Old Dogs, New Tricks

Monday, September 8, 2008

154#

Work 6p-8a

"Hello, my name is Jennifer, and I have been clean for 16 months..."

I say this in jest, but in all honesty, I equate my relationship with refined sugar to an addiction. Not so terribly long ago I longed for sweets any and every waking moment. Now, I look forward to a splurge every 2 weeks or so. I plan it in detail, and I actually believe that I enjoy the anticipation of it as much as I do the splurge itself. (Come to think of it, I'm pretty dang fond of the breads and other carbs I allow myself during this splurge meal, too). Last night as I was preparing one of my favorite snacks, it occurred to me that I was really looking forward to it--not just in a "well, if I can't have chocolate chip cookies" sort of way, but in a "wow, this is gonna be really good" kind of way. I've come to the point that I enjoy the fresh fruit as much as I do the processed sweets. Now, the idea that the cookies and pies and what not are better is completely a mental thing for me. Thus the wonder of adaptation.

WORKOUT:

Workout 1:

6 rounds of the following

30 sec double 12kg squats

30 sec double 12kg C&P

30 sec rest

Then 3 rounds of 12kg snatch ladders 10/10, 15/15, 20/20.

THIS WORKOUT SUCKED! I've been feeling weaker during my workouts the last week. My numbers have stayed the same, but I just have felt weak. Despite waking up feeling good, today, I was just NOT right. My numbers for the first part of the workout were about the same as usual, maybe a couple less-though during the last set of C&P's I had to do mostly push presses. And the reps just felt weak. The second part of the workout, though, just absolutely SMOKED me. I'm talking lightheaded, dots in the vision, cold sweat, 'bout to pass the f^@% out smoked. Where the entire workout should have taken me less than 30 minutes, I barely eeked by in 50 or so. I thought very seriously about just quitting. The last few times I've done this workout, I blasted through the first ladder, started the second without resting, set the bell down briefly b/w the 15's and 20's then for about a minute b/w the 2nd and 3rd ladder. Today, I had to rest before I even finished the first ladder then every time I finished a rung. This was just not normal for me-- in any variation of my reality. It's been probably 2 years since I've had a workout this off.

It's not unusual for me to have a week or so of weak workouts here and there. I muddle through them and usually come out the other end fine, often making pretty good gains for a little while after that. I chalk it up to normal human cycles though I can't verify that or predict it based on menses because I have been ammenorrheic for so long (sorry if that's TMI). This was worse than what i am accustomed to, though. I was even really shakey for a couple hours after the workout.

I'm about 2 weeks into an intermittent fasting type thing, eating one meal/day with 2-3 snacks of less than 250 calories interspersed through the rest of the day. I have been keeping my total caloric intake about the same--certainly no less--as it was before, though my macronutrient ratios are quite different. My protein intake has been about 30-50 % of my calories, fats about 30% and carbs the remainder. Admittedly, I have had more carbs (though whole grain carbs) than usual by about 50% the last 2-3 days. I usually eat a snack before my workout, and today was no different as I had a protein shake just prior, a habit I was in regularly for the last several months, only changing to fruits the last 2 weeks.

I've been off work for a couple of weeks, but my sleep cycle has been regular, and my schedule in general has been no more off than usual.

WTF?