Third day in ...cruising right along!

Hunger...what is it...why does it exist? Hmmm...I guess it's to let you know you need to eat. Now...the thing is that you sometimes have to have a little hunger when you're going into a caloric deficit so you can get a little tighter/leaner. So, today I have that hunger. Yep! Sure do! But I know tomorrow I get to have a "refeed", a caloric surplus! That's better to have only every once in a while instead of every day, don't you think? Haha!

So in the midst of this hunger, I thought to myself..."Self, make yourself some kale chips to tie you over." And guess what Self said? Self agreed that that was a fantastic idea. So they are currently in the oven and I can't wait. I made my usual olive oil and sea salt. And I also made Cheesy Italian Kale Chips. Can't wait to try these. I just put in olive oil, sea salt, bruschetta seasoning, garlic powder, grated parmesan, and red pepper flakes. Smells fantastic. The key to kale chips, for me anyway, is to use enough sea salt to balance out the bitterness of the kale. I think I will have to try some Asian style kale chips next. Mmmm...sesame oil, sesame seeds, soy sauce, garlic sauce, rice vinegar?...oh boy! Those sound delish! Must try next time. I still have 2 bunches of kale so I must think of something!

Today marks the third day of my new plan. So far I really like it. I'm not as strict with myself as I had been before. I make sure to meet my macronutrients and I'm making sure to eat pre- and post-workout accordingly. I readjust my eating "plan" for the day to make sure my higher calories and carbs are around my workout. So far so good. I'm going to do this for about 4 weeks unless I feel terrible then I'll change something after a couple of weeks. But at least 2 weeks.

Since I'm still injured (tennis elbow) I have to watch what upper body I do, as well as not being able to do squats with the weight I like or do deadlifts really at all. It's just too much strain for my elbow. In the meantime I'm icing the heck out of my elbow and just letting it heal. So far so good. It will take a while but I'm being patient and doing what I can in the meantime. This means no "flies" - as in chest fly, reverse fly. Also I can't do side lat raise! DEFINITE NO on that...very painful. Front lat raise hurts slightly so I just did super light weights. So yesterday this was my SHOULDER and CHEST REHAB/BEGINNER WORKOUT:

Dumbbell Shoulder Press 1x12 15#, 3x10 20#
Side-leaning Side Lat Raise 1x10 15# - NOT GOOD
Dumbbell Front Lat Raise 3x10 10#
Incline Rear Delt Raise (bending elbows & moving dumbbells toward forehead) 3x10 10#
Incline DB Chest Press 3x12 15#
Arnold Press 3x10 15#
Push Ups off Dumbbells 1x6 - ALSO NOT GOOD

Tabata fnisher: 8 rounds - 2 of each, 20 seconds push, 10 seconds rest
1) Speed squats
2) Burpees
3) Mountain climbers
4) Speed skip

It was a good workout and definitely had me sweating by the end. Keep in mind that I haven't worked out for quite a while so my body's trying to re-acclimate. My quads were already a little sore from the day before's beach workout. And today, they were even sorer.

OH MY LORD! The kale chips are out and I am most certainly making the Cheesy Italian Kale Chips again...very very soon! They are AMAZING!!!! The other ones taste so blah in comparison! HA! Oh well...now I know!


This was today's HAMMIES and GLUTES and ABS WORKOUT:
Warm-up:
10 x Nick Tumminello's 4-point squat
10 per leg bodyweight reverse lunges, alternating legs
10 per leg front-to-back leg swing
10 per leg adductor/abductor leg swing
10 per leg high knee to lunge
10 x Nick Tumminello's 4-point squat

Full squat with bar 12 to warm up - bar only, 3x8 95#
Single leg deadlift 3x10 20 #DB
Shoulder-elevated Hip Thrust 3x10 35# plate
Walking Lunges w/ 35# bar 3x10 each leg
Back Extension (glute focus) 3x10 10# plate
Crunch on Bosu 1x20, 2x10
Hip Lifts 3x10
Oblique Twists 3x10 each side

After I finished this workout I would have sworn that I had done straight quad work the entire time. My quads were TIRED! I went for a massage later though and she worked out my quads and they feel better. My body is just very busy "remembering" what it was like to work out! LOL!

In case you want a real "recipe" for the kale chips, this is how it went down. Measurements are approximate. I didn't actually measure anything except the oil and parmesan.

CHEESY ITALIAN KALE CHIPS

1/2 bunch kale, removed from stems in similar size pieces - washed and spun dry in salad spinner

1/2 t olive oil (can use more if you desire)

1/2 t sea salt

3 teaspoons bruschetta seasoning (or some kind of Italian seasoning)

1/2 t garlic powder

1 t crushed red pepper

4 teaspoons grated parmesan cheese

Mix all together in bowl and spread on non-stick cookie sheet or foil-lined cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for about 10-15 minutes, turning and moving around about every 3-5 minutes. That's it. Remove and eat! Yummy!

Aah...there! My novel is complete! Hope you enjoyed it and had a great day! Have a nice rest of your week. Only 9 more days till Carmageddon! It's gonna be TERRIBLE! But the good news is that the cafe on the next street is having a street party from 11am to 4pm that day! I think I'll have to go join the festivities, and wave to the people trying to follow the detours!!

Cinnamon Danish with Toasted Almonds & Caramel

Cinnamon Danish with Toasted Almonds and Caramel (A Frankenfood Concoction)

So this was spawned off of the Chocolate Protein Cake recipe and I have to say that I'm very pleased with the result. I know it's not totally carb free but 1 T coconut flour only has 30 calories, 1 gram fat, 4 g carbs, 1 grab protein.

3/4 scoop protein (I used Muscle Gauge Cinnamon Bun)
1 T coconut flour
1/4 t baking soda
1/8-1/4 t granulated stevia
2 egg whites
1 T applesauce
2-4 Capella drops (cinnamon danish swirl)
water
1 T sliced almonds, lightly toasted
1-2 T Walden Farms caramel dip

Mix all together in a mug and microwave for 1-2 minutes. Remove and run knife around edge of cake. Empty onto plate. Cut in half. Heat desired amount of caramel dip and spread on top of cake then sprinkle almonds over. Yummy!

Rest Day!!

Now when I say rest I don't mean it like I used to!!! No, not at all! Before rest meant I did nothing. I woke up in the morning and took my shower, ate my breakfast and relaxed before heading off to work and then come home to rest/relax some more. Oh boy! Those are definitely the "good ol' days"!!!!

The good thing is that it IS a rest day. I still was up early this morning and on the treadmill for 45 minutes at 4.7 on 15% incline. I actually wanted to be on the stepmill but alas, there were only 2 and they were both taken. So now I have many days of stepmill ahead of me (at least 4!). I'll be able to do it though. It will just be a matter of getting ON the stepmill.

So I worked out, went to work and now I'm home. I'll be able to eat my final meal at about 8:30 and then I get to hit the sack! I'm tired. I didn't sleep well for the past two nights so I really need my sleep and that's what's happening tonight.

These are my meals for today:
1) Spelt flakes with protein powder "milk" and Voskos yogurt
2) Egg whites and oatmeal
3) Brown rice medley and turkey w/ pico de gallo
4) Spelt flakes with protein powder "milk"
5) Tilapia with oil-free tabouli and green beans
6) Shirataki noodles with shrimp and asparagus and MORE tabouli and olive oil
7) Will be egg white veggie omelet and some almonds or walnuts...hmmm...which it will be?

Meal 6 - Shiritaki noodles with shrimp, asparagus, tabouli, olive oil

So that's about it for me. It's off to wash dishes and pack meals for tomorrow and it's going to be a great night of sleep...zzzzzzzzzzzzzz....

Until tomorrow then! Have a fantastic evening.

 “Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life’s about creating yourself.” ~ George Bernard Shaw

Goodbye Sunday...here comes Monday

I just finished my last meal of the day. It was surprisingly delicious! Let me tell you. It's going to sound weird to almost all of you but it was "Mock Egg Fried Rice". Just look at it. And I also got to have some oil so I made keem (seaweed) toasted and brushed with sesame oil and sprinkled with sea salt. I used that as my "bread" to scoop up my fried rice. Look at it! Tasty or what!!!!

"Fried Rice Handroll"

Keem or Kim (THE Korean potato chip substitute)

Cauliflower Rice

Cauliflower Rice

1 red bell pepper

1 zucchini

6 mushrooms

fresh parsley

fresh oregano

1 head of cauliflower

garlic powder 

onion powder

Kroger's Zesty Herb Blend

sea salt

pepper

 

Chop all veggies except cauliflower by hand or (as I did) in the food processor. Process cauliflower in food processor with grater blade so it looks like rice. Heat pan and spray with cooking spray. Add all veggies, herbs, and seasonings except cauliflower. Stir briefly. Add cauliflower and salt and pepper to taste. Cook just until cauliflower is soft. 

Mock Egg Fried Rice

1-2 cups of Cauliflower Rice

4 egg whites

Heat pan and spray with cooking spray. Beat egg whites together and pour in pan. Let cook a minute or 2 then add Cauliflower Rice and keep stirring until all is mixed well.

That's about it. I had a good day but really didn't accomplish much at all. I did make some muffins though so that's good. Tomorrow's another day! I better hit the sack! Good night everyone!

I've got noodles for legs!!

Well, I guess I must feel really bad about not getting back to the gym yesterday because I really made up for it today. I got up fairly early (6:30 or so) and got to the gym. For once there was an available stepmill. So I hopped on it for 45 minutes at Level 5 for single step and Level 7 for every other step. I've increased my level and I was feeling it. I got home and couldn't get warm so I thought it would be best to take a nap to warm up! LOL! It worked. I was warm and comfy. I knew I had another workout to face so I got up and ate Meal 2:

4 egg whites with salsa, 1 slice toast, 1/2 cup strawberries

After that I talked myself into going to the track. It was a hard conversation!! The weather was overcast so it really wasn't very motivating. But I did my track workout and it felt good except my knee started to hurt a little. Do you think it was complaining about the activity? Yeah, I think so. Note to self: No stepmill on the same day as track workout!!

I met a friend for dinner and to go see "Date Night". I really enjoyed the movie. It was just light and funny and a nice escape from reality. Dinner was also quite good - chicken with salad and roasted veggies. Yummy! And best of all is that I didn't have to cook it!

On my way home I wanted frozen yogurt but resisted the temptation. I went to Trader Joe's to pick up some zucchini and ended up with some of these Think Thin Bites. Oh, yes, tasty indeed! Good thing they're portion controlled for me. I just wanted a little something sweet and this did it for me. They have no sugar and they are low calorie and gluten free!

Once bitten...well, twice!

Nutrition Info: 100 calories, 4 g fat, 7 g carbs, 6 g protein

That's about it for today. I have much baking to do tomorrow and some shopping so I'll keep you posted as to what happens. And, yeah! Tomorrow is a REST day! Can't wait to do nothing physically. Should be great. And I'll be ready for Monday.

 

“Opportunities to find deeper powers within ourselves come when life seems most challenging.” ~Joseph Campbell

New Grocery Find!

I mentioned in my earlier post that I found some new things to try at Whole Foods. One of them I just baked up and let me tell you!!! It is going to be my new favorite. For all you gluten intolerant people I think you'll like it. If you know what mochi is and you like it, you will like this for sure! I, personally, am a HUGE mochi fan. They come in a package from the company Grainaissance. I bought the original (plain) and baked them just like it said to do on the package. When they come out they are crispy on the top and chewy on the bottom. I am a BIG chewy fan so these are going to be so great for me...SO GREAT!! Can you tell I'm excited about them? Next time I will have to try steaming them and getting a full on chewy fix! I dipped them in agave mixed with a little cinnamon...tasty! I also really want to try the cashew date one. Not sure of the ingredients but can't be THAT bad for you. After all the ingredients for the original are organic sweet brown rice and filtered water! Can you stand it? AWESOME!!!!! They come in Raisin-Cinnamon, Sesame-Garlic, Super Seed, Chocolate Brownie, Cashew-Date, Original, Wheatgrass with Mugwort, and Pizza. They only had the original, super seed, sesame garlic and cashew date at my store. The only other one that sounded tasty though is the Raisin Cinnamon. I'll keep you posted if I try another!