Showing posts with label mamavation monday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mamavation monday. Show all posts

Monday, February 14, 2011

Mamavation Monday

Another super crazy busy week.My classes are really hard and this has increased my stress level and I've been an emotional eater. I am trying to only reach for healthy snacks, but its very very hard with all the juggling that I do. But I am trying. Managed to continue walking everyday and incorporated turbo jam a few times this week.

Scale shows I lost 0.8lbs last week which is progress.

Going to continue walking this week, and will try to do turbo jam as much as I can, but will be hard with 2 final exams, 1 quiz, 1 paper, work, and a child to take care of.


Monday, January 31, 2011

Mamavation Monday

Last Week’s Goals:
-Walk 15 miles
-Lose 2lbs
-Low-No Carbs
-Continue eating hearty breakfast
-Stretch/Heal traps

Last Week’s Totals:
Monday: 4.2mi
Tuesday: 2.84mi
Wednesday: 5.33mi
Thursday: 0.13mi
Friday: 4.34 mi
Saturday: 3.39mi
Sunday: 1.05mi

Total = 21.28miles

I overall had a not so great week and my pulled trap muscle had me not engaging in Shred or rigorous workouts. Instead I did alot of stretching. I tried Yoga, but only lasted 15 minutes. I’ve tried Yoga in the past. Really tried to love it…but I don’t. Yoga is just not for me lol.

So I surpassed my goal of walking 15 miles so that is awesome, oh and I lost 1lb! I measly pound, I know, I know I should be happy, and given I had a hard week I didn’t think I was going to lose. And I did! It’s just frustrating. I’m making all these changes in my life, and I just lost 1lb?! At this rate it’s going to take forever to reach my goals. I walk an average of 20 miles a week, so I know I’ve gained some muscle. And muscle builds fat. Soooo burn baby burn lol!

Speaking of goals, I have quite a few. The biggest is I want to lose 30 pounds by June!! One of my closest friends is getting married in Canada in June, and I’m using her wedding as a goal to lose 30! Somehow, someway I WILL be down 30 pounds by June! Ahhhh!! But it feels really good to have a goal to be working for. I added a “Get it right – Get it tight” widget over on the right column to track my progress.

Last week I also decided to go low-carb and man was it hard! I’m so used to incorporating pasta and rice into my meals! But I didn’t have any! It was super difficult, and this week I’m going to integrate brown rice and whole grain pasta [which I love] but of course only in moderation. Going to continue a diet high in fruit and veggies!

This Week’s Goals:
-Walk 15 miles
-Continue Shred
-Turbo Jam 2x this week
-Add brown rice/whole grain pasta
-STRETCH after every workout!



BLOGGING CARNIVAL: This week’s blogging carnival is sponsored by Earth Footwear.

Question: What does “wellness” mean to you? Hmm, what does wellness mean to me? Not a very easy question to answer. Wellness means that my body is in harmony and fluid. Wellness means that I am engaging in activities and eating foods in which provides positive fuel to my body to be the best it can be. Wellness means making healthy choices for myself and my daughter.


Monday, January 24, 2011

Mamavation Monday

Goals for last week:
-Walk 20 miles
-Keep track of water
-Continue Shred
-Watch serving size

Last Week’s Totals:
Monday: 2.5mi [5,662 steps] - Shred
Tuesday: 5.23mi [11,848 steps] – 1hr Zumba
Wednesday: 3.01mi [6,828 steps] - Shred
Thursday: 5.73mi [12,967 steps] - Shred
Friday: 0.74mi [1693 steps] – Turbo-Jam
Saturday: 2.71mi [6149 steps] - Stretch
Sunday: Stretch

Walking Totals: 19.92miles

I continued the 30 Day Shred this week and as of today have 7 days left. I’m really excited to be on the last week because Jillian Michaels is really getting on my nerves!

I’ve had upper trapezoid pain for awhile now. Seems like whenever I get into a workout routine my traps get super tension. And it has happened again. I pulled my trapezius muscle. They hate life. They are super super tense and ache! Which means I haven’t been doing Shred for the past couple days. I’ve instead been switching hold and cold ice packs, stretching, and popping advil. Eck. I tried Yoga tonight, but it just reaffirmed how much I hate Yoga. This pain is ridiculous and I want it to go away ASAP! I'm going to try to swap out both my chairs at work and home with stability balls with hopes that it helps me with my occasional lazy posture. If you have any tips/suggestions please send them my way!!!

In happier news on my weekly weigh-in on Sunday I managed to lose 0.8lbs. Again. What is up with this not-even-1-pound-business? I’m getting really annoyed!!! I know I should be happy the number on the scale is going down, but I’m getting bummed the number isn’t decreasing faster considering all the darn walking I do! I mean I WALK giiiirl! Sigh.

My daughter and I were FINALLY able to make it to Zumba on Tuesday! Getting there and getting home was a disaster, but the actual class was fun and there were only a few people due to the crazy weather, so we really got to enjoy ourselves. She was a little shy at first and by the end of the class she was running around and dancing around. Too friggen cute!!

I really really really want to lose 2lbs this week!!! So I’m going to try to go low-no carb. No potatoes no bread. I’ll have to grow to love brown rice and if I need to I’ll add in whole wheat pasta. This will be a challenge. Also, once traps are feeling better going to increase my 30min workouts to 45minutes by adding in TurboJam as cardio.

This Week’s Goals:
-Walk 15 miles
-Lose 2lbs
-Low-No Carbs
-Continue eating hearty breakfast
-Stretch/Heal traps

How are you getting more fiber in your diet this New Year? I've started using flaxseed in smoothies and dishes as well as FiberOne bars.

BLOGGING CARNIVAL: This week’s blogging carnival is sponsored by Fiber Plus


Monday, January 17, 2011

Mamavation Monday

Last Week’s Goals:
-Walk 20 miles
-Continue The Shred – Level 2
-3-30sec planks everyday
-10 pushups everyday
-Zumba class Tuesday
-Buy water bottle & record water intake
-Lose 2lbs

This Week’s Totals:
Monday: 3.4 miles - Shred
Tuesday: 3.4 miles - Shred
Wednesday: 0 - Snow Storm
Thursday: 3.4 miles - Shred
Friday: 6.42 miles, 14,539 steps
Saturday: 3.09 miles, 7,012 steps
Sunday: 0.41 miles, 931 steps

Total Miles = 20.12

This was a rough week for me mentally, physically, and emotionally. My semester started on Monday and I have two very interesting and tough classes: Social Problems + Biology of AIDS and STDS. They are 6 week intensive courses compared to regular courses that run 12 weeks. That means double the work. Which means I’m stressing out. On top of that I was chosen as a Mamavation Mom finalist, which means I was on a crazy marketing campaign trying to get votes. I’m exhausted. The results of the 2 Moms are the winners are announced tonight. I’m sure I’ll have a post up tomorrow one way or another. THANK YOU to all that have supported me and voted and helped spread the word. It was so very very appreciated. Thank You just doesn’t seem like enough.

Update: I didn’t win Mamavation Mom.Thank you for the support of friends, family, and fellow bloggers.


Next Week’s Goals:

-Walk 20 miles
-Keep track of water
-Continue Shred
-Watch serving size

Measurements:
Weight: 168.4
Chest: 39
Waist: 39
Hips: 42


Entering another Mamavation challenge, called Move it or Lose it.




Sunday, January 9, 2011

Mamavation Monday

What a week!

Last Week’s Goals:
-Walk 18 miles
-Continue with The Shred
-Continue eating healthy snacks
-Increase water intake
-Become a Mamavation Mom finalist

This Week Walking/Exercise Totals:
Monday: 3.4mi [2nd day Shred, Lv1]
Tuesday: 3mi Shred, 45 sec plank, [3rd day Shred, Lv1]
Wednesday: 4.1mi [4th day Shred, Lv1]
Thursday: 4.2mi [5th day Shred, Lv1]
Friday: 4.3mi [6th day Shred, Lv1]
Saturday: .5mi, 3-30sec plank, 50 jumping jacks [7th day Shred, Lv1]
Sunday: 1mi, 4-30sec planks, 15 push-ups [8th day Shred, Lv2]

Total Miles = 20.5

Another week in a row that I surpassed my walking totals! I walked an extra 2.5 miles beyond my goal, and it feels great! I’m really getting used to walking now; it’s become something I have to do. I don’t even get mad anymore when I see the bus go by. Walking has given me a time to clear my head and get my thoughts together and catch-up on my music!! I’m pretty obsessed with Kanye West – My Dark Sick Twisted Fantasy oh and N.E.R.D! Definitely have to have something upbeat for my walk to work in the morning. And I feel like my legs jiggle less and that they’ve possibly firmed up! Wouldn’t that be awesome! With all the walking I’m doing, my legs HAVE to be toning up!

I have continued with Jillian Michael’s 30 Day Shred. Somehow. You’re supposed to do Level 1 for 10 days than switch to Level 2, but I along with Tara at The Young Mommy Life have been doing The Shred together and she progressed to Level 2, so I HAD to switch. When she told me she sat on the floor for 20 minutes after, I was a little scared, but I went ahead and did Level 2. And…..it kicked my butt, big time!! Attempting to do Level 2 really showed how out of shape I am! I had to stop multiple times even though I followed the modified version of the exercise. Jillian Michael is serious! Its 20 minutes of pure butt-kicking. Instead of motivating me, it’s making me want to run away! But I know that I HAVE to press on. That I have to force my body to work hard. It’s just really discouraging when I cannot keep up with the pace or exercises! But into week 2 we go, and I’m determined to by the end of the week do Level 2 without stopping! Go hard or Go home I say.

I think I did pretty good eating healthy snacks last week. I tend to snack on the same things and immediately go for almonds or tangerines or my dried fruit/nut mix, so overall I have been doing ok. I didn’t buy many new snacks for this week because I still have a lot of snacks from last week.

Breakfast. UGH. So I have to admit, I don’t love breakfast. I would much rather skip to lunch. Most days my body isn’t hungry until 11am, but I know waiting that long to eat is not healthy for my body SO I’m going to be making smoothies or oatmeal in the morning. There is a great smoothie recipe featured in this month’s Health magazine that I’m going to adapt for me. The ingredients include baby spinach, ground flaxseed, frozen fruit, and milk. I’m excited and nervous about the spinach, but hoping its packed with good for you stuff, so hoping my body likes it…and my tastebuds!

I went grocery shopping today and these are some of the foods I picked up:
Oatmeal, flaxseed, whole grain pasta & egg noodles, mushrooms, strawberries, and baby spinach.

Been doing a lot better with water this week, and I hardly had any juice which is great. But I realized that I probably should try to pay attention to how much water I’m drinking. So the plan is to go buy a small water bottle and keep on filling it up. If you remember in a previous post I said a bigger bottle intimidates me and I like my water really cold, so I think a small one would work out great for me.

I packed my lunch everyday but Tuesday, when I was craving sushi!! So I headed over to Whole Foods and got some veggie sushi and inari and it was just delish!!! Mmm, totally worth the money!

I was supposed to go to Zumba with my daughter on Tuesday, but she was sick so we’re pushing Zumba class to this coming Tuesday. Now that I’m really thinking about it, I’m nervous about how she is going to do for an entire 60 minutes of dancing. Yes she loves to dance and is a ball of energy, but ya 60 minutes, I don’t know. But I’m still going to try and will bring a bag full of goodies to entertain her if she doesn’t want to dance anymore.

Mamavation finalists get chosen tonight at midnight, I’m going to try to stay up as late as I can, but I start getting cranky at 10 so we’ll see. Big thanks to all those that have supported me in my quest for wellness, it has meant so much to me!! I’ll keep you updated to let you know if I am a finalist!

Oh and I lost .2 lbs lol. Its not much, BUT its a start. And I am very very happy that the scale did not INCREASE!!

This Week’s Goals:
-Walk 20 miles
-Continue The Shred – Level 2
-3-30sec planks everyday
-10 pushups everyday
-Zumba class Tuesday
-Buy water bottle & record water intake
-Lose 2lbs

I also want to start meal planning to try to make my life easier, and I’d love if you could share your favorite healthy dinner recipes!!

This week’s blogging carnival is sponsored by SalonPas.

Have you ever been injured starting a new exercise routine? Tell us about it…If not, do you get any aches and pains? Where?

I have not been seriously injured as a result of starting a new workout routine, but while doing the workout program Chalene Extreme last year I experience severe discomfort in my neck. The Chalene Extreme program utilizes weights and focuses a lot on the upper body. For some reason 3 weeks into the program my trapezoid became extremely tense and seemingly flared up. Nothing I would do with ease the discomfort and world stretch and stretch, but nothing. Finally after consulting my Doctor she told me to stop the program and prescribed a muscle relaxer and weeks later the extreme tenseness of my trapezoids went away. But they are still generally tense and I know I can attribute that to the fact that I’m on the computer 40 hours a week at work and then when I’m home on the computer. Boo!


Monday, December 27, 2010

Mamavation Monday 12/27

Hope you all had a great holiday!!

Monday: 2.3 miles
Tuesday: .5 miles
Wednesday: .5 miles
Thursday: 1.5 miles
Friday: 1.2 miles
Saturday: Merry Christmas
Sunday: Well Hello Blizzard!

TOTAL = 6 miles… GULP

Last Week’s Goals:
- Walk 15 miles [with the holiday I hope to still get in as much walking as I can]
-Pack a healthy lunch everyday this week
-Pack healthy snacks [already bought carrots + celery sticks]
-Increase water intake!
-Do a set of pushups + sit-ups 3x this week
-Resist temptation on Christmas!!

For the 3 weeks I have averaged about 21 miles a week, so this 6 miles is wayyy under what I have been walking lately, and I’m disappointed in myself, but I know it wasn’t because I was being lazy. I spent the week with some tummy problems that has me barely able to function at work. Add that to last minute Christmas shopping and Christmas, it was a hard week. I should have pushed myself harder, but there was a lot on my plate this week, and so I prioritized other things over making sure I walked 21 miles.

I did a pretty good job at packing a lunch this week. I forgot one day [only had bread] so therefore only ate bread, and was super hungry. I know that wasn’t good, but I didn’t want to go get something and didn’t want to spend any money at food! I spend enough at the grocery store every time I go!

Sooo someone ate my raw almonds at my desk, so I felt a bit stuck with snacks, as they were my go to snack. But I ate apples, celery, and carrots, and this week am thinking raisins, hummus, and apples will be good healthy satisfying snacks for me.

Not doing so great on the water intake. I mean, I’m drinking it, but not drinking enough. I have to figure out another tactic to want to drink more! Ideas??

Because I was sick all last week I didn’t do any pushups, so definitely want to make sure I get them in this week.

This Week’s Goals:
-Walk 10 miles [there is about a foot and a half of snow so hoping to get as much walking as I can]
-Pack lunch the 3 days I’m in the office
-Eat healthy snacks
-Do a workout DVD one time this week
-Limit alcohol intake on New Years


Alright still going strong on my Mamavation Campaign! I would love your support!! I still need your consistent support to become the next Mamavation Mom! We have until January 5th to show the people behind Mamavation that I have support! The public can’t vote until finalists have been chosen January 5th so keep the support going please!

1. Visit Mamavation Facebook Page and tell them why they think I would make a good Mamavation Mom. Be sure to include my handles @YoungFabMama | @AlexandraElizabeth
2. Visit, like, and comment on my Youtube video application. Click Here
3. Tweet: “Hey @bookieboo! I want (@YoungFabMama) to be the next #Mamavation Mom. She has my support! http://bit.ly/zqUxa


Sunday, December 19, 2010

Monday Mamavation 12.20

What a week, what a week! If you remember in last week’s post I wanted to walk a total of 25 miles this past week. Below are my totals:

Monday: 2
Tuesday: 3.2
Wednesday: 4.2
Thursday: 5.3
Friday: 2.6
Saturday: 3.5
Sunday: 1.8

TOTAL: 22.6

So I didn’t make my 25 miles, and I’m ok with it. I walked, and walked, and walked some more. I’ve been walking for exercise for the last 3 weeks; here are my totals for the past 3 weeks:

12-20 = 22.6 miles
12-13 = 22.1 miles
12-6 = 19.9 miles

I’m making steady progress walking more which is great news. Though this week my leg and feet started throbbing and aching, so it made me incredibly unmotivated to want to walk. But, this week, I really do feel like I walked as much as I could. I opted out of taking the bus several times even when I just wanted to hop on. I braved the frigid temps of Boston bundled up and just sucked it up!

Sooo I took my measurements tonight, and it’s not good. Not good at all. I found some measurements I took sometime between April and May and..lets just say I’ve expanded…everywhere. So it’s put me in a funky mood. I’m the type of person that craves immediate results. So in my head I’m like ok I’ve been walking consistently for 3 weeks now, why don’t my pants feel looser? Why don’t my arms look tighter? Why don’t my abs look more defined. I know I need to give myself a break, but its frustrating! It’s really really frustrating. Gotta keep telling myself, Rome wasn’t built in a day!

I’ve been doing better with healthy snacks! But not doing well with packing lunch. Fail. I haven’t been cooking a lot, which means I don’t have any leftovers to bring for lunch. And I haven’t been choosing the most healthy lunch choices.

I avoided doing pushups alllll week! I’m starting this program that is supposed to help you build up your pushup strength to be able to do 100 pushups! Pure craziness…and I love it! I finally took the initial test tonight which consisted of doing as many pushups as you could before you reached failure. I managed to bang out 15 pushups on my knees. The number probably would have been 2 if I did them on my toes. So the plan has you do pushups 3x a week. I hope I can survive, I’m a little nervous, but I need to build up my upper body strength, so I’m ready to dig deep!!

Oh, oh, oh, and for those of you who read last week’s post I was saying that I was going to beg ask my Zumba instructor if I could bring my 5 year old daughter with me to Zumba class. Not to side and watch, but to participate! She is a 5 year old dancing machine, and can probably outdance many grown adults! So, I asked her….and…. she said YES! She said I could bring her!! Wooo-Hoo!! I was so excited!! I would have gone this past Thursday, but my daughter had Girls Scouts, so we’ll have to attend a class after the New Year. I was so excited! Being a single mom with extremely limited support, I have my daughter with me all the time, and have to adapt my exercise routine to be able to be done with her around. This is a great and fun way to exercise, and I KNOW my daughter will totally lose her mind in excitement!

This Weeks goals:

- Walk 15 miles [with the holiday I hope to still get in as much walking as I can]
-Pack a healthy lunch everyday this week
-Pack healthy snacks [already bought carrots + celery sticks]
-Increase water intake!
-Do a set of pushups + sit-ups 3x this week
-Resist temptation on Christmas!!


I still need your consistent support to become the next Mamavation Mom! We have until January 5th to show the people behind Mamavation that I have support! The public can’t vote until finalists have been chosen January 5th so keep the support going please!


1. Visit Mamavation Facebook Page and tell them why they think I would make a good Mamavation Mom. Be sure to include my handles @YoungFabMama | @AlexandraElizabeth
2. Visit, like, and comment on my Youtube video application. Click Here
3. Tweet: “Hey @bookieboo! I want (@YoungFabMama) to be the next #Mamavation Mom. She has my support! http://bit.ly/zqUxa