Day 46 - On IR

Wow I can't believe it's been that long since I posted...sorry about that guys, I guess I felt like I didn't have anything to write since I was injured. Usually I'm a "push through the pain" kind of girl, since I have a tendency to hurt myself pretty often, but I this one is not something I can do that with. I haven't worked out all week and it's killing me! I have so much less energy and so much more appetite, it seems like. That sucks. But I have been doing well with eating still - on low fat and today is the last day of round 3 of MS. I am supposed to have a cheat meal today but since I have not been exercising and since the next 10 days are recovery days anyway I'm not going to have it. The problem now is I don't know when I should start exercising again. My neck feels better most of the time, and better every day, but last time as soon as I worked out again I was back to hurting so it's hard to decide. Besides today's, which I am still skipping, the next scheduled workout in MS is on day 39 (my day 49) so I think I will continue to rest for two more days just to make sure and then pick it back up then. There's no cardio scheduled for the next 10 days, though, and I'll have to go back and read through the info to see if I can find out why, because I would like to incorporate some HIIT since I have not done any and I am still 5 lbs off of my goal. I am not going to hit that goal, I know, but I would at least like to lose something more before the end of Mission 1. What's with the body giving out right when I need to push it the most? I guess it's just one of those things.
Anyway, I have been taking pictures but I'll post them later on because I have to get going but I wanted you all to know that I'm still here, trying to do what I can, and thanks for the comments from my last post, I'll reply to them tonight hopefully. Keep working, everybody, and I'll be around to your blogs later on to comment. See ya!

Day 43 - Countdown...

Well I only have 4 days left of MS Level 1 before my recovery period, one week before the halfway point of my mega-mission and only 2 weeks before the end of Mission 1 so I think I need to be really strict in order to make my goals. Here are my stats for today:

Weight: 155 lbs (loss of 2# this week, 11# overall)
Bicep: 11.5" (loss of 0" this week, 1" overall)
Chest: 35" (loss of 0" this week, 1.5" overall)
Waist: 29" (loss of .25" this week, 2" overall)
Stomach: 32.5" (loss of 0" this week, 2" overall)
Hips: 38.75" (loss of .25" this week, 2.25" overall)
Butt: 41.5" (loss of .25" this week, 2" overall)
Thigh: 25.25" (loss of .5" this week, 2.5" overall)
Total inches lost: 1.25" this week, 13.25" overall

I have definitely been losing weight one week and not the next, must just be a side effect of the nutrient cycling, if so I lose more weight on low carb than I do low fat but I wouldn't be able to stick to low carb if it wasn't for the upcoming low fat days so it's like a catch 22. That's okay, I'm losing, that's all that matters, and I probably would have been even less had I not done dessert three times last week but hey, it's the holidays! Not that I am unhappy with the results, but my goal is to be 150# by the end of Mission 1 so I still have 5 more lbs to go. At the rate I have been going, that doesn't seem likely, but actually I guess I won't be that upset about it, as I said in another post, because I can see the results in my pictures, I feel better, and this is a lifetime journey. As long as I'm making progress there's no reason to get upset about reaching or not reaching a certain number. I did think that those goals were attainable, though, but I have all of Mission 2 to make up the difference because those goals are a little less aggressive. And the other little monkey wrench in my plans is that I have been battling a neck injury and it is pretty bad today. I think that I did it from having the olympic bar on the back of my neck for squats with no cushion. My own dumb fault, I know, but it's not like I squat that much weight. It's only on one side, so I think I must have slightly pinched a nerve or something because the pain goes from the back of my head, into my shoulder, and down my trapezius at times. Sometimes it's fine and other times it flares up, depending on how much exercise I do. I thought after my two rest days from weights it was fine but I must have done something because I can hardly move my head this morning. And I did lunge squats yesterday but I guess maybe just holding the weight pulled it again or something. I don't know but I had to have Motrin before I could even get out of bed. So I think I am going to take it easy today and maybe by this afternoon it will have subsided enough to get in my workout but I don't want to push it. So that will put a damper on my progress, but I will overcome that by eating as clean as possible. Monkey wrench #2 is that on Dec. 6 I am going to NYC for my birthday with my mom, sister, and best friend, and I was going to indulge some at lunch that day, but you know, thinking about it, I don't really feel the need to. I guess I'll see when I get there, but I would rather save it for my real birthday when I go out to dinner with my husband. At any rate, all of those days fall within the recovery period which is supposed to be normal eating so I think what I feel like is indulgence will probably still be at least maintenance calories, if not lower, because my metabolism should be safely raised up by then. You know what, I'll cross those bridges when I come to them, I want to plan ahead but for now I will just take it one day at a time and just keep it in the back of my mind that they are coming up.
Anyway, that's what's going on with me today. I'm off to put a heating pad on my neck for a while and have some hot tea and see how that goes. I do have to get some work done today but it's still early here so hopefully I can start to feel better quickly and get going.
Here are my comparison pics - I would have never realized how far I've come had I not taken pictures. I would even have been able to rationalize the inches lost, but the photos just don't lie. So so so so so glad I took them even though the day ones were painful...just makes today's even sweeter!

Day 42 - Thanksgiving Part 2

Well obviously I didn't post yesterday night but things have been going well. I did as planned - fruit all day and then low fat dinner. Well, mostly low fat because I did have a piece of cake for dessert but I made the cake with applesauce instead of oil so it was low fat, the only part that wasn't was the icing. Anyway, I think it was still good, especially since it was all the fat I had all day. Jeff liked the food so much he wanted to have it again tonight so I made another turkey breast and we had the leftovers of everything else. Actually I had a piece of wheat bread with some turkey and gravy with a side of green beans so I had even less than yesterday. I did have a small piece of cake again though. This is why I don't make things like that often. I eat them. But again, I think I was fine because I had high-protein cereal for breakfast, turkey and cranberry sauce for lunch, and pineapple for a snack earlier today. Like I said before, I don't technically count everything right now because I still have results and I am going more for lifestyle changes than strict dieting style. I might ramp it up in compliance during Mission 2, depending on where I am results-wise, but I want to be able to not feel too deprived. And I am still eating way better than I would have in the past so I know that I am doing well. Plus I don't want to slow down my metabolism by eating too little, I am sure I have done that in the past as well.
Today's workout was muscle rounds - I did okay but was pretty tired early on. Thankfully it was a short workout today. I didn't have a protein shake before like I usually plan on after the all fruit day since I had a meal last night and I thought that would be enough, but it was barely enough. I was still digging for energy and had a shake as soon as I was finished. Then I felt much better. My quads were still sore from several days ago, which was pretty strange I thought, so I think I may not be getting enough protein for muscle rebuilding. I need to pay more attention to that. Anyone know of another reason that would be happening? Usually the day after a workout I am sore, then more so the next day, then nothing after that. So that was the only thing about the workout. Otherwise, today was very restful again - nice long weekend with my husband so not really looking forward to Monday and getting back to work. But need to get moving anyway, almost the end of the month and that's a big thing for me. Tomorrow is measurement day so we'll see if I came out ahead after this up and down week. Hope all is well with all of you and I'll see you soon!
Here's my pics:

Progress video

Was experimenting with my pics and made a video out of them (hopefully you can see it Christy!) plus a look at where I work out. Hope you enjoy it, I'll have a video with me blabbing on about something or another here soon as well... :)

Day 41 - Again with the fruit

Below are some separate posts I did with the details from the last few days so you might want to go down and read up because I wanted my days to be in order and I didn't post for a few days. Also, I added pics from the last few days, I had gotten a little lazy with not editing them although I was taking them, so they were not posted. I also left my camera at my mom's house on Thanksgiving so I didn't take any pics yesterday and today's are with an old 2mp camera that is kind of funky but I don't think you can tell the difference over the internet.

Anyhoo....today begins my all fruit day with a twist. It will be different because I am doing Thanksgiving dinner for my husband and I tonight (something we traditionally do after the regular family one) so I won't technically being having fruit only all day but it will end up being 24 hours of all fruit starting from last night when I stopped eating protein at 7pm. So that's my rationale for this and I will just start my low fat days a little early. As I said in one of my earlier posts, I can't believe I am almost through with my first round of MS and my first mission. It doesn't seem like it's been that long and yet I have changed so much physically and mentally it is amazing! I could never have imagined the progress I have made and I really want to thank all of you fellow shredders out there along with our fearless leader Adam because I really don't think I could have done it without you. That is what has been missing from my previous attempts as losing weight and I am so glad I found my "magic bullet". It's YOU!!
So it's still morning here and I hope to do an update tonight but I sent my weekly stats and pics into Adam earlier so I should be back on schedule for the weekly shredder council round up. My real stats won't be until Monday but I did weigh myself today and found I had lost 3 lbs! I am not going to get too excited about it, though, because I am in the middle of nutrient isolation and I usually weigh less, then put a little back on when I switch back to low fat. So we'll see but it is promising. I'm going to be off now, checking up on everyone else, but have a great weekend and I'll see you soon!

REWIND - Day 40 - The aftermath

Well I say that like the aftermath is bad but it was actually good. I woke up and weighed myself, confident that I would not have gained weight but was still curious, and I was actually down a pound! HA! That's certainly never happened in my life history of Thanksgiving! What a great feeling to not have one meal ruin your progress, and all the guilt associated with that! I have really turned a corner now, I think, mentally, because if I can get through a day all about food then I can get through anything! And I have that feeling to spur me on through the rest of the holidays too!
So for my workout, all I had to do was HIIT and it was awesome with the tiny exception that my quads are sore but I got through it. I love not having to drag myself through 30 or 45 min of cardio to feel like I am doing something. 15 min and done! Why did I not find out about this sooner? So anyway, just lazed around, did not go shopping I am not sadistic like some of these people around here. My mom was at the mall at 3am. Who does that? Everyone, apparently, she said she couldn't find a parking space! Okay, I am just don't need a sale that bad. Anyway, it was nice to just relax with my husband on his day off, and we planned the meals for the upcoming week so I could go grocery shopping and have everything ready to go. I can't believe it's my last week of MS already! I'm actually a little scared about the 10 day recovery period because I am not sure what I am going to do as far as eating "normally" as it says. I feel like I am eating pretty normally now, just with some guidelines, so I guess I'll just continue the same way, just being able to have carbs, fat, and protein all in the same meal again will be interesting :) But I am so happy with my progress I can't even say so I'll be looking forward to the second round of MS coming up that's for sure. Today was all protein and it was pretty easy. I miss having other things but it's only one day and I still feel fine, it's just a mental thing, and it gets better each time I do it. I actually think I like it because it proves to myself that I am in control more and more. It's weird I guess, hard to explain, but I like being able to deprive myself of something for a little while and stick to my goals by doing it. Makes me proud in the end. What can I say, I guess I am a little sadistic... :)

REWIND - Day 39 - Thanksgiving!

I was so proud of myself on Thanksgiving. I only had two eggs for breakfast and then we went to dinner at 3:30 so I was really saving all my carbs. And I did exactly what I said I would do - the only carb I had with dinner was cranberry sauce and it was homemade so probably a lot better than the store bought kind as far as sugar goes. I filled up on turkey and green beans with a little portion of squash. And since there was a vegetarian there who could eat way less than I could, nobody said a word to me about my choices. :) Then I did have dessert but I could really enjoy it because it was planned and I knew I had been good all day. Plus I wasn't so full like in past years so I wasn't just forcing some other food down without regard for taste or hunger. Was I really like that? So glad it's in the past and now I control the food, not the other way around.
The one setback was in my workout. I slept in so I didn't start my workout until 10am and I didn't realize it at the time, but it had been over 12 hrs since eating anything and I usually eat something by 7am. So I was 3 hrs overdue for a meal (at least) and I totally crashed 2/3 of the way through my workout. It was like a car running out of gas - I was fine and then all of a sudden during my lunges BAM! I couldn't do any more. I tried to just move on to hamstrings since I had already done extensions and my quads had at least gotten some work, but I had nothing left. It was crazy. Well, not really, I know why, but it was interesting because it was just so obvious that my body ran out of protein to burn and it was not going to work any more. So I got most of it in and had a protein shake immediately and felt better. But it was that exact same feeling I had when I tried to do my workout after the all fruit day without taking in some protein first. I have got to remember that! But the workout prior to that was great and things are going fantastic!

Day 38 - Preparing myself for the feast (and the family)

So tonight will be a quick post - have been doing well with workouts and nutrition, just looking forward to making the right decisions tomorrow for Thanksgiving. It will be my last low carb day and although it probably won't be as good as a normal low carb day, I think I will be able to do pretty good. I plan to not have any carbs all day to save up #1 and then also just enjoy myself and my family, avoiding the worst of the carb hangups with a few treats. I won't have trouble not eating stuffing, potatoes, or rolls because they aren't that big of a deal to me, the biggest thing will be cranberry sauce actually because I really love it. So that will be my little reward and possibly a tiny tiny dessert but I'm not much for that either especially since I will be filling up on turkey as much as possible. Good low fat protein mmmm mmmm. So that's the plan. I have a workout in the morning as well so that will kickstart my metabolism for the day, then it's on to the hardest part of the round, the all protein and all fruit days. I am going to have to modify that a little as well because I am cooking a Thanksgiving dinner at my own house on Saturday (tomorrow I am at my Dad's). That is supposed to be my all fruit day but I think if I stop protein by 6pm on Friday, then do fruit from then until 6pm Saturday, it will still be 24 hrs of fruit and I can just start my low fat day a little early. I think that's fair. So hopefully all this planning works out as I envision it and everyone is understanding of my reasons for being "picky" with what I eat. It's so sad that people question our want to be healthier, but I'm sure it will come up. Oh, well, I can take it. I can just think about how great my pics will look at the end of Mission 1 and how happy I'll be that I didn't give in for one stupid meal anyway. Not worth it. So, I'll post my pics later but I do have them for today, just getting late. See you all soon and Happy Thanksgiving to all of you who are celebrating it tomorrow!!

Day 37 - That's it, just day 37

I'm getting to the point where every day is just get up, work out, eat right, repeat. And it's great. Part of my problem has always been re-analyzing the same decisions over and over again. Do I really feel like working out today? Do I need to? I don't have to diet, I can just exercise. I don't have to exercise, I can just diet. I think I'll just start tomorrow, next week, next month, etc and on an on. I guess if I am honest with myself I just wasn't totally committed to making the results happen that I said that I wanted. I wasn't totally committed to the process. I think you have to fall in love with the routine becoming a part of your life. It's like a good marriage. You have to totally commit to the person and then never doubt that decision. It is made, done, there's no turning back. Now you are in the daily maintenance of that decision and you learn to love the routines. At least for me that's how it is. That's how you know you are meant for that person, when you can just do daily life and there's nothing you'd rather be doing. And so it is with this transformation journey - I had to move past the decision process and allow it to become a part of my life that I look forward to every day. Not that it's easy every day but it's certainly not a struggle any more and I work toward making it better all the time. And I love seeing the results of that daily activity, it makes me secure in knowing that I have all that much more incentive to continue in it. Anyway, that's how things are now, in the thick of it, looking forward to GS2 and completing M1 but just enjoying the journey all along and the benefits that I see and feel with each good decision each day. This is what it feels like to have made a lifestyle change, not just a "diet program" or "exercise program". Now it is truly beginning to feel like a Way of Life. Thanks to all of you who have helped me get there and who have become such an important part of the daily activity of my life. I truly hope we can continue this for a very long time and one day all be able to meet face to face. We will all be changed forever by this. I look forward to every minute of it.

Day 36 - I lost a foot!!

No, not a foot like what you walk with, and not a foot of height, a foot of fat around my body! That is incredible when you think about it, but if you don't believe me, here are my latest measurements:

Weight: 157 lbs (loss of 0# this week, 9# overall)
Bicep: 11.5" (loss of 0" this week, 1" overall)
Chest: 35" (loss of 0" this week, 1.5" overall)
Waist: 29.25" (loss of 0" this week, 1.75" overall)
Stomach: 32.5" (loss of .25" this week, 2" overall)
Hips: 39" (loss of .25" this week, 2" overall)
Butt: 41.75" (loss of .25" this week, 1.75" overall)
Thigh: 25.5" (loss of 0" this week, 2" overall)
Total inches lost: .75" this week, 12" overall!!!

That just blows my mind. It's amazing how much fat we can hold on our body when it is spread out all over. And although I have not done my body fat stats, I truly believe that this is almost all fat because I am getting stronger in my workouts, I am starting to see muscle definition, and lean mass doesn't take up that much space anyway. So yeah me! Plus, even though I overdid it on my reward meal day, I am not higher in weight (believe me, I am happy with staying the same for once!) AND I bet I'll drop again more next week because and re-gain I did from that one day will be gone by then and I'll be back to where I should have been loss-wise anyway. Does that make sense? Even if it doesn't I seem to be on an every other week kind of thing, probably due to the macronutrient cycling effect, so two weeks ago I showed very little loss as well and then 2# last week, for an average of over 1# a week which is good. I could do better - to achieve all my goals, I need to lose about 1.75# average per week but believe me, I'm not complaining. It's coming off and if it takes a little longer than I planned, it doesn't matter to me, as long as I look how I want to look when it's all said and done.
That said, my goals for GS2: Shredders Strike Back are as follows (they are still mini-goals on the way to Day 100, which will be 2 wks after the end of GS2):
1) Continue to treat myself well mentally and physically, focusing on the joy of the journey.
2) Ending weight of 145# (loss of 12# during shred)
3) Loss of 12 more inches
4) Body fat below 20% (I still don't have a baseline for this yet, will update with more specific numbers when I am able to get it)

Shredder Council Pact
I will focus on the single daily actions that produce results - those actions being the daily nutrient and workout requirements of Metabolic Surge, as well as the actions of making the right decisions with focus on my long term success, not short term comfort or ease.
I will "burn my bridges" and not look back - those are the bridges to negative self-talk, guilt, regret, self-sabotage, past failures and successes, "should/shouldn't have" and "what might have been".
I will never surrender - the only way to fail is to quit trying; if I lose focus, I will remember how far I've come and seek help from my fellow shredders.

WOO HOO I'M READY TO GO NOW! Thanks again to everyone for all their support and especially Adam for continuing to challenge us! Below are my comparison pics from day 1 to today. My front pics really don't do my progress justice, but check out the side and back ones, I think they really tell the story. My pics from day 1 of the shred until today I will send to Adam. See you all soon!

Day 35 - Catching up

Okay, finally getting a chance to catch up on all my group shred responsibilities...I wanted to tell you all that have been commenting to me thanks for the support and I have been checking up on you, just haven't had time to comment lately. Things have just been crazy for me lately but here's all the news (good and bad. I also want to send special thanks to Adam for the video shout out and for keeping me in the loop with this first week of group shred 2...
So, what has been going on with me? Well, yesterday was my rest and reward meal day so I don't usually blog then anyway but was going to because I needed to get everything ready to send to Adam for GS2. It ended up that I worked all day (and had a great sales day, incidentally) so I wasn't really good on my food intake most of the day, not just one meal. I had take out for breakfast and lunch, though I tried to make okay decisions, I was kind of in the "off day" mindset so I wasn't really watching too closely. And then I had planned to have a reward meal for dinner anyway and it turned into a fondue party with my husband's family so that was REALLY bad. Three courses. And the first two (cheese and meat) weren't that bad but the last (chocolate, aka X) I definitely over-indulged. And paid for it. I felt so sick after that, just like we have all been saying, once you get in the habit of having good food, bad food is like poison. Especially in large quantities. I have been so used to eating smaller portions and for some reason my fullness monitor just did not register until it was WAAAAY too late and I felt like throwing up. I did not but boy I almost wish I could have. So after working, cooking, and entertaining, the evening ended at midnight with me realizing I did nothing for GS2 and I was out of time. Thus my absence on the list but it won't happen again I promise. I am so grateful to know everyone well enough now so that I don't feel like I have to make any other excuses, you know I'm here.
Anyway, this morning I still felt like crap and was wondering how much time I had to burn off all those extra calories before they turned to fat cells. Would really like to know that, but what is done is done, it was my reward meal after all. And I didn't feel mentally guilty about it since it was planned, more just feeling stupid because I felt so bad physically. Plus since I was feeling such a Fondue hangover I didn't do my workout first thing, which I know is bad because I find it hard to work out once I get my day started. But anyway, lazed my way through the day, still eating low carb like I am supposed to but just feeling overall not well. It's the X. Evil stuff. Certainly didn't feel like a good GS2 day 1 should feel but it has gotten a little better as the day has gone on. Not looking forward to checking the stats tomorrow but I did take a peek at my comparison pics not just from day 1 to today but also from the end of GS1 (my day 24) to today and I even see a difference in them and that's only 10 days so I am happy about that. No one day of bad food will erase the progress I have made over the last month. No way. And that's so exciting to be able to prove that to myself with pictures because the old me might have really just written it all off and used it as an excuse that I'll never change and that I totally ruined everything once I felt as crappy as I did this morning. So glad I am not that person anymore.
So tonight at 9pm I finally did my workout and it was great. Felt better but still have this nasty fullness in my stomach. Of course, some of this is female-related issues so I guess I can chalk it up to that as well. Things you didn't need to know. All in the name of full disclosure. Anyway, today was the start of round 3 of MS, I can't believe it has been this long already! I still have to get on that project I want to do about MS for women, just have had a lot to do work-wise so hopefully soon. I'll close with today's pics and I'll do my regular weekly stats tomorrow which I'll use for my GS2 starting stats since I think I went up in weight and I want them to be honest. Plus I'll put up my GS2 pact and goals along with that. See you then!

Day 33 - No time

Just wanted to do a quick update because I am getting ready to go to sleep. Today was not where I wanted it to be food-wise but not too far over the edge. Workout was AWESOME and know I'll be feeling it tomorrow. Working most of the day so I won't have time to worry about it, though. Also tomorrow is my rest day + reward meal so I don't have to exercise and don't know what I am going to eat. But it will be interesting. Hope it's a good one....see you all later!

Day 32 - Sore is good

I was sore today but actually I didn't mind because I know it means I am getting stronger. And tonight when I taught Jujitsu, even though my pecs were sore from the chest presses yesterday, I did 55 pushups along with the class. I didn't have to do that many - I can have them do whatever, but I just felt strong and wanted to see if I could do it too. I am proud of myself. I will pay for it tomorrow :)
Anyway, the day was not exciting, busy but didn't get the important things done as is par for the course lately. I'll get to the bottom of it I'm sure.
Tomorrow the workout looks killer but I am looking forward to pushing myself and seeing what I can get done. Only two days until cheat meal although I really don't feel that deprived. Am thinking I will have pizza though. Not sure yet.
Can't believe it's Friday again already. How time does fly. Well, gotta get some sleep and as you can see I am totally random right now so that's not helping anyone. Am hoping to get a video up soon, though, and still need to work on the MS postings...but only after work hours so we'll see how that goes. Until tomorrow...here's today's pics:

Day 31 - More insight requested

Yesterday was a really good day, mainly because I was totally on program all day. Well, actually, I didn't eat breakfast since I got up late, but I did have a protein shake after my workout and then ate an early lunch so timing wise things were still in sync. Anyway, I don't know, it just felt good to be doing what I was supposed to be doing (back to the integrity thing), not that I haven't been for most of these 30 days, just I guess it is getting easier. Feels more like a habit when I am on it, and more foreign to me when I am off. That's so exciting. They say it takes 21 days to form a habit but I guess for me it's more like 30 :) I am sore this morning from the muscle rounds but I got the whole workout in without feeling like passing out (ahh protein) and stayed under my fat gram target for the day, even though my dinner felt like a reward meal. Another advantage to cooking rather than buying - I can sneak in low fat stuff and still make it taste good. We had venison steak with twice baked potato and corn. Alot of carbs, yes, but that is not the goal this week. I made the potato with fat free sour cream, low fat cheese, and low fat bacon. One potato was still probably 10g of fat but I had probably only 10 more the whole day so it was totally worth it :) Also, when you don't have junk all the time, it really makes you appreciate when you have something really good tasting and not bad for you. We get so used to eating for pleasure that nothing is even that good anymore. Does that make sense? It's like a drug addiction - once you are hooked, it's never enough and you never get back that initial high and things start to lose meaning (so I'm told, don't actually know from personal experience). But once you quit, meaning starts to come back and you appreciate little things more. I don't know, but it's kind of like what Christy was saying about peanut butter and such. Once you really take the time to enjoy it and don't just mindlessly eat, food takes on a different meaning and I think everything tastes better.
Okay, so on to why I put the title of this entry as I did...when I started this journey, it was pretty much a snap decision. Of course I had been wanting to do it for a long time, had planned off and on some things to get me back on track, etc, but I didn't really jump into it until I revisited Adam's blog and decided to have daily accountability. And from then on it was something I worked on every day and plan to continue (obviously), and as I said earlier, it seems to be getting easier.
So how do I translate this to other areas of my life?
I have trouble sticking to any plan I make for myself in any other part of my life: financial, career, household...I am a planner, I can really easily break things down and see what needs to be done daily to work toward a goal, and I do it for a week or so, but I am never dedicated enough to see it through to getting the goal achieved. Thus I have a lot of disappointment (in myself) in life. I am big in thinking and small in action. Self-discipline, motivation, I don't know what you call it, I am seriously lacking in it. And it's really becoming an issue. I have so many goals and I am so tired of missing them again and again and again and AGAIN. Let's take the biggest one for an example - to promote myself in my in-home business. It is a sales business and I know exactly how many people I need to meet, calls I need to make, bookings I need to hold, product I need to sell, etc to get to my goals. The numbers are quite clear and well tested in my company. So why don't I do what I say I want to do? Every day I think about it and think about it and do very little. Some days are better than others. But I rarely do all of the things I should do in a given day, and even more rarely do I repeat those actions daily like I know I need to in order to achieve my result. And now with this body transformation mission, I have proven to myself that I am capable of taking daily action and getting results, but it has not traslated to other things as I thought it might have. What am I doing wrong? I thought it was maybe the accountability factor - but I have several people who I talk to daily and weekly who are tracking me and that doesn't seem to help. I just keep letting them (and myself) down over and over. It is beyond frustrating. I have this dream in my heart and my head won't do what I need to achieve it. Why not? Part of it is fear I know. With the weight loss, I really have no fears, nothing to lose (except fat!) and everything to gain. Also, I guess, because I have done it before, I am insulated by the fact that I know that it is achievable personally for me since I have been there. And this goal in my career, I haven't been there, only part way and slid back, and I have stupid irrational fears about a lot of things. I guess the main one is of hearing "no" which is dumb because I have heard it a million times and it really doesn't bother me when I think back, and I really don't care what strangers think of me, so what if they tell me no? But for some reason when I think about making phone calls or going out to meet people, I get really nervous and my mind finds other things to do that take up the time I would use to do that so then I can say "oh, I didn't have time". It makes no sense to me. Why am I self sabotaging so much? What is it about this transformation journey that makes me able to do it that I can use in other areas of my life to achieve other goals? A different kind of accountability? Some other approach I have not thought of? I need to figure out something soon and decide how to apply it everywhere because I am really having a lot of trouble. Pretty much the only things that are going right in my life right now are my marriage and this program. And actually even my marriage is a little strained because of my career and financial issues. So getting to the bottom of this would solve a lot of problems for me. I know this is kind of off topic, but I think these journeys we are on are more about self improvement overall than any one fitness goal. Maybe there are others with similar issues since we all seemed to have similar mindsets before we began this.
Has anyone been able to use what they have learned about the discipline of this program in other aspects of their life?
I welcome any insight you all have, you can comment or email me. I am getting pretty desperate and honestly if something doesn't change by the end of the year, I will have to go back to a full time desk job and that would really kill me. Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer.
P.S. Here's the day 31 pics

Day 30!! - Can it be?

I can't believe it's been 30 days since I started this blog. Time flies when you are having fun, as the saying goes. And overall, it really has been fun. I enjoy it much more knowing that others are seeing it as opposed to the first few days when no one was out there and I was talking to myself! So happy one-month anniversary to me!
Today started out...interesting. When I got up I was so focused on getting to my workout (I missed it after all!) I forgot to have my protein shake, which, after the all fruit day, is VERY necessary. I learned this the hard way during my first set of muscle rounds when I tried to do lunges and nearly passed out after the only the first two sets. And I mean the mini-sets, so 8 reps per leg and I was TOAST! Light headed, dizzy, nauseous, weak, all of it. AAAAHHHHH. So I pushed through (with much longer rest times than listed but I just literally couldn't go any quicker) and did half of the workout. I was supposed to do 3 rounds of quads and I did 1-1/2, then I was supposed to do 2 each of hams and calves and I did 1. It was all I could do to just get through that much, but because I had already started my workout, I couldn't go up and eat something and then exercise later because I didn't have the time. And I really wanted to get a good workout in after skipping those other days. So I guess it was probably a combination of not working out for 4 days and what I will now dub "Fruit Day Hangover". It sucked big time. I was really disappointed because the muscles weren't exhausted, it was my whole body, if that makes sense. I know it will to all of you. So Note to Self: Remember the protein first thing!! I'm sure I won't forget again after that experience. But I think I still got a halfway decent workout because now, 16 hrs later, I am feeling a little soreness in the legs so I must have gotten some muscle breakdown. Good deal.
The rest of the day was uneventful, on low fat so I that is always the easiest part of this program for me because I already pretty much do eat low fat as long as I cook for myself and don't eat out all the time. I get myself into trouble when I am lazy. Between that, emotional eating, eating past full, or just plain eating when I am not hungry is what got me to where I was in the first place. Not really the type of food itself, just the quantity and timing. So when I concentrate on it, these days are not that tough at all because I like most healthy food and I do already have whole grains, vegetables, and lean protein on hand.
So that's the story of today. I'll post my pics tomorrow because it is getting late but I do also want to just throw out there that due to popular demand (okay, like 2 people, but still) I am going to be doing a series of posts specifically on MS and my experiences with it as a female. I want to be careful not to tread on Nick's territory as he deserves every dollar he earns on that e-book because it is really a great program, but I think a little more info should be out there specifically regarding the "woman's perspective", without giving too much away. I also do not want to appear in any way as an expert on the subject. Although fitness is a long time interest of mine, this will only be my opinions and should not be substituted for medical or professional advice of any kind, of course. Okay, disclaimer over, I'll talk to you all soon!
Today's pics:

Day 29 - I hate falling off the horse & I need help!

A metaphorical horse, of course, because today I am back in the saddle! I'll be honest (because I know by now you expect this of me), Friday night through Saturday was not good. Potato Wedge Philosophy begins now (which can heretofore also be called Red Lobster Biscuit or Cheese Curl Binge Principle). It all started with giving blood on Thursday, like I talked about in an earlier post. I was not allowed to lift weights for 24 hours. Well that 24 hours turned into several days and then for some reason my resolve to eat well vanished along with my workout. Also because I wasn't feeling all that well but really I was not sick enough to even use that excuse. But really when I look back, I was conscious of not eating the right things before I took the first bite, making me not eat nearly as badly as I have in the past. Just the awareness of not wanting to see the results of that bad eating was enough to curb me somewhat. But not totally. I did so good Friday, we went out to dinner and I had seafood and one biscuit which was my treat for having almost no carbs all day, still within my limit. Then I did a youth activity at the church later on that night, and something just gave way. It was only a chicken finger and a cup of soda, so that wasn't that bad, after eating clean all day, but I just totally was unable to resist for some reason. Well, I was thirsty and there was no other choice but soda so that was a little out of my control, but the chicken? I wasn't even hungry. I don't know. I probably didn't go over my calories, but definitely went over my carbs. Then Saturday I did not feel like doing anything. No excuse, feelings really do not need to rule my life because they are not truthful to what I really need, but I did not get up and exercise as I should have, so there goes workout #2. I ate a good breakfast but when lunch came around I just imploded. Two Red Lobster biscuits, cheese curls, small kit kat, more cheese curls, two cookies with milk. Then calzone for dinner and I went to a party at my sisters and had all kinds of no good party food. It was bad. I don't know what came over me. But I got it out of my system thankfully and started anew on Sunday. However, I still did not do my cardio I was supposed to do. I just didn't get up early enough and then put it off all day. But it was my all-protein day and I ate exactly what I was supposed to, despite making junk food for all of our family and friends visiting who were watching the football games all day. I don't know how it was so much easier, maybe because I had just had junk and didn't like the feeling of eating it or it was just a craving that my body needed to give in to and then get over, I don't know, but I was glad to be sticking to it. Now today is a rest day so I don't have to feel guilty about not exercising, I am looking forward to doing it tomorrow better than ever, and it is all fruit day which I am doing fabulous with! By the end of the day I will be needing some protein I am sure but I can do this!!
So here's the weirdest part...I think part of my binge was because I had weighed myself mid-week and had not lost any, maybe even gained a half a pound, and I was disheartened after last week only losing a half. But when I weighed myself today for my weekly check-in, I am down by 2 pounds!! So how does that work? I talked to Andrew about this earlier and he said it takes 2-3 days for excess calories to show up on the scale so maybe that's it but I don't know if I buy that. I mean, it's already in my body, right, shouldn't it show up somewhere? I don't know, but hopefully it won't show up later on in the week because I am happy now and ready to keep up working that's for sure. Results really make you motivated.
So here's where I need help:
On the unmotivating side, I bought a new scale that does BF% and I hate it. Hate it hate it hate it hate it. It says I have 33% BF!! How is that? The weight is 2 lbs more than my other scale as well. Did I mention I hate this thing. I am taking it back, seriously. I may need to lose BF but 33%? That is ridiculous. I think it must be because it does BIA for the lower body and that's where I carry all my weight so it is doing what would be the BF% if someone had that amount of fat all over, but my upper body is no where near that! Also, I did that thing on the internet that you put some measurements in and it calculates you BF based on that, and it was around 30% as well. WHAT IS GOING ON HERE? I'm just being realistic - I KNOW I am not over 30% BF, more like somewhere in the low 20s I hope. But now I am so confused. This is really bothering me - does anyone have any advice on this? I used to use an Omron at the gym and I want to find another of those because that does upper body and it was much easier to take years ago when I used that. When I was at my lowest, I had my trainer test me with calipers (4 sites I think) and that's when I was down to 17%. I know just seeing a change from one number to another will be good because it shows a loss of fat not muscle, but I really would like something more accurate that possibly 10% off, come on! I have calipers but I just can't get consistent readings doing it myself. They are just all over every time I use them and it is not useful info. So please help me with this I really want to get it resolved in time to post my stats next Sunday for Adam's Shredder Council update.
In the mean time, here are my updated measurements and comparison pics. I have been taking pics the other days I didn't post them, but here's the newest ones, I can't figure out how to change the order of posts to go back and put in the older pics. Comment away!

Weight: 157 lbs (loss of 2# this week, 9# overall)
Bicep: 11.5" (loss of .5" this week, 1" overall)
Chest: 35" (loss of .5" this week, 1.5" overall)
Waist: 29.25" (loss of .25" this week, 1.75" overall)
Stomach: 32.75" (loss of .0" this week, 1.75" overall)
Hips: 39.25" (loss of .0" this week, 1.75" overall)
Butt: 42" (loss of .25" this week, 1.5" overall)
Thigh: 25.5" (loss of .5" this week, 2" overall
Total inches lost: 11.25"

P.S. Now my Day 1 pics crack me up because I look so pissed in them! Like mug shots, really. Glad I am happier and able to stand up straight now!! However, I am losing my tan drastically :( ha ha ha

30 days and counting...

I just updated my goals posted at the top of this blog and I realized that I only have 30 days until the end of Mission One. How exciting! I can't wait to see what I can do when I have a good long stretch of concentrated effort behind me. However, that is coupled with the announcement that, due to sickness and time constraints, I will not be working out today. I know I said that I would get it in but I am feeling worse as the day goes on, I don't want to push myself too hard and make it worse, and I already have two commitments I made where I have to be from 5:30 to 10:30 tonight so I would have very little time as well. Mostly the first two. Anyway, I'll have more to report tomorrow.

Day 24 - Just pics

Seeing if I can put these up and move the post to the right day since blogger wasn't cooperating earlier in the week...

Day 26 - I'm blaming the Shredder Council

Well, certain members anyway, YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE because I am starting to GET SICK!!! It's like a different kind of computer virus - one transferable to people!! Just kidding, I still love you guys, but what's up with that? Today I have a sore throat and am starting to feel blah so I can feel it coming on. I took extra Vitamin C today and I think I'm going to get some Zinc later but I will be ticked if it takes full hold! Anyway, whine session over. Yesterday was my rest day but I haven't been able to do my workout today because I gave blood and you aren't supposed to do any heavy lifting for 24 hrs so I have to get my workout in after 4:30p today. Which is a challenge, especially on a Friday, but I'll work it out somehow. I just hope I won't be feeling even worse by then and unable to do it. Nope, delete that thought delete delete I will be feeling GREAT by then! :)
In other news, it seems I have inspired Adam to make a video of his own about us and that was pretty cool, ha ha I'm such a "character". Really, Adam, you meant weird it's okay you can say it, I get that all the time. I am a nut. It doesn't really show on this blog because I can edit it but in real life people just don't know what to do about me most of the time. That's, okay, I like being unique! :) So thanks for the video, it was cool, and I'll be doing more of my own because I really liked it and I hope it will get other shredders to do the same so we can get to know each other better.

So when I looked at the video again, here are some fun facts I saw (did anyone pick up on these things?):
1) My dog Jedi makes a guest appearance at the top of the couch. He was in it more in the unedited version but had to be cut out. He'll be in the next one. (and hopefully his face this time)
2) Behind me (slightly to the left) is a huge Transformers poster (one of two). If you don't know what that is, you probably don't recognize it, but my husband is a huge TF nerd and we have that stuff all over the living room. He lives in the 80s I swear.
3) Behind me to the right (through the wall opening into the other room) is a Fathead of a NASCAR car - Bobby Labonte to be exact - also my husband's. It's yellow and light blue and the room is green and mauve. Does not match anything in any way. This makes me realize I let him decorate entirely too much.
4) I talk with my hands a lot. You can't see all of it because of the camera angle but I do and it's funny I think. My family is Italian so that's where that is from (shout out to the Italians, Massi!).
5) I say "you know" entirely too much. I didn't know this until I heard myself so I guess I do this in everyday conversations as well or it would not have happened. I didn't count how many times but it was, you know, a lot :) Need to break that habit.
6) That is the last time I will be wearing that red sweater. That day Jedi jumped on me and got his nail caught in it and ripped a hole in the sleeve. So it will have to live on in cyberspace because it has been retired.

So just thought I would share that because I don't have a lot else to say today since I am feeling under the weather and wanted to cheer myself up by being funny. I crack myself up.
See, I am weird!

Any additions?

Below is a post I am going to keep somewhere on this blog with the accumulation of our interesting phrases we have been using on the blogs that others might not understand. Who has more material to add from the group shred?

Shredder Council Terminology

"I'd rather do butt lifts"
Origins: Tuesday, October 30, 2007 - Suzette's blog post
...I did get my workout in tonight which was a cardio only day, plus I added some "butt lifts." ...
Then the following comments were made:
Christy said...
...Have fun trick or treating with the kids. It's got to be more fun than "butt lifts." lol
Suzette said...
will have to put up some pics of the kids in their costumes...even though this is a "weight loss" blog. actually i would rather do butt lifts. lol.
Christy said...
Okay, why is the phrase, "I'd rather do butt lifts?" so damn funny to me. You totally just coined a new catch phrase. I'm just going to start using that like it's a regular saying. When somebody asks me to do something I don't want to do like what do you think of going to so and so's lame ass party. I'll be all, "Please, I'd rather do butt lifts."

The Potato Wedge Principle (Philosophy)
Origins: Tuesday, November 6, 2007 - Comments posted re: Joni's blog post
Christy said...
Joni, your travel blogs are very inspirational to me. It would be easy to not write about KFC or the potato wedges. Just omit it and pretend like everything is perfect, but writing about it and as they say, "keeping it real," is SO MUCH BETTER...And writing about how you are making choices and adapting and learning and growing, that's stuff I think many people (like me and my sister) can relate to on ANY plan.
Joni said...
Christy - ha ha ha I call it "the potato wedge philosophy" - actually I just made that up, but I believe that if people are going to be watching your progress you have to answer to everything that goes on during your journey and if you don't talk about the setbacks you lose your credibility. I definitely don't want to do that. For me, I think people need to know that you can have weak moments and then just get right back into it and not lose your momentum or hurt your progress...I wouldn't want to be acting like it was all easy when someone is looking in from the outside.

Fruit Day Hangover
Origins: Tuesday, November 13, 2007 - Joni's blog post
When I got up I was so focused on getting to my workout, I forgot to have my protein shake, which, after the all fruit day, is VERY necessary. I learned this the hard way during my first set of muscle rounds when I tried to do lunges and nearly passed out after the only the first two sets. And I mean the mini-sets, so 8 reps per leg and I was TOAST! Light headed, dizzy, nauseous, weak, all of it. AAAAHHHHH.

Day 25 - The end of the beginning!

Well it is morning here for me on Day 25 of 100 (1/4 of the way through!) and day 14 of the group shred. I thought I would do a quick update on yesterday and share a little about the shred, as it comes to a close. Yesterday I did antagonistic jump sets and fat loss circuit training in line with my second round of MS. I have been able to do the workouts pretty easy in this Level 1 version of the plan so I know that I'll be ready to go to the full program when Mission Two comes along because I am not pushing myself as hard as I could go. Part of that is my fault, because I could do more weight but I have just been testing the waters a little to see what each workout is like before I ramp it up seriously. When I looked at my goals at the top of the page, I have not reached all of them, but you know, I don't really care becuase I am working toward them and I have achieved a lot more intangible results that I could not have hoped for so overall I can't be disappointed. However, I haven't lost any weight in the past few days so maybe I should start working harder. I feel guilty because I know some of you out there are really going all out and I just have kind of been saving a little back to make it through the long haul. I guess that's okay. I love the group shred but at the same time I have my eye on the larger goal of getting through 100 days so I don't want to burn out. Anyway, still doing low carb, I have been good with that but I felt like I had a lot of fat yesterday. I know that I can have some but I don't want to go over calories so I can't have too many days like that. And I was craving something sweet in the evening so I made myself some sugar-free jello and added protein powder to it so it would have some nutritional value. It tasted great! I highly recommend it if you need a low carb dessert because there isn't much out there!
Today is a rest day and I am glad for it because my neck has been hurting for about 4 days now and I am not sure why but exercising definitely aggravates it so hopefully with a day off I can get over it. So not much going on today, technically my pics are a day ahead so I already took my day 14 picture so even if I did have a workout today it wouldn't count toward the shred. But I wish everyone out there good luck today, I'll be checking all the blogs to see the results, but I know this is only the beginning for most of us, I am so excited for the future! But I did want to post my comments that I put on Adam's blog here just in case someone who's not on the shred would be interested in it. Here's what I said:
Wow what to say about my experience so far...??? For me, it is actually hard to describe because I have struggled so much in this area and this shred has been, to be honest, pretty easy comparatively. I used to have such a mental battle ALL THE TIME, and I guess since so many are watching and counting on us to succeed, I just don't fight that battle as much, I just do what I know I need to do. Not that there aren't tough times, but before I just felt so stressed and guilty and down all the time and during these 14 days I have felt excited and uplifted. And when you are doing what you committed to do, you don't have the guilt because you are doing the right thing! And you think less about it because you aren't analyzing decisions you made or didn't make over and over again. Like I said, hard to explain, but the biggest change I see in myself is mental and I think that's the hardest battle we all fight. If we didn't have a mental struggle going on inside of us, we wouldn't have let ourselves go physically in the first place. We would eat what we know is healthy and exercise regularly like we all know we are supposed to do to just be a healthy person. Doing this together in a group is so much better than doing it alone. I mean, this has been proven because even if you look at a program like Weight Watchers, the people who go to meetings are MUCH more likely to succeed than those who don't but it's tough to put yourself out there in the beginning and admit you are out of control. And then to take the pictures and prove where you are starting from. That was my first obstacle. But after the decision to do it was made, it got easier all the time and I am so glad I did it because I can see such a difference that I wouldn't have given myself credit for. And really, although the first smile was a little forced, the ones after that did get bigger and bigger like you said because I really am happy to be doing what I am doing and I am proud of myself. People don't usually give themselves enough credit, like I think it was Mike was saying, we never acknowledge our own success in a healthy way, and I agree. I am usually the first one to wave off encouragement because I don't want to seem like I am vain but I really am proud of my accomplishment so far and I am looking forward to the next phase of this journey so I can keep giving myself reasons to be happy. So anyway, the best experience that I take away, and that I can tell other potential shredders, is to take the chance on yourself because you will learn that you can overcome the battle in your mind, stop feeling guilty, have the chance to do it alongside others who are going through the exact same things, and learn to love yourself and the journey. And that all happens in a very short period of time, you won't even believe how fast you can turn it around if you really commit!
Here's my Day 25 pics, I am putting my Day 24 in a separate post.
PS Check out my pic on Adam's blog, it's a little different than the one here!

Day 23 - Attempt at something new...

Day 13 of MS, Day 12 of Group Shred
So here is a video that I hope you all can see and hear. I thought it would be fun to try out so let me know if it works. It is about 12min long and not very good quality but oh well. It's also chopped up because I was trying to get everything in and I kept stopping and re-recording, so it's the best I could do. Maybe I'll get better at it but for now we'll see. Anyway, hope you can see it and enjoy it. See you soon!
Okay damn I can't see it can anyone else? I guess I'll put it on youtube...okay, youtube rejected me...it won't let anything over 10 min. This has been a learning experience for sure. I am going to cut it down or else do two smaller ones, not sure yet...to be continued...
Okay, I got it down under 10 minutes, it's uploading now so hopefully you'll be able to see it soon.

And here are today's pics:

Day 22 - Results show

It's day 12 of MS (end of the first round), 11 of the shred - can't believe the group shred is almost over. I am so excited about the things Adam has in store for us in the future, though, because this experience has really been indescribable and I want others to have the chance to participate in it, as well as to continue in it myself. I still have not gotten around to everyone else's blog since I got back, but I'm sure they all feel the same because we have really gotten a great bond between us in such a short period of time.
So today is the last day of round 1, a rest day, and one where I am allowed a reward meal. I was conflicted about this earlier when I looked at my daily sheet because I still wasn't feeling that great about Saturday's food intake and wondered if I should just count that as my reward meal and skip it today. Then I did my weigh and measure and was even more hesitant to have the reward meal. But then I decided to look up and get an idea just how bad that food I ate that day was, just a ball park, so I know the extent of the damage, and you know what? It really wasn't that bad. Again with the blowing things up in your mind. It kind of goes along with what Sammy and I had talked about a while back when we cheat and then feel like the whole day is blown so we just go buck wild and give up on that day. If we were to stop at that one thing, the day could really be saved. And since I had been good overall, I think that really saved me on Saturday because once I looked up the fat content of the things I was feeling guilty about, the total for the day was still only about 40g of fat and I am supposed to stay under 30 but really how bad is that in the grand scheme of things? Not that bad. So I have let that whole scenario go and I will have my reward meal tonight but I'm not sure what it will be yet. Probably not even something that crazy because I don't have anything I'm really craving and I have not been 100% the rest of the time so I do want to make up for that a little. Plus it's Monday and I have my meeting tonight so it's not like we can go out to dinner or anything. I wish I could save up my reward meal for later but I don't want to mess with the nutrient rotation and the meal is put specifically in this place on this day for a reason.
So anyway, here are the measurements for today. I am disappointed because I did not lose weight (maybe 1/2 a pound) but I think that I lost fat because my measurements are down a little so that is what I am hoping. I have not tested my BF because my meter is extremely inconsistant so I'll just have to hope. Here we go:

Weight: 159 (loss of .5 lbs this week, 7 lbs overall) - this is a maybe, my scale is not digital so I can't be sure but I'm going with it

Bicep: 11.75" (loss of 0" this week, .25" overall) actually I realized today that duh I have two arms so my overall total is .5"
Chest: 35.5" (loss of 0" this week, 1" overall)
Waist: 29.5" (loss of .5" this week, 1.5" overall)
Stomach: 32.75" (loss of .25" this week, 1.75" overall)
Hips: 39.25" (loss of .25" this week, 1.75" overall)
Butt: 42.25" (loss of .25" this week, 1.25" overall)
Thigh: 25.75" (loss of .25" this week, .75" overall) and again I have two legs so overall total is really 1.5"

This brings my overall loss total to 9.25" and 7 lbs.
I was feeling a little disappointed at my stats but looking at them now actually it's not bad, I am pretty hard on myself. I guess the fact that I was down 3 lbs after fruit day and then went back up upset me a little but for heaven's sake I only ate fruit all day of course I'm going drop a lot of weight for that one day. And now when I just did my pics I still feel pretty good abou tmy progress. I need to ease up on myself geez. Anyway, I have got to go but I will be on everyone else's blog later on today to check up. See ya!

Comparison pics for my first three weeks:

Day 21 - Getting back in the groove

Well yesterday was day 11 of MS, 10 of the shred, and it was kind of strange. I didn't set my alarm becuase I wanted to catch up on some sleep but I still woke up at 8am and I felt pretty good so I just got up. For some reason I thought that it was a rest day so I plan to exercise right away, and just did some computer work, etc until Jeff got up so I could see what his plans were for the day. He wanted waffles and bacon for breakfast so I made that and ate a waffle with one piece of bacon. I'm not real sure what I was thinking at this point, obviously not really thinking at all, I was just concerned with spending some time at home with him after being away and I guess I was just tired of eggs but in reality it wasn't that bad, only 5g of fat or so. But I just totally blanked or something, it was strange. Anyway, I went to church and when I got home figured I would check my MS notes to see what I had coming up and then realized that I was supposed to do both HIIT and supersets. Oops. So I decided I would do it later on in the day, mid afternoon or something. I had turkey chili and pineapple for lunch and then spent some time updating this blog and so forth. Around 3 Jeff asked me if I was going to spend some time with him watching football so I stopped typing and went to watch the games. The Colts played - and lost :), don't even get me started - at 4 so by the time that game was over I had eaten anther bowl of chili and some more pineapple for dinner and it was around 7:30. Then I realized that I had to do some business calls so I got my contacts together and did that until 9. So here it is, 9pm and I still had not done my workout. I was beginning to worry because I felt like I had really messed up with the potato wedges the night before and the food today, and now I had not exercised, letting all kinds of negative thoughts go through my head. So I just finally turned that voice in my head off and said, hey, I have to get my workout in and I can make up for the other things in the next round. No need to mess up further. So at 9:30 or so there I was, in the basement, doing my workout. I was so so so glad I did it, although somehow I hurt my neck - have no idea how that happened. But I did all the weight I was supposed to do and the HIIT. I will say that the supersets were pretty tough heart rate wise. What I mean is, I felt like I was doing cardio more so than with any of the other types of training and I was just lifting weights. I guess it was a combination of the fact that it was the end of the day so I didn't have a full tank anyway, plus the supersets were one right after another, making it be more like cardio. So when it came time for the HIIT, that was really pushing myself, but I got it done and felt much better. Exercise makes such a difference. And when I really think about it, the food wasn't really bad because like I said the waffle was only about 5g of fat, and the chili was homemade turkey with beans and veggies so it really didn't have much fat at all. I guess I felt worse about the carb content than anything but I was still under in fat and calories so not that big of a deal I think. I really can make things bigger in my head than they are for real. It is not good. I guess we all do that. Anyway, results are in my next post for this morning so I'll get on to that....
Here's the pics from today: