Progress | July 23, 2012

I've been watching what I eat and recording it in the My Fitness Pal app {see example screenshot below} on my Android phone as well as doing at least 30 minutes of cardio 5-6 days a week for the past two or so weeks. It's a start. It's 5 pounds down. It's a stronger me. It's abs that are getting firmer. Within the first few days of watching what went into my mouth, I noticed my pants and skirts weren't so tight in the waist. That was the first sign that I wasn't taking in so much sodium and crap. Less bloat is great! I have also been drinking a crap load of water. And I started my weight training again. Baby steps.

I got a new bicycle helmet, new workout kicks, a new sports bra and I'll be bringing the old kicks and some workout clothes to the office this week so I can ride my bike or head over to Cherokee Boulevard for a long walk during the day. Making my fitness more accessible helps. And having the right food choices with me does too.

Oh, and I also also taking part in my friend Mary Weaver's Body Transformation Boot Camp for women over 40. It's a 5 week program with weekly calls, a private Facebook group, a private website and lots of great support from Mary herself. She's awesome! Visit her website at primefit.org for more information. Here is a link to a Q&A with Mary in MetroPulse.

It's on! I'll be posting more updates and insights every so often.

New Attitude!

Finally after a couple of months of skipping my workouts and cardio more often than doing it, I decided I had to take back my life. We've been really busy. Our photography business just celebrated its fifth full-time year and my glass business continues to grow. These successes mean more time working and running around. Being busy shouldn't be an excuse for me to not be working out and eating right. I know this. But I wasn't doing anything about it. 20 minutes squeezed in on the elliptical wasn't cutting it. Eating a protein bar for breakfast followed by a meatball sub for lunch wasn't cutting it. I finally hit my breaking point when I realized that none of my clothes were fitting and I was going to be spending a week at the beach in August.

This was me before the Tight Curves Transformation Challenge.
NOT ACCEPTABLE!

I won't be able to completely transform my body in a little over a month, but I can put my healthy habits back in place. I CAN DO THIS! I did it once, I can do it again. Yes, I am a little older and my body looks like hell {you may disagree but chances are you don't see me unclothed} and my body is just super pissed at not being as strong as it would like to be. So what am I going to do about it? I'm going to shed a huge portion of my body fat, increase my lean muscle and improve my body composition! Here's my plan...

1. Logging all my food and fitness into My Fitness Pal. It's a free app I downloaded onto my phone that lets me easily add to it no matter where I am.
2. Shopping for healthy foods, packing my food for the day and preparing meals at home unless absolutely impossible. {Impossible is when I get caught on location longer than planned or there just isn't a healthy option. This should be a rare occurrence.}
3. Drinking as much water as possible. All day. Every day.
4. Minimum of 30 minutes of cardio 6 times a week. Aiming for 2 cardio sessions a day to start.
5. Weight training a minimum of 3 times a week to train all body parts at least once.
6. Minimum of 100 crunches per day. These may be standard crunches, using the dip station or Roman chair.
7. Getting up from my chair every 30 minutes when I am in the office and hula hooping or going for a walk around Downtown Knoxville. I also have my balance ball, 5# dumbbells, stretch band and yoga mat in the office so there is always something I can do for 5 minutes every hour.
8. Not going to let anyone or anything derail me {short of an injury}. NEVER. EVER.
9. My fitness and 'diet' will continue to be my lifestyle until the day I die. Being strong and healthy is my goal. Being 'thin' is not the goal, but being fit and lean is. If you aren't interested in being lean and fit, I won't cram my lifestyle down your throat. Promise.
10. I will still enjoy the things I love...margaritas, beer, Hooters wings, pizza, Rita's gelati and frappes, but it will be in moderation. No cheat days per se, but I will be flexible. I'm being realistic.

So now you know what's going on with me and my health. I want to be in the best shape I can possibly be and I don't believe my husband when he says 'round is a shape'. So watch out world, Kitty Fantastic is going to be fit and fab at over 40 before you know it!

Me after eating clean and working out for six months.
ACCEPTABLE!

I'd love to hear from anyone committed to the same success or looking to take back their body and transform it whether you are over 40 or any age. YOU CAN DO THIS! I CAN DO THIS!

Peace out!
Lisa

My pants are too tight

I am not very happy. My pants are too tight.
This has to change. It will change now.
Why you ask? Operation Awesome 2012!
Follow me. Experience change!
Kitty. Fantastic.

This is me very happy. My pants were not tight.
This is where Operation Awesome 2012 will take me!

Hubs Joins Me on the Dark Side :: P90X

My husband, Allan, is finally working out with me, but only because it was 'his' idea. Friends of ours decided to do the P90X workout DVD series and Allan thought this sounded like great fun, after all, if Doug and Alicia could do it, he could too.  Allan was amazed at how much work the first few days of the P90X program have been, but if he sticks with it for the first 14 days he will be hooked. I am looking forward to spending even more quality time with Allan, as if working together wasn't enough! The best part of this being his idea is that I have a legitimate reason to nag.

Photo :: Lisa Mueller | ALM Photo

I will be following the P90X workout for the next 90 days as well as continuing with my daily cardio.  So excited to be trying something different especially something that most people can do in their home with little or no investment in equipment. I will be posting updates as well as some 'new' before photos for the this new phase of training.

I Am Committed

Or perhaps I should be committed...

I noticed I had not posted an update since September 2009 and it's been bothering me quite a bit that I have overlooked these updates. Admittedly, I fell off my fitness program somewhere around July 2009 and have fought to regain my sanity and my committment to fitness. I am now ready to throw my hat back in the ring (or my weights back on the bar) and up my workouts so I can get back to the level of fitness and physical appearance that I was enjoying a year ago. I know I can do it!

Most people give up eating right and working out when they achieve their goal weight or level of fitness because they don't realize how important it is for all the components to work together. I knew how important it is but still let myself get off track. Identifying the problem is the first step and I just want to let anyone else having issues with staying committed to know it happens to everyone at some point. Some folks just get further off track than others.

It's a simple equation:

Great nutrition + Fat-burning cardio + Muscle building weght training = A lean strong body

My commitment to myself is for a 30 to 45-minute fat-burning cardio session every morning with an extra 30-minute PM session at least three days a week. Weight training will be spread out to four to five sessions per week. My husband, Allan, would like to get in better shape and has obtained the P90X workout DVD series and I would like to incorporate his workout into my daily routine. I may have to adjust my weight training schedule or intensity in order to not over work my muscles, but it is important for me to be his cheerleader and ride his ass like Jillian does the contestants of 'Biggest Loser'.

The last component of the commitment is nutrition. This was my biggest fail. I was so driven to eat correctly that I stop enjoying food and when I allowed myself some leeway it became too easy to give myself a cheat meal every day, and then every meal became a cheat meal. It's not difficult to eat right even when I am on the road or away on a photo shoot all day. I just have to remind myself of how I want to feel and look and I can get my healthful ways back. Allan might not be too happy about the lack of tasty snacks and delicious ice cream in the house but he will thank me for it later when he feels good and looks better.

One other stumbling block has been my depression. Nobody ever wants to admit they are depressed, so I was reluctant to admit it had laid its black cloud over me, but it did and I have to deal with it. The details are rather personal, so I won't divulge them here, but just know that it's OK to have stumbling blocks and it's OK to drive off your trail into territory that you didn't intend to travel. Just get out the GPS of your body, mind, soul and spirit and find your way back. Turn to your family and friends and those in your communities- both physical and cyber- to help get you back on track to becoming the person you want to be. I will be posting updates on a more regular basis (not the daily updates of the Transformation Challenge), but perhaps at least weekly so I can track my progress, identify my weaknesses and keep myself focused on success. Feel free to drop by and check on me. I have included some links below you may find interesting, or not.

I leave you with a refresher of my before (December 2008) and after (May 2009) images...

December 2008

May 2009

Check out these links to find out more about me, what I do and how I am progressing with my personal fitness challenge. You can be my cheerleader!

Personal Facebook

Sassy Glass Studio Facebook

ALM Photo Facebook

Sassy Glass Studio website

ALM Photo website

AllThingsSassy on Twitter

ALMPHOTO on Twitter