Gen Stops Waiting

For You

2011-05-10T00:06:00.001+01:00

Source: maryelizabethinspire.tumblr.com via Vanessa on Pinterest

AND THE VERDICT IS IN!

2011-05-04T11:48:00.000+01:00

Today was the LAST DAY of the 30 Day Shred.
Before I get all philosophical about the past month, here are the cold hard facts:

Starting Weight: 307
End Weight: 306

Hey, I'm happy with that because of the inches you'll see below. I'm also happy because I haven't been below 307 since January and because I've been every crazy weight since then up to the amazing 318 during my period last week.

Measurements:
Neck : 15" SAME
Right Bicep : 18" SAME
Left Bicep : 18" PLUS 1"
Bust : 44" MINUS 1.5"
Waist : 42" MINUS 2"
Stomach : 58.5" MINUS 1.5"
Hips : 51" MINUS 7"
Right Thigh : 31.5" MINUS .5"
Left Thigh : 29.5" SAME
Right Calf : 19" MINUS .5"
Left Calf : 18" MINUS 2"

SEVEN inches off my hips - um hell yeah squats! I'm also happy about the 2 off the waist and 1.5 off the stomach. In total I lost 14 inches off my body, which kicks ass!

Now for the sentiment. A month ago today I had no idea I could do squats, lunges, jumping jacks, planks, hell I didn't even think I could do work outs that involved you getting up and down off the ground a lot.

Best news of all this is YES I CAN! Did I do every single move in badass form? No. Was I able to do everything that was shown right from the beginning? No. There were even things that I couldn't do at the end, or was still doing the modifications on. I learned that it's true what Jillian says, if 400 pound people can do this stuff, SO CAN YOU. She also says that once you learn that you DO have physical strength, that will transcend into every aspect of your life. I admit that I was afraid. How many times in this blog did I say, oh I can't do squats, I can't do floor exercises, I have a knee problem. Well guess what, I actually can do all those things, I did them every single day, and I no longer have a knee problem.

I am capable of working out, I am capable of doing crazy exercises I never thought that I physically could. Literally. I never believed that I physically could. I was wrong. And that strength is beginning to transcend into other areas of my life.

I will miss this challenge and I can always go back to it for Round Two, but I'm off now to sun myself for 5 days and when I come back, onto the next challenge.

Your Journey

2011-05-02T18:40:00.000+01:00

Level 2

2011-04-18T22:26:00.000+01:00

I am currently on Day 5 of Level 2 of the Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred.

I got very sick of Level 1, I have to say, and the first day of Level 2, I thought, yeah I can't do this. However being 5 days into it, I actually am liking Level 2 a lot! What had me scared were all the exercises in plank position. You see, I cannot do plank position. I have tried and for some reason it evades me. Then I was thinking about it and got the ingenious idea to try those exercises using the coffee table instead. For whatever reason, that helps a lot and I still get to do them. Just that one modification made me actually enjoy Level 2.

I guess this makes me officially half way through the 30 Day Shred, and I really want to bust it out for the rest of the time and get optimum results. Maura found another DVD to torture us with once we're done, Jillian Michael's Ripped in 30. I'm not sure how I'd handle that one, but I guess I'll just take these one at a time :)

Banana Chocolate Chip What What!

2011-04-13T23:00:00.000+01:00

So tonight, I made the recipe for Banana Chocolate Chip muffins that my friend Mo has been shoving in my face for like 2 weeks. OK I FINALLY CAVED!!

And I'm glad I did, they are freaking delicious:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stephanie-bejar/vegan-banana-chocolate-ch_b_546699.html#s83346

From the recipe converter, they are about 200 calories each. I chopped chocolate (milk) because I couldn't get chocolate chips today. Right now my apartment smells AMAZING!

I've taken to weighing myself every morning. It's a veritable fun fair of weights! No rhyme or reason, but no freaking progress either, sad face. I'm on Day 2 of Level 2 of 30 Day Shred. OMG. I really can't do half that stuff but I try or modify.

This week I have 2 appointments for stuff I've bought on City Deal. On Monday was a laser hair removal test, which went well so it looks like I have my first session next week. It's a bit ouchie, just feels like plucking though. Oh the pain of vanity! Tomorrow I have an appointment for eyelash extensions! Should be interesting in itself, especially since I will only get 5 hours of sleep tonight and must be to work at 9am sharp for a training. Thank goodness I'm in it, not giving it!

To Make You Feel My Love

2011-04-11T11:42:00.002+01:00

My friend recorded this over the weekend at Adele's concert. Beautiful

2011-04-10T21:24:00.000+01:00

I am blogging for the sake of blogging. I have no real news on the diet/workout front, but here's a few thoughts:

1. I missed 2 days of the 30 day shred due to a) my party and b) subsequent hangover. Today I got back on the wagon and it's day 9. That means tomorrow will be day 10 and then on Tuesday I can check out level 2. The good news is that my friend who I am doing this challenge with ALSO missed the same 2 days, so now we are also back on track with each other. I am actually really getting sick of level 1, even if just for being repetitive, but also because I found today that it's not all too easy for me now. Jillian says "those of you on day 5, 6, or 7 should see a major difference in your endurance." I don't know if I do really. I still modify some things, I still can't do all five 30 second jumping jacks intervals.

2. Weight. OK I should not have weighed myself after drinking but I gained like 4 pounds in addition to the 2 I gained last week. If I really let myself think about this, I am well and truly PISSED THE F OFF. I am having to lose the same weight over and over and over and over and over again. If I could just get a break through to 299 or something at least I could pick up some momentum to keep going.

3. I had a funny experience at a department story yesterday. I was going there to buy this, which is AMAZING. I was intercepted by a makeup girl from Smashbox who sat me down in a chair and proceeded to give me a full face of the most hilarious makeup I have ever had on my face. She caked on foundation, concealer, powder, blusher, bronzer, highlighter.....OK I actually use all those products everyday, so it's not like that is the point. The point is she was the WORST blender I have ever seen in my life. Like literally the product was blotchy and looked awful. She then proceeded to give me huge drawn on black eyebrows. I just had to laugh and embrace it and think "OK, I'll just be a different person for the day", and hope I didn't bump into anybody I know. That was my first stop of the day, so I had to go on my merry way around town like that.

Here comes another healthy week!

A little known fact...

2011-04-05T10:17:00.000+01:00

about working out and counting calories, is that it makes you gain weight.

Look, I know what you're thinking, I have lost my marbles. How could restricting your calories and doing 25 minutes a day of grueling pain-inducing exercises make you gain weight? Because you are me! And I am doomed to never ever lose weight no matter how hard I try.

Just when you think you're making progress and on a roll, hey guess what! You're gonna gain back those 2 pounds you lost. I know you lost them the other week and have done nothing but good things health wise for the past week, but what the heck, let's just give them back to you for abso-fucking-lutely no reason.

Also, how about you wake up excited at 7am to go weight yourself and then be happy and do a great workout because you are happy with your results?! No no, more like how about you wake up at 7am to learn you gained 2 pounds and then put in a very lack lustre performance with your workout because you are pissed off at the world? Yeah that's more like it.

Weigh ins updated. FML.

2011-04-04T22:21:00.003+01:00

Alright so before I get too deep into the 30 day shred, I took my measurements. They are on the weigh ins Page. Some of them surprised me, most stayed the same but some went up and some went down. hmmmmm

Anyways, weigh in tomorrow AM!

Day 5 - DAY FIVE!

2011-04-04T15:52:00.000+01:00

I'm a little proud of myself today. It is Day 5 and for some reason, the workout is doing the opposite to me than what I have heard from most people doing the 30 day shred.

They said they were crazy sore the first few days, but it lessened by the 5th day. I am sooooo sore right now, to the point where I did not want to do the workout today. DID NOT WANT. I am proud that I did do it, and the best part, it is now over.

Last night before I went to bed I had the doom. You know the doom where you don't want tomorrow to come because it means having to go to school or work or some other unpleasant thing you don't want to be doing with your time and seriously cuts into your chilling out time. I had the doom because I knew tomorrow would come and I would have to work out.

I guess I better get over the doom, because there is still 25 days to go. I think my friend Maura said you have to do something X number of times for it to become a habit. 14? I can't remember.

I like the workout because it forces me to do things that I normally do not do in a workout. I like it because it makes you drip with sweat, and that seems like a pay off and that I really was busting my ass. I like that my quads feel like they are made of rock. I like that after only 3-4 days my body started to change and feel different. I only now do very slight modifications and squats are my new best friend! Here are my Level 1 modifications:

Jumping jacks - I used to modify these either with side to side ones or jogging in place. Now I can do pretty much the full 30 seconds!
Side lunges with arms raises - I just do straight up squats with arm raises since side lunges do not appear to be my friend.
Jump Rope - again I replace with jogging in place but I do probably half the time jump rope
Butt Kicks - jogging in place, but I do try them for a few seconds
Bicycle Crunches - Standing Crunches

Later today when I get back home, I've got to update my measurements so that I can compare them once this is over.

Tomorrow morning is also a weigh in, wish me luck!

Day 4 - blah

2011-04-03T18:46:00.000+01:00

Well I shouldn't say 'blah' but I felt like today and yesterday were harder to complete the 30 day shred, but I pushed myself more. I didn't modify as much, which is probably why it felt so much harder.

If you're looking for an update on my knee, here it is. Surprisingly my knee has NOT hurt so far, when I have been expecting it to and babying it. Every time I get in or out of the car, or go up or down stairs, I am expecting a shooting pain, but it does not come. I guess this only means that perhaps I am making it stronger??

Yesterday I went for a walk on the beach with mom. Here's a few pics from my weekend:

These will be vegetables one day!

Walk on the Beach

4th and Final Post of the Day

2011-03-31T21:38:00.000+01:00

Hello!!

Ok so I had to come and post this because I actually did, despite thinking I would not have time, work out today.

I had a team event for work today, so we went bowling and out to eat. I was feeling kinda lame because I knew I wanted to treat myself to a delicious strawberry daquiri or two, and I would not be able to off set it by working out. But since we started at 3PM, I actually got home around 8 and decided that not all was lost!

My workout of choice was - 30 Day Shred! Level 1 is not nearly as difficult as I thought it would be. I did as much of the floor abs as I could and sometimes a little modification on other exercises (side lunges for example I just did straight squats).

On another note, I had my best bowling experience ever. The first ball I threw I got a strike, and I got about 5 more over the 2 games!

1 day of the 30 Day Shred down, 29 to go!

Posting Queen

2011-03-31T14:58:00.000+01:00

Apparently I am a Posting Queen today, but I wanted to share what I spent some of my hard earned bonus on. I was responsible and set aside a bit of money for myself to splurge, and here's what I spent about half of it on. FYI, I spent the other half on charity, so keep that in mind when you see the purchases :)

I treated myself to a new Tiffany's Necklace to add to my collection:

A random find - 4 nail polish colors I had just been wishing I had!

I've wanted a Diptyque candle for years!

Of course I could not resist buying some new makeup items! Clarins Instant Light Primer, Bobbi Brown creme blush in Calypso, MAC Studio Fix Foundation, MAC ConcealWear, MAC shadow in Contrast, MAC Foundation Brush and MAC Pigment in Later

New Boots!

The new Avoca Cafe Cookbook

OMFG

2011-03-31T14:34:00.002+01:00

By the way:

http://www.bakersroyale.com/cookies/how-to-make-homemade-samoas-cookies/

2011-03-31T14:30:00.000+01:00

Guess what arrived today??

I have to say that I was a little more looking forward to getting my Bethenny Frankel cook book!

I found a great article here on how do best do this work out. I'm already considering morphing my 6 days a week challenge into a 30 day shred challenge. I'm in the 3rd week of the 6 days a week challenge, and due to life, I will miss my work out today, meaning I actually failed this week and did 4/6 (as long as I workout tomorrow and Saturday).

I am going to Portugal in a little over a month, so I think it's the perfect time to do this challenge of the 30 day shred. The article above says it will hurt, but you have to do it 7 days a week. Hell, it's only 20 minutes a day. I know it's hard, I will have to modify a lot and I will probably be a limping, sore zombie, but I should lose 1-2 inches all over plus 10 pounds after the 30 days.

I mostly looked up the article to learn how to move through the levels since there are 3. You are supposed to do each level for 10 days, but you don't have to, you can stick to level 1 for all 30 days if you want.

The other thing to consider is that 20 minutes of exercise a day might not be enough. I will burn around 360 calories doing 20 minutes of circuit training, so I either have to be happy with that and pull back on my calories for the month as well, or add in some other activities a few days a week like walking on the beach or a less intense DVD.

20 minutes and 30 days - seems so little yet I know it will feel like forever!

2011-03-29T02:35:00.000+01:00

I have just added a new workout DVD to my collection - Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred.

I am scared.

I've read a lot about it, both in reviews from website but also from the forums on MyFitnessPal. Not only have I read about it, but I have seen Before and After photos and I am definitely impressed. The difference in some of these people in 30 days is amazing. I'm not sure if I will actually do the shred now, but I wanted to get it to see exactly how hard it is, and if it's too hard, to have something to aspire to do in the future.

As I've said probably a million times, I have difficulty with floor exercises, getting up and down, lunging, and some squats. It mostly has to do with my left knee, which I'm thinking of getting checked out. I always baby it, which is probably why I don't push myself in those types of exercises I mentioned above. If I do push it, or even inadvertently injure it, I'm very unsteady going up and down stairs for a day or two after wards.

So maybe getting it checked is the answer, and maybe it would make sense for me to wear a brace when I work out. What I'm not sure of, and what I would like answered, is if pushing it will damage it more, or will make it stronger.

Since Sunday was my day off, I'm looking at work outs every day for the rest of the week. It's week 3, wish me luck!

Bagels - Last Intallment

2011-03-27T13:34:00.000+01:00

I have positive news on all fronts! The Bagels were delicious! I just finished eating the first fresh out of the oven goodness and O. M. G.! They were everything I ever wanted and more. Well to be honest I would have liked it toasted, but I would have had to wait for them to cool down to slice them and I'm sorry that was just not possible! Very well worth the 400 calories. See the process below.

The second piece of good news is that my weigh in went well today :) Check it out I lost 3 pounds! And after being so convinced that I wouldn't lose anything:

Weight 2 weeks ago today when starting challenge : 310
Weight 1 week ago during TOM: 313
Weight today: 307

So I lost the 3 TOM pounds, plus 3 real weight :) There's still 5 weeks of my challenge to go, then I'll be off to celebrate in sunny Portugal. It's funny that I'm not thinking past that, but obviously my challenge will continue, it's not going to stop, but it's just been a period of time I could put a limit on and see what results I got.

Happy Sunday!

First Step: Mix ingredients

Form a dough!

Shape into bagel-looking things!

Boil them. This is what makes a bagel a bagel is the boiling before baking

Top! I used Sesame Seeds

The finished product!

EAT ONE AND LOVE IT

2 for 2!

2011-03-27T00:09:00.000Z

Today is Saturday yet I woke up at 7:30 this morning to work out before heading off to a beauty course. Do you know what this means?? It means that for the second week in a row, I have achieved my goal of working out 6 days a week!!!!

Kick Ass. I am going to officially weigh myself tomorrow morning, but I don't think I have lost anything over these last 2 weeks. I weighed myself this morning and the good news is that I lost the 3 pounds I gained during my period. The even better news is that I only gained 3 pounds this period! Unheard of!

So far the bagels are coming along smoothly. The dough is made and shaped into bagel looking things that are currently chilling in the fridge over night. Tomorrow comes the boiling and baking part, I'm looking forward to my breakfast :)

Watch out for an update tomorrow on my weigh in and the bagels!

Mega Fail & Bagels

2011-03-25T23:08:00.000Z

Yes I had a mega fail tonight. I went out drinking after work and besides drinking all my calories and then going over by 300, I also broke my almost 2 month no smoking run by smoking 3 cigarettes.

I'm really annoyed with myself, but at least now I know I hate it and regret it and hopefully will not smoke again.

I am supposed to weigh myself on Sunday but despite working out 6 days a week for the last 2 weeks and sticking to my cals, I am not optimistic because I feel like my period weight will still be on me. Le sigh.

I plan on making home made bagels on Sunday! Here's a recipe that showed up on my stumbleupon:

http://www.them-apples.co.uk/2011/03/bagels-step-by-step/

Tomorrow will be exciting as I am attending a hair and makeup course :) Too bad my skin is broken out right now. Booo nothing is going right!

2011-03-23T21:19:00.002Z

Lately, I have been obsessed with salads. I've eaten 2 salads a day for pretty much almost 2 weeks now. I'm making it into such an art form, and it is a total process.

On my way home from work, I buy a head of lettuce and any other salad ingredients that I may be out of (carrots, tomatoes, etc.) I start by washing the lettuce leaves and using my salad spinner to dry them. I then use a special plastic lettuce knife to shred the lettuce (using a metal knife will turn the lettuce brown). Then I dice an onion, a couple tomatoes, grate 2 carrots. Sometimes I throw in something special like a bit of cheese or cooked potato or tofu.

Finally I dress the salad. I take a dressing mix pack and add a teaspoon of olive oil, white vinegar, and water. I grind salt and pepper over everything and toss it up.

All the flavors come together and it is absolutely delicious! By eating a huge salad, I can have a little of what I crave after it in regards to dessert and I'm stuffed.

So after my salad dinner, I am sitting here on this Wednesday night contemplating what my morning work out will be. In order to meet my challenge of working out six days this week, I have to work out tomorrow, Friday and Saturday. Now by default of my OTHER challenge with Mo, 2 of those have to be 'hardcore' workouts. Here are my current ideas for a 'hardcore' workout and how I feel about each one:

1. Tae Bo (35 minutes = 560 cals) + 10 minutes Weights
I feel OK about this. I did Tae Bo twice last week

2. Morning Walk (1 Hour = 410 cals)
I think if it's a nice morning I would like to do this! I know it's not 'hardcore' but it's an hour!

3. Jillian Michaels Kick My Ass Workout (can't remember actual name but 45 mins = 720 cals)
A little hesitant to do this one since it really kills my whole body, as in it's hard to walk/climb stairs for days afterwards. Le sigh

Tomorrow morning when I wake up I will go for either 1 or 2. Any other ideas are welcome!

2011-03-22T22:45:00.000Z

Love the quote above - I feel like I've been saying that to myself for years.

MAKE
THINGS
HAPPEN

Today I did get up early and work out. It felt great. And I'll have to repeat it until Sunday.

2011-03-21T21:11:00.000Z

soooo unmotivated right now. It's the first day of my woman times and my whole body aches and is tired so no working out for me today. The down side of this is that now I'll have to work out every other day this week.

It's 9 pm and I'm considering going to bed, at least getting into bed, because I know I have to force myself to get up tomorrow and work out before work since I have plans after work.

I had a pretty nice set of meals today, so I thought I would share them with you:

Breakfast:
Alpen Museli
Low Fat Milk
Banana

Lunch:
Lentil Salad
Parsnip & Apple Soup
Butternut Squash and Bean Enchilada

Dinner:
a GIANT salad. Seriously I went to the store and bought a head of lettuce, carrots, mushrooms and make a delicious salad!
Wheat Toast
Rhubarb Yogurt with Grapes and Raspberries with a drizzle of honey

I also just did my nails, lilac all over and dark purple tips!

2011-03-20T22:17:00.000Z

and a beautiful Sunday it was indeed!

I pushed myself a little bit and walked an extra bit further - for a total of 75 minutes. A couple days ago, I could not stop eating and wanted as many carbs as possible. Today I can't eat all my calories! Guess that's how it goes.

I am waiting for another week of my challenge and for my period to be over to weigh myself.

I updated the weigh ins page. 6 weeks to Portugal and my goal is to drop 12 pounds.

LETS DO IT!

2011-03-20T11:59:00.000Z

Right now, it's an absolutely beautiful sunny Sunday and I think my exercise today is going to be a long walk on the beach. I have to validate that by saying 'right now', because probably by the time I eat my breakfast and get ready to go it won't be as beautifully sunny, knowing how quickly the weather changes here!

Happy Sunday everyone!

Breakfast in Bed

2011-03-19T09:21:00.000Z

Starting my DAY OFF right with some yummy breakfast in bed.

My nutritionist told me I should have some oatmeal or museli, with milk or yogurt and a piece of fruit for breakfast. And that's exactly what it is! :

45 grams Alpen No Sugar Added Museli (the No Sugar Added is v.v. important)
1 Activia Snackpot Raspberry
1 Nectarine

299 Calories

Yum Yum!

So as I mentioned it's my DAY OFF - which means not only from work but also from working out - woo hoo! Today I will stay active though, cleaning, laundry and going into town. I'm considering walking into town and according to Google Maps that will take about 35 minutes. In theory I'm OK with that, it's just that I wanted to walk leisurely around town and the walk to town might take away from my energy for shopping!

Enjoy your Saturday everyone!