Carb Cycling Sprawl

In my initial post about this Carb Cycling Experiment I lined out a new way of eating, and that was to be the only change to my overall plan.  But like many things, progress leads to more.  More determination, more drive and in this case an actual sprawl into almost all areas of my previous program.  Success can be a slippery slope, but so far I’m holding my own down the hill.  Only time will tell if the additional changes I’ve included will amount to much in such a short period of time.  I’m a baby-steps kinda gal, so here are a few of my first strides onto the looking-the-best-you-can-for-whatever-event-that’s-coming scene.

foodscaleFOOD SCALE   For most who know me in this new lifestyle, I have always snubbed scales and many food measurements in general.  This is not because I don’t want to be precise, it’s really because I’m a lazy slob.  I love preportioned items like fruit, chicken breasts and my beloved 7 Triscuits (yep I excel at counting)!  However, after close examination of my ‘eyeballing’ technique, I learned it’s not as exact as I’d like for this type of plan.  I was eating too large of portions for a lot of carbs, and actually too small for my proteins.  Now I have my little scale, and I’ve learned to love it.  I picked it up at Target for about $24.  It automatically weighs my pink fishy bowl or other receptical of choice and weighs in ounces or grams.  This came in handy when I reached the bottom of the Triscuit box!  I highly recommend getting one if you need better visualization around what you’re eating.  It certainly opened my eyes.

waterrippleMORE WATER (for now)   Of course this is key to fat loss, and it’s something even Weight Watchers will tell you.  I have been ultra lazy about hydration up to this point, but I fished a gallon jug out of the recyling bin and dedicated it to this element of the experiement.  I only started this week so it’s a last ditch effort at best.  I’ll have a new water plan as January 25th approaches, so look for updates on those details next week.

watchSHORTER REST PERIODS BETWEEN SETS   I am the biggest piddler in the gym.  Seriously, when I know I’m not on a schedule I can rack up to 2 hours there if I’m not careful, and it’s ridiculous.  It’s not as if I have huge bags of time laying around my house.  These workouts eat into other important bags that are laying around, FULL, from lack of attention.  This is something I’d planned on addressing in the new year, but it’s actually been done for me by my new workout partner, Steve (aka My Lobster).  He’s into getting in and getting out, and I’m digging his strong, yet precise committment to the gym!  Some days we finish in 45 minutes.  Who knew?  It’s fabulous.  Reducing time between sets also helps you burn fat, and is specifically prescribed in the program I’m roughly following.  Yay!

absABS   Another corner of fitness I’ve refused to acknowledge.  That is until I started to feel the sprawl.  A little progress here and there and I decided I’d go all out for the rest of the experiment.  If all the competitors (whose look I’m trying to emulate) work their abs, then maybe I should too….for at least a little while anyway.  Like the water, I began incorporating abs a few days ago.  So far I’m using a few different machines targeting the abdominals in general.  This is no hardcore program here.  I perform 1 exercise of 4 sets to failure, about 4 times per week.  We’ll see how it goes.  These abs here are NOT mine, but what I’m striving for!

kettlebellCARDIO   Now before you shake your finger at me, I’m still not doing traditional cardio.  I prefer to call it conditioning because it really is a different focus and effort and I happen to think it sounds cool!  At the outset of this experiment I poo-pooed the idea of added conditioning because it was only supposed to be about changing the food.  Well, again the sprawl set in, and I’ve had enough energy and gumption to perform 4 finishers per week without issue, spurring me to even go for 5 in the next 2 weeks.  So far I think it’s helping, but again, I can’t be sure yet.

rollercoasterSo that’s it in a nutshell.  Lots of tweaks to my original experiment, which really screws up my initial goal of learning how diet alone would affect my personal fat loss.  Oh well, that’s life on the dynamic fitness roller coaster (and I’ve got my hands up)!

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