Cue "Rocky" Music...

Yes! That's right friends!
I think I've got my groove back!

But first, before I say anymore, I want to thank each of you for commenting and being there for me when I am not doing so in return. Pamela, Katie, Tom, Erin, Jeremy, Cherie, Beka, Chantal, Irene, Rhoni, Janel, and Dana on MySpace, thank you so much! I have to tell you I have been so surprised and really touched that you are checking in on me. And Katie- thanks for the kick in the pants- I love it! I haven't been on Blends because I don't really have the time to give back as I should at the moment, and I feel bad about that. Please know that I am thinking of each of you and sending you good vibes.

Over the last two weeks the Beauties have been really sick, and now it seems it's my turn. I was supposed to go to Phoenix for work over the weekend, but I called in sick, stayed home, and slept all weekend. Richard was really great about keeping the girls busy. I must have got the condensed version of whatever they had, either that or I'm so excited about finally feeling it that nothing is getting in my way now!

Last week, I called a do-over. There was too much going on, and then I tried to dive right into the waters again. It was too much; all I really accomplished was setting myself up for failure. So, this time I decided to simply dip my toe in, you know, get used to the water again. My mini goal for last week was that each day I would either eat clean or workout. Goal accomplished! And by the end of the week, I was feeling great! No weight loss to report this week, but getting back on track is all the reward I need.

My mini goal for this week is too eat clean everyday except free day and exercise everyday except free day. The requirement for exercise is simply that I get a good workout in, vacuuming does not count as a workout.

Now to lay out the rest of the
details for this challenge:

start date: 2.4.07
end date: 4.29.07

Objective: I am going to approach this challenge completely differently than I have in the past. My main objective is to be consistent with the habits that create a healthy body, mind, and spirit. In the past I have not at all been consistent. I have focused on the numbers, and then I start playing games with myself. In the end it leads to not very great results, and I'm not creating the life long habits I need to make this a regular part of my life. So my main objective is to "be true," to be consistent. The focus is on doing the work, consistently, day by day.

Each week I will still set mini goals for myself to help me ease into developing healthy habits. My ultimate goal is to be able to wear my wedding ring again by the end of this challenge.

OK, so I've taken my starting stats and the traditional and humiliating "before" pictures. Here's the breakdown:

starting weight: 161 lbs (up 4.5 lbs since Christmas)

starting measurements:
neck: 14"
chest: 34"
waist: 36 1/2"
hips: 43 3/4"
buttocks: 42 3/4"
thigh: 25"
calf: 15"
bicep: 12 1/2"
forearm: 10 1/2""

Goals:
Every day I commit myself to:

• eating 5 to 6 clean meals
• meeting my nutrition goals: calories 1530-1580, protein 35%, carbs 45%, fat 20%, multi vitamin (Garden of Life, Living Multi 3, times a day), Udo's Oil (to get all my Essential Fatty Acids, will purchase... eventually)
  
• drinking 11 cups of water
  
• working out- I'm going to break away from BFL and do what I like doing in an effort to really knock this one out.
• Workouts consist of:
• three 45 min HIIT cardio workouts
• three TaeBo workouts (which includes resistance work, which will be taking the place of strength training for the moment). If I can fit it in, I will also do:
  
• 2 yoga workouts
• 3 abs workouts
• logging my food, water intake and exercise in my Diet Assistant program on my PDA.
  
• posting on my challenge thread on the fitness forum I belong to, MyBlends, and my blog, even if it is only to post that I worked out, ate clean and drank all my water.
  

Every week I commit myself to:

• having one scheduled Free Day on Sundays; can be swapped with Saturdays, depending on my schedule. NO free days, meals, or snacks during the week.
• taking pictures and posting them regardless of my progress.
• posting my weight regardless of my progress.
• taking and posting my measurements regardless of my progress.
• setting a mini goal for each week.

Alrightly! Here is to a great week! Again, my mini goal is to eat clean everyday and get all my workouts in. I'll focus on the details of my diet (how much protein, fat, carbs, etc.) the following week.

By the way- anyone see Joan Biaz on the Grammys tonight? Holy crap! I want to look like that when I'm her age, I want to look like that NOW! Rock on sista!

Do-Over

Since this is the only exercise I have gotten in over the last two weeks...


I call a do-over! For a variety of reasons, I just never got it together. I need to really dedicate myself to making getting in shape part of my everyday life, and I haven't done that.

Now this is dedication...



I mean the man loves to BBQ and nothing will get in his way. Look at him, in pajama bottoms, slippers and a t-shirt no less! And he looks so happy doing it.

So I'm going back to the source. I've pulled out Body for LIFE and I'm looking over "Crossing the Abyss", I'm working on updating my Little Book of Magic that I carry in my purse to keep me on track and motivate me. And, if you haven't notice, I freshened up my blog. I have also been cleaning and getting organized at home this weekend. For some reason, it really seems to help. It sort of feels like nesting, getting ready for this big, new, exciting, highly anticipated change. It's helping to renew my energy.

So I'm starting my challenge, again, this Monday. I've got everything ready: my starting pictures are already posted, and I'm working on tweaking my goals, and making getting started much more reasonable. I've been on hiatus for a while, so I think I need to ease myself into this.

I'll post the details about my challenge tomorrow. Hope every one is having a great weekend!

Hump Day?

Well, Hump Day's over, but I'm still not over the hump. However, I did make a comittment to post everyday, so here it goes:

Meals:
M1: protein drink
M2: 1/2 cup low fat cottage cheese; 1 c carrots
M3: 1/2 cup noodles; meat sauce made with lean ground beef
M4: apple; 2 tbs peanut butter
M5: swedish meatballs made with lean ground beef, sauce made with fat free milk, 1/2 cup noodles; roasted broccoli

Water:
6 cups

Workout:
none

There is much room for improvement here, but I'm moving in the right direction. At least I got 5 meals in. Tomorrow I will log my meals in my diet program to really see what I'm eating, and I'll get more water in. And I'll go to the gym in the AM.

I also wanted to break down my exercise plan:
I'm basically doing the BFL plan, but I'm adding to it to see how I like it. I will be doing 3 HIITS, and then I will also be adding Taebo 3 times a week to my cardio. I'm adding the Taebo for a couple of reasons. First, I want to add more cardio because I have a lot of fat to remove; second I really like taebo- Billy Blanks is a little cheesy, but I like all the positive things that he says and the workout is fun; third, for some reason, I'm having a hard time with the weight lifting. I'm not enjoying it, maybe I'm feeling too self conscious, I don't know. I do know that I need to do strength training to change the shape of my body; all the cardio is going to just make me a smaller version of what I am now. I've done Taebo in the past and it really does change your shape and build major muscles. I think when I start getting rid of more fat and start seeing muscle I'll be more motivated to hit the weights. I'll still do weights though. I'll do two strength training workouts a week for now.

Other news...
I'm sooooooooooo tired! I cannot get all the things done that I need to. I know that as I get back on track with BFL I'll be amazed at how much more energy, but right now I'm really dragging. The Beauties are nearly impossible to put to bed the last few days. Tonight it took 1 1/2 hours to get them to sleep! I don't have that kind of time and the screaming, crying, whining and complaining is really testing my patience. Between me being back at work, the littlest Beauty having cold and double ear infection, and the both of them being in day care a little longer than usual, I think we all just need a little time to get back into the groove.

Well, if I plan on having a better BFL day tomorrow, I better get my workout clothes together and see what I can scrounge together for my meals.

It's Time for a Challenge!

It's time to get back on track. Since Christmas I have slowly let all the good habits I have developed go, one by one, to the point where I can safely say I have completely fallen off the wagon! My excuse (and that's exactly what it is) is that I have not had a regular schedule. The university I work at has had a 5 week break, and since I work directly with the students, when they are off, I am off. Between 2 weeks in Chicago for Christmas, and going back and forth to Phoenix, to try to make up for all the lost hours and living out of a suitcase the entire time, I have had no real schedule or routine to speak of.

Now that school is back in session, and things are "back to normal" I find myself looking for reasons to start next week. But before I know it, next week will turn into the next and then the next, and then summer will be here and I'll be right back where I started. I have to start this week, even if it's a bit of a weak start. I am tired, I am low on energy, I'm just barely feeling the fire I had not long ago. Every time I turn around, there is something else. I hit the wrong button while working on my blog, and poof! the whole thing is gone. So I have to reconstruct it. Then my Treo (PDA/phone) freezes up and I lose everything- my schedule, all my contacts, everything! My life was in that thing! So, the was quite a project. Is this a sign that I need a fresh start or what?!

And my littlest beauty is really sick; I have barely slept for three days. I'm back to passing out on the couch as soon as the girls are in bed. This morning when I got up at 5:00 in an attempt to go to the gym, my little one started crying. Her sister came in to comfort her; my older one was half asleep so she laid down and told her sister that everything would be OK. But my little one was just feeling so miserable; she cried so hard she threw up all over her sister's face! So I spent the morning calming everyone down, cleaning up and doing laundry. Does that count as a workout? I did dash across the room to try to rescue my oldest from a very rude awakening!

The eating isn't going so well either; we are so broke because of the break at NAU. Our cupboards and the fridge are not stocked as they should be for a BFL Challenge. But if I continue on this path, I'll only feel worse, and possibly depressed and really angry at myself. I don't want to go back to hating myself. I have to push through it and before I know it I'll have the energy to go full force and by next week the money will start rolling in again.

I realize a champion would not let any of this get in the way. Well, I may not be a champion, but I've waisted enough time and energy as it is. I just have to make myself do it; go through the motions until the tiny smolder that remains bursts into flames again.

So here's to the start of a new year, and a new challenge...

Kristin's "BE TRUE" Challenge

start date: 1.22.07
end date: 4.16.07

Objective: I am going to approach this challenge completely differently than I have any Body for LIFE challenge in the past. My main objective is to be consistent with the habits that create a healthy body, mind, and spirit. In the past I have not at all been consistent. In the past, I have focused on the numbers, how much I should be losing each week, what my end goal weight should be, etc. And then I start playing games with myself; I don't follow the program for a few days thinking that I can scramble, starve myself or double up on my workouts, to make up for it. In the end it leads to not very great results, and I'm not creating the life long habits I need to make this a regular part of my life. So my main objective is to "be true", to be consistent. I wouldn't be surprised if, with this approach, I get the best results that I have so far. But the focus is on doing the work, consistently, day by day.

I will still set mini goals for myself; set up little rewards to strive for like fitting into a pair of pants, getting some whitening strips for my teeth, etc. My ultimate goal is to be able to wear my wedding ring again by the end of this challenge.

OK, so I've taken my starting stats and the traditional and humiliating "before" pictures. Here's the breakdown:

starting weight: 161 lbs (up 5.5 lbs since Christmas)

starting measurements:
neck: 14"
chest: 34"
waist: 36 1/2"
hips: 43 3/4"
buttocks: 42 3/4"
thigh: 25"
calf: 15"
bicep: 12 1/2"
forearm: 10 1/2""

Goals:
Every day I commit myself to:

• eating 5 to 6 clean meals
• meeting my nutrition goals: calories 1530-1580, protein 35%, carbs 45%, fat 20%, multi vitamin (Garden of Life, Living Multi 3, times a day), Udo's Oil (to get all my Essential Fatty Acids, will purchase next pay day)
  
• drinking 11 cups of water
  
• working out (six 45 min cardio, two strength training per week- I'm breaking away from the traditional BFL program- I'll have to see how this goes, I really want to get the fat off so I'm cranking up the cardio. I'll still do High Intensity Interval Training for my cardio, but for longer and more often than BFL prescribes)
• logging my food and water intake and exercise in my Diet Assistant program for my PDA that I got for Christmas.
  
• posting on my challenge thread on the fitness forum I belong to, MyBlends, and my blog, even if it is only to post that I worked out, ate clean and drank all my water.
  

Every week I commit myself to:

• having one scheduled Free Day on Sundays; can be swapped with Saturdays, depending on my schedule. NO free days, meals, or snacks during the week.
• taking pictures and posting them regardless of my progress.
• posting my weight regardless of my progress.
• taking and posting my measurements regardless of my progress.
• setting a mini goal for each week.
  

Lost Blog!

Hi All!

I'm devasted that I lost my blog! Stay tuned while I reconstruct it!