Climbing, CrossFit, Daily, FitFluential, Fitness, Health, Photos

My CrossFit Journal (Year 2 Week 28)

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This isn’t really a CrossFit journal from last week because I ended up at the climbing gym more often than the CrosssFit box. I renewed my monthly membership at the climbing gym because I’ve missed it so much. I’ve only really been bouldering but still building up my endurance on the powerhouses of boulder caves. Just sticking to extremely easy problems and just climbing up and down climbing without stopping until my forearms feel pumped so much I need to jump off the wall.

[older crossfit journal entries]

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year 2, week 28, day 1

EMOM 14
Even: 3 C2B Pull up + 2 Strict Pull ups
ODD: 30sec V-Out Hold (accumulative hold)

3 Rounds (12min T.L.)
400m Run
21 KB Swings; 24/16kg
21 Box Jumps; 24/20

I did end up ding the Rx for the three rounds but I didn’t end up completing it all in the twelve minutes. I don’t even recall how far I got (definitely in the second round lol) because I failed to write it down. Oops.

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Then I climbed two different nights.

Kind of a boring update for my readers, I realize that. But Monday’s are usually like this – to keep myself updated on what I accomplish throughout the weeks. Plus, I can always look back and see what I did from week-to-week and move up in weight at CF if I feel like it. Know what I mean? :)

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Daily, FitFluential, Health, Photos

Why eating 5-7 times a day benefits you:

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eat-5-7x-day

When I was on Paleo (not anymore), I pounded back the largest most nutritious packed salads in the biggest Tupperware containers I could find. I always heard comments like — you’re not going to be able to finish that, or you’re going to gain not lose weight eating THAT much food. When in reality I was quickly transforming my body into a fat-burning machine. Why? How?

Eating 5-7 times a day benefits you:

  • By giving yourself more energy
  • You reduce your food cravings since you’re already full all the time.
  • Eating frequently (and healthy) reduces body fat
  • It maintains and increases muscle mass
  • Controls your blood sugar levels
  • You’re less hungry

Sure it takes a lot of preparation and planning, and a crazy amount of self control to get into the habit of eating this frequently. I sure don’t follow it to a tee. But to keep it simple I just make extra foods in the evening. Instead of cooking for just the Boyf and I, I cook for 4-6 people so we have tons of leftovers for a day or two for lunch.

To make things easier, I designate a day on the weekend to cut up and prep meals for the following week. I make sure that there is protein or fiber in every snack or meal. Eating a reasonable portion — I use my hands to measure the portion size.

Easy way to measure  portion sizes. Let your hands guide you (source: Canadian Living)

Here’s how to estimate the amount you should eat.

  • The palm of your hand: one serving (75 g/2.5 oz) of chicken, meat, fishor seafood
  • A closed fist: one serving (1 cup/250 mL) of salad
  • A cupped hand: one serving (1/2 cup/125 mL) of vegetables or grains, such as pasta or rice
  • A thumb tip: 1 tsp (5 mL) of added fat, such as oil, butter or margarine
  • An entire thumb: 1 tbsp (15 mL) of salad dressing

 Wash all of your veg and fruit before hand. So it’s easy to grab in the fridge when you’re looking for a snack.

cut-up-foodI chop up all of my celery, carrots, bell peppers, broccoli and cauliflower and store them in airtight containers with some water. That way it’s easy to grab and throw in a frying pan for a stir fry or muck-up of some sort.

You’ll see some amazing changes in yourself if you get into the habit of prepping your meals in advance and eating healthy food every few hours.

  1. Skipping meals is hard on your body.
  2. Your metabolism slows down.
  3. Feeling cranky or light headed? It’s because your blood sugar dropped.
  4. Plus, you over eat at your next meal, trying to compensate for the dip in blood sugar.

Do I eat this way all the time? Heck no, it’s most definitely time consuiming and takes a lot of prep work. It definitely helps me in the long run through the week days when I do take time to manage everything. I really need to get back on track. Because if I don’t plan ahead, I make the not so nutritious meals for us.

What are some of your favorite foods?

How often do you eat?

Do you prep your meals ahead of time?

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Daily, FitFluential, Health, In the Kitchen, Photos, Reviews

The Club House

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I woke up early this morning angry that my alarm didn’t go off. It was 7:34, I had “slept in” and I was going to be late for work! All my mumbling in the morning as I rushed out of bed and did a few things I remembered it was Saturday morning! Hallelujah.

So, I took it upon myself to get some early morning me-time in before I had to help my boyfriend pack up my car. He’s taking it and driving up to Muskoka to do another race: the 70.3 half ironman which he’ll be competing in tomorrow.

My me-time consisted of a little micro exfoliating treatment. Hello facial therapy.  It had been about 2 months or so since I treated my skin to a nice deep scrub (see my review last summer). It was well worth it and I even made The Boyf feel my face afterwards.philosophy-micro-exfoliatin

Friends know I usually have popcorn for supper, when my boyfriend is away. But I think I’m coming down with a little cold, I’m feeling very stuffed up. I was actually craving a club house sandwich for lunch. I didn’t have any of the ingredients (no tomatoes, no lettuce) so I decided to just improvise.

Can you guess which bread is mine, and which is The Boyf’s? He likes to carb load before races and I’m still trying to not eat as much carbs.dempsters-white-and-thin-br

I liked the Dempster’s THINS buns so much I tried last week, and I decided to venture out and use my last free coupon from Dempster’s to pick up a new package and try out their THINS bread. Don’t forget about my giveaway I’m hosting! You can win yourself some free coupons to try it out for yourself too.

The ingredients for my chicken salad sandwich. All finely chopped was some chicken, bacon, mushrooms and red peppers. The sauce is this amazing aioli (fancy name for mayo) that I always buy at the local health food store. It has a lot of fat content, but I love it.ingredients

I ended up making your typical 3 bread layer sandwich and toasting the bread slightly. Then once it was all assembled with spinach on either side of the bread I took way too long taking some snaps for the blog post. lunch-outsideThe great thing about my sandwich was that it wasn’t too huge. You know those absolutely massive BLT sandwiches you get at restaurants you can barely open your mouth wide enough to take your first bite? They should start using the THINS. It wasn’t too thin that my aioli sauce soaked through, and definitely held up. Sturdy bread if you will.

Pour yourself a tall glass of skim milk, chop up some carrots and you’ve got yourself a hearty lunch. club-sandwich-by-dempsters

Need to pack some lunches for your kids in their second week of school? Sandwiches are the easiest, and can be so diverse if you put your mind to it. Check out the two sandwiches I made the Boyf and I last weekend using similar bread. dempsters-chicken-salad-san
Also remember that there’s a twitter party happening on the same evening that my contest ends (September 10, 9pm EST). Join Twitter to party and #WinWithTHINS with over $1,000 in prizes up for grabs! Just follow @Dempsters for all the details and they’ll have a special prize for you if you can make it there!

I’ll see ya next time! I’m off to do a bit of online shopping :)

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