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!!!!

NO GYM NECESSARY!!!

I finally got my Hip-Hop Abs in the mail and yesterday, I started Month 2.

First off, I want to say that a couple days ago, I thought I'd go to the gym (I usually don't like gyms, but I get a free membership where I work, so I thought, why not?) and compare the results of my heart rate monitor to the results the machine gives you.  Well, it was crazy accurate on my heart rate, but the elliptical machine told me I burned 30 more calories than what my heart rate monitor said! That's enough of a difference to matter to me.  So, I wanted to let you all know to not be fooled by what those machines at the gym are telling you.  You all know by now, that I've lost all my weight working out at home, so you don't need some expensive machine or expensive gym membership or expensive personal training session to get the results you want--all you need is MOTIVATION!  SO GET TO IT!!!  WOO!!!

Now on to emphasizing my point of no-gym-necessary weight loss: yesterday, I did Hip Hop Abs Fat Burning Cardio Level 2 and I burned 200 more calories in those 42 minutes than I did during my 40 minutes at the gym!  Way to go Shaun T!  (However, level 2 should really be more like level 5--it's intense! So don't go into it without doing month 1 first!)

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!!

A short update

Just to let everyone know, I've been losing a pound a week with Hip-Hop Abs. No dieting, just cutting back portion sizes, eating a healthy breakfast (Fiber One cereal w/ protein right now), and no late night snacking! I'm impressed so far!

Hip-Hop Abs: Week 2

So I just finished week 2 of Shaun T's Hip-Hop Abs.  I don't remember if I mentioned before that Ab Sculpt is either done with weighted gloves for parts 1 & 2, weights for part 2, or no weights for complete beginners. I used 1.5 pound weighted gloves for the whole workout for the first 2 weeks; for weeks 3 and 4 I will be adding a 3 pound weight.
(I bought the gloves for $10 at Walmart.) 

As promised, here are this weeks calorie burning results! (Remember, these are based on me being 5'4" and 132 lbs.)

Day 8: Fat Burning Cardio= 338 calories and only 1.5 minutes of fat burn
Day 9: Fat Burning Cardio + Ab Sculpt= 618 calories with 3 minutes of fat burn
Day 10: Fat Burning Cardio + Ab Sculpt= 589 calories with 5.5 minutes of fat burn
Day 11: Ab Sculpt= 224 calories with 7.5 minutes of fat burn(!!!!)
Day 12: Fat Burning Cardio + Ab Sculpt= 671 calories (!!) ...only 2 minutes of fat burn
Day 13: supposed to be Fat Burning Cardio + Ab Sculpt, but let's just say it was a very long, not-so-good day and thus, I did not get in my workout; so, I used this as my rest day and picked up with week 3 yesterday.  Now my weeks start on Mondays instead of Tuesdays.

No more missing days!  I'm doing my best to keep that promise to you and to myself!    

(Next week's post will start with Day 15.) 

Randomness: Hip-Hop Abs, Insomnia, All-natural Supplements, and Needing Advice

Let's start off with a copy of this month's calendar of fun:

As you can see, week 2 of Hip-Hop Abs is when it's time to start combining exercises.  Since this is my second time around with the first 3 weeks, I'm a little bored but I'm giving it my all anyways. I do feel like I have the tilt, tuck, tighten method down much better this go-around, and my breathing is more focused which is the upside to my boredom--you can always find something to improve on!

The last time I did Hip-Hop Abs I gave up because I gained 5 lbs my first few weeks.  Well, I'm only down 1 lb. that I know of right now and I'm not checking my inches until the end of the month, but I've added all-natural green coffee bean and raspberry ketones to my daily supplements and I believe they have been a big help in making me not want to eat an elephant after an hour-long workout.
________________________________________________________

On a different note, sleep is not coming easy for me right now (as you can tell by the time of this post).  Insomnia has officially taken over (and sleeping pills make me pass out for like 12 hours, which I don't have time for).

I've tried a number of things:

1. Having my husband open the blinds when he leaves at work at 6 a.m. so the sun shines in my eyes (I just throw the covers over my head)
2. Setting my alarm for 15 minutes earlier than my normal waking time--supposedly this helps if you progress slowly over several weeks (but I sleep very well through it)
3. Drinking a bottle of water before bed so I have to relieve myself in the morning (unfortunately, I'm not stranger of waking up in the middle of the night to go to the restroom...especially after having a baby sit on my bladder for 8 months)
4. Adjusting the temperature in the house so that it's a little too warm for me in the mornings (I love my house freezing so I can snuggle up in my covers)  Now, this actually worked today/yesterday, but I still fought it for about 15 minutes before I finally decided to literally force my booty out of bed and STAY out of bed

So my problem isn't getting out of bed, it's staying out of bed!  This time....I NEED ADVICE! So please leave comments below...I'm open to any suggestions.

I also wanted to share this with everyone today: 

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!)