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