Thursday, May 16, 2013

My Favorite Things!

I haven't done a post like this before but I get asked a lot of questions about my fav foods & exercises I do, so I figured I'd put it all out there....since I pretty much do that anyway, lol

I am a gym rat for sure! I have 2 memberships, ya I know and no I don't recommended that for everyone. Long story but I got a hookup for the one through a friend so I don't spend more than $60/month for both. Pretty much the 2nd gym is for the kiddos...they love it there and so the only thing I do there is additional cardio.
The difference with me and my workouts is I Love Classes! I was a fitness instructor so I could do my own thing if I wanted to, but I find I don't push myself as hard. So I went the class route...Les Mills Classes are my fav! AttackStepPump are among my favs...along with Zumba. If you have a gym near you that offers Les Mills classes, I highly recommended you try them out. They are difficult....you are gonna be tired & out of breath and My God, the sweat! But at the end of those 55min you will be happy you stayed & proud that you got through it!

Most days I split up my workouts, 1hr in the am & 1hr in the pm. Two days a week I do 2hrs at once. So pretty much my calendar for the week goes like this:

Monday: Step & Pump 2hr combo in the pm
Tuesday: Cardio in the am, Zumba in the pm
Wednesday: Step in the pm only
Thursday: Step & Pump 2hr combo in the pm
Friday: Cardio in the am only
Saturday: Rest Day
Sunday: Attack in the am only

This schedule is not for everyone...it does take up some of my time but the kids like the different gyms and I enjoy the me time!

Now for the eating....I don't eat the same things everyday....that gets boring for me, Quick! Then I'm in the pantry looking for stuff that isn't good for me cause I'm bored....so I try to mix it up and choose healthier options.
For a long time, I chose only the low fat/low calorie or Fat free options but I found myself overeating....why? Well when you count calories like me, and eat everything with barely any, at the end of the day I would just eat stuff to hit my calorie goal...which is not the way to go....so I started to switch the easier foods to regular full calories like string cheese & yogurt, even peanut butter. That has helped tremendously!  

My favorite go to foods and snacks are:
Pure Protein Bars
Think Thin Bars
String Cheese
Yoplait light yogurt or Yoplait Whips (freeze these bad boys & they are like ice cream!)
Natural peanut butter
Pb2 for shakes!
Hummus
Subway (ham on wheat with lettuce, banana peppers & sweet onion sauce, so good!)
Slimfast shakes (for a quick meal or pre workout snack)
Egg beaters
Jenni-o Turkey Bacon
Smartones Meals
Asian Chicken Salad
Breakfast egg cups
Silk Vanilla Almond Milk
GMC Lean Shake
Visalus Shakes

*Shake tricks....I buy the sugar free/fat free pudding mixes and add 1-2tsp of the dry mix to my shakes to make all kinds of different flavor combos! Best one is Butterfinger (Any flavor vanilla protein powder, Almond Milk, 2tbsp PB2 Chocolate & 2tsp Butterscotch Pudding Powder, so good!)

I'm not perfect and some people don't agree with some of the things I eat...but it's my journey....just like it is your's. Do what makes you happy. Eat what is good for you and your lifestyle. I've tried the clean eating & the low carb but for me, eliminating foods only makes it harder....so I don't eliminate I just substitute things so I can still sorta enjoy what I love but still stay on track.

This week, I have been craving the sweets again...which are my weakness for sure....I think it's mother nature calling, ugh, so I bought some dark chocolate mousse mix the other day and plan on making a batch of it with skim milk so I can have a little bit here & there. I also added back in weight training....I used to do it 3x/week back when I first started this journey but I backed off so I could focus on the fat. Now that I am smaller and closer to my goal, I'm adding it back in...why? Well weight training, not only tones & shapes you but gives you a longer calorie burn. Like my Ashley always says...."smaller & more compact."

It's been a long & hard journey for me and sometimes I felt like giving up. To get through, I have, of course have my family but I also surround myself with people I can count on to get on my ass when I don't feel like staying for that extra class, that push me through the squat track when all my legs wanna do is stop & make me laugh when we are flying through the air in Step & someone gets slapped in the face (yes, that happened last week ;) I've said it before & I'll say it again...the key for me in being successful is surrounding myself with awesome freakin people, also known as my Buddy System

Hopefully these favorite things of mine help you discover something you like too!

*How's your 5k going? I want to see your pictures from your Virtual 5k this month! I am doing mine this Saturday, May 18th...it'll be on the treadmill but at least it's something. If you're new, click HERE and sign up! Then head to the Facebook page and print your Virtual 5k Race Bib!

3 comments:

  1. Holy cow that's a lot of working out! Kudos to you! I just started walking/working out a little bit ago, and today went over 1.5 miles, which is the farthest workout for me so far. I want to add in classes, but am hesitant. I don't want to be behind everyone! I think come summer classes, when they "start over" I might be brave enough to try one. :)

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    1. Yeah, I sometimes think that's why my loss hasn't been as quick cause I workout a lot. I haven't quite found the right ratio with calories in and the amount I workout. Don't worry about being behind everyone. I was 255lbs running around doing crazy things and I got looks but the classes and the group setting made me feel so much better! Go for it!

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  2. I am not new to the diet and exercise thing...I've had success with training for a 5k. I ran one three years ago and then moved to a new state. I ballooned back up to my pre-race weight and here I sit. This morning I started at the gym again. I love group classes. At 210 I get looks from the fit girls...but that is their problem. I do struggle with the eating end of things. A lot. But I am trying again....so I will do better. Thanks for your honesty and helping me feel like I can do this. Rock on gym rat. Rock on.

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