Day 61

Breakfast: Muffin; Apple Juice
Lunch: Sausage Pizza; Water
Dinner: Salad; BBQ Spare Pork Ribs; French Fries; Diet Cherry Coke; Water

No workout today.  I had intended on working out after I got done with my shift at the Y, but I stayed longer than my shift because we were too busy.  And then my sister and I had already planned on going shopping for her bike tonight so I had to get home before it got too late so that the stores wouldn't be closed.  I know....excuses, excuses.

Day 59 and Day 60

I've been so busy the last couple of days that I haven't even had time to post anything.

Thursday, April 28, 2011

I have no idea what I ate and I had no time to workout.


Friday, April 29, 2011


Breakfast:  French Toast
Lunch: 1/2 Jimmy John's sandwich #5 - leftovers from a meeting earlier in week
Dinner: @ baby shower: Sloppy Joes; Pickle Spear; Pasta Salad; Deviled Egg; Tortilla Chips and Guacamole; Cupcakes; Diet Dr. Pepper! (finally I had my first pop and let has been over for a week)

No workout today either.  I had better things to do like ooh and aah over a darling little girl!

Day 58

Breakfast: Banana
Lunch: Burrito; Water
Dinner: Country Sausage; Mashed Potatoes; Chocolate Milk
Evening Snack: Cake fresh out of the oven

Mid-Morning Workout at Gold's Gym

Cardio: 60 minutes of walking on treadmill - 2.8-3.6 mph

Day 57

Breakfast: Subway Breakfast Melt on flatbread........which was delicious.  It was my first ever.
Work snacking: Water, Chocolate Chip & Walnut cookie; 1/2 Jimmy John's #5 sandwich...it was a leftover from a meeting
Pre-workout: 1/2 Cliff bar
Dinner: Salad with Honey French dressing;  Dinner Roll; Water

Early Evening Workout at Gold's Gym

Cardio: 45 minutes of walking on treadmill - 2.8-3.5 mph

Weights: 0

Day 56

Breakfast: none
Lunch: Cold Ham Sandwich; Pretzels with Onion Dip; Water
Dinner: Warm Ham; Mashed Potatoes; Corn; Bread Roll; Chocolate Milk

No workout today either.  I'm in a slump and I need to get re-motivated.  I'm counting the days 'til my bike gets here, then I'm hitting the parks.

Day 55 - Sunday, April 24, 2011

EASTER SUNDAY

Breakfast: none
Lunch: Cinnamon Popovers with Honey Cinnamon Butter; Ham; Thielen's Country Sausage; Mashed Potatoes with Gravy, Corn, Carrots with Dip; Salad with Western dressing; Chocolate Milk; Cherry Jello
Dinner: Leftovers - see Lunch

No workout today.  It's a holiday!

Day 54

The day was a blur.
Breakfast: ?
Lunch: ?
Dinner: Baked Fish; German Chocolate Cake; Chocolate Milk

No official workout today.  Parents are in town for Easter and day was full of activities...such as carrying 6 sheets of Sheetrock down into basement so Dad can finally finish my basement.  Those things are heavy.

Mom and I went to see Jersey Boys at the Orpheum in the afternoon so we did some walking from the parking ramp to the theater.

Day 53 - Friday, April 22, 2011

Pre-workout breakfast: 1/2 Cliff bar
Post-workout breakfast:  Scrambled eggs with Toast
Lunch: Potbelly's - Ham and Swiss sandwich; Potato Salad; Sour Cream and Onion Potato Chips; Water
Dinner: Romaine Salad with Western and Ranch dressing; Hawaiian Sweet Roll

Early Morning Workout at Gold's Gym

Cardio: 50 minutes of walking on treadmill - 2.8-3.5 mph

Weights:  Not in the mood anymore since seeing Ryan....he messed up my routine : (

**Went to Arbor Lakes to do some baby shower shopping = tons of walking!***

Day 52

Breakfast: Cinnamon Pop-Over; Special K Berry Yogurt cereal
Lunch: Turkey on White Bun; Water
Snack: Birthday cake: Culver's- Brownie Overload Ice Cream Cake
Dinner: Ham and Muenster Sandwich; Tortilla Chips; Chocolate Milk

No workout today!  It's Thursday = work, eat, nap, work, eat, sleep.

Day 51

Breakfast: nothing
Snack: Birthday cake - Culver's Brownie Overload Ice Cream Cake
Lunch: Ham and Turkey with Pepperjack on Toasted Flatbread; Bake Cheddar and Sour Cream Potato Chips; Water
Dinner: Pizza Rolls; Water
Snack: Breyer's Oreo Ice Cream

Early Afternoon Workout at Gold's Gym

Cardio: 45 minutes of walking on treadmill - 2.6-2.8 mph

Weights:  Still too sore from Personal Training session on Monday

***Think I'm going to pass on signing up for Personal Training for now.  If only there wasn't a 12 month contract. My thighs are so sore that it's hard to walk down steps or bend over to pick things up off the ground.  And if I'm going to be playing softball this summer, playing catcher will be a little difficult.  Just walking on the treadmill today I was stumbling because sometimes my legs wouldn't move.  Running would be a little more tricky.  And if I'm getting a bike, my legs will be getting a workout pedaling around town.***

Day 50!

Breakfast: 2 pieces of French Toast with Maple Syrup
Lunch: Ham on Wheat Bun; 1 mini pickles; tortilla round chips with salsa; water
Dinner: 2 Thielen Weiners; Corn; Chocolate Milk

No workout today.  I can only blame Glee!  I wanted to go straight home from work so I wouldn't miss the new Spring episode.  It was worth it.

Day 49

Breakfast: Nature's Valley Honey 'N' Oats granola bar
Lunch: The other 1/2 of the Cajun Ranch Burger; Jo-Jo's; Water
Dinner: Romaine Salad with Ranch and Western dressing; Mashed Potatoes with Gravy; 2 Hawaiian Sweet Rolls

Early Morning Workout at Gold's Gym

Cardio: 45 minutes of walking on treadmill - 2.8-3.5 mph

Weights: Rest Day

**This morning was my consult with a personal trainer, Ryan.  It was supposed to include a fitness assessment but I've already had that done at Andover back in February.  So instead he tested by body fat and BMI.  The result were not a huge surprise...they were too high.  Ryan did say that BMI's aren't always accurate (Adrienne Peterson has a high BMI....because he's all muscle) and to pay more attention to your body fat percentage.

He then went over my workout routine.  He doesn't like it.....machines are inefficient on burning tons of calories.  He took me away from the machines and over to the free weight area....SCARY!  I was out of my element.  He made me do squats, squats with bicep curls, squats with bicep curls and then turn it into a shoulder press.  Then he made me do a pull down (sitting down) and then a pull down while squatting.  Then he put me on an overturned bosu ball and made me do squats.  I HATE squats.  I have no balance.  I was stumbling and shaking all over the place.  (And just now when I was coming downstairs from the shower, I almost fell down the stairs....legs are complete noodles.)

Ryan is really pushing me to do personal training because I have no balance = no muscle strength.  I've thought about doing personal training for a while now, since all Member Services staff had to do a fitness consultation at the Y back in February.  The biggest factor of not following through is $$$.  It's so expensive and it's a one year agreement.

And now I'm more confused than ever.  I broke more of sweat in 15 minutes with Ryan than the last 48 days of doing weights all by myself.  My asthma finally showed up.  This might sound bad, but I feel like I'm accomplishing something when I can't breath and I'm huffing and puffing.  It makes me feel good because I'm off the couch and being active.

If I go through with personal training, I'm thinking of only doing it once a week.  It'll be cheaper than say 3 or 4 days a week.  And if I have homework for the other 6 days, I can be accountable for myself.  I need to make this decision myself and not feel like I'm being pressured into it because Ryan wants to make a sale.  Making a decision to please someone else will only make me regret signing up for personal training.  It has to be for me!

Day 48 - Sunday, April 17th, 2011

Breakfast: French Vanilla Cappacino
Snack: Apple Juice
Lunch/Dinner: Wild Bill's - 1/2 Cajun Ranch Burger; Poker Potato Chips; Water

Early Afternoon Workout at the Andover YMCA

Weight training of Upper Body:  Chest Press - 30 lbs/ 12 reps x2
                                                 Fly - 50 lbs/ 12 reps x2
                                                 Pulldown - 70 lbs/ 12 reps x2
                                                 Row/ Rear Delt - 50 lbs/ 12 reps x2
                                                 Shoulder Press - 25 lbs/ 12 reps x2
                                                 Bicep Curl - 30 lbs/ 12 reps x2
                                                 Tricep Press - 65 lbs/ 12 reps x2
                                                
Cardio: 40 minutes of walking on treadmill - 2.6-3.3 mph

Day 47- Saturday, April 16th, 2011

Pre-Workout: 1 Cliff bar
Breakfast: Scramble Egg with Cheese on Toasted English Muffin
Work snack: Soft Pretzel with Cheese; Water
Dinner: Cub Chicken dinner - 1 Chicken Breast; Mashed Potatoes with Gravy; 2 Hawaiian Sweet Rolls; Chocolate Milk

Early Morning Workout at Gold's Gym

Warm-up: 2 minutes walking on treadmill - 2.6 mph

Weight training of Lower Body:  Leg Curl - 55 lbs/ 12 reps x2
                                                 Leg Extension - 60 lbs/ 12 reps x2
                                                 Calf Extension - 70 lbs/ 12 reps x2
                                                 Leg Press - 70 lbs/ 12 reps x2
                                                 Hip Abduction - 70 lbs/ 12 reps x2
                                                 Hip Adduction - 70 lbs/ 12 reps x2
                                                 Back Extension - 155 lbs/ 12 reps x2

Cardio: 20 minutes of walking on treadmill - 2.6-3.3 mph

Day 46

Breakfast: Chocolate Chip Cookies
Work snacking (birthday munchies): Potato Chips and Olive Olive Dip; Wheat Tortilla Scoops and Salsa
Lunch: Old Chicago - Side Salad with Ranch and French dressing; Lunch Calzone 7 Veggie; Water
Pre-workout snack: 1 Cutie Mandarin Orange
Dinner: Veggie Pizza; Chocolate Milk

Late Afternoon Workout at Gold's Gym

Cardio: 40 minutes walking on treadmill - 2.6-3.3 mph

Weights: Rest Day

Day 45

Breakfast: Special K Berry Yogurt cereal
Lunch: Romaine Salad with cheese; Honey French dressing
Dinner: Ham Sandwich; Tortilla Chips and Salsa Con Queso

Mid-Afternoon Workout at Gold's Gym

Weight training of Upper Body:  Chest Press - 30 lbs/ 12 reps x1; 35 lbs/ 12 reps x1
                                                 Fly - 50 lbs/ 12 reps x1; 55 lbs/ 12 reps x1
                                                 Pulldown - 70 lbs/ 12 reps x2
                                                 Row/ Rear Delt - 45 lbs/ 12 reps x2
                                                 Shoulder Press - 20 lbs/ 12 reps x2
                                                 Bicep Curl - 20 lbs/ 12 reps x2 **Icky machine...not fluid movements**
                                                 Tricep Press - 60 lbs/ 12 reps x1; 65 lbs/ 12 reps x1
                                                 Lateral Raise - 30 lbs/ 12 reps x2 **New machine**

Even though the equipment is the same brand and style as the Y's, the weight resistance is very different.  It took some playing around with the machines to find the right resistance.

Cardio: Not today

Day 44

Breakfast: PBJ sandwich
Lunch: none
Snack: Maple and Brown Sugar Oatmeal
Dinner: Purple Star takeout - Honey Chicken; Pineapple Chicken;  General Tsao Chicken; Sweet 'N' Sour Chicken; White Rice; Cream Cheese Puffs

Mid-Afternoon Workout at Gold's Gym
Warm-up: 2 minutes walking on treadmill - 2.6 mph

Weight training of Lower Body:  Leg Curl - 45 lbs/ 12 reps x2
                                                 Leg Extension - 60 lbs/ 12 reps x2
                                                 Calf Extension - 70 lbs/ 12 reps x2
                                                 Leg Press - 70 lbs/ 12 reps x2
                                                 Hip Abduction - 40 lbs/ 12 reps x2
                                                 Hip Adduction - 40 lbs/ 12 reps x2
                                                 Back Extension - 155 lbs/ 12 reps x2

Cardio: 50 minutes of walking on treadmill - 2.6-3.3 mph

Another Membership

I work at the Y and one of the perks of being an employee is that I get a free membership.  I've been there over 5 years and haven't really taken advantage of it until now.  But driving 20 minutes one way is getting old and with gas prices going up, it's not looking pretty on my wallet either.

In January I did a free 7 day trial pass to Snap Fitness.  I only went twice.  It smelled funny...it was next to a dry cleaners and a BBQ joint.  And it was dirty...very dirty.  Also in January I  put myself on the mailing lists of Anytime Fitness and Gold's Gym but never did anything besides that.

Last week I was going to clean up my SPAM folder and and email from Gold's Gym caught my eye.  I opened it and found that it was for a free 7 day trial.  I thought I would take advantage of it and to see what else is out there for future reference.  I won't always work at the Y.

So today was my first day of my trial pass.  It's not really a facility for families, more for individuals.  It looks a little intimidating from the outside but it's quite nice on the inside.  It's spacious, has tons of equipment, 3 studios and tanning beds.  The downside: It's dark...poor lighting for reading and it's hot....no fans for air circulation and body temperature cooling.  The pool isn't the greatest either (no water sliders?!  Oh the horror!) but I don't plan on using it....no lifeguards!  Help me...I can't swim!

The part that I LOVE!!!!....is the women's locker room.   The shower's are designed to be separate of the changing area which makes it a little more private...which is  nice.  The changing areas have little nooks too...which is good if you don't want to get undressed in front of a bunch of people.  You can hide out in a corner.  Think of a long aisle with little aisles coming off of it...like an "E".  And there is a separate "Women's Only" workout area.  You can get to it from the main workout area through a glass door, but then there is a giant archway from the Women's Locker Room.  It's much more quiet in there.  I can see the benefits of it and I might use it for some weight training.

Speaking of weights, they have the exact same equipment as Andover with the exception of the Leg Curl.  I'm gonna have to lay on my stomach and bend my knees to pull my legs UP towards my butt.  I'm not looking forward to that one.  As far as cardio goes, similar but not exact.  The treadmills feel more narrow.  I feel like I'm going to stumble because I catch the side of the conveyor belt.

I'm going to workout there again tomorrow and I might sign up for a membership.  With my health insurance qualifying for the Frequent Fitness Discount, it will be FREE after the first two months of membership.  With tax, it'll be under $2 a month.  That's less than the gas it'll take me to drive the 20 minutes to Andover or Lino Lakes.  I'm kind of excited to have a place that's 5 BLOCKS away from me.  I could WALK or BIKE instead of using my precious GAS!

Day 43

Breakfast: Brueggar's - Light Garden Veggie Cream Cheese of Plain Bagel; Small Mocha Bruggechino
Lunch: Supreme French Bread Pizza; Water
Dinner: Pork Loin; Shells 'N' Cheese; Romaine Salad with Western and Ranch dressing; Chocolate Milk

Early Evening Workout at Gold's Gym
***Today was my first day of a 7 day guest pass at Gold's Gym***

Cardio: 30 minutes walking on treadmill - 2.6-3.3 mph

Weights: Rest Day

Day 42

Breakfast: Blueberry Muffin
Lunch: French Bread Supreme Pizza; Chocolate Milk
Snack: Banana Bread; Water
Dinner: Polish Sausage; Shells and Cheese; Water

Late Morning Workout at the Andover YMCA

Weight training of Upper Body:  Chest Press - 30 lbs/ 12 reps x2
                                                 Fly - 30 lbs/ 12 reps x2
                                                 Pulldown - 70 lbs/ 12 reps x2
                                                 Row/ Rear Delt - 50 lbs/ 12 reps x2
                                                 Shoulder Press - 25 lbs/ 12 reps x2
                                                 Bicep Curl - 30 lbs/ 12 reps x2
                                                 Tricep Press - 50 lbs/ 12 reps x2


 Cardio:  30 minutes of walking on treadmill: 2.8-3.3 mph

Day 41

Breakfast:  Blueberry muffin
Lunch: Bricks - Italian Sandwich ( pepperoni, salami, capricollo, prosciutto on Ciabatta ); French Fries; Water

Dinner: Romaine salad with Western/ Ranch dressing; 2 Cream Wontons, 1 piece of Sesame Chicken; Water


No workout today.  Parents are in town and had many projects to do with them.  They kept me busy.

Day 40

Breakfast: Blueberry muffin
Lunch: Subway - 6" BMT on White Bread; Lettuce, Onion, Pickles, Spinach, Black Olives, Light Mayo; Baked Cheddar Ruffles; Water
Snack: Nature's Valley Oats 'N' Honey granola bar
Dinner:  Romaine salad, Western dressing; Pork Loins, Mashed Potatoes, Corn on the Cob

Late Afternoon Workout at the Andover YMCA
Warm-up: 2 minutes walking on treadmill - 2.6 mph

Weight training of Lower Body:  Leg Curl - 60 lbs/ 12 reps x2
                                                 Leg Extension - 55 lbs/ 12 reps x2
                                                 Calf Extension - 160 lbs/ 12 reps x2
                                                 Leg Press - 85 lbs/ 12 reps x2
                                                 Hip Abduction - 90 lbs/ 12 reps x2
                                                 Hip Adduction - 90 lbs/ 12 reps x2
                                                 Back Extension - 155 lbs/ 12 reps x2

Cardio: 35 minutes of walking on treadmill - 2.8-3.0 mph

Day 39

Breakfast: Sausage, Egg, Cheese Muffin; Apple Juice
Lunch: Panara - Tuna Salad on Honey Wheat; Potato Chips; Pickle Spear; Double Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookie;  Water
Dinner: Fish Fillets; Bush's Baked Beans; Tator Tots; Water
Late Night: Hard Pear Cider; Amaretto Sours; Water; Deep Fried Pickles

I had planned on working out after work, but I was too tired.   Plus my parents are in town so I also wanted to spend some time with them.  So instead I headed home to make supper and then I sneaked in a nap before hitting Downtown Anoka with some girlfriends.  Fun times!

Day 38

Breakfast: Special K Vanilla Almond cereal; Skim Milk
Lunch: leftover Sarpino's pizza from Tuesday meeting; Tortilla Chips;  Water
Afternoon snack:  Ice Cream Cookie sandwich
Dinner: Romaine salad with French dressing

No time for a workout today : (

I'm loving the new bathroom scale, but I don't like that my weight goes up and down, up and down throughout the day.  I know you're only supposed to weight yourself once a week, but it's a new toy and I want to play with it.   I liked the reading I got when I got home from work this afternoon versus the reading I got this morning.  And it's down 2 lbs since I first got it last week : )

Day 37

Breakfast: Special K Vanilla Berries cereal
Lunch: Turkey and Swiss on 9-Grain; BBQ Potato Chips; Carrots and Ranch dip;  Water
Pre-workout snack: Nature's Valley Honey 'N' Oats Granola Bar
Dinner: Romaine salad with shredded cheese and Honey French dressing:  2 Slider burgers;  Bush's Baked Beans;  Tator tots;  Pickle, Chocolate Milk

Mid-Afternoon Workout at the Chain of Lakes YMCA
Cardio:  60 minutes walking on treadmill - 2.6-3.5 mph

Weights: Rest Day

Day 36

Breakfast:  Scrambled Egg on English Muffin with Cheese
Lunch (meeting):  Scarpino's Pizza-Veggie; Classic; Taco; Water
Work-snacking: BBQ Potato Chips; Water
Dinner (meeting leftovers)- Pizza; Water
Post-workout snack: 1/2 Cliff bar

Late Evening Workout at the Andover YMCA

Weight training of Upper Body:  Chest Press - 30 lbs/ 12 reps x2
                                                 Fly - 30 lbs/ 12 reps x2
                                                 Pulldown - 70 lbs/ 12 reps x2
                                                 Row/ Rear Delt - 50 lbs/ 12 reps x2
                                                 Shoulder Press - 30 lbs/ 12 reps x2
                                                 Bicep Curl - 30 lbs/ 12 reps x2
                                                 Tricep Press - 50 lbs/ 12 reps x2


 Cardio:  45 minutes of walking on treadmill: 2.6-3.5 mph

Day 35

Breakfast aka driving to gym: 1/2 Cliff bar
Lunch: Ham and Provolone on Wheat Bread; Pickle; Bush's Baked Beans; Potato Salad; Chocolate Milk
Work snacking: Blueberry muffin
Dinner: Chili with elbow noodles; Water

Mid-morning workout at the Andover YMCA

Warm-up: 2 minutes walking on treadmill - 2.4 mph

Weight training of Lower Body:  Leg Curl - 35 lbs/ 12 reps x2
                                                 Leg Extension - 55 lbs/ 12 reps x2
                                                 Calf Extension - 180 lbs/ 12 reps x2
                                                 Leg Press - 80 lbs/ 12 reps x2
                                                 Hip Abduction - 85 lbs/ 12 reps x2
                                                 Hip Adduction - 85 lbs/ 12 reps x2
                                                 Back Extension - 150 lbs/ 12 reps x2

Cardio: 60 minutes of walking on treadmill - 2.8-3.3 mph

Day 34

Breakfast: Special K Chocolaty Delight cereal; 2% Milk
Lunch: Leftovers- 2 Sliders with Cheese, Lettuce, Pickles; Julien Potatoes; Chocolate Milk
Dinner: Two Stooges - Pulled Pork Sandwich; Potato Chips, Chocolate Chip Cookie; Water; Amaretto Sours
Late-night: Burger King - Cheese Whopper; Water

No official workout today.  I opened the Y this morning, came home after my shift just to get fancy and head to Two Stooges for a cancer benefit for some guy.  Don't know who he is, still don't.  But High Noon came out of retirement for this guy.  Besides High Noon, Undefined Purpose, Consensual and The Killer Hayseeds were on the set list.  Much dancing was done....I had a glistening brow.  Which is kind of gross when you want to look your best in front of gorgeous bass players.

Day 33

Breakfast: 1 Cliff bar
Snack: Nature's Valley Oats 'N' Honey Granola bar; Water
Lunch: 1/2 Ham and Muenster on Wheat bread; Tortilla Chips; Chocolate Milk
Dinner:  2 Slider Burgers with bacon, lettuce, cheese, BBQ sauce; French Fries; dill pickle; Bush's Baked Beans; Chocolate Milk

Early Morning Workout at the Andover YMCA
Cardio: 60 minutes of walking on treadmill: 2.6-3.3 mph
Weights: Rest day

Day 32

So this is the first day after my 31-day Challenge.  I'm hoping to keep the momentum going.  I intend to keep this blog as more of a journal but maybe I'll include some healthy recipes every once in a while.  I just subscribed to "Everyday with Rachel Ray" and "Cooking Light" this week.  The neighbor girl had a magazine fundraiser and I thought it was a perfect opportunity to learn how to make new leaner meals.

I also now have my very own scale that I have placed in my bathroom.  I won't have to rely on different scales at the Y were I never get the same readings.  I will track my progress with the new scale to make sure of consistency and accuracy.

Breakfast:  Special K Chocolaty Delight cereal; 2% Milk
Lunch:  Tuna on Wheat Bread; Doritos; Water
Dinner: North Alaskan Cod Filet Sandwich (Culver's); French Fries; Mint Oreo Concrete Mixer; Water

Morning Workout at the Andover YMCA

Weight training of Upper Body:  Chest Press - 30 lbs/ 12 reps x2
                                                 Fly - 30 lbs/ 12 reps x2
                                                 Pulldown - 70 lbs/ 12 reps x2
                                                 Row/ Rear Delt - 50 lbs/ 12 reps x2
                                                 Shoulder Press - 30 lbs/ 12 reps x2
                                                 Bicep Curl - 30 lbs/ 12 reps x2
                                                 Tricep Press - 50 lbs/ 12 reps x2


 Cardio:  60 minutes of walking on treadmill: 2.6-3.5 mph