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?

My Tips for a Successful Fast Day

Fasting is a healthy activity. The benefits of a successful fasting experience include cleansing and restoring your body, weight loss, hunger awareness, and control over your eating.

Some people struggle to get through a 24 hour fast. Feelings of fatigue, crankiness, and let's be honest, hunger, often derail the attempt.

this is to mrC

Fasting takes willpower, but a few tips like these help me make it through.

I drink lots and lots of water. The more water I drink, the fuller I feel, and then I don't feel hungry. At least not dying hungry. 

I like to take a walk or do some other light activity when I would normally be eating. This morning I did my daily plank work and then took a walk. I took another walk around lunchtime.

When I start feeling hunger rumblings, I try to keep my mind busy. Personally I like to binge watch Netflix, but reading a good book is another good option. 

Breaking fast: shrimp spring rolls, bbq chicken breast, green beans, handful of peanuts

I didn't need the spring rolls, but they sounded so good and are not the worst thing for me to splurge on after a fast. Right? And the peanuts? I have a crunchy addiction.

Macros: Not horrible, but could have more carbs. Maybe I'll eat a couple of grapes, hehe.

How do you feel after a long fast (intentional or not)?

A Day in Kennebunkport

One perk to traveling is the hotel breakfast. It's a quick and easy way to fuel up for a day of adventure. I'm a big fan of scrambled eggs.

We rounded up the girls and their buds, and headed up the coast to Kennebunkport to show them the summer home of our 41st POTUS. 

Our first stop was to view Walker's Point. According to the locals, George H. W. is a pretty good neighbor. The Mrs. is often spotted walking on the beach with her walker. There's always a flag flying when they're in residence, but not today.

Then we took some pictures.

We headed back to town and had lunch at Ports of Italy. We were all stuffed so afterwards we walked around and enjoyed the downtown area. We all agreed it was like a small Newport, RI.

The cloudy skies never seemed to break and while the kids got some Ben & Jerry's, mrC and I opted for some hot chocolate.

It was another great day with the girls. 

Don't forget to check out my book giveaway here.  

Weekend Wrap-up

The weather was absolutely gorgeous in Shenzhen all weekend. These are the days you wait for all winter and after a week of rain, they were so needed.

We enjoyed a morning walk on Saturday. We sat and warmed ourselves in the sun for awhile. I can understand why cats seek the sunshine for a little nap.

We hiked Nanshan Mountain on Sunday. It was a busy place, but we were there early enough to beat most of the crowd.

On Sunday evening, we went for a sunset walk and enjoyed some people watching. The skyline has changed a lot since we arrived almost a year ago and more new buildings are still hiding behind the old ones.

30 Day Pilates Body

Day 25: guest (inner thighs)

Loved this workout!! The crossing of my legs really made me feel my inner thighs working. 

Day 26: pick a favorite 

I picked day 25 to repeat. Why not use a good thing when you have it at your fingertips? My inner thighs need the work. 

21-Day Arm Sculpting 

Day 17: 15 reps!!

Had to channel my TI Fitness peeps to get through this one.

Day 18: rest

#RunnersLoveYogaFlow

Day 5: standingL

These are tough. Balance, flexibility, and strength all in one.

Day 6: revolved half moon.

Seriously tough. I tried to make it fun by doing it on the side of the mountain. I entertained the little Chinese ladies doing their tai chi. 

We had dinner out on Saturday and picked up some Easter flowers on the way home. 

I hope all of your baskets are filled with happiness and peace today and always!

How To Avoid DOMS

Yesterday's HIIT class was (not surprisingly) a shock to my body. I did more jumps, squats, and lunges (with weight) than I have at one time in a lonnnggg time. I knew that if I didn't get proactive, I was going to be suffering from delayed onset muscle soreness something fierce. No fun.

Here are some of the ways that I have learned to beat DOMS:

Stretching
All day long. As soon as I got out of bed, I started stretching. The more I moved around, the more I stretched. During our morning walk, when my muscles were warmed up, I stopped and did some deeper stretches and held them for longer.

Staying Active

After the walk, I did some yoga. Yoga Camp day 25 focused on strength poses, but like all good yoga sessions, I came away feeling looser.

30 Day Pilates Body. Day 4. A HIIT workout. Oh, the irony. This 8 minute video was actually not that bad. Making my muscles work helped push out some of the soreness by getting my blood pumping. 

Foam rolling 

Owwwww. This was by far the most painful method of the day, but an easy way to release the tension in those sore muscles.

Protein 

Consuming extra protein is said to help our bodies recover faster. Breakfast: eggs and yogurt. Lunch: Quinoa and tuna leftovers. Hemp hearts on my salad. Berry spinach protein smoothie. 

How do keep DOMS away??