EAT EAT EAT!

I am the type of person that needs IMMEDIATE results!!! However, my body is not the type to respond immediately which pretty much sucks! I have been on this meal plan/Fighter Diet for a week now.  I have my routine down now so that has made things easier.  With the amount of veggies that I need to consume per day it has been crucial for me to develop a routine and stick to it so that I am not scrambling in the morning as I try to get out the door and end up unprepared for my day. 

 

I have become a regular patron at the EG farmers market that is held every Saturday.  The deals are amazing and I am trying to remove unhealthy toxins, chemicals and pesticides from my diet.  Whatever I don’t find at farmers market I make sure to pick up from Sprouts.  However, I learned a helpful trick from my mom recently which was that if farmers market growers aren’t selling it, then its not in season, and therefore genetically modified (GMO).  I always assumed that these natural/organic grocery stores were just that; organic.  But she made complete sense and I am now focusing more on getting all that I need from the farmers market.

 

So, after my fridge is stocked, I can plan out my week.  Since I know that squash is in season, I am buying the heck out of it! On Saturday I bought about 30 zucchini and 10 yellow squash.  Asparagus is also in season which is something I never really used to eat, and have learned that it really does make your pee stink…YUCK! J  But I know it is good for me and am finding creative ways to incorporate it into my meals.  I have mixed squash and asparagus into my eggwhite omelets (at least 1 yolk because the fat and enzymes in yolk are extremely beneficial for maintaining health), I sautee them in coconut oil which is my go-to oil and flavor maker, I BBQ them and even butterfly my chicken and cook the veggies in the middle of the chicken.  Anything I can do to maximize the amount of vegetables I am consuming per day.  Another easy go-to for me is broccoli.  Fresh or frozen I can eat a ton of it.  I am now blending it up in my shakeology each morning for breakfast.  Doesn’t affect the taste at all but adds extra nutrients that are important to support my health and help me recover from my recent health battles. 

 

I am also off salt while I go through this 4 week program and I didn’t think it would be very difficult until I realized that I put garlic salt on EVERYTHING! I know that my body really bloats easily and although I don’t eat a lot of salty foods or foods that have a lot of sodium, that little dab of garlic salt on pretty much all veggies I eat was more than likely contributing to my bulge.  I am finding different ways to natural flavor my foods and enjoy the natural taste that veggies have. 

 

I haven’t weighed myself since I started the program and I am really going to try to hold out until the 4 weeks are over.  However……drum roll please…..I HAVE BEEN CLEARED TO WORKOUT AGAIN! I AM SOOOOOO HAPPY!

 

Working out contributes greatly to my mental health along with my physical health so I am overjoyed to be back in the game!

Preppin meals....It's a part time job!



 

Most advertised meal plans these days encourage eating more frequently than the typical BREAKFAST-LUNCH-DINNER cycle.  Consuming smaller portions more often throughout the day is designed to kick your metabolic motor into overdrive, therefore burning calories on a more consistent basis.  Such a schedule also helps prevent over-eating.  When you have longer periods of time between meals, your body tells you it is much hungrier and consequently you overeat, and more than likely, at a much faster pace than if you were only trying to nourish your body rather than curb that hunger feeling. 

Well, the Fighter Diet does follow that plan of eating more frequently throughout the day but the meals are DEFINITELY not smaller! The plan recommends that a person my size should consume around 7 pounds of vegetables a day! DO YOU REALIZE HOW MUCH THAT IS!!! To give you a little perspective, the picture with the veggies in the saucepan, that included 3 zucchini squash, 2 yellow squash and 30 small spears of asparagus.  All of that didnt even reach 2 lbs. 

This 'diet' has more components than any other meal plan I have ever researched and really challenges what I think is common sense weight management...."smaller meals more frequently throughout the day".  No Way! This diet wants you nourishing your body with VEGGIES VEGGIES VEGGIES! Really, as much as your body will allow you to consume.  Although, really, as much as your pocket allows you to purchase!!

I am doing my best to train my body into consuming more than usual as well as figure out what type of meal planning will work best for me.  My chicken scratch list in the pic helps me with weekly meal planning as well as accurately logging my food in fitness pal.  I am weighing everything I am putting in my body with the HIGH HOPES of being successful on this plan. 

I GOTTA DO SOMETHING!!!! PLEASE GO AWAY FAT! :)

Here are some of the WODs I made for Lane this week....DEFINITELY TRY THEM AT HOME!

 



Killin it in the kitchen for LEAN MEAN results!

Back in action, but this time I have a different focus....I'm KILLIN IT IN THE KITCHEN!

Most people already know that for months I have been unable to kill it in the gym.... medical restraints have withheld me from doing what I love, and obviously, my body is adjusting accordingly, ie: GETTING LOOSE! This has been one of the many hurdles I have faced this year and I am finally trying to alter my mentality from doom n gloom to ENCOURAGED AND MOTIVATED!

If I can't stay in shape with workouts, I have to redefine my patterns in the kitchen.  I need to put all my energy that desperately craves to be back in the gym, into focusing on new ways to be HAPPY AND HEALTHY!

Gosh, there are soooooo many diets, mealplans and trainers that offer advice on healthy eating....how in the world was I supposed to choose one......left the decision up to my 'go to trainer' Ms. ROCK SOLID!

Her decision........

The 'Fighter Diet' is probably one of the most strict and intense meal plans created for shredding fat and toning up, so of course that is the one Karrin chose for me :)  But in all actuality, she knows just what I need to overcome my recent obstacles...A CHALLENGE! A way to distract my mind from one area of my life and refocus it on another.  An opportunity to make myself healthier inside and out. 

Lane and I are taking on this Fighter Diet together....but he sucks and gets to accompany it with Naturally Intense Training!!

My plan for this blog is to share my journey on this meal plan, creative new recipes, hopefully some physical changes but mostly to keep myself accountable and hopefully find some happiness once again :)

Lane and I will be challenging ourselves to 4 weeks of this 'lifestyle' with the physical goal of losing weight.  My goal is to lose 8 lbs, Lanes goal is to lose 21 lbs.

I will be tracking my food on Fitness Pal (jmass1017) so please add me if we aren't already friends and you are interested in my caloric progress, because if you followed my last blog, you know that is a real struggle for me!

So....here I go, once again.  Ready for a new challenge in my life, just hoping this one brings positive results!

THE FINISH LINE!

Okay okay okay....obviously I suck and one of the things I definitely DIDNT learn from this program was how to be timely :)  I finished the Jamie Eason 12 Week Live Fit Trainer 2 weeks ago and I actually already miss the regimen.  I have still been incorporating what I learned thru the program but I think the most important thing I learned about myself was that I actually can accomplish a goal.  12 weeks seemed so intimidating at first and I have mentioned many times before that I thank Karrin for her brilliant idea of blogging throughout the process for keeping me accountable and motivated.  She was right...AGAIN! I would absolutely reccomend this regimen to anyone and everyone! I am stronger in body and mind....my determination and personal drive have enhanced in all areas of my life.  I am more confident in the gym as well as other challenging environments.  In the beginning, I would even think about going into a gym on my own...leading myself in a workout....now I am fully capable, knowledgeable and proud to rock a workout on my own.  Dont get me wrong though....I harass people to go with me all the time! But the only thing missing from my life now is the fear that I felt in that situation.  My confidence has risen and I am proud that is one of the benefits that came out of this process.  Not only that...but I am REALLY FREAKIN STRONG NOW TOO! :)  My body truly conformed to the weightlifting aspect of this regimen.  I am one tough cookie now and I truly love it! Yep...I might just be one of those dorky people who flexs in the mirror now!!!!! LOL!  I continued to struggle with the calorie intake part of the regimen and that is something I will continue to work on.  I didnt shed as much as I wanted to either...but I am not beating myself up sooooo bad.  This was such an amazing experience and I guarantee I will go thru this program again.  I have already chosen a new program to follow which is strict just like this one was...only its only 4 weeks.  Going to see if this one will trigger some different physical changes.  Overall I lost inches in my belly, butt and legs and gained an inch in my arms.  My weight fluctuated slightly but I ended up weighing the same as when I started.  Who knows....this may just be the body that I am stuck with but I will have fun working it hard and challenging my different muscle groups.  I took before and after pics and you can't see HUGE changes but hopefully enough to make you think that this wasnt a complete waste of my time :) 

Thanks EVERYONE for the amazing support you gave me thru this program!

Before                                                                          After

When Life Gets in the Way

This is officially Week 12…the last week of this program and once again I am calling for a redo.  Only because last week and this week LIFE just got in the way.  I wasn’t able to fully commit like I should have because of other commitments and I don’t want to finish this challenge having not given it my all.  This week…Life is continuing to get in the way of the outlined regimen that this challenge requires but that is ok.  I realize that often times life and obligations will get in the way of the outlined plan.  Because really it is not realistic to live life every moment according to plan.  I am such a huge control freak that I would prefer that my life was lived that way….but I am realizing that is not attainable….and that’s ok.  I have still been able to get workouts in this last week and a half, just not at the gym and therefore not exactly as I would have liked to.  But its OK….I can take a step back, not beat myself up, and offer myself another opportunity to redo.  Granted this 12 week program will have turned into 14 weeks, but at least I will finish it knowing that I didn’t cheat the program or myself.  I stayed committed and did my best.  And when I couldn’t do my best, I took a second shot at it.  So…..starting next Monday I will be working hard to DO IT RIGHT….do my last week justice and finish this program with a bang! Until then, I will work out as hard as I can, wherever I can and continue to feel good knowing that I am benefitting my body and mind. 

Turnin that Final Corner.....

Dang....been a while since I blogged about this program.....guess thats what happens when all you have time to do is work, workout and EAT! I wish I had super amazing progress and results to discuss but my frustration level will show that I have in fact NOT been experiencing increasing results.  I am in my second to last week of this 12 week program and although I am proud of how far I have come and what I have learned, I am not seeing in the mirror who I imagined I would be seeing.  It's still the same ol me that I see....maybe with a couple additional muscle cuts but not what I had hoped for.  I admit that I did not operate EXACTLY as instructed without any flaws but did my absolute best to keep up with what was outlined in the program.  I keep telling myself that my figure....the physical figure I have right now and have had for a while now is just my body and I should work on accepting that.  But I can't seem to be ok with that.  I crave a physical appearance that I have not been able to attain....not even with this hard core regimen.  I refuse to accept that this is just who I am and my body is unchangeable....I can't give in to that thought.  I just need to find that one particular regimen that will trigger the results that I so badly desire.  My workouts in this final stretch include HIIT training and increased reps for my weight training.  I do appreciate how much easier it is for me to lift weights.  I am going for those dumbbells that are twice the weight than when I started and no longer do I feel so sore that I can't move after a workout.  My body has adjusted to maximizing intensity and I am mentally stronger and able to fight thru the pain because I crave that end result.  That feeling of success when leaving the gym...knowing that I did the best I could.  But....so far its not enough for me.  I am going to ride it out and finish this program with as much intensity as I began but it definitely is not over.....my drive to change my body and finally smile at who I see in the mirror. :)

Phase 3 - Sealin the Deal

Phase 3 is really here and I'm PSYCHED!!! I have had 9 (8 weeks + a redo) of intense workouts, mental and physical challenges...significant highs and lows and it has all led up to this....PHASE 3! Phase 3 really focuses on demanding more from my body and therefore more mental intensity in order to incorporate everything have learned from this program thus far.  Maximizing my weight lifting, intensifying my cardio training and combining the two throughout an entire workout rather than breaking them into segments of my daily regimen.  Phase 1 was all weights, shocking my muscles and helping me to adapt to strength building without cardio.  Phase 2 continued with weights but added moderate cardio post weight workouts to help begin the shredding.  Phase 3 incorporates more weight training, heavier weights, more reps and includes HIIT cardio training and active rests.  Active rests being a cardio activity in between each weight set and HIIT cardio stands for (High Intensity Interval Training).  HIIT training is no joke!!!! Performing a single/high impact cardio exercise for short periods of time with limited rest.  I have been using 'sprints' as my HIIT training and it is intense! I sprint at 9-10mph for 30 seconds and rest for 30 seconds.  You can imagine that the rest 30 seconds is much shorter than the sprint 30 seconds..;)   It is another way to shock my body and hopefully force fat loss.  The regimen calls for 30 minutes of HIIT training but I am building up to that amount of time.  I have done 23 minutes and will continue to push myself to hit that 30 minute mark.  But believe me...its difficult...I dare you to try :) 

I can tell that I am getting stronger and I appreciate that element of this program becasue, as I have said before, I have been strictly a cardio girl and unable to trigger physical changes in my body for a long time.  My high expectations have sought greater results....but I am happy with how far I have come.  Thinking that I have completed 9 weeks of this program really makes me proud.  I KNOW FOR A FACT, if I hadn't had this blog to hold me accountable, I would have given up long ago.  Not because I couldnt do it, but because I am not a patient person and this program requires you to allow for a body evolution over time....rather than a quick fix.  This type of training has now become the norm for me and is a regimen I will continue to follow long after this challenge is over. 

My eating practices still suck and I know that is something I will continue to work on for a long time.....or at least I know it is something Karrin will continue to harass me about for a long time ;)

Couple new pics from this week that show how my body has begun to reflect the hard work I have put into this....