Okay people. So it’s the last week of school before finals. I’m so friggin tired from writing papers and grading papers and I have not fully recovered from all the activity during the Thanksgiving holiday. I came in today from the gym and passed out for two hours. That of course didn’t help me progress on the paper I need to turn in tomorrow (and neither is writing this lol) but my body needed it. I’ve gotten some food in me, I’m filling up the water bottle, and I’m ready to go.

Last year this time I was so stressed out. Staying up late, drinking coffee like it was my job, and shoving my face full of Mickey D’s every night. The gym was completely abandoned and consequently all the gains that I had made in the 8 weeks prior to that were reveresed and then some. Not this time. I’m completely organized. My days until next Tuesday are completely scheduled including time for the gym and time for sleep. I procrastinated a bit on the paper I’m turning in tomorrow, but it’s actually not due until Friday so I’m still doing okay. Wish me luck y’all.

Okay people. So I picked up the latest edition of Men’s Health Magazine. Let me preface this by saying that I love Men’s Health. Love it. It is so informative, they always have the latest studies published and several workouts per issue. Actually I prefer men’s magazines to women’s when it comes to fitness and nutrition (come on now you’ve seen the silliness they publish in shape and fitness) but both Men’s and Women’s Health are reputable publications. But I digress.

 So they had a list of 20 foods from restaurants across the nation and ranked them from 20 to 1 as the worst foods based on overall caloric content, fat, etc. Now we all know that when it comes to nutrition you’re better off preparing your own foods, and we generally know that the rediculous portion sizes served at restaurants are a diet no-no, but honestly y’all, I couldn’t believe some of the nutrition facts I read in that article. I’ll list just a few of the items for your viewing pleasure:

No. 17 Ruby Tuesday’s Bella Turkey Burger: 1,145 cals, 71g fat, 56g carbs

No. 15 Macroni Grill Double Mac ‘N’ Cheese: 1,210 cals, 62g fat, 3,450mg sodium (This is a kid’s meal by the way)

No. 8 P.F. Chang’s Pork Lo Mein: 1,820 cals, 127g fat, 95g carbs

No. 5 Uno’s Classic Deep Dish Personal Pizza: 2,310 cals, 162g fat, 4,470 mg sodium

No. 1 Outback’s Aussie Cheese Fries w/Ranch Dressing: 2,900 cals, 182g fat, 240g carbs (And this my friends is supposed to be a freakin appetizer!)

Notice I did not put any fast food items on this list, although there were some there, but this is just appaling in every way. Look what we feed the children for cryin’ out loud. How can any one item on a menu contain 200 grams of fat. And they wonder why America is obese. In the end I know it comes down to the personal choices  we make and I am not a proponent of blaming the food industry for our decisions, but how can you in good conscience feed people this stuff? My head gets dizzy just thinkin about it.

Hello bodybuilding world. I’m trying to kill time before the biggest loser comes on and what better way than to catch up with my favorite people? This weekend was so so. I rediscovered the jump rope. That thing is really underrated as a piece of cardio equiptment. I jumped for 15 min straight as a warm up and I tell ya my heart rate was up there the entire session. I had more than my fair share of treats, but I’m making up for it this week by adding 10 minutes or so of extra cardio at the end of my lifting sessions. I figure it will help out with the extra 1000 calories I’m going to allow myself on thanksgiving as well. Luckily for me I’m not big on desserts so it all won’t be squandered on my piece of pie.

Today has been particularly lazy. I  did manage to finish some grading but for the most part I just veged. Today is supposed to be a lifting day, but there was a game and I was not about to try to compete with traffic early on and then drunkards this evening. So, I will do some Tae Bo tonight, and make up the lifting day tomorrow. Happy Saturday people

That’s all I need to do, get rid of that much a week for the next few weeks and I can hit my goal. I’ve been hard headed. I’ve eaten Chipotle, Potbelly’s and a slice of pizza in the last seven days. Oh and drank too. This has been a particularly bad week, and so of course no progress. huh. I didn’t even realize all I had done until I typed it in just now. I must really be getting old. I used to eat like that all the time and still drop weight from working out, but no more. Oh well. I have a little less than eight weeks before I go home for Christmas. That’s good motivation for me (you’d why know if you had my mother )

 Last night’s cardio and today’s leg workout were good. Although, I didn’t manage to force myself to do lunges. Maybe I’ll do some in front of the TV in a lil bit while I watch my talk shows lol. That will occupy my mind.