How's it going? Living and Active Week 1

As you know, I started a fitness challenge through Peak313.  So far so good!

Here was my plan from last week:  (I crossed off what I actually did)

M- Shoulders and Abs/ 30 min- eliptical
T- Off
W- Bikini Cardio from ToneItUp
TH- Clare's Crazy Cardio and Ab Routine- I actually ended up not working out that day.  Life got in the way!
F- Chest and Triceps/ 30 min Eliptical- my timing was all off and it ended up raining cats and dogs when I was supposed to go workout. This meant Karena and Katrina's HIIT the Beach 2 at home.  Still a good workout :)
SA- Back and Biceps/ 30 min Eliptical- I actually did my chest and triceps workout instead
SU- Leg Day/ Treadmill Tabata- This ended up being back and biceps from Saturday plus 20 minutes on the stair mill. Holy wow!  That thing is a killer!

Eating-

I've been logging all of my food onto MyFitnessPal.  This week, I want my focus to be on eating enough healthy veggies....less starches.  

Spiritual-  

Memorized Ecclesiasties 4:12....and quoted it all through my workouts.  I've also been keeping up with my daily bible study, which is so helpful and motivating :)

How was your week???

Living and Active!!

I am so excited!  And I'll tell you why....

I love love love Clare.  I found her website through Candace Cameron Bure's website, and immediately bookmarked it.  I read it all the time.  She is a wealth of knowledge regarding fitness and nutrition AND she lives out her faith through her ministry in fitness.  

She has started her 2nd Living and Active 5 week Challenge and I'm participating!!  I love a good challenge.  

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My plan for this week:

Exercise-  I've been cycling through Jamie Eason's LiveFit Trainer again.  I love those workouts and love the results I see when I'm weight training.  I plan to continue with those and up my cardio this week.  So my week will look something like this:

M- Shoulders and Abs/ 30 min- eliptical
T- Off
W- Bikini Cardio from ToneItUp
TH- Clare's Crazy Cardio and Ab Routine
F- Chest and Triceps/ 30 min Eliptical
SA- Back and Biceps/ 30 min Eliptical
SU- Leg Day/ Treadmill Tabata

Whew...I'm tired just thinking about it.  BUT, it must be done.  Non-negotiable.

Eating-  I've been keeping track of my calories on My Fitness Pal.  I plan to continue with that, staying in my recommended caloric range each day.  This is the hardest part for me, so I'm interested to see my results from really keeping track.

Spirital- I love that she included this aspect in the challenge. This is the most important part, to me!  My goal is to do my daily bible study each day and work on scripture memory (Soul Food).

Ok....there's the plan.  I'll check back in on Monday!!

Exciting times!

Today!  I saw a number on the scale I haven't seen in 2 years!!!!  That's so exciting!

I'm still trucking along with eating clean and working out.  I've modified my workout schedule to do weight training one day, cardio the next.  

I alternate my weight training days between legs and arms and just workout the entire muscle group on one day.  It's going well so far, and I don't feel like I'm spending my entire day working out.  That was the problem I was running in to a few weeks ago.  

I'm excited to finally see some progress on the scale!  I felt like, for a while there, I was working out and eating right, but not seeing any results other than losing inches- which is ok- but that eventually plateaus.

As far as eating goes, I've made a few changes there:

1) I've tried to cut out gluten as much as possible.  I did some reading on my thyroid issue, and read that gluten is one of the worst things you can eat if you have any sort of autoimmune disorder.  You can find lots of good info here and here on eating to manage autoimmune diseases.    I also bought the book Practial Paleo by Diane Sanfilippo.  I wouldn't say I'm completely on the paleo train, but she has lots of good info about digestion, and how food affects your body.  She also has easy recipes.

2) I've really scaled back on my dairy.  I had cut back a few months ago, but that dairy is hard to give up.  I mean...no cheese???  That's so hard.  I do have milk occasionally if I eat corn flakes in the morning.  I think I can tolerate dairy pretty well, so having it every once in a while- and really making it every once in a while- has been ok. 

3)  I said goodbye to processed foods.  I even started making my own condiments.  Seriously, homemade mayo and ketchup are sooooo good.  I don't want to go back.

4) I said a mostly-goodbye to grains.  I still eat corn and corn flakes every now and then.    

5) I have really really tried to stick with this.  My husband is now on a healthy eating kick too, so this has made it a lot easier to make healthy choices.  It was hard at first, but it's gotten easier and easier as time has gone by.  I find myself wanting to make a healthier choice instead of giving in.  That's never happened before!

Putting all of this together, I'd say I've lost about 3-5 pounds that have stayed off.  I always teetered between a high number and a low number on the scale.  But now, I've moved past the low number and I haven't seen the high number in a few weeks!!  Persistence pays off, people!

Ok...I think that's all for now.  Do you have any questions???  I'd be happy to answer them!

*******Remember- I'm not a health professional.  If you have medical concerns, you should go talk with your doctor.  The information here is only what has worked for me.