Reliving My Youth

Colin is playing basketball this year and I could not be more thrilled! Basketball was one of my favorites sports growing up. I forgot how much I enjoyed the sport. I love taking him to his practices and games. We have been trying to make it out to his school to play each weekend. This has been great for me to get in better shape. I am working out without really thinking about it! Bonus!

I did experience my own funny mom moment. Or maybe more of a “I am getting older” one. I was going to show Colin how to do a lay-up. Right before I did it, I realized that I have not done this in probably 15 years. So, I said to myself a quick, “please do not let me fall on my…” Thankfully, I did not. Pride intact.

I am loving this opportunity to bond with Colin. We now have books and basketball. I even created a GoodReads account for him to track his reading. I love my little book nerd and basketball player!

Until next time... Keep Playing!

Love, Hugs &  Kisses ~ The B Family

Running buddies

Colin has been my little running partner lately, I prefer to do sprint intervals over straight distance running so it is perfect for a kid to do. I find I get bored just running straight even with music. Plus, I love the feeling of that ran hard super out of breath, chest pounding and lungs burning. Colin is a good motivator for me. He wants to beat me so badly in one of our sprints. I have been very clear that I will not let him win. Colin's time of victory will be well earned. Sadly, it may happen sooner than I would like, but you never know. 

A couple of days ago, Colin was in big trouble (like super, big trouble that I will have to post about sometime), so he could not run with me. Meli was pleading with me to let her go with me. "I have been so good. No timeouts today!" She was just so stinkin' cute...I gave in. Boy was she so excited! She had to put on shorts, because that is what you do when you run. So, after an outfit change we headed out the door. She somehow took three stuffed animals with her that I did not notice until we turned the corner. I made her take them back. She ran all of the way home (not too far) and ran back. Then she was so tired from running she was thirsty. So, she ran all the way back to the house and got a drink. After running all of the way back to me, we started. Ten minutes and Meli is the only one who got a workout so far. After I warmed up my bad knee by walking for a bit, I was ready to run...as I take my first step to run my ankle goes funny and a sharp pain hits me. OMG! This was turning out to be the most unproductive run ever! I tried to jog on my ankle, but mostly had to walk it out. Meli had a blast though. Doing anything but running. She looked out at the river, climbed whatever she could. Even though it was not really a workout for me, it was nice having some mommy/daughter time.

Working Out with Elsa

I have come up with a new workout regime that has me using the weights and treadmill in our garage...so Meli has been joining me out there. She keeps it interesting and entertaining! This is my first week and I am sore all over!!

I let Meli choose the music. She was tired of my stations. I was not thrilled with her choice of Disney Princesses. Frozen and Rapunzel specifically. Surprisingly, it was fairly motivating! Probably helped that I know the words to most of the songs, so I can distract myself by singing.

This was my view during my treadmill run. I was so jealous!

The Jawbone

I have been using my Jawbone (fitness tracker) for almost a month now. I am very excited about it. The tracker monitors my sleep (which I definitely need to track) and my steps. The app I can use to track my food and other exercises. So far I love it. Excuse my plethora of bracelets in the picture. Meli helped me put my jewelry on that morning and was in a bracelet mood! The black "bracelet" is my tracker.

 

It is interesting to see how many steps you are taking throughout the day. I also can see how many times I get up at night, how long it takes me to fall asleep, how many hours of deep sleep, light sleep and awake time. Very cool! I tend to avoid techy trends...but this one I jumped on because I think I could really benefit from the information.

Year of Health & Fitness: Week...I have lost track

Macro Counting

Will's progress is Ah-mazing!! He has lost about 30 lbs and his body fat percentage has dropped drastically. I am so proud of him.

I have hit a standstill and needed a change from the videos. Even though I love Jillian...just needed to change it up. So, I am doing Will's fat burning workout that he got from his trainer. It is intense...I love it!! It is 5 different workouts that consists of about 6 different exercises each (ranging from sit-ups to jump squats to dumbbell exercises). You do each exercise between 10-20 times and then move directly to the next. No breaks. No resting. You repeat this as many times as possible in 30 minutes. With no breaks. It is a good workout. I am loving it so far. I just started this week, so I have only done 3 of the workouts.

Macros - is another big part of what Will has been doing. It is like counting your calories, but making sure you are getting the important nutrients that make up a calorie (protein, carbs and fat). We used a macro counter to figure out how much each of us should be getting (depending on what our goals were and our weight, etc). As long as I meet my macros without going over (and working out) I should be losing weight. Will's is a bit more intense then my numbers. Mine our actually pretty reasonable. I have a low fat count, but poor Will has a low carb count and very high protein. The nice thing is once he reaches his goal, his "maintaining" macros will be much more reasonable.

I have been able to find some good meals that fit my low fat, lower carb and high protein levels.  For example, there is a Chicken Chile Verde soup that is so tasty and only 9 protein, 21 carbs and 2 grams of fat per cup. Not bad. I usually have more of my carbs at lunch, since for me that is my hardest meal to stay "good".

The nice thing with the macro counting is as long as it fits into your numbers you can have it. For the most part we still eat healthy (95% of the time), but if we are having a bad day and need a treat or a glass of wine (actually wine is not so bad - beer is the problem)...we will allow it.  We just have to adjust our other meals accordingly.

Our dinners, were getting a bit boring (salad and chicken/fish or veggies and chicken/fish), so I have been trying to find new things to make. Yesterday, we had ground chicken with veggies in a lettuce wrap. It was really good! The presentation is not so good, but it was delicious. Veggies are free from counting (besides carrots and a few others)...so we eat a lot of veggies!

So we will see if I will have as good as results as Will...fingers-crossed.

~ Love, Hugs & Kisses ~

The B Family

Year of Health & Fitness: Week 12

I know I have not been very consistent with writing my exercise blogs lately...I figured that it is now part of my routine, so I do not need to write on a weekly basis.

 

 I am so proud of Will! He has changed his whole lifestyle. He rarely has any treats now (only on a cheat day and lately not even then), he eats very healthy, and he is working out consistently. He lifts weights, boxes and runs. He is running a 20k here soon. Crazy! His mom is going to be so shocked at the change when she comes to visit this month. I think he is actually surpassing his firefighter days physique. I am so happy for him. I love that he sets a goal and then just tackles it.

 

I was getting bored with my video workouts, so now I have incorporated Will's dumbbell routine three days a week. Then three of the other days I do my kickboxing. The first day of the dumbbells had me super sore. It felt so good! I hope this change will allow me to see some changes here soon. Like with everything, I had to change the routine up to make it my own. Plus, it was very arm heavy and I prefer (and need) more legs.

 

I am excited for the next few weeks....

Year of Health & Fitness: Week 9

 

Excuse the face expression, shortie here is standing on her tiptoes

  Well, I have missed a few weeks. It has been very busy! I still managed to stick with my healthy eating (with the exception of my mom's birthday weekend) and working out. I was glad that when I missed my workouts this weekend (again due to birthday celebrating) I was a little irritable. Not that I enjoy feeling like that, but it showed that it is becoming a habit. I am really loving the kickboxing. The combination of that and the shredding seems to be doing a good job. I have lost 2 inches in my tummy and 1/2 inch in my thighs. Yay!!

 

Will is doing awesome! He looks so different. I am so proud of him. He has lost 20 lbs and has gained a lot of muscle. He is training for a 20k here soon. So proud!

 

Below I am wearing my new Lady Gorilla workout shirt! A couple of friends of mine created this clothing line to support strong women (whether muscle strong, mentally strong or just woman strong). This is an excerpt from their website, "Our Athletic/casual Apparel was Originally designed with the comfort and fashion of female athletes in mind. But Lady Gorilla wants to represent ALL women with an inner gorilla! Are you an athlete, a mother, a business woman, a cancer survivor or just someone who works hard? Be strong, be proud, be a Lady Gorilla! Men, show your support of the Lady Gorillas in your life with our men’s line." Here is the website, http://www.ladygorilla.com/. I love the tank! A great fit and very comfortable for working out.

~ Love, Hugs & Kisses ~

The B Family

The Year of Health & Fitness: Week 5

This week was fairly good. I know one thing I really need for my body and spirit is more sleep. The kids are going through a phase of waking up sporadically during the night. Taking turns to wake me up. I have always had trouble falling asleep and so the past few weeks have been very draining.

Will and I have been very strict at taking our vitamins. I can really tell a difference when I miss my ginseng, vitamin B and D. We also take C, fish oil, and calcium. There are a few more I want to add soon. I hate taking pills though, so I am being hesitant with adding any additional ones. The kids laugh at me when I am trying to take them. I think it all stems from the iron pills I had to take as a kid for anemia. They were big ol' horse pills and had this red coating that was horrendous to taste. Its al in my head...I know.

We are now more in sync with our diets. I am following Jillian Michaels' Master Your Metabolism, while Will is looking at Men's' Health Ab book (forgot the name). The diets are very similar. It helps you figure out how much protein, carb, (etc.) you need for your needs, height and weight. So, he is having more carbs now, but just not at night. Neither of us. That one is hard. I love pasta and rice. At least I can have those for lunch (small portions) now or when we have a date night.

Colin was so funny the other night. He asked Will to flex for him and then said, "Dad, whoa! You look like a real muscle man!!" He asked if he could feel his biceps, then said "they feel like hard...biscuits". Will's face just dropped. It was hilarious. I think Colin referenced biscuits because Will has been calling Colin "little biscuits" lately. Since Colin loves to hang out in just his underwear. We tease him about showing his little tooshie or "biscuits".

This was my last week of Shredding...now moving on to Kickboxing. I am excited for a change, but I really do like the 30 Day Shred workouts.

~ Love, Hugs & Kisses ~

The B Family

The Year of Health & Fitness: Week 4

A Family Workout

 

 

The kids decided they wanted to join in on mommy's workout fun. It actually ended up being a good workout still. The kids tried to follow along as best they could. Meli sat on my back for a few exercises to help out with some extra weight. Will and I tried to be super good this week so that we can have eat whatever we want during our Super Bowl party!! Go Broncos!

 

Since I missed enough days doing the shredding video, I am adding another week to get the full 30 days. I can really see a difference in my endurance.

 

The sweet hubby surprised me with a little black dress (literally) for our (hopefully) tropical vacation. It fits but it is very form fitting, so more motivation!

 

 

 

 

 

~ Love, Hugs & Kisses ~

The B Family

The Year of Health & Fitness: Week 3

New Motivation: Beach Bod

This week was kind of a joke for working out and eating healthy. At least I did not gain anything back. I had a yucky cold for most of the week.  I just could not get myself to work out. I did not eat horribly, but when I am sick I do like my comfort foods! A bit of a wasted week, but that will happen. Moving on!

Some things could possibly be changing here in a few months, so Will and I wanted to plan a vacation for the two of us. We started at first thinking of Vegas...but then we saw some really good deals for Ireland! A dream trip for both of us. The more we thought about it, we want to save that for when we can stay a bit longer. So, then we started thinking about Paris. I feel like that could be done in less time. We were even talking to Will's sister that lives there to work it out, but then we talked some more...Will has been there three times already... I would like to go, but I am not sure I am in the mood for site-seeing and touristy things. I just want to relax and have fun. Now we are thinking Hawaii!!! Will has been to a lot of places in Europe but never anywhere tropical. Perfect! It would be here soon, so hopefully it works out. This means...I cannot have another week like this last one. Need to get bikini body! Motivation!

~ Love, Hugs & Kisses ~

The B Family

 

The Year of Health & Fitness: Week 2

So Drained

Well, this week was a bit of a struggle. I felt like I was coming down with something the first two days. In spite of feeling crappy, I forced myself to do my workouts. The rest of the week I struggled with the kids being very needy, once thy saw mommy going into her workout area. Meli tried to work out with me one day. I will have to post some videos from that here soon.  Once she was bored of that she wanted to either hold my hand or be held. That made doing walkout push-ups very difficult. She did add extra weight with my supermans by sitting on my back.  I was not horrible with eating healthy because I did not have much of an appetite this week. I could just feel this week that my energy was very low (probably because the two monsters took turns waking me up every night this week)...I am drained. I did lose 2 lbs. So yippee!

Our date weekend got canceled because Grammie was not sure if she was coming down with something. She is nurse and works at a hospital, so I did not want to take chances with the flu that is going around. Anyways, she ended up being fine and came up on Wednesday night. We traded our free day this weekend for our date night. We had such a good time. I had kind of a weird combination. I really wanted calamari, but I also wanted avocado rolls and tomato bisque. So weird. Oh but so good! Will had a California burger, which made him feel pretty gross afterwards. I guess that is a good thing. Then we went to a different restaurant and had dessert. Will had tiramisu and I had an Italian pastry with raspberry sauce. Delicious.

 I could not get Will to take a picture with me this time so just a solo one.

Until next week...

 ~ Love, Hugs & Kisses ~

The B Family

The Year of Health & Fitness: Week 1

Extremely Sore

 

The first week of getting super healthy has come to an end...and man am I sore! Every part of my body is so very sore, but that is good...right?!

 

We had thought about joining a gym but I am more likely to succeed if I do not have to drive somewhere to workout. At home is perfect for me. Plus, we have more than enough equipment to use, so might as well save money. Will has been doing a mix of boxing and weightlifting/cardio.  I am sticking to my girl Jillian Michaels, because I LOVE HER! She puts good routines together and she does not make me want to punch her in the face. I am starting with the 30 Day Shred video (for 4 weeks) and then will move on to her kickboxing for 4 weeks. I am curious to see how much of a difference happens with each video. For Christmas, I got a new video of hers (Ripped in 30) which I will again do for 4 weeks before moving on to Pilates. After doing each one solo I plan to do a combination of two videos. I get bored easily. I am very excited to track the progress. I bought a fancy scale that tracks weight, BMI, % body fat, and hydration levels. I remember doing my % body fat in high school, so that was a little disheartening to see, but I am determined to get it back to that percentage!

 

This week has been good. I lost 3 lbs! I have not had soda or treats. I am of a mind-set of everything in moderation. For dinners during the week we eat either chicken or fish combined with a salad or veggies. Then on the weekend, I will make meatloaf or pasta, etc...more comfort food types. When we go on a date, I am not cheating on "my diet" if I have a dessert. I just make it a point not to do that often. I do not really like the term "diet". I hate saying I am on a "diet" because to me eating healthy is not that hard of a concept.  Plus, diets have become a trendy thing and most people follow the current fad until the next one becomes popular. eh. I am not following one specifically but taking from what I have read over the years and just applying it.

 

Until next week...

 



~ Love, Hugs & Kisses ~

The B Family

2014: The Year of Health & Fitness

Will and I did a pretty good job at losing weight in 2013, but we want to take it to the next level in 2014...like we are talking serious level here. Especially since I seemed to have gained a whole bunch in the month of December alone. I do not know what happened to me. I became a dessert crazy person (like Will)...I am not that person. Oh well, I just made more of a challenge for myself to lose the weight...I enjoy a challenge...haha...I got this!  I blogged about my fitness a few years ago and it actually helped me to stay on target. Mainly, because I did not want to be embarrassed when friends/family mentioned that I had not written about my progress lately.

This year, not only are we focusing on our physical health (by working out, eating healthy, etc) but we are also focused on our mental health. To better this area we want to make sure we do activities together, separate and with the kids. Family time is very important to us - but we want to make sure we have couple time and individual time. We each have separate things we want to achieve/experience, as well as ones together. This has been a lot easier with my mom coming up every other weekend to stay with us. We are so spoiled by her. Love you mom!

Some of the things on my list to try and do over the next year are:

*take some kind of dance lessons (like swing or salsa). I never have and this year is about coming out of my shell more. I think I have done a pretty good job this past year, but there is always room for improvement.
*take a cooking class
*travel the west coast some more. We are already planning a couple of trips to see some of Will's old Air Force buddies in California and Washington state.
*participate in a 5K
*take a photography class
*see an opera
*set aside more time for reading (I have so many books on my to read list...)

Those are just a few. I am always adding to it.

So...anyway, my plan for blogging about fitness...I was thinking I would do an update at the end of each week. I put together a plan that is broken out by increments of 4 weeks. It will be interesting to see how each set of 4 weeks go.  I know this could possibly be boring for people to read, but it helps me and posts/emails are easy to ignore or delete!

 I am on my first day of the first 4 weeks...so good luck to me!

~ Love, Hugs & Kisses ~

The B Family

My Sunset Run

Here is a picture during my run last night. Such a beautiful night!

Progress Report

So we have been on the healthy lifestyle for over 3 weeks now.  Almost 4.  I have been doing pretty good.  I can see the toning that I want happen.  Will has been doing super good!  He has lost 20lbs in a little over 2 weeks!! He is not really wanting to lose weight so he was actually a little sad, but I told him since he cut out sugar and a lot of extra carbs he was probably losing fat quicker than making new muscles.  I am so proud and impressed with his commitment.  He has not been eating sweets.  For anyone that really knows him you now how big of a deal this is.  He has cut out a lot of bread and extra things he just does not need.  He does his workout routine 3 days a week and then runs the rest of the days.  I think I need to kick it up a notch. He is making me look bad! 

~ Love, Hugs & Kisses ~

 The B Family

Making Progress

I have to brag about my husband.  He is doing such a good job with working out and eating healthy the past few weeks.  You can alreay see a significant difference.  Now I have known this man for 7 years or so...and in that time I have learned that he has a certain weakness for sweets - but every since he decided to really commit himself to getting back in to his firefighter shape he has been so good.  This is the man that would sneak down at 2 AM and eat the chocolate chips from my baking stash.  I am just so proud.  He also had a training plan put together for him from a co-worker of his that was a former professional rugby player from Australia. He has been sticking with it.  Even running on his off days.  The workout plan is not an easy one either. Very intense. We are both making an effort to make sure the other has time to do their workout for the day.  It is so much easier have a workout schedule when it is part of you job requirement (like Will's firefighting job) or when you are playing sports.  I am so glad that we both got to this point at the same time.  I will have to post some comparison pictures in a few weeks.

~ Love, Hugs & Kisses ~

The B Family

Billy Goat Trail

On Friday morning, Will and I headed towards Maryland to go hiking at Billy Goat Trail. This is a trail that Will has hiked many times since his childhood and is a place that is very special to him. We had such a great time! The trail is not a simple straightforward path. It involves quite a few rocks you must climb over and one in particular that is very intimidating with its straight down view of the water below! I think I impressed Will, not that he expected me to suck at hiking, but he hasn't really had the chance to see my athletic side. It is kind of nice to be around someone who doesn't know me from my school days and doesn't automatically think "tomboy" when they think of me! We were both pretty tired afterwards. Both of us were ready for a nap, which after a nice lunch out and before getting Colin we did lay down for 30 minutes or so. We were dreading Saturday thinking we were going to be really sore, but it wasn't so bad. The worst for me was my bad knee was hurting a little today, but it is tolerable.

The trail was beautiful and I think that this was a great way for us to spend our day off together. We were able to talk about our current plans, our childhoods and just joke around and have fun together. I loved it! Thank you Will for a wonderful day! It was perfect! I cannot wait until the next visit to Billy Goat Gruff...I mean Trail!