paleo day 1: OMG... nowhere to go, but up

i totally let myself go ...

spring 2010: 10 deadhangs, 155lbs, 1 big frickin mountain

summer 2011: 7 deadhangs, 130lbs, 1 big frickin wedding

fall 2011: 4 deadhangs, 128lbs, 1 big frickin cheat meal every day

... see the pattern? oh yeah.

don’t get me wrong, i'm not trying to be negative ... i am just stating the facts ... I am also letting myself get sick and tired of being sick and tired ...

i usually need to give myself a good cold slap of reality so that i work up a little shock, fear, and emotion in myself...

they help start the engines, add a little sense of urgency, and keep me going until i reach my goal

... and what is it?

safely climb and return home from denali with matt may 2012

... just us on the west rib route ... just us on the mountain in the honeymoon of our dreams

how will i get there? a few sub-goals, if you will:

put some mass on ... i'm a skinny lil shit now ... i only weigh 128-130lbs and have 19%+ body fat ... which makes me about 25lbs underweight for denali ... and skinny-fat to boot

improve my strength conditioning & endurance ... long and heavy were simple goals rudy helped me set ... i just have to stick to them

work up to a 3:1 schedule with 1-2 double workout days per week ... which means training consistently and resting adequately so that my body learns to recover faster and more efficiently

clean up my diet so that my body can accomplish the 4 goals above ... after the paleo challenge, no more than 1 cheat MEAL per week

stick to our technical training plan ... rescue skills, glacier travel skills, expedition skills, and cold weather training

lastly, here’s something that tends to help me mentally ... get a charity involved ... i notice that when we climb for a cause, we’re on the hook to push harder, remain focused, and stay dialed in ... Zi and Jonny impressed me so I think I’ll approach them and see if they could use us to help them.

Getting ready for the day

Breakfast is my favorite meal ... even @ 0540 ... nothing like good fuel to get your engines started

Avocado and broccolini were gone before I remembered to photograph. Yum. My appetite is there ... but its still slow to digest

I know what I'm supposed to eat and when. I've invested enough time and energy to know better. Its about choices. Some days I make foolish choices, some days I am wise about it. I know I have to work hard to earn those moments of triumph ... no matter how big or small.

<blathering begins>

With that said, I acknowledge my strengths and weaknesses ... and let myself be human. There will be days when I'm weak, and some strong. No sense creating more mental drama because of a bad day ... I have to approach training over longer periods of time, not hours or days ... but weeks and months... just like how we climb big mountains

The challenge is consistency and discipline... and not whining about it... or complaining... or making excuses. Just stay consistent and let the minutia go when I can.

Still, I'm not convinced that I'm focused enough. Wedding and career stuff have been BIG distractions... its tough juggling so many big things and maintaining my relationships.

... ok, I'll add balance to my list of values to continually work on... along with squats or a 5x deadlift string...

Don't get me wrong, I'm not getting down on myself. Writing all this down helps me process my thoughts and commit.

<blathering ends>

Paleo Challenge Complete!

[yummy mini key lime pie, fruit tart, and carrot cake cupcake]

Fran @ 6:53

Holy moley! My last Fran was @ 8:07 (5/14) at same weight (55#)

I never thought my dorkiness would pay off... had it in my head that I had to go sub 7:00 to beat my pre-paleo challenge time ... also would've helped to remember how to start a thruster when Glenn starts the clock too ... goes to show you what the mind and lack of cupcakes can do

06.12.2011 @ 6:53 (55# - paleo challenge end)
05.14.2011 @ 8:07 (55# - paleo challenge start)
09.08.2010 @ 7:47 (RX - post Denali/Tetons)
02.08.2010 @ 9:01 (RX - first time?)

Overall, I’m not thrilled that I’ve had to scale down weight in order to maintain ROM, but I’m not disappointed ... might have helped to have more calories pre-WOD and shorter/less breaks (:07 to :10 instead of :03 to :05). I felt weak and wasn’t stringing more pullups together (3’s, then 2’s) like I’ve seen myself in other WODs, but my thrusters weren’t toooo bad (21, 8-7, 5-4). All in all, I’m glad that I’m back at it.

Looking at the records I've kept so far seems to show that I did my best soon after a summer of climbing. Even though it didn't seem to last very long, coming down to sea level after spending a whole summer in altitude says something in terms of acclimitisation.

Luckily I have 11 months before our next climbing season because I have some serious strength and speed work to do! Ha!

Oh yeah ... I really enjoyed the above post-WOD treats and chocolate milkshake at my friend’s baby shower ... naughty naughty! Ha! ;)

The before and after photos will come later when the results are published.

11/6 Paleo Day 27

10/6 Paleo Day 26

9/6 Paleo Day 25

8/6: Paleo Day 24

Paleo Day 23: try new foods!

Breakfast

• coffee mixed with coconut milk and whey protein
• omelet with no-salt turkey
• string beans
• red peppers
• bing cherries

Afternoon

• fruit salad (blackberries, strawberries, cherries, papaya, apple, pineapple, and kiwi)
• seaweed salad (2 different seaweeds, sesame oil, red wine vinegar, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, sesame seeds, and lime juice)
• started 1L of water with BCAAs

Afternoon

• Finished BCAAs
• 1 GU (Pre-WOD ... the 2nd one)
• a couple of handfuls of my turkey jerky nuts n’ berries mix

Evening

• Seaweed Salad (OMG, this came out sooooo good!)
• herbed poached chicken breast
• red peppers and baby bok choy steamed in poaching water

Monday 6 June: Paleo Challenge Day 22

Morning

• morning vitamins
• coffee, coconut milk, and whey protein (it’s pretty good mixed!)
• 1/2 grapefruit
• turkey burger
• sautéed kale and spinach
• 4egg omelet with no-salt turkey slices

Afternoon/throughout the day:

I didn’t quite finish my breakfast so I packed it and finished it throughout the day with the food below

• sauteed kale
• coconut milk & whey protein
• 1l of water with BCAAs
• 1/2 grapefruit

Evening

• finished 1l of water with BCAAs with rest of vitamins
• tablespoon of almond butter
• chicken breast with papaya pineapple salsa
• string beans & red peppers sautéed in EVOO and garlic

Paleo Challenge Days 20 (4 June) & 21 (5 June)

Saturday, 4 June: Day 20

Morning

• Omelet with turkey breast
• Grapefruit
• Coffee
• Whey protein & Coconut milk

Day

• sauteed kale
• roasted chicken legs
• carrot & celery sticks

 

Evening

• roasted chicken legs
• turkey burgers
• sauteed chard

Sunday, 5 June: Day 21

Eat-throughout-the-entire-day brunch with friends...

• papaya & pineapple salsa with cilantro, lime, ginger, cayenne, red vinegar, and red onion
• 3 different omelets with mushrooms, turkey slices, onions, or spinach
• fruit salad (watermelon, papaya, pineapple, cherries, strawberries, apples, blackberries, and kiwi)
• 6 turkey burgers with red onion and sauteed mushrooms
• assorted veggies (cherry tomatoes, carrots, celery, and sauteed kale)
• “spa water” ... water with slices of grapefruit, lime, and pineapple

 

 

Although originally billed as a gal’s brunch, glenn and matt were our “honorary menfolk” to help taste test ... lightweights! ha!  ;)

Friday 3 June, Paleo Day 19

YAY! I’m back up to 132  but I upped the good fats so hopefully some of this weight will stay on (... 8lb gain in less than 5 days? I’m not totally buying it yet - either the scale was off or I’m retaining water). I knew going into the Paleo challenge that caloric volume and adequate protein absorption would play a major factor in reaching my goals, so the jury is still out on where I am.

Morning

• coconut milk with whey protein
• 6 roasted chicken legs
• handful of blackberries
• 1/2 of my daily vitamins

 

Afternoon

The repairman put a kink in my day rebuilding our dishwasher... but I got to catch up on a few things...

• whey protein with coconut milk
• celery & carrot sticks
• turkey jerky mix
• kiwi and apple
• (Pre/post WOD) 1L with 11.5g BCAAs

 

Evening

• french green beans (fresh and crispy!)
• turkey jerky
• shared some kiwi and strawberries with matt

1-2 June: Paleo Days 17 & 18

Still trying to catch up on my food log! Wow! It does not pay to get sick or slack off!

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Wednesday 1 June: Day 17

Morning:

• Coffee
• whey protein & coconut milk
• 1/2 of my vitamin supplements

Throughout the Day:

• 3 chicken breasts
• 1 pemmican bar
• handfuls of fresh strawberries, cherries, blackberries
• handfuls of walnuts, almonds, and pepitos
• the rest of my vitamin supplements

I like cooking larger quantities because I can save time making matt’s work meals ahead of time and having food on hand whenever we need to eat. We also find that buying organic in bulk (like at costco) saves money too.

Evening:

• turkey sausage I found at the meat market (no additives - yay!)
• 1 TBS almond butter

 

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Thursday, 2 June: Day 18

Morning:

• Coffee & whey protein
• 1/2 of my daily vitamin supplements (fish oil, folic acid, iron, biotin, C, B-complex, gingko biloba, and multi)
• strawberries
• 1/2 avocado

 

Afternoon:

• 2 chicken breasts (above)
• 1/2 of the cherries (pictured below)

 

throughout the day: 

• rest of the cherries (above)
• rest of my vitamins
• monster salad of sliced turkey breast, tomatoes, turkey sausage. mushrooms, celery, carrots, kalamata olives, dried cranberries and the rest of the avocado

 

Evening:

• tuna, salmon, and eel sashimi
• seaweed salad

Oh man, this was really good ... and I didn’t think to photograph until it was gone and too late!