Healthy Habits

Healthy Living – First Week of April Recap

April 10, 2017

It’s that dreaded day again! Monday! And after a gorgeous weekend, the weather is now turning back to gray and I’m going to have to let go of the remnants of these last few days… Alas, this upcoming week is predicted to be miserable. In any case, I’ll start with my weekly health update!

My last week has been all right. Mentally, I’ve been just not quite ‘here’. I’m still dealing with the loss, and I can function fine, for the most part. It hits me the hardest when moments are quiet and nothing is distracting me. This is why I keep myself super active and constantly doing something.

Monday was decent. I was fairly on-point with food. For Breakfast, I had a handful of dates and some cashews, in addition to bulletproof coffee. This is something new that I’m trying. I bought Brain Octane a few months ago, and kept forgetting to use it. I decided to incorporate it into my morning routine, and actually, I really have noticed a difference for my usual brain fog. The caffeine probably helps deliver it, but I’ve been having a clearer head lately. I bought my lunch at the canteen at work, and it was just seasoned chicken breasts, arugula leaves, sweet potato wedges and my leftover brussels sprouts and leftover pork chop. I originally was only going to have the leftovers, but I was too hungry and new I needed more. Dinner was something similar: more chicken with more kale. I had a Wispa (milk chocolate bar) to get me through my Monday afternoon sluggish time. I just have no self-control when it comes to chocolate or wine. However, no wine was had at work. Thankfully. In the evening, I went to the gym and ran for 5 miles. My overall step count was 22,470 steps for the day. I basically killed it, even though I was massively jet lagged.

{That quote is what I love most about Crossfit!}

Tuesday was also very decent in terms of food. I had my usual paleo diner breakfast (bacon, kale, eggs, raspberries, bullet proof coffee). I had the exact same lunch as the day before but for dinner, I was a bit lazy and steamed some baby potatoes, had a pack of smoked salmon and had my favorite cucumber/tomato/goats cheese salad. It was minimum effort and so satisfying. I’m a huge fan of salmon. I need to start eating this more often! After work, I went straight to Crossfit. Our warm up was 5 minute double-unders (with jump rope), 2 rounds of 10 PVC dislocates and thrusters to stretch out our arms. Then we moved on to the weight lifting portion. I worked up to 42.5 kg for my back squat. The WOD was a pain though. We had to do 25 Medicine ball cleans and then a 400 m run, 4 times. First of all, med balls are literally Satan’s spawns. I dislike them so much. When I have to do wall balls, I can’t even throw high enough. They are just the worst. I managed to finish the workout in 16:15, which is not impressive by any means but one good thing came out of this. I noticed that I was passing the other crossfitters in the 400 m run portions. I’m not sure where this energy came from, but it made me feel proud!

Wednesday was a rest day. I ate my usual, and had dinner at a friend’s house (vino was involved). I didn’t do too terribly on steps, even though I did not meet my goal of 17,000. I walked to and from work that day and walked around town a bit.

{Thursday’s healthy lunch}

Thursday morning’s breakfast was a simple handful of dates and cashews again because I was running late, and I had some bulletproof coffee and a tangerine. Lunch was very nutritious. I ate chicken, baked turnips and carrots, leftover steamed broccoli stems and baked beets. Dinner was a repeat of Tuesday night, with salmon and potatoes. I did have another wispa! All rhyme and reason shut off when it comes to chocolate, so there was no control. After work, I headed to Crossfit again. This time, we did deadlifts, and I ended up lifting 55kg. The workout of the day was a round of Deadlifts (at lower weights), jumping pull downs for me (because I can’t do a full one), and crunches. We were counting down from 10 for each round. It was actually a fun work out, and I have been feeling sore in muscles that have never been used. I met my step goal again with 17,670 steps!

Friday was finally here! I really did the usual food during the day, but then that night, my roomie and I went to Riddlers in Hull for some burgers. I got a bunless beef burger with pulled pork, bacon and brisket on top, chips and wine. It was AWESOME. If only Riddlers would actually be open when we go by more often, but at least it was open then. Before we went out, I did squeeze in a tiny session at the gym doing profiles on the treadmill. It wasn’t too intense but I was also tired that day and ready for food. I ended up with 18,486 steps!

{The Maritime Museum on Saturday… So beautiful and warm!}

I’m not even going to talk about Saturday. The sun was out and I was invited to meet at a friend’s house for some horse racing and sitting in the sun. It was a day full of watching the Grand National, having beer and winning £75. I really felt guilty for how unhealthy Saturday was, especially because I really thought I made great progress during the week, but I can’t really kill myself over the tiny things. My hope is that I use this as a learning tool for the next week.

{Sunday’s breakfast}

Sunday was another gorgeous day. I was at home doing my chores when I got a text from a friend saying that we should go for a run. It was such perfect weather (22ºC) and we managed to do 4.3 miles. I’m not that far off for being 10k race ready! After running, we had some Nandos, and relaxed a bit.