Sharing is Caring... My Fitness Plan...

I know there are a million different ways to skin a cat, but I'm currently combining Intermittent Fasting along with my Herbalife Lean Out plan and it seems to be working pretty well... I'm down 9.5lbs since last Monday!  For more info on Intermittent Fasting (http://www.theiflife.com/intermittent-fasting-101-how-to-start-part-i/).

In more detail... I'm doing a 2000-2200 calorie meal plan per day ensuring I get in 200-230g of Protein, 70-90g of Healthy Fats and 50-120g of Carbs per day for 6 days a week.. then I have 1 day to eat my maintenance calories (3500+) in order to reset the leptin... hormone that triggers fat burning. 

I am doing a workout program called CT-50 (www.ct-50.com) which is 5 levels, 10 workouts per level all 20 mins or less. The shorter workouts work best for the way that I'm eating. If I were going to be doing extended workout sessions, I'd probably have to eat more. The other reason I prefer the shorter, more intense, workouts is because it should reduce the amount of Cortisol (stress hormone) I release into my body. That hormone also blocks weight/fat loss from my research.

If you want to try this, the numbers would need to be adjusted to your specific requirements.  If you are out there and you need help in getting yourself together, I'd be happy to help you!  Just let me know!


Shawn.Hurt@Gmail.com
Herbalife Health Coach
#GetUncomfortableSquad
#GUSDC

1 Week Results.... Herbalife "Lean Out" Plan & Exercise WORK!!!

All I can say is that Herbalife nutrition & proper exercise works!!  Last time I checked in I was saying Results or Excuses... and I got rid of my Excuses and had some MAJOR one week results!  I got back on track with my Herbalife "Lean Out" plan and I also started a workout program called CT-50 (50 different at home workouts 20 mins or less) and I was able to drop 8lbs last week.  I know that won't be possible moving forward to drop that much on a weekly basis but it was nice to drop off some water weight I'd gained.  I went from 254lbs on Jan 24th to 275lbs on March 9th, so I have a lot more water weight to drop!  I'm hoping to be able to drop another 5-8lbs this week as well.  I know the closer I get back to the 250's, the more the weight loss rate will slow down.. but I'm focused!!!  I can SEE my optimal physical state in my mind and I won't stop until I get there!!

I shouldn't be that surprised at these results, because I was able to do similar things a year ago... I just have to kick myself for allowing my focus to slip during my injuries!!  Oh well.. spilled milk and today is a new day!!  I'm excited to see what this week brings!

I hope all of you reading this are focused on getting your health and wellness together!!!  In the end, your health truly is your wealth!  I am a Health Coach and can help you get results also.. so if you are struggling to find your way, need motivation and someone to hold you accountable.. feel free to contact me!

Results or Excuses...

Finally this knee of mine is starting to get back together.  I had started back on track 3 weeks ago and was doing VERY well... dropped 7lbs in one week and then made the bad decision to play basketball.  That one decision killed all my progress because I quickly sprained my knee 2 minutes into the game.  At some point in life some things have to be let go and this is the point where I bid basketball a fond farewell!!

I sat for 2 weeks limping and gimping around with this knee.... eating horribly.  The sad thing is that I have so much knowledge about the proper ways to eat, but I ended up doing the emotional eating thing (doesn't help that my wife loves feeding me "teddy bear" foods).  I was really down on myself because the weight just continued to pile on.  It has gotten me back to the original point of disgust I was at when I first started Herbalife last year this time.  Sadly enough, after all the progress I'd made over the year, I got right back to the place I started from. 

Right now I feel differently about losing than I did before though... before it was all about hitting a goal weight, but now, I just want to commit myself to the process... day in and day out.  Regardless of what the scale says.. keep putting in the work.  I no longer have the desire to go in the gym and go crazy.. just consistent.  Having this busted up knee really forced me to rethink my mindset...  It really is a battle of the mind and if you can conquer the mind, the body will follow!!


I hit the gym this morning with the help of one of my accountability partners, Robin, and I can say that without her I probably would have made another excuse to put it off until tomorrow.  That's why this post is titled Results or Excuses.... pick one because you surely can't have both!!  I CHOOSE RESULTS!!

Help!!!! I've fallen and I can't get up!!

I'm still here.. but I am really struggling to get it together!  My eating has been horrible this last week.  I have only worked out once in the past couple of weeks.  I have to get my mind right to get it together! Protein, healthy fats, fiber, complex carbs and an adequate amount of water with one meal per week to eat what I want....  Meal prep for me is CRUCIAL and it is what I've been missing.  I will recommit to 5 days per week at the gym @6:30 AM. I'm going shopping tomorrow to get it started again.  My weight is back up to 266-8lbs so I'm starting from the bottom again....

Here we go!

Back on Track!!!

I hate getting sick... just hate it.  It leads to a cycle that I've struggled to break... falling off track with my eating.  My last post I said I was gonna be out for a couple days... well I was down for 10 days on meds.  That timing couldn't have been worse because it was ending just as it was the birthday weekend for my wife.  I held strong with my eating for the first few days and I was even down to 254lbs 2 Saturdays ago... a 12lb drop from my starting point on Jan 4th.  It WAS a good month... then for my wife's bday, we had to do the celebrating which included a delicious cake. 

After the cake, I ended up making excuse after excuse of why I could eat things I know I shouldn't.. and the inevitable "I'll get started on Monday" started kicking in.  Then... it was Superbowl weekend and OF COURSE you can't start before the Superbowl party! hahaha  I'm able to laugh now looking back on it, but it just goes to show how easy it is to get sidetracked.  The beginning of Feb is now back to square 1 and I'm back here where I was at the beginning of Jan... just 2lbs down from where I started a month ago.... here in Boston getting my eating back on track.  Yesterday was a good eating day hitting most of my macro numbers.  Eating on track is so much easier being away from home... no distractions... no beautiful wife tempting me with delicious foods that don't help my cause (it's soooo hard to say no to her)!!


 See... here's proof of the progress... to bad I picked back up the 10lbs in just a few days... mostly water weight so it should drop off quickly.

Either way.. this will be a good week eating.  Working out is another story.  I'm paranoid now about working out, so I will have to ease my way back into things.  I will start back with my abs and push ups and then back to jumping rope next week... OR this week if I can make it over to the sporting goods store.  This area is expecting 8-10 inches of snow tomorrow so all may be shut down.  Anyway... nutrition drives 80% or results, so I'll be okay with just getting that under control for now.

It's good to be back! 

Day 17 & 18... Sick days and will be for another week :-(

I was not in the mood to post last night.  Unfortunately, just as I'm making some progress with my journey, I have a nagging illness that is preventing me from working out.  Usually, this would also mean I'd have a total collapse with my proper eating as well, but I have learned from my mistakes... I won't make that mistake again.  I do have a certain sense of satisfaction knowing that I am doing all I can do nutrition wise while the meds kick in and my body heals itself.


Here are my menu's and charts for today and yesterday:

Day 17
Meal 1
Herbalife Shake w/protein
Herbalife Prolessa Duo


Meal 2
Quest Bar
Cheetos

Meal 3
Salmon
Green Beans
Avocado

Meal 4
Herbalife Shake w/protein
Herbalife 24 Rebuild Strength

Midnight Snack (due to being depressed)
More Cheetos.... (thanks bad influence) lol

As you can see.. If I'd left the cheetos alone, I'd have been down around 2100 calories or so.  Oh well... I won't kick myself about it because I was still under my limit.

Day 18
Meal 1

Herbalife Shake w/protein
Herbalife Prolessa Duo


Meal 2
Herbalife Shake w/protein

Meal 3
Grass Fed Ribeye
Broccoli
Avocado





















 




I didn't have much of an appetite today.  I have to thank my Bad Influence for going against the grain tonight and keeping me on track.  I wasn't in the mood to cook and was going to order a pizza... but I'm 19 days in on being ROCK SOLID with my eating, so I am thankful to her for keeping me on track!!


By the way... here is my bad influence!! LOL  Love ya, Angel!

#Herbalife #Herbalife24 #GUSDC #GetUncomfortableSquad #BrokenRecordFitnessSquad #NutritionistApp #BeastMode #Focused #FamilyFirst #Love #SANDS

Day 16 - Rest Day (Snow Day)

I guess it is a good thing that my eating and workout schedule are both flexible.  Today I opted to stay home instead of getting out in the snow to hit the gym for Quads and Hamstrings.  My eating was on point today, so that is really my main focus thru all of this.  Eating is 80% of the results you get and it is normally the part that I struggle most with being consistent.  I am 17 days in of eating in the weight loss range of calories and I haven't come close to eating near my maintenance calories once.  I had planned on breaking that on Friday because it is my wife's birthday, but I've decided that I want to get 21 days in a row like the Nutritionist App suggests.  Also, my group on Facebook, Broken Record Fitness Squad, has a 21 day challenge of clean eating.  I don't know that I've held up to the 'Clean' eating standards this whole time, but I'd say eating the way I have is just as good! haha

Today's Menu:

Meal 1
Herbalife Shake w/protein
Herbalife Prolessa Duo
Herbalife Herbal Tea

Meal 2
PB&J Quest bar
Cashews

Meal 3
Grass fed beef
Peppers & Onions Sauteed in Coconut Oil
Multigrain Angel Hair Pasta

Meal 4
Herbalife Shake w/protein
Herbalife 24 Rebuild Strength

I'm not dealing with an nuisance issue that hinders my ability to do a variety of cardio, so for the foreseeable future, jump rope will be my cardio of choice.  I hate having issues.. but it is just an opportunity to tighten down on my eating during this period.


#Herbalife #Herbalife24 #GUSDC #GetUncomfortableSquad #BrokenRecordFitnessSquad #NutritionistApp #BeastMode #Focused

Day 15 - Jump Rope, Abs, Shoulders and Back

This will be a short entry... I will say this.. I LOVE FLEXIBLE EATING!!!  I had my eating day mapped out last night, but ended up having to change the plan because I went to the movies and my 'bad influence' took me to my favorite wing spot afterwards.  She was persistent in telling me to eat a piece of cake that I normally get there (because I had reworked my meals and saw I could fit it in without going over my caloric intake).  I stewed on the decision, but finally gave in and got the cake.  It was delicious!! :-)

Menu for the day:

Meal 1
Herbalife Shake w/protein
Herbalife Prolessa Duo
Herbalife Herbal Tea

Meal 2
PB&J Quest bar
Popcorn (Movies - Ride Along was good)

Meal 3
Wild Salmon
Broccoli
Pineapple Upside Down cake

Meal 4
Herbalife Shake w/protein
Herbalife 24 Rebuild Strength

I did go over the calories "I" wanted to, but as you can see from the following, I'm still several hundred calories off of my allowed limit (for 1.5lbs per week weight loss).  Because I want to drop closer to 3lbs per week, that's why I'm going slightly lower than what the Nutritionist App recommends.

My workout for the day

Tomorrow may be a flex day... we are slated to get some crazy weather here, so I may just do jump rope and abs here at home in the morning.  If the weather holds, I'll go do Quads and Hamstrings.

#Herbalife #Herbalife24 #GUSDC #GetUncomfortableSquad #BrokenRecordFitnessSquad #NutritionistApp #BeastMode #Focused

Day 14 - Abs, Jump Rope and Cardio

Today went as planned with my workouts.  I'm actually kinda surprised because I thought I'd just be lazy again today, since my primary target for working out is 4 days per week, but I felt inspired!!  I did my abs this morning and then I went to the gym later in the day to knock out about 8 mins of jump rope followed by 30 minutes of inclined treadmill.


Sunday's are normally my cheat meal day, but I've decided that I'm not going to allow myself a cheat meal until I hit 250lbs... so I'm 7-8lbs away from it.  That is incentive for me to keep pushing myself to hit closer to the 3lb per week weight loss.  Until then, to keep my sanity, I will do like I did yesterday and slip in a dessert every now and again while staying withing my Macro targets.  That banana split was soooooo good!! LOL

Today's Menu:

Meal 1
Herbalife Shake w/protein
Herbalife Prolessa Duo
Herbalife Herbal Tea


Meal 2
Leftover NY Strip
Avocado


Meal 3
Large Shrimp
Andouille Sausage
Red & Orange peppers
Red Onions
Mushrooms
Multigrain Angel Hair Pasta

Accountability time:

I normally would have done a second Herbalife Shake, but my meal 3 was pretty big, so I was able to hit my Macro numbers without doing an additional meal/shake.

Tomorrow starts back up with the weights and it's the second week of my 4 week superset exercise routine that I got from Muscle and Fitness.  Day 1 of week 2 is Shoulders and Back!!

#Herbalife #Herbalife24 #GUSDC #GetUncomfortableSquad #BrokenRecordFitnessSquad #NutritionistApp #Focused

Day 13 - Rest Day... Weigh In Day...

I decided to take the day to relax and my body surely is thanking me for it.  The shoulder shrugs from the Trap workout have me extra sore and that pain has picked up where my calves left off.  I did get a chance to hang out with my little ones today which was very enjoyable.  My oldest son was in the gym bench pressing looking like a chip off the old block!! haha

I got up and weighed in this morning and found myself slightly disappointed, but I had to remind myself to keep realistic expectations for weight loss.  A good amount for weight loss per week is 1-3lbs and this week, I dropped an additional 2.8lbs for a 2 week total of 8.2lbs.

 
As the first graphic says.. I'm 35% of the way to my first checkpoint goal of 240lbs!!  I have 18.2lbs to go and I'm really going to push to stay closer to the 3lbs per week loss.

I normally do flexible eating just as long as I hit my Macro numbers as I've stated before.  Today I changed things around to be able to add in a treat for myself... a delicious banana split with marshmallow, pineapple and strawberry toppings!

Today's Menu:

Meal 1
Herbalife Shake w/protein
Herbalife Prolessa Duo
Herbalife Herbal Tea

Meal 2
Herbalife Shake w/protein
Herbalife Herbal Tea

Meal 3
Banana Split

Meal 4
NY Strip steak
Sauteed Mushrooms and Onions
1/2 serving of IsoPure Protein
1oz Avocado

Tomorrow morning, I plan to get up and hit my jump rope & abs... depending on how I feel, I may hit the gym for some cardio also.

#Herbalife #Herbalife24 #GUSDC #GetUncomfortableSquad #BrokenRecordFitnessSquad #NutritionistApp #Focused

Day 12 - Back, Jump Rope and Cardio

I had another good day with workouts and eating... I'm starting to form good habits and I'm loving it!!  As you can see by the title, I came up a little short of what I'd planned yesterday.  I skipped out on the Abs and Biceps because I was exhausted.  I didn't do triceps the other day either, so I could get up and do Abs and Arms tomorrow morning.  In fact, I think I will, but I will use my resistance bands here at home and I'll throw some jump rope in on it.  I'm starting to grow really fond of the jump rope!!  Today I did 2 sets of 5 intervals of 30 seconds on/15 seconds off.  I will keep working towards doing 10 1-minute intervals with 15 second rests in between.  I finished up my workout with 15 minutes of cardio on the treadmill.

My menu for today was:

Meal 1
Herbalife Shake w/protein
Herbalife Prolessa Duo

Meal 2
Sushi & Sashimi Combo
1/2 Ichiban Roll
Miso Soup
Salad w/ginger dressing

Meal 3
Herbalife Shake w/protein
Herbalife 24 Rebuild Strength

Meal 4
Avocado slice (for healthy fats)


Today's workout:

Today's Accountability:

#Herbalife #Herbalife24 #GUSDC #GetUncomfortableSquad #BrokenRecordFitnessSquad #NutritionistApp #BeastMode #Focused

Day 11 - Shoulders, Traps and Jump Rope

Today was another good day.... eating and working out!!  I didn't get a chance to do all I wanted exercise wise because of my work schedule, but I had a great workout followed by an exhausting round of jump rope.  Today I was going to attempt to do 10 1-minute cycles of jump rope with 15 second breaks in between.  I ended up doing 5 that way, then switched the time back down to 30 seconds for the last 5 and I was wiped out an drenched with sweat!!

The eating for today was not my normal, but that's because I had to go into the office and I didn't prepare properly.  I left my snack, shake and water bottle home... so I was not a happy camper.  I ended up doing the following:

Meal 1
  Herbalife Shake
  Herbalife Tea
  Herablife supplements

Meal 2
  Wild salmon
   Asparagus
   Sweet Potato

Meal 3
   Ribeye Steak
   Sauteed Onions/Mushrooms
   Avocado

Meal 4
   Herbalife Shake w/Herbalife 24 Rebuild Strength
   1 oz Cashews

Today's workout...

Accountability time:

  






















The game plan for tomorrow will be Back, Biceps, Abs and Cardio! 

#Herbalife #Herbalife24 #GUSDC #GetUncomfortableSquad #BrokenRecordFitnessSquad #NutritionistApp

Day 10 - Almost Rest Day.. lol

Well.. I will keep this one short and sweet.  Today was supposed to be a rest day for me with the P90X2 Recovery & Mobility on tap.  I got caught up in work and soreness and didn't get that done.  I did eat VERY well today and after I had my Mongolian BBQ dinner, I decided I couldn't take the rest day, so I hit the gym for some very easy going cardio for 50 minutes.

Accountability time:

 

By the way.. here is the dinner my "Bad Influence" had... it's such a struggle to do right around her!!  She KNOWS cheese curds from Long John Silver's are SOOOOO delicious.... But I'm FOCUSED!! hahaha

On to tomorrow... I will do Jump Rope and Abs in the morning followed by Shoulders, Traps and Cardio in the afternoon!

#Herbalife #Herbalife24 #GUSDC #GetUncomfortableSquad #BrokenRecordFitnessSquad #NutritionistApp

Day 9 - Tabata Jump Rope, Abs and Superset Chest workout

My day started out in pain... my legs are on FIRE from yesterdays workout.  I really should have used the foam roller to rub out some of the pain, but I slept in again, so I was short on time all day.  I can't say I'm too upset about sleeping in because my body obviously needed it! :-)  Once I was able to pull myself away from the bed, I got up and did my 4 minute jump rope session and did my normal Herbalife Meal replacement shake, herbal tea and supplement tablets.  I settled down and did some work with the intention of hitting the gym for lunch but due to my workload, I had to push that later and later in the day.  I finally found a window of time where I had 45 minutes to hit the gym and get my workout in.  Fortunately, the workout that I was doing today was a superset workout that requires very little rest in between sets, so I was able to get in a 5 minute warm up on the treadmill and get the workout done within my time frame. I did my 8 min ab routine when I got home from the gym. Here is the workout that I did:

I found this workout on some Muscle & Fitness site and it is a 4 week workout with different exercises each week that increase in intensity each week!  I skipped out on the Triceps today to save time, so I'll do arms later in the week.  My chest is on fire like my legs are, so tomorrow will be my P90X2 Recovery and Mobility dvd.  I think I will try to do 2 on/1 off (R&M) each week.

Eating wise, I did pretty good today.  Before when I was doing Herbalife, I was replacing breakfast and dinner meals and that work ok, but I would sometimes fall victim to my bad influence here in the house cooking good smelling food making me hungry.  What I'm finding now is that by replacing breakfast and lunch, I have normally 1100-1400 calories left over for dinner... that allows me to be very flexible with my eating.  As long as I am staying between 2000-2400 calories and hitting my protein range and fiber range, the rest falls into place!

Accountability time:

#Herbalife #Herbalife24 #GUSDC #GetUncomfortableSquad #BrokenRecordFitnessSquad #NutritionistApp

Day 8 - Tabata Jump Rope, Abs, Legs and Cardio

Today was a GOOOOOOD day!!  I got up this morning and did my jump rope session and abs first thing to get my day started right!  After that I had my Herbalife Meal Replacement Shake (Dulce De Leche - my fav flavor) w/protein, my supplements and Herbalife Herbal Tea which gave me a great energy boost!  I then proceeded to have a very productive work day.  I had another Herbalife Shake for lunch and continued working.  I took a late lunch break and went to my new gym, Gold's at the Cap Centre, and had a great leg workout... my first in a month!  I burned 1290 calories at the gym and probably another 2-300 this morning with the abs and jump rope.  Dinner wasn't a 'great' choice but it did fit within my caloric limits, so it was all good!!  I even kept my intake below 2100 calories, so that's why today was such a good day!  I'm looking forward to having another good day tomorrow!

By the way.. I did decide to dump the old gym.  The new one has a weird layout, but there is a LOT more room there.  It will just take a while to adjust to it to get my normal routine down like I had it at the other gym!

Accountability time:

Day 7 - Complete Rest Day w/carb refuel! :-)

I really enjoyed just resting today.  I thought about going to the gym today, but then I decided against it.  It felt good to do nothing.  I'm rested and ready to charge into this next week full steam ahead.  It's nice to be home to actually be able to get to a real gym.  I do have a decision to make tomorrow regarding that.. I have a couple memberships and I'm going to dump one tomorrow.  I'm going to hit up my old gym to work out then hit the new one just to see it since it actually opened while I was out of town.  If the vibe is right in the new gym, I'll dump the old...

Along with resting today, I also enjoyed a day of good food.  The one upside to being a heavy guy is that my maintenance caloric intake is very high, so MY version of having a cheat meal is still at a caloric deficit.  I got up and cooked breakfast for the family, had a shake for my second meal, then had pizza for dinner with a slice of key lime pie for dessert!!!  It was absolutely delicious!  Tomorrow is back to the grind and I will lock down even tighter on the eating than I did last week.  I'm hoping to have great results in weight/fat loss like I did last week, but it is one day at a time.. one meal at a time!

I am committed to tracking my intake on good days and carb refuel days, so here goes the intake for today:

Day 6 - Tabata jump rope & Abs

I had really intended on doing more training today than what I did, but unfortunately, I'm under the weather... AGAIN!!!  I'm really not happy about it, but such is life, right?  I think the bouncing of this cold crazy weather triggered my old friend.... post nasal drip.  My ear and throat are killing me so I didn't drink my normal amount of water because it just plain sucks to swallow right now.  I did pretty good eating today.... 2 shakes, 1 snack (chic-fil-a 3 pc chicken strip) and 1 meal (chili x 2 bowls).  I guess the bright side of the day is I did step on the scale for the first time since last Sun and was pleasantly surprised by the number.  My goal is to drop 2lbs per week and I exceeded that this week.  I'm about to knock out so here goes accountability time:

As you can see, I didn't hit my Macro targets today, but I'm below the caloric limit today, so I'm okay with that.  I probably won't be back right on the Macros until my throat is better!!

Have a great evening all!

Day 5 - Tabata jump rope session (Travel Day)

I missed putting up my blog post last night because I was exhausted from traveling.  I did track my foods yesterday and I did do the jump rope session, but no abs yesterday.  I have to say that I punked out yesterday on sticking to my game plan of doing the 2 meal replacement shakes.  I just didn't feel like going thru the headache of doing the shakes at the airport and having to clean out the cup in the airport restrooms.  Not only that.. when I got home I was roped into prior plans of eating out.  I did make a decent decision of foods while eating out, but still... not a 'great' day.. but all in all, not a horrible day either.  I did my egg white omelet a the hotel, a couple oz of almonds, quest bar and then... the blackened chicken salad (with an extra breast for more protein), 2/3 basket of wedges with cheese (courtesy of my bad influence) and a top shelf long island (also courtesy of my bad influence)! LOL

Accountability time...

Since I'm writing this a day late.. today will be the Tabata jump rope, abs and stretching... and back to the plan on the eating plan!

Day 4 - Tabata jump rope session and 8 min abs

Today will be short and sweet... I got up on time and did my abs and Tabata jump rope session.  My day was very hectic and I'm exhausted, but I wanted to make sure I got my entry in.  My eating was not the best today, but I am not unrealistic and don't expect everyday to be perfect.  I did get in my omelet this morning and Herbalife shake (with tea and tablets), but for dinner instead of the lean meat/veggie combo, I opted for a full rack of ribs (with a couple of hot wings) with a side salad.... DELICIOUS!!!  Because the calorie count was on the high side, I ended up skipping the second shake to make sure I didn't exceed my maintenance caloric intake number.  So even though I was higher than the app suggests, I was still lower than my max number of calories!!

Accountability time:

#GUSDC #GetUncomfortableSquad #BRFS

Day 3 - Tabata jump rope session and 8 min abs

They say 21 days makes a habit... so I'm 3 days in on making sure I'm locking in these good eating habits and workouts.. 18 more days to go!!  It's always a funny thing that happens at the beginning of the year when EVERYONE starts off with the best of intentions to get themselves together... only to fall off days, weeks or sometimes months later... myself included.  That's why I created a group on Facebook called Broken Record Fitness Squad several years ago with my God-Sis, Angel Colon.  It is a proven fact that if you have an accountability partner, you are more likely to continue on a program because it is inherent in most of us to not want to let others down.  We held up well for a couple years and grew to a sizable group of folks helping each other along, before the group all but died.  The group has been revived this year after being minimally used and I'm so excited for all of the members that are excited about getting themselves together again! I really hope that we do a better job of holding each other accountable!

 I used to blog, but I gave up blogging because I had the group to help hold me up!  Each year I'd STILL fall off to some degree even if it was less of a fall off each time.  I realize now that blogging was really a MAJOR part of my success back then... even more so than contributing my progress to the group.  As I look back on it, blogging was a time for me to reflect each day... to put my thoughts down... to refocus as I allowed myself to pour my thoughts out on the blog.  I successfully completed P90X by blogging, which was a real task!!  I now remember it was more for ME than anything else.  There is real power in writing down your thoughts... they say "Write it down, Make it happen"... because you are putting what you want out in the Universe and by doing so, you are aligning yourself (spirit/energy) up with what you want!!  I'm truly enjoying the process more this time around and I truly feel empowered, as well as, accountable.. not just to my various support groups, but more so to myself.  I look forward each day to be able to document that I've had a successful day with eating and with getting in some type of exercise.

So... with all of that said.... today was another good day.  Once again my sleeping was off.  I woke up at 4am and was not able to get back to sleep for quite a while.  By the time I did get back to sleep, it was time to get up and work out.  Today was only supposed to be jump rope and abs, so I crashed back out and got up at the last minute.  I decided to do the traditional Tabata style of workout with the jump rope, so it was only a high intensity 4 min workout (8 sets of 20 secs of high intensity/10 secs of rest).  I combined that with the 8 minute ab workout that I'm thinking I'll now do the both of those daily regardless of it is a rest day or full workout day.  I did 2 delicious meals and 2 Herbalife Shakes with my supplement tablets and tea (with honey - delicious)!!

Tomorrow will probably be an abbreviated workout like this morning because my already crazy schedule is even crazier!!  No sleeping in because I have to be in the office earlier!

Accountability time... I decided it was better for me to just snapshot the meals and the output of my Nutritionist App for my Macro/Caloric Intake reporting!

Hope you all have had a great day!!  Thank you to my accountability families #BrokenRecordFitnessSquad, #GUSDC, #GetUncomfortableSquad and #SWCrew (LB, Rox and Vette)!

Day 2

This morning I was able to get up a "little" earlier, but I still couldn't make the 6am workout.  Unfortunately, my rest last night was broken up by my brother calling me about the thriller of a game the last BCS Championship turned out to be.  Funny thing.. I'd dosed off because I thought Auburn had it in the bag, so I guess it's good he called so I could witness how it all unfolded!

I did eventually get down to the gym.  I was surprised to see that it was packed in that tiny little space and all of the cardio machines were taken.  I did some running in place and stretches to warm myself up, then I did a arms and shoulders workout.  I did take my trusty jump rope down with me and I was still STRUGGLING with it.  I cut my ambitious 15 min goal down to 10 mins and I used my Tabata timer to split that up into 10 1 min intervals with 20 secs of rest in between.  I did MOST of it, but I was pretty winded by the time I hit min 6.  Another lesson learned was that it isn't wise to do jump rope AFTER doing an arm and shoulder workout.  I was dripping with sweat after that time had passed and my heart rate was sky high during each interval of jump rope, so I skipped out on the extra cardio.  I proceeded back to my room to reluctantly knock out my 8 min Abs (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8e59i4S9psw).  I REALLY wasn't in the mood, but I was glad that I pulled together the strength to get it done.  I think I'm going to start doing abs first to get them out of the way!  Given that the gym doesn't have any type of Lat pull down machine, I'm going to just do abs, push ups and jump rope tmw morning.  Next time I come up here, I'm bringing resistance bands so I can get in some type of back workout!!

Food accountability time:

Protein:     260.1g
Carbs:       148.9
Fats:          57.7

Total Calories: 2362.9

Day 1

This morning I realized something.... the 15 minutes I intended to do jump rope was REALLY ambitious considering today was my first time working out in a month! LOL  The little hotel gym only has light weight dumbbells but it turned out to be more than enough for a chest workout.  I see that just like the weight comes back extra quick, the gym endurance goes away just as quickly.  This week will be me readjusting and breaking myself back in. I didn't do abs today because I ran out of time, but tmw morning will be an earlier start so I'll get to them then!  I think I'm going to try to shoot for 10 minutes of jump rope in the morning instead of the 15 and I'll finish it up with some other cardio for 15 mins.... with Abs!

I started the day a little behind schedule.  I wasn't able to get to bed so I thought I'd sleep in a little longer this morning.  That turned out to be a mistake because I ended up rushing thru the workout a bit, then back up to the room to get dressed so I didn't miss breakfast.  Breakfast is one of the best parts of staying at this hotel... omelets made to order!! :-)  I got me a nice egg white veggie joint with a couple slices of bacon on the side... delicious!

Today's food accountability:

Protein:   240.5g
Carbs:     140.2g
Fats:         92.4g

Total Calories: 2344

Total water consumed: 4 Liters

Pre-Game prep!!

Here I am nearly 1 year later after being introduced to Herbalife last year, a variety of workout programs (P90X, P90X+, Insanity, P90X2 and a plethora of gym workouts) and I'm starting the year not where I want to be OR should be for that matter. I swear it feels like each year I'm starting over nearly from scratch... but that is all in the past and I am where I am. If there is any silver lining to where I am now physically, I am starting off probably 10lbs down from where I was last year at this time. Each year I had been putting on 10lbs or more, so as I'm typing this, I'm starting to feel better that I at least made some progress in the right direction. The most frustrating part of all of this is that I have the knowledge and tools to get where I want to be, but my consistency has been my Achilles heel again and again. At my best this year, I was 11lbs away from my initial goal weight of 240lbs and at my worst 275-280lbs. Right now I'm currently 266.4lbs and this is after coming off of a month of illness. I have not worked out since early Dec. and while I held serve initially, my good eating habits fell victim to old eating habits and I slapped back on weight. It is amazing how quickly it comes back!!

So... now that I've vented... here are my current stats:



Neck: 17.5 in
Chest: 48.0 in
Arms: 19.5 in
Waist: 41.5 in
Hips:   47.5 in
Thigh: 27.5 in
Calf:    18.0 in

Body Fat:  24.55%

Here is my game plan for moving forward: I am recommitting to my Herbalife nutrition combined with regular exercise. My Herbalife Lean Out Plan is 2 Shakes, 2 Snacks and 1 colorful meal along with my Herbalife supplement tablets and tea (or some variation to get my nutritional needs met). I will eat between 2200-2400 calories per day ensuring I get between 200-250g of Protein, 100-125g of Carbs, 75-100g of Healthy Fats and 35-50g of Fiber. I track my food using a app called Nutritionist developed by Kelechi Opera. For my exercise, I will do 4 days of lifting per week followed by 15 mins of jump rope and 15 min of stairmaster. I'm going to also add in the 8 min ab routine in 3-4 times per week. I will do some form of Yoga once a week also. The workouts WILL be in the morning to get it out of the way and I will workout in a fasted state. Today was my first day with the eating plan and even though I'm away, I still did prep of my Herbalife to ensure that I'm on track.

 

I guess it makes sense to put in my meals daily to help accountability so here goes:

Meal 1:
2 oz Filet Migon (left overs from yesterday)
Herbalife Meal Replacement
IsoPure Protein
Herbalife Prolessa Duo

Meal 2:
Quest Bar (I use these because of the protein and high fiber content)

Meal 3:
12 oz New York Strip (Longhorn)
2 Servings of Broccoli

Meal 4:
Herbalife Meal Replacement
Herbalife24 Rebuild Strength
1/2 Serving Isopure Protein

Daily Macro Totals:
Protein: 223g
Carbs: 72.3g
Fat: 88.3g

Tomorrow morning, I will get up and hit the hotel gym.  Day 1 is just hours away!!  I'm excited and ready to go!