My Life's Biggest Project: 100th Day

See how far I've gone in 100 days: My Life's Biggest Project: 100th Day: "Hello everyone! So as I said when I started this blog I was going to committ to writing one blog post everday about this journey in my life...."

100th Day

Hello everyone! So as I said when I started this blog I was going to committ to writing one blog post everday about this journey in my life. Well guess what? Today is the 100th day. It went by a lot quicker than I had antisipated and it also changed up a lot about what I was going to do. If you have been following this you know a lot of things have happened in my life during this time. My goals did not quite get met, but that does not mean that I am going to give up.

When starting this project I had not anticipated having to have surgery or having to have such a long recovery period. I also had not anticipated having problems with my surgery site later on. But that's life and things happen and when it comes right down to it we just have to go with the punches. I can tell you that I have learned so much during this 100 days that I had no idea about. It has made me open my eyes about things and want to stay committed to my goals. Not just for me, but also for those of you who have been reading this.

I have received a lot of commentary from people and I just want to let you know that for those of you who have been inspired to try to change your life to a healthier lifestyle, I am so very proud and I really think that it is important that you know that. This is not the end and I will continue to blog, but not as frequently. Just like I said a few days ago. I am currently in my last semester of graduate school and my project that I am doing in lue of my thesis needs pretty much all of my attention at this time. I also (as I've said before) am taking another course, working and needing to try to lock down a post-grad grad school job. As we all know these student loans don't pay themselves off...lol.

I have lost weight in this process, gained some back and lost some more. The gaining back hurts, but to be so much more knowledgeable about what to do and not do makes it easier to lose it again. The important thing to do is to keep it as steady of a process as possible. There may be a million fad diets going on out there, but really the most important of them all is the old school one. If you want to lose weight it is simple, you have to be aware of what it is that you are putting into your body. You need to watch your calorie intake and cut out all empty ones. Eat things that will be beneficial to you and not just things that you think will be yummy. When you are craving things, you will almost always be disapointed once you have them because it is never as good as you have worked it up in your head to be.

Allow yourself to have cheat days, but don't allow them to cheat you. Do not fall off the wagon. Believe in yourself and that you can do this. I think a good attitude goes far. Exercise is a bonus. It gives you motivation, energy and keeps you from being flabby. Our bodies were created to do great things so let yours live to its potential. Do this for the right reason's. Do it for you! In the last 100 days after all of the ups and downs I have managed to lose 17 pounds. That may not seem like a lot, but I am proud. I will continue to do my best to meet my ultimate goals and I hope that you do to.

If you have any questions you can contact me through this blog as I will continue to check it or through my Facebook or Twitter. I will also respond to any e-mail at cassandra.d.brubaker-1@ou.edu.

Thank you so much for following me at this point and I will continue to post things for you here and there. I appreciate all of the support and feedback (good or bad) that I have recieved. I am off to work now, but I hope you all have a wonderful week! Take care of yourselves and be supportive of those around you who are trying to lose weight. It is a struggle and the best thing you can do for someone is be there for them the way you would want them to be there for you. Be kind and supportive of one another and all in all it will make the world a better place! TTFN (Ta-Ta-For-Now)!!!!!!!!

-Love Always,
Cassandra

My Life's Biggest Project: Alright stop, collaborate and listen

My Life's Biggest Project: Alright stop, collaborate and listen: "I know my last post was only a few hours ago and as I said before if there is something in particular you would like me to blog about I'd be..."

Alright stop, collaborate and listen

I know my last post was only a few hours ago and as I said before if there is something in particular you would like me to blog about I'd be more than happy to do so. This morning was a little bit hard for me to get around. With all these snow days I've been waking up on my own without an alarm around 8 a.m. Today I had to wake up at 6 a.m., but I really just didn't want to get around. I've got a feeling that today is going to feel a little long...lol. Not so much because of work or class, but probably this afternoon when I need to catch up on homework. You know if I had been smart during all those snow days I would have worked ahead, instead I did a whole lot of nothing. I did however kick it old school and watch the first four seasons of Friends. You know it's the little things in life ;)

As you all know I get a newsletter from Beachbody, the company who sells the P90X program. I love to read the articles because often times they have some very insightful, inspirational and helpful stuff for me. So I felt the need to share the article with all of you and hopefully it will do a little something something for you. This article was written by Steve Edwards. Originally he called this his six week transition diet in 2001 and after revamping it a little bit in 2005 it went from six weeks to eight weeks. I'll break it down for you. Like I've said before one of the biggest parts of weight loss is eating more healthy, working out is great, but you need to get a healthy diet to get your best results. Here is a week by week breakdown according to (and in the words of) Edwards.

Week 1

No junk. Eliminate junk food from your diet. That's it, just junk. Other than this, you can eat whatever and whenever you like. Now, how hard can that be? Guess this depends on what I mean by "junk." But all I'm concerned with this week is the obvious stuff like potato chips, candy, ice cream, cake, etc. You may be stricter if you'd like, but for Week 1, don't be too hard on yourself. For many of you, this step alone will reap huge benefits.

Cheat Days: 2

Since no one's perfect, you get 2 days to cheat. That's right, 2 days where you can eat anything you want! A trick on these days (and, yes, this means there will be more) is to listen to your body. At first, it'll probably tell you it wants whatever you've been denying it. However, over time, it'll start to crave nutrients you're deficient in. Learn to read your body's subtleties. If you're craving ice cream, you may be short on essential fatty acids. If you crave a hamburger, your diet may lack protein. This way, you can make better food substitutions. It's a way of getting in tune with yourself that will benefit you for your entire lifetime.

Weekly focus: Water. Not swimming in it, though that's good too, but staying hydrated with it. You should drink at least 6 to 8 glasses of water per day. Diet sodas and such are no substitute, because they contain a passel of ingredients that live right at the bottom of the junk heap. Drinking a glass of water when you feel hunger pangs coming on will not only keep you hydrated, but will help stave off your hunger to some degree.

As for other drinks, juices and sugary sodas also (obviously) fall into the junk category. And alcohol should be kept to a minimum. We tend to forget (purposely or not) that alcohol has calories. A lot of them: 7 calories per gram. Mixers can be even worse—not only can they add calories, but sugary calories influence the way alcohol reacts with your body. When you do drink, red wine is the alcohol of choice, with natural beer running second.

Week 2

Each week's rules are cumulative, so the "no junk" rule from Week 1 will apply until the end, as will each subsequent week's rule. Remember that this is a learning and conditioning process. It's like you're in a school and the subject is your own body.

Eat small, eat often. Eat four to six small meals a day, and don't eat anything for about 3 hours before you go to sleep. Following these rules will keep your blood sugar levels more static and your energy level will stay consistent. Try to keep each snack or meal balanced. Keep a 30 percent protein, 40 percent carbohydrate, and 30 percent fat scale in mind, though you don't need to worry too much about it. Just realize that you need a bit from each macronutrient group. Eat based on what you'll be doing for the next few hours (if you're working out, eat a little more; sitting at a desk, eat a little less). The 3-hour-before-bed rule is important, especially for fats and carbohydrates. By allowing time for all the carbs you eat to get into your bloodstream, your body will sleep in fat-burning mode, rather than in calorie-storing mode. This is important because undigested carbs in your stomach at night are stored in adipose tissue (fat).

Cheat Days: 2

Weekly focus: Carbs are not the enemy. Your body needs them, just like it needs proteins and fats. The trick is to choose the right carbs. As a society, we eat too much refined sugar. Complex carbs, like whole-grain breads, whole-grain rice, sweet potatoes, and legumes are outstanding foods. Even fruits, which have simple carbohydrates wrapped in fiber, are very good for you and hard to overconsume. While you don't want a diet based on nothing but carbs, making the right carb choices will maximize your body's potential. Try to avoid white rice and flours. Read labels, and try to avoid ones that use the word "enriched," because this means these products have been stripped of their natural nutrients, overprocessed, and then fortified with a few random nutrients

Week 3

Eat some colorful, low-density food at every meal. These are foods that take up a lot of space without a lot of calories. Veggies are the most obvious example. You can eat a salad bowl overflowing with lettuce and veggies and you most likely won't exceed 100 calories. By eating low-density foods like veggies and fruits, you'll keep your portions under control naturally, because they have very few calories for their size. Conversely, high-density foods, like chocolate and butter, are loaded with calories in even the smallest amounts. So beware of salad dressings and other things you add to salads and veggies. Only add enough for flavor; don't fill up on them. When it comes to live foods, the richer the colors, the fresher the products tend to be. Try to eat a variety of colors in your diet. This simple and somewhat random act will help ensure that you're covering your bases, nutrient-wise.

Cheat Days: 1

Weekly focus: Protein at every meal. This becomes even more important as you eat more low-density food, because protein tends to be high-density. Many veggies have a lot of protein, but the quantity you must consume starts to become prohibitive. Try to get some protein—meat, dairy products, nuts, seeds, or legumes—each time you eat, especially when you're working out hard, because you need to repair broken-down muscle tissue. Frequency of protein consumption is even more vital for women, who aren't able to digest as much protein at one time as men are. It's almost impossible to get all your necessary protein at one or two meals, so try to get 10 to 20 grams of protein each time you eat. Reading labels is a simple way to learn how to estimate your protein intake, but if you eat natural foods, most of which don't have labels, you can look at online nutritional information guides to determine the amount of protein each serving contains.

Week 4

Cook at home. One of the best ways to control your eating is to prepare all your meals yourself. Eliminate all fast food (which should have been gone in Week 1) and most other restaurant food. You may still eat food from certain restaurants where you can be sure of the ingredients (most will be savvy enough to make a point of how healthy their food is). But avoid all fast food chains, even ones that claim to be "healthy." Restaurants need their food to taste good, so they'll often use compromised ingredients, even when they list low numbers on fats and/or calories. Fast food can contain many hidden evils in addition to calories. For example, next time you see one of those nutrition charts, check the sodium levels; most fast foods use ridiculously high amounts of salt. Avoiding fast food alone will often bring your body closer to homeostasis; its desired state of balance. This can be hard for many of us because we now have to plan our meals and prepare ahead of time, but try and treat it like vocational school—you don't learn new a new "job" without a little retraining.

Cheat Days: 1

Weekly focus: Fat is essential. Remember that fat is a vital part of your diet, not just something that makes you fat. What is not vital is a lot of saturated or trans fats. Trans fats are mainly those that are artificial, and hopefully they've been eliminated from your diet by this point, since they're generally only found in junk. Saturated fats are found in dairy products and meats, and you don't need too much. For cooking, try to use olive oil when possible. Also, the addition of either flaxseed or hempseed can have a pronounced effect on your health. These seeds are loaded with essential fatty acids, omegas 3 and 6. Be careful about that amount of fat. It is dense and has 9 calories per gram, opposed to 4 for both carbs and protein. A tablespoon goes a long way!

Week 5

Reduce starchy carbohydrates. Starches include rice, bread, potatoes, corn, beans, and other legumes. While many of these are in no way bad foods, most people tend to consume far too many of them. So what you want to do this week is cut way down on them, if not cutting them out completely. Then add them back in when your body feels like it needs energy, which it will at some point if you're exercising (and why wouldn't you be?). But don't add a huge plate or bowl of pasta; instead, add a small single serving. Starches are great energy food, but if you eat too many, they turn the tables and make you sluggish!

Cheat Days: 1

Weekly focus: Sugar is only beneficial after a hard workout. Your body doesn't need processed sugar. But if you really enjoy it and can't avoid letting some sneak into your daily diet, the 1-hour period after you exercise is the best time to indulge. During this window, your blood sugar is low, because you've used it up to finish your workout (assuming you pushed yourself), and sugar during this time will help you recover faster because it speeds into your system and initiates the recovery process. Adding a little protein, but not too much, will enhance your recovery even further. The best ratio is 1 part protein to 4 parts carbs, as in P90X^® Results and Recovery Formula^®. You should avoid fats during this immediate post-workout period, because they slow absorption—a good thing most of the time, just not during and immediately after working out.

Week 6

If man makes it, don't eat it. This is likely to be the hardest week of your diet. You want to eat only whole foods and eliminate all processed foods, even good ones, for the week. This includes breads, most salad dressings, all cereal, luncheon meats, cheese, dried fruits, anything with preservatives, and alcoholic beverages. What you can eat are whole foods such as fruit, raw or steamed vegetables, meat (sans any type of sauce), natural whole-grain rice, poached eggs, etc. Since your eating habits have been slowly changing, this shouldn't be that big a shock to your system, but keeping in focus that you only have to do this for 7 days will make it easier. (Although each week's rules are cumulative in the plan, Week 6 is more of a "cleanse" or "reset" week where you avoid all processed food; after Week 6, you can go back to the occasional processed food, but chances are you'll take what you learned this week and tend to make healthier, smarter choices.)

Cheat Days: 1

The "cheat day" mentality isn't a bad one. Rewards like decadent desserts, a night at the buffet, or drinking with friends are good for you as long as you keep them in perspective. These are rewards for a life well lived and you should be able to feel good about doing them. Plus there's some method to this madness as well in that you still tend to crave nutrients you lack. So if you're cutting down on the calories to lose weight, allowing yourself a cheat day will give your body a chance to take in what it needs to avoid being malnourished.

Weekly focus: Nuts make great snacks. A handful of raw almonds or cashews is a quick and easy snack that goes a long way. Don't be put off by the high fat count of nuts, because this means it takes fewer of them to satiate you. Nuts are loaded with important phytonutrients, as well as good fats, proteins, and fiber.

Week 7

Be yourself. No rules—just try and eat as healthily as you can and do it by feel. Trusting yourself might seem like a lot of responsibility, but by now you'll be up to it. Learning to eat by feeling what your body needs is an important step in your transformation. Consider the way you've been eating over the last 6 weeks, but don't worry about what you should and shouldn't do. Just fuel yourself. The point is to take a mental break. Relax and allow yourself to eat in a way that feels normal. You may be surprised to find yourself craving something healthy instead of a candy bar or soda. You'll be better at listening to your body because it'll tell you what it needs to eat, as opposed to what you're used to eating. Your body should feel somewhat transformed. Does it?

"Reward for a Life Well Lived" Days: 1

Weekly focus: If you're so hungry at night that you can't sleep, try a protein shake (like Beachbody Whey Protein Powder) before bed. When it's real, and not habitual, hunger means you lack nutrients your body needs to repair itself as you sleep. You want nothing but protein powder and water. No carbs or superfluous calories. But protein at night, especially whey, will help the body repair damaged tissue and enhance the natural growth-hormone spike that you get while you sleep.

Week 8

Eat a perfect diet. Now it's time for a real challenge—are you ready? The perfect diet is strictly individual, as there's no one diet that suits everybody. So who better to choose the perfect diet for you than you? Our bodies are all different, and the key to your own perfect diet is learning about how your body reacts to different foods under different circumstances. Your journey over the last seven weeks should have brought you to a new understanding of how food affects your body, both for good and for bad. Now it's up to you to put it to the test. See how well you can eat for a week. In fact, see how well you can eat for the rest of your life. Live and enjoy.

Reward Days: 1, of course!

Weekly Focus: Don't bonk. Bonking is a state where your body runs out of stored blood sugar for energy. If you feel like your workouts are going backwards instead of forwards, this is a likely culprit. Use your energy level as your gauge. As soon as it starts to drop, start adding carbs back into your diet until you feel energized all day long. When you feel energized during your workouts and not sluggish throughout the rest of the day you'll know you've found the right balance between carbs and other nutrients. Also, remember that as you body puts on more muscle, you will need to eat more. Muscle weighs much more than fat and as you gain muscle and lose fat you will shrink at the same weight. You will also require more calories in order to maintain your muscle. So when you're working out hard, don't be afraid to eat more carbs than you do otherwise.

Have a happy Monday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My Life's Biggest Project: Rule number 76: No excuses. Play like a champ

My Life's Biggest Project: Rule number 76: No excuses: "what does this picture have to do with anything? Refer to the title of today's post...hahahahahaha!!!! I know I know it's pretty late! But..."

Rule number 76: No excuses. Play like a champ

what does this picture have to do with anything? Refer to the title of today's post...hahahahahaha!!!!

I know I know it's pretty late! But I ended up hosting an impromtu Super Bowl party. My dear friend Kat text me and asked what my plans for the Super Bowl were today and I told her that I didn't have any and asked her what hers were. She does not have cable, but said that her boyfriend thought that they could probably stream it. I told her that was silly and that they were more than welcome to come over to my house and watch the game. So maybe I shouldn't call it a party, but instead maybe a small gathering of friends, as it was just Kat, her boyfriend Jason, my friend Chrystle and myself.

Anyway, I can't begin to tell you how much I did not care about who won this game, but as I said before the thing that kept me going was the comercials. The halftime show this year was quite a dissapointment though. So it was the comercials that I loved. My favorite I must say was the couple on a date and she is thinking in her head about how she wonders if he likes her, wants kids, wants to get married, basically planning their potential future. The guy on the other hand is thinking "I want to sleep with her, I want to sleep with her..." then the waiter comes down and sits down a Pepsi or Coke Zero, I don't even know what soda and then he starts thinking that he wants that drink. The woman says in her mind, don't you even think about it and then the guy with a sad and stunned look on his face reply's in thought, "no to which one". I laughed and laughed and laughed. What was your favorite commercial?

Well enough about the commercials and entertainment aspects of today, let's get down to something a little bit more serious. At the beginning of this blog project I told myself that I would blog about this particular journey for 100 days and it looks like we are just about there. February 8 to be exact will be the last of my daily blogs. Now that is not to say that I will not continue to blog, but it will probably be less frequent. As most of you know I am currently in my last semester of my masters program and I am having to put together my resume', try to find a job, take class, work and get my project together so that I am able to defend and hopefully pass that defense. This will be my life's biggest project at this current chapter in my life. It's crazy to think that in like three in a half months I will be done with this part of my life. Any of you feel that way.

Basically I am opening the floor to all of you. If there is something you want me to look into in particular or disucss in the next couple of days. Let me know and I will do so. What do you want to know? I'll tell you anything, or at least try to find the correct answers. My life is pretty much an open book at this time so I'd be more than happy to share it with you.

In reality 100 days is not that long of a time to make a full body transformation, but I was intrigued when I came across an article on CNN about people not seeing results. I decided to read "Why you're not seeing results" written by Madison Park, and this is what I found from the article. After talking to fitness experts these are the top four reasons the results aren't being seen and suggestions for the fix.

1) You're not changing what you eat.

"A lot of people hit the gym, but don't watch what they eat, said Jordan Yuam, who trains "Twilight" actor Taylor Lautner. They get impatient because they don't see dramatic changes in the first few weeks of working out."

"'When starting out an exercise program, if you want to see a successful outcome, you work on food first,' Yuam said."

"This means fewer calories, or at least better-quality nutrition. Eat foods like an apple or cottage cheese that take more energy for your body to digest, he suggested. There are too many junk foods packaged and marketed as health foods, Yuam said, so he recommends cutting back on processed foods."

"Fad diets don't work, especially the ones that require cutting out an entire food group like carbs or fats, Yuam said. Those don't work in the long run, because they're unsustainable."

"'You want long term,' he said, stressing a well-balanced diet."

"It doesn't have to be deprivation. If you really need that pizza slice or Chinese food, pick one meal in a week where you can have that guilty pleasure, and put it down on your calendar."

2) You're not having fun during your workout.

"'It has to be fun,' said Tracie Rogers, a spokeswoman for the American Council on Exercise. "If you're absolutely miserable and you dread going, you can find another option. There are too many options where you can find one to be fun and happy with."

"Rogers suggests asking friends and trying fitness options like Zumba, spin, kickboxing and sports leagues until you find what you like."

"'A lot of people think their only option is going to a giant gym,' Rogers said. "Some people are extremely overwhelmed and intimidated, so they never go. That's not the only option. There are boutiques doing all sorts of things. Shop around and see what feels right."

"Watching the clock during a fitness routine is a bad sign. It means your motivation isn't there."

"'It's about doing something for yourself,' said Rogers, a sports and exercise psychologist in Phoenix, Arizona. "A lot of us are busy with family, work and so many commitments. The workout time can be viewed as the one hour of the day you dedicate to yourself."

"Make exercise a social outing by participating in fitness classes and meeting with friends and trainers."

"If you take manageable steps and put the right people around you, you set yourself to be successful," Littrel said. "You have a better chance rather than going about it alone without guidance and support. There's much psychological support."

3) You're only doing cardio.

"Yuam said he hears complaints from people who say they don't see any changes after spending hours on the treadmill or elliptical machine."

"'For people who are sitting on exercise machines, they're not getting their heart rate up. They just are doing the motions. They're going to fail or leave the gym because why do something when you don't see results? They're not motivated anymore,' said Yuam, a fitness trainer and owner of Jordan's Virtual Fit Club in Valencia, California."

"'In the years of doing this, the most common error is, 'I have to do cardio. I have to do an hour of cardio,' " he said."

"Women tend to focus on cardio and neglect strength training, Yuam said."

"He suggests resistance training at least three times a week to his clients."

"The 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans published by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommended muscle-strengthening physical activity on at least three days of the week for kids and two or more for adults."

"Strength training helps decrease body fat, increase lean muscle mass and more efficiently burn calories."

4) Your goal is unrealistic.

"Changing your fitness doesn't mean you have to vigorously work out seven days a week."

"'People don't have to conquer crazy goals all at one time,' Littrel said."

"Trying to go from a couch potato to an exercise warrior on a Spartan diet is unsustainable for most people. Once life gets busy or stressful, people drop all of these efforts and go back to unhealthy habits.Take the first step of working out even two days a week, and scale upward from there, Littrel said. Doing some physical exercise is better than nothing, with so many people battling obesity, he said."

"Set realistic goals and monitor your progress."

"Take a picture of yourself the first week, and then take another in the following weeks to track how you're doing, Yuam said."

This is the best advice I have been able to find for those known as "newbies". But also just remind yourself that this is something that you want and most importantly have faith in yourself. I'm off to bed, but I'll try to give you something good tomorrow. That is I am open to suggestion. Have a great night!!!

My Life's Biggest Project: Cut out the gut

My Life's Biggest Project: Cut out the gut: "I know that I've talked a lot about surgery in my posts, but as Americans we want results fast and when we don't get them we just stop. Usin..."