Happy Morning and Good Friday! When I tell you I really gave every single ounce of my being on that treadmill last night, I really mean it! I went to they gym right after a dreadful doctor appointment (I showed up fully dressed in workout gear so that I could go straight from there to minimize any chance to reconsider). Once I made it safely inside the building, there was no chance of escape so I quickly got myself to a treadmill before the demons in my head started talking.

The best way to describe my first running experience of 2013:

The only difference is that I did not stop after two minutes. I forced my ass to finish 30 minutes of HIIT and it.was.miserable. I’m not sure if this has happened to any of you, but once I started my ‘run/sprint’ portion of HIIT my entire body – mostly my legs- started itching uncontrollably and I couldn’t help but scratch myself.  The itching was UNBEARABLE and I probably looked like a lunatic or like a person hallucinating that bugs were all over them because I couldn’t stop scratching! This has happened to me before and it’s gotten so bad that I had to just stop all together, but this time I told myself ‘too bad’ and forced myself to endure being uncomfortable. The itching would come when I started my ‘run/sprint’ part of the intervals and go away when I started to walk. Eventually, after about 10 minutes the itching stopped completely and I was able to finish my workout in peace. Hell to the yes. Take that itchy pants!

Since this has happened to me multiple times, I decided to look it up and find out what this was all about.  Here is a small excerpt from an article on livestrong:

Circulation Problems

In some cases, itchy legs might be a symptom of circulation issues — if you haven’t exercised in a while, your body might not be used to it and have trouble pumping blood to your extremities because the capillaries have collapsed slightly. The process of expanding these capillaries can give the sensation of tingling or itching in your legs. Just a few sessions of regular exercise should put a stop to the itching.

Read more:  http://www.livestrong.com/article/341646-itchy-legs-while-running/#ixzz2HgP7fUbQ

In short: my fat ass is out of shape and needs to start running again.

That is all I have for you today, friends. Enjoy your weekend!

Meanwhile…

Get engaged!!! Yup- I’ve heard it before and now I’m confirming it.  Get engaged and the pounds will just melt away! No, I’m kidding they won’t melt away, however if stress cuts your appetite then you might be one of the lucky ones!

Currently I have checked-off the following:

Wedding dress + Veil… love.love.love!!!

Engagement dress… yay!!!

Engagement shoes… biggest yay!!!

Dates/halls/photog/video/band all booked for both parties

Engagement invitations made and mailed out

Currently on my to-do list for the upcoming party:

1. Print out pictures for the picture frames

2. Food tasting

3. Create menu cards

4. Create place cards

5. Show up at the party (just kidding)

I guess when looking at it written down it seems as if I have accomplished a lot, thus far, however it doesn’t make this process any less stressful! On the bright side, I can say that I am in love with my invites – which my bridal elves aka my sister- in-laws, my moh and I put together. They turned out absolutely perfect to match my theme of ‘enchanted forest!’  Since my party is in November and after Thanksgiving, I wanted to stick to a fall theme with lots of rustic colors. Overall, I think – and hope- it will turnout to be very romantic, elegant and charming Pictures of everything will be posted after the party of course…

Okay, back to reality now.  I’m proud to say that I have worked-out a total of five times since last week! My fiance and I joined lifetime fitness so we can motivate each other on the weekends.  I.love.lifetime. On Sunday, I ran my first two miles since maybe March and it felt damn good… until Monday came around and I couldn’t walk.  My pace was terrible, but that’s not what matters. That’s the thing about working out, once you stop you don’t start where you left off, you start back at square one. It’s the price you have to pay for quitting!

Proof:

Monday I took a ‘salsa funk’ class for an hour and yesterday I took a basic yoga class which I absolutely loved!  The room was heated to about 75 degrees, so it wasn’t hot, but it was definitely warm.  Our instructor took us through various basic poses at-your-own pace and by the end of it I was totally relaxed! Yoga isn’t a vigorous workout, but I did feel my muscles burning during some poses. It’s not an easy practice, but it’s totally worth it and you will feel completely rejuvenated afterward. Simply put – I slept like a baby last night

PS: Tone it Up girls have come out with an iPhone app and it’s awesome! They give you daily challenges, recipes, all their blog posts are available and there is also a section for their ‘community’ which is like facebook for TIU peeps.  I highly suggest you download it!

My sincere aplogies for neglecting my blog, however I did not neglect my workouts – I know you all were worried

Alright, starting with Week 3/5-3/11

• Monday 3/5: No more trouble zones + 15 min HIIT sprints
• Tuesday 3/6: Morning 30 min interval run (2.5) miles + Extreme Shed n Shred (PM)
• Wednesday 3/7: I did the interval workout shown on Peanut Butter Finger’s blog – so hard! 2.55 miles
• Thursday 3/8: Morning 30 minutes run/walk + Ripped in 30 Level 2
• Friday 3/9: Morning 25 minute interval walk
• Saturday 3/10: Yoga Melt Down Level 2
• Sunday 3/11: 4 mile walk through the city

Week 3/12-3/18

Monday 3/12: Rest day

Tuesdsay 3/13: 3.5 mile run outside to my cousin Stella’s house. It was pretty brutal, but so amazing at the same time – if that makes sense.

Wednesday 3/14: I met with a trainer who put me through bootcamp hell. An hour of cardio blocking, strength, plyometrics, yoga and boxing. Death.

Thursday 3/15: The weather was gorgeous so I decided to run to my aunts house (I don’t know what’s up with that lately) I stopped for a nice cold drink of water and ran back home. Covered 3.5 miles.

Friday 3/16: Rest day

Saturday 3/17: I was in the city so I walked to meet my friends Effie and Dina (1 mile) we hung out at the park and then walked back. I also walked again later that night so it was around 3 miles of walking.

Sunday 3/18: Today was the motherload of walking. My cousin is here from Greece so we gave him a little tour of the city and covered 7.5 miles. We were walking for 4 hours straight and I have the sunburns to prove it (no, I didn’t wear spf because I really wanted to soak up as much vitamin D as possible)

All in all, I got a variety of low and high intensity cardio this week, which is fantastic for fat burning and - in my case - skin burning

Good morning! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and didn’t eat as much as I did yesterday Anyway, onto the important stuff – my mileage!!

Workout Recap Week of February 1st:

Monday: Off
Tuesday: Off
Wednesday: 60 minutes stepper
Thursday: 4.5 mile run
Friday: 2 mile run/ 30 min step mill
Saturday: 3 mile run outside!
Sunday: 3 mile run

Total miles: 12.5! I don’t even think I ran that many miles in one week when I was training for a 10k so this is a major mission accomplished moment for me! Friday, my leg started to act up again so I decided to stop at 2 miles because I didn’t want to injure myself.  I hopped on the step mill because it’s been a while and it’s one of my favorite machines. I usually put it on the ‘fat burn’ setting level 5 or 6 and step away. At the end of 30 minutes you have yourself a great thigh and bum workout that leaves you drenched!  

On Saturday, I don’t know what inspired me to go outside but I just couldn’t contain myself. I wasn’t feeling the treadmill and it was 40′s outside (perfect run weather for me.) I bundled up in three layers and hit the pavement. This was my first run outside since the Turkey Trot and it was remarkable! Besides having to wipe my snot on my sleeves a few times, it felt so great to run and breathe fresh air and it reminded me of the reason I started running in the first place; it puts me in a good mood. Believe it or not,  a quick run can change your mood almost instantly.  Next time you need to clear your head or need a quick boost, just hit the pavement – it works every-single-time!

Running Disclaimer: I’m not -in any form- a ‘serious’ runner and I don’t get crazy about my running schedule  (I did use Hal Higdon’s 10k training in November since it was my first race and needed some form of structure.) I simply enjoy how I feel after a good run and believe it’s a great way to stay in shape, so don’t expect any ‘runner talk’ (tempo runs, sprints and the like). However, I definitely want to be able to say that a 5 miler is a short run  I find that when I start getting very technical about when to run, how long to run etc etc… I become neurotic and it has the opposite effect on me. I guess that applies to everything in my life. As soon as I feel confined or ‘stuck’ to one particular format and feel that I don’t have options – it’s over, I’m doomed. That’s why journaling my food, tracking calories or points or whatever number system you want to go by never worked for me. I start obsessing about food and gain 5 lbs before I even write what I ate in my journal.  It’s just not for me, I’d rather base it off how I feel because we all know some days are better than others. When you have the energy, push yourself as far as you can go so on the days you don’t feel so hot you wont feel as bad! My motto is simple: run-run-run so I can eat-eat- eat

Motivational QOD:

I’m not counting calories, I’m not counting points and I’m not counting carbs.  I’m counting miles!!! How many miles I can cover from now until Chicago half marathon time – either June 9 or July 22nd or if I’m feeling frisky, both!

My goal for this month is to run at least three times a week minimum of 3 miles each run.  Despite getting my period,  having cramps, and feeling bloated (sorry for the tmi) I took control over my mind and got myself on the treadmill before I had any time to talk myself out of it – it worked because not only did I get my run in, I covered 4.5 miles! This is when you really know that your limits are usually farther than you what you set them at. By no means am I a fast runner, however crossing the finish line is what’s important here! I started at 5.0 with incline at 1 and kept that pace until I reached 3 miles (at each mile I took a minute walk break to keep endurance) when I reached 3 miles (pshh, 3 miles? That’s a warm up) I knew I could crank out another mile easily so I bumped up my speed to 5.5 and ran another mile and a half at that pace! All in all, I finished 4.5 miles in 55 minutes and walked the remaining five to finish the hour!

That’s when I decided that I’m not getting picky, I’m not going to time myself or set a specific mileage goal (other than minimum 3 miles). I’m just going to go – while still challenging myself of course! Whether it’s on the pavement or on the treadmill, my ass is going to run, run, run! The feeling after you finish a run is just indescribable. It totally sucks mentally preparing yourself beforehand and even a little during your run, but that’s when you tell your mind to stfu! A key to that is creating a playlist of jams that keep you pumping!

New additions to my ‘running’ playlist:

• Good Feeling – Flo Rida
• Naked  - Dev & Enrique Iglesias
• Little Bad Girl – David Guetta
• Turn Me On – David Guetta & Nicki Minaj

I have two more runs to complete before the week is over and I will update you on my total ‘mileage’ on Monday! Have a fantastical weekend and if you’re planning to chow down on Sunday I challenge you to get up in the morning for a run!

I stumbled across a very interesting article that I absolutely could not keep myself from sharing because it goes with my new year’s resolution of ‘eat only when hungry’. The article is called “Train your brain to think like a thin person” and there are some very valid points that I have actually observed when being around ‘thin people.’ I’ll try to summarize as best as I can.

The two major points in this article:

Number 1:

Thin people understand that hunger is normal and to be expected – they don’t freak out and become hangry (something I can easily become.) They also don’t carry around munchies all day worrying about when hunger will strike, they just know that hunger can be mildly uncomfortable and will go away within ten minutes. “If a thin person is hungry an hour before dinner they will typically just wait till dinner to eat.” Ha! I’d love to say that about myself!

Number 2:

“Dammit, I ate a cookie so now I might as well eat everything in sight because I already screwed up so I’ll just start tomorrow – again.” This makes absolutely no sense yet I know there are millions of people – myself included- who are brainwashed to feel this way. A thin person doesn’t look at a cookie as the devil, therefore when he/she has one, they continue with their merry day and eat as they would normally eat thus, resulting in no weight gain by the end of the week. Where a ‘not thin’ person will end up consuming more calories then intended and screw himself/herself even more than they would by just eating the dam cookie and moving on – resulting in weight gain that will show up as early as the next day!! 

Vicky’s tips on how to train your brain:

1. If you’re ‘hungry’ drink some water first and wait it out for ten minutes. If your stomach is still growling after 10 minutes and you think you will faint – EAT.  Otherwise – suck.it.up. and wait ’till your next meal.

2. All foods are allowed (minus the real junk of course.) If you are craving a cookie – eat it. If you want a slice of pizza – eat it.  DON’T screw up the rest of your day because you had a “cheat” food. Don’t think of that food as a “one in a million chances of eating this again so I will eat as much as I can and then some.” Here’s the kicker… don’t eat it just because it’s in front of you if you really don’t care to have it. Kinda like the junk in the lunchroom at work today – I didn’t really want it so I said no, however last night I really wanted that dark choco covered banana – so I rightfully said yes  Food is not the devil. How you react and respond to food is what’s holding you back so listen to your body and stop punishing yourself.

3. If there are certain foods you know you have absolute no control over – keep them out of the house. I have no control over cereals, crackers, chips and cookies. I try my hardest and I always fail. I personally would rather not have them around then try to ‘train my brain’ on this one.  The other way to work around this is using measuring cups and utensils. If you know you can eat a whole box of cereal in two days- as I have done- measure out your portion and don’t go back for more.  Eating out of a box counts as calories even if you’re not measuring them

4. Food is typically associated with emotion or habit – for us non ‘thin’ people at least. For example, when I get home, I immediately walk to the fridge even if I ate an hour before I got home. Or, when it’s 9pm and I’m watching “Revenge” I immediately want to munch on nuts or raisins because it’s something I’m used to and comfortable with. I associate TV +late night+ couch = snack time. This is where ‘train your brain’  must be applied. Logically, I know I already ate therefore, I technically cannot be hungry because I know that hunger doesn’t exist after an hour or two, so this must be ‘fake hunger’ that I have to ‘train my brain’ to ignore.  Eventually, after months of practice, we can train our brains to not associate foods with emotions and stop eating out of habit!

Finding That Motivation:

I know I always talk about my workout calendars and stickers as motivation, but I saw this on pinterest and thought it was brilliant!

Put $1 in a jar for every workout you complete.  When you reach a certain goal – say $100- treat yourself to a massage or new pair of shoes! How awesome is that?! Well – that’s all the wisdom I have for you today.

And remember, if you slip up:

I apologize for not posting in a while. When the weekend rolls around I just like to turn off as much technology as possible (besides TV of course.) Anywho, my week of working out was fantastic – I wish I could say the same about my diet!

Workouts Week 12/5-12/11

Monday:

• TIU Lean Arms Pyramid

Tuesday:

• Bootycall: 20 min Stepper
• 30 Day Shred
• 30 minute 3-2-1 interval run: 2.5m

Wednesday:

• BC: 25 min stepper
• 60 minute cardio – elliptical and stair glide
• TIU Abs Pyramid

Thursday:

• BC: 20 min stepper
• 30 min stepper
• TIU Lean Arms Pyramid
• 4x 10 jumping jacks, 5 push-ups, 10 abs

Friday:

• BC: 20 min stepper
• 10x 10 jumping jacks, 5 push-ups, 10 abs

What better way to find motivation than to watch the Victoria Secret Fashion show right before the start of the month! The show was great – especially the music (minus niki minaj)- and the girls looked phenom, however some of them needed to eat a cheeseburger- or three.  In my opinion, bones sticking out of your body is not attractive – it’s nauseating, but I guess that comes with the job! They’re models for a reason, no?

In case any of you wanted to starve your way thin, here is the VS Angel Diet:

“Lima drinks a gallon of water a day. For nine days before the show, she will drink only protein shakes – “no solids”. The concoctions include powdered egg. Two days before the show, she will abstain from the daily gallon of water, and “just drink normally”. Then, 12 hours before the show, she will stop drinking entirely.”

For those of us who like to eat food… that’s solid, the VS diet might prove to be a little difficult! However, there are plenty of healthy ways to lose weight – yes, it will take more than 9 days to lose 9 lbs, but the faster you lose weight the faster it creeps back on – with a few added pounds. I’m sure many of us have experienced that first hand! I’ve come to realize that maintaining or losing weight – unless you have impeccable genes – will be a constant struggle for most people and that’s just something we need to accept.

For example, it took me three weeks to lose a solid three pounds by eating healthy and exercising . Thanksgiving rolls around, and by eating whatever I wanted for about 4 days, I gained 1.5 lbs back. Now, I’m not freaking out because I know that getting back on track will bring me back to normal again, but that’s the key phrase “getting back on track.” This is why extreme diets will always end in a big FAIL because most people cannot sustain a lifestyle where you only eat protein shakes all day, or only eat 500 calories a day, or any other extreme method of weight-loss. Sure, you’ll lose a lot up front, but that’s because you’re doing something you normally don’t do – it’s a change from your daily habits, but once you go back to your original eating habits because you most likely will – you suddenly have found all the weight you lost.

Yesterday, I was extremely sluggish all day and was heavily dreading my evening workout to come. I was so close to skipping out and then I got this text message from my health and fitness nut friend Lea:

You bet your ass I chose to get up and get moving!

My workout:

Strength:

• TIU- Lean Arms Pyramid
• TIU- Lean Legs Pyramid

This workout totaled 55 minutes and this is the aftermath: sweaty mess!

Nothing short of a Victoria Secret Model

PS: “I’m sexy and I know it” and “Sweat” by Snoop Dog (David Guetta remix) are some great running songs! I probably repeated those at least 4 times each

You’re probably thinking “what is this girl talking about,” but there’s a reason behind my madness. It’s a psychological thing – for me at least- where you want to start fresh or get back on track on the first of the month or on a Monday.  It’s common to feel that way, so for the sake of my psyche (or our psyche) let’s pretend today is Monday, December 1st.  I even changed my handbag to make the start of this month more official (might not make sense for you, but it does for me – I’m weird!)

As I stated in my previous posts, I plan to continue this sugar detox all the way until Christmas.  Overall, it really didn’t feel like a major detox because I never felt deprived. You’ll be surprised how quickly your sweet tooth goes away once you cut sugar out.

December Goals Listed Out:

1. No Sugar until Christmas
2. 8 cups of water/day minimum
3. 5 days a week exercise – no exception
4. 12 miles total of running/week
5. Limit eating out to 1-2 times/week

I apologize for the delayed post, but my face has been stuck in food for the past two days – not even kidding. My little “only indulge on Thanksgiving and on Friday” rule didn’t really go according to plan. Anyway, let me start with my first 10k Turkey Trot!

I woke up around 6 am – this time fully rested – changed into my running gear and headed to the kitchen to brew some coffee and make toast and peanut butter (my running fuel.) Georgia got to my house right on time at 7:15 and I had her folded piece of toast with peanut butter in a zip lock bag for the road. The race was about 45 minutes away in a north suburb of Chicago. I looked at the directions online, but apparently didn’t study them enough because at 8 am  (the race started at 8:25) I realized that I was oh, about 12 miles too north (you’d think I’d put the address in my gps system, but I guess I was just too excited to be thinking clearly!) So, we turned around and made it to the nearby parking garage with 5 minutes to walk run to the start line. Guess you could say that was our warm up!

The course was beautiful, but entirely  uphill and downhill. We started off faster than we anticipated (I guess that typically happens from your excitement.) We managed to run to mile three at a sustainable pace with no walk breaks.

 We kept an average of 11:50 pace throughout the whole race – no walk breaks!

At the 6 mile mark we decided to just sprint the rest of the way to the finish line – I actually captured the sign too and the photographer was making fun of me thinking that I was texting (wouldn’t be that surprising if I was.)

We obviously had to take a picture with the giant turkey…

We could not have asked for better weather! Such a perfect running day – especially because of the amount of food that I was about to consume later on. I started my food-for-all with a peppermint mocha from Starbucks – sugar.com. Got all dressed up (thinking it would prevent me from eating too much – false) I then went to Georgia’s house for pre-appetizers.

New you new “do”

Appetizers included: Tiropites (Cheese Pies)

Homemade real Southern Corn Bread: (the missing piece is mine of course)

Followed by a traditional menu of turkey, ham, sweet potatoes, veggies, corn bread, mashed potatoes, stuffing and the Greek item Mousaka:

and this…

and this…

and it keeps on coming…

The moment I have been waiting for (can you feel my excitement)… Dessert: Pumpkin Pie, Pumpkin Cheesecake, Coconut thing

Cookie Platter: Peanut Butter, Chocolate Truffle, Pupmkin Cookies, Oatmeal Chocolate Chip

Amazing Pumpkin Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting:

As you can see, I was set up for failure. There was no escaping this paradise! The good news is I did run on Saturday and today. Starting tomorrow there will be no more of this food nonsense! Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving mini-vacation!