Today I worked out hard for the second day in a row from my 3-week slow down caused by travel and a lingering cold.Earlier this morning I did the P90X Chest & Back DVD and it felt great! It was hard, of course, it's supposed to be hard, but I really enjoyed the feeling of getting fully back in the groove.
I didn't totally stop exercising during the 3-week period but I just don't get a kick out of getting out of breath and pushing full out when I'm congested and coughing (not a pretty picture). So I stretched and went through the motions of some movement and flexibility exercises, but no where near my usual level.
I also didn't let my diet slide to the gutter either - I didn't start drinking soda or gloming on cookies or desserts. I did however add probably a 1,000 extra calories a day in the form of low or no-fat yoghurt and peanut butter - both healthy foods, but I was eating a LOT extra.
In addition to getting back in the exercise groove with P90X, I'm also now on my second day of the Shakeology Cleanse. Just for the record, I dropped a pound and a half and 1% body fat from yesterday (now 149 pounds and 14% body fat); and of course you and I both know that daily fluctuations don't mean much, but since I weigh myself and measure body fat under the same conditions every morning the numbers are somewhat meaningful and of course the truth will show as the trend continues.
A couple people have asked me about the Shakeology Cleanse. Basically, this is what I have three times a day:
What you're looking at above is 16 ounces of water shaken (not stirred) with a full scoop of Shakeology. Not only does it taste really good, but it's loaded with
- vitamins and minerals (more than I really need for the day)
- Phytonutrient Super-Greens such a Spirulina, Blue green algae, Oat and wheat grass and several others
- an unmatched blend of Antioxidant Super-Fruits including Acai, Camu-Camu, Pomegranate, Bilberry, Blueberry, Goji, and a bunch more
- Adaptogen herbs such as Maca, Astralagus, Ashwagandha, and still more
- Pribiotoics and Prebiotics including Yacon, Flax, Chia, and Quinoa
- Digestive enzymes
- And a whole raft of other digestive and healthy nutrients
- With all that it also has 18 grams of protein and only 150 calories. And that's per serving!
I'm not a careful calories counter because I keep my focus on just eating good foods. A rough estimate of my total caloric intake per day while I'm on this 3-day cleanse is probably somewhere between 900 and 1,200 calories. That's not enough for long term, my normal caloric intake with my height and weight should be about 1900 or, with heavy workouts, maybe 2400-2500. So it's likely that three days of sticking to this cleanse diet will result in dropping about one to 1.5 pounds (3500 calories to the pound). However, the toxin-clearing benefits of the pri- and prebiotics and digestive enzymes have a good chance of getting my system reset after my lull and in great shape for resuming my normal healthy diet and heavy workout routine.
So that's a lot of detail, and I know most people wouldn't read this far or care about it if they did, but for those who really wonder why I'm doing it and what I'm putting into my body, that's it.
With my normal, healthy diet, of course, I have a serving of Shakeology for lunch or breakfast every day, though I usually blend it with skim milk, fruit, and chunky peanut butter.
This cleanse is gluten free, almost diary free (the protein in Shakeology is whey-based, but in a form that even many lactose intolerant people can enjoy it because of the careful separation of ingredients and inclusion of lactase, which breaks down the lactose similar to over the counter products for that purpose). It's not vegan, neither Shakeology nor the rest of my diet on this cleanse (which includes chicken), but overall this is about as healthy and strict a (safe) diet as I've ever been on.
Oh yeah, and I FEEL GREAT!
(More tomorrow as I get into the third day of the Shakeology Cleanse and then the next day when I report on the final numbers and my final impressions). Coincidentally that day happens to be Thanksgiving so I'll be eating more than usual, but you can still be sure I'll have Shakeology for one meal.)
