Here we go!

So I'm ready to start this journey tomorrow. I've cooked all of my food for the week including chicken, beef, sweet potatoes, and eggs. I have my gym bag, shower bag, and makeup packed to hit the gym first thing before work tomorrow. I have my workouts planned, and I'm excited about trying out my new back routine tomorrow, which is amazing for me considering it is the bodypart I HATE training most. I'm even looking forward to zoning out on the treadmill for 40 minutes in just a fat burning zone - I need to go to the library tomorrow to get another book to read for the treadmill on Tuesday, but one day at a time. I'm even going to take new measurements, pictures, and weight tonight so I have my starting point documented.
So I think I've got all of my "t's" crossed and "i's" dotted.

Who says I can't share?!

*Click to enlarge*

Alrighty... So many moons ago I paid $500 for Mandy Blank to design an e-training plan for me. (I am able to do an e-training plan because I'm no stranger to the gym or lifting weights) I lost 20 pounds and leaned out considerably - I just didn't do a very awesome job of maintaining it now did I?

This is only weeks 1 & 2 of the plan because we can't get ahead of ourselves now can we?! I've made a few alterations to the diet and you will see that any changes I made aren't in CAPS (I still don't know why she writes that way but whatever), the exercise plan is 100% hers even though most of it isn't in CAPS because I had to correct spelling and punctuation and so on...

The idea behind sharing this with you today is because I know how confusing it is if you are just starting out. Remember that this is just a guide as this plan was designed for me and I am 5'2" and 137 pounds and my goal is to lose 20 to 25 pounds yet again :-( . You may require more calories if you are taller and more active.

I know I've been dinking around the last 2 months and whining about all of these "setbacks" I'm having, but I promise NO MORE excuses. I'm not going to post starting pictures and measurements again because if you've been reading you know that my body composition hasn't changed one iota. If you are desperate to find my starting pictures they are contained in my very first blog.

So here we go 8/31/2009 - 11/8/2009, I'm transforming this tub of flub into a lean mean sexy machine!! Look for week 2 pics on 9/19 as well as new measurements.

Email me if you have any questions.

Desire, determination, discipline!!!

DESIRE - DETERMINATION - DISCIPLINE

So the last 2 months have been really enlightening and I feel that there is a higher power pushing me in a new direction in life. Maybe 10 years ago just wasn't the right time, but now there seems to be an aura I'm exuding that is drawing people to me, and they are looking for fitness advice from me?!?

I have near strangers randomly asking me for fitness advice! Now I know I'm not in the "shape" that I should be, but apparently I'm camouflaging that well because I had a random co-worker email me yesterday - here are her exact words... "you need to give me some workout tips! You are in FABULOUS shape, and I’ve lost about 34lbs but now I’m all saggy :-( so I need all the help that I can get! LOL!"
Strangely most women don't realize how important weight training and lean muscle mass are to overall health. I love being strong and shapely, and being able to show off my beautiful triceps is always pleasing. I'm just genetically gifted with great legs and a butt (didn't get the natural breasts, but those are easy enough to buy) so at least I have that going for me since I have a love/hate relationship with leg training.

So as I thought about my grandmother's life and passing this morning, it made me think about how I only get to live this day ONE time and there are no do-overs! I need, wait... HAVE to be living my dream every day! Is living my dream working for someone else? Is it hand-holding a bunch of employees who have this unbelievable sense of self-entitlement with horrible work ethic that continually think that the government owes them? Now don't get me wrong because I do have wonderful friendships with the very best the government employs (Carrie, Jolanta, Mike, Janis, Addam, Nina, Stephanie - you guys keep me sane everyday and offer many laughs)! I want to do good things in life, positive things, and what I'm doing now just isn't it, BUT I'll keep it for now because I am lucky to have my job and I do love working for TSA.

I'm spending the rest of the day contemplating just what it is I want to be doing in a year. I have a basic concept but I'll share that another day. So planning, writing goals and timelines are now in motion, and I'm living only for today and only for this moment! As I write to you I sip my green tea and chew on my oatmeal... if only I were watching the sunrise in the window... Alright, anyway. I'M GONNA DO THIS!

Motto - Discipline - Determination - Desire

Is this how I want to live my life??

I've decided that this just isn't fair, nor is it really the way I want to live my life. It seems so unfair that I'm a slave to my diet... and I ask myself is this really something that I can sustain long term even if I do manage to lose the 20 pounds I want to? I've done this so many times and I know that I'll will just return to my old ways unless I find a way to make this manageable and enjoyable, such as.... why do I have to be such a slave to the perfect eating regimen, and does it really even exist? Why do I have to be deathly afraid of eating carbohydrates, and I mean whole wheat tortillas or pasta? It just seems ridiculous and I honestly can't live without ever eating a piece of bread or tortilla again. Is there a way to just focus on a healthy way of life, paying absolute attention to portion control, basing every meal around a portion of healthy protein, and carbohydrate, and healthy fat? Why not pay more attention to filling up on fruits and veggies and not on how much protein I need to consume to build muscle. So I am challenging myself to achieve a healthy balance the next two weeks and to see what happens - do I feel more energized? Can I sustain this? If I'm hungry and it is outside my next meal I'm going to eat something healthy like beef jerky or fruit, plus it is ridiculous to be told I can't eat a frickin banana because of the glycemic index... that's absurd if you ask me!

Protein shake or egg whites, and oatmeal w/ flaxseed and cranberries.
Yogurt and fruit.
Chicken and bean tortilla.
Can of tuna with balsamic vinegar, handful of blueberries.
Salad with tons of veggies, fruit, seeds or nuts and cup of green veggies.
Protein shake.

And if I don't want to eat it I'm NOT going to! I'll find some other healthy alternative.

Green tea for weight loss - can it be true?

Just read an article that white tea or green tea "inhibit the production of new fat cells and stimulates fat burn in existing fat cells" ok well I already knew that green tea has thermogenic properties...
Now apparently white tea is more potent than green tea only harder to find on supermarket shelves (Celestial Seasonings offers five varieties). According to this article drinking 3 cups daily (none bottled) is proven to help women shed up to five pounds a week! I have been going without caffeine but needed to get away from the artificial sweeteners and I'm hating life!
So my challenge for the next two weeks (starting Saturday) is to drink that daily quota of green or white tea and see what happens... I'll let you know if I think it is helping with weight loss.

Progressing 8/3

I was disappointed my alarm didn't go off yesterday so I could hit an early morning session of cardio and I didn't get any exercise in at all :-(... but its ok, I will have to make it up on Saturday.
Good news is, I got on the scale yesterday and shockingly I am down to 134.5 (water weight I'm sure) cause I don't feel any thinner, but when I looked in the mirror this morning my fat pooch did seem a little less bloated. It has motivated me to eat better, and considering I traveled back to Denver yesterday I did excellent. My boyfriend did feed me white pasta but I was really good about setting aside a tennis ball sized portion and the rest went down the drain. I did have 4 Jelly Belly's as well but counted them as like 50 calories - but I only had 1200 to 1300 calories yesterday.
I'm LOVING my new - watch/calorie counter/calorie burner/heart rate monitor/exercise timer!! When I get done eating a meal I just program how many calories I ate into it and its always on me so no digging for my journal to try to figure out what I've eaten and how many calories I have left to go. It tells me how many calories I've burnt during exercise, and cumulative calories burnt throughout the day - plus it helps me stay in my fat burning heart rate zone during cardio so I can make sure I'm burning off the metabolically inept fat instead of my lean mean calorie burning muscle! It will also be a good companion to do interval training, I just plug in my high and low timer and follow it for an awesome workout. www.miowatch.com -check it out.