Its finally getting cold here in NJ...such a shock to the system considering just two days ago it was 78°F at 8 pm and today its in the fifties. :-(
I am battling with my eating plan...again! Unlike most ladies, my LOSE WEIGHT numbers are much higher than the typical diet in terms of number of cals I need to consume in a day (well above the normal <1500 cals). In fact, I had not been eating enough (how crazy is that)? But the battle is, I never thought I would get tired of eating so much...lol yet I do get hungry before each meal....such a quandry huh?
Here is the basic plan:
meal #1 oatmeal with protein powder, banana or berries
meal #3 chicken breast, veggies, potato/rice/or pasta
meal #4 nuts, fruit, dairy with protein powder (yogurt, cottage cheese, milk ...)
meal #5 chicken or fish, veggies, salad
In other news:
My goal this weekend is to cook my first pot of cool weather soup AND take photographic pictures to document my progress. Love the soup idea, hate taking photos....but I need something to help me get thru those dog days of January, ya know?
Today's musical selection:
Sergio Mendes - Timeless album (his colab with will.i.am of BEP fame) I really enjoy this album. Its sad that it didn't more recognition.
Another Wednesday - Another Temptation and More Random Thoughts
Today I read this in another person's signature and got a chuckle from it...."Lead me into temptation....no thanks I know the way already."
I read recently that exercising helps improve, if not, eliminate depression. Last week I was sick and didn't get the chance to exercise like I have been for the past 4-5 months now. By the time I had limped into Friday, I was angry and just feeling down yet I didn't exercise. Over the weekend, this introspective mood continued. But surprisingly, on Monday I scheduled and stuck to 45 minutes of exercising. That definitely did the trick - my mood lightened considerable and I felt like I returned to normal, content mood. This makes me realize that exercising is a necessary part of my life - it releases stress and helps me maintain an even keel with peace of mind.
How many of you read fitness based magazines? The ones I have read for years are: Shape and Self. I have had subscriptions to these mags for at least 10 years along with Fitness. Now I am at a bit of crossroads...I like Oxygen (fitness mag), Women's Health and occasionally Muscle and Fitness for Her. I need to reshape what mags I subscribe to (I am drowning the in tons of paper mags) and I am starting to find my interest in Shape waning. Should I keep my sub or let it go? I can't decide! What do you think?
This week is slow going because I haven't felt well in the last few days. I anticipate getting back up and running (literally) by tomorrow. Its funny to think that having a few days off from exercising makes me MISS IT. I can't wait to get back to moving.
Random Thoughts Wednesday...lol
1) I like making my food to help me reach my goals. I believe in organic, fresh foods, so I try to incorporate fresh unprocessed foods into my diet.
2) Know thy body. I think this is self explanatory isn't it?
3) Have fun doing it. This is so true of all things. Just make sure you drink your water while doing it.
Wow its Monday already. I am sick and didn't have much of an appetite.
However, I did make an awesome burger for dinner tonight. We have heard so much about ground beef and E.coli, etc. So what I did was to break out my handy-dandy food processor and chop my own meat. Took all of a minute to make the best burgers, tender and yummy. Added some nice fresh garlic, onions, dijon mustard and about a tsp of pesto. Cooked and served atop a fresh whole wheat bun with crisp lettuce and ripe tomato slices....mmm mmm good. I will be making my burgers from now on.
I also made my week's worth of yogurt. Life is good.
My daily goal is to eat 5 to 6 small meals a day which works perfectly during the week. Weekends are a totally different story - its always a struggle to get in all my calories in 5 small meals. I generally can manage 4 meals but run out of time trying to make it all fit. Who else has this problem?
My thought today was to talk about what songs motivate me to exercise that extra few minutes more. Admittedly I love music so my motivators change on a regular basis but listed are a few of my favorites for the gym (and yeah some are cheesy, but isn't that what you need when your legs are aching and you are gasping ?):
Breathe, Stretch, Shake - Ma$e
Let's Get It Started - B.E.P.
Go - Common
Beware - Punjabi MC (Jay-Z remix)
La Tortora - Alejandro Sanz & Shakira
This is the reason that an IPod is necessary gym equipment IMO.
I started working on losing weight back in July 2007. To date I have lost 17 lbs and approximately 6% body fat (I started out with ~ 31% BF). This was accomplished by following the Fat Smash diet plan online.
Over the course of time I found out something very important about losing weight - my initial goal of 140 lbs was never going to happen. Why? I found out that I carry approximately 135 pounds in lean muscle mass alone. So to reach 140 pounds, I carry roughly 1-2% body fat - not an attainable, nor adviseable goal for a woman. So based on this information, I have adjusted my goal so that I will reduce down to 18% body fat (goal).
Now, my goal is to move this plan off to the side and work towards losing an additional 10%by following the Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle plan. This requires that I monitor my diet and basic numbers on a weekly basis and adjust my diet accordingly to get the best results.
So next week I will start with a 50-30-20 baseline diet. This means I will eat 50% carbs, 30% protein and 20% fat. I expect to lose no more than 2 lbs a week, if that much. Its been more consistent to expect 0.8 to 1.5 pounds a week which is perfect because I can be assured that I am losing body fat and not muscle.
