IfItPlugsIn

My husband has been planning on winning the lottery for years. When that comes through for us, we'll go that route! That does make sense, though.

Jealous of the awesome lifts! Girl, you're setting the bar pretty high for me. I ended up having somewhat of a refeed weekend, so I'm hoping that helps me. Hoping to lift tomorrow or Thursday. Shenanigans sound like way too much fun

We do some of that now, with a huge garden. We obviously don't do enough variety or have nice enough climate to fully subsist on it yet, but we might go there. We've talked about making a business of the garden/produce farming. My husband knows someone that made over $60k/year, just selling at roadside stands. My dad farms corn, soybeans and wheat, so we could try going that route too.

Love the chin-ups and the Cross Fit class! On the diet stuff - at least you've caught yourself at 3 lbs instead of 30, and you can easily get back on track. Very cool, that you are ok with altering the Whole 30 concept to fit what you know about your needs. Also, I'm with you on moar veggies... I get nowhere near enough!

Me! I will!... I was just going to suggest it, because we're right in the middle of North America

My husband has actually started talking about leaving the business world, and getting into farming. I'm all for it, once we get on top of things financially. Allergies would make things difficult for sure!

We're actually purchasing it at market value, but doing it as a contract-for-deed. Basically, my parents act as the bank for us. We don't have the contract drawn up yet, but I believe we have to purchase it at the appraised value, and with a standard interest rate to protect ourselves. Also, my daddy has worked very hard his whole life for his farm, and he deserves every penny, plus interest

StrongLifts A (5/9) Squat 45x5 95x5 120x5x5 - PR Bench 45x5 65x5 75x5x5 Row 45x5 80x5x5 I still question my row form, but other than that, everything went really well this morning. I got going a little late (5:30), but got to see some other mom's from my son's preschool class during my warmup on the treadmill. Abs 50 crunches 15 pushups 30 sec. x2 cobra pose 50 reverse crunches 15 pushups

Mid-week check in. Workouts aren't too shabby this week. I did Zumba Monday night. Last night, my husband and I went out to my parents' and walked around our "hopefully where we'll build a house" land. We marked off exactly the chunk we want to buy (40 acres), and I walked to each corner to plant a stake in the ground. Currently, part of it is cattle pasture, and part is corn field that hasn't been planted yet. Pasture = easy walking/jogging. Field = WTF? - My dad tilled it at the end of last season, so it's so lumpy and soft and full of weird ridges. It was nearly impossible to get solid footing, so I was constantly having to look at my feet, so I didn't step somewhere and twist my ankle. It was actually a pretty decent workout - got my heart rate up and could really feel it in my quads (from the squishy ground, I think). I should have taken pictures, because it was so beautiful out there, but I forgot! Eating was going well until this morning, and I saw a new low on the scale again today (148)! Yay! Also, good news is that my bf% is dropping, according to my scale. Down from 28% to 26%, if it's to be believed. Hopefully this means that I'm maintaining my muscle through the cut. Bad news is that there was a potluck at work, and I ate some sweets. I would say that I'll just count this as my cheat day, and be good the rest of the week, but I already know that probably won't happen. I'll do my best to minimize the damage, but not promising anything I just happened to come across this blog post today about staying motivated (fair warning, it's religious). It was exactly what I needed to hear. I don't feel like I'm lacking motivation, but at the same time, I've lost some of the spark to stay on top of my goals.

I've been meaning to try pistols too. This girl I know tends to show me up at everything fitness-y. Of course, she owns a gym, so it's her job to be impressive at this kind of thing. Here's her pistol video from about 2 months ago... yeah, she's holding a 55lb kettlebell... https://www.facebook.com/video/embed?video_id=10152632755405567

Very nice losses on your measurements! The calorie tracking sounds about right too. Being that you lost a little more than expected, and it's only been 3 weeks, I say stick with it. Definite improvement on the squats. Looks like you're getting a little lower than before, and maybe getting a little more stable under your heels? Only suggestion, would maybe be to be sure to keep your chest up/shoulders back a little more. Anyone more experienced than me able to confirm/deny that suggestion?

I feel like I'm still getting linear progression with most lifts. I may have one workout where I miss a rep or two, but then usually complete it the next workout.

Work stress sucks. Try not to let it get to you, but I definitely know what you mean. I had tons of stress this past week, plus no working out, which made it 10 times worse. If workouts help you cope, like mine do, make sure you get them in.

Week 3 Wrap-up Step Up my Workouts Maintain my 3 workouts per week: 0. F. Add core work 3 times per week: 0. F. Step Up my Weight Loss: Weight did go down again, but a little extra sweet cheats yesterday. 6/7 days = B, even though I feel like I deserve a D. Step Up my Sanity: 1 meditation this week. D. Wow, lady bizniz screwed me over this week. Maybe I'm just getting used to it again (only 2nd one in, like, over a year), but man. I ate all the candy, didn't work out just because, gave up on meditating after just a few minutes. Thank goodness it's over now, so I can go back to being awesome. I'm going to try morning workouts this week. I'm doing Zumba tonight, then hitting the gym at 5am, hopefully for the rest of the week. I didn't get my 1RMs tested this week, so I'm debating if I should try it tomorrow, then aim for SSS later on. Or just go right to SSS, and take a guess at the weights, based on my current working weights. Or just wait for Mir to post her numbers, and try to beat them? Suggestions?

You're making it awfully difficult to catch you! Awesome job rocking the smaller clothes for summer.

Everyone's so helpful! The hip flexor pain is gone, but I'm sure it will return. If the core stuff had anything to do with it, then DLs followed by Ab Ripper was probably the magic combo for pain. This week has been a nightmare. Food-wise I've been good, and still seeing a loss, but all other challenge aspects are non-existent so far. I'm hoping to do abs tonight, and kick the workouts in high-gear for the next few days. Wish me luck!

First, congrats on the loss!! Second, at least you had the confidence back in the day. 20's Jenna thought she was fat, even though she was smokin' hot. 30's Jenna thinks she's fat, even though she's probably only mediocre, and totally wishes she could be as "fat" as she was 10 years ago. Third, the bold stuff is totally how I feel on a daily basis. Fourth, good for you for still doing your workout! I would have skipped with no shirt!

Feels like Christmas in my office today! I may or may not have let out an actual "squee!" of joy, and done a little happy dance...

Hello, DOMS! New pain I've never felt before... right in the crease between my hip and thigh. Is that my hip flexor? Would it be caused by my core exercises (Ab Ripper), deadlift, or combo of the two? Any easy stretches I can do at my desk to make it go away?

Ok, y'all have convinced me to try the homemade deodorant. I hate my current one, so I'll give this a go.

Sweet new avatar (and the vid to go with it)! I think the dress must have helped with the PR... or maybe it was the blue hair? Either way, you rock!

The homebrew sounds like a fun project! Nice job on the lifting and the new measurements.

I was hurting after the first move, and my "crunchy frogs" were pretty sad.

Week 2 Wrap-up Step Up my Workouts Maintain my 3 workouts per week: 2 Zumba, 1 Lifting. A. Add core work 3 times per week: 2 core workouts done. Lots o' planks one night, and AbRipperX. C. Step Up my Weight Loss: Still losing, so I'm super happy with that. I did end up cheating more than planned, and gave in to some emotional eating Saturday (leftover pizza and chocolate). I took measurements and starting photos this week. B. Step Up my Sanity: 2 meditations this week, but neither was very long. One relaxation, one prayer session. For the prayer, I focused on being thankful for my parents/childhood/how I was raised (Thanks, SS!). Again, both were done right before bed, and I think they were both shortened because I was so relaxed I fell asleep. B.

StrongLifts B (4/28) Squat 65x5 95x5 115x5x5 - PR OHP 45x5 65x5 70x5x5 - PR DL 145x5 - PR Looks silly on my standard bar, doesn't it?!? I think I only had a handful of plates that I didn't load on here. So weird... I've been getting used to the oly bar/plates at the gym. This was the first time I lifted at home in probably 2-3 weeks. Felt easier today. Maybe because it was a "do-over" on the squats and ohp? My new bar claims to hold 300 lbs, but it looked like it was flexing a little with 115 and 145. Also, Ab Ripper X. I had to skip 2 moves, but I'd say I completed 275 of the 349 moves on the video.