Woah Nelly....

Woooahhhhh....Girl, get ahold of yourself and put down the container of ice cream!!!! 

Despite the fact that the hubs and I were stranded in our house on Thanksgiving we...okay I...pigged out.  Major.  Super major.   And its not like I made a super awesome Thanksgiving meal.  But, the problem was Thanksgiving wasn't just one day for me...it was a whole week. (ice cream, cookies, chips, 24/7 munchies)  I will make an excuse and say that there were a lot of stress factors that came into play:  my boss was having a stressful week and totally taking it out on me, or so it seemed....the weather was horrible and we were going to miss Thanksgiving with the family....sisterly drama....the bank account was low....i very much missed my parents and felt bad for them spending a Thanksgiving with no kids at home... and a few other more personal matters.  Needless to say, I ate a lot of my feelings.  I am not happy of the fact, because I usually am really good about not letting things get to me, but everything happening all at once just drained me and I turned to food.  This is not something I wanted to admit, but I figure I better be honest.  My goal is to prevent this in the future...because I don't have enough money to buy anymore jeans if these ones get tight...haha.  And I really don't want my life to be consumed with food...I want to "Eat to Live...not Live to Eat".

So, December 1st I got ahold of myself before I could hop too far off the wagon.  My goal this month is to not let the Christmas season get me off track with my health and fitness goals.   Of course I want to enjoy a few good treats, but my goal is to wait for the best- the ones I want the very most- and savor it ever so slowly.  And despite the freezing cold weather, I will bundle myself up like an eskimo and walk my booty a block down the road to get some exercises in at the gym.  And if I can't manage to brave the weather...I will push play in the livingroom.  Poor neighbors... the music, the jumping, the stomping...I'm sure they want to move!

Keep moving along!  :)

Getting rid of the Jiggly Wiggly...

Today's workout {Rest day!} 
Saturday's workout {4 mile run + 40 minutes strength training}

Yesterday was coooold, but I decided that since there are still clear sidewalks in R-town that I would take advantage, get my cold gear on and go for a run.  As mentioned in a previous post, Justin bought me some running tights & long sleeve shirt to help keep me warm. 

Since I feel super jiggy wiggly in my leg area, I do NOT wear the running tights by themselves.  I wear shorts overtop.  The shorts I wear are a little shorter in length, mostly just to cover my bum and upper thigh area.  But, despite the tights covering my legs, I can't help but still feel self conscious as my thighs jiggle & wiggle throughout my entire run.  During the first 10 minutes of the run I was super self-conscious, and kept tugging down my shorts so they seemed longer.  I felt like everyone was watching my massive thighs bounce around, and I desperately wanted toned, defined thighs. 

I got to thinking while I was running (which is a completely entire story in itself)...and I thought "Girl, don't be so hard on yourself.  Just think how far you've come.  Of course you've got jiggly wiggly parts, who doesn't?  And, would you REALLY rather be sitting at home rather than working on your jiggly wiggly parts? To get rid of the jiggle & wiggle...you have to jiggle and wiggle!!!"  I realized that I am often too hard on myself, which I think happens a lot to us women.  We criticize our bodies so much!  And the reality is...the more my jiggly and wiggly parts actually wiggle (by exercise), the less they will wiggle and jiggle in the future.    When I first made the initiative to get back in shape, I was too scared to go to the gym because I was "too big".  Now, isn't that ironic-- feeling too fat to go to the gym??!?  Then I had to slap myself and get out of that mindset.  Who cares what people think of me when I'm working out?  I'm not trying to get into shape for other people...I'm doing it for me.  I'm trying to be healthy so that I can run around with my kids someday and I can keep up with them, to extend my life to spend all the time I can with my family, and prevent any health problems in the future.  Not for some girl who passes me outside with her mega toned/thin thighs.  This is for me and my family!  For my energy, for my health, for my family to enjoy me longer, and for my stress level to be lower so that my family will enjoy my presence! :) 

So, my advice would be...don't worry about what you look like when you workout, don't worry about what other people think.  Think about how great you'll feel after a workout when you have pushed yourself beyond what you thought you could do that day and keep pushing along! 

Have a splendid week!!

Just can't get enough.......food!!

{10 minute Turbo Kick warmup + 40 minutes CLX Burn Intervals + 20 minutes stretching}

I keep thinking about my run yesterday.  It was beautiful!  I'm grateful Justin got me some under armour for my birthday.  Although I feel very uncomfortable in the compression tights, they keep me so warm.  I wear shorts over them...still don't have the legs or the bum to wear them by themselves.  It was lightly snowing and it was just so relaxing!   Unfortunately I don't think I will be able to run much outside because, lets face it.....R-town rarely plows the roads, let alone their sidewalks. Boooo!  But I will take advantage of nice days!

Turbo Kick was great last night, 23 students showed up!!! HOLLLLLA!  It was so fun!  And a fabulous workout.  I really got into it and did quite a bit of shaking with my big booty.  It was a good time and I really let loose. 

Since I worked out extra hard yesterday with a run, lifting AND teaching TK, I was soooo incredibly hungry today.  Here's a sample of my typical "day after lifting" food journal:

7am- 1/2 cup plain oatmeal + 1/2 TBSP honey + fresh raspberries
9am- 18 raw almonds
11am- vanilla greek yogurt
1pm- whole wheat tortilla w/ seasoned ground turkey, cheese, lettuce, corn, black olives, some sour cream, onions,  & homemade salsa!
2pm- celery sticks + 1 TBSP peanut butter
3pm- 1 oz mozzarella cheese
4pm- honeycrisp apple
5pm- 5 whole wheat Ritz crackers
5:50-7pm-- ****hard core workout***
7pm- 1 slice 2 slices of pizza
...and I'm thinking I'll make a homemade smoothie a little later with some fresh pomegranate!    I seriously ate so much today...but that is one thing that is important when losing weight and burning fat--eating enough to sustain your body.  Days after I do lifting with ChaLean Extreme...I am constantly hungry.  But its good, it definitely boosts my metabolism.  Muscle burns fat!!  Do not be afraid to lift.  Cardio is good, but strength training helps to tone and build muscle that will burn more fat.  And it drastically boosts your metabolism.  I try to lift at least 2 days a week, sometimes 3.  Here's a ChaLean Extreme promo...its great!  And I love I can do it in my own home.  I'm totally intimidated at the gym....

If you build it...will they come!?!?!

{45 minute run + 35 minutes ChaLean Extreme}

It's my day off, so I wanted to get in some tough workouts!  Tonight I'll be tag-teaching Turbo Kick.  Justy boy took me out to dinner last night because he's been so busy and wanted to catch up on how things are going.  I know school is so busy for him, and I try not to distract him doing homework so teaching Turbo Kick two nights a week helps me to not only get my exercise in but to refrain from being super distracting!  This week I've also been working on preparing to give a talk in church.  Yes, I am freaking out.  Exercise helps to calm those nerves. 

I've been thinking a lot of how I can get more people to come to the Turbo Kick class.  I just love the workout so much and I really want others to enjoy working out as well.  I think so many times people think that workouts have to be boring, but TK is definitely a fun and powerful class.    My favorite part is that TK not only gives you an amazing cardio workout (and burns MEGA calories), but you work your arm, leg, and core muscles.  Although I have a flabby stomach, it gets tighter and tighter each time I do the workout. 

My problem:  I'm having a hard time getting more people to come to class...  I keep thinking of Field of Dreams "If you build it, he will come".  I want to get more people to class.  And, its not that I want to have the most popular class, but I enjoy teaching a larger crowd, and I really want people to love the program and see the success that I've seen with it.  I've lost 30 pounds in the last year, and TK was one of the biggest contributors.  Its interesting because with all the running I did, I didn't ever really lose weight, I just maintained (during half marathon training).  But, with Turbo Kick...it really kicks up my metabolism.  I love incorporating it into my weekly workouts.

So...my question.... what can I do to build a bigger class?  And encourage people to come have fun?

Maybe a Jamba Juice gift certificate raffle??  However many times you come to class, you get to put your name in the raffle?  And then draw at the end of the semester?    Homemade granola bars for after-class snack?  Hmm..I just can't think of what would encourage people.... Glowsticks?

I'm off to do some housework on my lovely day off....and get some major workouts in to counterbalance my being Miss Piggy last night.  BTW- the only show I really watch is Dancing with the Stars...is anyone else totally suprised Bristol Palin is still on the show?  I feel like I can relate to her, so I enjoy watching her improve...but I'm still shocked!  And..in my opinion..Jennifer Grey needs to go.  No more whining!  Ok, thats enough..

And finally.... remember to kick like a girl!!!    Turbo Kick-- Tues & Thurs 9pm @ the Hart!

Busy Beaver

{Turbo Kick 100 minutes}

Wow, life in October has been busy!!! 

October 9th I ran my second Half Marathon and finished in 2 hours 9 minutes.  Not bad!  I beat my first marathon time by 10 minutes.  I know I could have done much better, but my hip flexor gave out at mile 6-7 and I was pushing myself despite the large amount of pain.  Under perfect conditions--good weather, good knee, good trails....I really think I could get just under 2 hours.  Put a cheesecake at the end, and I'm golden.  Goal for 2011 baby!!! 

My next Half is in May of 2011...I'm excited and I hope my hip flexor is fully healed before I officially start training!


Also on October 23rd I got officially certified to teach Turbo Kick!!  I love Turbo Kick-- its fun, its a super high intensity workout with lots of booty shaking.  Definitely my kind of workout! :)  The certification was an all day process and I had to not only take a written test but also a physical test.  Not to mention we did 3 Turbo Kick rounds---each about 50-60 minutes each.  So, you know...working out for 4-5 hours straight.  I burned some mega calories!!  So, right now I am helping a girl teach her TK class...which is really good experience for me!!   


Right now I am very happy to be doing a variety of workouts.  Otherwise I get sick of it...just like I'm sick of seeing Charlie Sheen's face everywhere lately.   Like seriously?!  Why waste up space gossiping about him when there's much bigger and better gossip on...like WHY in the world did Rick Fox get voted off of DWTS?  ....I digress...

So, this week has been:
Monday-- light walk (recovering from flu)
Tuesday-- Turbo Kick class & prep 100 minutes
Wednesday-- ChaLean Extreme & 5 mile run
Thursday--Turbo Kick class & prep 100 minutes

It feels amazing!  I just need to get this hip flexor strengthened so I can maintain my long distance Saturday runs!!!

Well...time for a shower...I smell funky... peace!!

You don't look like a runner...

{Ran 35 minutes--- Didn't track mileage}

I just wanted to run to run tonight with no stress.  I didn't even want to keep track of mileage, I just wanted to run.  Its just been one of those days.  I ended up having training meetings today and traveled about 4 hours of my 12 hour work day in the car.  Ugh.  I'm not a fan of traveling that far for work meetings.  And I have to do it 2 more times this week!  The absolute worst part about the meetings is when the company "pays" for lunch.  Today the guys chose some Chinese buffet.  First of all, I hardly believe that a lot of that stuff they make in those Chinese places are authentic, I mean its covered in grease!!  Everything is deep fried.  Could it really be "authentic"?  Chinese people are small, and I really doubt that a buffet is a common thing in their homeland.  But, I could be very wrong...I've never been to China, and I'm not Chinese.  But, I imagine all types of rice, fresh steamed vegetables, fresh meats.  The food I had today definitely was NOT what I imagined.  I felt sick afterwards, and I only ate about 1/4 cup of rice with a few veggies on top, and a side salad. Anyways..... 

My favorite part of my day came a few minutes after I ate the nasty Chinese food.  We were asked to introduce ourselves and explain what departments we worked for, and to tell something "unique" about ourselves.   Since my Half Marathon this weekend has been on my mind, I decided to tell them that I loved to run and that I was running my 2nd Half Marathon this weekend.  Cool.  People seemed interested.  Then, while at lunch the other woman in the group said, "Thats great that you like to run, I would have never guessed, you don't really look like a runner".  My heart sank.  I mean, I know I'm not skinny by any means, but that doesn't mean I can't run 13 miles.  I've been frustrated with myself the last few months because even with all the hard work I've put into running and training, I haven't lost much weight.  Even with my healthy eating habits and counting every morsel that goes into my mouth-- I haven't lost anything.  As hard as I tried to not be offended, I couldn't help but think "Yeah, I know- I don't look like a runner, even though I feel like one sometimes.  But, I really don't think I'll ever look like a runner."

Part of me is sick of training for races...I just want to do something other than run.  I want to do Kickboxing, cycling, strength training, even maybe buy Turbo Fire or P90X or Insanity.  I just want my scale to move....and feel confident enough to be considered "a runner".   There are just those days I feel I can conquer the world...today is just not one of them.  But, you know what?  I will pick myself up and move on, and totally ROCK my Half Marathon this weekend--- "runner" or not-- I am giving it my all!

Here we go...

{Rest Day}

I live a boring life at the moment...my day includes sleep, work, eat, exercise, eat, sleep. Seriously that is it! My husband is in school full time and working part time. So, that leaves me with a lot of time. I still try to keep myself busy by stalking people  catching up with people on facebook...but you know...there are only so many hours to stalk.

I've been active all my life. Played volleyball, basketball & softball growing up. And when I got into high school I started to run as another way to stay in shape. When I went to college I really got into kickboxing and did more running as well. I'm a fitness-junkie. And recently became more interested in learning alternative and more healthy ways to cook my meals. So, since I spend a lot of my time doing this...my blog will be mostly about health, fitness, and any other random things I can think of.

My main goals:
    1) Be in great shape
    2) Experiment with some yummy & healthy foods
    3) Lose some extra pounds and look like a REAL runner

Basically...I wanna look like her...  haha... maybe in a bazillion years.   Please understand I am only kidding--I'm too short to look like her.

(Runner's World)