Apologies!

Well, I have certainly been neglecting my blogging "responsibilities," haven't I? I've been doing overnight shifts at work and I usually just end up being a bump on a log for the rest of the day. But I wanted you to know that I have lost 13lbs! I lost six pounds on my own by portion control & exercise. & just recently I started the hCG diet. hCG is a pregnancy hormone that targets the bad fat cells & burns those suckers up! It's a VLCD (very low calorie diet -- 500 to be exact) & for the majority of the regimen, you're limited to lean meats, white fish, fruits, and veggies. No starches, no sugars, no oils (coconut is okay). Now, I cheated & ate whatever the hell I wanted for maybe 5 days & stalled but I am back on the train again! I want this flab GONE, please. Here's my meal plan today & an example what a typical day is like...

Breakfast

• Take hCG drops (wait 30 minutes then...)
• Chocolate Smooth Move Tea
• Apple cider vinegar drink

Snack

• 2 Crispy Thin crackers
• Small baked gala apple, sprinkled with cinnamon

Lunch

• Take hCG drops (wait 30 minutes then...)
• 100g (~3.5oz) of chicken breast sauteed with garlic, allspice, pepper, tiny dash of soy sauce
• Generous handful of sauteed spinach
• Tea

Snack

• Handful of strawberries
• Lemon water
• (after 30 minutes, take hCG drops)

Dinner

• 100g of uncooked shrimp sauteed in coconut oil with garlic, lemon zest & juice, thyme, pepper
• Small onion, sauteed.
• Shirataki noodles (this is a little cheat... these noodles are essentially nothing but fiber & are okay for most people. It will cause a stall with some metabolisms so test it out!)

Snack

• Take hCG drops (wait 30 minutes then...)
• A Crispy Thin cracker

& That's that! I track my calories with MyFitnessPal app and keep track of my drops using hCG Diet App. They are both super handy. The hCG Diet app also helps you track your water, snack, & meal intake and has an entire list of approved foods for each phase. Also, it has the entire "Inches and Pounds" book by Dr. Simeons, the 'creator' of the hCG diet. It's a little spendy but I highly recommend if you plan on doing the diet.

Have any of you tried the diet & had success? What about any yummy recipes?

I'm going to do a better job of documenting my progress from here on out, I swear! I'm super hungry right now so I'm off to go make lunch.

HIIT Me!

My name's Sara & I am at it again. I'm going to lose this baby weight (I swear!) that has stuck with me for the past 2.5 years. & yes, I am squishy. I make quite the excellent pillow, thankyouverymuch. Despite that fact, I'd rather be fit & healthy so this is the documentation of my adventures in weight-loss. This started as a way to motivate myself but maybe it can help you too...

Photo credit: Dashing Dish

Today was day 1 of  Project Unsquishify. I went on a run with my new running shoes, the dogs (we have two), & the baby in his jogging stroller. I finally figured how to put on the damn BOB Weather Cover so I was pleased about that. Anyway. I decided to give HIIT running a try. What, pray tell, am I talking about? Here's the best description I could find on the World Wide Web:

"What is High Intensity Interval Training (or HIIT for short)? HIIT is a variant of exercising that is the quickest way to burn fat and gain muscle simultaneously. How does HIIT work? HIIT optimizes your workout time by utilizing a series of short, high-intensity intervals, followed up by longer, low-intensity intervals. The reason HIIT is so successful is that HIIT’s repeated intervals constantly keeps your body [guessing]. Your body is never given a chance to “plateau” or get used to one setting, something that is common with other forms of cardio. Due to the nature of HIIT, it is typical to have workouts that are only 20 minutes or less and still burn the same amount of calories as an hour of regular exercising. The best part of HIIT is that it boosts your metabolism and will continue to burn hundreds of calories hours after you are done exercising!"

 

The table above is what I'm going to be doing for my runs. I did week 1 today except did 5 reps because I went further away from the house than intended. It was really a great workout as there are some hills around here that really kicked my ass. I also had to constantly pull the dogs back as they were being assholes & trying to get me to face-plant (lots of wet leaves on the sidewalks here -- sliiiippery!). My feet did not hurt at all, I didn't get any shin splints, & I only got ONE stomach cramp. What a difference. I learned the following:

1. Do not run with gum in your mouth. I thought it would be a good idea for some reason (???) but I just ended up biting my tongue, literally, of course.
2. Seattle sidewalks are hella narrow. The four of us were so cramped... Moloch (the aussie/heeler puppy) ran face first into a telephone pole. Epic.
3. On that subject, why is it that dogs ALWAYS want to go on the opposite site of the tree/pole/objectthatisnotahologram. I just do not understand.
4. I'm having a brain fart.

ASICS Women's GEL-Blur33 Running Shoe

Now I'm going to rant about my running shoes I got for my birthday. They are seriously the most comfortable running shoe I've ever had. Seriously. They are super lightweight (you can see your foot through the mesh) and have amazing support -- I basically have flat feet and my feet did not hurt at all after a 35ish minute run & afterward. & as I mentioned before, no shin splints!!! I have gotten shin splints with every other sneaker I've had. These are the shit. The only caveat is that the laces are super short for some reason. I would suggest just tying each lace in a knot after you're done threading them & hiding the rest of the lace in the shoe itself. Oh, & another plus, the color selections are hot! I have the pink color above. They also have a mens version.

Well, I'm now rambling on... Quickly before I pass out I wanted to say that I also did day 1 of the BodyRock.tv 30 day challenge. I set my interval timer for 50 seconds for each exercise with a 10 second break in-between. Here are my stats (I'm soooo out of shape):

• Squat jumps: 30.
• Push-ups (from knees): 17.
• Burpees: 13 (ohmygawd, dying).
• High Knees: I didn't count. I needed to stop & take a breather with 16 seconds left on the timer.
• Switch Lunge: 21.
• Tuck Jump: 10.
• Straight Abs: 30.

I'm now, at the end of the day, feeling it in my thighs. Take that! Shrink, suckers, shrink!
& just a quick food log...

•  Homemade breakfast sandwich (biscuit, sausage, egg, cheese)
• 3 cups of tea
• A piece of toast with rasberry jam
• 5 glasses of water
• (Okay, I caved. It was sooo guuud...) Two bowls of homemade fried rice

I think maybe if I was a shitty cook, I wouldn't eat as much... hmm.
Now, I am going to go pass out as I have to take the boyfriend to the airport in the AM, AKA the death of me. We have to leave the house at 6AM. 'Night all!