I Will Get There

Hello again!

It's been two days since the Return to Blogging, and I know you've been waiting with bated breath to see how my crazy fitness and nutrition plan has been going.

Well, friends, wait no more.

Let's start with Tuesday, the day that my "mission" started.

Breakfast: I made Poached Eggs with Tomato, Swiss Chard, and Chickpeas for breakfast this week. It reminded me of one of my favorite Nom Nom Paleo recipes, Uova in Purgatorio. But guess what, y'all? This was better. I loved it and am already excited to make it again next week.

Lunch: I brought a huge salad for lunch today. Hy-Vee (my favorite grocery store ever) has a great salad bar, and I threw together a bucket o' veggies, a sprinkling of blue cheese and slivered almonds,  and a couple tablespoons of sun-dried tomato vinaigrette.

What makes lunch a huge success is that it was our staff appreciation luncheon, and our administration bought us huge Subway sandwiches and delicious-looking desserts. I attended the luncheon but ate my salad instead of the other goodies.

Dinner: I made one of my new favorite recipes, Blackened Shrimp Tacos. I think I could eat queso fresco on everything. To drink, I had a kombucha, as I'm trying to up my intake of probiotics.

Snacks: I ate an apple and a Quest bar (my new favorite protein-packed treat).

Overall, I was right on track in regard to my macros.

Workout: I did a leg/butt workout that included deadlifts (starting with 135 pounds and working up to 165, as I'm still re-building my strength), good mornings, leg press (373 pounds), calf raise (on the leg press machine), two miles on the elliptical, and Week One: Day One of Sore to the Core.

Basically, I killed it.

Mini-Goals: I hit my 10,000 steps and drank four Camelbaks of water.

Tuesday was a success!

Breakfast: This could get boring. I ate the same thing I did on Tuesday.

Lunch: Again, this is pretty boring, as I ate my leftover tacos. But, I added some roasted asparagus.

Dinner: I forgot to take a picture of it, but I made one of my new favorite, easy, made-up recipes that I so cleverly call Chicken with Peppers and Queso Fresco. (I told you that I could eat queso fresco on everything...)

Snacks: I had an apple after my workout, and then things get a little trickier. I finished up some Good & Plenty that I had leftover from my weekend road trip. Then, J and I went to a show, and I had a beer (followed by soda water w/ lime) as well as a few of the steak fries he ordered.

But, all of that kept me within my macros!

Workout: Today was another kick-ass day at the gym. It was chest/back day, so I did bench (starting with 45 pounds and moving up to a formerly-easy but currently-difficult 85 pounds), close-grip bench (55 pounds), lat pulldown, machine back extension, seated cable row, Week One: Day Two of Sore to the Core, and two miles on the elliptical.

Mini-Goals: Yet again, I smashed my 10,000 steps and drank four Camelbaks of water.

Breakfast: You guessed it! I ate my last serving of Poached Eggs with Tomato, Swiss Chard, and Chickpeas. 

Lunch: Yep! I brought my leftover Chicken with Peppers and Queso Fresco -- but I also brought some asparagus.

Dinner: Tonight I made an oldie-but-a-goodie: Crab Cakes w/ Mango Avocado Salsa. I forgot just how amazingly delicious these are. I also had kombucha because, well, probiotics.

Snacks: I had a Quest bar and some Metamucil. (I'm not even ashamed to admit it, and I don't care that it makes me sound like an 80-year-old man: Metamucil is the best stuff in the entire universe.)

In order to fit my macros, I had a serving and a half of the crab cakes and salsa.

Workout: I took a day off of abs and lifting because wow, I am sore. My muscles are like, "Yeah! We remember this! But it's been a while, yo!" Instead, I laid by the pool for a bit. Because I was still short on steps, though, I headed to the gym this evening for an elliptical workout and ended up cranking out three miles.

Mini-Goals: I'm killing it, y'all. Those 10,000 steps had nothing on me, and I have been chugging water like it's going out of style.

I'm really digging this plan.

I am someone who needs routine, someone who appreciates guidelines. I have given myself both with this plan.

Nutritionally, I am eating a wide variety of food: veggies, meats, cheese, fruit, grains, etc. And while there have been moments of huh, I could go for a snack right now, they have been few and far between; my meals fill me up and keep me full for quite a while.

As far as fitness goes, it feels good to be a regular at the gym again. I have spent years poo-pooing the elliptical, but y'all, I am giving myself a damn good workout on that machine. I have a long way to go before I feel like I can compare it to running (which is a kick-ass core workout for me), but I'm not hating it as much as I had anticipated.

But, I'm likely not hating it because I'm pushing myself like crazy. What I've been doing this week is starting with a super-fast mile -- and pushing myself to beat that super-fast time the following day. So far I've significantly smashed my records. After my super-fast initial mile is done, I do another mile or two at a moderate pace to keep my heart rate elevated and to get those steps in.

Tomorrow is Pedal Pub Day, so as I previously mentioned, I am not going to stay within my macro guidelines; I am going to have a nutritionally-sound breakfast, lunch, protein-packed snack, and four Camelbaks of water, but then I am going to have a few adult beverages and likely dinner out. And that's okay.

And aside from pedaling around Northeast Minneapolis, I'm probably not going to workout. The original plan was to get up super early and workout before school, but I foolishly had a coffee with my friend at the pool, and now I'm wide awake. While I'll set my alarm for 5:00, waking up that early is not likely. But, I'll still get my steps. 

This is my new "everything in moderation." And I'm really excited (and amazingly motivated) to see where it takes me.