T25 Alpha Week 1 CHECK

Well T25 Alpha cycle Week 1 is a wrap!!! A quick review... I began on Saturday

Saturday- Day 1: Focus T25 Cardio
Sunday - Day 2: Speed 1.0
Monday - Day 3: Total Body Circuit
Tuesday - Day 4: Ab Intervals
Wednesday -Day 5: Lower Focus (optional added Cardio workout I did not do)
Thursday - Day 6: Cardio (5am) Chizel it workout (5pm) (Supposed to be the Rest & Record stats day)
Friday - Day 7: Rest & Stretch DVD (will do when I get home)

My Week 1 reflection: I really like Shaun T he's a good instructor! The workouts are challenging which reminds me of my personal trainer Charles "Chizel It" Harris's style which is a great thing very inspiring and motivating. I am somewhat sore especially after the lower focus workout. I'm also doing the June Sit Up challenge so I'm getting on track with my consistency.

As advertised you can talk yourself into doing a mere 25 minute workout!

I didn't record my stats yet I will use Saturday as my official weigh in and I need a tape measure for my measurements.  I did hop on the scale today and I was down over a pound so we will see what tomorrow says!

As you see above I skipped the rest day and went to my trainer's class. It was a great workout as usual! I got a new pair of sneakers and went to work!

Food wise I did a great job tracking.  I was also more proactive about having good options at home and at work. I went to Trader Joes for a few salads, sancks, and more of the electrolyte enhanced water.

Final thoughts it's totally doable!! And actually enjoyable!

I will check in tomorrow with my progress and next week's game plan!!!

T 25 for breakfast. ..

Needless to say I've been slacking on my blogging and typically that happens when I'm slacking on my workouts so in an effort to stay encouraged I'm chronicling my T25 transformation.  If I commit to working that program and reporting it that will force me to stay focused. With that said I woke up at about 4:30 am and decided I would do the Alpha Cardio DVD. I stayed in bed till 5am then went downstairs in my pj's and did the 25 minute workout! Whew!

Last night I did one of the workouts but it was a double workout day. I just didn't have it in me. It's an aspirational goal and not bad it you can't do it but it's a extra workout before STATday ie., the day you check your stats/ Saturday.  I started my program on Saturday because of my crazy hours I don't need Saturday and Sunday as rest/stretch days because that's two guaranteed workout days I can get in.

They provide you with a calendar and it looks like the idea is to only workout 5 days a week. I think I will push through daily though.

My goal is to join one of my sorors to workout tonight at 5pm for my personal trainers Chizel it class. And of course I can't find my chest strap for my heart rate monitor!  I really like knowing exactly how many calories I'm burning per workout! I know there is another on floating around so I will look for it but just have to guess-timate tonight lol

I have a sorority meeting tonight so if I can get another decent commute home I can hit the class, grab something to eat, and hit the meeting and call it a day. It's supposed to be super hot again today. No bueno! But after the snow storms I dare not complain!! Lol

My last birthday in my 30s!!

Wow! I'm 39!! When did THAT happen?! Lol no seriously when did that happen!? Someone mentioned a joke from my 30th birthday which was in Vegas and it dawned on me wow this is my last birthday in my 30s! And I'm not mad about it! My 30th birthday I was hell bent on celebrating and planned a trip to Las Vegas with a group of friends.  We had a blast but I distinctly remember coming home and really seeing how big I was. Pictures don't lie! I did a comparison picture from my 30th (top) and my 39th (bottom) and I'm so much happier! So much healthier. So much more settled! You can see it in my eyes! Thank you God for "Feeling Fione at 39!"
           
Oh by the way that's the ManFriend! :-) I realized that I may not have posted any pictures of us yet. I guess because I've been on a blogging hiatus lol anyway I was pleased at the comparison and I'm excited to see what my 40th birthday picture will look like!

I am happy to report I did Day 4 and Day 5 of the T25 workout! Yes even on my birthday!  Best gift!!! I came home from a long day at work today and did Day 5 and I didn't realize this was the double workout day :-/ so far I've only done 1 of the 2. I was able to sell myself on A (singular) 25 minute workout lol but its like 90 degrees and even with the AC on it was annoying lol

My commute is still a killer so my alternative will be to workout before work which would be 4:30am so we will see. I began on Saturday so tomorrow is my rest day but I may do the cardio DVD.

So far so good I really enjoy the DVDs the workouts are good, hard and fast! They rotate the order so I'm looking forward to seeing where I will be weight wise I'm doing well food wise and tracking on My Fitness Pal! So we will see!

Anyway a few more pictures from my birthday dinner at Herb & Soul a farm to table style restaurant in Baltimore.  Food was great and everyone had a great time!
I asked people to donate to the non profit Moveable Feast because I honestly couldn't think of anything I need but the best gift I could think of is having people gift others! Moveable Feast provides healthy meals to terminally ill patients suffering with HIV/AIDS and cancer. A truly wonderful and worthy cause! The donations have been pouring in and I'm so grateful!

Well the count down to 40 & Fab starts now!!!

Monday Morning Motivation

Wow! Monday sure does come fast!  Lol I just finished Day 3 of the T25 workout. Another sweat inducing event! For some reason my Heart rate monitor was reading fairly low I think because this workout focused on core strength vs. Cardio. That's not to say it was an easy workout in fact it's the hardest one so far.

The Day 3 workout is called Total Body Circuit and there were planks, sprints, and dynamic squats oh my! I did most of the modifications because my sneakers are broke downnnnn! I took them to China and needless to say since they helped me survive climbing the Great Wall they are overdue to be retired! Lol

I was careful with my calories yesterday and logged everything in and I swear I eat way too much!  It doesn't seem like a lot at the time but when I slow down to track it's amazing.  I upped my calories on My Fitness Pal to 1400 since I'm working out and the body can be very tricky when you go too low but I think I've been just careless.  I opted for some goat cheese, fresh fruit salad and a few pita chips last night instead of a second bag if kettle corn which I just found out was 390 calories!!!! I was reading the label wrong for years lol

 I also focused on my water. I bought this bottle at Trader Joes and will get a few more it's supposed to help keep you hydrated! No nasty taste and no calories!

Anyway great way to start my Monday I actually decided to do my treadmill as well and burned some extra calories. :-D

Happy Father's Day T25!!! lol

Well Day 2 uneocus T25 is in the books!! That was less cardiovascular but way more intense!  Like call me Daddy intense lol

The best part about T25 aside from only needing to commit to only 25 minutes is it is fast paced but has variety. Insanity is a great workout but it was way too boring.  I'm spoiled because I have a great personal trainer who always provides an exciting interactive varied workout so T25 delivers on that for me.

*ETA (Edited to add) My heart rate monitor went completely crazy when I did the Heisman after we had to add the clap under one leg! OMG Talk about unexpected lol

I'm happy to report I was under my calorie goal yesterday too. I went to a party last night and had a few appetizers and still came up under goal. Plus the Man Friend and I spent most of the time dancing so a few extra calories burned to boot!

I was very careful about what I had yesterday and it reminded me that weight loss is difficult for me...or not to be negative it's been a challenge for me because it requires concentration and I live such a busy life that I don't take the time to consistently plan. But what I know for sure is when I do put in the time I get the results. So while I was super comfy in my bed watching Season 6 of Sons of Anarchy (OMG!!!!!!!) I told myself you spent the money because you only need to commit to 25 minutes watch one more episode then go get it done!!!

Yesterday I put together a picture from 2007 (left), yesterday before pictures (middle) and my goal for September where I was in 2010! Well Shaun T got the side eye from me when I saw burpees lol I opted for the modification...but I got it done! Day 2 Done!

Some pics from last night Summer Throwback Party by the lovely Theta Omega Omega chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. 

Good times!!!

Jumping into June!!!

Yikes my last post was in April! !! That's insane! Sadly I have not had much to report fitness wise so I guess I just didn't bother updating.

I've been seriously unmotivated.  Now I've blogged about the fact that motivation is overrated. In life we all do things we don't feel like doing but we have to do them. For example work! Love my job but if I could make the same money not commuting 3-4 hours a day I would stop in a New York minute! No shame in my game lol

A few weeks ago I was up early (as usual) and came across the Focus T25 workout DVD infomercial and the idea of a 25 minute workout piqued my interest.  I didn't jump on it right away but eventually I bought it and today was Day 1.

It was a good workout I started sweating very quickly. Not sure if it was all that great or I'm just that out if shape! I used my Polar Heart rate monitor since I didn't find it listed in the My Fitness Pay Database and in 30 minutes I burned almost 300 calories! So that's impressive some workouts I do only give me 300-400 for a 60 minutes investment.

Sadly my HIM rates my fitness at fair :-O I swear that was like a kick to the gut I typically rate at elite!!! Even when I've been heavier than I  now! So I've got work to do!

The other priority is food!  I've been going out a lot and I need to work on changing my mindset to get whatever you want to fuel your body properly. On Tuesday I turn 39! Wow time flies and I definitely want my theme "Feeling Fine at 39" to ring true for the year! So back to basics more protein, less carbs! Breakfast was chicken sausage and a boiled egg cooked with I Can't Believe it's not butter and I added some fresh spinach and onions.

I have chapter meeting today so I'm glad I thought ahead and worked out early and cooked. We have an event afterwards so I plan to stop at Trader Joes for a salad. I love the summer but my already busy life kicks into overdrive so I have to be mindful of my food. Since November I've re lost about 40 pounds but I've been stuck for the last 2 months because this is my nasty set point so I have to dig a little deeper and focus, cut some things out, and make adjustments in my attitude.

Another quick word in T25 again Shaun T is great to watch and he has a really motivating coach like way about him so it's easy to get it done. I'm in dire need of new sneakers so that's on today's to do list as well.

Have a great weekend!!!!

#100HappyDays

I can't believe it's been sooooooo long! To be fair life has been crazy, busy, wonderful! I went to church on Sunday for the first time since New Years Eve/Watch night service and when I went online to make a donation I looked at my profile and saw my beloved blog. I clicked on it and saw my last post was August 2013!!!! I made up my mind to give an update and today I read (again) about the 100 Happy Days Challenge and I figured that would be a great comeback post! :-) because blogging does make me happy!

Lots of changes, lots of great things, lots of updates! I don't know where to begin to tell the truth!

I went back to my personal trainer's class on Thursday! OMG! Now I know how I lost sooooo much weight lol the Chizel It class is a combination of Step aerobics, weights, and kickboxing! I can't lie my right calf has been mad ever since lol

I've been MIA from personal training and my high intensity Les Mills classes but it's time to get back! I was grateful a Soror from my workout group encouraged me to go with her. She's looking to get back on track and it worked out as a win/win! Of course there was an office wide meeting, an accident, and it still made it lol victory!

I'm going back to posting regularly and I will cach you up along the way! Consider joining the #100HappyDays challenge!!