New Workout & Diet! ~via Jillian

So freakin' excited to start a new diet/workout routine starting tomorrow.  I've been in a horrible funk since the end of race season and all the holiday treats and junk!  It's really made me down right depressed!  So I'm getting my groove back on starting in the morning!!

This regime was inspired by Jillian Michael's book "Making the Cut"

Now, I have to be honest, I haven't actually read the book. . . I've just read up on a ton of reviews and friends comments, and my conclusion is that I can't do the diet.  (inspired also from my friend Stef at Run-On; check her out!)  She has you surviving on your BMR, (mine is just about 1,200 calories), and I'm sorry . . . I cannot teach high schoolers, work-out like crazy, and look after my two wild boys on only that many calories.  But she also has a quiz in the book and based of your score on the quiz tells you what type of balanced diet you should have, and I do agree with her that I need more protein (being vegetarian tends to do that to you).  So all-in-all this is what I've decided to do for my own personal 4 week challenge of "Making the Cut":

The Workout:

I'm going to combine Jillian's own circuit training from her 30-day shred, with Winsor Pilates.

If you aren't familiar with Winsor Pilates, it's a favorite of mine.  It's not high in cardio, but great for toning and focuses on your core and lengthening muscles. I'm going to want to do both things each day, but my focus for WEEK 1 will be as follows:

Monday: Jillian
Tuesday:  Pilates (whole body)
Wednesday: Jillian
Thursday: Pilates (abs)
Friday: Jillian
Saturday: Pilates (buns & thighs)
Sunday: Rest

I'm going to through in the occasional run if I can get my butt out of bed at 5:30am!! and I've hired my husband as my personal trainer so he might be throwing in a few more workouts in the evenings . . . I'll keep you posted as we go!

The Diet:

I'm using a program that I bought called CalorieKing, to track my food & exercise.  I'm going to try and stick to about a 1,500 calorie diet high in protein and low in carbs.  Also, I'm eliminating as much as possible all sugar!  I'm kicking off this 4-week challenge with the Special K diet for the first two weeks.  I'll keep you updated on meals as I figure them out!

I was diagnosed with Graves Disease two years ago, it's an overactive thyroid.  As a result of that I underwent a small dose of radiation to kill my thyroid gland completely and now will be on replacement meds the rest of my life.  Because of that, I have had a really hard time losing weight (among other issues). So to help jump start this program I'm going to try two supplements that were recommended to me.  The first is by Twinlab called "CLA FUEL".  It's conjugated linoleic acid to help maximize lean muscle mass.  And then I'll be also taking a B-12/B-6 vitamin to help boost metabolism.

Wish me luck!  Up next, starting measurements . . .