Rugby Day

I had a day full of Rugby events today. I started off by covering U14 boys in Beaconsfield. They were playing in a 7s tournament. I had to be there as a therapist in case anyone got injured. It was a long morning as it was really hot in the sun. However, I still had fun watching them play. Since I was watching them play all morning, it helped me keep my mind off of food. It’s my fasting period so I couldn’t eat but being busy made time go by faster.

As soon as it was over, I drove to Ste-Julie to watch my boyfriend play. They lost to the Montreal Irish but they still played a really good game! Being surrounded by rugby all summer has me seriously considering playing next summer. I think it would be a good challenge and a lot of fun. The first couple of tackles would be a little scary but I’m sure I would get used to it.

I stuck to my diet today as I was busy and that forced me to prepare all my meals for the day. I thought this new meal plan would be a bit harder to follow but I’ve been really enjoying it so far. Seeing all the athletes also pushes me to get in shape. I want to have the same physique and get as strong as them. It motivates me to get into the gym and want to work out.

Enjoying The Weather

I had the day off today so I decided to make the most out of the beautiful summer weather. I started my morning off by going for a walk. I decided to go to the park by the water and read a book. It took me to 20 minutes to walk and with my music playing, it didn’t take that long. It felt so nice just to lay down by the water and enjoy the view. It was so relaxing! It felt good to do something nice for myself. It was a few hours of my day that I devoted to myself and it felt great!

In the afternoon, my boyfriend and I went on a bike ride along the water. We went on the bike path in Lachine and Lasalle. It was so nice! It was a beautiful day and the weather was great! I even resisted the urge to stop for ice cream on the way home!

I could have done my cardio at the gym today but I decided to do it outside. It was a great way for me to enjoy the sunshine and fully enjoy my day off.

Leg Day

I had my first full training with Alex. Today we planned to work out my legs. He warned me that I wouldn’t be able to walk for the next 3 days. Oh boy, do my legs feel like jello already. The work out involved high sets and high reps. We focused on holding a contraction for 3 seconds and we worked on my eccentric strength. It really pushed my muscles to failure.

I started with 5 sets on the leg press machine. I did 12,10, and then 8 reps for the first 3 sets while increasing the weight each time. The last 2 sets were 12 and then 15 reps with a lighter rep to really tire my muscles. My legs were shaking so much on those last two sets. With each rep, I had to focus on pushing out through my heals and then slowly lowering it for 4 seconds. My legs felt like jello after doing this exercise.

I repeated the same pattern as above for the next exercise. I had to do Romanian dead lifts using a trap bar, to really isolate my hamstrings. This exercise wasn’t as tough as the leg press. I had good form but I think I’ll have to increase the weight next time.

The next exercises involved a super set of leg extension and hamstring curl. I did 3 sets of 12 reps for each exercise. For each rep, I had to squeeze at the top for 3 seconds. I really felt the burn in my last few reps. I fought through it and completed it all.

My last superset involved the abductor and adductor machine. I did the same sets and reps as above. Again, I really had to contract my muscles at the end of each movement. With each exercise, I could really feel my muscles working. It was a different style of training then what I had done before. It was cool to really focus on building my muscles.

Now let’s hope I can walk for the next couple of days…

Regaining Focus

I had some difficulty over the weekend getting back to following my diet. I got back Friday night and I told myself I would start eating healthy again. I started off strong during the day on Saturday but at night, I let my temptations get to me. I would say yes to food even though I knew I should be saying no. It was also difficult for me to get back on track because it was my sister’s birthday on Sunday and there was so much temptation around me.

I still did my groceries on Sunday because I knew that was the first step for me to get back on my diet. But again I wasn’t motivated so I didn’t even prepare any of the food I bought that night. I was scared that I wasn’t going to get back into the routine I was in before I left. I was scared I had lost all motivation. It’s a lot easier to eat whatever you want and not stress out about working out, especially in the summer.

That’s when I took the time to find new motivation. Yes, I have to goal to compete next spring but it’s also important to set yourself smaller goals. My new motivation is school starting in September. I want my friends to be able to see a noticeable difference. I wan’t people to say “Wow, you’ve lost a lot of weight!” Since I haven’t seen most of them all summer, they will be able to notice a bigger chance than the people I see every day. So I’m using the next 2 months to really push myself to lose weight. I’m going to stick to my diet 100% and I’m going to give it my all during my training sessions. I feel a stronger drive than ever before and I know it’s really going to push me to lose more weight.

New Meal Plan

Before my first training session yesterday, I sat down with my trainer Alex to discuss my new plan.

Here is an outline of my diet:

9:00am – Breakfast
– 1/2 cup juice
– 1/2 cup water
– 1 scoop of protein
– Greek yogurt
– Fruit

2:00pm – Lunch
I have to fast for 5 hours before I can eat again. The idea is to get my body to starting using my stored fat for energy.
– Protein source: chicken, beef, turkey, fish, etc
– Complex carb: squash, sweet potato, brown rice, etc
– Dark green vegetable: asparagus, broccoli, green beans, etc
I can change up my meals as long as I meet the above criteria. It has to be a big meal totally 800-1000 calories

4:00pm – Supper
– Protein source: chicken, beef, turkey, fish, etc
– Dark green vegetable: asparagus, broccoli, green beans, etc
This is the same as my lunch without a carb source.

7:00pm – Snack
– Greek yogurt
– Fruit

10:00pm – Snack
– Cottage cheese

Today was my first day on my new meal plan. It was easier than I thought. I thought I would have trouble with the fasting but as long as I keep myself busy, I won’t think about food. I’m excited to see what happens with this. I really want to start losing more fat.

As for my training today, I did 30 minutes of cardio. I did 20 minutes on the elliptical and 10 minutes on the stair master. I’m doing the best I can to get back into the shape I was in before I left on vacation. I’m excited to see what happens in the next month!

New Month, New Trainer, New Plan

I’m back from vacation! I had such an amazing trip! BC is beautiful. There are mountains everywhere, the scenery is beautiful and the air is so fresh. The people are so nice there! I had a great time exploring the city. They have beautiful parks and museums. I even went to Whistler for a couple of days. There were people skiing at the top of the mountain! Overall, it was nice to get away and relax.

I tried to stick to my diet and exercise plan while I was away but it was a lot harder than I thought. Since I was staying with my boyfriends family, I didn’t want to be rude and not eat any of the food they made. I ended up eating with the rest of the family. I don’t regret it because it was delicious. I was also on vacation. I didn’t want to stress and I really wanted to enjoy myself. It was also hard if we were out and we needed to grab food quickly, I couldn’t be picky. I tried to make the best decisions I could. I tried to make up for it with all the walking I did. I also did a lot of activities such as biking, swimming, and hiking! I kept active and I even tried their local gym.

I started with my new trainer today. I will be training with Alex Fosty for the next month. He has done body building competitions before and he even has one this weekend (good luck!). Since he’s been through the process before, his experience will be really helpful. I feel like he will really be able to help me lose weight.

We discussed my new meal plan at the beginning of the session and then worked out for the rest of the hour. We did a circuit training involving eccentric push-ups, medicine ball slams, TRX rows, elbow to wrist in a plank position with a cross body oblique crunch and then a 2 minute cardio bout. I felt really out of shape doing this. I don’t know if my 2 weeks off took that much of a toll on me or the work out itself was difficult but it was tough. It was a good way to get back into things and I’m excited to be back on my training routine!