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For easy comparison….

Test 1: switch kicks (2 kicks=1 rep) 53, power jacks 34, power knees 69, power jumps 20, globe jumps (4 jumps=1 rep) 4, suicide jumps 7, push-up jacks 8, low plank obliques (2 kicks=1rep) 30

Test 2: switch kicks 55, power jacks 35, power knees 91, power jumps 15, globe jumps 6, suicide jumps 8, push-up jacks 10, low plank obliques 40

I’m pretty happy with this.  Even though I woke up feeling exhausted and not at all motivated to work out I was able to improve in all but 1 exercise.

My weight is now 131 lbs.  That’s a 5-lb loss in 2 weeks.  I’ve been watching my diet better, as well as being more active on top of doing Insanity, not feeling deprived and making sure I’m eating ENOUGH calories so my body doesn’t go into starvation mode.  I know how many calories my body needs to function in a day (more activity=more calories), and what will cause me to not lose weight (just the right amount, or too few calories for too many days in a row).  The  best part is I haven’t really had to give anything up, I just have to budget for it.  Like tomorrow when we go to Digger’s to meet Robert for lunch to celebrate Rebekah’s, Alaynah’s and Aaron’s birthdays, I plan on having something very tasty and fattening.  It’s all about the big picture, not beating yourself up, but not getting too far off-track, and keeping your eyes on the long-term goal.  IT CAN BE DONE!

*Note:  Nine years ago I lost 45 lbs, after weight from my third pregnancy was not coming off the way it did with the first two.  I went in totally the other direction, working out 6 days a week, 2 hours a day, only eating 1000-1200 cal/day.  I was TOO thin after that (110 lbs at 5′6″, 4% body fat) and working out/dieting became a dangerous, unhealthy addiction/obsession.  My goal now is just to take care of my body the best I can, being fit and fueling it properly so I can have enough energy to give to my family and the things I like doing.

Today was Plyometric Cardio Circuit.  I did not work out last night as I wanted to due to exhaustion.  I’m still pretty tired from the birthday festivities, and the work I did beforehand, but was able to make it through the workout at a modified pace this morning.  I still can’t do Level 1 drills, which are going down, doing four push-ups, running your feet up to your abs while in the pushup position, jumping up, and doing it over again.  Plus there were a lot of people in my living room, so trying to do the exercises that require more room is a bit challenging.  I AM, however, able to do more pushups than I was a week ago.  And I’m down to 133 lbs.

Tomorrow is Cardio Recovery, so I’m hoping to make up one of the workouts I missed on Saturday (Plyo), Monday (Power and Resistance) and Tuesday (Pure Cardio).  Two in one day is usually not a good idea, but I have catching up to do and it’s Recovery, so a much lighter workout.

This recipe is for Greek Quinoa Salad, or My Big Fat Greek Salad as Rebekah named it, and which stuck because well, it’s just more fun to say….

Cal:400, Fat:18g, Sod:225mg, Fiber:6g, Sugar:3g, Protein:13g

INGREDIENTS:3c water or vegetable broth, 1 1/2 c quinoa, 1/2c kalamata olives, 1/3 c each fresh chopped parsley and cilantro, 1/2 red onion, chopped, 1c cherry tomatoes sliced in half, 1/2c chopped artichoke hearts, 1/2c feta cheese cubed (if you use crumbled, top the salad with it at the end rather than mixing it in), salt and pepper to taste.

DIRECTIONS: Cook quinoa according to pkg directions, allow to cool. Toss all ingredients with quinoa.  Top with dressing (you can make a simple vinaigrette with olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic, a little lemon and dijon mustard).

NOTES: I doubled this recipe to make sure there was enough and to have some left over. I use red quinoa because it packs a bigger nutritional punch overall than brown quinoa.  I tried making a dressing, but it just didn’t taste right (I think there’s something wrong with the vinegar, so I threw it out) so I used some of the artichoke marinade which worked fine.  Use fresh herbs whenever you can, it makes a HUGE difference.  I didn’t add salt because there was already enough between the cheese, olives and artichoke hearts.  I used salt-free garlic and herb seasoning for more flavor without adding salt or fat.  I’m a pine-nut nut, so I really wanted them for this, but since Trader Joe’s is STILL out of them I settled for pepitas.  They worked in a pinch when I didn’t have time to go all over Fremont looking for pine nuts.  All in all, my older kids, my husband and I LOVED it, my younger kids will need more time.

UGH!!!  I haven’t sweated that much in a long time.  It hasn’t taken that long for my heart to recover in a long time.  It actually had me a little worried.  OK, let me backtrack a little…..

Sunday (what’s supposed to be my rest day) I woke up, not having worked out Friday or Saturday (BUSY and hot days), so I felt that I HAD to do something.  Pure Cardio was next on the schedule so naturally I did that one.  Pure Cardio is the most intense cardio workout I’ve ever done.  You do not. stop. moving.  The good news is I was able to push myself harder this time than last time and didn’t have to really slow down/stop till the last couple of minutes.  But then the people on the video were pretty laid out too, so I didn’t feel so bad.

Yesterday (Monday) I did so much work around here that it counted as an Insanity workout and then some.  I actually lost half a pound while doing this, and then having a slumber party for my daughter Rebekah, complete with pizza, cake and ice cream.  So that puts me at 133.5 lbs.  Two and a half pounds gone in a little over a week.  Woohoo!

Next on the agenda, which I hope to do tonight- I say hope  because although I got decent sleep last night, I think the non-stop activity of yesterday has me wiped out still- is Pure Cardio again because I skipped days 6 and 8.  I’ll get back on track for real next week.

Today was Cardio Recovery with my friend Anne and her kids.  It’s deceiving because there are no aerobics, but believe me, you are working.  It’s lots of stretching and yoga and pilates types of exercises.  I only did part of it though because I kept getting interrupted by things that I had to address and couldn’t ignore  Oh well, I can do it again later today…..

I’ve been wanting to have less meat in the house, but have yet to find a store-bought veggie burger that isn’t loaded with soy protein (trying to avoid soy), sodium and all kinds of other things that outweigh the benefit of having a burger made of veggies.  Homemade black bean burgers seemed a good fit because I could control the ingredients and get a better quality protein, so that was dinner for day 3.  This recipe and nutrition info is for the burger only (I got 9 burgers out of this):

cal:200, fat: 12g,  protein: 7g, carb:15g, fiber:5g, sod:400mg

3 cans black beans, rinsed and drained (I used lower sodium.  If I had dry beans handy I would have made my own, not  canned)

1 cup bread crumbs (I make my own)

1 egg white

I eyeballed the following: olive oil, minced garlic, lime zest and juice, chili powder (you can use whatever seasoning you want, I just thought a southwest flavor would go well with the black beans)

Preheat olive oil in a pan to medium heat.  In a food processor, combine black beans, olive oil and garlic, pulse till it’s a thick paste.  Put in bowl, add bread crumbs, lime and chili powder and combine till ingredients are mixed thoroughly. Form patties and cook till sides begin to turn brown, about 5 min, flip and cook for another 3-5.

I topped them with a little jack cheese and made a chili-lime mayo with chili powder, more lime, 1/4 c light mayo and 1/2 c light sour cream because my kids don’t like the bread dry.  We cut up avocado, tomato, red onion and lettuce as additional toppings.

This was a recipe I wasn’t sure would fly, but it turned out pretty well.