On eating

One thing I discovered on my weight loss journey and my road to Strongwoman is that EATING is incredibly important. Too many people starve themselves when they try and loose weight. This not only slows down your body's metabolism, but your muscles are not receiving enough fuel to burn the fat which you need to loose !

The key to success is simple:

• eat 5-6 meals per day
• take in "good carbs"
• take in "good fats"
• always incude a source of protein in each meal
• eat at home before you go to social functions, football games, school events, meetings...you will not be hungary, and you are less likely to grab something unhealthy!
  

Keep good foods in your bag or car..sunflower seeds, water, apples, granola, almonds....so if you miss a meal cause you'r running the kids all over God's reation, you at least have something to snack on !

Check out teambix.com's nutrition section - there is TONS of information regarding nutrition! That's where I educated myself...

Remember...this is a LIFE CHANGE, not a diet. This isn't to say I don't treat myself to a little something here and there - I'm human !

1/6/09 Quickie post

I have to record this...
I did Sumo Dead Lifts last night at 235pounds !!!!!

Day 1 of Training

Ok folks- I started training today - I am doing the Westside Barbell Training method. I did not have my trainer today, although I followed some advice from my teambix.com pros - so I started with a DE day. DE means Dynamic Effort. The idea here is to go for max weight with speed. As opposed to ME, or Maximun Effort days, when you max out wour weights to the point of failure ( I think) - I am at the bottom of the learning curve here.

I ended up with the following for the day:
Bench Press - 10*45;10*55; 10*65; 10*75 ( this means I did 10 reps with each weight level)
Overhead Barbell Press 10*45; 10*55; 10*65; 3*75 ( I could not get my left shoulder to cooperate) I have some major work to do here to increase the strength.
EZ Bar Incline Skull Crushers 10*20' 10*30; 10/40*2 ( this means I did 10 sets of each weight with the exception of the 40 pounder 0 I did 2 sets of 10)
Lat Pull Down machine 10*65;10*70; 10*75

I also did 20 minutes of cardio - split between the ellyptical and the treadmill

I ate 5 meals so far today:
8 AM - protein shake with Peanut Butter, bananna and yogurt and glutamine
10:30AM- egg beaters with mushrooms and turkey bacon
3:00 PM- Another Protein Shake 0 just water and whey powwder ( missed lunch - not advisable) BCAA And Creating 2E
5:30 PM- Another Protein Shake pot work out with my BCAA's and Creatine 2E ( mocha and yogurt)
7:30 PM 12 oz flounder and sweet potato
I willclose out the evening with carrots and apple ( need some crunchies)

I took some video and posted to youtube. Here's the link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IKTNzwAjqc
I'll attempt to link through this blog- but I'mstill learning here as well.

I have a spreadsheet which I will update weekly and post - it includes my weight, BMI, Fat % and includes my weight lifting progress. I will chart it and try and post as well. ( I purchased BMI and Fat Loss monitor for $30.00)

This is very hard for me to do - to put myself out there - seeing myself in the gym, posting my weight and stats for all to see - but I have come leaps and bounds since Jan '08 and I know I can do this. I hope to inspire some of you who struggle with similar issues of weight and low self esteem.

As for my friends - please be kind with the comments !