Push-Ups for Beginners

Thursday, December 10, 2009

When I first started doing personal training, I was really bad at push-ups, since I hadn't done them in years. Eventually, though, I was able to do about 30 real push ups in a session. Push-ups work your arms as well as your chest, abs, back, etc.

If you can't do a push up on the floor at all, you can always start with push ups on a wall, on a bar at the gym, on your stair railing, etc. - and you can keep practicing this way until you can go all the way down and get the technique down.

And of course, there are always knee push ups:

But my favorite thing Kerri taught me was doing push-ups using the Bosu ball (they have these at most gyms, probably near the free weights - you can also buy them yourself, but they're $100+). I can't find a picture of exactly what we did, but essentially all you need to do is place the bosu ball, dome side UP, right under your chest, and when you come down while doing your push up, lay your chest on the Bosu ball, and lift your arms up.

Then, place your arms back on the floor and push yourself up for the next push up. After doing the push-ups this way for awhile, you'll eventually be able to do them without the ball underneath you at all.

One Mile at a Time

Monday, December 7, 2009

I crazily agreed to run a half marathon with my mom a few days ago - crazy because the race is on Dec. 20th. So I have stepped up my casual 2 miles of running, 3 days a week, to doing a lot more. And while I am still in no way a runner, I have realized that if I just keep doing a bit more each day and do one mile at a time, it isn't so bad.

This past week, I got up to 4 miles, and today I will try for 5. Since I am doing a longer distance, I know I can't run the whole thing, so what I have been doing is running 2 minutes at about 5.2mph, then walking 1 minute at 4mph. It evens out to a good pace overall, but the slowing down to do a brisk walk for a minute really helps me to keep going. Usually, I don't like slowing down to walk, I like to just go for it, run the whole thing and be done. But that only works for about 2 miles, so if I am going to have any chance of doing 13, the walking is necessary.

So, wish me luck!

Delicious & Nutritious Pizza

Andrew and I decided to make homemade pizza last night, because we wanted something healthy, but we were getting a little sick of salad, whole weat pasta, etc. So we went to whole foods and got ingredients to make a healthy BBQ pizza.

We got refrigerated dough (1400 calories for the whole package), organic barbeque sauce (we used half the bottle, which only added up to 125 calories), low moisture part skim shredded mozzarella (we used a cup, which is about 320 calories), and then peppers and onions to go on top. We don't eat meat, but this would definitely be great with chicken on it too of course.

So all totalled it was about 230 calories for each slice of the pizza (we cut the pizza into 8 slices), and was so delicious, I would have ordered it at a restaurant. And it really didn't take too long to make - we baked it at 375 for about 25 minutes. I definitely recommend it!

I'm Intrigued

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Although I am sure this is mainly a gimic more than anything else, I am intrigued by these new shoes Reebok is making, the Reebok Easy Tone. They are supposed to help tone your legs & butt when you walk, run, etc. in them. I would be quite impressed if they did work since my legs never get very much tone no matter how much I run, do the elliptical, the bike, etc.



Has anyone actually tried these? I'm mainly considering them since I need new sneakers anyways, but they're about $100, so I'd need some reason that they are better than getting a new pair of Asics (I love Asics, I've had this same pair for years and they're still in great condition).

Finally!

For the longest time, Blogger was not letting me log into to this blog, so I couldn't update it - I don't know why, but it had a different log-in than my other blogs, so it wasn't working. But I finally got it figured out so I can blog here again, yay!

I am going to be signing up for a new personal trainer soon so hopefully I'll have soom good workouts to share!

Running for Beginners

Thursday, September 24, 2009

So I am the first to admit that I have never a "runner" nor will I really ever be - well at least in the sense that I'll never just get up and run 5 miles, no problem. 3 miles is still my maximum, and that wasn't at any great speed. Anyways, my mom has always been the same way, and in seeing in how we both "learned to run" I've realized that everyone definitely has their own method of doing it, and it's definitely very individualized.

The Walk/Run Method - so my mom is definitely a walk/runner; and she made it all the way from not being able to even go a half mile to doing a half marathon, all in about a year's time, which is impressive! She basically just started out with a method of like Walk 4 min/Run 1 min; and then slowly worked all the way to Walk 1min/Run 4 - every day she just ran a little bit longer than the day before. And this really works well if you just are the kind of person who could never run a mile all at once, but could do a good distance if you just were able to do some walking breaks in between.

The "Just Do It" Method - so, there's really not much to teach in terms of my method of how I learned how to run finally - for me, I think it was mainly mental. I did try doing some walk/running, but for me, every time I would slow down to like 3 mph, it was SO hard to go back up to running like 5mph. So, I just always do like a 1 minute warmup at around 3mph, then crank it up to 5-6mph, run at that speed until I can't take it anymore, then dial it down to like 4.5mph. And I basically just run as much as I can - and then if say I could only run a mile, I'll still do other cardio so that I didn't only have a 15 minute workout. And over time, if I really do it every day, I can run a little farther each time. And I realized that I really need to start out at like the highest speed I can handle and go down from there; because like I said, a lot of this is mental, 5mph doesn't seem as bad when you've just been doing 6, right?

These Actually Do Help

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

So despite my failure in posting them, I really have been trying to keep up with taking pictures of myself throughout the weight loss (or attempted weight loss lol) process. I think I realized when I did that perhaps I really do see myself a lot differently than I actually look - not to say I look at these pics and think, wow, I look perfect, but I definitely think I look better when I see myself in these as compared to when I look at myself in the mirror.



Anywho, this one is my latest, I think I should title it "the magic of dark jeans" - lol. Stacy & Clinton are right, they really do always make me feel slimmer :)

7 Layer Burrito Blitz Recipe

Monday, September 7, 2009

Sorry for the lack of posting of recipes, accountability photos, etc. - it's not that I've fallen off the wagon, it's that my computer has, lol.

But I have been making some yummy new recipes, mainly from Hungry Girl. Here's one of them, I'll definitely post more this week :)

7-Layer Burrito Blitz

(1 Burrito - 277 Calories, 3g Fat, 14.5g Fiber, 22g Protein) - these are so yummy and remind me of taco nights as a kid, a flavor I've missed for a LONG time! I may be biased in saying the fake meat HG has you use in this is actually really good, since I haven't had real ground beef in like 7 years, but I dunno, I'd say at least give it a try and if you hate it, you can probably substitute some other kind of lean meat or just stick to black beans

1 medium low fat flour tortilla (110 Cal, at least 6g Fiber)
1/3 cup canned black beans
1 ounce ground beef style soy crumbles (you'll find the Morningstar version in the frozen food section)
1/2 cup chopped iceberg lettuce
1/4 cup chopped tomatoes
2 tablespoons chopped onions
2 tablespoons fat-free sour cream
2 tablespoons shredded fat-free cheese

Prepare crumbles according to directions (this isn't in the HG recipes, but I season them with taco seasoning - I'd really recommend it, it makes them much better)

Microwave tortilla until slightly warm. Layer ingredients in a long strip down the middle of the tortilla, starting with black beans, then the crumbles, then sour cream, lettuce, onions, cheese & tomatoes.

Getting Your 8 Glasses A Day

Friday, August 21, 2009

I am the first to admit that I am a diet coke addict and am bad at drinking enough water. Although I know I'll never be able to give up diet coke, I am still at least trying to reduce it and get in my 64oz of recommended water a day. There's just one problem - I hate water. I really only drink it when I am really thirsty after a run.

So, I use drink mixes to make the water more appealing to me. My faves include:

OceanSpray On the Go Cran-Pomegranate Juice Mix - 5 calories, and it has 100% RDV of Vitamin C.

Crystal Light drink mixes - I especially love the lemonade mix.

Propel drink mix - this is also a good way to save $, so I don't have to spent $1.50 for a Propel from the machine at the gym, and can just buy cheap store bottled water.

Hope this helps others who are trying to get in their 8 glasses!

My First Paycheck Splurge Will Be...

A BodyBugg for sure! ( http://www.bodybugg.com/) If you haven't seen these, they are devices that you strap on to your arm and they can track (with around 90%+ accuracy) how many calories you are burning. Then, it goes along with a computer program where you can track your food. They use this on the Biggest Loser, and it looks very cool. It's somewhat expensive, but not prohibitively so, and since I don't have to pay for a gym membership (I have one in the building), I think I can justify it. And I like the idea behind BodyBugg, b/c, at the end of the day, despite all the diet tips & tricks you hear, it is ultimately a #'s game - burn more calories than you eat.


I was talking to a friend of mine who is getting a PhD in physiology and he was telling me that, yes, there are some differences between the calories burned from running vs. elliptical vs. strength training, etc. but at the end of the day, just look at everything as a numbers game, don't get too caught up in all sorts of crazy theories.

Salad Love

Sorry for the blogging delay - now that my computer is finally fixed, I'm back for good! So, I am the first to admit that, even though I don't eat meat, I still don't often order salads when I go out to eat - I worry they'll just be this plain garden salad that won't be filling, and then I'll binge on fries later or something. However, I think places are getting better now at making more interesting & filling salads, which is a definite plus :)



Anyways, I went to Qdoba tonight, and Andrew and I both got salads - I got their traditional taco salad (I got it "naked" - so it was just in a bowl, no tortilla shell - don't get me wrong, I love the tortilla shells, the scale doesn't, lol), and Andrew got their summer mango salad. Both were really good - I especially love their light ranch chipotle dressing that goes on the taco salad. And you can put beans on for protein, add some salsa (which is like basically no calories), and a little shredded cheese, and it's a super yummy meal.


So, just wanted to recommend it. This makes me think I need a whole post just on my favorite salads...perhaps that will be to come in the future :)

Accountability Photo #1

Friday, July 24, 2009

Let's be honest, I was far too lazy to put a swimsuit on. But, I did take a photo of myself using my camera's self-timer. I am trying to really push myself to finally lose this last 15 pounds and get into better shape, I feel like Phase 1 of my diet was just ridding myself of junk food, amping up the cardio to drop pounds, etc. and now it's time to get into toning & fitness much more.

(sorry it's so blurry, not on purpose, it's just my self-timer skills are quite sub-par). So hopefully as the weeks go by, these pics will get hotter & hotter :)

Gym-Free Workout, Strength Training Edition

In addition to running, I've been doing strength training in my living room. I have minimal supplies - hand weights & an exercise ball - but that's all you really need. I figure I'll go through what I've been doing, one body part at a time.

Abs -

I've been doing a rotation between three kinds of sit-ups - (1) bicycles, (2) sit ups with my legs straight up in the air (for these, I hold a 5 pound weight with both hands, and bring it up to my ankles, then bring it back behind my head, and keep repeating that), and (3) sit ups with my legs held up like in the 3rd pic (better than doing the same thing but with your feet on the ground). I do 10 of each, then repeat this. If you're doing them right, doing 60 will be plenty and your abs will really feel it.

Also, for a good ab stretch, you can do a "superman" - see the pic below (just without the exercise ball of course) - keep your legs & arms above the ground for 5-10 seconds after your ab set.

Happy ab-work-outing :)

Accountability Photos

I've decided that, in addition to tracking my cals, weight, etc. on Fit Day, I'd try to also focus on other factors - in terms of how I look, inches lost, etc. As part of that, I've decided to do weekly photos of myself. That way I feel like I can really see the things I need to work on, changes in my body, etc. I'm going back and forth on doing these in swimsuit form, as that would obviously show the changes best, but yikes, that's scary.

Either way, I am trying not to be 100% focused on having lost or gained X number of pounds, b/c at the end of the day, no one I walk by on the street nows how much I weigh - it's about how I look and feel, and weight is just one indicator of that.

FitDay Fun

Although Weight Watchers has a lot of cool features, FitDay is almost as cool - and, most importantly, free. And I am thinking on focusing on logging my food there to take lot closer look at how much fat, carbs, protein I am getting, as opposed to just looking at "points" or calories. And also, I can save $17/month, lol.

So, in addition to setting weight loss goal, you can set goals like "no more than 50g of Carbs" or "at least 20g of protein." It even tracks how much you're getting of different vitamins.

And when you do a weight loss goal (I want to be X weight by Y day), it will tell you exactly how you need to change your diet to get to that. And since I am trying to allow myself quite a good amount of time to get to my goal weight, it makes me feel better to see I don't need to be drastically reducing calories or anything. And it takes into account your usual lifestyle to show you how many calories you burn, takes away your "calorie restriction" and tells you how much you can eat per day:

And you can also log your activity on there too, including regular daily activities. I love it! Try it at http://www.fitday.com/.

A Gym-Free Workout?

Saturday, June 27, 2009

So, my school gym plan expires on June 30th; I am moving into an apartment with a gym in the building on Sept. 1, so I've got a 2 month gap, too short to really start a gym contract somewhere. I can renew the school membership for July for $75/month, which I was going to do, but now I have come up with a new plan. I'd say it's high risk, high reward - I will either fail miserably or become a much better runner, lol! As for strength training, I have Jillian Michael's workout video at home, along with a mat, free weights, a weighted exercise ball, etc. - not to mention squats, lunges, etc. don't need equipment. So I am good there, I just needed to figure out cardio.



I had gotten decently okay at doing running on the treadmill - I definitely am not good, but there is improvement. However, I am terrible at running outside. So, I have decided to use this time to do some running outside. There is a Target 2 miles from my apartment, and today, Andrew & I ran there (well, I ran 1/2, walked 1/2) and then walked back. Obviously, I am nowhere near being able to run 2 miles outside without stopping, but this is Day #1, so I am planning on trying to run there and back 5 days a week - well, run as much as I can, and walk the rest. Either way, I'll need to get back, so I'll be forced to do 4 miles of some kind of exercise!

Weight Watchers Online: New & Improved!

Thursday, June 25, 2009

I have decided to recommit myself to really using my Weight Watchers online membership because, heck, I am paying for it, right? And they have actually got a ton of new tools and stuff on there, I really like it much more now!

Here's the basic screen where you track what you ate for the day, and your physical activity as well:

And they now have a customized weight loss chart, and you can also make a chart of your change in dress size, and in a variety of body measurements.

In case you can't tell, I really haven't tracked my weight at all since the end of March, lol - the chart after that is a big blank - I told ya, I am starting to get back into it.

They also have a restaurant finder where you can find calories for all sorts of restaurants.

They also have a recipe builder where you can either look up recipes or insert in what you used to make something, and then have them give you all the nutritional info for it.

Overall, there's a lot of new features, I am glad I still have my membership, and vow to use it every day :)

Route 11 Sweet Potato Chips

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

I love sweet potato fries, and today I discovered the chip version in a vending machine - Route 11's Sweet Potato Chips.




They are just sweet potatoes cooked up and lightly salted, not a lot of artificial flavoring or anything. I'd recommend them!

Easy Veggie Stir Fry Recipe

Monday, June 22, 2009

I have started trying to just make up my own recipes so I don't have to go out and buy tons of specific ingredients; and instead, I just make stuff with what I have. Tonight, I made veggie stir fry with brown rice.

I made mine with:

3 cups fresh spinach
1 cup snow peas
1/2 cup chopped red peppers
2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
1 tsp ginger
2 cups cooked brown rice (1/4 cup dry rice, 1 cup water)

It was so easy, I just cooked all the veggies, along with 1 tbsp of the soy sauce, in a pan together; cooked the instant brown rice; and then combined it all together, and topped it with another tbsp of soy sauce. It made a big portion, and only had 340 calories. Obviously you can make this with any veggies you want, and add in other Asian spices as well.

New Yummy Weight Watchers Dessert

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

I tried a new Weight Watchers frozen dessert this week - the frozen candy bar - they're basically WW's version of the Snickers ice cream bars.



They're really yummy, and only 3 points - I recommend them :) Obviously the pic above is of the Snickers version, I couldn't find a pic of the WW version.

Easy Caprese Breakfast Pizzas

I made this HG recipe for lunch today and it was so yummy - it reminded me of Au Bon Pain's Caprese sandwich, but WAY better for you! It's super simple, and only 185 calories!


Ingredients

1 light English muffin
2 large tomato slices
1 tbsp spreadable margarine
1/2 teaspoon crushed garlic
1 piece low-fat or fat-free mozzarella string cheese
6 leaves fresh basil

Cook the two slices of tomato on a pan on the stove until slightly blackened.

Mix together the garlic and spreadable margarine.

Spread the garlic butter mix on each side of the english muffin. Top each side with cheese, 3 basil leaves and one slice tomato. Put into the oven at 350 for 5 minutes/until cheese melts.

Kitchen Sink Salad Recipe

Friday, June 5, 2009

Well, perhaps more a suggestion for a meal as opposed to a true recipe, but you know what i mean. Like a lot of you, when I am hungry, and someone suggests a salad, I'll often be like, really? That's all I am gonna eat? Don't get me wrong, I like salads when they are done right, but too often they are just veggies and fat-free italian dressing, and I need more than that for it to be a meal (which is kinda hard when I don't eat meat, I know). So, lately, to encourage myself to eat salads, I try to always keep spinach leaves and hearts of romaine around, and then from there, I make what I like to call a "kitchen sink salad" where I essentially throw anything I can find around my fridge & cabinets into a big salad bowl with the greens. Today, this was my salad:



Fresh spinach leaves
Hearts of romaine, chopped
1/2 Red Bell Pepper, diced
1/4 cup black beans
1/4 cup low fat shredded cheddar cheese
5 baked tostitos, crushed up (to add some crunch to the salad, it really adds to it)
4 tbsp. Kraft Free bleu cheese dressing


I ate the whole giant bowl of salad (I eat salad from like a mixing bowl, not some wimpy soup bowl, cuz I mean, for WW, you can have unlimited veggies, so why not stock up?) and it was all for about 300 calories. So, it's a good way to eat healthy and get rid of random stuff in your fridge!

$10 a Month for the Gym?!

I have never really had an official gym membership, since I have always used the gyms at college/law school or in my apartment buildings. However, my membership to the law school gym expires at the end of this month, so I am considering joining one. There is a cool all women's gym, Healthworks, but at about $80/month, that is so not happening.



My sister-in-law recently joined Planet Fitness and loves it, and says it is an amazing deal. They recently opened one by me, and it is only $20/month (with no start up fee); and they also have a deal for $10/month(but that one has a $60 start up fee). Any one else go to Planet Fitness/if so, do you like it? My needs aren't super high, I do the elliptical and the treadmill, and for lifting/strength training, I mainly do free weights as opposed to machines.

Lululemon Love

For my birthday, April got me a pair of awesome workout pants from Lululemon (http://www.lululemon.com/) and I am so in love - I usually only wear shorts or capris to the gym b/c work out pants are not really made for people 5'11" (neither are pajama pants or evening gowns for that matter!). However, Lulu Lemon's pants come in short, regular or tall - and the tall are even a little long for me, which is awesome, that never happens!



And the best part? They have a pocket in the waistband where you can hold your gym membership card - perfect for me, since I have to have my student ID for the gym, and always come to so close to leaving it on the elliptical or on the gym floor. Now, they are definitely way expensive, but I figure I may splurge on a couple pairs for myself when I start my job :)

Cinnamon Vanilla French Toast Nuggets

Sunday, May 31, 2009

I tried my first recipe out of the new HG book today, and as per usual, it was delicious. For one serving, you just take:

1 hot dog bun

1/3 cup egg substitute

2 dashes cinnamon

1 tsp. vanilla extract

And you split the bun into eight nuggets, and just dip it into the mixture of egg, cinnamon and vanilla; and you can also top it with sugar-free syrup. I thought they were very yummy - here's the nutrition info:

PER SERVING (8 nuggets):151 calories, 2.25g fat, 299mg sodium, 24g carbs, 1.5g fiber, 3.5g sugars, 8.5g protein POINTS® value 3*

New Hungry Girl - 200 Under 200

Thursday, May 28, 2009

A friend of mine bought me the new Hungry Girl book for my birthday, it's 200 recipes under 200 calories. I am so excited to share some recipes in it with you all! It even has a whole section on healthy cupcakes, yuuum!



It's only $12 on Amazon, as is her original book - I recommend them!

Low-Cal Dessert Faves

I am one of those people who just can't give up snacks and desserts, I at least have to have something. Here are some low-cal dessert faves:

Weight Watchers Ice Cream Sandwiches - only 2 points, and they are really delicious, they don't even taste diet at all to me.

As I mentioned before, Del Monte Fruit Chillers are awesome; on a similar note, so are Edy's Fruit Bars. They're super low calorie (all less than 75 calories I believe) and actually have some real fruit/Vitamin C.

Oreo 100 Calorie Snack Cakes- these obviously don't have the nutrition of the fruit bars, but are great if you're craving something chocolate.

Goldfish Chocolate Grahams - you can have 50 of these for 140 calories, and it seems like quite a big snack or dessert. They basically taste like Chocolate Teddy Grahams.

And when I get to go out for dessert, I love getting frozen yogurt and fresh fruit (Mmm, BerryLine - I love it - we don't have PinkBerry here, but I assume it's the same idea)

Del Monte Fruit Chillers

Sunday, May 3, 2009

I decided to try Del Monte's Fruit Chillers ( http://www.delmontefruitchillers.com/) the last time I was at the store, and they are a really yummy snack - I had the Fruit Chillers Tubes, they are like fruit popsicles, except they are sold not frozen, in the aisle with canned fruit, then you freeze them yourself. They also sell fruit chillers in little bowls.

They are 55 calories each, and contain real fruit, and 25% daily value of Vitamin C - I had the strawberry ones, yum! They're a good way to get in one of your fruit servings.

Lifetime Teaches You How to "Cook Yourself Thin"

Friday, May 1, 2009

I heard an ad on the radio today for a new Lifetime show called "Cook Yourself Thin," and it sounds pretty good - it's sort of a similar idea to Hungry Girl, where instead of eating no-carb, or doing a fast, or just having juice or whatever, you just learn how to make healthy versions of your favorite foods.

And the cool twist is that each week features a different contestant, and at the end of the show, you get to see how each contestant did with keeping up with the new healthier lifestyle -

http://www.seattlepi.com/tvguide/405759_tvgif1.html.

The show premieres Monday, May 4th at 5pm- I am totally gonna watch and then if it looks good, perhaps I'll buy their book.

Healthy Restaurant Picks - Uno's

Thursday, April 30, 2009

On a better note, like I said, a lot of restaurants do have good healthy options. Here's some faves of mine from Uno's, as well as some other healthy options that, if I ate meat, I am sure I would love from Uno's:

Uno's lists all their nutrition info online, and even has a whole "under 500 calories" section on their site. (www.unos.com)

Veggie Soup - 150 calories
Cuban Black Bean & Lentil Soup -180 calories
Grilled Chicken with Mango Salsa - 220 calories (without side dishes)
Grilled Mahi-Mahi with Mango Salsa - 240 calories (withous side dishes)
Gorgonzola Walnut Salad - 280 calories
Grilled & Skewered BBQ Shrimp - 300 calories (without side dishes)
House Salad with Grilled Chicken - 320 calories
Eggplant, Spinach & Feta Flatbread Pizza - so, this entire pizza is 810 calories, but you can easily split this with someone for 405 calories each, it's plenty of food - and it's really yummy! (Also, the cheese & tomato flatbread is the same # of calories)

Some things on their menu that i thought were not bad as far as calories were actually pretty bad, so it's always good to check online before you go to a restaurant!

Diet-Busters!

As much as restaurants are getting better at including healthy options, they also keep adding things that are like 1000+ calories (like the giant omelette breakfast sandwich from Burger King, the Double Thickburger at Hardee's, etc.). The newest diet buster I keep seeing ads for is this, the Domino's Bread Bowl Pasta:



Now, the website doesn't give the nutrition info, but this just CAN'T be good for you, right? I mean, pasta inside a bread bowl? I found these calorie listings online for them on another site:

670 calories - Pasta Primavera
700 calories - Chicken Alfredo
730 calories - Three Cheese Mac-N-Cheese
730 calories - Italian Sausage Marinara
740 calories - Chicken Carbonara

Diet Pills & How NOT to Lose Weight

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

I think if I went through my ENTIRE weight-loss journey of ups and downs in life, you'd be reading for hours; but I wanted to do a brief summary just as a warning, to tell you how NOT to lose weight.

I've been 5'11" since 7th grade. At that time, I was a lanky middle-schooler and was 135 pounds. Over the next few years, I grew up, went through puberty, etc. and not surprisingly gained weight. I was at about 165 pounds my junior year of high school. My mom noticed and decided we ought to go on a weight-loss plan together that summer. Except, I took it way too far - it went from "oh, I should eat a little healthier" (not hard to do, given that in my meat-eating days of high school, I went to McDonald's or Chick-Fil-A basically every day!) to "how few calories can I eat in a day" to "perhaps some diet pills would help me lose more" - this turned into a bad eating-disorder situation, where I became convinced that 600 calories a day and 6 Metabolite pills was great for me. Well, I did lose weight - I got down to about 140 pounds, which is pretty low for someone 5'11" - and also started to develop a heart condition from all the caffeine/ephedra in the diet pills. That's when I knew it had to stop.

Me in 2002, Senior Yr. of High School, about 140 lbs - look how bony my shoulders are - eww!

In college, I didn't use any diet pills anymore (thank goodness), but I did still struggle with eating habits. I was working out 5 days a week with the women's boxing team, and yet eating 1,000 or less calories a day. I was still only about 145 pounds.

Me freshman year of college.

Luckily, after freshman year, I wised up and realized I could maintain a healthy weight of between 155-165 just with my boxing workouts and eating, well, almost whatever I wanted, given the calories I was burning. I'd usually gain some weight in the spring in the off-season, but then lose it again in the summer/fall. I, of course, again thought I was fat all the time at 160 pounds or so, which is laughable now - I'd die to be 160 again!

Hey, look, I finally look healthy in this pic - this is junior yr. of college

So, the real trouble began 2nd semester senior year - no more boxing...like ever...and I was continuing to eat whatever I wanted. In the last three years of law school, I have gone between 169 at the low end and 192 pounds at the high end. When I finally realized I was 192, and just couldn't get married in that kind of state.

The dreaded "before" pic

I started to get my butt into gear - over the next couple years of the engagement, I went up and down a lot, but did get to at least my 20 lb goal and got married at 172.

Me at the rehearsal dinner

So, now I am trying to see if I can work hard to lose that last 10 pounds, but more importantly, I want to do so in a healthy way, no matter how long that may take :) Oh, and the best news of all is, I have FINALLY gotten my resting heart rate down to a healthy level, meaning I can finally run!!

A Novel Cardio Warm-Up

Even when doing a full hour of just strength training with my PT, she always has me do a cardio warmup to get my heart going. Here's some cardio warm-ups that she's had me do that I definitely would not have done on my own :)

Elliptical Intervals - Often, instead of just a few minutes on the elliptical at a medium intensity, Kerry would have me do a minute of lower intensity (about 130 stripes per min) then a minute of super high intensity (at least 180 strides per min). Try it, even just for 5-10 min, it's hard to do!

Bicycle Arms Workout - So, this is a cardio warm-up, but also an arm exercise - and it is pretty darn hard! (Note - you need two people to do this). Here's what you do - get on a stationary bike, and start going; have someone behind you hold the middle of a workout band, and give you the handles of the band. Then, push the band forward while holding a handle in each hand. The motion should be like a chest press:

Good luck with your warmups :)

What to Do at the Gym

I think there's a lot of conflicting messages out there about what to do at the gym - for example, look at the two trainers on Biggest Loser - if you read their books, etc. you'll see that Jillian feels that strength training is #1 priority, and cardio is secondary, and Bob feels just the opposite. Personally, I do about half and half, I do about 3 days of each a week, and then one day off.

I've posted several workouts in the past (http://becomingafitbride.blogspot.com/search/label/workouts), but here's a refresher on some workout ideas:


Cardio:
I used to do all elliptical because, well, it's easier than the treadmill, at least for me. I used to just do an hour on it a few days a week, and that was my entire workout routine. After meeting with a personal trainer, I realized (1) I need to do strength training as well; and (2) I need specific goals to step up my time on the elliptical. So, if you're doing cardio, try to do a certain distance, a certain intensity, strides per minute, etc. and up that goal a bit each week.


I now sometimes add in the treadmill as well because for me, it's quite a challenge. I can't burn as many calories on it, but I have been pretty proud to have gotten from 1/2 mile without stopping to 3 miles now. So, even if you're like me, and think you could NEVER run, trust me, you probably can, it just takes some work!

Legs: Aside from doing the elliptical and treadmill, the best leg workouts are the tried and true classics of squsts and lunges. There's no excuse not to do these, since no equipment is even needed!

Arms:
I think this right here is probably the best arms workout I have gotten from my PT - http://becomingafitbride.blogspot.com/2009/03/kick-butt-arms-workout.html - keep in mind that this is basically a full hour of arms, and if you're doing other strength training, you should reduce this to 20 minutes by just doing one set each of the exercises as opposed to 3. And if you're low on equipment, just doing push-ups, while hard, will be GREAT for your arms!


Here are some 1-hour sample strength training workouts, one created by my PT, and one by me, that include arms, legs, etc. -
http://becomingafitbride.blogspot.com/2009/02/diy-strength-training-workout.html
http://becomingafitbride.blogspot.com/2009/01/full-one-hour-strength-training-workout.html

Hope this helps those needing some inspiration of what to do at the gym!

Snack Time

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

I could never ever be on a diet without snacks - which is why I love things like Weight Watchers, where you eat a reduced # of calories, and are supposed to eat all of your fruits, veggies, etc., but also aren't banned from eating certain kinds of foods. Because, well, I love snacks. Here's some of my favorite low-cal snacks:

Pringles Baked Wheat Stix (I like the pizza and cheese ones)

Smart Food Popcorn Clusters (I have only tried the chocolate cookie caramel pecan ones so far, but am going to try the others soon!)

100 Calorie Guacamole Packs (you can eat this with something like fresh veggies to make it a super healthy snack)

Fresh snow peas and light salad dressing

Dannon Light n' Fit with Fruit

Happy snacking :)

Yummy Lunch Recipe

Monday, April 20, 2009

Andrew and I have decided to start our own weight loss competition amongst ourselves; and so, we went to the store last night and got lots of healthy groceries with which to make a lot of new recipes. My first recipe was from Weight Watchers' Take Out Tonight, it's a Roasted Red Pepper & Goat Cheese Sandwich, and is soo easy to make, and has very few ingredients - my kind of recipe! They are between 175-250 calories each, depending on what kind of english muffin you use.

Ingredients (for 4 servings):

1 large red bell pepper, halved and seeded

1/4 lb (4 oz) goat cheese

4 english muffins

Arugula leaves

Preheat the broiler. Line a baking sheet with foil; place the bell-pepper pieces, cut-side down, on a baking sheet. Broil for about 10 minutes, until lightly charred. Then, wrap the pieces in the foil and let them steam for 20 minutes. When they are cool enough to handle, peel and cut in half.

Spread 2 tablespoons goat cheese on the bottom half of each muffin. Top cheese with roasted red pepper and fresh arugula; cover sandwiches with muffin tops.

Fitness Video Roundup

Friday, April 17, 2009

So, I am thinking of getting a fun fitness video that involves dancing or something like that - the only video I own now is Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred, which is definitely a good workout when I do it, but I'd like something that's more fun. Some things I am considering:

Flirty Girl Fitness DVD's (pole dancing type stuff)

Dancing with the Stars Cardio Dance

Core Rythms

Anyone tried any of these? Any suggestions?