Made it to Thursday!

I woke up to this email from one of my students:

Seems like a perfect way to end the semester. I can't tell you how happy I am that summer is here!!

This morning I hit the weight room. I'm so glad that the focus of today's workout was on the upper body because my legs, thighs, and ass were really feeling the effects of yesterday's squats/workout. I was ready for a bit of relief.

My workout went well. I managed to up my weights for the last set of each exercise (3 sets of 15 today so overall my weights were still a bit lighter than usual).

This afternoon I had Kajukenbo practice -- we did some arm conditioning. Holy *hit! Just blocking punches hurt! I've already got bruises on my arms. Still, he says that with conditioning practice our arms will get tougher and stronger -- I sure hope so!

I then practiced Jiujitsu with D for about 45 minutes. We didn't have a long session as it's the end of the week and we were both tired. Still, we practiced a few drills, and that was good enough for today.

... and that's it! I've come to the end of my week and I am so happy!

Food pix will be posted tomorrow!

Quick Summary

I didn't have to go to work either yesterday or today. I feel like I finally got a real taste of what my summer holiday is going to be like. All I'll be doing is working out, eating, resting, and alternating between studying for my personal trainer certification & working on my research. Definitely can't complain! Oh, and travel of course. Yes, there will be lots of travel!

I didn't get around to blogging yesterday. I was so wiped out by the end of the day that I barely made it off the couch and into bed!

So here's a brief summary of what I've been up to:

Here's what I did:

Workouts
Morning
- cardio warm-up (just a 1 km jog)
- weights almost 1 1/2 hours -- focus was 4 sets of 10 reps. I increased my weights with each set (except for the step-ups) and was pleased with my performance
- sat poolside for an hour though I didn't swim

Afternoon
- Kajukenbo practice for almost 1 1/2 hours

Evening 
- Jiujitsu practice for 1 hour

See what I mean about being exhausted? It was fine. I didn't overdo it. I just think that not getting a good night's sleep the day before had me start the day a bit tired, and I never really recovered from that.


Burpees: Tuesday 30 & Wednesday 30
Squats: Days 10 & 11: 105 & 110 respectively (ouch!)

Today: 

Morning
- Body Balance (1 hour)

Afternoon
- CrossFit (1 hour): strength focus: Deadlifts (lifting 120 kg feels good now (264 lbs); WOD: 4 rounds (30, 25, 20, 15 reps each) mountain climbers, hand-release push-ups, jump squats; followed by 100 crunches & 3x1 min planks.

I left the CrossFit box drenched. in. sweat!

Food

Yesterday: 
Breakfast and lunch (see what I ate on Monday) (my usual banana date mix plus chick peas -- not the chicken wrap)

The only things different were an apple that I had as a snack & my dinner - steak with vegetables.

Today was quite different! I don't know if I changed things up because I was bored of the food or tired of posting the same photos!!

Breakfast: Scrambled egg 

(1 whole + 1/2 cup egg white) + mushrooms, tomatoes, onions, and bell peppers

Lunch: Chicken with broccoli and 1/2 sweet potato

Dinner: Shrimp with vegetables

Snack: 2 oz of this dark chocolate

Other stuff: The main thing I accomplished today was that I signed up for my CPR and First Aid certification through the Kuwait Medical Association/American Heart Association. I'll be doing the course at the end of this month.

Chasing Endorphins

Am sitting here at my desk after CrossFit, still sweaty, arms still shaky and sore, and feeling totally satisfied. I tell you, there is something about CrossFit that gives you a different type of endorphin high. I mean, I get an endorphin high after all my workouts, but there's something different about CrossFit. I think a lot of it has to do with being able to track your progress. I think that's why I like lifting weights in general - when you see your improvements especially lifting more weight, you feel even more empowered and stronger. It's a great feeling. At CrossFit, when you finish a WOD you know that you've been challenged and that you survived. You give it your all, and it's ok if you're slow, just as long as you're doing the best you can. Slowly but surely you will improve. You just have to keep pushing yourself. That's another great thing about the CrossFit box - both the coaches and your teammates also push you and encourage you to do better ... to do your best. It's a great feeling. I left CrossFit today with a smile on my face, and it's still there :)

what's written on the wall as you enter our CrossFit Q8 box

Today's workout at CrossFit Q8 was Fran (21, 15, 9 reps of thrusters (30kg) and pull ups (still using a band but getting better) followed by 100 burpees for time (I finished in 9 min 36 seconds).

My afternoon workout was much better than this morning's -- just 5 km on the cross-trainer. I really need to make an effort to do some more focused cardio. Hopefully now that the semester is coming to an end I'll be able to do if after my weights workouts in the morning. I need to do something. I feel like I'm yo-yo'ing at this weight - +/- 1.5 kg. I'm frustrated!! I know I'm eating well, but I may have to revise my portions and my food prep too ... I don't know. I have to do something. If I want to see a change, then I have to make a change.


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Food for the day:

Breakfast -- are you bored yet? I know it's the same photo, but it's the same meal day in day out!

Breakfast #2: I got to work and realized I had forgotten to pack anything to eat. Not good! I knew I had a long morning ahead, so without hesitating I went to the cafe & stood there for about 10 minutes asking the guy tons of questions about the foods - none of them healthy really - and went for a chicken wrap. I had him cut it in half and I only took one half. I took 4 bites and then I was done. I just wasn't interested in eating anymore. I have not had bread in such a long time. It just wasn't that tasty plus I was full. I know it's wasteful, but I wasn't about to finish the wrap when I knew I didn't want anymore.

What I bought:

How much I ate:

Lunch: Chick peas

 Dinner: Salmon with salad (balsamic vinegar & olive oil as dressing)

Dessert: Grapes 

Today:
- Workouts:

• Cardio at the gym - 5 km on the cross-trainer (38 minutes)
• CrossFit at CrossFit Q8 (1 hour): Fran + 100 burpees
• Burpees: 100 {3,830/20,130}
• Squats Day 9: 100
• Stretching: 20 minutes

- Food: 

• Breakfast: date/peanut butter/banana; 1/2 grilled chicken wrap
• Lunch: chick peas
• Dinner: salmon with salad
• Snacks: grapes

- Other: Went through my wardrobe and got rid of all the tops that don't fit me anymore. Managed to cross off one more thing on my 'to do list'. Did lots of research on hotels in California; it's tough to decide where to stay!

That was a Surprise!

When I woke up this morning I was in so much pain and discomfort from bloating and cramps that I couldn't even stand up straight and walk or breathe properly. I was actually in more discomfort than pain. The bloating felt like my stomach was about to pop; it was terrible.

I sat on the couch in the living room for a while, trying to will myself to go to the gym and just walk because light exercise can help relieve cramping ... but the bloating was just too much (way more than the cramping) and the dizziness and nausea made me feel like trying to attempt any exercise at that moment in time would be a bad idea. So I went back to bed and slept for another hour or so and definitely felt much better by the time it was time to get up and go to work.

It was a short day at work today - just admin stuff. I'm really happy with how my students did on their final exam. Their overall grades for the semester are great :) Yes, definitely pleased with how this term went. Just a few more days until summer vacation ... can't wait!

I just relaxed in the afternoon. Today was supposed to be my first proper Kajukenbo class and I didn't want to miss my first day. The bloating and pressure had gone down a bit. I knew the main thing that I had to do was fix my mind -- if I was going to go to class then I'd have to just suck it up and do my very, very best. No excuses. Just do it.

I went, and I think I did great. It was just me and another girl. She had been doing Kajukenbo for 2-3 months. The first thing I noticed when I saw her was that she was thin, and I thought, damn. Here I am, still the fat one in the class. Blah.

The first half hour of the class was warm-up: burpees, tons of jumping jacks, mountain climbers, running, tire flips, tire/hammer swings etc. Whatever he asked us to do, I did. It was really tiring, but it was good. I felt like my workout at CrossFit have really  helped me build up my endurance, though of course there's a lot more work to be done. I felt most proud when we got to the jump rope section. I think I jumped for about 5 minutes straight. In the meantime, the other girl couldn't even do a few skips. It seemed like she had never jumped before (perhaps she hadn't). So for the entire time that she was trying, I was continuously skipping. I felt good.

Something new we tried was rolling on the ground - basically somersaults but without putting our head on the ground. It was tough and intimidating. I tried - didn't do a very good job (was more rolling to the side than the front) but I tried.

After that we worked on punching and kicking, my favorite part. We don't wear any handwraps or gloves, so it's straight punching on the pads. I'm fine with that, but it definitely hurts more when trying to use both power and speed. I gotta watch my wrist positioning and work on improving my wrist strength.

Then finally ... he had us stand in fighting stance ... and that's when I saw him get the baton -- a 2 foot long hard plastic baton ... and I knew what was coming next. He had us raise our arms up, exposing our abdomen.

As he approached me I just looked straight ahead. I tightened my abs and I focused on my breathing. He said he was going to hit my abdominal area once for me to get an idea of how it feels. I didn't say anything, just stood there concentrating.

Whap!

Fuck that hurt.

I didn't flinch. I didn't move. I just breathed ... and at the same time I was thinking, holy shit, did that just happen?

He did the same to her and she yelled.

He came back to me and hit twice.

Whap! Whap!

Same thing. No reaction from me. Just me talking to myself in my head - staying calm, staying focused, this is only something physical. If you trust your coach, then you trust them 100%. I knew he was not trying to hurt me, and I knew that if I was going to do this - If I was really going to try and become a fighter in some shape or form, then I was going to have to learn how to take pain.

For me, this was lesson #1, and I was really happy with my performance.

So yes, this whole part of the lesson was definitely a surprise! 

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Not much appetite today ...

Breakfast: The usual - banana, peanut butter, 1 date + a cup of green tea (not pictured)

Lunch: Grilled chicken with tabbuleh salad

Dinner: King Fish on the George Foreman grill with steamed carrots and string beans 

Dessert: Papaya (12 pieces)

Today:
- Workouts:

• Kajukenbo at KOK (1 hour)
• Stretching: 15 minutes
• Burpees: 10 {total: 3,730/20,130}
• Squats Day 7: Rest Day

- Food:

• Breakfast: banana, peanut butter, date, green eat
• Lunch: grilled chicken with salad
• Dinner: grilled king fish with steamed vegetables
• Snack: papaya

- Other: Booked my London hotel! :)

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 :)

Fridays

I've still got numbers on my mind.

This morning I was relieved to see a 0.5 kg (1 lb) drop in my weight. I'm still 1 kg over my lowest, but I'm making my way back down there again.

The other number on my mind is the saturated fat content in my coconut fish stew. I know healthy fats are good for you, but 7 g. of saturated fat in one meal just seems way too high. It upsets me because I really enjoyed the meal and was happy to have it as my go-to lunch during the week when I'm in a rush.

Thank goodness for the Internet. A few articles that I read online were quick to confirm that coconut milk is good; however, the amount of saturated fat is a concern. The simplest solution, besides just not having it, is to reduce the amount used and diluting it with water. I think that's what I'll try to do in my next batch of soup - use only 1/2 the can of coconut milk and replace the other half with just water. We'll see.

I had quite a relaxing day today. It felt amazing to wake up this weekend morning and realize I had not papers to grade or lessons to prepare, and I won't have any of that to do until September!! Seriously, amazing feeling.

I used some time during the day to complete 2 more quizzes for my Personal Trainer certification (100% in both - nerd mode on!) :)

The best part of my day was my first attempt at practicing Brazilian Jiujitsu with D. D's been taking Jiujitsu classes for just over a month now. We bought mats a couple of weeks ago for our house with the intention of practicing. However, we never got around to it. Today we finally gave it ago and it was great. We practiced for two hours (following the Gracie Combatives DVDs). You wouldn't think you'd work up a sweat practicing a few moves (today was different variations of trap and roll), but we were both sweating - and a bit bruised by the end of it. It was so great, not just to practice, but to do this together. I think it's extra beneficial for me because D is bigger than me, and one of the main principles of Jiujitsu is how to handle yourself against a bigger, stronger opponent. It was great :)

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Fridays are my no cooking days. When focusing on living a healthy lifestyle I think relying on food from restaurants or ones that are pre-cooked is dangerous. However, during the Whole Life Challenge when I had put many, many restrictions on my diet, I discovered a few places that I could eat. I take full advantage of them on Fridays.

Fridays are also the days that if I may have something sweet after dinner. I do cringe at the words 'cheat meal' and the thought of using food as a 'treat', but I guess that's what I'm doing. For me, I'm careful with what I eat, and if I eat something that is off plan, then it's something that I really want and do not feel guilty about eating, nor will it be something that will really throw me off course with my weight loss. Are these excuses? Perhaps. I'll modify my plan if I have to with no bitterness or complaints that I'm feeling 'deprived.'

Fridays are also my days with D. It's the one day that we spend entirely together and it's great - much needed after our busy week.

Breakfast - La Pain Quotidien 

One of my favorite places to eat because they will accommodate any changes you want to make to the foods. My usual Friday breakfast is an egg white mushroom omelet. The omelets usually come with 2 slices of organic whole grain bread and a side salad; however, I ask them to remove the bread and just give me extra salad. I had this with a cup of green tea (not pictured) 

Coffee - Starbucks 

Ok, I don't count the coffee from Starbucks as coffee, especially not their flavored ones (which is what this is - a skim caramel macchiato). This is basically dessert in a cup. I have to be honest, I look forward to this cup and I do enjoy every drop. 

Lunch - Dean and Deluca

Broiled shrimp marinated in olive oil, parsley, and tomato plus grilled vegetables (eggplant, bell pepper, zucchini)

Dinner - Ninos 

Grilled chicken and avocado salad with pine nuts and a mustard lemon dressing

I was really happy to discover this salad. It is delicious!

Dessert - Papaya from Dean and Deluca

Earlier this week I had a craving for some chocolate ice cream. I thought that I'd have it tonight after dinner ... but by the time Friday rolled around, I didn't want it anymore. Instead I had 5 pieces of delicious papaya that I had picked up at Dean and Deluca's this morning. Really, really yummy. 

Today:
- Workouts:

• BJJ practice at home (2 hours)
• Stretching (20 minutes)
• Squats day 6: 75

- Food:

• Breakfast: egg white mushroom omelet + green tea
• Lunch: broiled shrimp and grilled vegetables
• Dinner: chicken avocado salad
• Snacks: skim caramel macchiato & papaya

- Other: Completed 2 PT certification quizzes

Coconut Fish Stew

This past week I cooked a batch of fish stew on Saturday to have as my lunch during the week. It really helped to have the meal prepared so that all I would need to do is heat it up once I got home, especially because I'm usually ravenous by lunch time!

I finally sat down and did the calorie count; everything looked fine though the amount of saturated fat is a bit high for my liking. Still, I will make this again. I had the soup over 3 days, but I think there was enough to have over 4 days. For the next batch I may add some more vegetables, such as a zucchini, broccoli, and/or some cauliflower.

Ingredients
2 lb white fish
2 cloves garlic
4 tablespoons lime juice
salt/pepper to taste

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 red bell pepper diced
1 cup peas
2 carrots sliced
1 tablespoon paprika powder
1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes
1 tablespoon ginger powder
1 14 oz. (400 g) can coconut milk (no additives/preservatives and especially no sugar)

Directions
1. Combine the fish, garlic, lime juice, and salt + pepper and set in the fridge to chill while preparing the vegetables
2. Saute the rest of the ingredients (except for the coconut milk) for 5-7 minutes until slightly soft; add 1/4 cup water to help the vegetables cook and the spices to dissolve
3. Remove half the vegetables from the pot
4. Add the fish mixture, and then put the vegetables on top of the fix mixture
5. Add the coconut milk; stir once gently; let it cook for 5 minutes
6. Gently stir the mixture again 3-4 times; cover; simmer for about 15 minutes


Please note: The calorie count is for the following recipe (please note that the actual calorie count may vary depending on your particular ingredients; these numbers are based on the ingredients that I used).

Nutritional info per serving (serves 4)
350 calories
22 g protein
12.5 g carbohydrates (12.5 g fiber)
22.5 g fat (7 g saturated fat)