Planning Out The New Year

This is a journey and I don't always stay on the right path. July 2011 had been 9mos after I had my 4th baby. It took me nine months to grow a baby, another 9months to heal and to even begin working out. I had tried 6mos postpartum and failed misserably. Not for lack of effort but too much effort. All or nothing has always been my motto and that really has got to go if I'm ever to reach my HappilyEverAfter.

Up until now... Gungho was pretty much the attitude. Back in middle school, high school, college, even in the military I learned if you go all out the results will come. Sort of like if you build it they will come. I never really had to watch what I ate, the closest to counting calories was having time restrictions in the ARMY, they didn't have awesome food choices but you only had 5-10min to eat if not less. Even then on cheat days we'd get sick from over indulging in junk food if we ever got our hands on it. That was a huge sign pointing to a major food issue. I don't know why I never saw a problem with that before. I know why, I was thin, muscular, and fit in my own eyes.

Unhealthy Thoughts. Even though I looked good at 143lbs, I was not the healthiest, I didn't care about what went in my body. I took ephedrine type diet pills, water weight reducers, drank, smoked even (I just thought I was cool) and wanted to be bulimic and even tried it out several times in highschool. I would workout excessively. I equated being thin with self worth and beauty.

I saw super thin girls thinking they were super happy and was never happy with myself. In college I once threw up every meal for a full 2 weeks or so. I thought that was weak and I a failure because the goal was to keep going. I just loved food and eating too much. I'd go all day not eating, then breakdown and eat a massive meal just to throw it all up. I'd party (drink excessively) to numb my feelings and mark the days on my calendar as a reward system.

As a little girl probably 6 or 7 I couldn't wait to grow up and take dexatrim. I'd seen it on commercials, saw fat people become skinny. Watch them go from sad to happy, and couldn't wait to be 18 to buy it. I even was disappointed when they stopped making it for health reasons. They now have different types where I guess they took out an ingredient but it's the same "magic pill" system. I was really sick (in the head) and those thoughts still linger even today occasionally.

I am a mother of 2 beautiful girls, because of them I don't want to pass this sick way of thinking on to them. They see me wanting to get strong and see me as beautiful, if I tell them it's a lie and I'm not beautiful unless I weight 120lbs then they'll think the same about themselves.

My body is getting older and treating right is high a big priority now. I'm 30 soon to be 31 and my back feels much older. I can see where incorrect form for some exercises has inhibited me from some movements. I just started to do lunges correctly this year. After having 4 kids my abs have pulled away from my back so regaining a strong core is definitely key.

My New Philosophies...

• Consistency over Intensity
  Instead of being so hard on myself to intensify my workouts I just want to get them done. When I think about getting in 5-6 workouts per week I want to revert and do crazy HIIT stuff every day. My body will shut down and I start freaking out the first day I miss one of the workouts. I then get so overwhelmed that I throw the whole week. It's backwards I know, but it's how I work. Instead I try to focus on doing something every day. I know not to do 2 Tabata Days in a row but I can do cardio on off days like walk away the pounds.
• Cool it with the Challenges
  Even though they've brought me great results, the momentum I thought would continue fizzles out. 2011 challenges included the Reboot juice fast, 30DShred, 60DSD, 30days of S5F, Winter100, and I almost agreed to start the 60Day Slim Down again, this is all since July of this year. I'm a nut for challenges!!! I get so hyped up and that energy to be in the group of those doing it doesn't translate to actually doing the work.
   
• Drink More
  Drinking enough water has been a struggle for me all my life. If not exerting myself physically I may not drink one glass of water all day, instead I'll eat more and drink sugary juices and get headaches, feel sluggish, and moody. Really moodiness is directly linked to my water intake. That was hard for me to believe until I really paid attention. I have this water bottle with a straw (love my straw!!!) that holds 4 cups of water. Ideally I'll drink one in the morning during and after my workout and another bottle throughout the rest of the day.
• Eat Clean Eat Right
  I'd love to just go through all the cabinets, clear out the junk, and replace it all with only good food choices. I know Processed, MSG, and GMO riddled food entering my body and my family's body is like have a ticking time bomb set to 30 or more years. It'll explode with heart disease, cancer, and fat.   I'll write more later about why I'm grateful to my fat. People think it's such a bad thing, it may be ugly but it's purpose is truly amazing. My fat has stored the toxins I've been consuming and kept them away as best as it can. It's my body's life raft. If you're in danger of drowning in the ocean you're grateful for something that floats and fat floats.

Moving forward my goal is to be healthy, I want to be toned and strong so I can fight an attacker. I want to run fast in case one of my babies needs me or is taken. I want to be healthy to put my back in the shape God intended it to be in when he made me. Our bodies are magnificently made and can heal on their own only when given the right tools.I want to be ready for anything, that's what living HappilyEverAfter truly means to me and I'm excited to get there and share here for others to join me.

♥Christy,
HappilyEverAfter

HomeFitness Gone Social

We have all seen the explosion the social networking movement has brought, Myspace, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Linkedin, the list goes on and on. The new fitness trend, at least what I've seen with the moms I know, is to skip the gym and workout at home. Social fitness is where it's all at. Like beachbody, biggest loser, Zumba, and other dance games for gaming consoles. Now I'm seeing a lot of personal trainers who train via skype, social sites, and email. Encouragement doesn't have to be done face to face to be affective these days. This really appeals to me as a mom of 4 who can't just get out to a gym without tagging along a few babies, diaper bag, stroller, etc.

So I turned to Youtube. I find a ton of great free works, walk away the pounds star Leslie Sansone has a new or same but new name walk at home system. Granted someone uploaded her set, I watch and follow along on youtube and have 5miles 3x Week.

Holly 7wks Postpartum
already back at prepreg shape!

In my quest for finding kettle bell and tabata workouts on youtube I ran into Holly Rigsby a personal trainer who helps women lose weight in their own homes with DVDs, online videos, and socially through her online fit club forums. She is the founder and trainer at FitYummyMummy.com. Just reading her story inspires me to get up from the computer and joining. I signed up for her newsletter and received an invite to join for just $1. Now that's exciting!!!

************************
$1 Trial Membership

Because I don't see the link anywhere on the site,
I'll only leave this up for a limited time.

************************

I encourage you to sign up and utilize this month gift as an after Christmas present for yourself. I'm going to sign up for the month to try it out. Who knows, at less than $20 a month it may stick around until the unwanted lbs come all the way off. Holly has downloadable workouts each month, achievable meal plans, and accountability the most important factor I've found in my own HEA journey. Let me know if you try it out, I want to compare results and successes.

Good news!! I've been losing lbs since the scale has moved to the attic. I knew inches were gone but it's still nice to see the lbs gone as well. Weight is really overrated because you could be above your goal weight but appear smaller and more tones. That's the power of muscle.


♥Christy,
HappilyEverAfter

Indoor Walking, Is it Legit

Steady on with this Winter 100 challenge but I'm seeing myself get behind. Why? It's just plain getting cold outside and now I'm asking myself why in the world did I sign up for this. I just don't feel like running. Cue the violins, here are my excuses...

My shoes are falling apart.

Literally they are, the soles are bending back on themselves, holes in the side walls.

It's cold.

I'm already cold natured

My kids.

They have like a 6th sense and know as soon as my feet hit the floor. in the morning

The dogs.

They bark and I can't take them with me or else I get a bicep cramp from pulling at the leash

It's cold, I know I already said that one but... These excuses are depressing me. 

This week has been rough and I think it's from not getting that runner's rush I was getting used to. Since Dec. 1st I had ran at the least every other day and this week a dead halt. So fine I don't want to be outside, I don't have a treadmill or eliptical so what do you do? Walk Away the Pounds with Leslie. Okay being outside was awesome, I don't want the stress of leaving my 4 kids at home with my sleeping hubby who works 10hrs or with dogs who will whine while I'm gone. So being outside is just not an option right now.

In high school my mom had me up at 5am to workout with her. We'd do Walk Away the Pounds with Leslie Sansone. The good news is 3 miles will only take you about 30min. Not bad for an in home work out. This isn't anywhere near the intensity level as tabatas (my new love) but it'll get my miles in. This is definitely legit, yes it's in place but you will feel the burn in your legs. The sweat will poor, not as quickly but you'll feel it and probably be sore the next day.

I'm looking to win that Garmin, the cold will not stand in my way. I've felt super bad about letting myself down, I'm such a challenge freak that I'll say yes to almost anything. I then feel like a failure when I have to evaluate the decision and back out. So I'm not backing out.

December is the month to let it all out, like a last chance workout for the year. Let's face it I can't make up all I've lost these past few weeks now. I'll keep going and focus on steady goals. I checked, walking your miles is still following the guidelines for this challenge from The Running Mom. I've emailed her and awaiting her response to see if I'm still in the running, pun intended :)

Short on Time, Try Tabatas

First off I have to just say, I ♥ Tabatas!!! What are they? Have you heard of HIIT, High Intensity Interval Training on any workout infomercials lately? I have, but I've never heard of Tabatas until last month. Tabatas area  very high intensity little rest interval routine founded in Japan by a man named Izumi Tabata.

It can be used for both strength and cardio, and can be easily customized. It's designed to give you the same metabolic energy burn as a 40-60min workout except this takes just 20min. No lie, I just finished my first 4rounds of Tabatas and I feel the same as yesterday when I ran 3.5miles Couch25k style.

Tabatas, Let's Break it Down:

 ~ Work hard for 20sec

~ Rest for 10sec

~ Repeat 8x

1 Tabata = 4min

If you're doing more than one Tabata rest for a minute in between and start over.

I thought 4 rounds = 1 Tabata so I ended up doing 4 Tabatas in 20min.

How it works. Tabata and his team tested 2 groups for 6 weeks, one high intensity (170%) and the other moderate intensity (70%). One hundred and seventy percent?! Yikes, that's very Intense. They found that the group that trained at 170% for 4min 4xWeek and the group that trained at 70% for one hour 5xWeek both had a significant increase in aerobic systems (cardiovascular). However the Tabata group (170%) showed gain in the anaerobic system (muscle).

Most of us getting into fitness know muscle is a very important way to burn calories. Your metabolism works for you when you use your muscles effectively. This baffles me that athletes who worked out for so long didn't increase muscle. Those athletes in group 1 would need to add toning and strength exercises to increase muscle on top of what they were already doing.

UPDATE: If done with the right Intensity Tabatas can continue to burn calories up to 36hrs later.

Plan it out! Today I really didn't have one. I just wanted to get it done. I started a running goal of 100 miles this winter December 1st with the intent to run 5x a week. Yeah, right! I don't know what I was thinking. I want to end this year hard and smart. Tabatas will be my go to on days I'm not running. They're fun, short, and effective. I ended up doing most of these once or twice and in no particular order. After researching Tabatas and HIIT style workouts you should stick with 1-2 exercises per Tabata.

Cardio Options	Strength Options
Squats Jumping Jacks Reverse Lunges High Knees Scissor Jacks or Skiers Jumping Jack Press (like the jj except your arms go up like a press)	Wide Arm Pushups (reg) Triceps Pushups Pushups with One Arm Rows Bicep Curls with Reverse Lunges Squats with Dumbbell rows etc.

Form is Key! When moving your body you have to make sure you're moving it in the way it moves best. Especially with faster movement you must be sure your form is on point. In the videos I linked below you'll see everyone using near perfect form. I'm no expert but holding your abs in will train your abs to stay in. Right? For example, when you squat, you knees should never come over your shoe laces. This was always said to us in basketball practice, we were young then. Who was thinking about their knees? Now in my 30's I'm working on making a body that will last to see my great great grand children (that's happily ever after).


Free Online videos:
You'll need a timer. Here's a free online one. www.TabataTimer.com
High Calorie Holiday Burn from FitHealthyMoms
12 Fat Burning 4min Workouts in real time by GenghisGirl on Youtube

Tabatas are definitely the World's Fastest Workout...

Now Go Get Your Tabata On! Watch these videos for ideas then customize it for yourself. Hopefully I saved you a Google search because I think you'll get hooked pretty fast like I did. Have fun on your way to Happily Ever After!


Tabatas are not for those who have high blood preassure or have suffered heart attacks/strokes in the past. This high level of intensity is very taxing on the heart. 


Resources:
http://tabatatraining.org/?p=18
http://www.fithealthymoms.com/2011/04/11/tabata-workout/
http://legym.blogspot.com/2010/10/to-tabata-or-not-to-tabata-by-marie.html

Winter 100 Challenge by: The Running Mom

I seem to be a sucker for challenges. That's the only way I can get myself motivated and committed. Kristen - aka The Running Mom is every where, facebook , twitter, and at www.The-Running-Mom.com. The funny thing is I ran across her blog and thought, that's not for me. I want to run but I can't commit to 100miles in 3 months. Let me just break that down...

Winter 100 Miles Challenge 

100 miles in 3 months (91 days)
31 days in Dec, 31 days in Jan, 29 days in Feb

I'm only planning to run 5xWeek
63 running days out of 91 100miles/63running days ~ 1.6miles
~ 1.6miles per running day = 100.8miles

This is a tad big intimidating for someone who hasn't run since July. Prior to that month I'd not run in 10 years. Before even knowing about the challenge and just wanting to get myself back running I started the c2k yesterday, the exact same start day for this challenge. God had me in the right place .)

I actually love running. After my military training I came back getting up at 3am to run because I wanted, not the case while I was on base. I miss that and have missed it since I stopped, I got LAZY! As a final act of ending this year right I began and ran half of my training yesterday. Today I was determined to run the full interval and did that plus more.

Just 29 days to end this year on your own terms. Want to join me? Sign up here, make sure to read the rules and requirements. There are some great prizes to be won as well. The list will be updated so check here from time to time to see more. **This is a giveaway/contest that I've entered. This is not my event**

Of the prizes posted, these are my faves...
(crossing my fingers)

Garmin – you can win a Garmin Forerunner 210

Ryders Eyewear – win a pair of sunglasses

Go Sport ID - 2 will win a gift certificate towards a Go Sport ID

Bye-bye Before 2011

Hello Happily Ever After 2012-2013