Sunday, May 25, 2008

BGB-1 Week 8

Monday

I moved on from the Turbo Jam Learn & Burn to the 20 Minute Workout today, plus the usual standing segment of Ab Jam. Maybe next week I'll do both segment. I hate doing abs on my back though. Anyway, it was a good, good workout! I got sweaty and out of breath. I'm still a bit uncoordinated, but I will definitely get the hang of it!

Food was good, too. Low carb day. I even tried a new recipe - curry chicken. It was great.

Tuesday

I've been doing the President's Challenge for over a year now, just logging my exercise each day. I finally accumulated enough points for the Gold award. I thought this was the end, and I was pretty bummed about not really having anything to log (and which is why I signed up for the WOMAN Challenge). But lo and behold:

You are 16 % of the way toward the goal of 500000 points for a Platinum Award. Only 419981 points to go!

So I guess I do have more President's Challenge logging ahead of me.

I'm actually very proud of myself. We were under a tornado watch most of the evening, and it was pretty stressful. I unplugged the computer and didn't really have anything to do, so I was pretty bored. I cooked dinner (but I stopped measuring food), and we ate. Then I was hungry again. There M&Ms in the freezer. I managed to get through the evening without having even one!! I did end up eating a banana, an egg cream, and a chocolate protein shake after dinner (which was cubed steak and spaghetti squash with green pepper and onion). So, I made it through an incredibly boring evening without eating junk food!

Wednesday

I woke up late and had to run off to a playdate, so I didn't get my workout in first thing this morning. I was worried that I'd put it off once I got home, but I didn't. Then I debated skipping HIIT. I didn't. Go me!

On plan with food, still. I'm still really proud of myself for not eating the M&Ms yesterday.

Thursday

No formal exercise today. I've been cleaning the house and getting ready for my father-in-law's visit. As he usually does when he comes down, he's going to be taking us to a seafood buffet. I'm taking a cheat for that meal, both otherwise, I should be on plan during his visit. I shouldn't have any problems with weights, but cardio is always a challenge because a) I'm still uncoordinated with Turbo Jam and b) I only wear shorts and a sports bra when I do cardio - especially HIIT. I get way too hot and cranky if I wear even my usual workout tank top. I'll have to see if I can find something lighter than my tank to wear on the two days I have cardio scheduled while he's here.

I ate on plan today, but my father in law showed up a day early, with freshly processed sausage and jerky from our favorite meat market in Pennsylvania. I ate a few things, but didn't log them in my food tracker because I don't know the nutritional values for the. Protein though. That's all I care about.

Friday

Great workout today. Lat pulls are driving me nuts. I really need a pullup bar.

It was another "if I don't get some chocolate I am going to lose my mind" night. I am proud today that, two nights in a row, I have not caved!! GO ME!

Saturday

I had another great workout. My son was still asleep when I was lifting, so I was able to get through it without lots of distractions. I'm still doing HIIT after legs, and I had no idea if I'd make it all the way through today. My legs were already jelly from the deads and squats. I wanted to drop one interval from the plan, but I didn't. I still miss running though.

I made some homemade low carb peanut butter cups today. I added some chocolate peanut butter Capella flavor drops to them. They are fantastic. I'm trying to practice portion control. It's a miracle the entire batch isn't gone. I have overeaten dinner, though. Damn my husband for being such a great burger griller!!

Sunday

We went out for lunch. I ate dessert. Pfft.

Saturday, May 24, 2008

Updated Strength Training Routine

I'm beginning a four-week block of new/progressed exercises. At the end of this four weeks, I'll be heading to New York for a week and won't have access to anything except resistance bands and dvds. Still following Baby Got Back format here.

Monday:
Turbo Jam

Tuesday:
lat pull (pronated grip) - 78 lbs (5x5)
one arm db row - 25 lbs (3x8-12 before adding weight)
bb press - 67 lbs (5x5)
db fly - 20 lbs (3x8-12)
db calf raise - 20 lbs (3x8-12)

Wednesday:
full squat - 42 lbs (5x5)
step ups - unweighted (3x8-12)
straight leg deads - 78 lbs (3x8-12)
EZ bar curl - 32 lbs (3x8-12)
20 minutes HIIT on elliptical

Thursday:
Turbo Jam or OFF

Friday:
lat pull (supinated grip) - 83 lbs (5x5)
EZ bar pullover - 22 bs (3x8-12)
db overhead press - 25 lbs (5x5)
side lat db throw - 15 lbs (3x8-12)

Saturday:
Romanian deads - 93 lbs (5x5)
good morning - 37 lbs (3x8-12)
front squat - 37 lbs (3x8-12)
skull crushers - 34 lbs (3x8-12)
20 minutes HIIT on elliptical

Sunday:
OFF

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Egg Creams Using Egg Substitute

I made another batch of this using Egg Mates and skim milk. In my opinion, not as good as the first version. The lack of fat makes it less rich. It does kind of remind me of the Starbucks vanilla frappuccino though. My coffee might have been too strong. Anyway, the recipe and numbers:

1/4 cup egg mates
4 tsp Splenda
1/2 cup skim milk
8 oz cold coffee
ice cubes

75 calories
0 g fat
9 g carbs
10 g protein

I also didn't think there was any need to blend it. I just shook it up in a covered cup. Oh, and I threw in a few drops of Capella vanilla, as well as some sugar free vanilla DaVinci syrup.

BGB-1 Week 7

Monday

Ah, a new week. I desperately wanted to skip Turbo Jam this morning but I didn't. And I'm glad I didn't because I am really starting to enjoy it.

I am starting to look at treadmills again. I don't think I'll be buying one anytime soon, but I am definitely on the lookout for a good deal. I really do miss running. The TJ is fun, but nothing makes me sweat like a run. I really, really want a treadmill!!

Food was ok today. I did push dinner until pretty late, though.

Tuesday

Good weights day. No Turbo. Food was good.

Wednesday

My quads hate me. Or, they will in the morning. Squats were fantastic today. I am looking forward to some big changes to my routine after next week. And surprise - I am actually enjoying HIIT!

Food was good most of the day. I made chili for my husband, and I was going to have chicken and broccoli, but I decided to have chili instead. It was simple - tomato sauce, beans, burger, onion, and green pepper. I had two bowls, but didn't enter it in my tracker because I really didn't know how much of what I had.

Thursday

No exercise today. It's my optional day. I need to get around to making it mandatory. I think when I change my stuff up after next week, I will. Food was okay. I desperately wanted junk, but stuck to real stuff.

Friday

Workout was fantastic today!! I could really feel my muscles working. The lat throws are great!

I woke up late so food is off schedule. Plus, I was out of cottage cheese, and that threw off my pre-workout snack. I've been fine, otherwise.

Once again, I'm looking at treadmills. I really want to run. We're going to Dick's on Sunday to look around. Maybe they will have a good deal.

Saturday

The day started off pretty rocky. The cottage cheese I bought yesterday was disgusting and I had to scrample for an acceptable pre-workout meal. I ended up making a protein shake, with peanut butter, so it's going to be a high calorie day. After a fantastic workout, I was starving!! I did HIIT on the elliptical again, and threw in an extra interval. I loved it.

Very hungry day. My husband made burgers on the grill. He makes the best burgers.

Sunday

No exercise, but I did some gardening and tried two new foods: egg cream and artichokes. Not together. Both were very good, though the artichokes were a bit more work than the egg cream. Oh, and I tried some Kashi Go Lean protein bars. Pretty good. Not too sweet.

Food was okay today. The cost of food is killing my efforts to stick with chicken breast. We had grilled chicken leg quarters for dinner. Yes, I ate the skin. I may adopt a philosophy of "if it grows, eat it."

Speaking of growing, we planted more in our garden today: cauliflower, watermelon, cantaloupe, pumpkins, and jalapeno peppers.

Egg Creams - Beverage Recipe

A friend on Babycenter turned me on to this one. It's delicious!!!!

2 large eggs
4 tsp Splenda (or to taste)
2 tbs cream

Blend the ingredients above until frothy. Pour over:

8 oz cold coffee
ice cubes

Here are the numbers, using light table cream and granular Splenda:

211 calories
16 g fat
5 g carbs
12 g protein

I also used some Capella Flavor Drops in it, and it was wonderful!!!

You could probably use just egg whites/substitute and skim milk. I may try that tomorrow.

Sunday, May 11, 2008

BGB-1 Week 6

Monday

I did the Turbo Jam Burn & Ab Jam segments today. They are getting easier. I am going to try to do the Burn segment every day this week, and Ab Jam on Thursday. I would like to move up to the 20 Minute Workout beginning next week.

Food was good today. No cravings and I stayed on plan.

Tuesday

Good workout this morning! I even did the TJ Burn segment. I think I ate on schedule all day. No cravings, again. I'm actually starting to feel pretty good!

Wednesday

I had a great workout today! I had to do my split squats without weights and I couldn't go down very far, but that just means I have a lot of room for progress! I really felt it doing my full squats, too. After lifting, I did real HIIT on the elliptical: 4 minute warm up on level 3, 6 cycles of 1 minute on level 4, 1 minute on level 7, then 4 minute cool down on level 3. I liked it. And there's room for progression.

Wow. I just went for a walk with my almost 4 year old. He weighs just over 40 pounds. I've lost a bit over 40 pounds. Halfway home, he asked me to carry him. How the heck did I get around with that extra weight all the time?? After two blocks, I was huffing and puffing, and I had to put him down and make him walk. Damn.

Thursday

No Turbo Jam today, but I did some house cleaning and yard work.

Friday

Crazy freaking day! I got my weight training in but not cardio. I didn't even get a chance to eat until late afternoon. I am proud of myself for not getting junk food while I was out taking care of a minor crisis.

Saturday

Today has been much calmer than yesterday. I actually got on the scale - 145, which is only 2 pounds up from my low a few weeks ago. I really expected to be closer to 150, so I'll take it.

Exercise was interesting. I did my deadlifts, then supersetted 3x10 of good mornings, skull crushers, and front squats. It was exhausting. I wasn't sure if I'd do my HIIT afterward, but I did. I took a 5 minute rest then hopped on the elliptical. It almost felt like the running I used to do when I did BFL. I miss having a treadmill. I may have to go in debt for one.

Today's lesson learned: No matter how much I'm tempted not to, always measure my food. I didn't want to bother, as my husband was making chicken breast and onion rings. Not having numbers in front of me to keep me in line led me to half a bag of M&Ms, a bowl of Fruit Loops, and some no bake cookies.

Sunday

Back on plan today. Even though I should have learned a lesson yesterday, I'm not measuring my dinner. My husband made homemade macaroni and cheese and pork ribs. I've already made up my mind that I am not having any junk food after dinner. I'm just not!

Looking back on the goals I set, I have done okay. Not stellar, but I've had an okay two weeks. Yesterday's mess up won't happen again. I'm just glad I was able to contain it to one evening.

Monday, May 5, 2008

Goals

As promised, I've come up with a set of goals to help keep me focused. I have the exercise down, and I know what I'm supposed to eat. I don't always eat it, but I know the nutrition portion of Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle well. I'll work backwards from the list Tom Venuto gives.

Goal of beating personal best - I'm guessing this one pertains to exercise, specifically weight lifting. Or, I suppose it could apply to any form of cardio where something can be concretely measured. My cardio usually isn't that specific. Anyway, here my goal is to progress in some manner, either reps or weight, every other week for all of the exercises I do. I'm not sure how to assess cardio and beat my personal best. I'm not quite sure what time-frame to give myself for progressing with HIIT. I wish I had a treadmill. Maybe that should be one of my longer term goals.

Ultimate long term goal - Obviously, my goal is to be fit and healthy. I would like to be under 120 lbs and be able to actually run a 5k. And of course - maybe even most importantly, continue exercising and eating right. Part of "eating right" means I have to stop going from one extreme to another - no binges, no starving myself. I want to have control over my emotion, and stop allowing them to control my eating. I want to have a firm grasp of portion control so I can indulge in "forbidden" foods on occasion.

12 month goal - A year from now, I'd like to wear a bikini. I have the one I bought in 2003 when I first got skinny. I was flabby skinny then, so my next bikini will be 2 sizes smaller than the one I have now.

3 month goal - This brings me to the end of July. By this time, I will have been to New York to pick up my step-daughter and will be heading back to take her home. This means two weeks in a place I'm not very good at controlling my eating. So my goal here is to get through it without gaining weight. Also, since I can't bring my equipment on my trips, I will have an alternate plan that I will follow while I am away.

Weekly goals - The most important one is to support others in their fitness journeys. I belong to several online groups with weight loss challenges ongoing. I need to be more supportive and encouraging of their efforts.

Daily goals - These are pretty basic. I will eat every 3-4 hours. I will exercise every day (except Sunday). If I feel like I'm craving something I shouldn't have, I will get on the elliptical for 10 minutes, or find some other healthy distraction.

So, that's all I have for now. I'll revisit my goals every day, and I'll post in my weekly blogs how I've done. Meh.

Sunday, May 4, 2008

BGB-1 Week 5

Monday

I'm very proud of myself. Today I did the Turbo Jam Learn & Burn. I still have problems with the moves at times, but I was able to get through the Burn segment, and I worked up a sweat. Then, I followed with the Ab Jam. I'm very pleased.

No junk food today!

Tuesday

I did the TJ Burn segment again this morning, after lifting. I think I'm getting the hang of it! I'm still off pace and terribly uncoordinated, but it sure beats trudging along on the elliptical.

Food is good, too! I made a wonderful chicken stock to use as the liquid in my baked brown rice. I can't wait! I think I'll start the rice before I workout, then it will be ready by the time I finish and take a shower. I can almost taste it already.

Wednesday

I had every intention of doing some HIIT on the elliptical today after my workout, but I pulls something in my right quad doing split squats. It's not horrible, but it was "painful" enough that I immediately had to stop doing the split squats. Rather than aggravate it, I decided to skip cardio and rest my leg for the next two days. I also need to find two different quad exercises. I am really having problems with lunge-type moves, where most of my weight is on one leg. I also switched to full squats rather than front squats because of my wrists. I'll probably swap out the split squat for a hack squat. I don't know what I'll do on my other leg day in place of walking lunges. I can't get my form down right. Maybe I'll do leg extensions or something.

On a very happy note, my glasses broke today, forcing me to go to the eye doctor for the first time in almost 4 years. I got new glasses and contacts. Now I can workout and see!!! The eye doctor gave my son a blow pop, then gave me a piece of chocolate. GRRR! It's in my freezer. I'm going to melt it and put it in something. I'm going to make an acceptable birthday cake for myself, just a one or two serving thing.

Thursday

I finally got around to making one of the cucumber salads I posted about last week. I made the first version. It was pretty good - too creamy and too much parsley though. I think I'll cut it in half next time.

No workout today. It's supposed to be Turbo Jam day, but I wanted to give my leg another day to rest. I finally settled on side split squats instead of regular and hack squats instead of walking lunges. I know the lunges are probably better for me, but until I get the form perfect, I can't really count on them to give my muscles a good workout. I'll certainly practice, but not weighted for a while.

As I write this now, I feel hungry and really, really want to go into the kitchen and look for something to eat. Notice I said "feel" hungry, not that I "am" hungry. I just ate some pork loin and brown rice salad. It's almost bedtime. But I feel like I want to eat. I still have that square of chocolate from the eye doctor, but I am saving that to make a glaze for my oopsie donuts. Yes, cleochatra came up with an oopsie donut. I am really looking forward to that!

Friday

I am please to report that I did not eat anything last night, after I finished posting. Not only did I not eat, but I also did not go directly to bed just in order to avoid the perceived hunger. Go me!

No cardio today after weights. I slept in a bit and was running late. Hey, it's my birthday - I can be lazy. I am going to hit the cardio heavy next week. I will do it 6 days a week in some form or another. I need to practice the Turbo Jam some more, to make sure I don't tweak my knee during the twist moves.

I made a batch of oopsie donuts today. I melted the dark chocolate I had and drizzled it over 2 of them. I ate the whole batch of oopsies. I'll have to make more. Since I snacked on oopsies all afternoon, I didn't eat dinner. So, not a great day food-wise.

I've spent a few hours on various weight loss boards and I remembered that the more active I am in such communities, the more motivated and successful I am with my own weight loss. Maybe I need to get myself out there more and encourage others.

Saturday

My arms aren't long enough to do hack squats!!! I couldn't believe it. I wonder if I should just use dumbbells instead. That didn't occur to me until this morning. My butt gets in the way when I try to use the barbell. I hate being so short and stubby!

Sunday

Today is going to be rough. I am super, super mad at my husband. So far, I've been able to control my eating. I need to go grocery shopping because we need groceries, but I'm afraid I'll buy something I shouldn't. Eating beforehand does nothing for me. I would buy junk anyway.

I'm still working on my goal setting. I haven't really thought about it much, especially today. I've been avoiding food, which is not good. I know one of my main goals needs to be related to not skipping meals.

Friday, May 2, 2008

Goal Setting as per Tom Venuto

I've decided to re-read BFFM and pay close attention to the chapter on goal setting. Tom Venuto says to set the following goals, and say why you have chosen each goal:

1. Your ultimate long-term goal
2. 12 month goal
3. Three month goals
4. Weekly goals (Weekly body composition test and weigh-in)
5. Daily goals (habits to develop, things to do every day repeatedly)
6. The goal of beating your personal best.

I think I am going to work on this over the next two days and post my goals at the end of my weekly blog. I've had a fantastic week so far, and I think this will keep my momentum up.

Thursday, May 1, 2008

Cinnamon Roll Protein Shake

I finally got around to making this recipe I found at Lowcarbfriends.

2 scoops vanilla protein powder
1 tbsp sugar-free instant vanilla pudding
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp imitation vanilla (or 1/4 tsp extract)
1 packet artificial sweetener (about 1 tsp Splenda)
a few dashes butter flavor sprinkles or butter-flavor extract
8 oz. water (or low-fat milk)
3 ice cubes

For the whole thing, I calculated:

338 calories
4.5 g fat
24 g carbs
54 g protein

It's pretty good. I added some sugar free Davinci syrup, and it was almost too sweet. I might leave out the sweetener altogether next time, because the pudding mix is pre-sweetened. This will be great for those days I don't want to eat "real" food.