quick update

So far, so good on that 30 Day Shred video. I've done it twice this week and OMG, it's intense. Anyway, I'm not sure if I'll do it again tonight, but we'll see how things go today. If I don't do it, that's okay.. I wouldn't be feeling too bad. I've worked out Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. I ran 4.75 miles yesterday along w/ the video workout, so I feel pretty good. Plus, my body could use a rest (if I don't do the video workout tonight). We'll see. :)

Now, regarding food.. it's still a bit tough. But I am counting my calories. I have yet to eat 1200 or so calories. Lately, I've been around the 1500-2000 calorie count. Yesterday I had about 1550. Couldn't really help it, there's too much baked goods in the house. Mum made an apple pie for Dad's birthday on Tuesday... so I've been having leftovers. Plus, I baked some cookies last night.. had about 2 of them, so. Anyway, I know... I have to be good... even with the holiday season right around the corner, and yes, not to mention all that Halloween candy this weekend! Ahhh! (Actually, I'm not sure if we'll have be getting much candy this year.. P and L are kind of big to go trick or treating now and Christopher's not big enough yet... plus Mark won't be home to take them cuz he's working). Oh well, we'll find out come tomorrow night, I guess. Anyway, back to my whole weight/exercise thing, let's hope I do well. :)

Alright, more later. Stay tune. :)

this morning's run

Mark and I decided to run my first 5k course this morning. Due to lack of enough time before Laura's soccer game this morning, we decided on a course that was close by. This course starts literally across the street from our house and goes up the hill on Guadalupe Parkway. Anyway, the first half of the course goes uphill while the second half is all downhill. All and all, we both did very well, I think. I definitely improved my time by a bit... but not as much as I'd like. Either way, it was still an improvement. I guess I just didn't realize how grueling it is going uphill the first part of it.

Oh, I ran yesterday, but only did 2.1 miles. Turned out I didn't get to the park with enough time to run the intended amount I had hoped to. So instead, I clocked 20 or so minutes at 2 miles, etc. Not so bad. :) But what's not so great is I ate 1800 calories yesterday, boo me, I know.

Alright, enough for now. More later. :)

working out again...

So I did the third workout (Level 3) from 30 Day Shred. Previously, I've done Level 1 and 2... so today I decided I would try Level 3. Anyway, I don't think it was too bad. I like to think my fitness level is pretty good, so I can keep up with all three levels really. I can say, however, that the DVD is sure challenging... even if you feel like you're super fit. It's intense and will keep you moving the whole time. Overall, I really like the idea that I can do a full body workout with warm ups and cool down in under 30 minutes. Plus the fact that it's a circuit kind of thing so it keeps everything not so boring and different. Again, like always, we'll see how everything turns out in the next few weeks or so. I'm really hoping I do good. So far, so good.

I started this on Tuesday, Oct. 21. Skipped Wednesday's and Thursday's workouts because I was so sore from Tuesday's. Plus on Wednesday, I ran 3.1 miles... so I figured it was okay if I didn't do it. Anyway, I have a 3+ miles run scheduled for today. I figure since I'm going to pick Laura up from soccer practice, I might as well get there early so I can go for a run. Give me 45 minutes or something, give or take 5 minutes. I'm sure I can put in at least 3 miles... if not more. I know almost every time I run it feels pretty icky the first mile in... but I also know once I pass that hump I can run on and on.. until who knows when. Again, let's hope I do good when I go out in a bit. :)

Oh, I know I've stopped jotting down what I eat... just cuz I've gotten too lazy at it. But what I have started doing is what Mark does. He writes down every calorie he eats. So instead of writing the actual food, etc.. he just jots down how many calories, etc. It's really helped him take off that 25 lbs sympathy weight he put on when I was pregnant. I know he was at like 203, now he's down to 177-180 lbs. Pretty good, I say. Anyway, so yes, I'm doing what he's down... writing down my calories for each day. So far today, I've only consumed 640 calories. Still have dinner to go... so hopefully all is well. My EOD calorie goal is 1,200 to 1,300 a day (for now anyway). I weight has been stuck at 102-103 for the past few weeks (weighed myself this morning... the meter reads in between 102-103), it's okay... but just kind of annoying. I have yet to hit that 100 or go down to double digits, so let's hope a few minor changes will help.

Alright, enough said. More later. :)

blah blah blah....

Just a quick update:

Christopher turned ONE this past Sunday, Oct. 19. So that means I'm officially a whole year postpartum, no excuses for this belly pouch, fat, etc right? Anyway, still working on it. Started 30-Day Shred the other day... so we'll see. Stay tune... :)

Alright, work... still just chillin' at the moment. Keeping my options open though... :)

Okay, that's all for now!

i need a new job!

Okay, after my post last week about how I've been so exhausted and needed a break... well, turns out a break was given to me (whether I like it or not). My company lost a client, so they had to downsized. I went from a salaried employee to an hourly, 2 days a week employee. Sucks. My pay dropped dramatically! You can say I'm missing out on 65-70% pay. Really sucky, you know? I guess in today's time... everything's sucky.

Oh well, all's okay for now. I just need to start looking for things to do elsewhere before the holidays hit. In the meantime, I'm going to take it nice and slow. So far, so good... really enjoying all my time off, unpaid... unfortunately.

Anyway, stay tune.. we'll see where I am in a month or two's time. Let's hope it's something good and all of this is all a blessing in disguise. I truly believe everything happens for a reason. :)

im sooooooooooo tired!

OMG, I feel like I'm not getting enough sleep these days. I always wake up super exhausted, as if I haven't slept in forever! Anyway, just super tired.

Alright, quick entry. Here's what I've eaten/plan to eat for today:

BREAKFAST:
- 2 slices turkey bacon (40 cal)
- 1 fried egg (75 cal)

AM SNACK:
- fruit, TBD (100 cal)

LUNCH:
- eggplant w/ peppers + rice (350 cal)

PM SNACK:
- fruit, TBD (100 cal)

DINNER:
- TBD (400 cal)

TOTAL CALORIES: 1045

im baking some more goodies tonight!

So I'm having a baby shower for my sister Yia tomorrow afternoon. Yes, Christopher and I are going to make the trip up to Chico tomorrow morning sans Mark (he'll come later tomorrow night on the Amtrak starlight train). Anyway, for the baby shower, I've decided that I'm going to make some baked goodies. I'm not sure if the girls will be bringing any food or not.. but whatever it is, I'm assuming since I'm the one hosting it, I will be pretty much in charge of all the foods. On the sweets menu will be some homemade cupcakes (decided i'm just gonna do them from the box, not from scratch... chocolate & lemon favor)... but with homemade frosting (vanilla & cream cheese buttercream) that I made up last night (to help speed things up tonight and save time), some brownies (from the box as well, i know.. bad me), some jam thumbprint cookies, sugar cookies w/ icing, and some chocolate chip cookies (all the cookies, made from scratch.. of course!). So yes, that's what's going on the sweets menu.

Now, for real food... I'm thinking if I really have some extra time tonight I might make some of my fave BBQ chicken wings, some tea sandwiches, deviled eggs and buy some of those yummy Hillshire Farms mini sausages. Anyway, we'll see about this menu. Tough thing is transporting all of this goodies... I don't know, we'll find out, I guess. :)

So yes, there you have it.. I have a busy night ahead of myself tonight! And on top of that, I still need to go shop for all the baby gifts. Ahhh.. crazy me waiting until the last minute huh?

Anyway, I weighed myself this morning. As I mentioned yesterday, I'm probably 103 or 102.5.. it was in between the 2 and 3 so I couldn't really tell. I don't have a digital scale at the moment so I'm just guestimating. Oh well.. that's okay. Hey, I don't think I've really gained or lost any weigh, so it's okay for now. Thing is, I just need to make sure I firm up. Oh, btw, Mark and I are going for our run today... we're doing the Golden Gate Park route again. Hopefully it'll be okay, I don't expect to beat my time from last Sunday. It doesn't really matter, I'm not that concern about my time this time... I just want to make sure I have a good quality run where I feel like I'm not burnt out. :)

Okay, here's what I've eaten/plan to eat for today:

BREAKFAST:
- leftovers: rotissere chicken w/ rice (300 cal)

AM SNACK:
- banana (115 cal)

LUNCH:
- Eating Right shrimp linguine w/ lemon garlic sauce (320 cal)
- french fries (400 cal)
- bread (100 cal)

PM SNACK:
- string cheese (80 cal)

DINNER:
- TBD (400 cal)

EVENING SNACK:
- baked goodies.. all that testing! (500 cal)

TOTAL CALORIES: 2215

i did horrible yesterday! boo me! =/

Okay, so I've been itching to bake for days... and last night I finally did! I made some brownies (Duncan Hines, unfortunately... was too lazy to make it from scratch) and a totally from scratch homemade blackberry pie. Both were delicious! Of course, Mark's such a tough critic, he's hard to please. First sight of the baked brownies, he automatically went and said, "they're not the kind i like"... like WTH? He haven't even tried it yet! Anyway, he's just hard to please. Oh... I even came out and confessed that I read the ingredients on the box wrong and instead of 1/4 cup water, I put in 1/2 cup water. So when I had to add in the oil, instead of 1/2 cup, I did 1/4 cup. Hahaha.. I guess it turned out okay, I just had to bake it a little longer than the time it said to bake it for. So yes, instead of 38-42 minutes or something, I baked it for close to 50 minutes. Not bad... the overall result was super yummy. Mark eventually admit the brownies wasn't bad so. Plus, I even added some semi-sweet and milk chocolate chips in the brownies to please him cuz that's how he likes his brownies, w/ a bit of chocolatey chips. :P Anyway, icky thing is, it's a bunch of calories for a tiny piece. Of course, I didn't check to see how many servings there were, so I divided the pan into 12 pieces. Turns out one of the 12 pieces would cost you 300 calories. So instead of having people eat 300 calories at a time, I went ahead and divided those 12 pieces in half... so everyone can have 150 calories worth of brownies at a time. :)

Lalalalala... yeah, the homemade blackberry pie was a success. I was cheap on my butter so instead of a yummy buttery crust, I used safflower oil instead. I measured all my ingredients perfectly and the dough came out fine! I swear, this must be the first time I didn't messed up on my dough with this recipe. All and all, everything was great. Only minor icky thing was that I didn't have enough berries (not really) for my 10-in pie pan. Had to use a 10-in pie pan cuz the 9-in pan was being used to hold some cantaloupe. Oh, forgot to take some pictures of my baked goods, oh well. :P

Alright, so yes, I had like almost 2000 calories yesterday. Terrible, I know. I weighed myself this morning to check my weight and I'm pretty sure for tomorrow's weigh in I'm going to be at 103. Hopefully just 103 and not more. We'll see. I didn't work out last night either. I know, bad me. Well, hopefully I'll do something today... kind of need to, you know?

Okay, here's what I've eaten/plan to eat for today:

BREAKFAST:
- dinner leftover: chicken w/ rice (300 cal)
- bits of homemade banana pancake (50 cal)

AM SNACK:
- banana (105 cal)

LUNCH:
- Eating Right chicken w/ peanut sauce (280 cal)

PM SNACK:
- string cheese (80 cal)
- 1/2 piece of brownie (75 cal)

DINNER:
- tilapia fish w/ steamed veggies & rice (400 cal)
- homemade creamy fudge (200 cal)

TOTAL CALORIES: 1490

i really want to do well

I must say I have to be a little proud of myself. Not only did I do well on my run last night, but I also did my own personal circuit training (about 30mins) and ate reasonably decent. I know it's not within the 1200 limit or anything like that, but under 1400 is pretty good.

So yes, I went for my jog yesterday during Laura's soccer practice. Like I said before about my last few runs, especially the first mile I get so burnt out. It must have been because I was running super fast or something. I know the last two races and this past weekend's run with Mark, my first mile pace was at 8:30 or 8:40 and that was really just burning me out. So yesterday, instead of running an 8:30 or so pace my first mile, I decided to take it slow. Instead, I ran a 10-min mile pace and OMG, what a difference! It felt so good... I felt fine. Even 2 miles into it, I was still doing great... still at my 10-min something mile pace (which is my overall average pace) I felt like I could run forever! I didn't feel sick towards the end or have that urge of wanting to stop with 400 meters to go. Instead, I really honestly felt like I could keep running. Anyway, I stopped at 3.5 miles... about 36 minutes or so. It wasn't too bad. I'm really glad that I decided to try a different approach (or more like what I have done in the past). I know the reason why I was burning out so much before was because I was trying to improve my pace... and turns out, that's really not going to do me any good cuz I didn't really enjoy my run (especially in the beginning and towards the end).

Alright, so my coworkers at work are doing this whole gym and Weight Watchers thing. It's really tempting, but I'm still trying to see if I can succeed with doing my own thing. I would love to join in on the gym stuff... but I figure, if I could just keep up with my usual runs during the week and keep counting calories, I'll be okay. It'll be very similar to what they're doing. Anyway, bottom line, I just need to really tone up... so gotta get those strength training exercises in. Period.

Well, we'll see where all this goes in due time. Stay tune. :)

Okay, here's what I've eaten/plan to eat for today:

BREAKFAST:
- 1 slice turkey bacon (20 cal)
- 1 fried egg (75 cal)
- 2 pieces of leftover dinner turkey sausage (60 cal)
- 10 oz fat-free milk (110 cal)

AM SNACK:
- banana (105 cal)

LUNCH:
- Lean Cuisine parmesan crusted fish (290 cal)

PM SNACK:
- string cheese (80 cal)

DINNER:
- rotisserie chicken w/ broccoli, salad + dressing & 1/2 cup rice (500 cal)

EVENING SNACK:
- brownie (450 cal)
- slice of homemade blackberry pie (300 cal)

TOTAL CALORIES: 1930 -- did terrible! :(