LiveFit Trainer Week Two, Day Three = LEGS!!!

HOLY MOLY!! Over 1100 hits to my blog!! Thank you all for reading and following me through this journey! You guys are awesome! Keep sending in the comments and emails! Now, about legs. I have such a love/hate relationship with leg workouts, and today was no different. I actually woke up for the first time in weeks dreading my workout today. I guess it was just one of those days. The thought of hitting the gym just to torture myself with a leg workout was really bringing me down. However, after my breakfast (1/3 cup of plain oats with cinnamon and four egg whites) AND almost two cups of coffee, I was ready to go! Not to mention, it kind of helped looking/feeling cute today! Speaking of looking cute, I highly recommend getting yourself some cute workout clothes. I'm not saying to go out and spend a lot of money at Lucy Activewear, but go to Target or JCPenny and grab a few cute tops. I just bought a few at JCPenny for $9 each! To me, they make you feel so much better about yourself than rolling up into the gym with a huge baggy t-shirt and sweatpants. Be confident! Feel good about yourself! You're working on transforming your body for the better, so treat yourself! Here is a picture of one of my new tops from JCPenny ($9!!):

Cute, right?

Anyway, I got WAY off topic. So, in my leg workout today I increased my weight in every exercise! I guess that second cup of coffee this morning gave me that extra push I needed. Of course, since working legs, I did one of the, if not the best leg exercise EVER. The squat. Today however, I approached the squat in a totally different fashion than before. I had been reading about different ways to do the squat and I came across a lady (I'm sure others use this as well) who described the squat as "ass to the grass". Well, that's what I did. Thankfully, I was able to complete all 3 sets of 12 without falling on my ass! I honestly thought I was going to get so low that I wouldn't be able to get back up. This is not a video of me, but these are close to what I did today:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CA1X-2LoUsc&context=C45868caADvjVQa1PpcFMK74c7PwbGvd6BqUduVR3XvwWGUnUNQhg=


Although I felt them pretty good today, I'd be willing to bet that I'll REALLY be feeling them tomorrow! Like always, my leg day is leaving me very hungry and very tired. I guess I need to get some "good" carbs in to get some energy going! 


Speaking of "good" carbs, I said I'd talk about carbs today, so let's get to talking. Carbohydrates are essential to your diet just as proteins are. Carbs are all about energy and are the body's main source of fuel (mainly for the brain and nervous system). What you really need to understand about carbohydrates is that they are not all created equal. There are complex carbohydrates and simple carbohydrates. The main difference between the two is that complex carbs take longer to digest and are packed with fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Simple carbs are broken down and digested very quickly, but most simple carbs contain refined sugars and very few essential vitamins and mineral. When watching your weight, we want to incorporate more complex carbs into our diet such as:


-- Sweet potato (my FAVORITE!!)
-- Oat bran bread
-- All-Bran cereals
-- Brown rice
-- Whole grain Pastas
-- Lentils
-- Kidney beans
-- Chick peas
-- Whole grain breads
-- Whole oats
-- Whole grain flours

Typically, you want stay away from most simple carbohydrates. These include: 

-- Table sugar

-- Corn syrup

-- Fruit juice

-- Candy

-- Cake

-- Bread made with white flour

-- Pasta made with white flour

-- Soda

-- Candy

-- Most packaged cereals

I heard a saying once, "If it's white, it ain't right." Again, I'm not saying you should NEVER eat these, just be careful and try to replace what's white with a healthier alternative (baked potato with a sweet potato, brown rice for white rice, and whole wheat pasta over white pasta). Like everything else, moderation is key. I still have sweets every now and then, but I don't eat them everyday or even every other day. Check out some of these links for more information on carbohydrates:

http://www.everydayhealth.com/weight/why-carbohydrates-are-important-for-your-diet.aspx

http://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/everyone/basics/carbs.html

Tomorrow is my favorite day: shoulders and abs! I LOVE working out my shoulders for some crazy reason. I'm looking forward to working these abs too! Hope you all have a great evening and hopefully, you can make some time for the gym today or tomorrow! Again, here's the link to Jaime Eason's LiveFit Trainer:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/jamie-easons-livefit-introduction.html

Take some time and read over it and watch her intro video. I'm telling ya, this program is a life transformation...if you're willing to put out the time and energy!

Jaems