cn3wton, Battle log of Ages

[cn3wton]

3/7/15

3 mile run done in about 35 minutes? Don't know official start time, and I had no idea where the finish line was! There where like 3... Anyways I estimate a pace of 13 minutes per mile. Not amazing but I am happy considering I haven't run in years. I kept up a moderate pace the whole time, no walking. But I didn't push myself extremely fast because I was worried about my knee. It currently is a bit sore but not too bad. There where some significant hills that I never lost pace on so I was happy about that. A few times people would run past me just for me to pass them a bit later.

All in all it was a fun day!

I still dislike running though.

[cn3wton]

3/9/15

 

So... no gym today. Over the weekend I did my 3 mile run, sunday morning my left foot was a bit sore but I ignored it and went cross country skiing. That was a mistake. That night I could hardly walk. Today I thought I would be ok, so I went to the gym. Just walking in made my foot hurt. So the trainer agreed that I should take at least today off, but that I should be careful and ensure everything is fine before I go back. So I am going to see how tomorrow works out...

 

It did not get much better throughout the day...

 

So instead of getting bummed out for missing the gym, I focused on getting my diet up to snuff. Today I officially started meal prep.

 

 

I tried to keep it simple this week.I found a youtube channel called Fitmencook that I find really inspiring. It's all about making food interesting and good tasting so it doesn't feel like a "bad" thing.

 

I will continue to keep it simple. I will have 2-3 different meats mixed with a small variety of veggies and sides. I also have a seperate fruit serving that is something I can eat throughout the day. The only worry I had was the burger, I thought I overcooked it but it actually ended up perfect.

 

Im interested to see how everything keeps in the fridge/freezer. 

 

I have been looking at recipes on the youtube channel I mentioned before. Theres one for mac and cheese that uses greek yogurt? Sounds interesting... Theres also a chicken chipolte mac salad that looks really good. Part of me wants to avoid them, the other thinks that I should try to just limit it. So I am thinking that every other week I will allow myself to have a side that has pasta.

 

Theres also a pizza made with cauliflower! So many ideas to try. 

[The Most Loathed]

wow. I'm frequently accused of being too serious about my food, those people have not met you.

[cn3wton]

wow. I'm frequently accused of being too serious about my food, those people have not met you.

It has really helped me stay on track the past day and a half. Its easy when I dont have to think!

[cn3wton]

3/10/15

 

Another day missed at the gym because of my stupid foot... Hoping I will be able to go back tomorrow.

 

Today I have spent most of the day working on the following painting.

 

 

I posted an earlier version in the art thread. I told my friend that I wasn't going to get on until the grayscale was finished. I am getting close.

[cn3wton]

The grayscale is done!

 

 

Learned so much from this piece. Cant wait to apply it to the next one. May color this one, havent quite decided yet.

[cn3wton]

3/11/15

 

Day 3 of lingering foot issues... Trying really hard not to get bummed out by this and focusing on other things. I just think back to all the times something similar has happened and I let my fitness slide... But this time IS DIFFERENT. I am actually pissed that I am missing another day. I can honestly say that I think I will be able to workout tomorrow, as today it feels much better. More of a soreness than actually pain when I walk.

 

On the plus side my eating has been on point. Meal prep has helped tremendously and I rarely have any cravings. Even when my mom makes rice crispy treats, cookies, etc. I just kind of walk past them. If I get hungry between meals I have snacks already planned out so I know what I can have. Its going super well. This is only the 3rd day of the meal prep so I can't say "OMG ITS THE BEST THING EVER" but its working so far. Its also been a week or so since I started watching what I eat, and my weight has been slowly dropping again. No more 210 on the scale. Which is good.

 

My plans for today are to try to rest my foot as much as possible to ensure I can work out tomorrow, to do another painting, and I have to teach later tonight. Heres hoping everybody shows!

[cn3wton]

Working working working....

 

[Sloth the Enduring]

Man, that is awesome.  If you were local, I'd commission you to paint the boy's room (assuming I could afford you).

[cn3wton]

Man, that is awesome.  If you were local, I'd commission you to paint the boy's room (assuming I could afford you).

 

I get that from people I talk to all the time. Ive never done a mural before, but it's something I am playing around with in my head.

[cn3wton]

"Finished"

 

 

I felt the "water" was too distracting in the earlier version. Other minor tweaks.

[cn3wton]

3/12/15

 

Back to the gym finally, and early too!

 

Pre Workout

3x8 Slow back extensions

Moderate jump rope

 

Warm up

30/30 Battle ropes

2x5gob squats 5 swings 5 sdhp

 

Strength/Skill

Deadlift

5x120

5x170

5x210

5x225

5x115

5x115

 

So this was feeling more difficult than usual. My foot felt fine, but I just seemed to be having a rough go of it. So I dropped my goal weight down. On the 210 set the trainer came over and said it was pretty good, but if he was being nit picky I was not keeping everything engaged enough (shoulders where drooping). So Instead of going for 235 I decided to drop it down to last weeks weight, as I had this same note in my notebook from that week. So I did them and they felt even harder than last week. Well the trainer asked me if I was using my legs to early. I thought about it, and I think I was, thereby nearly taking my legs out of the equation. I dropped the weight down significantly and focused on correcting this. I think it may have been me sub consciously trying to keep pressure off my foot?

 

WOD

The workout originally called for jump rope. But the trainer and I decided that I should be wary of them for now. So I subbed in high effort rounds on the air dyne... which sucked.

 

50/40/30/20/10

Air Dyne (in seconds)

Medicine ball twists

 

It felt be good to be back in the gym. My foot felt so much better that I attempted more double unders. This was a mistake as they bothered my foot a bit so I immediatly stopped them. So I set off for home.

 

Got a call on the way back that the restaraunt I worked at last year wants me back. So I said I would but I would be taking 2 days off for my art classes. This is a very good thing. This position is a supplemental job, I need to keep pushing my art and treating it like a full time job. That includes going to galleries,shows, etc. I want to go to the society of illustrators in NYC a few times as well. I have mixed feelings about this. Last year I swore to myself I wouldn't go back, due to a host of different reasons. I am hoping that having 2 days off will make things a bit better. Hopefully.

[Shello]

Your meal prep looked awesome.   I hope it is still working for you.  

 

Well played getting through the foot injury.  Your back at the gym but continue to be careful with it.  I'm currently having some issues with my ankle that I can't quite figure out.  No walks for me for a bit but I've only missed 1 workout.  I don't really want to miss anymore.  I might look into some substitutions but it's tough getting through an injury.  

[cn3wton]

Your meal prep looked awesome. I hope it is still working for you.

Well played getting through the foot injury. Your back at the gym but continue to be careful with it. I'm currently having some issues with my ankle that I can't quite figure out. No walks for me for a bit but I've only missed 1 workout. I don't really want to miss anymore. I might look into some substitutions but it's tough getting through an injury.

Sorry to hear about your ankle issue, I hope it feels better soon!

The meal prep is working out fantastically so far. Very little trouble craving and hunger wise. I'll post more on that in a bit once I get to my laptop.

Thanks for checking on me, I'm going to take a bit of time today and try to catch up on everybody's threads.

[cn3wton]

3/13/15

 

Warm Up 

Jump Rope

Tabata (2 times) ball slams/squat jump/gob squat/lunges

 

WOD

14 Min AMRAP

50 Wall Balls

200 single unders

 

score 515 reps

 

Strengh/Skill 

Turkish get ups

 

was a good day in the gym. I hate wall balls and ended up doing 115 of them, thats always fun. Turkish get ups are cool.

[cn3wton]

My actual catch up post!

 

So as most of you know today is my sixth day of meal prep. It has been going really well so far. I can honestly say I have had almost no issues with cravings, and havent been hungry. I think I was smart to create a "snack pack" for each day as well. To ensure I got my fruits in. I found a great site, fitmencook.com which helped me out a lot. Starting this was a bit intimidating but after I have been doing it I can say I really enjoy it. But only time will tell.

 

So on fmc a big thing is keeping it diverse so you don't get bored. His strategy is to add 1 new item to his shopping cart each week and incorporate it. Since I am not quite that advanced at cooking (to the point that I could grab a random vegetable and do something with it) I am going to tweak it. I am going to add one new meal option per week to my "core set" of meals. It can be a veggie, protein, etc. This week I am going to add a side/snack. It is a recipe from fitmencook.com for chipotle chicken mac salad. Its about 200 calories per serving, but I think I am really low on calories anyways. I think I will allow myself pasta (whole wheat or better) every couple of weeks. Especially with work starting at the restaraunt where I will be around it alot, I want to curb any cravings. 

 

I still want to keep it simple however, so I am not prepping any other labor intensive stuff this week, so theres not much of a change from last week. My shopping list will be in the spoiler below, but my main proteins will be chicken thigh/legs (that I want to use up), chicken wings (baked), and burgers. I love wings and adding them into my meal prep should keep me happy, my plan is to phase out the thigh/legs for chicken breast once I finish off whats left in my freezer.

 

Things I have learned. When you get later in the week take out the next days food from the freezer and put it in the fridge the morning before. The night before doesn't really cut it for the last 2 days. Steamfresh veggies reheat just fine and taste great, even when frozen! The rice too. I know its probably not the absolute best option, but I am trying to keep it simple for myself.

 

So heres my shopping list

 

Frozen Wings
Rotisserie Chicken
Burgers
Olives
Bell Peppers
Cauliflower
2 bags broccoli
new veggie frozen
sweet potato
rice
watermelon
bananas
strawberries
kale
red oinion
jalepeno
healthiest bbq sauce available
mayo (lite or other)
dijon mustard
greek yogurt
goat cheese (i have no idea where to find this)
quinao or whole wheat macaroni shells
mozz cheese
garlic paste
almond flour
dark chocolate chips
sugar free maple syrup
milk
rice cakes

 

Also my plan is to eat premade meals monday through saturday, Sundays I will grab a rotisserie chicken and make a healthy new meal. The weekends are kind of my healthy cheat days. For instance I have been craving pancakes for a bit. So today I made a pancake with protein powder, eggs, and oats with some semi sweet chocolate chips in them. And used a very little bit of syrup. Its not the most healthy thing in the world, but it curved that craving. I want to make saturday morning "Pancake saturday"... or something. Because during the week I have 2 protein shakes so I have the extra calories open anyways. Will try making this again with the same recipe, but some parts of it where better than others. I think the thinner parts cooked too long. Also sunday night I am going to make PIZZA! But pizza with a homemade crust using cauliflower and almond flour. It should be interesting to try. I am really hoping it works out.

 

I feel that I am getting a good portion of veggies and everything now, which is something I have been lacking. Its funnyhow I would think of 1 drumstick as too little for a meal, but when I have a bunch of stuff to go with it its just fine. Portion size is key.

 

My next plan is to really nail down the calorie count of each of my meals so I can really start working on that before the competition at my gym starts.

[cn3wton]

Today I did meal prep, it went well, took me about 2 hours.

 

 

Next week I am going to cut out the burgers. I am finding myself kind of dreading (not really the best word but close) having to eat them. I like burgers. But I'm not in love with them. I would much rather eat chicken. The amount of veggies in each container has gone up. Which is good. ON the right I have my daily fruit. I have only cut up apples for the next day to see how long they keep in the fridge cut like that. I am a bit worried that I may have too much watermelon... 

 

I also have 6 servings of the mac salad I found online. I chose to leave out the chicken so it will keep a bit longer in the fridge. I found quinoa pasta and tried it out. I honestly can say that I enjoyed the taste. As far as the stuff I put in it I am kind of on the fence. The goat cheese and greek yogurt give it a very strong taste. Which isn't bad (my parents loved it) but I prefer a more mild tasting mac salad. I also forgot to put the red onion in... which is a bummer. But supposedly quinoa is super good for you (fitmencook says your muscles "love it") so I will give it a shot. 

 

For lunch I had a rotisserie chicken, and for dinner I made pizza! With a crust made of cauliflower,eggs, and coconut flour. I made the sauce myself as well.

 

 

All in all for the first attempt it went well. My family rated it an average of 7/10. I will give my thoughts though.

 

1- Next time I make this (oh there will be a next time) I will keep the dough thin and make the pizza a bit larger. The importance here for me is the toppings, the healthy dough is just there to hold it up.

2- I am not a fan of the crust on its own. I think its the coconut flour that gives it the odd taste. In no way bad but not what I am looking for. Then we get to the texture. The texture is a bit too crumbly and gritty. So you have to eat it with a fork. Not a be all end all of course.

 

In the end I feel the reason the pizza was so well recieved was the toppings. The crust was kind of meh. It doesn't really add anything to the "pizza" other than being a healthy alternative. However I will say that it has curved my craving for pizza!

[ChristArtist]

Missed you while i was gone!

[cn3wton]

Missed you while i was gone!

OH MY GOSH! Its so good to see you back! I hope everything has been going well!

[ChristArtist]

Smile...I kinda disappeared. ..Glad to see you're still here!

[ChristArtist]

"Finished"

I felt the "water" was too distracting in the earlier version. Other minor tweaks.

This is gorgeous!

[The Most Loathed]

tell me about your burger dread. Is it maybe palate boredom? What are you mixing into your patties?

[cn3wton]

I'm mixing nothing in with them. I just put hot sauce on them.

[The Most Loathed]

allow me to recommend you play with that a bit. I'm a fan of working some onions, garlic, peppers and srirachi into mine. Salt and pepper work well, swiss and mushrooms can be awesome too.

[cn3wton]

3/16/15

 

Warm Up

Jump rope

5 Airsquat 5 goblet squat 5 front squat x 2

 

Strength/Skill

Front Squat

5x65

3x80

3x95

3x110

2x130 (bailed out of bottom of last rep)

3x110

3x100

 

So its official, my legs are weak. While it's nice to know this and have an area to focus on. It's kind of discouraging. Though it does shed some light on why I find certain exercises difficult. I had to bail on the last rep of 130 not because of my wrist or anything else. I just didnt think I could push myself up. Granted I was a bit wary after the previous squatting mishap, and I am always cautious when my knee is involved. But still...

 

WOD

3 Round 12 min max

30 wall balls

20 burpees

5 assisted pull ups

 

This sucked. The trainer said that only 1-2 people in each class where actually finishing it. And they just barely made it. The guy who finished in my class did it in 11:20. Those damn wall balls get me every time. But the trainer also said that this was suppossed to be a tough workout.