Day 7 (This is Hard) Day 8 (What is hard)

Day 7 & 8 are being blogged together because, well... I was being lazy. And, forgetful. Go figure. There will be times throughout this self mandated torture where I will not blog each day. I thought the first would be farther down the road than week one, but it is what it is at this point in life. 

So, Day 7. (This is Hard)

I thought the day after legs was hard on my body? Try two days after. I could barely walk without favoring one side over the other. I may have looked a little weird getting in and out of my desk chair at work too. 

Exercise: Stretching. A whole lot of stretches. Yoga. I managed to breathe deeply and push a yoga pose as far as I could without tearing tendons and muscles in half. 

Diet: Steamed veggies, steak, a slice of pound cake, strawberries, mandarin oranges. We're not talking about that thing I hid in the middle of the diet. What's done is done. 

After all the yoga and stretching, I felt better. It wasn't a sweaty gym workout but it was something and I think something the body needs each week. 

Day 8 (What is hard?)

I think the stretching made my body ready to go again. When I hit the gym, and after my 5 minute warm-up on the rowing machine, I was a pumping iron fool. Everything was easy. Even the ab workout seemed to breeze by without any complaint. 

I left the gym feeling renewed. This is good because I was already becoming bored. This day was not a fake it until you make it day, because I made it. 

Diet: Grilled cheese (yes, with the bread) fried egg sandwich. I decided I needed something heavier at lunch. We were fresh out of steak. Yep, it never lasts long in our fridge. For dinner I ate some Skinny Pop popcorn before going to the gym. Ate some more when I got back. Hey, it's birthday cake flavored. Have you ever tried it? Then, don't judge. But try some. You won't regret it. It is true to the name "Skinny Pop" and has way less calories than any other popcorn. 

All-in-all, it was a good two days. I thought, since I wasn't hitting it hard on day 7, I would feel like a failure. I didn't. That's good, right? I may have hold on this diet/exercise thing after all. 

Adios Muchachas,

Mel

Day 6 (Less Success)

Today was rough. Like climbing Mount Everest, rough. Well... Probably an exaggeration, but you get the enormity of the roughness if I compare my workout to a master-size-skilled climb, right?

Okay. The workout today royally sucked. Better? 

It was only meant to be a 30 minute elliptical (pushing myself with resistance). Easy peasy, right? Wrong. 

First off, I was bored within the first 3 minutes. I upped the resistance as planned but was still beyond asleep at the wheel. I upped it again. Boredom. I pumped my arms for added cardio. Booooorrrrrrrrred. 

Secondly, my hamstrings! Dead-lifts always make my hamstrings sore a few days. Honestly, I like the sore. It means I actually did something productive. Yesterday was dead-lifts, therefore, today was soreness. And apparently, soreness equals boring elliptical workouts. 

Third, cardio is dumb. I like weight training days. 

The whole fake it until you make it theme hit home today. I knew there'd be days like this. I signed up for it. Doesn't mean I have to like them. Or, blog niceties about them. 

I still made it 30 minutes. Believe me, I must've appeared as a banshee on fire when I shut the machine off and just as frantic as I wiped it clean. But I was done with it. D. O. N. E. Done. 

As far as food today, I wasn't extremely hungry but still ate meals. For lunch I ate steamed veggies, fresh strawberries, cuties, and half a bacon wrapped filet mignon someone left in the fridge. I also ate a couple cookies. They were soft. And sugary. 

For dinner, I found the pressure cooker full of pot roast, potatoes, and carrots. I can't say no to potatoes. I ate a small helping of the rest but my plate was mostly a buttered, peppered, glorious potato. And it was delicious. 

That is all for this not so great day in the life of exercise/diet hell. 

Adios Muchachas,

Mel

P.S. All images are not my own and taken from their respective sources. 

Mount Everest image: Illustration: Rabindra Manandhar /TKP

Lizzie Mcguire image: Lizzie Mcguire the series by the Disney Channel. 

Minions image: Twitter Minions page: @Minions

Day 5 (Success!)

Success. That's what I have labeled today, Day 5. Why? Because I took a day off (a holiday, remember?) where I ate too much food, (didn't think twice about not exercising) and successfully made it through the next day of healthy eating and exercise.

Total complete success!

So... Day 5 workout:

5 min warm-up on the upright bike. Btw, that thing hurts my rear end. I may try the recumbent next time I do a bike warm-up.

Body For Life biceps, dead lifts, and triceps. The husband talked me into doing a little extra legs so I did my own BFL routine on the leg press machine. 

Abs consisted of 3X10 each leg of glute presses and 3X10 on the adductor machine. I'm not entirely convinced that machine does anything worthwhile but I'd like the inner flabby thigh to go away someday and I'm told it's the machine to do the work. 

^^This one I really like. Glute press.

What did I eat today? Well, after eating the most sugar and carbs of all the days of 2021 combined (I know there had only been 3 previous day's at the time) I consumed the most amazing flat iron steak I've ever tasted. The husband made it for me at lunch. (Remember, he cooks, I eat. We have a deal.) I ate a couple spoonfuls of steamed veggies along with it and some strawberries for an afternoon snack. And... water, water, water. 

See? Complete success. Hey, I may win this fake it to make it battle after all. Haha! Check back on day 30 and see if I'm still here. 😉

Adios Muchachas,

Mel

Day 2 (Wait? No Day 1?)

Day 2 of 2021 and I've decided to make myself hit the gym and start a diet.

Again.

Not starting on day 1 because:

A) Hello? New Year's Day diet. New year, New You. So cliché. Those never work. So, I figure, why not on Day 2? It HAS to be better than the first. 

And, B) Hello? The first was a holiday. New rule: All holidays are gym/diet free. Off limits to this ridiculous diet and workout life. Because... If I have to live this stupid diet/excercise life, I get to make the rules. Enough said. 

So... Day 2. Being honest here. Yes, I ate some mixed carmel/cheddar/plain popcorn from a Christmas tin. It was pretty good too as far as commercial popcorn goes. I also threw a couple spoonfuls of hot chocolate in my coffee. So what? I plan on eating grilled chicken for dinner and possibly a handful of almonds. That should work, right? Remember, I get to call the shots this time.

What does me calling the shots look like? Well... Mostly, I'd like to make healthy choices. No gimmicks. No "Eat this to look like that." It doesn't work. At least, not for me. 

What does work for me? So far? Not much I've enjoyed. I like to eat bad food. Pizza, POTATOES, CAKE, nachos, anything Mexican, and whatever else has obvious carbs. Horribly bad carbs. Basically, bad decisions I end up feeling worse about later. KETO was a good diet, until it wasn't. Eventually, I grew bored. I can still see how great I felt while following the diet, but... I need more. 

This new "try" will be different. Not because I have renewed faith and strength in enjoying my newfound diet/exercise. I don't. However, I'm committing to making myself. 

Yep. You read that right. I'm going to "fake it" until I "make it." Can't wait. (Can you hear my sarcasm?) If not, re-read the 3rd and 4th sentences. 

I might even blog it daily. At least in the beginning. I always forget to take a picture and think of something to write but what if I set an alarm every evening and MAKE myself? Will I hold myself accountable?

While being completely and nakedly (is that a real word?) honest, let me tell you something. When I stepped on the scale today and saw the horrendous numbers staring back at me... I'll admit I flipped my switch a little. 

How am I almost right back to where I was 3 years ago? Before Keto? Is it age as well as bad choices? Lack of exercise? The Oldness? (Definitely blaming The Oldness. It's a real condition. Basiclly, everyone over 40 probably suffers from The Oldness.) Whatever it is, IT got me. It's up to me to do something about IT. Even though I don't want to do a darn thing, I'm faking it til I make it. 

I told you what I ate today. Day 2.

My gym choice:

5 min warm-up on row machine. (I like the overall warm-up the rowing machine gives my entire body.)

Body for Life weights:

Flys, Lunges, & Presses.

Weights alternated: 5, 8, 10, 12, & 15.

Abs: Total Gym core sliding. 3X15

I think that is all I can do for Day 2. Come back and see more on Day 3 if you are bored. I'll try to keep it entertaining. 🙄😂

Adios Muchachas,

Mel

P.S. Still not giving up my coffee for any diet. Ever. Period. 

P.P.S. That's a Planet Fitness in the first photo if you can't figure it out through the dirty windshield. 🤷‍♀️🤦‍♀️