The week's menu

I haven't been posting my food log at all this week so I will do that now.

Breakfasts
Breakfast was one meal that didn't vary all that much this week. Here's what I did -
I made up a big pot of steel cut oats and kept them in the fridge. Every day for breakfast I would just scoop out what I need and nuke it. So..

option 1.... 1/2 cup steel cut oats with *berries & stevia and 5 egg whites
option 2.....1/2 cup steel cut oats with  RAWprotein mixed in unsweetened almond milk
option 3.....1 slice Ezekiel sprouted grain bread, egg scramble with 1 whole egg and 4 whites, V8 low sodium, **1 protein bar
*Microwave some frozen mixed berries to put in oats
**Please refer to this link for all mention of protein bars in this post

AM Snack
Another meal that stays pretty consistent. This is after my workout so I drink my protein shake. And this is what I've been using:
*FitSmart shake with unsweetened almond milk and 1/2 frozen banana
*20g protein and 10g fiber!

Lunch
option 1: Jamie's turkey muffins (2), small yam, spinach
option 2: 5 egg white scramble with spinach & turkey sausage on a low carb (la torilla factory) tortilla, 1 protein bar
option 3: boiled chicken tenderloins (5 oz.), steamed broccoli, whole grain brown rice
option 4: (leftovers) lean ground beef mixed, bell pepper trio chopped fine, whole grain brown rice, tomato sauce -all mixed together in kind of a one bowl meal
option 5: (leftovers)100% whole wheat pasta with homemade spaghetti meat sauce (lean ground beef, crushed tomatoes, garlic and spices)
option 6: (leftovers) grilled flank steak (my favorite), spinach sauteed in olive oil, garlic, lemon juice and salt, whole grain brown rice


PM Snack
Been so addicted to Jamie's home made protein bars that I've made 4 pans already! Of course I share them too, so I'm not eating THAT much ;) So..
option 1: 4 protein bars, *apple
option 2: 2 of Jamie's turkey muffins
option 3: 2 protein bars, cottage cheese
* I will have a small apple around 3pm if I need it, and I usually do, no matter which snack I choose

Dinner
option 1: grilled chicken breast, small yam, salad with spinach, romaine, broccoli, tomatoes
option 2: 100% whole wheat pasta with homemade spaghetti meat sauce (lean ground beef, crushed tomatoes, garlic and spices)
option 3: grilled flank steak (my favorite), steamed cauliflower, small yam, spinach salad
option 4: white fish in foil, asparagus, whole grain brown rice
option 5: lean ground beef mixed, bell pepper trio chopped fine, whole grain brown rice, tomato sauce -all mixed together in kind of a one bowl meal

Late snack
If I feel the need to eat, I will have either cottage cheese or two protein bars

What I've noticed from writing this menu down is that I eat probably more beef than I should. Even though it's extra lean meat, it's still red meat and I guess I would probably like to cut down. I would substitute ground turkey more often if I knew my husband wouldn't gripe about it.

Goal for next week: try to eliminate some of the red meat, swap in more turkey and chicken. I also like to try and eat salmon at least once a week. Didn't do that this week so will make sure to get that in next week.

I know this food list isn't ultra exciting. I need to find more healthy recipes so my dinner plate doesn't just consist of meat, rice, salad night after night. While it's easy to prepare, it's not that exciting. I am going to try to come up with some exciting recipes for future use.

Day 4

On the workout calendar today is shoulders & abs. Then that is it for the first week! Nothing more until Monday. It's hard for me to wrap my mind around, but slow and steady wins the race. At least the race I'm running.

Today my legs are sore and my upper body is still sore so basically, my entire body hurts. But in a good way.

The digestive enzymes didn't help at all yesterday. So I'm going to try to take them before I eat my home made protein bars today to see if that is what is causing it. It could be the stevia. I've heard that xylitol can give you gas and it isn't inconceivable to me that stevia could do the same.

I haven't taken my "before" measurements or pictures yet. I need to get on that asap! Although I don't expect any movement on the tape measure for quite a long time. And I'm ok with that. I'm trying soemthing new....patience.

One entire week of eating totally clean without so much as a bite of a cracker or a sip of canned soup, etc. under my belt! I don't know why it's easier this time. I can't tell you the secret to my success this past week. But I can feel a level of confidence and commitment that I've never felt before. And that is the difference that is going to get me there this time. I am really looking forward to March - May when I'm a new me!

Saw this on Facebook and fell IN LOVE =)

Day 3 - loving my life

Still going strong! NO cravings. NO slip ups. I'm in it to win it! Let the transformation begin!

Remember yesterday when I was talking about how I like to sweat and I don't sweat as much lifting weight as I do running, or sprinting intervals or hill climbs and stuff like that. Well, today was legs day. Oh mama! I got my sweat on alright! The past two days doing arms I don't think I broke much of a sweat. But today I felt like I worked out.

I have that song in my head, "♫ I'm sexy and I know it ♫ ...I work out" haha...LMFAO is quite the appropriate name for that group.

Sorry for that little distraction. Moving on...

So, yeah, I did legs and calves today. I'm pretty sure my bottom half of my body will be sore tomorrow. The past 2 days I've hardly been able to get dressed without crying (sore arms) and so adding in sore legs to the mix doesn't really excite me all that much. But, what are you gonna do? I do everything I can to stave off soreness, but when you're muscles get shocked, they get sore.

I have to say, it surprises me a little bit that they would put two arm days together back to back like that. Mainly because I was still so sore from the previous day's workout that I don't think I was able to perform the day 2 exercises as well as I would have if I had a fresh set of arms. Especially since I had to sub some of the exercises because I don't belong to a gym. For instance, I don't have access to equipment for lat pull downs and cable exercises, so I had to do the alternative ..... wide grip pull ups and chin ups. Ouch!

Since it's been a LOOONG time since I've done pull ups and taking soreness into consideration, I could scarcely do 2 at a time for chin ups and I had to do negatives for wide grip pull ups. Yikes!

But I told myself I was not going to over analyze or question this program. It works. All I need to do is what I'm told.

I felt so energized last night and I just didn't know what to do with myself. So at 8:30 I went downstairs to dance it off. I LOVE doing that! No lights on but the disco ball and my new little hand held thingy that the mom of one of my daughter's friends got me (funny story), and the music pumpin'...it's amazing! I can dance away an hour and barely know it. And I did!

This way of life is the absolute bomb! I have to really remember how I feel right now. Document it and come back to it if I ever hit a slump again. I know it's not just coincidence that I feel this amazing. I know it's because my body is nourished and happy and it truly makes a difference.

Like I said before, going STRONG with no end in sight!! Thanksgiving? Pumpkin pie? Christmas? Cookies? BRING IT ON! I got this!

2 great articles

I talk a lot about protein. Bars, powders, meat, yogurt, cottage cheese, all sources. And I talk about how it's sometimes hard to get enough. But what is enough and why is it so important?
I stumbled on an excellent article by Dr. John Berardi that you should read if you are curious. You can click here if you are interested in the full article. But I will point out some of his key points I found interesting. And if you consider yourself an athlete, you probably will too.

Here are the questions:
How much protein does an athlete need? How much protein should an athlete consume to improve body composition and athletic performance?

He doesn't actually tell you specifically, because everyone is different. But generally, I find that most places will say either 1 gram per body weight daily or 1 gram per pound of lean body mass. Of course you have to actually use your math skills to figure that out but it's a simple equation. Providing you know a few important numbers, body fat percentage being one of them.

But he does go into quite some depth on the reasons you should be eating MORE protein. He says that most people eat too little protein and then overeat carbs and fat. I believe this is true because in my experience, trying to get more protein in my diet was hard at first, until I got used to it. It's so much easier to grab a carb when you are hungry or rushed for time than a protein. Plain and simple. Upping your protein requires a lot more planning and prepping. Especially when you want your protein to come from a food source instead of a powder. But here's something to think about:

"Since a high protein diet can lead to a better health profile, an increased metabolism, improved body composition and improved training response, why would anyone ever try to limit their protein intake to the bare minimum necessary to stave off malnutrition?" - Dr. John Berardi

It makes sense. Now, my husband for instance, doesn't think he needs to add more protein into his diet. And arguing with him about it is a lost cause. But then again, he doesn't move a whole lot. The extent to his physical activity is mowing the lawn a few times each summer. He's very sedentary. But for someone like me who is extremely active and training hard, and looking to improve my body composition, NOT eating enough protein to support that lifestyle would be just dumb.

So, are you eating enough protein? Do you find you eat mostly carbs? Do you workout? Why do you workout? After having answered those questions, you should read this article.

Because when you do, you'll find out that protein requires 25-30% of the energy it provides just for digestion and absorption (compared to 6-8% for carbs and 2-3% for fats). Also, that when you increase protein and decrease carbs, you'll lower your LDL & triglicerides while increasing HDL. And if you are looking to spare your muscle mass or build new muscle (and I don't know anyone who is ok with losing muscle), adding protein is key.

On a completely different subject, I stumbled across yet another great article I thought was worth sharing. I get frustrated easily when the workout I'm into this second isn't giving me what I expected from it. Therefore, when I'm doing tons and tons of cardio to try to "lean" out and it doesn't work for me, tend to slam cardio as being pretty much the biggest waste of time ever. Aside from being very good for your heart, of course. I also tend to be more gravitated towards weight lifting because it produces results I can see. But truth be told, it's the combination of both that is best. Aesthetically and physically.

That being said, I wanted to give you a chance to read something surprisingly pro-cardio from my blog, just to prove I'm not as close minded and stubborn as I sound sometimes. In this article, he says the main reason we like to hate cardio is so that we can feel better about not doing it. Haha...so true!

I don't hate cardio. I actually enjoy it....in 30 minute increments. It's the hours upon hours upon hours crap I don't buy into. I've never done more than 45 minutes of cardio at a time except for the time I was training for and ran a half marathon. And I'm in pretty damn good shape. So for me, I don't see the need for more than 30-45 minutes of it. I love to break a good sweat and most of the time, unless I'm really busting ass with lots of fast compound movements and little to no rest between circuits, lifting doesn't give me that. So I likes me some good old fashioned heart pumping cardio to get my sweat fix.

Anyway, enjoy the articles!

I got this

Day 1 was....easy.

I've been so mentally prepared for this and having a jump on the clean eating really made this easy. I feel SO good. I mean, I feel really genuinely good. I've been eating, carbs and all, and I feel leaner and smaller already. I just feel healthy all around. This is something I can handle.

Let me share with you some wonderful words of wisdom, taken from an article I found on bodybuilding.com (I think). I highlighted the key points I wish to remember:

"Now, these rules are obviously easier said than done, but the key to success is thinking LONG TERM. Having a beer, cheat meal, or sugary fruit will provide short-term satisfaction, but will ultimately lead to you to fail the most important goal of all - your diet. You have to make your diet the highest priority, and proper diets take time to see results.
Just tell yourself that you're in it for the long haul, and you're going to avoid all the speed bumps. How much more satisfied will you be, knowing that you dedicated yourself, sacrificed, and now have a lean-and-cut body to show off? Sure, you're going to be surrounded by all these temptations during your diet, but hey, all you have to do is say, "No" - it's that simple. And once you look in the mirror at the end of your diet, you'll finally get to say, "Yes!"

My workout seemed simple on paper but as I was into it I realized that I have a lot of ground to make up. I've lost a lot of strength. I put my ego away and lowered the weight because "proper form before ego" means a lot. I put the weight I typically lifted on the bar and had to lower it because it was just too much. I was A LOT stronger than I ever gave myself credit for. Being away from it so long, I jumped right in and my old elbow injury was really flaring up. Hoping that will go away again with time. I could hardly raise my arms up to wash my hair in the shower afterward so that equals successful workout to me ;)

I was asked about supplements. This is what I do:
(pre workout) 2 tabs glutamine
(post workout) 2 tabs glutamine and 2 tabs BCAAs
GNC ultra mega multi 
1500mg calcium
1000mcg chromium
Glucosamine 3 times per day - insurance for my knees
EFAs daily (high quality krill oil)
50 mg zinc - might hold back on this soon because I read it might block absorption of other nutrients
200 mg vitamin b6
1000 mg vitamin C
5 htp - for sleep and mood
And the rest are just extra stuff I take for liver and circulation stuff (curcumin, milk thistle, gotu kola, grapeseed)

I'm might scrap the extra supps after I get a good month or so of super clean eating under my belt. But all the other stuff is pretty much part of the stack that Jamie recommends.

You know, I have not been sick in a long LOOOOOONG time. Don't remember the last time I even had a sniffle. People around me are sick all the time, I never catch it. Knock on wood! Don't know if my supplements have anything to do with it

Day 1 - it's on

I realize that too often I drone on and on about random things that don't particularly matter to anyone on this blog. But I've already explained that it's my only outlet, and the need for it is great. My husband would rather jam toothpicks underneath his fingernails than listen to me talk about the stuff I talk about on this blog.

But, I am going to try to make my posts more "journal entry" like from now on. Because I'm actually starting something that I can title DAY ONE - today. There might be a need to enter two posts a day so I can log my diet at the end of the day and how my workout went. Or I might just wait until evening to post so I don't end up with two.

If you've read previous posts, you'll know that I've already been prepping myself so it's not such a shock today. I've been eating totally clean for the past 4 days or so. It's been incredibly easy. I haven't been craving anything bad. It's true what they say, if you feed your body the nutrients it craves, you won't crave junk. I haven't been doing any exercise, because I know it's good to give your body a break once every so often, especially before starting something new. And I've been eating. Oh have I been eating! You know what, it's actually hard to get in the required calories when you are eating to build muscle. Sure, it would be easy if you ate calorie dense food like cheeseburgers and french fries. But clean healthy food is typically not loaded with calories. Healthy fats are, but you can only eat those sparingly.

So for breakfasts, I've been eating oatmeal with berries and 5 egg whites. I feel almost sick afterwards because it's so much food. I think I would be better off eating such a big meal in the afternoon, say 3pm, than first thing in the morning. Because that is when I usually start getting hungrier and my mood falls slightly. Although that could have something to do with my children arriving home from school ;)

Anyway, on the agenda today is chest/triceps. This is strange to me since I used to ALWAYS start off the week with legs. It's a nice change.

For breakfast I had steal cut oats, strawberries and protein powder. I didn't think I could stomach 5 egg whites again today so the protein powder really helped. Although, I will be drinking it again post workout and probably eating home made protein bars for snack this afternoon and I typically don't like to eat powder more than once or twice a day. BUT, I found this stuff called RAW protein and it sounds amazing! (more on that in tomorrow's post) I am going to GNC to pick some up today because I ran out of my mulit vitamin and I'm not ordering from Prograde anymore. The GNC women's multi has greater amounts of what I need, is probably cheaper and I bet I won't have to swallow 3 a day! Also, I will supplement with calcium, chromium, glutamine, BCAA's, EFA's, vitamin C, and the rest of my usual supplements. Taking supps 5 times a day is normal now. I fill all 5 cups in the morning so I can just grab the stack I need when I need to take it.

I am also going to try some digestive enzymes to see if that will help my chronic (eh hem) gas problem. As embarrassing as it is to admit that, it's become more than a nuisance. It's so bad that there is not a single day that goes by where I don't have uncomfortable gas and I'm wondering if the protein is to blame. I know as we age, we don't digest our foods as easily as we could when we were younger and one of the side effects to that is gas. I used to think it was because of all the whole grain and fiber I eat but you would think my body would be used to that by now. It's literally been years since I made the conscious decision to eat more fiber. Anyway, I'm going to try a broad ph range type of digestive enzyme. And hopefully I can find one that helps with fats, proteins and carbs since I'm not entirely sure which is the culprit. Some enzymes work more specifically with one macro, like carbs, while another might help with protein. We'll see what I can find.

Here's to the start of a GORGEOUS week! We are having 70 and 80 degree weather here this week and for October, that is such a treat!

And here's to our future success. Let's end the year with a bang!

Pre-day 1: How I'm preparing

The last 3 days (approx) I've been cleaning up my diet, shopping for and cooking strictly clean foods, in prep for my next step. Starting tomorrow (Monday) will begin my next body building routine. I'm following Jamie Eason's 12 week plan. It has 3 phases: in the first phase there is NO cardio at all.

I might find that difficult. The past 4 days with no working out have been a challenge. And I think it will be hard to wrap my mind around the fact that I will be doing no cardio and in the end it will help me achieve my goal. It's part of that thing in my brain I fight with, that tells me to lose fat I need to kill myself with outrageous amounts of cardio. (p.s. I tried that this summer. Did it work? No. I look exactly the same as I did before). But I do still like to go for 30 minute runs outside. And from time to time, I am just in the mood to throw in a DVD from my workout collection for a fun and different way to get my heart rate up. I'm one to get bored easily if I have to do the same thing over and over day after day. So I need the change up.

In phase two: I think she introduces some cardio into the mix. I'm not exactly sure though because I've only read up on phase 1. Why read ahead and possibly psych myself out. I was going to try to stay in the here and now, remember. And also, I caught a glimpse of carb cycling in phase 3. Yikes! But by then I'll have clean eating down to a science and cycling shouldn't be that bad.

I bought a small journal type book that I am writing only healthy clean recipes in. I find it so frustrating at times when I'm trying to think of something good to make for dinner and I either can't find a single recipe that falls into the "clean" category because I've procrastinated and don't have time to do endless Internet searches. This way, I can just thumb through my book of delicious favorites. I need to constantly keep adding new and yummy recipes and ideas into my new book so I don't get bored. Because boiled chicken and broccoli every night does NOT excite me. So far the book idea is really working out great! I've already found and made several meals and protein bars. It's going to be my savior! The only thing I'm a bit worried about is that while Jamie does post some terrific recipes, there just aren't that many of them. So I'll be on the hunt constantly. If you have any you'd like to share, I'd love to hear from you!

Eating much of the same things every day is pretty convenient and doesn't bother me for the most part. During the day, I generally eat a lot of the same things and it works. I find it's a lot easier because I don't have to think about it. Dinner is where I like more of a variety, and I know my family does too. It's also more of a challenge because they are pretty picky about certain habits I have (i.e. sneaking protein powder, flax, wheat germ into food or swapping out fatty cuts of meat for leaner versions). And a lot of the time, it's easier make sure I'm eating all my veggies when I just cook them into the meat. While my husband doesn't mind that, my kids are not very happy about it. Especially things like onions and mushrooms - two of my favorites.

It's hard when not everyone in the house is as gung ho as you are about eating for health. I think the key is just keep trying until you hit on recipes that everyone enjoys and remember to throw those into the rotation more often. Plus, it really doesn't take a lot of brains to figure out that just cooking a lean piece of meat, steaming a vegetable and making a pot of brown rice is a super simple and basic healthy meal that has many many options for variation. One night it could be steamed fish & asparagus in foil alongside brown rice. The next night could be chicken breast, sweet potato and steamed broccoli. And then grilled flank steak, a salad and couscous. It's not difficult.

It becomes a little harder when you want to cook all time favorites and make them healthier yet still lovable. For instance, my kids LOVE tater tot hotdish and I maybe make it for them twice a year. They never get it because tater tots are not exactly healthy and neither is the creamy sauce. But mainly I don't make it because I love it too. And I can't stop at a 1 cup serving. I could eat half a 9x13 pan! When you have trouble with portion control and going back for seconds (eh hem....me), it's best just to not make it at all.

There are options. It doesn't have to be tasteless or difficult. But it does require some research and planning. Especially if you are new to it. And a lot of reading nutrition labels at the store. I like to follow this rule: the fewer ingredients the better. That means it's close to it's natural state and less processed.

I have it in my head that this is the way it's going to be. No excuses. And unless I get lazy and slack off with planning ahead, this lifestyle will be very manageable. All these years I just assumed it would be too much work. Or something that only someone with the best will power and mind control could do. But the truth is, anyone with the determination and drive to succeed can do this. And that includes me!