Next Phase: Turning up the heat!

'Warm-up week' is drawing to a close and my mindset is changing rapidly too. I have been taking this time to make substitutions in my diet and incorporate exercise into my routine. This might not sound like much but considering it's been since the summer that I have had any kind of fitness routine, I'm happy with my progress. The next part of my plan begins this Sunday, April 1st (not an April Fool's joke, I swear!).

At this point I'm going to be following this exercise schedule:

Cardio:

6 days/week @ 1 hr and 45 minutes/day
(stairclimber, running outside)

Weights:

3-4 days/week @ 45 minutes
(Day 1- legs/abs, Day 2- arms/chest, Day 3- back/calves/abs, Day 4- Shoulders, Tris and Traps)

This is a rough idea and the weights will change a bit depending on the day but this is a pretty good outline of what I'm looking at. Of course, I could spend my entire lifetime in the gym and it wouldn't mean a damn thing if I wasn't eating well. I like doing meal plans for 1-2 weeks at a time (with 1, 500-700 calorie max. cheat meal/week). For me it's easier because I can plot out my grocery list easier and pack my cooler for work without having to think about it. Here is my meal plan for the next two weeks:

Breakfast
2 slices whole wheat raisin bread (260 cal., 5 g. fat, 48 g. carbs, 8 g. protein)
1 tbsp. natural peanut butter (100 cal., 8 g. fat, 3 g. carbs, 4 g. protein)
1 cup 1% cottage cheese (200 calories, 3 g fat, 14 g carbs, 30 g. protein)
coffee (obviously!) (approx. 50 calories)
= 610 calories (16 g. fat, 65 g. carbs, 42 g. protein)

Snack
1 clementine (35 cal., 0.1 fat g., 8.9 g. carbs, 0.6 g. protein)
1/2 cup greek yogurt (65 cal., 0.0 g. fat, 4.7 g. carbs, 12 g. protein)
1 oz. raw almonds (164 cal., 14.3 g fat, 5.6 g. carbs, 6 g. protein)
= 264 calories (14.4 g. fat, 19.3 g carbs, 18.6 protein)

Lunch
1 lg. apple (115 cal., 0.4 g. fat, 30.8 g. carbs, 0.6 g protein)
1 tbsp. natural peanut butter (100 cal., 8 g. fat, 3 g. carbs, 4 g. protein)
Tuna Pasta Salad
1 cup cooked whole wheat pasta (180 cal., 2 g. fat, 41 g. carbs, 7 g. protein)
1 can chunk light tuna in water (140 cal, 1 g. fat, 0 g. carbs, 30 g., protein)
2 tbsp. greek yogurt (approx. 30 calories)
celery and shallots to taste
= 565 calories (11.4 g. fat, 79.8 g carbs, 41.6 g. protein)

Snack
Shake
1 scoop Greco powder (145 cal., 0.4 g. fat, 1 g. carbs, 37 g. protein)
Vege greens (47 cal., 0 g. fat, 3 g. carbs, 3 g. protein)
Phytoberries (30 cal., 0.5 g. fat, 10 g. carbs, 0 g. protein)
1 cup whole strawberries (46 cal., 0.4 g. fat, 11.1 g. carbs, 1 g. protein)
= 268 cal. (1.3 g. fat, 25.1 g. carbs, 41 g. protein)

Dinner
6 oz. tilapia (raw when measured) (163 calories, 2.9 g fat, 0 g. carbs, 34.2 g. protein)
Lemon juice and Mrs. Dash to taste
TONNES of veggies! (approx. 30 calories)

TOTAL= 1900 calories (46 g fat, 189.2 g carbs, 177.4 g. protein)

I'm sure this probably looks like I'm kind of obsessive writing out all of this detail, but I like to know exactly what I'm eating. And honestly, getting in shape is a numbers game---calories in, calories out. If you aren't keeping tabs on what you're eating and how much of it, then you are going to run into problems eventually. And since I'm weight training, I want to make sure I'm eating enough and not destroying the muscle I'm trying to build. Down the road I would love to try eating gluten/dairy free but I think this is a good start. :)

So all in all, things are going great. Weight loss wise I'm right on track from this 'warm up' and I'm so excited to see what happens once I start kicking it into high gear. I'm hearing great things from people who are also training, so keep it up--- you guys are doing great and inspiring me daily.

I'm going to posting some photos great new workout stuff I bought so I'll share that in the next couple days. I'm really excited about these and I think you will be too!

As always, thanks for reading and I hope to hear from you all very soon! ;)

Excuses

Time has become a precious commodity to me.

I remember a time when I could waste a weekend without a second thought because I knew the following week would be a steady mix of my highschool classes and some fun, after-school programs. My stress level was realistically about a 5 and at the time, I  felt like I could handle what was on my plate with ease.

These days, weeks fly by faster and months are gone in a flash. I still can't believe we're almost out of March now! I know that this is because I work full-time and my schedule has been an adjustment. It's been great to have a steady structure in my day, but like the rest of the rat race, I'm often itching for Friday to just 'hurry up and get here!' so I can catch my breath. I don't think I'm the only one who feels like this and it's not just limited to people who work. Stress and time management is a huge issue for people in University and College because your schedule is often so erratic and ever-changing that it can be hard to institute a routine. And if you have kids? Don't even get me started...

When the majority of your time is given to others, it's understandable that the last place you want to be is the gym. Let's be honest, no one really looks forward to going to the gym all the time, do they? For me, I usually hate the idea of it until I get there and then I start to get excited and pumped for my workout. But getting there is tough. No lie.

Now that I've started this process, I realize that I have to get my priorities straight. Work is absolutely important and I also happen to really love my job. However, it's not my top priority right now. When I think about what I want and what makes me happy, it's getting in shape and achieving this goal. Plain and simple.

Realizing this, I have started making some adjustments to my schedule and taking some control back. I have coordinated with my boss to take shorter lunch hours, 3 times/week, in order to take 2 longer lunch hours so I can go workout. I had tried going to the gym on my regular lunch hour and it was terrible---a 20 minute workout and I didn't even get to shower! Ew. So this was an easy fix to a problem...all I had to do was ask!

My point is, is that it's a start. I don't have any answers, but I can only share what's been working for me so far. If you are like me (or some of the other people I've been chatting with who read this blog) and fitness is really important to you, then make it a top priority. Look at what is stopping you and try to see if you can find a way to make some changes. My sister is a great example of this. She has a (beautiful, intellingent, amazing!) baby, Vince, but she has still managed to make it a priority. As anyone with kids knows, it's exhausting but she still manages to wake up at 5 a.m. to go workout. If that's not prioritizing, I don't know what is.

I'd love to hear from you to know what your obstacles are with getting in shape and how you manage to make it work. Everyone has unique struggles and I think it's really interesting to know how other people do it.

Thanks for reading and I hope to hear from you. Please feel free to comment on my Facebook page "Iron and Asphalt"!


Happy training :)

Warm Up Week

I'm a big believer in easing myself into things. I was never that kid who just jumped in a cold pool...I always walked in. Was it more uncomfortable? Sure. But having time to get adjusted to my surroundings was better to me than a shock to the system. This might not be the best way of doing things in other people's eyes, but I'm starting to learn that ultimately you have to do what works for you. And this doesn't just apply in terms of getting in shape but to life in general.
I'm treating this week as a warm up week for this process. Rather than cutting everything out and hitting the gym 5-6 days a week (which I plan on doing!), I've been working in cardio, cutting down on caffiene and diet coke and of course, starting to replace the junk with healthy food. Its only been a couple of days and I already feel so much better. It's amazing what doing something as simple as drinking a few liters of water a day will do for you. It's been great because I've been staying late at work (tax season!) and will be doing so for the next month and a half, so I can only imagine what would happen if I didn't stay on top of it right now. I would be buried in my cubicle surrounded by 10,000 Tim Horton's coffee cups and wrappers from 'everything bagels with herb and garlic cream cheese'...Ok, can't lie, that sounds awesome to me right now. lol




Also, a part of me wants to just be able to do when I was fitter. It's very frustrating not being able to do what you once could do so easily. I've been looking in to joining a women's recreational basketball league at Carleton University, and was going to join today but if I'm being honest with myself, I'm not conditioned enough for something like that. In order to be competitive, I'm going to need to give this a little time to get on track.

When I get frustrated, as I have a couple of times so far and sure I will a lot more in the future, I just think about how you can't think about your past as if it was the present. It's not reality anymore and therefore it's of no value at this point in time. If you're like me and am trying to get in/back in shape, I really believe that there's a reason for why you are where you are at this moment in time. There's a lesson to learn in what you're going through but you have to be willing to embrace it!

Some of you have already started messaging me to tell me about your fitness goals, plans, tips and frustrations! I love it! It's been really interesting and inspiring to hear other people's perspectives and stories. I've really enjoyed talking to each of you guys and truly appreciate the support. So I'm gonna throw it a question back to you, the reader! What are some inspirational/motivational quotes, sayings, philosophies that help you get to the gym and through your workout?

P.S. I've decided that once I'm at my goal weight I'm gonna post my 'before photos'. Don't worry, I'll give you fair warning. Haha

Welcome to "Iron and Asphalt"

So! Here we are. A big thanks to you (yes you!) for taking a moment to read this note. You might be wondering what it is. No, I'm not trying to sell you anything. At least not until I can get that ponzi scheme of mine up and running. What you have come across is the beginning of a series of notes that will centre around my getting-in-shape efforts.

Like many people, I have been sucked into the eat-more-workout-less vortex that are those post high school years. Admittedly I was never exactly top of the cheerleading pyramid material, but all of that structure and access to organized sports helped to keep my hereditary "horse thighs" at bay. Now I'm all done university and have been working for six months which happens to include long stretches at my cubicle. Great for my lazy sensibility but hell on my ass. My sister has boldly taken the step of posting her daily weight in her status updates as a way of keeping accountable. The bravery of our family ended with her. I won't be doing that. For me, it's not as much about weight as it is about getting and feeling healthy again. I will be keeping up with this series of notes, in which I will be as honest about this process as I can be. It's about to get 'real' up in here, y'all...hah.

To keep with this 'honesty train' I'm on, let me say that this was not an easy decision to start this up. I try my best to not be overly self-indulgent with facebook. That's really not the point of this. I really hope that people who are in the same position that I'm in will find this to be an entertaining, thought/discussion provoking and hopefully, motivating series. If anyone would like to take part and write similar notes, please tag me in them as I would love to read them. If you are not so comfortable sharing on facebook, I would also be happy to read any private messages you may want to send me about your own experience or any questions or comments you may have. Whether we know eachother well or not doesn't matter, we're all friends here!


I like goals, so here's mine. Ultimately I'm working towards competing in a figure competition (bikini division) by 2014. If you want to see what it is I'm talking about, you can google some of my fitness favorites---Dianna Dahlgren, Justine Munro, Jaime Eason and Erin Stern just to name a few! From what I've heard it requires a full year of training to get conditioned so I imagine a two year window is reasonable to get everything up and running. Everything in this series will be written with that goal in mind. So thanks in advance to anyone who is planning on keeping an eye out for this series. Should be fun!
And now we're at the end. Well done if you've read to this point. You get a cookie. Just kidding, you get some broccoli. ;)