"As far as (healthy) eating, either do it, or don't. Same issues repeated over and over is just insanity. We either commit to the endeavor or pay lip-service to it. This is the hardest part of the whole process, and it needs to be practiced more than the actual physical training. It's mind training." ~ Matt Thorne
"The reason that most people fail instead of succeed is that they trade what they want most for what they want at the moment."
McClain - LOL about the second dissertation I am glad I've started this while I'm off for the summer and only working on an article. If I had started this while teaching, I'd probably quit. What are you getting your degree in? Yes, my dad's side is from the deep south so I get alot of my sayings from those relatives but I get my insane sense of humor from my momma and 'nem
Stephanie - Glad I could make you laugh!!! Leigh's advice was spot-on and I can't wait to get started working with her one-on-one although taking pictures in my granny panties
I decided to take a full rest day although I did walk in the mall (Del Amo) which is equivalent of walking the length of a regular mall 4 times.
Eats were finally good today.
Calories: 1677
Protein: 49%
Carbs: 29%
Fat: 21%
Tomorrow, I'll do workout A-1 and cardio.
Hey Donna,
I am getting my PhD in Social Work in Austin, TX. I should be 100% focused on that but I have become OBSESSED with losing as much bodyfat as possible and learning how to do it the right way. I had my first baby in my first year of school (wouldn't recommend that ) and want to get preggo again soon so i'm bustin ass....literally. BTW---my family is from Mississippi.
I am glad you got to talk to Leigh. She is fantastic and a hardass without being mean about it. love that. I'm in the same boat with you as I struggle to get the foods right. It is a MAJOR challenge for me to cut calories. I'm on the fourth day and already starting to feel bored and deprived....poor me. thank goodness i've got all of you to relate to!
Lisa - Yes, I live in South Bay and commute to Orange County three times per week. I know, I know...but he who makes the most money and pays the most rent gets the pick of the litter
Lori - You know how I make sure I get in my requisite protein? I follow a little trick I learned from Tom Venuto's Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle. I only have lean protein and green vegetables for my last meal of the day. I have protein and carbs (including starchy ones) for the rest of my meals and snacks. That's it...just ditch the starchy carbs for one meal and make sure you have protein with every meal and snack.
McClain - Leigh's advice was amazing and talking to her was a breath of fresh air. I realized in talking to her that this is about progress and not perfection but also consistency that I've never displayed before. So tracking ain't easy or always fun but being overweight and unhealthy surely isn't either.
Let's see...I did my weight work but skipped the cardio. Don't know why....probably because I was pooped.
Wide Stance DB Deadlifts 3x10x15lbs
Comments: Only felt slight tightness in my hamstrings.
Swiss Ball Bridges
3x10
Comments: I do believe it's these jokers that caused the DOMS in my hamstrings. Those things are no joke.
Swiss Ball Flys 3x10x12lbs
Comments: Challenging but doable
Neutral Grip Shoulder Press
3x10x12lbs
Comments: 12lbs are much better than 10lbs which were too light.
Prone Supermans 3x10
Comments: Why do I sweat like a slave working from sun up to sun down with no iced tea with these?
Low to High DB Woodchops
3x10x12lbs
Comments: Form was much better on these.
Planks
1x60seconds, 2x30seconds
Comments: Good grief!! That first plank nearly took me out. Literally, I was huffing and puffing like I was "Fat Bastard chasing after Mini Me."
Yesterday (Friday) was officially a bad day I woke up with outrageous lower back pain and I knew I needed to do some cardio so I attempted some floor aerobics but after 15 minutes into it, my back locked up and I spent the next hour on my mat with my legs elevated by some pillows.
I'm guessing it was either the prone supermans or the planks from the day before that did me in. Eventually I did get up because I had to pick up my husband from the airport but even getting in and out of the car was a struggle. Eating wasn't much better either. I went over my calories and my macros were all over the place. As soon as we got home around 7pm, I went to bed and woke up around 5am this morning.
My back does feel better although there is some lingering pain on my right side. I've decided to bite the bullet and head to the gym this morning and do a long but easy treadmill walk (no inclines today) and pop some Advil if worse comes to worse.
I know this is my first week back to consistent training but I've been humbled by how much improvement I need to make esp. with regards to my core. I've always had pretty strong limbs but my powerhouse lacks power and I need to reverse that trend.
"As far as (healthy) eating, either do it, or don't. Same issues repeated over and over is just insanity. We either commit to the endeavor or pay lip-service to it. This is the hardest part of the whole process, and it needs to be practiced more than the actual physical training. It's mind training." ~ Matt Thorne
"The reason that most people fail instead of succeed is that they trade what they want most for what they want at the moment."
Lori - I ended up having my husband put IcyHot on my back and I'm going to bed with a heating pad. We did go a model train show which was pretty interesting. My husband looked like a kid in a candy store and our credit card got to jumpin'
I did walk for 30 minutes before we went to the show. I did feel my back but it wasn't as bad as it was on Friday. I stayed within my calories but my macros were totally off:
OMGosh... my dh is a HUGE model train fanatic... your husband would love to check out our basement, where he has a big display set up. That's why he thinks we need a bigger house... more room for his trains LOL!
"As far as (healthy) eating, either do it, or don't. Same issues repeated over and over is just insanity. We either commit to the endeavor or pay lip-service to it. This is the hardest part of the whole process, and it needs to be practiced more than the actual physical training. It's mind training." ~ Matt Thorne
"The reason that most people fail instead of succeed is that they trade what they want most for what they want at the moment."
I'm down 2.2lbs this week Initially I was bummed because I didn't have a huge loss but when I put this into perspective, this is major for me. First, I had trouble sticking with my calorie target for a few days. Next, with sore hamstrings and a sore back, I missed my last weight and cardio workout and finally, which is a real improvement for me, I ate out 3 times this week but managed to keep it pretty much in check. Normally, I binge eat on the weekends because DH and I like to go to concerts, movies, etc. But this time, I planned for these outings and made the best possible choices I could (usually lean protein and vegetables). I avoided all fried foods (which are my cocaine and salt is my oral vice of choice). I drank water and pee'd like a race horse.
Yesterday, when we went to see The Dark Knight, I wanted some popcorn real BAAAAAAAAAAD. My resolve was slipping but I thought to myself, "If I can make it through the previews and still want the popcorn, I'll have it." To make matters worse, a family sits next to us and the wife comes in with a tub of buttery popcorn. You should have seen me....I looked like a crackhead...sniffing their popcorn and fidgeting around My husband looked at me like, "WTF is wrong with you?" But after 10 zillion previews, the craving subsided and I was proud of myself for riding it out.
So upward and onward...I'm pretty shocked I haven't thought about quitting once yet. Even the calorie counting, which used to make me neurotic is getting better the more I track. I still have improvements to make but with this first week under my belt, I definitely know this program works.
I'm down 2.2lbs this week Initially I was bummed because I didn't have a huge loss but when I put this into perspective, this is major for me.
Don't be bummed - you lost 1% of your bodyweight. That's an excellent start. We all tend to get into the fad diets (lose 10 pounds in 7 days stuff) where they push the idea that a couple of pounds isn't good enough.
And good thing, staying away from the popcorn. Aside from the calories you would be likely retaining water and the weigh-in would be higher.
It sounds like things are going great for you. I would be psyched with a 2.2 lb. loss in one week. That is a big loss in my opinion. Weekends are tough...I had a hard time staying on track this weekend also. great job!!
Major kudos on riding out the popcorn craving! You're doing great...any loss means you're moving in the right direction. Just keep doing what you're doing...you're on your way.
OPT - Workout A2
Step Ups - 3x10 (no weights and challenging enough)
DB Face Pulls - 3x10x10lbs (I used 12's last week and they were a bit too heavy)
Bent Over Rows - 3x10x20lbs (in a few weeks, I'll have to get either some adjustable weights or go to the gym because this weight will become light very soon)
Standing Curls - 3x10x10lbs (I wondered why this felt light. I used 12's last week and didn't bother to look over my log before I started working out )
Trunk Extensions - 3x10 (I admit I was a bit scared to do these because of my back last week but I'm pretty sure it was the prone supermans and planks that did my back in; this move is actually kinda fun)
Side Planks - 2 each side (1 minute holds. I modifed this one and bent my knees. I have to work up to a full leg extension on these)
20 Minute Kickboxing Workout @74% avg HR.
Ended the day at
Calories: 1784 (1749 is my target)
Protein: 33%
Carbs: 32%
Fat: 28%
Thanks for all of the kudos everyone I'm just trying to keep it up since I know this program works. I just need to keep working it.
"As far as (healthy) eating, either do it, or don't. Same issues repeated over and over is just insanity. We either commit to the endeavor or pay lip-service to it. This is the hardest part of the whole process, and it needs to be practiced more than the actual physical training. It's mind training." ~ Matt Thorne
"The reason that most people fail instead of succeed is that they trade what they want most for what they want at the moment."
Why did my lazy ass not go grocery shopping yesterday? Why? It's not like I had to work (hell, I didn't even get any writing done). Well, by not doing the grocery shopping, it set me up for a horrendous eating day today. I had to go into the office early this morning and I had nothing to eat for breakfast, nor take with me for lunch. I seriously convinced myself that could wing it on "healthy" fast food. That so did not happen. Granted, I didn't totally lose my mind but still. There is no excuse for this as my former English teacher used to say, "An excuse is the skin of the truth, packed with lies!"
I'm actually sort of glad this happened now because it is one of the behaviors I have to reign in esp. before I start another semester of teaching. I have five weeks before the fall term begins and I need to make sure I'm doing my grocery shopping, prepping meals and even setting out my workout gear on a consistent basis. My teaching load has increased this year from 3 to 4 classes so I really have to be on my toes.
So here's the damage report:
1865 calories (target is 1749)
24% Protein
44% Carbs
30% Fat
I did my cardio today (my only saving grace of the day). I did 50 minutes on the elliptical machine @ 70% avg. HR. Tomorrow, I will be doing A-1 lifting and 20-30 minutes of cardio.
I love your attitude Donna.... everything is a learning experience, right? Considering how bad it could have been with fast food, I don't think you did too badly at all... you're only 100 calories over! Nice job with the elliptical, too!
Planning will definitely be my issue as the school year approaches, also... we'll keep each other honest LOL!
"As far as (healthy) eating, either do it, or don't. Same issues repeated over and over is just insanity. We either commit to the endeavor or pay lip-service to it. This is the hardest part of the whole process, and it needs to be practiced more than the actual physical training. It's mind training." ~ Matt Thorne
"The reason that most people fail instead of succeed is that they trade what they want most for what they want at the moment."
I finally got to the grocery store Wednesday afternoon. But I went hungry (cause there was no food in the house) which was a bad idea. I went over my calories and didn't even exercise Just have a lot of crap going on with our apartment (converted the complex to Section 8 - low income without any of the current residents being informed) and going through the loan process for a new house.
Yesterday was much better. I did OPT Workout A-1 and I got my calories (but not macros) right.
Wide Stance DB Deadlifts 3x10x15lbs
Swiss Ball Bridges 3x10
Swiss Ball Flys 3x10x12
Shoulder Press 3x10x12
Prone Supermans 3x10
Low to High DB Woodchops 3x10x12
Front Planks 3x30sec holds (these were extremely tough yesterday)
Today, I'll be doing steady state cardio. I'll post my totals and workout later.
I'm still here. I've just had some very stressful and emotional days. On Friday, I barely got in 1000 calories and on Saturday, I just made 1200. I haven't had the energy to workout either. I'm much better today although I ate too much (2200 calories), I suppose to compensate for the last 2. I did do alot of walking today (and have the blisters on my feet to prove it ). So tomorrow, I'll be back on track.
(((hugs))) Donna... sorry to hear you've had some rough days. My eating was *somewhat* less than stellar Friday and Saturday (to say the least), but I managed to salvage today, so I'm back on track too. We can do this!!
"As far as (healthy) eating, either do it, or don't. Same issues repeated over and over is just insanity. We either commit to the endeavor or pay lip-service to it. This is the hardest part of the whole process, and it needs to be practiced more than the actual physical training. It's mind training." ~ Matt Thorne
"The reason that most people fail instead of succeed is that they trade what they want most for what they want at the moment."
I really wasn't expecting much after two days of hardly eating and the next day (right before weigh-in) of making up for lost time. But lo and behold, I lost 3lbs Prior to the mother of all arguments with my husband over the home loan we've applied for, I was doing okay in terms of diet and exercise. Come Friday, however, I just wanted to crawl into the fetal position and stay that way. Luckily, after 24 hours of the silent treatment, we talked things through. Almost instanteously, my appetite came back....with a venegance
Anyway, I'm back now and trying to keep these three pounds off. And a non-scale victory to report...For the 4th of July, I bought a pair of size 16 shorts for a cookout at a relatives' house. I put them on today but they were extremely loose in the waist (yeah baby). So I went to Tar-jay and tried on a pair of 14 cropped pants and OMG, they fit perfectly. I was happier than a pig in shit Now I'm very top heavy and my back, belly and booberlings take forever to tighten up but my bra size apparently has gone down in the band area. My 40's are too big so I got a couple of 38's. Just like a man, however, my husband begged for me not to diet down so much as to lose my DD's
Woohoo Donna.... NICE loss this week. We'll take 'em any way we can get 'em, right? (Preferably without the silent treatment, however!) Glad things got straightened out... house things are always so stressful. I haven't had a sink for 2 stinkin' months and I'm looking at at least another couple of weeks... home renovations suck! (Especially when you have a dh who thinks he can do everything but takes FOREVER doing it! I *affectionately* call him the KING OF UNFINISHED PROJECTS!)
Way to go on the jeans.... I LOVE those non-scale victories! Those 14's won't be fitting you for long the way you're going.... you'll be buying 12's! And um.. yeah... just like a man to worry about the "booberlings" (love that LOL)... I'm barely in a size B anymore!
"As far as (healthy) eating, either do it, or don't. Same issues repeated over and over is just insanity. We either commit to the endeavor or pay lip-service to it. This is the hardest part of the whole process, and it needs to be practiced more than the actual physical training. It's mind training." ~ Matt Thorne
"The reason that most people fail instead of succeed is that they trade what they want most for what they want at the moment."
Checking to see how everything is going Donna. If you must do fast food, try the Wendys Mandarin Salad with warm grilled chicken with no noodles. If they give you the bag with noodles take them out immediately and hand them back! I'll eat those suckers with out even realizing I'm doing so!
Glad to see you are keeping up with tracking your macros and you weren't far off either. I need to take your advise and start planning my meals for the week. But I like to keep it too simple some time and just rotate through the same food each day.
Step Ups - 3x10x5lbs
Comment: Program says to use no weights but actually a little weight helps me execute these without wobbling although I could use a bit heavier dumbbells.
DB Face Pulls - 2x10x10lbs, 1x10x12lbs
Comment: Felt strong enough on the last set to increase the weights on this exercise.
DB Bent Rows - 3x10x20lbs
Standing Curls - 3x10x15lbs
Trunk Extensions - 3x10
Side Planks - 2x1minute holds, 2x30seconds holds
Calorie intake was fine but I gave myself a little treat which threw my macros off a bit.
Calories: 1690 (target is 1749)
Protein: 31%
Carbs: 44%
Fat: 24%
Lori - LOL about your husband and the King of Unfinished Projects. Thanks for the congrats on the weight loss and the jeans. If I could just get this belly and backfat to go down, all would be right in the world.
Newman - Thanks for stopping by and for the congrats!!
Josie - I usually eat similar stuff for breakfast and lunch but my dinners vary more widely. I need to be more stringent on the weekends because that's when I'm most likely to mess up.
Congrats on the size 14! Sounding like me at the beginning of the program... I just bought 12's myself after just a month or so ago being happy I fit into 14! Here's to continuted sucess!
Thanks Jen and Tracey Fitting into those 14s was the highlight of my day.
I woke up with hellified cramps and bloating this morning. I popped two Advils and went back to sleep because I'm no good when it's TTOTM but as my luck would have it, I was jolted awake by the earthquake that hit Southern California. I'm about 50 miles away from the epicenter but still heard water sloshing around in my toliet, blinds swaying so I had no choice but to get up.
My poor husband called in a relative panic. This is his first quake and he works in a high rise so he asked me to come pick him up (he usually takes the commuter bus to work). Cell phone service was spotty for a while so I know he was pretty nervous. By the time I picked him up, there were 15 small aftershocks.
Anyway, we got home and I passed out again. Damn Aunt Flo' zaps my energy on the first day. I woke up and my husband was heading to the gym. Normally I go with him but I couldn't get up for awhile.
I did managed to finally get in 30 minutes of step aerobics at 73% avg/82% max.
My caloric intake and macros were off I was too tired to cook and hubster brought in some Hawaiian food after he went to the gym.
Oooh... a little scary Donna! I don't follow the news much, so I didn't have a clue about the quakes. Glad everything is OK! Hope you're feeling better... damn that AF, huh?
"As far as (healthy) eating, either do it, or don't. Same issues repeated over and over is just insanity. We either commit to the endeavor or pay lip-service to it. This is the hardest part of the whole process, and it needs to be practiced more than the actual physical training. It's mind training." ~ Matt Thorne
"The reason that most people fail instead of succeed is that they trade what they want most for what they want at the moment."
Lori and Tracey - It was scary as hell because it's been nearly 10 years since I was last in an earthquake. We're okay though.
I did some major paper purging today as the papers in my nightstand made it's way to the floor in stacks Anyway, it took me 2 good hours to go through each piece and paper, shred and/or toss what I didn't need. I was so busy I actually missed breakfast I ended up having a pre-workout snack before I got to business
OPT - Workout A-1
Wide Stance DB Deadlifts - 3x10x15lbs
Swiss Ball Bridges - 3x10 (Damn things are still hard because that ball is so unstable)
Swiss Ball Flys - 3x10x12lbs (My form is improving alot on these)
Neutral Grip Shoulder Press - 3x10x15lbs
Prone Supermans - 3x10s
Low to High DB Woodchops - 3x10x12lbs (I have no idea why these things get my heart-rate up so high)
Front Planks - 1x60seconds, 1x25seconds, 1x20seconds (those last two were incredibly challenging)
Cardio - Rockin' Body Cardio Jam Express - 30 min @ 74% avg/84% high
I am glad I've started this while I'm off for the summer and only working on an article. If I had started this while teaching, I'd probably quit. What are you getting your degree in? Yes, my dad's side is from the deep south so I get alot of my sayings from those relatives but I get my insane sense of humor from my momma and 'nem 
I woke up with outrageous lower back pain and I knew I needed to do some cardio so I attempted some floor aerobics but after 15 minutes into it, my back locked up and I spent the next hour on my mat with my legs elevated by some pillows. 
As soon as we got home around 7pm, I went to bed and woke up around 5am this morning.
Congrats on the new pants size!!!!
Anyway, it took me 2 good hours to go through each piece and paper, shred and/or toss what I didn't need. I was so busy I actually missed breakfast 
I ended up having a pre-workout snack before I got to business 
Linear Mode
