I suck

I suck. lol. I SUCK! I have zero control at this point, I feel like. What happened?!!

Trimspiration

 

Original July Goals:

• Reach 150 lbs
• Workout 3-4 times a week at least
• Get back down to a 10 minute mile run
• Go back to only drinking once a week at most!
• Don't exceed my calorie budget this month at all...!
• Budget for cheat days... or work off the extra calories

 Update on Goals:

• I'm approaching it now, but the first half of the month was bad. 
• I'm working towards it. Getting back on track!
• Not getting to a 10 minute mile yet
• After two weeks of more splurging, I am getting my drinking under control NOW
• I'm doing decent about my calorie budget. Better this week than I have in the past 6-8.

Trimtastic

Here are some infographics I've pinned lately that I have found helpful. :)

TIU Bikini Series Entry (150th post!)

I'm Naomi, I'm 24 years old and from Chicagoland. Tone It Up changes lives every day, and mine is no exception. When I found #TIU in February 2013, I was just starting my healthy initiative and was struggling with self image problems. My boyfriend revealed to me that he was concerned about my weight. It felt like my worst dreams had come true and I honestly felt helpless. I cried a lot and regretfully attempted to basically starve myself for a few days right before I found TIU. I wanted to lose weight and look good but despite any efforts I ever made in the past, I never looked like I wanted to. I joined the community and was floored by the positivity and encouragement from everyone.

I initially didn't plan to try the #BikiniSeries because I was scared to fail. I thought I'd be disappointed in myself if I didn't get the results that I saw other girls get and I didn't want to put myself through that. But at the last minute I decided to just try it. The check-ins made it fun to work. The TIU meal plan (And plan updates during the bikini series) were incredibly helpful! PFP pancakes and TIU shots are part of my every day now.

I'm thrilled to say that I did get the results I wanted. I lost 13 lbs during the bikini series (I went from 167 to 155) and my body is more tone than I've ever seen it! People at work are asking me every day, even up to today, what I'm doing to transform my body and I tell them to look up TIU. Beyond the weight loss and physical side of things, the bikini series did something more for me.

I feel empowered. I was so sure, before it started, that it wasn't something for me. I kept thinking I don't do stuff like that. But now I do! I did it! Setting daily goals and then accomplishing them day after day taught me how to reach longer term goals. In January I was at 180 lbs, now I'm down to 155 with a whole lot more muscle, and I can't wait to keep going! People around me see the confidence in me and I've been able to inspire friends, family members, and co-workers (and my boyfriend!) to try healthier options. My skin looks better, I'm more awake, I'm confident, I'm empowered, I'm healthy, and I 'm happy! I learned to stop comparing myself to others and be happy with who I am and what I, personally, accomplish. I shouldn't belittle my own accomplishments by comparing them to others. The TIU community taught me that. :) <3 <3

Trimspiration!

• M1: 1 PFP slim pancake w/ black tea
• M2: 1/2 grapefruit
• M3: Turkey on Wheat w/ green beans
• ((air popped popcorn again to watch bachelorette. My new weakness?))
• M4: Protein Smoothie
• M5: Antioxidant Salad

Ran 1 mile this morning after M1. Then dived into more book editing. It's going so great and I'm incredibly excited for the progress. I talked to my boyfriend about how he didn't follow through with his promise... He told me he's reward me when I reached certain milestones and he didn't do anything for my 160 mile stone, which was my first big one. My next milestone is 150 (changed from 140), then 140 is another, and 130 if I make it there. WHEN I make it there, I mean. He said we can book a weekend beach vacation so that's motivation for me to start kicking butt and get down a few more lbs!

Trim Tuesday

I don't know what I'm going to do today. I still cant get motivated to get to the gym. Every day it's something else. It's raining, I have no gas, my music player is dead, my workout clothes are dirty, I got no sleep the night before. What's it gonna be today I wonder? lol.

100 lunges today + 20 minutes cycling and 35 minutes elliptical.

100 TIU Tummy Tucks for Trim Tuesday

I was loving my results on Sunday and I can only hope that the plank position has a lot to do with it, as my fellow blogger and TIU sister, Susan,  said. I asked her how she got her gut to finally slim down and she told me to do lots and lots of plank workouts. I tried to add as much plank as possible. I definitely could have done more, but arguably the little bit that I have added in the past month seems to have helped? Either that or my calorie uppage. It seems crazy, but something changed....! At least going off of my Sunday progress picture which I was so impressed to even see myself.

I don't want to see my results revert back, like they always seem to. I'll have awesome progress one week, then the next 3-4 weeks will appear like nothings changed, then I'll have another dramatic change that seems random. I don't like that! I just want to steadily look better!

So, 100 TIU Tummy Tuck Tuesdays all month! I might add a "100 TIU Hugs" for Healthy Thursdays. We'll see. :) I've grown a bad habit of drinking again. I think it's the stress of things, but sadly every day for 4-5 days at least I have been thinking "Well, I know one thing that will make me feel better for awhile!" I have stuck to wine yesterday and today, but I am disappointed in myself a bit for indulging for....no reason.

I'm excited for tomorrow, though. I have off and I'm going to try to do a Wednesday-Runday before the rain starts (AGAIN!). Then I will continue reading "The Morganville Vampires" by Rachel Caine and editing "Displaced."

7DSD Day 6

So Memorial Day got me....! I was strong all day and ate perfectly, but then I got off work and my boyfriend had off...and we just wanted to relax. We watched "Gangster Squad" with Ryan Gosling and ordered a pizza, and drank a few (or a few more than a few). I went to bed at 7:30pm and woke up and midnight from a storm and couldn't get back to sleep. :/ It's going to be a long day! Got my coffee brewing, and trying to figure out how to approach today. I'm beyond frustrated with the weather. The only thing in the 7 day forecast right now is rain and 60 degree temperatures. I can't take this any longer. I CANT TAKE IT.

I was in the best routine of running at the forest preserve every day and this bad weather totally threw me off and I can't seem to get motivated to go to the gym. I prefer running outside now! Hah, thanks #k&k.

Today I will eat my 6th day meal plan for the 7DSD. I cant complain about my results now though since I messed up day 3 and 5. Lol. But I will complete this! I will count this as my official first time, no matter how bad I messed it up. :) I have a chart to remind me how many tasks I did not fulfill that the 7DSD asks us to, so next time I can simply try to do better.

Greece Week

100 squat challenge today!

Workouts to get still this week. YIKES.

• Cowabunga Workout X3
• Surfers Paradise X3

• Bridal Babe X1 + 30 minutes Cardio
• Santorini Bikini X3 + 20-30 minutes cardio
• Malibooty X3 + Bikini Cardio
• 45 min cardio
• 20 min cardio + Surfers Paradise X3
• Get active with a friend
• Sunday Runday!

Today I worked 10 hours. :/ I didn't want to, I still cant shake the exhaustion and the bloating is really getting to me. Abs is my focus this month, and I was seeing great progress until this bloating settled in. A bunch of my TIU sisters suggested I up my calorie intake to at least 1700, since I burn 500-600 most days, because the minimum should be 1200. I was way confused all along about how to cut... I thought I had to workout in addition to only eating the minimum in order to lose 2 lbs per week and that was working at first but sure enough, it has stopped. I've always questioned my energy level as well.... I try to avoid energy drinks and coffee doesn't seem to do it. I also tried B12, but that didn't seem to help. I didn't get what was wrong with me!! The ultimate reason I am inclined to agree with them is not that I feel hungry all the time or feel that I'm starving myself (on the contrary! I eat nutrient dense foods and get way more out of the foods I eat than I was before this healthy initiative)... No, the reason I think they're right is because my fat % has increased meaning my body is holding onto fat because it thinks it's being starved. I guess this is what people mean when they say "listen to your body." Also that I'm tired a lot!

I'll admit, I feel really weird deciding to up my calories when I feel heavy, bloated, and fatigued and the weight has been creeping up again. I just want to say I'm not giving up on the weight loss! This is not an intent to make things easier on me for awhile, I just want to see results for all the hard work I've been doing in workouts... Plus, I don't like how tired I've felt the past two days. And then last week I had that headache that wouldn't pass. Yeah, something has been up and I'm hoping that upping my calories will resolve the problems. I don't want to become lax with my food journaling though, so I decided I will try this for 4-6 weeks. I'll assess  this decision on 6/5, 6/19, and 7/3 (if so needed) to make sure I don't lose track. I don't want to get too anxious about the weight, but I do want to make sure my bodies getting what it needs.

Overnights & Cubs Game

Well I was going to attend a Cubs game tonight but the plans fell through. I'll try to just think of it that it was for the best... no temptation to drink! I cheated hardcore on Friday for my birthday. Plus it took me all weekend to recover from that drinking night so really that drinking night turned into a weekend derailment which unfortunately was followed by an overnight shift (thankfully reduced to only 1, instead of 2) which always derail me.

Today it's hot out (yay) but it's also humid (boo!). I tried to go jogging for 30 minutes but I ended up walking for 40 minutes. I couldn't seem to catch my breath but at least I tried to get it in!

I did 4 miles at work, too, so total today I was at 7.30 miles. I'm already at 17.06 miles for the goal of 100 by summer! Woot!

Tonight I might have a couple beers with my boyfriend. We were pretty excited to go to a Cubs game but since it didn't work out I bought him a sixer of one of our fav. summer beers. If he's in a good mood and we are getting along, I might possibly indulge in two beers with him. But, if like most days, he's cranky then I'll just skip on the booze and try to go on another jog later when it cools down. :)

New Zealand Week

I'm having a blast with all the #bikiniseries workouts! I'm pushing myself every single day. I got my mile down to 10 minutes! I cant wait to push myself to do a 9 minute mile. I work on it every sunday runday.  In high school the best time I ever got was 12 minutes. :)
I dont think I'm losing weight anymore because I definitely don't feel lighter. It could be muscle. It could be lack of sleep. I know last time I started to gain I ended up dropping off all the sudden and it'd be cool if that happened again but I'm really happy with my progress in my workouts all the same. And every day people are telling me I'm looking so much slimmer that I cant really focus on the scale numbers anymore. I'm considering adjusting my goal weight after last weeks post on muscle. If that's what I can look like being 130-140 lbs, I'd rather aim for that than be really skinny and soft at 120 lbs. I want the healthy muscle and lean body more than I want to be able to say I'm 120 lbs. lol. I'm not changing anything quite yet though, but I am leaning towards changing my goal.. possibly towards reaching my ideal measurements rather than an ideal weight. We shall see!

Also, I've reached 2500 page views. Thanks to anyone who is reading! I'd love to read anyone else's journeys so feel free to contact me with your blog or your story. :) We're in this together!

Today for my workouts I did the Bikini Cardio for 45 minutes on the elliptical. The first round was at levels 5 and 8. The second round was at 6 and 9. Then I did 30 minutes cycling and 20 minutes jogging. PLUS Surfers Paradise w/o X3.

Also, to work on some of my monthly goals,  I challenged myself to doing a 1min plank 5X today (technically I held plank for 1min X8 today since it was in the surfers paradise routine), and succeeded! Figures the one day I challenge myself to plank, it will be in the daily workout. :)

Australia Week

I missed my saturday workouts but I made up the Itty Bitty Bikini Abs one on Sunday along with my Sunday run. (25 minutes, 310 calories) It felt really good to run outside when it's warm! Then I saw that it's going to be warmer out most of the week!! On the down side my monthly is coming and I can already feel the bloat and aches coming on.

Yesterday I pushed through the bloat and did 50 minutes cycling plus Sunkissed Abs X2, today I'm going to do my best. Luckily today the Bikini series only asks for 20 minutes of Cardio in addition to the Sunseeker workout and Sunkissed Abs. :) I have a run planned with my girl, Janie, so that should take care of that. My only goal is to get through those and I'll be proud of myself.

Triangle, Tip Toe, + Warrior

Sunday seems to have become my yoga day. I hate going to the gym on weekends because it's so crowded and there are so many kids running around. All morning I was trying different yoga poses and routines (some from netflix, some from youtube). I was able to do a headstand for 20 seconds with no wall support. I tried again later that day but flipped onto my back. Lol. I'm glad nobody was there to see that!

Yesterday Mu upper back/shoulders hurt so bad! I think it was from all the strength training I had to do to balance my body for the headstand. That or its from the one time I flipped over. :) So I was only able to do 35 minutes at the gym yesterday which is better than nothing! And, again, no 30DS was completed because a lot of the strength routines in it focus on shoulders and  back so just in case I did tweek something from flipping over I didn't want to hurt it more by pushing myself.

I think yoga will be really great if I can keep with it. I don't know much about it but all I hear are amazing things! A year or two years from now I'd love to be able to do certain yoga poses and look back at this and have a good laugh at my excitement to even get into position, though not elegantly.

I made a board on pinterest to inspire me to keep trying more yoga. The benefit in restorative yoga are immense but personally I'm more interested in yoga strength and balance. Power Yoga is probably the closest one I can identify. I found this little infographic that is pretty funny. I was surprised to hear a few weeks ago that there were 4 types of yoga... then to see this, I couldn't help but laugh at my ignorance. It'll be enlightening to learn all the types and see which one suits me most.

Headstands

So on Sunday I thought...

 "I'm going to try a headstand!

 And I did it! My first attempt I got up and then two more attempts and I was able to hold myself up. Pretty cool since I definitely did not expect to be able to do it. After I had quickly conquered my feat, I decided to google the benefits. It being something I can do daily, I figured why not know what the rewards may be?! As I read through them, I found myself wanting to facebook or twitter every single benefit. "2. Headstands increase nutrients and blood flow to the scalp, decreasing onset of grey hair. Some yogis say that it will even convert grey hair back to its natural color!"  #bloodisflowing #notauntflow) Seriously though, there are a TON of benefits! The picture was too funny not to post. If sweat is sexy, I don't know what this is! Maybe one day I'll be able to do some yoga poses like her. And have a calmer, more relaxed look on my face. ha!

Pilates Tuesday!

I started doing Pilates again. I use the "Intermediate Mat Workout: with Ana Caban. I really like her training.  It felt so great to do Pilates again. In high school (probably my sophomore year) I used to do it every day! I remember my sister and cousins telling me how impressed they were that I did it every day and how long/lean I was looking. I always thought "It's not that hard, just lay on the floor and do it" Lol. Well turns out it is kind of that hard. 

It felt amazing to stretch out my legs after all the muscle I built in them last month.

Pilates is also, so far, the only workout I can manage to do at 230am so for now it has become my morning BC. It's not the best for cardio but it gets me stretched out and my blood flowing so it'll work!

Pilates is best for strengthening the core and improving posture. I definitely need work in both areas so it cant hurt! Plus it's something I actually enjoy doing.

Today I did the TIU Cocktail Dress Workout before I set out for the day at the hospital. Today is my sisters surgery. I tried to meal prep but it didn't really turn out. Pray for my sissy! 

Balancing Act

Hesitant to post because I'm having issues with all the pictures on my blog. New ones won't upload and old ones have disappeared. It's really frustrating because I put a lot of time into tracking my progress.

So for workouts this week I've got my ab routine every morning before work w/a little cardio to get my heart rate going, cardio routine after work, and arm toning routine at night.

Also trying to stay mindful when I'm just relaxing. Not all the time but at least half of the time. Instead of just watching TV, I try balancing on the stability ball on my knees (great for inner thighs!) or I'll do some resistance band work or stretching.

Trim & Tone Tuesday

I have been trying to do a quick workout every morning right when I wake up. When it's warm I'd really like to see myself running (except on work days because I work at 4am). But for days that I do work, I'd still like to get up a smidge earlier and do a quick workout. TIU calls it "Morning Bootycalls." For the next couple days I have off work and will be able to try and make it habit. Hoping that if I do it 3 days straight, I'll want to do it more going forward.

Here are some links to morning bootycalls!

1. TIU Bikini Strap Workout
2. TIU MaliBooty Workout
3. TIU Ball Workout
4. TIU Sunkissed Abs Workout
5. TIU Summer Slim Workout
6. TIU Love Your Legs Workout
7. TIU Holiday Hottie Workout
8. TIU Quickie Workout
9. TIU Hotel Room Workout
10. TIU Gettin Slim w/out the Gym 
11. TIU Cowabunga Workout 
12. TIU Sandcastle Workout
13. TIU She Sells Sea Shells Workout
14. TIU Itty Bitty Bikini Workout
15. TIU Bikini Beach Bum Workout

And here are my thigh progress pics. I have to say I hardly did the DVD that I was supposed to. I like how my inner thighs are shaping up but I don't like the shrinking of my bum. Just gotta keep toning!

Yesterday I did my 45 minute cardio session (35 minutes cycling varying levels 8-12 & 10 minutes treadmill, 3.5mph, 4% incline). Today  I'm doing the Summer Slim Workout for my bootycall,  plus 30 minutes cardio (probably cycling again.) I really like how I feel after the cycling and I remember last time that I made cycling my cardio of choice, my stomach toned up... I guess because as you cycle you're kind of also doing little crunches. Also doing the "Sweet 16" for the Drop 10 Challenge. I was going to start last week, but I had trouble finding the calendar on their website. Didn't locate it until the weekend.

Fashion Inspired

 I wasn't really sure what to post today so I will just post on my top reasons to get trim! Jillian Michael's has suggested that it's important to write down our reasons for wanting to lose weight, specifically. It can help us in staying focused and motivated.

1) Feel healthier and more energized
2) Look good in clothes
3) Look good naked
4) Have higher confidence
5) Minimize health risks later in life
6) Be more active, outgoing

This summer, probably in June, we are spending a weekend at the Warren Dunes in one of the cabins. Then in late August we are planning a week long trip to Seattle. I want to go because its so artsy and my boyfriend wants to go for sports related reasons (as well as music due to his overly-enthusiastic view that Seattle grunge rules all. AKA, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Mother Love Bone) And for my birthday in May we are supposed to go see Big Fish on Broadway in Chicago. I'm so excited to buy a couple new outfits and dress really cute for these outtings. It's something for me to look forward to and focus on when I'm working out.

Also, I am really excited to start the Drop 10 challenge that starts tomorrow! I can't wait to see what it entails. I'm going to try really hard to stick to it and have awesome results!

JM's workout suggestion

About a week and a half ago I posted about Jillian Michael's suggested workout routine, here. I have not followed up on this yet but I still want to give it a shot because I am worried about neglecting a part of my body. I have been trying out her Killer Buns and Thighs workout and I have only done level one 3 times, but each time I hurt so bad afterwards! And it's not just my butt and thighs that hurt, my arms and shoulders hurt too because she has us in plank position for a lot of the workout. I think the next time I do it I'll attempt level two since March is really running away from us! I want to get in at least 3 level two workouts and 4 level three workouts. As she always says, you only get out of a workout what you put into it! 

So about her workout suggestions... I made these quick reference polyvore images to help me remember which workouts she wants me to do each day. I think I will add them in addition to my cardio and thigh DVD workouts. Maybe I'll just do 2-3 sets of 10 to get in the habit, and then as time goes on I can put more effort into it and start seeing more results.  I often have trouble remember what a "Bent over high row is" or a "seated lat row" so I thought this might help me get it done!

And I think on Friday I will post some thigh progress pictures. I don't think much will show but that will mark the middle of the month and I better be at least 1 workout into level two by Friday.

So tonight starts another series of overnights at work. :/ I wasn't going to take part in them because my sister was scheduled for surgery but that got postponed so now I have to do the overnights. It really bothers me how it throws off my sleeping schedule and eating habits. If I wake up at 8am tomorrow (which is wishful thinking, I'll probably get up at 5 or 6)... Then Ill eat breakfast by 9, lunch by 1, and dinner by 5. Then... take a nap till 9pm, and start work at 10pm? Do I avoid eating during the overnight, get home at 630am, sleep and pretend when I wake up around noon on Wednesday that its breakfast time? Then I'm overnight again Wednesday and Thursday, get home at 630am on Friday (which technically counts as my day off which is BS if you ask me)... then Saturday off and back to 4am by Sunday. It's really frustrating and it cannot be healthy! The best approach I can think of it to have 6 small meals on Tues/Wed/Thur. I don't want my body to get confused and think I'm starving it and then start storing fat for survival when really I'm just trying to get through another lame shift at work. Lol. I figure this might be a situation that 6 small meals/snacks could work, because I'm hardly ever putting my body into sleep mode.


UPDATE: hit a mile stone at the gym today! I jogged at 4.5 mph for 25 minutes! A month ago I wouldn't jog at all, and 2 weeks ago I started trying 5 minute increments of jogging at 4.0 or 4.2. Today I went for it and it felt great! :)

Thighs & Tummys

There is a website that shows different types of tummys and I have come to the conclusion that I have a stress tummy. In response to this, I have focused on getting my sleep and been trying to include yoga or pilates AT LEAST once a week to de-stress. I took the images from the site and made this quick graphic on polyvore.com to illustrate the differences between the bellys. I added the lines because I was having trouble distinguishing the bloated and stress belly. The stress belly sinks in more then poofs out at the bottom, while the bloated belly is just wider and starts poofing out almost immediately. The website says a bloated tummy is often flat in the morning and swells by the end of the night. I experience that sometimes, but I wouldn't say most days. The stress belly is for "over-achievers" and people who might often skip meals, or experience IBS which may cause bloating. Anyway, I believe I have a stress belly.

The website also lists tips for each belly type which is kind of cool. I'd suggest you check it out!

Also, I started my March focus workouts targeting my thighs. I apologize for the pictures, but I think it's kind of necessary if I want to compare before the workouts and after. I bought Jillian Michael's Killer Buns and Thighs DVD and did my first one on Monday. It was hard! I can't imagine doing this all month and not seeing a change in my thighs!!  The DVD has three parts; level one, level two, and level three. I think I'm going to spend 1 week on level one (Doing it Mon/Wed/Fri) and then I'll spend one week on level two, and the last two weeks of March on level three so I get the optimum results. Currently I'm doing the easiest version of the moves because even though the section is for beginners, it's not for real beginners like me! These moves are hard and by the middle of the workout, my thighs didn't want to do what I was trying to get them to do. lol. I'll post a picture at the end of the month with my results.