Day 35: I'm still here

Ok I clearly suck at this updating thing. BUT I have been working out and have lost 11 pounds since Day 1. My life has been busy and hectic to update. I normally get home from the gym later at night and by that time, I don't feel like turning on the computer and blogging.

I'm going to try to make updating this puppy a monthly habit, i'll try to do it more often.

I have been sticking to my Abs Diet workouts and because I wasn't really seeing results w/ the meal plan, I switched over to the Fat Smash Diet (which has helped me many times before) to kinda get my body going again. I think I needed to shock it and wake it up a little. I lost about 3lbs this week doing it.

Because January was a slower weight loss month for me than I had planned, I really want to lose another 11lbs before February is over.

I have been doing Jillian's new workouts that are on On Demand and that are just ass kickers. It's her No More Trouble Zones and Blast the Fat and Boost Metabolism. They're basically like a best of Jillian kind of workouts. It's all of her butt kicking moves from her books and DVDs and then some. I have never sweated so much during any workout and I'm supposed to do the more cardio focused one today. I would almost rather do the Level 3 30 day shred, than that workout. that's how hardcore it is.

Once I get below the 50lbs mark (from my overall weight, not me starting up again), I think I'll start posting my transformation pictures I have been taking weekly.

Week 6 starts tomorrow :)

Day 13: so i suck at the everyday blogging

So why have I been slacking on the blogging you ask...

Thursday was my "free day" because I went to a concert Thursday night and didn't get home til 11:30ish, so by that time, I was in no mood to blog. Yesterday was Allison's birthday and a huge group of us went bowling. SO MUCH FUN!!! I don't know why we don't go bowling more often. OH! Plus, since I have been working out, I fit back into my cute demin skirt (the one in the smaller size!). I'm telling you all this because Allison wanted to rock tube socks and shorts and I said I'd totally be down. So she and I talked about it for the past 2 weeks, easily, and then last night no one else actually rocked the socks except Kara. Everyone thought Allison was just joking. Who jokes about tube socks??? So Allison rocked the socks and shorts and I rocked the socks and skirt! I wouldn't have been able to do that 2 weeks ago. But I have gotten off the topic...

Well bowling was at 9pm and I knew I had to work out. So Nicole T and I went to Bally's and lifted after work and by the time I got home at 7 and got ready, it was time for me to run out the door and not blog. I SWEAR I will post my calorie updates and fitness updates from the last two days and part of today's later. Tonight I'm heading out to dinner for Anthony's birthday and I saved cheat meal for this.

So as I told my MSMers, I'm so proud of myself! I managed to not eat ANY of the bowling alley junk food and I didn't have a single drink (let me tell you, this no drinking thing is not easy. I am trying to remember how I went the 87 days last time)! I did my abs this morning and I'm gonna do my cardio before the dinner and after apartment hunting this afternoon.

Being good is so hard but so worth it in the end, and that's all I have to remember. I have lost 7lbs in 13 days so far and I fit back into my Express high waisted wide leg work pants again. 9 more pounds and I'm back to my lowest weight. Then the REAL journey begins. I was looking at my Week 1 and Week 2 pictures I took (yeah I'm still debating when/if i want to post these pics) and it's crazy how much of a difference you really can see. I'm thinking maybe when I drop down my 9lbs, I'll post the old pics and the new ones. I just don't fully feel comfortable posting pictures yet. I mean, I'm only wearing a sports bra and spandex shorts that I scrunch up, so it's kind of Biggest Loser-esque (ps, I only have spandex shorts to throw under other shorts or to work out in, in the privacy of my own home. Although, I do admit, when I was close to my lowest weight, I did wear those out jogging once, but it was kind of ok).

Anyway, I'm excited to get down that next 9lbs. I'm hoping that will only take me another 2-3 weeks to get there.

Day 10: Go Big or Go Home

So I decided to push myself more with lifting tonight after a kind of shitty end of my day. I just kept thinking, "go big or go home. you can do this! look at those huge guys (they were literally huge), they aren't punking out." So I did. I don't think I was pushing myself enough. It's time to keep doing that. It's like Jillian has said, "it may feel like you're going to die, but you're not." I have to say, I can kind of see changes. I have biceps again. It's kind of nice. I actually feel a little stronger too. It's sort of empowering.

It was kind of nice to push it. I have decided Wednesdays are my downfall. Work just sucks on Wednesdays apparently and I ALWAYS get thrown off my schedule (even pre-workout/blog). Anyway, I tried to stay on task, I really did, but I didn't drink enough water today and didn't eat enough.

Here are the totals-

Crunches- 15
Reverse Crunches- 15
Oblique V Ups- 10 each side
Planks- 2 for 30 seconds each
Back Extensions- 12 reps; 10lbs

(The drill hasn't changed, see previous blogs)
Squats- 50lbs; 50lbs
Bench Press- Bar; Bar
Pulldown- 60lbs; 60lbs
Military Press- 15lbs; 15 and 12
Upright Row- 15lbs; 12lbs
Tricep Kickbacks- 12lbs; 12lbs
Leg Extensions- 80lbs; 80 and 90lbs
Bicep Curls- 12lbs; machine- 30lbs
Leg Curls- 70lbs; 70 and 80lbs

Food Totals
Calories- 1105
Fat- 28.75g
Fiber- 24.7
Protein- 61

Water- 64oz
Coffee- 20ish oz

Day 9: I'm Running Out of Cute Things to Say

Not much to report today besides totals. I think I did all of my venting yesterday.

Cardio Workout
5 mins Warm up
45 mins jogging
10 mins walking
5 mins cool down

Food Totals-
112oz water
10oz coffee

Calories- 1303
Fat- 35g
Fiber- 22.7g
Protein- 65g

Day 8: I Do Love Cardio

First off, i only ended up losing 3lbs last week. Now, I know most of you are saying "wow that's so awesome!" but really, not so much. This is why I say that. I'd be super happy with 3lbs, if I was on week 3-22 of my diet, not week 1. I understand and appreciate that muscle weighs heavier. But I also understand, the first week is when you drop water weight. I should have lost closer to 5lbs. I also looked back at my logs (from last week and last year) and realized that if I eat more than 1200 calories in a day and don't work out hardcore, I won't lose weight. Now, I don't know if this was because I wasn't doing too much weight training lost year or if my metabolism really just sucks that much. I hate the fact that I essentially almost have to eat an unhealthy amount of calories to drop weight. If I go over 1300cals I'm done. I won't lose weight for that day. I also know this because of my obsessive weighing in on a regular basis. I also decided to measure myself a couple of extra times this week. wouldn't you know, the morning after, a seemingly regular eating and exercise day, i would gain back a little weight AND inches (ok, not FULL inches, but little tick marks on the measuring tape). If I don't go big, I may as well go home and that sucks and it's unfair. I have done all the formulas imaginable to figure out what I should be eating calorie wise to lose weight and let me tell you, they all put me up higher than what I'm eating. If i eat my recommended amounts for weight loss (towards a little bit on the higher end), I'm LUCKY to maintain. I don't advise anyone to do what I'm doing with how little claorie wise I eat and how much I have to bust my ass all at the same time. But for me, if i'm going to drop lbs, I think this is what I have to do.

So I know the Abs Diet says not to over do the cardio, so you don't breakdown your muscles you're building. BUT i also read in the book to do what works for you. So on that note, I decided to do what works for me. I did cardio after my lifting tonight. I feel so GOOD and happy after doing the cardio. I have decided, to try to prevent injury, that I'm not gonna jog every day. I'll only jog on my designated cardio days. On my lifting days, I'm going to use the eliptical since it low impact. Now, I already know of a couple of days where my schedule is going to get changed, up, so as only as I do what was originally planned for that day, I'll be set.

So a lot of my fellow MSMers are doing Jillian's 30 Day Shred right now and I'm super jealous! I really do miss the shread, but since i'm lifting now, I don't want to over do it and fatigue my muscles out. I really want to improve and get to a point where, when I do the shred, I can use more than just 8lbs and not feel like I'm gonna die.

I also hoping I'm pushing myself enough with my lifting. The weights class I took in college, warned that we don't push ourselves enough. I noticed that my lifting has stayed close to the same and I feel like I need to bump it up a notch or 12. I got a HUGE reality check today too. Back in my lifting prime in college, I went from doing a 125lb leg press to a 225lb leg press in the matter of a semester. I could barely do 3 good reps at 160lbs tonight. I know I keep everyone not too push themselves too hard and get back into the routine, so I think I will do that for the rest of this week and then I think I need to start varying up the exercises (still same muscle groups) and continue on like that. I think I'm sorta anxious b/c I know Jillian's "winning by losing" has a lot of variations and breaks up the work outs more. I am kind of torn though because I do like the full body lifting, but if I start doing EVERYTHING, i'll never get through lifting! I guess I just need to sit down and figure out a plan.

Anyway, the return of the breakdowns!

5 min warm up on eliptical

Abs Workout-
Standing Crunch- 1 set, 15 reps, 25lbs
Pulse Up- 1 set, 12 reps
Saxon Side Bend- 1 set, 10 each side, 15lbs each arm
Side Plank- 2 on each side, 30 seconds each
Back extensions- 1 set, 12 reps, 10lbs

Lifting (all 2 sets, all 10 reps unless otherwise noted, 2 circuits)
Squats- 12 reps, Bar and 30lbs
Bench Press- Bar and Bar
Pulldowns- 60lbs; 50lbs
Military Press- 12lbs each arm; 15lbs each arm
Upright Row- 12lbs each arm; 15lbs each arm
Tricep Kick Backs- 12lbs each arm; 12lbs each arm
Leg Extensions - 12 reps; 70lbs; 80lbs
Bicep Curl- 12lbs each arm; 12lbs each arm
Leg Curl- 12 reps, 60lbs; 70lbs

40 mins of cardio on the eliptical

116oz water
20oz coffee

Food Totals-
Calories- 1002 (actually this might be higher. I did some grazing after my workout on some almonds, raisins, and hummus ( to go with some carrots). Total is probably closer to 1100)
Fat- 33g
Fiber- 23.7g
Protein- 65g

Day 7: One Week Down

YAY! I made it through the week! ok so I didn't blog yesterday. Yesterday ended up being my off day and I worked at today instead. I ended up doing my crunches and about an hour of cardio. I have been kind of slacking with the writing everything down, but I'm getting back into it because I need to.

It's been quite the week. I'm actually seeing my muscles start to come back! I have biceps again :) I do have to say, I do miss doing cardio (yeah, I just typed that). I know the Abs Diet focuses more on lifting, but I was reading in the book, if what you were doing works, then stick to it. So I think I'm going to start up doing more cardio again. I know I shouldn't be focusing on the pounds on the scale, but i just know that I honestly and truly need to lose actually poundage beyond just inches and body fat. Ugh, it gets so hard not to fall into old habits.

I'll have to see if I lost 2lbs tomorrow.
I did try to blog everyday
I did eat out 2 times this week, but I think that's ok.
I did go to the gym 6 times this week :)

Week 2 Goals
Keep up the weight loss
Keep going to the gym 6x/week

Day 5: A Sentence or 2 Counts, Right?

I need to start doing these blogs earlier. Ok i'm about to crash b/c I'm going to try to get up early and go to the gym before my haircut at 9am.

So, short, sweet, and to the point. I did my "legs focused" circuit today and did really well. Eating and drinking enough water did get a tad tougher b/c I have been busy at work and just not thinking and focusing as much. I'll Edit to Add daily totals for the last 2 days tomorrow :)