Celebration

Yesterday was a lost day as far as the Sexification Challenge journey goes but it was a "found" day for me personally. Two fantastic things happened that required (REQUIRED, I tells ya!) a celebration. Which always includes food, dontcha know?

Number one, I signed the acceptance letter for my new job. Say hello to Lumedx's newest project manager. My start date is July 30. Next week I'll give notice even though my boss is out of town. I'm not waiting and certainly not giving him more than a week of my time to transition. The fallout from that will be the hot story for the next three weeks.

Number two, my son came home last night. He brought his new Trans AM and his new body with him. He has lost so much weight it's incredible. Ah, to be young again and able to shed weight so easily. I'm really proud of him.

Anyway, we celebrated both events by going out to dinner at Alex's favorite restaurant. I had a taste for Mexican, especially refried beans, so I had the chicken burrito and at all the guac and sour cream that came with it. Needless to say, the belly she be full today. Back to the low cal, low carb regime today. We're off to the drag races this evening. It's the NHRA Nationals which means the best of top fuel, funny cars and pro stocks. It's going to be a scorcher today but we'll have fun. Food will be packed because I'm not eating the junk that will be available there. The shoulder is feeling a lot better and is practically back to normal. However, I decided to skip the gym yesterday and wait to talk to the Rog-inator on how to modify things until I get a diagnosis on this possible rotator cuff tear.

Here's some pics of a boy and his car (with bonus hubby):

Sigh

Damn shoulder. Looks like I'm being forced to get this thing treated. I had another bad night last night. The shoulder felt better yesterday and ok when I went to bed but then I woke up a few hours later with so much pain I couldn't get comfortable or get back to sleep. I made an appointment with the orthopedic doctor and saw him this afternoon. He said it's very possible I have a rotator cuff tear although unlikely it's a complete tear. So first step is an MRI which I have scheduled for Monday afternoon. Then I see him again the following week and hopefully the verdict will be physical therapy rather than surgery.

I'll go to the gym tomorrow and do the exercises I can do that won't affect the shoulder and then maybe hop on the bike. Until I get this taken care of, I suppose it will be lots of steady state cardio for fat burning and hopefully not lose too much muscle.

It's always something...

The Waiting is Over

Getting the bad news out of the way first. I'm not going to the gym this morning. I slept funny on my left shoulder last night and now I have pain somewhere deep in the side deltoid/triceps area. Dang it sucks to get old. I'll spend the day working that one out.

And now the good news! I got the job offer I was waiting for! Yes, that's right. It looks like our long national nightmare is over. Chris and I are going over the details about benefits and other things to figure out just how much less I'll be making by taking this job. It's definitely going to put a hit on the bottom line. But unless something really stands out as a showstopper then I'll be accepting the offer by the end of the week. Since the big bad boss will be out of town the following two weeks, I can't give notice until he gets back. So I'll give two weeks notice with my last day being July 27 and start the new job July 30. No time off for Nancy but that's ok. It will seem like a vacation being at home even if I'll working.

So things are going well. I'm just kind of exhausted mentally and emotionally but I've been that way for a while. I can take it a little longer knowing there's light at the end of the tunnel.

Oh, I just remembered I promised to post the recipe for the sweet potato brownies. Since I don't want to have to reproduce the whole thing, here's the link to the original with nice pictures of what they look like. Enjoy!

The Start of Another Week

Monday, Monday...can't trust that day...

Woke up groggy and definitely not into diving into another work week. However...my allegedly amazing ass got dragged out of bed, into some workout clothes and out the door after some of my freshly made concentrated coffee. With coconut milk and chocolate protein powder for a high powered mocha latte. Yum! Topped off with a couple of pumpkin muffins and a banana and I was willing to face the day.

I continue to knock out awesome workouts.

Rack pull 125# x 2 x 8, 115# x 1 x 10
Wall ankle MOB  3 x 10

One arm DB row (5 sec eccentric) 22.5# x 3 x 8
Goblet squat (5 pulses) 10# x 3 x 5

Alt. DB incline press 15# x 3 x 15

Fun time! Deadbugs   2 x 12 slow and strict

The squats were ok. I went as low as I could until I felt pulling in the knees (which got better with each set). So as long as I don't screw up my knees any further, I'm ok with what I can do.

Best part of the day.;.I'm down another 1/2 lb. I was 217.8 lb this morning. Hoping to get down to 217 by the weekend and picture time.

Hello Weekend

So glad to see the week end, although I have a work project to attend to this morning. So it's on to farmers markets, cooking, grilling, partying with friends...just a typical summer weekend in the Midwest.

Sexification-wise, this was an awesome week. Last week was good but I knew I could do better, so mission accomplished! Increasing the calorie deficit and ramping up the walking resulted in a 1.4 lb loss. I'm down to 218.6 lb. and right on track. My knees continue to give me fits. I did decide to eliminate the bodyweight squats and had a great workout. However, I walked at lunch and that seemed to make my left knee very pissed off because it started being stiff and sore sometime in the afternoon. By the time I went home, it was very painful. Aspirin at bedtime has helped and although I can feel a bit of soreness it's practically back to normal. But this is getting really old (or more probably it's just me getting old). I think I need to reconcile myself to the fact that aches and pains are going to be a normal thing that I have to manage on a daily basis. That sucks but what are you gonna do?

Here's yesterday's workout:
BB romanian deadlift 75# x 3 x 10

Unilateral leg press 20# x 1 x 11, 20# x 2 x 10
Unilateral DB push press 17.5# x 3 x 7

Cable face pull 17.5# x 3 x 16
Single leg hip thrust 3 x 8

Cardio finisher: 3 rounds in 4:44
KB swing 12 kg x 15
DB uppercut 12.5# x 5
DB tight rotation 12.5# x 10

The hip thrusts are getting a little bit easier and it feels like the left side is coming up to the right. I'm not going to add any reps until I feel like they are totally even. That is one badass (but is giving me a good ass!) exercise.

Baking brownies today but not just any brownies. Sweet potato brownies. Details tomorrow. Stay tuned!

Workout and an Update

I tweaked my knee again during yesterday's workout. First set of step-ups and boom! I guess I need to be super uber careful when doing anything that involves putting weight on that knee while it's bent. It feels better this morning so I'm still debating doing the bodyweight squats tomorrow but I'll decide on how it feels tomorrow morning.

Here's the details:
Lat pulldown with 3-sec pause  50# x 3 x 8
Wall ankle MOB 3 x 10

Step up  15# (each hand) x 3 x 8
DB hammer curl  10# x 3 x 15

One arm cable row 40# x 3 x 13
Half kneeling Palloff press 25# x 3 x 10

For fun: Cable pullthrough 50# x 3 x 6

I think I'm getting closer to an offer being made on the project management job. My background check came back all clear (whew!). And as quite a surprise, I got a callback from the hospital administrator job I had interviewed for before I went on vacation. I figured they had moved on since I never was contacted again after the interview. But they want me back for a second interview. I'll schedule one in case I don't get the PM job. It's nice to know I have options.

Killin' It

So I had a good week last week but I knew I could do so much better. There was no weight loss last week so I knew I had to tight things up and get tough with myself about being more active.

Two things I've changed this week:
1. Cut calories on my three high days from 2250 to 2100. A small cut that slightly increases the weekly deficit.
2. Shoot for 10,000 steps a day instead of 8000 which had been my goal. This includes actually doing a scheduled 30 minute walk on non-gym days.

Looking at myself in the mirror, I look slimmer. Maybe I'm just wearing better fitting clothes. I'm looking forward to pictures at the end of the month to see if it's just my imagination or not.

Yesterday's workout:
Rack pull 125# x 2 x 7, 115# x 1 x 10

One arm DB row 20# x 2 x 14, 20# x 1 x 13
Goblet squat  10# x 3 x 5

Alternate incline DB press 15# x 2 x 14

Fun time!
Single leg hip thrust  2 x 8
Waiters walk  12.5#/16 kg x 2 x 50 ft each way

I'm continuing to gain strength which is a good sign and makes me really happy. I can see the outline of biceps and deltoids when I look at my non-flexed arm. So the muscle is there quietly waiting to be uncovered. Fat stripping in progress!

Kryptonite

Kryptonite...the one thing in the universe that disrupts Superman's superpowers and renders him no more than an ordinary human. I think every human has their own kryptonite as well and that's that one food that no matter what they are powerless to resist and become as helpless as a baby. Well, maybe only metaphorically speaking but you get the picture.

Well, I encountered my kryptonite last night. Brownies. That little tidbit of chocolate heaven, all dense and chewy. Chris and I went to the casino last night and ate dinner at their buffet. I'd never eaten at their buffet before but only at their steakhouse (which is so-so). So I didn't have high hopes for the buffet but figured if I stuck to meat and veggies I'd be ok. And actually the buffet wasn't too bad. There was acceptable beef, chicken and Italian sausage and I had a ittle bit of all of that. There was steamed broccoli, sauteed spinach and a nice tomato salad, so some of that went on the plate. They even had unsweetened sweet potatoes. I ate until just satisfied which I am learning happens pretty quickly with meat and veggies. Then the kryptonite struck. Chris came back from the dessert bar with chocolate cake and my lizard brain started thinking brownies. And wouldn't let go until I went and got one. It was delicious, I savored it and ate just one so the damage wasn't bad.

Now obviously food kryptonite isn't a physical thing, it's a mental thing. I'm the one who gives it superpowers. I'm the one that puts it on a pedestal. I'm the one who keeps saying it's the one food I can't resist. Because I believe it. So the key to defeating kryptonite is to change my belief that this food is anything special. This food (and other chocolate foods like cake, cookies and ice cream) needs to be put in the same category as other foods, namely just one more option to fuel the body and an option that is my choice to eat or not eat. And that choice should be made infrequently and ahead of time, not at the spur of the moment.

I Have an Engine in My Caboose

A funny thing happened this week. I was walking down the hallway and, without really thinking about it, my pelvis tucked underneath me. Gosh, I thought, there's something happening back there. It's like there's a little engine propelling me along as I walk. And I realized that finally, finally, my glutes are engaging. Hallejuah!

But as good as that news is, I have better news. I'm 90% certain that I'll be made an offer for job I've been interviewing for. I'm so happy and relieved. It's taken a long time to get through the process, even involving three interviews when I was recently in Seattle. Now it appears that it's over. I had the final interview yesterday with the hiring manager and the person I'd be replacing. Today I got a call from the HR person wanting my references and my salary expectations. That means they're just doing the final vetting before making an offer. I talked to Chris tonight and he said try to negotiate as high a salary as I can but whatever they offer, take the job. And I couldn't be happier. Life is going to change for the better in so many ways!

Today's workout:

BB Romanian deadlift  75# x 3 x 9

Unilateral leg press  20# x 3 x 10
Unilateral DB push press  20# x 1 x 6, 17.5# x 2 x 6

Cable face pull  17.5# x 2 x 15
Single leg hip thrust 2 x 8

Cardio finisher: 4 rounds done in 5:22
Weighted glute bridge (substitute for bw squats)   25#
DB upper cut   12.5#
DB tight rotation  12.5#

Hump Day

Dieting is such a pain in the ass. You have to deal with ignoring food all around you, spend inordinate amounts of time planning and prepping food and fighting hunger at all times of the day and night. Monday night I suffered bad insomia because the tummy was growling all night keeping me awake. This is somewhat unusual because Monday is a high calorie day. Now, "high" is a relative term. I'm still in a defict on my high calorie days, just not as much as other days. Usually if I have insomia, it's on the low calorie days. Having that happen on a high calorie day made me concerned that my hunger levels were leading me to an eventual binge. So I decided to up my calories a bit today to give my body and mind a small break.

So as I was putting together my food plan for the day, I added an extra 500 calories which brought my intake up to 250 calories over maintenance. Not enough to do any damage, just enough to feel satisfied.

So on to today's workout.

Lat pulldown 50# x 3 x 8
3-way ankle MOB 3 x 10

Step up 15# (each hand) x 3 x 8
DB hammer curl 15# x 1 x 10, 10# x 2 x 15

One arm cable row 40# x 3 x 12
Half kneeling Palloff press 20# x 3 x 10

Fun time! Cardio finisher!! 5 minutes!!!
Farmers walk, 16 kg kettlebell in each hand. Walk 40 ft across the gym, put down kettlebells, do 5 jumping jacks. Pick up kettlebells and walk back again. Do 5 jumping jacks, turn around and do it again.

I did 8 rounds. It was epic.

Monday's Workout

In my excitement about posting my dog park pictures, I totally forgot to post my workout on Monday. Which was awesome, of course.

Rack pull 125# x 1 x 6, 115# x 2 x 9
3-way ankle MOB 3 x 10

One are DB row 20# x 3 x 10

Alternate DB incline press 15# x 2 x 13

Fun time:
Single leg hip thrust 2 x 8
Waiters walk 12.5#/16 kg x 2 x 50 ft.

Booyah!

I love days when I have tons of win.

Win #1: I'm down to 220 lb., 3 lbs down from June 1. One step closer to my goal!

Win #2: A great workout. Taking advice from Rog, I cut out the goblet squats. Instead I did single leg hip thrusts again during the fun time portion. The fun comes from feeling good about myself completing the sets and reps I wanted to do and knowing that I'm addressing a real weakness. Overcoming this will improve my performance in so many things.

Win #3: My last phone interview for the job I'm going for is set for Thursday. Hopefully I'll have a decision within the next week and be on my way to a new way of life.

I'll end by posting some pics of my dog and the dog park where we went walking yesterday. No hot and sweaty pics of me though!

This is Cappuchino (Cappy for short):

Here she is on the trail:

This is a beautiful park. Tons of land and many groomed and less groomed trails.

Check out this hill. Most people go around the railroad ties along the side. I go up and down stepping over the ties. More work for the quads! How about some sprints up this hill? (Maybe not yet)

First Saturday of the Summer

If today was any indication, it's going to be a hot summer. Ninety degrees in early June. Today was one of those days that I like best...all day to get things done and no deadlines or schedules. Plenty of time in the morning to have coffee and breakfast, check ALL my favorite blogs, do some foam rolling and mobility and get spruced up for a day of Saturday shopping.

First things first, here's my food for today:
Calories: 1765
Protein: 28.4%
Carb: 32.1%
Fat: 39.5%

During my rounds of the grocery stores, one of my favorite things is to go to Barnes and Noble to look at magazines and then next door to Panera for lunch. It may not sound like a whole lot of excitement but I spend so much time all week either on the phone or in meetings that it's a treat to have some peace and quiet.  And a nice salad with chicken. After I got home and put the groceries away, I went out for a walk with a frozen water bottle in hand.

I think I'll be doing that a lot this summer.

Challenges

A good end to a good week. Food was good all week, although I didn't lose as much as I'd like, I was up to 222.4 lb this morning so I'm only down 1/2 lb this week. I need to walk more.

Food yesterday:
Calories: 1779
Protein: 29.5%
Carb: 27.3%
Fat: 43.2%

Unfortunately, my knee is still giving me problems. For some mysterious reason, I wake up in the morning and my knee is sore. I don't know what the heck I'm doing to it. But points for me, I go to the gym anyway. And do the workout as best I can. Actually, the only exercises that were a problem were the leg press and the bodyweight squat. I did the movements but not to full ROM. You do what you can. The exercise that was the real challenge though was the single leg hip thrust. I have a serious imbalance between my left and right sides. The left was signficantly harder than the right. I got all the reps in but barely.

Here's the full workout:
BB romanian deadlift 65# x 1 x 12, 75# x 2 x 8

Unilateral leg press 20# x 3 x 10
Unilateral db push press 15# x 3 x 6

Cable face pull 15# x 3 x 15
Unilateral hip thrust BW x 3 x 8

And the cardio finisher for 5 minutes -
BW squat  10 reps (4 rounds)
DB uppercut 5 reps (4 rounds)  - total fun. Love these.
DB tight rotation 10 reps (3 rounds)

So the day was full of challenges but failure was not an option so those challenges were overcome. Booyah!

The Calm Before the Storm

I slept better last night. I could have slept at least three more hours but I dragged my ass out of bed anyway. The day was going really well and then...da da da!...an email from Rog with my workout for Friday. It seems Rog was so impressed with my program yesterday, he decided he needed to one-up me by giving a workout with not one, not two but three unilateral exercises. And a cardio finisher to boot. I'm soooo looking forward to tomorrow morning!

Here's the food report for yesterday:
Calories: 2262
Protein: 30.3%
Carb: 28.3%
Fat: 40.4%

I'm making an experiment for dinner tonight. Meatloaf made with Italian sausage instead of ground pork. We'll see how it goes. Report tomorrow.

On My Own

I hate it when I have trouble sleeping. On a good night I get 7 hours but usually it's 6. So when I either can't fall asleep or wake up in the middle of the night, it's really disruptive. Last night I woke up around 12:30 pm and couldn't fall back asleep until around 2:30 am. And I get up at 4:30 am. Usually when this happens I'll bag the workout because it just seems too much.

But this morning I decided I wouldn't do that. I checked my email and there was no workout from Rog. So, guess what? Nancy gets to design a program (or at least one day!). And I think I did a pretty good job.

Thusly:
Unilateral Leg Press 50# x 3 x 6

Alternate Floor Press 15# x 3 x 15
Plank 3 x 30 sec

One arm cable row 55# x 2 x 10
Cable Pull Through 25# x 2 x 10

For fun:
Farmers walk 16 kg (each hand) x 2 x 50 ft

On the food side of the program yesterday:
Calories: 1877
Protein: 32.5%
Carb: 28.7%
Fat: 38.8%

I'm sure the sleep thing has a lot to do with hunger and low carbs. I take ZMA before bed which helps but sometimes when the tummy is growling and craving carbs, I guess it's no surprise sleep is affected. Should be better tonight.

Two-a-Days

When my son was in high school, he went out for football his freshman and sophomore years (before he had to quit after three! concussions). At that time two-a-days meant two preseason workouts every day during the week. For me now, it means committing to doing two sessions of mobility drills, one to include foam rolling. I so want to get over all these aches and pains I've been having so I can lift as heavy as possible and continue to make progress.

I did so-so on that commitment today. I woke up really sore, stiff and creaky after yesterday's workout. Yes, doing foam rolling and mobility would be the prescription for that but I just COULD NOT bring myself to get on the mat and roller that early in the morning. Fortunately, I felt better later in the day and got in some rolling and mobility when I got home. The hips and ankles are doing better. The shoulders are doing considerably better (a miracle!). So I'm happy and figure I just better quit whining, suck it up and get used to some soreness every day if I'm going to lift heavy weights. Just the way it is if sexification is to occur.

Food was good yesterday. As so:

Calories: 2248
Protein: 32.1%
Carb: 35.9%
Fat: 32%

I hopped on the scale too and am down to 221.6 lb (1.4 lb loss). Making progress!

My Trainer is an Evil Evil Man

Ok, I don't really mean that. But the thought crossed my mind during my third set of one arm rows where I had to take 5 seconds to lower the weight, followed by goblet squats where I had to pulse up and down 5 times at the bottom of the squat. Very effective, but I really wanted to be somewhere else at that point. Since I am a beautiful badass I kept going, got through that and more besides.

Thusly:
Rack pulls 125# x 2 x 5, 115# x 1 x 8
Wall ankle MOB 3 x 10
One arm DB row 20# x 3 x 8
Goblet squat 10# x 3 x 5
Incline alternate DB press 15# x 2 x 12

And for fun:
Seated row 50# x 2 x 8
Waiters walk 10# (up)/12 kg (down) x 2 x 50 feet each way

I am SO pumped to see what's in store for Wednesday! Anywoo...food was good on Sunday. I made pulled pork and cole slaw. The pulled pork turned out fantastic. The cole slaw less so, although I've been eating it. Chris wasn't impressed and wouldn't touch it. Need to work on the dressing.

Food stats for Sunday:

Calories: 1865
Protein: 23.7%
Carb: 25.4%
Fat: 50.9%

Low calorie day tomorrow. Wish my success. Here's your moment of Zen. Behold mountains of pulled pork!

Sunday Sunday

Today's my last day of freedom. It's back to work tomorrow after a 2 week vacation. Let me tell you, I could get used to this. It's easy to eat right, get plenty of exercise and plenty of sleep when there are no morning alarm clock, no commute and no work stress to contend with. The real challenge will start tomorrow when I have to get up at 4 am to get to the gym for my workout and then get to work by 8 am for the inevitable fun and games of getting caught up with 2 weeks' worth of stuff.

But that's not now. Now is Sunday and I have been having a awesome day (except for that minor tire blowout on the expressway of which I won't bother to speak. Thank goddess for IDOT is all I've got to say.) I took Cappy to the dog park and what a pretty day it was. I'll get pictures next time I go out there. The two of us had a great walk and are now chilling out at home. I've got a pork shoulder on the grill. Pulled pork for din-dins.

Here are my macros from yesterday.

Calories: 1872
Protein: 31%
Carb: 37%
Fat: 32%

Easy peasy. Felt good all day except right before bed when I started getting hungry. That was solved by going to sleep! Sometimes it's the simple things.

The Awful Truth

I'm not proud of what I'm posting here but the first step to change is truth. Pictures are the most truthful when assessing physique changes so posting pictures is what I must do. Even if I cringe every time I see them. But that can be a good thing too. These were taken yesterday. I'll have another set taken every 30 days and put them side-by-side with the starting pics so it's easier to compare.

Pretty good start yesterday. Here are the nutrition stats. And I took a 20 minute walk.

Calories: 2211
Protein: 30.8%
Carb: 22%
Fat:  47.2%

I'm debating doing carb cycling as well as calorie cycling. I have a really difficult time maintaining an ultra-low carb level for more than a couple of days. It really saps my energy and leads to binging. I do really well around 30-35% carbs and can tolerate 25% for a while. I think I'll leave that for later in the challenge, though. First things first...I have to comfortably maintain a deficit for 30 days and then I can decide if I'm ready to tweak the plan any further.

Anywoo, on to the pictures!

Let the Games Begin!

Here we go...day one of the Challenge. Stats today and pics will be posted tomorrow.

Weight: 223 lbs. (at 5' 9")
Chest: 36.75"
Waist: 40"
Stomach: 41.5"
Hips: 45"
Rt. thigh: 28"
Lt. thigh: 26.5"

I don't know what's up with the big difference in my thighs but when you're as chubs as me it doesn't make much difference visually (as you'll see tomorrow).

I'm back to tracking my food on SparkPeople which is an awesome fitness and weight loss community. Here's the calorie breakdown that I'll be following each week. I've calculated my levels based on Leigh Peele's Fat Loss Troubleshoot manual, again another awesome tool in the arsenal.

Monday: 2250 cal (10% deficit)
Tuesday: 1750 cal (30% deficit)
Wednesday: 2250 cal (10% deficit)
Thursday: 1750 cal (30% deficit)
Friday: 2250 cal (10% deficit)
Saturday: 1880 cal (25% deficit)
Sunday: 1880 cal (25% deficit)

My weight loss goal is 15 lbs by Labor Day which will bring me to 208 lbs. Then it's a short push to get under 200 lbs. That's been my Holy Grail for over a year and I'm tired of not being there. So this time FOR SURE.