Happy and Healthy

[hikerchick]

I have been MIA for awhile around here. Lots of catching up to do. Ready to start keeping a journal again. I've been keeping a written one at home but it doesn't seem too work when I am the only one that reads it. Feel free to kick me in the butt at any time.

If you don't remember me, I'm a 34 year old part-time student (working on Masters degree) and full time Mom. Happily married with a 2 year old little sweetie.

I've been eating well, have been off sugar for a month and plan on staying with this course. It's the only way I can get my abs to come out, which they are not yet, but are on the way!

Workouts are consistent: I hit everything once a week, heavy (for me ) and then do other stuff: yoga, pilates, physical therapy type stuff for my back. I try to avoid doing cardio in the gym as I find it very BORING mostly, but I do a ton of hiking, biking and rollerblading outside. Although, as I am in the Pacific NW this will probably be changing soon and I will have to jump on the stairmaster again.

My goals are to be happy and healthy. As many of you who know me are aware, I have past binging issues that I still struggle with, but am much stronger in the struggle. So, you'll probably see that on some days my diet is not that of a fitness competitor - not "perfect" but I am a work in progress and am looking forward to your support and getting to know all the new peeps. I will post stats tomorrow and try and start food/workouts tonight.

 

[hikerchick]

Sunday

Workouts:
shoulders
biceps
triceps

yoga - this is usually only 15 minutes, depending on how early I wake up, never early enough
pilates

30 minute walk to the dog park with jogging stroller (25 pound weight to push around )

Don't really remember meals today. Nothing too horrible, except I did have some chex mix. Had some then through out the rest of the bag. Very salty - now I need tons of water. I also had two protein bars which I tend to stay away from, but a friend at the gym gave me some samples he had. They were yummy.

I'm off to bed, I'll have a protein shake before I go like a good girl.

 

[dalila]

Hi hikerchck , good luck with those goals! You seem very motivated so it shouldn't be a difficult road ahead.

Just a note ( and a questions really) how long have you been doing yoga? I am asking because if you are not a veteran at it, AND you have bad back ( I see you are doing physio for it), taken both in consideration I don't think it's a good idea to do yoga in the morning dear, unless you are very flexible and have been doing yoga for long...

Just be careful ok.

 

[Jenny]

Good to have you back Hiker I've missed you!!

 

[Jill]

Good to have you back Hiker I've missed you!!

Im with Jenny on this one! Missed you!

 

[Jodi]

Hey Chica

Gonna stay awhile?

 

[hikerchick]

Just a note ( and a questions really) how long have you been doing yoga? I am asking because if you are not a veteran at it, AND you have bad back ( I see you are doing physio for it), taken both in consideration I don't think it's a good idea to do yoga in the morning dear, unless you are very flexible and have been doing yoga for long...

Just be careful ok.

Hi dalila! and thanks for stopping in! To answer your question: I haven't been doing yoga very long, maybe a month. I hadn't heard/read anything about not doing it in the morning but of course it makes sense. I do a dvd that is very specific to my back issues. I have an appointment with my physical therapist this morning so I think this is something worth asking her about. Thanks for your support and interest!


Jenny and Jill - I have missed you girls too. One of my main reasons for always coming back is the support I get and need from you great ladies.


Hi Jodi!

 

[hikerchick]

Monday

Goals for the day:
130 ounces water
2 cups veggies

Workouts:

Yoga

Am not going to the gym this morning, as I have a pt appointment. Will do a bunch of stuff later though (pushups, core work).

100 pushups
5 one minute planks
100 crunches on ball

Food:

Meal 1
1 cup ground superlean turkey
2 T. red sauce (on turkey)
10 red grapes
1/2 cup Fiber One
1/4 cup low carb milk

Meal 2
super muscle smoothie (I had 2/3 of this, split with my daughter): 2/3 cup yogurt, 1 cup low carb milk, 1/2 T. honey, 3/4 cup frozen blueberries, 2 scoops vanilla whey
1/3 cup mixed nuts and seeds

Meal 3
teriyaki chicken and rice bowl with veggies - ate all the chicken, only about 1/2 the rice and 1/2 the veggies - they were
1/3 cup mixed nuts and seeds

Meal 4
protein bar

Meal 5
1 cup noodles
1/2 cup yogurt

I usually avoid carbs this late but am having some major pms cravings for salt and the only salty thing in the house was ramen noodles. I don't think I've had them since college but my hubby still likes them.

 

[hikerchick]

Okay, want to set out some long and short term goals to keep myself focused.

1. My long long long term goal is to look kick-ass when I'm 40, which is 6 long years away.

2. Have the body of a fitness model. My body mentor is Kary Odiatu, who is my age and height. We also have a similar bodytype, although she is more of a mesomorph, I believe. I don't want to look just like her (well, okay, who am I kidding) as I am very happy with my own body and it's taken too damn long for me to get here to give that up! I just want to be the very best that I can be. The fittest, healthiest, strongest that I can be is all that I ask. It's unrealistic and depressing to be comparing my body to that of a fitness competitor with a completely different bodytype so I try to stay focused on my own progress with no comparisons to anyone else. I do look to fitness athletes for inspiration though. If they can do it, there's no good reason why I can't (laziness doesn't count as a good reason ).

3. Continue to add muscle to my frame while remaining fairly lean.


4. I'm at about 18% bodyfat right now, will get to and maintain 16%.

5. My main goal on a daily basis is to continue to rehab my back, hips and neck (basically entire spine) to make it stronger every day and not place it at risk. You will see me doing lots of core work on most days.

I follow a food plan that was set up by the wonderfully amazing Jodi. It has been tweaked a bit here and there and the most important thing I have learned about it is this: it works best when I follow it.

Okay, enough Off the comp to go to p.t.

 

[Jodi]

I'm glad you still like that plan

 

[dalila]

5 minute planks?!?!? hats off hikerchick!!

yeah I just thought you may wanna check with someone about bad back-stiff body in the morning- doing yoga after waking up combo ( then again I don't know if you just do the individual strenght poses like planks and Vs and stuff, or do you do full asanas?) In my opinion if you are just doing the former then you are fine, but if you are into full asanas, I think you'd be better off with some warm up first because of your back. I was doing yoga for 3 years, had to stop for 2 months ( bad back) and am going back to it in November .

 

[hikerchick]

I'm glad you still like that plan

Yeah, I still get a lot of use from it. Like I said above, it definitely works best when I follow it.

 

[hikerchick]

5 minute planks?!?!? hats off hikerchick!!

yeah I just thought you may wanna check with someone about bad back-stiff body in the morning- doing yoga after waking up combo ( then again I don't know if you just do the individual strenght poses like planks and Vs and stuff, or do you do full asanas?) In my opinion if you are just doing the former then you are fine, but if you are into full asanas, I think you'd be better off with some warm up first because of your back. I was doing yoga for 3 years, had to stop for 2 months ( bad back) and am going back to it in November .

no no! one minute planks 5 times. I wish 5 minute planks!!

Excuse my yoga ignorance but what is an asana? Is that like a sun salutation for example? I just started doing it so am not familiar with all the lingo. I love it so far. The dvd I do is seperate poses, with a little transition in between. Why did you have to stop for your back?

 

[dalila]

hey hikerchick, no worries about the lingo I don't know it either LOL, my teacher is japanese and she never taught us a proper lingo ( so I call it plank as well, instead of its real name . Asana simply means "a position' but they are usually done ina sequence exactly like sun salutations and it's modified versions where strength and deep stretching positions ( asanas) are done in a flow.... I love Ashtanga ( power yoga) it's great, but had to stop for a while coz I gave myself a slipped disk doign ( incorrectly!!) bent over rows!

Since you seem strong try this variation of the plank pose: Four Limned Staff Pose.

 

[jstar]

Hi Hiker
Sorry it took me so long to come in your journal and say hi. I don't get much time on IM these days. Stupid spyware at work

Your goals are right on! I am certain you will reach them..you have a solid plan in place!

Oh Kary Odiauto (sp?) I love her. Do you mean she is your mentor as in you are being coached by her or she is just someone you look up to?

Good luck with all your goals. Your meals look great too

 

[hikerchick]

Sorry about your back Dalila, I know how hard that is. That pose looks pretty tough! I think I'll have to stick to basic planks for now. The angle of pressure in that pose will probably dislocate my ribs (which is one of the reasons why I am going to phys ther every week lately). Have you done hot yoga? There is a class near me that I've been wanting to try but am a little scared for my back so I'm going to hold off. Looks fun though, in a torturous sort of way!

Hey Jstar!! How are you girl? I need to check out your new journal.
Kari Odiatu is just an inspiration from afar for me. Not sure where she's located but I would love to train with her. She has an article in the latest Oxygen that is very inspiring. She's pregnant now. Thanks for your support!

 

[hikerchick]

Tuesday

Workouts:

30 minute bike ride with my daughter in the bike seat. She loooooves going for bike rides. We were out for about 30 minutes then she started singing a song about crackers and milk so we had to head home for some.

Will do core stuff later


Food:

Meal 1
4 whites, 1/2 yolk
2/3 cup Fiber One, 1/2 cup low carb milk
25 g whey w/ glutamine

Meal 2
bowl of shredded wheat w/low carb milk
1 cup lowfat cottage cheese
1 T. natty pb

Meal 3
1 cup rice
chicken breast
3 fish caps

Meal 4
40g whey
2 slices peanut butter toast

Okay, definitely not enough food today and STILL NO VEGGIES! I am going on vacation tomorrow for the rest of the week so won't post until Friday night or Sat.

Will continue to eat well though, no sugar!

 

[dalila]

Have a great holiday hikerchick! Your daughter sounds so cute! How old is she?

As for the hot yoga ( I think the name is Bikram Ypga, but am not sure)... girl, I live in a humid, tropical country ( Malaysia) and would die if I had to do anythign without a proper airconditioning, let alone work out in a steaming hot room!! I'll gladly let you try it first and let me know how if you liked it!

The advanced pose above shouldn't affect your ribs if you have strong abs and arms/shoulders. All the pressure is there really... but if you are not comfortable try it at some later point.

 

[hikerchick]

Have a great holiday hikerchick! Your daughter sounds so cute! How old is she?

As for the hot yoga ( I think the name is Bikram Ypga, but am not sure)... girl, I live in a humid, tropical country ( Malaysia) and would die if I had to do anythign without a proper airconditioning, let alone work out in a steaming hot room!! I'll gladly let you try it first and let me know how if you liked it!

The advanced pose above shouldn't affect your ribs if you have strong abs and arms/shoulders. All the pressure is there really... but if you are not comfortable try it at some later point.

Thanks Dalila! My daughter IS adorable, she is the best thing I have ever done. She'll be 2 next month so she's a crazy toddler. I need no encouragement to brag about her, believe me. You'd be begging me to shut up, enough already!

I didn't know you were in Malaysia. No wonder you don't want to do hot yoga. I bet you are looking forward to being able to do it again. How's your back been lately and what are you doing for treatment?

Do you go to yoga classes only, or do any videos? Other than the back specific one I have been doing, I really haven't found any I like. My gym only has one class a week, and I don't love the instructor. Yoga is not huge here, unless you go into the city (Portland). Have a great week!

 

[hikerchick]

Okay, now that I've started this journal I'm ready for a break!
just kidding, the family and I are going to the coast for the rest of the week. I will be staying on track as far as eating is concerned. Probably will just walk and hike a lot for exercise. Maybe some other types of exercise...

 

[butterfly]

Just wanted to say

 

[dalila]

Maybe some other types of exercise...

Will you post those exercises in the journal too? LOL

Please keep braging about your daughter as much as you like. Cute stories about adorable kids can only relax me. My nephew is 3.5 and always brings a smile to my face. Recently, he saw a big scar on my leg from my biking days, and with eyes "this big" asked me what was that thing on my leg...so I said it was a scar from a motor bike accident...then he ran as fast as he coldl to his father and said, " Papa, aunty Dal has the biggest SACRF on her leg!!"

Yoga - I do both classes and videos, there are some good ones by Kathy Smith and Rodney someone ( sorry can't remember his full name). My gym had 3 different yoga teachers that teach on 3 different days in a week. But then again this is asia, things like yoga are easiy available and very cheap.

My back is getting much better thanks , I had both a slipped disk and a sprained ( for a lack of better word) erector muscle. I did some physio for the muslce ( with electricity pulses to relax it) and that worked well. For the disk, it was resting for 2 weeks, then another 3 weeks only swimming, then gym but without cardio, and no spine-compressing exercises (squat, deads, no weights above the shuolders..)...

I do a lot of exercises for the lower back that my doc recommended like McKenzy push ups ( something like the cobra pose), spinal stretches to the sides, laying on the floor with my leggs at 90 degree on a chair, back extensions, camel and cat stretches etc... If you need any just let me know.

What's wrogn with your back by the way? And wassup with your ribs?

 

[Jenny]

Workouts:

30 minute bike ride with my daughter in the bike seat. She loooooves going for bike rides. We were out for about 30 minutes then she started singing a song about crackers and milk so we had to head home for some.

That's so cute Your daughter is adorable

 

[hikerchick]

Just wanted to say

Hi Butterfly!
Welcome back. Can't wait to hear all about the new little princess in your life!

 

[hikerchick]

What's wrogn with your back by the way? And wassup with your ribs?

Dalila ( love your name by the way, Lila was on our list of names for a girl when I was preggo)

My lumbar and thoracic spine twist a bit, in opposite directions. It never bothered me when I was younger but when I started snowboarding (and falling) I started having ribs dislocate. My SI joint goes out a lot too. A lot of it has to do with carrying my daughter around so there's not much I can do about it. Just wait until she gets older. I go to physical therapy about once a week lately and do a lot of stuff at home to help it. When I was a teenagerThey wanted to fuse my spine and put a rod in it. I declined and would probably have lost a lot of mobility. My back isn't perfect and it never will be. I've come to accept it how it is though, and improve it the best that I can through physical therapy, yoga and working out and eating right. It's a great motivator to stay fit because I'm so scared of it getting worse. Anyway, thanks for asking.

That is hilarious about your nephew. Kids say the cutest things.

I'm glad your back is getting better. It sucks to have issues like that, but I guess everyone has something and I always try to look at the bright side, it could always be a lot worse. Having to go through what I've gone through with my back has made me much stronger mentally and physically.

Do you mean Rodney Yee? He has a back yoga video I have been thinking about getting. Do you have it?

 

[hikerchick]

Friday

Okay, I'm not even going to post what I've been eating the last couple days. It was a sweet break though, and left me all the more dedicated to getting back on track.

We had a great time at the coast. Went to the aquarium, walks along the beach, playing in the sand with my daughter. We saw a ton of sea lions playing in the ocean as we were walking along the pier. Definitely had some much needed great family time.

Whenever I am away from home for more than a day it helps me to refocus on my goals. I start back on my plan tomorrow and will not veer. I need to rethink how I've been handling or not handling my diet. It's not working right now. What I will do is stick to my eating plan for 30 days and then tweak it from there. The only cheats I will have will be scheduled, and will consist of going out to dinner. I have shown myself that if I try to have something at home it turns into a binge, and that's just not working for me right now. So we'll see how this goes. Tomorrow will be Day one of my eating plan, which will also be Day one of being off sugar again. My cheat meal won't include sugar, it will be more of a special meal that I wouldn't normally have, or maybe french fries

 

[hikerchick]

Saturday

Food plan for today:

Meal 1
30g whey w/glutamine
1 cup oatmeal w/apple and 2 T. walnuts

Meal 2
1 cup lowfat cottage cheese
1/2 cup Fiber one w/ 1/4 cup low carb milk
1 kiwi

Meal 3
chicken rice bowl
1 cup broccoli
1 apple

Meal 4
can of tuna mixed w/mustard
1 cup broccoli

Meal 5
40 g whey
2 cups broccoli or green beans, if I'm sick of broccoli by this point

Exercise:

Yoga
100 pushups

 

[hikerchick]

Am signing my daughter up for gymnastics classes today. I get a little freaked out by parents who sign their kids up for everything under the sun but I like to sign Riley up for one activity at a time. She loves what we've done so far:swimming, gymboree, play group, music group. I think she'll really love gymnastics. She's quite active. Her favorite thing to do is jump. I'd say she jumps about half the time and runs the other half. Now she jumps around and says "boing boing". I think her Daddy taught her that. I got her a rabbit suit for Halloween from Old Navy. She'll be jumping around looking like a little bunny.

 

[Jenny]

Am signing my daughter up for gymnastics classes today. I get a little freaked out by parents who sign their kids up for everything under the sun but I like to sign Riley up for one activity at a time. She loves what we've done so far:swimming, gymboree, play group, music group. I think she'll really love gymnastics. She's quite active. Her favorite thing to do is jump. I'd say she jumps about half the time and runs the other half. Now she jumps around and says "boing boing". I think her Daddy taught her that. I got her a rabbit suit for Halloween from Old Navy. She'll be jumping around looking like a little bunny.

I love your little girl That is adorable!! My mom signed my up for gymnastics when I was 4 and I loved it! I kept doing it until I was 14 and I think it did a lot for my physical development. I'm very flexible still and I think gymnastics have a lot to do with that. I think she'll love it and it'll be really good for her

 

[Jill]

Yes, Im with Jenny. Your little girl sounds like such a cutie pie! I cant wait to have one of my own!!! Whenever i see cute little babies, Im like I waaaaaaaannnnnnt one!

You should post some new pics of her. How old is she now?

Meals looking great! I eat soooo much broccoli too! Keep up the hard work!