Day 2 Christmas Eve Work Out (Friday)

The morning has started out pretty good. I woke up and decided I am definitely going to get into the swing of things. My parents have a small gym setting in the basement. It consists of a tredmil, spinning bike, and an eliptacal machine (which I hate!). I decided that I am going to start off slow and just start by speed walking on the tredmil for about 30min. The 30min. flew by, and before I knew it I had walked 1.61miles. I know I know it doesn't sound like much but for someone who hasn't done too much exercise I think thats a pretty good start. I was able to burn 127.2 calories. I remember when I first had my surgery done I started walking on the tredmil and I was walking at a slower rate and I would only walk about 1.30 miles if even that. Today I felt like I was able to walk at a faster rate. I usually cover the top of the tredmil wtih a towel so that I am not constantly looking at the time. So I turend on a movie and just started walking (I was watching Grumpy Old Men). I was very surprised when I was finished working out that I had been walking at a faster rate than previous times I had walked on the tredmil and I had gone further in distance. It was a great feeling!

After my work out I decided to have my usual breakfast which consists of a protein shake and a 20oz bottle of Diet iced tea (which has no calories, no fat, no carbs, but a GREAT flavor). The protien shake is very good as well. It is called Premier and I get it from Costco. I like it because it actually tastes like chocolate milk and it doesn't have a bad after taste. Its not too thick and its not chalky at all. It has a lot of protein which is mainly what my diet consists of. My goals for each day include:
                                                70-80grams of Protein
                                                30-50 grams of Carbohydrates
                                                20-30grams of Fat
                                                50-60oz. of Fluid
                                                700-900 calories per day
I know it might sound a little drastic but I actually really enjoy the diet regimen. I also enjoy this because I can cook with the foods that I enjoy and not have to stick to certain diet foods like most diet programs. As long as I am within these ranges I can make the foods I like to eat. I also tend to stay away from starchy foods such as rice, pasta, potatos, bread, etc. I have to limit my fruit intake as well due to the high carbohydrate levels.

I usually like to plan out my meal for the day in the morning because it keeps me focused and on point during the day so that I don't snack on things I am not supposed to.  It also helps me so that when its time for lunch or dinner I already know what to prepare and I won't grab anything extra out of the fridge.

So today my lunch will consist of chilled shrimp with a splash of lemon and some cocktail sauce for dipping (I use the cocktail sauce in moderation because it tends to be higher in carbohydrates). For a snack I will do a string cheese light (very low in fat and a good amount of protein). For dinner, Bryan makes a wonderful chicken marsala. I know your thinking what is she thinking that has so much fat in the sauce. However, Bryan makes it so that its very low fat and high in protein. It consists of boneless/skinless chicken breast, fresh white mushrooms, and a fat free chicken broth with makes up the sauce with a small amount of cornstarch added to thicken the sauce a bit. Most of the time you serve chicken marsala over pasta. Because I do not eat pasta so I make zucchini or other veggies to take place of the pasta. It probably doesn't sound as good as pasta, but I prefer the vegetables. DELICIOUS!! For dessert I do a fat free/sugar free chocolate pudding. Even though the pudding is not carbohydrate free its a lot better than eating a candy bar or something thats even worse for me. I usually make sure that I have enough carbohydrates left during my day so that I can have my chocolate pudding for dessert. I also make it with skim milk. It satisfys that chocolate craving that every female gets!

I decided that I am going to write 1 blog per week. I will make sure that I weigh myself once a week (I can't weigh  myself everyday because I will drive myself crazy) But once a week I will go through any struggles I am dealing with and how the exercise and dieting is coming along. Once again I would love any helpful tips that you can all provide. Thank you for being so supportive and I will write again in a week!
I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!