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)?

Core Work and A Carb Cycling Update

After a late night of travel back to Shenzhen and a little extra sleep, I got right to the core work today. I was a little behind on the plank challenge I'm doing because of my trip to Bali, but by putting together all of the days I had a tough core workout. But I did workout in Bali too.

Before I get to today, I have some catching up to do. It was not easy to be on a getaway while doing the carb cycling program, but I switched around some of the days and made it work as much as I could. 

Sunday: Low calorie day = rest

This made traveling easier. I had breakfast with mrC before being picked up for my ride to the airport, lunch was a protein bar and dinner from the room service kid's menu (on a Winnie the Pooh plate!).

Monday: Low carb day (originally feast day) = sprints on the elliptical 

Super easy at the hotel and restaurants in Bali. Eggs made to order at the hotel, chicken satay by the pool and dinner at Tony Roma's.

Tuesday: Feast day (originally fast day) = full body workout (or climb a volcano!)

We were served breakfast on our hiking trip (one at the bottom and one at the top): banana pancake and banana sandwich. Another order of chicken satay at the pool and dinner at Fish Co. Dessert from room service was a strange yogurt and granola bowl (but not in the same bowl?).

Wednesday: Fast day (originally regular calorie day) = REST

Breaking fast on an airplane is not my first choice! A little bit of chicken and rice, some fruit, and pb& j rice cake when I got back to apartment.

Macros: I'm pretty excited by these. I kept my carbs up except on low carb day and ate more on feast day again which made my fast go smoothly.

Today: Low calorie day (to get back on track with the group, I skipped regular calorie day)

Breakfast: our easy go-to: scrambled eggs with ham and pb&j rice cake

Lunch: quinoa pizza bake, salad, and grapes

Thank goodness my favorite pizzeria sauce is gluten free and mrC brought some back from the states with him.

Dinner: Italian crockpot chicken, green beans, salad and watermelon 

Macros: not at all happy about these. Unless MFP is wrong, most of my fats today came from my eggs. Who knew?!? On the bright side, my calories were right at 25% less than a regular day though.

Here's to staying on track and getting things done on schedule!

How I Survived the Big Chill + Some Workouts

It seems like everyone is dealing with winter weather lately. Blizzards in the US and the coldest temperatures on record in Shenzhen. This tropical climate city even had some freezing rain! Apartments in China are not built for cold weather. We have single pane windows and tile floors. But we are one of the lucky ones who have a combination AC/heating unit.

This morning we were up early (4AM!) to watch the Patriots vs Broncos. During half time, I warmed up a little by doing a 10 minute inner thigh video from Pop Sugar. Going to feel that one.

Since the sun was shining, I ventured out to meet the hiking group, even though the feels like temperature was only 28 degrees (F). A few layers plus a few stairs and we warmed up nicely. It was a great hike on a new peak (recap to follow).

When I got home from the hike, the obvious choice for lunch was a big bowl of chili followed up by curling up the couch for some Netflix. It wasn't long before I took a little nap.

After my cat nap, I layered on some fitness gear and warmed up with my day 3 Yoga Camp video. The cold tile floors wore me down and I had to put on a pair of Zensahs.

I also did a plank workout that I created a few days ago. My goal is to do this at least 3 times per week to try to get back my core strength. I set my gym boss timer to 30 seconds work and 3 seconds rest. I struggle through the last set of leg lifts, but that's how I'll get stronger, right? If you try it, let me know what you think.

The forecast for the rest of the week is rain, so mrC took me out for dinner when he got home from work. We spotted Chinese New Year preparations.

To give you an idea of how people here are dealing with the big chill, our favorite Mexican restaurant provided this version of indoor heating!

 Fun day!

Now we're off to watch this week's Downton Abbey!

Three Reasons to Love Planking

Each week I leave my apartment with the hopes that someone will be waiting to join me for a run, but lately it has been just me. I used to walk to the meeting place for the running group, but today it dawned on me that I really should be running. I hate to admit it, but I figured no one would be there, and it seemed silly to waste my time walking.

After waiting about 10 minutes, I continued to do one of my regular routes to the Peninsula light house and then down to the mermaid statue and back. Even though the sky looks kind of ominous in the picture, it was nearly a perfect day for running. If the temps are going to stay in the 70s, then thank you very much for cloudy skies.

Today's prompt for the Holiday Sweat Challenge asked, what's your favorite strengthening move? For me, without hesitation, it's the plank. When I got to the lighthouse, I thought it would be a perfect backdrop for a plank photo and that got me thinking about why I love planking so much...besides the obvious strength benefits.

1. I can stop and plank anywhere (as demonstrated above). This makes it convenient to do even a little strength training at home, in the gym, when traveling...ANYWHERE!

2. There are so many ways to plank that it's very easy to keep it fresh and new. In the photo I'm doing a standard plank, but I also like to challenge myself with some dynamic planks like spiderman or up-downs.

3. No equipment needed. This makes it easy to do planks anywhere because all you need is you! No need to worry about buying weights or finding a gym, just stop, drop, and plank! *On a side note, adding props can increase the difficulty of a plank. For example, balance hands or feet on a bosu, medicine, or stability ball.

PopSugar has a great 1-minute video that shows how to do 12 plank variations:

I mentioned the other day that my right calf was feeling tight and a knot had formed on the inside. Add a lot of jumping at Zumba last night and it was feeling tighter. Before my run this morning, I foam rolled my whole body, but spent extra time on my calves, then I stretched. I recently read that it's just as important to stretch after foam rolling as it is after your workout.

My calf felt much better during today's run than the last couple of days. After completing my daily F2F Challenge workout, I brought out the stick and spent just a couple more minutes rolling it out.

One part of the Holiday Sweat Challenge is to track your freggie (fruit & vegi) eating habits. I don't eat nearly as much as most people. Today I tossed some spinach into my scrambled eggs and felt pretty proud of myself.

What's your favorite strengthening move?
What do you love about planking?
Favorite way to sneak in more freggies?

Back to Back Runs, Hands Up Planking, and Yoga Mats

There was no way I was going to get stuck on a mountain in the rain this morning. After 90 minutes of flip-flopping between hiking the mountain or running and two good downpours, I chose to run. NBD, right? Except that I ran yesterday and I never run back-to-back days anymore. That little knee surgery in December has really changed things around here.

Since this back-to-back thing was kind of a test, I told mrC that I would run for about 20 minutes and secretly hoped I would hit two miles. Hitting a 10 minute pace has been challenging since we moved to China and began living in this tropical climate. Plus the boardwalk is slippery when wet and the whole knee thing. Turns out I did ok and it only rained a little while I was running.

Even though I was smoking' hot, I planked before getting in the shower to cool off. I was reminded again recently about the palms up position being a better challenge for your core. It really is.

While I love my free yoga mat, it is very stretchy making planking and stretching difficult at times. Today I finally picked up a new one and would you believe it was only $5 USD?? Isn't that crazy?

And just because random things can make me happy:

Do you plank with your hands up, down, or clasped in prayer pose?
How much did you pay for your yoga mat?

Not What I Was Expecting

Ever since getting sick, I've been waking up extra early.

Today, instead of staying in bed (I'd already laid there for 30 minutes), I got up and laced up. My weather app happily reported that it was a mere 80 degrees causing me to nearly dance out the door.

I was greeted by glowing decorations that made it almost seem like Christmas.

Since I was out the door before the sun was officially up, I ran east to catch the sunrise.

I didn't think it would take me long to get to the waterfront for the best view. I've been feeling better and the weather was so nice, but I bonked. Right from the start the run was a struggle. My legs felt heavy. I couldn't find a rhythm. My breathing was off.

It happens. I didn't give up though (although I wanted to...many times). It wasn't easy. I didn't have a partner to pull me along, but I kept going and finished the route that I had planned.

At home I did some planking. My left side is noticeably weaker than my right.

For breakfast I was super excited to try some GF tortillas and make cheesy scrambled eggs with sausage wraps. I used to buy Udi's gluten free bread in the US to make toast sometimes and it was delicious.

It did not turn out the way I expected. I first tried it as an on-the-go wrap (no heating). It basically fell apart when I tried to fold it. So I tried again and heated one in the microwave between a damp paper towel for 20 seconds as per the instructions. Sadly it stuck to the towel in places and still ripped apart.

Sadly, it didn't taste very good either. Maybe it's a bad batch (I did buy it in China after all).


Is one side of your body stronger than the other?
Have you tried Udi's products?

Yoga and Running with Friends

Even though I was tired, I stayed busy this weekend.

On Saturday, I was thinking about skipping yoga until my friend texted me that she was going to go too. I took it as a sign that I was meant to go to yoga. Isn't it funny how things work out that way?

It was another Hatha class with the same instructor, but much easier than the first one I took. It was still challenging, for ME, but not as hard. If you've ever been to a yoga class, you probably know what I mean.

Today I met up with two friends for #SundayRunday. There's always a nice view of the marina.

The humidity is back, but we still laced up and got out there for a nice and easy 3.5 miles. It feels really good to finish a tough run.

Keeping the promise to myself, I planked after my run. Some days it is harder to do this than others. Today was one of those days,

I spent the afternoon shopping and came home with a little present for my feet. This brand new pair of Skechers GOwalk2 Super Breathe are like pillows on my feet. I can't wait to try them out on the SWIC hike tomorrow.

How was your weekend?
Have you ever tried Skechers?

Trying Something New: Pilates

Today I tried something new. I took a Pilates class at the yoga center. I heard it's a great cross training option for runners.

photo Yogalife

I should start by saying it's lucky that I got in because despite showing up a little early to check in for the class, I forgot my YogaLife card. The friendly attendant who speaks only Chinese waved me in, I think because she remembered me.

With the help of a kind French woman named Virginia, I found room #1 and grabbed a mat by the windows. We chatted about our mutual lack of flexibility and she told me about some other Yoga classes.

And then the sweating commenced.

The 60 minute class was a combination of yoga poses and core exercises. Our instructor, Candy, led the class in both Chinese and English which I really liked. I think I will learn how to say right and left in Chinese very quickly!

Unlike Hatha Yoga on Saturday, I was able to do almost all of the work today. I am looking forward to seeing my flexibility and balance improve over the weeks as I take both classes.

Daily planking: It was free choice day for the challenge, so I'm counting all the planking I did in Pilates today.

Have you seen this? Oiselle is starting a reading club for runners! I've already read the book (it's really good) and am loving this idea.

Long Distance Reading Club starts soon! Kicking it off with a classic: Once A Runner. #staytuned #LDRclub pic.twitter.com/zyFyfjN4py

— oiselle (@oiselle) September 2, 2015

Have you taken Pilates? 
Do you have a favorite book about running/fitness?