Upity Update!

Today's Update!
The Exercise:

Ok. So today I had to do a strength workout, right? I blew past rank 1 and 2 of my squats. I gots me some strong legs, y'know, from carrying around weight for so long. Anyways, back to the story. Jonas (that would be my 5ft 9 year old) wanted to ride bikes when we got home. How could I deny him some exercise? So I thought, "Well I can use the bike ride as my warm-up." As we rolled out, I got to thinking... We were going past a park. I could stop at the park and get my strength workout on. Right? Right! So that's what we did. We rode about 2 miles to the park, stopped and I looked around to decide how I was going to do things.

Push-ups? Easy. I'm on incline push-ups, plenty of things to do those on. 4 sets of 15. Squats? Plan was to do jump squats. My knees didn't like that plan. I looked around... park bench! I could try box jumps (bench jumps?)! The bench was about 18 inches from the ground. Epic win! I did 4 sets of 10! I did these 4 sets circuit style without breaks.

Back and abs? Hmm. I could do body weight inverted rows again, sure. But I wanted something fun. Something different! I tried doing the monkey bars to work on my grip and strength there, yeah... not so much. Lol! So I did what any self respecting woman does... I got on the swings and just started swinging. Yep! Did you know if you pay attention to form, swinging works your upper body (arms and back), legs (from pumping) and your core! Tie that in with me loving to put the swing on my back and kicking my feet overhead and lowering them to the ground lowly... I had my back and ab workout! Sweet! (I did this swinging thing for about 5 minutes total)

Hopped back on our bikes and rode home. I feel awesome!

The Noms:

I'll be the first to admit (who else will admit it for me, c'mon, really?) I ate like crap today. I woke up late (I have the not getting enough sleep bug going around) and didn't have time to make food for my training class. Breaks during training didn't allow for us to really leave, so I was stuck eating what was given, plus what I grabbed at 7-11.

Breakfast - 2 eggs, banana & protein bar
Lunch - Sub Sandwich & Salad
Afternoon Snack - protein bar & pork rinds
Dinner - (Redemption?) Zucchini noodles, Pasta Sauce with leftover meat (beef, turkey, pork all chopped in the food processor)

The Life:

No knitting again today. I'm hitting the shower after posting and then the bed.
Finished up my 3 day training, leveling up my life. Now I just need to figure out a plan for implementing what I learned at work. I will be putting this training on my resume as well. Makes me more marketable.  Business Intelligence Specialist - FTW!

Week 2 Update Days 1 & 2

Monday was one of the two days I actually get to go into the office this week, separated by Friday by three days of training, which has been fun! Does that mean I can be a slacky?  Nope!

Day 1 - Monday

The Exercise:

BW Brigade Workout B

BW Rows - 15,15,15,15 (Rank 2 -- COMPLETE)

Close Grip Push-Ups -  2/8, 5/5, 5/5, 5/5 (I couldn't do these at an incline so I did half/knee)

Lunges w/ Weight - 15, 15, 15, 15 (Rank 2 -- COMPLETE)

Planks - 90s, 90s, 50s, 40s

The Noms:

Breakfast - Bacon Veggie Frittata, Melon

AM Snack - Protein Bar, Mixed Raw Veggies

Lunch - Chicken Breast, Carrots

PM Snack - Almonds

Dinner - Little Bit of Chicken (wasn't hungry after workout)

The Life:

I knitted on the train (my brother normally rides with me every day but Monday, since the scarf is for him, I can't normally do this… I got about 15 rows done!)

Day 2 - Tuesday

The Exercise: Rest Day, just normal walking around and aiming to stretch during breaks of training.

The Noms:

Breakfast - Bacon Veggie Frittata, Melon

Lunch - Meat from provided Sandwiches, Mixed Raw Veggies & Pot Roast

PM Snack - Pot Roast, Almonds, Pork Skins (I was hungry on the way home!)

Dinner - Secret Shop @ BW3 - Wings, Salad & 1/2 beer (I really don't like the stuff but I had to pretend I did for this shop)

The Life:

I'm upping my life by doing this SSAS training… and I got this cool shirt!

Week 1 Quick Summary & Week 2 Menu

I'm in a Microsoft sponsored training for SQL Server Analytical Services for the next couple of days so I'm going to only be doing a quick summary and stuff. :)

Week 1 Summary

Exercise Goals - Met.  I got in all my strength training workouts without issue.  My cardio of 2 hours was met with some cardio dancing on Sunday! I've gone through rank 1 all the exercises and completed rank 2 of the squats during week 1!

Eating Goals - I had a little stray off paleo on Saturday but right back to the way of things.  I feel good about this goal. I strayed a little from the menu but it helped greatly in keeping me from going grabbing fast food or something if I didn't feel like cooking.

Life Goals - I knitted 6 out of 7 days.  I went on a hike with the kiddo, but it wasn't one of my planned ones. I've also done a little work on the budget.

Week 2 Menu

This week will be interesting for a couple of reasons.
- I'm in training 3 days with provided lunches (no idea what they are, but I plan on bringing things just in case.
- I have a secret shop to do tonight at Buffalo Wild Wings
- I have to drive 2 hours on Friday after work.

These are things I have to deal with though, so I'll push through!

Days 5 & 6

Day 5 - I had the day off to take my kid to the eye doctor. While his vision appears to be fine, his pupils don't constrict like they should and could be the cause of his headaches.  He's going to get reading glasses that should aid in the strain on his eyes.

My legs were so sore, I was wincing every time I sat down and stood up.  I opted to make it another rest day and push my strength workout to day 6.

The Exercise:

Nada, I cleaned and rested!

The Foods:

Eh, I kinda ate out every meal... Not proud of that but we were doing a lot of running and it was just easier.

Noms Nommed:
Breakfast - Veggie Omlette, Bacon & Small Fruit Cup
Lunch - Green Beans, Grilled Chicken from KFC, Cole Slaw & Couple Potato Wedges
Dinner - Chicken Wings, Salad & Celery

The Life:

I think I knitted one row before I opted to go to bed.  Heh.

Day 6 - Today!  I scored fabulous at the local Farmer's market, completed a secret shop and chilled at home for a bit.  Then I started grilling and getting my workout in.  Finishing the day up by cuddling with my kid and doing some knitting.

The Exercise

Cardio - Cutting grass in this nasty heat... then I hopped in the pool.  I'm counting this at half time for cardio for the week at 30 minutes.

BW Brigade A:
Push-Ups (Incline) - 10, 10, 10, 7
Body Weight Rows - 10, 10, 10, 10
Squats (Overhead) - 15, 15, 15, 15 (Finished Rank 2)
Side Planks - 75s, 60s, 30s, 30s (Ugh, I just couldn't hold them)

The Food:

I had a "situation" after my cutting the grass and time in the pool... I was hungry, at my parents house and had an ice cream sandwich followed by peanut butter filled pretzels. The important thing?  I admitted it and didn't hide it away.

Noms Nommed:
Breakfast - Chicken Breast & Green Beans
Lunch - Turkey Burger wrapped in lettuce, various veggies from the farmer's market
Snack - Protein Bar
Snack 2 - Bacon, Ice Cream Sandwich, Peanut Butter filled Pretzels, Cashews
Dinner- Cedar Plank Grilled Salmon, Steak, Asparagus & Red Potatoes with cantaloupe for dessert!

The Life:

As soon as this is submitted I'm knitting while Jonas and I watch Den Brother.

A New Use for Leashes

Happy Friday! Log for day 4!

The Exercise:
I didn't exercise, I rested. It was hot outside yesterday. I also had to spend 2+ hours traveling in a car after work. I did some stretches, but started feeling the soreness from Wednesday's workout!

I did some research about what I can do to do body weight rows from my chin-up bar. I found a site where it showed old dog leashes tied to the chin-up bar, making use of the handles. Then you can use the same leashes to do push-ups too. So I'll be looking for some cheap thick leashes this weekend!

The Food:
I stopped at the Farmer's market on the way into the office. Lemme tell you, this makes my day. I grabbed some zucchini, bell peppers and broccoli. Let me tell you a story, I cut up a purple bell pepper for my breakfast. While I was in the kitchen, one of my co-workers came in asking what I was eating. When I told her she looked shocked. Not that I was having a turkey burger for breakfast but at the fact that I eat raw vegetables. I told her to try a bite of the pepper, they were a bit sweet but not overly so. She nearly gagged after she put it into her mouth. She said she doesn't like the taste of vegetables. She can stomach them if they're cooked and covered in sauces... I couldn't fathom that. How can a person not enjoy vegetables? They are so tasty!

Anyway! My food yesterday... I was hungry for breakfast and lunch and then not overly hungry after lunch. Since I had to drive, I opted to grab something "out" for dinner.

Noms Nommed:
Breakfast - Turkey Burger w/ guac & salsa, bell pepper
Snack - Almonds
Lunch - Chicken Breast & Zucchini (raw)
Dinner - Pickle & Turkey/Bacon unwich from Jimmy Johns
Snack - Almonds

The Life:

Due to the fact I wasn't really home, I only got 3 rows done on the knitting last night. But I'm all good with that. What's important is I did something!

Another day and some Broccoli!

The Exercise

My plan to get up early and work out was stifled by my insistence of hitting my alarm clock snooze button. I worked out when I got home from work, warming up by pulling weeds in 100+ degree heat and then dancing around my living room. I chose not to do a back exercise last night.  I don't have a good apparatus at home to do body weight rows on.  My kitchen table is too low to the ground and I don't feel I'm getting a good workout with it.  I am going to look at getting something to attach to my chin-up bar for this. (A stick with some rope comes to mind right now, lol!) My push-ups and lunges were done as a circuit, with rest cycles spent getting dinner ready. The last circuit, I was yelling while counting, hoping to give myself inspiration to push through the workout.  It worked!

BW Workout B Stats:
Close Hand Push-ups: 4 sets of 15 = Completion of Rank 1
Lunges: 4 sets of 15 = Completion of Rank 1
Planks: 4 sets of 60s = Completion of Rank 1

I've successfully completed Rank 1 of my workout plan... Friday's workout will be Rank 2 exercises!

The Food

Oddly enough, I went between not being hungry and being famished a couple of times in the day.  I had fruit and nuts yesterday for my afternoon snack.  While the snack is tasty, having raw veggies seems to be more filling.  I may play with that a bit next week.  Even with a stressful day, my eating was good.

Noms Nommed:
Breakfast - Leftover Shrimp & Veggie Thing
Lunch - Turkey Burger & Green Beans
Snack - Blueberries & Pistachios
Pre-Workout/Pre-Dinner Snack - Snack size slim jim
Dinner - Turkey Burger & Broccoli (The entire head that I picked from my garden!  YUMMY!)

Broccoli from MY garden!

The Life Goals

I knitted another 10 rows!  That moved me to being 11.71% done!  (Yes, I'm that much of a geek that I have a spreadsheet that I keep track of what I've done and what I've got left to do)

Day 2 - Quick Update

The Exercise:

I got up early again and hopped on the bike for a short ride. 5:30 am it was 88 and 94% humidity!  In other words, it was kinda nasty.  I'm glad I got out and got some exercise in. The ride was 23 minutes and 3.79 miles.

The Noms:

I was hungrier today than I was yesterday, which makes sense as I'm usually hungrier the day after I work out.  I ate when hungry, but didn't eat things I didn't have on my plan.

Noms Nommed:

Breakfast - Snack Stick, Cucumber, Leftover Chicken Stir Fry

Lunch - Chopped Chicken Salad

Snack - Mixed Raw Veggies

Dinner - Shrimp, Green Beans & Sweet Potatoes sauteed with butter and garlic

Dinner!

The Life Goals:

I did some knitting while watching Extreme Makeover Weight Loss Edition.  I only did 4 rows, but that is 4 more than I had the day before. :)

Day 1 - New Beginnings

Day 1 of New Challenge was a resounding success!

I started the day off with a bang! 

The Exercise:
I woke up and hopped on my bike for a warm-up before my strength workout.  My warm-up ended up being nearly 7 miles! I got home, nice and sweaty, turned on some music and got busy with my strength workout. Between sets I cleaned out my kitchen pantry, putting all the stuff I'm not going to eat into bags to give away.

My Body Weight Workout:
4 circuits of:

• 15 Push-ups On Knees (Rank 1)
• 15 One Arm Rows with 30lb dumbbell, each arm (Rank 1)
• 15 Squats (Rank 1)

Side Planks, 2 sets each side, 60s each with 60s rest between sets (Rank 1)

I completed my Rank 1 of all the exercises!

The Noms:
Not logging my food into a calorie counting program, but writing it in a notebook was interesting. I found this little notebook I had forgot getting from a coworker for Christmas. It works well as it's small, has a pen and reminds me to keep calm!

So how was nomming?  Good!  I didn't eat what was planned for lunch.  I wasn't sure if there would be a luncheon after the funeral I attended or not.  There was, however there were no veggies (that weren't in pasta).  So I swapped out my blueberries for a salad for my snack.

Noms Nommed:
Breakfast - Eggs scrambled with bacon, squash & onion
Lunch - Pot Roast & Ham
Snack - Salad, Pistachios
Dinner - Chicken Stir Fry (Veggies in play: Cabbage, broccoli, green beans and roasted red peppers)

Chicken Stir Fry

Feelings throughout the day?  I didn't stress eat.  Dinner, I ate because it was 7pm, but I wasn't overly hungry.  Which doesn't surprise me.  I'm generally not overly hungry on strength training days, but the day after.

The Life Goals:
I worked on my knitting project while watching 300 before bed.  Finished up one color and get to switch to a new color tonight!

I also got a lot of cleaning done, including carrying up tiles from the basement to the trash.  This goal has been on my list for a year (remove tiles, carry up, sweep & paint)!  All I need to do now is clean and paint!

New Challenge Week 1 Menu

Week 1 Menu of Noms

Monday
- Breakfast - Egg Scramble with Veggies & Bacon
- Lunch - Salad with Tuna on top
- Snack - Frozen Blueberries & Nuts
- Dinner - Chicken Stir Fry

Tuesday
- Breakfast - Leftover Chicken Stir Fry
- Lunch - Chopped Chicken & Veggie Salad
- Snack - Raw Veggies
- Dinner - Grilled Cod, Grilled Broccoli & Cauliflower

Wednesday
- Breakfast - Leftover Cod & Veggies
- Lunch - Burger & Chopped Veggie Salad
- Snack - Blueberries & Nuts
- Dinner - Slow cooked Chicken over zucchini noodles and steamed broccoli

Thursday
- Breakfast - Bacon Burger wrapped in lettuce
- Lunch - Leftover chicken & zucchini noodles
- Snack - Raw Veggies
- Dinner - Cubed Chicken & Veggies (I gotta drive for a few hours, easy to eat in the car)

Friday
- Breakfast - Ground Turkey & Veggie Skillet
- Lunch - Grilled Chicken Salad
- Snack - Blueberries & Nuts
- Dinner - Grilled Kebabs (Chicken and Beef with veggies of epic proportions)

Saturday
- Breakfast - Omlete with veggies & ham
- Lunch - Leftover Kebabs over Salad
- Snack - Raw Veggies
- Dinner - Cedar Plank Grilled Salmon, Grilled Carrots & Salad

Sunday
- Breakfast - Eggs, Sausage & Hash Browns
- Lunch - Burger & Salad
- Snack - Raw Veggies
- Dinner - Grilled Chicken & Veggies

I'm Kicking My Own Ass Challenge

Here's my official goals for the next six weeks!

This challenge is going to be interesting.  I plan on doing some major ass kicking, of epic proportions... to myself.

First off, food goals. After finishing up "The Paleo Solution" by Robb Wolf, I have decided for this challenge, I will be going full Paleo for the duration of the challenge. Because one of my main goals is still weight loss, I will be limiting my intake of fruits and nuts.

So!

Eating Goals:

• 100% Paleo
• Fruit 1 serving per day, choosing between: Berries or apple (apples are accessible if I forget my berries at home). Try to only do an apple once a week.
• Nuts 1oz per day. These will either be pistachios (which I'm still trying to figure out how much 1oz is with the nuts in the shells) or almonds.
• I will not be logging my food into a calorie counting program, however I will be logging everything I put into my mouth and my feelings each day. This is vital to me figuring out what my triggers are.
• Create a weekly menu on Saturday for the following week. Post it. Follow it. 

Ok, now fitness stuff. One of the downsides to the last challenge was my access to a gym. I'm limited to days I'm at work to get to a gym. Right now, gym membership isn't in my budget and my gym at work is free (or, free for me, a benefit paid for by work). On days I'm off, I struggled with my workouts. I spoke with Steve a bit and have decided I'm doing the RSG BW workouts again, with a bit of twist.

What I've done is taken the workouts and created ranks. Each rank consists of graduated exercises when I reach 15 reps per set. I've documented this in a google doc if anyone cares to take a look here! Becasue building strength is about doing a little more each time, I'm starting at rank 1. As soon as I reach the 15 reps per set, I move to the next rank for the next workout.

Fitness Goals:

• BW Workouts 3x per week
• Cardio (biking, walking, chasing my kid, etc) 2 hours per week

The area I've struggled with coming up with goals... my life goals. I tried to come up with a couple fun goals and a couple "make me a better adult" goals. 

Life Goals

• Knit every night on the super secret project I've been working on for a couple of years.... (Fun!)
• Take my kid to hiking twice, once at Starved Rock State Park and once at Indiana Dunes State Park. (Fun!)
• Continue working on budget, cutting down spending such that I can put money into savings every month. (Adult)
• Update my resume and put it out there to find a job closer to home. (Adult)

I decided, this challenge, I am not going to weigh myself every week. As a matter of fact, I put the scales away (three of them, downstairs, in a box taped shut). I weighed myself this morning and will weigh again on the last day of the challenge. I will continue doing weekly measurements and pictures.

Starting Weight: 273

New NF Challenge

There is a new Nerd Fitness challenge starting up next Monday.

I just finished the book "The Paleo Solution: The Original Human Diet" by Robb Wolf and have decided that for this next challenge, for my eating goals, I will follow the suggestions presented by Robb.  Basically, I'll be eating Paleo for the entire six weeks.  I will be limiting my fruit and nuts, basically sticking with meats and veggies.  Will this be difficult?  Some days, I'm sure it will be.  However, I will make it through and I will do a damned good job at it.

What about my other goals?  What will I be doing?

I realized through the last 6 week challenge, not having access to a gym while at home was difficult. No, I won't be joining a gym.  I strictly do not have the budget for it right now.  What I will be doing is going back to Body Weight exercises.  I'll be following the Rebel Strength Guide Body Weight Brigade again.  The difference this time around?  I'm focusing more on building strength by increasing the difficulty of the exercises at the right time.  I've been talking with Steve Kamb, the creator, and feel like I have a good plan in place.  I'll be doing the Body Weight exercises 3x per week.

What about the other 4 days you ask?  I really enjoyed the goal of getting 2 hours of cardio a week from the last challenge more than the "do the triathlon cardio" from the first.  I'm leaning towards keeping the same time, 2 hours, and making sure I keep variety by doing a host of cardio (biking, walking, hiking, boating... etc) and trying new things.

I also want to throw in a day of yoga each week.  I need to keep my flexibility up where it's at.  It should also help with the stress.

Where am I struggling in my goal making is the life goals.  So many things are happening, I'm not sure what I want to be doing here.  Yes, I need to continue working on the budget and stop spending as much... but I want some fun life goals too, not just the ones that require me to work at adult things. :)  I'm looking for suggestions!

I plan on writing up all my goals, taking my before pictures/measurements/weight on Sunday.  I also plan on taking my scales and putting them out of sight for the entire challenge. (I have three!)  I am going to weigh in at the beginning and at the end.  I'll do pictures and measurements every other week.  I want to pay attention to my body more instead of numbers on a scale.  As well, I won't be tracking my diet using calories, but just writing down what I'm eating, how much, what times and how I felt throughout the day.

*tap tap* Is this thing on?

I didn't disappear.  I took a vacation.  A very much needed vacation. I've been under so much stress with the home life and work life, I needed time away. I did relax.  I also accomplished a lot of things.  I got all of my basement tile pulled up.  I had a garage sale and got rid of a lot of crap and made some money doing it.

I did not do formal workouts, or follow my eating plan 100%. I am not stressing about it, or trying not to stress about it.

I did not do final, week 6 measurements.

Let's take a look at the first 5 weeks of my challenge.

Eating Goals:
- 95% Paleo, met without issue.
- Fruit 1x a day, met via average.
- Dairy 2x a week, it got better over the course of the challenge

Exercise Goals:
- RSG Dumbbell Workouts 4x a week, done.
- 2 hours of cardio, I think I fell short week 4 but the rest I blew past the 2 hours.

Life Goals:
- Basement Tiles, done
- Explore new places, done... they may have not been "pay for these places" but they were new to me.
- Budget, I got myself set up on mint.com and started working towards a budget and separating finances.

Stats:
- I lost 7 pounds and around 10 inches overall.

Overall challenge grade?  B+

I'm in the process of deciding where I want to go from here. My personal life is so out of balance right now, I'm not 100% sure where I want to go, what I want to do.  My work life is too stressful, I know I want to put looking for a new job on the list.  Over the next week, I plan to explore emotional things and try and figure out what I'm doing.