Things I Love

Thing I love, number one: recently, I've hit a new level of genius (and laziness): you can scramble eggs in the microwave.

They aren't quite as tasty as pan-cooked eggs (mostly, I suspect, because you don't add any cooking fat), but it is faster since there's no cleanup required.  So, I've been bringing a little tupperware to work with me, with a couple of eggs (three if I'm not adding meat OR two plus meat of choice) and some veggies (salsa is a really good "cheater" veggie...or a handful of spinach and cherry tomatoes...and lately, SO MUCH KIMCHI).  When I get there, I break the eggs into the tupperware with whatever meat I'm using, stir it all up with a fork, microwave for a minute and 15 seconds, stir, and nuke for a little longer to finish cooking - usually another 15-45 seconds, depending on the meat.  Top with veggies of choice, and it looks like this: 

Thing I love, number two: so this morning, I'm standing there in the office kitchen chatting with a coworker, who's watching me stir a couple of eggs in with leftover smoked pulled pork and a (particularly beautiful) chunk of brisket.  I work in a small office, so everyone has noticed my recent weight loss and several people keep asking me how I did it.  I usually say that I found out I was allergic to gluten, which isn't COMPLETELY true, but generally staves off any scrutiny about "WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU'RE NOT EATING WHOLE GRAINS ARE YOU ON ATKINS UGH YOU ARE GOING TO DIE."  

Anyway, she's telling me how she needs to start eating better, and going to the gym, and she just can't seem to lose weight.  "It's not like I overeat!  I haven't eaten anything yet today, and in a little while I'm going to have a yogurt.  That's what I'll have today...a yogurt."

It makes me die a little bit inside to know how miserable and frustrated she must feel.  I hate having my eating choices criticized, so I generally don't do the same to others (PhillyGuy must be rolling his eyes through the back of his skull right now - but it's DIFFERENT because I LOVE YOU!), but I always feel like I have this big amazing secret I want to share with all the sad dieters existing on boiled chicken breast and Yoplait.

One of the things that's surprised me with my third BCCC is that I'm not actually getting quite as much protein as I'd assumed I was.  Focusing on gettin' SKRONGER means that I need to make sure I'm eating a sufficient amount of protein - at LEAST one gram per pound of lean body mass.  With some very rough estimating, I've been using 115lbs as my LBM - so I shoot for 120-150g of protein every day.  I figured that'd be a given.  It is NOT.

Which brings us to thing I love, number three: canned fish.

Sardines, tuna, smoked herring (what my grandfather used to call "kippered snacks"): whatever.  They don't need to be refrigerated or cooked or prepared, which means I can keep a couple tins stashed in my desk drawer.  It's a decent way to get a hit of protein - one little tin of sardines has 22g - and if you stick with a good brand, the ingredients are nice and clean.

(Incidentally...how is a serving HALF of this little baby tin?)  So we'll see.  The past week has been rough, but I'm off antibiotics now and feeling MUCH better.  I'm still taking a probiotic supplement and eating kimchi and yogurt like it's my job, but hopefully my gut flora will rebuild themselves pretty quickly and I'll be back to normal. 

Log:

Tuesday May 15: some strict HSPU work - tripod to headstand and pressing up from the bottom. THAT SHIT IS NOT EASY.  Even though I can do a few sets of strict HSPUs with light and mini bands, and can kip them easily, I couldn't even press out of the bottom with an average (green) band.  Oy.  Strict overhead press, peak of three. 45-60-70-80-85x2, failed on the third.  This is a PR, since I could never get 85 up before, but it was incredibly ugly - I went up on my toes, arched the shit out of my back, etc.  These are still on my suck list.  Oh well.  Metcon: AMRAP 7 minutes, burpees.  I got 93 - quads seizing, sweat dripping off of my face, mascara annihilated, and beating my score from the open by nearly 20.

Kimchi and Chocolate

Not feeling my absolute best for the past few days.  I'm on a round of antibiotics now.

Killing off all of the bacteria in my body means eating plenty of this:

Authentic (a/k/a mixed by rubber-glove-covered hand and not even remotely pasteurized) kimchi from Sook Hee's Produce.  "I put the kimchee in an extra bag for you, because it's stinky."  Yes, Sook Hee, it sure as shit is.  But it's chock full of live cultures, and I need probiotics to reestablish my gut flora while I'm killing the nasty shit off.

Yogurt, too.  Yesterday I drank my coffee black and had some full-fat Fage yogurt as my third meal of the day.  Low fat dairy is complete and total bullshit.  I don't do much dairy these days - about a tablespoon, maybe two, of heavy cream in my coffee, and the occasional piece of cheese or dollop of yogurt if I'm having chili.  But never, EVER again will I consider drinking skim milk or eating fat free cheese.

Operation: Get Strong Without Getting Fat is getting interesting.

I generally train six days a week - four weeknights, at 6:30 or 7:30, and two or three classes between Saturday and Sunday.  That means that during the week, I usually end up eating dinner around 9 or 9:15 once I'm home from the gym and have had time to throw something together.

This week, I'm shuffling my meals around so that I'm done eating for the day around 5:30 or so.  That gives me a couple hours before I work out - I don't do well working out on a full stomach.  And then, just before class, a little hit of this stuff:

 

Yes, experimenting with chocolate as actual fuel.  Instead of just "something that tastes goddamn delicious."  The idea is to break the emotional, mental, "OMG TREAT" connection, and consider chocolate, like anything else I eat, as something with [potential] benefits aside from just being tasty.

So, we'll see how this goes.  I do know I've been putting up some good numbers and have been feeling pretty lean, so if this week is a bust I can always go back to my 9pm dinners and indulgence-only chocolate.

Log (aka "HANDSTAND PUSHUPS FOR DAYS"):

Saturday May 5: first running metcon in a while.  We did some POSE running drills on the way to Washington Square park, looking like total tools the entire time.  At the park: 800m run, then 10 rounds of 10 HSPU/10 pistols, then 800m run.  I scaled the pistols to 20 walking lunges; did the first 10 HSPU's against a tree, but it took me forever so I scaled those to regular pushups.  I was pretty damn tired when it was over, but as usual wish I'd sucked it up. 25:51. I didn't track my time too closely but am fairly sure I kept my 800s under 4 minutes each, which is just fine with me since that's the longest distance I've run in a REALLY long time.

Sunday May 6: double session Sundays.  Gymnastics - strict HSPUs, 8x3 with band assistance: 1x3 average/light band; 4x3 light/light; 1x3 light/mini; 1 mini/mini (one HSPU only - failed on the second); 1x3 light/light.  Metcon: 5 rounds for perfect form of 5 ring v-outs, 5 strict L-raises, 5 handstand walkups from plank, 5 pike v-ups. Scaled to 3 rounds since I planned to stay for the regular session.  Ass whooped regardless.  Abs not so strong.  

Regular session: "Hope."  A variation on Fight Gone Bad. 

uh, woof.  Especially those thrusters.  Score: 171, as RX'ed.  

And I thought I was lousy at Fight Gone Bad.

Monday, May 7: more fun with double sessions.  Back squat, peak of 3. 95-125-145-165-180.  We haven't back squatted in a WHILE - other than the Total and a random day where we did sets of 20, I can't find anything in my log on this since December or January.  Feeling pretty confident about my goal of 200.  Metcon: AMRAP in 3 minutes of back squats (225/135), immediately followed by max unbroken kipping pullups. 21/9, as RX'ed.  And then...gymnastics...for more work on kipping handstand pushups.  I did a few sets with a full ROM and, while everyone else was doing the metcon, did 30 more to an abmat in sets of 3-5 each.