Simple Saturday

I found it really annoying that I was up at 5:30 a.m. on a Saturday morning. Seriously? Who wakes up that early on the weekend, especially when I had wanted to sleep in for a bit? Anyway. I got up and got started with my day. First things first, the menu for the week and the shopping list.

Then off to the grocery store. Today's shop was pretty simple; that's definitely one of the advantages of cooking/eating simple. Having a list and a plan helps -- all you have to do is stick to it and not get distracted by all the other stuff in the supermarket!

I was home before 10 am so I thought it would be the perfect time to beat the crowd and head to the mall to buy a much needed new bathing suit. The suit I bought was 6 sizes smaller than the one I wore last summer - can you believe it? I couldn't! That was definitely a good feeling.

I normally have 2 exercise classes on Saturdays - Yoga on the Beach and CrossFit, but both were cancelled. To be honest, I was kinda relieved. I just wanted to chill today. That doesn't mean I didn't exercise -- D & I did an hour of Jiujitsu practice; I did 100 burpees plus 80 squats as part of the 30 Day Squats Challenge.

I was invited to go see a Kajukenbo purple belt to blue belt test in the evening so I went. Wow. It was really, really, really intense. Talk about street fighting meets self-defense. It was really impressive, and it gave me a much better idea of what's involved in this martial art (basically what I might be getting myself into!)

My meals for the day:

Breakfast - the usual. 

I really didn't feel like eating yet the same thing today. However I didn't have anything else planned so I had to stick to this. I need to find a way to change things up a little for my weekend breakfasts. 

Lunch - chick peas. (recipe here)

This was really, really, really yummy - but the main drawback is that chick peas make me bloat and that gets really uncomfortable! 

Dinner - Arabic food

Grilled chicken, tabbuleh salad, 1 tablespoon of hummus, muttabel, and muhammara each

Today:
- Workouts:

• BJJ practice at home (1 hour)
• Burpees: 100 {total: 3,720/20,130}
• Squats Day 7: 80
• Stretching: 15 minutes

- Food:

• Breakfast: date/peanut butter/banana/green tea (not photographed)
• Lunch: chick peas
• Dinner: shish tawook, tabbouleh, hummus, muttabel, and muhammara

- Other: Booked NYC hotel :)

Phase 2 of 2013

Week in Review (Jan. 13 - 19)

As part of the 13 in 13 challenge, I wrote out goals for both the year and the month. In order to help me focus on what needed to be done, I typed up and printed out a very simple, basic checklist. I've spent many hours planning, organizing, making lists, and doing it over and over again until it looked right/looked appealing ... it got to the point where I spent too much bloody time planning and not nearly enough time doing! So this time I kept it simple:

I'm definitely behind which is really annoying, but it is what it is. I just gotta try and fill up as many more blanks as I can. At the end of the month I'll reevaluate the plan and modify as necessary.

I started off the year by writing down my workouts and what I ate at the end of my blog post. I need to get back to doing that. It'll help me keep track of what I'm doing and also how it is having an impact on my progress. Plus I know that tracking my food always helps me stick to my plan.

My week in review: 

Workout sessions: 3 cardio; 2 weight training; 5 martial arts; 1 body balance

Daily stretching: 7 days

Burpee count: 300 {challenge total: 440/20,130}

Plan for the upcoming week

I had such big plans for my 3 week vacation but it didn't go as well as I had hoped. I did get a few things done and I think I did the best I could in terms of exercise given my bronchitis. I'm actually kind of relieved that I'll be getting back into a more structured routine. I definitely think having the time off and being home for so much time (coz' of the illness) led to me eating more than I should have.

I start my new semester tomorrow. I spent about four hours today getting organized for the week.
What I got done:

• this week's menu [breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks] + grocery list
• filled in my planner with the week's errands and appointments
• organized my lessons
• tried on and selected my work outfits for the week
• wrote out my workouts

In addition to this I got some general house prep done - laundry, organizing, etc. This upcoming week will still be a bit off plan since D's parents are still here. However, I've worked that into my schedule as well. I'm hoping that I'll be able to stick to it, but I've got a few contingency plans set aside as well. Saturday mornings will definitely be put aside as my organization day. I feel much calmer and in control now that the plan has been written out. I'll be really happy if I'm able to implement it. We'll see how it goes.

Something new in my schedule that I started today was going to a Saturday session of kickboxing at ClubFit. We had a great class today. It totally got me revved up for the upcoming week.

Let's get Phase 2 of 2013 started!