Shannon’s BodyBlog

My husband is on a job interview in Tampa today.  He left yesterday and will be back Saturday.  So I’m feeling single as in I can do what I want when I want:

Like, watch TV in bed at 1 a.m. when I wake up for no good reason like I always do instead of going on the computer so as not to disturb him.

I can rule over the remote control.

Jeez.  What else can I do now that I’m single for a day?   What do single people do nowadays?

Anyway, so he’s in Florida and he was told by his cousin yesterday to send a resume to a company in North Carolina so they can check him out.

I am DYING to move to a warm weather state.  We are warm weather people and do as many activities as possible during the summer.

In the winter, we hibernate and it can be maddening.  We don’t ski or snow mobile like everyone else does up here.  We tried out hands at skiing and I wasn’t too keen about kartwheeling down the hill the last time we went….which was when I was still in college and had to limp around campus to and from my classes…and parties.

We go from Winter to Summer here.  There’s no such thing as Spring.   And then Fall comes in September when the leaves start changing and it starts getting cold again.

So we basically have 3-4 months of decently warm/hot weather.

And it would be nice to get some outdoor exercising done instead of pedaling away in my basement on the elliptical.

We’ll see what happens!

Weight Training:  Bi’s, shoulders, calves

Cardio:  600

Breakfast:  1 whole egg, 4 egg whites (21g prot)
oatmeal (5g prot)
milk (4g prot)
coffee

Snack:  1 cup cottage cheese (28g prot)
pear

Lunch:  1 cup rice (6g prot)
1 can tuna (26g prot)
1/4 cup cottage cheese (7g prot)
Pregym:  protein shake

Postgym:  protein shake

Dinner:  1 cup pasta (6g prot)
shrimp (40g prot)

I like going into the "Women’s Room" at the gym where they have a leg curl machine that I really like.  It’s a smooth machine unlike the piece of cr*p they have out on the floor in the main area.

So I’m sitting in the room by myself when one of the gym staff brings in an older, overweight woman to give an overview of the equipment they have.  She looked to be in her 60’s, but knowing New Hampshire, she was probably in her 50’s.

She was asking if they had any recumbent bikes with hand pedals and he said no.  She looked disappointed.

The employee tells her that once she joins, she will have a session with a personal trainer to give her a tour of the gym and set up a program to start with.

He asked her if she had any health problems.

"I’ve had 3 heart attacks and I have to go to cardio rehab.  I also have osteoarthritis in both of my knees and my hips are bad.  I have to get one of them replaced."

I’m sitting on the leg curl machine….resting a little too long at this point because of my nosy nature….and I think to myself, ‘I hope whatever you’ve eaten and whatever exercise you never did is worth the trouble you’re going through now.’  Those were all ailments that come with overweight due to a sedentary lifestyle and a lousy diet.

And then I start pumping away on that damn leg curl machine and continued working my ASS off for the rest of my session at the gym!!

In other news, here is an overview of what I’m doing this month:

Weight Training (1.15 hour - 1.45 hour per session):

Monday:  Chest, Back and calves

Tuesday:  Shoulders, Arms and abs

Wednesday:  Legs

Thursday:  Chest, Back and abs

Friday:  Shoulders, Arms and calves

Saturday:  Legs and abs

Cardio:  7 days a week, 600 calories under 30 minutes

Diet:

Meal 1:  Protein (30g), whole grain, fruit

Meal 2:  Protein (30g), fruit

Meal 3:  Protein (40g), 1 cup vegetable, 1/2 cup whole grain or starch *leg day-1 cup

Pregym:  Protein shake (24g)

Postgym:  Protein shake (24g), banana or strawberries

Meal 6:  Protein (40g), 1 cup vegetable, salad

Meal 7:  Casein shake (24g)

Water:  1-1.5 gallons

The nice thing about my diet is that I don’t have to count calories.  The only thing I measure is my protein, so I weigh it out (except eggs) for every meal.  FYI, the grams next to the protein is how much of it I need for that meal, not how much it weighs.

Since the start of the month, I’ve lost 4 pounds.

Weight Training:  Chest, back, abs

Cardio:  600

Breakfast:  1 whole egg, 4 egg whites (21g prot)

oatmeal (5g prot)

milk (4g prot)

coffee

Snack:  cottage cheese (28g prot)

pear

Lunch:  shrimp (40g prot)

sweet potato

Pregym:  protein shake (24g prot)

Postgym:  protein shake (24g prot)

Snack:  cucumbers

Dinner:  grilled chicken salad (30g prot)

There are certain parts of me that I zone in on if they aren’t behaving the way I want.  One of those parts are my triceps.

For the longest time, they have been spongy to the touch and no matter how I worked them, they didn’t seem to develop much.

But I wasn’t about to let them off the hook.  Whenever Janthony would ask me which part of me I wasn’t happy with as it was time for him to plan a new workout for me, my triceps were always on the list.

So he would come up with great ways to really work them.
Over time, they ARE improving.  I saw they were growing a bit and now they feel a lot firmer when I touch them.

Instead of spongy, they’re more of a pinewood consistency.  Hard and solid, but still a bit on the soft side.  They would make a sturdy piece of furniture.
But that isn’t enough for me.  I don’t want sturdy pieces of furniture on my arms.  I want rock solid pieces of cold, hard granite.

I’m working the hell out of the suckers and showing them no mercy.
Eventually they’ll become hard as granite and in them I will carve:

R.I.P.

SPT (spongy puny triceps)

February 2, 1971 - (insert date here)

Weight Training:  legs

Cardio:  600

Breakfast:  2 whole eggs, 3 egg whites (23g prot)
oatmeal (5g prot)
blueberries

coffee

milk (4g prot)

Snack:  cottage cheese (28g prot)
pear

Lunch:  trout (40g prot)
basmati (6g prot)

Snack:  protein shake (24g prot)

Dinner:  grilled chicken salad (30g prot)
lf italian dressing

Snack:  casein shake (24g prot)

This morning I was awakened to three little munchkins jib jabbering about the leprechaun coming.

"Let’s see if the Leprechaun came."

"The Leprechaun came!!!  WOOHOOOOO!!"

"He left us chocolates!"

"The Leprechaun took the money!"

Background story:

Yesterday, my youngest son told me that he and his class built a leprechaun trap to leave in class and that maybe he’d leave them gold coins and candy.  My son was mostly hoping that the trap would capture the leprechaun himself.  He’s been working on earning a pet and a leprechaun would be the best pet ever!!

But my son got greedy and wanted to build a trap at home too.  I didn’t think of the ramifications at the time.

Later that night while I was cooking dinner, he and my daughter constructed a trap made of a Bodybuilding.com box and some green cellophane wrapping paper.

"Leprechauns LOVE green!"

They wrapped it inside and out using a whole damned bottle of Elmer’s glue!

Then they set the trap by propping the box up with a green notebook and a gold basketball trophy.

My kids all went to bed and now it was time for the leprechaun to come and trick ‘em!

The leprechaun couldn’t leave candy in a clean eating household because there was no junk food to leave.  Grrrrrr…..

No Sakajawea coins were laying around.  So no gold leave.  Grrrr……

ROCKS!  Leprechaun will leave them rocks as a trick for trying to trap him.

But all the mangy rocks in the house that were collected by the kids were tossed out.  Grrrrr…..

Aha!  Chocolates!

So I asked my husband where he hid my chocolates.  He said on his shelf in the closet.

"You’re kidding me!  I looked for them there one day and never found them."  Grrrr……

He said they were hidden in a shoebox on his shelf.

I got them down and put a few under the box, took the sh*tload of coins the kids left and called it a night.

Weight Training:  arms, shoulders, abs

Cardio:  600

Breakfast:  1 whole egg, 4 egg whites (21g prot)

oatmeal (5g prot)
blueberries

milk (4g prot)

coffee

Snack:  cottage cheese (28g prot)

pear

Lunch:  steak (40g prot?)

mushrooms

basmati rice

Pregym:  protein shake (24g prot)

Postgym:  protein shake (24g prot)

Snack:  almonds

Dinner:  trout (40g prot)

pasta (3g prot)

salad

Snack:  casein protein shake (24g prot)

Weight Training:  chest, back, calves

Cardio:  600
Breakfast:  oatmeal (5g prot)
1/2 cup blueberries

milk (4g prot)
cottage cheese (21g prot)
chamomile tea

Snack:  pear

1 whole egg, 4 egg whites(21g prot)
Lunch:  steak (40g prot)

sweet potato

Pregym:  protein shake (24g prot)

Postgym:  protein shake w/ milk (32g prot)

Dinner:  Steak (40g prot)

mushrooms

asparagus

Snack:  casein shake

Do this exercise every morning for a surgery-free face lift.  It may be short on pain and expense, but holy sh*t is it looooong on embarrassment.
(Yes, this is a legitimate video that she was selling back in the 80’s).

Cardio Session 1:  600

Cardio Session 2:  600

Breakfast:  cottage cheese (21g prot)

oatmeal (5g prot)

milk (4g prot)

Snack:  2 boca burgers (36g prot)

Postgym:  protein shake (24g prot)

Lunch:  2 whole eggs, 3 egg whites (22g prot)
sweet potato

cucumber

Snack:  lowfat cheese stick

almonds

Last June, my father had a heart attack and was scheduled for open heart surgery days after.  He missed out on witnessing his only son getting married because the surgery was performed the day after the wedding.

After his first heart attack about 14 years ago, when he was in his early 40’s, he quit smoking, got himself on the Dean Ornish diet, accompanied by my step mother, and lost a bunch of weight.

After they fell off the wagon big time.

Soon after, he had a second heart attack while my kids and I were on vacation with him several years ago.  My kids were babies and toddlers, so I would have my stepmother babysit at the beach house while I drove to the hospital to visit my dad.  And then she’d go for the rest of the visiting hours when I got back.

They never picked up a healthy lifestyle after that.

But now they’ve finally gotten on board.

My father has been going to cardiac rehab for months now and had been asking me about my gym routine and how often I go to the gym.

He saw my progress when I visited them a couple of months ago, commenting on how wide my shoulders had gotten.  He said I was doing a good job.

He has graduated to a higher intensity rehab program.  My stepmother is exercising at a pool at the Y and is seeing a personal trainer.

The last time they visited, I told her that as long as she enjoyed what she was doing and felt that she could keep up with it, the better her chances were to commit to exercising on a regular basis.

Now, my mother visited not too long ago and on our way back to my house from picking her up at the bus station, she was complaining how she wasn’t losing weight, she stopped going to the gym because she was getting discouraged and she was tired of being overweight.

Pretty much everytime I see her, she complains about her weight.

I asked how her diet was and she said she ate a lot of carbs.
I said if she kept her diet simple and ate clean with more protein intake, she would lose weight easier.

She got sarcastic with me and said "Oh REALLY?  Is THAT how you do it?"

I told her if she wasn’t willing to take the steps to take care of herself, then I didn’t want to hear any complaining from her.  It’s one thing to complain while sitting on your ass not doing anything about it and another to need support WHILE doing the work it takes.

I wanted to say the Jerry Maguire line, "Help ME help YOU."  LMAO.
She later asked me about what I was doing at the gym and said I was inspiring her to workout again.

I still don’t think she’s actually doing anything about it.  I’m sure she will one day.

But going through all of that with them makes me more determined to stick with what I’m doing and committing to it for a lifetime.  If I can help it, I don’t want my kids dealing with what I’ve been through with my own parents.

So, I’m being a rebel and not following my parents’ example.  I’m badass like that ;P

Weight Training:  arms, shoulders, calves

Cardio:  600

Breakfast:  cottage cheese (21g prot)

oatmeal (5g prot)

milk (4g prot)

Snack:  chicken (21g prot)

apple
Lunch:  Chicken on whole wheat (8g prot)

cauliflower

Postgym:  protein shake (24g prot)

Dinner:  flounder (40g prot)

sliced cucumber

salad

Snack:  casein shake (32g prot)

Sometimes I like cardio especially when life is hectic and crazy upstairs.  By that contrast, it makes cardio like the most relaxing way to get away from it all down in the basement.  I listen to my iPod while watching MTV with the volume turned off.  Thank gawd for that TV, otherwise I’m just staring at bare studs….as in what holds up the drywall…..not pinups of nekked men.

But man oh man last night, cardio was the last thing I wanted to be doing.   I worked out legs at the gym earlier in the day and I was WIPED OUT.
I got on that contraption (the elliptical) got everything set in motion, and pumped away at sh*t throttle.

What kept me on it was something I like to do in PRIVATE.

But as embarrassing as it is, I will share what I do in PRIVATE.

OK.  I pretend I’m an American Idol contestant and I lip sync to songs as though I were performing on the stage and my American Idol contestancy depended on me giving it my best performance to save me from elimination.

I picture the judges watching me as I sing my heart out to songs like:

Shake Your Tailfeather

Get Your Freak On

Untouched - The Veronicas

etc., etc., etc.

AHHHHH.  I’m a dork, so sue me.  I lose all track of time while I’m lip syncing away, and before I know I’ve gotten through a 600 calorie burn in under 30 minutes while it’s the last thing I want to be doing.

So whatever needs to be done to get me through a miserable time, it’s gonna get done, LOL.

Weight Training:  chest, back, abs

Cardio:  600

Diet:  Clean, but grazed throughout the day

Amysuds had written a blog about not drinking enough water and wondering if drinking a lot did indeed help with weight loss.

I commented that I need to drink more water too.

So she said we should go in it together and support each other in drinking a gallon a day.

Janthony wanted to join us, and I was happy to have him.   I told Amy and now the three of us are drinking water as a supportive group.

So get this.  I’m doing really good the first week, getting in my gallon.  It was hard to do because I’m not used to getting that much in.  But I got the hang of it.

I slacked on Saturday, but picked it up again on Sunday.

In the meantime, Janthony is telling me how he’s gotten in 1 1/2 gallons.  WOW.  Ok, he’s serious about this.

Amy tells me all that week that she is essentially struggling to get in a gallon (but she finished the gallon) because of her crazy schedule being a mom of 6 and then I don’t hear from her because she’s busy with being at the Arnold.  So it was a hectic week for her.
Monday rolls around and I mention doing this until her competition.  She replies saying we should increase soon.

She can’t mean increase the water, right?  Maybe she means increase the time frame?  So I ask just to clarify.

She confirms that she wants to increase the amount and asks what I think we should increase it by.

I tell her 1/2 gallon?

She says OK to that.

Janthony pulls out the big guns and says he drank 1 3/4 gallon yesterday.

And I’m thinking, the woman who is struggling to get in a gallon wants to increase the amount and the guy who is in this with us is wanting to royally kick our asses.

OK, let me get off this blog so I can pound down some water from my big ass cup.

Weight Training:  Legs

Cardio:  600

Breakfast:  1 whole egg, 4 egg whites jumbo eggs (24g prot)

oatmeal (5g prot)

milk (4g prot)

coffee

Snack:  1 cup cottage cheese (28g prot)

pineapple

Lunch:  Chicken, cucumber, hummus wrap (47g prot)

Postgym:  protein shake (24g prot)

Dinner:  Greek salad w/ chicken (40g prot)

1/3 slice pizza

Snack:  Casein shake (32g prot)

Water:  1 1/2 gallons