Crunch Time

I took this photo while John and I were out on a nearby hike last week. Isn't it a beauty? Makes getting outside and enjoying exercise a little easier with a view like that!

It is crunch time this week: John has a final due on Sunday. Time constraints!

Also - a good test to see how we can adapt our lifestyle a bit so as to still make time for exercise and good sleep.

We had an awesome ten mile hike on Sunday morning - felt really good! It is starting to warm up out here in the desert...nevertheless, we survived.

Then, last night we went on a 3 mile run, when it was about 85 degrees. Too hot! John got sick, and we had to forfeit our evening strength training DVD after that. Oh well - the run counts! We are going to have to go back to doing morning runs before work and the DVD on our own time since I do not have time for both.

The scale has been telling us that we are losing a pound a week, all while gaining muscle. I am happy with this! I am down to the weight I was in high school. WOW.

We are not sure if we even have any readers, but if we do, would you cheer us on? Our goal is to get healthy this year. Specifically, we are targeting belly fat - and it is hard work. Me personally? I am getting ready for baby. We are going to try to start a family next year - and I want to have healthy habits. A daily routine of exercise that I stick to.

Here we GO!

Feeling Fit

Addie here. I did some reflection this week (on our fourth full one on the new health plan that John and I established for ourselves). I have to say that I am pretty amazed with our results so far.

There are some small weight loss numbers showing up on the scale - just the way we wanted to see it - slow and steady.

But what really surprised me? How I am feeling. More fit, strong, healthy.

The last time I felt this way was right before the NYC Marathon in 2008. It was my first marathon - and would not be my last! I had not done any kind of strength training to prepare for the race though - and now that I have been using weights for four weeks, I wish that I had!

The 30 Day Shred video is so effective because you are combining cardio with strength training. Toning and firming muscles feels good. I feel a difference in my arms and - hello - I did my first EVER real deal push-up!

So that is my thought of the day - strength training has been my missing link. I think before I was afraid of bulking up. But, as Gunnar Peterson puts it, "Big is from eating, that is a fact." I think I am hooked ;)

Have a great week all and make time for yourself and your health today!

Day 30: Treadmill, Movie, and 30 Day Shred Video

Because of my current work schedule, we switch from evenings to morning workouts on Wednesday.  So this morning, when the alarm went off (in the middle of a REM cycle for me....groggy), we forced ourselves to move.  I think we woke up part-way into the video.

First was back to the 30 Day Shred video by Jillian Michaels.  I am still modifying exercises that might cause me injury because of previous issues.  Let me assure you: you work your butt off.

Then I ran on the treadmill and watched the movie "XXX" (No, the PG-13 rated action movie starring Vin Disel, nothing HR inappropriate).

It really does make it easier to run.  I did a full half hour, mostly at 5 mph, and include 1.0 (starts at 0.0 on the treadmill).  It felt good to get that in.  I'm not sure precisely how much calories are burned in an hour of exercise, but the treadmill estimated over 300 in a half hour at that rate and incline.

Thanks for reading and take care of yourself!

Day 29: Exercise

Keeping it up.  I'll make the post short and sweet: we did a core video, and went for a family walk around a local island. 

Thanks for reading and take care of yourself!

Day 28: Strength/Cardio ... Shred video and running

Today, back to the regular mid-week routine: alternating video's and shorter runs.


We decided to run first.  There is a little trail loop by our house that we like for shorter runs.  You can go out on it a couple of ways for shorter, or slightly longer runs.  We did the loop that is about a half hour for us.

Then back for another round of Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred.

I have decided to modify some of the exercises to consider my injury.  It means I'm not pushing quite as hard as they do on the video.  Some people wouldn't do that, and if you're un-injured, you would probably get a bit more out if it if you do really push yourself.  Since I just injured myself last week doing just that, I'm dialing it back a bit.  I'm still pushing myself in the sense that I'm getting up early in the morning to workout on days our schedule calls for that.

"There is a difference between muscle burn pain, and injury pain"

The important thing is to get the exercise, but you also need to listen to your body.  There is a difference between muscle burn pain, and injury pain.  The burn is good.  Throwing your back out = bad.

Thanks for reading and take care of yourself!

Running Tip: posture and form watching with a partner

Short running tip:

If you run with a buddy, (or your soul-mate) watch each for your running form and posture.  Especially if you run for long distances, any slouching, hunched shoulders, tightening hands, sloppy stride placement, etc, will be exaggerated.  The more physically tired you are, the more risk of bad form you have.

Thanks for reading and take care of yourself!

Week Four!

Ah - I did not get to writing as much as I had hoped to last week - internet issues at work are to blame. There is always downtime at my job, so it is frustrating when I can't make it productive.

John and I started our fourth week on our new health journey. And, there are some new challenges that have risen.

First - we now have John's folks living in the same house. We've been housesitting for them long term, and they are now home. We are still not sure if we are staying in this town much longer, but hopeful for a job change/move soon, so we feel it is temporary.

This is a challenge because we have had carefully planned meals, a pantry and fridge free from junk food, and a routine that is honoring to getting good sleep and exercise. I admit it is a bit of a struggle to have junk food in the house again - I have to squash old habits of allowing myself to have a treat whenever I want! Not the case anymore - much more thought is going into when I allow myself to splurge a little.

Also, every night I pack our lunches. I have started packing my mother-in-law's as well, as she really needs some encouragement in the healthy eating category. So far so good. She bought croissants to use as her sandwich bread (which John LOVES) but we are sticking to plain ole stone ground week - keeps us fuller, longer!

I am really proud of John. There is now a ton of soda in the house and he patiently waits for Friday nights to roll around for when he will enjoy his real sugar one.

SO! Week four is here. We still are doing our favorite basics: daily nonfat plain Greek yogurt with a fruit in it (blueberries today!), a daily boiled egg, almonds, and apples slices. Our breakfasts rotate but they are usually a whole grain and a protein combo. Dinner is one plate of food and is a protein and a vegetable. Good!

Tonight is a pot roast with potatoes, carrots, and pearl onions - slow cooking all day! I love crock pot dishes on Mondays because I am usually too tired from the busy weekend to cook...plus, John and I eat dinner together at home on Mondays and Tuesdays, so it is nice to have more time with him.

We ran 10 miles yesterday! I am sure John will write about it - a true accomplishment. Great company, too :) Tonight is level II of 30 Day Shred. Pray for us!

Until tomorrow,
Addie

Weigh-in

I'm down 6 pounds so far.

It's not blazing fast, but I'm eating right (not a diet), and getting good exercise in. 

ps. stock photo... I'm not 127 pounds.

Day 27: Ten-Miler

I'm back!  Woohoo!  I took it easy for a few days following a re-injured lower back/left hip area.  Historically for me, they say likely because of internal scar tissue, my left left will almost suck up into my left hip socket.  Yeah, it's a lame as it sounds.

So taking it light so I can recover and not try to foolishly push it and re-injure myself even more was the prescription.

We decided to try a nice 10 miler run down by the river.  It was gorgeous out!  We didn't push the pace too much, but we did watch each other for form.  And I also worked on my stride.

We stopped at a bathroom in the park on the out and the way back because *someone* has a tiny bladder.  I'm teasing, honey...  and we made it back in just over 2 hours - a good pace for us.  Especially considering it was the first 10 miler of the season.

Thanks for reading and take care of yourself!

Day 26: Getting Better

I'm getting better overall.  Today would normally be a 'rest' day for exercise with my current work schedule.  Addie and I have a long run planned for tomorrow.  We'll go easy on pace though.

I  hope you are out enjoying an awesome Saturday!  It's beautiful outside where we live.  Kinda sucks to be stuck working.  Boo!  :)  

Thanks for reading, and take care of  yourself!

Day 25: Still out

OK, OK, it's not that bad.  I'm still recovering.  In the past, it has taken a couple of days post-adjustment to for everything to 'settle' back into correct placement.  I also don't want to push it and re-injure myself.

Thanks for reading, and take care of yourself!

Day 24: Benched

Yup, this is me.  Sittin' by my lonesome... benched.  Injuries can take your momentum and crush it.

I do have an appointment with the chiropractor today, so I hope to be 'on my feet' so to speak, soon.

Day 23: An attempt

I made an attempt to get my back loosened up on the core ball and do some stretching.  I also did some dumb bell lifts whilst completely on my back.

I didn't want to completely give it up, but I also knew doing anything more would just injure me more and put me further behind.

Added complication is, I am working an almost 12 hour day, and with family back in town, transportation is down to one car for Addie and I.

"I'm a little bummed"

I wasn't able to get into the Chiropractor.  The only times they had open, did not work for me.  The good news is, the injury isn't totally debilitating.  If you've had back pain, you know that it can be completely debilitating.

I'm a little bummed that there is a break in the routine this week - especially since we had a little bit of indulgence over the weekend.  It wasn't outrageous, but I am trying to be focused  here.

There is always the next day.

Thanks for reading, and take care of yourself!

Day 22: I hurt myself... ah, dang...

I mentioned in an earlier post, I have a history of lower back injury.  I think maybe the combo of a lot of driving/sitting this weekend and then pushing it yesterday with Level 2 and whatnot, that I re-injured myself.

It actually feels like my hip socket is out place.  It's just below where I injured my lower back, and I have had issues with this hip and leg in the past.

I tried to get a half hour run in... I shouldn't have pushed it.  I guess the moral is: if you are injured, don't push it - live to fight another day.

"If you are injured, don't push it - live to fight another day"

So if this sounds like it could be you, and you end up in similar circumstances - please take care of yourself.  The routine will still be there tomorrow when you get back to it.

Thanks for reading, and take care of  yourself!

Day 21: Level 2 on Shred Video

Today, we ran down by the river for a full half-hour, a little over actually.  It is also getting hotter (June).  I felt like we pushed the pace a bit, which felt good. 

Some of the benefits of running with a partner, if you are able to, are accountability and conversation.  Running is a good time to clear your head. 

"I'm keeping on to work off the belly"

Then we stepped it up to Level 2 on Jillian Michael's Shred Video.  Man!  Talk about a good workout!!  My dumb bells were washed with sweat by the end of it.  Also: though it was a good, tough workout, it wasn't as scary as you might think having gone through Level 1.

I'm keeping on to work off the belly!

Thanks for reading, and take care of yourself!

Weekend #3 Reflections

It was pretty insanely busy the last few days - but this blog serves as a journal for us, and some accountability for our health goals, so here we go!

Thursday and Friday of last week we followed our diets to a T - lots of "powerfoods", protein, and variety. Good food! Friday nights' dinner is our cheat meal of the week, and then I realized that I had grabbed a healthy pizza, so we were really not cheating much at all aside from the 12 oz real sugar colas we downed...

However, there was some cheating on the weekend.

I purposely packed food for a weekend away so that as we were driving we would not be tempted to eat fast food. It worked! John and I had sandwiches on our road trip and did not much while at a family members house later in the day on Saturday. We even found a decent dinner while out in the big city before a concert: philly cheese steak sandwiches. Aside from the white bread, it had provolone and fresh beef!

However, we caved a couple hours later at the show were at thanks to the smells wafting all around us: pizza, nachos, popcorn, sodas, beer - it is amazing the way that brain is cued in to smells. So, we enjoyed a slice of pizza and some nachos - we did not finish 'em! And we got a soda after we had two waters. It was hot out...

The hotel we stayed at provided us with a free fruit and nut basket so that, in addition to a little leftover bubbly, would be our breakfast on Sunday. Healthy but not filling - thank goodness I keep a stash of Odwalla bars in our trunk! We met up with a friend on Sunday that introduced us to a little cafe that served amazingly rich breakfasts. This meal would turn out to be so filling that we did not eat again until about five hours later. We had six inch Subway sandwiches for dinner and saved the other halves for our lunches today - a good plan! Eating just half the sandwich is hard when you are used to eating a footlong, as in John's case - so I was proud of his decision.

All in all, I think that the only thing we should have done differently was not had nachos - there is no nutritional value. There IS in pizza, tho ;)

We have a new challenge starting this week, food wise: we have long term houseguests. How will we do meals together? What if we don't like their food or they don't like ours? I know that tonight there will be a pie in my kitchen. How do I say, "I'm sorry...I am trying to lose weight" when it was homemade with love? Ohhh goodness...need to be strong! This is for our health!

So today: we have the normal round of Greek yogurt & fruit, boiled egg, apple slices, almonds, a pudding cup and our sandwiches for lunch.

Taking it one day at a time....

Day 20: Rest Day and the experts at Harvard Medical School

Once again, I defer to the experts on the benefits of rest.

Benefits of Sleep
A resource from the Division of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School

"It may seem obvious that sleep is beneficial. Even without fully grasping what sleep does for us, we know that going without sleep for too long makes us feel terrible, and that getting a good night's sleep can make us feel ready to take on the world.

Scientists have gone to great lengths to fully understand sleep's benefits. In studies of humans and other animals, they have discovered that sleep plays a critical role in immune function, metabolism, memory, learning, and other vital functions. The features in this section explore these discoveries and describe specific ways in which we all benefit from sleep.

Why Do We Sleep, Anyway?

Although scientists aren't entirely sure why we sleep, they have many ideas about the functions of this mysterious part of our lives. While some of these functions may have deep evolutionary roots, others, such as sleep's potential role in memory and health, seem particularly relevant to life in the 21st century. more

Sleep, Learning, and Memory

It may not be surprising that it is more difficult to take in new information following a night of inadequate or disturbed sleep. What’s more surprising is that it is just as important to get a good night’s sleep after learning something new in order to process and retain the information that has been learned. more

Why Sleep Matters [6:13]

Sleep is vital for learning and memory, and lack of sleep impacts our health, safety, and longevity."

watch video

Thanks for reading and take care of yourself!

Day 19: Long Run... and a Cloud of Fail

Yep, confession again.  You know the point is, we keep getting back up when we blow it.

To understand the running fail, you would need to understand that the night before we got really crummy sleep.  It's bee a struggle for Addie for a while, which is actually part of why she started running before we were a "we".

We just don't function at our best without good sleep.  Emotions tend to be a little raw.  We might do a proper article on the science of sleeping at some point here.  Some people seem to do fine with little sleep.  I am not one of them.  Addie is a little better, but she tends to have a tougher time winding down at the end of the day.

The net of it is we did start out on an hour run that turned into about a 20 minute or so run, walk, and talk.

All is not lost.  You don't lose unless you quit.  We also had a bit of a long drive to see U2 play in Seattle on the 360 Tour!  Freakin' awesome!

We did a bit of moving around during the show.  I ran around up several levels and back down flights of stairs looking for a booth to get goods that didn't have a ton o' people.  We saw it with bathroom lines, and then further down the stadium a bathroom with no line.  I figured there could be the same for merch.  We also jumped around a lot during the show (which opened with Lenny Kravitz).  Sweet!

So the end result is we didn't exactly follow our plan, but we didn't totally blow it either.  And we got to see U2 live on maybe the biggest rock show production in history.

Tune in for week 4!!

Thanks for reading and take care of yourself!

Day 18: Stretching & advice from Mayo Clinic

Today is a stretching day.

Since I've already covered that I feel stretching is beneficial - and since I've freely admitted I am not a doctor or health expert, I thought I would have the experts at Mayo Clinic make my case for me:

Stretching: Focus on flexibility

You can stretch anytime, anywhere. Just follow these tips to do it safely and effectively.

By Mayo Clinic staff

"Stretching may take a back seat to your exercise routine. You may think that stretching your hamstrings and calves is just something to be done if you have a few extra minutes before or after pounding out some miles on the treadmill. The main concern is exercising, not stretching, right?

Not so fast. Although studies about the benefits of stretching are mixed, stretching may help you improve your flexibility, which in turn may improve your athletic performance and decrease your risk of injury. Understand why stretching can help — and how to stretch correctly.

Benefits of stretching

Studies about the benefits of stretching have had mixed results. Some show that stretching helps, while others show that stretching has little if any benefit. The main benefits of stretching are thought to be:

    * Improving athletic performance

    * Decreasing the risk of activity-based injuries

Stretching can help improve flexibility. And better flexibility may improve your performance in physical activities or decrease your risk of injuries by helping your joints move through their full range of motion. For instance, say your Achilles tendon is tight and lacks flexibility. If you do a lot of hill walking, your foot may not move through its full range of motion. Over time, this can increase your risk of tendinitis or tendinopathy in your Achilles tendon. Stretching your Achilles tendon, though, may improve the range of motion in your ankle. This, in turn, can decrease the risk of microtrauma to your tendon that can lead to overload and injury.

Stretching also increases blood flow to the muscle. And you may come to enjoy the ritual of stretching before — or better yet, after — hitting the trail, ballet floor or soccer field."

Day 17: Back to Running!

Yay!  It turns out that giving your shins a break and then putting on a movie (Pearl Harbor) while you're running on a treadmill works wonders.

We did the video first, another round of Jillian Michaels "30 Day Shred".  Addie did a push up!  She's very excited.  I think she will do a post about it!

On the treadmill, I was running a pretty good pace.  All in all, I feel pretty good about the week.

I don't feel like I am going hungry at all.  I'm eating every couple of  hours, and it's high protein and nutrient dense food.

"I feel really good about the progress"

I do have some injuries to overcome. But I feel really good about the progress so far.  Addie tells me she can tell I am getting thinner.

Tomorrow is a stretch day.

Thanks for reading and take care of yourself!

Days 16: Video and Treadmill on a huge incline

Wednesdays and Thursdays we do our work outs in the morning before Addie has to leave for work.  We do the video together and then I run on the treadmill (she runs after work).

Day 16, back to "30 Day Shred" with Jillian Michaels.  No, I still don't like her because it's a tough workout.  Oh, but wait -  yes, I do like her because we're seeing results.  I guess I can't have it both ways.  So, it's a good "Oh Lordy, is this over?" 

"So it's a good thing"

Because my shins were feeling beat up from Day 15, I put the incline on 4.0 on the treadmill.  It starts at 0, and goes up by 0.5 increments.  I also walked either at a 3 or 4 mile per hour pace for a full half hour.   I still burned a good level of calories and worked up a good sweat.  4 miles per hour is just at the breaking point where you can barely keep up a very brisk walk and almost need to jog.

Thanks for reading and take care of  yourself!

Day 16 - Meals from Tuesday, May 31

I decided to start posting about our meals the day after we have them - we are still sticking to plan, but that helps us keep track of substitutions when we need to have them.

These were our meals for Tuesday, May 31 - Day 16 of our "Shrinking Belly":

Breakfast: 1 Lean Pocket "breakfasts" - egg, bacon, low fat cheese one

Mid morning snack: Greek yogurt with sliced peaches & boiled egg

Lunch: Layered salad with romaine, spinach, roasted turkey slices, olives, chick peas, tomato, avocado, feta cheese, and low fat dressing. 8 oz of watered down 100% juice. Pineapple tidbits.

Afternoon snacks: almonds, apple slices, chocolate pudding.

Smoothie before and after hour long workout - berry blast.

Dinner: Slow cooked chicken and tri-color peppers with jerk seasonings. Small bowl of multi grain cereal for dessert (and to help our burning palates!)

What is your favorite post-workout protein treat? Smoothies work for us, but I also like string cheese and mixed nuts....