I'm. Sick. (and tired of resting!!!!!)

WHOA! It has been awhile that I've blogged, but I guess I fell off for awhile. Don't worry....I kept to my working out at least 4 times a week, and still am eating pretty healthy. But I had to REST my back for a whole week because it still has been bugging me. I went to see the doctor last week, but it was pointless! I worked out after a whole week of rest, and it felt like I hurt my back AGAIN and now I might have pinched my sciatic nerve =(. It's not only my back aching anymore, but also my left butt cheek down to my feet sometimes! It's not horrible, but I can feel a difference. I wish I would figure out what was wrong before it gets worse. Well, enough about the stupid resting back situations.... Back to the fun!

I have been on a yogurt craze, I'm hooked! I don't indulge in chocolates, brownies, cookie dough and whip cream anymore.. instead, I eat fruits.. yum! 

Not the best picture, but I'll be sure to take a better one very soon.

I went back to the gym on Monday, 2 days ago...and I felt sooo good.  I thought that I would be out of shape, tired and out of breath, but to my surprise.. I was running like I never took that 7-day rest! I had to make myself run at a speed of 4.0 instead of 5.8 because my stupid back. I'm also trying to get sexy, sexy arms! People don't want to underestimate my scrawny arms, because once I flex.. oh, hello miss bicep ;) HAHA. I want to lift at least 3x a week, but that hasn't happened.. So, my new love.. weights!

BTW, check out my hot red nails ;) haha. Ok, maybe I'm a little delirious because I'm so sleepy. Cory and Tone went to the gym without me.. why? because "you need to rest" blah blah blah! I can't work out until Monday, that's 3 days! My 21-day Challenge got me a little crazy for working out, but it feels so good!

On Wednesday, I came into a beautiful surprise! Cory is surprisingly..well.. a sweetheart. haha, weird! He got me 2 dozen flowers for an Early birthday, mothers day, and graduation. He wanted to be the first to tell me, along with Buddy, and our 7 lizards; Fat Girl, Spotz, Yayo, BEAST, White Girl, DC and Lizzy. It truly made my day, and he really does live up to his name BBFITW-Best BoyFriend In The World =)

It is my birthday month.. and this birthday is a big one! I'll be A Quarter of a Century on May 12th! That was another big reason I started my challenge.. because I new I was turning 25.. and I didn't want to be that person that "let go" of themselves, simply do to old age.. I know, I know, 25 isn't old. But at the age I'm at now, it is crucial to eat right and exercise to set my standards when I'm in my 30s and 40s. I bought a Bebe dress, that was a size TOO small. I bought it smaller purposely, in hopes that I would be down to my goal weight. I didn't get down to my goal weight, but who cares anymore. I feel good, and I definitely toned out. It came in the mail on Monday and guess what? It fit! It fit really good!

I will be sure to post pictures that night I actually go out! I'm so excited! I just hope I still fit it with all this resting! Ok, I'm going to get to some homework now.. and I promise to myself that I will blog more often.. to see where I stand with, well... me =)

Reunited, and it feels sooo good.

Day ???

I haven't blogged for awhile, so I decided it was time. My back was still hurting after all the INSANITY, so I had to give myself a break from INSANITY. After my 3 day rest because of my blood donation, I felt sooo out of shape! I met up with Ashley on Saturday morning to show off my skills! I was so excited to show her that I could not keep up with here for 3 miles! Boy...I was wrong. I was super out of shape! I kept up with her pace almost under a mile, then I had to lean against a tree because I had got soo dizzy! We ended up catching up for mile 2, then jogged/walked the 3rd and 4th mile. She wanted me to do one more mile after the last time she said "one more mile" (haha, jk Ash!), but I knew I had to stop. 4 miles was good enough for me, after a 3 day break. Ash gave me a gift since I completed my challenge. It was so sweet of her! It really meant SO much to me! A iPOD shuffle to bring with me on my runs. In HOT PINK! She knows me too well. To top it off, she got me a card with a nice letter. That made the gift have more meaning than it already did. Thanks, Ash =)

On Sunday, I stayed @ my parents house. They live in the hills, so I thought it would be a great idea to go running. I ended up running down the hill with no problem, I even found a trail. But, of course.. if I ran down, I would have to run back up. I was on an incline walk for nearly 10 minutes! My thighs and calves were BURNING! I was glad I was able to get a workout even back at home. 

On Monday, me, Glenny and Ash went back to Zuda Yoga. Last year I was on a yoga high, but I stopped because it got too expensive. But, I was reunited with yoga, and now I am hooked once again! It is so spiritual, and it makes me feel so good inside and out. I secretly feel so, well.. sexy in my yoga clothes all drenched in sweat! The instructors there are great, and they make you go further. Instead of just referring every pose to just a pose or a stretch, they make you reach and strive for yourself and/or loved ones. I love how they describe our bodies as nature. That tree limbs don't grow over night, or that flowers take time to blossom, and if you force it to grow to fast, it will break. I wasn't able to make it to yoga today, so I did my @ home workout of INSANITY, "Pure Cardio" and "Insane Abs." Another thing why I love yoga, is because it does own up to its benefits. My back is better! I can actually get up and bend down without that sharp pinch. So I made sure I concentrated my form during my INSANITY workout, "Don't compromise your from!" I finally listened to Shawn T.

Present: My challenge worked. I am definitely on a routine. This morning I woke up at 5:30am to get my morning run in. I been so caught up on yoga, that I haven't ran since Sunday. I start work at 7:30am, so it was really an accomplishment for me to get up and run for 2 miles. I hid the time and just kept running. The yoga helped me.. I kept telling what my yoga instructor kept repeating yesterday your body gives up way before your mind goes, so learn to conquer it.. and before I knew it, it was 6:30am.. time for me to get ready for work!  After work and school, I came home and did the INSANITY "Pure Cardio" and "Insane Abs" workout.

I really want to say thank you to yoga. Even though I have only gone back the past 2 days, it really makes me feel better. Something about yoga really gives me a positive feeling in my mind, body and soul.

Until next time...

Boo to you, Rest Days!

I haven't blogged for awhile. I went through a moment with myself when I stepped on the weighing scale, when I said I wasn't, and learned I gained 5 pounds. I fit my jeans again, I felt great, but something about those increased pounds on the scale made me frustrated. It's muscle, it has to be. I have been eating right and working out like crazy. But, of course it is really frustrating not seeing results. But that is where I was wrong. I am seeing results, I just let those numbers make me who I am. Stupidty. I finally took some rest on the weekend, then started back up again on Monday. I haven't ran on the track for a week now =(. Reason is, I gave blood on Wednesday, and phlebotomist orders, "no strenuous activity for 72 hours." I wasn't going to listen until my near faint experience, so I took it as a sign.

It's Friday now, and I can't wait to start up a sweat later this evening. It has been 2 days too long! I'll be back on Insanity tonight, then my 4-5 mile run with Ashely tomorrow morning! I'll be running at a new location tomorrow, I hope I do well! 

Recruitments ! !

I recruited 3 people after I completed my challenge: 

My linear, goto, Glenny. She is starting on Sunday with May 1st as her completion date.

My Backbone, Trisha. She begins on Monday.

Sally Su. She is on Day #3. 

I know they can do it! And, of course they get a FREE motivation coach, ME! 

On another note, when I work at the bank the break room always has SOOO much food, JUNK! I usually stuff my face during my lunch and 15 minute breaks to make me happy. But today, I stopped myself. They had way toooo much food on the counter! Vanilla and chocolate cupcakes, bagels, chips ahoy, gourmet cookies, the vending machine, and pound cake! But... self-control. I had my low-fat Activia vanilla yogurt =)

COMPLETE.

Day 21

-Insanity: Cardio Abs (2x pressed play twice!)

-3.10 Run @ Mckliny Park

Yesterday, I finished strong! I can't believe it has officially been 21 days since I would just come home, sit on the couch, eat dinner, sit on the couch, take a shower, then go to bed. I have completed 21 days of doing 30+ minutes of physical activity. (Don't mind the dorky picture, that was taken for my "skinny" girls immediately after my challenge was complete.)  It feels so long since I've been lazy. This challenge never once felt tedious and never felt like an obligation. I enjoyed waking up in the morning knowing exactly when I was going to work out. I also picked up two hobbies along the way: Running and Insanity. 

Running- 21 days ago, I would run 1 mile on some weeks. But during my challenge I have ran 32 miles. THIRTY-TWO MILES, WOW. I had no idea! Before this challenge, 1 mile on the trial was super hard for me. I would gasp for air within 2 minutes, stop for 5 minute, then go again. Now, I have ran 3 miles straight. My breathing has improved a lot too. I'm of course still a long way from being a "runner" but I have improved tremendously. I can't explain how proud I am of myself. I actually love running. I was pretty much blessed with the great weather these past 21 days. I look forward to days when I know I can get outside to the park. It's crazy that this has become a hobby, but I love it =)

Insanity- Today is my 5th day, but already, I am addicted! I JUST finished the "Pure Cardio" workout, and I can feel myself pushing, well..myself. I feel as if I'm on yet another challenge; a 60 day challenge. Of course, I'll be tracking my progress on here. 

Day 22

Yup, Day 22! I know I said I would rest on April 2nd... but I just couldn't help myself! I had to get my Insanity workout in. I mean, c'mon... the whole purpose of this challenge was to add a routine to my life. And, it worked. I feel great. I still haven't weighed myself, and I'm not planning to for awhile. Good news is, I can button my jeans! I'm not exactly where I want to be, but who is? I don't even care about being super skinny now, my thoughts have changed. I'm motivated to be healthy so I can live to play with my grandchildren one day, motivated to stay fit so I can be the senior citizens in the park jogging faster than me. Motivated to keep my well-being in a happy place.  

This is only the beginning... 

No Pain. NO GAIN.

Ouch. Like I promised myself... I'm finishing my last week 4 days STRONG! I had to take 2 motrins last night to ease my pain. 

Day 19 (Work-out mode!)

-jogged 9 flights of stairs during break @ work

-3 mile run at Mckliny Park after work

-1 hour INSANITY Plyometric Cardio Circuit

Explains the 2 motrins.

After all the workout madness, I still had the energy to make a chicken pesto sandwich. Could have been made healthier.. but I figured, I deserved it. 

-sourdough wheat grain bread
-chick breast
-lettuce
-tomatoes
-pesto 
-mayo (mistake)
-mozzarella cheese
-sunchips

 Day 20

- 40 minutes: Cardio Power & Resistance 

I can't believe I'm ONE day from completed my challenge. There's no part of me that is glad it's over, I'm actually just happy I completed it! I'm still going! Of course I'll take a rest day, but I absolutely love getting in my 30-45 minute of activity done daily. I'll save my analysis for tomorrow =)

I just completed Day 3 of my INSANITY workout. Boy! Was it intense! One part is running in place with high knees. I was running in place so hard (so I thought), and I had 15 more seconds to go. So I closed my eyes, pushed myself, let out some screams, and all of a sudden I literally RUN into my TV! If only someone could have seen... embarrassing!

Ok, well I know I should rest since my back is killing me right now. But... I'm going for my normal 3-mile run at the park right now. It's not hot outside, it's not thunder storming like promised, so it's a sign to be outside! Luckily at 5pm I have a massage! Get those knots out! Cory gave me a gift card to Massage Envy for my birthday LAST year! What better time to use it?

Update: I just got back from my run, and it was sooo nice! It loosened me up a little, and it was CAKE today! I was able to pace myself and keep going. I didn't one time feel the need to stop! I'm usually huffing and puffing by the second mile, but I was fine! My stamina has increased, how do I know? I can feel it!

Update 2:  My massage was great! I let them know where my back was hurting, so she was able to concentrate on that area. My lower back has been killing me, it might be from Insanity. She used hot towels during my massage, hot oils, and an icy coolent at the end. My back wa still chilli an hour after my massage.

For dinner, I was going to skip it because I was so tired. Then I realized all I ate today was a salad from Paesanos. I remembered seeing in health and nuritious magazine to ask for sushi with brown rice. I remembered I had the sushi tools and brown rice, so I thought...why not?!

Look at my salmon sushi roll with brown rice. MmmM! It taste even better knowing it's healthy!

INSANITY!

Day 18


1 hour of Insanity- Fit Test & Plyometric Cardio Circuit

Fit Test 1
Switch Kicks  25
Power Jacks  55
Power Knees 83
Power Jumps  24
Globe Jumps  6
Suicide Jumps 9
Push-Up Jacks  5
Low Plank Obliques  15


I started INSANITY today, a 60-day program before my 21-Day Challenge is even complete! But, I couldn't wait! I'm so proud of myself that I have NO doubt that I am not going to complete this, my challenge. There are 5 Fit Tests, and I will be posting my results along the way, to see how much I improve. 


I was sweating after 10 minutes of the sweat test. Don't believe me? Well, look at me here! Gross, but ooh.. it feels soo good ;)

I can't explain how much I was sweating. Compared to all my other workouts, this one was intense. Of course after my 1-hour workout, I had to refuel my body. So Cory made me a deee-li-cious smoothie! It was super healthy, with NO milk or juice.

Thanks, fukalove! (if you ever read this!)


-strawberries
-blueberries
-pineapples
-banana
-water





Before all the INSANITY, I made a trip to Trader Joes. I'm not a huge snacker, but since my Skinny Girls always send me picture messages of yummy snacks, of course I had to get some of my own. It's better than snacking on hot cheetos or a bag of doritos, right? 


The hummus was soo yummy, along with the pita chips and edamame. I haven't had chocolate (my absolute fav) for about 3 weeks now, so I had one dark chocolate covered pretzel.

For dinner, Cory made albacore with asparagus, veggies, and a glass of red pomegranate wine he has been looking for forever! We finally found it at the liquor store. I skipped out on a glass since I knew my workout still had to be done. 

 
Today has been a wonderful start to my week. Tomorrow, I'm going to attempt to do 20 flights of stairs with some coworkers. Then after work I have a date with my newest recruitment to the runners world, Myreca. I'm looking forward to it! It has been one day since my feet have hit the trail, but it won't be too far until I get to race with myself again =)