Labor Day Challenge - Week 3 - Friday

WORKOUT D:
I did these 2 as a pair, with 45 seconds of rest at the end of the pair:
deadlift 5x5x85
tricep kickback 5x5x15
I did these 2 as a pair, with 30 seconds of rest at the end of the pair:
good morning 3x8x45
Bulgarian split squat 3x8x15

I also managed a neutral grip (palms facing each other) pull up today. I love that deluxe Iron Gym!

It's FFFFFFFFF Friday. I can't think of anything to go with it that's not a bad word.

7:00 AM - Fiber One cereal w/ 1% milk

9:05 AM - almonds & grapes; I ate these while driving to the farmers market - nice and portable!

12:10 PM - turkey salad w/ tomato, green pepper & Caesar vinaigrette dressing

2:30 PM - vanilla protein shake, plums

4:45 PM - green pepper slices while I was cooking dinner

5:15 PM - ground turkey w/ onion & cheese on romaine lettuce wraps

8:15 PM - olive loaf w/ tomato, lettuce & mustard on rye bread; Guilty pleasure right there. It was so good. I just ate 1 slice of olive loaf & 1 slice of bread so it wasn't super satisfying. I really wanted a 3 Musketeers bar, too. Yay for free chocolate. But I didn't eat it. I will, but not today.

Two cups of coffee and 120 ounces of water.

Calories - 1555
Carbs - 169 (24 fiber)
Protein - 112
Fat - 64
C/P/F Ratio - 39.7/26.4/33.9

Labor Day Challenge - Week 3 - Thursday

WORKOUT C:
I did these 2 as a pair, with 45 seconds of rest at the end of the pair:
negative chin up 5x5xbodyweight
dumbbell shoulder press 5x5x15
I did these 2 as a pair, with 30 seconds of rest at the end of the pair:
dumbbell pull over 3x8x20
standing calf raise 3x8x70

It's Themeless Thursday, because I couldn't come up with an alliterative idea to go along with today.

I decided to try a new product today. Normally, I'm not one for drink mixes, but I got a terrific deal on the Kellogg's All-Bran Fiber iced tea mix. Guilty of fuzzy math because of all the fiber, each packet is only 20 calories, and 12 grams of carbs, 10 of which are fiber. Like Fiber One products, the fiber calories are already deducted on the packet. Technically, 1 gram of carbs has 4 calories. 12 grams multiplied by 4 calories equals 48 calories. Since fiber is indigestible, it's 40 calories aren't counted. That leaves 8 calories, mathematically, so I don't know where they get 20. As I said - fuzzy math. You never know what you're truly ingesting. I suppose, technically, we could all subtract fiber calories from our calorie counts, and eat more food. But then we'd have to be careful not to double dip, and make sure none of our total fiber grams have already been accounted for in calorie counts. And really, who wants to put that much thought into it?

Speaking of labels, episode 22 of Beyond Diet Podcast addresses funky food labels. I knew most of the stuff they talked about, but I think a lot of people would be quite shocked.

I didn't have to worry about eating too many pumpkin carrot muffins. My son ate 5 of them in the last 2 days. I'm glad they are decent.

7:50 AM - Fiber One Caramel Delight cereal w/ 1% milk

11:15 AM - scrambled eggs w/ onion, green pepper & salsa, whole wheat mini bagel w/ light cream cheese

2:40 PM - turkey salad w/ Caesar vinaigrette dressing, green peppers & avocado-chipotle hummus

3:40 PM - plum

5:55 PM - tilapia & mixed vegetables

7:40 PM - whole wheat mini-bagel w/ light cream cheese & turkey

Two cups of coffee and 80 ounces of water.

Calories - 1512
Carbs - 197 (52 fiber)
Protein - 113
Fat - 40
C/P/F Ratio - 49.1/28.2/22.7

Labor Day Challenge - Week 3 - Wednesday

It's Wii Wednesday! In addition to Turbo Jam Cardio Party 3 (50 minutes and 392 calories), I spent some time with the Wii, in the form of Wii Sports and Outdoor Challenge (no Wii Fit because I wanted my son to play, too). I didn't wear my heart rate monitor - it was just bonus activity to get me away from the computer for a while. It was fun - I got about an hour of play in. I'm actually getting the hang of the boxing on Wii Sports. It's something I've always had trouble with, but I'm really, really enjoying it. Oh, and I lost at tennis. It's been a long time since I've lost.

8:00 AM - Rice Krispies w/ 1% milk

10:20 AM - avocado & light cream cheese omelet w/ onion, green pepper & salsa

1:15 PM - salad w/ tomato, avocado, onion & Caesar vinaigrette dressing

1:30 PM - pumpkin carrot muffin; These things are DANGEROUS! I've made them many times and I rave about them every single time I do. I only made 1 batch - normally, I make 2 - because I knew I'd have problems keeping my hands off them. The batch is already half gone. My son ate 2 and wanted another. I had to draw a line. I ate one and wanted more, but I walked away. But I hear them calling me!

5:45 PM - tilapia & mixed vegetables; I also ate a quarter of my son's beef & barbecue sandwich (not in my tracker). It was so good, it made me wish I'd had one of my own.

7:20 PM - yogurt & plum

Four cups of coffee and 120 ounces of water.

Calories - 1417 (not counting the quarter sandwich)
Carbs - 163 (27 fiber)
Protein - 81
Fat - 52
C/P/F Ratio - 45.2/22.3/32.5

Labor Day Challenge - Week 3 - Tuesday

WORKOUT B:
I did these 2 as a pair, with 45 seconds of rest at the end of the pair:
barbell squat 5x5x80
dumbbell hammer curl 5x5x20
I did these 2 as a pair, with 30 seconds of rest at the end of the pair:
dumbbell step up 3x8x15
SHELC 3x12xbodyweight

It's Tabata Tuesday! I couldn't decide whether I wanted to jump right into a Sweet 16 (4 tabatas in a row) or ease into that over a few weeks. I opted for a regular, singular tabata. The (poorly) chosen exercise of the day was an oblique twist. Halfway into the first round - a mere 10 seconds - I already had a stitch in my side, and it stayed with me the whole 4 minutes (and 29 calories burned). I should have taken some time to warm up properly. Next week!

7:05 AM - Rice Krispies w/ 1% milk

10:20 AM - scrambled eggs w/ onion, green pepper, light cream cheese & salsa

1:15 PM - salad w/ Caesar vinaigrette dressing, chicken meatloaf w/ light barbecue sauce

4:35 PM - green pepper & romaine lettuce w/ avocado-chipotle hummus

6:15 PM - slow cooker mustard pork w/ mixed vegetables

8:30 PM - frozen bananas

Four cups of coffee and 120 ounces of water.

Calories - 1611
Carbs - 196 (29 fiber)
Protein - 112
Fat - 45
C/P/F Ratio - 48/27.4/24.6

Labor Day Challenge - Week 3 - Monday

WORKOUT A:
I did these 2 as a pair, with 45 seconds of rest at the end of the circuit:
lying barbell press 5x5x65
one-arm dumbbell row 5x5x30
I did these 2 as a pair, with 30 seconds of rest at the end of the pair:
seated calf raise 3x20x40
lying dumbbell fly 3x8x15

Today's intervals:

butt kicks
jump rope
punches
jump rope
cross-country skiing
jump rope
x 6, with an extra butt kicks/punches cycle

In 20 minutes, I burned 160 calories. This was better than the one last week, with screamers, because I had a hard time with balance, but I don't care much for the cross-country skiing in general. I think it's a boring move, even for 30 seconds at a time.

Someone on Babycenter recommended the Beyond Diet Podcast. It is AWESOME!! I highly recommend it. The first podcast talks about why the scale sucks, what really happens when we diet, the behaviors & psychology associated with diet and exercise - among other things. It was love at first listen.

I don't have any cottage cheese this week because the store was wiped out when I did my shopping and I won't get to another store until the end of the week.

Today was my first attempt at Meatless Monday. I kicked around the idea last week, along with a different theme every day of the week, and I forgot all about it until I woke up this morning. I knew I wasn't very well prepared, but decided to go for it anyway. I ate eggs, thinking they were okay, then I read that they were not okay, then I read elsewhere that they actually were. Since I have no plans to make meatless a lifestyle, and have no real opinion of the suggested ethical, nutritional, and environmental benefits, I'm going with the eggs are okay to have on Meatless Monday camp.

7:20 AM - Rice Krispies w/ 1% milk

10:30 AM - avocado & light cream cheese omelet w/ onion, green pepper & salsa

1:30 PM - baby carrots & green peppers w/ avocado-chipotle hummus, mozzarella string cheese

6:15 PM - quinoa, onion & garlic stuffed peppers

8:30 PM - frozen bananas

Four cups of coffee and 120 ounces of water.

Calories - 1586
Carbs - 227 (32 fiber)
Protein - 71
Fat - 51
C/P/F Ratio - 55/17.1/27.9

Labor Day Challenge - Week 2 - Sunday

I was determined to stay on track today. I wasn't all that hungry early on, but after dinner, I felt like I wanted more food, even though I'd eaten a good dinner. I'm not sure it was real hunger.

7:40 AM - plum & cottage cheese

10:20 AM - scrambled eggs, turkey bacon, Fiber One pancakes w/ sugar free syrup

1:50 PM - turkey slices w/ tomato, onion & avocado on romaine lettuce wraps

4:40 PM - chicken meatloaf & mixed vegetables

6:55 PM - yogurt

Four cups of coffee and 80 ounces of water today.

Labor Day Challenge - Week 2 - Saturday

No exercise today. I skipped it in order to go to a car show with my guys, then we bought Active Life Outdoor Challenge for the Wii and played that. I think it's a LOT more fun than the Wii Fit! The whole reason I bought the Wii was for this kind of thing, and I try to buy games that require us to be off our butts. This was fun, and I hope I can get my son to play with me every day. Or most days. I don't plan on wearing my heart rate monitor or counting it as exercise or anything. Just extra fun.

I haven't been tracking food today. We've been in and out a lot. I did overeat some pork rinds - a habit from my days on Atkins. I helped myself to fruit and green peppers, liberally. Everything else, I kept in check fairly well.

And now, I wish I had an extra television and dvd player so I could do some Turbo in a different room. I can't see on my son's portable dvd player and my husband is watching the race in the living room. Some day, when we win the lottery, I'm going to have the most awesome exercise room.

Labor Day Challenge - Week 2 - Friday

WORKOUT D:
I did these 2 as a pair, with 45 seconds of rest at the end of the pair:
deadlift 5x5x85
tricep kickback 5x5x15 - HA! I didn't realize I grabbed my 15 pounders until I was a few reps in, so I decided to just go with it.
I did these 2 as a pair, with 30 seconds of rest at the end of the pair:
good morning 3x8x45
Bulgarian split squat 3x8x15 - Again, up from last week because I was too lazy to swap out. I usually prep the night before by setting everything up. Good to know I can go heavier for kickbacks and these dreaded things.

I did yesterday's interval routine again:

butt kicks
jump rope
punches
jump rope
screamers
jump rope
x 6, with an extra butt kicks/punches cycle

In 20 minutes, I burned 162 calories. I solved my audio problems, so I was able to focus on the workout rather than where my mp3 player was bouncing. I ended up overlaying the interval cue file with my favorite high intensity playlist, and I must say, I loved the way it came out. I even picked the perfect song for the end, to help me kick it up a little notch. It's 23 minutes long, so I get a little cool down dance time:

Battle Of One - 30 Seconds To Mars
The Fantasy - 30 Seconds To Mars
No Way Back - Foo Fighters
Long Way Down - Goo Goo Dolls
Rhythm From A Red Car - Hardline
Someone Like You - Bang Tango
Astro Zombies - My Chemical Romance

The only problem is, if I want to change the songs, I have to reconstruct the entire file. I had to put all the songs in one continuous file, then put the timer over it. It's not difficult (now that I've figured out the software!) but just a little time consuming.

6:10 AM - apple 7 cottage cheese

9:30 AM - plums & round steak; Weird combo, I know, but I needed something portable.

11:45 AM - BK grilled chicken salad w/ fat free ranch dressing; I ended up not getting the veggie burger as I planned yesterday. I was so full of water that I wasn't really hungry.

1:00 PM - small piece of fudge; I bought some for my son while we were at the farmers market but he didn't eat the whole piece. At $12.99 a pound, I wasn't about to throw any of it away.

3:15 PM - raw zucchini slices w/ avocado & salsa

4:35 PM - I snuck the rest of the ice cream cake I made my son last weekend. I don't feel guilty for eating/sneaking it, either.

7:30 PM - whole wheat mini-bagel w/ light cream cheese, scrambled eggs w/ onion, green pepper, avocado & salsa

Three cups of coffee and 120 ounces of water.

No numbers today! I'm posting early so I can curl up and read a book, without worrying about the computer for the rest of the day!

Labor Day Challenge - Week 2 - Thursday

WORKOUT C:
I did these 2 as a pair, with 45 seconds of rest at the end of the pair:
negative chin up 5x5xbodyweight
dumbbell shoulder press 5x5x15
I did these 2 as a pair, with 30 seconds of rest at the end of the pair:
dumbbell pull over 3x8x20
standing calf raise 3x8x65

Today's cardio was an 18-minute interval. 30 seconds each:

butt kicks
jump rope
punches
jump rope
screamers
jump rope
x 6

With some extra jump rope to warm up and cool down, I did this for 20 minutes and burned 153 calories. I didn't get to do as high an intensity as I would have liked because the cord for my headphones kept getting in the way and my mp3 player kept falling out of my pocket or the clip wouldn't stay on my waist band. It was a total pain in the ass. I need a better system. I had my Zune plugged in to the speakers with the timer file playing and used my little mp3 player to listen to some music while I did the routine. I could overlay my music over the timer file, but then I can't randomize the songs. But I'm doing this again tomorrow!

7:45 AM - plum & cottage cheese; I tried nectarines again, once I had one that was softer and I still didn't like it so I officially do no like nectarines. But I can eat some plums!

10:30 PM - avocado & cream cheese omelet w/ onion, green pepper & salsa

1:30 PM - chicken breast, avocado & cream cheese on romaine lettuce wraps, baby carrots & green peppers w/ avocado hummus

5:45 PM - green peppers w/ avocado hummus; Nothing sucks more than finding out my husband won't be home for dinner for 2 more hours. I freaking hate his work schedule.

8:00 PM - bottom round roast w/ mixed vegetables

And I'm going to bed early because someone wants to spend his birthday money at a store that's an hour away and I want to be out the door no later than 8 AM. I'm hitting the farmers market on the way home. I need more fruit - grapes and plums and a grapefruit for my husband. Oh, and green peppers. I always need green peppers. I have a good food plan in place for tomorrow's trip. I promised my son we'd have lunch at the Burger King with the playground that's on the way to Virginia. I've scoped out the menu and I plan to get a grilled chicken salad with fat free dressing and a veggie burger with no bun or mayonnaise. And now that I've put that out on my blog, I won't be tempted to get a burger and onion rings. Well, I'll be tempted, but I won't get them.

Four cups of coffee and 120 ounces of water.

Calories - 1637
Carbs - 134 (32 fiber)
Protein - 138
Fat - 63
C/P/F Ratio - 32.5/33.4/34.1

Labor Day Challenge - Week 2 - Wednesday

I finally got up the nerve to try out the new Turbo Kick stuff I ordered. It's crazy fun stuff. I did Round 31 today, 53 minutes and 397 calories. I probably would have burned more if I could keep up with the moves. I definitely think it's more advanced than Turbo Jam. But it was fun, and I think I'm really going to love it.

One year ago today, I realized I am a binge eater. I'm not sure how I feel about it. In some ways, I feel like I've made great progress. In others, I feel like a total screw up, especially considering the events of last week. I'm not really in the mood to actually think about it too much.

7:10 AM - plum & cottage cheese

8:35 AM - yogurt

11:50 AM - apple crepes w/ whipped topping; I made the whole wheat protein crepes that are in the Eating For Life cookbook (it's in the dessert section). It was the first time I've ever made crepes - real crepes, that is - and they came out pretty good. I will make them again for sure.

2:10 PM - chicken breast & pepper jack cheese on romaine lettuce wraps, creamy tomato cucumber salad (cukes, tomato, mayo, sour cream & dill); half a piece of toast w/ margarine that I didn't log in my tracker

6:10 PM - chicken breast & pepper jack cheese on romaine lettuce wraps, creamy tomato cucumber salad, baked zucchini chips

9:00 PM - frozen banana treat

Two cups of coffee and 120 ounces of water.

Calories - 1666
Carbs - 200 (28 fiber)
Protein - 137
Fat - 41
C/P/F Ratio - 46.6/31.9/21.5

Labor Day Challenge - Week 2 - Tuesday

WORKOUT B:
I did these 2 as a pair, with 45 seconds of rest at the end of the pair:
barbell squat 5x5x80
dumbbell hammer curl 5x5x20
I did these 2 as a pair, with 30 seconds of rest at the end of the pair:
dumbbell step up 3x8x15
SHELC 3x12xbodyweight

I also did Turbo Jam Fat Blaster, which is intervals. Not HIIT, but intervals. It's four Turbos, done twice each - once at a slow pace and once all out effort. In 30 minutes, I burned 209 calories. I've only done Fat Blaster once or twice before, and it was a while ago, so I don't have all the moves down.

I just learned that Jillian Michaels' radio show/podcast is on hiatus. Grrr!!

6:50 AM - apple & cottage cheese

11:20 AM - turkey bacon, scrambled eggs w/ tomato, onion, green pepper, light cream cheese & salsa

12:10 PM - frozen banana; I just finished off my son's bowl.

2:00 PM - tilapia, tomatoes & avocado hummus on romaine lettuce wrap

4:40 PM - cucumber, baby carrots, green peppers & avocado hummus

6:40 PM - chicken w/ salsa & light cream cheese, mixed vegetables

Three cups of coffee and 120 ounces of water today.

Calories - 1597
Carbs - 122 (20 fiber)
Protein - 147
Fat - 56
C/P/F Ratio - 31/37.3/31.7

Labor Day Challenge - Week 2 - Monday

WORKOUT A:
I did these 3 as a circuit, with 45 seconds of rest at the end of the circuit:
lying barbell press 5x5x65
seated calf raise 3x20x40
one-arm dumbbell row 5x5x30
Then this on it's own, with 30 seconds of rest between sets:
lying dumbbell fly 3x8x15

I did not do Turbo Jam Fat Blaster this morning as I'd planned. I was up a lot during the night with the worst nausea I've ever had in my life. Even this morning, I wasn't completely recovered and wanted to push weights to tomorrow. When I eat too many of the wrong kinds of carbs, I get terrible heartburn and last night it was so bad I couldn't even swallow. I couldn't decide whether or not I actually wanted to make myself throw up. I couldn't eat my usual pre-workout snack this morning and just was not hungry. I forced myself to at least do weights, then took my son to the playground for a while. By the time we got back, my appetite was returning, but I was still a bit out of it. I took a cat nap and read a book, and once I got up, I felt a million times better. I hope to be 100% tomorrow. I have fat blasting to do. Not doing Turbo has been driving me nuts and I'm pretty sure it has a lot to do with my crappy mood and lack of energy lately.

I've done some more reading on body fat measurements and now I'm convinced that my last set of measurements is way off. I don't think Sam was doing it right - I'm sure of it, even though I was fairly confident at the time. Maybe I'll have him do it again this weekend. I think he was just pinching my skin and not grabbing any of the fat. There is NO WAY that I'm under 20%. NO WAY. It's amazing how ignorant and delusional I am about all of this, and I consider myself pretty well informed.

Oh, here's an interesting exercise I want to try this week, the Turkish Getup. I'm not sure how to incorporate it. I don't want to do it as a strength exercise because I have my routine. Maybe in a Spartan workout (100, 200, 300, whatever). My hero, Craig Ballantyne, was doing them in a video I saw last week but now I can't find it.

6:30 AM - banana

10:35 AM - turkey bacon, scrambled eggs w/ onion, green pepper, light cream cheese and salsa

2:00 PM - baked sweet potato chips & tilapia w/ extra virgin olive oil; I bought an oil mister - it's the coolest thing ever! I can weigh & distribute my oils easier.

3:40 PM - baby carrots & green peppers w/ avocado hummus

6:20 PM - cube steak & mixed vegetables w/ sun dried tomato dressing

8:05 PM - cottage cheese & plum; I actually started out with a nectarine, but did not like it and spit it right out.

Four cups of coffee and 120 ounces of water.

Calories - 1349
Carbs - 126 (19 fiber)
Protein - 126
Fat - 37
C/P/F Ratio - 37.6/37.6/24.8

Labor Day Challenge - Week 1 - Sunday

It's been a bad week, to say the least. I had 4 days of bad eating, two of them really bad. Yesterday, I didn't even bother to work out. In fact, I lounged around on the couch reading and snacking most of the day. And trust me, I felt like crap, physically (exhaustion, nausea, heartburn - no, I am not pregnant) and mentally (foggy brain, distracted, also a little bit of beating myself up). My muscles ached from the new lifting routine last week, and I know the best thing I could have done for myself was get up off my ass and move but I was in definite "Screw It!!" mode. I did start off the days with the best of intentions, but somehow I fell apart. It was fruit making me hungry. It was the *cough*special*cough* cookies giving me the munchies. It was knowing that I'd be eating liberally today. It all put me in a crappy, weak frame of mind. I don't know specifically what triggered this. I have junk in the house all the time and NEVER care about it. Pretty much the only thing I didn't eat is the bag of M&Ms I bought in November that I can't eat without a plan.

And I don't know why, but I have no doubts that tomorrow I will be back to 100%. These last four days have been like someone else's life that I'm giving back when I sleep tonight.

Needless to say, I did not get on the scale. It's the first time in a long, long time that I've chickened out. I did challenge myself last week, before the binge started, that I was going to not weigh until the morning I leave for New York in September, but I think I knew, deep down, that I wouldn't like what I saw this week. So yeah, I'm throwing down this challenge as a way to avoid the issue. There really isn't an excuse.

Another thing that has me "off" this week - so little cardio. I love my weight training but I really think, just for my own satisfaction, I need to Turbo after. I have one Turbo Jam DVD (Fat Blaster) that is cardio intervals. Not HIIT, which I still need to think on, in terms of putting together a program and figuring out which mp3 to use. I don't have machines and can't go out to do it, so it's got to be bodyweight exercises for HIIT. But in the meantime, I really need more cardio. Turbo specifically. I love how Turbo makes me feel. And I got my first Turbo Kick volume from the Fan series. It has 2 rounds (each approximately 50 minutes long) of the moves TK instructors get. It's not as well put together as Turbo Jam videos, but it's really neat to see how instructors are taught. I may do one of the rounds this week. I don't know. I wish I could get another TV and DVD player to put in my exersice "room" with all my other equipment. My living room is one large, open area - half of it contains living room stuff, the other half has my equipment, our freezer, the gun cabinet. Not a lot of room for cardio in there, but if we tore out the bar (that we only use to keep crap behind), I could make a really great cardio area. But then I wouldn't have anywhere for my Dyson, the fishing poles/tackle boxes, and meat processor unit we have. I hate living in a tiny house.

My son's 5th birthday is tomorrow. We went out for breakfast (it was supposed to be lunch, but they pushed back the time they start serving lunch again!!), then went to see Transformers. After that, we came home and had the ice cream cake I made. I bought a white cake mix and baked 2 8" round cakes. I put red food coloring in one and blue in the other. The cake represented Optimus Prime. I made vanilla ice cream with yellow food coloring and chocolate chips, representing Bumble Bee. The frosting was vanilla pudding/Cool Whip with green food coloring to represent Acid Storm. It was a big hit with my guys.

Labor Day Challenge - Week 1 - Saturday

I binged. I am not a happy camper.

No comments please. I'm going to talk about this in my Sunday post. I just wanted the truth to be a place holder.

Labor Day Challenge - Week 1 - Friday

WORKOUT D:
I did these 2 as a pair, with 45 seconds of rest at the end of the pair:
deadlift 5x5x85
tricep kickback 5x5x10
I did these 2 as a pair, with 30 seconds of rest at the end of the pair:
good morning 3x8x45
Bulgarian split squat 3x8x10

I tweaked my neck/shoulder after my workout. I was feeling a little energetic and did a chin up, but I was a bit too enthusiastic about it. Now my neck is sore and I can't turn my head well. I'm glad I'm done lifting until Monday.

No cardio today. We went to the farmers market again. I actually paid attention to the pedometer and it is actually 50 miles, round trip. I'm not so sure it's worth it in terms of money, but it's a nice drive and I know stuff will be in stock for the most part, and good quality. Today I bought green peppers, onions, zucchini, peaches, plums, grapes, cucumbers, romaine lettuce, and apples. Oh and nectarines. I've never had those. I figured the plums were such a hit with me, it was time to try another fruit. It's the grapes though, that got me. I can't stop eating them! I should have bought more.

While we were there, I split an ice cream with my son. It was good times. Then we came home and played some Wii Sports.

I'm not logging food. The ice cream isn't much of a factor - I know I ate about 135 calories worth. It's the grapes. I swear, these are the most delicious grapes I have ever eaten. I can't eat too many or they will give me a belly ache, but I'm definitely not stopping to measure every time I sneak a few from the refrigerator. Fruit is definitely an issue for me - it makes me even hungrier, even if I pair it with protein. I'm going to have to come up with some "rules" for eating fruit. My pre-workout apple& cottage cheese never gives me a problem, but one grape sends me spiraling out of control. Do not like!!!

Four cups of coffee and 120 ounces of water.

Labor Day Challenge - Week 1 - Thursday

Last night went from bad to pretty bad - after blogging, I also ate a Snickers bar and a hot dog. But now it's behind me and I'm done dwelling on it.

WORKOUT C:
I did these 2 as a pair, with 45 seconds of rest at the end of the pair:
negative chin up 5x5xbodyweight
dumbbell shoulder press 5x5x15
I did these 2 as a pair, with 30 seconds of rest at the end of the pair:
dumbbell pull over 3x8x20
standing calf raise 3x8x6

No cardio today. I was in a funk and really should have done something high energy. I went for a walk with my son instead.

8:15 AM - apple & cottage cheese

11:10 AM - plum; My first plum. I think I like them.

12:15 PM - turkey bacon, avocado & light cream cheese omelet w/ onion, green pepper & salsa

3:55 PM - black beans, ground turkey & avocado hummus on romaine lettuce wraps

7:35 PM - black beans, ground turkey & avocado hummus on romaine lettuce wraps

8:00 PM - green pepper slices

Four cups of coffee and 120 ounces of water today.

Calories - 1690
Carbs - 151 (39 fiber)
Protein - 121
Fat - 72
C/P/F Ratio - 34.7/27.9/37.3

Labor Day Challenge - Week 1 - Wednesday

Today's workout was Tae Bo Amped: Fat Burn Accelerator. It wasn't as impressive in application as it was when I previewed it yesterday. I barely broke a sweat - 50 minutes and 237 calories. However, it's low impact and I need that right now for my shins. I don't know if I'll do this one again next week or save it for times when I really can't go crazy jumping and running around.

I was a bit sore yesterday in the chest/shoulder are from the introduction of flys to my routine. Or is it flies? Meh. Today, the quads are sore. I don't know if it's from adding 2 sets of squats to what I was doing, the way I changed the position of my legs, or adding step-ups and/or SHELC to the mix. Yesterday was a pretty heavy leg day, for sure. I'm not super sore, but I can definitely feel it!

7:15 AM - banana & cottage cheese

10:45 AM - tomato, avocado & light cream cheese omelet w/ onions, peppers & salsa

1:15 PM - romaine lettuce wraps w/ cheese, black beans, onions, jalapeno pepper, garlic, fresh white corn; I'm not sure what that would be called - a salad? salsa? relish? It was delicious, I know that much. I contemplated adding a dressing to it, but it was just fine the way it was. Hummus or guacamole would be fabulous on it though!!

2:30 PM - homemade protein granola bar; I don't know why I'm so hungry. I wasn't really in the mood for vegetables and it turns out, these are even better straight out of the freezer. But I'm still hungry!

5:40 PM - chocolate chip cookie; I couldn't log this in my tracker, as I have no idea how I made it many months ago (it's been in the freezer). I was hungry while I was cooking dinner, and I'm really disappointed that I reached for this instead of a healthy alternative.

6:10 PM - more romaine wraps, vegetable risotto

And this is where I lost it...two more cookies, a big bowl of frozen bananas, jalapeno poppers. Meatloaf with cheese. On a hot dog bun. Those damn cookies triggered this. I should have grabbed the plum.

Four cups of coffee and 120 ounces of water today. No numbers today. Obviously.

Labor Day Challenge - Week 1 - Tuesday

I was hungry after I blogged last night and I ate a huge bowl of...wait for it...green peppers! WTF? I was craving green peppers. Go figure. Hayley told me that I'd crave fruits and vegetables after eating them for a while. Oh, and some cheese.

WORKOUT B:
I did these 2 as a pair, with 45 seconds of rest at the end of the pair:
barbell squat 5x5x80
dumbbell hammer curl 5x5x20
I did these 2 as a pair, with 30 seconds of rest at the end of the pair:
SHELC 3x12xbodyweight
dumbbell step up 3x8x15

My shins were still a bit tender this morning and I wasn't sure I wanted to do my tabata or regular HIIT, but I ultimately decided to do a low impact tabata. So, 5 minutes of Turbo Jam Twist and 41 calories later, it was behind me and I was worn out LOL It's perfect though, for low impact cardio, and my legs thanked me very much.

I was much too lazy to create my own audio file for HIIT and tabatas. Fortunately, I found a few good ones on the Internet. I've been using the tabata by Workout Muse mp3 for a while (which I got directly from the composer, I think), and I found an entire album - well 4 tracks - on Amazon. It's $3.96 to download. It's also on iTunes, but almost $10. Forget that.

For free, you can download Beevs Interval Timers, which is a WinRAR file full of different mp3 intervals. It's good stuff, but I still prefer Workout Muse.

I have officially set my SparkPeople tracker to maintenance mode. I am not going to try to lose any more weight until summer is over. Nothing is going to change in terms of tracking and eating right and exercise - I just don't feel like dealing with weight loss right now. Lift heavy, eat clean(ish). That's my motto. Actually, it's just an excuse to eat more, and I can live with that for a few months. I've also changed my calories burned goal from 1500 to 500 per week, until my shin splints are healed.

7:15 AM - apple & cottage cheese

9:40 AM - avocado & cream cheese omelet w/ onion, green pepper & salsa

2:20 PM - salad w/ lettuce, tomato, onion, peppers, black beans & sun dried tomato dressing

3:55 PM - mozzarella string cheese & peppers

5:45 PM - salad w/ lettuce, onion, peppers, black beans & sun dried tomato dressing

9:15 PM - jalapeno poppers; I haven't made these in forever! They were very good. I didn't have nearly the number of poppers I used to have in my binge days.

Two cups of coffee and 120 ounces of water.

Calories - 1652
Carbs - 184 (44 fiber)
Protein - 105
Fat - 61
C/P/F Ratio - 43.1/24.5/32.4

Labor Day Challenge - Week 1 - Monday

Well, this is Week 1 of 8 (I think) for my last program before a vacation. For Labor Day, we're heading home for a wedding. My husband is best man and I haven't seen these people in a while (some since my own wedding 10 years ago), so I want to look good. When we leave, it will be my first break (aside from Sundays) from exercise in 24 (or maybe 26) weeks. It will be a very well deserved long weekend off!!

The plan, Stan, is to lift weights 4 times a week. I hit up the Baby Got Back program again because I enjoyed it the first time I did it. I did pick some new exercises this time around, and I'm satisfied with how I put it together. On lifting days, I'll follow up with a short Turbo Jam workout OR high intensity interval training/tabata OR a Spartan workout - you know, a 100-1000 rep circuit (though, it will be a while before I'm able to do the 1000 rep circuit). On days I don't lift, longer Turbo Jam or Tae Bo workouts. I'm aiming for 750 calories burned through cardio per week.

WORKOUT A:

I did these 3 as a circuit, with 30 seconds of rest at the end of the circuit:
lying barbell press 5x5x65
seated calf raise 3x20x20
one-arm dumbbell row 5x5x30
Then this on it's own, with 30 seconds of rest between sets:
lying dumbbell fly 3x8x15

My original plan was to follow up with Turbo Jam 20 Minute Workout, but I'm so tired of DVDs that I took the day off from videos. I didn't have a timer ready for doing HIIT, but I did have my tabata mp3, so I did 1 tabata. I warmed up with a light jog for 30 seconds, then did the 20 seconds work/10 seconds rest (I jogged): jumping jacks, football drills, punch/hop combo, Turbo twist, repeat, jog for 30 seconds. It was only 5 minutes and I only burned 35 calories, but research suggests that they payoff comes in the 12-18 hours after the tabata. I'm too lazy to find the links, but you can Google it! I promise, tabatas are the shit! I've done them before and they are always good for an ass kicking. I want to work my way up to a Sweet 16, or 4 tabatas in a row.

The best part about today's workout? From warm up to post-tabata cool down tool 45 minutes. The workout itself, weights and tabata - half hour!! No more of the 80 minute bull. Never again!!!

Oh, and I have shin splits. Fun.

I made the 40 mile trek to the farmers market again. I did stop at the one closer and at first it didn't look like they had much in terms of variety, quantity, or quality, but when I drove back through I stopped in again and they had more out. This one is only a couple miles from my house and I think I'm going to start going there every week, and the other one every other week (because they do have more variety). While I was at the far away market, I treated myself and my son to a piece of peanut butter chocolate fudge. They don't have fudge at our rinky dink produce stand here on the beach! It was my son's first time eating real fudge - the peanut butter protein fudge I made does not count as super decadent. He was blown away!! It was nice to sit there and share that with him, and I never once thought of the calories or anything like that. I just enjoyed it.

However, on the way home, I had a few fleeting thoughts of "Ok, I've blown it for the day - I might as well keep up with the junk!" Fortunately, by the time I got home, I was no longer thinking those silly thoughts, and looked forward to the rest of the meals I had planned for the day, none of which included junk food.

6:50 AM - apple & cottage cheese

8:25 AM - apple & yogurt; The apple I bought at the store yesterday was so big, I just split it into a pre and post workout snack.

10:30 AM - Somewhere around this time I had the fudge. It wasn't sample size either.

12:15 PM - salad w/ tomato, green pepper, avocado & sun dried tomato dressing

3:50 PM - kabobs; I didn't measure anything on these. they had red onion, green & red peppers, red potatoes & cube steak with a honey glaze.

5:45 PM - coleslaw, Rice Krispies w/ 1% milk & banana; I'm thinking the fudge was a bad idea because I've wanted to eat all day. Oh, and I know it's a weird combo of foods.

Two cups of coffee and 120 ounces of water.

No numbers today.

Jillian Kicks My Butt - Week 10 - Sunday

Well, this is it - the last official day of my Jillian challenge. Lots to cover today.

First, some very exciting stuff. As I've mentioned before, I wanted to become a Turbo Kick instructor, so I'd have access to more workouts. I've accepted that I'm not instructor material, so I've done the next best thing. Chalene Johnson recently launched to Turbo Kick Fan Club, which lets regular Janes order Turbo Kick dvds. You can order the dvds without being a member of the club, but one of the benefits of being a Fan is 20% off. So, by signing up for automatic shipments every 2 months, I get 20% off each volume. I think each volume has 2 workouts that are 50-60 minutes long. I AM SO FREAKING STOKED!!! I mean, I can hardly contain my excitement. I cut back my Netflix plan to accommodate this. I'm so excited LOL

I did another Rockport Fitness Walking Test today, to determine my VO2 max. I did 1 mile in 15:00 (71 calories), and my new VO2 is 42.55 mls/kg/min. Well, it's not really new - close to last time, when I didn't write down the decimal places. Still pretty darn good. I cut 15 seconds off my time, and my heart rate was lower. [/geek]

I'm sure you're waiting impatiently for my "results" of this challenge. I am rather disappointed to report that I only lost 2.5 pounds in the last 10 weeks, and I'm still up half a pound from my Week 6 low. I weighed in at 130 pounds this morning. However, the tape measure showed some very good results (in inches lost):

0.5 around neck
0.75 around the girls (sadly, I don't have the decent rack I used to have)
1.25 around the rib cage
1.5 around the waist
0.75 around the belly (the one area I'm desperate to get rid of!)
1.25 around the hips
0.5 & 1 around the thighs
The other sites were the same, or within quarter of an inch.

I also did a 7 site body fat test with the calipers. Apparently, I used them wrong when I did the 3 site test on myself last month. I had my husband take 3 measurements from each spot (and he was using them correctly), and got 18.96450438404287% body fat. I am not 100% confident with the result, but I think I'm going to do this weekly so my husband can practice and maybe I'll get a better picture of what's going on with my body. The 3 site test, using the numbers my husband got, gives me a result of 19.22659281837059% body fat. Another site with 7 measurements (though it only asks for one measurement from each site - the other averages three measurements) gives me 19.40243% body fat. I used the highest number measurement for each site. So, lets call my body fat percentage 19.5 to be safer. Of course, there is still some measurer error in there but I won't be THAT much of a geek.

Oh, and post-challenge pictures are up on my weight loss pics web site.

So, considering these results, I'm not sure I want to cut my calories just yet. I was going to, to try to lose more scale weight but really, I don't want to be miserable cutting things out of my diet. Not right now. It's so much easier in the winter. For now, maintenance is fine. I love the foods I've been eating, even though I haven't had my homemade bread or granola bars in a week. For once in my life, I'm happy with food, and not in the emotionally damaging way the binges made me "happy" at the time.

6:20 AM - apple & cottage cheese

10:50 AM - omelet w/ onion, green pepper, avocado, light cream cheese, & salsa

2:30 PM - tuna salad w/ avocado, tomato, mozzarella cheese, green pepper & sun dried tomato dressing

4:45 PM - homemade coleslaw; I was going to have this with dinner but I was so hungry!!!

5:05 PM - black bean burgers w/ tomato & mustard on romaine lettuce

6:00 PM - yogurt; I tried the Yoplait Thick & Creamy Cinnamon Roll on a whim and hello, new favorite yogurt! I am really picky about my yogurt and this is about perfect for me.

Two cups of coffee and 120 ounces of water.

Calories - 1649
Carbs - 159 (42 fiber)
Protein - 120
Fat - 65
C/P/F Ratio - 37.6/28.2/34.2

Jillian Kicks My Butt - Week 10 - Saturday

30 seconds rest between exercises and sets.

pull/chin up 3x5xbodyweight; 3 actual, 12 negatives
plank 3x60s

barbell hang clean & press 3x5x45
double crunch 3x12

dumbbell stationary lunge 3x5x30 per side
push up 3x12

Turbo Jam Cardio Party 3 & ChaLean Extreme Recharge - 70 minutes and 482 calories.

8:50 AM - apple & cottage cheese

12:35 PM - tilapia, broccoli & cauliflower w/ sun dried tomato dressing

3:10 PM - banana & mozzarella string cheese; Not the meal I planned but I had to grab something quickly as we headed out the door.

6:30 PM - black bean "meat"balls w/ mustard, cauliflower & green peppers

8:00 PM - frozen banana w/ sugar-free chocolate DaVinci syrup & peanut butter Capella flavor drops

Two cups of coffee and 120 ounces of water.

Calories - 1554
Carbs - 197 (41 fiber)
Protein - 132
Fat - 36
C/P/F Ratio - 48.2/32.2/19.6

For this week's calorie differential - 11361 calories for my BMR + 2429 calories through cardio = 13790 calories burned - 11814 calories eaten = a difference of 1976, or 0.56 pounds.

Jillian Kicks My Butt - Week 10 - Friday

30 Day Shred and Banish Fat Boost Metabolism today, for the last time, and I went out with a bang - 80 minutes and 498 calories. Good riddance, Jillian.

Let me start the day off with a rant. CNN posted an article that really bothers me. Basically, it talks about vanity sizing and that the current size 10 is actually a size 14, and that the new normal is still overweight, but since it's normal/average, people aren't motivated to lose weight. Of course, the article really only talks about BMI, which is not really a good indicator of anything. And that leads to another problem. When someone (especially a woman) says, "My BMI says I'm overweight but I have a lot of muscle" I think that's more than just a river in Egypt. I see it CONSTANTLY on my main boards, where hundreds of women gather, whenever a weight thread comes up. Very few of them know their body fat percentage, though. Why the need to change the numbers? Is it really to make people feel better, as the article suggests? I don't like that idea because if you ARE overweight and have excess body fat, "pretending" you're smaller than you are is not doing your body any favors. Besides, when you're fat and overweight, you know it. You may not admit it (to yourself or anyone else) but you know. So these lower numbers are just providing a false sense of health and body image. They certainly weren't doing me any favors. Because I could still fit into a size Large shirt/stretchy pants, I didn't think it was that bad. But oh, it was that bad, and worse.

How wicked awesome is this exercise? And here is a fantastic Tabata video! I can't wait to start doing these and HIIT again.

Yesterday, I made the 40 mile round trip to the nearest decent sized farmers market. I bought a zucchini for the first time, along with some green peppers and peaches and bananas. Oh, and avocados. The prices aren't really cheaper than my grocery store (except for the green peppers) but the quality and selection were definitely better. There are a couple small markets here on the island that I am going to check out when I can get some kid-free time (or Monday, whichever comes first, when I absolutely need more produce), and I really hope they have a good variety of stuff because I am absolutely HOOKED on produce. I would eat nothing but fruits and vegetables all day long. Oh, and beans. I am loving me some beans. Even though I have this new love, I don't think I'd make a good vegetarian. I still love my chicken and fish and eggs and dairy. I think I could give up red meat though. I don't plan to, but I think I could. I just want to eat more bananas and apples. The sugar in fruit does scare me a bit, though. I haven't noticed any cravings from eating fruit. Honey and dried fruit with added sugar, yes, but regular fresh fruit, no. In fact, I find it quite satisfying.

8:15 AM - apple & cottage cheese

11:00 AM - omelet w/ onion, green pepper, tomato, light cream cheese & salsa

2:00 PM - tuna salad w/ lettuce, tomato, broccoli, green pepper & sun dried tomato dressing

3:55 PM - yogurt & a piece of banana my son mushed when he tried to open it

7:15 PM - black bean burgers w/ pepper jack cheese & mustard on romaine lettuce, baked zucchini chips

8:15 PM - frozen banana w/ sugar-free chocolate DaVinci syrup & peanut butter Capella flavor drops

Four cups of coffee and 120 ounces of water.

Calories - 1667
Carbs - 225 (41 fiber)
Protein - 127
Fat - 39
C/P/F Ratio - 51.3/28.9/19.8

Jillian Kicks My Butt - Week 10 - Thursday

30 seconds rest between exercises and sets.

barbell squat 3x5x80
barbell calf raise 3x8x80

barbell bench press 3x5x65
dips 3x8xbodyweight

barbell Romanian deadlift 3x5x85
chest supported dumbbell row 3x8x20

Biggest Loser cardio - for the last time - 40 minutes and 201 calories.

7:15 AM - apple & cottage cheese

9:55 AM - scrambled eggs w/ onion, green pepper & salsa, turkey bacon

1:20 PM - black bean burgers w/ pepper jack cheese, tomato & mustard on romaine lettuce

3:20 PM - banana

6:25 PM - tilapia w/ salsa & sour cream on romaine lettuce & green peppers w/ avocado hummus

7:55 PM - frozen banana treat; HOLY COW!!!!!!! I made this but added 1 tablespoon of peanut butter and 1 tablespoon of Nutella. This beats any ice cream I have ever had, hands-down. I am going to make it again tomorrow, but I think I will make it with some chocolate peanut butter flavor drops from Capella, to cut out all the fat and calories from the nut products. I may even add a little chocolate protein powder.

Four cups of coffee and 130 ounces of water.

Calories - 1797
Carbs - 204 (40 fiber)
Protein - 129
Fat - 57
C/P/F Ratio - 44.3/28/27.7

Jillian Kicks My Butt - Week 10 - Wednesday

30 Day Shred Level 3 and Turbo Jam Cardio Party 3 - 77 minutes and 569 calories burned. I knew I was going to blow it out of the water today. I told myself last night, er, this morning when I went to bed that I was going to bust hump today. When I got up (later than usual), I reminded myself that the end is near, and I really needed to push. So that's what I did. To be honest, I really didn't care about 30 Day Shred. I worked hard but the motivation wasn't there. Turbo Jam was a completely different story. I knew as soon as I turned the dvd on that is was going to rock. And it did. I had a freaking blast and I put every ounce of effort I had into it. I was a hot, sweaty, exhausted, happy mess at the end. I wish all exercise motivated me the way Turbo Jam does.

8:30 AM - apple & cottage cheese

11:15 AM - scrambled eggs w/ onion, green pepper & salsa, turkey bacon

1:40 PM - black bean salad w/ salsa & sour cream

3:45 PM - baby carrots & green peppers w/ avocado hummus

6:10 PM - shredded barbecue beef w/ mixed vegetables

7:50 PM - mandarin oranges & almonds

Two cups of coffee, once cup of tea and 120 ounces of water

Calories - 1717
Carbs - 193 (36 fiber)
Protein - 117
Fat - 52
C/P/F Ratio - 45.3/27.5/27.2

Jillian Kicks My Butt - Week 10 - Tuesday

30 seconds rest between exercises and sets.

pull/chin up 3x5xbodyweight; 3 actual, 12 negative
plank 3x60s

barbell hang clean & press 3x5x45
double crunch 3x12

dumbbell stationary lunge 3x5x30 per side
push up 3x12

Biggest Loser cardio & stretch - 40 minutes and 212 calories. I also walked to the post office, but didn't wear my monitor.

6:50 AM - apple & cottage cheese

9:15 AM - yogurt

11:40 AM - turkey bacon, scrambled eggs w/ onion, green pepper & salsa, toast; I know I said I wasn't going to eat any more of my homemade bread but there was one piece left and no one would eat it. I wanted to get rid of it, so I ate it. No guilt, no noticeable bloating yet.

2:00 PM - chicken salad w/ tomato, black beans, sour cream & salsa

5:20 PM - black bean burgers w/ mustard, tomato & pepper jack cheese on romaine lettuce wraps

7:10 PM - baby carrots & avocado hummus

9:00 PM - watermelon & almonds; I overate watermelon but I don't care.

Three cups of coffee and 120 ounces of water. I forgot to mention this yesterday, but I am no longer using half-and-half in my coffee. I got tired of it going bad before I could use it all, even though it was weeks before the expiration date and I kept it in the coldest part of the freezer. EVERY SINGLE CARTON went bad before I could use it all. This time, I even used half the carton to make ice cream and I still had to throw most of it away. So no more half-and-half. I am using milk. I have to use twice as much, but oh well.

Calories - 1984
Carbs - 250 (50 fiber)
Protein - 139
Fat - 54
C/P/F Ratio - 49/27.2/23.8

Jillian Kicks My Butt - Week 10 - Monday

LAST WEEK, BABY!!!!!!!!!

30 Day Shred Level 3 and Banish Fat Boost Metabolism - 80 minutes and 467 calories. My HRM was acting up again. It started off reading a lot lower than normal at rest, but I think it was okay until the cool down, when I completely lost the transmission for a few seconds. I know my strap was on right. If it is still acting up by the end of the week, I am definitely taking it back.

I'm kind of freaking out about calories. Yesterday, I barely cracked my recommended range, and didn't eat close to BMR, but I felt like it was almost too much. Today, I've planned out my food and I haven't broken through the bottom of my suggested range and I don't want to add more. This is totally irrational. I almost feel like I need to make up for overeating last week (if you can even call it that) but I think I'm wanting to cut my calories too much. Well, I don't WANT to cut my calories - just eat better foods. But for some reason I'm suddenly bothered by the higher calorie counts.

6:10 AM - apple & cottage cheese

10:05 AM - scrambled eggs w/ onion, green pepper & salsa, turkey bacon

1:15 PM - tomato, avocado & chicken wrapped in romaine lettuce

2:30 PM - baby carrots w/ avocado hummus

3:30 PM - mandarin oranges & almonds, the rest of my son's mozzarella cheese stick

5:50 PM - chicken salad w/ avocado, green pepper, tomato, salsa & sour cream

Four cups of coffee and 120 ounces of water.

Calories - 1629
Carbs - 132 (30 fiber)
Protein - 123
Fat - 70
C/P/F Ratio - 31.9/29.9/38.3

Jillian Kicks My Butt - Week 9 - Sunday

I have never dreaded weigh in day as much as I did today. I have been bloated and uncomfortable for weeks and this week's carefree nature with the food sort of terrified me. The damage, however, was minimal - up half a pound to 131.5, and I know it's not fat. I haven't been eating enough to actually gain fat, unless there is something seriously wrong with me. I am confident I will be back down to my low within two weeks. Not starting my day with wheat (in cereal or toast) has already made a big difference. For the first time in weeks, I was not constantly hungry, and I feel 100 times better.

9:35 AM - turkey bacon, avocado omelet w/ onion, green pepper & salsa

12:45 PM - salad w/ ground turkey, avocado, sour cream & salsa

2:40 PM - apple & cottage cheese

5:55 PM - chicken, broccoli & cauliflower w/ red pepper Italian & sun dried tomato dressings

Three cups of coffee and 80 ounces of water. Yeah, I slacked on the water.

Calories - 1493
Carbs - 95 (27 fiber)
Protein - 116
Fat - 70
C/P/F Ratio - 25.3/31/43.6

Jillian Kicks My Butt - Week 9 - Saturday

30 seconds rest between exercises and sets.

barbell squat 3x5x80
barbell calf raise 3x8x80

barbell bench press 3x5x65
dips 3x8xbodyweight

barbell Romanian deadlift 3x5x85
chest supported dumbbell row 3x8x20

Turbo Jam Cardio Party 3 and ChaLean Extreme Recharge - 70 minutes and 453 calories. I had the house to myself today and I really had a blast doing Cardio Party. I still love it! I think I might buy the new Turbo Kick rounds that were made for fans, rather than instructors.

I'm not really tracking today. It's just a crazy day and I'm trying to get rid of crap from the refrigerator. I'm not eating anything bad at all, but I just don't feel like dealing with the kitchen scale. I had the usual apple & cottage cheese before lifting, then the rest of the Fiber One after cardio. I went grocery shopping and did some house cleaning, then had an avocado omelet and the last wheat & flax tortilla. Then I made some potato salad and macaroni salad for dinner tonight. Snacked on some cheese, then made a couple chicken & avocado wraps with romaine lettuce and salsa & sour cream. Grilled sirloin steaks for dinner. Watermelon for dessert.

No calorie differential this week. I know the scale will be up tomorrow, but I'm also back on super clean eating starting tomorrow, so I'm not worried about it. I am bloated but content.

Jillian Kicks My Butt - Week 9 - Friday

30 Day Shred level 3 and Turbo Jam Cardio Party 3 - 77 minutes and 480 calories. I was really tired and almost ran out of steam a couple times.

Last night before bed, I ate 2 more protein granola bars. Something is up here and I think I'm over-carbing. I've always been sure I'm sensitive to carbs and I think the sweetness from the honey and the dried fruit in the bars is making me hungry. I also think I'm eating too much wheat. So next week, none of that. I honestly think these are the problems. So, I froze the rest of the granola bars I had in the refrigerator.

5:15 AM- Fiber One Caramel Delight cereal w/ skim milk; I'll be saying goodbye to cereal for a while, too.

7:00 AM - banana

9:30 AM - peppers, baby carrots, cucumbers, turkey slices; I packed all of these for a 3 hour drive to Virginia.

12:00 PM - lunch at Friendly's: half a turkey club sandwich, a salad w/ ranch dressing (I dipped instead of poured, for the first time ever), a few of my son's french fries, and a small bowl of chocolate ice cream

3:15 PM - banana, mozzarella string cheese & protein granola bar

6:40 PM - chicken breast, broccoli & cauliflower w/ light barbecue sauce

Three cups of coffee and 120 ounces of water.

I'm not even going to bother with numbers today. I'm probably just a tad over maintenance levels.

Jillian Kicks My Butt - Week 9 - Thursday

30 seconds rest between exercises and sets.

pull/chin up 3x5xbodyweight; I changed this from 5x3 to get more negatives in a row. I did 3 actual chin ups and 12 negatives. In my first set, I did attempt 2 actual chin ups and failed. Not unexpectedly LOL
plank 3x60s; I changed this from 5x3 to match the chin ups

barbell hang clean & press 3x5x45
double crunch 3x12

dumbbell stationary lunge 3x5x30 per side
push up 3x12

Biggest Loser cardio - 40 minutes and 200 calories.

5:30 AM - apple & cottage cheese

9:05 AM - scrambled eggs w/ onion, green pepper & salsa, toast w/ light cream cheese; Oh and 1 grape.

11:30 AM - avocado hummus, homemade wheat & flax tortilla, cucumber, baby carrots, peppers

2:25 PM - peppers; I logged them all as green peppers but there were also some red, yellow, and orange bell peppers. I was too lazy to look each one up, so there may be some discrepancy between what my numbers say and what I actually consumed.

3:15 PM - protein granola bar

5:35 PM - sushi; I had a rainbow roll, a spicy somethingorother roll (it didn't say specifically, but imitation crab was listed), and a spicy chicken roll; I didn't have any nutritional information for it, and I'm not going to look it up. I know it's not stellar but I don't care.

5:50 PM - protein granola bar; Seriously, this being hungry thing is messed up. I wonder if I'm sabotaging myself somehow? II definitely need to step away from the food and make better decisions.

One cup of coffee and 120 ounces of water.

Not counting the sushi:
Calories - 1361
Carbs - 194 (33 fiber)
Protein - 85
Fat - 36
C/P/F Ratio - 54/23.6/22.4

Jillian Kicks My Butt - Week 9 - Wednesday

30 Day Shred Level 3 and Banish Fat Boost Metabolism - 80 minutes and 513 calories. Knowing the end is near is really motivating and I didn't hate it today.

7:40 AM - Fiber One Caramel Delight w/ skim milk

11:20 AM - scrambled eggs w/ onion, green pepper & salsa, toast w/ light cream cheese

2:00 PM - lettuce & turkey slices w/ red pepper Italian dressing

2:50 PM - protein granola bar; This was the last one of the batch. I'm debating whether I want to make more today or wait. I have company coming tomorrow and I'd love to be able to offer one. I freaking love these things!

7:30 PM - homemade pizza; I put pizza toppings (sauce, cheese, turkey pepperoni, onions, peppers & black olives) between 2 homemade whole wheat and flax wraps and baked it in the oven until the wraps were done and the filling was warm.

8:15 PM - protein granola bar; I did end up making another batch, but this time I used cookies & cream protein powder instead of vanilla. There was also slightly more fruit in the recipe this time because I had just a little left over and figured I'd use it. They were very good.

Two cups of coffee and 120 ounces of water.

Calories - 1610
Carbs - 213 (36 fiber)
Protein - 103
Fat - 49
C/P/F Ratio - 50.1/24.2/25.7