June 29th…What a terrific day it’s been! I tried out my new shoulder/quad work out at the gym today, and loved it just as much as yesterday’s posterior chain workout. Feeling on target here as far as training goes. Right now, because I am dieting down, (or dialing in, if you prefer), I am not trying to build muscle, just hold on to what I already have, so that by body is stimulated to burn only fat as I tweak out my food intake. I have to share with you my happiness about my work over the winter with Jean-Jacques Barrett of Active Performance, because I really had very specific goals I wanted to attain this year. To build up my v-taper and shoulders without getting too bulky, to narrow my waist, (if at all possible) as I suffer from the classic athletic girl straight waist syndrome, and to shape my butt and legs Big Time!!! Turning 40 in November was a big milestone for me, as it would be for anyone, and I really wanted to see what was possible considering I am supposed to be producing less anabolic friendly hormones, etc…and you know what they say, eventually a woman has to choose between her butt and her face, lol!!! I think that with appropriate dieting, and training protocols, you can still have it all, and if all this experimenting proves correct this summer, I will be making this part of my traing program that I will offer to my clients! Almost out of the guinea-pig stage, and keeping my fingers crossed that everything will keep going as planned.
How am I feeling? Well, out of 42 meals/week, I am now down to 3 carb-dense meals and those fall on my Metabolic Workout day. Nothing too crazy, I’m not eating a whole pizza or anything, just shocking my system with a cup of past, a banana crepe, and a bowl of fruit, (1 mango and 1 banana). The idea is to stimulate my metabolism and encourage it to handle carbs efficiently so that I don’t bloat up just thinking about bagels. Trust me, I’ve seen this happen to competitors backstage, where they balloon between the morning show and the evening show, just from eating a bar of chocolate. Too carb depleted for too long and then BAM, everything sky-rockets out of control post-show. I have never been this detailed before preparing for a show. I have never ‘carb-cycled’ before or gone this low with carbs. I also never changed up my training protocol to match my diet, and last year I did a fair bit of cardio as well. Big changes this year! In my first week, (2 weeks ago) I had 5 carb-dense meals. Last week it was 3, and this week will also be 3. I am working on bringing my back in a little more, and the back of my arms a little more. I am eating A LOT of fat, especially saturated fats (high in cholesterol). I have noticed a big change in my skin quality this year, and especially in my face. Despite being in a hot, sweaty room all day teaching yoga and practicing, and then being in the heavy pollution of Mumbai, my skin has actually gotten better, especially in the face. How Is This Possible????!!!!! I haven’t even been able to maintain my usual skin regime as I ran out of my Environs products the first month I landed and it’s so humid I can’t face the thought of putting anything on my face. I really think it has to do with the high amount of saturated fats in my diet, and the fact that I eat whole foods. Yesterday, for example, I ate 6 whole eggs, 1/2 roasted chicken with the skin on, 7 oz ground lamb so heavily marbled you could see all the white bits, and about 1 1/2 T ghee…Told you!!! Now, I also only ate 1/2 c oatmeal and no vegetables the entire day. Very very low carbs, but very, very high fat and protein…I don’t know if this would work with everyone as they dial in, but I seem to be able to drop bodyfat and at the same time eat high amounts of dietary fat, and the side effect seems to be good skin. Interestingly, the real ketogenic diet created to help people suffering from epilepsy, was also high in fat. Hmnn….
Anyway, tomorrow is my Metabolic Day, and hence I’m carbing up…I bought a fresh mango and some bananas, whipped up my crepe batter (it needs to sit over-night in the fridge), and I’ll have a yummy bowl of pasta again post-workout. I also made a new bean puree that is totally off the hook and which I think I will turn into a burger or layer it with eggplant and roasted pepper for a vegetarian napolean. A student/client of mine also kindly gave me a sampling of her home-made low-fat paneer…dEliCiouS! Cooks up the same as my full-fat paneer, and just as tasty. She’s going to teach me how to make it next week. I sense a new VideO in the making!!!
That’s it for today. I’m reading up on nutrients in my favorite reference book, Rebecca Wood’s, “Whole Foods Encyclopedia”, and having a small bowl of oatmeal to put me into sleep mode….A tanto!
