All the wrong places

We have all heard it said before. You lose inches from where you least want to lose them from First, and from where you really want to lose them from Last. That's my rant for today. My troubled area? THIGHS!

I HATE my thighs!!!!

Really truly and passionately do I hate my thighs. So much so that you will rarely see me in shorts in the summertime. A cute skirt, yes. But not shorts. Unless I am just around the house with my family. For kicks and grins today, I decided to try on an old pair of shorts that did NOT fit pre-Challenge. Well, the good news is that they fit. But I still HATE the way my thighs look, especially when I sit down. It's like they spread out to twice their upright size. YUCK!!!

OK, so that's my rant. Feel free to share where your troubled zones and stubborn-to-go spots are with me, either by posting here or on Facebook.

TGIF, btw. ;)

Excuse me, did you just Burpee??

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This funny word keeps coming up, "BURPEE." Excuse you? Oh, you didn't mean THAT.

So what is a burpee then?? Well, it's the latest craze in quick cardio bursts combined with strength training. Here's how to do it:

• Begin in a squat position with hands on the floor in front of you
  
• Kick your feet back to a pushup position
  
• Immediately return your feet to the squat position
  
• Leap up from the squat position (off the ground for you over-achievers)
  
• Repeat, moving as fast as possible
  

You should maintain a fast pace for this exercise to get the full cardio benefit. And the plank position is going to be great for toning your upper body and core as well.

So now I know, and so do you, what this BURPEE word means....don't look for me doing these in public though. I'll save my Burpees for the privacy of my living room, thank you! ;) 

PS from Mom: I just completed 50 burpees. These things are NOT easy. Talk about raising the heart-rate and quick! Wow. Try doing as many as you can during the next commercial break of your favorite TV show. You'll feel it!

 

So you fell off the wagon, now what???

In short, don't try to make up for it the next day.  Simply get back to your eating plan and continue.  One day of indulgence isn't going to hurt your overall progress.
Here's a few more tips for when you fall off the wagon....

Realize that one binge won't make you gain weight. So you did it, big deal. Move on and promise yourself not to do it again.

Be patient. Changing a poor habit takes time and you will need to substitute food with other treats, such as watching a DVD, doing a hobby, going for a walk with a digital camera, etc. Find diversions that take you away from food to help you kick the habit.

Put things into perspective! You ate food... that is all...it is not a crime. I know, you overate and you may feel very sick at the moment, but all you did was eat. Drink some water, forgive yourself, move on and move forward.

Don't starve yourself! Starving to compensate for a binge will only make things worse. Your body will become confused by the feast then the lack of food and will then store whatever you eat. Thus destroying your metabolism.

Go for protein at your next meal! Eating a protein-rich diet at the following meal(s) will slow the bodies reaction to instantly store all excess carbs into fat. Also, skip the complex carbs and reach for veggies instead.

Drink plenty of water!

Do some cardio! Go for a walk. Or add a little extra cardio to your planner for the following day.

And again, forgive yourself and move on! Don't let one mistake completely derail your hard work and your fitness goals. You can do this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Shhh, you'll never know it's a protein shake!

So, as some of my Facebook friends already know, this morning I perfected my chocolate shake. This thing is DELICIOUS. I'm not talking in the   "no really, soy milk really tastes good  "   kind of way. This is not fake yummy, this is REAL YUMMY!
And the best part is that it has under 200 calories!

Cori's I-can't-believe-its-not-ice-cream Chocolate Shake

First you will need both flavors of Jillian Michael's Pure Protein Shake powder, available at Walmart for $10 a tub.
To a blender, add 2/3 scoop of chocolate whey protein powder and 1/3 scoop of vanilla whey protein powder. Add 1 tablespoon of Hershey's cocoa powder, a teaspoon of Splenda, 2/3 cup of 2% milk, and 5 or 6 ice cubes. Blend. It will be thick, and the vanilla powder adds the perfect   " ice cream taste.  "

Nutrition Info:
188 calories, 
18 carbs, 
6 g. fat, 
21 g. protein

Yum to the tenth power!!!! 

Hello Stranger!!!

 

This morning I decided that since my scales have been my enemy for the past 4 and 1/2 weeks, that I would instead judge my progress by seeing how close (or far) I was from being able to slip on and button a favorite pair of Ann Taylor pants. It has been YEARS since they have been worn, as they are a size 8, and I have been fluctuating between a 10 and a 12. To be honest, I did not expect them to slide over my hips, but they did. Then I did not expect them to button and zip, but they did. With wiggle room. OK, I must confess, I did a happy dance! Now, do I think all of my old 8's will fit, heavens no. I will chalk today's victory to a very forgiving cut pant. But at the end of the day, the reality remains that the pants that I wore today were in fact, a size 8!!!

Calculating Calorie Needs

As many of you know who have been following my progress, I am incredibly frustrated with the scales. I have yet to lose 5 lbs in 4 weeks. So, I decided to look into how many calories I should be consuming per day. Thus far I have been shooting for 1200 per day. Here's what the "experts" say.

First, find your basal metabolic rate (BMR) by using this equation:

Women: BMR = 655 + (4.35 x weight in pounds) + (4.7 x height in inches) - (4.7 x age in years)
Men: BMR = 66 + (6.23 x weight in pounds) + (12.7 x height in inches) - (6.8 x age in years)

To determine your total daily calorie needs, multiply your BMR by the appropriate activity factor, as follows:

If you are sedentary (little or no exercise): BMR x 1.2
If you are lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week): BMR x 1.375
If you are moderately active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week): BMR x 1.55
If you are very active: BMR x 1.725
If you are extra active (very hard exercise/sports and physical job or 2x training): BMR x 1.9

According to the "experts" the number you get is the number of calories you need to eat in order to maintain your current weight. Also according to the "experts" by decreasing that number by 500 calories per day you "should" lose about a pound per week.

I say screw the experts and throw out the scale, I've had it with them! :P

4 week progress report

It's hard to believe it has been 4 weeks already. It's even harder to believe what I am about to do. But I felt that perhaps if I post some before-and-after-pics of myself 4 weeks in to the Challenge, that it will not only motivate me to keep going, but perhaps even help someone else too. I cringe to put these into cyber-space, but I am a work in progress, and here goes nothing.....and please don't laugh! ;-)

     Week 1                                                              vs.                                                                Week 4

I think I have seen the most results with abs (do you see muscle??), although I have seen shrinkage in my legs and bottom, and my arms are definitely toning up. Maybe at 8 weeks I will post a "flex" picture....so there you have it, 4 weeks down, 8 to go!!!!!!!