Thursday, October 20, 2011

Day 341, 10/20/2011

I felt amazing during my workout tonight!  I had more energy and the sets went by quickly.  Usually I end up pausing between steps in my lunges but tonight I just swung through them.  Could it be the extra calories/protein?


My morning weight: 130.8 lbs

Objectives:
calories (≥ 1500 calories) ✔
carbs (≤ 6 servings, ≤ 40 g/meal) ✔
fiber (≥ 25 g) ✔
sugar (≤ 15 g, ≤ 5 g/meal) ✔
4 water bottles ✔
workout ✔

What I ate:
8:50 AM: 2 slices bacon, half an avocado
1:25 PM: 1.5 cups spinach, 2 slices bacon, 0.5 cups black beans, 10 grape tomatoes, 1 serving Ranch dressing
2:15 PM: one serving almonds
4:45 PM: 1 cup broccoli
5:40 PM: one cup split pea soup, 1 can tuna with 1 tbsp mayonnaise
9:45 PM: 7 oz chicken with 1 tbsp salsa and 0.25 cup cheddar cheese

Total nutrition data:
1563 calories
85.1 g fat
83.3 g carbohydrates (35.5 g fiber, 11.1 g sugar)
132.5 g protein

Workout:
Stage 1 Workout B5

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Day 340, 10/19/2011

My workout tonight made me feel wonderful!  I expended just the right amount of energy during my intervals and was quite tired, and then I still did another 10' on the erg.  The only downside was that my hands cramped up while erging and it was difficult to unclench them.  I felt so nice and loose after the workout.

My morning weight: 131.6 lbs

Objectives:
calories (≥ 1500 calories) ✔
carbs (≤ 6 servings, ≤ 40 g/meal) ✔
fiber (≥ 25 g) ✔
sugar (≤ 15 g, ≤ 5 g/meal) ✔
4 water bottles ✔
workout ✔

What I ate:
9:30 AM: 1.5 cups zucchini with 1 tbsp olive oil; 2 scrambled eggs
11:45 AM: 1 can tuna with 1 tbsp mayonnaise
2:00 PM: 1.5 cups spinach, 2 slices bacon, 0.5 cups black beans, 10 grape tomatoes, 1 serving Ranch dressing
6:45 PM: one serving flaxseed meal pizza

9:50 PM: 4 oz ground beef, 1 cup broccoli


Total nutrition data:
1684 calories
108.5 g fat
67.6 g carbohydrates (28.4 g fiber, 14.9 g sugar)
119.8 g protein

Workout:
treadmill: 2' warmup; 6x(1' 8 mph 2' 6 mph); 1' cooldown
5' rest
erg: 10' messing around, average split 2:29

To Increase or Decrease?

I requested input on my diet here, on my personal blog, on 3FC, and on Facebook.  I got a variety of suggestions, many of which were contradictory (basically what I expected).  I thought a lot of the suggestions were very reasonable and implementable so that was great (like vegetables to eat!).

One thing I wrote was that I thought I should probably increase in calories to break my stall.  Some people were neutral on that point.  My Paleo coach friend told me to increase and I re-consulted the NRLW diet and they definitely recommend being much higher than I am now (assuming my BMR is similar to what the calculations predict it to be).  But nearly everyone on 3FC who commented on my calories thought I should decrease.

After reading all of that, I decided that I'll give 1300 calories/day a shot for a few weeks and then go above 1500 calories/day if that didn't work.

That decision lasted about a day.  On Monday I ate a bit over 1300 calories and on Tuesday I ate nearly 1400 calories.  But I was hungry.  I don't even remember the last time I was hungry at the end of the day!  The food I eat now is so satisfying. I know I'm working out hard and my body is telling me to eat more, so I'm going to give it more.  I'll try increasing first and just listening to my hunger and if that doesn't break my stall I'll think again about going lower.  I'm going to try to trust my body.

Day 339, 10/18/2011

My morning weight: 131.6 lbs

Objectives:
calorie range (1300-1500) ✔
carbs (≤ 6 servings, ≤ 40 g/meal) ✔
fiber (≥ 25 g) ✔
sugar (≤ 15 g, ≤ 5 g/meal) ✔
4 water bottles ✔
workout ✔

What I ate:
7:10 AM: one serving flaxseed meal pizza
12:30 PM: two eggs with 1 tbsp mayonnaise
3:45 PM: 1 cup split pea and ham soup
7:05 PM: 1 can tuna with 1 tbsp mayonnaise
9:45 PM: 1.5 cups zucchini with 1 tbsp olive oil and 2 tbsp Parmesan cheese

Total nutrition data:
1395 calories
93.4 g fat
62.7 g carbohydrates (27.4 g fiber, 10.9 g sugar)
97.1 g protein

Workout:
NRLW Stage 1 Workout A5

I was actually hungry when I went to bed this night!  That basically never happens.

Day 338, 10/17/2011

My morning weight: 131.6 lbs

Objectives:
calorie range (1300-1500) ✔
carbs (≤ 6 servings, ≤ 40 g/meal) ✔
fiber (≥ 25 g) ✔
sugar (≤ 15 g, ≤ 5 g/meal) ✔
4 water bottles ✔
workout ✘

What I ate:
8:55 AM: 4 slices bacon, two scrambled eggs
1:00 PM: 1 cup split pea and ham soup
3:30 PM: one serving almonds
4:50 PM: 7 oz chicken, 1 tbsp salsa, 0.25 cup cheddar cheese
9:45 PM: 3 cups spinach, 0.5 cups black beans, 10 grape tomatoes, 1 serving Ranch dressing

Total nutrition data:
1323 calories
69.1 g fat
75.1 g carbohydrates (28.4 g fiber, 10.1 g sugar)
110.6 g protein

Workout:
none