Beck80’s Journey to Better Health

So I’m here in L.A. and our hotel has an awesome gym! I jogged for 15 minutes (taking 3-4 30 sec. breaks) then put the incline to 10% for 1/4 mile jogged at 1% for another 1/4 mile. Then I did a quick full body circuit (12 reps):

Bicep curl 2×15lb

tricep ext. 2×20lb

lateral raise 2×5lb

one legged lunge 2×12rep

jump squats 2×10reps

bench press 2×20lb

row 2×20lb

I felt really great afterwards.

Wednesday night when we were in Vegas, we walked from Treasure Island to the Bellagio and back. It was a long walk. Most of the time, I was pushing the stroller with 2 of the kids who together weigh 80lb. Went swimming when we got in Thursday night. We went walking around Hollywood yesterday. So far the trip has been great! The kids have done really well and were awesome on the 15hr drive between our house and Vegas. We’ve done a lot of walking and will probably continue too.

Before we left, John and I went shopping (if I already posted this, sorry, I can’t remember if I did or not) and I got 2 bikini’s. I feel pretty good in them, but still a little self conscience still. But they look better than any other swimsuit I tried on.

I’m trying to eat clean, but that is hard when I’m with 3 kids and 2 guys who love fast food. So I’ve had a lot of salads and fruits and veggies.

I think tonight John and I are going out and tomorrow my bro-in-law’s fiancee (he proposed yesterday) and I are going out for a movie.

Anyway, all in all, so far it’s been an awesome trip and we’ve only been here 3 days. lol

Noticed some major definition in my calves the other day. My calves have always been fine, but now they are starting to rock! I think a lot of it has to do with walking the hill. lol In 2 weeks we’ll be headin to L.A. so I tried on some of my size 11 clothes I want to wear down there and they fit! little snug, but nothing working hard for the next 2 weeks won’t help.

I have switched to using an exercise band instead of weights mainly because I can take that to L.A. with me. I’ve always been skeptical of bands, but I must say I feel it. But instead of only doing 3 sets of exercises, I am going to up it to 5-6 sets tomorrow. I also added 2 leg exercises to each push/pull workout.

Umm. let’s see, I jogged (in my house) for 11 minutes yesterday plus did push workout. Skipped the hill today because John is gone tonight and the girls have church and I am helping. I should have done it this morning, but I had a migraine again. I think I have figured out why I am getting these. I clench my jaw at night. So when I pick up my refill of migraine meds, I will also be buying a thing to prevent that (for the life of me I can’t remember what it is called right now!lol).

Today I did my pull workout:
Curl-2 sets of 12, 1 set of 10
Wide grip pull down-2 sets 12, 1 set 10
Close grip pulldown-2 sets 12, 1 set 10
Row-2 sets 12, 1 set 10
Walking lunges-20reps, 15 reps, 10 reps
Hip lifts-3 sets 20 reps

After the kids are in bed tonight, I think I am going to alternate between stairs, jump rope and jogging. I’ll do each thing for 5 minutes and do 2-3 sets.

Because of my migraine this morning, I didn’t quite stick to my diet plan today, but I tried. Still working on it.

Tomorrow’s Plan:
Am-Push workout
Elliptical machine (intervals)

Pm-Hill 2-3x (hopefully 3)
Abs

Woo-hoo! I’m at 151lb!!!! I haven’t seen this weight in over 4 years!!

So yesterday night i also had 1/4 cup of fat free sugar free cheesecake pudding. So yummY!! I think it added about 120 calories.

I went ahead and entered my diet for today in fitday.com and here is what it is and what the calories & macros are:

#1-4 egg whites, 1 yolk scrambled;2t ketchup;1 slice whole wheat bread w/ 1 T. peanut butter, one glass of water, 1/4 maple bar

#2-8oz light yogurt, 1 apple

#3-1/2 tuna sandwich (1/2 can tuna, 1 T. Miracle Whip, 1 slice bread), 13 baby carrots

#4-1/2 cup cottage cheese, 15 almonds

#5-5oz grilled steak, 2 cups steamed veggies, 1 T. A-1 sauce

1461cal 48g fat (31%) 128g carb (31%) 132g protein (38%)

My husband got the kids a ‘treat’ on his way home this morning and he got me one too. Instead of eating the whole thing though, I only ate 1/4 of it. Still, I shouldn’t have had it. He hasn’t brought any home in a while, because I always get after him when he does. I’m trying so hard to be good about my diet and he brings naughty things home. Other than that, and the few condiments, my diet is fairly good, right?

I didn’t workout yesterday (bad me!), but Dawn & I are doing the hill this evening and this afternoon, I am going to do the Push workout I missed last night.

I am 4 weeks out from leaving for L.A. and I AM going to wear my cute smaller clothes!! I tried on a few of them the other day and I can fit into then, but they’re a little tight, so it won’t take much to make them a comfortable fit. Hopefully I am not being unrealistic, though. I guess we’ll see.

My plan is to:
#1-continue the diet I’ve been trying to follow

#2-do the push/pull workout 4 times a week

#3-bump my cardio to 2x a day: intervals in the morning on an empty stomach and the hill (2-3 days a week) and Booty School Cardio Camp (3 days a week)in the evening/afternoon

I should see some results with all that. I’m pumped and excited for it!! 

So diet for today consisted of;
#1-Feista egg scramble on 2 whole wheat tortillas, 20oz sugar free, fat free latte

#2-4 slices turkey, 1 cup baby carrots

#3-2 cups lettuce, 1/3 cup ham, 2 boiled egg whites, 1/3 cup cheese, 1 Tb. fat free ranch, 8oz light yogurt

#4-8 oz light yogurt

#5-2 cups lettuce, 6 slices turkey, 1/3 cup cheese, 1Tb. fat free ranch dressing

#6-can of tuna (post workout)

totals: 1576cal  53g fat (31%), 142g carb (35%), 133g protein (34%)

Not exactly where I am shooting for (30/40/30 is what I have been told to do), but pretty close I guess.

Tonight’s workout is going to be after the kids are in bed, but I know I am going to be ready for bed when I’m done! lol I’ll post it tomorrow morning probably.

I am also planning another torture session of cardio for tomorrow. The end result will be great, but man that hill is steep!! I am going to try to incorporate some of the Booty School cardio camp 2 exercises in also either before or after the hill.

So my day didn’t go as planned. I didn’t get to lift or do the hill today. But I will be doing both in the morning before(lifting) /after (hill) John gets home.

My diet has gone okay. Here’s what I have so far:

#1-fiesta egg scramble on 2 whole wheat tortillas, XS energy drink

#2-Turkey salad and water

#3-1/2 cup FF cottage cheese, 10 almonds, 1oz. raisins

#4-1 cup FF cottage cheese, 8oz. milk, 5 strawberries

1306cal  38g fat (26%)  147g carb (42%)  102g protein  (31%)

I need about 200 more calories of mainly protein, so I will probably fix myself some scrambled egg whites before bed or open a can of tuna

So tomorrow will be abs, pull day, and cardio on the hill.

So here is what my diet looked like today. Not the best day~it was grocery day so I was pretty much out of anything with protein! So bad.

#1-2pieces whole wheat toast each with 1T. crunchy natural PB and 1/2 banana, 20oz sugar free, fat free latte

#2-Amy’s Organic Cheddar burrito

#3-15 almonds, 1/2 cup of cottage cheese (the last of the protein!)

#4-2 whole wheat pancakes with 2t. brummel & brown spread

#5-BBQ chicken nuggets from the deli

Total: 1809 cal   86g fat (44%!!!)  168g carb (35%)  93g protein (23%)

Far cry from where I wanted to be, you live and learn. And the lesson is: Never run out of protein!!!

Workout today was a push day:
(first three abs exercises from Jan. 08 Oxygen)

heels to ceiling-20reps
reverse crunch-20 reps
bench crunch-20 reps

Flat bench flye: 10lbx10reps;15lbx10reps;15×10 reps (need to go up on this next time)
Dumbbell Incline Bench Press: 20lbx10reps; 20lbx8reps;15lbx10reps
Dumbbell Triceps Extension: 15lbx10reps;15lbx8reps;10lbx10 reps
Arnold Press:10lbx8reps;5lbx10reps;5lbx8reps
Dumbbell Lateral raise:5lbx10reps;5lbx8reps;2.5lbx10reps

Went with Dawn for cardio which took about 25 minutes. I was thinking oh this won’t be too hard, walking up the hill then jogging down. Yeah right!!! I did okay the first time, the second time though I had to keep stopping. It is steeper than I remembered! I can feel it already in my calves and my butt. Good sign I guess. We are supposed to go again a couple times next week, so I am going to go on my own tomorrow morning, Saturday before John goes to work, and Sunday after church. I’m also going to remember water next time! lol All in all, a good day. Even though my diet was really high in fat today, at least I worked out. So on to tomorrow!

I have done pretty well so far today as far as making sure I drink water at every meal and a few glasses in between. Just added up my calories and macros and here is what i have:

#1-3 slices turkey bacon, 1 cup cream of wheat with 3T. FF milk, White Chocolate macadamia nut cookie sugar free & fat free latte
329 cal 7g fat 42g carb 22g protein

#2-3 slices turkey deli meat, 1 cup broccoli, 1T (or less) of southwestern dip
134 cal 2g fat 7g carb  22gprotein

#3-Lean cuisine Flatbread Chicken Pesto (meal plan called for chicken salad, but I didn’t look before I went out this morning)
330 cal  8g fat 43g carb 22g protein

#4-1/2 cup FF cottage cheese, 15 almonds
184 cal 9g fat 4g carb 18g protein

#5-1 can tuna, 1-2 cups green beans, 1/8 cup Mac & cheese (luckily the kids ate the rest)
288cal 4g fat 22g carb 44g protein

#6 will be-8oz Light yogurt
120cal 0g fat 21g carb 8g protein

Grand total: 1384cal 30g fat(20%) 143g carb (39%) 135g protein (40%)
I’ve been using Fitday.com to record my calories & macros so thats where the percentages came from. Don’t know where the 1% is. lol So does that seem low?

Didn’t work out last night. My house is a wreck, so I spent some time cleaning up while kids were at church and John was gone. I need to do 30 minutes of interval style cardio. I’m going to head over to my sister’s to use the treadmill. I need to get my bike tires fixed ASAP. today was a gorgeous day and a ride would have been so much fun.

I am going to be following the diet outlined in Eight Week Summer Slimdown by Myron Mielke. So this is the plan for today:

#1-scrambled eggs (4 whites, 1 yolk), piece of toast with a tiny bit of margarine,14oz water, and a fat free, sugar free latte made by me. Oh and my vitamins
334cal  11g fat 26gcarb 31g protein

#2-8oz light yogurt, 1 banana, 14oz water
245cal  1g fat  53gcarb  9g protein

#3-Tuna sandwich on whole wheat bread, 1 cup broccoli, 2tbsp dip
333cal  11g fat 39g carb 48g protein

#4-1/2 cup fat free cottage cheese, 15 almonds
184cal 9g fat 9g carb 18g protein

#5-5oz lean grilled steak, 2 cups steamed green beans
346cal 11g fat 16g carb 46g protein

For a grand total of:
1526 cal. 43g fat (26%) 142g carb (33%) 151g protein (41%)

I probably won’t be working out tonight, but if I do I’ll be doing a full body lifting program from the newest Oxygen alomg with 15 min jumping rope. And consuming a yummy protein shake afterwards which would bring my calories up to:
1731cal  44g fat (23%) 158g (33%) 185 (44%) We’ll see if i have the time to do it or not.

I started out the weekend good, but ended it bad. We went out of town for a business conference that was held in the Spokane Arena. Which means vendors with very bad food. I knew that, and planned accordingly. I had my salad and pre-grilled chicken for lunch on Friday & Saturday. I had packed a protein bar for snacks on all three days along with 3 sandwich bags with a handful of almonds, a few dried cranberries & banana chips in each. I knew we’d be eating out in the evening, but I planned on getting a chicken salad or something else healthy. All evening Friday and all day Saturday i smelled the mini-doughnuts that are sold there. It was torture! The smell was everywhere! So I ended up getting some and sharing with John on Saturday night….and Sunday afternoon! We did walk around downtown Spokane & the mall Sunday morning. Then we stopped at Perkins for dinner on the way home and i literally stuffed myself. I still feel bloated. I know why I ate that way….I felt jealous that other people were doing it. One of our business associates is a week out from the Emerald Cup and he did really well staying away from temptation. But he was having a hard time too.

Anyway…I took today off. John is going back on night shift tonight for 6 weeks. I am working on my time management issues and trying to stay on task and focused. I feel very unsure what to do as far as working out. I think I might bring my treadmill back home since my sister is hardly using it. I was doing P90X for a little while last year and I might try that again, but I really need to just get something started and be consistent! I got my new Oxygen in the mail while I was gone, so looking through that was helpful for motivation…and this weekend some of the people I haven’t seen in awhile were making comments on how good I looked and had i lost weight? It was nice to be able to say yes, i have lost 8lbs since Feb. 22.

Alright so enough excuses!!! Off I go to prepare for the week!!