RFSC: Week 9 goals (!!!!)

Week 9 Goals

First thing, let me take you back two months ago when I first set my RFSC goals: 

NSV Goal

• Success story.  The other week I was talking to Anthony and told him that one of my NSV goals is to be featured on the "Wall of Success" at our gym.  The catch is I don't wanna ask to be a feature, I wanna be asked... big difference.

MISSION  FREAKING  ACCOMPLISHED!!!!!  This past week, Trainer L asked me to be a success story for the gym wall!  He asked me to write up a short paragraph about my journey and include a starting, middle, and current picture.  I literally finished it about an hour ago and sent it off to him just in time for my gym's grand reopening later this week.  Let's just say that between this and my weigh-in with Trainer L, I was in such an emotional state earlier this week... in a good way, of course.

Second thing, remember the exciting/secret news I had mentioned here?  Well, I just got back home from a two-day intensive personal trainer certification workshop and exam!!!  Yup, I'm going to be a personal trainer (once I pass a couple more certifications and get first-aid/CPR recertified).  I already went on a first interview at my gym and just need to schedule the second interview once I become certified.  I'm so excited... scared like hell... but still excited!!  So this is the reason why I need to really step up my nutrition... doesn't look good to be a chubby personal trainer.

Exercise Goal 

• Keep on going.  Continue my current 12-week exercise program, which will take me into the middle of May. 

• Sun:  arms and abs + HIIT
• Mon:  OFF
• Tues:  full-body weight training + cardio
• Wed: chest, shoulders and abs + plyo
• Thur: hammies, glutes, calves
• Fri:  back, bi's, and abs + HIIT
• Sat:  shoulders, tri's and calves + plyo

Nutrition Goal

• Clean, clean, clean!  My #1 priority for the next 10 weeks is to really focus on and dial in my nutrition.  Clean, whole foods to support my body and intense workouts.  Last two weeks and I plan to make them the BEST two weeks of this challenge.
• Increase healthy fats.  Definitely need to add more "smart fats" to my diet: salmon, avocado, nuts, olive oil, flaxseeds, coconut oil, etc. Cutting back on the healthy fats a bit since I'm in major fat-loss mode right now.  Still taking my fish oil and flaxseed oil, cooking with coconut oil, and eating a whole egg a day, but will eliminate whole avocados/fatty cuts of meat until mid-June.
• New eats = happy tummy.  Making it a goal to try one new recipe a week.  Nutrition can get pretty boring if you eat the same things over and over, so finding 10 new (hopefully yummy) recipes to add to my rotation will do me good.  Going to try this recipe for dinner tonight.

____________________________________________________________

Week 8 recap

Yup, this week sucked with exercise BUT I purposely took off.  Getting over a cold, body feeling run down, and having to study for my personal trainer certification kept me out of the gym (and out of work for a day).  I'm ready to hit it hard in Week 9!


Exercise Goal 

• Keep on going.  Continue my current 12-week exercise program, which will take me into the middle of May. 

• Sun:  arms and abs + HIIT
• Mon:  OFF
• Tues:  full-body weight training + cardio
• Wed: OFF
• Thur: OFF
• Fri:  OFF
• Sat:  OFF

Nutrition Goal

• Clean, clean, clean!  My #1 priority for the next 10 weeks is to really focus on and dial in my nutrition.  Clean, whole foods to support my body and intense workouts.  With my new fitness goal, clean eating has to be a priority or else what's the point?  Nutrition makes up 80% of the equation to get us the body we want.
• Increase healthy fats.  Definitely need to add more "smart fats" to my diet: salmon, avocado, nuts, olive oil, flaxseeds, coconut oil, etc. Are avocados out of season?  Can't seem to find any that don't break the bank to buy ($5 for one?! SERIOUSLY?!)
• New eats = happy tummy.  Making it a goal to try one new recipe a week.  Nutrition can get pretty boring if you eat the same things over and over, so finding 10 new (hopefully yummy) recipes to add to my rotation will do me good.  Tried out this recipe for slow cooker chicken fajitas and it was... okay.  I'm not a bell pepper person and the bell pepper taste was a little too much for me.  Minus that, it would have been REALLY good!  Easy fix for next time so I'll be keeping this recipe in my rotation.

My 11

I'm a little late on posting this but better late then never, right?  Beth from The Kitchen Minions (only go to her blog when you're not hungry... her recipes and food photography skills are MAD crazy!!) has tagged me to answer some questions and share a little bit more about myself.

These types of "tagging" posts are going around like wild fire in the blog-o-sphere but I like to do them 'cause I get to share some not-weight-loss-related facts about me.  =)

The rules:

1. Post these rules.
2. You must post 11 random things about yourself.
3. Answer the questions set for you in their post.
4. Create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer.
5. Go to their blog and tell them you've tagged them.
6. No stuff in the tagging section about "you are tagged if you are reading this". You legitimately have to tag 11 people.

So here we go ….

11 Random Things About Me

1. I have two dogs - Poki and Beans

2. I have six tattoos… and counting!

3. I love to bake.  Not so good for weight-loss.

4. Eggs!! I cannot get enough of them.

5. My great-uncle helped design the original Strawberry Shortcake.

6. I was born and raised in Hawaii... and I've never been on a surf board.

7. In high school, I ran my own eBay business.  It made me more money than my current job!

8. I used to make and sell custom miniature guinea pig figures.

9. I don't have (or haven't yet discovered) a legitimate fear of anything.

10. I've ran and completed a total of 2 races in my life.

11. I don't like running.

11 Questions For me to Answer from Beth

1. What do you drink in the morning? Coffee? Tea? Smoothie? Something else?

 All of the above!  Coffee normally gets thrown into my morning protein smoothie and I'll almost always drink green tea on the side.  Protein smooth = whey protein, casein protein, frozen fruit, Shakeology, almond milk, nut butter, spirulina powder, 100% cacao powder and handful of baby spinach.

2. What do you listen to in the car?

Only my radio since my cd/mp3 player is broken.

3. Beach or Mountains?

Is it cheating to say both?  Come on, I live in Hawaii and we only have beaches and mountains.  If I HAVE to pick one, then beaches.

4. What is your funniest high school/college memory?

I used to play volleyball in high school and for one of our drill, our coach would serve a ball to us from across the court and we had to run up and make the ball bounce off the gym floor and between our legs.  If the ball got between your legs, you would be in the perfect position to return that serve. 

So it was my friend's turn.  The coach served the ball, my friend ran up to it, it bounced between her legs... and disappeared!  From our view on the side of the court, we could clearly see the ball got stuck in her shirt (bounced off the gym floor, caught her shirt on the bounce up and stayed there) but my friend had no idea.  She turned around looking to see where the ball went but couldn't find it.  It must have been at least a minute until she realized it was in the back of her shirt.  SO FUNNY!!!

5. What was the last book that you read?

Primal Blueprint by Mark Sisson

6. What's your favorite comfort food?

Grilled cheese... all buttery and gooey!  Nom nom nom!

7. Why did you start your blog?

I was pretty active in the forums of My Food Diary - which got me started on my weight-loss journey - for a little over half a year before I started my blog.  I decided to start a blog to keep my thoughts/failures/achievements organized and to hopefully be an inspiration to other people.

8. What magazines do you read regularly?

Oxygen Magazine (the best!), Real Simple, and Fitness RX

9. What is your favorite type of wall decoration? (paintings, B and W photos, Vacation shots…etc.)

Abstract paintings and B&W photos.

10. What's your favorite color?

Blue in any shade... it's definitely not pink.

11.What do you like most about where you live?

The all-day-everyday-can't-be-used-as-an-excuse-to-miss-exercise good weather.

11 Questions for the tagees:

1. What made you want to get healthy?

2. Cardio or weight-training

3. What has been your biggest NSV (non-scale victory) to date?

4. What do you love most about your body?

5. Why (to question #4)?

6. Who has been your biggest supporter through this journey?

7. In the next 6 months, what is the biggest goal you're working towards?

8. What is the one thing you won't give up as you lost weight?

9. Most motivational quote or person?

10. What is your favorite non-healthy food?

11. What is you favorite healthy food?

11 Bloggers I Tagged (in no particular order)

1. Sable - Squat Like a Lady

2. Sarah - On My Weigh To Happiness

3. Deanna - Me and You (Getting Fit at Home)

4. Dina - From Waddle to Run

5. Kyle - Getting Better and Better

6. Cori - Mac Bicep

7. Tiff - Miles in Murray

8. Annalisa - Diary of Yo-yo Dieter

9. Mary - Designer of Me

10. Tenecia - Boobs, Barbells and Broccoli

11. BubbleTeaResa - BubbleTeaResa

Motivational Mondays: Blog Awards!

****First of all, don't forget about my blog giveaway!****

These little babies are a huge motivation for me because it pushes me harder and keeps me going on this journey. Not because my goal is to get blog awards, but because when I do get one, I feel like what I'm doing does make a difference. Of course nothing entirely important, but if someone can learn something from me through my blog, then it makes it worth it.

My blog was started as a 'diary' chronicling my up's and down's with weight-loss... I never imagined it'd turn into something that people willingly choose to read! If it weren't for the people I've met on this journey, I have a feeling I may have given up a long time ago!

So if you're reading this, please take the award for yourself! You, my readers, are my true motivation.

So a big thank you to Fran, over at Anthem of my Heart, for the lovely Sugar Doll Award. Here are 10 things you may or may not find interesting about me (some are repeats from previous awards):

1. I can speak Hawaiian - Not just 'Aloha' and 'Mahalo', but actually speak it and hold a conversation. It's a beautiful language.
   
2. I have five tattoos and I WANT MORE!! - They myth that when you get your first one you become addicted is SO true! Right now the ones I have are small but when I reach my goal weight I have a nice big (tasteful) one planned out - gonna start at my right hip, work it's way up the middle of my back, and end over my left shoulder! Mom - if you're reading this, don't tell dad!
   
3. My great-uncle helped create Strawberry Shortcake - He helped design her look for Mattel; from her red hair to her strawberry hat. It's one of our family's favorite history facts.
   
4. I was born and have lived in Hawaii my entire life, but I have never gotten on a surfboard - I've boogie-boarded and body-surfed a ton but never caught a wave on a surfboard. It's so weird that I haven't... I need to seriously add this to my 'to-do list' for 2010 or something.
   
5. I used to run my own website that sold little clay guinea pig sculptures - I called them Piggie Pies. I used to have four guinea pigs and one day I decided to make little one-inch replicas of them. They turned out to be a big hit (especially with people in England!) and I couldn't keep up with orders. I eventually got bored with it though and closed it down.
   
6. I have a slight obsession with hair products! - I buy a ton of them... use a ton of them... love a ton of them... hate a ton of them... and review a ton of them on Amazon (I'm dorky like that). My favorite to date: Fekkai and LUSH products!
7. Back in high school I ran my own e-bay business - It made me more money then, than my full-time job now! But the e-bay world has become so saturated with sellers I could never make that kind of money again.
   
8. I L.O.V.E Vegas - Four more days till I get to be back!
9. I don't gamble in Vegas - Weird to love a city that's made up off gambling? Not really. There's a ton more to do in Vegas than just gamble... like shopping and eating and hiking at places that Hawaii just doesn't have.
   
10. I've owned almost every type of animal as a pet - At one time or another, I've had a reptile, bird, amphibian, mammal, fish, or insect as a pet. My parents weren't too happy about all the creatures.
    

Blog Awards!

I know you've seen them floating around blogland but I gotta say... it makes me feel so good to get one! To realize that my 'lil ole blog helps others is AMAZING to me and that's what pushes me to go the extra step in my fitness journey!

My friend Kyle, over at Getting Better and Better, recently gave me an award:


As with all awards, there are rules to accepting them. To accept the "Happy 101 award", I need to 1.) acknowledge the person who gave it to me - Kyle, 2.) list ten items that make me happy, and 3.) award it to ten other bloggers.

So keeping with my fitness-journey blog, I'll be listing the ten weight-loss/fitness items that make me happy.

10 Happy Items
(in no particular order)

1. Anthony - My supporter through all of this!
   
2. Poki - My walking buddy that never lets me forget to get outside
   
3. My Bodybugg - Keeps me VERY accountable
   
4. Powerblocks - Gotta love how heavy I can lift and how little space they take up
   
5. Hawaii's weather - Keeps me outside hiking all year round
   
6. My personal trainer - Pushes me harder than I can push myself.
   
7. Oxygen magazine - So much motivation, exercise routines, and eats
   
8. workout dvd's - No time for gym? No problem! This is where it all started.
   
9. eggs - I L.O.V.E eggs... scrambled, poached, boiled, any way!
   
10. other bloggers - Seriously... you guys make me realize this journey is a struggle for everyone, not just myself. The support, inspiration, and motivation I've received from other bloggers is amazing and I know I couldn't find anything like it any where else.
    

10 Happy Bloggers
(in no particular order)
**This is among MANY that I like... it's just hard to pick only ten**

1. *Bitch Cakes*
   
2. Annalisa: Diary of a Yo-yo Dieter
   
3. Coach Your Mind
   
4. I Commit 2 be Fit
   
5. Jack Sh*t, Gettin' Fit
   
6. Keeping the Pounds OFF!
   
7. Prior Fat Girl
   
8. Project Exercise
   
9. Secrets... to losing... 100 lbs.
   
10. Tony the Anti-Jared

_____________________________________________

Kyle also gave me the 'Getting Better and Better' Award for giving him a "tip top tip" about kale chips. Let me know when you make them, Kyle!

GAG 2009: Week 16 weigh-in

Today is the last weigh-in day for my GAG Challenge and I can't believe it's been 16 weeks already. I gotta say I'm really disappointed in myself. Here is my week 1 scale-shot and body pict:



And here's week 16 (I'm embarrassed to say that I'm wearing the same exact outfit in this picture... so shame!):



Not much difference huh? That's a two pound difference in 16-weeks BUT... my inches and body fat percentage are down so I'll still take it. In my journey right now, my weight-loss has slowed down a lot but as long as it keeps moving in the right direction, I can't be mad.

There's also a second part of the week-16-weigh-in. An essay to answer these questions.

Compare and contrast your reasons for joining GAG in September to the way you feel today. For example: What did you learn? Where did you succeed? Where did you fail? What did you accomplish that you might not have without this challenge? What surprised you? What motivated you? How do you feel about the results you achieved? Would you consider joining a challenge again? What are your final wrap-up thoughts?

I joined GAG on the very last day of sign-ups because I wasn't sure if I wanted to do a challenge because when I set goals and expectations for myself, I always seem to disappoint. But on the last day I changed my mind and knew joining the challenge would hold me accountable. It was my goal to come out of the GAG challenge healthier and fitter then I was going into the challenge and I think I accomplished that. As far as a number goal, I set my sights on being 10 lbs. lighter after these 16 weeks but I obviously didn't accomplish that.

The GAG Challenge kept me motivated and accountable during the holidays, the hardest part of the year, so I'm very thankful for that. The best thing I liked about the challenge was that it was about health, not just weight-loss. Other challenges I've joined it's always been one or the other: exercise or pounds dropped. But the GAG Challenge incorporated exercise, nutrition, and weight-loss. The other part that rocked: I've met a bunch of wonderful people who I know I'll keep in touch with long after this challenge is over.

Gaggy Award!

Remember back in September I mentioned an awesome group challenge I joined? The challenge was called the GAG Challenge - Give A Gift to yourself. This group has been an absolute inspiration and I've met so many wonderful people... so many wonderful people that are on the same 'get healthy' journey as me. Well, my fellow GAGers have award me with a Gaggy Award and I couldn't be happier:

Our first recipient, Annie, has been described by her fellow challengers as a WARRIOR. Working hard, staying focused, and always Encouraging of Others, she was also nominated over and over for her amazing RECIPES. To quote one of her fellow GAGers: “I always have boring food, but she’s so ORIGINAL and CREATIVE.” I agree. Congratulations Annie!

Thanks you guys! It really means a lot!

Actually there are a lot of Gaggies being handed out so check out the GAG blog if you're interested in seeing the other awesome, inspirational, and motivational members!!

Congratulations to all the Gaggy winners!

Gorgeous Blogger Blogging!

Aww... I always get so thrilled when I get a message that someone has awarded my blog an award (and yes I know these could easily be made up by anyone, but it's still such an honor). MackAttack over at Fat Buster gave me the Gorgeous Blogger Award. Not sure if it means I'm gorgeous or my blog is but I'd like to think both! :o)

So to make it official, I need to 1.) recognize and link back to the person who sent it - MackAttack, 2.) share six interesting things about myself, 3.) award seven other bloggers with the Gorgeous Blogger Award and 4.) let them know about it. I know I didn't send out the last award I got, but stopping the honor when it gets to me is so wrong, so here goes:

6 Not-too-sure-if-these-are-interesting-things About Me

1. I can speak Hawaiian - Not just 'Aloha' and 'Mahalo', but actually speak it and hold a conversation. It's a beautiful language.
   
2. I have five tattoos and I WANT MORE!! - They myth that when you get your first one you become addicted is SO true! Right now the ones I have are small but when I reach my goal weight I have a nice big (tasteful) one planned out - gonna start at my right hip, work it's way up the middle of my back, and end over my left shoulder! Mom - if you're reading this, don't tell dad!
   
3. My great-uncle helped create Strawberry Shortcake - He helped design her look for Mattel; from her red hair to her strawberry hat. It's one of our family's favorite history facts.
   
4. I was born and have lived in Hawaii my entire life, but I have never gotten on a surfboard - I've boogie-boarded and body-surfed a ton but never caught a wave on a surfboard. It's so weird that I haven't... I need to seriously add this to my 'to-do list' for 2010 or something.
   
5. I used to run my own website that sold little clay guinea pig sculptures - I called them Piggie Pies. I used to have four guinea pigs and one day I decided to make little one-inch replicas of them. They turned out to be a big hit (especially with people in England!) and I couldn't keep up with orders. I eventually got bored with it though and closed it down.
   
6. I have a slight obsession with hair products! - I buy a ton of them... use a ton of them... love a ton of them... hate a ton of them... and review a ton of them on Amazon (I'm dorky like that). My favorite to date: Fekkai and LUSH products!
   

7 Awarded Bloggers
**This is among MANY that I like... it's just hard to pick only seven**

• Josh at A Personal Journey of Fitness and Fat Loss
• Sheila at One Pretty Little Box
• Jen at Our P90X Journey
• Chris at Chris' Challenge
• Annalisa at Diary of a Yo-yo Dieter
• Lisa at In Weigh Over My Head
• Betsy at Witness This Fitness

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!

_________________________________________________

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!

My little 'ole blog won an award!

Aww... thanks to Kat - at secrets... to losing... 100 lbs. - for the One Lovely Blog Award! Kat is an amazing person and has done so well with her weight-loss. Be sure to check out her blog too!

So to make this award "official", I need to 1.) recognize the person who gave it to me (Kat) and 2.) I need to give it away to 15 other bloggers who I think are just lovely. Only 15 is tough as there are so many good blogs out there, but I narrowed it down... check them out for some AWESOME weight-losing inspiration and motivation:

Amanda, Another priorfat girl
Cranky Fitness
Keeping the Pounds OFF!
Secrets of a Former Fat Girl
Watch My Butt Shrink!
Where is Tigerlilly
*Bitch Cakes*
Lose 2 win... No More Excuses
Changes
Eat. Sleep. Get Fit.
Prior Fat Girl
Tony "The Anti-Jared" Posnanski
Watching and Weighting
Jack Sh*t, Gettin' Fit
Feed Me I'm Cranky