Hows and Whats.

Haven't done one of these posts in a while, so here it goes!

How I'm Currently Sweating:

I checked this DVD out from the library over the weekend, and I must say, bravo Jillian! Although I'm quite the JM devotee, I haven't necessarily been buying her recent DVDs right away because some of them just haven't been a good fit for me. Luckily, the library has been pretty awesome about keeping their selection up-to-date, so I've been able to preview releases and save some money.

But this disc? Yeah, definitely buying it. There are three 20-minute workouts, each with its own focus (upper-body, lower-body, and abs). Each one gets my heart-rate up pretty fast, so I'm able to break a good sweat in a short amount of time. And since each workout is shorter, I've been doing two of them back-to-back because I friggin' love kickboxing and can say it's one of the few workouts I genuinely enjoy. On a day that I have more time, I'll try to do all three workouts at once.

The DVD is best suited for intermediate-to-advanced fitness levels. There is a separate tutorial though, so beginners looking for a challenge may find this useful. I say "may" because while it's helpful to learn some of the basic moves, the workouts are still pretty high-impact with very few modifications.

All three workouts include a fast-paced mix of punches and kicks. The upper-body segment uses dumbbells to perform moves like rows and shoulder presses. In the lower-body workout, lunges and squats are added. For abs, Jillian mixes in sit-ups, bicycle crunches and cardio moves like burpees and mountain climbers, which also work the stomach.

Even with the tutorial, the choreography is still tricky and fast-paced, with Jillian providing little-to-no time for you to learn each circuit, some of them more complicated than others. I think in general, kickboxing workouts are always a bit frustrating the first time through, for these reasons. But I know the more I do the DVD, the easier the choreography will become. It wasn't so bad that I couldn't keep moving, so that encouraged me to give it more than one try.

What I'm Currently Loving:

Oh, SparkPeople. Before I blab on and on about why I'm loving this site, I should probably provide some background info...

First of all, yes, I'm back to calorie-counting. Despite my best (and let's be frank, shitty) efforts to lose some regained weight, tracking the details of my intake is really the only tried-and-true method I've found to be successful.

That said, I wasn't always on the SparkPeople bandwagon. When I first started Weight Watchers all those years ago, I was simultaneously tracking calories as well on The Daily Plate (now known as Livestrong's MyPlate). I always preferred the Daily Plate because their tracker was just so much more simple to use and I always found myself feeling overwhelmed with the features on SparkPeople.

Well, now that I'm re-committing to weight-loss and because the popularity of SP has since grown, I decided it was time to give it another shot and fully embrace all of the site's features, beyond simply calorie-counting.

You see, when I lost those 90 pounds originally, I was a lot more engaged in a few online communities for extra support. I don't think it's a coincidence that when I chose to stop participating in those supportive communities, the weight started to come back on and I struggled to take it off again. So, off to SP I went. Right away, I started browsing the message boards, member blogs and available SparkTeams. Within my first week, I was contributing to discussions, signing up for team challenges and even added a few friends to help encourage each other and offer support during tough times.

I get it now. I get why this site is so successful and why so many people have joined. Yes, I have great friends, family, Doug and my dog Randal, but not everyone I know is willing to hear me blab about weight and food and exercise for 1-2 hours every day (ok, well maybe the dog will listen, but you know what I mean). That's just the truth. And it's not a bad thing, it just needs to be pointed out that being successful in weight-loss sometimes requires a special kind of support that only those trying to achieve the same goals can relate to. I'm sure this is "duh" information for some of you, but it's an aspect of progress I've been ignoring for far too long.

Anywho, the outcome from all of this? I'm down 5 pounds so far, I've reduced my weekend overeating significantly, I've participated in some good discussions and most of all, I haven't felt like I'm struggling because I'm reminded every time I log in to SP, I'm not alone. It's okay to admit you need cheerleaders along the way and it's equally gratifying to cheer on others as well. I was feeling like an absolute failure for gaining back some of the weight (a hard pill to swallow, lemme tell you), but instead of wallowing in my own despair and losing/gaining the same 10 pounds over and over again, I've found it much more productive to, as Bob Harper says, "trust the process," and open myself up to connect with others with similar goals and backgrounds.

And that, dear readers, is all I have to say about that. Here's to hoping my renewed commitment will translate into more blog updates! Hope everyone is having a great week.

Supreme 90 Day Check-in and Changes.

After doing about half of the Supreme 90 Day system and trying out all 10 discs, I'm respectfully bowing out... Sort of.

While I've enjoyed the new variety of challenges, there are some specific training goals that I would like to meet which involve going outside of the pre-determined S90Day routines. Those goals include getting back into running and increasing my upper body strength.

Although I was noticing inches lost and biceps starting to bust out of my sleeves, consequently, I also noticed that my overall endurance was, well, pretty shitty. When attempting longer runs (currently 3-4 miles for me since I stopped running regularly a couple of years ago), I just couldn't hack it. I also tried an hour-long Jari Love DVD the other day and quickly noticed how much I struggled to keep up, just 20 minutes in. I still feel the S90Day discs are effective, but they are also quite short, hence not the best daily choice for my endurance training.

I definitely plan on throwing in some of the S90Day discs into my new custom routine though; as much as I hated it, the Ultimate Ball disc proved to be a great core workout and the Tabata Inferno disc is still, to this day, one of the hardest cardio workouts I've ever done.

So what is my routine these days, now that I'm no longer sticking to the S90Day calendar? I'm aiming for 3 days of cardio (primarily running, followed by short/intense intervals of incline walking, stair master-ing and elliptical-ing) mixed with 3 days of strength training. For strength, I'm rotating my Jari Love DVDs. While I liked the idea of working specific muscle groups on separate days with S90Day, I tend to get better results with total-body strength routines and it's really hard to beat Jari in that area (homegirl includes push-ups in all of her workouts, which I need more of). On days where I'm short on time, I'll opt for Jackie Warner, Jillian Michaels, the NTC app or S90Day.

Another reason for my decision to pursue other workouts outside of S90Day was the difference in calorie burn. Between my slower metabolism and my goal to lose about another 8-10 pounds, I really need a higher calorie burn throughout the week which I just wasn't getting with S90Day (exceptions being Cardio Challenge, Tabata Inferno and the longer Back/Biceps disc). After adding gym-cardio and Jari Love back into my routine, I've already broke my weight plateau in just a week.

LASTLY, my exercise A.D.D. got the better of me. I know, "how can a person get bored of 10 different discs, Tam?" It's just the way I roll, I guess. I surprised myself sticking with it for the 40+ days though; I thought I would throw in the towel after 30. So, coming from me, that's actually a good sign.

So that's where I'm at with exercise. I still give S90Day my seal of approval; the price you pay for the number of discs and variety of moves simply cannot be beat. If you're on the fence about trying the program because of the 90 day commitment, consider working the discs into your current routine without following the calendar.

Last Chance Workout.

Fuh-Fuh-Fuh-Friday!

This week flew by for me. And for that, I am grateful. Before I get into my DVD review, let me quickly express how F-ING STOKED I am that my gym is offering BodyPump classes next week! I've been reading about these classes on other blogs for a while now and may/may not have squealed when I saw the BP logo on the 24 Hour Fitness class schedule. Looks like it's replacing 24 S.E.T. and is gonna be offered Sat./Sun, mornings. So, so perfect. I've heard that you're completely sore and busted after the first class, but being the sadist that I am, I still can not wait!

Alright, alright. On to review schtuff. I know it's been out for a while, but this week, I finally got around to trying out:




The Biggest Loser: Last Chance Workout.

I'll cut to the chase... Keeper? Yes! Time for the breakdown:

Warm-up:
Starts with a general warm-up, complete with Jillian's mix of dynamic stretching and light cardio. The case says 5 minutes, but it's actually closer to 8.

Last Chance Workout:
This is a 25-minute session that acts as the bulk of the DVD. Basically, you alternate between high-intensity cardio moves and strength training moves, each move lasting around 30 seconds.

Some of the moves I recognized from various other DVDs I've done in the past (including Jillian's), but there was still some new stuff like Scissor Jumping Jacks and Staggering Push-ups. Buh. Regular jumping jacks are not my favorite, so having to cross my legs in the middle just about killed me. The Staggering Push-ups involved constantly alternating the position of each hand. Again, buh. I'm a push-up wuss though, so these were tough for me.

Also in the mix were some mountain climbers, in-and-outs (a.k.a. plank or squat thrusts), plank jacks, dumbbell rows, flys, tricep kickbacks and extensions, lunges with weights, side and front kicks, hooks/jabs/uppercuts, side squats with weights, deadlifts, bicep curls, jump rope (including one-legged jump rope, which of course killed me) and lateral raises. Those certainly weren't listed in order and I'm sure I left out a handful of others, but those are the majority of the moves.

I did ok my first time through. Definitely broke out a sweat and had some lingering soreness over the following couple of days. Since it is a shorter workout and because each move is performed for around 30 seconds, increase your weight during the strength moves and go for full-intensity during the cardio sets. I did a pretty good job of changing out my weights, but I probably could've pushed a bit harder during cardio.

I gotta say, Jillian flat out annoyed me during this workout. Too much yelling, talking down to/making fun of the contestants and not enough instruction. There were a lot of moves where she would just say "Ok, time for X," and wouldn't describe the move or what kind of form to have until the interval was nearly over, if she described it all, so I really had to stop and look at what people were doing and follow along the best I could. Following along is tricky too, because most of the contestants aren't in sync at all. I tried to follow along with Tara or Sione, but even with them, my timing got off. Not a huge deal, but pretty annoying during the first try.

Upper Body Sculpt:

This is a 10 minute workout. Pretty standard; rows, shoulder presses, push-ups, etc. Again, keep the weight up and you'll feel a damn good burn. New-ish move that killed me? Plank Renegades/Rows. Now, if you've done level 3 of 30 Day Shred or one of Jackie Warner's workouts, you'll recognize this move. But the twist? No alternating arms; you stay on the same side for each rep. Maybe it was just me, but not being able to alternate sides destroyed me. I actually got kind of upset with myself because I couldn't stay off of my knees the whole time. Tough stuff!

Another killer? Plank Flys Yep, get into plank on your weights and raise one arm out to the side. And as with the plank rows, you had to stay on the same side; no alternating arms. Owie. There were also some bicep curls and tricep dips thrown into the mix, so I was pleased with the variety of moves, given the amount of time.

Lower Body Tone:

This workout is also 10 minutes and quite effective. Though it's a standard mix of lunges and squats, the use of added weights and steady pace kept me sweatin' & burnin'.

Move that made me whimper? Jump squats WITH overhead presses! This is a balls-out move that Jillian closes with. Jump squats are one thing, but when you have to push weight up over your head while you're in the air? Well, hot damn.

Jillian's instruction during the upper and lower body segments is MUCH better, as is the pace of the contestants. Everything seemed much more focused and Jillian's teaching style seemed to mirror that of her own non-BL workout DVDs.

Cool Down:

Nice 5 minute cool down. I liked that the format of the BL workouts kinda "forced" Jillian into taking more time with cooling down and stretching; the cool down segments in her own DVDs always seems too short and a bit rushed to me.


I did the 25 minute workout only on the first day. On the second day, I ran a warm-up mile and did the two 10-minute workouts. Honestly, I don't think I could hang if I did all three workouts back-to-back... Since the 25 minute session has a lot of strength moves built in, my muscles would fatigue and burn out pretty quick into the upper/lower body segments. I might give it a shot some day, but for now, I'm digging the idea of breaking them up into quick, effective workouts for when I'm short on time, but still want to feel like a tough bad-ass.

That's all for today. Have a great weekend, everyone!

Gone official, gone foodin'.

Trying to fit multiple things into the blog today, so hang in there kids. My feedback on French Women Don't Get Fat is indeed around the corner (as in, hoping to post it in before the end of the day because I finished the book yesterday and cannot wait to blab!), but since I had some other bits to share, I thought breaking everything into two posts would be a better fit. This week is going by a little too fast for me, which has been good in some ways (see: typical work week), but a bit unforgiving in others (see: blogging stuffs).

First: I haz a new domain name!

http://stretchjeanincident.com

I suppose it wasn't a necessity, but the original URL (http://thestretchjeanincident.blogspot.com) was hideously long and buying a shorter version was cheap, even by my standards, so there ya go. Update your feeds and bookmarks if you'd like, but if you don't want to bother, the old URL will still remain active.

I don't foresee any major changes resulting from the new URL, but it has motivated me to plan a possible blog face lift and more pages, particularly some dedicated to recipes, DVDs and maybe fitness. Yes, I realize all of those topics are incredibly unorganized currently and yes, I promise to fix it. Slowly, but surely.

Second: New Favorite Food Links.

I'm a bit reluctant to label myself a "foodie," because I don't feel I meet the requirements (or can even define them) and the idea of such a label is relative, arbitrary and at times, a bit silly. However, I'm finally moving closer to a place where I just love and appreciate good food (rather than fear or struggle with it) and I love that there are some decent blogs running wild with that same appreciation. That said, there are a bajillion food blogs these days, but I've found a few that I just really dig and wanted to shamelessly promote:

Serious Eats. They publish regular restaurant/product reviews, recipes and special food features (tips on preparing testicles, anyone?). I've found it to be a great resource, not just for my palate, but for my brain as well. It's a site that not only makes me want to continue trying new things (without necessarily making me a crazy hungry maniac every time I read it), but also fascinates me, from a general education standpoint. I'm a nerd for new knowledge these days and what better subject to hold my attention than food? Eeeeexcellent.

The Kitchn. This site features a mix of kitchen designs (geared toward small apartments primarily, but the ideas could easily be adapted on larger scales), recipes and general food Q & A. It's a great resource for some cooking/meal planning basics and of course, great kitchen design ideas, should you be in the market.

Doug is all about design (he friggin' BUILT our platform bed and made his own desk with floating shelves, for example), so his ability to recognize the importance of stylish, yet incredibly functional design within all aspects of the home has indeed rubbed off on me. We don't own a home yet, but when we do, we intend to customize the shit out of it. That said, I plan on using The Kitchn as a resource, as they have some great ideas for storage, appliances, colors, textures, etc.

Food Network Humor. Just for fun, obviously. If you watch Food Network regularly and find yourself mocking the hosts, this is a good site to vent your frustrations and/or encourage your mocking. I personally love the Food Network Drinking Game. One of these weekends when I'm feeling bold (and not planning on leaving the house), I might just open a bottle and play along.

Third: Fitness Notes.

Still rocking the strength training and noticing MORE bitchin' results. I know it'll make me sound like a narcissistic bee-yotch, but I totally spent approx. 10 extra minutes (not all at once) looking at my body in the mirror, lovingly, this morning. Seeing some definition come back in certain areas and enjoying the disappearing of flab in others. But the best part? I haven't been beating myself up at the gym and I've been enjoying wine & chocolate. I know, punch me in the gut for sounding like a total douche-y informercial. But it's true. And I'll expand on that when I write about the French Women... book later.

Monday, I did Jari Loves's Slim & Lean DVD. Tuesday was 24Cycle class at the gym. Yesterday, nothing. Today, I busted out an oldie that I haven't touched in mooooonths (possibly a year? I dunno):



Jillian Michaels' No More Trouble Zones. I must admit, even though I hadn't done this DVD in forever, I was still feeling a bit cocky and thought, "Yeah, I'll just bust through this and will probably use heavier weight the whole time." Psh. I suppose I did bust through it, but not without struggle. And I used heavier weight for maybe like, 2 moves. The rest of the time, I was rockin' the 5 lbs. weights.

Best move that I totally forgot about that made me say "Oh, Jillian, you dirty bitch!" out loud? Plank rows. Granted, they're easier for me now than before, but they still snuck up me. Hell, I can say that for any move performed in plank position. Buh.

Last time I did this DVD, I still felt like giving strength training the middle finger. But now that I don't totally hate it, it was a great workout to re-visit. I still prefer Jari Love and Jackie Warner for strength workouts, but it felt good to throw in Jillian's routine, for old time's (and variety's) sake.

My cramps aren't totally kicking my ass today (well not now anyway), so I think I might make it to Zumba tonight, after a 2 week absence. But if not, I'm not going to beat myself up. I totally go through phases with my workouts and easily become obsessed with certain trends, eventually burning myself out (including, but not limited to: Zumba, 24 S.E.T., incline training, sprints and running). That's not to say that I no longer think Zumba is totally awesome, I'm just trying not to be so strict in my workout schedule these days and settling into the same routines. Going on a different night is always an option, as is just listening to my body and doing what feels the most welcoming at that particular moment. The only exception to this new philosophy is 24Cycle, because I have to reserve a spot and I expect to be tortured a bit. I'm starting to build a somewhat sick relationship with that class; I signed up for the Saturday class this week as well.

Fourth (and last):Hall & Oates Week.

Between gals on Twitter, Doug, our housemate James and I, Hall & Oates seem to be on regular rotation this week, so I decided to officially declare this week Hall & Oates Week, or "H.O.W.", if you will.



You have between now and Saturday to rock this shit out. Enjoy!

No, I didn't melt. But that's a good thing.

Good morning! I'm just gonna dive right in. First off, more new DVD feedback. Today's weapon of choice?



Yoga, JM style. Now, I'm probably the last person that should be reviewing a yoga DVD because I'm still a novice and, despite my best intentions, am quite sporadic in my practice. HOWEVER, I think it's safe to say that this isn't your typical yoga workout.

My previous experience with yoga rests on the Biggest Loser Weight Loss Yoga DVD (only made it through levels 1 and 2; still haven't tried level 3) and Baron Baptiste: Journey into Power Level 1 (which I actually grew to love last time I did it; need to make time for it again soon!).

So, after having done those yoga workouts, Jillian's was different, but not in a bad way. There are two 30 minute workouts and today I just stuck with level one. To be honest, I was pretty terrified because I didn't know what to expect. I thought it was going to be this hardcore burn session, set to industrial music or something. But it wasn't that bad at all.

Basically, Jillian sets you up with standard yoga moves (sun saltuations, downward dog, crescent, warrior 2 &3, etc.), but adds movement so you can perform reps of the move and then hold the move in place for 15 seconds. For example, when she takes you into warrior 2, she has you repeatedly bend and straighten your front leg so you get a little burn going and then you hold for 15 seconds with the front leg bent. She also has you do this with push-ups and side planks.

As typical with JM workouts, she has 2 helpers; one to show beginner moves and the other busting out advanced moves.

The thing I loved most about this DVD? The pace! That 30 minutes just flies by. She purposely moves through each interval quickly so you can benefit from a higher heart rate.

So how did I do? Well, not that great, haha. Since it's easily been a month (or more) since my last yoga session, my form and balance were pretty crap. I've never performed warrior 3 before, so I was getting really frustrated that I couldn't hold myself up and was grasping for the top of the TV to keep from falling. Pretty pathetic, but it only made me want to do the DVD more so I could increase my balance and benefit from body weight training.

Although I appreciated the fast pace of the workout itself, I do wish the cooldown stretch was longer and more relaxing, like the one on the Biggest Loser yoga DVD. Her stretches were definitely effective (I didn't realize how stiff and tense I had gotten over the past few days from my other workouts), but it would've been nice to hold them longer and focus on deep breathing. Yes, I can do that on my own after the DVD is over, but I like it when longer cooldown stretches are included. Ah well.

During the cooldown, Jillian starts to talk about how it's not about being perfect, it's just about practice. That really resonated with me. Obviously, such a statement can be applied to my life in various ways, but when applying it specifically to yoga, I really need to repeat it in my head. If I'm more patient with myself and don't get so frustrated when my form isn't perfect, my yoga sessions won't be so sporadic.

Overall? Another favorite, yet unique addition to my JM collection. She has motivated me, once again, to pursue this workout with more regularity. I'm also motivated to start doing my other yoga DVDs more often too. I think my goal between now and the end of the year is to be able to conquer level 2 of Jillian's DVD and level 3 of the Biggest Loser DVD. It's totally do-able!

Ok, on to food pics. Once again, I took all of my breakfast, lunch and snack pics this morning to save time. I'll try and do that from now on.

Breakfast:



A 3-minute oatmeal cookie & a hard-boiled egg. Thanks to Christie at Honoring Health and her Zucchini Bread Oatmeal, I decided to use up the last of our zucchini in an oatmeal cookie. Yuuuum! Totally loved it. It was like eating a pice of zucchini bread for breakfast. I tried to squeeze out as much excess liquid as I could from the zucchini, but it still made things pretty moist. Before adding the zucchini to the mix, I sprinkled it with splenda and cinnamon. I added about an extra tablespoon of oats, but perhaps more flour would've been better. The taste was awesome though. And I'm still kicking myself for not adding dried cranberries because I think that would've brought it all together. Oh well. Next time. And there will be a next time because I love zucchini and am all for adding it to my breakfast now!

Morning snack:



Good ol' banana and strawberries.

Lunch:



Leftover slice of spinach mushroom pizza (ended up having once slice last night and gave the rest to Doug; I'm officially over pizza this week!) with a spaghetti squash salad. Last night I hacked open a spaghetti squash that I bought a while back and stuck it in the microwave. I was hungry all day yesterday, so to keep from filling up on crap, I went for the squash because it never fails to fill me up.

There's still a ton leftover, so today I took some romaine salad mix and slapped some squash on top (when I cooked it last night, I added: olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic & onion powder) and sprinkled it with fat-free feta for extra protein. Soooo looking forward to this meal!

Afternoon snack:



Pear and some string cheese.

For dinner, I'm planning on trying some Fiesta Flapjacks from Kath at KERF. I've actually been wanting to try the Kodiak Cakes mix for a couple of months now, so I was super-stoked when a) I saw that King Sooper's sold it and b) I saw this recipe a couple of days ago! Some things are just meant to be. I'll let you know how they turn out!

Power circuits, indeed.

Alrighty. It's FRIDAY! It wasn't a particularly hectic week, things just moved along rather quickly. I'll get to food pics in a later post because I have some new DVD feedback I want to get out of the way first!

This morning, I wasn't really in a running mood, but I was still excited to try my new Jackie Warner Power Circuit Training DVD.

I set up my dumbbells, popped in the DVD and selected the 40-minute Total Body Circuit. My overall reaction: This is a great strength training workout! It reminded of Jillian Michaels' No More Trouble Zones, only a bit more intense and WAAAAAY faster. When I do No More Trouble Zones, the whole workout seems to draaaaag out forever, which is exactly why I don't do it very often.

Jackie's DVD on the other hand moves through each interval like clockwork. In fact, that's probably the biggest con for me... I like that the 40 minutes flies by, but she moves through the reps a little too fast for me. None of the moves are particularly complicated, but I still would like a few extra seconds to make sure my form is right (especially since she's constantly blabbing about how important form is throughout the whole workout) and also to adjust my weights.

The reviews on Amazon led me to believe that there would be a good amount of cardio (I was expecting some plyometrics), but there wasn't any at all. I think because you do a lot of reps so quickly, your heart rate does get raised a bit to where it feels like you just did a bit of cardio, but the moves themselves are all centered around resistance and strength training.

I used my 5 pound dumbbells most of the time, but tried to switch to my 10 pound set when I could. That was probably another part that kinda irritated me- trying to determine which weight to use to get the best results. Since it was my first time going through everything though, that lack of knowledge was to be expected. That said, I think I need a pair of 8 pound weights. Sometimes the 5's felt a bit too light, but the 10's were too heavy. There was also a circuit with deadlifts where I wanted to use my super-heavy set (I think they're 15 or 20 pounds?), but of course, didn't have time to grab them from the other room.

The format of each circuit is like this: One minute each of three different moves, then you close with a "Power" mini circuit, where you repeat all three moves back-to-back, quickly and with less reps.

She breaks it down into lower body (think various squats and lunges), then moves into upper body (working biceps, triceps and shoulders) and then the last 3 circuits each focus on abs (upper, lower and obliques). I HATED the ab circuits, but I know I'll love the results if I keep up with them. Her goal is to fatigue all of your muscles a bit and my abs were pretty much dead by the end of it.

Despite moving through everything too fast, I'm definitely happy to have this DVD in my collection. I like having a strength training workout that goes by quickly because, as we all know, I just don't like strength/resistance workouts. I love what they do for my body though, so I'm glad I have a new one that I don't hate and will actually be motivated to do more often. I think I'll get more out of it once I have some 8 pound weights and become more familiar with the format.

There's also four individual 15 minute workouts that each focus on upper body, lower body, abs and total body. I'm thinking on Sunday, when I have more time (and if I'm not incredibly sore still), I'll go though each circuit individually to see how it differs from doing the condensed 40 minute version.

I worked up a good sweat and when it was over, I suddenly became aware of how much I worked my arms and my abs. In fact, when I looked in the mirror, I pretty much expected to see a new six pack because the ab circuit seemed so brutal. I dunno, maybe I'm just a wuss in that regard. I did feel strong and buff afterward too, which led to a much-needed positive body mood.

All in all, I'm pleased with Jackie as a trainer and am looking forward to getting more toned and cut by adding this DVD into my regular rotation. Score!

Running & Reviews

Good grief, it's already February. Ugh. Anywho.

This morning, I headed to the gym and tried out a treadmill interval routine that boasted a 500 calorie burn. I'm still not counting calories these days, but I'm sure I burned that 500, if not a little more. It was tough, but it of course went by super fast (my favorite part about interval training) and I felt pretty damn refreshed afterward. Highly recommend! I'd also recommend browsing around the FitSugar website when you have some free time. They have a decent variety of interval workouts on various machines, as well as a lot of food/fitness info.

Quick follow up to my last post: I got a chance to try out my new workout DVDs this weekend.

Jari Love's Extremely Ripped 1000: Great DVD! I'm always hesitant to try new DVDs these days because they usually don't challenge me enough, but this one definitely exceeded my expectations (and made me sweat my ass off).

It's basically a bunch of circuits back-to-back and they all start with 3 minutes of cardio, followed by one minute of strength training, mostly with dumbbells. If you've done 30 Day Shred, it's kind of a similar format (and 3 times longer, haha). The hour routine can be split into two half hour sessions if you prefer. I liked that there wasn't any prolonged breaks in between circuits; Jari just keeps you moving along the whole time so your heart rate stays raised during the majority of the workout.

She has people working out with her in the back and they're all either doing beginner, intermediate or advanced versions of the moves the entire time. I thought this was especially awesome because it enabled me to keep up, instead of getting over/underwhelmed and turning off the DVD. I alternated between intermediate and advanced for a nice challenge.

I did the full hour and just when I thought it was over, she closes with a push-up and ab routine. I definitely groaned when that came up, but I suffered through it anyway (I think it was about 5 minutes or so).

All in all, this one was definitely worth the money. It forces me to get a good amount of strength training in, but also has enough cardio to keep me sweating on the days I don't feel like running or going to the gym for the elliptical or incline training.

So if you are, dare I say it, bored with the Jillian Michaels' DVDs and want a good gym substitute, this is next best thing (in my opinion, of course).

Weight Loss Cardio Kick: I don't have a ton to say about this one... Overall, I liked it, but it definitely didn't bring on as much sweat as I had hoped.

It did fulfill my craving for kick-boxing though. As I mentioned before, I was disappointed with the last few Tae Bo DVDs I got, so it was nice to try something different.

This DVD also works in a bit of strength training with dumbbells as well, so I'll definitely be doing it again. I think I'll just save it for days where I just want to do a fun light-to-moderate workout, versus busting my ass doing something at a higher intensity.


That's about all for now. I will quickly note that Jillian Michaels has a new yoga DVD coming out soon!



I've got it baaaad for this woman, so of course I will be getting it. I totally laughed at the thought of her teaching yoga because it doesn't seem like it would be relaxing at all, but I guess we'll see.

Three-minute cookies & 3 second revelations.

Before I get all serious and heartfelt, I HAVE to spread the word about my new favorite recipe, the 3-minute Oatmeal Cookie, thanks to Tina from Carrots 'n' Cake. I tried it this morning for breakfast because I actually had raisins for once and it was basically like eating a warm, fluffy and hearty treat. Made for a great post-workout meal. I'd highly recommend following Tina if you aren't already. It's fun to read about health, good great food, fitness and see many pictures of her adorable pug. Since I love pugs, it's pretty much the best one-stop blog for me, ha.

I did in fact make it to the gym this morning. Did some running, incline training and the stairmaster. Getting up that early is always the hardest part, but once I make it through the first 5-10 minutes, I'm good to go.

Now for the sappy stuff... I was watching Biggest Loser last night and usually when Bob and Jillian are giving their little speeches to individual team members, I must admit, I kinda zone in and out and don't really pay full attention to what they're actually saying. Well, last night while Jillian was talking to Migdalia (sp?), I paid attention and I'm glad I did. I'm paraphrasing it somewhat, but Jillian basically said that "it takes strength to show vulnerability."

Seeing as how I had just admitted yesterday how vulnerable I've been feeling, hearing her say that almost felt like a punch in the chest. I think I stopped breathing for a bit as I started to choke up. I know it's just a TV show (a controversial one at that) and I know a lot of what goes on is being done for dramatic effect, BUT there's no way I can hear a speech like that and pretend that it did not speak to me on a deeply personal level. Here I was, associating my own vulnerability with weakness, only to be told the exact opposite by one of the toughest women in the world. So naturally, I no longer have just a girl-crush on Jillian Michaels; I want to straight up marry that bitch (sorry Doug).

Sprouts & Sprinkles.

(***If you're new to the blog, feel free to read my introductory posts and my Not-so-secret-Secret to Weight Loss.)

So last night, I played around with brussels sprouts again. I sauteed them in a pan with oil, salt, pepper and dried cranberries. I saw a picture of them online yesterday with the cranberries and it looked good. And it actually was! The sweetness of the cranberries helps balance out some of the bitter aftertaste of the sprouts. Next time though, instead of trying to cook the cranberries with the sprouts in the pan, I'll microwave them separately with a little water first. They ended up kinda crunchy last night, heh.

Also, quick note about Holey Donuts: I've resisted trying these things because I didn't want to be that person who ordered doughnuts over the Internet. HOWEVER, last week they were having a pretty good sale where everything was half-off, so I used that as an excuse to try three of their sampler boxes.

They arrived yesterday. Oh. My. God. Granted, I haven't had a doughnut in like, 2 years, but I still thought they were awesome. The dough itself is a bit dry, which was to be expected since they cut out so much fat, but the toppings and fillings are pretty spot-on. My strategy for keeping them in the house longer is to only thaw out one box at a time and cut each one in half so Doug and I can both try each flavor. Probably won't order them again until they have another decent sale like that, so I gotta at least try and make them last longer than a week, haha.

FOOD:

pre-workout:
coffee w/ protein powder & almond milk- 1

breakfast:
f.f. cottage cheese w/ pumpkin- 2
kashi waffle- 1

snack:
apple- 1
9 almonds- 1
strawberries-0

lunch:
corn tortillas- 1
boca crumbles- 1
f.f. shredded cheese- 1
salsa- 0
yam- 2
holey donut chocolate crumb- 3

snack:
carrot- 0
PB2- 1

dinner:
salmon- 3
green beans w/ teriyaki sauce- 1

post-dinner:
holey donut- 5

total points used: 24/22
activity points: Jillian Michaels Banish/Boost DVD- 5
net points: 22
WAPs: 20/35 remaining

Not at work today, so I don't have any snacks or lunch planned as of yet.

Also, I had a heart attack yesterday while opening a can of tuna. Apparently, I accidentally grabbed like 4 cans of tuna packed in oil when I went shopping last week. Ugh. I panicked because I thought all 12 cans were packed in oil, but luckily it was only 4. Lesson learned! Double-check those babies because the labels are almost identical and stock people don't always put stuff where it should be. Grr.

EXERCISE:

I opted for Jillian Michaels' Banish Fat/Boost Metabolism DVD this morning instead of going to the gym. I like to go back and use this DVD every once in a while to see the change in my level of fitness. It was fun! My form has improved quite a bit and I added hand-weights to all of the punching moves for an extra challenge. Good sweat, good times.

Planning on doing free weights tomorrow at home. I saw an insanely awesome number on the scale this morning (which probably means I jinxed tomorrow's official weigh-in, heh), and the main thing I can attribute it to is weight-lifting. Why didn't I jump on this bandwagon sooner? I could have saved myself a lot of time and stress. Ah well.

Yawn.

FOOD:

breakfast:
f.f. cottage cheese w/ peaches- 2
light english muffin- 1
coffee w/ .25 cup almond milk- 0

snack:
apple- 1
9 almonds- 1
carrot sticks- 0
PB2- 1

lunch:
healthy choice chicken alfredo florentine- 4

snack:
popcorn ball- 1

dinner:
pork chop w/ teriyaki- 4
zucchini w/ olive oil- 1
couscous- 3

post-dinner:
kashi sunshine cereal- 1.5
pumpkin bread- 2

total points used: 22.5/22
activity points: 30 Day Shred levels two & three- 3.5
net points: 22
WAPs: 20/35 remaining

Planning on a simple, tasty favorite for dinner. We love the simplicity of grilled meat & veggies with a light, quick starch like couscous. And of course, the teriyaki sauce brings everything together. Can't wait!

EXERCISE:

Did levels 2 & 3 of 30 Day Shred this morning. Ugh. I'm always reminded on level 3 of how much work my arms need. And that I hate lunges, especially jumping ones.


Nothing too exciting for today. It's Monday. New Biggest Loser starts tomorrow!

FOOD:

breakfast:
f.f. cottage cheese- 2
1.5 oz. avocado- 2
alternative bagel- 1

snack:
popcorn ball- 1
carrot sticks/bell pepper strips- 0
PB2- 1

lunch:
sandwich thin- 1
chicken slices- 1
1 oz. avocado- 1
cantaloupe cubes- 1
grapes- 1
soy nut mix- 2

snack:
lightfull smoothie- 1

dinner:
chicken sausage- 3
tomato/mexican squash- 1
potato- 2
parmesan- 1

post-dinner:
s.f. pudding cup- 1

total points used: 23/23
activity points: No More Trouble Zones DVD- 2
WAPs: -42/35 remaining

going to quiz tonight, so we'll be having whatever's around for dinner. I'm planning on finishing off the last chicken sausage, probably with some random assortment of veggies.

EXERCISE:

Did Jillian Michaels' No More Trouble Zones DVD this morning. It only earned me two activity points, but that was expected. I always forget how good the mix of moves is on that workout. She targets different muscle groups pretty evenly, so it's a good mix for someone like me who hates trying to come up with a strength training routine on their own.


Not much else to report. Just getting anxious for Friday's weigh-in.

Back to the grind.

Pretty lazy Labor Day. Made some teriyaki broccoli, tofu & mushrooms for dinner last night. I adapted it from a Biggest Loser cookbook recipe. Turned out pretty good. I've made it before, but adding the mushrooms gave it a nice touch.

FOOD:

breakfast:
egg beaters- 1
diced onion/mushroom/tomato- 0
light swiss- 1
light english muffin- 1

snack:
soynut mix- 2
celery/cucumber/bell pepper strips- 0
guacamole- 2

lunch:
leftover teriyaki broccoli/tofu/mushrooms- 4
cantaloupe cubes- 1

snack:
popcorn ball- 1

dinner:
chicken breast- 3
mashed cauliflower- 2
cucumber-tomato salad- 0
f.f. poppyseed dressing- 1
coors light- 2
s.f. pudding- 2

post-dinner:
popcorn- 1

total points used: 24/23
activity points: 50 min HIIT- 6
net points: 23
WAPs: -42/35 remaining


EXERCISE:

Did my first day of High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) this morning at the gym. It was only the first day, but yeah, I think I'm a fan. I didn't stay on a single machine for more than 15 minutes, so the time flew by and my heart rate stayed pretty high all the way through, which was good for calorie burn.

This was my routine:
-10 min. treadmill (1 mile run)
-15 min. stairmaster
-10 min. elliptical
-10 min. incline training
-5 min. cool-down walk/stretching

I re-discovered the stairmaster (the one that's like an escalator). It's been months since I last used one and I was surprised how high it kept my heart rate. It kept it even higher than incline training, so definitely a good alternative. And the course I chose had a really good pace that kept me sweating, but also slowed down when I needed to catch my breath.

So that's that. I think I'm gonna stick with those machines for a while and just change the order in which I use them. Once I start to get bored, I might add in some cycling and rowing. We'll see.

Tomorrow I'm planning on doing Jillian Michaels' No More Trouble Zones, to keep up with my strength training. Thursday, I'll probably go to the gym again for HIIT and Friday, I think I'll do the Banish Fat, Boost Metabolism DVD, just because I haven't done it in a while.

A first proper post.

Alrighty. After my introductory post, I figured it was time to get the ball rolling. Up through this morning, I used Livejournal to track my progress and gain some readers/supporters. I'm still debating on whether or not I want to continue to update the LJ blog, so I'll try maintaining both for a while and see how it goes. I will also try and take some updated pictures this weekend. There are some previous before/after progress pics on the ol' LJ.

While I still plan on posting my daily menus here as I currently do on Livejournal, the main reason I decided to start a new blog was to sort of force myself to talk in more detail about my food and fitness choices. PLEASE NOTE: You will notice that my daily menus consist of a food item with a little number next to it; this number is a Weight Watchers point value. I follow their points tracking system and also track using The Daily Plate (part of Livestrong). Just a quick FYI I felt I should make.

Now that that's out of the way, let's jump into this, shall we?

EXERCISE

This morning I rolled out of bed at 5:20 am and grunted my way to my little workout room. Today's special? Jillian Michaels' No More Trouble Zones DVD. As I'm getting closer to the 100 pound mark, I'm in need of some strength training to build a bit more muscle and tone up. Yes, I should have been doing strength training all along (and I have, just inconsistently), but to be perfectly honest, there's nothing I hate more than push-ups, weights, lunges, squats and ab work. I'd rather attempt to run a marathon without prior training than do a mix of those aforementioned exercises.

Cardio and I are pretty tight. Strength training is currently the acquaintance. We've hung out before a few times, but our meetings usually leave me disgruntled. I know if we hung out more, we'd develop a relationship that I would eventually benefit from... But... Damn it, I hate lunges and push-ups so gosh damn much. Ugh. Anywho. So I'm utilizing the No More Trouble Zones DVD as a way to get me more familiar and comfortable with resistance training. I'll also make attempts to use the weight machines at the gym more. But honestly, this whole process is going to be like pulling teeth. There are 100 things I would rather do. This is me, kicking and fussing over strength training.

On the upside, I got it out of the way before work, so I don't have to worry about talking myself out of it after work. My goal is to do the DVD again this Sunday, so hopefully I'll follow through.

FOOD

Since I already posted my food list here this morning, I'll just leave it there for now. The only major note I have about food today (so far) is that I tried the Boca sausage links for the first time this morning. Not too shabby. I'm not aiming to become a vegetarian, but as others trying to achieve weight-loss may have noticed, vegetarian products do offer lower calorie/lower fat alternatives, while still offering fiber and protein, my two favorite things to load up on. If I can't find a comparable turkey sausage next time I go to the store, I'll probably stick with the Boca links for a while. With 70 calories, 3 g of fat and 8g of protein, I'd consider them a nutritional bargain. The taste takes some getting used to, but overall, I was pleased. I was just excited to have my own sausage/egg/cheese McMuffin this morning, sans guilt. Lunch was leftover Thai Scallops & Noodles. Dinner is up in the air. Wednesday nights is Geeks Who Drink, so I usually try to wing it as far as dinner goes (soup, sandwich, etc.), unless I can come up with something to cook in about 30 minutes or less.

RECIPES

Trying new recipes has been crucial to my success in weight-loss. You'll have to browse previous LJ recipe posts for most of my stuff, but I will share the most recent recipes I tried this week: Italian Meatball Stew and Thai Scallops & Noodles. My version of the Thai dish included Ronzoni Smart Tatse pasta and PB2 Powdered Peanut Butter (seriously, I'm addicited to this stuff and will never go back to regular full-fat PB unless absolutely necessary).

Phew! Ok. I think I'm done here. I don't foresee future posts being quite this long, just needed to throw in some extra info here and there to bring folks up to speed.