Day 53 - Late Workout . . . Again . . .

It was another late workout today, I hope these don't become a common thing! When I get back home, I'm going to try to get back to working out first thing in the morning. It was difficult today because I woke up and immediately had to start cleaning and doing laundry in preparation for leaving. I planned to work out around 8 pm after my ianimate Q&A, but that didn't work out because my teacher surprised us with a 2 hour Q&A! It was an amazing Q&A, though. I got done right at 9:20 and I rushed to start Fire 3o. Thanks god today was a short one or I'd be waking up early to workout tomorrow, even though I had planned to take tomorrow off!

It still amazes me how much easier that has become from when I first started. My first day doing Fire 30, I remember I sore the next day and I had a hard time getting through it, and tonight, I pushed as hard as I could go and I still could have taken more. I'm glad that the new month is coming up and I get to start something new, right as my body is getting used to this!

I'm a little worried about the pictures and measurements I have to take tomorrow, my diet has not been spot on and I'm concerned I may have gone up a pound. :( Oh well, we'll see. I'll have to really watch myself when I'm at home!

Day 52 - Super Late Workout

Today was a super late workout, I finished right before midnight. Instead of taking my day off, I went ahead and did Core 20 and Stretch 40. The plan is that way I can take my rest day on Wednesday and not worry about fitting it in around my ridiculously long travel home.

Yuri Elkaim released a new workout program called Amazing Abs Solution and I really agree with most of what he says, I wish I could afford it, the price jumps up in three days time, but I can't :( Makes me sad. I'll just have to stick with what I am doing currently.

I also feel pretty icky today. I really wanted to go out and walk around and do something all day, but didn't. Instead I ate kind of bad, not nearly enough fruits and vegetables. Blah. Icky feeling day.

Day 51 - Long walk

Today I didn't work out right when I got up, I was super tired because I didn't sleep well last night (I never sleep well the night before an animation review morning) and by the time I got up, I went out walking around with some friends to go sketch. We walked a really long ways and managed to stop at 4 starbucks, though I only got something once, a lemonade tea and a banana, drew a bit and walked back. Later my friend put how far we walked into google maps we she says its 6.8 miles! It felt like a long walk, but I wasn't tired, its amazing how used to walking I have gotten in these few years in San Francisco.

So after watching an episode of the Walking Dead (not my favorite show, I'm sick of zombies), I headed back home for a late night workout. I did Fire 45 EZ and Stretch 10. Its fun to note that I always have more energy when I workout after eating, but I'd still rather workout in the morning because the time works best for me and I'm more likely to do it. I'm also starting to really enjoy extended stretches. They just feel so good!

I'm thinking I'm not going to take my rest day tomorrow and save it for Wednesday that way I don't have to worry about working out before my flight home or really late night after I get home around 11pm. I'm going to have Freddie help me with my before and after pictures and measurements on Wednesday because he's been helping me and I won't see him for three weeks. It'll be a little early, but I think it'll be fine :)

Day 50 - Recovery week

I did Fire 45 EZ for the first time in a long time and it wasn't really easy haha, though it was nice there were no fire drills.

Today is day 50 and the start of the final week of month 2! I can't believe that I've made it this far and I'm so excited to be so close to 145 lbs, which is a big milestone for me. I'm nervous about going home, I know its going to be harder to find time to workout and eat well, since I'll be going out with my friends often and staying the night, and none of them eat particularly healthy . . . but I'm still super excited to see them! I'm also going to have to share my mom's workout room with the whole family, I'm sure my mom, dad, and sister will all want a turn in there and I am sort of particular about when I workout - I have really started to like working out before I eat. I'm going to have remember to make my workouts as non-negotiable as possible and I may have to make room to workout in my bedroom and bring my dvds with me when I go to stay the night at a friend's, it'd be a lot of fun if I could get Angela to workout with me :)

Day 49 - Flexible Freddie!

Today was a bit of a mixed workout. I did the core workout in the early afternoon, but I wanted to wait to do the yoga until before bed because it always makes me kind of sleepy, hence this super late response. I felt weird posting before I actually did the yoga, so I didn't. I scanned in everything for while I'm away at home already and that felt weird enough. I don't like doing those things before I come across them, I don't know if its my fear of commitment, or if it makes me feel intimidated by seeing all that's to come, but now that I have them on the computer, I am forcing myself to forget about them until I get to when I need to use them and post them.

I somehow managed to convince Freddie to do the Yoga with me today, it was a lot of fun! Freddie isn't very flexible and he had some problems with some of the moves, but he stuck with me for the whole 40 min! It was pretty impressive. I had a lot of fun with him doing it with me, it was the first time someone's done any Turbo Fire with me since Alexa did Fire 45 with me sometime around week 2 or 3.

I surprised myself today when I weighed in at 147.8! I don't know the last time I dipped below 148. Even when I was doing Insanity I never hit 147. It makes me feel good to know that I'm going on the right track and I have to keep with it. I'm trying to return to my plant based diet and I really need to work on cutting the late night snacks if I have hopes of staying below 148 for good!

Day 48 - BBQ in the park

Today I went out with a bunch of friends and did BBQ in the park. It was a ton of fun, though I must admit that I did not watch what I was eating as well as I should have . . . But I didn't munch the rest of the day I was so full! Weather or not that's a good thing, I don't know. Either way, I had tons of fun in the sun, laughing and playing Frisbee and I hope to do it again before the fall semester begins!

I meant to wake up before going and work out, but I silenced my alarm and didn't wake up until my friend called me! So I didn't get to work out until I got back, but today I did Fire 45 and it was actually a lot of fun. Its amazing how I used to die through that workout and now it feels so short. I put my all into it to make up for the caramel popcorn I ate earlier! I'm looking forward to tomorrow being a nice and easy day to finish up week 7. I can't believe I've made it so far!

Day 47 - Feeling icky . . .

Today I did Fire 30 and Tone 30. My period started last night and hit me this morning with a vengeance. Every move which involved a crunching motion made my cramps feel so much worse. I did pretty well in the resistance training, since it was mostly arms and legs, but in Fire 30, I was really dogging it. I forced myself to do it, though, because, as I told myself, I made a commitment to see this through and its something that's important to me.

I'm going to go shower now and hope the ickiness fades.

Day 46 - Fudging the days . . .

Today I did Fire 55 EZ, which is once again out of order. I changed it up because I didn't want to do two back to back days of resistance training. Tomorrow I'll do fire 30 and Tone 30 and then I'll be back on track with the calendar. I can't believe that I'm over halfway done with month 2! I have to keep applauding myself for these little accomplishments, it helps me keep going :)

I bounced along pretty well today, I'm still not wearing the wrist weights because I'm concerned about tweaking my elbow again, so its not really worth the risk.

Day 45 - Looser fitting clothes

Today I woke up and did Fire 30 and Sculpt 30. I felt a little out of gas this morning, but overall the workout went pretty well. After working out, I started to try on some older clothes I stopped wearing because they were too tight, I'm actually noticing that they fit better now! I'm feeling pretty good about myself now :) Freddie says the weight loss is beginning to become noticeable, too.

I've run out of protein powder, so I've got to figure out what I"m going to do now . . . should I get the Raw Protein again or should I try something new? I've got a sample packet of some organic whey vanilla flavored protein from whole foods, and its weird, but I'm so used to the Raw Protein that I think it tastes fake . . . I prefer the chalky taste of the Raw Protein. Never thought I'd say that. I may go back and cough up the $30 for it again.

Day 44 - Back on track!

Today was Fire 55 EZ. I woke up and got my review from school and then I ended up falling asleep again! I got up for good around noon and did the workout. I wasn't very motivated, I was pretty tired, but I got myself going and am glad I did.

I didn't lose any weight these last two weeks, I think its in part because of my poor diet and lack of motivation to really push myself these last two weeks since I was so stressed out with finals, but I kept up with my commitment to myself and I kept working out, and I'm proud of myself for that. This week I am going to get my butt right back on course! I'm going to hit the diet hard this week and try to make up for the last two weeks.

I'm also not really looking forward to having to work out all days this week, but I messed up Friday so I need to do it to get back on track. I'm debating switching around Tuesday and Wednesday so I don't do two strength training days back to back, but we'll see how I'm feeling.

I'm really looking forward to this stress-free, fun week!

Day 42 & 43 - Accidental Rest Day . . .

Yesterday I did not get the opportunity to work out. I had to leave for class by 7am, got back around 3, passed out because of the all nighter I had earlier, and then went to the Spring Show Animation and VFX awards and after that, it was after ten. So I decided to make Friday my rest day for this week, which makes me a little sad, since I always look forward to having Mondays off.

Today was a late one too, I felt sick after breakfast this morning, so I didn't want to workout until I was feeling better, so it was a late one, but I did Core 20 and Stretch 40. I still love that stretch workout!

I feel great now that finals are over, just one more thing tomorrow morning and I'll be able to sleep in! :)

Day 41 - almost there . . .

Today was Fire 45. Its a rough day with school, but I made the time for it, I NEEDED it after this morning's class, it did not go so well . . . wish I could write more, but I'm just trying hard to keep up with my commitment to this workout and to this blog, so I'll write more later, things will slow down by Sunday.

Day 40 - Busy Busy Busy

My last busy Wednesday! I woke up today and did Fire 55 EZ and just wasn't really feeling it. I've been tired all day and a little out of it. I'm ready to collapse woooo . . . if only I didn't have so much homework :( Almost out of the woods! Hanging strong!

Day 39 - Split workout

Today I was late getting up and had to run to a study group, so I was only able to do half my workout before the study group - I did the Tone 30 first because I generally don't sweat as much in the resistance training and that way I could lather on some deodorant and hopefully not stink during the study group. Later tonight I did Fire 30, which just keeps getting easier and easier. I don't find it intimidating at all anymore, it feels like a fun and quick workout, where I can put my all into it without having to worry about saving some for the end. Its great to notice these small changes in how I feel and how well I'm doing. :) woohoo!

This is a late post, but things are a little crazy around finals, tomorrow should be an early workout at least, but I don't know if I'll get to post early tomorrow! I have an art history midterm! Ouch!

Day 38 - Working Rest day!

Today is my rest day, I'm using it to really work on some finals! Got a lot of work to do, but tomorrow I'll focus on working out again between finals.

Day 37 - My Punching Muscles!

Today was Fire 30 and Sculpt 30. I did the Sculpting first like some people had reccomended on the beachbody website and I actually liked it better that way. It seemed to go smoother, so I'll probably stick to it. It may also have seemed smoother because I didn't wear my wrist weights today (I had been calling them weighted gloves, but apparently I was wrong). My elbow started hurting last night and I think I might have tweaked it while working out with the wrist weights. I've had tendinitis before, and I really don't want to do anything to make that worse, my arms are too important to everything I do, so I'm debating weather or not to wear them on Tuesday.

However, Freddie took this awesome picture of my developing back muscles (or the punching muscles, as I call them)! I think they're getting pretty sexy! :)

Day 36 - Just keep going. . .

Today I woke up, in a significantly better mood than yesterday, and worked out. I did Fire 55EZ. I was a little more worn out today than normal, but I think its the stress. I filled out my goal sheet today and I plan to keep it simple through this rough upcoming week. No weight loss this week, but I'm trying not to worry about it. My goal is just to keep working out. I may faulter on the food a little, but I'm going to try not to. Most importantly, I'm just going to do it! May the force be with me! Now off to do more finals . . .

Day 35 - Bad day . . .

Today was Core 20 and Stretch 40. With all these finals and all this stress, I feel like I'm loosing a lot of momentum and wearing thin. I'm trying really hard to get through this week without dying and keeping up the working out. Today I screwed up with the eating, I ate a double double animal style from In N Out. I felt left out since everyone else was eating there on our field trip :( Then I had a rootbeer float. I put it all in my calorie counter, though, so I'm eating bok choy for dinner . . . eh, rough day. Oh well, I'll write my end of the week recap tomorrow when I'm in a better mood.

Day 34 - Late . . .

This is a late post since blogger was down yesterday, but I did workout, though I was late doing that, too. I really didn't want to workout. I'm so tired and stressed, I just want to do nothing. Blah. That's how I feel today, too, I'm going to have to pull my sorry butt off the chair soon. Anyways, I did Fire 45 with the weighted gloves. It was kind of difficult, but it may have been my sluggishness.

Day 33 - Sore Boot-ay

Today was Fire 55 EZ, I did it with the workout gloves, and boy, do they make a difference! I was much more tired today while using them than before. I woke up and my butt and my shoulders were sore. I will admit, this morning, I wasn't feeling very excited to workout today, but I pushed through it, and I'm glad I did. It seems every time I feel as though I don't want to do it, and I do it anyways, I'm always glad I did and I'm a little proud of myself :) I'm more determined to do this than I've ever been before. The force is with me!

Wednesdays are becoming the busiest days for me! They keep getting harder and harder! I'm so glad that last week is my last week of school. I'm going to really be able to get some sleep and relaxation, I could really use it! One more week and a half!

Day 32 - Today, Chalene kicked my ass . . .

Today was Fire 30 and Tone 30 and today, Chalene kicked my ass, but I kicked back! I know I'm going to feel this tomorrow. Tone 30 is quite a bit harder than sculpt 30, it seems. I also wore my weighted gloves today, which aren't great, I may eventually invest in nicer ones (these I found cheep at Ross), and I'm not sure if they're the reason Fire 30 today was so much harder, or if it was because I was tired and a little cranky today. They slide around on my wrists, so some movements, like the speedbag were a little funky, but overall, it wasn't bad. I continued to sweat like a pig through Tone 30 and now I'm sitting here drinking my protein shake and I can smell myself and as soon as my shake is done, I'm hopping in the shower! You know its bad when you can smell yourself!!! Not very feminine, but ass kicking never is ;)

Day 31 - Beer and Pasta Night

Yesterday night I went out for beer and pasta with some friends. It was a great night, lots and lots of fun. I went off the diet, though, and I'm a little bummed since I weighed myself and I went up almost two pounds. I'm trying to tell myself it's okay since it was a fun night, and today, I might go ahead and just eat all raw, should clear out the system, though I ate so much pasta last night I'm still full!

Day 30 - Sore Shoulders!

Today was Fire 30 and Sculpt 30. And I can tell you now, I'm going to feel sculpt 30 tomorrow! My shoulders are burning! I also feel my poor legs whimpering. Fire 30 was easier than I remember and I had a lot of fun just bouncing around and not dying. I'm thinking on Tuesday, I may whip out my weighted gloves since its another Fire 30 class and make it a little more difficult.

Today is also Day 30! I've been doing this for 30 straight days! WooHoo! I believe I've surpassed last summer's Insanity stopping point and I'm still going strong! I think that its a good thing that this is less intense and I don't feel like I'm dying. I'm having more fun and while the physical results are slower, I feel so much better. I'm more energetic and happy, while with Insanity, I think I threw myself into a workout I wasn't ready for and I felt tired and unmotivated the whole month. I like this much better :)

Day 29 - Sushi Splurge

Today was Fire 55 EZ and the beginning of Month 2! Woohoo! I'm really noticing changes in my cardio abilities. I notice I can jump higher and go longer without dying. I did Fire 55 all the way through without stopping and it feels shorter and shorter. I don't feel that 55 minutes is a long workout anymore. Its really awesome :)

I did it before eating today and then went with my friends to all you can eat sushi as a last hurrah before the semester's over. I splurged, especially with the ice cream afterwards, but I wasn't hungry the rest of the day, which I'm not sure is good or bad. I may actually have been under my calories haha I don't know. I took today off eating, which was a nice break, but I still didn't eat any fried foods, most sushi is relatively healthy, and the bad stuff just doesn't appeal to me like it used to. Its really interesting to see how my tastes buds are changing - though I don't think that I'll ever lose m y taste for chocolate ice cream! :)

Before and After Month 1 pictures

Alright, so here are the pictures. Its not a huge change, but its something. I've lost 5.2 pounds and 2.25 inches. (I changed the measurements of my thighs on the original one since me and Freddie rewatched the "how to do your measurements" video and noticed we did them wrong, I figured out what they were from measuring where we had measured before, and corrected them) I'm still going, and hopefully I'll see more inches lost in the future! I think with all the sculpting and toning classes in Month 2, I'll probably get a little tighter, I've also heard a lot people don't see a lot of results with just cardio and the resistance training really boosts their results.

More than just physical results, though, I have noticed that I feel much better and that I'm generally happier and more energetic. I feel great doing this and I have no intention of stopping! The way I feel and getting healthier are the biggest things and I feel all those changes happening. The physical stuff may be slow, but the way I feel makes it worth it. I feel I'm making permanent changes in how I eat and live, and it doesn't feel like a chore when I first went through Insanity. I still plan on going back through and doing that though! I want that t-shirt that says "I earned it!" :)

Over all, I'm very proud of myself and its been a rewarding month.

Day 28 - End of Month One

Today was Fire 45 and Stretch 10, and the last day of month one! I'm super excited and proud of myself. Today I weighed in and dropped into 149! Woohoo! Freddie has the pictures I took this morning, so I'll post those later. Not a huge change, but its something and the way I've felt has been great!

I didn't get to workout this morning, checked my lease and the quiet hours end at 8am. I was too worried about waking the neighbor since there's so much jumping in turbo fire. I did it after class instead and I'm amazed at how much easier it has gotten! It also doesn't seem as long! Its actually really nice :)

Day 27 - Late Workout

Today I did Core 20 and Stretch 40. It was a late day today, I didn' t workout until around 7pm. It was a little crazy with a morning class and I didn't sleep well last night so I took a nap afterwards and then did grocery shopping and it just got pushed way back! I'm considering tomorrow, though, waking up early and working out before class at 8:30. I just remember how good it felt last time I did that and I want that feeling of happiness and productivity again. The only thing that concerns me is the quiet hours, so I think I may do it anyways, and if I get yelled at, then I'll know not to do it again haha

I can't believe tomorrow is the last day of Month 1! I'm so proud of myself for making it this far and can't wait for the results to come in! I don't think there's a whole ton of differences, but I do know there's something!

Day 26 - Morning booster

Today was Fire 55 EZ. I must say that when I woke up, I was not excited for this. I was actually not excited for this whole day. Today is a busy busy day, I'm just writing this in between class and massive amounts of homework. I had to wake up at 7:45 to start working out at 8am, work on my term paper that's due this afternoon by 9:30, after that, I had to watch my ianimate lecture I missed last night, take notes, and send Ted an email. I have to go to class in less than an hour now and when I come back, I have to do homework all night long for a class tomorrow at 8:30am. WHEW!

So needless to say, I was not a happy camper. But I woke up this morning, put on my Reeboks and got right down to it, and I'm very glad I did. I feel that since I woke up and worked out, it actually made me more productive and I felt better and was able to get all my work done almost an hour before class! Which is sooner than I thought I would, sadly! haha I'm really starting to like working out in the mornings, it just puts me in a good mood and a good feeling the rest of the day :) Happy little side effects.

Day 25 - Mexican Food Regret

Today was HIIT 20 and Sculpt 30. Its hard to believe how much easier HIIT 20 has gotten from when I first started. Today I was pushing as hard as I could go and at the end, while I was dripping sweat, still felt pumped for Sculpt 30. I need to work on my bowler's lunge, I really can't seem to figure that one out.

Things are getting more crazy with school, but I'm determined to keep this up for these next three weeks! This is something that's important to me, and I have to tell myself that every day I can find one hour to work out. This is another reason I like doing it in the mornings. It gets it over with, I don't have to worry about it the rest of the day, and I feel better all day long.

Yesterday I went out with Freddie with the intention of not eating because he went to a Mexican food place. I ended up eating a part of his burrito. I started to feel bad not long after we got back and my acid reflux started to come back! I felt so bad, I made myself a protein smoothie for dinner and I have much more incentive to not eat that anymore. Yuck! I'll stick to getting beans and rice next time!

Day 24 - Catching up!

Rest day! Time to catch up on some homework! Things are getting more difficult with school, finals and all, but I'm determined to keep going, but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate this day off to get some serious work done. Have to write a whole term paper today! Yikes!

Day 23 - Getting more fit

Today was HIIT 20. I can tell that I'm getting more fit, I'm able to jump higher and pull my knees up higher during these hiit workouts. I'm going to miss them when they're gone :( I've only got one more left then a whole month of no hiit workouts! I'm really working on bringing it every time I go into class and I'm feeling better each time. I can tell some of my clothes are fitting a bit looser and I can't wait to track my progress at the end of the month!