I know, I know... I'm late

Just a short note that I realize today is the end of the 30-day Surprise PT Challenge however I have been sick the last week so the bad news is I won't see my PT today and I did horrible with exercise/calories. The good news of being sick: PLENTY OF WATER with lemon and ginger!

I've updated the calendar for the challenge but the last week is not good... no exercise and no food tracking! The last time I got any exercise in was last week! Planning on going for a walk this afternoon if I'm up for it. At least it's something!

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On another note, the lovely people at POM Wonderful contacted me the other week to send me some of their products to try. Look for that review coming up this weekend/early next week! Here's a hint: it was delicious!!

Weigh-in Wednesday: 135.0

Last Wed. weight: 136.4

Today's weight: 135.0

Lost: -1.4
TOTAL LOST: 41.4

Had a tough week last week... no PT and busy, busy days! Got to the gym only once in the last week so actually expected worse. Keep on keeping on!

Also, you may haven noticed that I haven't been giving updates on the 30-day Surprise PT Challenge... that's because it's been BAD!!! My personal trainer comes back this Friday so I'll be sure to give an update for the entire challenge by then.

Day 21/30: Bloated is no excuse!

Yesterday I was not in the mood to workout at all!

I was still feeling really bloated from this weekend of eating and this is the worse I've felt from food alone. It's been a while since I ate out so often and this is seriously the worse bloating ever... well of course besides the once-a-month bloating!

Anyway I wrote off any exercise from early yesterday morning and I thought about all the relaxing things I could do when I got home... take a nap... walk the dog... catch up on blogs... cook an early dinner... watch some tv... basically do nothing! And I was happy all day because there was no workout planned. But about an hour before work ended, someone (presumably ME!) kicked my own ass and asked WHY?!

Why was I going to skip my work out? Working out always makes me feel better whether I'm feeling a little sick, or have cramps, or FEELING BLOATED! So right away I called Anthony to see if he wanted to hit the gym after work and he did. So we did! Yay! I usually hate going to the gym after work because it's so crowded but I knew if I didn't go then, I wasn't going at all. So yesterday I was completely on track with everything: diet, water, and miles!

Day 16-20/30: Need your opinon

Again... nothing that exciting this weekend with regards to the 30-day Surprise PT Challenge, but here's a recap of what I did and how it went. Plus, I need your opinion about clothes sizing at the end of this post!! WARNING: Lots 'o eating ahead!!:

Thursday, Day 16/30
Diet-wise pretty on track for Thursday.

I decided to hit the gym to do my cardio only because my workout buddy wanted to go. And what happened when I got there? Did my cardio for almost an hour and a half and my workout buddy still wasn't at the gym. Come to find out he was running really late so he didn't even get there till I was back home. Good thing I didn't wait around for him to show!

Friday, Day 17/30
And let the feasting begin! Friday started a horrible weekend of eating, which didn't end till Monday! Today I was pretty on track until dinner time... had a 600-calorie Costco chicken back! So good but so bad!

After dinner I hit the gym with my workout buddy again (who showed up this time!) and we did a full body workout with some cardio for a total of an hour and half at the gym. I absolutely love Friday nights at the gym because it's so empty! I easily got on (and wasn't intimidated by) the assisted pull-up machine! I just love it!

Saturday, Day 18/20
Day 2 of the horrible eating: went out for lunch and had ramen with Anthony... so good but SO full of sodium. Tonight for dinner I had a peanut butter, honey and banana sandwhich which I sprinkled with my chocolate protein shake... SO YUMMY!!! If I had stopped eating there I would have been golden but NOOOOOOO... after Anthony got off of work we decided to grab food. So my second dinner of the day was spaghetti w/ meat sauce and garlic bread. Talk about bad choices.

Earlier that day I spent about 2-hours shopping by myself. I don't consider this exercising but wish I did because I only got in about 30 minutes on the elliptical at home. Anyway, shopping was awesome and I found some stuff that I'm really excited about!

I haven't talked about it, ever, but I have a slight obsession with fitness magazines, namely Oxygen. I love their straight-forward advice and awesome fitness/nutrition programs! Well they come out with yearly specials and normally I don't get them (Abs special, glutes special, etc.) but just the other day they came out with their first ever 'Off the Couch' special and I really wanted to get it. This special edition of Oxygen is like their motivation special. Tons of stories and advice from real women who lost the weight, got super fit, and have kept the weight off! I've only started reading through it but so far, like any other Oxygen mag, I L.O.V.E. it! Also picked up my other fave mag, Clean Eating. Also bought me a pair of size 2 motivational jeans. I usually don't support buying clothes in smaller sizes in hopes of fitting into it, but see end of post for more details.

Sunday, Day 19/30
Day 3 of horrible eating: more ramen for dinner and a sweet potato tapioca sundae! That's all I need to say about that!

Monday, Day 20/30
Day 4 of horrible eating: ramen (again!) for lunch and a Cinnabon minibon for dessert. I'm sorry, was I trying to lose weight again? I think I forgot!

Today I spent the day at my parents' house going through old clothes and things in preparation of a garage sale this weekend. It was like going shopping since I could actually fit into some of the clothes again! I only kept a handful of tops but it felt so good to try them on and fit them. I also found my high school prom dresses (which I didn't even think to try on) but when I looked at the waist size on one of the dresses, it really put things into perspective as far as the size 2's I just bought the other day (see below for details).

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And here's where I need your opinion: How big of a size difference do you guys notice between today's sizes and sizes from five years ago? In other words does a size 6 today feel like what a size 8, or even 10, was five years ago?

I'm sure many of you have heard that companies now-days are 'resizing' their clothing sizes (read here for one story of this trend) to make customers feel more comfortable and because 'obese' is becoming the norm, but I think it's ridiculous! The other month I bought a size 6 pair of jeans. Well the size 6 was getting a little loose (I think from wear rather than me getting smaller) so I decided to stop in my favorite jeans store, GAP, to try on some different sizes. I picked out several different size 4's, some in different styles and some in the exact same style since I know GAP's sizes can run all over the place. Well some fit perfectly, and everything else was too big! Not too small, TOO BIG!!! WTH?! I KNOW I'm not a size 4, let alone a size 2! And the only reason why I bought a size 2 was because they almost fit... and for me, it's not a matter of if I'll fit them, but when I fit them!

And like I was saying, yesterday I went through a lot of old clothes that I had at my parents' house. Looking at the waist of one of my prom dresses I couldn't believe how tiny it was... and I wasn't tiny in high school... I wasn't fat but I wasn't one of the thin girls. And in high school, I was wearing a size 6 - 7.

If that's the case, how am I wearing a size 4 - 6 now, eight years later and 20 lbs. heavier?

So for me, the size-changing by these companies are crazy! I understand it's a marketing move, but is making Americans believe they're a size 4 or 6, when in actuallity they're more like a size 8 - 10, healthy and good for us? Isn't this just another way to make it 'okay' for us to keep getting bigger, a.k.a another contributor to the obesity epidemic, rather than a solution? What are your thoughts and experiences?

Halfway point and a new LOVE

Yesterday was day 15 of my 30-day Challenge... already! I can't believe it's halfway done and I'm not sure if I'm happy with how I've done.

Here are my original goals and here is how I'm doing:

• cardio miles: at least 3 miles/day, 6 days/week = 78 miles/53.5 miles
  
• weight train: 3 days/week = 15 days/7 days
  
• calories: stay between 1300 - 1600
• water: at least 72 oz/day = 2160 oz./1218 oz.
• weight: lose 6+ lbs. = -1.5 lbs. week/-0.8 lbs. week

(click on calendar for a bigger picture)

So still on track except for the weight-loss but losing almost a pound a week consistently is something to celebrate for me! YAY!! But looking at the calendar, it's obvious why the weight-loss isn't greater... my calorie intake! I really like seeing everything laid out in a calendar-format because it really shows me which areas I need watch! Think I'll continue using this format even after the Challenge.

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Last night at the gym... I found a new love! No, I'm not cheating on Anthony, but I fell in love with this:

The assisted pull-up/dip machine!!

It's basically a pull-up/dip machine that lets you choose how much weight to minus off from your body weight so you can build up your strength until you're able to do unassisted pull-ups/dips.

I've always eyed out the machines at the gym because I am obsessed with being able to do one perfect-form pull-up! It's been years since I've been able to and it would be a huge accomplishment (and an awesome workout!) if I can start incorporating these into my weight training routines. Anyway, I've always been too scared to try them at the gym because all the machines are located in the area of the gym which I call "the big boy" area... you know, the part of the gym were only guys tend to workout. Well last night it was pretty empty so Anthony and I tried them and I'm in love!

I didn't have the chance to spend a lot of time on the machines because we were actually on our way out of the gym but I can't wait to get back on the assisted machine tomorrow!

Gorgeous back muscles and tapered lats, HERE I COME!!

Day 13, 14, 15/30: Nothing exciting

Nothing really exciting to post for the past three days of the 30-day Surprise PT Challenge, but here's a recap of what I did and how it went:

Monday, Day 13/30
Looking back at my workouts last week, I realized I didn't take a break day so as much I didn't want to because of the weekend of eating, I took off on Monday. Water intake and calories were on track all day!

Tuesday, Day 14/30
Yesterday still on track with water intake and cals, but my cals were actually really low throughout the day and I totally felt it when I tried to workout to a combo of strength/cardio: P90X Plyometrics. One of my absolute favorite workouts ever! Higher impact and a little tougher on the joints, but I love how it's one of the few workouts that really give me a good pump going through my leg muscles. Not even lifting weights can give me this kind of burn. And I am feeling it today because I cannot sit down or get up without being reminded of the jump squats and jump lunges from yesterday... my glutes and hammies are sore! I LOVE IT!

Wednesday, Day 15/30
As long as I stick to my plan for the last 8 hours of the day, I will be right on target for my calories, water, and workout. Nothing too exciting today, just going to the gym later tonight to hit the weights (minus lower body moves!) for, what I hope will be, an intense upper body workout. I wanna feel the burn in my arms, check, back and shoulders like I do my legs!

BTW, I realize that today is my half-way mark for the challenge so I'll be posting thoughts and a recap of how I'm doing so far.

Day 12/30: Won me another one!

Sticking to the 30-day Challenge was tough this weekend because I had a family member pass away so I had a lot of family in from out of town. Lunches and dinners filled majority of the meals this weekend and not having the option to chose healthier items really made it hard to stick to the diet part - how do you choose between orange chicken and crispy fried salt and pepper beef? Anyway, today was a little better as far as food choices but still over in calories but...

... at least I still got in my exercise. This is the hardest part to fit into my schedule when it gets busy but I did it this weekend! Got in walking yesterday and did a nice hour long HIIT session (yes! an hour!) this morning and heading to the gym later tonight.

The PT comes back in about 2.5 weeks so really gotta get it together if I wanna see the results!

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Thank you to Katie for bestowing this award upon my lil' blog.

So the rules are: Copy and change the answers to suit you and pass it on. You must use only one word answers! Once you have filled it out you then pass it on to 6 of your favorite bloggers and alert them that they have been awarded!

So here goes:

1. Where is your cell phone? charging
2. Your hair? brown
3. Your mother? caring
4. Your father? marathoner
5. Your favorite food? pasta
6. Your dream last night? none
7. Your favorite drink? water
8. Your dream/goal? be happy
9. What room are you in? patio
10. Your hobby? blogging
11. Your fear? fat
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? content
13. Where were you last night? gym
14. Something that you aren't? picky
15. Muffins? suck
16. Wish list item? puppy
17. Where did you grow up? Hawaii
18. Last thing you did? facebook
19. What are you wearing? shorts
20. Your TV? HUGE
21. Your pets? Poki-love!
22. Friends? important
23. Your life? great
24. Your mood? tired
25. Missing someone? babe
26. Vehicle? Corolla
27. Something you’re not wearing? watch
28. Your favorite store? Ross
29. Your favorite color? black
30. When was the last time you laughed? tonight
31. Last time you cried? weeks
32. Your best friend? babe
33. One place that I go to over and over? gym
34. One person who emails me regularly? Chad
35. Favorite place to eat? many

Now six of my favorite bloggers. Well this one is tough because there are MANY blogs out there that I like. I hate 'stopping' the award from traveling around in blogland but I prefer to give this award to anyone who I follow... if I follow your blog... I think you're awesome!

Again, thanks Katie for the award!

Day 11/30: Thanks parents, for this awesome food find!

As far as the challenge goes, still on track but went way over on cals today. Making up for it tomorrow with two workout sessions so we'll see if I can hold on to that sweet weigh-in I had yesterday! More food, family, and good times tomorrow and Monday so it'll be tough...

On another note...

My parents are big time snackers and the other weekend I was over at their place and they had a container of chocolate covered almonds on their counter. No biggie since I wasn't tempted by the 'evil' chocolate but when I took a better look... it was cocoa covered almonds! Not fully processed chocolate.

Buy your's at Sam's Club TODAY!

I quickly turned the container over to read the nutrition facts and and it was good!


Almonds are a staple in my diet right now, usually raw and unsalted, but these are perfect for satisfying my chocolate/sweet cravings!

Thank you, parents!

Day 10/30: Shakeology

I've noticed all my last posts about the 30-day Surprise PT Challenge were all fitness/exercise based... but what about the nutrition side? That's just as important, if not more, than fitness itself.

So thought I'd write about a nutrition product which I truly believe in and drink several times a week as my breakfast.

**Disclaimer: I do NOT work for/sell/or gain any profit off of Beachbody products. I'm not a Beachbody coach. I just really believe in the company and their products.**

Beachbody is an amazing company - top notch fitness programs (my FAVES are P90X and ChaLean Extreme) and a passion for "ending the trend of obesity". Earlier this year Beachbody released a powdered nutrient powerhouse - Shakeology! I won't get into the details (but you can read it here) but I just love this stuff. It's basically powdered whole food sources that carry a ton of nutrients from veggies, fruits, grains and seeds and of course some protein thrown in for good measure. Shakeology is advertised as a nutritional/energy shake, not necessarily a meal-replacement or weight-loss shake, but I use it as my breakfast (blended with a mix of different things) and I have no doubt that some of my weight-loss is due to the shake.

I've been drinking it at least 3x/week for the last 5 months and I can't say enough about it! No joke... I can feel a difference on the days that I don't have my Shakeology... the energy level really isn't there. And sure, it might be 'all in my head' but if me just thinking it works makes it work, then why not? Plus do some research and read about what the other THOUSANDS of drinkers have to say. But even more important than the energy increase (and that's an energy increase without any stimulants, I might add!) is knowing that my body is getting the nutrients it needs and that's the most important thing. I'm working really hard to get the body I want and achieve the fitness level I want so I need to make sure I fuel my body correctly.

Why wouldn't I want to get the most out of my workouts and diet?

And Shakeology helps me do this by giving my body the nutrients it doesn't get from my diet. Of course I watch my diet, but even a person who eats clean, clean, CLEAN, can't get all the nutrients they need from the food they eat. How would you like to eat two pounds of broccoli, 10 cups of blueberries, five pounds of spinach, or 8 apples at a sitting? And even those won't cover everything you need!

It took me a while to finally order my first bag of Shakeology because like fitness gadgets, I'm skeptical of what's out there. But I did my research and read up on what makes Shakeology, Shakeology and I do believe it's one of the best supplements out there. And for me it's worked out great! I love it and will continue to use it for as long as I can!

Now I know this sounded like a sales pitch for Shakeology and I assure you I have nothing to do with this company except that I'm a loyal customer. But come to think of it, I do profit from Beachbody and Shakeology. I've profited stronger muscles, lower levels of fat, more energy, and a huge boost of self-confidence! No financial gains are in order for me after writing this, this is just one happy user sharing her thoughts and opinions on Shakeology!

Day 9/30: Step-mill Challenge

Bring it on, Josh!

The other day my blogger friend Josh proposed a step-mill challenge for himself... "Climb the equivalent of the tallest staircase in the world (2,579 steps) in one session. This equates to 171 flights of stairs on the StepMill"...

That's a lot of steps!!

Well Josh did it over this weekend and killed it! He did 2700+ stairs which is equivalent to walking over 3 miles of straight STAIRS!! Awesome job, my friend! So awesome, in fact, I told him I'm gonna do it too... and I did tonight at the gym. Results:

Minutes: 50 min
Steps: ?? (not sure how many stairs = a floor)

Floors: 302

Miles: 4.2

Thanks for the motivation to get me moving on a machine I don't like! Variety is the spice of life and this was something different for my body. Yay!

Day 8/30: Scary people at the gym!

So last night Anthony and I had our usually late-Wednesday-night gym date. Today was a weight training day so we were ready to hit the iron hard but our plans hit a bump when we discovered there are some scary people at the gym! Now, I'm not a mean person and I think anyone at the gym is doing themselves good - more power to ya! - but when someone is there and actually scaring me because I think they may go crazy... that'll set me back a bit while doing my sets!

There was a lady at the gym who was doing a ton of non-weight bearing strength training - lunges, ab work, skips, hops, squats, etc. That's all fine but her movements were so exaggerated you could have been knocked out if you got in her way... literally! And she was being her own personal trainer. Talking very loudly to herself and counting her reps to herself - and I mean loudly! She wasn't quite yelling, but she wasn't just talking under her breath either. And she was saying things like:

"None of those girls are anything"

"Those girls don't mean anything"
"It's not against the rules to

At one point I was doing chest presses on the bench and looked over at her and you know what she said LOUDLY:

"It's not against the rules to talk to out-loud to yourself!"

Got it! I finished up what I was doing and moved to the other side of the room. When we left, she was skipping and mummering to herself again in the hallway. At some points during the night I really thought she was gonna snap!

Day 7/30: One week already?!

One week into the Challenge already?!

Today is my rest day but since I have an early dinner planed with a friend, Anthony and I are going to leave our car at a local park and walk around for a bit, then walk over to the restaurant for dinner. Only have about 30 minutes or so but thought it would be a good way to get in a little bit of exercise.

If I'm feeling up for it, I'll jump on the elliptical later tonight when I watch TBL.

Calorie-wise today, I just wasn't hungry. Had my breakfast of oatmeal, peanut butter, honey and protein, but skipped out on my AM snack because I was still full... this is unheard of for me! Usually by 10:00 AM I'm looking forward to my snack. But just like an off exercise day, I guess it happens. I'm pretty sure calories will be low today... does that mean it's more reason to NOT jump on the elliptical? Hmm...

Day 6/30: Sore foot

Well check out my calendar above... besides going a little over on the calories on Sunday (blame it on the boyfriend because it was his birthday and we had to go out to eat at a really nice steak restaurant... just jokin) I stayed on track during the weekend. Isn't it suppose to be easier to do it on the weekdays?

Anyway, yesterday was day 6/30 for my 30-day challenge. Made it to the gym with Anthony and we both got in a good hour's worth of weight-lifting. It felt good to kind of 'do things on my own without the PT' but the level of motivation is definitely lacking. I still pushed myself pretty good because my muscles are sore today! Love it!

What I'm not loving is my sore foot! I had this once before from running too much too fast so I think my overly-long run during the weekend brought it back. Gonna rest it for a bit but will still get in my 3+ cardio miles a day from my elliptical or walking outside. No running for me for a week or so.

Right when I was getting back in the groove of running... damn it!

Day 5/30: Happy Birthday Baby!

Happy Birthday Baby!

Today is my boyfriend, Anthony's, birthday! He's working right now (boo!! Having to work on your birthday sucks!) but I'm really excited about tonight. We're going to a really nice steakhouse and we are going to have the works - drinks, appetizers, steaks, and dessert! In fact I'm so excited, it feels like it's my birthday!

But I know what you're thinking... how the hell am I going to stay on track for the 30-day Challenge?! Well so far today (it's only 5:30 in the afternoon) I've hit everything: 6+ miles of cardio miles, Jillian's Biggest Winner dvd, P90X Ab Ripper X, and I've hit my water goal already with 80 oz. And for the calories... well I ate super light but super filling. Mostly fruits and veggies so as of right now, I'm only at 623 calories so I have lots to spare for the birthday celebration! I already know what I'm eating and as long as I don't stray from my choices, I will fall right at about 1550 calories for the day. My plan is to have one drink, warm-spinach salad that's made and served table-side, 7oz filet mignon cooked medium rare w/ fresh steamed veggies, and dessert.

The dessert is the hard part because I'm leaning towards bananas foster, which the restuarant is know for, but we'll see. If I only eat half of that, I'll meet my calorie goal for the day.

Gotta go get ready for my hot date now but will be back later to update how dinner (and dessert!) went!

Day 4/30: Selling myself short

As promised... I'm back on track today!

Water goal... CHECK!
Calorie range... CHECK!
Miles... (read below)... but CHECK!
Strength training... CHECK

It was my plan to go to the gym tonight and do my cardio there but decided I wanted to get outside and run. So I dropped the boyfriend off at work and went running. The route that I chose took me around Diamond Head and along the beach so the views and sunset were amazing!

This is part of the route: Around that big brown crater on the right and around the green fields to the left.

Please remind me that I live in Hawaii and we have gorgeous sunsets daily outside... I tend to take it for granted!

Anyway, the route is a little hilly and at one particular area, it's a good incline for about a mile. I've never run the entire way before, BUT I DID IT today! Even as I was doing it, I didn't think I'd make it. Talk about selling myself short! What kept me running the entire way...

"I'll just run to that mail box"
Then when I got there, "I'll just run to that street light."
Then when I got there, "I'll just run to that fire hydrant."
Then when I got there, "I'll just run to that parked car."

And before I knew it I reached the top of the incline and I felt good! So good that I just kept on running instead of giving myself the break that I kept promising myself I would get if "I just run to that... whatever."

AWESOME!

I'm not a runner... never really enjoyed it... and over the past year or so I've really avoided it because I used to get shin splints - come to think of it, I'm pretty sure the shin splints are the only reason why I don't like running - but since I started to consistently lift weights, I've noticed (knock on wood) that I don't get them any more. Could be a mix of mostly running of the treadmill at the gym instead of on the pavement so these next several weeks I'll be getting in more runs outside to see if the pain comes back.

By the way, the most awesome thing about today's run? I thought the route I ran was about 5 miles... turned out to be 7.2 miles!!! Yay me!

Day 3/30: "Resting" again

Not sure what's wrong with me but I'm taking a "rest" day again!!!

I was so motivated last weekend with the 365-mile Challenge, the motivation kinda rolled with me into this week but I can't get moving.

Today I was suppose to get in my 3 miles of cardio and do weights on my own (damn it I miss my personal trainer already!) but instead I came home and did nothing productive! Think my body just needs a rest since I've been "going at it" for the last 4 months straight.

I'll get back on track tomorrow... PROMISE!

Day 2/30: To rest or not to rest

Yesterday wasn't so good for the Challenge. Thursdays are normally my rest days so I was debating if I should workout or not. I decided not to because of the crazy 365-mile Challenge this past weekend and since I hadn't taken a break day since then, it was about time. I'm still counting my miles/strength goals as 'not reached' because technically I should have worked out for the 30-day Challenge.

Nutrition wise I went over in calories but keep in mind that normally my calorie range is 1600 - 1700 cals a day... I lowered it to 1400 - 1500 cals for the challenge. But if I'm hungry late in the evening I'll still up my cals to my normal... still need to fuel my body properly.

Day 1/30: DWTS = time fast-forwarding?

Wednesday started my 30-day PT Challenge. On that day, the boyfriend and I went to the gym after an early (and light!) dinner. I spent my entire hour on the treadmill, which is totally unheard of for me, but Dancing with The Stars was on tv so I just kept pushing along, not even realizing the time - btw, Kelly Osbourne looks AMAZING! Anyway in no time I was finished and had pushed out a little over 5 miles. Coulda/Shoulda stayed longer to get in a quick 15 minute HIIT session but I was beat.

Nutrition-wise I stayed between my calorie range of 1400 - 1600 and the water intake was spot on.

Hope to have plenty of these days!

Another challenge!! Am I CRAZY?!

No... not crazy... but damned determined!!

This past Tuesday was my last personal trainer session until October 23 - my PT is getting married and going on vacation for 3 weeks! And since I only see him on Tuesdays and Fridays, to me he's actually going to be gone for a month... 30 days EXACTLY!

So I'm proposing a challenge to myself:

30-day "Surprise-the-PT-when-he-gets-back" Challenge!
or the 30-day Surprise PT Challenge for short.

What is the Challenge: Technically, this 30-day challenge started on Wednesday, the 23rd (I'm only writing about it now), but for the next 30 days I will be personal-trainer-free so I wanted to take this opportunity to change up my workout and try new healthy recipes. And of course lose some weight while I'm at it!

Why am I doing it: For the last 4 months I've done most of my exercise at the gym and it's been the same thing every week...

Cardio on Monday.
Personal trainer on Tuesday.
Cardio on Wednesday.
Off on Thursday.
Personal trainer on Friday.
Cardio on Saturday.
Cardio and weights on Sunday.

It's about time for a change, don't you think?

Plus, with the accountability of a personal trainer and having scheduled sessions, I feel like I've lost a little of my own accountability and motivation so I wanna get that back! Eating right and exercising are ways of life for me, but recently I feel like I've been in a rut... just putting in the hours at the gym because I'm suppose to, eating oatmeal and fruit because I'm suppose to, drinking a ton of water because I'm suppose to. I want to enjoy eating healthy and working out again.

When does it happen: This challenge started Wednesday, Sept. 23 and will run exactly 30 days until Thursday, Oct. 22.

How will I do it: Do workouts that I haven't done in a R.E.A.L.L.Y. long time and try new recipes every week. As far as exercise, here are some of my weapons of choice:

For strength training I'm gonna rotate through a 5-day split and switch between P90X workouts and Jillian Michaels' "The Biggest Winner" series.

For cardio, I'm gonna get in more runs outside (not on the treadmill) and I'm gonna start running stairs again. If/when I go to the gym I'll rotate between machines I don't normally use, like the bike and rowing machine.

Goals for the challenge:

• cardio miles: at least 3 miles/day, 6 days/week = 78 miles
  
• weight train: 3 days/week = 15 days
  
• calories: stay between 1300 - 1600
• water: at least 72 oz/day = 2160 oz.
  
• weight: lose 6+ lbs. = -1.5 lbs./week