Week 3

My record keeping has been seriously lacking this week and I missed 3 workouts. Blame it on sick children, injury, etc. but not the most fabulous week of all time. I will try harder to stay on task, although I will say that tomorrow is hubby's bday and the food and fun will be flowing, so I may wait until Monday to completely right the train. I have been eating decently with the exception of ice cream for dinner last Tuesday.

Oh, and I lost 2 pounds.

:)

Definitely not going to make the 30# goal, but happy with the results thus far!

Jan 15 &16 recap

Friday -

Food:
3c coffee
2c water
2c tea
whole wheat blueberry pecan pancakes
yogurt
cottage cheese
chix & bean nachos
orange

The chix nachos were my free meal this week and I did not figure out the nutritional breakdown...I went to the movie theater with some friends and just drank water - no treat!

Cal 798+ Fat 22+ Carb 117+ Protein 33+

Burned 452 cal during workout.

Saturday -

Food:
2 c coffee
2 c water'3 c tea
banana
Bkfst Sandwich
Cereal Bar
Clementine
Chix Breast
Linguine w mushroom marinara
spring mix salad
ICE CREAM - dessert for the week!! :) Not included in nutritional breakdown

Cal 1067 Fat 30 Carb 109 Protein 79

My legs were really hurting and I had not slept well at all due to being up with a sick little papi for a good portion of the night. Also, I am really feeling that it is absolutely true that you need a day off each week from exercise. Therefore, I did not work out today.

Reason #16 & 17: I hate that my stomach is in the way when I try to bend down for things. Also, even though I don't necessarily enjoy exercise per se, I love the endorphin release that it creates.

Recap of 1/14/10

Food Journal:

2c coffee
2c water
3c tea
banana
clementine
pretzels
Chipotle Burrito (3/4)
1 dark chocolate Dove Promise
1/2 bag mini popcorn

cal 1062 fat 24.5 carb 168 protein 47

Not a very good eating day. Ate too little up until dinner (which I ate at 4:30 BTW) then loaded too many calories at once. Protein was too low.

Burned 485 cal in workout. That is more in the range that I would like to see 4 or 5 days a week.

Weighed in Friday morning - lost 1.5 lbs. Not bad for a week that was a little off all the way around.

Reason #15: Being more fit increases your balance. I'd like to ice skate with my kids someday, but the last time I got on skates when SJ was little I felt like I had no balance. I would think the loss in weight would help some too...?

Recap of 1/13/10

Food:

2 c coffee
2 c tea
2 c water
egg whites, spinach, mushrooms, cheese
cottage cheese
clementine
greek turkey burger
spinach & carrot salad
Banana
2 dark chocolate Dove Promises

cal 1129 fat 38 carb 108 protein 90

419 calories burned in workout...after taking it a little easy on my legs for a couple of days, I discovered something a little odd. I experience more pain walking quickly than I do jogging slowly. But I burn a lot more calories. Bonus for me!

Reason #14: I love that my children are already viewing exercise, fitness and healthy habits as a natural and often fun part of life. You should see Sophia do push ups. Puts many adults I know to shame. :)

1/11/10 & 1/12/10 recap

1/11/10:
2 c coffee
3 c tea
2 c water
banana
cheerios w milk & raspberries
cottage cheese
cereal bar
beef barley soup
cheese quesadilla (2 triangles - wheat tortilla)
2 dark chocolate Dove Promises

cal 1134 fat 35 carb 224 protein 60
Burned 303 calories in workout.

1/12/10

So this was not one of my better days. Alex was not well, so I took him to the dr in the morning, entertained him, then went back to the dr for a consult on Sophia's allergies. Never got the workout in. To make matters worse, AJ walks up to me in his Elmo chef's hat and Spiderman apron and asks if he looks like a real chef. When I said yes, he asked if we could bake something together. Try saying no to that. I dare you. Of course, he couldn't pick something lame to bake that I could stay away from. Read on.

2 c coffee
3 c tea
no water :(
egg beaters with the usual stuff in them
clementine
cheese stick
chix soup
stroganoff
2 yummy delicious homemade from scratch coconut cupcakes :)

cal 1205 fat 29 carb 100 protein 132 (doesn't include cupcakes)

Tomorrow is another day.

Reasons #12 & 13: Although I'm not the biggest fan of exercising per se, I do really like the way I feel when I'm exercising regularly. I'd like there to be less jiggling going on when I run on the treadmill.

Day 10 results

So weekends are a little harder. At least this weekend. We didn't have a lot going on and it was really cold and crappy out, so we pretty much hung out in the house all weekend. Usually that would call for me cooking some not so low cal, low fat breakfasts and desserts. Plus lots of snacking with the kids. Did I mention that on our "it's too fucking cold to get out of bed" day off of school on Thursday I made tortilla chips with melted cheese for the kids and didn't eat a single one? Didn't even lick my fingers when they needed me to help them pull them off the foil because there was "too much" cheese making them stick....Yay me.

Food Journal for Sunday, Jan 10:

2 c coffee
2 c tea
2 c water
multi-grain cheerios w skim milk and raspberries
clementine
D-light Breakfast Sandwich (for lunch)
popcorn
cheese stick
beef stroganoff
1 dark chocolate Dove Promise

cal 1094 fat 25 carb 151 protein 68

Burned 298 calories in the workout.

Reason #11: I have decided not to grow old gracefully. I used to always think that meant bad plastic surgery and wearing clothes that you are too old to be wearing. Now I realize (which may itself be a sign of aging) that it can mean taking better care of myself so that I can remain active, fit & beautiful. Not to mention staying off all those freaking medications....

Playing Catch Up

I missed yesterday's entry, so here is the recap of Friday...

Decided to have "part of" my free meal on Friday, so I didn't add up all the numbers, but here is what I ate.

2 c coffee
1 c tea
3 c water
yogurt
turkey burger & split an order of cardiac fries w Todd
banana
3 slices pizza (pepperoni & banana peppers)
large Dr Pepper from Sonic - yum!!!

*I opted to save my dessert for the week until Saturday night.

Burned 385 calories on my workout.

Saturday's food journal:

2 c coffee
1 c tea
5 c water
clementine
egg beaters w spinach, gr peppers, onion, ham & cheese
cottage cheese
waffle w pb
chix soup
banana
ice cream

calories 1137 fat 33 carb 110 protein 101 (#'s do not include ice cream!)

Calories burned during workout 298.

I am having some trouble with my lower shins and ankles, so I am having to be a little creative with my workouts to allow them to heal a bit. This will be a good challenge for me to keep working through it and not give up, but to find things to do to still burn calories and get my work in.

Reason's #9 & 10: I would like to have nicely toned arms and shoulders. I would like to be able to run to school with Sophia and not be so out of breath!

News from 1/7/10 & more!

Food Journal:
1 1/2c coffee
3 c tea
4 c water
1/2 bkfst sandwich (Delights)
apple
chix veg soup
graham crackers
cranberry pecan waffle
ham
popcorn

calories 1202 fat 35 carbs 167 protein 71

Pretty happy overall with that. I was actually really hungry for a lot of the day until I ate dinner. Kids were home from school and snacking all day, so I wonder if it was a reaction to that?

Burned 581 calories working out.

Reason #8: I hate being shocked when I see pictures of myself.

Oh yeah - and I lost 4 pounds this week. :)

1/6/10

Pretty good day food wise - I was able to get in a few more calories today!

1 1/2 c coffee
3 c tea
2 c water
hard boiled egg
nutri grain bar
egg beaters w gr pepper, onion, ham, spinach & cheese
oatmeal
chix
rice & black eyed peas pbj sandwich

cal 1353 fat 38 carb 120 protein 118

Exercise not so good. We'll call this my light day. I didn't eat before I started (so dumb!) and I was only able to make it about 22 minutes on the treadmill for about 200 calories burned. I intended on getting in another 30 minutes later in the day, but it didn't work out.

Reason #7 - I want my kids to be proud of me.

1/5/10

Pretty good day. My only complaint is that my hr watch is acting weird. Of course on the day that I decided to wear it all day and get a more accurate sense of what I was burning throughout the day. Sigh. Time to dig out the user manual I guess.

Food Journal
2 c coffee
3 c tea
3 c water
banana
hard boiled egg
orange
egg beaters w ham, spinach, peppers, onion & mozz cheese
strawberry nutri-grain bar
homemade chix veg & wild rice soup

Calories 1052 Fat 26 Carb 113 Protein 91

Calories burned during workout 417 (?) Actually thought it was more and a couple of times I noticed my hr was not registering, so this is the conservative #.

To quickly address some ?s that have come up:

I do not have a specific weight that I ultimately want to be at. I think I'll know my ideal "living" weight when I get there. It will be when I feel good about the way I look and feel and my ability to do things with my family and friends that I'd like to do.

Food. I am not on a diet. I am modifying my food intake to something that is realistic to stick with forever. Some days my calories are falling too low - but keep in mind too that I am estimating in a lot of instances. One or two hundred calories is not an unreasonable variance on any given day. Also, once I have finished this first week, I will start giving myself one free meal a week. It will include whatever I want to drink and eat, including dessert.

Feel free to ask more questions if you have them. I like the interaction and it makes me stop and think about some things.

Reason #6: I want to have enough energy to keep up with my kids for years to come.

Day 4

Quick addition to yesterday's notes...

We took the kids to see a Disney Show (thanks mom!) and I resisted the urge to have even one small bite of any treats consumed by them. Twizzlers (one of my all time favs), soft pretzel (lots of butter and salt) and cotton candy. Ate an apple when we got back to the car instead. Yay me!

Ok, yesterday's results.

Better numbers, although the carbs could have been a little bit lower and the protein higher. Every day can not be perfect and I'll take this one over the alternatives...I'm just sayin'.

Food Journal
2 c coffee
3 c tea
3 c water
banana
yogurt
breakfast sandwich
chicken sharwarma
pear
smoothie
pbj sandwich

calories 1180 fat 25 carbs 198 protein 57

Did strength training and cardio today - burned 391 calories.

Reason #5: I have some really cute tops that I would love to fit into again.

D3

Not a very good day, but not in the way you might think.

I only ate about 1000 calories - not nearly enough.

I only had 1 cup of tea and no water - not nearly enough.

I was only able to get 293 calories burned out of my workout. Perhaps an effect of not enough fuel and water?

Interestingly, I feel a little more sluggish this morning - little bit of a headache. I'll try better today and see what happens.

Reason #4: I'd like to be comfortable wearing a skirt or dress that doesn't come all the way to my calves.

D2

Food Journal:
1 1/2 c coffee
2 c water
4 c tea
pb toast
oatmeal
salad w tuna
yogurt
arab food dinner

estimated caloric intake 1200; est fat 34 g, est carb 114, est protein 111

Calories burned in 30 minute exercise 441

Reason #3: I'd like to not have my kids ask why my tummy is so big.

Recap of Day 1

Food Journal
1 1/2 c coffee
5 cups hot tea
2 cups water
yogurt
2 homemade muffins (banana dark chocolate chip)
bowl of black bean chili
ham & hoppin john

Estimated calories 1300; estimated fat >30g

Calories burned during work out - 303.

Reason #2: I'd like to wear a "regular" swim suit in the summer and not feel embarrassed about it. I'd like to not have to turn down invitations to have a swim play date with friends because I don't want to put the suit on.

Making a happy new year

I've decided that 2010 will be the year that I take more responsibility for things. Specifically, myself. More specifically, my physical, mental and emotional health. In other words, my happiness. While I know not all my happiness in the world can be found in good health, I feel like it is a good way to start. I've spent much more of my life being unhealthy (and perhaps consequently unhappy) than the opposite. Consider it an experiment.

I am a personal trainer. In theory, I get paid (occasionally) to motivate people to improve their physical fitness. So why can't I motivate myself? Excellent question to which I honestly don't have an answer. Therefore, we move on...Perhaps the journey will reveal some answers?

At my last physical (my first in a really long time) my cholesterol came back high. 242 high. My LDL level is 139 - under 100 is considered normal. I was given 3 months to try to change the number with diet and exercise. The first month has past. It was December. So, I have 2 months before my next appt. 8 weeks. I know from experience the physical change that can occur in 8 weeks. I've done it before, under the direction of an amazing trainer and friend. Now, I will try to do it again with no one but myself to prescribe the exercise and nutritional boundaries. This is in no way the complete journey - these are short term goals with measurable results. There will be more work to be done after these 8 weeks.

My 8 week goals are as follows:

Improve my LDL reading. I honestly don't know what is realistic, so we'll just say improve to the point of convincing my dr that I don't need to start medication.

Lose 30 pounds. That is a lofty goal. That is over 4 pounds a week on average. I currently weigh 201. I've never admitted that before. Ugh. Moving on...

Lose 5" from my body. This includes waist, arms, thigh and hips. Current #'s (I can't believe I'm sharing this....) waist 38 3/8, arm 14, hips 45 1/2, thing 28. Double ugh.

How I plan to achieve my goals:

At least 30 minutes of cardio exercise everyday. Strength training 2-3 x a week.

Cut calories. Journal food intake.

(Note: 1 pound = 3500 calories. Therefore, I must create a 3500 calorie deficiency for every pound I want to lose. Calorie deficiency is created by using more calories than I take in.)

This blog. I will journal my food and exercise each day for the previous day. So tomorrow, you will see what I did today...Hopefully it will help keep me motivated and honest knowing that 3 people are tracking my efforts.

Tracking:

I will weigh myself every Friday morning.

Measurements will be taken on Feb 26. My blood will actually be drawn on Feb 25.

I think I will end each blog entry with a reason why I am on this journey.

Reason #1 - I hate usually being the biggest person in my boot camp classes.