OTF: Challenge COMPLETE!

I have successfully completed the 6 week challenge and my final weight wasssss:

162.6!!!

Before and After pics :)

This week, I got to learn to improve on my rowing. We had a class this past saturday and I learned how to row correctly and more effectively so that I would burn more calories and row more efficiently. It was a lot of fun learning how to do it the right way and I went from usually rowing barely 160 watts to being able to row close to 300 watts. My goal by November is to row more than 300 watts. I'm on my elite type ish! Other than that my workouts were good as usual. I worked out on Thursday, Sunday, Monday, and Wednesday. Saturday wasn't a true workout just the rowing workshop though I still burned almost 200 calories. I had planned on working out on Tuesday as well but my stomach wasn't having it and I had to rest and feel better instead.

Though the challenge is over, I am still going to be working hard core towards my goal weight and body. I'm going to get there. I know I will.

Food wise, I've increased my intake to 1500 calories with me having to eat at minimum 1200 net calories every day. I ate pretty healthy but I did bake some chocolate muffins on Thursday and I've had about 4 of them since them. They are only 95 calories per muffin and pretty much are healthy ingredients. Click here for the recipe! I also had a sushi night out with my friends but it was well deserved :).

Weekly Training Report

Thursday - 10.16.14

Saturday - Rowing Workshop - 10.18.14

Sunday - 10.19.14

Monday - 10.20.14

Wednesday - 10.22.14

Stats | Weight:
9.9.14: 174.2
9.18.14: 168.4 (-5.8)
9.25.14: 168.6 ( +.2 -- Didn't expect much change thanks to Vegas!)
10.2.14: 169.6 (+1)
10.9.14: 163.4(-6.2) ^_^
10.16.14:163.6(+.2 - bah humbug!)
Final Weigh In 10.24.14: 162.6 (-1)
Grand total weight loss in 6 weeks: 11.6 lbs!






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OTF: Week 4 Update!

Week 4 is donnneee!!! This week I was determined to improve myself.

After gaining weight last week I knew I had to go the distance this week. Eating super clean and getting out of my comfort zone in the workouts. I've definitely been pushing myself in the workouts because as you will see I have been heavy in the 'pink' zone. The orange zone has been temporarily changed to the pink zone in honor to raise Breast Cancer Awareness :)! .

I think I ate super healthy this week and only had a 'cheat meal' on Thursday when I went out to lunch with my co-workers. I had this amazing veggie burger. Veggie burger isn't really unhealthy but the bun ..... yeah that bun. Then I got zucchini fries instead of regular fries. Sadly I wish I had gotten regular or sweet potato fries because I did not like the zucchini fries at all! But I guess that is good.... being that they were lightly fried.

I was able to do a 6.4 base pace this week. Next week I'm upping to 6.5 - 6.6. I definitely think I am getting much faster and can't wait to get back to running to really see the improvement in my speed. However I don't want to push myself too much because I do want to make sure that I am spending enough time in Zone 3 during my workouts so that I am burning that fat all the way off! Burn baby burrrrrn!

I guess my body just lost its footing and had to readjust itself because this week it showed out with my weight lost! 6lbs! I have to keep this up. I'm so close to being back in the 150s. My goal is to lose 5 more pounds by the end of this challenge which is 2 weeks from today (Oct. 23 is the big day)! I have to stay focus and keep pushing! No more weight gains!

Weekly Training Report

Thursday - 10.2

Saturday - 10.4

Sunday - 10.5

Tuesday - 10.7

Wednesday - 10.8

Stats | Weight:
9.9.14: 174.2
9.18.14: 168.4 (-5.8)
9.25.14: 168.6 ( +.2 -- Didn't expect much change thanks to Vegas!)
10.2.14: 169.6 (+1)
10.9.14: 163.4(-6.2) ^_^







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OTF: Week 3 Update!

Week 3 is complete! This had been a rough week for me.

I was moving every since Thursday until Wednesday. Because I was moving, I didn't cook and have been eating "fast food". Not the bad bad stuff like McDonald's and BK of course! I had Pita Pit like 4 times, Subway four times. The weekend I did snack some. It started Friday when my complex had S'Mores night. They got me. I had two. One with chocolate and one without (see how I save calories there LOL). S'Mores actually aren't that many calories but still - the sugar. I then took 3 home (they were S'Mores to go) and I ate one on Sunday, gave one to the BF, and threw the other out (before it made me eat it).

Also eating wise, on Saturday I went to this thing called CurlFest. It's like a natural hair expo. Was so much fun and all day long! So therefore I ate lunch there and even though we were at the Marriott, the options in their food court was SLIM. Especially to eat healthy. I ended up getting a grilled chicken sandwich and had about 10 of my friend's fries. The chicken sandwich was the best choice possibly though it sucked cause of the white bread. That night I went to a Jamaican restaurant and got Curry chicken with white rice, steamed veggies, and plantains.  The chicken and steam veggies are healthy :). I tried to not eat too much of the rice and only ate 1 plantain!

Not to mention because I've been moving (packing, moving, cleaning, etc) - I have been snacking a lot because I feel like I'm doing a workout because my apartment that I moved from was on the 3rd floor so for those days I was constantly walking up and down 3 flights of stairs with boxes and such. So much FUN. Anyway I guess I was eating more than I thought even though I recorded my intake in MyFitnessPal and wasn't going over my allotted intake my weight gain showed that my body wasn't having it. So I realllly need to buckle down. I can't win if I keep gaining. A little disappointed I must admit.

Workouts wise, I worked out 5 times. Yay! Constantly trying to push myself to greater limits. I did however have a hard time getting into the Orange zone this week. One of the hardest workouts this week was Tornado Tuesday. With this workout we spent 1 minute at each station and did 9 rounds of this.

Station 1 - Treadmills - All out pace. 
Station 2 - Weight floor - AMRAP for whatever move
Station 3 - Rowers - All out pace.

It was intense. Especially because our trainer challenged us to up the incline by 1% each round so by the end I was at 9% incline with a speed of 7.0 . Hardest minute ever. But glad I got through the workout nevertheless! This coming week I'm going to try and see how a base pace of 6.4 mph feels. Got to keep striving for faster speeds so when I get back on the pavement - I come back hard!

Oh and I joined another challenge on IG (Get Fit Or Get Fat ShapeUp 2014 - Cycle 5) . This one is for 60 days. Ends right before Thanksgivings. Another reason to go hard with OTF. I got two challenges on my hand both with $500 grand prizes! These challenges will hopefully keep me motivated and inspired to do great these next couple months!

Weekly Training Report

9.25 - Thursday

9.27 - Saturday

9.28 - Sunday

9.30 - Tuesday

10.1 - Wednesday 

Stats | Weight:
9.9.14: 174.2
9.18.14: 168.4 (-5.8)
9.25.14: 168.6 ( +.2 -- Didn't expect much change thanks to Vegas!)
10.2.14: 169.6 (+1)







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OTF: Week 2 Update!

Week 2 is done! I only worked out 3 times since my last weigh in. Thursday, Tuesday, and Wednesday! I had planned on working out on Friday while in Vegas buttttt because of my delay and flight cancellation, that didn't happen! Oh well.

I didn't expect to see a weight loss and expected that I would have a pound or 2 gain because of the junk I ate in Vegas. Though I don't think I ate too terrible and I watched my liquor intake. However I was pretty much the same weight which I will gladly take!

My first day back working out was Tuesday. I got back on Monday afternoon. & I didn't realize how exhausted I was so waking up at 5:30 am for a 6:15 workout on Tuesday even after going to bed at 9:30 damn near killed me. I sucked at my workout. I even had to go in the bathroom after the treadmill section and sit on the floor because I felt light headed and just out of it. It took everything I had to finish the workout. But I did even though I burned the least amount of calories ever (480) and was heavily in Zone 1.

There are 5 heart rate zones.  I like majority of my workouts to be in Zone 3 and of course 4 - the orange zone!

Anywho, I hope I get a good number next weigh in! I have decided to do OTF 5 times a week. Tuesday - Thursday, Saturday & Sunday.

Friday will be a complete rest day

& Monday I will maybe do 15 - 30 minutes of yoga but it will be optional.

So that is all for this past week.

Weekly Training Report

Thursday - 9.18.14

Tuesday - 9.23.14

Wednesday - 9.24.14

Stats | Weight:
9.9.14: 174.2
9.18.14: 168.4 (-5.8)
9.25.14: 168.6 ( +.2 -- Didn't expect much change thanks to Vegas!)




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OTF: Week 1 Update.

I have completed my 1st week of the challenge. It was a really great week. I can steadily see improvement in myself. When I first started working out with OTF my base pace on the treadmill was 5.5. Now I've improved to 6.3 with a push pace of 7.0-7.3 and an all out pace of 9.0-9.5.

To understand this: Base pace is a pace you can maintain for like 30 mins or more. Push pace is usually 1 to 2 mph over base and your all out pace is something you probably can't hold for more than 1 minute.

I was so happy to see that I had lost almost 6lbs in one week (well 9 days) ! Like seriously?! I mean I'm sure it was water weight for bad eating the last few weeks but still it felt so great. This coming week might not be so great since I just got back from Vegas and well.... you know how vacationing goes. 

Anyway, I am very confident that this challenge will be amazing for me and definitely help me reach my goals. 

Weekly Training Report

Thursday - 9.11.14

Saturday - 9.13.14

Monday - 9.15.14

Tuesday - 9.16.14

Wednesday - 9.17.14

Stats | Weight:
9.9.14: 174.2
9.18.14: 168.4 (-5.8)



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Orange Theory Fitness: 6 week challenge

On thursday I joined a six week challenge at Orange Theory fitness! This challenge is different from any other I have joined being that it has a nice money grand prize for the top male and female! So I can't slack! I got to win. 

So you may be asking, what is Orange Theory Fitness(OTF)? I had been asking this question for a while and last month I came across them at a race expo and got info on them and was intrigued. OTF is not your typical gym. It reminds me more of a bootcamp being that you have to sign up for classes and the classes are relatively small. None have been over 20 people.  & you have a trainer that is there to push and motivate you.

The name OTF really tends to throw people off but the meaning behind it is quite interesting. 

OTF is heart rate-based interval training utilizing the rowing machines, treadmills and a variety of strength equipment. The workout is segmented into blocks of work, and by the ability to view your heart rate % on a screen, it encourages you to do the best for your ability. What to expect: -A calorie scorcher and major sweatfest. Like any workout, you get out of it what you put into it, but this is a wonderful blend of heart-pumping cardio and muscle-building strength. -When you first arrive, you receive your heart rate monitor (“pod”) for the day. You attach it to your chest strap and during the class, your name and heart rate zone, categorized by color, are projected onto a screen. Blue is the cooldown/warmup zone, green is moderate, orange is fitness and red is the high limit. Ideally you’ll want to stay within a green or orange zone for the majority of the workout, hence the name “Orange Theory.”

I must say, I am enjoying these workouts so much. I've been going to classes for almost 2 weeks now and it has been so motivating and fun. Even got me going to sleep early since I attend 6am class! I love seeing how many calories I am burning, how hard I am pushing myself, and secretly competing with others in the class. I am coming to realize, how much more I enjoy bootcamp type classes. They keep me motivated more and keep me pushing myself to another level.

An example of the TV screens 

I also love how we get emailed at the end of the class our training report.

So I think this 6 week challenge will be very effective for me as long as I keep my eating under control! I will be working out 5 to 6 times a week. 4 of which will be at OTF. The workouts are super intense so I don't know if I would do them 5 or 6 times a week but I will see as time go on. 

With the challenge, we have to do 3 OTF classes a week and we weigh in every thursday, the last Thursday being Oct. 23rd. There is a chart posted so we can all see how everyone is doing and know how much more we need to push ourselves & we get a 'star' every time we attend a class YAYY! & GAME ON! 

My eating has sucked all of summer and caused me to gain 15lbs (10 of which I'm sure was in Europe) but can't dwell on that. I must dwell on how to get back down to where I was before Summer and hopefully in 6 weeks I will see some great progress towards my ultimate goals! 






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Move, Nourish, & Believe IN YOURSELF!!

Happy February! Here's a great challenge for you this month that I am participating in and hope you will join me as well! It's the Move Nourish Believe Blogger Challenge!! It's hosted by Lorna Jane, Sweat Pink, and FitApproach! It's a 3 week challenge of moving, nourishing, and believing in yourself! 

Here's a breakdown of how it works and how you or I can win that awesome gift card & improve ourselves!

Here's how it works:
1. Each day throughout the month there is a new challenge. Conquer the daily challenges and post a picture of yourself doing so on Twitter or Instagram. Tag @LornaJaneActive & @FitApproach along with #mnbchallenge #sweatpink #lornajane
2. At the end of each week, recap your successes on your blog and/or Facebook page. Each blog post equals five bonus entries! Share the blog post on Twitter and tag @LornaJaneActive & @FitApproach.
**In order to win the $1000 shopping spree, you MUST participate in all 21 of the daily photo challenges.

Post any questions you may have about the Move Nourish Believe lifestyle in this Facebook event! 

Make sure you follow Lorna and FitApproach!

So here's Week 1

Week One: Move

2/3: Sweat-it-out! -Show us your favorite way to sweat!

2/4: Change it up! - Sweat a new way! Select a workout from movenourishbelieve.com/category/move and show us your post-sweat session selfie.

2/5: Let's get planking! - Plank for at least five minutes today! You can split the planks up.

2/6: Buddy up! - Workout with a friend today!

2/7: Fave Friday! - Show us your five fitness favorites! Exercises, people, whatever gets you moving and motivated!

*Recap your week in a blog post!

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It's so simple and will be so much fun!! So the only question is…. ARE YOU IN??

xoxo, Preshii


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