Sparrows Experiment

I'm off for the weekend. I'm going on a couples retreat but I plan to stick as close to clean eating as possible. My husband too, is adopting my "way of life" :) and he's been doing REALLY well! So as a team I think we can keep each other pretty accountable, I'm not too worried. Hes more die hard than even I am :D There is a fitness room at the hotel so I hope to use that some
no gym today
b-1 1/4c Kashi Go Lean cereal + 1/4c milk 230
s-1/2 cottage cheese, 1/2 apple, 1T natty butter 250
l
s-2 scoop whey in water, carrot sticks 270
d
lunch and dinner will be out but these are the parts I can control for now.
I had trouble eating my menu yesterday towards the end. After PB snack I had the chicken, 1c broccoli and that was it for the night so I have some calorie adding to work on again. I reached 1110 yesterday. I felt like a million bucks waking up though.
 
Friday
b-1 1/4c Kashi Go Lean cereal + 1/4c milk 230
s-1/2 cottage cheese, 1/2 apple,
l-Baja Chicken Enselada from Baja fresh (no tortilla strips) 300
s-1/2 power bar protein plus
d-Mango Blackened Chicken salad (no mango ;)) 4 sweet potato "fries",1 small piece sourdough bread dipped in olive oil

Saturday
b-2scoops whey in water
s-1/2 protein plus power bar
l- MASSIVE chicken tostada salad (no shell) w chicken, olives, avocado, tomato, pico, no dressing
s-1/4c kashi cereal
d-1 lc ww fajita tortilla, 1/4c broccoli, 3 c salad 1c shrimp, lite dressing
s-1/2 c sugar free hot chocolate

Sunday
b-1 protein plus power bar (20g pro, 3 sugar)
s-1/4c kashi go lean cereal
l-mimis cafe, really large blackened chicken salad (lettuce, chicken, parm cheese)
s- 8 almonds
d-3 fajita ww lc tortillas, 1c broccoli (we were in stop n go traffic, this was all that was in the car)
s-sf hot chocolate

So, no its not 100% all clean but its DARN healthy for being away on a mini vacation! Doncha think?! This was ALL away from home and it took some very creative planning and will power to stick to my guns each day. I feel so much better physically in the past 3 days by cleaning up my diet a little. I did no exercise for the past 3 days but I tried to keep my protein up and sugar low and I feel fine about the break. I did splurge with the diet pepsi's more than water...but gimme a break :) I was REALLY hungry a lot on this vacation. I'd be stuffed after lunch or dinner but then starved very soon after so I know my cals were probably a little in the red for much of the weekend but, really, I'd rather have that than eat crap so I'm not worried. I really did the best I could and kept the food flowing often.
Tomorrow, back to it and I'm glad.
 
yeah we had a ton of fun. It was called "A Weekend to Remember" on the Monterey coast...if anyone knows where that is ;) Held at the Hyatt Hotel. Lots of good marriage building stuff. Kinda like a tune up for your car, but for your relationship. We go to them every so often and its always worth our while. It was nice just to be AWAY and forced to talk and concentrate on US. Thats such a rarety. They are held in almost every state and I'd SO recommend them for anyone who is married or engaged!
 
B-2 scoop whey, 2 T flax seeds
L-5 egg whites, 1 egg, 1 serving hot oat bran cereal w 2 splenda
S- 1/2 c cottage cheese, 1 T natty butter, 1 sprouted low carb tortilla
D-Grilled chicken breast, 1c broccoli, 1-2 c romaine w/ 1 T olive oil, 1T balsamic
S- 1 string cheese, raw veggies, hot tea w splenda

Gym:
bi's w/ dumbells 12 lb 3x15
dips 3x15
bench press 60lb 3x12
boy pushups 3x15
stablilty ball pikes (abs) 3x15 hold pike for 3 sec.
shoulder press 50 lb 3x10
shoulder/chest machine 50 lb 3x10
lat pulldowns (front and back) 70lb 3x15
seated row 70lb 3x12
Cardio: level 2-3 spinng class 60 min.

I did spinning today! I figured if Stingo is going to dip into my world of running, I should experience his spinning. It was realllllly fun and reallllly challenging. I haven't been on a bike and really worked at it for a LONG time. I was drenched with sweat. I had planned to swim today after weights, so I neither had a workout towel or water! but it was great and I will do it again.
 
Hee hee cool - and I for my part plan for Wednesday to be my running day (it's sandwiched in between two spinning days so will how that goes). Last I went was 10 minutes at 4.0 on a 2.0 incline - once I get used to the impact and my feet with moving that way (the flexors of my left foot don't work too well), I hope to increase that to the full 30. I do know my butt was sore the day after that "run", so I think the crosstraining definitely helps.

Glad you liked the spinning class - what kind of ride was it?
 
ha. well I'm not sure what kind of "ride" it was :) we did a lot of hills, steep ones. Did a lot of anaerobic sets, level 4 (reminded me of HIIT) and some pace at 80%. I guess it was more of an intermediate-advanced class, which I didn't know. I just heard them announce it in the gym that it was starting and I was about to go swim and thought, ahhh what the heck. It whooped my butt. What are different kind of rides?
 
A few which I've done:

Loop/Interval Rides - where you do the same set of moves/heart rates repeatedly usually ranges from 75% to 90%, depending on the resistance/cadence used in the loop.

Hill Climbing - could be one or two LONG hills... like 20-30 minutes at a pop

Race Day - Not much resistance, but use cadence to bring heart rate up to 85% as quickly as you can and maintain it for the duration of the ride.

Endurance Ride - An easier ride - we usually see this type when the last class was a hard one (like a hard loop/interval class). Our instructor is doing the Black Friday ride - a 2 hour endurance ride - the day after Thanksgiving.

Tour de France Ride - as the name suggests, when the Tour de France is on, our instructor takes the course they're doing that day and condenses it into a 45-60 minute spin class.

The rides feature one or more different moves, like jumps on a flat, jumps on hill, running with resistance, sprinting, time trials and others (and of course everyone's favorite - downhill :)).
 
oh yeah we did jumps on a hill, that was "special" :rolleyes: I think today's was more like the loop, the hills were in as a repeat but they were pretty short hills compared to those 20-30 min ones you've mentioned. Seems we did a tad bit of the first few rides you described in repeats all in the same workout. There is a 1.5 hr ride on Thanksgiving morning but they say people come HOURS early just to do it cause space gets maxed out. I don't have hours for that in my life. ;). I'll have to plan something grand that morning though, in some other way. Maybe I could do a mini triathlon at the gym! ha. That'd be funny. 1 mile swim, 13 mile bike, 5K run :) I hope you plan on doing the "Black Friday" class. That'd be awesome Stingo!
 
Yeah sounds like you did a loop ride - I like those because the moves change periodically and you know what to expect the next times through the loops... It sounds like you had a positive experience though and you seemed pumped by it.

The class I take is more likely than not pitched to a beginner/intermediate level, but it's so small (about 5-6 people) the instructor knows who should be at what heart rate. (I know that unless you'd done spinning before, my instructor would tell a new person not to go over 75% the first ride...).

I've already signed on for the Black Friday ride - it was looking like I might have plans that day but they fell through.
 
stingo said:
The class I take is more likely than not pitched to a beginner/intermediate level, but it's so small (about 5-6 people) the instructor knows who should be at what heart rate. (I know that unless you'd done spinning before, my instructor would tell a new person not to go over 75% the first ride...).

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Click to expand...

The heart rate thing surprised me. I went anaerobic so fast so I really backed off cause I realized it was just a completely new exercise to me and I was a beginner and needed to act like one! I'm sure I didn't ever go over 75% . The last thing I wanted to do was have to walk across the room to find the door early cause I couldn't hack it ;)
 
Yup - even though I've felt like getting off the bike a few times, I haven't yet. Next you'll be buying spinning socks and shoes :)
 
lol :D

Today is the swimming I was supposed to do yesterday. I'm so glad. For some reason I have allergies this morning. I need to figure out what is high in all the allergens today. The water will wipe it out.
Gym: 3000 yd swim workout (mostly IM repeats and a lot of breast stroke)
b-2 scoops whey, 2T flax seeds
l-5 egg whites, 1 egg, 1 serving oatmeal
s- 1/2c cottage cheese, 1T PB, 1 sprouted lc tortilla
d-5 c romaine, 2 T balsamic, drizzle of olive oil, 5oz chopped chicken
tea
basically the same menu as yesterday. it worked out great. I did have 1/2c "no sugar added" ice cream last night instead of the snack I'd planned:rolleyes:. I have my reasons ;)

Edited: My swim was great. I haven't been in the pool for quite some time! Normally I'd be going for overall fitness and trying to get "faster" or whatever but today I did things that are more helpful to my goals. I did a lot of breaststroke because it works more muscles and is highly dependant on the legs for propulsion. I also did a lot of "skulling" which is like treading the water in exaggerated motions as you move forward. Its an excellent exercise. Overall I felt like my core got a terrific workout. I forget how many muscles are used to effectively swim, until I'm out of swimming shape and can now feel them all sore as I type! Tomorrow is spinning again! yippee! This time I'll be sure to bring a towel and water :) Had some awesome feedback from my husband today. I can tell a difference in my body even just since going back to my more strict eating last Thursday. Thats good motivation to hang in there :)
 
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I can tell how hard of a spinning class it was by how much water is left in my bottle at the end. The last few classes it's been down to almost the bottom. In all seriousness, if you do get into spinning, the shoes really do help (even though we know the whole idea is to look good, and because all the cool kids have them) with running and keeping your feet in proper position.
 
B-2 scoop whey, 1T flax seeds
L-1 large lc ww tortilla, 5 oz chopped grilled chicken, 2T ff sr cream, 1c romaine
S-2 sprouted tortilla w butter spray, splenda and cinnamon (major sugar craving)
(1/4 bagel, 3 m&m's...I had a little moment of weakness today :()
D-1-2 c stir fried veggies (no oil), 1 lean portion of pork chop dipped in beaten egg and spices
S-1/2c "no sugar added" ice cream...I totally caved. PMSSSSSSSSSS
1500ish today

Weights: eclectic lifting today, no real structure:
bench press: bar+15 lbs 3x12
decline push ups off bench 3x10
stablility ball ab work
seated row 70lb 3x12
lat pulldown 70lb 3x15
ham curl 60lb 3x15
delt lift 35 3x10
rear delt 40 3x12
pec press 50 3x12
shoulder press (incorporates chest too) 50 3x15
10 min eliptical to warm up for spinning
60 min spin class
Spinning was fun again but I was way more whooped this time because I was still sore from tuesday, and swimming yesterday. This week is full of cardio I rarely (or never) do so my muscles are like :confused: but they aren't feeling overtrained or anything
I kept myself backed off just a little more than I probably should have with the spin but I still don't know my limits with it so I'll ease into it until I can trust my paces and resistance. It certainly is challenging. I'm a bottomless pit today and plan on increasing cals since I've been like this for a few days now.
 
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Considering how many calories you must be burning it's not surprising your body would need to replenish those resources. And like you said you're doing exercises your body isn't used to, so I'd think it needs more energy for repairs etc.
 
Yes I was thinking the same thing. When I ran, I ran hard and a lot but my body got used to running and probably got more efficient thus burning less calories. Shows how important it is to switch up the routine every so often.
 
Today is a day off. ahhhh nice.
I actually just have too much to do to make it to the gym in a sane way so I'm skipping it. Its a good idea anyway, I'm kinda pooped.

b-1 1/4c Go Lean Kashi cereal 1/4c 2% milk 310
s-cheese stick, 1/4 piece whole wheat bread 100, small coffee w/sf coconut syrup
l-1c 2% milk, 2 scoops vanilla whey, 1t pb 380
s-small iced tea
d-2 porkchops, 2c lettuce, 2T balsamic vinegar
I'll update later after meals cause I really don't have a plan today. I did something I don't do often, which is measure. I was pretty pleased with my results
chest-35
waist-28.5
hips 31.75
Thats all I'm posting :) The hips were the surprise. They are typically around 33.5-34 so thats a ton less. Now if I could just take that much off my thighs :) lol. Its not like I have thunder thighs but they do prevent me from fitting into the size of jeans I want! My waist was 30 before I started posting on this site so thats a good improvement as well. I've never really had a waist, all my measurements always tend to be similar all the way down. lol. I was 134 today, but I can tell I'm holding a bunch of water due to monthly issues. ok tmi
 
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Did you enjoy your day off Sparrow? :D
 
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