Friday, June 29, 2012

30 Days to Greatness Day 12

Gosh, I feel myself getting stronger. Make no mistake I could totally take a nap right now but I feel myself being able to handle the workouts better. I seriously encourage anyone that is interested in achieving a fitness goal to do it today. There is much to gain both physically and mentally.

Today's workout:
P90X Legs and Back with the Ab Ripper X.

Today's Nutrition:
Many glasses of water. I am up to 9+ now.
Breakfast - Cream of Wheat with almonds, ground flaxseeds, and honey. 3 cups of coffee.
Lunch post workout - Fresh juice made of carrots, apple, and lemon. 1 cracked wheat sourdough toast with hummus. 2 hardboiled eggs.

*I sense I am not eating enough to fuel my added activity. I am making due now because I will have to go grocery shopping soon.

Today's Tip:
Have a hard time maintaining your focus when in the middle of a tough workout or exercise? Think about what you are working for. Example: Today while my muscles were burning instead of thinking about that pain, I was imagining my body transformed into my ideal vision. This kept me going and focused on the exercise.

Hope this helps!

& remember.....   You can do it!!!!!!!

Thursday, June 28, 2012

30 Days to Greatness, Day 11

Ever feel like you could just dream forever?? That's how I awoke this morning. Had to be up and at 'em for 2 auditions and other business. Fit my workout in between it all and now, at 7:08 pm, I'm beat. I can feel myself getting stronger already though. There are exercises that are getting easier and muscle groups that are not burning so badly. Also, I am noticing less soreness which is wonderful. Night's are great because I am genuinely tired and I don't have to work to get to sleep. I am also noticing freedom from back pain which is something I used to feel regularly. I posted about it in my 1st 30 Day Challenge post. My back is where I hold my stress and I know that working out is helping me release stress. It's great to get physical every day. With that said, here are today's stats...

Today's workout:
P90X Yoga X as dictated by their lean plan.

Today's nutrition:
Breakfast - 1 egg on a piece of sourdough toast, 2 cups of coffee.
Lunch pre workout - 2 blueberry waffles with syrup 1 cup of coffee.
Dinner - Chipotle Bowl with romaine lettuce, black beans, fajita vegetables, carnitas, light sour cream and light cheese. Chips and guacamole.
Lots of water all day, I am averaging roughly 10 glasses a day now.

Today's workout tip:
I had posted about working out on my facebook page and asked people when they like to work out. It was then that Luis let me know he was still trying to get started. In honor of him, here's a tip!!

How about approaching a friend, family member, coworker, and seeing if they will work out with you or lend you their workout DVD so you can get your fitness goals started! This can help make you accountable because you will have a partner counting on you and can save you money if you are not interested in joining the gym  or purchasing DVDs right now. Where there's a will, there's a way. So go and find your's today!

;)
See you tomorrow...

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

30 Days to Greatness Day 10

Today was hard. I just finished a bit ago. These last two days I have been doing my workouts later in the day and while I am happy to say that I can do it if I need to, it just is harder for me when I do. I prefer to get my workouts in before noon. That said, I did complete and I am feeling good about that.

Today's workout:
P90X Arms & Shoulders along with Ab Ripper X

Today's Nutrition:
Breakfast - Cream of Wheat with almonds, ground flaxseeds, and honey along with 2 cups of coffee.
Lunch pre workout - Tuna sandwich on cracked wheat sourdough toast with some Lays Jalapeno Kettle Chips.
Dinner post workout - Fresh juice made of carrots apple and lemon with Thai fried rice and vegetable medley leftover from last night. I satisfied my sweet tooth craving with a Jello pudding cup.
Water all day.

And now, I'll leave you with this. have a great rest of the day!


We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit.
- Aristotle

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

30 Days to Greatness, # 9

Today was so good I sweat my heart out!! :D


Today's P90X Lean Plan dictated I do Core Synergistics.


This workout is targeted for all the muscle groups in the torso. There were moments I was burning! I took a lot of water in throughout the workout and pushed through the pain. There were a couple of exercises I am not strong enough to do yet. A specific one that comes to mind is the push up knee kick. I did as many as I could and then held the plank position to continue working out my core while they stayed on that exercise.

As for today's nutrition so far:
Breakfast - 3 cups of coffee, 2 glasses of water, and a fresh juice consisting of kale, cucumber, apple, lemon, and ginger.
Lunch pre workout - Grilled chicken breast half, raw spinach light mayo and mustard on a piece of cracked wheat sourdough toast. My favorite salad on the side (cucumber, tomato, feta cheese, and olive oil.) V8 to drink.
Since working out I have only had water so far because it is only 5:33 pm. I plan on having something high in protein or fiber and possibly another fresh juice.

If you are also on a fitness journey here are some tips:
1. Push past your comfort level but not to the point of damage. Ask yourself, is my ego leading? If the answer is yes, cool out.  Do a couple more than your body wants, and a couple less than your ego wants. ;)
2. Positivity really makes a difference. What are you grateful for in this experience? How strong, fit, thin, you are getting? Extra energy? Mental clarity? Think of that. So far, the hardest work out I have had just so happened to be the one I went in dreading. Give yourself all the mental support you can.
3. Make sure you stretch, warm up, cool down. This will help you stay flexible while you are getting stronger. You do not want to lose range of motion and end up stiff. You will feel sore when you are working muscle groups in a new way but you shouldn't be getting stiff. Help your body stay limber by stretching. Respect the warm up and cool down process.

Ok, I'm outta here. See you tomorrow. <3

Monday, June 25, 2012

30 Days to Greatness, THIS is Day 8.

First off, I'd like to give thanks for the glorious weekend I had. A movie on Friday night with my husband and then Saturday and Sunday we spent at gatherings that totally enriched our souls. It was really great and I am so appreciative. Do you ever get to take stock, just really let yourself review and be grateful for the goodness? I hope you do, there is so much goodness around us. Something about noticing it seems to let it know it's welcome and then it shows up more... So yeah, I'm really grateful that this weekend was so great.

Sunday was my day of rest. I did not do any workouts. I still drank a ton of water because I genuinely enjoy it now. I also had a delicious salad that my Mom had made, it was so good I did not need any dressing, and lasagna, two helpings. What??? ;)

For those of you wanting to drink more water, you can try:
Make it fun! Give yourself a cup goal and mark off each cup you drink.
Add some healthy natural flavor! Lemon wedges, lime wedges, orange wedges, or cucumber taste good! There are also added benefits to this.

As for today, I wondered if it would be hard getting back to it. After all, I had just enjoyed a day of rest and I still feel sore daily. But, I was excited to get my workout in and when my husband suggested we go to the park, I told him I sure would once I exercised. It felt good. I felt empowered at keeping my date with myself. It was totally different than any obligation I might have felt in the past and that was wonderful.

Today's P90X Lean Plan called for Cardio X. It was good. I found I took a few more water breaks than I remember taking the first time. On the flip side I hung in on the kicks a lot better than the first time. It was great. I was sweaty, heaving, and happy. In my first 30 Days to Greatness post I mention the reward I am going to give myself upon completing 2 consecutive weeks. I do not own workout gear so a nice new workout outfit is motivating to me. I have always been tomboyish at the gym. Sweats and large t shirts but I am feeling so good I just may buy something cute. There may even be a little midriff showing... If you're thinking about being fit, taking a stand for health, or just releasing extra stress regularly by working out, GO FOR IT. It feels that good.

Speak soon... <3

Saturday, June 23, 2012

30 Days to Greatness Day 6

Woke up early today. I felt excited and ready to workout. Thats how it's starting to feel now. The goodness I feel physically and mentally are so rewarding, I look forward to my workouts. It doesn't mean I am not challenged. It's just that with each workout that I do, I am able to see and prove to myself that I can do it. So knowing I can and how good it will feel, makes me excited and ready for what's next. It's pretty great.

Today's P90X Lean plan called for Legs and Back with the Ab Ripper X. I did them and was seriously hurting by the ab workout. I also saw a greater need for dumbbells while I was doing the legs and back portion (I currently use resistance bands.)

Upon completion I was a sweaty, accomplished, fireball of energy. I am getting so much from this challenge.

Some of the additional benefits are:
Strength, accomplishment, mental clarity, discipline.
Positive physical changes to my abs, arms, butt, and back. (They feel stronger and are already starting to look better. More toned.)
A self peace and love. An assuredness that is coming from creating, sustaining, and maintaining this time for myself. Giving me this time and letting myself relish in being first in this arena is wonderful. I am very grateful and see it spilling out in other areas of my life.

As for today's nutrition:
Breakfast pre workout - Blueberry waffle with ground flaxseeds, greek yogurt, blueberries, strawberries, and syrup on top. 2 cups of coffee.
Lunch post workout - Open faced egg sandwich with ham and avocado on whole wheat toast. Cherries on the side.
Water to drink throughout the day.
Dinner was pizza (1 cheese slice 1 pepperoni slice) I also had about 1 cup worth of Doritos and 4 Blue Moon beers.

I went out to a friends pool party this afternoon which explains the deviation from my normal but like I outlined in my initial challenge post, this is not solely about weight loss, I am creating a healthy habit for the rest of my life. So I am going to live, I am going to eat, I am going to enjoy. There are times I will go out of my normal and that's ok. This is about creating a healthy habit that will last a life time and the majority of days I am focused and showing up with that as my focus. Cheers to health, energy, fitness, and life. See you soon. xo

Friday, June 22, 2012

30 Days to Greatness, Day 5

Today was mighty special to me. I woke up to my monthly visitor. Boooo! Usually, this would put a pause on any kind of working out. It sure has in the past. But today, there was no way I was going to let it or anything else get me down and keep me away from my fit time. Things are changing, in DEED.

I went the P90X Lean route once more. Today called for an hour and a half of Yoga:



I personally love yoga and was grateful to be doing it. Even though P90X Yoga is more intense than other yoga I have done in the past, I still enjoyed it very much. Each daily workout seems to be helping my sore muscles. It's like they get warm and I feel good. I also noticed how much stronger I am already getting. Not only in my mind but physically as well. There were tough moments in today's workout but I was able to complete and once I did I again felt emotional in that really good, accomplished, winning way. 

Before during and after my workout I had plenty of this:


After my workout I enjoyed this:


As for today's food intake:

Breakfast pre workout - Steel cut oats with strawberries, blueberries, almonds, ground flax seeds. 3 cups of coffee.
Post workout - Fresh carrot apple lemon juice.
Lunch - Open faced ham sandwich with tomato, avocado, spinach, and onion. Greek salad on the side (cucumber, tomato, feta, and olive oil.) V8 to drink
Dinner consisted of a hot dog with ketchup and mustard, 1/2 cup popcorn no butter, and some yogurt covered pretzels. I also had some of my hubby's Sprite. We went to the movies and saw Snow White  and the Huntsman so I splurged a little. I do not drink soda so when I say a little it was probably about 4 oz.

Tomorrow is my last day for the week since I've given myself permission to have Sundays off. I don't know if I will take it off though. I'm really enjoying this feeling. I may just do something outdoors. Well see. Remember friends:

"Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're right." 
- Henry  Ford