Making_A_Change’s BodyBlog

Let’s see the past couple of days have looked like this:

Monday-30 min.  incline walk-3.5 mph @ 10% incline (I had a hankerin’ for a cheese enchilada for dinner and, boy howdy, was it good; was going to take a day off but felt so bloated that I decided to do something ‘light’)

Sunday-3 mile run around the lake, under 30 minutes

This morning-back, shoulders, calves

 I haven’t been able to log in my meals as I would like, but the menu has stayed the same: chicken and broccoli, chicken and spinach, chicken and romaine lettuce, chicken, chicken, chicken. I throw in a slice of wheat bread, have helped myself to 1/4 of a bagel, or brown rice for carbs every so often. I have been slacking on the water big time; today I got to get at least 1/2 gallon in me. Overall, I am feeling energetic. Now that we are at our new school and we have new staff it’s funny to be considered ‘the healthy one’. It’s like a new identity. I had a few chocolate chip dunkers (oblong dry, dry, dry chocolate chip cookies) the other day. They are okay. They took care of the sweet tooth, and the taste is so mediocre that you don’t beg for more.

Today was my daughter’s God-sister’s birthday party. She had it at a water park nearby. Last night I went to buy a suit and shorts to wear. It was such a great feeling to feel good in my suit–in my skin! I didn’t worry about how I looked just having fun. I would even go as far to say that I looked cute! And I a sit her, eyes burning from chlorine and sunblock, I realize that it was such a far cry from how I felt in the past. Last summer, I probably would have passed on the party because I wouldn’t have wanted to wear a bathing a suit and I would have been hot in the pants that I know I would have worn had I gone. I would have missed out on so much fun! I went down water slides, pushed my daughter down ‘rivers’, and fought machine-generated waves. It was great! We had a wonderful time and plan on going back. It was her first time doing some serious water play. Since neither my husband nor I swim, it’s just not an activity that we do. But I do want to learn and I really want her to have that skill. I was right to skip this morning’s cardio session, I did the equivalent of water aerobics for a good 5 hours! Good times!

Did abs, chest, and biceps today. The elbow was feeling pretty good. I curled with a 30 pound bb and did cable curls @ 50#. I am still going to ice it throughout the day and take my glucosamine. I am working on sitting and standing up straight, again. It is such a hard habit to break, but it makes such a difference in my appearance and the way that I feel and breath in general. And I think it makes me look a bit taller, too. Because of my earlier fall schedule I am now planning how I can going to get all of my meals in and coordinate them with the breaks that I have or the times that I won’t have students. My first meal today was at 6:30 a.m.–about 1 1/2 hours earlier than usual. I have managed to give myself an upset stomache. This wouldn’t be so bad except we don’t have staff bathrooms–all shared stalls so I can’t use the restroom in peace and solitude. I only ate 1/2 an apple and a whey protein shake because I knew the change would get me.

Yesterday, I did legs which was a mistake because I ran the day before. Oh well, live, learn, and sometimes make the same mistakes. Today, I rested so I’ll be fresh for the rest of the week. Tomorrow may be chest, biceps, and abs, I think. Nothing is sore right now which is nice. I am going to iron my clothes and get to bed early tonight. I didn’t get enough water today, and I can feel the difference. I have ordered two more containers of BSN Desert–love that stuff. I have begun to order two every couple of weeks to build up a nice surplus. There isn’t much happening except that I am trying to remain focused and consistent; that’s been key for me–one workout and one meal at a time.

Once the school year begins my days will begin at 7:30 a.m. A full hour and a half earlier than I had been working. This means that I really have to change my workout schedule just a bit and try to get to the gym a little earlier. I could go most evenings, but I also want to be realistic. When I get home from a day of work and school I am not going to want to workout. But I can manage to get my butt up. So If I wake up at 4:45, I can workout from 4:55-6:05 a.m. I have to leave my apartment by 7:00 to get to work by 7:25-7:30. I think I can do that. This morning I got up 5 minutes earlier (only snoozed twice) and will continue that practice for the next few weeks. I am so sleepy right now (it’s only 3:15), but I’ll adjust.

This morning, just about everything was a little sore. I decided to run because my legs were the least sore. I ran for four miles and walked for 1/2 a mile. Tomorrow, I want to do legs, but we’ll see how they feel. Husband is really digging the ‘new’ body. I suppose me feeling better helps a little bit, too. It’s almost been like test driving a new car–you wonder what you can do, then you are suprised by your performance.

I woke up so sore, loved it! My legs are finally sore from my last leg work out, my chest is sore, even my abs are sore from yesterday. That is great. I was really only left with back and triceps. I tried a new machine, which is something that I am trying to do every workout. I came home to a breakfast of 3 egg whites with a T of cheese and one slice of whole wheat toast. I’ll eat a handful of nuts, and take my multivitamin and flaxseed oil before I leave, then have a shake when I get home this afternoon. Today, I am determined to get this apartment clean. It’s driving me nuts–you know that feeling. More later…

I love my George Foreman grill. I just got the next ‘grilleration’ in grills off of e-bay. I can cook 3 chicken breasts in about 4-5 minutes–no joke! I cooks faster than my spinach! I have also made tuna steaks and salmon. Everything cooks so quickly. I cant wait to get the additional rilling plates that go with it. This morning was chest and shoulders. That went well. I felt pretty energetic. By the time I got home I was starving so I had a bowl of oatmeal. We went to Ikea today, and I saw a woman with the best butt. It was a really nice, round butt. I have always had posterior envy, because I wasn’t blessed in that way. But, thanks to the power of bodybuilding [sounds like an infomercial], I am now positive that I can push the barriers of my genetics and, at the very least, create a butt to be reckoned with.

We have been working frantically to open our charter school in September and we talked about dress codes for staff. Time to revamp the wardrobe and get a few new pieces to add to the old. I went shopping today and it wasn’t a bad experience. I now wear medium tops. My bottoms are 12’s instead of 14’s and I even got in some size 10 jeans. They were hee–eeella tight, but I was in ‘em. I figure ,by this December, I will definitely be in a 10 and setting some new goals. I have also decided to go through my closet and remove all of the 14’s and 16’s. No need to look back, I say.

This morning I had 45 minutes and  an hour was pushing it, so I decided to do legs. They weren’t sore or anything and figured I could work them again on Tuesday or Wednesday I did a bunch of lunges. Those seem to make my butt the most sore and I did three sets of leg extensions, cut the weight in half on the last set and tried to do as many as I could. I also worked my calves and hamstrings. On Tues./Weds. I was only able to get one set of hack squats in. I still need more practice on that one. By the time I left, my legs were like rubber. I think tomorrow will be a chest day. I am finding that working on the machines works for me, especially towards the middle of my time at the gym. I don’t have to worry about balancing weights so much and can focus on form and reps. The eating is going very well and I am even able to fit in some soy ice cream once in a while without breaking the bank calorie-wise. I am in my fourth month of my journey towards better health and I have to say, even with the ups and downs and frustrations, it has done so much for me personally to be able to focus on myself in this way. It is a sort of healthy obsession for me. I know that I will never sacrifice my health or body, again. Doesn’t matter how many babies I have, jobs I work, or schooling I do.

I weighed-in this morning ( usually around the same time) and the scale said 169.4. I got off and got on, again. And it still said 169.4. It is really an odd feeling. It’s almost like I don’t believe it or something. And I think that is because it is on the cusp and your usual daily fluctuation in weight. I haven’t seen the 160’s in years. But either way, I am going to celebrate with a big glass of water and try to enjoy my accomplishment. Last nights workout was short, maybe 30 minutes. I did my back and very little abs. I went in the evening and it was really crowded. I was doing my handing knee raises and this dude asked to work it. Of course, I say. I do a symbolic wiping of the equipment and went to do another ab machine until he was done with his set. Came back for my next set of hanging knees (and I was feeling pretty good because I had busted out 25) and the arm rest and back pads were wet. He didn’t wipe it off. I love my husband and I don’t revel in his sweat, what makes this guy think I want to slather my body with his? I was done after that. There was just too much going on at that point, anyway. I am, possibly, going to take today off to stretch and finish off the week strong.  

Here I am, at school, feeling determined about today’s eats and tonight’s workout. Tonight, I will run 4.5 miles. I am even visualizing it. I am looking forward to the challenge and what I eat today, I think, is going to either help or hinder me. I think that is making the decision not to go into the kitchen and tear up some pie a little easier. The little one, must be going through another growth spurt or something. She has decided that she doesn’t need sleep. How does this play out? She will go to bed and be in her room, wide awake and trying on clothes, until around 12 or 1 a.m. If she does manage to get to sleep earlier, she will wake up screaming 2-3 times during the night. That means interrupted sleep for me and Husband as we try to get to either assure her that she is in her room or tell her that she cannot sleep in our bed. All of this drama makes getting up at 5 a.m. a no go. So, I go in the evening. I have a late meeting tonight, so I won’t get to the gym until close to 9 or after I put Baby down. But that’s okay. I can end the evening with a protein shake which will take care of my sweet tooth. We finally have internet in our new building, so I can go back to logging my meals into my fitday. Over the next few weeks I really want to get super-focused. I can actually feel abdominal muscles now, I just can’t see them, yet. In time…

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 I am back from my workout. I only managed to run 3.5 and I walked for .5 miles after that. Not, what I wanted to do, but all my body could do. I ate very well today, completely clean–cottage cheese, broccoli, salmon, etc. (which probably explains the gas, now.) And right now, I am treating myself to a protein shake with skim milk (didn’t even water it down–oooh!),  lots of ice, and 1/2 of a banana. Eye on the prize, baby.