Tuesday Lunchtime Links and Update

Happy Tuesday,

I have been getting tons of questions lately like "What plan do you follow?" "How do you stay motivated?" "Do you follow other blogs?" Things like that. Sooooooo... I'm going to start posting links and stuff that I find really helpful. Now that I have been on this lifestyle change journey for almost a full year, the way I live my day to day life has evolved. So has this blog. I'm going to try and make this a helpful place for people that need some extra encouragement and just general info on how to make a lasting lifestyle change. Whether you have 10 pounds to lose or 100, this is all about changing it up for the long haul. 

Personal Challenges:

Balance is sometimes the hardest thing to maintain with any kind of consistency in this busy world of ours. For me, I've figured out that the strength training is great, but that I can't sacrifice the level of cardio I was doing. So, I am going to be doing strength training in  addition to the cardio training I do already. My goal is to continue weight loss while also throwing in strength training to tone it up.

Biking is still my #1 choice for cardio, because I enjoy it. I had a killer 21 mile bike workout Saturday morning that burned over 1200 calories, and did it in just over 90 minutes.  

 

 

However, minute for minute, it's hard to beat the results you get from running outside. I did a 5k last night in this nasty FL 90 degree heat and humidity after an hour of yard work. It was absolutely intense and difficult. I was soaked by the end, but it was rewarding. In about 40 minutes I torched at least 600-700 calories.

Workout Goal:

2 5k's per week

1 20+ mile bike ride per week

3-4 days of strength training + cardio at gym per week

Check out these Lunchtime Links: 

6 Sneaky Foods That Are Healthier Than You Think

Your Friends Can Make You Fat :-)

How To Start Running If You're Not A Runner - READ THIS ONE

Eat This Not That: The WORST Summer Drinks

Is it better not to eat at Night? This is always a tricky one for me!

I also get lots of questions on the Apps I use to track my workouts. Here they are:

Two Great FREE Apps are MapMyRide and RunKeeper

Paid App I use for running is Nike+GPS 

Special thanks to all who have reached out to me with questions about your personal goals and especially your successes! It's very cool to know that some part of my journey has helped you in yours!

If you're friends with my sister Laura C. on Facebook, go give her a shoutout...She's been running and working her way up to a 5k :-). I've put her on the spot and said we are going to run a 5k together by the end of the summer. 

Also shout out to Ryan W. He's starting his exercise routine today and taking step #1 towards a better lifestyle.

“Stand up to your obstacles and do something about them. You will find that they haven’t half the strength you think they have.” ~Norman Vincent Peale

 

SUNDAY SCOOP - 5/20/12

Happy Sunday :-) 
One of the most important things I've learned over the last almost TEN months of doing this lifestyle change is that REAL and MEANINGFUL change is always accompanied by some measure of sacrifice. In other words, You will have to make some tough choices, give up a few things that you used to do, break old habits, learn new habits, and go out there and make it happen. Nothing worth having can be changed in one day, one week or even one month in most cases. Change for the better  means a long-term commitment. 


So many people ask me what I'm doing special, or if I take any pills, or pregnancy hormones lol.  There is no secret or anything like that, it's just hard work and sacrifice. Trust me, if I can do it, ANYBODY can.


WEIGHT UPDATE:
Highest Weight seen on the Scale: 307
Weight on 7/27/11: 294
Weight Today 5/20/12: 255 


So right around that 50-60 total pounds mark! 


I actually started strength training at the Anytime Fitness here in Dunedin, because I wasn't getting the same results with just cardio anymore , and I want to tone up and all that jazz before we head over to Hawaii this summer. It's going really well so far, and they gave me a great deal. I did gain 1 pound back the first week doing weights, but the trainer there tells me it's normal. I go through a cycle of Arms and Abs, Back and Shoulders, Chest, and Legs.  I'm already seeing and feeling the results and it's been a really nice change of pace. 


Quick Notes: 
1) Some people ask me what App I use to track my biking. It's a free App called MapMyRIDE. Very accurate and helps challenge you to do more each time. 
2) If you're looking for a good breakfast replacement bar or supplement bar try the CLIFF bar. The two best flavors are Blueberry Crisp and White Chocolate Macadamia. SO GOOD! The 6-Bar pack is only $5.88 at Walmart. $1/breakfast. Cha-Ching




HEART HEALTHY: 
Being Heart Healthy has been one of my biggest goals from the get-go, and my blood pressure has slowly been getting better and better! This time last year I was getting Stage 1 Hypertension readings for my blood pressure. However, now I'm seeing great readings consistent with what you see below. 117 over 70! WOW. Huge change from where I used to be, and my best BP Reading yet!  

Some BEFORE PICS: 

THE DREADED SIDE SHOT: 

Andddddddd Some Today shots! 

I have had so many great people send me emails, comments, etc. Some of you are sending encouragement, and some of you are in the same situation I was in. Some of you I know very well, and some of you I have never even met! 

Some of you have told me that you feel like you have way too much to lose, and you're not sure it can be done without surgery or some kind of medication. Some say, "Cool, well I'll wait till things slow down (Or for the summer, or for the school year, etc etc etc) , Or I'll wait till I have a little this or that." I appreciate you all very much and I GET IT. BUTTTTTTT, the time is now :-). You have to start today. Not next week, or next month, or next anything. You've got to get your commitment level there and then just go for it. You will have slip-ups and mistakes, but that's life. You live and learn, and keep on going. You can do it if you are willing to make it happen. I know you can :-)

Thank you for your support! Keep it comin! 

"“Don’t wait until everything is just right. It will never be perfect. There will always be challenges, obstacles and less than perfect conditions. So what. Get started now. With each step you take, you will grow stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident and more and more successful.” ~Mark Victor Hansen"

Happy Thursday! -- Size 38 ... WHOA

What's up everyone? Did about 12-13 miles on my bike tonight on high intensity, so feeling good!

Guess what, I'm back on the losing side! I lost about 1.2 pounds this week. 


Last week 255
This week 253.8

I have some family visiting in town this week so I wasn't able to get my full update in last night, but I wanted to give a quick update and share this Article I found that is really interesting. 

Here's the link if you want to read the whole thing ....  but I found these tips really useful.  

From Bob Harper's Article , "Here are my best suggestions:

1) Improve the quality of your sleep. New research shows that those getting 7-9 hours of sleep are less likely to be overweight. Sleep improves blood sugar regulation, reduces stress hormones, and balances out hunger/fullness hormones (leptin, ghrelin). Are you getting good sleeps? If not, is there anything that you can change that would help?

2) Increase and/or preserve muscle mass. The only way to push your metabolism back up is to gain muscle mass. The only way to gain muscle (or improve your ratio of fat to lean muscle) is to engage in strength training week (a goal of 2 times per week isn't enough because often, you'll only get 1 of those in).

3) Be very selective with type of carbs. Choose lean protein, lots of veggies (cooked and salads), and stick with higher fiber carbs (brown rice, high fiber cereal, high fiber bread, beans, and fruits). You could experiment with replacing 1-2 of your carb servings each day with veggies and protein.

4) Practice stress reduction. There is evidence that lower stress levels are associated with lower body weight. Regular exercise, hobbies, yoga, meditation, breaks at work, getting sunshine, etc. all help you lower stress level, balance hormones, sleep better, and be able to make healthier choices.

5) Revisit your eating. Are you writing things down or are you guess-timating? In fact, You may not be eating enough and under-eating can actually undermine weight loss as your body goes into starvation mode.

6) Revisit your exercise program. You body adapts to your exercise program which means that you burn fewer calories doing the same thing. You may need to increase the intensity."

It's a funny coincidence because these are all things that I found when I was doing research on getting over a plateau. 

Anyways, this first week of plateau fighting has been going pretty well , but not as well as I'd like. I'm going out this weekend to get small set of weights to do some strength training. I'd honestly rather do that then join a gym, just because I don't want to waste time driving somewhere 3 nights a week.  


On a brighter note I bought my first pair of size 38 shorts this week! It felt really amazing to buy a size since I haven't worn since High School. Also, the t-shirt I'm wearing while I'm typing this is from a family trip to the Outer Banks, also when I was about 15-16 yrs old. 
So good things happening.

Thanks again to all of you for your wonderful encouraging notes, texts, messages, posts , etc. 


Thanks to my Mom for sending me this quote for the week :-)


"By Perseverance, the snail reached the Ark." - Charles Spurgeon