Tag Archives: Exercise

The Hardest Part

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The hardest part about early morning exercise is actually getting to the gym. Once I’m there, I’m golden…it’s just the getting there I seem to have a problem with lately.

This morning my alarm went off at 4:15, I layed in bed contemplating whether or not I should actually get up or stay in my nice and warm bed. At 4:25, I reminded myself how crappy I felt all day yesterday for not going to the gym and how run down I was all day and decided to get up. By 4:45 I was finally in the car and made the “long” {less than 5 minutes) drive to the gym. Once I got there and got on the treadmill, I was wide awake and wondering what took me so long to get moving this morning! I swear I thought Spencer told me that he had to go in early today, so I only did 30 minutes on the treadmill so I could be home before he left. I must have been dreaming that conversation, because he was still snoozing when I got home. Oh well. Depending on how today goes, I’ll try and sneak in another work out at home.

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Breakfast this morning was a sandwich thin, which I’m really starting to like the more I have them, with an egg white and cheddar cheese

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And a banana

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I’m so glad it’s a nice day today, the kiddies can go out and ride their bikes and I’m going to attempt to clean this house that’s been taken over by toys, games, movies and everything else since we really haven’t been home the last few days and of course the 5 million loads of laundry that I need to get done. Apparently some people like to wear clean underwear and socks in this house Winking smile

Mamavation Monday

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For those who don’t know about Mamavation:

Mamavation™ is a online docudrama and weight loss support group for moms in social media. It’s both a campaign and Virtual Sorority™ in one.

If you are interested in becoming a member of the Mamavation Sistahood, Mondays is the day to pledge. Here are instructions if you want (and you should!) to pledge: http://www.mamavation.com/how-to-pledge

This week’s mamavation post is all about goals, and I need some re-direction and a re-evaluation on goals for myself, so I’m excited about this post. Instead of concentrating on month long goals, it’s easier for me to stick to week long challenges for myself.

My goals this week are to exercise for at least 270 minutes and burn a minimum of  2100 calories.

This month is a very difficult and emotional month for me, next week on the 10th was my Dad’s birthday and the 13th is the 2 year anniversary of his death. Such a hard week.

Last year I let myself sink into a pretty deep depression around this time, and I’m determined not to let that happen this year. I know that the best way to honor my Dad and his memory is to continue living my life in a way that would make him proud. I will also be running/walking a 5K in June in his memory.

Admitting Defeat

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I tried. I really tried. Evening workouts just aren’t going to work. Dang it. With 3 little kids and a husband who’s schedule is unpredictable lately, I have skipped and/or shortened so many workouts this week, I may as well as not have done anything. I tried doing a 30 minute DVD the other day that took nearly 2 hours because I had to keep stopping and helping someone with something. Not acceptable. So. Crap. Back to early morning workouts it is. And let me tell you, it was tough waking up early this morning!!!

It’s been a long day…and it’s only 2:15.

I am finally over this cold that had me under it’s hold the last few days. Thank goodness! My house has been suffering this week along with me, things have been picked up, but not cleaned as much as I normally do every day. I’ve been disinfecting my little heart out for most of the day today.

Breakfast: It’s no secret I love egg sandwiches, but I’ve been getting kind of sick of the same old sandwich, so I tried doing something different today and tried it Peanut Butter Fingers style.

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Safe to say I’m hooked.

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English muffin, egg, sharp cheddar cheese and strawberry jam. I can’t wait to try different combos of cheese and jelly. On the side I had a Cara Cara orange, these are my favorite oranges, I was so sad this was the last one in my stash.

Lunch was a little outing for Aiden and I today, we went to a friend’s house with some other moms and two cute little newborns. We had the most delicious soup and rolls, perfect for this snowy {finally!!!!} day.

Time for more disinfecting, hope you’re all having a great day!

AM/PM or Does It Matter?

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Last night, my Mom and I went to yoga and it was life changing. I was so relaxed and sore by the end, I felt alive and amazing. I found myself releasing all the stress from the day and just breathing and I was much more awake than working out before the sun comes up.

When my alarm went off this morning, there was no way I was going to get up and work out…my core and legs were still screaming at me from what I put them threw mere hours before hand. That being said, I want to get some exercise in today, so I’m thinking I’ll try evening workouts and see if that’s better than 4:30am workouts. Stay tuned…

Breakfast:

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Egg white/hot sauce, english muffin sandwich

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And more strawberries. They had them on sale Monday, 3 for $5, so I’ll be eating them until they are gone.

Lunch:

 

I bought a different type of bread at Trader Joe’s and I can’t believe how filling it is! It’s called Whole Grain Fiber bread and it has 5 grams of fiber per slice. Yes, please! I also had my standard salad that I can’t get enough of lately and…more strawberries.

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I’ve always been a big believer in first thing in the AM workouts, but that’s also when I had a full time job. Maybe evening workouts will be better for me? Maybe I won’t be so tired all the time?

What is your stance? Is morning or evening better, or doesn’t make a difference?

Success

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Yesterday I posted about not waiting and I had every intention of exercising after my kids went to bed last night…and that’s when I realized as much as I try and fight it, I’m not a night time exerciser. I put some clothes out, filled my water bottle and set my alarm for 5am.

I was tempted to hit snooze and go back to bed, but instead I got my butt handed to me on a platter by Jillian and the Biggest Loser Last Chance Workout. Every muscle was begging me for mercy, but I really loved every minute. It was 5 different circuits alternating cardio and strength training. I’m following the 6 week program which is 35 minutes 6 days a week. Today was the whole body and tomorrow is upper body and lower body…I’m scared.

I looked on my Polar to see when my last workout was before this morning…

That would be the 5K I did Thanksgiving morning.

For my post-workout treat a couple hours later – not sure about anyone else, but I can’t eat right after or right before working out – I had 1/2 a cup of cheerios and a banana

And a nice cold water bottle full of lemon water.

I’m now at my mom’s house hanging out with her and the puppies, wrapping presents and watching Christmas movies with the kids.

Why Wait

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I have a serious case of all or nothing. It is very hard for me when it comes to eating and exercise to not have an all or nothing attitude. It’s something I’m working really hard on and I think I’m overcoming – sort of.

When my two oldest were off school for Thanksgiving break, my whole routine was gone and it freaked me out. I pretty much had the mentality, of “screw it.” I’ll get back on track when they are back at school. We ate too many meals out, I drank my weight in diet coke, I stopped caring what I was eating and I was miserable. It’s also been VERY hard, pretty much impossible for me to get back to how I was before Thanksgiving. For normal people, Thanksgiving is a day to eat all you want. A day to indulge…and then the next day you go back to how things were. You eat right, exercise, etc. For me? One day can send me off on an eating bender and now here we are nearly a month later and I’m still not back to how I was the day before Thanksgiving.

This all or nothing way of thinking has been really bad this week. As of 3:35 this afternoon, my kiddies are done with school until January 3rd. I wish I could say I was kidding when I really considered doing the same thing for the next couple of weeks, but then I realized I would be even more miserable and just because things aren’t going to be our normal routine, doesn’t mean I have to give up. I just have to adjust. There will be meals out, there will be a white chocolate peppermint cheesecake, there will be cookies, there will be CHRISTMAS! But, that doesn’t mean I have to wait until January 3rd (or later…) to start taking care of me and my needs.

I feel like I don’t know who I am anymore. I feel like I completely lost myself these past 9 years. All I did was take care of my family and lost myself. I want to find myself again and get excited about things again.

Another issue with my all or nothing attitude is that I feel if I don’t workout at the same time every day, I may as well forget it and just wait until the next day, but that thinking HAS to stop. I have 3 kids, and unless I want to wake up at 4am and exercise every day, tried that, it’s not for me anymore. I need to squeeze in a workout when I can. My kids are old enough to entertain themselves for an hour (or even 1/2 an hour) while I take some time for me.

So for the next 6 weeks, I will be focusing on this

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And doing a little bit of this every other day

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After that, I hope to start doing some other DVD’s that are out of my league for now. I wasn’t going to start this until January, but Why Wait?

It starts today!!! There isn’t a law that says you have to start a work out plan on the first or even on a Monday – my brain has a hard time with that one sometimes…

Who’s with me? Don’t put off making yourself happy and healthy!!!

Sweat

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I’m a slacker. There I said it.

It’s so true, I slack off when it comes to exercising. I have all of the best intentions, and then I just don’t do it. Ask my husband, he’ll tell you all about it. I talk a mean game and even lay my clothes out the night before, I’ve even put the DVD in the DVD player and put water in a water bottle in the fridge…and then my alarm goes off and I roll over.

So far I have managed to lose 10.4lbs without exercising, but I know that in order to actually change my body which is the ultimate goal, exercise is key. Since having a gym membership isn’t an option right now -at least until that money tree starts producing money – DVD’s are the only option I have…and I have plenty of them! I have enough that I should never get bored, but it’s just a matter of actually doing them that I have an issue with.

I’m not sure why I’m posting this, I guess it’s so I’ll have some accountability. I’ll be working on an exercise plan today and will post it.

In other news, I had such an amazing lunch yesterday, and it really wasn’t that special either, just simple ingredients that came together and kept me full for hours.

Veggie burger on a whole wheat english muffin, steamed broccoli, grapes and a pickle. So simple. So good!

Any tips for me on the exercise issue?

The only tip I need is to just do it…I know.

32 by 32

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Today I turn 31. In honor of my birthday, I have come up with 32 things I want to do before turning 32.

  1. Train for and run a 5K
  2. Train for and run a 10K
  3. Train for and run a half marathon
  4. Train for and run a marathon
  5. Build up my blog and make it the best it can be
  6. Read 32 books
  7. Reach my happy weight
  8. Complete a 90 day round of P90X
  9. Complete a 90 day round of ChaLEAN Extreme
  10. Complete a round (can’t remember how long it is) of Turbo Fire
  11. Become better organized with my home
  12. Start yoga
  13. Attend a blog conference
  14. Attend a fitness convention
  15. Learn how to better use my camera
  16. Work on family relationships
  17. Buy a new lens for my camera
  18. Work on friendships
  19. Work on myself
  20. Go to new restaurants
  21. Order something new every time we go out to eat
  22. Climb the sand dunes at Silver Lake Sand Dunes
  23. Climb the giant sand dunes at Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes
  24. Stop talking about selling photos and actually do it
  25. Print some of my own pictures to hang in the house
  26. Get caught up on family scrapbooks
  27. Start a garden
  28. Can vegetables and possibly fruits from my garden
  29. Organize a Michigan blogger meet up
  30. Meet more blogger friends
  31. Learn how to take a compliment
  32. Be the best wife, mother, friend, sister, daughter I can be!!!