October 16, 2011

I feel great.  My throat is healing up and I was able to run 2 miles after lifting this morning.  Overall, I feel like I've improved a lot since the beginning of the test group.  I'm able to fit into clothes that I haven't worn since freshman year of college.  The dress shirt I wore to a friend's wedding last weekend was a small.  I've NEVER worn a small before.
I see more and more the importance of strengthening one's core.  My posture is better and when I did squats earlier my form was a lot tighter so I was able to put up a little more weight than before.
My family has gotten used to me eating healthier foods so they try to do the same.  We never have a meal without vegetables and there's always plenty of fruit to snack on instead of chips and sweets.
My main goal is to finish with the same motivation I had coming into the 8 weeks and drop my weight to 155.
This week: Don't let my feet touch the ground (if they aren't supposed to) during a core workout.  It's been my Achilles heel since day 1.

Room for Improvement

Being sick really slowed me down this week.  I went to the doctor this morning; he said that it isn't bronchitis and that I should be over it in a couple of days.  For my headache and fever he suggested Tylenol and I'm taking Robitussin for my cough.  He suggested some low intensity exercise once my temperature gets back to normal, so I'm either going to run or take a yoga class at my gym.   I'm eating more vegetables to get the vitamins I need to recover.  Here's a picture of part of today's lunch (the blur is not me trying to be artsy, just my crappy camera).  Mixed greens, tomatoes and pieces of steak, with Greek salad dressing.  More to come tomorrow following my workout.

October 9, 2011

Each week feels better than the last.  Even on days following my  cheat meals, my body doesn't feel bloated and heavy like it used to.  I've been getting more rest and as a result, I'm less sore and I feel stronger.  As the end of the 60 days approaches, I'm focusing more on the reality that my fitness goals won't just evaporate when this is done.  As my classmates have said, this is a lifelong journey and I plan to live with that in mind.  The changes I'm making to my diet, workouts, daily routine are small but sustainable so that I can continue to make progress long after my test group days.  Last week's meeting really helped invigorate my drive.  Everyone else's "whys" for doing this were nothing short of inspiring.
Goals: Drop to 155 by the end of test group.  Try to maintain muscle while losing fat.
Goals for this week: As I type this I'm trying to get over a scratchy throat.  It's nothing serious but I hope to get lots of rest so that I can recover quickly.

October 3, 2011 - Slowing down... time to push harder

Alright here's an extra long post since I need to catch up on homework.  First, a look at what I've eaten today/ will eat later...
Meal 1: 1/2 cup oatmeal with dried cranberries and walnuts, 1 scoop of protein powder with 8 oz almond milk
Meal 2: 1 peanut butter and banana sandwich on wheat bread, some more walnuts
Meal 3: grilled chicken breast, steamed broccoli
Meal 4 (preworkout): strawberries, vanilla protein powder, ice cubes, almond milk blended
Meal 5 (postworkout): veggie burger, steamed vegetables

This is typically how I eat (minus the veggie burger).  Some meat, some vegetables as breakfast lunch and dinner, and I'll try to snack on things that are high in protein.  Most days I'll have eggs instead of a shake for breakfast.

I must confess that I fell off the healthy food wagon this weekend and I definitely feel it.  There's this bloated feeling that's weighing me down, so I know I have to work hard this week to make up for it.  I'm learning that it only takes a couple of bad decisions to screw up what took several days of hard work.  So I need to be more cautious with how I cheat on the weekends.  More people at work have told me I look skinnier; one regular at the gym said I look "less puffy."  I just laughed and took it as a compliment.  My family keeps more vegetables in the fridge and it makes me feel good to know that they're becoming more healthy conscious.  My goals remain the same.  I would like to get more lean in the remaining weeks.  The loss of pounds isn't as important to me anymore as much as improving my body composition.  This week I would like to make it through an entire core workout without putting my feet down or resting.  My core isn't as strong as I would like it to be, so I need to put some extra work into it.
Game time. Let's go.

Mmm mmm good...

Meal 1: 1 cup of oatmeal (with water), 1 scoop of protein powder mixed with 1 cup almond milk, 6 thin slices of roast beef
Meal 2: 1 scoop protein blended with 8 oz almond milk and 1/2 cup of strawberry yogurt
Meal 3: Chicken breast and steamed vegetables
more later...

3 Weeks Already?!

I woke up this morning and looked in the mirror and I just felt good.  I truly believe I'm in better shape now than I was in high school and college.  It's getting easier all the time to eat healthy, and even when I cheat it's not the way I used to.  For example, the other day I decided to go to Chipotle.  But instead of getting the usual infant-sized burrito, I got the salad.  Honestly, it wasn't bad.  My eating habits have rubbed off on my family as well.  I buy a lot of those bags of frozen vegetables that can be microwaved in about 5 minutes, and my little sister (who hates vegetables) loves them too!  I haven't weighed myself since hitting 161, but I feel lighter.  I'll continue to keep my total daily calories low with lots of vegetables and the same amount of protein.  It seems to be working so far.
Goals for this week:

• Do 50 pullups during my back workout
• Go lower when I do lunges

September 10, 2011

It's almost the end of week 2.  I weighed myself this morning and I was down to 161.  I started at 164 so I don't really know if I'm losing weight too fast or if it's just the right amount.  So far I've learned that having some green tea before any workout really helps give me a little extra boost.  Bootcamp has completely changed the way I train by myself.  I used to stick to lifting weights with very little cardio, but I made little progress this way because I rarely pushed myself to exceed my limits.  Bootcamp pushes me every time, and I find that I'm applying that same intensity in the gym.  I would still like to lose 1 or 2 percent bodyfat by the end of 8 weeks.  It will be difficult but if I continue to keep carbs to a minimum and try to cut out sugar, it should happen.  I've been neglecting sleep, which is so important for recovery.  I'll do my best to get more and hopefully that will help.  Next week's goal is to drop another pound and run 3.5 miles on 3 days

Day 4 of The TEST

We're near the end of the first week and it's taken serious effort to change my eating habits.  I've increased my protein consumption slightly - like having just one more protein shake during the day, to account for the decreased carbs.  The most difficult part is cutting down on sugar but it's definitely happening one. meal. at. a. time.  The only thing left to do is keep at it and keep exercising.  I'm excited to see how things will progress from here.  Go team!

Day 2 of 60-Day Challenge

Everything is sore from last night.  More please