Week 3... Feels like 30...

Last Saturday we were up at Laguna Seca for the American Le Mans race. Its one of my favorite races of the season (yes we're more apt to refer to summer as "the race season"). If you've never been to a race, well its awesome. I <3 loud fast cars. I always assume that's inherited from my dad. He loves car racing so much he dragged my poor mom to them while she was pregnant with me! I actually don't know how my mom feels about racing in general but that's another story.

It was a fun day despite the crazy hills/hiking, heat and mystery bug that I found on my arm and freaked out over. I swear it was almost two inches long but in between laughing fits my S.O. claims it was more like an inch. All I saw was a jet black leggy creature strolling its way up my arm.

My favorite car of the day. It was so shiny! *bling*

We were carrying backpack chairs, a cooler, and camera gear so I was positive I was getting a crazy workout in. My Fitbit stats for the end of the day were: 

12,188 steps taken

5.41 miles walked
2,027 calories burned
55 stairs climbed
(I think the calories might be slightly off though cause of all the weight carried.)

I was positive that after all the exercise of the day plus working out every day except Sunday, since my last weigh-in and measurements, I would see results in this week's measurements. Wrong. I've only lost .5 inches in my hips and arms since the last time! I have to say its pretty discouraging. I know I have been short a few hundred calories a day for my set goal. I'll try eating more this week and see if that helps. We've been walking every day and sometimes I go for a bike ride too, plus I'm still doing weights. My actual weight hasn't changed much in weeks. I just fluctuate up or down a pound. It feels like a lot of hard work without much reward but I'll keep going! I'm at least to the point where I'm starting to look forward to working out now!

Can I haz cookie?

Anyone who has been on the road to weight loss knows what its like to go without ones favorite foods and snacks... But calorie counting really shows you how much crap is in the foods you eat. The calories in a glass of wine alone nearly made me cry! I'm a wine girl, specifically pinot grigio. And don't even get me started on desserts! I have a -major- sweet tooth. I've been experimenting with recipes of late and I'd like to share one for banana muffins. First I'll update my progress. 

This morning I weighed in at 151.6lbs. That seems like such a large number to me still. I am 5' 8" though so its not so bad. As of Wednesday I have lost another 1" off my waist, 1/4" off my hips, 3/4" off my bust, 1/4" off my thighs, and I've gained 3/4" in my arms. I've been doing a lot of weights and my arms are getting really toned. I'm not used to seeing so much muscle definition so that's kind of weird... I keep thinking about how I'm going to need a lot of new clothes soon. I have equal measures of dread and excitement about that. 

Tomorrow (5/12), Mr. F. and I are going to the American Le Mans race at Laguna Seca in Monterey. I'm pretty excited about that. Its a track full of hills and hiking and usually we're both so out of shape. I'm really hoping it will be an easier day especially since we're lugging around camera gear, chairs, and a cooler. 

And now for those muffins.

Banana Muffins
Yield: About 18

1 c. all purpose flour
1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 c. sugar substitute (i.e. Splenda)
1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 egg whites
3 mashed bananas
1/4 c. unsweetened applesauce

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Line a muffin pan with paper muffin cups or grease the pan. Mash the bananas in the bowl you'll use for the wet ingredients.

2. In one bowl, mix the dry ingredients. All of the flour, sugar sub., baking powder and soda, and spices. In a separate bowl, mix the we ingredients. The vanilla, egg whites, bananas, and apple sauce. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until blended. As this is a fairly small recipe I mixed it by hand with a whisk.

3. Spoon the batter into the muffin cups/pan, about half full. Bake for 15-18 minutes. Muffins are done when a toothpick is inserted and comes out clean. Allow the muffins to cool before eating.

I did notice the muffins were very stuck to the paper liners when they were still warm. When they cool completely they peel right off. Enjoy!  

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 44 g

Amount Per Serving

Calories  87 Calories from Fat  2

% Daily Value*

Total Fat  0.2g 0%

Trans Fat  0.0g

Cholesterol  0mg 0%

Sodium  78mg 3%

Total Carbohydrates  18.5g 6%

Dietary Fiber  1.0g 4%

Sugars  8.2g

Protein  1.7g

Vitamin A 0% • Vitamin C 3% Calcium 2% • Iron 3%

Nutrition Grade C

* Based on a 2000 calorie diet

Nutritional facts were calculated here.

**I am not a nutritionist, fitness expert, or doctor. These are my own experiences I've shared and are NOT a substitute for professional advice. Please consult your physician before beginning a diet or exercise routine. **

My Get In Shape Challenge

Recently my boyfriend, Mr. F., and I decided it was time to get our butts in gear and get in shape. He started working out before I did. I've always been extremely hard to motivate when it comes to working out. Frankly, I hate it. I don't know why since its not bad when I get involved but getting to that point is the hard part. So yay me, I've worked out nearly every day for the last three weeks. As part of my motivation to keep this up, I decided to share my progress. Hopefully that will help keep me on track. ;-)

My tools and such:

MyFitnessPal - This is a great app available for both iPhone and Android systems. It keeps track of both your calories and exercise, and your progress with measurements and weigh-ins. Plus you can add friends!

FitBit - This is the neatest little device! It counts all the steps you take during the day, how many miles you've walked, stairs you've climbed, and all the calories you burn from that. Plus it tracks your sleep. I love that part but its crazy to see how often you wake up through the night. It integrates with MyFitnessPal also but I've found that kind of skews my calorie intake a bit so I don't sync them. I wear it on my waistband but take it off when I exercise.

Workouts:

Bike Ride - I started going on 4.26 mile bike rides 4-6 times a week. I like going but its allergy season and we've got fields on two sides of us and a creek behind us so I've switched to indoor workouts. A great tool to use on rides is MapMyRide. They have mobile apps but I log it on my computer. 

Xbox Kinect - I love the fact that fitness video games exist! I was never much of a gamer but these games make working out fun. My favorites are Your Shape Fitness Evolved and the latest one Your Shape Fitness Evolved 2012. I just picked that up yesterday and so far I like it. It has some dance routines in it like Bollywood and Hip Hop which are fun. I also love Dance Central 2 which has a work out mode. 

Yoga - I like to try lots of different yoga routines so I don't have very many favorites but I do really like Body by Bethenny. I love yoga and try to do that several times a week. 

Total Gym - You've probably seen the infomercial for this on tv... I'm not an infomercial shopper but Mr. F. fell asleep with the tv on one night while out of town and the next day woke up needing this machine. (lol) As it turns out, its awesome. I started doing weights, consistently, with this last week. We have work-out routines that came with it so I'm sticking to those, alternating upper and lower body routines every other day. 

We also take our dogs for walks occasionally. 

Progress:

When I started, I was (turning red here) 157lbs. This photo was taken over Christmas 2011 and I nearly cried when I saw it. I'm also looking terribly awkward as I hate those "stand here and smile" photos and my glasses are making my eyes look creepy...

I set my target weight loss goal to 17lbs. I realize its more about the measurements than weight itself since my body needs to rebuild a lot of muscle but I set a rough goal anyways. As of today, I've lost 5lbs. I've also lost .25" from my neck, .5" from my waist (although that looks like a lot more visually for some reason), .25" from my hips, 1" from my bust, and .75" from my arms. Small progress but I'm happy with it. The best part is not getting winded anymore when running upstairs! 

So that's my work-out story for now. This was hard for me to write and share but I am determined to stick it out and shape up! If anyone else would like to share their stories I'd love to hear! I'll update my progress weekly! :)

**I am not a nutritionist, fitness expert, or doctor. These are my own experiences I've shared and are NOT a substitute for professional advice. Please consult your physician before beginning a diet or exercise routine. **