Owwie

Had to use today to recover from yesterday's workout- I started the TT 2k3 workout yesterday, and it was my first upper-body-only workout that I've done in nearly a year. I pushed it, and boy am I feeling it today! I think if I'd been able to get today's workout done prior to the pain setting in, I'd have been fine, but since I didn't get the chance (unless i wanted to skip eating today) until 5 p.m., it didn't happen.

Weigh-in yesterday was 153, so I'm definitely needing to get back on track if I want to see 145 or lower by Thanksgiving.

Still am not back on the priority list and haven't surfaced completely, but I took tonight as a night to just vegg and now I'm heading to bed.

Description of Passive Income

As requested, here is a description of the passive income thingie I was talking about in a post last week:

What I'm talking about is the income that happens on-line- you set up a solution to a problem and then sell it (gee- sound like TT, Afterburn, etc?). Basically, the field of nutrition and fitness is wide open for people who know their stuff to step in and be able to use their perspective to get others moving and eating right, losing weight.

Now, of course I do not profess to know everything- my experience so far is very small, but I'm learning, and therein lies the solution- people can learn from my perspective, because I write differently and from a different focus point than Craig Ballantyne, Alwyn Cosgrove, etc. Pat O'Bryan, www.yourportableempire.com, is the one who opened it up to me. I'd been seeing stuff about it for quite a few months from Dax Moy, Ryan Lee (who just released a similar book), and Craig, but wasn't really paying attention because I didn't know what it was about, didn't really want to get into something new. However, something told me to get Pat's book when Joe Vitale promoted it on his blog, and for once I actually acted on it (I'm rarely an emotional buyer- that whole being-in-graduate-school thing tends to put the kobosh on any spending outside things related directly to school or life needs). So that's the passive income thing I was talking about. I haven't acted on that though, because the book also made me realize how important graduate school is to me, no matter how sick of it I am. My goal right now is to graduate in May, and I know that, along with family and work, is going to take up 85% of my time. Workouts and my weight loss goal are going to take up at least 10%, and extras are going to take that remaining five, and there's always thousands of things I want to do or have to do (housework, egh).

So that's the bare basics. See? I'm going to write the book! :)

Bookmarking

I'm buried in homework right now, but I'm quickly posting a couple of thoughts here to bookmark them, and I'll write more later:

- I had an interesting chat with myself about motivation this weekend- seems it's flagging, my favorite podcast was grating rather than motivating, and I think most of it came down to a superiority issue- that of feeling like everyone's got it all together except me.

- I've discovered that i am actually an emotional eater- not a blatant one, mind you, which is why it's taken so long to identify it- it's a very subtle, underlying emotional contract with food, so that's why I dive into the junk even after weeks of "good" behavior- to me, it is a matter of becoming unemotional about food.

Likely these points don't make any sense, or at least any in the way that I want them to, so I'll write more later. As it is I'm already avoiding studying :)

No Weigh-in yet

Yesterday’s Priority List:
Workout Today? Yes/No
Planned workout today? Yes/No
Planned meals for today? Yes/No
Followed plan for meals? Yes/No
Healthy food choices today? Yes/No _70___% (__4__ out of 6 meals) *skipping meals denotes unhealthy food choice
Enjoyed my family today? Yes/No
Succeeded for school today? Yes/No

I have not weighed in yet this week, and realized that I don't believe I've been "good" enough to do so. Hmm, I'll have to change that. I ate decently today and yesterday, but I'm still skipping meals, which isn't good- I see the most results when I'm eating 6 meals a day consistently. Yes, it's coming down to poor planning, esp. with this crazy schedule that's honestly getting made up day by day.

I was actually sore today from yesterday's workout. I didn't do any workout today to give my body time to recover, even though I didn't really want to- I often want to push, push, push. A strange, firm belief that the only way I'm going to lose this weight is to have a hard workout every time. So, there's that all or nothing thinking again. I have a feeling I'm going to be dealing with that for a long long time.

I also can't type tonight- I keep having to hit the back button almost more often than I go forward. I can take a hint!

I can Tell...

Yesterday’s Priority List:
Workout Today? Yes/No
Planned workout today? Yes/No
Planned meals for today? Yes/No
Followed plan for meals? Yes/No
Healthy food choices today? Yes/No _70___% (__4__ out of 6 meals) *skipping meals denotes unhealthy food choice
Enjoyed my family today? Yes/No
Succeeded for school today? Yes/No

I can tell that school, work, and everything has picked uplately. I'm behind on the MTM forum, I'm behind on my blog, I do not have the costumes made for Halloween, and I have a paper due next Monday that I have no idea when I'll work on it. Feeling overwhelmed? Sure. Will I get everything done? Most likely, I usually do. Things that can be ignored will be, so I apologize if I'm only lurking and not posting like normal- I'm still giving everyone my full support, 'cause I know how much I myself have needed it!

I can tell I haven't posted in a while. Here's the few thoughts that meant to make it on here and didn't:

• It's no wonder I dived into the chocolate chip cookies last week, it was rainy, dreary, cold, and guess what showed up on Thursday? I'm female if you need a hint.
• I can't remember if I posted my intent to crack down this week. Of course, cracking down without a menu is like saying I'm going grocery shopping without the list...on an empty stomach...
• I'm really really starting to give the whole passive income thing a serious look. I've got a wonderful experience with nutrition and weight loss that I'm sure others would like a perspective into, and it may just help others get their head on straight when it comes to eating for health and weight loss. Now, if I could just follow my own advice...
• My gym's website is finally completed (sort of). I still have to add a link or two, and a bio here and there, but the bulk of it is done. Now I can pat myself on the back and count my third professional site a success (for a hobby, that's pretty cool, AND I've gotten paid for two of the three!).

There! I count myself as posted.

I had a really good workout today, with TT Week 3 Workout A completed at these weights: 40x3 RDL's, 30x3 Chest press on stability ball, 20x3 Reverse lunges, 20x2/15x1 shoulder presses. Then I took an hour break, convinced myself that it would be totally worth it to do the intervals, and did a bodyweight circuit that left me with a huge stitch in my side by the time it was done: Prisoner Squats x 20, Kneeling Pushups x 20 (x15 by the third go-around), Kettlebell swings x 15 w/ 25lbs, and ab curl on ball x 20. Rest one minute, rinse and repeat for 20 minutes. I got 5 circuits done. I needed 20 minutes of 3.0 mph walking on the treadmill to cool down from that one. And stretching. SOO important!

Not hiding...

Okay, I'm here! I'm not hiding, but the cookies are almost gone ;) I've been able to re-discipline myself yesterday and today, working back toward the spot I was before I crashed. Truthfully, it's actually about time I crashed- I am on week 7, and while I had a couple of shaky weeks so far, I hadn't had a full breakdown yet. So.

I'm back.

The cookies no longer call me, I've been working on getting back on track (still skipped morning midmeal today), and I'll be in to the gym by 4 for a good workout. School and work are picking up quite heartily, so my internet hours will be reduced over the next few weeks. I will still post (nearly) every day. I will also use this last week (3 days actually) as a learning tool.

Thanks for the support!

Call Me Out

Yep, I'm in a rut- I'll blame the weather for right now, and let myself come around when I can. However, being it's only Tuesday and I feel like it's Thursday already should tell you something.

Workouts- yesterdays' sucked, today's didn't happen
Eating- 3 cookies yesterday and one today along with ice cream and a fried fish sandwich

Exactly.

Marcol's latest blog post is a good one. I'll have to read it when I'm more awake, because I believe that it will motivate me. Eventually.

Good night!

Best Article Ever

Beyond Billy's article on living a FAL, one of two other best articles ever written was one by Craig Ballantyne called "Politically Incorrect Fat Loss" (the other one is on Skwigg's webpage called "Merry Christmas, Bob". I just re-read Craig's article recently, and I love how he just pounds into the whole "politically correct lift soup cans and lose weight" theory. I honestly think he forgot one person to incriminate, however- the one person who stares back at you in the mirror every day. It's true. I am my own worst enemy. I had an interesting weekend, which resulted in a complete ignore of any healthy food on Sunday (except the Chili that I made, which was very yummy). I'm back on track today. I am starting to believe that I do need that one day where everything goes out the window (Bill Phillip's Body for Life started me on that one), since I'm such a perfectionist anyway.

At any rate, being that it's a dreary, rainy day around here, I'm figuring everyone needs some good reading material (don't tell me if it's not rainy where you're at!). So, without further ado, Craig's article:

Politically Incorrect Fat Loss Works

By: Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
www.TurbulenceTraining.com

You know who is your worst enemy in the fight against fat?

Well-meaning fitness professionals that don't want to make you feel bad for being lazy and eating crap. That's who.

They write articles about how "diets are bad", how you can lift soup cans and get fitness model arms, and how you should exercise in the nice and easy "fat burning zone" to get results. Basically, they give you what want to hear - plenty of excuses for avoiding hard exercise and strict nutrition (the real keys to fat loss).

But I don't. You'll get no such excuses from me.

Here's the real deal on fat loss. You have to work hard in your workouts and even harder on your nutrition if you want results. Or you can take the politically-correct easy way out and have the same body in 3, 6, and even 12 months from now.

Love me or hate me, I promise you results. Let's take a look at why the PC-solutions don't work...

Q: I've been told to exercise in my "fat burning zone". What's the best cardio method for weight los.

Answer:
Cardio is not the only solution.

Clearly it adds to the energy deficit and overall calorie balance that favors fat loss.

BUT it's not the "be all & end all" of fat loss success - and that is anecdotally supported by the number of overweight distance runners.

I almost never recommend long, slow cardio...simply because no one I train or consult with has the time for this, and it doesn't work any better than shorter, less frequent, more intense interval training sessions.

Five or six days of 45-minute cardio sessions in my fat-burning zone? Yeah right, like anyone has time for that.

If I told you that you could get the same results (or better, as recent research suggests) in three 20-minute interval sessions each week as you could from three or five 45-minute slower cardio sessions each week, which would you choose?

Yes, intervals feel about 10x's harder than regular, slow, boring cardio. And yes, you won't be able to read your people magazine when doing intervals. And you might breathe a little heavy. So if you're worried about sweating, than maybe fat loss isn't for you.

But if you don't mind going against the crowd, intervals are worth every second for the superior results.

Q: Should men and women train differently for fat loss?

Answer:
Nope. Next question.

Seriously, the answer is no, but just to add to that, men and women don't have that many differences when it comes to fat loss, so they both do well with the Turbulence Training style workouts.

Now here's one reason why TT may actually work better for women than men...

More women tend to start Turbulence Training after having spent months or years using slow cardio and light (if any) weights. And selfishly, I could not be any happier - because when these dedicated women start using the shorter, more intense strength and interval sessions they make rapid progress and make me look like a genius.

The accolades come pouring in...I have dozens of testimonials from women thanking me for saving them TIME while helping them finally breakthrough stubborn fat loss plateaus (and eliminating the pain from their overuse injuries that occurred due to high volumes of cardio). Their words make me feel like a million bucks because the TT workouts are making these women feel like a million bucks.

That being said, I sometimes make small changes in TT workouts to adapt to a woman's pre-conceived notions about strength training. Some women are very hesitant to lift weights. But you and I know that is necessary for bodysculpting, fat loss, and health benefits such as building bones.

So what I do is sub a few (not all!) of the weight exercises out and replace them with equal intensity bodyweight exercises. Some bodyweight exercises can be classified as traditional strength exercises (i.e. for a woman that can only do 5 full pushups, the pushup exercise is almost a max strength exercise). But women "mentally" deal with this type of strength training better than putting a dumbbell in their hands.

On the other hand, some bodyweight exercises provide more of an interval training effect (i.e. bodyweight squats). Either way, bodyweight exercises can put turbulence (i.e. "stress") on the
muscle and boost metabolism and help female clients get the results they want and deserve.

Q: What differentiates Turbulence Training from other programs?

Answer:
That's a tough question to answer, as there are other systems out there that give impressive results in an acceptable time frame.

I will say this however, I am extremely dedicated to Turbulence Training and the entire "fat loss" cause.

One of the factors behind my dedication is that I find the general concept of fat loss to be so simple, and yet millions and millions of people around the world have an incredibly difficult time achieving their goals.

I want to give them every possible resource available to them to help them succeed.

So I am constantly tinkering with new workouts, exercises, and interval methods, and interviewing other trainers and nutritional experts for every single little fat burning advantage I can find. And that comes through in what I offer to the readers of my newsletters and clients that use my programs.

I said in a past newsletter that "Fat loss is easy, once you realize how hard it is." You have to respect that it's not something you put on "auto-pilot". Taking the stairs at work instead of the elevator, parking 100 extra feet away from the door, and subbing 1% milk for 2% milk is not going to help you lose 13 pounds of fat in a year like the politically correct articles
suggest.

You need a politically-incorrect plan to eat right 90% of the time (i.e. saying "no" when an office-mate brings in doughnuts) and you have to have the best workout plan available to you if you want to get the most results in the least amount of time.

And then you still have to have a plan to help you stick to those plans - and that should involve a social support group. There are many tricks and tips to success, so you always have to keep
learning and trying to improve. And that's what I help with in my programs and newsletters.

About the Author
Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men's Health, Men's Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have been featured multiple times in Men’s Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines, and have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit www.TurbulenceTraining.com

Sleep? Huh?

Wednesday’s Priority List:
Workout Today? Yes/No
Planned workout today? Yes/No
Planned meals for today? Yes/No
Followed plan for meals? Yes/No
Healthy food choices today? Yes/No _100___% (__7__ out of 6 meals) *skipping meals denotes unhealthy food choice
Enjoyed my family today? Yes/No
Succeeded for school today? Yes/No

Yesterday’s Priority List:
Workout Today? Yes/No
Planned workout today? Yes/No
Planned meals for today? Yes/No
Followed plan for meals? Yes/No
Healthy food choices today? Yes/No _70___% (__4__ out of 6 meals) *skipping meals denotes unhealthy food choice
Enjoyed my family today? Yes/No
Succeeded for school today? Yes/No

I'm starting to suffer from low-grade sleep deprivation. It's odd, because normally I have no trouble heading to bed and passing out by 10:30. However lately, I seem to be having trouble getting to bed by 11:00, and I'm really starting to feel it. Energy levels are dipping, it's taking me longer to get to sleep, and the last thing I want to do in the morning is get up. And here's the important piece: I actually took a nap yesterday for an hour (and actually slept). I NEVER take naps unless I'm really tired, and even then, I am not guaranteed to sleep. I think some of it has to do with stress; between school, work, daughter, and life, I'm feeling it right now. Some of it also has to do with not getting my daughter to bed before 8:30. I remember the time when she went to bed at 7:00, and homework time came after that. Now, by the time she gets to bed, I'm too tired to do much of anything beyond zombie-ing, and I feel like I still have too much to do before I can climb into my own bed. Sigh. I guess I'm also making excuses again ;) only this time it's on the matter of bedtime rather than nutrition/workouts.

I have another confession to make too: last night daughter and I went to McDonalds. I didn't blow it, but I didn't have a salad either. I had a 10 pc chicken mcnuggets and apple dippers without the caramel. I'm not going to feel guilty; I've been on-track this week. I haven't been following the menu too closely, but everything I've chosen in place has been healthy- except for the choc milk in place of the banana protein shake. :)

Intervals

Yesterday’s Priority List:
Workout Today? Yes/No
Planned workout today? Yes/No
Planned meals for today? Yes/No
Followed plan for meals? Yes/No
Healthy food choices today? Yes/No _70___% (__4__ out of 6 meals) *skipping meals denotes unhealthy food choice
Enjoyed my family today? Yes/No
Succeeded for school today? Yes/No

Intervals are a lot of fun, especially when you're doing them in a group. I was delighted to participate in a group cardio session at my gym after I taught a 30-minute circuit today, and two of the four of us were doing intervals. We encouraged each other, we pushed and challenged each other, and we provided a means of getting our minds off the pain (we yakked when we could breathe). It was a lot of fun, and it's starting to become a Wed evening habit. My daughter gets entertained by one of the younger girls who sometimes participates in the circuit, and we get in a workout. It's novel, really! Strange I hadn't thought of it yet. *sarcasm, thinking about the 30-minute circuit class I teach 3 days a week and is pretty well attended*

I can tell I've got my menu planned again this week, because the eating is just going easy as pie. I may change a thing here or there as I go, but it's better than trying to come up with several meals for a day when I'm hungry, tired, etc. Please remind me to keep doing it (as if those who have encouraged me haven't already *grin*).

Nearly Forgot...

Yesterday’s Priority List:
Workout Today? Yes/No
Planned workout today? Yes/No
Planned meals for today? Yes/No
Followed plan for meals? Yes/No
Healthy food choices today? Yes/No _90___% (__5__ out of 6 meals) *skipping meals denotes unhealthy food choice
Enjoyed my family today? Yes/No
Succeeded for school today? Yes/No

I nearly forgot to post today- whoops! I'm tired, spent all day studying or taking care of my daughter. I'm really psyched up about yesterday- I also post many of my blog posts at the Motivation to Move forum, which provides some really awesome support, so I've got a wonderful group of people behind me along with those who encourage me through this blog. To that I say thank you!

Monday,Monday

It's Monday! Hello! I'm in a rather good mood, which I'm loving. I have one reason not to be in a good mood, and two reasons to be jumping for joy.

Getting the bad news over with first: our little kitty, who just turned 8 weeks old, got hit by one of our cars this morning (we're not sure who the culprit is). It broke his pelvis and femur, and he's in a lot of pain. Our three choices were: operate, putting in pins and costing $$$, put him down, which none of us wanted to do, or take him home, keep him kenneled for 6-8 weeks and see how well he heals. Poor little guy. However, he's also the kitten we discovered not four weeks ago with a tail that had been infected and infested, and after that was docked off, he was just fine. So, we've decided the kennel to be the best option. Luckily, we've got a playpen, and we're utilizing that. I believe he'll be fine and good as new in a few short weeks (well, at least in 6 weeks). However, our other three kitties are going to miss playing with him (especially our Bennamin, who acts toward Spunky-yes, that's his name, and he deserves it- as a teenaged older brother acts toward his new baby brother- Benn is 4 months old, he's such a teenager!)

Now for the good news: I put on, and then ZIPPED UP, a pair of SIZE 8 jeans on Saturday! It was absolutely amazing! *doing the happy dance* They were tight, like my 16's used to be tight, and my 14's used to be tight, and my 12's used to be tight (muffin top a bit), but they zipped. I didn't buy them, although I was highly tempted. I will buy them in a couple of weeks (or next Tuesday, to be exact) when they fit better. I tried on the 10's too, and they fit perfectly. I had to keep checking the tags to be sure they were right. It's hard to convey the feelings that went (and are still going) through my head. When I was a fat teenager, I made the goal that I was going to get into a pair of 8's someday. I'm 27 now, so it's been at least 10 years since I made that goal. That's a damn long time to not accomplish a goal (it's no wonder I'm plagued with feelings of not being good enough or a failure, even when they obviously aren't true!). My hubby said he's been wondering when my brain would catch up with reality- he's noticed for a long time now how good I've been looking (his words, not mine), and he's vicariously enjoying the results.

As for the proof in the pudding on those size 8's: I weighed in today at 151. Yes, that number is right. I stared at it for awhile, doubting my sanity, since my eating wasn't so hot last week or this past weekend. So I got off the scale, then got back on, twice. I tell you, that scale is effed up- not only does it weigh at least 10 pounds higher than the nice, calibrated scale in the lab at school (I've checked), but each time after that when I got on, it weighed me two pounds higher- yep, 153 and then 155 (or the numbers read 163 and 165). So I'm going with the first number. Heheh, I wonder if it would have gone up to 157, then 159, if I'd gotten on any more times? :D

I'm feeling pretty good right now (I said that already, didn't I?). I did the Turbulence Training Workout B today, and increased weight on the first circuit, which was great. I didn't have class today either, which is probably why I'm not feeling burned. It doesn't mean I got any homework accomplished today, like I'd planned, but at the very least I had a productive day. I didn't follow menu too well, but had good food choices all day. I'll post the priority list tomorrow, since I'm liking the system of logging the previous day's priorities. Yesterday was a complete and utter free day. No stress, not a whole lot of discipline, not the best food choices. Feeling it today? Yes. Otherwise, not really- no guilt!

Week is finally over- now we return to our regularly scheduled craziness

Today’s Priority List:
Workout Today? Yes/No
Planned workout today? Yes/No
Planned meals for today? Yes/No
Followed plan for meals? Yes/No
Healthy food choices today? Yes/No _50___% (__3__ out of 6 meals) *skipping meals denotes unhealthy food choice
Enjoyed my family today? Yes/No
Succeeded for school today? Yes/No

Yesterday’s Priority List:
Workout Today? Yes/No
Planned workout today? Yes/No
Planned meals for today? Yes/No
Followed plan for meals? Yes/No
Healthy food choices today? Yes/No _60___% (__4__ out of 6 meals) *skipping meals denotes unhealthy food choice
Enjoyed my family today? Yes/No
Succeeded for school today? Yes/No

Crazy week continued...

Truckin' Along

I’m still here… been busy as all get out this week. I got in an amazing Turbulence Training workout on Monday with HIIT at the end (I started the Original TT workout program, and it’s kicking my butt, but it feels great! No more intermediate workout ), then did *gasp!* 20 minutes of Steady State elliptical yesterday, and today again did the TT workout with HIIT afterward (hour break in between, which was nice- and was with a friend, so we REALLY pushed it at the end)

No major weird thoughts right now, even though they’ve definitely been heading through my head lately. I promise that I’ll get restarted on the priority list again soon! As it stands right now, eating’s been going okay, although I’m finding myself skipping meals or forgetting to pack them again lately, so I’ve got to buckle down on that. Nutrition is going to be the REASON this time, and I’ve already promised myself that this is the LAST time I’m going to work off the rest of this extra weight- December is the goal end date, so this is it- I’m GOING to do it!

Today’s Priority List:
Workout Today? Yes/No
Planned workout today? Yes/No
Planned meals for today? Yes/No
Followed plan for meals? Yes/No
Healthy food choices today? Yes/No _60___% (__4__ out of 6 meals) *skipping meals denotes unhealthy food choice
Enjoyed my family today? Yes/No
Succeeded for school today? Yes/No