I'm going to cheat in about 10 hours and it will be DELICIOUS! ;)

Day 35

Friday, February 11, 2011

I took the day off today. No weights. No cardio. Strict diet adherence though =) I’m still not totally over that cold and I’m tired. I also had a ton of work stuff to clear today so I decided to recognize that rest can be beneficial and that’s what I did, but don’t think I won’t be running off to Gold’s right after my breakfast cheat meal to train the shit out of my lats come morning! ;)

Well I did do an 8 minute palm workout, otherwise known as 8 minutes of kneading from scratch cinnamon roll dough by hand, hehe ;)



I’ll warn you now, this post is about to turn into a cinnamon roll love poem. Breakfast tomorrow is going to be my 3rd official cheat meal which works out to one every 12 days which is just about the perfect spacing. I know how to make a lot of things from scratch: beurre blancs, seared duck breast, prime rib, phad thai, chocolate éclairs, gorgeous lattice pies, bread, ooey gooey caramelized walnut covered cinnamon rolls. I know how to strip down a whole salmon or an uncut beef filet or a pork tenderloin into perfect portions with a big curved knife. You get the gist. I just refrain, because it obviously does not coordinate well with becoming a figure competitor and I don’t do it for a living (although I did between the ages of 15 and 19).



The cinnamon rolls are my BIG weakness. Thank goodness they require so much effort / time to make that it is just about impossible to mistakenly eat them on impulse. I make the dough the night before, let it rise an hour, roll it out fold in the brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, and walnuts, make a liquid caramel out of brown sugar, butter, and corn syrup to put in the bottom of the pan, cut them and let the whole thing hang out in the fridge till morning. Then it will rise again and bake up to pure bliss. I’m thinking we should do it up right and have bacon too, but I need to go digging in the freezer to see if there is any.

8:55 am Breakfast

Spinach & egg white Whole Wheat Wrap from Starbuck’s (280 cals)
12 oz. NF no whip cinnamon dolce latte (160 cals)
Drip coffee at home afterwards

12:00 pm Lunch

2 Spicy Italian Chicken Sausages
Sautéed up with 2 cups Kale and 1 small yam on the side
Damn delicious for healthy stuff – see pic above
8 oz sparkling cranberry

2:55 pm Snack

1 Chocolate Peppermint Stick Luna Bar

5:45 pm Dinner

Trader Joe’s Tom Yam Soup (240 cals)
Trader Joe’s Reduced Fat Chicken Salad (280 cals)

9:00 pm Hungry

1 cherry pie Larabar (200 cals)
Hot tea

10:30 pm Needed one more thing

Chobani vanilla NF Greek Yogurt (140 cals)
Hot tea

Daily Cal Tally

1,950 Cals Ingested
(1,448) BMR
502 Net Gain

Yikes! I thought I hadn’t eaten many cals today…so much for my perception! At least it was all “clean” ;)

Egg Rebels take the Stairs

I’m not sure what my problem was today. I’m having more trouble than I’d like recouping my usual energy level. I stayed up until 10:30 pm the last two nights and I am EXHAUSTED. I actually intentionally did not get out of bed for am cardio this morning. I slept in so then we were running all kinds of late which is what I said rushing Charlie into the car. He disagreed though and said, “No, it’s daytime momma. It’s not late.” I needed to finish chapter 12 in my ACCT 342 book so I decided to haul it onto the StairMaster to multitask. That actually worked pretty well; the differences in measurement and management of HTM, TS, and AFS investments go down a lot better with an iPod and motion. I made it through a buffet without “cheating.” Come ASWA Tuesday night I know I’m going to get an eye roll from Darene if I pull a chicken breast out of my purse to add to my salad and then turn down the entrée and dessert. Sounds a little wacky I’m sure, but they’re serving smoked salmon and red pepper raviolis which I’m sure will be laden with a cream sauce and I just don’t want to use up my cheat meal on something that isn’t hugely appealing. I’ve got to save them for Coconut Kenny’s pizzas, homemade caramel sticky buns, and melty cheese covered French dip croissants! =)


Day 34

Thursday, February 10, 2011

8:30 am Breakfast

2 Cups Coffee
2 poached eggs
1 ½ pcs SJI 9 Grain Toast dry

I rarely eat eggs because I intensely dislike egg whites sans egg yolks. I like the egg white crust-less quiche recipe I found, but that’s about it. So today I was a rebel, a yolk eating rebel. You have to have a yolk to mop with toast or there is just no point in an egg. The whole thing would have been way better with bacon, avocado, and most of all hollandaise, but that won't take me to leaned out land so I'll just get back on the oatmeal train tomorrow.


9:30-11:15 am Cardio + Legs @ The SRC

1)Cardio 60 min

StairMaster
45 min level 8 / 15 min level 10
Interval program
5.21 miles
251 Floors Climbed
528 Cals Burned

2)Smith Machine Squats + Lunges

Set 1: 75 lbs x 8 skier squats x 8 wide squats x 6 lunges each leg
Set 2: 95 lbs x 8 skier squats x 8 wide squats x 4 lunges each leg
Set 3: 115 lbs x 8 skier squats x 8 wide squats x 6 lunges each leg (95 lbs for lunges)

3)Hip Adductor

Set 1: 100 lbs x 10 reps
Set 2: 110 lbs x 8 reps
Set 3: 100 lbs x 8 reps

Superset with

4)Hip Abductor

Set 1: 100 lbs x 10 reps
Set 2: 110 lbs x 10 reps
Set 3: 110 lbs x 10 reps

5)Horizontal Leg Curls (Single Leg Full Set Then Switch)
3 sets no rest x 30 lbs x 6 reps per leg per set

6)Leg Extensions (Single Leg Full Set Then Switch)
3 sets no rest x 40 lbs x 6 reps per leg per set

Quick Stretch

12 pm ACCT 342 + Lunch

8 oz. chicken breast
8 asparagus spears
Grapefruit
Hot tea

2 pm ECON 309 Snack

1 Chobani Blueberry NF Greek Yogurt
Hot tea

5:15 pm Protein Punch

1 Isernio’s Spicy Italian Chicken Sausage (110 cals)
1 cup coffee
2 Advil

I love these things, their nutrition stats are as good as it gets. I figured if I had a quick snack before heading off to the WSCPA thing I’d have an easier time not making bad choices at the buffet.

6:15 pm WSCPA Buffet Dinner

½ cup overdressed Caesar salad (translation: a good vegetable wrecked)
Small slice parmesan bread
4 oz. piece chicken
1 ½ cup garlic green beans

I behaved. I didn’t take any of the huge cheese stuffed pasta shells or any of the tiramisu cake dessert or any of the lemonade =)

9:00 pm Bedtime Snack

8 oz. NF Milk
1 more chicken sausage
1 small piece chocolate
1 Glenny’s Fruit & Nut Energy Bar
I would have much rather have had a Luna Bar or a Larabar, but I’m out.

Daily Cal Tally

1,840 Ingested
(1,448)
(821) Training
(429) Net Loss

10:20 pm

and I just lost 360 cals to a bread rebellion. Boo. I'm tired. Note to self: carbs don't cure tired, sleep does. Whoops.

3 slices SJI 9 Grain

new cal tally net
(69)

So what is "Figure" anyways?

After training shoulders with Laura today we ran through quarter turns, walking, and the procedure to pop out my lats (still working on it – it’s not a natural movement). Apparently I need to learn how to walk too! There is so much more to the competition than achieving a great muscle structure. The posing (quarter turns) and even the walking is so contrived, but you have to make it look natural. For example, you’re supposed to look relaxed, when in reality you’re constantly flexing everything but your forearms, and even thinking about how your fingers are posed. It’s craziness! Craziness I can get on board with though =) Luckily I gave a great PT who has been putting in extra time to research and make sure I learn what I need to before the EC! I have just under 64 days to practice practice practice and master my posing.



I found this video on YouTube, it just so happens to be of last year’s Emerald Cup, one height class above mine, running through their quarter turns and the crowning of the top 5. This is it; this is what I’m going for, in case you wondered ;)

Day 33

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

6:20 am 40 min Cardio

Elliptical “Cardio Blast” program

449 cals burned

7:15 am Protein Shake #1

1 scoop milk chocolate MyoFusion with water and ice in my bullet

8:00 am Breakfast

½ cup oatmeal with 1/3 cup blueberries
Coffee (really good coffee! Starbuck’s Blue Java mmmmm)

11:15 am Marketing Munch

8 oz. chicken breast
8 asparagus spears
Hot tea

12:00 pm Training Shoulders with Laura @ the SRC

1) Front Raises (alternating)
Set 1: 12 lbs x 20 reps
Set 2: 12 lbs x 20 reps
Set 3: 12 lbs x 20 reps

Superset with

2) Dumbbell Shoulder Press (alternating)
Set 1: 20 lbs x 20 reps
Set 2: 20 lbs x 20 reps
Set 3: 20 lbs x 20 reps

3) Dumbbell Arnold Press
Set 1: 15 lbs (per arm) x 10 reps
Set 2: 15 lbs x 10 reps
Set 3: 15 lbs x 10 reps

(There were actually 4 sets, but the first one didn’t really help as Laura was helping me get the form down. These are hard, but I like them!)
Superset with

4) Lateral Raises (alternating)
Set 1: 12 lbs x 20 reps
Set 2: 12 lbs x 20 reps
Set 3: 12 lbs x 20 reps

5) Upright Cable Rows (single arm – full set then switch)
Set 1: 20 lbs x 10 reps each arm
Set 2: 20 lbs x 10 reps each arm
Set 3: 20 lbs x 10 reps each arm

6) Straight Arm Push-downs
Set 1: 60 lbs x 10 reps
Set 2: 60 lbs x 10 reps
Set 3: 65 lbs x 10 reps

These are great for your lats, which I need to build up, but they make your triceps look hot in the mirror! ;)

We then got the key to one of the group fitness rooms which have two walls of mirrors so that Laura could show me how to pop my lats out. As she had promised it is hard to do. I got one lat out for a moment, but my arms were up too high. This is something that takes time before it feels natural so I’ll be practicing nightly from now on.

After Laura left I did just a couple things more:

7) Hammer Curls (alternating)
Set 1: 20 lbs x 16 reps
Set 2: 25 lbs x 10 reps (owww too heavy left arm died early)
Set 3: 20 lbs x 16 reps

Superset with

8) Overhead Triceps Extensions
Set 1: 20 lbs x 12 reps
Set 2: 25 lbs x 10 reps
Set 3: 20 lbs x 10 reps

9) Assisted Pull-ups 3 Ways
Set 1: 70 lb offset x 6 reps wide grip x 6 reps rev. med. Grip x 6 reps narrow grip
Set 1: 55 lb offset x 4 reps wide grip x 6 reps rev. med. Grip x 6 reps narrow grip
Set 1: 70 lb offset x 6 reps wide grip x 6 reps rev. med. Grip x 6 reps narrow grip


These were really tough today. I was pushing it but I had that involuntary leg muscle quiver going to the point of causing the weight cable to do the same, lol. I always consider that involuntary quiver in a muscle not being worked to be a good sign of really pushing it though! I think it just meant that Laura had put together a killer shoulder workout today =)

1:30 pm off to my Tax Midterm!


1:55 pm Snack
1 cup brown rice
1 Chobani Strawberry NF Greek yogurt
Hot tea

6:15 pm Dinner

Deli Roast Beef
1 Slice Muenster
1 pc SJI 9 Grain Toast
1 small yam
Steamed baby bok choy

7:30 pm Still Starved

200 cal pack raw almonds
1 Opal Apple
Hot Tea

8:30 pm Before Bed Treat

8 oz. Can Sparkling Cranberry (90 cals)

Daily Cal Tally

1,810 Ingested
(1,448) BMR
(839) Training
(477) Net Loss =)

Do you want to lean out?!

I got out of econ early today after finishing the midterm and went to the mall briefly to think about getting a new blazer for the upcoming hob knobby events I have in the next two weeks. I wound up trying on a size 4 skirt suit that was marked down hugely at Macy’s, but had a button coming off. They had the same one without any flaws, same price, Nine West, in a size 2. It fit. I think I may just be leaning out successfully! =) I didn’t buy it or anything else though – my overpriced sparkly competition suit is on my mind so I can’t justify anything else. I had the weirdest sleep last night. I kept waking up every two hours and I swear I was awake half the night plotting and thinking about how every time I get a craving I need to mentally yell at myself “do you want to eat that or DO YOU WANT TO LEAN OUT?!” Random way to sleep, you’d think I would have been waking up thinking about the econ midterm I took today or the tax one I’m taking tomorrow. Speaking of which I need to study for that and finish the three page marketing paper that is due tomorrow. Bleh. I’m still low energy, what I need to do is go to bed right now. I wish I could. Sometimes, actually always at the same time, I think I’m crazy. That “time” would be around 6:05 am when I’ve made it to my toothbrush and I start wondering why the hell I am awake 45 minutes earlier than necessary. Then I spend the next 15-20 minutes convinced that I am going to cause my own premature demise right there off the side of my elliptical. Only after 20 minutes of cardio have passed do I decide that I’m sane after all and that I’m not going to die of elliptical poisoning. Yes, minutes 21-40 of morning cardio are the sweet spot.

Day 32

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

6:20 am Cardio

40 min Cardio Blast 441 cals burned

Quick Stretch

7:05 am Protein Shake #1

1 scoop delicious vanilla MyoFusion with water and ice in my bullet

8:00 am Breakfast

1/2 cup oatmeal with 1/3 cup blueberries
Coffee

11:20 am Lunch

1 cup cold steamed broccoli
8 oz. chicken breakfast
Blueberry Chobani NF Greek yogurt
Hot Tazo Passion tea

2:00 pm Econ Brain Food (hopefully it was)

1 Larabar cashew cookie
Hot Tazo Passion tea

6:15 pm Dinner (Starved!)

1 slice SJI 9 grain
1 carmelized onion
Deli roast beef
Au jus
1 sourdough dinner roll
1 small avocado
5 asparagus spears

8:00 pm Still have to write a paper and cram for one more midterm, but I should be in bed right now because I’m beat snack

8 oz. Sparkling Cranberry (90 cal)
1 T peanut butter

Daily Cal Tally

1,740 Ingested
(1,448) BMR
(441) am cardio
(149) net loss

My NPC Card Arrived Today!

My NPC card came in the mail today! I also just got done emailing off my competition suit order form. You have to send in a front and back pic of yourself in a bikini, indicate various measurements, and even check whether you have real boobs or implants. The scary thing I just did though was order a pair of 5” stiletto clear competition heels. Here is hoping I don’t break my neck and/or ankle while obsessively practicing quarter turns in my living room between their arrival and the Emerald Cup! Hehe. The width of my posing suit’s “V” back is 7.5” I think I will just psych myself out to think of the airbrush tan as a form of clothing so that I feel just peachy prancing my quarter turns in a casino full of strangers with my tiny sparkly suit and 5” stilettos. This must be one of those cases of strength in numbers, as in all my fellow scantily clad stiletto-heeled competitors! ;)

Day 31

Monday, February 7, 2011

6:10 am Cardio!

Elliptical 45 minutes

Steady Climb and Hill Climb programs

512 cals

7:45 am Breakfast

½ cup oatmeal with 3 large fresh strawberries
1 Strawberry Chobani NF Greek Yogurt
Coffee

11:15 Munching in MKTG 380

2 Isernio’s Chicken sausages
10 asparagus spears
Hot tea

Training Chest & Abs with Laura @ The SRC

1)Bench Press Pyramid

Set 1: 70 lbs x 8 reps
Set 2: 80 lbs x 8 reps
Set 3: 90 lbs x 8 reps
Set 4: 80 lbs x 8 reps
Set 5: 70 lbs x 8 reps

Superset with

2)4 Sets Leg Raises @ 10 reps per set

3)Dumbbell Push Sit-ups on Decline Bench

Set 1: 5 lbs x 12 reps x 4 – 5 sec holds x 3 more reps
Set 2: 10 lbs x 10 reps x 4 – 5 sec holds x 5 more reps
Set 3: 10 lbs x 15 reps x 6 – 5 sec holds x 5 more reps

Superset with

4)Side Bends

3 sets x 10 reps each side x 25 lbs

5)Dumbbell Flies & Dumbbell Bench Press

Set 1: 15 lbs x 10 reps x 8 reps x 4 ½ push-ups
Set 2: 15 lbs x 10 reps x 10 reps (dropped the push-ups)
Set 3: 15 lbs x 10 reps x 10 reps

6)Abs Circuit

Sitting Knee Hugs w/ 3 second pauses (10)
Side planks with dips (10 per side)
Shoulder Crunches (10 per side)

Repeat

Repeat once more.

7)StairMaster

15 min

“Fat Burner” program 1.50 miles level 10 148 cals burned

2:00 pm Munching in ACCT 375

1 PB&J on Whole Wheat (490 cals)
1 Opal Apple
Hot tea

6:30 pm Dinner

8 oz. Chicken breast
1 cup steamed broccoli
12 Triscuits (I’m out now – not rebuying them either)
3 laughing cow light wedges
Grapefruit
1 Cadbury Crème Egg

(I was weak and bought it awhile back, but when I got home with it I hurled it into the back of the biggest cupboard in my kitchen and pretended it didn’t exist, umm yeah. I’m not going to buy any more of them)

I also ate about 150 cals worth of C’s pizza

I’m not very happy with myself about these late in the day screw-ups. I can tell you the “why” though. I have my econ midterm tomorrow and I’m worried about passing it, much less aiming for my usual high marks. The last thing I did before picking up C was to take the practice one my prof provided and I completely failed it after thinking I had done alright. So the stress of anticipating doing crappy is the root of the Cadbury egg and the pizza pilfering. Not an excuse, but the source of the impulse anyways.

Daily Cal Tally

2,145 Ingested (screwed up)
(1,448) BMR
(1,050) Training
(353) Net Loss

165 Lb Squats & Down a Total of 11.3 Lbs in Body Weight

Isn’t that a beautiful picture? I think so, my own version of a beautiful landscape, haha. Those 35's are gone. Those are 45’s on there with 10’s and 5’s. I squatted 165 pounds today! Yes, it was soon to squat again, based on the total stiffness of my legs, but I just wasn’t pumped up doing back and squats rile me up so it made sense. I started at 95 lbs instead of the usual 65 and went high. 165 lbs starts to hurt my shoulders even with the big red squat sponge cushion. If I start squatting 200,300, how is that supposed to work? I’m guessing I would just acclimate to it. I behaved and went to the core mix class this morning. It’s not really my thing though. I need to just start making myself do abs on my own time. It’s my weak spot both in motivation and definition.

Day 30

February 6, 2011

9:30 am Breakfast

½ cup Old-fashioned Oatmeal with 1/3 cup blueberries
Coffee

10:30 am – 1:00 pm Gold’s Gym Abs, Back, Squats, Cardio

40 min “Core Mix” Class

The last 20 min is stretching so I cut out early. I could probably use the stretching, but I lack the spare time. The ab stuff was interesting, but I think I’d be better off at her “Crunch” class on Monday or Friday evening. It’s more concentrated.

Back and Squats

1)Seated Rows Standard and Single Arm

Set 1: 70 lbs x 8 reps standard, 30 lbs x 6 reps each arm
Set 2: 70 lbs x 8 reps standard, 30 lbs x 6 reps each arm
Set 3: 80 lbs x 8 reps standard, 40 lbs x 6 reps each arm

2)Lat Pulldowns

Set 1: 70 lbs x 6 reps wide grip, 6 reps rev narrow grip
Set 2: 70 lbs x 6 reps wide grip, 6 reps rev narrow grip
Set 1: 80 lbs x 6 reps wide grip, 6 reps rev narrow grip

3)Dumbbell Bent Over Single Rows

Set 1: 30 lbs x 6 reps each arm
Set 2: 35 lbs x 6 reps each arm
Set 3: 35 lbs x 6 reps each arm

Superset with

4)Triceps Kickbacks

Set 1: 15 lbs x 8 reps each arm
Set 2: 15 lbs x 8 reps each arm
Set 3: 15 lbs x 8 reps each arm

5)Squat Pyramid!

I really wasn’t feeling it today, so even though it was supposed to be a back day I decided to do a squat pyramid simply because they make me smiley. Yes, I realize I’m odd.

Set 1: 95 lbs x 10 reps
Set 2: 115 lbs x 8 reps
Set 3: 125 lbs x 8 reps
Set 4: 135 lbs x 6 reps
Set 5: 155 lbs x 6 reps
Set 6: 160 lbs x 6 reps
Set 7: 165 lbs x 8 reps
Set 8: 135 lbs x 6 reps

Check out my new heavy =) 165 lbs woot woot!

My legs were already super stiff and sore from Friday’s leg work out, so if you see me on a set of stairs tomorrow going “owowowowowwowowow” you really oughtn’t feel bad for me; it’s a perverse pleasure.

6)Assisted Pull-ups

Check out the heavier than normal weights on these. Definitely because I was mentally pumped up from my squat pyramid =)

Set 1: 80 lb offset x 6 wide grip x 6 reverse med grip x 6 narrow grip
Set 1: 60 lb offset x 6 wide grip x 6 reverse med grip x 6 narrow grip
Set 1: 50 lb offset x 6 wide grip x 6 reverse med grip x 6 narrow grip

The lower the weight the better on these because that is how much is being deducted from my body weight. Ultimately I want to be capable of real pull-ups. I could never get a full one back in the days of middle school / high school and the President’s physical fitness test. Those puppies do not come easily!

7)Attempted Cardio

StairMaster

“Fat Burner Plus” Program
I had set it to level 8, but had to go to level 6. I’d also set it to 35 minutes, but just under 23 minutes in I realized I’d likely fall off and or fall asleep on it in exhaustion so I got off while it was still a choice. I’d really like to get my usual energy level back already, bleh :(

237 cals 1.77 miles


1:30 pm Lunch

2 Isernio’s Italian Chicken Sausages
12 steamed asparagus spears
1 Opal Apple
2 Laughing Cow Light Cheese Wedges
9 Triscuits

3:30 pm Protein Shake

1 scoop milk chocolate MyoFusion with water and ice in my bullet

6:15 pm Dinner

6 oz. NY Steak
1 small yam
Grapefruit
8 oz. Cranberry juice

7:20 pm Bedtime Snack

1 glass NF milk
1 T peanut butter

Daily Cal Tally

1,830 Ingested
(1,448) BMR
(756) Training
(374) Net Loss =)

This must be working because the scale said 139.1 this morning!

I need to get out of bed @ 6 am tomorrow and start back up with the am cardio. Don't forget to yell at me if you don't see it in tomorrow's post!

Cardio!

I finally got back on the cardio horse after far too long. I was rewarded with a nice slick with sweat back and some out of breathiness. Those are good positive things in my book. You really can’t beat the cal burn of cardio either, thus its supreme importance in leaning out. Speaking of things I don’t do enough of; let’s talk about abs. I took this picture of the Sunday section of the Gold’s class schedule so that anyone who has read this can yell at me if that core mix class does not appear in tomorrow’s log.

Day 29

Saturday, February 5, 2011

9:15 am Breakfast

1 Peach Chobani NF Greek Yogurt
Steelcut Oatmeal with 1 T Walnuts
Coffee

11:40 am – 12:55 pm Cardio + Shoulders @ Home

50 minutes Elliptical
“Steady Climb” Program
582 cals

Mini Shoulder Circuit

Round 1

Dumbbell Shoulder Raises 20 lbs x 10 reps each arm
Front Raises 10 lbs x 10 reps each arm
Lateral Raises 10 lbs x 10 reps each arm
Push-ups to Failure 15 ½

Round 2

Dumbbell Shoulder Raises 20 lbs x 8 reps each arm
Front Raises 10 lbs x 10 reps each arm
Lateral Rasies 10 lbs x 10 reps each arm
Push-ups to Failure 16 ½

Round 3

Dumbbell Shoulder Raises 20 lbs x 8 reps each arm
Front Raises 10 lbs x 10 reps each arm
Lateral Raises 10 lbs x 10 reps each arm
Push-ups to Failure 10 ½

1:15 pm Lunch

Healthy Choice Lemon Chicken Steamer (220 cals 15 g protein)
1 scoop delicious vanilla MyoFusion with water and ice in my bullet

2:30 pm Snack Before Heading Out

Larabar Peanut Butter Cookie (the cashew one is apparently WAY better)
About 5 random sample bites of various crap at Costco

6:05 pm Dinner

8 oz. Salmon with lemon and pepper
½ cup brown rice
Small salad from Haggen’s
1 sourdough dinner roll with a laughing cow light cheese wedge (my delicious carb splurge)

Daily Cal Tally

1,595 Ingested
(1,448) BMR
(745) Cardio + Weights (582 Cardio + 25 min weights @ 390 / hr rate)
(598) Net Loss =)