Work Out Plan week of 10/11

This week, I want to kick up my fat burning, so I'm going to kick up my cardio. I'm calling this workout 45 + 2. I'm going to do 45 minutes of cardio (30 before weight training and 15 after) plus I'll train one large muscle group and one small group (e.g. legs and shoulders), hence, 45 + 2. :-)

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Weigh In 10/8/10

Today I weighed in at 175.5. I'm up from last week, but my clothes are fitting much better which means my body composition must be changing. I only got two days of workout in so far, so I have to make sure to hit it hard tomorrow.

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Preparation - Exercise Plan for 10/4/10 to 10/10/10

Like my good friend and Boot Camp for Women - BBK trainer Ken Williams always says, "Preparation is the key to success."  We prepare for everything in our lives.  We prepare for our jobs, our kids, our families, our vacations, and our shopping sprees, but we don't always take time to prepare for taking care of our health.  So, I'm not only going to try to make a plan for what to eat everyday, but I'm also going to plan for how I will exercise.  Going into exercise with a plan helps you to focus your workouts, save time, and train your body more effectively and efficiently.  This is my plan for the week.

Three Days

10 minute cardio warm up (treadmill or elliptical machine)

Terrible Twos Workout (This workout consists of doing two exercises for each muscle group during one workout.  These exercises should be done in supersets which means that you do one set of one exercise then move swiftly into a set of the other exercise without a rest period).  Do a set of 10-25 reps of abdominal exercises before transitioning to another body part.

• Legs - Squats 3 sets of 25 + Step ups 3 sets of 25
• Chest - Bench Press  3 sets of 10 + Dumbell flys 3 sets of 10
• Back - Pull ups 3 sets of 10 + Bent over rows 3 sets of 10
• Arms - Bicep curls 3 sets of 10 + tricep extensions 3 sets of 10
• Shoulders - Dumbell overhead press  sets of 10 + Twenty ones 3 sets

30 minute cardio finisher (elliptical machine)

Days Four and Five

40 minutes of Cardio + Ab Work 

or

Take a one hour exercise class

Days Six and Seven

Rest or light homework

Healthy Meal Plan

This is a very general sketch of what I eat.  I try to eat like this 90% of the time, and I give myself 10% wiggle room.  It takes discipline to do it this way, so if you're a fall off the wagon type, try to stay clean 100% of the time.  It is important to make a plan that you can live with.  You have to prepare yourself, and you have to incoporate things that you really enjoy eating. 

For this meal plan, you can switch out any lean protein for another.  Chicken.  Turkey.  Fish.  Chicken.  Turkey.  Fish.  Got it?  Let's go!  Oh, yeah!  Tofu.  =-)

Sample Healthy Meal Plan

Meal 1 – 5:30 a.m. – six egg whites + 1 baked sweet potato w/ Splenda and cinnamon or protein shake and oatmeal or any lean protein and complex carb  - 2 flax seed oil pills, 1 CLA pill, 1 L-Carnitine pill

Meal 2 – 8:30 a.m. – Protein shake and fruit or apples and natural peanut butter

Meal 3 – 11:30 a.m. – Grilled chicken salad with low fat dressing or chicken breast with brown rice and green veggie, or turkey sandwich on wheat w/ fruit or small salad  - 2 flax seed oil pills, 1 CLA pill

Meal 4 – 2:30 p.m. - Protein shake and fruit or apples and natural peanut butter

Meal 5 – 5:30 p.m – lean meat (poultry or fish), complex carb (rice, potato, or wheat roll), and green veggie  - 2 flax seed oil pils, 1 CLA pill

Meal 6  - (if you’re hungry) – 1 can of albacore tuna, veggies, or protein shake w/ veggies

Drink 1 gallon of water spaced throughout the day

Other tips –

1. Try to drink at least one gallon of water/day.
2. Try to eat your fats as far away from your workout time as possible.
3. Eat slow digesting carbs (brown rice, sweet potatoes) early in the day. 
4. Eat fast digesting carbs (fruit, white rice, white potatoes) immediately before and immediately after workouts.
5. Eat protein and fruit or veggie with every meal.
6. If you are weight training, try to do 10 minutes of cardio before lifting.  Follow your weight training session with 20 – 30 minutes of cardio as well.
7. If possible, do 30 minutes of cardio, a couple of times per week, soon after you wake up and on an empty stomach.

Supplements – You can get all of this at GNC or any supplement store.  You can buy the L-Carnitine at the drug store.

Fat Burner – Atro-phex by BSN - Follow the instructions on the label – I highly recommend this one.  It’s the best I’ve ever used.

Protein Powder – Syntha 6 by BSN – It tastes great and has a mix of whey (fast digesting) and casein (slow digesting) protein.

CLA - Conjugated Lineolic Acid - It's a natural fat burning aid.  It's especially good for belly fat.

L-Carnitine - An amino acid that is also great for belly fat burning.

Food and Nutrition - Getting Started

Here are some key items in my "healthy living pantry"

• Protein Powder and a hand held shaker (I like Syntha-6 by BSN)
• Fat Burner (Atro-Phex by BSN)
• Multivitamin
• Vitamin C (a natural fat burner - chewable is fine)
• CLA (Conjugated Linoleic Acid) 3X/day (good for belly fat metabolism)
• L-Carnitine (a protein supplement) 1/day on an empty stomach - I usually take this when I first wake up
• Flax Seed Oil Pills (a heart-healthy omega-3 fat that helps to curb carb cravings) 3X/day
• Chicken Breasts and other Skinless Chicken
• Canned Tuna in Water
• Salad
• Low Fat or Fat Free Dressings
• Low Fat/Fat Free Cheese
• Ground Turkey
• Ground Chicken
• 'Green' Veggies (fresh is best but canned and frozen are more convenient - watch sodium w/canned)
• broccoli
• cauliflower
• green beens
• collards (cooked w/ smoked turkey parts for African American/Southern flavor)
• spinach
• mixed frozen veggies
• lima beans
• kale
• Salmon
• Tilapia
• Brown Rice (cooked in chicken broth or w/ bouillion - I can't stand it any other way)
• Whole Wheat or Mulitgrain Bread
• Whole Wheat Tortillas
• Weight Watchers Chocolate (in moderation)
• Sugar Free Pudding
• Sugar Free Jello
• Redi Whip (chocolate and regular)
• Natural Peanut Butter
• Angel Food Cake
• Light Beer (in moderation)
• Red Wine (in moderation)
• Eggs
• Oatmeal (natural oat meal or weight control instant)
• Grilled/Steamed Shrimp
• Strawberries
• Bananas
• Oranges
• Sweet Potatoes
• Splenda
• Caramel Rice Cakes

I try to eat between 1800 and 2000 calories per day, but I'm usually not a calorie counter.  I try to eat protein with each meal. 

My meals usually go something like this:

Breakfast  5:30 am
L-Carnitine
Egg White Omelette w/ Low Fat Cheese cooked w/ 1 tsp olive oil + oatmeal

or

4-6 egg whites + one baked (microwaved) sweet potato w/ one packet of splenda and cinnamon

16-20 oz of Water

CLA

2 Flax Seed Pills

1 Vitamin C Pill

Morning Snack   8:30 am

one scoop of protein powder mixed with 8 oz of water

1 orange or other fruit

Lunch  11:30 am

Bagged Salad w/ Tuna and 2 tbs of Low Fat Ranch

Fruit

Rice Cake

or

Baked or Grilled Chicken

Brown Rice

Broccoli

or

Turkey Sandwich on Wheat w/ Mustard

Fruit

Carrots

20 oz Water

Snack   2:30 pm

1 scoop protein powder mixed w/ 8 oz of water

fruit

Dinner  5:30

Whole Wheat Spaghetti w/ Turkey Meat Sauce

Garden Salad

or

Fish/Chicken or other Lean Protein

New Potatoes w/ seasoned salt and pepper

broccoli or other green veggie

*Dinner is the meal where I get the most variety, so I'll post recipes when I can.

Snack  9:00

1 scoop of protein powder mix in 8 oz of water

veggies

Photos 10/2/10

I'm totally self conscious about posting these pictures, but I'm using it as motivation to stay on track.  If I can't post visible progress from week to week, then I'm not doing my best.  So, as much as I HATE what I look like right now, at least everyone can see how far I have to go.  It amazes me to see how much I've let myself go.  Pictures tell the whole truth.  But, I'm determined.  :-)

Thursday, September 30, 2010 - First Weigh In

Thursdays will be my weigh in day since that was my first day back to the gym.

On Thursday, September 30, 2010, my weight was 173.25 lbs.

Genesis

The past year and a half has been extremely difficult for me and my family.  My stepson was murdered, my husband had a serious back injury and subsequent surgery and recovery, and we moved from our home to a new life in Northern Virginia.  During that time, the healthy lifestyle that we had previously enjoyed began to slowly fall off track.  I gained about 40 pounds, my husband's cholesterol reached high levels;  we are just in a bad place concerning our health.

Now that our lives are beginning to settle again, it's time for us to get serious about our fitness again.  I have been an avid exerciser, a bodybuilder, a power lifter, and a fitness instructor, and right now I'm at the weight that I was just after having my son Noah, and I'm wearing clothes three sizes larger than my norm.  Enough is enough, and I'm determined to get back to the real me.  What's different this time is that I want you to come with me.

I've lost weight before, and I have learned a lot about fitness.  People are always asking me tips about weight loss or how to reach their fitness goals, so I thought that the best way to share what I know and what I do to get in shape is to just do it in a very public way.  This blog is designed to take you on my journey.  My goal is to lose about 40 pounds and to regain some of the muscle mass that I've lost over the last year.  I will post pictures, videos, what I eat, the supplements I take, and my exercise routines.  My hope is while I'm on my journey to reach my goals that you can set goals for yourself and reach them, too.