Circuit Training Underway

Well, I did it.

I started my 12-week Jillian Michaels circuit training program on Monday.

Here's how it's going:

Monday						Week 1
	Weight	CIRCUIT ONE	Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Notes
	0	Push-ups	15 / 15	15/ 15	11 / 15
	5# DB	Squats	15 / 15	15/ 15	15 / 15	^ weight
		CIRCUIT TWO
	5# DB	Chest Flys	15 / 15	15/ 15	15 / 15
	5# DB	Sumo Squats	15 / 15	15/ 15	15 / 15	^ weight
		CIRCUIT THREE
	0	Bench Dips	15 / 15	15/ 15	13 / 15	Hypnobirthing Helped!
	20# M	Leg Extensions	15 / 15	15/ 15	15 / 15	^ weight
		CIRCUIT FOUR
	4# DB	Lateral Raises	15 / 15	15/ 15	15 / 15	^ weight
	0	Jumping Jacks	1 / 1 min	1 / 1 min	1 / 1 min	Hypnobirthing Helped!
	0	Basic Crunches	15 / 15	15/ 15	15 / 15
		CIRCUIT FIVE
	5# DB	Tricep Extensions	15 / 15	15/ 15	15 / 15	^ weight
	0	Jump Rope	1 / 1 min	1 / 1 min	1 / 1 min
	0	Scissors	15 / 15	15/ 15	15 / 15

My legs seem to be stronger than I gave them credit for. I need to increase the weight on all my leg exercises next week! Also, as you can see, I was able to focus on my breathing and close my eyes while doing the bench dips and jumping jacks to get my through them. 

Tuesday						Week 1
	Weight	CIRCUIT ONE	Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Notes
	30# M	Wide-Grip Lat Pull Downs	15 / 15	15/ 15	11 / 15	^ weight
	15# Bar	Still-Leg Dead Lifts	15 / 15	15/ 15	15 / 15
		CIRCUIT TWO
	20# M	Medium-Grip Seated Cable Rows	15 / 15	15/ 15	15 / 15	^ weight
	5# DB	Static Lunges (left)	15 / 15	15/ 15	15 / 15
	5# DB	Static Lunges (right)	15 / 15	15/ 15	15 / 15
		CIRCUIT THREE
	20# M	Back Extensions	15 / 15	15/ 15	13 / 15	^ weight
	15# M	Seated Hamstring Curls	15 / 15	15/ 15	15 / 15
		CIRCUIT FOUR
	4# DB	DB Bicep Curls	15 / 15	15/ 15	15 / 15	^ weight
	0	Jumping Jacks	35 s / 1 min	50 s / 1 min	1 / 1 min
	0	Bicycle Crunches	15 / 15	15/ 15	15 / 15	Too Easy?
		CIRCUIT FIVE
	6# DB	Concentration Curls (left)	15 / 15	15/ 15	15 / 15	^ weight
	6# DB	Concentration Curls (right)	15 / 15	15/ 15	15 / 15	^ weight
	0	Jump Rope	1 / 1 min	1 / 1 min	1 / 1 min
	4# Ball	Russian Twists	15 / 15	15/ 15	15 / 15

I was still pretty sore from yesterday and felt like I was dragging. My biceps and back are stronger than I gave them credit for. I had a really hard time getting through the jumping jacks. The bicycle crunches felt like I didn't do anything. Any suggestions? And I also discovered that I actually really enjoy doing Russian Twists!

Tonight I was planning on yoga, but I think I'll listen to my body and just rest.

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As far as diet goes, I'm trying to eat gluten-free right now, but we're also eating up the last of what we bought for this month, so I'm still eating it here and there.

Here are two really amazing recipes that we made Monday and Tuesday.

Jessica's Loaded Baked Sweet Potato Soup

 

Substitutions: We used Brown Rice Flour and Almond Milk, to make it gluten-free.

For a Complete Meal: serve with Fruit and Salad


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And rarely do I give a recipe the "orgasmic" status, but this next recipe definitely deserves it!

Jessica's Roasted Butternut and Sweet Potato Whole Wheat Lasagna

 


Substitutions: We used Enriched White No Boil Lasagna Noodles and (not freshly) Grated Parmesan Cheese. I would prefer using Whole-Wheat Noodles or even Gluten-Free, but I have not yet found these options in my area. Next time, we think we'll add less butter, since it seemed to be swimming in it.

For a Complete Meal: serve with Mixed Steamed Vegetables

Here We Go!

Starting tomorrow I'll be taking on my new goal of Jillian Michaels 12-wk circuit training program in her book, "Winning by Losing" (along with some fitness classes here and there: Zumba, Kickboxing, Pilates and/or Yoga).

So, if I'm going to do this, then I'm going to do this! I'm letting it all hang out.

Here are my before pictures. I'll post new ones weekly, along with written postings through out the week as to how the training is going.

Happy Exercising Being Active!

Thankful

Happy Thanksgiving!

I woke up this morning still a little bummed, but feeling refreshed and thankful.

I'm thankful for each of you. None of you judged me in my moment of weakness. None of you gave me "tough love" when I needed a hug and encouragement. Instead, you flooded with me love and sound advice. I truly feel you are on my side and in this with me. Friends like you are a rarity and I'm thankful for you.

I'm thankful that I have Jesus in my life. I may get down initially, by thankfully, I have Christ. He gives me the strength to see the bright side of things. To bring me hope and restore my broken heart.

I'm thankful for the body I was given. Though my body isn't fully able to do what I'd like it to right now, it is able to still do other things. Perspective is everything.

I'm also thankful that I'm not a quitter. I will not let this deter me from doing whatever I need to do in order to run again. I will persevere! All of these things brought me to a new plan that I'm publicly committing to right now. After doing some research and getting advice from all of you and from a few professionals, I know what I need to do. I need to rest my knees and ankle. I need to strengthen the weaken muscles. I need to get proper custom inserts, correct shoes and relearn how to properly run.

So, here's my plan: For the next 12-weeks (starting Monday), I'm committing to doing Jillian Michaels' circuit training program 4-days a week, mixed with some yoga and cardio.

A typical week will look like this:

Mondays: Circuit Training (Chest, Shoulders, Triceps, Quads, Rectus, Abs)

Tuesdays: Circuit Training (Back, Biceps, Hamstrings, Glutes, Obliques)

Wednesdays: Yoga, Makeup Day, or Rest Day

Thursdays: Circuit Training (Chest, Shoulders, Triceps, Quads, Rectus, Abs)

Fridays: Circuit Training (Back, Biceps, Hamstrings, Glutes, Obliques)

Saturdays: Zumba

Sundays: Makeup Day or Rest Day 

*Note: Based on my schedule each week, I may need to move this around a bit, but the structure will remain the same. When the 12-weeks are up, I will re-evaluate my program and hopefully be able to start running again!

I am thankful for my husband. He only wants the best for me and for me to be happy. He is always supportive, no matter what I'm doing or if he thinks I'm being crazy. He's already agreed to do whatever he can to support me in this commitment. I love you honey! You are the perfect mate for me and not a day goes by that I'm not thankful for you and everything you do for me and for our girls. You are an amazing man and more men should take note from you! :) xoxo

If there's anything I've learned in all of this, it's this: if it hurts, listen to your body. You can trust it to tell you what it needs. You just have to listen. And never, never give up.


Lastly, I'm thankful for healthy substitutions for unhealthy yumminess! Instead of pumpkin pie today, I'll be feasting on Gena's High Raw Vegan Pumpkin Pie Pudding. Yum-O!

 

Runners, I Need You

I don't even know where to begin or if the words for this post will come, so I guess I'll just keep typing and see what comes out.

I know I've been MIA again. There's really no other excuse besides the fact that I've been completely overtaken by guilt and shame. It's like my baby popped out and suddenly all my healthy habits popped out with her. The sugar cravings instantly returned & I found myself quickly back to being a sugar addict. And despite my best attempts to go back to my healthy eating ways, I seem to keep failing. My newest attempt: an accountability partner.

I'm since learning that everything in my body is hormonally related - endometriosis, PCOS, sugar cravings, insulin resistance, etc - it's all related to the hormones produced (or not produced) within my body. So, the sugar cravings that I swear were instantaneous after giving birth, are not "mind over matter". They are real and they are physiological. When I'm pregnant, all of my hormones even themselves out and the cravings disappear, along with all my ailments. When I'm not pregnant, it all comes crashing back. Hard and Fast.

Surprisingly, my activity level efforts did not fall by the wayside. To say I enjoyed working out would be a lie. I hated it. I hated working hard. But, when I rediscovered running right before getting pregnant with Adelyn, I rediscovered a passion. Something I truly loved. Something I truly looked forward to. Running. My perspective changed and I decided I would never do a "workout" or "exercise" again that I did not enjoy. All was going well, despite my eating not matching up with my activity levels. I say activity, because the words "workout" and "exercise" make me cringe. I don't wanna workout. I don't want to exercise. But, go for a run? Sign me up!

I was so happily surprised to not be experiencing Postpartum Depression with this baby. With my first, I had it something terrible and needed to be medicated. With this one, aside from the Baby Blues the first week, and a few sad days when breastfeeding wasn't working, I had nothing! Until this week. It's been so terrible that at times, all I can do is sit on the couch and cry while feeding my baby. I don't wanna get dressed. I don't wanna eat. I don't wanna do anything. Rest assured, I'm under my Kinesiologist's supervision and I'm on a progesterone cream and will also be adding in 5-HTP this week. If these don't work, I'll be calling my OBGYN to be put back on Lexapro.

But, I realized tonight that I don't think this depression is completely only being caused by postpartum. See, I ran in my 5K at the end of October. But, after the run, my right knee (that was bothering me during training) was killing me. And that wasn't the only thing... my left knee now hurt too, and so did my right ankle. I sought out my Kinesiologist and his words were, "You should not be running." He explained that some people were meant to run and others weren't. I, apparently, wasn't made to run. I was devastated and crushed so I sought out a second opinion. My chiropractor took a look at my shoes and explained to me that I'm running wrong. I'm landing on my heel and running on the outside of my foot and pushing off with my pinky toe. That will do some damage. I was told that if I continued to run this way, I'll need a knee replacement by the time I'm 50. (My OBGYN also told me I'll need a full hysterectomy by the time I'm 50. Fifty isn't looking too good for me.) They took a scan of my feet and confirmed that my feet are not supporting my body like they should and my arches are completely gone (once they're gone, you can't get them back). They recommended inserts for my shoes to help support my body and not continue to damage my feet further.

So, here I am. My passion for running, ripped away before my very eyes. My eyes are welling with tears as I write this. See, this issue runs deeper for me. It's not necessarily about the running. It's about my body. My piece of shit body. How many times has my body failed me? Endometriosis. PCOS. Infertility. Miscarriages. Gestational Diabetes. Now we can add "Inability to Run" to the list. This is about the body I was given. This about my dreams and desires in my heart to do what is right and good. And about the inability to be able to achieve those things because of this body. 

So, though it's the eve of Thanksgiving and I should be counting my blessings, instead I'm writing a "Debbie-downer, poor me, pity party" post. And I'm going to allow myself to do that. Sometimes, you gotta get it out. 

So, with tears streaming down my face, I'm asking for advice: to all my seasoned runner friends - help me. Is there anything I can do to be able to run again?

12-week Postpartum

"For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate." ~Romans 7:15 NASB

This has been a rough month for me. My health has been threatened in many many ways. I was having pain in my left breast (and found a lump), pain in the left side of my pelvis and then suffered a double corneal infection. Luckily, the lump and pain turned out to be nothing of concern at this time. They will continue to keep an eye on both.

After having DD, I let my diet slide a bit. I thought it wasn't a big deal if I indulged in a bit of fast-food here and there and allowed myself some processed sugar. BIG.MISTAKE. I got cocky about my will-power. I got cocky that I had beaten the sugar and over-eating addictions that were so rampant in my life for so long.

Two weeks. Two weeks was all it took for me to spiral into complete and total destruction. What started with an innocent brownie, ended in mental, emotional, physical and spiritual disaster.

Yesterday was my "rock bottom". The past 2 days I've survived off nothing but processed sugars... candy, packaged brownies, donuts, pop, etc. The only thing of sustenance that I consumed was chili and that was only because my friend made it. After coming home with a horrible tummyache from eating so much of my DD's candy, I finally hit bottom again.

This is not me. This is not the life I want. This is not who God says that I am.

So, today is a new day. And today I start living my life by who God says that I am... Healed, HEALTHY and Whole. That's a much better life anyway.

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I was re-tested for all of my food sensitivities. I tested fine for all foods now! However, I plan to limit the amount of red meat, caffeine & corn that I consume. I plan to completely eliminate sugar and soy. And since I haven't really had too much of a problem in the past with dairy or wheat, I'll keep those in my diet for now.

I've randomly been taking Zumba and Yoga classes at my local gym. And I was training for my first post-baby 5K, The Anoka Grey Ghost Run, using the C25K plan. I was about 11 days behind on my training when the 5K arrived, but I finished!

This is me (on your left), with my friend Teresa. Teresa kept track on her phone using a RunKeeper app, so originally we thought we had run 10 minute miles. We were both amazed! However, the next day, after RunKeeper did more of it's computing, we realized it was all messed up. So, we're going with 3.1 miles in 37.2 minutes. That's still really good! Slightly faster than my high school speed and I just had a baby 3 months ago!

I really need to have a trainer or someone take a look at my running. By the end of the run, both knees were hurting and ever since Saturday my right foot hurts when I put pressure on it. Oy.

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Post Baby Progress

From beginning to now...

5 Days Post-Baby
Wt Lost Since Delivery: 14 lbs

12 Wks Post-Baby
Wt Lost Since Delivery: 18 lbs

From last month to now...

8 Wks Post-Baby
Wt Lost Since Delivery: 21 lbs

12 Wks Post-Baby:
Wt Lost Since Delivery: 18 lbs

As you can see, I gained another 3 lbs this month. Not happy about it, but it is what it is. Not going to dwell, going to move forward!

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Lastly, here are my hubby and I with our precious Princess Belle and Chili Pepper...