Time For More Challenges!

I don't know about you, but when there isn't any fire under my feet, I tend to kick back and relax. But there are too many things I still want to do and learn! I don't have time to recline right now.

That being said, I am going to be doing a series of challenges over the next few months. When I did my 30 Day Fitness Challenge, it really motivated me. I was so consistent and I enjoyed blogging about it every day and it was great having you join me! It felt like a community effort. Haha!

Working out in my nursery studio!

Since the end of my challenge, I have continued to work out (maaayybee not every day), but I am wanting to focus on my diet right now. Too much sugar has turned me into a Plum Fairy and I don't want to feel that way!

So what I am going to in the next 30 days is cut the sugar, fat, and extra starches most of the time. And what I mean by that is I will be making a conscious effort to cut the "fun junk" unless it is absolutely necessary. For example, someone has a birthday next week (hint: me!) and the birthday girl should be able to have some cake! Also, family is coming in from out of town and that means eating out and other goodies, but even with all of these additions, I know I can make better choices!

Let's do it together! Let's have a piece of fruit instead of ice cream. Let's skip the buttered bread and let's cut back on sugar. At least try it for 30 days! I will be posting what I am doing and will be sending tips your way.

Here is to healthy eating!

To Diet or Not To Diet...

The word "diet" stirs up so many emotions in us. It can be a major mood killer, or someone's beacon of hope. Many of us have told ourselves we would cut out ALL starchy carbs and then a few days later the smell of pizza is in the air and there is this internal debate of should-I-shouldn't-I. Or we set ourselves on a diet that we just know is going to make us thin finally and all past problems will melt away.

But they don't.

Usually what happens is we "cheat" and then feel guilty and then give up altogether. That does not sound appealing! What does is changing what goes into the fridge and pantry (and don't forget the freezer!) in the first place.

So what I want to do in these next few blog posts is share some of the help-me-stop-eating-so-much tips that have worked for me. 

So many people do not eat breakfast!

Tip #1: Eat breakfast!I know that sounds soo basic, but it really does fire up the metabolism and keeps you from saving all of your eating for later in the day. 

Tip #2: Before eating lunch or dinner, eat at least 2-3 stocks of celery. It starts up the metabolism and since celery is so low in calories, it actually takes more calories to burn them than to consume! 

 Tip #3: Drink a tall glass of water before every meal. There wont be as much room to stuff your stomach with other things! 

Tip #4: If you are craving that brownie or cookie or whatever temptation it is, take just one bite and throw the rest away. You were able to enjoy a little bit, but not overindulge.

I used to eat out of boredom or simply for taste and would justify that with a good, long run on the treadmill. But just like that big piece of equipment, you aren't getting anywhere. You stay the same.

Now that I have had my baby, I get sooo hungry for fattening foods (like I mentioned in previous posts!), but I really want to become healthier and eat a lot less sugar than I have been.

Why don't you join me? :)

Day 30 of Challenge!

Hello Everyone! The day has dawned on the last day of my challenge! 30 days ago I decided I would work out at home using only free videos I found online or to DVDs I already owned.

What I wanted to see was could I be motivated enough to workout without a trainer? Without going to a studio? Without paying a cent? And I did it! Every day I headed off to my daughter's nursery with my laptop to browse Youtube in search of a great workout video.

Some days I seriously only had 10 minutes to devote to exercise, while other times I spent a solid 45 minutes. But I tried not to focus on that and instead focus on doing something every day.

Well, here are the results! 

Day 1 of Challenge and Day 30

I definitely feel like my waste has shrunk a little bit! But please understand, except for a few days where I was sick, I did no dieting. I never cut out sugar or carbs or cheese. I improved simply by doing something every day.

I think there is this temptation to bite off more than we can chew when it comes to a fitness regime. We think we have to run 5 miles a day, do 1000 squats a week and cut out all sugar. But that kind of lifestyle quickly loses its appeal and discouragement sets in. Try just 10 minutes a day. It is more than no minutes! :)

Well, this concludes my challenge! Thank you to everyone who has followed along and for all of the sweet, encouraging comments! I hope I have inspired you in some way and I have decided that my next target is to clean up my eating a little more. We will see how that goes so stay tuned! ;)

Day 29 of Challenge!

So guess what I did today?

Pure Barre.

It's been a while so I decided today was the day. I must say there were a few bittersweet moments as I worked out because I used to switch back and forth between the two PB DVD's while I was pregnant and it brought back memories!! I cannot say I was one of those women who adored being "with child." I couldn't sleep on my back or my stomach or my left side (my baby would kick like CRAZY in the womb if I lay on my left side!) and my back hurt a lot and I had a lot of morning sickness. That being said, feeling my little girl kick in the womb was surreal and I do miss that.

Anyway, back to Pure Barre. :)

My little red ball...

 The DVD is called Pershing Square 2 and I am sure it can be found on Amazon if you are looking for a deal! It really is an effective workout, I just wish it wasn't so darn expensive to go to their studio! $175 a month is a little more than I am wanting to spend right now.

Well, my challenge is over tomorrow... Another bittersweet moment. Haha!

Bring on DAY 30!!!

Day 28 of Challenge!

I woke up feeling a little nauseous this morning so I decided to keep things light today, starting with my eating. For breakfast I just had a Greek yogurt, cherry and banana smoothie and then worked out to Ballet Beautiful.

Ballet Bicycles

This was a full body 15 minute workout that was decently difficult but not nearly as hard as some of her other videos! Still, I worked my whole body and I felt good about that.

So keeping with the ballet theme today, I tried XHit's Natalie Portman routine.  

Not quite on pointe, but nice workout

This one was only 8 minutes and it never felt hard but I was still tensing my muscles so I choose to believe my body benefited from it. :) I do not have the time or drive to work out 8 hours a day, 6 days a week like Natalie Portman did preparing for her role in the Black Swan, but I always do what I can and I feel good about that.

And I think I ended tonight really well. Still not feeling the best, I kept dinner light, but very good and nourishing!

These wonderful veggies here... 

Became these... :) 

Vietnamese Spring Rolls

 Soo delicious and not heavy on the stomach! I thought about having dessert because I told you I have a major sweet tooth, but decided to skip that tonight.

Bring on Day 29!

Day 27 of Challenge

Have you ever noticed just how many different names there are for the Butt? The Bum, the Booty, the Behind, the Rear, the Seat, the Badonkadonk?

Well, whatever you prefer to call it, that is what I really focused on today.

Iconic Bum lifter exercise!

So I tried to find a video from a much less popular Youtube channel to get my burn on, but I think I went through 4 different videos trying to find one that wasn't just an ad, or one that actually had some quality workouts, but sadly I couldn't and ended back over at FitnessBlender. I only did the first set of this 3 set Brazilian Butt Lift because I was just a little bored with it. Sometimes I find it hard to workout with the guy instructing via voice over. There is no music, just his voice and an occasional sniffle.

So after the first set, I moved over to Pop Pilates Bombshell Butt Series.

Cheerful as always!

It was really hard! I struggled to stay in each move for the full length so I hope it was working! It just takes soooo much exercise to see progress. How many squats do I have to do to see the kind of results I want? How many hip raises are in my future?? It all gets a little daunting after a while.

Yet when I think about it, what is my vision for my "fit" self? Any time I think, "Well, it's to be somewhere in between this person and this person." I am just comparing my body type to someone else's and that isn't going to get me anywhere except discouraged. A Dr. Seuss quote comes to mind:

Be YOU!

 I have to keep going and do what I can to be the best ME and not try and be someone else! And with that thought I will bid you, Adieu. :) Bring on Day 28!

Day 26 of Challenge!

The past couple of days I haven't slept very well. This has made me feel a little groggy and didn't give me much energy for exercising. I will not lie, working out was not high on my list of things to do today. When I put my baby down for her afternoon nap, I was very tempted (VERY) to just plop down on the couch and read or play on my phone. Or do absolutely nothing.

But ironically, working out can increase energy so off to the nursery I went!

This is one of my favorite oblique poses.

I just selected FitnessBlender because they had an Arm and Ab combo workout and I could knock out both areas with one search. But it was not my favorite. For example, throughout the workout one move would be on the ground and the next was standing up and then back on the ground and then back up again. This just made the video feel really choppy and sporadic. So I would not revisit this particular video, but at least I worked out.

Getting back in shape after having a baby is HARD. It feels like one day you are making great progress and then the next day you swear that flab grew on you overnight! I think the best way to combat this is to keep going and try not to let yourself go in the first place!

Feeling a little discouraged but pressing on!

 Alright, You Guys, the end is in sight! Bring on Day 27!