Sunday 29 April

low carb experiment


sleep: asleep by 230am; up at 930am without an alarm

rest day


eat: 
10am: sausage scramble with tomato, spinach and half avocado
5pm: 4 hardboiled eggs
6pm: salad with tomato and half avocado; roasted chicken with steamed broccoli

Saturday 28 April

low carb experiment 


sleep: asleep by 10pm; up at 630am without an alarm

work: 10am:
3 rounds AFAP of: 15 back squats, 15 pullups, 15 burpees
1st round: 75lbs + blue band (unbroken); 1:50
2nd round: 85lbs + light green band (broken); 2:20
3rd round: 95lbs + light green band (broken); 2:30

eat: 
1130am: sausage scramble with spinach, tomato and half avocado
5pm: salad with tomato and half avocado; steak with steamed broccoli; 2 glasses wine
8pm: 2 glasses wine
130am: 4 scrambled eggs

I really, really wanted ice cream or frozen yogurt or chocolate this evening.  I'm so happy I resisted!


grocery: 
$10.84 at Kroger (wine, coffee filters)

Friday 27 April

low carb experiment


sleep: asleep by 11pm; up at 6am with an alarm

work: 430pm:
reverse shotput toss: 26'3" (6 inches shorter than October)
3k run: 18:07 (2:56 faster than October - PR!)

eat: 
12pm: roasted chicken with tomato and half avocado
3pm: 2 hardboiled eggs
630pm: salad with tomato and half avocado; steak with steamed broccoli; 2 glasses wine

-----
I need to remember that I don't do well with cheese.  No. More. Cheese.

Thursday 26 April

low carb experiment 


sleep: asleep by 1130pm; up at 7am without an alarm

rest day

eat: 
12pm: roasted chicken with tomato and half avocado; 2 hardboiled eggs
6pm: bacon, omelette with tomato, half avocado and goat cheese; slices of gruyere; 2 glasses wine

grocery: 
#22.71 at Whole Foods (goat cheese, wine, gruyere, bacon)

Wednesday 25 April

low carb experiment


sleep: asleep by 1030pm; up at 630am with an alarm

work: 430pm:
Jackie: 11:14.  Accumulating 30 pullups took almost as long as the row and thrusters combined!

eat: 
1130am: roasted chicken with tomato and half avocado; 2 hardboiled eggs
330pm: 2 hardboiled eggs
6pm: salad with tomato and half avocado; steak with steamed broccoli
10pm: 4 scrambled eggs

grocery: 
$30.97 at Whole Foods (steak, butter, pork chops)
$36.78 at Trader Joe's (ground beef, chicken, lemon, coconut oil, coffee, tulips)
$67.29 at Costco (perrier, broccoli, olive oil, eggs, spinach, spring mix, tomatoes, avocados)

Tuesday 24 April

low carb experiment: day 2 


sleep: asleep by 1030pm; up at 630am with an alarm

work: 430pm:
standing triple jump: 17'10" (PR by 15 inches)
500m row; 90s rest; 500m row: 1:57.8 + 1:57.1 = 3:54.9 (6.1 seconds faster than October)

eat: 
1130am: roasted chicken with tomato and half avocado; 2 hardboiled eggs
345pm: 2 hardboiled eggs
6pm: salad with tomato and half avocado; salmon with steamed broccoli
9pm: 4 hardboiled eggs

Monday 23 April

low carb experiment: repeat day 1


sleep: asleep by 11pm; up at 630am without an alarm


work: 430pm:
build to a max in the clean and jerk: 133lbs (15lb PR!)
triple jump practice
4x 0:30 row, 0:30 off (tried to keep a 1:59 pace)

eat: 
12pm: hamburger with tomato and half avocado
4pm: 2 hardboiled eggs
6pm: salad with tomato and half avocado; pork chop with steamed broccoli

Sunday 22 April

low carb experiment: fail


sleep: asleep by 12am, up at 9am without an alarm

rest day


eat: 
930am: sausage with 3 scrambled eggs
11am: chicken drumsticks; cucumber, bell peppers and tomato salad; paleo almond banana chocolate muffin
4pm: kale chips
6pm: salad with tomato and avocado; roasted chicken with broccoli

Saturday 21 April

low carb experiment: day 6 /fail


sleep: asleep by 130am; up at 9am without an alarm

work: 10am:
3 minutes of toes to bar: 25
rest 7 minutes
3 minutes of 10 box jumps (20") + 10 KB swings (35lbs): 3 rounds + 1 jump
rest 7 minutes
3 minutes of AirDyne: 46 calories

eat: 
1130am: sausage with 3 scrambled eggs
12pm: kale chips
5pm: kale chips, 2 glasses wine
6pm: salad with tomato and avocado; roasted chicken with broccoli; 2 glasses wine
7pm: chocolate larabar
8pm: 2 glasses wine, some dark chocolate chips

grocery:
$11.69 at Trader Joe's (wine)

Friday 20 April

low carb experiment: day 5


sleep: asleep by 11pm; up at 7am with an alarm

work: 530pm:
A1: 4x 3 back squat: 115-135-145-155
A2: 4x 8-10 DB shoulder press: 25(10)-30(7)-30(8)-25(8)
+
4x 0:30 burpees: 12-12-12-12

eat: 
1130am: hamburger with half avocado and tomato
4pm: sausage with 3 scrambled eggs
730pm: salad with tomato and half avocado; pork chop with steamed broccoli

Thursday 19 April

low carb experiment: day 4


sleep: asleep by 11pm; up at 630am without an alarm

work: 430pm:
row 1k for time: 4:06.8 (PR by more than 0:13)


eat: 
12pm: hamburger with tomato and half avocado
1pm: 5 strawberries (brought especially for me by my boss since she knows I don't eat cake)
6pm: salad with tomato and half avocado; steak with steamed broccoli
10pm: 4 hardboiled eggs

Wednesday 18 April

day 3 of the low carb experiment


sleep: asleep by 11pm; up at 6am without an alarm


work: 430pm:
12:00 at a steady pace of:
12 pull-ups
12 push-ups
100 double unders
12:00 active recovery
12:00 at steady pace of:
20 row calories
20 squats
20 sit ups


eat:
1130pm: hamburger patty with 1/2 avocado and tomato
6pm: salad with tomato and 1/2 avocado; steak with steamed broccoli

grocery: 
$80.93 at Costco (salt, vitamin D, vitamin B12, spinach, eggs, kale, perrier, tomatoes, broccoli, avocados)
$39.79 at Whole Foods (pork chops, steak, Tessemae's salad dressing)
$38.14 at Trader Joe's (tulips, chicken, lemons, butter)

Tuesday 17 April

day 2 of the low carb experiment

sleep: asleep by 11pm; up at 630am with an alarm

work: 430pm

A: build to a tough hang power clean in 10 minutes: 113lbs. Caught it in a squat clean, which is much easier for me.

+

35 dead lifts at 100% of A + 1 mile run: 12:48. The dead lifts felt heavier than I thought they would, but the run was easier! Also, this time last year, it would have taken me 12:48 just to run the mile without the dead lifts!

eat:

1130am: chicken breast with tomato; 4 hardboiled eggs

6pm: salad with tomato anvowvocado; pork chop with steamed broccoli

Monday 16 April

low carb experiment day 1

sleep: asleep by 10pm; up at 7am with an alarm

work: 430pm:

A1: 4x 3-5 shoulder press (behind the shoulder), 21X1: 65 (5), 70 (5), 75 (2), 75 (3) (PR)

A2: 4x AMRAP strict pullup, 21X1: 1 (+2 kipping), 1 (+2), 1 (+2), 1 (+1)

+

4x 0:30 Airdyne sprints; 2:30 rest

eat:

12pm: roasted chicken breast; 4 hardboiled eggs; tomato

630pm: salad with tomato; pork chop with steamed broccoli

Experimenting

Ok, so I'm going to experiment with a low-carb version of Paleo. I've lost the focus and control that I had a couple of months ago, and it's obvious that I'm not losing fat at the moment. I toyed with the idea of doing a Whole30, but I think that I've been relying on too much fruit and too many sweet potatoes for a Whole30 to be meaningful. I need some sort of structure to keep me accountable. And, I've had success with limiting carbs in the past, but that was not while working within a paleo framework. So, I'm beginning a 40 day low-carb paleo experiment (basically until I take a week vacation at the end of May).

The plan: minimal carbs, only coming from spinach, broccoli, tomatoes and avocadoes (subject to modification). No sugar, no fruit, no larabars, no nuts, no dairy (except a little butter), and absolutely no alcohol. Of course, as much meat and eggs as I want.

The goal: weigh 158lbs or less (which would be my lowest since high school!)

Sunday 15 April

sleep: asleep by 11pm; up at 7am without an alarm

work: 630pm:

2 hours trampoline and tumbling practice

eat:

8am: sausage and 3 eggs

1230pm: 3 scrambled eggs; mashed carrots

3pm: roasted chicken

9pm: 5 hardboiled eggs

Saturday 14 April

sleep: asleep by 10pm; up at 7am without an alarm

work: 11am:

death by burpees: 14+10. Big improvement over the 12+9 I got in November!

eat:

12pm: sausage spinach sweet potato scramble

4pm: 4 hardboiled eggs; plum

6pm: salad with tomato; steak with steamed broccoli

8pm: plum

Friday 13 April

sleep: asleep by 1am; up at 8am without an alarm

work: 430pm:

build to a max in the squat clean: 113lbs

+

5 squat cleans at 80%, 10 pullups; 4 SQC, 8 pullups; 3 SQC, 6 pullups; 2 SQC, 4 pullups; 1 SQC, 2 pullups: 6:40 using 93lbs.

Huge thanks to Janice for forcing me to workout in my severely hungover condition. It may not have been the best workout, but it was better than lying on the couch all afternoon.

eat:

9am: bacon and hashbrowns

2pm: larabar

6pm: 4 hardboiled eggs with mayo

7pm: steak; steamed broccoli; roasted sweet potato

8pm: plum

grocery: 
$34.02 at Trader Joe's (butter, ground beef, chicken, lemon, tulips)
$57.30 at Whole Foods (larabar, pork chops, sausage, steak, borsari salt)
$36.43 at Costco (broccoli, tomatoes, eggs, spinach, avocados, pears)

Thursday 12 April

sleep: asleep by 1130pm; up at 6am with an alarm

rest day

eat:

630am: 4 eggs scrambled with tomato, avocado and spinach

1pm: lunchmeat, cheese and tomatoes

6pm: salad, roasted chicken, potato wedges and broccoli; 1 bottle wine

8pm: another bottle of wine

10pm: a third bottle of wine

Wednesday 11 April

sleep: asleep by 1130pm; up at 7am with an alarm

rest day

eat:

1130pm: hamburger with tomato and avocado; plum

430pm: gluten free bread with butter and cream cheese; baked sweet potato with chipotle mayo; 3 glasses wine

730pm: frozen yogurt

grocery: 
$39.10 at Whole Foods (wine, gf bread, mayonnaise, cream cheese, chipotle peppers)

Tuesday 10 April

sleep: asleep by 1030pm; up at 630am with an alarm

work: 430pm:

5x 3 back squats (40X1): 115-145-165-175-165. 175 was way too heavy for three at that tempo!

+

3x AMRAP pullups (31X1): 1, 1+ 2 kipping, 1 + 2 kipping. Strict pullups are getting more consistent, but still unable to string them together without a kip.

+

handstand/walkover practice

eat:

1130pm: hamburger patty with tomato and avocado; plum

330pm: larabar, 2 hardboiled eggs, plum

730pm: primal zucchini chicken lasagna; 4 glasses wine

9pm: pumpkin custard with greek yogurt

1030pm: plum

grocery: 
$23.61 at Whole Foods (wine, goat cheese, larabar)

Monday 9 April

sleep: asleep by 1030pm; up at 630am with an alarm

work: 430pm:

Power clean: 5 sets of 3: 63-83-93-98-103

Row sprints: 6 sets of 0:45: 201-202-203-203-201-202 meters

eat:

12pm: hamburger patty with avocado and tomato; plum

330pm: 2 hardboiled eggs

7pm: pork chop; steamed broccoli; roasted sweet potato

830pm: strawberries

Sunday 8 April

sleep: asleep by 11pm; up at 730am without an alarm

work:

730am: 5k walk

eat:

10am: 4 scrambled eggs; strawberries

12pm: 4 hardboiled eggs; plum

4pm: salami and cheese; carrots with hummus; cheese quesadilla; 2 glasses wine; chocolate covered almonds

8pm: plum

grocery:

$43.91 at Trader Joe's (coffee, tortillas, chocolate covered almonds, hummus, wine, salami, olive oil, carrots, cheese)

Saturday 7 April

sleep: asleep by 10pm; up at 8am without an alarm

work:

10am: Cindy: 12 rounds + 13

eat:

11am: sausage spinach sweet potato scramble

6pm: 2 hardboiled eggs; plum

7pm: salad with tomato and avocado; steak with steamed broccoli

9pm: strawberries

Friday 6 April

sleep: asleep by 1130pm; up at 630am without an alarm

work: 430pm:

build to a deadlift max in 30 minutes (finally!): 270lbs (82 lb PR and 95lb improvement since September 2011)

+

reverse hyper practice

eat:

1130am: hamburger patty with tomato, avocado and mustard; strawberries

330pm: 2 hardboiled eggs

630pm: pork chop with steamed broccoli and roasted sweet potato

8pm: strawberries

Thursday 5 April

sleep: asleep by 1030pm; up at 630am without an alarm

rest day

eat:

12pm: braised short rib; strawberries

6pm: bacon-wrapped dates stuffed with goat cheese; 3 glasses wine

9pm: salad with tomato and avocado; rice pasta with chicken, sausage, vegetables and cheese; 2 glasses wine

1030pm: strawberries with cool whip

And the tradition of bad decision rest days continues...

Wednesday 4 April

sleep: asleep by 10pm; up at 7am without an alarm

work: 430pm:

10 minutes of [200m run + 5 wall walks] <-- wall walks killed me today.

+

10 minutes of [300m row + 10 burpee pushups] <-- it's painfully obvious that I've been neglecting the rower.

+

10 minutes of [10 airdyne calories + 30 double unders] <-- and I broke my jump rope.

All in all, not a stellar day.

eat:

1130am: braised short rib; berries

6pm: steak; steamed broccoli; roasted sweet potato

9pm: berries

grocery:

$39.33 at Costco (tomatoes, sweet potatoes, plums, avocados, spinach, broccoli, strawberries)

$40.75 at Whole Foods (steak, pork chops, tulips)

Tuesday 3 April

sleep: asleep by 10pm; up at 530am with an alarm

work: 430pm:

build to a heavy, fast single back squat: 180lbs

+

50 walking lunge steps + 15 pullups + 30 wallballs + 15 pullups + 50 walking lunge steps: 11:16. Pullups were atrocious.

eat:

1130am: braised short rib; berries

630pm: salmon; steamed broccoli; roasted sweet potato

830pm: berries

Monday 2 April

Sleep: asleep by 10pm; up at 7am with an alarm

Work: 430pm:

Deadlift 5 x 3: 123/153/173/183/188 (PR) + handstand practice

+

3x 21 kettlebell swings, unbroken, 0:60 rest: 53lb bell

+

10x 0:30 plank

Eat:

1130am: braised short rib; apple

7pm: steak; steamed broccoli; roasted sweet potato

Braised Short Ribs

ingredients:

6 beef short ribs (bone-in)

1 onion

3 cloves garlic

6 carrots

butter

1 carton vegetable broth (TJ's)

borsari seasoned salt

Pre-heat oven to 275F. In a skillet, saute vegetables until tender. Transfer to an oven-safe dutch oven. Sear ribs in skillet; transfer to dutch oven. Season with borsari. Add some broth to the skillet and add to the dutch oven. Add the remainder of the broth to the dutch oven; bring to a boil then turn off. Cover the pot with and transfer to the oven for 3-4 hours. Makes 3-6 servings for dinner and work lunches (depending on the size of the ribs).

These are very good!

Sunday 1 April

sleep: asleep by 10pm; up at 515am without an alarm

work:

630am: 10 minute jog + 5x (0:30 sprint, 1:00 walk) + 10 minute jog

eat:

730am: 8 strips bacon; 3 scrambled eggs with sweet potato

1pm: braised short ribs

9pm: 3 scrambled eggs; berries

March Recap

days on plan: 14

days with:

treats: 13

cheats: 6

binges: 0

gluten: 0

wine: 11

other alcohol: 4

grocery budget: $689.88 (more than rent... uh oh)

workouts: 23

measurements:

Waist: 85cm (same)

Hips: 99cm (same)

Thigh: 62cm (+1)

Calf: 40cm (same)

Ribcage: 89cm (same)

Bust: 106cm (-1)

Arm: 32cm (same)

Neck: 35cm (same)

Total: 548cm (same)

Weight: 163.6lbs (+0.7)

Let's chalk March up to a maintenance month. Kind of disappointing (especially considering the amount of money I spent on groceries), but I'm feeling really good, and feeling like I look pretty good, too. So let's keep it up but maybe with fewer treat days?