Day 35

Food should come from the kitchen, not the chemist. Do you know what was in the food you ate today? Erase all doubt and eat whole foods most of the time. You know the saying "abs are made in the kitchen"? There is definitely truth in that.

Yesterday was legs day. My first Saturday gym experienced. I got up and went right away to try and beat the crowd. It wasn't any busier than usual, so I was happy about that. I was also happy that I had no cardio scheduled.

Here's what I did:

Seated leg curl: 10 @ 40lbs X 3 sets

Leg extensions: 10 @ 90lbs X 2 sets, then down to 7 reps, and 4 reps, and finally 8 @ 50lbs

Superset:
walking lunges: 20 @ 15lb dbs X 3 sets
abductor machine: 10 @ 70lbs & 10 @ 60lbs X 3 sets
End Superset

Superset:
lying leg curls: 15 @ 35lbs X 3 sets
adductor machine: 15 @ 70lbs X 3 sets
End Superset

Stiff leg deadlift: put 50lbs on the bar, did 10. Moved up to 70lbs on the bar, did 10 for 2 sets.

Single leg BB squat: warm up 10 reps with 50lbs on both legs. 10 @ 20lbs on the bar for 2 sets. Then 10 at 30lbs on the bar. They were really hard on one leg with my free leg just bent behind me. However, when I crossed my free leg over the thigh of my standing leg, it was much easier to get really low. Not sure if that is proper form or not, but I could still feel muscles working so I can't imagine it being all bad. I will have to Bing it.

Leg press: started at 90lbs for 10 reps. Thought, what the heck, I know my legs should be able to push way more than that. So I took it to 110lbs for 8 reps. Then I took it to 130lbs for 8 reps. And finally, I challenged myself further and put 150lbs on the machine and pushed out 6 reps! Woot! Just goes to show that your mind is your biggest limitation.

Seated calf raises: 10 @ 70lbs, 10 @ 55lbs, 10 @ 70lbs, 5 @ 55lbs, 5 @ 40lbs

Standing calf raises: 10 @ 12.5lbs X 3 sets

Done!

I made turkey meatballs, steamed broccoli, and sliced tomatoes last night for myself while my family ate meatballs from ground beef, mashed potatoes and corn. Sometimes it is a pain that my family won't eat the same food as me. It's not every night that I feel like making two different dinners. But, I now have lots of leftover turkey meatballs for lunch this week. I also want to boil another whole chicken. I loved the convenience of having chicken meat in the fridge to eat whenever I was hungry for something. Like I said, cold chicken with a little salt hits the spot for me.

After I got the dinner dishes cleaned up, we all headed to the family room to watch a movie together. We chose Elf to get us in the holiday spirit. It was hard watching the movie and not having popcorn with the others. And my urge for something in the evening has been overwhelming this past week. I have been eating carbs when I shouldn't be (after my pm snack) and I've been eating past 7pm. Sometimes because I am really truly hungry and other times because I just feel the need to munch. But as long as it isn't on potato chips, I can live with myself.

I had a homemade protein bar last night. And the night before that I had some Wasa flatbread and low cal cheese. Looking back, I probably won't have much for results tomorrow because of my evening munchies. But this week, I am going to try to find some renewed willpower and just not eat after dinner. Wish me luck!