Another Week Completed! (Workout and Food Journal)

6:06 PM | 0 Comments

Hello everyone. Today I did well with my exercising, but not so well with my eating. I must say though, my poor eating was still better now than it was two weeks ago.

So let me explain a little further. I had my normal meal replacement bar before the gym. Then a few mini wheats in the car. Once I got to work I wanted something substantial, so I had a BLT on 12 grain bread with a little mayo, no butter. Later I was offered a cranberry muffin and since I was hungry I accepted.

Lunch was my sausage, rice and veggie medley, a yogurt and a piece of chocolate. It was the last day for one of the guys at work and we had Jelly Bellys to celebrate. I had two small handfuls. Normally I would have kept going back again and again, but I held back. I also had my salad on my last break. All in all, not horrible, but not my best eating this week. And I feel slightly ill from it too. It's true what they say about your body getting so used to the healthy food that when you eat poorly you don't feel very good. I also had vegetarian pizza for supper and then pretzels for an evening snack.

Now on to my workouts.

CARDIO
Elliptical: 11 minutes

LOWER BODY

Back Ext:
100 lbs x 12 reps
130 x 10
160 x 8
190 x 6

Leg Ext:
40 lbs x 12 reps
50 x 10
65 x 8
85 x 6

Leg Curls:
40 lbs x 12 reps
50 x 10
65 x 8
85 x 6

Leg Press:
150 lbs x 12 reps
170 x 10
190 x 8
210 x 6

Inner Thigh:
25 lbs x 12 reps
40 x 10
50 x 8
65 x 6

Outer Thigh:
40 lbs x 12 reps
50 x 10
65 x 8
85 x 6

Abs:
30 lbs x 12 reps
40 x 10
50 x 8
65 x 6

Stairs @ Work:
230 Steps Up
230 Steps Down
Total: 460 Steps

Food Journal

8:26 PM | 0 Comments

I feel pretty good about my eating habits this week. I've had a couple of challenges, but overall so much better than I've been doing in the past few years. I did eat more than I should have for supper, but then other times I would have finished off the entire meal, so I'm still ahead of the game. It would seem the key to my success is seeing others motivated by me. I know I'm still a long way from my goals, but the hardest part is getting motivated and sticking to it. I'm there now. I'm motivated and I'm already doing better! (Which reminds me I'll have to update and re-post my goals.)


Meal 1
Nutribar

Meal 2
Yogurt
Canteloupe
5-6 mini wheats

Meal 3
Veg Lasagna
Piece of chocolate
Yogurt

Meal 4
Salad with dressing
Yogurt
5-6 mini wheats

Meal 5
Hot Italian Sausage
Rice
Zucchini and tomatoes
Yogurt
5-6 mini wheats

Meal 6
Pretzels

No Gym Today

1:31 PM | 0 Comments

After last night's two hour drive home, those of us in my car pool were so exhausted. I was gone for 13 hours. So, we decided not to go to the gym this morning. I've been doing really well with my eating.

This afternoon I was very sleepy. I kept falling asleep at my desk so when I went on lunch I set my alarm, put my music on and put my hoodie up over my eyes. I slept for close to 10 minutes. Then I said to myself, this is ridiculous, I want more energy. So I put on my running shoes and went up 115 steps (6 flights of stairs) and ran back down...okay I may be using ran a little loosely, but I did it and that's what counts!

Today's Workout: 230 steps (115 up/115down)

Last night's food journal

8:18 AM | 0 Comments

It took us 2 hours to get home last night. We were all so frustrated and hungry. I was so hungry I wanted to grab anything and my vegetable lasagna still needed another 30 min to bake!

Well I'm so proud of myself...I made a salad! That tied me over until the lasagna was ready and I had 1 portion not half the tray!

I did get the munchies while watching tv and I had pretzels, but that was all I ate =)

Meal 1
Banana
Nutribar
Mini wheats

Meal 2
Yogurt, strawberries & granola

Meal 3
Avocado

Meal 4
Chicken curry rice
Piece of chocolate
Yogurt

Meal 5
Salad
Vegetable lasagna

Meal 6
Pretzels

So Tired

11:39 AM | 0 Comments

I barely slept last night. I finally went to bed at midnight and Riley kept waking up, then Joey had his turn waking up. Finally I slept from 2 until about 4 when my husband woke up! I did manage to get out of bed at 5:30 and go to the gym. I really really wanted to stay home today and sleep. I've had this pain in my lower abdomen, mostly on the left side. It feels as though my ovaries hurt. I need to go see the doctor, but the clinic closes at 5, so I'm not sure when I can get there.

An interesting comment I read today:
“What I say to them is that if they really want to do something, just make the commitment and go for it. It might take a while, but if you really want it, you can make it happen.”

This morning was my cardio and abs workout.


CARDIO
Elliptical: 23 minutes
1.62 miles
258 calories
Distance Climbed 1982 feet
Average Heart Rate 147

ABS
Horizontal Abs Machine
30 lbs x 12 reps
40 x 10
50 x 8
60 x 6
30 x 12

Swiss Ball Leg Raises
1 x 12

Crunches
1 x 12

Evening Update - Food Journal

9:20 PM | 1 Comments

Today I've done much better than yesterday, even tonight. Although it is hard. I want to reach into the cupboard and just keep eating pretzels or whatever else I get my hands on. Instead I'm sitting here updating my blog. I broke down and bought one of those thin chocolate bars, but I only had ONE piece of it! I can still hardly believe it myself! Everything in moderation right? That's the key.

Meal 1
Nutribar
Mini Wheats

Meal 2
cottage cheese with pineapple

Meal 3
Orange Sesame Chicken
yogurt

Meal 4
salad with ranch dressing
yogurt
one piece of a dark chocolate thin bar

Meal 5
Sole Parmesan
rice
yogurt
1/2 banana

Meal 6
Sole Parmesan
handful of pretzels

Upper Body - Day 2

9:18 AM | 0 Comments

It's a good day! It's a new day! I refuse to let myself fall into the berating myself loop. Usually, when this happens I continue to eat poorly because I feel guilty and ashamed. All the support systems tell you when you mess up, to admit you messed up and move on. Don't use it as an excuse to keep eating badly.

I will post my food journal tonight. So far I'm doing well with my eating, but the real test is at night. So stay tuned.

On the motivation scale a friend of mine who is a Certified Hypnotist and an NLP Practitioner asked if he could link to my blog as motivation for his weight control clients. I'm truly flattered! Although, this means I need to keep on top of my weight control which is great AND challenging. So, I'm going to try to include more of my feelings, what I struggle with and what works well for me.

For more information on hypnotism please go to:
http://renaissancehypno.blogspot.com/.

My workout today was for my upper body. While working out I realized some of the machines I thought were for a specific muscle group actually were not. Shoulder Lateral Raises are more for my back. Back Extensions is more lower back and buttocks. So I looked around and found that the Lateral Raises are for shoulders...who knew? I see shoulder in the name I assume it works my shoulders.

Physically I feel pretty good. I can feel the ab workout from yesterday and I already feel the upper body workout from this morning. Tomorrow is more aerobics and abs...I'm kind of scared to do more ab work!

CARDIO


Elliptical
5 minutes
0.37Miles
59 Feet Climbed
2.98 mph Average Speed


UPPER BODY


Chest Press: Chest and Triceps Back Extension: Back and Buttocks
40 lbs x 12 reps 120 lbs x 12 reps
50 x 10 140 x 10
60 x 8 160 x 8
70 x 6 180 x 6
50 x 12 140 x 12


Shoulder Lateral Raise: Back and Biceps Lateral Raise: Shoulders
40 lbs x 12 reps 10 lbs x 12 reps
50 x 10 20 x 10
60 x 8 30 x 8
70 x 6 40 x 6
50 x 12 20 x 12




Seated Biceps: Biceps Seated Triceps: Triceps
30 lbs x 12 reps 30 lbs x 12 reps
40 x 10 40 x 10
50 x 8 50 x 8
60 x 6 60 x 6
30 x 12 40 x 12

Evening Update - Food Journal

4:53 PM | 0 Comments

I've decided to add my meals and eating to the blog. I will try to include what I've eaten for the day.

I did really well today. That is until this evening. I started to make supper. I was making a shrimp and pasta with veggies stir fry. It would have been quick, easy and healthy. I even would have had enough for lunch tomorrow...well, there must have been a spill in the burner, because it went up in flames.

As I was reaching for the salt to douse the flames, my hero husband put the fire out with the fire extinguisher. (He's been itching to use it since we got it.) My dinner was ruined and the kitchen was left with so much residue from the 1 second blast of the extinguisher.

By this time it was 7:30 and I was starving. I grabbed the quickest thing I could and made a cheeseburger, which looking at it now I should have taken the time to throw together a salad or something else. I desperately wanted a cookie after all this, but did the smart thing and grabbed yogurt and granola.

I should have grabbed the cookie, if I could have stopped at the 1 cookie. Because I ended up eating some pretzels and then my husband made nacho which I also had a good helping of. Now I'm too full and of course berating myself when I had been off to such a good start.
The hard part is which was better? To eat the cookie or eat around the craving for the cookie? I know neither a cookie or binging is the answer, but I also know denying oneself isn't the answer either. Ideally, I should not crave the cookie. Ideally, I won't binge either.

So, it's only the first day. I've seen where I went wrong, I've learned from it and now I'm moving on. Tomorrow WILL be better.

Meal 1
Nutribar
Mini Wheats

Meal 2
cottage cheese with strawberries

Meal 3
salad with ranch dressing

Meal 4
President's Choice Lasagna
yogurt with granola

Meal 5
cheeseburger
yogurt and granola

Meal 6
pretzels
nachos

Body for Life - Day 1

9:23 PM | 1 Comments


Here is my before shot...I'm not happy about it of course, but it's best to put it all out there...literally. I am starting the Body for Life Challenge.

Today is officially the first day, though I was trying it out last week. This morning I weighed myself I lost 2 lbs. I now weigh 247.8 lbs.

I bought a Body for Life book over the weekend and I've created a scrapbook of sorts to bring with me to the gym. I've got example pictures of abdominal exercises, as well as, progress reports for the workouts and meals. At the back of the book I've included a 12 week training schedule, contract to myself, generalized meal plan, and goals.

Planning my meals out ahead of time will be a challenge, but I think I'm up to the challenge this time around. It's funny how these things go. I have all the tools and knowledge to lose weight, but until you're in the right frame of mind, you constantly fail.

This time I'm working toward success. The Body for Life plan is a 12 week plan, but I will continue following it beyond the 12 weeks. This will give me a nice start!

My weeks will look something like this:
Monday: Aerobics and Abs
Tuesday: Upper Body
Wednesday: Aerobics and Abs
Thursday: Lower Body
Friday: Aerobics and Abs
Saturday Upper Body
Sunday: Free Day
The Upper and Lower Body days will alternate from week to week. One week will be two upper body and one lower body. The next week will be two lower body and one upper body. Always alternating.

CARDIO
Elliptical: 20 minutes
1.8 miles
200 calories
ABS
Horizontal Abs Machine:
20 lbs x 12 reps
30 x 10
40 x 8
50 x 6
30 x 12

Abs on the mat:
BodyFlow Abs
2 x 12
I learned an ab exercise from my BodyFlow class. It's similar to the picture, but you have you arms flat on the floor, and cross one leg over the other. Lift your shoulders off the mat then your legs and then lift your arms up and pull your arms in...not sure how to explain that part so just ask me in person if you wanna know.
I did two sets of 12, switching which leg crosses the other.


Bent Knee Raises
1 x 12


3 days in a row!!

12:13 PM | 0 Comments

Not in the mood to write today, so here's today's workout:

CARDIO

Treadmill
20 minutes
244 Calories
1.02 Miles
59 Feet Climbed
2.98 mph Average Speed

UPPER BODY

Chest: Chest Press
25 lbs x 12 reps
35 x 10
45 x 8
55 x 6
45 x 12
45 x 12

Back: Lateral Pull-Down
70 lbs x 12 reps

Shoulders: Seated Rows
25 lbs x 12 reps
35 x 10
45 x 8
55 x 6
45 x 12
45 x 12

Biceps: Seated Biceps
25 lbs x 12 reps
35 x 10
45 x 8

Triceps: Seated Triceps
25 lbs x 12 reps
35 x 10
45 x 8
55 x 6
45 x 12

Body for Life

12:35 PM | 0 Comments

Official Body-for-LIFE Weight-Training Plan
  • Weight train intensely, three times per week on alternating days with aerobicWorkout exercise three times per week. Make sure to hit your "high points" during your workout.
  • Alternate training the major muscles of the upper and lower body.
  • Perform two exercises for each major muscle group of the upper body.
  • Select one exercise and conduct five sets with it, starting with a set of 12 reps, then increasing the weight and doing 10 reps, adding more weight and doing 8 reps, adding more weight for 6 reps. Then reduce the weight and do 12 reps. Immediately perform another set of 12 reps for that muscle group using the second selected exercise.
  • For each muscle group, rest for one minute between the first four sets. Then complete the final two sets with no rest in between, wait two minutes before moving on to your next muscle group, complete this pattern five times for the upper body training experience and four times for the lower body training experience.
  • Always plan your training before hand.
  • Record all your weightlifting exercised in a journal indicating the exercise selected and weight lifted.

TODAY:

I took their advice above and made it my own. I did both cardio AND lower body. I also left out the third rep of 12. I'll work my way up to it next week. This week I'm just trying to figure out what works best for me. I must say though, that this workout was hard in the good way and I think it's something i can do.

I've also been more aware of what I'm eating and I have not had chocolate in 3 days. I did make myself a cup of cocoa last night, but it was made with skim milk, cocoa powder and Splenda.

I already feel like I have more energy and I'm generally in a better mood. I know it's only 2 days, but just knowing I can keep going on a regular basis has improved my mood!


CARDIO


  1. Warm up the first 2 minutes at Intensity Level 5
  2. Minutes 2-3 move from Intensity Level 5 to 6
  3. Minutes 4-5, 6-10 and 11-14 work your way from Intensity Level 6 to Level 9, maintain for one minute
  4. Minutes 15-19 work your way from Intensity Level 6 to Level 10 (High Point at Level 10), maintain for one minute
  5. Minute 20 cool down to Intensity Level 5 for one minute
LOWER BODY

Quadriceps: Leg Presses
100 lbs x 12 reps
130 x 10
160 x 8
190 x 6
160 x 12

Hamstrings: Seated Leg Curls
55 lbs x 12 reps
65 x 10
70 x 8
80 x 6
70 x 9

Calves: Leg Extensions
50 lbs x 12 reps
60 x 10
70 x 8
80 x 6
60 x 12

Abs: Horizontal Abs
10 lbs x 12 reps
20 x 10
30 x 8
40 x 6
20 x 12

GAME ON...

12:18 PM | 0 Comments

Well folks, it's been too long! I have gone to the gym since the strike started 43 days ago, but only a handful of times. I put on weight over Christmas and I am now at my highest weight without being pregnant.

As of Monday I weighed 249.8 lbs. There, I said it out loud, it's out there now. So, Monday while at work I was talking with my baby sister who's worried about me. Her and I are very alike when it comes to our eating habits. She's finally managed to lose weight and deal with her emotional eating. I have all the knowledge and all the tools I need at my disposal, but still struggle with even coming close to losing weight.

While talking to my sister, I decided to walk to the gym and have my car pool pick me up there in the mornings. It's time to stop making excuses and stop blaming the bus strike for my weight problems. I talked it over with the girl I car pool with and she decided to join me. So, now I have a ride to the gym and I have the extra motivation of having a gym buddy.

Elliptical: 15 minutes 1.18 miles
Fit Fix Circuit: less weight than before as it's been so long, I need to work my way back up

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