All That In A Month

Published on February 8, 2010 in Uncategorized. 17 Comments

Hi guys!

So last Thursday marked one month of Operation Increase My Metabolism. I’m happy with the results so far! As well as increasing calories I also cut down cardio dramatically and focused on heavy weight lifting in order to gain a few additional pounds of muscle. Here’s what I’ve noticed:

  • I have V-Cuts in my abs now!! :D
  • I have increased my strength. In one month I’ve already increased weights! For example, I was doing 70 pounds with squats when I started and now I can do 100 or more (depending on the reps.) And on the seated row I went from 55 pounds to 70 pounds!
  • I have much better muscle definition.. I’ll post pictures soon!
  • I have much more energy!

Honestly, I don’t know how I ever lived off 1300 calories. With the strength training I do I NEED calories! I haven’t gained a single pound either. At some point I’m going to actually start eating OVER MAINTENANCE calories to help increase my muscle even more, but I’m going to do that slowly to minimize fat gain.

Anyway, for some reason I was just exhausted yesterday! I fell asleep early and felt much better this morning. Before the gym I ate 3/4 cup Daisy 2% cottage cheese mixed with 1/2 banana, cinnamon, ginger, vanilla stevia, and Capella French Toast Flavor Drops:


190 calories, 23 grams of protein, 21 carbs, 3 grams of fat

And then I headed to the gym for a Pull workout (back, biceps, and abs.) I haven’t been able to make my back sore for the past 2 weeks.. I know soreness isn’t an indicator of being sore but I’m one of those weirdos that is sad if I’m not sore! Haha. So hopefully today’s workout did the trick:

  • Bent Over Row with 3 second pause @ top of contraction- 70 pounds, 4 sets of 6
  • Inverted Row (feet on the ground)- 3 sets of 8
  • Wide Grip Assisted Pull Up with 2 second pause @ top- 40 pounds, 3 sets of 8 SUPERSETTED WITH:
  • Barbell Bicep Curls- 30 pounds, 3 sets of 10
  • Seated Row with V-Handle- 70 pounds, 3 sets of 8 SUPERSETTED with:
  • Russian twists on the edge of a not flat bench (lol)- holding 20 pounds, 3 sets of 20
  • Cable Row While in a Squat- 3 sets of 12 with 85 pounds, 1 set of 8 with 100 pounds, SUPERSETTED with:
  • Hammer Curls- 30 pounds, 2 sets of 10
  • Captains Chair Raises with 4 pound ball between knees- 3 sets of 12 with 2 second pause @ top
  • Weighted Swiss Ball crunches (arms never pass ears)- 12 pounds, 3 sets of 10 SUPERSETTED WITH:
  • V-Up/Knee In Combo- 12 pounds, 3 sets of 20
  • Hyperextensions- 4 pounds, 2 sets of 10

I was exhausted afterwards! I do not have a problem cutting down on cardio anymore.. if your working hard enough and lifting heavy enough you won’t have enough energy for cardio! (Or at least in my case :D )

I came home and made a nice post-workout breakfast. It was my German Chocolate Pie Protein Oats with a twist! Instead of plain water I cooked the oats in peppermint green tea and at the end I added in a spoonful of 100% cocoa powder, a splash of peppermint extract, Capella Hot Cinnamon Flavor Drops, cinnamon, ginger, and 89 grams of an apple. (About 1/2 medium one.)


375 calories, 40 grams of protein, 40 grams of carbs, 2 grams of fat

It was yummy but I’ve found that my body doesn’t like an equal amount of protein and carbs. It definitely likes a bigger ratio of protein and fats! Despite the huge bowl I still felt empty. So about an hour later I snacked on a slice of Low Carb Sweet Bread with 1 tsp Vermont Green Goodness PB:


140 calories, 9 grams of protein, 3 carbs, 9 grams of fat

High in protein and low in carbs- that did the trick!

After playing with bacteria in my microbiolgy lab I headed home for about 30 minutes since I got out of lab early. I had my next meal of the day- a Blueberry Protein Breakfast Cake! I had planned to eat it with 1/4 cup 0% Fage and 1/2 oz raw almonds but I ended up eating the two separately.. the cake was amazing on it’s own! Exactly like a fattening muffin but not :D

285 calories, 27 grams of protein, 13 grams of carbs, 8 grams of fat

A couple hours later after developmental psychology I came home and had my next meal- just 4.5 oz chicken breast, 3 oz baked sweet potato, and 5 oz of steamed broccoli with Braggs, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, ginger, and all natural/low sodium habanero hot sauce:


250 calories, 31 grams of protein, 19 carbs, 2 grams of fat

So simple but so good!

Dinner was also simple- 2.5 oz baked salmon (probably 3 oz raw) smothered in cayenne pepper and roasted aspargus with cayenne, black pepper, and balsamic vinegar on the side:


190 calories, 20 grams of protein, 5 carbs, 12 grams of fat

Dessert is still undecided but it’ll be a protein and fat combo per usual :)

I hope you all had a great day- I missed you all this weekend!

Chocolate & Coffee

Published on February 7, 2010 in Uncategorized. 22 Comments

Hi friends!

Well, I’m home! I had a lovely trip full of lots of TV/movie watching, shopping, and lounging around. I had a killer upper body workout Friday  morning before I left and did no exercise Saturday or Sunday besides shopping. (That counts a little doesn’t it?? ;) ) I strength trained hard 5 times last week (if you include one day of abs that would make it 6 days) so I figured my body needed some nice rest. I didn’t capture any food pictures either but they were pretty simple and redundant- egg whites, protein cakes, cottage cheese, chicken, tuna, broccoli, and sweet potatoes.

Since I don’t have any pictures of food I thought I’d share with you a neat gift idea for Valentines Day! Mambo Sprouts recently sent me an Equal Exchange Organic Chocolate & Coffee Pairing Gift Bag to review for you all and also give you some gift ideas.


The details:

This kit includes a variety of organic coffee and chocolates and packaged in a 100% Recycled Printed Gift Bag. This gift is perfect for a chocolate or coffee lover – and very economical at $34.95 each. (FYI – Their other chocolate bars are currently on sale until February 14th)

Also, share the love with Equal Exchange’s fairly traded (Vegan and gluten-free) Organic Dark Chocolate Minis (55% cacao content). These deliciously rich, bite-sized chocolates are crafted using the best quality organic cacao (cocoa beans) from small-scale farmer co-operatives in the Dominican Republic and Peru. Swiss-made with only the purest ingredients, and soy- and gluten-free! Despite their small size, these minis have big impact. By choosing Equal Exchange fairly traded chocolate, you help provide small-scale farmers the resources and opportunities they need to build a better future for their families and communities. Price is $5.49 each.

Special Offers: Equal Exchange chocolate bars on sale until February 14th. We also have a “free shipping” code running until February 14th as well. The code is “chocolatelove”. Free shipping is for UPS ground within the contingent USA only.

The Home Page for the store is: http://shop.equalexchange.com/

What are you guys getting your honey’s for V-Day??

Strength Training 101

Published on February 6, 2010 in Uncategorized. 19 Comments

Hi everyone!

As you all know I’m currently spending time with Bryon in Arizona.. so I won’t be blogging this weekend!

However, I thought I’d do a special post on none other than weight lifting. You must note I am not a personal trainer nor have any sort of school or background in weight lifting. But I’ve been getting a lot of questions regarding my routines and how to start up strength training so I thought I’d give you my take on it!

Without further ado.. here’s answers to your questions:

Do you make up my own routines or do you have a personal trainer?

I make up my own routines! I’d love to someday have a trainer but right now I can’t really afford it. So I make them up on my own!

How do you come up with my exercises? How do you decide the order to perform them?

I learn new moves from classes at the gym, watching others, magazines, work-out dvds, the internet, and sometimes I make them up by myself! I usually start with the big muscles first and the free weights before I concentrate on the smaller moves and move to machines. For example, I’ll start with chest and do the bench press before doing triceps. And I usually end my routine with body weight moves like push ups, decline push ups, or tricep dips. I don’t like to use machines except for the Smith Machine which allows me to lift heavier. The machines don’t seem to work my muscles properly and which might have to do with my height.. I don’t fit in them right!

How often do you change my routine?

Um.. everyday! haha. I can’t stick with the same routine.. that gets boring! If I do the same moves I change around the reps, the weight, the sets or the way I perform them (pyramids, reverse pyramids, etc.)

Have you always lifted “heavy”?

No! In fact, I was looking through my past workouts from this past summer and I have gained so much more strength! I was doing the upright row with 10 pounds, and now I can do it with 60! And that’s been in 7 months.. with determination you can do it!

How can I start doing strength training without a gym membership? I’m just starting out!

There’s a couple workout DVD’s I’d recommend. The Get Ripped series (http://www.amazon.com/Get-Ripped-Jari-Love-1000/dp/B000GTJSVM)  is one of my favorites! You use dumbbells ranging from 3 pounds to 15 pounds (just depends on your fitness level) and it works you really good.. I”m always sore the next day! I’ve tried doing weights on my own at home and I usually get bored but DVDs make it really interesting and fun. Check out ebay or even your local Goodwill.. they usually have them for cheap!

If you don’t want to use DVDS, you could also start out doing some body weight exercises- some good ones are squats, walking lunges, the plank, burpees, push ups, etc. The push up is a really good place to get started- once you get them down you’ll be super strong! Don’t do girl push ups.. go for the real ones! Even if you can only do one, just work at it and I’ll promise you’ll get better. A year ago I could barely do 10 and now I can do 90! (Well, with some rest in between sets :) ) Plyometrics is also really good. Try doing some jumping lunges, jump squats, etc.. those are really good toners too!

If you do have a gym membership and are just starting out, I found that going to group fitness classes that includes weights also really helps!

Also look through magazines, websites, or watch trainers work with clients at the gym. You can usually learn how to do moves that way. For some ideas on where to start check out these routines:

http://www.stumptuous.com/workout-1

http://www.stumptuous.com/the-less-thinking-more-doing-starter-program

http://www.stumptuous.com/workout-2

Should I do cardio or weights first?

I reccommend weights before your cardio because that’s when your strongest! Or at least I am :)

What equipment/accessories do I bring to the gym?

I bring my heart rate monitor, weight lifting gloves, my strength training notebook and a pen, a water bottle, and my Ipod of course!

What are some resources you reccomend?

My favorite websites are: bodybuilding.com and oxygenmag.com

I also love the magazines Oxygen and FitnessRX. They are a little more expensive but I save them and look at them over and over!

Any other tips?

Try to lift heavy! I used to be afraid and think I couldn’t do it. But I wasn’t seeing any results! In my experience, if you feel your arms burning that’s more endurance type weight lifting and I didn’t get any results from that. I’ve seen the best results from when my arms literally will not do that last rep.. that’s what you want! Remember, this is just my opinon though.

Don’t be discouraged! I’m seriously not that strong compared to others. But I don’t care-I work hard and lift at my level. Work hard and don’t give up!

And DON’T be embarassed or intimidated. Especially by those big guys! I used to be so embarassed to lift weights. Now I don’t care- most of those guys still look at me but I just go on about my business.

And have a plan! I just started planning my workouts in advance and it makes it so much better. Write down what exercises you plan on doing and then record the weight you used and how many reps you did. Then you have something to work off of and don’t just wander around the gym trying to figure out what to do.

If you guys have any more questions let me know!

Genius Mom

Published on February 4, 2010 in Uncategorized. 33 Comments

Hi guys!

As I mentioned in my earlier posts, I’m going to be gone Friday through Sunday.. I’m going to visit Bryon! For any new readers out there- my boyfriend moved to Arizona last September for school so we don’t get to see each other very often. This will be my 3rd trip down there.. I’m excited! :)

I have a post scheduled to go up on Saturday though.. so be sure to check for that!

This morning I woke up really hungry! The past couple days I’ve only ate around 1600-1800 so I think it finally caught up with me today. I had the same breakfast I’ve been having all week- french toast cottage cheese overnight oats! Last night I combined 1 cup fat-free cottage cheese (all out of Daisy :( ) with 1/4 raw oats, 10-15 drops of Capella French Toast flavor drops, liquid vanilla stevia, cinnamon, and ginger. This morning I topped it with 2 tsp almond butter:


305 calories, 33 grams of protein, 25 grams of carbs, 6 grams of fat

So yummy! But I was still hungry afterwards so I had a slice of Low Carb Sweet Bread with 1 tsp Justin’s Maple Almond Butter:


140 calories, 9 grams of protein, 3 carbs, 8 grams of fat

(I planned to only eat 1/2 but that didn’t happen! LOL)

And then I hit up the gym! I had planned to do Pull today but with my finger I figured I should give it another day to heal before I start gripping stuff. So I did light legs and abs:

  • Barbell Squats supersetted with Barbell Narrow Squat Pulses- 80 pounds, 4 sets of 10 each
  • Barbell Narrow Squats supersetted with Regular Squat Pulses- 70 pounds, 4 sets of 10 each
  • Single Leg Barbell Deadlift- 50 pounds, 4 sets of 10 on each leg
  • Dumbbell Step Ups supersetted with body weight Step Ups- 40 pounds, 3 sets of 10 each
  • Knee Ins- 3 sets of 50 reps
  • Walking Dumbbell Lunges- 40 pounds, 4 sets of 10 SUPERSETTED WITH:
  • Leg Lift/Reverse Crunch combo- 3 sets of 20
  • Standing Calf Raises- 60 pounds, 3 sets of 15
  • 6 Twists- 2 sets of 12 reps SUPERSETTED WITH:
  • Hack Squat- 50 pounds, 2 sets of 10
  • Russian Twists on the Decline Bench- 10 pounds, 3 sets of 30
  • 15 minutes cardio- treadmill speed 3.0, incline 10%

Cals burned-510!

I came home and had the best protein shake ever thanks to my friend Nancy who gave me the recipe! This morning I steeped 2 organic peppermint tea bags in 1 1/2 cup hot water and let it cool while I was at the gym. I poured the peppermint tea along with 1 cup Unsweetened Almond Dream, 1 serving Biochem 100% Whey Chocolate Protein Powder, 2 tsp 100% cocoa powder, a dash of peppermint extract, 10 Capella Hot Cinnamon Flavor Drops, chocolate flavored stevia, 1/2 tsp guar gum, 1/4 tsp xanthan gum, and ice. I poured it in a bowl and devoured it with 3/4 cup Kashi Go Lean for my post-workout carbs:


255 calories, 31 grams of protein, 21 grams of carbs , 3 grams of fat

It was really, really yummy! And it made a gigantic bowl-full too!

The rest of the morning and early afternoon I spent doing work for my online courses. I broke for lunch around 1:00 and kept it simple- 5 oz of chicken breast with cayenne, 4.5 oz baked sweet potato with cinnamon and ginger, and 1 steamed summer squash with pepper:


285 calories, 32 grams of protein, 18 carbs, 2 fat

And then not even two hours later hunger hit hard- I thought I was going to eat my arm off! My mom came to the rescue with something she made me last night.. A Protein Breakfast Cake! I topped it with 3 tbsp fat free cottage cheese mixed with 1 tbsp BSN cinnamon roll protein powder and 1 tbsp Sunland Organic Vanilla Cranberry PB:


310 calories, 28 grams of protein, 22 carbs, 8 grams of fat

After babysitting a while I came home to dinner. I decided to use up leftovers and make some lettuce wraps! Inside some butterhead lettuce I stuffed 4 oz all natural turkey breast, 3.5 oz sweet potato, 1 light laughing cow cheese wedge, cinnamon, and cayenne pepper:

275 calories, 28 grams of protein, 15 carbs, 4 grams of fat

And I followed it up with a slice of Low Carb Sweet Bread with Vermont PB:

140 calories, 10 grams of protein, 3 carbs, 8 grams of fat

Mmm..

Well I’ve still got a lot to do before tomorrow! I’ll see you on Sunday!

Protein Breakfast Cake

Published on February 4, 2010 in Recipes. 2 Comments

Mom's version

Makes 1 cake @ 165 calories, 19 grams of protein, 15 carbs, 0 fat

Thanks to my mom who came up with this recipe.. she’s a genius I tell you!

Basic Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup oats
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/2 scoop protein powder
  • 2 tbsp pure pumpkin
  • 1/4 cup liquid egg substitute or egg whites
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • Stevia, cinnamon

Directions:

  1. Place oats and water in a microwavable bowl. Microwave on high for 1 minute or until oats are cooked.
  2. Stir in remaining ingredients. Mix well.
  3. Spray a microwavable bowl with nonstick baking spray. Pour batter into bowl.
  4. Microwave for 1 minute and 30 seconds.
  5. Top with anyhing you like- yogurt, cottage cheese, nuts, peanut butter, or my mom’s favorite- dark chocolate chips!

Variations:

Blueberry Muffin

Use 1/2 scoop Dymatize Elite Whey 12 Hour Blueberry Muffin Protein Powder and 1 tbsp blueberry applesauce instead of the pumpkin.

Dark Chocolate:

Use chocolate protein powder and 1 tbsp cocoa powder!

Moral Of The Story

Published on February 3, 2010 in Uncategorized. 34 Comments

Hi guys!

So I’m sure you all want to hear about my finger. It actually looked way worse than in those pictures.. those were taken when it was clean! So what happened was yesterday I was going to make my dessert ahead of time using my stick blender. I have a bad habit of trying to get every last drop and as I was cleaning out the blade with my finger I accidentally turned the blender on. Soo.. the blender twirled round and round my finger!! Yeah- there was blood gushing everywhere! I’m really stubborn so I did my nursing duty and put pressure on it, held it above the heart, and bandaged it up to stop the bleeding. It stopped for the most part but later when my dad saw it he made me go to the ER.. and turns out I needed stitches! They said I was lucky it didn’t break the bone. I had 4 slices on my finger- one of them down to the muscle and the other to the fat. I didn’t get home until after midnight! They had to numb/block the nerves in my finger and then irrigate it. Problem was- one of the slashes was already starting to heal- thanks to all that protein I eat probably! That would have been a good thing except they thought there could have been bacteria trapped. So they had to re-open it.. yikes! And the stitches took forever because it wouldn’t stop bleeding. What a night! Moral of the story- those 5 extra licks aren’t worth it. LOL! It’s looking much better today though:

Needless to say I was tired this morning and I decided to do my workout later in the day instead of bright and early. For breakfast I had my new favorite.. french toast cottage cheese overnight oats! Last night I mixed together:

  • 1.25 cup Nancy’s low-fat cottage cheese (it might have been a little less)
  • 1/4 cup raw oats
  • 10 drops Capella French Toast Flavor Drops
  • Liquid vanilla stevia, cinnamon, and ginger

I let that soak in the refrigerator overnight and this morning topped it with 1 tbsp almond butter:

375 calories, 43 grams of protein, 29 grams of cabs, 13 grams of fat

Ahh it’s so good! Overnight oats (made the usual way with just yogurt and oats) NEVER fill me up. But cottage cheese does! And it’s so doughy and delicious. Mmm..

It actually held me a good four hours! I usually eat every 2-3 so that was pushing it. LOL. I went to my microbiology lab because labs are too hard to miss.

On the drive back to my side of town I snacked on a chocolate Protein Cake with 1 cup 0% Fage, 1/2 banana, Capella banana split flavor drops, cinnamon, ginger, and stevia:


255 calories, 38 grams of protein, 26 grams of carbs, 0 fat

And then I headed to the gym! I have to tell you I wouldn’t really recommend lifting weights with an injured finger. But I’m stubborn and I have goals here people! I ended up doing the Push muscles as scheduled and I just didn’t use my finger. LOL. The weights below correspond to the reps 10, 8, 6, and 4 or 10, 8, and 6. Make sense?

And then I came home and was super hungry for lunch! I made some quick lettuce wraps with Butterhead lettuce, 3.5 oz sweet potato, 7.5 oz chicken breast, hot sauce, cinnamon, and cayenne pepper:


305 calories, 46 grams of protein, 20 carbs, 2 grams of fat

And a double portion of Protein Brownie Batter with 2 tsp Justin’s Maple Almond Butter for lunch dessert:

275 calories, 43 grams of protein, 12 carbs, 6 grams of fat

It never gets old!

I was pretty lazy the rest of the afternoon and unmotivated when it came to dinner. I made an easy stir-fry with 4 oz all natural turkey breast, 6 oz stir-fry veggies, about a cup of coleslaw mix, cayenne pepper, and pure red chili:

215 calories, 26 grams of protein, 8 carbs, 2 fat

And now I’m debating on dessert! I kind of want cottage cheese but I should probably cut down. Umm.. not!! haha. I also have some Low Carb Sweet Bread that I made yesterday.. and there’s always brownie batter or protein cakes.. decisions, decisions! What are YOU guys having for dessert??

Well I guess that’s it! I should probably rest my finger.. oh by the way.. I get to see Bryon Friday!! I’m flying down.. I can’t wait! :D

See ya!

A Little Mishap

Published on February 3, 2010 in Uncategorized. 29 Comments

I needed 8 stitches.. Be back tomorrow…

Skinny = Out

Published on February 1, 2010 in Uncategorized. 33 Comments

Hi friends!

So about the rash.. no worries! I have extremely sensitive skin and not to mention hay fever so hives are not uncommon for me! It was just strange because usually I can figure out what caused them and yesterday I couldn’t. But no worries- I’m fine :)

And thank you for all your sweet comments regarding my workouts! It means a lot to me when you guys say I’m strong and what not- because I’m not that strong but I dont’ want be skinny anymore.. I want to be strong and ripped! :D LOL! So those comments make me feel great. And not to mention when I’m at the gym I think in my head “you better do this last rep- your readers are counting on you!” Haha I’m a dork I know.

So anyway, this morning I woke up and had the best pre-workout meal I’ve had in a while! Last night I combined 1/2 cup Daisy 2% cottage cheese with 1/4 cup raw oats, 10 drops of Capella French Toast Flavor Drops, vanilla stevia, cinnamon, ginger, and 1 tsp almond butter:


200 calories, 18 grams of protein, 16 grams of carbs, 6 grams of fat

Holy mother of pearl it was good!!

Today’s workout was lower body. I started out heavy and then towards the end I did more endurance type training with more reps. Here’s what I did:

  • Stationary Lunges- Warm Up- 10 reps on each leg
  • Smith Wide Squat- (Warm up with 70 pounds, 10 reps.) 3 sets of 8 with 110 pounds; 3 sets of 6 with 120 pounds
  • Single Leg Split Squat- 4 sets of 8 on each leg with 80 pounds
  • Good Mornings- 3 sets of 8 with 80 pounds, 2 sets of 10 with 60 pounds
  • Stiff Leg Deadlifts- 2 sets of 5 with 100 pounds, 3 sets of 8 with 80 pounds
  • Hack Squat- 3 sets of 10 with 70 pounds
  • Barbell Deadlift- 2 sets of 15 with 60 pounds
  • Seated Calf Raises- 2 sets of 15 with 45 pounds
  • Lying Leg Twist with stability ball- 2 sets of 20 (oblique work)
  • Knee drops with 8 pounds between legs- 60 reps (oblique work)

That hack squat was a good one! I’ve never used that machine before and I really liked it! The only problem was I added it towards the end of the workout when my legs were tired. But I prefer to leave the machines to the end of my workout because they aren’t as effective for me as free weights/barbells are!

Anyway, I came home and had my favorite bowl of oats. (Well, this and my German Chocolate Oats are tied!). I made them the same way as the German Chocolate but I used Biochem 100% Whey Vanilla Protein Powder and 2/3 cup cold, defrosted blueberries.


390 calories, 39 grams of protein, 39 grams of carbs, 3 grams of fat

It held me a good three hours through my Microbiology lab and lots of stairclimbing! The bathroom on the floor that I usually use was closed so I went up and down a million stairs trying to find another one. (I drink over a gallon of water a day here people- I need a bathroom close by! LOL)

Meal number 3 was packed to eat in the car on my drive to my next class on this side of town. I packed 2 oz of nitrate free beef jerky, one granny smith apple, and 100 calorie pack of almonds:


340 calories, 22 grams of protein, 30 carbs,

But my Micro lab actually got out early so I was able to come home early! I was still a little hungry so I made a Protein Cake (vanilla flavored) and topped it with 1 tsp Naturally More:


105 calories, 20 grams of protein, 2 carbs, 3 grams of fat

And then I was off to my next class. When I came home I had meal number 4- 4 oz lean ground turkey breast, 2 sauteed zucchinis, one cup of coleslaw mixture, cayenne pepper, and pure red chili. Plus a No-Carb Muffin with 1/2 tsp Smart Balance Light and cinnamon (remind me not to use butter- I’ve never liked it and I don’t know why I keep trying!)

305 calories, 32 grams of protein, 5 carbs, 12 grams of fat

Ooph… I was stuffed after that meal!

After eating I met my mom at Sam’s club for a few groceries. Since it was just me and my mom we were able to take our time and look around.. and ended up with a few goodies! I got a kickboxing DVD that has weighted gloves and my mom got a Leslie Sansone Walking DVD with an included band.

For dinner I kept it simple- just 6 oz of chicken breast with cayenne, roasted asparagus leftover from yesterday, and steamed broccoli with Braggs:

215 calories, 40 grams of protein, 3 carbs, 3 grams of fat

Not sure what dessert will be.. but I know I need to eat one! I was extremely active today- I walked a lot and during lab I stood up the whole time and not to mention muscles need food! So I’ll most likely be having yogurt with peanut butter, cottage cheese with protein powder and pb, or one of my protein powder mixtures. You know the drill ;)

See ya later!

No Shame

Published on January 31, 2010 in Uncategorized. 37 Comments

Hi guys!

Well I guess I’m back to my blabbering self today!

So weird story. Yesterday morning I woke up and the back of my neck was kind of itchy so I put some hydrocortisone cream on it and forgot about it. Then last night when I was babysitting I started getting super itchy.. and when I looked in the mirror I had a rash/hives all over my neck, chest, back, arms, stomach, and spots on my legs! It was awful! Me being a nurse I tried to figure out what caused it- different med/supplement? nope. Different food? nope. Different detergent? nope. Different soap? Nope.. so I came home, took a shower, put calamine lotion on, and took an antihistamine. This morning the rash was gone.. so weird! I still have no idea what caused it.

Needless to say I slept pretty good from that medicine! LOL. I woke up at 7 and decided to hit up the gym while it was still early and not crowded. My pre-workout breakfast was 5.5 oz baked and mashed sweet potato microwaved with 1/4 cup Daisy 2% cottage cheese, cinnamon, ginger, and vanilla stevia:


195 calories, 8 grams of protein, 28 grams of carbs, 0 grams of fat

Yummy!

Today’s workout was based around the Pull muscles- back, biceps, and abs. Here’s what I did:

  • Bent Over Row- 1 set of 10 with 35 pounds (warm up), 5 sets of 6 with 65 pounds, 1 set of 4 with 75 pounds
  • Weighted Supine Row (I didn’t use the bench)- 3 sets of 8
  • Seated Row- 5 sets of 6 with 70 pounds, 1 set of 4 with 75 pounds
  • EZ Bar Curls- 2 sets of 8 with 30 pounds, 2 sets of 5 with 40 pounds
  • Hammer Curls- 2 sets of 12 with 30 pounds
  • One Arm Row- 2 sets of 8 on each arm with 27.5 pounds
  • Weighted Swiss Bar Crunches- 4 sets of 8 with 12 pounds (**You must keep arms behind your ears..  you’ll feel it big time!)
  • Straight Leg Knee In’s/Weighted Crunch combo- 12 pounds, 4 sets of 20 (I have no idea what this is called and I probably made it up.. maybe I should take a picture!)
  • 10 minutes on the elliptical using my back to move
  • Underhand Chin Up- **NOT ASSISTED 12 reps
  • Wide Grip Pull Up- **NOT ASSISTED 4 reps

I was pretty darn proud of those last two.. have you guys ever tried doing a wide grip pull up? The one that uses only your back.. it’s tough stuff! I got in 4 reps today.. woohoo!!

Then I came home and had a yummy but ugly post-workout snack! I promise it tasted way better than it looked. It was simply 1/2 cup 0% Fage mixed with 1/4 cup fat free cottage cheese, 1 serving chocolate whey, 1/2 cup defrosted dark sweet cherries (for a fast-acting carb), and the usual seasonings:

300 calories, 33 grams of protein, 31 grams of carbs, 2 grams of fat

Yummy! Cherries are another one I don’t eat too often due to the sugar content.. but it made it an easy way to get in some carbs!

About 3 hours later I was hungry! Salmon Sunday was today as usual. I had 3.5 oz of salmon covered in cayenne pepper; roasted asparagus with pepper and cayenne; 3.5 oz brown rice, and “yam cake” (see below):

When I say covered in cayenne.. I mean covered in cayenne!

305 calories, 29 grams of protein, 28 carbs, 13 grams of fat

I found this “yam cake” at the Asian Market a while back and bought it with a coupon that was sent to me from House Foods.

It has almost no calories.. I looked it up online and saw it’s how they make the shirataki noodles! I had no idea what to do with it so I just chopped it up and cooked it in a pan with Braggs, oregano, paprika, and cayenne pepper. It was.. odd.. it tasted fine but was kind of rubbery! It helped add volume to the rice though.

An hour later and still hungry I went to old faithful- a double portion with 2 tsp Sunland mixed nut butter:

270 calories, 44 grams of protein, 12 carbs, 6 grams of fat

After lunch my dad and I went to Costco for the staples- salmon, broccoli, Fage 0%, sweet potatoes (but they were all out! :( ) and other various items for the family that I don’t eat (Cheerios, bread, etc.).

When we got back my dad and I went on a 2 mile walk- the weather was perfect! I had a snack when I got back (with my strength training and walk I burned over 500 calories!) I had my new favorite snack- sweet egg omelet! I cooked up 1 cup liquid egg whites with Capella french toast flavor drops, cinnamon, and one packet stevia. Then I topped it with 1 tbsp 0% Fage mixed with 1 tsp bee pollen, 7 grams of almonds, and a drizzle of sugar free maple syrup:

180 calories, 27 grams of protein, 2 carbs, 4 grams of fat

Ok guys- it’s back! I’m enjoying the sugar free maple syrup and Walden Farms calorie free chocolate sauce again.. and I’m not ashamed! That’s the worst thing I eat in my diet (I don’t even out Flat-Outs anymore!) So I’m pretty sure a little splenda is not going to kill me. Besides if girls who look like this:

Jamie Eason.. she has an amazing body

Can eat sugar free stuff and look like that I’m sure I can too! :D

For dinner I made a simple stir-fry type thing.. I simply cooked up 1 zucchini and 1 summer squash with Braggs, water, and cayenne pepper in a saucepan until soft. Then I added 4 oz of lean ground turkey breast, 1/2 tsp taco seasoning, and homemade salsa until warm. Finally, I threw in 1/2 an avocado:

290 calories, 28 grams of protein, 4 carbs, 17 grams of fat

Realizing I’m way too short on calories to build or maintain my muscle.. I know dessert is a must! I’m going to have my new favorite (I’ve been eating it every night for the past 3 days) – cottage cheese, cocoa powder, Walden Farms Calorie Free Chocolate Syrup, and peanut butter!:

270 calories, 38 grams of protein, 10 carbs, 14 grams of fat **BUT I may add more peanut butter :D

Well I better get going! I need to pack my backpack, pack my snacks, plan out my meals, and get my gym bag ready for the morning. And maybe study but I doubt it :D

See ya later!

Lazy Blogger

Published on January 30, 2010 in Uncategorized. 27 Comments

Hi friends!

I feel like being a lazy blogger so I’ll just let the pictures do most of the talking ok?

For breakfast I had a new one- high protein hot cereal! One of my readers Julia sent me the recipe. I simply combined these ingredients in a saucepan:

  • 1/4 cup flaxmeal
  • 1/4 cup TVP
  • 2 tbsp egg whites
  • 1/2 serving Biochem 100% Whey Vanilla Protein Powder
  • 1/2 cup Unsweetend Almond Dream + 1/2 cup water
  • Cinnamon, ginger, stevia

I let it cook just like oats and then topped it with 1/2 cup Daisy 2% cottage cheese (mixed with NuNaturals liquid vanilla stevia):


415 calories, 52 grams of protein, 11 grams of carbs, 14 grams of fat

Talk about a protein packed breakfast! The texture was similar to oatbranl.. I loved it!

Midmorning snacks included Overnight Cottage Cheese Muesli made with 1/2 cup Daisy 2% cottage cheese, 1/4 cup 0% Fage, 1/4 cup frozen blueberries, 1 tbsp BSN Cinnamon Roll Protein Powder, 1/4 banana, 1/4 cup oats, 1 tsp Naturally More, and the usual seasonings:

In the sunlight

285 calories, 27 grams of protein, 30 grams of carbs, 5 grams of fat

I also ate a pina colada flavored Protein Cake (made with Capella pina colada drops) and topped it with 1 tsp Naturally More:


105 calories, 16 grams of protein, 3 carbs, 3 grams of fat

Then I was off to kickboxing! It was fun as usual and I was nice and sweaty by the end. I came home and refueled right away.. I’m paranoid that the cardio is going to destroy my muscle now! haha. So I had 5.5 oz of chicken breast, a 4.5 oz sweet potato with cinnamon and ginger, and steamed broccoli and cauliflower:


325 calories, 38 grams of protein, 34 grams of carbs, 2 grams of fat

Snack a couple hours later was 1 cup liquid egg whites mixed with cocoa powder, stevia, and 1 tsp bee pollen cooked up in the omellete maker along with 1/4 cup Brown Rice Pudding:


195 calories, 27 grams of protein, 17 grams of carbs, 1 gram of fat

Note- the egg white is NOT burnt.. I can’t stand burned food! It’s just colored from the cocoa powder :)

Dinner was easy- 3 cups cabbage/coleslaw mix, 1 1/2 cup spaghetti squash, 4 oz lean ground turkey breast, and pure red chili:


230 calories, 27 grams of protein, 8 carbs, 7 grams of fat

And tonight’s dessert is going to be the same as last night.. SO GOOD! Cottage cheese mixed with cocoa powder, dark chocolate flavored stevia, and peanut butter. Mmmmm!!

I’ll leave you all with an article I found regarding protein.. no need to worry about me- I drink over a gallon of water a day!

“Digesting protein creates metabolic waste that must to be removed from the kidneys. When the body receives more protein than it can use the excess nitrogen is excreted as urea in the urine, and the rest of the protein molecule can be used for energy or stored as fat. Therefore, a lot of water is needed for proper digestion, and excretion when consuming large amounts of protein.

This is where the myth of high-protein diets and kidney damage are correlated. The excess nitrogen excretion can be hard on the kidneys if your water intake is below par. Without proper water intake, your liver and kidneys will be under stress. A lack of water and a lack of information is what can cause kidney damage. Therefore, drink at least a gallon a day when consuming high protein.”

So there you go! LOL. Well I’m off to go babysit! See ya later!