Success Warrior: Alan B. Rowley II - Beachbody.com, P90X, Voluntaryism, Voluntarism

Exercise to Eat or Eat to Exercise

I am usually in the first group.  I am active enough that I don't stress too much about what I eat or how much I eat.  I still try to eat *mostly* healthy stuff but I don't mind throwing some junk food in once in a while.  My weight never changes.  Tia is happy with my level of definition.  I'm happy with my fitness level. 

My thinking (however flawed) has been that as long as I'm able to do what I want to do, I should be able to eat what I want to eat. 

This summer is different though because of how much is going on.  My intense morning workouts 5 days a week, karate 2 nights a week, softball 2 nights a week, disk golf when I can (not for another week now), and those crazy hill sprints. 

The bottom line is that I have to start putting only high octane fuel in my body if I'm going to perform my best at all these activities.  That means lean protein and lots of vegetables with some fruit thrown in for fun. 

It's something that I've been meaning to do for about a month but there always seemed to be a good reason not to start yet.

This last week has completely changed my focus.  By the time Saturday rolled around, the fuel tank was on empty.  I went to do the hill sprints and ran some warm up laps but there was nothing left.  My left quad was still tight from softball.  My energy level was down.  My motivation was way down.  I got back in my car and came home.  It was the right thing to do but I was bummed.

I spent Saturday and Sunday resting as much as possible and thinking.

Better food wasn't the only option.  I could cut back on the activity but there isn't anything on the least that I want to give up.  After two days of contemplation, that became the bottom line.  I'm not going to quit doing what I'm doing so I better eat clean so I can give everything my all.

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Coming Full Circle

All the experimenting for the last couple of years has come back to this.  I *need* to get into top shape in the next two months so it's going to be an all out blitz similar to what I was doing when I started P90X.  I won't be doing P90X but here's what I will be doing, starting Saturday:

Saturdays: I'm going to sprint up a hill, walk down, and repeat until I break down in tears.

Sundays:  Nice easy run, anywhere from 4 to 8 miles depending on how I feel after the hill-tearfest.

Mondays: My morning class in the . . . morning (natch) and then a session of One-on-One with Tony Horton in the afternoon and then karate.  Triples.  Talk about crazy.  The next two months are going to be brutal.

Tuesdays: Morning class followed by interval sprints at the track.  As many as I can before it looks like I'm no longer sprinting.  That might be two in the beginning.  =)

Wednesdays: Morning class, afternoon with Tony Horton, and then karate.  Triples again.  Yikes!

Thursday: Morning class and an afternoon with Tony Horton.

Friday: Morning class and an easy run, whatever distance my legs and stamina will carry me (hoping for that 4-8 mile range again).

I will quickly restate my disclaimer from a while back: I do not advocate this kind of program for anyone that doesn't have mental problems.

To fuel this, I'll be going back to my effective but boring routine of eating with a minor twist.  I'll be eating lean protein and lots of vegetables.  I'll be limiting the starches and pretty much eliminating sugar (like I eat much sugar anyway).  I'm going to start at about 2100 calories a day, which is probably going to be way too low but I'm just using it as a starting point.

Have to run do an errand for my mom so I'll continue with the nutrition portion of this program tomorrow.

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Yesterday's Experiment

You know me and food.  I'm always trying out different things just to see what the effects are on my body, mind, and spirit.  So, two days ago, I got this wild hair.  I decided to try a juice fast.  I had heard about these things but discounted them as not for me.  I don't even know why the thought came to me.  I thought the medication was supposed to quiet the voices but I can still hear them whispering to me.

Juice fasts are usually done for 1 to 3 days.  I decided to try it for 24 hours just to see what it felt like.  That was the initial plan but apparently the medication affects my ability to count because I ended up going for 36 hours. 

Here are my observations:

1.  It was much easier than I thought it would be.  Summertime would naturally be the easiest time for me to try something like this because I don't tend to eat as much anyway.  I still thought that I was going to be starving but I wasn't.  It was pretty much painless and I may try it again someday to see if observations 2 and 3 occur again.

2.  I was tired.  I don't know if it was the fast though because I was tired from the start.  I did my workout at  6am and then went back to bed.  Trey was an angel and let me sleep until 10.  That's so not like him.  I was lethargic all through the day.  Since it started so early, I wonder if it was caused by the fast or if there is something else going on.  Hence, the possibility of a second test.  Plus, I've gone back to my regular eating today and I'm still tired.  Hmmm.

3.  I had a headache for the second half of the day and I still have it today.  My mom can't do a no-food fast because she gets migraines.  I used to get migraines but they weren't food related.  Plus this wasn't a zero calorie fast.  I probably drank more juice than most fasters do but I didn't really keep track.  So, again, a second test may be in order to see if the headache thing is related to the fast.  One time might be a fluke where something else is causing the symptoms.

Other than these three things, I don't really have anything to report.  I don't feel any different other than the lethargy and headache, which may or may not be related.  Nothing else felt different or cool or helpful.

If you've tried a juice fast or any other kind of fast, please leave a comment letting everyone know what you did and what your results were.

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Remember, I'm going to be funding my return to college by hawking BeachBody.com products so please visit the site and make a purchase, no matter how small.

Feel free to "friend" me on Facebook.