Rich's Journal

[cassiegose]

Hi again,

Sorry it took me a while to get to ya! Its a busy time of year so I'm having a hard time keeping up.

One eggwhite has about 17 calories 3-4 grams of protein. One whole large egg has about 6-7 grams of protein.

You're right, this whole entire process is a learning experience. Don't be afraid to experiment a little... keep up with the things that work for you and don't waste too much time on those that don't.

goal is to be 11% body fat (by March 27) so we'll be on the same track as we get leaner! Whats your body fat right now?

I do love greek yogurt. Yeah, give the peanut butter a try. I sometimes mix chocolate protein powder in there too. The trick is to mix it with a tiny bit of water or milk first, and let it sit for a few then mix it in with the yogurt so it doesn't get all clumpy and yucky.

The full body is great because you're hitting every body part 3 times per week. By sticking to compound exercises (squats, lunges, deadlifts, pull ups, pull downs, rows, bench variations, pushups, dips, military press) you are getting the most "bang for your buck" as your hitting more than one muscle with each lift.

Hope this helps! Feel free to ask questions if you have any. Happy to help in any way!

Cassie

[richs]

I see how busy you are so I really appreciate you taking the time.

I bought a Omron HBF-500 body monitor that tells me Weight, body fat%, skeletal muscle %, visceral fat, BMI and resting metabolism. You have to program in your variables but then it tracks your progress so you can look back a day, week, month or 3 months. The measurements are extremely consistant if used at the same time every day. According to that, I am 29.5% body fat But it has been going down slowly on a daily basis (.1-.2% each day). I got a long ways to go but the journey starts with the first step right?! The scale has really helped me because even when you have days when the weight stays the same the body fat drops and skeletal muscle increases which keeps me positive.

I did not realize there was protein in the yolk, that is where I went wrong. Are you using the Vanilla or plain greek yogurt?

I am sure I will be switching to the full body within the next month or so. I will keep you posted.

Good luck on the 11%, I am sure you are way closer then I am!

Edit: I almost forgot, bread has 5 grams of protein per slice. Still not enough for those meals though.

[cassiegose]

I'm not sure how accurate the scale you bought is. I have one of those scales, and while it does track progress if you keep the variables the same when you measure (time of day, water weight) it isn't the best at giving me an accurate reading of body fat. When I was training for a competition (i'm a bodybuilder) last summer I would hop on the scale every once in a while to see what it would calculate as and it was saying that i was around 30%. At that time I was also getting measured at the gyms where i work (caliper and bioelectric impedence) and I was being measuring around 19-20%. You might have a trainer at you gym measure your body fat and see what they come up with. However, for simply measuring progress that scale is just fine as it is showing that you are steadily decreasing body fat (which is great!).

Yes, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. It doesn't matter how many steps its going to take you to reach your destination, simply keep putting one foot in front of the other and you will eventually reach your goals!

Thank you for the good luck!

5 grams of protein per slice isn't bad. If you keep up those sandwiches simple add a couple lf cheese sticks or some other form of lean protein to add another 20 grams or so.

Ok back to work.

[cassiegose]

Are you using the Vanilla or plain greek yogurt?

Forgot to answer this one... I just do plain nonfat greek yogurt.

[richs]

I have not tried the plain but will get that when blueberry supply is out.

I was not sure how accurate the scale was but it is consistant like you say. At some point I will have it checked but this will do for now.

[richs]

1/6-201.4lbs (dang peanut butter/jelly sandwiches)

6:15-6 omega egg whites/1 yolk, 1 cup broccolli, kashi oatmeal
9:30-peanut butter/jelly sandwich, reduced fat string cheese
12:00-chineese (did the best I could-chicken/broccolli)
3:45-almonds, greek yogurt
6:00-wild salmon fillet, 2 cups broccolli
8:30-protein shake

I am not happy with diet today. I was so busy (even had a meeting with the city mayor) that I could not eat what I wanted when I wanted it. On top of that I got DOMS from leg workout yesterday so no walking for me today. I hit the squats hard last night and holy cow am I sore. Back on track tomorrow!

[cassiegose]

Hi there,

Remember it takes alot of calories (about 3500 EXTRA) to gain one lb of fat. Minor fluctuations in the scale can be water weight. However, I definitely would limit those sandwiches to no more than one per day and make sure youre measuring the pb (youre having natural peanut butter right?) to ensure that you're not having like 4 tbspns (400 calories) per sandwich.

As far as not walking when youre sore.. sometimes doing light exercise (walking) and stretching helps when i'm sore to kind of work the kinks out.

You're doing a fine job. Keep it up.

[richs]

I am going to do away with them all together. Yes it is natural peanut butter. I will go back to the one slice toast with the peanut butter on that in the morning. Thanks for the encouragement. I am looking forward to getting back on track tomorrow.

[cassiegose]

I am going to do away with them all together. Yes it is natural peanut butter. I will go back to the one slice toast with the peanut butter on that in the morning. Thanks for the encouragement. I am looking forward to getting back on track tomorrow.

That might be a good call. OR you could save them as a "treat" for the weekends or something... one a week so you don't get carried away.

[richs]

1/7-202.4lbs! To be honest this frustrates me a bit. I know I have not had a good last couple days and I didn't drink hardly any water yesterday and am sure that is why. I am back on track so hopefully I see the scale change in the right direction now.

6:15-5 egg whites 1 yolk, 1pc whole wheat toast with natural peanut butter, 1 cup broccolli
9:30-Greek yogurt, 10 almonds
12:00-salad, chicken breast, 1pc low fat string cheese
3:00-protein shake, apple
5:45-2 tilapia fillets, 2 cups broccolli
8:30-protein shake

workout

abs:
Scott Herman's ab workout

cardio:
1/2 hour fast walking, high incline

[richs]

Cassie,

I am going to switch to full body workouts next week. If you get time could you set me up a week workout (pick the days/exercises/sets/reps) and then tell me the cardio days. I know it is alot to ask but I am totally new to the full body routine. I can figure it out from there if you could get me started. Anything you could do would be greatly appreciated!

P.S. I thought legs were sore yesterday, I can hardly stand up right now

[cassiegose]

1/7-202.4lbs! To be honest this frustrates me a bit. I know I have not had a good last couple days and I didn't drink hardly any water yesterday and am sure that is why. I am back on track so hopefully I see the scale change in the right direction now.

6:15-5 egg whites 1 yolk, 1pc whole wheat toast with natural peanut butter, 1 cup broccolli
9:30-Greek yogurt, 10 almonds

Not drinking enough water could definitely have an effect on your scale weight. Also, I would be money that the chinese food yesterday is what caused the scale to go up.. not the food itself but the sodium in it. Do me a favor... stay off the scale until Monday. Over the next 4 days drink 3/4-1 gallon of water a day and eat clean balanced then weigh in on Monday and see what happens. I bet the scale will be down atleast 2 lbs. I know the scale seems like a great way to track progress, and it can be good. However it can also create issues when you're weighing in everyday and not seeing steady decreases in weight. Maybe try only weighing yourself once a week or even once every 2 weeks and see how that goes?

Cassie,

I am going to switch to full body workouts next week. If you get time could you set me up a week workout (pick the days/exercises/sets/reps) and then tell me the cardio days. I know it is alot to ask but I am totally new to the full body routine. I can figure it out from there if you could get me started. Anything you could do would be greatly appreciated!

P.S. I thought legs were sore yesterday, I can hardly stand up right now

Yep, i'll work on it and get back to you.

[cassiegose]

You could do something like this:

Monday: WEIGHTS
Squats 3x10
Pull ups 3x10
Deadlifts 3x10
Bench press 3x10
Step ups 3x10
Military press 3x10

Tuesday: CARDIO

Wednesday: WEIGHTS
Straight leg deadlifts 3x10
Rows 3x10
Walking lunges with weights 3 sets (1 length of gym is 1 set)
Incline bench press 3x10
squats 3x10
Dips 3x10

Thursday: CARDIO or off


Friday: WEIGHTS
Leg press 3x10
Lat pull downs 3x10
Squats 3x10
Chest Flys (dumbbells, pecdec, or cables) 3x10
Deadlifts 3x10
Chin ups 3x10

Saturday: Plyometrics
15 box hop squats (or just hop squats)
50 jumping jacks
15 box hop squats
10 sprints in gym
15 jumping lunges
50 jumping jacks
15 jumping lunges
10 sprints in gym

Sunday: OFF

[richs]

Looks great! Thanks a ton. I will also stay off the scale until Monday morning. I will do that exact routine and keep you posted on how it goes. One last question, I am having trouble eating that many eggs in the morning. Any tricks to make it tase better or could I drop down to 3 eggs and drink half a protein shake instead?

[cassiegose]

You don't have to have eggs in the morning. You can have any form of protein your little heart desires. I actually (this may sound yucky but its actually VERY good.. in opinion) mix eggwhites (7 whites) and 1 whole egg in with oatmeal in the morning and i don't really even taste the eggs. I cook 1/2 cup oatmeal with water and cinnamon until done... then i mix in eggwhites and eggs (stir well to prevent egg clumps) and cook again until done. I have this every morning and will continue to have this until the week before competition when i have to cut out beloved eggwhites.

Other ideas.. You could mix in some veggies (peppers {although these are technically a fruit}, mushrooms, onions, garlic, olives) with your eggs/eggwhites and cook together into an omelet. I like to add salsa and valentinos hot sauce to eggs. You could also make mini "quiches" by beating together eggwhites, eggs, (do enough so you can make a batch big enough to last a few days) and veggies of choice. Then grease a muffin pan with nonstick spray, sprinkle with nonfat cheese and bake until done. You can top with salsa. These are great because you get like 10-12 individually prepared egg muffin (type things) and you can eat 2 or 3 at a time and freeze the rest. These will last you a couple of days.. very convenient. You can also boil your eggs, peal, remove the yolks from 3 or 4 and use one whole egg. Chop them all up add in some ff mayo and mustard and viola you have a healthy egg salad which can be eating with bread or alone. You could also scramble the eggs and make yourself a scrambled egg sandwich... YUM! Lots of way to eat those eggs.. just have to get a little creative.


Oh... and yes you can drop it down to 3 eggs and a protein shake... or simply add a bit of chicken, lf/ff cheese, or other protein to the eggs to get added protein there.

Cassie