Happy Little Green Man Day!

Day 3 - so far, so good.

One thing about membership parties at the gym is that they always attract a crowd. Crowds are great for business, but suck for regulars in Spin. Oh well. I still got my Ab Ripper X and lower back exercises in yesterday.

Today, Melody and I are working arms & shoulders, followed by Ashley's Spin class. We plan to do the weights before, so we will already be at the gym when the sign-in sheet comes out. I am trying to revert back to the "baby steps" approach. I had gotten so comfortable with being in a healthy lifestyle, that I felt immune to the failures that come with overloading yourself. The truth is that no matter what level you are at, there is always the risk of failure. This week I have been focusing on sticking to the work-out routine. Obviously, I always try to eat well, and now being more conscious than ever. Next week, I will start back with daily tracking. Melody and I are going to have to keep each other accountable there. It's so easy to be lazy and say, "Oh, I know I didn't go over my calories today." But, the truth is that you don't really know until you write it down. No matter how good your intentions are, the calories can add up FAST.

Perfect example - last night on Biggest Loser they had a cooking challenge. One team fixed a beautiful meal of salmon, wild rice and broccoli. However, they left the skin on the salmon (where a lot of the fat is located). That pushed the calorie count of the meal to 557. It's the little things that can damage you if you're not careful. Tracking helps you keep everything in perspective. If you're killing yourself at the gym, and the scale is barely moving or not moving at all, then all of your efforts might be being sabotaged by your diet without you even realizing it.

So, as much of a pain in the ass as it can be, track, track, TRACK YOUR CALORIES when you're trying to lose weight/cut fat/tone up.

*Yaaaawn*

So sleepy.... This caffeine fast is taking a toll on me. :( I might start taking a Guarana supplement in the morning to help with the drain. Part of today's problem might be that I tried to go to bed early last night, but had a hard time staying asleep. I kept waking up with a small cough, so I took about 1/2 a dose of my Rx cough syrup. Not sure what time that was, but it may be part of the reason I am dragging so bad today.

So, yesterday, I ended up doing P90x Chest & Back (w/worksheet in the gym), a 30 minute cardio treadmill run and 30 minutes on the stair stepper with 8 lbs weights in each hand. I am definitely sore today, but it's a good sore.

The stair stepper routine is basically this:
2 minutes w/no weights on level 10
1 minute hammer curls or tricep pulls w/weights on level 8
2 minutes w/no weights on level 10
Turn around and repeat. Try not to hold onto the bars as much as possible the entire time.

I felt fantastic!! It reminded me of when I first started and felt how working out really affected my mood in a positive way. I didn't track yesterday, but I know my caloric intake was pretty much perfect. If I keep this up, I will hit my target in no time.

The plan for today is to hit up Spin, maybe Body Pump, Ab Ripper X and lower back. All Spectrums are having a member party tonight, so anyone gets in free! If you're up for a party and some quality gym time, tonight is the night! :)

Get back to work!

Back to the gym today! My plans are to hit Spin, then P90x Chest & Back, Ab Ripper X, then a nice jog/run on the treadmill. If I can get my sleep pattern down this week, I would like to try getting an easy jog in every morning before work. Pretty much, if I can get myself to work by 8am everyday this week with 8 hours of sleep, then I'm going to try to incorporate that in next week. I'm not a morning person, but I will at least try! :)

I made 3 of my lunches for the week yesterday. I know I will probably see my mom for lunch this week, and possibly my dad, so I didn't want to waste. I have been staying away from diet soda and caffeine. Yesterday, I had maybe one Diet Coke? Not sure if I even finished it. Saturday, I had none. I may get some coffee this morning, but I am doing much better with the kicking the habit. I did have some headaches this weekend though...and one right now. :(

So, basically, I am following the same routine as Melody right now. I may tweak it for my schedule or needs as I go, but I like having a plan again. Daniel and Andrea's wedding will be the 2 week marker, so I should have some pictures and solid feelings by then. Hopefully, I will have worked out the best schedule for me and can post it as well.

Forgive my cough.

Day 2 of bronchitis. Ugh. I ended up checking in twice yesterday. At first, we thought it was just a sinus infection. But, after I went home for lunch, my temperature shot from 99.1 to 101.2 (in the span of about 1-2 hours). It jumped to 101.7 from the house back to Drusilla. I tested negative for flu, strep and mono. All of the fun was happening in my lungs. Nothing worse than coughing when your entire body already aches. :(

I am on some antibiotics right now, and cough syrup at night to help me sleep. However, I wanted this blog to be about natural remedies that I am looking into for this or other upper respiratory illnesses. One helpful tip is the use of eucalyptus in aromatherapy. My aunt gave us an air revitalizer for Christmas that I am going to use with the eucalyptus when I get home. It helps to soothe inflammation in the lungs and open your airways.

Obviously, most people know that soup is helpful when you're sick. But, adding garlic (which has natural antivirual and antibacterial qualities) and/or cayenne pepper can help break up congestion. You could also add some thyme to your soup to help with bronchial spasms. Or, use the thyme to make a soothing tea.

Juice some vegetables, but stay away from the fruits. The sugar (even though it's natural) could depress your immune system further. Also, stay away from dairy because of its mucus producing properties.

Here is an antioxidant rich juicing blend to help pump up your immune system:
- 3 broccoli florets
- 1 garlic clove
- 4 carrots
- 2 celery stalks
- 1/2 green pepper

One last helpful tip (and personal fav!), have your significant other massage your back and chest. This may be a little painful in the early stages of bronchitis, but it will help break up the congestion sitting in your lungs.

Hopefully, I will have a happier post tomorrow..

Must be the weather...

...that puts me in such a shitty mood. :(

Actually, it's not the weather, but let's just leave it at that.

I've been doing really well today, despite my mood. It's days like this that I have to fight off the "bad" cravings the most. I haven't found anything that helps, really. I've tried lots of different things - like only making healthy snacks available, planning lunch ahead, etc. But, on days like this, I'd rather ride across the street for some Cane's than walk to the kitchen to warm up what I brought. The only thing that keeps me on track is sheer willpower. I wish it were easier. I say this as I sit and gnaw on my baked chicken breast for lunch (that is 3 hours overdue - yay work meetings) when what I really want is some hot chicken tenders and crinkle cut fries. I also have kept myself to one cup of coffee today, and that was at least 6 hours ago. Even when I close my eyes and try to dream, the water doesn't come close to Diet Dr. Pepper.

I had planned on one of several things this afternoon - Spin, Body Pump, Day 1 of P90x, a combination of two or all three. Guess who doesn't want to do any of those options! lol I will pull my ass together and do it, because that's the only way to get myself where I want to be.

If you want it, you have to work for it. Period.

~~~~~~~~~~~

EDIT:
I sucked it up and did 2 Spin classes tonight! :) Go me. LOL So, P90x tomorrow?... Michael wants to start running with me for the next two weeks to work up to the Fat Boy 5K. However, I found out tonight that the next Spin Certification class is the same day... :( Not sure what to do yet.

Getting Right

I'm not in a blogging mood, but I feel like I should write something. This past weekend was a blur of epic awesomeness. I'm definitely dragging ass this morning, but it was worth it. :)

I tried to use last week to recover from the 1/2 marathon, but still stay active. Melody and I hit up some Spin and Body Pump, and ran the Susan G. Komen 5k on Saturday. I learned that an apple is not good before a race - too much fiber gives you BAD cramps. I also learned that sometimes charity event races are not necessarily designed with athletes in mind (not that I'm an athlete, but I do like to actually run and push myself). Next up, Fat Boy 5k on the 20th. I'm mailing in our registration today, so I hope it's not full!

As much as I bitch about running and working out sometimes, I really do love it. If it didn't hurt and I didn't hate it sometimes, the victory of crossing the finish line or meeting personal records would not feel so good. It really makes all of the sacrifice worth it. All of my thanks to Melody for pushing me outside of my comfort zones. :)

If I start P90x today, that puts Day 90 on June 5th. I know I can do it, but will I? I damn sure am going to try. :)

Kitchen Make-Over (Almost) Complete

...just one little trip to the fruit stand left!

Yesterday, I made my lists (Whole Foods, Wal Mart, fruit stand) and headed out to revamp my kitchen. Basically, my lists are categorized by importance. My Whole Foods list has my most important items - specifically, what I MUST buy organic. My fruit stand list includes fruits and veggies that are in season. Wal Mart gets what is left over, like Drano and shaving cream. :) While I understand that buying organic can be expensive, I have started to look at it in a different light than most. I have one body, and I am going to treat it like a Rolls Royce. I put regular gas in my car because it's a Mazda and I can buy another one if it breaks. I cannot just go get another body if I screw mine up. I figure, if we cut back our out-to-eat spending, those dollars can be put towards buying organic, fresh groceries. So far, so good.

Some items that I always buy organic:
- apples
- eggs (cageless, range free)
- meat (free roaming, veg diet) - on sale
- fruits/veggies not in season

I always get my Greek yogurt from WF, too. I've only found Chobani there and Winn Dixie. AND, I love the Farmers Market for pretty much anything they have. I especially love getting my goat cheese there.

One thing that I have started doing, that I strongly recommend, is making salad dressing at home. You can use things you may already have at home! For example, this morning I made an orange vinaigrette for my lunch salad - just enough, too! I used extra virgin pecan oil (my current kitchen sub for EVOO), walnut oil, orange juice, orange peel, fresh ground pepper and apple cider vinegar. You could use any nut oil instead of walnut, or nothing. It's fresh and tangy, and I control how much of everything is in it. You can find dressing recipes all over the place, and there is so much variety. Plus, I love that I can make just enough for that day and see if I like it.

I have been trying to track daily again. I missed this weekend with the 1/2 Marathon (see Melody's page for the story on that!), and then yesterday. Other than that, I've been doing well with getting back on board. I need to be 100% by next week for P90x!