In Order To Live Fit You Have To Schedule It

December 17, 2013December 17, 2013 Nina Chapman1 Comment

So, it seems I’m not done being sick yet. I’ve spent the past weekend trying to get rid of a sinus infection by ignoring it. (Apparently, it doesn’t work that way.) Every time I look in the mirror I always think I’m going to find this staring back at me…

However, it turns out my face isn’t as deformed as it feels.

Yesterday, in an attempt to ignore how yucky I felt I decided to go for a run with Sir Scout. The sun was out and the ice was starting to melt away for the first time in weeks. I didn’t want to waste a perfectly good day sitting around inside feeling yucky!

I thought that if I pretended like I wasn’t sick anymore than I would automatically feel better. It kind of worked! That is until, my sinus cavity started to jiggle making it feel like my teeth were about to fall out of my head. Unfortunately, there isn’t any kind of sports bra apparatus that I can wear around my face. So that’s when Scout and I decided to take it a little easier than we had originally planned.

It was kind of annoying because my legs were just itching to run. It wasn’t a wasted afternoon though, because it still felt good to get out and get some fresh air. Once the music started pumping I was feeling back to my sassy self in no time.

I haven’t worked out in weeks and I’m seriously about to go insane. Honestly, I think it’s my own little personal jam out sessions that I miss the most. It’s like I’ve been watching a movie without the sound trek. How boring is that?!

It’s hard to determine when you should push yourself and when you should let yourself rest when you are sick. If I don’t workout then I beat myself over it because I think that I’m just making up lame excuses. But then if I feel worse after working out then I beat myself up for being such an idiot by pushing it.

You just can’t win.

After my little outside jaunt I was beat. By the time 8 rolled around that night I was lying in bed trying not to spill my sleepy time tea as I dozed off while I reading Allegiant, the third book to the Divergent series. (If you haven’t read Divergent yet you should.) Bridget is pushing me to finish it so that we can finally talk about it.

I haven’t gotten very far because I’ve been too distracted lately. I’m on a huge organizational kick which is really annoying since I’m still too sick to actually get anything done. I’ve been having a lot of anxiety because my student teaching is coming up this January and I’m nervous about the transition my family is going to have to go through in order to make this happen. (Penelope is going to daycare for the first time… eek!) Everything is going to have to be planned out ahead of time… meals, workouts, schedules. I’ve woken up several times in the middle of the night worrying about it. My only arsenal against this is to plan, plan, plan so that I can be prepared.

I was doing some research to plan for my workouts for the next few months and I found this great free resource from Jaime Eason. If you’ve ever seen Oxygen magazine you’ve seen her…

It’s called Live Fit and it’s supposedly the workout routine she follows along with tips on eating clean. She focuses on having you gain muscle in the first phase and then incorporates cardio later on. I haven’t read through the whole thing yet but I thought I would share it with you guys in case any of you would be interested. (Click on this Live Fit link if you want more info.) There are three phases that last a total of 12 weeks. She totally plans everything out for you along with at-home workouts you can do just in case you aren’t able to make it to the gym for some reason.

I plan on giving this a closer look.

Do you follow a weight lifting program? If so what is it, I’ve discovered that it’s best to switch things up and try new things so I would love to hear about it.

In the meantime, I plan on making myself some pho to help clear up my sinuses. I found this step-by-step Vietnamese pho recipe from Gimmesomeoven showing you how to make it. I can’t even tell you how excited I am to try it!

Hey Steve Wait For Me!

September 19, 2013September 19, 2013 Nina Chapman2 Comments

I don’t know about you but sometimes all of my domestic motivation goes away somewhere and I have no drive whatsoever to feed my family. On those days I would pretty much rather do anything other than cook dinner.

My domesticity has its limits, you see. Just ask Brent who, years ago, made the mistake of asking me what I did all weekend while he was at work. When my response was laundry he snorted and said, “That’s not a lot of work. You could have done more.”

Guess who ended up washing his own undies… for a year?

That was early on in our marriage and he’s learned since then. I think it kind of scarred him because now he won’t tell me if I make a crappy dinner for fear of hurting my feelings… or having me go on strike again. (It could happen, you know.) So, I never know if he’s enjoying what I’ve made or not. That all changed the other night when I made Lighter Sesame Chicken. I could tell that he was really enjoying it and Bridget liked it too even though there was broccoli in every bite. The best part was that it really wasn’t as much work as I thought it would be.

All of the chicken is coated in a tempura like batter that is actually made of egg whites and corn starch. All of the chicken is fried in only 1 tablespoon of oil. Not bad! I served it over brown Jasmine rice which I have learned to cook ahead of time and keep on hand for dinners like this. I’ll also use it to make Bridget’s favorite breakfast…Papa’s Breakfast Rice.

My Grandpa used to make it for me when I would visit using white rice and cooking it with milk, cinnamon and sugar. The tradition has continued and my dad makes it for Bridget when we go back to Wichita Falls, TX. So when we miss my dad and get a little home sick I make her my healthier version. I just reheat the rice with almond milk, brown sugar (less than the Grandpa’s use), cinnamon and top it off with raisins and sliced almonds. My version of comfort food.

Anyway, not only have I forced myself to wear my apron and put dinner on the table all week but I’ve also been really active. My favorite time of the day to go out and play is right before sunset. I’ve been taking Penelope out on bike rides during this time and let the crickets and sprinklers serenade her until she’s ready for bed. As the breeze blows through my hair I can’t help but think about when I was a kid and practically lived on my bicycle.

The first time I learned how to ride my bike I felt like I had obtained a new super power. I remember practicing in an old school parking lot with my dad as two older boys walked by. I heard them talking about me as I sped by on my bike. When I looped around toward my dad I said, “Hey Dad, did you hear what they said?”

“What did they say?”

“They said… ‘Boy, that girl sure can speed!'”

Later on, my dad told me with a chuckle that he actually did hear what they said and it was more along the lines of “Hey Steve, wait for me!”

So, apparently my delusional over-confidence manifested early in life… that’s okay, it does leave me feeling like I have secret powers. For instance, while I did box jumps today I felt like I was a ninja landing gracefully on the weights stacked up to my waist.

I managed to clear 31 inches. I probably could have done more but then something humiliating happened…

I heard a resounding slap sound emit from my body. The left over hanging skin from my stomach somehow slapped against itself. Brent and my friend Amanda asked me what the noise was and my face turned red. You would have thought I farted or something. I told them I just popped. “What popped?” Shut up! It was My foopa, “Umm, my hip.”

That’s right, I lied… I stuck to my lie and continued to workout and cried about it later after I told Brent what really happened. But at the time I didn’t stop to let it bother me because I wasn’t done with my workout yet.

In fact, that’s what I keep on doing. Pushing through all of the things that bother me about myself. Picking at the things that I hate about my body doesn’t do anything but drag me down. It starts off innocent enough but before you know it you’re getting sucked into a whirlpool of low self-esteem. It’s so hard to get out of that cycle. So instead I’ll continue to focus on the aspects that make me proud. I’m strong. I’m agile. I’m flexible. And I’m healthy, finally… I’m healthy.

With that knowledge I keep pushing on. So tomorrow when I strip down naked to weigh myself in front of the mirror I’ll look past that empty pocket of flesh that used to hold a baby and instead focus my eyes on the curve of my waist that is starting to make its girlish reappearance. I’ll look at my legs that are getting strong and lean. Then I’ll straighten my broad shoulders, look myself straight in the face, involuntarily pucker my lips out (it’s my go to mirror look) and fluff my hair. I’ll look at my bright blue eyes and focus on the determination that is staring back at me. Because I’ve got this… foopa and all 😉

Look Like a Woman… Cut Like a Buffalo

September 16, 2013September 16, 2013 Nina Chapman4 Comments

My hands are shaking as I type this because the muscles in my arms and back are super sore.

Pathetic? Maybe.

Do I like it? Yep.

I can feel every twitchy movement my muscles make and it gives me the illusion that I’m super buff… like a super hero buff. Then I look in the mirror and nothing seems to have changed since I last looked, shattering the image I had of myself in my head. When this happens I choose to not look in the mirror and continue to strut my stuff in my preferred delusional state.

It’s all about perspective… right?

If you’ve been watching the news you are aware that the state of Colorado is having a dress rehearsal for the apocalypse. I feel bad for everyone who has had to deal with the flooding and I feel grateful that we don’t live where all the chaos is going down. However, it still rained all week long and the majority of the weekend. So I was really happy when I woke up on Saturday and saw that the sun was out and wanted to play. Without hesitation I loaded Penelope up in the jogging stroller so that I could take her and Scout out for a run.

Poor Scout had a crazed look in his eyes all week from not being able to go play outside. I usually don’t take him with the stroller because he’s a complete spaz but I couldn’t leave him at home on the only sunny day we had all week. I’m fairly certain he was under the impression that it was he who was walking his pet human and not the other way around.We ran for about three miles and I was surprised at how easy it was.

Sunday came around and I was invited to go to a private muay thai class with my friends from Factory X. I was in heaven! I was doing Muay Thai before I got pregnant with Penelope. When Brent and I were talking about having a baby one of my main concerns was that I wouldn’t be able to do Muay Thai anymore. I love it that much!

My friend Chase, taught the class for his friends and family. He was a little disgruntled about having to wake up on a Sunday 🙂 But I was super glad that he did!

Chase’s mom is the one in the green flexing her muscles. Isn’t she unbelievably hot?!

I felt so awesome throughout the whole workout. I was a lot slower than I used to be but I still felt good. Then, I got a glimpse of the pictures Bridget took during the class and I didn’t feel so great. Once again, the visual I had of myself in my head was shattered. One day I will look good when I workout… one day.

After the workout I felt a little sad because I miss Muay Thai so much! Muay Thai was the first sport I had come into contact with in a long time that flared up that competitive drive I had when I was younger and played soccer.

There are two things that I’ve always wanted to do before I got too old to do it. Fight in a Muay Thai bout and be on a roller derby team. Since Penelope is so young those things will have to wait… But one day it will happen.

While I wait I’ll have plenty of time to pick out my roller derby name and my walk out song. As far as the name is concerned I’ve got Helen Killer and Betty Rage… but both of those don’t seem to fit.

However, I do have my pretend walk out song picked out for your listening pleasure (ignore the talking at the beginning)… I Cut Like A Buffalo

What would your roller derby name be and which song would you walk out to if you were a fighter?

Week 37 Weigh-in

September 13, 2013September 13, 2013 Nina Chapman6 Comments

It’s weigh in day! I’m currently trying to write this post with a monkey on my back…

Penelope says “Hi!”

I must say, I’ve had a pretty good week. I’ve basically been completely on my own since my husband has worked a ton of over time. Despite that I still managed to do all of my workouts and eat the way I was supposed to. It payed off… I weighed in at 187.2. This is about 9 pounds lighter than I was a few weeks ago. This morning I woke a bit earlier than usual for a crossfit workout with my friend KJ.

We were in full viking mode!

KJ and I got to play with a new contraption called trap bar at the gym today. We had to deadlift the weight and carry it across the gym and back. We had no idea how much the bar weighed so we just piled on the weights until our grip couldn’t handle it anymore. To our surprise the bar alone ended up weighing 100 lb..

When we added it up KJ ended up carrying 200 pounds! She’s the cutest badass I’ve ever seen but don’t let the pigtails fool ya!

I managed to squeeze out 220 lbs but I didn’t look as cute doing it. That’s okay though…vikings don’t have to be cute.

The rest of the workout included heavy prowler pulls (lots of them)

We also did rubberband rows and banded straight arm pull downs…

We ended with 3 one hundred meter row sprints. We were pretty much spent by the end of it but it was so nice to have it done by 8:00.

Friday’s are usually my free day. However, I had my cheat meal on Wednesday when Bridget and I had our Harry Potter movie night so now I’m all thrown off. My brain keeps telling me that I need something sweet to celebrate my weight loss but that sort of reward system is what has stalled all of my progress so far. So, I’ll be spending the remainder of the day trying to avoid the popcorn and candy trap because that’s what I’m craving at the moment.

Self-discipline sucks because as far as it’s concerned there is no such thing as instant gratification. You just have to stick to your guns and battle that inner brat in order to reap the benefits later. So, I guess that’s what I’ll do… even though it’s not as much fun.

How did your week go? Did you do everything you set out to do?

Get The Damn Thing Done!

August 13, 2013August 15, 2013 Nina Chapman21 Comments

Today has been great so far… it started out like a Prius commercial. The sky was super blue, there was a nice cool breeze and everyone who wasn’t at work was out walking their dog. I seriously felt like I was in a cartoon.

I was out of iced coffee so I loaded up the baby (still in her jammies) for a walk to the coffee shop. She ate breakfast on the way and was more than willing to share her super slimy banana with me. It was cute.

As appetizing as that banana was I passed because I was planning on making some eggs before my morning workout at Crossfit Bodywerx. I should have taken her up on her offer though, because before I knew it an hour and a half had passed and I only had ten minutes to get to the gym.

I got home just in time to transfer Penelope from her stoller directly into her car seat… still dressed in her jammies. The whole jammie thing wasn’t cute anymore since she was caked with regurgitated cereal and smashed bananas. I was a little shaky and jumpy from only consuming coffee but I didn’t have time to eat… I had to go!

Brent had just gotten off of work and when I arrived he had announced that our workout was going to be a conditioning one. I was really wishing I had eaten some of that slimy banana before I got there. So I guess we’ll call this workout…

You Should’ve Eaten You Idiot!

Warm-up:

Toy soldiers and spiderman lunges

Part 1:

30 seconds on 10 seconds off of battling kettlebell swings. A battling kettlebell swing is when one person swings the kettlebell and another person stands in front of them and pushes it down as hard as they can once it has been swung to shoulder height. There were three of us so we rotated between being the bitchy kettlebell pusher, the swinger and the left out loser who has to sit in a squatting position during the 30 second exercise. We stayed in position for three sets and then switched. We did this for 5 rounds.

(Brent still refuses to take pictures so I squatted and photographed at the same time… it was awkward.)

Part 2:

Next we did a series where we wore a weight belt connected to a resistance band connected to a pole. We had to push the prowler as hard and as far as we could against the resistance. One other person pushed it right back to you and the left out loser did planks. We also did this for 30 seconds on and 10 seconds off, three times in a row before switching. We did each exercise three rounds each.

(Brent yelled at me when I took this picture because I wasn’t planking.)

Part 3:

We had a 12 pound ball slam and a 20 pound ball slam. We had to do as many slams as fast as possible in a 20 second period of time. Rest 10 seconds while simultaneously rotating. So we started off with the light ball, switched over to the heavy ball and then rested (tried not to puke). I think we did this for three rounds I don’t remember because I was on autopilot by this time.

Part 4:

Five rounds of resistance band sprints. They aren’t attractive when you’ve got some belly fat to lose but I love them all the same. I feel like an unstoppable freight train.

By the time I got home I was REALLY ready to eat. Luckily I had some left over avocado chicken salad on hand.

My friend Amanda was telling me about this awesome chicken salad recipe that she had pinned on Pinterest. At the same time her husband was telling Brent about this recipe that they had tried… You know it’s good if dudes are sitting at the gym talking recipes.

They have these elements in common:

2 C. shredded chicken

1/4 C. light mayo

1/4 C. greek yogurt

lime or lemon juice

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 avocado

Other than that you can add whatever elements you want to it. One has cilantro and lime another has dill. In this one I added red onion. Basically, if you stick to the ingredients above you can’t go wrong. Then you can simply add what you like to it. I usually have shredded chicken on hand because I’ll stick the chicken that is about to expire in my crock pot covered with stock and a bay leaf. Then I forget about it and go about my business until I remember that I was cooking chicken. It’s usually falling apart by then 🙂

Anyway… yesterday I mentioned wanting to set some weight loss goals that actually have numbers attached to them. I tend to shy away from this because I don’t want to become obsessed with numbers. I don’t like letting the scale determine my self worth.

At the same time I’ve found myself stuck in a comfort zone. I think I’ve made it pretty clear that I think I’m pretty awesome. This wasn’t always the case. In fact, when I first started this blog I was miserable with myself. I was trying to lose weight out of desperation. That’s never a fun place to be.

I have gotten to a point where I still need to lose a good thirty pounds to be healthy but it’s hard to stay motivated when you can convince yourself that you look good where you’re at. Let’s be honest, the majority of weight loss motivation stems from a really shallow place of simply wanting to look good. Don’t get me wrong I have my moments when I can look pretty rough. But I clean up nice. As long as I’ve showered, fixed my hair and actually put makeup on. I can look GOOD. (Given I’m not wearing something with a tight waste band.)

However, just because I know how to hide my fat it doesn’t mean I’m in the clear. So that is why I’ve decided to make some concrete goals to strive for. Goals are good because they tap into my competitive nature.

So here they are…

Long Term Goal: I want to weigh 165 or less by Thanksgiving Day. 165 is a good healthy weight for me. It was what I weighed when I got married. Thanksgiving is significant because last November is when I started writing this blog. I didn’t actually share it until January but this would be the one year anniversary of writing this blog. I want to have reached my ultimate goal by then.

Also, the holidays are a slippery slope for me. Once Halloween approaches with all of it’s accessible candy I turn into that grimlin that I’ve already talked about. I kind of want to avoid that.

Over the course of the summer I have proven that I am perfectly capable of maintaining. That will be my goal during this year’s holiday season. For once I would like to spend the holidays thinking about all of the fun I’m having with my family and not about how fat I’m going to get.

Short Term Goals: So here is where the math comes in. I have exactly 15 weeks before Thanksgiving Day. If I lose an average of two pounds a week I will be beyond my long-term goal. But I need to set up short little goals in order to actually get there. I just need to get the damn thing done!

September 27, 2013- 180 lbs

October 25, 2013- 170 lbs

November 28, 2013 (Thanksgiving Day)- 165 lbs

I know where I’m going but I can’t really think of any way to reward myself when I reach a goal. That’s where you come in. Help a sister out! I need non-food related ways to reward myself as I reach these mini goals. I would love to hear your ideas.

I would also love it if you would join me. You may not need to lose weight, in that case you can make your goals fitness oriented or even organizational… or professional. Whatever your goals are I would love to hear them as well! Good luck!

*I’m wishing you luck because I want you to wish me luck. Kind of like when you offer someone a bite of your food or when you tell your friend she looks good… Okay, I’m stopping now.*

Nina in the Now

Category: work outs

In Order To Live Fit You Have To Schedule It

Hey Steve Wait For Me!

Look Like a Woman… Cut Like a Buffalo

Week 37 Weigh-in

Get The Damn Thing Done!

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