Monday Tattoo Watch

Today's tattoo watch has been interrupted by rash watch! I have a rash that is overtaking my body! I don't know exactly what it is. No new detergents, foods, etc. It itches like crazy and I can't take it anymore. I'm taking final pics next Saturday and I'm afraid that I'm still going to be covered in this horrible rash. Needless to say, I'm a little stressed out about it!!

I went to the to doctor this morning and she said it looked like "a reaction to something". NO DUH. She gave me 2 different medications to take and a cream to put on it. One of the side effects? Water retention. Great. Just great. I am so upset. I feel like I've worked really hard for these past 12 weeks and that I am totally cheated out of my final pictures. ARRRGGGGHHHH!!!!!

So, here is the tattoo now. Looking back at week 2 pictures, I think I might be seeing the beginnings of this rash, although I thought it was irritation from the tape at the time. Can't for sure that it is the rash, though. On the plus side, I can see definite fading in this picture! Or maybe it's just the lighting? Anyone else see any fading?


Now here's the rash. It's on my neck, arms, and legs. Sorry my head got cropped out. I don't take pictures of myself with the timer all that often. And I wanted to show it on my legs as well.


Here's a close up from over the weekend.


It's ALL OVER my stomach. I'll spare you that picture. :) Any dermatologists out there feel free to give me a diagnosis!

Off to put some more cream on before I scratch my skin off! Have a good night!

Week Eleven Update

I'm definitely starting to feel a little worn down, but only one more week to go - time to finish strong!

1. I will make every workout count
Workouts were pretty good this week. Turbulence Training for Buff Dudes and Hot Chicks is a really good workout. I beat my time on Friday from the previous week. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to beat it, but I set up all the equipment I was going to need in one location and I think that helped shave some time off.

2. I will drink less diet soda
I have been consciously working on this and have reduced some. So I think that is a success!

3. I will weigh myself ONLY once per week
Did pretty good this week. Wasn't on the scale everyday and when I did weigh myself, I didn't let it concern me.

4. I will eat 1200-1400 calories per day on reduced calorie/carb days and 1500-1700 on refeed/higher days (updated goal).
Reduced days were: 1160, 1365, 1290, 1203, and 1240 calories; Refeed day was 1532 calories. A little low on one of my reduced days - that was Sunday and I'm always a little low on Sundays because things get pushed a little later and I have one less meal than on other days. Only one refeed day this week. That's just the way the high/low days fell. A little low on calories for that day as well. Otherwise, right in the range I was shooting for. Down 2 pounds this week, so right on target. If I had lost more than 2 pounds, I would adjust the number of calories.

5. I will eat cleanly, but will allow treat meals
Did well this week. No major treat meals this week, but I did have a piece of pumpkin cheesecake on Friday. We celebrated PI(e) day at work and I brought in my cheesecake because it's healthy and I know what's in it. Not to mention it's YUMMY.

6. I will eat 5-7 fruits/vegetables per day
Achieved everyday!

7. I will not worry about gaining extra weight while building muscle
Working on fat loss now, so this goal is n/a.

8. I will not be neurotic with my diet
Much better this week. No really neurotic moments. I actually had a really good week and am feeling good about my goal of eating without first entering everything into fitday when this contest is over.

9. I will not be grumpy at my family
Had a pretty good week! I promised myself that if calorie/carb cycling made me grumpy I would stop doing it. My husband actually said to me this week that he thought I was holding up pretty well! :)

10. I will enjoy the contest and will not allow it to stress me out
Got a little stressed this weekend, but now I'm ready to finish strong!

Here is the link to this weeks' TT Coaching Call. This week Craig talks about his new blog, his famous banana tacos, and lots of other great stuff!

Click here to listen to the fat burning coaching call

And here's the link to browse all the monthly Turbulence Training workouts, now on sale for only $10 each: Turbulence Training Workouts

Have a great week!!

Recipe Wednesday - Mexican Corn Bread

OK, I promised a special recipe tonight. I have a really yummy recipe that I want to share, but it's actually the combination of 2 other recipes that I put together. The recipe is for what I call Mexican Pizza Sandwich. But, both recipes that I created it from are great recipes unto themselves. So, I've decided to have a 3-part series! First up will be a recipe for Low Carb Mexican Corn Bread. Next week, I will give the recipe for Mama's Pizza Sandwich. Finally, in the third week I will put them together for Mexican Pizza Sandwich (complete with picture, I hope!)

The recipe for Low Carb Mexican Corn Bread is adapted from Suzanne Somers' Somersize Recipe Contest Cookbook, Volume 2.

Mexican Corn Bread

8 oz cream cheese, softened (reduced fat or full fat)
4 eggs, room temperature
1 cup pork rinds, crushed
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup reduced fat shredded Mexican blend cheese
1/2 cup reduced fat shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
4 oz can diced green chilies

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Lightly spray a 9 x 13 glass baking dish.

2. Place the cream cheese in a food processor. Start it running and add the eggs one at a time. Stop the processor and add the pork rinds, baking powder, cheeses, spices and green chilies. Pulse to blend until smooth, scraping down the sides if necessary.

3. Pour into prepared pan and bake for about 20 minutes. Watch carefully the last few minutes.

This is great with chicken breast, served with salsa, or maybe guacamole if you like that sort of thing. (I don't like guacamole!) You could use all Mexican blend cheese, or all Sharp cheddar, if you don't want to buy 2 kinds of cheese. This could easily be changed up by adding different cheeses and spices.

Tuesday Workout

Ugh! Who wrote that mopey post last night? Yikes, I need a better proofreader! Today I am much more stoked. I got to the gym early, as usual. I can always tell I'm the first one to use the restroom because the seat is up and the water is blue, unless some radioactive man has been there, but I digress.

Workout this morning was great. Still working on my shoulders 1-2 times per week and I think I can really see progress. Personal best today on the deadlift at 100 lbs! I think I forgot to post that I had a personal best on squats over the weekend - 3 sets of 8 at 145 lbs. That completes 2 personal goals of mine - squat more than my bodyweight, and deadlift at least 100 lbs.

Today's Workout

Deadlifts
55 lbs 1 x 8
95 lbs 1x 8
100 lbs 1 x 8

Superset #1
Standing BB Press (50 lbs) 3 x 8
DB Upright Row (20 lbs) 2 x 8

Superset #2
Lateral Raise (8 lbs) 3 x 15
DB Front Raise (8 lbs) 2 x 12

Abs Circuit
Kneeling cable crunch (120 lbs) 3 x 15
Stability Ball sit up with cross jab (5 lbs) 3 x 20 ea side
DB chop (10 lbs) 3 x 10 ea side

Have a great day!

Monday Tattoo Watch

I think I see some fading! Doesn't show up really well in the picture, though.


Sigh. I had a busy weekend and a rotten day today, and I just don't have it in me to type up my weekly summary. I've looked over my goals, and I think I did fairly well this week. Took pictures this weekend and was not impressed, but they were taken at 5:00am! Probably not the best time. :)

Have a good night!

A Whole New World

What a difference a week makes in the weather. It was 35 degrees and foggy this morning! So different from the ice and cold of last Friday. Man, I feel so much better today. My throat is still quite sore, but the body aches have pretty much disappeared. Makes such a difference!! I just feel like a million bucks today! I was so excited to go to the gym, I got there 5 minutes early. Then I spent 5 minutes talking to someone about TT so it all evened out. :)

This morning I completed Turbulence Training for Buff Dudes and Hot Chicks, workout C. This workout has a funny name, but it's no joke! Took me 27:30 this morning. I shaved 2 minutes off my time from last week. I think the day off yesterday and the extra sleep did wonders for me. I felt so...liberated this morning. Kind of a funny word for it, but my body just felt so free from the aches and pains. It felt great!!

Just a reminder, you can now purchase most of the TT workouts individually. So if you are interested in fat loss, you could peruse the Fat Loss Workouts. If you are interested in muscle building, you could check out the Muscle Building Workouts. Or you could just check them all out HERE, including the new March Madness Workout!

Have a great day!!

Recipe Wednesday...or Not

I'm feeling pretty awful today (refusing to acknowledge that it may be the flu). So, no recipe today. My brain can't think of one right now, and I don't think I have the stamina to type it up. Stay tuned to next week for a special one!

Lunch Bag Look-See

Here's a little peek in my bag I packed for work today. It's not a record number of containers or anything, just for fun.

On the left, from top to bottom, we have a mayo/mustard/green chilies blend (a la last Wednesday's recipe), to be rolled into the roast beef in the container below. Below that is Canadian bacon, then baby carrots. On the right, top to bottom, is 1/2 a tomato, turkey cutlets, egg whites and strawberries/raspberries.

That's all! :)

Monday Tattoo Watch

Well, it's official. My baby is preregistered for Kindergarten. I managed to sign him up without any tears. Sniff. Time sure does fly.

Now, about this tattoo. I've had a few questions about the procedure so I thought I would explain a little more about it. I had a laser removal, which is where a laser is pointed over the tattoo and all the areas are traced over. The tattoo absorbs the light from the laser and the pigment begins to break up. Then your immune system comes in and helps take away the pigment. The wavelength of the laser light can be changed depending on the color of the tattoo ink. My tattoo is just black, which is supposed to be relatively easy to remove, compared to blue or green, which are the most difficult. However, mine does not seem to be fading very quickly. Here is this weeks picture:


It doesn't hurt anymore, but it is still scabbing a little bit. There was one little tiny area that didn't seem like it wanted to heal, and even bled a bit just a few days ago, but it seems like it is healing now. It will take 4-6 weeks to heal, and I can't get another treatment until at least 6 weeks after this one. It will continue to fade as the weeks go by, at least, it's supposed to. I am still cautiously optimistic. I have, however, learned that when tape says it's "gentle", that's just code for "doesn't stick". :)

Week Nine Update

Three more weeks to go! Another great week!

1. I will make every workout count
Workouts were terrific this week! Turbulence Training for Buff Dudes and Hot Chicks was a lot of fun this week.

2. I will drink less diet soda
Really did better on this one this week. Will reduce more this week.

3. I will weigh myself ONLY once per week
Down 2 pounds this week. And yes, I weighed myself more than once. But did pretty good overall.

4. I will eat 1200-1400 calories per day on reduced calorie/carb days and 1500-1700 on refeed/higher days (updated goal).
Reduced days were: 1587, 1615, 1453, 1543, 1580, and 1330 calories; Refeed day was 1768 calories. I only had one refeed day this week because my last one was last Saturday, and then I had a couple of moderate days before getting my high/low cycle on the right days. Next week I will have higher days on Monday and Friday.

5. I will eat cleanly, but will allow treat meals
Did good this week. Still following Precision Nutrition guidelines of starchy carbs in the post-workout window. No major treat meals this past week, but did allow myself a double size pumpkin pie protein shake as a little celebration when I finished our taxes.

6. I will eat 5-7 fruits/vegetables per day
Achieved!

7. I will not worry about gaining extra weight while building muscle
I have officially gone into fat loss mode, so this goal isn't really applicable at the moment.

8. I will not be neurotic with my diet
Had a couple neurotic moments this week. The first one was while I was making turkey sausage casserole and I got distracted and added too much to one side of the dish. I was frantically trying to even it out! The second one was when my husband gave my son water from my water bottle that I left in the fridge. It was leftover from my workout in the morning, and I always finish off the bottle later when I get home from work. I know that bottle holds 24 oz, so I count it when I track my water in fitday. When I got home from work, I looked for my bottle and Hubby said he gave it to our son. I flipped out because I couldn't remember how much was left in the bottle. THAT was waaaay too neurotic!

9. I will not be grumpy at my family
Pretty good this week overall.

10. I will enjoy the contest and will not allow it to stress me out
Getting excited now - only 3 weeks left!

Here is the link to this weeks TT Coaching Call. This week Craig talks about the new diet study that stated it doesn't matter which diet you use, it's only the calories that matter, TT 2K9 (great workout!), and the 3 foods you should never eat when trying to lose fat.

Click here to listen to the fat burning coaching call

Have a great week everyone!