[LWilson212]

Originally Posted by Chanceous

Yeah, look at your photos. You're tripping. Why are you on a diet? :-)

Thank you so much - this cracked me up! I love how all of us girls say everything with lots of words, but the guys keep it short and sweet.

Originally Posted by LadyNoir

Don't go too hard on yourself. I feel like we are in the same boat when it come to goals and results so far. My goal was to get those lean carved legs and butt. But so far all the progress seems to be in my arms. But I know the muscle is there I can feel it! It's just got to show it's self sometime. I think just maybe that it's the last place we'll see it. We just have to keep at it and be patient. We're going in the right direction!

You're right - we are going in the right direction! Patience and determination is all we need.

Originally Posted by DirtyMartini

That's funny - I really want dead-sexy arms & shoulders, and I feel like the places I'm making the most progress are my ass & thighs. I don't really care about those, I want my upper body to look good!

How about we trade?

Leah, you look fantastic. You look STRONG!

Thanks DM! I think your arms and shoulders are progressing nicely. None of this is gonna happen overnight, but it will happen.

Originally Posted by DanceDiva

Leah, this comment made me smile.

However, I would say about the only thing that you are doing "wrong" is measuring your progress against the body part you want to change the most. We are just those types that hold junk in our trunk, and it's not going to be as quick to move.

You are doing wonderful.

Thanks Tracey. I agree that measuring my success against one body part is foolish and self-defeating. I am trying to hold on to my excitement about weight lifting and getting stronger and just let the rest go.

Last night's workout:

My first martial arts class was awesome! The first two sessions are going to be one-on-one to bring us up to speed for group classes. We learned some basic foot moves, defensive stance, punches, kicks, and one self-defense move. The instructor held a foam block for me to practice the punches and kicks and checked out my form and corrected some stuff. Everyone was really nice and I didn't feel intimidated or uncomfortable or anything. To finish off, we reviewed everything we learned all together. It was a great workout and fun as hell!
The best was, most of our hobbies are stuff Shawn has been doing since he was a kid and he is always riding my butt about being too timid and needing to push my limits more. This is the first thing we have ever taken up together with both of us as beginners. At then end of the class when he had us do all the moves we learned, Shawn was doubled over sucking wind hard during the kicks and had to take a little break. I was pretty excited about my superior stamina. Not that it is a competition or anything, but it still felt cool.
I was feeling kind of crappy all day from my head and face hurting, but this class got me so pumped I forgot all about it. When we got home we changed clothes and jumped on our bikes for my first ride of the season. Yeah!! This is the start of my 5th riding season and I didn't feel hesitant at all. I wanted a motorcycle for a long time, but I was always too scared. My first two seasons I was still nervous a lot. Last night everything felt like second nature and I was filled with amazement at myself that I am doing something I never thought I could do, and doing it without hesitation and fear holding me back. It was awesome!

Today's food plan:
(Weight: 160.8 BF%:25)

Breakfast: 3 slices bacon, scrambled egg, asiago cheese
Morning snack: string cheese and beef jerky
Lunch: steak salad w/cheese & ranch dressing
Afternoon snack: tuna w/mayo
Dinner: either broiled tilapia parm w/collards or taco skillet

Evening: pre/post workout shakes

Tonight is Hyp II C1 - There are some exercises in here I've never done before, so it should be fun.