Focus T25 workout calendar

So after I completed Insanity last week, I am taking a rest week in preparation for Focus T25. I will start it on Monday with a Challenge Group. We've always got room for more, so message me if you're interested in getting in shape with Shaun T and me! Here are printable calendars if you're interested in the scheduled workouts... You can buy the Focus T25 DVD program here.

Challenge: Day 16

Today was another great day. Mason woke up at 5am and didn't want to go back to sleep but he went down for a 2 hour nap at 6am so I got to sleep a little longer. My friend came over to visit this morning and it was so nice to have a wee bit of social time. While I love staying home with my kids in the summer, I can get a little lonely for adult interaction. She brought pastries and I was starving so we split them in half and each got to taste both. They were small, but a small part of me still felt guilty eating them. I drank a glass of milk to add some protein and tried not to dwell on it...

The best thing that happened today: My workout felt really good. I was dripping sweat everywhere (which always indicates a great workout to me) and some parts of it were actually easier than they had been in the past. Getting stronger!

Challenge: Days 13, 14, 15

This weekend was a HUGE turning point for me. We started sleep training with the help of a sleep coach and I started taking my naturopath supplements. It was a rough couple of days to begin with as Mason did a lot of crying and learning how to fall asleep on his own, but O.M.G. has it changed our lives! He is sleeping SO much better now, 95% in the crib (as opposed to the swing), and I have been sleeping so much better because of that. PHEW! I know we will have several ups and downs as we navigate through this - but life has improved 10-fold in only a few days.

Garrett and I are working on communicating better and he had a great review at work this week. He's still going to be working nights for the foreseeable future, but he'll get a bit more money and he's got more responsibility. So proud of him.

My workouts are going well. I'm getting a little frustrated with Month 2 of Insanity just because the workouts are so LONG and I have to squeeze in the workout, Shakeo, and shower in the space of one nap. The Month 1 workouts were barely working in that amount of time and the Month 2 workouts make that nearly impossible. So I'm very excited that a shorter workout series is being released today: Focus T25. And Garrett is going to do this challenge with me!!!

The best thing that happened this weekend: Mason started sleeping better through all of our hard work. And he even took a nap over at the Kappers' (in Josie's crib) - sleeping a full 45 minutes!

The best thing that happened today: I ordered Shaun T's new workout Focus T25 and Vanilla Shakeology.  I can't wait for them to arrive so I can get started!! I am going to finish Insanity first (two more weeks) and then start the new program after that.

TWO WEEK WEIGH-IN AND STATS: Down 1.5 lbs (10 lbs since the beginning of Insanity) and 6 inches cumulative from waist, hips, arms, and thighs.

Challenge: Days 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 (Week 2)

This has been a really rough week. Mason's sleep has been pretty wrecked and I finally reached out for some help. I got some herbal supplements from my naturopathic doctor and I paid for a sleep-coaching membership. I couldn't keep going the way I was going, so I paid some people some money to help me. And so far... I am feeling much more hopeful. I only missed one day of my workouts this week and I drank my Shakeo each day for either snack or lunch.

The best thing that happened this week: I reached out for help when I felt like I was at my breaking point.

Challenge: Days 5, 6, & 7

Friday was awesome! I chose to be positive, despite my current obstacles, and rocked my workout! I was even dancing during the water breaks! I drank all my water. I made good food choices. It was great.

The best thing that happened Friday was: I danced during the water breaks!


Saturday was not so awesome. I crashed. I was physically and emotionally done. I tried to work out and made it only 5 minutes through the warm up before I decided to take a nap instead. I couldn't sleep, though, so I laid in bed for an hour and half in the dark. It was relaxing, but I found myself getting frustrated that even when I had the opportunity, I couldn't sleep. We went to Cortez's bday party for a quick visit, and then I went to Drew's bbq. I almost fell asleep at the wheel driving home I was so tired.

The best thing that happened Saturday was: I took 2 Tylenol PM and went to bed at 8:00. Garrett took the first night feeding at 11pm so I slept straight through until 1am. And then fell back asleep until 2:30 when the baby needed to be fed. So nice! ...but the sleep debts are so deep now that even one night of good sleep isn't quite enough...


Today is pretty good so far. It's Father's Day and we went to Garrett's parents' for breakfast. It was nice to not have to think about what to make for breakfast. I'll drink my Shakeo for lunch...

The best thing that happened today was: Getting to celebrate Father's Day with my family!

Challenge: Days 3 & 4

Yesterday I got my workout in and did pretty good with my nutrition.

The best thing that happened yesterday was: I got my workout in.


Today I only got 3/4 of the way through Max Recovery, but I didn't give in to burgers and cookies (even though those cookies looked SO GOOD) at the staff BBQ.

The best thing that happened today is: Gavin cuddled with me during Elmo before bed. I love it when he just gets comfy and puts all his weight on me while we sit together on the couch.

Challenge: Day 2

Mason only slept 2 hours the first stretch and then 3 hours the second so I only got about 2 hours of sleep by 1am. Then he slept from 1ish-6:30!!! Of course, I woke up at 4am and couldn't get back to sleep and then Gavin woke up at 5:30 so I had to get up with him anyway. I was able to take a nap at 7:40 when Mason went down again - but it only lasted 30-40 minutes. Ugh. Then I got up for the day and ate my Shakeo and did my workout - 55 minutes of Max Interval Plyo - RIDICULOUS. So hard. Mason woke up with 20m left in the workout so I brought him out with me to the garage. He was happy for a little while but started to get grumpy by the end. I was SO sweaty that I knew he wouldn't nurse, so we headed in to the shower - he needed one anyway. Then I fed him and now he's sleeping happily away in the swing. ;)

My goal for this week is to add a serving of vegetables to each day, and so far I haven't been doing so great at that. There's always veggies at dinner, but I don't include them in breakfast or lunch throughout the day. How do I do that?

Best thing to happen today: Got my workout in even though I was tired.

90-Day Challenge: Day 1

I had baby #2--Mr. Mason--March 7, 2013 and life has been CRAZY. Crazy hard. Crazy fun. Crazy tired. Crazy happy.

Today I begin my journey of getting healthier--mind, body and spirit. I will be following the Insanity program (of which I am already on Month 2, so I will repeat from the beginning once I reach the end), Shakeology, and a "challenge group" online. I am very excited to get going and in the first 5 weeks of Insanity I already lost 9 pounds!

"Goodbye" picture:

The best thing that happened today: Mason slept 12am-5:40am. Thank you for letting me get some sleep last night!

Insanity

The journey of losing my baby weight has been long and tenuous. For months, I have logged nearly every food that crossed my lips. I have sweat away hours of my life, and it has been a struggle. For exercise, I have always preferred running just because I like the sweat I get and I feel like I really worked out. I miss resistance training, but I don't always know what to do on my own. I lacked the motivation to create workouts in my living room. Because Garrett works nights and little buddy goes to bed relatively early and I can't leave the house, I considered buying a treadmill. But then I realized just how expensive they are. I couldn't figure out where I would put it in our house or garage, and I read about how expensive maintenance would be. So I went another direction... I bought Insanity. And now I'm addicted. I had a favorite instructor of group fitness classes at the gym, but then our gym recently closed and she moved to a gym I couldn't afford. This is the closest thing to one of her workouts.

I was planning on only doing an Insanity workout when I couldn't get outside to run due to Garrett's schedule or the rain, but I find myself preferring the workout to running or going to the gym, even when I can. The workouts include all my favorite elements: the time goes by fast, the exercises are in short bursts (30 seconds at a time), I definitely sweat a lot, the exercises incorporate both cardio and resistance training, and I get a good yoga-type stretch in. The other thing I like about the program is the nutrition guide. While I'm not following that exactly, the meals they suggest and the portion sizes are something that you could read anywhere about eating real, whole foods in smaller portions throughout the day. No rocket science or "food" food. They do suggest P90X bars and Shakeology shakes in places, but only as options and not as the only way to get results.

So I'm training for a half marathon May 20th so I still need to get some training runs in. For the last two weeks I've been running twice per week and doing Insanity twice per week. My long run for tomorrow is 8 miles. We'll see how I do, but I truly feel great!

Lucky

Being a full-time, working, new mom can be overwhelming. I know that I am not the only wife or teacher or mother that feels this way. Not by a long shot. And I'm not a single mom: I have a wonderful, loving, helpful husband who is an exceptional father to our son. I know that in many ways, I am so lucky to have what I have.

This squishy face just reminds me to appreciate the little things and try to sleep as sound as he does...

The Journey with my Baby Weight

Today I weighed in at 12 lbs less than I started 2012. I feel good about that, and I feel good knowing that if I keep at it, I will possibly be lighter than when we got married when I get pregnant again - and that is my goal. Ideally, I'd like to be under 140 lbs.

I weighed 197 at my last midwife appointment before Gavin was born. And I was down to 175 at my first check-up postpartum. Then I spent the summer working out, after the initial 8 weeks of prescribed downtime, and trying to eat right--but not succeeding very often. Cupcakes. Oh, cupcakes. And peanut butter. I digress...

Then I went back to work in October and I was still 174 lbs. And then the holidays. Down to 169 at one point then back up to 174. Time to get serious.

December 30th I signed up the Rock N Roll Portland Half Marathon, and I roped my husband Garrett into doing it with me. We looked up the website, paid the fees, and it was official. I started running again as often as I could get to it--which was only about once or twice a week. I still feel slow and heavy, but it definitely feels good to get out there again.

January 1st I started logging my foods using CalorieCount.com. It's a free site and I have used it before to log food and exercise, successfully losing about 20 lbs. It's a simple program that's based on calories in and calories out. -3500 calories in a week would be a pound of weight lost. Easy. I started weighing my foods again, and it really put a stop to my snacking and sweets addiction.

Then I had to figure out how/where/when I was going to get my sweat on if Garrett was working out of town, or working nights, and I couldn't leave the house after Gavin went to sleep. I can't go to the gym in the morning or after Gavin goes to sleep because those are usually the times I'm home alone with him. I hate to go to the gym after work because I feel bad that Gavin is at daycare (or at my in-laws--twice a week) while I'm exercising. I've already been away from him all day and there's only a limited time he's going to be awake before we have to get ready for bed. So I only do that once a week, if at all. I've found that I have to run on the weekends, both Saturday and Sunday, and if I can get some sort of workout done at home twice a week I'll be happy. So I've come up with the TV Circuit Training -- that's what I call it: lunges, wall sits, pushups, squats, shoulder presses, etc. while I watch tv. I do an exercise until the scene changes and then I do jumping jacks during commercials. So far I've only been able to do it for about 20 minutes at a time, but I'm working up to 30 minutes, and my goal is to get to one hour. I know I can do it.

So, while my journey is difficult, and frustrating at times, it has been empowering too. I have found myself being creative and efficient in ways I never thought I could (or want to) so that I can be healthier and be a healthy role model for my son. My mission is to be at a healthy weight. To make as many meals at home as I can. To plan for meals and grocery shop efficiently and eat as many whole, unprocessed foods as possible. I also want to sweat for at least 20 minutes 3-4 days per week minimum.

I know there are other moms out there who go through this, so I know I'm not alone. And that, in itself, makes me feel better.

(And for the record, this post was titled "The Battle with my Baby Weight" at first. But I can't think of my body that way - I don't want to fight my body, I want to show that I love it.)

Mr. Gavin and my voice

Just over six months ago I gave birth to the most amazing little man. I still can't believe it.

I teach high school English and when the students I had last year stop by my classroom to see pictures of my baby, it seems that we all remark on how bizarre it is that he is the same person that was growing in my belly while we read The Scarlet Letter and A Raisin in the Sun together last school year. Pretty weird when you think about it, isn't it?

In fact, when Gavin was first handed to me after he was born he was doing normal newborn fussing and when I held him and looked in his eyes for the first time I said, "Hello... I'm your mom." He immediately seemed to know my voice. The look he gave me was like, "I know that voice. It's you! Thank god!" He got quiet and seemed to study me. It was incredibly surreal.

Every night when I read him a story, and every morning when I sing him the good morning song I made up, I can tell he is soothed by my voice. It is the coolest feeling I've ever felt to be able to comfort my child with something I've had my whole life.  My voice isn't something I have to work at, or modify, or spend money to improve. In a strange way, my voice, which I've used in my career for the last 9+ years reading to other people's kids, is now my favorite connection to my own son.