Mumbo #5 Monday!

This morning I have this song stuck in my head and I swear it makes me want to Zumba! It was the catchiest freaking song back in 1999! (Sidenote: I was always sad he didn’t say Samantha in his little homage to the ladies!).

So last Monday I went with my friend Layne to Stefanie’s Zumba class and I LOVED it! Holy tomato it was hard!! (thank you Julianna for that cute phrase!). I literally was a WRECK when I left – but it was great! I found out my gym offers Zumba 4 nights a week so I’ve arranged this week’s schedule to add in some of those classes. I needed a cardio I liked doing and I think I FINALLY found it. An hour on the dreadmill is just that, DREADful. An hour of Zumba literally flies by! I had considered this back in my bellydance days and I thought it wouldn’t be up my alley. Now my goals and preferences have changed. I need something sweaty and fast-paced ~ Zumba fulfills that need.

Wanna come Zumba with Stefanie? barre n9ne is hosting a Zumba dance party on September 07, 2012 @ 6:30pm. Register here: http://www.barren9ne.com

So how did my last week go? I was in NYC from Tues-Fri. I was emailing with FitBit tech support Friday because my 67 total blocks (5.3 miles!!)  of walking WERE NOT REGISTERED on my device!!! Booo! But, I did it. I wore my old school pedometer and I walked my butt off AND I went to the fancy gym at my hotel to get a little impromptu 55 min circuit in before work one morning. I was proud of my food choices – but disappointed in the number of cocktails I drank. That’s not me. I’m not someone who drinks every night….and I drank Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday! Granted I counted those calories (thank you Jess + Jo for calories on wine/shots – I saved that post in my phone). White wine = 150 cals a glass. Tanqueray and tonic w/ lime also = 150 calories. But, I need to remember that just because I’m traveling doesn’t mean I can go off my normal program.

I realized during this trip that I am NOT a city mouse. I like the city….but I am a country mouse at heart. I like trees. I like driving. I like fresh air and open spaces. NYC doesn’t have any of those.

Sunday morning I decided to try barre n9ne cardio w/ my fabulous friend Stasia. Holy TOMTATO ~ it was brutal. I sweat through my clothes + my hair was drenched. I’d call that a success! FitBit (still acting a fool and not displaying correctly unless synced) says I burned 1400 calories and got 4200 steps. SCORE!

This morning I faltered – I set 3 alarms and still managed to sleep until 6:45 – missing barre method. Alas, I had a backup plan. Tonight I will do Zumba @ the gym + a 30 min circuit set with light weights. It’s not the same, but I will still get a good calorie burn. Tomorrow I will do barre fusion in the evening. Wednesday is Zumba + circuits. Thursday is barre method with Jo (and Jess!) and Friday is TFFR and cardio sweat-fest at night. BAM!

I feel like I’m back. I have a plan for the week ~ I have some back-up options built-in just in case….I’m on point. I will kick August’s ass!

Random Friday Thoughts!

<< Editor’s Note: My mom informed me my sunglasses are actually Gucci. I’m sorry Patrizio di Marco, please forgive me! >>

 

Thursdays are my least favorite day. I have tough meetings in the morning that try my patience. I usually dread Thursday. Until I found barre method @ 7:30 with Julianna….that made my Thursday way more bearable. 😉

Yesterday was way more than just bearable – it was an amazing day!

The weather was glorious – sunny with a little breeze (80s!). I looked cute (I’ll go ahead and be completely vain – when I look cute I feel better. Sue me). I got my hair done last night and it looked all perfect still (only my hair dresser can get my hair this shiny!). I got to work and had a nice email waiting in my inbox from one of my problem children clients. Always nice! The rest of the the day rolled through with laughs and good meetings (a first, literally).

Here I am with sleek pretty hair on lunch (note my new Michael Kors Gucci sunglasses. Love):

I head out for my favorite barre class (method!) and the weather is dreamy. Julianna is in torture mode and class is insane. I’m sweating buckets. I even teased her that she ruined my nice hair!

Driving home the cool air felt amazing and I purposely took backroads instead of the highway so I could savor it. (My mom will tell you I love fresh air. Haha.)

When I got home I was seriously craving junk food. But, I had the inner monologue of “you didn’t sweaty buckets to come home and eat shit. Make a sandwich, count your calories and don’t you dare touch junk!”. It worked and a 452 calorie grilled cheese hit the spot.

This morning I was thinking about Lent (no dessert, not even one cheat since I started!) and my lack of coffee….have I mentioned I haven’t had Starbucks in 17 days? Ha! Insane huh? I started having fresh juices for breakfast and that negated the need for morning coffee. I cheated once and had half a coffee at night….it made me feel terrible! Jittery and unsettled. I didn’t fall asleep until 4am. That cemented in my mind that my body is better without coffee. Crazy I know…..Starbucks and Samantha were once synonymous! Maybe we’ll be acquainted from time to time but we are no longer joint at the hip.

Again I’m reminded that if you want to see a change you have to *make* a change. I’m making lots of changes. I’m seeing the differences. It feels awesome. :0)

This morning I took measurements and guess what? I’ve lost 16 inches overall in 3 weeks! AMAZING!!

I’m only down 6 pounds, but i’m not upset. Seeing that my stomach is 5 inches smaller blows me away! Seeing my hips are 2 inches smaller and my chest is 4 inches smaller makes my super proud. Oh and did I mention my thighs are 4 inches smaller? No wonder those dressy pants look so nice and loose! Hooray!

I feel like I finally have it. The magic formula. Exercise you love + healthy food = results.

This weekend I have to pack for my whirlwind trips (Tampa, LA, possibly Vegas) and get some sweaty cardio in. I also need to find some good things to do with parsnips. I bought them on whim ~ anyone have good recipes?

Have a great (sweaty!) weekend!
Xo