Protein Shake Cleanse

I took an experience from The Healthier Me and his latest post on a 3-day Shakeology Cleanse and decided to do my own 3 day cleanse to jump start my weight loss. I changed it up a bit from his cleanse since I don't have Shakeology (that stuff is expensive!) and instead opted to use some of my own protein powder that I had around the house.

Details

The premise of the cleanse is this. You start your day with a protein shake and some fruit. You have the same thing for lunch and then a healthy dinner. Sounds simple enough and it reminded me of those old SlimFast commercials from the 80's.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBVhQOG6ip0

What I Did

I started the cleanse on Tuesday by making a shake that consisted of almond milk, protein powder, sunbutter, banana's, and strawberries. I made it a double so that I had some for lunch. For supper that night we had family over and they brought Chipotle. I am not one to resist Chipotle and mine consisted of a bowl (no rice) fajita veggies, double chicken, guac, lettuce, and salsa. Pretty healthy by my standards.

Wednesday saw me making the same shake as Tuesday. For supper my wife made up some chicken breast and right before bed I made up a protein shake with some casein protein powder.

On Thursday I wanted to keep my carbs low for the day since I was not working out so I decided to cut out the fruit. The shake then consisted of almond milk and a few tablespoons of Sunbutter. For supper my wife had cooked up some ground beef with onions and cabbage. She also made up some cinnamon apples to which I did have a few pieces. I also splurged and had a piece of string cheese right before bed.

Conclusion

Friday morning is now here and I have decided to continue on with the cleanse if even just through the day. I did manage some time to hop on the scale this morning and my weight is down to 179. So in total I lost 2lbs while doing this challenge. It's hard to say if that weight loss was a results of the cardio I did this week, the low calories consumed (1500 a day) or the shake cleanse itself. All I know is it's not quite the 5lbs that Mike from The Healthier Me lost but it also might be the difference in the shakes we made. I have heard that Shakeology is the bomb. Would love it if someone could send me some samples to try. Maybe 6 samples so I could try the cleanse for real this time? :)

So there you have it. Down 2lbs and hoping to be down 2 more by next week.

P.S. I have joined another weight loss challenge with some friends. Nothing like a challenge to help keep me motivated.

Cardio Here I Come

Last year I did a lot of HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training). It was a combination of Plyo, swimming, sprints, jump roping, etc. I then read that just 45 minutes of walking while in a fasted state could do the same thing as 20 inutes of HIIT. So I stopped the HIIT and began doing the walk instead. As evidence of my increasing waist line, it didn't work.   I attribute some of that to bad diet and some to lack of cardio.

What's Next?
I have been slowly been putting cardio back into my weekly routine. After the 1st week back, I realized that I really missed it. I really do enjoy working up a great sweat and being fatigued at the end. It makes me feel like I really accomplished something. Afterwards I feel fulfilled (and skinner). Could be all in my head but I really don't care. I feel good and that is all that really matters.

My first week back to HIIT I did some hill sprints down the street from my office. I followed that up with a nice run over the weekend and another run on Tuesday. Tomorrow I hope to get in 30 minutes of intense jump roping.We shall see in a few week if putting the HIIT back into my routines has any effect on my weight and muscle tone.

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Park Cardio Workout 1

A short but intense cardio workout that I did at the park over the weekend. I also think I may have broken my finger doing it. Doh!

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBE-cWeqa4g

Intense Cardio Workout

Lately I really despise cardio machines. I would almost rather not do cardio at all than spend an hour on an elliptical. I was faced with that decision tonight. Go to the gym and be a rat on a treadmill or brave the weather and head out into the rain for some good old fashioned sprints. I chose option number 2. I headed over to my local park and proceeded to do the following sprints:

• 5x25 yard sprints


• 5x50 yard sprints

I followed that up with some picnic table jumps.  I was a little hesitant at first so I begin with only jumping up onto the seat. I did that 20 times. I then grew some courage and made the leap up onto the table. I was amazed that  I could actually do it! I followed that jump with 29 more! I then took off for home and did a few core exercises with my homemade suspension trainer followed by a session of P90x Ab RipperX.

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When all the cardio was said and done, I cooked up a meal of ground beef, red pepper, white onion and tomato paste.  Mixed it into a bowl and scarfed it down.  And that was the end of that. Day 2 of the Primal September Challenge complete.