Tank Top Arms

Yes, it is February but we've got to plan now for later! My arms are something that need some work. I don't naturally have "built" arms so I need to put in some extra work. The boxing classes I've been doing for the last year have helped, but I'm ready to take it up to the next level. I LOVE the way I feel the next day after lifting weights. I love being sore. If I'm sore, I did something right. I'm not a huge weight lifter but my husband taught me some basic lifts and form, but I'm still not very confident, so I tend to stick with body weight or dumbbell weightlifting. Another goal of mine is to learn to use all the equipment at the gym, but this routine is strictly for at home.

 If you don't have dumbbells, use whatever you can find - I found a lot of things in my laundry room that would work. A jug of bleach or detergent, a can of scrubbing bubbles, whatever! If you are just starting out you might not have dumbbells but you might not need too much weight either. I recently bought some 10lb. dumbbells. They are a little heavier than I would normally use (I normally do about 8lbs) BUT I would rather go a little bit heavier, maybe not do as many reps, than buy too light and have to buy more in a few weeks. Best case is to buy dumbbells at garage sales or thrift stores. I need to start checking the thrift store down the street from us on a regular basis for all kinds of things, but especially workout equipment. I want to find a kettle bell, because they are expensive (or maybe I'm just cheap).

Anyway, if you have never lifted I'm going to have links to sites that show you how to correctly do each lift.

Links to examples:

Upright Row

Bird Dogs

Dumbbell Swings

Dumbbell Side Bends

Front Raises

Side (lateral) Raises

Shoulder Press

Bicep Curls

Tricep Dips

Tricep Kickbacks

Overhead Extensions

I also found this great poster with all kinds of lifts for women, on Pinterest.

Lunch!

Since I stay at home with the kids, what I eat for lunch varies from leftovers and whatever I can scrounge up. Last spring I did a great job of grilling a ton of chicken breast and then eating that for lunch by itself, on a salad, or in a wrap. But a bad thing happened. I ate some while I was a little bit sick and now I can not eat chicken breast very often. I definitely cannot eat it grilled on the Foreman by itself and since it's the middle of winter in Kansas, actual grilling is not happening.

Lately I've been addicted to peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. The kids really like them and I let myself have one and then I was in trouble. I could just stop buying whole wheat bread (I lose weight best when I don't eat carbs or sugar) but I did that for about 4 months last year and when I did finally bring a loaf of bread back into the house, my poor kids devoured a whole loaf, by themselves, in like 3 days. No joke, a 2 and a 1 year old ate slices and slices of wheat bread every day. That's when I realized that while my "diet" was a good way for me to lose weight, it was taking away something that was good for my kids. I don't want to get into what I think is "good" or "bad" and if I follow a "clean" diet or an Atkins diet, ect. I will get to that sometime though, because I think it's important, especially if you have kids.

ANYWAY, back to lunches. Suffice to say, I haven't been eating the best stuff for lunch. Every day for breakfast we have eggs in several different ways, with oatmeal or whole wheat blueberry muffins thrown in once in awhile. I plan dinner every week, so that I have at least 5 or 6 healthy dinners to pick from. Since I do all that planning, lunch gets put on the back burner. I want to change that. My plan is to make two different "proteins" to have on hand so I have a base to go off of. Really when it comes down to it, it needs to be easy or I'm not going to do it. I don't "cook" lunch, I "fix" lunch.

Here are some ideas that I've found and want to try. (I'll put the links to the original sites. I'm not trying to steal anything or pass it off as my own, I just don't know how to site my sources on a blog and am too lazy to look it up. I'm sure you don't mind.)

Turkey Meatloaf Muffins

The name kind of throws me. They sound gross, even though I know they will be good. I like that they are easy to make ahead of time, so I can eat them throughout the week.
Here is the link to the recipe.

Black Bean Breakfast Bowl

Yes, it does say "breakfast" bowl, but I would totally eat this for lunch. Maybe hardboiled eggs instead of scrambled. I might also add some garbanzo beans too (I have a stockpile of them that I got on sale). I have some super yummy Walmart brand salsa I would use, and with the avocado and cilantro…yum! I can get on board with that! A goal of mine is to eat more meals (mainly lunch) that have a non-meat protein and this fits the bill. I also can't wait for spring and all the yummy fresh veggies, fruit, salad, and on and on. Right now though, it's freezing out, so I'm sticking with warm dishes. I have a hard time eating a salad when there is a foot of snow on the ground (which there is currently).
Here is the link to this recipe.



Along with these two lunches, I plan on also eating dinner leftovers, if my husband doesn't take them first. Hopefully all this planning will help make it easier for me to stay on track and meet this month's goals.

Goals for Feb. 10th - Mar. 10th

Putting my goals and what I'd like to accomplish online for everyone to see, seems like a good way to stay accountable and I need that. I'm stuck in a spot where I've lost a decent amount of weight and have been comfortable with the changes, but that's dangerous. I feel complacent and that's just going to lead me back to where I was.

I feel like it's easier to take a large goal and accomplish small chunks at a time. Losing another 10lbs sounds overwhelming to me. It might not seem big to anyone else (my husband can lose 10lbs in an hour workout) but I've already reached the biggest part of my goal and lost 17lbs. The last little bit is always the hardest (so they say) so I'm going to break it up into small parts.

Goals for Feb. 10th -Mar. 10th
1) Lose an inch off waist & hips
OR (both would be awesome though)
2) Lose 3lbs.

How will I accomplish these goals?
1) Make it to the gym at least 3 times a week
2) Do at least 1 at home routine or run 1 1/2 miles
3) Stay within my calorie goal intake (1200 calories on non-workout days & 1500 calories on workout days)
4) Use MyFitnessPal daily to keep track of what I'm eating
5) Plan & prepare lunches and dinners

Current Stats:
*I will update these the day of Feb. 10th
Measurements: waist - 27in. hips - 37in.
Weight: 142lbs.

The first picture is Oct. 2012 (to be fair it was 6 weeks postpartum) and the second photo was Oct. 2013. In the postpartum photo I was the same weight I was before I got pregnant with my first. So 2 pregnancies and I still weighed the same. It makes me mad at myself, that I let myself gain so much weight before I had kids, really without an excuse. I felt like I had no time to workout, when in reality, with no kids, I had all the time in the world and I just didn't do it. I know for a fact I would be in a much better place if I hadn't gain so much weight before having kids.

 Here are two more examples. The first photo was actually between my two kids who are 17 months apart, so my son was probably 5 months old (Sep. 2011) and the second was taken Sep. 2013.

I'm posting these photos as a reminder to myself where I've been, how far I've come, and how much I still want to do. This is not a "pat me on the back" post, but really is me telling myself that it was easy to get where I was (and I was not happy or healthy) and hard but worth it to put in a little work and change the way I look and feel. Not to mention how much healthier I am and my whole family is. My kids are seeing us go to the gym (and not hating it!) and eating healthy (but still splurging) and I'm glad! I'm excited to see what will be  
                              accomplished in 2014!

Snowing? Who cares! Work it!

It's snowing here. Like a 10 inch snow. It's reached #snowmageddon status on Twitter. Boo! My husband had to take my SUV to be able to brave the weather and get to work. Which means I'm at home and no gym for me. *tear* I'm going to try to make the best of it though and get my sweat on so I can enjoy a homemade cinnamon with my chili tonight (because when it snows, you just need a little yummy something). This routine is similar to Whole Body 1, but in the future look for routines with light weights, just arms, and just legs and abs. I also plan on posting links to some awesome recipes and fashion too. I've recently discovered and am super excited about the beauty of online boutiques and pop-up markets. 

Ok, back to sweating! Remember the difference between hurting and injury. 

Don't forget to try and add in 20 mins. of walking or running to this routine. 

Making it Count!

I love going to the gym. Ok, well most of the time I enjoy going to the gym. I like taking an hour for myself and being around other adults. My kids love going and playing with others kids and new toys. Sometimes though, circumstances beyond my control happen (like a poopy pants accident by a potty trained 2 1/2 year old when you are already running late) and I don't make it there. If I can go, I prefer being in a boxing or weight training class. I know I work harder and burn more when others are watching. When I don't go, I have a tendency to not do any kind of exercise - and I just feel yucky when I don't go to my normal classes. My new goal is to do something when I can't go.

So, with that being said, I decided to put into print some workouts or really "move your butt while watching TV" routines. For a complete workout, I would add 20 minutes of walking or running or some weights. I get really bored with doing the same moves over and over. The routines might feel sporadic to you and if they do, just pick your favorite moves and repeat them over and over. I love squats, but I can't do 100 squats straight. I can do 20 squats, 20 jump squats, 20 boxing squats, 20 plie squats, and 20 more regular squats in-between other moves though. Anyway, onto the routine! Before we get started, make sure you are healthy enough to exercise, and stop if you are injured or think you are heading toward an injury. Now, there is a difference between hurting and an injury. When you do a wall sit, it's going to hurt. Hurt is good, burn is good - ripping, tearing, popping is not. Listen to your body, but don't mistake it for your head telling you it's too hard. 

Be sure to look up any move that you are unsure how to do or do correctly. My goal eventually is to have pictures and videos of myself or husband showing examples of the moves on the sidebar that you can just click on. For now though, and for sake of having to site sources, just Google them. 

Happy sweating!