Zoned Oat Blueberry Muffins

Marcy made me a recipe of "Oat Blueberry Muffins" and they are delicious! They were in the "Zone Meals in Seconds" book. Just grabbed 6 mini-muffins (we split it from 12 to 24) and that's it for a full zoned breakfast. Fast and easy.

Meal Timing in The Zone

One of the most important aspects of eating successfully in "The Zone" is meal timing.

You want to make sure you keep your Glycemic Index under control ... because when you let your GI get too low that is when you start to get hunger pains / carb cravings and that is when you are more willing to cheat.

Each meal you eat should keep you sustained for at least 4 hours and snacks should last you 2 hours. If you are hungry before that you need to make some adjustments to what you are eating.

I've been doing a 4 block Zone Diet that I am no going down to a 3 block Zone Diet.

Here is my approximate eating schedule and menu:
- 5:45AM Breakfast
-- 3/4 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil [3F]
-- 1/2 Cup of Egg Substitue [2P] w/ Spinach [1C]
-- 3 Pieces of Turkey Bacom [1P]
-- 1 Orange [2C]
- 10:15AM Lunch
-- 1/2 Head of Lettuce [1C]
-- 1 Cup of Celery / Carrots [1C]
-- 4oz of Deli Turkey Meat [2.5P]
-- 1oz Low-fat Cheese [1P]
-- 2 tablespoons of Salad Dressing [3F]
-- 3 Dried Apricots [1C]
- 2:00PM Snack
-- 3oz Deli Meat [2P]
-- 6 Olives [2F]
-- 6 Dried Apricots [2C]
- 5:00PM Dinner
-- Zoned 3 Block Meal
- 9:30PM Snack
-- 3oz Deli Meat [2P]
-- 6 Almonds [2F]
-- 1 Orange / Apple [2C]

Cheat Day on The Zone

Well last night after my workout we went to Barons ... it's a new highend super market that specializes in yummy "healthy" food. After being there I told Marcy "I have to have a cheat night." ... and cheat I did. But what's funny is that even though I "cheated" I still eat SOOOO much less then I normally would. So here is what I had.

- 2 Small Egg / Bacon Breakfast Burritos - NWC (Not worth the calories)
- 10 bites of Blood Orange Sorbet - This stuff was awesome!
- 1/4lb of Milk Chocolate Covered Almonds - So addictive, but I bought a 1/2 pound and only ate half.
- 10 Macadamia Nuts w/ this odd but good flavoring. (Apricots, Lemongrass, etc.)

So even though I "cheated" I still don't feel guilty ... this morning I still have weight movement down. I think I'm going to hit my goal (and surpass it) of being under 300lbs by the time I go back to NY.

Today I started right where I left off. Ate my typical breakfast but I'm going to attempt to do a Zone lunch out today. We'll see how that works out.

Day 44 : Randy

Today we did the workout known as "Randy".

Randy Simmons, 51, a 27 year LAPD veteran and SWAT team member was killed February 6 in the line of duty. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Officer Simmons' wife and two children.

75 Snatches @ 45lbs For Time

Did it in 8:05

My shins are ripped up. Ouch!

Did well on the Zone today. I've been carrying a protein bar in case of emergency and I needed it today on the way home. I'll just eat a late dinner tonight and skip snack.

Day 43 : Back Squat and Oly Class

I really feel like I did the best I could tonight with Back Squats. I didn't walk away thinking I could have done more.

Here's what I did:

135 x 3
165 x 3
185 x 3
205 x 3
135 x 4 (working on form)
225 x 3
255 x 3

I'm happy with the end result.

In Oly Class Adam had us go through the "Burgener Warm Up" 4 times. Here's what that consists of:

1. Down and up
2. Elbows high and outside
3. Muscle snatch
4. Snatch land
5. Snatch drop
6. Hang power snatch

It's a routine to help you prep for an actual Snatch. Today I did an 85lb snatch 4x. I attempted a 105lb snatch but was VERY unsuccessful.

The Zone is going VERY well. I'm starting to get over the hunger pains now that I'm doing my carbs in mass quantities of veggies instead of only a little grains. Weight is still heading in a downward trend as I'm the lightest I've been since I've started this.

Day 42 : Team Overload WOD and The Zone

I can't say much about our Team Overload WOD because we don't want others knowing how we are training ... but this one was an eye-opener. It was tough and no team finished it in the time allotted. But, one of the movements, Wall Balls, were MUCH easier than usual. I could really feel an improvement with them.

The Zone is going VERY well. I continue to see a downward trend in weight and definitely saw an increase in performance last night at the WOD.

I spoke with Kat and Mouse (the resident Zone experts) and they were happy with my meal plan. I just tweaked it a bit and instead of the pita I'm going to get my carbs from more quantity of vegetables.

Tonights WOD should be fun ... it's Back Squat night!

Day 41 : Detox, Oly Class and Zone Update

Today's class was a detox from all the crap we all ate for the Superbowl.

3 rounds for time:
- 21 Power Cleans (75#)
- 12 Handstand Pushups (20" Box)
- 400m Row

I did it in 12:10 which is a pretty good time I think.

I also participated in an Oly Lifting class in which I did a PR weight (125#) in the Clean Press and I did that weight 4 times! w00t!

The Zone is going very well ... Marcy made a wonderful soup. I was surprised at how flavorful it was even with all natural seasonings. I am currently the lowest weight I've been since I've started. There is nearly a 2 pound drop from my weight yesterday morning to the same time today. That could be mostly water weight but it's the first weight movement I've had in nearly 3 weeks so I am stoked!

Tonight is the Team Overload workout ... which is EXTREME! Hopefully I can do better this week.

The Zone Diet

Today's I've started a strict 4 block Zone Diet plan ... here will be my daily meal plan for the next week. I've plateaued in terms of weight loss, but I know I am losing fat. I want the fat to come off faster and the proper way to do that is fuel my body correctly. Here's the breakdown of my daily menu for the next week.

5:30AM
Olive oil spray
1/2 cup egg substitute
3 turkey bacon strips
1 cup grapes
1 orange
~or~
1 cup cooked oatmeal
1oz protein powder
3 almonds

10:30AM
4oz tuna / deli turkey meat
Lettuce or spinach
4 small whole wheat pitas
1 tsp mayo

2:30PM
2 hard boiled eggs whites
1/4 cup hummus

4:30PM
Chicken Barley Soup

8:30PM
2 hard boiled eggs whites
1/4 cup hummus

I'm looking forward to seeing the effects of sticking to a strict diet. I plan on not structuring it so much in the future but for now I think this is what I need to be successful.