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! 

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.