Operation Bikini Body

Bikini season is just around the corner now, and it is time to step up my game.  This was me 3 years ago and 22 pounds ago.  The pic is from my honeymoon.  Excuse the lack of make-up.  I didn't plan on ever showing this pic to anyone.  I'm not sure it is feasible for me to go back to that weight.  I look at the pic and think maybe I was too thin (gasp! is that possible?).  Either way, I desperately want to lose 10 lbs before I'll be caught in a two-piece again.  

Yesterday I did an hour on the elliptical until I reached 700 calories burned.  The first 30 minutes I did all at once.  The remaining 30 minutes I broke off into 10 minute increments and mixed weight training in between each increment for a total of an hour.  Yesterday evening I felt rundown so today I am taking a "recess" approach to my exercise regimen. 

Do you remember when we had recess in grade school?  We would have little breaks in the day to go play on the playground.  Then we would also have gym class.  We didn't have an aversion to sweat.  The thought that it was gross to get hot and sweaty had never occurred to us.  Maybe our culture is too afraid of getting stinky to get proper exercise.

My "recess" approach is that I am breaking off 20 minutes of the elliptical trainer three times a day.  Eventually I want to do 30 minutes three times a day.  I did my first 20 minutes this morning, and it actually seemed fun.  I'm going to do an additional 20 minutes this afternoon.  I'll mix in some in some upper body and ab exercises before doing an additional 20 minutes on the elliptical. 

After doing so much cardio yesterday I was craving carbs for dinner.  I tried Amy's Light & Lean Spinach Lasagna (only 250 calories with organic vegetables & pasta).  It was delicious!  I highly recommend it.  It was full of flavor and filling.  When I weighed in this morning I was down a couple pounds for the week.  Yay!  For breakfast I had my Starbucks Espresso Doubleshot (140 calories) and a slice of 45-calorie multi-grain toast with 1 tsp. of natural peanut butter (32 calories).  For lunch my husband and I ate at Fiorella's Jack Stack Barbecue here in Kansas City.  At first I wasn't too thrilled about the idea, but my husband said, "why don't you try the fish?"  I was sold.  I tried the Jack's Trout BBQ Lunch.  It is a half boneless Ruby Red Trout grilled with a sweet barbecue glaze.  I subbed in a loaded baked potato for the fries, and I only ate about a third of it (the third w/the bacon, cheddar, & sour cream. Shhhh!).  The trout was amazing.  If you don't live in the KC area, then you might try to grill this delicious fish at home. 

Barbequed Steelhead Trout Recipe

30 Recipes for Grilled Trout

If you would rather have it made for you (like me!), then try the grilled trout at Longhorn Steakhouse or Red Lobster.

Forgive me for the racy pic.  I needed the inspiration.  I hope my blog post inspires you to step up your workouts, too!  Have a great weekend!