Ok, maybe I am a quitter and I really hate being a quitter, but I don't think I am cut out to have abs. I'm not lazy, at least I don't think I am lazy, but I just can't diet enough to have abs.
I am starting to think that our body is either designed or trained to react certain ways to food, and that everybody's body is different. I keep reading how protein shakes and chicken breasts fill people up so that they do not get hungry as often. I keep reading how people perform better when they have whole grains as opposed to white grains. But this was not the case for me. I was starving 30 min after eating chicken breasts, 5 servings of veggies, and a cup of brown rice. After being on the diet for a week, I had no energy. I could barely make it through a 90 second sparing match. I was hungry, tired, and lacking any sort of concentration or focus. I was not a happy person.
I gradually added back in "bad" carbs and red meat. I did this gradually because I did not want to gain a ton of weight super fast. But I ended up losing weight anyways. I feel so much better, I have more energy, and I am a lot less moody. So I started to think about how I used to eat when I was a competitive runner. I remember we would carb load before races, and our coach even encouraged pizza parties the night before state meets. This is how my body was trained. It was trained to perform on carbs and fat.
After using "white carbs", red meat, and fatty foods for fuel for so long, I don't think that my body can perform on anything else. It is used to having these foods for energy. Now, I am not making an excuse. I am going to continue to make healthier choices and try to integrate more whole grains and less white grains into my diet. But I need, at least for now, to have food that I like and that my body likes to use.
What does this mean? I am not going to do the figure competition in August. I am going to continue the weight training, eating protein (just adding more red meat, and not eating quite so much), and trying to cut back on bad carbs. Maybe I'll do a figure competition later when I can make changes to my diet without feeling like crap for months.
I am still going to do the US Open, and I am going to focus on more martial-arts competitions in the future. In fact, I just got done kicking paddles in the front yard...I love love love my paddles.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Egg Salad
Today I had an egg salad sandwich. I made egg salad with 3 egg whites and 1 whole egg mixed with a tablespoon of fat free mayo. I didn't eat all of it, I gave about 1/4 to my 5 year old for a sandwich. He devoured it. I love when my kids like things like this. I put the rest on whole wheat. I had some fruit with my sandwich and this seemed to tide me over.
Now I need to find a good protein snack besides more eggs (twice a day is enough for me). I don't feel like grilling or making anything big and I don't have any left overs. Looks like its time for some peanut butter and an apple.
I lifted shoulders, did some lower back, and finished with some abs this morning at the gym. Then I did the stair master (the stair mill was occupied the whole morning) for about 30 minutes. I have tournament training tonight, so I did not what to kill myself on cardio.
I have lost my ability to do taekwondo forms at the gym because kids are out of school, so I have no idea how I am supposed to get in practice for the US Open. I thought about going outside, but the grass in Florida makes pivoting impossible, and the hard ground is hot enough to cook my feet. I wish my gym had racquetball courts.
I'm going to cut my apples for my snack. I'm feeling a little more motivated now that I can actually eat and enjoy myself.
Now I need to find a good protein snack besides more eggs (twice a day is enough for me). I don't feel like grilling or making anything big and I don't have any left overs. Looks like its time for some peanut butter and an apple.
I lifted shoulders, did some lower back, and finished with some abs this morning at the gym. Then I did the stair master (the stair mill was occupied the whole morning) for about 30 minutes. I have tournament training tonight, so I did not what to kill myself on cardio.
I have lost my ability to do taekwondo forms at the gym because kids are out of school, so I have no idea how I am supposed to get in practice for the US Open. I thought about going outside, but the grass in Florida makes pivoting impossible, and the hard ground is hot enough to cook my feet. I wish my gym had racquetball courts.
I'm going to cut my apples for my snack. I'm feeling a little more motivated now that I can actually eat and enjoy myself.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Such a Bad Bad Girl
I was down to zero energy, I was hungry, and I was gaining weight. I have to admit I was ready to just give it all up. I can't live like that for 3 months, and I was really sad that I lost my flat tummy. Before I started I had a flat tummy, it was squishy, but it was flat.
So, I decided to eat! I'm not going crazy or anything. I am still sticking to whole grains and making sure I get plenty of protein, but I am also eating a little more sugar than I was. Everything I researched said to cut out sugars and processed grains such as white bread and white rice. As with any diet to lean up, I read that I needed to eat low fat foods. This means lean protein such as chicken and fish, and of course nothing fried. Well, this wasn't working for me...obviously!
The first thing I did was to cut out the protein shakes and actually eat! This alone has given me a little more energy. Maybe I am getting too much fat, maybe I am eating too much sugar, but I feel a lot better.
I hate chicken and fish for the most part! Don't even get me started on turkey burgers...YUCK! So today I decided that I am NOT going to limit my protein to these sources. I am going to eat some chicken, but not for every meal. Fish will be a once a week thing I choke down. But I am going to eat ham sandwiches on whole wheat, real hamburgers made with beef, and steak...yes real red meat steak. I'll have bacon after I compete, not a big deal, but other meat I need.
If I am going to train, I am going to need carbohydrates. Maybe its just a Paula thing, but I need them to function. I was dying last week at taekwondo without having bad carbs in my system. I know that on most low carb diets people get moody and lose focus and concentration. I was totally lacking brain function as well as body function. I was training, but I was losing endurance and speed. Not a good thing when you are training for sparing matches.
Here is my new plan. I am going to eat my protein to build muscle, I am going to stick to whole wheat bread, but I am going to allow myself to have rice and pasta occasionally. I may need a couple crackers to help me through a taekwondo class, so I am going to eat them, but first I will make sure I eat the good carbs. Fruits and veggies are never an issue. I eat those all day long and enjoy them. So first protein, then produce, then good carbs. After I eat the good stuff, I'll eat to fuel myself without going overboard.
Tonight I was really bad though. I had pizza. Let me tell you, the pizza was delicious! I enjoyed it :-) Now back to dieting...
So, I decided to eat! I'm not going crazy or anything. I am still sticking to whole grains and making sure I get plenty of protein, but I am also eating a little more sugar than I was. Everything I researched said to cut out sugars and processed grains such as white bread and white rice. As with any diet to lean up, I read that I needed to eat low fat foods. This means lean protein such as chicken and fish, and of course nothing fried. Well, this wasn't working for me...obviously!
The first thing I did was to cut out the protein shakes and actually eat! This alone has given me a little more energy. Maybe I am getting too much fat, maybe I am eating too much sugar, but I feel a lot better.
I hate chicken and fish for the most part! Don't even get me started on turkey burgers...YUCK! So today I decided that I am NOT going to limit my protein to these sources. I am going to eat some chicken, but not for every meal. Fish will be a once a week thing I choke down. But I am going to eat ham sandwiches on whole wheat, real hamburgers made with beef, and steak...yes real red meat steak. I'll have bacon after I compete, not a big deal, but other meat I need.
If I am going to train, I am going to need carbohydrates. Maybe its just a Paula thing, but I need them to function. I was dying last week at taekwondo without having bad carbs in my system. I know that on most low carb diets people get moody and lose focus and concentration. I was totally lacking brain function as well as body function. I was training, but I was losing endurance and speed. Not a good thing when you are training for sparing matches.
Here is my new plan. I am going to eat my protein to build muscle, I am going to stick to whole wheat bread, but I am going to allow myself to have rice and pasta occasionally. I may need a couple crackers to help me through a taekwondo class, so I am going to eat them, but first I will make sure I eat the good carbs. Fruits and veggies are never an issue. I eat those all day long and enjoy them. So first protein, then produce, then good carbs. After I eat the good stuff, I'll eat to fuel myself without going overboard.
Tonight I was really bad though. I had pizza. Let me tell you, the pizza was delicious! I enjoyed it :-) Now back to dieting...
Monday, May 30, 2011
Week 4
Week 3 of getting ready for the US Open and Figure Competition was bust! It was my worse week yet. I was supposed to be training hard for both and eating clean for breakfast, lunch, and post-workouts. Well it was such a crazy week that I don't feel like I really had time to figure out the lunch thing. I barely got any Taekwondo training in. I am not happy with the way my stomach looks and I am feeling weak and tired.
So, I'm starting week 4 as of yesterday. This week I am going to continue to train and all 5-6 of my meals need to be clean. By clean, I mean that they need to be high in protein, lots of fiber, complex carbohydrates, low sugar, and low fat. I am really struggling with the protein because I am so picky with meat. I also have to find ways to add more time to train for Taekwondo. I am losing the space I was using at the gym to practice forms, and I really don't have a place at home.
Today I ate pretty good. I finally found some quinoa, now I gotta learn how to make it taste good because as is is nasty. The problem is, I am really hungry right now. I know I am getting enough calories and protein, so maybe not enough fat...I have not idea. My morning workout was legs and swimming. I'm getting a little stronger with my legs, but today my back was really bothering me, so I was limited on going low on squats and presses. My swim went well, nothing out of the ordinary. Because it is Memorial Day both of my Taekwondo schools were closed. Luckily, Jim was home and held paddles for me to kick for about an hour. YAY!
So, I'm starting week 4 as of yesterday. This week I am going to continue to train and all 5-6 of my meals need to be clean. By clean, I mean that they need to be high in protein, lots of fiber, complex carbohydrates, low sugar, and low fat. I am really struggling with the protein because I am so picky with meat. I also have to find ways to add more time to train for Taekwondo. I am losing the space I was using at the gym to practice forms, and I really don't have a place at home.
Today I ate pretty good. I finally found some quinoa, now I gotta learn how to make it taste good because as is is nasty. The problem is, I am really hungry right now. I know I am getting enough calories and protein, so maybe not enough fat...I have not idea. My morning workout was legs and swimming. I'm getting a little stronger with my legs, but today my back was really bothering me, so I was limited on going low on squats and presses. My swim went well, nothing out of the ordinary. Because it is Memorial Day both of my Taekwondo schools were closed. Luckily, Jim was home and held paddles for me to kick for about an hour. YAY!
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Dog Beach
Today I took my dog and kids to the Ft De Soto dog beach for our first dog beach experience. None of the major beaches in the Tampa area allow pets on the beach, so I was happy to learn that not only was there a beach that allowed dogs, but a beach FOR dogs.
The dog beach is part of the Ft De Soto Park which is near St Petersburg Beach. I had never been to Ft De Soto, and now that I've driven by, I really want to go camping there. Camping on the beach! The dog beach is on the north beach and there is free parking. Because it is a holiday weekend, the beach was packed, but there was still parking available on the grass across the street from the beach parking lot.
The beach was UGLY! I don't think they ever rake the beach, so its not the pretty soft white sand like the surrounding beaches. It's kinda a grayish broken shell yuckyness. But hey, its for dogs, right? The beach was small, full of people and dogs. Dogs that were just running around greeting people and other dogs. I'm a dog lover, so I thought this was awesome. All the dogs were under voice command or on a leash, and every dog and person was really nice.
Dogs crack me up! They were all so cute and fun to watch. I witnessed at one point a line of dogs waiting to pee in the same spot. It was like a doggy bathroom line. That was great. Dogs were playing with owners, other dogs' owners, and with each other. Fetch, sniff, and chase all over the beach and in the water. It was a blast!
My dog, Titan, is a very social dog. He loves all dogs and people and he loves to swim, so I thought that he would be really happy. I think maybe it was a bit too overwhelming for him because when we first got there he was scared of the other dogs. Eventually, he was able to ignore the other dogs and just enjoy swimming, digging holes, and playing with me and Faith.
Cross, my 5 year old, is as much a dog lover as I am. So he had a blast petting and playing with hundreds of friendly dogs all day long. He was in the water the whole time just playing with the dogs. I had a harder time keeping up with him than I did Titan.
Christian, my 7 year old, could care less about the dogs. He got excited about seeing some really cute puppies and pugs, but he was more interested in playing with other kids. He turned out to be an awesome sand dollar hunter. He was finding sand dollars for everybody at the beach. He came home with 3, plus one for his sister.
Faith, my 9 year old, was scared of swimming in water that dogs had pooped and peed in. She still had fun playing with Titan and all the other dogs. She liked to throw frisbees and balls in the water for the dogs to jump in and fetch. She liked watching the dogs chase her shadow, chase each other, do the back scoot in sand, and other silly dog antics.
Overall, I had a blast! It was a completely different beach experience, and I was happy to get to have an outing with Titan.
The dog beach is part of the Ft De Soto Park which is near St Petersburg Beach. I had never been to Ft De Soto, and now that I've driven by, I really want to go camping there. Camping on the beach! The dog beach is on the north beach and there is free parking. Because it is a holiday weekend, the beach was packed, but there was still parking available on the grass across the street from the beach parking lot.
The beach was UGLY! I don't think they ever rake the beach, so its not the pretty soft white sand like the surrounding beaches. It's kinda a grayish broken shell yuckyness. But hey, its for dogs, right? The beach was small, full of people and dogs. Dogs that were just running around greeting people and other dogs. I'm a dog lover, so I thought this was awesome. All the dogs were under voice command or on a leash, and every dog and person was really nice.
Dogs crack me up! They were all so cute and fun to watch. I witnessed at one point a line of dogs waiting to pee in the same spot. It was like a doggy bathroom line. That was great. Dogs were playing with owners, other dogs' owners, and with each other. Fetch, sniff, and chase all over the beach and in the water. It was a blast!
My dog, Titan, is a very social dog. He loves all dogs and people and he loves to swim, so I thought that he would be really happy. I think maybe it was a bit too overwhelming for him because when we first got there he was scared of the other dogs. Eventually, he was able to ignore the other dogs and just enjoy swimming, digging holes, and playing with me and Faith.
 |
| Cross with a random black lab |
Faith, my 9 year old, was scared of swimming in water that dogs had pooped and peed in. She still had fun playing with Titan and all the other dogs. She liked to throw frisbees and balls in the water for the dogs to jump in and fetch. She liked watching the dogs chase her shadow, chase each other, do the back scoot in sand, and other silly dog antics.
 |
| Asleep on the floor board on the way home |
Thursday, May 26, 2011
The Florida Aquarium
During spring break back in April, I took the kids to The Florida Aquarium in Tampa. My pre-schooler had been obsessed with sharks, so I thought it would be cool to take him to see the sharks. After seeing the aquarium prices, I was disappointed that would be our only big outing during spring break. It ate up our budget! Still, I wanted to go because I thought that if the ticket prices were so high, this was going to be an awesome aquarium.
When we first got to the aquarium we saw lots of ducks and turtles...much like my backyard. This was not to exciting. My 7 year old loves turtles, but they are not that exciting to watch. Then we saw some river otters. They were very cute. We stayed to watch the otter show, but we were extremely disappointed that the aquarium worker just talked about otters while she fed them. There wasn't seating, or even very much room to stand. So we were struggling to even see what she was trying to point out about the otters. What a major bummer.
We looked at some fish, more ducks, more turtles, and FINALLY my youngest saw sharks:
On the second floor there was a window in the floor that looked down into the hammer head shark tank. Really cool, and really cute to see my son face plant onto the window because he saw sharks.
After looking at some fish, we made our way down to the saltwater area. It was really cool to look at all the different sea creatures. Nothing big, but some odd, ugly, beautiful, and strange looking creatures. It wasn't anything we hadn't seen at other aquariums, but I enjoyed looking at them again. We got to touch starfish in the touch tank, and that was a new experience for us. But then we saw BIG SHARKS! My youngest was so happy and in awe of the scuba divers swimming around with them. I've never seen him sit still and listen for so long. He loved learning more about sharks.
But then, that was it! We were so upset that there was nothing more to see. It took us 2 hours to do the whole aquarium. It took all day to do the Chattanooga Aquarium, I guess I was expecting more out of an aquarium in Florida.
Outside there is a courtyard area with playgrounds, water, and water play. I thought this was probably the coolest thing about the aquarium. Unfortunately I did not know about how wet the kids could actually get, and I did not bring bathing suits. So, they only got to play for a short time in water playground area.
We got excited that there was going to be an penguin show in the lobby. I love penguins, and thought that it would be fun to watch even if penguins aren't really known for doing cool tricks like a seal or something. Well, we waited, made sure we had a good spot, and waited some more. Finally, a man came out with a wagon and two small penguins. Don't get me wrong, the penguins were adorable, but they just stood in the wagon with their heads in the corner.
In this case, you do not get what you pay for. I am very upset that we spent so much money on The Florida Aquarium. I wish we had gone to the Clearwater aquarium to see the dolphin, Winter.
When we first got to the aquarium we saw lots of ducks and turtles...much like my backyard. This was not to exciting. My 7 year old loves turtles, but they are not that exciting to watch. Then we saw some river otters. They were very cute. We stayed to watch the otter show, but we were extremely disappointed that the aquarium worker just talked about otters while she fed them. There wasn't seating, or even very much room to stand. So we were struggling to even see what she was trying to point out about the otters. What a major bummer.
We looked at some fish, more ducks, more turtles, and FINALLY my youngest saw sharks:
After looking at some fish, we made our way down to the saltwater area. It was really cool to look at all the different sea creatures. Nothing big, but some odd, ugly, beautiful, and strange looking creatures. It wasn't anything we hadn't seen at other aquariums, but I enjoyed looking at them again. We got to touch starfish in the touch tank, and that was a new experience for us. But then we saw BIG SHARKS! My youngest was so happy and in awe of the scuba divers swimming around with them. I've never seen him sit still and listen for so long. He loved learning more about sharks.
 |
| He's banging on the glass, trying to make the shark mad...ha |
Outside there is a courtyard area with playgrounds, water, and water play. I thought this was probably the coolest thing about the aquarium. Unfortunately I did not know about how wet the kids could actually get, and I did not bring bathing suits. So, they only got to play for a short time in water playground area.
We got excited that there was going to be an penguin show in the lobby. I love penguins, and thought that it would be fun to watch even if penguins aren't really known for doing cool tricks like a seal or something. Well, we waited, made sure we had a good spot, and waited some more. Finally, a man came out with a wagon and two small penguins. Don't get me wrong, the penguins were adorable, but they just stood in the wagon with their heads in the corner.
In this case, you do not get what you pay for. I am very upset that we spent so much money on The Florida Aquarium. I wish we had gone to the Clearwater aquarium to see the dolphin, Winter.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Making it Work
This has been such a crazy week, and I have been very worried about keeping up with my workouts. I know that if I took 3 days off, I would lose motivation and be stressed about losing my gains so far. So I had one choice: Make It Work! I am really happy with myself for working so hard so that I could get in my workouts and keep up with my eating plans.
Monday was a crazy day because I had a doctors appointment in the morning and I had to leave early for Taekwondo in the evening. My appointment was mid morning, and I was really tempted to just forget working out because I also had to pick up and drop off the pre-schooler in the morning. Instead, I stopped by my old gym on the way to appointment and got in my weightlifting workout. After my appointment I knew that I did not have enough time to swim even though I usually swim on Mondays. Instead, I parked my car at my son's preschool and ran in the preschool area. I got done with my cardio just in-time to pick up the preschooler. In the evening I arrived a little early to Taekwondo so that I could practice my form before I needed to get ready for demo team.
Tuesday was a scary day. My daughter fainted at school and I had to pick her up, take her to doctor's and keep and eye on her all day. There was no way I could workout in the morning. I was really bummed about this until I learned that the YMCA childcare opens at 3:30 in the evening. Once my daughter rested, and my son finished his homework I rushed them out the door. I got there with 1 hour before my youngest needed to go to swim lessons. So, I lifted weights and then swam laps. I cut my lap time down so that I could get the kids ready for swimming. Once swim lessons started I walked around and swam around in the pool for a bit. Not much cardio, but still something. When I got home after dinner I practice my Taekwondo while my boys took showers.
This morning I felt so exhausted after the past two days that I have had. I just wanted to crawl back in bed and sleep while the kids were at school. Instead, I forced myself to get my big breakfast and then went for a bike ride. The ride felt good. I came home and started to do abs. My body won...I fell asleep on the floor once I finished abs. I guess my body needs time to repair.
Monday was a crazy day because I had a doctors appointment in the morning and I had to leave early for Taekwondo in the evening. My appointment was mid morning, and I was really tempted to just forget working out because I also had to pick up and drop off the pre-schooler in the morning. Instead, I stopped by my old gym on the way to appointment and got in my weightlifting workout. After my appointment I knew that I did not have enough time to swim even though I usually swim on Mondays. Instead, I parked my car at my son's preschool and ran in the preschool area. I got done with my cardio just in-time to pick up the preschooler. In the evening I arrived a little early to Taekwondo so that I could practice my form before I needed to get ready for demo team.
Tuesday was a scary day. My daughter fainted at school and I had to pick her up, take her to doctor's and keep and eye on her all day. There was no way I could workout in the morning. I was really bummed about this until I learned that the YMCA childcare opens at 3:30 in the evening. Once my daughter rested, and my son finished his homework I rushed them out the door. I got there with 1 hour before my youngest needed to go to swim lessons. So, I lifted weights and then swam laps. I cut my lap time down so that I could get the kids ready for swimming. Once swim lessons started I walked around and swam around in the pool for a bit. Not much cardio, but still something. When I got home after dinner I practice my Taekwondo while my boys took showers.
This morning I felt so exhausted after the past two days that I have had. I just wanted to crawl back in bed and sleep while the kids were at school. Instead, I forced myself to get my big breakfast and then went for a bike ride. The ride felt good. I came home and started to do abs. My body won...I fell asleep on the floor once I finished abs. I guess my body needs time to repair.
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