Tracy's All Day Lunch 10/31

Menu

Spinach salad w/roasted brussel sprouts, califlower and squash
Sherry vinigrette w/roasted garlic
Pork tenderloin (on top o f veggies)
Coffee
Veg & Pea soup w/Kale and Roasted chicken
Carrot and Celery stick w/ PNB and Raisins

I've been roasting like crazy...squash, brussels, califlower, garlic, onions, meat, etc... I've been craving a stuffed bell pepper..maybe tomorrow!

Life is good, food is good.

Intro to Clubbells

I collect vintage (sometimes antique) weight training and exercise stuff, like old dumbells, leather medicine balls, training manuals/magazines/posters, etc.. And one of the things I used to collect were "indian clubs", so when I saw these modern versions of indian clubs, I knew what they were, and basically how they were to be used. This training method has always interested me. So, I was excited and supportive when Mark mentioned his interest also.
I got up early this morning and started to watch the intructional DVD and Mark coached me on some of the basic moves this afternoon. I only practiced "back and forth" movements, saving the "side to side" stuff for another time, (I had to get to my yoga class!)

I'm not sure how this is going to fit into my training, but I can say that I really worked my glutes...maybe I will get that butt I've always wanted, lol.

I'll play around with it this week.....

Max Vo2, Minnesota style

Fawn and I did 40 sets, 15 sec. on, 15 sec. rest 8/8 reps w/12kg. Fawn dropped down to 7/7 reps on set 30, incredible for her first time training this way! This Max vo2 was done after teaching and swinging with her class at Gold's Gym.

Here are the ladies that survived my co-teaching and got a chance to swing "Tracy Reifkind Style"! Fawn can help remind me of their names!

Saturday morning Fawn and I got up extra early and went to the Downtown Farmers Market (pictures coming soon!) and then went over to Gold's Gym to teach a KB class at 9am. Her group of students stayed and watched Fawn and I snatch "I go, you go" style for our Max Vo2 workout, and slipped into the background for a picture! I had great fun sharing my swing combos, and Fawn and I collaborated on a swing/clean/squat combo, just for this group!

We then ran over to The Press Gym to co-teach anther KB class at 11:00! One of my former summer workout buds, Emily Murai, who lives there in MN, showed up for that class and after practicing form with a couple of other students for about an hour, I put her through a 35 min. intense swing combo workout, in which Fawn joined in the last 20 minutes of. Here I am, after over an hour of teaching and swinging, with Emily Murai.

We ate lunch, walked Elsa, took a nap, I got a gun safety lesson from Aaron that evening and then Fawn and I went out to Dinner at The Wood Fire Grill.
Sorry for the fuzzy picture, I didn't have a better one. On our way out to dinner.

Saturday was awesome, life is good in Minnesota. Life is good with the Fridays.

Elsa Friday

Elsa Friday, Aaron and Fawn's daughter, is a lucky dog! She gets to walk around this lovely lake, blocks from their home, most days, and this day she invited me....thanks Elsa!

My Best Bud....Fawn Friday

Fawn and I pose for the camera after a killer swing class at The Press Gym Friday morning.

How stinkin' lucky am I? Fawn is a former professional chef! Did I die and go to heaven? Heaven on stinkin earth is Fawn's kitchen! She just "causually" whipped up Salmon cakes with homemade aoili....don't worry, I am taking notes and I can tell already my cooking will change, for the better, spending only one day watching Fawn.

We had the most perfect day! It started out at The Press Gym co-teaching a kettlebell class at 9:00am, then a strong cup of coffee and then a fast, walk around a beautiful lake in Fawn's neighborhood for about 45 min with her sweet dog Elsa. Fawn started lunch, roasting some squashes I had never cooked before ( I will post more pictures when I get home), and she showed me step by step her style of cooking as well as sharing food philosophies. What fun!

Then mid afternoon we went Thrift Store and Vintage Shop shopping, made a couple of purcahses, talked about dinner, stopped at this great specialty grocery for dinner supplies, bought our lottery tickets before heading home to nibble on gourmet cheeses and sip hot rum cider while I got, yet another, cooking lesson and crazy incredible dinner of squash stuffed with salmon, prawns, and chorizo....out comes the homemade aoli....AND....pork roast with red beans, beets, onions, and apple.

Two kettlebell classes tomorrow morning as well as our own Max Vo2 workout...crashing the RKC Sat. night dinner, and then shooting Sunday morning. The fun never stops around here!

Life is so great.

Tracy's All Day Lunch 10/17

Top clockwise,

spinach, spaghetti squash and roasted tomatoes 100 cal.
Peet's coffee w/cream 45 cal.
celery/carrots/raisins (1/2c.) 260 cal.
broccoli salad w/chicken (4oz.) 440 cal. (extra dressing)
steel cut oats w/sugar 175 cal.
fugi apple 100 cal.
veg soup w/skirt steak (3oz.) 250 cal.

Total calories 1370

Add in morning coffee w/cream 80 cal. and 1 Reese's candy 100 cal., 1550

All I can say is, thank God for leftovers and the freezer! I'm leaving for my trip in the morning, and I'm hoping to get a workout in, early, before I go, and even though I made 6 quarts of chicken stock Monday night, I had no time to make soup. But, luckily I had at least 3 pre-portioned containers of soup (one of them had this skirt steak already included, yay!) and some leftover spaghetti squash w/roasted tomatoes to which I added some fresh spinach ....all will go together for one large meal.

I roasted 2 whole chickens, also on Monday, and some of that meat went into my salad. The broccoli salad took about 10 minutes and I made a little extra to take with me to the airport for lunch tomorrow. I'll also take with me 2 small containers of PNB and raisins, and plenty of celery and carrots, and 2 apples.

Best Bud

Fawn Friday and me at the April RKC....this is not such a great picture, but it's the only one I have!

Fawn Friday, (unbeknowst to her!) is my best bud! Fawn was on the team I was assisting last April at the RKC, and although she was, at first, resistent to any coaching from me, she came to her senses by the second day and lucky for me she likes me! Mark and I had dinner with Fawn and her husband Aaron, during the RKC, and since then we've been able to keep in touch via our blogs....what fun!

I'm traveling to MN tomorrow and will be lucky enough to enjoy the hospitality of the Fridays. Training, yoga, picture taking, cooking/eating, I doubt we'll have time for shopping..........and shooting? I'm just going to follow Fawns lead. And hopefully she'll still be my "best bud" after my visit, lol.

This is the team that I helped assist at the cert...I'm sorry that I've forgotten some names, but front to back, Geoff Neupert, Fawn, Karen, Justin, Tom,..?..,..?(Bill).., Christopher.....getting ready for their final test.
This is Fawn and her "victim".


I am so stinkin', freakin' lucky! Looking back at these pictures, from the April cert, I get excited all over again. I will not be "officially" attending the RKC, but I hope to see other RKC's, and many of the new potential RKC's as well as Pavel, John, Andrea, Brett, and Kenneth....how stinkin' exciting!

Life is good, friends are good, kettlebells are good!

USSST w/16kg: 177 reps

The Start


The Finish


Mark:
I had hoped to get the camera to record the entire ten minutes but it clicked off twice. I was keeping track with a calculator and pencil. I just have to say how incredibly proud I am of Tracy and how much she kicked ass in this, the first time taking the test with the 16 kg! The first time she even snatched the thing was in this past spring! I can't tell you enough how impressed I am with her athletic ability and incredible drive to improve.She wasnt even breathing hard and NOBODY can say a word about any of her lockouts.
Her goal was to go the ten minutes without putting it down and she did that and more. Next time she'll go faster and close in on 200 reps.!

Tracy:
Since my weight was up from 2 days of alcohol induced pig out's, I decided to not wait until Monday to test the 16kg 10 minute snatch. So when I got back from Santa Cruz, about 2pm, I just went for it...what the hell right?

My first goal was to not put the weight down the entire 10 minutes.....that was much more important than the number of reps. The strategy was to switch every 7 reps, because of my Max Vo2 training, I was comfortable with 7 reps. Also, I wanted to keep a steady pace and not run out of breath. Then, the rep goal I set in my mind was 180.

I accomplished, with ease, my first goal, I think at this slow pace I could've gone a lot longer, maybe 3-4 minutes more, I wasn't even close to oxygen debt. I didn't even tear up my hands because of the slower pace. I was able to get my 7 reps easily, next time I'll go for 8, and a little faster. How many reps can I do next time...really, it doesn't matter! I'm just thrilled that I did it! It was the first time, but not the last.

Life is good.

1080 swings / 35 minutes, extraodinary, or not?

8:00am KB swings

set #1
40 2 hand swings, 40 transfers, 40 2 hd sw, (120 reps), 3 min on, 1 min rest

set #2
40 transfers, 40 2 hand swings, 40 tr, (120 reps), 3 min on, 1 min. rest

Rotated for a total of 9 sets (starting and ending w/set #1)

1080 reps, 35 min. (not including the last min. rest period)

It's a rainy day...no Santa Cruz :(.....I decided to swing the 12kg for long sets, instead of going for a walk this morning. I'm not allowed to swing anything heavier until after my SSST w/16kg on Mon., so tomorrow I'm skipping my regular workout, but I'll swing the 8kg & 6kg at Girya with clients.

So, I was able to bang out over 1000 swings in a little over a half hour....is this so extraordinary? This subject came up the other day in a converstion with Mark, in which he was complimenting my work loads and conditioning.

I, personally, don't think it's anything special, it's been a progressive increase, combined with consistent training, over the last 2 1/2 years. Consistent training for 2 1/2 years! I haven't missed one workout in 2 1/2 years, that's what I find extraordinary!

In fact, I have a new group of three women swinging consistently, twice a week, for just about 4 weeks now, and the workout they did yesterday consisted of a 15 minute warm up of practice combination sets...30 sec-1 min long....and ending with at least 12-14, one min on/one min. rest, sets (40 rep sets)! That totals over 40 minutes of swinging and at least 500-600 swings! In about one months time! (I didn't keep count, sorry) Isn't this amazing? The key will be, how long can they keep up with consistent training?

I told them the other day, "You guys are so lucky to have me as a teacher!". I can already see more muscular tone in their shoulders and arms, and in about a months time already swinging for over 40 minutes? Wow!

Progressive, consistent workouts. The payoff, incredible conditioning, incredible muscle tone, and a "bad ass" attitude! (whoops, maybe that's just me!)

Thursday Dbl. Clean, Press. Squat

10:00am KB

Warm up

40 reps, 2 hand & 1 hand swings w/12kg, 1 min on, 1 min rest x 5 sets = 10 min.

Work sets

#1 w/2 12kg's
dbl clean, press, dbl cl pr squat, x 5, 1 min on
1 min rest
#2 w/16kg
clean, press R, 2 hand trans, squat, 2 hd tr, cl pr L, 2 hd tr, squat, repeat x 10, 2 min on,
1 min rest
#3 w/20kg
2 hand swing, 2 hd catch, squat x 9, 1 min on,
1 min rest

All three sets took 7 min to complete, I rotated them 5 x = 35 min.

swing/clean/press ladder 5 min.

9 R, 9 L, 7 R, 7 L, 5 R, 5 L, 3 R, 3 L, 1 R, 1 L

Total workout 50 min.

I knew I had extra swinging to do @ Girya with my 12:30pm class, so I resisted extending my workout longer. This is the last workout, before my SSST w/16kg, that I'll be handling anything heavier than the 12kg.

After packing my All Day Lunch, on Wed., I gave into the Halloween size Snickers at work (big time!). I still ate all of my good food, reluctently, but I'd rather eat the extra 500 calories of good nutritious food than feed my body nothing but empty calories of sugar.

I'm bumping up my protein and fat (BF 17.7%-19%), also I'm thinking about revisting the WD as I approach my 4 day vacation to St. Paul.

My training is good, my food is good, my life is good.

Tracy's All Day Lunch 10/10

Top L, clockwise,

tomatoes/roasted corn/chicken (for salad) 350 cal.

spinach/ lime and garlic dresssing 200 cal.

spaghetti squash/roasted tomatoes/Trader Joes meatballs (3) and broccolini 500 cal.

carrot/celery sticks

prunes and PNB/jujube fruit 200 cal.

oatmeal (I ate this at home w/milk and yogurt) 380 cal.

Total calories 1630

Add in morning coffee/cream (80 cal.), 1710.

My calorie count is a little low, so I think I'll take along 1/4 c. raisins, if I chose to eat them I can.

I did not KB today, because I did alot of demo swings yesterday and that kept me a little sore from my snatch workout done on Monday. I'm tempted to go for a long walk.....but I know I need to take this opportunity to fully recover....decisions, decisions.

Life is good, a little rainy, but good.

Carbs...continued

Turning a single serving of risotto into "risotto soup", by adding 2-3 c. veggie soup and 4 oz. chicken. (Risotto with radicchio, spinach, and carmelized onions)
Ok, so where was I? I suggested that perhaps instead of the carbs being the problem, it's the amount of carbs, or the amount of carbs in ratio to other foods in the diet.

So, can you lose weight and still eat carbs? Well here's an example of my list of foods yesterday,

coffee/cream (fat) 80 cal.
apple, lg fuji (carb) 100 cal.
rissotto soup w/chicken (veggie/carb/protein) 500 cal.
celery/carrots/dried fruit, prunes (4), 1/2c. raisins (veggie/carb) 400 cal.
steel cut oats, yogurt, milk, honey (carb, protein, carb) 425 cal.
Misc. 80 cal.

Total calories 1585

My Tues. AM weight 130.4....my Wed. AM weight 129.4...so I guess the answer is yes! You can lose weight and still eat carbs, IMO.

Now, admittedly, my carbs yesterday were, in fact, higher than normal...I chose not to make a large salad because of my work/yoga schedule, (I didn't want to be digesting alot of raw veggies all day) which is unusual. But, I drank plenty of water and kept my calorie count within range.

And Royce brought up a good point, which is that low carb dieting works for alot of people, including him. But I suggested, that pehaps it's the structure of dieting that works....and what is the definition of "works"?

In other words, no matter what style of dieting you chose, once you start a diet, you're taking in fewer calories, so you will lose weight. And dieting provides focus, planning, attention, thought...structure. After all it's the lack of these details that leads to overeating and eating the wrong foods. And figuring out what works for you is, of course, key to finding a way of permanently changing the way you consume the foods in your diet.

And that brings me to my last point....how you define "works". I define a "working diet" as one that you can stick to the rest of your life...the foods you eat everyday...and look forward to eating, enjoy eating, and peferring to eat! If you cannot stick with it, it doesn't work! The definition of diet isn't meant to be used to always describe weight loss, but everything you eat, everyday, no matter what your bodyweight goals may be, is considered your diet.

For me personally, I don't want to live my life in fear of "carbs". I want to experience all foods especially if I have opportunities to travel, I won't have the control over my foods the same way as if I were at home, and I can't live with the fear of leaving my home kitchen. When I eat carbs I stay with an appropriate serving size, and then add other foods into the meal. So for me, consuming carbs in proportion to veggies/protein/fat/calorie count, is the key to my diet.

I am not an expert in dieting...I'm only an expert in my diet! Become an expert in your diet...your diet for life....a good and healthy life!

Max Vo2, 50 sets, 7.5 min continuous snatch, and....16kg...looming!

1:15 Monday Max Vo2 x 50

Misc. warm up 4 min.

15 sec on, 15 sec. rest 8 reps per x 50 = 25 min, 400 snatches

I took about 1 min. rest, and then snatched for 7.5 min continuous staying with an 8/8 every 30 sec. pace. I could've snatched for 10 min. (physically), but I wanted to see how long I could keep this particular pace (320 reps/10 min.). I was successful up until 7 min., at 7.5 min I had only snatched 6 of the last 8 reps, at that point I stopped.

If I were to do the SSST w/12kg again, (and I will at some point), I would probably get 10-12 snatches before a transfer. In the example today I switched every 8 reps, and therefore increasing the transfer reps. So, every minute I snatched 16 L, 16 R and 4 transfers, making that 36 reps per minute.

8/8/8/8 x 7.5 min = 240 snatches (add in the extra 5 sec for the last 2 reps)

32.5 min, 640 snatches

Swing sets / 1 hand swings

20/20/20/20 w/14kg, 2 min. on,
1 min rest
20/20/20/20 w/16kg, 2 min on,
1 min rest

I rotated both of these sets 2 x (= 12 min.), before shortening the 2nd set to 20/20, for only 1 min on., and then rotating another 2 x each, (10 min.), for a total swing time of 22 min., 520 swings......DONE!

Total workout 58.5 min.

Testing my 10 minute snatch with the 16kg is looming.....1 stinkin' week away!

What I do know is, for me, trying to find a continuous pace without putting the weight down will be a goal. In past training of long swing sets I always found it easier to keep going, because when I put the weight down, I didn't want to pick it back up! This goal is more important to me than the number of reps.

And speaking of the number of reps....My goal number is low, I'm not trying to "kill it".

I'm switching my Thursday workout to Wed. and my Sat. workout to Fri. taking 2 full days off before the test. Good healthy food all week, maintaining a weight of 128-129.

Are Carbs the Problem?

I've always taken a common sense approach to my diet, no one had to tell me how to lose weight....so with all the diet philosophies out there right now the "carb" controversy seems to be the most popular. Everyone wants to blame carbs for their overweightness, or their inability to lose weight faster, once they start a diet. "I ate too many carbs " is often the defense, the excuse, "It's the carbs"!

It must be, LOL! It couldn't be that they're just eating too much, that would mean taking responsiblity for overfeeding their face!

I confess I get caught up in it too! But I believe...bottom line, if you need to lose weight you need to start by,

#1
Stop eating so much food, all types of food, not just carbs.

#
Add in the fresh live foods...veggies (as much as you want) and fruits.

I'm not saying that learning what types of foods work better, for your own personal body, to feel and perform, it's best isn't valid, I'm just suggesting that you take a look at the ratios of carbs, to ptotien, to fat, to live fresh foods, in your diet first. This is what I mean;

Carbs are often eaten in disproportion to healthier (live) foods. When we think of carbs, first and most often, we think of breads, pastas, potatoes, rice, etc. So let's take bread as our first example.

First off, bread has a ton of calories! One slice of sandwich bread has roughly 100 calories, that means if you eat a sandwich w/2 slices you're already up to 200 calories and you haven't even put anything in it yet! And that's "normal" sandwich bread...not a french roll. Now add in protein (meat), at least 4 oz., there's 200 cal., a slice of cheese (100 cal.), now we're up to 500 cal., let's not forget the tbl. of mayo (at least...have you ever measured out a tbl. of mayo?)... maybe we put on a leaf of iceberg lettuce, and a slice of tomato (but probably not. if we're making it ourselves...that takes too much time, and we probably don't have any fresh veggies in the fridge anyway!)

So we're up to 600 cal. and it's all carb/protein/fat.....where's the veggies? Where is the live healthy food? Now we add in our "side" which is what? Potato/corn chips? Potato/pasta salad? Granola bar? Cookie? OK some of us might actually include an apple or carrot sticks (yea right, lol).

My point is, being a self proclaimed "vegetable snob", that my sandwich (if I were having one) would be...2 slices of thin sandwich bread (140 cal.), maybe as much as 4oz. meat (200 cal.)...but 1 whole can of tuna w/1tbl. mayo, has 250 cal., and that's alot of food...I would probably skip any cheese...and then I would have to put at least a huge wad of sprouts (tossed with a little low cal Italian dressing 35 cal.), thick slabs of tomato, a few peppers, maybe sliced onion, mustard and maybe for a treat, if I were using turkey especially, sliced avocado. I also find that toasting the bread adds flavor and body to the "mouth feel" of a sandwich.

So my sandwich would be under 400 calories, twice as big and twice as nutritious (I'm guessing. lol). Did I make my point? What do you think?

So what are some other ways we eat carbs? When we have a bagel....cream cheese?...were's the veggie? Pasta.....jarred tomato sauce (if you're lucky), jarred alfredo/cream sauce?...meat, cheese...where's the veggie? Potatoes, most of us consider this as the vegetable, and then add, butter/cream/cheese/salt etc...where's the real veggie? Rice, usually a side dish, served with a protein (main dish) and a measley portion of ...what?...steamed broccoli...maybe a small side salad? I don't know I'm asking. lol!

Enough said for now, I've got a 8:00am yoga class to get to right now!

I'll be back later to continue....

1:00pm....I decided to make myself a sandwich! The picture above is my actual lunch today, although I only ate 1/2 the sandwich, I used 2 large tomatoes (1 red, 1 orange) and the marinated peppers/pickles/mushrooms to make a salad. Only 1/2 of the apple is pictured, the other 1/2 also went into the salad.

Ezekiel bread 160 cal.

2oz organic roast beef 90 cal.

sprouts/tomato/hot pickeles/red onion 0 cal.

mustard 10 cal.

large organic fuji apple 120 cal.

marinated peppers/mushrooms 60 cal.

440 total calories

Two handed swing uphill weight ladder

6:freakin 15am KB heavy 2 hand workout

Warm up

40 2 hand swings w/12kg x 4 sets, 1 min on, 1 min rest = 8 min.

Work sets

#1 80 2 hand swings w/16kg, 2 min on,
1 min. rest
#2 2 hand swings, 10 w/16kg, 10 w/20kg, 10 w/16kg, 10 24kg, 1 min. on
1 min. rest
#3 80 transfers w/16kg, 2 min. on,
1 min. rest

I rotated these 3 sets in this order 5 x. All three sets took 8 min to complete x 5 = 40 min.

Total workout 48 min.

Video demonstrates set #2 (3rd rotation). Last week I did an uphill ladder w/10 reps per weight, but resting 15 sec. between each increment of weight. This week I did my ladder, increasing/decreasing the weight with no rest and then alternating the ladder set with 2 min swing sets.

Saturday AM weight 126.6
6:15 KB
9:00am & 1:30pm demo swings (40 min. total)

Menu

coffee/cream 80 cal.
carrots/celery raisins/PNB 350 cal.
jujube fruit 40 cal.
donut (lg) 400 cal. (the stinkin thing was FREE @ work)
mexican candy 4000 cal. (damn...I threw the rest away)
soup w/chicken and black beans 450 cal.

Total 1720

As I was adding up the days calories in my head....after the candy, before the soup....I kept reassuring myself that I was still within my range....and then it hit me.....but how did I do, for myself, nutritionally? My focus has been on calories and not nutrition!

I need to nourish my body, I've got a pretty serious training test coming up and I'm not doing myself any favors with empty calories. There's nothing wrong with sugar and sweets in, I HATE this but, moderation!

Good food, good food, good food.

Money in the Bank (Fri. quick KB)

Time to "bank" those calories.

Friday AM weight 129.2 / PM weight 128.0 (8:00pm)
5:30am 30 min. walk
6:00 KB swings
11:00 beach walk (1 1/2 mi)

Menu

coffee/cream 80 cal.
12:00 salad w/spinach, tomatoes, roasted corn, chicken (4oz.), oil/red vinegar 500 cal.
12:30 mexican candy (I had to buy some!) small piece, 60 cal.
1:30 coffee/cream 70 cal.
3:30 the rest of my tomato/corn salad 100 cal.
5:30 carrots/celery/raisins/PNB 350 cal.

Total calories 1160

Pretty low, but like I said, "feast or famine". I was a bad girl the day before and I had to make up for it! Sometimes it just trips me out how I'm not even hungry the day after a high calorie day.

I did buy a very small amount of candy at the flea market...it's the only place I know to get it, at least that's my excuse. I'm not sure exactly what my plans are for it, lol.

KB Swings

Misc. warm up 4 min.

#1 10/10 x 3 (60 reps) w/12kg 1 hand swings, 1.5 min on
30 sec. rest
#2 10/10 w/16kg 1 hand swings, 30 sec. on
30 sec. rest
#3 10/10 w/20kg 1 hand swings, 30 sec. on
30 sec. rest

All three sets took 4 min. to complete, I rotated them in this order 6 times = 24 min.

Total workout 28 min.

Time to re-evaluate yoga...again...I think I need those 5:30am classes at the other studio, I just hate to have 2 memberships, both studios have pros and cons!

Oops! I closed my eye

Well my weekend plans changed and I could come up with tons of excuses.....but the bottom line is that I tried to cut my calories too low....my stinkin' "all or nothing" , "feast ot famine" personality....and gave into the "all/feast" part. My weight was too low Thurs. (126.4), it caught up to me, (besides I looked horrid!), so I used that to give myself permission to pig out.

Thursday AM weight 126.4
12:30 demo swings
1:30 dbl clean/press/squat

Menu

coffee/cream
prunes (5)/PNB 180 cal.
grapes 240 cal
peanuts 200 cal.
risotto soup w/chicken 500 cal.
steel cut oats w/yogurt 225 + 200 cal.
more yogurt 200 cal.

(calories around 1800-2000, which was fine)

Here starts the bad part, I finished eating at 4:15 and the plan was to go to 7:00 yoga.....@ around 5:50 (notice that this time is before my 6pm cut off!) the ice cream (that I just bought for "Mark") was too much to resist,

1/2 pint Hagen Daz Strawberry ice cream mixed with
1 c. banana yogurt

Oh, it gets better!

2 1/2 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (this killed it!)
dark chocolate, 2 squares...why not, right?

Total calories, who cares!

Needless to say I didn't go to yoga, I didn't even go for a long walk...you know what I did???? I went to bed! Getting up between 3:30 - 4:00am catches up with you...late night yoga just isn't working out for me, (excuses?).

On the other hand, I have been really good about not buying things I know I'll end up eating (the ice cream technically was for Mark!). I actually made it out of Trader Joes with no junk food at about 5:30, and I'm going to the Flea this morning...we'll see if I can resist the Mexican Candy....of course I can!

I'll post my dbl cl/pr/sq workout later, if anyone is interested, but for now I'm going to go on a quick 20-30 min walk, 20-30 min., 16kg, 1 hand swing combo workout, and head to Santa Cruz.

Life is great.

Tracy's All Day Lunch 10/3

Wednesday AM weight 128.0 (barely missed my goal of 127.?)

No exercise!

Menu (clockwise)

Peet's coffee /cream 35 cal.

spaghetti squash (1/2 of a 3lb. squash), roasted tomatoes, ground beef/italian sausage 400 cal.

leftover broccoli

1/2 bunch spinach, chicken 4oz. (for salad) 200 cal.

roasted corn, chinese long beans, yellow pear tomatoes (for salad) 150 cal.

lime/garlic dressing 150 cal.

carrots (2), raisins 1/4 c. 150 cal.

veg soup w/black beans 200 cal.

morning coffee w/misc. 100 cal.

Total calories 1385

Low calories, big volume....I'm trying to cut down on my nuts because they're so high calorie, time to add some back in!

Although I missed my goal of weighing in the 127's by the morning, I waited an hour and weighed myself again....127.8! Since I get out of bed around 4:15am, I find that I weigh a little lighter after 5:00am.

I've been strict about not eating after 6pm for the last 4 days.....eye on the prize!

Strategies for 10min 16kg Snatch...keeping an eye on the prize

Keeping a video blog has finally paid off big! I was able to go back (to June) and review some snatch workouts in preparation for my 10 min snatch test w/16kg in less than 2 weeks.

I can't really say exactly what my strategy is, because I don't know! Should I put the weight down....should I try and keep a steady pace, and try and go the whole 10 min....how many reps should I shoot for....etc. Since this is the first time I'll be testing it, I'm trying to relax and remember that this is only a baseline.

In the mean time, I've got 2 more press/squat workouts. I'm seriously thinking about switching squats for pistol training....my waist is just too thick! Diggin' the legs/hammies, but the gut has to go soon! Two, heavy, swing workouts, and 1 more MVo2, I think we're doing 50 sets next Monday. In addition to all of this I'm doing tons of demo/client workouts.

Secretly, I would love to test the 10 min snatch with the 12kg right after the 10 min/16kg test...call me crazy, but I would if Mark let me...what the hell, right? LOL

Tuesday AM weight 128.4
12:30 swing demos @ Girya (20-25 min continuous w/12kg)
7:00pm Bikram yoga

Menu

4:30-9:30 coffee w/cream 80 cal.
11:00 risotto soup 600 cal.
3:00 PNB, raisins, coconut, celery (5), carrot, 450 cal.
4:30 steel cut oats (1 1/2 serv.) 225 cal, 2% milk 1/2 c. 60 cal.
Misc. 100 cal.

Total calories 1515

Here's the video starting the beginning of my training to snatch the 16kg, 4 months ago.

Keeping My Eye on the Prize

In the next 3 weeks I have some special circumstances that I need to focus extra attention to be able to fully enjoy. In the last, almost, 3 years now I have rarely eaten out, in fact, up until the last couple of months, I had only eaten out in situations like being out of town and having to.

But, as I approach my 3 year anniversary from the day I started this amazing weight loss journey, (2 years of maintenance), I'm enjoying the freedom from fear (of making bad choices) because I've formed the habits needed to continue to keep my body lean and healthy. So, enjoying good food and wine out with friends and family is starting to become a more regular event.

Since I'm a believer in calorie counting, "banking" calories works well for me. Of course, scientifically it all evens out, (I've almost always been able to enjoy a "cheat day" once a week followed by a low calorie day), but mentally/phsycologically it works too. I'm never really hungry after a high calorie day and I've always had (kept) the motivation to get back to healthy choices quickly. Partly because of habit forming, but mostly because it just feels better to be lean and healthy, compared to sick and bloated.

So, over the next 3 weeks I have a birthday dinner this Saturday, in which case I've already aquired 3 bottles of Syrah wine for....my attempt to snatch the 16kg for 10 min. the following week....and the best part...I get to go to Minnesota during the Oct. RKC and stay with the Fridays (Aaron and Fawn) for 3 1/2 days!!!! WOO-HOO! Sooooo....

My diet has to stay tight and clean, I have to eat enough, as well as not too much. Today, being Tuesday, my goal is to get and keep my weight in the 127's by Wednesday morning and keep it there until Sat., I haven't done that in weeks. Next will be to get and keep my weight in the 128's pre snatch test with plenty of fats and protein, and just enough carbs. Then I need to get back down in the 127's for my trip, God only knows what I'll weigh when I get back!

So I'll be journaling my daily weight/food to keep accountable and on track, this will be the most serious of times...no bullshit. Enough but not too much. (enough is the hard part, it's easy to starve myself).

Monday AM weight 130.0
2:30pm weight 128.8
1:15 Max Vo2 KB
6:30pm 1 hour walk

Menu

coffee/cream 80 cal.
11:00 espresso/cream 35 cal.
12:30 3 stalks celery/PNB/raisins 200 cal
3:00 spaghetti squash/roasted tomatoes/chard 350 cal. + 4oz. ribeye 200 cal.
3:30 Grapenut cereal/milk 360 cal.
5:30 chinese long bean/tomato/roasted corn salad, w/lime/garlic dressing 400 cal.
Misc. 100 cal.

Total calories 1725

Keep my eye on the prize...keep my eye on the prize....if I don't buy it, I won't eat it....keep my eye on the prize!

Life is good.

max Vo2 Day

1:15 Max Vo2

Misc. warm up 5-6 min.

Work sets

45 sets of 9 reps per cycle, 15 se on, 15 sec. off

Total time 22.5 min.
405 snatches

I could of done twice this amount! I stopped snatching the 16kg a couple of weeks ago AND I dropped my second snatch day (Sat.) altogether, in preparation to test the SSST w/16kg....which will be 2 weeks from today, or maybe I'll test on Sunday morning, which would be 2 weeks from yesterday.

Snatching the 12kg is so easy for me that the rest of my workout included 3 minute sets of snatch/transfers w/12kg, alternating with 1.5 min of snatch/transfers w/16kg,(this is the first time in a couple of weeks that I used the 16kg for snatches...no more until the test.)

Set #1

48 snatch, transfer w/12kg, 3 min. on
1 min. rest

Set#2

24 snatch, transfer w/16lg, 1.5 min on
1 min. rest

Alternating these two sets 4 x = 26 min. 288 snatches

Total workout 48.5 min 693 snatches