Friday, 6 May 2005
My goal for today outside of the requirements of P&P and my usual art stuff is to catch up on sleep. I’ve been thrown off since Wednesday night, and I need a solid 7 hours to get back to normal. I felt quite weak this morning doing P90X Legs and Back, particularly on the single-leg wall squats. To be fair, I never feel very strong doing single-leg wall squats. I try to fake the stoic expression of a Zen monk, but the frenetic shaking of my legs as I try to hold the proper position sort of ruins the illusion.
P90X is going very well, all things considered. I am adding about one extra real pull-up rep to each set before I have to resort to doing chair-assisted negatives instead. My flexibility is improving, too, if my second round of Yoga X yesterday is any indication. I still can’t do the Crane at all, but the other poses are getting better. I only tipped over once during a modified version of Warrior III. 
I love my current diet plan of 50/30/20 c/p/f with only moderate caloric restriction and an allowance for one or two Chinese-style meals a day. Love love love love love it! I have tons of energy (Go figure–a female of Asian descent who was raised on a high-carb diet bumps up carb consumption to 200+ g of clean carbs in each day–and extra energy and alertness ensue. What a shock!) the increased calories compared to my old cutting averages mean that I still get around 1 g of protein per pound of lean mass. The 50% carb ratio also means I can bring back rice and a bit of extra fruit, pushing my meal plans closer to what I consider reasonable and maintainable for an Asian gal who finds most Western food bland and unimaginative. I want to be fit, healthy, and buff, but I need a way to integrate the Asian foods I love on a daily basis if this is truly for life.
My apologies to Bill Phillips and the other American fitness and nutrition gurus out there, but grilled chicken breast, steamed broccoli, and brown rice can’t hold a candle to a bowl of Hong Kong street vendor beef noodles in broth with a huge pile of greens, Korean bulgogi prepared fresh at a grill table and served with 20 different dishes of pickled kimchee, a huge bowl of Vietnamese pho, or a big plate of sushi, ginger, wasabi, and a bowl of steaming miso soup. :drool2: None of these dishes is inherently bad for you…just somewhat high in sodium and simple carbs for a bodybuilding diet. Methinks this makes them just about perfect for a little post workout meal. :slappy:
That reminds me…I must check out the passably clean and tidy Kirkman Wal-mart (not the rancid Ghetto-Mart on John Young Parkway) for some cheap ground turkey for the Moo Shu Turkey experiment this weekend, and Winn-Dixie for some pork for the Red-Cooked Pork and Pineapple dish. Both recipes are from the Weight Watcher’s Stir-Fry to Szechuan cookbook, a really excellent resource for tasty, healthy versions of many Chinese recipes.
Oh, and guess what? The scale inched down this week by half a pound and the body fat percentage dropped by an increment even though I’ve been eating (gasp!) white rice and 50% carbs daily with an average of around 1720-1750 calories per day for the week. I guess the keys to fat loss success while eating native foods truly are healthier preparation methods, careful portion measurements, moderation, and cutting out the unplanned cheats.
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5/5/05 P&P Challenge Report
Consecutive Perfect Days = 5 :prop:
Total Perfect Days = 5/62
- 1642 calories eaten /-583 calorie deficit
- 49.0% carb, 34.4% protein, 18.5% fat
- No unauthorized meals
- All supplements taken
- 18 cups water
- All planned workouts performed
Weekly Friday Weigh-In: 135.0 lbs (Start weight: 135.4)
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Nutrition: 1700 calorie low zig zag day
1: 3×1 omelette, 1 c. spinach, 4.5 oz (raw weight) sweet potato chips
2: 1/4 c. dextrose, 1 scoop whey PWO shake
3: 3.5 oz. sauteed whiting, 1 c. broccoli in oyster sauce, 1 medium banana
4: Cherry Garcia shake w/1 T. flaxseed oil
5: Turkey veggie chili with 1 T. chopped peanuts and 1 c. zucchini and butternut squash
6: 3/4 c. FF cottage cheese and 1 c. grapes
Total: 1657 calories, 51.1% carb, 32.6% protein, 19.5% fat
Daily Supplements: multivitamin with iron, calcium 500 + D, 1 T. flaxseed oil
Water: 16 cups minimum
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Workout:
8:00 AM P90X Legs and Back
12:00 PM P90X Abs
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The Awful Truth:
1. Need…more…sleep….
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Brownie Points:
1. Managed 6 reverse grip chin-ups today! Go me!
2. Am down 0.4 lbs this week, right on plan.
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Short-term Goals:
1. Create P90X HanDbase module.
2. Work on paper doll project.
3. Start full sketches for new Oasis prints.
4. Finish fairy girl print.
5. Pick up Mother’s Day card and flowers.
