Changes in the Weather... Changes in Me

Kinda had an active weekend.... It was Cali weather in LJT so I tried to take advantage of that by riding my bicycle everywhere as opposed to driving.

Had a few more conversations over the weekend about my diet.... Paleo diet.... and figured I'd continue to beat that drum with a few more pics of recent meals....

Holmes Pork and Venison Sausage with kale....

Paired with an adobo seasoned thin cut Chicken Breast from HEB and baked sweet potatoes and black grapes and Creatine - Fresca mix.

Probably 90% of my meals are built on the same premise in the same way....

Lots of Veggies, a Lean Protein, Some sort of Good Carbs (this in the form of slow release easy on the blood sugar Sweet Potatoes) and a Drink supplement of Creatine or a newly added Protein Drink I'll tell you about in a future post.

The cooking technique is a hot cast iron skillet with little or no oil and lots of layered seasoning - that is, each component gets seasoned as it is cooked.

Results in less salt added overall but better flavor as a whole dish.

Here's a similar plate with an Ahi tuna steak as the protein.

With grapes, mixed nuts and sunflower seeds added.... 

There's a lot of veggies under the top layer - onions, peppers, squash, asparagus and carrots.

High Volume, Low Calorie, Lots of Nutrients from Fruit, Veggies, Nuts and Seeds.

And repeat with a ribeye..... see the Paleo Pattern?

Here's a between workouts meal of boiled egg, banana chips, black grapes and pistachios.

And a veggie / sausage / kale medley....

With a bed of salad, tomato and avocado with olive oil, balsamic and a liberal dusting of seasoning.

Toss...

And cover with the skillet fixings.

These were a couple of snapshots from yesterday's weather....

Amazing how much better you feel when it's 54 outside vs 88.

It is the bane of the the South....one of the reasons why more people are obese and unhealthy in this environment.

Who wants to get out and exercise in Heat, Humidity and Mosquitoes?

Bout the only thing to do down here is EAT and WORK!

Whereas, if you stepped out into this kind of weather 8 - 9 months of the year, you would find yourself outside more doing more.... eating better to support that.... and being healthier.

Had some feedback from friends and acquaintances over the past couple of months that I don't look as good or as muscular as I had in the past.

And that may be true....

Been dealing with injury and I've traveled a bit more so maybe my workouts have not been as consistent....

They certainly have not been as intense just because of working around the torn groin muscle.

But I think there's more to it than that.

First of all, the Body changes and adapts continuously.....

What worked for the last few months in terms of stimulating growth of muscle or ramping fitness levels may not work now.

You throw something new and challenging at your body and it recoils to that added stress and load and then it rebounds and plateaus....

And then it goes into resolution.... that is the way all aspects of the physical world works.

Stimulus...... Adaptation..... Progression...... Plateau..... Recession.....

Then you have to find a new stimulus..... A new challenge for the Body....

One of the foundations of many Fitness Programs these days.....

CrossFit in particular - Continuously Varying Functional Exercise performed at High Intensity.

Tony Horton's Body Confusion principles....

For me.... it means doing / trying lots of different exercise programs and approaches and finding and feeling which ones affect me in what ways.

Over the past couple of months, I've moved away from the High Intensity Weight and Loading Types of Programs like Body Pump and CrossFit and gravitated to more Mobility, Agility, Flexibility, Grace and Body Expression sorts of routines.

Zumba and Hip Hop classes.... Dancing is a Great Passion for me..... The Music in these classes is something I really like.

Being able to move fluidly and rhythmically is a great contra position / approach to the strength oriented movements of squatting, pressing and load lifting.

I have begun Body Barre classes at Family Fitness.... it is basically a Beginner's Ballet Class taught by FF Owner, Kay Aplin.

I absolutely love it.... always wanted to do ballet from childhood.... too poor then.... then Life got in the way and there was no time.... but now.... there is time and there is still that passion.

Even trying different venues for these different types of exercise can stimulate the Mind, Body and Spirit.

Tried a Zumba Class at Powerhouse Gym over the weekend and was shocked at the difference in the class there compared to the FF Zumba classes.

Cannis, the Instructor at Powerhouse, kept the pace at full on high intensity with incredible music for over an hour straight..... Blew away any other Zumba class I have ever been to.... and I have visited Zumba classes in 6 different gyms in 6 different cities over the last year.

So.....Does my body look the same now as it did a couple of months ago?

Probably not.... Cause I took it in a different direction.

I think my upper body is smaller but I think my thighs and calves are bigger and more muscular....

And I think my overall symmetry and body lines and aesthetics are better now than before....

Just my opinion....

So it depends on what you want....

And want your body to look like....

Do you want the bulk, size and thickness brought on by cranking out basic movements with heavy weight?

Do you want the skinny look, cardio fitnes and endurance of a runner or cyclist?

Do you want the long, lean, graceful look of a dancer?

Do you want the UFC look of a body built for Combat?

Or the Armored Core of a CrossFit competitor?

Or do you want a little of all of the above?

It's up to you..... Shape Your Body into Your Own Vision of Beauty....

Because when it's all said and done....

The Only Opinion of You that Matters....

Is Yours.