The Kat Files

What an exciting week for me nutrition and fitness wise! I lost another two pounds [applaud, please]. I did not feel deprived at all this week eating clean. Actually, I enjoy the fruits and veggies, look forward to my daily whey protein/almond milk drink, and love the extra energy. There are some minor challenges; however, nothing that a little more organization, research, and a DVD player can’t fix. I met my strength training and cardio goals, as well as most of my nutrition goals.  

Here is a brief recap of my week:

Nutrition

• Monday-Friday ate clean.
• Saturday ate clean. Enjoyed a treat meal for dinner (Asian cuisine). *
• Sunday ate clean. Enjoyed a treat meal for afternoon snack (skinny mocha latte at BAM) *

*Treat meals will be discussed in a later post, especially that Asian cuisine also known as a Chinese/Japanese buffet. This explanation will be for the benefit of mon frere, Moonius Maximus.

Fitness

• Monday-Sunday did cardio each morning. Walked with intervals for 30 minutes for 6 days. Completed a Kathy Smith Cardio-Burning DVD on 1 day.
• Monday, Wednesday, and Friday did Jackie Warner’s Power Circuit Strength Training for 30 minutes (book).
• Monday-Sunday stretched after every workout. 

Challenges

Challenge #1 is planning my meals for the week ahead of time. I have not carved out the time to plan a weekly menu. This would help me in two ways. First, I would be guaranteed to meet my daily caloric goal, as well as my food group servings goal. Second, I would have a better idea of the foods I need to purchase at the grocery store.  I’ve done really well writing in my food journal; however, some days I am under 1, 500 calories. Or, I don’t eat the suggested amount of servings from the food groups. A couple of days, I went over on my fat grams because I ate walnuts (breakfast) and almonds (mid-morning snack) OR nuts (breakfast) and 1/2 of an avocado (dinner). Nuts and avocados are great for you, and I love them; however, they are high in fat (good fat).  Yes, you do need some good fats in your diet, but not all on the same day per se.

Challenge #2 has to do with the Power Circuit routines in Jackie Warner’s book. For me, watching someone perform an exercise is easier than looking at a picture with directions in a book. Some of the exercises are difficult, and are definitely not for a beginner. I cannot perform a V-Tuck (core). I fall over and roll around. Perhaps, it is because I have no core strength. Despite that fact, I have to improvise.

Solutions 

Obviously, I will have to set aside some time to plan a menu. My goal is to have one in place for next week, but before I go to the grocery store this weekend. To solve my strength training dilemma, I ordered 3 of Jackie Warner’s DVDs. They are similar to her power circuit routines in her book. I already own one of her DVDs, and love it.  I will continue using the routines in her book until I receive the DVDs.

Thoughts

A couple of items I’ve discovered in the grocery store that have made eating salad more enjoyable: Paul Newman’s Low Fat Sesame Ginger Salad Dressing (2 Tbsp contains 1.5g fat; 35 calories; 4g sugar) and Almond Accents (1 Tbsp contains 3.5g fat; 40 calories; 1g sugar). Sometimes, I use the Almond Accents in my oatmeal.  

As you know, I love coffee. I have not been drinking coffee on a regular basis because I stopped using sugar and was trying to use one packet of Truvia. Since I had been blending it with sugar, I didn’t realize Truvia has an aftertaste. I did a little research this week, and it seems that 1Tsp of sugar has 4g of sugar in it. So, I experimented with coffee yesterday morning and happily discovered that if I added 1 packet of Truvia and 1/2 Tsp of sugar (2g sugar), as well as 1 Tbsp of half & half to a 10 oz cup of coffee, it tasted wonderful. Thus, my love affair with coffee may resume.  

Overall, I feel like I’m off to a good start. I have more energy, which I have been using to clean out and organize my scrapbook room/office  and the exercise room. I’m hoping to be finished with both rooms by this weekend. I’m eating the good foods in place of the bad foods, and surprisingly I don’t feel restricted or deprived. I look forward to doing some kind of exercise every day. I’ve been getting up earlier to fit in my workouts before dropping my little guy off at Drama Camp. This past Saturday, I went to my favorite running store, Phidippides, located in Metairie and bought a new pair of running shoes. Next week, I will be starting my run/walk plan so I can get back to running 3 miles at least 3 days a week. Running is my favorite exercise and a great stress reliever. Happiness!

“The only thing standing between you and your goal is the bullshit story you keep telling yourself as to why you can’t achieve it.” ~ Jordan Belfort