Hollyday's Phase 2

[Hollyday]

Okay so phase 1 was losing some weight in a much needed way. I started out at 152 lbs.

waist was 37 inches, I can't remeber the rest because I forgot my notebook upstairs. But anyway now I'm about 133-134 and waist is down to 33 inches. I would like to get down to 115-120.

Phase 2 is going to consist of major weight lifting where as phase 1 was more cleaning up my diet, breaking the bad eating habits, dropping my beloved Coca Cola, and exercising.

Today's meals

1st meal -- I packet of Take Heart oatmeal and a vegetarian sausage pattie

2nd meal -- light n fit yogurt with some raw oats thrown in

3rd meal -- grilled chicken sub (at a restaurant, no mayo, no onions)

4th meal -- Taco salad (made with vegetarian ground beef, doritos--bad I know, cheese, and refried beans)

I had to kinda guess around on the calories but probably around 1200

I'm on my 3rd water bottle.. trying to get in 6 a day.

Went to the gym and did 20 min on exercise bike, then lifted weights (lower body, and really worked the abs too.. then 10 min on eliptical.

tomorrow will be a cardio day. Did pretty good, didn't have any chocolate or sweet cravings! So that's good. I think the water really helps with that.

[Boots]

Hello Hollyday (thats a cute name)

Congrats on your phase 1 and good luck on phase 2.
:)

[terracotta]

Okay so phase 1 was losing some weight in a much needed way. I started out at 152 lbs.

waist was 37 inches, I can't remeber the rest because I forgot my notebook upstairs. But anyway now I'm about 133-134 and waist is down to 33 inches. I would like to get down to 115-120.

Phase 2 is going to consist of major weight lifting where as phase 1 was more cleaning up my diet, breaking the bad eating habits, dropping my beloved Coca Cola, and exercising.

Today's meals

1st meal -- I packet of Take Heart oatmeal and a vegetarian sausage pattie

2nd meal -- light n fit yogurt with some raw oats thrown in

3rd meal -- grilled chicken sub (at a restaurant, no mayo, no onions)

4th meal -- Taco salad (made with vegetarian ground beef, doritos--bad I know, cheese, and refried beans)

I had to kinda guess around on the calories but probably around 1200

I'm on my 3rd water bottle.. trying to get in 6 a day.

Went to the gym and did 20 min on exercise bike, then lifted weights (lower body, and really worked the abs too.. then 10 min on eliptical.

tomorrow will be a cardio day. Did pretty good, didn't have any chocolate or sweet cravings! So that's good. I think the water really helps with that.

your waist was 37 or your abdomen? Just wondering because some people don't know where their waist is..

are you adding 2 more meals to that? You need at least 1600 cals.. 1800 would be better with your activity level.. what is your height?

[Krissypoo]

4th meal -- Taco salad (made with vegetarian ground beef, doritos--bad I know, cheese, and refried beans)



You can still have this. Take a whole wheat tortilla, cut it into wedges, set the oven to 350 and bake the tortillas until they are crispy. Use fat free cheese and black beans if you can. You can use fat free refried beans if you must(I just hate refried beans :))

[abbs]

Great job on phase 1. Now your plan for phase 2 sounds good - eating clean and heavy lifting will help you get results.

To do this though you will need to increase your calorie level, 1200 is too low.

Your BMR (5ft 3inch, 133lbs) is about 1370.

With the weight training and cardio you will be active so you need to mulitply this number by 1.5.

1370 X 1.5 - 2055

That gives you a daily maintenance calorie level. This is approximate and could be higher or lower depending on how much cardio you do what kind of job you have etc. But it gives you a good number to start with.

You dont want to go lower than 500 below your maintaince level. So like Terrocotta said around 1600-1800 a day would be good. Its better to start higher than lower, so try for 1800 a day and you can always lower that in the future if you need to.

Spread your calories over 6 meals, eating about every 3 hours.

Good luck with phase 2!

[Paichka]

Okay so phase 1 was losing some weight in a much needed way. I started out at 152 lbs.

waist was 37 inches, I can't remeber the rest because I forgot my notebook upstairs. But anyway now I'm about 133-134 and waist is down to 33 inches. I would like to get down to 115-120.

WHOO HOO that is awesome! Congrats on your weight loss and your continued commitment to being fit -- welcome!



Phase 2 is going to consist of major weight lifting where as phase 1 was more cleaning up my diet, breaking the bad eating habits, dropping my beloved Coca Cola, and exercising.

I love to see that you're continuing the trend with weight lifting rather than going nuts with the cardio like so many people.



Today's meals

1st meal -- I packet of Take Heart oatmeal and a vegetarian sausage pattie

2nd meal -- light n fit yogurt with some raw oats thrown in

3rd meal -- grilled chicken sub (at a restaurant, no mayo, no onions)

4th meal -- Taco salad (made with vegetarian ground beef, doritos--bad I know, cheese, and refried beans)

I had to kinda guess around on the calories but probably around 1200


1200 really is too low, I'm in agreement with the rest of the posters. Also, if you're going to be doing some serious lifting, you need more protein. Do you have a food tracker that allows you to see your macronutrient breakdown? Proteins vs Carbs vs Fats, etc? If not, there are a bunch of programs online that allow you to track what you eat -- fitday is one of them, calorieking is another...there's a thread on here called 'Calorie Chart' that sarawood started where Emma-Leigh mentions a bunch of these programs...I highly recommend using one.

I'd get some protein powder or add some egg whites to your morning meal -- just oatmeal and a vegetarian sausage patty is probably not enough. Your morning meal should be pretty hefty as it's the first after a nightlong fast -- oats + sausage patty + egg whites would work well, or mixing up your oats, egg whites and some protein powder, or cottage cheese into a pancake...possibilities are endless. I second what Abbs said too...spread out your calories into 5 or 6 meals...just add another snack in there after your workout -- fruit and yogurt maybe, or cereal + yogurt, etc. If you look at the other journals, you can get a really good idea of excellent meal plans.



Went to the gym and did 20 min on exercise bike, then lifted weights (lower body, and really worked the abs too.. then 10 min on eliptical.


I really recommend doing cardio after your weights workout -- maybe warm up for 10 minutes to get the blood pumping, but any longer than that and you're going to start fatiguing yourself. You'll get the most out of whatever you do FIRST -- so if your focus this phase is on lifting, definitely lift before cardio. If you find your lifts make you too tired to do cardio, then you have a couple of options -- either don't do cardio on lifting days, or separate your cardio & weight workouts by about 6 hours -- so do cardio in the morning, weights in the evening or vice versa.

Anyway, I hope you find everything you need on here, welcome, and good luck!

Sunny

[vanessa40]

Hi,
I just wanted to sy hello..i saw from another post that we are in the same hieght/weight range..i'm 5'2..almost 5'3..and i weigh 134..i too would love to get down to around 115-120...good luck to you..i know we can do it...

Vanessa

[Hollyday]

I will write more later and anwser questions.. I'm waiting for my daughter to get home from school and then we are going to vitamin world. I'm picking up some protein powder so that will help with my calorie intake and protein (i'm sorta vegatarian). I'm also picking up some stackers. I've been very tired lately even with changing my eating habits etc. so hoping this will help give me a boost.

I was measuring my waist at the fattest part of it.. lol. Which is probably a little below the belly button. If I measure at the belly button I'm 32 inches. I've been pregnant 3 times so I don't know if it will ever be small and flat again?

Vanessa that is so cool that we have are stats so close! I'm glad to see somebody here with so much in common. I will be thinking of you!

[vanessa40]

My lower abs are my worst area..what kind of ab work do you do for that..

Vanessa

[Hollyday]

So far about the only thing I've been doing is this thing at the gym that you lay on and you can do crunches correctly. I usually do 3 sets of 25. Yesterday I did that twice. It just burns when I do it. So hopefully it is working.

I think someone asked my height .. I'm 5'3.

Today I had

2 vegetarian sausage patties
watermelon

yogurt with raw oats

protein shake

fettucini noodles
piece of garlic bread

so far my total calories is 1015.. so I will probably have something high in protein when I get back from working out. Today should be a cardio day but I'm going to go ahead and do upper body today since the next 4 days I won't be able to go to the gym (dh and I tag team parent with our jobs). I have a treadmill at home, a free weight and a weidner weight lifting thing so I can use that over the weekend since I won't make it to the gym.

[Hollyday]

Oh and Paichka, I was feeling tired yesterday lifting.. so I will do lifting first for now on. Thanks, I was actually really dragging. I did the bicycle first, then lifted then did eliptical and I thought it would be okay since usually the stationary bike doesn't feel like it "works" me.. but I was dragging yesterday. so won't do that again.

[Hollyday]

well I'm happy with my upper body lifting last night. I think I did a decent job.

Today I took my first stackers 2. After I'm done with this bottle I will take a couple of weeks off and then try lipo 6 since so many people recommend that.

So far I had scrambled eggs and a vegetarian sausage pattie for breakfast. It's time for me to eat again but not sure what I want. I need to get some more water in me too.

[shortsteph]

Hey congrads on the weight loss.

I'm close to your height and weight I will be watching your journal..

[vanessa40]

Just wanted to pop in and say hello again...you look like you are doing great..

Vanessa

[terracotta]

I will write more later and anwser questions.. I'm waiting for my daughter to get home from school and then we are going to vitamin world. I'm picking up some protein powder so that will help with my calorie intake and protein (i'm sorta vegatarian). I'm also picking up some stackers. I've been very tired lately even with changing my eating habits etc. so hoping this will help give me a boost.

I was measuring my waist at the fattest part of it.. lol. Which is probably a little below the belly button. If I measure at the belly button I'm 32 inches. I've been pregnant 3 times so I don't know if it will ever be small and flat again?

Vanessa that is so cool that we have are stats so close! I'm glad to see somebody here with so much in common. I will be thinking of you!
Hollyday that is your abdomen measurement! Your waist is the narrowest part of your torso.. my abdomen is about 32 as well (I measure that at my bellybutton)... but my waist is a 28.

[Hollyday]

oh okay thanks!

Today was weigh in day for me (on fridays) and since I'm eating more, lifting etc.. I dropped 3 lbs this week! My friend tried to say it was just water but I told him Im eating great (5-6 meals a day) I actually feel like I'm eating more than before.

I weighed 132 --- I weighed 135 at the beginning of the week due to eating bad a couple of days before starting phase 2. I started at 152 so I'm at exactly 20 pounds down now.

So far this morning I had a protein shake (I used low fat chocolate milk, muscle milk protein powder chocolate milk flavor, strawberries and ice) and a vegatarian sausage pattie. My groceries are low so not sure what I will have for my second meal coming up.. probably natural peanut butter and baby carrots. 3 rd meal will probably be a big salad with lettuce, carrots, broccoli, chicken and fat free dressing.

Need to do cardio today.

[Krissypoo]

oh okay thanks!

Today was weigh in day for me (on fridays) and since I'm eating more, lifting etc.. I dropped 3 lbs this week! My friend tried to say it was just water but I told him Im eating great (5-6 meals a day) I actually feel like I'm eating more than before.

I weighed 132 --- I weighed 135 at the beginning of the week due to eating bad a couple of days before starting phase 2. I started at 152 so I'm at exactly 20 pounds down now.


That's great! Congratulations!!!

[Hollyday]

thanks you

[shortsteph]

Great on the weight loss...

I cant wait till I reach 20..

I'm almost there...

[vanessa40]

Congradulations on hitting the 20 pound mark... :)

Vanessa

[Hollyday]

still doing good...

One question though.. last monday I weighed 135, this monday I weighed 130. Is that bad to lose 5 lbs in one week. It is the first week of phase 2 so i changed up my diet and my exercise/lifting and started taking stackers 2.. so i'ts been a big week. My friend said it was probably just water weight, but usually you hear that if you are starving yourself.. I've been actually eating more meals, I haven't missed a meal at all..lol.

I did lower body last night at the gym. Today will be cardio. Tomorrow I will do upper body at the gym

So far today I had a hard boiled egg and two vegetarian sausage patties. I did by some cereal at the store that looks good. It has flax in it. I'm going to start taking fish oil too since so many people recommend it.

I love having this healthy hobby of weight lifting and eating right. It can be an expensive hobby but worth every penny!

[vanessa40]

Holly...
Wow...5 pounds..that's great..i'm no expert on the weigh things so i'll let the other ladies comment on that..and you are right..i love this new hobby to but it can be pricey and it takes me a lot longer to make my meals now too...lol..

Vanessa

[Hollyday]

ughh

Just... ate.... a handful of cheetos.. and a handful of chocolate.. chips....


What has gotten over me?

The rest of the day was good..

Breakfast a hard boiled egg and 2 veg. sausage patties
meal 2 was organic golden flax cereal
meal 3 broccoli with a little low cal/low fat dressing
meal 4 chicken breasts, a half of a corn on the cob and a biscuit
meal 5 a protein bar


then the downfall of cheetos and choc chips... what is a girl to do?

[Hollyday]

yesterday I had

hard boiled egg, 2 veggie sausage patties
big salad with baby spinach leaves, chicken, carrots, broccoli, etc
garden burger with broccoli florets and low fat/cal ranch to dip them in
then worked out : upper body
came home drank protein shake (skim milk, choc protein, strawberries, ice)

Today so far I had
bowl of organic golden flax seed cereal
1 banana

Meal 2 will probably be yogurt with fiber (new brand) and some added oats and maybe a hard boiled egg

have to work so will probably eat subway for dinner and have a protein bar as a snack at work.

Getting ready to do cardio...

At first my weight just kept dropping but I've weighed the same now since monday. ugh, but that's still a 2 pound loss since last friday (friday is weigh in day)

[Hollyday]

Ugh,

I ate cheetos last night! So woke up this morning.. I gained a pound! I'm still down 1 pound since last week but this is so disapointing. I'm going to step it up at the gym today! I ate so good the whole day too!

Today for breakfast I had

piece of light bread with natural peanut butter
hard boiled egg

I'm going to try and keep my calories on the low side since I will be having a protein shake after my workout.

How do you stop the cravings and popping pieces of candy during the day or whatever?? I'm so close to being in the 120's again I can almost taste it! lol

[Krissypoo]

How do you stop the cravings and popping pieces of candy during the day or whatever?? I'm so close to being in the 120's again I can almost taste it! lol

I find that eating every 3 hours helps, drinking green tea with splenda also helps. Whenever I think I want food, I drink water. That usually kills my desire to eat something else.

You'll get into the 120's. Just keeping working hard and eating clean. It WILL happen!

[lesliev]

I understand the little oops that happen late at night.... I am in the same place you are. I am 5'2" and weigh about 135, and have already lost almost 20lbs. But I still have a little binge once in awhile.... though I don't know if a handful of chips counts as a binge, I still feel bad about it.

How do you like that Muscle Milk Chocolate Milk flavor protein?? I just bought it yesterday, and can't decide if I like it. I bought it because I forgot to order my favorite protien powder... oh well, guess I need to order it quick!

Keep up the good work!

Les

[Hollyday]

I like it, but it taste so much better with milk. It really does taste like a milkshake.. of course I use skim milk and I only use one scoop of it, and a scoop of lower calorie, cheaper whey.

Anyone got any good protein shake recipes that you can just use water to cut calories down?

I'm feeling so down about my weight for some reason. I'm also feeling like Im in over my head and don't know what I'm doing. I lifted weights in high school, and worked in a health club for a year and then after that I've pretty much spent my twenties having babies..lol.

I read here, and it seems like maybe I'm doing stuff wrong?

I've been doing

lifting lower body
next day cardio
next day upper body
next day cardio

etc etc...

my goals are killer abs! Right now my waist is 32 inches and I want it around 26 or so? I want defined abs.

I want to weigh about 115? I put a question mark because I'm open, depends more on how clothes fit etc. We all know how deceiving the scales can be.

I want muscle definition. I don't just want to be thin, I want people to be able to see muscles and know I lift weights..kwim?

I'm so confused if I'm eating too much cals, not enough? I'm going to have to start using fitday. I try to count my calories out each day myself but some things I feel like I have to guess.. seems like a lot of guessing work. Like for instance one night for dinner I made lasagna. Well in my one piece of lasagna I don't know exactly how much ricotta cheese there was, or sauce, or mozarella, etc. I just have to guess.

Should I not be splitting my workouts (lower, upper)? I totally feel intimitaed by free weights for some reason? I get over there and I just draw a blank on what things I can do.. all the lifting names for things, is like a different language to me..lol. PLus there are big muscle guys in the free weight area and here I am barely able to lift anything. My brother is suppose to go with me one day.. possibly today and take me thru all the machines. He totally transformed his body in high school.. dropped 100 pounds and got muscular!

Sorry for the long rant, I just feel in over my head. Maybe having my brother show me some things will make it easier? It would be nice if I could have a partner too, but I don't have anyone that can go with me. All my friends are mothers and have a hard time getting away from the kiddos.

[Hollyday]

okay as far as food just had meal number 2. I had a light n fit yogurt with fiber (this is good girls, 70 calories), and added about a tablespoon of my flax cereal.

I always add things to my yogurt.. for some reason yogurt is just boring to me. My mother said she adds banana slices and says it is real good and taste like banana pudding.

meal number 3 will probably be broccoli and light ranch dressing

meal 4 will be noodles and some type of veggie

meal 5 protein shake after workout

[Hollyday]

oh also want to know.. how do i figure out how many calories i need if I'm trying to lose weight and gain muscle??

[vanessa40]

Hi..
I know how you feel..right now i'm at 132.5..i'd die to be in the 120's..i know i need to redo my weights..i feel like i'm not doing enough..mine goes like this..
Monday..Chest/biceps/triceps
Tuesday..HIIT...5 min warm up on treadmill. 1 minute running at 6mph then 30 seconds at 8.5 mph for 21 minutes then a 5 min. cool down
Wed. Shoulders/Back and sometimes some Ab work
Thurs. Same as Tuesday
Friday..Legs and Abs
Sat. same as Thurs.
Sunday ...off

I know there has to be a better way..i'd really like to wear shorts this summer or maybe even a swimsuit..but if i can't get this fat off my abs and butt..forget it..lol

Vanessa

[Hollyday]

Vanessa we will get to the 120's! Ya hear me? lol It WILL happen :o)

Okay so the whole days food is as follows

light bread with natural peanut butter
1 hard boiled egg

1 cup light yogurt with a handful of flax cereal thrown in

1 cup broccoli with light ranch dressing

1 small protein shake

fettucini alfredo and a piece of garlic bread

1 small protein shake
a few strawberries


My fat was the highest percentage per fitday.. 42%, carbs was 30 some percent and protein 20 some percent. I think the natural peanut butter killed me! Tomorrow will have to keep fat percentage in check.

I went to the gym and did lower body and 10 min on the elipitical. Also worked the abs on the ab cruncher thing..lol

[abbs]

About your cals, your daily maintenance calorie level is about 2055 cals

BMR - 1370 (5ft 3inch, 133lbs)
(bmr is how many cals your body burns at rest, i.e. if you were in bed all day and didnt move)
X 1.5 (activity level)
1370 X 1.5 = 2055

So to maintain your current weight you would need to consume around 2000 cals a day.

To lose body fat and gain muscle at the same time I would suggest having a calorie level of around 1600-1700. Definitely don't go below 1500. Start around 1700 and see how you go, having a clean diet with lots of lean protein will help speed up your metabolism too. If you cals go too low your body will be reluctant to build new muscle and will hold onto your bodyfat. For myself, anything below a deficit of 500 cals a day results in losing my period, feeling hungry all the time and weight loss that is mainly muscle and water. So start tracking your cals on fitday, and see how you go. Remember that if you are weight lifting your scale weight may not change by as much as you expect as muscle weighs more than fat. So a better way to check your progress is by your clothes or with a tape measure.

Your diet needs a bit of an overhaul, not enough protein and your meals aren't balanced. Most of your meals need to contain carbs/protein/fat. If you want results you will need to change your carbs to things like oatmeal, brown rice, sweet potato, barley, beans etc. Are you a vegetarian? Your latest daily menu doesnt have any meat in it. Chicken, tuna, salmon, other fish, egg whites are great sources of protein for your diet.

About your weight training, upper and lower body is fine especially seeing as you havent dont any training for a long time and you are feeling a bit overwhelmed. A lot of people advise beginners or those starting out after a long break to begin with fullbody or upper/lower routines. You dont need to be doing a split routine to see results. I think you should post exactly what you are doing in the gym as that will help people give you advice.

[abbs]

ok just re-read your journal and realised you arent a vegetarian.

sorry!

[abbs]

Just help you out with your meal plan , here is an example of what I eat:

breakfast

3/4 cup oatmeal, 1 egg, small banana
half scoop whey

(you could change the egg here for flax oil and egg whites, or a whole scoop of whey, or change banana for some other kind of fruit)

meal 2

chicken
vegetables
almonds (you could have some other kind of fat source here, avocado, olive oil, flax oil etc)

meal 3 (pre workout - so need a good carb source here)
cup of beans (or rice)
tuna
vegetables

workout

PWO Shake (whey, skim milk banana)

meal 4
100/150gms chicken/fish/salmon
1 cup of rice
vegetables

meal 5
almonds or natural peanut butter
cottage cheese or egg whites

This is about 1700 cals.
maybe around 45c/35p/25f

[Hollyday]

Thank you abbs

My workout at the gym is basically just the nautilas machines. When I do arms it's like the bicep curl, work the triceps.. see I don't even know the names of the machines..lol. But basically I do any arm machine and I do the ab cruncher things. When I do legs I do all the leg machines (leg press, hamstring curl, butt blaster, etc)

I think my diet yesterday was not very good. I have a hubby and 3 kids and that is what we had for dinner.. they get sick of chicken (chicken or turkey is the only meat we eat). But will try to do better. Thank you for helping me with the calories.. I was feeling lost!

I was feeling a little down yesterday and so I had dh take my pictures again and we compared them to the before pics back in jan... OH my gosh.. I couldn't believe it. Huge motivation to see that my hard work is paying off. It was weird to flip back and forth between the pics and see my butt shrink! lol

I've got to stay on track! I didn't consume anything bad yesterday at all as far as candy, etc. So that was good...


Today so far I had

a cup of organic flax cereal/skim milk
banana

I'm worried about a party we are going to tonight... I don't know if they will have food\etc. although it is a surprise bday party.. but I will not eat cake/ice cream! It's just not worth it. Plus I'm the type that when I eat bad foods I literally feel bad.

[Hollyday]

oh also thanks for writing down what you eat.. I'm going to the grocery store tomorrow so that I have these things on hand.

Is watermelon a good fruit to consume if you are trying to lose fat/gain muscle? I never see that on anyone's journals?

[abbs]

Hi,

If you are wanting to build muscle you need to focus more on compound exercises at the gym. Compound exercises use more than one muscle, for example the bench press uses chest, shoulders and triceps. So its like doing 3 isolation exercises for the price of 1. If you want a good beginner upper/lower body split go to this site and look under the workouts section

http://www.stumptuous.com/weights.html

Also the whole site has great information for women getting into weight training.

You are better off focusing on your major muscle groups, chest, back, shoulders and legs. Your biceps and triceps willl get worked when you do exercises for these major muscle groups.

Perhaps you could ask a trainer at your gym to help put together and show you a good program based on compound exercises if you feel unsure.

Diet is going to play the major role in helping you to lose fat and gain muscle at the same time. Protein is very important and it seems like you arent getting enough. Do you have protein powder, if not are you able to buy some? You need to have protein in all your meals, your breakfast today had no protein. You can add protein powder to your cereal/oatmeal, or eggs/eggwhites. Most cereals are very processed and you are better off having old-fashioned oatmeal, its full of fibre and slow digesting so perfect for the start of the day. As you have a family the diet side of things is more difficult for you, quite a few mothers have journals on this site so you may get some advice from them.

About watermelon, it has a high glycemic index (103) but its glycemic load is 7 so i guess its not bad to eat it. Im not sure why others dont have it in their menus, for me personally I just prefer other fruit like bananas and apples and watermelon is annoying to prepare. I dont think it has much fibre so if you are trying to cut calories its probably not a good choice as it wont fill you up so much.

Enjoy your party tonight, you will feel really good about yourself if you can stay away from the cake and ice cream. Good luck!

[Hollyday]

Thank you, that all makes sense to me.

I'm really struggling with the protein... since I'm so limited on meat options and don't like other options..lol. I'm going to buy tuna at the store and try it in wraps like someone suggested here. I also have added egg whites to my meals.

I did stay away from the cake but I did have beer. But I never drink nor really get the chance to go out like that. Dh doesn't drink at all, so he drove and I took advantage of it. I had a good time though. I figured I would allow myself to cheat some last night since who knows when we will be able to go out like that without kids again.

Now it's back to the drawing board. I won't get to lift today or tomorrow... due to dh's and mine work schedule. So will have to do treadmill at home.

I overdid my calves the other day at the gym and they are soooooo sore. Especially when I first wake up in the morning and try to walk. My arms are still sore from working them too. Maybe it's good I won't get to lift until Tuesday.

I still haven't made it to the grocery store yet so today I had for breakfast

golden flax cereal with banana
2 egg whites

[Hollyday]

I also had a low fat/cal fiber yogurt

a protein shake with half a banana thrown in

a subway chicken and veggie sandwich

I probably didn't get enough food in but maybe it will help with consuming beer last night..lol

[Hollyday]

okay today Im doing decent on protein, which has been a struggle.

meal 1-- yogurt with fiber, half of banana, 2 egg whites

meal 2 -- tuna with baby spinach leaves, carrots, broccoli and a little light ranch dressing

protein bar

not sure what dinner is going to be.. have to work again today once dh gets up from working midnights so no gym today but will get to go tomorrow!

Lost the one pound I gained back so hanging out at 130 pounds again..lol

[vanessa40]

Hi,
Well i'm right with you my calfs are killing me too..i think i worked them to much the other day..and i have another pound to go and i'll thankfully be at 130..it's wonderful to be able to get into nice clothes now..your journal is very informative..i love reading it.. :)

Abbs...thanks for the link to the weight lifting site..it has helped me a lot..

Vanessa

[Hollyday]

Vanessa that is great.. we are just lining up right next to each other..lol

I ordered San Tight today off this board! I also bought fish oil gel capsules.

today

meal 1 Milled flaxseed and soy hot cereal (oats too)
2 vegetarian sausage links, one a day weight smart multi

meal 2 3 egg whites, light n fit yogurt with a tablespoon of protein powder and 10 almonds, 2 fish oil capsules, 1 stackers 2

I'm thinking dinner for me will be vegetarian hot dogs and a sweet potato

Today I'm doing upper body, and then will have a PWO shake (skim milk, strawberries, choc protein powder)

I'm hoping the San Tight will get me going again, as I've been kinda stagnate.

[vanessa40]

I think you will like Sans Tight..it helped me get going again..i started taking my fish oil pills yesterday..be sure and take them with food..

Vanessa

[Hollyday]

thanks, They are very big pills to swallow..lol

[abbs]

Great to see you getting more protein. Good job!

For your pwo shake I think banana is better here. For more info about bananas read here (especially the posts by emma-leigh)

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=343198&highlight=bananas

[Hollyday]

Thanks, I can definately do that. I almost put a banana in instead of strawberries. I went to a Mother's Day Tea at my kids school and they had strawberry shortcakes, and tons of cookies. I did good and only ate strawberries.. so I almost put a banana in instead of the strawberries.

Ugh, I'm getting disappointed again. I'm still stuck at 130 no matter what I do. I've been so good with my eating too since I had cheetos that one day..lol. I did upper body last night and then did 20 min on stair stepper.

I guess maybe I can try to do more cardio? I can't lower my calories any lower. I get around 1200-1300. It's so aggravating.

Today I had the same breakfast as yesterday... Meal two will probably be yogurt again with protein powder mixed in and some almonds.

Meal 3 will be a big salad with diced up chicken breasts

not sure about meal 4.

[Hollyday]

oh and does adding more water aid in weight loss? or does it just make you feel full so you eat less? I'm having a hard time getting all that water in. But I don't have any problems with overeating or being hungry. My apetite isn't a problem with losing weight.. I think it's getting to the gym and getting the time to workout since I have all these kids..lol, and work outside of the home a little. Hopefully that will change this summer though when I take the summer off from work. I will try to get to the gym everyday.

[Hollyday]

oh totally forgot to add, that I know that muscle weighs more and since I'm weightlifing I could be gaining muscle and that is why the scales aren't going down.

but I took my measurements today and they are all still the same. I'm even hit a plateau with losing inches. I'm doing a ton of ab work and my waist measurement is stuck at 32 inches and has been for awhile now.

[vanessa40]

Yes those pills are big..i usually take mine with my protein shake..i made the mistake of taking my first one with no food..it took about ten minutes and i was feeling ill..i'll never do that again.
I bet the Mothers Day tea was fun..i remember when my daughter was younger..she almost 17 now..geez i feel old..lol..i loved going to those things with her..now we mostly go shopping..i feel like i live at The Gap..
Maybe one day..hopefully soon we will both be in the 120's..aaahhh won't that be nice.. :)
Hope you are having a good day..

Vanessa

[Hollyday]

oh thanks.. Wow you have a 17 year old? I'm sure I will blink and my little ones will be teens. The mothers day tea brought tears to my eyes. The kids were singing songs all wrong and not in unison about their mommies..lol. That makes it so cute. My son had to write a little book about me complete with pictures. He said my favorite thing to do is shop..lol. And my favorite food was vegetables (he drew carrots and broccoli) I think he is right.

I wonder how long I'm going to have to do all this to look like the beautiful ladies here at bb.com. All I want is a butt like Sillyvent, arms like.. well all the pictures I've seen here everyone has had these amazing arms... sigh.

I guess I'm going to have to shake things up.

[Hollyday]

After me saying that hunger is not a problem I went on a mini binge. I just felt empty, tired, shaky not myself..etc.

So I did try to control it some. I had a protein shake with a banana and a tbsp of natural pb. Then I had a protein bar to help with the chocolate craving.

I'm dieing to get to the gym, but dh is working a double and so i have no one to watch the kids.. ugh.

[abbs]

When you started this journal you were 133-134 right? That was just over two weeks ago so if you are now 130 you have made great progress! You will find that most people losing body fat the healthy way will only lose around 0.5-1lb a week, and sometimes a few weeks will pass with no loss at all. And as you said, you are muscle training so you may have gained a little bit of muscle too. BUT it is way too early to be disappointed, I know its hard and we all get this way as we want to see results asap. I also notice that I tend to lose fat in spurts, for a few weeks I will seem to lose a lot, then I will have a few weeks of no loss and then it will start again. Things like water retention, muscle gain, your body storing extra glycogen and water in your muscles etc can all mask fat loss too. So the most important thing to remember is patience! If you havent lost any fat after 4 weeks, then I would think its time to reassess things.

I think your calories are too low, you need to be getting at least 1400 (1500-1600 would be better). If you contine to only take in 1200-1300 a day your body will hold onto your fat. You have to feed yourself properly in order to encourage fat loss and muscle growth. Slowly up those calories, try for 1350 this week, then 1400 the following week, 1450 the next week and so on. Your body will get used to living off 1200 cals and you will slow down your metabolism and make future weight loss/maintenance damn near impossible. Adding extra cardio will only compound the problem. You may not be feeling 'hunger' pains, but feeling empty tired and shaky is a sign that you are not giving your body the food that it needs. If you increase your cals you will feel more satisfied and you wont be tempted to binge.

Yes water is VERY important. In order to be in fat burning mode your body needs lots of water. More than 8 cups a day is required for anyone serious about losing fat and who is exercising (I drink at least double that). Drink, drink, drink!

There are lot of ladies on this website who have fabulous physiques, but it has taken time and patience to get there. You will get there too, but it has to be done slowly. Fast weight loss will not get you that physique.

So YES shake things up, but dont lower cals and dont do extra cardio. That will not get you where you want to go. You are doing really well already making changes to your diet, so keep reading these forums and soak up all the advice you can, and you will get there. And one more thing, your waist measurements wont go down from doing ab work, if anything they might go up! This is because ab work strengthens and encourages growth of the ab muscles, it doesnt remove the fat over the abs. A good healthy diet will get you a smaller waist.

[Briar]

well said abbs, i second all of the above.

Give your body what it needs. I have learnt that the hard way. i restricted my cals at the beginning not that low however but it just leads to binging as you body is calling out for more food.

[Hollyday]

Thanks guys.. ahh what would I do without this website.

I went ahead and had a little bit of cheat time... ate some cheese popcorn last night (a craving I gave in to) and dh brings home donuts fresh from the bakery once a month so I had 2 donuts this morning. Then the rest of the day is right back on track. For lunch I had a big salad with diced up chicken breasts. I'm getting ready to eat meal number 3 which will be light yogurt with protein powder mixed in and about 10 almonds.

Normally I don't have cravings or hunger, so eating more calories has always been hard so I thought maybe I could just take in a protein shake everyday to get the extra calories. I think some of the problem is I'm a day eater.. and then once I eat dinner, I'm just not hungry anymore. But last night I made myself eat some cottage cheese around 7:30pm. I think I will do that everynight. Just take in some cottage cheese. That will help with the calories as well.

Im going to the gym after work... doing lower body.

[vanessa40]

I know..i get a bit disappointed to if i don't lose anything..but then like the other ladies said i think about muscle gain and things like that and mostly when it's almost time for my period..i know i can forget about any weight loss that week..hope you have a good workout tonight..

Vanessa

[arose70]

Hollyday, I am sooooooo glad I repped you for that post on politics LOL!...that's all I'm gonna say about it because I don't want this turning into a political debate :p

[vanessa40]

Hi..
I repped you on that post too..i thought i was too funny...

Vanessa

[abbs]

Those meals sound really good (the chicken salad, yoghurt and almonds and protein powder). Good job!

Do your best to get those calories in, and really try to get it from whole foods as opposed to adding shakes. Any kind of liquid food is digested quckly by your body so has less chance of going where it is needed as it hits your system all at once. Whole foods provide better nutrition and will drip-feed your body with the nutrients its needs, so that will aid in muscle growth and discourage fat accumulation. The cottage cheese at night is great, and if you can some healthy fats like nuts would go well with that to aid in the slow digestion through the night. And if you reduce the treats and little binges you will be hungier anyway. And once your muscles start growing your appetite may increase too. I know mine certainly does!!

[jeni5.0]

hi- how is the san tight working for you? i agree with everyone that you need to eat more. maybe just add a little more everyday until you are up to 1600-1700 like abbs said.
also, i repped you so maybe we can get your points to green again!

[Hollyday]

You guys are way too sweet. I even stopped going to another forum I was going to because everyone here made those people seem so bad. Everyone here is so much more friendly and positive. It totally made the other place I was going seem so negative.

Thanks Abbs, you are right.. (darnit I really like those shakes, I made the mistake of making a chocolate, natural pb and banana one..lol). Cottage cheese and almonds does sound like a better choice. Everyone acts like eating low in calories means you have to starve yourself or that it's hardly any food. I tell them (well actually I think I preach to them) that if you are eating healthy it's a lot of food! My family was eating donuts this morning for breakfast and my whole breakfast plate was full of food and probably didnt have even a 1/3 of the calories from the donuts.

I worked out the other night, I had a partner with me. Did much better as far as pushing myself. They wouldn't let me stop..lol. Made me keep going. So I woke up the next morning and weighed 129. woohoo, hear the angels singing? And it was cool, we went to this big game place last night, and I was squatted down to show something to my daughter and put my hand down and my legs felt solid! It was such a cool feeling. My mom was impressed with my arms (I've already got muscle definition) she was making me show everyone. I love muscles.

So far breakfast was:

1 cup strawberries
2 veg sausage links
2 egg whites

Im not sure about the rest of the day, I'm suppose to go out with a friend, don't know what we will be doing. It's also the day before grocery day.. so we are a little low on food. I think I have enough for another salad with chicken breasts.. have some strawberries leftover may do something with those. Don't know if I will get to the gym today, since I have no clue when my friend and I are going out. But at least will take my dog on a long walk. But hopefully will get to the gym.

[Hollyday]

Oh I think someone asked about the San Tight? I still haven't gotten it yet. I hope it comes today.

[abbs]

Gosh, donuts for breakfast!!! Yuck! Im so glad you stuck to your healthy eating. And you are so right, going lower calorie doesnt mean you starve at all as healthy foods are so filling.

Congrats on breaking the 130lb barrier, but just be careful not to rely on that scale weight too much. Don't be disappointed if your weight jumps back up over 130 again, as it may do this briefly before your weight stablises below 130. So be mentally prepared!

So pleased you are getting into your workouts, it really is motivating when you start to get muscles and definition. Keep up the great work Holly!

[Hollyday]

thanks, I just love this lifestyle. It makes you feel so much more confident in yourself.

[IronMaiden1522]

Hey,

congrats, it sounds like you are doing well. i have trouble with the protein thing too. I am not a vegetarian but i am not the biggest fan of protein shakes and I cant eat eggs like that everyday I would get too sick of them. But I am trying with meat and fish, etc. Well good luck, I will watch your progress!

[Hollyday]

Well I had a horrible weekend. I went out with a friend and had some beers (I usually never drink, I've never been drunk in my life!) and we had some pizza and dessert and then I got spoiled on mothers day. So I jumped on the scales monday morning and weighed 134! Then ate clean yesterday and had an awesome workout last night and jumped on the scales this morning and was 131..lol. Crazy weight.. I know my weight loss has been sorta slow lately but my pants I bought a couple of weeks ago to replace my old ones that were too big are now starting to feel like pajama bottoms too!!

last night I went ahead and did a full body workout since I won't get to the gym the next 2 days (dh working doubles).

Another cool thing is when I first did the ab cruncher thing I could only do 25.. last night I did 60. Everytime I get on that thing I increase my numbers.

So far breakfast was:

2 vegetarian sausage patties
1 cup of strawberries sweetened with splenda
2 egg whites

meal number 2 will probably be a light yogurt with a tablespoon of protein powder

meal 3 will be a big salad with diced chicken breasts

not sure about meal 4

meal 5 will probably be my last meal of the day and most likely it will be a little cottage cheese.

I also took my first San Tight this morning, I also have had 2 fish oil capsules and my multivitamin

[shortsteph]

Thats great you getting back on track.. mothers day killed my diet too!!!

[arose70]

To answer your question in my journal...I don't use protein powder in my pancakes (even though I call em "protein pancakes" lol!) I just use .5 cup oats, .5 cup cottage cheese, 4 egg whites and blend it all together and then cook them like pancakes. You get about 4 with those measurements. I also am going to add cinnamon and maybe some splenda next time. They are a tad dry and I am a big freak about texture so I have to eat banana slices with them to make them go down. I also just bought some sugar free preserves. Very yummy with the banana slices too. I can't stand eating oats or CC by themselves so I just do this so I can get the benefits of them :)

[Hollyday]

oh cool, I may make up some of those today! I have all that stuff on hand.

Well instead of a light yogurt for my second meal I made my milled flax seed and oat oatmeal with some splenda, protein powder, and a sliced up banana. The oatmeal actually taste a lot better with banana added. The other day I added strawberries and it was okay, the banana taste much better.

[vanessa40]

Hi,
I had that moment of happiness too..i stepped on the scale Saturday..it said 129..then when i stepped back on it again it said 130..so i tried 2 more times just to beat myself up and yes both time 131..i've decided that it's more important to look good than i care about what the scale says..but it still kills me...lol..and you are right people think you don't get to eat a lot when you eat health but truthfully i've never eaten more..

Vanessa

[Hollyday]

well maybe it's my imagination but i swear my clothes are more loose even though the scales haven't budged a whole lot. Neither has my waist measurement.. ugh

[Briar]

DO NOT I REPEAT DO NOT GET ON THE SCALES MORE THAN ONCE A WEEK IF THAT!!!!! They are only going to make you feel worse about yourself as everyday you will get on at different times you may have just eaten or had more water than yesterday. I say go by your clothes, if they are feeling looser then obviously you are loosing weight!!!!!!

[abbs]

DO NOT I REPEAT DO NOT GET ON THE SCALES MORE THAN ONCE A WEEK IF THAT!!!!! They are only going to make you feel worse about yourself as everyday you will get on at different times you may have just eaten or had more water than yesterday. I say go by your clothes, if they are feeling looser then obviously you are loosing weight!!!!!!

BUMP!

If you have a high cal the next day you will weigh more, but its not fat!! Its the weight of the food, drink and water retention.

The scale LIES to you! Your body weight is made up of many things, water, muscle, bones, etc and fat. Getting on scales to see how much fat you have lost is totally inaccurate as your fat is probably less than a quarter of your overall bodyweight (depending on bodyfat%).

Your scale weight WILL jump up and down, especially if you are weight training. I have noticed too, that I will lose weight then my weight will jump up a bit before going down again. If you were to look at your weight loss on a graph it would not be a straight line going down, it would have lots of little 'hills', but overtime the trend would be downward. Having said that, if you are building a substantial amount of muscle at the same time as losing fat you may not lose any scale weight at all.

If you were purely on a low cal diet with no exercise at all (the worst way to lose bodyfat!) then the scales will be an accurate way to measure your 'progress' (how much fat AND muscle you are losing!). BUT we are all weight training (plus cardio) and eating clean so the ONLY way to measure our progress is by a combination of our clothes, tape measure and the mirror. Or a bodyfat test.

Forget those stupid numbers, your pants are LOOSER! WAHOOOO you are making progress! keep it up :D

[Hollyday]

Makes total sense as usual.

I needed to see these postitive thoughts. I'm going thru a problem with dh and I'm really wanting to emotionally eat right now. Probably because he is at work, I'm by myself with the kids and I have to keep the happy face on and stuff my feelings for now. I just want to eat junk food, but I won't I. I know I will feel better looking good and being healthy.

[Briar]

Hey Hun

Dont give in to those temptations, i know it is hard when you are going through an emotional rough patch and all you want to do is blob out and eat and do what you want. These are always tough times and if you can get through this you can do anything. Stay positive and just think if you eat bad how yucky you will feel and it will in turn prob make you feel worse. I know when my parents divorced i just shut myself away and ate!!! It made me feel 100 times worse after. Just stay strong and we will get through this together.

Take care

[mizone]

Hey Holly - whats dh ?

Its really hard with the emotional struggles and I think sometimes its ok to slip up with diet every now and then because its makes us stronger and more determined. In everyones journal you'll be able to see that this happens, just make sure you dont let the slip up rule your head, sooo hard to do that tho. But its not the end of the world. But your doing really well so far! Keep at it! :)

[IronMaiden1522]

yeah holly,

i totally want to slip sometimes and something I usually do is keep making excuses to keep slipping. But that is soemthing that I have learned in the last few months, that if you mess up just get right back on track because before you know it your off for like 2 weeks. But it sounds like you are on track so thats great!! good luck!!

[abbs]

I just want to eat junk food, but I won't. I know I will feel better looking good and being healthy.
EXCELLENT attitude!!!

This is also what keeps me going and focussing on the positive stuff, because I know in the end it will make me feel great. Sometimes in life we really have to work at being happy and achieving our goals, it doesnt always come easy, but at least we have something to look forward to and to pull us through the rough parts. And having these forums has really helped me to get through my rough patches.

[Hollyday]

Thanks, I drank lots of flavored water (Propel) I hope that is decent..lol.

[vanessa40]

Holly.
I use to be the queen of emontional eating..just try and keep only good healthy food in the house. Hope you are having a good day. :)

Vanessa

[Hollyday]

Well I'm still upset and don't know what to do. I've had lots of handfuls of junk.

I've got to stop. I can't let him take this away from me ya know?

Well besides the junk I've had

watermelon
2 veggie sausages
2 egg whites

yogurt with protein powder and oats
almonds

salad with diced chicken breasts

vegetarian mini corn dogs (4 of them)
sweet potato
smoothie (made with frozen raspberries, skim milk, lt low fat vanilla ice cream)

I didn't get to go to the gym today, but I'm hoping I will tomorrow. 2 days without going to the gym is killing me!

[IronMaiden1522]

Don't worry!! Just start clean tomorrow. You can do it.

[abbs]

Its only one day of a few handfuls of junk, just make a focussed effort to stay clean tomorrow. We ALL have those days, so you are not alone! It has not affected your progress and won`t undo all your hardwork, so the only thing to worry about it is how it affects you mentally/emotionally. Stay positive and stick to your goals, as achieving those is whats going to make you feel good about yourself and help get through this tough time. Going to the gym will help you feel back on track, or some other exercise even if its a brisk walk will get those endorphins flowing and make you feel good.

Don`t let anyone get in your way, stick to your guns!!!!

[Briar]

Just keep telling yourself you are healthy fit and can get through anything!!

You are a very strong, independent and motivated person, your kids love you to bits and you are not allowed to get down on yourself. Keep your chin up and DO NOT LET HIM GET TO YOU!!!! so many let the males walk all over them and ruin their life. THIS IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN TO YOU. Stay strong we all believe in you and know you have the strength to get over this!!

Big hugs for you!!

[Hollyday]

okay, my life isn't any better but my diet is..lol

Today so far I had

flax seed oatmeal sweetened with splenda and vanilla extract
banana

protein bar at the gym
PWO protein shake

2 egg whites

My carbs are actually high so for dinner it looks like I'm going to have to force myself to eat some tuna. I will mix it with some mustard and see if that helps. And I will have a plain sweet potato

Then I will have a little cottage cheese

Worked out today... Just did a combination of upper and lower body.. and 10 min of HIIT on elipitical machine. I'm so tired.

[Hollyday]

okay I guess I will have some almonds too with the cottage cheese. I inputed it into fitday and still wasn't enough cals so I will add almonds to the last meal.

Oh and I forgot.. I measured today and I lost another inch off my waist and another inch off my hips!!!

[vanessa40]

Wow..thats great Holly..an inch is really something..and don't worry thing will get better.

Hugs,
Vanessa

[abbs]

An inch!!!!!!! off waist AND hips :D:D:D You luck thing! Congratulations! Im so happy for you!

If you`re tired make sure you get some rest, dont be worried about taking a day or two off exercise. Just keep your diet clean and you wont hinder your progress at all.

Take care, hope things get better soon. smiles and hugs :)

[Briar]

thats really good an inch is a huge thing!!! BE VERY PROUD OF YOURSELF and use this as motivation to keep you going through these tough times. You are amazing and you have a lot to offer!! keeo up the good work

[shortsteph]

Oh and I forgot.. I measured today and I lost another inch off my waist and another inch off my hips!!!

Wohoo!!! :D

[Hollyday]

Thanks, although now I feel guilty because we went to a pizza buffet..lol

I'm not really making the progress I want so I'm going to have to change up a few things.

1. Get more water in!!

2. Do more cardio (I've been slacking)

Today I will do Cardio.

I'm also thinking about getting one of those huge fitness balls. That will help a lot when I can't get to the gym.

I'm sure I will be full the rest of the day so if I do get hungry I will have cottage cheese.

And tomorrow was suppose to be weigh in day *sigh*

I can't get back into that thinking of
need stress relief-- food

feeling sorry for yourself-- food

had a bad day.. you deserve food

I think once dh is off this work schedule (working 2nds) it will be easier to go to the gym and make me stay on track. I did get a mother's day gift of a message, manicure, parrafin treatment for Thursday.

[Krissypoo]

I did get a mother's day gift of a message, manicure, parrafin treatment for Thursday.

Enjoy this! This is how stress should be handled, instead of with food. And don't be so hard on yourself...you are doing a good job. Good idea to create new goals...the drinking water one is great! Be careful not to do TOO much cardio...you don't want to start losing muscle! :)

[Hollyday]

Thanks!

Well today I went to the gym. I have been doing just a full body workout. Doing arms, legs and abs. I know I won't be able to go to the gym tomorrow. I also did 15 min on exercise bike and 10 min on stair stepper. I may do another 15 min on my treadmill here at home.

Today I had:

Milled flaxseed oatmeal
hard boiled egg
1 egg white

PWO protein shake

cottage cheese

grilled fish
broccoli
strawberries

way short on calories and I probably won't be hungry the rest of the day so I will force down a protein bar later. Maybe after getting on the treadmill. I have room for some more carbs so should be fine.

[vanessa40]

Holly,
You Mother day gift sounds wonderful. You enjoy that..you deserve it. Hope you had a nice weekend. :)

Vanessa

[Hollyday]

thanks looking forward to it!

today I had:

flaxseed oatmeal (sweetened with honey)
2 egg whites
strawberries

protein bar (working at kids book fair)

salad (lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, broccoli, olive oil dressing, chicken breasts)

tuna mixed with mustard on whole wheat bread
sweet potato

snacked on carb well cereal

cals 1458

[abbs]

Hi Holly, just checking in on you. Try to get those calories in as we've got to keep your metabolism going so you'll become a lean mean fat burning machine!

NOTE - make sure you get your carbs in after your workout. So rather than having a carb meal at the end of the day, stick it about an hour after your PWO shake, then just stick to healthy fats and protein (and veges and salads) in the evening.

What kind of exercises are you doing when you do full body? Are you doing mainly compound moves? Like deadlifts,military press, bench press, squats? They will target pretty much every muscle in your body.

[Hollyday]

Yesterday I had over 1500 calories... Still weighed the same this morning.. Ugh

Yesterday I had

3 egg whites
cup of strawberries
2 veggie sausages

yogurt (with tablespoon of protein powder and oats mixed in)
protein shake (was starving so was trying to fill myself up)

1 taco bell chalupa (bad I know)

turkey deli meat on wheat and cottage cheese

protein shake

Today so far I've had

cup of strawberries
2 veggie sausages
yogurt with protein powder and oats

cottage cheese
oz of peanuts


That carb meal was dinner with my family... I did eat it around 4 pm.. we eat dinner early. Should I still move it up? I should probably do a search and read about nutrition before and after workouts. I get confused..lol.

Still stuck at 130 but we took more pictures yesterday and from about 3 weeks ago you can tell my hips are narrower. Not a whole lot of difference but I have gained alot on lifting... about 10 pounds higher on everything. I could really notice it yesterday at the gym. It felt great to finally be lifting heavier.

We are actually getting the pictures printed out today. It will be a constant source of encouragement!

[vanessa40]

Hi Holly,
Pictures always keep me motivated..i know it sucks when the scale doesn't move. It's great your lifting heavier..don't worry the scale will move soon..i've started only weighing myself once a week. It was hard at first but weighing myself everday was getting depressing..i'm like you hovering at 130..just wait one day we will be into the 120's. :) :)

Vanessa

[abbs]

Hi Holly, dont be discouraged progress takes time and its hard to always notice the changes. Little by little the changes will add up and one day you will really be able to notice it. Please stop worrying about the scale weight, its not an accurate reflection of your progress.

I think you need to be more consistent with your diet. Deit is key for losing bodyfat. Got to keep those meals balanced, and as clean as possible. Are you tracking your calories? Also only have one protein shake a day, after your workout. Having shakes for meals will not help your progress. They are less filling, get absorbed quickly so youll just end up feeling hungrier sooner. Vanessa`s diet is looking great, perhaps you can follow something similar?

You are making progress, just keep at it as the results you want will come.

[abbs]

Ill be back later to post some stuff about nutrition, to help you out. Got to dash to class now....bye :)

[IronMaiden1522]

Hey Holly,

I have been struggling with keeping my diet consistent too. Its frustrating. But I think overtime it will just be second nature. there is just so much to learn about how to eat what and when. Good luck with everything!

[abbs]

An example diet -

Meal 1 - complex carbs, protein, healthy fats (plus some fruit)

meal 2 - complex carbs, protein, healthy fats (fruit OK here)

meal 3 - (pre workout, meal finished 1 - 1.5hrs before workout)
complex carbs, protein ( or fruit OK here)

workout

meal 4 - PWO shake whey plus carbs (skim milk/ff yoghurt, fruit/or oats blended in shake)

meal 5 - (about 1 hour after workout)
complex carbs, protein

meal 6 - protein, healthy fats, fibrous veges

meal 7 - protein, healthy fats, fibrous veges (if desired)


The basic idea is to have complex carbs, protein and health fats in most meals EXCEPT -
before and after workout, here you keep out the fat. (if the pre workout meal is 2 hours before workout fat is OK)
last few meals before bed usually just protein, healthy fats and fibrous veges. Unless you workout at night, then you should still have some simple/complex carbs after your workout.
Fibrous veges can be eaten any time of the day, and adding fruit to a few of your meals is also good (breakfast is a good time for fruit and post workout, i.e. in your shake - banana, berries, grapes etc)

[Hollyday]

thanks abbs I'm going to write that down. My thing is my days can't be planned. Sometimes the only time I can go to the gym is immediately after our family dinner... or other times after I get off work at 9pm (which means I get home at 11pm and go to bed. Should I eat something first) my days are erratic!

Today is a bad bad day because we are out of everything.... including milk, eggs etc. I used the last piece of bread today and had one piece of toast with natural pb for breakfast. I'm going to the grocery store after work today. Can't wait to get stocked up on our stuff. So today is going to be clean the fridge day. I may make a protein shake since we are so low on stuff. I may make a salad using leftover veggies if they are still good. If not probably tuna mixed with some mustard.. and I don't know what else. We are out of cottage cheese too..lol.

Good thing is I got on the scales this morning and was finally 129.. that's two days in a row now weighing that so maybe it's not a teaser.

And the really good thing is all of the sudden I've noticed HUGE changes in how my clothes fit.. even though I was staying the same weight.. my body changed a lot this last couple of weeks. I lost another half inch off my waist.. I haven't measured my hips yet. Pants that were loose but wearable 2 weeks ago are unwearable now (too big). All of my summer shorts are too big (last summer couldn't get them zipped!). It's just such a huge change all of a sudden. Love love love it!

I got tons of walking this weekend. nearby city had citywide garage sale and it's a big one. We walked sooooooo much. Probably helped with the weight loss. Today I work 3-7 and then immediately after have to go to the grocery store so this is going to screw up my eating pattern today. Gym closes at 5pm so won't be able to go (dh is at work right now and won't come home until time for me to go to work). Tomorrow I will definately go to the gym. Not sure what time.. but I know it will be in the evening.

[abbs]

Hi Holly, so pleased to hear about the excellent results you are getting. CONGRATULATIONS! Looks like you had no real plateau after all! As long as you are losing inches it doesnt matter what the scale says.

I know you have a hectic lifestyle so with your meals, just try to make sure you are getting a balanced meal every 3 hours, protein, carbs and healthy fats. Make sure you eat something before and after your workout. Ideally you should have a protein and carb meal finished about 1 hour before you workout. A meal with protein, carb and fats is OK if its finished 2 hours before your workout. If its say 30-45mins before your workout and you havent eaten for ages, then have something quick digesting like a protein shake with some fruit. Then after your workout make sure you get in another protein shake with milk and fruit added. If you are working out late at night and literally come straight home to bed, make sure you have a good dose of carbs in your post workout shake and it should be OK (i.e. a large banana and a cup of milk).

[Hollyday]

Okay I can do that. It looks like today I will probably be able to go to the gym around 7ish...lol.

Yes, I was sooooo happy to break out my old pants for work this weekend. I had tried them on a couple of weeks ago and I could get them zipped but they were too "tight" looking to wear yet..so hung them in my closet. Well now they fit perfect!! It looks like now I'm about a size 6-8 and in Jan. most of my pants were a size 14 although they were a little roomy. I'm just so darn happy and for anyone lurking, living like this is SO worth it. I love eating healthy, I love eating every 3 hours and I love lifting weights. I feel so much better now, and of course have better confidence.

Today so far I've had:

2 egg whites
2 vegetarian sausage patties
cup of strawberries

I have no clue what the rest of the meals will be..lol. Better be figuring that out.

I will probably do a full body workout at the gym. Because who knows when I will get to go again. If I have time I may be able to go tomorrow, and I can do just cardio. Wed and thurs.. not sure I will make it to the gym. Dh's schedule is crazy those two days. Then Friday/Saturday might not be able to go to the gym, I may be able to fit it in before work. Probably have to do a short routine.

Seems like I had a question but now I forget.. hmm. Will have to try to remember what it was..lol

[vanessa40]

Holly,
Isn't it great to put on your clothes and they are to big..i just love that..it's also a great excuse to go shopping..your doing great..keep it up.. :)

Vanessa

[IronMaiden1522]

Holly,

There is nothing better than having your clothes feel loose eh? I just had the same thing happen. YAY!!

[Briar]

yea im slowly starting to notice that too, i put a skirt on yesterday and def felt looser, i went through a bit of a rough patch where things were getting tighter and i DIDNT like it, not they are beginning to fit perfectly or even be too big again. LOVE IT!! such a motivation. I have goal clothes through, i have pair of jeans that fitted perfectly when i brought them at my smallest then i out on weight and they fit but can only just get them done up and i have those lovely love handles making an apparence, so i haven been able to wear them which sucks as they are wicked, Cant wait to get into them and look fab!!! I may consider wearing them on the flight to London (the last day of my challenge if they are comfortable again!!!

[abbs]

I have some goal clothes too, a pair of black pants and some jeans. They are what I judge my progress by. I want to be able to wear them and feel super comfortable, I hate tight clothes!!! Almost there though, as I can fit them but just want to have a bit of room in them.

[Hollyday]

Yes all my clothes are too big.. so I bought a pair of cut off jean shorts in size 5. I can get them on and zipped but they kinda look tight (and feel tight) so I told dh my goal was to get into those shorts comfortably for the summer. I really need to go out and buy new clothes.

a guy at work actually noticed that I was wearing a smaller size pants, and he said he knew because of my butt...lol (he loves my big butt, he is a butt freak) and said he knew because my butt looked smaller and he doesn't know if he likes it! lol.. I told him well I like it, and it's going to continue to get smaller (my butt, inner/outer thighs is where I still need work).

Today I had:

veg sausage patties
2 egg whites
1/2 cup strawberries

yogurt with scoop of vanilla soy protein powder
ounce of peanuts

I have no idea what I will eat for the rest of the day. Still weighing in at 129 which is surprising because I had an ice cream cone yesterday..lol. The rest of the day I did eat good though. The family had fettucini alfredo but the alfredo is just too fattening for me to eat so I had tuna mixed with mustard, cottage cheese and strawberries. (I need to find a new fruit to eat..lol). I had a pwo protein shake after working out as well. Made it with water instead of milk like i usually do since I was going to bed and didn't want to consume too many calories before bed.

[Hollyday]

well after that I ended up allowing myself a little ice cream. For dinner I had a big salad with diced chicken breasts. I wasn't hungry but it was time to eat. If I get hungry tonight I may make a fruit smoothie with some soy protein powder I bought.

I may just do cardio tomorrow and have today be a day off. I don't feel well for some reason.

[abbs]

Sorry to hear you arent feeling well Holly, hope you feel better soon :)

Dont be worried about consuming calories at night. Provided it fits into your daily calorie range, it wont matter. If anything, milk is better than water at night time in your post workout shake. Milk is highly beneficial following a workout, its anabolic (promotes muscle growth) anti-catabolic (helps discourage muscle breakdown), its slow-digesting and works great in combination with the whey. Milk is ideal at night, especially if you are working out late at night and won`t be having a good sized solid meal afterwards. You want your muscles to be drip feed those amino acids during the night and milk is perfect for this (as is cottage cheese and yoghurt).

[Hollyday]

Okay, thanks for setting me straight. What would I do without you guys?? lol

Thanks to y'all today I bought a pair of low rise boot cut jeans in the junior section! lol

Today for breakfast

flaxseed oatmeal with scoop of vanilla protein powder and splenda
2 egg whites

Busy day so following is not that great:

protein bar (was in a hurry)
half of a protein shake (had to leave and forgot to take with me..lol)

went out to eat at Cracker Barrel. thought it would be safe b/c they have veggies.. umm no all veggies are deep fried or in a casserole..lol

had grilled chicken, cottage cheese and hashbrown casserole.

will have pwo shake after going to the gym tonight. Won't get there til about 8:45pm. Will go ahead and do full body workout b/c won't make it to the gym again for the weekend unless I can squeeze it in before work.

[abbs]

Okay, thanks for setting me straight. What would I do without you guys?? lol

Thanks to y'all today I bought a pair of low rise boot cut jeans in the junior section! lol


YIPPEE!!!!!!!!! You are doing so well Holly, with your hectic lifestyle you are still managing to make good food choices. Great stuff :D

[Hollyday]

Love it.. I'm down to about 128 now. I did have my PWO shake last night with milk. I heard abbs voice telling me it was okay..lol

today

3 egg whites
2 veggie sausage patties
1 cup strawberries

1 light n fit yogurt with heaping tbsp of protein powder
oz of nuts
homemade protein bar

not sure about meal 3, dinner will probably be sweet potato, cottage cheese and veggie burger.

won't get to gym today, will try to work it in tomorrow even if it's just cardio

[abbs]

Love it.. I'm down to about 128 now. I did have my PWO shake last night with milk. I heard abbs voice telling me it was okay..lol

hehe, good girl! Cals at night won't make you fat! Its your overall calorie intake that matters, and after your workout your muscles need those carbs and protein.

Wow 128!!! Thats wonderful news!! I think often when people first start out weight training, their muscles grow quicker than their bodies lose fat. So at first your scale weight doesn't change too much, but after a while the fat loss catches up with the muscle gain. But of course, as long as your pants are getting loser and loser that scale number doesn't matter (but it is nice to get well below that 130 - pychologically nice!)


today

3 egg whites
2 veggie sausage patties
1 cup strawberries

1 light n fit yogurt with heaping tbsp of protein powder
oz of nuts
homemade protein bar

not sure about meal 3, dinner will probably be sweet potato, cottage cheese and veggie burger.

won't get to gym today, will try to work it in tomorrow even if it's just cardio

diet choices looking great, but just wonder if you are getting enough carbs in the morning with breakfast? or is that cause its an off day and you are doing low carb? if you are going lower in carbs on any particular day, i would put more carbs at breakfast to give you energy for the day.

[Hollyday]

I actually eat that breakfast quite a lot so no it wasn't an off day. More carbs?? I can gladly do that..lol. Will add more. I actually was wanting to up the calories with that first meal anyway... any suggestions of what people eat would be great. Alot of people here workout in the morning so it's a lot of pre/post workout foods and I don't workout until evening.

The scales keep moving now. This morning woke up and was 126. I THINK that I'm getting some definition in my abs. I should post a pic of my stomach. I will try to get dh to take some pics and then I will try to post if I can figure it out.

Again it was an off day.. Saturdays are bad, it's the day before grocery day and there is so much we are out of. I didn't do too bad though for what we had here.

Meal 1-- flaxseed oatmeal (sweetened with vanilla extract, cinnamon and splenda), scoop of protein powder, 3 egg whites

meal 2-- low fat light popcorn and 0 cal spray butter and a protein bar

meal 3-- I think I forgot to have this?? hmm, I don't remember if I ate or not.

meal 4-- grilled chicken breasts, peas and whole grain brown rice

meal 5-- will probably be cup of cottage cheese and a few almonds/peanuts

Won't go to the gym today (have to work) but will get to go tomorrow. I will be on short time so I may just do crunches and cardio.

The first time I ever did the crunches at the gym I went to muscle failure at 25 and the last time I went to the gym I went to muscle failure at 140! I do 3 sets twice.

[Hollyday]

I remember what meal 3 was now. I had a protein shake with natural pb and a half of banana.

[abbs]

I actually eat that breakfast quite a lot so no it wasn't an off day. More carbs?? I can gladly do that..lol. Will add more. I actually was wanting to up the calories with that first meal anyway... any suggestions of what people eat would be great. Alot of people here workout in the morning so it's a lot of pre/post workout foods and I don't workout until evening.

Meal 1-- flaxseed oatmeal (sweetened with vanilla extract, cinnamon and splenda), scoop of protein powder, 3 egg whites

There you go, that breakfast is perfect. 1/2 - 3/4 cup (dry oatmeal) is a good amount.


The first time I ever did the crunches at the gym I went to muscle failure at 25 and the last time I went to the gym I went to muscle failure at 140! I do 3 sets twice.

Do you do any weighted ab work? To mix things up and stimulate growth you should go for lower reps on the abs and do some exercises like these -

cable crunch (http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/RectusAbdominis/CBKneelingCrunch.html)
weighted crunch (http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/RectusAbdominis/WtCrunch.html) if holding a dumbbell on your chest you dont need to do it on a bench.
barbell rollouts (http://www.weightliftingdiscussion.com/barbellrollout.html) I havent tried these yet but I hear they are aboslute killers :D

[Hollyday]

okay I seen some guys doing the cable crunch one day and was like "what are they doing?" lol. Now I know it's for real.

Dh got me a pass to his gym and there they have a weighted ab machine.. so may use that instead. I think it's a great idea to add weights!

[mizone]

Hi Holly - just wanted to stop by and say hi!! I think your making great progress, and I have to agree with the others, goal clothes hehehe makes me laugh but its the best way to tell how we're doing!!!!!

[Hollyday]

thanks for stopping by! I should try those goal shorts on again..lol

Well now I've dropped to 125.5 so I think I'm going to up my calories again. I haven't really been keeping much track of my calories as I'm getting so use to what to eat and what not to eat..etc.

Today breakfast was:

bran flakes
2 egg whites
veg. sausage patties

Meal 2-- yogurt with protein powder/nuts

Meal 3-- salad with diced up chicken breasts

meal 4-- grilled fish, sweet potato, broccoli

meal 5-- cottage cheese?

Need to do at least 20 min on treadmill. Won't make it to the gym today. Went yesterday and worked on abs and arms. Did 30 min on eliptical.

[abbs]

Gosh Holly those pounds are falling off you! yeah good idea to increase cals a bit so you don't start losing any muscle. Would be a good idea to calculate and post your cals so we can see how you are doing.

Meals are looking good, just make sure your eat enough!

[Hollyday]

Thanks, I was thinking of shooting for 1800 calories now.

Today has been bad bad bad. Dh brings home freshly made donuts once a month and today was the day. So had 2 donuts (I won't say what kind or how they tasted for the people who are trying to eat right..lol)

But the rest of the day I will eat clean and work out harder at the gym today. That is the one thing that really made this time that I dieted work. You mess up just get right back on the horse again.

I'm not sure what my routine will be today. Probably will mostly do legs, and some ab work. Maybe try to get 30 min of eliptical, and maybe 20 min on another cardio machine. I really need to increase my cardio. I'm getting pretty happy with my body but still not pleased with inner/outer thighs. Butt is a little too big too. Gee I wish I could take some fat from my butt and put them in my boobs. After losing over 25 lbs and weaning my 3rd child my boobs are just pitiful..lol. I'm getting use to it though.

[Hollyday]

Oh forgot to mention.. I took measurements again yesterday. I think the last time I took measurements was May 11. My hips were 3 inches smaller! Thighs were I think 1 inch smaller. My arms were a half inch smaller.. my waist is in inch smaller. Just off my arms, thighs, waist and hips I've lost over 14 inches of fat since January!

[abbs]

Hey WELL DONE! Thats an awful lot of lost inches!!!! Great job :D

Why do you think you need more cardio? I would limit your sessions to 30-40mins for moderate cardio, and if its HIIT then 15mins. If its just walking, then you can do a lot more. 3-4 times a week is enough, you are losing weight so I don`t see any need to increase cardio at this point (unless you are training for some event?). If you are wanting to increase your muscle mass then I think you should focus more on lifting heavy, as opposed to lots of cardio which will only make it harder to gain muscle, especially on a calorie restricted diet.

Also how many cals have you been eating? I would increase your cals slowly, about 100 extra a day in the first week and see how you go.

[IronMaiden1522]

Thats awesome Holly! The lbs are flyin off of ya! It feels soo good doesnt it?

[Hollyday]

Well all my body parts are startin' to look like what I want them to look like (except of course not muscular enough..lol) But I'm holding onto some fat in my butt and lower/inner thighs. I was under the assumption that cardio/eating clean is the only way to get that off? I've been on a time limit at the gym and maybe I'm lifting for too long because it takes me a little over an hour to lift and that usually leaves me with maybe 20 min of cardio (not HIIT most of the time, usually too tired from lifting).

I've been on cheat days..lol. Oh, I hope it's not hard to get back on track. Does anyone do anything special to get back on track after cheat days? We went to an aquariaum today and the only restaurant they had inside was a pizza place (but I did have a healthy breakfast--oats and egg whites) then we went out for ice cream. My snack today was some of that low fat popcorn with the zero calories spray butter when we watched movies, and then I just ate 2 egg whites.

Tomorrow we are going to a grill out. Should be okay though... I do have to bring a dessert. But they are grilling chicken breasts... she said she would have some fruit.

I should be able to go to the gym tomorrow. I might try to shorten my lifting and get more cardio in. It's just sometimes I never know when I will be able to make it back into the gym and so I try to lift intensely.

[arose70]

hollyday-travelling over to say THANK YOU so much for your comment in my journal---that was so awesome!!! And now I see that you've lost 14 inches since january????????!!!!!!!!!!! That is fantastic! Damn, I'm sure you are so proud of yourself-way to go :D

Oh the dreaded lower/inner thigh and butt fat.......that stuff is a toughie--I am also under the assumption that cardio/eating clean will help you but also that compound movements for legs help immensly. I also heard that ass-to-grass squats really target that area.

Hmmm, as for cheat days....I find it easiest just to say, "tomorrow I am starting again with my clean eating/diet". Go cold turkey. It only takes one bite of chocolate/pizza/ice cream, etc. and I binge for a few days. I don't think it's doing any harm though for you, cheats can be good for you to rev up your metabolism and psychologically make you want to work harder in the gym. I say just put your foot down and say, "I am back on track NOW!" Just my $0.02!!! Have a great night :)

[abbs]

Hi Holly,
I think if you are spending an hour lifting weights then definitely don't do any cardio at all afterwards. I think its best to keep exercise sessions (intense ones) to an hour, or else you may put your body in to a catabolic state (i.e. it will start burning your muscle for fuel). If you are lifting heavy, then I think 40mins is enough, so perhaps you could look at cutting down your exercises. I would try to do cardio separate from weights, especially HIIT.

Getting the fat off your butt/thighs will come down to lowering your bodyfat level. So thats a combination of clean diet (most important), heavy lifting which will boost your metabolism and then cardio which helps to create a calorie deficit and help remove the stubborn fat (as well as other things which help the whole fat loss process).

Lifting heavy on the legs (and all parts of your body) will be very demanding on your body and increase the amount of calories your body needs for recovery and repair, so this will contribute to your fat loss by stimulating your metabolism.

To get back on track just revert to your normal healthy diet that you have been eating. You could have a few lower cal days to compensate if you want, just as long as it doesn't cause any cravings or leave you feeling hungry and unsatisfied. I always find that after 'cheat days' or high cals days I dont have much of an appetite anyway so a few low cal days is quite easy and probably a very natural thing for the body to want. On cheat days, if you want to help balance out those cals, a bit of walking will help. Or have your cheats after your workouts.

[Hollyday]

okay have been short on time lately.

today

2 egg whites
cup strawberries
2 veg. sausages

almonds (snack)

light n fit smoothie
1 piece of whole wheat bread
1 tbsp nat pb
1 tbsp sugar free no preserve jelly

I have no clue what dinner will be? But I better be figuring it out. We took new pictures yesterday and I weigh about 4 pounds less than the last set of pictures.. but have been staying the same weight again for about 2 weeks. It was so cool because again you could see progress... The front picture you really couldn't tell much difference.. the side picture, my stomach wasn't sticking out as much... the back picture you could tell my hips were narrower (getting more of a V shape in my waist and hips) and my butt was smaller! lol
So that was inspirational. I can't tell you how much the pictures have helped me.

The next couple of weeks I will have no problem going to the gym except for maybe 2 days where dh will work doubles so I can use those as rest days. Yipeeee

Oh and I got new workout shoes. I needed new workout shoes soooooooo bad my others had holes in them. Got some black and pink Nike Shox.

Yesterday was my day of rest so not sure what I will do at the gym. I got the Oxygen's Ab magazine so I'm going to work on so new ab exercises.

[abbs]

Hi Holly :) congrats on your progress, it definitely is so motivating to see the progress. Dont worry if your scale weight sticks for a few weeks, thats perfectly normal. Your fat loss will not always happen at a consistent rate, and the scales of course take into account your muscle gain so best to stick with pics and measurements and of course how your clothes fit.

Keep up the great work!

[Hollyday]

Thank you I just love the transformation. Like, I'm not just "thinner" my body is actually changing shape because of the weight lifting. I think it's wonderful.

Today and yesterday I have ate clean but not enough.. I was going thru crap again and just wasn't hungry. Glad I stayed clean though.

so far today

flaxseed oatmeal with protein powder
2 egg whites

half a protein shake (made it different and it tasted like crap)
banana

whole wheat bread with tbsp nat pb and tbsp sugar free jelly

[Hollyday]

today

protein pancakes
2 sausage links
3 small apricots

yogurt with granola
peanuts

tuna
cantaloupe

chicken breast
salad
cottage cheese

protein shake

doing a full body workout today.. may not be able to get to gym next two days..so going to work it today!

I got dh onto the way we all eat and lift... he has lost 7 pounds so far!!

[IronMaiden1522]

yeah pics are great, sometimes its hard to see the difference everyday, but once you compare pics you can! Are you going to post them?

[abbs]

Hey Holly, glad to see you are still on track :) And obviously you are a very good influence to people in your life!

[Hollyday]

I'm back.. I wasn't getting on the computer as much and going thru drama in my life but I'm back on track now. I think I should call this phase 3... I'm back into old clothes now, and thinner but I want MORE MUSCLE..lol

Of course my injury is not helping but we will just have to work around it. I had a really fun weekend that put on 4 pounds on me so I've weighed 129 the last couple of days even though I've been eating clean and doing more cardio. What could have caused the weight gain as well is I'm now taking the pill and have been on it for about 3 weeks... My appetite and cravings are real hard to control now.. *sigh*. It's like PMS week all the time. Yesterday I was sucking on atomic fireballs all day to keep food out of my mouth. Literally Wednesday I weighed 125, I don't know why the scales aren't budging. I feel like I have more stomach fat too. I need to shake things up. I think I'm going to add some dumbell weight training that I can do at home on the weekends. I've been tearing out pages of magazines like Shape and Oxygen showing different dumbell exercises. I'm going to try harder to eat 100% clean.. I've made huge changes in the way I eat but I'm bad about popping a piece of candy or two in my mouth.

Today wasn't a great day as we are low on food

meal 1-- bran flakes mixed with a little granola ceral and skim milk, 2 egg whites

meal 2-- 1 whole egg, 1 egg white, half of banana

meal 3-- PWO (whey, ice, skim milk, other half of banana)

meal 4-- grilled boneless chicken breasts with zero calorie/zero carb barbq sauce, sliced cucumbers, and watermelon

and snacked on M&M's (see what I mean)

I do feel really full though... Went to gym did HIIT for about 10 min on eliptical and then another 10 min at regular speed... lifted legs. Did do the leg press with one leg as well as two legs for something different.

[Hollyday]

I took some time off due to my pain with this stupid bulging disk in my back. Still the same weight though.. 125. I don't like the layer of fat on my stomach so I need to lose 10 pounds of fat. I would like to gain alot more muscle. I'm suppose to start physical therapy 3 times a week. Having trouble getting it set up.. haven't heard from the place, keep calling doctor. ugh pitb.

I joined a new gym last night. this one is open 24 hours a day. It's brand new and only has a handfull of nautilas equipment so I hoping it forces me to do more free weights. dh took me last night and showed me how to use the free weight equipment.

My hormones seem in check now from taking bcp. It was crazy the first month on them. I feel back to normal now.

Today so far I had:

Oats with a scoop of protein powder
cup of strawberries
3 veggie sausage patties


I'm also going to incorporate more water. I am SO not drinking enough. Right now Im cruising the boards trying to come up with different routines at the gym. I might make up 3 different routines that I can keep switching back and forth too. Doing my research, got bodybuilding.com on the computer and my oxygen mags sitting next to me.

[Princess20]

Ugh,
How do you stop the cravings and popping pieces of candy during the day or whatever?? I'm so close to being in the 120's again I can almost taste it! lol

Get rid of junk food in the house. I know some say it's for their husband or kids, but they don't need that stuff, even if they're not bodybuilding! There's so many healthier snacks out there, or that you can make.

Whenever someone gives me candy or cookies, I might eat a bit but the rest I take to work. When my co-workers see free food, they attack like wolves.