Metabolic Day…Carbing Up!

June 24…Today is Day 12 of my dial-in, and everything has finally snapped into place, (almost too quickly, to tell you the truth). I mentioned in an earlier post that there was a point a few days ago where I was really struggling mentally and I felt like I was actually bloating a bit, but yesterday and especially today everything suddenly tightened. I remember the same thing happened in my practice dial-in last April, but at the end of Week 3. I feel like my body is responding much faster this time around. We’ll see what the photos show on Sunday, and Jean-Jacques and I will adjust accordingly. I may or may not have to take out my post-work out carb-up on leg day, depending on how lean I am getting. For the SAF show, they are not looking for a tight look, just feminine and athletic. For IDFA the following week, they want tight and athletic, but not striated…It can be a fine line, and 2 carb meals can make a big difference at this low body-fat, believe it or not! (I am personally rooting for the extra carb meal, as it gives me more freedom to be creative in the kitchen, and I really want to keep using beans in my meal plan).
So, today is my Metabolic Workout day, which means I’m eating 3 full high-calorie dense carb meals, and a few treats thrown in here-and-there. Let me tell you, I was so happy to eat a big bowl of juicy Alphonso Mangoes and ripe Bananas with a drizzle of honey pre-workout, and I was shocked how quickly my body responded. In the morning, teaching the 7am, it was a real push to keep my energy high. And during my Bikram practice at 9:30 am, I was feeling lightheaded in a couple of postures, and my legs were burning and weak in Awkward Pose. I thought, “dang, my 20 minutes of kipping pull-ups, burpees and hip-thrusts is going to be HELL! How am I gonna do it??”. But after class I grabbed a “purifier” from the cafe, went home and made a delicious fruit salad, and in an hour I was flying with energy and a euphoric, happy feeling. It was the best workout I’ve done all month, and even on my last pull-ups I was able to pull so high over the bar that I was looking down on the other side. BAM, this diet WoRKS!!
I have one shoulder day and one leg day left on this program, and then we overhaul everything for the final 3 -4 weeks. That means all very low carb meals except for the one carb-up after legs..No Problemo!

Meal 1: A 2 egg omelette, plain, cooked in a small drizzle of Niter Kibeh, and one black coffee, then off to True Fitness to teach the 7 am Bikram class.

Meal 2: 2 fried eggs, sunny side up, with two teeny-tiny slices of rye toast, dry, and an espresso…I only had 30 minutes to digest before taking the 9:30 yoga class, so time was definitely an issue! 🙂

Meal 3: The “Purifier”, a 10 oz blend of celery juice, fresh ginger and pineapple, and a spoonful of probiotic yogurt, touch of honey…This is the Best Smoothie Ever!!! It doesn’t score very high calorie-wise, and I was starving within the hour, but what a refreshing way to finish a solid Bikram class…!

Meal 4: I was crav-v-v-ing this, especially after that hint of pineapple in the smoothie…one fresh Alphonso mango, one perfectly ripe banana, a few raw walnuts, drizzle of honey, and a wee sprinkle of nutmeg…divine!!! When you’re getting ready for a show, fruit often takes a hike, so I get serious withdrawal as I usually eat a big bowl of fruit every day.

Meal 5: Post Workout Meal: about a cup of organic whole-wheat linguini tossed in sun-dried tomato pesto, about 1 oz of seared paneer, 1/4 cup eggplant, and about 7 cherry tomatoes. I also added a spoonful of my whipped white lentils and finished the plate with a sprinkling of parmesan….This was soooooo good! I love long noodles, reminds me of all things Italian!

Meal 6: Seared paneer with my “power salad” and famous coconut-lime dressing…I love crunching my way through a salad, but from experience, I now keep my servings down to about 1 to 1 1/2 cups. Any more gives makes me feel slightly bloated, and at the same time, hungrier!

*I did also squeeze in a “kiddie scoop” of Mississippi Mud icecream from Baskin ‘n Robbins before Meal 5, and 2 Ferraro chocolates… 🙂