Hello 6 weeks! I'm happy to report that I'm still sticking to my "get lean" program and I'm definitely seeing results- which inspires me to continue. I saw on Pinterest recently a quote that said, "Summer bodies are made in the winter." Luckily, we still have some time until summer, so might as well start now! It's a bummer to be uncomfortable in your clothes when it's hot and sticky outside.
I post progress pictures on my Instagram (@honeywerehome) and use #honeywerehealthy if you want to follow along.
(This pic was snapped on Sunday, right after my shoulder workout. If only they always looked so buff!)
THE WORKOUTS
5 minute treadmill warmup (speed at 4.0), then go directly to planks. I actually held a plank for 5 minutes!!! on Sunday. (Which goes to show that often our physical ability is greater than our mental limitations.) Having my stopwatch on my phone helps because I can see how long it's been. I just felt good and wanted to see how long I could go for. When I passed 4 minutes, I held on until 5, but it was super hard. The next 2 planks I could only do 2 minutes each.
I'm also realizing that incorporating 3 planks into the workouts makes for a long workout- (3 planks for at least 3 minutes and 2 minutes rest in between = 15 minutes + 5 min warmup = 20 minutes before I even get to weights). Now that I'm lifting heavier, I rest at least one minute between sets, so the workouts take longer there too. And if I'm doing cardio at the end, that can be almost 2 hours at the gym on those days. So, I may do one plank and then pushups. Or just add in abs between sets and skip planks all together. I could easily just do planks at home. We'll see.
Also, I want to build my booty, so I'm doing squats and kickbacks every couple days (even on non-leg days).
Finally, I find that I really need more rest to recover. My body is tired! I'm trying to get at least 8 hours a night but it's hard because I'm a night owl. My alarm goes off at 6:30 a.m. and those mornings come fast! (Especially last week with the time change.)
I'm also realizing that incorporating 3 planks into the workouts makes for a long workout- (3 planks for at least 3 minutes and 2 minutes rest in between = 15 minutes + 5 min warmup = 20 minutes before I even get to weights). Now that I'm lifting heavier, I rest at least one minute between sets, so the workouts take longer there too. And if I'm doing cardio at the end, that can be almost 2 hours at the gym on those days. So, I may do one plank and then pushups. Or just add in abs between sets and skip planks all together. I could easily just do planks at home. We'll see.
Also, I want to build my booty, so I'm doing squats and kickbacks every couple days (even on non-leg days).
Finally, I find that I really need more rest to recover. My body is tired! I'm trying to get at least 8 hours a night but it's hard because I'm a night owl. My alarm goes off at 6:30 a.m. and those mornings come fast! (Especially last week with the time change.)
Wednesday - Bicep/Tricep, 3 planks (3 min each), Cardio- 30 minutes on stair master at Level 60
Thursday - Legs, 3 planks (2 for 3 min- was going on 5 hours of sleep) Cardio- 15 minutes on treadmill at 3.5 (this isn't really a cardio workout, but more of a way to stretch my legs after lifting heavy leg weights to make me less sore later).
Friday - Off
You can see my specific workouts here:
I'm still on THIS MEAL PLAN. *UPDATE: I'm adding 1/3 cup of carbs (brown rice) to the two earlier meals.
7:00 a.m. oatmeal, coffee with creamer, (and 3 egg whites- just started adding that this week
9:30 a.m. protein shake (lately 1 scoop of protein powder with 8 oz 1% milk)
11:00 p.m. lean protein and veggies and 1/3 cup of brown rice
3:00 p.m. lean protein and veggies and 1/3 cup of brown rice or greek yogurt
6:00 p.m. lean protein and veggies
8:30-9 egg white omelet or greek yogurt
I snacked on cashews and celery with natural peanut butter.
It's not difficult to prepare the meals since I usually cook in big batches (I find it's actually more time consuming and hard to come up with different meals for each day and then cook that night), but it's hard to be eating every few hours. The times above are a guide, but if I'm hungry, I eat and if I'm not, I don't. I'm not "forcing" myself to eat at those times. I also keep my portions on the smaller size, and I don't eat until I'm stuffed. I've found that this way of eating has helped keep my energy steady throughout the day.
I hate running low on my food and worrying about quickly having to cook something, so this week I'm prepared!
It's not difficult to prepare the meals since I usually cook in big batches (I find it's actually more time consuming and hard to come up with different meals for each day and then cook that night), but it's hard to be eating every few hours. The times above are a guide, but if I'm hungry, I eat and if I'm not, I don't. I'm not "forcing" myself to eat at those times. I also keep my portions on the smaller size, and I don't eat until I'm stuffed. I've found that this way of eating has helped keep my energy steady throughout the day.
I hate running low on my food and worrying about quickly having to cook something, so this week I'm prepared!
I use 3-cup Glad containers that I bought at my grocery store, but I found some online at Amazon too.
"Cheat" meals this week included:
Monday- evening hot cocoa
Thursday- 2 pieces of pizza
Friday- Starbuck's iced tall 2-pump mocha, no whip.
Saturday- BBQ (2 ribs, loaded baked potato (but they forgot the bacon:( 1/2 cup jalepeno creamed corn.
Saturday- BBQ (2 ribs, loaded baked potato (but they forgot the bacon:( 1/2 cup jalepeno creamed corn.
I also had 2 of these WW ice creams bars this week. They are really good!
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