Day Ten

So it's Day 10....20 days until the next picture is taken, so I am expecting to have double the results, progress, feelings as I have now. Last week I was really amped up and really strict. I think I need to get that back. I am still amped up and ready for this. I just tend to take shortcuts in diet when I can or when I am pressed for time with no alternative option...so after this hectic week of moving I am excited to get settled and back to a routine!

Today's video is my Krem de la Krem...the cardio and really there are really only particular cuss words that would accomodate one's feeling as you go through it. It starts with Power Yoga- so you start in PLANK, go down as a push upand hold the pose, then to downward dog where you spread out your feet look up and go flat on your heels then reach one leg all the way to the front into runer's pose then sit up into WARRIOR....yeah google Power Yoga Poses....I feel like a WARRIOR full of sweat at the end of doing that five times per leg. And that's just a warm up. You go into Knee lifts, jumping jacks, running in place, runner's lunges, punches, kicks, eek! But it's great when its over. Your supposed to do Ab Ripper after, but I decided that I would do Ab Ripper after scultping because I have less sweat!

Diet has been good today...shake for breakfast and then turkey sandwich with swiss on one piece of wheat from the coffee shop at school- they have healthy choices that I am excited that I have that option. Now what's for dinner? Hmmm....maybe I will get a salad to bring out to the softball field????

TEN DAYS DOWN....TWENTY TO NEW PICS (AND POSSIBLY REVEALING BEFORE PICS)...80 DAYS TO GO!

Day Nine

Whew I am feeling it from yesterday's workout, wow! Today I feel like I worked a bit harder to work off those nachos, but nobody can deny Lee Roy's nachos....yummy! Today was sculpting, which I feel comfortable with.

Diet
Am: Shake
PM: egg white omelet
Dinner- chicken tacos

Still waiting to get back that excited routine feeling. Not having to work this week and only two classes has really thrown me off as far as that excitement feeling it works for wanting to workout but I like the routineness of it. It's a lot easier to stay up late and sleep in a bit and be off of a eating schedule, so that is what I am looking forward to getting back in structure.

NINE DAYS DOWN, 81 TO GO!

Day Eight

After the weekend I felt like I was back to square one, eventhough it was just a few slip ups, made me feel like I had cheated the system. But it was just pizza and wings oh and a beer...but oh well it was the weekend. If weekends end up being that way I will just work out throughout the week with no rest on Sunday.

Monday's workout was a new video....a new cardio video that kicked my butt. I stuck to a diet, this one isn't as strict as the first six day one. I had a protein shake, then a chicken chopped salad and shared some nachos from Lee Roys. This week will be a lot diferent because of the lack of routine that I have. I liked last week how I had to wake up in order to work out and next week with interning will be the same. So I am looking forward to that, plus being able to plan out meals again. We'll see...

EIGHT DAYS DOWN, 82 TO GO!

Day Six & Seven

I am not happy about the first weekend of this diet. Day Six, Saturday I started off in the right direction. I mae up my own workout by combining moves of both sculpting and sweating videos that was about 25 minutes, with longer reps and shorter pauses. Ate my three egg whites for breakfast, a shake for lunch and once I was at the baby shower I made good food selections- turkey and swiss cheese and I said NO TO CAKE! I did have sweet tea and a sprite...oops! Then later in the afternoon I had bread, which I wasn' supposed to do and for dinner friends and I ordered pizza and wings. Although I had one slice, it still wasn't a great idea. Sunday I was ok, we went to Fresh Market and got chicken salad that ate on a kaiser roll for lunch and then left over for dinner. So it wasn't too terrible. I am hopng Monday is better...maybe if I am super strict during the week, I can relax a little on the weekend? Although I feel like I am back at square one today. They recommend not working out on your seventh day and I have to say for a beginner you kind of loose that ambition to work out...so I may not stick to that rule! Here's to Monday, Day Eight, let's hope for better progress and stricter eating guidelines!

Day Five

Today was a very productive day. I slept in, woke up and ran my errands. I bought the Pure Protein Vanilla powder ($17.99 at Super Target for 2 lbs) and a new blender- my old blender was a poor excuse for a blender...it didn't even touch my banana the other morning! Then I came home and put together all these baby gifts-one for the shower I am going to (which I am happy with how cute it turned out), I am making a "Big Sister Hospital Bag" for my friends daughter (also my close friend's niece) and a little something for my other friend that found out she is having a boy!

I did my cardio Fat Burning Express video. I think the more and more I do these videos the better the routine is for me. This was the last of the six days to do this video. I was supplementing it into the week along with the diet for the first week...Sunday or Monday (Sunday is supposed to be my rest day, which I may just do Ab Ripper and packing boxes may be my mode of burning calories?) I will start the Sweat Video Phase 1 & 2 and work through that one every other day until I am ready to move forward to Sweat Phase 2 & 4 which I am hoping to transition to that by Day 45 at the latest. I really enjoy these videos, they are quick and they are a lot of fun. Sometimes I have found myself wanting to re-do it at night but they say not to add on to anything right away?

Diet:
AM: with my new blender I made this unbelievable shake- 6 ounces of Silk Soy milk, one heaping scoop of peanut butter (1 tblsp), one scoop of the vanilla powder and one banana....it was AMAZING! I actually had it early afternoon.

Lunch: 2 cottage cheese packs with 1/2 cup of bluberries

Dinner: mixed greens (romaine, spinach and arugula) with cucumber, feta, swiss cheese, turkey, celery and honey dijon dressing

Snack- 2 packs of almonds

Granted this isn't the exact diet, it is what is on the list. With my weird work schedule I didn't follow it to a T- I kept the calorie count(thanks to my Lose It app on my Ipod that counts my calorie consumption!) the same just switched up the items.

Tomorrow is the real test...the weekend! Hopefully I will remain on my diet (the last day of this six day clean diet) and pick healthier items at the baby shower (will probably nibble but eat my stuff before).

Packing on Sunday and moving in all week! Quite excited!

Five Days down 85 to go!

Day Four

Day Four...well it didn't come as early as the other days, which was nice, but in the end I have to say I liked the structure of waking up early- I ate on time, worked out early, etc. Today I woke up at 7 and went back to bed til about 9:30 then woke up and worked on stuff around the house (the ugly choas of a house that it is right now due to moving), watched 90210 reruns (the REAL 90210 thank you) made a baby blanket for the one of a million baby showers I will have coming up, all boys might I add...another close friend of mine found out today that she is having a BOY! (in our little group we have approx 4 boys under the age of 3 with 3 more coming!) Then I did my workout...

I incorporated the Ab Ripper 100 today- which was awesome! Then I did my sculpting video. I didn't eat breakfast, but had a smoothie on the way to work at 2:30, then had cottage cheese and blueberries and a bag of almonds for my "lunch." Then dinner I had a salad with romaine, arugula, turkey, swiss, carrots and green bean with feta cheese crumbles and balsamic ving and OH MY GOSH the texture of the feta and the crunchiness of the carrots could almost replace most cravings!

Working the 3 shift is brutal. Not because of the 3-11 factor, but I have to pop popcorn, make fresh baked otis Spunkmeyer cookies...the popcorn used to get me and now after I have been making it so much this week (usually i don't do it) pouring the butter (aka pure lard) into the pan pretty much guarantees that I will shine away from any popcorn made in those cute lil machines because that lard is what I have on my backside right now that burns on every workout and will hopefully go away....or so I hope. My sister gave me some enlightning tidbits of info- that you should eat the amount of calories plus a zero that you want to weigh. So if I wanted to weigh 110, I should eat 1,100 calories...pretty neat!?

Notes on yesterday's diet- these salads I have been eating are awesome. I really spent a minor fortune on produce (well like $50 probably) and I experiment with different vegetables, greens and meats and it really does full me up. I was going to pre make a chicken dish and bring it to work but the thought of nuking it in the microwave made me wanna puke, so adding more meat to the salad was perfect. My sister also told me that Publix has protein powder (which so does this fitness package I am doing, but its expensive for two people) in the vanilla flavor for $10 that pretty much fills her up. After working out the other morning and seeing that eggs was my meal and I couldn't stomach that....I think I will stick to these smoothies in the morning to jump start my day. I am actually looking forward to having a structured routine in the mornings, not working this morning threw me all off! Oh well, I guess at this stage of the game it's all about figuring out what works before this strutured routine begins in a week and a half.

I am really happy so far with this program. I am excited every day to work out and do my diet. I am thinking of incorporating the Hip Hop Abs into the week!? We will see...

Four Days Down 86 to go...

Day Three

My alarm went off at a glorious 4:50- but at the point I had slept for 7 hours...so I jumped out of bed after hitting snooze twice and went on with my cardio workout- aka sweat your but off (and gone hopefully) video. I love this video because it incorporates so many different motions...your constantly moving and "burning calories" as they say throughout to motivate ya. I noticed a HUGE difference in my confidence in doing the different moves, I mean granted nobody is watching me you still feel like an idiot leaping side to side and doing prayer squats! There are these "hook, upper cut" stances that you twist as you do it and I really couldn't get the full four part motion down to how the girls on the video do it but today I felt a little less idiotic! SO that's good. The workout went by quickly, I lost a lot of sweat so I was happy. This workout leaves me feeling like I am gonna get sick though....for probably about twenty minutes afterward. But my mom always used to say "A LITTLE PAIN FOR A LITTLE BEAUTY," I would like to rephrase that to "A LITTLE PAIN FOR A LITTLE BOOTY!"

Diet:
Am: I was supposed to have three egg whites with one reg egg mixed together with spinach and feta cheese in a omelet and after the workout was done, eating was the very last thing on my mind. So I opted for a smoothie instead and this is a great recipe: 4 ounces Silk lite soy milk, small handfull of blueberries and three sliced up strawberries, a few ice cubes blended together makes a great shake!

My AM snack: almonds (Target has the 100 calorie packs!)
Lunch: spinach, arugula, sliced celery, sliced carrots, diced green pepper with 4 ounces of turkey, I added one slice of baby swiss cheese sliced up with balsamic ving

PM Snack: Cottage Cheese with raspberries

Dinner: tilapia

Oh the soreness of day three. Yesterday it was my rib cage and quads, today its the arms- I swear I have muscle aches where I didn't know there was muscle! Which you know is a good thing because I would love to be all beefy...well a cute, tiny beefy!

I think I may even try doing the AB Ripper 100 when I get home...it's included in the Sweat Cardio Phase 1 & 2 but this week I am supplementing that with the other cardio video...we will see. I need to get this little (well big) tummy tightened! Then maybe if the results are showing well enough by Day 30, I might be willing to post my Day One pics- and let me tell you they are awful!!!!!!! The pictures certainly wake me up in the morning as my internal motivation to loose this nasty weight!

Steve is so great about it. I think I really for a long time was in denial that i was on the track of gaining weight. I knew what and when I was eating was not healthy. I knew I had zero desire to go exercise (everything I did was outside and in this 110 degree weather, you have to be kidding! Oh and I don't do gyms- yes I am a germa phobe and well your sweat on the machine I am about to go use is disgusting, regardless of how fat I felt I really had no desire to goto a gym) but I had so many other things to deal with- running a household (STEVEN, cooking, cleaning, organizing, paying bills, etc), classes, homework, exams, observation hours, family, friends...besides I had quit smoking and within my mind that was all the excuse I needed to eat something or drink (um Starbucks lattes are like 1,000 calories, but oh so delicious, or as Steve & Steven say "Deliciouso!"). Well there just came a day, like the day I decided to quit smoking where I was seeing numerous posts on Facebook (NICOLE!!!!) and hearing about it and seeing it online- and in my truest fashion I researched and read and watched success stories on You Tube. There was one home video that was posted by herself, not from the company, where she literally showed snippets of her workouts and then pictures of her body changing and by the end I was almost crying- she literally was like over 200 pounds and now she is tall and slender and looks GORGEOUS in a bikini! I knew if she could do it, I could definitely do it- because I was not yet to that extreme point (and God help me if I ever did!). So I ordered it and just started being honest with myself and the things I don't like. Steve and I were doing our measurements and some of them weren't too far apart from each other and here I am with a measuring tape having him help me measure this ugliness, the man I love and would hope to feel beautiful around...and in that kind of moment you really can't help but feel vulnerable and embarassed. It was a COME TO JESUS moment. I had mentioned something about how he could still find me pretty and he said I could gain 100 pounds, shave my head (ala Britney) and he would still love me....so if he is not my own blessing from God, I don't know what is.

Now, I am probably making myself seem like I am the 200 pound girl and I know I am not. But I am all of 5' tall so the weight that I am at looks even worse on me then it would on anyone else...so at this point in the game (yes it is a game- there are obstacles- Starbucks, McDonald's fries, ice cream, candy and potato chips that you have to overcome and fight to win, so it is a game) that is just something else I will use as motivation!

THREE DAYS (almost- it's only 8:25) DOWN and 87 to go!

Day Two

Day Two was great, I felt happy with the day when I was in bed by 8:45 and asleep by 9:30! Alarm went off at 5 am and yesterday's workout was all about sculpting- with once again the infamous lunges, squats and more lunges. It was a great little workout. The resistant band that I use as my weights do make some of the upper lifts, like the swimmer's lift where you stand on the middle of the band lift up to your shoulders corkscrew and up over your head...sounds easy, well it's not, ok! But with time I know that I will do it.

The diet has been ok. Again, there isn't any carbs associated with the first six days and for someone that loves pasta (even though I have been using whole wheat lately) and bread no carbs is hard! I have been very domesticated in packing our lunches each night which consist of a AM snack, salad with meat (lean deli meat, shrimp or tuna) and a afternoon snack (cottage cheese, fruit, almonds). We drink a TON of water, I think I traded the sweet tea for water (gosh how I miss my sweet tea now) I think I have been drinking approximately 4-5 bottles, which is a lot for me because I would usually average maybe 1-2 a day. So that is good. It really is amazing how your body works and you can feel clean. Typically at this fabulous time of the month, I am overly bloated and gross and its not like that at all, probably because I haven't given into the chocolate and cheeseburger cravings? I did add brown rice to our dinner, it said to add 100 calories for my weight anyway and Steve went without eating anything all day and the accompying vegetable was brussel sprouts, which I knew that we would not really like. Dinner was grilled chicken with rosemary and garlic and then the rice and brussel sprouts. The night before our greens were bok choy steamed, which I really liked. I would replace brussel sprouts with the bok choy any day....heck I would trade the brussel sprouts for just about anything!

I am anxiously awaiting Day 21, I read that by then you should be able to start noticing a drastic difference. This week was an easy week to start, next week add in softball starting (no not me, I am just a cheerleader), two night classes and did I mention WE ARE MOVING? Then the following week I start interning, with classes, softball on Mondays & Wednesdays, oh and working at some point during the week, so by DAY 21 this will be a lot more challenging...but I think doing it in the manner in which I am- trying my hardest, waking up when I am tired, listening to my body, following the diet and being straight forward and honest with myself and whoever is interested by keeping myself accountable (thanks Bethany for pointing that one out!) through this blog, is really going to help motivate me to move closer to DAY 90 and on to P90X!

Two Days Down, 88 to go!

Day One

Workout Notes:
Woke up at 5:10 after letting my alarm snooze for one ten minute session and contemplating sleeping in. By the time that I fed my animals (and yes its plural, we run a farm at the Tipton/DuBois house!) and walked the dog, it was 5:40 so was only able to do half of the work out before having to get ready for work and out the dor by 6:30. But in that 20 minute workout, I did about 15 different routines- plank, downward dog, twisting lunges, jab and hoking, kicks, lunges, running, jumping and oh did I mention lunges? It was intense. I felt like I was going to puke, but a good puke. It was a fun chalenge walking up ad down the stairs getting ready for work after that!
Once I got to work this energy kicked in and I was actually standing there doing my kicks! As the day dragged on, I was getting more and more anxious to come home and redo the video. I got home and completed it. Some of the moves I have to admit I felt like a complete idiot, but did my best to complete the workout, I figure it may take me a week or so to be a MASTER...but all in all it was really enjoyable and I can already feel the burn.

Diet:
Breakfast: Strawberry and soy milk smoothie
Snack: almonds
Lunch: Spinach and turkey salad with cucumbers, carrots and mushrooms
Snack: Cottage Cheese and blueberries
Dinner: Seared Tuna steak with steamed bok choy and soy sauce
Cheats:
I gave in and added 1 cream and 1 splenda to my coffee. I am not supposed to have coffee with cream or sugar, just black. Um, yeah right. I can't drink it that way and I am not able to wake up at 5 am and not have coffee....so oh well.

At the end of the day, I have a lot of energy but I am tired from being up early. And the first six days of this diet lack carbs, so I am kinda hungry but other than that I am good to go and looking forward to Day Two...

Bring It On!

I tend to express myself linguistically... my habits, Myers Briggs and tendencies all encourage this notion. Blogging goes hand in hand with these interest of mine (cue the famous Tipton novels). If you read my bio or know me personally, you know that I am currently in school working on my master's degree. As I am sure you all have heard of the Freshman 15...well let me tell you quitting smoking (Feb 20 was my last official cigarette thank you very much), stressing out (and developing anxiety apparently) have packed on the pounds! I hope I am not what one would call "fat" and if I am oh well, half of America is fat, so what. But I know that I am at a point that I am not happy with and I surely don't want to be a "fat teacher (kids are cruel!)" so over my summer break (if that is what three weeks means then that is what it was) I decided that I need to make a change. I ordered the P90 workout (and no I am not advertising it) and adjoining diet (Fat Burning Express Diet) and I am hoping to follow thru with it and reach my goal of loosing 15-20 pounds and be back where I was 7 years ago? Tiny at the age of twenty, just now at 27!

I figured being my linguistic-ness, I would record and blog about this journey. Not only am I going to be fighting this weight thing, but moving (in two weeks) and settling into a new home (pictures to follow), I will also be interning 4 days a week, working and taking two classes...the chaos is sure to be a fun ride! My hope is to enjoy this and use this blog as an outlet to make this a "fun experience" (yeah because saying no to french fries, starbucks and cheeseburgers is a grand time in itself). If all goes well maybe I will include some "BEFORE" photos. I will check in and whine about my workouts that consist of a combo of yoga, pilates, kickboxing, and straight up bootcamp style routines (which will have to take place at 5 am). I plan to use this as a place to record my progress and share my experience with this diet and the challenge of shedding these pounds! Tomorrow starts DAY ONE ....Ah to be a size two again by Christmas will be GLORIOUS!