Tone It Up Bikini Series Round 2!

Today was the start of Round 2 of the Tone It Up Bikini Series! 

I'm feeling extra motivated right now for several reasons:

• This is Day 1 of my Erin Condren Life Planner
• Shouldn't make a difference, but it feels like a new beginning!
• My friend's wedding is right around the corner and I'm not thrilled with how I look right now
• My race is coming up and I want to be ready for it!
• I'm ready to fill the kitchen with healthy foods since we're wrapping up our June Food Challenge!

I wasn't able to do as much as I would have liked today, but I was able to get in a 4 mile jog!!  On top of that, I also did a bunch of the Cardio Abs workout from TIU:

Finally, I did the following exercises:

• 30 crunches
• 10 burpees
• 10 squats
• 10 pushups

I'm completely out of shape because now I'm exhausted!  But the workout felt really good and tomorrow I plan to do even more :)

Have you heard of Tone It Up?

NEW 2017 Erin Condren Lifestyle Planner

Yesterday, my NEW 2017 Erin Condren LifePlanner arrived and I am so excited!!  I've always had a strange love for stationary & these planners are just filled with bright colors and happiness! 

I picked the 18 month option so I could start using it right away!  Along with my regular meetings and appointments, I'll also use my planner to keep track of my fitness journey... weight, exercise, and half marathon training!

I can't get enough of the fun colors on each page and all the additional accessories (stickers!) that came with my purchase. 

This is the vertical option, which breaks the day into three parts.  It allows for a bit of flexibility instead of scheduling what I'll be doing each hour of the day.  Good thing this planner looks so sturdy because I have a feeling it will be well-loved during the next year and a half!

Do you use a planner to organize your day?

Weekly Weigh In - Week #4

Today is a travel day for me!  

It's always a little tougher for me to eat healthy meals on these days, but at least I managed to go a whole week without eating Doritos chips!  (hooray for small victories!)

Diet & Food:

My cheats went down dramatically this week!

• 1 Butter Croissant at Phillz Coffee
• 1 Madeline
• Mini Snickers Bars
• 1/2 Breakfast Burrito

Exercise:

Groupon was promoting a deal for the San Jose Rock and Roll Race in October, so I decided to sign up for the 10k!  My current times are miserable, but I'm hoping to improve in time for the race!

Here's a look at my Fitbit steps for the week. I was bad and missed my goal a couple times.  Today isn't over yet, so I can still get in a few more steps :) 

I started using the app MapMyWalk to track my distance and times.  My goal next week is to complete at least two 3 mile runs.

Starting Weight: 20 lbs from goal weight

Wk #1: Down 3 lbs
Wk #2: Down 4.5 lbs
Wk #3: Down 4.5 lbs 
Wk #4: Down 5 lbs

Tea Cleanse!

For the next 21 days, I'll be drinking A LOT of tea!   I've read that herbs like lemongrass and dandelion can be used as part of a detox cleanse.  While I don't intend to do a full cleanse, I do want to see if there are any noticeable benefits to significantly increasing the amount of tea consumed. 

I'm very lucky that my work provides tea for free, so I essentially have an unlimited supply.   I plan to drink 6 cups of herbal tea each day for the next 21 days!

What is your favorite type of tea?

Weekly Weigh In - Week #3

Diet & Food:

I think I'm able to identify a few weaknesses after week #3.  The bad trends include regular consumption of chips and cookies!  Here were my cheats of the week:

• Happy Hour - Grilled Cheese Sandwiches & Drinks
• McDouble from McDonalds
• Chocolate chip cookie + Madelines + Pocky Chocolate Almond Crush
• Ben and Jerry Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream
• Doritos Chips

This next week, I promise to avoid all chips!  Slowly, I may be able to break some of my bad habits!

Exercise:

• Running, running, running... I'm starting off slow and am only doing about 3 miles every few days.  Next week, I really want to work on increasing my pace and distance. 

Other:

• I've decided to start filling in my new Tone It Up 8 Week Bikini Journal!  This might be a great way for me to spot more trends when it comes to diet and exercise.  Plus, I'm hoping it will keep me motivated!  I'm a little off from the regular TIU program, which is currently in week 7 but that's okay!

Starting Weight: 20 lbs from goal weight

Wk #1: Down 3 lbs
Wk #2: Down 4.5 lbs
Wk #3: Down 4.5 lbs - no change :(

Do you keep a track of your meals and log your workouts?

Weekly Weigh In - Week #2

Well, my diet hasn't improved much this week...

Diet & Food:

I've had quite a few "cheats" this week, including:

• Pepperoni Pizza 
• Biscotti + Brownie Brittle + Madeleine
• Doritos Chips
• Fried Rice 
• Godiva Chocolates
• Team Dinner = Fried Onion Ring, Reuben, French Fries, Moscow Mule, Champagne
• Team Lunch = Kinder's BBQ Beef Sandwich with Bacon
• Chocolate Chip Cookie

Exercise:

I've been trying to keep up with my goal of walking 10,000 steps a day, except... can you guess which day I forgot to wear my fitbit?



Starting Weight: 20 lbs from goal weight
Wk #1: Down 3 lbs
Wk #2: Down 4.5 lbs

June Food Challenge

Katie from Runs for Cookies posted this great idea for a June Food Challenge.  Check out her post here.  She decided to focus on cleaning out her pantry by not grocery shopping for a whole month!  There are a few exceptions of course such as: milk, eggs, and fresh produce.  

My husband and I thought we could try this too!  We have a TON of food to get through especially since we are remodeling our kitchen and reducing the storage space we have.  We'll probably go on one last food run to stock up on some protein, but after that no more cookies, crackers, chips, pasta, bread, cereal, etc etc etc!

Thank goodness there are so many seasonal fruits and veggies that we can use to substitute!

($5 bag of cherries from Whole Foods)

What's your favorite Summer fruit or vegetable?

Tone It Up Haul

My Tone It Up order just arrived and I am so excited!! This is my first order from the Toneitup website and I am thrilled with everything I've tried so far.

I've had my current (Gaiam) yoga mat since December 2009, which I purchased for $21.  As much as I love that mat, it is definitely time for a new one.  My new TIU yoga mat is SO much better too! It is a beautiful color (light blue/turquoise on one side and pink on the other) and has a lot of cushion.  Couldn't be happier!!

I also picked up a foam roller so my husband and I can release tightness in our muscles at home.  It's nice to have one just to ourselves because the ones at the gym sort of gross me out if I start thinking about how many countless sweaty individuals have rolled on them. Blech!  

	Limited Edition Perfect Fit Vanilla Latte Quantity: 1 Total: $26.00
	Yoga Mat Quantity: 1 Total: $35.00
	Foam Roller Quantity: 1 Total: $18.00
	Starfish Hug Ring - Silver Quantity: 1 Total: $11.99
	Tone It Up 8 Week Journal Quantity: 1 Total: $14.99
	Tone It Up Socks - 3 Color Quantity: 1 Total: $10.00

I'm actually most excited for the TIU 8 week journal, which will be a great way to track my exercise and diet this Summer!

The starfish ring is for my best friend who LOVES the beach and the ocean.  I may put it in a little mason jar filled with goodies for her next beach camping adventure!  I could put in a little sunblock, lip balm, and sea shells.

I have yet to try the TIU protein powder and to be honest, I'm not quite sure how I feel yet about protein shakes.  I had no idea which flavor to pick, but I'm obsessed with vanilla lattes so hoping this protein powder flavor is pretty good.  

What's your favorite protein powder flavor?

Weekly Weigh In - Week #1

This is my first weekly weigh in!  

My starting weight was about 20 lbs over my goal weight.  My plan was to lose the first 5 lbs by reducing the amount of junk food I eat.  

If I'm totally honest, I've had a "cheat meal" more often than I'd like to admit.  Here is a list of the unhealthy foods I've had:

• Pepperoni Pizza + Soda
• Biscotti + Brownie Brittle
• Red Robin Banzai Burger
• Sweet Potato Fries
• Steak Fries
• Red Robin Cookie Magic Shake
• Starbucks Iced Caramel Macchiato
• Thai Iced Tea Boba + Pearl Milk Tea Boba
• Happy Hour - Strawberry Daiquiri + other drinks 

And that's just what I can remember!!  Despite all this, I am now 17 lbs away from my goal weight!  

I'm attributing the weight loss to the amount of walking I've been doing recently.  I started using fitbit to track my steps and it has really helped motivate me to move more!

Here's my fitbit summary for the week as of this Thursday morning:

This upcoming week is going to be tough with Memorial Day weekend, but I'm going to try to be a bit healthier!  At least I'll try to avoid the free soda in the cafeteria!!

Fitbit Goal Day - May 21st

In an attempt to get serious about fitness, I purchased a fitbit!  Too bad purchase alone doesn't result in a beach body. 

I bought mine from Best Buy almost entirely with gift cards, so at least I didn't shell out a bunch of money... in case it ends up in a drawer in a couple of months.

This Saturday, fitbit is challenging their users to join in "Goal Day" where we'll all be competing with our friends to complete as many steps as possible in a single day!  I think I'll join!