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! 

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

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

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.