For The Health of Grace

Friday, March 20, 2015

It has begun . . .

Originally, I wanted to start back at the gym on this past Monday, but that did not happen due to some unforeseen circumstances. But I went on Wednesday and Friday (today). I must say it is exhilarating being back in the gym again. It is not that I have not been working out, but I have been working out at home and still paying gym fee. This makes no sense, lol. But being in the gym is a completely different feeling, and I forgot how good it is. I believe I did 100 squats, 100 biceps curls, 100 over head presses, etc. Therefore, I am really going to be sore tomorrow.

I am trying to get my tone back. A few months ago, I was where I wanted to be and then life kind of happened, lol. I am not so far off, I have maintained most of what I worked for. I am going to use this blog again to keep me accountable for my workouts. And so it begins . . .

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Here I go again!

Well, 2015 is here. Actually it has been here for a few months now, lol. Although I have not been writing, it does not mean I have not been active! I will admit that during January, I slacked off a bit, but not too much. But then in February I got sick. But I am much better now, and have gotten back into the swing of things.

I have been working a lot on my flexibility. Unfortunately, I lost a good bit of flexibility when I started running. At one point I was running every day. And I was running up to 30 miles per week. However, all the running was doing a number on my hips and knees (which does happen to women). Therefore, after speaking with a sports medicine specialist, I was advised to cut my running down. So now I only run two times a week between 3-5 miles, and my body is so thankful!

While running, I no longer had time or the energy for my favorite thing, salsa dancing! Now, I am dancing again. Also, I still do HIIT, body weight training and pilates.

A few months ago I did the 10 Day Green Smoothie Cleanse, and it guarantees that you lose up to 10 pounds in the 10 days. Now, it is not one of those starvation "diets." I did have snacks, like vegetables, fruits and nuts. So I was never hungry. And it worked! I did not want to lose a lot of weight, because I don't really have much that I could lose healthily. I wanted to conquer my dreaded sweet tooth. I was able to do so for a very long time. Then in the new year I had a cookie and that was it, lol. I am going to repeat the 10 Green Smoothie once again to conquer the sweet tooth.

Well that is my catch for 2015 thus far. Until the next time . . .

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

30 Day Challenge!

It has been my intention to keep up with this blog! And yet I have not.

But I have been quite busy. In January, I ran the MLK 5k and ran my fastest time; 31 minutes. I was so proud of myself!

Starting January 16, 2014, I began the Body Rock 30 Day Catching Fire Challenge (www.dailyhiit.com). This challenge is based on HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training). I love these workout, because I can be done in about 12 minutes and have a full and eventful all over body workout.

Although I begin on January 16th, I had to restart on January 27th due to the fact that I became ill. It was some virus that was going around attacking everyone. However, thanks to elderberry syrup I kicked that virus' derrière. But not to be deterred from my goal, once I felt better I attacked the challenge like nothing ever happened to me.

I really liked the exercises in this particular challenge; I was never bored and I was amazed at the different exercises that I did as well as how strong I became.

By taking photos through the challenge, I tracked my progress. A while ago, I decided not to get on the scale, that's a sure way to get depressed! The way my clothes fit was a great indicator of my progress as well. Yesterday I wore a pair of pants that were extremely baggy, but the week before they were not. While doing this challenge, I continued to run. On Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays I ran 3 miles and on Saturdays I ran 6-7 miles. Then on Sundays, I would either do a slow 1.5 - 3 mile recovery run or walk.

Since I started the HIIT Challenge, I noticed that my running has gotten better. Let me expound. I did not feel as many aches as I did before the Challenge, which is a great thing! The HIIT Challenge was a lot of core workouts, which is great for runners. There is another challenge coming up, Boot Camp you can sign up for it here: Boot Camp 21 Day Challenge.

Here is an example:

Today, February 25, 2014 I completed the Catching Fire Challenge! I am so proud of myself. It is also great that tomorrow is my birthday. Yep, I will be 38! I guess you want to see my results, huh?

Here they are:

Not bad for a soon to be 38 year old.

Another thing that has helped my progress is my diet. A year ago I became vegan. I did it for my own health benefits. Don't worry, I am not a militant vegan. I don't judge or try to convert others to veganism. I believe that everyone should do what is best for them. Sometimes I still crave a double cheese whooper, lol. That's just being real :) Well that's it for me. Now I need to maintain, and continue to get better. My journey continues!

*I forgot to mention, on day 30 I am a little bloated. I have visitor coming real soon.

It's a new year!

Wow, I can't believe that it has been a year since I last wrote in this blog. It was my intention to continue to have up to date posts. Slack, I have been. But, I have been active! Last year, I became a fulltime vegan! I also started going back to the gym and added weight lifting again. But now I only go two times a week. Here is my work out schedule:

Monday and Wednesday: HIIT Training at the Gym
Tuesday and Thursday: Run 3 miles
Friday: Rest
Saturday: Long run, 7.5-10 miles
Sunday: Either 1.5 - 2 mile run/walk

December was the best month of 2013 for me. I ran my first race, the Savannah Bridge Run. This is the toughest course in the state! I did the Double Pump, running up and down the bridge 3 times. It was an awesome experience. I got my first black toe nail :)

Also, I am liking the changes that are happening with my body. I am leaner, which is what I want. I started going back to the gym in May 2013 and I am now just starting to see the changes that everyone else says they see. Often, I catch myself staring and flexing in the mirror! I still got a bit to go, but I am happy with what I have accomplished thus far.

I have not been to the gym this year, but I have been running! I ran 7.5 miles on Saturday and ran 1.5 and walked 1.5 on Sunday. It was my intention to go to the gym on Monday, but I did not feel like it, and I was supposed to run today, but it was like 5 degrees outside. So, I am running 3 miles tomorrow and Thursday. Then, head to the gym on Friday and Saturday. I am still getting it in!

I am going to keep up with the blog this year! Stay tuned!

Saturday, January 5, 2013

I am still here!

Hi everyone. I know it has been a while since I have written in my blog, but that does not mean I have not been active! Since the last time I wrote, I completed a few other challenges. I did a Pilates challenge, two challenges with Bodyrock.tv, and now I am running and doing pilates. I also incorporate some of www.zukalight.com exercises into my workout regimen.

I have not been to the gym to lift physical weights in a very long time. Now, I use more body weight. Since I am running, I have been advised to stay away from heavy weights because they can interfere with long distance running. So I use my 2-3 pound weights as well as my 8 pound kettle bell. I am going to get another set of weights, so that I can continue to build up my upper body.

A current picture is below. I have not weighed myself in a very long time. And I will be honest I did get a little lazy, it happens. But I was not lazy for long, the most I took off was about two weeks. So, I am not so bad =)

I am starting a vegan challenge. I am going to go vegan for a month and see how that affects my body. I need to kick the sweets again. But I have been eating clean sweets (thats what I tell myself to feel better). I will keep you up to date. The vegan challenge won't be so hard, since I am already a vegetarian. The only thing is that I love cheese. To help me out I ordered some vegan cookbooks: soul food, Latin, and Caribbean. I am excited! Well that is all for my updates. Can you believe it is 2013! Happy New Year everyone!

Getting ready for a run! 2013

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Oh no, not again. It hurts so good, I don't understand . . .

Rod Stewart is referenced in the title. It's from his song "Infatuation". I thought it was an appropriate title considering. Just watch the video . . .

Sunday, April 8, 2012

It's Done! I'm Finished!

Hello everyone! On yesterday, Saturday, April 7, 2012 I completed the Jamie Eason LiveFit Challenge. Wow! Okay. As some of you who have been reading my blogs know, this has been a tough journey for me. I am in the middle of completing my MBA program and I work 40 plus hours a week. I've been getting up at 4 am in the morning to go to the gym and workout. Man, I set here and think about my first time in the gym. I was so intimidated. I did not know what I was doing.

And now, I am a veteran. I go in the gym and do my workouts without any problems. I am no longer intimidated. I even made some acquaintances. However, there were some issues. During Phase III I started to encounter injuries. First it was my left foot, then it was my right groin, and last my right hip. I had to take a few days off just to recuperate. Also, last weekend I went to New York for a wedding and I did not go to the gym. But I more than made up for it with all of the walking I did. I was planning for this weekend to be my one and only cheat weekend. But it did not happen. I could not bring myself to do it. I did have a small piece of cake, but is slimmer than a slice of bread, lol. So I still ate well at a wedding, that had so much food. Okay, maybe one thing I ate that was bad was the pasta, and I did not eat all of that either.

So, I guess you want to know what are my results. Well, I started this program officially weighing 138 pounds. Now I weigh 136 pounds. Unfortunately, I did not take my measurements or percentage of body fat at the beginning of this program. But my clothes are really loose. Too big to be exact. I wore a pair of skinny jeans yesterday and they were kinda baggy. I have some photos that I will post.

Some of you may have some questions. So, I will try to guestimate them.

1. Did you follow the program to a T? I tried very hard to do the workouts as designed and for the most part I did, until the injuries started happening in phase III.

2. Did I eat right the whole time? The answer is mostly yes. My biggest thing is that I don't think I ate often enough. I am a vegetarian so I don't really eat bad. What I had to do is cut out sugar. Well unnatural sugars. I replaced sugar with xylitol. Xylitol is a great sugar substitute and it tastes just like sugar. For this program it called for lean proteins, chicken, fish, etc. However, being a vegetarian, I could not eat the chicken, but I did eat fish, tofu, and shrimp. For breakfast, I did either egg whites, oatmeal, or Kashi cereal with 6 grams of sugar or less and unsweetened almond milk (my new favorite, I've actually turned my mom onto it). And of course I ate fruit and vegetables. Nuts: almonds, cashews and walnuts. I tried to eat as many times a day as I could, and I did protein shakes. I also have fallen it love with Ezekiel bread. It's my new favorite thing (with natural peanut butter).

3. Did you ever get discouraged? Yes, I did plenty of times. I just felt like nothing was happening to my body. The biggest mistake was getting on the scale. The scale does not tell the whole story. I gained muscles, which weigh more that fat. Once I got this through my head I was good.

4. I am I happy with the results? For the most part, yes . . . I am healthier and stronger. I remember, I could barely do 5 push ups, now I can do three sets of 10 - 15. I am not happy that I had to lose some days due to my injuries. I do believe these missed days impacted my progress a little bit. But I look great if I do say so myself ;)

5. What's next? That is what I have been thinking about. I thought about doing the whole program all over again. That is once I have finished with my MBA classes. This way, I can fully concentrate on working out and planning my meals ahead. If you go to www.bodybuilding.com there are plenty of programs and information about working out. I think I may try another program from there. I do plan to continue to eat clean and healthy.

You want to see updated photos? Here we go.