Kayla’s BodyBlog

So I’ve been working out with my trainer, Randy, 4-5X/week for the last two weeks.  It’s going well - I’m already getting stronger and perhaps, dare I hope, a little bit leaner!  Been doing 30 mins of cardio 4-5X/week too.  I decided to be alcohol-free for the month of September and have been eating 6-7X/day.  My typical day looks like this:

5:00 AM - Wake up and do 30 mins of cardio (empty stomach)

7:00 AM - Oatmeal with 1/2 c fat free milk or whole wheat english muffin with fat free cream cheese and 1/2 c Eggbeaters

9:30 AM - Protein bar

12:00 PM - 1/2 c whole wheat pasta with 4 oz ground turkey breast and 1/2 c organic pasta sauce

1:30 PM - Training session

2:30 PM - Post work out shake (8 oz skim milk with 1 scoop BSN Lean Dessert)

4:30 PM - Chicken or turkey with veggies (or a lower carb Lean Cuisine if I’m too tired to cook)

7:00 PM - 1/2 c fat free cottage cheese with 1 cup Yoplait light

I know that I have a lot of dairy in my current meal plan, which some people would advise against.  I love dairy and want to make sure I’m getting all of the calcium I need.  I think for now, it is ok, and when I plateau or want to get a little more lean, I’ll cut some of the dairy out.

I’m also taking a multivitamin, calcium, joint support, glutamine, BCAA’s, and L-Carnitine.

I have a tendency to weigh myself/measure my body fat too frequently, so I’ve decided not to post progress pics/check my stats until the end of September.  I’m trying hard to stay patient when it comes to results - if it were quick and easy to be buff and lean, then everyone would look like a fitness model!

So, I went to the gym on Saturday and worked out with my friend and her trainer…I decided to start training with him 4X a week for at least the next 4-5 weeks.  We only did about 30 mins of legs and less than 24 hours later, I’m having difficulty walking! 

I always thought I was giving myself decent workouts, but Saturday proved to me that I have definitely NOT been pushing myself and my intensity has been pretty pathetic.  I’m looking forward to getting my ass kicked by someone else though!

My short term goal is to look AMAZING for my boyfriend’s boxing match on September 13…however, since that’s only 3 weeks a way, I can’t hope for a miraculous transformation by then.  However, I really want to train hard and consistently for the next year…maybe even consider competing in either fitness model/figure division in 2009.  We’ll see!  Will keep updating progress pics!

So last week, I did pretty well.  I did 4 days of cardio and 3 days of lifting - I was SO sore!  By Wednesday, I was in so much pain, I made an appointment for that night to get a massage

I’m a lot weaker than I used to be - not that I should be surprised.  I got up at 5 and did my cardio, then lifted in the afternoon and kept my diet through the week.

BUT, my boyfriend drove to Phoenix (he lives in Tucson) to visit me this weekend, and I totally ended up blowing off the gym, eating out, and drinking.  He’s fit and actually training for a boxing match in September, but the problem is, he and I have completely different body types and goals.  I want to get super lean and he wants to gain about 25 lbs.  I have a decent metabolism, but he is a true ectomorph and can still maintain a six pack eating breakfast burritos, In-N-Out, and drinking 2 dozen beers a weekend.

I don’t settle for mediocrity in any other part of my life - I always strive to excel and be the best.  So, I don’t understand why I’m willing to settle for less than the best for myself physically.  I find it easy to excuse binge drinking and eating unhealthy because I can do those things and still look decent - but I don’t want to look decent, I want to look like Jamie Eason!   And even if I stay consistent and clean during the week, I will definitely be working against any progress I’m making if I blow it on the weekends. 

Anyway, my goal is to come back with a vengeance this week - now that I’m getting acclamated to waking up early, hitting the gym twice a day, and prepping my food the night before, I really need to up the intensity/duration of my cardio and tighten the diet up even more.

I will be driving to Tucson this weekend to be with my boyfriend - he got an LA Fitness membership so that we could go together, but that has yet to happen!  I need to plan in advance and stick to my plan - if that means I go to the gym by myself while I’m in Tucson or that I have to go grocery shopping and keep food at his place, then I just need to do it!

I’m not feeling up for posting progress pics yet - next Sunday I’ll put some new ones up.  Until then!

So, I just had my 23rd birthday last weekend - I feel old!  Now that I have no more excuses to eat, drink, and be merry, it was time to get down to business this week!

So far, so good - today and yesterday I woke up at 5 AM to hit the gym for some pre-breakfast cardio and then hit the gym again in the afternoon to lift - man am I sore!

My manager had a quote by her desk this week that I really like: "If you always do what you’ve always done, you will always get what you’ve always gotten."  So true!  For so long I have been inconsistent and making the same mistakes - and look at me, I’m exactly the same!  It has really helped motivate me this week. 

I also have a little mantra that I repeat to myself throughout the day "Smaller Leaner Faster Stronger."

I’ll check progress once a week and post pics starting Monday - I’m committing myself to giving it all I got for the next 6 weeks and I’ll re-evaluate my goals once I’m there!

Well I guess it’s not REALLY starting from scratch…I went a little crazy after breaking up with my ex and re-connecting with some not so health conscious friends….been eating out a lot, drinking a lot, and going to the gym intermittently at best.  The pictures don’t lie!  Anyway, I have rediscovered the joy of cooking (and eating) healthy food and how great it feels to be sore for days after a good workout.  I’m turning 23 on August 2, and want to be in amazing shape (the best of my life) by then.  So - weekly pictures from here on out!  And I think some tanning is called for too   That’s a little over 10 weeks…making my goal of 110 lbs more than attainable. 

I appreciate everyone’s support and feedback!

I am moving next weekend to a new place (a just a minute away from the gym!).  It will be the first time I’ve lived without a roommate.  I am ending my relationship of a year and half (we have been living together for almost a year).  I also have a new boss at work.

Working out and eating right have not been my priorities recently because of all of the turmoil.  However, I’m moving right next to where I work (no more commute!), which happens to be down the street from an LA Fitness (and also a tanning place - hooray).  I will be living by myself so I have complete control over what food is in my house and I know I will have a lot more time to myself now.

It’s kind of scary and has been something of an emotional rollercoaster, but I’m pretty excited and feel like it is a new start for me and for reaching my goals.  I will post new pics soon once everything settles down.

Wish me luck!

So, this weekend I met with fitness model/figure competitor Alicia Leombruni. We talked for about an hour and a half and she gave me some good feedback.

I realized that I need to eat more and to eat more frequently…I need to make sure I always have enough food with me at work, so even when I work a ten hour day I’m not forced to either starve or raid the vending machine.

At her suggestion, I’m also going to try switching to circuit style full-body workouts instead of the 4 day, 2 muscle group per day split I had been doing.

More than anything, I just realized it all comes down to how badly I want to change - if I want it bad enough, I will pass on going out to eat, I will get up at the crack of dawn to get my workouts in, etc. 

I will be heading on a road trip to Iowa for about a week, so I’m a little bummed that my eating and workouts will be nearly impossible to manage for that week - hopefully we can at least go hiking or something.

So I’m thinking I want to start doing HIIT for my cardio…I’ve been looking at the articles for examples, but just wanted to know what has worked well for others.  If you have any advice or insight, please let me know!

I had a great week - I worked out every day except for one rest day and I’ve even gotten a couple of my co-workers to start going to the gym with me at lunch!

I’ve been keeping two journals - one for food and one for workouts - and they have really helped me stay accountable and always be mindful of what I’m putting in my mouth. 

I got Kim Lyon’s book, Your Body, Your Life and read it pretty much in a day.  Although I’m not really following her book, it did make me see some improvements that I can make…

I realized that there are really three components to a balanced workout schedule - lifting, cardio, AND flexibility.  Even though I used to be a dancer, I NEVER stretch after I work out…and the few times that I do, I usually just stretch my legs and neglect my back, neck, shoulders, etc. I realized that my lack of stretching may be contributing to my problem with injuries. 

Another thing I am incorporating is WARMING UP!  I never warm up - I always just jump right into the weight lifting, maybe doing one warm up set.  Now I’ve started taking the extra 5 mins to jump on a treadmill or elliptical to increase my blood flow and raise my body temperature before racking up the plates!

The final thing I realized is that just because things come up or your schedule doesn’t go how you planned, that isn’t an excuse to think the whole week is blown.  I am a very organized and efficient-minded person - I plan my week in advance, and in the past, if I miss a day of lifting or didn’t eat according to my meal plan, I would get really discouraged and lose focus.  Now I realize that if I miss a workout, I just have to find time for it on another day of the week, and if I overeat a bit, I just need to adjust my intake for that day accordingly or do some extra cardio.  I finally get that I don’t need to maintain a written-in-stone schedule.

I’ve also resisted the urge to weigh myself daily or every few days - I have decided that I am going to concentrate on my food intake and workouts and then check my weight and body fat after 4 weeks to see what progress I have made.  I know I needed to break myself of using the scale as a sign of progress, when I really should be using how I look and feel.  Along the same line, I also will wait until 4 weeks to take updated progress pics - February 1 can’t come soon enough!

On a final high note, my shoulder pain has completely disappeared - after having about a week’s worth of pain that prevented me from moving my right arm much at all, I was able to lift and play racquetball without pain!  They also did an ergonomic assessment on me at work and made some major adjustments to my work station, so I think that really helped as well.

Anyway, I’m feeling great and can’t wait to see where I am in another 3 weeks!

I’m really against making New Year’s Resolutions because that seems to inevitably stamp "failure" all over them as soon as I make them.  I can’t even remember what my resolutions were last year - or if I even made any!

Anyway, I’d rather outline my vision of what I want to happen in my life in 2008.  This year I will choose between a career and a graduate education - and that choice is still very up in the air.  I really need to do some contemplation and decide what my priorities are right now.

I want to make more time for my friends - being in a serious relationship when you’re living with the person can really be consuming, and I don’t feel I’ve been giving enough of my time to the other important people in my life. 

I want to freakin relax!  I’ve never had so much anxiety in my life in 2007, and it really took a toll on me and my health.  I need to maintain a positive attitude, even when things become challenging or unpleasant.

I’m going to be consistent with being healthy.  I have injuries to both shoulders now, so I need to work on rehabilitation and preventing future injuries.  I want to be stronger and leaner - I’ve definitely made progress since the beginning of last year, and this year, I want to continue my progress to the next level - competition. 

I haven’t decided whether I want to compete in fitness modeling or figure, but there are two shows in AZ this year - one in April and one in September. My plan is to attend the April show to get an idea of what competing is all about and then to train really hard over the summer and compete in the September show.

Finally, I feel somewhat spiritually bereft. I am not a religious person, nor do I think I will ever be, but I feel like I need to find my own personal connection to something greater than myself, whether that be some form of God, the Universe, Nature, or whatever.

I think that about sums it up - and I think my goals for 2008 are completely doable.  I have several notebooks now that are keeping me accountable in some of those areas and I’m feeling good about 2008 and happy to close the book on 2007!