exercise

“Savages, Savages, barely even human!”

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I did it! I finally did it!

I managed to convince my husband to run in the Fall Savage Race with me in Florida! Wahoo!

I’ve done it two out of the last three years (missed 2013 due to work commitments) and it has been one of my favorite events: a true test of strength, perseverance, and willingness to get filthy.

In 2012, I ran it just to say I did it:

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I don’t remember what my final time was, but considering it was 25 insane obstacles and over 6.5 miles (and I wasn’t in peak shape), my guess is that I was over two hours.

When I did it again in 2014, I had dropped about 15 lbs and trained significantly more. As a result, I did the race in about 1 hour, 38 minutes – and completed all but two of the grueling obstacles!

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This year my weight is a bit up (about 8 lbs more than last year’s weight), but I’ve also been doing significantly more strength training and I’m finally working to shed the “sugar weight” I gained from my 9+ months of working two jobs and not sleeping. I didn’t gain it overnight, so I can’t expect to lose it overnight. I’m hoping to be back around 125-127 by the time October rolls around and it’s time to compete.

Fortunately, regardless of my weight, this time I’ll have MY HUBBY to support me on the course! I’m so excited and we’ve committed to train together, so we’re going to finish and finish strong. Will this be the year I beat 1:30? We shall see!

Bon appetit, my friends!

~ Tori

Moving on UP!

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I’ve been absolutely in love with the stairmaster lately, watching 90-120 minute movies on it 5-7x per week.

I know it’s terrible to do the same cardio machine every day, but I love how intense the workout is (I’m literally drenched in sweat and have to towel off multiple times during the session), but also how strong and sore my legs feel after.

I feel like I’m getting an intense lower body (and back, and core) workout from balancing on the machine, and I alternate between single steps, lunge steps, swing steps, and others to keep the exercise diverse and challenging.

As a result of all of my stepping, my UP band reports that I’ve set a new personal record for steps taken in a single week:

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You saw that right: I walked over 83 miles in a single week!

YOWZA!!

That’s a little over THREE FULL MARATHONS worth of steps taken in just seven days. WHOA!

I’m going to try to take it a bit lighter this week, though, as I recognize that 83+ miles is a bit obsessive, especially for someone who is NOT training to be a pro-athlete. Still, though… I can’t help but be proud.

On that note …I think I’ve earned a snack. Bon appetit, my friends!

~ Tori

Monkey Bars!

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As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I’ve spent the last few weeks focusing on eating whole, clean foods and getting exercise (and sleep!), but not watching the scale.

It has been weird walking past the scale every morning and not hopping on, but after nearly a month of not weighing myself …it feels pretty satisfying to not feel the desire as heavily as I used to. I don’t feel guilty any more when I walk by, and I quickly forget about my weight once I leave the bathroom.

My husband and I spent the weekend very active, hitting the theme parks on Friday night (walked over 6 miles in three hours), and then the gym on Saturday. Sunday was such a beautiful day, I rode by bike all over Orlando, catching an independent book fair down the street and a lazy ride around the lake. In fact, between taking walks and riding my bike, I logged almost 11 miles outside moving around. Add to that nearly 2 hours at the gym (I got lost in a movie) and I torched over 3,000 calories just being active. Wow!

But here’s the major accomplishment this weekend:

I did a full set of monkey bars without falling.

While that may be a small achievement for 90% of active adults, that’s HUGE for me. I was overweight as a child and I was never able to complete a row of monkey bars. Ever. I’d always try and fall off after just one or two bars.

Last night my husband ran sprints in the field at the local elementary school and, while waiting for him, I decided to play on the playground. A few slides, a few runs on the bouncing bridge, and then I spotted the monkey bars.

I was sweaty, and I knew that my grip wouldn’t be strong. I tried to build up the consolation phrases in my mind for when I failed, since I knew it was going to happen. Right?

I decided to test my luck, drying my hands on my shirt and grabbing on the slightly sticky (Elmer’s glue?) bar and swinging my weight off of base.

The first two bars were purely the result of momentum, and I could immediately feel my shoulders tighten and my grip get loose.

Well, here’s where I fall, I thought. But no. I made it another bar. And then another. And then another.

Harder and harder to fight my moistening grip, but I used my body weight and my shoulders to propel myself forward. Before I realized it, I had made it to the other side.

What?! I made it to the other side!

For the first time in my life – childhood and as an adult – I had made it across an entire row of monkey bars. WOOOHOOOO!

My upper body was strong enough to lurch me across twelve feet of treacherous “lava” below (isn’t that what you called the mulch on the playground) and land safely on the platform on the other side.

I don’t know about you, but that was better than any weigh in I’ve ever had.

Bon appetit, my friends!

~ Tori

I’m Alive …sort of.

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Sorry for the long silence on here.

For the past two weeks, I’ve been trying to find a way to make peace with my body.

You see, I decided to go back to the TV studio, and now my crazy schedule from last fall has returned. That means 18-20 hour work days again, coupled with graduate school. Yeah, not sure when I will sleep, either, so don’t ask.

I’m terrified, of course, because the last time I did this schedule, I gained 10 lbs … and I’ve had an ongoing battle to remove it ever since. In fact, my weight has been in flux since August, which was only two weeks into this schedule last time, so you can imagine my anxiety now that I’ve hit the two week point again.

I’m trying to be strategic about squeezing walks into my work days, and I bought an abdominal ball to sit on while in the studio. I keep an 8 lb hand weight at my full-time job, and I’m really just trying to move as much as possible. My success will come from squeezing exercise into my day versus trying to sacrifice sleep for gym time, which failed miserably the last time around.

Won’t be posting daily on here anymore, but I will do my very best to check in every few days to stay accountable.

Wish me luck!

– Tori

Ready for the Temptations to End!

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My goodness, the last few weeks have been difficult.

I’ve been working out less (keep skipping Friday-Sunday), and I’ve been eating a lot more.

Fortunately, my weight has leveled out between 130-131.4, so I’m not seeing the dreaded mid 130s like I was a few weeks ago.

I can’t wait for the holidays to be OVER, not because I am a Grinch, but because I can’t handle this much daily temptation. I’ve had so much happening on weekends (parties, work events, etc), that I’m not hitting the gym as consistently as I normally do, which is NOT like me.

We’re in the home stretch. It’s Christmas week. If I can survive this, I can survive anything!

Bon appetit, my friends!

~ Tori

Savage Race on Saturday!

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I’ve been silent about this for the most part, but on Saturday I am competing in the Savage Race in Dade City, Florida.

In case you’ve never heard of the Savage Race, this is what it looks like:

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Fires. Electrified barbed wire. Mud. Ice-filled dumpster swim.

I’ve done this once before (back in 2012) when I was not in as good of shape as I am now (I was about 15 lbs heavier) and there were several obstacles I physically couldn’t do. This year, I’m hoping my lighter weight and stronger upper body will allow me to complete the whole course without skipping any of the stops.

The only obstacle I REFUSE to do? The 2-foot wide tunnel INTO THE GROUND that is 100% pitch black.

Nope… just, nope. I’m severely claustrophobic and panic in an elevator (or a car after too long), so the thought of being in a hot, dark, cramped tube with people jammed in front of and behind me is HORRIFYING. Besides, it’s not even a test of strength so much as it is a test of fear. And I don’t need to test that today.

I’m running in the 11:20am heat on Saturday and my husband is coming along to cheer me from the sidelines. Wish me luck!

Bon appetit, my friends!

The Journey

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Whenever I get discouraged about my weight, I force myself to look at old pictures of myself to remember how far I’ve come.

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Even if I yo-yo a few pounds now and then, I know I will never go back to the girl in the outer photos. I have to remember that good health and fitness is a lifelong journey, not a destination.

Bon appetit, my friends.

– Tori

Making Money, Getting Fit!

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OK, I know I’ve bragged about the GymPact App in the past, but I must tell you:

This thing is the BEST!

Why do I say that?

Because not only is it helping me stay on track with my diet, my workouts, and my fruit/veggie consumption, but I’m making REAL CASH from it.

Don’t believe me? Take a look below:

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By committing to a set number of workouts, food diaries, and veggies/fruits per week, I’m earning money for following through on my obligations. I’m basically “betting” the millions of other users of the app that I WILL workout and eat right, and I’m putting my money where my mouth is.

If I fail to meet any element of my pact, I’m responsible to pay out.

Here’s my usual weekly wager:

$50/day for my Food Log, for which I commit to all seven days of the week.

  • I do this because I am RELIGIOUS about my food log (I haven’t missed a day in almost a full year), so this is something I trust myself to do, even on the busiest of days.

  • I use MyFitnessPal for a food log, which autosyncs to my GymPact, making it simple to keep everything in one place and not doubling my work.

$10/day for my Workouts, for which I commit to five days of the week.

  • I’m pretty consistent with hitting the gym 6-7 days per week, but I commit to 5 days to account for sick days, fatigue, and “just not feeling it” moments.
  • GymPact works with RunKeeper, TrackMyRun, and many other GPS-apps, so you’re not limited to working out in a gym. I use RunKeeper all the time for my walks/runs, so it autosyncs back to GymPact.
  • You must log at least 30 minutes – either in a gym or moving outdoors – to get credit.

$10/item for my Veggie Pact, for which I commit to seven fruits/veggies per week.

  • I actually just joined this pact, as I was hesitant that it would require me to eat dozens of fruits/veggies per day. Come to find out, it’s much simpler than that.
  • You can log up to FIVE individual fruits/veggies per day. You have to take a picture of it that PROVES you’re eating it (or about to eat it). Think a bowl of chopped fruit with a fork in it versus a picture of the produce stand at Publix. It needs to be obvious that you’re going to consume it.
  • The “community” – AKA, the other users of the app – verify you picture with a Thumbs UP or a Thumbs DOWN: was it really a fruit or veggie? Did it look like you were going to eat it? Taking a picture of Starbursts made with “real fruit flavor” won’t cut it, bub!
An example of the type of thing you load to meet your "Veggie Pact."

An example of the type of thing you load to meet your “Veggie Pact.”

On average, I make between $2-2.50 per week.

So, where does this money come from?

The users that didn’t follow through on their pact!

Yes – if you commit to 5/week for the Gym and bet $10 per day, you’ll get charged $20 if you only make it to the gym three times. It’s a real pact, guys! You put your money where you mouth is, so you’ll risk losing it if you’re not consistent.

The app connects to either a Credit Card (you provide) or PayPal, so you have to be serious about your health and you commitment to using the app before you dive in. It’s helped me a ton with accountability and progress – and, to date, I’ve made over $150 from using the app for 9 months. Yeah, that’s serious money, folks.

I’ve told a lot of friends about this app and many have started using it. Some make money, some lose money (once or twice) and then get SERIOUSLY motivated… or delete the app. It’s not for the faint of heart, so only sign up if you’re prepared to follow through with your PACT!

Bon appetit, my friends (and don’t forget to put it in your FoodLog)!

Tori