I braved the ice storm for my first Wednesday back in the gym, all psyched to see Angela and get a good workout... only to find I was just about the only person there! I did 3 sets of 20 Deads with 20lb dumbells, one set of shoulder press with a "heavy" bodybar, and moved on to the Leg Press. I did 2 sets of 10x at Plate 7, and finished with one set of Hamstring Curls @75 lbs. Quick and dirty for a first day back in ... I don't know how many weeks! Still feeling stiff and sore from Monday's classes, and seeing the Stepper broken!!! I decided to make my way through the ice down the street to the nail place. Ahh... one relaxing spa pedicure, flawless manicure, 10 min chair massage later, and I felt like a new woman!

Plus, my new fridge arrived! So I got to come home to a couple strapping lads grinning from ear to ear as I pulled everything out of the old unit and laid it out on the kitchen table. Frozen Turkey Burgers, Omaha Steaks, and Ahi Tuna... fresh kale, chard and parsley, lemons, apples, grapefruits, pears, egg whites, organic eggs, skim milk and almond milk, Greek yogurt and cottage cheese... one fellow said, "wow, you hooked it up!" lol I was secretly kind of proud of all the healthy, delicious food I keep on hand.

Enjoying some ground turkey and cabbage before getting onto the rest of my afternoon...
Be blessed, and stay safe and warm!
GP

So happy to have lost 10 lbs since before the holidays!!! YAY!!!

I'm still not quite at 150, but I'll get there. I remember saying to myself back in 2009, I never wanted to be back above 150 again (unless I were pregnant) and sure enough, my weight crept back up over 160. So I'm very happy to have broken through 155 for a 10lb loss, and am well on my way back below 150!

Finally went into the gym and weighed myself. I also got the class schedule and highlighted my classes. So I have MWF AM classes I want to make NO MATTER WHAT and I also highlighted additional evening classes those days, and weekends as options that will fit my schedule if I want to do more. Very good feeling.

Just stopped home long enough to throw shoes in a bag and head back out for Angela's HIIT class at 530! woot woot!
Be blessed!
GP

I am so confused.

I have always secretly wanted to be long, lean and thin, slender like a ballerina. (Yes, I did see Black Swan.) Even when I am doing squats and deads and pullups and whatnot, loving the feeling of a good heavy lift, I secretly wish I were one of the skinny girls. I've gotten used to being accused of training like a dude, and people telling me to lift lighter weights, higher reps, but I'm sorry, 15 is high rep. If I increase when I can do 3 sets of 15 or 20 reps, and that seems like heavy weight to another person, so be it. I get so mind-numbingly bored whenever I try to just lift "light weights, high reps." It honestly makes me want to cry. Why should I train that way if lifting heavier, 10-15 reps max feels so much better? It's like night and day! One style makes me feel alive and empowered, the other makes me wish I were dead. :P

So here's the dilemma. In looking through pictures of fitness models, A points out that I am clicking on the thinner girls. The girls here and there who are thicker or have more mass (and more cuts) are not really the aesthetic I gravitate toward. We found a pic that we agreed looks like my shape and not far off from where I already am. But I don't really know what I need to be doing. I want to be thinner, but genetically, I have all this mass to begin with. I was feeling like if I lift with what my mama gave me, I can compete and look incredible onstage, but do I really even want to look like that? I'm not so sure. I have always wanted to be able to do fitness modeling; competition was just something that jumps out as an obviously high bar to set and a good direction to aim. But now that I face a New Year and have been totally demotivated from hitting my women's gym since before the holidays, I'm really not sure where to turn.

I paid up my dues, so I can go in and get a class schedule and go back to the classes I like. I ordered whey, casein, cla, and lipo 6 hers. I can get back into legs like I was doing, do more running, run stairs outdoors, and add in the stepper indoors as well. But I know that time will come before too long that the weights my gym offers bore me. And if my next move is to the Gold's, then I need to prepare for positive pressure to get big. My heart breaks. I don't want to be a big girl anymore.
GP

So taking is slow with this here fella... but now, I never really had these kind of silly sweet experiences in High School and that.  I know we're all adults here, but, Where exactly IS second base?  What constitutes "taking it slow"?

Well here i am, reaching the finish of my yearend countdown!  Hard to believe... hard to believe how little time I've spent in the gym the last few weeks, but I have made progress in lots of other areas.  i have kept up my jogs and added pullups at home to my regular routine, continued supplementing, and kept my diet pretty well on track.

I haven't blogged for several days - nice to know I can't exactly disappear in this "town" here, bodyspace, without the townsfolk coming out of the woodwork and hunting me down!  lol  french, I won't press charges... This time. 

So... what have I been up to... really?  Friday night, i took myself to the Opera!  I am so happy for the first time in my life to be a Met season ticketholder.  So far, i have just been taking myself out once a month or so, and it's really lovely.  I just love the whole thing - getting dressed up and dolled up and heading in to the City... I find the whole thing incredibly romantic.  I also bought 3 dresses to round out this holiday season, and am tickled that I look lovely in all of them!

Saturday, I took my bike downtown and met up with my dear friend Alice and we sat and talked in the cafe for several hours... all good stuff.  Biked home, and had a mellow evening out with friends...   Sunday was Church and all, bustling around the house with butterflies, getting ready to sing!!!  :D  I went on just after 6PM and sang some Christmas music, a capella, and then later on when the band came on, I sang My Funny Valentine, Night and Day, and God Bless the Child.  It was truly a magical evening.

With my friend in LA out of the picture - actually was a bit agonizing, because even though he doesn't leave Jersey till the 26th, I knew I wasn't going to see him again... I couldn't keep wanting to text or chat, so i just deleted all his contact info in order to keep it moving.  We will stay in touch one way or another if it's meant to be, but in the mean time, it's just too hard to let him go and keep hearing each day about what he's up to and who he's chilling with etc etc down the shore...     So, Sunday afternoon, no sooner had i deleted all his old texts...

I was out singing the big finish of, "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," when he walked in... Anthony.  By himself, none of his boys with him.  You can picture him, 5'11" dark quasi-hipster, slim build with broad shoulders, easy-fit jeans, ultrasoft grey striped longsleeve, dark rimmed glasses, buzzed lid and plenty of ink.  At the time, I still didn't know if he liked me... we spent the evening sitting at the table side by side, our knees touching, giving each other funny little looks, and all the time wondering like... what's going on here?  Cos I can't stop smiling... and this boy actually seems to be enjoying hanging out at this cozy jazz lounge full of seniors?  with me?  he was so warm and supportive,  loved my singing and paid for everything even though he totally didn't have to...

the violinist's friend had offered us a lift, but then he ran into someone and seemed to be involved with an important matter... so we called a cab afterall... and by the time the cab came, my hands were FREEZING!  like the fingertips on my left hand were going numb.  Sitting in the back of the cab, Anthony took my hand and warmed it up... felt nice, and once my hand had warmed up... he held it...  "OMG  He's holding my hand!!!!!!!!!!!!!"  I had no idea I was such a little schoolgirl!  I had so many butterflies all day leading up to singing the show, and then all these butterflies just multiplied as this boy is - Holding my.  HAND.  Wow.

You know, it was really a sweet thing, like I have not really experienced much of.  We are taking it slow... which is not something I have much experience with, either.  He just keeps surprising me with how sweet and tender he is... and how much he clearly like, really likes me.  I like him, too, and I think we are really going to enjoy getting to know one another this holiday and in the New Year... Life is good.  Life is truly incredibly beautiful.  Be blessed.

I went to bed a little late and slept super late today... i guess I needed the rest, but I don't want to indulge too much, since I know I only have so much time to do the things I want and need to do, and if I sleep in, the whole day is gone before i know it.

I had a shake (25g protein) and two portions of my gr turkey and beans MEAL 2 (40-50 g).  i just had some Psyllium and made a good 8 cups of tea to drink over the course of the next few hours.  I'm really trying to hydrate lots and flush out my system.  I woke up sweating like crazy and I'm hangin around the house in my Bday suit, since it feels like my body's running hot, if that makes any sense.

I made a 1/2 c oats, but i haven't eaten them yet, planning to keep a real light feeding day today, since I had a really upset tummy last night and today I just feel like.... ugh...  Feeling like i need a good sweat, but I also need groceries.  So the plan is to get to the store and stock up on everything, maybe add some more berries and nuts, and enjoy some more of this yummy grapefruit I still have in the fridge.  This will be a good time to tweak the diet a little bit, and power through Christmas, getting lean.  I have to be somewhere at 6, but I should be able to sneak into the gym, too!  lol  I have been so bad, but I just hate this gym so much, I have to really drag my ass to get in there.  :P  Legs will feel good.  Fresh food routine will feel good.  Life IS good. 

... and it's all such beautiful stuff.  Since September 2010, I have started to take a much closer look at my diet, since I knew that had always been the missing link in my training over the years.  Not necessarily eating poorly, but not eating with much of a plan, either.  I was actually vegan when i started training in 2001, and eventually when I got to a point, I was just walkin around thinkin about CHICKEN!  My roommate - who had herself been vegetarian until only a few weeks or months prior - was like, "maybe you should just eat some dang Chicken?"  and I did.  And it was good.  So ended four years of veganism, some time in 2002.

I've got no plans to go back to veganism any time soon!  but needless to say, my diet has changed and evolved quite a bit over the past 8 years since then.  It usually comes in phases, with a lot of my favourite go-to foods, snacks or seasonings, and sometimes I will just have enough of a good thing and I don't have it much again for some time.   There was definitely a tomato soup / gazpacho phase back in 2005-06!  hahah

So in September, I started counting calories, aiming for 6 x 300 calories = 1800/day.  I wasn't worried too much about macros, but some weight started to come off, and I think it shows in the Sept, Oct pics if I look back.  I was travelling and sick as well, and diet got a bit wonky in October/November.  I remember saying to myself, if you're having trouble sticking to this mealplan, you just haven't found the right mealplan yet for You!  So I gave myself a break.  And I met a boy.  And he helped me to relax and love myself, and accept my body, and hopefully teach me so it finally sinks in, that I don't need anyone else to validate me.  I can just be me, and as long as I like me, that's all that matters!  Liberating!  Not as if I haven't heard it before, but it feels good to be able to put it into practice, and day by day, embrace what God gave me, do what makes me happy, and learn to really enjoy living in the skin I'm in. 

So it was pointed out to me that I need to be getting more like 1.5 grams of protein per lb bodyweight in a day, if I want to keep/put on some mass, and I was getting nowhere near that.  Thanks so much!  so I started eating more and supplementing with shakes to make sure I was getting closer to 240 g!!!  OMG  this was not easy.  I tried successfully to get that much on lifting days, and at least a gram/lb on non-lifting days.  In actuality though, I really had a lot of difficulty eating that much food, and since I haven't been lifting much these past couple weeks, I just don't feel like it makes sense to eat all that volume at this point in my training.  But that's what this is about - training wheels are still on.  I may sway off too far to one side, but then I'm learning how to find that balance and get back on the beam.  So this past week has been lots of good cardio, with 3 20+ min jogs each on Monday and Wednesday and Tuesday... I got a good rest.  I have also been pretty up and down emotionally the past week or two and giving myself that permission to rest and write and take care of myself has been important.  I'm sober 13 months today, and that alone, some days, is all I need to be grateful for.  Everything else is just frosting!!!  mmmm... cream cheese frosting... no!  lol

So this week has been a good balance, I feel, food-wise as well.  I have been eating less, but still managing at least a good gram/lb of protein, if not more, so I shouldn't lose too much mass, even if my weight drops.  Which seriously, I wouldn't mind if my weight dropped a bit anyway, since I'm so far out from competition.  I do feel plenty soft still and there will be time to build more, and now I know better how to eat when I AM busy lifting like a beast!  Overall, I feel so much better about the way I eat on a day-to-day basis, listening to what my body needs based on my present level of training and feeding her accordingly.  Isn't it wonderful when things start clicking into place?  Thank God, I am so blessed.  Life is truly beautiful.  Painful, and exquisite.

So the general consensus seems to be, go easy on the guy.  He was only trying to put yummy food in a girl's belly, and show her that he likes her just the way she is... I know he doesn't want me stressing as much as I sometimes do, and only wants what's good for me.  I'm sure I'm being a bit over-emotional, too, for several reasons and... well... these things do pass.  Jogged over an hour yesterday in three 20+ minute runs.  I was awakened by the puppies in the middle of the night, so my sleep was strange... gonna go back to bed and meditate, rest, get up and write and re-group.  Easy does it.

What is with guys saying, "you look better now than you did in those pictures!  Don't get too muscular.   Don't train your upper body.  Girls shouldn't have BICEPS." and then ordering you a calzone???  The calzone is delicious.  Having someone embrace my body as it is, even though i haven't reached my goals yet, feels great.  Having someone tell me they really prefer me to stay soft and insist on feeding me accordingly whenever possible... sucks.  Yes, I agreed to the calzone, and the ice cream, and the reddi-whip... Yes, we enjoyed every minute together over the weekend...  and now you go back to California and I get to put on my big-girl panties.  I got my work cut out for me.

This is not the first time this has happened!  I had another ex, even though he trained and everything along with me, he would "treat" me to candy or ice cream or whatever else, and it felt like he was TRYING to sabotage my goals and trying to keep me soft.  ugh  So no boys allowed.  If you don't want to man up and eat healthy a good 6/7 or 13/14 days...?  if you aren't gonna bother to get into my head enough to come up with ways to Really treat me that I will feel loved, appreciated, AND supported in my training goals, then you don't really know me.

Don't get me wrong - if you're reading this RM, you know I got it hard for a G.  Just sayin, there's mad work to be done.

I have had a rough week, emotionally.  Being out Sunday night and losing sleep put me in a tailspin.  When you have been up all night and can't sleep and are crying you are so sleepy and you just can't sleep... your mind is going a mile a minute and it's not going anywhere good!  That's for sure!

So I rested and got caught up on sleep, and Tuesday I visited a gf for a little pampering.  Wednesday was good, but then I couldn't sleep again    I finally took melatonin at 3AM and maybe slept from 3ish to almost 11AM!  That is just too too late to start off my day.  It after 3 in the afternoon already, and it's all I have done to check my email, eat, showerup, lotion up... took some progress pictures to help give myself a kick of motivation, got some pullups in, and getting ready here to head out and pick up a tree and get in a jog and get to the gym.  I'd love to be able to start laundry too before I have to be somewhere at 6, but let's be realistic.  :P  all I really want to do is cry.  and make a salad. 

Wow.  Monday was a write-off.  Tuesday was great for some pampering and playing music.  So... that means I've gotta train the next three or four days in a row in order to get 3-4 workouts in.  Damn.  I have cut way back on the frequency and intensity of my training compared with maybe Sept/Oct, but I'm not going to get down on myself too long, because I know I have been doing a lot of work on myself in other areas of my life.

Today I ran down into Hoboken and did a couple errands, and i did eventually make it back up the hill to the gym, despite the cold.  Seriously, running around in this cold and getting shhh done is an achievement in and of itself!  And I was super happy to pick out my frames and leave a deposit for my three new Hiroshige prints. 

The goal was to work legs, mostly, and a bit of arms and abs, just get a good little well-rounded session in so that I didn't overtrain, or exhaust any one bodypart and not have it in me to train again properly without that rest day in between... which will be Sunday, so... here goes nothing.

Walking lunges w 10 lb curl, 18+18
kneebends, plenty torso twists etc to unwind/warm up cold muscles...
Walking lunges w torso rotation w 6lb med ball, 18+18
Squats w med ball front raise
Spine stretch... OMG the creaks and cracks!  Happy Baby.
Hamstring Ball Pull-ins 30, 20, 30.
Ball plank, 60 seconds, Child's Pose.
Walking Lunges w 12 lb curl, 18+18.
Hanging Knee Raises, 20, 20 w 10 lb db, 20 w hold to FIN.

After a week since my last time in the gym, my legs felt the lunges right away.  I'm glad though, because there was a time when i avoided lunges like the plague, and I had no problem just starting right off w them.  Everything else just felt good, and I know I can do more pullups, pushups, planks, and abs here at home whilst puttering about the house, so it's all good.

In the spirit of acceptance and loving my body into the shape I want to be in, let me just play the next three workouts by ear (although Saturday morning I will try to just make Maria's two classes.) and do what feels good.  I really don't want to keep punishing myself, either in my head, or by overtraining.

I did go out to my friend's show last night, and I'm glad I was there to support him.  However, I had not eaten enough during the day Sunday while I was out, and it left me totally dizzy and famished.  I came home and ate, but I was still exhausted, and when I called to see if I could possibly wiggle out, he sent the car service for me.  :D  So at least I didn't have to bike in the freezing cold and I got myself all dolled up and had a nice time.

But, I decided since I was not feelin the energy to take a stack at 7PM or so and boy.... was that a mistake.  I was already overtired; I had a fine time at the show, but then once I got home and tried to go to bed, I could NOT sleep for the life of me.  I haven't needed melatonin since I started meditating, but I really should have taken it, cos by 4AM I was totally miserable, sleepy, weepy emotional wreck and could not get any rest for the life of me.  I got up at 520, showered and got Tash to school.  Then I maybe got 20 minutes of sleep in the 9AM hour.  I quickly ate a salad with chicken breast and ran into Hob for noon, which felt good, but I was so sleepy I had to get a lift home, just stopping long enough to get a tub of Gaspari Vanilla IntraPRO.  It tastes a bit too sweet, but good.  Finally around 3PM I had a nap till 430.  Then Another salad with chicken and a nap from 5PM to 740.  So I'm fairly certain my calorie needs don't need to be up there on such an INTENSE REST day!  lmao but here's the deal:  Cereal w shake  = 20g, two chx breasts = 50g, turkey mishmosh i think i had, i can't even remember i think it was 330 AM maybe another 20g, and two shakes = 50g.  that's still maybe only 140g which puts me just shy of 1g/lb.  I could maybe have one last shake at bedtime...  I just feel so full already.
I'm not going to stress getting 1.5g/lb if I didn't lift, because already this feels a little ridiculous.  I haven't weighed myself, but I feel thick.  I look incredible in the mirror, w truly bangin' curves in all the right places - but certainly not small or ripped at all.  Not eating for that to happen, clearly.  The guy at the store said ya, if I'm not competing till 2012 there's no need to cut now, doing a lean, clean as possible bulk is great, so long as I can handle getting big.  and I'm like ya... ugh... BULKING???  yuck.  I need to be sure to be lifting heavy as possible and keeping some cardio in there too, because I fear that if I just get big it might be harmful to my self esteem   If I'm eating like this, I definitely can't keep going without finding alternatives for some serious workouts.  :P

So this week, I need to be sure to get 3-4 solid lifts in.  I need to keep on track with my nutrition, but be more vigilant about the added salt, because that will contribute to bloat that will NOT make me feel good about myself.  Tonight's batch of mishmosh is just gr turkey and kidney beans.  I seasoned with Sundried tomato Mrs. Dash and some balsamic vinegar.  Wow.  The difference without the salt is just... whoa.  But I am keeping it simple in order to remember: I am just fueling my muscles here, and adding all the extra "flavour" will only make me feel gross in the end.  I know too, that when I get out of the habit, my tastebuds will readjust, so it's just a matter of going through that uncomfortable phase while they do.   The sooner, the better.  I will also start to be on the lookout for other recipes so I can maybe add something fresh into my routine in the New Year, or who knows, maybe I will start feelin a bit eggy again!  lol  I am presently saying goodbye to added salt and enjoying one last hurrah with my coeurs d'artichotes....   mmmmm... delightful!

Be Blessed!!!
GP

MEAL 1 - 830AM - fibre one cereal w eas shake.  (20g) 930AM - Pure protein shake (25g)
MEAL 2 - 1030 AM - 3/4 c ground turkey (15-20g?) mishmosh, (10g) kashi protein bar, coffees w milk 1130AM green apple
MEAL 3 - 130PM - a few Ginger flavoured Altoids
I set out on a few errands and I was just having the loveliest time, but by 330/4PM I was really starting to get hungry.  I wished I had something more out with me than Altoids, as I started to get crabbier and crabbier at the department store.  I finally just settled on my curtainrods and hooks and went to wait in line to pay... it was really all I could do not to pass out... or take someone's head off.  Okay, so 75g or so of protein and the day is already into evening is not really enough.

MEAL 4 - 4PM last 1/4 c. gr turkey (5-7g)  I tore up two chicken breasts (50g) and threw them in a pan with some brown rice to heat up and I am presently 430-5PM mowing down chicken and rice, waiting for the dizzy, famished "feed-me's" to subside...  so now sitting around 125g protein.   even at the minimum, I need another 35 grams (as I ready a 25g shake and a 10g bar) to get me up to 160g, or about a gram per pound bodyweight.  So, my dear friend Crab tells me, really women ought to be getting 1.5 g/lb which puts my needs closer to 240g, so the challenge becomes, adding in another 80g before bed.

Now, i didn't lift today, just some brisk walking through the cold!  and now that I'm home, I'd like to stay cozy and do some pullup/pushup circuits, or unwind and pop in a jillian michaels dvd... but a friend also wanted me to make it out to a show tonight, which would require me to bundle back up again and hop on trusty ole Liberty Belle, la mia bicycletta... We shall see what happens.

Hope you're all enjoying an equally wonderful Sunday!!!  Stay warm...
GP

So two decent little short and sweet lifts, Legs on Monday and Upper Body Tuesday... Wednesday was a rest day.  I couldn't believe how much those two "easy" lifts took out of me, after a good 10 days or MORE without lifting.  It might have been closer to 2 weeks, if I go back and look.  I had been feeling bored, frustrated and disappointed with my gym, and feeling like the lack of real weights to put up was holding me back.  Thankfully, I also found myself doing a lot of spiritual work, and I feel so much more at ease and at peace within myself.  I feel like I can accept my body for what it is and my progress for where it is right now, instead of beating myself up for not already having achieved my goals, because, hey - if I were there already, it wouldn't be a goal, and I'm certainly not going to get there by telling myself what a piece of crap I am all day!  Right! 

So I choose to focus on the positive and look for areas where I have made real progress each week.  Spiritually and Emotionally, that stuff has been huge and continues to be a strong area of rapid growth for me right now.   To quote my man Farley, That is Awesome!!!  :D

Nutrition has not been bad, either!  While I have eased up on measuring everything or trying to stick to a rigid, set plan, there is a simple sort of repertoire or menu of choices I tend to gravitate toward, and I'm still having 5-6 meals throughout the day, without even really thinking about it.  (I still really ought to be writing it down so I can properly document what I'm doing and how it ends up looking.)  Also, heeding the suggestion to get more protein in, so not being afraid to EAT!  lol  and also feeding in a second shake somewhere in the day so I'm not going around hungry.  This is where I should be writing things down, to keep tabs on how many grams of protein I'm actually taking in.

MEAL 1 - This week has been Fiber One cereal with an EAS carbcontrol shake, instead of milk.  This puts me at 20g to start the day.  Could add a shake in there too, especially once I get into lifting heavier/more volume.  Will probably go back to oats again soonish....

MEAL 2 - Some variation of Chicken and Brown Rice or Ground Turkey and Beans.  So this is a mishmosh and I'm not really sure how well I could ever accurately calculate the macros here.  But it's delicious and simple.  I can cook up a pan and portion it out into four or five 3/4 c. or 1 c.  helpings and it's just wonderful.  Super simple.  Lean Ground Turkey in a pan, browned.  Throw in Chickpeas or kidney beans and celery or asparagus, or peppers if you wanted, maybe fresh tomato, some EVOO and Kosher salt and you're good to go!  I have been keeping it super simple with 3 ingredients, (avoiding garlic and onions), so like, maybe torn up chicken, brown rice and mushrooms or zucchini, or a side of yummy squash.... but more than 3 main ingredients - to me - is just not even necessary to be totally yummy and satisfying.  I also add the EVOO because even the healthy fat makes it feel more like a cheat, and the kosher salt because I am still a die hard salty girl and this is hard to give up!  So I'm just not going to stress it too too much.... :P  Better than feeling like shhhh about it for Goodness sake!  And then clearly, when I am ready to clean things up further, i already can point to two obvious things I can eliminate.  I suppose I will start at least measuring this week, the oil and salt so i have some idea of how much is going into my body in the end.  Yes?   Yes. 

MEAL 3 - I am typically out and about so this meal is still a protein bar, several coffees w milk and a green apple.  I am really happy with the new bars I'm trying.  The ThinkThin Chocolate Strawberry bars are just to die for... so I won't be getting them again!  lmao  but the peanut butter is decent without being too dry, and the kashi peanut butter and chocolate protein and fibre bar is very similar, but drier.  so call me a loonie-bird, but if I must have a bar in my diet somewhere, it is out of pure necessity / convenience and is not really meant to be a treat.  If I have bars in the house that are too sweet-tasting and too delicious... they will not stay in the house for long, as I forage and ravage my cupboards for anything remotely crispy, sweet and delicious and before i know it.... what protein bars???  Right.  not good.  So right now the Kashi ones are my front runner, because they are just gross and dry enough that I don't want them as a TREAT at all... followed by the ThinkThin which taste pretty "meh" without being ascetically dry.   Pure Protein are GREAT, and thankfully I have been turning to the grosser, plain bars and can see the pure protein ones as almost like a blessed CANDYBAR, but they are really still too chewy to completely inhale.  So we're good here.  We can move on.

MEAL 4 - My go-to meal is still a big bowl of spinach / salad greens with a tomato, lemon juice, 1/4 c. Parm or 1 oz. raw milk cheese on the side, with tuna or chicken, maybe a splash of vinegar, and a dash of EVOO.  The Chicken breasts are all prepped and in the fridge ready to go, so this is a quick and easy thing to throw together when I get home from the gym.  This week's batch is cooling now.  :D  I just added lemon juice and the "fiesta lime" salt-free Mrs. Dash, a little water and oil and I bake it right up!  So this will be something different to try, and should be good!

MEAL 5 - Here's where things get hairy, because I could kind of do one of a few things.  I might have more ground turkey mishmosh, or I might have another salad with chicken or tuna... or if I'm going out to eat with friends like I did for Randy's Birthday on Monday, it might be flatbread pizza and antipast!  lol  Let's try to keep this simple.  I will also be sure to supplement with a SHAKE and my Ultra 40s so i am more likely to make healthier choices if I have to eat out. 

MEAL 6 - This is sometimes cheese and crackers, but I know now, i need to make sure I'm getting enough protein for the day, and if I'm coming up short, to reach for a shake or a can of tuna or eggs.  I just have not felt super eggy these past couple weeks, except on Sunday mornings.  Go figure.  I have learned a new trick with my Greek Yogurt I will try to employ more in the coming weeks.  Here it is:

There are these packets in the store called True Lime, True Lemon, and True Orange.  All they are are Evaporated Cane Juice,  Citric Acid, Orange Oil, Orange Juice and Vitamin C.  I know, I know, I know, cane juice?  hear me out.  1 packet has zero calories and less than a gram of carbs.  Conveniently located in that same aisle, you will find your stevia sweeteners!  So I just mix 1 packet of PureVia Stevia (even though I found out that's the Pepsi brand.  I think the Sweet Leaf brand Stevia is the one you want to look for, cos it's owned by the guy who discovered it.  hint hint. ) with one (or two packets, to taste) of the lime or lemon or orange flavouring and omg, is it Wonderful.  There it is.

Supplement wise, still on a good keel here.  I did actually add the Beta Alanine, but I didn't take it most days, pretty much just lifting days, but I could probably do it twice on lifting days and once on non-lifting days.  Truth be told, I have not been taking my BCAAs regularly, because I feel like its a waste to take them if I'm not lifting like an animal.  I dunno.  Thoughts???  But I have been pretty religious with the Ultra 40s.  Is this maybe why my arms feel more solid than every before???

Lifestyle wise, I have made some other good changes, getting that pullup bar up and running, (Thanks, Sole, for the push!  lol), so I can wake up and do a couple sets of pullups, and throughout the day, and drop for my perfect pushups, helps me to be able to get a decent little at-home circuit on the go, but I don't want that to replace my gym lifts.  I have yet to pop in those DVDs!!!!  lmao  Not sure what's stopping me here...

Glad everyone seems to be enjoying the new progress pics.  Sometimes it's still so hard to see what everyone else sees tho... Peace.

Thanks for all the love and support... be blessed.

GP

Trying to take suggestions and get more protein in, so I enjoyed my morning cereal with an EAS shake instead of milk once again.  (20g) had a nice big chicken breast (25g) w grape tomatoes and a shake (25g).  It sucked running with the shake in me.  Had a bar (20g) and coffee w milk and an apple midday.  Jogged halfway up the hill and walked a bit too, on the way up to the gym for a lift.  I took my Beta alanine and guarana caffeine energizer, pre.

Closegrip Pulldowns: 75 lbs, 15 x, 3 sets.
Chest Flies: 25 lbs, 20x.  37.5 lbs. 20x.  50 lbs. ?? reps.  This was my first time on this machine.  I stretched, feeling like i needed something else to round out my upper body, and i decided to move to the crappy cable thing for 3 sets of sg arm reverse cable curls, which felt good - but would have felt better if the motion on the machine were smoother.  Felt like pulling through rust.  :P
10 lbs, 15x each side.  10 lbs, 15x each side.  Drop set 15 lbs 8x R, 10x L; 10 lbs to about 20 reps, 5 lbs to 25 to FIN.

Weight is up like crazy 166???  Holy poopers.  Upper body looks thick, and I can feel the layer of softness on my tummy that needs to fall off.  On the plus side, the striations in my delts make me smile.    I have also been enjoying dropping for a few sets of 10 pushups at a time on my little perfect pushup things and I'm one step closer to having my pullup bar assembled for home.  Why I haven't done the Yoga thing yet, I'm not sure.  But it will be my first time turning on my television since I moved in July!  so I'll get there... :P

Swished down my glutamine post, and getting ready to make a salad with chicken.  Yumm... then a nap, since it's rainy... I am still procrastinating with the laundry - that is one good thing about having wayyyy too many clothes!  haha  yes.  hrm.

Question:  Does anyone have an opinion on Designer Whey or the GNC brand?  I will likely just go ahead and make another bb.com order, but those are the two brands of protein I saw at the Rite Aide handy.