Fact #1

There is always a reason to quit, there is always a reason to start and there is always a reason to fail!

Last week I failed. I hate to admit it but I need to. I didn't lift for over a week, when I did lift I sucked. I am very disappointed in myself, which if you do not know is a hundred times worse than a parent being disappointed in you.

I thought, 'Hey, I've lost some weight, my boyfriend thinks I look better and it's my week off!' All of my dedication was gone, all of my 'give-a-damn' vanished and I failed! There will always be a reason to fail, whether you are trying to quit smoking, loose weight, accomplish any goal; there is always a reason to fail! Get past those reasons.

I had a migraine, I was tired, I didn't want to, it was my week off, I had ever excuse I needed to give up and to fail. Then I went to Boston Pizza with my boyfriend in a new outfit that showed off the little progress I had made. I have lost a few pounds, I am trimmed up, but I am NOT were I NEED to be. We also had a waitress that was a little overweight, and a few girls sitting at tables close to us and I realized that I don't want to look like that. I know I can make myself look great, I can get visible abs and a well defined back to show off. I will look great is my new dress!

We watched the fights, had a great night and I was inspired. I want, no...I NEED to look amazing because I know I can look amazing. I have goals, I have the means to achieve them and with my brand new Under-Armour Sports Bra from Sport Chek I have started again.

It is never to late to start! Starting and stopping is less bad then never starting at all, so please get out there and achieve your goals! I am going for a run!

~<3~

Alrighty, went for a 10 minute terrible run! I ran/jogged/walked to the park down my street and back in a hyperventilating mess! I didn't do well, I wanted to quit before I started, I couldn't find my I-pod to help me go, but I went! That is the important part, I went. I did what I set out to do and I am planning to go for a run every morning until I am no longer a hyperventilating mess!

Progress for Week 4 (August 16th – August 20th)

Week 4 -

Instead of lifting, I sucked. I sucked hard core. I no longer have a set schedule because I'm not working 8-4 Monday to Friday and I can sleep in. I am excited to have time off and not do anything and unfortunately that allowed me to really suck at my lifting.

I am appalled at myself and will be getting back on track. I am going to work on my routine and make sure I can do it alone without any help and really start making some amazing progress. I will be posting pictures of my stomach from here on out and I will really be pushing myself to achieve my goal.

One small tip, I will write it up much better in a later post. is that, lifting and working out is MUCH easier when you have a routine. Don't allow yourself to think just because you have a vacation from work means you have a vacation from life. Lifting is part of my life, a small part that I am hoping will grow but still a part of my life. It affects my moods, my health, how I feel about myself and I know it will make me feel and look better if I can just stick to it.

If you are following this blog PLEASE actually follow me, let me know. The more people supporting me, the more people I am 'reporting' to and the more motivation I have to succeed!

Hottest Geekette <3 Trying to get Hotter!

Tip #3

Don't put ANYTHING in your tea and try to replace all warm beverages with tea such as Green Tea.

   During the cooler seasons it is so much easier to put on weight. One of the many contributing factors is the beverages we drink. Earlier I discussed liquid carbohydrates and how your body can not properly handle liquid carbs. In fact your body should turn carbohydrates into energy and you should intake just enough of them to get you through the day so that you use all of that energy, when you have liquid carbs your body stores everything as fat.

   In my previous tip I suggested no liquid carbs such as juice, pop and Frappuccino (a sugary coffee drink from Starbucks) because of the amount of carbohydrates that you are consuming that will negatively impact your goal of becoming healthier, leaner or in better shape in general. I have noticed a large fail rate for myself in the colder seasons in the last few years. If I am training it isn’t getting me anywhere better and if I’m not then I am actively putting on a lot of pounds that start to become visible long before my family’s Christmas meal.

   A great suggestion given to me a year ago was to replace most/all warm beverages with sugarless green tea. Hot chocolate may taste great and a cup isn’t the end of the world but when is a cup just a cup? Drink green tea with nothing in it, cut down how much you put into your coffee and enjoy your winter without expanding your waist.

   Winter has a lot of other contributors to your waist that I hope to touch on in the coming weeks to help all/any of my followers who want to stay slim and trim during the cold season of food, hot chocolate, booze and a limited level of activity.

Progress for Week 3 (August 9th – August 13th)

**My workout book is missing so here is my brief info until I find it**

Monday:

Lifted - UPDATES TO COME

Tuesday:

migraine, day shot

Wednesday:

Lifted - UPDATES TO COME

Thursday:

rest day

Friday:

Biked to and from School, then got kittens

Tip #2

When eating a meal or snack, make sure you do something unrelated for 20-30 minutes before you get a second helping.

Many people eat too quickly and over consume during every meal.

It takes your body a while before it realizes its full, if you could feel the exact moment that you had consumed enough to no longer be hungry, you wouldn't get to that point where you have managed to eat until feeling sick a few minutes later.  When I started controlling how much I ate, I realized I still feel quite hungry after a meal, and that is where I would previously have eaten a second or third helping that I really didn't need.

If you give your body some time, however, it will realize it is full, and that feeling of hunger will stop.  I have discovered that taking a drink of water between every mouthful lengthens the time it takes to finish a meal enough that you will be able to feel when you are getting full, and that doing so will stop you from eating more than you need, and that waiting 20 - 30 minutes after finishing a meal before going back for more can go a long way to changing the amount of food that you consume.

One other suggestion I have heard is to do the dishes right after every meal.  It not only helps you keep your home clean, but it keeps you busy during the time it takes for your body to realize that you are actually full.

Progress for Week 2 (August 2nd – August 6th)

Monday:

Holiday and recovery from weekend.
Plan: Cut out Alcohol, liquid sugar (exemption to Coffee for now), junk food.

Tuesday:

Have to go to the Clinic, was unable to bike today

Wednesday:

Biked to the school and back.

Thursday:

Warm-up = 50 jumping jacks and 5 mins of stretching
Backsquat-[NA]x8,x8,[20]x8,x8,[35]x8,x8,x6
Stiff Legged Dead Lift-[40]x7,x8,x3,x3,x8
Bent Over Row-[30]x10,x10,x10,x9
Over Head Press-[30]x7,x8,x7


Friday:

Friend came down from Ireland - Took a day off. :(

**Post Picture (Not Naked) of my first week of training.**

Tip #1

Cut out liquid carbs/calories and replace all drinks with water or sugarless teas.

     When I first became concerned with my weight, the summer before my first year of College, I asked a friend to help me get into shape. I started lifting with him, though irregularly, and slowly changed my diet. One thing he said to me that I had a hard time believing was that I should cut out all liquid carbs. Water is what hydrates you, he said, and Tea gives you something different when you are cold or bored.  What else do you need?

     After about two months of only drinking water and green tea (and maybe milk before or after my lifting session) I noticed an amazing change. With even this small change to my diet and the irregular training I was still seeing progress. 
     I was no longer drinking pop at lunch or juice in the morning, and I didn't have a hot chocolate or ice cap every time I went out to coffee with friends, and I wasn't drinking any sugary alcohol.  I felt better and, even more importantly, I looked noticeably better as well, quickly dropping some of the weight I had put during the previous year or two.

A pound of fat contains 3500 calories.

The AVERAGE Beer has approx. 100 calories per glass (12 oz) and approx. 10 grams of carbohydrates (depending on brand of course)

1 Cup of Apple Juice has approx 117 calories. And unsweetened Apple Juice has 59 grams of carbohydrates. 

1 Can of Pop has around 170 calories.

Did you know that a 16 ounce Frappucino can contain 500 calories or more! That’s 1/3 of a typical female’s daily calorie intake for a fat loss program. -Tom Venuto

     What does all of this mean?  If you have a glass of juice in the morning, a can of pop at lunch, and a fancy coffee drink with friends in the afternoon or a beer in the evening, you are consuming around 400-800 empty calories a day!  That means about a pound of fat a week can be added or dropped just by NOT drinking those.

     Cut down on liquid calories, or cut them out all together and you will see a positive improvement to your physical state. This will not get you your desired body, you won't be able to see your abs, but it will bring you one step closer to achieving your ultimate goal.

     Nowhere in our history have our ancestors had access to large amounts of liquid calories. Alcohol may have been around as far back as several thousand years BC, but even that is a blip on the evolutionary calendar of humanity.
     As a result, our genetic code has never developed the physiological mechanisms to properly register the caloric content in liquids the way it does when you eat, chew and swallow whole foods. -Tom Venuto

Watch how much you normally drink per day, do you have a juice in the morning, a pop at lunch or a frappucino when you are out with your friends? Can you substitute all of these drinks with water or tea (with no added sugar)?  You will be better off if you do.