Day 9

Tuesday July 6th

Today I ran/walked/jogged 4.5 miles. SG’s (my running buddy) shin was bothering her, so we walked most of the way. She’s going to get new shoes today from Fleet Feet and hopefully our run in the morning will go better. Yes, I’m going back in the morning! Only 2 more workouts left for the week. Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So looking at my meals from last week it is easy to see that I messed up A LOT! Per the research I have done over the past few years in order to see results 70-80% of your meals should be clean. Meaning you have to eat right 70 to 80% of the time to see results, especially in your abs. So in other words I gotta do better. All the working out in the world will not give you the results you require if you have not changed your eating habits. So I recognize this, but why can’t I stop eating! LOL! I can and I will! Mind over matter!

So last week I ate a total 31 meals Mon-Sun, out of those 31 meals 21 were healthy so I’m averaging around 67%. The number isn’t as bad as I thought. But what I would like to do this week is increase it to at least 70% and make sure I’m eating 5 to 6 small meals daily. On the weekend I reduced the number of meals I had, which I need to get away from.

Remember, this is a process. I like the quote that weight loss is a marathon and not a sprint. In order to get it off and keep it off I think it’s better to go the slower route.
So what does eating right 70% of the time equate to? I’m glad you asked! If I have 35 meals on average Mon-Sun that means I need to eat 25 healthy meals to see results. Hrmm, so according to this I can have 10 cheat meals!?! I’m going to try and do better than that. Maybe I’ll do 80%. Baby steps!

I know that in the last stretch of things I’m going to have to become more discipline when it comes to eating. In my case I want to see body fat reduction more so than the number on the scale. I plan on getting my body fat taken again on the July 15th and I pray that I’m at least down to 23%, which is what I was before I took the 2 week hiatus.

Let’s get something straight here, I don’t think I’m fat in anyway. I just have some parts of my body that I feel can be and look a lot better and that is what I’m focusing on in this feat! I want to become toned! I want to see definition in my arms, back and tummy. I don’t care for a six pack! Just give me a flat stomach!


Weight
131.2 (After the weekend I had, I’m very surprised)
But I’m looking forward to the day when I make it over to the other side (129.9 lbs) LOL!

16.9 oz Water after my run

Meal 1
2 egg whites
Watermelon (I got it from my Mom’s house)
16.9 oz Water
Green Tea

Meal 2
Ground Turkey
Corn
16.9 oz Water

Meal 3
Tilapia
Corn
16.9 oz Water

Meal 4
Ground Turkey
Greens
16.9 oz Water

Meal 5
Salmon
Greens
Glass of Wine (Hey it’s my Birthday week! LOL!)

Day 8

Monday July 5th
Today I worked out with my trainer! Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I had to pat my own self on the back for that one! LOL! I only did 15 minutes of Cardio, upper and lower body, and abs. And then I ran 3 ½ miles! I had someone there who was pushing me beyond what I would normally do myself as far as my pace. I plan to run with the group in the morning! So until tomorrow!

Oh yeah, I know I have to get disciplined about my eating…

Weight
131.8

Meal 1
Cracker Barrel (I know Terrible)
16.9 oz Water
Green Tea

Meal 2
2 egg whites
Grapes
16.9 oz Water

Meal 3
Mexican Food
Margarita

Day 7

Sunday July 4th

Weight
131.8

Meal 1
2 boiled Egg whites
Plum
16.9 oz Water
Green Tea

Meal 2
Barbeque

Meal 3
Barbeque
Cake

Day 6

Saturday July 3rd
I slept extra late on today. I guess my body really needed some rest… It’s a holiday weekend, so let’s be realistic I’m going to eat!!! LOL!

Weight
131.8

Meal 1
Brunch
16.9 oz Water
Green Tea

Meal 2
Plum
16.9 oz Water

Meal 3
Barbeque
16.9 oz Water

Meal 4
Char grilled Oysters
16.9 oz Water

Day 5

Friday July 2nd

So I got up this morning and worked out with my trainer. (And yes I do realize that I say “so” a lot!) LOL! When I woke up this morning I was lazy tired and that I had to make myself get up for my workout. Last night I decided that I was going to skip my run and just work out with my trainer instead. It was going to be too much of a hassle to run and then go to him and I was limited on time today. Today I did 30 minutes of cardio and weight training (upper and lower body and abs). It felt really good to go ahead and get it done. I normally don’t work out on Friday’s, but it wasn’t too bad.

I plan to run a 5K Monday with a Fitness group and I’m going to try really hard to work out with my trainer before I do the 5K that day. So I’ll play it by ear. As you can see I can change my mind about something from one minute to the next.

Weight
131.8 (Not cool!)

33.8 oz Water (during workout)

Meal 1
2 boiled egg whites
½ cup of grapes
16.9 oz Water

Meal 2
Ground Turkey
Spinach
16.9 oz Water

I actually waited way too long before I ate anything after my 2nd meal, which is not good. You should eat every 3 hours.

Meal 3
Soul Fish (We took my Mom out for her birthday)
Catfish and Fries
Sweet Tea
Wine

Day 4

Thursday July 1, 2010
So today I was SUPER tired this morning when my alarm went off this morning. It wasn’t the tired of I just didn’t want to get up, but the tired like my body needed to rest, so I skipped my workout with the trainer today. Know the difference between when you’re just being lazy and when your body is telling you that you need to rest. Besides this is my 1st week after a 2 week hiatus and I don’t want to overdo it. So I’m going to run with the group tomorrow and then go to my trainer and do weights. My body over all feels much better today than the past few days, so I think this was just what my body needed.

I know you all saw that I cheated last night when I went to On the Border. Truth is that I had already planned a cheat meal for yesterday and I cheated again today (Kid’s meal from Chick-fil-a) and I’m going to cheat again before I go to church (I want some Lenny’s). So that puts me at 4 cheat meals thus far and it’s only day 4. Doesn’t look like I’m off to a good start when it comes to my eating. Well, that is why I’m doing this blog, right? To let you all know about the struggle of changing your eating habits. I’m hoping as I continue to feed my body healthy meals that the cravings I have for not so healthy food will decrease.

So until tomorrow!

Weight 130

Meal 1
Breakfast
2 boiled egg whites
½ cup of grapes
Green tea
20 oz Water

Meal 2
Kids Meal from Chick-fil-a
16.9 oz Water

Meal 3
Pure Protein Shake
16.9oz of water

Lenny’s Kids meal
Chips and cookie
16.9 oz Water

Day 3

Wednesday June 30, 2010

Hi folks,
As you can see I haven’t posted any pics, not sure if I’m ready to do that just yet. LOL! I may just add them to FB, nah, I ain’t doing that either. I’ll see, maybe as I get further along I’ll post them somewhere.

So, this morning I actually got up and went running/walking/jogging! I did a little over 4 miles so I think that’s good for day 2. And my newbie run/walk/jog partner actually joined me today as well and what do ya know she had the same cramp in her rib that I had on yesterday. Today I was fine, but honestly if she didn’t run today I probably would have waited and ran again on Friday because my body was so sore, but I’m glad I went ahead and went because once I got into the groove of things it wasn’t too bad. There was also another person who came and joined us, she used to be a runner but said she hadn’t run in awhile. She just had a baby too, so we have someone else who is trying to build their endurance back up as well who was a runner. I really think my newbie partner enjoyed the workout this morning. I enjoyed it so much; I told them that I would go ahead and join them on Friday as well. So tomorrow, I’m going back to my trainer. I pray that he doesn’t try to kill me b/c I’m still very sore from running, but I’m still going to go.

16.9oz Water after workout

Meal 1
Breakfast
2 boiled egg whites
½ cup of strawberries
Green tea
16.9oz Water

Meal 2
Tilapia
Green Beans
16.9oz of water

Meal 3
Ground Turkey
Black Beans
16.9oz of water

Meal 4
Pure Protein Shake
16.9oz of water

Meal 5
On the Boarder (It was my friend’s birthday and she wanted to meet for margarita’s)
Epic Fail! I know! LOL! Gotta do better tomorrow

Weight is still 130.2

Day 2

So my run/walk, jog this morning went well for it being my 1st time running in a LONG while. I feel that I could have done a lot better if I hadn’t got a cramp in my rib. Yes a cramp in my rib (at least that’s where it felt like it was) and it happened immediately as I started to run, so prayerfully tomorrow will go better.
Oh and my newbie run/walk/jog buddy “overslept”! How convenient! LOL! But she said that she will be there tomorrow.
The running group is really great, everyone is really nice. Turns out that one of my closest friends Dad is in the same running group as well. I knew he ran, but didn’t know he was with a group. So it was good to see another familiar face. And my friend girl who told me about the group hung out behind with me as the others left me in the dust. LOL! I can feel the soreness today as well, but I will continue to push through. No Pain, No Gain, right!?!

Today I also went to Fleet Feet and got some new tennis shoes for running. To find out your pronation, they record your feet while having you run on the treadmill for about 15 seconds. It turns out that my pronation was neutral/normal. (If you want to know what pronation is, look it up!) LOL! So I was able to get Nike running shoes! I also bought the Nike sport watch to track how many miles I run/walk/jog as well. If I’m going to do this I need to make sure that I have the proper shoes and equipment. Running, although is great for exercise, is very rough on your body. So please! If you’re going to take up running, please make sure you have the proper shoes. I’m still exciting about running, even after today. I can only get better, right? Guess I’ll find out in the morning.

Exercise
Run/walk/jog (I’ll say 4.5 miles)

Weight 130.2 (my scale)
That’s a lil over a pound and it was prolly just water weight that I lost
So I have 5.2lbs to go to reach my goal by August 1

Water and Meals
16.9 oz water after workout

Meal 1
2 boiled Egg Whites
Plum
16.9 oz of Water
Green tea

When I got to work I had a cup of coffee with a splenda and some sugar free hazelnut creamer

Meal 2
Ground Turkey
Corn
16.9 oz of Water

Meal 3
Kids Meal from Chick-fil-a (Ok, so I cheated)
I will just get back on track for my next meal – At least it was a Kid’s meal. LOL!
16.9 oz Water

Meal 4
Salmon
Green Beans
16.9 oz Water

Meal 5
Tilapia
Broccoli
16.9 oz Water

Snack before bed
Blueberry yogurt
16.9 oz Water

Before I went to bed I did a Yoga Stretch DVD that I had by Tony Horton, it’s about 10 minutes long and stretched me out ok. I knew I needed to do it because I was very sore when I got home from work, so I really think that helped loosen me up.

So until later!

Day 1 (A success)

Hello!!!
So today was Day 1 for me back in the gym (after my 2 week hiatus). I worked out my entire body (upper, lower, and abs) and did Cardio as well. I can definitely tell how flabby I have gotten by taking off those couple of weeks. I was really scared to find out what my body fat was (that’s the only thing I really care about) but it only increased 1 ½% so I’m now at 25%, which is really good especially considering everything that I ate during those 2 weeks. The workout overall went well. Thank God! But I’m sure I will be feeling the pain from it tomorrow.

Side note: On yesterday I ran into an old friend of mine and she looked absolutely FABULOUS. Her back and arms were so toned that I had to ask what she was doing to stay in shape. If you haven’t figured it out yet, I’m addicted to toned arms! LOL! That will be my sign that I have officially made it! (Oh, and of course a flat tummy) I’m so tired of my shirts choking my arms b/c they are so flabby and fat. Last week alone I changed shirts several times due to the fact that the sleeves were choking my arm fat. So she informed me that she runs 5 miles 3 days a weeks and she also lifts weights. Now I know 5 miles sounds like a lot, but I’m always up for a challenge. So she told me about a running group that literally can run 5 miles in 50 minutes. Of course I won’t start out doing that but if I can get close that would be great. So I enlisted another friend of mine (she’s a newby too) to come along and our first run/walk/jog will be in the morning, so I won’t be the only person running 2 miles per hour. I’m actually excited about it oddly enough. I will start out running twice a week and hopefully I’ll be able to work up to 3 times within a few weeks, but you have to start somewhere, right!?! So for now I will work out with my trainer twice a week for weight training and run/walk/jog twice a week with the running group. So I will let you all know how that goes. Oh yeah, btw she’s 40, so if she can do it, why can’t I!?!

Measurements:
Body Fat is 25% (Which is considered acceptable)
Weight (On my scale) 131.4
Weight (Trainer’s scale) 130.4 (w/ my shoes on)
Thighs 19 inches
Abdomen 29 inches (Terrible)
Waist 31 inches
Hips 36 inches
Bust 33 inches
Arms (I believe this says 12 inches) I’ll confirm when I go back on Thursday

Goal by August 1, 2010
Weight 125
Body Fat 21% (Which is considered the Fitness range)

I’ll set my goal for September 1, 2010 based on what I accomplish by August 1st


Overall Goal: October 1, 2010
Weight 115
Body Fat 15% (Which is considered the Athletic range)

Water and Meals
20oz of water during my Workout

Breakfast
2 boiled Egg Whites
½ cup of strawberries
20 oz of Water
Green tea (Gun powder tea that I buy from the Asian grocery store)

When I got to work I had a cup of coffee with a splenda and some sugar free hazelnut creamer

Meal 2
Tilapia
Greens
20 oz of Water

Meal 3
Pure Protein Bar
20 oz of Water

Meal 4
Tilapia
Green beans
20 oz of Water

Meal 5
Salmon
Broccoli
20 0z of water

Snack before bed
Blueberry Low fat yogurt
20oz of water

Thinking Ahead
Let’s be realistic here! There will be times when you are going to cheat when it comes to your diet, but it would be a good idea to plan those cheat meals in advance.

For example, this week is my mom’s birthday. So I know we are going to go out to eat, so that’s one cheat meal. And I’m going out of town this weekend so I will probably cheat a few times (I’ll TRY and limit it to 2 and let’s not forget that it’s the 4th of July weekend so of course I’m going to have some Bar-b-que and maybe a cocktail to 2. Oh and my caramel cake that I ordered. LOL! What I will try to do is eat more healthy meals around my cheat meals and just not eat badly the entire 3 day weekend.
Now you will pay for these cheat meals you are eating, but indulging every now and then in my opinion is okay. And hopefully as you continue on your lifestyle change as it relates to your diet, you cheat meals will decrease each week as time goes on.

Biggest obstacles
Giving up my wine! I LOVE my wine; but I have to give it up (at least during the week)
Getting up early in the morning to workout (It was very hard this morning)
Not being able to have my hair done during the week (but I’ll get over it)

So until tomorrow!

Say a prayer for me about this run/walk/jog in the morning!

L

Ramping Up

So I called my trainer today to let him know that I would be returning on Monday after my 2 week hiatus. So I asked him what we were going to do, b/c I literraly have to mentally prepare myself when it comes to working out. I was thinking 5 days and week and he told me that he couldn't deal with me 5 days in a row! (the nerve!) LOL! So we're going to do 4 days a week Mon- Thurs and go from there. I hope I haven't gained too much of my body fat back, but I'll find out on Monday. Hope everyone is having a great weekend! Until Monday!
L

The Reality of a Skinny Fat Girl

So I’m creating this Blog for all the skinny fat girls! Yes skinny fat girls really do exist! We are the ones who are often able to camouflage those hidden areas that we don’t want others to see. We are the ones who look up one day and realize that we’ve gained 20 lbs out of the blue! We’re the ones looking in the mirror asking where in the hell did these love handles come from!?! But there comes a point in time where enough is enough! You know you can’t keep going on like this! Something has to change NOW or the 20 lbs will turn into 30 or 40 lbs!

I’m tired of putting on outfits and looking like I’m 5 months preggars or wearing a girdle to look like I’m only 3. Or sucking in my stomach until I’m blue in the face just to feel halfway comfortable in an outfit. So what am I going to do about it, I’m going to take back control of my body and my eating habits! How do I plan to accomplish this, you might ask? Well I’m going to start back working out with my trainer and I’m going to eat a better balanced diet. You heard it here first folks!

Skinny fat girls are often those women who were probably always skinny growing up. Could eat whatever they wanted and didn’t have to worry about gaining any weight. Don’t hate me, God made me this way and believe you me it has finally caught up with me. A few have probably even tried to gain weight in the past as well. A mistake that I made myself when I was in college because I believe all of it went to my belly. Which by the way is the last thing to go!

Our weight is mainly in our tummy, thighs and arms! Oh how’d I give my right arm just for my left arm to be toned again! LOL!

We as skinny fat girls also encounter nasty looks from others when we tell them that we want to lose weight or tone our bodies. It is often the look of death! As if we have lost our minds just because we want to lose a few pounds to feel more comfortable in our bodies and about ourselves. We are in no way anorexic or sick in the head because we want flat tummies, toned thighs and arms! You may not think anything is wrong with us, but we know what our bodies could be and this ain’t it! Oh how happy I will be when I lose my bat wings! LOL!

So, on my journey to reduce my Body Fat percentage (lose 15lbs) I will not only share my personal experiences with you but I will also educate you more on the phenomenon of the skinny fat girl! Yes it is a phenomenon. LOL!

Our first lesson will be to explain to you why the term skinny fat girl exists. Well, so many times you hear about what our ideal body weight should be based on our age, height and sex. But did you know that a person who was 5’1 and weighed 125 pounds could be considered obese. Yes it is true. I’m a living witness, I was obese, but looking at me you wouldn’t be able to tell. The highest my body fat percentage has been was 34% and I was only a 125 lbs at the time.

*American Council on Exercise Classification
Women (% fat) Men (% fat)
Essential Fat 10-12% 2-4%
Athletes 14-20% 6-13%
Fitness 21-24% 14-17%
Acceptable 25-31% 18-25%
Obese 32% plus 25% plus

So I decided to start this blog to help keep me motivated on my journey. I was actually making very good progress on my journey up until a couple of weeks ago when I had my body fat taken and it only went down .5% in a 3 week timeframe. Yes only ½ a percent!!! I was devastated!!! So I took a couple of weeks off, I initially intended to only take 1 off. See how easy it is to get out of a routine. But I refuse to let it go on to become 3. Instead of feeling defeated, mad or disappointed that I didn’t accomplish much I should have looked at the bigger picture which was that I had already lost over 10% of my body fat and focused on what areas in my process needed improvement. Now I’m wondering how much of it have I gained back in these 2 weeks!

So I will start anew on Monday June 28, 2010. I’m going to take pictures and post them, have my measurements and goals posted for all the world to see. I have a personal trainer as well b/c I know I can’t do this on my own. My prayer is that once I reach my body fat percentage goal that I will have enough motivation to be able to workout in the gym on my own.

So, are you a skinny fat girl? You wanna lose those last “10 lbs” and get your body fat percentage dowm??? Well get off the couch! Lay off the wine and let’s do this thing together!!!

So until Monday! I will have everything ready to post for you at that time as well. 4 more days!!!

I’m hope you embark on this journey with me and take back your body!!! This will not be easy, but the reward will be well worth the sacrifice!

L