Slackin' / August 29th, 2012

So I've totally slacked on this blog for a number of reasons.  It's hard for me to write it when I'm out of town or because of other business I attend to.  I have been working out and eating healthy for the most part.  I have taken some days off of working out and I've definitely eaten some things I probably shouldn't have.  One food that totally comes to mind was killing nearly an entire Digorno pizza one evening, which I suppose will happen from time to time!  It's also hard to remember everything I eat in a day if I don't write it down so I suppose that is something I need to pay more attention to!

And allow me to go off on a brief tangent here:  Studies have shown that women specifically are more likely to stick to a healthy diet if they say, "I won't eat (fill in the blank)" rather than, "I can't eat (fill in the blank)."  This has to do with our perception of not being allowed something; we feel like we are being deprived, but if we just accept that we in fact won't/don't eat something it becomes more of a lifestyle choice.  I noticed a lot of difference in my eating habits when I adopted this mentality with my food.  Sometimes just saying something is enough to make yourself believe and change your eating habits.

So today, I don't remember what all I ate, but I do know I had my usual egg sandwich for breakfast, another one of my decently healthy turkey sandwiches, some chipotle corn salsa stuff my mom made, and I'm sure I've shoved more food in my mouth than what I remember.

Today I did another leg workout.  I ran for a mile, which is getting difficult right now due to my allergies which trigger my asthma when running.  I refuse to use my inhaler because it has yet to work for me.  Whatever.

I have been trying to pay more attention to my form when lifting with my legs since I know I have been "off" on certain form, so I'd rather lift lighter to get it down rather than hurt myself.  Today I did:

• stretch
• 3x10 squats w/bar (45 lbs, 55 lbs, 65 lbs)
• 3x10 hamstring curls with yoga ball
• 3x18 lunges @ 15 lbs
• 3x10 each leg side steps with resistance band
• stretch

I took it rather easy on my legs today, but like I said, I have been trying to focus more on my form such as squatting low enough, watching my knee placement on my lunges, etc.

So for now, I guess my goals right now are to pay closer attention of what I'm eating/keeping a better food diary and working on my form/technique when lifting. I also need to watch my sodium intake because boy, do I retain water!  Some days I feel very thin, and other days I feel like the complete opposite, and today is one of those days.  I'm going to blame all of the sodium in the hummus that I'm waaay addicted to!

The Magic Pill
is
Sweat
&
Intensity

Laziness/ August 15, 2012

I've had several people tell me that these posts are motivating for them, but believe me, knowing that I have to be accountable each night is motivating for me!  I definitely didn't want to do anything today...and I really don't even want to write too much tonight!

I forced myself to run a mile today and that's as good as it gets.

Breakfast: Today I skipped breakfast (which is a horrible idea)

Lunch: Very much the same and unhealthy as yesterday

• chicken fingers
• few doritos
• 1 oreo (because who can resist that)

Dinner: Leftover meatloaf from last night

Snacks: none....

I'm starving, but if you couldn't tell I'm feeling rather lazy today, so it's going to take a lot more hunger to get me up to make myself something to eat.

Today is a perfect example of everything I would recommend not doing, aside from the fact I at least got a run in.

Goals/ August 14, 2012

I always think it's great to have goals when working out.  I usually have multiple small goals going at a time.  A lot of the time though, my goals don't have to do with a number on the scale because it isn't exactly representative of the changes in your body.  I'm sure you've heard that muscle weighs more than fat, and it's because of this that I try not to weigh myself too often.  I generally judge by the way my clothes fit, the way I see myself in the mirror, how I feel, and I also take pictures every so often just so you can compare how far you have (or have not) come.  I think that creating several small goals allows me to work towards the body I want without obsessing over a number.  As each small goal is achieved, that is one step closer I am to my large goal.

Some of my short term goals right now include:

• lose 3-5% more body fat
• run a longer distance
• build up the muscle in my legs
• be able to do a pull-up on my own again (I had achieved this previously, but quit working out for awhile so it's back to square one)
• try and cut out as many preservatives as possible from my food, particularly focusing on meat at this time

My long term goal looks something like the following picture.  I know some guys think this is not attractive whatsoever, but my body, my goal!

So I really didn't want to workout today.  My legs are super sore from yesterday and I'm tired since I didn't sleep very well last night.  However, at around 7:30 I forced myself to go workout.  I definitely struggled the entire workout.  One reason I think is because I did not work out at all last week since I was still sore and out of whack from my car wreck.  The other reason is that I did not take my one supplement that gives me all kinds of energy since I was working out so late in the evening.  Nevertheless here goes tonight's less than desired workout:

• stretch
• 2000m row
• (3) x 10x9x7 dumbbell bench press @ 50 lbs
• 3x10 bicep curls; each arm @ 15 lbs
• 3x10 tricep extensions @ 35 lbs
• 3x7 pushups with feet stabalized on yoga ball (at first, it is easier to steady the ball against a wall or sturdy object since it is hard to get your balance)
• (3) x 7x6x5 weight assisted pull-ups
• stretch

Today's food:

• Breakfast - Egg sandwich
• 12 grain whole wheat bread
• 1 egg over easy cooked in Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
• 1 sliced reduced sodium colby jack cheese
• Lunch (not always as healthy as I would like as I am away from home babysitting and am limited in my options)
• chicken fingers (and I know, these have preservatives in them...I try not to think about it)
• a few doritos
• a slice of colby jack cheese
• a small chocolate chip cookie bar
• Snack(s)
• I call this my "banana dessert" - This TOTALLY curbs a sugar craving for me
• peel and freeze banana in a plastic ziploc bag
• once thoroughly frozen blend with a large spoon of peanut butter and a large spoon of sugar free Nesquick 
• "Texas caviar "
• http://allrecipes.com/recipe/classic-texas-caviar/
• Dinner
• Individual chipotle barbecue meatloafs
• Lean ground beef ( I would have preferred ground turkey, but welcome to small town grocery stores where they don't have half of what you want)
• Sweet Baby Ray's Chipotle  Honey BBQ sauce
• Red onion
• 2 eggs
• crushed saltine crackers
• chili powder
• garlic powder
• salt
• pepper
• I actually made these into patties and cooked them on the stove top in a frying pan just lightly greased in EVOO
• Post-workout
• Large glass of whole milk with Nesquick

Water total = approx 3. liters

I'm done....I'm tired...till next time!

An Overview/ August13, 2012

Okay so I’m creating this separate blog because a lot of people seem to be interested in what I eat and what I do when I workout.  I’m no expert, but I have come a long ways in the past two years losing about 30 pounds.  My body still has a ways to go in my opinion, but since you are all interested I’ll just lay it all out here.  I’m also not promising to be an “ideal” of health because we all fall short sometimes, so there will be days I don’t workout and days I kill some Oreos, but I’ll post even those things here.  Any supplements I mention are just ones that I have found success, or failure, from, but I have no ties to any of them as far as promoting them go.  I also take some workouts/suggestions from my brother and roommate who derive a lot of their workouts from crossfit ( Reference: www.crossfit.com ), and I also use  workouts from a friend that I used to workout with who is a MMA fighter.  Some of those workouts came from the book The Dolce Diet: Living Lean (http://www.amazon.com/The-Dolce-Diet-Living-Lean/dp/0615531679).

I’ll run down a brief list of supplements that I’m taking at the moment, and I can go more into their purpose and when I take them throughout the day in another blog.

·         Cellucor Super HD or GNC Burn 60 (I’m trying to decide which one works best for me)
·         CLA
·         Fish Oil
·         GNC Waterex
·         GNC Active Women Multi Vitamin

My Diet in a nutshell is :

·         High protein/ lean meats (i.e. lot of chicken, peanut butter, almonds, eggs)
·         Lower carb/complex carbs (Essentially I try to avoid a lot of starches such as pasta, potatoes, white bread, etc.  Basically if it’s white I stay away.  I try to get most of my carbs from fruits, veggies, and things like 12 grain whole wheat bread that has sunflower seeds and other crazy things in it, granola, oatmeal – things that are high in fiber)
·         Low sugar (You would be surprised how much sugar you consume in a day – start looking at labels. Sugar is highly addictive, and our country consumes far more sugar than is considered healthy)
·         Low sodium (Sodium causes you to retain water and bloat, not to mention it’s horrible for your blood pressure.  This means I steer clear of frozen dinners.  I always look at the sodium content of my food)
·         I don’t worry as much about calories and fat as most people would think.  I have a general idea of how many calories are in different foods and how many I should roughly be consuming.  I also use a lot of extra virgin olive oil and whole milk in my diet.  Fat is not all bad.

So today I took 1 Cellucor Super HD on an empty stomach as directed about 30 minutes for my workout.  In my opinion it’s like cocaine for your workout so I ended up working out far longer than I expected.  My focus today was my thighs.

My Workout:

11:30 a.m.

·         Stretch
·         1 mile run
·         3x 15 air squats

• o   (Reference: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDdSZmWNYQI)

·         3x15  yoga ball hamstring curls

• o   (Reference: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czf-1snzG2c)

·         3x14x16x18 lunges @ 30 lbs total
·         Approx. 140 yds. Farmer carries @ 40 lbs total

• o   (Reference: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hulDa1zg2Q)

·         4x10 Goblet Squats (2 sets@10 kg  & 2 set@24 kg)

• o   (Reference:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K592eZxX-vg)

·         2x10, 1x12 Side leg raises with resistance band

• o   (Reference: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XxYq-ZkUQw_)

·         3x10 jumping squats @ 45 lbs

• o   (Reference: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kewncZ2HxPw)

·         3x12 calf raises with 20 lbs dumbbells just for fun
·         ½ mile jog/walk cool down
·         Stretch

2:00 p.m.

I know many girls don’t wan’t their thighs to touch, but that’s not my goal.  I am trying to build them up a little bit.  Here’s a photo from today’s workout (nothing like green spandex shorts to help motivate):

My food:

                (Keep in mind I was lazy and didn’t get out of bed until 10, and started working out at 11:30)

After working out I drank a glass of whole milk with a large spoon of Nesquik and ate an omlette I made out of 3 eggs, some salsa, a bit of red onion, and about ½ c. shredded cheese.

                I will probably eat again in about 3-4 hours a couple of leftover chicken breasts, but I’ll have to update this blog at the end of the day with all that I’ve eaten. (DIDNT HAPPEN)

                Instead I met my friend for drinks and had a 2 Jack and Diet cokes, and about 2 of her french fries smothered in cheese!  Seeing as how I'm starving now, I'm going to make a sandwich using my 12 grain whole wheat bread, mayo (which I'm trying to get away from), red leaf lettuce, oscar meyer preservative free chicken lunch meat, and reduced sodium colby jack cheese!

I've also drank about 3.5 liters of water and one small g2 series low cal gatorade