afort012’s BodyBlog

Because my schools gym scale was broken, I havnt been able to find out if my new dietary cuts where taking effect. Well to my surprise I stepped on my scale at the gym at home and I was 140.4… i almost died right there! and its tuesday! my lowest weight is usually thursday! I could hit it this weekend! I feel so full these days but it was amazing to see those results!! Makes giving up those little things that much more worth it! Plus it just sounds better when you tell ppl you lost over 31lbs opposed to 29lbs haha Life is good right now! Just gotta keep it up!

As much as I love my friends and they want the magic cure overnight, or tell me how good theyve been eating…we all know they lack. It just kills me to have to sit there and be all like "yeah good for you, you ate great for 2 days without eating those chips that you had today" or "tomorrows a new day, don’t worry about it". Eating out with friends, you just can’t help but observe their selection from the menu. My pregnant cousin is a super clean eater her and I had the same meal, she had only one half of the whole bun with the grilled chicken breast with balsamic dressing on the side (i had french) she had he water I had the diet coke, where our friend was pounding back grilled shrimp in butter and blackened chicken breast in a cream sauce. I remember that same friend telling me she would go through those big bags… the 11$ bags of mini eggs in a few days. I have another friend who ate Harveys right before bed, the fries the cheeseburger… i know its one of the better cooked burgers but still… Before I go out any where I make it a priority to scope out the nutritional guides online to remind myself what i could potentially do to myself … waste all that hard work on a few minutes of faded glory. I hate that they think i make them feel bad, but eating what they do makes me look bad and will  ultimately make me unhealthy. But really it kills me the excuses they give and the time i waste explaining myself to them. A friend of mines bf recently told her she was getting fat, yes she has put on a few pounds in the few years ive known her and she knows it and she is fully aware of what she needs to do to get rid of it… but she chooses not to… BUT HOW DO YOU SIT THERE AND LIE THROUH YOUR TEETH SAYING "OMG youre so not fat! He’s delusional!" she knows i know it… but she wants my validation… i honestly cant give it to her… but to protect her self concept and image i lie.

with 22 days remaining and 3lbs to go, i have decided to make necessary cuts at this time which should help me get there. I carb cycle, and on higher carb days I used to eat kashi go lean crunch.. but im now taking it out sticking it to my oatmeal everyday of the week, i like to add in 1/3 cup egg whites, 1/3 scoop vanilla protein and 1/4tsp of pumpkin spice… its very good! Other than my 1/2 cup serving of fruit with my oatmeal and my 1/2 grapefruit after my workout i will be cutting out fruit and replacing those simple carbs later in the day with sweet potatoes for complex carbs. Also cutting out dairy except for my 1/2 cup cottage cheese after my workout and my allegro cheese which is 1g of carbs per serving and 1g of fat per serving. Also replacing my 4th meal of the day (usually a shake with 1/2 cup kefir) with a lean cut of meat and steamed veggies so i can get real nutritional food in me vs the shake. Finally… i am cutting out diet soda that i drink on higher carb days and will no longer be drinking crystal light either. From now til July 1st i plan on h2o with lemon slices from here on out. I feel these changes alone can make a world of difference.

I’ll be honest i just ran my ass off on tuesday and wednesday to make up for missing on monday cause the guy at the gym lied to me and said they’d be open monday, he clearly didnt know it was a holiday! hahha Anyway Im kinda in pain but im back to 45 min runs vs. those 60 mins runs… who knew i could run 11 kms in an hour haha This new weight is awesome cause now I can start and see changes to my mid section…which is my goal… i dont think 3.4lbs which is my goal will make the abs that i’d like to appear but its at least a goal i set for myself to attain by July 1st. I carb cycle, which is awesome and stops me from intense cravings cause higher carb days are amazing! I don’t binge or over eat i just allow myself to indulge in a little more fruit and so on. My meals on low carb days are nothing to get to excited over.. very bland but im getting used to it and its starting not to bother me at all. Changed the back routine a little, as well as changed inner thigh routine a little which i am already seeing a nice little space between thighs! I’m glad that after a year of clean eating, and with living on my own while doing 2 summer classes without any roomates… or really lack of life right now hahah i can focus on my diet without worrying about influences of others! I don’t have an ideal weight i just would like abs! hahah

After an intense weight gain over the holidays (ie not eating clean for 3 weeks due to jamaica, xmas, birthday, new years and other going out events) I am back to my pre-holidayness! I personally think it was needed, because I can control my eating habits that much more now and losing the weight was like the original thrill of losing weight. Yo-yoing back and forth every week because of weekend damage (ie parties and late night food cravigns after that hhaha) I’m able to deal with it now. I gained like 10lbs and felt like CRAP…eating clean makes you feel so good about yourself! I’m constantly making new recipes and trying new things to keep me happy and satisfied with food and not have to worry about the wrong foods. My mom and I spent over 130$ on organic/healthy foods in the states that we dont have here and you know what Americans… your options are amazing for lower-calorie/fat free options… OLIVE OIL PAM… we dont have that luxery. What a great invention! Organics and sugar free options… I was like a kid in a candy store. And a serving of Kefir had like 14g of protein vs the 5gs we get….I was so excited for our purchases.

I also couldn’t understand with all these healthier options or even like the lower fat cookie or whatever of oreos lets say why america is 60% overweight… the options are there… why doesnt the population choose it? Not to say that l-f oreos are the answer ahah but honestly, I’m a student and you know what…. I thought I was going to be in trouble financially this school year and you know what, clean eating and reducing the amounts of times I go out (either out to the bar or to a restaurant) I’m not begging my dad to do my taxes ASAP. I would rather spend my money on good wholesome foods then something else so I budgeted for the clean eating lifestyle. I mean the most expensive is meat cuts but you learn to buy in bulk and fruits and vegies are cents… they dont break the bank at all. Sure organics are a little more pricy but that Ezekiel bread at 5$ a loaf is worth budgetting for me!

Over the last 6 months I am constantly giving advice on something, wether it be nutrition or fitness, people are always asking me questions. Some of my friends have succeded others you could only hope… My old personal trainer has given me a column on her soon to be website dedicated to uni students which is a great oppurtunity for me! I was interviewed for another University’s Newpaper about clean eating too. And somehow the creator of the Eat-Clean Diet on facebook as made me the only other admin hahah. Even my DENTAL hygenist kept me in the chair for an extra 15 mins to ask me questions. Kinda hard with the tools in the mouth hahah.

I’ve made changes to my routine with the aid of the eat clean diet workout but more so with Arnolds Encyclopedia… thats right I READ IT ALL hahah it took precidence over school readings! I learned so much from it and things I had been doing wrong I could correct them. Ive incorporated new things, kept some old, increased my endurance on the tread… life is good right now.

I’m looking forward to my month and a half of just school for 12 hours a week from May-June. I’ll be living alone (no bad foods can attack me from roomates cupboards!!) no one to be like LETS GO OUT TONIGHT! I can totally focus and I’m excited to reach my next goal at 140!

So last week I was having a tough week. I couldn’t understand why I couldn’t budge. Felt like crap because I was just doing all the nutrition part right which is usually the biggest factor for me. Luckly, through it all I went to Lululemon and I bought my first pair of size 6 pants and this is amazing considering I was once a size 12 there! Some random 40ish old male that worked there was like "WOW, thats all I have to say, and this face hunny doesn’t lie" haha it was too funny but it was nice after a crappy week. The girl that was helping me was awesome too. When I told her all my stuff was too big since I’d lost over 20lbs she was like what’s your secret? I told her, its what I tell everyone, eating clean. It’s dedication, it’s getting up at 7:30AM everyday even if your class isn’t til 10, and eating every 3 hours. Of course, most gals my age are fond of sleeping in. But after scientifically after a certain age we are to become morning larks and I’m there haha my night owl days are over! Yesterday, a girl in my group project told me "you’re so healthy, I’m all about McDonalds and junk food" these comments are nice but they kill me when a girl who has barely any fat on her can eat anything and look so good. I wasn’t blessed with that gene. Another guy in my Spanish class said "you’re all about health eh? You go to the gym, you eat healthy…" I must say all this stuff helps dramatically in Motivation, because you constantly have to be motivated and dedicated. AS FOR TRAINING: Anyway I have discovered that all last week I would run for 30 then stepper for 15, but let me tell you stepper just doesn’t do it for me anymore but at school you have to sign up in 15 min intervals so you never really get 45 mins. Anyway my point is I did that all last week and really wasnt anywhere. Its wednesday and it took me 3 days to get where it took me 6 days last week. So, I solved that problem. I hate the fact I have to use the treadmill because its so boring and I’d rather be running 7.5kms outside where it is scenic… but I live in Canada and its starting to get chilly and I can’t breathe properly out there!! Study break’s over… I must exercise my brain!

Being at school has definetly had an effect on my weight loss. I pretty much am hovering anywhere from 147-151 and I can’t drop! I wake up at the sime time everyday so my body can be in constant routine with eating every 3 hours and its not a point of training… believe me I have been training for just over 5 years now… I have no problem getting my ass in gear and getting out there everyday! I am one of those people where everything that goes in to my mouth is key and when I say everything I mean EVERYTHING!! haha its frustrating but being back here is hard because theres always a housemate trying to make fun of something I do… weither it’s the every 3 hours of eating, the fact that I refuse to go out to the bar this thursday because its a weekday (I only cheat on weekends haha) or the fact that when I go to Bulk Barn to pick up litterally like 4 rieces pieces, 2 pieces of candy corn to satisfy a craving as I said they just think its funny! Regardless, I’m on Porterfield’s meal plan right now for leaning out because I’m going away down south for X-mas and I wanna look my best! Because my goal is abs, I started that routine that was featured last week on the main page and let me tell you my abs have never hurt so much! In the end I hope to achieve this goal of mine… I’m trying and I believe that’s what counts.

So I am back at school, six hours away from home where I no longer have a mother to grill my chicken haha just kidding I have been grilling it while I’m up here for 4 yrs now! So I know I’ve been a bad girl but not too bad. Miami was full of alcohol (for some reason I look 21 in Miami?!) haha But I made sure to at least work out everyday. Now back at school, already went out to Red lobster (that was bad), but like i’ve said in previous blogs no one forces the food down my throat and I am willing to pay for my consequences. It is frosh week and hey I am only young once. I am not going to get down on myself because I know how to eat properly and I have been eating pretty well during the day, in fact I ate clean all day today … with the risk of alcohol later … we shall see. I went to the gym today and lets just say I’ve always been more selfconcious at my school gym, so I had the baggy shorts thing going on, well today I just continued to wear my lululemons as per usual like I would at home and I swear I saw some guy do a double take through the mirror… it was too funny. But it was great for my self confidence since I’m used to being all shy there. Another thing I noticed are just all tiny girls around… I mean in the past I’ve seen maybe i’ll say 5 who have deep muscle/toning, so its always something to see their expressions toward me because I have a weights routine and I am willing to battle it out with the football team in the free weights section hahah. But I did miss that gym and have to get settled with the right amount of weights on these machines. Everywhere’s a little different! Monday my life will become a new routine with classes and such but I’ve already planned meals out and written out when I should be eating everyday. I plan to get up at the same time everyday even when I could sleep in, but I’d rather be in a routine… I am very routined. A lot of people do ask about my training, and to be honest, no one needs to worry about that… I am at the gym 5 days a week and jogging the other 2 days… I am very disciplined when it comes to the gym. I have been since I was 15 hahah I am just one of those people that needs to focus on eating properly and after losing over 20 lbs this summer you have no idea how bad I want to see what my body will become. So as of monday I will be back at eating clean as I have been doing all summer and I am ready to put the booze aside and just giv’er! Hopefully by the holidays I will be where I’d like to be!

I’ll be honest… this isn’t going to be the cleanest of weeks since I’m going to Miami tomorrow morning until wednesday. I eat clean mon-fri and cheat usually dinner or late evening as I am a 20 yr old who likes the occasional alcholic beverage with her friends every now and then. I still cardio on weekends but the eating is whats so very important. Fortunately I am lucky enough to lose my weekend gains by at least wednesday and by friday dip lower then the previous friday. My last trip to boston was great, i ate pretty decently considering it was vacation (oh and I can’t drink in the states yet haha so it helps!) and considering my mother and I split a different slice of cheesecake everyday (so thats 3 different types from the cheesecake factory … I know its bad but I live in Canada and we dont have them here so its not like im there all the time hahah this is usually a few times a year) but I blame no one for indulging in my cravings because no one is forcing this delicious yet horrible food down my throat, i do it myself and am willing to face the consequences. I pulled a quad muscle this week so I havnt been pushing for regular cardio until it heals which should be soon but i’d rather take it easy then damage it more and prolong better results. I will be at the hotel gym everyday so I am not worried about working out… because it does help but its the eating that counts more then anything! On top of this miami business cutting into my eating clean time, I go back up to school on friday… which is the weekend, and lets be honest there will be booze awaiting me upon my return! So All in all the point of this entire post was that I figure I will not be weighing in until about the 14th just because I know the damage of this week is going to affect my goals but I rather not know how bad the damage is hahah I know it will be bad but I can promise you that after this week I will be back on track and determined to acheive my next goal which is abs hahah! So please be patient and I promise that you guys will see nothing but good things from me in the future!!!

I figure its time that I wrote a little something! Its been a great three months both to myself in nutrition as well as in trainning. Although I can’t say that my weights routine has changed that much but I went from 30 mins cardio and dying at 15mins of 1.5miles of running to being able to run 6.4miles in an hour on the tread. I’ve challenged my body outdoors as well since I will be doing a 5km run with my mom for the run for the cure at the end of next month. I can run 8kms outside and could probably do more… but cardio and gym workouts are so time consuming! an hour and 45mins a day, 4 or 5 days a week and at least 45 mins of cardio for the other 2 days is more than enough for me! I’m back at high school weight yet never looked this good back then! I have toned muscles and I am so proud of my legs and quads that I don’t even care if the men at the gym think its gross or hot!! I love them and thats what matters! My original goal for the summer was of course to look my best and I have attained that goal! I also wanted to be able to wear a bikini to the beach for the first time in my life… which I have also done! I have done really well with eating properly, which just goes to show its what needs to be done to lose fat! I always knew I had toned muscles under the fat and now the world can see them with some definition! My next goal is to keep this routine up (more so in nutrition) when I return to school in a few weeks. I hope that I can continue to eat clean during the week and continue to indulge a little on the weekends without the influence of whatever else my housemates might be eating haha. But I think I’m so determined at this point to see my abs… because its one of the only muscles left that i’d like to see at least some definition on, thus I will keep up the hard work! I’ve had people shove cake, alcohol, Tim Hortons in my face, on a weekday and have been able to resist or hold out on my cravings until the end of the week. So I think I will be ok! Wish me luck in seeing a toned stomach sometime in the future!