The body achieves what the mind believes

Some new workouts that I've done recently:

• Couch to 10k
• Abtacular Pilates Workout | Pilates Bootcamp With Cassey Ho on Livestrong Woman
• NTC Shoulder Ripper (under get focused)
• NTC Hope Solo Unbeatable
• Hundred pushups, starting at week 3 with upper body elevated to height of a park bench

Since completing the C25K program, I've decided to start the Couch to 10K program.  I'm using an app by Zen Labs (which also made the C25K program that I used).  I really like it.  I am on Week 10, day 1, which I will conquer today.  I'm a bit daunted by running 45 minutes, but logically speaking, if I can run for 30 minutes straight, then I should theoretically be able to run for 15 minutes, rest for 1 minute, and repeat 2 more times.  So I jogged at Terry Hershey Park for the first time this weekend.  I usually don't like driving unless I have to, but
a.  I was curious.  What is it like to jog at Terry Hershey Park?
b.  I enjoyed jogging at Memorial Park with my friend and her dog.  Perhaps Terry Hershey Park would be just as enjoyable.
c.  I jog on concrete in my neighborhood.  I have paranoia that I'm hurting myself by jogging on concrete.  I assumed the Park had asphalt, graphite, or dirt trails.
d.  My neighborhood is flat.  I was looking for something less flat.

Well, it was awesome.  There were lots of people and interesting scenery.

I am now in the 140s with regards to weight.  I am elated.  I should probably take a picture of myself, which I will do when I get home. I am now at a Starbucks.  I am in love with SBX cake pops, btw.  When I bought a peppermint brownie today, the person behind the counter told me that 1 extra mini treat is $1.  I decided why not?  BIG MISTAKE.

1.  Each pop is 170 calories.  Not worth.
2.  I started feeling disgusting half way through the first pop.  This is the EXACT same reaction I had the last time I ate a cake pop (which might have been a month ago).  Why do I not learn?!?

This SBX is right by Hershey Park so I'm going to go to the park soon and jog my C210K.

I took a hiatus from hundred pushups and realized that I liked the way that my upper body (and body) looked better when I'm doing pushups.  So, I've decided to start with the program again, except instead of doing pushups on the knees, I'll do pushups slightly elevated.  I been hearing that when one does pushups on knees, it still helps strengthen pecs, but the person forgoes the core benefits of pushups.  The slightly elevated pushups (even pushups against the wall) are easier than standard pushups but also provide core benefits as well.

I have another fitness role model:  P!nk!  She is ripped and hot.  She lost 55 pounds post pregnancy.  I just watched her Try video yesterday (which is AWESOME BTW), and was in awe of her body.  In an effort to have a body similar to hers, I've started doing pushups again.

Also, I did the before shower Lish workout, yesterday.  It was tough.  But then I started thinking about something a classmate said to me, about if I power through the tough workouts, that's when I'll start to see changes, which reminded me of the Lisa Venn diagram.  P!nk hired Jillian Michaels and Jeanette Jenkins to whip her into shape.  J. Jenkins has a workout on NTC and it is no joke.  Seriously, I couldn't do it the last time I tried.  Maybe I will try it later today.  Actually, I just watched some moves from it.  Ugh.

Another form of progress is that there are workouts on NTC that were once un-doable, i.e. the 45 Get Lean workouts, esp. Cardio Surge.  Well, I can complete them now.  I'm starting to sweat less when I do them.  I tried the Fitness Blender Ski workout that I like so much the other day.  The last time I did it (which was over a month ago), it was a struggle.  Now, I completed.  I will take this as a sign of progress towards fitness.  I feel like I'm on the cusp of the intermediate level workouts on NTC and am trying new workouts to ease my way into the intermediate level workouts.

Thanksgiving is this week.  Happy Thanksgiving.  I have so much to be thankful for.  I'll list 5 right now:

1.  Friends in Houston
2.  My family - my parents for their support while I'm looking for a job
3.  My classmates at Anderson
4.  My progress in fitness
5.  My faith - I would be so lost without faith in God and Jesus Christ's death and resurrection

piqued interest in intermittent fasting

I've recently heard about intermittent fasting as a new health trend.  I've read a bit about it, but there doesn't seem to be any defined structure except go for a large chunk of the day not eating and then eat during a small window of time. 

I like this, because it seems to simplify life: just one healthy meal a day.  It's a time savings.  I haven't tried intermittent fasting, yet, but it made an impression on me that going hungry for a few hours might be OK.

I ate under my calorie floor yesterday and ended up losing 1 pound. I think I was able to to do this because I let my body go hungry for a little longer than it was comfortable doing.  I've decided that I want to try doing this a little bit more frequently - let myself experience hunger.

PLUS, fasting is a spiritual discipline. 

Lish workouts that I mentioned in previous blog posts

My malaise has not disappeared despite my best efforts to make it go away.  This past weekend, I had two birthday parties and ate a lot.  I did end up going for a walk on one of the party nights (very scary, walking around the neighborhood at night).  But then another night, I did nothing.  I ended up 1500 calories over my calorie limit for the week (yikes!!).  A highlight of my past week, though, was jogging at Memorial Park in Houston.  I saw lots of people of all shapes and sizes.  I ran with my friend's wife who is super fit and their giant dog.  The loop around the park was a bit less than 3 miles.  I ended up running a little over 3 miles, which is pretty amazing.  On the last day of C25K, the app instructs me to run 30 minutes, which is what I do.  But, 30 minutes for me is less than 3 miles.

Well, this is a new week and new beginning.  It did not start well.  I was very grumpy yesterday and ended up doing no exercise.  The whole time I was busy not exercising, I was thinking about how exercise improves mood, but I chose to lie on my bed and be upset / read.  Makes no sense.

At the same time, I always have an urge to exercise in the morning, but I don't, because I think that I should work instead.  Well, this morning, I got up super early and started a new exercise program: C210k!  I've run a 10k before, but I think I'm ready to do it again.  I was kindof dragging my feet getting out the door, but once the voice on the app told me to start running, I went.  AND, it was fun!!  AND, there were others around the neighborhood exercising as well.  It always makes me feel happier when I see others around the neighborhood jogging besides me.  Plus, I jogged faster than my normal speed.  Maybe my bucket list goal of a 10 minute mile for 5k is attainable.  So, things that have helped me improve my speed around the neighborhood include my jog around Memorial Park and occasional jogs on the treadmill (which by the way have gotten a lot easier).

Also, during this period of malaise, I've been thinking about low effort exercise routines (entry level routines if you will) that I can do, just to get me started.  Then I remembered how I enjoyed these workouts that Lish posted.  When I went back to the pages in which I posted the workouts, they were no longer there.  I think something weird happened when I copied and pasted the image from Lish's Facebook page to my blog.  Lish quit BodyRock, and I think BodyRock made her delete her profile.  The images that I pasted were somehow linked to her Facebook page I suspect.  Luckily, I wrote the workouts down on a piece of scratch paper and never threw the paper away.

So here is one Lish workout:

1.  50 jumping jacks
2.  10 pushups
3.  20 sit ups
4.  20 bicycles
5.  20 mountain climbers
6.  30 s plank

Do 3x - This would make sense as a wake up workout

Here is another Lish workout:

1.  10 burpees
2.  15 jump squats
3.  10 pushups
4.  20 jump lunges
5.  20 sit ups
6.  20 mountain climbers
7.  10 squats
8.  10 squat jumps
9.  20 knee highs

Do 3x - I believe this was labeled as a before shower workout (I'm not sure.  Memory hazy)

Anyhow, there is a podcast called Get Fit Guy.  He was giving hints on how to burn more fat.  One of them is to do small exercises throughout the day (which makes sense).   I might just randomly bust out one of these circuits when I want to procrastinate during the day.

Cooking Classy: Grilled Chicken Caprese Pasta

Here's something that I plan to cook for my next Bible study:

Cooking Classy: Grilled Chicken Caprese Pasta: If you love Italian food then this is a deluxe meal you will most definitely want to try! It is fancy, loaded with fresh goodness, creamy...

Exercise until my lungs are burning

I've been really into basketball lately. I've heard a lot about Kobe Bryant's work ethic and wanted to learn a bit more.  I did some research and I could have heard wrong, but I saw a youtube video in which he said something along the lines of exercising until my lungs are burning and that I have a strong desire to spit blood. 

Well, that is very extreme, but I must say that I find my hundred pushup challenge to be very rewarding and every time I do it, I do pushups to the point that I can do no more.  From this program, I can see that I have been getting stronger.  Looking over my log, it's amazing.  At one point in time, I can barely eek out 20 pushups (don't forget my pushups are on my knees).  Now, I can do 50!

I was very happy about yesterday's leg exercises because my legs were screaming towards the end.  Both routines included squats galore and then isometric holds which were insane.  During lean machine, I needed to break, but during Fitness Blender, I held the isometric squat hold, although but squat jumps after that were less than enthusiastic.

I'm very proud of the fact that yesterday, on the treadmill, I ran for two eight minute blocks, one of which had a period in which the treadmill was on an incline of 3.  Compared to my jogs around my Houston neighborhood, a 3 incline is pretty extreme.  Even though I was constantly looking at the clock yesterday, I didn't sweat that much.  Maybe because I was jogging right underneath a fan.  Who knows.  I am dreading the 20 minute run on the 'mill, but I think I might be ready.  I want to remember Kobe's advice: exercise until my lungs are burning. Or Cassey's - Train insane or remain the same.  Or that Venn diagram - get out of my comfort zone (because that's where change happens).

Next time, another Lakes on Eldridge run.  I'm looking forward.

Undisciplined

I'm sorry.  I'm not up to date on this blog.  I have been exercising.  I'm just tired.  But maybe this should be an exercise in discipline: both discipline in time management and stick-to-it-ness.

Tuesday, October 16, 2012:

Mediocre eating day.
Calorie Summary

Calorie consumption: 1530 Cal;
Exercise calories burned: 243 Cal
Net calories consumed: 1287 Cal

Exercise Summary

• NTC Core Crunch - I kindof enjoy this. 
• Kill That Muffin Top for Beginners | Pilates Bootcamp With Cassey Ho on Livestrong Woman
• Cassey Ho & Ashley Borden: Amazing Thigh Workout

My abs were shot when I decided to do some Pilates with Cassey.  I struggled to suffer through the Amazing Thigh Workout.  The Muffin Top for Beginners was rough as well.  I would do the Amazing Thigh workout again.

Yesterday was an AWESOME eating day.
 Calorie Summary

Calorie consumption: 1382 Cal;
Exercise calories burned: 0 Cal
Net calories consumed: 1382 Cal

My awesome eating day was supported by the fact that the person who brought food to Bible study brought very little food.  I think it was perfect.  I managed to eat enough to not go over my calorie limit for the day.

Today was a MEH eating day.

Calorie Summary

Calorie consumption: 1690 Cal;
Exercise calories burned: 297 Cal
Net calories consumed: 1392 Cal

Exercise Summary

• C25K Wk5 Day 2 on the treadmill
• The Lean Machines Tone Your Inner Thighs and Butt
• Fitness Blender Booty Blaster Killer 5 Minute Butt and Thigh Workout Challenge

 I really enjoyed today's workouts. They all challenged me but were doable.  I had tons of fun.

I'm BACK!!!

I'm back. I'm not going to bore anyone with details about my eating this past week.  Let's just say that I need to improve on my mental game.  The fact that I did poorly on some treadmill jog really threw me for a loop.  I did not respond well to this "failure".  I was very disappointed.  I started having a lot of doubts such as "Will I ever attain a baseline level of fitness that will enable me to run at 10 mph for 5k?" "All my efforts have zero payoff.  What's the point?"  "This totally blows.  I hate exercising."  I have to be honest with myself.  Exercise is no fun.  Sometimes, it's fun when I see myself getting better, i.e. having more endurance, being able to do more pushups, running faster.  But, when I put in all this effort with no results, I get discouraged.  I completed the C25K, but I could not last 20 minutes on the treadmill.  This just didn't make sense to me.  I realize that I jog on flat surface and that treadmill was significantly steeper, but I should be able to last at least 25 minutes.  In business school, I took a class called "Thinking on Your Feet".  The point of the class was to teach us about how the brain works, conjures up memories, behaves / reacts under pressure.  We can use this knowledge to our advantage to develop strategies to remember facts, and work better under pressure.  The instructor spent a whole   class on CBT, cognitive behavioral therapy and taught us about maladaptive thought patterns which prevent people from reaching their goals.  One was "all or nothing" which is what I exhibited above.  Just because I failed to run on a treadmill which had crazy inclines, I came to the conclusion that all my efforts were for naught.  I know this to not b.e true because I can visually see differences in my body.  So, the other day, I ran for 30 minutes around my neighborhood, and I ran faster than ever.  I think the fact that I ran treadmill with inclines helped me to have more power to run faster.

Just looking at my food log on LoseIt for the past week, I know what my problem was.  First, I ate a lot of sweets.  I also had a very indulgent meal last Friday that included fettucini alfredo and some chocolate mousse cake.    Last Thursday, I had a salad at Jason's Deli, but I also ended up eating my 7 or 10 corn muffins (what the heck!?!?).  These muffins were mini.  I had no idea that each one would have almost 100 calories.  On Sunday, there was a meet and greet with some church leaders, and I went.  There were snacks that included homemade chocolate chip cookies. So, really, I need to avoid the flour and sugar combo.  It is so bad!!!!

Even though I gained .2 pounds, I had a lot of fun doing some exercises.  I was really happy when I was able to sustain an 11 mph run for 30 minutes around the neighborhood.
On Saturday, I did some type of exercise that caused butt soreness all day Saturday and today.  I think the culprit is either ZWOW #37 or Fitness Blender HIIT Workout for Fat Loss.  ZWOW had some serious jump lunges and Fitness Blender had lots of jump squat type movements.  On Thursday, I also went roller skating for the first time in years. Tres fun.

So there you have it, highlights from the past week.  I've decided that I need to blog.  I can't let my mood and perceived failures take me off track.  For today:

Calorie Summary

Calorie consumption: 1595 Cal;
Exercise calories burned: 475 Cal
Net calories consumed: 1119 Cal

Exercise Summary

• C25K week 6 day 1 on the treadmill
• hundred pushups wk 6 day 3
• bombshell booty workout on Livestrongwoman Youtube Channel - broke a lot of sweat, but I think this workout was just ok.
  

Keeping the eye on the ball, back to basics

Calorie Summary

Calorie consumption: 1316 Cal;
Exercise calories burned: 352 Cal
Net calories consumed: 965 Cal

Exercise Summary

• Jog for 30 @ 5.2 mph, walk for 15 @ 3.5 mph
• Hundred pushup challenge Week 5 exhaustion test
• Livestrong Sleek and Sexy Arms for Beginners Pilates Bootcamp with Cassey Ho 

I decided that I want to do jogging on the treadmill.  I don't have the mental toughness to do this just yet, so I'm just going to have to redo parts of the C25K on the treadmill.  I ran for 16 minutes and my mind freaked out. I was looking for every excuse to stop.  It was actually quite ridiculous.  I ended up stopping to go to the bathroom, and came back and jogged another 20 minutes.

Next time I jog, I'm going to jog 15, walk 5, and jog 15 more. 

Well, after I did 60 pushups, I did this arm pilates video.  My triceps were dying.  I had to take a break every now and then.  I want ripped arms.  I need to the mental toughness to work for it.

I was browsing the Fitness Blender website and they suggest against doing HIIT workouts on back to back days.  Well, tomorrow is HIIT day!!  Bodyrock, ZWOW, NTC, here I come!!!

Time to rally!!

For Saturday:

Calorie Summary

Calorie consumption: 1898 Cal;
Exercise calories burned: 586 Cal
Net calories consumed: 1312 Cal

Exercise Summary

• Jog 30 minutes w/ 5 minute walking warmup and 5 minute walking cooldown
• Bodyrock Sexy Booth Curves Weighted Interval Workout I

I've been eating more lately leading to weight gain.  If I want to lose weight, I need to cut my consumption down.  Another sign that I'm eating too much is that I'm eating past when I'm full.  I feel full and I keep on eating.  I think I'm down in the dumps.  I am enjoying the endorphins that food gives me.  Time to rally!! Get back on track!  Be strong!

I worked out at the gym on Saturday - treadmill run.  All I've got to say is wow.  Lakes on Eldridge is pretty flat.  Treadmill incorporated steepness and slowed me down big time.  My average speed was 5.2 mph and my legs were en fuego.  I had to take some walk breaks because I could not handle the hills.  I think I will need to either run in an area that's not as flat or incorporate more hills into my workouts by running in the treadmill.

I think I used my core during my run b/c when I did Bodyrock immediately after jog, my abs were shot.  One of the exercises was hanging leg raises and I could barely eek out 12.

Sunday, October 8, 2012

Calorie Summary

Calorie consumption: 1476 Cal;
Exercise calories burned: 255 Cal
Net calories consumed: 1221 Cal

Exercise Summary

• NTC Core Crunch
• Fitness Blender Firming HIIT Workout for Beginners

Had a salad for the first time in a long time today.  Felt good. I think I've developed this trend where if I eat a salad, I eat a chocolate chip cookie, too.  I would like to break this habit.

I'm not sure how firming the Fitness Blender HIIT was.  I would not recommend as it's pretty easy.  I do like how it incorporated a warmup, though.

Keep on going! Please don't stop the music!

For Friday, October 5, 2012:

Calorie Summary

Calorie consumption: 1586 Cal;
Exercise calories burned: 115 Cal
Net calories consumed: 1471 Cal

Exercise Summary

• Hundred pushup challenge week 5 day 3
• Bodyrock Busting It Out Sculpt

I just don't like running but I do it because it torches calories, makes me sweat, and is an effective means to my goal.  I wanted to run, but by the time it was cool enough, it was too late.  I had to go to my buddy's for their Bible study.  I feel like I need to choose between my high school buddy's Bible study or the study for the church that I go to.  I need to think about why I go to Bible study (to have a community, have a means of getting more involved in the church, have some type of Christian accountability). I guess the answer is clear which Bible study I should choose based on my criteria: Bible study of church that I go to.  I feel like the Chinese church's study really has community.  I don't feel it with the members of my friend's Bible study.  I guess "it" being chemistry.  Anyhow, this blog is about weight loss.
I'm just going to whine today.  I don't know what's going on in my body.  Am I being too hard on myself?  I feel like I'm regressing / having a series of bad workouts.  I hate it.  I want to be motivated and on fire.  I know I need to push my body if I want change and if I want to be athletic (have agility, endurance, and strength).  Well, pushups didn't suck.  They were challenging and I was definitely struggling towards the end, but it didn't suck.  That's good.  This Bodyrock sculpt session was OK.  I only have 5 pound weights at home.  At the end of shoulder exercises, my muscles were crying.

So, I have decided that I will be easy on myself.  So what if my performance is not as good as it once was.   The point is to not quit, to keep on going, until I reach my goal.  I know of a few short celebrities:  Christina Aguilera, Kelly Osbourn, Eva Longoria, and Ellen Page.  If I work hard enough, I can have bodies similar to theirs:

A curvier Christina Aguilera will be my mid term goal.  I'm going to assume she's 140 here.  She's looking pretty cute to me.
 


Kelly Osbourne looks so good now. 
Here's a good article about here weight loss.  118.  If Kelly could do it, I can do it, too!!

Malaise and sushi

Thursday:

Calorie Summary

Calorie consumption: 1390 Cal;
Exercise calories burned: 303 Cal
Net calories consumed: 1087 Cal

Exercise Summary

• Elliptical for 30 minutes 
• Blogilates Food Baby HIIT

I went out for sushi tonight.  Looking back now, I probably should have stuck to my policy of no sushi with funky mayo based sauce.  I am a fan of simple sushi: a slab of delicately cut fish with a piece of seasoned rice.  I don't want fried crunchy stuff on top or inside or weird funky sauce.  My exception to this rule is spicy tuna and spicy scallop.  I had both yesterday.  My lesson learned is that if a sushi joint is not that good, don't get spicy tuna or spicy scallop.  I went to Sushi Choo Choo and I wasn't expecting much.  I know I may sound like a douche, but the average sushi joint in LA probably serves the same quality of sushi as a high end sushi joint in Houston.  Sushi Choo Choo was horrible.  I had a rainbow roll and the avocado on top of the sushi was turning black.  My point is, I might have under logged and over eaten yesterday because I was feeling quite full.  In the future, a way to prevent over eating is to not order as much, especially if the food is bad / mediocre.

I knew I wanted to exercise after eating out with friends so I hit the gym.  I started at the treadmill but just couldn't continue.  I continued on to the elliptical and proceeded to have the most intense elliptical workout I've ever had.  I was reminded of a picture that Lisa from Bodyrock had posted, which I had forgotten:



These motivational pictures are starting to lose their effect on me.  But, I know these past few days have been difficult for me for reasons I just can't explain.  I just feel such malaise.  I haven't been on fire for job search.  I feel lost during the day. I need to give myself structure and allow myself the grace to follow the structure.  So, today, I will read the 2-Hour Job Search and then I will begin to read some marketing books to help me tell my story better.  I have 3 in mind:  The New Rules of Marketing and PR, Zen of Social Media Marketing, A Lean Marketing Revolution. I would like to have these books read by the end of the weekend.

Back to working out - after gym, I came home to to Blogilates Food Baby HIIT workout.  These starburst squat jumps that the video opened with are freaking crazy!!  I will master them.  I will definitely do this workout again.

Booty Booty Booty

Wednesday:

Calorie Summary

Calorie consumption: 1546 Cal;
Exercise calories burned: 97 Cal
Net calories consumed: 1449 Cal

Exercise Summary

• BodyRock May 2012 30 Day Challenge Fit Test.  Check the file on the side to see how I did
• Blogilates Bikini Blaster 6 Booty Booty Booty

Yesterday was Bible study.  I made dinner and it was WAY filling.  I was just getting insecure about my food.  I made this sweet potato chili, my favorite cole slaw, and glutinous rice.  So freaking full.  I came home and realized that I needed to exercise and burn some calories.  The fit test was semi easy.  Bikini blaster was no joke.  The number 4 squats, which are a form of single legged squats were no joke.  It was hard to keep my balance.  I might do this one again.  I think I might've slacked during the bikini blaster.  I just wasn't into it.

graduation from C25K!!!!

Calorie Summary

Calorie consumption: 1317 Cal;
Exercise calories burned: 356 Cal
Net calories consumed: 961 Cal

Exercise Summary

• C25K Week 9 Day 1
• Hundred push ups Week 5 Day 2

Well, I'm happy a graduate from C25K.  I'm unhappy that I had my slowest run in the program today.  The plus of my run is that my run was unconventional and provided me an opportunity to explore my neighborhood.  I ended up jogging on grass (which slowed me down).  I also inadvertently ran through sprinklers, which probably slowed me down because I was drenched (including my feet and shoes).  It's no walk in the park to run in wet shoes.  On my walk home, I went off the neighborhood sidewalks and explored areas in my neighborhood in which no paved paths lead.  I saw some pretty sweet backyards and pools.  After I realized that my pace was a lot slower than normal, I spent a lot of time googling articles, trying to figure out whether I had a bad jog.  See, I wasn't hating my jog.  In fact, there were moments in which I really enjoyed it.  I also did not feel like I was moving slow.  I felt normal, except when I was running through the grass.  I just don't think I had a bad jog, even though I was super slow.  I don't understand.  Oh, I also tried running faster during one part of the run but then became super exhausted.  Pink's Just Like a Pill came on and I just had to run fast during the chorus.  There's just too many factors that were varied:

• grass
• sprinklers
• 1 fartlek

All, some, or none of these could've caused me to slow down from an 11 minute mile to a 12 minute mile.  Maybe I will do an experiment on my next running day to get to the bottom of this issue.  So, I had to once again think about my goals.  Is my goal to run fast?  (well, I want to run at a reasonable speed).  Well, I want weight loss and fitness.  Fitness involves both endurance and strength.  I must admit, my fartlek (and possibly grass) wore me out and towards the end, my muscles were tired.  So, I guess lesson learned is I need to work on strength.  Well, tomorrow, I will be doing squats and lunges galore!

This past weekend,  I discovered KevJumba, thanks to Jeremy Lin.  This guy is from Houston and has such a cute personality (although he probably wouldn't think so).  I like KevJumba because he seems to have a lot of self respect, even though he makes fun of himself.  So, tonight, when I was doing hundred pushups and thinking, "Dude, this is rough," I started thinking about KevJumba's mindset and how he would respond.  I actually don't know how Kev would respond, but I was imagining that he would not quit or be negative and it helped me power through the workout.

Weigh in Monday

Monday:

Calorie Summary

Calorie consumption: 1623 Cal;
Exercise calories burned: 0 Cal
Net calories consumed: 1623 Cal

Exercise Summary

Rest day


So, I weighed in and am happy to report that I lost 2.8 pounds.  That seems a bit high since most magazine articles and websites say that people should aim to lose up to 2 pounds a week.  Well, I wasn't trying to aggressively lose weight.  I ate a minimum number of calories every day so I wasn't starving myself.  I think the secret to my success this week was that I did not have a day such that the food was so overwhelmingly delicious such that I could not stop eating. The 140s are within sight!  I think if I can maintain diligence, discipline, and focus, I will reach the 140s in 2 weeks.

Weekend eating and exercise summary

Weekend eating and exercise summary -

Friday:

Calorie Summary

Calorie consumption: 1644 Cal;
Exercise calories burned: 374 Cal
Net calories consumed: 1270 Cal

Exercise Summary

• C25K Wk 8 Day 2
• Hundred Pushup plan Wk 5 Day 1

Friday was such an awesome day.   Even though I was rejected from a job the day before, I was able to rebound very quickly and focus like crazy on job search.  I also did my running in the morning and  gleefully realized that I wasn't hating it.  In the afternoon, I decided to move forward with Week 5 of the hundred pushup plan and realized the motivating power of support.  I struggled through this day of the program and wondered how I will make it through the other days and how I did so well on the last day of week 4.  Then during my last set of pushups, I started thinking about Lisa telling me to keep on going and to not stop.  Somehow, that just gave me a boost of energy.  Amazing.

Then, the surprising highlight of my week was on Friday, I got to see Jeremy Lin speak at the church in which I was baptized in.  Prior to this event, I was unimpressed with his feats on the basketball court.  I just didn't see anything special about him.  I did not think he should be given special attention just because he's an Asian, or a Christian, or even more extreme - an Asian Christian.  But, hearing him speak, I have become uber impressed.  Clearly, he's a big deal to a lot of people, but he's articulate and unflashy.  I couldn't help but compare him to some of my fellow business school classmates.  So many of my classmates are the shit, know they're the shit, and walk and talk with swagger.  This is how MBA's are supposed to be.  Jeremy Lin just walks and talks.  There is nothing flashy about him (even though he has more reason to have swagger than so many people that I know).  So amazed and impressed.

Saturday:

Calorie Summary

Calorie consumption: 1350 Cal;
Exercise calories burned: 203 Cal
Net calories consumed: 1147 Cal

Exercise Summary

• NTC Core Crunch
• Fitness Blender 20 Minute Home Upper Body Workout Routine
• Blogilates POP Pilates: Bikini Bod 2 for Arms and Abs

I was pretty depressed on Saturday.  I guess it kicked in that I got rejected from a job that I thought I was perfect for and I felt very disappointed, helpless, and hopeless.  I felt like God had left me and started wondering what rock bottom meant for me.   I was so depressed, I really didn't want to exercise, but I did.  I tried to do Core Crunch the day before and just couldn't muster the energy to get past the first minute.  Today, I was very impressed with my Core Crunch abilities.  I did more consecutive froggers than I have ever done.  The Fitness Blender routine was pretty easy, but had some challenging moments, namely back flies.  I tried to move on to Blogilates after Fitness Blender and quickly realized that I needed a break.  This Pop Pilates routine starts with 5 minutes of planking.  It was pretty intense.  My arms needed a break and I was happy to oblige.  After a 30 minute break, Pop Pilates was quite enjoyable.

Sunday:


Calorie Summary

Calorie consumption: 1724 Cal;
Exercise calories burned: 367 Cal
Net calories consumed: 1357 Cal

Exercise Summary

• C25K Wk 8 Day3

C25K today did not suck.  30 minutes of jogging an 11 minute mile.  I'm impressed with myself.  C25K Wk 9 Day 1 is graduation.  This will be another 30 minute run.  I'm going to keep on adding time in the same way as C25K until I can run for 34 minutes which will be 5k.  Once I hit 34 minutes, I will continue to run for 34 minutes 3x / week for 2 weeks.  Then I will start working on speed work.  The goal is the 10 minute mile!  

I exercise so that I can eat more

Calorie Summary

Calorie consumption: 1830 Cal;
Exercise calories burned: 337 Cal
Net calories consumed: 1493 Cal

Exercise Summary

• ZWOW #3
• BodyRockers Group Sweat Workout

Well, I had Bible study again tonight.  I thought I was eating mindfully, but I ended up eating 900 calories.  How did this happen?  I realized it's because dinner consisted of beef, pork ribs, and dessert.   All were delicious but high calorie density.  I have no idea what I'm going to do the next time there's some type of dinner party and four legged animal is served.  Should I claim to be vegetarian whenever I eat in a group setting?  Also, I'm toying with the though of no more dessert.

I did not exercise during the day and realized that if I wanted to end the day somewhere close to my calorie limit, I needed to do at least 30 minutes of cross training.  Per usual, I really did not want to exercise but I did.

I started with the BodyRock.  I'm looking at the exercise video as I type this and I realized that during froggers, I don't stick my butt in the air.  I keep my body in plank position which may decrease the the number of froggers and spidermans I can do.  During divebombers, I have my feet together, which also may affect the number of divebombers I can do.  You can see how many of each exercise that I did by looking at the file linked on the side of this blog. 

ZWOW #3 ended up being a lot harder than I thought.  She has us doing 4 exercises (raised back leg lunges, super mans / pushups, ski jumps, lunge jumps), increasing and decreasing the # of reps in a pyramid scheme (5, 10, 15, 10, 5).  The 15 rep round SUCKED!  I also realized that I was better at jump lunges in 1 leg than the other.  I haven't done that many ZWOW's but I think that they're excellent. I never knew how to make split jump lunges easier, but what Z does in this exercise video is a very good pre-split lunge / post-lunge exercise.  Similarly, lately, I've been wanting to get good at one legged squats.  I recently saw Z do one in one of her videos and my jaw dropped.  I was wondering how low one should / can go when they do such squats, and Z went pretty low.  In fact, she was practically sitting on the ground.  I can pistol squat to the point of sitting in a chair, but not much lower than that.  I would like to get be able to do a single legged squat as low as Ms. Z.  I think the one - legged lunges help with that.

You don't need to run fast, just run - C25K Week 8 Day 1

Calorie Summary

Calorie consumption: 1325 Cal;
Exercise calories burned: 484 Cal
Net calories consumed: 951 Cal

Exercise Summary

• C25K Week 8 Day 1 - 11.2 mph, avg HR - 152
• Hundred pushups exhaustion test - 50 pushups

Well, I took a few days of break from C25K.  I got home late again, but the minute I got home, I got into exercise clothes and went out to run.  I enjoy my sense of accomplishment, but there was a lot of whining going on in my head through the whole thing.

I did my end of week 4 exhaustion test for the hundred pushup program as well.  I was thinking about re-doing week 4, but since I did 50 pushups, I think I'm ready to move on to week 5. I've repeated week 4 3 times.

Discipline and willpower!

For Monday, September 24, 2012:

Calorie Summary

Calorie consumption: 1767 Cal;
Exercise calories burned: 420 Cal
Net calories consumed: 1347 Cal

Exercise Summary

• Nike Core Crunch
• Fitness Blender Ski Conditioning Workout  
• Fitness Blender Kelli's Cool Down and Stretch

Analyzing my dietary intake yesterday, I realize that if I eat two meals that include non-lean meat, I will be at risk of going over my calorie limit.  I had beef stew for lunch and pork ribs for dinner.  I had a victory last night.  I desperately wanted to eat more pork ribs, as this was a treat from my mother and there were still pork ribs on the table.  But then I remembered my own hints: take a break.  I kept on having soup and watching my mom eat the pork ribs.  I was so jealous.  After awhile, my fullness started to kick in but I still wanted the pork ribs.  Then my mom finished eating and I realized that it would be completely ridiculous if I just suddenly went to town on the ribs, so I walked away.  It was so hard.  There were a few things going through my head such as:

• I want it so bad, I don't care about the consequences (it being the pork ribs)
• You got to want it (it being healthy and fit body)
• Dude, it's right there. So easy to just eat!
• Just take a break.  You might go over your budget (I don't care), but you will later...
• Everyone is eating only 3 ribs.  You don't want to be the one that eats a whole bunch!

I had 1 leftover pork rib for lunch today.  So I have learned that yes, I can walk away. Eventually, I want to get to a place where I don't have to shame myself into not eating more (re: last bullet) and can do it by being in control.

I almost jogged.  But I had an excuse and didn't. It was late and I didn't want to get bitten by mosquitoes.  I took my dad to some doctor but got home super late.  I almost didn't exercise.  But then I remembered that there were so many times in the past weeks when I didn't want to do something and just did it.  So I did NTC Core Crunch, which I haven't done in awhile.  I still can't get through it without taking breaks, but I am getting better.  I'm getting better at froggers - I can last through the whole minute.  Though after 1 minute of V-ups, it's hard for me to do 1 whole minute of full extensions.  I need to take a break. Also, the plank was super hard, too.  I took a break during planks as well.

After Core Crunch, is still was dragging my feet with exercise.  I knew that if I wanted to be within my calorie limit for the day, I needed to exercise more.  Eventually, I did the Fitness Blender ski conditioning workout, which I haven't done in awhile as well.  I think all the jumping jacks that I've done recently has strengthened my knees because I was so much better at the workout than last time.  In fact, I usually end before the last group of exercises, but today, I got through the whole workout.  The last group of exercises are brutal, but I pushed through.  I was dripping in sweat in the end.

Challenges are what makes life interesting; overcoming is what makes life

Weekend Roundup:

Calorie Summary

Saturday Net calories consumed: 2123 Cal (689 calories over limit)
Sunday Net calories consumed:  1230 Cal (230 calories under limit)

Exercise Summary

• Saturday - Body Rock Dream Body Workout
• Sunday - Week 4 day 3 of hundred pushup

I went WAY over my calorie budget on Saturday.  My brother came home from the Camino de Santiago and my family and I went out to celebrate his birthday.  There was just too much delciousness surrounding me and I could not hold myself back.  Afterwards, I thought to myself, "Was it worth it?"  Eating at my friend's wedding in San Diego was worth it but this gorge fest was not.  I don't know why I did it.  Actually, I was full after the first course, and there were 5 courses!  I felt like if I stopped right when I was full, I would've totally missed out.   I think I was suffering from a fear of lack so I went insane. When I was eating extraneously, I was wondering about whether I was making wise choices.  Looking back, the answer is no.  Here are some things I could've done to not go crazy:

• take a breather during the meal.  This would've helped me to calm down, re-evaluate the situation, and shore up my will-power muscle.  Maybe a 5 minute breather with the option to be kind to myself and let myself continue to eat if I decide that's what I want to do at the end of 5 minutes
• think about my long term goal.  I gained 1.5 pounds as a result of dinner.  There were some dishes during last night's meal that were amazing and that I eat maybe once every 2 or 3 years.  Still, if I were to compare the pleasure I got from eating to the joy I would've felt if I lost weight this week, I would've preferred joy over pleasure. I just wasn't thinking long term while in the situation

Celebratory meals, family style meals, or joyous eating occasions are a diet challenge.  Hopefully next time, I'll be able to overcome this challenge.

On Sunday, I was able to keep my eating under control.  I was aided by the fact that there wasn't a lot of food around the house.  I was debating the whole day whether to exercise.  It almost seems like if the exercise is going to involve uncomfortable exertion,  I am going to dread it the whole day.  I ended up deciding that I needed to the 100 pushup challenge because I had already taken a break from it for a few days.  The last time I did week 4 day 3, it was a struggle.  This time, I kept on imagining Lisa from Bodyrock standing next to me saying, "Keep on going, don't stop!" or "OK.  Rest for a few seconds, but don't stop!"  It was actually quite motivating and helped me to keep on doing pushups without stopping.  Lisa usually scares me and I find her workout videos to be more intense than I can handle. But, she came in handy, or, I may be reaching a new level of fitness :)

If you want something you've never had, then you have to do something you've never done

Calorie Summary

Calorie consumption: 1419 Cal;
Exercise calories burned: 380 Cal
Net calories consumed: 1055 Cal

Exercise Summary

• C25K Week 7 Day 3
•  

Lish is totally batting home runs today.  I went to her Facebook to find the above exercise routine and found the title of this post.  I just have to comment that it makes sense.  Jogging outside of my comfort zone did not work for me, but I think exercising and watching what I eat is working for me.  I'm very proud of the fact that I've been exercising when I don't want to.  But, because I want to burn off my calories, I do.  In fact, I am just very impressed with myself today.  I was totally dreading my jog.  I took my dad to the acupuncturist and  got home later than I usually start my jogs.  Plus, there's been all this talk about West Nile Virus and I live in a community with lots of lakes.  Mosquitoes love lakes and they come out from dusk to dawn. Despite the fact that dusk had arrived and me telling myself, "This is going to suck.  I hate running, " I did it.  I ran Week 7 Day 3 of C25k.  Plus, I took my own advice of taking it easy.  I barely jogged that much slower by taking it easy.  When desires to quit crept into my head, I jogged a bit slower for 10 seconds.  After I started feeling good again, I picked up my pace.  It was actually quite awesome.  I had a good run today!

Also, I did the above routine in 10:48, which is an improvement from the last time I did the workout (which was 11 something).  Methinks I'm getting fitter or better at doing certain exercises.

Also, I was super tired this morning, but lunch re-energized me.  I had a very light 300 calorie lunch consisting of veggies and lean pork.  I do not think beef goes well with diet.  In fact, it might actually cause me fatigue which I don't like.  Every time I eat beef, I gain weight and feel like dung.  I'm not going to stop eating beef (especially short ribs), but I might consider taking a 10 month fast from beef.

Raw Crunch Bar: Yummy Raw Brownies

Raw Crunch Bar: Yummy Raw Brownies: Here is a yummy raw chocolate fudge brownie recipe that I have for a late night snack while I'm watching a movie on the couch.

Reminds me of those chocolate Larabars.  I will make this one day, as well.  Dates are pure sugar, btw.  I try to avoid sugar, but sometimes, it's just unavoidable.  Besides, I don't want to be an extremist, unless my health were at stake.

Chamomile Smoothie

Chamomile Smoothie

I'm such a chamomile tea fan.  It's my favorite tea!  When I saw this on Lish's Facebook page, I knew that I'd have to make it one day (but not today).  I'll post on this blog along with a picture when I make it!

slow and steady wins the race

For Thursday, September 20, 2012:

Calorie Summary

Calorie consumption: 2365 Cal;
Exercise calories burned: 204 Cal
Net calories consumed: 2161 Cal

Exercise Summary

•  hundred pushup week 4 day 2
• Workout below which I saw on Lish of Bodyrock's Facebook page.  I completed in 3 rounds in 21 minutes.  I think I can do it in 18, because there were moments when I was just standing there trying to catch my breath.

Since I've been back from San Diego, I've been feeling malaise and tired.  I slept a lot yesterday.  I also ate more short ribs.  It's amazing that I even got the above workout in because I was definitely low energy.  BTW, this workout is no joke.  There were a few times that I thought about quitting, but I didn't because I wanted to get a workout in to burn calories.  I think I'm feeling overwhelmed by this 1.5 pound goal that I set for myself.  I've gained half a pound this week.  I would like to regroup and get myself together. I think I'm putting too much pressure on myself and am being unrealistic.  Like the title of my blog says: Slow and steady wins the race. So instead of being super aggressive, I'll take what I can get.  I am generally focused.  I exercise frequently (at least 5x / week) and I try to eat healthy (which I generally have success at).  If I keep my eye on the prize (hot bod, fitness, being able to go on adventures and keep up with peers), I should be able to make slow and steady progress.

Right now, I'm in between jobs.  I think once I get settled, I'm going to start doing weekend hikes (to meet my goal of trying to be outdoorsy).

So today, there are no more short ribs (because I ate them all.  THANK GOD!).  I have taken this 1.5 weight loss by Monday burden off my shoulder (in theory).  I should be ready to get back to basics: eat within calorie limit, exercise, have fun. 

Also, I haven't been enjoying running.  It's weird that I'm putting in the effort to meet goals (run faster) and am making progress in meeting goals, but I'm not enjoying it.  The process sucks.  I'm not getting much satisfaction out of the outcome, because I'm still dreading the next run.  I want to enjoy the process and enjoy the sense of accomplishment.  I really need to simplify.  I think I'm going too fast.  I think my short term goal should be to just run and stop judging myself based on how fast I run.  Once I can run, and running 3 miles is no sweat / walk in the park, I will begin to focus on speed.  With this in mind, today, I HAVE TO GET MY ASS OUT THE DOOR AND RUN WEEK 7 DAY 3 OF C25K!!  (but not right now.  It's freaking hot outside)

Stop wishing, start doing.

Calorie Summary

Calorie consumption: 1625 Cal;
Exercise calories burned: 303 Cal
Net calories consumed: 1323 Cal

Exercise Summary

• NTC -> Get Lean -> Beginner -> Crunch + Burn

I went to a Bible Study tonight.  Every week,  people take turns bringing dinner for everyone to enjoy.  The person tonight (I'll call her Tracy) brought short ribs.  When she said short ribs, I thought that she had no idea what she was talking about because short ribs are just too amazing.  It's just impossible that someone would bring something so wonderful.  And if it really were true, it must suck because everything just sounded too good to be true.  Well, it was true, and the short ribs were amazing. I tried to control myself and think about the goal that I set yesterday.  I ended up helping myself to seconds after the Bible study.  I'm trying to figure out why I did this.  I think I was just so excited about the food.  The noodles (and rice) were cooked perfectly.  I seriously have not eaten such perfect noodles (or rice) in such a long time.  So what did I learn from this experience?

• Short ribs and chocolate chip cookies are my nemesis.  I'm not going to stay away from ribs but I must exercise extreme caution and be vigilant when I encounter this giant road block
• I have a choice.  Yes, eating is a choice.  I have power over the freaking cookie or the short ribs; they do not have power over me.  In my excitement, I lost control.  In fact, there was also a lot of peer pressure going on as well.  It wasn't direct peer pressure, it was just other people eating, and the bringer of food being generous, offering to let me take a bowl home.  There was just so many forces telling me indirectly "Do it!!  So easy!  Everyone else is doing it.  Embrace it! Love it!  Do it!"  So I did.  I do not like this choice I made.  I want to chase aggressively after my goal.  I need an eating mantra.  OK.  Bodyrock to the rescue:  Stop wishing, start doing.  This is a good one.  I need to make good choices instead of wishing I could make good choices.  I am not a victim of the short rib.  I am in control!!!

I am very impressed that I was able to make it through a 45 minute NTC.  This would not have been possible a month ago.  This must mean that I'm getting stronger.  Hooray for fitness!

C25K Week 7 Day 2 - Am I ever going to enjoy running?

Calorie Summary

Calories consumed: 1600
Calories burned: 349
Net Calories: 1251

Exercise Summary

• C25K Week 7 Day 2
• Hundred pushups week 4 day 1
• Tone It Up Fine Toning Arms Routine
• Fitness Blender Kelli's Quick Cool Down and Stretch

Good news, I keep on getting faster and faster on my runs.  Towards the end of today's run, I really wanted to go faster so I can reach the end of the road before my 25 minutes were up.  I could only go so fast because my muscles were en fuego!  I realized that if I want to get even faster, I'm going to need to build up some muscle endurance.  So, I guess I will be doing a lot more squats, lunges, jump squats, jump lunges, jump / knee tucks, etc.. in the near future.  Yet again, I kept on wondering when the jog was going to be over.

Will there ever be a day when I don't want my jog to end?  This week's C25K jogs seem so daunting.  Last week's jogs seem like cake in comparison. I think I can physically jog a 5K.  The reason I don't enjoy the jogs is because I am just not mentally there yet.  By this time next week, I will think that jogging for 25 minutes is no sweat / a walk in the park.  I need more mental endurance.

I believe that the occasional burst of speed during my runs has helped me run farther.  I listen to the Katy Perry station on Pandora during my runs which generally has up tempo music.  During the chorus of songs, I try to run a bit faster to build up speed and endurance.  I don't do this during all the choruses of my run because I don't have the endurance to do such a thing yet.  I fear that if I did this during all the choruses, I will get so tired during that I will get so discouraged and stop.  I only do this when I have the energy and am feeling pretty good (which is generally towards the beginning or end of my run).  But, apparently, it's helped build endurance.  I wonder if I should challenge my fear and try to run faster during all the choruses to see what happens.


 I've decided that I need to stretch more because my muscles are constantly sore.  I did this quick stretch routine by Fitness Blender which I found highly efficient.  I'm doubtful with regards to how effective it is.

I'm also subscribed to the LivestrongWoman channel on Youtube.  I subscribed for two reasons:  First, it's constantly on the top 50 of most watched Youtube channels.  I'm very curious as to why.  Second, Cassey of Blogilates has a pilates show on the channel.  These two girls called toneitup post workout videos filmed in Hermosa every Tuesday and they look pretty straightforward.  This was a very good video, but there was one bent over back fly move that was very difficult.  Overall, I like Cassey's arm videos much better because I find those to be more challenging.

I've gone off the hundred pushup wagon, which I am not very happy about.  Today, I tried to get back on the wagon and had a difficult time.  I might've regressed in my pushup abilities during my hiatus from the program.  I would like to hop back on the wagon and continue to improve and achieve pecs of steel!

I would've had a good eating day except my uncle brought over some stir fried rice noodles.  I haven't had rice noodles in forever.  I ate a bowl of it, logged my calories in LoseIt, and realized that I made a big mistake.  It was over 400 calories (I might be over estimating).  I would like to be more careful the next time I eat a pure carb item.

I've been reading this blog called No More Harvard Debt which has been inspiring for a few reasons.  The author, Joe, had a goal, to pay off $90K in student loans in 10 months, which he aggressively pursued. I wonder if he ever had any doubts about whether he would be able to attain his goals.  He was so aggressive that he skipped out on friend's bachelor parties, weddings, and a trip home for Christmas.  Second, his blogs have an element of story telling and lessons learned which makes it very compelling.  This weight loss thing has been a lifelong struggle.  I've been inspired to be a lot more aggressive in losing weight (or going after any goal) and keeping an eye on the prize.  I talk a bit about my exercises but I think I can go into a bit more detail.  So, Mr. Joe, thanks for inspiring!

So, my goal this week is to lose 1.5 pounds.  I weighed 155.6 yesterday.  I would like to weight 154 at 10 AM on 9/24/12.  Let us see if I have the discipline to do this!

Facing the scale after a weekend wedding extravaganza

 Calorie Summary

I went to San Diego for my friend's wedding this weekend.  I intended to let myself go crazy by 1500 calories for one meal.  I didn't even last 1 hour.  My friend hosted a beach BBQ on Friday and her dad made these amazing chocolate chip cookies (best ever).  Once I had a bite of the cookie, it was game over.  I just realized that chocolate chip cookies might be a trigger food for me. For the weekend, I went 1700 calories over my budget (for 3 days).  I'd say that I did pretty good.  This takes into consideration dancing at the reception, kayaking in Mission Bay during the beach BBQ, and jogging along the ocean the morning of the wedding.

Exercise Summary

• C25K wk 7 day 1 - Besides being able to witness 2 of my good friends get married, the highlight of my weekend was being able to drag my ass out of bed and go jogging along the beach before enjoying breakfast with friends.  I noticed that there's a lot more female joggers than male joggers.  Why is that?
• NTC -> Get toned -> beginner -> tighten up - When I got back home today, I knew I needed to do something to mitigate the effects of the weekend. I chose a 45 minute workout.  It looked doable, and nice way to get back into the groove.  Well, I did it.

Weigh in

The first thing I did after I got home was jump on the scale.  What a freaking pleasant surprise.  I weighed the same as before I went to San Diego.  This sets me back a week, considering before the trip, I had lost 2 pounds from the week before (153.6).  I now weigh 155.6 which is the same as the last time I "officially" weighed in.

Goals for the week

I just want want to get back into the groove.

• sleep at reasonable hour (midnight).  Wake up at reasonable hour (6 or 7)
• eat within calorie budget

Unable to run today

 Calorie Summary

Calorie consumption: 1418 Cal;
Exercise calories burned: 247 Cal
Net calories consumed: 1171 Cal

Exercise Summary

 Was not able to run today as I had a few meetings that occupied me.  I don't want to run in the evening because there's West Nile in Texas and mosquitoes come out at night.  I ended up doing

• week 4 day 3 of hundred pushup plan.  OMG, I'm going to have to do week 4 AGAIN!!  Day 3 just freaking killed me.  For the 3rd round, I could only do 24 pushups instead of 29.
• NTC-> get toned -> beginner -> body flexor - I chose this, instead of jump start (which I did 3 minutes of yesterday), because I thought it would be easy.  Well, it wasn't.  There weren't any crazy froggers, knee tucks, or drills of that nature (mountain climbers are OK), but still, it was tough.  I thought the lunges and squats would be no sweat.  I was thinking to myself, "squats and lunges are nothing.  Those are the easiest parts of NTC."  WRONG!  My ass was en fuego.  It was begging for mercy during the last 2 minutes of this workout.  But I pushed through.

Also, I'd like to give an update on my goals from last week.  I wanted to have lights out by midnight.  Eyes open by 6:30.  FAIL!! I went to sleep later than ever.  What the heck.

So, my new goals from the week:

• be organized - have more direction in a day
• discipline - do what I plan to do (as far as work and productivity is concerned)
• Ok, I guess I'll try to get on a regular sleep schedule again.  Lights out by midnight
• This weekend will be a wedding extravaganza in San Diego.  It'll be 2 days of parties.  I'm only going to let myself go during one of the meals (I've chosen night of the wedding).  I'll limit myself to 2 champagnes and  1500 calories for the evening.  This is still a major splurge, but it's a controlled splurge.

weigh in

Calorie Summary

Calorie consumption: 1632 Cal;
Exercise calories burned: 459 Cal
Net calories consumed: 1142 Cal

Exercise Summary

A workout from Lish of BodyRock TV's Facebook page - pretty fun.

C25K week 6 day 3 - I did it.  I wasn't in the mood to exercise again.  I did OK.  I think that I'm not going all out during my runs because I am afraid I'm going to lose steam towards the end of the jog and I'll feel like dying.  In the beginning, I was actually thinking about quitting, and then I thought about this picture posted on Lisa of Bodyrock's Facebook page:

 

Helped me to stay in the game.  Well, for the past 2 weeks, despite the fact that I've been eating and exercising under my calorie limit, I haven't been losing weight.  Maybe I need to step up my exercise game.  Lisa was knocking out home runs on her Facebook page today.  This illustration actually got me out the door to jog:



Well, I've been overweight for so long.  I'm not sure if I feel pain or maybe I'm just used to the pain.

Yesterday, I did a super fun workout from Fitness Magazine August 2008.  It was super fun!! It is so much better than any magazine workout that I've done since I've been home.  Definitely going to do it again.

Also, yesterday I did week 4 day 2 of hundred day pushup.  Almost died.  So hard.  I'll get to hundred pushups, one day.

Finally, I'm about to do the following:



I got it from Lish of BodyRock's Facebook page. I guess BodyRock is knocking it out of the park today.

C25K Week 6 Day 2

Calorie Summary

Calorie consumption: 1695 Cal;
Exercise calories burned: 258 Cal
Net calories consumed: 1438 Cal

Exercise Summary

• C25K Week 6 Day 2
• Hundred pushups week 4 day 1 - yup, decided to redo week 4 because I was barely eeking out pushups during Fitness Blender's HIIT.  In one minute, I was struggling to do 24 pushups and my pecs were en fuego.  Plus I started week 5 today and realized it was a bit tough

Once again, I was in no mood to exercise today.  I took the C25K a bit easy and jogged at an easy rate.  When I came home, and saw how fast I was ran, I was a bit disappointed.  Then during dinner time, I was wondering why I was disappointed because I really did not want to run today.  I gave what I could.  Then I started to think about what my goals are with exercise. At the end of the day, these goals are what's important, because if I'm exercising just to exercise, then there's no reason to be disappointed.  Well, without further, here are some of my goals:

• lose weight - 160 to 135 (even 120).  I'm Ellen Page and Christina Aguilara's height.  They're in the 120s (or even less).  I think 120 is a bit aspirational.
• be able to do outdoor nature activities- my brother is hiking the Camino de Santiago in Spain right now.  I'm a bit jealous.  I want to be able to do this one day.  I also just want to be able to just plain hike some of trails in the US, i.e. Appalachian Trail or even some of the more advanced trails in California.  I'd like to be able to backpack the Yosemite.  I guess what I'm trying to say is that I would like to
• attain a baseline level of fitness. I'll use certain performance indicators to measure my fitness:  
• I want to run 10 mph for 5k
• 10 one-legged squats with ease.  Get down low!!
• froggers for one minute.  Yes, even the Bodyrock folk struggle with this, but I want to be able to do it
• Half moon pose in yoga
• Jeanette Jenkins ab workout in NTC

I didn't just pull these goals out of my ass.  If I want to ski gracefully down a mountain as well do some outdoor nature activities such as hike, I will need both conditioning and balance.  I think being able to meet the above performance indicators will help me be able to participate in social outdoor activities more easily.  So, should I be upset about the fact that I took it easy jogging to today?  I think there's still a lot to be happy about.  Jogging helps me lose weight. As long I'm working to meet at least one of my goals, I'm golden.

Fitness Blender HIIT Workout for Beginners

Calorie Summary

Calorie consumption: 1616 Cal;
Exercise calories burned: 272 Cal
Net calories consumed: 1344 Cal

Exercise Summary

• Fitness Blender Body Firming HIIT Workout for Beginners - liked a lot.  Fun.  Will do again
• Blogilates Waist Slimming Pop Pilates to Wings by Little Mix - did not like
• Bodyrock Lean Lovers Workout - split lunges are so freaking tough as are the froggers.  I was only able to complete the first set of exercises once in the first, fifth, and ninth minutes

I don't know.  I just wasn't in the mood to exercise today.  I'm very proud of me for powering through the Bodyrock exercise.  I originally started and stopped because I got confused.  But after I figured out how to do the exercises, I made up my mind to complete 3 rounds of the workout.  Pure torture.  High five to me for powering through.

C25K Week 6 day 1

Calorie Summary

Calorie consumption: 1381 Cal;
Exercise calories burned: 299 Cal
Net calories consumed: 1135 Cal

Exercise Summary

• C25k Week 6 day 1
• Bexlife - Toned BICEPS & ARMS in 12 Minutes - Upper Body Workout 

Weekly Goals
Even though it's Tuesday, I've decided that it's nice to have goals.

• Lights out by midnight.  Wake up at 6 AM
• Try a new exercise video every day

There's an alum from Anderson who's opened up a Menchie's near my house. Menchie's is my favorite frozen yogurt joint next to Pinkberry.  After spotting this in Houston near my house, I've been wanting to go.  I finally took the plunge and went because I had a conversation with the owner yesterday, asking him general questions about the food and retail business.  I love Menchie's, but I haven't had a heavy dose of sugar in awhile (yesterday's tres leches cake doesn't count).  I could feel my blood sugar spiking as I drove out of the parking lot.


I thought today would be super easy on C25K, considering I ran for 20 minutes straight 2 days ago.  WRONG.  I know that I was pushing myself.  Also, I must've accidentally paused my app during my workout when I was adjusting my iphone arm band because I have no idea how long the last leg my jog lasted.  All I know is that I was waiting for a very long time for the app to tell me that I had 1 minute left.  Eventually, I could not wait anymore and when I checked the app, it was waiting for me to start the day's workout.  That is when I started walking.

I recently found out that I had resistant bands at my house and wanted to try them out.  Today I wanted to work my arms and found the above Bexlife workout which included resistant bands. SCORE!  Well, the resistant bands are pretty old, and probably haven't been touched in 2 or 3 years.  30 seconds into the workout, my resistant band broke.  No problem, I have more resistant bands.  Well, 3 exercises into the workout, the other band broke.  At that point, I gave up on resistant bands and used 5 lb. and 1 lb. weights to complete the workout.  My back in BURNING!!!

Labor Day BBQ

Calorie Summary

Calorie consumption: 1529 Cal;
Exercise calories burned: 239 Cal
Net calories consumed: 1196 Cal

Exercise Summary

• Fitness Blender Bodyweight Coardio Training + Lower Body Strength - 37 Minute Butt & Thigh Workout - Holy cow, I definitely lost the spring in my step towards the end of the first half.  I was dying during lunge pulses and squat pulses
• hundred pushup exhaustion test - 40 pushups

I faced my weakness today at a Labor BBQ - Galbi.  I cannot say I handled it with aplomb.  I ended up eating 600 calories of short ribs and tres leches cake (another weakness).  I will get better at flexing my discipline muscle.

Fitness is like marriage

Calorie Summary

Calorie consumption: 1601 Cal;
Exercise calories burned: 459 Cal
Net calories consumed: 1142 Cal

Exercise Summary

• C25K week 5 day 3 - I did it!  The last time I ran 2 miles for exercise, I was running at a 12 minute / mile pace and was training for a 10k.  Today, I ran this at an 11 minute/mile pace.  Yowzas!!
• ZWOW #32 - Show Me Your Strength - finished in 12:47.  The side hops were no joke.  I could not continuously jump 60 jumps like Zuzana did.  I needed occasional breathers. She did the exercises in 10.  That woman is a beast.  Then she went on to run a mile.  I ran my 2 miles before this exercise because I didn't want to risk not being able to make it.  I also took a dinner break.  Plus, it looks like she lives in a nice hilly neighborhood in LA.  I jogged in flat Houston.
• Bexlife Fat Free Abs Workout - my abs were beat.  Don't know why I did this.
• Yesterday, I did hundred pushups program week 4 day 3.  I barely eeked out 40 pushups at the end.  I am more comfortable doing the standard pushups but they are a lot harder than on the knees pushups.

Really happy with my eating today.  I knew that I was going to dim sum for lunch.  I had no idea how many calories that would be, but I knew that when I was there, I needed to be mindful.  I ate everything that I wanted to eat, but only ate half a turnip cake, taro cake, or bean curd sheet roll.  I also knew that I needed to exercise if I wanted to come in under my calorie limit.  I procrastinated running, but Cassey of Blogilates sent out a really great motivator to those who are signed up for her newsletter.  She had a really great picture with an illustration that read "Fitness is like marriage.  You can't cheat on it and expect it to work." She went on to say "You must stay committed. Be true yourself. And your goals, whether it be reaching a new level of fitness, living a healthier life, or sculpting the body of your dreams, will manifest."

Also, I confirmed that I want to keep elbows in during pushups by watching this workout.   It's by Turbulence Training.  If I ever go workout at the gym (which I do occasionally), I will try one of his workouts.  They seem pretty good and fun.

Finally, I decided that I will weigh in tomorrow.

Hot Leg Show workout

Calorie Summary
Calories consumed: 1521
Calories exercised: 517
Net calories: 1347

Exercise Summary

• Bodyrock Hot Leg Show workout

I didn't eat as much because I was out and about running around all day.  I barely had time to eat.  I'm in Texas where there are quite a bit of Jimmy John's establishments.  I normally live in California,  where there aren't a lot of Jimmy John's.  As I was out running errands yesterday, I was excited to see a Jimmy John's, and I wasted no time to eat there for lunch.  I found that a #6 vegetarian 8" sub sandwich was a bit much, even though I ate the whole thing.  I didn't want to leave just 5 bites (because really, would 5 bites of sandwich satisfy any type of hunger or desire?  I did not think so), so I ate the whole thing.  Very delicious.  Maybe I should've left those 5 bites, because I left Jimmy John's feeling stuffed.

I knew I was going to hang out with friends during the evening and that there would be lots of food.  I've been in this situation before, so I knew what to expect.  I knew I would have to flex my self discipline muscle, but I didn't know whether the food would be super high calorie density items such as chilaquiles.  So to give myself some caloric buffer to meet my calorie goals for the day, I knew I had to exercise.  I was dreading it.  I procrastinated.  But at the last hour, I did it.  My butt was burning!!  It was quite intense.  Plus, I was had dietary self discipline success eating with my friends. I'm weighing in tomorrow.  Let's see how I do!

C25K Week 5 Day 2

Calorie Summary
Calories consumed: 1793
Calories exercised: 365
Net calories: 1428

Exercise Summary

• C25K Week 5 day2
• Hundred pushups week 4 day 2.  Today was so hard.  I broke out in sweat while doing pushups.  Check my progress here.
• Bodyrock Sexy Satisfaction workout

Went to Fidelity and Costco.  Learned my lesson from last time: avoid the free cookies at Fidelity.  Be mindful with the free food at Costco. As a result, I did not go overboard with my snacking.

I woke up early to go jogging (i.e. 6 AM early).  Week 5 of C25k is very daunting because the whole program, I've had a chance to take walk breaks.  Suddenly, on day 3, I need to run for 20 minutes straight.  Well, today, I ran for 8, walked for 5, and ran for 8 more.  The first 8 minutes were no sweat.  I was almost dying the last 8 minutes.  It wasn't muscle fatigue.  It's more like serious huffing and puffing.  I wonder if this is an indication that my V02 max can use improvement.  Although I am quite pleased with my running pace today (10:36 mile), one of my goals in life is to run an under 10 minute mile.  To do so, I'm thinking I need to improve V02 max, which can be done by sustaining a fast run for 2-5 minutes as indicated by this Runner's World article, which is what I did today.  I think what this article is saying is that I need to push myself for a sustained period of time.  Now, I have no idea how I'm going to do on Saturday, when I need to run for 20 minutes, but I hope today's 8 minute of sustained V02max will help me have more endurance.

I started doing the Sexy Satisfaction workout.  I actually completed two rounds.  I don't know why I quit.  Actually, yes I do.  This workout is filled with pushups.  The press and kick is pretty tough.  I think I'm going to try again today.  After attempting 2 rounds, I went to look at myself in the mirror and saw what appears to be the beginnings of a six pack trying to appear from a layer a fat. :) Weird, but cool.  I guess Bodyrock really works.

Body Rock Hot Touch

This is a review of 8/29:


Calorie Summary
Calories consumed: 1735 Cal
Calories burned while exercising: 218 Cal
Net calories: 1516 Cal


Exercise Summary

• BodyRock Hot Touch workout
• 1/2 of Fitness Blender Ski Conditioning Workout

I'm quite happy with my day.  I need to be more mindful when I snack on nuts.  I did 3 rounds of this BodyRock.  I need to start counting how many of each exercise I do.  The hardest one is still froggers.  My goal is to be able to do a full minute of froggers.

I only did half of the ski workout as it was getting late.  I learned to not start working out at 10 pm.

Also, I tried to do some normal pushups (i.e. pushups that aren't on my knees).  Despite the fact that I'm going through the 100 pushup program and making progress on the # of knee pushups I can do, standard pushups are still freaking difficult.  I could barely eek out 10!!  

C25K Week 5 Day 1

Calorie Summary

Let's be honest.  My weekend eating sucked.  I went 1000 calories over my calorie budget on both Saturday and Sunday.  I felt ashamed, gained weight, and felt disgusting.  One of the days, the food wasn't even that great!  It was just interesting food at a pot luck.  The second day, my family and I went to a Chinese restaurant.  2 lobsters for $16!!  How can you beat that deal.  Everything was SO good.  It was 100% my favorite.  What is the lesson learned - It wasn't worth it.  My binge set me back 1 or 2 weeks.  That's a lot!


Exercise Summary

• On Saturday I vacuumed
• On Sunday, I C25K Week 4 day 3
• Sunday, I did hundred pushups week 3 day 3.  check my progress here
• I think I 45 minutes of elliptical on Monday, 8/27.  That's it.  
• 8/28: C25 Week 5 Day 1 - dude, it was easy compared to week 4.  Is this normal?
• 8/28: Began week 4 of hundred pushups.  I am getting there!!  Not sure how much I should be struggling, but I feel like I'm struggling through the last 2 sets.  Also, not sure how I should have my elbows during pushups.  Should they be against my body?  Or should they fold outwards? It feels different in my pecs, depending on which way my elbow goes.

New Widget and Sexy and Tight Workout

Calorie Summary

Calorie consumption: 1445 Cal;
Exercise calories burned: 287 Cal
Net calories consumed: 1275 Cal


Exercise Summary

• C25K week 4 day 2 - outdoor run!  Very nice.
• One minute of NTC Jeanette Jenkins Hollywood Ab Blast (yes I only did 1 minute of planks)
• 4 minutes of BodyRock Sexy and Tight Workout
• 1.5 minutes of NTC Core Crunch

Fabulous eating day.  Ok exercise day.  I did 1 minute of plank and I didn't think I was going to make it, but I did.  But that was too hard, so I started to casually go through all the exercises in Ab Blast just to mentally prepare for what was to come.  I attempted to do forearm plank balances.  FAIL.  I totally collapsed.  Everything else I could do (without considering fatigue).  I moved on.  Decided to attempt the lastest Bodyrock.  Then decided that it was too hard.  Freddy said if I was a beginner, I should only do 1 round, which is what I did.  I regret only doing one round.  I should've attempted another round.  After my 1 round of Bodyrock, I decided to attempt Core Crunch.  FAIL.  I think 1 minute of planks totally killed me.  Well, I've decided that I am totally going to do one of the NTC ab workouts tomorrow.  I've got my mind made up.  I'm going for it!!

Oh yes, I got new running shoes over the weekend.  LOVE THEM!!  Asics GT 2170.  I feel like I'm running on clouds.  What a different new shoes make!  Today was my second time running in them.

Total Adrenaline!!!

My new scale came today!!!!!  I love it and recommend it.  It's nothing special, just a plain digital scale.  It's by Eat Smart and you can find it on Amazon.  I don't think it's carried at brick and mortar retail.  I weighed myself, and happily discovered that I've lost 1.5 lb since my last weigh in.  Happiness.

After a week of not blogging, I looked over my blog and realized that it's confusing.  From now on, I will add more labels so you will know what I'm talking about.

Calorie Summary

Calorie consumption: 1893 Cal;
Exercise calories burned: 233 Cal
Net calories consumed: 1660 Cal


Exercise Summary

• NTC Total Adrenaline (get strong -> beginner)
• the hardest part of this was the walking lunges at the beginning.  As far as NTCs are concerned, I think this is the easiest one I've done so far. Either that, or my conditioning is getting pretty good.
• Hundred pushups - week 3 day 1 - check my progress here.  KILLED ME!!!  Things started getting hard on the 3rd set.  When I saw that for my last set, I needed to do at least 20 pushups, I was seriously concerned.  Didn't think I would be able to do it. I ended up doing 28.  Minor victories keep me going on.

I ate a chocolate bon bon, not that it's bad.  But I just ate it because it was there.  Plus, because I hardly eat sweets, I got a major headache post consumption.  I also had a snack, that left me uncomfortably full but not stuffed.  These all contributed to going over my calorie budget.  Lesson learned, eat when hungry.  If not hungry, don't eat.

I chose Total Adrenaline because it looked pretty easy.  I broke a sweat but there was never a crazy struggle.  Next time I do this, I will up the intensity by doing things a bit faster, but still controlled.

I broke major sweat while doing the pushup program.

Tomorrow, c25k!  Dread.  The last c25k was rough.  

Training insane on the treadmill

Yesterday was weigh day but I had no intentions of going to the gym.  Therefore, I could not weigh myself.  I bit the bullet and purchased a digital scale from Amazon.  It should arrive tomorrow.  I really like my goals from last week so I will use them again.

My goals for the week are as follows:

• Eat between 1200 and 1400 Calories / day - net
• Drink more water
• Choose happiness, contentment, and thankfulness
• Be more resourceful with my time.  No internet shopping!!

Calorie consumption: 1553 Cal;
Exercise calories burned: 259 Cal
Net calories consumed: 1294 Cal

• Couch to 5k Week 4 Day 1
• A 10 minute ab workout from Fitness Magazine August 2008 - (there were challenging moments and there were cakewalk moments)

Since my last post, there are a few things to note:

1.  NTC is getting easier, most notably Core Crunch.
2.  I did NTC Body Sculptor yesterday.  Single Leg Clock Squats totally broke me.  I want to get better at these!
3.  Ski exercise is getting easier.  This has single leg squats which suck, too!!  I will master this because I want to be a graceful skier.
4. C25k today was amazing!!  I nearly died.  I was running pretty fast (for me): 5.2 mph.  I had the treadmill on random, and it was giving me crazy hills.  I had to slow down.  But then, the last 5 minutes, I decided to keep up with my faster pace and I kept on telling myself "mind over matter" and I kept on trying to focus on other things such as counting.  Well, I did it.  I feel proud.  If I can do it once, I can do it again.  Hopefully next time it will be a lot easier.

I have this scrapbook of workouts that are clippings from magazines.  I'm trying to go through these and figure out whether these workouts are any good.  If they aren't, then there's no need to keep them.  Well, this ab workout had highs and lows.  I think blogilates or anything on Youtube is better.  I will persist in going through my workout scrapbook though.

Week 1 Weigh In

Good news!  I've lost 1.0 lb. this week!  I don't have a digital scale at home so I'm going to start using the scale at the gym and weigh in on Sundays or Mondays.

My goals for the week are as follows:

• Eat between 1200 and 1400 Calories / day - net
• Drink more water
• Choose happiness, contentment, and thankfulness

Sunday:

Calorie consumption: 1510 Cal; Avg. HR - 132
Exercise calories burned: 230 Cal
Net calories consumed: 1280 Cal

• Couch to 5k Week 3 Day 1
• Exhaustion test of 100 pushup challenge.  Check my progress here.  Turns out I didn't to do this.  I could've moved on to week 2
• NTC core crunch

Jogging was exhausting.  I think I'm going at it too hard.  My HR isn't through the roof, though.  I just felt like I was starting to get a headache which is a sign of dehydration.  I might need to drink more water.  Between today and tomorrow, I will drink more water.

Core crunch has gotten tougher.  At least I'm finishing the workouts.  I discovered that I'm using hip flexors instead of abs for some of these exercises.  I need to modify my form for the future.

Beware of the Panera Bread Chocolate Chipper!!

Friday:

Calorie consumption: 1492 Cal
Exercise calories burned: 188 Cal
Net calories consumed: 1303 Cal

• walked for 45 minutes
• Day 3 of Week 1 of 100 pushup challenge.  Check my progress here.  Remember, I'm doing pushups on the knees, so don't think I'm some amazing pushup wizard.

I said I was going to take a day off but I lied.  I ended up walking around the neighborhood at a comfortably brisk pace for 45 minutes.  I remembered that I needed to finish up my week 1 of 100 pushup challenge and did it later in the night.  My muscles were super tired and I just wasn't into it.


Saturday:

Calorie consumption: 2072 Cal
Exercise calories burned: 438 Cal
Net calories consumed: 1635 Cal

• Elliptical  
• Half assed effort on the BodyRock We Are Young workout
• Good Time Flow Yin yoga

I was feeling so blah today and really just didn't want to do anything.  Ok, let's be real, I was feeling depressed and I don't know why.  There was 0 motivation to do anything.  I didn't even want to have fun.  I decided to go to the gym and once my car was on the road, I felt better.  I realized that I just needed to get out of the house and see some people.  After the gym, I went to Panera to eat dinner and work on a journal article I'm writing with a professor from B-school.  I knew I was going to be at Panera for awhile and decided to buy a cookie.  Freaking delicious and evil 400 calorie cookie!!  I am just so mad that I didn't check to see how many calories that cookie had before I ate it.  Also, I was totally full when I ate that cookie.  The cookie was putting me over the edge.  Why did I not stop!?!?!?

When I came home, I felt the need to do something.  So I did this BodyRock workout, without pushups, because the 100 pushup challenge is my first priority.  I also am getting freaked out by my tight hips so I did this yoga workout that was also on the BodyRock site.  The commenters mentioned that it made their hips feel good and one of my goals for the day was to find some online yoga videos.

POP Pilates Butt Blaster

Calorie consumption: 1589 Cal
Exercise calories burned: 393 Cal
Net calories consumed: 1196 Cal

• Elliptical  
• Pop Pilates: Butt Blaster

I am exhausted today.  Butt Blaster was super hard.  I started doing the ski workout but just couldn't make it through the 2nd group of exercises.  I'm taking the day off tomorrow.  I might have been overzealous with my workout plans, as my legs are starting to get tired.  I'm going to take a step back and slowly ease into exercise.

Completed Core Crunch

Today's calorie consumption: 1529 Cal
Exercise calories burned: 311 Cal
Net calories consumed: 1218 Cal

• Couch to 5k Week 2 Day 3 - max HR - 177; avg HR 140
• Hundred pushups - Week 1 day 2.  Check my progress here.
• NTC - core crunch 
• Blogilates - BIKINI BLASTER 4: Awesomesauce Arms

Did awesome on couch to 5k.  Ran around the neighborhood.  I think I was running faster than a 12 minute mile which I am ecstatically happy about.  I hope I can keep this up.  I enjoy running to the Killers Pandora station while I run outdoors.

Core crunch freaking killed me.  I did this in the late afternoon and pushups in the late morning.  Finished the whole workout, but it took me longer than 15 minutes.  Doing the pushups in the morning made the plank in core crunch extra difficult (as in I had to go onto my forearms to complete).  I also took super long breaks between circuits.  In fact, I started slowing down one and a half minutes into the workout.  My goal is to be able to finish this workout in 15 minutes.  Needless to say, this workout is going into my repertoire.

I think the pushups made awesomesauce arms very difficult to. I felt like my arms were going to fall off (which I didn't feel last week).  I didn't do the pushup portion of this exercise.