1 Step Forward...

Two steps back!  I started stage 4 last week and didn't even take pictures.  I have been having a hard time getting the kids to go out to the gym with me and J3 has days where she won't let me put her down for long enough to do a whole workout.  It's exhausting, but it's time to stop whining and get back to work.  I have also been struggling with my diet.  I have been eating way too much sugar & not enough protein.  The biggest problem is that I love to bake & my husband loves for me to bake! I made a snicker's cheesecake the other day and then had 2 pieces of it in one day. I also ate 5 mini snickers while I was making it.  It's a good thing that I don't actually put on weight when my diet is off, but I do stop progressing. It's never too late to get back on track, so that is my focus this week.  I am going to go make a pitcher of green tea after I post this & start looking up some new recipes for diet motivation.  But first, here is a pic of the cheesecake!

Stage 2!

Boo on me for not updating this after I finished stage 1, but here I am!  I see a pretty big difference, especially in my mid-section.   

 

Stage 2 only lasted about 3 weeks & J3 & i had some sort of virus, so that threw me off a bit! I finished it yesterday & did pics today.  I feel fabulous, I have lots of energy & my diet is going well.  I am not super strict about it, but I am making sure that I am getting enough to eat & getting enough protein.  In Stage 2, there was an "A" & a "B" workout &  interval training after the "B" workout.  Intensity was up a bit, but sure to be more in stage 3, which I plan to start tomorrow.  

Here are my pics from today:

Diet challenges

I have been at this program for about 6 weeks now & my biggest struggle is my diet. I have a really hard time eating all of the calories that I need to. I need to be eating 2200 calories on a rest day & 2500 calories on a workout day. The percentages i am using are 30%fat, 30% protein & 40% carbs. I have been supplementing with Cytogainer for extra calories and protein which is definitely helping. I am also using an iPad app to track all my calories and am trying not to be obsessed with it. The problem is that I have programmed myself in the past to always be cutting calories! I feel like I am over eating at 2200 calories. I have to keep reminding myself that if I don't eat as much as I need to then my muscles just aren't going to grow. I haven't lost any weight, so I am doing good, but I am tired all the time. Though, I might credit that to my 1 yr old.

I love Green Tea!

I would like a Venti Iced Green Tea with 1 Splenda, no syrup & a splash of non-fat milk, is frequently my order at Starbucks. I love the particular tea that they use. It is Tazo and it is delicious. I also brew it at home and drink several cups a day. It has a small amout of caffeine (about 20mg per cup) to give me a little energy boost. The health benefits of green tea are astounding! It is rich in cathechin polyphenols that inhibit the growth of cancer cells and lower LDL cholesterol. Green tea has also been shown to increase metabolism, so drink up!

Mommy likes pull-ups

I personally think that pull-ups are a superior exercise & since we don't have a cable machine, I will be substituting them for Lat Pulldowns in my workouts.  I use a resistance band to increase the number of reps that I can do during my workouts. One of my goals for this program is to increase the number of pull-ups I can do. Back when I was still in the Marine Corps, I could do 13.  To get to that point, I was doing them almost every day.  After some practice, right now I can do 7.  I would like to double the amount of pull-ups I can do by the end of this program.

The Gym

How does a stay-at-home mom of 3 small children & a husband who works long hours get to the gym? I have no idea! We are very fortunate to have a very nice home gym. It is actually a separate 1000 sq. ft. building on our property. In fact, one of the reasons we bought the house that we did is because it has a nice extra building. We have been buying gym equipment for quite a few years now & have what I consider to be a pretty nice free weight gym. We have Precor Icarian benches & preacher bench, 8-100 lbs dumb bells, squat rack with pull-up bar, leg press/hacksquat & plenty of weight! The only thing that I really would like to have is a cable crossover machine. We just haven't found one at a reasonable price yet. Having a gym at home is one of the best things that we have done for ourselves. There is no excuse for me to not workout. I don't have to waste time getting the kids ready, which can take up to an hour some days. I don't have to pay for child care at the gym, or for a membership for that matter. We spend quality time as a family playing, dancing & running around in the gym. Most importantly, I believe that we are setting a good example for our kids because they see us working out & living a healthy lifestyle.  I am sure we will be adding more in the future, but here it is for now:

Stage 1

The workout plan that I am following has 7 stages, you workout 2-3 times a week with a week of rest in between the stages.  I am probably going to workout every other day instead of 3x a week.  It is a good stress reliever for me & I get plenty stressed with 3 young children and a husband who works long odd hours! I feel a little awkward about posting my before pics, but they are what they are...

I am in the middle of my 2nd week of Stage 1 & I feel like I am a little beyond this stage, so instead of doing it over 8 weeks, I will probably cut in down to 6 before I get bored.  Then I will take more pics!