My journey

Workout:

• Leg press 90 lbs, 4×10
• Barbell lunge 60 lbs, 4×10
• Seated leg curl 50 lbs, 4×10
• Calf raise 70 lbs, 4×10
• Cable crunch 60 lbs, 4×10
• 20 minutes elliptical interval

Nutrition:

• 4:45 - protein shake with skim milk (preworkout)
• 6:20 - Gatorade (postworkout)
• 6:30 - 1 whole egg, 3 whites, 1/2 c oatmeal
• 9:30 - 4 slices deli turkey, 1 cup carrots, 1 T fat free ranch dressing
• 12:30 - 2 c romaine lettuce, 3 oz chicken breast, 1 T fat free ranch dressing
• 3:30 - 1/2 c cottage cheese, 15 almonds
• 6:30 - Ruby Tuesdays Chicken Bella

2100 kcal, 82 g fat (35%), 171 g carb (33%), 164 g protein (32%)

Workout: 

• Incline barbell press 45 lbs, 3×10, 1X8
• Machine Chest Press 20 lbs, 4×10
• Lat pulldown 50 lbs, 4×10
• Seated cable row 50 lbs, 4×10
• Dumbbell lateral raise 10 lbs, 3×10, 1×8
• Alternating dumbbell curl 15 lbs, 3×10, 1×8
• Cable pressdown 30 lbs, 4×10
• 20 minutes elliptical interval

Nutrition:

• 4:45 - whey protein shake with 1c milk (pre-workout)
• 6:20 - Gatorade (post workout)
• 6:30 - 1 whole egg, 3 whites & 1/2 c oatmeal
• 9:30 - 1/2 c non fat cottage cheese, 15 almonds
• 12:30 - 2 c romaine lettuce, 3 oz chicken, 1 T fat free dressing
• 3:30 - 4 slices deli turkey, 1 c broccoli, 1 T fat free dressing
• 6:30 - chicken jambalaya (chicken, celery, green pepper, carrots, white beans)

1513 kcal, 41 g fat (24%), 131 g carbs (34%), 159 g protein (42%)

I decided that the full body plan I was using was sucking my motivation.  Hard to psych up your whole body 3 days a week!  Instead I am trying a 4 day routine - Monday & Thursday upper body, Tuesday and Friday lower.  Did the first upper body routine today and I have to admit it felt a lot better.  I felt more focused.

 I also measured my BF% this weekend and discovered that I am only 3.5% away from my goal with about 6 weeks to go.  I feel pretty good about that.  Especially since I was a little lazy in my eating habits last week.  Helped me get back on track for this week (lol - it’s only Monday!).

Made it through the end of week 9.  I fell back asleep for about 5 minutes this morning, so I didn’t have time to do the elliptical after the weights.  It’s the first time I’ve missed any part of my workout, so I’m feeling pretty bad about that.  Especially since I need to take the kids somewhere right after work and can’t go back then.  I also didn’t feel like going yesterday after work (I blame the nice weather we are finally having), but I made myself go and pushed my self harder.  I have to admit, as much as I didn’t want to go, I felt really good afterwards that I didn’t cave and not go.  Once I start that, it’s a slippery slope and I’ll start skipping all of the time.  Hopefully next week will be better!

So, I posted progress pics that I took over the weekend at the end of week 8.  I received quite a few comments congratulating on my progress, which took me a little by surprise.  So I went back and took a look at the beginning pics next to the new ones.  I have been so focused on how much is left to do, I failed to take detailed notice of what I have done.  I did notice I lost some of the rolls on my back.  And you can’t see it too much in the pics (with me being the whitest person around!), but I am getting some definition in my calves, shoulders and arms.  So, I am now going to keep my eye on the end goal, but focus a little less harder on it.  And I will take the time to appreciate what I have done.  After all, I have gotten out of bed every morning for 8 1/2 weeks at 5 am.  I should look and remember why I do it.

…and I am so excited.  I think I finally have my nutrition worked out.  My motivation over the last couple of weeks has been a little low as I do not like certain parts of my workout plan.  My hubby looked at it with me last night and helped me tweak a couple of things to keep the same results with slightly different exercises.  I’m looking forward to next week when I can try it out (the changes were to my Monday and Wednesday plans). 

I have been trying to do HIIT the past couple of weeks by sprinting 30 seconds, walking 30 seconds.  I worked my way up to 5 minutes.  The problem?  Shin splints.  I had them when I was younger, and they never go away.  Add to that the fact that I already hate running (as I posted earlier), and I am not a happy camper.  I think I need to move back inside onto the elliptical.  Which kind of sucks as it is finally warming up outside.  Oh well.

Finally, I am seeing some measurable results for my efforts.  I am starting to lose inches and my weight is starting to creep downwards.  Definitely helps my motivation.  I don’t particularly like my workout routine, but that’s just because it challenges me and uses exercises I haven’t really done before.  I think in a couple of weeks I’ll be OK with it.  Probably right before I change things up again!  The only piece I need to tweak is my abs routine.  I really need to get my abs back in shape.  Granted, a lot of the girth around my stomach is fat, but I never did anything to get back in shape after having either child, so I am sure there is a certain amount of stretched out muscles under there as well.

Finished up with week 7.  The new routine seems to be working out pretty well.  I do full body M-W-F, plus 20 minutes on the elliptical these days.  I also started HIIT on T-Th for 4 minutes this week.  4 minutes doesn’t seem like much, but it is kicking my ass.  And let’s not forget to mention that I HATE to run.  Always have.  The only time I can say I didn’t actively hate running is when I was playing basketball and that’s because the running is not the main focus.  But, I went out both days and went hard. 

 I am definitely seeing more definintion in my upper body and even in my legs.  I can defintely feel the muscle all over (even the abs - hooray!), so once the fat decides to go (I think I’ve made too comfortable a home for it) I should see big results.  For now, I’m just happy that I feel stronger, have more energy, and most importantly motivation!

After 6 weeks, the time has come to change up my workout.  I had been doing a 4 day split - chest/shoulders, back/abs, legs, arms/abs.  It was working pretty well for me.  I definitely feel harder, though I have not lost much scale weight nor inches.

 Today, I started a 6 week rotation of full body 3x per week, plus HIIT cardio 2x per week.  I think I may add in cardio on my other 3 days and just not push it as hard as I usually do to help me in my fat burning quest.  That will depend on whether or not I start playing soccer once a week.

 The lack of measurable results is testing my motivation, but I definitely feel stronger (both mentally and physically).  Here’s hoping the day when my fat melts away and reveals the muscle I can feel but not see comes soon!