Monday, Day 22

First a health update: Hubby will hopefully be released tomorrow, he is so pumped full of antibiotics that it is scary... They think the infection started in the bladder, and then he might have gotten bitten by a spider or bug, which caused the secondary leg infection. But no one knows.
Sky, our little one, has swimmers ear, and after treating homeopathically for 5 days he is now on anti-biotic ear drops. Hopefully he is feeling better by tomorrow, right now he screams when he just touches his ear.
Men! I always say that the Y-chromosome makes them the weaker sex!

I did not work out on Saturday at all, but was running up and down all day cleaning, cooking prepping, etc. So I felt I was very active, but had no time for exercise between the party and going to the hospital and everything else. Sunday was better, I got 3 workouts in. And today, Monday, I also got 3 in, its now 10:30 pm and we just got power back after a storm came through this afternoon and knocked out the power. I already slept for almost 2 hours, but woke up when the power came back, so here I am updating the blog instead of doing the 4th workout. But the house is hot, and I will go to sleep again in 1 minute!

Thank you all so much for your comments and thoughts, its great to know that you are thinking about us!

But looking forward now to normalcy again....

Saturday, day...20??

I am loosing track of time... What a crazy few days! My husband had invited 10 of his old class mates to our house for a get-together today, so about 20 people with wives. I took Thursday off to clean the house and get ready, but then our son had an ear infection and stayed home with me. Needless to say, the house didn't get cleaned! So last night we wanted to get it all done, but my husband was feeling really bad and we ended up in the ER. Turns out he has a bladder and leg infection and they wanted to keep him overnight. Luckily I had dropped off our little guy at a friends house for a sleepover before, but I left the ER at around 2:15 am!
This morning I wanted to cancel that reunion party at our house, but most people were on their way and couldnt be reached. So I ended up cleaning the house, getting all the food ready, and then hosting 10 people (Luckily a few didn't make it for various reasons!!). It is now almost 8pm, I have not done any workouts today, but between running around like a mad women, driving to the hospital twice (hubby will have to stay until at least Monday!), and only 3 hours of sleep last night I will forget about the workouts today, and go straight to bed now!
And our son still has the ear-infection... :-(

On the bright side I ate very well, had a handful of roasted nuts (they just were so tasty) and one small bite of a dessert (that was quality assurance, and it was only 1!!!) and did not have any beer or wine, which just right now that I am finally sitting down I really would love to have...

I sure hope all of you are having a much better weekend so far - the final 10 days are here!!

Thursday Day 17

So we got our new assignments today: the new bodyweight workouts, that I so love, and that I can not do right now due to my shoulder... I have always felt the twinge with the dive-bomber, so I will not push it right now. Even though I am getting a little bored with all the squats and lunge variations that need to stand in for the upper body exercices. But I want to heal, to play volleyball, and do the dive bomber, and use my arm without pain!
I was home today, took the day off, but then Sky, my 7year old ended up home with an ear infection as well. So here went my plans for all the cleaning I meant to do! But it was also fun having the time with him. Now my hubby came home from work with 102 fever, shivering in the 100F warm weather! Not fun, we have no clue what is going on with him. I might have to play nurse Betty for a day or two...

Even though I was home that 4th workout was tough! I had to force myself, but got it in. I was hoping Dax would waive the 4th workout by now, but no, he is insisting we keep it. Just on the first couple hours of my 24 hour fast, had a nice carb dinner, and now its water until tomorrow dinner! I am so relieved I don't have to think about food tomorrow, even though I have those nice salmon fish sticks in the fridge.... Time for bed, good night!

Wednesday Day 16 - Sucking wind....

I remember from the January program that about half way through I struggled.... All of a sudden cravings came back, my joints started hurting, I felt stiff and tired. So here I am again, just struggled through Meltdown and feel like an old lady.

I can still not do any upper body exercises due to my shoulder injury, so have been focusing on lower body and core work. But that means my lower body is TIRED!! At least my chiro gave me the okay to do the arm movements in the Power Circuit again, plus I can do the plank again, so that gives me a few more options (even though I did not miss the spidermans in the last few days!).

This shall pass, I know, and I am looking forward to catching 2nd wind again for the next week and a half! It is so hot now in Maryland, close to 100 degrees, and beeing a sweaty mess all the time is not fun. But hey, you've gotta do what you've gotta do!

At least the food front is going well, even though I am still over-eating nuts, but the wave is surprisingly easy this time. Not that I like it, not at all, but its not that bad. And all this due to our genious evil Mr. Dax Moy from http://www.londonpersonaltrainingstudio.com/, I must have a masochistic streak to keep coming back for more, but I just love it!
Over half way there - more recipes to try, more exercises to come, more strengths, fitness, and less pounds around my waist!!!

Tuesday Day 17 (I think??) - quick update

Sorry for not posting, but life sometimes gets in the way. I did my workouts Saturday, but somehow Sunday turned into the day where I did not workout at all, for the very first time in a while... But I am not beating myself up about it, it happened, so what!
We had a big event at work last night, where over 40 local chefs presented their food. Lost of sweet stuff, lots of temptation! I did have 2 pieces of sushi (rice on low carb...) and 2 tiny bites of parma ham filled with a little goat cheese, but other then that I stayed ED and low carb free. No alcohol, nothing sweet... It was great to have Robin there with me and we kept each other on track!
I was too tired though for my last workout at 11pm and decided that sleep was more important then workout!
Have brussel sprouts in the oven right now for my lunch and am getting ready to shower after the morning workout!

My shoulder feels better, I have another chiro app today and hopefully will be back to doing push ups in a few days!

4 pounds down!!!

Okay, this morning I couldnt resist and stepped on the scale, just felt "thin".... and the scale finally, finally, moved in the right direction: 4 lbs down! Maybe I don't hate the wave after all??? :-)

Thursday Day 11

I can't believe we are almost at the halfway point already! You guys would laugh at me right now: I am doing a one armed Power Circuit, doing Meltdown with only lower body and core stuff, and will start the DB Matrix with double the amount of lower body and core as well. My shoulder already feels better today, I have another Chiro appointment tomorrow night, so hopefully that will be all over quickly. So I am doing all the workouts, but not quite as prescribed!

Foodwise it is going very well, I always hated low carb days, but it hasn't been bad this time around. It helps having my coworker and friend Robin doing this with me, between the two of us we always seem to have enough snacks, we surprise each other with different recipes, and we keep each other on track!

Today was an interesting day, wow, tempers flared on the forum today! Dax really hit the nail in the head and a lot of us were weighing in on different things. In the end it just seemed to get out of hand a little and I am hoping that piece will be back now! Go check out http://www.londonpersonaltrainingstudio.com/ for more info on the wonderful programs that Dax Moy has to offer!

That it for tonight, hope everybody is doing well!

Day 10 - not grumpy, but injured...

Hi all, thanks so much for the nice comments on my post yesterday!! I feel much better today, thank you! Which I can not say about my shoulder....
I've had a twinge in the anterior delt for months, but always ignored it. Well, yesterday evening I noticed a big bulging protrusion on top of my shoulder, very sensitive to touch. After talking to Dax I went to my chiro, and I have a severly sprained acromium-clavicular joint (sp??). Basically all the little tendons in the shoulder are sprained, and it means that I need to stop exercising (only my right arm!! I am not going anywhere!!!) for a week or two while I rehab that shoulder.

So Power Circuit with one arm only (still huffing and puffing!) and doing a plank while watching Robin suffering through the walk-outs (actually she is not suffering anymore, she has gotten so strong in those few days!!), and meltdown with mostly lower-body stuff, and one-arm overhead presses etc!

But hey, what doesn't kill us makes us stronger, and there is still tons of stuff I can do without the shoulder!

Loved the carbs today, what a heavenly feeling to bite into a piece of watermelon or this nice big fat baked sweet potatoe that we had for lunch! Yummm!!!

Now have a good night everybody - I still have a lower body workout to do before bed :-)

Day 9 - a grumpy post....

Day 8 was fine, and today I really started to feel the effects of the 3rd low carb day. The exercises were a drag, everything felt tired, I was constantly hungry - not physically, but more like I needed something emotionally. I also got my period today, which for sure doesn't help at all! But I stayed low carb, didn't give in to any temptation!
My right shoulder has been bothering me for a while, and tonight during the pyramid it got so bad that I had to stop. It really hurts now, even to the touch, and is swollen. No idea what is going on! I will drop the weights for my upper body exercises tomorrow and see how it feels.

Right now its only 8:30pm, but I feel grumpy, hormonal, my shoulder hurts, and I will grab an ice pack, brush my teeth, get ready for bed and watch some TV...! Good Night!

Days 6 and 7

Not much to report on day 6 - workouts done and a good hour of beach volleyball on top.

Today got started with the pyramid, have always loved it, and finished in 16 minutes and 35 seconds. Then Meltdown, and off to the pool it was again! Played over 2.5 hours of volleyball today and by the time I got home I was just dead tired. Hubby wanted to eat out, so we did (had broccoli steamed and chicken), and when I told hubby and son that I would be skipping the remainders of my workouts they both asked simultaneously: "WHY???". So I felt really guilty and didn't want to let Dax and you guys down, so I jumped on my bike and did the cardio. I am still missing ICP - but all the jumping and running in the sandpit today have to do.... And I am not feeling guilty about missing one today!!

Low-carb just really stinks, I have always hated it - but on the bright side it makes regular ED look like gourmet heaven! So I will tough it out and look forward to Wednesday! Otherwise I feel good, I think my pants are looser again, and we will see tomorrow when we weigh in!

Hope everyone is doing great - good night!

Day 5 on M.A.P.

Another way down, I got enough sleep and felt great all day. Did a fast today, since I still felt so bloated and wanted to get back in the habit. Dax has us fast 3 times a week on Reboot right now, and I kinda got out my routine 2 weeks ago, so it was a good start again.
All the exercises are done for the day, I am not sore anymore, feel good and strong, and I know that Dax will have quite a few surprises coming up for us tomorrow! Check out http://www.londonpersonaltrainingstudio.com/ for more info!

It's the weekend, so tomorrow morning I will try to do the Meltdown first, then maybe fit in the cardio before heading to the Pool around noon. Robin will come as well and we said we would do the Power Circuit somewhere in a shady spot at the pool. Have a cub scout picnic later in the afternoon, so the ICP has to wait until later at night again. But I will get it done!
Good night everyone...

Day 4 - SOOO TIRED!!

I only slept a little over 5 hours last night (up too long checking out other people's blogs :-)), and then woke up at 4am and couldn't get back to sleep.
I will push through the ICP now and then call it a day - or night!! Soreness is gone, feeling good otherwise, just zzzzzzzzzzz......

Day 3 - done and over

Luckily today the soreness was much better and I felt pretty good all day! I am so thankful for my friend and co-worker Robin, it is so much easier having someone next to you at work who is doing the same thing. We are feeding each other healthy treats, and managed to get both the Power Circuit in today (its the least sweaty one in the office!) as well as the cardio, well, it was a short power walk, but it was a power walk!

I don't think I lost any weight yet, still feel weirdly bloated (thanks Robin for all the raw broccoli and cauliflower!!), but my workouts are good and the diet is clean. Another co-worker has her desk full of the best chocolate you can wish for, which in the last few months has been my downside, but despite some serious cravings both Robin and I stayed strong!

Just finished my ICP for the day, reading through a few blogs and ready for bed and another day! Nightey night....

Tuesday, day 2 of M.A.P.

What can I say, sore, sore, sore... but I know it will go away soon! I am just a little peeved that despite doing this program in January and working out pretty much every day it still hits me like this. I guess I need to keep those mountain climbers in my daily routine!!
Otherwise uneventful day:
Meltdown in the am: done
full day of work: done
ICP: done
PTA fundraiser at a restaurant (I did not eat): done
Power circuit: done
Prepped food for tomorrow: done
Cardio?? I need to count running to the store and up and down the stairs in my house while in a frenzy as cardio for today, sorry.
Getting ready for bed: PRICELESS!!!

Day 1 of M.A.P.

It is all like a big Deja Vu: I can feel the soreness creep into my muscles, and this time around I know what to expect: pain... But I also know it will pass soon!
Day 1 was great so far, 3 workouts done, just the Power Circuit before bed left. Only 40 reps, so that is no problem.
Surprisingly the Meltdown kicked my butt this morning, despite working out once or twice a day with Reboot, the intensity of it was pretty cool to feel again!

Short and sweet for today, my bed is waiting (and the PC of course!). Kale chips are almost done in the oven, so my snack is taken care of for tomorrow as well. I need to watch the nuts, they are my downfall!

"Muffin" recipe

I played with a new recipe yesterday, and it turned out quite tasty, so I want to share it with you (I know Robin will be the ultimate judge of my baking later at work today! :-) )

1 cup pitted dates
2 cups puffed rice (organic, from the cereal area, nothing but rice as ingredient!)
1 cup raw nuts (I used pecans today)
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes (optional)
1/4 cup flax seed (optional)
pinch of sea salt
1 to 2 eggs depending on size - start with one and you can add another if needed!
3 TS coconut oil or butter

Put everything in food processer and process until a paste form. This is when you can add the 2nd egg if needed.
Scoop little heaps into a muffing pan (this will not raise!) or on a sheet pan and bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes.

Enjoy!

Mesurements June 7

Okay, that was quite the wake up call this morning! My stats have gone up dramatically, and even though I know it is because I had too much to drink this weekend, too much banned food with too much bloating going on, plus its this time of the month for me as well... But I did not think it would be that bad!

Here we go:

June 7
height: 5.7 inches (174 cm)
weight: 145 lbs
chest: 90 cm
waist: 80 cm
hip: 98 cm
thigh high: 58.5cm
thigh low: 47 cm
calve: 35.5 cm
arm: 32.5 cm

First workout of the day done - this can only get better!!

Tomorrow we start (again)!

Weekend is almost over, I enjoyed a cheese and wine party at the pool on Friday night, did some cleaning up of the fridge (aka eating quite a bit of banned food) this weekend, but now I am ready! Just made some kale chips to snack on, plus baked a few fig/nut/egg/coconut "muffins" which will be great on regular ED days to give me a little sweet fix.
There is chicken in the fridge, plenty of broccoli, and the garden is full of sweet peas, strawberries, some broccoli, kale, salad.

I took it very easy in terms of working out this week due to 2 injuries: one in my right glute, and then my right anterior deltoid. The glute was from playing beach volleyball last weekend and seems to be healing just fine, the foam roller is my best friend right now there. The delt has been bothering me for quite a while, those divebomber push-ups seem to be hitting some spot that does not agree with it. But I am hoping to be mostly over it and am ready to go working out like a mad women again starting tomorrow morning!

Will take my measurements in the morning as well and post them. Time to do some more cleaning and go to bed now!

the dreaded pictures....

Here we go with my pictures, taken this morning on June 3rd.

I want about 5 lbs of fat gone by the end of the month - around my middle, my thighs, and my arms...

Here we go again.... another Dax Moy challenge!!

Even though I said after Januarys Meltdown program that I would never again commit to 4 workouts a day - I am doing it yet again! Call me crazy, call me weird, but it seems to be the only way to get rid of a few pounds of bodyfat that have accumulated over the last few months. I have a sweet tooth and no will power - and way too much chocolate laying around on a daily basis! You would understand if you saw my desk: truffles, pralines, chocolates... it's all there. Yes, I work for a gourmet food company, and those extra pounds should be workman's comp!!

I am a member of Dax's Reboot team, which keeps me fit with great exercices that always change and seem to get better and better as the months go by, but I feel I need the added accountability of a clean ED diet. This is why I signed up again for this 30 day M.A.P challenge! Find out more here:
http://www.londonpersonaltrainingstudio.com/
I will be sharing my journey over the next 30 days here - you still have time to sign up as well and come on board! :-)