How is everyone doing? I mean.. those of you that have joined me in my "get fit for life" project. (I think that is someone's trademark.. but can't remember who). How are you doing with it? Well I thought I better do a post and make sure all of you are still with me here!
Okay.. so here is the update on me so far, I have two weights I am going to post in. One is my home weight I take on my own scale, first thing in the morning with no clothes on. The second is my weight on the "doctor's" scale, at my gym: at night in my full workout attire. So there is a little bit of a difference. But I am going to list them both.
Home Weight: 151.4 (yes my scale goes to points! LOL)
Gym Weight: 154
When I started almost 2 weeks ago my weight was
Home: 155.2
Gym: 159
I made PROGRESS!!!! I also bought my first pair of 9/10's. I have this favorite pair of jeans I buy at Maurice's. They are called Haley Wide Leg. LOVE them. They fit my body perfectly. They come in short too and that's even better! Anyhow. I had a pair of 11/12's (and also had a pair of 13/14's at one time). So this last week while in Utah, I bought and fit INTO my first pair of 9/10's. I have to say I love Maurice's jeans. Mostly because you can fit into "smaller" sizes! LOL.. If it were an Old Navy size.. it would be more like 12's. But Target.. I can do 10's (if they stretch!). Anyhow.. so I am feeling pretty good. I lost several inches off my bust, waist, hips and thighs too! I really can't believe it because I didn't expect to loose anything for at least a month. That's what all the books tell you anyway. Maybe my body just got "shocked" into loosing the weight.. shocked because I have never really exercised before!
Okay, so I promised some tips from the new book I bought. So here are some.
First off this book is great for me because it also comes with a diet part and the diet is basically LOW calorie. As I have said before, Low- Calorie diets are about the ONLY diets that have ever really worked for me. I have tired low-carb, low-fat etc.. but just never worked. So I like this book alot because it is easy for me to follow the nutrition part of it. But one thing I wasn't aware of, is that protein actually DOES help you burn more fat and more calories, WHEN you are doing cardio AND weights. The reason is that protein helps build Lean muscle tissue. I know for me, I don't eat hardly enough protein in my diet, but I am not a big "meat" eater either. SO here are some tips for those of you that aren't big meat eaters either:
I bought some whey protein. You can just buy it plain and mix it in with other stuff you eat or drink (you can't really taste it). Or you can buy flavored stuff and make a shake or drink with it. Since I am trying to get into the habit of eating 5-6 meals per day (I used to only eat 2).. I make a shake for myself at about 10:30 am with the whey protein and drink it. It's actually really good and it gives my body the extra protein I need. I also have one at dinner sometimes when I just don't feel like eating meet. I will eat my veggies, bread etc.. and then have a shake for the protein. ALSO, the book says you can eat pancakes and I LOVE stuff like that. So I found some wheat and honey pancakes at Wall-mart (it's a well known brand.. just can't remember it and too tired to go look! ha! ). But surprisingly it was not only high in fiber, but has 10 grams of protein per serving and only 200 calories per serving (3-4 pancakes). The wheat makes them pretty heavy and so it feels you up pretty good. So for lunch each day I have been eating pancakes, with low-calorie syrup and like grapes or a pear. Which has been really good. So my lunch has been about 300- 350 calories. Which is great! Then I found another product that has tons of protein in it. Special "K"! Now I know I said that I wasn't going to do the cereal thing, but this book says it's okay if it's the right kind (and only for breakfast). Well I found Special "K" that has a protein boost to it with 10 grams of protein per serving! I have it with a half of banana on top and skim milk and I am good to go for breakfast. Or I eat yogurt with grape-nuts mixed in. But Special "k" has alot less sugar in it then yogurt. Plus it's got tons of fiber in it, so I am filled up. So that is one of my tips for the night. Eat more protein.. it actually DOES help you burn more fat.. and you can do it without eating tons of meat. (blah!).
Another tip it gave was to eat lots of fresh fruit, but to stay away from bottle juices because of the sugar in them EXCEPT right after you work out. He says that if you want to "boost" your metabolism after a workout and get the most benefits from the workout, you are supposed to drink 8 ounces of fruit juice (preferably grape and one other kind??), within 20 or so minutes of working out ALONG with some protein. So what I do is, just mix a scoop of whey protein in my juice and drink that after my hard workout to quench my thirst. You can also eat other stuff that has protein in it, like nuts, seeds etc. But the point is to eat both, and it will help your body burn more fat and help you benefit more from your workout.
Seriously this book is great. I mean.. If you are like me, and always have people telling you... you should do this.. you should do that.. but never know why? This book explains why.. and does a good job at it. For example: I get so frustrated because I have one friend telling me to NEVER eat banana's, they are bad for you when trying to loose weight. But then my sister tells me that she eats banana's all day long and that is how she lost all of her weight. So I TRULY believe that it's a matter of how your body works. The most important thing to do is to find out what that is and sometimes that is only by trial and error. But keep a record. If you notice you have lost some weight, figuring out what you have been eating.. etc.
I also wanted to say that the workout in this book is REALLY not that hard. Don't get me wrong, you are sweating when it's done and can feel the muscle tenderness the next day but I was afraid it was going to be something I just couldn't do. But as promised in the book, I only spent 1 hour in the gym. He gives you suggestions on cardio activities you can do, (such as bicycling, treadmill, stairstepper) and even gives you workouts to follow when you are on those machines.. but those are subject to what YOU like. But he also gives you a weight workout program that you MUST follow to the "t". Because, as he explains in the book... certain muscles, when worked out during the same session, create greater results of weight loss, then if you just randomly pick different weight lifting exercises and do them at random. So he gives you specific weights to do on day one of your 3 day a week workout, then day 2, then day 3.. and he makes sure all of the weights you are doing on one given day, are the best possible mix, to help you maximize your fat burning and gaining of lean muscle tissue.
now.. remember.. I have only been doing this book for one day (the exercise part), but I have been following the diet part for over a week. So all of the above MAY or may not work.. but I have decided to take his challenge. I figure I am in the gym anyways, I may as well follow his plan and see how it works, rather than me just guessing what I should be doing.
I will let you know how it goes!
Well i better go, it's 3 am.. and need to go to bed. But leave me post and let me know how YOUR "get fit" is going. OR if you have any good tips or ideas.. I would love to hear them and share them with others. Any good low-calorie recipes? So share!
okay.. so here's a recipe from me before I go.
This is a great snack to make (and actually a HUGE hit with my family and friends for parties). But I just recently found out it is super high in protein and fibers, and low in calorie. This is a recipe from my husband Ben, but this is my low-calorie version.
Cream Cheese Shrimp Cocktail with Wheat Crackers
1 thing (can you tell it's late and I am tired?) of non-fat cream cheese
1 can of mini shrimp- de-vined and de-tailed
3-6 tablespoons of horseradish (depending on how hot you want it)
1/2 cup of ketchup
Spread cream cheese on a serving plate or actually any kind of dinner plate. Mix ketchup with horseradish and keep adding horseradish until it's the desired "hotness" you want. (i don't think that's a word..seriously it's late). Then drain and sprinkle shrimp on top. Then use either reduced fat wheat thins or some other low calorie wheat cracker and dip into cream cheese/shrimp dip. Seriously.. SO good. I found that wheat thins, although low in calorie , don't have as much protein or fiber as the Triscuits. Also Triscuits have less sugar in them. So I got those this time. I haven't tried it yet with triscuits but I am sure it's good with any kind of cracker. I am excited to make it for a "snack"tomorrow!
So here's the calorie etc breakdown. The dip is self has the following:
Calories: 100, Protein: 16g, Fat:0g
The crackers will add another 100-130 calories depending on the ones you get, but if you get the reduced calorie triscuits, you will add another 3 grams of protein and 3 grams of fiber to your intake. With only 3 grams of fat per serving. If you get the wheat thins "thins" that come in individual 100 calorie packs, you get alot more crackers for the dipping without more calories. The protein isn't as good, but wheat thins really taste the best with the dip. You can use this in place of a midmorning snack or us it as an afternoon snack. Either way, it's really good, low calorie and lots of protein without a ton of meat.
well have a good night.
They are new this year... can't wait to see their entire line! 
They also have a bunch of cool felt products. ohh! My mouth is watering allready! 
