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

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!!

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.

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!  

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.

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 :)

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)

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!

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.

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.

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.  

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.

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.