THIS website is one of my favorites. It's a great resource for recipes and food info, including a great little blurb on Splenda yesterday. Very timely, since Jen and I both decided (independently) to give it up.
Today's recipe caught my eye because of the drool-inducing photo. Are those lamb kabobs gorgeous or what!? I'd love to cook those up at some point this weekend... Maria (author of Dialed-In) says they're delicious, and I definitely believe her. I'm seriously licking my chops right now.
I got back from my 10-day trip yesterday afternoon, and am ready to hit the ground running. A quick recap...
The Level 1 cert was amazing. I felt like such a dork, being totally high on CrossFit and ready to conquer the world one squat at a time. The coaches/instructors were amazing, I made some great CrossFit friends from all over the world, and I learned so much more than I thought I would. Highlights include winning the team WOD (team Fran) with my six-girl powerhouse, perfecting my "active shoulders," meeting CrossFit celebs and of course, receiving my Level 1 Instructor certificate after acing my test. If any of you have the opportunity to attend a Level 1 cert, I highly recommend it.
The Kids Cert was also quite the experience. In addition to learning coaching cues for kids - like Oompa Loompa, "angry gorilla" and Superman - we got to watch Preschool, Kids and Teens classes. Those kids move better than a lot of adults I've seen; they're just so fluid, flexible and confident. Seeing a 3-year-old girl squat, a 7-year-old boy do 24" box jumps and 16-year-old dude do rep after rep of 155# squat cleans is nothing short of amazing (and entertaining). I'm so excited to recruit kids and train them up to be amazing CrossFitters. So, if you know of any kids ages 3-18, send them my way!
Wedding weekend was absolutely amazing. Action-packed and crazy, but amazing. I'm so happy for my sister... she's now married to her best friend, and I couldn't be more excited to see how her future unfolds with Patrick. I'm also a little jealous, as they're honeymooning at Zoetry in the Dominican Republic right now. I've been a bit sleep-deprived for the past 10 days, and laying on a beach sounds like heaven. Then again, it's really good to be back in Chicago and back at Atlas. I don't think I've ever said that about a job before, but I honestly love working here and spending my day with such fun, passionate and driven people.
Update on the Zone... I was really good and strict until I got to Memphis. Then it was time for a bachelorette party, bridesmaid luncheon, rehearsal dinner, reception and celebratory brunch, all of which included amazing food that definitely exceeded my daily block allowance. My favorite foods of the weekend were: the rehearsal dinner steak that melted in my mouth, a veggie salad that we had at the bridesmaid luncheon (pretty sure I can make this recipe Zone-friendly) and of course, wedding cake. Allie had a strawberry cake with cream cheese frosting that was A-MA-ZING. We had the leftover cake at my parents house, so I might have had a little for breakfast Sunday, snack Sunday and breakfast Monday. I have a weakness for sweets, especially cake. I am admitting this only to stay accountable to my readers (which is probably just Jen at this point), and to show you that it's okay to cheat. I knew that I had a big food weekend coming up, so in preparation, I was very strict and stuck to my block plan. And now that the weekend is over, I'm back on that plan, and anxious to feel as good as I felt before the wedding.
Pictures from California and the wedding to come...
I'm in southern Cali until Wednesday getting my Level 1 and CFKids certs. I'm so excited! Today is day 1 (of 4), though I got in yesterday morning and was able to spend some time cruisin around the San Diego area and laying on the beach in La Jolla. I also found a couple houses that I'd like to have. Not buy - because I probably can't afford them yet - but if someone wants to give them to me, that would be perfect.
My certifications are at CrossFit Brand X in Ramona, about 45 minutes west, so I've got a nice little drive ahead of me. Then it's off to Corona Del Mar to hook up with Jen for a relaxing night in our house on the beach!
I can't remember how many days I've been Zoning, but I maaaay have fallen off the wagon this weekend. I had a bit of an "incident" at the Spartan 300 on Saturday...
I fell off a 7-foot pull-up bar, landing on my head/neck/back. I was immobile for a couple hours, but after spending the afternoon/evening at Northwestern, I left with nothing but a "head trauma" diagnosis and prescription for Vicodin. Close call. Luckily, I had Jen and Terry to keep me company (and take this awesome staff pic) at the hospital.
Later in the evening, I probably had about 67 blocks of carbs in the form of D'Agostino's pepperoni and onion pizza and Windy City Sweet's strawberry cheesecake ice cream. I guess I felt entitled.
With only 10 days until my sister's wedding, I'm back to strict Zone. Breakfast this morning was an egg and six almonds with a giant iced coffee (free/no blocks!). Snack was a delicious Paleo Cacao Nib Cookie from sweet Kelly (of "Kelly and Eman"). Lunch was Cajun turkey, an apple and almond butter with flax seed.
In other news, I overheard this conversation while having my vitals checked in the ambulance on Saturday:
Woman Paramedic: I felt out of shape when I woke up this morning, but now I feel even worse about myself. Did you SEE those people in there??
Man Paramedic: Yeah, I don't know what was going on...
They had just seen all the ACF coaches after the Spartan 300, sweaty, shirtless and totally ripped. I might have been halfway passed out, but I was one proud GM.
Today I was right on the money! Check it out...
8:00am:
- Muscle Milk: 3B Protein, 1B Carbs, 3B Fat
- Apple: 2B Carbs
10:45am:
- 2 Eggs: 2B Protein
- 1cup Broccoli: 1B Carbs
- 12 Almonds: 4B Fat
1:10pm:
- Ground Beef and Broccoli: 2.5B Protein, .5B Carbs
- 1/2 Avocado: 4B Fat
3:30pm:
- Muscle Milk: 3B Protein, 1B Carbs, 3B Fat
- Peach: 1B Carbs
6-9pm (Happy Hour(s) at Citizen with fellow ACF'ers - SO FUN!):
- Grilled Chicken Strips: 4B Protein
- 5tbs Guacamole: 10B Fat
- 3 Glasses Pinot Gris: 3B Carbs
Total blocks for the day:
Protein: 14.5B
Carbs: 9.5B
Fat: 24B
Highlight of the day: 3 glasses of Pinot Gris. And that guacamole! SO GOOD! That's a great snack option, since Citizen is right across the street from ACF...
Lowlight of the day: raw broccoli at 10:45. You would've thought I was a toddler. I hate raw broccoli. I gagged all the way through it, but I did it. And Jen actually said while I was eating it, "maybe you'll start liking it!" Umm, no.
It's the second day and I'm a little tired of avocado already. I need some new fats. Anyway, here's what I ate today:
8:00am:
- Chocolate Muscle Milk Light Smoothie: 3B Protein, 1B Carbs, 3B Fat (I discovered today that Muscle Milk has 5g fat, which equates to about 3B)
- Apple: 2B Carbs
10:40am:
- 1cup Carrots: 1B Carbs
- 2 Eggs: 2B Protein
- 12 Almonds: 4B Fat
1:30pm:
- 3oz. Turkey: 3B Protein
- 1/2 Avocado: 4B Fat
- 1cup Strawberries, 1/2cup Blueberries: 2B Carbs
- 12 Almonds: 4B Fat
4:20pm:
- 1 Egg: 1B Protein
- 1/4 Avocado: 2B Fat
7:00pm:
- 3oz. Turkey: 3B Protein
- 3cups Romaine: .5B Carbs
- 1/2cup Tomato: .5B Carbs
- Larabar: 1B Protein, 7.5B Fat, 3B Carbs
8:45pm:
- Nectarine: 2B Carbs
Total blocks for the day:
Protein: 13B
Carbs: 12B (oops)
Fat: 24.5B
I was closer to my goal numbers today (14B Protein, 10B Carbs, 28B Fat), but went over on Carbs. I couldn't help it. I really needed that nectarine because I was at Bridget McNeill's playing trivia and didn't want to eat the complimentary popcorn. So, I think in the grand scheme of the day, that nectarine was an ok choice.
Today marks day 1 of something I never, EVER thought I'd do... the ZONE diet! If you know me at all, you know that I. Love. Food. LOVE IT. So "diet" isn't really a word that exists in my vocabulary. However, I'm a pretty healthy eater, have been 70% paleo for the past 6-ish months, and only indulge in the occasional cupcake, or brownie batter, or mini Snickers, or package of dried pineapple... With it being summer and sister's wedding being only 25 days away, I decided to kick it up a notch and take Jen up on her offer to be my Zone partner for the next few weeks.
I should say that I knew NOTHING about Zone this morning, except that Jennifer Aniston does it and looks amazing, you measure your food and count out your portions in "blocks." But Jen (my Jen, not Aniston) is super knowledgeable when it comes to food and nutrition, so she immediately started imparting that knowledge on me when I walked in the door this morning. The math goes like this:
7 grams of protein = 1 protein block
9 grams of carbohydrates = 1 carb block
1.5 grams of fat = 1 fat block
Being a small/medium female who exercises a ton, I get to have 14 protein blocks, 12 carb blocks and 28 fat blocks every day. (Side note: that 28 sounds like a ton of deliciousness, til you hear that a measly THREE almonds equal one fat block.) There are a couple key things to remember as you eat throughout the day:
1. After exercising, eat a balance of protein and carbs with very little to no fat. After all, your body absorbs everything you eat right after you work out, and you don't want it absorbing that fat, do you? Fat is for other times during the day, when your body can use it as energy (not recover off it).
2. Measurements of food are not equal. They are assigned their block value based on the effect they have on your insulin levels. Por ejemplo, 1/3 of a banana equals 1 block while 1 cup of strawberries also equals 1 block. That's because the banana will raise your insulin levels much more than a strawberry will, so you are allowed less of it. I'd rather have that cup of strawberries because it's more food!
3. Meals should be comprised of equal protein and carbs, and 3x the protein in fat. 4. This website has tons of good Zone information, block assignments and meal plans, which sound quite delicious!
There's a lot of thinking (math too), but I like to think of it as this fun little game so that it doesn't seem as "diety" to me. And truth is, you get to eat a lot! My snacks/meals filled me up so quickly today! Here's what I ate (B = Blocks):
8:00am (post workout):
- Chocolate Muscle Milk Light Smoothie: 3B Protein, 1B Carbs
- Apple: 2B Carbs
10:50am:
- Spinach/Strawberry/Blueberry Smoothie (sounds/looks SICK but is SO GOOD!): 2.5B Carbs
- 2 Eggs, 1 Egg White: 2.5B Protein
- 1/2 Avocado: 4B Fat
1:50pm (post sprints):
- Chocolate Protein Shake/Whole Milk/Protein Powder/Strawberry Smoothie: 3B Protein, 1.5B Carbs, .5B Fat
- Strawberries: .5B Carbs
6:15pm:
- 5 oz. Tuna with 2/3 tsp. Light Olive Oil Mayo: 5B Protein, 2B Fat
- 1 Avocado: 8B Fat
- 24 Almonds: 8B Fat
- 1 Nectarine: 1B Carbs
Total blocks for the day:
Protein: 13.5B
Carbs: 8.5B
Fat: 22.5B
Here is my lovely dinner... looks like a lot of food right? It filled me up quickly... I actually ate it over the course of about 30 minutes.
I'm about 2 hours from going to bed (those sprints WORE ME OUT!), and I'm feeling pretty good. Don't get me wrong, I was famished by dinnertime. But supposedly, you and your stomach get used to the portions. And, keeping Jennifer Aniston in mind helps. She eats like this, so surely I'll have her skin/body/a** in a month or two, right??
