[BfL_Cat]

Thanks - I just signed up!

[BfL_Cat]

Happy Friday everyone!

OMG - today's workout killed me today! Unfortunately I'm one of these people who gets really red in the face when working out hard, and a couple people in the gym were concerned about me! Nice of them, but somewhat annoying! I have to admit - I didn't even try the plank twists - seems like a somewhat advanced exercise for the first week, so I just did more bicycles.

My eating yesterday was a little sloppy in the evening - I was still hungry after dinner, so I picked at several things. That is my biggest challenge - evening eating.

Anyone doing anything fun for the weekend? I am taking a defensive driving course all day tomorrow - not fun, but gets me a 10% discount on car insurance, so it's worth the time. Then we have a party to go to, which will present a challenge in terms of food. I think I"ll try to eat before I go, and maybe will bring veggies and/or shrimp with me so that I'll have something to eat. Wish me luck!
Cindy

[chick_in_the_hat]

TGIF!!!!

A coworker is having a going away party tonight - so I will have eating challenges of my own this weekend. A graduation party tomorrowfor another friend...Acckkk...wish me luck, too. Filling up on broccoli soup before I go tomorrow.

The weather looks good to get some bike rides in this weekend - push a little harder, go a little farther... Today is a rest day - after last night's spin class I feel like I earned it...

cindy - enjoy Jillian's show! I know I do.

ledom - how's 'back to work' treating you?

twinklegirl - glad you checked in!

[ledom]

Happy Sat. morning. I hope you enjoy your weekend parties. Back to work has been rough - but I'll survive. All the prep work I should have done during in my break awaits my Sat., I am busy now. BUT, I did keep up a good workout schedule and plan to go to the gym today and and tomorrow. My muscles are popping. I am noticing new definition in my arms this morning.

Cindy, it was probably my 3rd go round w/ Jillian's workout before I tried those twisted planks. I remember at first I couldn't even feel my abs, by the time I got to that part of the workout I was more or less just going through the motions but eventually the abs started to catch on that they had to work too.

One of the things I have really enjoyed since joining the gym is the piece of equipment with all the pulleys - what is it called. It isn't really a row machine but you can do rows on it. It has really expanded the variety of things I can do. I had never done a cross over chest pull, had just relied on flys and presses for chest.

Red faced and sweaty, oh the joys of working out. It WILL pay off Cindy.

You are doing so good Gina. At what level do you get your heart rate? I have done none of the calculations for determing where mine should be. I figure if I am sweating I am where I need to be but I have started to get a little more curious about that.

[BfL_Cat]

Happy Monday everyone! Hope everyone had a good weekend! Mine was a bit OP, but planned OP, so I did ok. Yesterday was tough after Saturday's carbs, but I survived!

Speaking of surviving - I survived my 3rd Jillian workout. For some reason, the Monday/Thursday one seems to be easier/shorter than the Friday one was. Is that designed that way?

LOL - I tried the twisting plank at home yesterday, and because my stomach was in the way, I couldn't even bring my leg up very far! Glad I didn't try that in public!

I forgot to listen to Jillian's show yesterday, so I'll download it tonight.

I can't wait until I'm not so exhausted after these workouts!
Cindy

[ledom]

ditto Cindy - I struggled w/ food over the weekend. Workouts going great. Just finished my first early morning of the semester and it was okay. I find that the back workout takes longer than the front. About 1 hr. 20 min. as opposed to an hour for the front a couple days ago. Working on the food, today will be perfectly on plan I have resolved. Gotta work out the weekend thing though.

[chick_in_the_hat]

Hey!
I'm in a food stuggle myself...I think the only thing preventing a gain on the scale is lotsa cardio...which is ok - but how much weight could I lose if I could get my head in the game? ARRRGGGH.

I am really enjoying working out, tho...I got some good rides in outdoors over the weekend. DH finally got a bike with gears. He can almost keep up with me now.

Cindy - WTG keeping up with Jillian's workouts! It does pay off, it gets a little easier, too.

ledom - sounds like we are in the same boat...keep on rowin, girl!

to Angel-eyes, twinklegirl and everyone else!!

[ledom]

You know - I think it's the after Christmas slump. Even those that did great through Christmas.....but with the promise of summer and swimsuits I know we are going to get back in the game. Yesterday went really well for me with food - I know there is hope. Another brutal day at work yesterday and another one today, but then I have Thursday off and Friday won't be bad either. I am hoping it will be warm enough to get out and hike a little either tomorrow or over the weekend. Not really diet related but kinda affecting things anyway - I have started having hot flashes. OMG, you think somehow you'll be the one to escape that particular indignity. But, they are really disturbing my sleep. They don't occur so much during the day but lately it has been all but impossible to get an uninterrupted night of sleep. Not getting enough rest at night makes getting through the day harder. Sigh.

Gotta do some cooking this weekend. I am going to make some more of that chicken salad. I did make a double batch of chili this past weekend and am really enjoying it.

Your bike rides sound fun Gina.

[BfL_Cat]

Good morning all! Hope your day is going well.

I can hardly move my arms today because of the bench dips Monday! I had to skip Tuesdays workout due to an early morning conference call. Today I did cardio - didn't quite make the hour - I had to finish at a certain time because of another conference call (yes, this is all I do at work!), but I got 30 minutes of "no-hands" elliptical, then 15 minutes of brisk walking in. My feet were falling asleep on the elliptical - think I need to switch back to some older shoes which were wider - as my weight is up, my feet are wider, and my normal shoes are a smidge too tight.

I'm pretty happy with my workout though - I pushed myself pretty far - I rarely do over 30 minutes of cardio, so this is a big deal for me!

I made a new dish last night that I really liked - I get a recipe mailer from the Near East site - they have all sorts of couscous and pilaf box mixes. This one used the chicken pilaf one, and then you added chicken (2 cut-up breasts) and a pesto you make from spinach, dried basil, galic and olive oil. Stir it all together and it's done. Suprisingly the basil taste covered the spinach taste, and so DF actually ate it and liked it! Whew, I was worried about that one! I need to find a store that sells the whole grain version of this mix to make it healthier. I try to avoid these box mixes, but sometimes it's necessary for a quick meal. Check out that site - there are a lot of good recipes there, but just know that they are all based on their products.

Ledom and Chick - I know all about those post-holiday doldrums- that is exactly what bit me in the backside 2 years ago and was the start of my big backslide. I just stopped going to the gym! Can't explain it - just couldn't make myself go anymore... And once I was out of the habit, it was so hard. Excuses, excuses, I know.

So, my advice is to try to fight this - do some journaling and remind yourself why you are doing this. Reread old entries and renew your determination. You can do it! Yep, swim-suit season is just around the corner!

Ledom - have you ever read that book by Christiane Northrup about menopause? I remember her being on Oprah, and them talking about all sorts of food remedies to symptoms. I have the book somewhere - my mom bought it for me ages ago. It might be worth a look. Can you tell I'm an Oprah groupie? LOL

Cindy

[BfL_Cat]

Good morning again ladies - where is everybody? Am I talking too much? I know I do tend to do that when I'm excited about a new undertaking and am trying to keep myself enthusiastic and engaged!

I got this morning's workout in, despite getting up 15 minutes late. Instead of using that as an excuse to skip, I just shifted my whole day that 15 minutes. Luckily my job is flexible that way.

I pushed myself a bit harder on the lifting today - did some heavier weights, as I don't want to just "tone", I want to build muscle, so I plan to push myself to failure on my last set of anything. Has anyone here played around with doing that - maybe increasing weights for each set, or maybe for just the last set?

Cindy

[ledom]

Hi Cindy - No ma'am, you are not talking too much. I am glad you are on here talking, it keeps me excited too. It is so good to see you catching the Jillian fever! I just got back from my workout too. Dripping with sweat I might add. Hmmmm on lifting to failure. I probably don't push it as hard as you mention, but I don't do sissy weights either. Having switched to the gym and the new equipment about a month ago I still am not sure what weights I use. I know I start out with what I think I used last and if it feels too light or too heavy I make the adjustment - I know I should write this stuff down but I am really rushing through the workout generally.

Aren't you about on week 3 now Cindy? You will so be seeing results any day now if you aren't already. This stuff works.

Oh yeah - thanks for the book recommendation. Time to do some reading on this men-o-paws thing. It really hurts my feelings in a weird way to be getting this old. I sure don't feel old.

[BfL_Cat]

Happy Friday everyone!

Today I got my "back" workout done in an hour - I was booking! But, I'm wiped out now! But, it's a good feeling.

Ledom - no, I'm only 1 1/2 weeks into it - I started on a Thursday for some strange reason. So, I plan to do one more week of the "week 1-2" workout before moving onto week 3. I made myself a nifty spreadsheet for the workouts so I can keep track - I'll try posting here once I get it finished - I only have the first 6 weeks done in it. You can print it out - each page has two days of workouts on it, so you just fold in half to use for each day. I keep the previous one and refer back to it for the next time I am doing the same. I carry a mini-clipboard and pen with me and then I can record weights and check off the exercises as I do them.

So, any big plans for the weekend? I have a birthday dinner to go to Saturday night, with cake and drinking involved, so I really need to be strong. I'm trying not to drink any alcohol right now, so I guess that makes me the DD - DF would never consider not drinking while out with this crowd! Wish me luck - I'm feeling pretty strong, so it should be ok.

I just looked - seems like I can't attach an Excel file, so if anyone wants the Jillian program sheet I made, PM me with your email address and I'll send it directly to you.
Cindy

[ledom]

Cindy-Make yourself something fun and healthy to drink. Buy some pomegranate juice, some sparkling water and some splenda. Maybe a little lime and mint. Some crushed ice. You'll have the best drink in the house.

[BfL_Cat]

Sunday morning checking in... I did pretty good last night - took my own appetizers with me to their house - my Triscuit thins with red pepper hummus. Then, for dinner we all skipped the appetizer, I had a salad, a small steak, mashed sweet potatoes (this I should have skipped - too much sugar and butter), and a very small piece of birthday cake. Drank water and/or diet soda. So, I'm pretty happy with that.

Unfortunately I twisted my back yesterday morning getting out of the shower - one of my tub grippy things slipped out from under me. So, I hobbled around yesterday. Today it seems a bit better but still slow going when I have to sit down or get up. Hope its good enough tomorrow am for my workout.

So, how's everyone's weekend so far? We got about 1/2"of snow here yesterday, so at least everything is white now. It's about time! DF and I plan to get a walk in later this afternoon - it should be about 25F here, so won't be too bad.

Lots of housecleaning, laundry, shopping and cooking to do today, so I'd better get going! Have a good one!
Cindy

[ledom]

Cindy-Your ticker is looking good. Sounds like your weekend eating went well too.

How is everyone else doing?

I am having an okay weekend. Did really good Friday night when I went out and was rewarded on the scale Sat. a.m. Sat. evening I indulged a bit - still this weekend has been a big improvement over the last few. Today I seem back on program. Last time to the gym was Friday. I was still feeling the afterburn on Sat. from that workout. From what I have been reading that is when your body is still burning calories. It seems cumulative to me, more from a week of good workouts rather than one workout. I had people over last night so I spent yesterday cleaning. I had planned to hike but just ran out of time. I am just back from a hike today and had thought I'd go to the gym too but just don't feel like it. I plan to do a challenging yoga tape instead. I think I need the stretching more for some reason. Plan to do a Mon. morning early trip to the gym. Mon. is a busy day, but I think I can swing it tomorrow. Flexibility is the name of the game for me, can't not workout tomorrow because it has been a light weekend.