Day 4 Report!

DRINKS:

No I didn't drink alcohol, don't get too excited. I looked back on the last three days and realized I hadn't posted anything about my fluid intake. I do, in fact, drink fluids despite not posting information about such fluids. I drink lots of fluids throughout the day consisting of a) my morning coffee made in my Keurig - sweetened with Truvia & using almond milk as my creamer b) water, water, water c) tea - usually I brew a little fruity or minty tea in the afternoon & sweeten with Truvia if necessary. I have some indulgent drinks too but they are usually limited to once or twice a week. I typically have one drinky night at some point during the week so I can enjoy some red wine and every now and then if a craving hits I will drink a nutritious un-processed indulgent drink such as fruit juices or coconut water. Yum! Now I'm craving some coconut water!

Food:
Meal 1: Leftover omelette cups! I topped with salsa again - so yummy - so yummy!

Meal 2: Leftover stuffed bison bell peppers from Fit Men Cook with beans www.facebook.com/fitmencook

Meal 3: Leftover smoothie with a side of carrots, celery & broccoli dipped in hummus.

Meal 4: I wasn't feeling great when I got home from work but I knew my body needed nutrients so I blended up a quick protein smoothie using a banana, almond milk & my Garden of Life Raw Protein.  I have always loved how banana milk smoothies taste and the Protein only adds to the flavor!

Meal 5: Ok, so it's obvious I didn't cook tonight lol  I just ate what I could find for my evening snack: sardines and bread.  That's right! Sometimes, I eat BREAD but it's very special Wheat and Gluten Free bread so that my tummy stays happy & settled :-)

Exercise: It was a beautiful day out so Ryan & I went out for a nice long walk that was anything but vigorous lol - we walked a total of 4.14 miles in 1.5 hours.

Sermon: Alistair Begg gave me much-needed instruction today.  With being laid off I'm facing many important and stressful decisions right now and Alistair's sermon about letting Jesus take the wheel really spoke to me.  I know it's cliche but Alistair is gifted and presents information in the way I really can hear and internalize it.  Do you remember being a kid & your parents would sometimes let you take the key and turn the car on...and you might even sneak into the driver seat to turn the car on before jumping in the passenger seat.  Eventually your parent would walk out and be like "what are you doing in my seat?"  By your nature you are sitting in the driver seat that is reserved for Jesus.  What do you do if you're a Christian and Jesus comes to you and says "what are you doing in my seat?"  If you believe, you vacate that seat and let Jesus take his rightful place!  Do not sit in the seat of your own proud rebellion.  Think about who you really want in control of your life.

Day 3 Report!

Food:
Meal 1: Omelette cups again! This time with delicious feta cheese sprinkled on top!

Meal 2: Sweet potato with cinnamon and almond milk with a side of leftover chicken spring rolls from Fit Men Cook. www.facebook.com/fitmencook

Meal 3: Banana with some almond butter.  I prefer Maranatha organic almond butter but this was on sale so...

Meal 4: Stuffed Bison Bell Peppers from Fit Men Cook (i.e. buffalo chile rellenos!) with a side of black beans sprinkled with feta cheese.  Ryan really enjoyed these - which means I will absolutely make them again.  Pepper, buffalo, onion, pasta sauce & spices.  Easy peasy.  I used 1 lb of buffalo for 4 peppers and it was not enough.  I'll have to remember to get more meat next time.

Meal 5: Smoothie!!  Spinach, kale, kiwi, lemon, strawberry, raspberry - plus hemp hearts and flax seed for a little protein - with some grapeseed oil for a little fat.

Writing this made me realize I ate meals prepped from THREE Fit Men Cook recipes today! Wow!

Exercise:  First solid leg day ever!!  We spent a good amount of time checking out youtube, bodybuilding.com, talking to friends, etc. in order to prepare for this workout because we know FORM is so important!  We threw in a little bit of shoulder work too.
Calf raises
Barbell squat
Leg press
Leg extension
Leg curl
Shrug
Lateral raise
Front raise

Sermon: None today. Work was surprisingly busy with last minute things to take care of before my last day on Friday.

Day 2 Report!

Food:

Meal 1: More omelette cups! Leftovers! This time with avocado instead of salsa.

Meal 2: More roasted salmon with leeks & bacon!  Are you seeing the value of leftovers yet?  Leftovers are so convenient when trying to stay on track during lunch at the office.  I also had carrots, celery & broccoli dipped in hummus.

Meal 3: An enormous mango with salt. Mmm.

Meal 4: Baked chicken spring rolls! Unfortunately, I made these with spring roll wrappers (due to the NAME OF THE RECIPE) when really they should be made with egg roll wrappers.  Chicken, spinach, leeks (instead of cabbage), lots of spices and spring rolls (but use egg rolls!) with a little olive oil on top. http://www.facebook.com/fitmencook

Meal 5: I had a sweet craving so I had these delicious almond butter-based home-made protein bars with almond milk.  I got the recipe for the protein bars from Betty Rocker who can be found on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/bettyrockershow

Workout: 50 minutes of walking on the treadmill.  I didn't quite feel up for jogging but walking is much better than nothing! 20 minutes on incline and 30 minutes of level walking.

Sermon: I listened to another Alistair Begg podcast with a great takeaway message-

Three tenses of salvation:

*Past: We have been saved from the penalty of sin.

*Present: We are being saved from the power of sin.

*Future: We will be saved from sin's very presence.

Bam! Day 2 success! 5 more days to go!

Day 1 Report!

Food:  I refer to each time I eat as a "meal" though some might argue that a few of these only count as a snack.  I'm not big on sticking to a set terminology.  The point is that I don't graze & I don't go long periods without eating.  I eat separate distinct small meals several times throughout the day.

Meal 1: Omelette cups!  Egg, egg whites, uncured (turkey) bacon, spinach & onion.  I got the basic idea from http://www.facebook.com/FitMenCook and just change up the veggies I throw in each time.  I made enough so that I have leftovers for two more days!  I put some salsa on top today but I plan to change up the topping each morning!

Meal 2: Tuna & light mayo in a bowl of corn.  Not the most exciting lunch - this is what happens when I don't have leftovers from dinner to eat :-P

Meal 3: Greek yogurt with strawberries, raspberries & blueberries - I also mix in some Truvia for a little added sweetness.

Meal 4: Roasted salmon with leeks & bacon!  The problem with making this dish is that Ryan & I tend to overeat.  I really have to package the "leftovers" for the next day's lunch before we dig in.  Otherwise, we'll stuff ourselves. Salmon! Bacon! Yum! Recipe from thepaleoprize.com http://thepaleoprize.com/?p=924

Meal 5: Carrots, broccoli & celery with hummus! Yum.  I usually eat more protein when I get back from the gym but I wasn't feeling very hungry after that generous helping of salmon so...

Workout: Back & biceps!
Pull-ups
Lat pulldowns
Seated cable row
Incline dumbbell curl
Hammer dumbbell curl
Preacher curl
Weighted hyperextensions

Sermon: I listened to one of my sermon podcasts & got this take away message-
"The Spirit works to call people to Christ...Have you been called to Christ?  Is this your story? Convicted? Convinced? Enabled? Child-like? Filled? That's Christianity.  That's what we're about.  That's the proclaiming of the Kingdom.  So either we are those to whom the message needs to come or we are those from whom the message needs to proceed."

Bam!  Day 1 success!  6 more days to go!

Short term challenges.

Alright y'all.  I'm struggling here.

I'm pretty sure I will be UNEMPLOYED as of this Friday & it's made me a mess of emotion & anxiety.  Although it hasn't been a total departure from my usual lifestyle, I have done a pretty poor job of maintaining my healthy diet & exercise levels.  I hear stress (cortisol in particular) causes weight gain and, together with missed workouts & failing to prep meals, I've already put on a few pounds in the last couple of weeks.

Well, enough with the pity party, I'm determined to get back on track better than ever.

My challenge for this week is to make DAILY blog posts regarding my meals & exercises.  I need to eat clean & train mean no matter what is going on with my job situation.  As soon as I got off track with my meals I felt changes in my energy levels & started to spiral into lethargy, poor planning, missed workouts, etc.  I find absolutely nothing wrong with cheat meals, but when I go beyond a cheat meal to a full day of giving my body junk instead of the nutrients it deserves, my body just doesn't feel right & my mental & physical performance suffer.

*I'm going to plan & prepare all but one of my meals this week (the "cheat" is for my in-laws' birthdays - yes Both of my in-laws have a birthday within the same week!).
*I'm going to exercise for at least 30 minutes a day.  This can mean anything from a walk in the sunshine to lifting heavy or HIIT.  The point is to get active, get social, and not undo all the progress I've made towards my goals.
*I'm going to listen to my podcast sermons every day and blog at least twice this week on my non-fitness blog.
*I'm going to blog here Every Day to report on my progress.

Mind, body & soul - I need to get balanced out again.  Let's do this!

Macros & Urban Workouts!

Food: I've started keeping track of my macros just to see what my daily consumption is like & I found that I have some room for improvement!  I'm not going over on calories, I'm doing a good job of sticking to natural fresh foods, but I'm not getting enough protein.  Shucky darn.  Time to increase the amount of meat on my plate!  That is so not a bad thing.  I already went to the store and bought more chicken, eggs, and turkey bacon than I had been buying.

*happy face*

Exercise: I tried an Urban Workout!  We meet up in downtown Dallas and use the train station as our workout space.  The workout includes lots of stair running & various body weight exercises such as burpees, jump squats, lunges etc.  Talk about super-intense!  My legs burned & I was walking around so awkwardly for DAYS afterwards.  It really pushed me out of my comfort zone to go work out with people I didn't know in a new environment but it was so worth it!  I got such a good strength-building cardio workout & even went back for more the following Saturday.  My friend Sarah joined me for each session and my sister joined us for the second round.  I had so much fun going all beast-mode with them!  They are both super athletic & I had to push myself to keep up!  I've been strength training back, shoulders, biceps, triceps, etc. but haven't worked my legs much so this was definitely a new challenge for me.  I love it!  Try something new! Don't let things get boring! Challenge your body!

Urban Workout Photo with Sarah, my sister Elisa, the leader Carla, and several others:

Week 28:

• February 26th cardio (intense boot-camp like cardio session with my sister), March 2nd (urban workout that killed my legs!! stairs, stairs & more stairs)
• February 25th, 27th & March 1st strength training

Week 29:

• March 4th cardio (20 minute bike session with some sore legs), 9th cardio (urban workout round 2 - quicker & less painful recovery this time around!)
• Marth 4th, 5th & 7th strength training

Specific Goals vs. Lifestyle Goals

I'm often asked when I will be finished with my "diet" or when my demanding workout sessions & selective eating will be done.  On the one hand, I completely understand having specific short-term goals as motivation for diet & exercise.  I know that working towards a six-pack has been a great motivator for me & now my new short term motivator is to look great for my trip to Spain.  But, on the other hand, this isn't about set short-term goals, this is my lifestyle.  I don't ever plan to become inactive or to start indulging in mass quantities of unhealthy food.  

The benefits of being healthy - feeling great, sleeping well, looking good, learning what I'm capable of, etc. - are worth the hours spent preparing grocery lists, cooking & getting my workouts in.  I'm sure my life will hit busy periods (i.e. when we have a kiddo...) when I can't put as much time into the fit lifestyle as I do now, but being healthy will always be a priority for me.  It takes sacrifices, time, energy, money but you only get one body and what you get out of it reflects what you put into it.  If I lost no more weight or gained no more strength, I would be ok with that.  I know that I've worked hard to be where I'm at and I'm satisfied with my results.  However, I'm in a period in my life where I actually have plenty of time to accomplish whatever I want.  Praise the Lord!  I've set various professional, spiritual & charitable goals for myself & fitness fits on the list of priorities & goals that I'm reaching for at this time in my life.

MEAL IDEAS:

Do y'all know about Panera's Hidden Menu??  Talk about Fit Food.  The items on this menu are delicious & packed with nutrients.  Yumeroo.

http://mypanera.panerabread.com/articlestips/article/access-into-paneras-hidden-menu/

Week 27:

• February 19th cardio (outside jog/walk with my sister), 22nd cardio (incline walk)
• February 18th, 20th & 23rd strength training