Beginning Date: April 30, 2007
Ending Date: July 20, 2007
Day 1 - Starting over, doing it right
Did the bike this morning. Went 5.47 miles in 20 minutes. I'm pushing really hard with every bike workout now that I understand what I should be doing. It feels good to be working that hard. And it is hard. My legs burn while I'm doing it, I breathe very heavily, my heartrate (according to the monitor, which I'm not sure I trust) is between 180-200 a majority of the time. My legs felt like bricks when I was walking up the stairs after I was done - heavy and solid. Good workout.
I bought all new workout clothes yesterday. Three shorts, 3 tanks, 2 tees and 2 crop pants for $129. Rock on - now I will look cute while I workout - and that is important;)
Today is day one of my "I WILL like tuna challenge". I will see how long it takes before I really enjoy my tuna for lunch... I have a feeling it is going to take a long time. But I WILL like it darnit - I will.
Monday, April 30, 2007
Saturday, April 28, 2007
BFL - Day 27
Beginning Date: April 2, 2007
Ending Date: April 28, 2007
Day 27 -
I'm going to start the 12 weeks over on Monday. It comes down to this: I've been eating wrong for 4 weeks. I could finish out the 12 weeks, but I think I would be discouraged when I didn't start seeing changes after 8 weeks like I'm seeing on these websites (seems that most women notice significant changes after 8 weeks). I would know in my head that I hadn't eaten right for 4 weeks, but I would still be discouraged. I want to start fresh. Not go totally over board with my free days - I think I got that out of my system... the absolute obligatory gorging that I did the first two of them. I have got a decent handle on how I SHOULD be eating and I think I've figured out how I SHOULD be working out. So I'm going to start fresh on Monday with Day 1, I'll even be brave and take my photos, but am not sure if I'll be brave enough to post them here... perhaps if I do it will hold me more accountable to sticking with it even as I'm forcing myself to eat tuna:) I WILL like tuna, darnit - I WILL.
I'm going to ask Cornbread what he wants to do. I went over my new eating menu with him and he was seriously disappointed that he shouldn't be eating cheese. I told him to do what he wants/needs to - I'm not going to monitor his diet, I struggle enough with my own. He said since he is not doing this to lose weight, he'll probably keep the string cheese and the little bit of parmesan that he puts on his eggs. I want to find out if he is going to continue on with this 12 weeks or restart with me on Monday. I just thought it might be easier if we restart together, but maybe he doesn't want to. He usually doesn't care about that kind of stuff... we'll see.
I really want to take before photos though - at least for ourselves so we can see a difference. I think it would help him, too, to see his chest filling out and his shoulders getting broader.
I did my LBWO this morning. I upped my weights everywhere and I'm getting a bit discouraged with our weight bench situation. I cannot max myself out on quads and calves. I did quad lifts on my 6 reps with 60lbs. I can't fit anymore weight on the bar. So I can't go higher than 60lbs. Then I did squats with 65 lbs - that is pushing the limit a bit with what I can comfortably get on my shoulders - I have to bend over to get it over my shoulders and I'm worried about injuring my back... I can squat more weight, but I don't want to hurt my back in the process. I'm also going to have to change my calf exercises. I'm going to have to go back to doing the one leg calf raises on the step as my main exercise - I stopped because it takes twice as long to do them that way (doing one leg at a time), but I think that is the only way I'm going to be able to max myself out there... And I have no idea what the second exercise should be. I'll have to try angled calf raises for the second exercise. I can do well with the hamstrings, but I should probably increase my weights there as well. We saw a great weight bench at Sports Authority last weekend that would help with all of these isses, but we'd need to buy a whole new set of weights (ours wouldn't fit - ours are standard, this one is olympic - the middle holes are different sizes). We had decided, though, that we would wait until after Christmas to get a new one - that way we can ask for gift cards to whereever we find the best one. I'm going to go on Freecycle.org and see if anyone wants to get rid of anything...
I put my measurements into fittogether.net and found out that I have 33%+ body fat. Thats nice. Good. It will be a good measurement tracker, though.
Ending Date: April 28, 2007
Day 27 -
I'm going to start the 12 weeks over on Monday. It comes down to this: I've been eating wrong for 4 weeks. I could finish out the 12 weeks, but I think I would be discouraged when I didn't start seeing changes after 8 weeks like I'm seeing on these websites (seems that most women notice significant changes after 8 weeks). I would know in my head that I hadn't eaten right for 4 weeks, but I would still be discouraged. I want to start fresh. Not go totally over board with my free days - I think I got that out of my system... the absolute obligatory gorging that I did the first two of them. I have got a decent handle on how I SHOULD be eating and I think I've figured out how I SHOULD be working out. So I'm going to start fresh on Monday with Day 1, I'll even be brave and take my photos, but am not sure if I'll be brave enough to post them here... perhaps if I do it will hold me more accountable to sticking with it even as I'm forcing myself to eat tuna:) I WILL like tuna, darnit - I WILL.
I'm going to ask Cornbread what he wants to do. I went over my new eating menu with him and he was seriously disappointed that he shouldn't be eating cheese. I told him to do what he wants/needs to - I'm not going to monitor his diet, I struggle enough with my own. He said since he is not doing this to lose weight, he'll probably keep the string cheese and the little bit of parmesan that he puts on his eggs. I want to find out if he is going to continue on with this 12 weeks or restart with me on Monday. I just thought it might be easier if we restart together, but maybe he doesn't want to. He usually doesn't care about that kind of stuff... we'll see.
I really want to take before photos though - at least for ourselves so we can see a difference. I think it would help him, too, to see his chest filling out and his shoulders getting broader.
I did my LBWO this morning. I upped my weights everywhere and I'm getting a bit discouraged with our weight bench situation. I cannot max myself out on quads and calves. I did quad lifts on my 6 reps with 60lbs. I can't fit anymore weight on the bar. So I can't go higher than 60lbs. Then I did squats with 65 lbs - that is pushing the limit a bit with what I can comfortably get on my shoulders - I have to bend over to get it over my shoulders and I'm worried about injuring my back... I can squat more weight, but I don't want to hurt my back in the process. I'm also going to have to change my calf exercises. I'm going to have to go back to doing the one leg calf raises on the step as my main exercise - I stopped because it takes twice as long to do them that way (doing one leg at a time), but I think that is the only way I'm going to be able to max myself out there... And I have no idea what the second exercise should be. I'll have to try angled calf raises for the second exercise. I can do well with the hamstrings, but I should probably increase my weights there as well. We saw a great weight bench at Sports Authority last weekend that would help with all of these isses, but we'd need to buy a whole new set of weights (ours wouldn't fit - ours are standard, this one is olympic - the middle holes are different sizes). We had decided, though, that we would wait until after Christmas to get a new one - that way we can ask for gift cards to whereever we find the best one. I'm going to go on Freecycle.org and see if anyone wants to get rid of anything...
I put my measurements into fittogether.net and found out that I have 33%+ body fat. Thats nice. Good. It will be a good measurement tracker, though.
Friday, April 27, 2007
BFL - Day 26 (W/M)
Beginning Date: April 2, 2007
Ending Date: June 23, 2007
Day 26 -
Since it is grocery weekend, I sat down and figured out my daily meals/snacks and how to re-portion them and how to do this better. I decided that I would change up the actual food I've been eating during the day, but only cut my portions on breakfast and dinner. Here is my anticipated daily menu:
8:30 - 3 egg whites, 1 yolk, peppers & onions (no cheese), oatmeal, water
11:00 - LF cottage Cheese, salsa, apple, water
1:30 - Tuna (I'm going to teach myself to like this, right now I'm not a fan), yogurt, carrots, water
4:00 - shake
6:30 - EFL dinner - appropriate portion size, water
9:00 - bar, water
I also made a list of the recipes that I think I can use from the EFL cookbook and indicated which ones I could use for when the boys come for dinner (about twice a week). I came up with 13 total recipes, 7 of them for when the boys come. I took out my menu planning calendar and wrote in dinners from now until the end of the year! The 7 meals for the nights we have the boys over are rotated and have been planned for two each week - which means we'll only repeat one of those meals 1x per month. We will be having hamburgers every Friday night and chicken fajitas/leftovers every Thursday night (the night Dave plans for appointments) and then I took the other 4 meals and rotated those on Tuesday nights. This may not make a whole lot of sense written out this way, but I'm very excited to have that done. The couple of days before grocery weekend was such a pain - doing the menu plan and then the grocery list and then finally the grocery shopping was always something I dreaded. Now I have the menu planning taken care of for the rest of the year and I should be able to get a list of the items needed for each meal and make a standard grocery list and just check off the stuff that I need - all kinds of fun organizational work ahead of me!
Did my HIIT (high intensity interval training - I'm learning all kinds of new things from those bfl websites) today. Rode the bike 5.30 miles! Thats a huge improvement! And it sucked - it was hard and I really, really pushed myself. As much as I don't want to be as obssessed and crazy as some of those BFL'ers on the websites, I think I'm going to need to continue to at least read those forums and look at the progress pictures for motivation - on the plan and on my workouts especially. My last two workouts have really been kicked up a notch since finding that tracker website, so thats good. I think I might have a hard time keeping that up, though, without the reminders that this is how I'm supposed to be doing it - its easy to become complacent.
Today is my weigh in measurement day. I was very nervous to get on the scale. I had already braced myself for what I might see, but I still didn't want to see 138, which is what I suspected it would say - or even worse, 140. I was pleasantly surprised:)
Stats: (I will measure myself twice a month and weigh myself twice a month to record progress)*Weight (on 3/30/07): 135.4
4/13/07: 136.6 (yes, I'm going with THAT one)
4/27/07: 135.4
*Waist (right at belly button, sucked in):
4/2/07: 32"
4/13/07: 31 1/4"
4/27/07: 31"
*Bum (mid bum, where leg meets torso):
4/2/07: 37 3/4"
4/13/07: 37 1/2"
4/27/07: 37 1/2"
*Hips (right below bum):
4/2/07: 39 1/2"
4/13/07: 39 1/2"
4/27/07: 39 1/4"
*Thigh (mid thigh - 2' below mole):
4/2/07: 23"
4/13/07: 22 1/2"
4/27/07: 22 1/4"
*Calf (mid calf):
4/2/07: 15"
4/13/07: 15"
4/27/07: 15"
*Arm (mid bicep):
4/2/07: 12 3/4"
4/13/07: 12 5/8"
4/27/07: 12 1/2"
Ending Date: June 23, 2007
Day 26 -
Since it is grocery weekend, I sat down and figured out my daily meals/snacks and how to re-portion them and how to do this better. I decided that I would change up the actual food I've been eating during the day, but only cut my portions on breakfast and dinner. Here is my anticipated daily menu:
8:30 - 3 egg whites, 1 yolk, peppers & onions (no cheese), oatmeal, water
11:00 - LF cottage Cheese, salsa, apple, water
1:30 - Tuna (I'm going to teach myself to like this, right now I'm not a fan), yogurt, carrots, water
4:00 - shake
6:30 - EFL dinner - appropriate portion size, water
9:00 - bar, water
I also made a list of the recipes that I think I can use from the EFL cookbook and indicated which ones I could use for when the boys come for dinner (about twice a week). I came up with 13 total recipes, 7 of them for when the boys come. I took out my menu planning calendar and wrote in dinners from now until the end of the year! The 7 meals for the nights we have the boys over are rotated and have been planned for two each week - which means we'll only repeat one of those meals 1x per month. We will be having hamburgers every Friday night and chicken fajitas/leftovers every Thursday night (the night Dave plans for appointments) and then I took the other 4 meals and rotated those on Tuesday nights. This may not make a whole lot of sense written out this way, but I'm very excited to have that done. The couple of days before grocery weekend was such a pain - doing the menu plan and then the grocery list and then finally the grocery shopping was always something I dreaded. Now I have the menu planning taken care of for the rest of the year and I should be able to get a list of the items needed for each meal and make a standard grocery list and just check off the stuff that I need - all kinds of fun organizational work ahead of me!
Did my HIIT (high intensity interval training - I'm learning all kinds of new things from those bfl websites) today. Rode the bike 5.30 miles! Thats a huge improvement! And it sucked - it was hard and I really, really pushed myself. As much as I don't want to be as obssessed and crazy as some of those BFL'ers on the websites, I think I'm going to need to continue to at least read those forums and look at the progress pictures for motivation - on the plan and on my workouts especially. My last two workouts have really been kicked up a notch since finding that tracker website, so thats good. I think I might have a hard time keeping that up, though, without the reminders that this is how I'm supposed to be doing it - its easy to become complacent.
Today is my weigh in measurement day. I was very nervous to get on the scale. I had already braced myself for what I might see, but I still didn't want to see 138, which is what I suspected it would say - or even worse, 140. I was pleasantly surprised:)
Stats: (I will measure myself twice a month and weigh myself twice a month to record progress)*Weight (on 3/30/07): 135.4
4/13/07: 136.6 (yes, I'm going with THAT one)
4/27/07: 135.4
*Waist (right at belly button, sucked in):
4/2/07: 32"
4/13/07: 31 1/4"
4/27/07: 31"
*Bum (mid bum, where leg meets torso):
4/2/07: 37 3/4"
4/13/07: 37 1/2"
4/27/07: 37 1/2"
*Hips (right below bum):
4/2/07: 39 1/2"
4/13/07: 39 1/2"
4/27/07: 39 1/4"
*Thigh (mid thigh - 2' below mole):
4/2/07: 23"
4/13/07: 22 1/2"
4/27/07: 22 1/4"
*Calf (mid calf):
4/2/07: 15"
4/13/07: 15"
4/27/07: 15"
*Arm (mid bicep):
4/2/07: 12 3/4"
4/13/07: 12 5/8"
4/27/07: 12 1/2"
Thursday, April 26, 2007
BFL - Day 25
Beginning Date: April 2, 2007
Ending Date: June 23, 2007
Day 25 -
I've been doing a lot of reading on the bfl website, in the books and on another website called http://www.bodyforlife-tracker.com/. The tracker website has a lot of forums where people can discuss their challenges and their questions, etc. Its been very interesting and kind of eye opening. So far I have been able to determine 1) I'm not working out hard enough - I need to go just a little bit harder 2) My portion sizes have definitely been off and 3) The Eating For Life cookbook is a bit sketchy in terms of being appropriate for the challenge - it seems that most people find it to be good for maintenance and not during the challenges. However, there have been a couple of people who have used it throughout the challenges.
So I can't decide if I want to start completely over with day 1 on Monday or just change things up and keep going on Monday. Part of me thinks that if I start over, I've got a good head start and I can take my before pictures and make a clean refreshed start. The other part of me wants to complete a whole challenge before beginning again and then when I start another 12 week challenge after that I would hopefully make even bigger progress. I'm not sure.
I don't have a desire to get as ripped as a lot of the women on that tracker website are. I don't really want to look like that. I'm not sure that single digit body fat percentage is something I want to strive for or desire to look like. I would like to be toned and in shape and I think I can get there with this. Maybe after I see some big results I'll change my mind, but I don't think I will. I want to look like a woman, too - not an anatomy poster.
In order to change things up I think I am going to reevaluate all of my meals and snacks and determine what are smarter foods to eat and what are the appropriate portion sizes. I think I need to go back to oatmeal in the morning, rather than toast, perhaps cut down on my eggs a bit - but not sure that I want to. I need to have some cottage cheese and an apple for a snack rather than the rye krisps, have another snack after the girls lunch (around 1:30) and a shake in the afternoon instead of my big lunch that I've been having. I'm okay with continuing to make EFL meals for dinner, but I need to watch and control my portions and not go by what the book says. I should also watch out for the recipes that have too many unauthorized foods.
One disappointing thing that I've realized is that cheese is NOT part of the approved protein list. I figured since I saw it in the EFL book that it was definitely considered a protein. Um, no. So heartbreaking. I love cheese. So now I'm going to have to save my cheese for my free days. And there is one reason why I feel like I should start over - because I've been eating the wrong foods for almost the entire 4 weeks. We'll have to talk about it over the next couple of days before I go grocery shopping and decide what to do. I don't want to get obssessed with it like some of the people on these websites, but I do need to take it a little more seriously and do it correctly if I'm going to see any progress.
Did my UBWO (upper body workout) this morning and hit 10's in some of my exercises. I think this is the first time I've done that throughout these 4 weeks. Again - I haven't been working out as hard as I should be. I've been going hard, but not hard enough - and there is a difference as I found out this morning. I have a hard time keeping the workout at the 46 minutes that is suggested - mine was 55 minutes this morning. Hopefully I'll just get more efficient as I go.
I've now got a refreshed attitude on this. I've been frustrated for the last week. Now I'm refreshed and energized - I think having the good workout this morning helped with that. Now that I know what I should be striving for, I can strive for it in all of the areas of working out. Tomorrow is weighing and measuring day. Not sure if I'll see any difference - I won't be surprised at all if I've gained weight, so I need to prepare myself for that possibility - but hopefully my measurements will show some improvement.
Ending Date: June 23, 2007
Day 25 -
I've been doing a lot of reading on the bfl website, in the books and on another website called http://www.bodyforlife-tracker.com/. The tracker website has a lot of forums where people can discuss their challenges and their questions, etc. Its been very interesting and kind of eye opening. So far I have been able to determine 1) I'm not working out hard enough - I need to go just a little bit harder 2) My portion sizes have definitely been off and 3) The Eating For Life cookbook is a bit sketchy in terms of being appropriate for the challenge - it seems that most people find it to be good for maintenance and not during the challenges. However, there have been a couple of people who have used it throughout the challenges.
So I can't decide if I want to start completely over with day 1 on Monday or just change things up and keep going on Monday. Part of me thinks that if I start over, I've got a good head start and I can take my before pictures and make a clean refreshed start. The other part of me wants to complete a whole challenge before beginning again and then when I start another 12 week challenge after that I would hopefully make even bigger progress. I'm not sure.
I don't have a desire to get as ripped as a lot of the women on that tracker website are. I don't really want to look like that. I'm not sure that single digit body fat percentage is something I want to strive for or desire to look like. I would like to be toned and in shape and I think I can get there with this. Maybe after I see some big results I'll change my mind, but I don't think I will. I want to look like a woman, too - not an anatomy poster.
In order to change things up I think I am going to reevaluate all of my meals and snacks and determine what are smarter foods to eat and what are the appropriate portion sizes. I think I need to go back to oatmeal in the morning, rather than toast, perhaps cut down on my eggs a bit - but not sure that I want to. I need to have some cottage cheese and an apple for a snack rather than the rye krisps, have another snack after the girls lunch (around 1:30) and a shake in the afternoon instead of my big lunch that I've been having. I'm okay with continuing to make EFL meals for dinner, but I need to watch and control my portions and not go by what the book says. I should also watch out for the recipes that have too many unauthorized foods.
One disappointing thing that I've realized is that cheese is NOT part of the approved protein list. I figured since I saw it in the EFL book that it was definitely considered a protein. Um, no. So heartbreaking. I love cheese. So now I'm going to have to save my cheese for my free days. And there is one reason why I feel like I should start over - because I've been eating the wrong foods for almost the entire 4 weeks. We'll have to talk about it over the next couple of days before I go grocery shopping and decide what to do. I don't want to get obssessed with it like some of the people on these websites, but I do need to take it a little more seriously and do it correctly if I'm going to see any progress.
Did my UBWO (upper body workout) this morning and hit 10's in some of my exercises. I think this is the first time I've done that throughout these 4 weeks. Again - I haven't been working out as hard as I should be. I've been going hard, but not hard enough - and there is a difference as I found out this morning. I have a hard time keeping the workout at the 46 minutes that is suggested - mine was 55 minutes this morning. Hopefully I'll just get more efficient as I go.
I've now got a refreshed attitude on this. I've been frustrated for the last week. Now I'm refreshed and energized - I think having the good workout this morning helped with that. Now that I know what I should be striving for, I can strive for it in all of the areas of working out. Tomorrow is weighing and measuring day. Not sure if I'll see any difference - I won't be surprised at all if I've gained weight, so I need to prepare myself for that possibility - but hopefully my measurements will show some improvement.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
BFL - Day 24
Beginning Date: April 2, 2007
Ending Date: June 23, 2007
Day 24 -
Did my bike workout this morning and went 5.21 miles. My legs were very tired and sore while I was doing it and I've worked up quite a sweat. While I was riding I was thinking about running and why I think it is such a better workout. I'm not sure what the answer is - I think because I really feel it the next day, maybe because it is so incredibly difficult for me and it is a challenge, maybe because I have absolutely no breath while I'm doing it. I'm not sure.
I'm encouraged by the message board on bodyforlife.com. The notes there are positive and nice to read. Others are struggling with the same things I am, apparently. I'm frustrated with things right now - still very positive about it all, but frustrated. With BFL, with Dave's job, with life in general. I feel like there is very real hope that things in each of those areas will improve - that I will notice some changes in the way my body looks, that Dave will someday earn enough money to pay our bills, that there will be a time where I'm not handcuffed by the ages of my children. I have hope in all of these areas, but I'm frustrated by the fact that each thing is going to take some amount of time to achieve. I want it all right now. I'm sick of struggling. I'm sick of it. I don't want to work anymore, I don't want to look to the future and know it will get better anymore - I want it to be better now. I sound like I'm whining - and I'm really not, I'm just frustrated and feeling a need to put it into words. Tim said on Saturday night that even in the best of times we can look around and say, "It DOES get better than this!" (meaning heaven). I need to remember that it will get better than this and focus on the important things rather on my frustrations.
Ending Date: June 23, 2007
Day 24 -
Did my bike workout this morning and went 5.21 miles. My legs were very tired and sore while I was doing it and I've worked up quite a sweat. While I was riding I was thinking about running and why I think it is such a better workout. I'm not sure what the answer is - I think because I really feel it the next day, maybe because it is so incredibly difficult for me and it is a challenge, maybe because I have absolutely no breath while I'm doing it. I'm not sure.
I'm encouraged by the message board on bodyforlife.com. The notes there are positive and nice to read. Others are struggling with the same things I am, apparently. I'm frustrated with things right now - still very positive about it all, but frustrated. With BFL, with Dave's job, with life in general. I feel like there is very real hope that things in each of those areas will improve - that I will notice some changes in the way my body looks, that Dave will someday earn enough money to pay our bills, that there will be a time where I'm not handcuffed by the ages of my children. I have hope in all of these areas, but I'm frustrated by the fact that each thing is going to take some amount of time to achieve. I want it all right now. I'm sick of struggling. I'm sick of it. I don't want to work anymore, I don't want to look to the future and know it will get better anymore - I want it to be better now. I sound like I'm whining - and I'm really not, I'm just frustrated and feeling a need to put it into words. Tim said on Saturday night that even in the best of times we can look around and say, "It DOES get better than this!" (meaning heaven). I need to remember that it will get better than this and focus on the important things rather on my frustrations.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
BFL - Day 23
Beginning Date - April 2, 2007
Ending Date - June 23, 2007
Day 23 -
I got the Body for Life for Women book out of the library last night. While briefly glancing over it, I decided that its crap. Perhaps if I read it a little more thoroughly I will change my mind or find at least something to take out of it, but as of now, I really have no desire to even read it more thoroughly. This author is not as clear about what the actual plan is, the list of acceptable foods is pretty grim and the diet portion is much more confusing and complicated. From the little bit that I skimmed, she basically wants women to workout about 2 hours a day - its seems that way, anyway. Thirty minutes of cardio 3-5 times a week, 45 minutes of weight lifting 3 times a week and add in some yoga and/or pilates during the week. Combine the excessive exercise with the complicated diet and I'm saying no thanks.
I don't want to be hungry all the time and I think that is what would happen on her version of the diet. I think I do need to cut my portions down - I've read a few comments on the message board at the website that lead me to believe that I should cut down. 1) The EFL cookbook was written for men and 2) the EFL cookbook portions are meant for maintaining. I don't know where either of these people got their information, but it seems to make sense. So after this week I'm going to try cutting my mid-morning snack in half, eating another snack for lunch and substituting my normal lunch (a lunch meal out of the book) with a shake. Hopefully that will help, but again - I don't want to be hungry all day, so I'll have to be conscious of it. I also read on the message board that a lot of people don't see major progress until week 8... we just started week 4. I'm going to work hard at doing the workouts and really fatiguing my muscles during my weight lifting sessions and hope that this is the case with me. I don't expect to be where I want to be after 12 weeks - In fact, I expect to start another 12 week challenge after that - but I would like to be able to see SOME improvement, somehow.
I went shopping last night for some capris. I'm so sick of shopping for jeans. I don't want to ever have to do it again. 30 pairs of pants is probably a gross underestimation of how many I brought into the dressing room with me - and I walked out with 2 pairs that fit *okay* - not good, just okay, like live-able okay. I have a small, small waist, but I have big thighs, butt and hips. So in order to find pants to fit my legs I need to wear 10/12, but then there is such a huge gap at the waist that it looks ridiculous when I wear a belt (all bunched up and folded). It is so incredibly frustrating and I have first hand knowledge that it doesn't change when I'm 15 lbs lighter - same issues, just smaller sized pants. I'm so tired of the problem.
Did my leg workout this morning. I need to increase my weights on quads and calves. I'm having a really hard time getting the right weight set for my calves. Every session I increase by 2 lbs and hope that it will be the magic set. I have to increase again next time. Quads were doing well, but now I feel I should increase. Hamstrings were good today - I increased them since the last session.
Ending Date - June 23, 2007
Day 23 -
I got the Body for Life for Women book out of the library last night. While briefly glancing over it, I decided that its crap. Perhaps if I read it a little more thoroughly I will change my mind or find at least something to take out of it, but as of now, I really have no desire to even read it more thoroughly. This author is not as clear about what the actual plan is, the list of acceptable foods is pretty grim and the diet portion is much more confusing and complicated. From the little bit that I skimmed, she basically wants women to workout about 2 hours a day - its seems that way, anyway. Thirty minutes of cardio 3-5 times a week, 45 minutes of weight lifting 3 times a week and add in some yoga and/or pilates during the week. Combine the excessive exercise with the complicated diet and I'm saying no thanks.
I don't want to be hungry all the time and I think that is what would happen on her version of the diet. I think I do need to cut my portions down - I've read a few comments on the message board at the website that lead me to believe that I should cut down. 1) The EFL cookbook was written for men and 2) the EFL cookbook portions are meant for maintaining. I don't know where either of these people got their information, but it seems to make sense. So after this week I'm going to try cutting my mid-morning snack in half, eating another snack for lunch and substituting my normal lunch (a lunch meal out of the book) with a shake. Hopefully that will help, but again - I don't want to be hungry all day, so I'll have to be conscious of it. I also read on the message board that a lot of people don't see major progress until week 8... we just started week 4. I'm going to work hard at doing the workouts and really fatiguing my muscles during my weight lifting sessions and hope that this is the case with me. I don't expect to be where I want to be after 12 weeks - In fact, I expect to start another 12 week challenge after that - but I would like to be able to see SOME improvement, somehow.
I went shopping last night for some capris. I'm so sick of shopping for jeans. I don't want to ever have to do it again. 30 pairs of pants is probably a gross underestimation of how many I brought into the dressing room with me - and I walked out with 2 pairs that fit *okay* - not good, just okay, like live-able okay. I have a small, small waist, but I have big thighs, butt and hips. So in order to find pants to fit my legs I need to wear 10/12, but then there is such a huge gap at the waist that it looks ridiculous when I wear a belt (all bunched up and folded). It is so incredibly frustrating and I have first hand knowledge that it doesn't change when I'm 15 lbs lighter - same issues, just smaller sized pants. I'm so tired of the problem.
Did my leg workout this morning. I need to increase my weights on quads and calves. I'm having a really hard time getting the right weight set for my calves. Every session I increase by 2 lbs and hope that it will be the magic set. I have to increase again next time. Quads were doing well, but now I feel I should increase. Hamstrings were good today - I increased them since the last session.
Monday, April 23, 2007
BFL - Day 22
Beginning Date: April 2, 2007
Ending Date: June 23, 2007
Day 22 -
Just rode the bike for my cardio workout. Went 5.20 miles in 20 minutes. Thats the farthest I've gone so far, so it is great improvement! It is nice to see improvement through all of this - whether it is increased distance, increased resistance or increased weights.
We did go out and by an ipod shuffle over the weekend. I downloaded itunes and bought my first song (sexyback) and can't figure out how to get it from the computer to the ipod. I'm going to have to take a 101 course from the boys tonight perhaps. So annoying. This computer is almost 6 years old and I'm so sick of it, but not sure that we feel a NEED to replace it. I think we can talk about possibly doing that after we figure out how much of our tax refund will go toward paying for the "new" camry. Anyway, I'm still terrified of running outside, but I think it is turning into a mind over matter thing and I need to get over that.
We went out on Saturday night after church and had a good time. We went to Portillo's for hot dogs, then to Best Buy for the ipod, to Sports Authority for a stop watch (and we looked at weight benches and decided that we'd really like a new one), to the carnival, then to Cold Stone Creamery.
We wanted to ride the zipper at the carnival so we bought enough tickets to do so (holy cow are they expensive) and got in line. It went very quick... we got in the car and as soon as the guy started to close the door I knew I couldn't do it. He was closing us in a cage... I'm not sure if that is what triggered it or if it was the realization that we would be in that cage for a significant amount of time in the air, not able to get out while we were letting others on and off. I think that was more the issue. I immediately knew I wouldn't be able to breathe through that and insisted on getting out. They gave us our tickets back, which was awesome, and we went on a different ride. I'm so glad I have a husband who understands and doesn't get ticked at me or embarrassed or roll his eyes thinking that I'm being a baby or being stupid. I think he has seen me in the midst of a panic attack enough times to realize that its not fake. I wish these stupid things would go away - I don't know why I have them and I can't do anything about them.
Cold Stone was a disappointment. I think that The Marble Slab was so new and cool and good last week that probably anything would have been a disappointment. I had french vanilla ice cream with graham crackers, caramel and chocolate shavings. It was good, but I think I would have enjoyed an ice cream cone from the colorado coffee house a little more - theres just something about eating an ice cream cone that isn't satisfied by eating it with a spoon. Their cheesecake ice cream tasted like the kind of cheesecake that is made with sour cream and isn't baked - ick - so I went with the french vanilla. HOWEVER, I took Ryann there yesterday morning after we went sandal shopping and I got a sunsation smoothie (pineapple juice, orange juice and sorbet) and it was delicious. Ryann got strawberry ice cream with gummy bears and was very happy about it.
The rest of our free day was pretty normal for pre-BFL days. We didn't go overboard this week, which made it better. We had pancakes for breakfast, a lite lunch, then spent the afternoon doing work outside and hanging out with our neighbors, then had pizza for dinner and I made cookie monsters for dessert. The cookie monster sent me over the edge, but up until that point we were good:) I decided that I really don't like that over-full feeling anymore. Free day is getting a little less exciting now. I'm glad to be going back to the BFL diet today.
Ending Date: June 23, 2007
Day 22 -
Just rode the bike for my cardio workout. Went 5.20 miles in 20 minutes. Thats the farthest I've gone so far, so it is great improvement! It is nice to see improvement through all of this - whether it is increased distance, increased resistance or increased weights.
We did go out and by an ipod shuffle over the weekend. I downloaded itunes and bought my first song (sexyback) and can't figure out how to get it from the computer to the ipod. I'm going to have to take a 101 course from the boys tonight perhaps. So annoying. This computer is almost 6 years old and I'm so sick of it, but not sure that we feel a NEED to replace it. I think we can talk about possibly doing that after we figure out how much of our tax refund will go toward paying for the "new" camry. Anyway, I'm still terrified of running outside, but I think it is turning into a mind over matter thing and I need to get over that.
We went out on Saturday night after church and had a good time. We went to Portillo's for hot dogs, then to Best Buy for the ipod, to Sports Authority for a stop watch (and we looked at weight benches and decided that we'd really like a new one), to the carnival, then to Cold Stone Creamery.
We wanted to ride the zipper at the carnival so we bought enough tickets to do so (holy cow are they expensive) and got in line. It went very quick... we got in the car and as soon as the guy started to close the door I knew I couldn't do it. He was closing us in a cage... I'm not sure if that is what triggered it or if it was the realization that we would be in that cage for a significant amount of time in the air, not able to get out while we were letting others on and off. I think that was more the issue. I immediately knew I wouldn't be able to breathe through that and insisted on getting out. They gave us our tickets back, which was awesome, and we went on a different ride. I'm so glad I have a husband who understands and doesn't get ticked at me or embarrassed or roll his eyes thinking that I'm being a baby or being stupid. I think he has seen me in the midst of a panic attack enough times to realize that its not fake. I wish these stupid things would go away - I don't know why I have them and I can't do anything about them.
Cold Stone was a disappointment. I think that The Marble Slab was so new and cool and good last week that probably anything would have been a disappointment. I had french vanilla ice cream with graham crackers, caramel and chocolate shavings. It was good, but I think I would have enjoyed an ice cream cone from the colorado coffee house a little more - theres just something about eating an ice cream cone that isn't satisfied by eating it with a spoon. Their cheesecake ice cream tasted like the kind of cheesecake that is made with sour cream and isn't baked - ick - so I went with the french vanilla. HOWEVER, I took Ryann there yesterday morning after we went sandal shopping and I got a sunsation smoothie (pineapple juice, orange juice and sorbet) and it was delicious. Ryann got strawberry ice cream with gummy bears and was very happy about it.
The rest of our free day was pretty normal for pre-BFL days. We didn't go overboard this week, which made it better. We had pancakes for breakfast, a lite lunch, then spent the afternoon doing work outside and hanging out with our neighbors, then had pizza for dinner and I made cookie monsters for dessert. The cookie monster sent me over the edge, but up until that point we were good:) I decided that I really don't like that over-full feeling anymore. Free day is getting a little less exciting now. I'm glad to be going back to the BFL diet today.
Saturday, April 21, 2007
BFL - Day 20
Beginning Date: April 2, 2007
Ending Date: June 23, 2007
Day 20 -
We cheated last night. Had popcorn while watching a movie. It was microwave popcorn and I really don't think it was a horrible cheat so i'm not going to worry about it:)
I went on the BFL website and the message board and posted a message regarding my concerns about my height and portion sizes. A girl from Canada who is 5'2" and 138 pounds emailed me and told me she totally knew what I was talking about. Okay - I don't think I could have asked for a better example, just in terms of being so close to my height and weight. Her message was very encouraging and she told me that the Eating For Life cookbook has been written for men so the portion sizes should be scaled down for me. This was interesting information...
I have one more week until I have to get groceries again and make another 2 week menu plan, so I will continue with my plans for the next week, but I will eat slightly smaller portions of the dinners I make - I think my snacks are okay as of right now. However, I am going to go get the Body For Life For Women book from the library and see if there is anything in there that would be helpful or important in being successful as a woman vs. a man in this whole thing.
I also signed up for the BFL email newsletter, so I'm hoping that will be a regular encouragement as well. Seriously, getting this girls emails in addition to some great emails from my friend, Kim, has been awesome! Its always good to have friends be able to speak the language, know what you're talking about, be able to comiserate, and also to encourage and give examples of their success. It makes me feel as if I'm not all alone doing this on my own with Cornbread. Sometimes I feel like it takes a lot of mental strength to continue something like this on our own as a couple - we encourage eachother the most, but we also excuse eachother the most, too. So it is so great to have friends to chat with on occasion, too.
Free day begins tonight after church. We decided to go to Portillo's, go shopping for an ipod and a stopwatch, and then go to Cold Stone Creamery for ice cream. I'm so excited to just hang out again tonight. I'm going to try to run outside - just like running on the treadmill, I'm going to have to work myself up slowly to the point where I'm comfortable and in shape. Hopefully I will learn to enjoy it the way I *kind of* did with the treadmill:) I honestly believe that this is a much more financially responsible decision - AND an enviromentally responsible decision (it IS earth day tomorrow, you know;)
Here are the issues though:
* I have no idea how to put music on an ipod - but I'm sure Nathan and David will give me a training session if I ask nicely
* I think our computer is probably too old to do this kind of high-tech new wave thing...
* I have no idea what music to put on there for running. We both decided that in order to keep the cost down for now, we'll get an ipod shuffle and put 10 songs each on it. I have no clue what songs would be good running songs since I don't listen to music. Mine would have to be upbeat songs so I can run to the beat.
There has to be a running playlist out there somewhere on the web.
Ending Date: June 23, 2007
Day 20 -
We cheated last night. Had popcorn while watching a movie. It was microwave popcorn and I really don't think it was a horrible cheat so i'm not going to worry about it:)
I went on the BFL website and the message board and posted a message regarding my concerns about my height and portion sizes. A girl from Canada who is 5'2" and 138 pounds emailed me and told me she totally knew what I was talking about. Okay - I don't think I could have asked for a better example, just in terms of being so close to my height and weight. Her message was very encouraging and she told me that the Eating For Life cookbook has been written for men so the portion sizes should be scaled down for me. This was interesting information...
I have one more week until I have to get groceries again and make another 2 week menu plan, so I will continue with my plans for the next week, but I will eat slightly smaller portions of the dinners I make - I think my snacks are okay as of right now. However, I am going to go get the Body For Life For Women book from the library and see if there is anything in there that would be helpful or important in being successful as a woman vs. a man in this whole thing.
I also signed up for the BFL email newsletter, so I'm hoping that will be a regular encouragement as well. Seriously, getting this girls emails in addition to some great emails from my friend, Kim, has been awesome! Its always good to have friends be able to speak the language, know what you're talking about, be able to comiserate, and also to encourage and give examples of their success. It makes me feel as if I'm not all alone doing this on my own with Cornbread. Sometimes I feel like it takes a lot of mental strength to continue something like this on our own as a couple - we encourage eachother the most, but we also excuse eachother the most, too. So it is so great to have friends to chat with on occasion, too.
Free day begins tonight after church. We decided to go to Portillo's, go shopping for an ipod and a stopwatch, and then go to Cold Stone Creamery for ice cream. I'm so excited to just hang out again tonight. I'm going to try to run outside - just like running on the treadmill, I'm going to have to work myself up slowly to the point where I'm comfortable and in shape. Hopefully I will learn to enjoy it the way I *kind of* did with the treadmill:) I honestly believe that this is a much more financially responsible decision - AND an enviromentally responsible decision (it IS earth day tomorrow, you know;)
Here are the issues though:
* I have no idea how to put music on an ipod - but I'm sure Nathan and David will give me a training session if I ask nicely
* I think our computer is probably too old to do this kind of high-tech new wave thing...
* I have no idea what music to put on there for running. We both decided that in order to keep the cost down for now, we'll get an ipod shuffle and put 10 songs each on it. I have no clue what songs would be good running songs since I don't listen to music. Mine would have to be upbeat songs so I can run to the beat.
There has to be a running playlist out there somewhere on the web.
Friday, April 20, 2007
BFL - Day 19
Beginning Date - April 2, 2007
Ending Date - June 23, 2007
Day 19 -
Okay, I have to get rid of the easter candy. Like mail it away or throw it away, but it would be such a loss... I haven't eaten a whole lot of it, but I did have a few more swedish fish yesterday afterrnoon. I have to stop giving myself permission to do that.
I have one more week until I weigh again and decide if I need to modify my portion sizes. I don't have a clue how I'm going to do it, but logically it doesn't make sense that Cornbread and I would be eating the same amount of food everyday and I wouldn't be gaining weight. Better yet, I shouldn't be eating the same amount of food as my BIL who is taller and bigger than me. I'm 5'1" and need to account for that. But I'm not looking forward to the possibility of being hungry everyday, all day. I'm wondering if there is a way that I can figure out how to keep my food consumption down to 20 weight watchers points each day AND make sure I have the necessary portions of protein and carbs at 6 meals a day. Maybe I need to go down to 5 meals a day? Maybe I should stop obssessing about it and just trust the plan - But I really want to go on the website and find a person who is my height and has been successful and find out how much she is eating to see if I should - like I need to find someone with the same experience who had good results so I can fully trust... hmmmm. will have to look into that and think about it.
Did my bike riding this morning. My legs were tiiiiirrrred while I was doing it. I rode 5.10 miles in 20 minutes. I would love to figure out a way to also do my pilates video every other day. I just don't know how I would fit it in - I'm not very eager to workout again after I've already taken a shower and gotten dressed and stuff. But I don't know if I can do it right after my bike ride. I would love to do it regularly to start toning my core, which would be really good for my back and my herniated disks. I'm going to have to try harder to figure this out since I don't want to have that back pain again.
We're going treadmill shopping this weekend. I can't help but think that I'm just being a pansy and should learn to run outside. Maybe it would be better to spend money on an ipod, some music and a stop watch - it would be less money and it would be more environmentally responsible, I think. Then we always have the bike to fall back on when its rainy or cold. It would take a lot of mind over matter for me to run outside. I'd have to really psych myself up for that. And part of the problem is I don't like to be too far away from home - its really weird, I know, but I don't - I get an uneasy, uncomfortable feeling when I've walked or run too far from home. If I have a car I don't feel that way. I don't know. We'll have to discuss it. Perhaps this is an are that I really need to make a sacrifice in due to financial reasons. We can definitely rationalize the purchase, but should we?
Ending Date - June 23, 2007
Day 19 -
Okay, I have to get rid of the easter candy. Like mail it away or throw it away, but it would be such a loss... I haven't eaten a whole lot of it, but I did have a few more swedish fish yesterday afterrnoon. I have to stop giving myself permission to do that.
I have one more week until I weigh again and decide if I need to modify my portion sizes. I don't have a clue how I'm going to do it, but logically it doesn't make sense that Cornbread and I would be eating the same amount of food everyday and I wouldn't be gaining weight. Better yet, I shouldn't be eating the same amount of food as my BIL who is taller and bigger than me. I'm 5'1" and need to account for that. But I'm not looking forward to the possibility of being hungry everyday, all day. I'm wondering if there is a way that I can figure out how to keep my food consumption down to 20 weight watchers points each day AND make sure I have the necessary portions of protein and carbs at 6 meals a day. Maybe I need to go down to 5 meals a day? Maybe I should stop obssessing about it and just trust the plan - But I really want to go on the website and find a person who is my height and has been successful and find out how much she is eating to see if I should - like I need to find someone with the same experience who had good results so I can fully trust... hmmmm. will have to look into that and think about it.
Did my bike riding this morning. My legs were tiiiiirrrred while I was doing it. I rode 5.10 miles in 20 minutes. I would love to figure out a way to also do my pilates video every other day. I just don't know how I would fit it in - I'm not very eager to workout again after I've already taken a shower and gotten dressed and stuff. But I don't know if I can do it right after my bike ride. I would love to do it regularly to start toning my core, which would be really good for my back and my herniated disks. I'm going to have to try harder to figure this out since I don't want to have that back pain again.
We're going treadmill shopping this weekend. I can't help but think that I'm just being a pansy and should learn to run outside. Maybe it would be better to spend money on an ipod, some music and a stop watch - it would be less money and it would be more environmentally responsible, I think. Then we always have the bike to fall back on when its rainy or cold. It would take a lot of mind over matter for me to run outside. I'd have to really psych myself up for that. And part of the problem is I don't like to be too far away from home - its really weird, I know, but I don't - I get an uneasy, uncomfortable feeling when I've walked or run too far from home. If I have a car I don't feel that way. I don't know. We'll have to discuss it. Perhaps this is an are that I really need to make a sacrifice in due to financial reasons. We can definitely rationalize the purchase, but should we?
Thursday, April 19, 2007
BFL - Day 18
Beginning Date: April 2, 2007
Ending Date: June 23, 2007
Day 18 -
Every time I enter that ending date I get excited because it is the weekend of the Edward Jones summer regional meeting. Cornbread's mom comes for the whole weekend and we have 4 days away by ourselves. Last year it was in Lake Geneva, two years ago it was downtown Chicago and I don't remember where it is going to be this year. It is a bunch of Jones Juice meetings and awkward conversations with other Jones wives, but it is totally first class, all expenses paid and we get to be together for a whole weekend by ourselves. Last year I got to sit out on my patio and read a book and watch a wedding in the gazebo right outside. This year I'm looking forward to having a better self-esteem around all of these uppity women. I may not be able to afford to dress the way they do, but I won't feel frumpy this year like I did last year. Sounds stupid when I actually put it into words, but it is what it is.
Did my leg weight lifting today and I think I am gradually getting to a point where I might reach a high point soon on some of them. I feel like I'm doing SOMEthing so I guess that is better than not feeling it hardly at all. But I never feel as fatigued on my leg days as I do on my arm days or my cardio days.
I've been feeling hungry again lately. Not sure why. Not too worried about it either, but have noticed it. I also cheated a tiny bit - my reasoning was that my sister has been cheating and Cornbread has gone out for lunches and stuff and has cheated a little bit, so why am I the only one who is being so rigid and not cheating? So I had about 4 jelly beans, 5 swedish fish and 2 m&ms. Dumb. I shouldn't have excused myself, but I was cleaning out the pantry where the easter candy was and I wanted some and that was my way of rationalizing it to myself.
I can't wait until Saturday night. I'm just so excited to hang out with cornbread again - we have such a good time together:) Oh and the ice cream is very exciting, too!
Ending Date: June 23, 2007
Day 18 -
Every time I enter that ending date I get excited because it is the weekend of the Edward Jones summer regional meeting. Cornbread's mom comes for the whole weekend and we have 4 days away by ourselves. Last year it was in Lake Geneva, two years ago it was downtown Chicago and I don't remember where it is going to be this year. It is a bunch of Jones Juice meetings and awkward conversations with other Jones wives, but it is totally first class, all expenses paid and we get to be together for a whole weekend by ourselves. Last year I got to sit out on my patio and read a book and watch a wedding in the gazebo right outside. This year I'm looking forward to having a better self-esteem around all of these uppity women. I may not be able to afford to dress the way they do, but I won't feel frumpy this year like I did last year. Sounds stupid when I actually put it into words, but it is what it is.
Did my leg weight lifting today and I think I am gradually getting to a point where I might reach a high point soon on some of them. I feel like I'm doing SOMEthing so I guess that is better than not feeling it hardly at all. But I never feel as fatigued on my leg days as I do on my arm days or my cardio days.
I've been feeling hungry again lately. Not sure why. Not too worried about it either, but have noticed it. I also cheated a tiny bit - my reasoning was that my sister has been cheating and Cornbread has gone out for lunches and stuff and has cheated a little bit, so why am I the only one who is being so rigid and not cheating? So I had about 4 jelly beans, 5 swedish fish and 2 m&ms. Dumb. I shouldn't have excused myself, but I was cleaning out the pantry where the easter candy was and I wanted some and that was my way of rationalizing it to myself.
I can't wait until Saturday night. I'm just so excited to hang out with cornbread again - we have such a good time together:) Oh and the ice cream is very exciting, too!
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
BFL - Day 17
Beginning Date: April 2, 2007
Ending Date: June 23, 2007
Day 17 -
You know? I put the beginning and ending date up on top, but I'm not so sure there will be an ending date anymore. We were talking last night about how our bodies felt. I feel good - I feel stronger and more confident. My family said I looked thinner, but I'm not sure if I really am. Maybe I am a tiny bit, but not weight-wise. Anyway, I FEEL better and that is good. Cornbread says he feels great. I'm not sure I've ever heard him say that before. Not that he's always sick or anything, but he really, really feels good. He says that he thinks the combination of eating the right way and doing the workouts the right way just works for him. I also commented that the eating is so much better this time around - the cookbook is amazing, the bars are yummy and the shakes are pretty enjoyable. If we were eating the way we did the last time, I think I would be out of the game by now - it was putrid.
Nathan asked us if he could babysit this weekend so he can earn some money to go to a concert. Uh - YES. So he is babysitting on Saturday night and we're going out. And I'm VERY excited about it because I want to go out for ice cream after whatever dinner we have. We're going to find a Cold Stone Creamery and compare it to the Marble Slab. Its going to be good:) We're also going to go shopping for a treadmill. I don't really care what we do - I just love hanging out with Cornbread and doing whatever we want to do without bringing kids in and out of the car all night and having them interrupt every conversation we have.
I did the bike this morning and went 5.07 miles. It was a good workout. I definitely felt like I was close to a high point at the end. Maybe we're not giving the bike enough credit - whenever I do it I feel like it is good, but then I don't feel it for the rest of the day like I do the stairs or running. At least we have something - we should be thankful for that and not complain.
Ending Date: June 23, 2007
Day 17 -
You know? I put the beginning and ending date up on top, but I'm not so sure there will be an ending date anymore. We were talking last night about how our bodies felt. I feel good - I feel stronger and more confident. My family said I looked thinner, but I'm not sure if I really am. Maybe I am a tiny bit, but not weight-wise. Anyway, I FEEL better and that is good. Cornbread says he feels great. I'm not sure I've ever heard him say that before. Not that he's always sick or anything, but he really, really feels good. He says that he thinks the combination of eating the right way and doing the workouts the right way just works for him. I also commented that the eating is so much better this time around - the cookbook is amazing, the bars are yummy and the shakes are pretty enjoyable. If we were eating the way we did the last time, I think I would be out of the game by now - it was putrid.
Nathan asked us if he could babysit this weekend so he can earn some money to go to a concert. Uh - YES. So he is babysitting on Saturday night and we're going out. And I'm VERY excited about it because I want to go out for ice cream after whatever dinner we have. We're going to find a Cold Stone Creamery and compare it to the Marble Slab. Its going to be good:) We're also going to go shopping for a treadmill. I don't really care what we do - I just love hanging out with Cornbread and doing whatever we want to do without bringing kids in and out of the car all night and having them interrupt every conversation we have.
I did the bike this morning and went 5.07 miles. It was a good workout. I definitely felt like I was close to a high point at the end. Maybe we're not giving the bike enough credit - whenever I do it I feel like it is good, but then I don't feel it for the rest of the day like I do the stairs or running. At least we have something - we should be thankful for that and not complain.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
BFL - Day 16
Beginning Date: April 2, 2007
Ending Date: June 23, 2007
Day 16 -
Not much to journal about anymore I guess. Seems that things are moving very smoothly, we're very accustomed to the diet and the regular eating and look forward to getting back to it after our free day. It feels good to be disciplined in at least one area of my life:) If I'm truly going to be all about intentional living then I need to become more disciplined in other areas, too. So far I have the diet and the exercise part down pat (well, I'm not an expert, but I'm working very consistently on it), so I need to look at the other areas and figure out where I need to make changes.
Yesterday I made meatloaf out of the cookbook for dinner. The boys were coming over and one thing that I've worried about is that I wouldn't be able to find meals that I could feed a larger number of people with. The meatloaf worked out just fine, though. It was big enough to feed all of us, I also made some sweet potatoes and of course some jello fluff so everyone had enough (I think). So our first attempt at eating with the boys went well and I'm encouraged about that - I was originally thinking that on the nights that they come for dinner I would have to make a regular meal and just substitute my meal with a shake - it wasn't something that I was very thrilled about, but if it was what I needed to do, then I would do it. I'm glad we found at least one meal to have together. Next week I have a couple of more to try with them.
The girls also had some meatloaf. Nora picked out the onions and ate the meat (ground turkey), Ryann had one bite and quickly moved on to Cheetos and Georgia gobbled hers up. So it was a success all around, I'd say:)
Did my arms this morning. I think there are maybe one or two exercises that I need to increase my highpoint weight on, but other than that I have a good thing going right now. I'm curious to find out how soon I'm able to increase all of my weights - or any of them. I think that will be another sign that things are going as they should be.
My legs are a tiny bit sore from doing the stairs yesterday, but not too bad. They have closed the stairs to reconstruct them until June. Cornbread went this morning and he said that they put a fence all around them so I think that option is now out. We're talking about buying another treadmill. They are on supersale right now and we have some money stashed away that we were going to use to go on a cruise with some friends, but that has fallen through. Hopefully we can get one for under $500 - I saw one in the sunday ads for $350, but I want to make sure it is what we need. I wish that I could run outside so we didn't even have to deal with this issue... I'm not sure if I'm a pansy or if I have a legitimate issue. Either way it is nice to have a treadmill for the cold and rainy days. Hopefully we can somehow sell the bike since we'll no longer need it. We'll see.
Ending Date: June 23, 2007
Day 16 -
Not much to journal about anymore I guess. Seems that things are moving very smoothly, we're very accustomed to the diet and the regular eating and look forward to getting back to it after our free day. It feels good to be disciplined in at least one area of my life:) If I'm truly going to be all about intentional living then I need to become more disciplined in other areas, too. So far I have the diet and the exercise part down pat (well, I'm not an expert, but I'm working very consistently on it), so I need to look at the other areas and figure out where I need to make changes.
Yesterday I made meatloaf out of the cookbook for dinner. The boys were coming over and one thing that I've worried about is that I wouldn't be able to find meals that I could feed a larger number of people with. The meatloaf worked out just fine, though. It was big enough to feed all of us, I also made some sweet potatoes and of course some jello fluff so everyone had enough (I think). So our first attempt at eating with the boys went well and I'm encouraged about that - I was originally thinking that on the nights that they come for dinner I would have to make a regular meal and just substitute my meal with a shake - it wasn't something that I was very thrilled about, but if it was what I needed to do, then I would do it. I'm glad we found at least one meal to have together. Next week I have a couple of more to try with them.
The girls also had some meatloaf. Nora picked out the onions and ate the meat (ground turkey), Ryann had one bite and quickly moved on to Cheetos and Georgia gobbled hers up. So it was a success all around, I'd say:)
Did my arms this morning. I think there are maybe one or two exercises that I need to increase my highpoint weight on, but other than that I have a good thing going right now. I'm curious to find out how soon I'm able to increase all of my weights - or any of them. I think that will be another sign that things are going as they should be.
My legs are a tiny bit sore from doing the stairs yesterday, but not too bad. They have closed the stairs to reconstruct them until June. Cornbread went this morning and he said that they put a fence all around them so I think that option is now out. We're talking about buying another treadmill. They are on supersale right now and we have some money stashed away that we were going to use to go on a cruise with some friends, but that has fallen through. Hopefully we can get one for under $500 - I saw one in the sunday ads for $350, but I want to make sure it is what we need. I wish that I could run outside so we didn't even have to deal with this issue... I'm not sure if I'm a pansy or if I have a legitimate issue. Either way it is nice to have a treadmill for the cold and rainy days. Hopefully we can somehow sell the bike since we'll no longer need it. We'll see.
Monday, April 16, 2007
BFL - Day 15
Beginning Date: April 2, 2007
Ending Date: June 23, 2007
Day 15 -
Today we are starting our third week of 12 in this whole process. It has been going very well. I'm a little discouraged by the fact that I haven't lost any weight - in fact, I've gained - but encouraged by the loss of 1/2" here and there. I'm also very much enjoying the controlled eating. The discipline of the diet is good for me in many ways and I cannot stress enough how much we are enjoying the recipes out of the eating for life cookbook.
Last weekend we went to Grand Rapids to spend the weekend with my parents. We had to figure out how to pack mid meals to eat in the car on the way out there and how to improvise in a non-BFL house. It was interesting. We each had some cheese and an apple on the way out (actually cornbread didn't eat his apple - he was recovering from a cold and didn't have much of an appetite). Then we went to McDonalds for dinner... we each ordered a southwest chicken salad. Cornbread had the breaded and fried chicken and I was good and had the grilled chicken. He also ordered a hamburger and I was jealous. But then I ate about 5 of the girls' chicken nuggets - oops:) In the morning we had eggs and a small bowl of cheerios for breakfast, a bar for mid meal and cheese and a tortilla for lunch. We both skipped our afternoon mid meal then went to a movie. As soon as we got out of the movie (6:30 IL time) I ripped open the bag of Jelly Belly's that I had been saving for free day. We went out for Chinese for dinner and then to the Marble Slab for ice cream afterwards. Mmmm. It was so good. I had cheesecake ice cream with raspberries and graham cracker crumbs. We also had some cookies when we got home.
Sunday was a little better this week. I had a big bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch for breakfast (its not the same as it used to be - it has 75% less sugar, uh, WHY???) and grabbed some cookies from Gram's when we picked up the dog. We shared a chocolate chip bar from Starbucks and finished the jelly bellys. I can't say I went crazy at home all afternoon - some leftover easter candy and half a bag of sour patch kids (okay, that was a little crazy) and then we had chicago style hot dogs for dinner with some cheetos. And we finished the 24 hours with a candy bar - I only ate half of my kit kat, so I'm awesome! Then we started cooking to prepare for this week.
I did the stairs this morning. It felt good, but my lungs burned again. My legs are very, very tired and I'm sure they'll be sore later, but it was a great workout. They are beginning construction on rebuilding the stairs today so I'm not sure how long we're going to be able to continue doing this. They're scheduled to finish on June 16... not sure what we're going to do in the meantime. I hate the process of getting there, but I love being there. I love feeling that I pushed my body to the absolute limit - for my highpoint I ran the stairs on trip 7. I stood at the bottom and looked up, said, "You can't defeat me" (in my head) and began. I repeated that phrase over and over and over as I was running and dying. And I ran the entire set of stairs (last time I made it 3/4 of the way). Awesome! I felt like Rocky when I got to the top and wanted to do a little dance, but there was another guy doing the stairs and I thought he might think I was a bit strange:)
Looking forward to this week - spring break is over, its time to start getting disciplined in more areas: tv watching (me and the girls), playing outside, reading, teaching Nora to read, spending time teaching Ryann her letters and numbers, eating every couple of hours like I should rather than putting it off so that I'm eating 3 meals within 3 hours, etc. etc. I like discipline and my life has lacked it for a long, long time and I've felt like I was out of control. Its time to change that.
Menu -
8am
10:30am
1:30pm
3:30pm
6:15pm
8:30pm
Ending Date: June 23, 2007
Day 15 -
Today we are starting our third week of 12 in this whole process. It has been going very well. I'm a little discouraged by the fact that I haven't lost any weight - in fact, I've gained - but encouraged by the loss of 1/2" here and there. I'm also very much enjoying the controlled eating. The discipline of the diet is good for me in many ways and I cannot stress enough how much we are enjoying the recipes out of the eating for life cookbook.
Last weekend we went to Grand Rapids to spend the weekend with my parents. We had to figure out how to pack mid meals to eat in the car on the way out there and how to improvise in a non-BFL house. It was interesting. We each had some cheese and an apple on the way out (actually cornbread didn't eat his apple - he was recovering from a cold and didn't have much of an appetite). Then we went to McDonalds for dinner... we each ordered a southwest chicken salad. Cornbread had the breaded and fried chicken and I was good and had the grilled chicken. He also ordered a hamburger and I was jealous. But then I ate about 5 of the girls' chicken nuggets - oops:) In the morning we had eggs and a small bowl of cheerios for breakfast, a bar for mid meal and cheese and a tortilla for lunch. We both skipped our afternoon mid meal then went to a movie. As soon as we got out of the movie (6:30 IL time) I ripped open the bag of Jelly Belly's that I had been saving for free day. We went out for Chinese for dinner and then to the Marble Slab for ice cream afterwards. Mmmm. It was so good. I had cheesecake ice cream with raspberries and graham cracker crumbs. We also had some cookies when we got home.
Sunday was a little better this week. I had a big bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch for breakfast (its not the same as it used to be - it has 75% less sugar, uh, WHY???) and grabbed some cookies from Gram's when we picked up the dog. We shared a chocolate chip bar from Starbucks and finished the jelly bellys. I can't say I went crazy at home all afternoon - some leftover easter candy and half a bag of sour patch kids (okay, that was a little crazy) and then we had chicago style hot dogs for dinner with some cheetos. And we finished the 24 hours with a candy bar - I only ate half of my kit kat, so I'm awesome! Then we started cooking to prepare for this week.
I did the stairs this morning. It felt good, but my lungs burned again. My legs are very, very tired and I'm sure they'll be sore later, but it was a great workout. They are beginning construction on rebuilding the stairs today so I'm not sure how long we're going to be able to continue doing this. They're scheduled to finish on June 16... not sure what we're going to do in the meantime. I hate the process of getting there, but I love being there. I love feeling that I pushed my body to the absolute limit - for my highpoint I ran the stairs on trip 7. I stood at the bottom and looked up, said, "You can't defeat me" (in my head) and began. I repeated that phrase over and over and over as I was running and dying. And I ran the entire set of stairs (last time I made it 3/4 of the way). Awesome! I felt like Rocky when I got to the top and wanted to do a little dance, but there was another guy doing the stairs and I thought he might think I was a bit strange:)
Looking forward to this week - spring break is over, its time to start getting disciplined in more areas: tv watching (me and the girls), playing outside, reading, teaching Nora to read, spending time teaching Ryann her letters and numbers, eating every couple of hours like I should rather than putting it off so that I'm eating 3 meals within 3 hours, etc. etc. I like discipline and my life has lacked it for a long, long time and I've felt like I was out of control. Its time to change that.
Menu -
8am
10:30am
1:30pm
3:30pm
6:15pm
8:30pm
Friday, April 13, 2007
BFL - Day 12
Beginning Date: April 2, 2007
Ending Date: June 23, 2007
Day 12 -
okay, so I weighed myself today and lets just say that i have been grumpy ever since. I started this at 135.4 and my first weigh this morning was 137.2. I weighed again after working out and I was down to 136.6. Either way it looks like I've gained and that frustrates me terribly. Cornbread is certain that I gained in the beginning last time, too. That doesn't make me feel better about it. So now, of course I feel like i'm obssessing about how to change my eating in order to not gain...
We talked and he is encouraging me to trust the program and to give it two more weeks before I alter the eating. It will be warmer next week so we can do the stairs again and he thinks that will make a difference. So I will give it two weeks - two weeks of doing the stairs and then I'll weigh again and decide what to do. My main point to him is that we are eating the same things - same portion sizes and there is no way that a girl who is 5'1" should be eating the same number of calories as a man who is 5'11". Obviously something needs to be altered, but I will give it the two weeks.
On a brighter front - and this did make me feel better about the whole thing - I measured myself again and it appears that I have lost a half inch here and there. However, i'm not positive that this couldn't be attributed to measurer error, although I tried my best to get it in the same spot as the previous time. So here are my measurements:
Stats: (I will measure myself twice a month and weigh myself twice a month to record progress)
Weight (on 3/30/07): 135.4
4/13/07: 136.6 (yes, I'm going with THAT one)
Waist (right at belly buttong, sucked in): 32"
4/13/07: 31 1/4"
Bum (mid bum, where leg meets torso): 37 3/4"
4/13/07: 37 1/2"
Hips (right below bum): 39 1/2"
4/13/07: 39 1/2"
Thigh (mid thigh): 23"
4/13/07: 22 1/2"
Calf (mid calf): 15"
4/13/07: 15"
Arm (mid bicep): 12 3/4"
4/13/07: 12 5/8"
Shoulders: 41"
4/13/07: not sure if I got it in the same place as before, but I think it was 41 or 42" - I have to come up with a place to measure it so I know it is the same every time.
Kim - did you gain in the beginning? I'm going to have to go back and reread your email with your typical day of eating on it and see what you're doing compared to what I'm doing and if I need to change anything.
Ending Date: June 23, 2007
Day 12 -
okay, so I weighed myself today and lets just say that i have been grumpy ever since. I started this at 135.4 and my first weigh this morning was 137.2. I weighed again after working out and I was down to 136.6. Either way it looks like I've gained and that frustrates me terribly. Cornbread is certain that I gained in the beginning last time, too. That doesn't make me feel better about it. So now, of course I feel like i'm obssessing about how to change my eating in order to not gain...
We talked and he is encouraging me to trust the program and to give it two more weeks before I alter the eating. It will be warmer next week so we can do the stairs again and he thinks that will make a difference. So I will give it two weeks - two weeks of doing the stairs and then I'll weigh again and decide what to do. My main point to him is that we are eating the same things - same portion sizes and there is no way that a girl who is 5'1" should be eating the same number of calories as a man who is 5'11". Obviously something needs to be altered, but I will give it the two weeks.
On a brighter front - and this did make me feel better about the whole thing - I measured myself again and it appears that I have lost a half inch here and there. However, i'm not positive that this couldn't be attributed to measurer error, although I tried my best to get it in the same spot as the previous time. So here are my measurements:
Stats: (I will measure myself twice a month and weigh myself twice a month to record progress)
Weight (on 3/30/07): 135.4
4/13/07: 136.6 (yes, I'm going with THAT one)
Waist (right at belly buttong, sucked in): 32"
4/13/07: 31 1/4"
Bum (mid bum, where leg meets torso): 37 3/4"
4/13/07: 37 1/2"
Hips (right below bum): 39 1/2"
4/13/07: 39 1/2"
Thigh (mid thigh): 23"
4/13/07: 22 1/2"
Calf (mid calf): 15"
4/13/07: 15"
Arm (mid bicep): 12 3/4"
4/13/07: 12 5/8"
Shoulders: 41"
4/13/07: not sure if I got it in the same place as before, but I think it was 41 or 42" - I have to come up with a place to measure it so I know it is the same every time.
Kim - did you gain in the beginning? I'm going to have to go back and reread your email with your typical day of eating on it and see what you're doing compared to what I'm doing and if I need to change anything.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
BFL - Day 10
Beginning Date: April 2, 2007
Ending Date: June 23, 2007
Day 10 -
Doesn't 10 days seem like a long time? It does to me.
Things are still going well. I'm not hungry in between meals anymore. I don't know if that is because I have delayed my meals a bit to make up for the fact that I'm usually hungriest in the late afternoon, or if it is just a function of getting accustomed to the diet. I'm still very much enjoying the food from the cookbook, but I have to say there isn't a TON of recipes in there that I'm dying to try, so I do feel a bit limited in that regard, however, I do like having some of them for lunches and having ideas for options for midmeals. Yesterday I tried the Greek Pinwheels - but I don't like feta cheese so I used pesto monteray jack cheese instead and they are YUMMY. I also tried the Swiss Rye Krisps and they were awesome. So I'm glad to have options for my mid meals other than an apple and cheese:)
I had to prepare some midmeal stuff ahead of time for my drives coming up today and tomorrow. I will likely hit a midmeal time in the car both days, so I made sure I have something in the car to eat for that. I am very worried about the water situation - not that I'll miss it, but that I'll have to go to the bathroom so badly that I won't be able to wait until I get to my mom's. This is a problem - I will have 3 kids in the back seat and if I stop somewhere I'm going to have to bring all three into the bathroom with me. I will just forego the water for the morning - I would much rather do that than deal with 3 kids in a bathroom!
Did my arm weights this morning. They are very tired now and I feel a little bit trembly. I think I have my weights at the right point, although I feel as if I might be able to increase them soon. I'm looking forward to doing cardio with my sister - she does some kind of hip hop dance video. It should be interesting.
No posts until Sunday or Monday...
Ending Date: June 23, 2007
Day 10 -
Doesn't 10 days seem like a long time? It does to me.
Things are still going well. I'm not hungry in between meals anymore. I don't know if that is because I have delayed my meals a bit to make up for the fact that I'm usually hungriest in the late afternoon, or if it is just a function of getting accustomed to the diet. I'm still very much enjoying the food from the cookbook, but I have to say there isn't a TON of recipes in there that I'm dying to try, so I do feel a bit limited in that regard, however, I do like having some of them for lunches and having ideas for options for midmeals. Yesterday I tried the Greek Pinwheels - but I don't like feta cheese so I used pesto monteray jack cheese instead and they are YUMMY. I also tried the Swiss Rye Krisps and they were awesome. So I'm glad to have options for my mid meals other than an apple and cheese:)
I had to prepare some midmeal stuff ahead of time for my drives coming up today and tomorrow. I will likely hit a midmeal time in the car both days, so I made sure I have something in the car to eat for that. I am very worried about the water situation - not that I'll miss it, but that I'll have to go to the bathroom so badly that I won't be able to wait until I get to my mom's. This is a problem - I will have 3 kids in the back seat and if I stop somewhere I'm going to have to bring all three into the bathroom with me. I will just forego the water for the morning - I would much rather do that than deal with 3 kids in a bathroom!
Did my arm weights this morning. They are very tired now and I feel a little bit trembly. I think I have my weights at the right point, although I feel as if I might be able to increase them soon. I'm looking forward to doing cardio with my sister - she does some kind of hip hop dance video. It should be interesting.
No posts until Sunday or Monday...
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
BFL - Day 9
Beginning Date: April 2, 2007
Ending Date: June 23, 2007
Day 9 -
Feel soooo good to be back on the plan. I felt like I had a thick layer of chocolate and sugar coating my teeth from the day before. It just feels good to eat actual food and not feel obligated to shove another peanut butter cup in my mouth. We're already discussing our next free day and the fact that we don't want it to be like that. I'm thinking that I want chicago style hot dogs...
I did the bike again this morning. I went 5.0 miles and it felt good. I worked up a decent sweat and felt my legs tiring out. Its so nice to be done within 20 minutes.
Menu -
8am - eggs, peppers, onions, 2 pieces whole wheat toast (buttered), 2 cups water
11am - swiss rye krisps, carrots, 2 cups water
2pm - shake
3:30pm - pinwheels, sugar snap peas, 2 cups water
6:30pm - sloppy joes, red peppers, 2 cups water
8:30pm - bar, 2 cups water
Ending Date: June 23, 2007
Day 9 -
Feel soooo good to be back on the plan. I felt like I had a thick layer of chocolate and sugar coating my teeth from the day before. It just feels good to eat actual food and not feel obligated to shove another peanut butter cup in my mouth. We're already discussing our next free day and the fact that we don't want it to be like that. I'm thinking that I want chicago style hot dogs...
I did the bike again this morning. I went 5.0 miles and it felt good. I worked up a decent sweat and felt my legs tiring out. Its so nice to be done within 20 minutes.
Menu -
8am - eggs, peppers, onions, 2 pieces whole wheat toast (buttered), 2 cups water
11am - swiss rye krisps, carrots, 2 cups water
2pm - shake
3:30pm - pinwheels, sugar snap peas, 2 cups water
6:30pm - sloppy joes, red peppers, 2 cups water
8:30pm - bar, 2 cups water
Monday, April 9, 2007
BFL - Day 8
Beginning Date: April 2, 2007
Ending Date: June 23, 2007
Day 8 -
UGH - Our first free day is over. And good riddance! I'm not sure that free day should be a day of eating only sugar. Granted we had brunch and I ate scrambled eggs, hash browns, bacon, eggs benedict, a spinach, mushroom, tomato, pepper and cheese omelet, some shrimp, pineapple, chocolate covered strawberries and a piece of cheesecake - so I ate some substance. HOWEVER, after we came home from brunch the only things that passed my lips were starburst jelly beans, reeses peanut butter cups, snickers, swedish fish and m&m's and a white chocolate amaretto cooie - and a slice of amish friendship bread with butter, and a twix 2 minutes before our scheduled end. No water. No FOOD, just candy. Ugh. We were so ready to be done with free day - but we still HAD to eat that twix with 2 minutes left to spare. Next week we will be on the road coming home from Detroit, so it will be a different, interesting free day. I can't even think about it. I'm just happy to be back on the plan today.
I never thought I would write any of that.
I did my leg weight lifting this morning. Cornbread and I had to switch days due to my trip to Michigan later in the week (rearranging my workouts based on what I can do where I wake up). Legs are difficult for me in the respect that I have a really hard time reaching a high point on anything. Not because I'm so incredibly strong, but because I can't necessarily lift as much with free weights as I could with a machine at the gym. If I was doing leg presses at the gym (quads) I could probably press well over 100 pounds pretty easily. But if I do squats for my quads with free weights I'm limited to how much I can get over my head and onto my shoulders. And we don't have a great way to do a second exercise for hamstrings and our calf exercises are not ideal. So while the free weights are good for the arms/upper body, I'd prefer gym machines for the lower body. But we only have what we have, so I'm trying to go slow with my reps in order to fatigue the muscles. I wouldn't say that I hit any high points today, but I'm getting closer to finding the right weight combinations.
Looking forward to eating some real food today!
Menu -
8:30am - eggs, peppers, onions, tomatos in a whole wheat tortilla, 2 cups water
11:30am - apple, 2oz cheese, 2 cups water
3:30pm - shake
4:30pm - turkey, lettuce, tomato, mustard on whole wheat bread, frozen veggies, 2 cups water
7pm- Chicken Pomodoro, 2 cups water
8:30pm - bar
Ending Date: June 23, 2007
Day 8 -
UGH - Our first free day is over. And good riddance! I'm not sure that free day should be a day of eating only sugar. Granted we had brunch and I ate scrambled eggs, hash browns, bacon, eggs benedict, a spinach, mushroom, tomato, pepper and cheese omelet, some shrimp, pineapple, chocolate covered strawberries and a piece of cheesecake - so I ate some substance. HOWEVER, after we came home from brunch the only things that passed my lips were starburst jelly beans, reeses peanut butter cups, snickers, swedish fish and m&m's and a white chocolate amaretto cooie - and a slice of amish friendship bread with butter, and a twix 2 minutes before our scheduled end. No water. No FOOD, just candy. Ugh. We were so ready to be done with free day - but we still HAD to eat that twix with 2 minutes left to spare. Next week we will be on the road coming home from Detroit, so it will be a different, interesting free day. I can't even think about it. I'm just happy to be back on the plan today.
I never thought I would write any of that.
I did my leg weight lifting this morning. Cornbread and I had to switch days due to my trip to Michigan later in the week (rearranging my workouts based on what I can do where I wake up). Legs are difficult for me in the respect that I have a really hard time reaching a high point on anything. Not because I'm so incredibly strong, but because I can't necessarily lift as much with free weights as I could with a machine at the gym. If I was doing leg presses at the gym (quads) I could probably press well over 100 pounds pretty easily. But if I do squats for my quads with free weights I'm limited to how much I can get over my head and onto my shoulders. And we don't have a great way to do a second exercise for hamstrings and our calf exercises are not ideal. So while the free weights are good for the arms/upper body, I'd prefer gym machines for the lower body. But we only have what we have, so I'm trying to go slow with my reps in order to fatigue the muscles. I wouldn't say that I hit any high points today, but I'm getting closer to finding the right weight combinations.
Looking forward to eating some real food today!
Menu -
8:30am - eggs, peppers, onions, tomatos in a whole wheat tortilla, 2 cups water
11:30am - apple, 2oz cheese, 2 cups water
3:30pm - shake
4:30pm - turkey, lettuce, tomato, mustard on whole wheat bread, frozen veggies, 2 cups water
7pm- Chicken Pomodoro, 2 cups water
8:30pm - bar
Sunday, April 8, 2007
BFL - Day 7
Beginning date: April 2, 2007
Ending date: June 23, 2007
Day 7 - FREE DAY
Today is our first free day. Actually we began after church last night at about 6/6:30. I felt compelled to eat lots and lots of sugar and chocolate and 1/2 of a large pizza. Then I felt that I HAD to eat a bowl of ice cream later in the evening. Before I even had the bowl of ice cream I was sick of free day. I didn't feel as good. Nothing tasted as good as I had anticipated. It wasn't as satisfying as I thought it would be.
We got some Dunkin Donut Munchkins this morning before brunch as a way to stem off the hunger for the girls for the morning. I had some and they were good, but you know, it just wasn't as awesome as I had thought it would be. Then we went to brunch and it was good, but it wasn't amazing. I wasn't going crazy like I thought I would - because I could. I feel different already - physically. I don't feel as confident or good about myself as I did before going to church yesterday. Isn't that funny? We both said on the way home from brunch that we want to go back to the diet... yet I feel obligated to continue eating as much easter candy and cookies as I can before 6pm tonight. Why is that? To make the most of my free day? Is it some kind of sickness that Dutch people have - that we have to get as much as we can for our "money"? We're not satisfied with being satisfied - we have to go over board... anyway, free day is not as spectacular as I had thought it would be. I'm going to thank the Eating for Life cookbook for that - I guess I don't feel like I'm missing out on much throughout the week this time around. Our protein bars taste like candy bars, the shakes are enjoyable and the meals are full of flavor, so I don't feel a need to go overboard on free day. This is a positive thing.
I did enjoy my 1/2 of a large pizza, though. Who wouldn't?
Ending date: June 23, 2007
Day 7 - FREE DAY
Today is our first free day. Actually we began after church last night at about 6/6:30. I felt compelled to eat lots and lots of sugar and chocolate and 1/2 of a large pizza. Then I felt that I HAD to eat a bowl of ice cream later in the evening. Before I even had the bowl of ice cream I was sick of free day. I didn't feel as good. Nothing tasted as good as I had anticipated. It wasn't as satisfying as I thought it would be.
We got some Dunkin Donut Munchkins this morning before brunch as a way to stem off the hunger for the girls for the morning. I had some and they were good, but you know, it just wasn't as awesome as I had thought it would be. Then we went to brunch and it was good, but it wasn't amazing. I wasn't going crazy like I thought I would - because I could. I feel different already - physically. I don't feel as confident or good about myself as I did before going to church yesterday. Isn't that funny? We both said on the way home from brunch that we want to go back to the diet... yet I feel obligated to continue eating as much easter candy and cookies as I can before 6pm tonight. Why is that? To make the most of my free day? Is it some kind of sickness that Dutch people have - that we have to get as much as we can for our "money"? We're not satisfied with being satisfied - we have to go over board... anyway, free day is not as spectacular as I had thought it would be. I'm going to thank the Eating for Life cookbook for that - I guess I don't feel like I'm missing out on much throughout the week this time around. Our protein bars taste like candy bars, the shakes are enjoyable and the meals are full of flavor, so I don't feel a need to go overboard on free day. This is a positive thing.
I did enjoy my 1/2 of a large pizza, though. Who wouldn't?
Saturday, April 7, 2007
BFL - Day 6
Beginning Date: April 2, 2007
Ending Date: June 23, 2007
Day 6 -
Things are still going well. We're continually motivated by how delicious our meals are and how much better we feel. Its amazing how even if I don't lose any pounds (not sure if I did or not - did not weigh myself), by just working out and making an effort I go from feeling flabby and out of shape and fat to feeling strong, tight and encouraged. My posture is better. My confidence is better. I feel a little bit more in control, rather than spiraling out of control - all by controlling my eating. It amazes me what unhealthy eating does to me psychologically.
I did my arm workout this morning. We had to get up earlier than usual so that we could get to an easter egg hunt by 7:30 am so I am draaaggging right now. Very tired. And my arms are extremely fatigued. I lowered my weights from what I did on Tuesday and I think it was the right decision. I feel like I hit my high point on everything except my biceps, so I'll be increasing those weights next Wednesday. Doing my reps slowly makes a world of difference - it really, truly fatigues the muscle much more so than increasing the weight. I've been doing 4 counts on the lowering and 2 counts on the raising - I'll have to go back to the book and make sure that is the plan, but I'm pretty sure it is.
We went to the easter egg hunt this morning and had breakfast afterward (hunt at 7:30, home already before 8 - spectacular!!) It was nice to make breakfast together and sit down and eat a decent meal while the girls watched cartoons.
One thing that I think has contributed to our success this week so far (in terms of diet) is the fact that we decided to pre-cook a bunch of stuff last Sunday in preparation for the week. Cornbread grilled up a 3lb bag of chicken breasts and we put them in the fridge so we could just dice them or throw them in the microwave if we needed them. I used some of them to make the Ranch Chicken Salad on Sunday. The recipe makes 4 portions, so I had lunch for most of the week by doing that. I also used some of the chicken to make the enchiladas so the prep time for that dinner was minimal because I didn't have to cook the chicken before hand. And he took a chicken breast to work with him on a day that he was anticipating a late evening - he ended up making chicken fajitas with it when he got home (his appointment cancelled and he came home early), but I think there was another night that he had taken the chicken breast and was able to just throw it into the microwave at work and eat it there. So that has helped a lot. I also made jello fluff and he brought a dish of that to work with him every day as one of his mid meals (such a perfect body for life mid meal). In addition, we made a big oven omelet on Sunday and cut it up and put it in the fridge. So we had cooked eggs readily available for breakfasts this week. I also chopped up some onions and peppers and tomatoes and kept them in a container so we could just add them to things as needed - to the eggs in the morning, the fajitas, the enchiladas, etc. etc. It was a great idea and has made things very manageable this time around - I don't feel like I'm cooking so much every night. I think the only thing that we could add to our Sunday cooking routine would be to brown a bunch of hamburger and drain it and have it ready to add to whatever I plan to make. We'll do that next week.
We are starting our free day on Saturdays after church so we can indulge in our weekly pizza party. So we start tonight at 6:30 and end tomorrow night at 6:30. Very excited about this. I'm going to go buy some more easter candy for the girls - and me!
Menu -
8am - omelet, 2 pieces of whole wheat toast, 2 cups water
11am - apple, 2 oz cheese, 2 cups water
1:30pm - skipped
3pm - shake
6:30pm - pizza, easter candy, cookies, icecream, etc. etc
Ending Date: June 23, 2007
Day 6 -
Things are still going well. We're continually motivated by how delicious our meals are and how much better we feel. Its amazing how even if I don't lose any pounds (not sure if I did or not - did not weigh myself), by just working out and making an effort I go from feeling flabby and out of shape and fat to feeling strong, tight and encouraged. My posture is better. My confidence is better. I feel a little bit more in control, rather than spiraling out of control - all by controlling my eating. It amazes me what unhealthy eating does to me psychologically.
I did my arm workout this morning. We had to get up earlier than usual so that we could get to an easter egg hunt by 7:30 am so I am draaaggging right now. Very tired. And my arms are extremely fatigued. I lowered my weights from what I did on Tuesday and I think it was the right decision. I feel like I hit my high point on everything except my biceps, so I'll be increasing those weights next Wednesday. Doing my reps slowly makes a world of difference - it really, truly fatigues the muscle much more so than increasing the weight. I've been doing 4 counts on the lowering and 2 counts on the raising - I'll have to go back to the book and make sure that is the plan, but I'm pretty sure it is.
We went to the easter egg hunt this morning and had breakfast afterward (hunt at 7:30, home already before 8 - spectacular!!) It was nice to make breakfast together and sit down and eat a decent meal while the girls watched cartoons.
One thing that I think has contributed to our success this week so far (in terms of diet) is the fact that we decided to pre-cook a bunch of stuff last Sunday in preparation for the week. Cornbread grilled up a 3lb bag of chicken breasts and we put them in the fridge so we could just dice them or throw them in the microwave if we needed them. I used some of them to make the Ranch Chicken Salad on Sunday. The recipe makes 4 portions, so I had lunch for most of the week by doing that. I also used some of the chicken to make the enchiladas so the prep time for that dinner was minimal because I didn't have to cook the chicken before hand. And he took a chicken breast to work with him on a day that he was anticipating a late evening - he ended up making chicken fajitas with it when he got home (his appointment cancelled and he came home early), but I think there was another night that he had taken the chicken breast and was able to just throw it into the microwave at work and eat it there. So that has helped a lot. I also made jello fluff and he brought a dish of that to work with him every day as one of his mid meals (such a perfect body for life mid meal). In addition, we made a big oven omelet on Sunday and cut it up and put it in the fridge. So we had cooked eggs readily available for breakfasts this week. I also chopped up some onions and peppers and tomatoes and kept them in a container so we could just add them to things as needed - to the eggs in the morning, the fajitas, the enchiladas, etc. etc. It was a great idea and has made things very manageable this time around - I don't feel like I'm cooking so much every night. I think the only thing that we could add to our Sunday cooking routine would be to brown a bunch of hamburger and drain it and have it ready to add to whatever I plan to make. We'll do that next week.
We are starting our free day on Saturdays after church so we can indulge in our weekly pizza party. So we start tonight at 6:30 and end tomorrow night at 6:30. Very excited about this. I'm going to go buy some more easter candy for the girls - and me!
Menu -
8am - omelet, 2 pieces of whole wheat toast, 2 cups water
11am - apple, 2 oz cheese, 2 cups water
1:30pm - skipped
3pm - shake
6:30pm - pizza, easter candy, cookies, icecream, etc. etc
Friday, April 6, 2007
BFL - Day 5
Beginning Date: April 2, 2007
Ending Date: June 23, 2007
Day 5 -
Yesterday my meals got messed up a little so I was eating much later than I had intended. This, however, worked out much better than the previous days. I did not feel as hungry in the later afternoon and early evening as I had before. Perhaps because the meals ended up being pretty close together? Or maybe I ended up eating at my normal hungry times?
We are really enjoying this this time around. Last time we didn't have the cookbook and holy cow does it make a difference. Last time our meals were so boring and tasteless - chicken breast and rice, hamburger and bun, salmon and rice, etc. etc. Part of it was we didn't know what we could add to the chicken and the hamburger and the salmon. Was bbq sauce cheating? Ketchup? So we ate these boring and bland meals all day long. This time, though, we got the Eating for Life cookbook and it is WONderful! The meals are fantastic and as I told Cornbread last night, I think they are tastier than what I was normally cooking before. There is FLAVOR to our dinners! And it is nice to see what we can legally add to food to pizzazz it up a bit... like the recipe for the enchiladas called for sour cream. I wouldn't have assumed that we could add sour cream, you know? And cilantro is my new best friend - I always thought I hated it, but I'm loving it now.
I guess the thing I like the most about this way of eating is it is so much more intentional. I have to think about what I'm eating at each meal, not just grab what looks good. I have to plan things out ahead of time so that I'm not just going downstairs and trying to figure it out. We're eating very balanced meals throughout the day - protein, carb and vegetable - and they are good. We're also eating a lot more vegetables and it hasn't been hard to include them. Chop up some peppers and onions and tomatoes to add to our eggs, grab a handful of carrots, add some lettuce to dinner - whatever. Its not like we're eating a garden full of vegetables (which I think is what was always so overwhelming to me about the thought of eating vegetables: that we'd have to eat so many of them), but just adding them to our food in ways that add flavor and crunch and texture. Its good, we're enjoying this - and are amazed at it all at the same time.
I did my cardio workout today. I used the bike again and I kind of like the fact that I can get ready, go downstairs, do the bike for 20 minutes and be done. When I do the stairs it is more like an hour to and hour and fifteen minute process. On Wednesday when I did the bike I went 4.75 miles. Today I went 5.12 miles, so that is a concrete show of improvement, which I like (again, something I don't get at the stairs). As soon as it gets warmer, though, I'm going back to the stairs - theres just something about being outdoors in the solitude in the morning that I love - but not enough to go in the cold:)
Menu -
8am - scrambled eggs, onions peppers, tomatoes in corn tortillas, avacado, some cheese, 2 cups water
11am - apple, 2 oz cheese, 2 cups of water
2pm - shake
4pm - leftover mama's chicken enchilada's, 2 cups water
5:30pm - hamburger, bun, frozen veggies, 2 cups water
9:30pm - bar, 2 cups water
Ending Date: June 23, 2007
Day 5 -
Yesterday my meals got messed up a little so I was eating much later than I had intended. This, however, worked out much better than the previous days. I did not feel as hungry in the later afternoon and early evening as I had before. Perhaps because the meals ended up being pretty close together? Or maybe I ended up eating at my normal hungry times?
We are really enjoying this this time around. Last time we didn't have the cookbook and holy cow does it make a difference. Last time our meals were so boring and tasteless - chicken breast and rice, hamburger and bun, salmon and rice, etc. etc. Part of it was we didn't know what we could add to the chicken and the hamburger and the salmon. Was bbq sauce cheating? Ketchup? So we ate these boring and bland meals all day long. This time, though, we got the Eating for Life cookbook and it is WONderful! The meals are fantastic and as I told Cornbread last night, I think they are tastier than what I was normally cooking before. There is FLAVOR to our dinners! And it is nice to see what we can legally add to food to pizzazz it up a bit... like the recipe for the enchiladas called for sour cream. I wouldn't have assumed that we could add sour cream, you know? And cilantro is my new best friend - I always thought I hated it, but I'm loving it now.
I guess the thing I like the most about this way of eating is it is so much more intentional. I have to think about what I'm eating at each meal, not just grab what looks good. I have to plan things out ahead of time so that I'm not just going downstairs and trying to figure it out. We're eating very balanced meals throughout the day - protein, carb and vegetable - and they are good. We're also eating a lot more vegetables and it hasn't been hard to include them. Chop up some peppers and onions and tomatoes to add to our eggs, grab a handful of carrots, add some lettuce to dinner - whatever. Its not like we're eating a garden full of vegetables (which I think is what was always so overwhelming to me about the thought of eating vegetables: that we'd have to eat so many of them), but just adding them to our food in ways that add flavor and crunch and texture. Its good, we're enjoying this - and are amazed at it all at the same time.
I did my cardio workout today. I used the bike again and I kind of like the fact that I can get ready, go downstairs, do the bike for 20 minutes and be done. When I do the stairs it is more like an hour to and hour and fifteen minute process. On Wednesday when I did the bike I went 4.75 miles. Today I went 5.12 miles, so that is a concrete show of improvement, which I like (again, something I don't get at the stairs). As soon as it gets warmer, though, I'm going back to the stairs - theres just something about being outdoors in the solitude in the morning that I love - but not enough to go in the cold:)
Menu -
8am - scrambled eggs, onions peppers, tomatoes in corn tortillas, avacado, some cheese, 2 cups water
11am - apple, 2 oz cheese, 2 cups of water
2pm - shake
4pm - leftover mama's chicken enchilada's, 2 cups water
5:30pm - hamburger, bun, frozen veggies, 2 cups water
9:30pm - bar, 2 cups water
Thursday, April 5, 2007
BFL - Day 4
Beginning date: April 2, 2007
Ending date: June 23, 2007
Day 4 -
Yesterday I was sore all over - legs from stairs yet and upper body from the weight lifting on Tuesday. My legs are better already this morning so my arms should be better by tomorrow. But wow - you just don't realize that you use certain muscles several times a day until you reallly fatigue them.
I think the hunger was subsiding a bit yesterday, however, the cravings kicked in. All I wanted was just 1 jelly bean. Just 1. Yeah right - one would have turned into just 5 etc. Cornbread gave me some jelly bellies for my birthday and they are staring me in the face all day it seems like. I just wanted some sugar - maybe a tiny piece of chocolate, a couple of jelly beans, whatever. something. But I reminded myself that I could have whatever I wanted on sunday - and I will.
We discussed what we wanted to eat for free day on Sunday. Besides Easter brunch I want to have candy. Easter candy. And ice cream. Mmmmm:)
Also found out that my sister has not been taking this seriously. I was really bummed by that. I really thought she was going to do this with us, but I guess she'll be the one losing out on June 23 when she's not as hot as the rest of us;)
Talked to Mike for a bit about bars and shakes. I made a really good shake yesterday - cappucino cream or something. Vanilla shake mix, some leftover coffee, 12 oz water, 6 ice cubes and some shakes of cinnamon. It was really good. That was my last package of vanilla shake mix, though, so I'll try it with chocolate today. With that recipe (from the book) our shakes come out to be about 2 1/2 16 oz glasses. Thats a lot, I think. Mike's are more like 1 1/2 glasses, but he must be using less water... They are filling though.
Did my leg weight lifting workout today. Because we use free weights it is difficult to get to a high point for my legs, but I did my reps very slowly today with the hopes that that would help and I think it did. I'm not sure I really got to a high point with all of my exercises, but I was pretty close. I will be increasing the weights on everything except the calves. I'm also going to change my calf workout so that I'm not taking so much time doing one leg at a time. I felt like I got a good workout for my legs, but probably no high points yet.
Menu -
8:30am - eggs, vegetables, oatmeal, 2 cups water
11:30am - 2oz cheddar cheese (thats a lot of cheese!), apple, 2 cups water
1:30 pm - shake
4pm - ranch chicken salad, carrots, 2 cups water
7:30pm - mama's chicken enchiladas, lettuce, tomato, 2 cups water
9pm - bar, 2 cups water
Ending date: June 23, 2007
Day 4 -
Yesterday I was sore all over - legs from stairs yet and upper body from the weight lifting on Tuesday. My legs are better already this morning so my arms should be better by tomorrow. But wow - you just don't realize that you use certain muscles several times a day until you reallly fatigue them.
I think the hunger was subsiding a bit yesterday, however, the cravings kicked in. All I wanted was just 1 jelly bean. Just 1. Yeah right - one would have turned into just 5 etc. Cornbread gave me some jelly bellies for my birthday and they are staring me in the face all day it seems like. I just wanted some sugar - maybe a tiny piece of chocolate, a couple of jelly beans, whatever. something. But I reminded myself that I could have whatever I wanted on sunday - and I will.
We discussed what we wanted to eat for free day on Sunday. Besides Easter brunch I want to have candy. Easter candy. And ice cream. Mmmmm:)
Also found out that my sister has not been taking this seriously. I was really bummed by that. I really thought she was going to do this with us, but I guess she'll be the one losing out on June 23 when she's not as hot as the rest of us;)
Talked to Mike for a bit about bars and shakes. I made a really good shake yesterday - cappucino cream or something. Vanilla shake mix, some leftover coffee, 12 oz water, 6 ice cubes and some shakes of cinnamon. It was really good. That was my last package of vanilla shake mix, though, so I'll try it with chocolate today. With that recipe (from the book) our shakes come out to be about 2 1/2 16 oz glasses. Thats a lot, I think. Mike's are more like 1 1/2 glasses, but he must be using less water... They are filling though.
Did my leg weight lifting workout today. Because we use free weights it is difficult to get to a high point for my legs, but I did my reps very slowly today with the hopes that that would help and I think it did. I'm not sure I really got to a high point with all of my exercises, but I was pretty close. I will be increasing the weights on everything except the calves. I'm also going to change my calf workout so that I'm not taking so much time doing one leg at a time. I felt like I got a good workout for my legs, but probably no high points yet.
Menu -
8:30am - eggs, vegetables, oatmeal, 2 cups water
11:30am - 2oz cheddar cheese (thats a lot of cheese!), apple, 2 cups water
1:30 pm - shake
4pm - ranch chicken salad, carrots, 2 cups water
7:30pm - mama's chicken enchiladas, lettuce, tomato, 2 cups water
9pm - bar, 2 cups water
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
BFL - Day 3
Beginning Date: April 2, 2007
Ending Date: June 23, 2007
Day 3 -
I was quite hungry last night by the time I got to my last meal of the day. I made a shake and I realized that I'm not very satisfied with drinking a shake at the end of the night - I felt like I was missing something and I think that something is chewing and the process of bringing the food to my mouth. May sound weird, but I just felt like it was missing. So I may have to find another time during the day to have my shake... will think about that one.
I did the 20 minute exercise for life workout on the bike this morning. It is a much better workout than what we had been doing on the bike before this (the pre-set programs). I wonder why. I got my heart rate up to 190 for several minutes and this is an indication - to me - of a good workout. My legs are still very tired and sore from the stairs on Monday and it is coooold so I did the bike. My upper body is now very sore and tired from the weight lifting yesterday. I hope all of this soreness after a workout subsides after a week or so... although, again I say I like it - its the good kind of sore. The kind of sore that reminds me that I worked hard and it just feels like it is working. It feels tight, not flabby, and strong. So I'm not complaining.
Menu -
8am - eggs, toast, vegetables, 2 cups water
10:30am - cottage cheese, salsa, apple, 2 cups water
1pm - shake
3:30 pm - ranch chicken salad, lettuce, carrots, 2 cups of water
6pm - taco pasta salad, 2 cups water
8:30 - protein bar, 2 cups water
Ending Date: June 23, 2007
Day 3 -
I was quite hungry last night by the time I got to my last meal of the day. I made a shake and I realized that I'm not very satisfied with drinking a shake at the end of the night - I felt like I was missing something and I think that something is chewing and the process of bringing the food to my mouth. May sound weird, but I just felt like it was missing. So I may have to find another time during the day to have my shake... will think about that one.
I did the 20 minute exercise for life workout on the bike this morning. It is a much better workout than what we had been doing on the bike before this (the pre-set programs). I wonder why. I got my heart rate up to 190 for several minutes and this is an indication - to me - of a good workout. My legs are still very tired and sore from the stairs on Monday and it is coooold so I did the bike. My upper body is now very sore and tired from the weight lifting yesterday. I hope all of this soreness after a workout subsides after a week or so... although, again I say I like it - its the good kind of sore. The kind of sore that reminds me that I worked hard and it just feels like it is working. It feels tight, not flabby, and strong. So I'm not complaining.
Menu -
8am - eggs, toast, vegetables, 2 cups water
10:30am - cottage cheese, salsa, apple, 2 cups water
1pm - shake
3:30 pm - ranch chicken salad, lettuce, carrots, 2 cups of water
6pm - taco pasta salad, 2 cups water
8:30 - protein bar, 2 cups water
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
BFL - Day 2
Beginning date: April 2, 2007
Ending date: June 23, 2007
Day 2:
Yesterday wasn't bad. I was hungry, but I always knew that I'd be eating within a couple of hours or minutes, so it wasn't too bad. And the meals from the Eating for Life cookbook are GOOD and the portions are big, so thats a plus.
I am VERY sore from stair climbing yesterday. I can definitely tell that I haven't done it in months.
Today I did my arm weight lifting workout. I tried to go by the weights that I was lifting 3 weeks ago, but I'm going to have to lower them. It is probably the combination of losing some strength over the last 3 weeks and doing the reps at a slower pace than before that is killing me. My arms are extremely tired today and were shaking by the end. But it feels good to be sore from the stairs and to tire out my arms - it feels good to know that I DID something and that I'm active and working on it again. Its encouraging.
Meals -
8am - 2 pieces toast (little butter), portion of eggs, onions, peppers, tomatoes, 2 cups of water
10:30am - cottage cheese, salsa, apple, 2 cups of water
1pm - protein bar, 2 cups of water
3:30pm - ranch chicken salad, lettuce, 2 cups of water
6pm - leftover sesame beef stir fry, 2 cups of water
8:30 - strawberry banana shake
Ending date: June 23, 2007
Day 2:
Yesterday wasn't bad. I was hungry, but I always knew that I'd be eating within a couple of hours or minutes, so it wasn't too bad. And the meals from the Eating for Life cookbook are GOOD and the portions are big, so thats a plus.
I am VERY sore from stair climbing yesterday. I can definitely tell that I haven't done it in months.
Today I did my arm weight lifting workout. I tried to go by the weights that I was lifting 3 weeks ago, but I'm going to have to lower them. It is probably the combination of losing some strength over the last 3 weeks and doing the reps at a slower pace than before that is killing me. My arms are extremely tired today and were shaking by the end. But it feels good to be sore from the stairs and to tire out my arms - it feels good to know that I DID something and that I'm active and working on it again. Its encouraging.
Meals -
8am - 2 pieces toast (little butter), portion of eggs, onions, peppers, tomatoes, 2 cups of water
10:30am - cottage cheese, salsa, apple, 2 cups of water
1pm - protein bar, 2 cups of water
3:30pm - ranch chicken salad, lettuce, 2 cups of water
6pm - leftover sesame beef stir fry, 2 cups of water
8:30 - strawberry banana shake
Monday, April 2, 2007
BFL - Day1
Beginning: April 2, 2007
Ending: June 23, 2007
Its here... the first day of Body for Life. We've been counting down and perhaps even dreading this day for the last 3 days. Savoring every bite of sugary goodness, ordering things that we might not normally order... stuffing ourselves to the point of overflowing - all because we are starting today:)
I am really eager to do this. I'm sick of feeling sluggish and tired all the time. My joints ocassionally ache and I don't have as much energy as when I'm in shape. I'm looking forward to getting into shape and staying in shape. In the past when I've lost weight and gotten into shape it wasn't long before I got pregnant again and lost it for 1-2 years. This time, though, I'm looking forward to getting into shape and staying that way. I turned 31 yesterday and this is going to be the decade of me being HOT:)
Today is day 1. We haven't worked out in about 3 weeks because of all of the illness going through our house. I didn't sleep well last night because I was afraid I wouldn't wake up to the alarm - I've gotten so accustomed to sleeping until 7/7:30 every morning. So I woke up at 3:30am and dozed in and out until I finally got out of bed at 5:45 (by then, of course, I had finally fallen to sleep again). Got ready and went to the stairs for the first time since early November 2006.
It was tough. When last I did the stairs I was doing 10 round trips (easily). Today I wanted to stick with the 20 minutes of cardio that the program calls for, so I aimed for 6 round trips. I did 7, and it took approximately 25 minutes from start to finish. I was happy with that since I stop moving briefly at the top to take a drink of water every time... So for now I'm going to stick with 7 round trips and see where it goes from there (see if I eventually want to increase the number or if I will stay there). Trip 6 up the stairs was my high-point trip, so I ran the stairs and made it 3/4 of the way before stopping... I will continue to shoot for one more step every time to push myself past that level 10 exertion. The other thing that made it tough was that my lungs and throat were BURNING. Burning - like I had spent last night in a bar filled with smoke. It didn't get better until I got home. It was hard, but I already feel like I did well and I'm happy to be working out again and happy to do a tough workout that feels like it is worth my time (as opposed to the bike).
Stats: (I will measure myself twice a month and weigh myself twice a month to record progress)
Weight (on 3/30/07): 135.4
Waist (right at belly buttong, sucked in): 32"
Bum (mid bum, where leg meets torso): 37 3/4"
Hips (right below bum): 39 1/2"
Thigh (mid thigh): 23"
Calf (mid calf): 15"
Arm (mid bicep): 12 3/4"
Shoulders: 41"
There it is - its out there for the entire world to see and now I'm committed to changing those numbers. I'm excited to see how this turns out.
Meals:
8am - eggs, 2 pieces of toast (tiny bit of butter), onions, peppers & tomatoes, 2 cups water
10:30am - cottage cheese, salsa, gala apple, 2 cups water
1pm - Pure protein bar - s'more, 2 cups of water
3:30pm - Ranch chicken salad, 2 cups of water
6pm - Sesame Beef Stirfry, 2 cups of water
8:30pm - jello fluff, 2 cups of water
Ending: June 23, 2007
Its here... the first day of Body for Life. We've been counting down and perhaps even dreading this day for the last 3 days. Savoring every bite of sugary goodness, ordering things that we might not normally order... stuffing ourselves to the point of overflowing - all because we are starting today:)
I am really eager to do this. I'm sick of feeling sluggish and tired all the time. My joints ocassionally ache and I don't have as much energy as when I'm in shape. I'm looking forward to getting into shape and staying in shape. In the past when I've lost weight and gotten into shape it wasn't long before I got pregnant again and lost it for 1-2 years. This time, though, I'm looking forward to getting into shape and staying that way. I turned 31 yesterday and this is going to be the decade of me being HOT:)
Today is day 1. We haven't worked out in about 3 weeks because of all of the illness going through our house. I didn't sleep well last night because I was afraid I wouldn't wake up to the alarm - I've gotten so accustomed to sleeping until 7/7:30 every morning. So I woke up at 3:30am and dozed in and out until I finally got out of bed at 5:45 (by then, of course, I had finally fallen to sleep again). Got ready and went to the stairs for the first time since early November 2006.
It was tough. When last I did the stairs I was doing 10 round trips (easily). Today I wanted to stick with the 20 minutes of cardio that the program calls for, so I aimed for 6 round trips. I did 7, and it took approximately 25 minutes from start to finish. I was happy with that since I stop moving briefly at the top to take a drink of water every time... So for now I'm going to stick with 7 round trips and see where it goes from there (see if I eventually want to increase the number or if I will stay there). Trip 6 up the stairs was my high-point trip, so I ran the stairs and made it 3/4 of the way before stopping... I will continue to shoot for one more step every time to push myself past that level 10 exertion. The other thing that made it tough was that my lungs and throat were BURNING. Burning - like I had spent last night in a bar filled with smoke. It didn't get better until I got home. It was hard, but I already feel like I did well and I'm happy to be working out again and happy to do a tough workout that feels like it is worth my time (as opposed to the bike).
Stats: (I will measure myself twice a month and weigh myself twice a month to record progress)
Weight (on 3/30/07): 135.4
Waist (right at belly buttong, sucked in): 32"
Bum (mid bum, where leg meets torso): 37 3/4"
Hips (right below bum): 39 1/2"
Thigh (mid thigh): 23"
Calf (mid calf): 15"
Arm (mid bicep): 12 3/4"
Shoulders: 41"
There it is - its out there for the entire world to see and now I'm committed to changing those numbers. I'm excited to see how this turns out.
Meals:
8am - eggs, 2 pieces of toast (tiny bit of butter), onions, peppers & tomatoes, 2 cups water
10:30am - cottage cheese, salsa, gala apple, 2 cups water
1pm - Pure protein bar - s'more, 2 cups of water
3:30pm - Ranch chicken salad, 2 cups of water
6pm - Sesame Beef Stirfry, 2 cups of water
8:30pm - jello fluff, 2 cups of water
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