Free! For Food & Fitness "Fun"

After that whole Tracy Anderson thing I did last year, I swore I would never go on another diet. At the same time, having free reign doesn’t exactly help one slim down for summer, even if you’re being good about exercising.

Shreduary Finale: The Final Shredtch!

I did it! Thirty consecutive days of working out, except for those four days that I missed. That’s not half bad though!

2/3 Through Shreduary!

Wow, I can’t believe I’m two thirds of the way through. It hasn’t been easy, partially because I honestly have not been feeling that great. But I’m trying. Hopefully I’ll be able to finish strong.

Halfway Through Shreduary!

 I'm halfway through my shredventure! It's still really hard.

1/3rd Through Shreduary!

I’m 33.333% done with this workout adventure, and I still really like it. Below is a brief summary of the past week. I’m already noticing a difference in my body, but it hasn’t been easy.

1/10th Through Shreduary

 I'm three days into Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred.Here's how it's going, and what I think so far.

Shreduary!

I’ve been slowly working my way back into working out for the last month. I started out with just cardio at the gym, and increased the duration, frequency and intensity throughout the month of January. I’m kind of proud of myself for making it to the gym 3 days a week for the past few weeks, but not THAT proud. It’s time to step it up!

Tracy Anderson, I Give Up

If you’re wondering what ever happened to my diet & fitness quest, the answer is: I failed. I totally burned out. I couldn’t keep up with the 3+ hours of cooking and exercising every day, plus multiple grocery store trips. It was a very serious commitment, and I did the diet for about two weeks. I got halfway through the 30-Days.

Tracy Anderson, You Gotta Be Kidding Me!

You guys. Holy effing S. Tracy Anderson's 30-Day Method is sooo hard! Today is day ten, and it’s a good time to check in. I’m 1/3 of the way through. It’s been TOUGH. Also, I’m sort-of-almost getting to the point where I’m reevaluating.

Tracy Anderson is Totally Not Kidding: Part 3

So, first of all, I must have jinxed myself raving about the food yesterday, because my dinner was very, very not exciting: Steamed Chicken & Kale. Also, I overcooked the chicken a bit because I was busy making some of the other food for today, so that made it even worse. And today’s breakfast, a veggie omelet roll-up thing, was a total fail. The omelet stuck to the “ungreased nonstick pan” and it turned out like more of a veggie scramble. I cheated and added a tiny bit of salt, because I really didn’t like it at all. (Not a huge fan of eggs to begin with.) On the plus side, I made 3 meals and a snack in 1.5 hrs last night! Also, yesterday I didn’t feel hungry, and actually never even ended up eating my snack. That’s probably bad though. You’re supposed to eat everything so you have the right amount of nutrition. Still, I think having the protein in the morning really helped with hunger throughout the day. Day 2 was much easier than Day 1, except for the exercise, which was harder because I was sore. Day 3 is kind of tough so far, because I didn’t finish my eggs this morning and my Chicken Protein Soup lunch was kind of bland. I am seriously thinking about sneaking in a little salt here and there, just so I don’t give up completely. But later, I get to have applesauce and blueberries, and I can’t wait!

And now, it’s time to tell you about the workouts. Tracy Anderson is adamant that you exercise while dieting, so you don’t end up “skinny fat.” And not just any exercise, specific exercises, and you have to do all of them. There are two exercise components in The Method: Muscle Design and Cardio Complement, and you need to do both. Every day. She says if you do the muscle work, but not the cardio, you’ll end up with a layer of fat on top of the muscle. AND she says if you do the cardio but don’t do the muscle work, you’ll end up with saggy skin! The idea is to do all three, diet, muscle design, and cardio, together.

Tracy Anderson is Totally Not Kidding: Part 2

Tracy Anderson considers the meal plan her third component, but for me, it gets priority because it requires the most time and attention. And also, because it’s food!

Tracy Anderson is Totally Not Kidding: Part 1

Remember when I told you about The Water Secret, and then we were all going to start eating better and working out once a week in March, and then twice a week in April, and then three times a week in May? Did you do that? Me neither. I really wanted to but…

PSSST! Eat More Water.

The road to wellness is an uphill climb, and the road to un-wellness is a slippery slope, made slipperier by pork fat and ice cream. It doesn’t take much to get off course: An injury, an illness, a lot of late nights at work or up with baby, any kind of stress really. Conversely, too much fun can also cause problems. Skipping the gym for happy hour too frequently or going on a vacation can screw things up too. Anything that gets you out of your routine or causes you to be extra tired is a “really good” excuse to eat badly and avoid exercise.

Then there are the seasonal temptations: Holiday Season, Fondue Season, Cinnamon and/or Chocolate Heart Season, Girl Scout Cookie Season, Jelly Bean Season, Wedding Season, BBQ Season, and Halloween. The effects of many of these are easy to hide during Sweater Season, but then, before you’re ready: BIKINI SEASON.

My Blender Can Beat Up Your Blender

Unless, of course, you have a Vitamix. Or this thing.

In January, feeling a desperate need to clean up my act, I started researching juicers. I figured it would be an easy way for my husband and I to sneak more fruits and vegetables into our diets. Did you know when they say “Eat 5 servings of fruit and vegetables every day” they mean 5 servings of fruit AND 5 servings of vegetables? They do.