Bikini Reveal!

Before: 190 pounds.............................After: 147 pounds

Check out the bikini bod on the right, y'all!  Whoop whoop!  I worked my ass off for the last 6 weeks, going to Orange Theory Fitness 5x a week and also doing TAM mat work.  (Zero dance cardio). The pic on the left is NOT 6 weeks ago, but 15 months ago, before I started my weight loss journey.  I remember feeling so uncomfortable in my body when that picture was taken-- like I needed to strip off a shell to get back to the real me.  Well, here's the REAL me. I feel fantastic-- strong, toned and well, ripped!!!  I don't ever remember having abs like that in my life.  And I didn't bulk, regardless of the fact that I lifted more than 3 pounds-- and I didn't gain weight or get big legs from running on a treadmill in my OTF workouts.

Here's the segment-- I'm so proud of my progress-- seriously, I have not worn a bathing suit since I was in my 20's!!  I will update y'all in another post on my plan to MAINTAIN the beach bod!

Love,

The Mistress, aka Bikini Babe
xxoo

New Pics and Why Smiley Face Stickers Make Me Happy

So, I'm into my third week of the six week bikini challenge....the time is flying!  I snapped an update pic this past weekend which I posted on a couple fitness groups in FB, but wanted to share here as well.  I am definitely seeing a difference in my core and my level of strength!  I also was very pleased to find out that my body fat was tested at 18.5%.  That's like, "athlete" level, y'all!  Whoop whoop!  The pic on the left is me at the beginning of last year at my all time heaviest-- around 190 pounds.  It's hard for me to even imagine being that size again.  Lawd, what a journey!

Now that I'm not sore as hell used to the Orange Theory workouts, I've added TAM back into the mix-- not really following a specific schedule, just alternating some bootcamp workouts, mat workouts and add ons like standing abs.  There's still a part of me that gets terrified when we have to lift a 10 or 15 pound weight in the OTF workouts, but so far, no bulking.  If anything, my boobs are disappearing from all the cardio!

In my horrible chicken scratch, I hand drew a chart to keep me on track for the next 4 weeks which I've posted at home.  In each week's column, there's a spot for OTF (Orange Theory Fitness) TAM and RUN, for my one long training run each week.  I'm running a half-marathon over Memorial Day weekend!

I think my mom made the same kind of chart and posted it on the fridge with our chores when I was a kid!  Whatev, being able to put 2, yes 2 smiley face stickers on the chart last night with my completion of both OTF and TAM made me feel fabulous!!

My goal is OTF 5x a week, TAM 4x a week, one long run and one rest day.

I've been bringing my workout clothes to the office every day, so it's just become routine to get changed and head straight to the gym at 5pm.  Diet has been basically the same-- I've cut down a bit on dairy and I'm paying attention to portions.  I'm hungriest in the late afternoon--- but interestingly, not really after the high intensity workouts.  Lately, I've been snacking on Atkins bars, and while they taste OK, I'm not a fan of how processed they are.  I need to get better about packing homemade, whole food snacks.  One of these days I have to come up with a homemade low-carb energy bar recipe!

Hope you all are rocking your workouts!

Love,

The Mistress

xxoo

Getting into a Bikini on TV...

Of all my crazy ideas, this one takes the low carb cake: The Mistress of Mayhem is getting into a 2 piece on TeeeeVeeee!!!  Wha-what?

It all started with a little segment I did for CBS on a hot new fitness program called Orange Theory Fitness.  I went to the shoot feeling slightly hungover with a kink in my lower back after crashing on a girlfriend's couch after a particularly rowdy bachelorette party.  I know, shocker, right?

So here I am, my fake eyelashes barely stuck on, hobbling in with the intention of doing some semi-cute on-camera stand up with me holding a 3 pound weight telling viewers to check out the new OTF studio. Yeah, not so much.  The trainer du jour was like, "You.  On the treadmill.  NOW."

Um, Yes, sir?????

1 hour and 571 calories later, I had sweat out the Cosmos I'd thrown back (and then some) and had by far, the best workout I'd done in years.  It was intense.  It was hard.  It was freaking awesome.  Orange Theory's philosophy is heart rate based interval training.  You wear a heart rate monitor and everyone's stats are splashed up on a big screen.  As I say in my TV preview, that translates to NO SLACKING.  The trainer can totally call you out if you're uh, under-performing!

You want to be in the "orange" (the sweet spot in fat burning capacity) for between 12-25 minutes of the hour long class....that guarantees you stay in "Orange Zone"-- the after-burn effect, where your metabolism is boosted so much that you continue to burn calories for up to 36 hours after the workout!  Here's more about the science behind Orange Theory.

The class alternates between 25-30 minutes on the treadmill, doing cardio intervals:  For example, you'll start out for 3 minutes at your "base pace" when your heart rate should be around 70-79% shown in green on the screen.  Then you amp it up to 3 minutes at a "push pace" and then 30 seconds in an "all out sprint" which should push you into the orange and sometimes into the red.  The trainer is telling you what incline and what speed to be at, so there's very little thinking that goes with it, which I loved.  I'm so focused on not falling off running faster that I prefer to just be told what to do.  So, your heart rate is being brought up in the push pace/sprinting to orange and then brought back down to the "green" in your base pace.

After pounding it out on the treadmill, the next phase of the workout goes back and forth between the weight room and the rowers.  In the weight room, there are those bad ass TRX ropes which are used for suspension training, with free weights, Bosu balance thingies and medicine balls.  YES, you are asked to lift more than 3 pounds-- sometimes up to 20 pounds.  But the exercises are spread out into 4-8 minute interals, so you never feel like you're really lifting heavy for too long.

A week and a half in and my core is feeling stronger and my abs look more defined.

So, ORANGE ya still curious about how one workout turned into  me deciding to get into a bikini on TV?  Yeah, well, about that.  I was so inspired by the workout, I decided to put myself to the ultimate challenge.  Me + Bikini + TV = Total Commitment.

I needed something hardcore y'all.  It was that simple.  You know from reading this blog, that if I don't have a plan and a challenge, I don't have a workout.  So, here's the plan:

5x weekly workouts at OTF.  That's a 60 minute sweat fest 5x a week, killing between 500-700 calories a session.  (I think the most I burned in one class last week was 671 calories. KILLER workout!)

I'm a littler nervous about veering away from TAM and dance cardio, but to appease those concerns, I'm still going to be working in some mat sessions each week.  Goal is 4 mat workouts.  And, to add even more of a challenge, I just registered for a half-marathon which I'll be running over Memorial Day weekend.  Crazy, right?

Do you expect anything less from the Mistress?  Go hard or go home, bee-atches!!!

Oh, I almost forgot the best part.  I'll be doing the dreaded before and after pics which will be broadcast on TV in addition to the bikini reveal.  Yup.  Thank God my "before" (now) looks sooo much better than it did a year ago.  I did pack on a few pounds (like 8) after all that crazy snow coverage, wine guzzling and cheese nibbling, but I'm back down 4 after a week of workouts, so only have 4 left to lose to get back to where I was when I was doing bootcamp about 6 weeks ago.  Considering the amount of cardio I'm going to be doing, I think they'll fall off by the end of next week.

As far as diet goes, I'm definitely hungrier and need more fuel for this workout.  I only had breakfast yesterday and slammed a power bar before the workout and I felt like I had no gas in my tank.  I've got to plan my daily meals better for sure.  I'm not amping up the carbs necessarily, but I am continuing to track my intake on MyFitnessPal (hungryroadwarrior).  I am still sticking to the low carb high fat style of eating, but realize I do not process sodium well at all and dairy stalls me if I have too much.  One handful of olives can cause me to jump 2 pounds on the scale the next day--- and it's all sodium!  So, here's a typical day:

Upon waking around 6:30/7am: 2 cups espresso with heavy cream (I'm just not hungry when I wake up)
Snack around 10am: 1 whole avocado with kosher salt
Lunch around 1pm: 8 oz chicken, ground turkey, roast beef with 2oz of cheese, asparagus or salad
Snack (late afternoon): Atkins snack bar or a hunk of parmesan or fresh mozzarella (trying to cut down on my cheese a little!)
Dinner: 8oz of steak, fish, or chicken with veggies

I occasionally make these low carb peanut butter chocolate bombs (usually without the peanut butter) for a sweet snack.  Or if I'm craving ice cream, I whip heavy whipping cream with some truvia and vanilla extract and then pop it into the freezer for an hour.  Delish.

As of today,  I'm wrapping up Week 2 and have one month to go till the bikini reveal!!!  This the 2 piece I think I'm going to splurge on-- it's expensive, but I think would be worth it. It's from LSpace.  I want it to be a somewhat athletic cut, but still feminine.  I love Victoria's Secret, but sometimes their suits are so....well, Victoria's Secret.  I think the key is going to be a good wax (yes, I went there) and a bad ass spray tan!

Check out my on-camera preview of Orange Theory Fitness for CBS-- and, yeah, I'm wearing clothes in this one, LOL!

*above OTF pics from www.orangetheoryfitness.com

CBS46 News

Mistress M.I.A.

"Hellllooooo?????"

"Anyone home?????"

(Cracks door and peeks out....)

Slams door shut.

Y'all have been knocking and I've been cracking, peeking and slamming.  OK, that just sounded weird.  Like some new game devised by Christian Grey from 50 Shades.

I digress.

I've been busy.

And I've been avoiding you.

Because I bailed on bootcamp.  Like, totally, white flag waving, DONESKI.  WTF??!!

Here are my excuses:

1. Snowpocalypse II.

Atlanta was hit with another round of "shut-the-whole-damn-city-down-we-have-an-inch-of-snow" a couple weeks ago and the Mistress was pulled from her cooking segment and commercial production to.....yup.  You guessed it:  Report from the snow-dusted streets of Icedlanta.  Here I am interviewing a Georgia Power spokesperson about mass power outages.

It was 36 hours of freezing cold, napping in the news truck between live shots and overall exhaustion.  By the time I got home to thaw out convalesce, my workouts were out the window and it's been a struggle to get back on the mat.

2. Cooking Classes Launch

I have taken my love of all things low carb and delish to a new platform with high-end cooking classes!

My first class was this week with 12 students and it was a smashing success!  I had a blast and the ladies in my class were fabulous-- I taught them how to make cashew "cheese" using a food processor and a no-oil avocado dressing that vegans everywhere would covet!  I also showed them how to saute shrimp perfectly and how to dice and make a mango salsa.  I loved every minute!  After a demonstration, and rotating through cooking stations, the ladies sat down to a gourmet taco lunch....

Now the ladies are talking about making a monthly date with the Mistress in the Kitchen!  My goal is that this turns into a lucrative little side biz!  Stay tuned....

3. Shooting new "Eat Rich, Stay Skinny" cooking videos

Candied bacon, anyone??  I'm working on this new video series to bring bad ass recipes and tips and tricks to YOUR kitchen.  Try the bacon.  It's freaking insane.

4. Winning chili contests....

You know, cuz that's how I roll.....I won our station chili contest yesterday (and ate 4, yes, 4 hotdogs.)

SOOOOOOOO......as you can see, the Mistress has been Mucho Busy.

Now that my excuses have run out, it's time to get back to action.  I haven't set foot in a Zumba class in 3 weeks and haven't been on the mat in 2 weeks.  As I'm writing this, I'm trying to devise a game plan.  To be honest, I found the hour + workouts make me feverishly hungry and I ended up gorging on cheese overeating on a couple occasions.  Since I've made so much progress losing weight with diet alone, I'm re-thinking the amount of time that I need to be working out.  I'm wondering if maybe alternating days of cardio/mat might be a better fit for me.

I'm going back to Zumba starting Saturday for sure.  Maybe adding abs and arms to cardio days, but saving the main mat work for the off cardio day?

What do y'all suggest?

Love,

The Mistress of Many Excuses

xxoo

Mistress of Many Meals. And Cakes.

Pinapple Coconut Birthday Cake Delish

I'm stuffed.  It's been an entire week of indulgence-- from Superbowl snacks to birthday cake to dinners and drinks out.  Thankfully, I've been able to work off a few calories in my weekly Zumba classes.  (I made it to 3 this week) but I definitely do not feel leaner or more toned. In fact, the scale has jumped UP a few pounds, leading me to believe that 1. the sugar and booze have caught up with me and 2. I'm putting on some muscle.
3.  It's time to cut out the sugar and booze.

Mistress of Moderation, I am not.  This weekend, there was a SINK INCIDENT.  We went to a dinner party and when we got home I found myself standing over the kitchen sink stuffing rum cake into my cake pie hole.  Whaaaaaat is that?????  There may have been a few cocktails to blame for that classy move.  JP walked in and was like, "Whoah, hungry much?"

So, these last 10 days of bootcamp, I'm re-committing to cutting out the booze and sugar.  They're what got me into trouble in the first place.  Well, I'll start cutting it out tomorrow, LOL.  I have a dinner out with a girlfriend tonight and cocktails will probably be on the menu.

And it's her birthday, so there might be MORE birthday cake involved.  And rum.

Yeah, well.  A girl's gotta live.

Day 16: "Snowpocalypse" Workout

It's Snowpocalypse down here in Atlanta,  y'all!

In all my years covering winter storms in my career as a TV journalist, I've never seen anything like this.  2 inches of icy snow with a combination of poor leadership from the city and state led to thousands of people forced to abandon cars on the side of interstate highways, school children sleeping at their schools--- the entire metro area came to a freezing, paralyzing standstill.

But did that stop the Mistress' workout?  Hell to the NO!

I thawed out by spending the majority of the day snugged up with my man....(that could have been considered a workout, haaaaaay!) But I did make time for 30 minutes of bootcamp cardio and 35 reps of Sequence 2.  I have 4 more days of level 2 before moving on the final sequence.

With the rations I had on hand, I also came up with a recipe for these delish "Snowpocalypse" Vanilla Rum Cheesecake Bites.  OMG.  They're low-carb, sugar free AND gluten free.  You're welcome.

Happy Baking, Baby Making (and working out!)

Love,

The Mistress

xxoo

Day 14: Dancing Queen

Mistress of Many Moves, here....

Delighting in my new-found Zumba dance-spiration!  I tried a different YMCA lastnight and found myself the only lily white in a sea of beautiful black and brown.

I mean, the other 45 women in this class could have been Beyonce's back up dancers.  Totes.

I was almost as awkward as Taylor Swift was at the Grammy's rocking out to a rap song.  White Girl Can't Dance Productions, haaaaaaaay!!!

Nevertheless, I still bumbled bumped and grinded my way through 60 minutes of non-stop hip hop/Latin inspired hip shaking.

This chick came up to me at the end of class and said, "You did great!  We always give first timers a free pass when they don't know the moves..."

Um, yeah.

I'll prolly need a few more of those free passes.

But what's important is that I got through it and had a great workout.  I was exhausted when I got home!  A couple changes I'm making:

1. Cut out the evening cup o' Joe.
2. Alarm is set for 5:15am to do mat/MS work.

Surprisingly, I'm loving the morning workout.  It forces me up early enough to get the whole sequence done and then have some down time to get my day started without a massive rush.  My entire demeanor feels calmer and I genuinely feel more centered. This does mean twice daily workouts (most of the time.)  I'm packing a change of clothes to do my Zumba workout after 5pm.  (No morning classes are offered at the YMCA's in my area.)

Tonight and Thursday I have dinner planned out, so I'll be doing Zumba Mon/Wed/Fri/Sat/Sun this week.  I figure 5 x 5 classes at 60 minutes a class is pretty darn good.

I'm definitely hungrier.  Like, a LOT hungrier. I scarfed down 2 huge chicken thighs (bone-in, skin on) and a chicken wing for lunch today....but no breakfast, so that might explain the tummy rumbles.

Lastnight's dinner was epic:

Bacon wrapped jalapeño popper chicken bombs.  OMG. They are the bomb.  Low-carb heaven, y'all.

The recipe is on my What's on Parker's Plate site.

Scrumptious.

Happy Workouts!  

Love,

The Mistress

xxoo

Day 13: Bootcamp Re-boot and Dance-spiration

I feel like I'm finally actually STARTING bootcamp now.  The first third of bootcamp has been clouded with sickness and an overall blah.  Bootcamp Blah pretty much sums it up.  Beyond the illness that snuffed out my workouts last week, I had chalked up my overall blahness to the fact that this is my 3rd time doing TAM bootcamp.  Maybe I was just over it.  Been there done that, kinda over it.  Not feeling challenged or inspired.  Especially in the cardio portion.

Enter Zumba.

I've been wanting to try a Zumba class forever.  But, we all know White Girl Can't Dance I can be a little awkward on the dance floor.  I've hid my bad dancing in umpteen living room cardio sessions, but in a quest for renewed dance-spiration, I decided to try a free class at the YMCA this weekend.  There were about 15 of us in a giant room facing a mirrored wall-- ranging from a college kid to an elderly lady in her 70's.

When the class started, I suddenly realized how much I have missed actually having a large space to workout with an ability to see what I'm doing.  The mirror was key to feeling like I was "performing"-- as Tracy puts it.  In my house, I had 3 Home Depot mirrors lined up, but it was hard to really see myself the whole time.  Plus, it's easy to justify stopping and starting when you're home alone doing cardio.  The phone rings, the dogs are barking, the clothes are buzzing in the dryer....distractions abound.

But this class solved all of those issues.  The music was awesome, the instructor had great energy and I actually picked up the choreographed moves pretty quickly, thanks to the sequences I know from previous TAM dance cardio.  Bottom line:  I'm hooked!

I signed up for a membership so I can take regular classes each week!  I really think the discipline of showing up for a group class is what I need to keep doing consistent cardio.  Plus, what feels like 3 hours in my living room to eek out 20-30 minutes of bad jumping around and dodging dog toys and 2 pitbulls trying to get my attention was a huge contrast to the class-- which was 60 minutes of non-stop moving which surprisingly, flew by.  I was totally sweaty and completely energized by the end.  I caught a glimpse of my face in the mirror while I was doing some hip shaking Latin inspired fabulousness, and I was wearing a big 'ol smile.

The experience has completely re-energized my workout and I'm counting down to my 6:30pm class tonight!

If you're not familiar with Zumba, here's a youtube video of a routine-- it's similar to a lot of Tracy's cardio dance moves, with a little more hip shaking!

I also managed to get up at 5:15am this morning to do my mat work and it felt SOOOO good to get it over with before my day started.  I'm going to try to make it habit to get up early for the mat portion.

Happy workouts, lovelies!

Love,

The Mistress
xxoo

Day 10: Fighting through the Sick

I never get sick.  Like, NEVER get sick. The only thing that has ever kept me from working out in the past (besides sheer laziness) was a bad injury-- like a broken foot or a shattered knee.

This week, I've been derailed by a terrible ear infection that sent me to the doctor for antibiotics.  I hate taking medicine-- and antibiotics always make my weight jump up a bit which is frustrating.  I'm not sweating a couple pounds of gain, I'm just trying to focus on feeling better.  Lastnight, despite feeling awful, I powered through 30 reps on the mat.  No cardio-- but no dinner either so I feel like they balanced each other out!

Bonnie and Clyde, my lovable pits, were my  nursemaids!  Here's Clyde lying on my chest, in-between ear licks.

Puppy Love Prescription

So, I will be moving on to Sequence 2 today-- probably won't attempt cardio until tomorrow when it doesn't hurt to jump up and down.  Ear bulb hurts!!!

Didn't track my food the last couple days while I've been sick, but will get back to it today...

Happy (and healthy) workouts!

Love,

The Mistress
xxoo

Day 8: Pain in the Neck

I've got a pain in the neck.  Literally.  (Although, JP would argue I AM a pain in the neck...)

One swollen gland is making my entire neck swell and it's very tender and seemingly getting more painful.  Awesome. I soooo do not need to be sick right now.  Aside from some minor congestion, everything else feels fine, but my neck is hurting with all movement-- so the cardio thing?  Not so much.

Maybe I need some acupuncture!

I also just got TOM, so really looking forward to crampy, head-achy crapola.  I'm just Queen of Positive today!  Whoopdadeedoo!

I have plans to meet a couple girlfriends for dinner tonight and was planning on finishing my MS afterwards. We'll see how I feel!!!

Happy Workouts, y'all!

Here's my meal plan today:

Breakfast: 1/2 avocado
Lunch: 8oz ground chicken with onions
Snack: 3oz mozzarella cheese
Dinner: (pre-looked at menu at the restaurant) Beef burger with bacon and egg (no bun) side salad

Day 7: One Week In….

Hard to believe it's already been a week of bootcamp.

To be honest, I don't feel like I'm getting a ton of results.  This is my 3rd time committing to TAM bootcamp and this time around it feels a little, dare I say….Boring.

Been there done that, kinda boring.

I'm not bored of the Method, just the monotony of bootcamp.  Meh.

Don't worry, I'm going to stick it out!

To add a little fun to the mix, there might have been some vodka drinking going on during the workout this weekend.  Just sayin'.  Might have been some drunky-cardio….

My diet over the long weekend was not awesome.  I avoided the open jar of Nutella that JP so conveniently had sitting by the side of the bed….but there was a whole lotta cheese and bacon goin' on.    A little too much cheese and bacon going on!!!  I usually reserve my bacon consumption for the weekend, but since getting treated to a virtual arsenal of bacon products by Burgers' Smokehouse to review on my foodie blog, I indulged a bit.

Arsenal of Bacon and Cured Meat Delish

A lot of you have asked on Facebook about my diet-- and proportions.  Best calculator for how many calories you need to lose/maintain is Keto Calculator.  Here's what my stats look like:

Stats: 5'11 and 144 pounds

One of the awesome parts of the low-carb high fat (LCHF) lifestyle is that you don't really need to count calories-- I just pay attention to carbs.  As far as ratio-- it should be about 70% fat 20-25% protein and 5-10% carbs.

This was yesterday's chart:

I was a little high on protein, little low on carbs, but this is close to a typical day for me.  I need to up my veggie consumption and go a bit easier on the cheese.  My all-time favorite snack is a mix of mini mozzarella balls (boccacini) stuffed olives, sweet/spicy cherry peppers and marinated mushrooms.  The gourmet Kroger near our new house has an antipasto bar with all of the goods-- but it's pricey.

Mozzarella, olives, mushrooms and sweet cherry peppers

I took a rest day this weekend, but otherwise have worked up to 30 reps and 25 min cardio.  I'm feeling a bit under the weather, so taking it easy on cardio today.  REALLY hope I'm not coming down with something!!

Menu Today:

Breakfast: Espresso with heavy cream and 1/2 avocado
Snack: Fresh made pork rinds at the Farmer's Market (!!!!)
Lunch: 2 chicken thighs in a tomato based sauce (Chicken Paprikash)
Snack: 3 oz fresh Mozzarella
Dinner: Herb encrusted sea bass with roasted broccoli

Love y'all!

Day 4: Cheater Under the Full Moon

I cheated!!! Damnit, I caved and cheated.

No, it wasn't a donut or a brownie or a slice of pizza.

It was a serial killer documentary.

I know, I know, I just PROMISED y'all yesterday that I wouldn't watch any more true crime shows so I could focus on my Mind-Body Connection.  mmmmhhhhhmmmmmm.

Let me talk myself into a lather of excuses...

I blame the full moon.  It turned me into a Monster Bee-atch.

I got so grouchy after work and couldn't get warm and I was pacing around, procrastinating, thinking about every reason why I should skip the workout.  I begrudgingly put on my gear, plus a scarf and hat and started bootcamp dance cardio.  I reasoned, atleast it will help warm me up.

Then, I forced myself to do something else.  Smile.

From what I understand, smiling actually gives us the same happiness that exercise induces in terms of how our brain responds.  Our brain feels good and it tells us to smile-- we smile and tell our brain it feels good.

So, why not combine the exercise and smiling and get rid of the inner Bee-atch???

It worked.  Until I had to get on the mat.

Motivation disappeared again until I decided the ONLY way to get through 25 reps was with a crime story in the background.  Honestly.  I didn't seem do-able until I got my fix.  Yup.  I'm addicted.

So, instead of suffering through withdrawal from crime shows, I fed my addiction with a horrible story about a serial killer couple from Britain.  Lovely.

I wasn't sore during the day, but as soon as those legs started lifting, it burned like HELL.  Like, this was pretty much my expression:

Uh, yeah, while we're talking about killers.  That's one of my all-time favorites-- Tracie Andrews AKA the Road Rage Killer.  

So, let's all try to kill it today.  Our workouts, that is!

Food was tracked at about 1650 calories yesterday-- I had like 41 pieces (OK, 6 pieces) of bacon with a steak salad from Ted's Montana Grill, an avocado and some mozzarella.  I actually skipped dinner because I was so full.  Didn't weigh cuz I was up at the ass crack of dawn to go to the DMV.

Here's the best part of the DMV ordeal-- actually weighing (as of yesterday) what's documented on my license!!!

Whoohoo!!!!

Workout:
20 minutes Bootcamp Dance Cardio
25 reps Sequence 1

Happy Leg lifts, Lovelies!

Love,

The Mistress
xxoo

Day 3: Mind-Body Connection

One of the things Tracy Anderson has always emphasized is the importance of the Mind-Body connection. The "tah-dah" moment as she calls it, when you are visualizing and connecting with your movements and extending your energy in each rotation.

I'm a huge believer in the old adage from Buddha, “What we think, we become.”  It's why I take a moment before going to sleep and before getting out of bed in the morning, to meditate quietly, visualizing the day ahead and the outcomes I hope for.  Mind-Body connection.

Watching 48 Hours while doing mat work lastnight, was NOT promoting the Mind-Body connection.

My girl Jen, always gets on my case for watching TV shows while I'm working out.  For me, it just helps get the workout over because I'm not focusing on the workout.  Therein lies the problem.  I'm not focusing on the workout.

Instead, lastnight, I was focusing on a Pastor who murdered 2 of his wives, one of which in a car accident where he claimed a deer caused the car to crash, killing her.  Well, Mistress of Mayhem, ended up waking up from a nightmare where there were dozens of deer dying in the middle of the road that I was driving on. Mind-Body connection, indeed.

WTF???!!!

JP is always on my case to stop watching true crime stories-- I swear, I was a CSI in a former life!  I'm obsessed.  Maybe it's my former career as a general assignment TV reporter, covering all the fire/murder/baby killer stories.  Whatever it is, it's not exactly promoting my Mind-Body Connection-- or good night sleeps, for that matter.

SOOOOO, I'm saying this to be accountable:  I'm cutting myself off from all true crime stories during this 30 day bootcamp.  Period.  NONE.  No Dateline, no 48 hours, no Killer Couples or Serial Killer Central.  Instead, I'm going to try to listen to music while I workout--- and watch/listen to some inspiring material when I'd otherwise be knee deep in a crime rampage.  Dealio?

Here is the workout/food log from yesterday:

Breakfast: 1 avocado
Lunch: 1 cup chicken salad, 3 pieces of shaved roast beef, small side salad with 2 Tb blue cheese dressing
Snack: 2 slices fresh mozzarella cheese
Dinner: Leftover steak and peppers

I'm going to start posting a screen shot from MyFitnessPal.  I came out rather low on the calorie side-- only 1127 calories, but my carbs were higher than I normally have at 33 grams-- I usually try to keep them <20 grams.

Workout: 20 minutes of Tracy's Daily Motion Dance Cardio
20 reps of BC Sequence 1
Weight: 144.8

Have a great workout, lovelies!

Love,

The Mistress
xxoo

Day 2: Fat Head Girl

Gasp, wheeze, expletive , gasp.....

Um, yeah.

That was me after 3 minutes of Boot camp dance cardio lastnight.  Just goes to show, thin does not equal in shape.  It's been a while, uh, OK, 2 months, since I've done any form of real exercise.  (Walking the dogs does not count.)

And, I've grown a bit lazy, since my diet has been the main method for me to lose weight and keep it off.  Doesn't leave a lot of room for motivation.

Here's the other ish I'm dealing with.  I realize that it takes a while for the mind to catch up with the body when there is a huge weight loss transformation.  There are times after a heavy dinner, for example, where I wake up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night and quickly check to see if my former fat self has returned.  It's irrational and ridiculous, but it still happens.  I call it the Fat Head complex and it's no bueno.

FAT HEAD!

When I'm suffering from Fat Head, I will beeline for the size 10's in my closet and put them on, thinking that they'll be tight.  And they're falling off, of course, because I wear a 4/6 now.  But I try them on anyway....just to make sure.

What IS that???

I think there's a place we come to in a weight loss journey, where we reach our number goal (mine was 145) and then it's like, "NOW WHAT???"  The struggle is over.  The wishing to be thin is over.  The goal has been met.  NOW WHAT???

The REAL head

So, it's time for new goals.  And that includes getting rid of the Size 10's in my closet because I don't ever plan on wearing that size again!  It also includes being kind and gentle to myself when struggling with Fat Head, but encouraging nasty ass Muffy and her ugly sister Gutty to get out of my head.  They've been evicted from my bod, so they're not allowed in my head!  (Muffy and Gutty, if you recall, are the hideous sister who took up residence on my Muffin Top and my Gut for years!)

As you can see from the pic during my first day of bootcamp, there is nary a Muffin Top nor a Gut to be found! ( :

Muffy and Gutty are Gone!

So, here are the food deets.  I was HUNGRY yesterday before I even did my workout, so I upped protein and fat a bit.  For lunch, I had my old standby-- it's super boring, but keeps me satisfied for hours. 8oz of ground chicken and onions sauteed in butter seasoned with homemade taco seasoning and topped with fresh cilantro.

Ground chicken with caramelized onions for lunch

I didn't have an avocado or cheese with me, so mid-afternoon I picked up a roasted chicken breast from Kroger.  For dinner, we had delish surf and turf of salmon, skirt steak and roasted peppers with fresh mozzarella. (Salmon not pictured).

I had a 6oz piece of salmon and probably just 4oz of steak. It filled me up quick!

Workout will be after work again today, but tomorrow I will try in earnest to get up at 5:30am to knock it out.

Happy workouts, lovelies!

I'm BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!

Hi Lovelies!

It's been, what----  a year and some change since I've written on this little old blog of mine?

If you don't follow me on Facebook, you may not know that I started a foodie blog, called "What's on Parker's Plate?" which chronicles my journey through delish.  I finally got my ass in gear, (and in shape, by the way, haaaaaaaay!!) and committed to making a name for myself in the food blogosphere.  I also now host a cooking segment on CBS Atlanta which has been fabulous and has taught me so much about not taking huge bites of food on camera translating good food to even better TV.

Last we chatted, I was lamenting a terrible car accident and the resulting injury, which rendered me unable to workout for about 6 months.  I was forced to figure out another solution to lose the 40 pounds that were creating a very unhappy, very puffy Mistress.

Enter a Low-Carb Ketogenic style of eating.  Hello Bacon!  Sayonara quinoa and green smoothies!  (Sorry, Kimberly Snyder, but if I had to choke down another Glowing Green slime ball smoothie I'd barf all over your yoga mat.)  No, this is not a prescription to clog your arteries...it's basically forcing your body to use fat for fuel instead of carbs. Here are some myths debunked about the low-carb/high fat (LCHF) style of eating on Mark's Daily Apple-- it's a great read.  Does this mean I'll never eat another banana?  Of course not!  But it does mean that I've swapped out Cheezits for fresh mozzarella and instead of filling my gullet with sugary, carby junk, I opt for a whole avocado sprinkled with sea salt.

I've been able to maintain my weight loss with very little exercise-- but rather than get all skinny fat, I figure it's time to get my butt toned. In the past, as documented by my fitness journey 2 years ago, Tracy Anderson's Bootcamp works wonders for me.  This time around, I'm not actually trying to lose weight!  I actually had to re-read that.  I'm not actually trying to lose weight!!!!

I'm currently 5'11 and 144 pounds.  I just want to tighten and tone!  Here's a visual of my journey from my all-time highest weight of 189.

My year long weight loss journey: 189 to 144 pounds

I will do another photo shoot at the end of the 30 days!

As far as diet, a typical day for me is this:

Breakfast: Espresso with heavy cream, 1 avocado
Lunch: 8 oz ground chicken with caramelized onion (seasoned with homemade taco seasoning)
Snack: Handful of olives and fresh mozzarella or chunk of parmesan, another espresso with cream
Dinner: 8oz salmon (or other protein- beef, chicken, seafood) with roasted broccoli
Snack: Chocolate Bomb (coconut oil with cocoa powder, truvia and vanilla) *will post recipe this week

I will track my food intake each day-- I'm curious to see if the workouts really amp up my hunger.  I've all but given up my beloved red wine because it's super inflammatory for me, but I do indulge in a vodka/soda water with splash of grapefruit juice and a fresh lime cocktail a few times a week.)  I don't monitor calories, just carb counts-- usually trying to stay under 25 grams of carbs a day.

OK, so yesterday was supposed to be Day 1 and I had an epic fail!  We are still unpacking, and I couldn't find my Bootcamp book and couldn't download the PDF file on my phone.  UGH.  So, I will make sure I'm prepped and ready to go for a great workout this evening when I get home.  Preparation is everything.

I'm rocking out a whopping 15 minutes of cardio-- whoo hoo!  And 20 reps to start....adding in 5 reps a day up to 40 and then adding ankle weights. I don't have time for 3 1/2 hour workouts this go-round!

Good luck with your workouts, lovelies!

Love,

The Mistress
xxoo