Daily Archives: May 13, 2013

May13

Progress and Stepping It Up!

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Okay, sorry. Another fitness post. I know. Promise, there will be a hair one soon. But, I just had to share my progress!! So, hope that you don’t mind!! I’m down to about 130/131 pounds (varies when I step on the scale ;)) from my starting point of 148.5 back on 2/18/13!! And, my dedication and consistency  (can’t even call it hard work as I’ve exercised a LOT harder in the past – 2 hours a day 5-6 days a week + 100% clean eating) are really paying off!!

weigh-in (5-12-13)Got off, got back on and it said 131.5. Go figure.

Now, I will say this, I lose weight on my upper body far more quickly than my lower body. So, the last 10 or so pounds that I want to lose is mostly on my lower half and I pulled out the big guns last week to help me lose it!

1. Pre-workout breakfast smoothie (see this article on the importance of fueling up before a work out).

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I had not been eating before my morning workouts. I would just have a cup of coffee and hit the basement with my water bottle. I have always hated the feeling of a full stomach when working out and didn’t feel I had the time needed to allow a breakfast to digest properly before working out (30-60 minutes). However, given that I’d begun running for longer periods and wanted to improve my performance all around, I knew I needed to start fueling up. Enter the quick digesting, pre-workout breakfast green smoothie!! I knew I wanted oatmeal in my smoothie, so I did some research and cobbled together the following recipe from a few that I found online.

Pre-workout Breakfast Green Smoothie

1 c. fresh spinach, kale or collard greens (omega 3s/magnesium)
1/2 frozen banana (simple carb/potassium)
1/4 c. frozen strawberries (simple carb/potassium)
1/4 cup ground oatmeal (the NutriBullet mill does this in SECONDS!!) (complex carb/fiber/magnesium)
1 scoop Nectar Vanilla Bean Torte OR Strawberry Mousse protein Powder
3/4 c. unsweetened almond milk
1/4 c. water

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2. My new NordicTrack C700 treadmill (3 week nightmare that it was to get it :().

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3. My Delfin Spa Bio-Ceramic Anti-Cellulite shorts (I have 3 pair).

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They beat the Zaggora in my opinion as you don’t feel the sweat until you remove them.
With Zaggora, the sweat drips out of the legs as you work out! Ewwwwww!!!

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4. Green Coffee Bean Extract (purchased a LivingSocial deal after watching a Dr. Oz segment on its effectiveness).

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To see the Dr. Oz segment, click here. There are 5 clips total, but the last 4 are very short.

I know the first two things will work, as they are tried and true for me. But, the coffee bean extract is the unknown. I first learned about green coffee bean extract back in November and ordered some online. But, within seconds of placing my order, I realized that I may have been scammed. The source was an unauthorized Dr. Oz Facebook page and there were some forced internet pages, so I cancelled my order AND my credit card. Then, I did more research and found that green coffee bean extract is legit, that Dr. Oz doesn’t endorse any particular brand, but he does provide strict guidelines for buying an authentic product (part 5 of video series): 1. Must be pure (zero fillers, zero binders, zero artificial ingredients) √, 2. Must contain at least 45% chlorogenic acids √, 3. Must say Svetol® or GCA √.  He also indicated that the capsules can range in size from 200 to 800 mg, which is fine. Anywho, the studies and his experiment showed that this product enables people to lose up to 2 pounds a week without changing anything in their diet or exercise routine!!

So, when I saw the LivingSocial deal for The Official GreenCoffeeBean Extract brand ($29 for a 3 month supply) and checked out the site to validate the “must haves,” I decided to try again. The pills arrived last Friday and I started taking them that very night. Since Saturday, I have taken them twice a day, 30 minutes before breakfast and dinner. The pills have less caffeine than 1/2 a cup of coffee and, so far, I haven’t experienced any jitters, sleeplessness or side effects. I’m hoping that with continued daily workouts and eating cleanly, I’ll see some great results over the next few weeks and will be able to show you some lean and mean legs too ;)! You know that I’ll keep you guys posted!!

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What big guns do you pull out of your arsenal when trying to lose those last 10 lbs?

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May13

I Did That!!

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Last week was marked with achievement for me as it relates to my ongoing personal fitness goals!! It began the Sunday before last when I was able to do side crow for the first time ever in hot yoga!!!

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“OMGosh! OMGosh! I can’t believe I’m doing this!!”

And, I didn’t do it just once; I did it THREE times!!! I was able to do it on both sides during practice and then my bestie/yoga buddy take this pic of me doing it again after class ended!! Okay … so, I haven’t been able to do it since … but, I now know that I can do it and can do it again!! I also tried scorpion (assisted against the wall and with my arms strapped around my elbows) for the first time! And, it was pretty good for a first try!! Woot Woot!!

So, at the end of yoga, my bestie tells me about this Superhero 5K in Morristown the following Saturday. She knew I finished C25K (she was 5 weeks in and we were talking about signing up for the Morristown Warriors Dash). She is also well aware of my love of comics/cartoons and knew this would be right up my alley. How fitting would it be that my first 5K in life be superhero themed?!?! So, when I got home, I looked it up and saw that the 5K was not only fun, but to raise money to bring clean water to Africa and Central America. Superhero-themed and for a good cause? Sign me up and call me Batman!!

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Oh! How could I forget?! Part of the reason this came up was because of a belated birthday gift from my buddy Fernando! Batsocks!!

And so, this past Saturday, I ran my first ever 5K!! And, I did not walk once!!

(Click pics to enlarge/read captions)

Arriving and taking in the view!! You know, there weren’t as many Flashes as I expected!!
Wei saying, “What has she gotten me into?”
5K hair and outfit! Okay, this high/low ponytail is going to be a go-to style this year!!
Passing people ….who are walking and texting. LOL!!
Crossing the finish line!!
Our heroes return victorious!!

 

Let me tell you, those hills are a b@#$!! LOL!! But, I am very pleased to say that I ran it in 34:40.92 minutes, which was an  11:09 mph pace! So, this is right about on par with the 5.5 mph pace I’ve been running on the treadmill! And, I was came in 114th place out of 498 women!!! Woot Woot squared!! LOL! My goal is to be able to run a 5K in 30 minutes or less … but one day at a time :).

So yeah … great week for me personal fitness challenge wise :)! And, as of yesterday, I’m 3 months/84 days into this working out for at least 10 minutes every day!! When I started this, I was just trying to get past the 3 week hurdle. I am totally ecstatic that I’ve come this far and don’t see myself stopping now!

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Have you recently accomplished a health and/or fitness goal? Dish!!