I think I’ve had enough of a break. I’ve been sort of winging things on the exercise front since my vacation last month, but it’s time to get back on a regimented schedule of some kind.

To wit–I will be doing 4 weeks of hardcore, cutting-according-to-Swolecat Swolegenix (yes, the diet, too) starting next Monday, followed by 4 weeks of BFL lifting and HIIT workouts with extra cardio (300 minutes total cardio per week) while keeping my diet at approximately 1400-1600 calories per day and my macronutrient ratios between 40/40/20 and 50/30/20 carb/prot/fat. At the end of the eight weeks, I’ll assess my progress and decide if I want to extend the extra cardio (wah!) while changing out my lifting routine, or cut back down to three cardio sessions a week.

I’d like to pick up P90X again after eight weeks, but if I’m on a roll with what is essentially a fusion of Leanness Lifestyle, Body for Life, and Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle at that point, I will most likely just keep it up until I hit goal. I spent a good hour and a half re-working my daily schedule for meals and workouts for the next two months in Palm Desktop, and am now reasonably confident that I have things in order on the fitness and nutrition front. Best of all, my Handbase workout database module is ready to go, so I can track all of these workout types easily when I officially start next week. W00t.

Getting down and dirty with my fitness schedule had the side effect of switching my brain to planning mode, so I wound up re-doing my finances for the rest of the year in Microsoft Money as well. I am financially-projected and planned down to the bi-monthly purchase of Neville and Slinky’s kitty litter now, with automatic transfers to my IRA, 401(k), emergency savings, and house downpayment fund. The only bills I can’t deal with online are my rent check (which I drop off at the apartment complex office when I go to the fitness room for morning cardio) and my cell phone bill, which I have to deposit into my sister’s account manually down here in Florida since she pays the actual bill up in Boston. Her bank doesn’t have any branches up there, so if I sent her the money via Billpay, Wachovia would just mail her a check that she would have to mail right back down here for Wachovia to deposit into her account. Yes, it’s stupid. We both have accounts at the same bank, but I’m not allowed to do an electronic transfer into her account via Billpay. Paypal is always an option, but since we both have premium accounts, eBay gets a cut of every transaction.

The point of that entire last paragraph is that I am now looking at a meticulously-planned and generally rosy financial picture in the near future. There is something so incredibly satisfying about knowing exactly how much you have in the bank(s), when you will be completely free of debt (August, woohoo!), and how well you will be able to live when you retire.

I may have to rethink the sprouting of my theoretical Smart Offspring #1 in 2010 and Smart Offspring #2 in 2012 however, as my projections put my comfortable retirement at age 52 if I have them both on a single income, age 48 if I have just one brilliant, scholarship-bound kiddiepoo, and age 44 if I stick to feline children who do not require college educations. :were:

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Nutrition: 1300-1500 calorie low zig zag day

1: 1 c. Kashi Go Lean Crunch
2: 3 oz chicken breast, 2 oz. wheat noodles, 1 c. Romaine/tomatoes, beef noodle broth
3: 1/2 c. 1% cottage cheese, 1/2 c. blueberries
4: 3 oz chicken salad, peach
5: 3×1 omelette, peach, 1 c. cabbage/eggplant stir fry
6: Chocolate PB yogurt shake

Daily Supplements: multivitamin with iron, calcium 500 + D, 1 T. flaxseed oil or natural peanut butter
Water: 16 cups minimum

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Workout:
8:00 PM P90X Legs
9:00 PM P90X Abs
10:00 PM LISS Cardio - Bike (45 minutes)

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The Awful Truth:
1. Diverged from planned meals 5 and 6 by chomping on some Balance Go Mix instead.

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Brownie Points:
1. Bought eight dozen eggs at Albertsons for 50 cents a dozen.
2. Discovered that local Chamberlin’s sells TVP for only 99 cents a pound.
3. Returned library books.
4. Did HIIT again for the first time in weeks.
5. Located the much-ballyhooed Essensia brand peanut butter at Albertsons. YUMMY.

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Short-term Goals:
1. Defrost chicken.
2. Make some fresh salad dressing.
3. Prep some new chicken dishes.
4. Try BFL quiche recipe.
5. Clean out refrigerator and freezer.