My Nutrition Plan
September 2009

(Meal 1)
½ c. Oats
½  Scoop Vanilla Protein Powder
½ c. 1% Milk
¼ c. Blueberries

(Meal 2)
¼ c. Cottage Cheese
3 oz. Low-fat Yogurt

(Meal 3)
Sandwich or Lean Cuisine Entrée
Salad
Diet Soda

(Meal 4 – post-workout)
Protein Shake
Raw veggies (celery/cauliflower/carrots)

(Meal 5)
6-8 oz. lean meat or chicken
1 cup veggies
Salad
1 T. Dressing

(Meal 6)
Nut Bar (e.g. Nature Valley Peanut Bar)
Egg White

About 100 oz. water per day

Approximate Total Values (kcals: 1703, Fat: 60, Protein: 149, Carbs: 135)

Training:

Monday: Weight training (upper body)
Tuesday: Cardio (HIIT)
Wednesday: Weight training (lower body, Abs)
Thursday: Cardio (HIIT)
Friday: Weight training (upper body)
Saturday: Cardio (HIIT)
Sunday: Rest

(The next week I do 2 lower body and 1 upper body and switch each week)

The other day was my daughter Emily’s college orientation.  I was very proud to go with her and see her new school.  I got to learn about some of the exciting opportunities she will be embarking on next week when she starts her first college class.  The parents were given a separate class on how to be supportive during this part of our child’s life.  They reminded us that the brain is not fully developed until age 25 and that we need to continue to parent our "adult" children.  I heard audible groans among some of the parents and mumblings of "I thought we were done with that…they’re 18!"  

After spending nearly $300 on 3 textbooks, the student union gave a wonderful lunch for all in attendance.  Oh no!  Pizza!  I had been munching on danishes all morning (because they were staring at me in the room and I have NO willpower).  I thought that was all I would cheat.  I took one piece of pizza…. ok, not too bad, but then Sarah didn’t finish her piece.  I can’t just throw pizza away so I had to finish it for her.  Then Emily needed to get her student ID card done.  Inside that room they were serving ice cream hot fudge sundaes….!!!!!   I do all right at home when I am more in control of what I eat…but when it is just sitting there, calling to me…I have NO willpower.  This is something I have to work on.

So my weight has been fluctuating for the last few days between 151.5 and 151.0.  I’ll get back to where I need to be in a few days; I’m working out well (lifted really heavy yesterday on lower body workout) and today I hit at least a 9 on my cardio HIIT.  I really shouldn’t pay so much attention to the scale.  It really isn’t a good measure of my progress.   I lost another 1/2 in. in my waist and when I used the fat calipers this morning, I was down, too, so I should be happy.  That scale really dogs me.  It’s the easiest tool to watch myself, but I need to realize that it doesn’t reflect my body composition accurately. 

Well, on to the day….  breakfast next (it’s 8am) and then a protein shake at 10.  Have a great day everyone!!!

Today is upper body.  I’m pumped and ready to hit it!  First I’ll have some yogurt and eggs.  I do my cardio on an empty stomach, but I think lifting should be done with a good protein/carb base.  If you’re weak, you can’t lift as heavy, and then you’ll have less gains.

We’ve made it through the first week of school.  I just put Autumn and Thomas on the bus and today I will be doing homeschool with my 11th grade son, Joe.  We have Chemistry, Economics, Algegra 2/Geometry and Health.  At the local government school he is also taking English, Strength Training, and Law Enforcement.  Sarah will work in her Kumon books next to Joe and I as we study.  Will is now a Freshman in high school and Emily starts college in less than two weeks.  Wow!  They grow up too darn fast!

Can one day mess it all up?  It sure feels like it; but I have to keep going and look at the progress I have made since day 1.  There is an overall decline in weight and my body feels tighter and more compact to me.  Sometimes, I make the mistake of asking my children/teens if I look thinner.  They usually respond with something like "a little" or "sort of" or "I dunno".  Not too encouraging. 

I try to use the fat calipers to gauge my progress, too, but I’m not very skilled at it.  I’m not sure I’m doing it right. 

School starts in a few days so I have been getting up earlier and earlier each day to get ready for that 6:15 rising time.  Hence, I’ve not been getting much sleep and I’ve developed a sore throat and cough…darn.  It keeps me from training at maximum.  Well, I’ve made this my new lifestyle, so I will just keep plodding along, celebrating the "lows" and using the "highs" to ignite more inspiration!

I was able to work out really hard today and my nutrition has been right on since my free day.  The "weight" is not falling off me, though.  Kinda bums me out.  I’m holding below 1300 calories, with about 100 carbs and 100 grams protein and fat below 50, so I should be losing…. hmmmmm

Today has been a hard day because I have a really soare throat and I can barely swallow.  I went swimming today so even though I was supposed to do upper body today, I’m going to give myself a break (since I’m sick) and count the swimming as aerobic and do my upper body tomorrow.

Day 3 was lower body - free weights and machine.  I did lunges, that was new for me.  I could barely walk the next day but I wasn’t injured, it was just good muscle soreness. 

I haven’t missed a workout so far.  The nutrition has been going well.  I’m following the 6 meals a day with a carb and protein portion but I’m also counting carbs and protein, fat and calories because I enjoy doing that.  So far, I’ve lost an average of 0.3 lbs per day which keeps me on my goal to 20 lbs. in 12 weeks.

I know what I need to do (I think).  I need to get back on my moderate carb/high protein diet.  I need to do that today.  Come’on today… today?  yeah…today.  hmmmmm……..maybe tomorrow…dang it. 

Okay…looking at the pics of these women who have done it really helps.  I’ve lost about 3 pounds in the last week… I think I’m going in the right direction.

I know that body I want is somewhere in there under there.

The reason I make that observation is that I was just noticing this morning a few nice things about my life.  My maternal grandmother washed her clothes in a big boiling pot outside, she and her family (including my mother) used an outhouse with Sear’s catalogues for toilet paper, no electricity or telephones… she had almost no creature comforts. 

Here I sit, her granddaughter, with just about every comfort and "maid-servant" our 21st century minds can imagine.  I woke this morning to my dishwasher displaying a proud green light, having –somewhere in the night– washed my dishes.  It take little effort to put my clothes in my washer and dryer and I never have to start a fire with matches and kindling to cook.  I can instantly contact just about anyone I want through telephone and internet.  And the list goes on and on. 

I guess I’m blessed beyond my habit to acknowledge it.  I can easily fall into a grand funk about things, get moody or depressed and forget how good I have it.  Maybe all that hard work kept my grandmother out of the blues…she just didn’t have time.