Day 21

Today is an off day for me. I think I'm going to walk around the track at the school. I wish I had a heart rate monitor at home so that I could monitor my progress.

Day 20

Today is the last Saturday of the month so things are really hectic at the office. I did stay in town this weekend and even managed to hit the gym this morning. I'm not sure I'm as effective when I get to plan the workout.

Day 19

I HATE COMPUTERS!!! I CANNOT FIGURE OUT WHY THIS IS NOT WORKING!!! I THOUGHT I WAS COMPUTER SAVVY UNTIL I STARTED BLOGGING!!!

Today was push Friday. I try really hard to make sure I give it 120% each Friday morning since I have a couple of days of rest before I meet with Scott again. I think Scott has some sort of wierd trainer love for the stairs. They are included in almost every single work out. I think I may be getting a little better at them. Its not that they are getting any easier, I'm just getting faster at climbing them over and over again. Maybe I am improving? I think its too soon to tell.

Day 18

Test one? Test two? Can anybody read me? I'm not sure if there's any point in writing this if no one can read it. I keep all of this on hard copy at my house for personal reference and could access that if I wanted to remember how Dani tried to kill us again this morning. She did, by the way. I think she stays awake at night dreaming about ways to push us to the limit. I'm glad we are in a group, though. I'm not sure if I could keep it up without my boys. They make me push myself just a little harder each morning.

Day 17

I'm not as sore today and I feel like I'm getting back into the swing of things. Now if my computer would only cooperate with me. For some reason, I can see this post but I cannot get it to post. I'm going to get my roommate to look at this. (He's better than the Geek Squad.) It seems like if its not one thing, then its another. At least things are going well at work even if I am a little late each morning. I can't seem to finish my workouts before 8. Maybe I'll ask Scott if we can start at 6:45 instead of 7.

Day 16

Cardio this morning was rough. I'm really sore from yesterday morning with Scott. I don't feel like I am really getting anywhere with my fitness. I still start sweating the minute that I walk into the gym and I feel wimpy for lack of a better word. I thought this would slowly get easier but it seems like the more I push myself the harder it gets. Will I ever be able to walk into a gym and not dread the upcoming exercises?

Day 15

I think I am going to die. Two days off is two days too many. It feels like I am starting all over again at day one. My legs aren't sore yet but I bet they will be tonight. When is this going to get easier?

Day 14

Things didn't exactly go as planned today. We weren't able to walk around the track like we wanted to. I'm a little bummed about that. Oh well, tomorrow its back to the gym.

Day 13

I'm back home today. I hate that I'm missing the group activity but I'm glad to see my family. I won't be in the gym today but I'm going to walk around the track at the college here in town. My mom is going to do it with me and I'm excited about that.

Food Journal:
Breakfast: 2 slices Ezekiel bread with 2 tbsp almond butter
AM snack: 1/2 cup imitation crab meat
Lunch: 2 slices Ezekiel bread with deli chicken, havarti cheese, romaine lettuce, tomato and avocado
PM snack: protein shake and pear
Dinner: sirloin steak and salad (romaine lettuce, grape tomatoes, avocado, red onions and light italian dressing)

Day 12

This morning was measurement time!!! I've lost 10 pounds of body fat but gained 4 pounds of water weight for a loss of 6 pounds total. I've also lost inches in several spots around my body including my arms and legs. I am so excited!

I really pushed myself with Scott this morning. I think I am improving and I know the weight amounts are still going up. We did not do regular stairs this morning but did the fake stairs and added weights. I'm not sure which one I like better. I know that I do like the seated row machine. I'm really sad that I'm going to miss out group activity this weekend, but I'm going home to see mom for a late birthday celebration. Both mom and my gran are shopping today so that I will have the correct foods to eat while I'm down there. I really appreciate them doing that and am glad they are excited for me.

Food Journal:
Breakfast: 1 slice Ezekiel bread with 1 tbsp almond butter
AM snack: orange
Lunch: whole wheat pita with roast beef and havarti cheese
PM snack: apple and cheese stick
Dinner: lean ground beef sauteed with onions and mushrooms poured over a toasted piece of Ezekiel bread

Day 11

Today is my mom's birthday. I know she reads this everyday so I want to wish her a very happy 25th again birthday!!! I love you mom!!!

As far as the gym goes, it was much easier to get up this morning. I am starting to get in a set schedule and my body knows when we need to get up. I'm also starting to feel a lot better in general. If you overlook a little soreness, I have so much more energy and no more sinking spells in the afternoon. Our cardio session was a little different this morning. Dani made us shuffle back and forth around the gym and then run through agility ladders placed on the floor. Jamie is definitely quick on his toes. After that we headed upstairs to the treadmill, bike and elliptical machines. Oh yes, more leg work.

I also went over to Smoothie King to speak with Tom about vitamins and nutritional supplements. This man knows so much about this stuff. I would suggest that anyone looking for some information go directly to him. He set me up with all kinds of powders, vitamins, etc. I can't wait to try them and see what the effects are.

Food Journal:
Breakfast: 1 cup Kashi Go Lean, 1/2 cup skim milk, orange
AM snack: small Smoothie King smoothie (strawberry banana)
Lunch: whole wheat pita with sun dried tomato turkey and 1 slice pepper jack cheese
PM snack: peach greek yogurt
Dinner: sirloin steak, 1 1/2 cups of broccoli, 1/2 cup portabella mushrooms, 1/4 cup onions

Day 10

I am kicking myself this morning. I worked at the fundraiser from 10am to well after 10pm with no real break. My legs are killing me and I know its from my own stupidity and not from the gym. My workout with Scott this morning was torture. I feel like we spend the most time working with my legs. When they start off sore it just keeps getting worse.


Food Journal:
Breakfast: 1 cup Kashi Go Lean and 1/2 cup skim milk
AM snack: pear
Lunch: whole wheat pita with 1 slice sun dried tomato turkey
PM snack: cheese stick and orange
Dinner: grilled chicken breast, 1 cup broccoli and 1 cup portabella mushrooms

Day 9

This morning was rough. Dani really worked us out in the group session. I feel like all I have to do is walk into the gym and I start sweating now. I wonder if everyone else feels this way? I still hate the stairs. Maybe I should stop writing that because maybe that is why they keep making me do them. I hate to keep this short today but I am off work to set up a fundraiser tonight and don't have much time.


Food Journal:
Breakfast: 1 cup Kashi and 1/2 cup skim milk
AM snack: pear
Lunch: charbroiled chicken sandwich from Chick-fil-a with fruit cup side
PM snack: cheese stick and strawberry greek yogurt
PM snack 2: orange
Dinner: :-(

Day 8

I know I did not mention anything about yesterday being Valentine's Day. That is because this year I decided not to celebrate the chocolate holiday when I cannot eat the chocolate. This morning with Scott went well as soon as he explained that he was adding cardio to our workouts. (I thought the day off just put me way behind.) It was a little hard getting up out of bed but that was really due to not going to bed early enough yesterday. I'm over the soreness and can barely feel the effects of Saturday. I have come to the conclusion that Scott loves the stairs as much as I hate them right now. He keeps telling me that I need to make friends with the stairs since we will see a lot of each other. The stairs and I can't don't even have a working relationship yet. I can't wait until we take measurements on Friday to see what progress I have made.

Food Journal:
Breakfast: 1 cup Kashi Go Lean and 1/2 cup skim milk
AM snack: 1 cup strawberries
Lunch: chicken salad sandwich (2 slices Ezekiel bread with 2 tbsp chicken salad)
PM snack: small apple and cheese stick
Dinner: sirloin steak and salad (romaine lettuce, tomatoes, boiled egg, cucumber and basil vinaigrette dressing)

Day 7

This has to be the hardest day yet for me. The funny thing is that I'm not exercising today at all. The not so funny thing is that I am so sore from yesterday's play day that I didn't want to get out of bed. Even my toes hurt when I bend them. I actually had to do the half roll where if I don't put my feet on the ground I will fall to make myself get up. Who thought you could be this sore from a little soccer game? I'm definitely taking it easy and resting today. Its also shopping and precooking day so I know I'll be a little busy. I find it so much easier to preplan my breakfasts, snacks, lunches, etc and have everything I need here at the house already. If I can, I cook things in advance such as my chicken salad. I still have to shop again midweek for my dinner vegetables but its still better than having to go every night or even midday.

Food Journal:
Breakfast: 1 cup Kashi Go Lean and 1/2 cup skim milk
AM snack: 1 cup strawberries
Lunch: chicken breast sandwich with pepper jack cheese on Ezekiel bread
PM snack: strawberry greek yogurt and 1 cup chocolate silk milk
Dinner: boneless, skinless chicken breast and salad (romaine lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, onion and vinaigrette dressing)

Day 6

Today was the first day without a scheduled gym day but we did have a group meeting session in the park this afternoon. Bear, Danni and Kendra were there to help us out. If I said it was muddy, that would be an understatement. We started off by walking around the soccer field and by the time we were "warmed up" I had mud up and down my legs. It was really a little funny. Bear set up orange cones and we had to weave with a soccer ball from one end to the other. At the end, we passed it off to one of our teammates and they took the ball back. Jamie and Shontarius were on my team for this relay and the first group to 20 was the winner. We won but not by much. It was really hard trying to control the ball but still move as fast as you could. Some people in our group took a little tumble into the mud during this event. I happily was not one of them. Next we tried to throw a soccer ball overhanded, underhanded, backwards and freestyle as far as we could down the field. We ended with a mini game of soccer with one team playing defense and the other offense for 15minutes before switching. I really had a lot of fun and hope we do things like this again in the future.

Food Journal:
Breakfast: 1 cup of Kashi Go Lean and 1/2 skim milk
AM snack: 1 cup fresh strawberries
Lunch: Jason's Deli turkey wrap with fresh fruit as side
PM snack: single serving strawberry greek yogurt, cheese stick and small apple
Dinner: sirloin steak, 1 cup mushrooms, 2 boiled eggs

Day 5

I made it through the first week of training! Scott really pushed me this morning and there were times when I didn't think I could do what he was asking of me. I found out that I strongly dislike two things: the camera and the stairs. The stairs because Scott kept making me climb up and down them and the camera because Bear kept filming the hardest parts of my workout. I think Scott is increasing the weights on the machines as they we go along. Its getting really rough not to watch the clock as I move from station to station. I hope this weekend will give me a little rest and I will be ready Monday morning to start again.


Food Journal:
Breakfast: 1 cup Kashi Go Lean Crunch and 1/2 cup skim milk
AM snack: 1 cup baby carrots
Lunch: chicken sandwich (2 slices toasted Ezekiel bread, 2 tbsp. chicken salad, romaine lettuce, tomato)
PM snack: small apple and cheese stick
Dinner: grilled boneless, skinless chicken breast, 1 cup mashed cauliflower (2tbsp. greek yogurt were mixed in with the whole head), small salad (romaine lettuce, tomato, cucumber, boiled egg and vinaigrette dressing)

Day 4

I woke up this morning with no soreness at all. Yeah for Scott's superior training skills. I can feel where I worked out but there's no excessive discomfort. This is our second morning of group cardio training. Bear is still partially leading the class but handed it over to Danni about halfway through. We started this morning with the torturous steps. Bear made us step up fifty million times on our toes and then another fifty million times from side to side. My legs were burning so much. Then Danni took us to the eliptical machines where we finished working out. After the workout, I was able to strech and talk with Shontarius and Jamie. I really like the support system we are building and wish out schedules had worked out so that we could all be together as a group instead of fragmented into two factions.


Food Journal:
Breakfast: 1 cup Kashi Go Lean Crunch with 1/2 cup skim milk
AM snack: 3/4 cup of carrots (I dropped the rest on the floor by accident.)
Lunch: turkey sandwich (2 slices of Ezekiel bread, 2 thinly sliced pieces of deli turkey)
PM snack: small apple and cheese stick
Dinner: grilled sirloin steak (.42oz), 1 boiled egg, 1 cup broccoli

Day 3

I'm starting to like and regret scheduling all of my sessions in the morning. I like them because they start the day off right and I hate them because they are so early. So, this morning was the 2nd day with Scott. I was wrong about this being easy. I know Scott is a personal trainer and this is what he does for a living but it amazes me how he knows just how far to push me. And you can't say no because he is such a nice guy. He makes it seem like its my idea to keep going and try to get one more rep when really its all him. I know I could never do this on my own and I really appreciate all of the time he is giving me. This may sound like a little wishful thinking but I can already feel my body changing. I am not hungry at all throughout the day and I am full of energy. I worked really hard today and I'm a little worried about being sore tomorrow morning.


Food Journal:
Breakfast: 1 cup Kashi Go Lean Crunch and 1/2 cup skim milk
AM snack: 1 cup baby carrots
Lunch: chicken sandwich with sliced egg (2 slices toasted Ezekiel bread, 2 tbsp. chicken salad, sliced boiled egg)
PM snack: small apple and cheese stick
Dinner: boneless, skinless chicken breast, 1/4 cup sauteed mushrooms, 1/4 cup sauteed onions, 1 cup broccoli

Day 2

This morning was our first group training cardio session and it was really, really early. I have to get up by 5am to eat and be at the gym by 6am. This may not seem that early to you but you also have to take into consideration that last night I could not make it to bed before midnight. Bear was our session leader and we started off on the treadmills. We really focused on keeping our heart rates where they were supposed to be. For me this is somewhere between 115 and 155, I think. I was really amazed how slow I was walking while still keeping my heart rate up. Bear is really motivational and I like how he keeps up a steady conversation throughout the whole workout. It makes it go so much faster for me. We had to break up the cardio days into the morning session and the afternoon one. Jamie and Shontarius are there in the mornings with me. After we finished with the treadmills, we worked on punches and kicks for the remainder of the morning. Bear taught us a jab, cross over, hook, uppercut, front kick and back kick. I had so much fun with that part of the workout that it didn't seem like a workout at all. Well, except for the panting and excessive sweating.


Food Journal: (I'm a creature of comfort so this pretty much matches yesterday.)
Breakfast: 1 cup Kashi Go Lean Crunch and 1/2 cup skim milk
AM snack: 1 cup baby carrots
Lunch: chicken salad sandwich (2 slices toasted Ezekiel bread, 2 tbsp. chicken salad, spinach)
PM snack: small apple and cheese stick
Dinner: boneless, skinless chicken breast, 1 cup steamed broccoli, 1/4 cup of sauteed mushrooms, 1/4 cup of sauteed onions

Day 1

Today was the first official day of our contest. I was a little worried about meeting with my trainer, Scott. I was afraid he would work me into the ground and make me regret filling out the application. Well, I was wrong. We started off by taking basic measurements and ended by seeing the amount of weights that I needed on a few of the machines. Scott is a really nice and positive person. Could this be it? I don't feel awful and I'm not sweating very badly. I guess I'll just have to wait until Wednesday to see.


Food Journal:
Breakfast: 1 cup of Kashi Go Lean Crunch and 1/2 cup of skim milk
AM snack: 1 cup baby carrots
Lunch: chicken salad sandwich (2 slices of toasted Ezekiel bread, 2 tbsp. of chicken salad (recipe attached at the bottom), spinach and 1/4 avocado)
PM snack: small apple and cheese stick
Dinner: small center cut pork chop, 1 cup steamed broccoli, 1/3 cup sauteed mushrooms


Chicken Salad recipe:

1.5-2 lbs of boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 small red onion
14 almonds, chopped
2 tbsp. nonfat greek yogurt
1 tbsp. relish

Boil chicken until completely cooked. While chicken is cooking, chop onions and add to bowl. Combine almonds, yogurt and relish with onions. Once chicken is cooked, chop to desired chucks and add to mixture.

Village Foods

Today was the tour of Village Foods and our second meeting as a group. I didn't know what to expect when David said we needed to go to a grocery store. Everyone knows how to grocery shop, right? Wrong. There was so much to learn by just reading the labels. David and Lindy walked through the store and explained what was good and what was not so good on each isle. I just assumed that if something said better for you or 1/3 less fat/sodium/etc that it actually was. Boy was I wrong. I challenge everyone to start reading the labels on what they consider healthy. I promise you will be amazed as well.

Cleaning out the office

Today I decided to clean out my desk at the office. I spend so much time here that I tend to keep food stored everywhere in case I'm hungry and cannot leave. It was really hard getting rid of all of this stuff since I've already paid for it. I really don't have much to say here so I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves.