My 12-Week Progression: January 10, 2010 – April 4, 2010
SUMMARY
Below I’ve provided a basic template of what I ate during the day, as well as my training split (i.e., what days I do each body part) during my 12-week diet that lasted from January 10, 2010 – April 4, 2010.
Things to know:
- I changed my split after Week 6 of the diet just to change it up a bit, although I continue to lift 4 days a week, do cardio 6 days a week, and have a full rest day on Friday.
- I started 2-a-days around Week 6 of my diet. At this time, I added in an additional 45 minutes of pre-Meal 1 cardio 4 days a week (Mon – Thurs). You’ll see this reflected in the training template below.
- I did not follow the diet below exactly. For example, sometimes I had a “real” meal instead of the protein powder during Meal 3. Sometimes I also had an additional carb in Meals 3-5. However, I did eat so that the majority of my calories were consumed in the morning hours.
- I had a cheat meal once a week. In the beginning of the diet, this meal consisted of more food than I would normally consume in one meal, cheese, wine, and a dessert. On the back half of the diet, my cheat consisted of a normal-sized meal (like chicken and string beans) but a glass of wine or a small dessert.
- I drank water and tea throughout the day. I also drank Fuze and some diet sodas every now and then.
- When I trained, I did 3-4 sets and 3-4 different exercises for every body part. I like pyramid sets, starting off with lower weight for 15-20 reps, then going up to a higher weight for 6-8 reps, then coming back down.
- Unless I was particularly exhausted, I went all out on cardio. My favorite was long-distance running (3+ miles), or high intensity interval training (HIIT) on the treadmill. For HIIT, I sprinted for 2 minutes and then walked for 1 minute, and repeated for 30-45 minutes.
- I did abs everyday. I did weighted abs about 2-3 days a week at the gym, but I also spent 15 – 20 minutes every morning in my living room doing abs. I did abs so often because they were so weak when I started, I needed to build up my endurance.
- I did a 20-minute yoga session from a DVD 2-3 x a week. I started this around Week 6 as my body began to get more exhausted from the training.
- The last 2 weeks of the diet, I cut carbs to under 50g a day and upped my protein intake to 200g or more a day.
What I ATE
Meal 1 – 7:00 am – 1/2 c. oatmeal, 1/8 c. ground golden flax seed, 1 scoop glutamine powder (stirred into the oatmeal), 4 egg whites
Note: Although I ate oatmeal 90% of the time, I sometimes replaced it with a 100 calorie whole grain wrap, 1 packet of grits, 1/2 c. quinoa, or 1 whole wheat Bagel Thin. I also began to put about 1 cup of spinach and 1 TSBP. of coconut oil in my oats the last 4 weeks of the diet.
Meal 2 – 10:00 am – 4-5 oz. chicken breasts, cooked on the George Foreman Grill, 1/2 large sweet potato, handful of fresh green beans
Note: I used spices on my chicken. Sometimes I cooked my chicken in a little olive oil in a skillet. I ate A LOT of green beans because they are my favorite, but I also ate broccoli too.
Meal 3 – 1:00 pm – 1-2 scoops whey protein powder, mixed with water with 25 almonds
Note: Sometimes I had 2 TBSP. of peanut or almond butter in place of the almonds, but the almonds are the easiest to take on the go.
Meal 4 – 4:00 pm – 4-5 oz chicken breast and fresh green beans
Note: I also buy lean ground turkey and chicken and make patties on the George Foreman.
Meal 5 – 7:00pm (after gym) – Same as Meal 4.
Meal 6 – Added around Week 6. 1 scoop casein protein mixed with 1- 2/3 c. low fat kefir.
How I TRAINED
Sunday – Chest and triceps + 30 minutes cardio
Monday – AM: 45 minutes cardio. PM: Back and biceps + 30 minutes cardio
Tuesday – AM: 45 minutes cardio. PM: 60 minutes cardio
Wednesday – AM: 45 minutes cardio. PM: Shoulders and hamstrings + 30 minutes cardio
Thursday – AM: 45 minutes cardio. PM: Quads and calves + 30 minutes cardio
Friday – Day off, full rest day (I usually spend about 2 hours cleaning the house on Fridays, so I’m still active)
Saturday – 60 minutes cardio
Then, start all over again!!
If you have any questions about this, just let me know. My main supplements (besides protein powder) were L-Glutamine and Vitamin C. I also took BCAA, CLA, L-Carnitine, and L-Arginine.
BodyJournal: Watch me do it! 
So far so good! I think you are doing a great job in only a month and a half. Keep it up!
Thanks Steve!!
You have a great site, I’ve bookmarked it.
Steph
Oh my goodness sister, this is awesome!! You are doing great. Oh man now that you and Kate are looking great, it’s time for beezie to kick it into gear! I’ll be using your blog as inspiration.
I’m proud of you sister!
You need to help me come up with a college-inspired workout plan and diet. I have always wanted to create one since it is SO TOUGH to stay in shape and be healthy in college.
You look great – keep eating those salads with olive oil + vinegar!!
xo
Both of you girls amaze me…..pinch me to wake up that you are my intelligent and beautiful daughters. How lucky can a mom be??? The fact you grow closer each day and support one another as you do is wonderful for me to observe. You both are a constant source of inspiration with the amount of unconditional love and energy you display. Please be sure J knows about all this…what am I saying?…the mom is always to last to know. I’m sure she has been following this from day one. Steph…you look GREAT!!
Thanks Mom! Learned it all from you 🙂
can’t wait to see the next picture!! need help sizing your pictures so they fit correctly into your blog? if you want, send them to me and I can scale them for you. xo – you are so beautiful!! -kt
Thanks, Sister! Yes, I just changed my blog appearance and when I did that, the pictures overlapped the text. I haven’t spent much time trying to figure out how to fix it, but I could probably use your help. When Greg gets home this afternoon, I will post a new progress picture.