Cory's Quest for a Healthier Life

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Me too :) Also I'm glad to hear you're so on top of your anxiety situation.
 
Sorry ya'll. Too tired to reply to everyone individually. Suffice it to say that I did two hour of dance fitness tonight and I am no longer anxious.

I'm happy today. I had a good performance review at work, made it to zumba, and I have vegetable lasagna. Pushed myself pretty hard tonight for the whole two hours at zumba/hip hop and managed to get to the euphoric state that runners probably call a runner's high. THAT is what fixes my anxiety. If I can get to that, I'll be fine for a few days. I wound up dancing on stage a lot tonight too. Some of you who have been following me for a while might remember way back a couple years ago when I talked about how scared I was to try this guy's class because he's known for being a hardass. He has become my absolute favorite instructor in the last year and a half or so, but he had this thing tonight where if he couldn't get people up on stage to dance with him, then he wasn't going to do it. So, I spent more songs than usual up on stage. That's partially why I'm so tired today. You push a lot more up there rather than if you're down in the crowd. Also, I might have mentioned last week that I dug out some better shoes for zumba and my feet hurt less. Now I'm not so sure that's true. The class I used them in was only an hour long and a little less intense. I might just have to come to terms with the fact that if I do this guy's class for two hours, my feet are going to hurt at the end of it because it's hard and I'm upwards of 240 lbs.

Food:
Breakfast: cottage cheese and a banana - 330 calories
Lunch: tuna salad sandwich, carrots, and pickles - 525 calories
Dinner: vegetable lasagna - 1077 calories
Total: 1932 calories

Exercise:
9,000 steps
2 hours of dance fitness

I'm 1,000 steps short of 10k. Not sure yet if I'll try to squeeze those in before I go to bed or not. Also, I think today might be day 10 soda free?
 
Kind of bleh today. I'm feeling like an idiot because I misunderstood what healthcare plan I was signing up for during benefit selection at my job for 2018. Wound up with something I'm not familiar with and that might make my taxes a little more complicated. Oh well. I'll change it next year. Still, very frustrating for me. I thought I was being such a well informed and responsible adult.

Lifting was a little frustrating tonight too. Nothing felt good and I went with my brother and his girlfriend and wound up feeling like a third wheel. They're both shouting and encouraging each other during their freaking assistance work. Meanwhile I'm over here struggling with my heaviest work set of the day, could really use a, "You got it bro," and I might as well have been invisible.

Food:
Breakfast: muffin - 460 calories
Lunch: lasagna, salad, banana - 833 calories
Dinner: BBQ, green beans, collard greens, cornbread - 971 calories
Total: 2264 calories

I know the total is high today, but my sedentary TDEE is at 2300 calories so I would break even if I literally did nothing today. But I walked 12,000 steps and lifted today, so I probably have a 500 calorie deficit. Kind of make me realize how huge my deficits have been on days when I do zumba and eat around 1700 calories. I also wanted to eat dinner with my brother and his girlfriend....even if I was a little irritated. Soda count will have to start over. I ordered a drink cup expecting that there would be unsweetened ice tea, but the only zero calorie option besides water was diet coke. I fully admit that after paying the $2.50 for the drink, I wasn't going to just get water.

Exercise:
12,000 steps

Incline Bench Press:
65 lbs 1x3
70 lbs 1x3
80 lbs 1x6

Squats:
110 lbs 1x3
130 lbs 1x3
145 lbs 1x4

45 degree hyper:
Body weight for 3x10

Lat pull downs:
75 lbs for 3x10

Normally I'd do abs and side butt, but I wasn't having a great day in the gym and the others were ready to leave. I can make them up tomorrow if I feel like I need to. I did hit the main things.
 
Benefits can be messy that way. Sounds like they weren't well explained. It's like life insurance salesmen pushing products in a way that helps them out more than you and no one wants to look stupid for demanding a simple explanation. Don't ask or we'll deliberately spin it that you should know so none of your peers are intimidated as well.

Sucks being a 3rd wheel. Bro must be twitterpated.

Great that it's another day in the right direction.
 
It´s easy to feel like a third wheel when you´re already feeling down on yourself for something else. Sorry that happened. About the soda thing: you´re obviously a lot more aware of it than you used to be and that´s what counts.
 
Bgirl, good work on the steps and lifting. I hope you read your post and that lifts u up a bit because you’re doing great!

12,000 steps ... damn girl!
 
Have you got a planned progression to improve your lifts ? are you able to ID the weaknesses so you can target your assistance exercises ?
 
Trusylver said:
Have you got a planned progression to improve your lifts ? are you able to ID the weaknesses so you can target your assistance exercises ?
Click to expand...

I'm running Wendler's 531, except I do incline bench instead of regular bench. For assistant work, I generally do something for hamstrings (stiff leg deads, 45 degree hyper, leg curls) because they are weak relative to my quads after 20 years of riding horses. I will also do a pulling exercise for my back/chest since the main lifts are pushes (some kind of row, lat pull downs). Generally I also do something for abs because I don't lift with a belt and I really want the stability (inlcine sit ups, planks, ab wheel). Lastly, I usually do something for side butt/glute activation because one glute doesn't fire as well as the other because I've been spinning my hips the same direction in zumba for 5 years (clamshells, side leg raises, fire hydrants, donkey kicks).
 
Bad days at the gym happen. I usually have a few a month. Mine may be hormone related, not sure. Just days I feel blah for no good reason. I imagine it didn't help with the sib and his gf full of encouragement for only each other. To put it into perspective - I can't wait until I am where you are with the lifts!
 
Hale: My brother and his girlfriend have been together for almost 10 years. I would have thought they'd be passed that stage by now.
Lama: I can admit I was maybe being a little sensitive over it.
Brent: Definitely in a better mood today.
Jenni: You're probably closer than you realize. Keep in mind that everything I do is lower reps than what you do. Get to the point where you're only doing 5 and your number will be substantially larger.
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Early update today because I won't have time later. Read back over yesterdays post and am a little more philosophical about it today. The lifting session wasn't actually bad. I hit my two main lifts for all the required reps (plus some) and didn't miss any lifts. That's a perfectly adequate gym day. It just didn't FEEL good.

I am sooooooooooo tired today. I wound up staying up until 3 am last night packing.....so my bedtime fucked right off. My parents had originally said they would come help me move some stuff with their truck next weekend. I could probably fit pretty much everything I have left that isn't furniture in there. They called me last night to bail so that means I'm going to have to make several smaller trips in my little car and I feel like I HAVE to take a load of crap over tonight if I want to have all the non-furniture items out before the movers come. Only problem with that is that I'm also driving the four hour trip home tonight. After work, then zumba, then dropping stuff off at the house, it will probably be 1 am before I get in. I'm trying not to be irritated that they cancelled on me, but it's hard not to be. I volunteered to babysit my grandma for them all weekend in a couple weeks so that they can do to a concert. I really don't feel like I can spare a whole weekend to do that, but I haven't said anything to them about it and I want them to be able to go to the concert.

Food:
Breakfast: muffin - 460 calories
Lunch: spicy Chipotle chicken pasta and bread - 1,750 calories
Total: 2,210 calories

Higher on the calories again today. Once again, I know I'm still at a decent deficit here once you account for the walking and the zumba, but I am really uncomfortable with how many days I've been over 1,700 this week. I'm getting frustrated because some coworkers kind of strong armed me into going to the Cheesecake Factory today. I was hoping to find something in the 1,200 calorie range (so I could skip dinner), but I didn't like any of the options there. I felt like I was stuck with the 500 calorie options and like some of the choices, but that would have meant I'd need to stop for dinner tonight, or I was stuck was things that were all like 2,000 calories. Why does this place exist? The number of items that top 2,000 calories on their menu is horrific.

Exercise:
10,000 steps
1 hour zumba
 
Just moving on its own would be enough to put almost anyone out of sorts Cory. It's up there with the top stressors. I must admit I laughed when I read " My brother and his girlfriend have been together for almost 10 years. I would have thought they'd be passed that stage by now." I don't think G & I are yet :)
Well done on the 10,000 steps & Zumba :)
 
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