Guys, I had a fat loss breakthrough. I’ve shared that 2017 is my a push year for my fat loss goals and I was totally dialed in with food & fitness. Unfortunately, I was overlooking a few critical factors that could make or break my success.
I believe strongly that understanding & optimizing blood sugar and insulin is critical for lasting fat loss. I have been so focused on eating and working out in a way that does so. However, I hadn’t considered how non-food factors might be impacting my blood sugar.
In today’s episode, I’m sharing my fat loss breakthrough and what I’ll be doing to understand how stress, sleep, workouts and food sensitivities are impacting my blood sugar and insulin responses.
Random side note: Want to join tonight’s webinar about the spring Fat Loss Fast Track? It’s at 8pm ET on Thursday March 23rd. Click here to grab your spot.
I did it again! I surrendered my “early riser ego” and didn’t set my alarm. I woke up just before 6am. I know it sounds crazy, but it’s tough for me to not get up at 4:30. I love feeling like I’ve been super productive before most people are up. However, my ego isn’t most important. My body is. I’ve been overtired for years now and I need to treat my body with more love & respect especially since I have Hashimotos.
Coming up on episode 312 of the podcast I share that I’ll be keeping a closer eye on my blood sugar to see how non-food factors influence it (things like sleep, workouts, stress, caffeine, etc). Don’t miss that episode to hear more about what I’ll be tracking and why.
I checked my blood sugar upon waking this am:
Ideal fasting levels are at or below 85 mg/dL. While I was fasting last week, my morning readings were in the high 70s & low 80s so this seems about right.
I drank a couple glasses of water before hitting the coffee & then checked it again. Keep in mind that the increase isn’t due solely to the coffee – it’s also the difference of having been up, working, moving and introducing normal life-stressors.
It was 85 again at 8:30am. Good deal. No coffee-induced increase. Hooray!
I’m looking forward to today’s workout – I love power cleans! They make me feel super strong and I need to work on my elbow speed under the bar.
3×3 Power Clean
3×3 Front Squat
Then,
3 RFT (rounds for time)
21/15 Calorie Bike
15 Pull-ups
9 Burpee
I love heavy barbell work but I struggled with dizziness in the first part of this workout. My blood pressure tends to run low (all the time) and the only time I realize it is when I’m working out. I’ll be doing a little digging to see what I can do to make some improvements with that.
The conditioning workout was harder than it looked. Like I’ve mentioned before, the airdyne bikes jump out and get you!
I was really proud of the intensity I brought to the 3rd and final round. I was sucking wind when I finished.
I checked my blood sugar before and after the workout, just out of curiosity. Before it was 88. Then I ate. About 3 hours after the meal and 30 minutes after the workout it was 83 mg/dL. I’m happy with those numbers!
While we’re here, I thought I’d share a little muscle recovery hack I use. I’m a big fan of heating sore muscles or, more often, my inflamed knee which aggravates me from time to time. Instead of a heating pad, which I find hard to position, I have a huge white tube socked I’ve filled with dry rice and tied off. I’ll pop it in the microwave for a few minutes on each side and it gets piping hot & applies great pressure.
Warning: keep your eye on it while microwaving. I’ve set the sock on fire a few times. I’m not responsible for house fires. 🙂
On the food front:
Today was a bit different. And that’s normal.
I really don’t follow a particular eating schedule because I don’t think hunger can be scheduled. My hunger intensity and timing depends on sleep, workouts, emotion, muscle recovery and so many other factors.
Here’s what happened today: before my workout (around 11am) I decided to make some bacon so it would be ready after my workout for lunch.
But…
Who has ever cooked bacon and not eaten it? Raise your hands high.
You there with your hand raised: you’re a liar. #justkidding #buttotallyserious
So yeah, I ate a slice of bacon & then had one of the maca cold brew drinks I enjoy and a few tbsp of guacamole. We’ll call it a mini meal.
Then I decided to have a “mega meal” as a lunch/dinner combo.
I have a late hair appointment into the early evening and I don’t feel like eating afterwards (too late for my preference) so I made a MASSIVE salad and called it a combo meal.
I filled a large mixing bowl with:
shredded red & green cabbage
romaine lettuce
a few cherry tomatoes
3 hard boiled eggs
1 slice of bacon
1/2 an avocado
a handful of cashews
cucumbers & celery
I used my Oxo Salad chopper to mix it all together and whoa that filled me up big time. #missionaccomplished
I will absolutely be going to bed early tonight – I have a long day tomorrow and want to make sure I’m keeping my “rest” promise to myself. My goal is to be in bed by 9:30.
Speaking of my long day tomorrow – part of the reason it will be long (and most of the reason it will be wonderful) is because I’m hosting a live webinar to talk about the Spring Fat Loss Fast Track, how it works and if it’s right for you. I’d love for you to join me! It’s Thursday, March 23rd at 8p ET. Click here to grab your spot.
I love mornings! Like I mentioned yesterday, 2 of the big lessons I learned during my fast were that I need to sleep more & drink more water. I started the day with both. #winning
I didn’t set my alarm and woke up around 5:15am feeling rested.
Instead of rushing to the coffee maker, I drank two large glasses of water.
While both of those are little things, starting the day with intentional self care feels great!
This is a slightly chaotic week with work & personal responsibilities and I’m avoiding overwhelm by identifying the most important things that need to get done each day and tackling them within the first 2 hours of my day.
I gave this workout my absolute best effort and was pretty wasted when it was done! I didn’t break once during the workout & that was my goal. Steady, intense, focused movement from start to finish.
I’ve heard many times that one of the keys to the KB swing is squeezing your glutes, but today I heard a new-to-me coaching cue: drive your quads down towards your knees. Basically, in addition to firing my glutes, I made a conscious effort to tightly contract my quads on the pull, imagining them pushing down towards my knees. I think it’ll be a helpful tip for me moving forward.
I’m feeling pretty tired this afternoon (post lunch & workout) so I’m going to make sure to be in bed early tonight! I’m really working hard to listen to my body and give it what it needs. Today it needs more sleep!
On the food front:
I’m still easing back into food after my week long fast so I’ll be sticking to coffee & water until after my workout.
After the workout I was feeling good & hungry and made a massive salad including:
shredded red & green cabbage
shredded carrots
celery
cucumbers
jalapeno
guacamole
2 hard boiled eggs
cashews
I mixed it all up and enjoyed the heck out of it!
My sister is coming over to hang out tonight and since lunch was so huge, I’m going to keep dinner light and make up yesterday’s “shamrock shake” to share with her for dinner.
Random side note before we call it quits for the day – registration for the Spring Fat Loss Fast Track is now open and if you want to know more about it, hop on a live webinar with me this coming Thursday night, March 23rd at 8pm. Click here to register.
Today’s episode will show you how you how to increase your potential. Today. It will explain how you can crack your whole world wide open and you don’t have to wait to do so.
I’ve had an interesting series of experiences lately that have opened my eyes to how I hold myself back in completely unnecessary ways, based on fear & assumptions.
If you want to instantly increase your possibilities & potential, don’t miss today’s episode!
This morning I got up at 6am as opposed to my normal 4:30.
I find my mind drifting to anxious thoughts about missed productivity but realistically, I’m more productive when I’m rested. So, sleep wins. I’ll adjust.
My goal is to stay really focused on work (I’m feeling quite behind) until I need to get ready for my workout around 11:30am.
I’m excited to start one of my newest books that just came in the mail – Reinvent Yourself by James Altucher. I haven’t started it yet, but this picture sums it up.
You guys know that one of the big reasons I moved is because I wanted to surround myself with people who work harder and are more motivated than I am – I love his 5×5 rule!
Maybe I’ll get started reading it this weekend. I’ll share my thoughts about it with you guys!
Today’s workout is 17.4 – the 4th workout of the CrossFit open. It’s a doozy but I’m REALLY excited about it after being away from the gym for the week of my fast. Here’s what it looks like.
13 minute AMRAP (as many rounds as possible of below in 13 minutes)
55 deadlifts (at 155 lbs)
55 wall balls (14 lb wall ball to 9 foot target)
55 cal row
55 handstand push-ups (scaled to regular push ups for me)
All I can say is: damn. That one was killer! My posterior chain will be feeling it tomorrow!
On the food front
I drank coffee all morning – I chose cold brew today – Chameleon brand.
Guys, I’m loving this smoothie! First, let me say that I really don’t like protein powders and I rarely drink them. However, I’m not a purist about anything and I’m happy to have a bit of it every once in a while to mix things up.
Plus, having a smoothie as I ease back into food after the fast seemed like a solid idea.
Here’s the full recipe – it’s not mine – but below is how I modified it to work best for me
1 can full fat coconut milk
3 handfuls raw spinach
2 cups frozen cauliflower florets (frozen matters primary for the temperature – think of it as ice)
Sprinkle of unsweetened cacao nibs (I didn’t use the chocolate chips the recipe calls for)
When I posted this on Instagram the other day, I got lots of questions about how many servings it is.
Here’s the thing about servings: they totally depend on the big picture! You can’t determine an “appropriate” serving size for ANYTHING without understanding how much you’re eating at other meals, your activity level, what’s an improvement for you and activity level.
For me, I wouldn’t drink more than half of this at a time just because it’s so filling. Let’s get real though: for many people and compared to many food choices, this entire recipe would represent a massive improvement.
Let’s agree to look at the big picture instead of trying to define small answers!
I had half of it after my workout around 2pm (first meal of the day) and the rest has gone into the fridge. I’ll drink it tomorrow.
I’m heading out to dinner tonight and I’ve looked at the menu ahead of time to choose my meal.
I’ll be enjoying a spinach salad with avocado, pistachios and grilled chicken. I always opt for dressing on the side and make sure it’s an oil/vinegar based dressing.
I’m scheduling this post to publish before I’ll be home from dinner, but if anything changes, I’ll let you know.
