rdf803’s BodyBlog

Today I did my weight workout in the morning, which I usually avoid like the plague because I have much more energy in the afternoon.  However, I felt really great this morning so I went for it.  I did biceps and chest.

Incline dumbbell bench press
Flat dumbbell bench press
Dumbbell flyes
Dumbbell bicep curls
Dumbbell hammer curls

15 min. of cardio right after weight workout; 40 min cardio in the afternoon.
Food:
Goat Whey Shake
Oatmeal w/ cinnamon and splenda
Gyro w/ salad
Goat Whey Shake
Chicken, steamed veggies, brown rice

Okay, getting ready to head to the gym, so I’m going to try to make this quick–all of the following exercises were three sets each to failure.
Workout yesterday:
Overhead military press
Dumbbell upright rows
Front raises
Lateral raises
Shrugs

Also did forty minutes of cardio on the treadmill.

Food:

Coffee w/ diet hot chocolate
Oatmeal w/ cinnamon and splenda
Goat Whey Shake
Chicken w/ steamed veggies
Goat Whey Shake
Chicken w/ steamed broccoli

In addition to the above foods, I also had all my regular supplements!

I am often asked about the supplements I take, both by people on this site and in the real world.  Here is what I take and why:

Oryx Goat Whey–I used to take Dedicated Women’s Whey in Chocolate Bliss but the last few times I ordered it, it tasted funny.  So I moved on to the goat whey, which supposedly has a much higher absorbency rate–and I can use all the help I can get!

ALR Tri-Lean System–composed of Special Tactics (an appetite supressant), Hyperdrive (once a day fat burner), and Lean Dreams (a nighttime fat burner).  I love that none of these pills make me feel jittery.  I also take T-X, which is supposed to boost the thyroid.  I take a bottle, then lay off for a few months (per the instructions). 

Liquid Life–a liquid multivitamin.  It is the best I’ve ever taken.  Liquid vitamins are way better for you–more of the vitamins actually get into your system.  Vitamins in pill form are often washed out of the body before they can be absorbed.

CLA–Haven’t started taking this one yet–I ordered it yesterday and it’s on it’s way!   I’ve heard great things, though, so I went ahead and ordered the big bottle ’cause I know I’ll continue taking it, at least through the remainder of my cutting phase.

BSN N.O. Explode–I take this one about an hour before I head to the gym to lift weights.  It doesn’t give me a rush of energy, but really makes me feel a lot stronger during my workout.  Also, there’s no crash after taking it.  That’s a wonderful thing.

Scivation Xtend–an amino acid drink that I take during cardio–really helps me with stamina.  There have been a few times that I’ve forgotten to take it with me and don’t realize it ’til about halfway through my cardio session when I am more winded than normal.  So these days I’m very careful to remember to take it with me!

Okay, so yesterday everything was still a little off kilter.  I forgot to eat breakfast, ate lunch late, skipped shakes altogether, and didn’t hit the gym.  Here is what I did eat:

Morning:
Coffee w/ Diet Hot Chocolate (25 cals.) 

Lunch: 
4 oz. chicken
steamed mixed veggies

Snack:
1/2 C. oats

Dinner:
2 Boca Burger patties
Steamed Veggies

Evening ‘Snack’:
Diet Hot Chocolate (50 cals.)

I opted to not go to the gym.  I usually take one day off in the middle of the week, so yesterday was it.  Super excited about heading to the gym this afternoon, though!  Also started back on my supplements today.  I’ll talk about that in another blog.

January 1st workout:

Back, Triceps & Abs

Assisted Pull-ups–3 sets to failure
Bent over rows–3 sets to failure
Overhead Tricep Extensions–3 sets to failure
Bench Dips–3 sets to failure
Decline Crunches–3 sets of 20

Cardio:  40 minutes on treadmill (primarily 15% incline at 2.6-3.5 mph)

Meals:
Meal 1:  Whole wheat pancakes with sf syrup; scrambled egg beaters
Meal 2:  Protein Shake
Meal 3:  Light Key Lime Pie
Meal 4:  Garlic Chicken and Steamed Veggies
Meal 5:  Another piece of Light Key Lime Pie (left over from New Year’s Eve)

Meals weren’t frequent enough or the right nutrients, but I was off work so everything was thrown off a bit. 

So on the bb.com side I joined in the 2008 Transformation.  I am also hosting a 2008 Transformation with family and friends.  There are about nine participants.  I am so excited to see the progress everyone makes over the coming months. 

 As for myself, I started back in about a week ago.  I was so ready to start eating clean again.  I’d been hitting the gym fairly consistently, but not doing as much as I should’ve been while I was there.  So now it’s pretty hardcore.  Weights and cardio twice a day, but being careful to not overtrain.  Don’t need any setbacks!  Last time the weight came off slowly, but I’ve made a few adjustments and I think results will come much faster this time around. 

I will start logging what I eat each day–helps keep me accountable and also makes me think before I stuff something in my mouth.  Hopefully it will also help others if they are struggling with their diet–they can see what I’m doing, and maybe use that same program for themselves!

Wrote this a while back–didn’t accomplish what I wanted to so I’m restating these goals with new deadlines!

This weekend I sat down and wrote out my workouts from now until the end of December.  I wrote down all of my goals, too, so that when I am wanting to skip a workout or eat something I oughtn’t, I will look at those and remind myself of why I need to stay on track.  Just for further accountability, I will put them on here.  These are my current goals and the time frame in which I am aiming to accomplish them: 

• reduce weight back to 133 and BF% back to 18.8% without muscle loss–March 2008
• get fitness photos taken–April 2008
• be able to do an unassisted pull-up–July 2008
• do a one-arm push-up–July 2008
• have a pronounced V-taper–April 2008
• compete in my first figure competition–April 2008–UNCHANGED
• get my NSCA certification–June 2008–UNCHANGED

The timelines are fairly stringent and don’t allow for a lot of fooling around.  I will have to push myself if I want to reach those.  There is one other goal that I did not list on here, but I have it written down in my planner and when I accomplish that one, I will write about it on here; just don’t wanna do it beforehand.

I am an addict.  My drug of choice–food.

So if you heard a loud scream and a thud this afternoon and didn’t know what it was, it was me getting my body fat tested.  It was 22%!  Yikes!  Now, granted, I realized that it was going to be higher because I hadn’t been very careful with my diet while I was trying to put on some muscle, so I fully expected it to be back in the twenties.  However, I still did not like hearing that number!  I’d worked so hard to get it down to 18.8%!  But here’s the good news:  I’ve put on about three our four pounds of muscle in the past six weeks!  Also, I did get my body fat tested mid-afternoon instead of in the morning, and I did have quite a few more carbs than normal today, and it was done by someone else than the guy who normally does it.  So who knows…but I had an opportunity to get it done, and those opportunities don’t come often, so I had to jump on it.  Gives me a little extra fire under my feet for the coming weeks.  So here is my current motivation:  I have a friend graduating from officer training school in five weeks.  I want to look great for that.  Also, I will be wearing mess dress (a military tuxedo), that will show any extra bulge.  I am also aiming to have some fitness pics done in December, so despite a bad diet today, I don’t have much room for error during the coming weeks.  I have designated three cheat days between now and the end of the year, so somewhere within me I have to find the motivation to stick to my diet and workouts.  K, that’s it for now!  Later!

Okay, so it’s my first day back in the cutting phase and it sucks.  I don’t think it will continue to be that way, but I’m HUNGRY!  Not even for lack of food, because I’m still eating about the same, it just feels like less since I know I can’t have food anytime I want it.  I had some craisins a little while ago, which aren’t really on my food list, but they satisfied me and will help me make it through the afternoon.  I have 10-15 lbs. of fat to lose by the end of the year, but with muscle gain it may end up only being 8-10 lbs. of actual weight loss.  No biggie.  I don’t think it will take as long this time as it did last time; just gotta make sure I don’t skip any cardio sessions, because I know for me that is the key to success.  So back to twice a day cardio sessions, and four days per week of lifting.  I am actually looking forward to it this time around; not looking forward to being worn out, but looking forward to the results!  I’ll try to blog more often…it’s just as good for me as it is for anyone else.