Chris' Blog

The Second Half of the Week

A few observations:

A good friend is moving away Saturday so we're spending time hanging out and getting in all her favorite meals.  The cookies I mentioned Tuesday, East Moon for Thai food Thursday night, and homemade pesto pizza tonight.  I'm enjoying it and trying not to stress about it.  Oh, and while I'm eating some cheat food I've kept my beer/alcohol resolution.

I'm eating too much fruit, especially apples.  They are convenient, tasty, and go with peanut butter.  More veggies next week.

Other than that the week went well.  I am feeling better aside from some congestion this morning which I suspect was related to last night's carb fest.

Dr. Eades did a great post on "Why Low Carb is Harder the Second Time Around"  and I was reminded of this post from Timothy Ferriss  about losing 20 pounds in 30 days when working with a client today.  Good Friday reading.

Today

Food

• 1.3 c cottage cheese, 7 oz. blackberries, 30 pistachios
• No morning snack
• 2 apples, 30 pistachios, 3 oz. roast beef, 2 oz. cream cheese
• 1 c. milk, 1 apple, 1 Tb. peanut butter.
• Homemade pizza and whatever else but no beer

WOD

• Rest day.  Long dog walk and joint mobility work.

Thursday

Food

• 3 eggs, 1 c. milk, 1 slice toast, 1 apple, 2 Tb peanut butter, fish oil
• 1 string cheese, 1 apple, 3 almonds
• 5 oz. left over pot roast, 2 apples, 15 almonds
• 1 apple, 1 string cheese, ran out of nuts
• Thai food (chicken veggie curry) at East Moon and Gelato

WOD

Overhead squat 5 sets of 3.  Last set turned into a single at 69 kg.  Shoulder were tired and stability just wasn't there.

Wednesday

Food

• 2 eggs, 3 sausage links, 1 piece of toast, 2 Tb. PB, 1 apple, fish oil
• No morning snack
• Left over pita dip.
• 2 string cheese, 1 apple, 6 almonds
• Pot roast sandwhich with 1 slice mozzarella.

WOD

155 lb. power clean 15-12-9-6-3 alternated with
Ring Dips 10-9-8-7-6

22:40

Power cleans were ugly because I tend to favor squat cleans.  Ring dips were jumping towards the end.  My ring dips are way down from a year ago.  Once I got muscle-ups I laid off the dips, a mistake.

Cookies 4, Chris 0

Okay, I lost it today.  I don't know if it was the volume of exercise today or the intensity of my main workout but I was starving and super moody by 5:00 PM.  I decided to have the fat for dinner while I was cooking but I made the mistake of leaving the jar of almonds out instead of counting out my 15 and putting it away.  I "binged".  Maybe 30 almonds but that isn't the worst of it. 

Later the house was filled with the aroma of baking oatmeal cookies that K was making for a going away potluck for her best friend.  I made it for about an hour and then gave in.  Four cookies and 1 cup of milk.

Coincidentally this occurred a few days after I read Byers' Cookie and Burpee post.  Which leaves me questioning whether I'm my intent was to be on a short-term "hard routine" in an effort to get back to a nutritious baseline or if I'm just trying to eat as if I'm back on that baseline.  If it is the later then I would have no guilt about my cookie consumption as long as I don't eat any other sweets during the week this week.  If the former, then I broke from the routine.  Hmmm.

Food

• Breakfast: 2 eggs, 3 sausage links, 1 apple, 1 piece of sprouted toast with peanut butter.
• No snack, no time.
• Bowl of leftover Santa Fe Chicken Soup and 30 pistachios.
• 2 apples, 2 tablespoons peanut butter, 1 c. milk, 1 string cheese
• Almond Attack before dinner, probably 30 almonds.
• Pita Dip: 4 oz ground beef, 3 tablespoons cream cheese, salsa, sour cream mixture, and 1 pita
• Cookie Stand Off: Cookies win.  4 cookies.

WOD

• 7:30: 16 minute KB circuit with Kitty using 16kg for snatches and 12kg for squats.
• 10:00 Bike from Pederson to EmerFit.
• 2 rounds of CrossFit warm-up.
• 30-25-20-15-10-5 Virtual Shoveling with 45 lb bar and plate and pull-ups: 26:40.
• Biked home.

Monday 090112

Food

• Breakfast: 2 eggs, 2 slices ham, 1 slice cheese, 1 cup oatmeal, and 15 almonds.
• Missed the morning snack.
• Lunch: 1 c. cottage cheese and a package of blackberries.  15 almonds and an apple.
• Snack: 2 apples, 2 mozzarella cheese sticks, 6 almonds.
• Dinner: 1 bowl Santa Chicken Soup from "Eating For Life" and 15 almonds.  Soup had chicken, long grain brown rice, green chile, onion, garlic and chicken broth.

WOD

Row 5k: 18:33.  Personal record.

Tuesday 090106

Food

Pretty much a repeat of yesterday except for dinner.  Felt rather moody at the end of the day from two 12 hour days, stress, and the beginnings of the carb withdrawals.

Breakfast (5:30)

• 2 pieces of Sprouted Barley toast.
• 4 blocks eggs, chorizo, and mozzarella.
• 4 blocks of pistachios.
• 5 fish oil capsules.

Snacks

• 1 oz. Colby Jack.
• 1 Small apple
• 12 pistachios

Lunch (12:00)

• 1/2 can of tuna
• Tablespoon of light mayo
• 1/2 stick of celery
• 2 slices Sprouted Barley Bread
• 1 Apple
• 30 pistachios

Dinner (6:30)

• 3 cups beef stew (based on the CF Journal Zone Recipe cooked in crockpot all day.  Used a pound of local grassfed beef, carrots, celery, mushrooms, zucchini, onion, garlic, tomato sauce and beef broth.)
• 30 Pistachios

WOD

CFWU x 2
Clean 7x1: 40, 60, 80, 80, 84.6, 88.8, 100.  All in kilos.

I jerked the first 5 sets too.  The jump to 100 was to aggressive.  I got it but it was ugly.

Day 1

Food

Zone Blocks Planned: 17

Breakfast (5:30 A.M.)

• 4 blocks of Irish oatmeal and blueberries.
• 4 blocks eggs, chorizo, and mozzarella.
• 4 blocks of pistachios.
• 5 fish oil capsules.

Snacks (9:00 A.M. and 3:00 P.M.)

• 1 oz. Colby Jack.
• 1 Small apple
• 12 pistachios

Lunch (12:00)

• 1/2 can of tuna
• Tablespoon of light mayo
• 1/2 stick of celery
• 2 slices Sprouted Barley Bread
• 1 Apple
• 30 pistachios

Dinner (7:00)

• 1/3 Yam
• 6 oz. Steak
• 1 c. Green Beans
• 30 pistachios

One of my Christmas presents every year is Heart of the Desert Pistachios hence all the pistachios.

My general Zone guideline: At least when I'm starting I follow a philosophy of drawing the line where it is easy to draw.  An idea I borrowed from one of Wendell Berry's letters, of all places.  Usually I find that it is easier to move the line farther to the target overtime by starting with this philosophy.  So for example, drawing a line that says no alcohol and counting my pistachios is easy for me.  On the other side drawing a line that makes my food ugly or cuts out soups, stews, and casseroles is not.  I'll deal with the lack of precision in those types of meals in favor of eating meals that are aesthetically pleasing.

WOD

Deadlift 3-3-3-3-3

CrossFit Warm-up x 2.  Two warm up sets of 5 at 205 and 255.  Then 295, 305, 315, 345, and 375.

Felt good to lift after a couple weeks off.  I'm still feeling fatigued from a cold of some sort.  Did not push too hard on the deads.