Tomorrow's Goals

1400 CALORIES... R&R (and I DON'T mean Rock-n-Roll :))

The Day In Retrospect 6-7-08 Day #30

Today's meals and routine

So far planning my meals for calorie cycling has helped me get it almost on the dot. I was a bit concerned about getting them so close and I haven't had any issues. WHEW!!!!

HIT TOTALLY KICKED MY BUTT...Quads....Hams...

So I began my calorie cycle thing today, (got the right calories in yesterday too but officially starting today)....And with that I began the HIT strength training.

WOW it totally kicked my butt!

I wasn't sure where to begin with the weight since what I would generally do at the highest weight is

#1. After a few sets with smaller weights

#2. Only 6 reps

So I just guessed at it, and grabbed what was available at the moment....






I did my regular leg presses for 10 reps at 50 lbs (plus the really heavy carrige of the machine)..........Then I stopped for 30 secs and did another 12 reps. (to failure) This was with my legs at shoulder width apart.

i waited about a minute and...

Then I spread my legs a bit so that my toes were sorta out turned and almost up to the corners (just a bit back) and I did the same.....10 reps....realllllllly slow down.....realllly slow back up.....Then I took 30 secs.......and resumed....This time I could only make it to 7 or 8 reps and for a moment I got really scared cause I didn't think that I could lift it back to the safety spot.......OOOSH!


While I was there I did calf raises with the same weight and same reps and style.

My legs were SHAKING to beat the band....but I had to go on...

After another 1.5 min wait I began skater squats.....2.5 lb ankle weights on each ankle. I did 10 of those on each....Waited 30 secs and continued another set with 5 lbs on each ankle to failure....which was 12.




Some weird adjustment had been made to the smith machine :( and I didn't know how to fix it so I decided to do squats with a barbell........I grabbed the 40lb one...and realized that it was too light....next time I will have to up that.....unless I use the smith machine.

I did 10 reps with it and then 15 and I had to stop....I was whipped!

I had walked to the gym in a HIIT style and worn my ankle weights but those suckers were NOT going back on my ankles for the walk home....no siree buddy!!! My legs felt like they were made by Jell-O and needed a break.

I grabbed my little stash of post work-out Sweet tarts out of my purse, thinking that they would some how make me feel better....they didn't at the time..but I ate them anyway as I walked home. I got in and downed my protein shake and sat to log my exercises on my tracker.

Then....I did MORE....two of the teams I am on have challenges involving lower body...so I did those.

Weighted donkey kicks....weighted bridges....plie squats.

I rested a bit and decided I had better tackle abs...they're ALWAYS the thing I want to forget.....

I did 15 mins of the Turbo Jam-AB JAM....and then I called it quits.


WHEW!!! And I'm sure I will end up on my bike going somewhere before the day is over.....

I'm excited to see what this new program brings in way of results.

Tomorrow's Goal 6-7-08

1600 CALORIES... CARDIO 36 mins Turbo Jam, Ab Jam, maybe HIIT cardio

Day in Retrospect Day #29

I have been so busy eating, making food and working out today and now I just wanna watch a movie..


So here is what I ate and how worked out today..Day #1 of calorie cycling and HIT

Caliper is my friend????? Who knew

So I decided since I started the calorie cycling today and doing the hit training that it would be a good idea to go get a caliper and see what my ACTUAL body fat is. I went to GNC and asked the guy working there if they had any....it was comical... "Hi, can I help you?" "Yes, I'm looking for a caliper" (puzzled look) "I don't think we have those.....What does it do?" (me, laughing) "Ya'know, it tests body fat." (him, looking at his boss) "Do we carry that?" (boss, looking puzzled) "What is it?" (me, laughing, getting ready to play charades) "You know, the evil little pinchy thing (holding up hands like scissors and pinching) they test fat." (boss) "Oh, yeah, it's equipment." (original guy) "Oh, I thought it was a supplement." So FINALLY he led me to the calipers....I was laughing inside....thinking that they BOTH must be new. I got home and decided to try it....even though it suggests waiting until you haven't been active or overheated...(I just HAD to and will do it at a better time tomorrow morning) I looked up the Jackson Pollock 3 point skinfold test www.weightrainer.net/skinfoldbf.html and decided to give it a shot....Trusting the hand held caliper more than a digital one and trusting 3 points vs. 1. I took the measurements, and it certainly didn't SEEM like the outcome would be great. I expected that it would be worse than SP's guesstimate. I was shocked and happy when I saw.... Estimated body fat :19% Estimated lean muscle mass :117 lbs (and I even put in my correct weight including my 10 lb. implants...I noticed when I took them out of the equation the answer was still the same except the lean muscle mass poundage. So now I am totally stoked....and will research this a bit more tomorrow (when the time is more appropriate for me to measure) and see how much I actually want to lose to set good goals for myself. Talk about a nice lift to my spirits

TOMORROW'S GOAL

2100 CALORIES... HIT-LOWER BODY WORKOUT

The Day in Retrospect 6-5-08 Day #28

****I'm counting today as a calorie cycle day, I tried to shoot for the 1600 calories.

Meal #1

Banana, fresh, 0.5 medium (7" to 7-7/8" long)
Old Fashioned Quaker Oatmeal- Plain, 1 serving
Mrs. Butterworth's Sugar Free Syrup, 0.06 cup
Egg substitute, liquid (Egg Beaters), 0.5 cup
Salsa, 1 tbsp

Meal #2
Kellogg's Eggo Lowfat Nutri-Grain Waffles, 1 waffle, round (4" dia)
Blueberries, dried, 1 tbsp Cottage Cheese Cake dessert (base), 1 serving


Meal #3
Baked Potato (w/o skin), 0.5 cup
Broccoli, cooked, 0.25 cup, chopped
Cottage Cheese, Nonfat, 0.13 cup Butterball Smoked Turkey Breast, 2 oz
Grapes, 5 grape, seedless

Meal #4
Peanut Butter Cup Crispy Tortilla Dessert, 1 serving

Meal #5
Jennie-O Premium White Turkey Burgers, 1 serving Whole Wheat English Muffin, 1 muffin
Gulden's Spicy Brown Mustard, 1 tsp Ketchup, Heinz, 1 tbsp
Honey, 0.33 tbsp

Meal #6
GNC 100% Whey Protein-Chocolate, 1 serving
Skim Milk, 0.5 cup

Coffee

Regular Coffee, 4 cup (8 fl oz)

Coffee-Mate Hazelnut Sugar Free, 5 tbsp


Total Calories- 1565 (goal :1600)
Total Carbs- 184 (goal: 163-236
Total Fat- 21 (goal: 32-56)
Total Protein- 107 (goal: 60-127)

Cardio 6-5-08

*** Okay, so it was HIIT and not hit, as in punch...but it needed a pic and I just couldn't resist the cute little boxing gloves....so go with me...as the HIIT posts will have this pic until I find something I like better)
So cardio has always been my LEAST favorite thing...But I
have gotten the hang of it....So far so good.

Today I did the HITT method of cardio....I would walk really fast for one short block....then slower...then I after I was more warmed up I decided to get creative (for me, cause this is SO NOT me) and I would jog a short block....fast walk a short block...When I got to the long blocks I would pick a tree about halfway down and make that my destination....WOW I actually jogged and a couple of times I even extended it to a tree a bit further down the road. GO ME!

After 20 mins of that I came home and immediately did a 20 min turbo jam video....then later I rode my bike to get the kitties the diabetic food they needed...Another 20 min ride..one that I HATE cause the ride home is almost entirely uphill UGHHH......Then I did one more small ride.

Turbo Jam-20 mins- 220 calories burned
HITT-Walk/jog- 20 mins-120 calories burned (and this may not be right considering the HITT wasn't included in my choices)
Bike Ride-30 mins.-280 calories burned

I also got in 15 mins of the Turbo Jam Ab workout and did some extra on and off throughout the day.

So that was my cardio day. Not too bad.

New Program

So yesterday I mentioned that I would change things up in my workout routine after next week, but it looks like I'll be starting it tomorrow.

I was waiting for the leader of one of the teams I am on, "Calorie Cycling", to contact me back with a list of numbers for me to calorie cycle and it appears that my numbers came in yesterday. WHOO HOOO....I have been so anxious to see what this is all about. Especially because it seems to really yield awesome results.

So she sent me my list and stressed to me in her message that my strength training should be performed in HIT style (as you will see from reading previous entries, I have begun to do HIIT cardio, I also believe Turbo Jam works on that principle but I'm not sure) But this is different, this is for strength training.....That part kinda baffled me, but I sorta had the feeling that I'd done something like this before if I wasn't doing it already.

Here is a great article from Spark People about HIT....this particular author just always seems to write the articles that I want to read...he is great.

Ya' know how I mentioned in a post yesterday about my old routine....One set of 10 and the next to failure? Yep! That's about what HIT amounts to. In the article it doesn't mention doing the two sets but it does talk about making it to failure in a similar way. It also mentions what I tend to do already which is being very careful of form and making sure I "get the negative", or the weight going in both directions rather than being lazy and letting gravity do my work for me.

NOW I'M PSYCHED! I totally know how it worked and transformed my body before...So tomorrow in the gym I will do this. It is supposed to help you build muscle quicker (which I did in the past) it also, if I'm not mistaken, helps to burn fat while you workout without losing muscle....SWEET!

Calorie cycling is supposed to be good for that as well as not allowing your body to ever get too adjusted to one caloric intake, thus helping to keep your metabolism steady and your body never thinks it's in starvation mode, which haults your progress of fat loss.

Here is my calorie cycling. She gave it to me with my personal workouts (that I told her about) in mind....Not sure how, if at all, it would change after I start doing HIT....But, I will go with this and see what happens.

I really think she is right when she says to plan out your food atleast a day in advance so you can be sure what you will be getting.....The typical calorie days, 1400, 1500 won't be so difficult, it will be the 1800 and 2100 days....OOOSH...lots of food.

"Upper Body Week"
Calorie range: 1400-2100
Average daily calories = 1700

SUN - 1400 - rest (lower amount of cardio)
MON - 1800 - upper body (biceps,triceps,chest,back,shoulders) abs intense
TUE - 1500 - cardio 36-65 mins (turbo jam 36 mins, bike riding, walking)
WED - 2100 - lower body Deadlifts or skater squats, leg press, squats, calves, abs
THUR - 1600 - cardio 36-65(turbo jam 36 mins, bike riding, walking)
FRI - 1900 - upper body (same as before)
SAT - 1600 - cardio 36-65(turbo jam 36 mins, bike riding, walking)

"Lower Body Week"
Calorie range: 1400-2100
Average daily calories = 1700

SUN - 1400 - rest (lower amount of cardio)
MON - 2000 - lower body Deadlifts or skater squats, leg press, squats, calves, abs
TUE - 1500 - cardio 36-65 mins (turbo jam 36 mins, bike riding, walking)
WED - 1800 - upper body (biceps,triceps,chest,back,shoulders) abs intense
THUR - 1500 - cardio 36-65(turbo jam 36 mins, bike riding, walking)
FRI - 2100 - lower body Deadlifts or skater squats, leg press, squats, calves, abs
SAT - 1600 - cardio 36-65(turbo jam 36 mins, bike riding, walking)

Butt....Butt...I must've offended someone-OOSH

So it appears that my bathing suit pics must've offended someone at Spark People, because all of them were removed. Initially when I posted a pic of my before and after from last summer I thought it may get pulled due to my thong, and when it wasn't for almost a month, I figured it was okay to post them.

Even my side shots were pulled....Hmmmm...

I wasn't trying to be offensive in the least...that just is NOT my way or style.

I ONLY take pics in thongs because my butt just does NOT look good in a full butt suit...and it's counter productive for me to see that.....Dumb maybe, but it's how I feel.

Also, in a thong I will be able to see where my progress is made since my glutes aren't covered by some dumb piece of material that has too much elastic in it and jams everything together in the most unattractive way.

Then of course there is the weirdness that is me and my body....most things that are constricting AT ALL around my mid section give me the WORST tummy aches and ugly bloating, so I try to stay away from all of those things.

Doesn't leave alot left over in the way of clothing...so I fold down my waistbands (even further than Soffee shorts are supposed to, cause they are SOLD THAT WAY LOL)...Iwear small clothing and even smaller bathing suits (oddly I NEVER wear them at the beach in front of anyone other than my Mom or our close close female friends)....

Oh, well, I don't want to cause ANY friction at SP....I love it there and I really dig all of the chicklettes that I am becoming friends with....

So from now on, any pics like that will be posted here. (talk about perfect timing)

Cardio Day post workout meal

So today I had my VERY favorite post-work out meal, well, favorite tied with my "Banana Power Protein French Toast".

This is the Blue Berry version of the one I posted the other day
Made this way it has

193 calories

31 g. carbs (and the ww/waffle is Low GI) and
blue berries are high in anti-oxidents

2 g. fat

15 g. protein

The Day in Retrospect Day #27

Meal 1:
Blueberries, dried, 1 tbsp
Cottage Cheese Cake dessert (base), 1 serving
Banana, fresh, 0.5 medium (7" to 7-7/8" long)
Old Fashioned Quaker Oatmeal- Plain, 1 serving
Mrs. Butterworth's Sugar Free Syrup, 0.06 cup

Meal 2:
GNC 100% Whey Protein-Chocolate, 1.5 serving
Sweet-tarts Chicks, Ducks & Bunnies (4 pcs), 2.25 serving

Meal 3:
Butterball Cajun Turkey Breast, 2.6 oz
Whole Wheat English Muffin, 1 muffin
Gulden's Spicy Brown Mustard, 1 tsp
L'Arentino Balsamic Vinegar, 0.66 tbsp

Meal 4:
Mission Carb Balance Whole Wheat Fajita Size Tortilla, 1 serving
Jif Creamy Peanut Butter, reduced fat, 0.66 tbsp
Smucker's Sugar Free Hot Fudge Topping, 1 tbsp

Meal 5:
Chicken Breast, no skin, 0.5 breast, bone and skin removed
Healthy Harvest Pasta, Rotini, 2 oz
Broccoli, cooked, 0.5 cup, chopped
Jello Sugar Free Mint Chocolate Fudge Pudding snack, 1 serving

Meal 6:
Quaker PB Chocolate Chip Rice cakes,

CALORIES:1,527
CARBS 229
FAT 21
PROTEIN 100
Your Daily Goal:
CALORIES 1200 - 1550
CARBS 163 - 236
FAT 32 - 56
PROTEIN 60 - 127

Bounce * Rock* Skate* Roll (#1 Completed)

Well I got it done and it was alot of fun. I'm definitely going to keep this in my arsenal of stuff to do to workout.

I BOUNCED-walked to the gym...in a HIIT style fashion....fast walk one block..slower the next...fast again and so on. On the way home I even jogged a bit on the fast blocks.

I ROLLED- Rode my bike to the store and back for a 10 min ride. One of the ways is uphill slightly and by the time I get the the end of it I'm havin' a rough time.

I SKATED- For 30 mins in the downstairs parking garage. It's great that no one is home during the day :)

And
I ROCKED- I rocked it HARD..... As I was really pushing through my flyes with heavier weights than I normally would EVER do on my chest I had "Five Finger Death Puch" blasting in my ears....all I could think was an ad "BODY BY-FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH"..was funny to me at the moment....it really helped me push through though.


Alternating Dumbbell Biceps Curls- 12-10-8-6-12 8# 10# 12# 15#
Dumbbell Hammer Curls 12 8#

Shoulder Press (one arm at a time)- 12-10-8-6-12 8# 10# 12# 15#
Lateral Raises 12 8#


Dumbell Flyes- 12-10-8-6-12 8# 10# 12# 15# 8#
Dumbell Flyes (lower) 12 8#


One armed rows - 12-10-8-6-12- 8# 10# 12# 15#
Lat Pulldowns 12 40#

So that was my first Bounce*Rock*Skate*Roll day....KICK ASS!

And here is the song that helped me push through....FFDP

Sweet tarts post workout? Hmmm....weird.

So I found this article while I was searching around for the proper ratio of carbs and protein that you sshould consume post workout....and THIS is the little gem I found.

www.bodybuilding.com/fun/topicofthew
eek37.htm

There is ALOT of information on the page about what to eat and why before and after a workout....there are even a couple of "generators" to put in your body weight and to find out what amount of carbs and protein you should have if you are in a cutting or bulking phase.

One thing that was sooo weirdly interesting that I had to try it....I am going to ask around a bit (maybe I shoulda done that BEFORE I tried it LOL)to see if anyone on one of the teams I'm on nows anything about this but...The one thing was that DEXTROSE and MALTODEXTRIN are the two best carbs that you can have post workout...........

I can't recall if it was in this article or on further research but I read it a few times last night.....SMARTIES or SWEET TARTS are AWESOME (in lieu of the store bought dextrose powders) to use to get that dextrose into your system and cause an insulin spike thus causing some kind of an anabolic state (I can't recall the specifics, it's in the article I linked)that aides in muscle recovery and building....

WOW.....so I decided to give it a shot..........8 little sweettarts came to the gym with me in my bag and I was chomping on them as I bounced down the stairs and crunching them all the way home........As soon as i got in the door I made myself a 1.5 size protein shake and pounded it down..

So we shall see....more research needed and honestly, I don't know how my body, specifically my tummy, is going to be handling all that straight sugar. I mostly haven't eaten much refined sugar in years save for when I would make cakes and the occasionally splurge. Always, I end up with a tummy ache........So I'll ask around, see what's what and then decide if a tummy ache is worth it....If the benefits will out weigh it.

Roll* Bounce* Rock* Skate!

So today I am going to try to implement something a bit new...None of it is totally new for me, but it will be a new set of things to do as a grouping.

Roll-Bike Ride
Bounce-Walk fast
Rock-Lift with heavy music
Skate-Well that's obvious.

I'm thinking I may try to incorporate this atleast once a week, or 3 X weekly on my lifting days.

Today is upper body and I am going to stick with my usual way of doing things for this.....

Reps-12-10-8-6-12 with graduating weights.......I usually start at 5lbs or 8 lbs depending on the exercise and move up to 12 or 15

Such as
Bicep curls: 12 reps @ 8lbs
10 reps @ 10lbs
8 reps @ 12 lbs
6 reps @ 15 lbs.
Hammer curls 12 reps @ 8lbs.

That would be my bicep routine.....Then I would move on..........I generally don't stop in between sets and if I do it is for no longer than 30 secs...........When I move to the next body part then I will wait 45-60 secs.


So that I don't hit a plateau I will switch things up after next week since that would be about 4 wks at the same stuff. I have gone up in my weights but I will also switch up the exercises.

The ways I will do that will be...

*** changing around the order (such as in the example above...I would do the hammer curls for the bulk of it and then regular bicep curls for the last)

*** Doing 10 and then one set to failure (this is one that worked really well for me in the past....Doing one set of ten reps....waiting for 30 secs and then lifting a heavier weight to failure, no more than 12 reps)

*** Using machines....Usually I HATE machines but eventually I will add some in to mix things up.

I'll post later what I actually did for today.

Losses & Gains

So I have been at Sparkpeople.com for 26 days now and have lost

4 lbs.
7.25 inches

It isn't a quick fix but I'm in no hurry and I'm also in no hurry to stay on the rollercoaster....The one where I gain a few pounds and hurry to lose it before my head caves in...That is NOT a fun ride.

I want to build muscle...continue to lose fat and get myself into a lean little thing. Sounds easy huh? LOL...I have muscle under the layer of fat that seems to want to come visit for the winter and not want to leave until I forceably kick it out....some of it had decided to stay much longer than it's been welcome.

I have gained sooo much by being over there....The shared goals with other members has been awesome....I'm not the weird, diet and exercise obsessed chick..I'm part of a group of people who are striving to better themselves....so we can live longer, healthier and more aesthetically pleasing lives. (Yeah, I said it...vanity totally comes into play....I don't wanna start this blog out by lying about it.......I want to look hot....I want to look good....I want to be confident that I look that way too.

Today's workout-TURBO JAM

Today's workout was 36 mins of Turbo Jam...it totally rocks! I will also end up going for a bike ride to round out the day.

I did some standing ab stuff, cause Lord knows I hate laying down to do ab work, no matter what I do my back ends up hurting.

My legs are totally wrecked from yesterday's massive leg assault...To think I didn't think that they hurt too bad this morning....HA! My left quad is hurting the most, I have to make sure that I am not still favoring the right and do some isolation stuff for it that way I'm not cheating myself.

Tomorrow with be my upper body day.

Dessert Recipes Index

1. Strawberry Cottage Cheese Cake (and other basic fruit Cottage Cheesecakes)
2. Sugar-Free Caramelized Banana Sauce
3. Peanut Butter Cup Crispy Tortilla Desserts
4. Bananas Foster Cottage Cheesecake Dessert
4b.Baked Cinnamon Tortilla Chips
5. Caramel-Peanut Butter-Banana Chimi



This is my most favorite of all snack/meals....Something I love to eat after a workout. It looks totally sinful doesn't it? But it only looks and tastes that way.

The recipe for this is...

"Strawberry ( or insert favorite fruit) Cottage Cheescake"

1/2 C. Non-Fat cottage cheese
1 TBSP. cheesecake or vanilla flavored sugar-free/ fat free pudding MIX
3 paks splenda
1 tsp vanilla or butter extract
1 serving of fruit of choice (3-4 sm. strawberries, 1 TBSP. dried blueberries, 1/2 med. banana, add cinnamon & cloves and 1/2 med. apple)

Whip cottage cheese in the blender 'til smooth....add in splenda and vanilla/butter extract....add in pudding mix. Mix well.

Chill and add fruit before serving on a low-fat whole grain waffle (optional)...if using dried blueberries mix in before you chill and let sit for a couple of hours so they get plump again.

1/2 C. serving of JUST the cottage cheese cake mixture

79.3 cal...... .3 g. fat......4.4 g. carbs.....12.5 g.protein

(the remainder of nutrition is based on whether you eat it alone, which fruit you use and if you use it on a ww waffle, or tortilla.)

______________________________________________________________

(Shown in picture w/Cottage Cheese Cake Base, Cool Whip Free & Nutri-Grain Low-fat Waffle)


" Sugar-Free Caramalized Bananas Sauce"
1/2 med. banana

1.5 tbsp. Smucker's Sugar Free Caramel Topping

Great w/waffles, pancakes,tortillas
or over cottage cheesecake



Click on pic to go to this recipe on SparkRecipes.com and see full instructions and nutrition details.




______________________________________________________________

"Peanut Butter Cup Crispy Tortilla Dessert"

1 Mission Carb Balance Whole Wheat Fajita size tortilla

2 tsp. Jiff Peanut butter
1 TBSP. Smuckers Sugar Free Hot Fudge Topping

Cool Whip free

Click on pic to go to this recipe on SparkRecipes.com and see full instructions
and nutrition details.


______________________________________________________________


"Bananas Foster Cottage Cheesecake Dessert"

Banana & Sauce part

3/4 med. banana
1/4 c. Smucker's Sugar-Free Maple Syrup
1 Tsp Cinnamon
1tsp. vanilla or butter extract (optional)
1tsp. rum extract (optional)



Cottage Cheese Cake (base)

1/2 c. Fat-Free Cottage Cheese
1Tbsp. Cheesecake,vanilla or banana cream Sugar-free fat free Jello-pudding (MIX ONLY)
2-3 paks. Splenda
1tsp. vanilla or butter extract (optional)

Tortilla Chips

1 Mission carb balance, whole wheat, fajita sized tortilla
3 paks. Splenda
2tsp. Cinnamon

(serve with Nutri-grain lo-fat waffle or home made cinnamon/splenda tortilla chips)

Click on pic to go to this recipe on SparkRecipes.com and see full instructions
and nutrition details.

______________________________________________________________

"Caramel-Peanut Butter- Banana Baked Chimi"

1 Mission carb balance, whole wheat, fajita sized tortilla

1/4 med. banana

2 tsp. Jiff Reduced Fat Peanut Butter

2 tsp. Smucker's Sugar-Free Caramel Topping

1 tbsp. Cool Whip Free

sprinkle of cinnamon

Click on pic to go to this recipe on SparkRecipes.com and see full instructions
and nutrition details.
(Click to enlarge)

______________________________________________________________

Why am I here?

I decided to make this blog separate from my Spark People page since there are so many things that I would say, could say or do but I don't want to post too often....There are also things I would add that I can't, such as more pictures to the blogs etc....So here I will be able to do this without over stepping the bounds of polite webiquette and can post to my heart's content.

This blog will simply be for my workouts, my progress (pic and written) things that I learn along the way and recipes and food pics.

So I will post the pics that I took today now and go from here.

I am 26 days into the Spark People program and loving every second of it.......I got back into the gym and the weights about 3 wks ago.....Hopefully THIS time I will continue on until the results I want are there and then I hope to continue on after (why go to all the trouble if not right?)

So that's it. I'm Cherry Doll and this is my fitness blog.