30-Day Beach Body Challenge

So, I finally got roped into a 30-Day Beach Body Challenge. I've been using Beach Body programs for years and often get told "You should be a Coach"; "You need to be a Coach"...blah blah blah. Not that I don't appreciate the compliments, I'm just too crazy-busy to put any other sort of "business" on my plate. I do the programs for my personal results, not the Tier-level performance.

Anyway, this challenge came at the right time because it's pretty much been the direction I've wanted to head with my workouts before summer. I wanted to still do 5-6 days a week strength-training at the gym and then I also wanted to do a Beach Body DVD, like Insanity or T25 at night after the kids go to bed. This, my friends, is what I call "taking it up a notch". So now I have a little group to hold me accountable. It starts today.

THE PLAN

Here's a snippet of my workout plans for this week {it worked so well to write it out like this last week that I had to do it again}:

You can see at the top I already had Insanity planned in there!

Today I'll be doing the gym sesh as described above and then tonight I'll do Insanity: Plyometric Cardio Circuit.

Monday

Legs/Glutes

Insanity: Plyometric Cardio Circuit

Tuesday

Back/Shoulders/Abs

Insanity: Cardio Power & Resistance

Wednesday

Legs/Glutes

Insanity: Pure Cardio

Thursday

Chest/Tri's/Abs

Insanity: Plyometric Cardio Circuit

Friday

REST

Saturday

Legs/Glutes

Insanity: Cardio Power & Resistance or a Run

Sunday

Back/Shoulders/Abs

Insanity: Pure Cardio or a Run

Wish me luck, and if you are a Beach Body program owner, I encourage you to take on the challenge as well!

Meal Preparation 101

Hope y'all had a wonderful weekend! I felt like ours was rushed and busy, but I suppose that's how it's going to be for a mother of two boisterous boys and a newborn baby girl.

I did make sure to spend Sunday going to the grocery store for my clean foods and then prepping and storing my meals for the week. My husband is wanting to drop a few lbs too, so I made some extra so he would have some lunches for work this week.

Basically, I baked some chicken breasts and then chopped them into bite size pieces and stored them in 4 oz portions. I roasted some vegetables with olive oil, sea salt and black pepper and stored those in portions of around a cup each. I hard-boiled a lot of eggs since my meal plan involves a lot of egg whites. I also bought an extra case of eggs so we could still scramble, over-easy, etc. And finally, I baked some sweet potatoes and stored them in approx. 3 oz portions.

This is butternut squash, yellow squash and grape tomatoes. I first put them in a bowl and tossed with 2 tbsp EVOO, then spread them on my tin-foiled pan {also coated the tin foil with a little olive oil}, sprinkled some sea salt and black pepper over them and then roasted them on the top rack of the oven for 30 min at 375.

This is asparagus, zucchini and grape tomatoes. I did the same with these as I did with the squash mix and they also roasted for 30 min at 375.

Our veggie portions all nicely stacked in the refrigerator! They were later joined by the chicken and sweet potatoes. Oh, and don't worry, this picture made me realize the green lid wasn't shut tight, so now it is!

I am very excited to start this journey of eating clean and training dirty {hee hee} to accomplish my goals. Something feels very different about my efforts this time...I feel extremely motivated, more so than I ever have in the past, and I'm a pretty motivated girl. My sight is set on my first goal of getting the last of this pregnancy weight GONE and regaining some muscle tone along the way. I've been able to get back to the gym more now as well, and will be able to fully commit to a gym schedule in just a little over a week once Farrah is old enough for the childcare there. When I can't get to the gym, I am making sure to get a great workout in at home, whether that's Insanity, a good stroll with the kids or some weight training with the equipment I have. Oh, and on Saturday, I had my last bit of alcohol for a while. I really want to see some great results with this new eating plan and I know that cutting out alcohol is going to make a huge difference. I'm not sure how long I will cut the alcohol for now, but I want to at least get a good month in, and then maybe have it back in moderation. Of course, when training for the NPC Bikini competition next year, alcohol will be nixed completely.

Be sure to stop back in this week as I share my weight training routines!

The Plan - Losing The Pregnancy Weight

If you read my post from yesterday, you know that I have three goals to attain in the next year.

#1...Drop the last of the baby weight and get back in my pre-prego clothes.

#2...Train for and run my first half marathon {aiming for the Charleston Half Marathon in January 2015}.

#3...Compete in an NPC Bikini Competition. 

So first comes first, taking off this last 25-30 lbs of pregnancy weight. I'd like to reach this goal by or before the end of this year. In reading a lot about NPC Bikini Competition training diets, I've decided that the best thing to do is for me to eat very clean, as if I am already training for competition. I'm essentially working toward this goal anyway, so it never hurts to get started early. I've got a good bit of weight to lose and this is going to be what makes the most difference.

Here is how I will ensure a clean diet each week:

On Sundays and likely Wednesdays too, I will prepare many of my meals for the week. Mostly getting the chicken grilled and cut up into 4 oz. portions {I will have three 4 oz portions per day} and getting the veggies roasted and separated into portions for throwing on top of fresh greens such as spinach and kale, along with the chicken to make salads. Here is a sample day of the diet I am putting myself on to give you an idea:

• Morning: 500–1,000 mg fish oil and a multivitamin/mineral

• Meal 1: 4 egg whites, 1⁄3 cup steel cut oats topped with blueberries
• Meal 2: Protein shake with: 1⁄2 avocado, 15 g of protein powder, 1⁄3 cup blueberries and 1 cup kale and cinnamon to taste
• Meal 3: 4 oz chicken with 2 cups leafy green vegetables
• Meal 4: 1⁄4 cup nuts
• Meal 5: 4 oz chicken or tilapia with 2 cups green vegetables (your choice)
• Meal 6: 4 egg whites (at least 30 minutes before bed) or protein shake

Also:

• Take 500–1,000 mg of fish oil and multi-vitamin/mineral 12 hours after first dose
• Drink 5–6 liters of water per day
• Avoid alcohol
• Avoid table salt, but some sea salt is OK, but use sparingly (using spices is OK)
• Avoid sugar

It seems extreme, but I no longer want to waste time in losing the rest of this weight. Right now it is what is stopping me from getting where I want to be fitness-wise, so I want to 100% dedicate myself to this. Meal preparation is highly needed for success.

My workouts will consist of 30-45 min of cardio each morning, i.e. a run in the neighborhood. I will work one or two muscle groups per day with strength training in the gym or at home and do some HIIT each day for 20-30 minutes, i.e. a T25 or Insanity workout. I will rest one day a week, or do some hot yoga that day {Sundays}.

This is very similar to what training for the bikini competition will be like, so it will be good to get my feet wet and get a real dose of what it will be like. I can be a tad more lax in this phase of my goals than I can be once I begin officially training in January, but it's definitely not lax in comparison to what I'm doing now, so I know I'll see results if I keep with it...and I fully intend to.

As of this morning, these are my stats:

Weight: 173 lb {Height 5'7"}
R & L Bicep {unflexed}: 11.25"
L Thigh: 22.5"
R Thigh: 21.5"
Waist: 33"
Hips: 40.5"

Wish me luck in this phase, I will keep you posted on progress!

The Revival of The Gym Bunny

I figure it's time I revived this blog. I sort of fell away from it mid-pregnancy. I'll be honest, I wasn't feeling particularly Gym Bunny-like during pregnancy, so blogging about fitness just didn't feel right. I'm weird, I know. But I gained more with this past pregnancy than I did with my first two. I gave birth to a gorgeous baby girl we named Farrah Madison, so every lb was worth it, but it is very hard to accept post-pregnancy. I am now about 10 weeks postpartum and still looking at 25-30 lbs to go until I am back to my pre-pregnancy weight. No, don't check your eyes, that's right, I said 25-30 lbs. Yeah, what you are supposed to gain in pregnancy. I went beyond that number by 20-25 lbs. So the good news is I've lost 25 lbs or so in about 10 weeks, but I still have a daunting task ahead of me. I know myself well enough to know that I WILL lose it all, but this summer has definitely been a downer...all I want to do is cover up!

That being said, I'm trying to keep my spirits {and motivation} high...because if I depress myself, I'll only end up procrastinating on working to lose this weight. In the past 10 weeks, I've done many 2-3 mile walks with my son, Breckin and baby Farrah...as well as trekked over the Cooper River Bridge a couple times a week {quite the incline, especially when pushing a stroller!}

 I've been doing a hybrid of T25 and Insanity. I've been going to the gym {albeit not as much as I'd like since I have to wait until Farrah is 12 weeks to take advantage of the childcare}. It's been challenging to fit it all in while being at home with my 8-year-old son, Tanner, my almost 4-year-old son, Breckin and a newborn...but it's important to me, so I have to make it happen.

I have a few goals that I've made for myself over the next few months...and a plan to achieve them.

#1...First and foremost, drop the last of the baby weight and get back in my pre-prego clothes. Once I reach this milestone, I can fully dedicate myself to my other goals, but working toward my other goals is what is going to help me lose that weight, if that makes sense.

#2...Train for and run my first half marathon {aiming for the Charleston Half Marathon in January 2015}. I will begin a better running schedule once my oldest goes back to school mid-August {leaving me more opportunity to fit it in} just to work on getting my feet wet in running again. I will do a few 5Ks. I plan on starting a half marathon training program about 16 weeks out from the race {around October}.

And now, this next one is a big one. But I wholeheartedly believe I can achieve it if I really put my mind to it and have my support system {family and friends} to help me through...

#3...Compete in an NPC Bikini Competition. The schedule of shows for 2015 has yet to be posted, but I'm thinking somewhere around June/July is when I would like to do a show. In January, I will decide what show I am going to work toward. I will choose one close to Charleston. This will take a lot of hard work in the gym {we're talking 5-6 days a week at around an hour and a half each time} and a very strict eating plan. But I really want this. I chose bikini because it is the most feminine of the categories to compete in. I will have to be 8-12% body fat. I know if I put my mind to it {and my glass of wine down for a while} I can do it. I plan on charting my progress on this blog, so I hope y'all will follow along and support me in my journey. I just let my husband know that I was going to strive for this goal and he is behind me 100%. So hopefully by this time next year, I will look more like this:

 

It seems unbelievable, but so many women have done it.

Anyway, that's all for now...stay tuned as I keep you up to date on my postpartum weightloss progress.

A Week Since My Last Post???

Wow, I let a week go by without posting. To tell you the honest truth, this month has been bad for me in terms of my attendance at the gym. This is why I've had no inspiration for posting on this blog this past week...and I didn't want to fill it with a lot of fluff just for the sake of posting. My readers are too good for that shizz.

It started out with planning and having a birthday party for my three-year-old and then just spiraled downward from there...the time in the day just goes by too quickly between work, family and home duties...and these last couple of weeks, I have NOT wanted to get up at 5am to get to the gym by 5:30am. I think I'm literally just waiting for Tanner's school to start back up next week when it will be easy to drop him off, then head directly across the street to my gym and workout at 7:30am. But I'm not going to wait, I'm headed to the gym after I publish this post. A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.

I did jump on here to share something personal with y'all - my current measurements {EEKS!} This is sort of what got me back in the right place mentally for getting my workouts going on the regular again. I was not happy with them...but for the sake of accountability...and progress tracking...here goes:

Height: 5'8"
Weight: 145 {Per the doctor's scale fully dressed. My scale broke - hold the fat jokes! - and I need a new one.}
Chest: 32"
Bust: 37"
This makes it a nice 32DD. Cheers to my Hubby! {J/K}
Waist: 30"
Hips: 37"
Waist and hips are where I feel the most improvement is needed. I've been a bit smaller in these areas and I'd like to get back to that.
Right & Left Legs {I do my legs in three spots - upper thigh, mid thigh and calf}
Upper Thigh: 23.5"
Mid Thigh: 20.25"
Calf: 14.5"
Surprisingly both legs measured exactly the same. I'd like to see a lot of improvement in the thigh region!
Another personal measurement area of mine is what I call "Saddlebags". Thanks to kids, mine are a bit larger now and I really want to see these shrink. So I've measured around myself {basically around the butt at the largest part of the saddlebag area} and it came in at 41".

So there you have it...I know a lot of my leg and butt area is muscle, but there is some fat loss to be done as well.

I have started my clean eating diet this week {will share details on that with you soon} and I am getting my ass out of this lazy gym hiatus and back to those weights and elliptical machines.

My goal is to have a progress post on this once a month. I am going to NYC in 4 months and that is my goal date to be where I want to be. {Which, I will post that objective as soon as I have some concrete numbers.} Wish me luck!

Are there any fitness goals you are looking to accomplish in the near future? Would love to hear!

The First Run Is Always The Hardest

This weekend, I decided I should just go for it and hit the pavement. As I mentioned in Thursday's post, I wanted to start this week getting prepared for my half marathon training, though my official training start date is July 1st - 16 weeks out.

Even though I'm in the gym regularly on the elliptical or treadmill, this was just so different. Here's how I did:

Yeah, crappy.

I had only planned on running about two miles anyway, but still, I just did not feel in good running shape at all...plus I was not in A/C like at the gym...it was very hot and humid {thank you, SC}. I am so far from where I was just six or so months ago when I was training for the half marathon I didn't end up doing. I know I'll get back, but man, what a hit to the ego this was. I'm not going to let it discourage me though...I know I will improve with time and that is what training is for. I've never been much of a "runner" - it's a totally different kind of fitness for me. Put me in a dance studio and I could go for hours, but when I run, sometimes I feel like I might die. I'd like to be someone who runs regularly - if I could run a consistent 20 miles a week, I'd be satisfied.

I also think a those running results had a lot to do with the fact that a) I went out the night before and had a few drinks with friends, b) I didn't drink as much water  that day as I should have and c) my body was not properly fueled with the right foods.

Anyway, I know I've got a long road ahead of me {pun totally intended - hehe}. It's more of a mental challenge than anything. I know the endurance will come, but it's the mental battle that I have the hardest time breaking through. I have to find ways to not get bored - gorgeous scenery, great music, etc.

My plans this week and going forward are to:

a. Drink 8-10 glasses of water per day and cut back on alcoholic beverages during training.
b. Be a bit more strict on my diet - only consume what will fuel my body and cut out unnecessary calories.
c. Plan out my run times so I can know what to expect and thus keep up with my running schedule easier.
d. Stay motivated and not get discouraged!

I'm using Map My Run to plan my routes and RunKeeper to track my stats for each of my runs. If you're new to running, training for anything, or just looking for some good fitness apps, I highly recommend these.

You Snooze, You {Don't} Lose

Weight, that is.

For many people, fitness is hard to squeeze in to the often busy and hectic lives we live these days. A lot of us start the day rushing to get the kids and ourselves ready for the day, then rushing to get everyone to their respective destinations and at times may not return home until there's just barely time left to get a meal on the table. Where does a workout fit into this kind of life?

Well, what I just described above is pretty much what my life seems like most days. Especially now that it's summer time, my kids are in their daycare and day camp and then the hubs and I each work all day. After work, there's usually an activity, or beach time, or pool time for the boys...and then of course managing to get dinner on the table and get them through their bedtime routines. So when am I working out amidst all of this?

That's AM, people.

That's right, I have to start before the hectic day even begins - while everyone else is still enjoying themselves in dreamland.

On M, W & F, I actually HAVE to be out of bed by 3:30am because I am my gym's opener those days and have to be there by 4:30am {an extra side job I picked up that gave me the perk of a free membership}. So what I've been doing is waking up a half hour earlier to get there at 4am and do some cardio before I start. It's not a full workout, but it gets that out of the way and I normally find time to get some strength training in later in the day.

On Tues and Thurs, I get to "sleep in" until 5:00am. I get ready, get to the gym around 5:30-5:45am and workout until 6:45am. I get home around 7am to relieve hubby and let him get to work while I freshen up and finish getting the boys ready to head out the door at 8am.

It's not easy. On Tues and Thurs, I definitely want to hit the snooze and just tell myself I'll workout "later". But I know that I might really not if the day gets away from me or exhausts me completely. So what do I do to make it easier for myself to just get up and go those days?

1. MOVE THE ALARM CLOCK AWAY FROM THE BED
This is key for me. I read this advice somewhere once and thought, "now
 that's genius". If I actually have to get myself up and out of bed to turn off the buzzer, I'll be likely to just stay up and go. After all, it's the getting up that is the real battle in the first place.
  
2. SET OUT WORKOUT CLOTHES THE NIGHT BEFORE
If I can make it so I have to do the least possible in the morning, I am more likely to go. I don't have to rummage through drawers in the dark or try to find the right gear.

{source}

3. SHOWER THE NIGHT BEFORE
This might not be for everyone, but if I'm already clean and ready to go, that is that much less time I need in the morning to get out the door and to the gym. Otherwise, I'd need to get up 15 min earlier than I already do. I jump in and rinse off really quick when I get back from the gym.

Good news is, your body tends to get on a new schedule in two weeks time, so hopefully it will only get easier and easier for you to roll out of bed. I hope some of these tips work for you if you decide to be an early riser for your workouts.