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!

Happy New Year!

Well hello there and happy new year!

Where the heck have I been with this blog? Sheesh! I must be honest, as gung-ho as I sounded about fitness in the beginning of this pregnancy, it still has managed to bite me in the ass. First of all, the holidays are hard enough to avoid weight gain without being pregnant and well, I fell a little off the fitness train between traveling and holiday get-togethers. I just have not been myself.

I even *gasp* quit my gym membership in November! I know...how the heck can I call myself a gym bunny now, right? Well, I quit for reasons other than not using the gym because I certainly was using it. I wanted to get out of my contract because I didn't like the terms and I had already met the contract date. I also started a new job and had found it hard to get to the gym due to pregnancy nausea...I figured I would just rejoin a gym after the baby came and workout at home in the meantime.

Well, that plan failed because I have been lacking motivation in the evenings. I get home around 6pm from work, have to make dinner, get the kids' bedtime routine done and then catch up on housework every evening...which, let's face it, it's tiring enough being pregnant...adding in a late night workout on top of all that just proved to daunting of a task most nights. I really need to get my workouts done first thing in the morning...before pregnancy tiredness kicks in. So what am I doing? Tomorrow I am rejoining the gym...at least I can take advantage of New Year's specials. I will start going before work again. I don't have nausea anymore, so I can manage to eek my way out of bed a tad earlier to get a good workout in.

I can't even look at that weight tracking chart I posted when I first found out I was pregnant because I am way off track! It's depressing. I'm not sure how it's even possible I've gained as much as I have, but there's no turning back now, I just have to roll with it and make good choices this last half of pregnancy. Here's me today at 21 weeks and 1 day:

Looking ripe as ever!

Oh, and if you don't follow along on Style Oyster {and you really should}, you missed my announcement that IT'S A GIRL!

I am so excited {and have a hunch this is the culprit for my extra weight gain - it's true what they say about boys vs. girls in the womb!}

But I can't stress myself out about the weight. I need to just do the best I can, let my body do what it needs to do and know that my fitness-motivated self will take care of the damage when it comes time. I'm already a step ahead as I've ordered Shaun T's Focus T25 program and plan on starting in June. I'm due in May, so I figure I will ease my way back into working out for a month or so and then get started with this intense HIIT workout. I will hit up Insanity after that. My husband is already doing it and I'm jealous I can't join in yet. I have been trying to do at least the warmups with him...but once it gets to all that jumping around, this prego has to bow out.

I do have a set of barre DVDs coming this week and plan to incorporate those into my routine a few times a week for the rest of this pregnancy.

But anyway, that's my update for now. I plan on posting a detailed list of fitness resolutions for the new year next week. Do you have any fitness resolutions?

Feeling Comfortable In My Own Skin

I'll be the first to say that my body is nowhere near perfect, not quite where it could or should be, and that despite my workout efforts and {for the most part} good eating habits, I still struggle internally about where my body is physically, all things considered. And before anyone says anything - this is not a fish-for-compliments post. I know there are people out there who think I look awesome {which I totally appreciate}, just as much as there are people out there that don't {which I can totally understand}. This is truly about how I feel about myself.

I have battled with my bad body image tendencies for years. I am somewhat thankful for that in a messed up way, because I think that if I hadn't hated so hard on my body in the past, I wouldn't work as hard as I do now...and I will admit, I feel a lot better about my body nowadays than I ever did as a teenager, even after two kids.

I guess I've always felt I had something to prove. Never the prom queen type, not the thinnest, not even near the prettiest...I was just sort of somewhere lost in the middle of it all. I didn't find myself to be highly noticeable, despite my love for attention {middle child syndrome, anyone?} I could go on an on about the stupid fad diets I've tried, the eating disorder tendencies, the pills...I've done it all. {Not in a LONG time, but if you've heard of it, I've probably attempted it.} But that's not what this post is about, thankfully I'm past all of that, however, it does give you an idea of the lengths I've been willing to go.

So where does that bring me now? Well, I still come down hard on myself a lot. Although, I have come a long way in terms of my body confidence - I mean, that picture in the right-hand column took a lot of guts to put up. I even look at it sometimes and cringe, wondering "does anyone think I'm sorta fat in that pic, or that I think I'm ridiculously hot, but not?" See, that's the ugly side of my mind. Immediately negative about myself {note: I do NOT think I'm ridiculously hot...at all}. But nonetheless, I'm glad I posted it because I'm a visual person and that picture reminds me where I am {which ain't that bad I suppose} but also that I've got some improvements that could be made.

So what point am I trying to get to? Well, I'd say for the most part, I generally feel pretty good about my post-two-babies body. I know I've worked hard and continue to work...and that makes me proud. I also have a husband that compliments me daily, even if I have trouble accepting the compliments some days. He makes me feel like the most beautiful woman in the world. I'm lucky for that, because I never have to worry about working hard for him. He's happy with me as-is. He'd even take me 20 lbs heavier. The person I worry about working hard for is me. I think I weigh so much of my happiness on how I look in outfits, bikinis, au naturel...what the weight scale says...or whether I'm having a "fat" day.

These last few weeks, I don't know what it is...maybe 30 is actually hitting me physically or something, but all of a sudden, I'm extremely aware of my not-quite-as-tone-as-it-was tummy. It's like one day, it decided to stop being flat and pop a little bit. WTF...I first thought it had to do with something menstrual, or post-vacation shit...but I keep waiting, and waiting, for it to go back to "normal". And, it hasn't. I sit and feel like I have a beer belly {maybe more of a wine belly, to be accurate}. I hate that extra baby fat layer...it's like you can grab it and tell the doctor, "This is what needs to go, here, I'll hold it while you cut."

To make matters worse in my self-loathing pity party that just won't quit, one of my Facebook friends, whom I drank with every now and then at the bars downtown back in the day {she was a party-er!} now has abs that look like this {she's my age and also has two little boys, one that is under 2}:

Yeah, she posted this just the other day and my jaw dropped! I mean, I knew she had become a personal trainer in the last couple years, but seriously, mad props to her for getting to this...she must have been so motivated and determined, because that shit takes REAL work. My first thought was, "she must not drink anymore!" Then I thought, maybe I shouldn't drink anymore either. At least a lot more sparingly than I do.

Point is, I could have spiraled further down my "body image funk" phase that I've been going through, but seeing this, well, it sparked the opposite. I want this. I want my hard work to SHOW. I am going to do whatever it takes to eat clean, cut the drinking {so long to my beloved vino} and shred down to the body I know I can have.

But first, carving out the time, and dedicating that time, to fitness.

I put in my two weeks' notice with my gym job last week. Three days a week waking up at 3am and working til 8am, then heading straight to my 9-to-5, was already hurting me physically due to lack of sleep, but more importantly, it was cutting into what would be my gym time. I would always say on those days, I'd just come back after 5pm to get my workout in, but more often than not, I'd get sidetracked with something else, things would come up, errands needed ran, and quality time with my family trumped it too. I'm a morning workout person primarily. Get up and get it out of the way type of girl.

Time to get my confidence back and be the fitness freak I know I can be. Feeling comfortable in my own skin is #1.

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.

Meal Planning & Prep

The busy life of a mom, much less a working mom, can easily get in the way of clean eating efforts. Today, we are often on the go from here to there, from sun up to sun down. It's nearly impossible to stay on track with your nutrition without proper planning ahead of time.

My best, cleanest eating weeks are those where I set aside a little time after the boys have gone to bed, usually on a Sunday evening before the work week begins, to prep and package my food to be easily thrown in my lunch bag every day of the week. You will also find, you might save a lot of money this way, as you hopefully will spend a lot less on meals out.

Here's a peek of how I do it:

This week, my plan was to have a leafy spinach salad with cucumbers and grape tomatoes for lunch each day. {Some may prefer more variety, but I absolutely love this salad, so I have no issue eating it every day.}

I often make the salad in a very large Tupperware container I own:

And I spoon some into a smaller Tupperware dish to take with my in my lunch bag the next day.

I then make sure to have a small dish with my current favorite salad dressing in it. This is Newman's Own Lite Sesame Ginger...it is sooooooo good...and only 15 calories per serving. I make sure to take just a serving's worth.

Additionally, I like to have some good protein to go with, so I hard-boil some eggs to get me through the week {and a few extra for Tanner's lunches}.

As far as snack foods to get me through my long work days, I pack things such as string cheese, raw almonds, carrots, apples, grapes...just anything that is naturally low-cal and nutritious.

As soon as I'm done with prep, I pop a day's worth of snack and lunch into this super-cute lunch bag I found at Marshall's for $9.99:

Isn't it cute? I just love it. And it's the perfect size, like a purse. I plan on getting it monogrammed eventually. So everything goes in here when I'm done, and into the fridge. The next morning before work, I take it out, pop a freezer-pak in it and go.

As far as breakfast, I usually carve out a few extra minutes in the morning to scramble up some egg whites, top them with avocado and drizzle with hot sauce {to get that metabolism going!} If I don't have time for that, I make a whey protein smoothie...I'll have my personal recipe for you here on the blog soon.

How do you plan for a healthy week?

Making The Most Of Your Routine

I strive to find a little time each day to dedicate to fitness. And knowing how hard it is to carve out that time, I want to make sure I am making the most of it. My workout needs to be effective and worth the effort I put into it. I make a point of not "phoning" it in.

Here are some tips I have for making the most of your exercise routine:

1. Change it up and often. I would say that the biggest game-changer for your fitness routine is making sure to keep from plateauing. You need to switch it up. I see so many of the same people at the gym doing the same things over and over. It's like their body is coasting...5 miles on the treadmill {check}, abs {check}...and so on and so forth. A great rule of thumb is to change things up every two weeks. Especially with strength-training. This may simply be adding in more weight/reps, or trying a completely new exercise for the muscle group you work. I found a book a few years back that changed my fitness routine forever and highly recommend it - The Body Sculpting Bible For Women. It taught me what my routine needs to entail in order to be effective. Keep those muscles guessing...and you will see better results.

2. HIIT. Another effective way to keep from plateauing is high-intensity interval training {HIIT}. This is a form of workout that keeps your heart rate high while switching off and on from different forms of cardio/strength moves that for the most part use your entire body {think Insanity}. It's also a great form of workout when you are short on time...these quick bursts of intensity keep that metabolism high and burning calories long after your workout is done.

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3. Focus on one or two muscle groups per workout {strength-training}. I don't like to be all over the place when strength-training. I find it best to focus on one big or two smaller groups of muscles per workout. If I jump from arms to legs all the time, I'm not sufficiently tearing down those muscles enough to rebuild and tone them. When you focus on a single {or two smaller} group{s}, you are able to tear down the muscles...and afterward provide sufficient recovery via rest {wait 48 hrs to work the muscle group again} and nutrients to rebuild them...which brings me to my next tip:

4. Simple Carb + Protein after each workout. You have to refuel your body with the right nutrients post-workout to rebuild what you just tore down. This is the best method I have learned. Great examples of this type of post-workout snack would be - chocolate milk, fruit protein smoothie, string cheese + fruit, nuts + fruit, etc. Your simple carbs are sugars - try to get those from something like fruit, not candy...and then any protein source - nuts, eggs, cheese, lean meat, whey protein, etc.

5. Aim to workout 5-6 days per week. An ideal workout includes a focused strength-training workout {one large or two smaller groups as described above} and at least 30 minutes of cardio. Here's an example of the workout schedule I try to follow and rotate week to week:

Day 1: Legs/Glutes, Cardio - Elliptical 30 min
Day 2: Chest/Triceps/Biceps, Cardio - Treadmill 30 min
Day 3: Back/Shoulders, Cardio - Elliptical 30 min
Day 4: Legs/Glutes {I work these twice a week}, Cardio - Treadmill 30 min or a Spin Class
Day 5: Chest/Triceps, Cardio - Elliptical 30 min
I work Abs every day - they are muscles that do not require 48 hrs rest.

And I just keep on rotating those, while maybe adding in a barre class, outdoor running, etc. in place of something else to keep mixing it up. One rest day a week is important...and always listen to your body.

Do you have any tips of your own for making the most of your workout routine? I would love to hear them!