SUCCESS!

Today was weigh in and I did not expect to lose much because, whether I've admitted it or not, I have pretty much allowed treats back into my diet.  I shouldn't because those calories spent on chocolate would be so much better for my body if acquired by eating vegetables!... something I NEED to start eating more of.  Anyway, despite my expectations, I lost... drum roll... 2.4 lbs!  I give full credit to weight lifting and boosting my metabolism by lowering my body fat.  I think it is totally true that the more muscle you have, the more your body is burning, even when sitting around doing nothing!  Anyway, here are the rest of my stats for the day:

BMI - down .1

% body fat - down .2

Weight loss - 2.4 lbs

waist - down .5

hips - down .5

thighs - down .25

arms - still the same as when I started this diet months ago!  Why is that?

EXERCISE:

45 minutes triple fit (interval) class

20 minutes speed walking on treadmill

5 minutes leg weights

DIET:

ZONE protein bar - 200

(I will report the rest of my eating at the end of the day)

I HOPE EVERYONE ELSE HAD A GOOD WEIGH-IN FRIDAY!  KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!

Wednesday's Report

My day was okay.  I fell into old habit and ate after 8:00.  Now I remember why it is so important, because I NEVER make good choices after 8:00!  I would have been GREAT if I would have distracted myself with something or gone to bed (early).

DIET:

protein shake (soy milk, banana, berries, protein powder) - 300

ZONE protein bar - 200

1/2 peanut and honey sandwich - 250

turkey burger - 150

whole wheat bun - 180

cheese - 60

mayo and ketchup - 60

chips - 200

joe joe's - 200

coconut almond clusters - 210

milk - 220

 TOTAL = 2030

EXERCISE:

1 hour of plyometrics

I never reported for yesterday.  It was pretty good.  I ended below 2000, which lately, is good for me.  I DID do some cardio on Monday night, so that was good.  Yesterday I did 4 miles on the treadmill (running 3 of it).  I also did 30 minutes of a Zumba class and biked for about 15 minutes.  

Monday's Bleak Report

My weekend was not the greatest. My dinner date on Friday kind of flowed over through the weekend. Today started out okay, but then my kids convinced me to make chocolate chip cookies (they are both out of school today). That kind of killed the numbers. My body needs 2300 calories to maintain my weight and I have been dangerously close to that number for the past FOUR days. So, I have to hit it HARD for the next three days if I want to lose anything (I'll be happy if it is .25 lbs! I just need gradual progress)

DIET:
banana - 150
Go Lean cereal - 200
yogurt - 120
milk - 40
sugar free chocolate treats - 150
graham crackers - 150
milk - 220
chocolate chip cookies - 500
Cafe Rio style pork - 350?
black beans - 130?
cilantro sauce - 130?
tortilla chips - 100
TOTAL: 2240

EXERCISE:
20-minute abs class
hour-long weights class

I was dragging today and didn't have it in me to do any cardio, so I'm going to try to do some tonight at home.

Friday Weigh In

THE BIG DAY!  Today was weigh in and I am actually happy to report that I lost .7 lbs (happy after Kolby's pep talk!)  The thing I am MOST happy about is losing .5% of body fat which means that I have officially met my goal for getting under 17%!  I have also lost 1/2 inch off my hips and a 1/4 inch off my thigh.  It is crazy how SLOW BMI takes to get down.  My first BMI test was on Sept 22 and it has taken me almost two months to get it to drop 1.0 point.  So, overall I am happy.  Kolby keeps reminding me that I need to stop obsessing over a "number" that I want to reach, weight-wise, because my body is different now than it was 8 years ago - I'm older, I've had two kids, I am actually MORE active now than I was back then, so my % of body fat is much different.  Regardless, although I am CLOSE to where I want to be, I am going to keep plugging along to see if I can lose a few more pounds.  

I should mention also that Kolby has dropped two pounds in the last couple weeks (he weighed after doing plyometrics and I think he sweated about a gallon of water, so I don't know if that affected it at all).  He is going to come into the gym this month to do weigh on a REAL scale and test his BMI and Body Fat.  

So, here is my  report for the day!  

DIET:

banana - 150

graham cracker - 60

Go Lean Cereal - 200

Milk - 40

Yogurt - 120

two bites of kids sloppy joe sandwiches - 60 

strawberries - 15

orange juice - 110

ZONE protein bar - 200

coconut shrimp - 400?

bread - 100

Caesar side salad - 600

sirloin medley - 500?

Diet Coke - 0 

TOTAL - 2555 (that's what I get for EATING OUT!)  

EXERCISE:

45 minutes of speed walking (3 miles)

15 minutes abs

I forgot how GREAT speed walking is.  I used to do it a lot because I heard that it "elongates" the muscles rather than bulks them up like running does.  I won't be surprised if my butt is a little sore tomorrow.  I raised the incline which helps get the heart rate up.  I'm going to try to do this maybe once a week.  I felt great afterward!

Thursday Report (and a funny story)

Good day today.  Here's the low down:

DIET:

yogurt - 120

go lean cereal - 200

milk - 40

ZONE protein bar - 200

battered fish - 175

tarter sauce - 75

2 slices of trader joe pizza - 200

two Joe Joe's - 130

Stir Fry with:

- wild grain rice - 150

- Broccoli - 30?

- Carrotts - 30?

- Onion - 20?

- Cashews - 110?

- Chicken - 120?

- Soyaki Sauce - 50

TOTAL: 1650

EXERCISE:

an hour weights class at the gym

ran 2 miles

Okay, so there is this guy at the gym who looks just like Michael Scoffield (Wentworh Miller) from Prison Break.  He has got to be a runner or something, because he is often doing sprint training on the treadmill.  Today, I ended up on the treadmill next to him and seeing him do mile runs at a speed of 8-10 (you know when you SNEAK a peek at another persons numbers on their machine!); it was making me feel somewhat competitive.  I usually run at 6.5... Not the fastest, but good for me since I am NOT a runner.  Today I started out at 7 and went up to 9 on each of my mile runs.  I have seen this guy get up to 13 on some runs before.  But for me, I felt good because I pushed myself and had a little bit of adrenaline at the thought of running next to Wentworth Miller (what if it really was him, you know?  Ha!  I am TOTALLY kidding!)  But I had a BRIGHT red face by the end of two miles and when I checked my heart rate... don't worry, it was in the 190's!  Okay, so definitely OUT of my zone, but maybe it's good to push my heart every once in awhile..?  (I am going to research that because Kolby thinks I was crazy and says that it's NOT good to be out of your zone).        

... Okay, I researched it (I'm posting this after the fact).  This is what I found.  It's interesting so I thought I'd share.  I probably won't be pushing my heart like that again:

QUESTION:

Is it bad to exercise above your target hear rate?:

ANSWER:

YES, this is bad because your workout becomes anaerobic.  This means that your body is burning energy without the presence of oxygen.  The carbohydrates in your muscles start to burn which causes acute exhaustion when this energy supply is burned off.  Your body can exercise aerobically until your body can no longer provide nutrients and oxygen to your muscles; this burns energy provided to your muscles, not the energy that the muscle is made of.  Anaerobic exercise only burns the energy within the muscle.  So, keep the heart rate down a little.  Let the body provide the energy, not the muscles.  

MY TARGET HEART RATE - 105 - 163

CLICK HERE To calculate your  T.H.R.

Wednesday Report

DIET:
Banana - 120
Protein Shake - 350
(Includes milk, banana, berries, protein powder)
ZONE Protein bar - 200
Light popcorn - 150
sesame honey cashews - 200
edemame - 200
blueberry pancakes - 250
croissant - 110
eggs - 130
TOTAL = 1710

EXERCISE:
1-hour of Plyometrics

Tuesday's Report

It's NOT pretty today, but here it is:

DIET:
Raisin Bran - 250
1/2 peanut butter and honey sandwich - 250
Orange Juice - 110
trader Joes baked cheesies - 130
ZONE Protein bar - 200
Kit Kat - 200 (don't ask!)
Trader Joe's Pizza - 350
tiny slice of ciabatta with peanut butter and honey - 130
Trader Joe's chocolate - 350 (don't ask... again!)
TOTAL: 1970

EXERCISE:
none :(

I'm not sure what my deal was today, but I know that NOT working out this morning affected my eating. Although it was nice to have a couple extra hours to get things done that I would not have had I worked out. I am realizing how much of my time during the day is spent exercising (part of the reason why I love early morning classes, so it doesn't cut into my day). I usually do a 6:00 a.m. class on Tuesdays but I didn't get to bed until after midnight and slept through my alarm... UGH!

On a positive note, my research has shown me that I can lose weight on a diet of 1730-1850 calories a day. I am doubtful of that since my success has come when I keep it below 1500. But we'll see on Friday (I better kick it in gear!)