Hello there! Man, today was a
good day. I stuck to my nutrition yesterday and woke up and had a great workout
(see below) and another great day with my nutrition!
Very exciting to report the
following news: When I weighed in over the past week, I’ve been averaging
around 240 – and even hit 244 during one weigh-in. After only 48ish hours of
well-planned and disciplined nutrition, I weighed-in this morning (pre workout)
at 234.6!! Oh HI 5ish pound loss! I’ll take that! I was beyond thrilled to see
that number and actually stepped off and back on the scale to make sure that it
was correct. J This just goes to show, AGAIN, how
incredibly important nutrition is!! I have been preaching that for quite some
time and it feels so good to finally be ‘practicing what I’m preaching’ again!
Here is my workout this morning:
Bent Over Row (barbell) 2x20x50lbs &
2x15x60lbs
Dumbbell Delt Flye 4x20x15lbs
Dead Lift 4x10x115lbs
Straight Bar Cable Pull Down 4x20x35lbs
Single-arm Cable Lateral Raise 4x10x10lbs
Delt/Lat Hammer Pulldown 4x15x55lbs
Treadmill: Run/Walk total of about 16 minutes…
I got a bad cramp and had to stop L
Abs:
Dumbbell Side Bends 2x20x40lbs
Decline Bench Cross-punch 2x20x5lbs
Overall I felt great after my workout! I even
took some flex pictures when I got home J See…
And on the menu today:
1 scoop protein w/ water immediately
following workout
Breakfast:
2 scoops protein w/ 8oz coffee & 8oz
water
1c cooked oatmeal w/ cinnamon and 1tbs
raisins
Lunch:
Black bean burger patty w/ scratch-made pico
de gallo, roasted asparagus and quinoa with hot sauce and chopped greens (spinach
and various spring lettuces)
Snack:
½ banana w/ almond butter
Snack:
4oz roasted veg w/ 1tbs hummus and hot sauce
Dinner:
Roasted cauliflower steak w/ smokey tomato
sauce, roasted asparagus and quinoa mixed with chopped greens and salsa
The whole day was quite nutritious and very
delicious!! I have found (especially during downtime at work) that I am still
snacky. Where I would normally grab shitty food (at work… pub chips, etc) I am
instead taking a slice of cucumber and pouring some salsa on top. It’s tasty
and basically free (nutritionally)! I am hoping that over the next week of
being on my nutrition plan that my stomach will shrink down a bit so I don’t
feel hungry all the time. I’m trying to also drink as much water as possible so
that I feel fuller and don’t want the food. It’s not that I’m starving myself
or anything, I just know that I feel mentally hungry more so than physically
hunger far too often… and I’m trying not to feed that mental hunger. I’ve come
to terms with the fact that I have a food addiction, and discovered that the
best way for me to handle it is through restriction. I don’t know how to ‘just
have a taste’ or have ‘only one’ of anything, to be honest. So, if I don’t
think I should be eating it, I have to cut it out of my diet completely. And so
I have. J Sugar is gone, fried foods are gone, breads
and pastas are gone. Only nutritious and lean whole foods shall be passing my
lips. Actually, I've taken on a 30 day sobriety challenge, as well! And I tell ya what, I’m loving it!
Let’s talk meal prep! Total time to get
everything together was about 3 hours or so, which I didn’t think was bad
considering I was cooking meals for an entire week. I didn’t do the different sauces
as I indicated in my last post. I made the first Smoky Tomato Sauce and I ended
up making enough for everything that I needed so I didn’t see a point in making
another. Here’s a breakdown:
Item 1:
Roasted Cauliflower Steaks
I took one large head of cauliflower, removed
the leaves and sliced it through the stem into approx 1” steaks. I then poured
enough low-sodium vegetable stock in the bottom of a baking dish to coat the
bottom (with a little extra), placed the cauli steaks in the broth and
sprinkled minced garlic over top. I covered the dish with foil and roasted at
375-400 for about 45 minutes, until the stock was dry. (I ate this dish tonight
and the cauliflower was GREAT!) There will be excess cauliflower after getting
the steaks (I got 3 steaks out of my head) and you can use the excess for
roasted veggies!
Item 2:
Roasted Veggies
In addition to the cauliflower (broken
down/chopped to appropriate-size pieces), I chopped red bell pepper, red onion
and zucchini. As with the cauliflower, I poured low-sodium veg stock in a
baking dish and poured the veggies in the stock (a bit more than cauliflower).
I then seasoned the veg with cumin, minced garlic and smoked paprika, tossed it
all together to coat, covered with foil and roasted alongside the cauliflower
steaks, stirring occasionally.
Item 3:
Roasted Endive
I took four Belgian Endive heads, quartered them
and then roasted them on the same baking sheet as my asparagus, tossed in the
excess oil left from the asparagus. Roasted at 400 for about 10 minutes, turned
and roasted for another 5-10 (tender-crisp).
Item 4:
Quinoa. SO simple! One part quinoa to two
parts water, add in a cold pan together and bring to boil Once boiling, reduce
to slow simmer and cover with lid. Simmer until liquid is absorbed, fluff with
a fork and it’s ready!
Sauce:
Smoky Tomato Sauce
1can Fire Roasted Tomatoes
1tsp Agave nectar
1tbs Garlic, minced
1tbs Smoked Paprika
1tbs EVOO
½ small red onion, diced
Squeeze lemon juice
Blend everything together in blender, strain
into saucepan and simmer over low/medium heat for 15-20 minutes. Taste to
adjust seasonings.
For the asparagus, I roasted as indicated in
my previous post. (EVOO, salt and pepper, 400 degrees, 20 minutes)
And that’s it! Nothing was overly complicated
or time-consuming… but it’s all delicious! I portioned ½ cup quinoa with every
dish as well as the accompanying vegetables/sauce. Here’s my finished result:
Alright kids, my bed time has come and gone and I am sreeeeeepy! Good night!! Here's to health and happiness. :)
