Food & Workout Journal – May Week 3

Happy Sunday guys!

As promised, I want to share my food and workouts with you as part of my renewed focus on my health and well being. Similar to my weight loss journey with Weight Watchers back in 2005, I find that tracking my food and workouts as well as sharing them with you on the blog helps hold me accountable. I am not counting calories or points this time around, just focusing on eating primarily healthy, natural foods. When it comes to workouts, keep in mind that I am currently recovering from a strained hamstring and bruised cuboid which have limited my workouts. In the coming weeks there will be a more high intensity workouts and running but for right now, I’m listening to my body and doing what feels good.

I am tracking my workouts daily but only tracking my food Monday morning through Friday afternoon. While it may not work for everyone, I find that allowing myself the freedom and flexibility to enjoy on the weekends helps me. I am also limiting alcohol to Friday and Saturday, with a goal to have no more than five glasses during the course of the weekend.  You will also see that I am a creature of habit.  This week I had the same breakfast most mornings and almost an identical lunch. Keep in mind that I work from home most days and therefore I try to buy enough salad ingredients to make a week’s worth of salads. Sometimes the salad varies based on leftovers in the refrigerator but I try to keep the base the same.

at home lunch
Food

  • Monday
    • Breakfast: Unsweetened iced green tea, banana and Starbucks perfect oatmeal
    • Lunch: Salad (spinach, grilled chicken, egg whites, celery, tomatoes, carrots, red peppers, salt, pepper, olive oil, lemon, and red wine vinegar)
    • Snack(s): Apple with almond butter drizzle (~ 1 tablespoon), 2 cups natural popcorn
    • Dinner: Healthy Mexican Grilled Shrimp Salad
    • Water: 9 glasses
  • Tuesday
    • Breakfast: Coffee w Unsweetened Almond Milk, Fage 2% yogurt, 1/4 cup Purely Elizabeth granola, 1/2 banana, chia seeds and flax seeds
    • Lunch: Salad (spinach, 1 egg + 1 egg white, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, onions, balsamic)
    • Snack(s): Apple with almond butter drizzle (~ 1 tablespoon), 2 cups natural popcorn
    • Dinner:Healthy Mexican Grilled Shrimp Salad
    • Water: 10 glasses
  • Wednesday
    • Breakfast: Coffee w Unsweetened Almond Milk, Fage 2% yogurt, 1/4 cup Purely Elizabeth granola, 1/2 banana, chia seeds and flax seeds
    • Lunch: Salad from Potbelly (Spinach, hummus, tomatoes, grilled chicken, cucumber, egg white, avocado, dressing on side)
    • Snack: orange + 1 serving almonds, unsweetened iced green tea
    • Dinner: Salmon, roasted broccoli and fennel & kale salad from Little Beet
    • Water: 8 glasses
  • Thursday
    • Breakfast: Coffee w Unsweetened Almond Milk, Fage 2% yogurt, 1/4 cup Purely Elizabeth granola, 1/2 banana, chia seeds and flax seeds
    • Lunch: Salad from NYC deli (Spinach, grilled chicken, edamame, tomato, carrots, cucumber, celery, green peppers, salt, pepper, olive oil & balsamic)
    • Snack(s): orange + 1 serving almonds, 1/2 serving popcorn (without butter) at Lincoln Center during King and I
    • Dinner: Homemade Greek salad (romaine lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions, red peppers, feta, chicken, olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice)
    • Water: 11 glasses
  • Friday
    • Breakfast: Coffee w Unsweetened Almond Milk, Fage 2% yogurt, 1/4 cup Purely Elizabeth granola, 1/2 banana, chia seeds and flax seeds
    • Lunch: Refrigerator leftovers salad (spinach, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, 1/4 avocado, onions, 1 egg + 1 egg white, balsamic
    • Snack: orange + 1 serving almonds, green tea
    • Water: 7 glasses
    • bar method

Workouts

So there you have it! After the first week I’m down three pounds and hope to lose one pound per week, on average, until I am back at my healthy weight and my Summer clothes fit again.

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CLASSPASS Month in Review

Class

As you may remember, two months ago Bo and I decided to give ClassPass a try after hearing wonderful things about it, realizing the two of us could leverage it together and a positive month long trial back in July.

Each month I will provide a brief recap of our experience including the number of classes taken, average cost per class and a brief recap of the studios where we sweat that month. In addition, if you’re on CLASSPASS feel free to follow my fitness schedule here. I love meeting readers so if you see me in a class, please say hello!

Month 1: September 20 – October 20th

Number of classes taken: 8

Number of studios visited: 6

Number of classes missed or late cancelled: 0

Average cost per workout based on NYC rate of $125 per month: $15

Considering that I spent 12 days traveling for business or races, I am thrilled with the number of classes I took the first month. Of these classes, five of them were early morning classes taken with Bo before work. On a typical day I take the subway into Manhattan with him for a 6 AM class somewhere in Flatiron or Chelsea. Once class is over he’ll shower at the studio and head to work while I’ll quickly hop back on the subway towards Brooklyn.

Keep in mind, while Bar Method Brooklyn is a ClassPass studio, I use their registration tool and the membership as part of our partnership versus registering on ClassPass. If you include that, then there would be an additional three classes and one studio added to the below list, which would of course reduce the average cost even more.

Last Month’s Classes

Hot Power Flow Yoga 60 at Tangerine Yoga (2)

There is a reason this studios classes quickly sell out, especially evening and weekends when Brooklyn locals and Manattanites flock to Tangerine Yoga. The 60-minute class isn’t for the weak as it is a heated strong, power yoga class. But, don’t fear, instructors provide lots of adjustments and guidance to ensure everyone has the best session possible. The studio provides complimentary yoga mats and towels as well as selling juices and coconut water in the small boutique and lounge area.

Weflowhard Vinyasa Yoga at Y7

I’ve talked about Y7 more than a few times on the blog as I really enjoy their candle lit power yoga classes. The flow and atmosphere is unlike any other studio I’ve experienced, allowing for free flow time every 15-20 minutes and limiting the light in the studio so students aren’t judging themselves or intimidated by other students abilities. The 60-minute class moves very quickly, which is why I would recommend that only students who have at least a basic yoga knowledge attend the class. Due to the dark room it isn’t very possible to follow the instructor who is primarily adjusting and motivating students versus flowing through the poses. The studio doesn’t have showers but they do have two bathrooms and an adorable, fully stocked “refresh bar” including dry shampoo, deodorant, body wipes and more. The studio provides towels but charges $2 for mats and $3 for skidless yoga towels.

Rest Yoga at Anya

Charlie and I took this class together after her 6-hour flight from London and before the Chicago marathon. While it met her request of being easy and relaxing, I do not think I’d take it again. The hour long class consisted of literally 5 poses which we held for 10-15 minutes each. We left the class, laughing that we’d just experience assisted naptime. If you have an issue relaxing or sleeping, then this class could DEFINITELY help!

Yin-Yasa at Area Yoga

I’m a huge fan of the Area Yoga studio in Carroll Gardens due to the hands on approach to teaching, airy second floor studio and proximity to our house. This class included 40 minutes of strong, power yoga which left me sweating but then flowed into a relaxing 30 minute sequence of restorative poses. I was so relaxed by the end that I fell asleep during legs up the wall. Make sure to bring your mat and towels to this no-frills studio as it’s $2 to rent.

Signature Fhix at Fhitting Room (2)

I think I screamed with glee the day I received the ClassPass email stating that Fhitting Room was now an affiliated studio. Bo and I love the 50-minute high intensity classes which pair two instructors with a class of 20-25 students for a sweat inducing good time. The music is always perfectly on point, motivating and pushing us while the instructors lead the group through functional movements such as lunges, burpees and squats followed by strength training with kettle bells and finally high intensity exercises including rowing machines, ski-ergs and box jumps. The atmosphere is one of the most supportive I’ve felt and it is a great starting place for people who want to learn more about functional training and using items like boxes and kettlebells as the instructors adjust students during class. The dual instructor model means that there is always someone watching you! The studio offers showers, lockers, towels and water.

45 Minute Metrics at Peloton

After one too many disappointing classes FlyWheel, Bo and I decided to give Peloton a try due to the fact that they have lots of classes on their daily schedule, feature one of the nicest locker rooms for post workout showers and we’d heard a great deal about their bikes. This 6 AM class did not disappoint and even though we didn’t love the instructor, we definitely felt great energy in the studio which holds more than 30 cyclists per class. The Peloton classes are all streamed live so Peloton bike owners can follow along at home. This creates a different dynamic as the instructor is at times motivating and coaching the class while other times she’s giving props to the riders at home. Regardless, we both agreed that we’d return to this studio because the bikes were the best we’ve ridden on – smooth, easy to read computers and easily adjusted. The studio greets clients with complimentary spin shoes, water and towels which make things easy!

Your turn: If you’re a NYC local, what are your favorite studios? Where should I sweat next? 

This post is not compensated nor requested of me via CLASSPASS. While it does contain affiliate links, as a CLASSPASS affiliate, I only receive a small compensation if you choose to purchase a CLASSPASS membership. 

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Training Recap Week of October 5th

Happy Thursday! I’m currently watching Pitch Perfect 2 as our plane cruises over the middle of America en route to San Francisco! I’m spending three days in San Francisco catching up with lots of friends, enjoying delicious food and wine, oh and running 13.1 miles worth of hills on Sunday.

My plan for the weekend is to soak up San Francisco and have fun. The only goal we have for Sunday is to enjoy every mile, take lots of pictures and hopefully give a few high fives to my many friends running the half. It’s going to be a crazy race weekend but I’m excited! This girls weekend comes smack dab between two busy work weeks, so it will be a great way to relax and decompress.

Before shutting the computer down for the night, I wanted to check in to share last week’s training log. You know how the weekly training recap works. At the beginning of each week I share the past week’s workouts with you all in order to give you a glimpse into my training, hold me accountable and help me keep a record so I can see what works and doesn’t work after each races comes to a close. Last week was all about resting before the Brooklyn Rock’n’Roll Half Marathon.

half marathon

Monday: I headed into the city for Y7 yoga which never ceases to challenge me.

Tuesday: My final speed workout of this training schedule went wonderfully due in part to the cooler weather. After a 20 minute warm-up I completed 10 1-minute pick ups followed by a minute of recovery and a 20 minute cool-down.

Wednesday: After a 5 AM flight to Cincinnati, there was no better way to end the day than a long walk through Amy’s neighborhood. Amy and her husband suggested that we take their normal hour long route, making a quick stop to pick up dinner. The hour walk included just enough hills to break a sweat, but walking allowed us to catch

Thursday: Amy and I took advantage of their home gym, doing arms and abs while watching Quantico, a new ABC television show.

Friday: Our workout for the day included a stroll around the neighborhood, foam rolling and a pedicure. Oh wait, that isn’t a workout? Well it seemed like the perfect thing to do before the half marathon!

Saturday: Rock’n’Roll Brooklyn Half Marathon aka 13.1 miles of fun executed at a near perfect pace

Sunday: After most races I try to squeeze in an actual yoga class but sometimes that doesn’t become a reality. Our to do list one the battle and instead of a formal class, I spent 30 minutes on the yoga mat streaming JasYoga from 9:30-10 PM. Not ideal, but it was definitely better than nothing. Also, take my advice. Hop over and give your body the gift that is her full body recovery video. It is 26 minutes of feel good stretching and relaxation.

So that’s how last week went down gang. It was far more relaxed than most weeks but I think that’s why my body felt so good during the half marathon. I slept seven hours four nights in a row, ate well, foam rolled and kept the workouts relaxed.

This week I dove right back in, making very good use of my ClassPass Flex membership by taking classes in both New York City and San Francisco!

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