Highs: Weight didn’t go down, but it didn’t go up! I really didn’t feel like working out today, but I powered through and got it done!
Nutrition:
Meal 1 – 1 slice of white bread, 1 slice of American cheese, 1 whole egg and .5 c egg whites, scrambled
Meal 2 – 1 serving of protein shake
Meal 3 – .5 c steamed white Basmati rice, 4 oz grilled chicken breast, .5 c corn, zero-everything Italian dressing
Meal 4 and Postworkout (combined) – 2 servings of protein shake
Meal 5 – salad with 4 oz boiled/grilled chicken breast, lettuce, 10 g croutons, 7 g raspberries, blueberries and walnuts, 14 g blue cheese, zero-everything raspberry vinaigrette
Exercise: (1st number is the number of reps, 2nd number is the weight on each side, 0 means bar only for curl/barbell moves or body weight for others)
Barbell squats – 12-27.5, 9-30, 6-32.5
Bulgarian split squats – 8-22.5, 8-25, 8-27.5
Goblet squats – 3×15-50
Step ups to reverse lunges – 6-17.5, 6-20, 6-22.5
Calf raises – 3×15-25
Deadlifts with curl bar – 12-37.5, 9-40, 6-40
HIIT – rowing machine for 45 minutes
LISS – air climber to get my steps in
All other markers checked.
Don’t forget to recognize and deliver love today! ❤ G
On my Day 54 post, I said that I would talk more about my postworkout protein shake, OR MEAL. I’d like to clarify that protein shakes are NOT required to lose weight or fat. However, I mentioned that protein is a key part of my nutrition plan because I want to build muscle and lose fat. In order to do this, I have a certain amount of protein that I need to consume, but I also have to stay within my calorie range to remain in a deficit. Drinking protein shakes helps me do this because of its protein to calories ratio. I personally can’t just eat chicken or eggs by themselves, so if I wanted to eat a 6th portion of protein on my training days (my normal 5 meals plus another one for postworkout), I opt for a shake rather than “real” #food, to which I would add even more calories from bread, or rice, etc.
If you’ve been following along on this particular journey, you’ll recall a few times when I couldn’t fit my postworkout shake in. In reality, I couldn’t fit my 6th portion of protein on that particular training day. When I couldn’t fit Meal 5 in, it was a non-training day meant for 5 portions of protein, and I only had 4. For various reasons, including starting my day later than normal or being busy with something that pushed back my workout or other meals, it sometimes becomes “too late” for me to eat that last portion (I try not to eat past 9pm). Hope that makes sense! Going forward, I will list my postworkout meal under the Nutrition section of my daily results, whether it is a protein shake or full meal.
Day 56 Results
Weight: 132 pounds (17 to go!)
Steps: 10,347 (as of 9:54pm)
Lows: None!
Highs: Weight hit a new low on this challenge! I increased the resistance on my rowing machine again! Week 8 complete!
Nutrition:
Meal 1 – 1 slice of white bread, 1 slice of American cheese, 1 whole egg and .5 c egg whites, scrambled
Meal 2 – 1 serving of protein shake
Meal 3 – 4 oz 90/10 ground beef in tomato sauce (Iranian kabob mahitabie!) in 2 slices of white bread
Meal 4 and Postworkout (combined) – 2 servings of protein shake
Meal 5 – .5 c steamed white Basmati rice, 4 oz grilled chicken breast, .5 c corn, zero-everything Italian dressing
Exercise: (1st number is the number of reps, 2nd number is the weight on each side, 0 means bar only for curl/barbell moves or body weight for others)
Skull crushers with curl bar and hammer curls super set – 15-7.5/10, 15-10/12, 15-10/15
Triceps push downs and curls with curl bar super set – 10-5/7.5, 10-10/10, 10-10/12.5
Triceps kickbacks drop set – 12-10, 12-12, 12-15, 12-10
Preacher curls drop set – 12-12, 9-15, 6-17.5, 6-12
Close grip press and dips super set – 15-20, 15-22.5, 15-25
HIIT – rowing machine for 45 minutes (resistance level 5!)
LISS – air climber to get my steps in
All other markers checked.
Don’t forget to recognize and deliver love today! ❤ G
One thing I never mentioned was my height, which is a very important factor. If I grew much taller than when I was 16, my goal weight may not be realistic. Unfortunately, I’ve actually shrunk! At 5’1, I’m about three-quarters of an inch shorter than when I first got my driver’s license (and, yes, three-quarters of an inch for us short girls is a big deal!).
Anyway, BMI stands for Body Mass Index, which is my weight in kilograms divided by the square of my height in meters. Depending on what my BMI is, I can be considered underweight, normal, overweight, or obese. I am so proud to say that I went from overweight to normal today!
Day 55 Results
Weight: 132.2 pounds (17.2 to go!)
Steps: 10,558 (as of 9:07pm)
Lows: None!
Highs: Weight hit a new low on this challenge! My BMI is back to normal!
Nutrition:
Meal 1 – 1 slice of white bread, 1 slice of American cheese, 1 whole egg and .5 c egg whites, scrambled
Meals 2 and 4 – 1 serving of protein shake
Meal 3 – .5 c steamed white Basmati rice, 4 oz beef, pink and red kidney beans, and mixed green vegetables (Iranian ghormeh sabzi!)
Meal 5 – salad with 4 oz boiled chicken breast, lettuce, 10 g croutons, 7 g raspberries, blueberries and walnuts, 14 g blue cheese, zero-everything raspberry vinaigrette
Exercise:
LISS – air climber to get my steps in
All other markers checked.
Don’t forget to recognize and deliver love today! ❤ G
Lows: Didn’t get my postworkout protein shake in (or Meal 5, whichever you want to call it). I’ll talk more about this on a later post.
Highs: Going dirt bike riding on Sunday pushed back this whole week’s schedule, and I finally caught back up today! Today is supposed to mark the halfway point of this challenge – although, I may need to extend the end date, I’ve made it this far!
Nutrition:
Meal 1 – 1 slice of white bread, 1 slice of American cheese, 1 whole egg and .5 c egg whites, scrambled
Meals 2 and 4 – 1 serving of protein shake
Meal 3 – 4 oz 90/10 ground beef in tomato sauce (Iranian kabob mahitabie!) in 2 slices of white bread
Meal 5 (or postworkout) – salad with 4 oz boiled chicken breast, lettuce, 10 g croutons, 7 g raspberries, blueberries and walnuts, 14 g blue cheese, zero-everything raspberry vinaigrette
Exercise: (1st number is the number of reps, 2nd number is the weight on each side, 0 means bar only for curl/barbell moves or body weight for others)
Deadlifts with curl bar – 3×12-35
T bar rows – 3×10-60
Lat pull downs – 15-20, 15-22.5, 15-25
Bent over rows with curl bar – 12-35, 9-35, 6-35
1 arm rows with drop set – 3×10-40 then drop for another 10 with 25
Ab pull downs – 15-15, 15-20, 15-22.5
HIIT – jumping jacks and high knees for 45 minutes
LISS – air climber to get my steps in
All other markers checked.
Don’t forget to recognize and deliver love today! ❤ G
Lows: Wrong direction on the scale. Didn’t do the HIIT that was scheduled for today.
Highs: Took a rest day yesterday, so I picked right back up today with the weight training I was supposed to do!
Nutrition:
Meal 1 – 1 slice of white bread, 1 slice of American cheese, 1 whole egg and .5 c egg whites, scrambled
Meals 2 and 4 – 1 serving of protein shake
Meal 3 – .5 c white Basmati rice with barberries, 4 oz boneless, skinless chicken, 1 oz tortilla (Iranian zereshk polo with tadig!), and some pickles on the side
Meal 5 – 4 oz 90/10 ground beef in tomato sauce (Iranian kabob mahitabie!) in 2 slices of white bread
Exercise: (1st number is the number of reps, 2nd number is the weight on each side, 0 means bar only for curl/barbell moves or body weight for others)
Bench press with barbell – 12-15, 9-17.5, 6-20
Close grip bench press to flys combo set – 3×10-20
Dumbbell bench press – 3×8-37.5
Reverse bent over flys drop set – 3×12-12 then drop to 8
Overhead press – 3×8-22.5
Lateral raises drop set – 3×12-12 then drop to 8
LISS – walked outside to get my steps in
All other markers checked.
Don’t forget to recognize and deliver love today! ❤ G
Steps: 11,264 (I don’t know what time; something weird happened with my post and I am rewriting this one. Also, my tracker was acting up today and, although I know I did at least my 10,000 steps, I don’t think I did this much.)
Lows: Ate at Burger King today, which is not according to the plan. I was on the road and didn’t want to drink too much water, so I ended the day short.
Highs: Took a much needed rest day today! Going to Burger King could have been worse, but I ordered based on calories!
Nutrition:
Meal 1 – 1 slice of white bread, 1 slice of American cheese, 1 whole egg and .5 c egg whites, scrambled
Meals 2 and 4 – 1 serving of protein shake
Meal 3 – Burger King chicken fries and value-sized onion rings with less than a packet of ketchup (they didn’t have any grilled chicken!)
Meal 5 – salad with 4 oz baked chicken breast, lettuce, 10 g croutons, 7 g raspberries, blueberries and walnuts, 14 g blue cheese, zero-everything raspberry vinaigrette
Exercise:
LISS – air climber to get my steps in
All other markers checked.
Don’t forget to recognize and deliver love today! ❤ G
Lows: I didn’t do my HIIT and weight training as scheduled today (not a bad thing per se because nothing is more physically demanding than going dirt bike riding!).
Highs: Weight hit a new low on this challenge!
Nutrition:
Meal 1 – 1 slice of white bread, 1 slice of American cheese, 1 whole egg and .5 c egg whites, scrambled
Meals 2 and 3 – 1 serving of protein shake
Had a bunch of watermelon
Meal 4 – .5 c steamed white Basmati rice, 4 oz baked chicken breast, .5 c corn, zero-calorie Italian dressing
Meal 5 – salad with 4 oz baked chicken breast, lettuce, 10 g croutons, 7 g raspberries, blueberries and walnuts, 14 g blue cheese, zero-everything raspberry vinaigrette
Exercise:
Went dirt bike riding!
LISS – air climber to get my steps in
All other markers checked.
Don’t forget to recognize and deliver love today! ❤ G
Well, it took me long enough to get to the end of breaking down the entire plan for this challenge – just about 7 weeks, actually. It’s hard to believe I’m so far in, especially when I’ve been feeling so good. Sure, this challenge takes a lot of time and effort, but it has been far from “painful”. I’m eating #foods that I enjoy, I’ve been having a great time working out with my #family, and it’s definitely not killing me to get more sleep!
Sleep is often listed as essential to fat loss, with 7-9 hours recommended per night. Truthfully, that was all I needed to hear and you’ll never have to twist my arm when it comes to sleep. But I certainly have read about the positive effects of sufficient sleep on your mood, your recovery, etc., so I made sure to add it to the plan.
At this point, I do want to note that every time I’ve listed not getting enough hours of sleep on my daily results posts, it’s because I didn’t quite get 8 hours. Not one time, however, do I remember getting less than 7, so I will update the original posting of the plan from 8 hours to 7-9 (as you get to know me, you’ll learn how I’m too precise for my own good). I will also say that I can often get more than 9, and I also take naps whenever I feel sleepy during the day. Have you ever heard of hypersomnia? Well, I have it and, rather than writing about it later, you can watch an old video from my YouTube channel:
Accountability
Pictures – What’s even harder to believe than already being 7 weeks into this challenge, is that I’m still making tweaks to the plan. But I am learning as I go, and I think it’s important to be flexible (something I am also working to improve on for myself). I’m learning what works to motivate me, and what doesn’t. I think I would rather wait until the completion of this challenge to take an “after” picture to compare to my Day 1 photo, rather than also taking a “progress” picture halfway.
Weigh-In – Seeing my weight on the scale going down definitely motivates me, but even though my weight isn’t lower every morning, it is important for me to weigh in and track my progress this way. It keeps me accountable to stick to the plan and to know the effects if I don’t. I weigh in first thing every morning .
Daily Post – As I mentioned when I first introduced this challenge, I’ve been at it for over a year prior, and failing. I kept telling myself that I have more time to reach my goal and, conversely, making excuses like I don’t have time because of this or that. There are different schools of thought when it comes to goal setting – some say keep your goals to yourself, but that’s just not me. One of my all-time favorite quotes is this:
“When you state what you want, you either start making it happen, or start making excuses.” – Unknown
I’m not afraid of failure, and I definitely do not like making excuses. I will rise up to this challenge and will own any mistakes I make. And I will keep at it until I reach my goal. One thing is certain, I will show up every day, and I will post my results every night.
Day 48 Results
Weight: 134.2 pounds (19.2 to go!)
Steps: 10,338 (as of 11:24pm)
Lows: Didn’t get quite 8 hours of sleep, but I woke up rested and just didn’t go back. Couldn’t really measure Meal 3.
Highs: Weight hit a new low on this challenge!
Nutrition:
Meal 1 – 1 slice of white bread, 1 slice of American cheese, 1 whole egg and .5 c egg whites, scrambled
Meals 2 and 4 – 1 serving of protein shake
Meal 3 – 8 oz total Iranian macaroni
Meal 5 – salad with 4 oz baked chicken breast, lettuce, 10 g croutons, 7 g raspberries, blueberries and walnuts, 14 g blue cheese, zero-everything raspberry vinaigrette
Exercise:
LISS – air climber to get my steps in
All other markers checked.
Don’t forget to recognize and deliver love today! ❤ G
F WORDS ARE MY FAVORITE 