Author: mborjan43

Hello Everyone!!! I hope you all had a fabulous Thanksgiving Day as our family did. I have to admit this was my most fun and flavor filled Vegan Thanksgiving feast. My cooking has definitely come a long way in my year and a half vegan journey so I wanted to share these wonderful recipes with you all. Enjoy!!!

Buffalo “Chicken” Pasta Salad (https://pin.it/nrqh4a4om3obcs)

Scalloped Potatoes (https://pin.it/srrgsj23m4xxpn)

Stuffing (http://pin.it/vitirx54lo7jed)

Pumpkin Pie (https://pin.it/reswmiyfzp45i6)

Apple Pie (https://pin.it/dks4wk7bjeh2gr)

All these recipes where obtained off pinterest so if the links don’t work for you please don’t hesitate to contact me and I’ll send you the direct link. If you have some great recipes you’d like to share please add them to the comments so we can all enjoy!

Ugggg…so annoyed today. Between the errands I need to run, the rain, my foot pain, and too many people at the gym I didn’t get to do my full workout. But I’m trying to be positive and be happy that at least made the time for myself to get to the gym. I focused on legs for today’s workout but did not get the chance to work on my squats. Here’s what I did have time for:

• Hip Abduction: 85 lbs for 20 reps, 100 lbs for 20 reps, 115 lbs for 2 sets of 20 reps
• Prone Hamstring Curls: 50 lbs for 15 reps, 65 lbs for 15 reps, 80 lbs for 10 reps, 85 lbs for 10 reps
• Leg Extension: 60 lbs for 20 reps, 70 lbs for 20 reps, 85 lbs for 15 reps, 100 lbs for 15 reps
• Calf Press: 90 lbs for 20 reps, 110 lbs for 20 reps, 135 lbs for 2 sets of 20 reps
• Glut Press: 50 lbs for 15 reps, 70 lbs for 3 sets of 15 reps

Now that I have taken care of myself time to continue my cooking adventures and prepare for tomorrow. I am making some great delicious vegan dishes for tomorrow and am looking forward to sharing these with you in my next post.

Trying to keep on top of my workout this holiday week. I have a lot of cooking and eating to do this week so I want to make sure I give myself some space to enjoy Thursday. Today I focused on push and worked out with a friend so we could spot each other and be each other’s cheerleaders. Here’s what we did:

• Incline Chest Press: 45 lbs for 12 reps, 55 lbs for 2 sets of 10 reps, 60 lbs for 8 reps
• Reverse Fly: 65 lbs for 2 sets of 12 reps, 70 lbs for 2 sets of 12 reps
• Chest Fly: 65 lbs for 2 sets of 12 reps, 70 lbs for 2 sets of 12 reps
• Overhead Trice Extension: 20 lbs for 2 sets of 12 reps, 25 lbs for 2 sets of 12 reps
• Shoulder Press: 45 lbs for 8 reps, 55 lbs for 8 reps, 65 lbs for 2 sets of 8 reps (2 reps without assist)
• Assisted Dips: 75 lbs for 2 sets of 12 reps, 70 lbs for 12 reps, 60 lbs for 12 reps

Tomorrow’s workout will be short because of plans and my foot continues to hurt me so I’m not sure how much of my leg workout will be completed. Stay tuned for tomorrow to see what was accomplished.

Well, I feel I had another success weigh-in this week. I got back to my normal routine at the gym but I wasn’t really following my diet too closely. I really like to let myself enjoy this time of year with all the fun and flavors but I did notice that my alcohol consumption was less than last weekend. I’ve noticed that saving all my “alcohol points” for the weekends have done some damage on the scale so I’m trying to figure out what works best for me and this holiday season. Don’t want to over-indulge but also don’t want to feel as though I can’t go out with friends either.

These measures and percent changes are compared to last week and not my initial blog post. I think at the end of the year I’ll do a overall holiday season comparison to see how I managed my weight, but most all posts will be compared to the previous week:

• Weight: 176 lbs (down 1.01%)
• BMI: 26.1 (down .76%)
• Percent Fat: 35.9 (down 1.10%)
• Percent Muscle: 59.4 (up .68%)
• Lean Body Mass: 112.80 (down .53%)
• BMR: 1571.9 (down .49%)
• Shoulder Circumference: 41.5 inches (no change)
• Bust: 36 inches ( up 5.88%)
• Bicep Circumference: R-13.5 inches (up 8%) L-13 inches (up 4%)
• Waist: 30 inches (no change)
• Belly: 37 inches (no change)
• Hips: 43.5 inches (no change)
• Mid-Thigh Circumference: R-23.5 inches (up 2.7%) L-23 inches (no change)

Today I worked on lunges and deadlifts so stay tuned for my November 26th workout routine.

It’s funny that having this whole week off I’m so far behind on my blog posts but while I’m starting my Thanksgiving cooking I figured I’d pop on and get myself caught up. This past Sunday I planned to do a combination of push and hamstrings. I had limited time so I didn’t get to do my whole routine but here is what I did get done:

• Warm-up with full push-ups: 4 sets of 15 reps
• Shoulder Press: 45 lbs for 10 reps, 60 pounds for 3 sets of 8 reps (2 reps without using legs for assistance)
• Romanian Deadlifts (RDL): 60 lbs for 15 reps, 95 lbs for 3 sets of 15 reps
• Lateral Raises: 15 lbs for 4 sets of 12 reps
• Seated Hamstring Curls: 110 lbs for 15 reps, 115 lbs for 3 sets of 15 reps
• Tricep Pulldowns: 30 lbs or 15 reps, 30 lbs + 1 weight for 3 sets of 13 reps
• Burpees: 4 sets of 40 seconds on and 20 seconds rest

Stay Tuned for November 25th Weigh In Results 🙂

Woah, this was a rough week and a tough workout but I felt so good afterwards. I’m still feeling under the weather and trying to get adjusted to our new routine of martial arts classes for the kids so I’m definitely feeling like I’m chasing my tail.

Today’s workout was focusing on legs. Last time I did the weighted leg press with 5 plates, I was only able to do 2 reps on my own and had to use my hands to control and push up for the rest of the reps. Even though I didn’t feel stronger, things are happening below the surface. Here’s he routine:

• Warm-up: hip raises on bench 4 set of 10 reps (no weight)
• Squats: 65 lbs for 5 reps; 85 lbs for 3 reps; 105 lbs for 1 rep; 120 lbs for 2 sets of 2 reps; 90 lbs for 2 sets of 5 reps
• Leg Press: 2 plates for 5 reps; 3 plates for 3 reps; 4 plates for 1 rep; 5 plates for 4 sets of 6 reps
• Prone Hamstring Curls: 75 lbs for 12 reps; 80 lbs for 3 sets of 12 reps
• Leg Extensions: 90 lbs for 12 reps; 95 lbs for 3 sets of 12 reps
• Calf Press: 125 lbs for 20 reps; 130 lbs for 3 sets of 20 reps

That second rep on each of my 120 lbs squats was rough and I found myself having to lean forward to get it back up onto the bar. I think from here on out I may need someone to spot me for my higher weights to make sure I don’t hurt myself. It can be scary pushing out of your body’s comfort zone, but when you crush it there is no better feeling. Until next time my friends. -Megan

Happy Monday my gym/fitness/health nuts!!! Well I was very worried about my weigh-in this morning. Being sick for two weeks, not working out for almost a week, and being stuck at a professional conference all weekend were the recipe for a horrible report. Surprisingly here are my results

• Weight: 177.8 lbs (down 1.33%)
• BMI: 26.3 (down 1.50%)
• Percent fat: 36.3 (down 1.36%)
• Percent muscle: 59 (up .85%)
• Lean Body Mass: 113.40 (down .53%)
• Basal Metabolic Rate: 1579.7 (down .66%)
• Shoulder Circumference: 41.5 inches (down 1.19%)
• Bust: 34 inches (down 2.86%)
• Mid-bicep Circumference: R 12.5 inches (-3.55%) L 12.5 inches (no change)
• Waist: 30 inches (no change)
• Belly: 37 inches (down 2.63%)
• Hips: 43.5 inches (down 1.14%)
• Mid-thigh Circumference: R 23 inches (no change) L 23 inches (down 2.13%)

The only things I was really upset with was the decrease in LBM in muscle circumference. But all and all it was a good week and I’m looking forward to next week’s results as I mend and get back to my routine.

And for some fun I added in a pic of my new workout shirt I got his weekend. They have so really cute gear so if you want to check them out go to http://www.lft-club.com

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s leg workout.

My sinuses have had me down the past few days so I have just now been able to post my workout from Tuesday. I had a video to show my form (it wasn’t great but hey we are here to learn and improve right?) but my site doesn’t support it so I’m kinda bummed. Just to describe it for y’all I was deadlifting my highest weight (170 lbs) but I am still using my back too much (not bending enough at the hips in the beginning, not squeezing the glutes on the way up, and lifting my legs too soon putting all the strain on my back).

So here is the full make-up of my workout from Tuesday. If you have questions on how I constructed it please feel free to comment and I’d love to help you out. My focus this session was pull.

• Hip Raises on Bench: 2 sets of 10 reps with 45 lbs bar
• Sumo Squats with Pause: 2 sets of 10 reps with 60 lbs kettlebell
• Deadlifts: 95 lbs for 5 reps, 115 lbs for 3 reps, 135 lbs for 1 rep, 155 lbs for 1 rep, 170 lbs 2 sets of 2 reps, 140 lbs for 3 sets of 2 reps
• Seated Rows: 55 lbs for 12 reps, 55 lbs + 1 weight for 12 reps, 55 lbs + 2 weights for 12 reps
• Lat Pulldowns: 85 lbs for 4 sets of 12 reps
• Prone Hamstring Curls: 75 lbs for 12 reps, 80 lbs for 3 sets of 12 reps

It was a rough workout for me because I wasn’t feeling great but I pushed through despite my mood and felt so much stronger afterwards.

No workouts this weekend due to a professional conference but stop by on Monday for my weekly weigh-in and any other fun tips or experiences I have to share before then.