Side Note I did not attempt to do this pose. I just wanted an extemely difficult yoga pose to match the title of my post! Because that's how I truly felt.
( Although this pose could be use in the bedroom, I think I'll pass, lol!)
I forgot to mention my experience I had with yoga this weekend. It was not fun at all. I decided I would take up Yoga along with my running, since I heard yoga is good for runners. My intention was to lose some weight first but then I asked myself why wait? So I went out to Target and purchased a few things pertaining to yoga and a few yoga dvds.
I started out with a beginner's DVD. Wasn't nothing beggining about that dvd. I was struggling! I actually broke out in a sweat! I didn't know it was possible to sweat during yoga! I'm not sure how long the session was but I had stopped after 30 mins. I couldn't take no more. I guess once I practice a few more times and get all the poses down. I'll reap the benefits all yoga has to offer. Overall it was pretty intense at first because I didn't know what the hell I was doing. However I'm sure I will start to enjoy it later on in the future!
Fast Forward!
Today was another 5 am workout! I did my 5K training along wiht my pushups an crunches. My running time has stayed the same but my walking time decreased (which means I have less time to recover) and the # of intervals has increased. Before I was running 4 min and walking 2 min for 5 and 6 intervals. Today I ran 4 min, walked 2 min for 7 intervals( I always have a 5 min warmup and 5 min cool down of brisk walking), and on saturday it increases to 8 intervals. (Lucky me). In about a week and a half my running time increases to 5 min/walking 1 min. One minute may not seem like a lot but it is when your running especially a new runner! I look forward to it though.
I still have not signed up for a race. I better get on it before it's too late! Anyhow I'm having a great day. I hope everyone the same! Until next time much love!
From Sweat That Is Get Your Mind Out OF The Gutter! , lol
Today's workout was a b%#%! But yet so simple! However I managed to get through it!
I did Turbo Jam Tubro Sculpt 40 min. Along with the Turbo Jam 20 min workkout and last but not least my 200 crunches and 20 pushups.
I was suppose to wake up at 5am again this morning however I was too tired and slept in a little. Then 6 rolled around, I was still very sleepy. So I had to talk myself into getting up and working out. I'm glad I did. Today's workout was a little tough because I recently added 20 min of cardio to my strength training days. Since my recent "Muffin Top" Post. I was told that in order to get rid of that belly you need to do cardio. So I did my research and the advice checked out! (Thanks you guys). So with that in mind I decided to add at least 20 mins ( or more depending on how I feel that day) to my workouts!
I also decided I wanted to pump up the volume on my free weights. I usually use 5 pounds but I thought it was time to step my game up. So I used the 8 pounds today only to go back to the 5 pounds on and off through out the video . One day I will be able to use the 8 pounds the ENTIRE video.
I hope everyone is having a great day, I'm off to go find some bengay or something! Until next time, much love!
Oh yeah for all you BIggest Loser fans don't forget to watch the Finale tonight. I am so curious to see who wins and to see who got to continue out of Mark and Roger! I really would like a female to win I have no facorites. In my book they are ALL BIGGEST LOSERS. Each of their stories are inspiraional!
I was hoping for two but I'll take it. Maybe I'll make up for the half a pound this week. I have officially lowered my cals. I really think its for the better because last week I had problems eating all my cals.I didn't want to force myself to eat so I didn't. So I figure once I start off with a low number and with all the exercise that I do it won't be as hard.
Today I woke up at 5 am to get my exercise on, after I hit the snooze button a few times. I heaven't gotten up at 5 in a couple of days so I need to get my body readjusted to waking up that early.
I did my 5K training. As of now I'm in week 7 of my training. I should have been finished by now but due to a few bumps in the road I fell behind. I currently do run / walk intervals. I run for 4 min and walk for 2 for a tatoal of 36 min and also include a 5 min warm up and 5 min cool down. (Totals 46 min). My running is getting a little easier. As I was running today I noticed that I didn't hold on or stop as much. I kept thinking of The Biggest Loser and how Jillian would always talk smack or made the contestants start over for stopping or holding on. Maybe if I could put some electrical shocks on the handles that would prevent me from holding on. I will admit that I have really improved compared to day one. I can't remember when the last time I trained outside. I know not good. I really need to get back out there! It is so much different versus running on a treadmil!
My goal for this month which I made back in Jan or Feb was to run my first 5K.(It was suppose to be my B-Day present, some gift lol! Well I still havent signed up for one. i really need to get my but in gear if I want to achieve this goal. For some odd reason I think I'm afraid. I'm afraid if people will be looking at me funny, what if I come in last place? Well I guess there is only one way to find out. To be honest I havent found any in the month of April that I'm interested in, I guess I better suck it up before all the races are gone for this month. I know for sure I will be doing a race in early June I like the idea that it's at night!
Anyhow I'm done rambling. I hope you all have a good week! Until next time much love!
Last Week was a pretty good week. I stayed within my cals for most days. During the days that I exercised hard it was difficult for me to eat all of my cals(back). I have realized that my current cal intake goal is set to lose one pound a week instead of two so I'm going to lower it this upcoming Monday and plus I think it's a good idea being that I have difficulty eating all of my cals.
My exercise has been good I did complete my 5 scheduled days of exercise. Majority of the days I did eat before 7pm. I got all my water in except for yesterday, and I'm falling a lilttle behind today. I also did better wtih my fruit and veggie intake so I was proud about that.
I must admit that I have already sneaked a peak on the scale twice this week! I think my scale obsession is creeping back up on me. I guess I need to hide it again! I am down in weight but due to the fact that my weight is always changing, I will wait to record my weight tomorrow on my official weigh in day.
I am pretty happy about counting calories. I think that I have finally found something that works and something that I am happy with. I just have to be consistent. I have the help of Calorie King to help keep me on track with my cals. I so love that site! My first intentions was to purchase the software only for my computer because I was pleased after using the free trial offer. However I wanted to see what their online program was about. I love it! It was great investment! I am so pleased. They have so many exrta features compared to the other sites I have used or seen.( I'm not hating on of those sites they have helped me a great deal too) I just think that CK makes things a lot more easier and they have so much more to offer! Okay enough advertising.
I plan to have another great week ahead. I really feel that I'm adjusting to this lifestyle change.I'm on a roll and NOBODY can stop me I'm so excited about losing weight and rediscovering the real me. I can't wait!
I will admit that I'm a little worried about the weeks ahead. I will be starting work at a staffing agency. Only temporary they pay a lot more than hospitals. Once I get settled then I will go back to the hospital. Anyhow I just have to learn to make time for exercising and planning my meals ahead of time. I know I can do this, I have too.
I hope everyone had a good weekend and I wish everyone a succesful week ahead. I'll be back tomorrow. Until next time much love!
Okay so lately I've been trying to figure out this whole math thing out. Dealing with counting calories to lose weight. I've been trying to figure out if you should eat back the calories you burn during exercise. I have come to the conclusion that you should (in my case) and have found research that you should. But it all depends on the math and your caloric intake. A lot of people are confused (like I was) when it came to this subject so I did some research and decided to try to shed some light on the subject and break it down as much as possible! Keep in mind that everyone is different and has different goals so everyone has different caloric needs!
Are you ready? Here it go!
Okay so we all know that 1 pound is equals 3500 calories.
Like most of us we all want to lose weight and want to do it the healthy way. Fiirst let me state that the average person consumes 2,000 calories per day and that in order to lose weight you have to incorporate a deficit. Keep in mind that you should not eat lower than 1200 calories per day. You can create that deficit by either by cutting back on your calorie intake or by exercising. However not everyone operates on 2,000 calories. Some may need more some may need less.. This is where BMR comes in BMR ( Basal Metabolic Rate) is the amount of energy your body needs to function. (Warning: Math Formulas below)
Finding your BMR is important. This formula is also known as the Harris-Benedict Principle
Here below is the formula for women
STEP 1 ( I used my numbers to show an example)
655 add (4.3 mulitplied by weight in pounds) add (4.7 multiplied by height in inches) subtract (4.7 mulitplied by your age in years)
Ex 655 (4.3 x198) (4.7 x 64) -( 4.7 x 26) = 655 (851) (301) -(122)=1,685 cals
STEP 2
Then you need to calculate your activity
If you are sedentary you would multiply your BMR by 20%
If you are lightly active you multiply your BMR by 30%
If you are moderately active multiply your BMR by 40%
If you are very active multiply your BMR by 50 % and
If you are extra active multiply your BMR by 60 %
Ex 1,685 x 40%=674
Step 3 You would then add the number you came up with to the BMR
Ex 1685 674 = 2359 cals needed to consume each day(maintain weight)
The number you come up with is the number of calories you should consume each day!
Now if you want to see the article from where I got this info from the link is below (It has two pages of info)
Now if you dont really feel like doing the math yourself you can figure out your calorie intakes by pluging in your info at special calorie counting websites. For example THe Daily Plate or Calorie King
I went ahead and did the calculations myself to see how accurate these websites are. They are very close to the number I came up with. I would say they where about 100 to 200 calories different so I think they are reliable. But if you want to calculate it yourself I say go for it.
Okay Now on to the reason behind eating calories back. I'll try to do it a simple way!
Say for instance your BMR is 2,359 calories. Thats 2,359 calories a day! Multiply that by 7 days a week. Thats 16,513calories a week! So say you want to lose 2 pounds a week. You need to create a deficit.
Original Calories 16,513 a week
3,500 cals equals one pound ( you want to lose two)so you need a total deficit of deficit of 7,000 cals. Like I said before you can either do that by exercising or cutting back on calories.
To make it easier just subtract 7,000 calories (2 pounds) from 16,513 ( total cals per week) which equals 9,513 cals per week
That is then divided by 7(days) which equals 1,359 cals per day! So you see you already have deficit included in the math! When the computer does these formulas for us they have already calculated the deficit. That is why it is important to eat the calories back from what you burned. Because if you don't you can actually send you body into starvation mode which can then slow down your weight loss or you can end up not having any weight loss at all!
Quick example say for instance I eat calories 1,359 per day. I burn 500 calories. So that leaves me with 859 calories. So I need to eat back those 500 to balance out so I don't send my body into starvation mode. ALthough I actually ate 1859 calories I lost 500 those cals due to exercise whcich drops me back down to 1,359 cals what I needed for the day. ALso you see that after I exercised I only had 859 cals of energy that is clearly not eough cals to keep the body functioning that's why you should eat back the calories. I hope I explained this simple enough. Now keep in mind on the days that you don't exercise you need to becareful on how you use your calories because then you will go by exactly what you have which is 1,359 cals.
Another point I want to make is that if you are not using formulas or any calculators then you would figure out the deficit on your own by either cutting back on cals or exercising. I find this way somewhat difficult cause you are always trying to figure out what to do.
I did the best I can. I really hope this helps. For those who are counting calories. I think it is a great way to lose weight because it is working so far ( for me anyways). For those who are in terested I say give it a try and if you need help or have any questions I'll try to help the best way I can! Until next time much love!
(Side Note I just wanted to let you all know that I do not dress like this I would not dare going out in public with a muffin top!)
Okay so apparently my 200 crunches a day isn't working! Or I'm doing something wrong! Is it damn near impossible to get rid of your belly after having two kids? Please let me know now. So I won't crunch myself to death, lol! Seriously I need some ideas or suggestions on how to get rid of this belly! My belly is my biggest problem area. My thighs can stay thick for all I care( at least they are toned up and besides my DH loves them) and my arms are getting there slowly but surely. But its my abdomen that I am most concerned about!
At one point in time I wanted a 6 pack just so I could get a belly peircing and show off my abs but now aint no way not with all the strech marks! Anyhow I will settle for a flat tummy but it seems like that is impossible. Any comments or suggestions?
Okay enough of my soap box. My week is going pretty good. I have exercised 3 days so far and have 2 more days scheduled. I have been eating good. I have been eating more veggies and fruits so thats a plus. I had a question in a previous post about eating the cals that you burn through exercise. I have learned that you are suppose to eat the cals back, but what happens if your not hungry. Are you suppose to force yourself to eat? I have been staying within range on my cals but I exercise hard which leaves me with more cals left over to eat. SInce I don't want to force myself to eat I think I may need to lower my calorie intake. As of now my target calories are 1700 but on the days that I exercise I burn over 500 cals! Which requires me to eat about 2200 cals becuase I have burned 500. So I'm guessing if I change my range to 1200 or 1300( the 500 cals burned). I'll be within the same range of what I'm eating now. I hope I explained that right. Anyhow I will wait until next week to lower my cals. I don't want to mess anything up. Anyhow I hope everyone is having a great week. Until next time much love!
Well I was scared to step on that dreaded scale because I didn't feel any different than the week before but my enemy didn't let me down!
I LOST 2 POUNDS!
So apparently this jotting down calories and exercise is working!
I am happy. I have finally come to the conclusion that losing weight fast is not going to happen and plus its better that I lose the weight slowly because if I ever happen to fall off the wagon it wont come back as quick!
I just hope that I stay in onederland once and for all. In my opinion its still not official maybe once I reach the 180's or low 190's I will feel comfortable. Because as of now it's still to close for comfort!
Anyhow my week went really good last week. I stayed within my alloted calories the whole week. On the days that I exercised I ate back most of my calories. I did exercise on all of my scheduled days of exercise which are 5 days! My eating was okay although I could have made healthier choices. I still have been slacking on my veggies/ fruits. I have been getting all my 12 cups of water in though. I think I need to instill some of weight watchers methods in my plan as far as making sure I get 5 fruits or veggies and 2 servings of milk. I'm doing good on the water so I'm not worried about that. My exercise has been great although at times I feel that I don't do enough. This Saturday I had a burst of energy. After I did my 40 min of run/walking on the treadmill and my 200 curnches & 20 pushups. I did an extra 20 min on the elliptical and then was eager to wash our cars. At first DH was going to wash both of them while I exercised but then got lazy and changed his mine. But for some reason I was so hyped up I changed his mind for him and we got both of them done! That was also good exercise! Overall my week was pretty good and I am happy with the outcome!
I enjoyed My free trials with Calorie King I have been using them for the past week. Unfortunately I could only use it on my computer because my PDA decided to break down on me on the 2nd day. It was very easy to use very similar to The Daily Plate but a little more advanced and easier to search for food in the data base. I think I will purchase the softaware. I just wish my PDA was working so when I am at work or away from home I could journal what I'm eating at the time so I don't forget by the time I get home! Oh well I really need to get my PDA fixed but it is so expensive.
Anyhow I'm looking forward to another great week. I plan to continue with all my previous goals on eating and exercising. I hope everyone has a great week! Never give up on your hopes and dreams! WE CAN DO THIS! Until next time much love!
Is what I asked myself tonight. For some reason after I ate dinner tonight I was just feeling so bloated and fat. (That could also be due to TOM ) I just felt the need to exercise so I did. Don't worry I didn't over do it. I just did 15 min of cardio 5 min on the treadmill, then 5 min on the elliptical and then 5 min on the treadmill again! It felt good getting that workout in but I still feel fat! Lol However I did burn 155 cals!
Anyhow this week has been pretty good. I have stayed within my cals so far so that's a plus and I havent felt the need to just eat all the wrong foods. I must admit I have been slacking on my veggies and fruit. I really need to start enforcing whats necessary. I also been on point with my exercising, still waking up at 5 and 6 am in the morning. It's hard but it is worth it in the end!
Earlier on Monday I had the opportunity to get a second workout in! I had already done my 5K Training earlier that morning. However the opportunity presented itself for me and DH to go bike riding again. Hey anytime I can burn extra calories and enjoy what I'm doing I'm up for the challenge! So I was game. Not even a mile in my DH ended up hurting himself! If men would listen they would be/get so much further in life! I was ahead of him on one of the trails and a deep decline came up so I got off my bike and walked the decline and warned my DH of what was coming ahead. Next thing i know I see him like 2 min later! Come to find out he had fallen! I had no idea because I kept going and I didn't hear him fall. When he returned he had leaves all over him! It was so funny. (I'm laughing to myself) It's okay to laugh now because he is fine now. However he did walk awya with a miny injury. SO that ended our journey wiil short. I have to admit I was a little pissed! It's not too often you have an opportunity to burn massive calories and enjoy doing so. Oh well maybe next time.
This week has been a busy week. I'm on the track of going back to work and going back to school. I'm going for my Bachelor's in Nursing. Although RN's on an entry level( whether your have an ASN(2 yr) or BSN(4 yr)) make the same pay however most can't advance as far. I have dreams of being a Nurse Anesthetist or Nurse Practioner Specializing in Cardiovascular. Hopefully I will make up my mind soon or maybe I'll just stick to just being a good ole nurse. We shall see.
Anywho back to weight loss. I plan on sticking to my routine for the rest of the week and weekend. I'm curious to see how this new plan is working out. Then again I have also been thinking about not getting on the scale until a few weeks from now. I know me, I don't think I could hold out that long. Anyhow I want to try and get in the bed early tonight! I hope everyone is doing okay and staying on plan!
First let me say I am so glad that this week is over! This week was very hard and intense. I'm not sure if I stated before but me and DH was taking up a real estate class, it was from Monday- Sunday from 9 am to 6pm! 100 % torture!
Anyhow we managed to make it through the tough week! It was so much info to learn in that class in such a short time! I have learned so much! Now I understand that majority of the people who own homes are getting robbed by banks! It's ashame! Don't worry I will spare the details. Now for the good news Me and DH passed! I have became very interested in Real Estate over the week that I want to take more classes. ( Eventually) I'm interested in Becoming a REal Estate Broker ( who get's all the money, lol 100% commission) and interested in becoming a Mortgage Broker. All those licenses are like having a license to print money! I had no idea that it was so easy to get into the real estate business and make a decent amount of money without having a degree! Although I still love my current job( well not yet but soon) . I will have something to fall back on!
Okay enough of that on to weight issues. I think I prefer to count calories instead. I did very well all week up untill Sat and Sun. DO to having class all week and all day packing the same lunch got kind of boring and due to the fact that we don't eat me it was hard to find food so a lot of junk food was consumed during yesterday and today.
Bad News First I didn't weigh myself last Monday because I was afraid too and I don't want to weigh myself tomorrow because I am still afraid. I just have a feeling that I have gone back over into the 200's and don't want to face reality. Anyhow I wsn't able to eat before 7 due to the fact that we got out of class around 6 pm everyday. Then had to go and pick up the kids from two DIFFERENT locations dealing with heavy rush hour traffic! (SO not fun!) SO it was damn near impossible some days we had to eat after 8 and 9pm! I know that wasn't good but it was hard. I did terrible on my eating yesterday and today.Yesterday was suppose to be my free day but I got out of hand. So I decided that free days are not for me because they will only get me into trouble. I kind of think it was due to the stress of my class! I know I'm making an excuse.
ANyhow now for the good news.
I did exercercise on my 5 scheduled days! I got up at 5 am on all of those days! Now that I look back I don't know how, due to the fact that I was so busy but I'm glad that Ididn't make any excuses not to exercise when I could have. I stayed within calorie range 5 out of 7 days. I think that is good considering!
Anyhow I look forward to this week. I want to make this week a good week as all of the other upcoming weeks. I know I can do this I just have to be disciplined and remeber to pick myself back up if I fall. This week my training( for running) is suppose to go up a notch and I'm a little scared. As of now I run(3min) and walk(2min) and this week it's suppose to increase to running 4 min and walking 2 min. I know you are all thinking it's only one minute! But for a beginner like me that is a huge difference! I think if I slow my pace back down I will be okay! WE shall see.
With couting calories I was referred to Calorie King by B-Kay and I think I'm going to check them out. They have a 7day free trial going on for the computer and Palm( Pocket PC). I have both so I think I will try both to see which one I like best. I think the Palm might be more convient due to the fact that I can take it with me at ALL times! I think it is a good investment since I am making a LIFESTYLE CHANGE! ANyhow as of now I'm using The Daily Plate I have no complaints they have done right by me so far. It just seems that the Calorie King has a lot more to offer and they are a bit more advanced. I will let you know how I like it!
Well I guess I will get at you guys and gals later and I hope you all had a good weekend and I wish you all awonderful week! Until next time much love!
Edited to Update @ 0745 am on 3/31/08
I did wake up at 6 am to exercise. It just felt good waking up knowing that I didn't have to go to class! Today's run walk was difficult. According to my training schedule I was suppose to increase my run time by 1 min which makes my run time for 4 min now and walk time for 2 min. I did that 5 times (30 min) and a 5 min warm up and 5 min cool down( Totaling 40 min). I also did my 200 crunches and 20 pushups! I burned a total of 510 cals and my mileage was 2.764 ( almost 3 miles). I had a very good workout!
I did get on that dreaded scale and I was up to 200.5. It was expected. I don't plan to be back on this side of town for too long, I'm just visiting! lol Anyhow I was able to download the free trials from the Calorie King and I'm anxious to use them. I hope everyone has a good day! Until next time much love!
All is well. This is going to be a week from hell. And it's only day two!
Okay let me stop complaining. I thought my EKG class was rough but Real Estate is even harder especially when you have no background on that subject. 2 days down, 5 more days too go!
On Exercise
I've been pretty good with exercising so far. Yesterday and this morning I woke up around 5am ( So not fun!) But it felt good afterwards to know that I got my exercise out of the way. Yesterday was my walk/run training for 40 min I finally got my speed back up to 5.0 which is great so I was able to cover more mileage( not much of a difference but it did sound good, lol). Today I did Turbo Jam Turbo Sculpt 40 min. On both days I included my 200 crunches and 20 pushups! Tomorrow I plan to wake up at 5am as well to do some more run/walking for 40 min.
On Eating
Yesterday which was my first day counting calories was not so bad. I think I did pretty good. I wasn't sure if I should eat back the calories that I burned so I didn't. Today on the other hand was a different story. Due to poor planning and lack of groceries, lol. My food choices weren't healthy at all! However the good news is, that I remained under my daily calorie allowance with a few calories to spare but I did eat back the calories I burned.
I'm still getting mixed feedback on whether you should eat the burned calories back or not. I guess time will tell! Anyhow just a mini update. I had an opportunity to blog so I took it. Now I need to take my butt to sleep. Have a good week everyone! Until next time much love!
Oh yeah I updated a few photos! ( Not pertaining to weight loss)
Edited to Update 3/26/08 @
Today I woke up at 5am to get my exercise on!
I ran 3 min @ 5.0 and walked 2 min @ 3.5 for a total of 40 min including a 10 min warm-up and cool down. It was a little tough but I got through it. I also did 200 crunches and 20 pushups, burning a total of 500 cals!
Me and DH recently reorganized the garage and our workout area. There is so much more space and still have room to park a car. He also finally added cable to the tv on the treadmill which makes working out even more entertaining! I so look forward to tomorrow its my rest day and I don't have to get up as early! LOL! Have a good day!
I'm not sure how long the session was but I had stopped after 30 mins. I couldn't take no more. I guess once I practice a few more times and get all the poses down. I'll reap the benefits all yoga has to offer. Overall it was pretty intense at first because I didn't know what the hell I was doing. However I'm sure I will start to enjoy it later on in the future!
. One day I will be able to use the 8 pounds the ENTIRE video.
I heaven't gotten up at 5 in a couple of days so I need to get my body readjusted to waking up that early.
I think my scale obsession is creeping back up on me. I guess I need to hide it again! I am down in weight but due to the fact that my weight is always changing, I will wait to record my weight tomorrow on my official weigh in day. 
