Blaming NJ

So I recently decided to give yoga a try. I know many people who love it, my blog sister is one of them. I have never done regular yoga practice and just really started doing it regularly at home in the last few months.  

So I'm going to a studio by my job, doing a 30 day trial for new students. 

And I am in love. Like LOVE. 

I feel so much less stress after class.  Very peaceful, calm, and centered. I feel energized, even though its after work, and just in a fabulous mood. I think even my hubby notices. It's such a wonderful mental woosah that I am going as much as I can. 

Right now I'm signed up for mostly hot yoga classes, the beginner ones. Those are my favorite because the sweat feels cleansing and I can stretch so well in the class. I do a lot of cardio, and the deep stretch has meant I have zero soreness. I am loving that perk, because I was not expecting to feel this great doing 2 workouts some days.  I really honestly don't even think of it as a workout like I thought it was going into it, now it's my therapy. 

So right now I'm trying to work the budget. I am so so loving all of the mental and physical benefits that I feel like I NEED this in my life. Yoga is not cheap, so it's not really something that I can just run and sign up for without a budget consult. But I'm pretty determined to make it work :) I just wish I found it earlier!!

Weekend Insanity Prep!

Monday I am starting up again with my most favorite workout program - INSANITY!  I say it's my most favorite because of all the 60-90 day programs I have bought and tried, it's the only one I have actually stuck to for the entire duration without switching back and forth with another program.  It's 63 days of pure hell and torture - but it's totally worth it because it works.  I have done the program one other time and got really good results, especially in my core area. 

So this weekend I am prepping for the start of the program.  This means it's time to meal plan, shop and prep ahead what needs to be prepped.  The basis of my meal plan is that I want to fuel as much as I can with plant based sources.  I'm not a real vegetarian/vegan by any means - I still eat animals, mostly seafood, when I feel like eating them.  But I like to fuel with vegetables, fruit, eggs, and beans as much as possible.  I have been trying to learn how to make sure I eat a balanced diet that will fuel me for exercise for the last few months and trying to put into action those tweaks.  INSANITY will be a real test since it is so intense and the fueling is very important :)

Other than that, there really isn't much going on for me fitness wise.  I've just been bridging the gap before starting INSANITY on Monday.  I was out of town for a wedding in NYC this past weekend so I didn't work out much.  Was busy with wedding events and had to keep my hair good for all these events.  I usually don't care how my hair looks because I can just throw it in a clip or bun or something.  But as I was in the wedding party, I had to be more attentive, lol.  I did walk ALL over NYC though, according to my fitbit quite a bit actually.  So that made up for my lack of a real workout.  Tomorrow I'm going to do a yoga class to stretch and relax. 

i'm not good at this....

blogging, that is. but in general, i've been pretty good at taking care of my health. i could do better - but i'm happy that i'm generally active and have successfully abandoned most [read: most certainly not ALL]  of my fat girl tendencies.

case in point: i was recently in miami for my company's national sales meeting. there was a large hospitality suite that i [fortunately] did not know existed until the last day. inside the suite was a barrage of candies and granola bars. the old [fatty] nj would have stocked up on the literally hundreds of snicker bars and felt guilty later. do you know i did touch one? instead i grabbed some grapes and a small granola bar and went on my merry way.

i didn't get a pic, but this is how the spread was, i'm not kidding. and it was all free. just disrespectful.

don't get me wrong, snickers (which are my absolute favorite candy bar ever) are still delish to me, and i could have indulged in just one, or split it in half. but i didn't even feel the twang of craving. i had that morning already had some black coffee and water, so my stomach didn't crave something to stave the emptiness. the grapes and granola were sufficient. i wasn't hungry, and felt satisfied.

anyway - that's not what this blog post is intended to be about. while i've been very good at maintaining my current weight (168-172lbs), i want to get to 150. i think. my waist line is still much bigger than i'd like, and it just doesn't feel like i'm done. i feel great though, extremely confident in most clothes, and i have some killer legs.

these are my amazing legs...and wine.

 i am inspired by my blog partner though, kim, and i've seen her amazing transformation on instagram (@kbrooksfit). i feel like i need to step my game up. that's what i love about seeing others do amazing things....it totally motivates me.  



my friend is amazing y'all!



 so here goes:

 i'm going to continue to do the cardio offered by my amazing company. they have dance class twice a week. they've also started a running group (we've got a 5K in july - more on that later, the site is funky right now) so that'll be just the kick in the pants i need to get back on the running wagon (my nike+ running app says i haven't run since august 29).

do you see how there's no activity for may? yea....

i should probably do some kind of weight lifting too for strength training, so we'll see.

on the food side (which i know is 80% if not more of the weight loss part), i'm going to generally abide by the following rules. :

• breakfast every day (been horrible at this lately)
• >= 70 ounces of water every day
• no alcohol (this will be hardest for me, because i LOVE a glass of wine)
• 24 hour raw food detox every 2 weeks (includes smoothies, juices, salads, fresh fruits/veggies, etc.)
• 2-3 days a week vegetarian/vegan eating

those last two things are new to me (at least on a consistent basis), but i'm excited. this is not a diet, and i will have cheat meals, but i think this is reasonable.

i feel better when i do better. i'll try to also be better at posting this so i can be accountable for my progress.

now i'm off to trader joe's...gotta finish making my list (maybe i'll post that later) as soon as my daughter is done dancing to MJ...

the.king.of.pop.

happy saturday :)

Kim: Reset update + a new workout plan :)

Today is the 7th day of the ultimate reset.  I'm feeling REALLY good, down about 12 lbs.  I wish I could workout...grrr...but I'm ok not working out.  I understand why I can't and I'm ok with that.  I'm just antsy to move so I go out for a walk (not hard core, just out and about) once a day if the weather cooperates.  I also...partially inspired by NJ...signed up at a yoga studio.  I'm only in for a month right now - they have a really awesome deal for new students - unlimited yoga for 30 days for new students.  I set my membership to start the day after the reset ends, lol.  I'm going to do some pilates, yoga, and hot yoga and see how I feel.  I may do a punch card or a membership after the 30 days, it will really depend on how much I actually use the membership in May/June. There are plenty of classes scheduled most days to go before or after work AND a lunchtime class that I certainly could fit in too, so I'm hoping I can find the time in my day this a regular thing in addition to my regularly scheduled workout schedule.  I know yoga is for strength and cardio just like any other workout, but I also really want it for flexibility, centering, and de-stressing.  I am stressed a LOT lately and I feel like yoga will be really good to help me manage my stress.

Kim: Ultimate Reset - Day 1

Okay..things are about to get real picture heavy.  First, here is my pic from last night.  Today I'm starting the Ultimate Reset - a 21 day Beachbody whole foods cleanse program (can go here for more deets if you are interested   I won't go into too much background here, all that is on my personal blog).

Anyway I am going to take lots of pictures of my progress (go away stomach bloat) and my food for accountability.  I'm going to try to walk and do more yoga this time (last time I pretty much just slept the whole time, lol).  I'm going to shoot for taking a progress picture at least once a week assuming my photographer aka the hubby complies :)

NJ: make it a lifestyle....

so i've been meaning to start running again. and i have been, sort of. i'd done a couch to 5K program during the winter and ran a 5K in february. and ever since then i've just, slowed down, literally.

in the meantime, i'm still being active and eating fairly healthy.

did i mention that the company i work for is amazing?! they have all of these health and wellness programs - and the company is only ~600 employees! i love love love it. they have a gym onsite, lots of fitness classes, even boot camp (which i've tried twice - its just not my thing, at least for now). there's so much going on. they even do things like on campus physicals, health challenges, weight watchers, etc. there really is something for everyone. no wonder they were awarded Houston's Number 1 Healthy Employer!!  check this out.

anyway, i love it so much, and i try to take advantage, so here are the things that i do during a typical week:

• running: monday, tuesday, thursday (at work); saturday, sunday (at home) - i have the most amazing running buddies at my job. none of us started out as runners really, so for us to have run a 5K is the.most.amazing.thing.ever. we haven't run with the consistency we used to, so we are all trying to get back into it.
• night club cardio (offered at work): monday - zumba has nada on this class. i'd heard about the class for a few weeks, but it didn't seem appealing - i don't know why - but it is AMAZING! we dance to current popular songs with really fun dance choreography. plus i get to shake my booty so it's all good!
• yoga (offered at work): tuesday and thursday - this is great because it's all about strength, flexibility, and is a great break from the monotony of the day.

so lots of fun things - although i've been eyeing some other things to add to my regime. i'm not a go hard for the sake of going hard type of girl, but if it's fun, i'm all in. so here are some things on my wish/plan to try list:

• insanity. i just want to see what all the fuss is about. (read: can i get through it AND will it give me results)
• rock climbing. i've actually done this before and know it is a great workout. i just don't know that it's a regular activity, versus a once in a while thing
• bikram yoga. so while i've done bikram and i LOVE IT...it is freaking expensive! i want to get back into it though, so maybe it's a once or twice a month thing

 speaking of running...i need to find another race.

Routines and Stress -Kim

I will start this post with a brief background of the last year of my life.

Husband moves to TN for new job after long time laid off
Husband moves home week of thanksgiving
Family comes for thanksgiving
In laws come for Christmas
Hubby is able to start new job
Hubby has some kind of sleeping issue which keeps me up literally for a week
Grandma passes away, travel home
Moving begins and ends
Hubby's contract gets cut again
Today

To say the last few years have been what I expected would be a lie. But I dealt with them as best as I could. I managed to get through 75% of that list without a hiccup. But the last month and a half...um no. I am struggling big time with routine. I haven't figured out how to get back on one at all which had made weight loss difficult. I haven't put a lb on, which I'm proud of under all this stress, but I'm tired of maintaining. I am tired of it because its stressing me out big time.

So what is a girl to do? Get back on it. Bed at 10 pm no matter what. Up at 5:15. No sleeping in late. That's the biggest problem, you see I'm writing this at 11pm. I am so off. I also will drink 2 shakeology shakes a day to help with cravings, as my lack of sleep impacts that as well. These 2 things are my big game plan between now and the reset on the 21st. I will workout however 5 days a week. That's my plan.