Day 5 did have a couple of points to note - let's take a look:
Here's a quick recap of my goals for the daily diet plan:
Total daily calories in the 2,100 - 2,300 range.
Protein will be held in the 50% - 55% range of total daily calories.
Fat will be held in the 40%- 45% range of total daily calories.
Carbs will be held in the 5% range of total daily calories.
Today was the day where I decided to mix up the foods completely and try and totally new variety of food sources! Yeah...not so much...
I find it so much easier to stick to the basics: chicken, red meat, fish (I prefer salmom over tuna), eggs, etc. I can prepare the chicken and red meat days ahead of time and portion them out so all I have to do is 'grab and go'. The salmon is pre-packaged and doesn't require refridgeration. The eggs cook up super quick. The key for me is to just vary the timing of each meal. Instead of having my 'lunch-time' meal continually be chicken for days on end, I'll do red meat one day, chicken the next and salmon after that. By rotating these identical portions over this short seven day period, I can assure myself that I'll stay within the thresholds set forth above.
Scale Weight (first thing in the morning)
175.4lbs
Foods Eaten During the Day - Cals -- Protein -- Carbs -- Fat
8:30am -- 2 scoops whey protein -- 240 -- 48 -- 6 -- 2
11:25am -- 3oz Salmon packet -- 90 -- 15 -- 0 -- 3
11:25pm -- 1tbsp full fat mayo -- 90 -- 0 -- 0 -- 10
2:15pm -- 8oz chicken breast -- 200 -- 42 -- 0 -- 4
2:15pm -- 2 slices provolone -- 140 -- 10 -- 0 -- 10
6:25pm -- 1oz plain almonds -- 160 -- 6 -- 3 -- 14
6:25pm -- 14 slices pepperoni -- 140 -- 5 -- 0 -- 13
7:30pm -- 2eggs/3wht omellette -- 261 -- 29 -- 2 -- 14
7:30pm -- 2 slices provolone -- 140 -- 10 -- 0 -- 10
10:45pm -- 2 scoops whey protein -- 240 -- 48 -- 6 -- 2
11:50pm -- Pre-bedtime protein -- 224 -- 51 -- 0 -- 1
11:50pm -- 1tbsp Flaxseed oil -- 135 -- 0 -- 0 -- 15
11:50pm -- 1 scoop whey protein -- 120 -- 24 -- 3 -- 1
Totals -- 2,110 -- 283 -- 20 -- 94
*** Clarification of some of the food items:
- The provolone cheese is mixed melted on top of the seasoned chicken breast.
- The mayo is mixed in with the salmon and not consumed on it's own. Which, of course, would be disgusting!
- The almonds and pepperoni are surprisingly tasty together! This is a full fat, pre-sliced standard pepperoni.
- The Pre-bedtime protein is a pre-made combination of whey, casein, calcium caseinates and milk protein to cover the full spectrum of fast acting through slow digesting proteins.
- The tablespoon of flaxseed oil is mixed in with the protein drink. Flax oil is much better for you than other oils and I would recommend using this over vegetable oil.
Workout
Shoulders, arms and abs plus 15 minutes of High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) cardio immediately after the workout.
I felt very strong today and didn't have any of the typical low carb effects I've had in the past. No pre-workout drink consumed but I am guilty of dropping a couple cans of Diet Coke and had 20oz of water with two packets of sugar free Green Tea mixed in during the workout. I'm guessing that runs about 100mg to 120mg's of caffeine round trip.
The legs still felt slightly sore but nothing remotely severe or that even had an impact on the cardio session. I was definitely surprised I didn't feel more weak or fatigued. The HIIT cardio went very well also. It has been about 3 weeks since I've done any HIIT but this session picked up right where I left off.
*** A word about HIIT cardio ***
If you don't have experience with HIIT cardio, you should really consider doing it - BUT - make sure you're physically fit enough and able to - AND - start off slow. The session I did this evening looked like this:
1mL, 1mH, 1mL, 1m H, 1mL, 1mH, 1mL, 1mH, 1mL, 1mH, 1mL, 1mH, 3mL
m = minutes
L = LOW intensity (about 60% max. heart rate)
H = HIGH intensity (about 85%-90% max. heart rate)
I did this session on a stepper and I jump right in immediately after I'm done with my last set with weights. I hop on, do one Low intensity minute then get cranking away. These are the standard intervals I've worked up to using and have become accustomed to on the stepper. I will also do these intervals on a treadmill but it is more difficult. Also, from time to time I find it's good to mix things up a bit and I will do intervals such as (all examples are after a 5min warmup period):
1.5mL, 30secH, 1.5mL, 30secH, 1.5mL, 30secH
or
30secL, 1.5mH, 30secL, 1.5mH, 30secL, 1.5mH
It all depends on how I'm feeling and what my body is capable of on any given day. Many times, if I'm doing the 1 minute or 1.5 minute intervals on the treadmill, I'll do those for 3 or 4 minutes then scale the High Intensity interval back because it becomes too much.
Start slow, take your time and learn to love HIIT cardio! It goes by so fast and gives fantastic results!
How I Felt Physically and Mentally
I felt great today! Mentally, things went very well (outside of my diet) and I had a consistent, positive attitude all day. Again, eating at the intervals I have been eating hasn't been any issue at all. I still have yet to get any craving for anything which has been great. I come home today to fresh baked cookies on the counter. The M&M's from yesterday disappeared and magically ended up in the fresh baked cookies - go figure! I passed some out to the kids, had them in my hand and could smell them but yet still had no desire whatsoever for them. I firmly believe that due to the high(er) level of dietary fats I'm consuming and much higher level of protein is balancing out my insulin/glucagon levels so that these types of cravings just vanish. It is so much easier to stay strict and regimented with your diet when you're not constantly being seduced by one craving or another.
The only mental acuity issues to speak of today came in the morning. I attempted to get an email sent out and it took me four tries to get it right! And, once it did go out I went back to briefly review and discovered I slaughtered the grammar and forgot to put a subject line in. Low carbs took the blame for that one...
This evening, I seriously considered not doing a workout and falling asleep on the couch. I was sitting at the computer wrapping up some items, sat back, closed my eyes and was ready to pass out right then and there. I felt exhausted! Off to the fridge for the Diet Coke and two cans later I was ready to go.
Physically, again, I was shocked at how good I felt. Especially during my workout. I stopped for a second and thought "This is why it's so important to do this". It was one of those moments that you reflect on later when you've fallen off the wagon and feel like crap. It's amazing how subtle it can be. Sometimes you just don't realize how great you feel (or felt) until you're not feeling so well. The moral of this little story is that it's worth making the time and taking the time to do it all - eat well, exercise and feel great!
I was able to continue to progress during this workout which was great. Making a point to take a day off between each workout session obviously helps with recovery and I could feel that the ancillary muscles were repaired from their last workout (chest and back). Getting a little more sleep last night helped too. It wasn't a whole lot more, only about 7 hours total but it did the trick. Tonight however, will probably be another story. The caffeine load will probably take some time to wear off and I need to be up early in the morning.
All told, I'm very pleased with how things are going so far and how easy it's been to be strict and regimented. Planning and preparation makes it so easy. There's no guesswork as to what I'm going to be eating and/or when or if I'll be doing a workout one day or not. Plus, I still have yet to get really hungry. There is never a time when so many hours go by without food that I begin to thinking about eating anything. That helps tremendously.
Two more full days to go until the first carb re-load day. That time will fly by and I look forward to seeing how my body reacts to high carb meals when the time comes. Stay tuned and subscribe to the feed so you don't miss a single day! Once we get past the first seven days, I'll continue to post updates and details throughout my High and Low carb cycle periods so you can get a clear idea of what is happening dietarily and the impacts it has physically.
Stay Tuned For Days 6 and 7 !
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