lorelei729’s BodyBlog

After graduating from college and beginning to get pay checks again…  The first thing I did was get back to the gym!  I’d been working out at home with my treadmill and a 100 lb free-weight set I’d bought, but there’s only so much you can do without the exact equipment!  I started a five day split with cardio monday, tuesday, thursday, friday.  I might add wednesday in later if I start to platuea.

Monday: legs/abs/cardio

Tuesday:Chest/Cardio

Wednesday: Back/abs

Thursday: Arms/Cardio

Friday: Shoulders/abs/cardio

Sat: yoga

Sun: rest!

…for my first 5k!!  At the Arnold Classic in Columbus, March 7th and 8th.  I figure while I am there, too, I can get some great motivation and watch the pros at work at the first fitness/figure show I’ve ever seen live.  I’m in week two of my own 5k training plan and will finish it two weeks before the arnold.  Just in time to make sure I’ve got it down and maybe improve my times. 

After 4 long months of my final semester of college and graduation last friday (YES!!) It’s been a long time since I posted and I need to not only take a new, fresh look at my exercise/eating goals, but I need to formulate a plan.  So here it goes.

 Workout plan:

supersetting, light weight, quick paced workouts: M-W-F

Ab workout T-H-Sat

Interval run TH

dancing (my favorite) T-Sat

My new eating plan: (total:~1300 cal, ~100g protein, ~30g fiber.)  Any critiques would be welcome.

Breakfast: Oatmeal with flax seed and 1 egg (270 cal, 13g protein, 6g fiber)

Lunch: homemade, brothy, veggie soup and a tuna on a low carb wrap and an apple (320 cal, 24g protein, 8g fiber)

Snack: 1slice Ezekial bread with 1 tbsp of "natually more" peanut butter (160 cal, 9g protein, 5g fiber)

Dinner: 3 oz Chicken with 1 cup broccoli and a small sweet potato (315 cal, 32g protein, 8g fiber)

Evening snack: 1/2 cup cottage cheese, 1/2 cup yogurt, 1 cup mixed berries (190 cal, 20g protein, 3g fiber)

AM snack if I have a long day: Protein drink or protein bar

 Plan for Accountability:

This is key for me, not only do I have a hard time sticking to things in the past (hey, I’m honest) but I haven’t had any real need to be accountable to myself other than my desire to be healthy and fit.  So here it goes:

1. Weigh myself every friday in front of my husband!

2. Add extra cardio for lax behavior

3. Hang pics of fitness people who inspire me (Diana Chaloux, Maria Kang, Jamie Eason, Jennifer Nicole Lee, Tanji Johnson, Jen Hendershott, etc.) There’s one on my fridge, several in my workout room, and two in conspicuous cabinets where my husband has snacks!

4. I will post my weight fridays after he watches me weight in.

5. I will read/find new motivation every Sunday to "meditate" on throughout the week. 

Goals through the newyear: consistently meet these baseline objectives!!!

Goals for 2009:

Run for 3 miles without resting/walking

perform 10+ pullups (that’s right, I’m weak right now)

Reduce bodyfat to 18-20% (for starters)

Start a fitness myspace with pics taken by my husband’s friend Eli.

Perform 5+ handstand pushups 

Perform 10+ full, one-legged squats.

"Training is principally an act of faith. The athlete must believe in its efficacy; he must believe that through training he will become fitter and stronger; that by constant repetition of the same movements he will become more skillfull and his muscles more relaxed…He must be a fanatic for hard work and enthusiastic enough to enjoy it.”

Franz Stampfl from On Running, 1955

It looks like I am finally figuring out what works for my body and what works for my life.  I weighed in this morning at a nice 135.5 lbs.  Which makes me ECSTATIC because I’ve been playing around with my nutrition and workout for the last month because the scale wasn’t budging.  I obviously have some fat to lose, so that put a damper on my motivation.  This week, though, I made several productive changes.

1. I switched from soy protein to whey protein.

2. I made sure my post-workout snack was one such whey protein "meal".

3. I added glutamine in the mornings.

4. I increased the weight I am using in my exercises so I am challenged more.

5. I started using a "Priorities" planner, complete with workout times and meal times and it also includes any non-workout related priorities that I need to get done in a day.

Right now I am writing in a planner everything that I need to accomplish for the next week.  Including my workouts, (planned times of them and what body parts) as well as any priorities I have to complete.  I need to get my absent-mindedness under control and list-making has been effective for me in the past. 

Also, Here is the training split I began this week:

Sunday - Day off (Completely-I’m forcing myself) Plan and prepare for the next week.

Monday - Shoulder’s and Triceps, 15-40 minutes cardio 

Tuesday - Legs, 15-40 minutes of cardio

Wednesday - Pilates

Thursday - Chest and Biceps, 15-40 minutes cardio

Friday - Back, 15-40 minutes cardio

Saturday - Dance workout (one of my favs)

Cardio will vary day-to-day and I have made myself "cardio cards" which are basically a bunch of ideas on index cards of what I enjoy doing cardio-wise.  Draw a card and that’s your workout for the day.  They vary in intensity and length.

Through much trial and error, I have found that my own biggest issue isn’t a lack of will or knowledge, or even applying that knowledge.  My big problem is my absent-mindedness.  And while it permeates all of my life, it’s only recently that I have come to the conclusion that I have control of it.  My absent-minded habits have led me in the past to several fitness occluding things, including:

1. Munching when I’m bored, not hungry, and sometimes very uninterested in the food that is in front of me. 

2. Not keeping track of what I am eating, what weights I used last week, or when the last time I had a day of rest.

3. The inability to stop from eating all the munchies that my co-workers bring in on a very regular basis.  I wouldn’t even feel tempted…but (believe it or not) I’d pass by a pizza box, grab a slice and start eating before I even knew I had a slice in my hand.  (The happened at work the other night.  I stopped dead in my tracks, asking myself "What and I doing?  I don’t even want this and I’m getting ready to eat my own dinner.") 

4. I also have the typical "girl" problem.  Heavy weights.  Not that I didn’t think I was using them.  But I wasn’t.  I don’t increase my weight very often, and I didn’t pay enough attention to the fact that you aren’t lifting heavy… if you can do 15 reps of your "heavy weights."

5. I have had a hard time taking a day off from working out.  I would always say that I would, only to end up going ahead and working out anyways. (this I attribute to my over-active tendancies - which my husband refers to as ADHD.)

But how do I overcome the absent minded thinking?  It should be so easy.  In order to not be asent minded, one must be present in the moment.  But to be present in each and every moment when my whole life has been sporatic and spontaneous is no easy task.  It is a task which I will be constantly working on.  But now that I have descried the problem, I can at least start to fix it.

Knowing is half the battle.

In order to get somewhere…

you have to do things you have never done.

You have to take risks.

You have to take chances.

You have to challenge everything you are…

to become someone you never thought you could be.

Develop the strength, courage and faith -

train your body, mind and spirit -

BE everything you never thought you could…

And eventually you will become somebody you never thought you could be.

Okay, for the forth week in a row my weight is about the same.  I feel like I look good, I’m getting compliments, my clothing is fitting better, but the d*mn number on the scale isn’t budging!  I’ve been running 5 days of the week before breakfast, and including 3 days a week of weight lifting exercises.  My diet is the only thing I have yet to get completely under control, and I feel that this is the problem area.  I know people argue over the "will power" debate, but I just can’t seem to be consistent..mostly when I’m at work!  I hate to give excuses, as the only person I am hurting is myself… but I get to work and, just like every other day, they have tons of snacks.  Brownies, candy, doughnuts, Someone brought in goughlash.  And at first I was fine.  Then I opened up my shrimp, rice and veggies with tomato sauce on top (it sounded good when I threw it together) it tasted like cr*p.  I ate the shrimp out and had some goughlash, ate a few pieces of candy and a piece of a doughnut!  WTF?!  I was disgusted at myself and I ended up feeling sick.  But while I was eating, I felt like I didn’t even have control over what I put into my own mouth.  It sucked.  Then I weighed myself today and the same old number…138.  Of course, my sensible mind is telling me that I am probably bloated by the carbs I over-ate last night, but when I have 2 or 3 days a week that it happens, of course I’m not going to lose any fat.  I need to find out how to control this food-wandering-eye of mine, and get my eating under control.  I have also been encouraged to cut out wheat and milk for a week (which I suppose might be hard… considering how much I enjoy those foods) but my family has known food allergies to them.  So perhaps me cutting them out will aid in my fat-loss and maybe decrease cravings, too.  All I know is that I WANT to do this, I CAN do this!  I just have to find it within myself. 

I will be starting to write down everything I eat and applying the accountabuddy principles, as stated by Kris Gethin.  As well as keeping track of my calories/carbs/protein/etc. in fitday.com to make sure I am eating what I really think I am.

The next challenge?  I am going to cedar point on sunday.  I have decided to eat the best that I can while I’m there.  Here’s my plan:

7am-Wake and have egg beaters and veggie scramble. Get ready

8am-leave for Cedar Point

10am- Arrive at cedar point, have a protein bar. Ride rides.

12n-Have a sensible grilled chicken salad-available at their restaurants.  Walk around for a short time to look at shops and then ride more rollercoasters.

3p-Allow myself some-icecream-they do have sugar free options. Ride more rides.

6pm-Eat another protein bar and ride more rides

9pm-Leave the park, Eat the "shrimp Key West" option at TGI friday’s (on the lighter side list)

And come home to get some sleep for an early work day on monday.

I have always been a dreamer, a visualizer, but up until this morning I’ve had an issue carrying things out, just actually doing them.  I woke up 1/2 hour later than my alarm clock and though I had determined in my mind that I was going to go for a morning jog, my motivation was low and I had to force myself to change into clothes and even put my shoes on.  I started out walking, (I’m very new to long distance cardio-) and I knew right away that if I didn’t try to at least do one interval of jogging that I’d be disappointed in myself.  So I picked up my arms and strutted down the road.  Before long, I stopped and jogged another blocked and walked another, until an older gentleman jogged up past me, saying good morning.  He struck up a conversation and when he found out I was a newbie to jogging (except running intervals on the treadmill) he gave me a little advice.  Breathe through your mouth, loosen your arms up and hold your hands loose, keep a light pace at first.  Since I’ve never been a huge runner in the past, I soaked it up.  And "magically" I jogged with him for at least twice the distance I normally have been able to.  Maybe it was having a running partner, maybe it was the advice, but I was doing what I’d been dreaming about for a while.  We went our ways and I jogged most of the way home.  It was really great.  I am hoping that today I start doing more instead of just dreaming.  Follow through is so important!  So the day after my birthday (woohoo the big 2-7!) is the perfect time to start a new goal:  Dream AND Do. 

"Dreaming about a thing in order to do it properly is right; but dreaming about it when we should be doing it is wrong." ~Oswald Chambers