Meals 6/13/09

Saturday, glorious Saturday! No workout today. Spent time with the family and got to the organic farm for some fresh red swiss chard. Going to saute half the bunch and use the other half for green drinks.

Here's how my day went as far as my meals:

1. syntrax nectar protein drink, then a green drink w/1 tablespoon flax oil, organic coffee w/organic 1% milk

2. plain chobani greek yogurt w/handful blueberries, serving of almonds

3. 2 egg white, 1 egg omelet w/ black bean & avocado salsa, honeydew melon

4. organic raw cauliflower, broccoli, sugar snap peas w/3 tablespoons hummus, handful goji berries

5. Sushi! 2 oz salmon sashimi, a spicy tuna roll, a shrimp tempura roll

6. handful of cherries, nut and seed crunch bar

I'm sure people get tired of seeing my diet day after day but I find it creates accountability for me and also it shows people what it really takes.

If you were to ask me years ago what a good diet to get lean was, I would have told you plain grilled chicken breast, tilapia, egg whites, oatmeal, protein drinks, protein bars, fat burners. This is because magazines preach this type of diet and then you are relying on all sorts of expensive supplements.

I was surprised to figure out for myself that things like fresh vegetables, Thai curry made with full fat coconut milk, chicken chili, nuts, yogurt, beans, free range organic eggs, rice, and other yummy foods can contribute to getting lean. A watch of portion sizes and an emphasis on whole foods is what is going to make all the difference.

Tomorrow I plan on lifting in the morning and if I can squeeze it in, I'd love to do some sprints after.

Remember the pictures I was telling you about yesterday? Here are a few.

What do you think? I can't believe that's me! I can't believe those are my arms! Hard work has gotten me here and I'm going to continue on and see where it takes me. That is my husband in the pic. Too bad we couldn't get my son to look at the camera.

Workout and Meals 6/12/09

TGIF! It's been a long week and I am thrilled it's over! Today was a busy day. It was my son's last day of preschool and we went to his school this morning for a little party. Then we had the family over for a bbq and little make your own sundae party. It was fun!

Here's how my day went:

a.m. - workout 45 min spin class
1. immediately following - syntrax nectar protein drink
after shower - greens drink w/1tablespoon flax oil, green tea

2. chobani plain greek yogurt, handful blueberries, serving of almonds

3. 2 egg white, 1 egg omelet w/black bean avocado salsa, honeydew melon

4. raw organic cauliflower, broccoli, and sugar snap peas w/3 tablespoons hummus

5. grilled shrimp kabobs, 1/4 c white rice, roasted asparagus, handful of cherries
piece of dark chocolate, green tea

6. few pieces of nut and seed crunch

My husband snapped some pics of me and my son at the school party and when I look at them I can't believe it's me in the pictures. Really. I'm used to seeing things I don't like. It's strange and kind of bizarre that I like what I see. I'm going to post a pic in my next post.

Dinner time was challenging because I thought for a split second about having a nitrate free hot dog on a potato bun (they are the best) with saurkraut and mustard but I had the shrimp kabobs instead. I opted for fresh bing cherries instead of making my own sundae and they were sweet and delicious. We have a party to go to on Sunday and I want to be able to eat some treats and enjoy myself then.

Tomorrow is my day off and I am so looking forward to it! Then it's time to regroup and set goals for the week.

Workout and Meals 6/11/09

I woke up and it was misty rain and fog AGAIN! I'm starting to feel like I live in Seattle. I've been working my ass off and I can't even wear tank tops! No really I am laughing because when I was overweight I loved days like this. Where I didn't have to worry about feeling uncomfortable because it was chilly enough to cover up the flabby arms and the out of shape legs.

Anyway, I got up this morning and got the workout done and that's the most important part.

Here's how my day went:

Meals
a.m. - workout
1. immediately after - syntrax nectar protein drink
after shower - vegetable green drink, 1 tablespoon flax oil, green tea

2. chobani plain greek yogurt, big handful of blueberries, serving of almonds

3. 2 egg white, 1 egg omelet w/few tablespoons salsa, 1/2 avocado

4. raw organic broccoli, cauliflower and sugar snap peas w/3 tablespoons hummus

5. 4 oz salmon, 1/2 cup white rice, roasted asparagus

6. cottage cheese snack pack, 4 sliced strawberries, nut and seed crunch

Workout
NROL4W Phase 1 workout A

3 mins bike warm up followed by bridges and pop squats.

squat - warm up set 45x8, then 2x12 - 55, 60

alternating
push up 2x12
seated row 80, 90

alternating
step up 2x12 - 12, 15
prone jacknife 2x10

5 mins bike cooldown + stretching

20:47 to complete weight portion 8 mins bike, few minutes stretching. About 30 mins total.

Some side notes - I've been trying to eat brown rice instead of white rice over the last week or so and I'm finding it really difficult. I'm half Thai and my husband is half Japanese so we grew up eating steamed white rice. Brown rice is just wrong on so many levels. Maybe I'll pick up a small bag of brown rice next time I go to the asian grocer. The Lundenberg organic long grain brown rice is just not cutting it for me. Anyone have a brand they like?

I think tomorrow morning I'm going to do a spin class. There is a new instructor for the 5:45 am class. I want to see if this guy is any good!

Workout and Meals 6/10/09

Got up to a foggy and misty rain kind of morning here. I went to the gym to do my sprints and rocked it!

Here's how the day went:

a.m. - workout - treadmill sprints 3 min walk followed by 1 min sprints 8 - (2) 10 mph, followed by 2 min recovery walk at 3.5 mph, then walking the last few minutes. 2.5 miles in 30 mins.

1. on the way home from the gym - syntrax nectar protein drink
After shower - lots-o-vegetable green drink, 1 tablespoon flax oil, organic coffee w/1% organic milk

2. chobani plain greek yogurt, large handful of blueberries, serving of almonds

3. 2 egg white, 1 egg omelet w/ few tablespoons salsa, 1/2 of an avocado, mandarin oranges

4. organic cauliflower, and sugar snap peas w/3 tablespoons hummus

5. shrimp cocktail (about 4 oz cold shrimp w/cocktail sauce), spinach salad w/beets, feta cheese, EVOO and balsamic vinegar

6. cottage cheese snack pack, 4 sliced strawberries, nut and seed crunch

In the last few weeks I've eliminated the protein shake before bed and replaced it with cottage cheese and nuts. I wanted to incorporate more whole food choices and get away from relying on protein shakes. I do like the post workout shake in the morning because of the convenience so that will remain.

Over the hump, and into the home stretch! Lifting tomorrow morning.

Workout and Meals 6/9/09

I slept in a bit this morning. Got up at 5:30 am instead of 5 am! Now that I know NROL4W Phase 1 is about 30 minutes total I don't have to be up SO early.

Here's my day:

Meals
a.m. - workout
1. immediately following - syntrax nectar protein drink, brown rice cake
after shower - lots-o-greens green drink w/1tablespoon flax oil, organic coffee w/1% organic milk

2. chobani vanilla greek yogurt w/handful blueberries, True North pecan, almond, peanut crunch

3. the last of the chicken chili (finally) w/ 1/4 cup brown rice, a pear

4. raw organic cauliflower and sugar snap peas w/3 tablespoons hummus, 2 cups plain microwave popcorn (thanks to my son for sharing), green tea

5. 3 oz chicken breast, 1/4 cup brown rice, roasted asparagus

6. cottage cheese snack pack, 4 sliced strawberries, nut and seed crunch bar


Workout
NROL4W Phase 1 workout B

warm up - 5 mins bike following by some foam rolling and bridges. Thanks to some Twitter folks, @laurapasik and @fitprosarah for the exercise suggestions! I'm having a problem with my left glute not firing during squatting, split squats, lunges, deadlifts. Also, Dr. Mark Cheng was nice enough to do a blog post on Reactive Neuromuscular Training which was quite helpful. I plan on trying his suggestions as well.

deadlift - warm up set 1x8x45, then 2x12 - 60, 60

alternating
db shoulder press - warm up set 1x5x10, then 2x12 - 12, 12
wide grip lat pulldown - 2x12 - 55, 60

alternating
lunge 2x12 - 10, 12
swiss ball crunch 2x10

5 mins on the bike + stretching

Time - 19:48 for the weight portion of the workout. 10 mins bike + warm up exercises/stretching about 35 mins total.

It was raining this morning so I didn't get my sprints in after weights. Gonna get those in tomorrow morning!

Workout and Meals 6/8/09

It's Monday again and one of my favorite workout days. I love spinning even at 5:45 am.

Here's how the day went:

a.m. - workout - 45 min spin class
1. on the way home from the gym - syntrax nectar protein drink
after shower - lots-o-vegetable green drink, a tablespoon flax oil, green tea

2. 1 cup strawberry kefir w/scoop Miracle Reds powder, serving of True North pecan, almond, peanut crunch

3. leftover chili (I make alot of it), 1/4 cup brown rice, a pear, green tea

4. raw organic cauliflower, broccoli, & sugar snap peas w/3 tablespoons hummus

5. dark meat chicken (not sure how much), 1/4 cup brown rice, roasted asparagus, green tea

6. cottage cheese snack pack, 4 sliced strawberries, nut and seed crunch bar

I realized last night that I made an error in yesterday's workout. I was supposed to be doing 2 set of 12 for the exercises and I did 2 sets of 15 again. It's spelled out in a book and I managed to mess it up! Anyway, going to fix that for tomorrow morning's workout. Notebook, iPod, and Gymboss standing by.

Workout and Meals 6/7/09

Very busy weekend opening the pool and getting lots of chores done. Saturday was my day off from training and I stuck to my diet with the exception of dinner. We usually order sushi on Saturday nights and I did get an extra roll just to make sure I was fueled up and ready to lift this morning.

Here's how today went:

Meals
a.m. - workout
1. immediately following - syntrax nectar protein drink, 1 brown rice cake
after shower - green drink- organic kale, spinach, collard greens, beet greens, celery, cucumber, ginger, parsley, apple, lemon juice and apple juice, 1 tblspn flax oil mixed in, green tea

2. chobani vanilla greek yogurt with handful of blueberries, True North peanut, pecan, almond crunch

3. chicken chili w/1/2 cup brown rice, a pear

4. raw organic cauliflower, broccoli, and sugar snap peas with 3 tablespoons hummus

5. grilled shrimp kabobs marinated in asian dressing over spinach salad w/sugar snap peas, grape tomatoes, mandarin oranges, slivered almonds and asian dressing

6. cottage cheese snack pack, nut and seed crunch bar

Workout
NROL4W, Phase 1, Workout A

squat - warm up set 45 lbs for 8 reps then 2x15 - 55, 55

alternating
pushups - 2x15
seated row - 2x15 80, 85

alternating
step up 2x15 - 10, 12
prone jacknife 2x8

Workout took 23 mins. 5 min bike warm up and cool down + stretching about 35 minutes total.

I was finding that when I was approaching the 12 rep mark on squats that I felt a pinch in my lower back on the left side. I can definitely do heavier weights but not on sets of 15. I'm used to 4 sets of 6, or 5 sets of 5 with longer rests. The next time I do workout A the reps decrease and the rest periods increase so I'm expecting to do much better.

Here is how I'm planning the week ahead:
Sunday (today) - lift
Monday - spin
Tuesday - lift + sprints
Wednesday - OFF (or sprints if not done on Tuesday)
Thursday - lift
Friday - run steady state/sprint combo or spin
Saturday - OFF
Sunday - lift

Hope you have your plan for the week!

Are You Eating Enough Plant Based Foods?

I recently read a blog post on Jason Ferruggia's site, "Grow a Younger Body with Plant Based Foods". He had a guest poster Brendan Brazier, Author of Thrive: The Vegan Nutrition Guide to Optimal Performance in Sports and Life that said something that is sticking with me. He said "Your current body has been constructed from the food you've consumed over the last year".

Now think about that statement for a second. To me that confirms that you must have long term consistent healthy eating in order to see the results you're looking for. One week on a diet, 6 weeks on a diet, even 3 months on a diet is going to help but probably not make much of a difference in the long run. A year of good solid clean eating, imagine the possibilities!

I am not a vegetarian or a vegan but anyone who knows me knows that I eat alot of vegetables. We are into the summer months and that means tons of fresh local produce at your fingertips. Here is a fabulous website where you can locate local farms and farmers markets. If a vegetable is in abundance at the farmers market, buy it and bring it home! Don't be afraid to experiment. There are many websites where you can look up an ingredient and find recipes to incorporate that ingredient. Two of my favorites are Cooking Light and All Recipes.

Here's to fresh summer eating!