Bucket List

For those of you that know me… and I mean really know me… you’d know that I’m the type of girl who likes to keep journals. Who likes to think out loud on paper. And there is no real purpose behind what I write…just the simple fact that I like to keep record of my thoughts and then later on go back and read them. So this blog entry is kinda like one of those. Just wanted to make sure I put that out there. You are welcome to read along — and catch a glimpse of the real me.

Last night, my husband and I were talking about random stuff. Like we do every night before bed. And I don’t even know how our conversation went in this direction, but he brought up that he has approximately 21,900 days left on this earth. Assuming he lives to see his 90th birthday. That kinda got us both thinking. About our lives. What we’ve achieved. What we want to achieve. How we’re going to get there. That sorta thing. I mean, we hear it everyday — “life is short”, “tomorrow is never promised”, “live each day like it’s your last”. When you actually sit down and think about life… knowing exactly how many days or years (actually not knowing)… you kinda start to focus on things you never really even considered before.

I’ve never even thought about creating a bucket list. I’ve seen movies and I’ve heard people talk about what they want to do before they die. And while I have said “oh I want to do that before I die” many times before… I’ve never really kept track or written it down. So maybe I should start now, huh?

Here are just some random things I’d like to put on my personal bucket list. I know that some may read this entry and go “she wants to do that? why?” and some may even go “hmmm…that’s cool, I never really thought about that.” And that’s totally fine. Everyone is entitled to their opinions. And I’m cool with that. Because this, after all, is about me. And what I want to do. And what I enjoy doing.

My Bucket List

(in no particular order)

1. Watch the sunrise from a beach on the East Coast with the man I love

2. Honeymoon in Bora Bora (FYI, hubs and I never went on a honeymoon)

3. Fly a plane

4. Jump out of a plane

5. Write a book

6. Compete in a bikini competition (fitness, not wet t-shirt type)

7. MUST travel to these cities: New York, Boston, Chicago, Seattle, and Nashville

8. Run in the LA Marathon

9. Marry Channing Tatum
(okay, okay I realize that this is pretty much impossible considering we’re both married to other people
but a girl can dream, can’t she?)

10. Drive a race car. A real one.

These are just a few of the things I’d like to do. They’re reasonable… with the exception of #9. But for the most part, they’re all attainable.  And, of course, the list will forever be a work in progress. So… starting today… I will be working towards checking things off my bucket list.

Results

This was the first time ever doing the 5-day slim down. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. My diet was filled with fruits, veggies, lean meats, and smoothies. Lots of fruits. Sounds sugar-y doesn’t it? Like for breakfast, I had a Banana Split. No ice cream. Sprinkled with carob chips.

Anyway, after stuffing my face with garlic shrimp for dinner the first day, I didn’t think this slim down would work. Until I woke up the next morning. And was down 2lbs. Yes I know the 2 lbs wasn’t fat weight lost. Like I said, my body’s been bloated. Everyday after that I lost an average of about 0.5-1.0 lb a day.

By day 5, the bloating was pretty much gone. My stomach was flat. And no more pudgy look for me. I was down 4.5lbs at the end of it all. I could see more muscle definition from the 2-a-day workouts I’ve been doing. And I could not believe I was able to do that with all the natural sugar I’ve been consuming.

before slim down…after slim down

But…although I love the results… I am glad I can go back to my regular diet. One that’s not so strict but still consists of eating clean.

The purpose of this slim down was for me to be able to cleanse my body. Just needed to clarify that. Not to lose weight. My co-worker tried to sabotage me. Bringing chocolates to work. Wanting to get some Cold Stone ice cream on our breaks. So cruel! 😛

But I’m strong-willed. I made it through. And I will do it all over again with no complaints.

Tuesday’s Workouts…*sigh*

Day 2 of Tone It Up’s 5-Day Slim Down…

No time for chit chat.

I need to get up early tomorrow for work so that means bedtime for me.

Just wanna share with you my workout for today.

Earlier in the day I did my HIIT workout at the gym.

 

30 whole minutes of this:

2 minutes brisk walk @ 4.0
1 minute sprint @ 8.0
*repeated circuit 10 times*
5 minute cool down

 

Then in the evening I did these workouts…

Get ready for it…

 

Workout 1: Lean Abs Pyramid

10 high knees
20 tummy tucks
30 plank jacks
40 crunches
50 bicycle crunches
40 crunches
30 plank jacks
20 tummy tucks
10 high knees

 

Workout 2: TLC Routine

*repeated circuit 3x*

 

Workout 3: Tone Up Your Arms For Summer Workout

 

Workout 4: Itty Bitty Bikini Workout

 

Then ended with this…

 

Workout 5: TIU’s move of the week – alternating lunges.
I did 50 of ’em.

 

Yup. Just call me superwoman already.

😛

Have a good night!

🙂

So Far So Good

Day 1 of Tone It Up’s 5-Day Slim Down and I am doing just fine.

😛

Like always, I took random pics of my food.

Most of them ended up on Instagram and Twitter.

Here’s Meal 1:

This is called a banana split.

Except I decided to slice up the banana and opted NOT to have a cherry on top.

Meal 3: Chicken Salad

Meal 5: Garlic Shrimp w/Quinoa and broccoli

I made slight modifications with these dishes because I was out of some of the ingredients.

Lunch was supposed to be a wrap using Collard Greens.

Yeah, the greens at the grocery store weren’t the greatest so I just made a salad instead.

Okay… moving on to my workouts today.

My HIIT workout was at the gym. On the treadmill.

(2 minute brisk walk + 2 minute sprint) x 6 = 24 minutes of blood, sweat & tears.

😛

Then did the following workouts:

 Repeated circuit 3x

Did a round of this:

50 reps of alternating lunges

Followed by this:

And then ended with another 50 reps of this:

Yes my legs were wobbly as heck at the end of it all…

But don’t you just love that feeling?

Anyway… I made it through my day.

Work was crazy and I am glad I was able to keep up with my meals.

Good job, J.

😉

5-Day Slim Down

The past couple of weeks have just been horrible. After my trip to Hawaii… I had to get back into the groove of eating clean again. Did pretty good for a couple of weeks. And then Memorial Day Weekend happened. Yeah. Totally oinked out on some good ole BBQ. I really over indulged. Then there was one day last week where I had to be up at 3am to go to work. And because I wasn’t prepared, I had no choice but to eat out. Went to Subway. Pretty healthy. Still a lot of calories though.

Then this past weekend, we went to a Birthday BBQ for my sister-in-law. Chips and dips galore. Hubs and I left before the real food was done because he had to be somewhere. So on the way home we stopped somewhere to eat. *sigh* Oy. Then today, at work, my co-worker brought me some food. Yummy stuff… but I’m pretty sure it was PACKED with empty calories. She’s the same co-worker that brought a bag full of chocolates to work last week. And I think I ate most of it. No, actually, I’m pretty sure I ate ALL of it.

So when Tone It Up trainers Karena & Katrina announced that they were going to be doing the 5-Day Slim Down this week, I thought, what better way to cleanse my body of all the crap I ate and get back on track. I have been bloated for the past couple of weeks and we all know why. I’ve been working out consistently but my body just doesn’t respond to junk food very well.

(The 5-Day Slim Down is on their Nutrition Plan, which is available for purchase on their website. If you’d like to learn more about it and/or purchase the plan, click here.)

I am super excited. Spent last night planning out my meals for the rest of the week and making a grocery list. Did my grocery shopping today and came home with lots and lots of fruits and veggies. These are just some of what I bought…

I also bought a box of quinoa, some lean meats that are sitting in the fridge and the freezer, lots of veggies that aren’t in the picture, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese… all kinds of yummy healthy stuff. Hey, don’t knock it till ya try it. 😉 Just sayin’.

For those who follow me on twitter, facebook, and/or instagram… ya’ll are in for a treat. Crazy me will be posting up pics of my meals on there. Why? Because I’m just random like that. It’s what I do. I’ll do my best to blog when I can. But be warned… it’s gonna be a hectic week for me.

Anyway, I’m off to prep my lunches for the week. Oh, and just wanna say… today is Sunday Run Day, and I did a 5k on the treadmill at the gym. It’s too dang hot to be doin’ it outside. Left the gym sweaty and yucky but totally determined to tackle the upcoming week.

Have a great week, ya’ll!!! 🙂