Shred Day 22: Raising the Bar and Then I Become Insatiable

As much as I wanted to do my sprints as a running workout, I did them on the elliptical instead. I don't think my knee is ready for back to back running days yet. I ended up outside for my cool down walk though.

The workout ---> 10 minute warm-up on the elliptical, 25 sprints at 20 seconds on/20 seconds recovery but I RAISED THE BAR today and bumped up to level 4! My last sprint workout on the elliptical was sort of, meh. During my warm-up I was thinking about how sprints used to kick my butt and I love that feeling! Level 4 brought those feelings back. My heart rate was up and my legs were jello. Just the way a good workout should be.

We got a message from Booney who is living the good life and spending lots of time on the Cape. We're so lucky that mrC's cousin and family adopted him when we made the move to China. I don't think many new owners would keep in touch like this.

I also received this photo from my aunt from our day at the Newport Aquarium. We are supposed to be frightened by a shark, but you can't see it!

I guess that killer morning workout really revved up my engines, because I was insatiable ALL day! It felt like my stomach would never stop growling. Here's what I ate on low carb day:

Breakfast:

Snacks/Lunch (I just ate and and and ate...):

Dinner:

How did you raise the bar today?

What workouts make you insatiable?

Shred Day 13 & 14: Facing Fears and a Zoo Loop

Every time I lace up my Mizunos for a sprint interval workout I am scared. Up until a couple of weeks ago, I was not able to run my sprints and did them all on the elliptical because my knee is cranky as hell. I never now how my knee is going to feel during or after the workout and or even if it will want to work!

Yesterday my knee felt good, so I went to the park near my mom's house to do my workout. First, I walked a 10 minute warmup on the walking path. I love paths like this because you don't have to worry about traffic.

I switched up my 30 day Shred days so that I would be able to eat ALL THE PIZZA at the pizza party my aunt was hosting later and then I switched up the workout from interval run to sprint intervals for my knee. The goal: 25 sprints using 20 run/20 walk intervals.

To make it even easier on my knee, I ran the sprints back and forth on the mulch section of the walking path. It was a perfect match for my knee. I felt good, my heart rate was up and I was definitely sweaty!

For my cool down, I walked another 15 minutes on the path back to my car. I used my Nike running app for the first time in months. It felt so good, but it feels even better to SEE my resulting route (I accidentally stopped it after my sprints).

On our way to my aunt's, my mom and I hit up Athleta and had ourselves a little shopping spree. I'm a bad influence on her...she bought four pair of pants! I walked away with this, this, this, and this.

When you get the girls in my family in one room, it's all about sharing stories. My cousins, aunts, mom and sister (would you believe she's the blond next me?? She is!) are a riot and I'm really lucky that they indulge in at least one LaRosa's pizza party when I'm home for a visit.

Today I was fasting so I skipped breakfast and ran some errands with my mom. She's planning to buy a new front door, so we stopped at Home Depot to check out the options. Then we picked up a birthday printer for her at Best Buy. I hope she likes it :)

Then we spent the day walking the loop at the Cincinnati Zoo. It was warm and sunny today, so we broke up the walk with some indoor exploration as well as shady spots with the big cats.

What I Ate the last two days ---> not the best choices, but I'm back on track tomorrow!

Do you have any fears when you workout?
Do you like to run on hard or soft surfaces?
When was the last time you were at the zoo? ----> my last year of teaching in Ohio, so over 9 years ago!

Shred Day 2: Sprints, a Nail Salon Adventure and Free Food

Low carb days always make me feel really good.

But today I'm feeling amazing! Not because of low carbing, but because I ran my sprints outside. It was the same workout as yesterday: 20 sprints at 20 seconds on and 20 seconds off. I used a run/walk combination.

Our hotel is located in the Saint-Laurent neighborhood of Montreal, very near the airport and about 15 minutes from downtown. It is a thriving little area with shopping, restaurants, and entertainment just a block away. This morning it was a perfect place for me to run.

After showering and some breakfast, I went on a nail salon adventure. I walked back to the shopping area where I ran my sprints to get my nails done. That salon was closed, so I returned to the hotel to grab the car keys and drove to another location about a mile away. The street was lined with shops and the parking signage was in French, so I continued back to the hotel. I finally found a salon in a shopping mall on another block near where we are staying. At the end of the adventure, I'm loving my new nail colors. 

What I ate on low carb day 2:

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

Lunch: veggie burger, salad, diet dew

Snack: celery, hummus, diet dew

Dinner: salmon, salad, diet dew

Before dinner mrC and I walked to the attached hotel to check out the restaurant. On the way we found some FREE FOOD! The hotel set out fresh cookies for the guests, so we grabbed some for dessert!

Macros: I did really well on my carbs again today: 34 net, but I was under in calories again. I really don't know how to hit them on low carb days. 

Tomorrow is feast day and I've already decided that I will be going to the hotel buffet for breakfast. I saw some waffles there the other day and they just sound really good!

What is your favorite breakfast item?

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?

Sprints and Sprinting to the Cape!

Yesterday I flipped low calorie day with low carb day to make sure we did not miss our sprint workout before heading to the Cape. mrC and I were at the gym at 6:15 to do the final sprint workout of carb cycling round two.

Sprinting for 15 minutes using the 20:20 ratio equals 23 intervals! It's all fun and games when you start, but the last three (extra) are tough.

I spent the rest of the day getting ready for our trip: laundry, prepping kid "care packages" and organizing my suitcase. My SIL's dog has become my little shadow, especially when I'm enjoying some low carb day turkey breast slices.

Our landlord contacted us the night before to let us know the house was ready and invited us to go a day early. We thought, HECK YEA! We can't get there fast enough! When mrC got back from work, we loaded everything into the car and sprinted off.

We enjoyed an easy traffic-free drive. After a quick stop for some dinner, we arrived around 9PM. Waking up in the Cape House (instead of being in the Saturday morning mad dash) was fantabulous.

Here are a few pics to show you why :)

The kids arrive tomorrow (can't wait!), but this little guy must have decided I needed some company.

Happy Saturday!