Day 1

Started my day without eating breakfast because I was late for work. By 10am I was starving. So I  ran into Walmart and grabbed a Luna bar. I really heart Luna bars. And instead of my usual Diet Coke, I opted for a water bottle. Lunch at home around 1pm was steamed spinach and raw red bell pepper sticks plus water. Snack was a fat free blueberry yogurt. Yes, I have already missed my protein requirements. Hopefully my protein shake after my workout made up for the absence of it earlier in the day. Tonight will probably be a piece of fish and brown rice with some steamed veggie or another.

Gym
Today was my upper-body workout day at the gym. My strength training program is as follows:
Each exercise consists of five sets with one minute of rest between each set, starting with a set of 12 reps, then increasing the weight and doing 10 reps, adding more weight and doing 8 reps, adding more weight for 6 reps. Then reduce the weight and do 12 reps. Immediately perform another set of 12 reps without the minute of rest. I prefer to use the machines instead of the free weights.

Today: chest press, seated cable rows, preacher curls, tricep pushdowns, and lateral raises.

I finished in 30 minutes, but when I left I felt like I couldn't pick up a pencil. The lat raises really did me in today!

Tomorrow is Cardio....

Approved Food List

Here is the "Approved Food List" for the Challenge. I will try to post some recipes along the way as well.

Proteins:
Chicken breast
Turkey breast
Lean ground turkey
Swordfish
Orange roughy
Haddock
Salmon
Tuna
Crab
Lobster
Shrimp
Top round steak
Top sirloin steak
Lean ground beef
Buffalo
Lean ham
Egg whites or substitutes
Trout
Low-fat cottage cheese
Wild-game meat
Turkey Bacon

Veggies
Broccoli
Asparagus
Lettuce
Carrots
Cauliflower
Green beans
Green peppers
Mushrooms
Spinach
Tomato
Peas
Brussels sprouts
Artichoke
Cabbage
Celery
Zucchini
Cucumber
Onion

Carbs
Potato
Sweet potato
Yams
Squash
Pumpkin
Steamed brown rice
Steamed wild rice
Lentils
Couscous
Kashi
Bulgur
Whole-wheat pasta
Oatmeal
Barley
Beans (black, kidney)
Corn
Strawberries
Melon
Apple
Orange
Fat-free yogurt
Fat-free milk
Whole-wheat bread
High-fiber cereal
Whole-wheat tortilla
Whole-wheat pita bread
Whole grains

Healthy Fats
Avocado
Sunflower seeds
Pumpkin seeds
Cold-water fish
Natural peanut butter
Low-fat cheese
Low-sodium nuts
Olives and olive oil
Safflower oil
Canola oil
Sunflower oil
Flax seed oil

Welcome to the Challenge

Welcome to the Challenge. That is the 12 week Challenge to becoming a more fit mom. Did you know it takes 12 weeks to make (or break) a habit? My hope is that by the end of this Challenge that I have increased my ability to stick with the new and healthy habits learned during the Challenge. And to shrink a few sizes. And to feel better when I look in the mirror. And to have more energy to keep up with my two kids. I could go on...

You may be wondering, what are the daily goals of the Challenge. I will summarize:

1) Eat 6 meals a day consisting of a portion-controlled protein + carb from the "approved list." Unlimited veggies, so long as they are also from the "approved list."
2) Spend 45 minutes per day in the gym, alternating days of cardio and strength training.
3) Rest on the 7th day of each week, and no restrictions on food (but within reason of course!)

Pretty simple and straight-forward, yes? Oh, you are wanting to know what's on the "approved list" of food you say? I will save that for my next post....