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
Highs: Weight is going back down! I was going to end the day with only 4,000 steps but decided to get it done! Although I’m going to be sleeping later than I would have wanted, I can always sleep in tomorrow and still get my 8 hours.
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 rotisserie chicken breast, .5 c corn, fresh broccoli
Meal 5 – salad with 4 oz rotisserie 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 – 15-20, 15-25, 15-30, 15-35
Bent over rows with curl bar – 12-35, 10-37.5, 8-40, 6-42.5
1 arm dumbbell rows – 10-40, 10-42.5, 10-45
T bar row – 10-50, 8-62.5, 6-65
Standing 1 leg calf raises (1 dumbbell) – 3×20-25
Side planks with reach under and plank with alternating knee to elbow super set – 3×10 each side
LISS – air climber to get my steps in
All other markers checked.
Don’t forget to recognize and deliver love today! ❤ G
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 Basmati rice, 4 oz grilled chicken, .5 c corn, fresh broccoli
Exercise:
HIIT – air climber 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
Highs: Just by a little, but weight is going back down!
Nutrition:
Meal 1 – 1 slice of white bread, 1 slice of American cheese, 1 whole egg and .5 c egg whites, scrambled
Meal 2 – 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
Meals 3 and 4 (combined) – 2 servings of protein shake
Meal 5 – .5 c steamed white Basmati rice, 4 oz boiled chicken, Brussels sprouts
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)
Highs: Right back on track after being off yesterday!
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, 10 g croutons, 7 g raspberries, blueberries and walnuts, 14 g blue cheese, zero-everything raspberry vinaigrette
Meal 5 – .5 c steamed white Basmati rice, 4 oz baked tilapia, asparagus, mushrooms, and Brussels sprouts
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 – 15-17.5, 15-20, 15-22.5, 15-25
Goblet squats – 15-35, 15-40, 15-45, 15-50
Deadlifts with curl bar – 20-20, 15-25, 12-30, 12-35, 10-40
Bulgarian split squats – 8-17.5, 8-20, 8-22.5, 8-25
Walking lunges – 12-22.5, 12-25
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
Lows: Wrong direction on the scale. Pretty much an off day for Mother’s Day.
Highs: I could have definitely been worse today, but I consciously chose not to drink alcohol or eat sweets! I stuck to the diet up to Meal 3 and, knowing dinner would be high in calories, I decided to skip Meal 5! I am ready to pick back up tomorrow!
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, lettuce, 10 g croutons, 7 g raspberries, blueberries and walnuts, 14 g blue cheese, zero-everything raspberry vinaigrette
Meal 4 – unmeasured homemade sushi with my boys!
Exercise:
LISS – I had to do some shopping today so I was able to get some steps in; also did a couple thousands steps on the air climber
All other markers checked.
Don’t forget to recognize and deliver love today! ❤ G
Highs: Weight hit a new low on this challenge! Everything else is great!
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, 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 boiled boneless, skinless chicken breast, .5 c of mixed vegetables (baby corn, corn, potatoes, green beans, lima beans, peas, carrots) in tomato sauce
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 – 25-0, 25-2.5, 25-5, 25-7.5
Curls with curl bar – 25-0, 25-2.5, 25-5, 25-7.5
Super set – close grip bench press – 15-20, 15-22.5, 15-25 and 1 arm dumbbell preacher curls – 3×10-15
Dumbbell overhead extensions and standing alternating dumbbell curls super set – 3×10-15/20
Dips and dumbbell hammer curls super set – 3×15-12
HIIT – jumping jacks 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
F WORDS ARE MY FAVORITE 