Lake Time

Last weekend (June 22-24) was our annual family camp out at Lake Eufaula . We had a blast! I struggled with my diet, which is usual for me on weekends. When my family camps it is 3 to 4 families, each with camping trailers and maybe a few tents. The individual families fix there own breakfast and lunch and then we all get together for at dinner.
I woke up around 5:30am on Saturday and ate some fruit and drank water before my workout.  I created a workout that only needed my 8 pound medicine ball and one elastic band.

                                                            My morning workout view
I ran about a quarter of a mile to warm up.
 I did 12 reps of the following
- Squat jump-up on curb
- Pile squat picking up medicine ball
- Dead lifts with medicine ball
- Calf raises on curb with medicine ball
- Walking lunges with kick back
- Walking lunges with knee high
I did side steps and crossovers to get heart rate up
 I did 10 reps of the following
- Shoulder press with band
- Shoulder lateral raises with band
- Shoulder front raises with band
- Triceps kick backs with band
- Push-up on the ground
 I did 15 reps of the following
- Russian Twist with medicine ball
- Crazy Ivan
I ran about half mile to finish my workout.

I had originally planned on doing each set 3 times but since I decided to go tubing I figure I could put my muscles in motion and get a workout that way instead. 

I felt great after my workout and the rest of the family was waking up and making breakfast by the time I finished. For breakfast I had a biscuit with gravy and a half a piece of bacon. Then we went for a boat ride and I tubed for the first time in years. My dad has a pontoon boat so we don't go very fast but the water was choppy so I still got a good workout in. For lunch I had leftover spaghetti with meat sauce. I ate way too much especially since it was hot and I was being active. After waiting a LONG time for my food to settle we went for another ride on the tub and before we knew it, it was dinner time. Saturday night we had a fish fry for dinner. I had about 4 pieces of fish, some coleslaw, a hush-puppy, and a few fries. It was hot so I drank lots of water that day. Now, we were at the lake so I did have a few beers and I made the bad choice of indulging in a few sodas. And of course what is camping if you don't have a s'mores??? So even with my workout I still felt bad when I got home after having all the food and drinks that I have cut out of my diet lately. 

Getting Back On Track

WEEKEND BLUNDER
Why is it always harder to stay on track during the weekend? This past weekend was my own fault...or maybe I can blame whoever came up with silly "holidays" like Father's Day! So I wanted to do something nice for my hubby and that included making some brownies.  I really thought I could eat only one and walk away. WRONG!! I couldn't walk away. I ate one, then two and then I would walk away only to find myself heading back towards the pan later. My belly was hurting but I still wanted more.  Luckily my husband finally finished the small pan of brownies with a little help from our son. I'm still trying to figure out why, if it makes my tummy hurt, I would keep wanting more? That is something I may never understand. Sooo, don't come to my house anytime soon looking for brownies because I think it will be awhile before I make another batch. ;-)
I also had fast food cheeseburger and fries on Sunday after church. I have got to get better at planning Sunday lunch meals!I did pretty good on Saturday, we ended up eating dinner out because a quick trip to the store turned into going to the mall. I had a grilled chicken breast lettuce wrap, it came with some fruit that was in juice so I only had a few bites. Earlier that day I helped mow the yard so I felt pretty good until I got home to the brownies...

MONDAY
Christy came to my house around 8:30am to workout. She focused on upper body and man was I hurting when she left. She had me move quick between each set trying to keep my heart rate up. By the last circuit I was fatigued but felt great. Now, trying to wash and fix my hair afterwards was a little challenging. LOL! I was at the church shortly after our workout to help with VBS decorations. Since I got a little off my healthy eating during the weekend, I decided to take my lunch with me. We usually have a big spread of yummy but not so healthy food. Monday was something they call walking taco's. I had them for the first time last year and they are good but I opted for my turkey wrap and grapes instead. I was a little embarrassed for bringing my own food but they all know what I'm doing so I didn't mind too much. A lot of them commented on how good and healthy my wrap looked so that helped me enjoy it more.

WEDNESDAY
Christy had sent me a workout to do on my own on Wednesday. I was planning on doing the workout in the morning before Cam's friend came over to play but Cam woke up with a bad headache and all plans had to change. I had to cancel the play date and I figured my workout would have to take a backseat as well. I sat on the couch with him until he was feeling better. Three to four hours later he was playing around a little but every time he would try to run he would cry and hold his head. I had sent Chad, my husband, a text to see if he would like me to wait on him to workout and he did so I waited until 5pm to workout. It was a quick workout focusing on core. Chad and I did a great job and had it knocked out in no time! Then it was time to fix dinner and relax.

THURSDAY
Since Christy and I both have plans this weekend we moved Fat Blasting Friday to Thursday. I took a quick run up and down my street to get warmed up. I have to say, I felt great after my run and Christy was impressed with my time.
Focusing on lower body Christy gave me a few new moves to try. I'm always excited to try new things! Everything was going good until I did burpee's. See I have a "non-diagnosed heart condition" that causes my heart rate to be extremely high when doing any activity. Christy has noticed that when I put my hands over my head this condition worsens. I have noticed in my everyday life that if I get up too fast or bend over and get back up to quick I feel like I'm going to pass out. I believe this is due to low blood pressure. So with me having a high pulse rate and low blood pressure, we have determined that I can no longer do burpee's.
For those who don't know what a burpee is I'll try to explain in. You start by jumping up while you extend your arms overhead, after landing you put your hands on the ground and kick back your feet so you end up in the plank position, hold and then bring your feet to starting position (with a hop) and jump up repeating the move again.
I was having a hard time recovering from the second set so Christy had me take it slow and cut out burpee's. We had finished the first circuit and started circuit number two.  While I was doing the calf raises I keep loosing my balance, as Christy and I were talking about it I started to feel different. She said that my eyes looked like they were glazing over and my red cheeks turned white so she told me to go inside to get out of the heat. I felt like I was going to get sick but shortly after going inside I started feeling normal again. She decided that we would call it a day. She checked up on my later to see if I was doing better. I felt fine after I had lunch and drank some water. This is the first time I didn't get to complete a workout. Christy was excellent through the whole ordeal. I thought she asked great questions that helped me try to figure out what may have caused this to happen. I was ready to go back and try to finish the workout but Christy didn't want me to over due it and something happen after she left. She really is a great trainer!!

A Little Bit of Everything

CRAVINGS...
If you follow me on Facebook you already know this but for those who don't....
I have craved a lot of things before; pizza, sweets, soda, beer, hot wings...the list goes on and on. Well, on Wednesday, June 13th I had a strange craving to workout!  I tried to ignore it but just like most my cravings it would not go away.  So I indulged and made up a quick workout of things that Christy has taught me.  I felt great afterwards! I never felt this good after breaking down and eating ice cream or burger and fries. Christy said that she craves exercise but I didn't think it would happen to me or happen so quickly. I mean, I've only been working out for a month but I do have to admit that it's nice to crave something that is good for me, for once.

WHAT'S NEW...
As if it wasn't hard enough to fit in workout I know have a two day commitment that I have to work around. We have started VBS (Vacation Bible School) work days at my church. A lot goes into VBS at St. Andrew's UMC and so we have a group of mostly women that get together at the church twice a week to make decorations and help prepare for the week when we get to teach young children about God! I love that I get to have this time to build friendships while being crafty.  The group of ladies that I see most Sunday's in passing have started to notice my weigh loss. It's nice to hear "hey there skinny!" and "those pant's you're wearing are looking pretty baggy." I have to wear belts now with all my pants and shorts! I want to run out and buy new clothes that fit but since it's only been a month and I plan on losing more weight, I will refrain and look like a slob just a little longer.

CAMERON...
I realized that I have not mentioned my sweet Cameron lately in my blogs. Since school let out for summer we have been meeting at Chrsity's house and her boys have been playing with Cam while we workout. It's funny because after the first day Cameron was asking to go play with "his boys"LOL. It took me awhile to figure it out that he was talking about Christy's sons.  They are older than Cam but they are great with him.
When I workout by myself at home I use to go to the garage but because Cameron has scared me several times I now workout inside. He likes to hide and is really good at being very quite while I call his name over and over as I look everywhere inside and outside. Even when I start to panic and scram his name, he's still quite as can be. When I finally find him, he smile that cute smile and says "you find me!". If only he knew what this did to me!!! I guess the good thing is that it gets my heart rate up without doing cardio, HAHAHA!!

WEIGH IN....
Since I weighed in on Monday, I have tried to pay better attention to what I eat in drink. I climbed back on the scale again today and was happy to see 170! That's right folks, this girl has lost 10 pounds!! Now usually I would celebrate such an accomplishment with a food reward of sorts. This time I just smiled, looked in the mirror and admired my slimmer body for a second and then when on about my day.

Progress

A month ago I ran my first timed mile in 12:51. On Monday, June 11th I ran another timed mile to see my progress...11:06!!! The fist time I ran I had to walk around the half mile marker. Not this time, I ran the full mile. The last quarter mile I told Christy that my body wanted to quit so I had to do really push myself to keep going and before I knew it I had finished. What a great feeling! We did a light workout after and I ran some more. I could not believe how quick my recovery time is now. I also weighed in on Monday and I've lost a total of 7 lbs! I have to say, I thought the it would be greater than that but knowing my once flabby body is becoming more tone and all my clothes are becoming really baggy, i think 7 lbs is great! Christy was also happy with my weight loss and said that losing about 2 lbs a week is a good average. The slower it comes off the longer it stays off! Another big accomplishment was I did 3 sets of 10, yes 10 modified push-up on the ball. I had a hard time doing one the first time. I was just going to do 5 but I felt stronger and wanted to keep going!
 I'm so happy with the progress I'm making. I'm thinking a new wardrobe is in my future =)what a great reward that will be.
 I can't believe all the positive changes that have come from working out for an hour, two to three times a week. When I workout I give it my all. I'm sweaty, smelly, and fatigue after I finish my workouts. I always try to make the best of the hour. Sometime this is really hard and the lazy girl in me tries to come out and say you've done enough just slow down but I know that I will feel better if I give it my all and I can rest once it's over.

Stronger

Well it's been about a month since I started Killing it With Kilgore! Monday, June 11th I will be running another timed mile to see how I've improved.

As usual it's been a crazy week. Christy sent me a workout to do on my own Monday. I felt like I breezed through it. I was a little sore on Tuesday but could not wait for us to meet up on Wednesday to see what Christy had in store for me.

I met Christy at her house Wednesday morning and she had made a tougher workout since I'm getting stronger!! How exciting, after only a month of training with Christy I am now stronger and have to be challenged more. This make me very happy! She had me do double duty. I did squats with curls and alternating lunges with hammer curls. I also did triceps kickbacks with a bar, which I really liked. It seems like I did something else but I can't remember, like I said before it's been a crazy week! I love doing my chest workouts on the stability ball because you have to engage your glutes and core to keep your body straight. I really feel like I get a great workout doing this. So I did chest fly, back fly, back extension, and chest press all on the stability ball. I also did rows and shoulder press with the bar. Since I'm getting stronger, sorry but I LOVE saying that and since I've worked hard for it I don't mind repeating it. =) She had me do a set of 4 or 5 moves, doing 10 to 12 reps each and repeating the set 3 times. I'll tell you by the third round I'm ready for it to be over! I ended up walking/running 1.25 mile. I have been sweating and grunting more during my workouts and that makes me fill like a bad mama jama! LOL!

Thursday was my husbands company picnic and we enjoyed having family fun time at the park. I didn't workout but we did play frisbee and explore the park with Cameron.

Fat Burning Friday! That's what Christy called it and it was not a lie!!!! O-U-C-H! To warm up I walked/ran half mile on the treadmill. She still had me doing a set of 4 to 5 moves, 10 to 12 reps and repeating the set 3 times.  This workout took a little longer because my glutes and legs where still sore from Wednesdays workout. Let me remind everyone of how accommodating Christy is. I forgot to bring my medicine ball and she had created this workout using the ball several times. I felt bad that she had to modify with dumb bells but she was awesome in doing so! I started by doing a catch, squat, across, toss move which would have been easier with the ball but we made it work using a dumb bell. I moved right into 3 angled lunges, then wall ball squats and plie squats picking up weight and putting it back. After doing this three times we did side steps and crossovers the width of her back yard and then right into the next circuit. Stabilized bicep curls, triceps dips, triceps kickbacks with band, bow and arrow with band (AWESOME move) and modified push-ups on blocks. After finishing the third set I jumped on the treadmill and ran a full half mile! I didn't think I could do it but I was so happy when I finished!! I love the benefits that I'm seeing from sticking with it.

Cha...cha...cha...changes!

First let me start by saying I had several complements today at church, YEA! It was nice to hear that some have noticed a change in my appearance. A big thank you to everyone that said something, it really made my day!

I have been thinking about the changes I have made in my lifestyle and wanted to share some with you. Let's start with what I have been eating. The first week Christy had me keep a food diary and after she looked at it she noticed that I was not eating often enough. I was going up to 5 hours between meals. SO I have started eating every 2 to 3 hours. I have noticed that this helps with portion control. Here is what a typical day of food looks like.

7am    1/2 cup whole grain cereal with 1% milk and about a cup of mixed berries on the side
9am    1/4 cup granola with berries and nuts
11am  Turkey lettuce wrap or sandwich on 100% whole wheat with provolone cheese & mustard. I
           will sometimes put lettuce, avocado, onion, tomato if I'm in the mood and have them around.
2pm    Fiber bar
5pm    4 oz. chicken breast (boiled in frying pan), 1/2 cup pasta (Smart taste brand), 2 Tbs. tomato
           sauce.
           1 Cup salad with radishes and homemade Italian dressing.
Sometimes I will have fruit for dessert to satisfy my sweet tooth.      
If I feel hungry after dinner I will drink water or sometimes I have a small glass of 1% milk.

The changes in food I have made are... I use to eat pancakes with butter and syrup or biscuits and gravy for breakfast. I rarely had a morning snack. Then lunch was some kind of fried chicken or burger and fries. Then a sweet treat, like ice cream or chocolate anything, for an afternoon snack. Dinner has not changed too much. We LOVE pasta so we eat pasta a few times a week. I just make sure we have veggies to go with it and I eat more veggies than pasta.
I grew up in Southeastern Oklahoma and was raised on fried foods and red meat so these types of food have been somewhat of a struggle for me to pass up.  I still love burgers but eat turkey burgers at home and I try to have fresh bell peppers or other veggies as a side to replace the crunch of chips or fries. We also like Mexican food but now I eat corn tortillas instead of flour, I use less cheese and I load up on veggies.

I use to drink a lot of soda and didn't focus on drinking much water. Now I drink water or tea. I do sip on my husbands soda sometimes but one or two sips usually get me over my craving. I'm still working on drinking more water. I usually forget to stay hydrated and as a result I get muscle cramps. I have gotten better but still not up to the recommended daily amount. Christy told me to ALWAYS have a bottle of water with me wherever I go...that's a great tip!

As far as working out... Meeting up with Christy has been a great way to make sure I get a workout in. This past week I did a workout by myself and I figured out that if I set a time to workout I'm more likely to actually do it. Since I've started Killing it With Kilgore I would say, "Ok, I'm going to workout on Friday." Then before I knew it Friday was over and I didn't workout. When Christy and I had plans to workout one day but had to go with "Plan B" due to weather, she emailed me a workout and told me to still get up and workout at 7am. It was one of those morning where your day starts off all wrong but since I had already scheduled my workout I made sure that I did it. If I hadn't planned on working out at a certain time I'm pretty sure the day would have gotten away from me and I would have missed another workout. 

I hope that this has helped those of you who would like to make changes but don't know where to start. I'm so happy with all the changes I have made and I often find myself thinking...Why did I not do this sooner? AND Why was I being so mean to my body by feeding it unhealthy food and being lazy? I hope that everyone can find a "Christy" to help them get up and get moving in the right direction!