Life's Whirlwind Adventures

So I haven't really gotten back into my blogging but I am working on it so here is my update, on my 12 week challenge a 1/4 of the way through. I had a rough start, I caught some nasty flu the first week so I couldn't do many workouts and eating, well that was pretty much out of the question for a whole week. I did get two workouts in and I lost quite a few pounds I just wasn't really sure it would stay off since it came from being sick. The second week was better but I was still dealing with illness and my lower back has been killing me for four weeks.  I had trouble bending or putting my legs straight so I had to modify most exercises but I made it to the gym three days and I was starting to feel stronger and better. The third week went amazing, I still feel incredibly busy, but we are making it work so I am positive it's developing into a routine. I made it to the gym 4 times this past week and meals have been going great. Even with Thanksgiving happening I do ...

The last time I was on a challenge like this, the meal plans were provided but I struggled with making substitutions because I didn't know what could work for a substitution and some of the meal suggestions were yucky, well not yucky but not to my taste. This time around we are working with macros, so we can eat the foods we like and build our meal plan that way, but we have to track our macros. Not our calories, but our macros.  So this is a new thing for me, but I was able to go out and shop and now I have meal prepped for the week.  I have a plan for suppers, I have my lunches, breakfasts and snacks packed and my SIX cups of free Veggies.  SIX CUPS!! I like veggies, but I like veggies and dip and dip is not on the menu! I guess it could be if I watch the sugar content and let it count as a carbohydrate or fat whichever is higher on the nutrition label.... but that seems like a lot of work for so little reward.  I've figured out my macros for the day will inc...

I'm actually going to write about this blog before I update all my summer blogs, I just feel like for my success I need to be writing my blog entries on this challenge in a timely manner as it will increase my accountability, and it will hopefully get me back into the habit of writing. So after leaving you all in the dark, unless you follow me on other social media platforms, of what happened this summer here's a look at what I am going to be doing for the next 12 weeks. My very good friend Tamara joined Fit Body Boot Camp around 8 months ago, and she's had amazing results, her husband got on board as well and has seen a huge change, he doesn't work out at the gym but does his own workouts at home.  Men don't seem to have the same problems with losing weight that women experience, biology sometimes does not work in our favour ladies. I considered joining a couple times, but the only time I have been successful, like really successful at losing weight I had don...

So Red Deer had a new gym open on Thursday and I joined.  I honestly joined back in March and have been impatiently waiting for it to open and now it is open and I am so happy. I went to the Grand Opening on Thursday night.  The place is huge, it's the largest facility in western Canada for Goodlife .  I have now been there every day since it's opened, I am concerned I am turning into a gym rat!! There is so much to do, so many classes to take and so many machines to work out on. My favourite class is Body Pump, I have done a class like this before when I lived in Saskatoon and I am feeling exactly like I did back then a day later.  Sore, and sore and strong.  I don't like doing weight training that is simply me doing three sets of 15 for different muscle areas that gets boring. I love doing weight training in class settings, I'm more focused and because there are other people around I push myself harder.  There are definitely some muscles I have not wo...

 In trying to stay active and healthy with exercise I made it my goal to be active to some degree every day for 30 days. I have a workout plan that I am following that is a full body Bikini workout and some yoga that I am doing as well.  But some days you need to rest your muscles to prevent injury so I need other things to do!! Enter my beautiful and active children!! One day when I was really dreading doing any kind of workout Leigham wanted to go for a bike ride. Usually he goes with his dad as I put Teddy to bed, but this night Teddy wanted Dad so I got to go on the Bike Ride!! We rode around our neighbourhood and headed to the Exercise park, which is one of Leigham's favourite parks to go to.  I was able to get a 30 minute bike ride in as well as 15 minutes of circuits on the equipment on the park.  It was a moderate workout, but for me that's all I need sometimes. Just something so I am not being lazy, and as I do these little workouts more and more it's...

I love Pinterest and if you check out my Pinterest account you will notice two things. I am not always on Pinterest but I got in waves and pin pin pin then nothing for months.  But I do have a lot of exercise routines that I use when I am working out at home. Here are the current ones I am using at home: 1. Biking around my neighbourhood and too work. It is just over 5 kilometers to my school.  On the way there it's a slight incline then a lot of hills down into a final flat stretch.  The way home we bike up out of the river valley.. it's killer on the legs, but we've never done it before and we made it all the way without stopping and walking the bikes so I am going to call that a win 2. 12 Yoga poses to get a good stretch: I found this on pinterest and it really has no instructions so I am just going through the poses holding them for 5 deep slow breaths then repeating the sequence another time up to three times.  It's a great stretching routine and I really ...

It's so hard being in recovery, and it's not even that my recovery is going bad. In fact I would say it is going fabulously.  I am pretty much doing everything I used to be doing save for one thing.  Working out aerobically (Sad face). I love being able to work out, going to classes, visiting with people and feeling the sweat pouring down my back.  It's a glorious feeling and it helps me feel so alive.  And now I am benched.  All I can do is watch everyone else have fun in workout class and I am sitting on the sidelines moping. Well no more!!!  I am determined that I will continue to workout and if nothing else my stamina for workouts will be the same or greater than it was before my surgery.  I have a stationary bike that I am using at least 4 days a week and I have light weights I can use to continue to tone and tighten this glorious body that God Gave me!! My workout regime is going to go like this.  Monday, Wednesday, Friday and a ...

I enjoy doing six week training programs.  There are a multitude reasons for it but the biggest one for me is that I can see the end at six weeks so it doesn't feel like forever. And in six weeks that's when you or others will start to see a difference.  I read somewhere it takes 6 weeks for others to see the difference and 12 for you to see the difference.  And I think others have seen the difference, my brother who isn't big on complimenting paid me a compliment about looking good last week, so now this six weeks is for me to see the difference. In my first six weeks I wasn't as focused on my nutrition as I was on working out, towards the end I spent a little more time focusing on my nutrition and I carried that over on my two week break. I don't always take a two week break but I did this time, almost by accident and sort of on purpose. So let's recap the first six weeks. I started weighing over 220 lbs and my total body inches equaled 388.25 inches.  T...

So I may have over done it yesterday.... I was so sore today and I am sure it will be worse tomorrow, but I made it through the day. And I kept trying to talk myself out of everything.... no run at lunch legs too sore... no walk after school have to get ready for swimming.... oh I already climbed into bed so no yoga tonight..... But then this other voice came into play, it was small but it was ferocious!!! "Get your butt out of bed, put on some workout clothes and just do Day three of yoga!!" The louder, excuse making voice kept making it's excuses, but the small voice it got louder and louder and finally I got out bed put on the yoga routine and just did it. It was very Horton Hears a Who-esque.... but you know what?? I feel so much better now that I did that workout, not more energetic but more relaxed, more centred. I love how I feel after yoga, like I've just had the most extensive workout but the most wonderful release of all those negative things. That...

It's going to take some work, but I think I can, I know I can do this!! I woke up today and I meditated, I woke up today meditated and did YOGA!!! Whooohooo!!!! I am really loving Yoga with Adrienne  its a nice relaxing way to start my yoga practice and get my butt in gear. I then worked all day but knew I had a soccer game I had to go to that evening.  It was up on the North end of town and really not too far from my house so I decided to be extra healthy and bike there. Now I used to love biking, I would bike everywhere as a kid.  It was great! And then I had kids and I am terrified of biking with a baby seat on the back and I've never had a bike trailer so for many years we did not bike.  About four years ago my husband bought me a bike for Mother's day, it's a fun cruiser bike and I love it!! I rode it all of four times, and I have not ridden in almost 3 years. Things you forget when you haven't ridden a bike in FOREVER...... those muscles in the insid...