"Scotch?"
If you haven't seen "Mr. Mom", you're missing out! Hilarious.
Anyway, you may have noticed that a few of my posts have included alcohol in the "DIET" section for that given day (typically on a weekend).
How can this be? Aren't you all about fitness and health? Where does alcohol fit into that?
The answer, of course, is "it depends". :~)
Remember, what is your goal? Where are you headed?
If you're looking to get really lean, it's best to reach for the water with a lemon in it. Losing body fat is largely dependent on calorie intake. It's way too easy to take in a whole meals worth of calories in one drink and be left with zero nutrition to show for it. Do you really want to blow a whole days worth of calories on beers at the bar?
Secondly, the body treats alcohol just like any other highly processed grain. It burns it just like sugar which can spike your insulin. Sugary, syrupy drinks like margaritas and daiquiris are also loaded with carbs in addition to the alcohol itself. Double trouble for battling the belly bulge. During a 12 week "cut" phase last spring, I can only remember drinking one time.
If you're looking to maintain your weight, a couple of drinks can be worked into a day pretty easily. It's easier said than done, but removing carbohydrates from the remainder of your meals can help balance out the alcohol.
Regardless of your goals, moderation is key. Can you have a couple of beers while watching a football game on a Saturday night? I think so. Can you do this every night and then workout like a madman to try and stay lean, healthy, and vibrant? I do not think so.
Life is about balance. Results are about consistency. Can you stay consistently balanced and enjoy life and results? Let's try, huh?
WORKOUT - ARMS/ABS
The Day 30 workout was a repeat of Day 23 and included 2 supersets of arms followed by a superset of ab work.
Superset 1: DB Preacher Curls, Overhead Cable Extensions
Superset 2: Twisting DB Curl (arms braced against wall), Close Grip Push Ups
Superset 3: Mountain Climbers (with 5 LB ankle weights), Hanging Knee Raises
Total Time => 37:36
Comments:
Weights were just about perfect.
Mountain climbers have to be one of the best ab/core exercises ever invented.
Just like yesterday, I did a 15 minute bike ride after I finished up with the iron. Hopefully my cardio engine is appreciative.
DIET - HIGH PROTEIN
We had some fun for breakfast (post workout) this morning. Despite the fact it was about 9:00 in the morning, I fired up the grill and flamed some homemade Italian beef sausage patties. These went perfectly with a fresh batch of Polly's whole wheat pancakes. Christina followed her gluten free diet and made her first batch of almond flour pancakes. They were equally as good as the "regular" ones! If you're looking to eliminate or reduce the gluten in your diet, this book is a must.
Here's my plate with a sampling of each type of pancake accompanied by a coating of butter...
How did those grapes get in there? :~)
For lunch, I had some leftover chicken cacciatore from earlier in the week along with some fresh bell pepper and tomato cut up. I was sure to leave room for a "pick me up" dessert smoothie. 1 cup of freshly brewed coffee over ice, half a ton of cinnamon, a few shakes of chili powder (oh yes!), 2 heaping tablespoons of cocoa powder, stevia powder, 1 scoop of plain whey protein isolate powder, and xanthum gum all blended up until it's so thick you have to eat it with a spoon. When it reached that point, I tossed in a few each of almonds, cashews, and walnuts and pulsed a few times just to break them up and add a little crunch (and healthy fats) to the mix.
Dinner time was a team effort eggplant parmesan from our new gluten free almond flour cookbook. We also finally gave our vegetable spiral cutter a try. Half a zucchini from the farmer's market yesterday turned into today's "pasta". Take a look...
This turned out to be a remarkable substitute for traditional pasta. I'm hooked!
Here is dinner all plated up. Check out that fork twirling action on the "pasta"!
Christina also found a dairy free substitute for grated parm. I love, love the real stuff so this had a lot to live up to. The result? Fantastic!
It's easy to make, too. Here's the recipe...
2 cups of walnuts
1 cup of nutritional yeast
1 Tablespoon of salt
Throw all those in the food processor and whirl away until it looks "parm-like".
Try this! Seriously. You will NOT be disappointed!
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