Jessica Day 1: LEGS

DAY 1
I've been so excited to get this started! I weighed in this morning at 146.2 My goal is 140. I'll start with my workout for the day. Each day I focus on a specific muscle group in addition to doing some cardio. Today's muscle group was LEGS. I have a love/hate relationship with leg day. Especially the workout I picked for today. It is a really hard workout. Most of the time I don't even get through it. It also generally results in sore legs and butt for like 3 days. But for some reason I love it. I'm not sure I've figured out what that reason is yet. :) Here is what I did!

CARDIO
I got on the treadmill and picked the hill program (it just looks like a mountain) and did that for 20 minutes. My speed was at 3.5 mph. My average heart rate was 172, 138.4 calories burned and 1.18 miles completed. 

STRENGTH
I take 2-3 exercises generally and alternate them to spice things up. 
1. I started with Walking Lunges. There are aisles in my gym and one set consists of "down and back" which is the equivalent to 42 walking lunges. 
2. Next is wall sits for 1 minute


3. Finally is mountain climbers.  (see picture) for 1 minute. 
3 Sets of this rotation!









1. In And Outs. You sit on your butt and use that as your balance. It is the only part of your body that should touch the ground during this exercise. From that position, you "lay down" but don't let your head or feet touch the ground, and then you crunch up, bringing you knees to your chest. 25 of these. 






(this is a video on how to do them. The only thing I do differently is that I don't have my hands on the ground at all) 

2. Reverse Crunch. For this I use an exercise ball. Lie on the ball on your stomach and lean forward, walking your hands out on the floor until the ball is on your upper thighs. Abs should be tight. Bring your knees toward your chest. Repeat 25 times. My friend Vita named these "ass-ups" today. I'm sure you can imagine why. :) 






Do 3 sets of these. 
NOTE: While it is leg day, these are exercises that help with the core. You should work on your core every day as well. :) 

I then went to the Leg Press Machine and did 15 reps of that with a weight of 47 pounds I think. I didn't write it down- oops. I did 3 sets there. 

It wasn't quite the workout I had planned, as a few things came up and I was not able to complete what was on the plan but it was a good workout anyway. 

FOOD
I've been told this over and over again and I've also told people this but sometimes it just doesn't seem to get drilled in as it should. IT IS ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL TO COUNT YOUR CALORIES!!!!!! Is it fun? No. It is probably one of the most tedious things I can think of, but if you want results, you have got to track EVERYTHING you consume. With that being said, here is what I consumed today

BREAKFAST
1 Cup of Oatmeal Squares (one of my favorite cereals!)
1/2 Cup of Skim Milk
For the past 2 years I've had cereal for breakfast almost every day. When picking a cereal, make sure you pay attention to the protein content as well as the calories. Is a serving only has a couple grams of Protein, put it down because it will not keep you full. Unfortunately, most of the cereals out there are full of sugar and the ones that are healthy are quite pricey. Look for sales and then stock up! 
This meal was 251 calories. Perfect to get me through my morning workout!

LUNCH
I went out to lunch with some friends. Going out to eat can always be tricky as a lot of food you can get at restaurants is loaded with calories and fat. Some restaurants will supply the nutritional information either in store or online. If you can, I recommend getting a hold of that and picking what you are going to have BEFORE you go there. The restaurant we had picked today for lunch was one I had not been to before, so I had to be really careful about what I picked and the nutritional information was not available. After I got home I checked their website and none their either. So I had to estimate as far as calories go. 
VEGGIE SANDWICH (cheddar, cream cheese, cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, banana peppers, spinach, avocado, and mayo on toasted whole wheat bread)
SIDE SALAD (the sandwich actually comes with chips but you can substitute a side salad.... And I'm not talking iceberg lettuce, it was very dark leafy greens with chopped tomatoes and onions. I picked the raspberry dressing. Delicious)
It was all very delicious and came in at an estimated 573 calories. When eating out, always remember to stick to water if possible. It's cheaper, your body needs it and it's calorie free! 

PM SNACK
While I was making dinner I was starving so I snacked on a whole wheat tortilla which came in at 110 calories. It was enough to hold me over until my dinner was ready! 

DINNER
I have been having a craving for mexican food for weeks. The tricky thing about Mexican food is that generally it is loaded with calories and fat. Whenever I go out, I tend to not be impressed and think my mom's recipe for smothered burritos is better so that satisfies my Mexican food craving almost every time so that is what I made! 

INGREDIENTS
6 Whole Wheat Tortillas
1 can Refried Beans (I use fat free)
1 can Enchilada Sauce
3/4 C. Fat Free Milk
Low-Fat Mexican Cheese Blend (see recipe for quantity)
1 C 3 pepper and onion blend (This is a staple in my house- I always keep it in my freezer and put it in almost everything. A great, easy way to get in those veggies!)


1. In a bowl, mix the beans with the pepper and onion blend.
2. Mix the enchilada sauce and milk in a bowl. Pam the bottom of the baking dish and pour just enough enchilada sauce to cover the bottom. 
3. Warm the tortillas in the microwave, and put some of the beans and veggies on the tortilla. Top with 1 Tbsp cheese, roll up. Put in pan until all gone. :)
4. Top with remaining enchilada sauce. 
5. Top with 1/2 C Cheese

Bake at 350 until hot- I usually wait until it's bubbling. 

SO DELICIOUS
And the best part??? One burrito has 254 calories in it. Can you get that in a restaurant?? I don't think so! 





I do things in a way that most people think is pretty weird. Since I live alone (no husbands, kids, or roommates) it doesn't make sense to make a huge meal every night of the week, so I generally make one meal at the beginning of the week and eat it until it's gone. I even halved this recipe- the original calls for 2 cans of refried beans! So this is generally what I will be having for dinner all week. People always ask me if I get sick of eating the same thing over and over. Sometimes I do, but most of the time I make foods I really love so I don't get tired of them. :) I'm a pretty predictable girl. 

SUPPLEMENTS
Each morning I take 2 different supplements. 

1. Multivitamin

2. Fat Burner. 

I love this Fat Burner because it is all natural so there are no crazy side affects. Also it has caffeine in it so it helps me get moving in the morning. You can also get it without caffeine. Both of these products are made by apex and you can find at www.myapex.com or you can get them at 24 Hour Fitness

CALORIE BALANCE
One of the smartest things I ever did was purchase the body bugg. I wear it on my arm and it calculates how many calories I burn throughout the day. This takes out all the guesswork. 

My goal each day is to consume 1600 calories and burn 2350 calories. With a deficit of 750, weight loss is the goal. :) 

Today's Results
Calories Consumed: 1190

Calories Burned: 1981

While I didn't hit either goal, I still had a deficit of 791 calories burned. So that is very good!

Sorry today was so long, I didn't even expect that! I hope you learned something. As always, feel free to leave comments or questions.
-Jessica