Friday, July 21, 2017

Strength Training at Bodypump

I'm battling a terrible case of jet lag since returning from our amazing Cape Cod summer vacay (recap here), but I finally took the plunge and signed up for a Bodystep class. Turns out I was the only one. Summer in Hong Kong means that every is doing what we just did ---> taking a holiday.

Instead of not taking a class at all, I accepted the offer to be put into the Bodypump class.

Admittedly, I was a little nervous about going to Bodypump because it has been awhile, but it was a nice fit for my carb cycling workouts. 

Regular calorie day - the workout 


Warm-up - It was a nice morning, so I walked to the HIT Room. I went in knowing that I was going to be sore after this workout, so I thought it was the perfect time to wear the new workout tank that the kids gave me. I couldn't find it on the website, but I found this one that is just as good.

Strength training - On the weekly workout plan (that I'm sort of jumping into), day 3 is legs, triceps, shoulders and day 4 is back, biceps, abs. Bodypump turned out to be a great option because we did all that and more. 

It was a tough workout for me. Not only because I haven't strength trained like this in months, but I also felt lightheaded toward the end of the class. I don't know what caused it: jet lag, dehydration, empty fuel tank (I did the class fasted), the heat? It was semi-scary. 


Cool down - mrC met me after class and we walked to the Siena Club pool. I let the pool water cool my body down for an hour before heading home.


Regular calorie day - the meals

broke fast around 12:30 - scrambled eggs with ham, pb&j apple cinnamon rice cakes  (we smuggled them in our carry-on from the US ;) and watermelon.


lunch - frozen berry protein smoothie and pb&j apple cinnamon rice cakes. PS - I'm currently reading The Husband's Secret on my Kindle app and it is soooo good. 


Dinner - took mrC out to dinner to MooFish for his yearly big day ---> fettuccini carbonara with chicken plus a couple of strawberry daiquiris :)


Happy birthday mrC! 

I highly recommend this racerback cami from JCrew Factory 


Are you taking a vacation this summer?
Ever get lightheaded during a workout?
Do you prefer going out or staying home for birthday dinner?


For more info about the FASTer Way To Fat Loss program, use my link to join and start carb cycling with me! Click here.




Wednesday, July 19, 2017

Cape Cod Summer 2017: Carb Cycling and Vacation Highlights

As much as I wanted to finish my FASTer Way to Fat Loss® program on a high note, it was just too much to keep up with while on vacation. I didn't stop the program all together ---> I did as many of the workouts as I could and I continued to extend my fast until nearly noon each day. What I didn't do was track my macros or post to the online group each day.

You may have noticed that I also had trouble blogging ;)

I'm not bummed out though. I feel like I did what I could and still enjoyed every moment with the girls for two weeks. Those two weeks were the absolute best. Our days were filled with fun and I savored every moment just being there with my family.

Here are the highlights:

We had a Sparkler Party on the beach to celebrate the 4th of July. We started with a traditional summer cookout at the house, complete with cheeseburgers, corn on the cob and baked beans. Then we walked to the beach sporting our festive tees from The Daily Tay. We didn't see a big fireworks display, but our party was over-the-top fun!




We took the fast ferry over to Nantucket for a day. After grabbing breakfast sandwiches at Fog Island Cafe, we went on a bike tour around town with Nantucket Bike Tours ---> highlights of the tour include Brant Point Lighthouse, Steps Beach, Lily Pond, Old Mill and riding through quaint neighborhoods (highly recommend doing this!). We grabbed a taco lunch at Easy Street Cantina (loved it!) and took our rented a jeep for a ride out to Sankaty Lighthouse and stopped by the Oldest House. Before leaving, we walked around town enjoying some ice cream from The Juice Bar, souvenir shopping and even spotting a celebrity from Long Island!






We hopped on the Shining Sea Bikeway in North Falmouth for an afternoon ride. Our 16 miles took us through salt marshes all the way to ocean views at Quissett Beach. My knee was a little cranky, so we turned around about 2 miles from the end of the trail in Woods Hole.



One afternoon in Woods Hole we walked the trail out to The Knob, strolled around town with ice cream from Jimmy's Sandwich and Ice Cream Place and stopped to see the Nobska Lighthouse up close.





We love Old Silver Beach and spend most of our mornings there soaking up the sun and our evenings taking in the sunsets. This year we celebrated our favorite place with a fun photo party in our favorite Cape Cod gear and brand new OSB tees. The girls made sure to include their brother, who was stuck in Colorado working, in the fun.





We had one major rainy day which I spent at the Cape Cod Mall picking up a new pair of fitness shoes. I think these will work perfectly for hiking and Bodystep. One cloudy afternoon we took the Cape Cod Railroad Coastal Excursion. It was an out and back narrated trip from Hyannis to Buzzard's Bay. Along the way we saw cranberry bogs and kettle hole ponds, great salt marsh, Cape Cod Canal, Sagamore Bridge, Bourne Bridge and an osprey nesting platform.





On our last night on the Cape, we took a sunset sail aboard the La Liberté out of Falmouth. Before the two-hour cruise aboard the schooner, we had one final dinner at Simply Devine Pizza Co. where you can get gluten-free pizza.




The Workouts - During the two weeks, I was able to fit in some FASTer Way to Fat Loss® workouts such as sprints, HIIT circuits, bike rides for low intensity, and a few runs to the beach.


The Meals - Some days I followed the meal plan and some I didn't. I offer myself plenty of grace since it was our official vacation. It's hard to be back in the US and NOT indulge in some of our favorite things.


The great thing about carb cycling is that you can make it work for you, even if it's not always perfect. We didn't have access to a gym or even free weights, but we exercised every day. Instead of taking results measurements at the Cape, my plan is to repeat the final two weeks and then do a proper results post.





Wednesday, July 5, 2017

Low Carb-ing at the Cape

The final week of the Faster Way To Fat Loss carb cycling program kicked off just as we were also starting our family vacation at Cape Cod. Fortunately I have a very active family who likes to workout.

Week 6 Low Carb Days - the workouts


Speed Bursts - Our Cape house is about half a mile walk to the beach, so the parking lot looked like the perfect spot to do our interval sprints. The workout for both days was sprint at 100% effort for 20 seconds, recover for 40 seconds, repeat 20 times. On day 1, one of my step daughters and mrC joined me. We did half of the sprints before the lot opened to the public (we had the wrong time), so we finished them in front of  the house. On day 2, mrC and I went earlier and did all 20 sprints at the beach ---> and I missed the box jumps part of the workout again. 

HIIT - Back at the house, we did the second part of the low carb day workouts. Day 1 was a leg workout: squats, lunges, step-ups and scissor jumps (I did jumps squats instead). Day 2 was an ab circuit: Russian twists, bicycles, leg lifts.

Low Intensity Cool Down - bike rides ---> it's nice to take the bikes for a spin and not have to worry about giant hills.


Week 6 Low Days - the meals


Monday - broke fast around 12: scrambled eggs with ham, one PB&J rice cake, turkey and Swiss rollups with a salad for lunch and chicken and green beans for dinner.

Tuesday - broke fast around 11:30: scrambled eggs with ham and two PB&J rices cakes (I was low on calories the day before) and then it was 4th of July celebration time. Chips and salsa followed by a cookout with cheeseburgers, baked, beans, and corn on the cob.


After dinner we walked to the beach to continue the celebration with a fun little Sparkler Party. 



Did you workout and celebrate?



Sunday, July 2, 2017

5 Days Later - from the Cape

Hello from Cape Cod!

OOTD: hat (here), swim coverup (Athleta), flip-flops (here)

We left Hong Kong at 2:30 PM on Thursday and made it to Hartford late, late, late Thursday night/Friday morning - 1 AM EST. After getting about three hours sleep at the hotel, we picked up our rental car, loaded up our Cape house supplies, had dinner with the in-laws and then hit the road. We crossed the Bourne Bridge traffic and hassle free around 9:30 PM Friday night.

In my last blog post, I shared my low carb days workouts and meals ---> which were awesome, by the way. Here's a brief wrap of how week 5 came to an end.

The workouts 

Wednesday - at home workout because I spent the morning getting my hair colored and highlighted.

Thursday - at home workout because I had to finish packing before we left for the airport.

Friday - My workout consisted of digging through our storage unit and loading up the car with our Cape Cod supplies, including my brand new Ninja blender (Amazon link).

Saturday - the girls arrived at the Cape House bright and early, so we spent most of the day just catching up and soaking up their presence. We walked to the beach for a quick dip before dinner.


Sunday - took another easy day to recover from travel which included another trip to the beach.

The meals

Wednesday - I honestly can't remember what I ate.

Thursday (On the airplane) - I packed a GF PB&J sandwich, banana, grapes, and some chips for my dinner and then had the scrambled eggs meal for breakfast.

Friday - we grabbed a burger from a local restaurant for lunch and joined mrC's family for some GF pizza before starting our road trip.

Saturday - our bodies were still playing catch-up to our time zone hopping, but I managed some turkey and Swiss roll ups with PB&J apple cinnamon rice cakes for lunch. For dinner we fired up the grill ---> chicken breast, shrimp skewers and burgers with green beans.

The kids introduced us to a new game 😳

Sunday - (breakfast) scrambled eggs with ham and 2 PB&J rice cakes, (lunch) turkey and Swiss rollups, watermelon, and a vanilla Vega protein (great price on Amazon) smoothie, and (dinner) grilled cheeseburger, baked beans, and corn on the cob.

Smoothie in a red solo cup!

Beverages - We may have consumed some extra calories, but how can anyone resist a homemade strawberry daiquiri made by the kids?


Tomorrow is the start of the final week of FASTer Way to Fat Loss®. I'm hoping to be on top of my workouts and nutrition while we are vacationing. It will be hard, but I think I will have some extra support from the girls.


I'm linking up with Tricia and Holly for the Weekly Wrap!


Where are you spending your 4th of July?
Ever played Cards Against Humanity?



Tuesday, June 27, 2017

Speed Burst Days

Low carb day in the FASTer Way to Fat Loss® means speed bursts and speed bursts are my favorite workout right now. Probably because I'm a cardio girl. I tend to gravitate more toward the workouts that are sweaty and get the heart rate going.

Week 5 Low Carb Day 1 - the workout


Speed Burst - I chose to take a Bodystep class again because I can get high intensity, intervals, and all the leg exercises like squats, lunges, step ups, and all kinds of jumps. Since there are typically 12 tracks in a class, the warm-up and cool-down are included. This class kicked my butt. Literally. I could feel myself struggling through some of the peak tracks, but later in the day I completely fell off the struggle bus and landed in bed. I think I was just dehydrated, but I felt like garbage.

Low Carb Day 1 - the meals

broke fast around noon - 3 scrambled eggs with ham, 2 PB&J rice cakes


lunch - leftover Italian chicken breast and greens beans

dinner - leftover Italian chicken breast and greens beans

snacks - handful of peanuts and half a protein bar

Low carb day 2 - the workout


Warm up - I walked about 10 minutes to the beach

Speed Burst - I chose sprint intervals for a private little Track Party-like workout. The workout was sprint at 100% effort for 20 seconds (about 100 meters) and recover for 40 (I walk around for this) seconds. Repeat 18 times. I was worried that it was going to rain, but it only sprinkled a little in the beginning. I can tell that my endurance has improved from the first set of sprints, because I didn't start to feel the leg wobble until the last 4 or 5 sprints.

AB circuit - I totally meant to do this when I got back to the apartment, but I completely forgot until now as I write this post. I was supposed to do: russian twists, bicycles, crunches and leg lifts. To my credit, I did most of these or similar in Bodystep. So I can say that I did them early, haha!

LISS - Walked home up the hill ---> kept my heart rate in the fat burning zone.

Low carb day 2 - the meals

broke fast at 11:00 - 3 scrambled eggs with ham, 2 PB&J rice cakes

lunch - wasn't hungry today and I had a little getting ready for vacation fun at the nail salon 👇🏻

PS - wearing my Oofos to the salon = happy legs

dinner - leftover Italian chicken breast, green beans and salad

snack - mini chocolate bar, celery and hummus


Have you ever experienced post-workout dehydration symptoms?


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