SUNDAY BITES - T Minus 8 Weeks

BREAKFAST

This morning I whizzed up the most delicious Green Meanie Smoothie ever. Strawberry Basil and Avocado.

Skinny Bride Mission Recipe: Blend 1 cup unsweetened Almond Breeze, 1 leaf collard greens, 1 leaf kale, a handful of baby spinach, 8 strawberries, 6 homemade cubes coconut water jelly, 1 tsp fresh ginger, 1 tsp psyllium husks, 1/4 of an avocado, 2 leaves fresh basil and 4 ice cubes.

Absolutely delicious. The generous recipe filled 1 1/2 of my small glasses, (pictured).

For my protein, I had 3 slices of Applegate Farms Turkey Bacon. Salty goodness.

By the way, I was checking out the nutrition information on the side of my Knox Gelatin packet. It appears there isn't as much protein in there are livestrong.com calculates. Each of my coconut water cubes contains about 1 gram of protein, (not 4 grams as I previously thought). 

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HIGH INTENSITY INTERVAL TRAINING

As promised, I attempted my first HIIT session today. Oh man, it was h-a-r-d. It lasted only 25 minutes, involved 5x5 sets of easy-looking 1 minute exercises with a 1 minute break in between rounds.

I nearly died.

But then it was over and I felt fine .... until an hour later. I can now hardly lift my head I'm so exhausted. And my legs feel like tree trucks: solid, heavy and rooted to the ground. No wonder the experts only recommend HIIT 2-3 times a week.

Here's my workout care of Craig Ballantyne's Turbulance Training:
25 minute workout.
5 rounds of 5 exercises.
1 minute rest between each round.
1 minute for each exercise.

ROUND 1:

• Jumping jacks
• Bodyweight squats (hands out in front, parallel to ground. Squat like sitting into a chair).
• T-pushups, alternate sides (push up on feet, then twist onto side of feet and reach one arm into air in T).
• Vertical jumps (hands on head and jump high. For low-impact version, do Total Body Extensions instead, as in Round 4).
• Prisoner lunges (hands on head and lunge one foot forward, then the other).

1 minute rest

ROUND 2:

• Regular pushups.
• Prisoner squats (hands on head, squat like chair sitting).
• Squat thrust (squat on hands, fling feet out into pushup position, jump back in, then out, hands always on the ground).
• Duck unders (chest up, wide stance, imagine ducking under something. Squat to side and maneuver body under and up, then back to other side. Hold hands in boxing position in front).
• Burpies (down into pushup, jump feet back in and jump up into air with arms up, then back down, jump legs back into pushup, then in and jump up into air)

1 minute rest

ROUND 3:

• Seal jump (goofy looking version of jumping jacks. Jump out, then cross legs in and cross straight arms, then out, and back in swap cross sides).
• Spiderman climb (or mountain climbers if you want. Push up position, walk one leg forward in line with hands still on ground. Walk leg back to pushup position, then other leg forward. Hold abs in)
• Get ups (30 seconds one side, the switch. (Or alternate if you want). Hold one arm in air, lie flat on back with same side leg bent. Get up to a standing position, always keeping arm in air. Can lean on other hand, push non-bent leg through and under body to kneel and push to stand. Reverse back down).
• Side step (Squat low with legs together, extend one leg out to shuffle sideways 3 shuffles, bringing feet back together between shuffles. Arms in boxing position. Shuffle back to other side).
• Shuttle sprint (run in place with high knees).

1 minute rest

ROUND 4:

• Split shuffle (one leg back, one arm up forward. Kind of running slow motion but jumping into each position alternating sides).
• Side to side jumps (knees up, jump side to side as if over a rod).
• Side plank (30 seconds each side. Only static exercise).
• Total body extensions, (like jumping up into air, but feet don’t leave ground. Arms push up into air and stretch, up on tippytoes, then down into squat with arms down too. Can do these instead of vertical jumps in round 1 too).
• Running in place (knees up, arms pumping up).

1 minute rest

ROUND 5:

• Seal jump.
• Close grip pushups (hands underneath shoulders, elbows tucked into sides).
• Lateral lunge (side down and out, drive back up. Arms in boxing position).
• Mountain climber (like spiderman but legs don’t come up so far. Behind hands rather than in line with and beside hands. No jumping, just walking legs up and back. Abs tight. Don’t have hips piked up in the air).
• Side shuffle.

MORNING SNACK

Before heading out the door today I had 1 Tsp Psyllium Husks mixed into a cup of water. 

Bring on the fiber.

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6 Raw Organic Brazil Nuts.

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LUNCH

We went to Emporio in SoHo for Sunday Brunch. I ordered the Grilled Chicken Antipasti. It came with about 1 oz of chicken, 1/4 of an avocado and a few paper-thin slices of tangy parmesan. So good.

 

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For a little more protein I ordered 2 Organic Poached Eggs on the side.

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Dave ordered a Gluten-Free Pizza with Proscuitto, Parmesan and Buffalo Mozzarella. I stole a piece. Hey, how often do I get a chance to eat gluten-free pizza?

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I regretted it soon afterwards and started beating myself up about it, but I ordered a Decaf Fat-Free Latte from La Colombe after lunch. I really didn't need all that milk and it tasted bitter and dry in my mouth afterwards. Don't get me wrong, the coffee there is awesome. Far above the Starbucks calibre, but I just didn't need the extra calories. Besides, a coffee should be creamy and full-fat to be worthwhile.

I'd taken Dave there to grab a real coffee. I had a few sips of his to try and wake up as I literally couldn't move to get myself home after lunch. The real coffee tasted so good, I ordered my own decaf on impulse. Silly, silly.

Dave's caffeinated coffee didn't even hit the sides. I was still a zombie for hours afterwards. (Usually a sip of coffee will get me all jittery and keep me awake all night).

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DINNER

Lamb & Greens Stirfry for Dinner ....

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.... and a sugar-free gluten-free Organic Sesame Pumpkin Cookie.

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PRE-BEDTIME SNACK

Despite popular wisdom stating that 25 minutes of HIIT 3 times a week and a few short weights sessions is all you need to lose weight, I'm still committed to my 625 daily deficit. I feel uneasy dropping below, even if weights and HIIT produce an afterburn effect that increases your metabolism. I don't like how it's immeasurable. Once I hit my goal weight I'll be more comfortable dropping down the exercise to maintain.

I did a Tracy Anderson Method mat workout followed by a sad attempt to keep up with her dance cardio for half and hour.

It earned me a pre-bedtime snack. Tonight it was back to the Fage for a Blueberry Parfait.

Skinny Bride Mission Recipe: 1/2 small tub 2% Fage strained Greek yoghurt mized with cinnamon and psyllium husks, 1/3 cup fresh Organic Blueberries and 1 Tbs slivered almonds.

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STATS

TOTAL CALORIES: 1592
CALORIE DEFICIT: 690
EXERCISE: HIIT 30 mins + Brisk Walk 30 mins + Tracy Anderson Method Mat 60 mins + Dance Cardio 30 mins.