Truth moment. This jog 6 days in a row is not going to be as hard as I thought...it's going to be harder! Today I decided to do what I thought would be a light jog. Instead of starting with week 1 of the C25K plan (because I am way past that level of fitness, right?), I skipped to week 4 day 1. All I had to do was start with a 5 minute warm up then jog 3 minutes, walk 1 1/2 minutes, jog 5 minutes, walk 2 and half minutes then repeat that rotation once. I thought "I did 3 sets of 8 minute jogs yesterday, this should be easy peasy." Boy was I wrong. Every time the 5 minute jog came around, and it only came around twice, I thought it was the longest stretch of my life. I would look down at the stopwatch after what I thought was a considerable bit of time only to discover that a mere minute had passed. I have to do this 4 more times this week! I don't know what I'm going to do tomorrow. I may have to start with week one, but even that seems like a daunting task.
In addition to aforementioned struggle fest, my back, but and thighs are super sore. Usually I get delayed muscle soreness a day or two after introducing a new exercise to my body, but this time it kicked in immediately.
Today's good deed: Picked up some trash in the neighborhood. Today's meals: Breakfast 1 boiled egg, Lunch- Spicy Tuna Sashimi Salad (yumyum) from Thanh Thanh and Dinner- I haven't decided yet. Perhaps an egg sunny side down. I didn't purposely skip the carbs today. I just didn't have any options for breakfast, because we have to go grocery shopping. For lunch, I couldn't pass up my one of my favorite dishes on the Westbank since I was on that side for work. As to dinner, no food in the house and lazy.
Well guys it's getting close to my bedtime. See you tomorrow!
E
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Chris: Back to Reality (8.27.13)
Sorry guys, but a lot has transpired over the last 2 weeks. Three family members had significant losses in their lives. And while I tried to support them as much as possible, I can't even begin to feel the pain both of them are experiencing right now. However, I know they are both strong mentally, and that they will be okay after the grieving process is over at some point.
While I'm not sure how to transition, I'll just move on to the past two weeks and how I've done with our challenges. Well.......................................................................................................................... ............................ In other words, I haven't done $hit!!! But, I have been weighing in and I haven't gained any weight. While I haven't been exercising regularly or eating right, I have been eating smaller portions and less frequently in general. Still, I'm mad because if I had been exercising regularly, I could've lost more weight. I won't dwell on the past, so I'm going to stay positive and strive towards my goals. Ericka and I went for a jog today, and I plan on picking up where we left off.
And before I go, just a few updates. My bowling team finished the season in 3rd place, not bad for our first time out there. Also, it's football season, and that means it's fantasy football season!!!! I'm not sure which one I enjoy more, lol. My big fantasy draft is this Saturday, so I'll keep you posted on my team. Goodnight!!!!
While I'm not sure how to transition, I'll just move on to the past two weeks and how I've done with our challenges. Well.......................................................................................................................... ............................ In other words, I haven't done $hit!!! But, I have been weighing in and I haven't gained any weight. While I haven't been exercising regularly or eating right, I have been eating smaller portions and less frequently in general. Still, I'm mad because if I had been exercising regularly, I could've lost more weight. I won't dwell on the past, so I'm going to stay positive and strive towards my goals. Ericka and I went for a jog today, and I plan on picking up where we left off.
And before I go, just a few updates. My bowling team finished the season in 3rd place, not bad for our first time out there. Also, it's football season, and that means it's fantasy football season!!!! I'm not sure which one I enjoy more, lol. My big fantasy draft is this Saturday, so I'll keep you posted on my team. Goodnight!!!!
Ericka: HIATUS OVER! (8.27.13)
I am so sorry I've been away so long, but for the past 2 weeks I've been reflecting, crying, mourning, smiling, healing and helping my loved ones through the grief process. Our hearts are on the mend, but we will never forget our little one who is gone before we even got a chance to get know him.
During these last 2 weeks, I have not been sticking to the challenges whatsoever. The first couple of days I didn't eat and as a result lost a few pounds, then I moved onto emotional eating..i.e. eating everything in sight. After the emotional eating phase was over, I was in a rut and I continued to eat whatever I wanted, but that stopped today. My body doesn't even feel right, and I'm sure the scale will reflect that, because of all the junk I've been eating. I'm even considering going on some sort of organic foods only detox.Today I didn't eat any carbs after 2 p.m.
As for the exercise portion, I have not done anything until today. Chris and I just finished a jog through the neighborhood. We walked for 5 minutes at a moderate pace, then did 3 sets of 8 minute jogs and 2 sets of 2 minute walks followed by a 5 minute cool down walk at a slow pace. Total time-38 minutes. My jog pace was a bit of a struggle, but at least I got out there. For an extra challenge for Chris, he pushed Deuce in the stroller. For me the jog in and of itself was enough of a challenge. Because we have missed so many jogs, Chris and I have to jog 6 times a week for the next 2 weeks! Even if we accomplish that goal, I still won't give myself an A, because the challenge was 3 times a week not 6 times a week.
Pay it forward. It's not that I haven't done nice things for other people, but I haven't kept a tally of the things I've done. I know I was on cheer up duty for awhile, there has been bringing snacks to my coworkers, giving a few dollars to the homeless person on the street, being nice to my kid (oh that doesn't count?) Regardless, I really want to do something that has more of an impact.
On top of all that I got a sinus infection with bronchial inflammation. I went to the doctor last week, and he prescribed me 4 prescriptions and 2 shots in the arse. My butt has yet to let me forget about those shots, because during my jog I felt some tenderness around the injection sites with every step!
Again sorry about the impromptu hiatus. I will strive not to go M.I.A again. To those of you who sent prayers and words of encouragement...thank you. To those of you who have been there for me and especially my loved ones...thank you.
Good night all,
E
During these last 2 weeks, I have not been sticking to the challenges whatsoever. The first couple of days I didn't eat and as a result lost a few pounds, then I moved onto emotional eating..i.e. eating everything in sight. After the emotional eating phase was over, I was in a rut and I continued to eat whatever I wanted, but that stopped today. My body doesn't even feel right, and I'm sure the scale will reflect that, because of all the junk I've been eating. I'm even considering going on some sort of organic foods only detox.Today I didn't eat any carbs after 2 p.m.
As for the exercise portion, I have not done anything until today. Chris and I just finished a jog through the neighborhood. We walked for 5 minutes at a moderate pace, then did 3 sets of 8 minute jogs and 2 sets of 2 minute walks followed by a 5 minute cool down walk at a slow pace. Total time-38 minutes. My jog pace was a bit of a struggle, but at least I got out there. For an extra challenge for Chris, he pushed Deuce in the stroller. For me the jog in and of itself was enough of a challenge. Because we have missed so many jogs, Chris and I have to jog 6 times a week for the next 2 weeks! Even if we accomplish that goal, I still won't give myself an A, because the challenge was 3 times a week not 6 times a week.
Pay it forward. It's not that I haven't done nice things for other people, but I haven't kept a tally of the things I've done. I know I was on cheer up duty for awhile, there has been bringing snacks to my coworkers, giving a few dollars to the homeless person on the street, being nice to my kid (oh that doesn't count?) Regardless, I really want to do something that has more of an impact.
On top of all that I got a sinus infection with bronchial inflammation. I went to the doctor last week, and he prescribed me 4 prescriptions and 2 shots in the arse. My butt has yet to let me forget about those shots, because during my jog I felt some tenderness around the injection sites with every step!
Again sorry about the impromptu hiatus. I will strive not to go M.I.A again. To those of you who sent prayers and words of encouragement...thank you. To those of you who have been there for me and especially my loved ones...thank you.
Good night all,
E
Thursday, August 15, 2013
Ericka: A Heavy Heart (8.15.13)
Things can change so quickly. One minute everything is fine and then the next minute the sky is falling. Right now my family and I are going through the process of grieving and eventually healing after losing a little one Since it's not my story to tell, I will not go into details. However what I can tell you is I saw firsthand the meaning of family, friendship, compassion and paying it forward. Our family truly gathered around our loved ones as they had to say goodbye. We cried, we prayed, we laughed and cried some more. I think, and I hope our presence uplifted them through such a difficult situation.
Because of the events that have transpired in such a short amount of time, I have not had time to blog, the desire to eat, exercise or even think. I'm looking forward to an afternoon jog to clear my mind.
Don't take life and loved ones for granted.
E
Because of the events that have transpired in such a short amount of time, I have not had time to blog, the desire to eat, exercise or even think. I'm looking forward to an afternoon jog to clear my mind.
Don't take life and loved ones for granted.
E
Sunday, August 11, 2013
The Challenge Part Deux
Today is Day 1 of the challenge. The last day will be September 11th. We recruited our nieces, Madison and Sydney, to assist Deuce with picking the challenges.
The video is taking forever to upload, but here are the challenges:
Ericka: You can audibly hear my disappointment when the jog 3 times a week challenge was pulled. Did I mention I hate jogging? I woke up and my body was aching every where from yesterday's jog. Speaking of yesterday, we spent the day on a boat with our family. So basically I was snacking and baking in the sun all afternoon until a torrential downpour hit us. We then went to Pappasito's where I proceeded to eat my weight in chips and dip. I guess that's the last time I'll be eating carbs that late. I already planned on cutting carbs out for dinner, unless I was dining out, but now I can't even use dining out as an excuse. Sheesh we just came off a no carbs challenge! There's only 2 carbs challenges in the bowl, and we would pick them back to back! This morning I ate the dinner I packed up b/c I was too full from appetizers to eat it. So I had black beans with cilantro rice and a salmon filet. I have 32 minutes of cardio to get in and a pay it forward to do so I am going to do 2 in one. I'm going take my in laws dog for a walk. No jogging for me today, because I just did it yesterday. My goal is to jog Monday, Wednesday and Saturday mornings.
Chris: I'm excited about the exercise challenge. I actually think jogging is an effective way for me to lose weight. Last time I lost a lot of weight, I was able to work myself up to jogging for an hour. During that time, I dropped almost 80 lbs in a 2 year span. Jogging is also a stress reliever for me. It's one of the few things that helps me clear my mind, and I don't think about anything else when I'm jogging. Now for the eating challenge, I was extremely disappointed. We just came off of no carbs and now we have to remove carbs from our diet after 2 pm. It's not that I was going to go crazy on carbs, but it's the fact that I can't eat them if I want to for dinner that bothers me. I guess it will benefit us in our efforts to lose weight so I'll stick to the positives. I am also excited about the pay it forward challenge but think it'll be very difficult to attain on a daily basis just due to working everyday. However, I will look for a variety of ways and get creative to attain this goal. I am looking forward to the next 30 days.
The video is taking forever to upload, but here are the challenges:
- Pay It Forward- Every day we have to do something nice for someone else
- Jog 3x a Week
- No Carbs After 2 p.m.
- It's a take on personal trainer Bob Harper's no carbs after lunch rule. Here's a link to all 20 of his skinny rules http://www.sparkpeople.com/myspark/team_messageboard_thread.asp?board=5819x22195x48080313
Ericka: You can audibly hear my disappointment when the jog 3 times a week challenge was pulled. Did I mention I hate jogging? I woke up and my body was aching every where from yesterday's jog. Speaking of yesterday, we spent the day on a boat with our family. So basically I was snacking and baking in the sun all afternoon until a torrential downpour hit us. We then went to Pappasito's where I proceeded to eat my weight in chips and dip. I guess that's the last time I'll be eating carbs that late. I already planned on cutting carbs out for dinner, unless I was dining out, but now I can't even use dining out as an excuse. Sheesh we just came off a no carbs challenge! There's only 2 carbs challenges in the bowl, and we would pick them back to back! This morning I ate the dinner I packed up b/c I was too full from appetizers to eat it. So I had black beans with cilantro rice and a salmon filet. I have 32 minutes of cardio to get in and a pay it forward to do so I am going to do 2 in one. I'm going take my in laws dog for a walk. No jogging for me today, because I just did it yesterday. My goal is to jog Monday, Wednesday and Saturday mornings.
Chris: I'm excited about the exercise challenge. I actually think jogging is an effective way for me to lose weight. Last time I lost a lot of weight, I was able to work myself up to jogging for an hour. During that time, I dropped almost 80 lbs in a 2 year span. Jogging is also a stress reliever for me. It's one of the few things that helps me clear my mind, and I don't think about anything else when I'm jogging. Now for the eating challenge, I was extremely disappointed. We just came off of no carbs and now we have to remove carbs from our diet after 2 pm. It's not that I was going to go crazy on carbs, but it's the fact that I can't eat them if I want to for dinner that bothers me. I guess it will benefit us in our efforts to lose weight so I'll stick to the positives. I am also excited about the pay it forward challenge but think it'll be very difficult to attain on a daily basis just due to working everyday. However, I will look for a variety of ways and get creative to attain this goal. I am looking forward to the next 30 days.
Saturday, August 10, 2013
Ericka: The Very Hungry Ericka (8.10.13)
I started yesterday out on such a good foot. I had 2 boiled eggs for brunch and a granola bar for a snack. Then dinner rolled around. We went to the Palms Steakhouse. It was fancy smancy. We pulled up and there were Bentley coupes, a vintage Rolls Royce and other exotic cars. So let me give you the run down of what I: 8 sweet potato fries, 1 1 dirty martini, 1 piece of bread with butter, garlic green beans, 1/2 a rib eye steak, a glass of merlot, a bite of potatoes au gratin, a bite of lobster and a bite of lobster bisque.
After all that food, I made sure to get up and exercise. First I went for a jog with Chris. The plan was to jog a minute walk 90 seconds, but my cell phone was dead so I couldn't use my C25K app. So I set my Nike+ Fitness app on the iPod to 30 minutes. I started with a 5 minute warm up walk, then I jogged 8 minutes straight (I shocked myself), walked 2 minutes, jogged 8 minutes, walked 2 minutes and finished with a 5 minute walk. After that I was spent and very proud of myself. I don't know the last time I jogged for more than 5 minutes straight. It's been years!
I then hopped on a bike for another 33minutes. I must admit I got lost. I have no sense of direction. Luckily I ran into what I hoped was a nice family. A husband, wife and there young adult daughter. I said "they have to be okay, they have a daughter", and thank God they were. Tim, Sherri and Morgan not only let me use their phone, but they invited me into their home to look at a map of the neighborhood, then proceeded to drive me around until I found my brother in law's house. If you all are reading, i want to say thank you guys! While riding around Sherri revealed she just lost 75lbs and her husband 30lbs using medifast. Not only did they give me a ride, but they inspired me to push forward .
I only have 32 more minutes to go to finish the week, and tomorrow starts a new challenge!
E
 |
| Why I'll Never Be A Vegetarian |
After all that food, I made sure to get up and exercise. First I went for a jog with Chris. The plan was to jog a minute walk 90 seconds, but my cell phone was dead so I couldn't use my C25K app. So I set my Nike+ Fitness app on the iPod to 30 minutes. I started with a 5 minute warm up walk, then I jogged 8 minutes straight (I shocked myself), walked 2 minutes, jogged 8 minutes, walked 2 minutes and finished with a 5 minute walk. After that I was spent and very proud of myself. I don't know the last time I jogged for more than 5 minutes straight. It's been years!
I then hopped on a bike for another 33minutes. I must admit I got lost. I have no sense of direction. Luckily I ran into what I hoped was a nice family. A husband, wife and there young adult daughter. I said "they have to be okay, they have a daughter", and thank God they were. Tim, Sherri and Morgan not only let me use their phone, but they invited me into their home to look at a map of the neighborhood, then proceeded to drive me around until I found my brother in law's house. If you all are reading, i want to say thank you guys! While riding around Sherri revealed she just lost 75lbs and her husband 30lbs using medifast. Not only did they give me a ride, but they inspired me to push forward .
I only have 32 more minutes to go to finish the week, and tomorrow starts a new challenge!
E
Friday, August 9, 2013
Chris: The Results (8.8.13)
Intro
I have to apologize readers!!! I am out fo town and forgot my measurement sheet to post my measurments. However, I did lose inches in most cases. I will follow-up when I return home.
Measurements: L=Lost NC=NC G=Gained
- R. Upper Arm- L. Upper Arm-
- R. Forearm- L. Forearm-
- Chest-
- Bust-
- Midriff-
- Waist-
- Abdomen-
- Hips-
- Arse-
- R. Upper Thigh- L. Upper Thigh-
- R. Mid Thigh- L. Mid Thigh-
- R. Lower Thigh- L. Lower Thigh-
- R. Knee- L. Knee-
- R. Calf- L. Calf-
- R. Ankle- L.Ankle-
How you feel
What You've Learned about each challenge?
How you plan on incorporating into your life
In the meantime, I will answer the questions above after finishing our 1st 30 day challenges. I feel GREAT!!! For one, it feels good to accomplish the goals we set forth at the beginning of the challenge. The no carbs was difficult at times but it wasn't as bad as I thought. I definitely don't need carbs for every meal going forward, and my plan going forward is to limit my daily intake of carbs. The exercise challenge really pushed me to set aside some time each day. And I also realized that 300 minutes is not a bad expectation on a weekly basis and a plan I expect to stay on going forward. Eating a meal ech day with Ericka also made me realize the importance of eating together. That time allowed Ericka and I to unwind and catch up on each other's day. We also talked aboutvarious topics and just enjoyed the conversation of the day.
On a side note, my bowling team is now the #1 team in the league with only 2 weeks left in the season. Our team is hitting our stride at the right time and feeling confident going down the home stretch. I'll keep y'all posted.
In the meantime, I will answer the questions above after finishing our 1st 30 day challenges. I feel GREAT!!! For one, it feels good to accomplish the goals we set forth at the beginning of the challenge. The no carbs was difficult at times but it wasn't as bad as I thought. I definitely don't need carbs for every meal going forward, and my plan going forward is to limit my daily intake of carbs. The exercise challenge really pushed me to set aside some time each day. And I also realized that 300 minutes is not a bad expectation on a weekly basis and a plan I expect to stay on going forward. Eating a meal ech day with Ericka also made me realize the importance of eating together. That time allowed Ericka and I to unwind and catch up on each other's day. We also talked aboutvarious topics and just enjoyed the conversation of the day.
On a side note, my bowling team is now the #1 team in the league with only 2 weeks left in the season. Our team is hitting our stride at the right time and feeling confident going down the home stretch. I'll keep y'all posted.
Ericka: French Fries! (8.9.13)
Yesterday for my first official cheat day I ate a kid size McDonald's french fries! They were so yummy. I swear McDonald's has some of the best french fries, followed by wing stop. Homemade fries of course tops them all. Now that I got the McD's fries out of my system, I think I can go without them for a little while. Other than the fries, my 1st cheat day wasn't too bad. I ate one of my collard green wraps for breakfast, I had some hummus with a light salad and 1 falalfel for lunch, and a smoothie for dinner.
This morning I worked out for 70 minutes, and that's after getting in at 2:00 a.m. Ok, I can't even lie. I fell asleep 20 minutes into the road trip. I hear Deuce fell asleep shortly thereafter. The last thing I remember is him saying "I want to get out" and "I'm stuck" as he struggled to get out of the car seat. I believe I woke up briefly in Lake Charles, went back to sleep and didn't wake up until we reached our destination. Of course I was wired when I got in, but a nice glass of red wine helped me go back to sleep.
Back to the work out. I did 45 minutes of H.I.I.T and 15 minutes of abs using NTC, and then I jumped on the trampoline for another 10 minutes. I have to get in 107 minutes between Saturday and Sunday. I also got all 9 sets of my Friday jumping jacks in, and I did one set of the Monday through Thurday exercises. Goal for the end of the trip, to not weigh more than when I left.
Ok guys, time for me to go hang out with the crew.
TGIF!
E
This morning I worked out for 70 minutes, and that's after getting in at 2:00 a.m. Ok, I can't even lie. I fell asleep 20 minutes into the road trip. I hear Deuce fell asleep shortly thereafter. The last thing I remember is him saying "I want to get out" and "I'm stuck" as he struggled to get out of the car seat. I believe I woke up briefly in Lake Charles, went back to sleep and didn't wake up until we reached our destination. Of course I was wired when I got in, but a nice glass of red wine helped me go back to sleep.
Back to the work out. I did 45 minutes of H.I.I.T and 15 minutes of abs using NTC, and then I jumped on the trampoline for another 10 minutes. I have to get in 107 minutes between Saturday and Sunday. I also got all 9 sets of my Friday jumping jacks in, and I did one set of the Monday through Thurday exercises. Goal for the end of the trip, to not weigh more than when I left.
Ok guys, time for me to go hang out with the crew.
TGIF!
E
Thursday, August 8, 2013
Ericka: Short & Sweet (8.8.13)
Got up this morning to chip away at the 207 minutes of exercise left for the week. Since I waited until the last minute to pack, I only got 30 minutes in. My legs were killing me with every squat, because I did wall sits every hour yesterday. Today is triceps dips. Oy vey!
It's going to be tough to get 177 minutes in while out of town. We're staying with family, so there is no gym to grind it out in for 2 hours. I have my NTC app, but I can't do that for 2 hours straight. Plus it's family time, so carving an hour to 2 hours out for myself every day is going to be tough. We shall see how this goes.
We have 3 cheat days (Thursday, Friday & Saturday). Like I said, I am not trying to undo all of my hard work, so I am going to still be mindful of what I eat, but indulge from to time. I see salsa WITH chips in my near future. We will start a new challenge on Sunday. I'm looking forward to it, unless I have to give up my wine for 30 days.
In other news, Deuce's school orientation is today. A new school for my baby. He started daycare when he was 8 months home, and it was a home school. Only about 6 kids, 1 teacher and 1 teacher's assistant. The set up was amazing. First of all it was only a block away from my house. Second the teachers were so loving and attentive. I cried the last day of school. In fact the both teachers still text me about how Deuce is doing. Third. Deuce was the youngest child there. Everyone else, other than 1 kid who was 6 months older than him, was 1 to 3 years older Deuce. Therefore, Deuce was forced to talk and engage. I think that environment contributed to him having not just a vast vocabulary, but it also helped him communicate. I am going to miss the school, but new adventures are on the horizon, and I can't wait to see how Deuce adjusts. Hopefully he will keep the cursing to a minimum, and he does not share his knowledge of A Few Good Men and the Young & The Restless.
Happy Thursday,
E
It's going to be tough to get 177 minutes in while out of town. We're staying with family, so there is no gym to grind it out in for 2 hours. I have my NTC app, but I can't do that for 2 hours straight. Plus it's family time, so carving an hour to 2 hours out for myself every day is going to be tough. We shall see how this goes.
We have 3 cheat days (Thursday, Friday & Saturday). Like I said, I am not trying to undo all of my hard work, so I am going to still be mindful of what I eat, but indulge from to time. I see salsa WITH chips in my near future. We will start a new challenge on Sunday. I'm looking forward to it, unless I have to give up my wine for 30 days.
In other news, Deuce's school orientation is today. A new school for my baby. He started daycare when he was 8 months home, and it was a home school. Only about 6 kids, 1 teacher and 1 teacher's assistant. The set up was amazing. First of all it was only a block away from my house. Second the teachers were so loving and attentive. I cried the last day of school. In fact the both teachers still text me about how Deuce is doing. Third. Deuce was the youngest child there. Everyone else, other than 1 kid who was 6 months older than him, was 1 to 3 years older Deuce. Therefore, Deuce was forced to talk and engage. I think that environment contributed to him having not just a vast vocabulary, but it also helped him communicate. I am going to miss the school, but new adventures are on the horizon, and I can't wait to see how Deuce adjusts. Hopefully he will keep the cursing to a minimum, and he does not share his knowledge of A Few Good Men and the Young & The Restless.
Happy Thursday,
E
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
Ericka: The Results Are In!! (8.7.13)
Sorry I skipped out on the last couple of postings, but I was not feeling well. I don't think coconut water is for me. I added it to my smoothie Monday morning, and had to leave work early to get in bed. It's either the coconut water or the dairy that did me in. The jury is still out. Clearly I didn't workout Monday, which sucks, because I was looking forward to my evening Tabata class. Chris got me a Sprite, orange juice, and Pho to settle my stomach. I went back to work Tuesday thinking I felt better, and even went to my lunch time Tabata class. However, 5 minutes into class I almost tossed my cookies, which is weird since I skipped breakfast out of an abundance of caution and I hadn't had lunch yet. I fought through it to finish the class.
Yesterday marked the last official day of our 1st 30 days challenge. Although we have elected to abstain from carbs one extra day so that our cheat days can fall on the days we are out of town this week, we are going to give you our results now since it's the official end of the 30 days period.
This morning I weighed in 7.5 pounds lighter than I started! That's almost an average of 2 pounds of weight loss per week! That brings my total weight loss thus far up to 16.7 pounds. My scale also computes BMI and Body Fat Percentage based on height, weight, and sex. I shaved off .7% off of my body fat percentage and 1.3. points off of my BMI.
As for my measurements (NC= No Change L=Lost G=Gained):
Yesterday marked the last official day of our 1st 30 days challenge. Although we have elected to abstain from carbs one extra day so that our cheat days can fall on the days we are out of town this week, we are going to give you our results now since it's the official end of the 30 days period.
This morning I weighed in 7.5 pounds lighter than I started! That's almost an average of 2 pounds of weight loss per week! That brings my total weight loss thus far up to 16.7 pounds. My scale also computes BMI and Body Fat Percentage based on height, weight, and sex. I shaved off .7% off of my body fat percentage and 1.3. points off of my BMI.
As for my measurements (NC= No Change L=Lost G=Gained):
- R. Upper Arm- L .5in L. Upper Arm- L .5in
- R. Forearm- L .25in L. Forearm- L .5in
- Chest- L .5in
- Bust- L 2 in
- Midriff- L 2.5 in
- Waist- L 3.5in
- Abdomen- L 2in
- Hips- L 2.5in
- Arse- L3 in
- R. Upper Thigh- L 2in L. Upper Thigh- L 1in
- R. Mid Thigh- L 1in L. Mid Thigh- L .5in
- R. Lower Thigh- L .5in L. Lower Thigh- L 1in
- R. Knee- NC L. Knee- L .5in
- R. Calf- L 1in L. Calf- L .5in
- R. Ankle- NC L.Ankle- L .5in
(Sorry I haven't filled in the measurements yet, but I will update it as soon as I get a tailor sewing tape measure. I had one, well 2 actually, but somebody called himself tidying up, and that somebody now doesn't know where he put them. We are replacing the tape today, and I will update the blog with the results.)
Updated: It feels great to see my results on paper. I'm addicted to my scale (sounds like I need a ditch the scale challenge), so I knew I was losing weight, and I could feel the difference in my clothes. But putting it on paper confirmed it. The results in black & white are keeping me motivated.
Updated: It feels great to see my results on paper. I'm addicted to my scale (sounds like I need a ditch the scale challenge), so I knew I was losing weight, and I could feel the difference in my clothes. But putting it on paper confirmed it. The results in black & white are keeping me motivated.
No Carbs: A
I did pretty well with this challenge other than the bite of cake and the pho I had to settle my stomach on Monday. I didn't cut out all carbs, but I did cut out the particularly starchy ones like potatoes, rice, bread and pasta. Carbs, especially white carbs, need to be eaten in moderation. I think I've learned that from this challenge.
300 Minutes/5 Hours of Exercise/Week: A+
I spanked this goal out of the park! I picked 300 minutes, because I read somewhere that's the amount of time you need to put in to lose a significant amount of weight. I used a mixture high intensity interval training, jogging, gym classes, dancing, biking, weight lifting and walking to keep it fun. Doing the same things over and over again gets tedious and boring plus changing it up gets better results. I know myself, and if I did the same thing over and over again, I would have fallen off. Also by counting down the minutes vs the hours, I felt like the task was more manageable. I think working out has become a habit for me. I've been doing it for 6 weeks straight. This morning I got up, did a 4 minute dance warm-up, followed by C25K walk/jog (28.5 minutes + the 5.5 minutes it took me to get home) and concluded with a 10 minute workout. I am going to put that in the bucket for this week. Adding those minutes to the 45 minutes I spent in Tabata on Tuesday and I have a total of 93 minutes for the week thus far. My goal is to get in the other 207 minutes by Sunday. It may be tough since I'll be out of town, but I am going to make it a priority.
A Meal Together Every Day: C
Definitely some room for improvement here. Perhaps doing this every day with a child was a bit of a high order, but we definitely slacked in that department. We did substitute this type of quality time by getting quality time in other weighs, such as going on date nights, and exercising together, but that was not the challenge. We have to do better in that department. Family meal time is the most important part of the day for couples and their children. It's the time where we discuss our day and make plans. Although Deuce can't fully participate yet, he is learning from observation. This challenge will definitely be an ongoing challenge.
Now What?
So how do I plan on incorporating what I've learned from the challenges into my every day life? I am going to strive to get at least 300 minutes of exercise in every week, I am going to drop the carbs at dinner time unless it's a night out/special occasion, and I am going to work on making time for QT with the hubby.
After today, I have 3 cheat days. The goal is to not undue all my hard work by going H.A.M. on my 3 cheat days. It's going to be tough since I'll be eating out a lot in H-Town, but I don't want to start the next challenge weighing in more than what I weighed today.
The next challenge starts Sunday August 11th so stayed tuned,
E
Sunday, August 4, 2013
Chris: It Hurts Soooooooooooooo Good (8.4.13)
It has been an eventful weekend, at least in terms of exercising. Saturday morning, I woke up to Deuce hitting me in the face. And as soon as my eyes opened, Deuce said "I wanna go bye-bye" and "doughnuts". How could I say no to my lil man, so I crawled out of bed at 7:54 am (Yes, that time is correct) and took Deuce to the Buttermilk Drop for some glazed doughnut holes. And if you're wondering, NO, I didn't eat any!!!! I wanted to but didn't. Anyways, after that, we all went to the gym. We dropped Deuce off at the gym daycare, and Ericka and I went to work. I jogged a mile and the ran/walked a 2nd mile. I hit the weights for another 45 minutes and then played Ericka's friend in a game of racquetball. It was the same woman who beat me 15-1, 15-0 and 15-0 last week. Well, this week I came out with a bang and jumped on her 5-1, but I fell apart and lost 15-5. But, I am getting better and I should have her beat in about 2 more weeks. So, I got in a good hour and 30 minutes (Total time for the week after the workout was 4 hours).
So, today, I still needed an hour to get to my goal of 300 minutes of exercise this week. And last week, my coworker and frienemy, Jim McAnelly, called me out saying that the last hour of exercise at the driving range shouldn't have counted. Now for anyone who knows Jim, he is a HATER!!!! But I took it to heart, so this week I planned on playing a round of golf for exercise. Now, today it was 109 degrees with the Heat Index, and I was out on the course for at least 5 hours, so I'm pretty sure I can claim one hour of exercise. And it has been awhile since I played a round of golf, so along with probably being on the brink of dehydration, my feet, back and arms are feeling it tonight. What do you think Jim?????? I would venture to say that I reached my exercise goal of this week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Last, but not least, I would like to thank my lovely wife for cooking a great dinner tonight and some meals for the week. Tonight, we had spaghetti squash with meat sauce and it was rolling!!! I ate it all in about 5 minutes. Thanks babe!!! Alright y'all, Cdub is out, holla at ya boy!!!
So, today, I still needed an hour to get to my goal of 300 minutes of exercise this week. And last week, my coworker and frienemy, Jim McAnelly, called me out saying that the last hour of exercise at the driving range shouldn't have counted. Now for anyone who knows Jim, he is a HATER!!!! But I took it to heart, so this week I planned on playing a round of golf for exercise. Now, today it was 109 degrees with the Heat Index, and I was out on the course for at least 5 hours, so I'm pretty sure I can claim one hour of exercise. And it has been awhile since I played a round of golf, so along with probably being on the brink of dehydration, my feet, back and arms are feeling it tonight. What do you think Jim?????? I would venture to say that I reached my exercise goal of this week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Last, but not least, I would like to thank my lovely wife for cooking a great dinner tonight and some meals for the week. Tonight, we had spaghetti squash with meat sauce and it was rolling!!! I ate it all in about 5 minutes. Thanks babe!!! Alright y'all, Cdub is out, holla at ya boy!!!
Ericka: Weekend Chef (8.4.13)
I just realized I haven't blogged since Thursday! When I left you last, I had 150 minutes of exercise left for the week. Friday I took the majority of the day off so that I could spend the day with my babyface before he headed back to Prairieville for the week. Friday morning, since I was in no rush to go in, I got a late start on my morning fitness. When I finally got out of the bed, I did a 4 minute warm-up followed by 15 minutes of high intensity interval training courtesy of NTC. Then Deuce got out of bed and wanted to go outside, so I took him for a 20 minute stroll. I jogged every other block in the heat. 39 minutes down 111 minutes to go.
Saturday I went to the gym with my usual crew in tow. Chris and I hit the track first. I went around 12 times, jogging every other lap. I did a little over a mile in 13 minutes! I followed that by getting on the elliptical and Stairmaster for 17 minutes. Then I hit the weights. As I walked in with Es & Chris I saw my dad working out! HEY POPS! Essie and I focused mostly on legs but did some abs and arms. After 30 minutes Es and Chris went play racquetball while I finished pumping iron (lol) for an additional 10 minutes. I was able to catch the last 10 minutes of Chris' game, and I must say he looked good. He has definitely improved. Then I played Es in a game of racquetball. I managed to score 5 points against her! I know she doesn't play me as hard as she plays the guys in her league, plus she had just finished playing Chris, but Es said I played better and that I got in some good shots. I'll take it! We played for 20 minutes
This morning I only had 21 minutes left for the week so I did 2 of Tony Horton's 10 minute trainer routines, cardio and power yoga, plus a 2 minute warm-up and a 2 minute cool down. Mission accomplished.
I then went to the grocery store fresh from my workout sans makeup and this young man, about 20 y.o., thought I was in school! I told him I was far from college age, and he then tried to guess my age. Ugh, no good can come from that right. He said "Well since you're not in school, you must be older...26! I'll take it! Anyway, after my quick stop at the store, I came home and made a few dishes for the week. I made meat sauce with lean ground turkey, and instead of pasta I made spaghetti squash. If you don't know about spaghetti squash, it's a vegetable that when baked and shredded with a fork gives the appearance of spaghetti. I also made a delicious salad. Thanks Malgorzata for the recipe! I used kale, radicchio, a little Quinoa ( a healthy high protein carb), a little corn, avocado, red onion, tomatoes and olive oil. The last meal I made was collard green wraps. I used a similar recipe from last time, but I added quinoa. For brunch I made myself a parfait. For an extra boost I added Qia, which is a mixture of chia seeds, buckwheat and hemp seeds. After all that cooking in the hot kitchen, I took a nap with Deuce.
I plated the pasta for dinner and paired it with a nice glass of Merlot. I didn't take a picture of the wraps, because you've seen those before.
Can we talk about how hot it is for just a second? I mean seriously, it's sweltering out there! In fact, it's down right dangerous. Deuce wanted to go outside after his nap so I put him in his little push car for a quick spin around the neighborhood. I went half a block and Deuce said, "It's hot". I finished the block and went right back home for indoor fun.
Now I must confess I had a little bit of bad carbs. My grandmother makes birthday cakes for everyone's birthday, and because we only have 1 family birthday in July, I haven't been tempted by her delectable cake. Well that 1 birthday, Kaleb West Cunningham who made 5 on July 16th, was celebrated a tad bit late. We had his cake yesterday. At first I passed on the cake, but everybody kept saying that it was one MaGen's best cakes so I had a teeny tiny bite, and I must say it was amazing. I'm not even feeling guilty about it. Sorry not sorry.
Enjoy the rest of your Sunday,
E
Saturday I went to the gym with my usual crew in tow. Chris and I hit the track first. I went around 12 times, jogging every other lap. I did a little over a mile in 13 minutes! I followed that by getting on the elliptical and Stairmaster for 17 minutes. Then I hit the weights. As I walked in with Es & Chris I saw my dad working out! HEY POPS! Essie and I focused mostly on legs but did some abs and arms. After 30 minutes Es and Chris went play racquetball while I finished pumping iron (lol) for an additional 10 minutes. I was able to catch the last 10 minutes of Chris' game, and I must say he looked good. He has definitely improved. Then I played Es in a game of racquetball. I managed to score 5 points against her! I know she doesn't play me as hard as she plays the guys in her league, plus she had just finished playing Chris, but Es said I played better and that I got in some good shots. I'll take it! We played for 20 minutes
This morning I only had 21 minutes left for the week so I did 2 of Tony Horton's 10 minute trainer routines, cardio and power yoga, plus a 2 minute warm-up and a 2 minute cool down. Mission accomplished.
I then went to the grocery store fresh from my workout sans makeup and this young man, about 20 y.o., thought I was in school! I told him I was far from college age, and he then tried to guess my age. Ugh, no good can come from that right. He said "Well since you're not in school, you must be older...26! I'll take it! Anyway, after my quick stop at the store, I came home and made a few dishes for the week. I made meat sauce with lean ground turkey, and instead of pasta I made spaghetti squash. If you don't know about spaghetti squash, it's a vegetable that when baked and shredded with a fork gives the appearance of spaghetti. I also made a delicious salad. Thanks Malgorzata for the recipe! I used kale, radicchio, a little Quinoa ( a healthy high protein carb), a little corn, avocado, red onion, tomatoes and olive oil. The last meal I made was collard green wraps. I used a similar recipe from last time, but I added quinoa. For brunch I made myself a parfait. For an extra boost I added Qia, which is a mixture of chia seeds, buckwheat and hemp seeds. After all that cooking in the hot kitchen, I took a nap with Deuce.
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| Meat sauce & spaghetti |
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| Salad |
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| Parfait |
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| Bon appetite! |
Can we talk about how hot it is for just a second? I mean seriously, it's sweltering out there! In fact, it's down right dangerous. Deuce wanted to go outside after his nap so I put him in his little push car for a quick spin around the neighborhood. I went half a block and Deuce said, "It's hot". I finished the block and went right back home for indoor fun.
Now I must confess I had a little bit of bad carbs. My grandmother makes birthday cakes for everyone's birthday, and because we only have 1 family birthday in July, I haven't been tempted by her delectable cake. Well that 1 birthday, Kaleb West Cunningham who made 5 on July 16th, was celebrated a tad bit late. We had his cake yesterday. At first I passed on the cake, but everybody kept saying that it was one MaGen's best cakes so I had a teeny tiny bite, and I must say it was amazing. I'm not even feeling guilty about it. Sorry not sorry.
Enjoy the rest of your Sunday,
E
Friday, August 2, 2013
Chris: Only a Week Left (8.2.13)
I know, I know.....this is my 1st post since Monday. Sorry about that, but it has been a pretty uneventful week, and I didn't want to bore y'all with words for the sake of posting a blog entry. Quick recap.....Ericka and I went to see Wolverine on Tuesday. Four words - Don't waste your time. We went to the movies since my parents were watching Deuce this week and the lineup for the movie theater was pretty unimpressive, so we settled on Wolverine. That was one of the worst movies I've seen in the last year, but I am a pretty harsh critic. However, the plot was horrible and action wasn't very entertaining but I digress. Wednesday, I had my bowling league and Thursday I had a work dinner to attend. Needless to say, I didn't workout Tuesday - Thursday.
But today was a good day. I knew I needed to get a good run in today in order to set the tone for the weekend, and to put me in a good spot to reach my 300 minute exercise goal for the week. So, I jogged for 25 minutes and walked for about 5 minutes in 90 degree weather this evening to put me at 150 minutes for this week so far. We plan on hitting the gym tomorrow, and I have a 9:30 am tee time on Sunday with a couple of friends. I've lost about 5 or so pounds since starting our 1st 30 day challenge. However, it's how I feel that has been really noticeable to me. I have more energy throughout the day and just feel better in general. Also, my clothes are fitting much better and are becoming loose, which is always a great feeling.
I promise I'll get back on my blog grind this weekend, lol.
But today was a good day. I knew I needed to get a good run in today in order to set the tone for the weekend, and to put me in a good spot to reach my 300 minute exercise goal for the week. So, I jogged for 25 minutes and walked for about 5 minutes in 90 degree weather this evening to put me at 150 minutes for this week so far. We plan on hitting the gym tomorrow, and I have a 9:30 am tee time on Sunday with a couple of friends. I've lost about 5 or so pounds since starting our 1st 30 day challenge. However, it's how I feel that has been really noticeable to me. I have more energy throughout the day and just feel better in general. Also, my clothes are fitting much better and are becoming loose, which is always a great feeling.
I promise I'll get back on my blog grind this weekend, lol.
Thursday, August 1, 2013
Ericka: Can't Get Right (8.1.13)
Let's start with Tuesday evening. You already know I didn't go to my Tabata class, because I accidentally got there a half an hour late. The plan was supposed to be to go workout after work, but Chris and I decided to go see "The Wolverine". Please indulge me as go I into fangirl/geek mode. I love the X-Men franchise. I became a big fan as a kid when Fox aired the animated series on Saturday mornings. So of course when they turned the comic books into a movie franchise, I was the first one in line. For the most part, the series has yet to disappoint. I must say the first X-Men movie was a bit slow, and Storm's hair was a mess, but it had a good message about tolerance. However I thoroughly enjoyed the subsequent movies including X-Men: First Class and X-Men Origins: Wolverine. I can't say the same for the latest Wolverine movie. While I never set the bar high for action movies, I did expect a bit more. There were cheesy one liners and cheesy music. The love story was a bit of a throw away, and I had to suspend disbelief a little too much. However, the action sequences were good. So I give it a C+. While it wasn't the best in the franchise, it also did not deter me from seeing future X-Men related movies.
Now back to business as usual. Wednesday was my second failed attempt at exercising. Yesterday's challenge was 1 minute wall sits every hour on the half hour. I only got to do 4, because I was in court all day yesterday. I almost asked the judge to let me use her chambers to complete my mission. Just kidding, kind of. The thought did cross my mind briefly. I assumed I'd be done with court no later than 3. Then I was going to go to the gym, grind it out a little bit before picking Chris up from work. I was also supposed to drop him off at the bowling alley and then head straight to Prairieville to see my babyface. However, I didn't finish up with court until after 6. Chris had to get to the bowling alley by 6:30 so he had to leave without me. Which meant I was stranded at work. Luckily my friend Tiff picked me up. So no workout on Wednesday.
This morning I got up and got a good 30 minutes in, and the plan was to go to lunchtime Tabata to cut down on my remaining minutes for the week. I double checked the time to make sure it was for 11:30 a. I got to the gym at 11:20, got dressed and then realized I forgot my tennis shoes! Really!?! Really!?! On my way out I ran into the hot girl in my class. She's perky, and fit and cute. She asked me "Where have you been?" I gave her a quick rundown about showing up late Tuesday and forgetting my shoes today. As I am debriefing her she disrobes. She doesn't turn around modestly, she doesn't look shy. She just whips her dress off over her head as if it was no big deal. And in truth it was no big deal. I mean what did she have to hide. I could already tell from when I've seen her in her workout clothes that she had a great body, but seeing it in all of its glory confirmed it. Honestly it didn't discourage me or make me jealous. It motivated me. So thank you hot girl for being so hot. As for today's challenge, yes, I've been doing 25 triceps dips every hour and I finished the wall sits I didn't get to do yesterday.
I'll give this exercise thing another chance tomorrow.
E
Oh I made a parfait for breakfast yesterday, and it came out better than store bought because the granola wasn't just on the top. I layered non-fat vanilla Greek yogurt with strawberries, granola and honey. I topped it off with almonds. Yummy
Now back to business as usual. Wednesday was my second failed attempt at exercising. Yesterday's challenge was 1 minute wall sits every hour on the half hour. I only got to do 4, because I was in court all day yesterday. I almost asked the judge to let me use her chambers to complete my mission. Just kidding, kind of. The thought did cross my mind briefly. I assumed I'd be done with court no later than 3. Then I was going to go to the gym, grind it out a little bit before picking Chris up from work. I was also supposed to drop him off at the bowling alley and then head straight to Prairieville to see my babyface. However, I didn't finish up with court until after 6. Chris had to get to the bowling alley by 6:30 so he had to leave without me. Which meant I was stranded at work. Luckily my friend Tiff picked me up. So no workout on Wednesday.
This morning I got up and got a good 30 minutes in, and the plan was to go to lunchtime Tabata to cut down on my remaining minutes for the week. I double checked the time to make sure it was for 11:30 a. I got to the gym at 11:20, got dressed and then realized I forgot my tennis shoes! Really!?! Really!?! On my way out I ran into the hot girl in my class. She's perky, and fit and cute. She asked me "Where have you been?" I gave her a quick rundown about showing up late Tuesday and forgetting my shoes today. As I am debriefing her she disrobes. She doesn't turn around modestly, she doesn't look shy. She just whips her dress off over her head as if it was no big deal. And in truth it was no big deal. I mean what did she have to hide. I could already tell from when I've seen her in her workout clothes that she had a great body, but seeing it in all of its glory confirmed it. Honestly it didn't discourage me or make me jealous. It motivated me. So thank you hot girl for being so hot. As for today's challenge, yes, I've been doing 25 triceps dips every hour and I finished the wall sits I didn't get to do yesterday.
I'll give this exercise thing another chance tomorrow.
E
Oh I made a parfait for breakfast yesterday, and it came out better than store bought because the granola wasn't just on the top. I layered non-fat vanilla Greek yogurt with strawberries, granola and honey. I topped it off with almonds. Yummy
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