Getting Results with ChaLean Extreme Workouts

Last month I bought Beachbody's ChaLean Extreme Workout DVDs. I just finished the program's first phase, the "Burn" phase, and I feel awesome! Chalene Johnson actually makes me look forward to doing my workout with weights! Even though it's only been a month I already see -- and feel -- the difference in my body. I think I found what I was looking for, this is the type of exercise that will actually change my body shape. As she says on one of the videos, "muscle is your fountain of youth".

After exercising everyday for 17 days...

I had a setback today. I was taking a nap when the phone rang. I jumped out of bed and ran to the phone, tripping on a chair and taking a nasty spill. Now I have a huge painful bruise on my right thigh, and I hurt so much that I was not able to exercise today. I iced it, hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to at least go for a walk. Or may manage to do some Yoga. Bummer. There goes my streak...

Homemade Pizza

Pizza is my favorite food. The problem with it is that there is no way to really know how many calories I'm taking in when I go to my favorite pizza joints in town. I also love Trader Joe's, and when I was there last week I decided to buy some ingredients and try to put together a homemade pizza. I usually say that "pizza is like sex, even when it's bad, it's good", so even if it didn't turn out fantastic, I would still enjoy it.

But turn out fantastic it did! So I'll list here the ingredients that I used, and the calorie count for the quantities that I used. For the dried tomatoes, the table shows a larger serving than I actually used, because the program used to calculate the calories had a different calorie count for them than what the jar said. So I adjusted the quantity accordingly on the calculator, but in reality I only used about 6-7 thin tomato strips. (The reason the dried tomatoes were so high in calories is because they are preserved in olive oil).

So here is the ingredient list for the homemade pizza (for that typical pizza taste I sprinkled dried oregano on top. The smell while baking filled the entire house!):

Fighting the Bloats... and Losing

This week has been tough. That time of the month, combined with a serious case of "the bloats", and I feel as if I've gained 5 pounds. I've also had a wicked migraine for about 4 days now, and it just feels like my head is going to explode! Vigorous exercise is making it worse, so I dusted off my Earth Shoes and went for a walk on Monday and yesterday, in lieu of running. (The thought of bouncing made me want to curl up in a ball and disappear).

It had been a while since I had worn my Exer-Walkers, and boy do they make a difference. It basically felt like I was going uphill the entire time and now my calves feel it. I think I will add a couple of walks a week wearing them. I don't think I should run in these shoes, as they were made specifically for walking, and I'm picky about my running shoes (read: afraid of knee injuries). But WHOA! What I thought would be a leisurely walk turned into quite the work out. (The long shower afterward was bliss)...