easttboy’s BodyBlog

Well… in the last month, stress from work had reached it highest point yet with me wondering if I could survive on a minimum wage job to avoid turning into a vegetable. They say stress is a killer and I believe they are right… No heart attacks yet but I know this **** isn’t healthy…

Meanwhile, my workouts have fallen by the wayside. Not because I don’t have the time… but rather because I don’t have the fuel. I haven’t been eating properly and I’ve been living on bare minimums… a bowl of cereal in the mornings and a tv dinner in the evenings. And if I’m lucky a microwave entree at work that I inhale as fast as possible to avoid leaving it sitting for two hours while I wait on customers- and end up tossing it in the trash (this has happened).

I’m currently down to 125lbs… Which disgusts me… It means I’m gonna have to work that much harder now. And the training effect is gone which also means I’m gonna have to lower my weight levels on my workouts and work my way back up. I hate my metabolism so much… It takes me months to gain weight and just a few weeks of stress to sap it all away.

Well, the good news is we FINALLY hired someone at the store. After eight months of looking! God, I hope she stays… If she doesn’t work out I swear I’m going to have to look for another job because I think I’ve reached my limit.

I took vacation last week (a store manager from another store was there to run it while my DM was there training the new girl) and I had planned to use that week to reintroduce proper eating habits. Unfortunately, because I spent ten minutes in heavy rain the previous week (because of a work-related project), I spent my vacation sick as a dog.

Today I have been working on regaining my focus and I’ve been working on a new workout/exercise routine. I’ll be incorporating my Wii "Fitness Coach" game back into my workout program. I really enjoy it and it helps me keep from forgetting cardio and flexibility.

So, my program will use all six workout themes from the game, each set for a different day. And my weight traing will be set to compliment it.

Thus…

Sunday: Rest, Yoga
Monday: Yoga (Fitness Coach)/Weight Training-Core Body/30 minutes walking/Yoga

Tuesday: Cardio (Fitness Coach)/Weight Training-Lower Body/30 minutes walking/Yoga

Wednesday:  Upper Body (Fitness Coach)/Weight Training-Upper Body/30 minutes walking/Yoga

Thursday: Core Body (Fitness Coach)/Weight Training-Core Body/30 minutes walking/Yoga

Friday: Lower Body (Fitness Coach)/Weight Training-Lower Body/30 minutes walking/Yoga

Saturday: Flexibility (Fitness Coach)/Weight Training-Upper Body/30 minutes walking/Yoga

Drink at least 8 glasses of water daily. I try to get a cup of water every hour on the hour at work.

Veggies: I’ve started making homemade salad dressings and I’ve been trying to have a salad every night before dinner.

Calories: Still gonna push for 3000, including supplements.

Meanwhile, the bedroom tv is gonna be left 24/7 on fit tv.
We’ll see how this works.

Last week I did thirty minutes of yoga on the Fitness Coach and spent the rest of the day listening to soothing music. It really made a difference. I even did a thirty minute cardio on the game the next day and I think it help me get the toxins out of my body and encouraged my body to heal faster. The trick was to not overdo it.

I’m hoping that this week I can apply this and get back on track.

So I tried soy milk for the first time this morning… Wow! I loved it! I got the Silk Soy Milk with DHA Omega-3 and Calcium. I remember seeing it in a recent issue of Muscle & Fitness and thought I would check it out since I was looking for an alternative to milk.

This week is light weight workout again. This time bacause it’s the first week of the month and I have to be at work an hour early on the 31st, 1st, 3rd and 4th. Gonna be a rough week. Fortunately, they have someone coming down from another store to help me (after much complaining when I went two days without eating because the customers came in back-to-back from open to close on the 17th and 18th - and they still expect me to get all the paperwork done, too).

Also, this week, I’ll be focusing on my diet and nutrition. The soy milk is a new addition and I picked up some turkey bacon this morning. I haven’t had turkey bacon in so long… And I actually prefer it over regular bacon.

Working on the grocery list right now… In Palestine we have two grocery stores- Brookshires and Krogers and then a Wal-Mart Supercenter. Krogers is having a sell on boneless sirloin steak, ground chuck and pork western style ribs while Brookshires is doing chicken leg quarters, family pack boneless pork chops and hot house grown tomatoes… Still can’t decide what to get… Looks like it’s gonna be a late shopping day.

Meanwhile, in my workout music… I’m really liking the Moto Blanco Edit version of Shakira’s She Wolf. However, I’m hoping BPM can find another mix of Madonna’s Celebration. Benny Benassi is good, but in a post-Gaga world that mix sounds a bit plain.

I managed to get my workouts back on track. Was a little rough this week, though. I hadn’t worked out very much this month with the move and work.

Tuesday while doing the lying triceps extension I ended up going to failure before reaching 8 reps. I hadn’t completely recovered before doing my bench press so I couldn’t lift the heavy weight as well as I know I can.

Almost had the same problem Thursday when, sleepy eyed, I loaded my weights for my biceps workout… using the chart for my back workout, which is considerably stronger. I attempted to do the medium weight and couldn’t do ten reps. Squeezed out seven and thought, "Damn, did I lose my strength?" Was glancing at my notebook and realized I was doing the wrong weights. I made that my heavy set.

Been working on my food/nutrition this week. I’m thinking of posting my lunch and dinners here once a week just to keep track of them. Don’t know how long that will last… But we’ll see.

This week I had Oven Fried Chicken Sunday night, then leftovers for lunch Monday and Tuesday. Also had rice and corn with the leftovers. Monday night, Tuna Salad. Tuesday night I made Chicken and Noodles using some leftover corn and a can of peas. Had leftovers for lunch Wednesday and Thursday and dinner Wednesday and Thursday.

I started taking the supplements again this week, too. Whey Protein in mornings (mixed with fruit juice instead of milk now) and Muscle Milk before bed at night.

And I take a men’s daily vitamin and vitamin d. I normally take some extra vitamin c, too, but I’m currently out. Should be getting some today.

This week is a light workout week.  I’ve learned the last couple of months that my job is too demanding on the first week of the month (especially since I’m running the store all by myself) to meet my eating or workout goals. So those weeks I just do one or two sets of twelve reps for selected exercises.

Next week I’ll be at my new apartment and will be going to the next level with my weights. I will be trying to count my calories again, too.

Workout plan for next week is -

Chest 105lbs, Triceps 65lbs, Back 85lbs, Biceps 65lbs, Legs 105lbs, Shoulders 75lbs. Look… here comes that 105 plateau…
Also, next week… no supplements still. Will be drinking milk by itself all week to see if I am lactose intolerant.

Today was pretty frustrating. I had a barbeque to go to but got started late because the power went out here right when I first started drying clothes. This set me back an hour and half. I just got home a little while ago.

Unsure about todays calories. I know I had a mexican pizza at Taco Bell to tie me over until I got to the barbeque. Then when I got there I got filled up just on baked beans and potato salad.

Think I’ll go to bed and start all over again tomorrow.

I did make some progress with my workouts for this week, however. The plan now is (12/10/10/8 reps) Tuesday- Chest 25/55/55/75, Triceps 20/30/30/45, Thursday- Back 20/45/45/65, Biceps 20/30/30/45, Saturday- Legs 25/55/55/75, Shoulders 20/35/35/55.

And then bump them up a notch next week.

Just had a glass of milk and did today’s yoga (on today, even!). About to head to bed. Already fell asleep on the couch couple hours ago…

Today’s calories: 2445, fat: 66.5, protein: 155, carbs: 319.

I didn’t go anywhere today since it’s a non-payday weekend. Instead I stuck around the house and did a few chores. Tomorrow I have a barbeque to go to and it’s washday.

Also, tomorrow I start the second week of the yoga. I’ll be adding: Chest Expansion, Cobra and Neck Movements. All three will be done in one session late in the day. All the previous moves will be done in one session in the mornings (which seems easier for me anyways).

I need to start working on my workout routine for the next two weeks, too. Will probably do that tomorrow.

Yesterday was another busy day. Didn’t get to eat lunch until almost 4 again. Ended up spending money on fast food because I didn’t want a repeat of the other day where it took me almost thirty minutes to get back to the microwave to get my food out.

So I opted for a Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese. I know I should have passed on the fries… But I guess since it was Friday and my body burns calories so fast… I figured it wouldn’t hurt. Topped it off with a soda…

Total calories for yesterday: Calories: 2723, Fat: 93, Protein: 136.5, Carbs: 268.5.

I ate about 1.5 servings of veggies (outside the burger - not sure if the pickles and onions on that count). I had celery, tomatoes and carrots from the veggie tray I bought earlier in the week. And I had a total of three servings of milk yesterday. I’m going to try to get two or three cups down a day.

No yoga last night. Will do it here shortly. Probably after the workout.

I’ve been pondering next week’s workouts. I think I’ve come up with a plan…

One week of light workouts (going to try to put this on the first week of the month to coincide with the heavy workload at my job on those weeks), followed by a couple weeks of the 12/10/10/8 workouts and then a final week of max reps right before I go back into the light workouts.

We’ll see how it works. So the next two weeks will be 12/10/10/8 workouts.

Computer crashed last night before I got around to posting on here. Ended up getting sidetracked downloading applications for my phone. All of which I wasn’t impressed with.

Calorie count for yesterday: Calories: 2310, fat: 70, protein: 123.5, carbs: 305. Last night was Mom night so I got home late. Didn’t bother cooking anything and just had a glass of instant breakfast.
Did a very light workout yesterday for back and biceps. Goes by pretty fast. I’m enjoying the extra time in the morning to relax afterwards. I think I’m going to try to get started earlier in the mornings beginning next week. If I can just get my workouts to start at 6:30, I could gain a thirty minute cooldown period before I leave for work. May also reduce the instances of forgetting things.

About to do last night’s yoga. I was useless last night. I pretty much stayed glued to the couch on my phone and finally went to sleep at around 1am when I noticed what time it was.

Today was a much better day. Work was relatively stress free.

Since my hardest part right now is the diet and nutrition, I’ll be posting my daily calories/fat/protein/carbs tracking here when I can.

Yesterday ended with cal. 1870, fat 55.6, prtn. 129.6, carb. 187.3. My carbs seem about right on…

Today… after I finish this ham salad and drink some milk, I’ll be at cal. 2580, fat 112, ptn. 148, carb. 257. Cheated a lil today and got 250 calories from a coke… And the Italian dressing I used tonight wasn’t fat free… I do have fat free ranch and french, though… And olive oil & vinegar.

I spent some time today thinking about next week’s workouts. A friend gave me a thing of Muscle Milk and I’ll be taking that post-workout and/or before sleep starting Monday.

I was going to get something at GNC Sunday during the 20% off period but I was just too busy and never made it, so it looks like I’ll be getting more whey protein from Walmart this weekend to last until next payday.

As for the workouts themselves, I’m trying to decide whether to do one more week of light weights or go ahead and get back into the main workout with my 12/10/10/8 routine. I know I’ll be keeping the light at 20lbs as opposed to the 15lbs previously which will free up my four 2.5lb weights.

Did my yoga this morning for last night and I may just do tonight’s yoga here soon. We’ll see. Look… I’m finally done with the salad… Woo-hoo!!

Yesterday I attempted to get some veggies in me.

When I went to get lunch from Walmart, I grabbed one of those vegetable platters that have six sections of veggies and I figured I could eat one section a day. I also got a pinapple/kiwi fruit bowl thing. And then I got two packages of small bags of salads (each has two servings). To go with the salads I bought one of those cajun topping kits.

So I ate one section of the veggies before I had my lunch and then I ate 2/3 of the pineapple bowl as a snack later in the day. When I got home, I opened one of the canned chickens and made a salad. All the fruits and veggies were good and I really do love salads… However, they ended up filling me up so my total calories for yesterday only made it to around 1900 (1870 plus whatever I would get from 2 slices of kiwi, 4 blueberries, a dozen grapes and about 6 or 7 chunks of pineapple).

I did yoga after my workout yesterday and I will be doing it here shortly to make up for missing it again last night. Got home a little late last night. The computers crashed around 5PM and didn’t get back to working properly until thirty minutes after we closed.

At least I’m starting to sleep good again.