Week Six- The Struggle Begins

Week Six Progress Pictures

Week Six is proving to be a very large challenge! No cheat meal was granted at the end of begging the week, which was a real turn off for me! In fact, I was down right pissed off! Sunday cheat meals, well, they hold a special place in my heart! 

While the diet seemed to be easy the first few weeks, this week show otherwise. Making the meals every two weeks has started to get tedious. Plus the lack of bread is just down right sad! The low carb days tend to make the following days morning workout, a large struggle.  Carbs convert to sugar, which help the body run that much better. When you take the carbs away, your body if forced o use its reserves. When you are taking from your reserves, your body tries to conserve it, so moving and lifting weights seem to be a travel. And this is my deduction from this experience!

The high carb days are by far my favorite! I also like to call them my re-fuel day! Though it is still a largely limited amount! Its way better than Day Three of my meal plan! 

In the end, I am channeling my inner willpower! Hoping I make it through next week without any hiccups! Fingers crossed for me! After all the dogs jar of peanut butter is starting to look good!

Favorite Shoulder Exercises!

Alternating Front raises- This exercise is a real challenge! So if you are new to this, I would suggest using 5 LBS weights! You will want to start with the weigh in one hand, then raise it strait in front of you. Don't bend your elbows or swing your body to get the weight into place. You will then bring that arm down, then repeat with your alternate arm. As this one is more challenging, maybe start with 10 reps of 3.

My weary mind forgot the name! (Will supply soon!)-  This movement, you will want a slightly heavier weight. So you will just want to use a single dumbbell or a kettle bell. I am using an 8 LBS kettle bell for the picture, but I generally use 15-20LBS. Start with both hands holding the weight in front of you. The pull up with you shoulder bending the elbows. The ending look should appear like the picture on the right. Elbows are reaching for my ears! You will want to follow the same rep scheme as listed above :)

On a side note, I did get some crafting done! This is from the Hunger Games, the first  scene with Jennifer Lawrence as Katness Everden. Very easy to make! And a lot of fun! 

Weekly Fixation: Pancakes!

Weekly weigh in: 147.6 lbs

Count Down until October 18th: 9 weeks

Week 5- Never Trust the Vanilla Protein Powder

Week 5 Progress Picture!

Of all the things that I have learned from this challenge, it this. Never trust the vanilla protein shake! While it might be fine in the beginning, it soon gets old... and when it gets old, the challenge then becomes consuming it! I ended up spending an additional $40.00 on a mint chocolate chip protein shake. I'll still use the vanilla, but now I can space out the two flavors and make it a little more taste bud friendly!

Protein shakes are an excellent source of protein, as they state! But they should not be considered a full meal. If you are consuming 6 meals a day, well that is another thing. On my three day meal plan, I only have on protein shake meal without something to consume on the side. So far this is the rule that I have to follow, but then again, this could all change! Currently, its my 4 meal of the day on average. Which works well for me as I have have 3 pretty substantial meal prior to that!

As the weeks are flying by, I got word from my trainer to start the search and purchase of the bikini. Very Exciting! I found a woman that works out at my guy, that makes the bikinis for the girls that are competing of the various WBFF shows. So I think I'll giver her a try! If she works out, I will include her contact information!

The big news I have for this week, both my trainers Nadia Lopez and Larry Nolan WBFF Pro's, are competing in the WORLD's located in Vegas! Everyone cheer for them!

The moment you realize 

you still have cardo....

Leg exercise of choice...

Frog Squats: These babies are a great and painful leg work out. I say painful because you can feel the burn within seconds of starting this workout.  Start with both your hand and feet on the floor, with your booty up in the air. Bend you knees so that they hover an inch over the floor, then straiten your legs. You will want to complete a set of 20-25, for 3 rounds. Your hamstrings will burn!

Single leg deadlifts: This workout, along with regular deadlifts, are my favorite. Not only do you get a great butt workout, but it does the hamstrings as well. So you get an entire workout of the back thigh.  This does take a little bit of balance, so don't get frustrated if you have some balancing issues! Place all you weight onto one leg and bend over, keeping your back arched pulling your shoulder to your spine. The return to a standing position. Repeat this 15 time, for  total of 3 reps!

16% of my goal met for my GoFundMe page: http://www.gofundme.com/c3vetg

Weekly Fixation: Buffalo Wings!
Weekly weigh in: 147.4 lbs
Count Down until October 18th: 10 weeks

Week Four- Supplement Selection

Week Four Picture- Some Progress Seen!

This week I was really able to see some improvement on my progress, and let me tell you I was getting a little worried! My lower body is by far my most problematic portion I have. This week I was able to see visible change in my glut and thighs! To tell the truth, I ended needed to purchase another pair of bikini bottoms! Thank goodness for the Walmart OP $3.00 bathing suit selection! 

I have to say that a huge impact on my diets would have to be the supplements that I have been taking throughout this challenge. I would like to stress its not the traditional supplements that one would think. The two biggest supplements that i take are fiber and digestive enzymes. This is to assist my body with the breakdown of the HUGE amount of veggies I am eating! You have to be able to get max nutritional value from your food, so your muscles and body have the best chance in leaning out and growing muscle!

You really need to research fiber, so that you can find the type that works best with your body. It took me some time, and while searching I had a war zone in my digestive tract, to find the type of fiber that worked best for me. I ended up selecting Methylcellulose, this brand of fiber is know to assist in bloating of the intestinal tract. This was my main issues that i had to face on my diet, the LARGE amount of gas that my body was producing. This made life difficult as I was in constant pain, making my workouts difficult!

Other Supplements:

• CLA- Muscle Growth and Recovery
• L-Carnitine- Muscle Growth and Recovery
• Women's Vitamines
• Pro-Biotic- Gotta make the tummy happy!
• Fish Oil
• Vitamine C

Moving past the supplements and the diet...You have to find a way to assist those cravings! My trainer Nadia always has some gum on her. So I took a cue from her and started to carry a pack with me. Well this quickly turned into carrying multiple type of gum, to help with the type of craving I was experiencing! The trident is for when I wanted some form of candy! The extra dessert delight, clearly, if for when I was that sugary snack after a meal! It helps, though finding different flavors is a challenge! I am currently looking for the sherbet flavor! And finally, the regular flavor of gym, as you may just want the traditional flavor!



Now! Onto my selection of Ab exercises!

Knees to Elbows- This ab exercise is a huge challenge! Remember never to let those feet hit the ground. Also, if you keep looking at your feet you will engage you upper abs as well as the middle! You just want to stretch your legs out in from of you and the curl your elbow and and legs inward, make sure to bend the knees at a 90 degree angle. I would suggest doing at least three sets of 12 if you can!

Leg Lifts- This is exactly as it sounds! Just like knees to elbows, you do not want those feet to hit the ground! You are really engaging the lower and middle abs with this exercise! If you continue to look at your feet with your shoulders off the ground, it will help you to engage the upper abs as well! Slow and steady are the key with this exercise! If you rush through this workout, you will not engage your abs as much as possible. I like to a three count as I bring my legs up and down, making sure I am getting the best workout as possible. And by three count, I mean: 1 Mississippi, 2 Mississippi, 3 Mississippi!

Please visit my GoFundMe page! This account is not just for the dress, but for the competition bikini I will have to get a well! Please swing by and show your support if you can: http://www.gofundme.com/c3vetg

Weekly Fixation: Vanilla Cup Cakes!

Weekly weigh in: 148.2 LBS

Count Down until October 18th: 11 weeks