Almond butter pancakes… We have tried a handful of recipes and in our opinion, this is by far the best and also the easiest to prepare. You can snag the recipe here. Rather than syrup, Gina will lightly cook a banana, blueberries, and Stevia. Served with a couple strips of bacon I think this is right at the top of the list of my favorite breakfast meals.
Snack time…. #paleo deviled eggs with guac. #jerf
Post-WOD. Ain’t even mad.
1.5 hours of strength followed by a pretty intense 20 minute metcon. Got home and felt like I was going to crash. 2 pork chops, 4 eggs, 4 almond butter pancakes, guac, and half a gallon of water later, I feel better again.
Not a normal meal, but as I am focusing on taking in enough calories to support the lifting and exercising I am doing, I believe that I have not been taking in enough. The hardest part of eating for performance is making that mind set change from eating to lose weight, which I have done for about 2 years now.
Breakfast burgers… Turkey burger patties on top of eggs over medium topped with organic salsa and guac. #paleo #jerf
Whole Life Challenge: Recap
This weekend marked the end of the Whole Life Challenge. The previous 8 weeks (February 18 - April 13) were certainly a learning experience for me, to say the very least. More rambling behind the jump.
Tried something a little different tonight. Portobello mushroom caps filled with lamb, peppers, spinach, and some seasoning. @geenuhmae approved but I think they need a little something extra. Still, good enough to make again. #paleo #eatrealthings #jerf
Breakfast for dinner. Ain’t even mad. #paleo #wlc2013
Breakfast: steak strips, sweet potato fries, guac, and jalapeno peppers (All WLC compliant, by the way).
The best part about this was the prep time took next to nothing. Sure, it took some time to cook the sweet potatoes but we have done exceptionally well at meal planning and prepping this week.
I cooked the majority of the meat on Sunday. Last night I cut up the sweet potatoes and got the pan ready to cook. This morning most of the hard work had already been done, so it took a lot less time.
Over the weekend I had written out a meal plan and went shopping based on that. When you have a 6 year old, a 3 year old, a job, etc. life gets hectic. This planning and prepping might seem over the top, but this week we have done a great job at it and I am amazed at how much stress this relieves.
Last night when I got home and my wife was at the gym, I didn’t have to stare into the fridge and wonder what to cook. I just looked at our meal plan and did it. I knew we had the ingredients, some of which had already been prepared. That peace of mind has been helpful for us but most importantly, allowed us to stay focused and not deviate from eating clean.
Almond butter pancakes with Stevia/cinnamon sweetened bananas on top. @WholeLifeWW compliant and some of the best we’ve had yet and glad @geenuhmae cooked them! #wlc2013 #jerf #paleo #eatrealthings #wholelifechallenge #sugarfree
EDIT: Recipe here.
There is throwback Thursday… Why not meal prep Monday? Here is what is accompanying me to work today, all WLC compliant.
Grazer
Today it really hit home… I graze.
I was making lunch for the family and it was almost instinct to go grab something out of the pantry while I cooked. Since we are doing this whole challenge thing, it caught me off guard big time because I am really paying close attention to what I eat. But this really got my attention. I feel like I have basically programmed myself to eat while I make something to eat.
Earlier in the day the girls wanted a snack and I went to get them something. I caught myself about to take a small handful of their crackers before I made theirs.
What’s the big deal, though, right? Well, for some folks, it isn’t. And that is perfectly cool if that is you. But for me, this grazing thing is holding me back. My meals are on point and I have always felt pretty good about them, but what happens in between is doing the damage. Grazing in the kitchen while I make food, for me, has to be something that I program out.
Having been home with the girls that past 2 days it has actually been good practice for me. The challenge is primarily responsible for keeping me in check because I have to log my day and I have been flawless with this so I don’t want to put a dent in it now. Will power is there, just got to get over this initial hump and all the shock that has come from the things I am discovering about myself.
This was something @geenuhmae put together and it was awesome. Sweet potato fries topped with an egg/egg white scramble with turkey sausage. We found this great guac at the store that is Whole Life Challenge compatible. Next time we want to try this with onions, peppers, and maybe some mushrooms. #jerf #paleo #wholelifechallenge #wlc13 #wlc2013
Did I mention that I signed up for the Whole Life Challenge? Well, I signed up for the Whole Life Challenge. I was pretty close to the nutrition portion with the exception of cutting out sugar. So on Sunday at a CF comp we were sponsoring, I was dealing with a horrible head and chest cold as well as not having any caffeine or sugar for a day.
I felt like I was hung over. I drank black coffee with no sugar or creamer for the first time and took some Motrin which helped. Today is much better and I got to have coffee with Stevia. I remember my wife going through this and how the first week was hard but how much better she felt and that is what is driving me forward.
I’m thankful that we seem to take turns motivating each other and helping one another through challenges and tough times. Makes it easier and more rewarding to get through it together.
She made breakfast this morning and it was great. I have to do a benchmark workout that I will repeat and will attempt to give that a shot tonight, along with measurements.
8 week challenge and I’m very excited about the end results.
It’s amazing what you can do with sweet potatoes. Evidence is in these awesome sweet potato pancakes that @geenuhmae cooked up this morning. #paleo #jerf #eatrealthings #eatrealfood
Weekly Training Log - 1/14/13
MONDAY - 1/14/13
CrossFit (5:00a.m.)
Strength - Back Squat: 5x185, 3x215, 3x265, 2x285, 1x315, 1x335. Given how my knee has been acting up, I didn’t want to push it too heavy.
WOD - 5RFT: 20 DB snatches (45lbs) and a 200m run. Time was 10:28 @ RX+ (RX was 35lbs). The running felt good. Lung burner WOD.
Cash-Out: 10x6 pull-ups.
TUESDAY - 1/15/13
CrossFit (5:00a.m.)
WOD - For Time: 10 Front Squats (165lbs; from the ground), 50 DUs, 8 front squats, 40 DUs, 6 front squats, 30 DUs, 4 front squats, 20 DUs, 2 front squats, 10 DUs. Really wanted to skip this since my DUs are not dialed in, but needed to do this because my DUs are not dialed in. The set of 50 and 40 were totally out of rhythm and the weight felt heavy, but mid-way through I felt good. Managed to string together almost the entire set of 20 DUs and felt great about it. 8:25 @ RX.
Cash-Out: 50 GHD situps & 25 box jumps (30”). I had done 1 jump at that height in the past and failed at other attempts. Today I did 25 of them. Not fast, as the point was to focus on doing the jumps at a height greater than what we were used to. I was shocked at how I managed to get them all without any real effort, or more importantly, without completely destroying my shins.
Pool - Lunch: 20x50m laps w/30 sec ri. 28:12.
WEDNESDAY - 1/16/13
Pool (Noon)
Swimming ladder: 50m (rest 30 secs), 100m (rest 45 secs), 200m (rest 1 min), 300m (rest 2 mins), 200m (rest 1 min), 100m (rest 45 secs), 50m. Shoulders and back a little tight but held a decent average. Just felt good to stay active. Rested from CrossFit today as I went the past 2 days in a row.
THURSDAY - 1/17/13
Rest.
FRIDAY - 1/18/13
CrossFit (5:00a.m.)
Victoria - 5RFT: 10 thrusters (95lbs), 14 box jumps (24”), 12 SDLHP (95lbs), 12 burpees, 27 KB swings (53lbs). I prayed that Jesus, from high above, would come down and take me during the middle of this. It was seriously that bad. This will be filed away under the top 5 hardest WODs I have ever done. Since this is being labeled as a hero WOD, it felt wrong to scale it. Victoria Soto was a teacher for 5 years. When she was shot and killed, it happened in room 10 on 12/14/12 and she was only 27 years old, thus the rep scheme. For the first 2 rounds I did the KB swings unbroken, but broke them into 2 sets after that. The rest was a blur of me grinding through it. 36:05 @ RX. RIP, Victoria. As a parent I cannot thank you enough for such a sacrifice.
Pool (Lunch): 10x100m w/1min. ri. 28:49.
SATURDAY - 1/19/13
CrossFit (7:00a.m.)
Strength - 1RM Power clean: 5x135, 3x165, 2x185, 1x205, 1x225, 1x235, 1x240, 1x240
WOD: 8 min AMRAP of 8 pull-ups & 8 overhead squats (105lbs). Made it through 7 rounds. Working on preparing for that competition in a few weeks and wanted to do the same movements, but not the exact WOD.
WOD #2: It was a team WOD with tire flipping. Since I wanted to just flip the tires, I went out with one of the teams and stayed out, jumping in and out a few turns.
SUNDAY - 1/20/13
Rest.
