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?

Workout Wednesday: Mixing Things Up & Low Carb Day

It is good to mix things up every once in awhile.

It gives you a new perspective 

Prevents boredom

Keeps you on your toes

These were all of things I was trying to convince myself as we headed to the fitness center for low carb day #2 workout: sprints again...but in a different form from yesterday. Coach wanted us to mix it up. Why? It's good to change up your fitness routine for several reasons:

1) to continue to challenge your body

2) improve strength and conditioning

3) to keep exercises effective

Since I always do my sprints on the elliptical and I'm not running, that left me with the bike. Then I had to decide which bike: recumbent or upright? I chose the upright because it imitates an outdoor bike and I thought would provide a harder workout.

I definitely got a good cardio workout doing 20 sets of 20:20 sprints, but my legs did not "feel the burn" the same way they do on the elliptical. It was my first time, so I probably need to play around with the incline choices more (I ended up on level 8) and figure out the whole standing up thing.

Side note: after doing some reading for this blog post, it seems as if both types of bikes can produce a good caloric burn (although some argue that you work harder on the upright so you burn more calories than the same workout on the recumbent), but the recumbent provides more protection for the lower back during the workout. Both bikes require quads, hamstrings, and glutes to do the work.

I posted a video to my Instagram, but here are some of the faces I make when doing bike sprints. Pretty funny!

After a 30 minute cool down walk on the treadmill, it was plank time. For my plank challenge I really tried to keep my body stationary while doing the full plank with arm reach. It's a lot harder than when you let yourself rock back and forth.

Since we were already there, we hit the pool again for a little post workout chill time.

We thought we'd mix things up at dinner a little too and ate out on our balcony. It was still near 90 degrees, but in the shade and with the breeze, it was very nice.

What I ate on low card day (repeat)

Brunch: scrambled eggs with ham, pb&j rice cakes and gf sausage patty 

Snack: celery and humus 

Dinner: crockpot chicken, greens beans, salad

I still crave something cold after dinner on low carb days (usually I would have fruit or yogurt), so I've been using pb&j rice cakes as a substitute. It's not the same. At all.

Macros: another good low carb day, but I'm ready to eat all the fruit!

How do you mix things up lately?

Which bike do you prefer?

What is your favorite dessert?

Perfect Match: Sprints and Low Carbs

Somethings just go together perfectly. Monica and Chandler, cheese and crackers, manis and pedis, me and mrC (😍), sprints and low carbs.

All the years I was running, I never really embraced speed work. Oh, occasionally I would join running friends for Track Party Tuesday, but not often enough to have any impact on my running or my body. Now that I am learning a new fitness lifestyle, I am becoming a believer is sprint workouts on low carb days.

Pairing sprints with low carb days sets the body up to tap into the fat storage for energy. Sprinting depletes glycogen stores quickly. By eating a diet low in carbs the rest of day, the body must find energy somewhere else. Fat.

Based on how my clothes are fitting right now, it works.

Todays sprint workout was KILLER: 20 seconds on, 20 seconds recover, 20 TIMES! I bring my Gymboss to my sprints so I can close my eyes until I hear the magic BEEP.

I never ran a 5K faster than 26+ minutes, but sprints on the elliptical make me feel seriously speedy! This includes the 5 minute warm-up too.

Everyday planking and now mrC wants in on the fun. I did my daily challenge (did you see it on Instagram?) and then 3 sets of 20 second holds in basic forearm plank for him.

It was supposed to be a rainy afternoon, so we spent some time pool side before heading home for brunch. 

What I ate on low carb day

Brunch: 3 scrambled eggs with ham, pb&j rice cake, and one sausage patty.

Snacks: celery and hummus, a little popcorn

Dinner: baked flounder (seasoned with coconut oil, garlic, paprika, and cajun seasoning), green beans and salad

Macros: Under 50 net carbs for the day, so my body should have been tapping into the fat stores (preferably right around my hips). 

What do you like to pair together?

Intense Sprints, Locker Room Lowdown, and Low Carb Eats

Off to Hong Kong to take care of passport renewals and squeezed in a bit of shopping. I'm so excited about some awesomely good gluten free products I found. More on that tomorrow.

I made it to gym for an afternoon workout session: sprints with a new twist. 20 seconds on and 20 seconds rest. 15 times! I finally remembered to take my handy Gymboss with me so I didn't have to stare at the time.

The sprints were intense. I ended up on the bike for my cool down.

So many unbelievable things happen in the fitness center locker room that today I am starting a new trend called:

Locker Room Lowdown 

It is not unusual to see tiny Asian women walking around naked or blow drying their feet, but today was a new one. There is only one small bench in the beautiful locker room. Today another woman (who was actually showering and dressing her swim lesson child) and I were sharing the bench. She had one end, I had the other end. There wasn't much space in between. It was kind of nice since sharing is uncommon. 

Here's the low down: a third woman dressed only in a hotel robe squeezed herself onto the bench landing on our things to drink a cup of water. She must have been exhausted holding that cup. 

Unbelievable.

What I ate on low carb day

Breakfast: 2.5 scrambled eggs with ham

Lunch: Cajun chicken Caesar salad and shared crabmeat nuggets with mrC

Snack: Flourless chocolate cake 

mrC picked this up at the grocery for us to eat on the ferry back to Shekou and it was seriously so good. Made only with eggs and chocolate! We are already planning to get it again the next time we are in Hong Kong.

Dinner: Crockpot Italian chicken, green beans, and a salad (with a little cheese & Ranch)

Not dairy free. Sorry. Not sorry. I'm doing my best.

Macros: I'm getting good at these low carb days. 23 net carbs for the day.

PS - I had to share this non-scale victory with you. The black pants I'm wearing in the first photo...I couldn't wear a month ago. I bought them in the US and a week later mrC accidentally shrunk them in the dryer. Today, they were baggy! I'm thrilled and can't wait to see my numbers in two weeks.

Have you ever tried flourless cake?

Sprinting Works and I Don't Need No Stinkin' Carbs

Sometimes I still do get all fancy pants.

Today I attended the SWIC (Shenzhen Women's International Club) Farewell Lunch. This was the first big event I attended a year ago when we had just arrived in China. Since then I've made some really good friends from this group. Today we said farewell to many members, enjoyed a terrific lunch, listened to an amazing performance by Akia Knowles, and received beautiful parting gifts. I also received a very thoughtful thank you gift for helping organize the run group.

The lunch pushed my workout to the afternoon. So I took my 15 sprints to the fitness center and ate them up. I honestly think they're getting easier...or am I getting stronger? Either way, they are working on my body. I feel AMAZING and my clothes are feeling more comfy again.

Oh, and the plank challenge move of the day: sliding knee tucks. Looking for a new variation that you can REALLY feel? Do this. My abs, my quads. Oh my.

Today's eats for LOW CARB DAY

Breakfast: 3 scrambled eggs with ham, coffee

Lunch: baked salmon and steamed veggies, water

Dinner: leftover bbq chicken, green beans, salad, and Coke Zero 

Macros: I don't need no stinkin' carbs! 25 net carbs today and I feel more fulfilled than I did yesterday. There's seriously something to this carb cycling program.

When was the last time you got dressed up (not for work)?

What was the last thing that made you feel STRONG?

5 Reasons to Sprint and Low Carbs

Today's workout was to do 15 sprints: 20 seconds 100% effort and 40 seconds recovery. 

My first thoughts were, What?!? 10 were already hard and now I have to do 5 more? Eek!

It's hard to love sprints unless you are literally a sprinter, which I am not. But even the average girl can find reasons to embrace sprints.

Weight loss - During high intensity exercise like sprinting, our bodies use up all the energy stored in our bodies. When that runs out, our bodies go to out fat stores looking for energy. After a session of sprinting, our bodies continue to work to recover from the lack of oxygen. Therefore our bodies  burn more calories long after our speed workout is done.

Break plateaus - just like us, our bodies get comfortable with routine. To break through that feeling of being stuck, try sprinting. If you already sprint, swap your 100s for 200s once a week.

Short and sweet - Sprints don't take long. On the track, sprints range from 80m, 100m, to 200m. Personally I've been doing timed sprints usually for 20 seconds, but you can change that up too.

Sprints are hard - Love a good challenge? Then sprints could be your next big conquest. Good sprints will leave you breathless, burning, and maybe barfing (haha, but seriously...it happens!). Go for the 3 Bs!

Power to the She - During sprints I usually feel like I'm going to pass out, but afterwards? I feel strong and bad-ass. Reaching those 3Bs makes me feel empowered and ready to take on the next challenge.

Even though I thought I might fall off the elliptical during my sprint session, I felt really good after my 30 minute cool down. It felt good to wrap up my workout with the daily plank exercise: full plank rows.

After a good workout, I always have a little pep in my step. Literally. My walk home from the gym is 1000 times better having gutted out a tough workout. 

A sight I love when I get home is mrC whipping up his delicious scrambled eggs. 

What I ate for low carb day

Breakfast: scrambled eggs with ham, pb&j rice cake, coffee

Lunch: turkey slices, salad, water

(not dairy free, but I did majorly reduce the amount of cheese on my salad)

Dinner: meatballs, green beans, sweet potato fries

In hindsight, meatballs and sweet potato fries probably weren't the best choice on low carb day, but I still came in under 50 net carbs for the day. 

How do you sprint?