December Goals and an Advent Workout

Hello Dear Readers!
I hope everyone of you had an amazing Thanksgiving weekend and made good decisions and made time to be active. I tried my best, the active part was pretty slim due to cold temps and me being a chicken when the thermometer reads below 30 degrees Fahrenheit. Brrr. However I did OK on everything, proof being the scale actually read less today than it did on Wednesday. If I had splurged too much it would of been higher due to water weight gain. I did have soda, and that was probably the worse I did.

December goals:
My main goal for December is to have fun and not stress too much. If I lived in the Southern hemisphere December would be my most favorite month. I love Christmas and everything it stands for. 
So for December lets not worry too much about the food we eat as long as we keep 80/20 in our mind. Eat great 80% of the time so that 20% of the time we can enjoy those Holiday sweets and treats.  No guilt is allowed this month. We will keep active enough to keep those bad, negative thoughts at bay.

For some fitness fun I'm thinking up a fitness Advent calendar. There will be a different exercise each day. So here is the list:

Summer Plans

Well, I made it through finals and did well in most of my classes except for Organic Chemistry. I'm going to have to retake that one this fall. I was going to do it this summer but I didn't have the financial aid available to take any classes.

So I'm making my summer plans and here they are:

1. Find part time work
2. Begin a 10k training plan
• I would really like to run a 10k this year, plus this would help my 5k times.
• I'm going to use this plan from Hal Higdon 
3. Strength train at least 3x a week.
• I'm going to use Supreme 90 Day for this.
4. Fix my diet
• It's definitely broken. I've been eating way too much processed foods, sugar and junk lately. My gardens are beginning to produce so lots of fresh veggies are beginning to come my way. I'm going to try and grow more this year, changing what I plant with the seasons. Where I live about the only time you cannot grow something is January and February. Even then you still may be able to coax some greens to grow even then as long as you have something to protect them from the few days of freezing we get.
5. Have fun
• I'm not taking classes this summer so I have more time to spend with the kiddies. I plan on using some time each day to play with them. They're getting older (I'll have two in high school in August, how did that happen?) and I need to make the most of this time.
• We're also making tentative plans to take a long weekend and go to a river this summer. We've never taken time for just the six of us. It's always been visiting family. Then we get stuck helping others and the whole weekend has been wasted and we come home feeling dejected and so glad to be away from everyone. So we want to take a mini-cation; camping, fishing, swimming, doing whatever we feel like. Without the pressures of others trying to dictate how we should spend our limited time.  Since were we plan on going will be near relatives, we plan on not telling anyone when or where. I'm so looking forward to it.

So far that's all I have. A fairly relaxing couple of months then I kick back in high gear to finish my last few semesters of college. 

New Week, New Plan

Well, sort of anyway. I did make it to the gym Wednesday and Thursday morning last week. I felt like I was able to accomplish most everything I had planned on. Still need to work on a study schedule though.  Hubby woke me up a 3:30 am on Friday(after I had had trouble falling asleep and didn't really get to sleep until midnight) and so by the time I was suppose to head out for gym/class I was dozing off and having trouble staying awake.  I don't drive if I'm too sleepy and it's useless to go to class and end up sleeping through the entire lecture. So I skipped Friday so that I could get some much needed rest.  I'm making a goal of only one missed class per course this semester so I guess that's it for Microbiology.
So this weeks plan is via Muscle & Fitness magazine's MF Trainer website .  Some days I don't mind going in without a plan just a general idea of what I would like to do. Most days I need a plan of action or I just randomly go from machine to machine, exercise to exercise and feel like I've not worked hard enough.
I'm still going to to the Supreme 90 Day, I just have to get back in to it.  I'm aiming for that tonight, exercising at about 7:30-8pm actually helps me sleep better it seems.
Well gotta get a move on if I'm going to get anything done today.

Plans are Made for Changing

I didn't go to the gym yesterday and Monday was a total waste.  Monday the kids and I were home due to MLK day. I was hoping to get sooo much done, I got little to nothing. My lovely daughter (who I want to shake) decided that was the day to work on her Science fair project that was due Tuesday.  So I had to help her with that, though I shouldn't of since it was assigned early December and she's had all this time to do it, but wouldn't. I had gotten tired of reminding her everyday to work on it. Then I got busy with my own classes and forgot.  Well that is something for my other blog. Anyway, between trying to get some household choirs done and the kids I couldn't get a workout in.
So I was thinking, Tuesday, Tuesday I'll get something in.  Nope, I'm trying to stay ahead with my classes so when my last class let out instead of heading to the gym I headed home to get an hour and a half of uninterrupted studying done.  I would of done more but the kiddies all came home with all their chaos and my lovely daughter said that she had to rewrite her abstract and didn't know if it had to be 9 paragraphs or 9 pages. Then as she was trying to figure that out she finally reads her instructions and realizes that she has to write a research paper as well. Not going to happen sweetheart. There is no way to write a research paper, start to finish, in the 2 hours you have before bed.  Hence the reason why I want to shake her.
So I'm going to try something different for the rest of this week. I'm going to leave the house early so I can get some gym time before class then after class I can come home to quiet and study.  Wish me luck that I can make this stick.

Merry Christmas and a new workout

I hope all you dear readers are having a wonderful Christmas day.  Ours has been lovely so far.  Even the weather is cooperating with being partly sunny and 55 degrees.
One of my gifts was a workout system called Supreme 90 Day.  It's similar to P90 or P90x without costing the arm and a leg that Beachbody charges.  Well I say it's similar, I'm going by online reviews since I've never actually seen the P90 series except for online and t.v. and I've not done this system as of right now.
However I've been reading reviews and they're very good for S90D and I'm looking forward to getting started in the morning.  My weight has been wonderful so far this break (I've actually lost a few pounds without trying).  I know I said earlier that I wasn't going to try to lose weight this break just try and keep busy. However, I saw this at the Dollar General and it was only 10.00 and so I nearly begged Hubby for it for Christmas.  I'm really looking forward to getting started.
Anyway my point is I know I said I wasn't going to try to lose weight, but if it comes off while I'm exercising then that's a wonderful side effect. Right? I've wanted to try P90x, but cannot afford the high cost. So here I have in my greedy little paws a perfect, affordable substitute.  It also comes with a nutrition guide written by Tosca Reno, who is wonderful.  I have two, or three, of her Eat-Clean books and am already familiar with her style.
So tomorrow I'll take a before picture and all my measurements and share with you all.  I'll also try to post daily on which workout I did and what I think of it.  So here's to a hopefully awesome 90 days.

Operation: Don't Gain Weight Over Winter Break

I'm still here dear readers, just a very busy time of year. With the holidays, finals, and finals and finals oh yeah and Christmas. It's just plain busy. I promise that I'll be posting more regularly soon.

Anyway I'm setting a goal and so I'll post throughout winter break, which is 12/16-1/11 for me. My goal, as the title suggests, is to not gain weight these 3 1/2 weeks. I'm not aiming to lose weight, which is great if it happens, just not gain any. I'm not going to torture myself with Christmas coming and all the goodies that comes with the season and not being able to indulge a little.

So how will I meet this goal? Well here's the plan:

1. Workout 1 hour per day aiming for 6 days a week. This should include 30-45 minutes of strength training/exercises and 15-30 minutes of cardio exercises.
2. Never sit still for longer then 30 minutes at a time. Get up, get a drink of water, do 10 squats, jumping jacks anything. Just do not sit still for long periods of time. Set a timer if I must.
3. Fill plate, at lunch and dinner, half full of veggies first then add meats and starches. Keep servings of sweets at a minimum. I can have that Christmas cookie/candy, just limit to one or two pieces. Be mindful of serving sizes.
4. Water should be main beverage, then tea (unsweetened), coffee, juice. No more then one soda a week and can have a small glass of eggnog once or twice during break (mmm I do love eggnog).

See simple right? Basic stuff I should be doing anyway, however if I write it down I'm more likely to follow it. Too easy to slip into old habits when at home. For some reason it's the hardest for me to get motivated at home. At the gym an hour flies by, at home it kind of drags. It's all mental I know, I don't worry so much what needs done at the gym. Working out at home I have kiddies asking when I'll be done, housework to do, and a million other things that is harder to tune out.

Plans for the Week

My plan for this week is:

Monday; abs and arms

• I'm going to get on one of the swiss balls and do some ab exercises. There are some good ideas HERE.
• Then I plan on bicep curls, hammer curls, tricep extensions and kickbacks until I can't lift another ounce.
• Cardio is going to be super easy, just 10-15 minutes on stationary bike. I'm not trying to push my ankle at all. I do need some cardio to encourage weight loss and hopefully not lose any endurance.

Tuesday; Legs and back

• Legs will be squats, leg extensions, leg curls, abductor and adductor machines. Nothing were I have to push against anything.
• Back will be rows, pulldowns, back extension, pullup, dumbbell shrug, bentover rows.
• Cardio will also be 10-15 minutes on the stationary bike.

Wednesday; Shoulders and abs (this Wednesday my time available for the gym is limited, but I should still be able to get a minimum of 45 minutes in there)

• Shoulders will be military press, chest press, lateral raises and pushups(knees down)
• Abs will be the ab machines, crunches, captains chair
• Cardio will be 10-15 minutes on stationary bike.

Thursday; Thursdays right now I have my fitness class and so this days workout will be whatever the trainers decide. I think there are only two more classes left so after Thanksgiving I'll be planning my workouts for Thursdays again.

Meal plans;

Well, since I only cook 3 out of 5 days a week right now I'm not in control of dinners or what foods are in the house. Hubby has been doing the majority of the grocery shopping and there are a lot of convenience foods in the house. However I can choose what I eat for breakfasts and lunches and snacks so here are my ideas for those:

Breakfasts: eggs(poached or hard boiled), toast(whole grain bread), grits

Lunches: sandwiches (either peanut butter or ham), veggie soups (homemade quickies), hard boiled eggs, homemade biscuits

Snacks: coffee(black) and fruit or yogurt, both bought on campus. The bad thing about choosing the yogurt is the campus only either has yoplait or their yogurt parfait. Both which have added sugar. However, since there are worse choices that could be made I'm not going to fret over the added sugar too much.

Thanksgiving is just over two weeks away and I need to be going over my recipes and making the necessary changes to them. I also need to be planning my budget for this holiday. I think I'll do this throughout this week and cross-post between here and Jackie's Junk Drawer. I'm doing NaBloPoMo over there so if your curious about anything else going on in my simple life drop by there.

Day 1 of Fall Semester Went Well

I got up packed my healthy lunch and dinner of salmon lettuce wraps (I'll post the recipe next, they were pretty good), grapes and water. I got the kids on the bus. Set up the crockpot with a beef roast, potatoes, carrots and celery for the fam's dinner and took myself off to school.

Between my first and second class I have about 3 hours of spare time. I ate my lunch and talked to Hubby during his lunch and then went to the gym.

My workout consisted of the adductor machine, leg press, leg curls, glute press, and torso twist machine. I totally surprised myself with the adductor machine. Last May I was doing maybe 40lbs. Yesterday 40lbs was way too light, 50lbs still too light, 60 barely noticed. At 75lbs I finally felt some resistance. I was like WOW, I can squeeze 75lbs and I'm barely noticing it. I could probably do 80-85 easy, but wanted to take it easy and work up to heavier weights. Apparently my running over the summer has strengthened my thighs up considerably.

I also had to keep increasing weight on the leg press, stopping at 65lbs, could of gone higher easily. I stopped at 50lbs on the leg curls and did 70lbs with the glute press (which was also a big increase). The torso twist was a measly 55lbs, I'm sure I could do more here too. I just wanted to start easy since I haven't used weight machines in about 3 months. I've done dumbbells/free weights/resistance bands at home, but those aren't quite the same movements.

I also jumped on the treadmill and did a 5 minute warm-up, 20 minutes of intervals with 3 minutes running/2 minutes walking, then a 5 minute cool-down. This all plus walking about a mile and a half to two miles around campus going class to class.

Today's workout will be upper body, like I posted yesterday. I don't have a plan to say, it's easier to just do whatever machine is available and right down what and how much I did. They have some new equipment in the gym that I plan on giving a try. I'll also do 30 minutes on the elliptical, probably intervals similar to yesterdays treadmill workout.

My lunch and dinner today will be salads with a creamy dressing (miracle whip, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper and garlic), salmon, nuts and seeds. I also have some grapes and of course water with it. Breakfast wasn't too healthy but not too unhealthy either. I had a banana, coffee and two very small sausage biscuits (the kind you pull out of the freezer and throw in the microwave).

Still Around

I'm here, I've just been trying to get some ideas/plans worked out before I post them.  I trying to work on a exercise plan that will work for me time-wise and I'll post that as soon as I get all the details sorted out.  I'm also working on a no or little sugar plan.  I would like to have no white sugar for me and little sugar for the Hubby and kiddies.  I know getting them to go no sugar is like trying to get milk from a bull.  Just not going to happen.  Maybe when the kids are grown and make their own decisions about what they eat they'll see how unhealthy it is. Unfortunately that is not taught in elementary, middle and high schools.  What is taught is moderation so my kids learn, from school, that a little sugar is okay.  So as not to confuse them, much, I'll let them have a little sugar.  I'll incorporate non-sugar, natural sweeteners in my baked goods that they eat and know that I'm doing my best to get them to eat healthy.
For myself, I'm going to have to stop drinking soda. Yes I've been drinking it again. How much depends solely on what kind of day I'm having.  The more stress I feel the better that can of Dr. Pepper or Mountain Dew sounds. Well one can was pretty good, how about another.  I usually don't drink more then 3 (4?) cans a day and not every day.  On a good day I may drink none to one.  A bad day and I've drank four and am forcing myself to not drink another one.  Do I feel less stressed after drinking a can (or four) of soda? No, not really. I usually end up feeling guilty on top of being stressed. So I need to stop and use other, healthier resources for dealing with stress. I live on a quite street, I can go for a walk.  I may have to ignore some looks, heckling from some obnoxious children that live two doors down, but still doable.  I have some hand weights/dumbbells. I can workout.  I have access to internet(obviously) I can look up some yoga videos/exercises.
So goals for nutrition this week are:

•  Ask myself if I really need that soda or just want it. If I'm frustrated with kids, homework, or whatever maybe I should look to do something else.  If afterwards I still want that soda then I can have one, in a glass over ice. 
• To try no-sugar for me and less sugar for the rest of my family.

I do have some fitness goals, though I didn't mention them in what I wrote above. They are:

• To do 30 minutes of weight exercises and 30 minutes of cardio for 6 days this coming week with Saturday being a rest day.
• Cardio will be 3 of the days working on the Couch to 5k program so that I can be ready for the 5k I signed up to run in August. The other 3 days will be 30 minutes on the Gazelle Freestyle I bought at a yard sale last weekend.  I really like this, it's low impact but I'm still able to work up a sweat and get my heartrate up to 130-160 bpm, which is my target rate for weight-loss/fitness.

I'll try to post a couple times this week to update on how it is all going. It's sometimes difficult to post with classes and life, but I'll try. 

Here is the Gazelle freestyle I have and love.