Final Update

Fri. July 31
Ok, its been awhile, and a relief not to feel the need to write every day. It also feels good not to have to worry about every calorie in and out!!! My weight has hovered between 139.4 and 141.7 the last 2 weeks. What I wrote several weeks ago pretty much summed up how I feel so I won’t repeat it. I am so happy I did this; it taught me a lot about myself, and it made turning 50 no big deal because I have worked on it and thought about it for so many months! I might continue with a different blog about the life of a personal trainer. Stay tuned!!


Fri. 7.10.09 thru sun. 7.12. was a big party with no regard for calories going in and no wkt. except for walking around a lot with Scott. We visited some cool places in the city; had tons of snacks and drinks at different restaurants and GOT ENGAGED!!! HOLY CRAP!

I am posting the final pictures that were at my best about 1 week before we left for North Dakota and will add some more thoughts later this week.


Thur. 7.9.09
Night of my birthday party!!
Oatmeal with iced coffee
-didn’t want to eat a lot but also didn’t want to show up starving
-small veggie/shrimp soup
-small frozen yogurt
-small salad with veggies
-individual bag of chips
-lots of wine at the party-!
-we bought thin crust pizza for the party; had them cut into small squares and I had about 6; probably the equivalent of 2-2.5slices of regular pizza

Wkt.
60 min. cardio
Heavy cable/ab wkt you have heard of before


Wed. 7.8.09
Trying to salvage myself a few days before my birthday but I have pictures that can’t be beat from a week ago that are going to be it!!
-oatmeal and iced coffee
-medium tomato veggie soup
-small frozen yogurt
-half grilled veggie Panini
-bean broth soup
-2 glasses wine

Rode my bike so got in about 25 miles


Tue. 7.7.09
Flew out of north Dakota at 8am; brought leftover pizza with us
-I had 3 slices---it seems very light
-one tiny package nuts on the plane
-1 gin and tonic
-got home and took a nap, then
-had a huge salad with lots of veggies

No wkt.


Mon. 7.6.09
One slice of that great bread toasted with jam.
Went to Fargo to visit Scott’s uncle with the antique cars. Afterwards we went to the Sons of Norway community hall for lunch-surprisingly good!
-grilled cheese sandwich with onion and tomato
-potato chips
-got some super cracker-thin pizza for dinner; had about 4 slices-equivalent of about 2 normal slices-?
-3 beers

Wkt.
Did the 70 min. run and a few leg raises; extremely proud of myself!!!


sun. 7.5.09
totally happy with the way my midsection looked this morning...really proud of myself!!
muffin; half slice of bread we bought at a fair-with jam
-big bowl of berries

wkt
stayed up too late last night. Went out in the afternoon and it was hot. Just about turned around and did the 15 min. promise--if I go 15 min. and don't feel like it, I can stop. So I went for one hour; just did small laps because of the heat and didn't want to get too far away from the house. Extremely proud of myself.


sat. 7.4.09
happy 4th!!
one of those muffins with a dab of peanut butter.
-big serving of berries
-went to lunch at a hotel on the lake and had a veggie meal cooked specially since there was nothing on the menu; there was some saitan or tempeh in it with beans, veggies; really good salad.
-one glass wine
-stopped by this small russian community and bought some unbelievable strawberries and had about 1/2 pint.
-we had some people coming over to Scott's mom's place and Scott and I have made onion rings a few times so we did it again
-really thin beer-battered but something was wrong with the heat and they were too greasy...but still good!
-didn't eat much after that except chips and plenty of beer.

wkt.
same run-70 min. with some sprints and 2 sets of push ups with legs on park bench and leg lowering sets.
very good wkt!


wed
went to dinner with family and a friend visiting
-one gin and tonic
-we shared some appetizers
-mac and cheese-really good (and I love mac n cheese)
-one fried oyster
-some beet salad
-mussels
-french fries (delicious!)
-2 glasses wine


fri. 7.3.09
in minnesota at the lake house.
-Mom's mom makes these wonderful little muffins made from different kinds of bran, and uses apple juice instead of most of the oil, and they are delicious-1 of those
-lots of berries
-Scott, my mom and I went to the Fertile fair of Polk county. I was hoping to be able to eat some good junk food but we got there a bit too early so didn't eat there. We got back home
-big salad with left over egg salad, veggies, cheese, salsa dressing
-3 beers
-grilled veggies and big spinach salad with feta cheese; tomato;
-2 beers
-I was craving crap and everyone was talking about dairy queen stuff so they had a buster bar in the freezer; Scott said it was ice cream bar with chocolate coating; with fudge, nuts, etc. Well I ate it but was disappointed because there weren't enough nuts and chocolate.
-chips and salsa
-3 glasses wine

wkt.
my goal was to run 3/4 days at the lake
-ran 70 min. very proud of myself


thur. 7.2.09
-we had a 6am flight out of newark so we got up at 3:45
-I made sandwiches for the plane
-small rolls with the dough pulled out-cheese and lettuce and onion, tomato, mustard and a bit mayo.
-I had 1 roll and then another one with just one half of the roll
-one bloody mary
-stopped at Scott's mom's house in grand forks and had lunch
-one beer
-tiny roll with egg salad
-excellent salad with greens, veggies, nuts and fruit
-I ate such crap the rest of the day when we got to north dakota
-small bag potato chips
-small bag crunchy cheese doodles
-got to Scott's mom's lake house and had
-we got tons of visitors at the lake and got some pizza
-I didn't think I was hungry so of course I ate the equivalent of 2.5 full slices of regular pizza
-3 beers


Wed. july 1
1 hard boiled egg white
Lots of mixed nuts
2 plums
Lots of blackberries
3 pieces swiss cheese with greens
Met my parents, sister and her family with a friend of ours at a neighborhood place we have not been to before.
-3 glasses wine
-we shared macaroni and cheese-delicious!
-I had mussels and of course the bread and French fries

Wkt.
Felt tired but went for a run….went 70 min. When I got to the track in red hook I did 9 laps; definitely a little faster than normal. The last time I went there and did those intervals helped I think.


Tue. June 30
I keep going back and forth. I was certainly satisfied with the way I look several days in the morning these last few weeks. Then I hear myself saying but I need to do more to get totally lean, but then I obviously don't care enough because I eat and drink inappropriately!!! I find myself obsessing about eating (wanting to that is!), and how many more calories can I burn and then I just don't care and want to have fun. My one sister and neice pointed this out to me---that is what they were saying to me from the beginning; that the extreme effort isn't worth it.

Had a great conversation with my client S. the other morning about this. What is the goal for what we are doing? I could for example just take a bunch of diet pills for a few days, take a picture and say ok-done! So I am finding out that for me to be leaner than I have gotten to is not worth it for me....sometimes I feel I am saying that because I failed-that maybe I can't do any better but that is part of goal setting, and re-evaluating; this is what I talk to my clients about exactly----what do you want, and then keep asking yourself it is still worth it.....do you still want it. My biggest thing was to see what it would take to get really lean in my midsection and it SUCKS!!!! What it takes is not having fun the way I want, and working out for the sake of working out instead of what I love. I caught myself thinking I shouldn't go on a long bike ride because I wouldn't burn as many calories as compared with going to the gym and working really hard on the cardio machines (from where I live it takes awhile to get to places where you can ride without a lot of traffic). That is not what I want! One of my clients said because I am skinny everywhere else, and just store my body fat so unevenly that I will look anorexic all over when my midsection is really cut, and I am one of those people that should do lip suction!!!!!

Anyway, the last pictures I posted are ones I am happy with. I have period bloat right now and so will take more when I look good.

We are going to north Dakota for the 4th tomorrow and I decided several weeks ago that I would officially end this before we leave, and that is where I am. I will try to be good there though and see if I can get more good pictures before the 11th----but they love cheese so much there! And bread! And pizza! And beer! Stay tuned. I won’t post until I get back because there is no internet at the lake cabin where we will be!!


Tue. June 30
-thought I was biting into half of the falafel wrap I never started last night but realized it was Scott’s schwarma wrap! So I spit that out.
-got scrambled egg whites/cheese sandwich; ate half
-ate the other half minus half the bread around noon
-1/4 of the falafel wrap
-3 pieces American cheese wrapped around arugula
-huge bowl of bean soup; I took lots of broth
-3 glasses wine
-small frozen yogurt

Wkt.
1 hour cardio
-about 8 sets of cable:
-crunches
-chops
-single chest press
-single shoulder press
-single row
Great workout


Mon. june 29
Flat bagel with cream cheese. Interesting….I ate half at 7am and the other half around noon. I was not hungry between then…..when I eat the oatmeal I am hungrier, then the protein stuff ---maybe I need more carbs…..?
-one apple
-small frozen yogurt
-medium veggie soup
From the Mediterranean place around the corner:
-half of a delicious spinach roll
-2 grape leaves
-half pita with hummus
-3 glasses wine

Wkt. in the park
-between clients; 5 sets of:
-10 jump lunges each side
-12-15 push ups with legs on bench, hands on ground
-15-20 sit ups on bench


sat. june 27
oatmeal
one apple
taught the rest of the workshop
medium crab and corn chowder; broth
big handful of mixed nuts
side order of sauteed spinach and garlic
2 beers sitting outside by the water at the airport
-small order delicious french fries
-on the plane; really good veggie quesadilla
-chocolate chip cookie
-definitely a lot of food---I worked out so much and then I just eat to make up for it--!

wkt.
2 hours cardio-----see this thing is getting to me (explain more later)
-free weights upper body


sun. june 28
got home on the redeye about 8am.
My entire family went to my parents' for my mom's 80th birthday party as well as their anniversary.
-one shot of jaegermeister (a tradition)
-one beer
-at the restaurant
-salad
-seared tilapia with 3 shrimp; a little of the rice; veggies
-3 glasses wine
-several bites of different kinds of cakes for dessert.
-1.5 slices pizza at night
no wkt.


Fri. 6.26.09
I really wish I would have taken a few pictures at the beginning of this week when Scott was back because today I don’t feel so lean anymore!!! I have the period and airplane bloat and it is just amazing how quickly I can change between feeling/looking flat and defined to feeling soft.

Ok, then I forgot to write that I ate a small back of crunchy cheese doodles yesterday---!! The thing is-each calorie is so crucial right now that for me to get leaner/more defined and stay that way it is going to be tough and sometimes I don’t think I care enough.
-oatmeal
-apple
-mixed nuts
-tuna serving/seared tuna-6oz
-met my cousin for 2 beers after work
-had big salad with great crab/salmon cake
-4 squares chocolate
-2 glasses wine

Wkt.
2 hours cardio---!!! Crazy!
-ab work