Changes, Frustrations, and trying to find my way

Alot has happened since I last wrote in my blog. My company that I was working for decided to lay off half its work force and well, I was on the list. So now I am unemployed and working diligently to try and stay afloat, find a new source of income, and work on my fitness...and quite frankly I'm about ready to scream.

My long-time boyfriend is slow to start this inspection company that's been in the works for awhile. We were going for a business loan but we were denied the day before I lost my job. So now we're both staring at each other and he won't look for other work and quite frankly I'm about ready to knock him out as well.

All this stress and I'm wondering how do I stay focused in this journey when creditors are knocking on my door, calling my phone, wondering why they aren't getting paid. On top of that, the week after I lost my job the puppy I purchased months before was flown in so now I'm dealing with a new puppy on top of all of this.

Really, it's enough to make me want to get in my car and drive and drive and drive and drive.

Shred Routine - continues. Thoughts, tired, wondering what's up

It was a good week last week. Finally got the bowflex together and started using it. It is different than the cable machines at the gym...but it does a decent job. I drank my shake every single morning---the one morning that I didn't----I got heartburn! Seriously, I had to take anti-acids.

I went up to Rochester this weekend into yesterday. I had my cheat day but honestly, I could have cared less. There's been a change in me for sure. I used to like food...get excited about a good meal. Now...I don't much care. It's like another thing to think about. I don't care if I have a sweet or don't. I don't care if I eat the best food ever or not. I hate anything greasy, fattening, or unhealthy...which is awesome I guess in one aspect and kind of crappy in another. I'm sure I'll get cravings at some point...but if not than oh well.

I have also been SO TIRED for the last week. I think it was from getting back into my routine but I can literally sleep for hours---at any point during the day.

I hope my pre-workout supplement comes soon! GNC has my Ab Cuts pre-work in back-order for two weeks now. I really need that to propel me forward!

Shred routine program - Day 1

I got my shit together and finally sat down to write out a legitimate exercise program along with diet. I was taught how to do this and kind of slacked. It's hard to be your own personal trainer.

How many of you know what a shred routine is? Or what you have to do in the gym and in your kitchen in order to lose weight without depleting your nutrition or over-training? According to the ACSM textbook it's something like this:

There's a few rules of weight loss (easy to follow-hard to follow through)

1. Caloric intake descrease. You need to find your maintenance calorie intake and deplete it by 250-500 calories per day.

2. There's a pie chart that shows what ratios of carbohydrates to fats to proteins you should consume everyday. I can't remember the fat/protein ratio. The carbohydrate ratio is something like 60%. I found my text book in a box from moving the other day. I'll post it once I look it up.

3. High reps-low weight-increased cardio. High weights, low reps, won't do much good for shredding weight. There's too much rest in between sets. You need to get your heart rate a consistent beat (your target heart rate) and keep it there for a length of time

4. You don't start burning fat until after 30mins of THR. Your body has different metabolic levels. Depending on which stage it's in, it uses carbohydrates. proteins, and fat differently. Your body burns carbs/sugars first, uses fat once it's depleted it's carb stores, and uses protein to repair itself up to 30 mins post-workout. You'll want to:

• Drink a pre-workout supplement that has limited sugar, but increases your metabolism. If you workout in the morning all you need is a cup of coffee/pre-workout before you workout --- eat breakfast after. - UNLESS your doing a long intensity workout which means you'll want to have some carbs stored so you can maintain stamina. You'll want to consume carbs a few hours before your workout which makes morning sessions hard.
• Drink a post-workout (milk or something similar will do the trick to) with a simple sugar. This will help bring your blood sugar backup.
• Drink a protein shake or a high protein meal 30 mins after your workout. I used to shower and get dressed after I drank my pick me up before I ate breakfast. This would give enough time.

5. You'll want to do at least 5 days a week of cardio. Interval training works great.

So, my session goes something like this:

Exercise days - Mon - Fri:

Monday: Session starts at 5:30am ET. - .5hr on Treadmill, .5-1hr on bowflex and coreball
Tuesday: Session starts at 6:00am ET. - .45min on Treadmill, .15hr on coreball
Wednesday: Session starts at 5:30am ET - .5hr on Treadmill, .5-1hr on bowlfex and coreball
Thursday: Session starts at 6:00am ET - 45min on Treadmill, .15hr on coreball
Friday: Session starts at 5:30am ET - .5hr on Treadmill, .5-1hr on bowflex and coreball.

Saturday/Sunday off.

I give myself 5 days of cardio but weight train in between and two days off.

On Saturday, I'll give myself a fun day.

Dessert days are Wednesday and Saturday.


Diet...I hate that word so "Healthy living eating style is as follows"

      Breakfast: go lean shake
      Snack - low calorie/carbs okay - like oatmeal, etc.
      Lunch: go lean shake
      Snack - low calorie/high protein/healthy fat/fiber - keep me full and focused through the
      afternoon doldrums (cheese, apples and almond butter, etc.)
      Dinner: whatever we're making. try to keep proportions in check - fit dish works great.
      After dinner: depending on how I feel, most likely strawberries in milk.


I have started the diet portion of this today. tonight we're putting together the bowflex so hopefully I can start my session tomorrow.

I'm going to be writing a helluva lot more to get myself through this.

Start date: 6/12/2013
Until date: 7/27/2013
Goal: 20lbs lost - drop one size comfortably.

After I meet this challenge, I'll decide my next steps. Small pieces at a time.

Two shakes a day keeps the doctors away

Starting tomorrow for the next two months I'm going to do two shakes a day. Morning breakfast, snack, shake for lunch, snack, dinner. I'm going on vacation in 2 months and I'd like to be able to drop around 15 more pounds before I go.

I'm running 1-2 miles every other day and working out. This combination is definitely a shedding routine.

I'm also going to renew my personal training certification (I got to take more continuing ed classes, which I actually want to do.)

I took that certification for a reason and I'm going to use it.

It's only a matter of time before I kiss this cubicle goodbye.

My success....where am I today with it all?

Hey everyone, happy Monday! 

I was looking at my google analytics for my GNC blog and I'm almost up to 10,000 views. Thanks for everyone who's been following my weight loss journey. Not just with the GNC total lean which is where this all started but also just through my ups and downs and giving the motivation to continue on. So, thanks!


Where am I today with my progress? "GOD has she LOST any WEIGHT?!"

The answer is, yes. I lost about 15 lbs when I included the shake into my life. For all of you who are just stopping in, I went through a period when I took a break. Stresses of purchasing a house, moving, etc. added a few of those lbs back on me. I've since then decided to regroup in my new home and move forward. Some of the things I noticed that are holding me back are:

1. Portion size. For everything NOT in a shake, portions although may look small on a plate are really not that small. I purchased a dish to take with me to work. It's perfectly portioned and can refrigerate your food through an ice pouch top. It's great...accept I left it in my car unwashed by accident and at a certain point...we don't wash things anymore. So, I'll be throwing that one out and purchasing a FEW more. I'm going to start bringing my lunch in it again AND eating my dinners from them. That will help the cause. Also, dessert items will only be available certain days of the week. I'm thinking Wednesday and Saturday.

2. Time to get to the gym. ARGH! There's nothing more annoying than NOT being able to get to the gym. The WORST thing is early in the morning. I got great advice from someone else's review on this pre-workout supplement shake I'm going to be purchasing as well called "Ab cuts". Anyway, the advice was "Don't make any decisions when you first get up. make it your goal to drink coffee or pre-workout. If you make it your goal to workout first thing in the morning your automatic thought is "screw that I'm going back to bed." BUT your body LOVES getting its morning fix. Once you got it revved up and ready to go, it's not going to want to go back to bed and you can convince yourself to go and hit the gym

In this case, I'm hitting my basement! One of the great features of my new place is the finished basement. I love it. I can go ahead and workout downstairs. I've purchased an investment of health in the form of a Bowflex Xtreme 2 SE. It's on its way to my house right now. I can't wait!

I also purchased an exercise ball and treadmill. Some free weights, a bench, and another cardio machine and I will have a complete home gym.

So, I continue on in the never-ending journey. I hope that these tools, not miracles, will get me to where I want to go...and quickly it's almost swim suit time.

Focused! Determined! I got this!

Hey everyone! I see the STATs haven't gone down during my recess away from my GNC Total Lean journey. I'm doing GREAT!

I finally closed on that house and moved in for the most part. First mortgage payment is coming up soon...which oddly I'm excited about (who is excited to pay a bill, I mean come on!) but, I anticipate that will slowly fade!

I've since then invested in a Bowflex Xtreme 2, which should be arriving any day now and I purchased a treadmill a few weeks ago. I'm cancelling my gym membership and setting up a gym in my own home. The basement is completely finished which makes it super nice to work out in. I like going to gyms...but they take away important time from my life when it's a half hour each way.

My new routine will be get up in the morning, go downstairs, workout for an hour, shower in my own house (ahhh!) drink the shake, and head out to work.

I've been doing this with the treadmill and it's nice to not have to get dressed in a tiny changing room or share a shower with anyone. Once my Bowflex comes it will be nice to have weights to work with again.

The shake has been working gloriously for me. I took a break for a while which helped me get over my hump. Since I've started my routine, drinking the shake again, and eating as clean as possible, I've gone down approx an inch and dropped 10 or so pounds.

It's so great to see the fruits of your labor. I'm losing weight, gaining confidence, and doing it all in a home I worked so hard for.

I'm focused, determined, and I got this!

CLAs ---- Do they help you lose weight?

Maybe you've seen it as part of GNC's total lean package? CLA - aka Conjugated Linoleic Acid. The supplement boasts that it will help you build lean body mass, enhance weight loss and physique and supplement for your diet.

CLA is basically the fat that you get when you eat red meat. Here is a definition:

Conjugated linoleic acid  is a naturally occurring trans fatty acid made from omega-6 essential fatty acids in the rumens or guts of pastured ruminants such as cows, goats, and sheep. If you're hearing warning bells over the phrase "trans fatty acid," it's because trans fatty acids have recently received a lot of negative attention from health experts. However, the general consensus is that man-made trans fatty acids may not be healthy for humans. CLA, however, is a naturally occurring trans fatty acid, and is exempted from the labeling requirement because it is not considered to be harmful.

Naturally present in dairy and beef, CLA consists of subcomponents called isomers. Different isomers have been isolated in animal research as having various health benefits. For example, the isomer most prevalent in dairy products has potential anti-carcinogenic benefits, while the one most prevalent in pastured beef is potentially effective in regulation of body fat. Some research suggests other CLA isomers could have other health benefits such as protecting the heart, preventing thickening of arteries, preventing cancer, particularly breast cancer, and helping to regulate the immune system. CLA is not an essential fatty acid, so technically we don't have to have CLA in our diets in order to be healthy. However, CLA has many potential health benefits which make it a welcome addition to a diet designed to nourish and protect. CLA is unique among foods with possible anti-cancer activity because it is derived from animal products, and seems to be effective in amounts humans typically get from eating food. Unlike other fatty acids, the human body cannot make CLA. We must rely on animal and dairy products for our intake of this nutrient. Changes in food processing, farming and the modern diet have contributed to an 80% reduction in the amount of CLA we take in. Because of the reduced consumption of red meat and dairy products, many of us do not have helpful quantities of CLA in our diets. Research by the University of Wisconsin shows that the best source of CLA is dairy and meat products from pastured cows, because they produce up to 500% more CLA than cows fed typical confinement rations. Despite efforts to find ways to artificially raise CLA levels, the only thing found to significantly raise CLA was fresh grass. This causes us to point out that, yes, Organic Valley farmers improve the quality of life for their cows and for you by employing pasturing practices that meet and exceed the National Organic Program Standards.

So I've recently came into taking it. I started a few days ago. I don't see immediate results...but as I said I just started taking it a few days ago. I do notice I'm not starving or thinking about food as much which is great. Although I've been very stressed over the course of the past few days, I'm not heart pounding twitching. (I'm trying to close on a house---it's got me on the edge, man!)

I hope this does assist me in my journey. Ran out of shake a few days ago. Back to Rite Aid! Damn...it's not "Gold Card" week. Oh well made 20% discount for year 2013 through wellness program so that's a plus :)

Day: 200 something - Marching on

Well, in case you all didn't know, I'm starting over this month. I went off the deep end for two months and I need to get myself back to business.

Today I was pretty good w/my eating:

Breakfast consisted of:
Shake w/ 3 strawberries, a tablespoon of nutella, 1 % milk, and coffee.

I did steal one of my daughter's french toast sticks because I was still hungry. One step at a time.

Snack:
Fiberone Brownie

Lunch:
Lean Cuisine Swedish Meatballs
Blue berry low fat yogurt
Coffee

Snack:
Clifbar protein bar - chocolate mint.


Drinking water all day. Laying off anything with sugar...or flavoring. I've been drinking a lot of coffee to kill any hunger pangs. It works great as a defer except man, I got to pee.

Did 30 mins at the gym yesterday. I was going to go tonight but technically I have Wednesday written down as my "break day". So I'm going tomorrow morning. I'll get there around quarter to seven and do an hour and a half workout. 30 mins cardio + hour of weight training.


"Whoo-hoo! What an awesome party!" - Jim Jefferies

2013: Picking up where I left off

Holy smokes, hard to believe it has been almost 2 months since I last updated this.It's been quite the whirlwind of activity going on and I've been more stressed than I have in a long time! So here we go, I'm going to Dear Diary all of you:

From Christmas until the end of the first week of January, I had the flu. Chills, fever, feelings of death...you know the whole 9 yards.

This was followed by the purchase of a new home. I'm still in the process with a commitment now from the bank with a few conditions to be met. Which means waiting on my friends from the IRS to follow through.

Going through that process I'm sure brought on what happened next which was some STRANGE tonsil thing that put me through straight agony for 10 days, taking me out of work for 5. 3 doctors visits and 1000 dollars later, I can swallow again. No clue what it was.

Meanwhile all of this has been taking me out of the gym and awake from my shake. But  NO MORE. I started drinking the shake again on the regular last week, supplementing with oatmeal when I get bored (I know what a trade off).

So here we go again.

Goal: 10 lbs by March 31st.