Challenge: Week 7

Valentine’s Day Dinner

Going to the gym has become easier and easier. After a month I can feel running getting easier and easier for me. I am running for longer increments and walking less during my cardio regiments. I am stepping more and more out of my comfort zone and trying different weight machines and free weights.

This month I am supposed to be focusing on eating healthier. More fruits and veggies and less fast food. I have to say, I haven’t been doing so well with this part of my 12 Month Challenge. It needs to stop. Breaking old habits are hard. If they weren’t I wouldn’t have to do this here Challenge, would I?

My sister is coming into town next week so we will be eating out a little more than regular but my goal is to choose my meals smarter sticking to protein and veggies and staying further away from pastas and rices that are so delicious. Well, as soon as my Valentine’s Day Italian left overs are all gone, of course.

Smaller meals and portions and meal planning is going to help me beat this goal. I have been bringing a peanut butter sandwich to work in the mornings instead of making my Starbucks run. Last week even made coffee before work one night. I put it in a tumbler and let it sit in the refrigerator. Not adding ice to it kept the coffee strong and it was delicious the next morning. Saving money and being smart about what I eat.

The past few days I was a little blog MIA. Work was pretty crazy and I was in the store at 4 a.m. four days last week. After going from work to cheerleading practice (I coach as my second job) all I wanted to do when I got home was shower, sleep and wake up with some coffee the next day. With a few days to finally veg out I am ready to get back to this here blog. Enjoy.

Why I’d Like to Cut Cable

Before I moved in with Chris and our other roommates I lived in a cute little studio apartment by myself. There I was able to be as frugal as I wanted to and cut as many corners as I could. If I wanted it to be freezing and layer my bed with blankets, that’s what I did. When I wanted to cancel cable, I did it. In fact, I lived without cable and internet for the last 6 months I was in my studio.

When I first moved in I had a sign up bonus. It was something along the lines of cable and internet for $80 a month for cable and internet. But then my year was up and I all of a sudden was paying $130 on the some service I was getting before. That just didn’t make sense to me. I called and tried to fight it and they were able to give me another deal but that expired after two months.

That’s when I decided I wasn’t going to call the dreaded cable company every few months to negotiate a price. And so I canceled.

At first it was a little weird. I had to use my cell phone for any internet browsing, Facebook stalking or email checking. My other option was to go to a coffee house or bring my laptop to work and do what I needed to on my breaks.

As far as TV was concerned, Netflix and Redbox became my two best friends. I caught up on full seasons of TV shows and watched more movies then I knew what to do with. Not having TV also forced me to read more and even to go out more. I tend to be a homebody if not pushed.

Currently we have cable and internet. Pretty basic cable, no HBO or movie channels, and internet at the middle speed they offer. We also have 4 boxes with DVR. We pay close to $200 a month. The boxes with DVR is $28 a month, so we are paying about $175 for the same services I had two years ago for $100 cheaper.

Chris has called on many occasions to lower our cost and the cable company happy obliges, for a month and then for some reason or another the rate is raised again for next month. I am tired of playing this game with the cable companies. I have never thought to switch to satellite television but that seems like something good to look into next time we are shopping for cable.

Challenge: Week 5
As much as being active is important, working out is only part of loosing weight. February’s focus in the 12 Months to a Healthier You Challenge is eat more fresh fruits and veggies. I am going to change that a little since I already eat farmer’s market, or Trader Joe’s, fresh fruits and veggies. Instead eating healthier in general will be my goal.

This week I will shoot to not eat any fast food this week. This includes my usual Bacon breakfast Sandwich from Starbucks. With my new job, weird hours came with the territory. The majority of my shifts start at 4 in the morning and go to 1pm. So while the rest of America is packing brown paper bag lunches, I am packing breakfast and my snack is usually some sort of lunch food. This is why I love the breakfast sandwiches Starbucks offers. It is easy and warm at 7am when I am starving already.

This month I am also going to be continuing my goals each week. I want to turn these goals into habits and not just forgetting them after the week is over. So I will be keeping track of my goals in each weekly post and I will continue letting you know how I am doing.

What are some quick foods I can take to work this week?

Challenge: Week 4
Chicago is a chilly 30 degrees today. Boston is a whopping 14 degrees. At home in Connecticut it’s 17. Here in Los Angeles it will be mostly sunny and 72 degrees. Yeah, I’ve got to say: I love living in Southern California.

Driving home from work the other morning all I could think about is how I didn’t want to drive across the valley (a whole 5 extra miles from my house) to go to the gym. I was looking out the windows of my car and it was beautiful outside. Then my brilliant idea. I will just run outside.

Chris and I used to run outside last spring and we had a few routes already mapped out, although I had never run them myself. Now that I am running more often, and it is coming to me with more and more ease, I was proud of myself. I’m such a go getter running alone.

As I ran down the street I found myself breathing a little deeper than I have been as I run on the treadmill. Ooh shit, now my shins are starting to hurt. Really am I already having to slow down? I’ve only been going for 3 minutes.

I barely treaded around a mile and a half long route and I was out of breath. Wow street running is 10 times harder than running in doors. Yesterday I went back to the gym and there was my nice pace again. I ran for 15 minutes straight before my cool down. I even went back to working on some machine weights and workouts I had done when I was in college. It felt good. I think from now I’ll stick to the gym, drive my butt the 5 miles to the gym and hop on a treadmill to do my running.

This week I completed my goal of 4 times working out. Next week I am bringing it down to 3 because we will be taking a night trip out to Las Vegas. Check back in later for a post about that.

Do you have any workouts you do using machine weights? Any suggestions to get my arm strength back?

Ok, so last week my goal was to go to the gym 4 times, including my Personal Assessment I had with a personal trainer. Unfortunately this is another week in the red I only spent two days sweating it up on the treadmill. And, to add insult to injury, I am sad to say my Personal Assessment was shockingly terrible. Holy out of shape!!! (I was serious about the injury part. Fell at the gym and busted my knee.. ew)

We started the assessment with a simple 5 minute warm up on the treadmill and a light job for another 5 minutes. I was being an over achiever and I actually started running at 4 minutes. There’s only so much walking this girl can do. By the time the trainer got back I think he was pleasantly surprised that I was going good at a steady pace. I was pretty impressed myself since I am not, and never have been a runner. But that’s where it turned around.

Once he brought me over to start working on my body sculpting and weight training I thought I was going to die. No literally, peel over and end my 26 years right then and there. Workouts that had been easy for me in the past were now a struggle. I felt like a 90 year old women lifting those 10 pound weights. This did nothing but confirm to me, I need to need to be coming much more regularly and doing something more than just my nice little run on the treadmill.

Next week’s goal is to stick with going 4 times a week but to add some strength training in there as well.

What are some good workouts you guys suggest?