Painfully disappointing Sunday…

Sunday night….

A very frustrated Audra.

Last week was a good week for me.

I increased the intensity of my workouts. I took my typical 3.5 mile run I do once a week and upped it to a 6 mile run…and I did it three times this week. (which if you don’t know already…I am sooooo not a runner. This was a HUGE thing for me this week!) I even made it to power yoga.

On the food side, if I had to rate how “clean” I am eating, I’d say it was 85-90% clean. The other 10-15% I consider my daily coffee (because I have to have it with cream, milk, and sugar), and other random happening (I locked my keys in my car and ended up waiting for a friend to rescue me at Una Mas. Starving and well overdue for lunch, I ordered pretty healthy foods, but the tortilla soup was very salty, filled with cheese, and I ate every last tortilla chip they gave me.)

So other than some sugar and cream in my coffee and too many tortilla chips at ONE meal, my food choices rocked last week.

Which is why I’m so completely annoyed to share with you that I haven’t lost one stinking pound this week.

The scale keeps toppling from 145.5-146.5, which by the way is the exact same weight I was at when I did my body fat composition testing. I REALLY was thinking that I was going to write a celebratory blog, as I thought FOR SURE I was going to be down to at least 143, so I could celebrate FINALLY hitting the 10 pounds mark.

But no. No such luck.

AUDRA THE HUMAN SAYS:

I am fully annoyed. Totally perturbed. Fuming pissed. Poor Miguel. He’s had to deal with my less-than-fabulous mood all day today….just because of some stupid number on the scale.

So far, I’ve been very positive throughout this whole adventure. Since I started on December 1^st, I am down between 7-8 pounds. I realize that is something, but O.M.G….could it please go just a little slower??? I mean really. If you break it down over the last 9 weeks, we’re talking about less than a pound a week. AAARRRGGG!!! I am so annoyed.

AUDRA THE FITNESS PRO AND NUTRITION EDUCATOR SAYS:

Great job! At least I’m going in the right direction! And the slower it comes off the more likely I’ll be able to keep it off!

Also, because of your insane schedule, high stress levels and lack of sleep…honestly…it’s any wonder you’ve been able to lose ANY weight at all!

AUDRA ANNOYED AT THE WORLD SAYS TO AUDRA THE NUTRITIONIST:

“Screw off…I’m still pissed!” Just kidding…I wouldn’t say that to myself. : - ) But, I do need to re-evaluate what’s important in my life and where my priorities lie.

I am soooooo sick of carrying these 10 extra pounds, that getting them off is a big priority.

Running my business and making it very successful is also a huge priority.

How can I do both?

How do I run and manage this super cool BootCamp Business while remaining calm, decreasing my stress, getting enough sleep, and actually losing weight. Do you have any suggestions??? Please post!

HERE’S MY NEW PLAN OF ATTACK…GRRRRRR!!!

• More water! My intake has been about 2 to 3 liters a day. I really should be doing more like 4-5 liters a day. Bathroom breaks…here I come!

• Dairy is gone. I’ve been drinking way too much milk. Now I’m not here to tell you to stop drinking dairy. Only once you go through my nutrition programs will you know if it’s a good idea or not. But what I know for me is…too much dairy means inflammation. If I kill the dairy in my diet, I should kill some bloating, too.

• Intense workouts are in, but super long cardio is out. I know this and I try to teach it to my clients. I can’t tell you how many clients and friends I have that run ½ marathons or get into racing tri’s thinking they’ll lose weight, but they always end up gaining weight! Why? Because there’s way too much repetitive stress on the body with no recovery. Their stress hormones increase while their immune system is dealing with chronic inflammation. It’s a perfect recipe for storing fat. (Then, add to that a probably low intake of quality protein, over consumption of processed carbs, and under-eating veggies, then that poor person doesn’t stand a chance to lose weight….no matter how many marathons they train for. )

• Meals are pre-planned and cooked

Breakfast will almost always be oatmeal with fruit and eggs for protein.

Snack will be a smoothie that is insanely good for you…see the blog page here. I’ve stopped drinking this smoothie for a few months, but I think the extra green veggie intake will help to boost my vitamin and mineral content, and ultimately help alkalinize my body. (Don’t know what that is??? You should join my nutrition programs…)

Lunch will almost always be a huge salad with tons of veggies, lean protein, and a ¼ cup of brown rice mixed in.

Dinner will almost always be a lean quality protein (probably fish) and an astronomical amount of veggies.

Okay…that’s my plan this week. I’m annoyed. I’m pissed. But I’m not going to give up.

Do you have any suggestions or words of encouragement? Share them below!

12-week Best Body Challenge for Everyone!

Fitness Expert to Help Hundreds of People

Transform Their Bodies In 12 Weeks…FREE

Los Gatos, CA - Audra Baker, the owner of RedShift Fitness is on a mission to change the shape of people everywhere. Her “Your Best Body Challenge” could help hundreds of people transform their bodies in 12 weeks, free of charge.

“There’s no cost to participate in the challenge,” says Audra “all we ask is that each person make a small, one-time $10 donation to The Boys and Girls Club of Silicon Valley. That’s it.”

Audra’s “Your Best Body Challenge” is part of the fitness and weight loss contest phenomenon started by the hit TV show, The Biggest Loser. “That show really focused the nation’s attention on the benefits of participating in a contest, guided by certified personal trainers, in terms of the motivation and accountability necessary for success,” explains Audra “It’s difficult to lose weight on your own. Anyone who’s tried and struggled knows that – and unfortunately, that’s the majority.”

At www.redshiftfitness.com Audra gives the details of the challenge and provides a complete guide that can be downloaded instantly, containing instructions, questions and answers, rules and regulations, prizes awarded to winners and even a complete 12-week exercise and nutrition program.

“Anyone over the age of 18 is welcome to participate,” Audra says. “We want to help as many people as we can, and this is the best way to do that.”

Many local business have agreed to sponsor the challenge by helping spread the word and provide many of the prizes awarded to the Your Best Body Grand Champion and two runners up. “It’s definitely a town effort,” says Audra, “we couldn’t do this without a lot of help. We’re all very grateful for the way this challenge is being received and look forward to helping a lot of folks lose the weight and get into great shape.”

Day 2 Headaches and 400’s

December 2, 2009

I almost didn’t workout today. I’ve had a constant low-grade headache all day because of the caffeine withdrawals! But the workout felt great and actually helped me feel a little better.

The workout is called, 400’s for butt and abs. It really targets my trouble spots while keeping my heart rate high the entire time! I hope you like it and I hope you try it out yourself!

Here’s the workout:

20 reps Skaters
20 reps plank with knee to elbow
20 reps diagonal chops with medicine ball
20 reps single leg touch down jump with medicine ball

Go through the circuit 5 times to get a total rep count of 400

My personal diary:

It’s definitely easier to NOT eat things I know I’m not supposed to when I know that I have to share it with you. The hardest part of this day was dealing with my headache. I drink green tea, but it really didn’t do anything to tame my headache. I’m not a big green tea fan, but I know it’s good for you and has a ton less caffeine than coffee, so I wanted to share the brand I like best. It actually combines Yurba Mate and green tea and has a nice, smooth taste. I can’t find it anywhere here so I always order through amazon.

I still have random food in the house and really haven’t planned anything. I have a delicious turkey chili I made, a few weeks ago…but I keep forgetting to take it out of the freezer to thaw! Grrrrr!

I’m off to teach the evening Bootcamp in Campbell, and I’m sure there will be an evening run to whole foods to make sure I stay on course while my chili thaws for tomorrow!

Again….I’m only day two into this. Right now it’s all new, so the novelty of it hasn’t worn off yet. I’m excited to start sharing with you my more “human” moments. : ) Around the corner, I’m sure.

Food!

Breakfast:
Bowl of steel cut oats with chopped up prunes, flax, egg whites and green tea

Snack:
Apple w/ almond butter and another cup of green tea (which still didn’t kill the headache!)

Lunch:

Green salad with the leftover rotisserie chicken, tomato and carrots with a little olive oil and balsalmic (definitely not the tastiest salad I’ve made, but the picture makes it look fabulous!)
Bowl of chicken and veggie soup
2 tangerines

Post workout:
1 container of muscle milk light (again…I’m not endorsing it. You’ll see many different post workout meals that I consume…this is just what I happen to have in the house right now.

Dinner:

Bowl of clam chowder soup. Definitely not ideal, but considering the lack of food choices in my pantry, I thought this was the best.

PS…I did finally did weigh myself and I am sad to say that it’s the heaviest I’ve ever been. I’m at 153 pounds. My “fighting” weight…or I should say, the weight I feel the best at and look super hot dancing salsa is around 135. I haven’t seen that number this year and am now a full 18 pounds away. As much as I’d like to say I’m devastated and consumed with anger and sadness, the truth is I feel great right now because I’m doing something about it.

It’s amazing what can happen once you make a commitment and have a plan in place. I feel very excited to be doing this right now, but more importantly, very focused on the task at hand. I really can’t wait to start sharing my results with you.

I’ll be doing a weigh in each week and measurements every 2 weeks to keep me on track and to keep you posted on my progress!

Five Ways to Boost Your Metabolism

“Metabolism” is the name of the bodily system that converts food calories to energy needed to perform various tasks, like pumping oxygen to muscles during a long walk. Many variables contribute to your metabolism, including heredity, gender and age. But you can quicken yours; here’s how.

Exercise more. When you walk, run, or lift weights, you increase the energy required of your body, which raises your metabolism then, and for hours afterward.

“It’s not a huge spike, but it makes a difference,” says Gary Miller, PhD, associate professor of health and exercise science at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Read more