Pilates Feet :: Case Of The Mondays!

We’ve all heard the famous expression from the film “Office Space”:: “Sounds like someone has a case of the Mondays!” We have maybe even used this expression for how we feel after a great weekend, returning to work. I might not be going to work, and I am definitely not headed to Chotchkie’s, but I am dong something on this fine Monday morning to bring myself out of those all too familiar “Mondays”! I am joining Skinnie in celebrating something that is a pick me up!

For me, it will be my very first full length Pilates class! Last Thursday was a mini introduction and let me tell you: it was definitely no joke. Friday morning I was sore all over my body (in that good, stretched out way) and even in places I never knew there were muscles (like my armpits!)! Saturday afternoon it subsided and I was back to feeling pretty good. Yesterday I headed up to get a pedicure since my ToeSox would show of my toes: they had to be pretty! I like to consider it a treat I get for sticking to this new work out regimen!

I am super excited to get into a great routine and how are these socks not an incentive? They were a little awkward on my feet at first, but I wore a pair around the house yesterday to get used to the feel on my feet and in-between my toes. The worst part is my pinkie toes are awkward and stay tucked in the little toe thing. Oh, well. Don’t look at me while I’m working on ma fitness!

Oh, and I love the little place here in town where I get my nails done::

How can I be down in the doldrums when I look down and see sparkly toes looking back up at me? Is that not absolutely fabulous? With one toe in front of the other I will walk through this busy week keeping my head high and will not have a case of the Mondays this week!

What is picking your spirits up on this Monday, of a very busy week? Head on over and share your thoughts!

Fit and Flab-u-lous Through Pilates!

Happy {almost Friday!} Thursday friends! Let me tell you what: I have been slacking on my fitness and am happy to report I am getting down to business and using deployment as the perfect time to submerse myself into Pilates! (Deployment goal #2!)

This morning I headed up into Temecula to an amazing in-home pilates studio and was completely won over my brand new Yoda! Sandee does personal training in pilates, spin and barre, but she also does small groups (maxing out at 5 clients) throughout the week. I am signed up for three more sessions for the rest of the month and then will be going to three times a week in December! Come deployment I fully intend on heading in Monday through Friday to get myself off the couch and out of the house! Maybe even going in the morning and sometimes back in the afternoon if she succeeds and gets me into the Spin craze! 

I was amazed at the muscles I felt working during our mini-introduction session this morning. She was so informative, letting me know why we were doing each move, what the benefits of them were, which regions I should be feeling it in and where I should not be feeling it! She gives such attention that I think it will be a blessing having her in my life.

My goal: to need a smaller wedding ring by the time deployment is over! My engagement ring might be able to be resized… but our wedding rings are stainless steel and can’t be. Yay for new ones!

OH, plus I get to wear these super awesome pilates socks::

 

And yes: I am still all about the instagram and you all will be sick of it before I am!

On a much less healthy note I am having a new chicken recipe tonight for dinner. Sandee gave me a diet plan and I am not quite sold on the extreme change from where I am right now. Our dinners usually consist of a meat, rice and a veg. Her meal plan has just protein and veg for dinner. This is the first change I am going to attempt. Oh, and pre-bed protein shakes instead of pretzels and juice. So, stopping at GNC today on our way home. In the meantime, a post-pilates nap is in order!

I am really excited about these new changes and accountability Sandee provides me with. When you’re paying as much as I am for it, you don’t not go! I’ll be sure to share the journey with you all!

(oh, and I will share how my fatty garlic chicken recipe goes too!)

iPhone-atics!

Get it… like “iPhone” mixed with “fanatics”?

Earlier last week I was hanging with Neidy and she was telling me some pretty awesome information about the iPhone and communicating with her husband with it. I tried not to be too rude, but needed to have all the deets about just how much these phones were, as the only person who had ever shared lead me to believe the phone bills were outrageous.

Oh, yeah… we were two of the five people still on the planet who didn’t have iPhones. I talked with Hubs about it and we decided Wednesday we would go out over the weekend and check them out.

Needless to say, this is my first time on the computer since Friday afternoon! We both got the iPhone 4 (not the one that talks to you- we figured we would start a little simpler!) and are addicted to them!

HOW DID PEOPLE LIVE WITHOUT THEM?

We really though we wouldn’t use them very much and that they weren’t worth their cost. Boy, were we WRONG!

Does the lady with the Brostache have an iPhone?

Ok, sure… maybe we’ve gotten some silly apps, but who can resist the BroStache (which was free, and is voice activated to move when you talk!) one? We also are both on “Words With Friends”(come find me, my user name is “TheYoungRetiree”)! We have been playing each other since we got the phones! Oh, and he won our first game of “Hanging with Friends”!

Of course, I am foursquaring my way around town and instagramming like it’s going out of style! I’ve been tweeting, facebooking and mailing from it. I have even been finding my way around in the dark thanks to the flashlight app! I really have no clue how we talked ourselves out of them for so long!

Fit and “Flab-u-Less” Week In Review | Week Seven

Hello friends! Today we come with exciting news in my fit and “flab-u-less” report! I have broken through the ten pounder mark! That’s right: I am down 0.8lbs this week for a grand loss of 10.2! It was a small loss this week, which is fine with me! When we lost power I had several snack tubs of pringles and some cheeze-itz  for dinner. When we didn’t trust the stuff in our fridge we went out for more Mexican. Almost a pound works for me!

Hubs and I are getting motivated with the fitness aspect of all this and I think I mentioned we ordered a sha-weet stationary bike- definitely not your granny’s bike! Thursday it was supposed to be delivered to us and I was so anxiously waiting About two hours after we lost power the phone rang and was the delivery guy. (We ordered it on-line and like a furniture company was delivering it instead of sending it through UPS). He was within 5 miles of our house when his tire blew! It was 5:30, and his repair guy was coming from Chula Vista (So, easily an hour and a half away!) Needless to say we did not get our bike Thursday, and sadly have not heard from dispatch as to when it will be rescheduled for delivery.

In other news though, we got something else to kind of play around with:

Yeppers, we got mouth guards and boxing gloves! We ordered a speed bag and heavy bag (dual) stand (you know, not much fits in a Honda Civic!) and are awaiting its arrival. In the meantime I have been doing Kickboxing Bootcamp (which some of you on twitter are seeing as “Ninja Skillz”) which is definitely not for the weak! I am learning the punches and kicks and having a blast! We’ve decided when we fly home to visit we will take our gloves with us to work out… so, I think we have to put that in checked luggage?

Overall it has been a fabulous week. If you are on this journey with me, I hope you are having great success! We can do this: an ounce at a time!

Fit and “Flab-U-Less” 6 | “Free Days”

So we are another week down and if you are joining me on your own journey for health, how are you doing? I must say that this week I was a little surprised when I stepped on up to the scale: I was down 2.6 lbs this week! That is an overall loss of 9.4lbs. Not too shabby and rounds out to 1.5lbs a week, just like I set up MFP to do.

I’m no dietician or nutritionist, but I want to talk about something I do that keeps me sane, and doesn’t seem to be throwing me off track: Fun Food Friday! (Sometimes we have it on Saturday or Sunday, but it sounds better when it’s on Friday!) For the most part, on weeks I’m not too tired, we stick with the calorie counts. I have no problem being between 50-100 under my goal or 50-100 over my goal on any given day. There’s no way I’m hitting it dead on everyday!

ONE DAY A WEEK: we kind of don’t pay too much attention to what we eat. I still track the things I eat, but once a week, the tracker is slightly embarrassing, and I allow it. I don’t allow myself to get upset about it. I don’t allow it to bring me down or throw me off track. I refuse to call it the ever popular phrase ”Free Day” because I still hold myself accountable and track. Perhaps it’s the day we go crazy at El Torito, or I have Chipotle for lunch and dinner (don’t judge… I don’t! hehe!). Perhaps it’s a night out with the girls where everyone decided to bring cupcakes!

I never go violently over my calorie count for the day- I just use one day where I don’t judge if those calories weren’t gained in the healthiest of fashions.

I simply remind myself tomorrow will be a better day than today and carry on. I also think it’s great for throwing my metabolism off and not letting it get too complacent. Throw in some crazy food and make it work! Nine and a half pounds down, I’ll take it.

If you are on this journey with me, friends: let’s make this another fit and “flab-u-less” week, and don’t get down on yourselves if you indulged a bit with weekend celebrations!  

*This is representative of my personal journey for weight loss and overall better health. I have no formal (or informal for that matter) education in nutrition. I have consulted my physician and keep in contact with him if I feel something with my body just is not right.

Fit and “Flab-u-Less” Week In Review | Week Five

Wow- five weeks down Not just five weeks down but 6.8 pounds down as well! I like that pace and will take it after my sick week thrown in there!

This past week was a whirlwind of blessings! We got some answers to my fatigue issues and it’s a pretty easy fix. My B12 levels were 250 (on a measurement scale of 211-986!) That’s super low and we’re working on getting them fixed with shots. I have felt great since my first shot and know the issue is working on being resolved.

We are starting to eat healthy again this week, which makes the biggest difference! We were eating out tons between being sick and being tired. We did crappy Chinese take out, comfort food, and lots of Mexican! (It doesn’t help that it’s my cravy week, either! I loves me some salt as I’m getting ready for my special time of the month.) It is so nice to get back in the kitchen, spend time preparing meals and know we’re getting great nutrition. Now to work on a meal plan for this week and stick to it!

I am down 2.2 pounds this week! Slow and steady wins the race!

We are still heading over to the track a few times a week, building back up to what we were doing before we got sick. While I am there I use my Polar Heart Rate Monitor (HRM). If you are in the market for one, I highly suggest you do some research and get one! There are tons out there and a wide variety of prices and purposes behind them all. I did some looking around and went with the FT4 model. It tells me my heart rate and beeps if I go below the target or above the target for activity! I love this feature because I sometimes felt my heart was going to fast- like I was about to go into coronary attack or something. I’ve only had it beep at me once for going too high, and I felt it right before the beep!

You enter in all your information and it will tell you how many calories you burned during your “exercise”. I use this term loosely for this next example. Last weekend, once we were finally feeling better we did a deep clean of the house. I used to laugh when I saw people logging “cleaning” as exercise on My Fitness Pal. Saturday I worked up a good sweat and Sunday I threw on the HRM. I burned a pretty impressive amount of calories by dancing around the house while cleaning and jogging in place while switching laundry from the washer to dryer. I tracked it for the day as well! I don’t laugh when I see it, but I don’t track simply doing the dishes either (although I wanted to yesterday for all the yumminess we ate on our dinner date!)

It has overall helped with being able to have a better understanding of what I am actually burning, to keep on top of my “net calories” for each day. I definitely eat back my work-out calories to ensure my body doesn’t go into starvation mode, which is super important, especially on Tuesdays now that we’re line dancing!

If you are on this journey with me, I hope you have a “flab-u-less” week, friends! Let’s make it a kick ass one and Rock this B**CH!

Way Down Yonder…

Last night was one of those nights that I will remember for quite some time, if not forever. I feel like an old lady sometimes because Hubs and I are such homebodies. We go out to dinner all the time, but we don’t lead extravagantly exciting lives. Those days are in my past! Er… were in my past! Last night we went out with a group of folks country line dancing! There is a cute little bar on Oceanside called Davina’s Cabo Cantina that one of the girl’s in a military wives meet-up group I am in goes dancing at and she decided to invite the group out… with out husbands!

These are by far some of the most fun gals I have ever met! The first night I went to a meet-up, I felt like we had all been stationed together for years. We all met at 8 and ha a group there for line dance lessons. You want to hear about a workout? Get you ass out on the dance floor – don’t evacuate it. We learned a dance called the “Push Tush”. It was fun and fast and involved a lot of shaking the booty! I don’t know if you can tell from this picture, but I am “glistening” from all the shaking!

Pain Reliever and cantaloupe... Both, equally delicious! Please also note this is a cell phone picture brightened in picnik. Sorry for the poor quality.

 I have never been more proud of Hubs! He got out there with NO coordination and tried all of the dances. He ultimately took a stand on the side of the dance floor and just watched, but he gave it the good ol’ try! If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times: I am the luckiest girl in the in the whole world. Hubs puts up with so much from me, and always does the things I want to do… all with a smile on his face!

My boots got a pretty good work out, and I can’t wait to get together with these folks once again and have some more boot scootin’ fun!

Happy Hump Day friends- we’re almost there!

Fit & “Flab-U-Less” Week In Review | Week 4!

Hubs: work out buddy, cheerleader, best friend!

It is hard to believe we are four weeks into our new lifestyle. Mostly because this week was DISASTER! It started with me going to the Doctor on Monday about my fatigue. Blood work was ordered and I had every intention of going Tuesday morning. By Monday night I was battling the sniffles and the good old sicky germs Hubs brought home from work last weekend. By Wednesday I was in full-blown misery, suffering from the worst fever I’ve ever had which induced death-bed calls to Nan at midnight (EST). I was convinced I would not wake up Thursday, but I did. I didn’t get out of bed much, but I awoke. It was not until yesterday I began feeling slightly human once more. After a week of drinking my calories via Rain Berry Gatorade, we laced up our shoes bright and early and headed to the track for a very interesting morning with our photographer: Jessica from Giles Smiles Photography. Get ready for picture overload, folks. We narrowed it down from FIFTY awesome shots to these.

I never really looked at pictures of myself and thought “oh my goodness, who is that fatty?” Some of the pictures taken today made me think this for the first time in my life! I hope they inspire me to never give up, to pull through, and to work, work, work at this. Without further ado:

Lace them up and get ready!

Once we got laced up and ready, it was time to stretch it out:

That building is the Hospital- you know, just in case my heart can ever not handle it.

Sorry ladies, that sexy man beast is spoken for I like how his tat is totally sneaking a peek!

Let it be known, Hubs thought of this pose with his hands being down in the dirt. We did not do this to him involuntarily.

We found we could do sit ups much easier with a little teamwork

We applied this same philosophy to chin-ups

This one is one of my favorites! It took a couple tries and a few “almost falling on our faces” to get us both balanced, and kissing in time for the click, but I LOVE it!

Yes, you will notice my Polar FT4 Heart Rate Monitor there- it looks like a watch! Well, it is a watch in addition to a HRM. Review perhaps in next weeks review!

Of course we’re competitive whenever we hit the track…

Of course, it’s important to stay hydrated with all this activity:

Of course, there is exhaustion when you’re done, but it’s so worth it!

You might even need some refreshment:

KISSES are the ultimate reward though:

As a matter of fact, Yes, Sports Illustrated, we are available for your modeling pool.

Our photog did something really cool when she edited them, and made two of the pictures into “motivational” posters, kind of. This will be perfect for our little workout corner! (Oh, because did I mention we bought a sweet stationary bicycle? It’s on back order and I can’t wait to share it with you all!)

This awesome shade of Nail Polish would be "I Eat Mainely Lobster" from O.P.I.'s new Touring America line.

I wanted this to have our wedding rings in it, because like I’ve said so many times before: It means the world to me that my husband is my biggest fan, my workout buddy, and with me 100% on this journey. I know I could never do it without him right by my side.

This is one of the first pictures I have looked at and been ashamed of myself. This image, along with the motivational quote Jessica put in, will get me through the journey to becoming half the woman I am right now. Go beyond what feels comfortable. Go beyond where I’ve gone before. STRETCH myself to the person I want to be.

I hope you’ve enjoyed our photos! I know I had a blast at the shoot and a billion thanks go out to my wonderful Hubs, for all he puts up with and with a smile on his face!

Here is to another fit and “Flab-u-less” week, friends! We can get through this and be one week closer to the healthier, stronger versions of our current selves we so long to be!

All images are property of Giles Smiles Photography. Don’t be a douche.

Fit and “Flab-U-Less” Week In Review | Week Three

This week was a pretty hard week for me. I’ve developed an overwhelming exhaustion which I am going to the doctor tomorrow to set up some blood work for. My initial thoughts were: iron deficiency, lupus, or cancer. That is where my mind goes. This was re-inforced when hubs suggested I look at WebM.D., which I hate because the site is so dramatic- of course you’re dying. I went to it, typed in my symptoms and of course cancer is the first through tenth thing to pop up. GREAT. Furthermore: one breast was larger than the other, noticeably, recently. Tumor, anyone? That’s what the irrational me says. The rational me says, no- it’s either where your body is losing weight first or your period, get over it.

Dr. J found a polite way to tell me I looked like ass. After explaining everything to him he suggested vitamin B6 or B12. I’m waiting until after blood work to start a supplement. I currently take no supplements or vitamins at all, and unless you’re a doctor, I’m just not interested in what you have to say. I’ll let you know what the doc says tomorrow. I’m going to ask about a pre-natal. They say the health benefits are out of this world. I’m afraid of sickness so many women say they get as a side effect. Oh, and no- we’re not looking to get pregnant… ever.

Let’s just say this week my main goal has been to simply come close to my calories. Most days I succeeded, some days I did not. When you feel like crap, it’s hard. I’m working on less fruits and more veggies. I still have the main goal everyday of drinking all my water.

I did not continue with the 30 Day Shred as my back has given me some pain. It usually happens around my time of the month, but this is unusual right now. Great, another thing to talk to the doctor about! Here’s my thoughts: slipped disc of pinched nerve. This results in a call to Nan asking if she can come keep me company after the resulting back surgery I now have to undergo. Nan has reassured me it is most likely a muscle. We’ll see when I’m laid up in a full body cast. Haha. 

from Fitfighter.tumblr.com via Elizabeth on Pinterest

So let’s see the stats for this week:

Loss this week: 2.4

Total loss: 6.8 lbs! Feeling good for that- but still feeling like crap otherwise.

Hubs and I have slacked on working out with not feeling well. I’ve flipped and flopped since Thursday- up a pound, down a pound, up and ounce, down an ounce. This week we get back into it for real and see what the good doc has to say.

Here is to another fit and “flab-u-less” week! If you are on the journey with me, keep up the good work, friends!

Fit and “Flab-u-less” Week In Review | Week Two

Happy Sunday Friends! I am starting week three this morning and let me tell you: I feel great! My knee is a little out of whack this morning and I blame Jillian Michaels. I have not taken a day of rest over the last two weeks though, and today, hubby and I decided we would.

Oh, that’s right: Hubby joined MFP too and is not only PTing with me over on the track, but is watching his caloric intake as well! That makes it easier when he’s nibbling all afternoon- now he’s got to be held accountable for it.

Wednesday I was super stoked when I weighed in and had lost a total of 6.2! This morning things were a little different and I must admit: I’m back up to only a grand total of 4.4. Yep, that means only a 0.1lb loss since last week. That still rounds out to 2.2 lbs a week and I see a difference, even if not on the scales today!

Via Healthy Is Always Better over on Tumblr

We’ve stocked the fridge with healthy foods and today: I will even be trying hummus for the very first time in my entire life. We made a delicious French toast recipe with a berry sauce instead of syrup! Yes: we made a berry sauce from fresh berries! It was tart, and sweet, and DELICIOUS! We just put raspberries, blueberries and strawberries in a saucepan and heated them on med-low heat until it was a saucy mixture, then we scooped it over our french toast. It would also be delicious I think in plain yogurt or over ice cream!

We had A LOT of sodium this past week and hopefully this upcoming week I will be able to change that! I’ve loved the convenience of our Crock-Pot, but do not like the sodium intake from all the recipes. Definitely making them once in a while instead of all the timers! 

So, recap: started 30 Day Shred and walking the track at least 4 days a week (M,W,F and once on the weekend). Purchased a heart rate monitor to keep track of what I’m doing better and to be more honest about what I’m burning. MFP is pretty accurate. We learned DiGiorno Pizza just has to not be bought ever again.

Are you on a fitness or weight loss journey? How are you doing?

Here’s to another “Flab-u-less” week, friends! I’m trying some low sodium dinners and will let you know how they turn out!