Ouch, getting on the scale this morning hurt. It was BAD. Lots of excess over the weekend from beer drinking at the Elton John/Billy Joel concert (which was excellent!). Going on vacation exactly 18 days from now . . . . would like to get down to 150 by then - yes, I know that's a lofty goal.
Mrs.
Starting weight: 152 pounds
Goal weight: 130 pounds
Current weight: 162.2 pounds
Pounds lost (gained) this week: (n/a, last weigh in May 11)
Total pounds lost (gained): (10.2)
Pounds left to lose: 32.2
Workouts: 3 (Zumba, 2 one-mile speed walks)
Mr. (yes he's back! Yay!)
Starting weight: 245 pounds
Goal weight: 185 pounds
Current weight: 238 pounds
Pounds lost (gained) this week: (n/a, last weigh in was April 6)
Total pounds lost: 7
Pounds left to lose: 53
Workouts: (1) one-mile speed walk
Monday, August 3, 2009
Friday, July 31, 2009
I'm Back!
OK, I have been avoiding this blog like the plague. If you are still out there, thanks for checking in. I'm back!
I've been gone because I have been REALLY good at coming up with all kinds of rationalizations about my diet and exercise (or lack thereof) and why I have nothing of interest to blog about.
Well, here's something interesting: My weight has been creeping up again, to around 160 pounds. Completely unacceptable to me. SO depressing and frustrating to me that I've done nothing but GAIN weight since I started this blog.
Yet, I have been exercising regularly (not quite as consistently as I'd like, but at least a couple times a week at minimum). I've been doing Zumba, kickboxing, and step classes, which I really enjoy. I've been jogging every now and then (I've run two 5k's since April) and do workout DVD's (P.M. Yoga, Slim In Six, Zumba, Weight Loss Yoga) at home when I can. And we've been on vacation. Taking 3 kids to the beach every day is like exercising all day long.
Exercise has become essential to me in managing my stress level, and it makes me happier. Plus, it have given me quality time with my daughter - I've run both the 5k's with her, and it was more enjoyable than I'd have ever imagined. She's 9, and as she grows older, I know she'll want to spend less and less time with me - but maybe we can continue to do fun and healthy activities such as this that we both enjoy.
So, you may be thinking, what's the problem? Why is my weight continuing to do the slow creep upwards?
Simple answer: I eat too much and drink too much soda. I have yet to find an eating plan that works and is sustainable for me. I like to eat, I don't like any kind of deprivation, and have a strong addiction to regular soda.
Soon after my last post about Suzanne Somers, which was working for me at the time, I decided to stop it after a follow up visit to the Dr. revealed I had more kidney stones (which we thought was just a pregnancy thing last year). They are just waiting for their time to move. Uh-oh. Dr. C told me to avoid dark sodas, teas, and any high protein-low carb diets. since my stones are calcium oxalate and may be caused by some things in my diet. Bye-bye, Suzanne.
I haven't had any tea since that appointment (I used to drink hot tea in the morning, iced tea at night). But dark soda? Less success here. I definitely haven't been drinking as much of it, but I still gotta have it. And regular soda too, not diet. I hate diet soda's taste, and aspartame gives me blinding headaches.
I know my soda consumption is one of my biggest issues. It seems to be, for me, similar to any other addiction - I give it up, it's all good for a while, and then one day I say, I'll just have one," and so I do. And then I slide back down the slippery slope into drinking them every day. Repeat cycle, over and over again.
I've stopped drinking soda in restaurants. My motivation is two fold - health and money. Seriously, if most of your family orders water with dinner, you'll save almost $10. And feel less full at the end of the meal. Works for me.
I stopped buying soda at the grocery store, so it does not exist in my home. Easy to avoid if it's not there. I drink water or 4C Lemonade with Splenda (delicious).
So what's the problem? Work. They have fountain sodas there. Fountain sodas, to me, taste much better than cans or bottles. I bring in bottles of flavored seltzer to drink instead, but it never lasts. Like some people need their coffee in the a.m., I need my large fountain Coke. I try to only have one a day, but it's a 20 ounce cup, and if I'm careful, I can make that last through lunch.
So what's the solution? I have no idea. Maybe another attack of kidney stones will be the last straw. I hope it doesn't get to that. But I've gotta stop drinking soda, I know. Just that one thing will likely make a huge difference. Does anyone out there have any suggestions?
Back to work here. I'll weigh in on Monday.
Mrs. *
*As for why this doesn't say Mr. as well, he's so far off the wagon, I don't know if he'll be back, but I have hope. He is slowly creeping upward as well, just finished a huge project at work, so maybe he'll come back.
I've been gone because I have been REALLY good at coming up with all kinds of rationalizations about my diet and exercise (or lack thereof) and why I have nothing of interest to blog about.
Well, here's something interesting: My weight has been creeping up again, to around 160 pounds. Completely unacceptable to me. SO depressing and frustrating to me that I've done nothing but GAIN weight since I started this blog.
Yet, I have been exercising regularly (not quite as consistently as I'd like, but at least a couple times a week at minimum). I've been doing Zumba, kickboxing, and step classes, which I really enjoy. I've been jogging every now and then (I've run two 5k's since April) and do workout DVD's (P.M. Yoga, Slim In Six, Zumba, Weight Loss Yoga) at home when I can. And we've been on vacation. Taking 3 kids to the beach every day is like exercising all day long.
Exercise has become essential to me in managing my stress level, and it makes me happier. Plus, it have given me quality time with my daughter - I've run both the 5k's with her, and it was more enjoyable than I'd have ever imagined. She's 9, and as she grows older, I know she'll want to spend less and less time with me - but maybe we can continue to do fun and healthy activities such as this that we both enjoy.
So, you may be thinking, what's the problem? Why is my weight continuing to do the slow creep upwards?
Simple answer: I eat too much and drink too much soda. I have yet to find an eating plan that works and is sustainable for me. I like to eat, I don't like any kind of deprivation, and have a strong addiction to regular soda.
Soon after my last post about Suzanne Somers, which was working for me at the time, I decided to stop it after a follow up visit to the Dr. revealed I had more kidney stones (which we thought was just a pregnancy thing last year). They are just waiting for their time to move. Uh-oh. Dr. C told me to avoid dark sodas, teas, and any high protein-low carb diets. since my stones are calcium oxalate and may be caused by some things in my diet. Bye-bye, Suzanne.
I haven't had any tea since that appointment (I used to drink hot tea in the morning, iced tea at night). But dark soda? Less success here. I definitely haven't been drinking as much of it, but I still gotta have it. And regular soda too, not diet. I hate diet soda's taste, and aspartame gives me blinding headaches.
I know my soda consumption is one of my biggest issues. It seems to be, for me, similar to any other addiction - I give it up, it's all good for a while, and then one day I say, I'll just have one," and so I do. And then I slide back down the slippery slope into drinking them every day. Repeat cycle, over and over again.
I've stopped drinking soda in restaurants. My motivation is two fold - health and money. Seriously, if most of your family orders water with dinner, you'll save almost $10. And feel less full at the end of the meal. Works for me.
I stopped buying soda at the grocery store, so it does not exist in my home. Easy to avoid if it's not there. I drink water or 4C Lemonade with Splenda (delicious).
So what's the problem? Work. They have fountain sodas there. Fountain sodas, to me, taste much better than cans or bottles. I bring in bottles of flavored seltzer to drink instead, but it never lasts. Like some people need their coffee in the a.m., I need my large fountain Coke. I try to only have one a day, but it's a 20 ounce cup, and if I'm careful, I can make that last through lunch.
So what's the solution? I have no idea. Maybe another attack of kidney stones will be the last straw. I hope it doesn't get to that. But I've gotta stop drinking soda, I know. Just that one thing will likely make a huge difference. Does anyone out there have any suggestions?
Back to work here. I'll weigh in on Monday.
Mrs. *
*As for why this doesn't say Mr. as well, he's so far off the wagon, I don't know if he'll be back, but I have hope. He is slowly creeping upward as well, just finished a huge project at work, so maybe he'll come back.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Weigh In #13: Progress, FINALLY!
Mrs.
Starting weight: 152 pounds
Current weight: 154.8 pounds
Pounds lost (gained) this week: 4.2 lost!!
Total pounds lost (gained): (2.8)
Pounds left to lose: 22
Workouts: 3 (Zumba, kickboxing, weights)
Seeing results from the Suzanne Somers diet...and I actually like eating this way. I feel satisfied and not deprived. I counted 4.2 pounds lost because last Wednesday, before I started Somersizing, I weighed (gulp) 159. Hoping I can stick with it and melt away at least 22 more pounds....hopefully at least 10-15 before my June vacation.....
Starting weight: 152 pounds
Current weight: 154.8 pounds
Pounds lost (gained) this week: 4.2 lost!!
Total pounds lost (gained): (2.8)
Pounds left to lose: 22
Workouts: 3 (Zumba, kickboxing, weights)
Seeing results from the Suzanne Somers diet...and I actually like eating this way. I feel satisfied and not deprived. I counted 4.2 pounds lost because last Wednesday, before I started Somersizing, I weighed (gulp) 159. Hoping I can stick with it and melt away at least 22 more pounds....hopefully at least 10-15 before my June vacation.....
Friday, May 8, 2009
Crunch Time
OK, so that Tracy Anderson diet didn't last long. Turns out it was only about 600-800 calories a day, and so I was so hungry on it I almost gobbled up all the papers sitting on my desk one day. And excessive hunger just leads me to binge when I get home (very, very bad).
So, on to something new. Or, on to something previously tried and liked (and it worked!), but abandoned due to pure laziness and lack of motivation.
Suzanne Somers.
That's right. That Thighmaster, Home Shopping Network, Chrissy-from-Threes' Company blonde chick. She has developed a food-combining method called Somersizing. I own all the Somersizing books and have done it before. And liked it.
What I liked about it: great recipes, great food, and you can eat until you are satisfied and comfortably full. It's also easier to eat in restaurants. Once you get going, the pounds melt away quickly and you don't feel like you are being deprived.
What I didn't like about it: It involves a lot of cooking, which I enjoy, but it takes time, and fresh ingredients, which means frequent trips to the store and lots of cash. It also involves planning ahead to ensure you have the right ingredients at the right time. Ugh. Sometimes the food combining rules become a little unwieldy (especially at a family gathering where there are tons of foods that break the rules).
I am going to do it for the month of May and first week of June in order to prep for a vacation in June. I'm hoping to drop at least 10 pounds (although I could stand to lose 20-30)
Here are the Somersizing rules:
Breakfast: Grape Nuts cereal with nonfat milk
Lunch: Salad bar veggies with oil and vinegar, 1 piece of roast turkey (no gravy!)
Dinner: Piece of grilled chicken with steamed broccoli
and today I've had:
Breakfast: veggie omelet with swiss cheese & bacon (Pro/Fats & veggies)
Lunch : salad with grilled shrimp, scallops and calamari, saffron vinaigrette dressing (Pro/Fats & veggies)
I've also gone cold turkey off the fountain Cokes. I'm drinking flavored seltzer water instead (0 calories, 0 sugar). I hope I develop a taste for it.
Tonight will be a challenge. We go right from work to my son's T-ball game, where there is a concession stand offering hot dogs and pizza. This is where the thinking ahead comes into play, and I'm not good at it. A soft pretzel would be a fat-free choice but not whole wheat.
I do enjoy eating this way. I don't feel bloated, feel satisfed after a meal, and at the appropriate time, hungry for the next one. I don't feel tired or sluggish in the afternoon. And, weighing myself this morning, I looked to be down about a pound and a half. (Could be just water weight though!)
I'll weigh back in on Monday, hopefully with results.
So, on to something new. Or, on to something previously tried and liked (and it worked!), but abandoned due to pure laziness and lack of motivation.
Suzanne Somers.
That's right. That Thighmaster, Home Shopping Network, Chrissy-from-Threes' Company blonde chick. She has developed a food-combining method called Somersizing. I own all the Somersizing books and have done it before. And liked it.
What I liked about it: great recipes, great food, and you can eat until you are satisfied and comfortably full. It's also easier to eat in restaurants. Once you get going, the pounds melt away quickly and you don't feel like you are being deprived.
What I didn't like about it: It involves a lot of cooking, which I enjoy, but it takes time, and fresh ingredients, which means frequent trips to the store and lots of cash. It also involves planning ahead to ensure you have the right ingredients at the right time. Ugh. Sometimes the food combining rules become a little unwieldy (especially at a family gathering where there are tons of foods that break the rules).
I am going to do it for the month of May and first week of June in order to prep for a vacation in June. I'm hoping to drop at least 10 pounds (although I could stand to lose 20-30)
Here are the Somersizing rules:
- Eliminate sugar, white flour, and funky foods (processed, fried foods, foods high in starch, or anything that can't be classified as (1) Protein or fat or (2) Carb or (3) low starch veggie or fruit)
- No sugar, caffeine, alcohol
- Eat proteins/fats with veggies (no carbs)
- Eat carbs with veggies (but no fat)
- Carbs should be whole wheat (pasta, bread, bagels, etc.)
- Eat fruit alone or on an empty stomach
- Do not skip meals. Eat until satisfied and comfortably full
So, you can eat proteins/fats with veggies (think steak and salad, seafood and veggies, full fat salad dressings, as long as they don't have any added sugar)
And carbs with no fat (whole wheat bagel with fat free cream cheese, Grape Nuts cereal with nonfat milk, whole wheat tortillas with veggies and fat-free cheese) Suzanne recommends eating the carbs in the a.m. so you have all day to burn them off. While it is easier to eat Protein/Fat/Veggies meals all the time, you do need to get the carbs in - they are a good source of fiber.
So, as an example, yesterday I had:Breakfast: Grape Nuts cereal with nonfat milk
Lunch: Salad bar veggies with oil and vinegar, 1 piece of roast turkey (no gravy!)
Dinner: Piece of grilled chicken with steamed broccoli
and today I've had:
Breakfast: veggie omelet with swiss cheese & bacon (Pro/Fats & veggies)
Lunch : salad with grilled shrimp, scallops and calamari, saffron vinaigrette dressing (Pro/Fats & veggies)
I've also gone cold turkey off the fountain Cokes. I'm drinking flavored seltzer water instead (0 calories, 0 sugar). I hope I develop a taste for it.
Tonight will be a challenge. We go right from work to my son's T-ball game, where there is a concession stand offering hot dogs and pizza. This is where the thinking ahead comes into play, and I'm not good at it. A soft pretzel would be a fat-free choice but not whole wheat.
I do enjoy eating this way. I don't feel bloated, feel satisfed after a meal, and at the appropriate time, hungry for the next one. I don't feel tired or sluggish in the afternoon. And, weighing myself this morning, I looked to be down about a pound and a half. (Could be just water weight though!)
I'll weigh back in on Monday, hopefully with results.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Enough is Enough!
Just 6 weeks or so til summer. We are sick of seeing little to no results. We are going on a drastic diet. For at least the next week anyway. Six weeks seems overwhelming, so I'm going to take it one week at a time. If this week works out well, then I'll continue.
I've chosen a plan by Tracy Anderson, who trains Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow. If it's good enough for them, it's certainly good enough for me! I would LOVE to lose 20 pounds in 6 weeks! I missed Sunday's menu as I didn't get to the grocery store til late afternoon, so I started on Monday's menu. So far, so good! The challenge is that it is my daughter's birthday tonight, and Mr., the baker extraordinaire, has made some amazing cupcakes. I'll do my best to resist or just have a bite or two.
Just for measure, my starting point is the same as last weigh in: 157 pounds. I'll see you next Monday with hopefully some RESULTS!
The following plan was posted last year in US Weekly
Madonna's Trainer: How to Lose 20 Pounds in 6 Weeks
Two pounds a week is the typically advised weight loss, but pro Tracy Anderson says she has worked out a way to safely shed even faster!
“It’s perfectly healthy,” the former dancer, 33, tells Us of her plan. And the results of her regime speak for themselves in the super-fit physiques of clients Gwyneth Paltrow and Madonna, not to mention her own transformation (the 5-foot mom dropped from 140 to 95 pounds).
“My formula works on everyone as long as they’re consistent,” says the trainer, who has a studio in L.A. She developed her signature strategy, to shape any body into a “teeny-tiny dancer type,” after testing 100 women for five years independently (because “the government isn’t going to fund seeing if you can get a Victoria’s Secret butt out of any woman!”).
The key, she says, is to constantly change the routine. Her students log six two-hour sessions weekly, dancing and hitting the Hybrid Body Reformer (a pulley-system machine available only in her studio, but not necessary to this plan). Promises Anderson, “You’ll keep the weight off!”
The Diet
This short-term diet “ensures you lose between 3 and 5 pounds a week,” says Anderson. The diet bans processed food, dairy and all spices (“They’re bloating and upset your digestive system, which causes you to store fat”), oil and sauces (“They’re just added calories”), discourages drinking alcohol or caffeine (sip 1.5 to 3 liters of water daily instead) and prescribes one serving of whole-grain carbs a day. Once you’re at your target weight, adopt a healthy but less restrictive diet.
Below are three weeks’ worth of menus. You can follow as is, or mix and match complete days’ menus to your liking.
WEEK ONE
Sunday
Breakfast - 1 cup Kashi cereal, with ½ cup plain — or vanilla — nonfat rice milk
Lunch - 3 oz grilled chicken breast — or fresh turkey breast (no deli meat!) — with ½ cup each of chopped cucumber and tomatoes
Snack - 1 cup mixed berries (try raspberries, blackberries and blueberries)
Dinner - 1 cup organic pasta with ½ cup steamed spinach
Monday
Breakfast - 1 cup Kashi cereal, with ½ cup plain—or vanilla—nonfat rice milk
Lunch - 2 hardboiled eggs with ½ cup each of baby carrots and cherry tomatoes
Dinner - 3 to 5 oz grilled sea bass with ½ cup steamed spinach
Tuesday
Breakfast - 1 cup steel-cut oatmeal made with water and ½ cup fresh blueberries
Lunch - 3 oz grilled chicken breast — or fresh turkey breast (no deli meat!) — with ½ cup each of chopped cucumber and tomatoes
Snack - 1 cup mixed berries (try raspberries, blueberries or red grapes)
Dinner - 3 to 5 oz grilled salmon with ½ cup steamed broccoli
Wednesday
Breakfast - 1 cup Kashi cereal, with ½ cup plain — or vanilla — nonfat rice milk
Lunch - ½ cup each of fresh spinach, beet root, tomatoes and cucumbers, with 2 tsp tahini
Snack - 1 snack cup of sugar-free Jell-O
Dinner - 3 to 5 oz grilled chicken breast with ½ cup steamed spinach
Thursday
Breakfast - 1 cup Kashi cereal, with ½ cup plain — or vanilla — nonfat rice milk
Lunch - 2 hard-boiled eggs with 4 to 5 celery sticks and 4 to 5 carrot sticks
Dinner - 1 cup penne pasta with ½ cup each of steamed spinach and chopped steamed tomatoes
Friday
Breakfast - 1 cup Kashi cereal, with ½ cup plain — or vanilla — nonfat rice milk
Lunch - 3 oz fresh turkey breast with ¼ cup each of cucumbers, alfalfa sprouts and beets, plus 1 slice whole-grain bread
Snack - 1 cup fresh strawberries
Dinner - 3 to 5 oz grilled sea bass with ½ cup steamed fresh green beans
Saturday
Breakfast - 2 poached eggs with 3 slices veggie bacon
Lunch - 1 whole-grain wrap with ¼ cup of chopped avocado and ½ cup each of chopped cucumber and tomatoes
Snack - 10 to 15 red grapes
Dinner - 3 to 5 oz grilled chicken breast with ½ cup steamed spinach
The Workout
While following this plan six times a week, use 3-pound weights, max. Anderson explains, “It’ll get you to your tiniest, tightest point without overdeveloping muscles.” Get video footage of the workout at tracyandersonmethod.com.
WEEK 1
Make a 20-minute iPod playlist and do a different cardio activity (treadmill sprints, jumping rope, running on a trampoline) for each song. Switching activities will keep any one group of muscles from bulking up. “You should be dripping sweat and taking very few breaks,” she advises.
Get crunching!
Do these three moves on a mat:
1. Lie flat on back, legs straight, then bend legs and pull to chest, feeling exertion in abs (50 reps).
2. With legs at 90-degree angle, do 50 crunches.
3. Lie with legs straight, feet apart. As you slightly lift one foot, crunch straight up and down; return foot to floor and lift the other while crunching. Do 60 times, each side.
Tone
Do 100 reps each, or 200 for moves that alternate sides:
1. With feet shoulder-width apart, hold arms out in a T and rotate palms from -facing floor to ceiling.
2. In same stance, bend one wrist and pull across body, arm straight, in a smacking motion across your body. Alternate arms.
3. Then, with arms straight behind you, palms to-gether, snap your wrists from side to side.
4. Hold a 3-pound weight above your head with elbow bent at a 90-degree angle. Then lift weight straight over head. Do all reps on one side, then switch arms.
5. With weight in hand, hold one arm out in a T, bend at elbow to cover eyes, then straighten, keeping arm lifted. Do all reps on one arm; switch.
6. Do grand pliés: Stand with feet -shoulder-width apart, toes pointing out. With hands on hips and back straight, slowly bend knees until thighs are parallel to floor.
WEEKS 2–6
Increase cardio 10 minutes each week, so by week six, you’re up to 60 minutes daily, plus toning exercises.
I've chosen a plan by Tracy Anderson, who trains Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow. If it's good enough for them, it's certainly good enough for me! I would LOVE to lose 20 pounds in 6 weeks! I missed Sunday's menu as I didn't get to the grocery store til late afternoon, so I started on Monday's menu. So far, so good! The challenge is that it is my daughter's birthday tonight, and Mr., the baker extraordinaire, has made some amazing cupcakes. I'll do my best to resist or just have a bite or two.
Just for measure, my starting point is the same as last weigh in: 157 pounds. I'll see you next Monday with hopefully some RESULTS!
The following plan was posted last year in US Weekly
Madonna's Trainer: How to Lose 20 Pounds in 6 Weeks
Two pounds a week is the typically advised weight loss, but pro Tracy Anderson says she has worked out a way to safely shed even faster!
“It’s perfectly healthy,” the former dancer, 33, tells Us of her plan. And the results of her regime speak for themselves in the super-fit physiques of clients Gwyneth Paltrow and Madonna, not to mention her own transformation (the 5-foot mom dropped from 140 to 95 pounds).
“My formula works on everyone as long as they’re consistent,” says the trainer, who has a studio in L.A. She developed her signature strategy, to shape any body into a “teeny-tiny dancer type,” after testing 100 women for five years independently (because “the government isn’t going to fund seeing if you can get a Victoria’s Secret butt out of any woman!”).
The key, she says, is to constantly change the routine. Her students log six two-hour sessions weekly, dancing and hitting the Hybrid Body Reformer (a pulley-system machine available only in her studio, but not necessary to this plan). Promises Anderson, “You’ll keep the weight off!”
The Diet
This short-term diet “ensures you lose between 3 and 5 pounds a week,” says Anderson. The diet bans processed food, dairy and all spices (“They’re bloating and upset your digestive system, which causes you to store fat”), oil and sauces (“They’re just added calories”), discourages drinking alcohol or caffeine (sip 1.5 to 3 liters of water daily instead) and prescribes one serving of whole-grain carbs a day. Once you’re at your target weight, adopt a healthy but less restrictive diet.
Below are three weeks’ worth of menus. You can follow as is, or mix and match complete days’ menus to your liking.
WEEK ONE
Sunday
Breakfast - 1 cup Kashi cereal, with ½ cup plain — or vanilla — nonfat rice milk
Lunch - 3 oz grilled chicken breast — or fresh turkey breast (no deli meat!) — with ½ cup each of chopped cucumber and tomatoes
Snack - 1 cup mixed berries (try raspberries, blackberries and blueberries)
Dinner - 1 cup organic pasta with ½ cup steamed spinach
Monday
Breakfast - 1 cup Kashi cereal, with ½ cup plain—or vanilla—nonfat rice milk
Lunch - 2 hardboiled eggs with ½ cup each of baby carrots and cherry tomatoes
Dinner - 3 to 5 oz grilled sea bass with ½ cup steamed spinach
Tuesday
Breakfast - 1 cup steel-cut oatmeal made with water and ½ cup fresh blueberries
Lunch - 3 oz grilled chicken breast — or fresh turkey breast (no deli meat!) — with ½ cup each of chopped cucumber and tomatoes
Snack - 1 cup mixed berries (try raspberries, blueberries or red grapes)
Dinner - 3 to 5 oz grilled salmon with ½ cup steamed broccoli
Wednesday
Breakfast - 1 cup Kashi cereal, with ½ cup plain — or vanilla — nonfat rice milk
Lunch - ½ cup each of fresh spinach, beet root, tomatoes and cucumbers, with 2 tsp tahini
Snack - 1 snack cup of sugar-free Jell-O
Dinner - 3 to 5 oz grilled chicken breast with ½ cup steamed spinach
Thursday
Breakfast - 1 cup Kashi cereal, with ½ cup plain — or vanilla — nonfat rice milk
Lunch - 2 hard-boiled eggs with 4 to 5 celery sticks and 4 to 5 carrot sticks
Dinner - 1 cup penne pasta with ½ cup each of steamed spinach and chopped steamed tomatoes
Friday
Breakfast - 1 cup Kashi cereal, with ½ cup plain — or vanilla — nonfat rice milk
Lunch - 3 oz fresh turkey breast with ¼ cup each of cucumbers, alfalfa sprouts and beets, plus 1 slice whole-grain bread
Snack - 1 cup fresh strawberries
Dinner - 3 to 5 oz grilled sea bass with ½ cup steamed fresh green beans
Saturday
Breakfast - 2 poached eggs with 3 slices veggie bacon
Lunch - 1 whole-grain wrap with ¼ cup of chopped avocado and ½ cup each of chopped cucumber and tomatoes
Snack - 10 to 15 red grapes
Dinner - 3 to 5 oz grilled chicken breast with ½ cup steamed spinach
The Workout
While following this plan six times a week, use 3-pound weights, max. Anderson explains, “It’ll get you to your tiniest, tightest point without overdeveloping muscles.” Get video footage of the workout at tracyandersonmethod.com.
WEEK 1
Make a 20-minute iPod playlist and do a different cardio activity (treadmill sprints, jumping rope, running on a trampoline) for each song. Switching activities will keep any one group of muscles from bulking up. “You should be dripping sweat and taking very few breaks,” she advises.
Get crunching!
Do these three moves on a mat:
1. Lie flat on back, legs straight, then bend legs and pull to chest, feeling exertion in abs (50 reps).
2. With legs at 90-degree angle, do 50 crunches.
3. Lie with legs straight, feet apart. As you slightly lift one foot, crunch straight up and down; return foot to floor and lift the other while crunching. Do 60 times, each side.
Tone
Do 100 reps each, or 200 for moves that alternate sides:
1. With feet shoulder-width apart, hold arms out in a T and rotate palms from -facing floor to ceiling.
2. In same stance, bend one wrist and pull across body, arm straight, in a smacking motion across your body. Alternate arms.
3. Then, with arms straight behind you, palms to-gether, snap your wrists from side to side.
4. Hold a 3-pound weight above your head with elbow bent at a 90-degree angle. Then lift weight straight over head. Do all reps on one side, then switch arms.
5. With weight in hand, hold one arm out in a T, bend at elbow to cover eyes, then straighten, keeping arm lifted. Do all reps on one arm; switch.
6. Do grand pliés: Stand with feet -shoulder-width apart, toes pointing out. With hands on hips and back straight, slowly bend knees until thighs are parallel to floor.
WEEKS 2–6
Increase cardio 10 minutes each week, so by week six, you’re up to 60 minutes daily, plus toning exercises.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Weigh In #12: Maintaining the Status Quo
Mrs.
Starting weight: 152 pounds
Current weight: 157 pounds
Pounds lost (gained) this week: 0
Total pounds lost (gained): (5)
Pounds left to lose: 27
Workouts: 5!!!
Mr.
Starting weight: 245 pounds
Current weight: 234 pounds
Pounds lost (gained) this week: 0
Total pounds lost: 11
Pounds left to lose: 54
Workouts: 2
So we both stayed flat this week. A little disappointing, but I'm glad I didn't gain. I may not be losing pounds on the scale but I am noticing that my clothes fit differently (better)...so hopefully I am converting fat to muscle!
Here are the workouts I did this week:
Monday: treadmill intervals
Tuesday: treadmill/weights/abs
Wednesday: kickboxing boot-camp type class (kicked my butt!)
Thursday: took the day off, WAY sore from kickboxing
Friday: treadmill/weights/abs
Saturday: Zumba class for an HOUR - way hard but awesome
Sunday: No formal exercise, but housecleaning and outside work day long
Starting weight: 152 pounds
Current weight: 157 pounds
Pounds lost (gained) this week: 0
Total pounds lost (gained): (5)
Pounds left to lose: 27
Workouts: 5!!!
Mr.
Starting weight: 245 pounds
Current weight: 234 pounds
Pounds lost (gained) this week: 0
Total pounds lost: 11
Pounds left to lose: 54
Workouts: 2
So we both stayed flat this week. A little disappointing, but I'm glad I didn't gain. I may not be losing pounds on the scale but I am noticing that my clothes fit differently (better)...so hopefully I am converting fat to muscle!
Here are the workouts I did this week:
Monday: treadmill intervals
Tuesday: treadmill/weights/abs
Wednesday: kickboxing boot-camp type class (kicked my butt!)
Thursday: took the day off, WAY sore from kickboxing
Friday: treadmill/weights/abs
Saturday: Zumba class for an HOUR - way hard but awesome
Sunday: No formal exercise, but housecleaning and outside work day long
Monday, March 23, 2009
Progress!
Mrs.
Starting weight: 152 pounds
Current weight: 157 pounds
Pounds lost (gained) this week: 2!
Total pounds lost (gained): (5)
Pounds left to lose: 27
Workouts: 5!!!
Mr.
Starting weight: 245 pounds
Current weight: 234 pounds
Pounds lost (gained) this week: 2
Total pounds lost: 11
Pounds left to lose: 54
Workouts: 2
The momentum continues. I am in the habit of working out daily now and feel guilty if I don't. We are slowly changing our eating habits as well....making better choices and EATING LESS!
Starting weight: 152 pounds
Current weight: 157 pounds
Pounds lost (gained) this week: 2!
Total pounds lost (gained): (5)
Pounds left to lose: 27
Workouts: 5!!!
Mr.
Starting weight: 245 pounds
Current weight: 234 pounds
Pounds lost (gained) this week: 2
Total pounds lost: 11
Pounds left to lose: 54
Workouts: 2
The momentum continues. I am in the habit of working out daily now and feel guilty if I don't. We are slowly changing our eating habits as well....making better choices and EATING LESS!
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