Believe in yourself..1

Today I would like to talk about something not about my "body" transformation...l about my mental body transformation.

As you know, I have lost 60lb and also became a fitness instructor.
I am living in my dreams....

I lost lots of weight thanks to Turbo Jam and now I am teaching Turbo Kick....Am I dreaming or WHAT?!


When I took a Turbo Kick training...I did not get "gold" and I practiced and practiced...then took a re-test...and then became a "Gold"


My next challenge was "All Star Instructor Training by Chalene Johnson"
I did my best I thought but I got "all star"...the top rank was the "Rock Star" and the "All star" was next...

Chalene and Holly gave me great comments...so I worked on my weak points (it was "eye contacts" and forms) and then took a re-test and became a ROCKSTAR. WHOOOA.


Every time I did not pass something...I "of course" became sad...but I've challenged myself to take another step to be better Ai..

I personally believe that when you fail, do not think it is a "failure" just think it as a "step to be better YOU"

When I took All Star Training...I kinda thought I was pretty good instructor hahaha...I was NOT! I KNOW! I KNOW IT NOW...
So now I am glad I had chance to look at my weaknesses to improve myself...to be better me...


After ASIT...I started Chalene Extreme and P90X....and realized the importance of Weight Lifting.
And I decided to start teaching weight lifting class....

One day my gym hosted the weight lifting training and I went to this training...

(To be Continued...)

Insanity workout

My body started getting used to Body Pump recently and I need to watch my Diet more and/or change workout.

So I did Insanity again with my friends in Ramona and felt like I was going to throw up. I believe this is the feeling I need to have everytime I workout to get out of my fitness comfort zone.

I am going to add Insanity workout into my schedule from now on. 

To be Honest with you, I am not sure if I can do it every single day due to my teaching schedule but I will add it as many as possible.

Here's a quick explanation of the fat-burning zone from Beachbody site. I hope this will help you.

At an aerobic pace (see above), your body utilizes stored body fat as fuel to save its preferred fuel (stored blood glycogen) for more pressing matters. It sounds great because you're burning body fat. And while this is true, you're burning it at a very slow rate.

During higher-intensity work, your body turns to a limited supply of blood glycogen (often called blood sugar) for energy. While your body's burning glycogen during this more intense period, and not fat, it's breaking down more body tissue. Breakdown is a bad word for a good thing, because your body produces more hormones and increases its metabolism to repair this breakdown. As the tissue repairs itself, it builds more muscle so that next time you do a stressful workout it won't be so taxing. This process of adapting to intense exercise is where your body makes rapid change.

Continually building on this process is called progressive overload. By continually adapting to stress and then adding more (either with weight or speed or programs like Insanity), you increase your body's fitness so that it's actually burning body fat for fuel as you rest. Interval workouts should be a key component in every phase of your training.

8 Tips for Avoiding the Holiday Pounds-via Beachbody Newsletter-

Today I would like to share great tips with you.

1.Buy clothes that fit right now.
I WILL KEEP MY CLOTHES THAT I WORE AT CAMP DO MORE


Get a new clothes in a size that shows off your current body.
Imagine that beautiful holiday dress or great pair of pants, then imagine being unable to zip them up thanks to sugar cookies. Yeah, no one wants that.

So before you begin the parties, go buy yourself something perfect to wear to your parties and hang it someplace visible, so it serves as a constant reminder.

• On the TV  
• In front of that treadmill 
• On your refrigerator door 

. . . that way, if it doesn't fit quite the same way the next time you try to slip into it, you know it's time to get back to work.


2.Write it down.
MY BODDY BUGG IS BROKEN BUT I CHECKED THE PRICE AND GET IT THIS FRIDAY.


The truth is, if we would write down the not-so-perfect meals and treats, we could find a way to compensate for it, at least a bit. 

The point is, if we write it down, and do the math, we can lessen the damage. It isn't a good long-term plan, but to help compensate for a few slip-ups, it can help.


3.Keep exercising.
I AM GOING TO ADD NEW WORKOUT (STAIRS IN LA MESA)


 You'll be much less likely to look like Santa (both belly-wise and red-nose-wise) at the end of the month.


4. Eat before parties.
I NORMALLY DO NOT GO TO PARTY AND THIS YEAR I JUST GO TO MY VERY CLOSE FRIEND'S HOUSE WHO COOKS VERY HEALTHY AND YUMMY FOOD....

Make sure you eat your meals and snacks throughout the day, and try to eat a healthy meal before attending any party. If you're going straight from work, prepare a healthy and filling snack to eat on the way. You'll be a lot less likely to swim in mayonnaise dips and pigs in blankets if you're full.


5. Get junk out of the house.
THIS IS IMPORTANT FOR ME AND FOR KIDS. NONE OF US (MOMS) WANT OUR KIDS TO EAT UN-HEALTHY JUNK SNACKS..CORRECT? 


The secret is to get the enticements out of the house. Send them to work with your significant other, donate them to a bake sale, regift them to your 100-pound friend with the perfect metabolism, or just dump them in the trash. Linda will never know. If you have holiday dinner leftovers, box them up for your guests individually and send them home with them. If your family still sends you that Pepperidge Farm^® cookie assortment, invite a bunch of people over for a pre-party party and serve 'em up before the drinks. Don't be more wasteful than you have to, but get the less-than-healthy temptations out of your reach.


6.Offer to prepare healthy fare.
SAME AS NUMBER  5 :) 


Your family could have a tasty and satisfying meal without ingesting thousands of calories and fat grams.  There are tons of cookbooks out there, plus recipes that can help you out. Yes, it does require a bit of work. But you work out with Beachbody^® fitness programs. You can do anything.


7. Choose wisely and proportionally.
SPEND SOMETIME TO CHECK CALORIES ON THOSE HOLIDAY MEALS. 
Check Calories in Holiday meals here..
(FYI One cup of "homemade" Stuffing =400cal)

Something occurs during a holiday meal. It's like a Las Vegas buffet—we feel like we have to eat some of everything. Just a few wise choices will save you a ton of calories, and probably a significant amount of heartburn as well.


8.Don't beat yourself up.
DO YOUR BEST AND FORGET THE REST -TONY HORTON- 

Quite possibly the worst thing you can do is beat yourself up over a bit of holiday indulgence. Yes, it does stink to backslide after working your tail off. 


We can only do our very best. 


Mentally berating yourself will only make you feel worse, which never helped anyone get back to their fitness program. 


So if you happen to gain that one extra pound this holiday season, be part of the rare group who actually follows through with their New Year's resolution and manages to shed it again. A week of hard work and a slight calorie deficit should do the trick. Resolutions don't come easier than that! 

Need Motivation?

How do I motivate myself to reach my Fitness goal?

1. Set big goal and then set small montly/weekly/daily goals to reach there.

2. Every time I achieve these small goals I give myself rewards.
For me...shopping and hair cut

Lost weight-->more clothes fit!  

3. If I still do not get motivated or need extra push,  I call my coach and submit my daily and weekly goals. Also talk to my coach about my goals.



This is what I did today.

My coach and I had an interview and set up goals...and daily goals...and

DAILY SCHEDULE FOR ONE WEEK.

I will follow this schedule and my coach will check if I follow this schedule.


If you need extra motivations, find your success partner.

This will be your family, friend, instructor, coach co-worker....whoever passionate about body transformation.

How can I get rid of my Belly Fat?

"If you are overweight, you MUST lose body fat in order to see the effects of muscle-toning exercises. No matter how hard you work to tone your abs, you won't be able to see them if they're covered by a layer of fat." Via Beachbody site

I have been working out well and I got muscles but I still have Belly Fat....I may need tammy tuck...may not. I DO NOT KNOW ABOUT IT YET....

HOWEVER, before I reach that point, I would like to do my best to lose my belly fat...

DIET IS EVERYTHING TO LOSE Belly Fat.

To build 6-8 packs is the different story. Do many Abs workouts but still do not get any resulets?

Sorry but you got to get rid of Belly Fat by watching your meals..

If you want to have a flatter belly, you got to watch your Diet.

Can you move onto another body transformation journey with me?

(I will edit and post my meals soon...stay tuned....)

My Meal Planner Day 1

Today is 1st day of following Beachbody Meal Planner.

1st day is always fun. Second day...3rd..4th..we need to be careful ;)

Shakeology Greenberry + Peanut butter (1tbs) + Green Tea + Ice cubes

(My Shakeology contest recipe at coach summit 2010) 

Shopping following by shopping list. Lots of green pepper! 

I took Roast Beef with Cracker as my snack but forgot to take pic...Oops..

Egg Salad Sandwich 

I found "White Wheat Bread" My little one say no to wheat bread if it looks like "brown" but if it is white...she can't tell from the taste! Huh! 

And I love this Huge Grapes.

I really wanted to take something sweet...so I added 1 table spoon of this Oreo mix to Shakeology and!!!

It was super yummy!! It was like ice cream! YUM. 

Ok Ok...I am not good at cooking but I did my best to make this stuffed green pepper. YUM.

I used soysauce instead of American seasoning though. haha. 

After 3day Shakeology cleanse

(I am going to stop writing about my transformation for a while...if you want to check my story, please visit My Site for the shorter version of my story...)

I would like to start writing about my "current" diet challenge.

I did 3 day cleanse and after that I was having busy days...and now...HOLIDAY SEASON?!

I am going to start tracking my diet here. I will be super honest to all of you and myself too...

As I always say, I am not good at being creative about my nutrition and that is the reason I take shakeology.

Now I want to step up and watch my meal more....but how should I do?

I decided to follow the meal plan Beachbody has set....

Watch my video

Workingout? No Problem! Portion control?

Since I was a tennis player at Middle school and at College in Japan (I was not a super star...though) I had no problem going back to "intense workout" routine.

It was very challenging for me to workout by myself at the gym but once I found the best workout (Turbo) I had NO PROBLEM taking classes and doing it at home.

I even got trained to be an instructor...but my weight stayed at 175-180 for 1 year.

The reason was that I was working out hard but I was eating A LOT.
I was watching "what to eat" but I was not watching "how much" and "how often" I ate.

I knew I had to eat 5-6 meals but I stopped tracking my diet because I thought I would lose weight no mater how much I ate because I was working out well and I was eating healthy food.


NOT

That was totally wrong.
I was just maintaining my weight ....Plus storing excess "healthy food" as a fat.

So first thing I tried to fix is to cut my "regular" portion into half.
Save half and ate it 2hr later.

It was tough first day but I know I could eat the half in 2 hours.
I did not eliminate anything but did my best to cut the portion...

In addition to this I purchased Body Bugg to track my workout and diet.

Yes I went back to the basic

How much I burn > How much I put into my mouth =Weight loss

Workout you can continue

http://aimuir73.blogspot.com/2010/09/eat-5-6-small-meals-day.html

This post is about my body transformation. If you have not checked my previous posts, please click the link above to check them out...

I started eating small meals a day and did 3 cardios a week. And I lost 10lb in 2 weeks. However after that my weight stayed the same...I was about to go back to the "Lazy" "Lots of excuses Ai" but luckily I found the best workout classes and workout DVD that I could do.

I really enjoyed going to the gym and working out at home.
I never felt like "I HAD TO" workout.

Everymorning, when I woke up I was like "I want to do Turbo!"
I really really wanted to do that workout...Yes...as you know...Turbo Kick and Turbo Jam.

I still keep this passion toward Turbo and I love it....

So I found the best workout 3 month I started my body transformation....
And I did 7 Turbo Kick/Jam a week.

I lost 20lb but....my body stop losing weight and fat....

WHY?
I am working out so hard.

I do cardio everyday.


So I added extra eliptical  machine before my Turbo Class but my weight stayed at the same point....

Why?
Because I was just doing the "same cardio" and my body got used to it...

Shakeology Cleanse Day 3

Breakfast
6:30am Green tea
Shakeology Chocolate + 1/2 Banana +ice +water (10 ice cubes and 10oz water)

Snack
8:20am 1 Banana

9am Weight lifting class (I teach)

Lunch
11:45am Shakeology +Ice +water

10 pieces Almonds

Snack
2:45pm Shakeology +Ice+water

5 strawberry

Dinner
6pm Salad (Tofu and Natto)


Day3
I felt good by seeing my Flatter Abs
My Waiste was 2 inches less and my "under chest" was 1 inche less.

However I get hungry so quick on the Day 3 but I still wanted to teach my class.

I personally recommend everyone (who want to try this cleanse) to modify the workout.
It is ok to workout but you will not have "UNLIMITED" Energy to workout hard.

If you normally Run...I think it is good to run slower or walk.

Again you do not have to cancel your workout but it is good to modify your workout.



This is my 3rd time to try the cleanse.

As I mentioned before, I modified my "Workout" when I did my cleanse and I lost 7lb.
It was great.

I did not modify anything when I tried my 2nd cleanse and I failed on the day 2.
I sticked with the Diet menu but working out so hard.


So this time..I did not want to modify my workout (and also that is my job as a fitness instructor)
so I decided to modify my "Cleanse Menu'

I sticked with the instruction "What I can eat" "What I should not eat"
but I let myself to grab 1/2 -1 piece of snack and nuts.

It really helped me to keep NRG during my class.


If you really want to get the great result (Flush your body, Detox your body, change your bad eating habits...) I recommend you to modify YOUR WORKOUT and stick with your diet.


If you are fitness instructors and impossible to modify your workout, allow yourself to grab some extra fruits and nuts.

If you need to workout at night, I think it is a great idea to eat Salad as your snack.


If you have any questions, feel free to leave comments or contact me.


Overall, 3 day cleanse really gave me a great JUMP START to move forward to my next Diet Journey.
I will not go into any "special"Diet but recently I have been eating "big portion" and I had been struggling with portion control...

Now I know how much I should eat and how much I can workout with less portion than I used to eat.

Again, if you are struggling with your Diet, this cleanse will "RESET" your bad habit and/or "JUMPSTART" your new journey.