pixiglittrpants’s BodyBlog

Hee, so why does this Challenge remind me of "Lilo and Stitch" when Stitch says something like "I’m cute and FLUFFY!" (You have to hear it in his voice, but oh man, did anyone else cry, like, a million times during that movie?!  Oh right, focus…).

So today marks Day 1 of the Cut the Fluff Challenge!  The beautimous TLC spearheaded this challenge of ladies that have different methods of the same goal, which is to work diligently the next 6 weeks and cut the fluff around the midsection.  Thanks for the awesome idea, TLC!!

My action plan is to follow the Savage Summer Challenge Plan I’m currently on…. I’m not going to touch the workout plan, but diet-wise I’m cutting out rice cakes and PB.  I think my pea brain thinks “mmm, it’s circular like a cookie and there’s cake in the name, so gorge like a ziggy piggy!” and polishes off the whole thing in one sitting.  So - no more!  Aside from whey protein, cottage cheese, and couscous/brown rice, I’m not going to eat any processed foods (since the list is mostly veggies, fruit, potatoes, fish, eggs, etc., anyway - very Body-For-Life-ish).

Right now, I’m packin’ a 25.25″-25.5″ waist and weighing a buck and two dimes (give or take a penny ).  Here’s my starting pics (definitely not as pleased with them as the previous progress pics, but hey, this is why I’m doing the challenge! ):

I hope to get my waist in the 24" region, and weigh that ever-elusive 115.  Overall, though, if I could just get rid of that muffin top whenever I sit down, I will be one happy pixi.  So - it’s on!  Today kick-started this challenge off well with 4 sets of 15 of: leg raises, v-sits, decline sit-ups, and stability ball crunches (I also did side twists that always reminds me of Tommy Boy’s "fat man in a little suit" with that broomstick thingy).  A spin bike magically fell under me today, too, so I ended up doing one more cardio session than the prescribed 4x of cardio… it’s still better than my 2x overage from last week, though!

Anyway - I hope everyone has a great weekend!!  Time to holla at the Fluff Ladies!

What up, sweetums?  I took a couple of progress pics (pardon the muumuu, but you know how you have clothes from high school that you just can’t part with?  that’s one of them - comfiest sundress ever!)… it still needs work, but I’m happy that the back is showing some muskulls.  I’ll take midsection and legs pics soon!

So a HUGE congratulatory shout-out goes to VT Dad for finishing a marathon this past weekend!!  Excellent job, my friend, and your journey and process was exciting to read the past few months… can’t wait to read about your next endeavor!

So this weekend was pretty jam-packed full with a fun bachelor party (the things that strippers do these days - hilarious!), my friend’s 2-year old’s birthday party, and domestic goddess productivity.  Ever so eager to pack even though I’m not set to move until June 22 (thanks for the support from the last blog!), I got my rabid-cleaning on and gave a bunch of stuff to charity.  June will be super busy with bachelorette parties, the Mud Run, and weddings so this was my only weekend to really hardcore clean.  Plus - it was a great distraction for my diet, since I’m soon learning all my couch jockey’ing of TV and reading piles up the snacky calories… so keeping busy helped with not eating (especially when you’re inhaling fumes from the cleaning supplies… my poor couple of brain cells left! )

The diet is going well, and this week it drops down to 1450 calories.  I stress ate today since there were meetings and a bunch of fires to put out, so instead of making healthy choices I ate rice cakes, peanut butter, and coffee - boo!  I’m still under the caloric target, but it’s definitely not quality calories, so I just have to plan better.  

The workouts are kicking major arse, mostly with the quadzillion lunges I had to do, on top of squats, bulgarian split squats, etc!  My legs were screaming at me Sunday and Monday, and I could barely bike Sunday, but Monday I think running (HIIT) actually helped the achiness go away.  But yeah, supersets are still kickin butt and sets increased to 4… as for the cardio, well, I kinda-sorta did 2 sets of 1-hour cardio extra than the 4 sets of 45 minutes prescribed last week, but this week I think I’m on track since I have rest days to coincide with plans with family, friends, etc.  The guy and a coworker whom I haven’t seen in two weeks said I look leaner, so yay!

Anyway, I will catch up with you soon and I hope you’re doing well!  Wet sloppy kisses!

D’oh!  I initially came on here to catch up with all your wonderful progress/adventures, but that security code thingy won’t let me leave messages… argh!  I’ll definitely stop by on all of you sooner than later, but I hope everyone is doing wonderful.

I’m doing well myself… the Challenge is going well, and I’ve been good at keeping track of my diet/exercise stuff in my paper journal and on fitday (link on the bodyspace page).  I’m somewhat hitting the caloric goals each day (1700-1750), and starting to figure out the 40/30/30 breakdown.  Some days I wish I could eat more, and other days I can’t fit the sixth meal in, but I’m adjusting (heh, just in time for changes in second week. ).  

Workout-wise, her plan of supersets is tough, yo!!  It’s a lot of reps per set (like 20 flyes and then 10 push-ups straight after for 3 sets), and it’s my first time doing supersets so it was pretty draining!  As for the 4 sessions of cardio at 45 minutes, well, I kinda-sorta already used up all the ‘cardio credits’, so to speak, and, well, I have 3 more days to go before next week.  A part of me is already justifying "well, if I didn’t have a car then I’d probably have to jog/bike to work, so another session could simulate that predicament…", but I’ll try my best to follow the plan.   I still have to do legs and then her special workout that reminds me of crossfit (butt load of push-ups, plyo stuff, etc.) by Friday, but I’m definitely enjoying it!  Plus she uses a lot of exclamations! and I really like exclamations! since perky people really motivate me!

I also landed an apartment of my very own!!  The cons are that I’m farther away from downtown and I’m paying one G for the size of a shoebox, but the awesome pros are that running trails are a couple steps from my doorstep, it’s close to the beach, and a mile from work so no more 30 minute commute!!!   Plus, it’s mine, all mine!!!  I can bake as much stinky fish as I want, I can walk around nekkid, I can do the butt-floss thing with my towel with the bathroom door open (j/k), I can do anything my heart desires!  I’ll still probably go to my ‘old gym’, though, but that’s still closer than where I was living before… I’m scared/anxious to tell my roommate (though we agreed on July), but overall I’m excited!!  The action plan is to keep building the savings for a down payment (sucks that I’m seeking the help of Bank of Parents for move-in stuff, but I’m very fortunate and grateful that they offered so I don’t have to dip into my savings!) and hopefully one day I can actually own my own digs… man, growing up can be fun!  Sometimes

Anyway, I will most definitely catch up with you today/tomorrow, but I miss you tons and hope you’re doing awesome!! xo

I’m sorry if I made some of you worry with my last blog!  It’s really minute and I heard pretty routine, I think I just got carried away with the ‘what if’s’ super-prematurely!  So no worries, but thank you for your kind messages/PM’s… y’all really know how to make a chick feel loved.

So I was perusing wendy’s bodyspace/blog yesterday and though I knew she has run ultramarathons (amazing!), I honed in on her experiences with Cathy Savage’s online programs.  So I then perused Cathy Savage’s website and found that she has different plans for fitness/figure competitors (or people that just want to look like them), which focuses on diet, workouts, glam, choreography, etc.  I THEN found that she had a summer challenge program, where for 8 weeks she focuses on the first two aspects, which my ADHD/commitment-phobe self thought, “Hrm, 8 weeks, I’m pretty sure I can handle 8 weeks!” (heh, pretty sure… see!  even my thoughts have operative words for a loophole).

So I mulled it over and five minutes later (impulsive much?), I signed up.  I don’t know if I ever told you, but back when I was 150ish pounds 6-7? years ago, I used Weight Watchers to help me get down to about 135 pounds (I then discovered running/weight training which further dropped me down to my current state and have maintained for 2-3 years (actually dropped down to sub-100 lbs., but those were pretty dark days).  I don’t know about you, but I’m a stingy sumab!tch and when I’m paying for services (i.e., the gym, tuition back in college, etc.), I tend to use them because I hate wasting money (plus I always think of it like if I skip out on class today, then the cost per class raises and I’m not getting more bang for my buck… it all makes sense in pixi-economics ).  

Anyway, I used Weight Watchers and it definitely helped me realize what portion sizes truly are, the benefits of veggies/fruit (since they’re so little in points), etc., and have carried those ‘key concepts’ with me.  So in signing up for C.S., I figured, “well, I know I have the workouts down, but I could really use help with a diet that is more bodybuilder-focused than WW.”  Yes, there’s plenty of free material on the web, but I figured if I’m paying for a program, I should stick with it.  So, I signed up!

The bad: because I chose figure type 3 (figure bodybuilder) I have to limit my cardio to 4 sessions of 45 minutes (gasp!).  However, two days are intervals so I know I can at least get 5 or so miles out of those days, so I intend on doing so!  I will also have to momentarily ‘give up’ Trixter’s wonderful volume training routines - however, a lot of the exercises are still the same and the program actually has 5 sets every three or so weeks, so I guess it kind of balances out.

The good: she sent this chart much like WW points and Body-for-Life, where you pick out different foods out of 2-3 groups for every meal, which is super awesome for me since it has portions laid out, lots of variety, and foods/groups I would have never thought of.  I’m most excited about the nutrition/diet aspect, and hope to really refine my knowledge (and use it!) that I can carry with me even after the 8 weeks.

So I start this tomorrow, and I’m super excited!!  I think I can still make my May running/biking goals, but at the very least I’ll come pretty darn close.  I guess I should start this program in June, but you know impulsive little me… once the motivation gets sparked, I just run with it.  Especially if the "dolla-dolla-bill-yo" is tied with it!

I hope everyone has a great weekend!! xo

Thank you for your wonderful well wishes, everyone!  Sorry I’ve been MIA, but this week posed a couple of challenges for me, the first and foremost being that I finally told my roommate that I wanted to move out (something I’ve wanted to do for awhile, but I have a hard time saying no or letting people down).  Without getting into the petty annoyances, we just have two very different lifestyles - I’m an early bird, like peace and quiet, really love my alone time, love my job, etc., while she pulls all-nighters, parties a ton, complains about her job a lot, and bangs/slams doors and cupboards (okay, I guess this can be considered a petty annoyance, but even though I try not to take it personally since I know half of the time it’s her job, it’s still kind of disruptive to the home for me).  I guess I’m getting set in my ways and just getting too darn old for roommates.  So I’ve been dealing with that, because as funny as it sounds, it felt like a break-up since 1) we’ve been friends since college and 2) I usually moved because of circumstance (i.e., another job at a different city) rather than the actual person.  And even though we might not move until December (financial reasons on her end though it would benefit me too since Hawaii is coming up), I’m still very excited about it and obsessively checking local ads and places (oh, and um, working! ).

Another challenge is that I have to get an outpatient procedure done.  As grateful as I am that it was found, I think I found myself facing my mortality and looking introspectively about my life, its history and direction, what it all means, etc. from my commute home until it was time to sleep (and also during my cardio sessions).  Though I’ll always fight for my life and strive to always be optimistic (something that I feel comes naturally though life experiences taints it cynically somewhat over time), I’m not necessarily afraid of death, either, and just figure come what may.  Kind of silly, but I guess my head’s been in the clouds about that these days.

But, I still managed to gym it every day except today (cardio portion: 6 miles run, 25ish bike but I’ll re-confirm with my notes), and this guy actually came up to me one day and said that though my form was 95% correct (doing tricep extensions), I twist my neck ever-so-slightly at times so just keep an eye out on that.  Ever since, I’ve totally been eyeing my neck and see what he meant, and my neck/upper shoulder pains have been alleviated ever since!  I haven’t seen him since, but hope to so I can give him his props!  

Hee, and the guy and I had a minor altercation, but it’s since been resolved and the relationship strengthened lately due to the triple rites of passage - the burp, the fart, and the queef!!  The last being extremely embarrassing, as I believe it’s probably what a beluga whale would sound during its mating call.  His response, "glad I got out of the way in time, that coulda poked an eye out!"  SO romantic.

Going to catch up with all of you tonight/tomorrow, especially since a lot of people are on new routine/supplement adventures, so I can’t wait to read about it!  I missed you and hope life is treating you well! xo

Happy Mother’s Day to all you gorgeous mamas out there!  Being a rather selfish girl that loves my me-time, I absolutely cannot imagine having a job, getting into the gym, AND being a mother, so I bow down to you all!  I hope you were treated well today (and every day!) because you most definitely deserve it!

This weekend was rather mellow, mostly because after not really recovering from last week’s festivities, workin’ hard for my money (*nu-nuh, nu-nuh, so HARD for the money* ), and going downtown for my friend’s birthday on Friday, I had a major fever (probably while I was AT the club, too) and all hopped up on antibiotics - BOO!  So Saturday I was in a rather comatose state (though I did do light bicep/chest/shoulders/abs, which then caused me to hurl and proceed to go home).  I was pretty bummed I couldn’t make it to support my friend at Ray at Night, this super fun event that exhibits provocative local art, but he understood.  

Today I felt slightly better and managed to run 4 miles and bike 7, though I was drenched and stinky in a not-so-euphoric way.  I hope to kick this stuff out of my system soon!  If all goes according to plan, I plan on doing tricep/shoulders/back and legs tomorrow, run/bike Tuesday, bicep/chest/shoulders and bike Wednesday, run/bike Thursday, tricep/shoulders/back Friday, and run Saturday.  Sunday’s another wedding out of town, but I hope to sneak in a run before then.  

I’ve also been following a "Body for Life" routine when it comes to meals lately - spinach/brussel sprouts/broccoli, fish/egg whites/black beans/tofu, and brown rice/potatoes for most meals, even breakfast (though okay, I do sneak in a piece of cheese and/or sunflower seeds every now and then on top of the veggies ).  I tried it circa five years ago and it worked really well, and lately it’s been great at keeping me sub-120 (118 today, though I’m thinking the fever had something to do with it).  I still have my daily mango, though… it helps keep me in touch with my islander heritage and stuff.

Heido-ho, my bodyriffic friends!  Ever since May 1st, it’s been a serious case of May Gray around here… it’s like the month changed and the sun took off its hard hat, yelled ‘yabba-dabba-doo’ and slid off the dinosaur!   Hope it doesn’t fully last til "June Gloom", too!  

Anyway, it’s been crazy hectic at work (like, working all of the 8 hours, wtf? j/k), but at least it keeps me off the streets and workin’ corners.  I skipped Monday workout, but I did a cardio-crazy one on Tuesday with a 6 mile run and 5 mile bike ride (and don’t think those comments on bull.dogz’
blog went unnoticed Suzy and Courtney!!  Parhumph… heh, okay, I’ve embraced my crackhead cardio ways - just don’t make me through an intervention!  I can quit anytime… honest… ).  I absolutely love long cardio sessions - I call those workouts ‘earning my shower’ since I’m totally drenched and it feels euphoric despite most chicks’ disgust with it!  Today I did bicep/chest/shoulders and legs, and do feel decidedly weaker ever since the left side stuff, so it kind of feels like I’m starting from scratch (or, maybe where I was a couple of months ago).  Oh well, I do think the acupuncture is helping since he’s being a bit more aggressive with the treatment, and just  as the Master Motivator says, I just got to keep on keepin!

Tomorrow will be a double workout of tricep/back/abs, and then a 5-6 mile run depending on time.  If all goes according to plan, then since May 1 I’ll have 20 miles logged for bike, and 20-21 miles for running (20.1 or 21.1 actually, since VTD gave me frequent runner miles for supporting him (if you haven’t checked out his blog, he ran 57 miles last week!!  In a week!!  Amazing…)

Diet has been great, though I definitely eat not-so-good carbs (i.e., mushroom risotto) when I should be eating brown rice or sweet potatoes.  It gives me insane energy for my cardio sessions, but it also gives me a not-so-cute bloated belly, so I just gotta remind myself to make cleaner choices since summer’s coming (despite the current icky grayness).  I do think eating veggies at every meal helps with keeping the weight down (even breakfast with an egg white omelette), though!

I hope everyone is doing awesome… I’m off to read your blogs to make sure you’re staying out of troublel! j/k

What’s up, peeps?  So I attended an amazing wedding yesterday in Santa Monica (about 2 hours north of here).  The couple are definitely the most free-spirited, fun-loving, most eccentric people in my life - the chick is an arts teacher and the guy designs/builds furniture, and their house is full of cool pieces like a suspension bed, dining room that swirls so that people sit "inside" the table, etc.  Being hedonistic burners to the core, they had a sort of traditional wedding, and a not-so-traditional reception - it was like a mini-Burning Man, full of hippy food, great dj’s, techno/house/progressive/jungle music, poi dancers, acrobats, most in costumes and fur boots, etc.  One of the fire twirlers, Flare, had THE greatest arms and she attributed it to lots of poi practice, yoga, and… hrm… there was a particular name for it, but you know those people that do acrobat/gymnastic moves on sheets on top of the ceiling, all Cirque de Soleil style?  She does that, too.  This, of course, made me want to try poi, but then envisioned my hair catching on fire and that phase quickly left my system.   Anyway, it was insane, and I’m SO jealous of their honeymoon plans, too - as soon as the school year ends for the chick, they bought an RV and cruising all over the country.  And it’s not some hokey RV - it’s like a pimped-out tour bus with 2 flat-screens, a section outside where it pulls out as a bbq, space for their bikes, plus the normal bed, kitchenette, mini-bathroom, dining space, etc.  Oh to be a trust-fund baby (heh, okay, forgive me, that was just jealousy talking, they really DO deserve all the great fortunes in their lives because they’re also the most generous people ever)!!

This morning, a few of us rented beach cruisers and biked around (I’m counting that since we biked more than 15 miles, though we did have breakfast and cruised around the vendors selling stuff on the boardwalk ).  What sucked is heading home around eleven and being caught in 4 hours of traffic, but overall this weekend was a blast!

Gonna go to the gym to do legs before the guy and I hang out tonight.  I managed to run 5 miles yesterday morning, plus did abs/bi/chest (which I’m feeling the delicious DOMS of now!).  Tinglies are about a 1-2 on a scale of 10, so yay!  Diet went pretty well, though I did eat the pancake that came with my breakfast (healthy breakfast though - egg white omelette with tomatoes, spinach, alfalfa sprouts, mushrooms, and avocado on top)!  Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Happy 1st day of May (and happy birthday to you, lovely one)!  So I tried getting back into lifting yesterday (bicep/chest/abs/legs, no cardio - lighter weights), and it felt better, slight tingles afterwards and my lower left back feels sorta tweaky sometimes.  Turns out that I’m getting an MRI, not a CAT scan (I knew it had letters… ), but my insurance still has to clear it.  I already have some physical therapy sessions approved, though, so hopefully that along with the acupuncture can help alleviate things.  I want to say acupuncture has helped, but not sure if it’s that or the fact I haven’t worked out as hard (or the awesome massage included).  I’ve been taking it easy… easier… but dangnabit, it’s frustrating when I’m restless and need to expel all my nervous energy!  

So as a result, I admit it, ever since getting back from Tahoe and not being able to workout as much as I want, I’ve been acting out and have been a real jixi (jerk-pixi).  Aside from the guy, I’ve picked fights with a bunch of loved ones and colleagues.  I’m pretty sure I even turned any tortoise that crossed my path on its shell, not sure.   For the most part, I’ve cleaned up a lot of the squabbles, save for one.  I’m still debating on how to handle it, as it will involve some major changes.

But anyway, it’s May, and even though April came and went with 142 miles of biking and 64 miles of running under my belt, I still failed at eating well and completing 80 miles of running - boo!  So here’s my revised goals for May:

1) Run 80 miles (won’t graduate to 100 until I complete this first) and bike 100.  The body responds pretty well to Trixter’s 15/12/12/10 concoction, so I think I’m going with that the first half but with lighter weights.  I’ll gauge how I am the second half.  The guy made me swear to take it easy since tingling/numb isn’t something I want to mess around with (though I’m thinking he just doesn’t want me walking all funny beside him ).
2) Plagiarize bull.dogz’s idea of logging every morsel of food/drink that enters my mouth on fitday.com (posted back up on my main page), plus be more diligent with the workout tracker (especially since I already created the friggin templates last month!).
3) Plagiarize tlcinwdm’s idea of no sugar no sugar no sugar (which I’ve kinda-sorta done since getting braces, but with a bunch of May weddings coming up will be more of a challenge).

Aside from one camping trip and a few weddings, I don’t think there’s much activity in store for May, so hopefully I can be a little more focused this month!  So far so good - tricep/back and a 5 mile run this morning, with some balance/ankle strengthener exercises and stretching afterwards.  Will take pics this weekend, as well as get on the ball about the Sedona/Tahoe pics.  Hope everyone reaches their May goals, as well!