Lif's Journal

Since life always seems to throw a curve ball when you least expect it, I'm going to try keeping a journal here to keep myself motivated regardless. The next two weeks aren't going to be as nicely planned as I'd hope them to be but hopefully after that I can get back into my routine.

Goal: increase muscle mass and decrease fat and maintain healthy eating plan even with my school's eating options

Since I'll be traveling a lot in the next two weeks, I'm going to mostly try and fit in cardio when I can along with squats, lunges, and pushups.

After that, I'm going to start a 4 day strength training plan with Krav Maga two days a week and yoga once a week.

Let the fun begin

Good luck. I already said something about you and Martial Arts on another thread, but I'll say good luck again with that, and well done for doing it.

I hope you can achieve the things you want, and I'm sure you can. From what I can see you're a pretty focused and also very warm-hearted individual, so you'll be an instant smash round here .

It's always good to have another person like you around, to add something positive and uniquely different to our community.

Chin up, be strong and best wishes with it all. I'm sure you'll do a lot in the coming weeks and months to be proud of.

Welcome aboard .

krav maga???

It's an Israeli self defense. It's a pretty hard workout, and you learn a lot so it's a lot of fun. I took taekwondo for two years or so, but ever since I moved last year I haven't found a good environment. And then there was Krav

Thanks, Boss Man. I actually really needed that. I already love being a part of this community

Good Luck on your goals…. We will be here supporting you!

Thanks, Nokie!

Today:

I had my last Krav class in my hometown. Exhausted more than usual, but I think that has more to do with stress than anything else. No more Krav until September. I'm going to be jumpy.

For those who don't know what Krav is or what a class entails, here's what we did today:
15 minutes: jumping jacks, reach ups, mountain climbers, pushups, running laps
15 minutes: punching exercises with a partner. get attacked, respond with jab+cross
15 minutes: kicking exercises with a partner. front kicks, roundhouse, lead leg, rear leg
15 minutes: self-defense, today we worked with overhand strikes as if someone were carrying a pipe or bat.

I've heard of that before. Michelle Ryan, the English actress who did the Bionic Woman series, was schooled in Krav Maga for the role.

She since admits to forgetting most of what she was taught .

Haha. For most people, it sticks at least in some corner of their mind.

Somehow a week has passed since I was last on here. And in that week, I've accomplished little in the ways of exercise. The most I've done besides sporadic walks to clear my head was moving in yesterday. Granted it was pretty hot and I kept forgetting things after walking ten or so blocks from place to place, so I'm betting on I actually kept my heart rate up enough to do something good for myself. Pro to moving in by myself, I realized that the strength training I had been doing over the summer actually payed off. XD

Besides that, my gym's closed until next week. So my roommate has to deal with my lunging across our living room.

Nutrition-wise: I've been on par save for a couple cookies here and there while visiting relatives. I was a little worried about how hard it would be since we don't eat anything similar, but we seemed to find a happy medium. I just got back from stocking up on chicken breast, cottage cheese, broccoli and other assorted yummy things. It works out perfectly that the grocery store is a couple blocks away. Get in a good walk and get some good healthy food. I also added a multivitamin and have been trying to get enough protein and enough calories throughout the day since I'd been slacking, and already I feel infinitely better. Can't wait to get back into the gym.

You're doing a great job working your life style around things!

So you had a week where a few things slightly interfered. It's no biggie.

You found one or two workarounds, and you're seemingly back on track now, so that's the main thing.

If nothing else, it's taught you something about yourself, and about how you deal with certain things, and possibly how to improve, where you think you didn't stand up to the challenge.

I won't set you back on your goals, or undo many weeks of good work, so just keep pushing, chin up, be strong and no worries .

Welcome, and great job. Those sound like tuff workouts.

Thanks, everyone!

It's a Monday and what better way to start it off then with weights! So far, I've done this today:

-Wake up and make a quick protein shake (EAS Myoplex lite with a tbs. of flax seed oil - not sure about the taste fyi, but it's filling and low on sugar so I don't feel wired afterwards).
-Gym (all of this took about 45 minutes)
---10 minute warmup
---Upper Body workout (shoulder press, bench press, skullcrushers, curl, row)
---Quick ab workout from krav
---10 minutes of stretching
-Breakfast time! Oatmeal and egg whites! (I haven't actually gotten to this yet, but after I post this I'm making breakfast!)

I'm probably going to throw in more cardio on my Monday and Friday workouts, but I was worried about time today. So, I'm going to plan to wake up earlier since by 8 the gym is already packed and I didn't even wake up as early as I'd hoped today (read: I forgot to set my alarm). I picked up my weight routine off another site that splits upper body and lower body across four days since I was tired of the one I made for myself over the summer. I needed to mix things up. At first, I didn't like having to devote four days to weight training but when you're pressed for time already, finding 45 minutes versus an hour and a half to two hours is infinitely easier. So, I'm pro four day split for now.

Nutrition-wise: Since food is so expensive, I made a pretty bare bones nutrition plan for myself to 1. keep my costs down so I don't buy too much food while I'm at the grocery store and 2. to make sure I'm getting the right nutrients. I eat healthy anyway but was worried about how much protein I was getting as well as how much sugar was hiding in some of my food (sugar makes me really wired and I'm not a big fan). So, I wrote down everything I ate for a few days, broke down how much protein/carbs/fat I was eating and then mixed it all into a more balanced day. I also wasn't getting enough calories in my days and probably sabotaging most of the progress I could have made over the summer if I'd paid more attention. But now, I eat about 1700 calories about equal protein/carb and only a couple grams of sugar. As much as I could avoid since skim milk seems to carry a ton. And just with those changes, I feel calmer (feeling relaxed but aware instead of hyped up is really important to me) and have more energy and didn't feel nearly as fatigued by today's workout as I did last time I was in the gym two weeks ago. I also increased my weights from last time. It must be all those heavy boxes I've been lifting XD

So, super long update. But that's what's been up, ShapeFit.

How was the Oatmeal and egg whites?? I like to add a little salt & pepper... with some almond butter (get my good fats in)
Yes... when I do eat that at work.. people look at me super duper wierd... but ohwell...

I noticed you want to get up earlier so you can workout longer … just want to remind you to get enough sleep too!
It’s not worth getting up early and cutting your sleep time if you’re only getting 4-5 hours of sleep.
(I don’t know how many hours you sleep… I’m just saying if that’s the case)

Nutrition-wise: Since food is so expensive

Really? Where do you live?

Nokie: I always need that reminder to get enough sleep. I do aim for 6-8 hours typically. Yesterday, I got up at 6 (my gym doesn't open as early as I'd hoped so it worked out in favor of sleeping), but still got 7 hours of sleep. It ended up giving me more than enough energy to get through the day, which was great. But as for the days I don't need to be up early for other things, I savor the sleep that I can get and just make it to the gym by 8 or 9.

As for the egg whites and oatmeal, I usually just prepare the eggs with a splash of milk or water and then salt and pepper once they're done. Then I just add enough milk to make 1/2 cup instant unflavored oatmeal moist, nuke it, and add a bit of cinnamon or fruit depending on what I have. I have almond butter during my next meal usually with a rice cake. I looooooove almond butter and rice cakes :3 Question, do you make that breakfast before you go to work and just microwave it? Or do you make it at work? I've been trying to find a way to make oatmeal and egg whites without waking up my roommate since I eat that after I work out which is still pretty early in the morning.

Brentyboy: I live in DC. I don't make that much money, so expensive to me is practically everything. However, the cost of chicken when you're eating it every day adds up.