Lows: I put too much salt on the Brussels sprouts, which I ate late at night. Bad night of sleep last night so I didn’t get 8 hours.
Highs: Weight went back down to where it was!
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 – 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
Meal 5 – .5 c steamed white Jasmine rice, 4 oz baked tilapia, .5 c Brussels sprouts
Exercise:
LISS – air climber for 66 minutes
All other markers checked.
Don’t forget to recognize and deliver love today! ❤ G
The other type of cardio on this plan is High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). I’ve read different opinions about whether LISS is better or not. They both have their own benefits, so I decided to incorporate both for this challenge. With HIIT, you alternate between short bursts of high energy with resting periods. These intervals, as well as the entire workout, can vary in length. I do 30 seconds on (go all out) and 60 seconds rest for a total of 45 minutes. I may do half-sessions over 2 days.
Like LISS, you can perform HIIT with different methods. When short on time, I’ve used my air climber or jumped rope, both of which help add to my step count. However, my favorite is using a rowing machine, like the one that I have, pictured below (the lady is not me, though). I love rowing for many reasons – it combines both resistance and cardio, and it works pretty much all muscle groups! I do it while watching a movie.
Day 22 Results
Weight: 136.2 pounds (21.2 to go!)
Steps: 10,065 (as of 9:43pm)
Lows: We slept until almost noon today, so I didn’t get my 5 meals in, and my last meal was later than I would like.
Highs: Hit a new low on the scale (for this challenge)! I was able to row after a couple of weeks!
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 – salad with 4 oz grilled chicken breast, spinach, 2 tbsp croutons, 1 tbsp raspberries, blueberries and walnuts, zero-everything raspberry vinaigrette
Meal 4 – .5 c steamed white Jasmine rice, 4 oz boneless, skinless, chicken breast, .5 c onions (chicken and onions boiled in water, lemon juice, salt, garlic powder), fresh radishes
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 – 20-5, 20-7.5, 20-10, 20-12.5
Barbell hack squats – 20-0, 20-2.5, 20-5, 20-7.5
Deadlifts with curl bar – 20-10, 20-12.5, 20-15, 20-17.5
Stationary lunges with dumbbells – 10-12, 10-15, 10-20
Standing calf raises – 20-15, 20-20, 20-25
HIIT – rowing machine for 45 minutes
LISS – walked for 22 minutes and air climber for 20 minutes
All other markers checked.
Don’t forget to recognize and deliver love today! ❤ G
Lows: Meal 3 and my postworkout meal were difficult to really measure, so I did the best I can. The chicken wings had skin, too. It was late so I did my HIIT inside and “jumped rope” with no rope.
Highs: Hit a new low on the scale (for this challenge)! Had to make a trip out of town, but still got my protein and my workouts in! 3 weeks completed!
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 of 90/10 ground beef and macaroni pasta (Iranian macaroni!)
Meal 5 – .5 c steamed white Jasmine rice, 4 oz boneless, skinless, chicken breast, .5 c onions (chicken and onions boiled in water, lemon juice, salt, garlic powder)
Postworkout – .5 c steamed white Jasmine Rice, 3 grilled chicken wings (Iranian kabob!)
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 – 20-2.5, 20-5, 20-7.5
Overhead dumbbell extensions both arms same time – 15-5, 15-8, 15-10
Close grip bench press – 10-15, 10-20, 10-25
Dumbbell kickbacks – 15-8, 15-10, 15-12
1 arm dumbbell preacher curls – 20-10, 20-12, 15-12, 5-12
Curls with curl bar – 8-7.5, 8-10, 8-12.5
1 arm standing dumbbell curls – 15-10, 15-12, 15-12
Dumbbell hammer curls both arms same time – 15-8, 15-10, 15-10
HIIT – jumped rope for 45 minutes (no actual rope)
LISS – air climber for 29 minutes top get my steps in
All other markers checked.
Don’t forget to recognize and deliver love today! ❤ G
In Part 2 of my Nutrition Plan Breakdown, I mentioned that losing weight requires being in a caloric deficit. You can do this by eating less, moving more, or a combination of both. Since I made it clear that I love eating #food, “dieting” alone is not a realistic plan for me. This is where the exercise plan comes in.
First, I needed to increase my activity level. My job requires me to be sitting at a desk most of the time, and with the COVID-19 stay-at-home orders, I am even more sedentary (I’ve tried a standing desk, but it makes it difficult for me to focus on my work and I’m not the kind of person that paces when they’re on the phone).
With drinking a lot of water (as explained in Part 1 of my Nutrition Plan Breakdown), I’m using the bathroom a lot and rather than using the one next to my office, I go upstairs in the master bathroom. Even with this, I’m lucky to take 1,500 steps in one day.
Therefore, I’ve challenged myself to take 10,000 steps a day (see update). I’ve been doing this by either walking around our community or using my air climber. These are considered Low Intensity Steady State (LISS) exercises because there’s low impact on your body, but they take longer to complete. This is one kind of cardio that is part of my exercise plan, and I will talk about the other in the next part of my breakdown.
Day 20 Results
Weight: 137.2 pounds (22.2 to go!)
Steps: 10,335 (as of 8:47pm)
Lows: Not quite 8 hours of sleep last night.
Highs: Hit a new low on the scale (for 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 – salad with 4 oz grilled chicken breast, lettuce and spinach, 2 tbsp croutons, 1 tbsp cranberries and walnuts, zero-everything raspberry vinaigrette
Meal 5 – .5 c steamed white Jasmine rice, 4 oz boneless, skinless, chicken breast, .5 c onions (chicken and onions boiled in water, lemon juice, salt, garlic powder)
Exercise:
LISS – air climber for 69 minutes
All other markers checked.
Don’t forget to recognize and deliver love today! ❤ G
Note: I realized that I was reading my activity tracker wrong. I’ve updated all previous LISS times.
Weight: 137.6 pounds (22.6 to go!)
Steps: 10,373 (as of 9:07pm)
Lows: None!
Highs: Hit a new low on the scale (for this challenge)! Increased in all back exercises today!
Nutrition:
Meal 1 – .5 c white Jasmine rice, 1 whole egg and .5 c egg whites, scrambled
Meals 2 and 4 – 1 serving of protein shake
Meal 3 – .5 c steamed white Jasmine rice, 4 oz boneless, skinless, chicken breast, .5 c onions (chicken and onions boiled in water, lemon juice, salt, garlic powder)
Meal 5 – salad with 4 oz grilled chicken breast, lettuce, 2 tbsp croutons, 1 tbsp cranberries and walnuts, 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 barbell – 5-5, 5-7.5, 5-10, 5-12.5, 5-15
T bar row – 15-20, 15-25, 15-30, 15-35
1 arm dumbbell rows – 15-20, 15-25, 15-30, 15-35
Bent over rows with curl bar – 15-17.5, 15-20, 15-22.5, 15-25
Crunches and leg raises super set – 3×20
LISS – air climber for 61 minutes
All other markers checked.
Don’t forget to recognize and deliver love today! ❤ G
F WORDS ARE MY FAVORITE 