Start of Week 5

Today I started Week 5.  Can you believe it?  I’ve been taking this journey for  just about a month.  Wow!  I’m a third of the way through the program!  It’s been a good experience, challenging but good.

Upper Body Workout today and a total change of exercises.  What a killer!  It’s weird.  Even though I really tried to push myself during the first 4 weeks, I could see how it’s important to change up your routines because your body gets comfortable.  Even though I worked the same upper body parts, it was at new angles and positions and it was clear my body was not used to these changes.  Now I’m going to have to re-adjust myself to get used to these new exercises. I think that’s a good thing.

After my new challenging workout, it was weigh in time. I was practically doing a happy dance.  In 4 weeks, I am down 8 lbs!  I think I’m actually starting to notice a change in my body.  I know I’ve been complaining about not seeing any results but the scale is telling me different.  Wait….. I might even see an ab…well not yet! (smile)

My eating habits have become quite regular.  I really like the structure of eating smaller meals more often.  I have to admit that I haven’t been really hungry throughout this whole process however I have noticed that if I get involved in something and I find myself a little behind in my eating schedule I feel my energy start to drain.  Still, this is much better than just stuffing my face because the food is there.  Plus it’s saving me money because I have not been impulse food shopping just because it looks good!

Ugh Another Cheat Days!

Cheat day.   Well it was another bad cheat day.  But I guess that’s what this day is for.  Last week, I said I would try to stick to one cheat meal instead of cheating all day.  So even though I was bad it’s all relative.

It started out easy enough, no real cheating but I didn’t really stick to the 6 small meals.  I sing in my church choir and on the Sunday’s when we sing, the hospitality committee provides breakfast in between the 7:45 and the 11 services.  I opted for a bowl of fruit and half a bagel with light cream cheese, good right?  I thought so.

After church, I was hungry so I whipped up an Eggbeaters sandwich on a wheat sandwich thin.  Still good.  Then I decided I wanted something sweet.  I was given brownie minis and I ate one of them.  Still not too bad.

Then dinner came.  I had received a gift card to Red Lobster so it was off to the restaurant.  The good thing I did was plan ahead.  The restaurant is having a seafood feast for $15 in which you get soup, salad, entrée and dessert.  Before we left I logged on to see what my healthiest choices were and surprisingly they do have some half decent selections. In the past, I would gobble down 4-5 of the cheesy biscuits but tonight I limited myself to only one. I chose the garden salad instead of the Caesar salad and instead of the Garlic Alfredo Shrimp and Scallop Pasta, I opted for the Wood-Grilled Fresh Tilapia.  Completing the meal was the New England Clam Chowder and for dessert… Apple Crostada with Caramel Drizzle.  Lots of food after being so good all week but it was only one cheat meal instead of a whole day of badness.

The one thing I have to learn is not to beat myself up.  It’s not like I’m having meals like this every day and I think once and a while it’s okay.  And even when I do there seems to be ways to make healthier selections that are still tasty.

1/3rd of the Way Finished!

Today was the last day on the treadmill.  See I didn’t even call it cardio day.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s still Treadmill Hell! Got on the machine, cranked up my music and it was off I went.  Again as I was increasing my pace I thought how good it is that I’m getting closer to my goal of maintaining a 7 ½ minute mile. 

Those little voices in my head were stronger than normal.  They kept trying to get me to stop or alter my intensity level but still I managed to complete the run without changing the pace from my planned levels.  I think what helped was the fact that I get to change my cardio routine for the next 4 weeks and that it was the last day of exercise of the week!

It’s funny I’ve been looking forward to my workouts every morning but I’m also happy at the end of the week when they are done but it’s for different reasons.  I like the workouts but I can feel the rush as I’m working and just imagine the changes that are happening to my body.  I look forward to completing the workouts because it means that I’m one more day to reaching the end of my transformation.  It’s not that I want it to be over but I like working toward a goal and want to cross the finish line.

This also means that I’m roughly 1/3^rd of the way through my first challenge and 1/3^rd of the way to my new improved me!   Although, I did complete the challenge before, it still just as new this time as it was last time around.  Plus that was over 10 years ago.  I’m determined to be just as successful or better yet….more so!

A Nice Surprise!

Today was a lower body workout day.  I approached it with added determination because it was my last lower body workout of my first four weeks.  That means next week, I’ll be switching up my exercises.  In addition, I’ve been feeling a slight twinge in my knee and I’m determined not to do anything that’s going to make it worse and derail me off the BFL program.

With these things in mind, I was extremely careful but also focusing on power and reaching my 10s.  The one thing I’ve been feeling is that even though I’m working my legs my arms and shoulders are working as well especially as I was doing the dumbbell lunges and the straight leg deadlifts.  All in all I had a pretty good workout, I challenged myself and my knee is still feeling good.

Since it was casual day in my office, I reached for a pair of jeans.  To my surprise, I was able to get into a pair I hadn’t been able to wear in awhile.  What a wonderful surprise however when I look in the mirror, I still don’t really see any changes.  Oh well, I’ve got to stay focused and keep working.  After all, my jeans fit!!!!!!

This is one of the hardest things about the challenge.  I wish my progress would happen overnight.  But if that did, what would truly be my incentive to really work hard and push myself?

Later that evening, I met some friends for happy hour.  I know what you’re thinking but I went anyway. I drank water the entire evening.  My friends still haven’t gotten over the fact that I wasn’t downing cocktails hot and heavy like they were but they continued to wish me well on my BFL journey.  I actually am not missing the drinking as much as I thought I would.  Whether I stop altogether we’ll see what happens after I complete the twelve weeks.

Yes I'm Still in the Challenge!

I guess it’s not always easy to express my thoughts on a daily basis that’s why I’ve missed a couple of days posting.  I think I expect major changes on a daily basis that way I’ll have something to write about or maybe discover some inner enlightenment but that hasn’t happened. 

I was actually excited for the treadmill that was my first cardio workout of the week.   I don’t know why but maybe it’s because next week, I move on to a different piece of cardio equipment.  Maybe I might even miss the treadmill for a while.  Somehow I doubt it!  The morning’s run was even better than before I was able to push myself even more and increased my pace.  I’m now average about a 8 ½ minute mile.  This is up from the 10 minute mile only 3 weeks ago.

The following day I was up in a flash.  I guess I’m starting to like these early morning workouts.  I have been getting much better at going to bed at a decent time and I find myself raring to go sometimes even before my alarm goes off.  I always look forward to the upper body workout days.  It was a good workout and I think I had the best meal selections for the day.  The one down side is that I’ve been drinking the prepared Myoplex Lite drinks instead of making it with the powder.  I prefer to mix them up myself but I ran out of the powder and the ready to drinks have been so much more convenient.  The one drink I do not like is the Myoplex Lite Carb Control.  It doesn’t mix well and there’s always lumps of chocolate in it.  Only three more left and it’s back to regular Myoplex Lite.  Now that drink I really like plus I get my daily chocolate fix which helps me say no to the decadent desserts that always seem to be passed around my workplace.

For my second cardio of the week, I was up even before the alarm went off.  Imagine that!  I made it to the gym in record time and even got a primo parking space right at the front of the gym.  I took all these positive signs to increase my pace again of the treadmill.  Although I wanted to stop or slow down, I pushed myself all the way to the end of twenty minutes. Now if only my body would change as fast as I’m adjusting to my workouts!