Getting Back on Track Part Two

If you missed it, here is part one of my getting back on track plan. Part one was my meal plan for April.

Part two is about my exercise plan. If you missed what I do when I go to the gym, it is all here in this post with pictures of the machines. If don't feel like reading that post, I'll let you know that I basically use the gym for strength training. There have been a few times that I walked on the treadmill, but that is kinda boring. I've been waiting for some nice spring weather to walk and jog outside again. So far I've been on several walks. It is almost warm enough to think about jogging again. Since it has been so long, I'm thinking that I'll do the Couch to 5K (C25K) plan again.



Ready to workout!

If I start up the plan soon (depending on weather), I'll probably only get one or two C25K workouts in a week. The plan calls for three walk/jogs (otherwise known as wogs) a week. I'll just have to slow down the plan until my semester at grad school is done. Then I can use my newly found spare time for some extra working out. If you have never done C25K before, here is the plan that I followed last summer. I go for time over distance since I'm still new to this running thing.

Here is me at my lowest weight last summer ready for a wog.

Even though I've been eating not so well the past month, I have been working out at least two times a week at the gym. I plan to keep the momentum up and not give up on getting in shape.

What I Do at the Gym

This post shows the workout that I do when I say I go to the gym. I did not make this plan up - one of the employees at the gym did for no additional cost. I begin with a short warm up walk on the treadmill and some stretches. Then I move on to the machines...

 

First I do the leg press- 15 reps on the second setting (doesn't say how much weight that is on the machine.)

Second I use this machine and do 5 reps at 30 lbs. and 10 reps at 20 pounds.

Third, I do leg extensions- 15 reps at 25 pounds.

Moving on to arms- 10 reps at 25 pounds with hands on the different handles for different muscles to be worked (10 reps on the straight handle, 10 reps on the angled handle).

This one is the chest fly- 15 reps at 25 pounds.

I do two sets of 10 reps at 30 pounds (one set on straight handle, one on angled handle).

I do bicep curls on this thing- 15 reps at 30 pounds.

I do a triceps exercise with the rope- 15 reps at 30 pounds.

Time for abs! 20 ball crunches

I also do 20 bicycle crunches and three 10 second planks.

A pic in the locker room. You can't see my belly in this shirt, so this is when I was almost 15 pounds down (mid Feb.) Unfortunately the gut is now visible in this shirt. Thank goodness the Easter candy is gone from the stores!

When I first started out at the gym, it took me about an hour total (sign in, change, warm-up, workout, change, sign out). I'm down to about 30-35 minutes now. I guess that means that soon I need to up the weight or reps!

Weight Loss and Food for the Week

In my last post I hinted that I entered into Onederland again. Just barely, but I have. 199.2 was my latest weigh in. I've lost 11.6 pounds so far this month which is way more than I thought I would lose. I'm happy and not happy at the same time. I'm not happy I'm losing these same pounds again, but I'm happy with how I feel. My clothes either now fit or are loose (but I'm not getting rid of them until I'm for sure two sizes down this time- learned the hard way!).

I've also made sure to go to the gym at least two times a week to do my strength training fitness plan. Today I got through most of my exercises much quicker and the weight didn't even bother me. I guess that means I get to up my reps, sets, or weight soon. Also, I forgot my gym bag when I left this morning. That left me with the option to go home and get it (which means I probably would find an excuse to not go after I get home) or just work out in my dress clothes. I chose the second option and just sucked it up in my work clothes. I took off the sweater and that was that. I think that shows some dedication!

This week both of my classes meet in person (not online) for grad school. I had ethics on Monday in the little basement classroom that bugs my allergies. I always leave there with reddish eyes and messed up sinuses. The class was good though and started with a lecture/PowerPoint over ethical decision making models for ethical dilemmas as a counselor. Second we did a group activity where we had to figure out a solution to an ethical dilemma using the model. Third, we found our groups for the poster presentations that are due at the end of the semester. I like the people in my group, but we live all over Northwest Indiana and Illinois! I guess that means we'll have to drive up to campus to work on the project.



Back to the whole weight loss thing... Here are some pictures of what I'm eating this week.

Breakfast

Oatmeal and a Denver Omelet Egg Mug. Since I used egg whites it didn't "fluff" up. It also took too much time in the morning to prepare (it wasn't that much time, but I just don't want to get up any earlier than 5:15 to cook), but it did taste good and fill me up. I'm just going back to omelets in a pan on the stove for the rest of the week.

Snack

Snack

Lunch

This is brown rice noodles, spaghetti sauce, and baked chicken. The brown rice noodles are fine in my opinion, but whole wheat noodles might taste a little better.

Snack

Dinner

This is a BLT pizza from my Hungry Girl cookbook. I really like this recipe. I split it into six pieces to get me through the week.

Other stuff

Used up some leftover stuff to make a sandwich with a bagel thin, turkey bacon, lettuce, cheese, and light mayo.

My burnt muffins. :(

 

 

 

Food for the Week and Daily Life

Monday and Tuesday have been good and productive days. Monday I didn't have to go to work or school because of MLK Jr. Day. I slept in until 6:30ish (Hey, that is sleeping in for me!) and spent the first part of my morning cooking my food for the week.

My three ingredient meatloaf that I found in the Hungry Girl 300 under 300 cookbook.

Another recipe from the cookbook mentioned above and also three ingredients. Since it was one of those things you make when you want it, I got all the things ready and put in the same drawer in the fridge.

All my snacks portioned out and ready to go.

I also did some chores like laundry, dishes, picking up stuff and putting it away. I took Benjamin to the vet to get his annual heart worm check.

Benjamin is a crazy one, but he is good to us.

I spent the afternoon running errands at a few stores and then went to the gym to do my workout plan on the machines. The evening was spent getting things ready for work and doing some reading for school.

Tuesday was a pretty typical work day. It was pretty darn cold though. Some parts of the state were so cold that schools had two hour delays. We didn't though. After work I ran to the Dollar Tree to pick up some 100 calorie packs of cookies (six for $1 is a good deal).

Then I went to the gym and did some walking on the treadmill. On the way home I stopped at the post office to mail a couple of gifts for some family members. I only had three people in front of me in line, so that was a positive. My plans for tonight are to do some dishes and laundry, play a little Song Pop and Sing Party, and read some more of the ACA code of ethics for school. I know I lead an exciting life. ;)

 
Random thought: I forgot to include this last week, but I walked into my classroom and found that the numbers/words I had on the board looked like they have melted into an evil smiley face. It was weird and creepy, but I think it was just because they used the wrong cleaner on the board.

I've planned out my food for the week like I have been doing, so here is the plan...

And here are the pictures:

Breakfast

Snack

Snack

Lunch

Snack

Dinner

Snack

First Days of Grad School

This week is my first week of going back to school, so it has been a little busier than I'm used to being. That is my reason for the lack of posting. I'm still doing well on losing weight and working out though. Since it has been a while, I'll try to go through the highlights of each day this week and then post some pictures of what I've been eating.

Monday: This was my first day of class and the class was ethics in counseling. After work I ran home to take the dogs out, eat a quick dinner, and gather up my stuff for class. I left about an hour before class to have some extra time to find the classroom since I've never been there before. I was there 15 minutes early and there were quite a few people there before me. I found one of the people that interviewed with me back in November and sat by her. I also talked to the girl sitting behind me and she is also a teacher and lives in the same town as me.

I felt a little weird being a student again after working for six years. I'm used to being the one in front of the room and in charge. After I got over that and the fact that I had to sit in an uncomfortable old-fashioned little wooden desk with the chair attached, I was happy to be there. I wasn't able to get onto the online system for our classes which left me with no syllabus. Luckily I wasn't the only one having this issue and the professor had some extra copies for us. The first night was spent going over the syllabus and class schedule, a PowerPoint about chapter one, and a group activity.

And, as a side note, I finally got on 80/94 going the right direction to go home. I always end up screwing that up. I learned the hard way to make sure to get it right. The last I messed up, I just got off on the next exit and took 173rd back to Indianapolis to get on going the right direction. The part of town I drove through felt a little bit scary and dangerous.

Tuesday: After work I went to the gym and had a good workout. Then I ran home to take the dogs out, freshen up, and go back to work for a PTO meeting.

Wednesday: I had an asthma attack in the afternoon while at work. I still felt bad when I left, so I didn't get to go to the gym.

Thursday: It was my first night in my measurement/testing class. Since we have professional development until 3:15 on Thursdays, I just stayed after work and ate dinner in my office. I left early again to make sure to find my classroom in time. I found it in two minutes and was there way early. The classroom was a lecture hall with no windows, so I wasn't sure if it would be okay to walk in so early. I sat outside the lecture hall on a bench and decided to wait a while and see if anyone else in the class came by. A guy that had interviewed for the program back in November with me came and sat down next to me and we talked for a bit about going back to school after being out for so long. Eventually a girl in the class came and was waiting next to us and decided to peek in and see if it was okay to go in. And it was.

I was grateful for the seats in the lecture hall being much more comfortable. I was also able to get into the online system for the classes to see and print the syllabus before class. It ends up that the third edition book that my hubby ordered for me won't work with the class (the tests/methodology is outdated), so that night after class my hubby ordered me a 4th edition. Other than that, the class went well. We pretty much followed the same kind of order as we did on Monday (the same professor teaches both classes). For the group activity we had to find a partner and do a made up type of "test" where we had to choose one of two items that fit us and explain why. I ended up sitting next to another teacher (yay for finding people I have things in common with) and we did the "test" together.

Friday: Not too much to say about Friday. I went to the gym after work and got a good workout in. I came home and printed out some stuff for classes, but didn't do too terribly much.

Saturday/Sunday: I meal planned for the week, made a grocery list, and went shopping in the morning. I spent the afternoon cleaning the house and making food for game night. And, of course, I went to game night in the evening. It was with some of my St. Joe friends and their friends. I finally got to try out Sing Party with people instead of by myself. I have to figure out all the modes in the game before the next time, so we can try more things out. I had a good time, but took no pictures as per usual. I don't know if everyone would really want to be posted on my blog doing what they were doing last night anyway... I ended up staying the night along with a couple of other people. We had some Cinnamon rolls (I know I shouldn't be eating them.) this morning and they were about to watch a movie when I left. I came back home and got one chapter of reading done for one of my classes and a few chores done around the house.

Our "nice" bedding for the king size bed which I'm loving. It was my first time having the set on the bed, so I had to take a picture.

Weekly Eats

Breakfast

I had fruit bites instead of yogurt.

Snack

Snack

Lunch

I had two pieces and a half cup of applesauce.

Snack

Dinner

Other stuff

 

This was the worst thing I ate all week, but it tasted so good. Costco cake...