Week 7- Getting Back on Board

I woke up this morning and decided that I've had enough pity-party time and I need to get back into the regular swing of things. That said, I decided to walk to the library this morning. I went to the doctor last week because of pain I've been having in my knee and he said I've developed tendonitis in the knee and I need to cut back on some things and increase on others. I was in pain and my husband was getting ready to leave so I just stopped exercising all together until now. I figure I want to be as attractive as I can be for the next time I see my handsome hubby. I am glad that I've continued to lose some weight, at least I didn't gain any of it back. I admit that my diet has not been as healthy as I normally enjoy and my energy level has definitely been affected negatively by it. I was simply trying to make whatever my husband wanted before he deployed and wouldn't get any more of my home cooking for a year so we had cookies, cakes, brownies, ice-cream.... etc... I did still try and make things a little healthier like the cookies were made with whole-wheat flour and oats, the brownies had half the oil cut out, and the cakes were made with applesauce. So, I guess I wasn't too horrible but based on the way I feel today I've decided to definitely limit my sugar intake.

Things to change for now:
I am not to do any lunges or jogging for awhile. (This makes me sad because I was up to jogging 1 1/2 miles without stopping)
I am to walk, use the elliptical and use stationary bikes as much as I want as long as there's minimal resistance.
I am to add seated front leg lifts to my routine to help build up the muscles directly around my knee. (see directions below)
I am to take Ibuprofen 3 times a day and ice my knee after I exercise to help minimize swelling.

My new goal is to eventually be able to run a 5K in under 45 minutes.



Seated Leg Lift Directions:
Step 1
Sit on the floor with your legs straight in front of you. Touch your legs together. Pull your toes back. Sit up straight. Put your hands on the floor next to your hips and straighten them. Fingers should be pointing forward.
Step 2
Lift your right leg straight into the air a couple of inches. Keep pulling your toes back. Maintain a straight spine and do not lean back. Exhale as you lift. You should feel this in your quad, which is the large muscle on the top of your upper leg.
Step 3
Lower your leg with control back to the floor. Inhale as you do so.
Step 4
Lift your left leg the same way as you did your right leg. Alternate lifting your legs until you have done at least 12 reps per leg.

(Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/79574-slim-down-legs/#ixzz0sNtRNxgU )

Why I've not posted for a couple of weeks

My husband just left for a year long deployment. Before he left I wanted to spend as much time with him as I could so I put my blogs on the back burner. Next week I'll get going strong again. If you'd like to see our farewell click here.
Thanks for understanding!

Tuesday's Tips: 3

I like going out to eat, but I hate not knowing how many calories I'm eating...etc. Anyway, my tip for today is to figure out where you want to go before you leave your house and look up the nutrition for the menu online. Read through the information and write down some healthy choices before you go. :) Remember try not to eat any meals that are more than 800 calories. Good luck and enjoy your next dining experience.

Here's an example from Ruby Tuesday's.

Sunday Sweets- Feeling Hot?

I have a couple of new favorite treats...... drumroll please.................................................... Frozen Grapes and Frozen Blueberries.... YUM! Seriously, how guilty can you feel eating something like frozen fruit.... I feel NO guilt whatsoever when it comes to these delicious sweets. I highly recommend them. Easy prep too... I just buy the blueberries and/or grapes, wash them off, stick them in a gallon size freezer bag, suck the air out and lay them flat in the freezer initially so that they don't all stick together. Then when I want something sweet, I just grab a few. On hot days, they really are a perfect snack!




Click here for some more ideas. :)

Week 4- Time out

Well this week has been very crazy because of the visitors we've had. We had a lot of fun but it was difficult to stick to my routine so I had to put this blog on the back burner. Oh well, now things are starting to get back to normal and I'll do my best to resume where I left off.

After visiting the Pediatrician this week I have decided to slow my progress for the sake of my baby. Your body stores toxins in your fat and if you burn your fat too quickly, you release those toxins back into your body. Anyway, long story short, losing weight too quickly can flood your breast-milk with bad things and can be bad for the baby. That said, my new goal is to lose about 1 pound a week.

For now I'm going to keep doing the same things I've been doing for the past few weeks. My husband will be deploying soon so if my blog is a little inconsistent I'm sorry, but I might need some time out.

Week 3 - The Magic of W's

I'm definitely making progress and it makes me smile! :) I don't know how long I'll be able to keep up such dramatic progress (for me it's dramatic), but I'm happy with it so far! I feel confident in saying that sticking to my goals works for me, and might work for someone else if he or she follows them faithfully. It's not too late to join me! :D

Anyway, to get to my goal's for the week remember W's:

WATER minimum 64 oz. daily

WALKING/jogging 45 minutes daily

WEIGHTS 2 sets of 10 reps of the exercises described last Friday

WATCH what you eat, paying special attention to serving sizes, calories, and balance.

Then of course you have the crunches and pushups. This week I will do 25 crunches and 13 pushups daily.

Something else I forgot to mention is STRETCH! If you work out regularly you need to make sure to stretch all of your major muscles. On Friday I'll show you what I do to stretch. :) Being flexible is a major key to preventing injury.
Good luck! :)

Tuesday's Tips: 2

Today's tip is try incorporating whole grains/whole grain flours into your diet.

I find that when I eat whole grains I stay full a lot longer. With that said, I don't remember the last time I had to purchase a bag of All-Purpose Flour; we go through Whole Wheat flour like crazy though. We started off just substituting 25% of the regular flour with Whole Wheat and kept working into adding more and more. Now most of the stuff we make, we use 100% Whole Wheat flour and we feel full a lot longer! You can also add other whole grain flours like Oat flour and Barley flour to add extra nutrition. However, don't use 100% of those other flours in place of All-purpose because they don't bake the same. I just substitute about 25% of the Wheat flour with a variety of other whole grain flours. If you want complete proteins, try to mix grains! :)