Cutting Carbs=MooOOoooody Mari

It has been about 6 days of my "low carbs" diet--dont get me wrong, there are still carbs in my life, i cannot bare to lose them completely. However, just cutting back has been so hard for me! A)because I realize how many "carbs" I eat on a regular basis & let me tell you, its 90% of all the things I consume B)i get so moody without them! Sounds silly right? It's totally true. I am not a the optimal "low carb" diet level--but like all things with me, its one step at a time!
Workouts for me have been consistent, but not HARD. I have come to grips with the fact that I am a crappy personal trainer. I can't push myself to that high intensity level. I do work out, I sweat, and I get really tired--but I dont have that "man I am BEAT" feeling--or the super soreness the next day. I REALLY WANT TO THOUGH! I just dont know how. Its totally mental..
I am not doing as much weights as I probably should, but its really hard to find time to fit in all the cardio I have to do for my half marathon training + weights. Thats like 2hours at the gym after a 10 hour day at work--I would maybe see Chris for a total of 1hour. So after I finish my Half at the end of may I will cut back my cardio so I can build & tone.

Good news is, I am running on avg. of 4.5 2 days a week & 6miles once a week. & I have to tell you my hamstrings are SO TIGHT since I have done so much running, no matter how much I stretch!

Update 3

I now have exactly one week til hawaii.

Still doing 4 days of cardio and 3 days weights per week.

I started this low carb high protein diet Ammon gave me. So far so good. I am down to 162 now, and still consitently losing a pound or 2 per week.

And while I will not have the chiseled body I hoped for by Hawaii, it will at least not be terrible embarrassing.

I'm a chunky monkey.....

Or am I? This past week I decided to have one of those "Body and Fitness" assessments. It was a little bit scary! Anyway, I thought it would be fun to share- so here are the results.

Lauren Wright
Age: 28
Height: 5'9.5" (I usually just say 5'10"- cause I like being tall)
Weight: 170

My BODY AGE: 28 (at least I wasn't older!)
Overall Fitness Level: High average (wish I had made it to Good or Excellent! NEXT TIME!)
Body Mass Index: High normal (as in .3 away from overweight! eeek!)
Cardiovascular (max VO2): fair (this was embarrassing.... I guess I have some new goals)
Bicep strength: High Average (REALLY close to the "good" level! yay me!)
Flexibility: Fair (SERIOUSLY! I did not expect such a low score here! yikes!)
and last but not least....(I have to note here, that NO ONE likes to hear how fat they are, especially when they've had trouble losing weight!)
Body composition: Optimal (this one surprised me! granted I am in the High end of optimal- but YAY! I am so excited! According to my score I have 21% body fat)

So according to my charts I have 133 lbs of Lean Mass, and 36 lbs of Fat Mass. Although I HATE the 36 lbs of FAT part, I am happy that I have a healthy body comp!

So I have some new things to work on: Cardio fitness, flexibility, and strength. Hopefully the lbs will come off eventually too- :)

Lauren

Oh Here It Goes, Here It Goes, Here It Goes Again...

This week I am proud to say...
I lifted...
I ran...
I biked...
And I only drank one bottle of juice!

I think I am making progress! Oh and i ran 6miles! (yes at one time) I am finally over that 3mile hump. I sweat so much! (tmi?) It wasn't easy & it wasn't fun, but I was proud of myself when I finished. I am trying to maintain a 10min mile pace, so that when I run my half I can (hopefully) maintain that pace.

This week I hope to:
Run a big stair case til I collapse (90 steps, very steep, as many times as I can)..
Do some booty building workouts
Yoga
Have Chris show me chest & back exercises..cuz mine are weak sauce

What are YOU up to?

Mari's Update

Isn't Chris doing awesome? He is totally showing me up! I have been really proud of his progress.

I have decided I am going to incorporate more weights & yoga into my routine. I have been sticking solely to a training schedule I got for the half marathon, but I am not seeing the results I want & realize I probably need a little more muscle on my bod! (plus everyone else here is doing it, I'm left out!) I used to do yoga quite a lot & miss it. I need it to help me stretch & recover from my runs (I am getting so tight I am as inflexible as a man now!) I haven't made time for it because of work & all this running, but I really need to. Here is what I did this week, followed what I hope to do in the upcoming week:
My week in review:
Monday- light weights
Tuesday: ran 3.5m(treadmill)
Wednesday:stair mill 3.0miles
Thursday:ran 3.6m (with hills)
Friday:rest
Saturday:cycle class 60min
Sunday(today): was supposed to run, but got sick! Boo!

My Goals for this week:
Monday:Yoga, lift arms, chest, back & abs--run if time permits
Tuesday:4m run
Wednesday: 2m cardio, lift legs
Thursday:4m run
Friday:rest
Saturday:40min cardio, yoga
Sunday: 6m run

I may switch Friday & Sunday depending on how work goes. Hopefully with yoga & weights I will be able to keep up with you weight junkies.

On a side note, in order to prepare for my half, I am running two smaller races in between. My first is in two weeks: March 21st a 5k. I have been training at a 10min mile pace, and simply hope to maintain or slighly beat that.

Time for post # 2

Well, this is my second post. I believe I posted once about 3 months ago. However, I only seriously started working out again about 2 months ago. Thus far, I have lost about 13 pounds
(down to 167 lbs) and about 3 inches in the gut. So I guess so far so good.

The bad is that Mari is still faster than me--and I dont see that changing anytime soon. She is a freaking gazelle.

Sparta Week #2

Week 2 was a little easier in some ways- and harder in others! I am starting to get used to all this lifting, so in that way, week 2 of this challenge has been a bit easier. BUT I was having a hard time getting in "the zone" this week. I did all the workouts, I tried to push myself, but something just wasn't clicking. It didn't feel as rewarding as it usually does when I work out- so it was hard to gear up and actually go, a bit this week. But I did it! So yay for overcoming work out blues, and yay for being finished with week 2 of my 9 week challenge!

I can say that I have noticed my body responding to all this lifting. I am getting a lot stronger! It is also changing the shape of my body (although not my weight, THIS is ME we are talking about!) I still get embarrassed when people notice (even Patrick) my body changes, and I am not sure why!?! I guess I just can't handle the attention!

My eating has been, ok, not great but ok. I need to do a bit better at resisting the sugar. But overall I am proud of myself, and have been for a while. I know that I am challenging my body in new and exciting ways, and being realistic about what works for me (i.e.- giving up chocolate completely will NEVER work for me! LOL!).

I also wanted to do a little "Yay Me!" paragraph about my mental health. I have been feeling so much "stronger" (that is the only way I can describe it right now) lately. My cycles haven't been FLOORING me as much as usual. And I THINK it is because of all of my working out!?!? For those of you who don't know, I have Type 1-rapid cycling- Bipolar disorder. It is a challenge that I deal with every moment of my life, and it really sucks. I know not everyone wants to hear that, but it does, it sucks. I don't often feel like I am winning the battle at being healthy and stable. It can be very discouraging, since I try so very very hard. Lately, and its probably just a good phase, I have seemed to handle my "stuff" better. I wanted to share, and to say it out loud to myself, because sometimes I just need be positive and let myself enjoy the accomplishment. :)

Lauren