Project: Slutty Pumpkin

This week marked my last scheduled week to work at a certain location which has been a love-hate relationship.  I've grown to like the people I work with, but I feel so socially out of the loop while there.  Also, the commute sucks.  I wouldn't mind going back there to work a day or two here and there, but not for a full week.

Workout wise this week I worked out four times.  That seems to be my average, but I might change it up and I'll talk more about that in a bit.

Monday and Wednesday I worked out with Sarah and you can read all about it here.  I'm still totally geeked about my PR this week.

Tuesday and Thursday were Pilates days.  Tuesday was "regular" Pilates and both Maureen and Linda were there.  I can't even remember when the three of us were all together in a class.  Seems like forever, but I was glad to see them.  Maybe now that summer is officially over, we'll go back to our normal attendance.

Diet wise this week, I've been hit and miss.  The downer about my work location this week is that I'm stuck there until 430 and I get home at 530.  Going back to my regular location will have me home earlier and I'll be happier, thus more eager to meal plan.

I have two big events that I am hoping will motivate me.  My friend Kyanna is having a HUGE 40th birthday party right before Thanksgiving.  So, Kyanna and I are putting a plan into action to look fabulous for that.  I call it Project: Slutty Pumpkin.

Those of you who are fans of How I Met Your Mother will get the reference of the legendary Slutty Pumpkin that Ted is obsessed with.  My goal is to look so hot that I am branded in someone's brain as their Slutty Pumpkin.

So to get Slutty Pumpkin hot, I plan to tighten the diet.  By that I mean cooking and meal planning better.  Keeping up with the working out and bumping it up to definitely five days a week.  I am currently debating adding a third (YES, THIRD) night of Pilates or possibly getting back into cycling.  I don't know yet.  I'm just thinking about that aspect now.

My second plan is called Project: Bikini Summer 2015.  My main focus now is Project: Slutty Pumpkin, but after Thanksgiving, PBS2015 is going to be the focus.

Do any of you have any fitness goals for the new season?

Long Time No Blog

Ugh, I know I haven't blogged in a while.  I'm still here!!!  

I've been crazy busy with work.  I've gotten a lot of transcript orders and I had seven due last week alone!  But that just means I have extra money to pay for my Lifetime lifestyle.

I usually do my weekly workout threads and I haven't, but I'll try to catch you all up in this one post.

The week of August 17 to the 23, I worked out five days in a row!  I had two days of training with Sarah (Sunday and Wednesday) and you can read about it here.  I did THREE days of Pilates with Cassie.  Yes, THREE!!!  I totally earned Friday and Saturday off after that.

This past week, August 24 to 30, I worked out three days.  Yeah, I know...three days is pretty low for me.  I did two days with Sarah and jumpboard Pilates with Cassie.  I was just super tired.  I was a little scared that my adrenal fatigue was coming back.

I just couldn't get enough rest.  I was getting plenty of sleep, but I was just tired.

Last Thursday, I met up with Eastside Tony for our nutrition follow up.  I'm doing pretty well with avoiding the foods that I am sensitive to.  My tummy is flatter, my clothes are fitting looser, but the scale is still not budging.  That is really annoying me.  My diet is okay and I am making decent enough choices, but I really can't get into the whole food logging and carb cycling.  I don't like to think about my food all the time.

I plan on making more of a concerted effort in September.  This Labor Day weekend is just a disaster, in my mind at least.  I'm sure my eating is fine for the most part but I am starting to have anxiety about eating and that's causing anxiety on top of anxiety.  

Oh, and I plan on blogging more in September, too.  My goal is to blog every day for the month of September and see if that helps.

I'm A Yoga Drop-Out

This week I worked out five days.  Back to my normal number of days working out.

Sunday and Wednesday were the days that I worked out with Sarah.  You can read that post here.

I had Pilates on Tuesday and I had another freak out during the short spine series.  I felt like I was going to flip over again.  It was kind of funny though.  The class was tough but enjoyable with my homies, Linda and Maureen.  Thursday was Jumpboard Pilates.  I was kind of dreading it because I was so beat from all of my other workouts.  I was afraid of how much pain I would be in on Friday.  I was very sore for class, but I soldiered on.  I survived and I actually wasn't that sore on Friday.

Next week, Jumpboard will be at 8 pm instead of the normal 6 pm because Cassie is closing on her new house.  Also, Sarah is going to take the class.  I am so excited.  I think she's kind of clueless about what jumpboard is all about, so I can't wait for her to experience it.  I'm sure she'll love it.

Monday and Friday were my rest days.  Friday after work, I went to Labcorp to have blood drawn for my Food Allergy Panel test.  I am so excited to get the results and finally figure out what is going on inside my body.

Saturday I went to Rickita's 945 Hot Vinyasa Flow class.  I enjoy practicing yoga at least once a week and I adore Rickita as a teacher and a person.  However, since Lifetime has decided to adopt the Jonny Kest method of yoga, I am finding myself discouraged and losing my love for yoga.  It has just become too confusing and very anti-beginner.  I swear if someone who had never taken a yoga class before came into a Lifetime Fitness yoga class, they would never come back.  Is that really what Lifetime wants?

I used to enjoy yoga class from beginning to end and couldn't wait to take my next class.  Now, I spend the hour on my mat frustrated, angry, and confused.  That's not what yoga is about.  The quality of the instruction has gone down hill.  I have been doing yoga for almost a year and this new way of teaching has me utterly confused.  I feel like you're expected to know poses at the snap of a finger  and the flows are just so convoluted.  

Seriously, during this class on Saturday, I just sat during the entire third flow because it was so confusing and way too crazy to expecting someone to memorize it and flow on their own.  In one word, it's BULLSHIT.

Two people walked out.  I left early partially because I had a meeting with Tony, the dietitian, but I honestly felt rage.  They should rename the class to Hot Homicidal Flow.  And I'm not the only one that's complaining.  Linda from my Pilates class doesn't like it either and she's going to classes in Commerce that are less Jonny Kest centric.  

So, I think my days of Lifetime Yoga are over and it makes me sad.  I love all of the classes that Lifetime has and am Lifetime's Number One Cheerleader, but they made a HUGE mistake when they changed the yoga program.  I'm highly disappointed.  

Pilates, Pilates, Pilates

I did Pilates three times this week and this was the wittiest title I could come up with.

This week I worked out 5 out of 7 days.  Pretty good.  I took my usual days off, Monday and Friday.

Sunday I took Martina's Slowburn Vinyasa class.  I wasn't expecting to get my heart rate up so high or to sweat, but I did.  I guess I shouldn't let the Slowburn word fool me.

Tuesday I had my standard reformer class.  Rachel, the newest Pilates instructor at LTF-Novi, subbed for Cassie.  I had never met Rachel, so I was kind of curious to meet her and take a class with her.  She is so nice and very pleasant.  She is trained the same way that Cassie is, so it was an easy transition.  She's a little quieter than Cassie, but she's new and she had never met any of us before.  Plus, Linda can come across as a thug when you first meet her.

Wednesday was my only training session with Sarah and you can read about it here.

Thursday was Jumpboard Pilates.  I hadn't done Jumpboard in two weeks, so I was anxious to get back to it.  Cassie was there for this class and she filled us in on the new West Bloomfield club that is opening.  We were asking questions because we were interested in what a Diamond LTF club was all about.  Sounds very luxurious, but not what I would want.  (No offense!)

Jumpboard was definitely tough.  We did those agonizing arm exercises.  I just kept repeating "My arms are going to look awesome, my arms are going to look awesome," just to keep me going.

Saturday was a private Pilates session with Cassie!!!  I love private sessions!  It's nice to get the one-on-one attention and just chit-chat with Cassie.  It's like sweating with a girlfriend...except you're the only one sweating.

Before I went to LTF, I stopped at my local Starbucks and picked up a Skinny Caramel Macchiato for each of us.  Cassie and I have the same favorite drink at Starbucks.  Great minds, people, great minds.

Yeah, I know it must seem weird to walk into a gym with two venti Starbucks, but hey, I don't care.  I just strolled on through with a coffee in each hand like:

And I seriously would have gone Naomi Campbell crazy if anyone would have said anything.  

So, that was my week in a nutshell.  I would call it a successful week.  I did a little bit of everything: lifting, yoga, and Pilates.  My three loves.  I think my head is getting back in the game.  I'm not weighing myself every day.  I was going to remove the batteries from my scale, but I didn't and I've been able to avoid the scale.

Jumping Jehoshaphat

I had a super tough workout schedule this week.  I worked out five days in a row.  I usually work out four or five days, but I break it up.  This week I felt extra confident and went for it.

I worked out with Sarah on Sunday and Wednesday.  You can read our training post here.

Monday, I took Tammy's 4:45 yoga class.  I love Tammy's classes and I haven't taken a yoga class in almost two weeks.  June is actually a yoga challenge month and I have failed miserably in trying to squeeze in some yoga.  Between two training days and two Pilates days, I have to try and fit some yoga in at least once a week.  I also have to be careful to not get myself into an adrenal fatigue situation again.  (That sucked).

Tuesday was my regular Pilates class with my girls, Linda and Maureen.  It was a great class and I really got a good workout.  I always get a good workout, but lately Pilates has really been kicking my butt.

Thursday was Jumpboard Pilates.  This was the most excruciating Jumpboard class to date.  Cassie introduced three new exercises and each one was more challenging than the last.  The first two were arm exercises where we laid down on the reformer box (lengthwise) and pushed off the jumpboard with our arms.  Wow, those were rough.   To me, the toughest exercise was the new leg exercise that had us laying on our sides.  Even though it was tough, I can only imagine how beneficial this exercise will be for my glutes and my hips.  Unfortunately, when I was laying on my left side, I had some sharp pain.  I don't think it was an injury pain, but more of a killer cramp.  I did significantly better when we switched sides.

My sugar cravings go into overdrive after Pilates.  Each night after Pilates, I come home and want sugar, sugar, and more sugar.  It's gotten to the point that I am now drinking two protein shakes a day.  One at work as a mid-morning snack and another in the evening after my workouts.

Friday and Saturday were well deserved rest days.

I am really glad I took a yoga class this week.  I have a free morning on Friday, so I might squeeze in Tammy's Friday morning class.

Have a good week!

The Week That Was

This past week was an okay week.  I took three rest days: Monday, Friday, and Saturday.  Friday I was crazy sore and I was away from home all day, and Saturday I was hung over.  Monday is usually a rest day.

Sunday and Wednesday were personal training days with Sarah and you can read about it here.

Tuesday and Thursday were Pilates days.  Pilates really kicked my ass this week.  I came home Tuesday after class, showered, and passed out while watching Extreme Weight Loss.  I did well in class with all of the poses and exercises, but holy crap I felt rough.  My judge heard me sighing on Wednesday morning and asked what was wrong and I said Pilates class.

Thursday was Jumpboard Pilates class and it went super fast (thank God!).  My quads were burning as usual, especially during the warm up.  Once we get to the timed exercises it's not so bad.  It was a packed class, so packed Cassie had to turn someone away.  Eastside Cassie came out.  I was scared. LOL

As I said earlier, I took Saturday off because I was hung over.  I had a wild and crazy Friday.  I had a busy social calendar this weekend with my buddy Sara graduating on Saturday from South Lyon High School.

My goal for the upcoming week is to squeeze in at least one yoga class.  I really miss yoga.  I need to sweat the toxins out and get my yoga on.

Have a great week!

One Week Post D.Tox

This has been the best week in my life because the rollercoaster of emotions, aches and pains, and sugar withdrawal was over.

I woke up on Sunday and drove like a bat out of Hell to my favorite Coney Island (Leo's on Eight Mile @ Farmington) for breakfast.  I ordered a ham and cheese omelet, with potatoes, and sliced tomatoes.  I washed it down with iced tea (unsweetened).  I only had a few bites of the potatoes (too dry), but I ate all of my tomatoes and a good chunk of the omelet until it became too hammy.

I didn't go too crazy with eating.  I did want to maintain and continue my weight loss.  I didn't want to completely negate my progress.

In terms of exercise, I worked out four days this week.  I worked out with Sarah on Monday and Wednesday and you can read about it here.  On Sunday, I took Martina's Hot Vinyasa Flow class and sweat buckets.  I was sweating from every single pore.  I think I lost 10 pounds in just sweat.  On Thursday, I took my beloved Jumpboard Pilates class and it was Cassie's first day back from her honeymoon.  Now that her wedding is over and she's back from her honeymoon maybe she can concentrate on me full time.

Martina complimented my skin and thought I had gotten a facial.  Cassie noticed that my chins were smaller.  Apparently the effects of D.Tox that I didn't notice was my amazingly smooth and clean skin.  I mean I did notice that I was looking cuter than usual, but I had no idea it was because of D.Tox!

On Saturday morning, I went and had Sarah do a post-D.Tox Health Score.  My previous health score from April was a 68.  It is now a 76.  It probably would have been higher, but my glucose reading was high (106).  It was the exact same as in April, but I had an alcoholic drink the night before and that is probably why it was high Saturday morning.  I'll take more about that a little later in this post.

Everything was great.  The numbers were pretty much the same as they were in April.  My body fat was slightly higher, and my lean body mass was a little lower.  So, Sarah and I have decided to add some BCAAs into my supplement list.  Bonus for me:  Sarah surprised me Sunday by buying me some of the Thorne BCAA, so I'll keep you posted on my progress with that.

So, more about my food intake this week.  I definitely am going to watch my carbs because I don't react well to carbs at all.  Everything was cool until Friday.  I went to Mexican Town to have lunch with my friend Brittany.  I got the two cheese enchilada lunch special that came with rice and beans.  I also had some chips and salsa before my enchiladas came out.  My body reacted fine.

Friday evening I was going to go show shopping with my girlfriends.  The time switched from 6 to 7 and I hadn't eaten since lunch.  I decided to go eat at Leo's (seriously, I love this place) and had a bacon cheeseburger with onions, and a side of fries.  YUMMY!  I didn't eat as much as I did before D.Tox.  Before D.Tox, I would have cleaned my plate.  This time, I ate 3/4 of the burger and only half of the fries.  

I drove straight to DSW to meet the girls and my pancreas was in pain from the carbs.  Wow, carbs and I have to set some limitations.

After much success in getting some new summer shoes, the girls and I headed to California Pizza Kitchen.  We each ordered the same alcoholic beverage.  What did it for us was that George Clooney's Casamigos Tequila was in this drink.  SOLD!!!  It was a fabulous drink and I will get it again when I go to CPK.

I ordered just a side salad with ranch dressing.  It was great and refreshing, and a pretty good choice.   My friend Maddie is gluten intolerant and so she ordered a gluten free Margherita pizza.  She couldn't finish it, so she gave me two pieces.  It was so yummy and hit the spot.  My tummy was fine obviously since there was no gluten.

Saturday, I went to a graduation/going away party and I grazed all day.  It was at my friend Jackie's home and so there were a lot of  healthy options.  Her kale salad is amazing.  I was there from noon to 7:30, so I ate lunch and dinner there/  The weather was perfect and so was the food.

So, my first week post-D.Tox was a success.  I did deviate from the script, but that's life.  Life is meant to be enjoyed.  You splurge and get over it.   We're all human.  That's why I am doing this uncut.

The Week Before D.Tox

This week was the week before I start D.Tox.  I worked out four days this week.  Two days of personal training and two days of Pilates.

My training days were Sunday and Wednesday.  You can read more about those days here.

I had my regular Pilates on Tuesday night and Jumpboard Pilates on Thursday.  My Tuesday night homies, Linda and Maureen, weren't there due to injuries.  Linda is covering from foot surgery and Maureen is having shoulder issues.  I miss them.  I saw Linda on Sunday in passing at LTF and she was walking slow and trying to see what she could do at the gym.  I haven't seen Maureen.  Tuesdays just aren't the same without them.

The Tuesday class kicked my butt.  It almost felt as though I had never ever done a Pilates class.  I was whipped by the time class was over.

Thursday was Jumpboard, my second official class since I added on the second night of Pilates.   I still do love jumpboard and I am getting quite the workout from it.  I don't doubt the pure genius of adding on this second class.  It was a brilliant move on my part.

My days off this week were Monday, Friday, and Saturday.  Saturday I cleaned my apartment like a maniac and that was a workout in itself.  

I am starting D.Tox on Sunday.  I am training with Sarah on Sunday and Thursday (our one year anniversary).  I have Pilates this week on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday!  I am making up the class that I would miss because of Cassie's upcoming honeymoon.

Have a great week, everyone and be sure to check out my D.Tox threads.

100th Blog Post!!!!!

100 posts!  Wow, I totally thought I would have run out of things to post about by now.  Here I am five months after I started this blog and still typing away.

This thread is about my workouts this week.  I feel like I had a fat week.  I only went to Lifetime four times, which would be good for most people, but it bums me out.

I trained with Sarah on Sunday and Thursday.  The post about those works is here.

Tuesday I went to Pilates and it was super tough.  I almost had a private class because Linda and Maureen didn't come, but then someone popped in and that was the end of my private.

Saturday I went to my first yoga class at the yoga studio.  I absolutely loved it.  I blogged my review of the new studio here.

Monday at work I fell and hurt my ankle.  I'm not sure if I rolled it or what, but it caused me some pain all week.  I have a 5k on May 10, so we'll see how that goes and if I am able to run.

Well, that was my week.  I hope you had a great one!

Zombie Week

This week started with being chained to my desk finishing up transcripts.  I enjoying just being able to relax when I wasn't at work or at the gym.  I found myself crashing on the couch most nights and then moving into my bedroom when I woke up.  It's funny how just sitting at a desk and typing could exhaust you so much.  Maybe that's why I was so easily exhausted when I was training with Sarah as I stated here.

I took Sunday,Thursday and Friday off as my rest days.

Monday and Wednesday were training days.

Tuesday I went back to my normally scheduled Pilates class.  It was good to be back with my regularly scheduled class.  This week was tough for me.  Then I realized I was on a different reformer than I usually use.  I couldn't get my butt that high during the short spinal stretch.  We did some exercise with the black tension bar and it was tough.  When we finished with that series, I was glad.  Super tough.  We finished our class with some arm work with light weights.  That was a total killer and I felt it for days.

Saturday I went to Ashtanga Vinyasa for the first time since taking two week off.  Ah, so glad to be back to my favorite yoga class and yoga in general.  I LOVE Rickita's classes!  I felt great although my low back was hurting a little bit today.  Nothing too painful, just achy.  Also, Rickita announced that the new yoga studio will be officially opened on Saturday, April 26th!  I will be out of town that day, but I will definitely get to a class the next day!

And that was my week.  Four workouts.  Not bad.  Definitely a challenging week for my body.   Just gotta keep plugging away!

This Week In Workouts

It's been an exciting week of workouts.  I think I'm over this adrenal fatigue thing and I am conscious about what I am doing and listening to my body.  The scale has started to go back down, which is great!

I worked three days this week.  Next week I am working all five days.  Holy crap that is a lot for me.  But I enjoy making money and being able to pay for all of my health-related stuff.

Sunday and Wednesday were training days and the detailed thread about those workouts is here.

Monday I was super excited to get out of work earlier because I went to Lifetime and took Tammy's Vinyasa Flow class.  It was a great class and I got a great workout.  I haven't taken one of Tammy's classes in a while and I love her classes.

Tuesday I did two classes.  I started using my very first Groupon that I purchased in December for two weeks of unlimited boxing classes at Title Boxing Club.  You can ready all about my first class here.    Then in the evening I went to my Pilates class.  You can read about that class here.   I was very careful to notice how I was feeling all day.  I really didn't want to overdo it and backslide back into adrenal fatigue.

I went to my second boxing class on Thursday evening.  I had a different instructor this time.  His name is Greg and we have some mutual friends in common, The Parutas.  I really enjoyed his class and actually liked it better than the first class I went to.  I was a little iffy about whether I wanted to continue after my Groupon expired, but now I definitely want to continue.  My arms were punching like crazy.  My bat wings were flapping.  It was both funny and gross.

Friday was a much deserved day off.

Saturday, I took another boxing class at Title.  The teacher was Mark.  It was another great class.  I think I am getting better at the fundamentals of boxing, at least in my opinion.  Who knows, I might look like a crazy person hitting the bag.

Have a great week and as always I leave you with a motivational meme.

Workout Roundup

This was a busy work week for me....four days.  I find that when I work I have to sort of force myself to work.  My work is very mentally draining.  I can't wait until the new yoga studio is done, hopefully there will be more evening yoga classes.

Sunday and Wednesday were personal training days with Sarah.    The post about those workouts are here.

Monday and Friday were my days off.

Tuesday I had Pilates.  Next week, my classmates Maureen and Linda will be gone, so I will have a private class with Cassie!  I asked her if we could use the springboard and she said we could.  I think she's going to beat the crap out of me.

Thursday I took John's 430 Vinyasa class.  I usually double up and also take David's spinning class after, but I just did the Vinyasa.  I'm really trying not to overdo it.  I think I've really paid the price for doing so much the last few weeks.  I need to just chill out.

Saturday I did do two classes.  I took Linda's 645 Spinning class and my favorite yoga class Ashtanga Vinyasa with Rickita.

Wednesday after my training session with Sarah, I met up with Leesa for a nutrition session.  Clearly if my body is not in full blown adrenal fatigue it is somewhat.  She advised me to cut the spinning classes down to once a week which I've decided I will make the Saturday 645 am class.  She wants me to continue with the Pilates and yoga.  She actually wants me to combine the dry sauna on my yoga days.   She was quite thrilled with my diet for the most part.  She remembers what a mess my diet was when I started this and she seemed pretty impressed with my changes.

I have to say I felt even better about myself after that session with Leesa.  I was glad to hear that I'm doing something right and hopefully this plateau will end soon.

A Week of Rest (Kinda)

Daylight Savings Time totally screwed my life up.  Every morning I hit the snooze at least 3 times.  Zero energy, but I still have things to do and places to be.

This week I worked Monday and Tuesday.  I went home to visit my mom on Thursday afternoon to Friday afternoon.  Friday morning I had my taxes done.  As a self-employed person who has 1099s, I knew I was going to have to pay in to the IRS but I was blown away by the actual amount.  YIKES!  Oh well, as my tax preparer said, "It's going towards your Social Security and Medicare."  

Sunday, I went to the 9 a.m. spinning class.  Todd wasn't there, so it was a sub.  I liked him enough.  I was going to also take Martina's Vinyasa Flow class, but I was tired so I came home after I grabbed some breakfast.

Monday I was supposed to workout with Sarah, but I canceled.   I've posted all about that .

Tuesday I had Pilates.  It was the 90 Day Challenge Try It Tuesday - Pilates, so Cassie was busy doing that.  We had Heather sub teach our class.  She is new to Lifetime, but not new to Novi.  She grew up on Novi and recently moved back.  Great winter to move back, Heather!   I really enjoyed having Heather teach us.  My classmates and I encouraged her to sub for Cassie when she gets married in May.  She taught us some variations and new things.  It was absolutely great!

Wednesday was my lone training session with Sarah.

I took Thursday, Friday, and Saturday off from exercise as well as eating well.  Oh well, after the crappy week I've had I feel I deserve it.

So, I worked out three days this past week.  That's really not bad once I think about it.  Some people don't even exercise that much.  

Have a good week!

What I Did - March 2014, Week 2

I'm going to start a new weekly thread about the other workouts I do during a particular week.   The label will be "in other workout news".

This week I took two rest days:  Sunday and Friday.

I worked four days this week, which is more than I've worked in the last two weeks.  So, I had to get used to working and working out again.

On Monday and Wednesday, I worked out with Sarah and that related post is here.  On Tuesday, I had Pilates.  We did some tower work, which I absolutely love and wish we did more of.  I'll have to bug Cassie about that.  Thursday I took David's 5:45 Spinning class.  His class is super busy and there was a minor confrontation between two guys on the bike next to me.  YIKES!!  Saturday, I slept through the 6:45 Spinning class and only made it to the 12:15 Ashtanga Vinyasa class.  Rickita was in Chicago for a yoga training weekend, so she had Keri sub for her.  Not sure if Keri knew it was a 75 minute class because she made it a 60 minute class.  That's okay though.  I got a good workout anyway.

I have a Groupon for boxing classes at a local gym that expires in about a month, so I am probably going to start that up sometime this week or next weekend.

I'll leave you with a Beyonce gif on motivation.  Have a great workout week!