Zeener's Log

[Zeener]

Hi, I've been reading other people's journals and I think a journal of my own will help me.

Background: I'm a female, 5'9.75", 158lbs, not sure about BF, but an online calculator put it at 25% or so. My main problem is food. I usually don't eat enough, and then I'm so hungry that I eat crap (cookies, M&M's, etc.). I must do a better job of keeping myself satisfied so that the urge to eat crap is eliminated. Also, I sometimes eat when I am bored. I need to stop that too. I am a mathematician (woo-woo), so there's not much physical activity in my job.

Goals: To lose 10-14lbs, get BF down to a leaner but still comfortable & maintainable range (any ideas what this might be? suggestions welcome).

Workout: Today's workout was 45 min cardio on the elliptical. I typically work out 5-6 times a week. Workouts usually look something like this:
M: 30-45 mins cardio + back/bi
T: 30-45 mins cardio + abs
W: 30-45 mins cardio + chest/tri
Th: 30-45 mins cardio + abs
F: 30-45 mins cardio + shoulders
Sa: 30 mins cardio + legs
Su: Free day (unless I really feel like movin')

Diet for today:
7AM: 1/2 cup (dry) oats + 2TBSP flaxmeal + 1 scoop whey +Green Tea
10AM: apple
12PM: salad (lettuce+tomato), 5.5 oz(weight raw, baked) salmon
3PM: bag of tuna + .25Cup almonds
6PM: 2 Cups homemade turkey chili
8:30PM: 1 Cup lowfat CC
Totals: 1478cal 47F 112C 160P or in %: 3F 24C 46P

Supplements: Multivitamin, Iron (I was severely anemic about a year ago. My iron is up now, but I still take iron.)

Comments/suggestions welcome! have a marvelous day.

[Ms. Lucy]

Welcome to the boards!!!!

Training looks good but are you doing weights before your cardio?
If so, you may want to switch that around. ALso, do you feel you're having enough carbs--oats, brown rice etc? WHen I don't eat enough, I'm more prone to binge--and even crave sugars. Plus, when you do lots of cardio--you need some carbies girl!!! If you're hungry, maybe put a tbsp of Peanut butter with that apple or have a protein shake and another 1/2 cup oatmeal or 3-4oz chicken and some green beans--as I'm sure that's not enough to tide you over til lunch!! I'm not great at figuring out calorie needs, but you may need to eat some more in general because of all your activity, I'm sure someone will pipe in! But welcome again!


Also, I LOVE chili--mind sharing your recipe whenever you have a second?

[Zeener]

Thanks for the feedback, Ms. Lucy.
I do cardio first, then weights. I've been lurking here and another board, so I have a little bit o' skeels (skills, that is). I know it's better to separate cardio and lifting completely, but...

Ok, so I'm cheating a little on the chili (hey, at least it's not an eat cheat), it's a powder called carroll shelby's or something like that. It's basically a package of spices. I'm going to saute a big ol onion and some lean ground turkey, then add water, spice pack, a can of diced tomatoes, and a can of kidney beans. We'll see how it turns out. Normally I get Bear Creek's Darn Good Chili Mix (and it IS darn good!), but I decided to try this one for a change of pace.

Yes, I think some carbs in the afternoon might be a good idea. That's typically when I 'crash' and make a run for the crap-food. Tuna & almonds is what I've got at work with me, so it'll have to do. I'll change it tomorrow and see how it goes.

[Ms. Lucy]

It's not so much separating them as when you perform each. I only suggest the cardio after weights because when you lift you are depleateing your glycogen stores, so that when you do your cardio, you'll burn more fat. Plus, it's also a bit of a warm up. If you do cardio first, you're burning cals, yes, but exhausting your muscles meaning you won't have your full strength to lift heavy and hard.

ANd don't worry--you won't grow huge muscles overnight and look like Arnold--lol. Muscle is actually very compact compared to fat and takes up less room, so even if you weigh more, you'll actually "look" smaller and more compact than if you had the equivallent fat. That's why most people here are or should be more concerned about there overall body fat % not scale weight. Plus, muscle burns more calories at rest than fat, so another plus for muscle. SOMeone once had a picture up of a pound of fat next to a pound of muscle, and it was incredible--it was like a 2 liter of coke next to a 12oz can!!!! I'm sure if you asked, someone could find it--I found it very motivating!!!

ALso, if you go to Bikin Barbies journal, we recently had this discussion about cardio after weights--you may want to have a peak in there and see what the other girls said. It was a day or 2 ago!

Just some additional thoughts!!

CHili still sounds good!

[Zeener]

Hmm.....Ok, so it's weights, then cardio.

I heard somewhere that anaerobic followed by aerobic was bad...though I can't remember the exact logic behind it.

So I've already learned something. Good deal.

[Zeener]

Ohio is so lovely. Woke up to another snow-dump this morning. So work was delayed, which means workout is delayed. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining about work being delayed 1 hour...this just means I will have to do my workout at the 'wimpy' gym tonight, which means cardio only (no lifting equipment). That's fine, I'll load up some tunes on my player and and be happy. Tomorrow morning is legs, THEN some light cardio.

I usually NEVER weigh myself, but I knew that I wanted to benchmark the beginning of this little experiment. I might've been a little bloated when I weighed in at 158. Maybe I'll weigh myself every week. Haven't decided yet. Yes, a week sounds good. Funny how the scale can be such a magnet. I never weigh myself, but since I did, I want to know if it was an accurate reading..blah blah. hehe.

So today's diet:
7:30 1/2 C Oats, 1 scoop whey, 2TBSP flax, green tea
10:00 .25C peanuts, apple
12:00 1 C leftover chili (it got better overnight!)
3:00 1 C lowfat cottage cheese
6:00 Chicken breast or maybe leftover salmon...not sure yet, 1 C green beans
8:30 Probably get something down the old gullet here, just not sure what. That should put me at around 1550 or so.

Totals (for salmon option)
1340 43f 124c 129p
30% 30% 40%

Wonderful weekend wishes to all.

[Ms. Lucy]

Hey--you're from Ohio--where abouts?

[Zeener]

I grew up in a suburb of Cleveland, but I've been living in Dayton for the past 4 years. Just noticed you're from Ohio too! Where at?

Lastnight I had a cup of chili for dinner. It sounded good and I did my cardio in the evening, so I think I was craving carbs. For my 8:30pm, I had an apple and 1/8 C of walnuts. Totals wound up here:

1483 45f 172c 117p
28% 39% 33%

I think I'll start logging my intakes after I've done it. I'm fickle when it comest to food.

THis morning I did legs FIRST, then about 25 min of recumbent bike. My legs felt really weak and I wasn't able to lift what I normally lift. Maybe it was because I went in cold? In the past, I've done cardio, then lift. Another factor could be the lifting on an empty stomach. I did it first thing in the morning. Any ideas?

[Mrs. Lucy]

Yeah--weights first!!!

I'm up in Cleveland girl!!!

I'd say the issue with your legs was lack of food. Morning cardio on an empty stomach is good (ok, lots of debate by people on this), but general consensus on weights, is that you're body needs some FUEL to work those muslce--and legs is a big workout!!! Perhaps try a protein shake and oatmeal an hour or 2 before (sometimes I feel real sick if I eat too close to legs and train hard--so be careful--lol). Or some egg whites an oats. But definetly try and get some protein and carbs--and don't forget them after as well--especially some simple carbs--like a banana or I eat applesauce.

Well--another great snowy day here in Ohio--you guys must be getting pounded as well. We wanted to go to the boat show today--but I don't think I'm feeling like driving in this!!!

Have a great weekend!

[Zeener]

Ms. Lucy: cool! I still love cleveland. My folks still live up there, so I make it up there from time to time. My mom wanted to go to the car expo or something this weekend because her friend has a dragster in the show. She's so wacky.

Ok, Sunday now. It's my rest day. I've been at it long before I started this journal, and I really feel like I can use the rest day.

So yesterday I wound up with intake totals of 1582cal, 33%f 32%c 36%p. Not great, but not bad either. It's not a goal of mine to have perfect macros. I enjoy spending time w/ my husband, and part of that is going out to dinner, and making dinners together that we can both eat (and enjoy-- my husband doesn't appreciate a chicken breast + broccoli dinner...YET)

Yesterday we bundled up and went out in the snow. We went for an hour hike in fresh snow and lots of layers on. It felt great to get out there, and I am sure it was great cardio.

Feeling a little antsy today. I have no 'projects' to work on, and I'm also waiting to hear from grad schools about acceptance. Probably won't hear until late Feb or early March. Time!
Maybe I'll go shopping?!

Today's intakes will be:

9am 1/2 C oats, 1 scoop whey, 2TBSP flaxmeal
12pm .75 C last of the leftover chili, .25C peanuts
2pm 5oz (raw weight) salmon, 1 C green beans
4:30pm 1 C cottage cheese, 1 scoop whey
7pm 1/2 large chicken breast, green & red peppers, onions = fajita filling

[Ms. Lucy]

Hey girl,

I just tried responding to your pm, but it's being wacky. Mrs. Lucy is me too! We had some forum issues awhile back and I couldn't get on, so I reregistered as Mrs. Lucy. SOmehow my home computer must still be logged on with that name!!!

But it sounds like you had a great weekend. Last year my hubby and I went to this place in Mentor--a park that has a 5 mile loop and we'd hike it when it was covered in snow--awesome cardio--you must have had a blast!!!

Well keep up the good work!

[Zeener]

A fast paced day today. Really had to squeeze in meals between meetings and a morning dentist appt. I had to have soft foods all morning because I had a filling replaced (ow!). But I think I managed the pain and the mushy foods pretty well. I also broke down and got a food scale today. Fun, fun.

I'm going to blame this one on my husband. I got some sugar free jello cups and mentioned that 'they just taste better than the kind you make yourself'. He's an engineer. SO we're doing a sugar-free jell-o taste test tonight or tomorrow. Boxed vs. pre-made cups. Which is which? Probably didn't need to write this paragraph out, but....

Workout-wise, I did back and bi, then 30 min of cardio.

Here's the mushy food list:
7:30 1/2 cup oats, 1 scoop whey, 2 TBSP flaxmeal
10:00 1/2 cup cottage cheese, 1 banana
12:00 4 Egg beaters, 1/4 cup cottage cheese, 1 banana
2:00 1/2 cup oats, 1 scoop whey
5:00 ~6 oz (raw weight) chicken breast , bell pepper, onions
8:00 1 cup cottage cheese, 1 scoop whey

1550 cal, 15%f 35%c 50%p

I'm playing basketball tomorrow night, so I may take it easy on the cardio tomorrow morning.

[TheDiz]

Zeener, what are your goals exactly? I definatly think you need more calories. Try going to fitday.com, you can track your caloric intake and the exercise you do. Take a look at it, I gotta jet, removing viruses from people's computers and all. SEE YA!!!!!!!!

[Zeener]

Diz,
My main goal is to clean up my diet. I have a hard time in the afternoons at work. I crash. So I want to keep my meals small and evenly spaced to combat my afternoon bad habits.

Hopefully out of that, I'll reach my secondary goals: get leaner --I don't really have a feel for what's reasonable for women. High teens, mabye? I also aim to lose 10 lbs or so.

I think I've been averaging about 1600 cals/day?? I feel very satisfied with the cleaner foods. Additionally, with the smaller, more frequent meals, I feel like eating is my JOB, that ain't right. I think I would find it hard to eat more than that for now. How much more do yyou think I should be eating??

[zb2612]

if your 5ft 9 you din't really need to lose any weight because ur well in the weight range for your height. and a little bit of what u enjoy once in a while doesn't hurt

Zoe
xxxx

AND WOOOHOOO TO JELLO !

[zb2612]

it depends on what your goals are on what you are going to eat even if you want to burn fat u still need plenty of food in order to keep your metabolism revved !

Zoe
xxxx

[TheDiz]

That sounds fairly reasonable, but if you are trying to gain muscle mass, definately add a couple hundred per day. I am starting my cutting diet so I am down to about 1200, but when I was bulking I was at 1700, I am only 5'. But I have a lot of fat to lose.

[Zeener]

Thanks for the feedback. I think I'll see what happens in a week with the current way of doing things. I think I'm getting adequate macros. I certainly don't want to bulk, but i am fairly active (b-ball tonight!!)...I think 1600 cals is a good place to start from. BTW, I usually have 1 day per week when I eat 2000-2300 worth of clean foods (ok, and maybe some fro yogurt), too...don't worry I won't starve :-)

Not feeling so good right now, I'm having a cold/sinus/ear relapse. yuck. probably not the best idea to go play bball, but I usually feel better about myself afterwards, and I haven't seen the gals in a while.

[Ms. Lucy]

Watch yourself if your sick--or you could make yourself worse and unable to exercise at all.

Rule of thumb--if your sick from the chin up (stuffy nose, sinus etc) it's ok to work out, however, from the chin down (sore thraot, achy, fever, chills) you need ot rest and drink lots of fluid, otherwise you'll be using energy for weights or cardio rather than getting better and you'll prolong being sick and possibly get worse.

Maybe try taking some AirBorne quick since you're just starting to feel sick.

[Zeener]

Just dropping in...As I mentioned a couple of posts ago, I haven't been feeling well (sore throat like you wouldn't believe, and more!). I just had a cold in early January, so I really didn't think I was 'due' for anything else. But I broke down and went to the doc yesterday, I have laryngitis and a cold. I got an antibiotic for it. I'll say it for you Ms. Lucy: you told me so.

So for the past couple of days, I haven't been strict with the food plan or the workout plan. I did play basketball again lastnight. It's my treat to me. I love it and would be so miserable sitting at home knowing there was some good bball going on. Not smart, but...

I finally got a good night's rest lastnight and I'm feeling better already, so I think I'll be ready to start back up on Monday.

Have a great weekend all!

[Ms. Lucy]

Hope you feel better!!!

Take it easy this weekend ok?

[Zeener]

It took some restraint, but I didn't work out this weekend. Weekend workouts are my favorite because I can really take my time and also because the gym is EMPTY in the morning. But is was good mending time.

I spent some time adjusting my workouts too. I talked my husband into working out with me (he usually goes to the gym w/ me, but we work out separately). I know I'll probably take alot of rotten tomatoes for this, but I have a confession to make: up to this point, I was using nautilus for my weight routines. So this weekend, I did some research and put together a split for both of us to do.

I'm feeling today's chest/tri workout already.
Here's what we did:
bench 3x10
assisted dips 3x10
incline press 3x10
tricep press 3x10
crunches --there was no ball to do what I like to call 'ball crunchers'

[Zeener]

Just returned from 2nd day of the new workout, things are going great (we're getting up on time--5:30!!).
Back/Biceps
Pullups
Dumbbell row
biceps curl
back hyperextension
low lateral row

Next time we do back/biceps, we'll work in deadlifts and not do low lateral rows. We just needed to do more research...on exactly how to do deadlifts properly.

Not exactly sure about meals for today...I've already had oatmeal, whey, and flax. I'll have to plan out what I'm going to eat soon!

[Zeener]

Haven't posted in a while...the new workouts have been going well. Yesterday was legs

squats
SLDL
weighted lunges
back hyperextensions
calf raise

It was the first time I've ever done squats, so I went kinda easy, I think, 50 lbs. I think I can handle more weight on next time.

Today was cardio for 45 minutes (it was supposed to be a rest day, but I decided to take that on friday since I couldn't get to bed at a decent hour the night before).

Happy superbowl...I don't think I'll watch!