Aerobic Mirrors

Over the past month I've been going to Kettle Bell classes once or twice a week.  Just like in every aerobics classroom there is an enormous mirror that covers every wall and sometimes doors.  Who came up with the idea of putting a mirror on a wall to where women had no choice but to look at themselves exercise? I'd have to say a man did and this is why.
Men LOVE looking at themselves in the mirror to see their progress before,during and after their workouts and even when they aren't exercising so that's why I believe a man came up with the idea of putting up these mirrors. 
Every time I go to class I stand to the side while we are waiting for everyone to join us and I look to see how much thinner that I've gotten from the previous week. Then we start to workout and with every bend, pull and heave I make I am able to see every fat roll, my butt jiggle and even focus on if I look cute doing this move!
I really find these mirrors to be very distracting versus helpful in my form.  I know these self-contentious mirrors aren't going anywhere so I must learn to not look at myself in the mirror and only at the instructor. GOOD LUCK!!
May has been a wonderful experience of getting back to basic eating.  All of May I have eaten nothing but fruits, fresh veggies and protein shakes/bars and I feel great!  I've lost inches and even though I am STILL at 210 lbs and for the love of God don't know why, I am proud to say I am loosing inches.  After May I have decided to continue on with this eating plan but add fresh fish and chicken to my diet.  This journey is a journey even though I am ready for this journey to already be here and me look fabulous but I need to be realistic.  Well, here's to aerobic mirrors and fresh food for June, Cheers!!

May, Getting Back To Basic Eating Challenge

Hey Everyone!
May is almost here and it kicks off our challenge of getting back to basic eating and being healthy!  I've compiled a sample grocery list for all 10 of us that are doing this so you know you're not alone out there. Walmart is great for your dry produce and if you're not having luck finding fresh produce there, then go to your grocery store and or Target.
Every Sunday I will check in with everyone and see how you are doing, so let's have a great May and get healthy.

Remember: NO Meat, NO Breads, NO Sweets.

List:
Blackbeans
Pinto Beans
Red Lettuce
Green Lettuce
Romaine Lettuce
Iceberg Lettuce (just for filling in a salad- has no nutritional value)
Tomatoes
Bananas
Apples
Broccoli
Milk
Eggs
Yogurt- Yoplait or Greek
Canned corn (salads)
Fresh corn
Carrots
Zucchini
Squash
Salad Dressing
Kidney Beans
Granola
Nuts
Sun flower seeds
Celery
Brown Rice
Hummus
Protein Bars(Cliff bars are a good one)
Protein Shakes (Whey protein is ideal)
Grapefruit
Veggie Stock (veggie soup)
Water
Peanut Butter (Wholefoods has a awesome one you can make on the spot)

Here are some ideas for you and remember keep snacks on you all day long so you don't feel hungry.  Have fun and don't forget EXERCISE 3 TIMES A WEEK MIN FOR A MIN OF 30 MIN.

Talk to you all next Sunday!
Robin

New Perspective

So after 3 weeks of the scale saying that I am STILL 210lbs I've decided to take a different approach. I know that I am loosing inches so I read an article that opened my eyes to see my progress by another number; that is to measure my progress by inches. Below I've attached this link because it's a article that just changed my entire perspective.
http://www.doittennis.com/knowledge-center/pounds-vs-inches.php

I Get Knocked Down BUT I Get Up Again

Since last Thursday I have fallen off the workout horse due to working 4 days in a row with a 4 hour commute to Denver and then I caught the flu for 2 more days after that.  I started working out again yesterday with a new weigh-in and back on track.  My 5lb weight gain was due all too water weight, in which I gain every period so it made me feel much better hoping on that scale and seeing those 5 lbs gone. This week also begins a new series of workouts for me, kettle bell and circuit training.  I've never done kettle bell training before but have heard amazing reviews about how it helps tones and burn calories with an intense cardio workout.  

I absolutely love hearing your comments and response to my postings.  Write in this week and let me know your progress, what's working for you or if you need advice from other readers or myself with struggles you're having.
As much as you're here routing me on, I want to be here for you!

Day#9:

Weigh-in: 210lbs

Exercise: Biked 6 miles/Abs

Emotionally: Positive               



        

5 lbs

Today is day #8 of getting back into shape and I want to crawl into a hole!  I dropped the kids off at the daycare and headed to the gym this morning to do weight resistance training on my arms,shoulders and back.  I am only weighing myself once a week so that I don't get obsessed with my weight but encouraged by the results each week.  After doing my workout I headed over to the scales to see how much weight I had lost in a week, only to find I've gained 5 lbs!  I've just been stabbed in my heart after looking at the numbers.  How in the world have I gained this much weight in less than a week?  I really hope that it's just water weight with some muscle weight and it's going to be gone by the end of the week. 
So, I'm going to go against my "only weigh myself at the beginning of each week" rule and re-weigh on Sunday.

Day #8: 

Weight: 215lbs

Workout: 30 min of weight training on arms,shoulders and back 

Mentality: Discouraged

Romantic Workout

When you hear of a romantic workout you almost expect a pole to be involved and naughtiness.  Steve and I attended a marriage study last week where we learned that we need to desperately work on the friendship aspect of our marriage.  The leaders of the group suggested that we take a day out each week to make time for just each other.  So, I wanted to be proactive with this technique since I love spending time with Steve.  After calling an amazing friend that was willing to watch the kiddos, I surprised Steve with a date.  Colorado is known for it's mountains and trails, so I planned a date that involved both.  I've always loved hiking then trail running to the bottom and since this is an activity you can't do with an infant and toddler, I decided this would be the perfect date.  Colombine trail has 3 parts to it, a lower,mid and upper section.  The mid section consists of a 3 mile hike with steep switchbacks and only leveling to flat every now and then so this is the section that we did. Three miles of hiking that made me realize how weak my legs are.  Steve was very encouraging and patient all the way to the top.  We stopped to pose in front of the trail sign as a trophy of victory before running down.  Now, on our way down I thought I could hold going to the bathroom till we reached the bottom but found out quickly that only 5 weeks after having my daughter I could not completely control my bladder.  Every time one of my feet hit the trail I would uncontrollably pee on myself (how romantic is that)!  Steve found a tree for me and even after emptying my bladder, every jarring stride I took more pee came out.  Oh, let's not forget about my spitting abilities.  I go to spit some flem out, just to have the wind blow it back on me all over my shirt! So now I am covered in pee and spit (thank the Lord we are already married and this wasn't a first date because he probably would have never called me again.)

Needless to say, Saturday I not only got a great workout in but had a blast spending precious quality time with my hubby.

Day #5: Rested my body

Day #6: Hiked 3 miles/ Ran 3 miles
Day #7: Rested my very sore body







 

Breaking a Sweat While Getting Kicked Out Of the Gym Nursery

I love breaking a sweat when I workout.  It takes me back to when I was in dance and my instructors would say, "if you're not breaking a sweat, then you're not working hard enough." 

Day 4 and 5:

Workout #4: Ran .5 miles 

Workout #5: 30 min(s) on the Eliptical and Bikes

Today I broke a sweat but yesterday I did not.  The strangest thing happened to my ankle yesterday afternoon when I was walking back to the nursery, it popped!  I've never had a sprained ankle pop before but after it popped it felt amazing.  After that, I decided to try running again but wanted to be careful not to push the injury. 

Instead of walking to the mailbox I decided to run since it's a couple of blocks away. After finding the perfect song I started running, but sometimes I have these running days where I feel that there is a 400lb man holding on to my legs and I am dragging him from behind, that was yesterdays run.  So my workout yesterday wasn't good, I keep telling myself to ease back into this even though my personality is to dive into everything I do without holding back (sometimes this is good and often it bites me in the tail.)

This morning started a brand new day.  I loaded the kids in the car and off we went to the gym.  After getting them checked into daycare I hit the Eliptical machine to focus on my quads and rump.

While I am listening to Ditty by Paperboy, a gal comes to my station and asks if I am Olive's mom.  She proceeds to tell me that I can not bring a newborn into the daycare until she is 6 weeks old.  Here we are at 4 weeks and now she's telling me I am not able to come back with Olive for another 2 weeks, but tells me I can workout today.  Now, this is a blow to my workout. All I can think about is, how am I going to workout for the next 2 weeks. I stomp over to the bikes to blow off some steam and then after peddling my legs off and breaking an amazing sweat I then proceeded to go get the kids.

Gyms, are full of moms all day long.  Ever since being a mom I have had the hardest time finding a gym that has a daycare and now I'm being told not to come back for 2 weeks...ugh.

Over the next 2 weeks I will be praying for warm weather to run in and added hours to my day so when Steve gets home I can go to the gym without the kids.

Also in 2 weeks I will be posting a picture of my progress, which I will continue to do (this I am dreading) twice a month, as well begin circuit training (not excited).  Circuit training is the most effective workout for my body type because it tones me while loosing lbs and inches.  I'm not excited about this type of training because it's so intense but the results are worth it once I step on that scale and into my Buckle pre-pregnancy jeans.

Why wait 2 weeks to start circuit training? It will be 6 weeks after giving birth and want to make sure my body has healed completely before training intensely and these next 2 weeks will ease me back into a full workout routine.

Moms, if you maintained a workout routine your full 9 months or have never worked out before be encouraged and ease into what works for you.  Start walking for 30 min(s), 4 times a week.  Remember there is a beginning to everything, you just have to start somewhere.

In the Beginning

There always has to be a beginning to everything.  So this is the beginning of my journey.  Today while I was on the bike at the gym, the thought of starting a blog came to me. I've never blogged before but thought this would be an avenue for me to not only keep track of my results but possibly have other moms jump on this train with me.
For the past 2 years I have been nothing but pregnant (very blessed).  Getting pregnant on my honeymoon never gave me an opportunity to "adjust" to marriage (do you ever adjust to marriage?). Being pregnant made the decision for me to come off the road with my career and instead gave me the job of watching my body change into something that was unfamiliar looking to me.  This time during my first pregnancy with my son was definitely an identity crisis for me.  With every dent that was added to my rump and going from ankles to kankles I saw more of me morphing into a body I didn't like.  Now with number two in our house it's time to get back to working out.  During my first pregnancy I worked out every single day and still gained 55 lbs and with my second I only walked and chased after a toddler which led me to only gaining 35 lbs in addition to the 20 lbs that I had left to loose from my first, giving me a grand total weight of 245 lbs one week before she was born on Feb 20, 2011. In this journey I want to be real and raw since that's the only way to get healthy results.  I feel beautiful on most days but there are those days like yesterday when you look at yourself without the black pants and black shirt on and see the real ugly.  Okay I'm not ugly but the dents in my rump sure are ugly LOL, today I can laugh.


I started working out 3 days ago after having a baby 4 weeks ago.  My first day I ran a mile which felt amazing! I took yesterday off because I was so sore and having a bad, very bad day with my son that has selective hearing.  So let's start with today, day 3. Today was my first weigh in day since giving birth so we will start there.

Day 3: Weight 210 lbs (very excited about this!)

Exercise: Bikes at Gym (30 min)

I am very excited to see that in 4 weeks I have lost 35 lbs, yay!! To let you know how I lost that much in 4 weeks: I gave birth, lost tons of water weight and drinking protein shakes 2 times a day as meal replacements with vitamin enhancers from Herbal Life and drinking water. Unfortunately I am not getting adequate sleep so if I was it would speed things up even more.  I decided to do the bikes today because I sprained my ankle after my foot caught a hole while chasing my son in the front yard yesterday. 

Motivation for all of this is too not only be healthy but take care of the only body that the Lord gave to me.  After loosing both of my parents by the time I was 22 years old due to unhealthy lifestyle habits, I always told myself I would never put my kids through loosing me due to my controllable health decisions. 

So it begins, tone my rump!