Wen73’s BodyBlog

For those seconds in our days in which we can’t seem to find that positive spark to illuminate to those surrounding us, remind ourselves just how fragile life really is.

1. A former high school classmate of mine (35 years old, father of four, wife to one, and a great asset to the field of science) recently passed away after having some dental work completed.  During his visit, he had a viral infection.  Somehow or another the procedures that were done then created infection in his blood stream which placed him in the hospital.  While in the hospital, he fell into the coma state, later to awake with no ability to speak.  His organs slowly began to shut down and he passed away.

2. A nearby neighbor (possibly early 40’s) went in for a bone marrow transplant.  During her hospital stay, she contracted a staph infection in her pic line (where the medicines are placed into the body) which lead to her death.  Leaving behind a husband, teenage daughter, and possibly one other child (I’m not real sure).

So, those moments in our lives, there are many, when we get aggravated, frustrated, angry, hostile, confrontational, pessimistic, or plain rude step back, take a breath or several and be grateful that you are still alive and well.

It really doesn’t take much in a day’s time to change a person’s or peoples’ live in an instance.  Just a little reminder of how important that one phone call, e-mail, text message, or get together with loved ones can be when only the memories are left.  I’ve always loved interacting with others.  I make certain that I keep in touch with friends all across the country that I don’t get to see very often as we all live far from each other.  To me, it’s important and I truly cherish each and every friendship.  I try very hard to let those around me know how grateful I am for them.

With much love, respect, and thankfulness to each of you who have blessed my life I want to say, "Thank you!  With each breath you take may you remember those less fortunate and never take for granted what you have."

Well, I decided that it was time to change things up a bit.  My upper body days were comprised of chest/back/shoulders/biceps/triceps and then followed by 30 minutes of cardio.  A couple of days ago I moved back/biceps to my leg day followed by cardio.  WOW, talk about a HUGE difference.  Once I finished the legs and portions of my upper body, I tried one of the preset programs on my treadmill.  I chose the 4.5 MPH course that takes you to an 8% incline through a 30 minute time frame.  I’ve not sweated as intensely as I did last night throughout my 4 months of training.  About time, LOL, I should have tried that much sooner.  Tonight was only cardio so I decided I’d go for the 5.0 MPH preset program that advances to a 10% incline and takes 40 minutes to complete.  Another great sweat session!!!!  LOL, yeah, and some girls can’t stand to sweat.  I welcomed every last bead that dropped down my face and even the sting that was felt on the side of my eyes every so often.  I’ll have to tell you that I preferred the 30 minute course much better.  So, after I do chest/shoulders/triceps tomorrow, I’ll repeat the 30 minute preset program.

40:00 minutes on treadmill

2.54 miles

439 calories

137 fat calories

=0)

Day 2
Cardio- 40 minutes on treadmill
2.29 miles
301 calories
94 fat calories

Breakfast- Oatmeal/5 raisins, 14 ozs water
Snack- 4 oz chicken with lemon pepper and flax seeds, 14 ozs water (The place I went didn’t sell Udos oil. I, too, had to look it up online to see what the heck it was.)
Lunch- grilled chicken salad, 14 ozs water
Snack- Protein Shake
Dinner
Snack

Day 3 Workout

Breakfast- Oatmeal/6 raisins, 14 ozs water
Snack- tuna, tomato, cucumber, flax seed, 14 ozs water
Lunch- grilled chicken salad, 14 ozs water
Snack- Granny Smith Apple, 2 rice cakes, 14 ozs water
Protein Shake

10 minute cardio on treadmill- .63 mile, 92.9 calories, 29 fat calories
Squats
12 X 10
OT Stretch
12 X 10
12 X 10

Floor Crunches X 12
Ab stretch
Floor Crunches X 20
Floor Crunches X 20

5 minute cool down on treadmill

Followed by 30 minutes cardio on treadmill
206 calories
64.6 fat calories
1.60 miles

Day 1

10 minute walk/jog

Inner Thigh

12 reps 3 lb weights followed by ITS
12 reps 3 lb weights followed by ITS
12 reps 3 lb weight followed by ITS
Repeated for opposite leg

Outer Thigh

12 X 3 followed by OTS
12 X 3 followed by OTS
12 X 3 followed by OTS
Repeat for opposite leg

Lying Leg Curl
12 X 40 lbs followed by HS
12 X 40 lbs followed by HS
12 X 40 lbs followed by HS

Shoulder Press with Dumbbells
12 X 5 followed by SS
12 X 5 followed by SS
12 X 5 followed by SS

Ball toss with Body Ball
12 X 6 lb medicine ball followed by AS
12 X 6 lb medicine ball followed by AS
12 X 6 lb medicine ball followed by AS

Prone Thumb Raises
12 X 2 followed by CS
12 X 2 followed by CS
12 X 2 followed by CS

5 minute cool down on treadmill

Breakfast- Oatmeal with 5 raisins, 14 ozs water
Snack- Tuna, tomato, cucumber, 14 ozs water
Lunch- Grilled chicken on salad, 16 ozs water
Snack- 1/2 lemon pepper chicken breast, 14 ozs water
Dinner- not yet
Snack- not yet

Didn’t end up getting in dinner or snack due to feeling nauseous (flu’s been in my house this week).  Praying that I don’t get it! Went to bed @ 6:30 P.M.  Feeling better this morning.  I’ve had my morning breakfast of oatmeal/5 raisins and 14 ozs of water.  On to Day 2!!

The last time I posted a blog on here I was very discouraged by my lack of progress.  Since then, I’ve turned things around!  I had tried eating every 3 hours, but it wasn’t working so well for me.  I know many think that where there’s a will there’s a way, and I agree to a certain extent.  However, with my line of work it wasn’t the best plan for me.  Plus, I was gaining weight which discouraged me, and I seriously doubt that much of that was muscle gain since my clothes weren’t fitting any differently (well, snug on occassion).  I was within .3 of a lb of hitting the 160 mark and that scared me.  That’s when I decided that I had to do something different.  For the entire week, I’ve drunk 68 ozs of water daily (please tell me that I won’t always have to go to the bathroom about 20 or more times a day due to this new habit) and I’ve gone back to tracking my food intake by using the WW’ers point system.  For the week I’m down 1.6 lbs because I didn’t readjust my weight chart on here to show me at 159.6 lbs due to feeling miserable and being so bloated.  I kid you not I was appearing to be about 2 months pregnant, ACK!  Thankfully, I got myself back on track which makes for a huge difference in how I’ve felt about myself this week.

I’ve even been able to run a mile twice this week without having to stop due to being short-winded.  That is a great feeling.  Not too sure if that’s due to staying hydrated or just because I wasn’t in a crappy mood when I was doing cardio.  Either way, it’s a nice accomplishment.  I took new pics last night and some this morning.  I’m making steady progress.  Much more to achieve, but feeling a lot better about my capabilities!!

Today marked my 9th week of mixing cardio/weights 6 days a week.  I reflected on the first 2 months of this journey and the typical person would have lost approximately 8 lbs if not more (averaging 1 lb per week) at this point.  No, not me.  I’m actually 1.6 lbs heavier than my starting weight.

I’ve read articles trying to figure out the right amount of calories to eat each day (fats, proteins, and carbs).  Depending on which formula one uses the numbers come back different each and every time.  How active are you?  What’s your age?  BF? How tall are you?  What’s your weight?

I ordered an electronic body fat reader a week ago this past Saturday on here.  It’s of course arrived.  I’ve used it several times trying to figure out which time of the day and which reading is most accurate.  That, too, is discouraging (30.4%).  My head tells me that my next step is to seek the help of a personal trainer.  Where to start?  What price range is reasonable?  How long will I need the continued help of a trainer?

How do you know when weight gain is muscle and not more fat?

I’ve known for many years now that eating is crucial to keeping a healthy metabolism.  Why do I struggle so much with fueling my body when it needs fueled?  I know what foods are good for me, which foods to stay away from, to balance each meal with a carb/protein, yet I’m still struggling to stay on track in regards to my eating.

I’m doing my cardio/weights faithfully.  It never fails that I can do one portion well, but totally lack in the other (exercise or nutrition).  I never seem to get them both aligned at the same time.  =0(  I’m even totally aware that the scale shouldn’t effect a person’s mentality because they’re not always accurate due to the time of day, etc…  I feel my muscles becoming tighter (especially in my legs, for some reason I’ve always had large muscles there even when everything else was flab, LOL), but dang it I need to see the numbers decreasing too.  It’s not really even a necessity that I get into the 120’s.  I’d be just as happy to see the 130’s again.

I’m sure there are others who’ve been there done that or are themselves struggling with the same issue.  I’m listening if you have advice.  Thanks!! =0)

I can’t believe that I’ve stuck with this new lifestyle for the past 6 weeks.  It’s not only my own motivation that has kept me on track, but also the support that I’ve received thus far on here from each of you who’ve been following my progress.  So, with that being said, "Thank you for believing in my strength to achieve."  A journey is never easy nor is it expected to be.  It’s a long, windy road, but one that I’m so proud that I’ve taken an interest in going along and reaping the benefits.

My nutrition has also taken a change for the better.  It’s an eye-opener to see how quickly the body can benefit from healthy choices.  I have noticed the change mostly in my abdomen.  It’s shrinking and much, much less bloated.  After yesterday’s crappy meal, I could definitely see how my body reacts to those choices as opposed to good choices.  I felt so fatigued and unmotivated.  It was an unpleasant feeling to say the least.

Today, it’s back on track!  Can I just say that I don’t know how much longer I can slide this cottage cheese down my throat?  I’ve written down so many BFL recipes that contain it. Maybe it’ll taste better mixed with other ingredients =0)!  Even this skim milk tastes better than the A&W rootbeer I had yesterday.  Go taste buds, LOL!

I wanted to go about doing my cardio differently today.  I could tell on Tuesday’s workout that I was getting stronger and more capable of running longer stints on my treadmill.  I began with my usual 5 minute warm-up and rather than doing the increments for HIIT I decided to set my MPH to 4.1 and jog.  That’s a pretty comfortable speed for me and my goal was to completely run the one mile without having to lower my speed and walk.  WELL, I accomplished it!  WOOHOO!!!  After running the full 14 minutes and some odd seconds, I went back to my cool down at 3.0 MPH.

Oh me!  These tools really are great when they’re used.  I should use it more often I suppose.  I look at my goal and ask myself, "Why do I always make my goals so big?"  I look at the amount of weight I’d like to lose and cringe because it seems so far away.  Taking baby steps and working at 5 lb increments works so much better.  I didn’t begin weight training to become any bigger because I already hated my thighs to begin with.  I’ll attribute the growth to my lack of willpower to sitting down and eating correctly.  But no longer will that be my excuse because no one other than myself can make those nutritional changes.  So, here’s to grocery shopping tomorrow, meal planning, at eating more frequently.  This can be done!