Day #42 - Preparation Makes Perfect

The traveling has stopped for a little while. This past week will be the last time I travel for work until late August. It feels great to know that I will be home for some time and I will be able to finally establish a great workout and meal routine. I have been doing great with eating healthy since Day #1 of the mission. However, for the past three weeks I have been eating out a lot for breakfast, lunch, and some times dinner due to traveling and not having enough time after work to go food shopping. I have mentioned a few times, in the last couple weeks, that I would love to add more of a structure to my meals and my workouts. I have been waking up in the morning a lot to workout but I still don't have a finalized structure put in place. My fiancee and I have been cooking a lot more for dinners and adding some variety into our meals but we still haven't put a structure into place for that part as well.

Meal Structure

Today is Sunday and my fiancee and I are finally home together. So, today we decided that it was time to put both our meal and workout structures into play. First, we wanted to take care of the meals for the week. We started our preparation by researching different dinner recipes that we wanted to either try or have again because we liked it the first time around.

Here is what we decided on for this week's dinners in no particular order:
1. Beef & Vegetable Cheese Casserole (Repeat)
2. Two Cheese Vegetable Lasagna (New)
3. Chicken Cordon Bleu (Repeat)
4. Crusty Pork Chops with Sweet Potatoes and Apples (New)
5. Beef Stroganoff (Repeat)
6. Glazed Turkey Rolls (New)
7. Tuna Steaks with Brown Rice and Green Beans (Repeat)

We also decided we were going to try some variety for breakfast. We found a great recipe for an egg and cheese breakfast pizza and also a great recipe for a breakfast quiche.We will still stick to having egg whites and fruit in the morning as well. For lunches we decided that we were going to focus on smaller meals during the day while at work ,with some snacks, that spread out my points across the day. Like I mentioned before, feeding your body more time a day, with smaller meals, helps to fuel your metabolism to burn more fat. Anyway, we are going to have a lot of left overs from the dinners we are making because the recipes are meant to create several servings. We are also going to mix in some veggie burgers and maybe tuna sandwiches a long the way with fruit. We are planning on doing the food shopping every Sunday in order to be fully prepared for the week.

Workout Structure

As for my workout structure, I mentioned before, that I had a friend who is a personal trainer. He sat down with me for a little while to develop a workout routine that will help me burn fat and build muscle at the same time.

My workout routines will be as follows:
1. Mondays - I will run either on the elliptical or the treadmill for between 10-15 mins to make sure I am warmed up for weight lifting. I will focus on my chest & biceps with planned weight lifting exercises.
2. Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays - I will run on the elliptical, treadmill, or outdoors for between 40-45 mins. I will then conduct my core body workout.
3. Wednesdays - I run for 10-15 mins. I will then focus on my back & triceps with planned weight lifting exercises.
4. Fridays - I will run for 10-15 mins. I will then focus on my legs & shoulders with planned out weight lifting exercises.
5. Sundays - I will either do a light cardio workout or I will take a break from working out to make sure I am not over doing it.

* I will record all of my results, like I have been doing, on each night's post.

I believe I have finally put a strong structure in place for both my meals and my work outs. I also know from past experiences, that some days, I might not even get to do what I want. This may be due to unforeseen circumstances. I do know, I will at least try to exercise in some way, everyday, if that does happen. No matter what I will still post my everyday struggles, accomplishments, questions, and comments. I am just trying to make my life a little easier even though it is still getting busier.

With that being said, let's get to the details of the day:

Meals of the Day (The Heavy Man = 40 Points)
(I am currently following the Weight Watchers Points System)

Early Afternoon - I slept in for a little this morning. 2 Boca Veggie Burgers, with 2 slices of fat free american cheese, on 2 slices of Weight Watchers Whole Wheat Bread, with an apple = Points 9
Snacks During the Day - Weight Watchers Ice Cream Bar, 2 Weight Watchers Chocolate Chips Cookies, and a serving of Weight Watchers Mini Pizzas = Points 10
Dinner - 2 Boca Veggie Burgers, with 2 slices of fat free american cheese, on 2 slices of Weight Watchers Whole Wheat bread, and a side of Mac-N-Cheese = Points 14
Dessert - Weight Watchers Ice Cream Cone = Points 2

Total Points Eaten Today = 35 Points (5 points under my daily limit)

Exercise

Today, I went to the gym right after I woke up. I ran on the elliptical for 40 mins and conducted a core body workout that consisted of: Standing Dumbbell Side Crunches (2 sets x 12 reps with 20 lbs), Cable Chops (6 different angles (15lbs) at 2 sets x 12 reps each), Medicine Ball Sit ups (2 sets x 20 reps with a 4lb ball). Tomorrow will the first day of my new workout structure and I will be working my chest and biceps.

Day #42 -Weigh-In = 275.6 lbs

Day #42 Weigh-In

Day #41 Front Shot