Choice: The Key to the Journey!

Today I woke up very proud of myself!  I made it to the gym last night, did some cardio & some weight training.  Then I got up this morning and was at the gym @ 5am.  Some more cardio and some more weight training. 

So after that great start to the day...Bad Choice...White Chocolate Latte and a Cheese danish for Breakfast!  After I ate, the little voice within said, you just undid everything you did this morning at the gym.  While that may very well be true, I did better for lunch.  I did not pack a lunch, so I went to Piknik, as restuarant in our office building and got what they call the Power Lunch.  Grilled Chicken Breast, Steamed Spinach, and Brown Rice.  Good Choice!  And may I add, it was very very tasty!

At about 2pm Kate says, I am going down to Mickey Fine do you want anything?  Bad Choice...Sour Cream & Cheddar Potato Chips & a bottle of pepsi!  And to finish off the Bad Choices:  Dinner..a Double Cheeseburger, fries, and a coke for dinner!

So tonight, I remind myself I can not out-train a bad diet!  I don't strive to be perfect and make good choices at all times.  But definately the good choices should definately outweigh the bad choices.  Unfortunately, right now the scale is tipped to the wrong side!  Must do better!  I have been a tad bit out of control since being on Vacation for Christmas.  So I know now its time for a nice good Detox, starting on Sunday! 

Time to ride my tongue, stomach, and mouth of all it's bad cravings!

Power Lunch from Piknik!

Compliments and Butt Kicking!

Here it is 11am on a Saturday and I am laying in bed! Believe me when I say I am tired!  And that is an understatement!  I started the morning off with a weight training class, called the ABC workout.  It is only my second time trying it, and oh my goodness, it was harder than the first time I took the class!  I very good workout, but I am worn out!

While in the class a lady came over to me and said, "I just want you to know that you are doing very well", some of us have been taking this class a long time and its still hard for us!  Even though I appreciate the kind words of the complete stranger, I feel so incompetent sometimes in those classes.  I can't jump rope for 2 minutes, I can't do burpees and some of the other exercises.  I get an "A" for effort, but maybe a "C" in execution.

Also Thursday night when I showed up at the gym I ran into stranger gym guy! LOL.  I don't know his name, but he seem to be on the same gym schedule we end up on the elevator or the parking garage at the same time.  But he said to me on Thursday, that I was doing really well, and that soon when I turn side ways he wouldn't be able to see me!  HIlarious!  I have a long way to go until I get to that point.  But I guess people are noticing changes.  Unfortunately, I still am not seeing them, but oh well! 

Informatioin Overload....

I apologize in advance if this turns out to be a long post.  I feel like I have so much to report. 

Okay Item #1  
I got on the scale today!  I was yet again shocked!  286.4!  Woohoo!  I promise one day I will learn to rotate this before posting.  I thought I did right, but obviously I didn't!  Please forgive me!

 

Okay Item #2

Holiday Juice Challenge - Day 7 (Dec 4th)

Another juice recipe borrowed from the wonderful folks at www.earthlyjuicecart.com!  And this my friends, has completely surprised me...I love it! It is called Green Lemonade.  It is another juice in the Anti-Inflammatory category!

Here are the ingredients:

• 3 leaves of romaine lettuce
• 1 apple
• 2 inches of ginger (I peeled my ginger)
• 1 lemon

This was my first time ever juicing lettuce and I must say I am very very impressed and pleased.  This is a very tasty juice.  I am also beginning to like the taste of ginger.  This is officially one of my favorite juices now!

Item #3
Got really active today.  Did some treadmill time, did weight training, and did 30 minutes of spin class!  Yeah me! 

So overall...a great day!  I am pleased and tired!  See you next time!

A Very Rare Opportunity...

Here I sit, on my sofa, with time to spare this morning! 
I actually woke up and got out of bed the minute the alarm went off!  No hitting the snooze button or anything!  I am amazed!  It's amazing how much I can get done in the morning when I get my tail out of bed on time!   So since all the morning requirements are completed and I have about 20 minutes before I need to leave for work...I said...BLOG TIME!

I successfully completed my first 3-day weight training!  I have successfully made every muscle in my body sore.  My last weight training was Friday and my upper body is still sore!  I think I am lifting too much.  I don't ever remember being this sore when I'd weight train in the past.  It's probably a sign of my inactivity and I'm getting old! 

I had a great week overall.  I did not work out on Saturday as I had planned.  So this week, I got 5 days of physical activity!  I think that is a record! LOL!  Yesterday it was a bit overcast, and there was a chance of rain, but I still made it out to the beach for a bike ride.  Surprisingly the beach, was sunny and warm.  This bike ride was not the best!  I ended up getting a flat tire!  It made me sad, an unfortunately, there were no little bike shop in sight.  So I had to dismount, and walk my bike all the way back to the car!  It was painful and long ride back! 

My vacation from work is right around the corner!  I can't wait!  I'll do some short day trips, and I am gonna get my rock climbing classes in!  It shall be fun!  Well I am gonna leave you guys now!  Chat with ya later!

Kyra

Hey Hey Hey

Its Monday night, and I have been missing in action for a bit!  I ended up not working out as much as I hoped too this past week!  Thursday & Friday I got extremely lazy!  Saturday was the LA's Best Cycling Fundraising event!  I had an awesome time!  I was very impressed with how well organized the event was!  They sent out event pictures today, and I was actually published in some pictures!  I was shocked!

Me @ Cycle for LA's Best

Team Afterschool Spinners

Believe it or not..the event was not as easy as I was expecting. We had 2 instuctors Chelsea & Nick. Nick was hard core! He did not take it easy on us, and neither did Chelsea for that matter! It was fun and a great workout! The Goodie bags were good! Overall a great event...definitely going to look for it next year! 

To shock you...I actually went out later on Saturday and worked out! I did weight training. I have not done any weight training in a while. It was a bit difficult but here was the weight lifting routine.

Leg Press - 4 sets of 15; 190lbs

Back & Side Extensions 3 sets of 12

Latt Pull Downs - 3 sets of 15; 75lbs

Hip Adduction 2 sets of 50; 90lbs

Hip Abduction 4 sets of 25 90lbs

Now question of the day....Why is the abduction so much harder than the adduction? I was dying on those Abductions! I am sore as can be. So I know these beloved muscles of mine got a work out. I need to be more faithful to strength training. It really is one of my favorite things to do! 

Friday....recap

It's finally Friday!  I waited all week for this day!  I had such plans for the day, but they quickly changed once I got my phone call from Volvo South Bay.  I am finally making the step of faith and going to see what I can do about my car.  I spent part of the evening getting all the junk out of my car.  there is still some junk in there, but not as bad as it looked. 

I pull out my mini-skillet at work today and got to making some eggs.  Its has been a long time since I used it.  But I have fallen in love with all over again!  It is the best $10 I have ever spent!

Breakfast
     Scrambled Eggs
     White Chocolate Latte

Mid AM Snack
    Grapefruit
Lunch
     Scrambled Eggs

Dinner
     Mahi Mahi

After Dinner Snack
     Apple

Workout
     Overhead Chest Press 30lbs 3 sets of 10
     Vertical Chest Press 50lbs 3 sets of 10
     Hip Adduction 70lbs 3 sets of 50
     Hip Abduction 90lbs 4 sets of 25

Workout amusement...below

Feeling Kinda Fishy...

Today was the most slowest moving day!  Oh my goodness!  I felt like I was at work for 30 hours!  Today mother nature surprised me with fantastic weather.  I was completely overjoyed!  I really do love California weather! 

Today AMC is doing an midnight release of Safe House.  I really would like to go, but I doubt I will be able to stay up.  I tried to take a nap when I got home, but I was not able too.  If by some miracle I am still up at midnight.....I will be at the movies.

Mahi Mahi & Steamed Cabbage

Today I had 2 wierd cravings/desires.  I had a bad craving for some fish and I had the desire to cook!  I have gotten so used to my bulk cooking that I only cook once a week.  But since I had a taste for fish, I was time for a dinner creation!  I made some Mahi Mahi and some steamed red cabbage.  It was very tasty and very filling!








So here is the eats for the day:

Breakfast
     Eggs, sausage, salsa

Mid AM Snack
     Apple

Lunch
     Special Tuna Salad (its not your typical tuna salad)

Mid Afternoon Snack
     White Chocolate Latte
     Apple

Dinner
     Mahi Mahi
     Steamed Red Cabbage

So my special tuna salad.  Trade Joes carries a product called Egg white Salad.  Very taste, very low in calories, high in protien!  My special tuna salad consists of an entire container of the Egg White Salad (100 cal, for the entire container) and 1 can of Albacore tuna.  Mixed together with a splash of salt, pepper and a tad of lemon juice! 

I love the egg White Salad from TJs and I will be doing a product recommendation on it momentarily.

Workout
     33 mins Treadmill (RYBO Stage 3) 
     Lat Pull Downs 3 sets of 10, 80lbs
     Back Extensions 3 sets of 12
     Tricep Extensions 3 sets of 12
     Leg Press 3 sets of 15; 180 lbs

Weekend in Review...

Super Bowl Weekend has passed us!  Hope everyone enjoyed it!
Los Angeles weather was fantastic!  It was almost summer all over again!  Saturday for me was domestic day.  Laundry, dishes, cleaning the house and then complete and utter laziness!  I did nothing else, stayed home all day.

Sunday was definately more the social day for me.  Went out to Lucille's BBQ for lunch, hung out with some girl friends cracked up all night it was good!  I even made it out to get some excercie in!  Amazing!  I am trying to work on having balance.  Have my fun and splurges, but still do what I need to do to attain my goals.


Workout:
Weight Training

1. Leg Press 180lbs 3 sets of 15
2. Lat Pull Downs 60lbs 3 sets of 20
3. Tricep Extensions 60lbs 3 sets of 20

Cardio
     30 minutes on Treadmill
     1.61 miles completed; 345 calories burned

And the Craziness Continues...

Wednesday a crazy day..Thursday another crazy day.  I hope Friday is much better.  This is truly been a roller coaster of a week for me.  Not much to report today, but I will put this out there.  I had been contemplating about doing water aerobics and I have decided to do it.  Talking to Linga helped me just go for it.  I have started looking for a swim suit, and I will call the instructor to see if a swim suit is required. 

So here is the eats for the day:

Breakfast: White Chocolate Latte

Mid Am Snack: Grapefruit

Lunch: Made my tomato & egg concoction and it was oh so good

Dinner:  Chicken Breast & Apple



Grapefruit..cut & chilled



Tuesday Tattle Tales!!

Okay just took a mental snapshot of a day...analyzing .... results...

Overall a good day.  Small improvements along the way.  I want to say that I feel like I have lots of energy.  Not like Cheerleader energy, but I am not so sluggish and tired as I was.  I think the B-12 drops are helping! 

Breakfast:
     Cup of Yogi Peach Detox Tea ( i love the stuff)
     2 eggs

Mid AM Snack
     medium cup of coffee

Lunch
     Salad (lettuce, spinach, chicken, tomato, cucumbers, lemon juice, dill & chia seeds)

Dinner
     Salad (same as above)

After dinner Snack:
     Granny Smith Apple

Water Consumption: 130 ounces = lots of trips to the bathroom.

Workout: Weight Training; Here is the routine completed 3 rounds:
     20 Ball Squats,
     15 Chest Press
     15 Arm Curls
    20 Lat Pull Downs
    15 Leg extensions
    15 Rope tricep Pull downs
     20 Step ups (10 on each leg)

That's all folks...overall pretty durn decent

Oh Me oh My...

That's what I am thinking right at this moment. Oh Me Oh My.  I got home a little while ago from my workout with Jen.  I am beat..and was light headed after we got done.  She worked to me tonight.  Here is a quick recap of the day...as I attempt to watch NCIS!  I love that show!

Breakfast:  Cup of Coffee

AM snack:  Granny Smith Apple

Lunch:  Salad (iceberg lettuce, carrots, cabbage), salmon, juice of 1/2 of a lemon for dressing

Dinner:  Salad (same as above)  chicken, juice of 1/2 of a lemon for dressing.

Workout:  30 minutes with Personal Trainer Jen.

I know its a boring post...it was a boring, yet very stressful day.  I will chat with you later.

A Whole Different Kind of Sick....

I am paying a heavy price right now for a bad decision made on Wednesday.  Someone at work made this dish called Posole.  She took it upon herself to make me this huge bowl of hte stuff without checking with me first.  So unfortunately, I was forced to be nice and eat the stuff. 

I got home on Wednesday and was so sick!  It was terrible...really terrible.  Even today, not doing so well, my stomach is not back to normal.  Believe me when I tell ya...Never again!  I tried to not eat so much today, so I could give my stomach a rest, but that so didn't happen!

Breakfast:  Wheat Bagel w/ Cream Cheese, White Chocolate Latte

Lunch:  Pomegranate Paradise Smoothie from Jamba Juice

Mid Afternoon Snack:  Isopure Chocolate Protein Shake

Dinner:  Rally's Cheeseburger w/ French Fries & a pepsi! 

I know..another F today!  Bad eating choices!

Workout:  30 mins w/ Jen.  Lots of heavy weight lifting!  Oh wee...

One of my Better Days...workouts, small victories, Defect

Well gang..this is one of the better days I have had in a few weeks.  I kinda have alot I want to blog about not sure where to start!

SMALL VICTORIES
I went for a pedicure today.  Today, I was able to fit in the seat with both arms down!  Normally I have to keep on of hte chair arms down cause my hips didn't fit in the chair!

DEFECT
Well I made it to spin class today. First class in about 2 weeks.  As I was on the bike spinning my little heart out.  The pedal broke!  Yes the Pedal broke!  I heard a crack and next thing I knew hte pedal was on the floor!  At first I thought I broke it cause I was too fat, but after talking to my sister, I decided maybe its a defect on the bike!  Either way..it was not a pleasant feeling!

WORKOUTS
I did well today..3 workouts in!

• Spin Class @ 24 Hour Fitness in Hawthorne.  Cindy was late.  But I am liking her as an instructor!
• 45 minutes w/ Jen (personal trainer)
• Neighborhood walk - 2 miles approx 38 minutes (Workout Info from Endomondo:  http://www.endomondo.com/workouts/t9lP68Gtci8

So on to the boring uneventful things:

Breakfast

•      2 hard boiled eggs w/ cucumbers & Pico De Gallo

Lunch

• Kale Salad: Kale, eggs, tomato, chicken, cucumber, Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar, Olive Oil

Mid Afternoon Snack

• Isopure Zero Carb Vanilla Protein shake (mixed w/ non fat milk)

Dinner

• 2 chicken breasts

Re-enlisting, Re-Commiting, Ready, Set , Go!!

Alrighty, I think all the birthday festivies are officially over!  As you can see there was too many birthday festivities that I have gained weight this week.  So this week is my time to re-enlist, re-commit and get ready for war!  I mean weight loss!  :0) 

Breakfast

• Scrambled Eggs w/ kale
• cup of french vanilla coffee

Mid Am Snack

• Isopure Zero Carb Vanilla Protein shake 

Lunch

• Kale Salad: Kale, tomato, cucumber, salmon, Apple cider vinegar, olive oil

Mid Afternoon Snack

• Green Apple
• 3ounce Beef Jerky

Dinner

• 2 hard boiled eggs
• cheddar cheese & saltine crackers

Workout
     30 minutes w/ Personal Trainer.  Good workout!

Drank 144 ounces of water!  Woohoo!

Food Cravings are starting to subside

The food cravings are getting better today, which is surprising since my little monthly visitor has decided to visit.  I made a point today to get back on my water drinking routine.  So maybe that helped with the hunger and temptations.  I also noticed I am retaining water and bloating.  I am puffy in my legs and in my wrists.  Today I drank close to 100 ounces of water, but I think I need more.  Gonna have to do better tomorrow and throughout the weekend. 

Breakfast
     3 scrambled eggs w/ spinach & cheese
     cup of white chocolate latte

Mid Am Snack
     1/2 cup of Nancy's Low Fat cottage cheese
     blueberries

Lunch
     Roast Beef Sandwich
     spear of dill pickle

Dinner
     3 pieces of chicken
     1/2 cucumber

Workout
     30 min personal training with Jen
     I didn't go to spin class tonight.  :0( But I'll be there on Sunday, I promise. 

So that my friends is the end of my day.  All I am going to do for the night is finish doing the dishes,   Make a cup of tea and take 2 pain killers and hit the sack.  I'm thinking I wanna get up earlier tomorrow and hit the gym since  I had to reschedule my Friday workout with Jen.  I will be w/o my beloved car tomorrow, it must be serviced.  Every warning light you can think of is on!  I am really hoping for the best cause I can only fix one thing at a time.  Gonna try to remain positive and hopeful.

Taming the Beast, Part 2

I had a weekend full of indulgences, and today I am back to trying to get back on my eating regime, and boy it's a struggle.  I can't seem to satisfy my appetite today.  But I tried to the best of my ability to eat healthy.  Is it possible that my system after 6 days have already forgotten its love for veggies & fruit? I am so gassy today, you would its been more than 6 days since I ate any veggies!  I can't imagine what else could be upsetting my stomach. 

Breakfast
    White Chocolate Latte from Coffee Bean
     2 slices of wheat toast

Lunch
     Salad: Lettuce, tomato, cucumbers, Walden Farms Italian Dressing, juice of 1/2 lemon, Dill Weed
     1 piece of melba toast

Mid Afterrnoon Snack
     Granny Smith Apple
     1/2 cucumber

Dinner
     Chicken & a small side Salad

Other Miscellaneous Snacks
     2 snack size kit kat bars

Workout
     30 minutes personal Training
     We did an outdoor working heavy on cardio, about 10 mins of weight training.  She made me jog!

And here for your amusment an unflattering workout picture! 

Weight Training session 8/24/2011

Tuesday Tribulations...

What a Tuesday.  First day back to the office!  Crazy busy, but I made it through.  After this quick post, I'll be going to bed.

Breakfast
     Cup of Coffee
     Croissant

Mid AM Snack
     2ounces of Chicken

Lunch
     CObb Salad
     1/2 of a turkey sandwich

Dinner
     Cake & Ice Cream

Workout
     30 minutes with Personal Trainer Jen.  We had a big class today 4 people!  Tough workout.

After workout eats
     Chips & Salsa

Family & Birthday Festivies have begun

This is a recap of Thursday August 18th! 

My family has officially arrived!  It was a long day, I did not get to bed until after midnight, and here I am at work at my schedule time blogging!  My priorities are a bit out of whack but what the heck.  I am officially the only person in the office!  I won't make this long....

Breakfast
     2 hard boiled eggs
     canadian bacon
     French Vanilla Coffee

Mid AM Snack
    Nectarine

Lunch
     Kale Salad #2, add 2ounces of tuna this time around, and it was still delish!
     Ingredients:  Kale, tomatoes, cucumbers, mozarella cheese, albacore tuna.  Lemon juice, olive oil, Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar

Workout
     30 minutes with Personal Trainer!  Thanks to Jen for letting me come earlier so I don't miss a workout! 

Dinner w/ the Family @ BJs
This was a hard task for me, I love BJs but looking at the menu, so many high calorie options.  I am grateful though, that they listed the caloric values.  I opted for a meal off of the "Enlighted Entrees"...The Chicken A La Fresca.  I like an airhead forgot to take a picture, but here is a snap shot from the BJs website.  BJs Brewhouse Enlightened Entree Menu  It was very tasty..loved the spinach on top, and the other veggies, and the chicken was very tender.  I was impressed!

BJs Brewery - Chicken A La Fresca

        

Back on the rollercoaster of emotions!!

These are the days that I really struggle with.  One thing I learned about myself many years ago is that I am an emotional eater.  Today my heart just dropped to the floor and in came feelings of worry, panic and anxiety.  And quickly after that came the desire to eat!  Last week I thought I was struggling financially but this week takes the cake.  I got paid this past Friday the 12th.  Today I looked at my account, guess what my balance is?  56 cents!  56 cents!  Yes cents! Not dollars!  Bills not paid, family coming into town on Thursday and I have 56 cents!  I cry, I cry, I cry!  My heart hurts, stuff like this just really hurts me.  Before I continue to cry and can't see to keep blogging, here is the day:

Breakfast
     2 hard boiled eggs
     Portobello Mushroom Cap
     Cup of Coffee

Lunch (the meal I waited for all day)
     My very first Kale Salad!  Oh guys It was awesome!  I loved it!
     Kale, tomatoes, cucumbers, chicken.  Olive Oil, & Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar.  That was it! I do think some Feta cheese or bleu cheese crumbles would be delightful in this!

My First Kale Salad! Yum!

 

Mid Afternoon Snack
     An overexcessive amount of Pico de Gallo.  One of my favorite ways to eat tomatoes is in Pico de Gallo.  Today the Brokers order Baja Fresh, and one of my beloved co-workers that knows my love for Pico de Gallo, brought me over the left over pico de gallo from lunch!  I could not resist!  I ate all that she brought me!

Mid Afternoon Snack Part 2
     Chips & Salsa; Tempted and totally gave in.  Went into the breakroom at work and the left over chips & salsa was sitting there.  I partook in the evil chips & salsa

So I get home, and what was the first thing I do?  Head for the fridge! 

Early evening Snack
    1 piece of Chicken
    mozarella cheese

At this point I had to get out of the house or else I would have eaten myself right into a comatose state!  Ya know, the times you eat so much you just fall asleep and wake up the next morning.  Have you done that?  So off I went to the laundromat with what felt like 100 pounds of clothes!  5 loads washed, dried, folded...but not yet put away! 

Workout
    30 minutes with Personal Trainer

Evening Winding down refreshment
     Cup of Yogi Berry Detox Tea
Oh I forgot to tell ya about my happy moment of the day!  I have not been blogging long, but for the most part my only consistent reader has been my dear and near friend Linga!  Shout to to the Eteaki's in Arizona!  Well to date she has been the only person to ever leave comments on my blog!  Guess what happened today?  I got my first blog comment from someone that was not Linga!  I was so happy, shocked and surprised!  I was beginning to think no one was interested in my materials.  That did really make me smile on the inside today.  So Linga thank you for sticking with me during this process and to the blogger that left my message...I thank you as well!  Dueces!


    

Just Got Paid, Friday Night...

Isn't wierd how certain things just trigger a memory.  Well today got to work...an hour late, by the way, and started singing Just got Paid, by Johnny Kemp!  So lets all share in my music flashback of the day! 

Breakfast         
     Omelette (eggs, Swiss cheese, avocado)
     Portobello Mushroom Cap         
     2 slices of Bacon
This was probably one of the biggest breakfasts I have had in a while. 

Lunch
     Salad:  Lettuc, Spinach, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers
     Dressing:  Lemon juice, dill, hot sauce

Afterwork Workout
     30 mins with Jen Personal Trainer. 

After Workout Snack
     Tomato

Dinner
     Salad: Lettuce, chicken (kept it simple & easy)
     Dressing:  Apple Cider Vinegar, Lemon Juice

Then I spent 3 hours waiting for a UPS delivery!  So by that point, I surely didn't want to go anywhere!  So it's TV watching and off to bed I go.  I got an early morning tomorrow!