Woo! Ok, 3 days straight of not watching what I ate. I've been carbo-loading -- for some reason during times like this, all I want is carbs and sweets (mainly chocolate). Dunno why?! Maybe loading up on fat stores for the upcoming prime time to get preggers!? I wish my body would listen to my brain and say HEY! Not now! I need to stick to my diet and hormones are messing it up! I am really glad I made myself exercise yesterday. I normally wouldn't have, but being on a strict program helps me in that aspect.
Yesterday I did Pure Cardio and Cardio Abs. I lasted longer through the ab workout, but the parts that require lifting legs is so tough (but I hear so effective for abs). I noticed that in the video mostly everyone keeps their toes pointed up. I find it more comfortable if I place my feet flat on the ground. I thought it might be because they are wearing shoes and I'm barefoot, but I saw another girl have her feet flat while in shoes. If I point my toes up it uses my upper thigh/hip muscles which is why I was able to last longer yesterday when I didn't do that. But I know that sometimes we do things to make sure that we're focusing on the right muscles -- in this case, abs -- and I'm wondering if feet pointed up emphasize the work on the correct muscles (similar to how you have to be careful and make sure you're using your abs and NOT your hips when doing sit ups, or to make sure you tuck your hips forward when you're doing some glute exercises to focus on the glutes and not lower back). At Pop Physique we always put a ball between our thighs and squeeze that and supposedly that helped reassure our instructor (and us) that we were using our abs and not our hips to do the exercises.
Anyway, my body's starting to normalize again, so I am going to eat better. (Blargh, I feel like I proclaim that a lot...) Unfortunately I figured out that I'll have this again near the end of Insanity. I hope to be able to have more self-control when that time comes around.
Oh a piece of good news I forgot to share: I got a haircut! I chopped 1-2 inches off. Having shorter hair is better when I whip my hair back and forth quickly for these exercises. Better for not getting smacked in the FACE.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Insanity, Day 20: Plyometrics
You know that thing I said earlier about how it discourages me from exercising? Well, I forgot to mention it also destroys my diet. Just a few days after I vowed to eat healthier I had mad cravings for a slice of chocolate cake! I just had chocolate "cheese"cake on Friday at the raw restaurant so I know I wasn't craving it because I was lacking it. Let's go over what I ate yesterday, shall we:
20oz hemp berry shake (42 oz protein, 9g fat, 9g carbs)
banana
tofu soup
asian pear
apple
nuts
more tofu soup
- this is where my chocolate craving kicked in. Unfortunately Food+Lab on SL Blvd didn't have any choc cake so I substituted... -
ice cream sandwich (snickerdoodle with caramel and salt ice cream from Coolhaus, freakin delicious!!)
4 pieces of fudge
1/2 an almond croissant from Paris Baguette
slice of packaged tiramisu
- Plyometrics -
8oz protein shake (25g protein, 0 fat, 0 carbs)
3 pcs chocolate
As you can see, this is vastly different from Monday, when I was overly stuffed after 1300 calories. This was probably around 2000 calories. I was RAVENOUS, and it wasn't because I wasn't eating anything of value in the middle of they day. I was also really hungry in the morning even after eating what I normally eat which usually satiates me enough. Luckily, those cravings only last for about a day, then they're over. Today should be better. The hard part is getting back on track. Today I have banh mi, and even though I basically hollow out the bread, it's still a lot of carbs, and I had a banana this morning in my smoothie too, so I might need to make sure to tone down the carbs tomorrow. And surprise surprise, yesterday I felt bloated thanks to all this carbo-loading.
Interestingly enough, my performance during Plyometrics today was much better than Monday's work out. All those carbs did the work they're supposed to do, but I'm supposed to chill out on the carbs and up the protein so my body can burn fat and build muscle. This is where I have the question I've been wondering for a few years: Am I supposed to sacrifice a workout sesh where I last longer and I'm able to do more of the exercises for eating more strictly on my diet plan and not doing as many of the exercises for as long? My gut tells me the latter, as I know exercise is practically nothing if not completely nothing without eating right, and I can always improve my endurance.
20oz hemp berry shake (42 oz protein, 9g fat, 9g carbs)
banana
tofu soup
asian pear
apple
nuts
more tofu soup
- this is where my chocolate craving kicked in. Unfortunately Food+Lab on SL Blvd didn't have any choc cake so I substituted... -
ice cream sandwich (snickerdoodle with caramel and salt ice cream from Coolhaus, freakin delicious!!)
4 pieces of fudge
1/2 an almond croissant from Paris Baguette
slice of packaged tiramisu
- Plyometrics -
8oz protein shake (25g protein, 0 fat, 0 carbs)
3 pcs chocolate
As you can see, this is vastly different from Monday, when I was overly stuffed after 1300 calories. This was probably around 2000 calories. I was RAVENOUS, and it wasn't because I wasn't eating anything of value in the middle of they day. I was also really hungry in the morning even after eating what I normally eat which usually satiates me enough. Luckily, those cravings only last for about a day, then they're over. Today should be better. The hard part is getting back on track. Today I have banh mi, and even though I basically hollow out the bread, it's still a lot of carbs, and I had a banana this morning in my smoothie too, so I might need to make sure to tone down the carbs tomorrow. And surprise surprise, yesterday I felt bloated thanks to all this carbo-loading.
Interestingly enough, my performance during Plyometrics today was much better than Monday's work out. All those carbs did the work they're supposed to do, but I'm supposed to chill out on the carbs and up the protein so my body can burn fat and build muscle. This is where I have the question I've been wondering for a few years: Am I supposed to sacrifice a workout sesh where I last longer and I'm able to do more of the exercises for eating more strictly on my diet plan and not doing as many of the exercises for as long? My gut tells me the latter, as I know exercise is practically nothing if not completely nothing without eating right, and I can always improve my endurance.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Insanity, Day 19: Cardio Power & Resistance
oh man.. poor performance today. was just tired. this is what a weekend of bad eating and skipping a work out does to you huh? i haven't been getting great sleep lately. I wake up at least once a night and I have dreams. Also today there was a stalled car on the 5, making my commute horrible and over an hour. In addition, I regrettably left my chocolates at home, so when I got home I binged on three pieces. would have been better off with just one... but I don't want them to spoil and they are so good!!!! :)
Food: berry hemp shake, 15ish oz veggie juice, asian pear, apple, 2 handfuls of nuts, mongolian bbq: veggies and tofu, hemp shake, fake meats from TJs, 3 pcs chocolate, soy shake. By the time I got home, which was after the hemp shake and before the fake meats, I didn't feel like eating anything at all; I had just spent 1.25 - 1.5 hours traveling 20 miles and downed the hemp shake in the car. But I thought I should have some protein so I ate the fake meats. Then I ate the chocolate. I really wish I had the discipline to not eat so much so fast. After lunch and after dinner (and dessert) my stomach hurt from being so full. I also feel like I ate a lot in quantity. I think if I spread out my food more, and ate more in the daytime I wouldn't feel so "guilty."
155g protein
100g carbs
30g fat
WHAT?!??!!?!?!
I just calculated this in calories. Did I do this right? Is that 1290 calories!?!??!! There is NO WAY that is 1290 calories. Granted those are estimates of protein, carbs and fat, but there is no way I feel this way (full) and am under eating. If I did underestimate, I could not have underestimated more than 150-200 calories TOPS. aldf;ladsjfldsj;flaj;fdjss Possibly the reason for my poor performance today?
Food: berry hemp shake, 15ish oz veggie juice, asian pear, apple, 2 handfuls of nuts, mongolian bbq: veggies and tofu, hemp shake, fake meats from TJs, 3 pcs chocolate, soy shake. By the time I got home, which was after the hemp shake and before the fake meats, I didn't feel like eating anything at all; I had just spent 1.25 - 1.5 hours traveling 20 miles and downed the hemp shake in the car. But I thought I should have some protein so I ate the fake meats. Then I ate the chocolate. I really wish I had the discipline to not eat so much so fast. After lunch and after dinner (and dessert) my stomach hurt from being so full. I also feel like I ate a lot in quantity. I think if I spread out my food more, and ate more in the daytime I wouldn't feel so "guilty."
155g protein
100g carbs
30g fat
WHAT?!??!!?!?!
I just calculated this in calories. Did I do this right? Is that 1290 calories!?!??!! There is NO WAY that is 1290 calories. Granted those are estimates of protein, carbs and fat, but there is no way I feel this way (full) and am under eating. If I did underestimate, I could not have underestimated more than 150-200 calories TOPS. aldf;ladsjfldsj;flaj;fdjss Possibly the reason for my poor performance today?
low carb
random thought of the moment: this low-carb low-fat thing has me REALLY wanting a pbj sandwich. i should just eat one to get it out of my system.
Insanity, Day 18: Cardio Recovery
Yesterday I went to Mt. High, but didn't snowboard for long. ...And.. I missed my work out. eek! Weekends are tough. I have no problem putting good diet and exercise as a priority on weekdays, but weekends I tend to give in to chocolate (hey! It's Valentines Day!), starchy foods and playing Lumines on PSP rather than exercising. Gladly, Cardio Recovery isn't HIIT, although I'll admit it is quite a work out; I'm going to resolve to not miss any more work outs and eat better, even on weekends.
My problem areas are still my tummy and thighs. It's so unbalanced. I can see my sternum to the point where it's gross at one point when I put my arms up to tie up my hair, but I still have this gut and my thighs are still rounder than I'd like. My arms are ok.. could use some improvement but I'm not worried about them. Ah, well, gotta keep at it.
My problem areas are still my tummy and thighs. It's so unbalanced. I can see my sternum to the point where it's gross at one point when I put my arms up to tie up my hair, but I still have this gut and my thighs are still rounder than I'd like. My arms are ok.. could use some improvement but I'm not worried about them. Ah, well, gotta keep at it.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Insanity, Day 17: Pure Cardio & Cardio Abs
As I mentioned before, yesterday was my rest day. It was a good rest day, but probably not great in terms of eating. I actually ate all raw yesterday, unintentionally. Mind you, just because something is vegetarian, vegan or raw, it doesn't mean it's good for you!!! Breakfast was my hemp shake smoothie and post-breakfast/pre-lunch snacks were some fruit. Lunch was a raw salad which included veggies (I <3 Food+Lab!). I ate nuts as a snack and I planned to drink a hemp shake but I couldn't down it as I was just so not hungry. Up until this point my eating was going well. For dinner, my beloved boyfriend took me to Planet Raw in Santa Monica. I had a raw version of a bacon cheeseburger and it was delicious! There was a raw veggie patty and lots of vegetables around it, plus a side salad (there were "fries" and I don't know what they were but I did NOT like them.). And here is why I said "up until dinner I was eating well." A lot of raw places use thick sauces to complement the food, which is great. This place, while delicious, used too much for my personal taste (not that that would prohibit me from going here again!). The problem with this for my diet is that these sauces use lots of fats. Nuts made into a paste via a food processor makes for a really thick and creamy base. So, my dinner had lots of that, AAAAAAAAAANNNNDD I got chocolate cheesecake (freakin delicious) and strawberry mousse (could not tell at all that it's raw), both of which contained lots of nuts and sweeteners. (For those health foodies like me, I must note that the raw desserts and possibly parts of the main course were not vegan as they contained honey.) Anyway, I loved it all.
Today I did pure cardio and cardio abs. I wasn't at all in the mood to do it. I was not thinking and I started to work out right after I ate. Bad idea. 4/5 into the warm up I started to get naseous and I stopped for a bit, took a rest and started up again and luckily I didn't get sick. I got through it all and thought that I didn't need to do the cool-down of the Pure Cardio and warm-up for Cardio abs, so that cut out 5-10 minutes that I did last time cooling down and re-warming up. Pure Cardio was normal -- I'm not starting to get bored, per se; I know all the moves and I've even memorized some of the stuff he says. The thing that prevents me from being bored is that I'm not master at all the moves yet. I still HATE mountain climbers and I still died exhausted in the end with the get up/get down drills. The Cardio Abs was slightly easier this time around, and it's nice to be able to focus on endurance and stamina after I've got form covered.
Tomorrow I'm going to Mt. High, and it's Cardio Recovery day. Depending on how hard I snowboard I may or may not do Cardio Recovery. We'll see.
Today I did pure cardio and cardio abs. I wasn't at all in the mood to do it. I was not thinking and I started to work out right after I ate. Bad idea. 4/5 into the warm up I started to get naseous and I stopped for a bit, took a rest and started up again and luckily I didn't get sick. I got through it all and thought that I didn't need to do the cool-down of the Pure Cardio and warm-up for Cardio abs, so that cut out 5-10 minutes that I did last time cooling down and re-warming up. Pure Cardio was normal -- I'm not starting to get bored, per se; I know all the moves and I've even memorized some of the stuff he says. The thing that prevents me from being bored is that I'm not master at all the moves yet. I still HATE mountain climbers and I still died exhausted in the end with the get up/get down drills. The Cardio Abs was slightly easier this time around, and it's nice to be able to focus on endurance and stamina after I've got form covered.
Tomorrow I'm going to Mt. High, and it's Cardio Recovery day. Depending on how hard I snowboard I may or may not do Cardio Recovery. We'll see.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Insanity, Day 15: Plyometrics
Last night:
56.6% tbw
18.6% body fat
This morn:
117.6 lbs
26" waist
I can't win... seems like if my body fat is high my weight is low? It's water weight. If I were more hydrated last night, I would have had a lower body fat but a higher weight. But obviously what's more important for me right now (for me right now meaning, I know I'm healthy the way I am, I would just like to improve my physical fitness and lose more body fat) is how I look. I'm not sure if this dress I'm wearing today was always this loose, but it is. So is the belt that goes at the top of my ribs. I know the belt was always loose, and I was pretty small in 2008 when I bought this dress, but I may or may not be imagining that the belt is more loose than it was before.
Plyometrics was last night. It was really tough. The parts that were tough were the parts on the floor -- the push ups, the ski push up sit up things, the in and out. Those started to hurt my shoulders and I would rest for my shoulders, not my core. The part in the end, with the jabs and hooks, is a good way for me to calm my heartbeat while still keeping it up, but I don't know if I'm doing it right: are my hips supposed to move? Am I supposed to go side to side? I notice I bounce -- is that bad? Am I squatting down far enough?
Also, is it just me or is it sometimes hard to follow along with the video? When the camera cuts to some of the other participants, I feel like they're going at a different speed than the speed I was just going. It's as if they cut together parts of the same exercise but in different circuits.
I suck at following a food plan. Food yesterday consisted of berry hemp shake, apple, asian pear, Gardein crispy chiken strips, lots of nuts ( :( I had no snacks...), garden burger patty, 2 non-chicken nuggets, some dark chocolate and lastly, soy protein powder. Not going to do the break down as I was eating much on emotion yesterday. I haven't been getting great sleep lately, and I got home later than I wanted to. I reeeeeeeaaally didn't want to pay attention to what I was eating or even work out. I'm glad I did.
Since this is an exercise blog and I wanted to share everything, I will -- but be aware that the rest of this post may fall into "TMI" so you can stop reading -now- if you don't like details!
Usually, I exercise great for three weeks and then stop during "that time of the month." It is so hard to work out during that time as I'm going through the natural hormonal changes of my body that dictate how my body and mind feel, always in a bad way. So it always discourages me. I will need motivation to get through that when it comes... I can do it! I can't quit!
56.6% tbw
18.6% body fat
This morn:
117.6 lbs
26" waist
I can't win... seems like if my body fat is high my weight is low? It's water weight. If I were more hydrated last night, I would have had a lower body fat but a higher weight. But obviously what's more important for me right now (for me right now meaning, I know I'm healthy the way I am, I would just like to improve my physical fitness and lose more body fat) is how I look. I'm not sure if this dress I'm wearing today was always this loose, but it is. So is the belt that goes at the top of my ribs. I know the belt was always loose, and I was pretty small in 2008 when I bought this dress, but I may or may not be imagining that the belt is more loose than it was before.
Plyometrics was last night. It was really tough. The parts that were tough were the parts on the floor -- the push ups, the ski push up sit up things, the in and out. Those started to hurt my shoulders and I would rest for my shoulders, not my core. The part in the end, with the jabs and hooks, is a good way for me to calm my heartbeat while still keeping it up, but I don't know if I'm doing it right: are my hips supposed to move? Am I supposed to go side to side? I notice I bounce -- is that bad? Am I squatting down far enough?
Also, is it just me or is it sometimes hard to follow along with the video? When the camera cuts to some of the other participants, I feel like they're going at a different speed than the speed I was just going. It's as if they cut together parts of the same exercise but in different circuits.
I suck at following a food plan. Food yesterday consisted of berry hemp shake, apple, asian pear, Gardein crispy chiken strips, lots of nuts ( :( I had no snacks...), garden burger patty, 2 non-chicken nuggets, some dark chocolate and lastly, soy protein powder. Not going to do the break down as I was eating much on emotion yesterday. I haven't been getting great sleep lately, and I got home later than I wanted to. I reeeeeeeaaally didn't want to pay attention to what I was eating or even work out. I'm glad I did.
Since this is an exercise blog and I wanted to share everything, I will -- but be aware that the rest of this post may fall into "TMI" so you can stop reading -now- if you don't like details!
Usually, I exercise great for three weeks and then stop during "that time of the month." It is so hard to work out during that time as I'm going through the natural hormonal changes of my body that dictate how my body and mind feel, always in a bad way. So it always discourages me. I will need motivation to get through that when it comes... I can do it! I can't quit!
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