Piyo/T25 hybrid Week 2 Round up

This week was a great week. I felt so successful and got all my workouts in. My eating was much better this week. I'm excited to see what week 3 will bring.

Monday was Piyo Sweat. We had some extra time so we decided to do this 37 minute workout today instead of Wednesday. Wednesday we will do Drench. I love the heat section in the workout. I love how many burpees are in it and that I can do them. I also love how many pushups there are and that I am getting stronger.

I was remembering when I first bought Piyo last year. I remember Brian asking me why I was wasting money on it. That we had tons of pilates and yoga programs. Why did we need another one? He thought it was going to be easy. This was him after yesterdays workout.

He actually said to me that he'd be interested in doing the full ten week program after we finish this eight weeks of hybrid Piyo and T25.

My nutrition was spot on today. I ate within my containers. I feel so good when I fuel my body correctly. I'm ready for a great week.

Tuesday was T25 Total Body Circuit. It was a challenge. I couldn't believe how much harder I could push myself than last year this time. I did have to modify some of the moves as I was just spent. I was pushing myself really hard and had to modify to keep going. It felt great.

Tuesday was one full year of clean eating and 30 minute workouts everyday. I love how much my body has changed and how much better I feel. IT has been an awesome year and I cannot wait to see what this year brings. I'm loving every moment of this journey.

My nutrition was prefect today. I didn't have any cheats and ate on my plan. I did drink a beer this evening as it was National Beer Day.

Wednesday was Piyo Drench. IT was hard for me to get in this 47 minute long workout. Brian was at work later for a meeting so I was trying to get dinner on, my workout in  and entertain the girls all while trying to keep the baby happy. I got it done but it wasn't pretty and I had to push pause a thousand times to keep everything running. It felt great when I was finished.

I didn't feel like working out today. I was just tired. We were up a lot with the baby last night. This morning we went shopping with a friend for stuff for MOPS. We went to four different stores and then I took BCD to the mall play ground to play for awhile with my MOPS table. I was just exhausted. I also had dishes piled in the sink and laundry to do. This was all excuses I was using to not workout but in the end I was glad I did.

My eating was spot on today. I love days where I stay on track.

I work up Thursday morning to my pants being to big so I decided to weigh myself. 10 weeks ago D was born and I saw a new middle number on the scale! This is so exciting. I'm 24 pounds lighter than the day I delivered! I cannot wait to see how much my body changes in the next six weeks of this hybrid program.

Thursday's workout was T25 Ab Intervals. I for some reason don't remember this workout as well as I remember a lot of the other T25 alpha round workouts. I actually had to modify more than I would have liked to as my abs aren't strong yet. I did the plank series, the side series and some of the other series in a non-modified position, but definitely had significant trouble with the v sit. I know my abs have a long way to go to get stronger but I know everyday they are getting better. I also loved the little burst of cardio in this workout.

My eating was awesome today. I aloud myself to substituted one of my yellow containers for a chocolate chip cookie at MOPS today. Other than that I stayed within my plan for the day. I was proud as sometimes on MOPS days I allow myself to have it as my cheat day and I didn't do that today.

Friday was Piyo Strength Intervals. I forgot how much I loved this workout. I love how it interlaces great cardio with strength exercises hence the name. I love the skater jumps in this work out as the arms make them so much easier than the 21 Day Fix. I also like the Beast section at the end of this workout.

We had pizza for dinner. I used my recipe that is 21 Day Fix approved but did have 1/2 a serving more as I was starving. It was so nice to actually have pizza while clean eating. The rest of my day my nutrition was spot on.

Saturday was Speed 1.0. I barely got this workout in as it was a crazy day. We moved B and C into their big girls beds. Then we tried to put up Danielle's crib. It was a busy but fun day. Then we drove to Brian's parents house for the evening. I got my workout in but just barely.

Then we went to Eat n Park for dinner. I always get the baked cod Floridian as I know it is within my eating plan and wont kill my week.

Sunday was a rest day but I did anything but rest. We drove to Hershey's Pa for a family day trip. We went to Chocolate World and I did eat a candy bar. We did so much walking and had a ton of fun. It was a long fun day exploring Hershey. I ended up falling asleep at 9:30 pm. Im happy I actually got some sleep last night!

Here is my schedule for this week:

 

I'm still working on cleaning the pantry, fridge and freezer so I won't be making a meal plan this week. I know our portions and will stay within them. We also won't be back to Erie until late tonight so I don't know what today will bring but I know I'll make smart choices.

 

I hope everyone has a great and blessed week.

Week1 Piyo and T25 hybrid

This week has been awesome. It didn't go quite as planned but I still made progress. I had more cheats than I wanted this week since we were on vacation but I know that I can just jump right back on to my clean eating plan this week and not feel guilty!

Monday was Piyo Sculpt. I loved getting back to Piyo. Those triceps pushups are a killer. I had to modify after a few sets as I was losing my form and I had to drop to my knees. I couldn't believe how flexible I was. My nutrition was perfect today. I absolutely loved how I felt after this workout. Muscles that I didn't even know I had were sore.

Tuesday was Focus T25 Speed 1.0. I forgot how fun this workout is. It has moments of fast paced footwork intermixed with stretch. It felt so good to get moving like this again. I loved every moment of this workout. I also loved how I could do almost all of it with any modification. I ended up having to modify a little bit because my hamstrings started to burn so bad.

My nutrition was perfect again. I feel so awesome. I pushed my body today and didn't want to take a nap. I ran the sweeper in the entire house, cleaned the first floor,  did laundry, cleaned both girls car seats, cleaned a portion of the basement, and much more. I felt like a million bucks. I felt like I could do anything!

Wednesday we traveled all day to Charleston, WV. The total drive time was five and a half hours. But of course we stopped a few times and it felt like we were in the car seven hours. All in all with four kids, one being nine weeks old, I think adding one and a half hours wasn't too bad.

When we got to the hotel I need my workout. We did Piyo Core. It was such an awesome workout. We did have to move some furniture around to make room but it was doable in hotel room. The side series in this workout is a killer but I managed to do it all without modifying. I love this workout and how it made me feel afterwards.

I had an awesome dinner. I had pizza but made sure to stay within my containers. It was awesome to be able to eat healthy and still enjoy something that I love. Then I had my cheat. We went and had homemade ice cream. I got a small waffle cone and I savored every moment.

On Thursday I walked most of the morning. We went to the Children's Museum. then we went to a place called capitol market and go healthy sandwiches and fresh vegetables. I did awesome on my nutrition today even getting a small steak with vegetable and salad for dinner. I was so proud of myself.

Carrying the baby on the front and the diaper bag on my back was a workout itself 

Today we did T25 Cardio and it was awesome. I felt so powerful after this workout. It felt good to get moving. I was also exhausted by the time we got back to the hotel. IT was 8:30 and I was ready for bed. My back hurt from carrying the baby in the carrier and the diaper bag on my back all day. This trip has been totally worth it.

Friday we woke up to rain. It was thunderstorming and there was lots of wind. We went to the capitol museum and the capitol building. Both were completely awesome. The museum was completely neat. It was cool to see how West Virginia was part of the south and then became the 35th state in the United States. It was cool to see how the state became the way it is today. the capitol buildings marble was absolutely beautiful. I was also surprised at how accessible everything is. We just walked right in.

Today we did Piyo Buns. This is one of my favorite Piyo workouts as I know my butt will look awesome in my bathing suit this summer because of it. I absolutely felt awesome when I finished it. I forgot to set my fitbit before the workout so I have no clue how many calories I burned :(

I did really great on my nutrition till dinner. We went to an Italian family restaurant. I ended up getting a Cannolli. I had salad without dressing. I skipped the bread. My cannoli had a little cheese and lots of lamb and spinach. IT wasn't quite the correct portions but it is one meal and I'm moving on. I won't feel guilty and will get back on it tomorrow.

Saturday brought a day of traveling. We wanted to get in some last minute fun in Charleston before we left. Instead of doing our scheduled we headed down to the hotel pool. It was fun to swim with the girls. D loved the water. I think she is going to be a fish like A. Then we packed up and drove around a while before heading home.

My nutrition was good in the car. I was proud I didn't cave into something too horrible and completely off my eating plan. I even picked up a vegetable snack on the way home.

 

We ended up in Pittsburgh at the perfect time so we went to Easter service at Orchard Hill Church. I missed my church family. It was great to see so many old friends. I'm always amazed at how welcome everyone feels as soon as they walk in. It was nice to be back home.

 

Sunday was a rest day. I needed it. We didn't get home until late and then by the time we got everyone asleep it was late! I enjoyed our trip but needed some time to at home before we start out another hectic week. It was also Easter. We decided to not doing anything for the girls this year. Since when has Easter become like Christmas? It was our decision that we'd get the girls something small that they wanted but not do the whole Easter Bunny thing. We want them to know the true meaning of Easter.

 

This week will be a fun week. We have lots of exciting things planned and the weather is supposed to be nicer here in Erie, PA. I'm hoping for a few evening family walks. I miss that time to talk to my husband and have the girls outside playing. Here is my schedule for the week:

I am not doing a meal plan this week. We have been at this for a year tomorrow (April 7th)! This week's plan is to use what we have instead of buying new things.  I usually try to do this pantry and freezer cleanout a few times a year. It ends up in some interesting combos but is always fun. I will be grocery shopping today but only buying the staples. We usually have the same things for breakfast, lunch and snacks.

 

I also wanted to make the comment that I wasn't perfect this week. I stuck to my meal plan as much as possible but did have more cheats this week than usual. I also didn't exercise one day this week. I had already scheduled a rest day and then didn't exercise on Saturday either. My swim was fun but it wasn't anything like my T25 workout. Even though I wasn't perfect this week I still managed to lose 0.4 pounds. I wanted to mention this as I wanted to say just get started. Just making small changes will help you start to see results and get you headed in the right direction.

  

 

I hope everyone has a blessed week.

Traveling -- Finding Things to Do

Anytime we head to a new place I always look for the odd things to do. Yes it is always fun to go to the museums and the big tourist places but I also like to try and find the odd out of the way places. What types of things do the locals like to do as you know they aren't going to the museum everyday. So how do I find things to do?

Before kids I used to make friends with the concierge. I use to ask them what they liked to do in their city. I use to end up at some really fun places. If I took a cab to the place the concierge suggested then I'd ask the cabby for another place. I'd continue to do this every place I went and I'd end up with a really fun trip of out of the way fun places.

As we've gotten older these adventures as we like to call them haven't got old. Now we just look for things to do in a different manner. With four under five finding family friendly things can be a challenge. Before we headed to Charleston this week I contacted both the MOMS Club (R) and a few of the local MOPS groups for ideas.

MOMS stand for Mother Offering Mothers Support. They are a group of stay-at-home moms that hold a monthly meeting and usually meet throughout the month for play dates. They usually have one Moms night our a month. They also usually have a service project for the year. These clubs are in a lot of cities around the United States. Go to momsclub.org to find your local chapter.

MOPS stands for Mothers of Preschoolers. They usually meet at churches all over the world. They usually meet twice a month during the school year. With MOMS Club you usually have your kids with you at activities. During MOPS your kids go to a special program called MOPPETS and you get to enjoy a morning to yourself learning about things that affect the mother of preschoolers lives. To search for a group in your area go to mops.org.

Using both of these groups we came up with a list of things we wanted to do this trip. We had some big things like the Children's Museum and the History Museum. We also had some items the locals would know like Pies and Pints a local pizza shop and Ellen's Ice Cream.

One other thing we always look for is things to do outdoors. Where we are this week isn't far from New River Gorge. So if it nice on Saturday when we are preparing to drive back home we may go a little out of our way to enjoy this beautiful park. There is also a few great nature preserves right here in Charleston that we might check out today if the girls are in the mood and the weather is great (for my Erie friends it was 77 and sunny yesterday and is supposed to be 72 and sunny today).

One thing I definitely have to say that  is different between traveling just Brian and I to traveling with kids is the amount of stuff you can pack into one day. When we were just married we could go from morning to night without stopping. Now that we have kids everything gets planned around their nap time and bed time. With four under five nap time is a big priority for me. Without naps everyone gets cranky. We can push bedtime a little bit but not much. The baby is even more sensitive to difference in her bed time than her older sisters.

Also another thing with kids is that it really doesn't matter where we go just as long as we are together. They don't care if we buy them something or go some place wild and crazy. Just going to a park with them and swinging on a swing is good enough.  They just enjoy being with us. I think some of my favorite memories from this trip will be spending time together as a family in the hotel pool or sitting in our hotel room talking and coloring.

I love that our kids are easy going like us. I love that they are up for anything. I think sometimes I'm the one that holds them back as I will say "we shouldn't go there as that is too old for them." but then when we get there I see that they have a ton of fun and it actually was to their ability level.

 

I also love looking at things through the eyes of a child. They notice some of the most innocent things. I love how God's creation looks to them. There are things I take for granted everyday but things like them seeing tulips and daffodils growing make me really stop and wonder what else I am missing as we run through our days.

I hope everyone has a happy Friday. Today is our last full day in Charleston so we are heading out to find some more fun things to do.



Traveling - Not killing my results

One of the most important things to consider while travelling is the amount of time you'll eat out, Many times you won't have access to a means to cook. Some hotels don't have refrigerators in them. Others may have a free breakfast. Yet others like the one we are staying at this week have a free evening reception. How do you navigate these choices.

Last night we went to the evening reception at our hotel. There was cheese and crackers, dips, pretzels and chips and then fruit. I got us each a piece of fruit and then walked away. I didn't pick up anything else as I knew it wasn't good for us. Don't even give into the temptation.

Same goes for hotel breakfasts. Some have a continental breakfast. This usually means that they have some type of fruit. Skip the junk like high sugar cereals and those Danishes and fuel up on some fruit. If there is yogurt get some of that for protein. If there is eggs and they aren't fried or fake get those. Stay away from the bacon and sausage. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Don't skip it and make sure to properly fuel your body.

As far as eating out there are a few things we need to remember:
1. A cheat meal once a week is okay.  This means that we will eat outside of our normal diet. You can choose any meal or snack but NOT both.
2. You must consider portion size. You cannot eat all of your calories in a day for your cheat meal. It will hurt your progress.
3. Don't feel guilty for your cheat meal. Remember this is a one time occurrence during the week. Savor every bite and then move on.
4. Don't let it trigger more unhealthy eating. Don't say well I've already "fallen off the wagon" and then continue to eat poorly. Eat this one meal and then move on.

So number two says to plan your indulgence meals and this is where I want to spend a little time. Last night we knew we were going to a restaurant called Pies and Pints. Before we left the hotel I pulled up their menu with nutrition information. I choose something that was within my calorie budget and as close to the containers that I had left.

I also use this strategy if I am going out to eat and don't want a cheat meal. I head to the restaurant's web site and then look for items that meet my meal plan. If the restaurant's web site doesn't have calorie information another great resource to use is either My Fitness Pal or Spark People. Both have users that have entered in items from restaurants that normally wouldn't have calorie information on the company's websites.

Another strategy of eating out is to request a quiet spot. those that eat in front of a TV or next to the kitchen are considerably more likely to eat more.  Also, skip the appetizers and the bread. each of these are just fillers.

Another thing I do if a restaurant doesn't have a menu online and there is no information on any websites I make the server my best friend. I'll ask him or her how it is prepared and if there are any hidden ingredients like butter or salt.

Remember that weight loss is 80% diet and 10% exercise

You could exercise an hour or two a day but if you don't get you diet in check you'll never lose weight or never stay healthy.

I hope these tips help you navigate either the next time you are away from home or the next time you are going out to eat.

Traveling with Kids-Prep

So today we are leaving for a little family trip. Yesterday I spent the day preparing for our trip. With six of us traveling and one in cloth diapers this will be an interesting trip. With four car seats in the car space is a premium.

For starters I pack using laundry baskets:

I let all the girls except D pack their own bags. I told them basically what they need to pack (5 pairs underwear, 4 socks, a bathing suit etc) and they pick what they want. This way later in the week when they say they don't like the outfits they had I can remind them that they picked them.

I pack them in the laundry basket so that as they wear the clothes I put them in the laundry basket. This way when I get home I am able to take the laundry basket into the laundry room and wash it. I do the same for our clothes to. This allows me to have a very easy clean up.

The diapers will also go in a  laundry basket. In one side of the laundry basket will be my wet bag. In the other side will be all the clean diapers. I love this method. I will however miss my diaper sprayer. If you cloth diaper and have never used a diaper sprayer you must get one. It is especially clutch when you have a 15 month old in diapers and are pregnant with twins.

I packed snacks for us as the drive is supposed to be 5.5 hours. I don't know if we will hit traffic around Pittsburgh as we are leaving by 8AM and will hit Wexford around 9:30.

I packed each of us an apple and a single serving a carrots. We will be taking our water. We also will be taking granola bars. This will allow us to stop at rest stops and not have to get off at any exits. We also wont make any bad choices and try to get something from a vending machine or McDonalds.

We will be taking our Shakeology. We won't be taking the travel blender this time. We didn't want to have to take frozen fruit with us. We instead will drink our Shakeology with just water for our morning snack. We get free breakfast at the hotel. They make omelets to order. I will just grab an extra piece of fruit at breakfast and viola morning snack.

Drinking my Shakeology before we leave

I also will be packing the co-sleeper. I don't want to use a hotel crib.  It is so much more convenient for  me to nurse her two-three times a night while she is in the co-sleeper.

I will be posing more tips as we travel this week. We haven't even gotten in the car yet and I'm already sick of hearing:

Haha! I'm hope everyone has a great week.