Slow and Steady

As Easter comes upon us, I decided to look back at where I was a year ago to where I am now.  The progress has been slow but steady it feels like.  Of course, I would like some more dramatic results but I was not necessarily in a place where dramatic results would make sense.  When your before body looks similar to some people's after body, it's both a good and frustrating place to start, especially since I was not about to starve myself nor stop enjoying life.

I spent 45 minutes on the bike yesterday and I also did 120 leg lifts yesterday.  I did 100 calf lifts after a night at my favorite sushi spot...

That would be the sake flight.  Super delish, especially the unfiltered sake (the milky colored one).  I have introduced a few people to this and they absolutely adore it.

A friend playing around grabbed this pic as we were waiting at valet for my car...

Is it me or do my ass and hips look smaller...

This morning, I did 30 minutes on my bike, then concentrated on leg resistance exercises such as squats, fire-hydrants, and leg lifts.

Staying on track back in the Ville

I have been staying on track back in the Ville with a total 90 mins on my bike and 120 crunches completed.  I packed a bag for the gym but then forgot it at home on my way into work so looks like another in-home workout.  Considering that I have a tendency to come back to town and be unproductive within the first 24-48 hours, I will say things are going well.

I'm down 5 more pounds and another inch in the hips.  Waist is staying the same however so I bit bummed about that.  Ah well...

Last Day in LA

Last day in LA was filled with friends, laughter, and tapas.  Bow and Truss has one of the best tapas menus ever and from 3-6pm on Saturdays, they are $2 off.  Absolutely worth it!!!!  The mushrooms are succulent and super tasty.  My two drinks there are the Moscow Mule - LA style and the Penicillin, 'nough said.

For a work out before the debauchery, it was all about calisthenics - 200 crunches.  50 plank push ups.  Something I learned, for every 100 crunches = 1lb loss.  So at the very least, calisthenics every day!!!

This is how the day started...

And this is how it ended...

 

At Eclectic

We then had to rush for my red eye back to Nashvegas...

And yes, I changed into appropriate traveling attire.  ;-)

Friendly Friday

So my best friend and I hung out with my mom's good friend since they were 9 years old.  That is a super long time!!!  Then we met up with my bestie's other good friend from college.  I have known my bestie for 20 years so today has been a day of enduring friendships.  

My work out today consisted of mainly all calisthenics and core work.  A total of 200 crunches and 50 plank push ups.  As before, I snacked on cuties and cheese throughout the day.

We went back to Eclectic, which I think is definitely the best Happy Hour in N. Hollywood aka NoHo.  A little early though from 3-6 so good for people with more flex time in their work schedules.  They also have a late night happy hour that starts at 8:30 Sun - Thurs.  I recommend the Steamed Chicken Pot Stickers.  My LA drink apparently is a Moscow Mule.  In the background is some bruschetta.  While I am not supposed to be eating carbs, I did have a bite and let me tell you the tomatoes and garlic were super fresh.  I'm not a huge fan of bruschetta but that was YUMMMYYYY!  Plus the bread was thinly sliced and small so perfectly bite sized and not heavy.

I also got to enjoy the great LA sun!!!

Hollywood - Day 3

So far, I've been having fun in the City of Angels, the Land of Celebs and Beauty.  I've had some pretty interesting and engaging conversations, which have made me rethink the shallowness I have first encountered on previous visits.  It's still there but people aren't as shallow as they 1st appear.  Ironic...

Anyway, yesterday I did 100 crunches.  Go me!!  And HIIT treadmill at the highest resistance/incline for 30 minutes.

Hit Hollywood for a bit yesterday.  Ordered their version of the Moscow Mule.  Quite yummy!!!!  Did not eat much while out.  I've been basically snacking throughout the days with yogurt, cheese, cuties (little Clementines), and some protein - smoked salmon, some sushi rolls with brown rice.  Also I've been drinking lots of water and tea.  All in all, being intentional with those items I am putting into my body.  When I get back to town, I definitely want to be more laser-focused on that intention.

I did not stay out too late as I had an early morning meeting I needed to prep for.  All in all, I'm pleased I've been staying on track and being relatively productive.  I swear the sun completely reenergizes me!!!!  Hope you are staying on track as well.  Here's sending positive energy to you on your journey!!!

Here I come Beverly Hills

Throughout the day, I managed to do calisthenics, mainly concentrating on my core  - Leg lifts, holds, planks, boat pose.

We went to a couple of events out in Hollywood and then in Beverly Hills.   I had planned to come back and do cardio however that did not happen - LOL and anyway, I really did not eat while out.

Of course I had my requisite drinks however...

Absolut Raspberry with Grapefruit Juice

Vodka Cran splash Red Bull

The Sun Makes Me Happy :-)

It's amazing I have spent the majority of my life living in parts of the country where a true winter actually exists.  If you follow my blog, you know darn well that gray, dreary, cold days make me super lethargic, unproductive, and kicks in my primitive hibernation mode.

Whereas in the sun (especially the warm sun) energy is an abundance.  Love being outside and working out.  Every time I am in these climates, I think really what am I doing living where I live.  Of course in all fairness, nothing compares to living in the NYC metro area as NYC is the best, most interesting city.  

But I think I need to spend the majority of the winter months flitting between Miami and potentially Cali, AZ and/or Vegas.  I really need to figure that out because I swear the winter practically derailed my weight loss progress.

Yesterday, I hit the gym twice.  Yesterday morning, I went for a run on the treadmill and then in the afternoon, I did resistance walking on the treadmill at different speeds, then weighted squats.  Basically a cardio day.

We decided to hang out in West Hollywood.  Did a sushi spot.  Had sashimi salad and Nigori (unfiltered sake).  Yummy!!!! (Ok - I'm bad with taking the pics while out. My bad)  Then off to this sports bar which apparently turns into a club after a certain time filled with folks in their 20s.  Music was good, drinks decent, got some free samples.  I did however take a pic on the way to West Hollywood :-0

I'm definitely going to need your help reminding me to take pics of the drinks and food.  Along those lines, we shared 2 bottles of Nigori.  I also had Absolut Raspberry on the rocks.  Keeping those calories down while having a grand ole time!!!

Today, I will be concentrating on weight resistance and calisthenics.  Will let you know how that goes.  Toodles!!!

When there's a will, there's a weight

Yesterday, the bestie and I hit the gym in her apt building.  We mainly did the weight machine but while she was doing her reps, I was either sprinting on the treadmill or doing the steepest incline.

We did full body weights, working on thighs, quads, tripes, bicpes, and core.  My favorite was full body resistance band squats.

I only went down 1/2 an inch in the waist however I have been consistently 5lbs less than I was for my other bestie's wedding in Tobago.

We went bar hopping in NoHo (North Hollywood) for happy hour.  Bow and Truss, NoHo Bar, and Eclectic.  Met some awesome people at all three places!!!  Eclectic's food is amazing especially the steamed chicken pot stickers and Bow and Truss has some amazing drinks.  Forgot to take pics of the food (I'm going to try to do better - I promise!) but I do have pics of a yummy skinny margarita.

Still on Track in the City of Angels

Travelled to LA to hang with my bestie a couple days ago.  Since work was crazy hectic in the couple days before I left, I did not get a chance to really work out.
When I got to my friend's place, I saw a scale and immediately decided to check my weight.  I was definitely dreading this considering my lack of discipline this year.  Amazingly, not only had I not gained weight, I've lost 5lbs since February.  

Thankfully, my friend is also trying to get back on track with her health so we will be encouraging each other.  Within 24hours of me being in LA, we went on a 3.5 miles hike with some steep inclines.

Of course I am in the city of Angels, celebrities, and fashion, so my first night there we went to LA Fashion week.  I had Svedka Mango Pineapple on the rocks and Red Bull on the side.  I was seriously exhausted from lack of sleep, constant travel and entertaining.

After a day of hiking, there was definitely a libation in my life.  A lot of my peeps in TN drink Jack and Ginger so I decided to give that a try.  Pretty yummy.  I will definitely have to try in the Caribbean where I can get fresh ginger...

My trip to LA was pretty good.  I was pleasantly surprised considering I had negative thoughts about American Airlines but 1st class was great.  Of course, I had my hot toddy's.

Beautiful scenery from the plane...

My friend as usual was running on some serious African people time so I decided to have a photo shoot while I waited.  

She of course blames the traffic except there is ALWAYS traffic in LA.  I definitely could not live here permanently.  You cannot go places without driving and yet highways of 5 lanes are congested even on weekends.  During the day.  Ridiculous!!!  This is my WTF the look...

The goal today is to run/walk a few miles and hit the gym for weights.  

Wish us luck!!!!  Let me know how you are doing on your journey!!!!!

Happy St. Patty's Day

After telling myself I was not going to go out for St. Patty's Day, I, of course did end up going out for St. Patty's Day and meeting with a couple friends.

I was totally not prepared having decided to wear all red in the AM and just happened to have a green bracelet on.  Me in my hot red sitting in the sun.  I love my Vitamin D!

Needless to say, good times. 

This AM, I woke up at 3am and worked out until 5am at the crib.  That was biking and calisthenics.  I would bike for 30 mins, then do some of my calisthenics routines.  Today, I did full body - arms, legs, and core.  I also put on a 20lbs weight vest for the biking intervals.  Unfortunately, no change in my measurements this morning.  Let's hope for a lil sumthin sumthin tomorrow AM.

Day 2 of being back on track

Down an inch and half in the waist!  Yea.  I have to make sure to keep this momentum going.

Cardio
I did 75mins on bike at varying speeds and resistances with a 10lbs weight harness.  

Resistance Training/Calisthenics
I then strapped on 10lbs ankle weights.  With these on, I did two sets of firehydrants.  Each set includes 30 repetitions, 30 secs holds each leg each position.  I did weighted squats with a 25lbs weight, three reps of 20, 30, 30 then 30 sec holds.  In between each rep, I did calf lifts, 60, 70, 80, 60 secs hold

I did leg side bends (30 each side) with the weights still on as well as leg lifts, 12 each side.

I did bridges and a bridge pose hold.  Still with weights on.  

I also did 30 plank push ups and two 60 seconds plank holds.  No weights.

The calisthenics routine took 30 minutes.

A third through the year...

We are almost  out of the season of the year where I struggle the most i.e. winter.  I love winter for the following reasons: My bday, Christmas, and Thanksgiving but I absolutely cannot stand the cold, the gray clouds, the constant precipitation whether it be freezing rain, snow, or ice.  The sun will be hiding for weeks and lack of Vitamin D is 100% not good for me.  I am overall lethargic and wish to just hibernate.

Traditionally, this is the season where I put on weight, cuddle underneath the covers, and work from home as much as possible.

I am trying to work on these habits, but you know... I'm human.  I know, surprise, surprise.

Needless to say, I really have not worked out in the past 30 days (think pre-wedding).  I just got on the bike yesterday for the first time for two hours, and did calisthenics this AM.

Amazingly, my inches have stayed approx the same but my weight is constantly fluctuating on this scale I just bought.  It's that time of month so I need to figure out what is happening but this is just confirming that the scale is not the best tool to measure progress.  Inches and the way your clothes look and feel I think are the better bet.  I was definitely bloated a couple days ago, but since then my inches in my lower waist line have gone down 2.5, middle waist .5 and upper waist(right under bust) has stayed the same.

With that said, I think I've lost quite a bit of muscle tone do the sedentary month I've just had (and let's be honest, I've been off and on this year so far) although a friend seems to think I look more firm.  

In the last 48 hours, I've lost an inch in my hips.

The goal is to go very hard core and drastic with the workout routines this week.  I fly to LA on Saturday so definitely looking forward to more outdoorsy activities.

While I have not been working out, I have had some fun times out partying...

Wouldn't you like to know...