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• Weight: 136.6 pounds (21.6 to go!)
• Steps: 10,621 (as of 11:40pm)
• 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

Exercise Plan Breakdown Part 1

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

• Weight: 138.4 pounds (23.4 to go!)
• Steps: 10,500 (as of 8:53pm)
• Lows: None!
• Highs: Tried a new thing and jumped rope for my HIIT!
• Nutrition:
  • Meal 1 – 2 slices of white bread, 1 whole egg and .5 c egg whites, scrambled
  • Meals 2 and 4 – 1 serving of protein shake
  • Meals 3 and 5 – .5 c steamed white Jasmine rice, 4 oz baked salmon, mushrooms, lemon juice
• Exercise:
  • HIIT – jumped rope for 45 minutes
  • LISS – air climber for 54 minutes
• All other markers checked.

Don’t forget to recognize and deliver love today! ❤ G

• Weight: 139.2 pounds (24.2 to go!)
• Steps: 10,588 (as of 10:17pm)
• Lows: Wrong direction on the scale. A little short of 8 hours sleep last night.
• Highs: It’s our 18th wedding anniversary today and I still got everything else done, including this accountability post!
• Nutrition:
  • Meal 1 – .5 c steamed white Jasmine rice, 1 whole egg and .5 c egg whites, scrambled
  • Meals 2 and 4 – 1 serving of protein shake
  • Meals 3 and 5 – .5 c steamed white Jasmine rice, 4 oz baked salmon, mushrooms, lemon juice
• 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)
  • Dumbbell flys drop set – 15-8, 15-10, 15-12, 15-15, 15-8
  • Barbell bench press – 5-5, 5-7.5, 5-10, 5-12.5, 5-15
  • Dumbbell bench press – 15-12, 15-15, 15-20, 15-25
  • Reverse bent over dumbbell flys drop set – 20-5, 20-5, 20-8, 20-5
  • Standing dumbbell lateral raises – 20-5, 15-8, 12-10, 10-12
  • Front raises (both hands holding one dumbbell) – 15-12, 15-15, 15-20
  • Military press – 8-20, 8-20, 8-20
• LISS – air climber for 29 minutes and walked for 35 minutes
• All other markers checked.

Don’t forget to recognize and deliver love today! ❤ G

• Weight: 138.6 pounds (23.6 to go!)
• Steps: 10,214 (as of 10:49pm)
• Lows: I really wasn’t able to measure the protein in my 3rd meal – I wasn’t ready with more appropriate choices. My 5th meal protein was pork, which is not lean – I cleaned off the fat as much as I could.
• Highs: It was late by the time I needed to get my steps in, but I still did it!
• Nutrition:
  • Meal 1 – .5 c steamed white Basmati rice, 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, white Basmati rice, lentil beans, and raisins (Iranian adas polo cooked by Farhad!)
  • Meal 5 – .5 c steamed white Jasmine rice, 4 oz pork, okra, turnips, and spinach in tamarind soup (Filipino sinigang cooked by Nikolas!)
• Exercise:
  • LISS – air climber for 77 minutes
• All other markers checked.

Don’t forget to recognize and deliver love today! ❤ G

• Weight: 138.6 pounds (23.6 to go!)
• Steps: 10,652 (as of 9:10pm)
• Lows: Wrong direction on the scale. My 5th meal protein was pork, which is not lean – I cleaned off the fat as much as I could.
• Highs: Easter chocolate did not phase me at all, and I had an amazing Easter LEGG Day with the whole family today!
• Nutrition:
  • Meal 1 – .5 c steamed white Basmati rice, 4 oz baked salmon, fresh tomatoes and onions in low sodium soy sauce
  • Meals 2 and 4 – 1 serving of protein shake
  • Meal 3 – salad with 4 oz grilled chicken breast, lettuce, 2 tbsp croutons, 1 tbsp cranberries and pecans, zero-everything raspberry vinaigrette
  • Meal 5 – .5 c steamed white Basmati rice, 4 oz pork, okra, turnips, and spinach in tamarind soup (Filipino sinigang cooked by Nikolas!)
• 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 – 15-2.5, 15-5, 15-7.5, 15-10, 15-12.5
  • Barbell hack squats – 5-7.5, 5-10, 5-12.5, 5-15, 5-17.5
  • Bulgarian split squats – 8-10, 8-12, 8-15, 8-20
  • Walking lunges with dumbbells – 15-10, 15-12, 15-15
  • Deadlifts with dumbbells – 15-20, 15-25, 15-30
  • Standing calf raises – 20-12, 20-15, 20-20 and single leg calf raises super set – 15-12, 15-15, 15-20
  • HIIT – air climber for 45 minutes
  • LISS – air climber for 57 minutes
• All other markers checked.

Don’t forget to recognize and deliver love today! ❤ G

• Weight: 138.4 pounds (23.4 to go!)
• Steps: 10,321 (as of 10:08pm)
• Lows: I didn’t get my 5th meal in.
• Highs: Weight went down! Awesome workout with Nik today! 2 weeks completed!
• Nutrition:
  • Meals 1 and 3 – .5 c steamed white Jasmine rice, 4 oz baked salmon, fresh tomatoes and onions in low sodium soy sauce
  • Meal 2 – .5 c steamed white Basmati rice, 1 grilled, skinless, chicken thigh kabob with sumac seasoning
  • Meal 4 – 1 serving of protein shake
• 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)
  • Overhead dumbbell extensions and standing dumbbell curls super set (not the same weights for each move) – 15-5/8, 15-8/10, 15-10/12
  • Dips and dumbbell preacher curls super set – 20-8, 20-10, 20-12
  • Dumbbell skull crushers and dumbbell hammer curls super set – 15-8, 15-10, 15-12
  • Crunches and leg raises super set – 3×25
  • HIIT – air climber for 45 minutes
  • LISS – air climber for 25 minutes
• All other markers checked.

Don’t forget to recognize and deliver love today! ❤ G

• Weight: 139.6 pounds (24.6 to go!)
• Steps: 10,439 (as of 11:01pm)
• Lows: Wrong direction on the scale. Did not get my post workout protein shake in. No vegetables today.
• Highs: Yes, my motivation is still high, and I simply feel good – I’m on a plan, I know what to do, and I do it!
• Nutrition:
  • Meals 1 and 3 – .5 c steamed white Jasmine rice, 3 oz boneless, skinless, chicken breast boiled with tomato sauce, 1 whole egg scrambled (yes, these taste great together!)
  • Meals 2 and 4 – 1 serving of protein shake
  • Meal 5 – .5 c steamed white Basmati rice, 1 grilled, skinless, chicken thigh kabob with sumac seasoning (yum!)
• 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 – 8-15, 8-20, 8-30, 8-40
  • Bent over rows with curl bar – 12-17.5, 10-20, 8-22.5, 8-25
  • 1 arm dumbbell rows – 12-20, 12-25, 12-30
  • T bar row – 15-15, 15-20, 15-25
  • 1 leg standing calf raises – 15-20, 15-25, 15-30
  • LISS – air climber for 68 minutes
• All other markers checked.

Don’t forget to recognize and deliver love today! ❤ G