Too Awesome not to Share!!!

The next time you think you can't do another rep, run another interval or get thru that workout, think on this:

TAKE THAT FAT!!!  BOO YAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!

PS I got this off a post that Nicole Wilkins put on Facebook, so I kinda stole it.  

But isn't it GREAT?!?!?

Fitness Case Study - Week One Recap

I MADE IT! I DID IT!  I ATE IT!  I SWEAT IT!     

THIS HAS BEEN ONE HECK OF A WEEK!  It's been a week I'll never forget.  I am so proud to say that I completed week one of the Recipe for Fitness Case Study!   It was no easy task.  These girls aren't messing around!  What I am participating in is no joke and I gave it 150% dedication and effort.  It's a beautiful thing to be handed such a challenge and know that you did your absolute best.  I feel like this:

I had a very rough start to my week as Chelle and Tab decided that energy drinks and thermogenics were not suitable to take during this phase of my lifestyle change.  So away they went and down, down, down I went.  It was sheer willpower that drove me to complete each workout and fix each meal.  What I really wanted to do was sleep!  I hurt all over, too.  EVERYTHING was sore, it was sort of like trying to do a heavy workout while having the flu.  In a nutshell, IT SUCKED!  I had to keep telling myself (please really listen to this because it's super important) that the reason I felt so badly was because of the things I had done to myself PRIOR to beginning my journey on the program.  The energy drinks, the thermogenics, my body had become addicted!  So I had the fatigue and withdrawl symptoms fighting me as I started the case study.  By Friday, the stimulants were out of my system and I was feeling great!  

One of the things I'm doing for myself while on the program is to keep track of EVERYTHING.  I was supplied really great food and exercise logs by the girls at RFF (Recipe for Fitness) and I am saving each and every log to put in a sort of journal so I can always look back on my experience.  I'm also going to put pictures in here as I progress, journal entries and words of encouragement from the Transformation Support page.  

One of the biggest challenges I face is the organization of it all.  In fact, that might be the biggest lifestyle change for me.  I am working toward a dedicated work out time each day so that it becomes routine and I am doing the one day food prep so that my food is ready at a moments notice.  My husband was an enormous help to me thru week one as he did tons of dishes, took care of the kids, cleaned house and allowed me to nap!  (Thank you, Michael!  I LOVE YOU!!!)  I should be much more productive this week as I am not only feeling better but also have my meals ready to go.

It's snack time now.  That word has become such a JOKE to me!  I don't "snack" anymore since I started the program!  Snacks are little bites here and there, right?  For one of my "snacks" yesterday, I had tilapia, salad, 1/2 an orange and 1/4 of an avacado!!!!  That sound like a snack to you?  Me neither!  But I'll tell ya what, the last few days, I've actually been looking forward to my next meal / "snack"!  I'm ready to eat when it's time to eat.  So, with that I'll bid you ado.  Until next time...

Happy Monday, dear reader!

HAPPY FIRST DAY OF THE REST OF MY LIFE!!! :)

Some of you may remember my post regarding my disappointment about not being selected to participate in a fitness case study.  If you didn't catch that post, take a look here:http://figure-ativelyspeakingeastofeden.blogspot.com/2011/11/can-you-help.html. 

Let me tell you, I am disappointed no more!  Unfortunately, one of the eight selected participants had to drop out.  Unbeknownst to me, I was NUMBER NINE on the list!  Holy Toledo, Batman!  Number NINE out of NINETY applicants!  That bumped me up and I get to play too!  What an honor to be able to participate in such an exciting study!  The gals at Recipe For Fitness are out to change the world and are experimenting on me!!  You can read my bio on the Recipe for Fitness Transformation page here:http://www.recipeforfitness.com/transformation/carleneH.html  I know that it sounds crazy to be so enthusiastic about being someone's victim but you see, I have had this amazing dream for a really long time.  I want to be in the best shape of my life!  Only, I was at a stand still and I needed help.  Now, I have that help!  Tab and Chelle are coaching me, pushing me, teaching me and with their expertise I am going to meet my fitness goals!  I was never sure if I even had what it takes to be really strong and muscular but Chelle and Tab have assured me that I do!  So that's where I'm going... to the top! 
You can follow my journey, and the other seven participants as well, by going to www.recipeforfitness.com and clicking on 12 week case study.  Like I said on the day I discovered I wasn't selected, you won't want to miss this.   

Happy Tuesday, dear reader!  

Ready to Commit!

I'm finally ready to commit to a training regime!  I've decided that I'll do an upper / lower split sort of a thing.  Since my goal, at the present time, is to build size and strength I'm going to focus on the basics.  For lower body days I'll do exercises like:

• squats
• leg extensions
• leg curls
• dead lifts
• lunges

For upper body days I'll do:

• bicep curls
• tricep press downs
• push ups
• lat pull downs
• chin ups

My plan is to work lower body twice per week and upper body twice per week.  In addition to the building part of my program I want to throw in some cardio.  I'm going to keep it to twice per week so I don't overload my body.  I'm going to leave my options open with the cardio so that if I feel like doing a video I can and if I want to jog or go rollerblading, I can do that too.

So, with that being said, it's time to get started!  I think I'll use the blog as a place to track my progress. Here are my beginning measurements:

• WAIST 28 1/2
• HIPS 33 1/2
• RT THIGH 18 1/4
• RT CALF 12 1/4
• CHEST (under arms, not around breasts) 35 1/4
• RT BICEP 10 1/2
• WEIGHT 108.6
• BODY FAT 23%  (according to my cheesy Weight Watchers scale)
• TIME 1:00 PM

If I get brave enough, I may post pictures but I'm not committed to that idea as of yet.  ;)  

I've still to decide how much weight loss (if any) I'd like to see this month.  I think rather than seeing my weight go down, I'd like to see it stay the same with a change in body composition. I will be doing more research to see what goals I can set realistically. 

More later!  :)

Happy Monday, dear reader! 

     

Tuesday Already!

What happened to Monday?  Someone stole my Monday!  ;)  Even though it's Tuesday, I'll do my regular "fitness fridge" - weekly prep post.  I did the usual: carrot bars, hard boiled eggs, etc.


Something I've been working on the past couple of weeks is a chocolate protein bar, which I've yet to name.  At this point, the result is a 9 x 13 pan containing:

• 264g protein
• 85g sugar (simple fructose only)
• 65g fiber
• 37.5g fat
• 287g carbs

These bars come out chewy and delicious.  My kids call them "brownies"!  They ask for them for dessert!  Ha ha!  :)  I'm working on a protein frosting for them and once that is perfected, I'll share the recipe on my Yum Yums page.

I'm still working on what training schedule I want to commit to, so in the meantime I've just been hoisting some heavy weights, body builder style.  Today I get to do legs and abs.  The plan is lots of squats, isolated hamstring curls on the swiss ball, a few other leg killers and weighted ab exercises.  When all is said and done. I'll wrap up with Jackie Warner's Xtreme   Crunch Free Abs.  Whew!  Tired already!  :)

Well, gotta get to work!

Happy Tuesday, dear reader!

Don't Miss This! Chuckle for the day!

You have to read this post that a fellow blogger wrote.  I adore this gal's blog and her writing style.  Any of us who have spent any time in the gym have had interactions with someone just like the guy she talks about in this post.  Check out her humorous review of the little chat she had with "the Skinny and Confused Man".

An Open Letter To The Skinny And Confused Man

Can you help???

Well, I'm speaking thru huge amounts of disappointment today.  For the last few weeks, I have been awaiting word on whether I was accepted as a member of a case study that a fellow blogger is doing.  She is pursuing her dreams of changing the world full force and is taking eight VERY LUCKY people with her!  Unfortunately, I will not be one of those eight people.  But I will be supporting the chosen few, and learning from the experiences they have.  You can too at:  www.recipeforfitness.com.  This is sure to be a motivating journey and one we don't want to miss.


But-- its ONWARDS AND UPWARDS for me now!  Time to figure out my next step in my fitness journey.  Here's what I want:

I WANT TO LOOK LIKE AVA COWAN!!!

Now, my diet is pretty dialed in.  I've pretty much got that figured out, I think.  It's the training I'm trying to figure out.  I have a lot of equipment at the ready and I'm willing to work for it.  My natural tendency is to get skinny.  Well, in case you didn't notice, the woman in that picture is NOT skinny!  She is round and buff and strong!  My problem is not cardio.  I'm NOT a cardio queen, in fact, I do very little cardio.  So what's up?  How do I build a body like that???


I'd like to enlist the help of my readers, I know you're out there!  :)  There are a lot of you reading this blog (thank you so much, by the way) and I need your help, please.  Have any of you been thru this problem?  What did you do?  What worked, what didn't work?  I really need your advice and ideas, please.  I'll be waiting for your comments!

Happy Wednesday, dear reader!