!!!!! Weightloss challenge for December :)

Today was Muscle Max - and then housecleaning. Lots of housecleaning ...

I'm trying really hard this month to get my protein up and carbs down while honestly tracking what I eat.

Shereta (I think I have your userid right, gonnabea5?) - we think alike. I, too, workout in the am and then pass by the pantry and lay on the the sofa in the evening. For some reason, every time I pass by the pantry there is a little gremlin that yanks me over to take a peek inside and see what salty crunchy snack it has for me! :p

Have a great Wednesday, all! I have the first of many holiday parties tonight - wish me luck to avoid the mindless eating/drinking :)

Elle
 
Today was M2D23, my favorite in M2. Added bonus legs from M1D12 and DWP (thanks Sue). Still really motivated to eat well, no urge to bake cookies.

Melanie, there are dozens of Spinerval workouts. The ones we have are all around 60 minutes each and Brenda is in a few of them. I would like to get one of those mega long workouts for a weekend spin.
 
Hi girls - today is my rest day (not planned, but I was too tired this morning and slept past my 5:15 alarm). That's ok though.

Elle - I'm also trying to increase my protein and decrease carbs. My current "macros" are 40% protein, 40% carbs, 20% fat. I find it takes a little more planning as far as snacks are concerned so that I don't inadvertently go past my daily carb goal, but slowly I'm getting the hang of it.

Hey Tina - you just can't get enough of STS eh? I'm starting to miss it myself after 4 weeks of 4DS.
 
I took a rest day yesterday, today I did M2D13. Confession time, when you said I'd love M2 I didn't believe you. I LOVE M2!!! Having time to stretch and get a drink was so nice, along with leisurely getting equipment ready. No pushups, I want to cry with joy. I'll be doing legs on Friday so we'll see if I'm still in love after that :)

Elle - are you growing veggies, flowers or both? My household took its first stab at composting/vegetable gardening this year. It did not go well (probably because I wasn't in charge - ha ha ha). How was your party tonight?

Tina I'm so glad you're back on track with eating right. I'm going to have to google Ray Lewis now to see what's so great about him :) I can't even contemplate a 5-hour workout. Seriously, you could spin for that long?

Melanie If you're curios you should try insanity with the agreement that if it bothers your knees you'll drop out early. Is that a 90 day program? I decided to hold off on the calipers, I don't want to have to get someone to take the measurements. I may try afterburn again for cardio this week. Who knows, my endurance might have improves since I last tried it. I've read the weights in that workout are okay to do along with STS. You should post some examples of your snacks. I have a hard time getting all 3 macros into a snack.

Shereta have you considered a walk in the evening? It'll get you away from your pantry and the temptations. A 30 minute brisk walk after dinner is supposed to be really good for you, but I don't remember why it's so good.
 
KPC this morning. Some meal planning today for the upcoming week. Trying to balance the snacks and meals out with more raw foods.

Sue, five hours spinning inside sounds like torture. I wouldn't mind 2.5, that's roughly how long our outside rides take. We only have one trainer right now, so DH and I have to take turns. Once we have another trainer, we'll purchase a longer DVD. I'm blessed to be married to the funniest man ever, so a long ride would go by fast. We do abs and yoga together now, and I spend most of that time laughing. I can't wait for a second trainer.

Shereta, I second Sue's suggestion of the after dinner walk. DH and I (and sometimes DD) walk every night (except Friday and Saturday). Not only is it great for digestion, it's quality time together to have a nice long chat.

Sue, I'm so happy you like M2. The last week of M2, the workouts get shorter in length too. I hope you like the leg workouts.

Melanie, when I took a month off from STS, I found myself really missing it. I'm thinking I'll try the 30 day Xtrain program in January, and then jump back to STS. I'm hoping there will be a STS/Xtrain rotation at some point.
 
Good morning - I love to read everyone's comments cause it gives me good ideas and things I hadn't thought of before. This morning I did the step portion of 4DS lower intensity on an 8-inch step, plus I did the HIIT portions of the Intensity dvd. Tonight I'll tackle the upper body portion of the same 4DS dvd.

Tina - I'm really jealous that your hubby works out with you and does abs & yoga with you. That is so awesome!!

Sue - Why did you doubt Tina & I??? I knew you would love MS2. Just wait until you get to the end of it and can feel yourself getting stronger & stronger. It'll be a huge rush. :)

Insanity is a 60-day program. I think I'll mix it in with STS Meso 2 next week and see if I like it. It'll be good to try something different while I'm waiting for X-Train.

Here's an example of some snacks I have trying to keep the protein factor high:

- Greek yoghurt mixed with pumpkin puree, stevia & cinnamon topped with 1/4 cup kashi go lean cereal
- 1/2 cup cottage cheese with 1 cup blackberries/raspberries
- 30 grams lactose free parmesan cheese with a slice of manna bread
- protein shake (1 scoop chocolate protein powder with 1 cup skim milk and 1 cup frozen berries)

I also try to up my protein not only with meat & dairy but with veggies. Good sources of vegetable protein are asparagus & spinach, which I often mix into my morning omelette.

Hopefully that gives you some ideas.

Have a great day girls :)
 
Thursday

Hello All -

I controlled the damage last night with my first party - I had a large dinner salad with dressing on the side and ate it sloooowwwwly. :) Today I did Step Moves (it's so fun!) and the first premix off of Yoga Max - I needed a little more stretch time after the gardening.

Melanie - that is great with your macros! - mine right now are 50% carb, 20% protein and 10% fat according to Cal King. It should be better this week - right now I am eating a huge plate of raw spinach and a little goat cheese for lunch! And I found a lot of protein shake and high protein recipes over at bodybuilding.com (mini-natty lured me over there with high protein cinnamon roll recipe!). I made a cinnamon roll protein shake from one of their recipes and it was so good, and I love your ideas for the higher protein, too! I need to get over that idea that high protein = all meat :). I'm just not that big of a meat eater, and had a bad experience on Adkins loooong time ago. I'm more like a fishchicketarian (light on the chick :))

Sue - I have a veggie garden, fruit vines and trees and pretty extensive landscaping, I love taking care of it and learning how to do it in a responsible, organic way. If you ever want to chat about composting, that would be fun! I love my raised bed veggie garden - I'm still munching on cabbage, beets and carrots from this year's garden and as soon as I can find some used windows, I'm building a cold frame to grow lettuce through the winter... I bought a bagged salad the other day and it had such a funny taste to it. I also want to build another bed over the winter and do asparagus and garlic in it!

Tina - you are married to an awesome man! Mine will walk with me for shorter walks, and I love that time with him.

Shereta - I admire you to do those long bike rides! I have not tried spinning or the ride DVD's from Cathe yet - I do love riding my mountain bike on the local trails, though!

Have a great day, ladies!
Elle
 
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Hi all! Today was a 3 mile walk/run. My tris are most sore from yesterday's workout - good because that's my #2 problem area. Spent some time researching carb cycling today, read an article on bobybuilding.com (Bodybuilding.com - Carbohydrate Cycling: What You Need To Know!) that seems more strict than I'll be able to pull off. I'm going to keep looking for something with guidelines as opposed to rules.

Tina your hubby sounds perfect - works out & a sense humor. I'm glad to hear you won't be spending half a day spinning! I hope you get an additional trainer sooner rather than later.

Wow Melanie - how are you feeling after your workouts today? Thanks for sharing your snacks - I'm definitely going to try the one w/ pumpkin puree - I need to find something to do with it other than making pies! I like asparagus paired with fried (in olive oil) eggs for breakfast. I didn't know they have good protein content!

Elle - the geek in my adds up your macro content and sees only 80%. What is the other 20%? I'm going to have to check out that cinnamon roll protein shake. My current favorite is chocolate protein powder + 1% milk + powdered peanut butter. It's delicious and most of the fat is removed from the peanut butter (not that I'm afraid of fat). I'd love to talk gardening w/ you sometime, my produce options at the grocery store depress me.

Hi Shereta, how are you doing? :)
 
Today is M2D24 and STS yoga abs. My PF is back, so I'll be low impact for the next few day. If the weather is bad I plan on doing another Spinerval tomorrow. Here is a clip of Ray Lewis in that workout: Sample Video Clip| Spinervals Team Sports Training w/ RAY LEWIS - YouTube

This afternoon we'll be making gingerbread houses. Must. Resist. Candy.

Sue, are you planning on STS legs today? Can't wait to hear your review. : )

Melanie, I'm always looking for an alternate protein source. I really don't care for meat, so it's mostly Greek yogurt and cheese for me. DS is learning about amino acids and lipids in biology right now, so I have protein on the brain lately. I think I may buy some protein powder today, just to have on STS days.

I hope you all have a good weekend! : )

Shereta, where are you? I hope everything is okay.
 
TGIF

Today was Cardio and Weights - feelin' like an oldie kind of day :) Buttercup, indeed :)

Sue - Yep you are right... I was getting frustrated with Calorie King on the Mac because the reports don't seem to be configurable over time so I was scrolling through the days trying to average them out in my head :p. Let's say I'm more 60 carb, 20 protein, 20 fat (probably a little more carb, less fat). I like the fat where it is, but I can balance out the protein/carb a bit better than I have been.

Tina - have fun with your gingerbread house! Resist the gummies, resist! Sorry your PF is acting up ...

Off to make another cinnamon roll protein shake ... doh hose are good.

Have a great weekend, all.
 
Well I don't love M2 legs, but they're so much better than M1 legs! I definitely prefer drop sets to tri sets. I'm already feeling my legs so I know they got a great workout today. Tomorrow will be a walk/run & yoga.

Tina how did you do resisting the candy? Me not so great, had marshmallows in hot cocoa. Wow, that spinervals clip looked intense! Of course I had to surf to other Ray Lewis videos, you're right, he's a serious motivator.

Elle I like oldies too, especially Motown. Melanie uses myfitnesspal and likes how it helps her track her macros. I may start using it when I start tracking calories again. I've used calorie counter by fat secret and it's user-friendly, with a pretty extensive database of foods. I haven't gotten into its reporting capabilities though.

Hi to Melanie & Shereta. Shereta check in and let us know everything's okay? You're on our minds :)
 
I was so good with the candy houses until the mint M&M's showed up. Those are something I should have never been introduced to. Thank goodness they were used up for decorating at breakneck speed.

Sue, the good news is the legs in M2 seem to get easier and a little shorter each week. It's great training for what's to come next month.... :/ I bet you'll love back and bi's. What are you using for pull ups? I'm using a bar across our Paramount gym, I do them in the "Denise" form, legs kicked out in front plank form. I doubt I could ever do a real chin up.
 
I haven't worked out yet today, I'm babysitting my niece. I thought I'd whip out the workout blender and make a premix of Afterburn to do an express workout but it seems to be stuck on importing video information. I might have to uninstall / reinstall.

Tina after I started STS I realized I hadn't made a plan for the pull/chin ups, so I'm going without this time around. I guess you could say I'm doing STS-lite :) I'm going to eventually use a door contraption, I haven't chosen yet whether it'll be a bar or tubing. I finish STS early February, I think I want to do a month of cardio endurance and then start it again. Of course I preordered XTrain (downloads) so I may change my mind about future rotations when I see that.

Regardless of what I weigh I'm firming up all over, so that's a good thing :)

I hope you lovelies are having a good weekend!
 
Sorry Ive been IMA lately. Honestly, i find myself spending too much unproductive time on the computer, so I'm slowly weening myself off. The lack of sedetary sitting and surfing has been good for my weightloss. I'm down 4 pounds this week. I think I was spending too much time and energy into loosing and the stress was holding the weight. Now, that I'm not focused so much on it, the weight is creeping off, I'm getting more sleep and spiritually - I'm just in a better place.

I wish everyone good luck on their endeavors. I will pop in every now and then.
 
This morning was a 30 mile ride. I was just happy to be outside in December!
Hopefully we'll have get a few more rides before 2013.

Sue, I'm thinking when I'm done with this STS rotation, I'll do a 30 day Xtrain rotation and then I'm thinking about doing an undulating STS/Xtrain/Gym Style rotation. That should take me into the summer. : )

Shereta, I hear you about the overcomputer use. Please check in when you can, we miss hearing from you!

Melanie, hope all is well with you.

: ) Tina
 
I got workout blender to work yesterday, premix of Afterburn express 1-10 done. I can't remember the last time I did the (full) workout, but a lot has changed. I've gone from hating to being okay with the disks. On the dixie cup lunges I used to do regular lunges, actually added in the dixie cups this time. Anytime there was a pushup I used to hold a plank, this time I did upper pushups (on my toes). If I'd gone all the way to the floor I would not have been getting up :)

Shereta it's good to hear from you! Congrats on your weight loss! We'll be looking forward to hearing how things are going with you, even if it's less frequent!

Tina I'm glad you got in another ride, there's nothing like being outdoors!

Hi to Melanie & Elle :)
 
Klutz strikes again

I only did High Reps - Upper Body premix today. I dropped a box on my foot on Friday night and it is now the prettiest shade of black and blue :( I am such a klutz. I can barely walk on it right now so will be working more weights than cardio this week. At least I can get my foot in the sneaker - just can't tie it!

Have a great Monday....
Elle
 
Elle, sorry to hear about your foot, that's awful! I'm queen of klutz, but I usually reserve my stunts for a full audience. My family heartily reminisces about my past injuries, apparently it's very funny. : / I hope you heal quickly. : )

Sue, awesome job on the pushups, see, STS is working. : ) I use plastic Easter egg dipping cups in place of Dixie cups. My cats think it a blast to shuffle them out from under me while I'm using them. I noticed today when I was doing Slide and Glide, that I've come to really love moutain climbers. Boy, they used to be my kryptonite. We're all improving!

I made ginger snaps for my mom because she's under the weather. I think I ate six, so I'll be adding another form of cardio tonight. Why, why, why, is it so hard to stop eating sometimes?
 
Yesterday was D15 back/bi, this is the first time I've really felt my forearms working hard. It was hard to keep my wrists in good alignment during the preacher curls at the end. Today was a 20 minute walk/run, super easy I'm tempted to call it my rest day.

Elle I'm sorry to hear about your injury, I hope it heals up quick and you can get back to normal.

Tina I can imagine your cats batting your egg cups away, you get a little extra workout chasing down your supplies. Getting better is the best motivation for me to keep up with workouts. I love being able to do things that once weren't possible for me. Every little bit of work gets us closer :) I will say that mountain climbers and spider mans with the disks are easier for me than without. The kick-unders are so much harder!

Hi Melanie! I hope life isn't too hectic for you :)
 
Elle, how's your foot doing? I hope you were able to workout today.

Today was Amy's In the Ring. This continues to be my absolute favorite cardio workout, it's fantastically fun! I'm sort of in limbo as I haven't really planned my workouts for the week. Yesterday I put three different DVD's in and then kept changing my mind. I finally settled on Slide and Glide. I'm not sure what I'll be doing tomorrow. I guess that's what I really love about STS, no second guessing what I should be doing.

I just read a great article about sleep and muscle repairing and appetite connections. I'm really going to concentrate on getting more than 6 hours a night, see if it changes my bad eating cycles.
 
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