Broken Toe...OUCH!

So, I thought that I would be able to get back into Hip-Hop Abs within a week of my breaking my two baby toes, but it hurts a little more than I expected; low-impact Yogalaties is all I've been able to handle.

I'm really upset because I only had one week left of Hip-Hop Abs, but in a couple weeks when my toes are completely healed, I'll start Month 2 over!  I was starting to see awesome results, and I wanted to see where the end would take me, so I'm not giving up!

However, I'm not posting the calorie burn results of week 3: my maximum heart rate and my weight on the heart rate monitor were off, and thus my calorie burn was off; since I didn't finish it anyways, I figure the first 2 weeks' results is a good help for those of you wanting to try it out!

Hip Hop Abs: Month 2 Week 2

So here are my weekly burn results!

Fat Burning Cardio 2 = 527 calories and 1 min of fat burn
Ab Sculpt 2 & Hips, Buns and Thighs = 574 calories and 8 min of fat burn
Total Body Burn 2 = 506 calories and 4 min of fat burn
Fat Burning Cardio 2 = 527 calories and 1 min of fat burn
Ab Sculpt 2 = 343 calories and 2.5 min of fat burn
Total Body Burn 2 = 542 calories and 1.3 min of fat burn

Hip-Hop Abs Month 2/ Week 1

I finally received my Hip-Hop Abs in the mail so that I could get started on month 2.  Here are my results for the first week of Level 2. (My advice is to definitely start with level 1 because level 2 gets pretty intense--i think it skipped from beginner to super advanced!)

Fat Burning Cardio 2 = 518 calories and 1 minute of fat burn
Ab Sculpt 2 = 351 calories and 4 minutes of fat burn
Total Body Burn (level 1) = 524 calories and 3 minutes of fat burn
Fat Burning Cardio 2 = 540 calories and 4 minutes of fat burn
Fat Burning Cardio 2 = 558 calories and 2 minutes of fat burn (my max HR got to 201!)
Ab Sculpt 2 = 330 calories and 2.5 minutes of fat burn

I started out at 130.5 lbs and ended the week at 129!     KEEP PUSHING!!!!

Hip-Hop Abs Delay

So as much as I support Beachbody, I don't buy workout DVDs for full price when I know that I can get it cheaper on Ebay, meaning that I ordered my Hip-Hop Abs on Ebay....from China.  So now there is a kind of long delay on my Level 2 DVDs, so I won't be posting the calories burned any time soon.

BUT this doesn't mean I'm not working out.  I've gone back to my Jillian Michael's roots with Killer Buns and Thighs and oh, boy, did I forget how tough her workouts are!  But hopefully I'll have an extra nice booty to start off working on my abs.  :)

Level 1 is a 40 minute workout; I burned 430 calories with just a minute and a half of fat burn.

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In other news, I've been trying to do as much "clean" eating as I can.  Smoothies with protein powder for breakfast, baby greens with shredded carrots, tuna, and vinaigrette dressing.  Some bananas, oranges, strawberries; fish and chicken breast with fresh broccoli or green beans for dinner.  Mostly, I'm just trying to AVOID CANDY (artificial sugar), as much as I can stand to, and I actually really enjoy the way I feel eating healthy.  I FEEL GOOD!

Hip-Hop Abs Week 4 Calorie Burn (Month 1 = DONE!)

Day 22: Total Body Burn = 440 calories and 3 min of fat burn

Day 23: Fat Burning Cardio + Ab Sculpt = 548 calories and 7 min of fat burn

Day 24: Fat Burning Cardio + Hips, Buns & Thighs = 516 calories and 10 min of fat burn!!!!!

Day 25: Total Body Burn = 392 calories and 7.5 min of fat burn

Day 26: Fat Burning Cardio + Ab Sculpt = 516 calories and 13 freaking min of fat burn!!!!!

Day 27: Fat Burning Cardio + Hips, Buns & Thighs = 548 min and 11 min of fat burn!!!!!

Day 28: REST

So my calories burned has gone down, but as I emphasized above, the amount of time I spend in a fat burning zone has really started to increase! I'm still spending 3/4 of the time in a fitness zone to help my body build lean muscle and continue burning fat all day long, but the other 1/4 of the time I'm just burning off the fat right then and there!

I also have before and after pictures.  I decided not to take measurements because I can get really discouraged, so going by how I feel and my before and after pictures will have to do.  I have lost 3.5 pounds during this first month; not life-changing results like the infomercials show, but I also don't follow the diet plans.

A little story:

When I was 13 years old, I was already bigger than the other girls in my class and very uncomfortable, so (with a doctors permission) I started going to L.A. Weightloss and seeing a dietitian.  My dietitian wasn't much inspiration considering she was incredibly overweight herself, and my "coach" at L.A. Weightloss yelled at me for eating a single Starburst, thus scarring me for life when it comes to diets.  I've been to personal trainers, done every fad diet, taken every diet pill and have been watching everything I eat for half of my life.  I've learned how to do a lifestyle change, and so I'd rather loose weight very slowly then quickly through strict dieting.  Dieting also makes me feel stressed and I start gaining instead of loosing (plus, I have a picky palate that makes following diet plans that come with workout programs difficult on my tastebuds). 

So with that said, here are my before and after photos.  

I did recently learn that the lack of feeling between my belly button and my c-section scar has lead to a loss of elasticity in that area, making it difficult for me to loose that c-section "shelf" some moms end up with.  (Only a tummy tuck will fix that, and I'm not sure I want to go that far.)  So I still have that little pooch below my belly button and I need to work on my love-handles, but I feel myself getting stronger and hopefully Month 2 will show some more dramatic results.  (I'm giving up ALL candy for the next 4 weeks--no cheat days!)  

At least my booty looks a little raised with some squinting!!! haha

What program should I do after Hip-Hop Abs?

I posted a poll; please check out the infomercial links below and answer my poll--help me, help you!

Brazil Butt Lift

Insanity

21-Day Fix

Zumba Incredible Results System

T-25

Hip-Hop Abs Week 3 Calorie Burn!!

So I just completed week 3 of Hip-Hop Abs and, man, is it becoming a good booty workout!

Here are the weeks calorie burn results:
Day 15: Fat Burning Cardio + Ab Sculpt = 561 calories and 9 min of fat burn!
Day 16: Total Body Burn = 421 calories and 4 min of fat burn
Day 17: Fat Burning Cardio + Hips, Buns, & Thighs = 574 calories and 6 min of fat burn
Day 18: Fat Burning Cardio + Ab Sculpt = 528 calories and 9 min of fat burn!
Day 19: Total Body Burn = 421 calories and 3 min of fat burn
Day 20: Ab Sculpt = 259 calories and 1 min of fat burn
Day 21: Rest

Today starts the last week of Month 1!!

Hip-Hop Abs (again...)

I know, I know, it's been awhile!  But I took a couple months of a hiatus with very little working out, however, I plunged head first back into it this past week with the decision to give Beachbody's Hip-Hop Abs a legitimate try this time.

And this time, I'm a little more motivated.  My heart rate monitor lets me know how many calories I've burned, so the goal is to burn a little more each time!  (I've also decided to go back to wearing my FreezeAwayFat shorts...I did lose almost 7 total inches the last time I combined wearing them with a workout program.)

So today's entry is about 2 things: helping you find the motivation you need to get back into exercising if you've recently lost the willpower, and promote ShaunT and his Hip-Hop abs program as a really good ab workout.

With Hip-Hop abs, it is very important to watch and practice with the Secret to Flat Abs dvd, because that's where you'll learn how to do all the moves while doing the total engagement: tilt, tuck, tighten!  It's a lot to think about at first so practice will make perfect, and if you don't keep those abs engaged throughout the workout, it won't work!  (You can also get a added leg workout if you jump and slide and do the higher impact moves instead of sticking with the beginner stuff.)

This is the amount of calories burned and the length of time I spent in a fat burning zone during the first week.

Day 1: Fat Burning Cardio = 336 calories burnt w/ 1.5 minutes of fat burn
Day 2: Fat Burning Cardio = 339 calories burnt w/ 2 minutes of fat burn
Day 3: Ab Sculpt = 201 calories burnt w/ 7 minutes of fat burn!
Day 4: Fat Burning Cardio = 327 calories burnt w/ 4 minutes of fat burn
Day 5: Fat Burning Cardio = 384 calories burnt w/ no fat burning :(
Day 6: Ab Sculpt = 247 calories burnt w/ 4 minutes of fat burn
Day 7: Rest Day...consisted of me doing a low impact, lower body-focused yoga routine (I will post my review of that workout tomorrow.)

Workout Hiatus

So, I realize it's been awhile since I wrote, but I've been taking the month of December to relax.  I've spent 2 years hitting it hard with my workouts 5-6 days a week and decided that a month off might be good for me.  You don't ever need to feel bad for taking a hiatus from exercising, because sometimes the body just needs a break (sometimes your mind just needs a break).  The most important thing about working out is having the desire to do so and enjoying it, mental motivation leads to physical motivation, so if you don't have the mental motivation, step back, relax, and take some time off.  (I do, however, suggest not taking more than 4 weeks off because it takes 45 days to develop a habit, it also takes 45 days to get rid of a habit so much more than 30 days is going to hurt you.)

I'm also hoping that the shock of going from a month without working out back to 6 days a week of circuit training will shock my body into losing those last few pounds and inches!  I'm also hoping for Jillian Michael's 360 armband/heart rate monitor (the one from Biggest Loser) for Christmas so I can keep track of the calories I burn and let you all know which workouts give you the best bang for your buck...and your time and energy!

So far, in order to not gain weight, I've cut my calories a lot and I don't eat after 8 p.m. (but I go to bed at midnight, so adjust accordingly).  I haven't lost any weight but I haven't gained anything either, so I'm fine with that.  I've stayed at the same weight the whole time- maybe my scale is stuck! LOL

Anyways, as soon as I get back to working out--aka January 1st--I'm going to be starting Shaun T & Beachbody's Hip Hop Abs.  I already did month 1 in November and it didn't do anything for me because I think my fitness level is higher, so I'm jumping into month 2 in January...I'll let you know how it goes!!

Have a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a Happy New Year!!!  Talk to you next year! (Oh, and enjoy the Christmas feast.  It's okay!)