BRIENMALONE's CalorieKing blog
Friday, Feb 29 2008 - And...???
View BRIENMALONE's food & exercise for this day
Yesterday's blog receive a lot of great comments! After that massive pep-talk, the question is - did I make it to the gym?
The answer is YES - in spite of two great excuses.
Sick...
My whole family is sick again with some stupid cold. This is nothing like the flu that wiped us out in December, but it is a nuissance. It comes with a dry cough that will wake you out of a sound sleep. My poor wife and son are having non-stop asthma attacks... and they're coughing so hard they throw up. I seem to have escaped with a sniffle and a sore throat.
Sleep...
I had a coughing fit around 3am and could not get back to sleep for the life of me. I got out of bed and started working on some things around the house. By the time I started getting sleepy again, it was 6:00am. I ate breakfast, went upstairs and got in bed.
6:05am - "How could I possibly work out on such little sleep?"
6:10am - "Okay. Today MY motivation level is about a 2 out of 10. Are you going to stay in bed and become the world's biggest hypocrite?"
6:20am - "...Maybe..."
6:25am - "How in the #*!!@ can I stay in bed after writing a blog like that? It is true. I have never regretted going to the gym... Tired or not, its time to go."
I set foot in the gym at 6:40am and had a fantastic upper body "break-in" workout.
Upper Body Break-In Routine
Warm Up
Treadmill - 5 minutes 3.5mph, incline 2
Superset 1
One Arm Rows: 2 sets, 15-20 reps, 90 secs (rest)
Push Ups: 2 sets, 15-20 reps, 90 secs
Superset 2
Two Arm Rows (T-Bar): 2 sets, 15-20 reps, 90 secs
Dumbbell Flys: 2 sets, 15-20 reps, 90 secs
Superset 3
Dumbbell Curls: 2 sets, 15-20 reps, 90 secs
Tricep Extensions: 2 sets, 15-20 reps, 90 secs
Superset 4
Hammer Curls: 2 sets, 15-20 reps, 90 secs
Overhead Tricep Ext: 2 sets, 15-20 reps, 90 secs
I didnt have time for cardio today because I was at the gym so late but I had a great upper body workout! And for having almost no sleep, Im remarkably awake today! See? Its true. NO REGRETS!
Carbs and Hunger
Ive been meaning to write this for a while now Ive been falling into the evening carb trap.
Out of concerns over sodium, I cut out cottage cheese from my snacks, which saved 320 calories, (and 2000mg sodium), but changed the dynamics of my macronutrient ratios. Without cottage cheese, my protein levels dropped significantly, and my carbs increased. The result of this has been that my snacks are not satisfying and Im hungry long before my next meal.
By the end of the day, Im absolutely starving. Thats when the simple carb cravings hit. There are a few days Im not proud of in this past week. Ive been adding Miltons snack crackers or goldfish to my morning flax seed based sandwich (a poor substitute for cottage cheese!). Thanks to the crackers, I have been at or near my calorie limit at dinner every day this week. (Im usually under!) Ill eat a normal dinner in spite of my limits, and Ill still be hungry! So, late in the evening I have eaten things like oreo and nutter butter snack packs and two servings of animal crackers plus milk in one night.
I have no doubt that these simple carb cravings are the result of trading protein (cottage cheese) for processed carbs and fat (crackers). The simple carb problem is self-feeding, too; so the more I eat; the more I want.
Going Back to Cottage Cheese
I had a long blog about no-sodium cottage cheese (which tastes like sour cream) I didnt have a particular concern about sodium. My blood pressure was normal at my last doctor visit and honestly, my sodium levels have been pretty low since I cut out the canned soups and tuna. As of today, Im bringing fat free cottage cheese back into my diet. Not sure if Ill eat 16 oz a day like I have been; 8oz for sure.
Everything You Wanted to Know About Fat Loss Chris Aceto
Im continuing to read interesting things in Chris Acetos book especially with regard to macronutrient timing. Im not quite to that point yet. I want to have my diet completely under control again before I try to start moving my simple carbs to the morning and proteins to the evening and such In the chapter(s) I read this morning, he did a great job of explaining why weight training is better than cardio for fat loss!
Why Weight Training is Better Than Cardio for Fat Loss
In a nutshell, cardio work pushes your body to become more and more efficient In other words, youre training your body to do more work on less fuel. Weight training causes micro-tears in the muscle fibers. Your body burns calories at an accelerated rate after the workout because your body is working to repair the muscles. Cardio doesnt provide this extra boost. And because I know muscle bulk is a concern for women, remember: as long as youre in a calorie deficit, you wont gain muscle mass.
(I promise Ill post the finer points from the book in an upcoming blog. Its full of really good stuff!)
The answer is YES - in spite of two great excuses.
Sick...
My whole family is sick again with some stupid cold. This is nothing like the flu that wiped us out in December, but it is a nuissance. It comes with a dry cough that will wake you out of a sound sleep. My poor wife and son are having non-stop asthma attacks... and they're coughing so hard they throw up. I seem to have escaped with a sniffle and a sore throat.
Sleep...
I had a coughing fit around 3am and could not get back to sleep for the life of me. I got out of bed and started working on some things around the house. By the time I started getting sleepy again, it was 6:00am. I ate breakfast, went upstairs and got in bed.
6:05am - "How could I possibly work out on such little sleep?"
6:10am - "Okay. Today MY motivation level is about a 2 out of 10. Are you going to stay in bed and become the world's biggest hypocrite?"
6:20am - "...Maybe..."
6:25am - "How in the #*!!@ can I stay in bed after writing a blog like that? It is true. I have never regretted going to the gym... Tired or not, its time to go."
I set foot in the gym at 6:40am and had a fantastic upper body "break-in" workout.
Upper Body Break-In Routine
Warm Up
Treadmill - 5 minutes 3.5mph, incline 2
Superset 1
One Arm Rows: 2 sets, 15-20 reps, 90 secs (rest)
Push Ups: 2 sets, 15-20 reps, 90 secs
Superset 2
Two Arm Rows (T-Bar): 2 sets, 15-20 reps, 90 secs
Dumbbell Flys: 2 sets, 15-20 reps, 90 secs
Superset 3
Dumbbell Curls: 2 sets, 15-20 reps, 90 secs
Tricep Extensions: 2 sets, 15-20 reps, 90 secs
Superset 4
Hammer Curls: 2 sets, 15-20 reps, 90 secs
Overhead Tricep Ext: 2 sets, 15-20 reps, 90 secs
I didnt have time for cardio today because I was at the gym so late but I had a great upper body workout! And for having almost no sleep, Im remarkably awake today! See? Its true. NO REGRETS!
Carbs and Hunger
Ive been meaning to write this for a while now Ive been falling into the evening carb trap.
Out of concerns over sodium, I cut out cottage cheese from my snacks, which saved 320 calories, (and 2000mg sodium), but changed the dynamics of my macronutrient ratios. Without cottage cheese, my protein levels dropped significantly, and my carbs increased. The result of this has been that my snacks are not satisfying and Im hungry long before my next meal.
By the end of the day, Im absolutely starving. Thats when the simple carb cravings hit. There are a few days Im not proud of in this past week. Ive been adding Miltons snack crackers or goldfish to my morning flax seed based sandwich (a poor substitute for cottage cheese!). Thanks to the crackers, I have been at or near my calorie limit at dinner every day this week. (Im usually under!) Ill eat a normal dinner in spite of my limits, and Ill still be hungry! So, late in the evening I have eaten things like oreo and nutter butter snack packs and two servings of animal crackers plus milk in one night.
I have no doubt that these simple carb cravings are the result of trading protein (cottage cheese) for processed carbs and fat (crackers). The simple carb problem is self-feeding, too; so the more I eat; the more I want.
Going Back to Cottage Cheese
I had a long blog about no-sodium cottage cheese (which tastes like sour cream) I didnt have a particular concern about sodium. My blood pressure was normal at my last doctor visit and honestly, my sodium levels have been pretty low since I cut out the canned soups and tuna. As of today, Im bringing fat free cottage cheese back into my diet. Not sure if Ill eat 16 oz a day like I have been; 8oz for sure.
Everything You Wanted to Know About Fat Loss Chris Aceto
Im continuing to read interesting things in Chris Acetos book especially with regard to macronutrient timing. Im not quite to that point yet. I want to have my diet completely under control again before I try to start moving my simple carbs to the morning and proteins to the evening and such In the chapter(s) I read this morning, he did a great job of explaining why weight training is better than cardio for fat loss!
Why Weight Training is Better Than Cardio for Fat Loss
In a nutshell, cardio work pushes your body to become more and more efficient In other words, youre training your body to do more work on less fuel. Weight training causes micro-tears in the muscle fibers. Your body burns calories at an accelerated rate after the workout because your body is working to repair the muscles. Cardio doesnt provide this extra boost. And because I know muscle bulk is a concern for women, remember: as long as youre in a calorie deficit, you wont gain muscle mass.
(I promise Ill post the finer points from the book in an upcoming blog. Its full of really good stuff!)
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