No nap for me

So earlier today I said I would take a nap. But......

I bucked up and worked out instead.

And I feel EXHAUSTED. I only worked out for the time period between when I last wrote and now, but I did some hardcore calisthenics.

I did 50 burpies, and may I say, I had forgotten how hard they actually are. I did them in sets of 10 rather than all at once, and if I think I can handle it in about a half hour, I might do some more. 50 more.... haha
I saw a tutorial on burpies online the other day where after you jump out you bring your knee in on each side. I think even being in shape as I am trying to be right now, that would be a real challenge for me.

I also did a few sets of squats and lunges, as well as sit ups and attempted pushups. I really need more upper body strength. In my life there have been alot of things I have a hard time with physically. Flexibility in my hips, pushups, and pullups being some of those. Last year when I took a hardcore ballet class everyday, I got to the point where I did the splits for the FIRST time in my entire life. I was only able to do them with my right leg forward, but to me it was a really triumphant moment. I wasn't even close to that flexible as a kid, and I did it as a 20-21 year old. I don't ever have any issue with plank abs or "girl" pushups, but I can never do a full pushup. You know... with legs out... chest an inch from the ground pushups. Even with my Dd boobs I still cant do it. So that is for sure one of my goals I want to reach this year. Be able to do a somewhat ...larger... amount of pushups PROPERLY.

Any suggestions?
Has anyone ever tried the "perfect pushup"? I've been tempted to see if those make them harder or easier. especially since part of my pushup problem revolves around my wrists. Any suggestions would not hurt my feelings.

I am really ...spacey and distracted right now, so if either of my blog posts today don't make a terrible lot of sense, I apologize, and hope I wont be this way next time. I was washing my face a couple minutes ago and I couldn't bend over the sink without my legs shaking like crazy. I'm guessing that's a sign that I got a really good leg workout.

I think I am done working out for today. As far as strength training and the like. Sometimes I wonder how much training it really does take to have the "personal trainer physique" I dream about at night. I know alot of it comes down to eating a really strict diet, which I'm working on little by little, but it does make me wonder how many hours a day a personal trainer exercises for. Imma google that right now..... dum dee dum dum dum.....couldnt find it.

Oh well. I got distracted watching a few workout vids on youtube..silly me :)

Well I gotta go. Love you long time

been a couple days

Haven't posted for a few days. Sorry. I've been busy.

So i've still been really good about getting in good workouts everyday but here is my annoyance today. ACTUALLY there are 3 today. Haha

1. My rebounder is breaking! I thought it was a good quality one, but the elastic straps are tearing. I'm going to have to get a new one with springs...

2. I am so stinking tired. I dont know if I could do much of a workout today. Seriously, it's noon...I work at three... and I am seriously half tempted to take a nap before work. I am SOOOO tired.

3. It SNOWED. I am so freaking mad about this. It snowed....boo. I dont believe in snow... grr Anyway, if there were not snow outside, I'd probably try and go for a run.. but no. I'll have to get a workout in some other way today... If only I knew how. I could do calisthenics. I mean I do have a standing job which means I'd be walking for 6 + hours and could get away with skipping the cardio.... But I'd feel bad if I had zero workout. I'm thinking that I'll take a quick 15 minute nap and then do some squats and lunges and such. You know, work on my booty. Then abs.... maybe some burpies... those are good for the body... and arms... yeah... JUST NEED SOME MOTIVATION. I dont feel it coming. I hate hate hate to admit it, but today might be the day I skip my workout. And I probably wouldnt beat myself up about it either... I'll see how I feel after my nap I suppose.

Anyway, it's not really related to fitness or nutrition, but I made an oatmeal face mask the other day, and by golly my face feels awesome! My skin gets really..;.breaky outy when the seasons change, and this is the best homemade mask i've found yet. a little oatmeal, water, and egg white, and honey. AWESOME

I'll write more later. I need my nap

Leer

The most wonderful thing about tiggers, is tiggers are wonderful things

So me and the boy bought a mini trampoline so that we can "rebound" and so far we absolutely love it. Supposedly "rebounding" is one of the best exercises because it burns more calories than jogging, and activates the lymph system. Also its low impact. At least thats what they tell me. I definitely sweat a ton. After 15 minutes of nonstop jumping, I typically need a break. Maybe this is the form of exercise that I have been looking for. Something portable, hidable, cardio, and something I can do in the winter. Best of all, it doesn't get boring, and I can do it while watching tv or movies. This goes very very very well with my netflix addiction. Speaking of which, I am currently watching the Swan Princess. Has anyone ever made a more perfect love story? jk ...but I really love it.

But anyway it wasn't expensive, only about 36 dollars with tax and if I can stick to it, well worth the investment. When you ask a professional what the best exercise is to get back into shape, the answer should always be "the one that you will do" So it might be a month or two before I find out if I can actually stick to this (looking good though) But it seems to be the one I will do :) maybe my fat will melt right off of me. Hope hope hope hope.

I highly recommend this trampoline in particular. It's the Gold's Gym brand one that comes with resistance bands and a bounce counter/timer/calorie counter. It also comes with a workout dvd that is actually fairly decent. Especially their circuit training portion. The resistance bands kicked my butt!

New research says that when it comes to weight loss, 6- 10 minute spurts of cardio are just as effective as one 60 minute exercise session. Of course this only applies to weight loss for sure. If you are trying to improve your cardiovascular health, longer sessions still seem to be your best bet.

Man prince Derek has a really dreamy voice in this movie....
Anyway I am really hoping that I am on my way to the best health I've ever had. Last semester I was in ridiculously good shape due to the amount of physical classes I had. I then got sick and laid in bed for 3 months. Luckily I am almost back to where I was, which is an excellent feeling. man I am distracted. This might not be my most brilliant blog post in the entire world.

The one thing I want to rant about though is.. why is it called REBOUNDING of all things? Was "jumping on a mini trampoline" too long? haha I guess they had to come up with a better name for it and rebounding was the best they came up with. Anyway, jumping on this thing for the past hour has reminded me of Tigger from Winnie the Pooh. Bouncing really is fun fun fun fun fun. But TIRING. Tigger must be on caffiene pills....

Lara

Doing great

Today so far (because I wont fall asleep for like 3 more hours) has been the most perfect eating day ever.

breakfast: Slimfast
Lunch: handful of animal crackers
Dinner: slimfast and 2 apples
Calories eaten: between 500-800 TOPS. Awesome. I know I am going to eat a little more before I go to bed, and some of it is going to be custard, so i saved a few calories :)

I also wore ankle weights to work today and truth be told, it was a much better workout than I expected. I worked for a little over 6 hours and let me tell you, taking off ten pounds worth of weight at the end of the day, was a miraculous feeling.

I thought today that I would share with you my love for the book Skinny Bitch, which is not a diet book, but rather a plea to stop eating things that hurt your body. I love this book and I've read it at least five times now. I won't go on about it for too long, but I love its no-nonsense way of saying that we should stop eating crap and not feel bad about it.
When reading it today I was really struck by this quote:

"You are worthless to your colleagues, friends, and family, if you do not value yourself enough to take care of YOU. Yes, you have to put YOURSELF before your friends, parents, boyfriend, husband, and even your children. It won't make you a bad daughter or wife or mother; it will make you a less resentful, more confident, interesting, beautiful, patient, tolerant, and fun person to be around. Your bright shining light will give everyone around you the permission and inspiration to shine more brightly. Love yourself enough to do whatever it takes to be the best you can be"

I am not an emotional eater. I don't have problems with overeating or knowing when I'm full or have had too much. I do however have a sweet tooth, that is really hard to get a handle on. I feel the NEED to have a treat everyday. I feel entitled. Well I dont deserve a treat. Heck if I was a healthy weight (not that I'm far off) I'd be more than entitled to a treat every day as long as I was moderate. But I am still sadly a few pounds overweight. AND my goal is to make it down into the 120 lb level. If I have a goal like that, I deserve to treat my body like a temple and not fill it with crap once a day. My sweet tooth hasn't caused me to gain weight, but it has hindered weight LOSS and thats not okay anymore. I know I can't say no to all sweets, but really how SWEET will it be when I fit into size 2-4 jeans, have tight, ripped, abs, and can take all of the credit for that? I need to put myself and my health first.

I watch tons of documentaries about obesity and they make me sick. I think there are PLENTY of factors that make a person overweight, but when it comes to OBESITY, it's mostly a choice. There are very few people that can't help but getting obese. Yes, there are health issues that cause weight gain and hinder weight loss. Diabetes, depression, thyroid issues, genetics etc etc etc and so on. However, for most obese Americans, no one forces them to eat fast food. No one forces them to eat fat-laiden, high-fructose corn syrup filled foods for every meal. No one forces them to sit and watch television all day. It SO easy to get up and exercise. No one forces them to get biggie sized food. no one made them grab seconds or thirds. THEY chose what to buy at the grocery store. THEY chose to fill their stomach with donuts or cookies. THEY did it to themselves. I'm not condemning obese people, I mean afterall I am slightly overweight myself and always have been. Lots of factors contributed to my being slightly overweight too. But when the sh*t hits the fan, the fact of the matter is, I choose what I buy at the store. I choose to eat chocolate when I should be eating fruit. We don't hold ourselves accountable enough when it comes to being overweight. We want to justify our bad health choices with excuses. "i have bad genetics, its not my fault, i've tried everything" Sorry to break it to you my dear fat readers, but somewhere along the line, you made the choices that got you to where you are right now. I'm not being mean or unreasonable. But it's the truth.

There are some people who never have to struggle with weight.
There are some (I'm guessing I will be one of them) who have to struggle for a lifetime to be healthy.
We all have different challenges, but God would never give us one we can't overcome. If we truly loved God, and ourselves, we would try so much harder to take care of ourselves.

I saw this poor man yesterday at the corn maze. I felt so bad for this man, seriously almost cried when I thought about his quality of life. He was HUGE. I'm talking, probably over 400 lbs. Big guy. Really big guy. He of course was in an electric wheelchair. He probably was only in his fifties. His wife was helping him get into the car. How sad would that be, to be only 50 years old, and need as much or more assistance than an elderly person.  He couldn't go through the corn maze, I'm sure he was just there to be with his family. I just think, life is hard enough without having to have such preventable problems. He is now a burden on his family, and is incapable of having any quality of life.

I pray that none of my friends or family ever get that way. I wouldn't deal with it very well.

An old saying comes to mind... Everything in moderation. Moderate people are not obese. Moderate people, don't overeat on a daily basis, or spend all day on their booty in front of a television set. No they do not. Is it too much to say that fat people are extremists at what they do?

Anyway, I'm sure no one wants to hear my rants anymore, I'm just obviously very passionate about the topic.

I promise to do my best to improve my health and lifestyle. And if I slip up now and again, no biggie. I'm human.
What about you?

Best run EVAR

 I went to my parents house to dogsit yesterday. I used their treadmill and got in the best run I have possibly ever had in my life. I always run alot longer when I am on a treadmill than I do outdoors. Something about the timer on the screen. Makes me want to run for at least an hour. I followed up an hour of the best running evar, with some strengthening and toning moves. I can really feel my abs! someone tell me though... with all this exercise, how come I feel like I look so fat today? Body dismorphia?
Sometimes I wonder.
Im so active, and my weight goes up and down just like everybody elses, but for some reason, no matter how much I weigh, I feel like I weigh 300 lbs. Body dismorphia?
haha well i'm really proud of my run yesterday. I'll keep on training
and keep you posted

Workout

Today is my "focus on strength training and toning" day and I found a great arm toning workout online. 

You just need a pair of 5-10 lb dumbbells.

Do three to five sets in total:

15 bicep curls. arms starting at a 90 degree angle

15 put your arms straight out to the side and raise, don't raise above shoulder

15 lean forward slightly, keeping your back straight, put your arms out, bend elbows slightly and raise arms. This is mostly for triceps and back muscles so try to keep focus there. 

15 Tricep curls -Put your arms straight above your head and lower upper arms with dumbell (so you've got a 90 degree angle above your head) and straighten your arm

15 "Row with kickback" For this you put one foot slightly in front of the other, lean forward with a straight back, and do a row. rather than dropping it, straighten out arm behind for the kickback. whole arm workout in one move.

Love this workout and I do it as long as my arms can handle it, about 4-5 days a week. Arms feel awesome. 

Another great move I LOVE is taking a lighter dumbell 3-8 lbs, and start with your arms down by your sides. With palms facing downward lift arms straight out in front of you until you have them straight out. turn your wrists so that your palms face each other, take your arms straight out to the side. flip your hands so palms face down again and lower. Bring arms to the front and repeat. This move uses alot of the stabelizer muscles, and activates more muscles groups because you change the way you hold the dumbell. 

Now If only I could get rid of this arm fat. My arms would rock. 

Another theory, I have a six-pack hiding under a layer of belly fat, but we'll get to that on another day

Starting again... Again

So I have always been quite intrigued with exercise and nutrition. It has been a dream of mine the past few years, to teach fitness to the young, old, and anyone who cared to learn. The ultimate dream would be to become a personal trainer, with an associates in exercise science, and a bachelors degree in nutrition. I would be able to work at gyms, hospitals, or clinics to help people fill their wellness goals.

That being said I am still a little bit overweight. I mean, I don't wear plus size clothes, and I'm not in the "obese" category for my height, so I'm not at any huge health risks, but who would want a personal trainer that doesn't look at their peak of perfection. Am I right?

So the goals for this blog are for me to post (as often as I can remember to) about my progress. I don't intend this blog to be a failed attempt, and I don't want you to let me fail either, dear readers. I want to hit my goals, and look and feel my best, so that I can help the rest of you do the same.

READY SET GOALS!
Lose 40 lbs. Thats right. 40
Train to compete in a Triathlon
Tone these muscles
Get over this never-ending fatigue leftover from mono
Eat nutritiously. Lots of fruit.
Cut out MOST sweets. Not all of course.

Possibly setbacks:
No gym. This might have to be all at-home training
Mono fatigue. Serious people, I am tired ALL THE TIME. I just have to push through it.
Lack of time. I'm a student, and a newlywed. I am busy!

That all being said here are my starting numbers. Yes I am being brave, and posting this online where you all can see it.

Weight: 165
Height: 5'6
BMI: 26.5 (I need to have below a 25 to be considered a healthy BMI)
MY METABOLIC CALCULATOR says To maintain your current weight, your daily calorie intake should not exceed 2558 calories. 




According to health.msn.com, to lose the amount that I want to, at a rate of one pound a week will take me to July of next year. I'm not okay with that. We are gonna try for two pounds a week, and see if I can lose at least 20lbs (half of my goal) by JANUARY 3. AND see if I can reach the entire goal, by my birthday APRIL 3 2011.

Allright. Lets do this.

Love Lara Rose <3