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!