BIP (Babe in Progress)

C1W3D1

2005-08-22T08:39:00.000-07:00

Another day! Wow, it's really difficult eating whatever you want on free day and getting back on track. I've done fine today so far, but I feel like grazing. I think it's because my breakfast sucked. I really didn't like the consistency of the protein powder mixed with the oatmeal. I wish I could find a decent protein powder :/ I've been using Designer Whey in Vanilla to get rid of it. I'm wondering if I should go for a non-flavored, or just try small containers of vanilla and chocolate so that I have them for recipes. I can't decide. Anyone try Optimum Nutrition flavored proteins? Anyone even out there reading ;)

Nutrition
------------------
Meal 1: 8:45am
1/2 cup oatmeal w/1 scoop protein powder

Meal 2: 11:00am
7 triscuits w/ 1/2 cup cottage cheese
nectarine
1 tsp npb

C1W2D7

2005-08-21T17:42:00.000-07:00

Free day! Wooohooo! I didn't run yesterday or Friday, so I had to get a run in today. I was totally putting it off, but finally at 8:00pm I decided to go for it. I think I got my first runner's high in a LONG time. It felt great. The levels I was struggling with last week were much easier for some reason. Maybe it was the day's off? Who knows. I went about a tenth of a mile more than usual, which I consider an accomplishment for a non-runner like me :)

I'll fill in meals from yesterday and today later. Off to hit the showers. Just wanted to write quick while I still had that high.

C1W2D6

2005-08-20T12:54:00.000-07:00

So, I didn't workout yesterday. Not great of me to do, but I'll just have to workout on my free day tomorrow. No big deal really. Maybe it will help keep me in line a little bit on free day, maybe not. I'll definitely be having a little ice cream, and I'm dying for those walnut-crusted french toast again. Not sure if we'll make it to the diner or not.

Other than that, everything's going pretty well :)

Nutrition
------------
Meal 1: 12:10pm
Protein Pancake

Meal 2: 2:15pm
7 triscuits with cottage cheese

Meal 3: 5:30pm
Shredded chicken
1/2 cup brown rice

Meal 4: 8:30pm
Turkey Meatloaf (EFL)
1 cup green beans
1/2 cup brown rice

Meal 5: 10:30pm
Protein Pudding

C1W2D5

2005-08-19T07:23:00.000-07:00

I really did not feel like doing my cardio yesterday. I've had a funky stomach the past 2 days and I was using every excuse to not exercise, but I did anyways. I'm really pleased with myself for getting through it though. And I actually got in a full minute at level 10, so that's an improvement.

Still working on getting used to eating cottage cheese. The Breakstone Small Curd variety is much better than the store brand that I tried to eat the other day. I even mixed a tiny bit with some splenda last night and ate it!

Nutrition
-------------------
Meal 1: 9:45am
3 ew/1 we fried in pan
1/2 cup oatmeal with a little milk and splenda

Meal 2: 12:45pm
3oz enchilada chicken
1/2 cup brown rice
peach

Meal 3: 3:15pm
Asian Beef Stir Fry
1/2 cup cottage cheese with splenda

Meal 4: 6:15pm
2 Fiber One Bars :(

Meal 5: 9:15pm
2 lite beers
large salad with grilled chicken, caesar dressing on side
bread stick :(

C1W2D4

2005-08-18T06:50:00.000-07:00

Wow, these weeks are totally flying by! Which is a good thing, I guess. Did a great UBWO last night. Definitely focused on each bicep lift because I can feel it today. Moved up in weights on my back too. I'm between weights on most everything else. I start out with the 5lbs which are quite easy, but by the time I get to the 15lbs, they're too heavy. Soon, they'll be easier, I'm sure, but I want to keep progressing and not stalling.

Nutrition
-------------
Meal 1: 8:00am
3x1 omelette with spinach, mushrooms and 1 string cheese
1/4 cup dried fruit

Meal 2: 11:00am
7 triscuits with cottage cheese

Meal 3: 2:15pm
2 EFL Chicken Enchiladas

Meal 4: 5:00pm
7 triscuits with cottage cheese
3 cherry tomatoes
1tsp Nat. PB

Meal 5: 8:30pm
EFL Asian Beef Stirfry
(think I overate a little on this one)
1/8 cup cc with little splenda (just want to keep trying to get used to it)

Fitness
--------------
20 minutes HIIT cardio - running on treadmill (1.3 miles); full minute level 10

C1W2D3

2005-08-17T09:32:00.000-07:00

So, I ate out last night. Hhmmph. But I got a salad and definitely controlled myself with the chips and salsa. How can you not go to Chili's and have those? I also had a beer too. I didn't finish it, but the first few sips were completely refreshing and satisfying!

I also found my Nike Shox yesterday. I bought a size 9 when I'm normally in a size 7.5-8. The girl at the store said I could return them if I walked around the house and found that I didn't like them. Well, I did my cardio with them on the treadmill and let me tell ya, I got the worst straining in my calf muscle. Usually it's on the side which I attributed to old shoes, but this was in the back in the muscle. The Shox made me feel like I was wearing high heels, pushing me even more forward onto the ball of my foot...not good for someone who has a tendency to run on her toes. Definitely don't need the extra help with that. I ended up getting a different style of Nike's last night, and I'll give them a try tomorrow, even though I'm dying to wear them now. I'm still like a little kid when I get new sneakers. I'd wear them out of the store if it didn't make me look like such a dork!

I think I'll pick one of my most perfect days per week and plug it into FitDay, just to see where my ratios are and how everything calculates out. What an eye-opener! I plugged in Monday's meals, and it said I ate 30% fat!! Is that right? I think I could up the protein slightly, but according to Skwigg, eating 8-10x your weight in calories is good for fat loss on BFL, and I was right about at 8x, so I was pleased with that.

On another note, I still need to take my start photos. I'm definitely procrastinating, but I have to do it. They were such a motivator last time. I did take my measurements, so at least I have those.

Nutrition
---------------
Meal 1: 8:15am
1/4 batch Protein Pancakes

Meal 2: 11:15am
Yogurt with 1/2 cup cottage cheese, sprinkled with 2T bran buds (didn't finish)

Meal 3: 1:30pm
3oz grilled chicken over 1 cup lettuce with 5 cherry tomatoes
1tsp lite italian dressing
1 small peach

Meal 4: 3:30pm
Fiber One Protein Bar

Meal 5: 6:30pm
Fiber One Protein Bar

Meal 6: 9:00pm
4 oz grilled chicken
3/4 cup brown rice with 1 tsp BB spread
cucumbers, red peppers, yellow squash (about 2 cups total)

Fitness
------------
Upper body workout

C1W2D2

2005-08-16T07:32:00.000-07:00

HIIT Cardio is tough!
I honestly didn't think I was going to make it through today's workout. I only did 30 seconds of my level 10, but I really had to push myself to make it that far.

Good sneakers are hard to come by - at least in size 8.5!

Last night me and DH went out shopping for new running sneakers for me. I've heard good things about the Nike Shox, so I decided to try them on and splurge if they were comfortable. Plus the investment might keep me motivated. My old sneakers, which really aren't old at all, are too small for running. Well, we went to at least 8 stores which specialize in sneakers and/or sports equipment and not one of them had my size to try on. They didn't even have a size 8 for me to squeeze into just so I could give the shox a go. What a bummer! Off now to give the mall a shot at helping my cardio along.

Nutrition
--------------
Meal 1 - 8:30am
3x1 omelette with mushrooms, spinach and one string cheese
1/2 cup oatmeal

Meal 2 - 11:30am
small peach
1/2 cup tuna fish

Meal 3 - 2:45pm
Fiber One Bar

Meal 4 - 4:45pm
Fiber One Bar

Meal 5 - 7:30pm
Huge Caesar salad with grilled chicken, about 2tsps Caesar dressing, ate croutons and parm. cheese
1 large miller lite
a couple tortilla chips and salsa - couldn't resist eating them at Chili's!

Fitness
--------------
20 minutes HIIT running on treadmill; only 30 seconds at level 10

C1W2D1

2005-08-15T11:34:00.000-07:00

Well, back on track today. I did cardio this morning in lieu of the standard leg workout. I really don't want to bulk up my legs *at all*. I do understand the premise that building muscle will burn more calories and that the leg muscles are very large, etc. but I know my leg muscles are pretty big to begin with, covered with lots of fat. I'll evaluate my progress after this challenge, but until then, I'll be doing cardio in place of legs.

Now onto my cardio evaluation. I'm a sucky runner to begin with so I don't expect too much from myself especially this early in the challenge, but I have definitely improved slightly over the past week. It's not so difficult, and I wasn't dreading it as much this morning...probably because it is getting easier. I'll be going for some new sneakers tonight because all of mine are too small for running.

Nutrition
------------
Meal 1: 10:30am
3x1 omelette with spinach, mushrooms, and 1 string cheese
4 pieces mixed dried fruit
253 cals, 21 g protein, 29 g carb (6g carbs from spinach/mushrooms)

Meal 2: 1:10pm
3 oz grilled chicken over lettuce, mushrooms, grape tomatoes
small peach
tiny bit of italian dressing made with olive oil
175 cals, 20g protein, 16g carbs (5g carbs from veggies)

Meal 3: 3:15pm
Fiber One Protein Bar (Recipe here)
228 cals, 22.2g prot, 30g carbs

Meal 4: 6:30pm
Large salad with 4 oz grilled chicken
Olive oil and vinegar
1/2 pita bread
386 cals, 27 prot, 30g carbs (6 from veggies)

Meal 5: 9:30pm
Fiber One Protein Bar (Recipe here)
228 cals, 22.2g prot, 30g carbs

Totals for day: 1287 cals, 112g protein, 136g carbs, 29g fiber - 30% fat, 34% carbs, 36% protein
------------

Workout:
------------
Cardio: 9:30am
20 minutes HIIT running on treadmill plus 3 min. cool down
Total distance: 1.3 miles (told ya I sucked at running)
------------

C1W1D7

2005-08-14T17:57:00.000-07:00

So, I've made it through a full week. Woohoo! Definitely enjoying my free day today, but trying to not completely overdo it. I mean, I'm eating things that I want, but I'm really not craving anything. I would think that would have to do with how hot it is out today. I had incredible walnut-crusted french toast, complete with real! butter and syrup, for brunch. It was heavenly. I had a small bag of cheeze puffs for "lunch", and I'm getting ready to go make chicken and corn on the cob for dinner. I'm begging DH to go out for ice cream. I haven't had it in a week. ;) That sounds incredibly bad that I think making it a week without ice cream is something to be happy about. Wonder why I'm on BFL now, huh? I would love to have a soft serve vanilla with cherry dip. I haven't had it all summer and I would love to have one for dessert tonight.

Back on track again tomorrow :)

C1W1D5

2005-08-12T18:19:00.000-07:00

So, I'm a few days late in starting this journal, but I have actually been following the plan for the last five days so I'm not too much of a slacker. I'll be partaking in the BFL program for the next 12 weeks (well, almost 11 now). It's not my first challenge, but since I'm even heavier than I was before I started the previous 3 challenges, I'm ok with calling this Challenge 1.

Here, I'll be posting my daily eating plans. I'm not really sure if I'll get to posting my daily workouts, but I'll try. Still need to get some photos and measurements taken, but they'll be up shortly.

Meal 1: 9:30am
4 oz tuna on whole wheat pita

Meal 2: 12:00pm
Salad with grilled chicken and croutons

Meal 3: 3:15pm
4 oz tuna on whole wheat pita

Meal 4: 6:00pm
4 oz tuna on whole wheat pita

Meal 5: 8:30pm
3 oz chicken, 1/2 cup brown rice

Meal 6: 10:30pm
protein jello

Workout
20 minutes HIIT Cardio Running on Treadmill