Tuesday- Running/ Walking- 35 minutes Strength Workout- 35 minutes

Day One of Grapefruit Diet- dieting sucks!

Other than that, I'm feeling pretty good about being on a diet that gets me off sugar again. Sugar=bad for Timpani. Unsweetened grapefruit juice is not THAT bad, but still pretty bad. On the other hand, anything I eat after drinking 4 ounces of grapefruit juice tastes really really sweet (even stuff like broccoli, spinach, and red meat).

Monday- Swimming 1 Hour

I was pretty sluggish on the swimming. I will get back into daily abs tomorrow. I'm also starting the grapefruit diet tomorrow too. It sounds restrictive enough that it will let me lose weight. Ashley-TV has said lots of things they've had to take back! I'm trying the diet anyway, mostly because I want to try a new diet ;)

Running With The Brothas

I ran with John and Todd today. They are both a lot faster than I am, so I slowed them down, and they hurried me up. We ran about 5.25 miles with some hills thrown in toward the end, at a faster pace than I usually run. Good workout. Here's to me getting back on track and not being the slacker I've been for a week or two.

The Grapefruit Diet

I Think I am going to start on this diet. It sounds easy enough- and I L-O-V-E grapefruit. I think I need a little nudge in the food department- and this structure may just work for me. (crossing fingers!)

12 days on - 2 days off

Vegetables Allowed:

Red onions, green onions, bell peppers, radishes, cucumbers, broccoli, spinach, lettuce, cabbage, carrots, peas.

Vegetables to Avoid:

White onions, potatoes, celery.

Grapefruit Diet Breakfast Every Day:

1/2 Grapefruit or 4 oz. Grapefruit Juice (unsweetened)
2 Eggs (any style)
2 Slices Bacon

Grapefruit Diet Lunch Every Day:

1/2 Grapefruit or 4 oz. Grapefruit Juice (unsweetened)
Meat (any style, any amount)
Salad (any kind of dressing)

Grapefruit Diet Dinner Every Day:

1/2 Grapefruit or 4 oz. Grapefruit Juice (unsweetened)
Meat (any style, any amount) (fish may be substituted for meat)
Vegetables (any green, yellow, or red vegetables cooked in butter or any seasoning)

Grapefruit Diet Night Time Snack Every Day:

1 glass tomato juice or 1 glass Skim milk

Important Instructions and Information:

1. At all meals, eat until you are absolutely full.

2. Do not omit anything from the diet, especially don't skip bacon at breakfast or omit salads. It is the combination of foods that burn fat.

3. The grapefruit is important because it acts as a catalyst that starts the burning process.

4. Cut down on caffeine- it affects the insulin balance that hinders the burning process. Try to limit to 1 cup per meal at mealtime.

5. Don't eat between meals. If you eat the combination of food suggested you will not be hungry.

6. Note that the diet completely eliminates sugar and starches, which form fat. Fat doesn't form fat; it helps burn it. You can fry food in butter and use butter generously on vegetables.

7. Do not eat desserts, bread, and white vegetables or sweet potatoes. You may double or triple helpings of meat, salad, or vegetables. Eat until you are stuffed. The more you eat of the proper combination of food, the more you lose.

A Word from One of the Husbands

Timpani's husband Erik asked me to post this on his behalf this morning;

"I just wanted to let all you ladies know that I thought that you were doing a great job and express my sincere admiration. I know that it is not easy to work out and fine tune your lifestyle, but having a group for support is great and the best way to succeed. Again: GREAT JOB! I will admit to not reading every post 'cause you talk about girl stuff sometimes that just yucks me out. :P Never-the-less, I pester Timpani for interesting updates and enjoy hearing about your successes together. A special kudo to my wife, even though I don't follow her lead, I know that I benefit by osmosis through being around her and her "can do" attitude. I have no idea where she gets the energy for exercising and caring for the little 'uns- which is plenty!- but she does and I am proud of her. Here's hoping that you reach goals and progress even more this coming year.
Sincerely- Erik, proud husband o' Timpani"

Thanks Erik!!
The Almighty Liz

Friday- Running/ Walking 30 minutes (2 miles)

Good run! Woot! With a good sprint towards the end. I think I might try running 2 miles twice a week for awhile until my lung capacity and endurance gets better again. Twice in one week though! Double woot!

Christmas Eve Run

Yes, I've had a bad couple of weeks. Winter time is hard because it's hard to find a good time to run. Excuses, excuses. So anyway, I was feeling especially flubbery from lack of exercise, so I ran about 5-ish miles today. (I didn't take my Garmin, so I don't know my exact stats.) I feel much better now! It felt to good to just go out and run. GOOD GOOD feeling run! I need more!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Just a little shout out to all you ladies; hope you have a very merry Christmas! Try to remember to not overindulge (a little bit though is totally merited), and maybe work off the extra calories the day after. Also, try to take a second and remember what this particular holiday is all about. Give your loved ones an extra hug and a kiss; then get down to some present opening, lol!
The Almighty Liz

Tuesday- Swimming 30 minutes

My sister watched the kids in the pool while I swam laps, but that only lasted 10 minutes, so the last 20 minutes of lap swimming I had a 2 year old or a 5 year old riding me like a sea horse. That is quiet a workout, let me tell you! Then I also played in the pool with the kids for another 90 minutes. That did not get my heart rate up consistently, but it was silly willy fun fun!

Same old--Same old!

I have been keeping up my same old routine even though I have been non stop lately. Some of you have asked me a few questions on my older posts and I have finally read them so here are my answers to your questions:
My workout everyday is walking/jogging on the treadmill for 30mins. Then Mon./Wed./Fri. I do weight lifting. Tues./Thurs/Sat. I do Ab/Butt exercise's and Squats/Lunges.
When I get measured we measure on Chest, Waist, Abdomen, Hips, Thighs and Arms. If you want more detail on where to measure certain spots let me know.
Keep up the good work ladies!

Monday- Running 35 minutes, Strength 30 minutes

Back into running! I only made it 2 1/4 miles, but I ran 3/4 mile the first time before stopping and then I also ran a bunch of small hills too after walking awhile.
Thanks for watching the kids Renae!

Friday- Walking 45 minutes, Exercise Bike 30 minutes, Abs 10 minutes

This blog is looking entirely too GREEN. Get svelte people!

On a happy note- I love this blog! I would not have done the abs if it were not for this blog. But, I thought, I will have to blog about the other exercise I did, and then explain that I was too tired for the abs, and that just sounded like a lame excuse for not doing 10 more minutes of exercise.

Thursday- Strength 30 minutes, Running in Place 30 minutes

I did a test run today with the running in place to see how my foot held up. It's been about half an hour, and no pain. Renae is watching the munchkins so I can run on Monday for the real test. I'm so excited!

I upped the tension on the bike just a little yesterday, and ouch! My thighs were hurting so bad last night I had to ice them.

Tired

Haven't posted in a bit because I usually do it when Ahlanna naps, and guess what? She has refused to sleep the last couple of days. Anyway, Tuesday I did my usual cardio workout. Wednesday I did weights. (Oh, how I hate weights!) And though I was still sore, I did cardio again today stepping up the running speed by half a mile an hour. As a result I had to shorten my biking a bit due to jello-leg syndrome, but that is ok. Tomorrow I might join in with the class depending on which one it is, or just try to chill a little bit to give my poor physique some rest. We'll see.

Another Reason to Hate Winter

I dragged myself out of bed at 4:30 this morning to go running with my group. No one was there. It's too cold outside. How I wish all the groups met together still; I might have had someone to run with. I drove around town looking for anyone in our other branches running. All I saw were too of the fast men. I didn't want to drag them down, so I just went home and tried in vain to go back to sleep. So disappointed!

I ran the stairs for 40 minutes just now. Oh well. I am all sweaty, so I guess the day isn't a loss.

Wednesday- Exercise Bike 50 minutes, abs + stretching 20 minutes

I did the bike bare seat (with no pillow). My tail bones did hurt, but I think next time will be the final breaking in and it should be good after that.

Second day with supportive shoes, my foot feels even better. Woot! Only problem-the supportive shoes are my running shoes, so they make me want to run even more ;)

stairs

35 minutes running the stairs.

Tuesday- Extended Strength Workout 1 Hour

I marched in place with leg weights on to keep my heart rate up for the whole hour. Wearing my supportive running shoes around the house (with supportive inserts) is making my foot not hurt. Everybody cross your fingers for me!

Monday- Swimming 1 hour, abs 10 minutes

Last days of my cold/flu slowed me down. Also, I was the only one swimming, so no competition to keep me going. Blah, winter doldrums.

Did I mention that the backstroke has replaced the freestyle as the stroke I spend the most time doing? I can go faster and I do not have to worry so much about timing my breathing (like the freestyle). I still don't feel like I'm doing the breast stroke right, so I need to work on that as well.

Technical Difficulties

My computer is being uber horky lately, and hasn't been letting me post. We'll see if it let's me this time.
Last week was kind of a light week. I lifted weights with Elise twice, and we did some mall walking on Wednesday, and that's about it for me. Erik was sick all last week, which put a damper on things, because I was up all night with him a few nights in a row. I'm now coming down with it, so I dunno how this week will go. I'm feeling not so horrible right now, just exhausted with a little cough. Hopefully that's as bad as it will get! We'll see how I'm feeling after naps if I'm going to work out or not.
Lovely weather we're having here in the midwest! It took my husband twenty minutes to break his car out of our ice-encased garage. Good stuff.
Try not to let the weather affect your working out! Work out inside! Get creative. Renae runs up and down her stairs, or you could put on some good music and dance like a crazy person. It will help keep the winter doldrums at bay, too. And try to get enough rest and nourishment, because it's flu season, and getting sick bites.
The Almighty Liz

Friday

I ran my very hilly route, nothing but ups and downs literally. 5 miles.

Friday- Strength Workout 30 minutes

My whole body hurts from this cold, and my foot still hurts, so it looks like I will have to take next week off running too. Stupid cold! Stupid foot!

Breaks

Was naughty yesterday and took a break, but I figure I needed a day for my muscles to recoup. I did go back today to do half an hour cardio class and an hour yoga. My knee is bothering me a little bit, but nothing new there. Maybe I should consider wearing my knee brace when I run. Hmmm.

i've been bad about posting

but not about exercising! I'm doing pretty well with that this week at least. Liz and I have been lifting weights, so I did that twice this week, and the eliptical once so far (40 mins) plus I walked one day. OKAY so I am not yet doing as muchas I would like to be--heck I would lieto be running six miles a day with Renae--but I am not there yet, so I will just keep pluggin away...

Thursday- Exercise Bike (Pooh butt workout) with abs after- 1 Hour

I think I've almost got my butt broken in, one more time should do it. I used the Winnie the Pooh pillow on the seat this time. I wanted to bike for an hour, but I discovered the tension working thingy and I think I over did it with that. I'm growing a tiny new muscle just below my hip bone. Hello tiny new muscle! Strange, but fun.

One hour is my goal for next time! I also wanted to gradually add more and more tension. I love this ancient exercise bike already!

Happy Day!!

I am so excited that I had to post again. I just got weighed and measured last night at Curves. I am soooooo happy because since I started my workouts and eating better in Sept. I have lost 14 pounds and 19 inches (all over). Oh happy day today!

Schtingle

I got up early this morning. There were only 3 people in our little group that wanted to run today. One of them wanted to stop early, she also was having slight car troubles. Since there were only 3 of us, we all turned around, not wanting anyone to be left by themselves in the dark. The other 2 of us dropped her off at her car, made sure it started fine, and ran a bit more. Still it was only about 4 miles. Oh well. I just wish we all started together like we used to.

Pathetic

So, I'm having a bad week workout wise. I was feeling bad so I decided to try a speed workout today for something different. Bruce tells me I did it wrong. I went to the flat side of the block, started at one end and just ran as fast as I could to the other end (about 0.2 miles). I couldn't even make it the whole way at that speed. I walked for a minute, till I got my breath back then I did it over and over again. I did this for about 15-20 minutes and then I'd had enough. I decided I'd just finish up with a few laps around the block at my regular speed. I made it one time and then I had to quit because I had a stitch in my side. Maybe I should have run more, but I didn't feel like it. Plus, it was dark out by then, and I'm not comfortable running by myself in the dark. I quit. Does that even count for a real workout? Oh well, I'll work out Thur, Fri and Sat to make it not a bad week.

Bruce says that a speed workout should be bursts of running fast, but not as fast as you possibly can. I guess that's because you can't keep up that pace for long.

On an up note, I think I've broken through another plateau. I am now at 149 lbs. That's within 10 lbs of my goal weight.

Better late than never

Hello everybody. Nice to hear you are all doing well. I am officially sore. Monday I attended a step aerobics class and then did some running on a treadmill. Then after all of that I had to work that night. So add, oh, another ten hours of walking or standing to that. Needless to say a hot bath was in order Tuesday.
Anyway, today I did basically the same thing minus the class but with some elliptical work and biking instead. Still pretty sore, but feeling much better.
Oh, and Timpani, if something genuinely hurts it is much better to baby it for a bit than end up on crutches later. Take it from someone who knows. Hope you feel better soon.

Wednesday- Kickboxing 1 Hour (with abs mixed in)

My foot is hurting just a tad after kickboxing, but not enought to be alarming. I could not run in place like I like to though :(

Hello All

Life always seems to get in the way. First I had the stomach flu, then I went back to my old job (part time), and now I am making Christmas gifts. I have been doing good on my workouts, except the week I had the flu. But, it has now become a routine to get up a 6:00 a.m. and get my workouts in . I feel yucky whenever I miss a workout. I love that this has become my daily thing.

Tuesday- St. Bike 30 minutes, Strength 30 minutes, Abs 10 minutes

My foot did really well with the bike, but my butt hurt after like 10 minutes. I found one of the kids' animal pillows to put on the seat and I made it another 20 minutes. I might start calling it my "zebra butt workout" just for fun. I also did the strength and got up to 220 crunches with my ab workout.

To answer Liz--I don't think I did one specific thing to my foot, I think it was hurting I just ignored it until it was hurting so bad I could hardly walk two steps. Note to self- do not ignore pain!!! It's getting better with some memory foam type foot inserts, but I'm guessing at least a week until all better.

Monday-Swimming 1 Hour, Abs 10 minutes

There was a guy in the lap lane next to me who dared pit himself against me as I backstroked and he did the front crawl. I totally kicked his butt every lap for like 10 minutes, and then he pooped out and I swam for another 30 minutes. It felt so good to have that motivation of racing though! Erik said the guy was probably not racing me to compete, but was planning to hit on me. I think this was the thoughts of a sometimes paranoid husband though. This was my best swim in a long time in terms of just feeling great!

In annoying news--I hurt my stupid foot last week and it continues to hurt so it looks like I will have to skip running or walking this week. BUT, this will give me the chance to try out the new exercise bike (which will be lots less impact on the point of my foot that hurts). If this foot injury keeps me from running for more than a week I will be truly pissed!!!

Saturday

Stairs for 30 minutes.

Oh Yeah

I forgot, I walked in a parade on Thursday night. I think we walked maybe a hour, but we were handing things out to the crowd, and we kept getting behind our float, so we had to run to catch up. We walked uphill, downhill, all over the town. I think I got a good workout. :)

Anxiety Workouts

I have stumbled upon something phenomenal. I am going through a ton of stress and anxiety about things related to our house and eminent domain (in one word- bad).
I have found that the more angsty and anxious you are the better a good jog is! I feel so much more calm! Plus I got in a really good jog because I am super mad!
This craziness just might make me skinnier! Haha!

Thursday- Strength/ Running in Place/ Stairs

I tried running stairs and I only made it 10 minutes! And, it was more like walking up stairs. My goal was ten minutes, so I guess that was good. I worked in some running in place and my standard strength too.

My mom is giving me an exercise bike from her basement today so I can mix it up some more this winter. And, if that bike sucks, Alisha is giving me hers old stationary bike. Yay!

Hills, Hills, Hills

Timpani came over today and watched Justice and Clayton so I could run. I'm loving our new arrangement! I ran 5 miles of nothing but up and down hills. It was slow, and I felt sluggish, but what did I expect?

Squats suck!

Ok, so I've been doing some cardio and we know that. And I've taken some of Timpani's advice and decided to cut my calorie intake to about 1200. yay me.
But there's a woman I work with and we both have a goal. She's already lost about 60 pounds (by herself... no drugs, no weight watchers, nothing..) Of course, she has some hefty motivation, but that's a story for another day. So, she has started working out with her brother (who is in ridiculous shape and has about 6% body fat, grrr) and he has started her on this cross fit program. Has anyone heard of it? Well, her workout today was squats holding the bench press bar (approx 40 pounds). So in sympathy, and to sort of jump start myself, I told her I would do some regular squats so I would feel her pain..... and boy do I ever?!?!?! I don't remember this much muscle pain since I played basketball in high school! And this is the first night of it... of course, I'll be doing it again probably tomorrow.... :-)

BORING!

Ran the stairs for 30 minutes.

Short and Sweet

I'm sick (again) so this will be abbreviated I fear. I got a workout in that I got to busy to post last Friday; 20 min of my dance workout video. Keep that flame burning people! One holiday down, one to go. Let's keep our heads so we can all be SVELTE for swimsuit season! I have a Dr.'s appointment tomorrow too, and I hoping, with only one symptom left, that I can get OFF the antibiotics. (getting a little tired of taking those...) I am getting better, but flu season is hitting my house with a fury, so I'll more than likely be just in and out this week. I dunno if I'll be able to work out, but rest assured if I can I will! If any of you are in contact with anyone who hasn't shown up for awhile (aka almost everyone!!), please contact and encourage them to rejoin the fold. Kudos to all that have been going the distance! Keep it up!!
The Almighty Liz

Tuesday- Running/ Walking- 50 minutes, Strength Workout- 30 minutes

I was sucky at running today, but I kind of figured that the day after swimming run would be slow until I got in better shape. Good news- Renae watched QQ bear so I got to run in the sunlight. My fav! The happy hormones from running mixed with the happy hormones from sunlight feels perfect every time.

Strength workout was good too ;)

Monday- Swimming 1 Hour 10 minutes Abs

Woo! My husband had the day off so I got to swim during the day and it feels great! Energy coming out of my pores and all that jazz. I think I might need to ad 10 minutes of abs on Saturdays too, since the chronic backache tries to creep back up on me over the weekend.