A Hamster for a Spotter?
This may have been my most successful weekend in about a year! I was worried about entertaining my kids myself of Friday, and how that usually leads to eating a bunch of garbage, but Friday went really smoothly for us. My younger son hurt his toe, so we stopped at a Walgreens to get some supplies, and my kids picked out some treats there. Normally I would have left the store with a bag full of Pringles and peanut butter cups along with other junk food, but this time, I simply got some diet A&W root beer, my favorite, and I kept eating the things on my plan. I didn't really even think about eating anything else, this diet is pretty easy. I am so greatful about that!
On Saturday, I did some cleaning, kept on my clean diet, and it hit me quite suddenly, none of my muscles are sore right now! It was a pleasant surprise. I did have to improvise a little bit on Saturday, when we went to a birthday party that was outdoors, but I planned ahead and brought some beef jerkey. Not exactly on the Live Fit plan, but still low-carb and protein-esque. It was one of the only things I could think of that could sit in a 100+ degree car and not spoil. I felt pretty good about myself for not caving and eating unplanned junk. Standing in that 90 degree, cloudless day made me feel aweful! I got a sunburn, and of course it made my sun allergy explode into a fiercely itchy neck and chest rash, and by the time I got home, I had a horrible headache and felt so drained that I took a nap.
That night we went to dinner at our favorite restaurant, and I decided I was going to keep it clean, so I didn't eat any of the chips and salsa, and I ordered the grilled chicken fajitas. I had one flour tortilla, that was my "treat", and the chicken and veggies tasted so good, the seasoning had the perfect amount of spice to suit me. My mouth was happy, and it was clean.
Sunday was a pretty mellow day, it was really hot and humid again, so we didn't spend more time outside than we absolutely had to. We were not smart to do all of our errands during the hottest part of the day, but I needed time to get all my cooking done for the week. It takes me about an hour and a half to get my meals cooked, but it is so much better than having to find time to cook each night, and remembering to bring my lunch every day. I am sticking with turkey meatloaf muffins (from the Live Fit site) and salsa chicken with brown rice. I eat plain oatmeal with protein powder for breakfast and dinner, and end my night with 5 egg whites. I ended up making three batches of turkey muffins over the weekend and have none left (except what I brought to work), my family has been gobbling them up as quickly as I can make them. They are definitely a hit. Here's the link: Jamie Eason's Turkey Meatloaf Muffins
This morning I decided to weigh in, and was happy to see 166 on the scale, that is exactly 4 pounds lost over the course of the week. I did not expect that, because I have been adding muscle. But I also didn't go way off the rails with my diet all weekend, that makes a huge difference! My triceps/chest workout starts with wide pushups, and I immediately felt stronger than last week, able to do nearly all of them from my toes, where last week I did about half or more from my knees. However, by the time I did three sets of 12, and then 3 sets of two different chest exercises, I was nearly unable to do the narrow pushups, I would get about 3 (from my knees) and my wobbly arms would simply collapse under me. I wanted to do them, I just physically wasn't able. But I'm OK with that, I know that means that I have room to grow. The program is designed very intelligently. For instance, if I do a chest press as my first movement of a workout, I can usually use 50 #s, but when I start with those wide pushups and then go into the chest press, I have to bump the weight down to 40 or 30. It makes sense, by exhausting the arm muscles early on, the chest has to do all the work. Man, do I hate pushups! But as my husband told me a long time ago, "When you don't like to do something, those are the things you know you have to do in order to improve." I am dreaming of a month from now, being able to do 3 sets of 12 narrow pushups. And I am smiling over how good my arms will look by then. ;)
Every workout so far I have had a partner going through the paces with me, and it is so adorable to me that I have to share. My home gym is right next to our new pet hamster, Fred. He is nocturnal, so we don't see a lot of Fred. And he's a little shy, we've only had him about 3 weeks. But whenever I work out next to him, he pokes his head out, and eventually starts running like mad on his wheel. He could be in a dead sleep, but when I start working out, so does Fred. And when I am finished, Fred gets a big drink of water and goes back to sleep. It is really amusing to me. And since it happens every time, without fail, I think of him as my workout buddy. It helps wake me up with a smile.
Well, Monday's workout is in the books. My arms feel nearly unusable, and that's how I know I did something right! My body is starting to shrink before my eyes, and I feel so much better. I did miss my Sunday morning cardio, but I'm learning to re-wire my brain, and after chewing it over a bit this weekend, I realize that my gravitating toward cardio was because I didn't feel like pushing myself, making my muscles weak and sore. Weight training is more challenging for me, and I know it will yield the results I am hoping for in the long run. Cardio is great for the heart, and torches a few extra calories, but won't get me the physique I want. I am still learning, and I am a pretty stubborn person, but I'm making progress. Feeling like I am in control of my destiny is so priceless, food/cravings aren't having their way with me, the only thing that can trip me up now is me. And right now, that just isn't in the plan.
Happy Monday everyone! Lets make this week really count!
On Saturday, I did some cleaning, kept on my clean diet, and it hit me quite suddenly, none of my muscles are sore right now! It was a pleasant surprise. I did have to improvise a little bit on Saturday, when we went to a birthday party that was outdoors, but I planned ahead and brought some beef jerkey. Not exactly on the Live Fit plan, but still low-carb and protein-esque. It was one of the only things I could think of that could sit in a 100+ degree car and not spoil. I felt pretty good about myself for not caving and eating unplanned junk. Standing in that 90 degree, cloudless day made me feel aweful! I got a sunburn, and of course it made my sun allergy explode into a fiercely itchy neck and chest rash, and by the time I got home, I had a horrible headache and felt so drained that I took a nap.
That night we went to dinner at our favorite restaurant, and I decided I was going to keep it clean, so I didn't eat any of the chips and salsa, and I ordered the grilled chicken fajitas. I had one flour tortilla, that was my "treat", and the chicken and veggies tasted so good, the seasoning had the perfect amount of spice to suit me. My mouth was happy, and it was clean.
Sunday was a pretty mellow day, it was really hot and humid again, so we didn't spend more time outside than we absolutely had to. We were not smart to do all of our errands during the hottest part of the day, but I needed time to get all my cooking done for the week. It takes me about an hour and a half to get my meals cooked, but it is so much better than having to find time to cook each night, and remembering to bring my lunch every day. I am sticking with turkey meatloaf muffins (from the Live Fit site) and salsa chicken with brown rice. I eat plain oatmeal with protein powder for breakfast and dinner, and end my night with 5 egg whites. I ended up making three batches of turkey muffins over the weekend and have none left (except what I brought to work), my family has been gobbling them up as quickly as I can make them. They are definitely a hit. Here's the link: Jamie Eason's Turkey Meatloaf Muffins
This morning I decided to weigh in, and was happy to see 166 on the scale, that is exactly 4 pounds lost over the course of the week. I did not expect that, because I have been adding muscle. But I also didn't go way off the rails with my diet all weekend, that makes a huge difference! My triceps/chest workout starts with wide pushups, and I immediately felt stronger than last week, able to do nearly all of them from my toes, where last week I did about half or more from my knees. However, by the time I did three sets of 12, and then 3 sets of two different chest exercises, I was nearly unable to do the narrow pushups, I would get about 3 (from my knees) and my wobbly arms would simply collapse under me. I wanted to do them, I just physically wasn't able. But I'm OK with that, I know that means that I have room to grow. The program is designed very intelligently. For instance, if I do a chest press as my first movement of a workout, I can usually use 50 #s, but when I start with those wide pushups and then go into the chest press, I have to bump the weight down to 40 or 30. It makes sense, by exhausting the arm muscles early on, the chest has to do all the work. Man, do I hate pushups! But as my husband told me a long time ago, "When you don't like to do something, those are the things you know you have to do in order to improve." I am dreaming of a month from now, being able to do 3 sets of 12 narrow pushups. And I am smiling over how good my arms will look by then. ;)
Every workout so far I have had a partner going through the paces with me, and it is so adorable to me that I have to share. My home gym is right next to our new pet hamster, Fred. He is nocturnal, so we don't see a lot of Fred. And he's a little shy, we've only had him about 3 weeks. But whenever I work out next to him, he pokes his head out, and eventually starts running like mad on his wheel. He could be in a dead sleep, but when I start working out, so does Fred. And when I am finished, Fred gets a big drink of water and goes back to sleep. It is really amusing to me. And since it happens every time, without fail, I think of him as my workout buddy. It helps wake me up with a smile.
Well, Monday's workout is in the books. My arms feel nearly unusable, and that's how I know I did something right! My body is starting to shrink before my eyes, and I feel so much better. I did miss my Sunday morning cardio, but I'm learning to re-wire my brain, and after chewing it over a bit this weekend, I realize that my gravitating toward cardio was because I didn't feel like pushing myself, making my muscles weak and sore. Weight training is more challenging for me, and I know it will yield the results I am hoping for in the long run. Cardio is great for the heart, and torches a few extra calories, but won't get me the physique I want. I am still learning, and I am a pretty stubborn person, but I'm making progress. Feeling like I am in control of my destiny is so priceless, food/cravings aren't having their way with me, the only thing that can trip me up now is me. And right now, that just isn't in the plan.
Happy Monday everyone! Lets make this week really count!
Comments
Post a Comment