Shake Weight

Alrighty...

So, you may be wondering what took me so long to start the shake weight challenge. Well, the truth is that I lost it and it has just reappeared. So, I’ve taken my arm measurements and the challenge is to begin on Monday, April 30th, 2012. At that time I will tell you what my starting measurements are and maybe a few other things. I've decided not to put an amount of days to the challenge, instead i'm going to see how long it takes to lose two inches from my arms.

Read ya later!

Size Down

Today, I went into Burlington Coat Factory in search of a dress for an event that I will be attending on Saturday. I found a dress that was in the style that I've wanted for some time and I thought it was cute. I tried it on and for the first time, I thought to myself "wow, I look thin"... What a wonderful feeling that was. I asked my daughter to zip the dress for me, which was a size 16 and to my suprise and excitement, not only did it easily zip, there was extra room. OMG!!! Zumba did take me down a size. "I WILL NOT BE SHAKEN BY WHAT THE SCALE SAYS"...




Thoughts:

I'll post my starting arm measurements tomorrow. Wednesday I am going to officially start working the shake weight. Stay tuned!

Zumba Challenge Results

Hey everybody… I know that it’s been much longer than 10 days and I haven’t made an entry since day 8 of my challenge, but when life happens you learn to prioritize and role with the punches. With that being said, let me first say thank you to everyone for your comments and words of encouragement. You may never really understand how much you helped me; particularly during those days when I just really didn’t want to work out. Sometimes I didn’t even want to eat right. The hardest part of this challenge for me though has been eating 5 small meals a day and logging it. Logging is dreadful, but useful. I think I’m going to try to make a habit of it.

Facts:
The Zumba 10 Day Challenge, really does work; IF you work it. You have to follow the rules and do the work outs. I did not lose the 6 lbs that I was hoping to lose though. In fact, I actually lost, gained and loss again. BUT… I toned and gained muscle. The biggest plus for me was the noticeable difference in the appearance of my stomach. My love handles; effectually known as (Pookie &  Ray Ray) have gone down and the pouch is not so poochie if you know what I mean. (Ladies you know what I’m talking about) If I thought it appropriate I would’ve shown you a picture of my bare tummy before and after, but I don’t, so you’ll have to settle for this side by side of days 5 and 10. See it for yourself… All in all, I am pleased with my results and intend to continue on with Zumba. Once I reach my next mini goal I’m going insane with Shawn T’s Insanity. But for now, I’m going to continue with Zumba add nightly yoga and get serious about my arm workout. So, if anyone has any suggestions on how to tone my wings (arms) please let me know quick, before I fly away. Next challenge, ARMS…. I think I’m going to put the “SHAKE WEIGHT” on display… What do you guys think about that?

              

 Look at the difference in my face, midsection and inner thighs… I can see it, can you?

Leave me a comment.

Zumba Challenge Day 8

Muscle weighs more than fat???? Yeah Yeah, but weight increase is still upsetting muscle or not. Wouldn't you agree? So, I weighed in today and i'm up by 1.3lbs. Now, I can see the difference in my appearance, but I don't think that I've gone down a size and I only have 2 more days to do so. Hmmm!!!

Now, I will not deny that Zumba is fantastic, I love the workouts and always work up a sweat. I am starting to feel my muscle tighten up and the jelly isn't jiggling as much (LOL)... My baby boy is a good gage as to how well I'm doing in trimming the fat so to speak, because he has to search hard for the soft squishy spots. "One thing I know about babies’ is they love fat"-Aibileen from The Help.

•8:45 Breakfast: South Western Omelet w/Portabella Mushrooms

•9:30****RIPPED****

•11:10 Snack: Chocolate Peanut Butter Bar

•12:22 Lunch: 1 Cup Lobster Bisque w/sherry

•Snack: Cheese Dip & Pita Chip

Thoughts:

My next step in the journey after this is to tackle these arms. Any suggestions?

www.authortebest.com

Zumba Challenge Day 5

Day 5: I'm Half Way There

I “Ripped” it today. One hour goes by quickly, especially when I take my Raspberry Ketone. I posted a video on my newly created “Video” tab, hint hint, check it out. You can also see it on YouTube at www.youtube.com/whatsreallyrealtv I do answer your questions if you ask and I might just do it via video. So, today was a good day. I don’t have very many “bad” days because your day is what you make it. Here’s what I ate today.

            8:00 Yerba Mate

            9:15 Breakfast: South Western Omelet w/1 slice of gouda (won’t do that again)

            10:10 Work Out ****Ripped****

            2:10 Lunch: 4oz Pork Loin ½ cup Butternut Squash Soup (running behind schedule)

            5:35 Snack: Fat Free Chocolate Pudding

             7:00 Dinner: 1 Slice Extra Cheese Pizza (I know…)

Take note: When you get off schedule it’s easy to make poor food choices… I did not exceed my calories for the day, but I certainly could have done better.

Cons & Thoughts

 I almost did it… I almost had a cup of coffee today. It’s not against the rules to have it, but I’m trying to prove that I can go without it. But, I’m thinking that I’m going to get low fat, soy something from Starbucks tomorrow.

Q & A

@Theo: I know that you don’t like eggs, but I would encourage you to try Egg Beaters. That’s what I’m having in the morning. I don’t care for eggs anymore since having my C-section, but I do like this. I don’t think it tastes like or even looks like eggs. The other thing that I would suggest is oatmeal. Whatever you choose to eat, you have to eat breakfast. I noticed that the weight comes off better when I eat breakfast. I can’t explain it, but it’s true.

~Later 

Zumba Challenge Day 4

Day 4: BIG NEWS…. I'M ALREADY DOWN 3 POUNDS…

Today's workout was "Exhilarate" 1 hour and I was really getting into it. Dancing like a rock star, until my DVD started skipping. Oh heck to da no. We're going to have to do something about this and quick. I love this series so much I would pay to replace one.

• 8:00 Breakfast: South Western Egg White Omelet
  
• 9:30 WORKOUT***ZUMBA EXHILARATE***
  
• 10:47 Snack: Blueberry Yogurt & Granola
  
• 12:20 Lunch: Potatoes & Leek Soup
  
• Snack: Strawberry Yogurt & Granola
  
• 6:06 0inner: String Bean Casserole & 4oz Pork Loin
  

I'm doing much better with getting my water in.

Cons & Thoughts

I want a cup of coffee so badly. I don't think I'm going to make it another 6 days without having a cup. I'm thinking that I will substitute a snack or two for a small cup of coffee, I'll even measure my creamer this time. We'll see!

Zumba Challenge Day 3

Okay so we're at day three and guess what, I did not log my meal times. To be honest I barely logged my meals. I can tell you that I did my work out. Today's workout was "Ripped" a 1 hour workout in two parts, toning and sculpting. I enjoy the workout, it's the first time that I made it through that entire DVD. I'm wondering if I'll feel any soreness tomorrow.

I don't know why I was feeling so lacks about keeping track today. Actually, yeah I do. I was busy doing laundry and other housework. You guys get the point; I'm still doing what I need to do.

By the way, last night's dinner meeting was actually at Maggiano's if you follow me on facebook you already know that though. I won't confess unless you specifically ask me to do so. The one thing I've learned on this journey is not to hold onto past failures or mistakes, because doing so will cause you to lose focus on the victories of tomorrow. With that being said, I'm back on track tomorrow.



Cons & Thoughts

Do you guys really want to see what I'm eating and at what times or is that too much information? Working out every day is easy for me, because I've decided that I MUST take time to take care of me in order for me to be of use to others.

Coffee

Coffee my friend

Oh how I miss you

I don't want to admit it, but

Without you in the morning I'm feeling

BLUE

Coffee my friend

I've been drinking tea

And you were right

Tea just isn't for me

Unless of course it's mixed with lemonade and lots of Dixie (sugar that is)

No Starbucks Iced Caramel Macchiato

No Keurig quick brew

No Robot Coffee

SIGH…

Coffee my friend I miss you

 

Am I the only die hard coffee fan out here? What's your favorite creamer? What's your favorite flavor? Does coffee keep you awake? (not me) 7 days and I'm going to Starbucks gold card in hand…

Zumba Challenge Day 1

Okay… It’s 6:22pm and I’m feeling great!

So the workout for today was “Activate” which is a 40 minute workout. It happens to be the workout that I’ve been doing for about a week now, so I’m familiar with it. I have to admit that it went by faster than it normally does. Perhaps because I am going at it with purpose and determined to see results. Here’s what today’s schedule looked like.

Ø 7:10 am Yerba Mate Tea

Ø 8:25-8:34 Breakfast: South Western Egg White Omelet

Ø 9:15-10:05 WORKOUT***ZUMBA ACTIVATE***

Ø 10:10-10:35 Snack: ½ cup fat free yogurt, 6 blueberries & 6 raspberries

Ø 11:54-12:37 Lunch: 3 Shrimp Dumplings (steamed) w/citrus sauce

Ø 2:45 Snack: 12 Coco Roasted Almonds

Ø 4:27-5:19 Dinner: Small Spring Salad w/balsamic vinaigrette, Chicken Thigh w/sauce ½ cup String Bean Casserole

I am still working on getting all of my water down. I have about 64oz left to drink before bed.

Cons & Thoughts

I’ve given up coffee for the next 10 days, which is a bummer. I sorely miss my large cup of coffee, flavored with my favorite creamer and NO sugar. I just wanted to see if the amount of coffee I drink really makes a difference in my journey. And I want to be sure that I don’t have an addiction to coffee. I’ve also decided to get back on a proper sleep schedule, which means I’ll be in bed by 9pm. I’ve been noticing that I’ve been having some baggage under my eyes; ugh…

I am looking forward to tomorrow. My workout is going to be more intense, because it’s being kicked up to 1 hour. I wonder how I’m going to keep the baby at bay for that long. Perhaps I should get up at 5am to do it… Sike… Please leave me your thoughts and comments; I need your words of encouragement.

Oh yeah!!! I’m trying out “Raspberry Ketone” it’s supposed to boost energy and increase metabolism. I heard about it on Dr. Oz. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Back On Track

These past few days have been a little on the stressful side and to be honest I allowed myself to get off track. I did not make wise food choices; instead I just ate whatever I wanted to eat without any forethought. That is a bad practice on many levels. I could give excuses as to why I've been eating poorly, but one excuse leads to another and in order to maintain control one mustn't make excuses. With that being said, I've decided to embark on a journey with "Zumba". I am taking the 10-Day Accelerated Fat Loss (challenge) Program. I've decided not to post any pictures until the end of the 10 days. At that point I will post a tri-photo.

What can you expect from this portion of the blog?

• In order to keep myself in check, I am going to be completely honest about everything that I eat and drink.
  
• I will post my thoughts about that day's workout as well as what the workout was and if I was able to complete the entire workout.
  

Well wish me luck… I need to lose the small amount of weight I put on plus a few more. I hope to lose at least 6 pounds during this process. Let's see!!! Leave your thoughts comments and suggestions. NO NEGGATIVITY IN THIS SPACE…