I actually rested today.

Yes ladies and gentlemen...i did NOT go to the gym today at all. Instead i moved a ton of audio/electronic equipment from my moms house to my apartment. BUT no workout. I know i needed it and also I went to bed at 5am(very unlike me to stay out that late) so I thought....hey if im going to take a rest day..might as well be today.

Anyways...got an old record player from my moms house and have been listening to Pink Floyd all day on it :) soooo good. The sound quality is amazing.

Other greatest discovery is frozen fruit. I know most of you have known about this...but i didn't realize how much it makes you feel like your eating ice cream!! Im eating frozen mango right now..delishhhh.

I need to get more food in. I have only eaten about 600 calories today and its almost 5pm :-/ NOttt good.

Can't wait to workout tomorrow morning feeling refreshed and then SUPERBOWL GO CARDS!!!!!

i have two things to say.

1. great workout today .

2. if you don't watch the office...this is why you need to.

thats all.

Beat.

Hey guys!

I am so tired today. And I have been hungry all day too! I ate very well today and was eating every few hours, but I guess my body was just burning up the food so fast because every two or three hours I was so hungry! Usually I will be somewhat hungry by my next "feeding" but not too bad. Oh well, I didn't munch or do anything wrong, so its alll gooood.

This morning I had another session with Dae. He only had 30 minutes to train me today, but it was 30 minutes STRAIGHT (zero rest) of triceps. All types of pull downs, push downs, dips, diamond pushups, etc. I literally couldn't straighten out my arm at the end of the workout because even THAT was too much for my poor tricep muscles. They stuck with me until they just couldn't do it anymore haha. I finished the workout off with an hour of elliptical/arc trainer. Friday he is going to have me do biceps and shoulders, so I will do back tomorrow.

I think a lot lately about how different my life is now that I have started eating clean. For one, my body is looking a million times better than it ever has. I have now had three people this week separately comment on my body. It feels really good to know that my hard work is paying off. The funny thing is that when i lost 10 pounds last spring, every day was a challenge for me. The reason is because I was eating any food I chose(mostly healthy, some not healthy), but just watching my calories. It works if you want to lose weight, no doubt, however, it is much harder because eating sugary and refined foods makes you crave..........drum rolll................sugary and refined foods!!! WEIRD HUH! I had read so many things about this but until you actually make the commitment to eat clean foods, you don't realize just how impactive it is. I now "splurge" on an extra bowl of oatmeal or a few extra apples. Today for example...i had 2 apples after dinner instead of just the 1 I was planning. I am now able to walk by junk food and my mouth doesn't water. Why? Because I can FEEL the difference that my diet(and i use that term to mean the way that i eat) has had on my body and mind. I feel at peace with my body, I feel happy in my skin, and I feel healthy. I am not saying that I will never eat any bad foods again, but honestly....I have no desire for them and haven't in some time. So who knows, maybe I won't eat them ever again if I never crave them again.

This post has gotten very long but that has been on my mind and I just thought that I would share. For people that struggle with staying on a diet, try eating clean, it is easier than you would ever imagine.

Off to do some homework and then veg out!

SORE!

Okay so yesterday was my first day training with Dae. (Ex Olympian, Captain of Marine Corps, body builder, Swimmer, etc. ) He has a Masters in basically anything related to health and fitness.

Let me tell you this...I have worked out hard in my life...my old trainer was a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and a HUGE believer in leg workouts for women with heavy weights etc. He put me through hell before and it was tough.

Yesterday, however, I probably had the hardest leg workout of my life!! For an entire hour with maybe 3 or 4 30 second rests total did squats, lunges, single leg press, jump squats, jumping lunges. Basically no breaks, lots of drop sets, lots of heavy sets, lots of back to back sets. My ass is annihilated today. It is so sore I can't even believe it. I literally feel like it looks better already hahaha.

Anyways long story short, my new trainer won my heart yesterday and all of my funds will be going to him in the future. (He is giving me 6 free sessions because he is just that nice of a guy and wants to help me out.) I feel so priveliged to be working with him. He is a genius when it comes to building muscle in any place. He knows how to get definition on a certain part of your arm if that is what you want. He knows just where to tweak an exercise to get that definition and okay thats enough rambling haha

My eating has been great also. I started my second phase of my lean down and am now eating 1600-1700 calories per day.(Was at about 1900-2000) I will do this for 3 weeks and then cut down again to about 1400 and then the last 3 weeks leading up to competition I will be at about 1200 (Depending on how i am looking obviously) But that is the plan for now.

I have been eating less brown rice lately, because I feel much fuller off of sweet potato for a carb. I have been eating turkey breast rather than chicken breast too. (No reason really, but I like it better at the moment ha)

That is all I have for now...I have another session with Dae on Wednesday...Biceps and shoulders. Since I got a damn good cardio session with Dae yestrday, i did steady state cardio after the workout and will be doing my Interval/More vigorous cardio on Tuesdays and Thursdays when I do not train with him.

Opinion

This question is mostly opinion since I don't know that we really know the "right answer" but it's a good one.........

As far as weight loss goes......Which is worse......eating 1500-1800 calories of CRAP food (just whatever you feel like...not very nutritious etc.) OR eating 2200-2500 calories of CLEAN and nutritious foods(lots of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, etc.)?

Just curious what you all think is worse. I don't know the answer....i know that the healthy clean foods are technically better for you, that part is obvious. BUT in a weight loss stand point, it gets technical.

If your bored, there's something to think about :)

Irony and Lopsided

I know this is totally random, but i have been seeing a lot of really ironic things lately and i just need somewhere to jot them down haha.
1. I saw a woman walking across the street. She was a Wal-Mart employee, as she was wearing a Walmart shirt. She was carrying a bag from Target.

2. I drove by a business that said "House and Apartment Leasing" The other sign on the building said "Space for Lease" (If that is confusing, basically the house and apartment leasing company had either moved or gone out of business and their space was now available.)

There was one other thing and I totally can't remember right now!! I will figure it out though haha

OTHER TOPIC:

Is it possible to only lose fat on the front side of your body LOL?? I am telling you....when I look in the mirror...my stomach is looking good, arms are looking good, legs ehh.. but looking better.

Then i turn around....my back does not look nearly as lean as my stomach....my butt and back of my legs don't look as tight and toned as the front.

Anyone else ever have this problem or know if its just how my body is or should I be working harder on the back of my body?? Ha very confused!! Also my left leg/glute area has more fat than the right...WHY AM I LOPSIDED?!?!? hahah

Friday! Randomness and Leg Workouts

I have to say, I'm really excited that I don't have to wake up at the crack of dawn tomorrow :) This week has FLOWN by and I know that the following weeks will continue to fly because of my schedule. Yesterday was filled with so much down time that couldn't be used for anything but sitting.

I woke up yesterday at about 6AM....got ready for the gym and headed out. Did a leg workout, followed by 20 minutes of intervals on teh treadmill, with 10 minutes of steady jogging at the end. I then moved onto the stair stepper for 20 minutes. Just as I was getting off, the head trainer at my gym (who will be training me next week! Can't wait as he was in the olympics and needless to say..he knows his shit.) came up to me and said "I had a massage scheduled for right now, but I can't make it...do you want it?" UMM YEAH! Even though I didn't really have time for it, I went anyways and decided I would just do a rush act to go to class after the massage. The massage was amazing!! I then headed to my first class of the day which I thought was about 30 minutes away(its at a different campus then ASU). WRONG it was more like an hour away...I was so late and then I couldn't find parking and by the time I did, I decided SCREW IT..im not making this drive every day! So i left haha. Since I was so far away from home and had to go to class at 1:30 (which is half way between where I was and my house) I decided to waste time at walmart. I go to my 1:30 class and our teacher is sick so he keeps us for 10 minutes....okay well now I don't have class until 3pm....waste more time reading magazines....I get to my 3pm class and we were there for 10 minutes and he decided to let us go! WTF! SOOO I had a 2 hour break before my next class and decided OKAY im going home for some real food. (Ate apples, a clif bar, a protein shake, and an odwalla bar throughout the day...must plan better next thursday)

Anyways....Fitting Back In requested that I post my leg workouts so here goes:

I usually do about 4 sets of each exercise...sometimes only 3 sets....and I usually do about 4 or 5 different exercises. I decide before hand if I want to focus more on glutes and hams or if I want to focus more on quads.

A typical "quad" day may consist of squats(barbell, DB, hack or sumo), leg press, lunges, leg extensions

A typical "ham/glute" day may consist of deadlifts, 45*(degree sign lol) hypers with weight, reverse lunges, bulgarian squats(split squats) with weight, step-ups, hamstring curls, ham curls on the swiss ball, hip thrusts(video link of me below from my old gym..my favorite exercise!), cable donkey kicks, DB squats and sumo squats work the glutes pretty well and much differently than normal medium stance squats


Me on the Skorcher


Anyways, there you have it. Off to the gym now!

Craziness

Sorry I haven't posted in a few days...my schedule has been crazy! First off I'd like to say thank you for all of the comments! They were very helpful to me. I am also proud of myself for not digging my face into food during the days that I was bummed out. I have stayed on plan and will continue to do so. I have to learn that this is going to be a slow process. The fat isn't going to just melt off of me like I want it to. It is going to be subtle changes here and there and I'm okay with that and finally I think I will accept that.

School started this week and I am taking an insane amount of hours (mostly because I am pursuing a business degree and an audio engineering degree at another school) That plus the 15-20 hours a week I am working...and can't forget about the 2 hours in the morning that I leave open for my workouts. Needless to say, life is clockwork these days. I don't mind it. I actually seem to get more done when I'm busy.

Yesterday's workout was shoulders and I feel like my shoulders are really starting to cut out and look bigger than before. Very excited about that! My biceps also seem to be peaking a bit more than they used to. I am going to try to do legs more often than I have been (currently twice a week, may try for a third day depending on how they feel) because they are my problem area. I feel that for so long I have focused on my upper body because it was always scrawny and now that its coming into place, I need to tone up my legs and butt more! I am starting to feel that the competition is getting closer and closer and I am getting nervous about the way I look. I will keep on pushing though, nothing is going to stop me!!

Anyways, its 6:30am and i need to get to the gym ASAP!

Bummin

I'm not sure why, but the past 2 days i have been really bumming about this whole leaning out, losing weight stuff. I lied, I do know why. It's because I stepped on the scale yesterday....and I haven't lost a pound. I understand that I am eating close to maintenance calories so that I can still build some good muscle, but my workouts have been so heavy and hard that I thought I should still lose some weight on the scale if I am losing fat. The thing is before I got on the scale i was on a high horse..really excited about how my stomach was looking and stuff...even my legs a little bit...then I got on that scale and i just got really upset. I just can't or don't want to believe that I am building enough muscle and losing fat to even out the scale. I am starting to worry that I won't be able to lean out enough for the competition and I'm just really bummed about right now.

Anyone ever feel like this or experience something like this? Where in reality you think that even though they are small changes, you are changing for the better, but then something like the scale tells you your not.

Stupid scale i hate you!!! LOL.

Anyways I could really use some motivators right now if you have any :) I'm going to the gym now...it can't hurt right ;-)

Results are in!

I ran my half marathon this morning! It went better than I even expected. I haven't run more than 6 miles in over a month and was assuming I might have to walk some...well, I didn't! And in fact I got faster as the race went on! I started with a 10:38 pace and by the end was at a 10:14 pace. My time was 2 hours 13 minutes and 58 seconds. I placed...7,753th! Haha, but it was out of like 35,000 people! So not too bad I guess. Either way, I had fun, I passed my expectations, and most of all I RAN A FREAKIN 1/2 MARATHON.

What I learned: I have no desire to run a full marathon. Haha. For anyone out there who does that, you are amazing. Running a half marathon made me ache like crazy, and knowing to train for a full i would be running those like cake...NOPE doesn't sound fun to me.

Anyways, that was my "only"(i use that term lightly haha) exercise today. Eats have been awesome, except that I haven't eaten enough for how many calories I burned (somewhere in the 1900's according to my HRM) and that was just my exercise. I am at about 1800 calories for the day, so I need to eat but i have no appetite.Funny how that works out....

Busy Lizzy

Today has been quite the busy day! Not complaining though. I am finally feeling better...still a stuffy nose, but none of that dragging, tired, sick feeling.

I woke up at about 8 this morning and had a breakfast of proatmeal and an apple. I headed to the gym and did biceps and triceps (my triceps were starting to feel sore during my last set of bench dips so it was definitely a good work out.) I added a 25 pound plate to my bench dips today (usually just do body weight between two benches) and i was pumping out 8-10 reps per set. I haven't done them recently and am glad to see I'm getting stronger! I had some of a friend's protein shake post workout(he was giving me samples of all the different proteins he had in his bag because he said they were delicious...and they were!!) He also gave me a sample of XPand which is a glutamine, b-vitamin, and creatine mixture..it was tasty and the ingredients looked pretty solid so I may have to invest :)

Tomorrow is my P.F. Changs 1/2 marathon too! So today my friend Brittni and I went downtown to pick up our race packets. We stopped at Samurai Sams on the way and i decided to get food, being I could get white meat chicken and steamed vegetables without sauce. Well the chicken still had some skin on it and some yucky stuff so I basically disected every single piece and didn't get much out of it. The vegetables were good though! After that, I had a hair appointment. I needed food in me, so I stopped and got a Clif bar..it was all I had time to grab and it was the best thing I could find at CVS (wanted almonds, but they were all salted! :-(..) After my hair appointment I had a medium sized sweet potato and some more chicken, along with two apples, some strawberries, proatmeal, and then a shake of protein powder, 1/2 a banana, and cinnamon(very good!)...this was all spanned out over about 2 hours by the way. I just am trying to get my protein in. So as far as eating today it wasn't the best as far as timing and nutrients, but I still have one more meal to get some more protein in! (Only at 137 g. right now and would like to be closer to 180 or above) I feel like I can see more straitions in my back and shoulders lately so I'm excited about that!

Race tomorrow at 8:30AM. I hope I am ready for it. My running training has not been what it should be, so if I need to walk at some point, then I will, but at the same time...i think i can pull it off! We will see my friends :)

Friday

Thanks for all of the wonderful comments! It is cool to see how many supporters I have :) I am still at home sick. Managed to get in 45 minutes of elliptical today and did some legs, but nothing crazy. Eating has been going well yesterday and today and I am feeling like a nap right now.

I'll post more later.

PROGRESS PICS

Okay so I have been doing this whole workout thing for about a year and a half now. I have seen ups and downs but never really took progress pictures. I weighed about 128 pounds back in June, and then all hell broke loose and I decided to gain back 14 pounds of that. By Decemeber I was hating the way that I looked. I couldn't get out of my binge cycle. Anyways....I took pictures on December 18th, 2008 and decided enough was enough.

This picture makes me sick to my stomach! I was puffy and blehhh...

So here is one I took tonight...January 15th..approximately 1 month later....

Now, I'm not at a competition weight yet, but im getting there and that is some progress that I really notice! I couldn't believe it when I saw the two pictures side by side..I knew i was looking better but WOW i feel like the second picture loooks SOOOO much better.

Anyways i had to share my excitement! That is some motivation! Can't wait to see what I look like in February!!!!! :):):) I'm so excited i could cry :)

Sumo Wrestler Diet

This made me laugh...

If you want to look like a sumo wrestler....

1. Skip breakfast. By depriving their bodies of food after eight hours of sleep, their metabolic rates stay low.

2. Exercise on an empty stomach. If their bodies haveno food, their metabolic thermostats are turned down even lower to conserve fuel.

3. Take a nap after eating. The Sumo secret for gaining weight is that, after eating, they sleep for at least four hours.

4. Eat late in the day. Going to bed with full stomachs means that their bodies must respond to the huge flood of nutrients with a rush of insulin, forcing their bodies to store some of it in the cells as fat instead of in the muscles and organs as nutrients.

5. Always eat with others in a social atmosphere. According to leading researchers, a meal eaten with others can be at least 44 percent larger and with 30 percent more calories and fat.

There you have it...the dream diet we have all been looking for :-)

Blah

Being sick is no fun!! This time it got the best of me and I actually have been sitting on my couch since noon hehe.

I did get a great shoulder workout in this morning followed by a low intensity 30 minutes on the elliptical. I ate more calories then i wanted to today (2100) but oh well, not a big deal. (Wanted to eat about 1800) All of it was clean food so it isn't horrible, and i'm still feeling sick. What the hell else was i supposed to do all day :)

Anyways, i'm really really bored now and want to go for a walk or something. I didn't get anything done today that I wanted to, and now i have watched everything on tv, and surfed every website. I need some fresh air. Maybe just a walk around the block with the ipod will refresh me.

Still sick...

Still sick today, and woke up soooo congested. I took some tylenol not too long ago and it helped tremendously. I am going to get some strength training in today, because I feel up to it and I just am a worrier about losing muscle. I have been realizing lately that I LOVE these muscles I have built on my body. I took yoga yesterday and could see my arms in the mirror and it just made me so damn happy that I have muscle to show off to the world. It takes a lot of time and effort to build muscle, and I am proud of mine and not afraid to tell the world that! So that being said, I can't miss two days in a row of strength training I will feel like a weakling lol.

Breakfast today was 1 cup egg whites, proatmeal (1/4 cup rolled oats, 1 scoop whey protein, cinnamon), and an apple.

Off to do my strength training, probably won't do cardio today because I'm not feeling up to it.

Cheated.

Not gonna lie, i was feeling so crappy today that i really just didn't care about my food intake. I ate 90% clean, but then i will admit i had a clif mojo bar, some trail mix, and for whatever reason i had a smuckers peanut butter and jelly sandwich thing from the freezer (yuckkk.) crappy food makes you feel like...CRAP. who woulda thought hah. I am not feeling too guilty over it, i honestly feel so shitty today that even if i wanted to make myself feel guilty, i couldn't. One day won't kill me and i know that i will be back on track tomorrow. Hopefully I will be feeling better, cuz that will make it easier. I just needed to get that out of my system maybe?

Anyways, i ended up today doing 40 minutes on the treadmill, incline walked the first 15 minutes and ran the rest of the way. Then went to a yoga class. Surprisingly, no more exercise for the day for me. (I was supposed to go rock climbing, but i just felt too sick.) I now have an annoying stuffy nose. Ya know the kind when you sit or lay down you can't breathe out of one nostril...ARGGHH. Going to take some tylenol pm though and pass out.

Hopefully i will feel better in the morning. If you can even handle this my calorie intake today was..............3,673!!!!!!!!!! That is horendous. I at least kept track, and like I said...most of it was clean foods (lots of apples, oatmeal,) but it was the clif mojo bar, the larabar, the stupid smuckers uncrustable, the trail mix..those all REALLY made it add up. Anyways, not feeling guilty about it. Tomorrow is another day and I think it helps me stay on track if i have a cheat day here and there. That is the first one I have had in like...a month...so that in itself is an accomplishment, as for a while I was in a real rut and was binging like crazy.

Great article

Everyone should read this. It gave me some new insights and I think it will do the same for you.

Definitely eating over calories today. I will probably end up in the 2500 range, but I am sick and not binging, just need a day of food in whatever quantity i want lol. Still eating clean foods though.

sick..AGAIN

Ugh! So my room mate has been sick all week and of course, now I am feeling sick. A sore throat :-( This is the 3rd time in the last few months. (Luckily nothing bad, but a cold is annoying!)

Note to self: "No Lizzy, feta cheese does NOT taste good with your egg whites"
Do you think that stopped me from eating them? Of course not. :)

Today i am honestly going to rest. I am going to a yoga class at 9:30, but thats IT. And rock climbing tonight but what I am trying to say is no formal cardio, no formal weight lifting. My diet is going to be a little cheatful as well. I use that term lightly because my "cheats" are the reduced fat feta i had in my egg whites, and a little low sodium tomato soup i had when I woke up to soothe my throat. I will probably have a protein bar later cuz well...we all know i love those :)

Quick question: Larabars are made with simple natural ingredients, so is that counted as a processed food though??? I always want to say no its not, but then again...i don't know??

A few more quotes...

"Water continually dropping will wear hard rocks hollow."

"People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing - that's why we recommend it daily."

"You will never plough a field if you only turn it over in your mind"

Off to work :)

Tuesday

"Obsessed is just a word the lazy use to describe the dedicated."

I like that quote. I can't tell you how often, family included, tells me that I am "obsessed" with working out and being healthy. I don't tell them they are "obsessed" with being lazy and unhealthy! Anyways, this quote made me smile :-)

Breakfast today: 1 apple; 1/2 cup rolled oats with 1 scoop of whey protein, cinnamon and some blueberries, and a hard boiled egg-white.

Off to the gym. I am not sure if I am supposed to work today because usually I don't work on Tuesdays, but for some reason I thought I was working today. Hmmm..should probably figure that one out :) Anyways, I'm feeling tired and sluggish right now, so maybe I will take today off from any intense exercise, we'll see, I am no longer going to plan rest days, because it never seems to happen!

P.S.

Go read this post by Katschi It is as if you she took the words right out of my mouth!!!

It is a great post and she is such an inspiring woman!

SUPER STOKEDDD!

Hello everyone!!

Okay so good news! Saturday was my weigh-in day. I posted about it and had said I weighed in at 136 pounds and I was hoping so badly that it was muscle and that I had lost fat. WELL.....

Today I got my body fat taken at the gym with the calipers. I told him (good friend and a trainer there) that i didn't want him to make me feel good...I said grab that fat and give me the real number!!! I was literally shaking i was so nervous!! So nervous because I didn't want to feel like I have been working this hard only to find out that I didn't lose any body fat......so the verdict.....

.....................

.................



22.2%!!!!
Down 2% since my last BF test back in I think October-ish? And the best part is that I still weigh the same that I did then! Meaning I am putting on muscle and losing fat! About 3 pounds of yucky ugly gross FAT is GONE!! :):):):)

My goal by competition time is 15%, so my short term goals are this:

19% by February 12th (1 month from today)
15% by March 20th (1 week away from competition)

I believe I can do it. I have been at 18% body fat before, however I weighed 128 pounds and didn't have as much muscle. Needless to say I got that low in only 3 months :)

I am very excited and am on cloud nine today! I did the test before my workout and it made my workout that much better. Eating healthy is THAT much more gratifying today and I really am excited.


On a VERY DIFFERENT note..i am looking for an unbiased opinion here about something...

Do you ever go through times where you just really don't want to be around your family? I have a wonderful family but also many family issues...my mother is a severe alcoholic(i am currently not speaking to her because of this), parents are recently divorced, my dad is now the king of dating..everyone...and i love my brothers and sister to death and have no issues with them but lately i am just not wanting to be around them. I want to just keep some distance for a while. I love my dad and we get along well but I have no idea why, I just dont want to be around him either. Has anyone else ever experienced this? I just want to not speak to them for a while(excluding my sister and brothers, because they are my back bone and the reason i am still sane today after going through the childhood ive been through)

Anyways....is this normal? is this okay?

Would like to get some opinions.....

What do I even call this?

So i failed at resting today. I ended having an amazing leg workout....bar bell squats, DB squats, step-ups, curtsie lunges, decline hack squat machine...leg extensions....some other random stuff. I was doing triple drop sets and really had an excellent workout. I also did 45 minutes on the elliptical and 18 minutes on the stair stepper.

So in essence...i "failed" at resting, but i wouldn't come close to calling it a failure. I will just take a rest day this week when I have a busy day. Maybe tuesday or wednesday?

I am watching Almost Famous right now. Love this movie :)

Sunday Funday!

Good morning all! It is Sunday and I have semi-decided (this could change) that I need to take a day of rest! I took a day of "rest" on Wednesday but ended up doing over 2 hours of exercise heh. So I am going to try to rest completely today. NO GYM. I know I need to do it, even though psychologically I REALLY don't want to.

Not to be advertising because that is not what this blog is about, but if you are looking for a fun way to exercise visit the Exercise Pole website. It is a company that I am a partner in. I have done the moves and it honestly is really fun and challenging. It is something cool and different and although the "stripper" mentality shows up in most people's minds, they really are a great source of exercise, so check it out!

Breakfast today was 3 apples (this apple addiction is getting pretty intense....lol) and a bowl of proatmeal. That is what I am calling it from now on.....1/2 cup of rolled oats, 1 scoop of cookies and cream flavored whey protein and cinnamon. DELISH.

Okay off to do something?!?! I don't even know what to do with my mornings if im not at the gym..i may go do a yoga class or something???

Hmm

This bothered me...... I took a body image quiz for fun..and this was one part of the results.....

"Unrealistic goals: While you can improve your body, getting the 'perfect' body is out of reach for most of us. Constantly striving for a goal you can't reach may leave you frustrated."

What?!! OUT OF REACH?? This must be coming from someone who just doesn't have the drive in them to push themselves...Now don't get me wrong, a perfect body is defeinitely in the eye of the beholder..my perfect body is not your perfect body, but my point is this....i think that phrase is very negative. All of us CAN get to our own "perfect body" if we put our heart and mind into it and try...is it easy? HELL NO. And what you are happy with is different from what I am happy with, but many of you know from your own success, and many are in the journey right now, that if you put all your effort into something you CAN achieve it. There are physical features that truly cannot be changed, but looking your best for YOUR BODY is very acheivable and that is what a perfect body is....its not the same for any single person.


Okay done ranting :)

Taking my own advice

So today was a weigh in day for me. Last week I was about 136 lbs....today I was 137lbs. I know I have been doing everything right. My calories have been between 1800-2000 with a few days at about 2200. My workouts have been great and I feel and look much better. I can TELL that there is less fat on me. It might be psychological, but I am liking how things are going, so I really believe that this is a water, muscle, or some sort of mixture type of gain. Phit and Phat posted an excellent bulletin the other day about this exact issue. I just need to make sure to take my own advice and not worry about the gain. I have been eating clean and I truly truly believe i lost the fat, but of course I second guess myself because, hey, doesn't everyone on this journey?

I am watching the movie The Net right now and it is intense! I can't imagine having my entire identity stolen and not knowing a single person in my town...good movie! Ha.

I am supposed to go rock climbing today on a REAL MOUNTAIN for the first time. I am really nervous, and it isn't a for sure thing that I am going, I am waiting to hear if the people I would go with are still going. They are experienced climbers, but I have never stepped foot outside of the rock gym, so we'll see!

Wish me luck!

Best quote

"We are living in a world today where lemonade is made from artificial flavors and furniture polish is made from real lemons.”

That is such a true statement!

I am feeling AMAZING today guys. I don't know what it is, but ever since I have started eating clean, i feel un-f*cking-believable. (Sorry for the language) But seriously!! It is like a high that i get randomly throughout my day. I don't know if its the psychological effect of eating so healthy or what, but all i can say is...its kind of scary when you first start out..being your foods are more limited etc, but IT IS SO WORTH IT. Seriously, try it for a week and if you hate life, then go back to whatever you were doing, but its definitely the best thing that has ever happened to me!

For Breakfast today...I had 1/4 cup of rolled oats with 1 scoop of whey protein and lots of cinnamon :) Two apples to go with that.

Today's workout was back and a little bit of abs. I did like 17 sets of back because I just kept thinking about different exercise I was in the mood to do ha! Cardio was 30 minutes on the elliptical and 15 minutes running between 6.0-7.3 mph.

(Sorry for the colors, im bored haha) I got home and showered and decided that I wanted to see what I looked like in a "figure girl" outfit. So i put on a swim suit and heels....it was a good idea because i was able to see my problem areas and what i need to work on most! In addition to overall more muscular arms, I need to lose the junk in my trunk! My legs were looking pretty good and my stomach was too, but I would say i need to lose about 1/2 inch to an inch in my mid section and about the same in my booty. On a very postive note I am defeinitely seeing changes in my body and cant WAIT to do my body fat on Monday! (Scary, considering I was at 18% in June, then fell off the wagon and the last time i checked it was 24!!!!! :-() But i am feeling confident that i am somewhere in the 20ish percent range....so we shall see and I will let you know!!!

What a day...

Here's my update for today.....

Breakfast: Woke up at about 7 this morning and ate a breakfast of oatmeal with protein powder, an apple and a tangelo. I grabbed a Larabar on the way to the gym because I knew my workout was going to be grueling and I wanted to be able to get through it.

The workout: I did 1 hour on the treadmill....i started off at a 10% incline at 3.8-3.9mph and 15% at about 3.4 mph in intervals and did that for about 20 minutes, then i jogged at 6.0mph with intervals of 2 minutes each at 8.0 mph..i did 3 of those....then did some more incline walking and then finished up with some jogging. Let's just say I was sweating like crazy after...heh

It didn't stop there...next i did a chest work out...i did DB incline press, cable flys, and DB bench press..4 sets of each...then i was planning on doing legs but my calves are SO sore from the plyometrics i did the other day..that and the fact that i went rock climbing monday and wednesday, which i haven't done in a while, so that probably added to it....but my hamstrings were okay, so i did a bunch of deadlifts and some hamstring curls.

DEADLIFTS: I decided that i want to try and get back to my old deadlift strength...at one point i was able to deadlift 205lbs and i really would like to be able to go heavy again! (stopped due to an unrelated back injury) Anyways..i started off slow today....65lbs, 75lbs, 95lbs,115lbs, and topped off with 2 reps at 135 lbs. It felt pretty heavy to me which was kind of sad considering 135 used to be a warm up for me...but in due time!

I ended up eating 2325 calories today..i know, thats high, but i usually eat around 1800 calories per day and sometimes like to have a slightly higher calorie day just because sometimes i feel like i need it.....my activity level is high enough that i still think i burned more than i ate...and it was all clean foods so it doesn't really bother me, as long as it isn't an every day occurence (considering im trying to get leaner right now)

Lunch: After my workout i had a protein shake, then for lunch i had some fruit, chicken, rice, and vegetables...

Afternoon snack was a protein shake again

Dinner: For dinner, i ran out of my pre-made chicken so i had a bowl of brown rice and egg whites with some fruit (strawberries, blackberries, and apples) I also had oatmeal with protein powder and cinnamon after dinner.

I did have a 100 calorie bag of popcorn too :-/ That is my cheat for today, but it was the last bag and i won't be buying more so that problem is taken care of :)

How's everyone doing with their diet and exercise plans in the new year? I would love to hear your thoughts!

i have two problems

these are not serious problems and i am glad these are my two problems as opposed to other things.

1. I can't take rest days! I am supposed to take one day of rest every week where i don't do my cardio OR weights. Most people would be like "sweet day off!" Well today was my "day off" and i still ended up doing 35 minutes of light cardio and a yoga-pilates class that literally kicked my ass lol. I even felt like today i should rest..my muscles were tired and i just know that feeling after exercising for so long. Anyways, its something i need to work on, but i'm not complaining...id rather have this problem then a problem getting TO the gym.

Dos. I am addicted to protein bars haha. i don't keep them in my house because i will eat them all. Today, i haven't had one and i am craving one so bad!! i am trying to resist it and have a perfectly clean day, but i just love them. Balance pure bars are so hard to resist because they are actually pretty good for you as far as ingredients (only 3 or 4 wholesome ingredients) but I just know i don't NEED it. And i am trying to kick this little addiction that has developed in the last few weeks. I think it is because i am not eating bread or sweets....so now that is my little treat. Hmmm. Well i am going to attempt to make it through the day wihtout one, but i'm not gonna lie....if i happen to have the urge and i am buy a grocery store i really hope i can stop myself...but i might not.....

I also have an addiction to apples...seriously its ridiculous..i buy them like 15-20 at a time and go through them within a couple of days. I guess thats not a bad thing to be addicted to though :) But too much of anything can't be good right?!

Okay enough of my ranting ;)

Thank you everyone!

I really wanted to thank everyone for their support! you guys are awesome and your words of encouragement are so helpful!

Some people were confused by the moves i was talking about yesterday and I decided that I am going to post a video so you all can see some of the moves and try them yourselves! I am not sure when this will be up but keep checking back :)

Anyways...i woke up really early this morning because I went to bed really early last night ha. I watched the new season of The Biggest Loser, which im sure many of you did. That sucks that so many people have to go home even though it is only for a month, many won't come back. Oh well though. I can't wait to see these people lose weight because all of them have a pretty long way to go !

Breakfast this mroning will be an apple and some protein oatmeal! Maybe some egg whites too, haven't decided yet.

Building off of Motivation!

So through my year and a half experience with fitness and healthy living, I have figured out in the past few months that it is all VERy easy. You workout, you eat well. Those are not the hard parts. The only hard part about any of it is MOTIVATION. When you are motivated the workouts are easier and FUN, you enjoy eating healthy foods rather than cheeseburgers and pizza, and you take pride in all of this. Staying motivated is the answer to it all. I, like everyone, have my moments of doubt, my moments of just wanting to say "f*ck it" and go back to my old lifestyle of fast food and being sedentary. When i have moments like that, i search for something that could motivate me whether it is reading a blog, watching something on tv, reading a magazine, whatever it is. And when you get that spark of motivation, you want nothing more than to just head to the gym and lift the heaviest weights you can find and run faster than you ever have before. You crave that sweat and that burn.

Anyways,

This morning i had one of those moments. I don't know exactly what it was that got me to feel that way but I was so excited on my way to the gym. I couldn't WAIT to get there and start my workout. I also wanted to do something a little different, because after all, change is key in your workouts. I read Oxygen's Fat Loss Special Edition magazine yesterday and they had a lot of plyometric exercises in there (sprints, jumps, etc.) The exercises reminded me of being on sports teams and doing all of these different moves (butt kickers, knee highs, frankensteins) So i decided that i was going to make it part of my cardio for the day.

I warmed up on the treadmill for about 6 minutes, then headed to a clear area of the gym where I could do these moves. I estimated it to be about 40-50 yards of space. I did 4 sprints, and then mixed up some sets of butt kickers, knee highs, high skips, frankensteins, ironman, tuck jumps, long jumps, and finished with 4 more sprints. I took very little rest in between sets, 2o seconds at most, and it was a heart pounding ass kicking session. I LOVED IT and plan on doing it at least once a week if not more. I followed that up with 20 minutes of steady jogging on the treadmill and 10 minutes of walking at a 10% incline at about 3.7 mph.

Next was the shoulder workout. I did multiple drop sets. This is where you have 3 (or 4 or 5 or whatever you want) weights. Heavy, medium, and light. I started with the heavy and did 8 reps, followed by 8 reps of medium and 8 reps of light with no break. It is suprising how heavy 3 lb. weights become when you do sets like that.

All in all i had a fantastic workout and feel WONDERFUL.

Hope everyone is having a fantastic day.

Oh by the way..remind me. DO NOT BUY PROTEIN BARS. i love them and wish i could eat them at every meal but at this point in my training i shouldnt be having them at all....eek..

today i actually had two :-( i buy ones with good wholesome ingredients but STILL, it is off of program and not okay so you all have permission to yell at me :) Thanks!

Full Time Job

I have decided that training for a competition...or any kind of training in general should be considered a full time job. You spend 2+ hours at the gym every day....another hour of showering after the gym....the time you take to eat six times a day...making protein shakes etc. and honestly that in itself is a full time commitment. Not to mention, when you do an hour of running, walking, elliptical whatever and another hour of weight training....it is tiring! Doing all of that and then heading to my real job really takes it out of me. Anyways enough of my rant.

Diet and training has been going very well for me. I have been eating only clean foods with the exception of a bag of popcorn the other night and a Clif Mojo bar. The ingredients in those aren't too bad, but it isn't part of my training diet! Other than that i have been good with sticking to the plan.

Today i mixed things up and did biceps and triceps...it wasn't my best workout of all time, however i still feel that i got in a good session.

How's everybody else doing with their diets since the new year?

I'm not sick I'm not sick

So i thought i was done being sick..but it thought otherwise. I am not really that sick, i just have some lingering symptoms that decide to come and go as they please...i feel great all day and in the evening i'm just not 100%, but that's okay..overall i still feel pretty good and i'm getting good workouts. In my head i know i should be resting more, but i have a hard time doing so!

This morning i woke up really early for some reason, so i decided to do some grocery shopping. I had a Balance Pure bar on my way home, and then an apple and egg whites. I went to the gym and only did 40 minutes of cardio and then a back workout.....i was planning on doing more cardio, but i don't want to push it and become even more sick.

After the workout, i had my protein shake and went to my Sabaki ball game..if your curiuos www.sabakiball.com

I got home a little while ago and cooked my chicken for the week, since i ran out today at lunch. Lunch was the usual....chicken, brown rice and green beans...you would think i would get sick of it but now that i am eating for training, i know i don't have a choice so it takes the thinking out of the food situation..i know that for lunch im always going to have the same thing (or similar) and it really doesn't bother me. If it does, i will start making turkey burgers or something to change it up, but for now this has been the simplest thing for me.

Good news: I can already tell that my stomach is leaning out a little bit! My stomach is the first place to lose weight always, so that is how i can tell how my diet is going. I weighed in at 135 today, which is a good thing, because i know i have been losing fat and putting on muscle, so the fact that i weigh about the same as when i started is actually a good thing for me. I can tell that my arms are getting bigger and more defined and others have noticed as well.

Another flag for me with my diet is my face...if i am eating poorly, my face blows up and i HATE IT...honestly that is the worst feeling in the world...right now my face is looking thin and that is a good sign...i am still counting calories, but have been so satisfied with my diet that i almost don't even need to..but i still do just to make sure :)

I'm going shopping with my sister once she gets here and can't wait to use my Nordstrom gift card :):):) free shopping is the best.

Hope your weekend is going well!

I love 2009

So far i just am having a very good 2009...here's to keeping it that way!

Last night i saw the movie Secret Life of Benjamin Button...very good. Kinda depressing but a really good movie.

This morning I had 4 egg whites with some chopped bell pepper and 2 apples for breakfast. Sorry there haven't been any pictures lately, but I have been lazy. I can spend 2 hours at the gym, but i can't upload a few pictures..yes i know..its sad...but i will get back to it soon i promise!

Anyways the workout:

I ran 6 miles on the treadmill and then did a leg workout. My legs feel like jello after what i put them through this morning..but since i only do legs twice a week i make it count. The leg workout consisted of 4 sets of squats, 4 sets of walking lunges, and then 3-4 sets each of the hip abduction machine, glute machine, and lying hamstring curls. I also did a set of abs in between every (or almost every) set of legs....i mixed it up a lot but some of the highlights are hanging leg raises, ball crunches, and the ab machine. Definitely going to be late to work today, but that's okay because i'm sure not much is going on at the office.

What is everyone's favorite muscle to work? I love shoulders! I wish i could do shoulders every day haha.

Happy New Year!

Hope everyone had a great and safe new years! I had a BLAST last night....probably one of the best nights i've ever had. I stuck my diet throughout the day...and actually didn't drink at all last night. Everyone i was with was drunk enough to keep me entertained for days and i was so tired that i might as well have been drunk (slap happy). I am a very outgoing person and when I am around drunk people and a little bit tired....I think im the craziest one haha.

I went to bed at 3AM and was planning on NOT working out at all today and just resting...but my friend asked me if I was going to the gym and I decided okay i will just do some weights with him......but I ended up doing 30 min. of cardio while I waited for him....then we did Shoulders and biceps....and we went HARD...it felt awesome....and afterwards i did 45 minutes of cardio with him because that is his new years resolution to do more cardio...then my sister showed up at the gym so i told her i'd do some cardio with her...just 20 minutes....but totaled an hour and 35 min. of cardio and an hour of hard strength training! So much for not working out haha.

Meals have been good today as well....egg whites and raspberries for breakfast.....a Balance Pure bar and an apple on the way to the gym(dont usually eat bars but i was hungry and those are the best ones i can find as far as ingredients go)...then i had a protein shake after my workout...chicken brown rice and green beans for lunch with another apple and some raspberries and now im getting ready to go to a movie.



SO FAR....2009 HAS BEEN AMAZING!!!

Leave me comments and let me know how yours was!