Tracking your Progress

TRAINING: 7
   Quality Day (Dan John - lifted heavy, PR'd front squat, press was too easy)
RECOVERY: 6
   Sleep (2) 4.5hrs + quality sleep despite going to bed at 1am
   Nutrition (2) one cheat (nachos and fountain pepsi)
   Active Recovery (0)
   Stress (2) alone time + shopping for shoes

Found a re-hash of a great way to track your training and recovery at a great site, CrossFit Portland.  It was basically taken from the Lifting/Throwing Coach Dan John and I had seen it before and it's pretty simple so I think I'll break it out and try it again.  It is ironic (creepy) that I had just got through doing my favorite Dan John Workout yesterday and then found this tracking modality (again).  I love this "creepiness" of CrossFit, it just leads you down the right path if you just keep your eyes (and heart) open.

Progress is tracked on a 1-10 scale.  On days with a WOD, you want the TRAINING number to be high with RECOVERY at least equal if not higher.  On Rest Days, you want the RECOVERY score to always be higher so that you know you are getting high-quality recovery so you can effectively see gains and get ready for more training.  Pretty simple (I hope).

TRAINING score (1-10)
  1-3: no training
  4-5: active recovery (no workout but beneficial Rest Day)
  6-8: easy through medium workout
  9-10: sweat angels through OMFG

RECOVERY score (1-10)
  Nutrition (0-3)
     - basically 3 is perfect day; minus 1 per cheat
  Sleep (0-3)
     - <4.5 hr = 0
     - 4.5-6hr = 1
     - 6-7.5hr = 2
     - 7.5hr+ = 3
     - Sleep Quality Bonus = +/- 1
  Active Recovery (0-1)
     +1 for extra stretching, yoga, massage, foam roller, etc...
  Stress (0-3)
     +1 for no relationship stress
     +1 for getting some alone time
     +1 for doing something fun that day

Okay, here goes.  Recovery Tracking Day 1 (again)

TRAINING: 7
   Quality Day (Dan John - lifted heavy, PR'd front squat, press was too easy)
RECOVERY: 6
   Sleep (2) 4.5hrs + quality sleep despite going to bed at 1am
   Nutrition (2) one cheat (nachos and fountain pepsi)
   Active Recovery (0)
   Stress (2) alone time + shopping for shoes

Overall, not bad, good training day, not too taxing but still saw progress.  Recovery was a little weak, sleep and nutrition could have been better but considering we are camped out at the in-laws it could have been worse.  Just need to keep track of this and make sure Rest Day is all about recovery.  I guess my cheat days can't be when I'm not working out.  Not sure if that makes better sense but it might be easier to not cheat at all on the Rest Days and allow for a little cheating on days I workout (seems fair?)

Pepsi watch

FRIDAY 081212

32 + 20 = 52

THURSDAY 081211

44 (damn Taco Hell addiction...!)

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Finding your kryptonite

Holidays are here and we are stressing big time.

The Army has found it in their infinite wisdom to move us to Korea for
a few years. Pile on selling one of our vehicles, selling our house
(in December), six days of movers packing out all of our worldly
possessions, managing a rambunxious two year old, under packing our
over-packed luggage for a 30-day vacation and then a 15 hour flight,
living in a hotel room, eating out for breakfast, lunch and dinner,
and oh by the way did I mention that we are pregnant...???

I say all this not looking for sympathy but to say that I'm painfully
aware of how hard it is to eat right. Everywhere you go it's all
bread and pasta and "what would you like to drink with that?" Soda,
super sugary lemonade, sweet tea, you name it and it will quickly put
you into a blissful food coma. And when you are stressing, you go
back to that trough early and often. Then you feel like crap so you
are more apt to do it all over again to try to recapture some of those
blissful feelings and pretty soon you find yourself in an endless loop
of shittiness.

It took me a week of swirling in that self-inflicted cesspool to
figure out that I use (fountain) Pepsi to self-medicate. LOTS of soda
if I can help it. I figure I've been averaging 100+ ounces a day for
the last few days.

That's easily 1,250 extra calories every day without counting all the
bread and pizza and ice cream I will pile on top of that. No amount
of CrossFitting will keep all that from turning someone into a fat ass
pronto.

Therefore...

Pepsi is my kryptonite...

So...

Until we are finally settled into our new pad in Korea with our own
groceries and kitchen, I am going monitor my level of Pepsi
consumption so I can stay within spitting distance of my girlish figure.

Today:
44 ounces

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Where did all these Carbs come from...???

Still "off the wagon" now that we are homeless. We have moved out of our house, all of our stuff is packed up and headed to Korea or headed to storage. One more week in a hotel before we get out of town and CrossFit our way across America to get home for the holidays. Luckily my Paleo Kits are keeping me honest. I'm starting to realize just how much damn Pepsi I'm drinking on a pretty regular basis. That and the bread they bring before your meal is killing me. At least I'm CrossFitting pretty hard right now so my eating is not getting the best of me (yet). I feel a little heavier and kinda bloated all the time but I'm doing the best I can right now. It will be good to get to Korea and get settled in to a routine and get some home cooked Paleo meals under our belts. Pray for me...LOL.

SUNDAY 081109

Been off the wagon for a week or two but we are getting back after it. Stomach flu and some other issues (over-drinking) had me in some serious gastrointestinal distress...

Can't wait to start eating clean again.

Damn carbs...

Stay tuned to see how well it goes as I get back into eating right...

TUESDAY 081028 (D+)

TUESDAY 081028

Protein: 5/5/5/0/3/0
Carbs: 6/2/4/0/13/7
Cheats: pizza, cheesesticks
Dairy: Ben & Jerry's
Pepsi: none

B: (apple) DFAC Omlete, apple, orange
S: 5oz turkey, apple, mixed nuts
L: Panaeng chicken, noodle soup, watermelon wedge
S: mixed nuts
D: pizza, cheesesticks
S: Ben & Jerry's

Ooops, Happy Birthday Mama!!!

D+

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MONDAY 081027

MONDAY 081027

Protein: 5/6/10/10
Carbs: 2/2/2/3
Cheats: 1 tiny piece of dark chocolate Milky Way Halloween candy
Dairy: 1 cup Breyer's All Natural ice cream (read the ingredients)
Pepsi: none

B: DFAC omelet, orange
L: 50z lunch meat, super salad
D: 10oz ny strip (grassfed), broccoli (need a real grill...)
S: 5oz lunch meat, jumbo olives, mixed nuts, 5oz lunch meat, jumbo olives, apple slices, 1cup Breyer's ice cream

GRADE: A+

Felt really good today. That "high" protein/"high" fat/"zero" carb snack before and after lunch really makes the difference. Don't feel like eating anything else but I'm sure my over-active brain will need some carbs tonight so I'm gonna hit the Breyer's side experiment as my main cheat to keep it low carb during the week. 5 on 2 off ala CrossFit for my eating so I'm going clean from dinner Sunday through lunch on Friday. I cheat too much with the CrazyWife on weekends to make it worth tracking all that junk (2 or 3 cheats per 5 or 6 meals per weekend day).