A small step back

Well, this week is not starting out so hot..Avery has been keeping us awake this week so it threw the beginning of week off. The diet was fine until today. I changed it this week to no carbs my last two meals and oatmeal an hour before my workout and today, I really learned that this may need a change. I just didn't have the energy this morning in my step class. My glycogen stores were totally depleted to the point tha my legs felt like led in class and I was getting dizzy spells, I struggled through that and I couldn't even TALK to my husband when I got home! I felt terrible and I was not in any mood to talk or smile! LOL! I ate a half of a power bar and some fruit and I was back to semi normal, then... my head was still sort of fuzzy and I backed the car into the Jeep that I had parked earlier! I am not blaming that serious brain fart totally on the lack of carbs in my body but I was definitly suffering from some serious glycogen depletion or better known in my household as "bonking" I went to starbucks and got a skinny vanilla latte and that brought me back up to speed.

SO, I still ate clean, however, not every three hours as usual and I ate a few more carbs than i have been! I feel a million times better now! I will not eat again tonight, but tomorrow I plan to get back on my schedule. I think I will try to add some fruit in with my oatmeal before my cardio and see if that helps. I told you I would be changing things as I see fit.... I refuse to stick to anything that makes me feel that badly! I want to be healthy, that is the whole point of this right?? I am not doing something right if I am left feeling that badly! More to come....

ho hum..stat day

I cannot lie, I am a little disappointed! I have been working sooo hard with my diet and in the weight room and being as diligent as I can about cutting down on my cardio and my results for two weeks are not as good as I had hoped for. I see changes! I really do though, the scale and bodyfat analysis is not yet reflecting yet though...;-(

Stats:
Wt: 114 (thats good actually, I lost almost a lb of fat, I was up on Wed, it could be water too)
BF: 20.4%

BF is actually a little higher but it basically hasn't changed.

I am noticing small changes in my body, for one, my abs are getting more defined, side view shown in the first and second pic.

Two, my muscles are getting bigger! Here is a pic of my biceps, I just woke up too, they look even bigger when Im actually working them! LOL!
Anyway, I am so ready for my "cheat day" I have some banana nut muffins in the oven as I speak, I am planning on having baked Ziti for lunch and some dessert too! Come Monday, back to it! I will now cut carbs out of my last meal completly. This should make my mood interesting for my morning workouts! LOL!


ALSO, this helped me, I just read this in the "Iron Dolls" ebook I am reading! This is a really good book. Thanks for reading, Ill update more through the week! ~K

"The first week or two you may lose weight, or you may gain some water weight. It all depends onyour body type, and what you were doing diet-wise before you came to be. Complex carbs hold three times the amount of water protein and fat do. Remember, any added weight the first week or two is just water and it will subside. It’s just your body reacting to the carbs. Once your body establishes that you are feeding it carbs, it will balance out and then we will start manipulating the diet for continual results.The first week or two you may or may not notice the scale change, but the mirror and how clothes fit may prove results. This is a good sign. Keep that in mind and don’t to get hung up too much on numbers just yet. They are a useful too, but so are the mirror and clothes" Karen Sessions

Goals

This week, I have been really trying to focus on finding what my goals are in this new bodybuilding plan. I am the worlds worst at deciding to do something full force but not sticking to it. As I have grown, I realize the reason I do this is because I start things with out defining my ultimate goal. Defining is the key word there. I will make plans like I want to run, or i think Ill try a half marathon, but not have a real plan in place. I will start off ready to go, but then, about two weeks in, I will fall off of my plan. I think a lot of people are like this. I learned this through out my training for the half marathon. I learned that if I wanted to complete a long term goal, I must keep reminding myself of that ultimate goal but also have "sub goals" as I call it, AND have a tangible reason for doing it. SO...I said at the beginning , I will shift my training to bodybuilding, I will follow a strict diet and achieve the goal of building muscle mass but now it is time to get deeper.

First question: Why?
This is a hard question for me but I have forced myself to narrow down the why's. This is the number one question I have to answer on a daily basis. When I can't have that glass of wine at a function in the middle of the week, or go to dinner and can't eat whats on their menu, why get up and work out when I am clearly tired or sore, why do I want to do this, put my body through this, the list of why's go on and on. There are 2 main reasons for me to do this.
#1: I want to be proud of my body, simply put. I have always been dissatisfied with my body, over recent years, I have found love for exercise, it has helped me keep my body in a more fit form which I have been happy with, I want to take it further. Being fit has given me freedom from having to constantly be insecure about how my body looked. I want to show others that they can do it too. Which brings me to my next reason.
#2. As a trainer and fitness instructor, so many people tell me how frustrated they are because they are killing themselves in the gym 7 days a week, 2x a day but seeing minimal results. My first question is...what's your diet like? The next response is usually filled with loaded excuses( i had a baby, i don't have time to eat healthy, my kids won't eat anything but junk), lies (they will tell me that they eat perfect), or my favorite " I eat 1000 calories or less a day". My response some of you reading this will be able to attest to this, its 80% diet 10% workout, they look at me in disbelief and continue on with their excessive gym habits, and continue to eat as they were and continue to be discouraged with their weight and eventually, they stop working out all together. I will run into them later and they will say " I just got burnt out on the gym, I was tired of working so hard without seeing results! Here is the thing! I KNOW BECAUSE I USED TO MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So..I want to prove that YES! Diet is 80%!!! I am not trying to send the message that you have to eat a body building diet to look good, or see positive changes but, this will hopefully be real proof for you guys who don't believe that diet is important! Not only diet, but rest and recovery! SO. For now, NO I am not doing this for a competition(the #2 most asked question), however I would not rule it out for a future goal.

My sub goals are goals that I try to meet daily, or weekly, like. Monday, i will work chest and shoulders at X time....blah blah

My weekly goal is to stick with my diet plan to get to my one cheat day!

Thanks for reading you guys! I will put up my stats again on Sunday morning before I begin my cheat day! I am so looking forward that!

~K

Encouraged today

WOW! So I know this sounds CRAZY, my stats have not changed but I was working out today and I saw some new things happening to my body already! Only I would notice, its not like people can look at me and see these slight changes but is all I know, is I have been consistent with my diet and workout plan for less than 2 weeks and I am already seeing more muscle definition!!! Especially in my shoulders and legs. This is so encouraging! I woke up this morning and had to face 7 egg whites, with a cup of whole oatmeal... I was like, uhhh! This is not looking very appealing to me, I barely got through it, then when I saw changes this morning it renewed my dedication, if I am already seeing changes, maybe I will really see a lot in the weeks to come! Wish me luck! I'm still truckin along on this plan!

Oh, and, I am going to get a massage tonight from my friend/massage therapist tonight! WHOOT!

One whole week..

Well, one whole week has gone by since I have started my new fitness goal. Not too many physical changes yet. I do feel GREAT though! Here are my stats as of yesterday before I started my cheat day: Wt: 115(back up)
BF% 20% ( it is slightly higher but expected this and I am not worried yet)

It is truly amazing that when you start feeding your body correctly it doesn't crave junk food! I used to always have to have something sweet after a meal! After the first day of this... that urge is GONE! Totally!!! Instead of craving chips, sweets, and junk, I crave veggies, salads, sweet potato's etc... amazing! NO JOKE!

I have had a slight set back, pulled a muscle in my trapizious in my back, spasms and all! OUCH! I woke up Saturday morning at 2am in HORRIBLE pain! Couldn't look down at all and to make matters worse... I had to teach a group fitness class that morning at 10am. I also didn't get to hit legs too hard which I had planned to do, but I am taking today off completely and I am already feeling better!

I will say, I was glad to have that cheat day! I needed a break from all of the conscious eating. I went out to dinner with my friend and my brother and just let loose for a while! AHHH! NICE!

Goals for the week...
STAY CONSISTENT ON THIS PLAN!!!

ALSO, I have been reading a great book called "Iron Dolls" it is really good, it is an ebook and if you are interested in body building, it is a great, simplistic, yet COMPLETE look at how to be successful! I am learning alot~

Ill will keep you posted! ~K

First few days...

Ok, here is where I am starting:
wt: 115.4lbs
body fat % 19%'

I have to say it is hard to get used to eating 6 meals a day! Planning alone is time consuming not to mention cooking the food! I am eating a very strict and clean diet! Allowing one cheat day where I can eat anything I want, that way Ill be able to stick to my strict diet through out the week and this should also keep my metabolism guessing and will hopefully keep the metabolic fire burning! I know some of you who have experience have different opinions on how I should be doing this but I am basing this off of research and my college education... I think the numbers should work! I am taking in around 2000 calories a day, 30% fats and proteins, and 40% complex carbs. I am also adding in chicken and turkey which I wasn't eating before, I am not saying you can't bodybuild with out meat, but for me, its easier just to put it back into my diet...protein protein protein!


Day 2: I am feeling very full and bloated! The protein shakes that I am taking in after exercise are discusting! I am going to have to find a different type if I am going to keep this up! The water I am consuming is making me have to pee every 5 seconds! I only made it through 2 liters of water today and yesterday. Hopefully my body will adjust soon!! I had to stay up until 10 last night to get in my last meal of the day which was a discusting protein shake with no Carbs that I had to chase with water! GROSS!!

Day 3 : I got on the scale this morning because I feel like I am gaining fat around my mid section! YUK! I was suprised to see that I am down 2 lbs...must be because I am not retaining water anymore since my body has an abundance of it...I expected to gain, Ill hop back on the scales on Sunday and let you know what I weigh.

Day 4: I am loving my breakfast of 1/2 cup of oatmeal and 1tps of natural peanut butter mixed in. At first I thought it was nasty, now I am looking forward to it! It is amazing how my cravings for sweets and chips and junk has dissappeared! My body is liking the food that I am giving it~ I feel totally satisfied after my meals! I will say that my grocery bill is much higher! AND I went to GNC to get some new protein shakes and supplements and dropped $100! I must say thought that the protein shake tastes a million times better! If you are going to drink protein shakes on a regular basis. I do suggest you go ahead and spend a little more on it!

Day:5 I AM SOOOO SORE! the new supplements are making me feel like crap! Ill give my body another day to adjust but uhhh for now! Hillman thinks it doesn't have anything to do with the supplements but that I am running low on my glycogen stores. I had a tough time keeping my energy up in my step class yesterday... that could be it, my body will have to adjust to me not eating so many "fast carbs" We will see.... I am thinking clearly so my stores aren't too low. I am still taking in carbs, just not the same kind.

More to come....

New Finess Goals!

As of Sunday, September 13th, I decided it's time to change up my fitness goals. I have been running and training for long distances now for a while and while I still LOVE running and do not intend to give up 5k races and the occasional 10 k race, I am going to shift my training goals to bodybuilding. I used to lift weights regularly and loved the way my body looked. I have been so focused on running that I have not been able to do anything else, thus, losing most of the muscle I put on in years past. So I decided that I would totally change it up and focus on bodybuilding! I am following a "bodybuilding" type diet that gives me quite a few calories per day, (around 2,000)and training muscle groups as a bodybuilder, not as a person who wants to maintain, but BUILD muscles. I am measuring out how many carbohydrates I need, Protein, and fats that I will need to build lean muscle mass/ Eating 6 small meals a day and drinking 3 liters of water per day! I am also going to track weight loss and gains with you. I have never tried this before so I may get it wrong first but I will bring you along on my journey! Here we go, a new adventure! Who knows what will come out of this! ~K