Jiggle Free Me!

[Lisakay007]

Hi Everyone!
Like many of the other people on here I feel that I need some accountability for myself so what better way to do that then make a very public journal??
Compared to some of the people on this site I think my goals are pretty modest. I'm 5'1" and weigh 127lbs, my bodyfat I'm guessing is somewhere between 25 - 30%. I'd really like to develop some muscle definition and lower my bodyfat. I don't plan on competing or anything, I'm doing this for my own personal benefit (I also just recently got engaged so I want to look hot in my wedding dress!). I don't hate my body or anything but I know it can look way better! I've lost weight before by doing various diets/cardio, but still was not pleased with the way I looked. I realized the number on the scale does not translate into how good you look, and just because you lose 10lbs doesn't mean amazing abs will be revealed. I know a sensible diet and a good weight training program will give me the results I want.
I'm usually pretty good about working out since I enjoy it. What I am not good about is dieting. For example, tonight's dinner: Cheese-its.
I know what eating clean is, I know how to do it, I just have to do it! I plan to log my eating/working out to keep myself on track. Any support/encouragement and recipe ideas would be awesome!
- Lisa

[twinnett]

Hi and welcome!!! Cheese its are so good..lol..I like the white cheddar ones...umm...protein right???

Good luck to you and congrats on the wedding!

[Kymn]

Sounds like you are ready to roll! Pass the Cheese its!

[amj0883]

HI and welcome

Congrats - thats amazing!!!

I'll be following along

[Lisakay007]

Here's what today looks like so far:
8:30 - 1/2 cup oatmeal with splenda, cinnamon and a few raisins
9:45 - Workout!
Here's what I did:
Hammer curls: 3x10 with 10lbs in each hand
Bicep curls: 3x10 with 10lbs in each hand
Tri kickbacks: 3x10 with 10lbs in each hand
Cable tri extensions: 3x12 with 20lbs
45 crunches
30 minutes of elliptical on interval mode
11:40 - FiberOne light english muffin with a spicy boca patty (so yummy!) and low fat cheese, seltzer with a splash of cranberry juice.

I'm planning on having some cottage cheese and fruit in a couple hours. I've been looking around at other people's journals and noticed that people tend to eat almost immediately after working out (typically protein shakes or the like), so I'm thinking I might start trying to do that.

Tonight is going to be difficult because I'm going out to eat with my fiance's grandparents. It's our engagement celebration dinner, and they're taking us to their very fancy/snooty country club. The food there is delicious but they tend to have a limited menu. I'm going to try my best to find something clean to eat. I'll say no to dessert for sure, but I know I'll succumb to a vodka and tonic, but I'll keep it at just that one!

- Lisa

p.s. Does anyone have an idea of a calorie range I should be striving for? I'm guessing 1500ish but I'm not sure. I don't typically count calories, but it would be nice to have a ballpark figure.

[ktw915]

Welcome to journaling! You sound like you've got a great attitude and direction!

As for a calorie goal, I think I great website (and one that is very often recommended here) is www.hotnfit.com -there's a great calculator on there to help you figure out where your macros should be. How much protein are you getting in a day?

Congratulations on getting engaged!!

[Lisakay007]

Thank you!

I've heard you should get 1 gram of protein for every pound you weigh. Lately I've only been getting about 50 grams or so per day but I'd like to up that. Is it more important to get a specific amount of protein per day, or would it be better to focus on maintaining a certain ratio like 40/30/30?

[vanillabn]

Hey girl! Welcome - just wanted to let you know I'll be following along with your journal. Congrats on your recent engagement!

I think the most important thing is to concentrate on getting your protein intake up... 1 gram per lb that you weight is a good amount, some people even go higher. Hotnfit.com is a good place to start in terms of figuring out your calorie level - don't be afraid to go too high at first! I think it's better to adjust DOWN than to start with too low of calories. I aimed for around 1500 (and a 40P/40C/20F split) with good results and I'm a little shorter than you.

[ktw915]

Ditto Karina's advice- definitely get your protein up! the 40/40/20 split works for a lot of people, but no one can really tell you what will work for you! Try something for a while, then measure your results- weight, measurements, and how you feel in general (stronger, more energy?). Then go from there. It's all a process, so be patient. It's really exciting and motivating to see the results! Good luck!!

[bull.dogz]

Sounds like you've got a good plan going. Like everyone else said, get your protein up. And yes, a protein shake right after working out is a must to help feed your muscles!!

Hey! Someone pass the cheese it's!!!

[zigzag71]

Welcome! If you're looking for recipes, there is a great recipes thread stickied in the Female Bodybuilding - Nutrition and Dieting section. Check it out

-sue

[Wattsup]

Welcome and congrats on the engagement! I will be following along. Way to start journaling! You have a GREAT support system here. Lots of amazing ladies!

[Lisakay007]

Thank you so much everyone! I'm really excited about journaling here, and I think it will be very helpful and positive.

I have a challenge coming up this weekend. I'm going to visit my family in the NYC/Jersey area. I love my family, they are awesome people. When we get together we always have a great time . . . over food. There's always an abundant amount of food. My grandmother essentially makes a feast whenever I come to visit (I only see her a couple times a year unfortunately). It's very hard to say no to her. She starts with the whole, "But Lisa, I went to the kosher deli especially for you to pick this up, because they don't make it as good anywhere else. I spent all afternoon cooking it. What's this you're trying to diet, you don't need to diet! If anything you need to fatten up, here have some more." You get the idea.

There's definitely going to be one huge family dinner where it will probably be very difficult to eat well, but other than that we'll probably eat in restaurants where I should hopefully be able to eat clean. Salads with grilled chicken are usually a safe bet. Turkey burgers should be fine too. Usually diners can scramble you up some egg whites if you ask. Any clean menu item suggestions?

Hope everyone has a great weekend! I know I will!
- Lisa

[Lisakay007]

I almost forgot my eating plan! On days I work out I'll be aiming for 1600 calories, on days I don't I'll shoot for 1300 (roughly). For every meal I'll have a healthy carb, protein and fruits/veggies. After working out I'll drink a protein shake with milk (I can't do just water and protein powder . . . blech).

It seems pretty sane/healthy to me. By having protein with every meal that should up my daily intake. I also take a multi - vitamin everyday. I'm a big fan of One A Day's for women because they have calcium in them.

[amj0883]

Good luck this weekend!! Those situations are hard - but remember to enjoy yourself and focus on the company not the food

Do the best you can and don't let your diet ruin this time with your family!!

HAVE FUN

[Lisakay007]

Originally Posted by amj0883

Good luck this weekend!! Those situations are hard - but remember to enjoy yourself and focus on the company not the food

Do the best you can and don't let your diet ruin this time with your family!!

HAVE FUN

I tried! I made some good decisions and some not so good ones, but it happens. Tomorrow I'll be back on track with my eating and working out. My fiance and I have challenged eachother to eat clean Monday - Friday and then we can moderately indulge on the weekend. We'll see how this works out . . .

[Lisakay007]

Here's what today looked like.

8:00 - FiberOne english muffin with two poached eggs, multi - vitamin and green tea.
11:45 - Greek yogurt and two "cookies" (someone, I can't remember who now, posted the recipe on bulldogz journal, it's pretty good).
1:00 - Workout!
Lat pull - downs: 1 set of 12 @ 55, 2 sets @ 40
Seated row: 1 set of 12 @ 55, 2 sets @ 40
Hyper - extensions: 3 sets, 12 reps each, no weight
Crunches: 54
Elliptical: 30 minutes on interval mode
3:00 - protein shake (1 scoop of whey, 1 cup skim milk and a handful of strawberries)
5:45 - baked chicken (dipped in egg white and Italian breadcrumbs), peas and roasted potatoes (the microwave kind, I'm way too lazy to make those on my own).

I just got a toaster today! I know that sounds kind of lame to everybody who is used to having a toaster, but I'm seriously excited. I didn't realize how much I used/missed toasters until I didn't have one. I'm going to have a little snack now, I'm thinking cottage cheese on a TOASTED!! english muffin.

[Lisakay007]

7:45 - cottage cheese w/ cinnamon + splenda, and an oatmeal/egg cookie, multi - vitamin
11:30 - lettuce, tomato, tuna and pita
4:00 - iced coffee w/splenda
6:00 - Brunswick stew (made with chicken stock, chicken, lima beans and corn)
8:45 - turkey meatball on half a whole grain English muffin w/ one slice low fat cheese

Today was soooo frustrating! I went into set up my classroom a little bit and do some paperwork later in the morning. Since my work is near my future in-laws and my fiance and I stopped in (this is around 12). My future mother in - law (I'll refer to her as mama from here on out) announces that she's making Brunswick stew tonight especially for my fiance and I, especially since it's his favorite. I try and politely decline and say that we already had dinner plans (I defrosted the turkey last night to make meatballs and I wanted to go the gym). Mama begins to get all upset, and says, at least allow her to put the stew together and we can take some home with us. We agree and say we'll stick around for a few hours. We'll still get home in plenty of time to make dinner and for me to go to the gym.

So, it's 3:00. Stew is not done, but will be done soon she promises. By 6:00 the stew is finally done. Instead of packing it up mama puts it out and serves it to us. Super. I only have a teacup of it (the stew is actually really good, but at this point I'm so annoyed I don't even feel like eating). Still we don't manage to leave there until 7:30.

Finally we get home. I'm not even hungry, but I defrosted the stupid ground turkey and was planning on making meatballs so I do. I only had one and my fiance had a few as well. My gym closes at 9 . . . so yeah, no gym today. Grrr.

I know mama means well. Most of the time we get along just fine, but she is a notorious crap pusher (not that the stew was crap). I'm just frustrated b/c I had my whole day and snacks and work out planned and none of it actually happened because of her.

For those of you who have made it this far thanks for listening to me vent.

[Lisakay007]

9:30 - whole wheat english muffin w/ lowfat cottage cheese and sugar free maple syrup, two scrambled eggs.

11:00 - WORKOUT
Leg press - 2x12x150lbs and 1x12x170lbs
Thigh Machine (I can't remember the proper name for it) - 3x12x50lbs in both directions
Calf Raises - 3x12x50lbs
Squats - 1x12x30lbs
Lunges - 1x12x30lbs
Crunches - 63
Cardio - 30 minutes of elliptical on interval mode

1:45 - half a whole wheat english muffin w/ deli turkey and one slice of lowfat cheese, Brunswick stew (chicken stock, lima beans, corn, chicken).

6:00 - two turkey meatballs on a slice of whole wheat bread with one slice of lowfat cheese.

I'll possibly have a protein shake later depending on how hungry I feel. I really only like protein shakes in the blender so I can put strawberries in them. It makes it kind of inconvenient b/c I can't just bring a blender with me everywhere. I'm going to look into some of those protein bars so they're easier to transport, but some of them have tons of calories and are really sugary so I'll have to find a good one. Any suggestions??

I always get DOMS after legs day, but I like it! I didn't do as many sets as I would have liked on the squats and lunges. They were the last exercise I did and after I did one set of each of them I was feeling kind of weak, and like my form was poor. Next time I'll remember to do them before I do all the machine stuff where form isn't so important.

[amj0883]

You should try and do the squats and lunges at the beginning of your routine - they are your compund movements

I have never ate protein bars - they kind of scare me...lol!! I make all my shakes,eggs, etc...in the magic bullet now! I'm obsessed....

Great looking workout today!

*I love Brunswick Stew...but all of it in NC has tons of fat...*

[Kristih2002]

congrats on the engagement and your journey to get ready for the wedding!
great workouts..
I really don't eat any protein bars either, i tasted one one time and they weren't good enough for me to ever eat another one.

[bull.dogz]

Originally Posted by amj0883

You should try and do the squats and lunges at the beginning of your routine - they are your compund movements

X2

I always start with squats or lunges, than the leg press. Nice job!!

[Lisakay007]

Originally Posted by amj0883

*I love Brunswick Stew...but all of it in NC has tons of fat...*

I love it too! I never had it until I started dating my fiance. A lot of his family is from the south, so I think it's a southern thing . . . maybe? Anyways, it's delicious! The base for his mom's stew is just chicken stock (she does put some potato buds in it to thicken it up) so it's not too bad.

[vanillabn]

Great workout!!

I like doing squats first as well - they're hard enough that I need "all" of my energy to focus on them! LOL. But you already know that for next time!!

I can see how you were frustrated by the stew situation... I don't like it when people are pushy about things like that. They have the best intentions, but sometimes mother in laws (or mothers) just don't understand!! LOL.

[amj0883]

I know that the Brunswick Stew here is more pork than chicken...but it does have a little bit of everything!! What other "southern" food do you like???

[Lisakay007]

Originally Posted by vanillabn

Great workout!!
I can see how you were frustrated by the stew situation... I don't like it when people are pushy about things like that. They have the best intentions, but sometimes mother in laws (or mothers) just don't understand!! LOL.

Exactly! I know she means well, but she is the ultimate crap pusher. If I say I'm going to watch what I'm eating to her she takes it like a personal attack on her. She starts in on how I'm not fat at all, she's fat. If I think I'm fat what must I think of her . . . you get the idea. I usually just try and tell her I'm not hungry, but I think she may be on to me.

Originally Posted by amj0883

I know that the Brunswick Stew here is more pork than chicken...but it does have a little bit of everything!! What other "southern" food do you like???

I also like homemade fried chicken, ribs, fried green tomatoes and grits! All the no no food.

[Lisakay007]

7:30 - Protein shake (1 cup milk, 1 scoop whey, 6 frozen strawberries), multi - vitamin

8:30 - WORKOUT, and it was crappy b/c I felt seriously sick from that protein shake. I probably should not have had that on an empty stomach first thing in the morning. By the time I got to the gym I seriously thought I might vomit. So I took it super easy. The feeling passed eventually, but I was still very wary. All I did was:
Chest press - 3x12x50lbs
Treadmill - 20 minutes
Then I drank a ton of water and went home.

10:00 - whole wheat English muffin w/ all natural peanut butter

1:30 - 1 beer, 1 slice pizza

5:30 - 1 cup (after cooking) whole wheat pasta and two turkey meatballs.

I was super bummed about the protein hurting my stomach this morning. I usually drink shakes later in the day so I don't have that problem. Tomorrow I'll wait until after working out to have a shake.

I went to a friend's place for lunch this afternoon and he ordered pizza, so I had just one slice and figured it won't kill me . . . and neither will the beer I had with it. He's into gardening (ironically since he doesn't cook at all) and gave me some tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and one of the biggest zucchini's I've ever seen!! I'm planning on grilling some, making stew/soup of some kind and zucchini bread. I will only eat one slice of the zucchini bread and then freeze it . . . or at least I'll try.

[Lisakay007]

9:00 - whole wheat english muffin w/ lowfat cottage cheese, sugar free maple syrup and multi - vitamin.

11:30 - whole wheat bread w/ deli turkey, lowfat cheese, and light miracle whip.

3:30 - pure protein bar

7:45 - slice of zucchini bread (more accurately zucchini cake).

9:00?? - I'm assuming in the future I will eat some of the chicken casserole that's now in the oven. It has chicken breast, rice, lowfat cream of chicken soup and mixed veggies.

The huge zucchini I was given created four loaves of zucchini bread!! If I can figure out how to post pictures on here I'll post one of this zucchini b/c it's seriously huge. My goal for now is to try not to eat the rest of the zucchini bread (which is really not bread, but flour and sugar with some zucchini it in for flavor, essentially cake) while I wait for the casserole to cook.

I didn't make it to the gym today. We were supposed to go to a show tonight that got cancelled. Then we ended up spending many hours at the mall and seeing Pineapple Express (it was hilarious, I highly recommend it . . . no pun intended). Since I didn't know when I would be eating again and didn't want to succumb to movie popcorn I picked up a protein bar. It filled me up, but didn't taste like much. I think I'll reserve protein bars for emergency use only.

[amj0883]

I've never had zucchini bread (or cake...lol)

Shopping is great cardio

[Lisakay007]

Here's what I ate today:
- whole wheat english muffin with peanut butter
- multi - vitamin
- flaxseed oil
- cashew chicken (thai food, yummy!)
- fried rice w/ veggies
- zucchini bread
- 2 slices of pizza

I also did workout today since I didn't manage to get that in yesterday (I worked out before I ate all the crap).
Shoulder Press - 3x12x30lb
Bicep Curls - 3x12x10lbs/per arm
Tricep kickbacks - 3x12x10lbs/per arm
Cable Tricep Thing - 2x12x20lbs and 1x12x15lbs
Crunches - 54
Cardio - 25 minutes of elliptical on interval mode

In order to ease myself into clean/better eating my original plan had been to eat well Monday - Friday and then let myself have free days on Saturday and Sunday. After my "free day" today I feel sick and gross, so I may not eat clean tomorrow, but I'll definitely aim to eat much better than today.