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Friday Update

Hey there fellow bloggers! I just wanted to share some of my successes with you this week... I am pleased to tell you that I am setting solid running goals again. This time I am following Terri-Lynn's advice and setting some goals, signing up for a race and just doing it. I am not going to be my worst enemy and question how good/bad I am... I am just going to let my skills evolve.

So, this week I went for two runs with another planned for tomorrow. I am running on a route that is 7.18KMS. I am planning three such runs per week, for now. I will be mapping out a longer route when I am successful in running this one fast enough... but for now, that is the goal. The first day that I ran it I managed it in 50 minutes and yesterday my time dropped to 45. I want to keep at it for one hour so I just cooled down a bit longer and in 58 minutes I managed to get rid of 707 calories. I love running for the calorie burn and for the challenge. I would be lying if I did not confess that this shit is HARD to do!! But, hey... I am doing it!!

So, here are a couple of pictures... one of me and my partner for the second run, you might recognize her... my SUPERMOM! She is insanely fit... I had a job to keep up... hope I can be that much of an inspiration to my children at 55 years young! The second is just proof of the calorie burn!

I mentionned in the previous post that my sister and I are starting a bit of a duel... to see who's weight-loss techniques are more successful. I would love to invite you all to visit our new site: Momma's Weight-loss and I am willing to hear all the advice I can get when it comes to running for weight-loss or home fitness solutions. I mean, I can't let her gym techniques win!

Thanks for your ongoing support everyone! Make it a great day!

Out and About... and nearly killing myself!

So, on Sunday I dropped Bear off at my Mom's for some quality time baking with Nannie and I got started with my running schedule. I left Mom's house for a 50 minute, 7.18KM run/walk. It was awesome getting back out there but I couldn't believe how much ground I lost over the winter months. I have told myself that it is normal and that I have to keep moving and it will come back. I am going to take a friend's advice and just book a 10K race and train for it. I know that regardless it will be a personal best :P

I am working with my sister on a new accountability venture... stay tuned for that!

Make it a great day!!




Find more Run in

Getting back into it is TOUGH

Oh how I hate taking breaks... I love it while I am on vacation but it is SO hard to get back into my fitness routine. Perhaps it is the recent time change... ah hell, I am going to be honest - I am just in a lazy place right now.

I have started eating better again and tonight is when I am back at the X. I am going to ask Mr. Wonderful to join me... and if he does we may be doing the original X for a complete round. I will not complain and I will shelf X2 for now IF he chooses to do it with me. Should he refuse I will be back at X2, phase 2 tonight. Look for the update tomorrow morning...

Also, I am trying to organize a running group with a road race at the end of our training period. I have made a few phone calls and I think that this is going to happen for us this Spring. I am so excited... looking forward to getting back into running (although it is so darn cold these days that I can hardly imagine it). I am excited about beginning again... don't you love that new-again feeling?

Well, thank you all for the kind comments on my previous post and rest assured that I am back! I leave you with a picture of my snacks today... logging it now!

Make it a great day!

The Most Magical Place on Earth (with the most temptations)

So, I am back to my real life... the one that requires me to work, to be super organized and to logging my food and being accountable. I WILL start back at the beginning of phase II next week because this week I have to get my life back in order. I am making a plan this week and preparing for two+ months of hard work. I have a sample of the new Shakeology and if I like it I will be incorporating it in my routine as well. In the meantime, here are a few pictures from our recent trip:

My Son, an Elite hockey player?! :)

My son, the one of the far left, was chosen amongst all the young hockey players in the Eastern region of Quebec to represent his province in the Atlantic Canada playoffs in May!!! All the running around this winter, taking him to practices and games, paid off for him - big time! He could not be more proud and neither could his parents.

I should say that this little guy started last year and could not even skate! He felt discouraged and quit every week... only to have Mom take him (crying some of the time) and force him on the ice. That lasted a few weeks and then he had caught on to skating thanks to a GREAT assistant coach who took him aside and helped him. Then he tried to get better than the boys that laughed at him, he wanted to "kick their butts" to show them... and he DID! By the end of that first year he was skating faster than one of his biggest bullies! Fast forward to this year... he is now the senior on the team with 15 little non-skaters joining him. Rather than skating circles around them, my son skated with them and shared his story. Mr. Wonderful became the assistant coach and Bubba assisted him ;) After a few weeks the little boys were on their way and Bubba got into the game. He has learned so much this year and loving the sport was his biggest accomplishment. He is now skating circles around everyone on the team... he is by far the best skater. Those bullies have become friends and he hardly remembers those bad moments. He has been noticed and spoke for the A team next year and now this... elite group. We want to help him build his skills so we planned on Hockey school this summer... and camping in the evening. He has a great heart and you see it in his game. His Dad has helped him reach further than he thought possible and it has been a beautiful thing to witness!

Now, Bubba may not make it to the NHL, he may decide hockey is not for him when he gets older but this moment will stay with his Mamma for a long time!

Thanks for letting me share :D

Oh, as for X2 I am on an unplanned rest period. I will take up phase II all over again after I am done hanging out with Mickey. We have an amazing adventure planned and I will update upon our return.

Make it a great day and have a restful March break everyone!

I am Still at it... at least TRYIN'

I will be able to update next week and be back on track... to be honest, I am just trying to follow this proverb:
















Feeling a little stressed because I am going to Disney in a few weeks and haven't quite accomplished what I set out to do before... but it is not going to stop my progress. I had my MRI this week and it was the most rest I have had all week. My Bear has her "friend" home from BC this week and we are happily hosting (this kid is a Mom's dream) but it is interfering with my regular routine. I should be back on track and all caught up for next Friday. Until then, keep pressing play friends and BRING IT!

Make it a great day!

Shoulder, Arms and ARX with Wonder Woman

Good FRIDAY morning everyone! What a glorious morning it is here in this beautiful region this morning. The sun is shining bright and the air is cool and crisp (-18)... a perfect morning for a Winter run (not that I did one or anything). Nope, this morning I found myself doing the same thing that I have done for four other mornings this week... I slept in! I am going to be doing Base and Back, ARX and Yoga on Sunday...



it may sound like a lot but I feel good about it.










Tonight I am BOOKED solid... pick up Skylie from swimming, go to the arena and decorate for the tournament this weekend followed by Bubba's first hockey game of the tournament tonight. It is going to be nuts, especially since Skylie and Bear want to go to the winter carnival tonight... not sure how I am going to work that out!!>>! But I will figure it out ;)

Saturday is much the same story as Friday night... more volunteering and watching at the arena. FUN, FUN! I actually do love watching Bubba play hockey... but this weekend is tiring.

Anyway, on to my last night's workout... it was GREAT! I invited Wonder Woman over to workout with me at 8pm and it was great to have company. I find I push myself harder when I have someone to "compete" with. We did great, completed all exercises and I figure that by tonight I won't be able to lift Bubba's hockey bag! My least favorite exercise of the night was Six-directional shoulder fly and my favorite was anything that required laying on the stability ball... they were great! They included the overhead tricep pull and the Y-T Fly, loved those. We finished the night with a little ARX2 and took a moment to savor the 635 calories that we burned! With no cardio and mainly weights this was a much higher burn than I expected... but I will take it!

Here are the details of the workout:

Duration: 1:14:48
Calories: 635
Average HR: 135
Max HR: 162

On the diet front I made much better choices and felt stronger because of it. I kept it well under the goal and hopefully it will pay off for next week's weigh in. I did not weigh in again this week because the Dr weighed me and it is official, I lost 8 pounds in the first phase. The next Dr. appointment will be in another 6 weeks and hopefully I will have good news to share from that appointment.

So, have a great weekend and MAKE it a great day!

Death by Jumping... or at least my attempt :P

Good morning dear friends and blog readers! I blogged yesterday, very briefly, between shifts because Wednesday is my day to work all day and part of the night. I begin at 8 am and I finish work at 7:30 pm. Now, before you start feeling sorry for me... I have set this schedule because I LOVE having Friday afternoons off. At the same time I always make bad food choices on Wednesdays and it makes me feel terrible. All that to say, I still did not go over my calories for the day BUT they were not clean, good calories.

Anyway, I said before I left to go to work yesterday... that I didn't care what time I got home and how I was feeling I WAS going to push play, NO EXCUSES (working on the same theme of TBL this season). I got home tired, frustrated and maybe a little angry... but I went right to my room, got changed and finished up my children's homework with my workout attire on. I tucked them in, took a moment with the two youngest to say good night and then walked downstairs. I pushed play and struggled a bit because of the poor fuel that I consumed yesterday but I managed to get it done. I felt good about the workout and burned a whopping 512 calories before heading to bed. I am seeing progress!! Last night when I was doing the elevation change (you know the move with the "plyo-box") I stepped one side of the box and jumped on the other side! It increased my heart rate and I really felt great, like I could jump over the moon really! I use a rubbermaid step-stool like this:







So on the side with the step, I stepped and on the other side I jumped instead of stepping! Again this too was inspired by TBL, if they can jump on those steps, then I should be able to too!



Now I CAN'T wait for tonight's workout... Shoulders and Arms, my fave! I didn't get up with the alarm this morning because I am TIRED! I slept in until 6 and I feel great. I knew that I have no plans for tonight so I can really push out a great workout and not feel rushed tonight.

Make it a great day!!

Plyocide:
Calories: 512
Avg HR: 132
Max HR: 169

A Reward for Completion of Phase I

Do you treat yourself when you complete a target goal? My goals this year are not measured in pounds and they are not measured in inches. The pounds and the inches are simply rewards for reaching my goals. That being said, I promised myself a little extra reward for reaching the goals that I set out. Those goals are:
1) Finish P90X2, phase I
2) Finish P90X2, phase II
3) Finish P90X2, phase III
4) Create hybrid program of X and X2… goals are going to be small – one phase at a time
Once I completed the first phase I treated myself to some Lululemon to thank myself for a job well done. I LOVE my new gear and I thought that I would share some photos of me sporting the new outfit.




























I will update tomorrow with the workout information… loving this new phase and I have to come up with a new “reward” for completing this goal!
Make it a great day!

Isolation, Concentration and Extend-ination

Monday night I had planned to do the Chest, Back and Balance workout after the monthly municipal council meeting; however, after getting home at nearly 10:00 I just chose not to do it. I am not saying that I couldn't but I wanted to give it everything that I have so I took a deep breath, patted myself on the back for managing my calories so well and got a good night's sleep. This was a great example and reminder of why I must get to bed early and maintain my morning workout schedule.

So, the alarm went off at 4:45 this morning and I awoke, ready for the day! I put on my workout gear, tried to wake up Mr. WOnderful and invited him to join me but went downstairs alone to conquer the workout. I pushed play and didn't look back until I had burned 426 calories with an average HR of 112 and a maximum HR of 153. I really enjoyed the workout even though I am not great at it. My hands are calloused trying to get in those pull ups and my core will be sore tomorrow. I am LOVING this new phase of X2... love the challenge of new workouts.

Hope you are having an equally great day... if not, MAKE it a fabulous one!!

A Sunset + A Hockey Presentation + Visiting Relatives = A great Weekend BUT not a Productive One!

First off, I need to think of shorter titles for my entries! Sorry about that :P

So, Friday morning I slept in… I have been feeling sleep deprived and I want to blame it on Netflix (in our room) and more specifically, Dexter!! Damn serial killer that I can’t stop watching and wondering what is next! So, because of my lack of will power and my lack of sleep I was not in the position to push play Friday morning – but I thought, oh well… I will do it Friday night!
Onto Friday night. We get a call from Bubba’s head coach to let us know that he was asked to be present at the arena on Friday night because the Bantom team was going to introduce the TimBits to the audience. We arrived, a little late because I had to pick Skylie up from her swimming lessons, and watched as my little Son skated like a champ to the blue line and stopped like a pro on the sides of his blades. He is, by far, the best skater on the ice and his puck handling is coming along nicely too. It was so nice to see him standing beside a 6’XX” kid and imagining how quickly time will pass and some day that might be him introducing another future hockey player. Anyway, it was a touching moment for mommy and we stayed to watch the big kids play… although Bubba wanted to play too and he felt robbed when he was asked to leave the ice. Hehehe
So, Friday was a bust… but hey, it is a rest week. Onto Saturday… we woke up to a beautiful, COLD but beautiful, day. So, I called Wonder Woman (WW) and suggested that we head out for a snowshoe trek. She was cleaning stalls in the morning and I was cleaning my home so we planned it for the afternoon. I cleaned like a mad woman and got all my work done in 4 hours rather than the 8 it normally takes me. My shirt was soaked and I knew that I had burned some serious calories. Then I head over to WW’s house and headed out for my beating. Within the first minute she had me climbing a hill and jumping over a fence with my snowshoes on… and I knew that this was going to be a killer workout. WW did not disappoint! We trekked for about an hour, breaking trails and admiring the view. I snapped the following picture on our way home… we truly are blessed to live in such a beautiful area.














Sunday was much of the same non workouts. I had guests over for breakfast, hockey for lunch and guests again for supper. I did not log my food because I did not weigh my portions in front of everyone BUT I did watch my serving sizes and ate appropriately. For breakfast we had eight people and we served fourteen… it was a lovely day. Our guests are now on their way to Ontario and we are so happy to have hosted them. I love it when our family visits. I should say that Wonder Woman introduced me to Chocolate and Butterscotch fudge and I was very well behaved when she offered me a piece… BUT I went home and made a batch myself on Sunday (for my FIL’s birthday). It was a big hit but there are lots of pieces left… and I MUST find a home for them before I blow my progress. I am sure that I can convince someone to take them.

Anyway, we are beginning a new phase today and I am looking forward to some GOOD PAIN!

How was your weekend?

Make it a great day everyone! I will update tomorrow with the first two workouts of phase 2.

OMFreaking Goodness... I am S-O-R-E

So, as you know on Monday I woke up early to get my first taste of phase 2 of X2... it was AWESOME! I loved the challenge and the muscle work... but it caught up with me the next day! I woke up on Tuesday morning and rolled over to shut off the alarm and nearly cried in pain... I got up and went to the bathroom only to return to bed and try and sleep it off. I call this my first rest and recovery day of the week. Wednesday morning I wake up early and was on the road for work before seven AM so no workout on Wednesday neither... rest and recovery day two for the week. Now I am back on ... got up this morning not feeling nearly as sore (thank heavens) and crushed Cardio X. It was a great workout and I really do miss the cardio. I know that my balance has improved a great deal since completing the first phase of X2 because I do not even have to put my foot down when I am doing the three directional kicks. I am loving the fact that I see progress day to day.

I have been keeping my calories below 1200 or near 1200 because of my lack of exercise; however, I have not stepped on the scale yet. On Friday I will share my results of weight-loss or gain from phase one. I will also be doing my photos before moving into phase two. These photos will only be shared at the end of the round... and only if I feel confident to do so. In truth, I am loving the changes that I am seeing and feeling and I am certain that phase two will bring even more visible changes than the first phase.

So, today's workout results were:

Cardio X (I have missed you ;)

Calories: 478
Avg HR: 131
Max HR: 172

I feel great when I push play first thing in the morning... don't you!?!

Make it a great day!

Moving into a *REST* week

Sorry that I didn't post the pictures and stats on Saturday, like promised... but I was so busy with hockey, Bear's driver's education class and life in general. I did get one of the two planned workouts in and I could really count scrubbing the 3100 square feet of floors a workout too ;) I did Balance and Power and I felt so good about my general progress throughout the first phase. Can I get better... hell ya! Will I get better? You can be sure of it... but that will be following this first round when I give it another shot.

My move of the week is one that I had the worse time with at the beginning of the program. As I have said, countless time, my core is W-E-A-K and so this was a horrendous move for me. I struggled and persevered and finally I am proud of my effort and success with the dreaded Glute Bridge Roll-Out:


































Another thing that I wanted to share with you all about the weekend is a moment of weakness that I had. First let me preface by stating a fact, my Mr. Wonderful and I rarely do things for us as a couple. So, when Wonder Woman invited us to a date night we could not refuse! We gladly accepted the invitation and we treated ourselves to a sushi dinner. This was a first for us and we LOVED it... loved the company, loved the food, loved the wasabi and Sriracha sauce!! Oh, the bottle of wine was great too :) Then we left there and played some pool... and there I indulged on three Bailey's over ice... while Wonder Woman drank ice water... I could really learn something from her! In all we had a wonderful evening and I can't wait to do it again!!











The partially eaten plate of sushi!









Moving on to the workouts...

Balance and Power:

Calories: 478
Avg HR: 126
Max HR: 159

Chest, Back & Balance + ARX2

Calories: 538
My Avg and Max HR were OFF... there is no way my max HR was 224!!!! I think that I would have been DEAD.

Anyway, I struggled with many of the chin ups but did much better than I anticipated. I am pushing really hard to make some serious progress because my health depends on it. I must lose weight but more importantly I must feel stronger and better. I saw my family doctor on Friday and she is going to see me in another 2 months and I want to show her what I can accomplish on P90X2... I will post the results of my medical tests after phase 1 and after phase 3... when I get there. Things that are currently plaguing me are:

1) High Blood Pressure
2) Shocks in my brain (this one scared me and I am going for an MRI)
3) weight gain

I will take care of myself and see the physical changes both internally and externally over time. This is a marathon, not a sprint.

So, I am leaving you with a photo of my Bear after getting her passing grade from driver's ed on Sunday... we are taking our lunch to get her permit.

Make it a great day!!!

Sleep was too Comforting this morning

So I will have to blog later about the two workouts that I am doing tonight. I had kinda planned this in my little brain last night and when the alarm went off this morning I just stopped it and returned to my slumber. It felt good but I ended up sleeping in LATE and running late all morning. They are calling for a HUGE snowstorm beginning this afternoon and ending overnight... so if my Dr's appointment is cancelled this afternoon I will spend the afternoon exercising and get to bed early. The excitement of last weekend is still wearing on me and my body is desperate for sleep. I have not taken my move of the week photo yet but I have one in mind and I will ask my Bear to take the shot tonight/this afternoon and share with you on Saturday.

Make it a great day and I am leaving you with some words of wisdom that I found on PINTEREST

Need to Keep My Head in the Game

Yesterday was not a great day nutritionally! Not because I binged or ate the wrong stuff (although I had one little cheat) but because I did not eat nearly enough and as a result I did not have the fuel in my body to pump out a good round of my favorite workouts, Total Body!! I was so disappointed and discouraged... I can't even explain. I did not have the energy nor the willpower throughout the entire video. I thought of pushing stop after the warm up and again three more times during the workout. I wasn't enjoying it because I was constantly fighting with myself to keep going! I hate it when I am not mentally THERE! So, after the lousy workout I took some quick shots of myself to verify if a transformation has begun. I really should have worn the same outfit (and on my ACTUAL comparison pics that is what I am doing but I am not showing those YET) but it was a spur of the moment thing and I was hoping for a little motivation... tell me what you think!

The stats from today's workout:

Calories: 322
Avg HR: 126
Max HR: 152

Thanks for reading, keep pushing play and make it a great day!

P90X2 Update

Well this week marked the last week in phase I of X2. I am so pleased with my progress and I am looking forward to the second phase of the program. I have read that the second phase is where you see the largest physical transformations ... so I am eager and ready. I will take end of phase I pics but I will not be sharing the transformation pictures until the end of the program. I have to admit that now that my Mom has not been joining me for my morning workout that I have been finding it more difficult to stay motivated :( I am not sure if she is planning on joining me in phase II or not... but I am going to keep pushing play, for sure!

My diet was going SO WELL! I lost 9.2 pounds in the first two weeks only to reach TOM and gain everything back... I will be weighing in again Friday and will update if I lost anything (again). My daughter's Sweet 16 made my diet take a beating too... too busy with no time to plan and the result was that I ate the wrong things and too much of them. Then I ate some leftovers for a few days and now I am back on track and logging all my food and exercise.

As for the exercise plan, I missed Yoga last week because of the party and I did not make up for it. I am currently one day behind for this week but I think that I will do Yoga after B&P on Friday to keep my weekends open for family activities. I like to sleep in on Saturday and Sunday so this schedule works best for me. I am still sore all over but not as much as I was with P90X... not even close! I am sure that phase II will change all of that :)

So, the details are:

Balance and Power:
Calories - 422
Avg HR - 121
Max HR - 154

Core:
Calories - 410
Avg HR - 126
Max HR - 161

Plyocide:
Calories - 494
Avg HR - 125
Max HR - 166

Tomorrow morning is Total Body and ARX... probably my favorite of all the workouts :)

Leaving you with a picture following Plyocide this morning :P

Sweet 16

Just wanted to share a few pictures from the weekend... it was a great time and most importantly my Bear LOVED every moment of it. I will get back to blogging about X2 tomorrow... still at it and loving it more and more everyday. My diet took a beating on the weekend but it is Monday today and I am back on track. Weigh in on Friday and I will let you know where I stand ;) Last week of Phase 1... I think, then on to recovery week :P

Here are the pictures:

The Party girl herself...



















The cake and decorations...




























Some of the guests...

My brother and I, My Mr. Wonderful and I, my lil Squeelie and I, my Bubba, Hannah and some of her friends... we all had a great time :) I am glad it is over :P

"The More You do the Better You Get!!"

My love for Tonyisms is returning with every workout. I can't quite understand why I was so intolerant of Tony at the beginning of this round of X2... it baffles me. I mean, I have always appreciated his humor and well, everything about the man really... but the first week and one half of this new program I found him to be annoying. Maybe it was because he was going very fast with fewer instructions? Maybe it was because I did not feel the love for the program at the beginning neither? Whatever it was it has passed. I still don't like the stupid bunny hop move but I will learn to tolerate that too, in time.

This morning was a little tough to get up. Not because I was too tired (because I was in bed by 9pm) but because I am having a hard time with my joints and muscles again. When I get up it takes some time before I can stand upright... I am leaned over like a lady of 90+... just not THIS lady (gotta love PINTEREST)













The truth is that I am due for my next treatment and I am hurting really bad right now. Tomorrow morning I have cleared my schedule and will be receiving my meds and should be back to my new medicine induced 'normal' state within 24 hours. My life has changed so much because of Remicade!!

OK, so back to the workout... I was pushing as hard as my body would allow. I was jumping, sweating and breathing so hard that I woke up my Mr. Wonderful and my 16 year old (yup, she is 16 today... Happy Birthday Bear). I worked through the pain and felt better afterwards but really could have used a nap. I am still a little groggy and I wonder if anyone would notice if I just went for a nap at work :) My reps are almost at par with Tony's group and one more week of this should have me considering whether to move on to phase 2... I will weigh it out when I get there. I hope you are all making time to press play today too... BRING IT!

Calorie: 501
Avg HR: 132
Max HR: 171


Make it a great day!

Crock Pot Oatmeal

As promised, here is the recipe that I use for my crock pot oatmeal. I modify it, of course, to my taste and you can too! The next batch I make will be blueberry coconut oats... mmmmm

I began with my steel-cut oats to which I added an apple (chopped), 6 chopped dates, vanilla and cinnamon. I stirred everything together.




















Next I added the liquid, 4 cups of 1% milk and 1 cup of water:



















Next I placed the heavy bowl in a water bath in the crock-pot and turned it on low...


















Let it cook all night (about 6-7 hours)


















And woke up to a hot bowl of yummy goodness!!! This make a lot (the bowl is FULL) and it will last me the week. This is a week of never being tempted by bread because I KNOW what I am eating... it works for me and I can't wait to taste next week's version!

Have a great day!
BTW, blogger keeps flipping this picture upside-down... not sure why!

Putting my Trust in Tony

Good morning folks! I had a fabulous weekend and I hope that you did too. Plans are well underway for the Sweet 16 bash this upcoming weekend and I am slowly exhausting myself as I try to make sure that all is prepared. I can't wait to share the moment with all of you... I will do a special post in dedication of my Sweet (and sometimes sour... but mostly sweet) sixteen year old.

Saturday I spend my afternoon cleaning the house, with vigorous effort (for the calorie burn) and after three hours of it... I recorded my calories and carried on at a more sensible pace. Our home is 3100 square feet of wood/tile floor and I scrubbed all the floors, polished all the furniture, changed the beds, did the laundry... everything! Of course I usually do this on Saturdays but this weekend was even more important because we are having the beautiful Angel and her boyfriend as our guests next weekend. They have never been to our new home and I wanted the best first impression that I could give them. Angel is my cousin and she is traveling 16 hours to attend my Bear's sweet 16 party... I have the best family ever!!

On Sunday I tried to be lazy and sleep in... didn't work. I did take a nap in the afternoon, well... not really a nap, I watched a movie laying down. I want to try and recover my body on the weekends while still staying as active as my body will allow. I am resolving to listening to my body this round and it is working so far. Later that evening I did a B210K run and I can't believe the changes in my endurance already! I am so pleased that I began this program two weeks early because I wasn't convinced that this program was going to have the effects that the X delivered... but I know now to trust in Tony's judgement. I am going to keep following the plan, bringing it everyday and watching the fat disappear. I am thinking about taking progress pics every two weeks just as a motivational tool... not to share publicly until I am proud of where I am.

I laid in bed with my little Bubba following my run and we snapped this picture to share...


















As we laid there my little Bubba got really emotional... he confessed that he is worried about me dying. I consoled him and explained that the reason Mommy works out is so that I could stay with him longer... as long as God thinks he needs me. He was happier at the end of the conversation but it was a sad moment for my Bubba. He loves his Mommy and mommy loves him just as much.

In closing, I wanted to let you all know that I will be doing a post on the crock-pot oatmeal, with tons of pics, later today. It is great and worth sharing.


Oh, nearly forgot about today's workout! I got up a little later than usual, not because I planned it but because I did not hear my alarm! Normally I would have shrugged it off and said I will try and get it in tonight but this morning I just decided to run late and get up and push play. I did Core and I am so pleased with my progress. I should say that is was not the same without Mom there... I missed having her today. I seem to push myself harder with a partner. That being said I still think that by the end of the next three weeks that I will be able to do it just like Tony! That sounds pretty confident eh! Well, I am full of confidence these days... so look out, I may be on the next infomercial ((((lol, lol, snort, lol))))

My stats:

Calories: 423
Avg HR: 124
Max HR: 158

Make it a great day!!

In closing, I thought that I would add another picture to prove that I am not always sweaty ... I clean up for work :)

Oh What a Night!

Good afternoon everyone! This morning we were on the road quite early heading for Bubba's hockey game. The game was amazing and Bubba's team worked really well together and scored 7 goals. Bubba is defense and did not score a goal but he worked really hard and in the end the opposing team managed one goal (thanks to my bubba and the defense line-ups because the 4 year old goalie is just starting out)... so it was a 7-1 win for Bubba!! He has improved so much since last year and he is owning the ice this year... so proud of my 6 year old superstar.

On to last night... I came home, did up some chores, made supper, left the dishes and went downstairs to workout. Mr. Wonderful came down to see what happened and why I disappeared and walked in on Balance and Power. I invited him to do a few moves and he did great... he has such amazing strength. He has said since the beginning that he felt that the program should have been called P90XX rather than P90X2... because, in his opinion, it is designed for women. He couldn't see himself rolling around on a ball! Well, after trying the push-ups on medicine balls and that crane position on the push up bars he was no longer questioning the difficulty of the program. My weigh-in may have convinced him of the quality of the program as well... but it was fun to see him do the moves and sweat a little. Anyway, I managed to do both the Balance and Power and the Yoga. I was pleased with myself; however, after 2 hours of workouts I then came upstairs to find all the supper mess still waiting for me. I am not sure where I pulled the energy from but I cleaned up all the supper dishes and made a new batch of Steel-Cut oatmeal that I cooked while I slept in the crockpot. I took pics and maybe I will share them in a post this week!

So, here are my stats:

Balance and Power (my favorite workout of all)
Calories:584
Avg HR: 141
Max HR: 169

Yoga
Calories: 202
Avg HR: 106
Max HR: 138

Have a great weekend... next week I start my official program :) Can't wait to see the results in a few more weeks!

Time, Patience, Practice

Good morning fellow bloggers and fitness friends! I took last night off as an unplanned rest day and managed my calories to ensure that I did not go over my 1200 calorie daily limit (before exercise). I needed the rest and tonight I will be pumping out the Yoga along with the Balance and Power... it is going to be an exciting evening.

So, today is Friday and I am taking Karen's advice and I have decided to make Friday my weigh-in days to keep me focused for the weekends. So this morning I stepped on the scale to find that it finally moved -- in the right direction! Last week I did not report that I had lost 1 pound from my previous weigh-in. Actually, the first weigh in I thought that there was an error; I couldn't possibly be that size! But alas on the second weigh in there was a move on the scale of 1 pound, so I guess that there was no error. I just can't imagine how much I weighed at the beginning of this round... I didn't have the heart to weigh in! Anyway, moving on...

This morning I saw a loss of 8.2 pounds!!! I could not be more happy! The differences this week is that I started snacking on mixed veggies rather than fruit. I also knew the workouts a bit better and pushed harder... but that is it! Every damn day I pushed play, every damn day I ate clean and every damn day I sweated a ton!! Now I get to enjoy my move on the scale.

On to my Friday Move of the Week. This week my Mom is demonstrating her HALF ANGEL move... isn't she amazing!!

















I know that there are many people doing the program that currently struggle with that move and my Mom makes it look easy. I am getting better but I certainly don't pump them out like Mom does!

And on to my Move of the Week: the Table Chest Press. Mom did much better with the photo this week even though she almost, but didn't quite, cut my head off :P


















Make it a great!! Keep pushing play and BRING IT!

Live Simply, Speak Kindly, Care Deeply, Love Generously

I watched a video today called, "Life is Like Coffee" and it spoke to me! It reminded me to savor life and made me reflect on what cup I would have taken. I appreciated that this morning.

Onto the Non-workout! This morning my Mom met me and I was not feeling the best but I was going to take on TBL's motto this season and say "NO EXCUSES" get 'er done! We started with our before pictures. I took Mom's and she took mine... and what an eye-opener that was! OMGoodness, I have a lot of work to do but I know that I am taking the steps to do it and deal with it. My Mom looks AMAZING and I am certain she is just doing these workouts to support me and I appreciate it so much. I hope and pray that should I see 54 that I look half as good as my Mom (the truth is I will likely look more like my 300 pound Dad but I am going to try and avoid that). Anyway, following the pictures we popped in Yoga and I started, that is until the pain HIT me. I had severe pains in my chest to the point that I was worried. It felt a lot like the time that I had Costochondritis and I could not power through. After 15 minutes and 64 calories burned I stopped the video and began to reflect. Perhaps there is some wisdom behind the mid-week break, perhaps I haven't been getting enough sleep (the past three nights I have had meetings that kept me out until past 10:00)and/or perhaps I should have taken some Tylenol to get me through. Tonight I am going to try again but I will be taking Tylenol about 20 minutes before and see if I can pump out Yoga. Tomorrow I am going to do the workout in the evening and/or afternoon so that I can catch up on some much needed rest. Should the modified schedule result in the same pains next week I will revert to Tony's schedule the following week.

Just popping in to say HI and tell you to come back tomorrow for our favorites moves of the week. Also, take a moment to wish my Mom a safe travel to Ontario.. she is leaving tomorrow morning to go to my sister's house and help her paint. I know, she deserves a MOM OF THE YEAR award!

Make it a great day!

Make A Difference Movie

There are no words to describe the following video, just take a minute and watch it.. you won't be disappointed!

Make A Difference Movie: If you've ever wanted to make a greater impact and empowering influence in your world, I hope you'll enjoy today's movie as a gentle reminder about the one thing that can transform any situation in literally 30 seconds or less:  compassion.brbrWhat a little third grader says to his teacher at Christmas time instantly bypasses the head and goes straight to the heart of any issue, no matter what. brbrYou can re-energize your personal relationships and workplace culture - and inspire greater loyalty - by remembering to put into practice the message of this classic, time honored story.  brbrMake sure to turn on your speakers before you watch it, and according to Sam Brandt ... "You should warn people to get their hankies ready before the movie!" brbrWalter Wood writes ... "I am a 6 ft. 2in., 250-pound construction worker and this short, but profound, film actually brought tears to my eyes.  It made me realize that I must be more mindful when I'm training my apprentices." brbrEach time I watch it I feel inspired to make an even bigger difference by remembering to put compassion first.  I hope you will too! brbrDon't forget to share it with others...They'll thank you for it! brbrTogether we can make a difference...

Total Body - second attempt

Well good morning world! I skipped the rest day today and plowed through Total Body. I think that my body may have liked the active rest day a bit better but I just told my mind to SHUT UP and pressed play. I had asked my Mom to meet me earlier so we could get the ARX2 in this morning as well... so, being the excellent mother that she is, she was waiting for me in our home gym for 20 minutes before I rolled down the stairs at the regular time. I just like sleep too much!!

I have to take a moment to discuss how important it is to have a workout buddy because I think that it is pivotal in the success of this or ANY program. On the days that you would rather just stay in bed the fact that someone is depending on you helps you to get your FAT ass outta bed and into the gym. It helps knowing that you are NOT the only person who struggles with some of the new moves that you are asking your body to attempt. It helps that you can talk about the program all day with this workout buddy because they are as addicted as you are... and they don't judge you for it! In all I think that finding a positive, dedicated and passionate workout buddy will improve your success tremendously!

OK, onto the workout today... I did not face-plant even once today! I managed to squeeze out reps of every workout but this is still one of the hardest (in a great way) workouts. We did complete the ARX2 today too but we skipped the cool-down ((beat me up later, I ran out of time)) It was a great workout and I feel excellent today. I had to pack lunch and supper today because I am on the road until about 8pm tonight... and I did not want to feel tempted to go to Tim Horton's and cheat. I should confess that yesterday I did not eat regularly and it was torture. I ended up binging in the afternoon... nothing could fill me. I ate an apple, 2 strawberries and 1 oz of cashews. I had to physically leave the house because I think that it may have turned BAD fast! I still stayed under my calorie goal but with only 50 calories to spare :P Today will be a better day!

So, here are the stats today:

Calories: 504
Average HR: 121
Max HR: 155

Make it a great day!

Plyocide Squared... the way I like it!

Hey, good morning all! I had a great morning and I hope that you did too. I popped in the Plyocide DVD and we started good and early this morning. We both had a remarkable improvement in our workout and followed along very well. I was sweating by the end of the first set... I mean visibly sweating all over the place :) It was great!!

I have been really doing well on the nutrition side and keeping my calories under goal every day. I have also managed to get all my water down daily but I know that in order to melt away this fat that I have accumulated that it is going to take more energy burned during fitness activities so I have decided to try and run at nights. I have decided to return to running for two reasons... the first is because I MISS it and I am saddened by the loss of endurance I had the last time I "tried" to run but also I need the extra calorie burn. I hope to do that three-four times a week and take my weekends as active rest days and will snowshoe, cross country ski or give my children a good laugh and skate with them. I will openly confess that if any of these activities affect my performance during the X2 program I will back off on them... but if they don't then I am going after this FULL FORCE.

I am going to leave you with a picture of a treat meal that my Mr. Wonderful made me on Friday past... he is so good to me.

Also, here are the stats for my Plyo this morning:

Calories: 534
Average HR: 135
Max HR: 171

Make it a great day!!