LovnLife4NSR’s Mind

Alright, week three is here and we are just rolling through this. Last night was Chest/Back and Ab RipperX. We really worked it in the Chest/Back routine. During routine one I would set a number (All these numbers were higher than last time) and I pushed for 5 more reps after. When it was time for routine two I set for that number + the five again. Once I hit it I pushed myself after that to failure. Man, I was dead tired afterwards. It hurt to lift my arms to take off my shirt. I’m truely surprised as to how well my chest is reacting and developing by just doing push-ups. I know weights are the true source to real muscle gains, but I’m pretty stoked with the gains my chest has made- a lot more than I thought it would.

The diet is going well. We are sticking to it with total dedication. My weight has stuck around the 153-155 area. Not too concerned. Just as long as I keep losing the fat weight. We have really gotten to like the new diet. We adjusted fast and we’re not even close to being sick of it. I have battled and won one of my biggest no-no’s when it comes to eating: Late night snacking! I used to be so bad at it and at first , it was tough. I loovvvvvvveeeeee my ghetto-cup full of milk, apple and either a bag of popcorn or handfuls of peanuts. Now I don’t have those cravings anymore. Wooo-hoooo, thank you will power.

We have been so good with the exercises and dieting, but there is one place I have been dropping the ball. Keeping track of my weights and reps. I need to do that because last night I wasn’t using heavy enough weights. I know somethng is better then nothing, but I could have made better gains with my back if I had the right weights. So, make sure you do that! Your body adjusts fast and you need to keep track of it.

OK now, here is a small problem that I have been trying to figure out how to handle. Since I have started this my body has changed very well. The fat is just shredding off. I’m getting skinny all around and thats good. I’ve always carried my fat in my stomach and face. My legs and arms have always been skinny. Even though they are gaining muscle they are still skinny because of the weight lose. Thats OK because I know that just takes time to build. I rambling because thats not my problem. My problem is I’m worried that I’m liking myself too much! Does that seem odd? What I mean is, last night, 35 minutes after our Chest/Back routine and 10 minutes after the AbRipperX I took off my shirt and looked in the mirror. What I saw I hadn’t seen in over a decade. My chest had a good pump, but the biggest thing I noticed was my abs. They had good detail and were solid. I was so stoked with what I saw. I still have fat on my stomach and on my sides, so I still have a long ways to go, but damn I was impressed! I got excited and starting thinking about one of my goals: I want to be confident and take a profile picture of me and my ripped body. I’m no where near that goal yet, but I want to be in the future. These changes I have made are for life! I’m not going back to being fat or lazy. I love the new me and when the times comes I want to strut my stuff, just like everyone else does on bodyspace that has worked and earned it. So, does that make me conceeded or cocky? Because thats what I started feeling like after I started envisioning my future profile pic. It made me feel guilty because I’ve never thought like that before. I’ve always considered myself low-key and humble. All of this is new to me and I’m not sure if I’m taking the right approach to it. Is it ok to be this proud of myself that I must show it off? Or should I just be humble and keep my proud accoplishments within myself (and with my wife of course). I have no clue! Any suggestions? For those who took time out of their lives to read about mine-THANK YOU SO MUCH! Stay strong!

With the cost of gas and everything else rising my wife and I have noticed that people are starting to eat less healthy food and more processed food. Processed food is way more cheaper and a lot of people are struggling because of all the price inceases. Does anyone here in bodyspace seem to be struggling with the price increases? We struggle with our bills, but we’ll cut costs elsewhere to help eat and live a healthier lifestyle. We don’t want our kids eating crappy food. Obesity is already one of the major leading causes of death in America. Now it’s only getting tougher to fight with everything rising in costs. So, my wife and I are constantly researching on how to save money and reduce costs. I thought I would share some ways we have helped save money and adjust to rising prices.

My wife read this article that suggested you make a list of the items you needed and when you receive your Sunday & Wednseday saving ads you shop at the store(s) that have those items on sale. It may not be the same name brand you always buy, but it is the product/food that you need. My wife has been doing this for a couple of months now and she said that are bill went down from $300.00 to $210.00 (on average). We haven’t reduced our shopping list. We just go and purchase the product thats on sale. Thats a pretty big jump in cost reduction. We only buy things that are on sale. IF we have to go to two stores get all the items we need then we do it. You have to stick with the sales prices. Oh-yeah, use coupons. On avrage, my wife cuts cost between $10.00-$15.00 each time she uses coupons along with the sale prices. Hey that helps put 2 to 3 gallons more in your tank!

As for gas costs, we tried to find the less expensive places. For us, thats Safeway and Costco gas. We also make A LOT less trips to run errands. We usually only do errands on days we work. Thats helped a little. The nice thing with shopping at Safeway we usually get some discount off our next gas purchase. Another little bonus. I have also read articles about how gas stations are willing to give discounts off their gas prices if you pay in gas. Another article I read is that it’s best to buy gas in the morning because your tank isn’t hot and gas expands when it is hot. When gas is cold it’s more dense and you get more bang for your buck when you buy gas.

Electricity costs are on the rise as well. I think P.G. & E. will increase their costs by 14% over the next 6 to 8 months. Yikes. As if my $200.00 wasn’t enough. So, some things that might help: Unplug electric items when your not using them. Coffe pots, phone chargers, computers, ect. Even if these items aren’t running they still pull a small charge if they are plugeed in. That adss up. Air dry clothes. Thats right, get all old-school country style with airring out your clothes. Do your gym clothes really need to be fluff dried and smell all spring-like? Most electric companies offer tips on how to reduce your bill and offer rewards for cutting back on your bill. Either check out their websites or give your provider a call.

One way my wife and I are trying to save money and finds ways to adjust to rising costs is by not being stuck buying things we can make ourselves. What I mean is we grow most of our produce. We have six chickens (hey, go easy labeling us hillbillies now) and they produce 5-6 eggs a day. We don’t have to buy eggs or egg beaters and those are becoming pretty costly products. We just got the idea this year to raise our own produce. So, we are a little behind. Starting this fall, we plan on preparing to do a full blown produce garden for next year. Even with all the start-up costs and maintenance we have reduced our overall costs by 50%. After seeing how much we have saved my wife wants to raise livestock. We talked to a friend of ours and they said they save up to 50% off their costs by having a rancher raise their meat for them. Now raising organic meat is another story. Thats costly. We learned the hard way on that one.

So, here are some of the ways that have helped us a lot. We would love feed back or even more ideas that could help us. For those who took time out of their lives to read my blog….THANK YOU. Have a good one.