Week 5 Check In

Week 5: Oct 19 - Oct 25

Week 4 did not quite go as planned. My diet was decent but I missed someone workouts as a result of not getting up and doing my AM workouts. It was a great lesson in why sticking to your plan is needed. I didn't see any weight loss in Week 4 - but I also was not expecting it with my plan being off.

Week 5 - went much better. Getting up in the AM has been a real challenge - the combination of having colder temperatures and being sore from pushing hard on lifts has made me tired in the mornings. I was able to comfortably wear some size 6 pants this week that have been too small. The scale is messing with me - showing an increase this week despite the pants fitting. I also have lost some more inches. I am noticing my stomach area (where I need to loose the most body fat) is really squishy this week. I am hoping this is the fat layer starting to metabolize!

My energy has also been okay - I am noticing I need to drink more water. I have to remind myself to stay hydrated with the cold.

At this point I am four weeks out from a vacation in Hawaii so I am hoping to bust through some more of this body fat!!

A review of Week 3 goals:

1. Hit the Goal of 6 Workouts - with the intention of getting in the extra lower body session I got in (4) workouts this week including the second lower body workout. 
2. Get the weekend Macro's down I hve been doing better on weekends
3. Avoid snacking on the free food at the office I have been doing okay here - but avoiding the Swedish Fish is really hard.....

Nutrition Plan:

I did well with my nutrition - Friday was client entertainment for lunch and dinner. Knowing all week that would happen I kept macros in check on other days.

My hunger picked up and I have been having a zone bar for that afternoon snack.

Workouts:

Workouts were good. I upped weights on all weight workouts this week!!

Saturday - Rest
Sunday-   I did a long cardio session with a killer lower body session.
Monday- Back
Tuesday - Rest
Wednesday - Lower Body + Deadlifts
Thursday - Cardio + Arms
Friday- Rest

Supplements:

This was a mixed bag - I need to get back on the supplements

Progress - What did I learn???
I took a back seat to my stress this week and just observed. Some stress is under out control (how we react to situations) other is not.

Weight In:
1. 9/21/2013 - 138 lbs
2. 10/12/2013 - 136.6 lbs
3. 10/27/2013 - 140 lbs ????? This is curious even though I am getting smaller....I am not far out from TOM so it could be some bloat as well....

Measurements:

This is a bit mixed with some increases and some reductions. I am seeing reductions in the glutes and arms. Some increases in the chest area and legs. I was a little bloaty today so that may have made measurements off a little.

Goals for Week 6: 

1. Get up at 4 am and no snooze!
2. DISCPLINE
3. No snacking on the free food at the office! 

Core Workout

In this rotation I opted for one full ab/core day with some cardio with the hope of increasing core strength. I have been doing a mix of mat work and crunches using my cable machine.

Today I did the following workout -

Crunches 3 x10

Lying Leg Raises 3 x 12 

Crunches 3 x 10

Ball Crunch 3 x 10

Oblique Cable Crunch 3 x 15 x 7.5 lbs

Cable Crunch 3 x 12 x 10 lbs

Hanging Leg Raise 3 x 10

It took me about 38 minutes.

This is the third week I have done this sequence - I can see some increases in strength. Next week I will add more ball work and less floor work. 

Some Inspiration from Nature - The Giant Praying Mantis

As part of my effort get out and make more of nature - I took yesterday off to enjoy the wonderful fall day! I did some work from home - but hubby and I went out to enjoy the sunshine. 

While outside we found this giant praying mantis - the biggest one I have never seen. I ran back home for the camera to photograph the gentile giant! 

Week 3 Check In - Signs of Progress

Week 3: Oct 5 - Oct 11

Week 3 - things are meshing and I am getting it together. I got to bed earlier and got organized.....and I am starting to see some progress! Per the Lean Bodies consulting plan - you should be disciplined and evaluate every 2 weeks and see how your doing. Given my set back last week I did progress this week and am pleased to report it is working! I lost some weight and measurements are showing some tightening!! My energy has also been good as well - this is really important to me as my job requires lots of brain power.

A review of Week 3 goals -

Goals for Week 3: 

1. Work for it! - check! 
2. Get in at least 5 workouts (the goal is 6) - 5 workouts in + on days with no active workout did a long walk with the hubby
3. Tighten up the diet to get a better understanding if the calories are working  - check! 
4. Avoid snacking on the free food at the office  - check! (I did have one little nibble of a cookie - and it didn't really taste good. A good reminder that most snacking is mindless)

Nutrition Plan:

I was on plan all week. I have been following Ava Cowen's  journey back to fitness post injury as a motivator. It has really inspired me to get the diet/macro's under control and dial it in.

I got in all my meals. The only meal I have not had yet is my late afternoon snack. I have found that to date I was not hungry late afternoon - so I have not had that meal. I have been eating my dinner on time. This does make my calories a little shorter than plan. Should I try and eat this snack if not hungry? or wait for metabolism to pick up and reach this point?

On Thursday and Friday morning I woke up hungry - I take this as progress - the metabolism is picking up.

Workouts:

Workouts were good. I upped weights on all weight workouts this week!!

Saturday -  I did a long cardio session with a killer lower body session.
Sunday - Hubby and I went hiking - you can read more about it some inspiration from nature
Monday - Back, Back, Back
Tuesday - Rest
Wednesday - Long ab Session - increased the weight on the cable Ab exercises. I am really trying to strengthen my core again.
Thursday - Cardio + Arms

Supplements:
I did really well here - I took everything all week with the exception of Friday night

Progress - What did I learn???

I took a back seat to my stress this week and just observed. Some stress is under out control (how we react to situations) other is not.

Weight In:
1. 9/21/2013 - 138 lbs
2. 10/12/2013 - 136.6 lbs

Measurements:

Goals for Week 4: 

1. Hit the Goal of 6 Workouts - wth the intention of getting in the extra lower body session
2. Get the weekend Macro's down
3. Avoid snacking on the free food at the office

Some Inspiration from Nature

"Write it on your heart that every day is the best day of the year." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

To live up to my week 3 goal of starting to get my stress under control - hubby and I decided to make the best of the fall weather and do some hiking on Sunday. There are some nice canyons to hike in not far from our house. We also want to start getting some hikes in as we intend to some hiking on our November vacation to Hawaii!

We had a nice time wandering through the trails, enjoying the woods and the beautiful rock formations. It was great to just get away from the house, the cell phone, the computer and enjoy the outdoors. Hubby got to indulge in his habit of photography - I got to do my part and do some photo editing.

By the time we were done - hubby and I were both beat (my legs were really feeling it as I had did a long cardio session with a killer lower body session the day before). It felt great to get out, enjoy the fresh air and get the heart rate up.

The resulting impact - it was amazing how much it impacted my mood and well being to get out and get away from everything. All week I have found myself reflecting back on that hike and looking forward to the next one. It also got me inspired to focus, focus, focus on my plan - to get results!

Week 2 Check In - Stress Yup that will do it

Week 2: Sept 28 - Oct 4

Week 2 did not start out as originally planned and I am to blame for it. I didn't have a good plan for how to split out food on the weekend. As a result I did not eat enough during the day then I did an intense workout s (as Saturdays and Sundays are my plans for long workouts) and fully depleted my glycogen stores. I had a post workout snack but it wasn't enough calories.

Post workout hubby and I decided to go to dinner and do our usual Saturday night grocery shopping. The restaurant took awhile to get our food - in which time we had both consumed a beer. Then we got our meal and each had a second beer (I know not the healthiest but we both had above normal stress at work) - then we wrapped up and went to the grocery store. Upon entering the grocery store I knew it was coming - the dreaded blood sugar crash.

If I am not careful and I get my macro's out of alignment I get can a nasty reactive hypoglycemic blood sugar incident.  We are taking the works - black out, difficulty breathing, rapid hearth beat.This has occasionally happened to me before but is has been a long time since the last incident.

At this point I was worried I would black out in the store - so I sat on a bench by the front door with my feet in the air as hubby tore through the grocery store getting food for the week. In about 20 minutes I was fine - but it is not a good feeling. It also does a good job of stressing out your spouse.

The next day I did some research - stress can mess with blood sugar levels. Given we had been under extreme stress with both of our jobs compounded with a glycogen depleting workout,  not enough calories during the day and a beer before food - it was the perfect combination to create a blood sugar crash.

So my week did not go exactly as planned - but here is a rundown -

Nutrition Plan:

I did my best to stay on plan this week. I had a client event on Tuesday night - so I brought my dinner with me and ate before going.

I did have dinner out with an out of town guest on Thursday which was great to catch up.

Workouts:

I did have an awesome workout that Saturday pre-crash.

Recognizing the body under stress - I opted for rest Sunday. It was my original intent to start AM workouts again last week - but I didn't get there. I had a few more client events followed by out of town guests.

Supplements:

I did really well here - I took everything all week with the exception of Thursday night and Friday.

Progress - What did I learn???

My stress is starting to hurt me and I need to make some serious efforts to get it more under control. One way I have really controlled stress in the past is through my workouts and making time for the great outdoors.

I also need to remind myself happiness is a choice - and when things get really stressful to still look for some happiness in each day.

Planning for weekends is more important that weekdays! I had worked out all my macros for week days, workout schedules, ect. But I realized I didn't put much effort into my weekend plans. That needs to change so that I get in all my macros, workouts, chores, ect.

Goals for Week 3: Given Week 2 did not go as planned - I will reuse the Week 2 goals for week 3

1. Work for it!
2. Get in at least 5 workouts (the goal is 6)
3. Tighten up the diet to get a better understanding if the calories are working
4. Avoid snacking on the free food at the office

Week 1 Check In

A week came and went - and what a week it was. There was a lot going on at the office and I had two nights of client entertaining to do.

Here is a run down of how I did.

Nutrition Plan:

I was not 100% on plan - but I did better than I was doing previously.

Meal 1 - spot on Monday through Friday.

Meal 2 - spot on Monday through Friday. I found by 9 am I was ready for meal 2.

Meal 3 - spot on Monday through Friday.

I got called out to a few unexpected business lunches (this can happen in my line of work). I did my best to make good food choices those days - opting for salads w no dressing or rice with protein. I also found myself snacking a little at the end of the week (we always have free food and candy in the office)

Meal 4 - I only ended up with the yogurt meal one day in the first week, as I found I was still full from lunch (both on days when I had my planned lunch and days when I had an unplanned lunch). I expect that this will change as I workout more consistently and metabolism speeds up.

Meal 5 - I had my dinner three nights out of five planned. On the first night of client entertaining I did well as I ate Meal 5 before my client event and ate meal 4 when I got home. The next client event I was less successful. I should have ate before it but I did not. On Friday - hubby and I made a healthy meal at home.

Workouts:

I hit 4 of 6 planned workouts - working out consistently from Saturday through Tuesday. I was very sore as I have not lifted in a month - but it also felt great to be sore again. Due to being so sore on Wednesday I blew through my alarm without realizing it. Knowing that Thursday would be a really late night I opted for more rest.

Supplements

I did really well here - I took everything all week with the exception of Friday night.

Progress - What did I learn???

I did a weight in this morning and there were no changes this week. I do notice that I feel tighter. Even though my nutrition was not spot on - I noticed I was not starving. I was finding I was progressively hungry at the correct times during the day. What else is great is I had good energy levels all week - this is really important to me as I have long days and do technical work.

I need to add some probiotics to the mix!!!!
I also need to go to bed sooner!!!!

Goals for Week 2:

1. Work for it!
2. Get in at least 5 workouts (the goal is 6)
3. Tighten up the diet to get a better understanding if the calories are working
4. Avoid snacking on the free food at the office

Food Prep Sunday!

"There is no substitute for hard work." ~ Thomas Edison

To make sure my meals are prepped for the week I did a massive cooking session on Sunday. I have always done food prep to a degree - but The Baking Mad Gym Addict inspired me to take food prep to a whole new level! After watching this video I gave it a try. Here is what my Sunday food prep looked like.

Prepped two chickens for roasting. This is place the chickens breast side down in a roaster. Pour boiling water in the pan, spray with canola spray, add salt and pepper. Cover with foil and bake for at least two hours.

While the chickens are starting to bake I pealed and chopped sweet potatoes. These I placed on a baking stone, sprayed with conola spray and put in the oven for about an hour.



Chickens roasting on top - sweet potato on the bottom

While the sweet potatoes were baking I cut up zucchini and placed on other baking sheets. The zucchini was sprayed with canola spray, then sea salt, pepper and Italian spices were used.  At this time I also set a dozen eggs to boil (hubby eats lots of eggs). After 50 to 60 minutes the sweet potatoes are done - out they come and in goes the zucchini for about 20 minutes.

Zucchini prepped and waiting for the oven

While this I going on I started prep on green beans. From The Baking Mad Gym Addict I have found it faster to boil water in the tea pot and then blanch green beans for about 10 minutes. I use a 1 pound container of fresh green beans from Costco and then distribute over 5 meals (about 6 oz each).  The cooked sweet potatoes go into containers with the green beans - these are my lunches.  Once I measured how much I had from the sweet potatoes - I cooked enough brown rice to round out my carbs. The brown rice was then packed into individual containers.

While the green beans are blanching I prepared to start cooking ground turkey in a sauté pan. I cooked up 1 large onion and then two packets of ground turkey. After making sure this is cooked through - I divide into containers - measuring out 6 oz each and then topping with zucchini.

Dinners for the week - Ground Turkey + Zucchini

At this point - the chickens may need to keep going. I check them at two hours and see how they are doing. While waiting on the chickens, I measure out a weeks worth of AM protein shakes into my Magic Bullet cups. This is a scoop of protein powder, 1 tsp of glucosamine and a scoop of instant coffee. I also used this window to measure out my servings of oat bran.

When the chickens are cooked through - they come out of the oven and rest before being cut up. This part is a little messy - but worth it.

Roasted Chickens - all done

After separating the chickens - 4 oz is measured out into my lunches. Some weeks hubby takes some of the chicken. This week he did not - so I separated 4 oz of chicken and wrapped in parchment and froze into once big container - I have enough chicken for two more weeks of lunches.

Lunches for the week

In three hours of prep I had the following meals prepared:

• 1 dozen eggs
• 5 shakes prepped
• 5 mid morning snacks prepped
• 5 lunches - chicken, green beans, sweet potato, brown rice
•  protein for two more weeks of lunches (meaning next weeks food prep is mostly cooking up and rice veggies!!!)
• 5 dinners - ground turkey + zucchini
•  two additional packets of ground turkey to use for the following week.

All of my prepped food lined up!

The Plan

"Success is a journey not a destination"

After some reflection - I set out to make a plan. I did some research. I have been following Lean Bodies consulting on Facebook and via their email list and have been inspired by their whole concept of nutritional discipline and doing more in less time.

I was also inspired by Pauline Nordin who has Fighter Diet and some great effective workouts like the Butt Bible.

Nutritional Plan:

I decided to base my nutritional plan around a post by Lean Bodies Consulting about how to set calories and macros.

Following Erik's instructions I came up with this

Step 1 - Set the Calories 

I opted for the 12 calories/lb deficit to get started as it gives me some options to cut if I want to drop more body fat. I am currently at 138 lbs - so my calories are at 1,656 per day,

Step 2 - Set the Protein intake

I opted for the 1 gram/lb range to get started. This gives me about 140 grams of protein per day.

Step 3 - Add in the Omega 3's

I subtracted my fish oils and fats from my other supplements of my calories.

Step 4 - Fill in the rest/Step 5 - Plan Meals

After playing with the macros and doing some sample meal planning I came up with a preliminary split to base around my schedule.

Meal 1 - protein shake + almond milk + supplements (post workout meal about 5:30 am)
Meal 2 - 1 cup oat bran (about 9 am)
Meal 3 - 4 oz chicken, 3/4 cup brown rice, 1 cup sweet potato, 6 oz green beans (lunch around 12 pm)
Meal 4 - 1 cup plain greek yogurt + 1 cup raspberry (snack - 4:30 pm)
Meal 5 - 6 oz cooked ground turkey, veggies + supplements (dinner about  7:45 - 8 pm)

The macros work out to be

Protein -

• 140 g/38%
• my protein sources are protein powder, chicken, ground turkey, greek yogurt

Carbs -

• 182/49%
• my carb sources are almond milk, oat bran, rice, sweet potato, veggies

Fat -

• 45/12.3%
• my fat sources are fatty acids, almond milk, and some olive oil.

I will admit after I worked this out I was SKEPTICAL. This was interesting - as it had me actually eating more than I had been eating - but these guys have had success with their clients. I am also looking at long term health and creating a plan that I can mold and maintain.


Workout Schedule:

After some thought and reading I came up with the following workout schedule. My plan is to do longer workouts on Saturday and Sunday. Then use most of my week days for lifts with minimal cardio - as lifting weights keeps your heart rate in the calorie burning zone.

Saturday - 1 hour SS cardio session + Lower Body Lift
The SS will be on the elliptical I have in my basement. The Lower Body workout will be based on one of Pauline's Butt Bible workouts.

Sunday - 1 hour SS cardio session + Back
The SS will be on the elliptical I have in my basement. The back workout is one I came up with using a mix of my cable machine in the basement and free weights.

Monday - Abs
This is a 4 am workout - 10 minute warm up on the elliptical at high HR then abs! A mix of ab exercises involving the cable machine and exercise ball.

Tuesday - Arms
This is a 4 am workout - 10 minute warm up on the elliptical at high HR then an arm workout from one of Pauline's e-books.

Wednesday - Lower Body Day 2
As my lower body is one of my problem areas - I would like this day to eventually become a deadlift day. I am planning to start off with some lower body work that ends with deadlifts - with the plan of this becoming a deadlift day.

Thursday - Just Cardio
My original thinking was this day would be another cardio day - 30 to 45 minutes to help bust up some of the lactic acid from the Wednesday workout.

Supplements:
My plan is to take the following supplements

• Fish Oil
• Glutamine Powder
• Glucosamine
• Vita Pack - total body (I have some vitamins left over from before. I will take these initially then determine once I use them up what vitamins to purchase)
• Vita Pack - Energy (I had these energy vitamin packs - so my plan is to take these in the AM pre-workout)

Baseline:
I also did baseline weight, measurements and some bad cell phone pics.

Accountability:
My plan is to update my blog each week to highlight my progress, show tweeks and see how I am doing.

Learning from the past

After being on a fitness journey for awhile then getting a little side tracked - I am recommitting to my fitness journey. What I learned while I was side tracked is that having a regular fitness and health routine is essential to my well being. Simply put - when your taking care of yourself the best version of you is available.

At the beginning of summer I had a big career and life transition. For the better part of the last four years I traveled each week to another city by airplane and lived out of a hotel four nights a week. Now I am back to living at home in a large metropolitan area again and commuting into the city each day for work. My current job also requires that I entertain clients and represent our company at evening functions.

When I first got back I gave myself some time to adjust. I knew I would need a new workout plan and schedule - but I also did not want to create a plan that is unrealistic and set myself up for frustration and failure. I knew I would need to be realistic.

These are the things I learned in the first few months back -

• Morning workouts are best - I found that I was most successful working out in the morning. To fit in a morning workout - it also means I need to get up at 4 am. I am not by nature a morning person - but I have discovered this is the only way to fit it in. By the time I get home at 7:30 pm at night I often found I was tired, hungry and at times had to do more work. I also felt if I cam home and worked out at night I was neglecting my spouse as we have very little time together as it us.
• Meal Prep is Key - Do to my week being so packed - I have found that meal prep on the weekend is essential - lunches, dinners, all of it. If everything is prepped on a weekend it is much easier to stay on track during the week. I am not tempted to grab lunch or eat a random dinner when I am starving at 7:30 pm.
• Balancing Meals - I had to learn how to shift my food around. In my first few weeks I was starving before starting my evening commute - which had my ravished before I got home. I learned that I needed a 4:30 pm or a 5:00 pm snack before leaving the office. I also found not having meals that were large enough also left me starving.
• Discipline - I quickly learned I needed to become more disciplined. What exactly does this mean? Get to bed on time, get up in the morning, avoid the free food in the office, avoid the temptations that are everywhere. I have to walk about a mile once I get off the train to get to my office. This means I walk by a zillion places selling every kind of food you can imagine.
• Supplements/Vitamins - I got lazy about taking these - but realize the importance so I must get back on track!!
• Water - I am not drinking enough of it.
• Make a plan - if you don't have a plan, with goals an reasonable objectives - you won't get anywhere. This means getting brave - get on the scale, take some measurements - give yourself a baseline an some accountability. When I first got back I didn't have a specific plan so I can't say that I exactly made specific progress.
• I want to be healthy - I know at this moment I am not as healthy as I was before. I am carrying some extra pounds - some of my clothes don't fit. I want to feel better
• I have no excuses - We have a small home gym in our basement complete with elliptical, a workout bench, a cable machine, free weights, an Olymic bar and exercise balls. I don't have to go anywhere or spend any money on a gym membership.

So taking all of this into account - I made some plans.