Challenge 3 Day 47

Good day, I think. Workout was great, food was on plan. I felt wonderful, and I finally took measurements. I'll post those on Sunday when I weigh in and take progress pictures.

apple
cottage cheese

chicken breast
brown rice

coffee w/ cream

"fried" eggs
toast w/ butter
coffee w/ cream

chicken breast
broccoli

celery w/ cottage cheese

Calories - 1385
Carbs - 118 (27 fiber)
Protein - 124
Fat - 56
C/P/F Ratio - 32/33.6/34.4

Challenge 3 Day 46

Another good day for me, I think. I've been waking up early and exercising, so that's good. Today was cardio, and I did 30 minutes of intervals on the elliptical (program #3). I meant to keep things lower carb, and I managed to keep it in the upper end of low/lower end of moderate. I probably could have done without a few things, but not to shabby overall.

apple
cottage cheese
coffee w/ cream

"fried" eggs
toast w/ butter
coffee w/ cream

cucumber-tuna salad

chicken croquettes w/ cheese
wheat bun

Calories - 1721
Carbs - 95 (24 fiber)
Protein - 163
Fat - 84
C/P/F Ratio - 21.3/36.5/42.2

Challenge 3 Day 45

Good day for me! Workout was great, food good. I think (hope) I've finally kicked the monster for another few weeks. I've noticed a pattern with the binges - I'll have to pay attention to my triggers.

homemade protein bar (pre and post workout)

coffee w/ cream

chicken breast
sweet potato
ranch dressing
coffee w/ cream

cottage cheese
cucumber

cubed steak
corn

jalapeno poppers

Calories - 1616
Carbs - 108 (12 fiber)
Protein - 135
Fat - 71
C/P/F Ratio - 26.8/33.6/39.6

Challenge 3 Day 44

I bumped cardio up to 30 minutes, and did Program #3 on my elliptical. It was pretty invigorating, but I miss running.

Food was good. I managed to stay low carb. I probably could have had a few more calories, but I didn't feel like cooking any more.

homemade protein bar

apple
cottage cheese

mozzarella string cheese

fortified French toast
coffee w/ cream

chocolate oopsie cake

turkey sausage
"fried" egg

mozzarella string cheese

Calories - 1308
Carbs - 85 (15 fiber)
Protein - 130
Fat - 58
C/P/F Ratio - 24.6/37.6/37.9

Challenge 3 Day 43

Weight training is getting harder and harder, and I love it! I bought some lifting straps over the weekend and it's made my deadlifts and rows so much easer to grip. I bumped the weight again for some things, and did 3x5 today:

goblet squats (32.5 lbs)
deadlifts (68lbs)
Arnies (25 lbs)*
lat pulls (68 lbs)
dumbbell rows (30 lbs)*
dumbbell bench presses (25 lbs)*

*same as last week

I'll move up to 3x6 of everything (except Arnies and presses - they will stay 3x5 all week) on Wednesday, then 3x7 on Friday, probably. Squats are getting a bit rough, holding the dumbbell the way I do, so I may move to barbell squats soon. I'm buying some 25 pound plates next weekend for deadlifts (so I have more smaller plates to work with on the dumbbells). I may go ahead and start Baby Got Back because of the way it's split, and I won't have to spend so much time per workout loading and unloading weights.

Food was good today, even though I was pretty hungry. I kept it legal, even with the junk food in the house.

homemade protein bar (pre and post workout)

chicken breast
whole wheat pasta

mozzarella cheese sticks

coffee w/ cream
chicken breast
green beans

cottage cheese
coffee w/ cream

fortified French toast

mozzarella cheese sticks

Calories - 1508
Carbs - 135 (24 fiber)
Protein - 159
Fat - 44
C/P/F Ratio - 34.3/40.4/25.3

Challenge 3 Day 42

It's been a really rough week, and I have absolutely no excuse for my gluttony. I've tried to rationalize with the whole "I'm not going to deny myself of what I'm craving" bullcrap but when it comes down to it, I've just been a pig. There was no reason for me to eat the way I have been. I could have made better choices and I didn't. I've made empty promises to myself and I am really disappointed because I know I am better than this. Looking at the timing of the latest fall off the wagon, I realized that I have terrible problems about halfway through a challenge. My problems are all mental.

Not surprisingly, I was up again this week - 151. That's 7 pounds over my low from earlier this year. I was really afraid to get on the scale this morning, but I thought I'd be doing myself a disservice by ignoring the weigh in. I needed to see the number to snap me back.

My inlaws are coming to visit in mid-April. That gives me 6 more weeks of this challenge to straighten myself out. I'm setting a number goal for myself - I want to be 139 or lower by the time they get here. Six weeks of clean eating - no junk food, lower carb - should get me there. Exercise is still great, but I'm going to add a bit longer interval cardio sessions on non-lifting days, with at least one HIIT session per week, probably on Saturdays. Sundays will still be "free" days for exercise, but not for food. I'm going to do this, damn it.

coffee w/ cream
cottage cheese

mozzarella string cheese

coffee w/ cream
"fried" eggs
toast w/ butter

cottage cheese

chicken breast
broccoli
brown rice

Calories - 1309
Carbs - 103 (20 fiber)
Protein - 131
Fat - 52
C/P/F Ratio - 29.4/37.2/33.4

Challenge 3 Day 41

My treadmill died so I couldn't run my 5K. I'm totally bummed about this because I have no idea when I will be able to buy a new treadmill. We found some great deals yesterday on some, but I couldn't really justify putting it on the credit card. So, I didn't. I still have my elliptical, and I have to keep reminding myself that there are more than two ways to get my cardio in. I don't know what I'm going to do about the 5Ks I committed to each month. I don't have anyone to watch my son at a convenient running time. He's too big for a stroller and I'm certainly not making him walk 3.1 miles with me. Besides, I want to run.

Food, not so good. I don't know what's happened to me. I'm really disappointed in myself. I keep saying I'll be better tomorrow, but tomorrow is just as bad as yesterday.