft beer mecca of the US. Everywhere I turn has great beer! But I'm walking so many places, so I'm earning a lot more points than normal.
6. I wish I lived in a place that walking to work, and to dinner & drinks was as convenient as this.
7. High altitude is making me a bit bloated.

~Katie

Low

Do you have weeks that just feel like there's a weight on you?

Like no amount of motivation will gear you up?

Everything seems too much, or too late, or rushed?

For me, that's this week.

Monday, I could not get myself out of bed in the morning. I ran late to work. I got home and just needed to take a hot bath and crawl into bed early. And I did.

Tuesday, after work, I got in my workout and some.

Wednesday, I could not get out of bed on time and only did half of my workout before rushing off to work, late.

Thursday, yesterday, I slept. I had a long day at work, I didn't go to the Weight Watchers meeting, just weighed in, and I had a long therapy session/ADHD assessment (we'll see what the results are later). I got home around 8 pm, starving, and ate. My plan was to rest, digest, and then do my cardio. But I pretty much just sank into the couch. I didn't move. I didn't watch anything on TV in particular. I actually cycled through my DVR and the TV guide for about half an hour without settling on one thing for more than 5 minutes. And then, I listened to my body and took a hot bath.

This morning, my bed, it had the gravity. And I got started on my workout later than planned, so I only got through the first 2/3rds of Lean Circuit 1. And I feel bushed. I feel drained. I feel like my body could do more, but that my spirit is flagging.

And I know that tomorrow is supposed to be a rest day, but I'm going to try to get in something cardio in the morning. And then, then it is tax day. I will finish my taxes. Because I procrastinate. And I will be out of town next week, so I can't put it off longer.

Denver may be what the doctor ordered. I know a few people there, but for the most part, I want to just work out, go to class, have dinner/beer, and go to bed. Real life is not there. It's like a small vacation for me, where I work the whole time?

This week has been a trial in lowness. I know I can snap out of it, but I'm not. I'm trying to eat fuel. I have fruit and veggies at every meal. I'm getting in my nutrition. But I'm just not getting with it.

That's okay. I recognize it. And I just have to recommit. Reinvigorate. And forgive myself. Give myself what I need (which apparently this week is rest and relaxation).

~Katie

.8

I seem to be in a rut.

It's a weight loss rut.

I am losing weight at a very steady pace.

Blue line is the WW scale reading
Pink line is my home scale reading

.8 lbs down this week from last.
.8 lbs down last week from the week before.
.8 lbs down from that week to the week before that.

Do you see a pattern here?

I do.

And I want more change! I have a goal. I want to reach it.

I will succeed next week.

I am out of town next week, in an amazing beer haven called Denver.

I am not in charge of lunch.

I am not going to be cooking.

So I must do my best to be diligent about working out and walking.
I must be diligent about counting every calorie and not going out for beers every night.

I must be diligent.

Because I want to lose 3 lbs (or so) so that I get my 5 lbs next week or the week after.

Stagnation is done. I'm not going to go up this weekend, either. It's a promise to myself.

~Katie

Links!

I haven't done my workout for today. I'm giving my body some time to recover from the few poor choices I made last night, like beers 3 & 4. And half of 5. Otherwise, I was the picture of moderation. I had Shakeology for breakfast, Healthy Choice Rosemary Chicken (not buying again, it was tasty, but my body rebelled), a banana, and a goat cheese salad for dinner.

Then I was being social. I had decided to go to a bar in town to celebrate a new brewery now distributing to Texas, and had my first pint there (it was planned), but the manager saw me and offered to buy me and my friends a round on the house. And, well, free beer? yes, please. So came the first unplanned beverage of the evening.  After that, it was Girls Pint Out at Saint Arnold Brewery.  I had planned on having a beer, or two there. And I had 2 beers there. It was a great evening with great ladies. I even chatted with a few who have been following this blog (HI!) and realized that I haven't been linking a lot lately. At the beginning, I was linking everything like crazy for reference. I find that I like reading blogs that link things that I'm curious about. I headed home and had half a beer with my man before crashing out. I was sure that today, the day that I'm actually going to weigh in, that I would be up from yesterday when I weighed in at a new low. Well, nope! I'm down a couple tenths of a pound from yesterday. Not all is lost from a bit of indulgence. Just can't make a habit of it!

So here goes:

Weight Management & Accountability: Weight Watchers I'm going to meetings once a week, tracking food and beverages on my phone, and using the ActiveLink to track activity. So far, it has made a huge difference in how I approach food. I'm sure I could use a free calorie tracking app, but I've done that before & failed. I need to be able to check in with other people once a week.

I also, yeah, write in this blog about my experiences. The ups, the downs, the struggles, and the victories. This keeps me in line. This keeps me looking forward. This keeps me focused. Sometimes it's about the journey, not the destination.

In addition, I participated in a challenge group on Facebook put on by my friend and fitness inspiration Jennifer Burgess.  Now that the 30 day challenge is over, I'm in the followup group where I've met others who are sticking to their journey!

Supplements: I'm drinking Shakeology for breakfast every day. It's not your average shake mix. It starts my day with a good dose of protein, but also lots of great vitamins and nutrients. I tend to have Chocolate with a few dashes of cayenne pepper in it each morning. Greenberry is the other flavor I've tried, but this sweet tooth is kindof off it lately. If you love love love bananas, Greenberry is your elixer, though. I haven't tried the Vegan Chocolate or Tropical Strawberry, yet. I might switch up my subscription, so that I can cycle through everything.

Workouts: I am following the Beachbody program from Chalene Johnson called ChaLEAN Extreme. It is a 90 day program (with schedules for continuation afterwards) that goes through 3 phases. The first 30 days is the Burn Phase which starts you into learning how to do all the moves, starts working your muscles and reving your metabolism. The second 30 days is the Push Phase where you really push the limits of how heavy you can lift. There are fewer reps, so you really do get strong during this phase. I was really surprised with how I progressed. The third phase is the Lean Phase. I'm in my second week of that, right now, and wow. It works your abs, it works your cardio. You are lifting, balancing, and moving all at once. I can't wait to take my results in a couple weeks!  As far as the schedule, each week of the 30 days is the same 3 days of weights broken up by rest & two days of cardio.

 

I plan on incorporating TurboFire once I finish and doing a ChaLEAN Extreme/TurboFire hybrid program. I have to face it, I love lifting heavy! Plus, it's really good for bone health. TurboFire is an intense cardio program. The fat melts off you (from what I've seen of my friends). I'm going through the Fire Starter Pack to prep for going into the whole program. And it is INTENSE! But I love it! It does take a lot more coordination to get into it, but that's what I'm aiming for.

I'm glad that I started out with the program that's getting me strong because then, when I add in more cardio, I'll have muscle under there! I've been thin without muscle. It's not easy to maintain. But, Muscle Burns Fat. It revs the metabolism. So I'm going to continue with a program that incorporates both.

So that's that. Work out hard. Stick to the plan. Keep healthy snacks on hand. And LOSE!

~Katie

A Small Effort

Today, I am going to an event after work.

I knew I needed to wake up early so I could work out.

I forgot that my workout was 45 minutes today.

I did 20 minutes of it.

Then I realized that I didn't just have to shower and get ready, I needed to wash the dishes, unload the dryer, and leave the check for the cleaners, and gather the errands to run at lunch. And still get showered and ready.

So I left off Lean Circuit 3 at the pushup to side plank. I may try to complete the workout later tonight when I get home, but that may be a bit ambitious.  Perhaps I'll finish the Fire it up video for extra cardio.

Regardless of cutting my workout short, I was DRIPPING sweat for at least another 10-15 minutes while I was getting the kitchen ready to actually be cleaned.

I reviewed my ActiveLink last night, after doing both of the workouts.

This is my output during Burn Intervals, notice the periods of low intensity when I'm lifting weights, and moderate intensity when I'm doing things like lunges and squats. I was doing this from 0 to 45 minutes before I took a break and cooled down and watched the Fire It Up intro.

 Now, this, from 8:00 pm to 8:20 pm, this is when I was doing the Fire Starter Class. Followed by sitting down and blogging. There is barely any moderate intensity activity after the warm up.

WOW! What a difference, huh?

I know that I'll probably be throwing one of the TurboFire Workouts in every so often in this last few weeks of my challenge before I start the ChaLEAN/TurboFire Hybrid program. And that my workouts will be taking a lot longer to do. I need to start actually waking up when my alarm goes off. And that may mean going to bed earlier than midnight, as much as I hate it.

~Katie

Cardio day!

Today, I did yesterday's Burn Intervals.

Yesterday, I needed rest & relaxation. Took a bath & went to bed early. Woke up feeling much less like I could not move from lack of motivation.

So I pushed my workouts by a day. My rest was Monday instead of Thursday this week.

After Burn Intervals, I felt like I needed to move a bit more & tried out the Fire Starter class for TurboFire. Well, 20 minutes in, and I'm glad I started with strength training. It will be a challenge to get my uncoordinated self moving along just right, but I think it will be a great follow up to ChaLEAN Extreme!

~Katie