Since I don’t have many more days of summer vacation left (less than 2 weeks before I begin my teacher meetings), I was reflecting on how I’ve spent this summer. I’ve had the best time working out and moving my body. I have completely loved the routine of getting my workouts in first thing in the morning (most of the time) and working out with Tinkerbell several mornings a week. Not only that, but I’ve made fitness a way for me to connect with other friends, as well. Fun and fitness just go together for me. The Tone It Up girls said to make this week count, and I definitely plan to with my workouts and the way I spend the rest of my days, as well. Here’s this week’s plan:
And don’t forget that I’ve started a little challenge of my own – getting in 150 miles by the time I have to go back to school for my first teacher workday on August 15. I’d love for you to join me.
I post my daily workouts on Instagram, so follow me (or look at the sidebar of this blog) to see what I’m doing!
And don’t forget that I’ve started a little challenge of my own – getting in 150 miles by the time I have to go back to school for my first teacher workday on August 15. I’d love for you to join me.
I post my daily workouts on Instagram, so follow me (or look at the sidebar of this blog) to see what I’m doing!
So far this summer, I’ve been doing great with my cardio workouts. Even last week while traveling for a teaching conference, I got up at 5:25am to make sure I got in at least 30 minutes. The thing I’ve been lagging on is my toning workouts. Even though my TIU workouts have been in my plan each week, I haven’t been doing them for the past two weeks. So, that’s what I’m going to focus on this week. Here’s this week’s plan:
And don’t forget that I’ve started a little challenge of my own – getting in 150 miles by the time I have to go back to school for my first teacher workday on August 15. I’d love for you to join me.
I post my daily workouts on Instagram, so follow me (or look at the sidebar of this blog) to see what I’m doing!
This week I’ll be traveling to Sacramento for a teaching conference until Thursday, but that’s not an excuse not to workout. The hotel we’re staying in has a fitness center and a pool, and we always walk to/from the convention center and all of the restaurants for our meals, so staying active will be relatively easy. Since I’m not sure which cardio machines the fitness center will have, I’m just going to put “cardio” on here for now, and will fill in the specifics when I get to the hotel later today. Here’s this week’s plan: Monday: evening swim Tuesday: cardio/swimming + TIU: Take Me to the Sea (shoulders/arms/abs) Wednesday: cardio/swimming + TIU:Daisy Duke Workout (3 rounds) Thursday: cardio/swimming + TIU:Beach Yoga w/ Karena Friday: elliptical + long walk w/ Sofi + TIU: Santorini Bikini + TIU: Sleek & Slender Abs Saturday: walk w/ Sofi + TIU: LYB w/ Kettlebells
And don’t forget that I’ve started a little challenge of my own – getting in 150 miles by the time I have to go back to school for my first teacher workday on August 15. I’d love for you to join me.
I post my daily workouts on Instagram, so follow me (or look at the sidebar of this blog) to see what I’m doing!
This is the first full week of summer! Even though the #TIU #bikiniseries is over, I’m planning to kick my workouts into high gear this week. The great thing about Tone It Up is that the weekly workout schedules don’t stop. I’ll be following their toning plan throughout the summer, and beyond. Here’s this week’s plan: Monday: C25K, W5D3 (which includes running for 20 straight minutes!) + Vinyasa Yoga in the late afternoon.*** Tuesday: stair workout with a teacher friend + TIU new toning (coming out early Tuesday afternoon) Wednesday: C25K, W6D1 + Warm Yoga Flow + TIU: Bridal Babe Workout + Honeymoon Ready Routine Thursday: Hot Tapas Yoga (similar to Bikram)+ TIU: HIIT the Beach 2 (Beach Babe 2 DVD) Friday: Hot Tapas Yoga + C25K, W6D2 + TIU: Daisy Duke Workout (3 rounds) + TIU: Hula Booty (Beach Babe 2 DVD) Saturday: Giant 5K w/ Di (walking) + TIU: Cowabunga
***Today, TIU had the suggestion of going to a yoga class this afternoon, or doing one of their yoga routines. I’m so thankful that they suggested this, because I remembered that I had 19 yoga classes that I’d purchased last summer and were about to expire July 31st. So, you’re going to see yoga on my schedule several times a week from now until then.
Now that the Bikini Series is over, I thought I’d start a little challenge of my own – getting in 150 miles by the time I have to go back to school for my first teacher workday on August 15. I’d love for you to join me.
I post my daily workouts on Instagram, so follow me (or look at the sidebar of this blog) to see what I’m doing!
This is the last week of the Tone It Up #CreateYourSummer #BikiniSeries, and I’m determined to finish it with a bang! I’m well on my way to completing exceeding my goal of logging 150 miles of cardio (#150bysummer) during the 8 weeks of the Bikini Series. Here’s the plan:
Sunday: walking! First thing this morning with my mom & later in the afternoon with Sofi Monday: meeting a co-worker at the gym. C25K, W5, D1 (which is running 8 straight minutes!) + TIU: Bikini Series Arms, Bikini Arms (Beach Babe 2 DVD), & Sunkissed Abs + swimming in the early afternoon Tuesday: meeting Tink at the gym at 7am. Elliptical + TIU: BikiniThighs + Bikini Abs + Daisy Dukes Leg & Booty Routine (coming out on Tuesday morning) Wednesday: Meeting Tink at the gym at 7am. C25K, W5, D2 + TIU: Sunrise Routine (Beach Babe DVD) + Bikini Yoga + Itty Bitty Abs (1-3 rounds) Thursday: Making Waves Cardio (elliptical) + TIU: Bikini Body + Bikini Body 2 Friday: TIU: HIIT the Beach 2 (Beach Babe 2 DVD) + Bikini Abs (2 rounds) Saturday: 1st day of summer! C25K, W5, D3 + TIU: Pink Flamingo (2 rounds) + swimming!
Even though the Bikini Series will be over by Saturday, the great thing about Tone It Up is that the weekly workout schedules don’t stop. I’ll be following their toning plan throughout the summer, and beyond. I post my daily workouts on Instagram, so follow me (or look at the sidebar of this blog) to see what I’m doing!
As you guys know, I’ve been loving the ToneItUp‘s workouts since mid-January. I’ve done them 5 days a week, every week since I began, only missing while I was on vacation in Hawaii. (If you haven’t checked them out, I highly recommend you do. It’s completely free, and they have a fun community, full of supportive, motivating people who cheer on every workout you post about).
They’re about to launch their new #bikiniseries this coming Monday, which will run for 8 weeks, until the official start of summer. Karena and Katrina put so much into the daily workouts they design, and the best part is, the whole thing is free. All you need to do is sign up for the #bikiniseries and you’ll get reminder emails, weekly workouts, fun giveaways, yummy recipes, contests, etc.
I like the approach that Tone It Up takes toward living a healthy lifestyle. Not only do they include workouts and nutrition, but they also concentrate on mindset. Take yesterday’s challenge, for example:
The challenge asked participants to create their own summer must-do list. Beyond workouts and eating right, what were things that we wanted to make sure to fit in this summer? I loved this! Any time I can make a list and get creative with my summer plans, I’m all for it! As a teacher, lots of people ask me, what do you do all summer long? My answer is always the same – anything I want to! 🙂 This summer, I really want to concentrate on enjoying each and every day. I didn’t include all of my plans on my list, but I did include most of the things I’m hoping to do:
The photo I used is one that was taken for me by a Danish tourist while I was riding my bike at Kailua Beach on Oahu. She worried that I would be upset that so much of it was in the shadows, but I assured her that I actually liked the way it turned out. It was the perfect photo to use for this assignment because it has an artsy feel right off the bat. I like the way I’m in silhouette with the bike, but the ocean and the beach are in the bright sun in the background.
I thought I’d elaborate a bit on each of these summer plans…
Mid-morning swims: One of my favorite parts of summer is being able to swim at the pool at my parents’ townhouse complex. More often than not, if I get there by 10:30 or 11, I have the entire place to myself, and I’m free to swim laps to my heart’s content. Sometimes my dad and I meet there and swim together, and it’s a nice way for us to connect with each other as we update each other on the latest family happenings while we’re drying off in the sun. It’s also a great time for me to be alone with my thoughts and just let go of all worries and stress. Swimming really soothes me, and I can’t wait to start my almost-daily swims.
Daily doses of laughter: Whether it’s retelling a funny story, joking with my nieces, or watching Sofi do something goofy, I want to appreciate all the little moments of laughter that are part of my daily life this summer. Laughter is good for the soul and the spirit, and I want to make sure I’m enjoying it all the time.
Hawaii-themed party: Since I had such a fun time in Hawaii, I figured it would be fun to have a party with a Hawaiian theme. I’m still deciding if I’ll combine it with a Silpada party that I’m planning to have, or if it will be more of a traditional party. Either way, I have plenty of fun outfits to choose from.
Coffee chats: I live really close to Starbucks (doesn’t everyone?!), so close in fact, that I can walk there with ease. It’s become a habit with three or four of my friends that we meet up there and catch up about all that’s going on in our lives. It’s the perfect place to get together because I can get a calorie-free passion iced tea, or a caffeine kick with an iced cinnamon dolce misto. As far as I’m concerned, coffee is the perfect drink any time of day, so it fits well with a more carefree summer schedule.
SF (and SJ) Giants games: I love supporting my Giants, and plan to go to as many games as I can afford to this summer. One that I know I’ll go to is the Italian Night at the Giants, where a really large group of family and friends all get together. It’s so much fun! The tickets at AT&T Park are expensive, so lately my friends and I have been opting to go to the SJ Giants games. Not only are they ridiculously inexpensive (less than $10 per game), but they’re a lot of fun. Very family-friendly, with lots of activities for the kids to participate in between innings. My friend Di and I are even signing up to do the Giant 5K, which gets us into the game the evening of the race. I’m actually going to an SJ Giants game this Friday with my sister and nieces, which will be tons of fun. Bring on the baseball!!
Going on dates!: I’m actually really looking forward to this one. Assuming of course there are men to go on dates with. I was only on Match.com for about 2 months back in November/December, and I have to say, I was pretty underwhelmed. I got lots of winks, emails, and nudges, but when it came time for the guys to just make the move and ask for my number so we could move it to the next level of texting/talking on the phone and then hopefully soon afterward meeting up, they never pulled the trigger. Even when I directly said, “here’s my number, I’d love to figure out a time for us to meet up for coffee or something.” They disappeared quick. I’m not one to go into a long and drawn out relationship online via email, or text, for that matter. If you’re interested, you think I’m cute, you want to get to know me better, then let’s do that – let’s meet up and see if we hit it off. Because we can have all the chemistry in the world online, we won’t know if we’re really going to be attracted to each other until we meet up. I’m hoping that this time of year will be easier to connect than it was around the holidays. One of the major takeaways I had from my trip to Hawaii was that I’m really ready to be in a relationship, even a more casual one. Hopefully I have a bit of romance in store this summer.
Leash-free beach trips: Last summer I had a blast taking Sofi to a lesser-known beach where she could run off leash. We have the best time when we go – she loves running along the shore, but is afraid to get too close to the water, so I don’t have to worry much about the waves taking her. We both get in a great walk, we get some sunshine, and I get to read and relax. What could be better? Besides just that particular dog-friendly beach, I also hope to hit the other local beaches often this summer.
Long walks w/ Sofi: I take Sofi on walks almost every single day, but in the summer it’s so nice to be able to wake up and take a nice, long walk before the temperature heats up too much. I love exploring all the different streets around my neighborhood with Sofi. She loves when I find new places for our walks, so that’s definitely on my to-do summer list.
Reading: I’m not off to the best start so far this year in terms of my reading goal on Goodreads, but I did get quite a bit of reading time in when I was on vacation in Hawaii. My goal for the summer is to fit in at least an hour a day of reading time. I enjoy reading so much, and I want to make it a priority during the time of year when I have so few responsibilities pulling my focus from the things I enjoy.
Riding roller coasters: This is a huge one for me! It will definitely be its own blog post when it happens because it will be a major NSV. I love going on roller coasters – the wilder and faster the better. I haven’t been on one in I can’t even remember how long because of the time that I got on one and almost had to get off because the safety bar wasn’t going to close. I pleaded with the kid running the ride to let me stay on it, and he did. After that I only got bigger and knew that roller coaster were way out of reach. I didn’t ever want to risk the embarrassment of being asked to get off before I was able to ride the ride. So, this summer I plan on going to Great America and the Santa Cruz Boardwalk to ride as many roller coasters as I can. Can’t wait!!
Family BBQs: I love grilling any day of the week, but getting together with my family and friends and sharing a meal as easy as BBQing is something really look forward to. Sometimes it’s as simple as bringing my meat over to their house for an impromptu BBQ; other times it’s a more planned affair, like for Father’s Day or 4th of July. Either way, I can’t wait to fire up the grill and get cooking!
Cocktails: Summertime is a great time to relax and let go a bit. While I usually only drink on special occasions because the alcohol has empty calories, there is something to be said for enjoying a nice glass of white wine or a Swirl (local peeps will know what time talking about) with friends. Any afternoon or evening becomes more of a celebration when you add a cocktail.
Bike rides: I love riding my cruiser around, and now that more of my friends have bikes, too, I hope to get out and go on rides all summer long. Half Moon Bay, Morgan Hill, and everywhere in between. I love the freedom I feel when I’m riding my bike, the sun shining on my face, the wind in my hair. There’s nothing in the world like it.
Backyard lounging: I have this great Adirondack chair that I bought a few years ago that’s nicely weathered now. I adore sitting in it and enjoying the peace and serenity of my backyard. Looking at the garden and seeing the flowers and trees. Watching Sofi cavorting in the grass. Reading, listening to music, or just trying to keep cool on a warm night. Sounds perfect to me.
There are a lot more things I could add to my list, but I’ll save those up until I have enough to create an entirely new one. This was such a fun exercise, and I’m really glad the Tone It Up girls gave this assignment. It put me in a great mood and gave me some inspiration to get through these last weeks of my school year.
Now that you’ve read my list of how I’m going to create my summer, I’d like to challenge you to write your own list. Either in the comments or by joining the TIU challenge. Post a pic on Instagram with your list. Tweet about it. Write your own blog post. It was a fun activity that really put me in the mindset to enjoy myself this summer, and I can’t wait to read about your plans.
Yes, you read that title correctly! I just bought bikini tops from VS for my upcoming vacay in Hawaii. I received the email promotion today telling me that VS had select tops & bottoms on sale for $15. $15! That’s a better deal than anything you can find at Target, and because they’re from VS, you know they’ll fit well. All their tops are sized like bras, making it easy to insure a good fit. I’ve been searching for swim tops that offer adequate support (underwire!) and I’ve come up short, until today.
Because I’m planning on buying long board shorts, I wanted to pair them with bikini tops. I’m going to get these black shorts, so I wanted the tops to coordinate, but add a bit of fun.
I wish this wasn’t such a sexy shot, because the top itself is actually really practical, while being pretty. The halter top has underwire (practical) and ruffles (pretty). That bow in the front is removable, but I think I’ll probably leave it on, because it adds a fun flirtyness. I really like the print; it just reminds me of somewhere tropical, like Hawaii, but the colors are bold and vibrant, which is my style.
This top is the exact same style as the one above. I love this pattern – I’ve been really into black & white stripes lately, and turquoise/aqua is one of my favorite colors. I think this will look really great on me, especially after I get a tan.
And because the reviews I’ve read about the board shorts say that customers wished they had a built-in bathing suit bottom to feel more comfortable, I also bought these VS bottoms to wear under the board shorts:
These will never see the light of day (unless I’m sunbathing at the house by myself with no neighbors able to see me), but I think they’ll be nice to have underneath.
The total for all of these items? $58, including tax and shipping! I’m thrilled! Not only is that a fantastic price, but I think the fit will be great and I’ll feel good wearing them. I’ve never bought a bathing suit from VS, let alone bikini tops, so this NSV is really special for me. All in all, a great day of online shopping for the Hawaiian vacay, which is now just 29 days away!!
Happy Monday! I can’t believe that today marks one week since my weight loss surgery. It’s amazing to me how much my body has gone through, and recovered from, in that short time. I’m feeling good this morning, and expect that by next Monday for my 2-week post op appointment, I’ll be feeling even better! Now, let’s get to this week’s FMM.
If you’ve taken part in FMM then you know the rules. If you’re new, please take a moment to answer this week’s question on your own blog then add your link in the comments section at: www.alltheweigh.com so we can all see your FMM questions and answers. Please invite your blog readers to add their links here too so everyone has to opportunity to be seen. The idea is to connect with other awesome bloggers so take a moment to post your own FMM post and comment on a couple of other posts. Now it’s time for this week’s topic!
FMM:Summer Fun
This week’s topic is especially fun for me to answer because my summer has officially started!
1. What is your favorite summer fruit? I love all summer fruits, but I have to agree with Kenlie that watermelon is at the top of the list. Nothing is more refreshing, is it?
2. Do you know how to swim? Absolutely! Swimming is my favorite way to exercise in the summer. As soon as I’m cleared to swim, I plan on being at the pool every single day to get an early-afternoon swim in. Can’t wait!
3. Do you prefer sun or snow? Living in the Bay Area, I don’t have to deal with the snow, and have only been in it once or twice in my life. So, I definitely prefer the sun.
4. What temperature do you like most inside your home? Right around 70 is ideal, but I keep the A/C to 74 to conserve.
5. Is it humid where you live? Not usually. Once in awhile we get a weird tropical system that makes it fairly humid, but most of the time it’s extremely pleasant.
6. What is your favorite food to put on the grill? Most often you’ll some sort of fish on my grill, but I love grilling everything – steaks, chicken, lamb, tofu, and of course, veggies.
7. Do you prefer to wear a one-piece or two-piece swim suit? I wear a swim dress to help conceal my thighs; it’s two pieces, but it covers everything. I’m actually looking forward to buying some new swimsuits this summer (since the ones I have are going to get too big!).
8. What is your favorite summer drink? There are so many drinks I enjoy in summer – iced coffee made from the morning’s leftovers, iced tea, but SkinnyGirl margaritas are right up there, if we’re celebrating.
9. Do you prefer the pool or the ocean? I prefer to swim in the pool but I love going to the ocean to enjoy the views.
I took this in early spring in Half Moon Bay
10. What are you looking forward to most over the summer? I’m looking forward to this being a summer of transformation for me. I plan to kick my workouts into overdrive and really see how much weight I can lose. I’m looking forward to the new me emerging. Plus, I can’t wait for all the fun, social events that the summer brings.
Now it’s your turn to answer the questions! And also be sure to go back to Kenlie’s blog and leave a link to your FMM post in the comments! I really encourage you to comment on as many people’s posts as you can – I’ve met some fantastic people through FMM. You never know who you’ll meet today.
Autumn has arrived! Which means that life is back to normal – school’s in, my schedule is busy, and obligations abound. But I won’t use those as excuses to slack on my goals. The great thing about fall is that the weather is cooler and there are no holidays or other social commitments to derail me from strictly adhering to my food and workout plan. I’m determined that fall 2012 will be when I achieve my pre-surgery weight loss goal. Since weekday mornings are hectic, I’m moving my weigh-in day to Sunday. Sundays are the perfect day to weigh in because I don’t have any other morning obligations and can focus on my weight loss. Plus, Sunday weigh-ins will keep me accountable through the weekend. Throughout the fall, I’ll be giving Sunday progress updates called Fabulous Fall Weigh-Ins.
This week was fantastic! I stuck to the plan all week, got some great (sometimes frosty) workouts in, and just felt really motivated and proud of myself.
That’s wonderful Bella, but what were the results on the scale?!!
This morning I weighed in at 303.6, which is a loss 2.8 lbs this week. Which means I now have 23 pounds to go to reach the pre-surgery requirement. Even though I didn’t lose all of the weight that I’d gained last week, I did lose more than half of it, and 2.8 is completely on track for my December goal.
All week I felt confident and happy about what I was doing to promote my weight loss. I didn’t let the pain of the plantar fasciitis get the better of me, and I braved the freezing pool twice. I also got in a dance party and a kickboxing workout. I tracked my food, stayed on plan, and drank my water. My goals were to get back to basics, and that’s exactly what I did.
This morning I went to the new JC center, and I love it! The center itself is bright, clean, and very organized. I felt happy just walking in the door. My consultant, Sherri, was wonderful! She’s energetic, knowledgeable, and so confident in the information that she’s giving. As she was asking me questions about myself and my weight loss goals, her responses let me know that she really cares. Their scale had me down almost 4 lbs today (I think the two scales must be weighing differently, which is another reason why I’m glad that I do my official weigh-ins at home), and Sherry was so enthusiastic and positive. She high-fived me! Talk about a turnaround compared to my old consultant – night and day!! I am so happy that I made the change, because I know that I’m going to look forward to my Sunday morning JC weigh-ins now.
Sherri also gave me a really great tip that I thought I’d share:
Another great thing that happened this week was that I woke up pain free this morning – that hasn’t happened in more than a month! I took two rest days in a row on Friday and Saturday where I didn’t even give Sofi a walk, and I think that did the trick. I’ve also been good about doing the stretches and taking Aleve to help with the swelling. Even though I know I might have lost more weight if I’d gotten two additional workouts in, I think it was more important to get some relief from the pain. I feel like a new woman, ready to get out there and tackle anything that comes my way.
My workout plan this week is to continue with swimming, but rather than fight the elements at the unheated, outdoor pool, I’m going to start swimming at 24 Hour Fitness. I avoid swimming there because it is so heavily chlorinated, but with my foot being the way that it is, swimming is one of the best options I have. I will also ride my bike (or the recumbent bike at the gym), and go to Saturday morning Zumba. 5 workouts equaling at least 225 minutes of exercise this week.
Until next Sunday, my friends. I hope the scale treats you well, and that you have a wonderful week!
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Since I don’t have many more days of summer vacation left (less than 2 weeks before I begin my teacher meetings), I was reflecting on how I’ve spent this summer. I’ve had the best time working out and moving my body. I have completely loved the routine of getting my workouts in first thing in the morning (most of the time) and working out with Tinkerbell several mornings a week. Not only that, but I’ve made fitness a way for me to connect with other friends, as well. Fun and fitness just go together for me. The Tone It Up girls said to make this week count, and I definitely plan to with my workouts and the way I spend the rest of my days, as well. Here’s this week’s plan:
Bella on the Beach 