Kicking It Into High Gear

So.

I said I was recommitting, and I totally am!

Yesterday, I got back into the Shakeology habit, and I really must say that it helps to have that kick of protein, nutrients, and the awesome sweet tooth abatement in the morning.

Last night, I went to the grocery to pick up some much-needed food and healthy snacks (like fruit), then I came home and did some dishes, shaped up some of the house, and got my butt into gear.  Last night, the workout was Fire 45. I was supposed to have done it on Saturday, but we were on 'vacation' and so I did HIIT 15, instead, and took Sunday off (when I was supposed to do HIIT 15). Yesterday was my rest day, so I used it as my makeup day and did Fire 45.

Wow.

By the end of that workout, I was more flailing than following the routine. It will definitely take me a few more times of doing it with the breakdown to get the hang of it.  My roundhouse kicks are pretty pitiful right now, but I'm putting in the effort, and not quitting halfway through. By then end of the workout, I was at 125% on my ActiveLink!

Yes, my face matches my tee-shirt. This is what my body does when I work out. I can't help it.

James and I ate dinner, which was back to routine. Eggs, scrambled and split between us, salsa, and I had two pieces of Ezekiel Raisin Bread with a bit of butter. I had had two pieces of whole grain Ezekiel bread with melted cheese and 97% fat free mesquite smoked jalapeno turkey breast slices before my workout. I also had a banana on my way home from the grocery store. And I had a beer. I love the Shiner summer seasonal Ruby Redbird. It's only 4.2% ABV and it has a bite of ginger and grapefruit, so refreshing. I know a lot of craft beer nerds turn their nose up at it, but even when compared to other craft beers made with ginger, it has the BITE that I crave from a good ginger beer without the sugar bomb.

So that was last night.

I went to bed around 10:30 pm. I've been getting really tired lately. I don't really know why, but I know that I operate best with 7.5-8 hours of sleep. That's what my body needs, or I just start shutting down in weird ways. I also knew that I wanted to start getting my workouts done in the morning. This means getting my rump out of bed before 8 am. Yes, I normally wake up at 8 am, quickly get ready and am out the door by 8:35 to get to work at 9 am. Why? Because I don't get to bed until midnight, and getting myself vertical after only 6 hours of sleep is near-impossible. I have learned this in the past 31 years. I have stopped being surprised by it.  So, even with my boyfriend mercilessly making fun of me for being old, I conked out at 10:30 pm. And guess what? When my alarm went off at 6:30 am? I was actually ready to wake up. I did laze about for another 25 minutes before getting to my workout, but I totally felt refreshed and ready rather than wanting one more hour in bed.

So I did my workout! Okay, I did part of my workout. On the slate for today was Fire 30 & Abs 10 from the TurboFire program. Since it was another new workout for me, I did the Fire 30 with breakdown promts, which makes it last a bit longer than 30 minutes, and so I really needed to get showered and out the door rather than do the Abs 10. It's 10 minutes. I can do that this evening after I run my errands.

This time, I ended up doing the low-impact workout modifications half-way through, and my roundhouses got about 2 feet off the ground. BUT I DID THE WHOLE THING!

I'm beginning to think, that with TurboFire, I need to work on fixing up the garage for workouts sooner rather than later. My old 1920's hardwood floor on pier & beam is not made for jumping around constantly. I'll have to look into getting a portable air conditioner for the garage and really putting in the time to fixing it up so I can workout out there and free up some of the living room space for James' things when he moves his things out of the apartment.

Not really down to pre-weekend weight, at all, but moving in the right direction!

~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

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

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

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

Happy Easter!

I took a nice lie-in this morning before heading to Sugar Land to have Easter brunch & go to Mass with my family. I knew we'd have some "dead" time between Mass and dinner, so decided to bring the resistance bands, DVDs, & workout clothes with me.

I'd never done Lean Circuit 2 with the resistance bands, so today was a challenge to try to get the workout in effectively. I ended up working up a good sweat, regardless, so I'll count it as a win!

I didn't take off my eye makeup & it ran a bit, so I was a pretty Sweaty Betty at the end.

~Katie

My shoulders!

Delts
Delts
Delts

Lean Circuit 2 is all about the delts!

I definitely worked those muscles hard today.

~Katie

Progress Report

Today's going to be a busy day at work, so I'm trying to get this all up and ready before I leave so I can focus on the presentation I'm giving tonight at a University on what I do at work and what opportunities there are for physicists.

Today was tracking day.

It has been 60 days since I started ChaLEAN Extreme, and 4 weeks since I started Weight Watchers.
The Push Month mostly focused on building muscle, and my legs, butt, and arms definitely benefitted. I can actually do real push-ups, now! I can do at least half of the burpees in Burn It Off without modification. I outlifted my set of weights and needed to go up a notch or two or three.  And I'm planning on starting TurboFire/ChaLEAN hybrid after this next coming month. I think that this was a great program to start with, since I've never focused on building much muscle. The weightlifting progress is a great Non-Scale Goal for me. The slimming will come with more cardio, but the power, and strength can only come from resistance.

I have been busting my buttocks since Monday to make it a successful tracking day. I'm talking taking walks. Going RUNNING, for heaven's sake. And watching every damn thing that I eat and drink since I'm out of weekly points until Friday. Because I wanted to see the results that I feel. Because I feel the results. I know that I'm looking better and slimming down. I'm also building muscle, so some places are actually staying the same pretty much.

The Push month has been good to me, overall.

Here's the photos:

Front View Progress

Side View Progress

Back View Progress
SOON, There won't be any of those rolls at my waist! They are going, going, going, (soon to be) GONE!

Measure it up

 I am quite pleased with this month's progress! Down 6.3 lbs from the last weigh-in! My waist is down 2 inches, too! And that's the waist around the belly button. My natural waist is shrinking, too!

Okay, off to work!
~Katie

Changes, All the Little Changes

Before I get to the actual post, today, I slept in. So my workout will be between work and girls night. It will be Push Circuit 2, so it's 35 minutes and weightlifting-focused, so I think I can do that, shower, and walk to the restaurant in time after work today. The front room rearranging has taken a toll on my bedtime.

Okay, on to the Changes.

I've been documenting the daily stuff on here, but sometimes, I like to make a retrospective.

Today, I realized that there are a lot of little changes that have been adding in to the big changes.
And some of them aren't so little. But all of these changes have been since the beginning of this year.

• I see a therapist every other week. We are evaluating different possibilities of the root of my high anxiety issues & panic attacks as well as my scatterbrained-ness and overall mental health. I want to be able to have a plan of attack that is appropriate to what my brain is doing rather than guessing and worrying about it. 
• I am following the ChaLEAN Extreme 90-day Challenge. I'm following the schedule, and while I may have missed a day or workout here and there, I have been very good about giving it my all every day. I'm glad that I chose a program with workouts close to 30 minutes each day rather than over an hour. It's manageable, and I can fit that in to my schedule. It's a small commitment, but I'm seeing the results. (Dude! I have BICEPS!!!!)
• I'm taking a daily multivitamin.
• I'm drinking Shakeology every day, which I didn't quite realize until yesterday how much it has been working for me. When you drink something that filling every single morning and then you have to fast until 11 am one day, let's just say that my sweet cravings were off the charts yesterday. I wanted to eat everything in sight! I have really been loving the chocolate flavor with a healthy dash of Cayenne Pepper added to it.
• I am attending Weight Watchers meetings and tracking my intake as well as my activity. We'll see how ActiveLink works for me once I get past the assessment phase. This has been a really good change. I've been dropping pounds since starting this. It has been the impetus to cooking at the house more, drinking less beer and alcohol, and focusing on fruit, vegetables, and protein sources to fuel my workouts.
• I'm cleaning things up. I'm making places for everything. I'm getting rid of clutter. I'm removing the excess (but I'm not getting rid of my jeans. My jeans will stay in my closet forever. I think I still have maternity jeans somewhere.)

So lots of little and big changes. They are all starting to add up. I can see muscle in my body. I feel better. I feel happier. I feel less like the world is going to crash in on me. I am getting stuff done. And I am moving forward. Little changes. They make for big leaps.

~Katie

Cardio-O!

Today's schedule was Burn It Off & Recharge. I am doing so much better at Burn It Off! I did almost all of the Burpees with good plyometric form! Yay! I'm really curious to see what my heart rate gets up to. I think I have a heart rate monitor around here somewhere, I just have to figure out how to use it!

The Recharge is nice to do right afterwards since My heart stays pumping just a bit higher than normal throughout, I'm continuing the cardio.

I'm considering getting the ActiveLink from WeightWatchers because I do so much moving around during the day since I CAN'T SIT STILL! I've never been able to. Actually, I take that back. A bath is where I can sit still.

Oh, and I went grocery shopping! And the only prepared foods I bought were pickles. Who doesn't love pickles?

But I am prepared now! Lean chicken! Fish for Friday! Fruit for when James has low blood sugar or I am wanting dessert! Veggies for accompanying meat! Flowers! Because, flowers!

Also, I jumped the gun and decided to up my BeachBody involvement. Since I am planning on doing
TurboFire after ChaLEAN, And both James & I are drinking Shakeology, I decided the 25% off was worth being a coach. So, if you are also interested in joining in these types of programs, or just want an extra cheerleader to give & get encouragement, just follow the link up at the top and go on over to my BeachBody page.

Jennifer has been such an encouragement to me, so I'd love to pass on the love. Even if you're not interested in the BeachBody programs, just a bit of exercise goes a long way!

Okay, schpeal over!

~Katie

Push Circuit 1

Well, today was the beginning of a new month of ChaLEAN Extreme. Push Circuit 1 was intense, single-muscle working. It was about 32 minutes long. No squat plus shoulder press or dead-lift plus row. This was all single focused exercises. Tricep. Bicep. Squat. In three ways each.

Since the goal is to fail at 6-8 reps, you go really heavy. I warmed up with 5 lbs, then used 10, 15, & 20 lbs weights for the rest of the exercises. I'm going to try to push to 15, 20, & 25 lbs next week. Most of the exercises I used 10 lbs on, I could have done 10 reps.

PROGRESS!

And many push-ups. Sloooooooow push-ups.

Also, here's a peek into where I workout & my setup in my living room. I'm allergic to the animals & they cuddle on the carpet, so I have to roll out my mat anytime I put knees to floor or I get red allergy spots all over them.

~Katie

So Demoralizing

Yeah, so I tracked today. I was feeling so good about it.

Yes, I was a little bloated. But I've been working so hard! I've been feeling better! I've been doing so well! Right? I was going to see results!

Well, here they are, in living color. My still fat ass on the internet. The only benefit is that I don't see as much belly fat hangover. That is the one place that I see improvement.
I gained .7 pounds.
I gained inches or stayed the same almost everywhere.
UGH!!!!
---EDIT---
I wish that the waist measurement was actually at my waist. Instead, it's at my belly button. The place I feel I've changed the most is just under the boobs, on the ribcage and my belly. My haunches haven't really changed, and my thighs have gotten larger, but probably mostly because ChaLEAN Extreme is extreme on the amount of squats you do.

It's difficult to compare the before and after photos because the angle is different and so is the lighting. I decided that the orange/brown look wasn't doing me any favors & realized I had a door where I could get a straight shot.  The height of the camera is the same between the photos, though, as is the way the bikini is tied (as in I haven't been able to untie that knot for YEARS).

Forgot to add the other stats:
Push-ups: James and I did a test last night. I did 3 push-ups on my toes and then 8 on my knees. I didn't time them. I should have. Maybe I'll do that tonight.
Weights I'm using:
Lower Body: 15-20 lbs
Triceps: 5 lbs
Biceps: 10 lbs
Back & shoulders: 10-15 lbs

~Katie
PS I'm still going to continue with this. I'm feeling stronger. So hopefully I can actually shed some inches in the next month.

I'm not happy, but I'm hopeful?

Push ups!

One great thing about this program is that I'm getting results. It's tangible. So my weight has gone up a bit. That's fine. My muscles are building! I'm feeling less acutely sore every day.

While I'm increasing the weights I use, my biggest benchmark that I can see & feel changing every day and week is my ability to do push ups. When I started 2 weeks ago, I could barely bend my elbows and push back up. I could go about halfway down before my muscles gave out. On my knees.

I'm still doing push-ups on my knees, but I could do 8-10 of the push-up + leg lifts today. And then did 3 more slow push-up at the end! This is momentous! I may be able to start challenging myself to do some full ones with my feet rather than knees as the fulcrum this week!

Yesterday, I had a bad eating day. Brewed beer with friends & had pizza then had tons of Brie at the Super Bowl party. And ice cream.

This week, I'm challenging myself to work out in the mornings and cook dinner at night. And then planning on feeding my mind as well as body with my second therapy session on Thursday. I've had to go through a whole giant questionnaire & some of the questions are really difficult to answer with just yes or no. Things aren't perfect, but they never will be. However, I'm working on being happy and combatting the lows.

~Katie

Lunkerhead strikes again!

The temp dropped 30 degrees overnight, so I was warm snuggles in bed this morning & it was a long workout day. I did kick myself out of bed in time to finish the Burn intervals workout which is 45 minutes, but not the AB burner workout.

Now I have to shower before I'm cooled off, but that's what I get for being a lunkerhead...

But hey! Morning workout!

I have an event after work, so I won't be able to do the abs until really late or tomorrow. :-/

~Katie

Week 2 Burn 1

Still trying to switch to morning workouts. But I think Wednesday is the first day I really can. This morning, I had to bring my cat to the vet to get bloodwork done so he can get a couple teeth removed Friday. Being ready to go at 7:30 am is difficult enough without making time to workout beforehand. Tomorrow is the morning the bug man comes over. So for now, I will continue working out as post-work decompression.

Contemplating cleaning out the garage to make a workout room there. Ceiling fans and wood floors don't make for enough room for 2 people jumping around. We'll see what Saturday brings.

Decided that I like making sure I have My Fit Foods for lunch, afternoon snack & dinner. Helps to know that I'm eating well rather than springing for a quick fix. Relearning portions.

Workout this evening went well. Tried pushing it up a notch & then backed down to 5 lbs on some that I probably should have stayed at 10 lbs with.

DID WAY MORE PUSH-UPS!!!!

Woo!

~Katie

A bit on weights

For ChaLEAN Extreme, you need weights or resistance bands.

 I wanted to be able to travel with it, but also prefer weights, so I got both. I haven't done a resistance band workout, but it was within a dinner out pricing, so I added it on. It will be nice to not have to rely on a hotel gym having the equipment.

These are the bands that I got

But I prefer to use weights when I'm at home, because I feel the resistance the whole way and not as a gradual increase like the bands.  I had a pair of 2 lbs and 5 lbs dumbells at the house already, and I've found that the 2 lbs is WAY too light for me. The 5 lbs is something that I will quickly move beyond, as well. What can I say? I carry a laptop bag and a heavy purse every day. Dumbells are EXPENSIVE! Especially to have the range of weights that I'd like to have. I wasn't ready to commit to buying lots of sets for over $100, so I got this modular set that I could grow with.

The 1 lb weights don't come with the set

 

I am a bit underwhelmed by it. The securing mechanism doesn't stay tight and the post gets in the way sometimes. It'll make do, but with the options that are available, the bar with the two screw caps are 4 lbs, then you need to be balanced, so you're options are pairs of 4 lbs, 10 lbs, 14 lbs, and 20 lbs or singles 26 lbs, 30 lbs, and 36 lbs, which is fine, but not great when it's slipping and sliding and you have to pause and reconfigure the weights in the middle of the program if you want to jump up or down with them.

So I've now gone and invested in 10, 15, and 20 lbs free dumbells so that I can easily switch between.  I may sell the modular set, or I may play around with loading it up to over 20 lbs for when I just need to use one HEAVY weight. We'll see. If you have dumbells, use them! If you aren't sure what weights you need to start with, go to a store or gym and see which weight you need to not be able to any more after 12 reps.

Quoting Chalene Johnson "Muscle Burns Fat!"

Katie

A New Direction

Hi, this is me. I'm Katie.

I have gone from fit to flabby to fit again and flabby flabby flabby flabby in the past 15 years.

Exercise had always been part of my life growing up. Track & Field and basketball through middle school and high school. Sometimes working out 3 times a day to keep up with the sports. And it was always because I had to for a team. In college, I ran, and I went to the gym. Sometimes. I gained the freshman 15 easily and the summer after my freshman year, cut Snapple from my diet and started getting in a running routine again.  I lost it easily and kept it up in fits and spurts through college and maintained a pretty decent size 10 inamongst my late nights studying and blowing off steam.  Then graduate school where I was going to the gym often, finding my love of the erg machine and walking a mile with hills each day from my parking lot to the physics department. So I stayed in shape mostly.  Then came time to work. My motivation flagged. I was going through a rather deep depression and gained a bit of weight, but not too much. Started therapy and began going to the gym on a regular basis again and again, fell in love with the erg machine. Moved, changed jobs and the gym was way out of the way. But I had a neighborhood that I walked in. I walked everywhere. I slimmed down to a size 8.

Me in 2008. My goal is to be there again, just with more muscle.

This was when I started really having a social life. I finally felt like I was making friends and spending time with them. So a lot of my socializing involves eating and drinking. I transitioned to craft beer. Moved again, and started a business. So between work, settling in my home, and running a business, working out and finding the time to do anything other than grab easy food and go was difficult and I have ballooned. Surpassing any weight that I had ever been. Even while pregnant I was 20 lbs lighter than I am today. I am in the worst shape of my life. But, for the most part, I am happy. I am fulfilled. I have great friendships and am working on building my own business.  So that's where I am. My inside is still not perfectly balanced, but I'm addressing that by returning to therapy. And my physical shape is awful.

Last year, I trained and biked the MS150 and started attempting to do weigh watchers. I lost a bit of weight and was able to fit into some of my size 10 clothes well again, but I fell off the wagon when I started investing more and more time into my business. Which my business needed it. And then, then I went and I fell in love with an amazing man. And we were indulgent. No food or drink was off limits. But I gained any weight I had lost and I gained more. And I started feeling fat and sloppy and hated the way I fit into clothes. And my job has been rather stressful, so I've been stress eating when I should be doing activity to combat the stress. I started down the self-loathing path that is very dangerous for me.  So I enough. I don't want to look like this anymore and I don't want to feel like this anymore.

So I'm on a journey. I'm on a challenge. My friend Jennifer Burgess is a role model for me. She has shaped up from having twins 20 months ago and now has a 6 pack. She is a BeachBody Coach. And I have joined her February Challenge group, but started as soon as I got my materials.

So join me as I forge a new direction and carve out time for myself to be good to my body and still keep all the rest of my balls in the air.  Join me as I improve myself body, mind, and soul. So that I can love myself as much as my family and my boyfriend love me.

James & I at a friend's wedding

I have started each day with a Shakeology shake in my blenderball cup.  I am splitting between chocolate and greenberry flavors.

Chocolate is more like Chocolate/berry (either cherry or raspberry, but berry-like) and I've had it with both water plain and with coffee as the base. I like having it with the coffee as it just ups the morning wakeup factor a little bit.

Greenberry is more like banana cinnamon. REALLY. I expected greens and berries. But it's not. So don't expect it. If you like bananas (I do), then this will be great for you. It's like a spiced banana bread in a cup. I haven't tried it with anything other than water, yet. I'm thinking about brewing some green tea to use as a base in the mornings. Some suggest orange juice, but I'm trying to cut out the sugars in the juice.

The workout program I'm using

For fitness, I'm following the ChaLEAN Extreme workout regime and am just on my first week, so today is my first of the Burn Intervals and AB Burner workouts.  I am a lunkerhead. I sleep until the last possible minute, so for the moment, I'm working out in the evening, after work. But I am missing out on a lot of activities by doing this. I'm being kind to myself by first transitioning to the working out 5 days a week. Next week, I start kicking it to the morning before I leave for work. Which means that I need to wake up 2 hours earlier than usual. 10-15 minutes for water & changing, 30-45 minutes for working out (though the Burn Intervals is 45 minutes alone, so with the AB Burner, it's longer), 10 minutes to cool down, 20 minute shower, 30 minutes for getting ready.

Right now, I'm only minimally changing the way I eat. I'm getting lunch and snack at My Fit Foods and trying to focus on eating dinners that have a high protein ratio (a lot less pizza), and have so far been maintaining keeping my alcoholic drinks per night to 2 or less (I've overindulged a couple nights this January).  I'm in the craft beer business, so no, I won't be giving that up. I need to stay knowledgable and connected to the scene. This change in lifestyle has to be gradual.

Stats
Weight: 181 lbs
Pushups: almost able to do 1 on my knees. Seriously. I can go halfway down and then up.
Lower Body Weights: 9 lbs
Upper Body Weights: 5 lbs
Back Weights: 9 lbs

Scary Images!

Yes, this is me. I need to retake my before photos in front of something that's white instead of my beige wall.

Keeping Strong,
Katie