richarsd

Maybe with her DVDs this is true - I dunno because I've never done them so can't really say. But with weight lifting most trainers will tell you to alternate. Theoretically, you can do both if you want but I'm freakin' exhausted after doing my workouts so don't think I could do both upper and lower in the same day, lol. Plus, it forces you to rest your muscles in between and not do two days in a row...rest is very important in weight lifting because your muscles take this time to repair (which is what causes them to get stronger and burn more fat). Quote: Originally Posted by plamento im doing the jillian michaels 30 day shred and she says you should use both upper and lower body so you burn more calories from your workout. if you so squats with weights in your hand and then do presses you are burning more calories. doing just presses you are not working as hard. your whole body will be sore but sore means your working those muscles. i always thought you should alternate but if you want to burn you should do both.

LOL Oh my God, poor you! I would take tomorrow off since you did both today. You'll likely have a hard go of it anyway but it's important to let your muscles rest in between workouts (one reason for the alternating) otherwise they just get exhausted. And yes, LOTS of protein when weight training...I would suggest buying some whey isolate protein powder (aim for around 30 grams protein per scoop)...if it's whey isolate it should be fairly low cal (normally around 150 cal per scoop) and low carbs. Don't worry about the 150 calories...because the protein is so high, the majority of those calories are usable and your muscles will need it right after a workout (I drink mine in the change rooms right after). Good for you though!!! Keep up the good work!

Oh yeah, and I hope you didn't do both the upper body AND lower body workouts together...you should alternate!! One on one day, and then the other the next day!

Good for you!! And frankly, we should be tired and sore after our workouts!! Although that'll taper off eventually...if you've never weight lifted before then you will definitely be sore. I'm not gonna lie - the first time I ever did barbell squats and deadlifts, I could hardly walk or bend my legs 2 days after, LOL. I know that probably sounds extreme but it probably sounds worse than it actually was. But even now I still feel a little tight after doing it and that's basically my marker for knowing whether or not I got some usefulness from it. Keep at it!

1. How old are you? 30 2. At what age did you/will you get married? 30 3. Do you have children? Nope, not yet. 4. Did you think you would marry the person you are with now? Not when we first met (I had just gotten over a bad breakup so wasn't really in that right mindset). But a year and a half later when we connected again, it was pretty clear there was something special there 5. Were you ever engaged or married to someone other than the person you are with now? No. 6. Do you want a garden wedding, beach wedding, or the traditional church wedding? The garden gazebo is right beside the beach so it's the best of both worlds. 7. Where did you/will you get married? Grand Palladium Bavaro, Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. 8. First dance - classic waltz, slow and sexy, or fast and spicy? Not sure if we're going to even do the bride-groom first dance. If we do, it'll be slow and sexy. 9. How many guests did you/will you have? 43 people are booked. 10. Do you want/did you have an extravagant wedding or a simple wedding? Combination of both - a happy medium. 11. Vows - traditional or something you make up on your own? We're doing the legal ceremony so it's fairly traditional. We're adding our own personalized sand ceremony at the end. 12. How many layers of cake did you/will you have? 3 13. Is/was your wedding/reception at a hotel? We're privatizing the beach restaurant at the resort for the dinner and reception. 14. When did you/will you get married - sunrise, mid-day, sunset? Mid-afternoon...we had no choice about this due to the judge's schedule. It was either that or 10 am 15. Did you/will you have your reception outdoors or indoors? Indoors but the restaurant is open-air. 16. Plan every detail down to the napkins or let someone else decide? My fiance and I decided some things and the rest we've left to the WC. 17. How did/will the bride enter? From a garden pathway to the gazebo. My Mom and Dad are walking with me. 18. Song to walk down the aisle to: The Spanish trio band will be playing. 19. Song to make your exit: We're not really having a formal exit...there will be champagne and the cake at the gazebo right after the ceremony. 20. Will you/did you have a solemn ceremony or a light one? Light and happy 21. At what age did you think you would get married? I always wanted to get married when I was 30, just thought it was the perfect age. Low and behold it's worked out that way, lol. 22. Who to invite - practically everyone or a select few? We invited almost everyone but only about half are able to come (which is still more than we expected!). 23. Wedding menu - fine dining or simply delicious? Combination of both. 24. Champagne or red wine? Both along with white wine, beer and probably some fruity tropical drinks at the reception afterwards! 25. Honeymoon right after the wedding, awhile after the wedding, or no honeymoon? We are staying an extra week but my fiance refuses to call it a honeymoon because he wants us to go to Vegas for our 1 year anniversary/honeymoon the year after, lol! 26. Was your/will your honeymoon be at a place special to you both or somewhere brand new to you both? New but still special 27. Who will pay for the bills? My fiance and I. 28. Living together: Not before marriage or absolutely before marriage? Before...for me, I can't imagine doing it any other way. 29. Anything else about marriage you'd like to say? Less than 2 months to go! Can't wait!!!

Yes, definitely - bmadzia you brought up an excellent point: the gym!!! Everytime I've been down South I make sure to keep up my workout routines by going to the gym most days I'm there and I didn't find it an inconvenience at all (first thing in mornings worked best for me). And with all the booze and more fattening food compared to what I'm used to preparing for myself, the gym is a necessity!! Last time I went to a resort I still gained 3 lbs but I I'm really not too concerned about it in terms of the wedding...it's mostly water anyway.

Everything in moderation!!! I will be drinking and I will not be depriving myself of food but I'm not going to be ridiculous about it...and that goes for the entire 2 weeks I'm at the resort, not just the 3 days before my wedding. I'll definitely be staying clear of the hamburgers, fries, pizza, sweets, etc. prior to the wedding but that's about it. Also, one plate of food per meal...no need to have 2 or 3 helpings at the buffets simply because it's an option. Moderation is key...but remember - we ARE on vacation, after all!

Welcome back Sheila!!! Sounds like you and everyone had an amazing time! Reading your review makes me even more excited (2 months today!!!). Thanks for posting your review and your pictures look great. Congratulations!

She should be able to confirm that you are having a restaurant and private dinner for sure...as for confirming a particular restaurant, no idea. And as for the menu item, I think they are fairly strict on the one choice rule and will only make exceptions if one of two people have an allergy or something. I don't think there is any wiggle room on this and he may just need to accept that it is what it is. Sorry

Yeah, the GPs are the only Fiesta hotels in Punta Cana.

Ditto!! Remember girls, muscle burns fat!

This is not at all true (lighter weights & more reps)!!! This is a total myth perpetuated from where I have no idea - regardless, it's incorrect. As a woman, lifting "heavy" for shorter reps is NOT going to bulk you up. I can attest to this...in fact, after spending (actually, I'll say wasting) several years at the gym lifting lighter doing higher reps (as most women are taught somewhere along the way to do to try and tone and slim), I got nowhere. Finally, I found a reputable trainer who swears that if you want to look lean and toned as a woman or buff and well-defined as a man, you need to use as heavy a weight as you can. You should aim for at least 6 reps...if you can't do that, go down a weight. Once you get to 12 max, you need to move up a weight. However, you should do 3 sets of each exercise. So for example, say you're doing deadlifts (again, I know this is a typically considered a "manly exercise" but have a good look at the gym...I'm willing to bet that if you look at people, the ones are who are toned and in really good shape are in the real weight room, and the ones who are in mediocre shape are doing machines, which do half the work for you) - anyway, back to deadlifts, lift the heaviest weight you can minimum 6 reps, break for one minute, do it again, break for one minute, then do it again...don't worry if you can't do as many with each set, that's normal. Anyway, sorry ladies, I don't mean to rant on this but this is actually something I feel very strongly about and trust me, as long as you're eating healthfully including lots of lean protein, it works!!! There's also tons of research on exercise physiology to support it, as well.

Excellent blog!!! Thanks for sharing!

Yeah I always found the classes to not be enough...they were great to get started though! Last month, I got a trainer and he's got me doing what for me is "serious weight training", lol. Very different than the regular dumb bells I was used to before, haha. Deadlifts, squats with 70 lb bars...all very new to me! But it's already working and I think it's the best way to go if you want to tone quickly! Not sure where us ladies get the idea that we're going to "bulk up" by listing weights...we simply do not have enough testosterone in us for that to be possible.

So psyched! Someone at work just asked me if I lost weight and told me I look great! There's my motivation for the week!! Don't ya love it when that happens?!?!

There's NO way you gained 5 "real" lbs in one day. That is practically impossible. It's likely water and will drop back down by the end of the week. Hey, we gotta live a bit too

You can do it! But I hate to break it you (although, I think you already know this) you really have to cut the sugar otherwise it's gonna be a hard go of it. Any trainer/nutritionist will tell you it's 80% diet, 20% exercise and no matter how hard you try, it's impossible to "out train" a bad diet. Sugar's kinda like an addiction...until you really eliminate it, your body will crave it. What if you set aside just ONE day of each week as a cheat day? That day, you can eat a whole tub of ice cream with chocolate syrup or whatever you want as long as you were good the rest of the week. That way, you treat yourself but my guess is that you won't want the whole tub anyway because you'll so proud of yourself from the rest of the week...

I have HDC booked for our TTD too and am in the same situation as you...one of our family guests is a wedding photographer so she's doing the ceremony/reception...we only hired Arnaud for the TTD. And the price/process I went through was the same as you stated above. I think $300 is quite reasonable for a TTD session. I agree with the other posters that 5 pm is probably difficult for them to commit to because it means them possibly declining an entire wedding that day. If I was a photographer, I'd probably be reluctant to commit to that too...$300 versus a possible $1000 is a big difference. I would ask if you can do the TTD 2 days after the ceremony at 8:30 am...that is what I asked for upfront and he had no problem with it. Goodluck!

I agree with Nemmerz...2-3 times of working out a week is ok for maintenance but not for shedding fat or building muscle. You need to be working out 5 days a week

Hi Nemmerz! Keep up the good work! My suggestion from reading this is CUT OUT the cereal! I know this is hard for people to get used to (I used to think it was impossible because I ate cereal everyday...often for a snack) but cereal is basically sugar...even Multigrain Cheerios, even non-frosted cereals...if it's a processed grain, the body interprets it as sugar. If you can't live without it, keep it to breakfast only and make it oatmeal (which you already eat so good job!) or All Bran...that's it! For a snack, it's really not a great choice as your body just stores it as fat. In terms of "fat burning foods", think protein - and not dairy, but REAL protein like meat or eggs or meat alternatives. The more protein, the more muscles your develop (and even on women this is necessary to some degree...think toned, not bodybuilding), which are what burns fat. Also, in terms of your knee, like others said, maybe skip the running for a few days and stick to the elliptical. If you're prone to knee problems, you should be icing your knee after every workout, even on days it doesn't hurt...this is often a good preventative measure! You're doin' great, keep it up!

Just because the FDA is clearing the shelves will do little. You can still buy it online, overseas. However, it is good that they are trying to take a stand on it and getting warnings out.

Kitty, are you using the DJ the resort supplies?? If so, there's no pass you need to pay - it's part of the fee. Otherwise, you would have to...just thought I'd clarify just in case. It all adds up quick, eh? Oh one other thing I figured I'd mention as it's not mentioned in the list but although the bridal bouquet is included, if you want orchids in it, you have to pay extra...I have no idea how much. I really like orchids!

Oh yeah, almost forgot! Kitty or anyone who wants the price list of "extras" PM me with your email address and I will email it to you!! But to answer the flower centre piece questions, it is $70 USD for each extra centre peice!

My wedding ceremony time is set for 2 pm, as well...originally I wasn't happy about this time (wanted more like 4 pm) as our dinner is set for 6:30 pm but I think it works out nicely in some ways. There'll be loads of time to take pictures and I'd rather not be rushing around in the heat (with my make-up sweating off my face, lol) for that. We're telling gueststhat the time between the ceremony and dinner is their time although we plan to serve our cake at the gazebo immediately after the ceremony with the included champagne...this will eat up a bit of time. We figure most guests will just relax at a bar until the dinner although I can see a lot of the men changing and hitting up the pool. After we're done our pics, we'll either meet people at the bar or just go back to our room to freshen up and have some couple time before dinner and I really like the thought of having some time to ourselves in between!