fitnessprincess’s BodyBlog

Chuckle!  I guess I have been MIA the last few days here.  So, I am going to try to catch up.

Saturday, my rest day, I had decided I would have an evening cheat meal.  This will sound insane but I have been crazy for pnb&j - yeah!  go figure? Anyway so I had several (ahem! yes- "several") sandwiches on wheat bread.  I am tired of ezekiel so I decided to go for it and have wheat.  Also wanted cheddar cheese so had some of that, too.  Very odd but it hit the spot!  chuckle!

This made my stats for Saturday:
3159 calories consumed (1397 calories target)
184 g protein (140 g protein target)
101 g fat (54 g fat target)
309 g carbs (87 g carb target)

Sunday back on track:Sunday schedule-wise 5 meals seems to be the best I can do, so I have decided that I am going to modify things and accept that I will be eating 5 meals on Sundays instead of 6 meals.  I am not sure that I am going to increase my caloric intake though.  I will watch my progress and how I feel and see.  If I think it is causing me problems on Mondays then I will adjust.  I think the advantage of doing this (accepting 5 vs. 6) is psychological but that said it is important.  I know that if I am meeting expectations I am more likely to stay on track and be successful.

Great workout:
Bb deadlift 3 sets 8 reps 95 lb
Bb rows 4 sets of 12 reps 65 lb
[Bb squats 4 sets of 10 reps 115 lb
tbar row 4 sets of 10 reps at 25 lb]
front squats 3 sets of 12 reps 70 lb
[Bb bench press 3 sets of 15 reps at 65 lb
front/lat raise combo 3 sets of 8 reps at 5 lb]
reverse grip Bb press 3 sets of 15 rep at 45 lb
[unassisted pullups 4 reps, 3 reps, 3 reps
situps 25 reps, 25 reps]
2 sets of [Bw squats 24 reps, Bw lunges 24 reps, Bw lunge jumps 24 reps, Bw jump squats 24 reps]

Dietary Adherence (x=adherence, 0=missed meal, *=non-compliant meal)
Meal 1 x
Meal 2 x
Meal 3 0
Meal 4 x
Meal 5 x
Meal 6 x

Nutrition summary for 7/29/07
1157 calories consumed (1397 calories target)
106 g protein (140 g protein target)
40 g fat (54 g fat target)
94 g carbs (87 g carb target

I took progress pictures, which I posted yesterday, and showed them to mom.  She saw progress!!  I am so excited!!!  Legs are still awful!!! Gotta keep plugging away at fat loss - butt and thighs.

Yesterday:  Cardio - 60-min stair climbing kicked my butt literally!!!
PT7000 Step Mill aerobic training L11/10 6.18-mi 296 floor 590 calories
pretty close to what I did last Monday but not quite as good (3 floors shy)

Dietary Adherence (x=adherence, 0=missed meal, *=non-compliant meal)
Meal 1 x
Meal 2 x
Meal 3 x
Meal 4 x
Meal 5 x
Meal 6 x

Nutrition summary for 7/30/07
1362 calories consumed (1397 calories target)
133 g protein (140 g protein target)
50 g fat (54 g fat target)
86 g carbs (87 g carb target)

Supplementation
multivitamin - 2/day - done
calcium - 2/day - done
Creatine - Cell Mass (38 calories, 10 g carb) - 2/day - done
Fish Oil (30 calories, 3 g fat) 3x/day 2 capsules each time - done
vitamin C - morning and PWO - done
vitamin E - PWO - done
BCAA’s 3 capsules 3x/day, 3 capsules before workout, 3 capsules PWO - done

Updated my body measurements - wish my weight were dropping a bit faster and that I was seeing more change in my lower body.  That said I am patient and I know that patience and persistence are going to be critical here!

Went to get my blood work done for nutritionist and then went to Steve’s for veggie eggwhite omelet and fruitcup breakfast and then played hookey!  I went to Whittards and got tea and a cute china teapot and mug with cats on them, bought a new leather wallet, shopped at Olympia Sports, City Sports, Nike and went and got lettuce and yellow tomatoes from the Farmers Market. Came home and had lunch with Nikki and then put him in the bag and went to Framingham.  All in all a good day!  Last week I bought some orange roughy from Whole Foods - apparently from China - ugh!  hope we don’t die from it!  Kinda surprised that Whole Foods would sell something from China.   Anyway, I liked it - reminded me of cod.  It has a nice texture - firm.  I want to get more but not from China.

no workout per say - walked briskly from about 11 am until 3 pm everywhere I went so I think I got a good cardio workout

Dietary Adherence (x=adherence, 0=missed meal, *=non-compliant meal)
Meal 1 x
Meal 2 0
Meal 3 x
Meal 4 x
Meal 5 x
Meal 6 x

Nutrition summary for 7/27/07
1170 calories consumed (1397 calories target)
112 g protein (140 g protein target)
33 g fat (54 g fat target)
95 g carbs (87 g carb target)

Supplementation
multivitamin - 2/day - done
calcium - 2/day - done
Creatine - Cell Mass (38 calories, 10 g carb) - 2/day - done
Fish Oil (30 calories, 3 g fat) 3x/day 2 capsules each time - done
vitamin C - morning and PWO - done
vitamin E - PWO - done
BCAA’s 3 capsules 3x/day, 3 capsules before workout, 3 capsules PWO - done

Cinderella has her hooker shoes!!! 4 inch heels in the "Brook" style.  I purchased them for $28 from Snazy75.com if you are looking for figure/fitness style shoes.  I have uploaded a photograph of my new shoes so you can see them!!!  I am so excited!  LOL!

Now I have to learn to stand and walk in them.  This is coming from a girl who never!! wears heels and usually wears tie nursing, athletic shoes or flats.  I am definitely open to any advice anyone has.  What I was thinking is I would get a pair of heel shoes and start wearing those to work to get used to standing and walking in heels (this is assuming it does not kill me) and at night wear these in the apartment so I can get used to standing and walking in them.

Next step:  I need to buy suits.  I apparently need both a one-piece and a two-piece suit.  I have so many questions about all this:  do I really need the rhinestones?  Does it matter if they are Swarovsky crystal or not?  I have no breasts to speak of so should I get padding?  Which of the many suitmakers has the best suits but at a reasonable price - after all I am a first-time competitor and I am not competing at the Arnold   Again, love to hear from you if you have suggestions!

Cardio today!
30-min Step Mill 30-min 162 floors 3.2-mi 320 calories
30-min treadmill 4.3 mph calorie burner 2.12-mi 385 calories
20-min circuit:  2 sets of 24 prisoner bw squats, 30 bw lunges, 24 jump lunges, 24 edge jumps

Dietary Adherence (x=adherence, 0=missed meal, *=non-compliant meal)
Meal 1 x
Meal 2 x
Meal 3 x
Meal 4 x
Meal 5 x
Meal 6 x

Nutrition summary for 7/25/07
1364 calories consumed (1397 calories target)
131 g protein (140 g protein target)
46 g fat (54 g fat target)
107 g carbs (87 g carb target)

Supplementation
multivitamin - 2/day - done
calcium - 2/day - done
Creatine - Cell Mass (38 calories, 10 g carb) - 2/day - done
Fish Oil (30 calories, 3 g fat) 3x/day 2 capsules each time - done
vitamin C - morning and PWO - done
vitamin E - PWO - done
BCAA’s 3 capsules 3x/day, 3 capsules before workout, 3 capsules PWO - done

Overall good day!

LOL!  I am sure some of you noticed I hadn’t posted this weekend.  I honestly don’t know what happened.  I am still trying to sort through everything and figure this out.  Friday was good and everything went as usual - I had a great morning workout, good energy, and ate well.  Saturday I was miserable.  Can’t say I have ever felt like this.  It was my scheduled rest day and yes, I was tired but this was more than that I was wiped!  I took an afternoon nap but just felt sick.  Had dinner and I was so hungry but not in a normal way.  I wanted bread, crackers, anything carb like.  Because I eat "clean", there isn’t much there in the way of simple carbs except for the food my mom eats (I take care of her on the weekends). So, here I was OD’ing on Kashi Go Lean (I only keep it around because it tastes like cardboard and doesn’t tempt me - sorry if I just offended anyone!) and my mom’s whole wheat bread.  Absolutely insane.  Woke up Sunday and I was still exhausted and "hungry" for carbs.  Decided to accept this and meet these unmet needs and had a pancake, bagel, etc. for breakfast.  The rest of the day basically went the same way. By the end of the day I finally felt "human" again, stronger, and better.

I woke up yesterday Monday and finally felt well again.  I resumed my normal nutrition and workout plan.  Did fine.  I am struggling though to understand what happened here.  I don’t think I can afford another repeat of this as I am trying to diet down for a competition on Oct. 20th.  I haven’t been doing refeeds or cheat meals though and I wonder if this has been a mistake.  Was my body telling me I needed more carbohydrates?  I have been eating about 110 g carbs/day.  I count everything in my carbs (veggies represent the majority of my carbs, if I have oatmeal that’s at breakfast and represents my principal non-veggie form of carbs).  If anyone has any insights/suggestions for me about all this I would certainly welcome your feedback.
Summary for 7/24/07
Workout:  cardio only
Stairmaster 4000CL 20 min L10 aerobic training 100 floors 180 calories 2.09 mi
Nautilus treadmill intervals 20 min 1.96 mi 220 calories
Stairmaster 7000PT 20 min L10 fatburner 2.00 mi 96 floors 190 calories

Dietary Adherence (x=adherence, 0=missed meal, *=non-compliant meal)
Meal 1 x
Meal 2 x
Meal 3 x
Meal 4 x
Meal 5 x
Meal 6 x

Nutrition summary for 7/23/07
1388 calories consumed (1397 calories target)
138 g protein (140 g protein target)
47 g fat (54 g fat target)
110 g carbs (87 g carb target)

Supplementation
multivitamin - 2/day - done
calcium - 2/day - done
Creatine - Cell Mass (38 calories, 10 g carb) - 2/day - done
Fish Oil (30 calories, 3 g fat) 2x/day 3 capsules each time - done
vitamin C - morning and PWO - done
vitamin E - PWO - done
BCAA’s - 2x/day 3 capsules - done

Great day!  Got up at 5 am, fed Nikki my 18-yr old siamese cat and headed to the gym to workout.  Fridays my only option is an early morning workout - not my favorite thing to do but I am committed to this.  I commute Friday afternoons to take care of my mom in the suburbs on the weekend and don’t return to my apartment until Sunday afternoons.  Anyway, warmed up and had a great workout:

Deadlifts 3 sets of 6 reps @ 105 lb
Barbell rows 3 sets of 6 reps @ 75 lb
Full squats (Bb) 3 sets of 6 reps @ 135 lb
T-bar rows 3 sets of 10 reps @ 25 lb
Front squats 3 sets of 10 reps @ 75, 80, 85 lb
Flat bench press 3 sets of 15 reps @ 65 lb
Front/lat raise combo 3 sets of 8 reps @ 5 lb

Diet on track - overall, nice day!  I will take it.  Good start to the weekend.

Dietary Adherence (x=adherence, 0=missed meal, *=non-compliant meal)
Meal 1 x
Meal 2 x
Meal 3 x
Meal 4 x
Meal 5 x
Meal 6 x

Nutrition summary for 7/20/07
1389 calories consumed (1397 calories target)
132 g protein (140 g protein target)
45 g fat (54 g fat target)
116 g carbs (87 g carb target)

Supplementation
multivitamin - 2/day - done
calcium - 2/day - done
Creatine - Cell Mass (38 calories, 10 g carb) - 2/day - done
Fish Oil (30 calories, 3 g fat) 2x/day 3 capsules each time - done
vitamin C - morning and PWO - done
vitamin E - PWO - done

Nutrition summary for 7/19/07
1405 calories consumed (1397 calories target)
129 g protein (140 g protein target)
46 g fat (54 g fat target)
120 g carbs (87 g carb target)

Supplementation
multivitamin - 2/day - done
calcium - 2/day - done
Creatine - Cell Mass (38 calories, 10 g carb) - 2/day - done
Fish Oil (30 calories, 3 g fat) 2x/day 3 capsules each time - done
vitamin C - morning and PWO - done
vitamin E - PWO - done

Dietary Adherence (x=adherence, 0=missed meal, *=non-compliant meal)
Meal 1 x
Meal 2 x
Meal 3 x
Meal 4 x
Meal 5 x
Meal 6 x
workout with John and 20-min on step mill at L11 fat burner

For the last few days I have been wondering why women do what they do in the weight room and that includes me. In the gym where I workout there are two distinct weight training areas - one on the second floor which has weights that range from 2 lb to 27.5 lb and and area on the third floor which has the serious weights anywhere from 10 lb to well, I actually don’t know! LOL! 100+ lb. That says something right there. Anyway, women typically work out on the second floor and I am usually the only woman who seems to work out upstairs on the third floor. Most women who work out on the second floor opt for the 2, 5, or 10 lb weights. Rarely do I see anyone select a weight above 15 lb. Women usually opt for the 15 lb weight when doing plie squats or side bends but that’s about it. Most select a 2 or 5 lb weight and use it for all of the limited repertoire of exercises that they seem to do - tricep kickbacks, shoulder presses, chest presses, bicep curls, french presses, and occasionally front and lateral raises. You never see women arrive with a workout sheet or journal. You never see them sweat. You never hear them grunt with their exertion. Frankly, not much exertion there. I find it hard to really workout down there (second floor) for that reason. When I am upstairs it is easier for me to push myself - I can grunt, groan, and no one looks at me - and I find that I do as a general rule push myself without even thinking about it. Also, because everyone else is so busy exerting themselves upstairs no one looks at me funny like they do when I workout downstairs. On the second floor, the women always seem concerned with what I am doing instead of with what they are doing. If I grunt and groan, the women seem embarassed and distressed. They get even more uncomfortable if you take your reps to failure. Try it and tell me I am wrong. "Oh! Look she is going to hurt herself - she is using a weight too heavy for her."
What I am trying to point out is that there are some negative aspects of the socialization of women in the gym and I think it affects even the best of us. While I am not suggesting that we bust a gut every time we go in the gym, I do wonder if perhaps we unconsciously don’t put our full effort into our workouts as a general rule because of these unspoken rules of female socialization in the weight room. Don’t grunt. Don’t groan. Don’t use a heavy weight. Don’t take it to failure. Sweat? Never let them see you sweat, right?
Wrong!! Pink Dumbells? Please! Just Say No!!

Nutrition summary for 7/18/07
1361 calories consumed (1397 calories target)
137 g protein (140 g protein target)
46 g fat (54 g fat target)
105 g carbs (87 g carb target)

Dietary Adherence (x=adherence, 0=missed meal, *=non-compliant meal)
Meal 1 x
Meal 2 x
Meal 3 x
Meal 4 x
Meal 5 x
Meal 6 x

Supplementation
multivitamin - 2/day - done
calcium - 2/day - done
Creatine - Cell Mass (38 calories, 10 g carb) - 2/day - once
Fish Oil (30 calories, 3 g fat) 2x/day 3 capsules each time - done
vitamin C - morning and PWO - done
vitamin E - PWO - done

workout 7/18/07 - cardio only
PT7000 step mill 60-min 6.2-mi 299 floors 595 calories L11 aerobic training
I really surprised myself. I decided to challenge myself today to do something I didn’t think I could do so I set out to do stairs for an hour and yow!! I did it!!!

I was reminded yesterday afternoon of one of the many reasons I continue to work with a personal trainer.  My trainer, John, rocks!  He really does and once again he reminded me why I value him so much.

I warmed up and then we headed for the 45 degree plate-loaded leg press.  John asked me how much I wanted to put on and I proceeded to go for 250 lb which has been in my mind my max.  I finished 10 reps and moved to box step-ups (superset) while John added more weight to the leg press.  I was a bit concerned but didn’t say anything after all he was there to spot me so no problem.  I whipped out another 10 reps and moved back to do another set of box step-ups.  I noticed John adding still more weight.  I was concerned but figured I hadn’t expired during the last set so I’d be OK.  I came back finished ten reps and then found out I had just done 290 lbs - a PR for me.  What struck me was the realization that I hadn’t been fully exerting myself on the leg press the last couple weeks but had grown "comfortable" with the fact that I could make it through the paces.  As we moved downstairs, I realized that my conservatism wasn’t limited to the leg press either.  Next up were med ball pass/hyperextensions - I love those.  John reminded me to squeeze my butt and get a full good stretch in my hamstrings and I realized that recently I have been so busy worrying about using more and more weight I had forgotten how important my form is.  So, I started squeezing and got a really good workout.  I realized that recently when left on my own I really wasn’t pushing as much as I could on any exercise either in terms of weights or form.  So, it’s back to the basics for me!  LOL!  At the end of the day, I will admit I was beat - I slept like a log last night - but I never felt better because I knew I had really pushed my limits and gotten my money’s worth in the gym.  Thanks John!