Day 19...Even though today makes day 13!

Just a quick post to check in and see how it's going. Today is day13 of our whole30 (for Renee its day7) and so far things are off to a good start. So let's hear it! What are some of your struggles? Triumphs? What are you finding to be really easy? What are doing okay with living without?

For me, I surprisingly do not have any huge cravings. Sure, I wouldn't mind a homemade paleo chocolate chip cookie but I'm getting by just fine without desserts and sweets. Last night I was chatting with my friend Stephen who also jumped on the whole30 wagon and we talked about what our first meals would be after our 30 days is over. I honestly couldn't think of anything because I feel really good about the way I'm eating lately.

Keep up the good work everyone and be sure to add some comments, especially if you need help!

Day 18...Tall Mountain Dreams and Eating Squeaky Clean

What's up friends?! Long time no update. Well, things are progressing nicely in terms of feeling better about my diet and my balance with exercise. I've gotten back into running 2-3x a week on a regular basis and the ankle is slowly but surely getting stronger. This week has been a light week for me; I was coming off two big weeks of training/class teaching so I took this week to cool the jets while still getting in at least 30 minutes of some form of a workout each day. I can successfully say I've been tracking my calories for about 3 weeks now and I'm feeling good with it. Next month is whole30 month and starting June 1st its nothing but clean eating and the bare essentials. No sugars, dairy, alcohol, and very low to no carbs. I'm oddly looking forward to it but I will admit, I've been letting myself enjoy certain foods this week because of it ;) (Man oh man a Hershey's dark chocolate bar with almonds has never tasted so good!) Any who, along with the whole30 I'm doing, June will be a big month! I'm planning to hike Mt. Washington on the 22nd and I cannot wait! I've been getting some small hikes in every other weekend so I hope I'm prepared when it comes to hike the tallest mountain on the eastern seaboard!

Enough about me, how are y'all doing? Thanks Brittany for commenting on a recent post, I'm glad my rambling and venting is being read! Keep up the hard work you've put in, and if you haven't put in any yet, there's no time like the present! Until next time, let's keep our eyes on the prize and our feet moving!

Day 17: Don't stop, keep tri-ing!

I did a swim workout this morning and I couldn't help but get so psyched for race season! It was just the kick in the head that I needed to get me out of the slump I felt I've been in this week. All of this talk and obsessing I have over weight loss has kept me from losing sight of what I love the most. I'm an active person and I love fitness. There's more to exercise than just burning calories for me and I think I need to remind myself of that. I worry so much about diet that this week I've been in the mentality of "I'm so done with obsessing over every piece of food I eat!" Food needs to fuel my body and I think I need to just buckle down and grasp the concept of eating for me and my lifestyle, indulging every now and then but not getting carried away. A method that worked for me in the past was logging my calories so I do not overdo it on portions and my goal for next week is to try and get back to that. I'll always remember a quote that Brittany said to me one day, "You can't get too crazy or else you'll go crazy." She is 100% right! I obsess so much over how I look that I sometimes do not think about how I feel. After my workout today I felt like I could jump in and compete in a triathlon tomorrow! Basically, I hope after yesterdays post about struggles and road bumps that you find some motivation and inspiration in today's post. Find something that you get psyched about and enjoy it! Whether its swimming, walking, doing zumba, or playing chess, go do it and enjoy it. Keep in mind that health is first but don't obsess so much over body image. I have to remind myself that from time to time. Until  next time y'all, keep moving and keep living. Don't sweat the small stuff and move on from your blunders!

Day 16: Riding the struggle bus...

We've all been there, we've all let loose every now and then; we call them "cheats". We do so good during the week that we allow ourselves those little splurges on the weekends: A chocolate bar here, a margarita there, a handful (or several ) of M&Ms. Next thing you know you're downing bags of chips and polishing off huge helpings of ice cream cake! I fall victim to this almost every Saturday and it's a struggle for me. This past Saturday I was eating trail mix like it was my job! Sure, there are other evils out there but when combined with shots of apple pie schnapps my appetite gets the best of me and I'm devouring the whole bag.

Its frustrating because I undo every good workout and every healthy meal I eat during the week. Its impossible for me to drop any significant amount weight if I keep succumbing to these indulges. All I want is to polish off these pesky 10lbs that have accumulated since last summer. Which brings me to my next struggle: Over exercising. I teach roughly 15-17 classes a week, typically they're for an hour at a time and vary in intensity. On Mondays I'm pretty well back to back so I should consider the 5 classes I do good enough, but yet I still feel the need to get my own personal workout in. I've realized I do not take enough rest time during the week. I usually workout Monday-Saturday and then do nothing on Sunday. I've got to revamp my regimen because at this rate I'll have tendonitis in every ligament in my body! I've decided to take a break from doing insanity workouts and cut myself some slack during the week. On Mondays when I teach 5 classes, that's it! I've also decided to start incorporating more swim time than just once a week. Swimming is a good alternative to heavy impact workouts and I can still amp up the intensity without doing a number on my joints. A goal of mine for the month/upcoming month is to hit the trails and the mountains and get a lot of my exercise from hiking. Last summer I was doing a hike every weekend and I'd say that was ideal for me!

Call this post a vent sesh if you want, but I just wanted to express the struggles I'm going through. What about you guys? Any issues you want to iron out? Or offer up some words of encouragement for me? I don't want to end on a sour note so I'll just say for now to map out some solid weekly goals for yourself and try not to overdo it. Too much of something is never a good thing. Also, lets practice some restraint on the weekends. Obviously, cheats and treats are okay every now and then, but binge sessions usually lead to extra unwanted poundage. Party on party people, but keep it reasonable ;)

Day 15...Something Different!

You're all rocking and rolling and doing great! I figured I'd change things up a bit with the blog and create more of a space to share what we're doing to keep fit and motivate each other. Consider this a community journal with anticipation for me to visit in July! Post your workouts, diet tips, maybe even a fun recipe! I'll still occasionally post workouts for you guys, especially if the demand is high, but for the next few weeks I'll be a little selfish and post about what I'm doing to stay moving!

 If I may share a personal testimony, I'm looking to shed a few extra pesky lbs before I venture to NC. Please note that my goals, workouts, and diet are not meant to be given as advice but just as inspiration and maybe spark ideas for you guys. My diet is primarily paleo and it works for me, but I would never suggest someone dive in and go for it. With that being said, I've found some amazing recipes that I'd like to share sometime that are based off of the paleo style.  Also, my training style works for me but I would never recommend doing 5 hours of exercise a day! (Keep in mind I teach about 17 classes a week). Moral of this testimony, I'm just happy to share with you guys my fitness/health escapades.

Today, I did an Insanity Cardio Recovery workout. It was a little under 40 minutes and was mostly core and balance work to take a break from heavy impact activity. My quads have been tight this week so that workout helped a lot! I also taught an indoor cycle class for 55minutes and worked up a really good sweat. After that I did a sprint interval swim on my lunch break. I made it a goal to get one swim in during the week to help prep me for triathlon season. I won't go too much into my diet because I don't want to be one of those girls who always talks about what they eat, however, I do eat about every 4-5 hours. Most of the time fruits and nuts are snacks, and I have lots and lots of veggies for lunch with some good solid protein (usually its chicken). I'm looking forward to another whole30 in June and I hope you guys are psyched too!

Well, I guess that's it for my rambling today. Feel free to leave lots of comments and lets really try to keep each other moving. Share your goals, your struggles, or maybe your frustrations with diets and we can try to coach each other along. Can't wait to see how this turns out! Until then, keep on rockin' in the free world!

Day 14...Birthday Blast Work Out!

Happy birthday to my awesome brother in law! Without him, my sister Brittany wouldn't be as cool...just kidding! But seriously, I hope you have a great day and I wish I could spend it with you guys. This workout is just for you, have the happiest of birthdays! 

Warm Up: 

4pt squats x 12
Reverse lunges x 16 (8 to each leg)
10 push ups
10 Squat Jumps
Plank for 1 minute

Beast Mode: AMRAP 20 minutes

8 Burpees
Sprint 100m
40 Jumping Jacks
Sprint backwards 100m

Jam Session: 

20 GHD sit ups
5 push ups
15 GHD sit ups
5 push ups
10 GHD sit ups
5 push ups
5 GHD sit ups
5 push ups


Have fun :)

Day 13..."Let's Get Physical, Pysical!"

Hiya kids, how we fairing during these cold winter weeks? Oh wait, didn't y'all just have 65 degree weather last week? Well it's cold up here in Maine so lets stay moving for my sake! We're going to keep things simple and keep it short and sweet. Double AMRAP time.

Warm Up: 1 minute jumping jacks
                 1 minute high knee jog in place
                 1 minute planks
                 1 minute push ups
                 1 minute squats

Boom! Workout time:

As Many Rounds As Possible (AMRAP) in 10 minutes of 5 burpees, 10 push ups, 15 squats.

THEN!

AMRAP in 10 minutes suicide intervals. One slow, one medium, one fast.

You can decide which AMRAP you want to do first but try to limit your time in between each block of 10 minutes to 2 minutes.

Jam Session: Repeat warm up at a slower pace and replace push ups with GHD sit ups.

Rock on, stay warm, have fun! :)