I left my Australian houseguests, Star and Niesha, at the train to NYC yesterday. We spent four fabulous days together – laughing, shopping, and eating tasty, fattening, traditional American food. Today, it’s back to business.
Star and I also hit the gym last Friday for a super-intense tandom interval workout with my trainer, Chris. That girl is strong {but my endurance impressed her}! The combination of weights and little to no rest between sets proved to be challenging for both of us and showed her a new way to burn calories faster and ramp up her routine. I only regret not being able to get video of the workout. We did a lot of fun partner stuff {high-fives during head-to-head push-ups, wall-squat biceps curl hand-offs} that encouraged competition and pushing ourselves past our personal limits. Run alone and then with a partner who’s in better shape than you… you’ll get what I’m saying here.
Having Star around was a great opportunity to talk to another woman who loves weight-training and building real muscle, but also strives to get lean through proper diet. The truth is that you can pump iron all you want, but to see definition you HAVE to maintain a diet regimen that includes plenty of fiber, easily digested raw foods, little to no refined sugars and flour, slow-releasing carbs, good non-animal fats, and – if you’re not a veggie – fish and lean meats. You need to eat this way everyday. I’ve also grown to understand that just because something is good for you, it doesn’t mean you can eat it in excess. Calories count. I’m not a slave to calorie-counting, but I know one banana is enough. Three in a row is unacceptable. A small spinach salad and hard-boiled egg should satisfy. I don’t need two giant bowls full. I eat more on my workout days {but only about 500 calories more, I can’t allow myself to give in to an insatiable post-workout appetite}.
I, of course, slip up. You can’t have Aussie’s visit without treating them to some chicken fried steak and mac n cheese. But I had to get right back on track this morning with fresh fruit, oatmeal, eggs, and dark toast. {I could have probably done without the toast, but pumpernickel is totally yum in my tum.}
trimming the fat off my arms is more about calories than curls
I’m excited about the changes I’ve seen since my diet changes. Not only am I seeing more definition in my arms, abs, and back, my body has adjusted to the dietary changes and my cravings have disappeared. I have seven 8-packs of Reese’s Cups in my freezer as I write this, and I couldn’t care less about them. They’ll probably last me until after the New Year {and they’re my favorite treat}. Somehow a peanut butter cup looks a lot less tasty when I know that I would have to run a hard mile to work it off.
Goals for August:
Current Stats:
Today’s Workout:
For a good outline of exactly what interval training is, visit IntervalTraining.net
looking good girl! keep up the good work!