She was reading my mind ...

Chalene Johnson just posted this ...

Chalene on BodyBugg

Remember my latest obsession? The BodyBugg? Yeah, so if you're still wondering what it's all about, here is Chalene Johnson explaining it ...



24 hour fitness is a huge promotor of the BodyBugg & if you watch the Biggest Loser, you'll see the participants using them. The funny thing is, once you start wearing it, you start seeing just how many people do the Bugg!

Where to get it:

• You can order it online from 24-hour fitness (price $249.99, currently on sale for $199.99)
• You can buy a Go, Wear, Fit from amazon.com (price $199.99 currently on sale for $179.95) - This is the exact same thing as the BodyBugg (both made by BodyMedia), they are just marketed from different companies.

Getting fit, what works for me ...

Now that the cycle is broken, I need to declare my new goals. Consistency is important to me, losing weight is up there too. Here's what works for me:

• A structured program, so I don't have to decide each day what I am doing. Although I do like a little flexibility since life happens!
• Weights - I need to use weights, I feel stronger and get better results (both visual and weight loss)

I love running and doing races, but it seems when I am training for a half marathon, that I don't make the time for weights, since the running takes up so much time. My best results were from doing a 3 month rotation of Chalean Extreme. I think it's time for another one!

So, today is the first day of new Chalean Extreme rotation. Here's what the next month will look like

• Monday - Burn Circuit 1 (BC1)
• Tuesday - Burn It Off
• Wednesday - Burn Circuit 2 (BC2)
• Thursday - Burn Intervals & Ab Burner
• Friday - Burn Circuit 3 (BC3)
• Saturday - Recharge

I'd also love to add in some yoga as time permits. (And my body allows!)

As far as eating goes, I am going to maintain at least a 750 calorie deficit per day using my BodyBugg to track my calories in/calories out.

I'm back!

Okay, so it's been a much longer hiatus than I would like to admit. I have been working on and off on my exercise since June, just more recently (like the holiday season and then some) off. The results, I have gained weight, feel sluggish, lost body confidence and just overall feel yucky. I'm not back to where I was, but I can tell you that gaining is NOT what I want.

I have been doing some soul searching of why I have gotten back to these horrible habits that I thought I had overcome. I cam across this video that Chalene posted to her blog:



Wow, just what I needed. I after my success last year, I was living under some false assumption that I had conquered my bad habits. And now that I have fallen off the wagon, so to say, I have been living under another false assumption that I can't change these bad habits that I always tend to revert to (overeating, lack of exercise, etc.)

I am breaking free of these chains and starting with a new normal. Does that make sense? I know how great it feels to eat well and to have a strong body and this is what I want for me in my life.

Last November I signed up to run the Ogden half marathon this May thinking I would do it with my friend who I ran it with in 2008. She decided against running it and I have been teetering back and forth not sure if I could do it on my own. This weekend I decided that I am going to do it, I want to do it and I can't wait to do it! I'll update this blog to reflect my new goals, but wanted to come in and get these thoughts on paper. Today I started with a short run down at the High School Track. I ran three of the six laps, as I am trying to ease back into things. I felt strong and like I could do more, so that was good!

2/17/2010 - 1.5 miles
2010 miles - 1.5 miles

Chalean Extreme

Here's an bit from the infomercial about Chalean Extreme ... love this program!

Checking in

Hello! So, I have been totally slacking when it comes to my blogs lately, but that's okay. I've been outside for the last hour weeding and planting flowers, so I do not feel guilty in the least bit!

I can't remember if I posted last week or not, but I got side tracked from working out midweek due to getting sick ... AGAIN! While I continued to do my best eating wise and staying active, I decided to push the official start of my 90 day rotation back one more week (to this week) so that I could get in the complete workouts. I am feeling much better (knock on wood!) and have totally been rocking it this week.

Monday I did Burn Circuits 1 ... that workout had me gulping for air ... and it's all strength! It was mostly legs and chest/back.

Tuesday Aubrey and I did just over 5 miles on our bikes. It still took us just under an hour, so I don't know which distance we'll be doing in June. If we can increase our pace to 10-15 MPH then we could manage 38, but right now it looks like we might be doing the 15. I decided to stop pushing too hard, because it is supposed to be fun. I did a couple of intervals to get my heart rate up including on hill that was KILLER. I mean it is worth than the hill I live on!

Wednesday I did Burn Circuits 2. I really liked this one. Don't know if it's because I gained back my strength completely, but I didn't feel nearly as wiped out as Monday, but that doesn't mean I wasn't working hard. My muscles were shaking by the end. It worked biceps, triceps and legs.

Today I am going on a bike ride with Aubrey again. She prefers neighborhood riding, but we might try another trail today. I think on trails we could end up with a faster MPH since we are not stopping to cross streets or wait for cars. I think the only reason she doesn't like the trails as much is last time her tire went flat and we had to walk 1.5 miles back.

How's your workouts going? What goals do you have?

Starting a new round of CLX

Hello! Glad to be back to things, even though the Caribbean was QUITE delightful! ;)

I was planning on starting my 2nd round of CLX last week, but the timing just didn't work for the workouts. I did do some workouts and really cleaned up my eating. Today will start my official first week of BURN (2nd time around!) I am really looking forward to the BURN month ... with only 3 extremes each workout!

This past week I managed to lose the 2 1/2 cruise bulk PLUS an additional 4 lbs!!! I SO get that for me, it really is 85% eating. The workouts are good and help me to feel good and LOOK good in my skin, but when it comes to weight loss, it's all about the food. On my ticker I am picking up from where I left off (not counting the weight I lost when it went up from the cruise).

It was kind of nice to come home last weekend to no food in the house, because when I went shopping I only bought things that would work with our diet. Then I spent 30 minutes preparing all kinds of snack and easy to grab foods. The top two shelves in my fridge are all things you can grab and eat as well as one shelf in my pantry. This is so key for me, because I am all about convenience. I was lucky to get a bunch of those really small tupperware sets on sale 5 for $.75.

I have updated my blog to reflect my new goals. I had fun putting the top banner together, because it represents the things I will be doing for the next 3-4 months. Hope you like it!

I won $200!!!

When I started my rotation back in December ... I joined a Biggest Loser Challenge with some girls on one of the message boards I visit. We each pitched in $5 and we had voting this past week. It wasn't weight loss, but visible results. Imagine my surprise when I won ... I've never won anything worth anything before! I am so stoked!!! Okay, I am gonna suck it up and show my pictures here. No laughing, okay?!? ;)


I tried really hard in each shot to hit the same pose with no sucking in and all that. I did two shots (not seen here) were I did flex, but that's it. I am more tan in the afters, but that is only because of getting ready for the cruise! Here are the numbers:

Total weight loss: 23.2 lbs.
Inches lost -
chest: 1.5"
R arm: 1"
L arm: 1.5"
waist: 3.5"
hips: 2.75"
abductors: 4"
R thigh: 1.5"
L thigh: 3"
total inches lost: 19"

For me the most noticeable change is in the side shots. In the before, my belly stuck out past my boobs (shudder) and now it doesn't!!! I am now at the weight (even a few pounds less) I was before having Braden. Once I lose about another 10 lbs., I'll be at the lowest weight I've been since having Aubrey ... THAT will be a celebration!!!

Other changes I notice are:

~My appetite is not as big as it used to be. I gave myself free reign on the cruise to eat anything I wanted. And I did, but usually I did not finish my plate and I found myself stopping when I was satisfied. It was nice to enjoy the food without being sick from having eaten too much. When I started the first CLX rotation, it was hard adjusting to smaller meals, but now I sometimes get full before finishing the whole CLX meal!

~ Huge strength gains. When I started I could barely do 2 pushups on my knees, and even then the form was horrible and probably shouldn't count. I can now do most of the reps, with good form, on my knees. I am not quite ready for a toes pushup, but I can tell that I am really close.

~ Seeing my muscle ... I am seeing muscles popping up in places they have never been sen before. Most noticeable are my tricep/delt muscles and my quads. I can't wait to shred another layer of fat and really be able to start seeing them! Even at my skinniest, I was never "firm."

~ Confidence ... I have such confidence in my body now. I proudly wore my swimsuits on the beach. Was there cellulite? Heck ya! Am I at my goal weight? Not yet! But it didn't matter. I felt great about myself and instead of being self concious and try to hide, I just enjoyed myself and had a blast. My mind still tries to play tricks on me sometimes, but that's when I tell it to shut up!!!

~ No more "ifs" or "somedays." We spend a lot of our lives looking for that someday moment when things are perfect, and really is it ever? No! I am loving this journey and appreciating where I am. At the same time, I no longer wonder "if" I will be healthy, but I know I AM healthy and that now is the day.

I started a new rotation and have updated my ticker to reflect a new start. I have set my goal weight to be the high end of healthy for my height, only because it asks for it. Honestly, I don't have a goal for weight but here are my goals:

• Finish 90 day CLX rotation doing 3 strength workouts per week and 2-3 bike rides per week (If weather is bad, substitute and indoor cardio), 2 ab/stretching workouts
  
• Follow CLX eating plan, allowing 1-2 cheat meal each week. (I have added in some of my own recipes so I guess it is a modified CLX eating plan)
  
• Continue to work on my body image/thoughts. This includes combatting the bad thoughts when they pop in and notice the good things about my body.
  
• Be able to do at least one push up on toes at the end of the rotation

I figure the weight will come off, but since I can't control how much will come off, I'll focus on the things I can control like what I eat, when I workout, etc.

Here's to the next 90 days!

I'm here!

So, I haven't been posting on here, but I am still working on things. Taylor and I have overhauled our diet and I am working on the exercise thing as we get ready for our cruise in April. It's official ... we're leaving April 3rd. So that gives me exactly three months to get into cruise shape! I have been anxiously awaiting Chalene Johnson's new program, which is coming out just in time for the cruise. It's a 3 month program that switches it up each month to get optimal results. What's also cool is I can use my own cardio or use the cardio she has. This was I can work on my running, since I am still wanting to do the Odgen half again in May. Here's the website which has some info on the system:

http://www.beachbody.com/product/fitness_programs/chalean_extreme.do

There is a nutrition plan that comes with it. I'd like to compare it to what we are doing and see if there is anything we can add to what we are currently doing.

They had a test group going on this program the past year (one of the girls that was part of it goes to a message board I frequent) and they got some amazing results. Here is a page with their pictures:

http://www.beachbody.com/product/chalean_extreme_success_stories.do

Now, they got to work out with Chalene in the studio and they followed a very regimented diet plan (they each had a nutritionist set up a plan for their body). So their results were extreme. But I think I can get the results I am looking for. (Feel good, have lot of energy, be able to walk all day during our shore excursions, etc.)