Drop a Pants Size by February 2013

Well, it has been months since I blogged.  I have missed it!  Honestly, it is not easy to find the time to blog, work and take care of a large family.  One of my goals is to blog more.  One of the main reasons for doing this is because I need to.  I need a place that I can keep myself accountable.  Let me back up.  The last few months I have gotten away from healthy eating and living.  I haven't been exercising as much and my eating has been less than desirable.  Especially the last month I have gone WAY over board.  This isn't about what I have done though.  That is the past.  In order to move forward, you must learn from the past but not dwell in it.  I have spent much of my life living and dwelling in the past and I am hear to say, that does not get you very far.

So here we are at the cusp of a new year.  We are seeing ad everywhere asking what are we going to do different in 2013?  What are your goals?  I know I have been making goals for too many years to count and I don't follow through to the fullest.  Not this time.  I don't want to blink my eyes and a whole year has past and I haven't made one of the most important changes.  That change is my relationship with food.  Suffice to say, it is a rocky one!  I am ready to make a change in my lifestyle.  I am ready to break the negative cycle.  The negative cycle of eating well, binging, feeling bad, binging more and then doing that all over again. 

I can't do this alone, I need help and support.  Will you do this with me?  Are you ready to make a change too?  Are you wanting to lose weight, feel better, or all of the above?  Let's do this together! 

Starting Jan. 7th I will be starting a 30 day weight loss challenge.  Let us take 30 days and SERIOUSLY change how we are eating.  This challenge group will be on Facebook.

Here are the rules:

1.  You must drink at least 8 glasses a water a day.  Water is a great way to cleanse your body and keep you hydrated. 

2.  You must have a Facebook account.  We will be using it to support each other daily.

3.  Shakeology is required.  If you are not familiar with Shakeology, it is an amazing meal replacement from Beachbody (the makers of P90X). 

4.The first 3 days of the challenge we will swap one meal for Shakeology. 

5.The next 3 days of the weight loss challenge we will take the sugar out of our diet, no candy, cookies, soda's (even diet) and no foods with added sugar.  You would be surprised how much sugar is lurking in the foods we eat.

6.  Day 4 we will limit are carb intake.  Carbs especially from white flours (pasta, bread, etc), contributes to weight gain and/or not being able to lose weight.  We should be getting our carbs from veggies, fruits, or nuts. 

I think this is a great place to start for now!  We have time to go get our kitchens ready to start this, i.e. get all the holiday cakes and cookies out. 

I know this might sound like a lot but, we can take one piece at a time together.  I really want to see how I will feel after 30 days.  I have started challenges like this in the past and I have never given my full 100%.    Sugar and carbs are my Achilles heel. I start to feel better from not eating them for a few days and then I think I can go back and just have a little.  That never happens.  No matter how many lies I tell myself, I always go back in full force. 

I just don't want to lose weight for vanity reasons.  I want to take care of my body better and my mind.  You see, I suffer from anxiety disorder and I am finding the more sugar and carbs I have, the worse it is.  The more I eat healthy and stay away from the sugar and carbs, the better I feel.  It sounds so simple right, but so hard to do! 

Let us do this together.  I have limited spaces, so please let me know as soon as possible if you are in!

My Back put me in Time-Out!

I should be starting Week 5 of P90X this week but, instead I am lying in bed right now with an ice pack on my lower back.  Remember my back yelling at me last week?  This week is told me to sit down and shut up!  I visited the chiropractor yesterday and he told me I have a pinched nerve.  Ugh!?  Really, doesn't my back know I am in the middle of an exercise program?  Doesn't it know that I have children I have to pick up?  My back obviously didn't get the message but, it is sending me one loud and clear, "You need to take better care of me!" 

I thought I was taking good care of my back, I have been strengthening my back muscles, my core, losing weight, I guess I still have some weak spots.  I was warned though.  My lower back was really tight a few weeks ago.  I tried stretching it but, not as much as I should have.  I think what sealed the deal with my back was doing tuck jumps during Fire 60.  I knew I probably shouldn't have been doing them but, my pride got in the way and I did it away.  Guess what?  I can't do anything now until this heals.  The moral of this story is to listen to your body.  There are times you should push your body and times you shouldn't.  There is good pain and bad pain. I knew the difference but, did it anyway. 

So, what am I going to do for now and I heal?  I was thinking about eating Ben & Jerry's but, I need to do better by myself.  What I have started doing is going through a great book called "Push" by Chalene Johnson.  She happens to be the creator of Beachbody's Turbo Jam, Chalene Extreme and my favorite, TurboFire!  This book is about health and fitness but, it is more than that.  This book is about how to set your priorities and goals your life.  This book teaches you how to make your goals become a reality without sacrificing the priorities in your life, such as family, yourself, etc.  I am only on day 2 and I look forward to seeing how this helps me.  I need some focus in my life, sometimes I feel like I am on a runway train! 

I will tell you one very important goal I have right now:  My back be healed and in the process not undo all the work that I have done to get me to this point!  Have you taken a look lately at the priorities in your life? 

Why Stretching is Important

I am in week 4 of P90X.  Week 4 is Recovery week where you get a break from weight lifting and focus more on core and cardio.  I have done none of that this week.  My lower back has always given me problems since high school and sometimes it acts up.  I don't know if it was from exercising our picking up my kids the wrong way or a combination of both but my back has been SCREAMING!  It has been saying to me, "you are not doing ANYTHING this week unless you want to cause yourself serious problems"  Sigh.  Instead of doing nothing this week, I have been doing Stretch X.  It is a whole hour of stretching every inch of your body and it feels so good.  I have been doing that instead and I think that has been helping to loosen up my back.  Honestly, I should be doing that every week.  I have never been a flexible person and I always under emphasize the importance of stretching. 

Stretching helps you in all aspects of life.  Here are a few reasons why you should stretch:

1.  It Improves Muscle Development

If you're doing a workout with the hope of building muscle then stretching is very important as it enables you to move through the full range of movement. This will also give you longer, leaner muscles.

2.  It Increases Range of Motion

Not only does stretching increase the range of motion for someone lifting weights while they're doing it, it also helps to increase range of motion and flexibility in general. For example, want to get higher kicks, be more flexible.  Your hamstrings especially have a tendency to be very tight, so the more you stretch them, the better!

3.  It Reduces Injury

Stretching reduces the chance of injury by gradually elongating the muscle. If you're more flexible then that will mean that you don't pull or tear a muscle if you are to slip or trip as your body is capable of reaching that position. In the short term it also helps to limber up the muscle and tendon and thereby prevent a pulled muscle or tendon.

4.  It Warms You Up

Stretching can be used as a way to warm up the muscles and it will encourage the flow of blood. This then provides the muscles with an oxygen supply as well as nutrients in order to help them to keep going.  You should never stretch cold muscles though.  Do some jumping jacks or jog in place to get the blood flowing before stretching.

It Improve Posture
Stretching can also help you to improve your posture and particularly stretching the back. It may also be useful for alleviating pain.  Plus, when you stand up tall, it makes you look leaner, which isn't so bad ;-)

When I do stretch more often, I do have less injuries and feel better in general.  Careful though, don't over stretch to a point where you cause yourself pain.  Stretching should be a gentle pulling of the muscles.  If you overextend your muscles, you can cause injury. 

Don't forget to breath either. Exhale when you are actively stretching the muscle and you will get a deeper, longer stretch!

Now, I just have to listen to my own advice! 

Also, here is a short video with some different stretches to get you going!

If I Can Do It, So Can You!

Week 3 of P90X is coming to a close.  I have Friday and Saturday left before recovery week starts.  I wish I could say I have been eating well this week but, I have made a few questionable choices.  It is amazing how one bad meal, leads to another, and another, and another.  I am not happy with myself right now.  I want to say that I am not "beating  myself" up over it but, that is not true.  That not so small voice in my head is saying "why bother, you aren't going to lose any weight anyway".  Be quiet!!!  That voice is so annoying but, it does hold one point.  I am not going to lose weight if I don't combine my hard work exercising with eating right.  When I say eating right, I mean not going back for more birthday cake at 10 at night.  I am eating better but, I still struggle with going to food to "comfort" me.  I am still learning how to overcome the cravings that I do have.  BUT I CAN DO THIS, even if I don't feel like it can happen, it will, it has to. 

WE CAN ALL DO THIS.  Despite the voices that tell me I can't, I have continued to move forward.  Let me tell you, it is not easy, especially when you are doing Ab Ripper X and you have kids running around you or asking you questions.  It is very hard to answer questions and stay focused on trying to get through Ab Ripper!  The only time of day that I can work out is when all 5 kids are awake.  I know it sounds crazy to even attempt but, if I want to do it, this is when it needs to get done.  For the most part the kids will leave me alone but, when it starts to go downhill, it goes downhill fast! 

On the positive side, my kids are being exposed to Mark and I taking better care of ourselves. When I was a kid, I never had that exposure.  In fact, I was always the kids lagging behind in the back while we had to run around the football field in gym class.  Exercise and me where never friends.  The best part for me is when they exercise with us.  It makes all the other distractions worthwhile.

I tell you this because I want you to believe you can do it.  No matter what your schedule is like, how many kids you have, whatever other "excuse" you may have, if you want to get take better care of yourself, so you can enjoy your life more fully, you will find away to do it.  There are days when I just feel like I don't have the energy to get through it but, somehow I do.  Does get go smoothly all the time, no.  Sometimes it is so bumpy I am surprised I get anything out of it at all.  What I get out of it is the confidence and power to do it again tomorrow.  I show myself that I can work through obstacles to achieve my goals.  Am I to all my goals yet?  No.  That is ok.  Fitness, like anything in life is a journey.  Sometimes the journey is smooth and sometimes you hit big potholes!  We just need to climb out of those holes and keep going. 

So let's keep going together, shall we?  If you want to go on this journey with me, contact me at aclow75@gmail.com. 

I am putting together a nutrition challenge group on facebook that I would love to have you aboard for. 

In this group we will list daily how we are eating and what kind of exercise we are doing. 

I also ask that in this group that you drink Shakeology once a day.  If you are not familiar with it, it is an AMAZING drink made my Beachbody.  It is a meal replacement drink that tastes to good to be healthy!  Check out the link above and it will give you all info you need about it.  It will really help in curbing your cravings and help to lose weight.

I will be getting the group read on FB to start this challenge on July 29th.  The challenge will last for 6 weeks.  Let's see what you can accomplish!

As Tony Horton would say from P90X, "Do your best and forget the rest"!

Week 3 of P90X begins!

Today I start Week 3 of P90X.  I feel like I am starting to see some results.  My stomach looks flatter (all that Ab Ripper X) and my chest muscles feel tighter ( I can use all the lift I can get ;-) ) 

Unfortunately, I have been SO TIRED.  Ever since last mid-last week I have been dragging tail.  The only thing I can think of is I am not fueling my body enough.  The nutrition plan says I should be eating around 2400 calories.  What!?  I don't know how I could eat all those calories so, I haven't been.  I think I am starting to pay the price for that.  These workouts are SERIOUS. You are pushing your body hard and if you don't give your body what it needs, it starts to not work.  Carbs is what gives your body energy and if you are not eating enough of them (good carbs; like whole grains, brown rice, potatoes, etc) you will run out of steam.  This week I am going to add some more healthy carbs to my diet to see if that helps with my energy levels. 

Sleep is also important.  Never underestimate the power of sleep!  I have also been going to bed late between 10:30 pm and 12:00 am.  That is late for me.  My day starts around 6:30 am so, not going to bed till 11 or almost midnight is bad.  Sleep is when your body repairs itself  and I know my body needs repairing and a massage too but I digress...

I am also cutting out coffee this week and most especially the yummy creamers.  I am going to try green tea instead and see how that goes. To tell the truth, the caffeine in coffee doesn't seem to help me wake up, it just tastes good with the fancy creamers I put in there.

Here's to Week 3 of P90X!  Next week is Recovery Week!