Going Primal Tracking

Still tracking on my Going Primal experiment over at my main blog. You can find my Day 19 there. Also, a Primal grocery haul and a post on exactly what primal and paleo are.

Changes

I originally started this Adventures in Tracking blog for those interested in the daily tracking of my food, exercise, etc. On my Adventures in Dietland blog I was posting very regularly and didn't want to bombard those not interested in the daily stuff with a bazillion posts.


Since then our homeschool year has started (and some other life things) and I am not finding time to keep up with so many blogs! So for at least the rest of my Going Primal series my tracking vlogs/posts will be over at my main blog.


You can find days 12, 13, and 14 here.


I may consolidate the two blogs and get rid of this one long term. We'll see!

Going Primal Days 9, 10 and 11. Plus 5k Recap

Got days 9 and part of 10 on the vlog, took day 11 off from vlogging.

Things are going fantastic. I'm excited to see what my weigh in is tomorrow. I feel thinner. My clothes fit looser. I feel great. Really enjoying Primal.

My 5k however was HORRIBLE. OK, it wasn't that bad, but it WAS pitiful. It let me know just how much I have let my fitness go over the summer. Not that I haven't been working out, but it's been hit and miss, definitely much less than needed for me to be at the level of fitness I'm happy with. My race time was 38+ minutes, which for me is not good. My fastest 5k was 32 and change. I was just too out of shape, my lungs couldn't keep up. I had such a great training plan, but just didn't follow through with it. But, I'm taking that as my little wake up call and hitting it hard getting back at it.

I'm back to planning my workouts. I like the structure. Not that it's rigid and I can't change things up if I feel like it any particular day, but I find that a plan WORKS for me. I'm going to start out just planning a week at a time.

Going Primal Days 6, 7, and 8

Days 1 and 2 of Going Primal

I posted this video (along with my starting stats) on my main blog, but wanted to go ahead and do a regular tracking post over here.

I'm excited to add back in a few things I missed on my hardcore 30 days of Paleo. LOVING having the organic whipping cream for my coffee. Also, I'm glad to have some whey protein smoothies back. I went back to my Jay Robb Whey Protein. It seemed to fit the suggestions from The Primal Blueprint best (other than Primal Fuel that he sells of course). It's whey protein isolate with as little junk as possible. Those two things are the only things much different from my Paleo eating so far. But they're also much enjoyed!

I'm just a few days in, but so far so good. (Oh, and the pancake in the video was an utter failure, will try again!) Still feeling great. I think the scale may actually be moving finally! Not that I was worried about that ;)

I'm going to try and stick as true to Primal workouts as I can, but I really ENJOY workout DVDs so I will be throwing a lot of those in whether they are what everyone would consider 'primal' or not. I think for the weights workouts and intense workouts he discusses they will work for me. He discusses striving for variety, my goal is to not repeat a workout DVD all month! I think I can stick to the basic purposes of the workouts he discusses while being creative with what I have and enjoy.

I took off tracking for the long weekend. I did two long walks. 6.2 miles on Saturday and 5 miles on Monday. In The Primal Blueprint Mark Sisson suggests really upping your lower level activity (walking, hiking, etc) in trying to lose weight. Will it help me? We'll see Wednesday! That's my first weigh in day.

Paleo Last Vlog

I decided 3 weeks of tracking my Paleo eating and exercise via daily vlogs was enough. My goal was to give a good idea of what going Paleo looked like for me and I think I've done that. Also, I may do the daily vlogs again to track my Primal experiment in September, so I thought I'd take this last week off. 

My final thoughts, weigh in, and measurements will be on my main blog August 31st, if you're interested!

Paleo Days 17 through 21

I skipped part of day 20 and took all of day 21 off from filming. So far I've done three weeks of daily vlogs. I'm not sure if I'll continue this last week or not. Mostly I wanted to give a good overview of what going paleo looked like for me, what I'd be eating, etc. I think I've done that. We'll see.

Oh yes, and on day 20 I had my first non-paleo splurge. I had a venti iced skinny vanilla latte at Starbucks. Leave it to me for my splurge to be coffee related!

You can see my week 3 weigh in and measurements here if you're interested. 

Paleo Days 15 and 16

I see I forgot to show breakfast for day 15. It was...leftovers! From dinner the night before. Huge surprise, I know.

I'm not going to lie, this has been far easier than I had imagined. Far easier than last time I tried to go Paleo. Don't get me wrong, I'm very thankful for that, but at the same time I'm a bit surprised. I expected withdrawals like crazy the first week, I expected crazy cravings, I expected it to be tough. But it hasn't been. It's been, dare I say, easy for me this time around. I think there's a few reasons why:

1. I was excited for it. I was just plain excited to 'go Paleo'. I researched, found blogs, bought books, went crazy. I think the excitement (and positive attitude) towards this is a huge reason it's been easier. My attitude isn't oh I 'can't eat that' it's I 'choose not to eat that'.
2. My motivation. I haven't talked a whole lot about why exactly I went Paleo, but it's had a lot to do with why it's gone well I think. I'll do a whole post on my main blog about that soon.
3. I was prepared. I shopped, I sought out recipes, I did my research, I planned meals, etc, etc. I was super prepared this time around. I set myself up for success.
4. Instead of jumping off, I went into it slowly. Yes, August 1st I was full Paleo, but prior to that I stepped down with non-paleo foods instead of going cold turkey in one day.

So, I'm still enjoying myself with this. Still feeling great. Still having fun with it. Hooray!

If you're interested, here's a link to the mayo recipe I used in the video. The eggs I used: http://www.safeeggs.com/.  After it was in the refrigerator a bit, it's perfect! Even hubby loves it. He said it's 'tangier' than regular mayo. I think I was noticing the apple cider vinegar because I knew it was in there. He couldn't even tell.

Paleo days 11, 12, 13, and 14

I think people might be getting bored with vlogs every single day! Understandably so. I may do two or three days at a time for the rest of the month. Not sure. But here is 11-14:

I may have missed videoing a meal or two in there, I never skipped eating a meal, so if one day is missing dinner or something, I just forgot to get that on camera. 


That cake at my Grandma's birthday looked amazing, but I didn't have any. I didn't want to. I thought about how crappy I would likely feel after (physically crappy, not beating myself up crappy) and skipped it. I did fairly well that day. Eating at someone's house can be tough, especially BBQ's. But I think I faired pretty well. The ranch dressing was the only thing questionable.

Still feeling great. If you missed my review of Everyday Paleo (the book MANY of my recipes have been coming from), it's here. I Weighed in on my main blog today if you're interested in my stats for week 2. On to week 3!

Paleo Day 10

For some reason I was totally just not hungry. I went with my body and how it was feeling. I did have 3 handfuls of the blueberries shown at the end and was completely happy with that. I think my body is just adjusting. Not going to force-feed myself.

Got up WAY too early. Not sure what was up with that, but I was just wide awake at 3:30. I was a little sleepy in the afternoon, but wasn't tired enough to go to bed until 9:30. I expected to be crashing at 8!

Took an unplanned rest day because I was so freaking sore. 

Do you have people in your life that try to feed your kids junk like they're on a mission?

The Coconut Cream Concentrate shown: http://tinyurl.com/3elgxgf I think I'm going to like it.

Paleo Day 9

I reviewed Everyday Paleo at my main blog today, if you're interested click here.

The Coconut Cream Concentrate shown: http://tinyurl.com/3elgxgf

Paleo Day 8

Day 8, short and sweet ;)

Paleo Days 6 and 7

I hope you enjoy some of the random my life type things I threw in from our weekend! The video says days 5 and 6. Oops, guess I can't count when I'm tired.

You can see my weigh in and other thoughts from the week here.

Obviously there are some things I need to change this week. I just watched last week's vlogs and it was pretty obvious. Too many nuts. More fruit than veggies. Need more consistent workouts. Easy fixes.

Paleo Day 5

I know I keep saying I'm feeling good over and over. But I am. Noticeably so. 

I had been feeling sort of sluggish, low energy, just not as well the past few months. Which is part of the reason I picked Paleo: I felt that lower carb was exactly what I needed. And I was right. I am feeling great.

My energy is up and I just feel overall better. More 'with it' if that makes any sense. Whether or not I'm losing weight I take this as a huge step in the right direction.

Paleo Day 4

I said this year was about stepping out of my comfort zone, and let me tell you doing vlogs with no makeup on or my hair looking like crap is hugely outside my comfort zone. I know that sounds silly and vain, but it's true. Makeup is like my blankie. Oh well, I'll just wave to my comfort zone from over here.

Anyway! Still doing well. Feeling great. The scale isn't moving much, which may have to do with being that time of the month, or I may need to tweak things like less nuts. We'll see. I'm not even a full week into this, so I'm not worried. This is a learning process for me. I also think I may be having issues with the guar gum in the canned coconut milk I'm using in my coffee. I ordered some coconut cream concentrate from tropicaltraditions.com. Hoping that will be better.
1-Pint (16-oz) - Coconut Cream Concentrate

I'm excited to see what my weigh in is like Monday! That will be over at my main blog.

Paleo Day 3

Day 3 was awesome. I was a little hungrier for some reason; I feel like I ate a TON of food, but I just went with my hunger. Still no headaches or withdrawal stuff, I think I'm in the clear!

I'm working on getting back into my early morning routine. I used to get up at 4:30ish every morning and loved it. The quiet time before everyone gets up is bliss around here. Working towards that. I also used to get my workouts in then too. Which was fantastic. It's harder to get them in later in the day. Before we start our homeschool school year I hope to be back to all of that.

The Egg Cupcakes were fantastic, hubby likes them too. I doubled the batch. I think I'm going to try and make a batch every Sunday just for those days we are in a hurry or don't feel like cooking. The Meatloaf was yummy too. My kids and hubby liked it.

Paleo Day 2

Today (Tuesday) went great, no withdrawal stuff at all. No headaches, fatigue etc. Here's hoping I get off without any! Right now, I feel really great.

On Paleo I'm not doing any tracking or calorie counting. The only food tracking I'm doing is on here with the vlogs. I find it helps me be mindful of what I'm eating, but I am definitely paying closer attention to my body because I don't have the calorie counting to fall back on for how much I 'should' be eating. Very interesting. For instance I 'wanted' seconds of dinner, but realized I was full and didn't have any. I'm fascinated to see where this all takes me weight-wise. Mentally it's AWESOME.

Another thing I want to mention is that some of the recipes from the Everyday Paleo I modified a bit, for instance the Pecan crusted Chicken had honey as optional and I left it out. The Rockin' Moroccan Chicken called for raisins and green olives and I left those out. I'm going with no sweeteners or dried fruit at all. The olives, I just don't like green olives.

I'm a little confused on the nuts and fruit as far as trying to lose weight. Going to try to go by the scale and maybe look back at one of the Paleo books I have.

I will be reviewing the cookbook and the Cathe workout I mentioned in this vlog on my main blog soon.

Paleo Day 1

I've decided I'm going to try to do daily vlogs to track instead of just posts with pics. It actually seems easier to me to just shoot my meals with my flip, then a little daily wrap up, then upload the whole thing. Done. The other way I have to take pics of all my meals, email them to myself, download them, upload to a blog post, etc, etc. 


You can see my beginning stats here.

My meals, workout, thoughts for day 1 of going Paleo:

Site I mentioned in this vlog: robbwolf.com. 
Cookbook shown: 

Coconut oil I'm using:
32-oz. - Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil - 1 quart

Paleo Experiment...coming soon!

Starting August 1st I will be tracking my Paleo month!

I know I've been absent from this blog, but I hope to at least picture track my food for my little 30 day Paleo experiment. I'm looking into a new phone which will make that MUCH easier.

I've tried Paleo before and failed. This time around I'm doing more preparation to ensure that doesn't happen. I'm hoping by stocking up on cookbooks, like the one pictured above, I will keep enough variety in my eating that this time will be a success. I'm also working on stocking my refrigerator and pantry with tons of paleo foods. Planning for success this time!

The Firm Express Thin in 30 week 3 update

I have not been keeping up with my tracking blog. Life has been busy.


Originally I was giving myself a calorie range of 1600-1800. But weight loss ground to a halt, so now I am giving myself a range of 1500-1600. It's what works for me!


I am keeping with The Firm schedule, but adding in much more cardio. With my fitness level and my goals, it's what works. I think with any program that is the most important thing: finding what works best for our bodies!


This week will be my last week of my The Firm Express Thin in 30 trial. I'm excited to see what my weight and inches are.

Days 3, 4, 5, and 6 Recaps The Firm Express Thin in 30 Review/Results

Crazy busy around here. Totally dropped the ball on my tracking blog. I've still been tracking on sparkpeople, just haven't gotten posts done on here!


I'm just going to do a quick recap, sorry no pics.


Thursday my calories were 1680. It was a rest day, so no workout.


Friday, Saturday, and Sunday I decided to take the plunge and test out the 1800 calories recommendation, so each of those days my calories were 1800-1825.


Friday my workout was Ignite Cardio+Sculpt. I didn't get my run in as planned this weekend. Saturday and Sunday were rest days.


My results for the week will be over at www.katdoesdiets.com soon!

Day 2 The Firm Express Thin in 30

Breakfast was the same as yesterday. I'm mildly obsessed with this cashew butter.

Snack 1 was fat free milk with BSN Lean Dessert protein in Whipped Vanilla Cream and ice. YUM.

Lunch was a tuna wrap with a pink lady apple (the plan called for a granny smith, but I subbed).

Snack 2...I'm working on a new green tea smoothie recipe...so yum. This was Lean Dessert vanilla, fat free milk, 1/2 tsp matcha green tea powder, and ice. Still trying to get a pic of how GREEN this smoothie is, lol.

Chicken parmesan recipe from the booklet, I swapped Ragu light for plain tomato sauce and left out the pasta. Super yum.

Snack 3 was a toasted sandwich thin with cashew butter.

My total calories for the day were 1673. No workout.

Day 1 The Firm Express Thin in 30

Yesterday was my first day of The Firm Express Thin in 30...you can read my results for The 4 Day Kick Start Plan here.


It was a pretty hectic day, our first day back to our normal homeschool routine after spring break. I didn't get pics of all my eats, but I tracked everything on Sparkpeople.  Here's the ones I did get:

Breakfast was a Double Fiber English Muffin with 1 Tblsp cashew butter (I'm in love with this new cashew butter I found, it'll be in my next Things I'm Loving Right Now vlog) with a cup of coffee with 1 Tblsp half & half.

Snack 1 was a chocolate whey smoothie with fat free milk.

Lunch was the sandwich from the 4 day kick start plan, it's definitely staying in my meal rotation. I love it. I added 4 oz of chicken breast this time though.

Snack 2 was another smoothie with BSN lean desert protein in whipped vanilla cream and fat free milk. I love my whey protein smoothies and they were the only thing I really missed in the 4 day kick start plan. They're BACK, big time ;)

As I write this I don't remember what else I ate, lol. But my sparkpeople says my calories were 1660 for the day.


My workout was Ignite: Sculpt. I used 10 and 15 pound weights. 


Because these workouts are so much less than I'm used to I really plan to take this time to focus on getting my eating right. 

Day 4 Recap The Firm Express 4 Day Kick Start

Day 4 was a little tough. I was really tired and always get munchy and huge cravings for sweets and carbs when I'm over-tired. I fought them though, and only wound up a little off plan.


Day 4:

Breakfast was an egg sandwich. I substituted a Sandwich Thin for the English muffin the plan called for and added 1 Tbsp Salsa that wasn't on the plan. I also had coffee with 1 Tblsp H &H again. Still fighting lack of sleep and just couldn't ditch my morning coffee.

Snack 1 was 0% Fage with Strawberries. Snack 2 was 3 oz of Low sodium turkey deli meat. Snack 3 was:

Frozen strawberries and unsweetened vanilla almond milk blended to a smoothie. I really missed my whey protein here. In fact, that's the only thing I missed on this plan (other than coffee w/ half & half, which I added in). The plan called for skim milk, but I subbed.

My last snack was 12 almonds. Dinner was the Southwest turkey burger, but no salad. After dinner I had an apple and 3 strawberries that weren't on the plan. I was fending off my cravings.


My workout was:
Overdrive Sculpt
Accelerate Cardio
Bonus DVD Pump it up!
Total time was 54 minutes (I skipped the cool down in the first 2 DVDs)
Calories burned was 450 (still not sure my Polar is working exactly right)


My final stats, results, and thoughts on this Kick Start Plan will be on my main blog today or tomorrow maybe.


Have an awesome Friday!

Day 3 Recap The Firm Express 4 Day Kick Start

Still so tired, teen is on antibiotics, but it still went into an ear infection, so I was up half the night with him because of that. So funny that he's still such a baby when he's sick.

So, yes, I caved and had coffee again. With 1 Tblsp half & half it adds 20 calories, I'm OK with that. Doing my best! But I realize these little tweaks may affect my results.

Breakfast was Coach's Oats with 1/2 cup blueberries and 1 Tblsp Walnuts; coffee with 1 Tblsp h & h; 1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (plan calls for fat free milk, but this is what I had)

Snack 1 was 6 oz 0% Fage with 2/3 cup strawberries.

And...that's all the pics I took in my hectic day yesterday. The rest of my snacks were: an apple, 10 almonds, and a stalk of celery with 1 Tblsp natural peanut butter.

Lunch was the same sandwich and apple as yesterday. Dinner was 4 oz of lean sirloin with 1/2 a tomato (Plan called for spinach too, but I just didn't want it).

Also, total plan fail, I was seriously craving something sweet and I had a banana after dinner. I get that way when I'm tired. Usually I reach for ice cream or something worse. SO glad nothing like that is even in the house right now!

Workout was:
Turbocharge Cardio, Overdrive Sculpt, and Bonus DVD Pump it up!
It was roughly 50 minutes, but my (just got for Christmas!) Polar HR monitor wasn't reading. So, not sure what the calorie burn was either.

I have to say I like these workouts, but I'm looking forward to doing them in order and slowly learning the moves. Mixing up the more advanced phases in this 4 Day Kick Start, the moves tend to move pretty fast.

Other than the banana and coffee, I've stuck to the eating awesomely. I have to say I feel good, not hungry like I expected to be. I'm not beating myself up for still having coffee, etc it's been a seriously rough week and I'm proud of myself for sticking to everything as well as I have! Can I get a spring break do-over though? You know, one with more break in it.

Have a great day...I'm hoping I get a nap (not gonna happen, lol).

Day 2 The Firm Express 4 Day Kick Start

OK, I'm late with this...and sooo tired. My teen has been sick and extremely needy. I was up in the middle of the night with him the night before last and up at 4 am with him this morning...yawnnnnn. Between that and trying to keep the littler two away from him and occupied (it's our homeschool spring break, bummer way to spend it though, lol) I had quite the day yesterday. 


I did stick to the eating plan flawlessly. I did not get all the workouts in. In fact, it was 8:30 last night before I managed to squeeze in the 1 I did. LOL, silly me, I thought spring break would be the perfect time to start this.


Life happens I guess.


Day 2 went like this:

Breakfast was Coach's Oats with 1/2 cup fresh blueberries and 1 tablespoon chopped walnuts. I missed my vanilla whey
in my oats, but I liked this.

I'm not following the eating plan exactly. I chose instead to repeat a few meals and snacks to make it easier on the budget. They're almost the same in calorie count and it says you can swap them out.

Snack was 6 oz 0% Fage and 2/3 cup slice strawberries. YUM.

Lunch was basically the same as yesterday except I subbed low sodium chicken breast deli meat and a golden delicious apple. Really liking this sandwich.

I didn't get anymore pics. But for the rest of my snacks I had: 12 raw almonds, a stalk of celery with 1 tablespoon almond butter, and then 10 almonds. Dinner was another turkey burger, but without the salad. By the time I found time for dinner it was 8 pm and I wasn't that hungry.


Workout was:
Accelerate Cardio+Sculpt
Didn't wear my Polar. 
The moves on this were pretty fast paced and I think it'll take me another time through to get it.


So, yes, rough day, and not perfect, but I did my best...moving on!


Yawwwwwwwn. I think there will be coffee involved today.

Day 1 The Firm Express 4 Day Kick Start

I have to say I was shocked by my starting stats for this. 


Mostly by the weight, I never wanted to see the 190's again, yet here I am. But also by the measurements. I've obviously gained some fat since ending The 4 Hour Body, but I'm guessing I've gained some muscle too. Because even though my weight has gone up (by like 12 pounds!), some of my measurements have gone down?! Crazy. (no, I'm not beating myself up, I'm simply moving on from here!)


Anyway, Day 1 went like this:

My toaster makes little mickey mouse faces on toast, can't see it so good in the pic, I know irrelevant, but cute! Breakfast was 1 egg with 2 egg whites, tomatoes and broccoli. With that I had half a grapefruit plain and half of a Sandwich Thin toasted. I also had half a cup of coffee with a little half & half and cinnamon. The coffee was totally off plan, but I'm working my way down slowly. I was worried about the grapefruit, I've never been a big grapefruit fan, but I liked it. The plan also calls for no sugar and no sweetener, but the grapefruit actually wasn't too bad plain. 

One thing I did while shopping for this plan was instead of buying the light wheat bread, pita pockets, and English muffins it called for I bought Orowheat Sandwich Thins. My grocery budget was a little tight this week, so I'll substitute these for the pitas and English muffins. Also, instead of the light wheat bread I'll have half of a Sandwich Thin.

The system also comes with a sample of LifeMax supplements.  It's got some vitamins and minerals as well as energy ingredients like caffeine and ginseng, etc. I took one between my breakfast and workout.

Snack 1 was a golden delicious apple. (Yum)

Lunch was a low sodium turkey sandwich with lettuce tomato and avacado on a Sandwich Thin. The plan called for a peach on the side, but SuperTarget didn't have peaches, so I subbed a Pink Lady apple.

Snack 2-12 raw almonds.

Snacks 3 and 4 (I chose to add the optional snacks) I didn't get pics, they were: 10 raw almonds and 3 oz of low sodium deli turkey breast.

Dinner was a 4 oz southwest turkey burger with a green salad w/lemon juice.

Water: 3 liters (the plan recommendation is 64 oz or more, 3 liters is my typical intake, so I'll stick with that)

Workout:

Ignite: Cardio

Turbocharge: Sculpt

Bonus DVD: Pump it up!

Total time: 52 minutes. (the 4 day jump start plan has stacked workouts)

Calories burned: my Polar said 420

February 25th Tracking Post

I took a nice little break from my tracking blog, whoops.


I am back though because it does really help me when I know I'm posting and tracking everything on here, it makes me think more about what I'm putting in my face! I may not track every day, but I'm going to make an effort to track several times a week on here.


Today:

Breakfast was 1/4 cup (uncooked measure) Coach's Oats with a scoop of vanilla whey protein and 1 cup of fresh strawberries. YUM.

My workout was 30 Day Shred Level 1 with 10 lb weights.

Post workout snack was mint chocolate whey protein mixed with water.

 Lunch I devoured before I remembered to take a pic! It was a can of Campbell's Select Harvest Light Southwestern-Style Vegetable soup with some added chicken breast.
Snack, again forgot pic, I had 1 cup of 2% fage with half of a small banana.
Then, about 3 I had a cup of coffee with 2 Tblsp half & half.

Dinner was italian/herb chicken breast with a spring salad mix topped with Litehouse Pomegranate Blueberry Vinaigrette dressing and 1 cup of broccoli cauliflower mix. Plus, 1 cup fat free milk.

Calories: 1370
Carbs: 127
Fat: 21
Protein: 171

Good-Bye The 4 Hour Body

You can read my results, final thoughts, etc on The 4-Hour Body here on my regular blog. But yes, I am done with it. So...onward!


I am not sure what my next hype or help experiment will be. Not going to lie I am hoping for some sponsored ones. 


In the meantime I am going old school: tracking. Tracking calories in and calories out. Good old consistency with food choices and workouts. I am going to keep one off day, or higher calorie day. Again, I'll be tracking all my food, workouts, etc here.


So....December of doing my own thing resulted in 4 pounds lost, 3 weeks on The 4-Hour Body resulted in 2 pounds lost, what will some good old fashioned calorie counting do? I'm game to fine out!

Day 17 Review on The 4-Hour Body

Today was an odd day, I did the best I could.


Got up and immediately did the .5 L ice water and then supplements. Then had a Muscle Milk. I was helping hubby and boys get out the door to go get wood and didn't want to stop to cook myself breakfast. But, at least it was protein within a half hour of waking.


Then, I did my workout. Which was 32 minutes of Turbo Jam Fat Blaster with weighted gloves. 


I had planned to cook myself a more normal breakfast after the workout, but I was feeling sort of nauseous, not sure why. Possibly the supplements on not much to eat followed by a hardcore workout? So, I just had another Muscle Milk.

Lunch was spinach, purple onions, baby bella mushrooms, smoked turkey sausage, and navy beans sauteed in a little butter. Cooked double batch and had the same thing for dinner. This was very good. Had supplements before each. 

3 liters of water.
Nutrient breakdown:
Calories: 1524
Carbs: 88
Fat: 50
Protein: 121
Fiber: 23

Day 16 on The 4-Hour Body Plan

I feel back on track today. I had let my exercise slip (for me) and I think that was part of my issue with feeling frustrated/cranky. My workouts probably won't match up with the book's workouts, but I NEED my workouts. I don't own kettlebells and am not going to buy or make any right now, so I am back to my normal workout routine. I will incorporate his suggestions as much as I can (like the 5/5 cadence, etc). I'm running and doing my workout/weights DVDs. It works for me. I am however sticking diligently to the diet and diet related suggestions in the book. That was always my main focus of this experiment anyway.


Today:
Up at 7 am and had .5 L ice water. Then the supplements. Then breakfast.

1 cup All Whites with sauteed onion, mushrooms, roma tomato, and black beans. Sprinkled with a little garlic salt. Was very good.

Supplements, then lunch was 6.2 oz chicken breast with black beans and a roma tomato sprinkled with garlic salt and italian seasoning.

Post run I had a muscle milk.

Supplements, then dinner was 4 oz roasted chicken with broccoli, cauliflower, and black beans with a little butter.

I have decided to track my nutrient intake for this week, just curious where I am at with this plan. Today:
Calories: 1211
Protein: 134
Fat: 33
Carbs: 96
Fiber: 29


3 liters of water.
Workout was speed work at the track. Did 400 meter repeats. 2 miles total. Felt awesome! Burned 350 calories (via my Polar HR monitor)

Days 14 and 15 The 4-Hour Body Thoughts

OK, so I took a break from taking pics of all my meals yesterday and today. I'll be back with tomorrow's food. 


Yesterday was my off plan day. Had some yummy things, sort of similar to last week's. Today I'm right back on track, minus the coffee with cream that I'd been having. Also, making a point to get protein in within a half hour of waking.


As I've said before I've been struggling with the slow results. I wavered on just quitting the plan.


HOWEVER, I am going to give it at least one more week and maybe the full 30 days I planned. I don't want to wimp out on these Hype or Help Experiments! 


I am focusing on following the plan as set out in the book (The 4-Hour Body). (I've had lots of suggestions, but my focus here is testing what I can do from the book). I know I wasn't eating breakfast early enough. Never thought it was that big a deal, but I want to give the book a true test, so this week I will be sticking to the plan (as detailed in the book) to the letter.

Day 13 Wrap Up

After yesterday's post I had several twitter suggestions on things to change up. I also went back and re-read the common mistakes for the diet. So, starting today I will be tweaking: 

1. 1/2 liter of ice cold water upon waking.
2. Ditching the cream (and hence the coffee) except for my high calorie day. Will substitute hot tea.
3. Whey protein with water within a half hour of waking.

Weigh in is tomorrow. I'm debating whether to stick out the 30 day experiment or pick a new one. We'll see.

So, yesterday:

Breakfast was refried beans with chicken sausage, salsa and coffee with cream and cinnamon.

Lunch was weird, wasn't hungry, so had a whey protein with water shake, then an hour later refried beans with salsa.

Dinner was a stir fry with chicken sausage, peas, broccoli, and cauliflower. This was yummy.

Workout was Jackie Warner's Power Circuit Training with 15 and 20 lb weights...feeling THAT today!

3 liters of water, as well as supplements on schedule.

I gotta say, unless tomorrow's weigh in is exceptional I'm about over this. It is a lot to remember and stick to for such little results. I don't want to jump from one plan to another too quickly though, so I will probably give the tweaks I'm making another week.

Day 12 Wrap Up--The 4-Hour Body Doubts

OK, it may be a bit premature to have doubts, but I have them. I am not losing much weight or inches so far. Almost at the 2 week mark, so I'll keep going, but so far I'm not impressed. I'm not losing any more than I would on any run of the mill plan out there. Yes, I'm taking the supplements and I've even include some cold showers (not twice a day, but weight loss just isn't worth that to me, nor is it worth ice baths when I can just count calories!) Perhaps I'm expecting too much, or perhaps this week's weigh-in/measure will show more. We shall see, but if it doesn't, I'm just not sure it's worth it! Oh yes, and the mad cravings for fruit and oatmeal are back today.

Yesterday:

4 AM coffee with cream and cinnamon.

7 AM breakfast was one cup all whites with black beans and salsa. NOT protein within an hour of waking, still struggling with that so will go back to whey protein first thing. Ordered some more and waiting for it to arrive.

Noon: lunch was chicken breast, black beans, onions and italian seasoning.

2 PM second cup of coffee with cream and cinnamon.

6 PM dinner was a Chicken Ratatoille recipe I got from Muscle & Fitness hers. YUM! Seriously.

No workout, resting sore muscles. Water intake was 3 liters.

Like I said, I'm struggling with being this strict on food choices for only little results. I feel I could do just as well and have my oatmeal too ;) Reserving judgment until weigh in day though. Feel free to critique my food anyone, am I missing something here?

Day 11 Wrap Up

So, as I write yesterday's wrap up I'm thinking "almost half way there!" I'm missing my Coach's Oats and berries, and admittedly counting down until the 30 days is up...just being real ;) Those are the only two things I miss though. Yes, I can have them one day a week..OK, enough whining. Yesterday:

6 AM Coffee with cream and cinnamon...OK, you've seen enough of my coffee pics, I was mostly trying to show my pretty cup and saucer.

9 AM chicken sausage, spinach, mushrooms, onions, and black beans sauteed in a little I Can't Believe It's Not Butter. Out of whey protein and still struggling with getting protein in within an hour of waking. I got up at 5, so this wasn't even close.

Noon had a Carl's Jr Low Carb Burger, forgot to take pic.

6 PM dinner was turkey kielbasa, lentils, canned tomatoes, onion, red pepper in a soup/stew. Was pretty yum, never had lentils before. Hubby and kids liked too.

Workout was 30 Day Shred Level 1.
Water 2 Liters.

Days 9 and 10 on The 4-Hour Body

OK, busy weekend, got a little behind with my wrap up posts!

Day 9:
This was a really weird day. Coming off my high calorie day I just didn't feel like eating! I didn't want the foods I can have on this plan, and I wasn't hungry. This was the first day I really struggled with the food choices available on this plan. But, I think I did OK, just maybe didn't eat as much as I should have.

5 AM coffee with cream and cinnamon.

10:45 refried beans with chunky salsa.

2 PM garlic/herb chicken breast with lettuce and tomato.

6 PM beef meatballs with onions, mushrooms, and asparagus.

Generally just a bad attitude day, but I pressed through. Days like this happen.

Day 10:

Another weird day, only because we were so busy. My attitude was much improved, but we were running all around (which isn't normal for me) and I didn't have time to grab food! Hubby took the kids to Sonic while we were shopping, but I didn't want anything there, so I grabbed some Muscle Milk from Target. I wound up having three of those and dinner. Although I could have made much worse choices, I need to focus more on getting enough of the right foods in this week.

6 AM coffee with cream and cinnamon.

Had 1 at 11 AM, 2 PM, and 4 PM

7 PM had a big salad topped with black beans and chicken breast.

Little bit of bad attitude on Friday, but feeling much better. Not giving into the poor me junk. I committed to 30 days and I will stick it out. It really isn't bad. The food is yum. I just miss things like oatmeal, I'm really an oatmeal freak!