Day 7 Week 5 - Fighting through and perspective.

This week has been a bit of a tough one... I've been really stressed out thanks to everyone at work really pushing my nerves with off color jokes, gossiping worse than I've ever seen, and starting to have sexist undertones while talking to me. I don't deal well with that sort of stress so I started applying for new jobs and have an interview tomorrow afternoon. In addition on Thursday I had my weigh in and I had only lost 5 lbs and .2% body fat since my first weigh in so of course I was really upset about that. On Friday though my wonderful trainer Tony put my results into perspective and told me that I had lost the most weight out of the women in the gym doing the challenge and the second overall which lifted my spirits a lot because I was really feeling defeated.

I've finally also started to notice other changes. My tops have been fitting looser and I think my lower belly pooch is slowly going away which is great news!! I also have the interview tomorrow which I really hope goes well because I would be working full time which means I could save money and pay off my student loans much faster!

So moral of my week is:
Don't give up because you think you're leagues behind everyone because you might just be running far ahead of everyone!


I also made a nifty little graphic for my blog because I have been practicing my logo skills more and more lately. I would say that it is quite fitting.

Day3 Week 5- Supplements that I take

Some people have been asking me about what kind of supplements that I take , other than my multi vitamin and fish oil which seem standard for everyone, so I figured I would do a post about them. This is not a 'Take these amazing products!' post but these are what seem to be working for me.

First off everyone who lift's favorite: Protein! 

Because I am mildly lactose intolerant I have to take Whey Protein Isolates because I hate the taste of plant proteins, they are grainy and taste fake. The two that I have tried so far are Iso-100 and Iso-gen. My favorite one is the Iso-100 that I got a Discount Sports Nutrition because it is smooth, mixes really really well and it comes in a lot of delicious flavors! I feel like it's far more effective than the iso-gen that I was recommended at Wholesale Nutrition. Iso-gen is alright flavor wise, it smells far better than it tastes and it doesn't mix well and is a bot grainy. I have read reports online recently that it isn't as pure of an isolate as the Iso-100. Once I am halfway through this bucket I will be getting more of the Iso-100 and probably stick to that. 

Iso 100

Calories- 110

Total Fat- 0 g

Total Carbs- 1 g

Protein- 25 g

Iso Gen

Calories-110

Total Fat- 1 g 

Total Carbs- 1 g

Protein- 25 g

Ok Second Supplement: Pre-Workout

Amino Energy

Calories- 5

Total Carbs- 2 g

Ok I was sold on Amino-Energy from day one. The Green apple on the right side of the picture tastes like a green apple Jolly-rancher. I'm not sensitive to caffeine so I can't tell you how it will effect you but I would be careful if you are sensitive and stick to two scoops. The good news is that the caffeine is from green tea and it has a lot of the essential Amino acids that you need. They say that you can use this as a morning drink, pre-workout, post workout recovery,and an afternoon pick me up. I only take it as a pre-workout or a morning drink if I'm not feeling coffee that morning. The Fruit Fusion is delicious too it sort of tastes familiar and I think it may be Gummy worms? It's not quite fruit punch but it is very candy like. 

Extras

Glutamine perfect for post workout! Especially if you are strength training. Glutamine is an amino acid that assists your body by helping repair the muscle quicker and make it bigger and stronger. It's naturally occurring in things like beef, chicken, eggs, beans, and beets so you don't have to take a supplement for it if you eat enough of these things but if you are like me and on a lower calorie diet it is really difficult to get all you need in your diet. I feel so much better the next day when I remember to take it after a workout.

L-Carnitine L-Tartate This is another amino acid, it helps with fat loss and muscle gain. L-Carnitine is an old tried and true body building and weight loss product that was only overthrown by stimulant weight loss pills in the 80's and 90's but has come back to the spotlight again now that we all know how bad those stimulant drugs are for us. I started using this only a few weeks ago and I have been seeing more results than I had been which is great. I can feel my muscles in my stomach more. I have also seen that this supplement may help with Type II Diabetes but please talk to your doctor before using it for this reason.  

Okay okay these aren't supplements but I typically use these to cover up the very tart taste of the L-Carnitine L-Tartate powder. They are naturally flavored and low in calorie which makes them delicious. 

~Elizabeth

Day 1 Week 5 - Learning and growing.

Today I am feeling a little bit more confident about my progress. Parts of me do feel firmer, my bum is perkier, and overall I am getting stronger. I hope that this trend continues for the next 7 weeks which I think it should as long as I keep on track especially during Halloween season which is filled with sweets, alcohol, and pie.

I'm not sure how far exactly I want to go with my fitness journey but of course it won't stop at the end of this 12 week challenge with Gold's Gym. I'm pretty competitive so I don't know if I want to push for a chiseled body or if I want to push more for strength. Either way I choose I will continue to choose fitness which I hope I can maintain once I go back to pursuing my dreams which are currently on hold as I pay off student loans and hone my skills.

I highly suggest to my friends who are still in college get active while you can when you can. I made so many excuses while at school on why I don't need to work out or keep a healthy diet. It's too hard. I'm too busy. I'm tired. I have to study. I have to crew. I'm too poor. I love food too much. These are just some of the excuses that I had but what I did with the time that I had left over I was at home on the computer or watching TV snuggled up in my bed being sedentary. Sure I was sort of active during the day running up and down the stairs searching for my professor Lloyd or walking around campus or opting to park further away rather than parking closer or taking the stairs instead of the elevator. Those choices let me maintain my weight and encouraged my unhealthy obsession with processed foods, sweet tea, and diet soda. Now I realize that I could have pre-prepped my meals on the weekends and chosen to take the extra few minutes in the morning to make and eat breakfast. It's all about little choices that build you into a strong and powerful human being.

Lifting gives me mental and physical strength. The mental strength to overcome an enormous pressure and obstacles that I sometimes feel like I cannot fight through. The physical strength to fight new pressures and obstacles that are larger than those that came before them.

New exercise that I love Cable Squat Rows
Learn how to do them here. 

Day 7 Week 4 -

This week has been pretty busy and tough which is why I haven't posted yet this week. I have been struggling pretty hard with my body image because I feel like I should be seeing some sort of difference in my body but I suppose the 'It takes 4 weeks for you to see the change, 8 weeks for friends and family, and 12 for the rest of the world' isn't always true. I do feel better and my butt is a little perkier but it's not very noticeable unless I have a side by side picture. I have have no change to my measurements or my weight. I had lost 3 lbs at one point but it went right back on which is really disappointing. I'm not sure if I am just replacing my fat with a lot of muscle but that seems very unlikely... I do have 'half way point' weigh in next week with my body fat percentage. Hoping for good news...

Week 4     ---->Week 3     ---->Week 2

While I have been stressed out about that We also got a major rush job on Wednesday where I had to stay until 7 when I typically only stay until 12. It was really really aggravating BUT I still went to the gym! It was crazy busy at the gym and most of the equipment down stairs was pretty much out of the question so I just did an hour on the treadmill with an interval routine that I created. the 15 minute intervals are what I typically use as a warm up or my early morning cardio that is usually 15-30 minutes. 

Hopefully this week wont be quite as crazy but I have stuck to working out 6 days a week for at least 1 hour a day and keeping fairly close to my macros which is great but I am still not seeing as much progress as I feel that I should be seeing. 

At least I have some proof that I have been working out regularly!!

1 hour interval treadmill routine

5 minute warm up @ level 1 and speed 3

1 minute @ level 1 and speed 6

2 minute @ level 1 and speed 3

1 minute @ level 1 and speed 6

2 minute @ level 1 and speed 3

1 minute @ level 1 and speed 6

2 minute @ level 1 and speed 3

1 minute @ level 1 and speed 6

2 minute @ level 1 and speed 3

3 minute @ level 5 and speed 3

4 minute @ level 10 and speed 3

3 minute @ level 5 and speed 3

2 minute @ level 1 and speed 2

1 minute @ level 1 and speed 6

2 minute @ level 1 and speed 3

1 minute @ level 1 and speed 6

2 minute @ level 1 and speed 3

1 minute @ level 1 and speed 6

2 minute @ level 1 and speed 3

1 minute @ level 1 and speed 6

5 minute cool down @ level 1 speed 2.5

Day 7 Week 3

Tomorrow I am weighing myself and I'm a bit nervous every time that I do. I like knowing what kind of progress I am making and this week was really hard on me and my body so I am worried what my results will be. I'm hoping that it isn't too drastic because I am trying to gain muscle right now until the 6 week mark then we are going to focus on dropping weight with cardio while maintaining whatever weight that I'm able to lift at that point which will be good. 

Tomorrow I have Personal Training again so I'm sure I will have something to post tomorrow about that. 

I made this on Thursday but I was feeling so crap that I didn't post it. 

Southwest Shrimp Salad

Shrimp

-4oz Small Shrimp

-Mrs. Dash Southwest Chipotle Seasoning to taste

-Garlic to taste

-Olive Oil Spray or pan spray of your choice

-1/2 Squeezed lime 

Salad

-2 Cups Spring Mix Lettuce

-1 Cup Romaine Lettuce

-1/2 Avocado

-1 Roma Tomato

-1/4 lime(for dressing)

Things I would have added if we had them in the pantry:

-Fresh Sweet Corn(roasted or raw)

-Black Beans

-Red Cabbage

-Red Onions

-Cilantro

Day 6 Week3 -Tired

This has been a very challenging week for me as you may have gathered in the last two posts. Today was supposed to be my rest day but it ended up being a massive cleaning day and going to the grocery store hungry day.

My body is tired because I haven't been able to cram enough food into it which is really just a product of what I was taught to do from my teens. It's also difficult to pile in the food when you are trying to set a good example for parents who often over eat. I crashed right before dinner because as I was raised to do I'm not allowed to snack before dinner even if it's an hour away. That hour between getting home and food I fell asleep in bed even though I was supposed to be working on some layout work. I'm frustrated at myself because eating is supposed to be the easy part but it's obviously not. I've only managed around 1400 calories today which would be fine if I wasn't working out and building muscle because my body is trying to build the muscle that I have been working on all week. This is not fun right now but I am going to push through and fight.

I'm hoping to keep this blog up but this is all the energy I have left for today and I am hoping to sleep in tomorrow so my body is ready for the gym again.

Day 5 Week 3- Under Eating

Yesterday I talked about how tired I was feeling and how I thought I was under eating. I was 100% right. For anyone out there who is dieting or trying to get fit and wondering 'Well aren't you supposed to have a calorie deficient?' Yes, but not over 1,000 calories deficient....

Recently I have been eating around 1,600 calories a day, I need to be eating around 2,100-2,500 calories a day to drop the weight because I am burning anywhere from 500-1000 calories in the gym 6 days a week.

So, I need to eat a lot more than I have been which will be hard for me but I need to do it otherwise my body will burn out, get depressed, and won't function like I am supposed to. Once upon a time back in High School I convinced myself for a long time that the less you ate the more you would lose and if you worked out on top of that it was just extra weight you lost. That's what the media taught me along with many different diet sites. To gain fitness you don't want to run all of your calories off you NEED those calories for your body to function properly so that it will burn the fat and gain the muscle that you want to gain and lose. Another side effect which I have been experiencing is that you won't feel hungry until you are eating regularly again because your body is trying to process the food as slowly as it can so the energy isn't burned as quickly as it would be otherwise.

I am also learning how important hydration is in addition to eating well. Our bodies are mostly made up of water molecules that allow our bodies to function properly which helps digestion, the healing process, fat burning process, as well as keeping your skin, hair and nails looking and feeling great. When one or the other starts getting off kilter your body starts to compensate by shutting down different bodily functions like the shedding of skin which creates dry patches of skin or not burning as much energy that you are taking in so that it can be stored until you start eating and drinking right again.

I just wanted to make this post so others can learn via my experience because I feel like crap right now but I'm going to get better so I can keep going.

~Elizabeth