Jan 22 & 23 - Workouts

Wow, I've really kicked some ass this week with my workouts! :) Of course.....I've gone ahead and eaten more than I should according to thedailyplate.com, but I've eaten healthy and I've been active, so that's what's important. BUT, let the record show that I have done at least 30 minutes of cardio the last 5 days in a row!!!!!!!! I may not run fast and I may not run far, but at this point in my life and my fitness regimine, that is truly something to be proud of.....and I AM! :)

Thursday, January 22, 2009: 45 minute muscle conditioning class - total body workout, burning approx 363 calories, 30 minute run burning approx 287 calories. The run was outside - it was in the upper 50's - PERFECT running weather! I ran in the neighborhood, so I had some decent hills. I also took Cooper with me and he was exhausted by the end, so he kind of slowed me down, LOL. Total calories burned yesterday = 650!

Calories: 2096, Net = 1446
Fat: 51 g
Cholesterol: 132 mg
Sodium: 3206 mg
Carbs: 311 g
Fiber 50 g
Protein 116 g

If I would have shown some control and only eaten 1/2 of my sandwich from Subway instead of the whole foot long, I would have been in much better shape! PORTION CONTROL, Ash!!!!

Friday, January 23, 2009: 30 minutes on elliptical, cross training between level 3 and 6, total calories burned: 412.

I have some shin splints from running 3 days this week and my knee is bothering me a bit again. I'm pretty sure my tendonitis is back. I talked to my coach yesterday though and she gave me some really good tips, stretches and exercises that should help with the shin splints. She STRONGLY recommended I go get fitted for shoes though. I knew that was coming. Sucks cuz I just got a new pair of NB's, but I figured I can used those for cross training and then get a good pair of running shoes to run in. With the miles I'll be putting on them, I really need to be in the right shoes.

As far as nutrition goes today, I can eat 441 more calories today as of right now. I'll post my totals for the day later.

Overall, it's been a GREAT week and I'm pretty proud of myself! :)

Jan 21 - Workout

I must admit, I'm kicking some ass this week with the workouts! Yesterday was my third - yes, THIRD - day in a row of cardio! It was so nice out though, that I had to go for a run outside. I took Cooper with me and he thoroughly enjoyed it as well. :) That fat dog needs some exercise, LOL. The only SUCK is that my knees are bothering me and I'm getting some shin splints too. I'm gonna email my coach today to see if she has any advice other that icing and taking anti-inflammatories.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009: 45 minute yoga class, 35 minute run with walking up the steep hills. Estimated calories burned (according to thedailyplate.com) - Yoga (279), run (246) for a total of 525.

Calories: 1820 (gross) 1295 (net)
Fat: 64 g
Cholesterol: 135 mg
Sodium: 3465 mg
Carbs: 223 g
Fiber: 29 g
Fat: 94 g

Honestly, I'm pretty impressed that I made it close to my target calorie intake yesterday because the department ordered pizza for us and I did have 2 slices of pizza, which was pretty much half my calories for the day. But since I worked out twice and watched it the rest of the day, I did alright. I refigured my daily calorie intake yesterday and based on my age, height, weight, and activity level, I can have 1255 net calories a day to lose 2.5 pounds a week. The 1255 is offset by any activity that I do, so the more I work out, the more I can eat. I went over by about 40 calories yesterday, but that's really not that bad considering what I had for lunch.

Jan 20 - Workout

Tuesday, January 20, 2009: 45 minute muscle conditioning class - total body workout, 30 minutes cardio on elliptical.

It was a good workout day, but I went a little over board with my calorie intake. I ate well, though: Fiber One bar, steel cut oats, banana, raw veggies, 2 salads, Heathy Choice meal for lunch, protein shake after my workout.......and a GIANT dinner. I made a DELICIOUS dinner last night that was actually a pretty healthy meal....but I ate 2 servings instead of just one. So that's that. But it was amazingly delicious! http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/recipes/mexican-chicken-casserole-112394.aspx I will def be making it again! :)

Here are my totals for the day:

Calories: 1932, NET after working out: 1438
Fat: 54 g
Cholesterol: 227 mg
Sodium: 2985 mg
Carbs: 249 g
Fiber: 59 g
Protein: 117 g

Jan 16 - 19 Workouts

Okay, so the weekend sucked for me. I got pretty lazy AND I ate and drank everything in sight.... But I promised myself I would document everything, even if I get off track...so....here goes:

Friday, January 16, 2009 - Rest

Saturday, January 17, 2009 - Rest

Sunday, January 18, 2009 - Rest

Yep, that's right, 3 days off in a row!!! I'm bad! BUT, I got my butt back in the gym yesterday and increased my running time by another 2 minutes! Woohoo!!!

Monday, January 19, 2009 - 30 min cardio on treadmill, ran for 24 consecutive minutes. Total calories = 280. Ran at 5.5 mph.

I really need to kick it into gear this week. My birthday is less than 6 weeks away and I don't want to look like a fat ass when I turn 30. Just turning 30 alone is depressing enough. I don't need to look gross too, lol.

I didn't really keep track of my nutrition over the weekend either. It was all crap, so I'm not even going to bother. I did buy some steel cut oats yesterday though. I've heard they are REALLY good for you and also offer a huge amount of fiber to help keep you full for several hours. I had a bowl yesterday and had to add some honey and cinnamon (coupled together, they also offer many health benefits), but it wasn't that bad at all. I'm a huge fan of oatmeal, so this was pretty similar. I brought some to heat up at work today for breakfast. Hopefully this can help fight off my munchie cravings at work in the mornings. We'll see.

Jan 15 - Workout

Thursday, January 15, 2009 - 45 minute muscle conditioning class - total body workout.

I'm not even posting my nutritional totals for yesterday because I ended up straying waaaaay off the diet and I don't even know how to total everything I had yesterday, LOL. The scale was not my friend this morning, but we all have our set backs. The important thing is that I am at least keeping up with my workouts. I'll recover.....hopefully. :)

Jan 14 - Workout

Wednesday, January 14, 2009 - 45 minute yoga class

I didn't really feel well yesterday, so it was hard to stick to my basic diet. My stomach was upset, so I pretty much just had what didn't make me feel sick. I threw up my breakfast, so I'm not sure how accurate my nutrition totals are, but here goes:

Calories: 1015
Fat: 28 g
Cholesterol: 400 mg
Sodium: 1462 mg
Carbs: 105 g
Fiber: 10 g
Protein: 59 g

I weighed a little more today than yesterday. I attribute that to not eating well yesterday and also to the fact that I'm bloated due to my time of the month.... blech...

Jan 12 & 13 - Workouts

Monday, January 12, 2009 - 50 minute yoga class

Surprisingly, I was pretty sore from yoga today! I mean, I realize that I used a lot of muscles that I don't normally use. I guess I'm just used to being sore from a workout that gets my heart rate up and makes me sweat. Yoga did neither for me. But I def feel good about it today. I'm excited to add it back into my fitness program.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009 - 45 minute muscle condition class - total body workout, roughly 159 calories (according to thedailyplate.com), 30 minutes on treadmill with 22 minutes of consecutive running at 5.5 mph. Running calories = 270, total workout calories = 429.

I'm feeling really great about my workouts so far this week. I increased my running time by 2 minutes tonight and it felt great. I was getting winded near the end, but increased my time anyway. 2 minutes was my goal, so I am satisfied with the increase. That's the most I've ran in at least a couple years. I am noticing that my knees are starting to take a beating from the treadmill though. And I'm getting shin splints too, so I need to start icing.

Today I started an account on thedailyplate.com. What an awesome site!!! You just plug in what you ate and it figures up all of the calories, protein, fat, carbs, fiber, sodium, etc that you consumed the entire day! PLUS, if you enter your height and weight, it tells you how many calories you need to consume in order to gain or lose however much weight you would like in a week. For example, based on my height/weight and activity level, I need to consume 1850 calories a day to lose 2 pounds a week. It also tells you how many calories you burned according to what activites you entered. It's pretty dead on too - the treadmill and the website gave me very close figures!

I entered every single thing I consumed today and here are my totals:

Calories: 1194
Fat: 20 g
Cholesterol: 181 mg
Sodium: 1951 mg
Carbs: 113 g
Fiber: 16 g
Protein: 108 g

I think I'm going to start keeping track of my nutrition totals too.

I'm feeling pretty great today! :)

Weekend Ruiner...

So, the weekend ended up being a significant set back on my road to a healthier & thinner me. I will recover though. While I did workout on Saturday, I didn't eat that great....and then proceeded to eat even worse on Sunday. Saturday we had Christmas with Randy's mom, so my dinner that night included ham, sweet potatoes, rolls, etc, followed by beer and appetizers when we went out for Angel's birthday. So needless to say, Saturday was not the best.

I went ahead and followed Saturday up with a lazy Sunday of eating crap. The fact that I didn't work out on Sunday isn't too big of a deal though. After the week I had last week of overtime and caring for a sick family, I felt that a lazy day was in order. Sunday was the only day that I didn't work and had no where to be. But the fact that I ate Taco Bell followed by ice cream and oreo cake was not the greatest. I'm sure I'll spend the rest of the week trying to recover from the 3 pounds I gained over the weekend.

I'm not going to let the weekend deter my focus though. A new session of workout classes begin this week at work, so that means I will be working out Monday - Thursday during lunch at least. I will have a 45 minute yoga class on Mondays and Wednesdays and a 45 minute muscle conditioning class on Tuesdays and Thursdays. My plan is to work out in the evenings too, using Mondays and Wednesdays as training days for my tri and Tuesdays and Thursdays as cross training days. Friday will most likely be a day off or a light day of cross training during my lunch break. Saturdays will be devoted to team training beginning February 7th, and then Sundays will be rest days.

So, for the official records:

Sunday, January 11, 2009: Rest day

I will post my workout for today later, once it has been completed.

Jan 10 - Workout

Friday, January 9, 2009 - took the day off again....hey, I've worked 55 hours this week - I needed a break! :)

Saturday, Jaunary 10, 2009 - 30 minutes cardio (15 on treadmill - 10 running, 15 on elliptical) - total calories: 270.
Inner thighs: hip abductors - 3 sets of 12 at 50 lbs
Outter thighs/gluts: hip abductors - 3 sets of 12 at 50 lbs

Jan 8 - Workout

Thursday, January 8, 2009 - Rest day

I figured I needed a day of rest after 6 consecutive days of working out. I plan to run tonight after work, though. I am still sore from my run on Wednesday, but feeling very good about my progress so far. I may end up doing some weights on my lunch break too....if I have time for a lunch break today. I'll post my workout later.

Jan 7 - Workout

Wednesday, January 7, 2009 - 30 minutes on the treadmill, 20 minutes of consecutive running!

Yesterday was an extremely busy day, but I was determined to get a workout in, even if it was just a quick run. I worked a 10 hour day, took Rylie and myself to the chiropractor, came home, fixed dinner, dropped Rylie off at gymnastics, and finally hit the gym. It was too dark by then to run outside, so I at least put in some treadmill time.

My last few times on a treadmill have not been successful, but I think I found the key to my treadmill success - starting out at a slower pace. I started out at a wussy 5 mph, but I was able to continue at that pace for quite awhile and even kick it up to 5.5 mph. I realize this is an extremely slow pace for a seasoned runner, but if that's where I need to start then so be it. When I was starting out at 6 or 6.5 mph, I was getting winded after just 5 minutes and had to stop. My goal going into the gym last night was to run 20 minutes consecutively. I was nervous, as I mentioned before that my last few times on a treadmill have not been very successful. But to my surprise, I was able to complete the 20 minutes - yay! I just have to keep taking these baby steps towards my goals...



So, in review, the first week of January has been a success. I took New Years Day off and then worked out the following 6 days, including 5 days of cardio. I began my "diet" (no sugar, small portions, sticking to 2 servings a day of the following: 2 veggies, 2 fruits, 2 lean proteins, 2 small starchy carbs, 2 protein supplements) on the 3rd and have lost 5 pounds. I did a 3 day detox, which is why I lost so much so quickly, so that will taper off going forward and I will lose at a slower pace, but that was a nice way to start off the year. I am definitely feeling good about myself.

13 Weeks to a Healthier You

I just joined "13 Weeks to a Healthier You" on justfinish.com. I hope being a part of this group will help motivate me to do what I need to do to get on track with my tri training (team training begins in T - 31 days!!!!!) and to lose the rest of this baby weight. Wishing myself LUCK right now! :)

2009 Goals

I got the idea from justfinish.com to set my 2009 fitness goals.....so, here they are:

I would like to complete the following events:

1 - Hy-Vee Triathlon (Olympic distance) - June
2 - Race for the Cure - August
3 - MS 150 - September

and....if I have it in me...

4 - Tucson Century ride - November

Jan 6 - Today's Workout

Tuesday, January 6, 2009:

Cardio: 30 minutes on the elliptical, 300 calories.
Biceps: bicep curls - 3 sets of 12 with 10 lb weights, hammerhead curls - 3 sets of 12 with 10 lb weights
Triceps: tri kick backs - 3 sets of 12 with 10 lb weights, straight arm tri extension - 3 sets of 12 with 10 lb weights
Rotator Cuffs: side to side rotation - 3 sets of 12 with 10 lb weights
Hamstrings: deadlifts - 3 sets of 12 with 10 lb weights, leg curls on machine with 35 lbs

Jan 5 - Workout

Yesterday wasn't a very successful workout day. In my defense, there just wasn't any time. As soon as I left work, I had to take Rylie to the dentist and then pick up Harper from daycare. We didn't get home until 5:30. Randy went to bed as soon as he got home from work because he wasn't feeling well, so that left me alone with the 2 girls for the night. I had to feed them both dinner, eat dinner myself, give Harper a bath, give Rylie a shower, lay out everyone's clothes for today, iron my clothes, pack lunches, pack my gym bag, put both the girls to bed, etc. By the time all that was done, it was time for bed. I did manage to do some weights while Harper was taking a brief nap, so I'll log that below.

Monday, January 5, 2009: Lifting - upright rows, rear delt flies - both 2 sets of 12 with 10 lb weights. Reverse crunches, standing crunches with 10 lb weights, side-to-side oblique crunches with 10 lb weights.

Everything has its beginning....

I'm creating this blog to hopefully track my workouts for 2009. I figured since I start team training for the Hy-Vee Triathlon in less than 5 weeks, I really need to hit the workouts and it would be cool to track my progress from the very beginning. If this turns into something more, so be it. And if not, at least I'll hopefully have a log to look back on and see how far I've come.

Here is what I've done so far. It's not much, but for me it is a lot considering I've never done much outside. I generally stick to working out in the gym, so running and cylcing in this ridiculously cold weather has been a major break through so far. :)

Thursday, January 1, 2009: New Years Day! I took this day off. :)

Friday, January 2, 2009: 1.5 mile run in the neighborhood - lots of hills, 33 degrees out. 20 minutes of yoga.

Saturday, January 3, 2009: 7 mile bike ride at Riss Lake - moderately hilly, 44 degrees out.

Sunday, January 4, 2009: 1.5 mile walk/run at Happy Rock Park - mostly flat area, but only 26 degrees out. I struggled with this one due to the cold, but was satisfied that I at least lasted more than 20 minutes outside. It will get easier, I must keep telling myself that.

I am currently working on what my typical workout schedule will be like. Hopefully I will have that ready in the next day or two. Once it is ready, I will post it to help keep myself on track. :)