prettyface’s BodyBlog

Just checkin in so you guys would know I haven’t fallen off the wagon again. Haven’t been up to much, though. I can sum it all up in two words - "Swine Flu"

Anywho, hang in, keep on those goals, talk to ya’ll when I rejoin the "land of the living" hahaha. (Seriously, I’m really feeling better.)

Love. Smiles.

Well… I got good news over the weekend. All of the "fat" I thought I had gained was indeed "fluid."
The bad news is - there’s a pill for that! Now my blood pressure is wacky. It’s been everywhere between 90/60 to 148/101 today. Grrr… My blood pressure has always been near perfect. But "fluid" pills are also blood pressure pills. I’m just not sure why it’s going up?
Don’t get me wrong - I am very glad to get rid of the fluid. I’ve lost 14 pounds since Sat., which I had thought was all weight gain. My extremities were in serious pain and are better now, and I actually FEEL like working out. I’m very proud of those things.
It’s just frustrating that everything seems to help one thing and make another worse.
Anyways… that is enough pouting.

I’ve done pretty good on watching my food, but I haven’t worked up to an actual "diet" yet. I may start that tomorrow, though.
My smoking resolution is wavering, but I’m going to try and rally myself back up tonight.
With all of this excess fluid leaving my body, I actually feel like working out. That’s definitely a step in the right direction.

I guess we’ll see what tomorrow brings…

.. in a sense, I guess.

My dad always said that, and I thought "How weird?" But I think he was right. On not smoking, it is definately the only way I’m going to pull through. Each mistake is a mistake in and of its own, and not a reason to quit. (Wow, that’s a lot like following a diet or workout plan, huh?) Slow and easy… until it becomes a habit. Then, you move on to the next step. Then, the next. Before you know it you’re totally aggressive. I think that’s how it works. Hmmm…

Anyways - today has been good. Calm. Peaceful. After work, I am going shopping for some nice "clean" groceries.

I’m not sure that I’ll be starting an exact diet, until I quit smoking completely. Right now, I’m still having one or two a day, and still wanting one ALL day! LOL! That leads to a lot of eating, and chewing gum. (On a lighter note, I have rediscovered the joys of spearmint and blowing bubbles when no one’s looking, lol.)

Anyway, that’s not at all related to bodybuilding, and completely related to bodybuilding depending on how you look at it. The point is, right now I’m not sure if I have enough discipline to eat my meals in exact proportions and at exact time intervals. I’ve got a lot "on my plate" already.

I do think it is time, though, to kick that junk food back out of my kitchen. Why am I even buying white bread, when whole grain breads are so much tastier and healthier? Why are there 2 liters of Mt. Dew in the fridge, if I am so concerned with my obesity? (the words lazy and self-indulgent come to mind.)

So, tonight I’m shopping. I’m just wondering when I’ll be able to truly maintain a balanced diet, and where to start.
My old diet worked. It worked well, in fact. But I spent two hours every night preparing food. It’s worth it in the end, but right now I need an "entry level diet", in a manner of speaking.

Anyway, I’m a total scatter-brain today. They’re still some thoughts to ponder, though…

Okay, I fell off the wagon. Actually, I’ve been sitting in the road watching the wagon disappear in a cloud of dust. But, I’m about to catch up to the darn thing and get on again.

I know it sounds cliché - I don’t care.

How many times will I "get back on the wagon"?
AS MANY TIMES AS IT TAKES!

I can do this, I know I can, and I am never going to let myself off of the hook because of laziness. I will succeed. Everytime I fail, I will learn from it, I will pick myself up, and I will try again.

So, here goes -
I’ve gotten off of all of my depression medications. (Yes, the friendly little guys who helped me pack on the pounds.) I weaned myself off of them, on my own. That has been difficult and painful, but worth it. That was just too many sedatives - I didn’t feel strongly about anything at all, good or bad.
I am now quitting smoking, which is also difficult and painful. Also worth it.
What’ll happen to my body in the next few weeks, who knows? But when all is said and done my body will be free of chemicals. I’ll be "clean" so to speak.
Then, it’s time for the next difficult undertaking - weaning myself back off of the junk food and Mt. Dew.

I’ve got to face the fact that the only person I can blame for the shape that I am in is me.

I followed my diet STRICTLY for the previous five or six days. Unfortunately, this weekend sent me into an emotional eating binge like nobody’s business. What IS that? Food makes nothing better - actually makes them worse. But for some reason when I cry I reach for a bag of cheese puffs instead of a box of puffs.

I didn’t gain, I just didn’t lose.

I’m just way bummed out in general. I won’t even go into all of it - but I don’t think my meds or my mind are quite strong enough lately!

I’m still trying to stay motivated but, ugh.

I called my husband to see what time we’re working out. He’s had a bad day and isn’t going to work out with me. So wish me luck. I’m going ….. that’s pretty much the whole plan.

I dunno…….   If anyone’s reading, thanks for listening.

Okay, this is just an odd little observation that I decided to write down.

Before I was around any bodybuilders I sort of expected the men to be pretty pig-headed. (I’m sorry but I just kinda did.) In all fairness, I’ve always been intimidate by female bodybuilders, and expected them to judge my rotund self as well.

I’ve been shocked at how horribly wrong I was about those things. The girls and guys are both sooo much more supportive than I would have thought. The men especially.

The male owner at the gym I go to usually comments when I have lost weight. So do some of the other guys. They also seem to pass out more support and compliments to all of the girls there than your average guy would. The people on this website are the same.

Most of the bodybuilders I have talked to in person and on-line give me a lot of support and credit for trying to get the fat off.

Whether you have given me support or other "big girls" who are trying to get it off, I wanna say thanks.

Okay I am starting a new diet today. Following an exact meal plan every single day except for dinner. I wrote it up, then asked the owner of my gym to check it out. She only had to tweak it a little (Yay!) She just added a banana and suggest a few more carbs. I’m sooo excited. I think that not leaving anything up to interpretation will keep me from messing up so much.  (i.e. "A burger wouldn’t be too bad - I DO need the protein - I won’t get ketchup. hahaha)
Seriously, though I am so very excited about this.
Without dinner (because that will change from day to day) I will have six meals totaling 81 Carbs, 128 protein, 29 fat (i think i need to cut that) 1 sugar and 1035 calories.
I went to the store last night and felt like a goob buying 5 dozen eggs, 20 cans of tuna, etc. I’ve done great today. I just hope this works!

The hubby and I did legs and chest last night - along with cardio.
I hate doing chest - it kills! I guess that probably means that I should keep working on it.
Fortunately, I LOVE the legs exercises. Also, my legs seem to show improvement quickly. I may be crazy but I already think my legs are a little firmer than they were last week.
The only thing I am worried about is that my legs are going to be huge. I guess I’ll worry about that later in when I try to detail and for now, just enjoy the fact that you can actually see muscle somewhere on my body!
Haha

If anyone is reading… how much can you control how your proportions work out? I hope I’m not ALL legs when I get through????

Happy day to everyone!

Two girls I work with and I organized a weight loss challenge through the newspaper we work for. Last year, we had 40 participants and the winner received $400 and a gym membership.
Yesterday and today are the weigh-ins. We had 33 people yesterday. I was psyched. We are here for four hours today, one down, three to go. Off the clock, too. And guess what? It’s coming a flippin’ flash flood. We haven’t weighed in the first person today!
I sure wish the rain would go away.
We charge everyone $10, but then the winner gets all of the money in the pool. I was hoping that we’d have at least more people than last year. I really am blaming the rain. I had to give myself a pep talk to drive in this stuff.
Anyway, maybe we can help keep the 33 people motivated. As long as we help one person, it’s been worth the effort!
It helps keep me motivated too. We run spreads in the paper with all kinds of information and recipes. The three of us girls blog and it runs in the paper with progress photos. There is some motivation for ya! You aren’t going to go buy a Big Mac when the girl behind the counter is gonna ask "Aren’t you on a diet?"

….. Hey, after I pouted I actually got to stop and weigh in some entries. WooHoo!

Wow, majorly sore this morning … in a very good way.

My husband (who recently joined the gym!) and I spent some serious time working out this weekend. Yesterday, we worked until the sweat on my shirt literally almost met in the middle. It was absolutely great - and I still feel good today, although my shoulders are a little mad at me.

I’m way excited about that, though. When I first started, doing chest and shoulders made me want to cry - literally. I’d be thinking all the way through every set "I may as well just go home."

Yesterday, I was able to increase my weight on every machine I do for those work-outs. Granted, it was only from 20 lbs. to 30, but hey, I’m improving.

My arms are starting to look more like arms than long marshmallows, too. I couldn’t be more excited.

I’ve always wished I could wear tank tops in the summer. By this summer, I may just be able to wear them without shame. (I had to admit it, but there are some things big girls just shouldn’t wear! LOL)

I think I’ve hit my breakthrough point, and I’m sooo excited to be on my way!