Anne Marie’s BodyBlog

I hope everyone had a wonderful and exciting 4th of July weekend. I, on the otherhand, stayed pretty low key this weekend. Usually it would have been an entire weekend of all out eatting and drinking binge, but not this year. I had off work on Friday and literally felt like s*#t most of the day. I woke up with a stomach ache and although I know I should have ate something to fuel my body, I chose the latter. I didn’t want to eat because I didn’t want to vomit. I’m actually afraid to vomit. Although I know one usually feels better after getting it out of their system, I hate the entire feeling of the act itself.

My friend text me to let me know he was on his way. We had plans to work out together. And to top it off it was leg day. I figured I better try and get rid of this stomach thing so I can get my workout in for the day. I dragged myself out of bed and washed down some Tums with water. Oddly enough, my son, who is 7 years old, told me that his stomach hurt too after I had said something about my stomach hurting. I figured he was just playing the role at first, but later that afternoon he vomitted all over the kitchen floor. Yuck! Thank goodness my friend was there to help me clean it up cause one wiff of the smell would have had me blowing chunks too!

Thankfully, my son was back to normal and feeling much better after that. Me, on the otherhand, I was still a little queasy. I had a protein shake and little microwave pepper steak and rice meal, probably not the best thing, but I had to get something in my stomach fast if we were going to work out. The idea was that I would hopefully feel better if I ate something. I did feel a little better, but mildly queasy still.

Shortly after eatting, we went to the gym and although I was not at 100%, I rocked out squats and deadlifts like a champ! Good thing cause my energy levels started to deteriorate from then on. I hadn’t eatten enough to fuel my workout. I finished my workout with every last bit of energy I had. We had about another half hour left cause the gym was closing early due to the holiday. I attempted to try and see if I could get a little cardio in while I waited for my friend to finish his workout. I got about 3 mins on the ellyptical and I was done. I had no more energy to exert. I slowly walked over to the aerobics area, grabbed a mat and sprawled out on my back like a piece of road kill. I literally felt like I was run over by a mack truck!

We got back to my house and I was still feeling a little nauseous and I didn’t eat anything. My friend continued to eat on schedule as usual, but I couldn’t. The thought of eatting made me feel worse. So we got our showers in and sat down to watch a movie. Later that evening I made some chicken & broccolli because I was hungry and I knew I needed to try and eat something. I got about two bites and I couldn’t eat no more.

Although the loud sounds of fireworks and music filled the air outside my window, I had no problem getting to sleep that night. Afterall, I was running on empty.

I pretty much felt nauseous all weekend. Just about everything I ate made me feel queasy. I was eatting Tums like they were candy. Needless to say I didn’t eat much food this weekend.

I’m still a little queasy today. Trying to get back on schedule with my meals, but taking it slow. I don’t want my metabolism to slow.

I wish I knew what is wrong. I don’t know if I just had a little stomach flu? Maybe food poisoning? Gastritis? I just hate the feeling of not being able to put forth my full effort.

Been goin steady and hard at the gym…increasing the intensity…feelin the burn…and luvin it! But…had to force myself to take a break from the gym yesterday…my body told me so. It was hard to stay away…I think I am literally addicted to the gym…it’s like crack…yup, imma a gym "junkie"…lol…naw, I think it’s because I’m so motivated and dedicated to my goals…I almost feel guilty…as if I’m "cheating"…I just gotta keep telling myself that is not the case…that my body needs rest to repair and rebuild and progress. I feel good today…so back to the gym I go! Yeah! Let’s get it! :0)

Wow! I kicked butt in the gym last night! Leg day…my fav! Increased the weight because I felt I was hitting a bit of a plateau…I went heavy and hard and I’m definitely feelin it today…feels oh so good! Changes are happening and others are noticing. It’s easier for others to notice your changes…maybe it’s because I see myself every day and appear (to myself) the same. I will take pics soon…maybe it will be easier for me to see then. All day yesterday, people noticed my changes. I had someone at work tell me I was losing weight. One of the gym attendants who usually just sees me from the shoulders up when he scans my card (yeah…I’m short) came from behind the counter and looked at me in amazement and said I was "gettin skinny"…I’m hardly "skinny", but I knew what he meant and it felt good to hear. Later that evening, another gym attendant came up to me and asked me if I was training for something because he sees me at the gym all the time and noticed dedicated I am and how hard I work while I’m there. Aaaawww…yes…another warm fuzzy. Nothing like others noticing your changes to keep you motivated.

Yeah! It’s Friday! I thought it would never get here! The day started off kinda rough…I was late to work AGAIN today…all because Grampa Dumkoff was driving 2 miles an hour in the fast lane! WTF! Grrrrr! Move the f*#k out my way! :-@ I hate that…it always happens when I’m in a hurry! To top it off…the day is rainy…cloudy…overcast…blah! Oh well…imma brush my shoulders off and keep it movin…hopefully the weekend will be much brighter! ;0)

Speaking of weekend…Julie Palmer’s Showdown tomorrow…can’t wait…got my directions ready…not really feelin the almost 3 hour drive…but hell…it will be well worth it I’m sure! :0D

I am soooo glad tomorrow is Friday! Even though this week was shorter due to the holiday…it seemingly has been the longest week ever!!!

I am so stoked about this upcoming weekend. I’m going to see Julie Palmer’s Ultimate Bodybuilding, Fitness & Figure Showdown on Saturday in Toledo. I want to eventually compete, but I have never seen an actual show. I did go to the Arnold in March, but I didn’t get to see any shows. I’m so excited, this is my first! Nothing like an event or show to keep you motivated. The Arnold was fantastic…strong, beautiful, fit bodies all in one place…now that’s the shit!

I just finished my 2nd meal of the day…4 egg whites and slice of plain w/w toast. Been trying to stay consistent with eatting more often…every 2-3 hrs to keep my metabolism burning. Although it seems to be a simple task…it’s quite difficult…there have been times where I literally forgot to eat…sounds crazy…but true. I’m proud to say I have been doing well thus far. Preparation is key. I need to work on preparing the night before instead of throwing things together in the midst of my morning chaos.

I’ve been training late evenings…hittin it hard in the gym…by the time I get home and take a shower…I just want to go to bed. Sleeping can be difficult at times too…sometimes I am so exhausted I can go right to sleep…other times I am tired but I can’t sleep at all…gggrrrr…that is so frustrating cause I have to drag my ass out of bed to get ready for work in the early morning.

I’ve also been trying to implement more cardio into my workouts or whenever I can to accelerate my fat loss. I have a pretty good muscle base, but it’s covered up with layers of fat tissue! I’ve been wanting to get up in the morning and go for a quick run like I used to but that has been a greater challenge than I had hoped. Getting home late…getting to sleep late…yeah…I’m really not wanting to get up any earlier than I have to…

Since I haven’t been able to get cardio done in the morning…I’ve been doing about 20 mins during my lunch hour and in between exercises when I weight train. Its not a whole lot, but it works for me.

Every month my office provides a "treat" to celebrate all the staff birthdays for that month. Cake is usually the "treat" but this time it was cup cakes!!! Aaaahhhh! What are they doing to me??!! I know they are both cake, but there is something different about a cup cake. Needless to say, I over indulged. Granted, I have been doing pretty well the past few weeks with my diet and to be honest I wasn’t even hungry or overly tempted to eat those cup cakes…I just did it! No apparent reason really…just that they I could. Is that crazy or what? Well, I’m not going to sit here and beat myself up about it…it’s done and over with…imma keep it movin’!

Following my "Fat Tueday" morning sabatoge yesterday…I made a vow to take control and finished the evening off yesterday successfully…no binge fest last night! Woohoo!

I’m off to a good start this morning with my first meal…my challenge is to get through the rest of the day and night with 6 small healthy meals.

I know I can do it.

“Would you like me to give you a formula for success? It’s quite simple, really. Double your rate of failure. You are thinking of failure as the enemy of success. But it isn’t at all. You can be discouraged by failure or you can learn from it, So go ahead and make mistakes. Make all you can. Because remember that’s where you will find success.”
– Thomas J. Watson

It’s day two of my diet plan and I have been making a point to prepare my food so I can stick to my plan…I believe I did pretty well all day yesterday…that is…until that evening. I was good until me and the kiddos got back from the library about 9pm…I put some chicken breasts and turkey meatballs that I had prepared in the oven to cook. Shortly after I got the kids in their beds, the binge-fest began! OMG! What have I done?! If I could, I would have kicked myself in the a$$! Why am I so weak?? Night time is so hard for me because I’m so used to getting home from work and eatting late. I need to figure a solution to my late-night cravings. All the crap (i.e. chips, cookies, etc.) in the house is there for my kids, although, they shouldn’t be eatting that s@#t either. I need to get rid of it all or be more self-disciplined.

Just as I tell myself I will use last night’s binge-fest as a learning experience, I arrive at work this morning and I’m greeted with an email ironically titled "Celebrating February Birthdays and Fat Tuesday"…announcing that a white almond cake with chocolate butter cream icing is in the kitchen. OMG! What are they trying to do to me??? Am I being tested?? Is there a "fat cam" somewhere and I can’t see it??? Luckily, cake doesn’t really spark my taste buds, but a spicy southwest dip definitely does it for me! Of course, my weakness sets in and I’m dipping two, three, four wheat thin crackers into this fat-laden dip that was oh so good and oh so bad for me…I lost count on the tenth cracker or so…

Woohoo! I was ecstatic to get back in the gym today after a long time being out! My frustration, however, comes from being pressed for time. One of the only free times I have to workout is during my lunch hour at work. The gym is close to my job, but by the time I leave work, drive over to the gym, change into my gym clothes, I’m already about 15-20 minutes into my lunch hour!! I might have maybe 30 minutes, if that, to work out, then I have to leave at least 15 minutes early so I can rush back to work! Aaaaahhh…it’s so frustrating because I feel so rushed and it makes it hard to really focus like I want. Not to mention…I feel like I’m not doing enough! Today I did biceps and back. I got about three biceps excercises in and only one back exercise! I had a workout plan, but not enough time! I’ve been out for a while, so I definitely need to do some tweaking to my workout. I guess a little is better than nothing at all, right? Well, all I know is I have to figure out how to make this work. I’m confident I will figure something out.

Any suggestions, comments, etc? When do you work out?

I’m sitting here at work right now pondering what to eat as of course I didn’t prepare anything…that only leads to starvation and irritability or total binge fest and regret!

As stated in previous posts, my diet is what is most challenging for me. I read a lot about diet but the abundance of information can be so overwhelming and confusing. And all of our bodies respond differently to different things and I need something that is going to work for me and help me reach my personal goals.

I’ve been looking into getting some professional assistance with my diet and even workout. Especially, if I want to meet a goal such as competing. My issue with that is I am a single mom with limited finances and such services can get expensive. I was browsing Mike Davies site http://www.mikedaviesfitness.com/ because he has worked with many professionals in the industry and he is somewhat local for me. The prices didn’t seem too outrageous so I am seriously considering investing in his professional assistance.

Any thoughts? Do you think investing in professional assitance is worth it? Any feedback is greatly appreciated! Thanks!