Monday, February 6, 2012

Day 36: Out of My Element

Wow, traveling and doing Body for Life is a challenge!  I guess that's part of why they call this a challenge.  I didn't realize how much of my progress was due to developing a finely honed routine.  My gym... my grocery store... my daily schedule.  Each day was just a repeat of the day before and that was working.

I gave myself a Free Day on the day that I flew to Florida but that was five days ago and my diet has been struggling ever since.  I've managed to get my workouts in but vacation is about yummy food!  Really, I've done better than I feel like I have but not as good as I was planning.  Finally last night I decided just to have two slices of pie and be done with it.  All of this picking at eating well but having little cheats was driving me crazy.  Better just to indulge once and then get back on the wagon.  Happily I've found that my motivation has returned and now I'm raring to go again.

If you've ever lost weight, has this happened to you... You overindulge once and then you feel sure that you've put all your weight back on?  I've lost 25 pounds since August but when I had two (small) slices of pie I was certain that I would look in the mirror and look like I did in July.  Fitness is so psychological, isn't it?

Monday, January 30, 2012

P.S.

We're packing up to head out of town so I'll update the blog when we get settled later this week.  I had a reassessment at the gym today and I was happy to learn that my body fat percentage has gone from 29.5% to 26.4%.  That's about a 10% drop, which I hope is good for four weeks.

Have a great mid-week, everyone!

Day 29: Week 4 Comparison Photo

Four weeks of Body for Life completed!  I'm starting to fit into a size 8, which was one of my end goals.  That's very thrilling for me.  Less thrilling were the photos that hubby took yesterday.  I can see some change but it's subtle.  I'm the Queen of Unrealistic Expectations, though, so I know to be patient and keep on working hard.

One thing is for sure... the tanning bed has made a difference.  Doctor's orders for Vitamin D!

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Day 27: Say No to Drugs

I learned a valuable lesson today.  It's best not to combine Sudafed, a cup of coffee, no breakfast and a cardio workout.  I mean, it was a great workout!  I was basically on speed.  But then my heart rate would not lower, even after I cooled off, stretched out and then sat in a chair.  In fact, when I was on the bike I began to feel dizzy and had visions of me getting off the bike and promptly collapsing to the floor.

After I sat for a while I tried to take my pulse.  But I couldn't remember if you timed it for 10 seconds and then multiplied by six or timed it for 6 seconds and multiplied it by ten... either way, I came up with 210, which I knew wasn't right!  So I asked the trainer on duty (who happens to be a paramedic) if he would check my pulse.  Thankfully it was down to 96 and I wasn't going to be spending the day at the ER or in rehab.

My husband and I went out to dinner last night and I counted it as my weekly Free Meal.  I wanted to eat healthy, though, because my devil scale said 128.4 yesterday morning.  That is soo close to a record low (since having children) of 127something.  Getting to that number meant more to me than anything on the menu, so I ordered an omelette.  My big splurge was some hash brown potatoes.

This morning?  127.2

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Day 25

Now I know why I was feeling particularly bad yesterday... I'm sick.  It's just a stupid cold but I feel like I've been hit by a truck.  Maybe not a Mack truck, but at least a Ford 150.

By yesterday afternoon I could tell I was coming down with something but it was just congestion and malaise at that point.  I went to the gym anyway and had a surprisingly good Upper Body Workout.  The weights I'm using are 5lbs, 8lbs, and 10lbs.  Just for kicks I tried to pick up one of the 35 pound dumbbells.  Couldn't even lift it out of its slot!

Ever the good citizen, I disinfected all of the weights and everything I touched afterwards.  I'd hate to get anyone else sick.  Today the cold has settled into my throat and chest so I'm postponing my cardio workout until tomorrow.  Hopefully I'll feel well enough to do it.

I'm still eating clean with the addition of some honey in my tea.  Tomorrow night hubby gets back from a business trip to Mexico and we're going to meet at a restaurant.  I'm looking forward to my free meal of the week!  And, of course, seeing hubby again!

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Day 24: SAD

I remember now why they named it Seasonal Affective Disorder because that's just how I feel... S.A.D.  It's been gray and gloomy since November and it has finally caught up to me.  I've heard that frequent moderately intense exercise works just as well as an anti-depressant.  Well, I'm doing/taking both, which has helped me win the battle... until now.

I am extremely fortunate to be able to get some significant relief by spending the month of February in Florida.  I know that sounds indulgent but it's truly a mental health solution.  Plus, driving down and renting a house inland for four weeks costs the same as flying down and staying at the beach for one.

I'll be bringing a set of free weights along but I won't have access to a gym.  The upside is that I should be able to get my cardio by going for walks/hikes/runs outside.  Exercise plus sunshine should mean good things!

This challenge is keeping me focused on healthy behaviors.  It is very typical for SAD sufferers to binge on carbs and lounge around all day.  But I am still determined to follow the eating plan and go to the gym each day, whether I feel like it or not.  It's nice not to have to think about it and try to decide if I should or shouldn't go.  No, I'm going because it's what I do.  It's also nice not to be feeling guilty as I watch myself gain weight all winter.

I may feel depressed but at least my body is improving!  That's worth ten Prozacs right there.

Monday, January 23, 2012

Day 22: Wherein I Commit an Act of Violence

Never have I harbored so much hatred for an inanimate object.  The manufacturer of my scale may say Conair but I know from whence it truly comes... the bowels of hell.  There is a little demon who lives in my scale and just loves to taunt me. 
My Scale - Possibly PhotoShopped


This morning's workout was not so good.  Oh, I did the Lower Body exercises but I just didn't have any energy.  I'm wondering if it's because I did it too late in the morning in a still fasting state.  It's one thing to do a pre-breakfast workout soon after getting up.  But to put off breakfast until 11:00am because you can't get to the gym until 10:00am may not be such a good idea.

I tried on the size 8 dress that now zips but doesn't quite fit.  Since I can't trust that demonically possessed scale, I'm looking for other ways to measure progress.  So I'll keep trying on the dress every couple of weeks.  I also tried on some skirts that I could not get up past my thighs last summer.  They fit perfectly!  That will be nice for our vacation next month.

Size 8 - In Need of a Sweater or Shawl!

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Day 20

I thought that since it was 4 degrees and four inches of snow had fallen that the gym would be empty this morning.  Wrong!  There are some very determined exercisers in my small town.  I wish they'd go away.  (Kidding!)

My worst fear came true... all of the treadmills were taken.  Plan B, an elliptical.  Also all taken.  A stairclimber?  I'd kill myself.  Besides, they were all taken.  There was one bike left and not one of the good ones.  Thankfully after eight minutes of hell one of the good ones became available and I snatched it up.

I had some extended family drama early this morning and almost missed getting to the gym.  The drama took hours of my time and I was tempted to blow off my workout.  But no... that is priority Numero Uno.  Well, actually Numero Dos since family did come first.

I took my frustrations out on that poor exercise bicycle and got my heart rate up nice and high.  I did intervals for 20 minutes and then 10 more minutes of moderate intensity.  It was a great distraction from the drama and the endorphin high afterwards was a blessing, too.

You know what's nice?  Having a collar bone again.  I never knew that I'd measure progress by my neck.  I may not be happy with my tummy but that collar bone sure is pretty.

Friday, January 20, 2012

Day 19: Closing in on a Goal

There has been a great discussion going on at the Body for Life forum about how often one should weigh himself.  I wholeheartedly agree with those who say that the scale can deceive and that we should look to other signs of progress, like measurements and how our clothes fit.  And yet, even though I believe that, I can not shake my habit of checking the scale first thing every morning.  I may be a wee bit obsessive/compulsive.

Argh.  Today it was back at 130.  Whyyyy can't I break through this number??  I make it to 128 but then it goes to 130.  Before I was stuck at 131/130/132.  I want it to be 120.  That's do-a-dance-down-Main Street level of happiness.  But I'd be delighted to be stuck around 125.  It's been months and I can not consistently get lower than 129.  Do you see what I mean about obsessive?

There could be all sorts of good reasons why the scale isn't budging.  It could be muscle growth.  That's a good thing!  I may need to tighten up the eating plan a bit.  It could be PMS (for months on end?!).

So today I decided that maybe the folks at the Body for Life forum know what they're talking about and I decided to check my progress in other ways.  I couldn't find the measuring tape so I decided to try on a size 8 dress that I knew didn't fit.  This was going to be depressing because I just know that I haven't changed sizes.  But I wanted to see if maybe instead of not being able to zip it up at all, maybe I could get it partially zipped.

Wow, I got it zipped all the way up!  Now, it was tight and not what I would call a good fit, so I'm not really a true size 8 yet... but I'm closing in on it.  That was my goal by the end of 12 weeks.  I may just get there at the end of four weeks.  Ain't no way I'll ever be a size 6, though.

Here is my Dream List from the Body for Life journal.  You are supposed to write down what you'd love to achieve.  In the past I would write down all sorts of lofty goals... and then never reach them.  This time I decided to be more modest in my dreams in the hope that they were more reasonable than before.


It's tough to read but my goals are as follows:
* Wear a size 8
* Do 4.2 on the treadmill for 10 minutes
* Develop good posture - No sore neck
* Build a strong core
* Lose 8 pounds, maybe reach 121
* Be able to see abdominals
* Get my cholesterol down to 200

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Day 17

It's Wednesday and that means another Abs class.  This time I was the only student.  It was like having my own (free) personal trainer.  But there was nowhere to hide!!  I truly hate this woman.  (Kidding!)  I thought that two sets were sufficient, but she insisted on three.  If I tried to cheat on my form to make it easier, she caught me.  She said she wants me to think of her tomorrow... meaning she wants me to feel the results of today's workout.  Oh, don't worry.  I will.  ~glares at her~

We had a fancy church function last night and I received several nice compliments on my evolving appearance.  I should take a picture of me in the form fitting red dress.  I look much better fully clothed and wearing Spanx.  I've never worn a bikini in my life... not even when I was a skinny teen.

I'm so glad that my religious convictions require modest clothing!  I feel bad for the young girls today who want to dress in fashion but are unhappy with their figures.  I even feel bad for the skinny ones who are learning that their value depends on looking "hot".  Covering up doesn't mean you're a prude.  It shows that you want to be valued for what matters... your kindness, intelligence, sense of humor.  Trust me, if men are staring at your boobs, they're not admiring your witty style of repartee.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Day 16: Week 2 Photos

Alright, what's a Body for Life blog without progress photos, right?  That's what we all like to see.  I'd like to see more progress but it's only been two weeks!  At least I do see a little progress and that inspires me to work even harder.

I seriously need new photographers.  The first photos were taken by my wonderful husband who has many skills... photography not being one of them.  The Week 2 photos were taken by my 11 year old, who can be excused due to his young age and inexperience.  Maybe for Week 12 I'll splurge for a pro!  Maybe I'll hire a better model, too!




Nothing too dramatic but I'm pleased to see some changes.  Hopefully in two more weeks there will be more changes.  I'm definitely motivated to focus much harder on eating clean and kicking up the cardio.

I did something today at the gym that I just. don't. do.  Y'all... I jogged.  For the last minute of my cardio on the treadmill I decided to bring the speed up to 4.2 and break out into a jog.  I was jamming along to the songs on my iPod (Hanson's Mmmbop and Bon Jovi/Jennifer Nettles' Who Says You Can't Go Home, if you must know my eclectic tastes.) and the endorphins were flowing and I just wanted to do more.

I've never been a runner.  I'm not built like a runner... I'm, uh... too curvy.  If I'm going to do this again, I'm going to need a better sports bra!

Monday, January 16, 2012

Day 15

Monday morning and I'm back on track.  I had a good Upper Body Workout at the gym and I'm following the eating plan that I put together ahead of time.  I was going to take photos today, since it's the end of two weeks but I decided to wait until tomorrow.  I want a day of clean eating first!

I haven't posted any photos yet because I want to be able to put up a comparison, even if it is only two weeks worth.  It's just too hard to put up the "Before" shots without having something to point to and show some improvement, no matter how slight.

I'm not expecting to see any changes because I don't see them in the mirror or in how my clothes are fitting.  Part of the problem is that the smallest amount of salt or carbs makes me puff up like the Pillsbury Dough Boy.  I hate that!  I've got to figure out a way to deal with water retention.  In the Body for Life book, Bill Phillips strongly recommends the consumption of large quantities of water each day.  For some reason, that is difficult for me.  I just don't want to drink water.  But I'm going to work on increasing my consumption.

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Day 13: The Perils of Not Planning

Today is Saturday and I have good news and bad news.  The good:  I had an all day pro-life conference to attend and needed to leave my house by 9:00am.  Going against my every instinct, I woke up early and went to the gym at 7:30am.  I'm not a morning person, so that was truly revolutionary for me.  Yay me, getting in a workout even though it was early and I had other things to go do!

The bad news:  I meant to bring along healthy foods to the conference but forgot.  They had boxed lunches, which were a fried chicken meal.  In fact, this conference had lots of food available, like cookies and chips.  But I did try to make better-ish choices.  I had one fried chicken breast and not the two that were in the box.  I did have the mashed potatoes and cole slaw but not the biscuit or cookies.  I grabbed an apple, instead.

Dinner was a sloppy-joe sandwich (I took off the top half of the bun) and tater tots.  I know, right?  I'm 40 years old and still eating tater tots.  I'm chalking today up to being a free day, even though I just had my free meal on Thursday.  It could have been better but in the past, I would have done worse.  I haven't been planning out my meals on paper, like the Body for Life journal has you do.  That would undoubtedly help, so I'm going to start doing that. 

Winging it makes me have to make choices when I'm hungry, which is the worst time to be making those sorts of choices.  If I had taken my lunch along, I wouldn't have had to think, "Should I have the cole slaw or does the sauce make it high in calories?  How much damage can one small dish of mashed potatoes do?  Those cookies look good... me want cookies!".

It's best to do my thinking ahead of time and then just follow the plan, regardless of what temptations spring up.  Live and learn!  Ugh, I feel so full.  And guilty.  And dismayed that I'll probably not see 128 for a while.  Thankfully tomorrow is another day and I will learn from my mistakes.

Friday, January 13, 2012

Day 12: New Low

Last night I went out with some friends so I planned ahead of time to have my Free Meal then, rather than this Sunday.  That's the second Thursday in a row that I've swapped out my Sunday Free Meal.  (I'm doing a Free "Meal" rather than Free "Day" because I'm afraid that I'd do too much damage with an entire day of eating with abandon.)

Heck, I was nervous just having a Free Meal.  Even though I was looking forward to it I panicked a bit when we got to the restaurant.  Should I really eat whatever I wanted?  What if I wanted the fried appetizer platter?  And a cocktail?  And gooey cake for dessert?

Maybe I should get the grilled fish and broccoli and figure that the one mixed drink would add enough calories to the day?  But I didn't want the grilled fish and broccoli.

To make matters tougher, yesterday morning I was thrilled to see the scale say 128.0.  I didn't want to wreck that!  What if I had dessert and then the next day the scale reads 129?  I've worked so hard to get down to 128.  But I know that it's important to indulge now and then or else I will get extremely burned out and run the risk of cursing it all and then binging.

So with great anxiety (a sickness, really), I ordered the trout almondine, grilled zucchini, sweet potato fries, a peach martini and had one small cupcake for dessert.  Oh yeah, and a garlic muffin or two.  All in all, it was a yummy indulgence but it wasn't too over-the-top.

I brought home the other three cupcakes to give to my children and today at lunch I wiped the extra frosting off of the container with my finger and ate it.  Ohhh man, I could have caved right there and then and eaten the cupcakes myself.  I was so tempted by the sweet sugar goodness.

Sometimes I wonder if there isn't some similarity with alcoholics.  I seem to be better off avoiding all sweets completely.  Having "just one" is enough to knock me off the wagon and bring back all of my old cravings.

The happy news is that the scale this morning said 128.8.  I doubt very much that I gained more than half a pound from one dinner... it might be the higher salt content from dinner causing that reading.

This morning I thought, "Oh, gee... do I have to go to the gym again??  The answer was YES! so I went and had a decent Lower Body Workout.  I read these Body for Life champions who say things like, "I've become so much more clear headed and focused and exercise became a routine.".  I'm not there yet.  The pull of the bed on a cold winter's morning is still very strong!

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Day 11: Staying Motivated

I ran into a friend of mine at the gym this morning.  She had just finished her workout and yet seemed dejected.  That's usually when my endorphins are pumping and I'm in love with the world.  It seems that she's having trouble staying motivated.  Boy, do I remember how that feels.  I live in fear of it overtaking me, much like a flu virus.

I've been reading lots of fitness articles, all of the Body for Life books and immersing myself in before and after pictures, hoping to ward off the no-motivation blues.  But that's like pounding down a bunch of Vitamin C and eating chicken soup in the hope of preventing a cold ten weeks down the road.  It might help you in the immediate future but it's not going to be enough to sustain you throughout the season.

How do you get remotivated when the inevitable blahs hit?  What do you do on those days when you just don't feel like doing anything?  I remember years ago pulling into the parking lot of the fitness club and being unwilling to get out of my car.  I just didn't feel like exercising.  I wanted some chocolate cake.  So I decided to listen to my body and went and got some cake, then went home.

The problem is, having wimped out once it's all too easy to do it again.  I've got to figure out a way of not pushing myself into total burnout but not letting myself off the hook too easy.  I want so much to get right back on track if I run into an obstacle or just have a bad day.  That's going to take some self discipline, which is a lot harder and more painful to build than muscles.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Day 10: ABSolutely Challenging!

This morning I took a 1/2 hour Abs class at the gym.  I was hoping to sneak in and be in the back row, unobserved by most everyone.  Six full-term pregnancies have left my abdominal muscles with the strength of a bowl full of jelly.  But that was not to be... there was only one other student!

The instructor was awesome, very creative and encouraging and faintly reminiscent of a drill sergeant.  At one point I was thinking, "I may hate this woman." but I meant it in a nice way!  We used those ginormous exercise balls that you can sit on.  Trying to hold it between my legs and move them side to side, while my top half did something else was quite the challenge.

Afterwards I did my Upper Body Workout and hit all 9s and 10s.  So today was a great exercise day.  My weight this morning was 129.2 so any day now I hope to see the magic number of 128.  I haven't seen that in fifteen years!

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Day 9: The Next Decade (of pounds)

Whoohoo!  Finally 129.8 lbs.  Now I just hope that I can stay in the 120s.  I know that muscle weighs more than fat, so if I'm burning off fat and building muscle the scale might not show a loss.  But I want that number to go down!

If I think about it rationally, I realize that on New Year's Day I weighed 132, thanks to all of the cookies and other holiday treats.  So within two weeks I've lost more than two pounds.  That's reasonable!  I was just hoping to get to 125 by February 1st but I don't think that's going to happen.

My ultimate goal is a flat stomach and a size 8.  If I can achieve that, it shouldn't matter what the scale says.  It shouldn't.  I had a great cardio session this morning, trying not to hum along to Journey again!  Tomorrow is the Abs class.  I hope I can make it through.

Monday, January 9, 2012

Day 8

I think Lower Body Workouts are my favorite.  I have issues with my shoulders and neck, so Upper Body is a bit more challenging.  But Lower Body is fun... except for that wretched Leg Curl machine.  My hamstrings are always sooo tight so those exercises hurt.

I upped the weight a little bit for each exercise so I was hitting 8s and 9s by the final set.  Tomorrow I'm going to be sore, so I've taken some Advil and rubbed IcyHot into my hamstrings.

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Day 7

And on the seventh day she rested.  But still ate clean because she had her Free Meal on Thursday.

Actually, I was proud of myself for not having anything at Coffee and Donuts after Mass this morning.  I was so busy talking with my friends that I didn't even get a chance to get a cup of coffee.  By the time I got home from church I was starving but had some oatmeal with protein powder and a scrambled egg.

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Day 6: Don't Stop Believin'

Double workout this morning!  I did yesterday's Upper Body Workout and today's cardio.  Hubby had me borrow his iPod and listening to upbeat music really made the cardio time fly by.  It also made it easier to walk faster.  I was just afraid I was going to start humming along to the songs!  Someone walking by could say, "Oh, she's listening to Journey.".


I have been trying to break into the 120s for weeks.  I've seen 129 on my scale a time or two but then it inexplicably goes back up to 130... 131.  Well, I suppose there is an explanation.  The holidays.  But dang, today I'm at 130.4 and I feel like I've been here for months.

Every morning I check the scale first thing.  It reminds me of all the pregnancy tests I've taken.  I used to hop out of bed first thing in the morning and go do a test.  If it was negative I'd think, "Well, maybe tomorrow it'll turn positive." and then I'd hop out of bed the next morning, hope springing eternal.  When I go to bed at night I think, "Maybe tomorrow the scale will say 129!".  Bleh.

Friday, January 6, 2012

Day 5

I did no workout today because of this morning's funeral and then the four hour drive home.  Tomorrow I intend to do today's Upper Body Workout along with the scheduled Cardio session.  So I won't really have missed a workout.

I ate pretty good, considering I was traveling.  For breakfast at the hotel I had scrambled eggs with sausage and 1/2 of a bagel with some cream cheese.  Lunch was a small Wendy's hamburger and a small fry.  Dinner was a small portion of hubby's chili spaghetti.  I did have one oatmeal cookie on the drive home that my son had gotten from the hotel.  I tried to make decent choices and compared to my old eating habits, they were!

Eternal rest, grant my dear Great-Uncle, Lord.

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Day 4: Out of Town

I have the Body for Life Success Journal and I love how it can keep me organized and motivated for the entire challenge.  Today's Success Story is Carolyn Culverhouse and her transformation is amazing!  It shows the results of each of three challenges.  She went from a size 20 to a size 4 and honestly, she looks 20 years younger.

This morning I did my first High Intensity Interval Training cardio workout.  I did 20 minutes and watched every one of them on the treadmill timer.  I finally broke a sweat and got my heart rate into the fat burning 150s.  Love those endorphins afterwards!

Later this afternoon I drove four hours to my hometown in order to attend a funeral tomorrow.  I can't remember the last time I was in my hometown and I have no idea when I'll be back, so I decided that today will be my Free Day for eating and I'll eat clean on Sunday.  I just had to have my favorites... LaRosa's pizza and Graeter's ice cream.  (Quick, from what city do I hail?)  They were soooo good.  I don't feel too guilty having a Free Meal on Day 4 since I had a good cardio workout this morning and ate clean the first 3/4 of the day.  I promise that I'll be good from here 'til the next official Free Day!

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Day 3

It's amazing how quickly a stomach flu can come and go.  I felt good enough this morning to go to the gym.  (Don't worry... I disinfected every surface I touched!)  I was going to take an Abs class but didn't think I had the strength for that.  It's only offered on Wednesdays so I'll try again next week.  My core really needs help and all I can think to do are boring ol' crunches.  Hopefully this class will give me lots of new ideas.  Hopefully it won't kill me or have me be the only one who can't do all of the exercises.

Today was a Lower Body Workout.  One thing I've always found interesting about the Body for Life program is that there are no exercises that focus on the inner thighs or outer thighs.  I know other exercises will hit those muscles but not like the Abduction and Adduction machines at the gym do.  Besides, those are my favorite machines for some reason.  So I've added them to the workout plan.

On the other hand, I've never found it necessary to target my calf muscles.  They seem to build strength by virtue of the other exercises and all of the cardio... the treadmill, the stairclimber, etc...  I wonder if it's a man thing.  Maybe men like to work their calf muscles super much.  I tend to leave that muscle group out of the plan.  That decision was confirmed today when I was doing Calf Raises on a small step and I fell off.  Okie dokie... my calves are fine, thanks.  Moving on.

Leg Extensions:                          Reps  Weight  Intensity Level
                                                    10      15lbs.       7
                                                     8       20lbs.       7
                                                     6       25lbs.       8
Leg Press:                                    12      40lbs.       8


Leg Curls (Hate!):                           10      15lbs.       7
                                                      8      20lbs.       8
                                                      6      25lbs.       8
Deadlifts:                                        12     5lbs.        7


Calf Raises (Dangerous!):                 8       3lbs.      7
                                                      8       5lbs.      8
                                                      6       8lbs.      9

Abduction:                                      10       50lbs.      6
                                                       8       60lbs.      7
                                                       6       65lbs.      8
                                                      12      60lbs.      7

Adduction:                                      10       50lbs.      6
                                                       8       60lbs.      7
                                                       6       65lbs.      8
                                                      12      60lbs.      8

Okay, clearly I'm not hitting my high points but this is the first Lower Body Workout of the challenge and I don't want to be in a ton of pain tomorrow.  Once I get accustomed to weight lifting, I'll amp it up.  As it is, I still might not be able to walk tomorrow!

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Day 2: Stomach Flu

I'm so confident that this challenge is going to transform my shape that I'm going to blog each day of the journey.  That way when all the folks say, "Tell us how you did it, VillageJen!" I can send them here.  Some hubris, huh?

Today is Day 2 and I spent the entire day in bed with the stomach flu.  It came on yesterday afternoon, thankfully after I did my workout.  Here is what I've had to eat:

Morning:  Coffee
Late Afternoon:  5 Ritz crackers and 5 cubes of cheddar cheese
Late Evening:  Wendy's baked potato and sour cream, Wendy's Frosty

That definitely was not the original plan.  But by evening I just needed calories and fluids so I asked my husband to bring home the Wendy's.  I think it helped.

Lovely.  Only the second day and I've already missed a workout.  I toyed with the idea of starting over next week with Day 1.  But I decided no... this is a little setback and I will keep on going.

Monday, January 2, 2012

Body for Life: Challenge One, Day 1

This may be the second day of the new year but it's the first day of my new life.  Today I am starting the Body for Life challenge and in twelve weeks I intend to be much stronger, leaner and more fit than I am now.  I've begun this challenge several times in the past ten years but something has always come along to throw me off track.  Usually a new baby!

My motivation and determination are solid this time.  I will finish, no matter what happens.  It might not be a perfect challenge but I will give it everything I've got.  I'm convinced that weight loss and exercise are more of a mental challenge than a physical one.  If you're not ready mentally, it just won't happen.  But when it clicks and you are, you will persevere and meet your goals.

So here are my Challenge One, Day 1 stats:

Weight:  132  (I've lost 20 pounds over the past few months via diet)
Body Fat:  29.5%

Day 1 is an Upper Body Workout.  I'm not doing all six sets per muscle group yet.  I'll work my way up to that.  If I do too much, too soon I will become cripplingly sore and have to give up.  For the past month I have been going to the gym and doing two sets of 10 reps at a very light weight.  As light as possible.  Now I feel ready to kick it up a notch.

Flyes:                                         Reps  Weight  Intensity Level
                                                    10      3lbs.       5
                                                     8       5lbs.       6
                                                     6       8lbs.       7
Bench Press:                                12       5lbs.      7

Pullovers:                                      10      3lbs.       6
                                                      8      5lbs.       8
                                                      6      8lbs.       9
Pulldown:                                      12     20lbs.      8

Lying Dumbbell Exten.:                  10        3lbs.      6
                                                      8       5lbs.      8
                                                      6       8lbs.      9
Bench Dips:                                   12                   9

Curls:                                             10       3lbs.      5
                                                       8       5lbs.      6
                                                       6       8lbs.      8
Hammer Curls:                               12       5lbs.      8


I'll post the "Before" photos when I get brave enough to do so.  It takes a lot of guts to put your flabby body photo out there.  And I've got more guts than I'd like... kind of a beer belly gut!  But hey, I've got six beautiful babies out of the deal!