Whirlwind........

Whirlwind is the best title I could give this post......It's been almost a year since I even posted on my blog and I feel awful for being such a slacker...... In that time I have had 2 separate surgeries, (my appendix was removed finally in June) and in December I had my knee cartilage shaved down again in my Right knee. I also started a new job in August. I also broke my thumb in September... (broken bone number 2!) So now you can see why the title of this post is so appropriate.




Between the two surgeries and broken thumb I missed a total of 4 months in the gym, as you can imagine this caused quite a setback for me. Not only did I miss the gym because of those but I went from a job where I barely took 1000 steps in a shift working 4 days a week to going to a new job where I average and yes I said AVERAGE 5,289 steps a day, it's funny last night I was looking at my weekly summary on my Apple Watch (btw if you don't have one I HIGHLY recommend getting one if you have an IPhone, it's been a life saver) and this week alone in a 5 day period I took 34,447 steps  and went a total distance of 17.62 just at work, (side note: I only wear my watch during work, although I finally did wear it during my workout last night) average calories burned per day was 504 and the total calories for the week was 2,514.




Now as much as I love my watch I've noticed that between my watch activity app and my health app the steps/miles/stairs don't always sync up. Now it can be for several reasons I don't think my watch counts going down the stairs where my phone may? Now I expect my phone to have more steps than my watch just because I take it off when I workout but I always have my phone on me. Anyways I'm getting off topic here. The point is I've had quite a few setbacks on my journey to weight loss but not once did I say you know what I'm just going to give up........What's the point? another setback, another month off, another broken bone, another long shift, sure I have days where I decide to not go to the gym and head home to get some mental rest, it's all a part of being human. So if you are reading this and you've slacked on your diet or slacked in the gym whether it be from mental exhaustion, physical exhaustion or injury just know that it's okay to not be perfect and to have some time off. Just don't quit.......

Meal Prep 101

So this week I really focused on trying to get back into meal prepping again, I went to the grocery store on Saturday after an intense workout and I bought everything I could need for 2 weeks worth. Now some people may be able to prep 2 weeks at a time but...and maybe this is just me, I can't handle knowing my meals having been sitting in the fridge for over a week before I can get to them... Is it just me?

Now that doesn't mean I won't buy all the ingredients I need at the same time, I do that I just keep the turkey, chicken, shrimp and other meats frozen until the week of. Now I know what you are thinking, Why don't I just freeze the meals? Well......lets face it. Tupperware doesn't exactly freeze well and when you don't have a lot of extra freezer space to share you do what you can. What is also really nice is my meal prep staples don't take very long to cook. I can bang out my rice, asparagus and ground turkey in about an hour which for someone who works 40 hours a week and then spends another 12 hours in the gym that is a nice thing to know. Now I'll be the first to admit I didn't exactly eat all my pre-prepped meals this week, there is still 5 meals sitting in my fridge. It isn't easy working in a medical office when you get drug reps who like to bring you lunches almost every week. And that's not even including the donuts and starbucks they also like to drop off as well. (Lord help me, I've done good I don't get coffee I usually will get a berry refresher or a blended crème) But still talk about temptation, this week we also had a co-workers birthday so we had Tempe barbeque sandwiches, chips, soda, and of course birthday cake. I could have eaten that entire cake but I subdued myself and only had 1 piece of cake. But still...cake is cake.

Anyways lol back to meal prepping, I went to Winco for 99% of my supplies because lets face it, they have really good prices (a lot cheaper than Safeway, Fred Meyer....you get where I am going) and I stocked up on everything and only spent around $54!! truth be told however I still had most of my meats at home so that is where a significant cost reduction came from. One thing I struggle with however is the price of the liquid egg whites..... $5 for a carton of egg whites?????? and yet $5 for 5 dozen eggs???????? I have purchased the liquid egg whites and I have to say it was pretty awesome not having to separate the egg whites. I'm still trying to find the cheapest ones and so far Costco seems like the only legit place that isn't trying to rob you over them, however going to Costco for one thing is as we all know....a death sentence...No one lets you cut in line and you most of the time you spend more time parking and waiting in the checkout line than you would going to Safeway for an entire cartful of food. My hope is to eventually get most of my meats, egg whites  and things of that sort that I can get good use of in bulk at Costco and then save the minor fresh fruits and veggies for Safeway or my local produce stand since I am the only person in my household who currently meal preps.

So fast forward to today, I decide (against my better judgement but hey i'm a glutton for punishment) to meal prep my egg white muffins for next week because I didn't have time to do it last week, which normally is no big deal I usually just have a protein shake with peanut butter and oats. But I forgot that since I am having a colonoscopy on Monday I was not allowed any visible, nuts, seeds or grains, (ugh) so of course that meant no oats in my protein shake, no bread, no tomatoes, no cucumber, no bell peppers....... So I opted for some Corn Chex cereal, not the healthiest BUT better than having a bowl of fruit loops. Keep in mind today and tomorrow until after my procedure I am on a CLEAR LIQUID DIET........ I spend a good 30 minutes separating 24 egg yolks from the whites just to get 12 cups of whites in order to make my muffins (another reason why I have decided I will be purchasing both the liquid egg whites along with regular eggs in the future and designate which will be used for which because let me tell you, this was a headache.) I dice and chop up some green bell pepper and mushrooms which I toss into the muffin tins and then pour the now separated egg whites over them and pop them in the oven at 350 for 30 minutes and I cannot tell you how good they smell........ I wanted to pop 2 or 3 in my mouth and just savor the flavor but of course.... I can't so here I am sipping my chicken broth watching Food Network....I don't know why lol like I said i'm a glutton for punishment clearly. Well that's all for today! I will post an update once I've actually eaten one and let you know if I need to tweak the recipe or not. So until next time!

 

Join the resistance......

So today's leg workout focused almost completely on resistance bands, I am always trying to change up my routines and keep my muscles guessing. Well today I just did that, the last time my legs were this sore was when I was training with Travis. I personally love resistance bands because there are literally so many exercises you can do with them. One I personally love/hate is the side steps with the resistance band, my trainer Travis first turned me onto this exercise and I tell you what I LOVE IT!!!! My thighs burn every time I do it. And since it's been awhile they were definitely burning today. I usually try to do at least 3 sets of 5 different exercises per muscle group. Today however I managed to do 3 sets of 9 different exercises. and aside from 4 machine based ones and 1 TRX based one the rest were resistance band based.






On top of switching up my leg routine I was proud of my self for setting two new PR's, I leg pressed 505lbs for 8 reps and I hamstring curled 110lbs for 12 reps. This accomplishment comes almost 6 months after my car accident, which caused me to not be able to workout for 2 months. I am still trying to get back to where I was pre-accident but it seems that things would get in the way. Either money wasn't there, gas wasn't there or motivation wasn't there. But now that I am working again and healed from my accident I feel like I can get back to being as dedicated as I was pre-accident which at one point consisted of me only missing 2 days out of 30 (1) days in the gym. (yes I know a bit obsessive lol)


Anyways like I was saying one of the great things about resistance bands is the fact that you can easily switch up your exercises as well as make them harder with just the switch of a band. When I bought my bands I made sure to get a variety pack. as in Light, Medium, Heavy and Extra Heavy. That way depending on how i'm feeling and what exercise i'm doing I can always add or take away resistance. And they aren't just for your legs,  you can use them on your upper body as well. Another plus? They aren't expensive. I paid $6 and free shipping for mine on eBay and they came with a free bag to carry them in. Even if you don't have a gym membership they are a great tool for at home workouts too, Pinterest and Instagram are literally FULL of at home workouts with resistance bands so don't think you can use that as an excuse, oh and double plus bonus? Mine came with a workout guide AS WELL!!!!! Boom......... Well i'm about to go take an ice bath to try to numb the pain and soreness in my legs so until next time!

If you don't want to keep starting over...quit giving up.....

Okay, i'm officially so excited to be back on my blog, I've literally been locked out of it for months (long story) but anyways i'm back!!!!!




So 2016 has been a rough year.....well actually rough is a nice term, 2016 has literally knocked me down and repeatedly kicked me while I was on the ground. In my previous post I talked about how I fractured my collarbone at the gym but that I was still going there and just not working my upper body.. and I definitely got some interesting looks while working out in a sling (haha)


Anyways...so  after it healed I really threw myself into the gym, I was going 6-7 days a week 2 hours a day, and on my days off I was there for 5 hours (yes I know a bit obsessive but its like a drug) I was losing weight, gaining muscle and really starting to see progress finally, I even hooked up with my friend and amazing personal trainer Travis Cornell and with his help was managing my diet extremely well. All was looking bright......Until May 7th 2016, I was leaving the gym and got rear ended. I ended up aggravating the bulging discs in my neck (a reason I cannot do normal barbell squats anymore) and suffering from some pretty bad upper back pain. I couldn't work or workout for 2 months....so you can imagine the struggle that is for someone who is used to being in the gym 7 days a week. So I know you are thinking, well you can still keep to the diet and you'll get it all back when you are able to. But not so fast, pain meds and I do not mix, they decrease my appetite while one them and then once they wear off i'm like a starving raccoon digging through the trashcan for anything I can sink my teeth into.


So you can imagine what happened... my weight ballooned back up, I lost significant strength, motivation and drive. After the first month I was begging my therapist to allow me to workout, do cardio something...they allowed me to try to do lower body exercises but I could only do the bare minimum, then they allowed me to do cardio BUT I couldn't do it at an incline and I couldn't go the normal speeds I was used to (5% incline at speeds upward of 3.8-3.9 for 30 minutes plus) I felt like I was going to explode going to the gym and only being able to do cardio or light lower body exercises, I mean this is the girl who leg presses almost 500lbs so only being able to do 90lbs was agony......


So during this time the insurance company decided to total my car which was stressful because I although I would get compensated for my car I knew I wouldn't be able to get another car like mine and I would really need to get a reliable car but I don't have the best credit so financing was out of the question I felt, but I was wrong, I randomly decided to apply for a loan and surprisingly enough I was actually approved AND for a car I actually wanted!!!! So I get a new car, and THEN I get a new job! a great job working as an office manager with great pay and great hours, I think June is going to be my month, new job, new car, new guy?? (lol) But like I said 2016 has been awful so you can imagine what happens.... I have to leave my job due to an extremely unsafe work environment (like to the point I had to file a police report, I won't go into too many details but yeah) so during the time I was at my job I was working 2x a week with my personal trainer on top of going to the gym alone and re-managing my diet. But then like I said I had to leave my job so there goes the personal trainer and the diet management.


Now I know what you are thinking, is there a light at the end of this tunnel??? I assure you there is, Although the job did not last, haha there is no new guy and i'm not able to afford diet management and personal training, I am back in the gym and almost completely back up to the previous weight amount I was training with before the car accident, the weight is coming back off and I've even been approached by a few friends for tips and tricks.........I don't have a new job yet but it looks as if 2016 is the year that is going to make 2017 seem like a gigantic blessing... Things happen that we cannot control but it is the truth....if you don't want to start over don't give up, I didn't give up and although I felt like I had to start over in some areas its amazing once you get back into it how much muscle memory the body actually has!!

Out with the old.....RIP Fluffy

and in with the new....Daisy Duck..

Go big or go…… To the ER?

I'll be honest this week was not the best week. You know the saying go big or go home? Well I went big and then I went home or more specifically to the ER. I was at the gym Monday evening and was doing my normal routine when I decided to switch to a different body part because the machine that I wanted to use was being used, I sat down and began to do seated rows with 150 pounds, everything was going fine when all of a sudden my chest started to hurt, I stopped what I was doing and stood up and begin to feel extremely dizzy. I honestly thought I was having a heart attack so I left the gym and headed to the emergency room. After a few minutes I was rushed into a side room because when you tell the front desk you're having chest pain they immediately get you back to perform an EKG to determine if you have had a heart attack. 

Once the EKG was performed I was left alone in the room to wait for the next available room in the ER, they didn't even bother to ask me to take off my shoes or pants because I was so dizzy and it was hard enough to try and take off my top and sports bra, every time I tried to sit up I felt more dizzy and nauseated, the worst part was sitting up to look for a vomit bag and not be able to find one in time causing me to vomit all over the floor. Normally I wouldn't bother the front desk and I would simply clean it up myself but being as dizzy as I was trying to stand wasn't working out very well so I imagine the embarrassment of having to watch housekeeping come in and clean up your vomit off of the floor.  Cut to 2 1/2 hours later and I was finally brought back to my room where an IV was started and I was given medication for my nausea after vomiting several more times. I'm thankful that my nurse was a woman because I was so dizzy that I didn't even notice that my boob was hanging out of my gown when she went to uncover me to attach me to the blood pressure cuff, I quickly apologized and she let me know that it was nothing she hadn't seen before but she just wasn't expecting it. (Well duh I wasn't expecting to have a single boob hanging out of my gown let alone that It would be on display for her) She probably thinks that I meant to flash her with the one boob out but I assure you I didn't 😐😳 

Anyways as if that wasn't embarrassing enough, I let her know that I really had to go to the bathroom since I've been holding it for almost 3 hours and she told me if I could wait the doctor would be in shortly so I waited another 20 minutes and finally decided I couldn't wait anymore, I page the nurse and ask her to come in and let her know I was a little bit dizzy so she may have to walk with me to the bathroom but after walking only two steps she said nope you're going to use a bedside commode. I looked at her with horror, as if it wasn't embarrassing enough to accidentally flashed her I now have to go to the bathroom in front of her. I sighed and said OK and sat back down, a few minutes later the initial nurse who brought me back to my room came in with the bedside commode and saw the look of embarrassment on my face and said that she would give me privacy and step out, needless to say I was completely relieved but that lasted shortly when I almost overfilled the hat that was inside the bedside commode, you never know sheer panic until you start to go to the bathroom and realize you had to go a lot more than you thought you did and you almost overfill the hat which would've then caused your urine to be spilled all over the floor, as if having to call housekeeping to clean up your vomit off of the floor wasn't enough now I'm asking them to come clean up my pee. Thankfully I stopped just in time and additional embarrassments did not ensue.

Finally my doctor comes in and begins to examine me and let's me know what we are going to do. First round of meds come through my IV and do nothing. 45 minutes go by and I let my nurse know they didn't help, cue the second round of meds.....by now I can successfully tell you how many holes are in the ceiling panels because although my nausea is gone I'm still super dizzy and I've been flat on my back for approximately 3 1/2 hours. 

And THEN the super cute radiology tech comes to take me for my chest X-ray......awesome I now look like complete crap because I'm sweaty, my breath probably smells like vomit, I can't sit up, my hair is a sweaty disheveled mess and I'm pretty sure my mascara is all over my face like I just came from a heavy metal concert. He proceeds to wheel me down the hall to X-ray and I do my best to try to act like I'm not wanting to burst into tears from the pain but when he tells me I need to stand up all logic goes out the window and I start sobbing. Once I get control he helps me stand up but thanks to my dizziness I pretty much end up looking like a drunk person and end up giving him a full body type awkward hug because he has to keep me from falling....again I have no bra on so cue the embarrassment. Thankfully he is very kind and professional and we get through the X-rays and I manage to get back onto the stretcher with some of my dignity left....

By now it's around 1:15am and my nurse has a surprise for me...dilaudid. It's sad when you are excited to finally get medication you know will help when the other 3 medications failed...... This brings my pain from an 8 to a 5 and I'm finally able to see the light at the end of the tunnel, I've been here almost 5 hours and have yet to find out what is going on. And then my doctor comes in and drops a bomb on me....he's not 100% sure but it looks like there is a fracture on my clavicle... I'm like WHAT? He asked what I was doing when the pain started and I told him. He then goes yep that can cause it. He says he is still waiting for the radiologist to confirm but he did show another doctor and he also said that's what it looks like but he'll let me know soon ........I'm praying the entire time he's gone for it to be anything but......and then the door opens and I see it.....A SLING.......and not even a cool sling, it's a plain, ugly blue sling, at least make it different colors so I can coordinate! Come on people! Lol anyways for those of you who have never fractured your collarbone a.k.a. your clavicle it takes 4 to 6 weeks to heal and the first 2 to 3 weeks are the worst, so for the next three months I will not be allowed to do any weightlifting regarding the upper left side of my body. Now does that mean oh I'll just work out my right side him know I'm not going to be lopsided. Needless to say my lower body including my booty will be getting a lot of attention for the next three months, I will be seeing orthopedic surgeon soon and I do need to ask them about possibly doing crunches or other ab exercises and if I could possibly affect my clavicle because I am moving my arm which is attached to the muscles which is attached the tendons attached to my clavicle. But either way this is not going to stop me from going to the gym! So for now just be jealous of my awesome new accessory and by the way in case you were wondering what it looks like when you fractured your clavicle I'm attaching a picture hope youcan spot the difference between the right side and the left side PS I fractured my left side in case you were wondering. Until next time.

The Grass Is Not Greener....Words to live by

Sometimes life gets the better of us, let's face it, only the best photos make it to Instagram, for every one status posted on Facebook five get deleted. If you were to look at my Instagram right now it would be all gym, food and happy moments, it doesn't show the broken heart, the sore muscles, the sleepless nights and the daily struggles to find my purpose and make my mark. All of this is necessary for change, and sure if you were to look at anyone else's Facebook or Instagram you would see the same thing. You want their body, their marriage, their relationship......whatever it is they have and you don't. But here's a secret they won't tell you. The grass is greenest where you water it. It's personally taken me 6 long years to realize this. There is no easy road to weightloss or success in life. I see so many quick solutions to weightloss, waist slimmers (which btw did you ever look at the Victorians once they stopped wearing corsets? It's not pretty #smooshedorgans) the detox teas ( and yes I drink them but not in the hopes of quickly dropping 10lbs like the military diet, yes I've tried that too) 

Now back to the grass. Like I said, greenest where you water it. For a long long long time my grass was brown and I blamed everyone else. It was everyone else's fault that I ate poorly, didn't workout, made goals and plans and never followed through, I wanted someone else to pay my way, pay for rewards for goals I didn't achieve and I made so many scenarios about how I was gonna accomplish my weightloss goals your head would spin, I made deadlines and watched them creep by, I always said the next Monday, next week, next month I would start, I would change, I would be serious about my weightloss journey and guess what I lied to myself. Here I am a few months shy of my 31st birthday and although I've made some changes there is always more I could do to help my fitness journey and help inspire others, the only thing I'm inspiring right now is women to expand their workout wardrobes (lol) so what's the difference now you are asking? Well I've started watering my own grass. 

At the end of the day there may be one person out there reading this, struggling with their own weightloss journey, noticing how much greener everyone else's grass is. And I'm here to tell you what you see on Facebook and Instagram is a highlight reel you are comparing to your own behind the scenes. That 20lb weight loss didn't happen overnight and if it did I guarantee its water weight and it will come back. So just remember it's a marathon not a sprint and focus on your own grass and pretty soon people will be wondering how your grass is so much greener then theirs. 😉

Carb Schmarbs Part 2

Okay here it is, part 2, in this blog I'm gonna be talking about lipids or fats. There are three types of lipids: triglycerides, phospholipids and sterols. 

Triglycerides are the most common type found in foods and about 95% of the fats we eat contain tryglicerides. These are also the fats you want to consume in the least amount as they can lead to high cholesterol 

Phospholipids are similar to tryglicerides however they are your bodies main emulsifier I.E. They keep the fat and water in foods from separating. Without these food would seem oily and have a sandy/rough texture 

The last lipid is called sterols, cholesterol is the most well known sterol and can be found in foods from animals such as meat, fish, eggs and dairy products. We get about 1/3 from food we eat and the rest is manufactured by our body to replenish bile and make hormones.

The institute of medicine has recommendations regarding daily fat intake: 

Total dietary fat should be approximately 20 to 35% of daily calories

Saturated, trans, and unsaturated fat should be as low as possible 

Omega 6 should be 5% of calories

Omega 3 should be 0.6 to 1.2% of calories 

And cholesterol should be as low as possible 

Did you know that 3oz of beef brains (gross) contain 2,635mg of cholesterol?? Wow just wow. 

Let's face it, you aren't always gonna know the fat content of everything you eat, do what do you do if you are trying to watch your fat intake? There are a couple options, first is download one of the many apps available that will help you not only log your food but give you nutritional facts as well. My favorite app is MyFitnessPal but there are tons of apps out there to help, the second but lengthy option is to grab yourself some paperback books, my personal favs are the complete book of food counts by Corinne T. Netzer or eat this not that 2011 edition by David Zinczenko and Matt Goulding ( I really like this one because it basically gives you healthier options at your favorite restaurants and at home without sacrificing your cravings) now that doesn't mean you have to swap things out but if you are trying to lose simple swaps like this add up and can really help!