On a roll! (I think)

Well, I'm on a roll-----I've lost another 1 1/2 pounds for a total weight loss of 11 pounds. I'm actually amazed that I've been able to drop any weight since I've been sick the past week and a half and haven't been able to exercise at all. I have still been able to keep my caloric intake to 1600-1800 calories per day so I'm sure that's helped. I have been averaging about a 2 pound weight loss per week but that is starting to slow down since I haven't exercised. I start back with my Krav class tonight so I'm sure that will jumpstart my body. I walked on the treadmill at an incline on Tuesday, burning 250 calories for 30 minutes. Not bad considering that when I jog for 25 minutes at 5mph, I burn the same amount. Anyhow, I'm anxious about getting back into my exercise routine as I think that really helps me to lose an extra pound a week.


Last week, C also sold our old dumbbell set which took up a ton of room in our basement and never really got used. He purchased the Power Block weight set which is a space saver weight set and seems to work really well. You only have 2 dumbbells and you just adjust the weight (from 5-45 pounds) by moving a pin on the side. I'm hoping to try those out soon too! From what I've been reading, weight training is key in turning all of the "jiggly" flab into toned skin, especially after you've lost a good amount of weight. So, got to do the weight training at some point a couple of times a week. But right now, I'm concentrating on cardio to burn the fat.

The other thing that C and I have kind of stumbled upon with our healthier way of eating is that fiber is very key. We all know the importance of eating more fruits, vegetables, and protein but there isn't alot of hype about eating more fiber. C and I have made an effort to eat more high-fiber foods, such as Kashi Go Lean Crunch cereal (which is really yummy), Organic Oatmeal (so we don't have the high fructose corn syrup), High-5 Bread from Great Harvest Bread Co, wheat bread in general, brown rice, apples, broccoli, etc. We even have high fiber cookies!!!! (Kashi Oatmeal Dark Chocolate and they're very yummy----3g fiber PER cookie) Anyway, the thing we've found with focusing on fiber is that we feel full and we weigh LESS! My mom had told me about the cereal and Kashi snack bars as well as the oatmeal. We gave it a try and loved it, not knowing what it would do for us. What a nice surprise. Kathy Smith, a world renowned fitness expert, is also now emphasizing the importance of fiber in the diet. It's real important for me since colon cancer runs in my family and a high fiber diet helps to decrease the chances of this cancer.

A Good Cookbook

I checked out a copy of The Biggest Loser Cookbook from our local library. I have TONS of cookbooks (get that from my mom) and didn't really want to buy another one. So, I thought I could just check out this new one from the library and make copies of the recipes I thought I would like (since usually there are only a few handful from the recipe books I use anyway). Well, to my surprise, I've tried 5 recipes so far and love them all! This weekend C cooked Chicken Curry which is absolutely wonderful! Surprisingly it was very filling and low in calories. I made an Orange Broccoli Salad which is very yummy, low in calories, and very filling (great source of fiber too)! Night before last, we made Feta Stuffed Mushrooms for an appetizer and they were very good and filling as well, sitting at only 12 calories a piece! I've blogged about the Gramwiches which are very good. This time I've tried filling the graham cracker squares with strawberry Cool Whip instead of chocolate and I think I like it even more than the chocolate! Last night, I made Pecan Crusted Chicken which looked and tasted like a restaurant quality dish----so yummy! All you do is dip your chicken breast in egg white and then coat it in 2 tbsp of minced pecan pieces mixed with 2 teaspoons of parsley. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes and FABULOUS! If you're looking for a good cookbook with lots of low calorie, nutritious recipes, I would highly recommend The Biggest Loser Cookbook. I'm planning on buying a copy for our kitchen as we really like the recipes we've tried so far. Now I've just got to get rid of a couple to make room for this one!

On another note, I've lost another pound in my weight loss journey! I'm down 9 1/2 pounds now! I think exercise is definitely key! I jogged on the treadmill Sunday night for 30 minutes so I think that helps to keep my metabolism up and burn more calories. I was going to go to Krav last night but unfortunately I woke up with a stuffy nose, like J has had for the past several days. I rested and I think I may still need to do that for a couple of more days. Regardless, I'm not far away from the 10 pound mark so I'm very excited and plan to keep my caloric intake to around 1600 so hopefully by the end of the week, I'll be 10 pounds less! YEAH!

Exhausted!!!!

I have never been so exhausted as I am this morning! Last night I went to my Krav class and boy, the instructor ran us hard. As usual, he did the standard circuit training with knee tags, push ups, situps, jump squats, and scrawls. We did that series for about 15 minutes before we went onto punching the pad (had to use our boxing/training gloves). He has us do 2 sets of 25 jabs each on the right, left, and right/left combo. In between the sets, we had to do 10 pushups and then hold our position (on our hands and feet) for 10 seconds when we got done. After that series, we all got in a circle and rotated like a clock, switching whose pad we punched. The instructor told us that if anyone put their hands down during the punching circle, we would ALL have to do push ups (so needless to say, we were all trying to encourage everyone to keep their hands up!). I felt like I was in boot camp or something. Just when I thought things couldn't get worse, we went onto practicing knee punches (where you use your knee to punch the gut area). Of course our partners were holding the pads, but we did 4 series of knee punches (right, left, and continuous knees on each side). The instructor just couldn't let us rest inbetween knees, so he had us do 10 squats and hold it at the very end in the squat position. When I thought we were finally done for the evening (because it was 8pm and time for class to be over). He proceeded to have us do more jump squats (10, 8, 6, 4, 2 in that order) while holding it for 10 seconds in between. It was brutal!!!!! For the last 5 minutes we did stomach curls where we curled up in a ball and slowly to a count of 5, released into a straight stretch while keeping our legs and arms and head off of the floor. We did about 10 of these. We had to do a few extra because some people let their legs touch the floor and others released too fast (not to a count of 5). Lastly, he had us get in a plank position (where we are face down on our elbows and tips of our toes----kind of like what we had to do when we held our position after a push up but we were on our elbows rather than our hands). We then had to "walk" our hands and elbows up and down but not move our feet. I don't know if any of these descriptions make sense, but I'm sure you get some idea of how tough it was. It takes alot for me to sweat and last night I was soaked! I know I burned mega calories last night, which was good. I was planning on jogging today but I think I'm going to have to wait on that. I need a rest day for sure! My body just aches and I'm so tired. I know it has to be from last night's Krav Maga class. If you want a good workout that has a built-in trainer and is a good motivator, I highly recommend Krav Maga. Not only do you get a fantastic workout, but you also learn self-defense in the process which may help save your life. I know you may be reading this and wondering, "that's crazy that our class is like that", but as C has pointed out-----if I'm ever attacked, I need to have the stamina and endurance, if needed, to run or get away from my attacker. That's why some classes can be as tough as last night's. In my mind, I kill 2 birds with 1 stone, so I don't mind. It just hurts the next day! LOL

What Happened!!!!

Well, I have no idea what happened but I've apparently dropped another 2 1/2 pounds for a total weight loss of 8 1/2 pounds. Go figure! I'm not complaining by any means but it's hard to explain why 2 days in a row, I'm 2 1/2 pounds less, but on March 1st there was no fluctuation in weight. The fact that it's trending downward is encouraging so I feel confident that the 8 1/2 pounds will stick. Either way, I've been counting calories still (yesterday I was doing good to get to 1600) and exercising. I have questioned whether or not I'm getting a good workout at my Krav Maga (self defense) class but after last night, I have no further doubts. For the first 5 minutes we ran laps, then we did a series of situps, pushups, squats, scrawls, and knee tags (with scrawls if your knee got tagged). This lasted for 20 minutes so I got a good cardio workout. Then right after that, we went into practicing our punches on a bag. Not a passive exercise by any means!!!! We did this for about 15 minutes (which punching a bag burns roughly 400 calories for 30 minutes). We ended class with 10 minutes of side kicks, which again really worked my hip and gluteus maximus!!! I was beat when I left there. No need to worry about whether I'm getting a workout. I am!!!! So, I guess I just keep doing what I'm doing. It's getting easier to adhere to the 1800 calories per day food plan. It really has made me realize how much junk I was eating and how quickly those calories can add up and turn to fat. My pants do fit much nicer now, especially in the waist. There are none that are tight, most have some room in them but I haven't lost enough weight where I need a smaller size. I'll get there soon I hope! So, for now, I will keep on ,keeping on!

A Stump!

Well, I knew I would hit a stump sometime. I haven't lost any weight this week. Bummer. I did lose 2 last week so I'm not totally discouraged! I went to my Krav class once this week (instead of twice) and jogged on the treadmill for 25 minutes. I haven't done my Tae Bo Advanced this week and I don't anticipate I'll be able to. Our afternoon is scheduled today and tomorrow my in-laws are coming for a day. I really need to do the Tae Bo though to burn a high amount of calories. Although, I did hear Jillian on the Biggest Loser say this past week, that if you hit the punching bag for 30 minutes, it burns 400 calories. Gosh---I didn't realize that punching burned so many calories. That's good considering I go to Krav twice a week for an hour and end up punching for about 10 minutes (in addition to the first 15 minutes of intense warm-ups, i.e. situps, pushups, squat jumps, scrawls, etc.) I anticipate that I probably burn around 400 calories for the 45 minute Krav class each time. Also, C and I had ribeye steaks 2 nights (each one was 8 ounces and a whopping 700 calories). Those 2 days through me over my 1800 calorie limit----I was more around 2000 calories. Not enough for me to gain weight----still 300 less than what I need to maintain my weight, but I really need to stay at 1800 calories or below per day, to see at least 1 pound weight loss per week. Hopefully I can do better this upcoming week and get moving a little more.