the bad with the good

Good
- almost everything...
- smarter eating
- stronger
- more visible muscle tone
- having fun
- working with like minded people
- underwear is saggy instead of my butt

Bad
- strained some sort of muscle in my core ( I think). Have to back off the ab work for now, boo.
- almost over
- have to go underwear shopping

Last 3 taped workouts are up

http://gallery.me.com/workyourcore#gallery


A fun mix of workouts this week, let me know what you like and dislike about them on our blog.
I always love to hear the feedback.
Good to have everyone on board again this last week.
(expect for Angela, she had to take this last week off b/c of medical reasons and will resume soon)


Charles will be doing the live workout tomorow -Tae bo
I will be doing the live workout Wednesday-Booty lift
And we will most likely team teach on Friday

lots of love
tami

LAST WEEK IS HERE!

This is the last week ladies!
So give it your all, we have some fun workouts planned this week and we will review moves that you have learnt over the last 6 weeks.
I am proud of you all for making it this far, even thou a few of you had some speed bumps along the way you got back up and kept going. That is success!

jennifer's status:

So, first it was the week of very sick children and the ER visit that put a bit of a stumbling block into the challenge. And then, I felt so exhausted. I thought it was just the difficult week with my boys. But then... we found out. I'm pregnant! Right away, I contacted Tami to see if I could continue with the workouts. She gave me the go ahead. Now... if I could just have the energy, lack of nauseousness and perhaps a stronger will. I do plan on continuing with my new habit of working out. But I have indeed had a serious break in the routine. Which makes it difficult to rejoin. So, although my fit test will not quite look like what I had planned on it looking like at the end of these six weeks... I am just so happy to have this experience of thoughtfully planning meals and intentionally working out. I never worked out, at all, with my other two pregnancies. So, this will be a first. I look forward to seeing how this changes my pregnancy and birthing experience. It has indeed been a pleasure to connect in this space with all of you as we share our experiences in this challenge. Congratulations to all of you for making it this far. And thank you all for your support.

Giggles!

I am so often reminded that we need to take joy in the little things in life! and lately, you know, I'm feeling pretty joyful because I am setting a healthy example for my kids!

While working out the other day, I turned around to find my 6 yr old (Olivia) was doing, perfectly executed, one armed pushups. She took great joy in the fact that I could NOT do it!
and this morning while working out, my 4 yr old (Cooper) came downstairs, gave me a big hug, and said, "woa Mom, you're smok'n hot!
***giggles***

Workouts!

I have 4 workouts up on http://gallery.me.com/workyourcore#gallery
All of these are good and very different workouts.
I know last week was a hard week for a few of you so i am just going to leave these workouts up for this week. Pick 3 and do them, make sure to blog on the ones you choose and what you liked and didn't like about it.
You can do do it ladies!
And have fun while your doing these, that is super important.

Two Weeks Left!

I have to admit, today I felt a little discouraged but after reading Tannis' post, I feel a lot better! So thank you Tannis, I realize that I'm not alone and we all have bad days!

I was a little discouraged because I felt like I was trying really hard and just not seeing the results that I am looking for. I don't know if my expectations are too high or maybe I just need to give it some time! I've been doing awesome with the workouts. I have done all three every week plus an extra cardio session and even one yoga session that I do at work during lunch! So I'm really pumped about that! Each workout is a good one and I feel it throughout my body every time. I really like that!

As for the eating, I think that is where I have a harder time. I eat well during the week, but still working on eating more. That will be a work in progress as I need to incorporate it into my work schedule and make time for eating while at work. It is so easy to get caught up in work, meetings, calls etc. and forget to eat but I am getting better and will continue to work on this even after the challenge.

The weekends are my weak days. lol. I've changed a few of my habits and just need to keep working on it. For example, now I treat Friday as a day of the week instead of a day off. This forces me to continue eating right on Friday so that Saturday and Sunday can be a little more relaxed. I did well this Friday and Saturday but this Sunday was bad. I seem to use events on the weekend as an excuse to eat badly and that is a habit I need to break! Just because I'm at a wedding shower or a birthday doesn't mean I have to eat all the bad food in sight. I am going to continue to work on that!

Another thing I've realized about myself is that I cannot have bad food in the house or I'll eat it. I give in every time and for that reason, I just can't have tempting food in my house! I've stopped buying chips, chocolate or anything like that because if it is around I eat it. Especially after a long or stressful day at work, it seems like I am just drawn to bad food. I want to take some time to research healthy comfort foods like healthy cookies etc. that way they are around if I really need them and I won't feel so guilty afterwards.

Well, that is where I'm at right now but I'm looking forward to the next two weeks! I too will be sad when this is all over, I've really loved every moment of this!!

Active Living

It's hard to believe it's been 4 weeks! I'm secretly dreading the end of the 6 weeks, wondering how I'm going to keep up the intensity of exercise. I love to be active but I don't often push myself to do that one last set or those last 15 seconds if you know what I mean. I've had such fantastic results and feel great. My shoulders and arms look quite different (to me) and the muffin top is less pronounced. Now that we've had a few beach days I'm happy to say I'm feeling more confident in my swimsuit.

I'm more aware of good posture and which muscles I'm using for everyday activities. I even noticed yesterday that the core work and focus has improved my centering on the wheel (pottery)! I'm paying more attention to doing active things with my kids. They always like to run around the yard but are so receptive to me engaging them with new ideas. I want my girls to be able to throw a proper spiral with a football, that kind of stuff. They've picked up their biking like crazy over the last week and are building "stunts" on the driveway now. I love that! It feels like a lot of pressure but these are life habits we're setting up for them...

In general I think I'm going to find it easier to keep up the new eating habits. I decided to take the weekend off of Vitabot to see what would happen. I want the changes to become increasingly internally motivated over time, rather than doing it to please a program or person. On Saturday I didn't keep track at all and I think I ended up doing quite well. At a party I parked myself beside the veggie tray instead of the chip bowl and passed on the cake. Today was different. I didn't plan to write it down but I felt so bloated and tired by evening that I decided to go back through my day and log it. Ick. I covered off most of the vitamins and minerals all right, but blew through the calories, fat, sodium and alcohol. It's important to connect it to how I'm feeling, rather than just the "failure" with numbers. Win some, lose some. It wasn't a great day but tomorrow is another one, right?

Looking forward to another week!

How to stay true to your exercise and diet routine

You started off strong, but lately you’re finding it hard to stick to that new diet or exercise program – so what gives? After that initial excitement and determination wears off, it’s hard for many women to continue exercising regularly, eating healthy, or both because things start to get in the way and excuses pile up, soon that fatty dessert becomes too enticing to resist.

You know you’ve got to get back on that exercise horse, because that’s what you do when you fall off, and girl—you have fallen way off. Here are a few ideas to get you up and moving and back on the healthy eating trail again.

Find a diet/exercise partner.
It’s always easier to do things with a friend. When it comes to dieting and working out, you won’t feel like you’re in it alone. The two of you can go out to eat healthy foods together and not feel bad about depriving yourself. You’ll be able to give support to one another and you can motivate each other to exercise on a regular schedule. Those days when you are having trouble getting going, your exercise partner will be there to challenge you on. You and your partner might enjoy shopping for smaller clothes together as a nice reward for all of the hard work.

Keep a positive attitude.
Daily affirmations are a positive way to start off your day. Positive words of praise and gratitude play a huge role in keeping you motivated to stay on track. Reward yourself for staying on your diet, especially if you’ve just fought off an overwhelming urge to eat fatty foods and opted for the turkey pita instead. Positive attitudes work for exercise as too. After your workouts concentrate on how good you feel for having completed your goals and how great your body feels afterwards. Savor that wonderful feeling of accomplishment and call it up everyday about an hour before it’s time to do one of our workouts.

Mix it up to keep it interesting.
We vary your workouts on-line to keep it fun and motivating . We try and give you something  different to look forward too. On your cardio days, choose activities that are fun and that use different muscle groups and skills. There are so many fun things to choose from like walking, jogging, skating, dancing, swimming, playing golf, tennis, volleyball, soccer or softball.

If there are exercises that you absolutely hate to do, don’t do them. Make exercise fun so you won’t dread working out and you’ll be more likely to stick with your program. Vary your diet just as you do your fitness routine. If you’re always eating the same things you will no doubt get sick of them. Still eat healthy, but try new and different foods on a regular basis.

Look in the mirror not at the scale.
Don’t always rely on that number on the scale. Buy yourself a full-length mirror and check yourself out a little bit. What do you see? Can you tell a difference in the way that you look since you started your diet and fitness program? Muscle is smaller than fat, you can lose fat and build muscle and not see much difference on the scale, but when you look in the mirror you can see the results of beautiful strong muscles strengthened and toned.


Anything that distracts the brain from the pain and discomfort that you feel during exercise can be helpful to get you through a workout. Listening to music can be extremely helpful. Our bodies naturally move to music so listening to upbeat music while you exercise actually helps you perform better. Music makes the time go by much faster because you can focus your mind on listening to particular songs and keep it from concentrating on being hot and tired. Load up your iPod with songs that you like, charge it up and take it with you on your walks, jogs or to the gym. It can be your little companion to keep you motivated.

Your health is important.
Most people want to look good, and there’s nothing wrong with that. One of the greatest benefits of healthy eating and exercise is the wonderful way that you look from the extra effort. But keep in mind that working out and eating right increases your life expectancy and improves your quality of life This alone should give you the motivation to stick to your diet and get your body moving.

Keep up the hard work Ladies!!