Crystal’s Rants

Wednesday and I must say it was a good Wednesday, more energy today so I wanted to really take advantage when I hit the gym. For that reason I doubled up with tri’s and bi’s along with cardio.

The Precor crosstrainer was great for 30 minutes at the end of the workout completely drained me which is always a sign of a good workout..hehe… so needless to say tonight I will be ready for some sleepy time!

As for the diet, tuna is getting very old already even though I am preparing it a variety of ways but food isn’t for pleasure it is for nourishment so I will suck it up and until then start looking for fun new ways to prepare it!

Oh and btw… today I attempted to after I was exhausted add a couple pics to my progress… this is one of those..hehe

I can feel the difference in my diet on the second day i actually was starting to get hungry when I was supposed to, but all the food also at the end of the day along with my workout 30 mins cardio on the bike and a harsh shoulder workout has me completely drained.  I need to work on having a little more energy because a lot of times I need the energy when I get home to wrap up some work!

Today was tough, I am not used to having 6 meals with as much protein as I actually need.  So when I decided to take on something similar to that of a contest prep diet it was a big undertaking.  My what normally would be lunch I had already eaten/drank protein 3 times!  I was stuffed with still more to come.  But I managed to think in the back of my head how this would benefit my overall goals so I pressed through.  My diet looked something like this:

morning around 9:30:
Protein Shake (Oats N Whey)

Noonish:
southwestern egg whites (1/2 cup) scrambled
4 oz chicken with fajita seasoning

2:30:
smoked tuna (5 oz) spinach salad with raspberry vinigerette and cranberries

4:45:
Protein Shake (Oats N Whey) before workout

7:45 - Originally I was going to eat chicken and steamed veggies but this sounded better tonight sometimes you have to go with your gut…hehe
southwestern egg whites (1/2 cup) scrambled
4 oz chicken with fajita seasoning
1/2 c black beans and jalapenos for taste

9:30 (final meal thank god)
1/2 a papaya or mandarine oranges
1/2 c cottage cheese

Needless to say that is a lot of stuff going on for a single day, especially a first day but it was made easier by the suggestion of Nic902 who mentioned fitday.com for food journaling.  In total before my final meal I was sitting at 67% of the total calories consumed coming from protein so give me a week and I think I will begin to see things happen in the way I feel and also the way things are looking!!

Last week I started back to the gym, this week I am taking on the diet once and for all doing something that closely resembles a contest-prep diet or so I have been told.

The problem:  I don’t think I can eat any more and it is only half way through the day!!

I have managed my diet within normal bounds for months, eating well but adding cheat meals in every so often, the thing is I wasn’t getting enough protein no matter how hard I tried with other foods in the mix.  So the diet I am working toward will match my weight with 1 gram of protein per body pound for optimum weight management and progress.

I began with my morning protein shake (oats and whey - 24 grams of protein) then a couple hours later it was time to eat real food, to which I chose egg whites and chicken.  I typically can’t stand egg whites but with 1/2 a cup of the southwest style egg whites and a little fajita seasoning for the chicken it was entirely different story.

This brings me to 2 p.m. almost time to eat again, I have planned tuna and spinach salad with cranberries and a raspberry vinaigrette, I am full already!!  I am sure I can muscle through the small portion though, I am not so optimistic about following that up with a protein shake before my workout around 5:30.

After my workout I am always a bit hungry because I work so hard so the plan is to have dinner chicken and steamed veggies and then just before bed finish off the day with cottage cheese.  Things might change on that dinner menu a little but that is the plan as of this moment, if they do change I am sure it will be more toward chicken and eggs again as I really decided I liked that earlier!!

Workout today is Cardio and chest so wish me luck and I will report back tonight as to if I made it through the day!

we arrived at the gym tonight and they were closing in 20 minutes, still first week at new gym and had no idea they closed early on friday…so in that 20 minutes i had a lot of work to do… instead of being able to do cardio and weights as planned i ended up just being able to complete my bicep workout with limited rest in between sets.  I did lighter weight and more reps for this workout and by the time I was finished I could feel it more than ever expected.  Tonight my arms are dead from the speeding through the workout but almost a week under my belt and I am starting to already feel results!!

Today was Day 4 of my Journey to February and so it was cardio and back day!!

Did a really amazing cardio workout for 30 minutes on the Precor Crosstrainer at the steepest incline and 11 resistance by the time I was finished my legs were like jello!  Oh well all the better for my butt and thighs, keep going at this rate and I will be able to rock out a killer short dress for All-Star parties!

Back workout included pulldowns, seated rows, seated one arm row, reverse grip rows and some weird exercise that i can’t name but is a killer using the bar and a weight positioning it under the leg press machine and lifting only a single end using the attachment used for the row, it is some kind of standing row just not sure what its exact title is but OMG feel the burn!

At the new gym it is kinda hit or miss on the crowd, personally I prefer to workout when there isn’t a huge crowd, seems to make it easier with the space flow, so today I was really excited when I arrived and there were only a handful of people there.

I went on did my 20 minutes of cardio on the Precor machine doing the stairs option which after 20 minutes I must say will kick your butt and thighs.  I was going to move on and do 20 more minutes on a bike or something (really trying to keep my cardio moving closer and closer to 40 minutes to an hour), but looked down and realized that the few people that were there had left and it was only a me and the two people I workout with there.  So instead I moved down to the weights and had an amazing and I repeat AMAZING tricep workout!!

By the time I was finished it was one of those workouts where you are pumped up so much that you are tired yet have energy and I remembered exactly why I like days like today when I am the only girl in the weight room and really busting out an impressive workout!!

Today was the second day of my long journey to February, it was a long day!!  A very long day!

It began running frantic around my house to get ready to go run errands found time to grab some cranberry oatmeal then drove to Frisco for a bball camp which I was going to take pics for a local foundation.

From there back home, dropped off a bridal portrait to a bride for her wedding Saturday and the to the gym but not before I could grab a little snack, more oatmeal, from the house.  I know not the best but I had to eat something and didn’t have a lot of time for finding food due to my crazy schedule.

I knew my day at the gym was going to be just cardio today because I need to get back into the swing of things but also need to do so in a manner that isn’t as strict as my 2 a days I built up to before.  I did 40 minutes of cardio doing what was around 80 flights of stairs and 2 miles on the crosstrainer machine.  As soon as I was finished I could feel the burn!  I am going to love those machines for my thighs and butt!!

Tonight I had a lot of catching up to do so I sat down with grilled chicken and rice chomped down, will be so happy when protein gets in tomorrow that way I can have that in my diet day to day, i just can’t eat enough to make up for that protein without feeling sluggish!

Now working and really happy that day 2 is over, things will start to fall into place more and more as I go but I look forward to building back up to being able to do over an hour of cardio along with daily alternating body parts with weights!

On my journey to February I officially started today at my new gym and LOVED IT!  I will be posting some pics tomorrow of the awesome layout, but wanted to document the first day.

Today I did shoulders and cardio, 45 minutes of cardio on the Precor crosstrainer which I have never used before but decided I LOVE!  Shoulders were my typical workout with single arm raises to the side, front raises, shoulder press, arnolds and seated raises (pretty sure they have another name but i am a loss for words right now but basically you sit and lean over and then do kinda a butterfly motion)

In addition today was the first day of my official diet, without protein however because until wednesday i am proteinless (that is when my order comes in)  So instead I had oatmeal with cranberries for breakfast and the best grilled skirt steak ever for lunch, unfortunately there was not time for a snack before workout so that teamed with a horrid sinus headache played some havoc on me during workout so NOTE TO SELF always have small snack before workout when I don’t have protein.  For dinner following workout, still btw working on when exactly I will be working out on a more regular schedule, I had a small steak sandwich on oat bread eating in my own picky style where i usually eat most of the meat and very little of the bread, people just look at you strange when you order only meat!  Tonight small snack will be grilled chicken more than likely or perhaps a sweet potato.

I still need to tweak my eating habits but until then I am going to list what all I eat every day to help me realize what things I eat that I need to work on.

Wish me luck, day 2 is just around the corner on my goal to February!!

Ok so I have come a long way, but getting to my dream physique is still just that a dream.  I need some work!!  So today I made the official decision I needed a new long term goal date to work toward.  This always has helped me in setting my mini goals and has helped me make great progress thus far.

I have always been told to make your goal official you have to put it out there and make it known so it is real and you have others knowing your goal and helping push you along, so the new official goal is the first week in Feb!!

Several reasons behind this date… first being 7 months is a good time frame to shed some 30 pounds or make that 30 pounds look a lot better, not to mention that will give me time to get back into the gym which has been a cutting the fat out of the budget item which has gone away for the time being.  It allows me to work hard and get things done the right way instead of doing the crash dieting because of an unrealistic goal and furthermore, I have a big event in Feb that really has me motivated, the All-Star Break in Dallas!

Not to mention that is just before my birthday and so it would be perfect timing!  So there it is my new goal!  The road will be a tough one but the goal is now set so no backing out!