Week 2: Spartan Challenge + Mission 17

One of the things I learned after the Spartan Challenge last year is that my workout journal and my food log can be helpful training tools -- if I take the time to review them. So each weekend, I'll be reviewing my notes and sharing what I've noticed... to make sure I'm honest with you and myself.

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Week 2 of the Spartan Challenge and Mission 17 was more challenging than last week. I'm settling into the routine, and it was a little tougher to keep my Mission top-of-mind all week. My Mondays and Tuesdays can be rough, with the alarm set for 5:45 a.m., workout then work all day, then band practice from 7-10 p.m. That's a lot of action and not much time for sleep. I started the week in a sleep deficit, and it took me until Friday to recover. When I'm tired, I want to eat ALL THE TIME, and my attitude gets pretty sucky.

These are the nutrition goals I'm working against each week:

• no starchy carbs (except my post-workout Saturday breakfast)
• minimizing my reliance on Balance Bars (no nutrition band-aids!)
• no coffee
  
• replacing fruit with vegetables as often as I can without puking
• no low-fat ice cream before bed (or any other time, really)
  
• updating my food and workout logs every day

So how did I do?

There were some significant temptations this week, and I handled them really well, except... after avoiding the mini Snickers bar at work on Wednesday, I indulged in 1/3 cup of low-fat ice cream on Wednesday night. Boo! And I ate two Balance Bars this week in 1/2-bar increments across several days.

Here are some stats from my workout journal and food log:

The Spartan Challenge+Mission 17 Index: Week of 5/17 through 5/23

# of workouts: 8 (5 CF + 3 runs)

# days of training: 5

average hours of sleep per night: 8

lbs. lost/gained: +0.2

# of vegetables & fruits consumed: 49

average # of Zone blocks per day: 12

consecutive days without a tortilla chip: 14 (!)

# of Balance Bars: 2

On a scale of 1-10
(with 10 being "AWESOME")

satisfaction with workouts: 9.5 (Cleans, rings, double workouts)

satisfaction with diet: 8.5 (During the week, I thought I wasn't eating that great, but looking back over my journal, I ate well... it was just my attitude that sucked.)

overall mood/level of optimism: 7.5

Biggest dietary change: I had cabbage stir-fried with egg whites and meat for breakfast twice this week.

Favorite workout: At CrossFit Women on Wednesday, we worked with the rings. I really sucked at the ring dips, but did great with the stationary holds and tucks we did at the end of class. It was invigorating to think I couldn't do it, then learn that I could. And it was fun, too! When I got home and wrote about it in my workout log, I realized I'd been so distracted by my RING DIP FAIL that I'd completely overlooked the fact that I did 240 lunges, 160 situps, and 80 CHEST-TO-GROUND pushups.

Bad attitude moment: When I weighed in on Saturday morning at Weight Watchers, the scale said I was up 0.2 lbs. That's an insignificant "gain," but it represents another week with no loss. That's a big bummer. But I know I'm doing what I can: My food log is an example of healthy eating and restraint. My workout journal is an objective record of my dedication to training. I know the scale will catch up eventually, and I just need to stay the course, but I am frustrated and disappointed. As Dave pointed out, this is my pattern: two to three weeks of nothing, then BAM! 3-lb. loss. I surely hope that happens this time.

Bad attitude moment #2: (See?! That's just the kind of week I had. My attitude was so bad, I have two "oh, poor me!" moments. Annoying.) Saturday night, my super cool artist-neighbor-friend Stefanie Distefano had a potluck. I wore a new dress and made Turkish Chopped Salad to share (recipe coming soon). All signs were pointing to a relaxing, fun evening. But halfway across the street, I remembered my "NO BOOZE for 6 weeks" rule, and the first thing I saw when I got there was a bowl of chips and salsa on the table. The promised protein source -- carnitas -- wasn't ready to eat yet and the brownies were practically shouting my name and everywhere I turned, there was food I've banned for the foreseeable future, and all I could drink was water, and I was hungry and and and.... so after some small talk and three glasses of water, we left.

I guess there's a way I could have prepped or handled that better, but I didn't. Parties and the Spartan Challenge aren't very complementary, and I'm OK with that... I just wish I'd remembered before I accepted the invitation. Stefanie is wonderful and charming, and I felt pretty bad about not being in the spirit of her celebration. My dress was cute, though.

Gold-star behavior: Dave and I went to Threadgill's for dinner after book shopping at Half Price Books on Thursday. I thought I ordered pretty well: grilled tilapia with pineapple pico de gallo, side salad, green beans, spinach. When the fish arrived, it was on a bed of shredded raw cabbage (score!), but it had a sprinkling of fried tortilla strips on top. I meticulously picked every one off. EVERY ONE. No chips rule, still in effect!

Tweak for next week: I'm going for a ZERO Balance Bar week and maintinaining my sleep average of 8 hours per night.