Going Grain Free

I made a very major change to my diet this week.

I decided to go grain free because I have been very frustrated with my diet. I have been getting gassed out during my workouts, been grumpy during the day, and have lacked energy. This is not a fun way to be. My husband has been feeling the same way. Now he and I have tried all sorts of diets and have experience success with many of them. Zone, Paleo, Low-Carb, counting calories, counting maco-nutrients...you name it, we've tried it. One night, we were lying in bed and I asked him which diet made him feel the best (romantic, right?). He said he didn't know and then asked me the same question. I said I didn't know. But,we both new and didn't want to admit it.

Paleo.

The concept of paleo is to eat like the original people ate. Meat, fruit, nuts, vegetables and that's it. Right now, we aren't eating super strict. We are allowing some dairy and potatoes and will reevaluate in a couple of weeks.

Honestly, I feel great. I challenge you to go grain free for a week and see how you feel!

Simple Light Chicken Marinade

When you think about eating healthy, boring grilled chicken comes to mind. How much chicken and vegetables can a person eat until he or she goes nuts? Chicken is a great high quality source of protein that is low in fat...as long as you lose the skin. Here is a super quick and easy marinade that jazzed up my chicken tonight.

1/2 cup Lemon Juice
1/4 cup Dijon Mustard
1/4 cup No Sugar Added Apricot Jam
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
Salt, Pepper, and Garlic Powder to taste

Wisk together all the ingredients until the marinade is smooth. Add 1-2 lbs of chicken to the marinade. Mix it together to cover the chicken. Cover and pop it in the fridge for about an hour.

To save time, I started making some rice, then put the marinade together. Once my rice was done, I did my work out, which gave the chicken time to marinate. When I finished my workout, I cooked the chicken and some veggies.Since I used those small chicken breast tenderloins, I only need ten minutes to finish dinner. The chicken was sweet and tangy! Total prep time for dinner was 20...take that Rachel Ray.

Ready to Go

I am very proud of myself. I have been really dedicated to my lifting for the past month, I really struggled in the fall to stay dedicated. Everything in life seemed more important than getting my workouts in. I really made eating right a priority and I think that this is what has made it possible for me to lift consistently. Instead of coming home drained after work, I've been coming home ready to go. The biggest diet change I have made is to make sure I get fruits and veggies at every meal. Give it a try and see if it helps you keep your energy.

This week I hit 190 for 3 on my dead lift and 183 for 3 for my squat. In both lifts I was definitely left with more gas in the tank. I have some crazy goals for the year, but I think if I stay dedicated and keep eating the right foods I will be able to get there. Here are my goals for the year.


1. Compete in a powerlifting meet
2. 250 lb dead lift
3. 235 lb squat
4. 135 lb bench press
5. 100 lb press

It's beginning to look alot like Christmas...

Last Christmas I gained 15/20 lbs. This Christmas, while its not over yet, I am down 5% body fat from the begining of the month. So what's the difference? This year I have a plan.

It is really easy to let the holidays take control over everything. Your time, your diet, your paycheck. But like everything, if you go in with a real concrete plan, you are way more likely to succeed. For the month of December, I cleaned up my diet and decided how I am going to eat at which parties. Not that I won't have a treat or two this holiday season, but I refuse to eat a dozen cookies just because they are there. I'll report back on January 1st to let you know if my planning worked!

Below was today's workout, stay tuned for my Christmas Eve Double header!

 Workout Log 12/22

Warmup - dynamic stretching, light kb swings

Light Squat, 4X5, worked up to 125 lbs

Press
3 warmup sets
3@ 45 lbs
3@ 55 lbs
7@ 61 lbs

Deadlift worked up to 1X5 @ 175 lbs

10 Min
10, 55 lb Swing at the top of every minute
Minutes 1 - 5 were crazy easy, minutes 6 - 10 were KILLER!

Don't Sweat the Small Stuff....

I'm am sure many of you have been told this or said this to someone else at some point in your life. When you are stressed out or struggling to get by it sounds like a great idea. Don't stress about the small things you have to deal with and everything will run smoothly.

I find in my life, not sweating the small things tends to get me into a lot of trouble. Say a light bulb goes out in house, you think, hmm... I don't feel like doing that today, I'll take care of it tomorrow. Tomorrow becomes next Tuesday and next Tuesday becomes next month...until you have been thinking about the stupid light bulb for two months and now another one is out and now you have two to replace...well I think you see where this is headed.

I find in my training and eating, I tend to get into a habit of "not sweating the small stuff." When I'm tired/sick/busy or various other things on my extensive list of excuses, I cut the little things out. When working out, I'll take away accessories work or skip my dreaded pullups, cut down on rest time or skip warming up and warm up sets. The idea being, "well, as long as I get my big lifts in, I'm good."

But it turns out, "I'm not so good." When I leave out the seemingly less important accessory work, my big lifts suffer. When I don't properly warm up, my hamstrings get extra tight making it harder to work out next time. I am starting to find, that if I "sweat the small stuff," the "big stuff" tends to come easier.

It's the same way with my diet. I like to convince myself that having a treat now and then won't effect my training. In many ways this is true, but I find if I say ok to a White Chocolate Mocha on Monday, I'm more likely to try my Grandma's homemade chocolate chips cookies on Wednesday, and then one Thursday don't feel like cooking and decide the fast food isn't really so bad for me. It is a vicious cycle.

One of my professors in college once told me the story of the first guy to reach the top of Mt. Everest, while I have no idea if this is true, I think its worth sharing. He told me in his very thick Indian accent, "There were two men climbing who went on the expedition to reach the top of Mt. Everest. They climbed the whole way together, but only one reached to top first. The difference between good a great, is often only a couple of feet."

I wonder how different my life and training would be if I really lived out that idea?

Routine

So last week I got out of my routine. I skipped my Monday workout...and said...."I'll get it done tomorrow." Was that a big mistake. I ended up not doing my whole program for the week cause I thought I could rearrange my schedule and make it work. I think getting into a routine is the most important part of meeting goals. If you make a plan and stick to it, you will see results. However, if you make a plan and don't get in the routine of doing it, then it will be difficult to reach your goals.

Now that I am working full time, I am really trying to get into a routine.  It is so much easier then when I was in school, but I am still trying to figure everything out. I am going to do my best to commit to my plan, so when I compete in my first powerlifting meet next summer, I will be proud of what I have accomplished.


Monday - Volume Day

Squat 5 X 3 @ 170
Pressed 5 X 3 @ 62
Deadlift 1 X 5 @ 195
Kipping Ring Pullups 3 X 8

Dan's Chocolate Mousse

This is a recipe I created yesterday that is awesome!The servings are not large, but they are very rich. You really only need that much, believe me. Each serving has about 8 carbs, so it will satisify your chocolate cravings without ruining your diet and training. Dan wanted me to make sure that everyone knows that it was his idea :)

Dan's Chocolate Mousse

4 Eggs

6 Oz. Unsweetened Chocolate

1 Shot Espresso

½ cup milk

¼ cup stevia (I used Truvia)

1. Melt chocolate and espresso in a double boiler.

2. Add the milk and stevia. Stir until smooth. Then remove from the heat.

3. Separate the egg yolks and egg whites.

4. Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.

5. Beat the eggs yolks.

6. Add a spoonful of the chocolate mixture to the egg yolks and stir well.

7. Add the egg yolks to the chocolate mixture and beat until smooth.

8. Fold the chocolate mixture into the egg whites.

9. Pour into 8 serving dishes and put in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or until set. 

Wednesday - Light Day

Snatch 6X2 @ 70

Front Squat 3X3 @ 115

25 lb Weighted Pushups 2X5

Assisted Ring Dips 3X5

Friday - Max Effort Day

Squat: Work up to 3RM of 180

Pres: Work up to 3RM of 70

Ring Pull Ups 6X2

Conditioning:

3 95 lb sled drags

2 115 lb sled drags

1 135 lb sled drags