BFL - A Progress Report

So, Body for Life has been not too miserable thus far. I do have some serious chocolate cravings late at night, but once I made it to my first Sunday (that's your free day) and had a Dove truffle egg, I was much better. Did not crave the chocolate last night. Oh, and I can't seem to resist stealing 2 or 3 of the kids' Ritz crackers when they are snacking after school! Any body have any will power they would like to loan me? The BFL food has been good, but I cannot seem to eat as often as they say you should. Even with the convenience of the bars and shakes (mostly bars - I can't stand the shakes), I can't eat that often. Part of the problem being that he recommends that your work out on an empty stomach and then wait about 45 minutes to an hour before eating after your workout. As a mom who gets two separate sets of children off to school in shifts, this is tough. My eating schedule is all thrown off first thing in the morning. so, to deal with this in a non-OCD way, I am just ignoring the set schedule of the plan and eating the plan approved type pf meals and snacks at appropriate intervals once my morning workout is complete. this means that my first meal is usually around 11:30am. hmmm....might need to re-think the plan if any of you can, with evidence, tell me that not eating earlier in the day is trashing all of my hard work.

First upper body workout was good and bad. The Good: Worked out with the husband, It was fun to do it together. Also, I am stronger than I thought. The Bad: I am stronger than I thought, and therefore sis not lift heavy enough and was barely sore AT ALL the next day which made me feel like I wasn't working hard enough.

The Cardio has been great. I have upped his 20 minute plan to 25 minutes just because 20 minutes isn't long enough. Don't get me wrong, at minutes 18 and 19 I want the pain to stop, but once I finish those two high intensity interval minutes I feel the need to drop the intensity back down and enjoy that endorphin high I get from being "in the zone". I don't get that "zoned out" air head feeling when doing intervals. So, I am still in and out of the gym in less than 40 minutes (about 35 to be exact). Rich and I did cardio together yesterday - he mad e me use the stationary bike - I HATED it. Will try to avoid it. However, I think his point that I need to always be mixing up my cardio equipment is valid.

First Lower Body Workout was crap. I knew I had a fairly strong lower body (as do most women), but I still underestimated. Also, most annoying, was that my gym did not have some of the machines I had planned on using, which threw off the whole quick rhythm of my workout. I tried to improvise my calf workout doing raises using dumbbells when every damn type of calf apparatus was in use...(was it world calf day or something???) Well, dumb, dumb idea. My arms were still sore from previous upper body workout and even if not could not possible hold the weight my calves would need to get a decent workout. So, next time Ill just wait on one of the damn machines...Anyway, left the gym that day feeling very frustrated. We'll see how today goes.

Here is a recipe for protein pancakes that I(and the whole family, amazingly!) love...Sounds gross, but tasty. Just don't be expecting light and fluffy. Think more like Swedish pancakes...

In blender puree:
1 c cottage cheese
splenda to taste
cinnamon to taste
6 egg whites
3/4 cup oats

Coat pan with non-stick spray. cook like you would regular pancakes. I used sugar-free syrup, but you could just eat them plain. They are yummier than you would think!

Also, similar - Puree cottage cheese with splenda and cinnamon, and tiny drizzle of sugar-free maple syrup. Use as dip for apple slices.

I have been keeping chopped cooked chicken in the fridge so that I can easily have a protein on top of a salad or throw into a low-carb, whole wheat wrap on the way out the door. I just saute it in the pan with a little non-stick spray, garlic salt, pepper, and paprika. When it almost done, I sprinkle on a little Worcestershire. Pretty yummy. The kids love it too. Grant calls it toothpick chicken because he likes to pick up the pieces with a toothpick and eat them.

So, there you have it - the most boring, self-serving post ever written, but it helps to keep me honest if I have to tell all of you about it. And, I'm always open for suggestions on how to do better. And, lastly, Tessie loves it.