My name is Christine. I’m getting married in 7 6 5 weeks. And I have a lot of work to do.
Join me on my journey as I slim down for the big day.
Week 2 down! My apologies for not posting as much last week; it was a crazy busy week here at the Ridge, hopefully you were taking part in it! We started Bootcamp, 20 Pound Challenge, put on 2 free intro series, Ask Jackie, 2 days of Health Profiles, Summer activities roundup at the Mall, Friday Night Dance Party, and our quarterly launch–whew! If you haven’t gotten involved in something at the Ridge yet, just do it! We’ve always got something happening, just tune in to our facebook to find out about our upcoming happenings!
Just because I was not posting doesn’t mean I wasn’t staying on track. I have great news to report — Thursday I weighed in another 2 pounds lighter, for a total loss so far of 5 pounds in 2 weeks! I pushed through into the 130’s and am thrilled about it! Jen also took my circumference measurements and I am smaller in all measurement points!
I wanted to talk a little bit today about some of the foods I’ve been eating if you’re looking for ideas of new recipes! On Wednesday I made a double batch of my favorite Asian Quinoa Salad (click the pic for the recipe!). I measure out a cup of it and put it over a handful of greens to make a healthy, colorful, and satisfying lunch. Quinoa is one of my go to’s. Because I don’t eat meat or dairy at home, it’s an easy complete protein source for me (If you’re wondering what a “complete” protein is, it’s a protein that contains all 12 essential amino acids). I also made one of my favorite “green” smoothies, a combo of raw spinach, banana, and soy milk (you can substitute any milk you prefer). I don’t usually drink soy milk because I believe too much of anything processed is not a good thing, but I love the taste and once in a while I treat myself to it! We dined out on Tuesday morning for breakfast at one of my favorites spots, Clark’s Fork, and I had a lightened up version of my favorite wrap. I normally go with the Trail Wrap with no cheese and substitute black beans instead of meat, but this time I had it deconstructed (sans tortilla) to shave off around 200 calories. Not bad right?
As far as workouts go, last week I did 2 Ridge X sessions, 2 half hour personal training sessions, a 3 mile run, 20 minutes on the stairmill, 60 minutes of a stair/run mix, a 1 hour outdoor run with my coworkers Emily and Courtney, and a Sunday night 30 minute cardio sesh. Jen wants to see me get to a total of 5 hours of cardio this week, plus my training sessions. Surprisingly I’m feeling like what I’ve been doing is manageable and am up to the challenge of the extra hour. She also took me through some high intensity interval training (H.I.I.T.) on the treadmill, and wants me to incorporate that in some of my cardio.
Here’s how the HIIT workouts went…
– Warmup of 5 minutes at an easy jog,
– Sprint (8-9.5mph) for 20 seconds
– 10 seconds rest (jump to the sides of the treadmill)
– Repeat 20 seconds work, 10 seconds rest for 4 minutes
– Finish out the last sprint for the full 30 seconds
– Recover for 1 minute at a walk or easy jog
– Repeat 5 minute series as many times as you want!
If you want more guidance, this week our free intro series is on H.I.I.T, Tuesday and Thursday. No signup necessary!
Wish me luck as I finish out the week! A couple readers came up and said hello last week and it was so nice to know that you guys are out there reading and getting ideas and inspiration from my journey! I really appreciate the support!
