Tune of the day
I didn't have a post title for today so I used a line from one of the tunes in my iPod's workout mix: Renegade Master by WildChild as remixed by Fatboy Slim.
Food
Good golly, this is a lot of food.
It took me a couple of hours to make my way through my first meal, and I was very full. I also realized that I did not buy nearly enough of anything--fruit, veggies, yogurt or protein. I will have to visit the grocery store tomorrow.
Because of the food schedule I think I'll have to wind up adjusting my sleep/wake schedule... I usually get up around 11 or 12 and stay up until 3 or 4am, but I don't usually eat for the first hour that I'm up, and I don't usually eat after about 9pm, and there just isn't enough time in those 8 hours to eat that much food. So I either need to switch the times I sleep and wake, or I need to start adjusting my eating times. I haven't decided which yet. (Any other extreme night owls out there with suggestions?)
Exercise
The injured leg is coming along nicely. It's tight and it's tender, and I'm not going to be doing anything high-impact for a bit yet, but I was able to complete all of today's workout (except for the jumprope!). Even the squats are very doable. Lunges, not so much--the motion engages that calf muscle too much for the time being. So maybe I will substitute tomorrow's lunges with sets of squats instead.
I tried to do what Alex suggested and move from one exercise directly into the next with as little rest as possible, to help get my heart rate elevated, and that seemed to work really well. [Patrick, is that an OK strategy? To go from squats to pull-ups to push-ups, etc., like a circuit, and complete the sets that way, or will I lose something by not doing the all sets of each individual exercise back-to-back before hitting the next exercise?]
No escape from temptations
I'm going to play cards this evening with my folks and some friends of ours, and I know that there will be brownies and wine... hugely tempting. Will be really hard to not indulge!! And tomorrow, I'm meeting up with a group of friends I haven't seen in a couple of years, and I know there will be a ridiculous amount of wines and chocolates and snack foods. Steering clear will be really tough. I know that going in. This will probably be the two toughest temptations I'll face until my birthday at the end of March, and of course, they had to come right smack at the beginning of the new food plan. Sigh. I'll make it though, dammit. I'll make it!
Regarding the issue with timing of your meals: ideally we should eat about once every 2 hours or so to keep metabolism high all day long...eating 6-7 times each day would mean that the time elapsed between your first and last meal is about 12-14 hours or so...which is about right.
ReplyDeleteBecause your body's metabolism has somewhat of a "memory," meaning that it will begin to reset its schedule based on how you've eaten over the past few days, you should actually begin to get a little bit hungry before each meal: your body is already anticipating the meal it knows is coming based on your schedule the last few days. If this isn't occurring, I would consider lowering your portions ever so slightly.
And, in terms of the temptations...I stress it a lot, but I treat my relationship to food much the same as a recovering alcoholic treats their relationship with alcohol: avoidance all together if need be. Don't be afraid to simply leave the situation entirely (i.e. go home) if the temptation becomes too strong (such as having difficulty, even momentarily, focusing on much other than the wine/chocolates because you desire so greatly to have some). Sticking around the social scene for an extra hour or two isn't worth screwing up the kick-ass diet you've maintained so far!
Keep up the good work!
I love that you're an extreme night owl - I'm getting up as you go to bed at the other end of the spectrum. Keep up the good work too!
ReplyDeleteDo not turn the exercises into a circuit. That won't get you anywhere.
ReplyDelete