Guess Who?

It's been less then two weeks and already this zoner is seeing amazing results! Who could this studdet be?

Workout:

Run one mile for time
rest as needed
20 RM back squat
rest as needed
Run one mile for time

Find a weight you can back squat 20 but not 21 times. Who can limit their rest to three minutes and hold a sub 6:30 mile?

Today's Zone Meal Plan:

Breakfast: 3 blocks
2 blocks of slow cooked oatmeal with 1 block of banana and 3 blocks of toasted almonds mixed in. Also add vanilla and cinnamon
3 blocks of poached eggs

Lunch: 3 blocks
Sandwich made of 1 3/4 blocks of bread, 1 block of spicy pepper hummus, 5 slices of cucumbers with the remainder of a 1/4 block portion on the side, 2 blocks of rotisserie chicken and 1 block of pepper jack cheese melted inside
6 cashews on the side

Snack: 2 blocks
2 blocks of 2% Fage yogurt with 2 blocks of unsweetened apple sauce mixed in

Dinner: 3 blocks
3 blocks of lean steak rubbed with salt and pepper and grilled, with 3 blocks of Hannah's pesto on top
1 block salad with balsamic vinegar
1 block of steamed broccoli
1 block of fruit salad for dessert (blueberries, raspberries and strawberries)

Snack: 1 block
1/2 zone bar

Comments

[Angel]

my guess is susan! =) she is looking good and getting stronger every day. keep it up, girl! ALL of you are looking good and getting stronger. it's an awesome thing to be a part of that's for sure.

[Jake]

I like how you guys are posting a little challenge at the end of the workout to make it harder.

[Heather]

Yey Susan! You're looking strong!

So I was reading last nights posts this morning and got a little sad to think we don't get to keep Angel and Andrew forever. When are you two leaving? I need to prepare myself mentally :(

Also, I love the idea of zone meal sharing. I think get togethers like that will become more important as we cross the two week mark and we (ok, maybe just me) will be really tempted to say 'screw it' and eat whatever.

[Gloria Jean]

That's gotta be Susan! Tell me, THIS is the girl that was shy about a bikini??? Look at that adorable shape and strong!

Angel, good job with the video on the main site. I'm impressed (and you looked so hot, too!).

[Mallee]

Thanks Jake, good to know that people even look at the workout!!

When are you leaving Angel and Andrew? We will miss you both!

[Mallee]

So, originally we thought that a zone meal exchange might be the best way for each of you to go home with a lot of food that could then be frozen and saved for a day you didn't feel like cooking. But, I like the idea of making a meal together also. Maybe it makes more sense to make a meal together so you all can get used to cooking a large amount in the zone, and then we can just have a day when we each bring in lets say 10-15 4 block portions of your favorite freezable zone meal and exchange them with each other. What do you all think?

[DebS]

Mallee, ANY of those ideas would be great. Just being able to share and learn how to create new combo's of zone favorable meals is a HUGE help.
I can't tell you how much we clients appreciate the extra efforts of you, our fabulous trainers, in walking us through the zone. It's making all the difference!

[Heather]

I'm in. I'll volunteer my kitchen too... although its kind of small, with some creative positioning we can all fit :)

[Gloria Jean]

Cool! CrossFit Twister @ Heather's house!

[DebS]

Gloria, I saw from CFSCC's site that you did FGB yesterday. How'd it go?

[Gloria Jean]

I'm hangin' my head low... it's embarrassing but no, I didn't do 'Fight Gone Bad' yesterday. As a matter of fact, today is the first day that I went to CrossFit since last Wed. LAST Wednesday the 21st. Although the diet part of the Zone is going well, I was in one of my head funks for the last nine days and didn't do anything but errands and work. Now here's the weirdness... today we did one of those Zac Pine inspired short-hot-sprint-type of workouts (check out the main site) and I'm feelin' pretty fantabulous; much better than I expected to feel after 8 days off. Usually after that many days off, the first day back is like swimming in mud but I think I did prett okay and I feel great. Is it the Zone? Post-periord hormone high? Six pound weight loss? Some combo? Payday-pocket-full-of $ high? Don't know. I do know that I've taken week long breaks before and always had to drag myself through my first day back and today felt pretty good. Hmmm...very interesting. My only regret is missing 'Fight-Gone-Bad'. I definitely don't feel good about that.

[Kristy A.]

I saw the Crossfit Total come up on the main site today. Any chance of doing that this weekend during one of the classes? I know class sizes may not permit it, but it would be fun to get more numbers to compare...

And Scott and I would be interested in a cook-a-thon too! Preferably on a weekend day if possible since we can only make it over the hill late during the week... Sounds fun!

I made apple cinnamon oatmeal yesterday and it was incredible. Just 2/3 cup of steel cut oatmeal, 1/2 apple, and cinnamon. I had it with eggs to get my protein and fat. But the oatmeal was really sweet and took awhile to eat. Yum!

I think I am developing a heightened awareness to sweets now that I have eliminated my processed sugar intake. Fruit can really make a difference. I can't imagine why I used to add sugar to oatmeal! I can taste a sweetness in herbal tea without any sugar and actually prefer it now. I enjoy the more natural approach and how it is changing my sense of taste...

Anyone else experiencing this?

[Angel]

kristy, i'm right there with you when it comes to my tastes and desires for things changing and evolving. my thing wasn't so much sugar (though i'm not entirely immune to the cravings) as it was salty/starchy things. i thought i couldn't live without potatoes, but here i am doing just fine. i hope all our idaho friends and family don't take offense. =) it's exciting to see how our bodies respond to giving them good clean food. yay for the natural way of things!

andrew and i are heading back to new mexico the last week of june i think. ='( i can't even begin to express how hard it will be to leave santa cruz and CFSC. you guys are family and we will miss every one of you immensely. but, we won't be strangers and, should you ever wander over to northern NM and need a place to stay/crossfit, we're on it. i look forward to spending this next month zoning, working, and playing hard with all of you. *smile* 3-2-1 GO!

[Gloria jean]

New Mexico, huh? I LOVE New Mexico!! I should have known there was a reason you were so cool Angel!

[DebS]

Gloria, that is a phenomenon I learned during my marathon training seasons with TNT. I got sick and missed ALOT of days of training, came back and had a blast doing pipeline up in Henry Cowell. Everyone else thought it was hard. I felt alive! I think you may have had the same experience. Sometimes our body does need a good rest and taking a break actually brings us back stronger. So glad you're feeling good now and enjoying all the benefits of the zone.

[DebS]

I'd like to know specifically about the oatmeal. What brand do you use, how do you prepare it etc....I really used to enjoy eating my reduced sugar apples & cinammon instant oatmeal and would like to get some zone favorable kind in my breakfast routine again. Another question I have though is can you add the protein powders to hot foods like that and have it work? Eating the oatmeal AND the eggs seems like too much for me and I'd prefer to try to make the oatmeal protein enriched if possible. Thanks Kristy for sharing with us. I feel like I learn something new everyday.

[DebS]

Sounds like we need lots of get-together's in June before our beloved Angel and Andrew head back!

[Scott A.]

The oatmeal recipe was something we got from Danielle and it's really simple. At the store buy Steel Cut Oats. The glycemic index of these is much better than with rolled oats as I understand it and as a result are much better for you while zoning. To cook them get 3x as much water boiling in a pot as oats you want to make. When the water boils you have 2 choices:

o Put the oats in, take it off the heat and leave it go overnight
o Put the oats in and leave the heat on low and go for 20-30 min (desired doneness)

We let it go overnight and make a very large batch. Then we stick it in the fridge. When we want it we scoop it out in 1/3 C for a block portions and microwave it till it's as hot as you like it.

One extra secret is sometimes I like to use a bit less water than normal to make it more like rice and less like oatmeal.

[Kristy A.]

We are going to miss you Angel and Andrew! You two are inspirational! You train so hard and encourage each other so well. Sad to see you two have to leave!

Deb, we just buy the steel cut oats from the bins at Whole Foods (or anywhere else that sells them). You can also find them packaged. You want steel cut oats NOT rolled or otherwise. The easiest way to prepare them was given to us by Danielle: boil 3 parts water (ex. 3 cups), then add in 1 part oats (ex. 1 cup), take off heat, cover, and let sit overnight. In the morning, you have oatmeal! Just measure your serving (1/3 cup per block) and microwave it for a minute or two depending on quantity. You can also prepare it the day you eat it, but it takes a half an hour or so--check the label for directions. You can add protein powder to oatmeal to get the protein blocks and ground up nuts would round out the fat. I haven't tried the protein powder yet since all I have is chocolate and that seems a little odd (chocolate oatmeal?). Vanilla would be nice, though. I have seen it in recipes (Zone 100 Foods I think or another Zone book), so it is possible. Give it a try--it beats the pants off rolled oats! :)

[Kristy A.]

Argh, he beat me to it. :)

[DebS]

Thank you both Scott and Kristy! I'll be picking some steel cut McCanns up at TJ's this weekend and making a batch for the upcoming week. I have the vanilla protein powder so may try some in one of the oatmeal servings to test it.