No Excuses

I'm feeling better, and that's good.  I made it to Zumba Saturday and Sunday, and Body Pump Monday...where I tweaked my back. That's the only way I can describe it. I've done it before, it's a pain in my lower back that happens mostly at the beginning of the day or when I bend.  It can be quite excruciating.  I saw a doctor the last time this happened, about 6 months ago and he just gave me a side eye with a Tylenol 3 prescription.


Old Erica would have used this as an excuse to give up.  New Erica sees it as an obstacle that needs creative solutions.

The first thing New Erica did Tuesday morning was watch a yoga video, and do some of the basic stretches to try to work on my back. Old Erica would have never said "My back hurts, maybe I should try yoga."

New Erica was feeling better in the afternoon, and although the pain was still there, it was controlled.  New Erica decided to do a light day of Zumba.  Old Erica would have sat on the couch feeling sorry for herself.

New Erica went to weigh in on Wednesday and lost 1.2 lbs. She worked her tail off this week, and ate on plan and was hoping for more.  Old Erica might go eat McDonald's and feel sorry for herself.  New Erica looked up a new recipe for dinner tonight and did some more Zumba.

Are we seeing the difference?  New Erica (that's me by the way) is realizing that there's really no excuse good enough.  There's no excuse not to watch what you eat, and there's no excuse not to exercise.  I feel better after I do it, more refreshed, and ready to do things with my children and engage in life.

1.2 lbs down this week.  Ready to hit 20 lbs next week, but if I don't, that's ok, I will do it the week after.  I won't stop.

Problems that aren't really problems

I don't have a lot of time to write. I've been busy being sick and then working my butt off.  But I wanted to share my problem that's not really a problem.

My yoga pants are too big.  My new ones I bought 4 weeks ago. I was in Zumba class, and I'm sure I gave the back half of the class a show because I was hiking my pants up every 30 seconds.

Being Sick: My Achillies Heel

So I've done Body for Life before. I've tried just working out and eating right before.  And I've done Weight Watchers before. A lot. I mean a lot.  I mean I've been on and off since I was 13 years old, so a lot.  Why do I keep joining? It works.  Except for the sabotage  and it's all me. And it could come from anywhere, anytime. Whether I just gave up, or I got pregnant, or I couldn't lose while breastfeeding, there was always something, and my most common something has been getting sick.

Guess what people? I'm sick.  I have been so incredibly motivated over the last two months that the thing I fear the most is going off the tracks, and sick does it to me more than anything else.  For every time I've given up because I got pregnant (valid excuse), I gave up 5 times because of a sickness.  It goes like this: I don't watch my calories, I don't exercise, and I rest.  That's what you are supposed to do when you are sick, right?  Get better.

Then I get better.  And I still don't watch my calories, or exercise.

And then even more time goes on and I'm back on the pizza and empty carbs and crap, and there goes the end of that.


NOT THIS TIME! NOT IN THIS HOUSE!

Sure as I write this post I'm pausing to have a coughing fit or blow my nose, and I did just take a couple of Nyquil so the next paragraph could be a doozy (and if you haven't seen the Leary sketch yet in your life, you should click on that link).  I digress.  The important part is that while I sat doped up this week in a balance of dayquil/nyquil coma fun times, while my kids watched entirely too much tv, I accomplished a few things.

1. I made 2 playlists.

• List A: A list of songs that vary by strategic intensity for doing cardio HIIT
• List B: A nice list of songs for training for a 5K.  Which brings me to my next accomplishment.

2. I decided I'm going to run a 5K.  Now I don't just mean maybe someday I will run a 5K, I mean on July 14th I will run a 5K.  9 days before my 32nd birthday, I will have completed my first 5K.  This is no small feat as I have never even ran a mile before in my life.  So I can't do this alone can I?  Luckily, I have two of my older brothers, my husband, and my brother's lady to do it with me. This should be awesome.

That's about it for what I've actually done.  But something strange has happened which is that I cannot wait to exercise again. I really hope I can go get a solid block of sleep tonight, and run over to the gym and bang out the first date of my C25K program.

A girl can hope, and A girl can Run. 

PS. Did I mention I lost 2.2 lbs this week? Total is -17.4  Just wanted to make sure you all saw that.  WOOT!

There is no Try!

I think we all know that Yoda, fictional as he may be is wise.  But he never tried the Prone Jackknife.  I hereby give myself permission to sub this exercise temporarily with planks.

Since I've made public my commitment to fitness and weight loss, I've been getting comments that mostly fall into two categories.

The Unsure:

"Wow, you're lifting weights. I wouldn't do that until I was more fit, because it wouldn't help."

"I've never lifted weights before, I don't know how, I'm going to do xyz treadmill"

"Wow, you do a whole Zumba class, I don't think I could do that."

"You work out xyz days, you can take a break."

"I just couldn't find the time..."

When I hear these comments, I only let myself hear two things.  

A. These people are super impressed by how awesome I am.  

B.  They are really making comments about themselves and not me.

The Motivators:

"You can do it!"

"That's awesome"

"Let me show you how to do a dumbell snatch"

"Come do some planks with me!"

"You did a Zumba Class? Awesome!  Come do BodyPump with me."

"You wanna lift some weights?"

These people have previously found the motivation in themselves, or really do think I can do it.  I like to think they are also super impressed at how awesome I am.

NO EXCUSES:

Today I had plans to get to the 9:30 Zumba class.  Then my 2 yr old was up all night coughing, and my 4 yr old woke up with a stomach ache and a 102 temp.  No gym for me since I'm home alone this weekend.

Did I let that be my excuse to not workout? NO! The 4 yr old requested a nap (must really be sick), and I put the 2 yr old down too.  And I immediately started 65 intense minutes of Zumba/Dance central where I burned 720 calories according to my Heart Rate Monitor.  I brought it today.  No excuses.  And it was awesome. 

The 5% difference

I saw one of those Pinterest MEME's a few weeks ago that said it takes 4 weeks for you to notice change in your body, 8 weeks for your family, and 12 weeks for everyone else.  I can believe it, because it's been about 5-6 weeks and I can really tell the difference in my body.

I did an early weigh in on Monday night, because I was going to have a busy week and wanted to make it work.  I was down 2 lbs, and I usually weigh in the morning and this was a night weigh (so you know that's good!)  I blew past my 5%, and got to 14.8 lbs.  I'm going to guess with all the exercise this week that I have hit 15 lbs, and I had time so I took a few 15 lbs pictures.  I wanted to compare them with some from before, but there aren't very many of me.  So below is what you get.

My stats:
Weight: Down 14.8 lbs
Bust: -0.75 inches (I think it's more, because my boobs aren't popping out of these bras anymore.  That's a good sign.
Waist: -2.5 inches
Hips: -3.25 inches
Arms: -0.5 inches
Thighs: -1 inch

And here's a over 5%, "14.8 lb" before/after pic.  I think Oliver or Kellan is in pretty much every before picture of me, so enjoy.

Up in the Gym, Workin' on my Fitness

Zumba, Zumba, Zumba!

Since January 6th, I've done Zumba at home every day except 2.  That's over 30 days of Zumba.  I started doing a 20 minute routine, and being out of breath.  The last routine I did was 50 minutes, and I felt energized at the end.  These were all done on my Wii or Xbox 360 Kinect, and they pushed me greatly. I am burning about 500 kcal in a 45 minute routine.  My favorite by far is the Xbox Kinect Zumba Core video.

One thing I want to focus on is to continually challenge myself, so the next step for me was to take a real class.  Now, I don't just take a real class lightly.  In fact, I haven't taken a group fitness class in about 10 years, so this was a big step to me.  I decided yesterday that I was going to do this. I was going to go to the YMCA, and do the 9:30 am Zumba class.  I just needed something to keep me from chickening out, so I called up my friend Cori, and soon we had another friend along.

And we NAILED IT!  And by nailed it I mean something like this:

I survived my first Zumba class, burned upwards of 700 kcal.  The instructor was great, and made me feel completely comfortable, and I'm already looking at the schedule to see when I can go again.  After Zumba, Cori helped me start my first day of The New Rules of Lifting for Women.  I feel like it could be a little more intense overall, until I got to the Prone Jackknives   Yeah that is a picture of someone doing it.  You walk the ball out and then back in...15 times.  Let me tell you guys, it was not pretty.  But that's ok, I was doing it.  

It's amazing how going into the gym weight room with your head held high makes you approachable.  The PT came over and helped us with some form and tips for the Jackknives   Another guy helped me with my squat form, and figure out how to hook something up for a seated row.  I think old Erica would have curled up and died on the inside, wanting to remain invisible at the gym, but not this girl.  I'm totally fine if they see me as their gym charity case, I can and will use all the help I can get.  And I probably wouldn't have done all that today without my Cori.  

Now when do I get to Zumba again?

The Pepperoni Green Olive Pizza

This is my downfall. I crave nothing more than I crave the sweet saltiness of the pepperoni, green olive pizza.  Well maybe fake, cherry flavored candy, but lets focus on pizza.  Pizza is my ultimate nemesis, and I have needed to find a way to work with it, and not let the craving get so bad I fall off the wagon. The good part about Weight Watchers is that you really can eat anything you want.  You may need to use weekly points, and you just need to use moderation but you can have it if you want.  For instance, Wednesday night, Nick and I had Chipotle.  I used 26 points, and it was worth it.

But back to pizza:  How do I make something that's 10 points a slice, 10 points for a full meal of pizza?

Like this:
1 Flat out = 3 points
1/2 cup pasta sauce = 1 point
15 slices turkey pepperoni = 2 points
1/4 cup sliced green olives = 1 point
1 oz. shredded cheese = 3 points
Total = 10 points
Layer as you would a pizza, bake in the oven at 400 for 15 minutes.

For an extra 1-2 points, add a salad with dressing or some veggie sticks with some dip.  Today I ate a yellow bell pepper with my new favorite dip, the Bacon Ranch from Trader Joe's.  1 Tbsp=1 pt.

And now I'm happily satisfied, and still eating within the realm of my points.  Sure the pizza doesn't have a ton (if any) core foods and is a sodium haven, but it keeps me in line, and it's worth it.

Great first month

I haven't posted for a few weeks, because honestly where is the time?

I've been more motivated than ever, and so far it is showing.

My Weight Loss has been:

Week 1: -6.2 lbs
Week 2: -5.2 lbs
Week 3: -1.2 lbs
Week 4: -0.2 lbs
My total weight loss for my first month is -12.8 lbs.  My BMI went from 44.0 to 42.1.  I'm pretty proud of how I've done so far.  The low loss on week 4 was a bit disappointing  but I know that it's because I started lifting and my body is retaining water.  I expect to see big results this next week.

Things I've done great this past month:

1. I've been 100% on track.
2. I've exercised almost every day, with the exception of two days, sometimes more than once a day.
3. I've focused on eating core foods, with lots of veggies, fruits, protein and some healthy, whole grain carbs, with a moderate amount of healthy fats like olive and coconut oil.
4. I've focused on making sure I have a fruit or veggie available with each meal.
5. I've cut out the majority of Diet Coke I drink.  This is EPIC for me, because I used to drink 6-7 cans a day, and just through exercise and meeting my body's water cravings, I've dropped by Diet Coke consumption to 1-2 cans a day.  
6. I bought a HRM, and I've really used it to help motivate my workout.

My main exercise focus this month has been Zumba, and I've gone from barley being able to do 20 minutes at a moderate heart rate to 50 minutes at a high heart rate.  I've seen wonderous changes in my mood, focus, and energy level. It's quite incredible actually, and I'm so much happier now than I was a month ago.  I'm 100% sure that is due to diet and exercise change.

My Main Goals for this next month

1. Start Weight Lifting Program - I'm going to give The New Rules of Lifting for Women a shot.
2. Continue to track, and eat healthy core foods.
3. Continue to see overall loss on the scale.
4. Post on at least a weekly basis

My mantra for this month: Just Keep Swimming