Interval Run, a Water Bottle and on a Booty Roll

When I woke up this morning I had a feeling that it was time to go for a run. It had rained over night, but Mother Nature was on my side and kept the skies dry. I set up my interval timer with a goal to do 25 intervals doing 25 seconds run/25 seconds walk.

The run went pretty well. I had to stop after the 20th interval because I had a little pain on the meniscus side of my knee. The sidewalk near my SIL's house has some pretty good dips that may have aggravated it. But I ran/walked almost 2 miles. I'm happy with that.

Oddly I didn't know what to wear today. It was 50 degrees, which in the past would mean tank and shorts (no brainer). My body doesn't always warm up as much doing run/walk intervals. In the end I opted for a tee, but could've done the tank. Oh well.

Even though my runs are short nowadays, I still carry my water bottle with me. It's been a while since I talked about my water bottle. This bottle is designed with a hook shape to be carried hands-free. It hooks onto the back of running bottoms (which should be tightened to hold up to 13 oz.), running belt, a pocket, or even a sports bra.

The first time I ran with this bottle (4 years ago!!), I actually FORGOT that it was there! That's how simple it is. And it's made in the USA!! If you are interested in getting one for yourself, let me know...I'm a member of the Run Team and have a DISCOUNT CODE! PS - this is not a sponsored post. Just a shout out because I love this bottle that much!

More info on the Simple Hydration website

After my run I was reading blogs about running (you do that too, right?) and Amanda reminded me that I need to make sure my glutes are awake by taking a couple of tests. Since I had that little knee pain during my run, I thought it was perfect timing. After taking the tests (which I think I passed), I went ahead and did the recommended exercises plus a few more. Check out her blog post here.

I figured I was on a booty roll, so I did a few more exercises using the resistance bands. I don't think I was over-doing it because these also worked my other leg muscles.

WIA:

How do you solve your what to wear to a workout dilemmas?
Ever test your glutes?
Favorite meal in the fall? ---> I made my favorite crockpot chili (leftovers pictured above)

30 Day Shred Begins

We're going to be hanging out in Montreal for a few weeks for mrC's work, but we have some pretty nice digs at the hotel. Since I'm starting 30 Day Shred, another carb cycling and intermittent fasting program, I was excited to see that the room had a little kitchen area.

What is 30 Day Shred?

After watching the introduction video from Amanda, here is what I learned:

• Takes the best parts of Carb Cycling Level 1 & 2 
• Uses a CUSTOMIZED IIFYM (if it fits your macros) plan
• Puts less emphasis on being GF and DF (no more guilt over cheese and yogurt!)
• Uses an optional shortened feeding window to get in your daily calories
• The workouts: speed, strength training with focus on lower body, and running (this should be interesting for me and my knee) 

During the program we will be using two APPS:
OTR (On The Regimen) - to set custom macros and use with MFP
MFP (My Fitness Pal) - to log food/workouts and track macros

My OTR custom macros look like this (training = regular calorie day and rest day = low cal day):

Then using the customized macros, I input into MFP. I also upgraded to Pro and created goals for each carb cycling day, although I think my low carb day needs tweaking.

I started day 1 bright and early in the fitness center doing an elliptical sprint workout. We jumped right into intense with 20 intervals of 20 seconds on and 20 seconds off. I was secretly hoping my knee would give me another sign that it was up for an outdoor run. Maybe tomorrow.

We missed the shopping window when we arrived yesterday (stores close early here on Sunday), so after mrC went to work I found my way to both Walmart and a local grocery to stock up on some breakfast and lunch items.

Best find of the shopping trip was sweetener for my coffee and tea. Liquid stevia is the best!

I saw this postal box on our after dinner walk and think Canada has way better taste in mail than the USA. What do you think?

I want to stay on track during the 30 Day Shred, so I'm back to blogging every day. My first round of carb cycling was a huge success and I attribute a lot of it to the fact that I blogged EVERY day about my workouts and what I ate.

What I ate on low carb day:

Breakfast: scrambled eggs and Canadian bacon (what else, right?), coffee
I'm out of practice and almost forgot the plate photo ;)

Lunch: veggie burger, salad with parmesan cheese, ranch dressing, celery and hummus, diet dew
Can you believe all that food is only 370 calories? It's crazy how full I feel when I eat well.

Dinner: another salad, tuna, some green beans, and diet dew
I completely forgot the meal pic, so I compensated with a shot of the unprepared items ;)

Snack: Around 3:00 I satisfied a little sweet tooth and hunger with an low carb bar. These things are seriously sooooo good!

MACROS: Low carb days on MFP always confuse me because the app doesn't calculate net carbs (carbs minus fiber). My net carbs were 34 (yay), but my calories were 523 short (not good). The crazy part is that I feel satisfied and had plenty to eat.

Ever been to Montreal?
What tricks do you use to stay on track with your nutrition?
What Apps do you use to track your fitness/nutrition?

Backyard Workout and Random Fun Stuff

My body is still working its way through my 12 time zones journey. Today I slept until 7:30 (which never happens!), but I finally felt refreshed when I woke up.

I grabbed some weights, my iPad, and a towel and hit the backyard for my workout.

Today I was feeling spunky, so I choose a Jillian Michael's workout video. It's called an ab workout, but it is really for your whole body. Even she says so. The hardest exercise is a side plank knee twist move. It works the obliques and the inner thighs. My inner thighs need A LOT of work.

My favorite exercise today was a reverse lunge. Normally lunges and squats are uncomfortable for my bad knee, but today they felt ok. I think that doing the workout on grass may have helped.

To cool off after the workout I jumped into the pool again. I've been searching for a new tankini to replace the one I've had for four summers now and yesterday I found one at Dick's Sporting Goods when we were picking up a bike rack for the rental car. It's from Calia by Carrie Underwood and it's super cute. The description fit me perfectly: "Keep it casual and classic this swim season with this flattering design. The CALIA™ by Carrie Underwood Solid Strappy Tankini Top has all of the swim-ready features you need without sacrificing style"

All good workouts should be rewarded, so I helped myself to one of my SIL's gluten free muffins before enjoying some scrambled eggs prepared by mrC.

Other fun moments from the day...

I voted absentee in the primary!

I picked up some gifts at Giftology while mrC was at Verizon.

And then I booked my tickets to Orlando and Cincinnati! I can't wait to see my parents and more of my family.

A Diet I Don't Recommend and Today's Workout

I mentioned in my last carb cycling and intermittent fasting program update that I wasn't feeling that great. Those tummy troubles kept me up most of that night and in bed for the next two days! Not much eating and no working out took place.

Low Calorie Day - So I spent my low calorie rest day REALLY resting. I couldn't even attempt to make the cauliflower pizza crust recipe like I was hoping. It was extra time for my muscles to recover from Saturday's at home workout though. That's one thing I love about mixing up workouts, you can literally feel the difference.

Regular Calorie Day - mrC was home and went to the pharmacy to get me some Imodium because I think I was never going to leave the apartment again without it. Between the medicine and literally sleeping the day away, I finally started feeling human again.

After a stomach issue, a BRAT (banana, rice, apple sauce, toast) diet is recommended. I went with pb&j sandwiches. Half at a time because the first time I thought I felt better and ate, it didn't turn out so well.

This morning I woke up feeling like the stomach storm had finally passed, so we headed to the fitness center for our low carb day workout: 20 sprints. I was shocked that I was able to get through them. I guess those sandwiches pack some power. I guzzled that bottle of water and more during my cool down walk on the treadmill and still felt a little dehydrated, but other than that I was feeling ok.

I used up most of my energy on the sprints, but still managed to do some of the plank challenges that I'd missed while under the weather. Each one got progressively harder, and I did fewer. 

Since the blue skies of Shekou were calling, we hung out at the pool for a bit. I'm pretty sure I needed that cold water.

Eats for low carb day:

Brunch: 3 tacos for Taco Tuesday (plus some chips and salsa)! 

Dinner: Chicken breast and some veggies. 

Macros: 

Screenshot didn't make the blog post, but I met the low carb goal of less than 50 net grams of carbs.


What's the worst diet you ever tried?
What do you like to eat when you're sick?

At Home Workouts, A Dream Fitness Class and Saturday Meals

The fitness center gets crowded on the weekends, so I stay home (when I can) and use videos for my workout. I got started with my plank challenge. Today's plank pose was the hardest so far. I could hold it for about 5-6 seconds before losing good form. So I did more sets.

Then I picked two workout videos from my favorites list to do back to back. Both are full body workouts that get my heart pumping, but work different parts of the body.

First I did this one from Fitness Blender. It's a HIIT cardio workout that really works the legs. I followed up with a Pop Sugar video that worked the arms and core more. Together I got an awesome 40-ish minute full body workout with cardio.

At the end I added some lower body exercises from this article that are good for people with bad knees (me!). I did the lateral band walk and some hamstring curls using my stability ball. 

While we're talking workouts, I would love to try this one. I love SurfSet and SUP yoga, and this one looks like a serious cross between the two.

It was regular calorie day, so here's what I enjoyed:

Breakfast: protein pancakes

Lunch: smoothie bowl, pb&j rice cakes, turkey slices

Snack: Fuji apple --> I love these things. 

Dinner: bowl of quinoa - I was going to add tuna, but we didn't have any. I was too lazy to go out in the rain to get a can, even though it would have only taken 5+ minutes.

Macros: not too bad but short on calories

I did not feel well pretty much all day. Tummy troubles. They would come and go, usually after I ate. I felt this way a little bit after the last fast day too, so I'm not sure what's up. 

Your hardest plank pose?

Do you like water(ish) fitness classes?

Favorite way to eat quinoa?

Much To Do Monday and Regular Calorie Eats

Mondays.

In my old life, aka when I was teaching, Mondays were not my favorite day of the week. I (mostly) loved my job, but I hated to see my weekend come to an end. Here in Shenzhen, I LOVE Mondays because it's when I meet up with the hiking group to climb Nanshan. 

This week my Monday was busier than normal. Here's what my schedule looked like today.

7:00 planking on the balcony. 

I love when the weather is cool and comfy so I can step outside and do this.

8:30-10:00 hike (see above)

10:15-11:30 pool time

My favorite way to cool off after hiking the mountain. Often I'm the only one there.

1:00-3:00 Essential Oils Happy in Your Skin Workshop

I'm new to the whole essential oils world. Today I learned how to make dry shampoo, facial wipes, and a facial scrub. The main ingredient we used was tea tree (melaleuca) which is commonly used for acne, cuts, infections, sunburn and a whole lot of other things. It was interesting and fun. 

Speaking of essential oils...an update: After slacking a bit, I've been doing my peppermint oil and icing routine on my achiles and it does feel better.

4:00-5:00 full body workout

Afternoon workouts always feel harder and today was no exception. 

7:00-7:30 after dinner walk with mrC

What I ate: Regular Calorie Day

Breakfast: scrambled eggs and pb&j apple rice cakes

Lunch: leftover quinoa pizza bake, grapes, celery and humus 

Post workout snack: Acai Mulberry Coconut Santo Pop

I found this grassroots company on Instagram. The owner makes these using local in season fruits and a tiny bit of cane sugar. And she delivers! Look her up on WeChat (santopop) if you're in Shekou. 

Dinner: salmon patty and green beans

Macros: as I mentioned yesterday, today was a new day. A better day. My carbs were kind of low, but my calories were nearly perfect.

What's your favorite day of the week?

Do you use essential oils?