RFSC: Week 6 Goals

Week 6 Goals

Halfway through the challenge already?!  I don't feel like I'm nearly as close to where I wanted to be when I first started the RFSC, so it's really time to focus on certain things.  #1 nutrition.  #2 workouts.  And more specifically, my HIIT workouts.  

Week 6 will be my bitch!

Exercise Goal 

• Keep on going.  Continue my current 12-week exercise program, which will take me into the middle of May. 

• Sun:  arms and abs +HIIT
• Mon:  OFF
• Tues:  full-body weight training + cardio
• Wed: chest and abs
• Thur: shoulders + HIIT
• Fri:  legs
• Sat:  back and rear delts + cardio

Nutrition Goal

• Clean, clean, clean!  My #1 priority for the next 10 weeks is to really focus on and dial in my nutrition.  Clean, whole foods to support my body and intense workouts.  I know I keep saying it, but it's true... I have to get my nutrition on track.  Being that my weight is close to goal, exercise alone won't give me the body I want.  Nutrition plays 80% of the equation so I don't understand why it's so hard for me to control this part.  I just love food THAT much!
• Increase healthy fats.  Definitely need to add more "smart fats" to my diet: salmon, avocado, nuts, olive oil, flaxseeds, coconut oil, etc. Once again, stocked up on all the healthy fats and threw in some extras like raw/unsalted walnuts and pistachios, sunflower butter, and good-quality olives.
• New eats = happy tummy.  Making it a goal to try one new recipe a week.  Nutrition can get pretty boring if you eat the same things over and over, so finding 10 new (hopefully yummy) recipes to add to my rotation will do me good.  With the olives I bought as one of the new healthy fats for this week, I'm planing on trying this recipe. 

____________________________________________________________

Week 5 recap

Is it just me or are the weeks getting harder as they go on?  Nutrition this week... blah!  Exercise this week... blah x2!

My exercise schedule below may look pretty good because of all the crossed off days, but I didn't stick to the LiveFit schedule at all, so this week puts me behind an entire week in the program.  This sucks because this week was supposed to start the last and final phase of the program and I've been super excited to start this phase.  Ah well, one more week isn't that bad.


Exercise Goal 

• Keep on going.  Continue my current 12-week exercise program, which will take me into the middle of May. 

• Sun:  upper body weight training
• Mon: HIIT
• Tues:  full-body weight training + cardio
• Wed:  OFF
• Thur: skipped!!
• Fri:  HIIT
• Sat:  full body weight training

Nutrition Goal

• Clean, clean, clean!  My #1 priority for the next 10 weeks is to really focus on and dial in my nutrition.  Clean, whole foods to support my body and intense workouts.  This week consisted of 6 (six, SIX!) meals eaten out... that's 5 more than what I allow myself.  It's definitely time to bring in the reigns on the nutrition... again!
• Increase healthy fats.  Definitely need to add more "smart fats" to my diet: salmon, avocado, nuts, olive oil, flaxseeds, coconut oil, etc. It might just be in my head, but after 5 weeks of upping my healthy fats on this challenge, I swear I can feel a difference.  My joints that used to be achy since the beginning of the year are now less inflamed and (knock on wood) haven't bothered me since.
• New eats = happy tummy.  Making it a goal to try one new recipe a week.  Nutrition can get pretty boring if you eat the same things over and over, so finding 10 new (hopefully yummy) recipes to add to my rotation will do me good.  Didn't get around to trying a new recipe this week.

Weigh-in Wednesday: Little late

Starting weight: 176.4 lbs.

Last week weight:  128.4

Current weight:  ?

Current loss: ?
TOTAL LOSS: ?

I totally realize it's Friday morning, but I've been so busy I haven't had time to do much, let alone post or catch up on blogs.  Summer is my departments CRAZY time of year so busy days and long hours keep me off the computer at home.

Another thing taking up my time is going to a new gym location because this week my normal gym is closed down (again!) due to renovations.

I still met up with Trainer L at a different gym but we didn't get a weigh-in in because what's the sense if it's a different scale.  I was kinda bummed about it since last week I was pretty on-point with my weekly goals. 

Ha ha... and when I say "on-point", I mean better than the week before but still kinda sucky. 

I've got my work cut out for me to end the month strong but I know I can do it... it's only four more days!

'V' is for Vanilla

 (source)

 ... as in vanilla-chocolate banana protein muffins (that's a mouth full of a name)!

Word of warning: these came out HORRIBLE! The texture was all wrong, the taste was all wrong, and I just didn't like them at all.  I was going to throw them out but the boyfriend insisted on trying one and said to just keep it... it's edible and he'll eat it if he's starving.  Geez... he makes like we have no food to survive on.

Ingredients:

• 1c oats, divided
• 2 scoops vanilla protein powder
• 2 scoops chocolate protein powder
• 3 tbs. unsweetened cocoa powder
• 0.5 tsp salt
• 4 tbs. chopped raw almonds
• 0.25c cacao nibs
• 1 mashed banana
• 0.25c unsweetened applesauce
• 0.5 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbs. honey
• 2 tbs. agave nectar
• 1 tbs. instant coffee powder

1.) Preheat oven to 350 degree.  Spray muffin tin with oil and set aside.  In a food processor, blend 0.5c of oats to make oat flour. 

2.) Combine oat flour, remaining oats, protein powder, cocoa powder, salt, almonds and cacao nibs in bowl.

3.) Blend banana, applesauce, vanilla, honey, and agave in food processor until smooth.

4.)  Add wed ingredients to dry and combine well.  Pour mixture into muffin tin and bake 13 - 15 mins. **Do NOT over bake.**  Cool and store in air-tight container in refrigerator.

Mini-Review
OMG these were horrible!  Seriously, I don't even know how to fix them to be "okay". FAIL!

Weekend Recap: Tired

Happy Monday!  Hope you had a good weekend.  Besides a scary incident that happened to Anthony on Friday night, my weekend was pretty busy.

Friday
One of the scariest days ever!

While he was at work, Anthony texted me that they had just been robbed at knife and gun point!  WTF?!  He was gonna be home later than normal since the police were there taking statements and pulling fingerprints (since the dumbass robber touched several areas in the restaurant). 

It didn't even happen to me but when I got the text, I was pretty shook up... I mean, things could have gone really bad.  Thankfully, no one was hurt.

Saturday
Went hiking...

Got some froyo after hiking...

Why yes, that is a big piece of red velvet cake on my froyo.

Went to Costco and picked up our favorite dip...

Gave these girls a much needed bath...

Sunday
Went for an early morning walk followed by a gym session...

Celebrated a cutie's first birthday...

Went grocery shopping...

This is about 3% of everything we bought.

Cooked dinner for the week...

Doesn't look super appetizing, but this veggie chicken soup is yummy!

Hope you had a good weekend, too!

RFSC: Week 5 goals

Week 5 Goals

Exercise Goal 

• Keep on going.  Continue my current 12-week exercise program, which will take me into the middle of May. 

• Sun:  upper body weight training +HIIT
• Mon:  OFF
• Tues:  full-body weight training + cardio
• Wed:  arms weight training + cardio
• Thur: chest and abs weight training + HIIT
• Fri:  shoulders weight training + cardio
• Sat:  legs weight training

Nutrition Goal

• Clean, clean, clean!  My #1 priority for the next 10 weeks is to really focus on and dial in my nutrition.  Clean, whole foods to support my body and intense workouts.  Like always, nutrition is my top priority but it's also the area I struggle in the most.  Groceries are done, meal planning is in the process of being finished, and no events this week except a party on Satruday (which is at a local Japanese restaurant so I can definitely choose some healthy options).
• Increase healthy fats.  Definitely need to add more "smart fats" to my diet: salmon, avocado, nuts, olive oil, flaxseeds, coconut oil, etc. I've started to use a lot of coconut oil in place of my normal olive oil and I gotta say I love the switch. It adds a slight coconut-y flavor to whatever you cook.  I also picked up a can of mackerel and gonna give it a try... I've heard horror stories about eating it, but it's a super healthy fat so I want to learn to like it.
• New eats = happy tummy.  Making it a goal to try one new recipe a week.  Nutrition can get pretty boring if you eat the same things over and over, so finding 10 new (hopefully yummy) recipes to add to my rotation will do me good.  Recipe for week 5 will be a new breakfast recipe.  Haven't found one yet, but still looking through all my cookbooks for one I've never tried yet.

____________________________________________________________

Week 4 recap and mini-challenge

Week 4 was probably the best week so far in this challenge.  Everything was on point and nutrition has been kept in check this week, except for one late night of fast-food.  Fast food is never good for you, but it completely motivated me to turn on the beast-mode and kill it with exercise and nutrition this weekend.  I'm still super pumped so gonna carry over my motivation into week 5!


Exercise Goal 

• Keep on going.  Continue my current 12-week exercise program, which will take me into the middle of May. 

• Sun:  upper body weight training + cardio
• Mon:  HIIT
• Tues:  full-body weight training + cardio
• Wed:  arms weight training
• Thur: OFF
• Fri:  shoulders and chest weight training + cardio
• Sat:   hike

Nutrition Goal

• Clean, clean, clean!  My #1 priority for the next 10 weeks is to really focus on and dial in my nutrition.  Clean, whole foods to support my body and intense workouts.  This week went really well!! Besides a birthday party I had this morning, it's been clean, clean clean!
• Increase healthy fats.  Definitely need to add more "smart fats" to my diet: salmon, avocado, nuts, olive oil, flaxseeds, coconut oil, etc.  Found a new vendor at the local farmers' market and bought some coconut peanut butter!! The guy working the booth was really friendly and I suggested that he make some coconut almond butter.  I would be a customer for life if he did!
• New eats = happy tummy.  Making it a goal to try one new recipe a week.  Nutrition can get pretty boring if you eat the same things over and over, so finding 10 new (hopefully yummy) recipes to add to my rotation will do me good.  Recipe for this week was a dessert... paleo style.  Coconut blueberry protein squares (original recipe found here).  SUPER yummy and has become a recipe in my dessert rotation.

Saturday Sweat Session: Hiking

I'm not a big fan of long steady-state cardio, but when it comes to hiking, the longer and steeper the trail, the better.  Check out my hiking picts here.

My mom has a group at work that goes hiking about once a month, so Anthony and I decided to tag a long with her... and we had to bring the puppies.  We didn't see any celebrities like the other time, but I got my sweat on!

Beast Mode: ON!

This morning I woke up with the most uncomfortable stomach ache accompanied with bloating and cramps.  Lovely.  It's been a while since I felt like this but this is what happens when I eat junk food right before bed.

Last night, after Anthony got off work at 10:30, he called to see if I needed anything before he came home.  Yes, please!  F  O  O  D  !  About 30 minutes later, I had my Jack in the Box in hand and inhaled.

Nights like last night happen on occasion (maybe 2x or 3x a month) and I could never figure out why.  I'm not hungry when Anthony calls but I've noticed it happens on days when I either a.) hit a new low weight on the scale (like yesterday!) or b.) hit a personal record during exercise.

Reward with food, much?

That's the thing about me... hitting a personal record (on the scale or in the gym) can lead to to two outcomes:

1. I get super motivated and have a STELLAR next week OR
2. I stupidly reward myself and crash and burn for the next couple of days

So why is it so hard to keep away from the stupid when the outcome is never good? 

Who knows!  All I know is this...

(source)

Beast mode is turned the F on and I'm gonna kill this next weekend week.  Plans for the weekend:

• Saturday
• morning hike
• followed by lower body training
• prep meals for Sunday
• check out new gym location
• Sunday
• morning cardio
• make healthy eating choices at a birthday party
• back and bi training
• meal plan for the week
• cook for the week

Weigh-in Wednesday:

Starting weight: 176.4 lbs.

Last week weight:  128.4

Current weight:  128.4

Current loss:  0.0
TOTAL LOSS:  -48.0

 

So.close.to.the.50,pound.mark!!   Determined to get there SOON!  Upping my motivation and reworking my goals!
Speaking of goals...

(click to enlarge calendar)

With three days off last week (reason found here), there wasn't any way I was gonna hit my weight-training and cardio goals.  Calories still need to be brought under control and I'm not gonna lie... it's gonna be T.O.U.G.H.  This weekend I have a birthday party to attend and next week I have a dinner on Tuesday and another party on Saturday.  Time to practice my "no thank you" muscle.

Looking back at my calendar goals for the last several months, I've noticed that I'm a little backwards.  Instead of getting pumped and excited that it's the beginning of a new month, I kinda just do my thing.  

When half the month passes and I realize I didn't do a good job at doing my thing, I go all out for the last half of the month and end the month AWESOME (sometimes...).

So here's hoping that the last two weeks of April on my calendar have a little less red on them.

RFSC: Week 4 goals

Week 4 Goals

Exercise Goal 

• Keep on going.  Continue my current 12-week exercise program, which will take me into the middle of May. 

• Sun:  upper body weight training + cardio
• Mon:  OFF
• Tues:  full-body weight training + cardio
• Wed:  arms weight training + cardio
• Thur: chest and abs weight training + HIIT
• Fri:  shoulders weight training + cardio
• Sat:  legs weight training + hike

Nutrition Goal

• Clean, clean, clean!  My #1 priority for the next 10 weeks is to really focus on and dial in my nutrition.  Clean, whole foods to support my body and intense workouts.  Really need to tighten up on the clean eating again.  It hasn't been bad, but coming off the one-month Clean Eating Challenge I had last month, April is looking a little "processed".
• Increase healthy fats.  Definitely need to add more "smart fats" to my diet: salmon, avocado, nuts, olive oil, flaxseeds, coconut oil, etc.  Got my usual 'cados, salmon and coconut, but sometime this week I'll need to hit the store for more flaxeseed oil and fish oil capsules.
• New eats = happy tummy.  Making it a goal to try one new recipe a week.  Nutrition can get pretty boring if you eat the same things over and over, so finding 10 new (hopefully yummy) recipes to add to my rotation will do me good.  Recipe for this week is a dessert... paleo style.  Coconut blueberry protein squares (original recipe found here).

_________________________________________________________

Week 3 recap and mini-challenge

Week 3 was pretty good. Got my motivation back (thanks to you guys!) so I ended the week strong.  Even with three days off from exercise, I feel good about what I did.  I had to take Thursday and Friday off, not because I wanted to but because my body really needed a break.  Over the last several weeks, my workouts have increased in intensity and my body was achey in places that shouldn't be, my energy level was pretty low, I had a hard time sleeping the last several days, I was a little more snappy then usual, and I kinda lost my motivation.  All signs that point to over-training.  So, my body got treated to two days of nothing (not even cardio), multiple dates with my foam roller, and as of today, I'm back to my normal self.  Super excited to the hit the gym tonight with Anthony.

Mini-challenge:  This week, we were supposed to visit every single participant in the RFSC, however I didn't do this challenge because if you link up to the Sunday goal post on the RFSC blog, I make it a point to read and leave a comment for EVERYONE who participated that week.

Exercise Goal 

• Keep on going.  Continue my current 12-week exercise program, which will take me into the middle of May. 

• Sun:  lower body weight training + cardio
• Mon:  OFF
• Tues:  plyo + full-body weight training
• Wed:  back weight training + cardio
• Thur: OFF
• Fri:  OFF
• Sat:  full-body weight training + cardio

Nutrition Goal

• Clean, clean, clean!  My #1 priority for the next 10 weeks is to really focus on and dial in my nutrition.  Clean, whole foods to support my body and intense workouts.   Meal plan was stuck to for majority of the meals, however there were two days that I had events to attend.  A five-course dinner reservation with family and a birthday buffet lunch with friends.  Back to the grind this week!

• Increase healthy fats.  Definitely need to add more "smart fats" to my diet: salmon, avocado, nuts, olive oil, flaxseeds, coconut oil, etc.  Healthy fats were a little low this week, mostly due to not having it at every meal.  Will make it a point to increase the fats for week 4.
• New eats = happy tummy.  Making it a goal to try one new recipe a week.  Nutrition can get pretty boring if you eat the same things over and over, so finding 10 new (hopefully yummy) recipes to add to my rotation will do me good.  Turkey muffins turned out amazing!  Thank you, Jamie!

Saturday Sweat Session: Legs!

Wheels.  Stems.  Rollers.  Trunks.  Whatever you call them, legs are by far my favorite body part to work.

Here's my workout from earlier this week, courtesy of this program.  I did tweak it a little bit and took out a couple of exercises that I don't believe in (abductor/adductor machines... but that's a different post all together).  Let me know if you give it a try!

Flashback Fridays: I can't stand it when...

Flashback Fridays are a re-posting of my previous blog entries.  Sometimes I need a good kick in the butt and these old posts remind me of how to get it done.

Why I flash-backed to this post:  Over the past couple of weeks, I've had several comments (good and bad) thrown my way about weight-loss, exercise, and my "secret to losing weight" (as quoted from a co-worker).  It was a good reminder that people can be both mean and motivating on this journey.

_______________________________________________

Original post date: 10/16/09
Original post found here.

I can't stand it when...

... people didn't think I could lose the weight when I first started.

... people don't think I can keep it off now that I lost it.

... someone finds out I go to the gym and they think that is all I've done to lose weight.

... someone makes a comment about my food looking 'healthy' (ie. bland and junk).

... the same person who made the comment about my 'healthy' food makes a comment when I eat non-healthy food. (Wth? Make up your mind!)

... people think I've stepped over to the 'dark side' because I switched from white rice to brown rice.

... people ask me how I'm losing weight and once I say 'ex...' they lose interest because they know I'm gonna say exercise.

... people remind me to not go too far and become anorexic... if I even had the ability to take it that far, do you think I would be overweight to begin with?

But, I absolutely love it when...

... I step on the scale and know all my hard work is paying off.

... I have to throw out clothes because they're getting too big rather than getting too small.

... I can do things I couldn't before or in a really long time: running a 13k, playing basketball, going up stairs w/o getting winded

... people ask me for help and really WANT it.

... out of the blue someone tells me they started working out because I inspired them... lil' ol' me!

... I walk out the door every morning, more confident in myself than the day before.

... I accomplish something I never thought I could.

... I look at my arms or legs and can see muscles... it pushes me even harder the next time.

... people notice how much happier I am.

Weigh-in Wednesday + Progress(!) stats

First of all, thank you guys so much for all the support and kind words on my last post.  Your comments put a lot of things into perspective and really got me motivated to continue strong on this journey.

Starting weight: 176.4 lbs.

Last week weight:  130.2

Current weight:  128.4

Current loss:  -1.8
TOTAL LOSS:  -48.0

Today's weight almost puts me back at my lowest March weigh-in two weeks ago, and even though I was hoping to be lower than that, I'm totally happy with it.  Lots of food was consumed this past weekend during Easter so I was expecting the weight to be about the same as last week... but that's not the case.  =)

Moving on to my stats.  I had measurments done with Trainer L at the gym yesterday and here are the results:

One month difference.

So why the exclamation mark in the post title?  Because according to the body fat %, I GAINED some muscle!

130.0 lbs. x 31.2% body fat = 40.56 lbs. of fat and 89.44 lbs. of lean mass
128.4 lbs. x 29.8% body fat = 38.26 lbs. of fat and 90.14 lbs. of lean mass

Heck, it's only 0.7 lbs. but it's still 0.7 lbs.  

All the other times I've been measured (roughly every month by Trainer L for the past two years!) the pounds of fat and lean mass decrease together so this is the first time EVER I've shown a muscle gain (thank you, LiveFit program)!!!

Huge, huge, huge NSV!

(And it came at the perfect time after my pity post.)

It needs to be said

A shift has happened.

Something inside of me has changed.

As of lately, I've lost switched my focus on this journey from weight-loss to building muscle.  I know what you're thinking... how is this bad?

Don't get me wrong, there's nothing bad about it but I think I took away the weight-loss focus because I haven't lost weight... not because I don't want to lose any more.  Make any sense?

Basically, I'm afraid to fail at losing weight.  I already gained back some of the weight once, and now that my initial goal-weight is thisclose, I'm FREAKING  OUT!!! 

Right now, "weight loss" is still a work in progress so in my mind, when I tell people I'm trying to drop pounds, it gives me permission to mess up (right, right?).

Accidentally overeat three days in a row?  

No big deal, I'm still learning on this journey.

Skipped exercise all week long?  

Everybody on this "weight loss journey" does it, so it's okay.

Focusing on building muscle, on the other hand, lets me think it's okay to overeat because you need extra calories to build muscle.  True.  It also lets me think having no loss or a gain over several weeks is okay because you're supposed to gain weight when you build muscle.  True, again.

But I've been lying to myself... the scale hasn't been moving which is why I switched my goal... not the other way around.

I was kidding myself about not focusing on weight-loss because even though I'm 10 lbs. away from my original goal weight, I'm still about 15 - 20 lbs overweight for my height.  And even with some muscle gain, I should still be seeing a loss on the scale.  Tomorrow I have my measurements taken with Trainer L so I'll know for sure if I'm still moving in the right direction... even if the scale isn't.

Since it's now been said, I'm bringing back the focus on losing "the last 10 lbs.".

(source)

RFSC: Week 3 goals

Week 3 Goals

Exercise Goal 

• Keep on going.  Continue my current 12-week exercise program, which will take me into the middle of May. 

• Sun:  lower body weight training + cardio
• Mon:  HIIT
• Tues:  plyo + full-body weight training
• Wed:  back weight training + cardio
• Thur: chest and abs weight training + HIIT
• Fri:  arms weight training + cardio
• Sat:  plyo + full-body weight training

Nutrition Goal

• Clean, clean, clean!  My #1 priority for the next 10 weeks is to really focus on and dial in my nutrition.  Clean, whole foods to support my body and intense workouts.   Working on the meal planning for the week.
• Increase healthy fats.  Definitely need to add more "smart fats" to my diet: salmon, avocado, nuts, olive oil, flaxseeds, coconut oil, etc.  Refrig restocked with more avocado, flaxseed oil, fresh coconut and salmon.
• New eats = happy tummy.  Making it a goal to try one new recipe a week.  Nutrition can get pretty boring if you eat the same things over and over, so finding 10 new (hopefully yummy) recipes to add to my rotation will do me good.  Turkey muffins in the oven right now and chili planned for tonight.

____________________________________________________________

Week 2 recap and mini-challenge

Week 2 was TOUGH!!!  Nutrition was kinda out of control due to a bad start in week 2 and things kind of just unraveled from there.  Even though I got in all my exercise, we all know that you can't out exercise a bad diet.  Here's to making week 3 better.

Exercise Goal 

• Keep on going.  Continue my current 12-week exercise program, which will take me into the middle of May. 

• Sun:  OFF DAY
• Mon:  arms and abs weight training + HIIT
• Tues:  plyo + full-body weight training
• Wed: shoulders weight trainig + cardio
• Thur: chest and abs weight training + HIIT
• Fri:  legs + cardio
• Sat:  plyo + full-body weight training

Nutrition Goal

• Clean, clean, clean!  My #1 priority for the next 10 weeks is to really focus on and dial in my nutrition.  Clean, whole foods to support my body and intense workouts.   Eating was a little tough this week.  Even though I planned out all my meals, I didn't stick to the plan and ate out about three times. 
• Increase healthy fats.  Definitely need to add more "smart fats" to my diet: salmon, avocado, nuts, olive oil, flaxseeds, coconut oil, etc. Did really good with this goal.  Started adding flaxseed oil to my daily morning shakes and I think I can totally feel the difference in my busted left knee.  It hardly bothers me anymore and I've been able to run without it flaring up.  =)
• New eats = happy tummy.  Making it a goal to try one new recipe a week.  Nutrition can get pretty boring if you eat the same things over and over, so finding 10 new (hopefully yummy) recipes to add to my rotation will do me good.  Got around to trying a new soup recipe but didn't take any pictures.  It was a really really fast prep of tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, beef broth and veggies I had left over in the fridge.  Topped off with chunks of cubed chicken breast and it was pretty yummy.

Mini-challenge

• Do a workout that you don't normally do, mix it up!  Didn't get around to jumping on the spin bike like I wanted to however I tried a bunch of new weight machines at the gym.  Found some new loves! 
  
  

  

  (source)

  
  

  

  (source)

  
  

  

  (source)

Saturday Sweat Session

I've received quite a bit of questions about what my workouts look like so thought I'd dedicate a post to recap the workouts for the week or focus on one intense session I had.  

Introducing Saturday Sweat Sessions.  

This week, that intense session would be my workout today, with Trainer E: an upper body KILLER.

Warm up:  2-min jog, 2 min-skipping

Warm up:  12 push-ups, 15 squats, 15 arm circles x 3

assisted pull-ups   3x15

bear crawl + push-ups   3x15

(source)

one-arm dumbbell row   3x10

walking lunges   3x20

medicine ball rotational throw   3x15

(source)

jump pull-ups   3x15

one-arm TRX plyo row   3x15

Valslide hand crawl   3x15

(source)