Focus on your goals and what you really want. When you focus on something it really does create a bubble of determination and dedication around you towards what your working towards. Working out is often a catch 22 situation. People are tired and don't feel like working out but when you work out it gives more energy and stamina. Ironic how that works. It is about baby steps until you can at least walk and/or run your way into more fitness. I think back to where I started from and am amazed that I have the drive and stamina I do now have in the gym. This morning when I was doing the bench chest press I was thinking how I use to not even be able to lift the bar a couple of times by myself. It is nice to see progress and yet have a goal your headed towards.
I added in my cardio to training today. It was chest/tri/abs day. I did three exercises for each muscle group. My training is in pyramid style which means I start low for 12 reps and build up weight but end up at 6 reps on the heaviest weight. Today, I began ending each with 12 reps at a light weight. My plan is to mix up my workouts and keep muscle confusion going since that is suppose to assist in progress rather than plateau. Since it took 70 min to get through training and my hubby had to get work I came home and cycled the neighborhood for 20 min. Adding in cardio on training day is tough but I'm focused on doing it in order to see greater progress.
Just a bit of encouragement for you....NEVER, EVER, EVER, GIVE UP ON YOUR DREAMS! You can make your focus fun whether it is fitness or whatever your working towards. One day at a time eventually will create a lifetime!
Friday, July 29, 2011
Thursday, July 28, 2011
The Battle Plan is Adjusted - BFL Day 22 of 84
I'm so pumped! You can officially call me a Re-committed Gym Freak! I get so attached to my love for fitness that the gym becomes my obsession. Been there, done that, back again!
This morning I went to the gym and met with a lady who is a Fitness Competitor. She was full of information and helped talk me through all of the info I have been researching and what I have in my head to do/try in the gym and kitchen. With my fitness binder in tote (has my meal plans, workouts, and before (the bikini pics)/after (the first 40pds)/where I'm going pics in it) we looked over it all. My plan is solid but I realize a few areas I need to tweak to ensure the best results. I'm going to add in more cardio and do 6 days of 20 min HIIT or 40 min of regular cardio. I like HIIT because I get more bang for my buck of time. This morning I powered it out on the treadmill. I'm getting to a place where I can jog on a higher intensity and for up to 2 1/2 min then walk two min and cycle it the entire 20. It's exciting since my knee hasn't been able to sustain the impact before now and the more I'm building them in my leg workouts the more I can run. I'm also going to add in a day of weight training and move from 4 to 5 days. The other change is I'm cutting out all complex carbs except sweet potatoes, oatmeal, and brown rice. I have been sticking to keeping any and all carbs to 3pm or before so I'm going to continue with that schedule. Here is an example of what I'm eating like daily and my upcoming workout schedule.
Meal 1 - Protein and Complex Carb
Workout - Weight Training
Meal 2 - Protein Shake
Meal 3 - Protein, Complex Carb, Veggie
Meal 4 - Protein & Veggie
Workout - Cardio
Meal 5 - Protein & Veggie
Meal 6 - Protein Shake
Making sure I drink a gallon of water a day. It is essential to my results. I'm sure of it!
Workouts - At gym for 5 min warm up on treadmill at 6:30 am M-Fri.
Monday - Shoulders & Abs (20 min HIIT)
Tuesday - Legs (20 min HIIT)
Wednesday - Back & Bi's & Abs (20 min HIIT)
Thursday - Chest & Tri's & Abs (20 min HIIT)
Friday - Legs & Abs (20 min HIIT)
Saturday - Intense Cardio (50 min spin or equivilant)
Sunday - Rest
Here is an example of what I am eating today.
Meal 1 - Almonds/Drink a Spark (Found out I need to do oatmeal and egg whites)
Workout - HIIT cardio 20 min.
Meal 2 - Protein Shake (I use almond milk - Fitness Chick uses only water. I'm gonna try it.)
Meal 3 - Baked Chicken with 1/2 sweet potato and 1 tsp hummus
Meal 4 - Shaved Turkey with 1 weight watchers cheese stick. (I'm only doing white cheese, if any)
Meal 5 - Turkey Sausage with broccoli and a huge salad. (Am hoping I can keep up my 1TBS of low fat thousand island dressing but if I don't get faster results soon I will cut it out.)
Meal 6 - Protein Shake
I found out something that is disappointing but I'm not surprised. (through research today)
The HCG diet leaves open fat cells because of the fast loss. It is why most gain some initial weight back right after the maintenance phase 3 on the diet. I'm praying for those cells to be closed and believe that now that I'm re-balancing my results are going to come fast. Prayer is a huge part of this journey for me. Today, God spoke to my heart in my quiet time and said that dedication and unwaveringly persistence are key to my success. I'm seeking to reshape my body but my spirit and body have to be surrendered to righteousness!! Party on!
This morning I went to the gym and met with a lady who is a Fitness Competitor. She was full of information and helped talk me through all of the info I have been researching and what I have in my head to do/try in the gym and kitchen. With my fitness binder in tote (has my meal plans, workouts, and before (the bikini pics)/after (the first 40pds)/where I'm going pics in it) we looked over it all. My plan is solid but I realize a few areas I need to tweak to ensure the best results. I'm going to add in more cardio and do 6 days of 20 min HIIT or 40 min of regular cardio. I like HIIT because I get more bang for my buck of time. This morning I powered it out on the treadmill. I'm getting to a place where I can jog on a higher intensity and for up to 2 1/2 min then walk two min and cycle it the entire 20. It's exciting since my knee hasn't been able to sustain the impact before now and the more I'm building them in my leg workouts the more I can run. I'm also going to add in a day of weight training and move from 4 to 5 days. The other change is I'm cutting out all complex carbs except sweet potatoes, oatmeal, and brown rice. I have been sticking to keeping any and all carbs to 3pm or before so I'm going to continue with that schedule. Here is an example of what I'm eating like daily and my upcoming workout schedule.
Meal 1 - Protein and Complex Carb
Workout - Weight Training
Meal 2 - Protein Shake
Meal 3 - Protein, Complex Carb, Veggie
Meal 4 - Protein & Veggie
Workout - Cardio
Meal 5 - Protein & Veggie
Meal 6 - Protein Shake
Making sure I drink a gallon of water a day. It is essential to my results. I'm sure of it!
Workouts - At gym for 5 min warm up on treadmill at 6:30 am M-Fri.
Monday - Shoulders & Abs (20 min HIIT)
Tuesday - Legs (20 min HIIT)
Wednesday - Back & Bi's & Abs (20 min HIIT)
Thursday - Chest & Tri's & Abs (20 min HIIT)
Friday - Legs & Abs (20 min HIIT)
Saturday - Intense Cardio (50 min spin or equivilant)
Sunday - Rest
Here is an example of what I am eating today.
Meal 1 - Almonds/Drink a Spark (Found out I need to do oatmeal and egg whites)
Workout - HIIT cardio 20 min.
Meal 2 - Protein Shake (I use almond milk - Fitness Chick uses only water. I'm gonna try it.)
Meal 3 - Baked Chicken with 1/2 sweet potato and 1 tsp hummus
Meal 4 - Shaved Turkey with 1 weight watchers cheese stick. (I'm only doing white cheese, if any)
Meal 5 - Turkey Sausage with broccoli and a huge salad. (Am hoping I can keep up my 1TBS of low fat thousand island dressing but if I don't get faster results soon I will cut it out.)
Meal 6 - Protein Shake
I found out something that is disappointing but I'm not surprised. (through research today)
The HCG diet leaves open fat cells because of the fast loss. It is why most gain some initial weight back right after the maintenance phase 3 on the diet. I'm praying for those cells to be closed and believe that now that I'm re-balancing my results are going to come fast. Prayer is a huge part of this journey for me. Today, God spoke to my heart in my quiet time and said that dedication and unwaveringly persistence are key to my success. I'm seeking to reshape my body but my spirit and body have to be surrendered to righteousness!! Party on!
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
The Road is Long but Steady - Week 3
I'm on week 3 of my challenge. Things have been good and steady as I'm kicking off this 12 weeks of fitness. The workouts have been awesome. We get up at 6am on Mon/Wed/Fri and hit the gym to rotate push/pull/legs and on Tues/Thurs we get in 20 min of cardio and Sat is a cardio/next muscle group workout. I'm excited to say I am quickly seeing definition and moving up in the amount of weight I can lift. Our weightlifing regimen is 4 sets of increased weights and decreasing reps. Our cardio is interval cardio called HIIT.
The biggest thing I'm finding myself overcoming is hunger. I'm doing 6 small meals that contain a protein, complex carb and veggie but eating little to no carbs in the late afternoon/evening. I am not sure if I am not eating enough or not eating the right things. I have a friend who is living with me for a few weeks and I'm finding it very hard not to splurge in the evenings by having a drink with her and hubby. I did a weigh-in on Tuesday and had gained back the 3 pounds I lost the 2nd week. Maybe it is become TOM is soon to come but whatever reason a gain is BAD, NOT COOL. I realize I'm reshaping but I want to see quick results. It is a struggle because on HCG you weigh daily and see it drop fast. On this plan it is a steady but solid long term plan for long term results.
I'm taking a few supplements. The protein shakes were using are called Spirutein and are sweetened naturally and not made with Whey. I'm thinking whey is causing me bloating so I'm laying off it for a little while. I use almond milk to avoid the lactose as well. I'm taking an Omega 3, Amino Acids, and Multivitamin daily. I also discovered a great booster drink called Spark, it is through a company called Advocare. It is awesome to drink first of the day during my workout and I get that extra mojo for my training session. Today, I bought some CLA from a Sports Nutrition store by the gym. I've been reading that it helps transform belly fat into muscle. Since my belly is my #1 problem area I'm hoping it helps. I have found no evidence that it will help with weight loss but it will help me transform. That is my goal...total transformation!
The biggest thing I'm finding myself overcoming is hunger. I'm doing 6 small meals that contain a protein, complex carb and veggie but eating little to no carbs in the late afternoon/evening. I am not sure if I am not eating enough or not eating the right things. I have a friend who is living with me for a few weeks and I'm finding it very hard not to splurge in the evenings by having a drink with her and hubby. I did a weigh-in on Tuesday and had gained back the 3 pounds I lost the 2nd week. Maybe it is become TOM is soon to come but whatever reason a gain is BAD, NOT COOL. I realize I'm reshaping but I want to see quick results. It is a struggle because on HCG you weigh daily and see it drop fast. On this plan it is a steady but solid long term plan for long term results.
I'm taking a few supplements. The protein shakes were using are called Spirutein and are sweetened naturally and not made with Whey. I'm thinking whey is causing me bloating so I'm laying off it for a little while. I use almond milk to avoid the lactose as well. I'm taking an Omega 3, Amino Acids, and Multivitamin daily. I also discovered a great booster drink called Spark, it is through a company called Advocare. It is awesome to drink first of the day during my workout and I get that extra mojo for my training session. Today, I bought some CLA from a Sports Nutrition store by the gym. I've been reading that it helps transform belly fat into muscle. Since my belly is my #1 problem area I'm hoping it helps. I have found no evidence that it will help with weight loss but it will help me transform. That is my goal...total transformation!
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Body for Life Challenge 7/7/2011 (12 weeks)
That song On the Road Again is going through my head right now. I didn't fully get off the road but I took a downward slide the last few weeks. Knowing that the next 12 weeks are going to be intense and focused on reshaping my body I decided to act as through food was my friend and had no calories.....um, it does and it lied like an enemy. The scale reminded me of that this morning at my weigh-in.
Soooooo, here I go with my hubby in tote and we are facing the next 12 week journey together. The plan is to get up and do 6am workouts. We will train 4 days of weights and 3 days of cardio for the 12 weeks, at least. Our meals will be 6 small meals a day and our goals are set towards winning this challenge. I'm focused on my long-term desire to be a bikini model in my 40's. Since I'm 3 months away from my 37th birthday and since I started this journal on my last one I figure each b-day will be a day of re-evaluation and dedication to my next goal.
~ Current start on my BFL is 28% body fat at 159 pounds. That means that I've gained back 14 pounds from my bottom weight of 145 on my 3rd round of HCG. : (
This battle is torturous but I will win. I WILL WIN!
~ My goal is to be at 140 and 15% body fat. I'm happy to say that I fit into size 5/6 pants and 2/4 skirts. (I started out in tight 12/14's) I'm not going to focus on the scale though because I really want to be fit and whatever the scale says doesn't determine if I am healthy and fit. But, my dream is to drop 19 pds and 13% body fat.
Okai...here goes - 7/7/11 -9/29-11 I'm going to be focused on reshaping myself into a lean, mean, fighting machine!
Soooooo, here I go with my hubby in tote and we are facing the next 12 week journey together. The plan is to get up and do 6am workouts. We will train 4 days of weights and 3 days of cardio for the 12 weeks, at least. Our meals will be 6 small meals a day and our goals are set towards winning this challenge. I'm focused on my long-term desire to be a bikini model in my 40's. Since I'm 3 months away from my 37th birthday and since I started this journal on my last one I figure each b-day will be a day of re-evaluation and dedication to my next goal.
~ Current start on my BFL is 28% body fat at 159 pounds. That means that I've gained back 14 pounds from my bottom weight of 145 on my 3rd round of HCG. : (
This battle is torturous but I will win. I WILL WIN!
~ My goal is to be at 140 and 15% body fat. I'm happy to say that I fit into size 5/6 pants and 2/4 skirts. (I started out in tight 12/14's) I'm not going to focus on the scale though because I really want to be fit and whatever the scale says doesn't determine if I am healthy and fit. But, my dream is to drop 19 pds and 13% body fat.
Okai...here goes - 7/7/11 -9/29-11 I'm going to be focused on reshaping myself into a lean, mean, fighting machine!
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