Third day in ...cruising right along!

Hunger...what is it...why does it exist? Hmmm...I guess it's to let you know you need to eat. Now...the thing is that you sometimes have to have a little hunger when you're going into a caloric deficit so you can get a little tighter/leaner. So, today I have that hunger. Yep! Sure do! But I know tomorrow I get to have a "refeed", a caloric surplus! That's better to have only every once in a while instead of every day, don't you think? Haha!

So in the midst of this hunger, I thought to myself..."Self, make yourself some kale chips to tie you over." And guess what Self said? Self agreed that that was a fantastic idea. So they are currently in the oven and I can't wait. I made my usual olive oil and sea salt. And I also made Cheesy Italian Kale Chips. Can't wait to try these. I just put in olive oil, sea salt, bruschetta seasoning, garlic powder, grated parmesan, and red pepper flakes. Smells fantastic. The key to kale chips, for me anyway, is to use enough sea salt to balance out the bitterness of the kale. I think I will have to try some Asian style kale chips next. Mmmm...sesame oil, sesame seeds, soy sauce, garlic sauce, rice vinegar?...oh boy! Those sound delish! Must try next time. I still have 2 bunches of kale so I must think of something!

Today marks the third day of my new plan. So far I really like it. I'm not as strict with myself as I had been before. I make sure to meet my macronutrients and I'm making sure to eat pre- and post-workout accordingly. I readjust my eating "plan" for the day to make sure my higher calories and carbs are around my workout. So far so good. I'm going to do this for about 4 weeks unless I feel terrible then I'll change something after a couple of weeks. But at least 2 weeks.

Since I'm still injured (tennis elbow) I have to watch what upper body I do, as well as not being able to do squats with the weight I like or do deadlifts really at all. It's just too much strain for my elbow. In the meantime I'm icing the heck out of my elbow and just letting it heal. So far so good. It will take a while but I'm being patient and doing what I can in the meantime. This means no "flies" - as in chest fly, reverse fly. Also I can't do side lat raise! DEFINITE NO on that...very painful. Front lat raise hurts slightly so I just did super light weights. So yesterday this was my SHOULDER and CHEST REHAB/BEGINNER WORKOUT:

Dumbbell Shoulder Press 1x12 15#, 3x10 20#
Side-leaning Side Lat Raise 1x10 15# - NOT GOOD
Dumbbell Front Lat Raise 3x10 10#
Incline Rear Delt Raise (bending elbows & moving dumbbells toward forehead) 3x10 10#
Incline DB Chest Press 3x12 15#
Arnold Press 3x10 15#
Push Ups off Dumbbells 1x6 - ALSO NOT GOOD

Tabata fnisher: 8 rounds - 2 of each, 20 seconds push, 10 seconds rest
1) Speed squats
2) Burpees
3) Mountain climbers
4) Speed skip

It was a good workout and definitely had me sweating by the end. Keep in mind that I haven't worked out for quite a while so my body's trying to re-acclimate. My quads were already a little sore from the day before's beach workout. And today, they were even sorer.

OH MY LORD! The kale chips are out and I am most certainly making the Cheesy Italian Kale Chips again...very very soon! They are AMAZING!!!! The other ones taste so blah in comparison! HA! Oh well...now I know!


This was today's HAMMIES and GLUTES and ABS WORKOUT:
Warm-up:
10 x Nick Tumminello's 4-point squat
10 per leg bodyweight reverse lunges, alternating legs
10 per leg front-to-back leg swing
10 per leg adductor/abductor leg swing
10 per leg high knee to lunge
10 x Nick Tumminello's 4-point squat

Full squat with bar 12 to warm up - bar only, 3x8 95#
Single leg deadlift 3x10 20 #DB
Shoulder-elevated Hip Thrust 3x10 35# plate
Walking Lunges w/ 35# bar 3x10 each leg
Back Extension (glute focus) 3x10 10# plate
Crunch on Bosu 1x20, 2x10
Hip Lifts 3x10
Oblique Twists 3x10 each side

After I finished this workout I would have sworn that I had done straight quad work the entire time. My quads were TIRED! I went for a massage later though and she worked out my quads and they feel better. My body is just very busy "remembering" what it was like to work out! LOL!

In case you want a real "recipe" for the kale chips, this is how it went down. Measurements are approximate. I didn't actually measure anything except the oil and parmesan.

CHEESY ITALIAN KALE CHIPS

1/2 bunch kale, removed from stems in similar size pieces - washed and spun dry in salad spinner

1/2 t olive oil (can use more if you desire)

1/2 t sea salt

3 teaspoons bruschetta seasoning (or some kind of Italian seasoning)

1/2 t garlic powder

1 t crushed red pepper

4 teaspoons grated parmesan cheese

Mix all together in bowl and spread on non-stick cookie sheet or foil-lined cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for about 10-15 minutes, turning and moving around about every 3-5 minutes. That's it. Remove and eat! Yummy!

Aah...there! My novel is complete! Hope you enjoyed it and had a great day! Have a nice rest of your week. Only 9 more days till Carmageddon! It's gonna be TERRIBLE! But the good news is that the cafe on the next street is having a street party from 11am to 4pm that day! I think I'll have to go join the festivities, and wave to the people trying to follow the detours!!

Some workouts

TODAY'S MOSTLY DROPSETS BACK AND ABS
Seated Lat Pulldown - Dropset 105/90/75/60/45 x 4/6/6/8/10 pulses
Assisted Close Grip Pullup - Dropset 60/70/80/90 x 6 each, 100 x 10 pulses
Underhand Barbell Row - 45 # - 3x12
Hammer Strength Lat Pulldown Underhand Grip - Dropset 45/35/25 x 6/8/8, 15 x 10 pulses
Seated Cable Row - Dropset 100/85/70/55 x 4/6/8/10
Hip lifts (to vertical) - 3 x 20
Bodyweight Rows - 3 x 7
Ab crunch on ball - 3 x 15

SATURDAY'S HAMMIES AND GLUTES (and yes, I'm still sore in my hammies)
High Box Squat - Bar only warmup then 95# x 10, 115# x 8, 135# x 8
Good Mornings - Bar only x 12, 65# x 12 (2x)
High Step Ups (aerobic step with 12 risers under each side) - 3 x 12 each leg
Hip Thrusts - 75# - 3 x 12
Single Leg Back Extensions - 3 x 10 each leg (why are these sooooo hard?)
Hanging straight leg raises - 3x15
Cable crunches 60# - 3x10
Pikes on elbows and feet on floor (on towel) followed by blank hip swivel (I'll have to videotape this because I can't explain but it's AWESOME!) - 10 pikes, 8 swivel each hip leading (2x) - third set on hands instead of elbows

YESTERDAY'S SHOULDERS, CHEST AND ABS (kinda)
DB Shoulder Press - 15# warm up x 15, 20# x 12, 25# x 10, 30# x 8
Front Raise with 25# plate - 3x12
Side lat raise on incline bench - 8# - 3x10 (these are super duper hard for me!)
Rear delt DB row on low incline bench - 15# x 10 plus rear delt flyes 15# x 5 (3x)
Single Side Lat Raise with pause at top - 15# - 3x12
Ab Crunch on decline w/ 10# plate - 3x15
Pushups off DBs - 2 x 12, 1x10
Single Incline Chest Press - 15# 3x12
Incline Chest Fly - 15# DB 3x10

Shoulders & Upper Chest...CHECK!!

Gotta love taking an extra rest day! Good for the mind and GREAT for the body! That is what I thought this morning. I got up and was wrestling with the thought of getting right back in bed. But since I didn't work out yesterday I knew I had to get up or ELSE! LOL! So I did just that. I got up, had my shake with instant oats, got dressed and headed to the gym. Got to the gym and guess what?!? Oh, yes, you all know this one I'm sure...NO IPOD!!!! Oh boy! And wouldn't you know it? Just last week I was thinking I needed to charge my Shuffle just in case I forget my iPod some day! But did I? No, I forgot all about it! So no music. So sad...:-( :-( :-( But fear not! I put on my Shuffle and headphones anyway. I don't need to be bothered with other people thinking I can hear them. Hee hee. And guess what happened? I had a FANTASTIC workout! Hmph! Who would have thought?

Here's my Shoulders & Upper Chest Workout:
3 sets of 8 for all:
DB Shoulder Press
Front Raise with Cable
Single Side Lat Raise
Machine Shoulder Press
Rear Delt Flyes
Arnold Press
Pushups off DBs (3x12)
Incline Chest Press

So I felt good after my workout and so far I've had 2 meals, well 1 1/2. I'm feeling good. I think I really killed myself on Saturday's workout and needed that extra day of rest. Feeling much better today so it's time to KNOCK IT OUT!!!!

Oh! And last night I made myself an Orange Rum Protein Shake! OMG! It was ridiculously good! I'm tellin' ya! If you want to add some great flavor with no fat or calories then go for the Bakery Emulsions from LorAnn Oils! You will NOT be disappointed. I used the Orange and Rum Emulsions in my shake last night with some almond butter! I'm salivating as I type this! Memories...like the corners of my mind...HAHAHAHA!!!!

Bakery Emulsions from LorAnn Oils -the loves of my life

“You've got to get up every morning with determination if you're going to go to bed with satisfaction.” ~George Lorimer

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” ~Winston Churchhill

5 BY 2:00!

Yep, that's right...5 meals by 2:00pm. Impressed? I think I am!! I was hungry up until that point too. But after than my hunger waned which is just fine by me. So it looks like I'll be finishing out my day with 7 meals...PERFECT! What a way to start off my new year. Good job me! LOL!

I got in the gym early today. I'm going to try to hit the gym in the mornings and free up my nights for some down time and getting to bed earlier. We'll see how that works. Sometimes I like working out at night but mostly I prefer the early morning since there are far fewer people. I didn't even feel the flux of the New Years Resolutioners this morning. Yeah, people may make resolutions but they're not going to overdo it and think they can commit to a resolution at 5 in the morning. If they did, we would see a lot more of the resolutioners sticking with it. The ones that make the resolution to make it to the gym AND to make it there at 5 in the morning are serious and committed. Yep, NOT a lot of those this morning. In fact, I don't think I saw any new faces! Interesting...

This was my workout this morning:
Barbell Rows 4x6 50# (can definitely go heavier)
Assisted Chin Ups (5 sec negative) 3x6 50#
Incline DB Press 4x6 30#
Standing DB Shoulder Press 3x10 25#
Triceps Pushdown 3x10
SS w/ EZ bar bicep curl 3x10

It was a good workout and fairly quick. I really want to lift heavier but since it was a new workout to me I kind of had to gauge where I am right now and figure out how much to push without injuring myself. So it was a good workout and when I do the same workout next Monday it will be a GREAT workout!

I'm also trying to do a little less cardio. I'm just seeing how my body does with that. I was so used to being in contest prep mode that it's taken me a little while to figure out what's necessary and what I can do without. Basically I don't think I need to do as much cardio as I was doing. I would like to build a little muscle and lose a little fat so I'm switching up my meal plans a little, doing a different training routine and lightening up my cardio. I'll see what happens. It's great to know that if it doesn't work the way you want you can always switch things up again. No harm, no foul, ya know?

My meals were pretty doggone good today:
1) 1/3 cup oatmeal, 1 scoop protein
2) 1 egg and 3 egg whites, 1/4 cup oatmeal, 1/4 cup blueberries, 6 walnut halves
3) 1 egg and 3 egg whites, 1/2 cup oatmeal, 1/2 cup homemade applesauce, 4 walnut halves
4) 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds, 1 Think Thin bar
5) Traci's Thai Crockpot Chicken, 1/2 cup brown rice medley
6) 2 cups spaghetti squash, 1 - 1 1/2 cups Zesty Tomato Meat Sauce, sprinkling of freshly grated parmesan
7) 7 prunes, 2 pieces of chocolate, 4 TLC multigrain crackers - OOPS!!! Slight derailment!! No problem. There's always tomorrow...
8) Will be pumpkin souffle or 1-minute chocolate protein cake

So, yes, it was only going to be 7 but then 7 happened and trouble began!!! LOL! No problem. It's all fixable and redoable and I can't panic about something as silly as that now, can I?

Still working on my goals for the year and solidifying my action plan as well. But Wednesday is my date to be completed with goals and action plan so expect big things for me Wednesday. I'll be working on it all in the meantime. But I'll list several of my "big ticket items" on my blog just to make myself more accountable. Feel free to let me know some of yours as well. GOALS ROCK!

Hope your first Monday of 2011 was indeed MOST EXCELLENT!!! Keep smiling, eating clean, working out and breaking through! It's your year! What are YOU going to do about it?

Rest day and Wednesday's Shoulder & Abs workout!

Hello there!! So I'm kind of getting back in the swing of things and it's not a minute too soon. My life feels like a runaway train this year. Next year I'm going to work really hard on several things and one of them will be to have better scheduling for myself and also to be more punctual like I used to be! I'm late too often these days and overbooked and overwhelmed too often too. Not in 2011, nope...it's not going to be like that. No sirree!!!

I went to hang with my friend that's competing in Excalibur tomorrow. She looks FANTASTIC! And she is going to rock that stage BIG time!! As much as I said I was glad I did it one time and don't really feel the need to do it again being there with her all tanned up and the excitement of it all made me rethink. I'm not saying I would do it anytime soon if at all. I'm just saying the excitement of it all is kind of fun. I think it would make a difference if I did a competition with some girls I already knew. It would just be that much more support.

So I think I was overly tired from last week and this week. Last night I was in bed by 8:45pm and not up until about 6:15!!!!! Thank you very much! 9 1/2 hours!! AWESOME!! I rock! What can I say?!? LOL!!!! Sometimes you've just gotta do what you've gotta do. I realized how exhausted I was when I was doing my Ham & Glutes workout last night. I was tapped out. Each rep was almost impossible in my mind. I think the first set I did was good but I quickly lost any strength and energy so it was HARD. REALLY, REALLY HARD!!!!!! I completed my workout though and then my aerobics instructor was teaching some high impact aerobics so I headed in there for just 15 minutes. It felt good to move but only made me even more exhausted! And I was starving!! So when I got in my car I quickly ate a Vanilla Almond Crunch Quest bar and headed home ASAP! I got home and made some chicken quickly in the microwave and had a mighty green smoothie that was delish of course!! I needed some veggies and quick! I ate that about 8:15 and then headed to bed. Whew!

I felt great today and well rested. I decided to take today as a rest day since I was clearly hitting my limit for what my body could handle so one more day of rest. In the meantime my meals have been a little whack. Let's see...here's what I ate today. Tomorrow I'm going to be on it much more! I stocked up at TJ's with veggies and pork and tilapia so I'm good for now.

Meal 1) 5 egg whites, 1/4 cup oats
2) 5 egg whites, 1/4 cup oats
3) Quest bar, 1/4 cup oats
4) Tuna salad sandwich w/ light mayo, mustard, capers, celery on 2 slices Ezekiel bread - yummy!
5) Quest bar, 1 apple
6) Salmon, 1/2 cup wild rice, steamed veggies
7) Probably Pumpkin Souffle w/ coconut oil and almond butter - what can I say? Still addicted!!!!!

Now for my shoulder and ab workout from Wednesday!

SHOULDERS and ABS WORKOUT

DB shoulder press 3x12 20#
Single Side lat raise 3x12 20#
Front raise w/ rope 3x12 17.5#
Rear delt flies 3x12 15#DB
Arnold press 3x10 20#
Shoulder press on calf raise 15# 10 pulses - WHOA! HARD!!

Crunches on decline w/ 10# plate 3x20
Ball roll-ins and pikes - 10 each x3
Crunches on ball 3x10

This was a great workout. I think I'm going to make another page on my blog for my workouts since there are times I want to do my past workouts but can't find them. Great idea! I think I'll do that right after I post this. 

I'm off to work in my caramel factory and get to bed. Tomorrow's another day and I want to be ready for it and well rested too! I have a lot to do this weekend and basically until I leave for Christmas vacation on the 21st!! Woot woot!!! That is soon!

Have a great weekend everyone!

It's already been broughten...LOL!!

So, my Monday bring it really brought it! I was up and at 'em before me alarm and off to the gym I went. I got in 40 minutes of fasted cardio. 20 minutes on the stepmill at level 10 speed training. Then it was onto the treadmill at 4.4-5.0 and 15% incline entire time. Yep, I was back on it! I had a nice relaxing and meditative stretch and then it was home for breakfast and showering, etc.

My meals today:
1) Kabocha protein shake, 1/3 cup oatmeal with a couple tablespoons of homemade applesauce
2) 1/2 cup oatmeal w/ 1/4 cup homemade applesauce, 5 egg whites w/ homemade salsa - Yummy!
3) 1/3 cup oatmeal w/ UVAB & 1 t coconut oil, 5 egg whites w/ Iris's homemade salsa - THANKS Iris!
4) 4 oz turkey taco meat, 1 1/2 spelt tortillas, 1 sugar-free creamsicle
5) 1/2 cup Voskos w/ 1/2 scoop protein and 1-2 T pumpkin and 1/4 cup oatmeal
6) Thai Basil Chicken and 1/4 cup brown rice - forgotten how GOOD that is!! Oh boy!
7) Chocolate Protein Cake w/ 1 T NuttZo - also forgotten how good THAT is! YUMMY!!

I trained shoulders tonight. It felt great but I remember why I started lifting in the mornings instead of at night. The gym is just crazy crowded at night and especially on Monday nights! At any rate, this is what I did:
DB Shoulder Press 20# 3x12
Single Side Lat Raise 20# 3x12
Front Raise w/ plate 25# 3x12
Rear Delt fly DB 15# 3x12
Push up off DB 3x12
Incline Chest Fly 15# 3x12
Hip raises 3x20
Hanging Leg raises 2x15
Hanging leg raises obliques 2x10 each side

Great workout! Great food (except I definitely need more veggies tomorrow! I'll work on that!) And great relaxation and chitchat tonight. Just a great day all the way around!!! LOVE it when you're ready for the week to start! Woot woot!!!! 

Rainy day Wednesday - Chest, Tris, Abs Workout

Good morning! How is everyone doing this morning? I'm feeling some fire. And guess what I've decided. I've decided that I am just going to put my favorite mix (you know the one - dried cranberries, chocolate chips, almonds and/or sacha inchi) in my plan on a weekly basis. Why you ask? Well, because I LOVE the combination and the reality is that it's not that bad for me and it's a really good TREAT. Dark chocolate is good for you as are dried cranberries due to their high volume of antioxidants. And of course the good fats from almonds and sacha inchi are awesome too. So I have decided to have that once a week. Unless it starts adversely affecting me then I think I'm good. I'll keep you posted on that. And the truth of the matter is that I really, really enjoy that treat. With it in my plan I can fully indulge and enjoy! Whew! Glad I got that off my chest and out there so you all are in the know!

So I'm off to a great start today. I had a killer workout this morning and a great breakfast. And soon my second meal will be ready for my big ol' mouth! Ha ha!

Chest, Tris, Abs Workout
Chest
Incline push ups 3x15
Regular push ups 3x12
Push ups off 15 # dumbbells 3x12
Dumbbell chest press with 20# 3x15
Triceps
Triceps push ups off dumbbells 1x10 (OK...this was really hard after knocking out all the previous push-ups. I can usually knock out many more of these but not this time!)
Single triceps kickbacks 1x20 each arm
Reverse triceps dips - 10 slow - rest, 10 lower half then 10 upper half - rest, 5 full then halfway and hold for 3 counts then pulse for 5 then 5 more full then halfway combos
Abs
15 full leg raise/hip lift
20 reverse curls
20 crunches
20 reverse curls with 10 # plate between knees
20 crunches with 10# plate overhead
20 crunches raising both hips and shoulders with 10# plate between knees
Cardio
20 minutes HIIT on stepmill - started at level 10 for 2 minutes then level 12 for about 13 then level 16 for the last 5 minutes - all on the speed training (that's my love and I am so happy when I can get THAT stepmill!)

Home for shower and food. My first meal was 5 egg whites and 1/2 cup oatmeal with HOMEMADE salsa!! Yummy! I haven't made salsa forever and let me just tell you how good it was and is and will be since I made a TON! DELICIOUS!! And I love that salsa is so freezable. Oh, yes, there will be many salsa meals to come. In fact I think I'm going to make a bastardized Pescado Veracruzano for dinner tonight. Yummy and perfect for this rainy weather! If I do, I will definitely post the very easy recipe. I'll post my salsa recipe later today as well. It's so rustic and just bursting with flavor. Ooh, I need to take a picture of it. Note to self! Hahahahaha!!!

Have a great day today!

Goodbye Thursday...Friday's waiting in the wings!

Thursday's over! I'm glad. It actually wasn't too bad considering it was a Thursday. But I'm looking forward to my weekend to be honest with you.

I woke up feeling a little tired this morning but got up and to the gym since I wanted to leave the nighttime open for whatever I felt like. Whether that be rest, workout, chat with friends, cook, ya know...whatever I felt like! I got to the gym and ended up doing giant sets for my shoulders and tris. It was good and I felt great. Then I headed into the aerobics room and did about 10 minutes of jump rope. I'm LOVING the jump rope!

Training:
Shoulders - 3 rounds, 10 reps each - rest about 1 1/2 - 2 minutes between
Dumbbell Shoulder Press - 20#
Single Side Lateral Raise - 15#
Dumbbell Front Raise - 12#
Rear Delt Flyes - 8#

Triceps and Abs - 3 rounds, 10 reps each - rest about 1 minute between
Triceps push ups off dumbbells - hands under shoulders/elbows shooting toward feet
Overhead Triceps Extension with dumbbell - 25#
Skullcrushers with dumbbells - 8#
Hip raises off a bench - keeping hips off bench

10 minutes of jump rope variety - jumping front to back. slalom jumps, moving forward, sideways and backwards, attempting to do double jumps (well, I guess I should call them double spins - twice around with the rope for each jump) - failed miserably but entertained myself!

Quick stretch and I was out.

My meals today were good and varied. My little friend Kabocha is back!! We're hanging out together again!
1) DELICIOUS Cinnamon Apple Protein Shake (1 scoop vanilla protein, 1 apple, lots of cinnamon, 1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond breeze, 8 ice cubes) - drank one glass full and poured the rest over 1 cup spelt flakes - heaven!
2) Kabocha with 1/2 scoop chocolate protein powder and Almond Breeze, 1/2 cup brown rice on the side
3) 1/2 cup brown rice mixed with tuna, 2 teaspoons olive oil and Bac'uns - dessert of kabocha with cinnamon and Almond Breeze
4) Pork chop, side of Ezekiel toast with 1 T NuttZo, dessert of chocolate chips, dried cranberries, almonds
5)  1/2 cup Greek yogurt, 1/2 scoop protein powder, 12 cinnamon almond meal crackers
6) Another pork chop, lots of kabocha
7) Hmmm...not sure yet...um, pumpkin souffle? OKAY!! A little coconut oil and NuttZo? OKAY!!!

It's off the computer for me and off to relax and get ready for bed, eat my final meal and put my head down for some good ol' zzzzzzzzz's. Have a good evening. I see Friday peeking out...

Friday's here! My LEGS are sore!

 High Five! It's Friday!!

Yesterday was my first LEG workout on my pre-pre program! It was killer! It was really great actually. I like working my legs so I enjoyed it a lot. And today I'm feeling it a lot! Yeah for me. My hamstrings are just super tight. Good thing I took the time to roll and stretch after the workout or I would be super duper sore.

After returning from my workout I was craving rice chips so guess what? I listened to that craving and ran right over to Whole Foods and bought my Lundberg Rice Chips with Sea Salt. I thought I would just have a serving or 2.

 Now, while that's an interesting IDEA, it's not very realistic when we're talking about me and chips. So, as I'm closing in on the last few crumbs in the bag I think, "Hey, I wonder how many calories are in a serving?" Oh, just 140. Great. "Hey, I wonder how many servings are in this bag?" Oh, just 6. That's great...later realizing that was just an extra 840 calories!!!! LOL! Oh well. That's the first "crazy" style binge I've had and at least it was a healthy one at that so I'm totally okay with that.

(from yesterday) Turkey Tacos...yum! 

 

Today I was back on point. I was up at the gym early this morning and got in 40 minutes on the treadmill at 15% incline between 4.4 and 4.6. I didn't go as fast as usual but that's okay. My hamstrings were really talking to me on that incline, let me tell you!

Meals today:
1) 1/4 cup oatmeal, 2 eggs, 3 T yogurt with cinnamon
2) Zucchini & yam loaf - so tasty!
3) Salad with chicken, 1/2 Pink Lady apple, walnuts and dressing (balsamic vinegar, garlic mustard, stevia) - this was a delicious meal actually!
4) Chocolate protein muffins
5) Turkey taco salad with Ezekiel tortilla chips and salsa dressing (homemade tomatillo salsa, yuzu vinegar, stevia)
6) Chicken vegetable soup (homemade of course) with Shirataki fettucine noodles and garlic chili sauce

Carb Free Chicken Noodle Soup & sesame seeds

7) Pretty sure it's going to be my new addiction protein pancake w/ nut butter frosting

Workout today:
Dumbbell shoulder pressing (palms facing in) 3x15, 15 lbs
Side lateral raise (15 lbs) 3x15
Front dumbbell raise (10lbs) 3x15
Triceps dips off weight bench 3x15 superset with ab curl on bench 3x15
Skullcrushers with dumbbells (10lbs) 3x20 superset with decline ab crunch w/ 10lb plate  3x15
One arm overhead tricep extension (10lbs) 3x20 superset with seated knee raise
DONE! Until tomorrow!

Just getting ready to eat my final meal and then it's off to bed because 6am will be here before we know it. Have a great weekend everyone!

 

Nobody trips over mountains. It is the small pebble that causes you to stumble. Pass all the pebbles in your path and you will find you have crossed the mountain. ~Author Unknown

Chap Chae (Korean glass noodle dish) made with Kelp Noodles

Good Evening! Monday is almost over. It was a really great day today. I'm a little tired but it went well. I ate well, had good workouts and I'm almost completely done with my day. Even got a few minutes of relaxation in tonight! Yes!

As mentioned in my previous post I was up early for my cardio on the treadmill. This evening back at the gym for shoulders, upper chest, and rear delts. Great workout.

Workout:
Shoulder Press - 4x12 - 20lbs - 4 different grips
Side leaning lat raise - 3x15 - 20 lbs
Front delt raise (chest to bench at angle) - 3x15 with 5 second hold at end! - 10lbs
Pushups off 15lb dumbbell (3x12) superset with incline chest press - 3x10 - 15lbs
Rear delt fly (chest to bench at angle) - 3x15
Rear delt squeeze on machine, standing - unilateral - 3x15 - 85 lbs
DONE!!

Meals:
1)  2/3 cup nasty crockpot oatmeal w/ apples and walnuts
2) Chai spice protein muffins, 15 almonds
3) Egg white salad (not recipe worthy) and 2 small Ezekiel tortillas
4) Protein shake & 1 T almond butter
5) 4 oz Asian pork tenderloin, cucumber slices
6) Salad w/ broiled shrimp and balsamic vinaigrette dressing
7) Will be protein tea, probably something tropical like my Zinzibar Ginger Coconut with 1 t flaxseed oil

New recipe that I just made and am patiently waiting to tomorrow to eat up with whatever protein I end up having, probably chicken for dinner. I hope you try it. You can always use regular glass noodles if you're not trying to watch your carbs but this is really delicious with the Kelp Noodles too! Tastes like the real thing. The kelp noodles soften up once they hit the heat and soy sauce. Yummy!

Chap Chae 

Chap Chae

1/2 package Kelp Noodles (although could have easily used the whole package)

2 teaspoons sesame oil

1 T canola oil

1 small onion, thinly sliced

1 zucchini, cut into matchsticks

2 cloves garlic, finely minced

3 stalks green onion, cut into 1" lengths diagonally

4 med/large mushrooms (shitake or wood ear but I just used regular since that's what I had)

1 pkg spinach (6 oz)

2 T soy sauce

5 drops stevia

1 T sesame seeds, optional

Rinse noodles well. Mix with 1 teaspoon sesame oil. Cut to desired length with scissors.

Mix soy sauce and stevia together. Set aside.

Heat canola oil in LARGE saute pan or wok on med high heat, swirling to coat. When oil is hot but not smoking, fry onions and zucchini until just softened, about 1 minute. Add garlic, green onions and mushrooms and fry 30 seconds. Add spinach soy sauce & stevia and noodles. Fry 2-3 minutes till all is heated through. Take off heat and add remaining teaspoon sesame oil and sesame seeds if using.

That's it. So easy and yummy! It's quite traditional too except Koreans usually use carrot instead of zucchini. Of course you could put ANY veggie that appeals to you in. You can add shredded chicken or whatever protein you want and you're set. Hope you like it!

That's about it. Hope you all have a wonderful and relaxing evening and I'll be back on here tomorrow. Going to try my brown rice couscous tomorrow. I'll give you my review. Hope it's as delicious as regular couscous because I love couscous. It's so versatile!

Drop Set Upper Body Workout

So today I was much better. I ate better. Still not perfect but better. I have 5 more days before heading out for Christmas vacation. I will be working very hard to eat almost perfectly. I will eat something not too perfect for lunch Saturday but other than that I will be on my program! Look at me go!

My workout today was upper body (mostly back and shoulders) in drop sets:
Widegrip Lat Pulldown - 12 warmup (75), 90 x 8, 75 x 8, 60x 8 (2 set)
Seated Cable Row - 12 warmup (60), 70 x 8, 60 x 8, 50 x 8 (2 sets)
Abs - Hip Lifts - 2 sets of 20
Rear Delt Squeeze - 3 sets of 15 x 85
Standing Shoulder Press - 12 warmup (20) , 20 x 8, 15 x 8, 10 x 8 (2 sets)
Side Leaning Lat Raies - 12 warmup (12), 15 x 8, 12 x 8, 10 x 8 (2 sets)

20 minutes HIIT elliptical

Great workout!

Meal 1: Cheerios w/ protein powder & 1/2 banana
Meal 2: Sweet potato & 1/2 cup yogurt w/ cinnamon
Meal 3: Bagel dog! Yummy! & coleslaw 1 cup
Meal 4: 1/2 cup cottage cheese & 1/2 apple
Meal 5: Protein shake w/ 1/4 cup oatmeal
Meal 6: 4 oz pork chop, mashed cauliflower - tasty!

So other than the bagel dog I did pretty well. I felt much better today about the way I ate and my workout. I'm going to chat with some friends on the phone now and get ready to head to bed.

Progress!

“The great thing in the world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving.” ~Oliver Wendell Holmes

“Don't wait until everything is just right. It will never be perfect. There will always be challenges, obstacles and less than perfect conditions. So what. Get started now. With each step you take, you will grow stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident and more and more successful.” ~Mark Victor Hansen

One More!

“Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.” George Bernard Shaw