amrn65’s bodyblog

I am never satisfied…never. The minute I am comfortable is the minute I stop growing. Sadly I hear many people my age state that there best years are behind them. How sad!! I can’t wait to get better. I am looking forward to each year. Each year my goal is to get better and better. Each day I strive to learn something new.

I love fruit! I love all of it…and for the most part, fruit is good for you…but what I find is this…..eating fruit just makes me hungrier. I have tried eating my apple with my protein shake to see if that would even out my blood sugar spikes. Nope…still hungry within an hour. I am always trying to "cut corners" the clean way…haha. But, sad for me…I have to cut the apples. I have replaced them with strawberries and guess what!! No sugar spike, no hunger….and I can eat a good amount of strawberries for the same carb macros that is in an apple. So….I can have a couple of servings of fruit a day and still be within my alotted carb macros and not be hungry. Yea strawberries!!!!

Getting older does not mean we have to settle for less. I represent the group of forty something women that gained a little weight over the years and shopped for the pants with the elastic in the waist "for comfort". You know, the weight that just keeps on creeping and creeping. Although i never reached the 200 pound mark, I was well on my way when I realized that I needed to stop the creepin. 

I would look at the beautiful thinner women and just admire them, never really thinking that after all these years of abusing my body with McDonolds and caffiene and all kinds of candy I could actually look even close to them. But, I convinced myself to try to be the best I could be…so, I went to work training hard and constantly striving to eat better.

A year later, I am better than I was a year ago. I read through a couple of my old blogs and I cracked up at myself. A junk food junkie….major addict I was. Once an addict always an addict if I’m not careful. I need to start a junk food anonymous with nightly meetings to help people like me stay on track. My eating is WAY BETTER than it was a year ago. My cheat days have turned into a cheat meal. I am not where I want to be, but I am getting there.

As for the bod……training and clean eating does help to eat away the fat and firm things up quite a bit. I can put on a fitted shirt without the fat back and the muffin middle. So, what I am trying to get across in this blog is this…..there is hope for us forty plus out of shape men and women. With hard work, determination, and a positive mind…we can have the body that we see the twenty and thirty year olds strutting on this sight. 

My goal is to look just as good OR BETTER than girls half my age!! GO FORTY AND OLDER CROWD  

I love to challenge myself. At first, my challenge was to knock out 4 sets of 8 of man push-ups without a problem…and with minimal rest periods (less than 60 secs). I have mastered that….now I have another mountain in front of me…..the PULL UP!!! Thomas added that to my back routine and I am not good at them. I can do 3 good pull ups. All the rest I have to do in the negative. So, I am going to master the freaking pull-up. My short-term goal is to add 1 rep each week…so next week I want to do at least 4 good pull-ups…hopefully 5  or more…but if i improve by just rep per week I will be meeting my short term goal. My long-term goal is to do 5 sets of 10 pull-ups!! Yeah baby….that will be a feat….and pretty impressive in the gym for a girl. I need to be working on my dips too. I am improving in that area already. I am about to become a she beast in the pull-up arena…gladiators watch out…..annette is on the scene…lol.

My leg workout is  a killer, and after all the sets and reps, I am exhausted and starving. It is not uncommon for me to get nauseous in the middle of the workout. My leg routine is usually my most difficult workout and I am glad to boast that I am done with it and that I put in 110% effort.

Loving the training more each day.

Traveling and staying on point on the diet can be challenging, so I always try to be prepared. First of all, I always try to book a room that has a fridge and microwave and internet access. If I can drive instead of fly, I drive because I pack alot of "just in case I need it" items. I pack a medium storage container with disposable plates, bowls, eating utensils, and cups, salt and pepper and condiments. I bought a cheap coffee maker that I carry as well. I travel with my Mean Lean fat reducing George Foreman grilling machine and a hot plate with a few small pans and oh yeah…a collaspable cooler. Most of the time, I don’t need to use all the stuff….but there has been several times when it came in handy. This is one of those times. I ended up in a room with no fridge or microwave…..only rooms with them available that the hotel had was smoking….dang…the price we must pay for economy traveling hotels. I refuse to sleep in a smoking room, so I opted for my fail proof B plan.

I unpacked all my stuff, went grocery shopping and I am managing to stay on my diet without problem. I grilled me some steak, have chicken breast, and egg substitute. Of course I have my 5 pound 100% Whey protein supplement. So I am good to go. The only thing left that matters is making sure I have internet access. I need the access for both work and to keep me motivated and on track. When I am on the road, I am VERY tempted to cut corners and eat out and not exercise. That is where I find sites such as bb.com and T-Nation invaluable to keep me motivated. The mirror helps too. I look in the mirror and that helps me start the day right.

I do one other thing, I wear form fitting clothes to keep me on track as well. I am less incline to indulge in alot of stomach bloating carbs when I am wearing a clingy shirt or outfit. I do all these thing on purpose to keep me on track. I pack the bare minimum of clothes….if I am gone 3 days, I pack 3 outfits and gym clothes. If I can’t fit all my clothes in a gym bag, for 5 days, I have packed too heavy….lol. I travel enough that I have packing down to an art.

I am glad that I have been out of town 3 days and have stayed on point!

At least once a week I take a hard, long critical look at myself in the mirror with clothes on and off. The mirror never lies. I have learned to use the mirror more than the scale to gauge my progress/goals. Sometimes the scale gives me a false sense of security or it makes me feel fat-even when my clothes and the mirror says otherwise.

My short-term goal is to continue to lose BF and gain muscle. So….what does the mirror tell me today. I am seeing some cuts in my legs and back. I am not seeing the cuts in my arm yet….but when I workout, they are definitely there and can be seen. Overall symmetry is good…but I have a long way to go. Abs are looking better. Starting to see the cuts in my abs better…yea.

Overall, I am happy with the progress that I see this week. We will see what the mirror says around this time next week.

Haha….I was walking in the mall with my 18 year old son and 12 year old daughter when my 12 year old asked me, "how old were you mom when you reached your prime?" I giggled as i thought about that question and I said to her, well…I think I am in the prime of my life right now. She said really? (She thinks 44 is really old…haha) Yep….I am in better shape then I was in my younger days. Even though I was thin in my 20’s, I did not have any muscle, and after each baby, I gained a little more weight and got a bit more out of shape. I told her that I am really looking forward to 50 years old with the goal of being in better shape than I am now, God willing. I explained to her, the body can get better with age. You just have to work on it.

My son said, mom you look great and I am proud of you. Those words touched me…coming from an 18 year old son. I am trying to be a healthy role model for my children, friends, peers, and all 40 plus people. (as well as the young adults in their 20’s and 30’s…haha)

I wish everyone that comes to the gym trained hard. The gym is not a place to socialize. No talking, No gawking!!!! Train hard. How frustrating at times to have someone hog up the leg press machine lifting 40 pounds forever! Waiting, and waiting while the machine is uselessly used….not working any muscles…while I am waiting and I am way past my next set time while the person is lolly gagging around not working her muscles worth anything significant. Grrrrrrr…..Grrrrrrr……Grrrrrrrr……an
d furthermore, please don’t talk to me until I am done with my workout. I am a nice person….but I guess I am sorta a bitch in the gym. Gotta be or else I will never get out of there.

Grrrrr…. People are so….uh…grrr…frustrating! I am sick of people saying to me not to transform into one of those bodybuilding women. I hear it all the time at work as they see me down my protein shakes and eat clean. I think muscles are beautiful and I admire any person who has the discipline to lift and eat clean and sculpt their body to fine perfection.

I have second guessed myself. I try to tell myself, maybe I want that fitness model look…but when I’m honest with myself, I want the in-between look bordering more towards the bodybuilding look. My kids tell me that they would be so embarassed if their mom looked like a bodybuilder. Grrrrr. I want muscles!! I want nice full muscles! I don’t want to be smooth! I want cuts! And I want to be beautiful at the same time!! Grrrrr. I can be both. I wish people would just keep their damn negative opinions to themselves!! I can have muscle and be attractive at the same time!!!! SUPER GRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1