Saturday 30 June 2012

Day 209.

Consumed 2300 calories. Insanity, pole fitness.

Back to the usual calorie deficit tomorrow.

Friday 29 June 2012

Day 208. Body composition test

Consumed 4400 calories. Weight lifting, Insanity.

Results from my body composition test this morning say I lost fat and gained the same amount back in muscle. Now at 17.1% body fat, a new all time low!

Yesterday I set a new 5 rep max for some of my weight lifting exercises, and I finished the rest today. I'm beyond pleased at how strong I'm getting!

Long story short, all of this awesomeness happening at once resulted in me deciding I deserved a reward and so I had pizza today. A lot of pizza haha!

Thursday 28 June 2012

Wednesday 27 June 2012

Tuesday 26 June 2012

Monday 25 June 2012

Day 204.

Consumed 1900 calories. Weight lifting, Insanity, cycling.

Sunday 24 June 2012

Day 203. Week 29 stats


Day 203 photo




















Consumed >2300 calories. Rest day.

Week 29 stats (in bold):
Stomach: 29.75 in -> 29.5
Chest: 30.0 in -> 30.0
Biceps: 10.25 in -> 10.0
Hips: 36.25 in -> 36.0
Thigh: 19.0 in -> 19.0
Calf: 13.25 in -> 13.25
Waist: 27.0 in -> 26.75

Skinfold: 10 mm -> 9
Weight: 128.8 lbs -> 130.2

Saturday 23 June 2012

Day 202.

Consumed >3600 calories. Cycling, pole fitness, Insanity.

Not sure what happened with my intake today. Just couldn't stop eating.

Friday 22 June 2012

Day 201.

Consumed 1900 calories. Weight lifting, cycling, Insanity.

Thursday 21 June 2012

Day 200. OMG 200!

Consumed 1900 calories. Cycling, Insanity.

I can't believe it's been 200 days already! Today I talked to a friend I hadn't seen in a while. When he asked what I've been doing lately and I said that I'd been doing a lot of exercise as per usual, his response was a shocked "Still??" As if once I'd gotten to a point where I was happy with my body I'd stop! Fitness isn't a 2 week crash diet, it's a lifestyle. There is no way I will let my body slip back even a little to the sorry mess it used to be. No way.

Wednesday 20 June 2012

Tuesday 19 June 2012

Day 198.

Consumed 1900 calories. Cycling, Insanity, pole fitness.

Monday 18 June 2012

Day 197. Applesauce substitute

Consumed 1850 calories. Weight lifting, Insanity.

As I went to bake some protein cake today, I discovered that I needed applesauce but had no applesauce or apples on hand! I certainly wasn't going to run out to buy some, so I improvised. What is applesauce really but pureed apples? And what is pureed apple but fiber and apple juice? From this line of reasoning, I decided to mix fiber in the form of oat bran with some mango orange juice in a 1:1 ratio. The result was a mixture that had an applesauce-like consistency and texture. Surprisingly (or maybe not?), 3 tbsp oat bran + 3 tbsp juice = 1/4 cup. The final baked product came out exactly as if I'd used applesauce! High five!

The ramifications of this discovery are profound. Not only can I put applesauce into baked goods, but also grapesauce, lemonsauce, and every other kind of fruit sauce! No longer am I confined to apples as the sole supplemental source of moisture and sweetness in my cakes etc!

Am I perhaps a little too excited about this? Nah :)

Sunday 17 June 2012

Day 196. Week 28 stats


Day 196 photo



















Consumed 1750 calories. Rest day.

Week 28 stats (in bold):
Stomach: 30.0 in -> 29.75
Chest: 30.0 in -> 30.0
Biceps: 10.0 in -> 10.25
Hips: 36.0 in -> 36.25
Thigh: 18.75 in -> 19.0
Calf: 13.25 in -> 13.25
Waist: 26.75 in -> 27.0

Skinfold: 11 mm -> 10
Weight: 128.8 lbs -> 128.8

Saturday 16 June 2012

Friday 15 June 2012

Thursday 14 June 2012

Day 193.

Consumed 1900 calories. Weight lifting, cycling, insanity.

Wednesday 13 June 2012

Day 192.

Consumed 1900 calories. Pole fitness, cycling, Insanity.

Tuesday 12 June 2012

Day 191.

Consumed 2000 calories. Weight lifting, pole fitness, cycling.

Finally well enough to return to my training. Happy day!

Monday 11 June 2012

Day 190.

Consumed 1650 calories. Rest day.

I hope I will feel good enough to exercise tomorrow.

Saturday 9 June 2012

Day 189. Week 27 stats

Day 189 photo




















Consumed 1800 calories. Rest day.

I'm feeling considerably better today than yesterday, though still undoubtedly ill. Measurements are in, and I'm happy to report that I've finally got my calories figured out because I am once again losing fat.

Week 27 stats (in bold):
Stomach: 30.5 in -> 30.0
Chest: 30.25 in -> 30.0
Biceps: 10.0 in -> 10.0
Hips: 36.0 in -> 36.0
Thigh: 18.75 in -> 18.75
Calf: 13.25 in -> 13.25
Waist: 27.25 in -> 26.75

Skinfold: 12 mm -> 11
Weight: 130.2 lbs -> 128.8

Day 188. Really sick

Consumed >1650 calories. Rest day.

I hate being sick. That is all.

Friday 8 June 2012

Day 187. Sick

Consumed 1900 calories. Insanity, weight lifting.

Definitely caught my flatmate's flu. Noooo!

Thursday 7 June 2012

Day 186. Hungry

Consumed 1950 calories. Insanity, cycling, pole fitness.

I think I finally got the calories right because I've been SO HUNGRY all week. I hate being hungry, but I'm glad that my body is finally responding again. I'm almost hoping that my Sunday measuring shows that I've lost some lean body mass so I'll have a good reason to increase my intake... This whole being hungry thing doesn't agree well with me.

Wednesday 6 June 2012

Day 185. Weekly picture

Consumed 1900 calories. Insanity, weight lifting.

I've decided that I will post weekly pictures instead of daily ones. I just can't be bothered taking pictures everyday anymore. The weekly picture will be posted on sundays.

Tuesday 5 June 2012

Day 184.

Consumed 1900 calories. Insanity, pole fitness, cycling.

Monday 4 June 2012

Day 183. Burn the Fat 2012 - Day 1!

Day 183 photo




















Consumed 1900 calories. Insanity, lifted weights, cycled.

Today is Day 1 of 98 in the Burn the Fat 2012 competition. I'm very excited to be a part of this, and more so because I'm doing this with a team of four other lovely ladies.

Sunday 3 June 2012

Day 182. Week 26 stats

Day 182 photo




















Consumed >2600 calories. Rest day.

Thus concludes the weekend off dieting. It was nice eating what I wanted when I wanted, but I've happily found that I prefer healthy food in small portions rather than unhealthy food in large portions. Tomorrow, the crusade against my excess fat begins anew.

Week 26 stats (in bold):
Stomach: 30.0 in -> 30.5
Chest: 30.25 in -> 30.25
Biceps: 9.75 in -> 10.0
Hips: 36.0 in -> 36.0
Thigh: 19.0 in -> 18.75
Calf: 13.5 in -> 13.25
Waist: 27.0 in -> 27.25

Skinfold: 11 mm -> 12
Weight: 130.0 lbs -> 130.2

Saturday 2 June 2012

Day 181. Stuffed

Day 181 photo




















Consumed >3100 calories. Walked >2 hours, pole fitness.

Taking this weekend off from strict dieting to recoup my wits before the 3 month-long competition. I wasn't planning on eating so much today, and I have to say, I don't like feeling stuffed.

Friday 1 June 2012

Day 180. Depressed...not

Day 180 photo




















Consumed ~2500 calories. Lifted weights.

I haven't been this sad in a long time. What is all the calorie and macronutrient counting for if it doesn't produce the desired or expected results? Two months wasted. Granted in the last week or two I haven't been completely compliant with my nutrition plan, but I certainly did not eat so much as to gain an entire pound of fat. And what about the rest of the 2 months? Was I not compliant then? Obviously I shouldn't have ignored my increasing measurements. But what of it? I ignored it because visually I think I look better. I can see my abs when I flex. I have muscles everywhere.

Indeed, why should I let a number dictate my emotions? Well, there is the matter of the madman commitment I'd made several months ago. But was it not made so that I'd work to get a body I was happy with? And just last night, I was posing in front of the mirror like the vain supermodel that I'm not and I was really pleased with what I saw! Fuck the numbers. I'm happy with my body. I don't need a number to make me happy.

That having been said, I will continue to work to improve my body. In fact, I will redouble my efforts. I'll be lowering my calorie intake to an even 1900 calories/day, no carb cycling. Should I plateau at any point, then I'll start up the carb cycling again, but I don't think it's necessary at this point in time. I'll stay with the 45% carbs / 35% protein / 20% fat because I do like this diet much better than what I had before, though this diet is admittedly more expensive. Eh, if it gets to the point where I am short on cash, I'll revert to my previous diet of moderate rather than high protein intake.

This morning when I was feeling really glum, I took my frustration with me to the gym and smashed through all my personal bests in terms of weight lifting.

You know, when I started writing this post I was still wallowing in self-pity. Now I feel empowered and motivated again. I'm taking this weekend off from strict dieting, though I don't plan on binging. On monday I will begin the physique transformation competition with my four teammates. The journey continues.