Sleep: 10.45-9.45 = 11 hours, woot! (although I got up at 6am to let Oscar out)
Weight: 62.6
Lifestyle cardio: walk TJ to supermarket and back
Water: 2/3
Food: 6/7
Extra off-plan meal: flax cookies (choc protein powder, natural peanut butter, flaxmeal)
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Sat 14 Feb
Sleep: midnight-7.45am = 7¾ hours (interrupted at 2am by Rob coming home from his night out)
Weight: 62.4 (hello pizza!)
Lifestyle cardio: walk TJ to park. Lots of smoke in the air from the fires.
Training: lower body B; intervals on bike (60s on, 180s off x4)
Recovery: hot/cold shower after training
Water: 1.5/3
Food: 4/6
off-plan meals:
muesli, yoghurt and fruit
lamb casserole with legumes, veges, one slice of bread, one glass red wine
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Have You Made Your Choice?
by Latif Thomas
You see the difference between success and failure, in anything, comes down to one simple word.
Choice.
You have the ability to *choose* the way your life is going to be.
Your situation right now is the sum of the *choices* you have made in the present moment.
And the choices you continue to make in the present moment will dictate your level of success.
Because nothing exists but THIS moment. There is no later. No future. No ‘when the economy gets better’. No ‘when I have more free time’. No ‘if I had better talent.’ No ‘if I had a bigger team’. No ‘if I was smarter’.
Success is a *choice*.
The only difference between you and the people you want to be like is simple:
They’re not afraid to die on a treadmill.
Why not?
Because they made a *choice*. They decided who they wanted to be. What they wanted their life to be like and they made a *choice* to do it.
They didn’t make the choice in some undefined ‘later’. Or ‘tomorrow‘. Those things don’t exist.
They never will. They will never arrive. Ever.
Read the full article (and watch a video) here
You see the difference between success and failure, in anything, comes down to one simple word.
Choice.
You have the ability to *choose* the way your life is going to be.
Your situation right now is the sum of the *choices* you have made in the present moment.
And the choices you continue to make in the present moment will dictate your level of success.
Because nothing exists but THIS moment. There is no later. No future. No ‘when the economy gets better’. No ‘when I have more free time’. No ‘if I had better talent.’ No ‘if I had a bigger team’. No ‘if I was smarter’.
Success is a *choice*.
The only difference between you and the people you want to be like is simple:
They’re not afraid to die on a treadmill.
Why not?
Because they made a *choice*. They decided who they wanted to be. What they wanted their life to be like and they made a *choice* to do it.
They didn’t make the choice in some undefined ‘later’. Or ‘tomorrow‘. Those things don’t exist.
They never will. They will never arrive. Ever.
Read the full article (and watch a video) here
The Seven Behaviors of Highly Successful Athletes
By Charles Staley
There are many behaviors which lend themselves to successful training outcomes. For the purposes of this column however, I’ll focus on seven behaviors which I believe are tantamount for unprecedented levels of success:
1) Delayed Gratification
It has been said that the pain of self-discipline weighs ounces; while the pain of neglect weighs tons. Maturity is defined by the willingness to sacrifice now in order to experience a greater outcome in the future. This applies especially to nutrition and supplementation, since the positive outcomes of a sound nutritional program take weeks, if not months, to experience.
2) Consistency
Training is a form of motor learning, and learning requires repetition. Training consistency can be dramatically enhanced through a variety of techniques, but one of the most powerful methods is also the simplest: scheduling.
There is a VAST difference between thinking "Tomorrow I’m going to work out." and "My workout is between 7-8am tomorrow morning."
In the first case, you might have a vague time-frame in mind, say 8:00am. However, by 7:30, you’re behind schedule, so you reason to yourself that you’ll train after work. Then, by the time you leave work, you realize that you didn’t bring your gym clothes with you, so you think "I’ll just train after dinner."
And of course, after dinner, you’re tired and distracted by the television, and guess what? You missed your workout! Now, you might rationalize that you’ll just do the workout tomorrow instead. This leads you to the incorrect assumption that you simply rescheduled your workout rather than skipping it, which is exactly what you did.
On the other hand, knowing that you have a workout (or a meal) scheduled at an exact time, you’ll be much more likely to prepare for and keep your appointment. If you DO fail to keep to the schedule, you’ll be much more likely to feel a sense of consequence for your decision.
3) Goal-Directedness
The failure to develop goal-directed behavior accounts for more failure than all other causes combined. Most people understand that goals much be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-referenced (S.M.A.R.T.), however, many people fail to carefully weigh the benefits of achieving the goal versus what must be sacrificed.
If, upon careful inspection, you are deeply convinced that the benefits justify the sacrifices, you’ll create the psychic and emotional fuel necessary to sustain your motivation when the going gets rough (as it inevitably does!).
4) The Autotellic Mindset
Autotellic people do things primarily for their own intrinsic value, whereas exotellic people do things primarily for the secondary, external reward. In my experience, autotellic athletes are far better able to sustain their motivation. The take home lesson is this: people who just LOVE to train go much further than those who just want to look better.
5) Open-Mindedness
Closed-mindedness is, in my opinion, a genetically-ingrained survival trait. Thousands of years ago, a Neanderthal man looked under a rock and found some grubs to eat. The technique obviously had value, and it made more sense to look under more rocks than it did to look up in the trees.
But for this Neanderthal to go beyond mere survival, he should in fact look up in the trees, for if he did, he might find better food choices. In many ways, athletes are the same way.
At some point in their athletic careers, they are convinced to train in a certain way, and because this way lead to a certain degree of success, they now pronounce this "way" as the "only way." So remain receptive to new ideas, because usually, the thing you’re looking for is where you aren’t looking!
6) Fatigue Management
We LOVE to feel fragged after a workout, so much so that subconsciously, we tend to actually modify the workout to produce more post-workout fatigue, rather than to permit a better training performance.
When you’re trying to do gradually more and more work from session to session, fatigue-management skills are essential. I’ll address several unique Q2 fatigue management strategies for an upcoming column.
7) Lifestyle
Many athletes spend untold hours examining and re-examining their training, nutrition, and supplement schedule, while at the same time completely ignoring the fact that their life is antagonistic to their training efforts, rather than supportive of them.
Late night partying, exhausting job schedules (I know what you’re thinking here, but jobs CAN be changed if you have a good-enough reason), and general inefficiency can wreak havoc on the best laid plans.
Read the full article here
There are many behaviors which lend themselves to successful training outcomes. For the purposes of this column however, I’ll focus on seven behaviors which I believe are tantamount for unprecedented levels of success:
1) Delayed Gratification
It has been said that the pain of self-discipline weighs ounces; while the pain of neglect weighs tons. Maturity is defined by the willingness to sacrifice now in order to experience a greater outcome in the future. This applies especially to nutrition and supplementation, since the positive outcomes of a sound nutritional program take weeks, if not months, to experience.
2) Consistency
Training is a form of motor learning, and learning requires repetition. Training consistency can be dramatically enhanced through a variety of techniques, but one of the most powerful methods is also the simplest: scheduling.
There is a VAST difference between thinking "Tomorrow I’m going to work out." and "My workout is between 7-8am tomorrow morning."
In the first case, you might have a vague time-frame in mind, say 8:00am. However, by 7:30, you’re behind schedule, so you reason to yourself that you’ll train after work. Then, by the time you leave work, you realize that you didn’t bring your gym clothes with you, so you think "I’ll just train after dinner."
And of course, after dinner, you’re tired and distracted by the television, and guess what? You missed your workout! Now, you might rationalize that you’ll just do the workout tomorrow instead. This leads you to the incorrect assumption that you simply rescheduled your workout rather than skipping it, which is exactly what you did.
On the other hand, knowing that you have a workout (or a meal) scheduled at an exact time, you’ll be much more likely to prepare for and keep your appointment. If you DO fail to keep to the schedule, you’ll be much more likely to feel a sense of consequence for your decision.
3) Goal-Directedness
The failure to develop goal-directed behavior accounts for more failure than all other causes combined. Most people understand that goals much be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-referenced (S.M.A.R.T.), however, many people fail to carefully weigh the benefits of achieving the goal versus what must be sacrificed.
If, upon careful inspection, you are deeply convinced that the benefits justify the sacrifices, you’ll create the psychic and emotional fuel necessary to sustain your motivation when the going gets rough (as it inevitably does!).
4) The Autotellic Mindset
Autotellic people do things primarily for their own intrinsic value, whereas exotellic people do things primarily for the secondary, external reward. In my experience, autotellic athletes are far better able to sustain their motivation. The take home lesson is this: people who just LOVE to train go much further than those who just want to look better.
5) Open-Mindedness
Closed-mindedness is, in my opinion, a genetically-ingrained survival trait. Thousands of years ago, a Neanderthal man looked under a rock and found some grubs to eat. The technique obviously had value, and it made more sense to look under more rocks than it did to look up in the trees.
But for this Neanderthal to go beyond mere survival, he should in fact look up in the trees, for if he did, he might find better food choices. In many ways, athletes are the same way.
At some point in their athletic careers, they are convinced to train in a certain way, and because this way lead to a certain degree of success, they now pronounce this "way" as the "only way." So remain receptive to new ideas, because usually, the thing you’re looking for is where you aren’t looking!
6) Fatigue Management
We LOVE to feel fragged after a workout, so much so that subconsciously, we tend to actually modify the workout to produce more post-workout fatigue, rather than to permit a better training performance.
When you’re trying to do gradually more and more work from session to session, fatigue-management skills are essential. I’ll address several unique Q2 fatigue management strategies for an upcoming column.
7) Lifestyle
Many athletes spend untold hours examining and re-examining their training, nutrition, and supplement schedule, while at the same time completely ignoring the fact that their life is antagonistic to their training efforts, rather than supportive of them.
Late night partying, exhausting job schedules (I know what you’re thinking here, but jobs CAN be changed if you have a good-enough reason), and general inefficiency can wreak havoc on the best laid plans.
Read the full article here
Friday, February 13, 2009
Carbs Make You Hungry?
Q: Are there any foods that can help control appetite when dieting?
A: There are two ways I know of to help control appetite naturally. One is to be extra careful about blood sugar fluctuations. The other is to eat high-volume, low-calorie foods.
The enemy of dieting is cravings, and nothing fuels cravings like the blood sugar roller coaster. You know what it feels like: You eat something high in carbs, your blood sugar goes up to the roof, insulin comes along and shuffles all that sugar out of the bloodstream 'till it's lower than it was when you started, and now you'll kill someone if you don't get a bagel.
Interesting how you never get cravings when you eat steak and broccoli, isn't it?
So choosing really low-glycemic foods is important. I've had breakfasts based around beans, and I can tell you I haven't been hungry for hours. Anything low-glycemic — vegetables, eggs, beans, buffalo burgers — should do the trick.
And make sure there's enough fat in your meal. It keeps you full longer, a sure-fire way to control your appetite (who wants to eat when you're full?). Eating really low on the glycemic scale should go a long way towards helping control diet-busting cravings and turbo charged appetites.
High-volume foods are foods that fill up a lot of space for very little calories. These foods usually have a lot of water in them — honeydew melon, canteloupe melon, and, the dean of appetite busting foods — soup. For some reason not fully understood, the combination of the liquid and the food in the typical hearty soup is an appetite killer.
You can get the best of both worlds — low-glycemic and high-volume — by choosing soups made from stock and loaded with vegetables, meat, or beans. Other appetite-busting high-volume foods include pumpkin and guava, both of which are loaded with fiber and will fill you up like nobody's business.
Finally, there's no great science to back this up, but green tea sipped throughout the day may help as well. In addition to being thermogenic, there's some anecdotal evidence that about five cups a day really helps with weight loss.
Source
A: There are two ways I know of to help control appetite naturally. One is to be extra careful about blood sugar fluctuations. The other is to eat high-volume, low-calorie foods.
The enemy of dieting is cravings, and nothing fuels cravings like the blood sugar roller coaster. You know what it feels like: You eat something high in carbs, your blood sugar goes up to the roof, insulin comes along and shuffles all that sugar out of the bloodstream 'till it's lower than it was when you started, and now you'll kill someone if you don't get a bagel.
Interesting how you never get cravings when you eat steak and broccoli, isn't it?
So choosing really low-glycemic foods is important. I've had breakfasts based around beans, and I can tell you I haven't been hungry for hours. Anything low-glycemic — vegetables, eggs, beans, buffalo burgers — should do the trick.
And make sure there's enough fat in your meal. It keeps you full longer, a sure-fire way to control your appetite (who wants to eat when you're full?). Eating really low on the glycemic scale should go a long way towards helping control diet-busting cravings and turbo charged appetites.
High-volume foods are foods that fill up a lot of space for very little calories. These foods usually have a lot of water in them — honeydew melon, canteloupe melon, and, the dean of appetite busting foods — soup. For some reason not fully understood, the combination of the liquid and the food in the typical hearty soup is an appetite killer.
You can get the best of both worlds — low-glycemic and high-volume — by choosing soups made from stock and loaded with vegetables, meat, or beans. Other appetite-busting high-volume foods include pumpkin and guava, both of which are loaded with fiber and will fill you up like nobody's business.
Finally, there's no great science to back this up, but green tea sipped throughout the day may help as well. In addition to being thermogenic, there's some anecdotal evidence that about five cups a day really helps with weight loss.
Source
Friday 13 Feb
Friday the 13th - not unlucky for me - Rob and I had our first date on a black friday.
It's amazing how a good workout can really improve your mood. I was feeling pretty out of sorts for most of the day(again!) but Rob said I'd probably feel better after a workout and I agreed. There were heaps of guys training tonight. I reckon they were all out to get a pump before going out for the night. There were probably 2 girls training (me and someone else) and about 20 guys. Anyway, I hogged the smith machine and a bench to do reverse pushups supersetted with incline DB press. I knew there was someone else waiting to use the smith machine so I felt under a bit of pressure and didn't do much in the way of a warm-up sets (I'd done a dynamic warm-up though so wasn't cold). Went straight from my first set of reverse pushups into incline DB press with 45lb DBs (about 20.5kg DBs). Struggled to get the weight up on my own but once it was up I managed OK for 6 reps. I was shaking when I stood up! Next set I got a hand up with the weights and kept going on my own. I got to the fourth rep and felt someone hovering over me, then heard 'need a hand?'. I started to lower the weights for the fifth rep and didn't think I would get them up on my own so said 'yes please'. The last few times I've asked for a spot in the gym I've been a bit frustrated as I get too much help, but this guy was great. I really had to work for it. So of course I asked him to spot me for my next set. Hopefully he'll be around next time I'm training chest. Rob is a great spotter but we aren't often in the gym at the same time. Also did a few shoulder exercises and got an awesome pump. Wish I had my camera or phone with me to take a pic.
Anyway, here's how the rest of the day panned out:
Sleep: midnight to 7am (7 hours). Rob got home late and we stayed up talking.
Weight: 61.8
Lifestyle cardio: walk TJ to park. I really enjoy my morning walks.
Training: upper body B
Recovery: hot/cold shower after training
Water: 2/3
Food: 4/6
Off-plan meals:
Dinner = 2 small slices of Morrocan beef pizza on gluten-free base, 2 small slices of Medierranean lamb pizza on gluten-free base, 1 glass of organic red wine
Evening snack = choc protein powder, cottage cheese and peanut butter, all mixed together
It's amazing how a good workout can really improve your mood. I was feeling pretty out of sorts for most of the day(again!) but Rob said I'd probably feel better after a workout and I agreed. There were heaps of guys training tonight. I reckon they were all out to get a pump before going out for the night. There were probably 2 girls training (me and someone else) and about 20 guys. Anyway, I hogged the smith machine and a bench to do reverse pushups supersetted with incline DB press. I knew there was someone else waiting to use the smith machine so I felt under a bit of pressure and didn't do much in the way of a warm-up sets (I'd done a dynamic warm-up though so wasn't cold). Went straight from my first set of reverse pushups into incline DB press with 45lb DBs (about 20.5kg DBs). Struggled to get the weight up on my own but once it was up I managed OK for 6 reps. I was shaking when I stood up! Next set I got a hand up with the weights and kept going on my own. I got to the fourth rep and felt someone hovering over me, then heard 'need a hand?'. I started to lower the weights for the fifth rep and didn't think I would get them up on my own so said 'yes please'. The last few times I've asked for a spot in the gym I've been a bit frustrated as I get too much help, but this guy was great. I really had to work for it. So of course I asked him to spot me for my next set. Hopefully he'll be around next time I'm training chest. Rob is a great spotter but we aren't often in the gym at the same time. Also did a few shoulder exercises and got an awesome pump. Wish I had my camera or phone with me to take a pic.
Anyway, here's how the rest of the day panned out:
Sleep: midnight to 7am (7 hours). Rob got home late and we stayed up talking.
Weight: 61.8
Lifestyle cardio: walk TJ to park. I really enjoy my morning walks.
Training: upper body B
Recovery: hot/cold shower after training
Water: 2/3
Food: 4/6
Off-plan meals:
Dinner = 2 small slices of Morrocan beef pizza on gluten-free base, 2 small slices of Medierranean lamb pizza on gluten-free base, 1 glass of organic red wine
Evening snack = choc protein powder, cottage cheese and peanut butter, all mixed together
My Favourite...
Inspired by Katie
1. Weight training body part?
Back
2. Cardio exercise?
Walking or swimming
3. Intervals or steady state?
If not walking or swimming, then intervals
4. Carbs – friend or foe?
Friend in the AM or around workouts
5. Cheat meal?
Organic beef burger with a nice glass of red
6. Treat?
Muesli
7. Protein Powder?
Life's Basics Plant Protein (Pea, Rice, Hemp with Chia)
8. Gym outfit?
Shorts and singlet
9. Runners/Shoes?
Brooks
10. Clean or Dirty Diana? (clean healthy food or healthy with naughty extras)
90% compliance to my plan
11. Inspiration?
I love Pauline but Bunklers (ChickenTuna) is more my size. Closer to home, Rae is an inspiration to me.
12. Fat Loss Philosophy?
Eat the same way as usual but with reduced calories and increased exercise. Starchy carbs around workouts for energy, growth and recovery.
1. Weight training body part?
Back
2. Cardio exercise?
Walking or swimming
3. Intervals or steady state?
If not walking or swimming, then intervals
4. Carbs – friend or foe?
Friend in the AM or around workouts
5. Cheat meal?
Organic beef burger with a nice glass of red
6. Treat?
Muesli
7. Protein Powder?
Life's Basics Plant Protein (Pea, Rice, Hemp with Chia)
8. Gym outfit?
Shorts and singlet
9. Runners/Shoes?
Brooks
10. Clean or Dirty Diana? (clean healthy food or healthy with naughty extras)
90% compliance to my plan
11. Inspiration?
I love Pauline but Bunklers (ChickenTuna) is more my size. Closer to home, Rae is an inspiration to me.
12. Fat Loss Philosophy?
Eat the same way as usual but with reduced calories and increased exercise. Starchy carbs around workouts for energy, growth and recovery.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Thu 12 Feb
Sleep: 11-7 (8 hours) deep.
Weight: 61.9
Lifestyle cardio: walk TJ to park
Training: intervals (bike sprints, 30s on, 90s off x8)
Water: 2/3
Food: 6/6
Mood: still a bit up and down
Weight: 61.9
Lifestyle cardio: walk TJ to park
Training: intervals (bike sprints, 30s on, 90s off x8)
Water: 2/3
Food: 6/6
Mood: still a bit up and down
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Wed 11 Feb
Sleep: 11.30pm-7am (7.5 hours) Took a while to get to sleep. Left front delt was aching (from front squats?) and Rob kept talking to me.
Weight: 61.8
Lifestyle cardio: walk TJ to park; walk to and from work from train station
Training: off
Recovery: 30 min yoga after walking TJ
Water: 2.5/3
Food: 6/6
I used Calorie King today to log my eating since I've been feeling like I'm in 'maintenance land' lately. On days where I walk for 45 minutes (AM) and train for an hour with weights (PM) it turns out I'm eating about 2500 cals. Guess what my maintenance cals are? 2491. I'm really happy that I'm eating consistently, but I don't want to 'maintain'. So now I need decide what my next step is.
Weight: 61.8
Lifestyle cardio: walk TJ to park; walk to and from work from train station
Training: off
Recovery: 30 min yoga after walking TJ
Water: 2.5/3
Food: 6/6
I used Calorie King today to log my eating since I've been feeling like I'm in 'maintenance land' lately. On days where I walk for 45 minutes (AM) and train for an hour with weights (PM) it turns out I'm eating about 2500 cals. Guess what my maintenance cals are? 2491. I'm really happy that I'm eating consistently, but I don't want to 'maintain'. So now I need decide what my next step is.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Tues 10 Feb
Sleep: 11pm-7am = 8 hours heavy except bathroom at 5am
Weight: 61.6 (on the way back down)
Still a little bit of stiffness in lower back but walk and yoga helped with that.
Lifestyle cardio: walk TJ to Rob's bus stop then back home along bike track.
Training: lower body A
Recovery: 30min yoga after walk; hot/cold shower after training
Water: 3/3
Food: 6/6
Mood: work is going well so am happy about that but I felt a bit discouraged while training today (Why does it take me so long to put on muscle? Why do I do this?). Must stop comparing myself to others!
Weight: 61.6 (on the way back down)
Still a little bit of stiffness in lower back but walk and yoga helped with that.
Lifestyle cardio: walk TJ to Rob's bus stop then back home along bike track.
Training: lower body A
Recovery: 30min yoga after walk; hot/cold shower after training
Water: 3/3
Food: 6/6
Mood: work is going well so am happy about that but I felt a bit discouraged while training today (Why does it take me so long to put on muscle? Why do I do this?). Must stop comparing myself to others!
Monday, February 9, 2009
Mon 9 Feb
This afternoon I worked out why I've been feeling so crappy the last couple of days. On Saturday, when it was 47 degrees, I sweated a lot but didn't drink any more water than usual. Then on Sunday I drank less water than usual, plus had coffee. I started to feel pretty yucky in the late afternoon and thought I was coming down with something so had vitamin C before going to bed, which only made things worse, because it acted like a diuretic and I was up all night going to the bathroom. So sleep last night was probably about 7 hours, broken.
Weight: 62.1
A couple more thoughts about why my weight is up:
- I've had really bad DOMs in my lower back the last couple of days from a new exercise I tried on Saturday.
- I'm training more frequently so am having creatine more frequently.
- My weight seems to go up if I don't sleep well the night before.
And no, I'm not obsessed by my weight. Just like trying to figure out how my body works.
Lifestyle cardio: walk TJ to park
Training: upper body A. Nearly didn't go (felt a bit tired from lack of sleep and still felt lethargic after the weekend) but glad I did. Had lots of water while training and started to feel better and realised what had been wrong the last couple of days. Dehydrated.
Recovery: 30min yoga after walk; hot/cold shower after training
Water: 3/3 plus workout drinks
Food: 6/6
Weight: 62.1
A couple more thoughts about why my weight is up:
- I've had really bad DOMs in my lower back the last couple of days from a new exercise I tried on Saturday.
- I'm training more frequently so am having creatine more frequently.
- My weight seems to go up if I don't sleep well the night before.
And no, I'm not obsessed by my weight. Just like trying to figure out how my body works.
Lifestyle cardio: walk TJ to park
Training: upper body A. Nearly didn't go (felt a bit tired from lack of sleep and still felt lethargic after the weekend) but glad I did. Had lots of water while training and started to feel better and realised what had been wrong the last couple of days. Dehydrated.
Recovery: 30min yoga after walk; hot/cold shower after training
Water: 3/3 plus workout drinks
Food: 6/6
It's Here!
My t-shirt from Craig Harper arrived today
It was a little big for me so I've slightly 'remodelled' it.
It was a little big for me so I've slightly 'remodelled' it.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Weekly Summary
Sleep: average 7.7 hours
Weight: average 61.6kg (same as last week)
Lifestyle cardio: walked daily
Training: weights x 4, 15min intervals x 2
Recovery: four hot/cold showers, three 30-min yoga sessions, one myotherapy treatment
Water: 19/21 = 90%
Food: 38/42 = 90%
Thoughts
- Sleep getting better but still need to keep working on it.
- Will be interested to see what measurements say next weekend. My average weight this week is the same as last week. I've exercised more (and therefore eaten more) - am I just maintaining?
- Need to make sure my only rest day (Sunday) involves as little exercise as possible (including walking) so I feel refreshed for Monday.
- I should save one off my off-plan meals for Sunday night as cooking is the last thing I feel like doing then.
Weight: average 61.6kg (same as last week)
Lifestyle cardio: walked daily
Training: weights x 4, 15min intervals x 2
Recovery: four hot/cold showers, three 30-min yoga sessions, one myotherapy treatment
Water: 19/21 = 90%
Food: 38/42 = 90%
Thoughts
- Sleep getting better but still need to keep working on it.
- Will be interested to see what measurements say next weekend. My average weight this week is the same as last week. I've exercised more (and therefore eaten more) - am I just maintaining?
- Need to make sure my only rest day (Sunday) involves as little exercise as possible (including walking) so I feel refreshed for Monday.
- I should save one off my off-plan meals for Sunday night as cooking is the last thing I feel like doing then.
Sun 8 Feb
Sleep: 11-9.30 (got up at 7am and ate then went back to bed and slept for a couple more hours, so I'll call it 10 hours)
Weight: 62.3
Lifestyle cardio: walk to local cafe and back; walk to supermarket and back
Training: off - boy do I need it. Feeling tired today.
Water: 2/3
Food: 5/6
cafe breakfast: skinny hot chocolate; corn fritters with tomato, rocket and chive cream, side of bacon; skinny latte
Weight: 62.3
Lifestyle cardio: walk to local cafe and back; walk to supermarket and back
Training: off - boy do I need it. Feeling tired today.
Water: 2/3
Food: 5/6
cafe breakfast: skinny hot chocolate; corn fritters with tomato, rocket and chive cream, side of bacon; skinny latte
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Sat 7 Feb
Sleep: midnight to 7am (7 hours) Got home late from BBQ.
Weight: 61.7. Don't you love it when your weight jumps 800g overnight, NOT! Guess that's what happens when you have two low-carb days in a row then have heaps of carbs around training.
Lifestyle cardio: walk TJ to park.
Training: lower body B. Yes, I'm crazy - I trained on Melbourne's hottest day ever. Think my hammies are going to be sore tomorrow from glute-ham raises. We don't have a glute-ham machine at the gym and I didn't have someone to hold my ankles so I did them off the lat pull-down machine - kneeling on the seat and tucking my feet under the pads that would normally hold your knees if you were doing a pull down.
Recovery: hot/cold shower after training
Water: 3/3
Food: 4/6
off-plan meals:
- Had a really nice lunch with my friend: chicken salad with pumpkin, avocado, slow-roasted tomatoes, feta cheese and baby spinach, plus a finger-sized piece of lebanese pastry. Had a power nap when I got home, then went to the gym.
- Flax cookies (choc protein powder, flaxmeal, natural peanut butter, mixed with a little water and baked) when Rob was eating his chocolate biscuits tonight.
Weight: 61.7. Don't you love it when your weight jumps 800g overnight, NOT! Guess that's what happens when you have two low-carb days in a row then have heaps of carbs around training.
Lifestyle cardio: walk TJ to park.
Training: lower body B. Yes, I'm crazy - I trained on Melbourne's hottest day ever. Think my hammies are going to be sore tomorrow from glute-ham raises. We don't have a glute-ham machine at the gym and I didn't have someone to hold my ankles so I did them off the lat pull-down machine - kneeling on the seat and tucking my feet under the pads that would normally hold your knees if you were doing a pull down.
Recovery: hot/cold shower after training
Water: 3/3
Food: 4/6
off-plan meals:
- Had a really nice lunch with my friend: chicken salad with pumpkin, avocado, slow-roasted tomatoes, feta cheese and baby spinach, plus a finger-sized piece of lebanese pastry. Had a power nap when I got home, then went to the gym.
- Flax cookies (choc protein powder, flaxmeal, natural peanut butter, mixed with a little water and baked) when Rob was eating his chocolate biscuits tonight.
Fri 6 Feb
Sleep: 11-6 (7 hours) Was in bed at 10 last night but couldn't sleep because the area around my left shoulder blade was aching. Rob kindly gave it some myotherapy treatment and I went back to bed and fell asleep straight away. He thinks my thoracic spine is stiff from all the work I've been doing lately so is going to show me some stretches to do to help. I was up early this morning as I needed to grab a few things from the supermarket for meals today (too tired to do it last night).
Weight: 60.9 Lowest so far this year - more incentive to keep things consistent over the weekend.
Lifestyle cardio: walk TJ to supermarket
Recovery: hot/cold shower after training
Training: upper body B - great workout!
Water: 3/3
Food: 5/6
- organic beef burger in gluten-free wrap, salad, glass of pinot noir
Weight: 60.9 Lowest so far this year - more incentive to keep things consistent over the weekend.
Lifestyle cardio: walk TJ to supermarket
Recovery: hot/cold shower after training
Training: upper body B - great workout!
Water: 3/3
Food: 5/6
- organic beef burger in gluten-free wrap, salad, glass of pinot noir
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Thurs 5 Feb
Feeling a bit blah today.
Sleep: 11pm-7am. Eight hours but woke a bit tired with stiff shoulder. Going to bed earlier tonight.
Weight: 61.3
Lifestyle cardio: walk TJ to park
Recovery: 30 min yoga
Training: HIIT (step at home - 1 min fast, 3 min slow x4)
Water: 2/3
Food: 6/6
Recovery: myotherapy treatment
Have got a birthday BBQ to go to tomorrow night, then am meeting a friend for lunch on Saturday. Am enjoying seeing the scales slowly come down, so am keen to stay on track.
Sleep: 11pm-7am. Eight hours but woke a bit tired with stiff shoulder. Going to bed earlier tonight.
Weight: 61.3
Lifestyle cardio: walk TJ to park
Recovery: 30 min yoga
Training: HIIT (step at home - 1 min fast, 3 min slow x4)
Water: 2/3
Food: 6/6
Recovery: myotherapy treatment
Have got a birthday BBQ to go to tomorrow night, then am meeting a friend for lunch on Saturday. Am enjoying seeing the scales slowly come down, so am keen to stay on track.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Wed 4 Feb
Suck it up princess T-shirt - ordered mine today.
Sleep: 11pm to 7am. Got eight hours, but had to get up twice after Oscar.
Weight: have been playing a game recently and guessing my weight before I get on the scales. Guessed right this morning - 61.5
Lifestyle cardio: walk TJ to park
Recovery: 30min yoga DVD. Nearly didn't do this but glad I did. Feel soooo good afterwards.
Training: HIIT (bike sprints, 30s on, 90s off x 8)
Water: 3/3
Food: 6/6
Been feeling a bit tired and hungry today (have upper- and lower-body DOMs). Other than that my body seems to be liking the change this week. Muscles are fuller and I think I'm looking a bit leaner too.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Tues 3 Feb
Had a relaxing night last night. Had the computer off by about 9.30pm and watched the end of The Devil Wears Prada with Rob.
Got a tub of choc Metabolic Drive protein powder with my Biotest delivery yesterday. Haven't had it for ages and wanted to see if my tummy was OK with it. No problems with it this morning, but after having mostly pea protein for the last four weeks it was soooo sweet! Think I am slowly losing my sweet tooth by not having sweet stuff all the time. Had a full scoop today but will probably just go back to having mostly pea protein with a little bit of the MD mixed in for sweetness and flavour.
Had a couple of interesting comments today. As I was leaving for the gym, Rob said 'you're definitely getting leaner'. So that was nice to hear. The gym I go to has a lot of men training there, and some of them aren't used to seeing women training to get bigger. When I was having my shake, one young guy said to me 'you're taking protein -that's funny!' When I asked him why, he said 'I've never seen a girl take protein before!'. LOL. My 'protein' was actually Surge, and after having it and grabbing a few things from the supermarket then heading home it was close to an hour after finishing it. I know that's about my limit before I have a blood sugar crash but thought I could slip in a shower before dinner. WRONG! By the time I got out of the shower and into the kitchen I had the shakes. I had the grapes I was going to have after dinner, and snacked on some of the veges I was cutting up, and that helped. Felt normal again after my chicken fried rice for dinner.
Today's summary
Sleep: 11pm-6am (7 hours) Seem to be developing a bit of a pattern here. I am going to sleep easily and waking up well, but I'd like to get more than 7 hours if I can. Will aim to be in bed by 10pm tonight.
Weight: 61.6
Lifestyle cardio: walk TJ to Rob's bus stop, then on to supermarket to get some chicken for lunch, then back home.
Recovery: yoga (30mins)
Exercise: lower body A. Might have to swap lower body to Monday and upper body to Tuesday, as the leg area was very busy today (had two groups of guys queued up to use the squat rack after me).
Recovery: hot/cold shower after training
Water: 3/3
Food: 6/6
Thought for the day: Slow progress is good progress (and usually lasts a lot longer than fast progress!)
Got a tub of choc Metabolic Drive protein powder with my Biotest delivery yesterday. Haven't had it for ages and wanted to see if my tummy was OK with it. No problems with it this morning, but after having mostly pea protein for the last four weeks it was soooo sweet! Think I am slowly losing my sweet tooth by not having sweet stuff all the time. Had a full scoop today but will probably just go back to having mostly pea protein with a little bit of the MD mixed in for sweetness and flavour.
Had a couple of interesting comments today. As I was leaving for the gym, Rob said 'you're definitely getting leaner'. So that was nice to hear. The gym I go to has a lot of men training there, and some of them aren't used to seeing women training to get bigger. When I was having my shake, one young guy said to me 'you're taking protein -that's funny!' When I asked him why, he said 'I've never seen a girl take protein before!'. LOL. My 'protein' was actually Surge, and after having it and grabbing a few things from the supermarket then heading home it was close to an hour after finishing it. I know that's about my limit before I have a blood sugar crash but thought I could slip in a shower before dinner. WRONG! By the time I got out of the shower and into the kitchen I had the shakes. I had the grapes I was going to have after dinner, and snacked on some of the veges I was cutting up, and that helped. Felt normal again after my chicken fried rice for dinner.
Today's summary
Sleep: 11pm-6am (7 hours) Seem to be developing a bit of a pattern here. I am going to sleep easily and waking up well, but I'd like to get more than 7 hours if I can. Will aim to be in bed by 10pm tonight.
Weight: 61.6
Lifestyle cardio: walk TJ to Rob's bus stop, then on to supermarket to get some chicken for lunch, then back home.
Recovery: yoga (30mins)
Exercise: lower body A. Might have to swap lower body to Monday and upper body to Tuesday, as the leg area was very busy today (had two groups of guys queued up to use the squat rack after me).
Recovery: hot/cold shower after training
Water: 3/3
Food: 6/6
Thought for the day: Slow progress is good progress (and usually lasts a lot longer than fast progress!)
Monday, February 2, 2009
Mon 2 Feb
Had a lovely weekend. Am getting on top of my work and have been feeling more relaxed about everything. Rob got up early on Sunday (unusual for him!) so we walked to the next suburb for a cafe breakfast.
Glad I decided not to train yesterday (in order to start my new program today). Shoulder has been a bit stiff the last few days but it was feeling better this morning.
Sleep: 11pm-6am. I don't need to wake until 7am but have been awake at 6am for the last few days.
Weight: 61.7. Up slightly, probably from the extra meal yesterday.
Lifestyle cardio: Walked TJ to park
Training: started new program (upper body A) - seemed so quick doing supersets after resting 3 minutes between sets in my last program.
Recovery: hot/cold shower after training
Water: 3/3 (not incl workout drinks)
Food: 6/6
Glad I decided not to train yesterday (in order to start my new program today). Shoulder has been a bit stiff the last few days but it was feeling better this morning.
Sleep: 11pm-6am. I don't need to wake until 7am but have been awake at 6am for the last few days.
Weight: 61.7. Up slightly, probably from the extra meal yesterday.
Lifestyle cardio: Walked TJ to park
Training: started new program (upper body A) - seemed so quick doing supersets after resting 3 minutes between sets in my last program.
Recovery: hot/cold shower after training
Water: 3/3 (not incl workout drinks)
Food: 6/6
Sunday, February 1, 2009
End of Phase 3/Start of Phase 4
Was going to do this strength phase for 5 weeks: 1 week to test my maxes on a few lifts, then four weeks of training to increase them. But I've done 4 weeks so far and have had enough - lately I've felt like my upper body is shrinking. Rob did my skinfold measurements this morning. In four weeks my fat mass has dropped 700g (yay for consistent eating!), but my lean mass has also dropped 200g (boo!). So am going to go back to hypertrophy training on Monday.
I will be going from doing heavy weights every third day (2-4 reps per set with 3-minute rests between sets) to doing medium weights four times a week (4-12 reps per set with most exercises paired into opposing muscle group supersets).
HIIT will stay the same at two sessions a week for now (though I will switch from sprints to stairs or cycling).
Food will stay the same for weights, HIIT and rest days, though I will be doing more weights days per week so will be getting more carbs/cals per week. This, along with my increased strength, should see me put that muscle back on and add some more.
Since I will be training more frequently, I am taking the fenugreek drink and banaba out (keeping r-ALA though). Am changing fish oil from Bioceuticals Ultraclean to Biotest Flameout (love these).
Hopefully fat mass will keep moving downwards with the increase in training frequency and decrease in rest between sets. But will measure again in two weeks and reassess from there.
I will be going from doing heavy weights every third day (2-4 reps per set with 3-minute rests between sets) to doing medium weights four times a week (4-12 reps per set with most exercises paired into opposing muscle group supersets).
HIIT will stay the same at two sessions a week for now (though I will switch from sprints to stairs or cycling).
Food will stay the same for weights, HIIT and rest days, though I will be doing more weights days per week so will be getting more carbs/cals per week. This, along with my increased strength, should see me put that muscle back on and add some more.
Since I will be training more frequently, I am taking the fenugreek drink and banaba out (keeping r-ALA though). Am changing fish oil from Bioceuticals Ultraclean to Biotest Flameout (love these).
Hopefully fat mass will keep moving downwards with the increase in training frequency and decrease in rest between sets. But will measure again in two weeks and reassess from there.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Phase 3: days 22 to 28
Am feeling a bit stressed about the amount of work I have to do at the moment (have two jobs on the go) but want to keep posting as it's great for keeping me accountable and helping me to see where I'm going. So for the time being I'm going to do one post for the week and update it each day, rather than doing one post per day.
Date: Mon 26 Jan
Sleep: 11pm-7.30am (8.5 hours) Bathroom at 1.00am (1L water before bed)
Weight: 61.6
Lifestyle cardio: walk TJ to park
Training: Workout B (hang snatch, military press, Russian twist, prone row)
Recovery: 30-min yoga DVD after walk; hot/cold shower after training
Water (not including workout drinks): 3/3
Food: 6/6
***
Date: Tue 27 Jan
Sleep: 12.30am-8.30am (8 hours) Worked till 10pm, then couldn't sleep.
Weight: 61.5
Lifestyle cardio: none
Training: Intervals (swimming, 1 lap fast, 1 lap slow for about 15 mins) Forgot how much I enjoy swimming. Will have to do it more often.
Recovery: none
Water: 3/3
Food: 6/6
***
Date: Wed 28 Jan
Sleep: 1am-7am (6 hours) Couldn't get to sleep - hot!
Weight: 61.7
Lifestyle cardio: walk TJ to park
Training: rest
Recovery: 30-min yoga DVD after walk
Water: 3/3
Food: 6/6 Hungry today. Favourite meal = dory with cashew pesto, and sauteed eggplant and red pepper
***
Date: Thu 29 Jan
Sleep: 11.30pm-8am (8.5 hours) Great sleep. Feel asleep on couch with air-con on.
Weight: 61.5
Lifestyle cardio: walk TJ to park
Training: Workout C (box squats, pullups, hanging leg raises, cable rows to neck) Trained in 43-degree heat and managed pretty well - squats seemed much easier than last week.
Recovery: hot/cold shower after workout - good!
Water: 3/3 (not including workout drinks)
Food: 6/6 Hungry until afternoon then had workout (lots of carbs)
Favourite meals:
Omelette with fetta, red capsicum and eggplant
Grilled dory with a salad of sweet potato, red capsicum, eggplant and spinach, plus grapes
***
Date: Fri 30 Jan
Sleep: 11.30pm-6.30am (7 hours) Didn't sleep that well. Woke up with sore shoulder from doing cable rows to neck. Not helped by taking dog for walk this morning.
Weight: 61.6
Lifestyle cardio: walk TJ to park
Training: HIIT (sprints, 45s on, 135s off x5)
Recovery: 30min yoga DVD; accupuncture for shoulder
Water: 3/3 (not including workout drinks)
Food: 6/6 Hungry
***
Date: Sat 31 Jan
Sleep: 11.30pm-7am (7.5 hours) Woke with a bit of a headache.
Weight: 61.4
Lifestyle cardio: walk to coffee shop and back with Rob and TJ
Training: off
Recovery: none
Water: 3/3
Food: 4/6
Off-plan meals:
skinny latte, protein shake, nuts
super vege supreme pizza on cauliflower base, glass of chardonnay
Favourite meal: omelette with mushrooms, olives, red capscicum, eggplant and fetta cheese
***
Date: Sun 1 Feb
Sleep: 11.30pm-6am (6.5 hours)
Weight: 61.7 (not so hungry yesterday since no training. Didn't go to bed a bit hungry like I have done lately)
Lifestyle cardio: walk to cafe in Brunswick and back with Rob and TJ
Training: off
Recovery: none
Water: 2.5/3
Food: 5/7 (Had a repeat of meal 2. Not starving but was an alternative to the chocolate and chips being eaten around me)
Off-plan meals:
small juice, bircher muesli (made me hungry!)
homemade beef schnitzel, broccoli, glass of pinot noir
Favourite meals:
chicken salad with spinach, tomato, cucumber, fetta cheese, pumpkin seeds, and olive oil, flax oil and balsamic dressing
beef schnitzel
***
Weekly Summary
Sleep: average 7.4 hours.
Weight: average 61.6kg
Lifestyle cardio: walked 6 days
Training: 15min intervals 2/2, weights 2/3 (planned to do a session on Sunday but ditched it in favour of starting Phase 4 on Monday)
Recovery: three 30min yoga sessions, two hot/cold showers, one accupuncture treatment
Water: 20.5/21 = 98%
Food: 39/43 = 90%
Pretty happy with most things this week. Just need to keep working on sleep. Want a minimum of eight hours, preferably 8.5.
Date: Mon 26 Jan
Sleep: 11pm-7.30am (8.5 hours) Bathroom at 1.00am (1L water before bed)
Weight: 61.6
Lifestyle cardio: walk TJ to park
Training: Workout B (hang snatch, military press, Russian twist, prone row)
Recovery: 30-min yoga DVD after walk; hot/cold shower after training
Water (not including workout drinks): 3/3
Food: 6/6
***
Date: Tue 27 Jan
Sleep: 12.30am-8.30am (8 hours) Worked till 10pm, then couldn't sleep.
Weight: 61.5
Lifestyle cardio: none
Training: Intervals (swimming, 1 lap fast, 1 lap slow for about 15 mins) Forgot how much I enjoy swimming. Will have to do it more often.
Recovery: none
Water: 3/3
Food: 6/6
***
Date: Wed 28 Jan
Sleep: 1am-7am (6 hours) Couldn't get to sleep - hot!
Weight: 61.7
Lifestyle cardio: walk TJ to park
Training: rest
Recovery: 30-min yoga DVD after walk
Water: 3/3
Food: 6/6 Hungry today. Favourite meal = dory with cashew pesto, and sauteed eggplant and red pepper
***
Date: Thu 29 Jan
Sleep: 11.30pm-8am (8.5 hours) Great sleep. Feel asleep on couch with air-con on.
Weight: 61.5
Lifestyle cardio: walk TJ to park
Training: Workout C (box squats, pullups, hanging leg raises, cable rows to neck) Trained in 43-degree heat and managed pretty well - squats seemed much easier than last week.
Recovery: hot/cold shower after workout - good!
Water: 3/3 (not including workout drinks)
Food: 6/6 Hungry until afternoon then had workout (lots of carbs)
Favourite meals:
Omelette with fetta, red capsicum and eggplant
Grilled dory with a salad of sweet potato, red capsicum, eggplant and spinach, plus grapes
***
Date: Fri 30 Jan
Sleep: 11.30pm-6.30am (7 hours) Didn't sleep that well. Woke up with sore shoulder from doing cable rows to neck. Not helped by taking dog for walk this morning.
Weight: 61.6
Lifestyle cardio: walk TJ to park
Training: HIIT (sprints, 45s on, 135s off x5)
Recovery: 30min yoga DVD; accupuncture for shoulder
Water: 3/3 (not including workout drinks)
Food: 6/6 Hungry
***
Date: Sat 31 Jan
Sleep: 11.30pm-7am (7.5 hours) Woke with a bit of a headache.
Weight: 61.4
Lifestyle cardio: walk to coffee shop and back with Rob and TJ
Training: off
Recovery: none
Water: 3/3
Food: 4/6
Off-plan meals:
skinny latte, protein shake, nuts
super vege supreme pizza on cauliflower base, glass of chardonnay
Favourite meal: omelette with mushrooms, olives, red capscicum, eggplant and fetta cheese
***
Date: Sun 1 Feb
Sleep: 11.30pm-6am (6.5 hours)
Weight: 61.7 (not so hungry yesterday since no training. Didn't go to bed a bit hungry like I have done lately)
Lifestyle cardio: walk to cafe in Brunswick and back with Rob and TJ
Training: off
Recovery: none
Water: 2.5/3
Food: 5/7 (Had a repeat of meal 2. Not starving but was an alternative to the chocolate and chips being eaten around me)
Off-plan meals:
small juice, bircher muesli (made me hungry!)
homemade beef schnitzel, broccoli, glass of pinot noir
Favourite meals:
chicken salad with spinach, tomato, cucumber, fetta cheese, pumpkin seeds, and olive oil, flax oil and balsamic dressing
beef schnitzel
***
Weekly Summary
Sleep: average 7.4 hours.
Weight: average 61.6kg
Lifestyle cardio: walked 6 days
Training: 15min intervals 2/2, weights 2/3 (planned to do a session on Sunday but ditched it in favour of starting Phase 4 on Monday)
Recovery: three 30min yoga sessions, two hot/cold showers, one accupuncture treatment
Water: 20.5/21 = 98%
Food: 39/43 = 90%
Pretty happy with most things this week. Just need to keep working on sleep. Want a minimum of eight hours, preferably 8.5.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Phase 3: day 21 of 35
Date: Sun 25 Jan
Sleep: 1am-9.30am (8.5 hours)
Weight: 62.1, down 0.1
Lifestyle cardio: walk TJ to shops
Training: HIIT (sprints: 45s on, 135s off x5)
Water: 3/3 (plus workout drink)
Meal compliance: 6/6
***
Weekly Summary
Sleep: average about 6 hours. Trying to be asleep by 10pm isn't really working since Rob doesn't usually get home until 9.30pm. So have rearranged my schedule so I go to sleep later (11pm) and get up later (7am).
Weight: average 62 (TTOM)
Lifestyle cardio: walked 6 days
Recovery: 1 hot/cold shower. Not enough time spent on recovery this week. Trying to do yoga in the afternoon isn't really working so am going to try going back to doing it in the mornings.
Exercise: weights 2/2, 15 min intervals 2/2 = 100%
Water intake: 20/21 = 95%
Food: 40/43 = 93%
Happy with off-plan meals as they were all healthy:
-Organic beef burger (no bun), mashed coconut cauliflower, glass of pinot noir
-Yoghurt, protein powder, cocoa, walnuts, cherries, frozen into 'icecream'
-Greek chicken salad, glass of chardonnay
Thoughts: Happy with consistency of exercise, food and water intake. Need to clean up my act with sleep and recovery. New schedule to tackle this:
7.00-7.30 up, eat M1
7.30-8.15 walk
8.15-8.45 yoga
8.45-9.00 turn computer on, make tea, check and respond to work emails
9.00-4.30 work (eat M2, M3, M4)
4.30-7.00 get ready for gym, walk to gym, train, walk home, shower, cook
7.00-7.30 eat M5, do household chores
7.30-8.30 work
8.30-9.30 personal internet time
9.30-10.00 eat M6, catch up with Rob
10.00-10.30 read in bed
10.30 lights out
11.00 sleep
Yes, I am a control freak!
Sleep: 1am-9.30am (8.5 hours)
Weight: 62.1, down 0.1
Lifestyle cardio: walk TJ to shops
Training: HIIT (sprints: 45s on, 135s off x5)
Water: 3/3 (plus workout drink)
Meal compliance: 6/6
***
Weekly Summary
Sleep: average about 6 hours. Trying to be asleep by 10pm isn't really working since Rob doesn't usually get home until 9.30pm. So have rearranged my schedule so I go to sleep later (11pm) and get up later (7am).
Weight: average 62 (TTOM)
Lifestyle cardio: walked 6 days
Recovery: 1 hot/cold shower. Not enough time spent on recovery this week. Trying to do yoga in the afternoon isn't really working so am going to try going back to doing it in the mornings.
Exercise: weights 2/2, 15 min intervals 2/2 = 100%
Water intake: 20/21 = 95%
Food: 40/43 = 93%
Happy with off-plan meals as they were all healthy:
-Organic beef burger (no bun), mashed coconut cauliflower, glass of pinot noir
-Yoghurt, protein powder, cocoa, walnuts, cherries, frozen into 'icecream'
-Greek chicken salad, glass of chardonnay
Thoughts: Happy with consistency of exercise, food and water intake. Need to clean up my act with sleep and recovery. New schedule to tackle this:
7.00-7.30 up, eat M1
7.30-8.15 walk
8.15-8.45 yoga
8.45-9.00 turn computer on, make tea, check and respond to work emails
9.00-4.30 work (eat M2, M3, M4)
4.30-7.00 get ready for gym, walk to gym, train, walk home, shower, cook
7.00-7.30 eat M5, do household chores
7.30-8.30 work
8.30-9.30 personal internet time
9.30-10.00 eat M6, catch up with Rob
10.00-10.30 read in bed
10.30 lights out
11.00 sleep
Yes, I am a control freak!
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Phase 3: day 20 of 35
Date: Sat 24 Jan
Sleep: 12.30am-7am; 6.5 hours
Weight: 62.2 (extra meal yesterday). Seems I spoke too soon about not getting my period.
Lifestyle cardio: walk TJ to shops
Training: off
Water: 3/3
Meal compliance: 6/6
increase banaba to 3 caps per day
Sleep: 12.30am-7am; 6.5 hours
Weight: 62.2 (extra meal yesterday). Seems I spoke too soon about not getting my period.
Lifestyle cardio: walk TJ to shops
Training: off
Water: 3/3
Meal compliance: 6/6
increase banaba to 3 caps per day
My Top Five
Inspired by Nicole's post
Treats
- cheese (eat it daily)
- flourless chocolate cake
- D'lush gluten-free chocolate biscuits
- ice cream/gelato, especially caramel Magnums and pistachio gelato
- licorice allsorts
Protein
- venison
- beef
- prawns
- kangaroo
- salmon
Veggies
- asparagus
- broccolini
- carrots
- red peppers
- cauliflower
Starchy Carbs
- sweet potato, especially gold sweet potato from New Zealand
- chickpeas
- pumpkin (in things like soup, curries and omelettes rather than by itself)
- bircher muesli
- fruit bread (Potts brand, with apricots and dates in it)/hot-cross buns
Fruit
- cherries
- figs (fresh or dried)
- apricots (fresh or dried)
- white nectarines
- royal gala apples and crunchy green pears
Treats
- cheese (eat it daily)
- flourless chocolate cake
- D'lush gluten-free chocolate biscuits
- ice cream/gelato, especially caramel Magnums and pistachio gelato
- licorice allsorts
Protein
- venison
- beef
- prawns
- kangaroo
- salmon
Veggies
- asparagus
- broccolini
- carrots
- red peppers
- cauliflower
Starchy Carbs
- sweet potato, especially gold sweet potato from New Zealand
- chickpeas
- pumpkin (in things like soup, curries and omelettes rather than by itself)
- bircher muesli
- fruit bread (Potts brand, with apricots and dates in it)/hot-cross buns
Fruit
- cherries
- figs (fresh or dried)
- apricots (fresh or dried)
- white nectarines
- royal gala apples and crunchy green pears
Friday, January 23, 2009
Phase 3: day 19 of 35
Date: Fri 23 Jan
Sleep: 9.30pm to 7am, 9.5 hours (shut the animals out of the bedroom)
Weight: 61.6, down 0.4
Think my 'phantom period' is finished. Was feeling a bit down and had chocolate cravings last Friday, I was tired over the weekend (body using up extra energy at this stage of cycle) then had water retention Monday to Thursday like I usually do at the start of my period, but nothing else actually happened. Woke up this morning and knew I'd dropped the water before I got on the scales. Had more definition in shoulders, arms and through midsection. Yay!
Lifestyle Cardio: walk TJ to park
Training: workout A (deadlifts, bench press, external shoulder rotation, barbell rollouts)
Awesome workout. For something different, I am using a machine like this one for deadlifts at the moment.
So hands are to the side rather than in front of me. Did six sets on that (4 reps, 3 reps, 2 reps at submax weight, then 4 reps, 3 reps, 2 reps with max weight). Then same set up for bench press. Got someone to keep an eye on me for my last set of bench press, but he gave me too much 'help' and I ended up doing 5 reps. Apparently it was 'all me', LOL (grrrr).
Had Surge again today but split it into three drinks (pre, during and post workout) and had a Dairy Digest tablet before each. No digestive issues this time, apart from a few burps.
Water: 3/3 (plus workout drinks)
Meal Compliance: 7/7
Ended up having an extra meal this evening (repeat of meal 2) as I was pretty hungry from my workout.
Sleep: 9.30pm to 7am, 9.5 hours (shut the animals out of the bedroom)
Weight: 61.6, down 0.4
Think my 'phantom period' is finished. Was feeling a bit down and had chocolate cravings last Friday, I was tired over the weekend (body using up extra energy at this stage of cycle) then had water retention Monday to Thursday like I usually do at the start of my period, but nothing else actually happened. Woke up this morning and knew I'd dropped the water before I got on the scales. Had more definition in shoulders, arms and through midsection. Yay!
Lifestyle Cardio: walk TJ to park
Training: workout A (deadlifts, bench press, external shoulder rotation, barbell rollouts)
Awesome workout. For something different, I am using a machine like this one for deadlifts at the moment.
So hands are to the side rather than in front of me. Did six sets on that (4 reps, 3 reps, 2 reps at submax weight, then 4 reps, 3 reps, 2 reps with max weight). Then same set up for bench press. Got someone to keep an eye on me for my last set of bench press, but he gave me too much 'help' and I ended up doing 5 reps. Apparently it was 'all me', LOL (grrrr).
Had Surge again today but split it into three drinks (pre, during and post workout) and had a Dairy Digest tablet before each. No digestive issues this time, apart from a few burps.
Water: 3/3 (plus workout drinks)
Meal Compliance: 7/7
Ended up having an extra meal this evening (repeat of meal 2) as I was pretty hungry from my workout.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Phase 3: day 18 of 35
Date: Thu 22 Jan
Sleep: 11pm-5am (woke at 4am to check time); 6 hours
Weight: 62, same again (realised I didn't have sweet potato after HIIT yesterday but had a massive serving of veggies at next meal). Feeling a bit tired today and think it could be from missing starchy carbs (as well as lack of sleep).
Lifestyle cardio: none (had to be at audition at 7.30am then crashed on couch when I got home)
Training: off
Water: 2/3 (a bit cautious early on as I didn't want to be going to the bathroom every 10 minutes)
Meal compliance: 5/6
Food tasting at audition (a few bites), then leftover Greek chicken salad and glass of chardonnay.
Short and sweet today. Going to bed now.
Sleep: 11pm-5am (woke at 4am to check time); 6 hours
Weight: 62, same again (realised I didn't have sweet potato after HIIT yesterday but had a massive serving of veggies at next meal). Feeling a bit tired today and think it could be from missing starchy carbs (as well as lack of sleep).
Lifestyle cardio: none (had to be at audition at 7.30am then crashed on couch when I got home)
Training: off
Water: 2/3 (a bit cautious early on as I didn't want to be going to the bathroom every 10 minutes)
Meal compliance: 5/6
Food tasting at audition (a few bites), then leftover Greek chicken salad and glass of chardonnay.
Short and sweet today. Going to bed now.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Phase 3: day 17 of 35
Date: Wed 21 Jan
Sleep: 11pm to 6.30am (interrupted at 1am by Oscar); 7.5 hours - feeling better today
Weight: 62 steady as she goes
Lifestyle cardio: walk TJ to park. Prefer going a bit earlier when there's no traffic around and it's quieter but I needed the sleep this morning.
Exercise: HIIT (sprints 30s on, 90s off) Maxed out the treadmill - yeah!
Water: 3/3
Meal compliance: 6/6
A bit yawny and hard to concentrate after yoghurt and protein powder (15g pea protein, 10g whey) for second breakast. Will try reducing whey and if that doesn't help, switch to goat yoghurt.
Sleep: 11pm to 6.30am (interrupted at 1am by Oscar); 7.5 hours - feeling better today
Weight: 62 steady as she goes
Lifestyle cardio: walk TJ to park. Prefer going a bit earlier when there's no traffic around and it's quieter but I needed the sleep this morning.
Exercise: HIIT (sprints 30s on, 90s off) Maxed out the treadmill - yeah!
Water: 3/3
Meal compliance: 6/6
A bit yawny and hard to concentrate after yoghurt and protein powder (15g pea protein, 10g whey) for second breakast. Will try reducing whey and if that doesn't help, switch to goat yoghurt.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Phase 3: day 16 of 35
Date: Tues 20 March
Sleep: 12.30pm-5.30pm, 5 hours. This is not enough and my body is tell me so (sore glands in throat today). Going to bed earlier tonight.
Weight: 62, up 0.2 (not surprising really after two off-plan meals yesterday)
Lifestyle Cardio: walk TJ to park
Exercise: workout C (box squats, pullups, hanging leg raises, cable rows).
I've decided I like training at 3pm. I feel pretty alert then, and it's before the gym gets too busy.
I ran out of Vitargo today and had some Surge. Love the taste but after drinking it my stomach ballooned up and was a bit sore, from the whey I think. Will look at some other options tomorrow, and may get some allergy testing done soon.
Recovery: hot/cold shower - actually felt really good in this hot weather!
Water: 3/3 plus workout drinks
Meal Compliance: 6/6
Sleep: 12.30pm-5.30pm, 5 hours. This is not enough and my body is tell me so (sore glands in throat today). Going to bed earlier tonight.
Weight: 62, up 0.2 (not surprising really after two off-plan meals yesterday)
Lifestyle Cardio: walk TJ to park
Exercise: workout C (box squats, pullups, hanging leg raises, cable rows).
I've decided I like training at 3pm. I feel pretty alert then, and it's before the gym gets too busy.
I ran out of Vitargo today and had some Surge. Love the taste but after drinking it my stomach ballooned up and was a bit sore, from the whey I think. Will look at some other options tomorrow, and may get some allergy testing done soon.
Recovery: hot/cold shower - actually felt really good in this hot weather!
Water: 3/3 plus workout drinks
Meal Compliance: 6/6
Phase 3: day 15 of 35
Date: Mon 19 Jan
Sleep: 12am-5.30am, 5.5 hours
Weight: 61.8, up 0.5 (the carbs have arrived); total down 0.9
Lifestyle cardio: walk TJ to shops in the AM and PM
Exercise: rest
Water: 3/3
Meal Compliance: 4/6
Rob came home today after being away for about 10 days, so used up some of my meals with him.
-Organic beef burger (no bun), mashed coconut cauliflower, glass of pinot noir
-Yoghurt, protein powder, cocoa, walnuts, cherries, frozen into 'icecream' (eaten while he was having his chocolate biscuits)
Two banaba a day from today.
Sleep: 12am-5.30am, 5.5 hours
Weight: 61.8, up 0.5 (the carbs have arrived); total down 0.9
Lifestyle cardio: walk TJ to shops in the AM and PM
Exercise: rest
Water: 3/3
Meal Compliance: 4/6
Rob came home today after being away for about 10 days, so used up some of my meals with him.
-Organic beef burger (no bun), mashed coconut cauliflower, glass of pinot noir
-Yoghurt, protein powder, cocoa, walnuts, cherries, frozen into 'icecream' (eaten while he was having his chocolate biscuits)
Two banaba a day from today.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Why sugar isn't good for ME
First posted 10am Monday 19 January
Edited 10pm Monday 19 January
My gene test shows:
The study showed that excess sugar in the bloodstream stimulates the generation of free radicals.
In blood vessels, free-radical damage causes an accumulation of plaque that can lead to blocked arteries and cardiovascular disease.
According to the researchers type II diabetes is associated with an increase in free-radical generation.
source
So if I want to lower the risk of disease and inflammation, and slow down the aging process, it's important for me to limit the amount of sugar in my diet.
Edited 10pm Monday 19 January
My gene test shows:
- I am at increased risk for cardiovascular disease and Type II diabetes.
- My body is not very good at converting free radicals to non-harmful molecules.
So, what does sugar do?
Sugar creates free radicals
In addition to the more well-known effects on teeth, sugar may also be bad for your blood vessels and many other areas of the body, according to a new study from the University at Buffalo.
So if I want to lower the risk of disease and inflammation, and slow down the aging process, it's important for me to limit the amount of sugar in my diet.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Phase 3: day 14 of 35
Date: Sun 18 Jan
Sleep: another 10 hours (interrupted at 2.30am by Oscar)
Weight: 61.3, up 0.1. Interesting. Guess my body needed the carbs after two lower-carb days. Expected weight to be a bit higher than that this morning. Sometimes it can take two days for carbs to show up on scales, so will 'weight' and see what tomorrow brings.
Total down 1.4
Relaxation: walk TJ to park.
Training: HIIT (sprints: 45s on, 135s off x5). I was aiming for RPEs of 8.5/10 and 5/10 for each phase. Out of interest I checked my heat rate about halfway through my workout, at the end of a sprint phase, and the end of a walk phase. I used the hand sensors on the treadmill, so don't know how accurate they are, but I got 155 after the sprint and 120 after the walk, so I'm working at 65% to 85% of maximum heart rate when I do these. Might try and measure heart rate for the shorter interval sprints next week.
Water: 3/3 (plus workout drinks)
Meal compliance: 6/6
***
Weekly Summary
Sleep: average 7 hours - need to go to bed earlier!
Weight: down 1.1kg since Monday.
Possible reasons:
- three days off training this week, and I chose to have low-carb meals for dinner on those three days
- added some supplements on Wed (fibre drink with flax seeds, fenugreek seeds and chlorophyll; banaba extract; R-ALA)
- had lots of tuna this week because it was too hot to cook
- not much coffee or sweetener
- more water
Relaxation & recovery: walk daily, 1 x 30-min yoga session
Exercise: weights 2/2, intervals (15 mins) 2/2 = 100%
Water intake: 19/21 = 90%
Food: 39/42 = 93%
Happy with off-plan meals as they were all healthy: two salmon meals, and yoghurt, protein powder and nuts
Thoughts:
- Should have waited until the end of the week before adding in supplements, as it makes it harder to assess what is responsible for the weight loss.
- Morning yoga has slipped a bit this week as I've been busy with work. Think I might try and do it on rest days at the same I'd normally do weights or HIIT, since that time is already scheduled for exercise, and then I can do longer sessions too.
- Skin is improving - don't know if it's from taking out wheat and sugar (always helps but not sure which is the culprit) or increasing water, or both. My workout drink lately has been Vitargo (barley starch) so no sugar there either. It's nearly finished so will be interested to see if replacing it with something sugary like Surge makes any difference to how I feel.
***
Decision Day
Have been following this plan for two weeks now, so time to assess and see if I want to make any changes. Rob isn't here to do my measurements but I've lost body fat (mostly from upper body) and I'm guessing lean mass has stayed the same or decreased slightly. Scale weight has decreased 1.4kg.
Training is going to stay the same for now (weights every third day, two HIIT sessions a week on non-weight-training days). I'm going to keep food on weight-training days and HIIT days 'as is' as that seems to be working well. On rest days I don't feel like I need much in the way of starchy carbs, so I'm going to try cutting out the sweet potato at dinner. So now my menus will look like this:
Weights day (every third day)
M1: egg whites, whole egg, beans, veggies, cheese, fruit, fish oil
M2: yoghurt, nuts, protein powder, Vital Greens
M3: lean protein, salad, nuts, oil dressing, fish oil
M4: lean protein, salad, nuts, oil dressing
Weights (protein and carb drink)
M5: lean protein, veggies, fruit, rice & sweet potato, fish oil
M6: egg whites/protein powder, fruit, oats/quinoa
HIIT days (2 x per week)
M1-M4 as above
HIIT (drink with BCAAs, glutamine and Vital Greens)
M5: lean protein, veges, fruit, few nuts, sweet potato, fish oil
M6: egg whites, whole egg, fruit, cheese
Rest days
M1-M4 as above
M5: lean protein, veges, fruit, few nuts, fish oil
M6: egg whites, whole egg, fruit, cheese
Will reassess in two weeks.
End of mega-post, LOL.
Sleep: another 10 hours (interrupted at 2.30am by Oscar)
Weight: 61.3, up 0.1. Interesting. Guess my body needed the carbs after two lower-carb days. Expected weight to be a bit higher than that this morning. Sometimes it can take two days for carbs to show up on scales, so will 'weight' and see what tomorrow brings.
Total down 1.4
Relaxation: walk TJ to park.
Training: HIIT (sprints: 45s on, 135s off x5). I was aiming for RPEs of 8.5/10 and 5/10 for each phase. Out of interest I checked my heat rate about halfway through my workout, at the end of a sprint phase, and the end of a walk phase. I used the hand sensors on the treadmill, so don't know how accurate they are, but I got 155 after the sprint and 120 after the walk, so I'm working at 65% to 85% of maximum heart rate when I do these. Might try and measure heart rate for the shorter interval sprints next week.
Water: 3/3 (plus workout drinks)
Meal compliance: 6/6
***
Weekly Summary
Sleep: average 7 hours - need to go to bed earlier!
Weight: down 1.1kg since Monday.
Possible reasons:
- three days off training this week, and I chose to have low-carb meals for dinner on those three days
- added some supplements on Wed (fibre drink with flax seeds, fenugreek seeds and chlorophyll; banaba extract; R-ALA)
- had lots of tuna this week because it was too hot to cook
- not much coffee or sweetener
- more water
Relaxation & recovery: walk daily, 1 x 30-min yoga session
Exercise: weights 2/2, intervals (15 mins) 2/2 = 100%
Water intake: 19/21 = 90%
Food: 39/42 = 93%
Happy with off-plan meals as they were all healthy: two salmon meals, and yoghurt, protein powder and nuts
Thoughts:
- Should have waited until the end of the week before adding in supplements, as it makes it harder to assess what is responsible for the weight loss.
- Morning yoga has slipped a bit this week as I've been busy with work. Think I might try and do it on rest days at the same I'd normally do weights or HIIT, since that time is already scheduled for exercise, and then I can do longer sessions too.
- Skin is improving - don't know if it's from taking out wheat and sugar (always helps but not sure which is the culprit) or increasing water, or both. My workout drink lately has been Vitargo (barley starch) so no sugar there either. It's nearly finished so will be interested to see if replacing it with something sugary like Surge makes any difference to how I feel.
***
Decision Day
Have been following this plan for two weeks now, so time to assess and see if I want to make any changes. Rob isn't here to do my measurements but I've lost body fat (mostly from upper body) and I'm guessing lean mass has stayed the same or decreased slightly. Scale weight has decreased 1.4kg.
Training is going to stay the same for now (weights every third day, two HIIT sessions a week on non-weight-training days). I'm going to keep food on weight-training days and HIIT days 'as is' as that seems to be working well. On rest days I don't feel like I need much in the way of starchy carbs, so I'm going to try cutting out the sweet potato at dinner. So now my menus will look like this:
Weights day (every third day)
M1: egg whites, whole egg, beans, veggies, cheese, fruit, fish oil
M2: yoghurt, nuts, protein powder, Vital Greens
M3: lean protein, salad, nuts, oil dressing, fish oil
M4: lean protein, salad, nuts, oil dressing
Weights (protein and carb drink)
M5: lean protein, veggies, fruit, rice & sweet potato, fish oil
M6: egg whites/protein powder, fruit, oats/quinoa
HIIT days (2 x per week)
M1-M4 as above
HIIT (drink with BCAAs, glutamine and Vital Greens)
M5: lean protein, veges, fruit, few nuts, sweet potato, fish oil
M6: egg whites, whole egg, fruit, cheese
Rest days
M1-M4 as above
M5: lean protein, veges, fruit, few nuts, fish oil
M6: egg whites, whole egg, fruit, cheese
Will reassess in two weeks.
End of mega-post, LOL.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Phase 3: day 13 of 35
Date: Sat 17 Jan
Sleep: 10 hours (one 'pit stop'). Needed that sleep!
Weight: 61.2, down 0.7. Most of that is probably water weight since I haven't trained the last two days and starchy carb intake has been low. Will be interested to see where it settles tomorrow after training and carbs today.
Total down 1.5
Relaxation: walk TJ to park
Training: workout B (hang clean, military press, DB row, Russian twists) A bit frustrating today as some weights too light but the next size up too heavy to get out the amount of reps I wanted to do. Will look into getting some plate mates.
Water: 2/3 (plus workout drinks)
Meal compliance: 6/6
Sleep: 10 hours (one 'pit stop'). Needed that sleep!
Weight: 61.2, down 0.7. Most of that is probably water weight since I haven't trained the last two days and starchy carb intake has been low. Will be interested to see where it settles tomorrow after training and carbs today.
Total down 1.5
Relaxation: walk TJ to park
Training: workout B (hang clean, military press, DB row, Russian twists) A bit frustrating today as some weights too light but the next size up too heavy to get out the amount of reps I wanted to do. Will look into getting some plate mates.
Water: 2/3 (plus workout drinks)
Meal compliance: 6/6
Friday, January 16, 2009
Phase 3: day 12 of 35
Date: Fri 16 Jan
Sleep: 6.5 hours (solid) So Oscar wakes me up, then goes to check his bowl to see if he has food (grrr). But at least it was 10 minutes before I was due to get up anyway.
Weight: 61.9, down 0.3; total down 0.8
Go the salmon, LOL
Relaxation: walk to park. Kinda worried about this other big lab we keep seeing (don't feel relaxed about having TJ off-lead around him). Might have to change my route.
Exercise: had the option of doing my HIIT this evening or Sunday and opted for Sunday. Feeling a bit 'blah' today. Took TJ for another walk instead. That put me in a better mood.
Water: 2/3. Still a litre to go before bed. That's what happens when I feel 'blah' - not so motivated.
Meal Compliance: 5/6
Feel like it's coming up to that time of the month, what with feeling a bit down today, plus craving some chocolate. Walked TJ to supermarket this evening to get a few bits and pieces and put some Lindt dark choc in my basket. Walked around the supermarket with it while getting other stuff, then decided I'd rather have some chocolate yoghurt and nuts instead. So went home and mixed up 200g organic natural yoghurt (not low fat), 15g pea protein, 10g vanilla whey hydrolysate (not so bad on my tummy and adds a bit of sweetness), 2 tsp cocoa and 25g of chopped walnuts. Yum! Plus had some steamed cauli. Am just not hungry for carbs on days I don't do weights/HIIT. A few legumes in the morning seem to see me right for the day. So meal not compliant because my plan has carbs in the evenings at the moment. Will fix that next week.
Sleep: 6.5 hours (solid) So Oscar wakes me up, then goes to check his bowl to see if he has food (grrr). But at least it was 10 minutes before I was due to get up anyway.
Weight: 61.9, down 0.3; total down 0.8
Go the salmon, LOL
Relaxation: walk to park. Kinda worried about this other big lab we keep seeing (don't feel relaxed about having TJ off-lead around him). Might have to change my route.
Exercise: had the option of doing my HIIT this evening or Sunday and opted for Sunday. Feeling a bit 'blah' today. Took TJ for another walk instead. That put me in a better mood.
Water: 2/3. Still a litre to go before bed. That's what happens when I feel 'blah' - not so motivated.
Meal Compliance: 5/6
Feel like it's coming up to that time of the month, what with feeling a bit down today, plus craving some chocolate. Walked TJ to supermarket this evening to get a few bits and pieces and put some Lindt dark choc in my basket. Walked around the supermarket with it while getting other stuff, then decided I'd rather have some chocolate yoghurt and nuts instead. So went home and mixed up 200g organic natural yoghurt (not low fat), 15g pea protein, 10g vanilla whey hydrolysate (not so bad on my tummy and adds a bit of sweetness), 2 tsp cocoa and 25g of chopped walnuts. Yum! Plus had some steamed cauli. Am just not hungry for carbs on days I don't do weights/HIIT. A few legumes in the morning seem to see me right for the day. So meal not compliant because my plan has carbs in the evenings at the moment. Will fix that next week.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Phase 3: day 11 of 35
Date: Thu 15 Jan
Weight: 62.2, up 0.1; total down 0.5
Sleep: 3.5 hours (not enough!) Didn't go to bed until about 1am since I napped after my workout. Got woken up about 4.30am by Oscar. I tried to get back to sleep but started to get hungry so got up. I will make sure his food and water are full and he has access to outside before I go to bed tonight. If that doesn't work I might have to try shutting him out of the bedroom so I can get a decent sleep.
Relaxation: walk to park
Exercise: none. Too tired from lack of sleep and workout yesterday. Lay outside in the sun instead (and just about fell asleep)
Water: 3L done. Having two cups before each meal seems to work.
Meal Compliance: 5/6
Had the rest of the salmon and broccolini, and some apricots. Think I know how I'm going to change my plan next week...
My take on Mexican beans and eggs for breakfast this morning:
Make omelet made with 1/2 cup whites and 1 omega 3 egg.
Place on plate. On one half layer spinach, warm refried beans, grated mozarella and salsa.
Fold 'empty' side over the filling and enjoy.
Weight: 62.2, up 0.1; total down 0.5
Sleep: 3.5 hours (not enough!) Didn't go to bed until about 1am since I napped after my workout. Got woken up about 4.30am by Oscar. I tried to get back to sleep but started to get hungry so got up. I will make sure his food and water are full and he has access to outside before I go to bed tonight. If that doesn't work I might have to try shutting him out of the bedroom so I can get a decent sleep.
Relaxation: walk to park
Exercise: none. Too tired from lack of sleep and workout yesterday. Lay outside in the sun instead (and just about fell asleep)
Water: 3L done. Having two cups before each meal seems to work.
Meal Compliance: 5/6
Had the rest of the salmon and broccolini, and some apricots. Think I know how I'm going to change my plan next week...
My take on Mexican beans and eggs for breakfast this morning:
Make omelet made with 1/2 cup whites and 1 omega 3 egg.
Place on plate. On one half layer spinach, warm refried beans, grated mozarella and salsa.
Fold 'empty' side over the filling and enjoy.
Phase 3: Day 10 of 35
Date: Wed 14 Jan
Sleep: 8 hours (broken). Took me a while to get to sleep last night after checking my phone messages and finding out I've been selected to audition for a TV show (sorry, can't give any more info than that for now). Then I was woken a couple of times during the night by the cat. Think he was having a bit of trouble dealing with the heat.
Weight: 62.1, down 0.1; total down 0.6
Relaxation: walk to park with TJ. Stinking hot even at 9am. Much prefer going earlier but couldn't get out of bed this morning.
Exercise: Workout A (deadlifts, bench press, cable external rotation, BB rollouts). First real training day of this phase after finding my maxes last week. Training is heavy with low reps (wave loading). I was absolutely exhausted by the time I finished my workout. Came home and got straight into bed. Only got up a bit later to get something to eat. Am having two days off between each workout to give myself plenty of recovery.
Water: 3L plus workout drinks, easy peasy when it's hot
Meal Compliance: 6/6
Sultanas are back on the menu! I stopped eating them for a while as they seemed to be a trigger food but I think it was probably the other food I was having it in that was the problem (wheat-based cereal). Have been cooking up quinoa flakes with sultanas for one of my PWO meals lately and it's GOOD!
Have added back in a few things I was taking last year: fibre drink (ground flax and fenugreek seeds, chlorophyll; banaba leaf extract; R-ALA)
Sleep: 8 hours (broken). Took me a while to get to sleep last night after checking my phone messages and finding out I've been selected to audition for a TV show (sorry, can't give any more info than that for now). Then I was woken a couple of times during the night by the cat. Think he was having a bit of trouble dealing with the heat.
Weight: 62.1, down 0.1; total down 0.6
Relaxation: walk to park with TJ. Stinking hot even at 9am. Much prefer going earlier but couldn't get out of bed this morning.
Exercise: Workout A (deadlifts, bench press, cable external rotation, BB rollouts). First real training day of this phase after finding my maxes last week. Training is heavy with low reps (wave loading). I was absolutely exhausted by the time I finished my workout. Came home and got straight into bed. Only got up a bit later to get something to eat. Am having two days off between each workout to give myself plenty of recovery.
Water: 3L plus workout drinks, easy peasy when it's hot
Meal Compliance: 6/6
Sultanas are back on the menu! I stopped eating them for a while as they seemed to be a trigger food but I think it was probably the other food I was having it in that was the problem (wheat-based cereal). Have been cooking up quinoa flakes with sultanas for one of my PWO meals lately and it's GOOD!
Have added back in a few things I was taking last year: fibre drink (ground flax and fenugreek seeds, chlorophyll; banaba leaf extract; R-ALA)
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Phase 3: day 9 of 35
Date: Tues 13 Jan
Weight: 62.2kg
down 0.2
total down 0.5
Sleep: 6.5 hours (heavy). Was woken at 6am by furry alarm clock. Could have slept for longer but decided to get up so I could take TJ for a walk before it got too hot.
Relaxation: walk
Exercise: off
Water intake:3L done. Tried to have 2 cups before each meal today (x6 = 3L), so I didn't have to finish a litre before going to bed! Plus it was warmer today so I felt more like drinking.
Meal compliance: 5/6
10% meal - salmon and broccolini, grapes. Perfectly healthy (and yummy!), but my plan was to have lean meat, sweet potato, veges and fruit.
What I'm basing my meals on this week:
Weight: 62.2kg
down 0.2
total down 0.5
Sleep: 6.5 hours (heavy). Was woken at 6am by furry alarm clock. Could have slept for longer but decided to get up so I could take TJ for a walk before it got too hot.
Relaxation: walk
Exercise: off
Water intake:3L done. Tried to have 2 cups before each meal today (x6 = 3L), so I didn't have to finish a litre before going to bed! Plus it was warmer today so I felt more like drinking.
Meal compliance: 5/6
10% meal - salmon and broccolini, grapes. Perfectly healthy (and yummy!), but my plan was to have lean meat, sweet potato, veges and fruit.
What I'm basing my meals on this week:
beans
broccolini
carrots
cauliflower
celery
cucumber
onions
potatoes
romaine lettuce
spinach
zucchini
avocadoes
cherry tomatoes
apricots
bananas
grapes
kiwifruit
mango
nectarines
oranges
peaches
Am going to try making Heuvos Rancheros (Mexican Eggs and Beans) for breakfast in the morning. I love breakfast!
Monday, January 12, 2009
Phase 3: day 8 of 35
Date: Mon 12 Jan
Sleep: 6 hours (deep) After going to bed at 8.30 last night, I woke up at 2.30 this morning and couldn't get back to sleep. Got up at 3am and got started on my day.
Weight: 62.4kg (water retention in legs this morning from yesterday's workout)
down 0.1
total down 0.3
Relaxation and recovery: walk TJ around lake; yoga
Exercise: HIIT sprints (30s on, 90s off 8x)
Water intake: 2L down, 1L to go, as of 8.50pm (plus 1L during training)
Meal compliance: 6/6
Awesome day today despite the early start. Had time to make breakfast (pumkin, leek and fetta omelette again - yum!), take dog for walk, do yoga, have second breakfast and meet my 9am deadline for work. Nice stress-free way to start the week! Got started on next batch of work and began to feel a bit tired by midday but didn't want to have a nap as I knew I wouldn't get to sleep until late tonight. Got my second wind in the early afternoon and then spent some time on the Precision Nutrition website and a bit of time in the sun hanging out washing, both of which put me in a great mood, and then I went to the gym to do sprints. My fitness is definitely improving as they are feeling easier each time I do them. Rest day tomorrow - just as well as it's supposed to get close to 40 degrees. My fruit and vege box is arriving tomorrow too - looking forward to see what I get this week. OK, going to sign off now, put my feet up, read and finish my water. Ciao!
Sleep: 6 hours (deep) After going to bed at 8.30 last night, I woke up at 2.30 this morning and couldn't get back to sleep. Got up at 3am and got started on my day.
Weight: 62.4kg (water retention in legs this morning from yesterday's workout)
down 0.1
total down 0.3
Relaxation and recovery: walk TJ around lake; yoga
Exercise: HIIT sprints (30s on, 90s off 8x)
Water intake: 2L down, 1L to go, as of 8.50pm (plus 1L during training)
Meal compliance: 6/6
Awesome day today despite the early start. Had time to make breakfast (pumkin, leek and fetta omelette again - yum!), take dog for walk, do yoga, have second breakfast and meet my 9am deadline for work. Nice stress-free way to start the week! Got started on next batch of work and began to feel a bit tired by midday but didn't want to have a nap as I knew I wouldn't get to sleep until late tonight. Got my second wind in the early afternoon and then spent some time on the Precision Nutrition website and a bit of time in the sun hanging out washing, both of which put me in a great mood, and then I went to the gym to do sprints. My fitness is definitely improving as they are feeling easier each time I do them. Rest day tomorrow - just as well as it's supposed to get close to 40 degrees. My fruit and vege box is arriving tomorrow too - looking forward to see what I get this week. OK, going to sign off now, put my feet up, read and finish my water. Ciao!
This Week's Goal
Like Lia, I like having a visual goal. So here is mine for this week:
Having them premeasured like this means I will be able to track how I'm going.
Drink 3L of water (plus workout drinks) each day
Having them premeasured like this means I will be able to track how I'm going.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Phase 3: day 7 of 35
Date: Sun 11 Jan
Weight: 62.5kg
up 0.1
total down 0.2
Relaxation: walk TJ around lake. He was a bit growly with another big lab, so I had to try and wrestle his lead onto him before anything happened. That got the heart rate up!
Exercise: workout C (box squats, pullups, cable rows, hanging leg raise)
Meal compliance: 6/6
Weekly summary
Weight: hasn't changed much (down 0.2kg since Mon) but legs and stomach are looking better so number doesn't phase me
Relaxation and recovery: walked daily, yoga 3x
Exercise: weights 3/3, intervals (15 mins) 2/2 = 100%
Meal Compliance: one extra meal on Mon (weights day), 1050-cal 'treat' instead of meal 6 on Wed (rest day)
Thoughts: Once the first two weeks of this phase is up, I might replace the evening starchy carbs on rest days with an equivalent amount of nonstarchy veges (eg instead of 75g of cooked sweet potato I can have 300g of cooked cauli). That should keep me nice and full and get my metabolism going a bit more. In the meantime, my goal for next week is to increase my water intake. I'm going to aim for 3L plus workout drinks.
OK, it's 8.30 and I'm off to bed. Feeling a bit worn out after only five hours sleep last night (up late then woken early by the cat), plus trying to find 1RM for box squat today. Managed 70kg OK but got a bit cocky and bumped it up to 80 and got stuck. Oops.
Weight: 62.5kg
up 0.1
total down 0.2
Relaxation: walk TJ around lake. He was a bit growly with another big lab, so I had to try and wrestle his lead onto him before anything happened. That got the heart rate up!
Exercise: workout C (box squats, pullups, cable rows, hanging leg raise)
Meal compliance: 6/6
Weekly summary
Weight: hasn't changed much (down 0.2kg since Mon) but legs and stomach are looking better so number doesn't phase me
Relaxation and recovery: walked daily, yoga 3x
Exercise: weights 3/3, intervals (15 mins) 2/2 = 100%
Meal Compliance: one extra meal on Mon (weights day), 1050-cal 'treat' instead of meal 6 on Wed (rest day)
Thoughts: Once the first two weeks of this phase is up, I might replace the evening starchy carbs on rest days with an equivalent amount of nonstarchy veges (eg instead of 75g of cooked sweet potato I can have 300g of cooked cauli). That should keep me nice and full and get my metabolism going a bit more. In the meantime, my goal for next week is to increase my water intake. I'm going to aim for 3L plus workout drinks.
OK, it's 8.30 and I'm off to bed. Feeling a bit worn out after only five hours sleep last night (up late then woken early by the cat), plus trying to find 1RM for box squat today. Managed 70kg OK but got a bit cocky and bumped it up to 80 and got stuck. Oops.
Phase 3: Day 6 of 35
Date: Sat 10 Jan
Weight: 62.4kg
down 0.2kg
total down 0.3kg
Relaxation & Recovery: walk to shops, yoga; walk to beauty therapist (waxing, not so relaxing, LOL)
Exercise: off
Meal Compliance: 6/6
Rob is away and I've got lots of work on at the moment so I've been keeping pretty quiet, making it easier to stick to plan.
Favourite meal today:
Pumpkin & Leek Omelette
- 1/4c leftover pumpkin roasted with garlic, diced small
- 1/4c thinly sliced leek
- 20g organic feta, diced small
- 1 omega 3 egg and 1/2 c egg whites, beaten together
Place first two ingredients into preheated omelette maker.
Sprinkle cheese on top then pour eggs over and cook until golden brown.
Season with salt and pepper and serve (I had mine with 1/4c organic baked beans followed by some fruit)
Weight: 62.4kg
down 0.2kg
total down 0.3kg
Relaxation & Recovery: walk to shops, yoga; walk to beauty therapist (waxing, not so relaxing, LOL)
Exercise: off
Meal Compliance: 6/6
Rob is away and I've got lots of work on at the moment so I've been keeping pretty quiet, making it easier to stick to plan.
Favourite meal today:
Pumpkin & Leek Omelette
- 1/4c leftover pumpkin roasted with garlic, diced small
- 1/4c thinly sliced leek
- 20g organic feta, diced small
- 1 omega 3 egg and 1/2 c egg whites, beaten together
Place first two ingredients into preheated omelette maker.
Sprinkle cheese on top then pour eggs over and cook until golden brown.
Season with salt and pepper and serve (I had mine with 1/4c organic baked beans followed by some fruit)
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Phase 3, Day 5 of 34
Date: Fri 9 Jan
Weight: 62.6kg
up 0.3kg (higher carb day yesterday due to training, but stomach looking flatter again)
total down 0.1kg
Relaxation: walk to shops to get dog food
Exercise: sprints (45s on, 135s off x 5)
Food Compliance: 6/6
Favourite meals:
Meal 5
Kangaroo mini-roast, sweet potato, ratatouille (sauteed garlic, onion, mushrooms, zucchini, yellow squash and tomatoes - lots of colours!), orange
Meal 6
Banana Omelette
- half an over-ripe banana
- sprinkle of cinnamon
- 75g unsweetened ricotta cheese (I used Lemnos organic)
- 1 whole egg
- 1/2 cup egg whites
- sweetener, if desired
Mash banana, cinnamon and ricotta in a bowl. Mix in eggs and sweetener (if using).
Pour into omelette maker and cook until golden brown.
This slightly overflowed the omelette maker so I may use a little less ricotta or a smaller banana next time.
Weight: 62.6kg
up 0.3kg (higher carb day yesterday due to training, but stomach looking flatter again)
total down 0.1kg
Relaxation: walk to shops to get dog food
Exercise: sprints (45s on, 135s off x 5)
Food Compliance: 6/6
Favourite meals:
Meal 5
Kangaroo mini-roast, sweet potato, ratatouille (sauteed garlic, onion, mushrooms, zucchini, yellow squash and tomatoes - lots of colours!), orange
Meal 6
Banana Omelette
- half an over-ripe banana
- sprinkle of cinnamon
- 75g unsweetened ricotta cheese (I used Lemnos organic)
- 1 whole egg
- 1/2 cup egg whites
- sweetener, if desired
Mash banana, cinnamon and ricotta in a bowl. Mix in eggs and sweetener (if using).
Pour into omelette maker and cook until golden brown.
This slightly overflowed the omelette maker so I may use a little less ricotta or a smaller banana next time.
Friday, January 9, 2009
Kick-Ass Power Foods
extract from Strategy for a Kick-Ass 2009 by Krista Schaus
The harder you train, the more you need to refuel, replenish and revitalize the body. You build a kick ass physique with high quality nutrition. Incorporate these power foods into your kick-ass nutritional plan for 2009.
Pumpkin
This super-vegetable is very high in carotenoids, which neutralize free radicals in the body. Pumpkins are also high in lutein and zeaxanthin, both of which may help prevent the formation of cataracts and reduce the risk of macular degeneration, a serious eye problem than usually results in blindness.
Besides antioxidants, pumpkins also have a lot of common nutrients, like iron, zinc, and fiber. One serving of pumpkin will give you five grams of fiber: important for bowel health, and will make you feel fuller longer.
Pumpkin is the low-carb, low-calorie king of the squash family. One half cup of canned, unsweetened pumpkin puree contains a measly 40 calories and 7 grams of carbs. You can sweeten it with some vanilla Metabolic Drive, if you like.
Add the puree to oatmeal, protein pancakes or smoothes. Steamed pumpkin is nice diced in salad or as a side dish with chicken. The possibilities with pumpkin are endless!
Açai
The dark purple berries of the Amazonian açai palm are rich in essential oils, vitamin E and C, contain up to 33 times the antioxidant content of red wine grapes, and have a robust flavor redolent of unsweetened chocolate.
Açai's mineral spectrum is also complete, making it an essential food for the active individual who needs to replace and restore minerals lost during intense training. It also contains high levels of glucosamine, which can help protect the joints and rebuild as tendon and joints.
Free-Range Meat
Want to improve your physique without changing another single habit? Switch from commercial ground beef to organic free-range beef, bison, elk and venison.
Free range beef is higher in protein and iron, and has nearly four times more CLA (conjugated linoleic acid) than commercially-sold grain-fed beef. Don't drain the fat, it's the most nutritious part of the meal!
Free-range meat is leaner and lower in saturated fat, comparable to chicken and turkey, and naturally lower in calories than commercial beef. Not to mention that it tastes way better. Free-range meat should definitely be on your shopping list in 2009.
Chia Seeds
Chia seeds are even higher in omega-3 fatty acids than flaxseeds, but unlike flaxseeds, they can be stored for a long time before going rancid, and they don't have to be ground in order for the nutrients to be digested and absorbed.
Chia seeds are packed full of nutrients like calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, manganese, copper, niacin, zinc, and lots of fiber, and vegetarians will also appreciate that they're a valuable protein source. They're also hydrophilic, meaning they can hold large amounts of water. With this in mind, this is not a power food you want to consume the week before a physique contest.
Add chia to your oatmeal, smoothies, yogurt and cottage cheese. You can also combine it with ground flax to replace bread crumbs as a topping on chicken or as a fiber supplement.
Krista's Homemade Omega Fiber Supplement:
In a mason jar, combine:
1 cup ground flax meal
1/2 cup hemp seeds
1/4 cup chia seeds
1 tablespoon twice daily with water, greens supplement, glutamine and probiotics will do wonders for your system. Add a scoop of the homemade omega fiber blend to your Metabolic Drive and Superfood protein shake, and you now have a super-complete meal.
Clams
Low in fat, high in protein, and loaded with essential minerals, clams are nutritional powerhouses. They're the number one source of heme iron, which is iron bound to a non-protein compound. Found only in red meat, poultry, fish, and seafood, heme iron is much more easily absorbed by the body than free iron.
Clams are also an excellent source of vitamin B12 and copper. These three nutrients help the blood deliver oxygen to working muscles.
Swiss Chard
According to the Worlds Healthiest Foods, "if vegetables got grades, then Swiss chard would be one of the valedictorians."
Swiss chard has lots of vitamin K, A, C, E, magnesium, manganese, potassium, iron and dietary fiber. It's also a good source of copper, calcium, vitamin B2, vitamin B6, protein, phosphorus, vitamin B1, zinc, folate, biotin, niacin and pantothenic acid.
Swiss chard resembles beet greens, with a more distinct salty-sweet taste. Rainbow chard is the most nutritionally diverse due to the rainbow of stem colors such as red, orange, yellow and purple. Chop it and sauté with butter or olive oil, red and green onions and garlic, for a super power food combination.
Pseudo-Grains
These seeds aren't technically grains, although they can be eaten like them. They have little or no gluten, are easy to digest, and are high in fiber, protein, and micronutrients like iron. Pseudo-grains are great if you're carb-intolerant, or on a cutting, leaning or paleo-type diet.
• Red quinoa, unlike its blonde cousins, doesn't taste like dirt. Boil one cup of quinoa in two cups of water, add cinnamon, stevia leaf powder, and chopped fresh ginger for a yummy and nutrient dense breakfast option or post workout meal.
Stir in a scoop of rice, whey or vegan protein powder, and 1/4 cup natural yogurt for a perfectly macro-combined meal. Quinoa is the only grain product that is a complete protein. Try flaked quinoa instead of oatmeal.
• Amaranth can be prepared and served the same way as quinoa. It has the consistency of couscous or tapioca when cooked, and is a nice alternative to oatmeal in protein pancake recipes. It also has twice as much calcium as milk, more proof that you can get your calcium without a cow.
• Wild rice is a water grass seed, not really a rice variety.
• Buckwheat is a relative of rhubarb. It's very dense, and good in breads, muffins or pancakes when mixed with other lighter flours.
• Spelt is an ancient species of wheat, virtually unchanged since about 5000 BC.
• Kamut is another ancient wheat variety.
No pseudo-grain is better than another. Add all of them to your new arsenal of nutritional superstars.
Krista's Super Pseudo-grain Pancakes
1 cup egg whites
1 whole egg
1 scoop Metabolic Drive vanilla protein powder
1/2 scoop pea protein
1 cup cooked amaranth or quinoa
1 tsp chia seeds
1/2 tsp each of cinnamon and molasses
Mix ingredients together in a blender and fry like a pancake, flipping when bubbles appear.
Legumes
Legumes comprise the larger family of peas, beans and lentils, and are full of soluble fiber, which has been shown to help maintain healthy cholesterol levels while also improving the body's ability to utilize insulin.
Legumes are packed with nutrients as well, such as potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron and folate. Extremely low on the glycemic index, legumes are an excellent source of healthy carbohydrates that provide long-lasting energy without elevating insulin levels.
Highest in protein and lowest in starch, lentils are the most nutritious and beneficial of all legumes. Prepare red, green, brown and yellow lentils for maximum nutrient density. Canned variations will do in a pinch, but for maximum nutrients, soak and cook your own.
Peas and beans can also be enjoyed in protein powders. Thicker and denser than whey protein, pea protein is best used as a thickener in soups, stews and protein pancake recipes.
Legumes still have plenty of carbs, so if you're in a leaning phase going into pre-contest, make sure to keep serving sizes modest, and eat them primarily post-workout.
Hemp Milk
Hemp milk is a tasty dairy and soy alternative that provides all ten essential amino acids, digestible protein, fifteen essential vitamins and minerals, and 40% of your daily value of calcium. Hemp milk is also free of the common allergens associated with soy, dairy, and almond milk, but is lower in sugar and higher in essential oils (omega-3 and 6) than rice milk.
Hemp seeds are high in GLA (gamma linolenic acid), an Omega-6 essential fatty acid. GLA activates brown adipose tissue (BAT), an active tissue that burns calories for heat. When BAT is actively functioning, it's a powerful mechanism for weight loss and weight control.
GLA also provides the nutrients necessary to control the sodium potassium pump in each cell of the body. This pump is essential for cellular homeostasis, and can account for up to 20-50% of daily caloric energy usage. If the pump isn't working effectively, the body stores that unused energy as fat.
You can also make your own hemp milk in about 3 minutes:
1/4 cup shelled hempseeds
1 cup water
Vanilla, maple syrup or honey (optional)
Put seeds in a blender, adding enough water to cover them one inch deep. Blend into a thick cream. Add vanilla, maple syrup, honey, or a ripe banana, and serve as a thick drink.
You may also mix at a ratio of 4.75 parts water to one part seed for a lighter milk.
Kick-Ass Nutrition Plan
Now that you've collected an arsenal of nutrient-dense power foods, here's how you can put them all together into a day of super eating.
Breakfast:
3 pseudo-grain pancakes, topped with maple syrup, pumpkin puree and kefir.
Morning Snack:
1 scoop Metabolic Drive
1 cup hemp milk
1/2 pack açai pulp, frozen
1 scoop Superfood
2 Flameout capsules
Pre-Workout: Spike, Beta-7
Workout: BCAA
Post Workout: Surge Recovery
Lunch:
3-6 ounces elk or venison sausage
1/2 cup azuki beans
1 cup steamed broccoli
2 Flameout capsules
Snack:
2 cups raw baby spinach
Olive oil & lemon dressing
1/2 cup boiled baby clams
1/2 cup blueberries
Handful of walnuts, pumpkin seeds and pinenuts
Dinner:
4 to 6 ounces grass-fed bison steak
2 cups chopped Swiss chard sautéed in olive oil with red onion and garlic
Evening Snack:
1/2 to 1 cup organic yogurt sprinkled with chia seeds
1/2 cup fresh raspberries
2 Flameout capsules
Before Bed:
2 ZMA capsules
The harder you train, the more you need to refuel, replenish and revitalize the body. You build a kick ass physique with high quality nutrition. Incorporate these power foods into your kick-ass nutritional plan for 2009.
Pumpkin
This super-vegetable is very high in carotenoids, which neutralize free radicals in the body. Pumpkins are also high in lutein and zeaxanthin, both of which may help prevent the formation of cataracts and reduce the risk of macular degeneration, a serious eye problem than usually results in blindness.
Besides antioxidants, pumpkins also have a lot of common nutrients, like iron, zinc, and fiber. One serving of pumpkin will give you five grams of fiber: important for bowel health, and will make you feel fuller longer.
Pumpkin is the low-carb, low-calorie king of the squash family. One half cup of canned, unsweetened pumpkin puree contains a measly 40 calories and 7 grams of carbs. You can sweeten it with some vanilla Metabolic Drive, if you like.
Add the puree to oatmeal, protein pancakes or smoothes. Steamed pumpkin is nice diced in salad or as a side dish with chicken. The possibilities with pumpkin are endless!
Açai
The dark purple berries of the Amazonian açai palm are rich in essential oils, vitamin E and C, contain up to 33 times the antioxidant content of red wine grapes, and have a robust flavor redolent of unsweetened chocolate.
Açai's mineral spectrum is also complete, making it an essential food for the active individual who needs to replace and restore minerals lost during intense training. It also contains high levels of glucosamine, which can help protect the joints and rebuild as tendon and joints.
Free-Range Meat
Want to improve your physique without changing another single habit? Switch from commercial ground beef to organic free-range beef, bison, elk and venison.
Free range beef is higher in protein and iron, and has nearly four times more CLA (conjugated linoleic acid) than commercially-sold grain-fed beef. Don't drain the fat, it's the most nutritious part of the meal!
Free-range meat is leaner and lower in saturated fat, comparable to chicken and turkey, and naturally lower in calories than commercial beef. Not to mention that it tastes way better. Free-range meat should definitely be on your shopping list in 2009.
Chia Seeds
Chia seeds are even higher in omega-3 fatty acids than flaxseeds, but unlike flaxseeds, they can be stored for a long time before going rancid, and they don't have to be ground in order for the nutrients to be digested and absorbed.
Chia seeds are packed full of nutrients like calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, manganese, copper, niacin, zinc, and lots of fiber, and vegetarians will also appreciate that they're a valuable protein source. They're also hydrophilic, meaning they can hold large amounts of water. With this in mind, this is not a power food you want to consume the week before a physique contest.
Add chia to your oatmeal, smoothies, yogurt and cottage cheese. You can also combine it with ground flax to replace bread crumbs as a topping on chicken or as a fiber supplement.
Krista's Homemade Omega Fiber Supplement:
In a mason jar, combine:
1 cup ground flax meal
1/2 cup hemp seeds
1/4 cup chia seeds
1 tablespoon twice daily with water, greens supplement, glutamine and probiotics will do wonders for your system. Add a scoop of the homemade omega fiber blend to your Metabolic Drive and Superfood protein shake, and you now have a super-complete meal.
Clams
Low in fat, high in protein, and loaded with essential minerals, clams are nutritional powerhouses. They're the number one source of heme iron, which is iron bound to a non-protein compound. Found only in red meat, poultry, fish, and seafood, heme iron is much more easily absorbed by the body than free iron.
Clams are also an excellent source of vitamin B12 and copper. These three nutrients help the blood deliver oxygen to working muscles.
Swiss Chard
According to the Worlds Healthiest Foods, "if vegetables got grades, then Swiss chard would be one of the valedictorians."
Swiss chard has lots of vitamin K, A, C, E, magnesium, manganese, potassium, iron and dietary fiber. It's also a good source of copper, calcium, vitamin B2, vitamin B6, protein, phosphorus, vitamin B1, zinc, folate, biotin, niacin and pantothenic acid.
Swiss chard resembles beet greens, with a more distinct salty-sweet taste. Rainbow chard is the most nutritionally diverse due to the rainbow of stem colors such as red, orange, yellow and purple. Chop it and sauté with butter or olive oil, red and green onions and garlic, for a super power food combination.
Pseudo-Grains
These seeds aren't technically grains, although they can be eaten like them. They have little or no gluten, are easy to digest, and are high in fiber, protein, and micronutrients like iron. Pseudo-grains are great if you're carb-intolerant, or on a cutting, leaning or paleo-type diet.
• Red quinoa, unlike its blonde cousins, doesn't taste like dirt. Boil one cup of quinoa in two cups of water, add cinnamon, stevia leaf powder, and chopped fresh ginger for a yummy and nutrient dense breakfast option or post workout meal.
Stir in a scoop of rice, whey or vegan protein powder, and 1/4 cup natural yogurt for a perfectly macro-combined meal. Quinoa is the only grain product that is a complete protein. Try flaked quinoa instead of oatmeal.
• Amaranth can be prepared and served the same way as quinoa. It has the consistency of couscous or tapioca when cooked, and is a nice alternative to oatmeal in protein pancake recipes. It also has twice as much calcium as milk, more proof that you can get your calcium without a cow.
• Wild rice is a water grass seed, not really a rice variety.
• Buckwheat is a relative of rhubarb. It's very dense, and good in breads, muffins or pancakes when mixed with other lighter flours.
• Spelt is an ancient species of wheat, virtually unchanged since about 5000 BC.
• Kamut is another ancient wheat variety.
No pseudo-grain is better than another. Add all of them to your new arsenal of nutritional superstars.
Krista's Super Pseudo-grain Pancakes
1 cup egg whites
1 whole egg
1 scoop Metabolic Drive vanilla protein powder
1/2 scoop pea protein
1 cup cooked amaranth or quinoa
1 tsp chia seeds
1/2 tsp each of cinnamon and molasses
Mix ingredients together in a blender and fry like a pancake, flipping when bubbles appear.
Legumes
Legumes comprise the larger family of peas, beans and lentils, and are full of soluble fiber, which has been shown to help maintain healthy cholesterol levels while also improving the body's ability to utilize insulin.
Legumes are packed with nutrients as well, such as potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron and folate. Extremely low on the glycemic index, legumes are an excellent source of healthy carbohydrates that provide long-lasting energy without elevating insulin levels.
Highest in protein and lowest in starch, lentils are the most nutritious and beneficial of all legumes. Prepare red, green, brown and yellow lentils for maximum nutrient density. Canned variations will do in a pinch, but for maximum nutrients, soak and cook your own.
Peas and beans can also be enjoyed in protein powders. Thicker and denser than whey protein, pea protein is best used as a thickener in soups, stews and protein pancake recipes.
Legumes still have plenty of carbs, so if you're in a leaning phase going into pre-contest, make sure to keep serving sizes modest, and eat them primarily post-workout.
Hemp Milk
Hemp milk is a tasty dairy and soy alternative that provides all ten essential amino acids, digestible protein, fifteen essential vitamins and minerals, and 40% of your daily value of calcium. Hemp milk is also free of the common allergens associated with soy, dairy, and almond milk, but is lower in sugar and higher in essential oils (omega-3 and 6) than rice milk.
Hemp seeds are high in GLA (gamma linolenic acid), an Omega-6 essential fatty acid. GLA activates brown adipose tissue (BAT), an active tissue that burns calories for heat. When BAT is actively functioning, it's a powerful mechanism for weight loss and weight control.
GLA also provides the nutrients necessary to control the sodium potassium pump in each cell of the body. This pump is essential for cellular homeostasis, and can account for up to 20-50% of daily caloric energy usage. If the pump isn't working effectively, the body stores that unused energy as fat.
You can also make your own hemp milk in about 3 minutes:
1/4 cup shelled hempseeds
1 cup water
Vanilla, maple syrup or honey (optional)
Put seeds in a blender, adding enough water to cover them one inch deep. Blend into a thick cream. Add vanilla, maple syrup, honey, or a ripe banana, and serve as a thick drink.
You may also mix at a ratio of 4.75 parts water to one part seed for a lighter milk.
Kick-Ass Nutrition Plan
Now that you've collected an arsenal of nutrient-dense power foods, here's how you can put them all together into a day of super eating.
Breakfast:
3 pseudo-grain pancakes, topped with maple syrup, pumpkin puree and kefir.
Morning Snack:
1 scoop Metabolic Drive
1 cup hemp milk
1/2 pack açai pulp, frozen
1 scoop Superfood
2 Flameout capsules
Pre-Workout: Spike, Beta-7
Workout: BCAA
Post Workout: Surge Recovery
Lunch:
3-6 ounces elk or venison sausage
1/2 cup azuki beans
1 cup steamed broccoli
2 Flameout capsules
Snack:
2 cups raw baby spinach
Olive oil & lemon dressing
1/2 cup boiled baby clams
1/2 cup blueberries
Handful of walnuts, pumpkin seeds and pinenuts
Dinner:
4 to 6 ounces grass-fed bison steak
2 cups chopped Swiss chard sautéed in olive oil with red onion and garlic
Evening Snack:
1/2 to 1 cup organic yogurt sprinkled with chia seeds
1/2 cup fresh raspberries
2 Flameout capsules
Before Bed:
2 ZMA capsules
Phase 3, Day 4 of 34
Date: Thu 8 Jan
Weight: 62.3kg
down 0.2kg since yesterday (yes, even after 'chocolate biscuit night')
total down 0.4kg
I think part of the reason for the weight drop overnight was that I didn't have any whey protein yesterday. My 'second breakfast' for the last few weeks has been yoghurt, whey, nuts and Vital Greens. I have been noticing lately that I've been feeling tired about 10 minutes after eating it, and my stomach has been quite distended. So yesterday I replaced the whey with a non-dairy protein. I didn't have the tiredness afterwards and my stomach was flatter this morning.
Relaxation: walk with Rob and TJ around lake
Exercise: workout B (hang snatch, military press, DB row, Russian twists)
Meal Compliance: 6/6
Motivation
'When you first make up your mind about changing your lifestyle to accommodate your desire to look like a milllion bucks, consider it a short term project. This will help you feel less overwhelmed when it seems like the new diet never ends. Take one day at a time and focus on perfecting one after another. All the sudden this project becomes a habit. And habits have a habit to stick, unfortunately the bad ones in particular, but that´s why it´s a good idea to change a BAD one for a BETTER one instead of trying to have no habits at all.
Don´t stress about wanting to see results yesterday. It just won´t happen. If it did, remember the old saying what you gain with ease you lose with ease? To crash diet is never the way to stick to a diet plan.
After a while, reevaluate your diet. Instead of perceiving it as an evil must to get and stay lean, look upon it as what you choose to do. It´s not a sacrifice because following a healthy diet which keeps your weight in check is your best health insurance! So, in the long run it surely will cost you less since you now lay the foundation for extraordinary cholesterol levels, heart, gastric system and you stay away from clogging your arteries with crap!
...
Learn to love what you do. Otherwise you won´t keep on doing it. Having an extraordinary physique is a 24/7 job which you never quit. It´s like a business: it does not run itself and it does not increase your payoff if you treat it like a recreational hobby.
See yourself as an artist. Your body is your piece of work. Work on perfecting it and enjoy the time you´re putting into it. A really amazing physique cannot be rushed or stressed, it takes time, dedication, persistance and determination. Accept that and you will be find it to be your greatest accomplishment that will accompany you as long as you nurture it.'
source
Weight: 62.3kg
down 0.2kg since yesterday (yes, even after 'chocolate biscuit night')
total down 0.4kg
I think part of the reason for the weight drop overnight was that I didn't have any whey protein yesterday. My 'second breakfast' for the last few weeks has been yoghurt, whey, nuts and Vital Greens. I have been noticing lately that I've been feeling tired about 10 minutes after eating it, and my stomach has been quite distended. So yesterday I replaced the whey with a non-dairy protein. I didn't have the tiredness afterwards and my stomach was flatter this morning.
Relaxation: walk with Rob and TJ around lake
Exercise: workout B (hang snatch, military press, DB row, Russian twists)
Meal Compliance: 6/6
Motivation
'When you first make up your mind about changing your lifestyle to accommodate your desire to look like a milllion bucks, consider it a short term project. This will help you feel less overwhelmed when it seems like the new diet never ends. Take one day at a time and focus on perfecting one after another. All the sudden this project becomes a habit. And habits have a habit to stick, unfortunately the bad ones in particular, but that´s why it´s a good idea to change a BAD one for a BETTER one instead of trying to have no habits at all.
Don´t stress about wanting to see results yesterday. It just won´t happen. If it did, remember the old saying what you gain with ease you lose with ease? To crash diet is never the way to stick to a diet plan.
After a while, reevaluate your diet. Instead of perceiving it as an evil must to get and stay lean, look upon it as what you choose to do. It´s not a sacrifice because following a healthy diet which keeps your weight in check is your best health insurance! So, in the long run it surely will cost you less since you now lay the foundation for extraordinary cholesterol levels, heart, gastric system and you stay away from clogging your arteries with crap!
...
Learn to love what you do. Otherwise you won´t keep on doing it. Having an extraordinary physique is a 24/7 job which you never quit. It´s like a business: it does not run itself and it does not increase your payoff if you treat it like a recreational hobby.
See yourself as an artist. Your body is your piece of work. Work on perfecting it and enjoy the time you´re putting into it. A really amazing physique cannot be rushed or stressed, it takes time, dedication, persistance and determination. Accept that and you will be find it to be your greatest accomplishment that will accompany you as long as you nurture it.'
source
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Found her blog
Phase 3, Day 3 of 34
Date: Wed 7 Jan
Weight: 62.5kg
down 0.3kg from yesterday (that'd be the sprints)
total down 0.2kg
Thought for the day: 'We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit.' (Aristotle)
Relaxation and recovery: walk and yoga to stretch out tight hamstrings from yesterday's sprints; walk to shops and back with groceries
Exercise: rest
Meal Compliance: 5/6
Treat (can't really call it a 'meal'): 2 gluten-free triple treat brownie biscuits, 100g Lindt Excellence 85% cocoa chocolate (lower in sugar that most other supermarket chocolate, so obviously not as sweet, but higher in fat - so it was filling without causing excess sugar cravings), 1 row almond chocolate. By my calculations that's roughly 1050 cals. And I was hungry again before going to bed.
Weight: 62.5kg
down 0.3kg from yesterday (that'd be the sprints)
total down 0.2kg
Thought for the day: 'We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit.' (Aristotle)
Relaxation and recovery: walk and yoga to stretch out tight hamstrings from yesterday's sprints; walk to shops and back with groceries
Exercise: rest
Meal Compliance: 5/6
Treat (can't really call it a 'meal'): 2 gluten-free triple treat brownie biscuits, 100g Lindt Excellence 85% cocoa chocolate (lower in sugar that most other supermarket chocolate, so obviously not as sweet, but higher in fat - so it was filling without causing excess sugar cravings), 1 row almond chocolate. By my calculations that's roughly 1050 cals. And I was hungry again before going to bed.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Phase 3, Day 2 of 34
Date: Tues 6 Jan
Weight: 62.8kg: up 0.1kg (that'd be from the extra meal yesterday)
Relaxation: walk around lake; no stiffness or soreness from training yesterday so no yoga
Exercise: sprints (30s on, 90s off x 8)
Meal compliance: 6/6
Enjoyed a cup of Hops Slumber Tea before bed. Has an intense sweet licorice flavour - yum!
I love eating organic but it's more expensive than regular fruit and veges, so I try to waste as little as possible. A while ago I had some rainbow chard (like silverbeet but with brightly coloured stalks) and used the leaves in an omelette, but kept the stalks. I also had some leftover broccoli stalks. So I had steamed rainbow chard and broccoli stalks tossed with grilled chicken breast, olive oil, salt and pepper - lots of colours!
I also cooked an intact half-head of cauli, using this method. I lifted the whole thing out of the pot and sliced it, then took my meal back to my office. I came out a while later, thinking 'what's that smell?... oh shit!'. Bottom of pot burnt.
Weight: 62.8kg: up 0.1kg (that'd be from the extra meal yesterday)
Relaxation: walk around lake; no stiffness or soreness from training yesterday so no yoga
Exercise: sprints (30s on, 90s off x 8)
Meal compliance: 6/6
Enjoyed a cup of Hops Slumber Tea before bed. Has an intense sweet licorice flavour - yum!
I love eating organic but it's more expensive than regular fruit and veges, so I try to waste as little as possible. A while ago I had some rainbow chard (like silverbeet but with brightly coloured stalks) and used the leaves in an omelette, but kept the stalks. I also had some leftover broccoli stalks. So I had steamed rainbow chard and broccoli stalks tossed with grilled chicken breast, olive oil, salt and pepper - lots of colours!
I also cooked an intact half-head of cauli, using this method. I lifted the whole thing out of the pot and sliced it, then took my meal back to my office. I came out a while later, thinking 'what's that smell?... oh shit!'. Bottom of pot burnt.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Phase 3, Day 1 of 34
Date: Mon 5 Jan
Start Weight: 62.7
Loving my AM routine at the moment:
Get up, have first breakfast
Take TJ for relaxing 45-minute walk around lake
Come home and do 30-minute yoga DVD
Have second breakfast
Start work
I decided to use this week to try and find some one rep maxes for the main lifts I am doing in this month's strength phase. So, armed with instructions and my man, I did bench press and deadlifts. I've never done a one rep max for bench press before and was pleased to lift 50kg. I've no idea how much I can expect to increase that by in five weeks, but I'll give myself something to reach for and say my new max will be 55kg.
Food was to plan but I was hungry before bed so had an extra meal (repeat of meal 2): 7/7
Start Weight: 62.7
Loving my AM routine at the moment:
Get up, have first breakfast
Take TJ for relaxing 45-minute walk around lake
Come home and do 30-minute yoga DVD
Have second breakfast
Start work
I decided to use this week to try and find some one rep maxes for the main lifts I am doing in this month's strength phase. So, armed with instructions and my man, I did bench press and deadlifts. I've never done a one rep max for bench press before and was pleased to lift 50kg. I've no idea how much I can expect to increase that by in five weeks, but I'll give myself something to reach for and say my new max will be 55kg.
Food was to plan but I was hungry before bed so had an extra meal (repeat of meal 2): 7/7
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Ready to Go Again
Went away for New Year's Eve and had such a relaxing time we stayed for most of the week. There was no internet access, hence the lack of posting. Am back now and have just had my bodyfat measurements done. I last had them done 8 weeks ago, at the start of my preparatory phase (phase 1). I did that for about four weeks, then launched into four weeks of training to gain muscle (phase 2). My measurements today show that I have put on 3.8kg in 8 weeks: 1.75kg of lean mass and 2.05kg of fat. I'm stoked with the amount of muscle gain. I would have preferred not to have gained so much fat, but I haven't been following my eating plan with 90% compliance, so it's not really surprising. I'm doing very little in the way of cardio at the moment (two 15-minute HIIT sessions a week) as I don't put on muscle when I do a lot of cardio, so I really need to keep my diet pretty clean to minimise fat gain. My goal from here on in is to follow my plan 90% of the time. It's a measurable goal that I can track here on my blog. Phase 3 of training starts tomorrow, and I'm going to be working on increasing my strength so I can lift more to gain more muscle. Can't wait!
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Choosing Healthier Alternatives - T-minus 20
Date: Tuesday 30 December
Weight: 62.1kg (down 2.1kg) Water retention gone!
Relaxation and Recovery: 30min walk around lake with TJ and Rob then 30min yoga DVD to stretch out tight glutes from yesterday's front squats
Exercise: HIIT sprints (30s on, 90s off x 8)
Meal Compliance: 6/6
Weight: 62.1kg (down 2.1kg) Water retention gone!
Relaxation and Recovery: 30min walk around lake with TJ and Rob then 30min yoga DVD to stretch out tight glutes from yesterday's front squats
Exercise: HIIT sprints (30s on, 90s off x 8)
Meal Compliance: 6/6
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Choosing Healthier Alternatives - T-minus 21
Date: Monday 29 December
Thought for today: Instead of worrying about eliminating bad habits, focus on adopting good ones
Weight: 64.2kg (water retention from carbs over the weekend)
I am trying to gain muscle at the moment so am eating above maintenance but expect scale weight to come down a bit as I clean up my act.
Exercise:
Incidental: walk to shops to get eggs for breakfast
Planned: weight training: incline bench press, front squats, DB row, Bulgarian split squats
One benefit of the water retention from the weekend is increased leverage in my lifts. Got a PB in incline bench press - woot!
Meal Compliance: 6/6
Rob had his 'chocolate biscuit night' - once a week he eats two packets of D'lush gluten-free chocolate biscuits. I usually 'help' him eat them - I think they taste better than Tim Tams! Hard to stop at one (or two or three) though. Luckily I was at the gym when he had his first packet, and then was starting on my evening oats when he opened his second packet, so wasn't tempted.
My organic fruit and vege box arrived this morning so here's what I've got to play with this week:
avocado
baby spinach
bok choy
cabbage
cauliflower
celery
corn on cob
cucumber
leek
mushrooms
oak leaf lettuce
onions
potato
pumpkin
salad mix
spring onion
sweet potato
tomato
yellow squash
zucchini
apricots
bananas
cherries
honeydew melon
kiwifruit
mango
nectarines
oranges
rockmelon
watermelon
Thought for today: Instead of worrying about eliminating bad habits, focus on adopting good ones
Weight: 64.2kg (water retention from carbs over the weekend)
I am trying to gain muscle at the moment so am eating above maintenance but expect scale weight to come down a bit as I clean up my act.
Exercise:
Incidental: walk to shops to get eggs for breakfast
Planned: weight training: incline bench press, front squats, DB row, Bulgarian split squats
One benefit of the water retention from the weekend is increased leverage in my lifts. Got a PB in incline bench press - woot!
Meal Compliance: 6/6
Rob had his 'chocolate biscuit night' - once a week he eats two packets of D'lush gluten-free chocolate biscuits. I usually 'help' him eat them - I think they taste better than Tim Tams! Hard to stop at one (or two or three) though. Luckily I was at the gym when he had his first packet, and then was starting on my evening oats when he opened his second packet, so wasn't tempted.
My organic fruit and vege box arrived this morning so here's what I've got to play with this week:
avocado
baby spinach
bok choy
cabbage
cauliflower
celery
corn on cob
cucumber
leek
mushrooms
oak leaf lettuce
onions
potato
pumpkin
salad mix
spring onion
sweet potato
tomato
yellow squash
zucchini
apricots
bananas
cherries
honeydew melon
kiwifruit
mango
nectarines
oranges
rockmelon
watermelon
Monday, December 29, 2008
The Plan
For the next few weeks my menu will be as follows:
M1: egg whites, whole egg, beans, veggies, cheese, fruit, fish oil
M2: yoghurt, nuts, protein powder, Vital Greens
M3: lean protein, salad, nuts, oil dressing, fish oil
M4: lean protein, salad, nuts, oil dressing
Weights (protein and carb drink)
M5: lean protein, veggies, fruit, rice & sweet potato, fish oil
M6: egg whites, fruit, oats
Non-weight-training days will be the same for meals 1-4
If doing HIIT will have drink with BCAAs, glutamine and Vital Greens
M5: lean protein, veges, fruit, few nuts, sweet potato, fish oil
M6: egg whites, whole egg, fruit, cheese
This gives me plenty of variety, as I can subsitute whatever lean meat, fruit, and veges I like into the menu, and it allows me to create meals that I enjoy and look forward to eating. And I have 10 percent of the week (roughly 4 meals) to eat some foods not on the menu. Where possible, I want to try and make those '10 percent' meals healthy alternatives rather than sugar-laden processed crap that turns my 'moderate indulgence' into a 'free-for-all'.
M1: egg whites, whole egg, beans, veggies, cheese, fruit, fish oil
M2: yoghurt, nuts, protein powder, Vital Greens
M3: lean protein, salad, nuts, oil dressing, fish oil
M4: lean protein, salad, nuts, oil dressing
Weights (protein and carb drink)
M5: lean protein, veggies, fruit, rice & sweet potato, fish oil
M6: egg whites, fruit, oats
Non-weight-training days will be the same for meals 1-4
If doing HIIT will have drink with BCAAs, glutamine and Vital Greens
M5: lean protein, veges, fruit, few nuts, sweet potato, fish oil
M6: egg whites, whole egg, fruit, cheese
This gives me plenty of variety, as I can subsitute whatever lean meat, fruit, and veges I like into the menu, and it allows me to create meals that I enjoy and look forward to eating. And I have 10 percent of the week (roughly 4 meals) to eat some foods not on the menu. Where possible, I want to try and make those '10 percent' meals healthy alternatives rather than sugar-laden processed crap that turns my 'moderate indulgence' into a 'free-for-all'.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Conscious Competence
I was reading The 4 Stages of Mental Mastery by Chris Shugart yesterday, and this part in particular really struck me:
'Most experienced Testosterone readers probably find themselves stuck in the stage of conscious competence. And that's not a bad thing really. They aren't failures at all, but the daily grind and struggle make it easy to slip back to stage two.
Time is often the cure. Avoid shitty foods long enough and you won't want them anymore. Sometimes this can be done in as little as 21 days: a time period most behavior experts agree it takes to kick a habit.
With diet goals, that means that cold turkey is best. Let's take that 21-day example literally (although there can obviously be differences among individuals and individual habits). Okay, so if you avoid fried food for at least 21 days, you'll begin to lose your taste for it. But what if you have a cheat meal of fried food once per week, you know, 'cause you "deserve it" and it "replenishes glycogen or somethin'"?
Well then, you never reach 21 days of cold turkey, do you? In fact, you reinforce the negative behavior by making it special – a reward for being good all week.
The alcoholic doesn't kick booze by rewarding himself with a 12-pack every Saturday. Food addictions work the same way, which is why I now disagree with the idea of all-out cheat meals.'
This part of the article struck me because I am like this with sugar. My eating during the week is good (protein, veges, fruit, good fats, and carbs around training) and I deliberately avoid sugar, but during the weekend I am more likely to eat chocolate, biscuits etc. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I have a problem being 'moderate' with these kinds of foods. I need to get back into the habit of choosing other alternatives to satisfy my sweet tooth.
So I am going to try going without sugar for 21 days (with the exception of workout drinks). I figure if I can do it during comp prep, there's no reason why I can't do it any other time, right?
Because I found being accountable to my blog helpful to achieve my Christmas Day goal, I am going to do the same for this goal. Starting Tuesday morning I will briefly log how the previous day went, and what alternatives I've used when I wanted something sweet.
'Most experienced Testosterone readers probably find themselves stuck in the stage of conscious competence. And that's not a bad thing really. They aren't failures at all, but the daily grind and struggle make it easy to slip back to stage two.
Time is often the cure. Avoid shitty foods long enough and you won't want them anymore. Sometimes this can be done in as little as 21 days: a time period most behavior experts agree it takes to kick a habit.
With diet goals, that means that cold turkey is best. Let's take that 21-day example literally (although there can obviously be differences among individuals and individual habits). Okay, so if you avoid fried food for at least 21 days, you'll begin to lose your taste for it. But what if you have a cheat meal of fried food once per week, you know, 'cause you "deserve it" and it "replenishes glycogen or somethin'"?
Well then, you never reach 21 days of cold turkey, do you? In fact, you reinforce the negative behavior by making it special – a reward for being good all week.
The alcoholic doesn't kick booze by rewarding himself with a 12-pack every Saturday. Food addictions work the same way, which is why I now disagree with the idea of all-out cheat meals.'
This part of the article struck me because I am like this with sugar. My eating during the week is good (protein, veges, fruit, good fats, and carbs around training) and I deliberately avoid sugar, but during the weekend I am more likely to eat chocolate, biscuits etc. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I have a problem being 'moderate' with these kinds of foods. I need to get back into the habit of choosing other alternatives to satisfy my sweet tooth.
So I am going to try going without sugar for 21 days (with the exception of workout drinks). I figure if I can do it during comp prep, there's no reason why I can't do it any other time, right?
Because I found being accountable to my blog helpful to achieve my Christmas Day goal, I am going to do the same for this goal. Starting Tuesday morning I will briefly log how the previous day went, and what alternatives I've used when I wanted something sweet.
On the Flip Side
I could have spent all Boxing Day on the couch reading, but felt like having some carbs so headed off to the gym in the late afternoon. Had an awesome workout, including DB deadlifts and dips. My upper back felt so tight from holding the DBs that I put my Skins top on when I got home to get some relief. Then I pretty much cleaned out the rest of the sweet treats left over from Christmas Day. Back is looking pretty full this morning (not to mention the rest of me, LOL).
10 July
27 December
10 July
27 December
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