Week 7 Results

I had no internet last week so sorry for the delay.

Well friends, i think that i fell off of the wagon this week. Thanksgiving week which is a tough week to begin with but add in a sick family member and that brings added stress. a little insight into my life... i am the peacekeeper in my family or ray of sunshine. I always try to see the positive in anything and so this week was especially draining. Those of you who have had an ailing grandparent/parent/sibling understand what i am talking about. My grandfather is getting close to the end of his life and my grandmother is suffers from dementia so there is no way that she can take care of him so we have been trying to set the both of them up this week while celebrating the holidays.

Between helping my grandpa around the house and the hoodlums at the hotel, i have had little to no sleep or exercise. The sleep is a whole other story. I was staying at one of the local casinos at a killer rate (39 bucks/night) but with this rate there was a catch apparently. So my neighbors on the 11th floor had 2 children who were up til 11pm and screaming at each other while they were awake. It probably didn't help that mom yelled as loud as them either. Seriously people!?!?!? And last night BUSH was in town and so the locals were enjoying the concert and thus crashing at the hotel. 2:30am Sunday i was awakened by a drunken idiot male screaming at his girlfriend in the hallway. I felt like i was in a Jerry Springer show. Another hotel guest came to the defense of the girlfriend and ended up getting sucker punched in the face. After about 15 minutes of screaming, security showed up and escorted drunken idiot to some other location. Geez... maybe it's time to not stay at this hotel. Thoughts?


I am anxious to see what the scale says.

Uh oh 163 pounds... time to practice better decision-making when it comes to food.  Tomorrow i head to St. Louis for a conference so i'll have to think about this constantly...

No journey is without struggle so i guess that this is my struggle.

Week 6 Results!!

With the fat dog snoring underneath my chair i figured that it was time to do my weekly weigh in post.
The scale read 160 this week. Healthy here we come!!

We are entering into the DANGER ZONE otherwise known as the holidays. As a former eating club officer (that's right folks, there was an eating club in college) I must say that Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the year. And it's not because of the family and drama of seeing people, NO, it's because of the FOOOOOOOD. So with that in mind and trying not to derail my hard work this upcoming travel week i have few tips for us.

Just because you can eat the whole plate, doesn't mean that you should.

While visiting family, i will be staying in a hotel which means no kitchen and lots of eating out. Thanks to my favorite entertainer/professor Jim Painter and his whole philosophy about portions... you can eat anything you want, you just have to watch the portions for a true serving. A good rule of thumb is to load up on veggies and fruit and divide your pasta portion in half. With thanksgiving my plan in to only have one plate and to not cram that plate full of as much food as possible. What are your tricks?

Bring exercises for the room.

I plan to bring my Insanity videos as well as a "charged up" Ipod. The Insanity workouts can easily be done in the room. I don't know about the runs but we shall see if they have a treadmill otherwise i might have to get creative.

Mid-Week Check In Week 6

So this week has been a week full of "everything that could go wrong." On Monday i slept through my alarm, Tuesday i had a dog vomit emergency, this morning left my phone on silent... so my workouts this week have suffered. Tonight, thankfully i have a break in my schedule from 4:30 to 7pm. I AM GOING TO (non excuses) workout for this time. I'm think that i should do Bob Yoga and walk the dogs...


I saw these few workouts online this week and wanted to share... what are your thoughts? being able to drop a size in a month sounds promising. I will add this to my routine next week and we shall see if my clothes begin to hang off of me starting Dec 21st.


Enjoy the rest of the week! -Lovebug

from Health Magazine

Crunched for time but still want to tighten and tone? Try this full-body strength workout from New York City—based trainer Pete Cerqua, author ofThe 90-Second Fitness Solution. Instead of countless sets and reps, you’ll do each exercise just once (or once per side), stretching the movements out over a full 90 seconds. Follow this routine 3–4 times a week (with 1 day of rest in between) and you’ll shrink a size in a month.

Hindu squat

works legs, butt


Stand with feet shoulder-width apart and arms raised to shoulder height for balance. Bend knees and slowly descend, keeping hips over heels and back straight. One-third of the way down, pause and hold for 10 seconds. Lower 2 inches more, raising heels, as needed; hold for 10 seconds. Continue to lower your body in this pattern 3 more times, ending in a deep squat. To complete the move, slowly straighten legs in 4 (10-second) increments.


Trainer tip: Keep your legs engaged, belly drawn in, and shoulders drawn back throughout the move.

Ball bridge fly

Works hips, hamstrings, butt, chest, arms, and shoulders

A. (top) Lie on back with feet on top of exercise ball and legs straight. (Don’t lock your knees.) Hold a 5- to 8-pound dumbbell in each hand, arms raised over chest. Press heels into ball, and lift hips so body forms a straight line. (Don’t let your hips sag.)

B. (bottom) Bend elbows slightly, open arms a few inches to the side; hold 10 seconds. Open 2 inches more, and hold 10 seconds; repeat 3 more times. Close arms in 4 (10-second) increments.

Trainer tip: It’s OK to take a quick break partway through if you need to.

Single leg squat reverse fly with ball

Works thighs, butt, back, arms, shoulders, and neck


A. (top) Start with a 5- to 8-pound dumbbell in each hand and right leg lifted so top of right foot rests on exercise ball behind you. Bend left knee to 45 degrees, rolling ball backward and hinging forward until back is parallel to floor and arms are hanging down.


B. (bottom) With elbows slightly bent, raise each arm a few inches and hold for 10 seconds. Raise arms 2 inches more, and hold for 10 seconds; repeat pattern 3 more times, ending with arms at shoulder height. Slowly lower arms in 4 (10-second) increments. Repeat with opposite leg.


Trainer tip: Trouble balancing? Draw abs in and up and square your hips, imagining your inner thighs are drawing toward one another.

Lying rotary torso

Works abs


A. (top left) Lie on your back with legs lifted straight up, arms reaching out to either side and palms down.


B. (lower right) Lower legs a few inches to the left, and hold for 10 seconds. Lower 2 inches more, and hold 10 seconds; repeat 3 more times, ending with legs hovering just above the floor. (Your right hip will lift as you move, so draw your abs in to protect your lower back, and keep your right shoulder down.) Raise legs back to center in 4 (10-second) increments. Repeat on opposite side.


Trainer tip: For variety, try rotating legs left and holding a few inches from the floor for 45 seconds. Return to top position, then repeat on the right side.

Week 5 Results

And then the scale read... 161. Time to kick it into high gear. I want to break the 160 barrier.

My motivation for fitness that will also be a celebration of success is the Nike Women's Marathon next fall. It has a raffle entry process so there are no guarantees that I'll get to do it but it never hurts to try. This one sounds like a lot of fun since you run through San Francisco and are greeted at the finish line by tuxedo clad men and a Tiffany blue box!

Fall is a long way off so i will warm up with the Illinois Marathon next April. I am getting into the swing of running and an finding my stride. I can't wait for it to warm up so i can take my runs outside. Too bad that will be 5-6 months from now. Blah!

Penne Pasta with Brussel Spouts in a Light Ragu

Now i know what you are thinking.... gross!! I HATE brussel sprouts. Keep in mind i have never tried them... not that i can remember.

But when i saw this recipe on Skinny Taste... i had to try it.

So here it goes... with a little tweaking. Like i always say, i live in the cornfields where fresh veggies are either non-existent or they cost you an arm and a leg. So i had to adjust some things

Ingredients:

• 1.5 lb 93% lean ground turkey
• 4 tsp olive oil, divided
• 3/4 tsp minced garlic
• 12 oz brussels sprouts, frozen and chopped with a sharp knife
• 2/3 cup onion, diced small
• handful of baby carrot, diced small
• 1 celery stalk, diced small
• 28 oz crushed tomatoes
• 1 bay leaf
• 10-15 shakes crushed red pepper (i love this stuff)
• kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
• 1 lb penne pasta

In a large skillet, add turkey over medium-high heat. When completely cooked through; set aside in a bowl.

With a sharp knife, cut the brussels sprouts into thin shreds.I did this while frozen. Surprisingly easy.
To the skillet, add 2 tsp of oil over medium heat. When hot, add the garlic and cook until golden (do not burn). Add shredded brussels sprouts, salt and pepper and sauté until tender crisp, set aside in another bowl.

To the same skillet, add remaining 2 tsp of oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrot and celery, stirring well to coat with oil. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables turn golden brown. 

Add crushed tomatoes, turkey, bay leaf, crushed red pepper, salt and fresh pepper to taste. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer about 30 - 40 minutes, or until sauce thickens.

Meanwhile, while sauce is simmering, put a large pot of salted water to boil for the pasta. Add the pasta to the water 10 minutes before the sauce is done and cook pasta al dente.

Drain and add the pasta to the skillet and toss with the sauce.

Add cooked brussels sprouts, toss and place in a large pasta bowl.

So good!!! There were plenty of leftovers. This dish reheats really well.

Mid Week Check-in Week 5

Wow oh wow oh wow... what a way to end the day.

Today started out as a busy day at work and just got busier... and then dinner hit. The boyfriend made ham and mashed potatoes and biscuits. Yummy! I hate to eat and run but i had to run home right after and let the dogs out since they had been inside all day... I have a heart.

And then the other shoe dropped...
I got a text message that read, "I was gonna talk to you yesterday and chickened out. I want to breakup. No i haven't cheated or anything like that..." yada yada yada.

Seriously?!?!? Seriously?!?!?!?

This was totally one of those moments... My ode to Sex and the City... this breakup felt like a post it moment... Nothing else to said, no response to texts of calls.

Week Four Results!!

Traveling and falling off the wagon are a natural part of the process. The last four days i have been in Kansas City visiting a close friend which meant that i was going to be eating out a lot and probably not the healthiest things than i could. The workouts were also non existent so it's time to face the music and see what the scale reads... 162lbs. Wahoo! I expected it to be much worse.

Anyways, back to the program. Today i pick Insanity back up and will repeat week 5 of Podrunner Intervals First Day to 5K since i did not do the Friday run. I am really enjoying this podcast and running is not that bad.

The clippings for this week focus on our abs. While i might not have easy access to gym equipment for the first one, the second and third ones are easy enough to do in your own house.

Here we go! Time to get back to work!

Mid Week Check-In Week 4

I've never had it done and they do it for free so i figured, why not?!?

Today i had my cholesterol checked. It's all a part of the Adult Fitness Program. In order to do this i had to fast for 12 hours which put a kink into my workout plans. I had intended to do Insanity's Cardio Power and Resistance but once i found out that i could not drink water (minimal) after 5:30pm i figured that that would be a bad idea.

So i went this morning and had my middle finger "milked" by a graduate student who was doing the test. LOL! After this i went and did the 5K podcast and ran 2 8-minute intervals. Good job me!

I figured that i had lost some water weight so out of curiosity i stepped on the scale... 160 lbs.

Fitness/Stretch of the Week involves a Bosu Ball. These are some easy things to do at home while watching GLEE, Revenge, Survivor, etc. Try doing these during an entire commercial break... it's tougher than it seems.

Have a fabulous rest of the week!

A DILEMMA with an easy solution

For those of you who don't know my personally, i will let you in on a secret. I work with students, more specifically college-aged students at the university. In my every day path i tend to deal with attitudes, dumb decisions, and lack of understanding which can lead to one feeling negative and jaded about people in general. Actually, i love my job, i love seeing the "light bulb" turn on as a person "gets it" and to watch them develop into a responsible person. That being said here is the dilemma...

A former student  has fallen on hard times and due to circumstances beyond his control he had to leave his residence hall. People here on campus have gone above and beyond to help him get settled and adjusted but it seems like there is more that we can do. He lacks all of the basics that many of us acquire over the course of living on our own (i.e. couches, dining room table, blankets, pillows, etc.). The thing that hit me the most was the fact that he does not have a bed. He is currently sleeping on a borrowed air mattress which while it works, is no way to ensure a good night's sleep. This just tore at my heart. After some searching it appears that Big Lots sells twin mattresses for 100 dollars.

So this got me thinking... how could i "friendraise" over a hundred dollars so that i could get him a bed and some sheets and blankets for the winter months? And then it hit me... For the past year i have been saving for a Louis Vuitton purse and have been setting aside savings every month in an effort to buy my purse when i go out to California this winter. I almost have enough for the purse that i want which those of you that understand the power of the LV probably have an idea of how much money that is.

A simple question with an easy answer...
Do i sacrifice a year long goal for the needs of another?

Simple Answer.... YES!
I think that i will also add in one of those bed-in-a-bag things and some pillows. Apparently the guy has NOTHING, but soon he will have a bed.