CLX/P90X Hybrid: Day 23-28

Day 23
OFF

Day 24
30 min treadmill run + PT session

Day 25
treadmill HIIT + elliptical + basketball

Day 26
brisk walk

Day 27
P90X Chest, Shoulders and Tris + elliptical

Day 28
Two-hour hilly hike + brisk walk

Best workout E.V.E.R!

So why was my workout today the best E.V.E.R?

Because I got it done!

No seriously!

All day long I had P90X on the brain because at my Tuesday PT session, we did heavy weights instead of plyo so I was craving more. I knew exactly what I wanted to do before lunch time even came around:

P90X Chest, Shoulders, and Tris + ARX.

I loves me a good upper body workout and knew CST would do it!

But this is what happened when I got home:

5:00 - got home and played with the dog a bit
5:30 - threw on my workout clothes and put in P90X
5:35 - fast-forwarded through the entire dvd to get reacquainted with Tony
5:37 - fell asleep
5:58 - woke up
5:59 - said SCREW IT! and changed out of my workout clothes
6:00 - watched two episodes of 'Friends' (love that show!)
6:50 - said SCREW IT! again and threw on my workout clothes
6:52 - HIT PLAY!
8:10 - jumped on the elliptical for even MORE exercise

So that's why it was my best workout ever. I rarely get the motivation to workout once I don't wanna do it but not today! I've been so on-track with exercise, eating, calories in and calories out that I was crazy to NOT wanna workout. YAY ME!

(source)

Weigh-in Wednesdays: 138.6

Last Wed. weight: 141.00
Today's weight: 138.6*
Lost: -2.4

TOTAL Lost: -37.8
Updated weight chart here.

*Just want to remind others that my current weight of 138 looks really low and healthy for the average person, but I'm really short! I'm only 5-feet tall so weighing in at 138 is still VERY high for me. For my height, it was calculated that with 25% body fat, I should be about 120. I'm shooting for 20% body fat so still a ways to go!

I'm happy with that. Although when I weighed in last week on the 31st, I know I was carrying a lot of water weight from lots of eating out so losing 2+ lbs. in less than a week wasn't surprising. Ever since the holidays were over I've been back on track with eating and exercise... with a VENGEANCE!

This week something just clicked for me and I think it has a lot to do with everything YOU guys had to say on my pathetic -16 lbs. loss post. I really am using my -16 lbs. loss as motivation to get back on track and wasn't looking for compliments but you guys are amazing... thank you so much! Well to get my butt back into gear diet-wise, I printed out a weekly meal planner and wrote down an entire week's worth of food and so far... day 4.... I've been only eating what I wrote down! Impressive!

____________________________________________

Goals for the month of January still going strong and way over my daily totals right now. Keep it up and I'll be back at my low-weight of 134!

Here are my goals for January:

• Workout 6 days/week for a total of 27 days out of the 31 days
• Workout for an average of 60 minutes a day = 1620 minutes
• Burn an average of 300 calories per workout = 8100 calories

1/01: 463 cals, 96 min brisk walk
1/02: 400 cals, 103 min hike

1/03: 403 cals, 75 min JM dvd + elliptical
1/04: OFF
1/05: 457 cals, 102 min PT session + treadmill run

TOTAL: 1723 cals, 376 mins

'I' is for Italian Seasoning

(source)

... as in homemade marinara sauce with Italian seasoning!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. mushrooms, chopped
• 6 tomatoes, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
  
• 1 onion, half chopped and half diced
• 3 tbs. olive oil
• 3 tbs. Italian seasoning
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 3 bay leaves
• salt and pepper to taste

1.) Add olive oil to large pot set over medium heat. Add diced onions and cook till clear. Add chopped onions and celery to pot and cook for about 6 minutes.

Whenever I make sauces or soups, I dice half the onion and cook that half first.
That way they get REALLY well cooked and pretty much disintegrate into the sauce/soup.
It's a flavor thing.


2.) When onions and celery are cooked through, add chopped mushrooms and cook another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.


3.) Add in the salt, pepper, garlic and Italian seasoning and stir well. Cook till fragrant about 2 minutes.


4.) Add in chopped tomatoes and cook till veggies have released most of their water content. When sauce is liquid, turn up heat to high and bring to a boil. Lower heat and let sauce simmer, covered, for about 20 more minutes or until all the tomatoes have cooked down to a sauce consistency.


5.) ENJOY!

Mini-Review
Good but could use a lot more improving. For instance tomato paste would have been good to thicken this up... the sauce came out kinda watery. Little more salt and little less herbs. And throw in some red pepper flakes to kick it up a notch and it would be good to go! I'm gonna try this one again for sure!

Check out how big these mushrooms were!

Motivational Mondays: My pathetic -16 lbs, lost!

Don't get me wrong... losing any amount of weight is a good thing but 16 lbs. in the last year?! SERIOUSLY?!?!

For me, that's bad! In the last year I have invested so much in to my health and fitness, both financially and effort-wise:

I plan daily/weekly meals.
I count calories every day.
I keep my macro-nutrients in the right ratios.
I pass up office snacks.
I only drink water.
I make time for the gym every week.
I get in my cardio and weight lifting.

In 2009, I spent TONS of money on everything from exercise equipment to supplements.

• $4000+ on personal trainer sessions
• $240+ on a gym membership
• $200+ on the Bodybugg
• $550+ on daily Shakeology supplements
• $???? on workout clothes
• $???? on all my other daily supplements
  

Yet it doesn't show!

For the amount of time, money and hard work I put into my health and fitness, I should be at my dream body already but I'm not... not even close!

Although I don't think it's in my genetics to have abs like those, this is my dream body!
I would LOVE to have arms like that!

I'm still 20+ lbs. overweight! I'm still over 6% body fat from just being 'normal'. And you know why? Because on my off-days, I am W.A.Y. off! On the days I go over on my calorie limit it's not just a little bit over... it's over by 600 or 700 hundred calories! Even if I exercised my ass off that's my weight-gain right there!

In 2009 I weighed the lowest I've weighed in almost a decade... 134 lbs. I hit that all-time low back in October but ballooned back up to end the year at 141 lbs. SERIOUSLY?!?!

So I'm taking my pathetic 16-pound-loss-in-the-last-year and using it to get me motivated again. Not for the new year but for the new me!