SpinCycler’s BodyBlog

Tomorrow is the four week mark until my goal deadline (I am hoping to have shed about 5 pounds of fat by Nov. 27, putting me around 115 lbs, and about 1/4 to 1/2 inch loss on the waist, thighs and hips), meaning it is coming down to the wire on my fitness goals. I get so disturbed by the scale, I am not weighing over the next month. It makes me too freaking crazy.
I am really focusing on proper nutrition, my cardiovascular strength, and maintaining muscle mass that I worked so hard for during a 4-week bulk (I know I will loose some of it, but hope to hold onto most of it). My main obstacle has been getting ahead of myself. For example, I am already starting to plan another bulk phase in my head.

However, that can get me off track as I am always looking to the future. I start rationalizing and telling myself one cookie won’t hurt and the next thing you know I have had 10. So I am really focusing on the moment, and trying to take it one day at a time. Today it seems as though I took it one hour at a time, but I know it will all be worth it. (I.E. It will be worth watching people eat Halloween candy all week). So for today, I got a short but quality cardio session in and stayed in the 1200-1400 calorie range. GO ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It has been helping me to post what I am consuming and what effort I have put towards my goals, so I am going to keep it up.

7 a.m. 1 whole egg, 2 egg whites, 1/4 cup low fat cheese, 2 cherry tomatoes (200 cal)
8:15 a.m.-9:30 a.m. Interval training on the treadmill (-400)

10 a.m. sweet potato quesadillas and a Zone bar (700)

** Too much food I know, will make an improvement here, I am trying to do carbs at lunch only after my workouts  **
1 p.m.  salad with little extra virgin olive oil, tomatoes, olives, and tbsp grated parmesan cheese (150)
4 p.m. low carb protein shake (100)

7 p.m. grilled chicken salad no dressing (300)

Calories consumed: 1450

Calories burned: 400

I have been really working hard on my nutrition as working out is not the problem. Here is today’s schedule…

8:30 a.m. spelt toast w/ low sugar jelly, one pat of butter, 1 egg scrambled and pinch of low fat cheese (350 cal)

9-10 a.m. weight lifting major muscle groups (-150 cal)
10-11 a.m. 40 mins treadmill 10 mins elliptical and 10 mins stretching (-250 cal)

11:30 a.m. 4 oz. extra lean turkey meatloaf with barbecue sauce, one and a half cup baked veggies (eggplant, peppers and potatoes) with a tablespoon grated parmesan cheese (450 cal)
3:30 p.m. vanilla (dessert protein), blueberry and strawberry protein shake (200 cal)

6:30 p.m. 5 oz. redfish and large salad with tomatoes, olives, teaspoon extra virgin olive oil (300 calories)

Total calories: 1300

Calories burned: 400

It is exactly 5 weeks until my birthday, which means I have five weeks to really get the most out of my body. I am continuing the plan that requires jogging 75 minutes a day, 6 days a week, and two heavy, one-hour lifting sessions. I am consuming about 1200-1400 calories on the week days and 1400-1600 on the weekends.

So far I have done really well except for a cheat meal on Saturday. I am going to try to make it two more weeks w/o another cheat meal when my sister-in-law and her husband come to visit. I am really feeling confident about this plan.

Ya’ll know to keep getting results you have to keep switching it up. My trainer and I had a heart to heart today to develop a new plan of action. For the next month I will….

Jog every morning for 75 minutes, 6 days a week, and keep my calorie intake between 1200-1400 on the weekdays and 1400-1600 on the weekend. We will do heavy, hardcore weights for two hours a week. The goal is to look HOT on my 27th birthday, which is Nov. 27. I am pumped for my new challenge and want to enter a 10K so I have a goal to complete. So PLEASE send me some positive vibes!!! I need the motivation.

After I slim down, I might go back to the bulking phase to add some more muscle. It just depends how much muscle you can see when I shed the remaining fat. I guess I will cross that bridge when I come to it.

We’ve all done it. Sitting there beating ourselves up, having an internal battle in the brain, because we are not perfect. No one is…so on Sunday when I had one of those days where I started to go over all the bad things I had done, I decided instead to go over the good things I have done in the past 7 days. So here is me patting myself on the back. Look at what I did last week…

Monday: I ran four miles and limited my calorie intake to 1300 calories.
Tuesday: I lifted for an hour/ walked for 20 minutes and limited my calorie intake to 1450 calories.

Wednesday: I road my bike for an hour and limited my calories to 1700.

Thursday: I lifted for an hour, did 60 mins of intense cardio and limited my calories to 1500.

Friday: I put in 2 hours of cardio (running and teaching a cycling class) and limited my calorie intake to 1800.

Saturday: I put in 45 mins of cardio and 35 mins of weight training and limited my calorie intake to 1400.

Sunday: I woke up feeling beat up and sore, and it felt good. I had two cookies and yogurt covered raisins… I deserved it and did not feel guilty.

So in sum, I rock and will not beat myself up anymore. Most people would not have worked out that much in a month.

Today I am starting anew as I do every Monday (you guys know exactly what I am talking about) . I am not giving in to the voice in my head that tells me I am not good enough. I am god enough, and I am always improving.

I have been bullshitting myself about my workouts. I don’t care who I inconvenience, I am now serious about loosing the last bit of fat needed to make my muscles pop. Whatever it takes, I’ll do it. I am trying to tell my self that getting out of my confort zone is what is going to work for me. Enough of what my significant other is putting into his body. It’s my body and I am in charge.

Today I have 90 mins of cardio and 30 mins conditioning. I will burn 800 calories and consume about 1200. No carbs after lunch time. This is serious business. I want to look like a badass on my 27th birthday which is about 6 weeks away. 

Taking it one day at a time. Today I lifted for an hour, got in 100 min. of cardio (elliptical and jogging), and 25 min. of lunches and ab work. That means I burned about 800 calories. I ate clean and consumed about 1600 calories. I feel great.

I am so happy with my results after 4 weeks of bulking (7 pounds of weight gain) followed by 8 weeks of the cutting phase, where I dropped 7 pounds of fat. What a great trade!!!!

My body fat has lowered significantly and I feel and look better than ever. But, I want to take it to another level. Starting Oct. 8 (after a weekend off), I will start my second cutting phase, with better planned nutrition and more intense cardio. I am aiming to reach my perfect weight (116) but continue to keep the muscle I do have. I am hoping to reach this goal by Oct. 29.

I will allow myself one cheat meal per week, lift weights 3 days per week , and run 3 days and cycle the fourth day. I plan to add the fat loss pills back into my routine as well as the protein shakes as meal replacements.
Let me stress that I love my current body. I just know it could be even better!! Now that’s motivation.