Brick House (wanna/gonna be)

I’ve been doing great on the Gaspari Lean & Fit Stack (intrapro, superpump 250, and cytolean)! The Superpump is absolutely amazing…definitely the greatest product I’ve taken yet. My eating has been very clean and on track. although I have been more hungry than usual…eating every 2 - 2 1/2 hours.

So I done my measurements. Not as bad as what I thoguht they’d be after slacking for 2 or 3 months. My weight is 109.5 (muscle loss), I gained -1/4 in. on rt. arm, 1/4 in. waist, 1/2 in. on rt. thigh, 1/4 in. on lt. thigh, 1/4 in. on rt. calf. Funny, it was mostly on my right side. But I actually lost 1/4 in. on my hips! The body does crazy things sometimes! But I love this stuff becuase we can mold and shape our bodies with weight training and play around with our diets too…it’s so interesting.

Do you ever feel like everytime to start to do well and take 10 steps forward something always happens and you end up taking 20 steps back? I sure as heck do! I started my eating clean and weight training journey almost 1 year ago. It was in February. I done great until Sept. when I went back to work. Of course, I had to quit after 8 weeks due to certain circumstances but I was totally drained after getting up at 4:30am, working 9 hours a day, picking the kids up from the sitter, coming home, cooking dinner, bathing the kids, homework, and then bed. I just didn’t have time or energy! So once I quit I worked out for a while but felt myself falling into a state of depression. You know, feeling worhtless cause all you feel like is a mommy and housewife. Here I have a Bachelor’s degree, and worked damn hard for it if I must say, and no job. But there is a part of me that wants to be home with my children and by all means I think being a mother is the most important job but it is very hard and challenging to be a stay-at-home mom. It’s not easy!

Anyway, it seems as if everytime I get on track something comes up. Like now…here’s my 2 challenges. #1 We are buying a home that is 2 hours away from where we currently live. It needs remodeled before we can live there. So all of this stuff with the bank and contractors is my responsibility along with the usuals - kids, cooking, cleaning, paying bills, etc. My husband works night shift and long hours and can’t help out much so my stress level is through the roof. So weight training is definitely my out!!! #2 I am under the care of a dermatologist due to acne. She has placed me on a medication called Accutane (I will start it on Feb. 23). It is a very potent and somewhat dangerous med. The side effects will scare the crap out of you! But anyway, I was wanting to do my first figure competition this year but there is no way with being on that med. For one, I can’t take any supplements except whey protein. Two, it will make you face worse before it gets better. You can’t be on stage with a severe acne problem! You have to try and avoid Vit. A and the sun. And you have to be careful about lifting weights while on it because the med. can cause muscle damage and weak bones. Who knows how long I’ll be on it…may be 3 months and it may be 6 months. I have been on acne meds since I was 19 years old (13 years) and nothing has completely helped so this is a last resort.

I have come to the conclusion that everything happens for a reason and this is what I was meant to be doing at this time. Competitions will still be around next year! I just need to keep pushing myself to eat clean and exercise and make the best of it! It will all work out!!!

It would make me feel better if I could go to the Arnold Expo in March…I’m only 4 hours away!!!lol

So today was the day! I started my Lean and Fit Stack from Gaspari Nutrition (Intrapro, Superpump, and Cytolean). It totally kicked BUTT!!! I loved it! For anyone wondering if they should try it….DO IT! I had so much energy I had to pace myself, it was INSANE! And best of all, my hubby worked out too! I will post my workout this evening that I will be doing for 1 month and my new stats.

 TRY IT, YOU’LL LIKE IT!!! 

It’s been 3 months since my last post and I said I was going to get started. I did for a couple of weeks but then stopped! I could give you a million excuses why but it wouldn’t make me feel any better. My eating has been far from clean and I tell ya it really wasn’t very good. All that salty stuff that used to taste good really wasn’t good at all anymore…and the sweets, made me feel like pure crap and zapped every bit of energy I had. That is why I decided to start over and get all new supplements. Don’t get me wrong, the others were working fine but I needed a change of some kind to motivate me. I ordered the Lean and Fit Stack for women from Gaspari. It should be here tomorrow, thank GOD cause this procrastinating is exhausting to me!

I promise to keep my page updated! Don’t give up on me!

OK, I hate to admit it. I have only exercised 2 times in the past 2 months!!! It’s awful! I really feel like a big blob of lard now!

Not making excuses but I went back to work and worked 45 hours a week. I was getting up at 4:30am getting me and my 5 year old and 2 year old ready, working 9 hours, coming home at 5pm cooking, bathing the kids, getting clothes out and ironed for the next day, cleaning up supper, loading the dishwasher, and washing a load of laundry and…..it sucked!!! By the time I did all of that my energy was zapped and I was exhausted. However, due to unforeseen circumstances I had to quit my job so now I’m back home with my babies. I believe God has a plan for everyone and maybe it’s just not time for me to go back to work right now. So I’m back in the fitness game and I will succeed!!!

I have lost so much muscle definition but I can’t focus on that. I’ve got 6 months to turn this body into competition material. I will upload progress pics in one month.

Gotta go get my workout on!

hate to admit it but darn it I’m in a slump! I haven’t felt very motivated the past 2 weeks and I feel like a big blob of lard or something. Then I received a message from a new friend that added me. Here’s what it said:

"hey great progress pics deanna!!! awesome hard work!! way to rock it! you are what bodyspace is about!!!"

How awesome is that! This is why I love this place. The people are great! And when you can’t find support anywhere else it’s here.

Know what I think my problem is? Stress and boredom. Boredom because I need to change my workout that I’ve had for 8 weeks and stress because I am going to be starting a new job. I’ve been a stay-at-home mommy for 2 1/2 years now. It bothers me to leave my babies. My 5 year old will be starting kindergarten but I worry about my 2 year old. Not only that but I will be working 45 hours a week! Yikes! When am I going to find time to work out? I have to sleep, ya know. I’m stressin’ bad. I have worked too hard for the past 6 months to give up. This will definitely be challenging but I’ll find a way. I want to show other mommies that it is possible and you should never give up on a dream. Chat atcha later….gotta go pump some iron!!!

I lost 3 lbs. since yesterday! I weighed 112.5 this morning. Don’t know what’s goin’ on. There are a couple of things that I’ve changed since Monday.

1. NO Bread. I was eating 1-2 slices of whole wheat/whole grain bread a day but wanted to try cutting it out to see if some of this cottage cheese on the back of my legs would disappear (over time, of course).

2. I stopped taking my glutamine, arginine, and creatine for 1 week. I’ve had a terrible acne breakout and I’m not sure what’s doing it so just using process of elimination. Will add them back 1 week at a time. SUCKS majorly cause I was getting great results using them!

Anyway, I posted new progress pics last night. I’m very pleased with what I’ve accomplished in 5 months. I feel soooooo much better…physically and mentally. I’ll never go back. Thanks so much to everyone on here who has complimented me and supported me. Without you guys I would have probably given up but you keep me going! Much love to my bodyspace peeps!!!

Woke up this morning and OMG! My chest and right shoulder is very sore from my workout on Sunday. I seriously think I overdone it! Funny, because I just read Fern’s (MsFitness) blog and she talk about Dom’s. Holy Moly! That’s what I have. It didn’t hurt yesterday. Gotta love Fern! She says it like it is and an idol for so many including myself.

I can honestly say that I use to be one of the people she spoke of in her blog. You know, the one that eats Healthy Choice meals and exercises every once in a while. I too, was addicted to certain TV shows like Days of our Lives. Now, I don’t even watch it.  However, I don’t think I could give up Desperate Housives.  Most of my workouts are done before 2pm. Most of the time, my TV is on Disney, Nickelodeon, Noggin, Sprout, or Boomerang.

For those who have been asking or wondering how I workout at home for 1 hour a day here it is. My 5 year old can entertain himself but the 2 year old is another story. You can’t turn your back on him for a minute! Into EVERYTHING!!! I like to workout before noon (which is before his naps) so I put him in his booster chair where he’s strapped in. May sound cruel to you but a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do. I then turn on Blue’s Clue’s (which I DV-R every episode) and voila! PEACE! Until he starts screaming MAMA! right in the middle of a set. Drives me nuts but that’s the way it goes. So you have to find creative ways to take care of yourself. It’s still a chore to take a shower everyday but that’s what I use nap time for.

Yesterday my 5 year old started football practice at 6pm. So here I am trying to entertain a 2 y.o. for 2 1/2 hours by myself. I never dreamed they would practice that long. One of the other mommies told me they would practice till dark Mon-Fri until school starts. Geez, this will be interesting and challenging. But it was so cute seeing 5 and 6 y.o. doing drills. Can’t wait to see the 1st game! Ok, gotta go, both of my kids have bubble gum and I have no clue how they got it. Great, now they’ll be plugged up! TTYL

So today my hubby was home and helped me during my workout, I mean he spotted me. Wow, I realized how great it would be to have a partner. He pushed me to do more reps and because I had a spotter I was able to max out on my benches. I done chest. Incline press, incline flyes, decline press, decline flyes, and bench press. I used dumbbells. On the incline press I done 25lbs. 6 times. Woo hoo! I could have bench pressed that but I started feeling a burning sensation in shoulder so he made me stop at 17.5lbs. My hubby was a power lifter all through high school (he even set a couple state records) so I listened. Well, it’s time to put 2 little boys to bed. TTYL

They hurt!!! And it’s been 3 days since I worked them. Tomorrow is leg day again. I do them twice a week because they need it. I changed up the routine and done pyramids with dumbbells. Holy Moly, it worked! I guess pain is good. I’m still doing the Diesel in Days routines but just adding a little twist. I done tri’s and bi’s today. I loved it! I couldn’t stay out of the mirror because I can’t believe what I’m seein’. I really need a good leg routine. No, what I really need is a leg extension attachment on my weight bench. Maybe the hubby will get me one. Afterall, he says I’m a HOT MAMA but he hasn’t seen hot yet cause I’m not done.  And 1 HOT MAMA is what I will be…

OK, so here’s my Hydroxycut Max review:

For me personally, I can only take 1 capsule 3 x a day because it makes me sick and jittery if I take more. So I really don’t think that I’m going to get the full effects of what the product can do. Now I will be searching for something else. I’m just really sensitive to stuff.

On another note, we just returned from a 3 day mini-vacation at an amusement/waterpark and the zoo on the 3rd day. Not such a great idea when it’s flippin’ 100 degrees outside! My hubby and I were worn out after 3 days of chasing a 2 and 5 year old. Needless to say that I had taken off 6 days from exercise and 3 from clean eating. I tried and succeeded at some meals while on the trip but it’s hard when you have limited choices. I started back yesterday and it felt great! I feel so much better! There is such a big difference in me now because the "old me" would have said "to heck with it" after returning from vacation and stopped everything but this chick is on a mission. And I will not stop till I reach my goal. This is extremely important to me. Everyone has their down days but the point is to get back up and go on. The past is behind us and you can’t change it.

I am working on getting up at 6am to do cardio. I have been trying this for 6 months now. What is wrong with me? Every morning I just want to kick myself for not doing it. Since I spend 1 hour a day on weight training, I want to get up before my kids and do the cardio. I feel bad to take another hour a day away from them to workout. My 5 year old says "Mommy, are you going to exercise again?" He wants to go outside and play. To be honest, I’m to darn tired after chasing them all day. I go to bed and it seems like I watch the clock all night, I just don’t sleep well at all. If I can just push myself to do it for a week I think I’ll stick with it.

Without cardio, my body will never look like I want it too. I could have had major changes by now. I’ve had alot of muscle growth since I started but too much "skinny fat" covering it from the waist down to show. I just gabbing, not complaining, tryin’ to get my behind in gear! Thanks for listening.