30 Day Fitness Challenge: Days 15 – 20

So this third week was not a good week. Not because I didn’t want to work out but because I couldn’t work out. I have had knee problems since high school and I think because I have been working out and trying to be as active as possible it caught up with me. Monday and Tuesday my knee killed and was swollen. I decided instead of pushing I would rest and keep the heating pad on it. It really did help the pain but I still couldn’t do more of the aerobic type activities I wanted to do and I think just not working out those 2 days and keeping my workouts the remainder of the week less intense really frustrated and bummed me out this last week. It sucks when you really have the motivation going and are pumped about working out and then, for whatever reasons, you have to stop. Grrrr. BUT, even though I was unable to do more aerobic workouts I still managed to do some strength workouts that I hope will yield some results and keep me going. Muscle and core strength are good, right?!  I read online it is good to build up the strength in my knee so that I can avoid these types of problems, so I have also done special exercises to help strengthen my knee.


I have only 10 days left on this 30 day fitness challenge (I will be doing another one after this) and that is really pushing me!! I did an aerobic workout Saturday then put heat on my knee after and that really seemed to help, so that is what I will be doing for the last 10 days. I REALLY need to step it up because though I think I have lost a little bit in inches, I know I have not lost much in pounds. However, I think to even a month ago and I was not working out at all and I know this is good for me and I really do feel better. In fact after not working out for 2 days in a row I actually felt sluggish and wanted to workout….WTF is up with that?! I also feel better after working out, emotionally and physically so even though I am not where I wanted to be by the end of week three, I am feeling good about my progress so far and really trying to not let this discourage me! So we will see what happens these last 10 days!! I am actually leaving town this weekend but staying in a hotel with a fitness center that I hope to utilize!

How are YOU doing?! I hope everyone is doing good! Our computer isn't working right, hence the lack of blogging but I have been reading about people's progress and it looks like everyone is doing fantastic!! 

You know, the point of this 30 day fitness challenge really is to just bring exercise to the forefront of our lives and know that we can make even 20-30 minutes a day to do something for ourselves and exercise.  I was bummed I couldn't workout those two days, but in the end it doesn't matter and I am not going to let it stop the progress of what I have done this far.  Yes, this week was off but next week doesn't have to be!

Day 15 – No workout
Day 16 – No workout
Day 17 – pilates
Day 18 – pilates
Day 19 – walk
Day 20 – Yoga, pilates, 20 minute circuit training

Healthy Snack of the Week – Is That A Banana In Your Pocket?!

With all this working out we are doing I thought this week bananas should be the healthy snack of the week.

Serving size = 1 medium ripe banana

Total Fat = 0 g;
Cholesterol = 0 g;
Calories = 110
Potassium = 400 mg (10% of daily recommended value)
Dietary Fiber = 4 g (16% of daily recommended value)
Sugar = 14.8 g; Protein = 1 g (2% of daily recommended value)
Vitamin C = 16% of daily recommended value
Vitamin B6 = 20% of daily recommended value

Did you know that bananas are good for:

Reducing leg cramps: The potassium and magnesium makes them a near perfect sports food for those lactic acid related cramps. After working out eat a banana and it will help relieve muscle cramps within fifteen minutes.

Provide LOTS of extra Energy and are a great “pick me up” type snack: The sugars fructose and glucose are known to enter the bloodstream rapidly which is a good thing if you are experiencing low blood sugar. Plus a typical medium banana has around 100 calories and, with a glass of water, can be very filling. The effect of one banana on blood sugar and protein levels is good for up to two hours. This makes it a near perfect dietary snack.

Bananas are good for your heart and nerves: Bananas contain a high dose of potassium - an essential ingredient to keep your heart and nervous system in good shape. Potassium is essential for proper muscle contraction and hence plays an important role in muscle-influenced activities.

Bananas are good for your kidneys and bones.

Bananas can act as mood enhancers or mild sedatives.

Bananas are good for your blood.

Bananas are good source of dietary fiber.

Go ahead...grab that banana!! :)

30 Day Fitness Challenge: Days 9-14 (HALFWAY THERE)

Ok, I just realized I am a little behind on posting my workout progress so here we go!!!


Day 9 – Circuit Training & Pilates
Day 10 – Pilates
Day 11 – Skipped
Day 12 – Treadmill Walk 4 minutes then Run 1 minute for 25 minutes
Day 13 – Wii Fit for 1 hour and 10 minutes; Walk/Run workout for 20 minutes; Pilates legs for 10 minutes (1 hr 40 minutes!) *let it be known I also cleaned (I mean really cleaned) our house for 2 hours as well!
Day 14 – Pilates

You will notice that I am doing a lot of pilates. I find pilates is really helping me build my core strength and since I have bad knees I like to do the pilates because I feel it is a good workout with little pressure put on my knees. However, I started doing longer workouts this week and incorporating more with the treadmill. This next week I am focusing on a lot more cardio and circuit training and also continuing with my pilates.

How is everyone doing?! Any accomplishments this week you would like to mention?! Remember there are no small accomplishments, ANYthing (even exercising for just 5 more minutes) should be recognized!!!

I am excited to be entering my third week and I must say I am feeling stronger. I feel like I can go longer with my workouts and feel like I am putting more into them. Working out Saturday felt amazing, I seriously did not want to stop working out – WEIRD. I think it was just a nice release. Though I am not going to lie, my arms hurt as I unlocked the boxing feature on the Wii Fit and I may have punched out much of my frustration for about 25 minutes. I think I enjoy boxing type activities!

I Say To My Self; “Self, Why Am I Not Seeing Results Today?!”

So here I am, nearing the end of my second week of working out every day. As I said before I DO feel better and can tell a difference starting to manifest in my body (at least I hope that is what all those aches and pains are) however, lets be honest here for a minute shall we. As positive as I am and as excited as I am to be doing this process and for the first time in many many years feeling like I will actually accomplish my goal, it doesn’t come without my fair share of frustration and moments of lacking motivation. I remain positive because for so many years I was not. I would give up easily and be mad at myself and thus resorting to my old ways. I have NO choice in my mind to remain focused and confident that this time I will do this.

But I think when you start working out there can be this unrealistic expectation that just because you feel better that means the whole process is working instantly and you should lose large amounts of weight right away. That is obviously not so much the case. I didn’t gain this weight in two weeks, 1 month, or 2 months so I am very much aware that I will not be able to LOSE all this weight in that amount of time. It is this impatience that I have had all my life. I want to see results NOW, I don’t want to spend 2 hours working out, and I don’t want to wait for this gradual change that WILL come if I just stick with this. That impatience with my body is part of the reason I am here in the first place.

Plus I am trying to do this in a healthy way so it can be a more permanent weight loss, unlike the times before when losing a dramatic amount of weight in a completely unhealthy way just led to the weight coming back on. So because of that I know this is going to take awhile. I understand that the fact that I am even working out everyday and starting to feel a difference in my energy level and body is a HUGE step and though the weight and inches may not come off as fast as I want it IS something that I should be proud of. And honestly it IS something I am proud of.

I guess what I am putting out there is in this blog I am really going to try to remain positive and encourage not just myself but others to accomplish their goals. I like to see people happy and it makes me happy when I hear that people are getting the results and motivation that they need. But I also want to be honest with this blog and don’t want to overlook the fact that I know that ALL of us are going to have days, weeks, months where we just feel discouraged because we are either not seeing results fast enough or are not seeing the results we THINK we should have. I don’t want to send out this perception that this is easy and that I am not having my own frustrations and I am just positive all the time, because that is not the case at all. During the last 6 months that I have been working to lose weight and specifically during the last two months I have felt discouraged, frustrated, have cried many times, have felt like this is unfair, felt angry, but unlike so many times before I am NOT. Ready. To. Give. Up.

In the end, I believe what will make a difference is how we look at this whole process and recognizing that even adding 5 minutes to a workout, getting through a workout a little easier then the day before, working out regularly should be considered a success and that the changes in our body will come, we just need to focus on doing the best we can today to see those changes later on. Anything I have done in the past I have worked for and this should be NO exception. I know if I am willing to truly put in the hard work I WILL see results. I just need to remain focused and stop being so damn impatient.


So here is MY motivation for today – my dear friend April.

April has also had issues with weight over the years but over the last 7 months or so she has lost over 80 pounds!!! And how did she do it, she worked out and ate better. That simple. The first month or two wasn’t at all easy. She had her own ups and downs and frustrations with working out and still today, after losing an incredible 80 pounds on her own she still has days of frustration when it comes to working out. However, she knows that she can do it because she has already proven to herself that she can. And her spirit and dedication to making herself as healthy as possible is truly inspiring to me. The last few years have not been easy for her and yet, on her own, she has managed to do an amazing thing just because she decided one day she wanted to change and has been determined ever since to do so. I love her for that and over the years she has motivated me and this is no exception to that. Hopefully her story will be a motivation to others as well.

30 Days Is Hard --- Kristen

As you've been following, my beautiful sister has started doing a 30 Day Challenge in order to lose weight and gain back some confidence. I can't tell you how proud I am of her already; my sister is a wonderful motivator, and I see the difference it's making.

I decided to join her in her 30 Day Challenge with the sole intention of losing some weight I've gained over the past few years - think of it as the Freshman Fifteen spread over three years with another few pounds added on. I've realized though that I have been going about this the wrong way. I shouldn't just focus on losing weight, I need to start getting healthy.

This past September I ended up going to the ER after having chest pains that lasted longer than a day. After six blood tests, a couple EKGs, an x-ray, and an MRI, they decided that I didn't have a heart attack. However, the possibility of developing blood clots is high, which could prove to be a problem later in life.

Fast forward to just this past Monday. I went to the doctor's for that oh-so-pleasant yearly exam. When I stepped on the scale, I was shocked to see that I weigh 172.4 pounds. What shocked me most was that, just a few months ago, I weighed 160 pounds. Somehow in the past three months I have gained over twelve pounds, and I don't see where. But I do see how.

Working part time and going to school full time has led to a pretty stationary lifestyle. Sure, I walk around campus. However, after spending most of my day sitting in a classroom thinking and learning, my brain is fried. So I choose to watch TV or play videogames as stress relief. And what pairs well with TV and videogames? Soda and snacks. Not a very good combo.

So I joined my sister on her 30 Day Challenge, hoping to avoid another trip to the ER in my future. Although I would like to be a certain size, or have a certain measurement, at this point I am focused slowly on building up a desire to work out everyday, eat much healthier, and get to a point where I am comfortable with my body.

Oh my, this should be fun.

30 Day Fitness Challenge – Days 5-8: ONE WEEK DOWN!!

Day 5: Treadmill
Day 6: Circuit training for 30 minutes & Pilates DVD
Day 7: Pilates
Day 8: 30 Day Shred

So how is everyone doing with their workouts?!?! I have heard how a few of you are doing in the blog world and from outside of it and I have to say WELL DONE!!! You are all motivating me too keep going by how well you are doing so thank you! :)

I am happy to report I am doing very well and though I have only completed Day 8 of the workout I actually started working out a couple weeks before and have felt SO much better mentally and physically the past few weeks. A perfect example is the first time I did the 30 day shred I felt horrible and so discouraged. That feeling of “are you kidding me, how could I let myself get like this over the years” was in my head and bummed me out horribly. However, I know that things are NOT going to magically change and that I need to do something about this if I want to change so I tried to focus on how I would feel in a few months and not focus on how horrible, achy, and out of shape I feel now.

So that is what I have been doing and why I was so excited yesterday when I did the 30 Day shred and for the first time it felt a lot easier than the few times I had done it before. Granted, it is still a workout that kicks my butt, but I didn’t feel like I was going to die - I actually felt good! Every day that I workout I seem to have more strength, more endurance, more confidence, and more motivation to keep going! (And I hope this is the same for everyone else no matter what level you are at!) It is true, the first day in anything you do is always the hardest but if you just keep with it, it will get easier and you will gain more confidence and become stronger with whatever it is you hope to accomplish. THAT is where I am right now and what is pushing me to keep going!



So let me know how YOU are all doing. I know everyone is at different fitness levels and are starting at different times with this and have different goals….but I hope you are all accomplishing the goals you want and GOOD LUCK with this next week of working out!!



TIP: Having trouble fitting a 30 minute workout into your day? I know some days you just don't have the time to fit a full 30 minute workout in no matter how hard you try. Well I don't want you to get discouraged or even skip your workout for that day so try this instead. Do a 10 minute circuit routine! Pick 5 exercises and do a circuit for one minute and repeat giving you an effective but quick 10 min workout. Ideas...try lunges, sqats, jumping jacks, jump rope (jumping in place), jog in place, sit ups, push-ups...mix it up!! You can also use this idea if you want to ADD a little more to your normal workout...give a little extra boost!

Talk To Me - Work Out Music

So what do you listen to when you work out?  I am trying to come up with a fun mixed CD (you know since I still don't have nor do I want an iPod).  So I thought I would ask what music motivates you when you work out?  Certain type of music or certain songs?



I hate focusing on the time when I workout, that is why I like working out to music. So here is a tip.

TIP: When working out start with a certain number of songs.  Say 5 songs and that is how long you work out for.  Then each week add another song or two.  This will help you so you work out longer and longer each week but you are not so focused on the time!

Day 4 of My 30 Day Challenge

So last night Kristen and I did pilates for our workout and can I just say that my stomach HURTS! However, I am not sure if my stomach hurts because of the workout or because we were laughing so much during the workout….I am going with the latter. It is official, K. and & I will never, ever be able to go to any public fitness class together as it is physically impossible for us to workout together and not laugh uncontrollably. Seriously, impossible….especially when you have to do moves like the Seal.

So how am I doing, well I really hate to admit it but I feel awesome. I seriously have so much energy and have been in a great mood for the past 2 weeks that I have been working out and have felt even better the past 4 days. Damn it. I really wanted to get mad at exercising so at least it would be a valid excuse as to why I have not been working out consistently the past few years, but alas the only excuse I have is myself – shoot. But I really do feel fantastic and have an annoyingly high amount of energy…seriously I think I have been a bit obnoxious the past couple weeks (well just a little more than I normally am) and K & T are taking the brunt of it….good thing they don’t mind!

I am also SO thrilled people are starting this, will be starting this, or doing their own version of this challenge! It is so much easier doing this with other people. I even have been talking to people at work and outside the blogs and they want to do it as well.

And as I said before, yes the physical part of this is going to be great for all of us but I am also finding that the working out and sharing with everyone is wonderful for my mental well being and that might be even more important for me and the biggest challenge I face. So thank you all for your support and I hope I can show you whatever support you need!

So on to the weekend! My long workout is Saturday so I will let you all know how it goes. Don’t know what I am going to do yet, but I am lucky because we actually have an exercise on demand cable channel which has a large variety of workouts available to me…..so I am going to give a few of them a try this weekend to keep things interesting.

Good luck and let me know how you are doing if you are taking this challenge!!

Are YOU Up For The Challenge?!

So last week I decided that I needed a way to get motivated to work out. (Thank you for the suggestions bloggers!) I was trying to think of something that would be creative and get me into the habit of working out more. At the same time I remembered how many bloggers have taken part in NaBloPoMo and it got me thinking….I should do a challenge where I work out every day for a month. Brilliant! (And crazy….I go from not working out at all to working out every day.) Now I know many people may do this already, but for people who do not already workout or do not workout regularly this is going to be a great way to start the habit!!

So here it is, my 30 Day Fitness Challenge!

My sister (who is also doing this with me) and I came up with the rules incase anyone else would like to take this challenge. Feel free to use the cute little picture I made to post on your blog if you want to take this challenge :)


30 Day Fitness Challenge Rules

1) Work out 6 days a week for at least 25-35 minutes. (If you are more advanced with your working out or want to increase as you go please feel free to workout longer.)

2) Work out 1 day a week for at least 45 – 60 minutes.

3) If you miss a day, don’t fret! You can make up any day missed if you want and do two 30 minute workouts one day. (If you miss multiple days please do not try to make up 3 or more workouts on the same day as I would hate for anyone to push themselves too hard. It is ok, this is just for fun!)

4) Keep track of your daily workouts as well as your measurements and/or weight starting on day 1. At the end of the 30 days note any changes in not just your measurements and weight but also how you feel.



Tip: Mix up your workouts. Try some different videos or workout routines during this month so you don’t get bored and find some fun new workout programs you like. Be adventurous!

Tip: HAVE FUN! I hate working out, but I do want to workout. So the best way to do it is just have as much fun with it as possible.



I started Monday, February 8 and my first 30 days will end Tuesday, March 9.

Day 1: Pilates
Day 2: Workout video
Day 3: Shoveled snow for 45 minutes (yes it counts – my arms kill) & walking on the treadmill

Talk To Me – Motivation

(I just liked this picture!)

So the hardest thing for me to get motivated doing is the thing that will make the biggest impact on my weight loss….working out. I have never enjoyed working out nor do I think I really feel better after, I am more just relieved when I am done! Ok, maybe I feel a little better.

I hate working out in the morning, because frankly I love my sleep. I have a hard enough time getting out of bed to go to work, let alone waking up an hour before to exercise. As if. I don’t mind working out when I get home and I typically have all intentions on doing so, but there is always an excuse. I have to go to the store. I have to cook dinner. I have to do the dishes. I have to sit on the couch and watch TV.

I do have a treadmill and don’t mind walking on that, but honestly I get really bored after about 15 minutes. I am just walking and not going anywhere, what the heck is up with that?! (Of course I don’t like walking outside because I feel like I am just walking but with no real place to go…go figure.) I have tried workout videos, but again I am bored and usually find whoever is leading the workout highly annoying and I just stop watching the video out of principle (no one should be forced to watch a peppy and annoying instructor) and blame my suspending of said exercise video on the lack of a proper instruction and an un-encouraging and very thin teacher. Yes, excuses…because I HATE working out. I really wish sleeping or lying completely still was working out.

So what do I need from you? Encouragement, tips, motivation, help on getting my ass to work out every day!!! When do you work out? What tips do you have for working out? What workouts do you do? What tips do you have for staying interested? What are the best workouts to do if you only want to workout for 30 minutes? Does anyone else hate working out as much as I do?!

I will pay someone $5 a day to wake my ass up every day and workout with me!

Small Changes

Making small changes today will make a huge difference in the future, especially when it comes to losing weight. Today’s small change:

Drink Water.



We all know drinking water is an important key to not only being healthy but is also key to losing weight. This not only means just drinking your 8, 8 ounce glasses of water every day, but drinking them at the appropriate time each day. Studies have shown that people who drank two glasses of water 20 to 30 minutes before every meal lost weight more quickly initially and lost significantly more weight than those who didn't.

In another study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, it was found that people who drank water before meals ate an average of 75 fewer calories at that meal. This may not seem like much, but if you ate 75 fewer calories at lunch and dinner for the next year, you could lose about 14½ pounds!

And did you know that being even 1 percent dehydrated can cause a significant drop in metabolism, which can also interfere with weight loss.

I also read that if you are hungry, drink a glass of water first as sometimes the hunger it isn’t really hunger at all, just that your body telling you it is thirsty. Many times just drinking a glass of water will be enough to suppress your appetite.

I am lucky that I love water as much as I do, I couldn’t imagine not drinking water…my husband drinks only a glass a day – crazy! I easily drink plenty of water each day. I drink coffee in the morning, milk at night, and water all day. I try to limit pop to just a can or two on the weekends but I do have my own tip when it comes to drinking pop. If I am out and want pop I order a glass of pop AND a glass of water. If I finish my pop I do not order another one until I have finished my glass of water. Usually that is more than enough fluid and I never order another pop at dinner and save on any extra calories by doing so.

So make a small change and drink up your water!

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