Posted on July 7, 2008 by lvaldes
Finally! The results are in!
After 10 weeks of taking Pilates three times per week, I feel amazing! I’m slimmer, trimmer, stronger, and more flexible. It’s amazing how connected I am to my body. I am addicted to Pilates and encourage everyone to give it a shot. 10 weeks from now you can have a whole new body!
Here are my progression pictures at 0 sessions, after 20 sessions, and finally after 30 sessions:
BEFORE 20 SESSIONS 30 SESSIONS
And the side views:
BEFORE 20 SESSIONS 30 SESSIONS
I have lost a total of 11 inches- 5 of them coming off my waist! I even gained another 1/2 inch in height! I hadn’t anticipated the amount of change in the last 10 sessions. Everything improved: my posture, my shoulder placement, my rear end is higher and smaller (yea!), and I have a waist again!
The “30 sessions” pictures were taken the first week of May, which is also when I started a comprehensive Pilates Instructor training program. I apologize for taking so long to post the results, but the program (through Power Pilates) has kept me pretty busy and hasn’t allowed any time for me to post. Being in training hasn’t left me much time to workout either, so I’m look more like the ”20 sessions” pictures again- but that’s fine with me. I know that it only takes 3 1/2 weeks to get back to where I was
I intend to write more on my experience during the Challenge- I wanted to at least get these pictures up in the interim.
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Posted on April 21, 2008 by lvaldes
April 8, 2008
Session: 18
I had another duet session, and it was NOTHING like my first. While my mates were pretty advanced, they were all working the same exercises together, so it wasn’t at all confusing or frustrating. I was able to keep up and get an amazing workout. It was great!
I have been having my Pilates sessions first thing in the morning at 7am. Since I have begun a Traditional Diet and have been working out regularly, I have had much more energy throughout the day and have had no problem getting up early. I’ve never been a morning person, and yet I find myself getting up before my alarm goes off so I end up playing with my kittens until it finally does. And not only do I prefer to start my day earlier, my days are longer and I have more energy throughout the day. This has been a change for the better.
My friends are starting to comment on my body. My sister recently returned from being gone for a month for work. The first thing she said when she saw me was, “tell me what you’re doing, because I need to start doing it too.” She was a vegan doing the Body for Life challenge and had seen results, but not as quickly as I had. Even my friends that I see weekly have been asking if I’ve lost weight, or said that I looked great. I already felt amazing, but it was nice for others to notice a positive change as well.
Filed under: Pilates Challenge (11-20) | No Comments »
Posted on April 4, 2008 by lvaldes
Meat Lasagna
Serves: 6
1 lb ground beef
6 slices Trader Joe’s No Boil Lasagna Noodles
1 jar (16 oz) Trader Joe’s Organic Chunky Marinara
4 oz Whole Mozzarella Cheese
1/2 cup Whole Ricotta Cheese, divided in thirds
1/4 Whole Parmesan Cheese, divided in thirds
1 cup Chopped Button Mushrooms
7 1/2″x 9 1/2″ baking dish
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Brown ground beef over medium heat
- Add chopped mushrooms and marinara sauce
- Put 2 noodles on bottom of baking dish
- Layer a third of the ricotta cheese on top, then sprinkle a third of the Parmesan cheese on top
- Layer a third of the meat sauce on top, then sprinkle some mozzarella on top
- Repeat steps 4-6 until all ingredients are gone, add the majority of mozzarella to very top layer
- Bake at 350 for 45 minutes
Serve with a mixed greens salad tossed with a flaxseed oil/apple cider vinegar homemade dressing.
Nutrition Information:
242 grams
410 calories
18 g fat
11 g saturated fat
107 mg Cholestorol
1047 mg Sodium
33 g Protein
24 Carbohydrates
2.7 g Fiber
6 g Sugar
Vitamin A 6%
Vitamin C 25%
Calcium 40%
Iron 19%
Thiamin 12%
Niacin 5%
Riboflavin 5%
Folic Acid 10%
Percentages:
Fat - 43.6% (20 grams)
Protein - 32.8% (33 grams)
Carbohydrates - 23.6% (24 grams)
Alcohol - 0.0%
Other - 0.0%
Filed under: Recipe | Tagged: traditional diet | No Comments »
Posted on April 4, 2008 by lvaldes
Day 37: April 4, 2008
I took a Kettlebells class two days ago, and I’m feeling it.
Immediately after taking the class, I ate 2 oz of beef jerky to facilitate an influx of protein into my torn muscles. The reason for this is that I was told that the first 30 minutes after a strength training routine is the window to get as much protein in your body (up to 25g) because the floodgates are open and it will go into your muscle to help rebuild it. This also decreases lactic acid which is what causes the stiffness and pain the next couple of days after a workout.
The next morning I felt a little sore, but not too much. I had even considered taking another Kettlebells class that day. But as the day went on, my muscles grew more tight and sore. Sitting and standing is when I felt it the most, but it wasn’t terrible. I love feeling sore- as long as I can still function.
Today is day 2, and I’m really feeling it now! I woke up and had breakfast (deviled eggs and a banana) and walked around a bit to try to loosen up the stiffness. I know that had I not eaten that beef jerky, I would be in A LOT more pain. This really isn’t that bad considering the workout I had. However, I don’t think I should be working out again quite yet, so I cancelled my 17th Pilates session (gasp!) I am going to go in to the studio tomorrow and take a Pilates Mat Class instead. It will be my first one, so I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow.
What I ate today:
4 deviled eggs
Cod Liver Oil
Banana
Chocolate Chip Cookie
Lasagna
2 Miller High Lifes
Coconut Oil
Avovado and Tomato with Flaxseed Oil and Apple Cider Vinegar
2 Bass Ales
Fat - 47.7% (114 grams)
Protein - 10.4% (56 grams)
Carbohydrates - 26.4% (142 grams)
Alcohol - 10.4% (32 grams)
Other - 5.1%
Daily Sodium Intake - 1,430 mg
Daily Sugar Intake - 44 grams
Daily Cholesterol Intake - 613 mg
Daily Saturated Fat Intake - 47 grams
Daily Fiber Intake - 23 grams
So, this was my bad day. I am going to try to keep these at least one week apart from now on. Every week I lose a pound or two, and gain one back over the weekend. Ahh… beer and cookies… mmm… mmm. At least my percentages look good. VERY BAD: My carbs are DOUBLE what they should be and my sugar intake is too high.
Filed under: Kettlebells, Pilates Challenge (11-20) | No Comments »
