Mission Accomplished #31dresses

In December I looked at myself and wasn't pleased. I looked like I wasn't trying. I looked like I was losing myself. At 26, that's not ok. So, I looked in my closet and saw all of the skirts and dresses I owned and thought that would be a good way to challenge myself.

Some people said I should wait until its Wagner outside. Others said I didn't have enough dresses. And some just thought I wouldn't do it. But, I didn't do it got fortune else. I did this challenge for me.

With the weightloss goals I have, I need to love my body. And, to love by body, I need to see it. With wearing dresses, I am forced to look at body parts that I've been hiding behind clothes. And boy was this an eye opening experience.

In the 31 days that I didn't wear pants I saw my legs, my arms, my sides and my stomach - every day. I began to want to transform these body parts. I wanted to work harder at eating right and working out. Now, 31 days later, I'm liking what I see. Today I am wearing the same dress I wore on December 29th and I look like Ive lost two whole people.

Challenge accepted. Mission accomplished.

February's Challenge: Accessories
The hashtag I will use is #28jewels. I am promising myself to wear two different pieces of jewelry daily - earrings, necklaces, bracelets, etc. I am challenging myself to continue to put care into my daily ensemble and dress for myself, every day.

Enjoy!

(wo)Man in the Mirror

Today I looked in the mirror and realized my body looked different. Is that progress I see? Hey progress, you look good!

Green sweater: December 29, 2012
Gray sweatshirt: January 21, 2013

A little motivation leads to a lot of determination. A lot of determination leads to a little satisfaction. That satisfaction keeps you heading towards perfection.

Never give up, every little bit counts. And every little bit keeps you from that motivation picture and closer to that perfection picture.

How are your challenges coming? Ill be checking in on January 31, 2013 with weightloss, confessions, success stories and February challenges.

Honesty Hour

It's been a week since my last post and its been a whirlwind of challenges.

I am now in week 3 of Shred. I lost 4.3 pounds in week one and gained 2 pounds in week 2. I'm a little frustrated but not knocking the program. I'm waiting to see how week 3 is going to treat me. It is by far the hardest week yet.

Workouts have been more challenging with working late but my goal is to complete at least 3 days a week. I have been running mostly because I can do that outside again.

I am seeing some changes and that makes me happy.

31 Dresses has been going well. I'm running out of options but in mixing and matching, pushing the envelope and trying new things. I have seen some changes in my body since Jan 1. All in all, everything is coming along. I'm just trying to stay motivated!

How has your January been?

Monday Funday

- 31 Dresses -

Blue dress, magenta sweater, gray tights, black boots

Hello Day 7 ;)

- Shred Nation -

Today was good until I missed my second meal then all of my times were off. I drank a lot more water and ate well. But, I missed some meals at the end, all bad. This was, I'm sure, because I planned poorly. Tomorrow will be better.

- Gym Time -

Today began my 30 day challenge with Mr Shut Up and Train so my workout was as follows:

1. Week 2 Day 2 10k training (31 minutes)
2. Walk down push-ups (1 minute)
3. Burpees (1 minute)
4. Leg kicks (2 minutes)
5. Straight leg tricep dips (1 minute)
6. Plank jumps (1 minute)
7. 60 crunches
8. 32 squats

To total 59minutes and 533 calories burned.

Good Days and Bad Days sometimes ...

"There are good days and bad days sometimes. But, don't let the bad days change your mind." - PJ Morton

This lyric applies to my Shred experience today. The day started off well until I realized I would be in meetings all day at work. I was able to eat my first meal and first snack without a problem. But then, for lunch I only made it through the sandwich and for the rest of the day I couldn't seem to complete an entire meal.

After snacking at 3:30 I had another snack at 5:00 but didn't eat again until 8:00. I had pizza from Cosi. Then 3 handfuls of popcorn at the movies.

Today I probably only consumed 1200 calories IF that. But I felt like I didn't shred right. Tomorrow will be better.

Off to do my physical challenges though its a rest day for shred.

How'd your day go?

31 Dresses, Days 3 and 4

Day 3: All black everything with a blue wrap sweater

Day 4: took a risk with a print dress, gray tights, brown boots, tan sweater

Lazy Thursday

This Shredding program is AWESOME! I feel amazing and I have not been hungry (until today when I pushed the envelope to exactly 4 hours between meals) at all. Yesterday I didn't share what I ate but today I will. Today there were two 100 calorie snacks, one 150 calorie snack, and four meals. My day went something like this ...

8:30 Meal 1 - 2 boiled egg whites, one piece of wheat bread (I made a sandwich) and an apple

10:00 Snack - 24.5 Special K chips

11:30 Meal 2 - Turkey and cheese sandwich on whole wheat bread

1:00 Snack - 2 blueberry fig newton thins

3:30 Meal 3 - chicken noodle soup, banana

5:00 Snack - cheese and crackers, 1 blueberry fig newton thin

9:00 Meal 4 - fuji apple chicken salad with salmon

Today I felt like I ate a lot of starch but then I realized my portion sizes were so small I didn't overindulge. Though this is only day 2, today I noticed all of the food commercials on both tv and radio. But, I also realized, I only have one body and I need to take care of it. 

You may be wondering why the title of this blog is "Lazy Thursday" ... well, I didn't get up for bootcamp this morning, nor did I go to yoga this evening. I did, however, complete the Ambitious Bodies Squat Challenge (completed 25 squats) and the Fitness Ladies January Challenge (25 (additional) squats, 20 crunches, 25 jumping jacks, 15 second wall sit and 40 calf raises). 

According to the Shredder Diet I should have completed 45 minute of cardio and I will admit I did not do that. However, I did do a workout challenge. 

How was your Thursday? Was it lazy? What'd you do?

Memory Loss

So, last night I told myself I would do 25 squats as a part of my workout but can't recall actually doing them.

To rectify this I chose to do 25 squats for yesterday this morning - not to be confused with today's squat challenge that will be completed this evening.

Squats in a dress in a bathroom stall. Hilarious.

Good luck today!

Shred It Baby!

Week 1, Day 1: PRIME

This morning, I weighed in and was ready to SHRED!

Challenge number 1: FOOD

Four meals, 3 snacks and 1 exercise session later... I feel great! The best thing about this lifestyle change is you eat all day! The guidelines suggest lots of eating all day long; however, you are able to eat less than is required. The majority of my meals were smaller portions because I was finished eating before the end of the suggested portion size. Hopefully this works in my favor.

I did, however, add rice to my dinner (which was an unaccounted for starch), but my portion was consumed according to the nutrition facts.

Challenge number 2: EXERCISE

Part A: Fitness Ladies January Challenge 2013

Between my fourth meal and my last snack I completed day 2: 25 jumping jacks, 10 (bicycle) crunches, 10 (excrutiatingly horrible) burpees, 15 second (not too hard this time) plank, 15 chair dips (that had my arms on fire), and instead of a walk or run (I just couldn't bare the 20 degree weather with ice today) I danced around in the kitchen (10 minutes) while cooking dinner as well as walked the stairs for 9 minutes.

Part B: Ambitious Bodies Squat Challenge

For day 2 of my second challenge, I completed 25 squats from the Ambitious Bodies Squat Challenge.

Today was a good day for me. How'd you do?

31 Dresses - Day 2

Houndstooth. Magenta. Boots.

Today's look is a skirt tank and cardigan combo. Super comfy and easy for the office.

Commercial Breaks

Today I broke up the challenges into commercial breaks during a movie I was watching this evening. Each commercial I chose a portion of the challenge to do. The breakdown was as follows:

First commercial: 50 jumping jacks
Second commercial: 151 crunches
Third commercial: 25 squats, 10 push ups
Fourth commercial: 30 seconds

For me, this was a good way to complete the challenges on a day I was not interested in working out at all. I was even able to increase all suggested numbers except for squats and push ups. Check in tomorrow to find out what challenges I complete, what food I eat and what additional exercise(s) I choose to do.

Each day is a new step in the right direction. If you fall, don't beat yourself up. This is not about guilt trips, this is about creating a healthy lifestyle that works for you. Each journey is different. Embrace yours!

Good luck!

Legs legs legs

Day 1 of 31: dress and skirt challenge

Sweater dress
Tights
Boots
Knit hat

New Challenges

Good Morning and Happy New Year

For those looking for a "routine" to help them jump start their new year resolution, there are three things I suggest.

1. Dr Ian Smith's Shred Diet
2. Mr. Shut Up and Trains email workouts
3. See images below

Get out there. Get fit. Stay committed.