Blogger Inspirations and Action Plans

Happy Monday ya’ll! I had a “meh” week. I’ve been feeling like I’m on a hill rolling backwards … and I couldn’t find the brakes. Luckily on Saturday I found them and stopped myself before I threw in the towel and resigned myself to “just being fat” forever. I don’t know why I go through spells like this, I should probably explore that!

Saturday I got out in the rain, got my ass to the gym and worked, worked, worked my butt off. I was sore that night, and yesterday it actually hurt to move my middle (you have no idea how much you use your core muscles until they are on fire!). My abs are still hella SORE! Score! I love that soreness that reminds you of how hard you work (and prevents you from eating crap you know you shouldn’t!). I got back to the gym yesterday and did some cardio along with a nice dumb-bell routine. Back in the saddle, as they say!

I sat down this morning and was inspired by a new blogger I’ve been following (Eat Drink Breathe Sweat) to write out my weekly plan of action. Here it is:

Food –
An average of 1400 calories per day, tracking everything I eat
More veggies/fruits
100 oz. of water a day

Workout schedule –
Mon:  Zoe drilling DVD
Tues:  Morning circuit training  (because I have dinner plans)
Weds: Evening cardio
Thurs: Lunchtime circuit training (working from home has it benefits!) plus Zoe drilling DVD
Fri: Evening Cardio (hopefully outside if it’s not too hot)
Sat: Circuit training plus cardio session
Sun: Father’s Day – cardio session with Dad (beach walk maybe?) plus Zoe DVD

Sounds like a very do-able week! I added it to my BlackBerry calendar with reminders. Do you guys map out a plan for your week? Does it help keep your on track?

I’ve also been inspired by Jess’ blog to try ballet. She takes classes at barre n9ne and I really want to try one of the classes now! Anyone out there doing ballet as a non-skinny girl? How’s it working for you? I noticed the studio has virtual classes so I might try that before I totally embarrass myself in pubic, lol!

I think this class sounds right up my alley: Get the legs of a DIVA without the Swan Lake soundtrack. This fun, new class uses the principles of classical ballet to sculpt, lengthen and strengthen your body in a style that is fun and upbeat; so you get all the benefits of ballet, without all the ballet attitude.

In other news…

I’ve been watching “Extreme Makeover: Weight-loss” as mentioned here and I was really upset by the idea of skin surgery being a reward. I just couldn’t wrap my head around why someone so young would be encouraged to get surgery! Luckily, I’m not alone, or crazy. I came across a blog I really enjoy reading and low and behold, the author “Less Jess” (a different Jess) has a post all about loose skin! She also had some kickass tips on weight-loss. My favorite by far:

Switch On Your “Feast Mode” Metabolism!
No matter how advance we think we are, our bodies are still very primitive. Our natural instincts to food is to eat, eat, EAT!!! This is because people were built to go long periods without food. When our bodies are introduced to ample food, our bodies eventually enter “feast mode,” and your metabolism shifts into high gear to burn all the incoming food!

Having a feast day followed by moderate calorie control = excellent weight loss.

Many dieters fail because they restrict their calories too much. This triggers the body into starvation mode!!! In starvation mode your body’s metabolism slows to a crawl, and any extra calories are stored as fat!!

Many weight loss plateaus are the body’s reaction to being “death-marched.” No matter how hard you try to lose weight, you will get no where because your body is in metabolic lock down!

The fastest way I found to break a plateau is to start eating the full amount of calories my body needs daily. After a week of “maintenance mode” calories – my body (finally) reacts when I cut back to get things moving again.

I had never thought about that. Usually when I’m plateauing I trying eating less not more!  Hmmm! Maybe I was hurting myself instead of helping. Food for thought (pun intended).