Bad, bad blogger

Hey guys,

Sorry for being MIA. I was away from home for a few weeks visiting family, and now that I'm back I'm playing catch up with school - doesn't leave me much time to blog.

But any ways... I've made a few changes to my workout plan and diet plan I can share today. Tomorrow I'm planning to post meals that I've been eating a lot of lately. I know the food post are always my favorite!

So I've made changes to my plan because I'm trying to cut out about 4-5% of body fat. I never wanted to gain a ton of muscle, in fact, I'm more than happy with how much muscle I have now. I just want to trim off the fat. So I'm trying new ways of doing that.

Workout plan: I've added lots of intensive interval training to my current plan. Bodyrock.tv has been amazing site to get my workouts!

I love Zuzana's approach to fitness. The short workouts are super tough and often times leave me feeling shaking and sick to my stomach. So don't try them thinking they're too short or easy.

Eating plan: I've dropped my carbs significantly! I've taken on the "earn your carbs" approach. This means that I have to complete a workout before I can eat oatmeal, bread, and most fruit (excluding berries and green apples).

                                   (I just love this picture haha)

If you haven't noticed from my blog, I get bored easily. I need to keep on changing things to keep myself interested in fitness and eating right. There's nothing wrong with trying new things (I encourage it!). Go out there and try something new today! It's the best way to get out of a rut.

Why I Do Cardio

This is the post I was telling you all about. Dane -- a trainer in Seattle -- wrote this post. He's the one who has convinced me cardio should remain part of my program, and you know what? I've actually really enjoyed it. I like the feeling of pushing myself to the limit, and cardio is a great outlet for that.

________________________________________________________________________

I can’t tell you how hard it is for me, as a fitness professional, to read all the hate mail that has been put out there against cardio in recent years. I hate cardio as much as the next guy and have tried to find a good bit of evidence, that can be studied out and maintain its standing as a valid argument against cardio, that well let me feel good about ditching it from my workouts. Unfortunately, I don’t think substantial enough evidence exists to convert me to that camp.

                Granted I do not hold a Ph.D. in physiology, but my research and humble knowledge of fitness and the cardiovascular studies done throughout my certification process, as well as continued education, shed light in my mind on holes in the arguments against cardio. Frankly, I think there is a demand to acknowledge the importance of cardio in any fitness regiment.

                                                (Source)

                I do not dare refute the fact that that traditional cardio is not the most effective overall calorie burner, it is absolutely not. If you are simply trying to burn calories do a good leg workout. You will definitely burn more overall calories during and after your workout and for a longer period of time post-workout.

                I would like to take this time to draw your attention to some benefits of incorporating cardio into your workouts. I had thought about writing this in such a way as to cover a more broad view on cardio but on second thought I am going to keep it focused on how it can benefit you as a bodybuilder/weightlifter.

                I think it’s safe to assume that we all understand what cardio is. Doing anything that gets your heart rate up and increases circulation. But not all cardio is the same. Increasing your intensity on the weights definitely counts and can be greatly beneficial in the overall consumption of calories and in the end burning fat, getting lean, etc. but its important to understand why. Basically, the number one consumer of fat in your body is muscle. The more muscle you have the more fat you will lose. But just like any other muscle in the body, your heart must be trained and exercised as well. If you are seeing all the gains you want in the gym and looking lean and mean, but, you get winded walking up the stairs in your house, there is need for a change.

                                                (Source)

              

                The heart is exercised with cardio. But the increase in heart rate experienced during a set of any particular lift is not sufficient enough to actually increase the strength of your heart. You must sustain the increase of demand on your heart, by getting into your target heart range and staying there for 20-30 minutes.

                The heart is so important to your bodybuilding aspirations too. An improved heart means improved performance. When you train with cardio, cardio actually forces your body to develop more capillaries. These capillaries are microscopic delivery paths big enough for one red blood cell to squeeze through and are delivery pathways for nutrients to be delivered to your body. The better conditioned your heart and circulatory system is, (lungs too. Also improved with cardio), the harder you can lift and the faster you can make gains.  Furthermore, cardio can decrease your recovery time as well. After a hard lifting session doing a few minutes of cardio exercise will help carry away some of the byproducts produced during your workout and reduce your D.O.M.S.,(delayed onset muscle soreness). Cardio strengthens your body’s ability to send oxygen rich blood to your recovering muscle group, aiding in the rebuilding and recovery process, letting you get back quicker.

                                                                (Source)

                Because of its affect on the metabolism, cardio will also help you maintain weight as well. Or lose depending on what the case may be. As for the “getting lean” aspect of the world of bodybuilding, I still swear by traditional methods of cardio as well. I know I touched on muscle being the largest consumer of fat in the body, it still is. But cardiovascular exercise actually imposes a stress that creates an environment for utilizing fat as a means of energy. The University of New South Wales in Australia recently put out a study showing that interval training such as interval sprints burns three times more fat than slow consistent cardio.

                Finally, cardio is cardio, yes. An increased heart rate is an increased heart rate. But, it is not all created equal as it relates to benefiting your results in the gym. The cardio method I signed onto for a long time was increasing my intensity in the weight room. Active rest, abs in between sets, supersets, burnouts. Whatever I could do to keep my heart rate going. The problem I ran into, was being so sore! It would take me a full extra day of rest to recover from a workout because my body was so traumatized by the stress I imposed on it. The problem I was running into was the over-exertion of my muscle groups. Yes, technically I was doing cardio and it was burning calories. But I was further increasing muscle fatigue, increasing my DOMS. Traditional cardio allows the same burning of excess calories, but without slowing recovery time. Thus, enabling the more frequent working of the same muscle groups, bringing about bigger gains!

Catch Up

It's about time I blogged the rest of my workouts this last week! Sorry it's taken so long, but I didn't have time to blog until now.

Shoulders and Arms:

Superset 1:
Upright Rows: 20 pounds (each arm), 12 reps, 12 reps; 25 pounds, 8 reps, 8 reps
Barbell Curls: 22.5 pounds, 12; 32.5 pounds, 10, 8, 8

Superset 2:
Push Press: 30 pounds, 12; 40 pounds, 12; 50 pounds 10, 10
Preacher Curls: 30 pounds, 8, 8, 8, 8

Superset 3:
Bridge Press: 32.5 pounds, 12; 45 pounds, 9, 8, 8
Reverse Grip Barbell Curls: 32.5 pounds, 8, 8, 8, 8

Superset 4:
Barbell Front Raises: 20 pounds, 12, 12, 12, 12
Skull Crushers: 30 pounds, 12, 12, 12, 12

Superset 5:
Machine Shoulder Press: 40 pounds, 8, 8, 7, 7
E-Z Bar Tricep Extensions: 30 pounds, 9, 8, 6, 6

Stats:
Time: 53:23
Calories: 269
Max HR: 158
Average HR: 122

Legs and Abs:

Superset 1:
Barbell Squat: 50 pounds, 14, 12, 12, 12
Leg Raises with swiss ball: 12, 12, 12, 12

Superset 2:
Barbell Front Squat: 50 pounds, 12, 12, 12, 12
Crunch on swiss ball: 20, 20, 20, 20

Superset 3:
Leg Press: 130 pounds, 12; 145 pounds, 12; 160 pounds, 12, 12
Decline Sit Ups: 12, 12, 12, 12

Superset 4:
Quad Extensions: 115 pounds, 12; 130 pounds, 10, 10, 10
Flutter Kicks: 30 seconds each set (4 sets)

Superset 5:
Lying Hamstring Curls: 55 pounds, 12; 70 pounds, 6, 6, 6
Crossover Sit Ups: 10, 12, 12, 12

Stats:
Time: 1: 03
Calories: 420
Max HR: 170
Average HR: 139

On my leg days, I never go heavy on squats. 50 pounds is very light for me, but I'm worried about my hips and my knees (I have issues with them, and need physical therapy to keep them pain free), so I tend to go for more reps than more weight.

The rest of workout days this week (two other days), I'll either do yoga, or cardio. My cardio has either been incline walking or the stepmill. I love the stepmill. It feels like I'm working really hard, and my heart rate is always super high.

I hope this gives you all an idea of where I'm at, lifting wise.

Please, if you have any questions send my an email, or ask in the comment section and I'll try to answer them as best I can.

I'm no expert on lifting or fitness. It's really just a hobby for me at this point. I like to be healthy, and have active goals I can work towards. This goes for fitness, school, and my personal life. I think to be healthy as humans we need to be continually growing and bettering ourselves.

Back and Pumpkin Muffins with Cream Cheese Frosting

I slept in today. It was wonderful, but left me feeling pressured for time. Considering how long my workouts have been lately.

So I shoveled in breakfast. No picture, but it was 40 grams oats, 1/2 cup egg whites, and 90 grams of apple, with splenda and cinnamon.

My workout this morning was not easy. Day 2 of week 1 is a back workout. Just like day 1, I do each exercise in the compound sets back to back with 1 minute rest in between each set, and I do 4 sets of each compound set.

Warm up: 5 minutes on the crosstrainer.

Compound Set 1:
Wide Grip Lat Pull Down: 50 pounds, 12 reps; 70 pounds, 12 reps, 10 reps, 8 reps
Seated Wide Grip Cable Row: 50 pounds 12; 70 pounds, 8; 60 pounds, 10, 9

Compound Set 2:
Reverse Cable Grip Pull Down: 70 pounds, 12; 80 pounds, 8, 8, 8
Neutral Grip Row: 60 pounds, 8, 7, 7, 7

Compound Set 3:
Neutral Pull Down: 80 pounds, 8, 6; 70 pounds, 10, 10
Underhand Row: 60 pounds, 8, 8, 8, 8

Compound Set 4:
Bent Over Barbell Row: 45 pounds, 8; 40 pounds, 10, 10, 10
Straight Arm Pull Down: 30 pounds, 10, 10, 10, 10

Compound Set 5:
Straight Leg Deadlift: 60 pounds, 12, 12, 12, 12
Shrugs: 60 pounds, 10, 10, 8, 8  

Cardio: 15 minutes on the stepmill at the end (this is all I had left in me, I would have liked to do 20 plus minutes, but I didn't have time for a second workout today).

My heart rate monitor wasn't working for the first 15 minutes and a few other shorter times throughout my workout, so these stats aren't accurate, but it gives you some sort of idea.

Time: 1:14: 04
Calories: 441
Max HR: 172
Average HR: 147

Post Workout Smoothie:

Same as always:

• 1 banana
• 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
• 5 grams glutamine
• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
• ice

About an hour later I ate some leftovers for lunch. 

• 4.5 ounces salmon with a dill yogurt sauce on top 
• 1/4 cup (measured uncooked) wild/brown rice
• 1 baby zucchini cooked with garlic and olive oil

I also made these Pumpkin Muffins with Cream Cheese Frosting today.

I found this recipe somewhere online (I don't remember!), but tweaked it. 

Muffins:

Ingredients:

2 Eggs, beaten 1/2 cup pumpkin 1/2 cup almond breeze 1/4 cup applesauce 1 1/2 cup oat flour 2 scoops vanilla protein powder 1/3 cup splenda (could use more, if you like things sweet) 3 tsp baking powder 1 tsp cinnamon 1/4 tsp nutmeg

What to do:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Mix first four ingredients together, add splenda, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add flour and baking powder together 

Pour into greased muffin tins

Bake for 20 minutes

Cream Cheese Frosting (for two muffins):

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons light cream cheese

1 tsp splenda

1 tsp almond milk

What to do:

Mix the ingredients really well and spread them on top of the muffins. 

Stats for 2 muffins with the frosting: 214 calories, 8.3 grams fat, 32.6 grams carbs, 16.2 grams protein 

Shortly after I gobbled these two muffins up, it was time for dinner. 

 

Another chicken stir fry. I'm not going to post the ingredients, cause they are the same as always. 

After I ate this it was time for class. During my class I ate this. 

After class I had another one of April's protein cake:

I ate it with a serving of plain yogurt and 80 grams of strawberries. 

Well there you have it! I'm gonna finish watching the Bachelor (yes, I watch the Bachelor. I love it!), and call it a night. 

Chest and Abs (AGAIN)

Well I got a couple comments the other day about posting my workout details. Sooooo I've decided to redo week 1 of my program and post the details for you guys!

Day 1 of week 1 is chest and abs.

I try to only rest for 1 min in between supersets and I do each superset 4 times. It gets tiring quickly!

Superset 1:
Dumbbell Bench Press: 20 pounds (each arm), 12 sets; 25 pounds, 12; 30 pounds 8, 8
Leg Raise with Swiss Ball: 15, 12, 12, 12

Superset 2:
Dumbbell Incline Press: 22.5 pounds (each arm), 12 sets; 25 pounds, 9, 8, 8
Bicycle: 20, 20, 20, 20

Superset 3:
Dumbbell Flyes (machine was broken at the gym): 15 pounds, 12, 10, 8, 8
Russian Twist: 20, 20, 20, 20

Superset 4:
Machine Chest Press: 55 pounds, 12; 70 pounds, 7, 7, 7
Machine Crunch: 55 pounds, 15, 15, 15, 15

Stats: 
Time: 54:41
Calories: 323
Max HR: 147
Average HR: 128

So there you have it. I'll try to be diligent and post every workout I do this week. Thanks for reading :)

Chest and Abs

The very first day of my new workout cycle was completed today. And let me tell you... it was a dooseee!

Chest used to be an easy day for me, not any more. Thanks Dane!

As I mentioned earlier, Dane, a trainer in Seattle made this new program for me. The next few paragraphs I simply copy and pasted out of the email Dane sent me.

Week 1 is "Fixed Motion and Power." This is any movement or workout that keeps both sides of your body "tied." Pretty much barbell lifts and machine lifts.

Your focus: breathing, your core, and form form form!

Rest: 60-90 sec between each set/superset/compound set

Sets: 4; superset with accompanying muscle group

Rep range: 8-12. Always work to the top of your range. Start at 12, if you reach 12 reps easily increase your weight by a comfortable increment and again try for 12 reps, or failure, which ever you reach first. Every time you reach the top of your rep range, increase your weight.

Day 1: Chest and Abs

Barbell bench press

Reverse grip barbell incline press

Standard incline press

Pec-deck machine flye's

Machine press
*Build Your Own Abs (choose from list below)


Day 2: Back and Posterior Chain (compound sets)

Wide grip Lat pull down
         -> seated wide grip cable row
Reverse close grip pull down
         -> seated neutral grip mach row
Neutral grip pull down
         -> seated underhand cable row
Bent over barbell row
         -> straight arm pull down
Straight leg deadlift
         -> smith machine rear shrug**

Cardio 20 min. Moderate intensity.

Day 3: Shoulders and Arms

Power snatch
          -> barbell curls
Push press
          -> preacher curl
Bridge presses***
          -> reverse grip barbell curls
Barbell front raises
          -> skull crushers
Machine shoulder press
          -> O.H. E-z bar tri extensions
Shrugs

Day 4: Legs and Abs

Barbell squat
Barbell front squat
Leg press
Quad extensions
Lying hamstring curls

Build your own abs.

Day 5: Free Day, Core and Cardio

I will leave this day up to you. Whatever you feel has been neglected through the week go ahead and work that. Do some core/ab work and then do some light to moderate cardio on the bike to loosen up the legs.

Day 6: REST

Day 7: Cardio

Moderate to high intensity.

Build Your Own Abs:

Upper abs: crunch, weighted crunch, cable crunch, decline cable crunch, machine crunch, roman chair sit-up, supported crunch, exercise ball crunch, medicine ball throw.

Lower abs: reverse crunch, hip thrust, scissor kick, exercise ball roll out/in, reverse incline crunch, hanging run in place, hanging leg raise, hanging knee raise.

Obliques: oblique crunch, bicycle, jackknife, decline medicine ball twist, crossover crunch, standing oblique cable crunch, Russian twist.
________________________________________________________________


So this is what my workout looked like today. I did make a few adjustments to Dane's plan. 
                                                             
Dumbbell Bench Press - 4 sets of 27.5 (each arm) of 12, 12, 10, 8 reps
Roman Chair Straight Leg Raises - 4 sets of 15 reps           


Incline Press - 1 set of 27.5 (each arm) of 8 reps; 3 sets of 22.5 of pounds, 11, 10, 10
Scissor Kicks - 4 sets of 40 


Pec Deck machine Flyes - 2 sets of 55 pounds, 10, 10; 2 sets of 40 pounds, 12, 12
Decline Sit Ups - 4 sets of 10 


Machine Press - 4 sets of 55 pounds, 12, 10, 10, 10
Russian Twists - 4 sets of 10 pounds, 20, 20, 20, 20


Stats: 
Time: 55:59
Calories: 364
Max HR: 163
Average HR: 134

Home Gym

WARNING: The following pictures use flash and are just plain terrible. These images may be offensive to some viewers (mainly professional photographers). Viewer discretion is advised.

Well we got a home gym this week! My husband has been scouring the city, looking for the best deals around. He did a great job people!

This is part of it. The most I could capture in one shot.

Starting from the left: kettle bell, power blocks, and free weights.

Our yoga gear. Power blocks and mats. I like to do yoga about once a week, just to keep my muscles loose.

This is our squat rack. There is a lat pull down and a seated row (there are different handles that go with the cable machine. So you could do bicep curls, tricep extensions, etc.).

Not sure what this one is called. But you can do a hanging back extension and hanging sit ups. This machine is killer!

Here is where we do pull ups. I love working on my pull ups. I can do about three in a row, then I have to switch to jumping pull ups.

There is a roman chair on the other side of the pull up machine. There are also handles that you can use for tricep dips.

Starting on the left: rower, bench, and Drew's bike that he has on a stand, so he can ride it inside during the winter.

Things that went unmentioned so far: punching bag, plyo boxes, medicine balls, and swiss ball.

We're moving to a home we're building now. It won't be ready till October, but in our gym there, we're planning to install mirrors on most of the walls. Can't wait for that. It's so nice to see your form when you're doing an exercise. I would argue that it's vital.

I am still going to keep a gym membership. I like having the variety of all the equipment a commercial gym contains.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Gotta get some school work done now.

Recording Workouts

Hey gang,

I thought I'd take a moment to ask you about how you record your workouts, or if you even do!

Mine looks something like this:

I like to keep a record of exercises I've done, how many sets, and many reps. This is an easy way for me to keep track of my progress.

This was a different workout for me. I usually don't do chest, shoulders, and biceps on the same day. I missed my bicep workout last week, so I added it this one.

As you can see I use a chart. I find this is the easiest format to read.

• Column 1: exercises
• Column 2: set 1
• Column 3: set 2
• Column 4: set 3
• Column 5: set 4

The numbers in the columns are the weight and the reps (ex. 30 lb/15 reps). When you see the ", that means that I did the same amount of weight or reps as the last box. 

Do you guys use something similar?

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

On another note, I'm picking my sister up from the airport today! I'm so excited, I hardly slept at all last night. She's been in Seattle since the end of August. I miss her so much. We're planning to finish up our Christmas shopping together, and then meet the rest of the family for dinner at my parents house.

Best Cardio Workout!

I know I said I was cutting cardio out, but I don't know if I can give up this one workout. I'll probably change my mind again, but I just felt like I needed to do cardio tonight. I really wanted to get my blood pumping! It was an intense 40 minutes.

A few years ago, when my husband and I were dating, we used to do Crossfit for date nights. He was in the military back then, so we'd truck on over to the base and get an intense, supercharged workout in. This workout brought me back to those days!

It's called The Card Game. There all types of card games used for exercise. This one is super simple.


What you'll need:

• A deck of cards (jokers in)
• Good pair of running shoes
• A mat
• And a bottle of water (trust me, you'll need it!)

There are 9 exercises (feel free to pick any plyometric exercises):

• Mountain Climbers (double the reps)
• Bicycle (double the reps)
• Push Ups
• Swill Ball crunches
• Burpies
• Reverse Crunches
• Dips
• Spidermans (double the reps)
• Jumping Jacks (double the reps)

The rules:

1. For each exercise flip over three cards. 
2. Add the numbers up on the cards (Some cards don't have numbers. Kings, Queens, and Jacks are all 10 reps. Aces and Jokers are 11 reps.) The total is the number of reps you will do for each exercise. 
3. Keep going until there are no more cards to be flipped. 

I did three rounds, a deck and a half of cards. I think I might make plyometrics part of my weekly workout plan.

 

If you try it out, let me know. If you have tried a game like this before, what exercises do you like to throw in?

Leg Circuit

Hi everyone,

I thought I'd share a little about this "new workout plan" I've mentioned.

After lots of research, and talking with people like April, I've decided to switch my workouts from a lower weight, higher rep and cardio based to lifting heavy and doing minimal cardio.

About a month ago I finished P90X. I did really enjoy P90X. Tony Horton's videos are entertaining, and even more challenging. Although P90X is incredible to work your butt into shape and build endurance, I'm ready to start working towards my specific goals.

So after doing much research I've come to the conclusion that lifting heavy is the best course of action to build lean muscle mass to create the "toned" look so many of us are after.

This is the leg circuit workout I've been doing for about 3 weeks now:

• Reverse lunge with back foot on a bench - 25 reps on each leg, one leg at a time
• Calf raises - 15 slow reps, 10 fast reps
• Sumo squats with a swiss ball behind my back, against a wall (I couldn't find a video to show the use of a swiss ball. The swiss ball keeps my back straight.) - 25 reps 
• Walking lunges - 25 reps
• Wall sit - 45 seconds

Repeat 3 times. 

Try not to rest in-between exercises until you have completed a whole round. Then allow yourself 2 minutes of rest and go again. 

My leg workout is going to have to change now. Time to start lowering those reps and upping the weight! 

Thanks for reading. 

Two Last Things to Go

Hey gang,

Today has been another productive day!

As soon as I got out of bed, I got to work on my breaky.

Pumpkin Oatbran

In the pot:

• 40 grams oatbran
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup UVAB
• 1/3 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/2 egg whites
• cinnamon
• nutmeg 
• cloves 

Toppings:

• 70 grams strawberries
• 1 T natural PB
• stevia
• cinnamon

After I ate this, I loaded up my books and drove to school to work on a project that's due tomorrow. My project took me way less time to finish than I thought it would. So at around 1:00 p.m. I left the library to get some lunch. I wasn't even hungry when I ate my lunch, but knew it had been 5 and a half hours since breakfast. 

I decided on Pita Pit, since it's so close to our home. This is their chicken breast pita with lots of veggies and honey mustard dressing. 

I was going to go to the gym soon after I ate my pita, but I fell asleep on the couch! Craziness. When I woke up I had to push myself off the couch and into my workout gear. I had a pretty good workout too! I love it when those are unexpected. 

I did 30 minutes on the stepper, 15 on the treadmill, and then I did some abs and stretched. 

Here are the stats:

Time - 58:35 minutes

Calorie burned - 555

Max heart rate - 187

Average heart rate - 162  

I came home and snacked on this. 

• 1/2 cup cottage cheese
• 100 grams of blueberry yogurt 

Dinner came quick. 

The same tomato shrimp dish I made a few weeks ago. 

I love the spinach in it. 

I know I'm gonna need something else tonight - I'm only at 1048 calories today... hmmm.....

I Almost Forgot!

Hi friends,

How was your day? Mine was amazing. I worked out!!

So let's talk about that first, my workout.

I ran to the gym, which is barely under 2 miles. It took me about 17 minutes (it was pretty windy this morning, so I'm happy about my time).

When I got in the gym I did an arm workout:

• push ups - 3 sets of 12
• shoulder presses - 30 pounds, 3 sets of 12 
• bench dips - 3 sets of 12
• chest flies on a stability ball - 24 pounds, 3 sets of 12
• chest press - 30 pounds, 3 sets of 12
• front raise - 20 pounds, 3 sets of 12
• lateral raise - 20 pounds, 3 sets of 12
• crunches - 3 sets of 15

Then I hit the sidewalk, and ran the other 2 miles home. 

My workout was an 1 hour and 30 minutes. I burned 801 calories. My heart rate peaked at 188 bpm, my average heart rate was 158 bpm. 

I came home and wasn't really hungry, but I knew I hadn't eaten for about 5 hours, so I ate lunch. 

• Italian chicken sausage 
• 3 cups cabbage 
• 1/2 cup brussel sprouts 
• 1/2 T worcestershire sauce 
• hot sauce

THIS hot sauce.

 

My favorite hot sauce. 

After I gobbled up my lunch, I went and got cleaned up. My stomach started growling while I was in the shower. 

Hence lunch part 2. 

• 1/2 cup cottage cheese
• 100 grams of strawberry yogurt 

I almost forgot to take a photo of my dinner for you guys. Luckily I stopped part way through!

I made D and I burgers (mine's buried under that white sauce, which was a spicy mayo), roasted potatoes, and a mixed green salad.

It was pretty amazing. I've been craving red meat, and I have no idea why! It was delicious.    

Right now I'm not sure what dessert will be, but I hope it's as good as all my other meals. 

Have a great night everyone :)

I'm Back! :)

I got my camera working!! I'm so excited. Turns out, all it needed was an update. Silly me ;)

This makes Shayna happy.

So what can I update you guys on...

Workouts

I'm taking a few days off. I felt like I was on the verge of overtraining, so I stopped before it was too late. I'm on my third day of "taking it easy," and I have two more to go. I'm itching to get sweat all over me! The first few days I was loving not always wearing my hair in a ponytail or having to shower sometimes twice a day, and I was getting worried I wouldn't be motivated to start training again. I'm not worried about this anymore!

Food

Although I don't have pictures of all the meals I've missed documenting, I do have this morning overnight oats.

Sorry, this picture is terrible! Where I live there's no sunlight at 6:30 a.m. Sucks - that's all there is to say about it.

Overnight Oats

In the bowl last night

• 30 grams oats
• 1.5 T chia seed
• 2/3 cup skim milk
• 1/2 banana
• 1/4 scoop vanilla whey protein powder
• cinnamon
• nutmeg 

Toppings

• Peanut butter
• 4 grams unsweetened shredded coconut 

Today's Plan

• Study
• Write my editing final

Those are the only two things on this girls mind. 

Have a great day everyone. It's great to be back :)

A Great Day

Morning!

I hope everyone's yesterdays were fantastic. Mine sure was! J and I went to our big mall in town and shopped till our hearts content. We both walked away with some fantastic purchases. Before the mall, we went to the gym. It was an awesome workout. I wish J lived here! She pushes me so hard. We did 30 minutes of cardio, and just under an hour of an arm and ab workout. Faaaantastic.

When we got back from the workout we ate this AMAZING lunch.

This was my plate.

I made the smoothie that's in that bowl.

• 1 cup berries
• 1 cup water
• 1 scoop chocolate whey protein powder
• 1 T cocoa powder

(serves 2)

It was so good! I've been making all my smoothies in the food processor lately; it makes them so frothy! I might never go back to a blender. 

J made the salad. 

• lots of spinach
• red bell pepper
• mushroom
• tomato
• cucumber 
• leftover turkey sausages from last night
• balsamic dressing

It was just as good as the smoothie! Such a great lunch. 

We hit up the mall till around 6 pm. We were starving by the time we left! We went and picked up take out for dinner. 

J and I got the same thing - chicken teriyaki with sauce on the side, no rice, and extra veg. We picked D up a beef and chicken dish (similar looking to this one), and california rolls. 

Now, to this morning. 

(sorry the pick is so dark)

Pumpkin Oat Bran with "Baked" Apples

Pumpkin Oat Bran

• 30 grams oat bran (about 1/4 cup)
• 1 cup water
• 1/3 cup pumpkin
• 2 egg whites
• cinnamon
• nutmeg
• cloves

Baked Apples 

• 92 grams (half an) apple
• cinnamon

Place the ingredients in a bowl and microwave for about 40 seconds. 

It was so yummy. It fixed my grumbling tummy problems. 

I have two classes today. One is Intro to Lit, the other is Intro to Rhetoric. I love rhetoric! 

I'll chat with you all soon :)

Pumpkin Delight

Hi folks,

Sorry I've been gone so long. I've been entertaining our company. D's cousin is back! She's staying with us for a week now. Exciting stuff! Plus my camera died. So I couldn't take photos for a good portion of the day yesterday, so I decided to take the day off from my camera!

J (that's what we'll call D's cousin) and I had an awesome workout yesterday. I brought my study notes, since I have a test today. We both spent about 45-50 minutes on the elliptical. My incline got to 20(!) and my resistance got to 15(!). Then I ran for just under a mile on the treadmill, but by then, my legs were already so tired. Awesome, awesome, awesome workout. 

Here's my breaky this morning.

Pumpkin Oat Bran 

• 50 grams oat bran (1/3 cup)
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1/3 cup pumpkin puree
• 2 egg whites
• packet of stevia
• cinnamon
• cloves
• nutmeg  
• 1 T natural PB

and... COFFEE - much needed on a Monday. 

I gotta start studying. Talk to you all sooner than later I'm hoping! 

I Need a Rest

Evening to all,

Today has been quietly productive. By that I mean, I've checked off about half of the things that were on my to do list. I still have that horrible paper to finish.

One of the things I checked off my list, was my workout. About an hour after my breaky I headed to the gym for light cardio, abs and lower back.

My cardio was 20 minutes of the stairstepper. It got my legs burnin!

Then I hit the mat for abs and lower back.

• long arm crunches 
• reverse crunches
• supermans
• crunches on stability ball
• knee tucks 
• russian twists 

2 sets of 20 

Not bad... but I didn't get through all of the exercises I wanted to, and I wanted to do 3 sets of 20. I think my day off is really needed. I need to get back some energy!

Food

Post workout was the usual. 

• 1 cup UVAB (unsweetened vanilla almond breeze) 
• 1 scoop chocolate protein powder
• 1/2 frozen banana
• 4 ice cubes

See that red make on my wrist. That's a burn. I ALWAYS burn myself when I make quesadillas. I have a few other burns on my right arm. I might start wearing oven mitts for all cooking techniques! 

In a few hours it was time for lunch. 

Ingredients sauteed together:

• 4 oz chicken breast
• 3 brussels sprouts
• 3 oz mushrooms
• 1/3 cup brown rice 

Vinaigrette to pour over everything:

• 1 tsp mustard
• 1/2 T olive oil
• 1/2 T white wine vinegar 
• stevia
• pepper 

Nestle everything over 2 cups of spinach and enjoy!

So yummy, and so good for me. 

I decided to try a new recipe as a snack. 

This is April's recipe. It was so good! Moist and rich. Mmmmmmmmmm...

Here's dinner. 

I can't believe it was just a few days ago that I wasn't eating meat! I love not having that restriction over my head. 

This was a canned tuna dish. 

• Chop of 1/4 green bell pepper and 1 clove of garlic. Saute them in 1 tsp of olive oil. 
• In a medium size bowl add 1 drained can of tuna (packed in water), 1/2 T mustard, 1 tsp capers, 1/4 lemon's worth of juice, and pepper. Mix these ingredients well. 
• Add the cooked bell pepper and garlic into the tuna. 
• Add the whole mixture back to the pan. Cook till it's all heated through. 

I served asparagus on the side. In my opinion this was the perfect side dish. It was still crunchy, which added a needed textural element to this dish. 

Now, I really need to get this paper down. Tired of hearing that yet? I'm tired of saying it...