Mid week

This week, I've been the only person in my TNT class both days. While I don't mind this at all, it definitely makes the workout harder! I'm glad we're approaching cardio week. My goal next week - even with the holiday - is to get in 5 days of cardio. I HAVE to get back to my workouts... my first triathlon of the season is May 4 and I need to be ready to BRING IT!

The "quote" of the week this week is something I'm working on. It's not always easy to do this!

Week 8 coming up

Last week was to do 100% whole grains. I'll be the first to admit I didn't worry too much about this one. I know I should be better about it, but we're also trying to clear out our pantry a bit, so I wasn't as good about this one as I should've been.

Here's this week's challenge. I'm pretty good about this usually, so it shouldn't be too hard.

Week 8: Stop eating when you feel full – Listen to your internal cues and stop eating when you feel full.

How I feel today

Today, I'm feeling good about my post on Monday. It's helping with the stress levels of things that are going on. Beyond that, I'm exhausted!

It was "weigh in day" at TNT today. I'm up to 144 (according to his scale) and 18.1% body fat.

Here's my inspiration for today/this week.

Another Monday

The weather's really crappy here today (foggy & rainy... mid-range temperature), so that probably explains why I was the only one in my lifting class. Ah well, I got it done!

I've decided a couple of things.
1) I'm not going to set a target of how many workouts I'm going to get in this week. Whatever happens is going to have to be enough... and I need to stop beating myself up about it. It's not helping, so I'm going to stop doing it.

2) I'm going to continue to weigh myself every day. This works for me, so I need to do it. I have 15 lbs to lose by May. Totally doable, if I get my eating down. I lost 0.8 lbs last week... so I'm ON TRACK! (At least with one thing!)

3) I'm continuing with this mini-pledge challenge. I may not be perfect with it, but I'm going to continue. We have started buying our bread from Great Harvest Bread Company. We don't eat a lot of bread and it's so much better than other breads, so why not? I'm going to try to make my own bread soon. We'll see how it goes!

All of that being said... week 6 of the mini challenges wasn't *too* great. It was to not eat anything "light" or "non-fat". I had a couple of salads with light salad dressings and pieces of toast with light butter. I resolved to not BUY anything that was light or non-fat... and I did manage that (other than the milk). I can't stand the idea of wasting perfectly good food though, so I'll continue on with what's in the house and go from there.

This week's is going to be a bit more difficult, I think. We really prefer white rice over brown. The pasta I currently have isn't whole grain. But, like I said above... I don't want to waste food, so I'll do what I can for the meals I can and I'll go from there.

Week 7: 100% Whole grain – All grains consumed must be 100% whole-grain.

Midweek Reminder

This week, I registered my business. Mouse Fitness is now a reality. When I quit my job in May, I had no idea I'd be a small business owner by the end of the year. I thought I'd take my personal trainer exam, maybe pass it, and then work for a gym for a while. After my interview with a national chain, I decided that being in a gym, working for someone else, selling products I want nothing to do with. I was also presented with an opportunity to work with another start-up in the fitness industry with helping them grow their business. It's been interesting so far!

I have no clue where any of this will take me in the months and years to come, but I'm all in for the journey!

New week :)

So, last week was trying 2 new whole foods. I got in the pear and never got around to the parsnips. I might try to figure out something to do with them for lunch tomorrow.

This week, the challenge will be interesting:

Week 6: No low-fat, lite or nonfat food products – Do not eat any food products that are labeled as “low-fat,” “lite,” “light,” “reduced fat,” or “nonfat.”

Hopefully I'll be able to do this. I know that in order to make a product any of these things, there's a ton of processing that goes into it. The only item that might not be do-able is milk. I don't really drink milk, but even if I did, all we get is skim milk (or almond milk). I am planning on making my own almond milk soon. We'll see how that goes!

Also, we're both starting to track our food this week. I've been tracking it for a while, but Jon hasn't, so we haven't been doing as well as we should with keeping things in line. I've also come to realize that I just need to get back on schedule. I've been in "recovery" mode for FAR too long and am going to take a good beating at my next 70.3 in June if I don't get myself in gear NOW. I also won't fit into my wetsuit if I don't lose this weight. So, the focus is back (I feel like I write this post every few weeks...). Today, my plan is to get on my bike after Jon does whatever cable changes he's doing to the entertainment center.

MId-week update

This post is a little later than it should be. It's been a hectic week with quite a few meetings and/or appointments.

Food wise, I had a red pear (I don't remember the exact kind) as one of my new foods. It was really good! I bought some parsnips that I need to use as well.

I seriously need to get my motivation back with my workouts. It's BAD. I basically haven't been following my plan at all and am lucky to get 3 workouts a week in right now. I just need to set my alarm clock and get up and do the workouts. I think as I get into more of a routine working again, I'll be able to get back into more of a workout routine.

Week 5 fail!

Week 5 was an interesting week in the A. household! The painters came back Tuesday and I started prepping for Thanksgiving on Wednesday. Before I knew it, it was the end of the week! So, week 5 was an epic fail. I didn't even try to get in the 2 new foods... so, instead of dwell on the fact that it's a fail, I'm calling for a "re-do"!

Week 5: Try two new whole foods – Try a minimum of two new whole foods that you’ve never had before.

So this week, when I go to the grocery store, I'll pick up at least 2 new whole foods and figure out a way to prepare them in order to give them a try. I love artichokes, but have never tried to prepare one myself, so I try them in addition to the "new" whole foods.

I also missed the majority of the week of workouts and subbed in "easy" workouts. My goal this week is to follow my plan and get my butt back in gear!

Wednesday Thoughts

This week has been a very exciting week for me. Lots of things to be thankful for! Some day, I hope to look back at this week and think this very thing.

Paint is DONE!

I'm so excited. For the first time in 6 years, the house is PAINTED!!!!

Here's our bedroom:

And a little piece of our bathroom:

Workouts!

Today, I ran a 5k in 29:57. I was so excited to be sub-30 minutes again.

This past week, I started a 30 day cardio challenge with a few friends. I'm on day 5 and have been able to do *something* each day. I've even run 2 of the 5 days!

This week, I'm planning on running at least 2 more times (if not 3), swim 2 times, and bike 2 times. Back to triathlon training!

Week 4 Review, Week 5 Beginnings

I'm glad week 4 is over! It's one that I needed to do, as I love fried food. I know it's horrible for me, but I just enjoy it. Anyhow, I had one cheat meal. On Friday night, we went to a Mexican restaurant and I indulged in tortilla chips and chicken chimichangas. Every other meal I had had no fried foods. I also didn't go to a single fast food restaurant this week. This was kind of hard given that I had contractors in the house all week and couldn't use my kitchen for the majority of the week!

Week 5's challenge is to try 2 new whole foods. I have to go to the store early in the week this week, so I'll look for 2 whole foods I've never had before and go from there. I'm looking forward to this!

Week 5: Try two new whole foods – Try a minimum of two new whole foods that you’ve never had before.

In other news, we've been chatting a good bit about me starting my own personal training business. I know there are a ton of them around, but it's time to give it a shot! I'm looking forward to this adventure!

Paint!

This has nothing to do with working out, but we've had painters here all week. Everything except our master bedroom/bathroom is done. So, without further adieu...

Our 3rd floor foyer

Our guest bathroom

Stairs leading down to 2nd floor

Living room (need new curtains now!)

Living room and Kitchen/Dining room

Kitchen

Kitchen

Entry Foyer (we painted the blue color 2 yrs ago or so...)

It's amazing to me how the same color can look so different depending on the lighting in spaces. I'm so happy with it all! Now... to wait until Tuesday to get our bedroom/bathroom done! Can't wait for that one either!

Mid-week Inspiration/Reminder

I think I'm going to try to do a mid-week inspiration/reminder (if I remember) for a bit. Here's this week's...

This week, I'm really struggling with the 10 lbs I've put on since June. I can FEEL it. Workouts are getting harder because of it, I'm feeling pain where I haven't in a while, and all that jazz. I just really need to remember, my weight does NOT change who I am and I love who I am, so why should that change when I look in the mirror and notice the extra weight?

Monday & Tuesday's staying within the calories didn't go so well. I'm happy to say that Wednesday went much better. Hopefully today will as well.

I started a 30 day challenge with a group of friends to do some kind of exercise every day for the next 30 days. I need to figure out today. I should've gone to the gym this morning, but the painters were supposed to be here at 7:30... wellllll, they didn't show until 8. Annoying for sure, but I'll get over it. It just means I HAVE to do something tonight. Maybe I'll head over to the gym after my PT session with my client. We'll see how that all goes.

Week 3 review and Week 4 beginning

Week 3 SUCKED. There, I said it. It wasn't an easy challenge... and I actually did OK with it until Wednesday, when I had chicken for lunch and dinner. After that... all bets were off. Even then, I did ok and didn't make meat the "star" of any meal, but I wasn't keeping it to one a day. I'll have to try that one again at some point.

Week 4 is this:

Week 4: No fast food or deep-fried foods – No fast food or any foods that have been deep-fried in oil.

I'm hoping this one goes a little easier for me. The biggest challenge will be while Jon's gone on business and not going somewhere "quick" to grab dinner, or if I do to make it a smart choice.

Things I need to get out in the open:

1) I've been slacking on my cardio. I'm planning to resolve that this week. Today, I think I'm going to play a Wii game that involves me moving just to make it something different. Tomorrow, I'm planning on swimming and running.

2) My weight is currently on the rise and it's bothering the crap out of me. I'm back up to 146 lbs and I'm able to feel the effects of it. So, this week starts not only the no fast food/deep-fried foods challenge, but also a challenge to keep between 1200-1500 calories per day. It's harder to do than it should be.

3) I felt so good during week 1 and have let the fruit/veggie consumption slide. I'll be working to get that back up to help with problem number 2 on this list.

4) I'm starting to take on a personal training client (other than my mom). I'm hoping this will be a positive experience for us both!