Fasting, spiritual cleansing, eating right, and working out. This is my attempt to motivate myself to not become a couch potato this Ramadan and maybe encourage others towards a healthier lifestyle.
For Sahoor I went international and made a Mexican dish. For Iftar I decided to continue on the international road and traveled to Zanzibar to make something from there. This dish is usually made with chicken thighs or drumsticks. If you haven’t noticed by now, I’m not a fan of bone-in chicken. I will go out of my way if I have to get boneless chicken. Call me lazy but I like to just eat my food with a fork and not have to worry about picking meat off a bone. Although, that probably is more Cave Man style. Oh well. Tonight’s dish was Zanzibar Chicken:
3/4 lb chicken thigh (boneless chunks for me)
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp chili powder
2 Tbsp of olive oil
1/4 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup of 100% orange juice
2 Tbs raisins
1/4 cup of slivered almonds
Season the chicken with the salt and chili powder. Heat up a pan with the olive oil and add in the chicken. Cook the chicken until it’s brown. Take the chicken out of the pan and set it aside for now. Add the onions to the pan and saute them until they become soft (2-3 minutes). Add in the garlic and mix it up. Drop the chicken back into the pan and mix it around. Now add the orange juice and raisins. Mix everything up for a few minutes. Reduce the heat, cover the pan, and let it simmer until the chicken is tender. Sprinkle the almonds on top and serve.
I’ve never had raisins and orange juice with chicken before so this was unique. I would be lying if I said that I didn’t hesitate while taking that first bite, but it was realllly good. Perfect balance of sweet vs spicy. I treated it like pho while eating it, fork for the meat and spoon for the “curry”. Even though the quantity of raisins is so low, they do their job of changing the flavor of the orange juice so it doesn’t taste purely like orange juice. This didn’t take very long to make either, just 15 minutes or so. I will make this again for sure if I am short on time.
Workout
Gym’s closed? No problem. Body weight workout time!
Before I get into today’s topic, I want to share something that I’ve been laughing to myself about all day. In my last post I talked about not giving in to peer pressure or those food temptations you would regret later. I think I could have used this yesterday at the froyo place:
Lol anyhow, return on investment, ROI. I could go on for pages about the ROI you can get from this month so I will just target what this blog is intended for. I’ve talked to a few people about their eating habits during Ramadan and I hear one answer pretty often. “Oh it’s Ramadan, so it’s my month off from watching my diet.” Sigh. I think we need to alter our thinking when it comes to this. If Ramadan was only one day like Eid or Thanksgiving, then sure, by all means do what you want. However, we are talking about 30 days of when we should be striving for perfection in all aspects of life. By cultural habit, these 30 days consist of some of the worst food your body will ever consume throughout the year and since our brains tell us we are starving, we indulge in gluttony. Why do everything else good this month but neglect our body? Ramadan is usually a month for change in a lot of our daily habits. We strive to be nicer, more charitable, more pious. Why not add “Healthy Lifestyle” to the list of habits you want to make a positive change on during this month. By binding yourself to those intentions for these 30 days, you could come out a changed person with a whole new lifestyle. Investing in yourself for these 30 days could return a lifetime of benefits like decreased medical bills and disease prevention.
I noticed my ROI decrease in recent days when I stopped putting in much effort for Sahoor. I was stuck in a cycle of waking up late and just throwing together an omelette. I got bored with this and started eating less, resulting in decreased energy throughout the day. I’ve decided that for the rest of Ramadan, I will be waking up much earlier to ensure I make something enticing for Sahoor. This will involve doing some preparations the night before too so I’m excited to wake up and get ready for Sahoor.
Sahoor – This morning I made a mexican breakfast dish, Huevos Rancheros. It’s essentially an egg omelette with salsa.
1 tomato, chopped
1 jalepeno pepper, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 small onion, chopped
sea salt
2 eggs and 3 egg whites
2 Tbs of olive oil
Puree the tomato, jalepeno, garlic, and onions in a blender. Put 1 Tbs of oil on a hot pan and then add the salsa to it. Cook it until it starts getting thick. Move it to the side but keep it warm. Make the omelette to your desire. Add the salsa to the omelette and you have your self Huevos Rancheros.
Look, it’s a happy meal. Hahha…ha…ha. Anyways, it was a good breakfast. I had a couple of spoon fulls of almond butter as well. I drank 1.5 liters of water.
So I’ve told you what changes I will be making. Are there some that you are looking to make too?
Eating properly when you are with out your peers is a lot harder than when you are cooking in your own kitchen. For one it’s all too easy to order something that you will regret later. You also have the peer pressure, the jokes, and the tedious task of finding something that would fit your lifestyle. This is especially hard when you are first starting out a Paleo lifestyle or any healthy diet for that matter. However after a few weeks, that diet becomes your lifestyle and all those former “tasty” treats aren’t as appealing to you. That might also be because you know how your stomach reacts to those things now when you go overboard on a cheat meal. Put those temptations to the side, lead by example and who knows what minds you will change. If a group of friends constantly sees you subbing the rice for vegetables, at some point they might consider changing their habits for the better as well. Be the example.
If you know you will be going out and you know what restaurant you will be eating out, do your homework. Most places will provide a menu online. Look through it before you head out and see what you would like. That way when it’s time to order, you aren’t put into a bind and make the wrong decision under pressure. Check out what sides the meal may come with and what your alternatives could be. Go in with a game plan and backup game plan. If the menu isn’t available online, don’t be shy about asking the staff for nutritional facts or how things are made. Most places will be more than happy to provide you with that and if they don’t, well then place might just not fit your lifestyle. Also don’t hesitate to ask for substitutes. Chances are the greens you ask for are a lot easier for them to provide than the cheese or rice. Do your homework, have a game plan, and stick to it at all costs. You never know whose life you could change at any given moment.
Sahoor – Today was going to be a workout rest day for me so I didn’t eat as well as I should have. I had 2 scrambled eggs with onions, tomatoes, and peppers. I added some sea salt and ground pepper to it as well. I also had a chicken chapli kabob (the ones from yesterday). I downed a liter of water and called it a morning.
Iftar –I went out to dinner with friends and took my game plan with me. I searched for the restaurant’s menu online, found what would be Paleo friendly, looked up was in it and some nutritional facts. I ended up ordering Tokyo style Ahi Tuna with mixed vegetables and steamed broccoli. Usually this dish comes with vegetables and rice. I had my game plan with me though so I knew I would substitute out the rice for something else. I chose to go with broccoli. It also came with soy sauce (probably sodium loaded so I avoided it), wasabi, and ginger.
I did falter slightly with the desert afterwords and had some frozen yogurt. I stuck with the non fat yogurt but it’s still processed junk. My friends decided to call me out on it so I posed for a picture eating it to remind myself to stick to the game plan next time!
Overall, do your homework, have a game plan, avoid peer pressure, and hold your self accountable. (phew, doesn’t that line just blow you away??) haha anyways, until next time!
Hey, did you know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day? Snore. Duh, we’ve all been hearing this since we were little. Oh but do we really spend the time and effort every morning to eat a nutritional breakfast? By that I don’t mean pouring a bowl of sugar packed cereal or grabbing some toaster pastries as you are leaving the house. I mean actually budget time in the mornings to prepare a breakfast that contains protein, complex carbs, and healthy fats. What you have for breakfast will affect the rest of your day every single time. Not only will it decide if you will have a sluggish or energetic day, it can greatly affect your workout. Today I was able to have a great meal for Sahoor and it resonated throughout my day, all the way to my CrossFit workout in the evening.
Sahoor
For starters, I had scrambled eggs, 2 eggs/2 egg whites (I ran out), mixed with onions and peppers. Going back to being prepared, I made guacamole the night before because I knew I wouldn’t have the energy nor time to make it in the morning. I added a generous amount to my plate. I even scooped some up with my fork and ate it afterwards by itself. I followed this with a protein shake and 1.5+ liters of water. I felt great already and knew it would be a good day!
The Workout
Today’s workout consisted of a strength portion followed by a met-con.
Every Minute on the Minute for 7 Minutes1 Clean and Jerk – 185 lb3 Rounds for Time7 Front Squats – 185 lb21 Kettle Bell Swings – 53 lbRun 200 meters
The only thing I modified was the run. The rest of the athletes ran 400 meters. Other than that, I was able to do all of the Clean and Jerks at that weight with no issue. The 7th one was challenging to maintain form but it didn’t feel heavy! For the met-con, in order to do your Front Squats, you have to Clean the bar to your shoulders and then squat. So the key is to do them unbroken. As soon as you drop that bar, you have to spend a decent amount of energy to pick that 185 lbs up to your shoulders. I was pretty good at doing those unbroken until the very last Front Squat in the very last round! Picking that bar up took some time since your quads are getting destroyed by the KB swings as well as the run. Nonetheless, I was excited that I was able to finish it in a good time, WITHOUT feeling dizzy!! I honestly feel that my nutrient filled breakfast attributed to my successful workout.
Iftar
For tonight’s Iftar, I decided to make another bunless burger. This time around I used Chicken Chapli Kabobs.
ground chicken meat
onions
green peppers
tomatoes
chili powder
eggs
olive oil
Add the onions, peppers, tomatoes, and chili powder to a food processor. Blend it up and then add the mixture along with the eggs and oil to the ground chicken. Use your hands to mix it up real well. Grab a meatball sized amount of meat into your hands and then form it into a circular pattie. Slap it onto a grill and let it cook. I usually use a George Foreman grill and make a large batch at one time. I then freeze them for future use. They are great to pull out for a quick meal when you don’t have time to cook.
I added a layer of lettuce to my plate, added on 4 or 5 chicken patties, topped with some sliced onions, cucumbers, organic Dijon mustard and the remaining guac. You can really add whatever you would normally enjoy on a burger (as long as it’s not processed and loaded with junk!) I had a protein shake and some fish oil as well. Great way to end the day.
To recap, breakfast = very important. Breakfast….=….very important. Note what you eat in the mornings and you will find a direct correlation to the function of your day. Make that meal count!
It’s important to assess your progress (or retrogress) in any activity you take on. In CrossFit, this is done by doing Benchmark Workouts or by checking your maxes in different Olympic and Power lifts. Along with those numbers, keeping track of your body fat (and sometimes weight) is important as well. With Ramadan 2/3s over, it was time to do a “weigh in” to see what sort of progress I had made and if I am still in line with my goals. First let’s talk about what I ate.
Sahoor – Again, (sorry) another day of scrambled eggs with onions and tomatoes. Yeah I’m starting to get sick of this too. I also had a protein shake and a liter of water. I’ll try to get creative here soon, I promise. It’s actually hurting my workouts because I’m not getting enough fats in. I think it might be time for some more guac…
Iftar – I opened my fast with a protein shake at the gym since I was running late. Luckily I was having dinner with the family so I didn’t have to cook. My family isn’t exactly Paleo compliant but they are aware of what I am doing so they made sure I was accommodated. The dinner consisted of marinated whole chicken, chicken nuggets, fries, other carbs, and salad. Can you guess what I stuck with?I hacked some different parts of the chicken on to my plate, added in the salad, and indulged in some family bonding. Growing up, this was one of my favorite meals. The chicken is marinated in a blend of spices including chili powder, chaat masala, and crushed peppers all mixed with lemon and lime juice. You literally take a whole chicken, dip it in this mixture and bake it until it’s done. The spice mixture will drip off as it bakes but you can scoop it right back up to have with your chicken when it’s done.
Weighing In
So I weighed myself and I had a bit of a shock. I am down 13 pounds! To the average person that sounds great but to an athlete it could be detrimental. Is it 13 lbs of fat? Was it muscle? Has my body fat gone up since I’m eating less? Have I lost lean body mass?
Given that it’s Ramadan and those obligations comes first to me, I went into this knowing I would lose some muscle and strength but 13 lbs was a little scary. Sure, since my surgery my diet had been horrible and I barely made it to the gym so I had some pounds to spare. I made it over to Max Muscle to get my body fat tested. The result, I have lost almost 2% body fat! That may not sound like a lot but being at 11%, I don’t have a lot to lose there. Side note, when I first started CrossFit, I was over 20% body fat. Yummy.
So weight is down, body fat is down, how is my strength? I decided to measure my Press, Push Press, and Jerk lifts. I did several sets of each movement to find a 1 rep max.
Press – I didn’t come anywhere near my 1 rep max and I was really discouraged. I was failing at about 20# below my PR (Personal Record). I think I just wasn’t warmed up (or awake) enough at this point.
Push press – I picked up where I left off with the press to do a push press. I failed on my first one and this is when I began to worry. Had I lost that much? Or maybe I just didn’t eat right today? I decided to drop the weight down by 20# and work my way up. Success. I was able to work my way up pretty fast. I didn’t hit a PR or match my existing one but I came pretty close.
Jerk – I hit real success on this movement. I started a few lbs under where I left the push press off at. This movement requires some real explosion when you split your legs and I definitely felt myself weaker than normal days. I had to compensate by using more arm strength but I made it work. I was able to match my PR!! I mighthave been able to hit a new PR but I was pretty wiped after almost 30 reps at this point. Also, it was time for Iftar so I didn’t have time for another rep.
Here is a video of my one rep before I matched my PR. As you as can see I don’t have the explosiveness I should at all but I blame fatigue and hunger for that!
Overall I have to say that I am pretty satisfied with my results. I knew I wasn’t going to make great gains this month but I’m happy to see that I was able to match my PR. I will do some more of these in the coming days with other movements to see how this Ramadan Challenge is shaping up to be!
So let’s be honest, I’m from a Pakistani family and I love Thai food. It was only a matter of time before I would crave some curry based dish. I had some extra time today so I decided to make something curry-ish for Iftar that was Paleo friendly.
First though, for Sahoor I had scrambled eggs (2 eggs, 3 egg white) mixed with onions and tomatoes. I had some tilapia left over from last night that I added to it. I’m not sure if I have ever had fish and eggs before but it was a good combo. The lemon juice was still sponged in the fish, even after sitting in the fridge all night and then being heated up. It was spicy so no need for spices on the eggs. I drank about a liter of water as well.
Iftar
The curry dish I made was Chicken and Vegetables curry. It takes a little longer and requires more attention to make than my normal chicken dishes but it’s probably because it required several things going on at one time. I’ll try to make the instructions as clear as possible.
1/2 lb of skinless chicken thigh, diced
1/4 can of coconut milk
1/4 onion, sliced
handful of broccoli, chopped up
1 carrot, shaved
1 tsp of garlic, minced
1 tsp of ginger, minced
1 tsp of curry powder
3-4 plum tomatoes
sea salt and black pepper
4 Tbs of coconut oil
Add 2 Tbs of coconut oil in to a hot pan and add in the chicken. Let the chicken brown, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle a bit of sea salt and black pepper on it. While the chicken cooks, add 2 Tbs of coconut oil to a hot skillet and drop in the onions. Saute the onions for about 5-10 of minutes until they show signs of browning.
While the onions are being done, place the the broccolli and carrot shavings into a pot full of water and put it on the stove to steam. Mix it up once in a while until they get tender.
Now back to the onions. Add in the curry powder, garlic, and ginger to the skillet and saute it for a couple of minutes. Add in the coconut milk and let it simmer for a few minutes until it starts to thicken. Add in the steamed vegetables and chicken to the skillet. Stir frequently for about 5 minutes until the vegetables are tender and chicken looks done. Pour it on to a plate and serve with some chopped tomatoes.
It took some effort and caused a mess in the kitchen but it was so worth it. Another great Paleo meal in the books! Only thing I would have changed is that I let the coconut milk simmer too long so it evaporated a bit. Great, now I’m hungry again..
The Workout
Today was a rest day. Tomorrow will be an interesting day because I will be doing a weigh in and strength check. I don’t expect to be making any strength gains this month but the goal was to try to maintain as much as possible. Will I match my existing PRs? Will I hit a new PR?? Tune in tomorrow!
Gymnastics isn’t something that the average gym goer incorporates into their training but it definitely should be. Gymnastic movements will help you build balance, coordination, and crazy core strength. When I first started CrossFit, I was afraid of Olympic lifting and didn’t have much respect for gymnastics. It didn’t take long after I scored my first oly lift and then was able to do a handstand to fall in love with these sports. Now these two elements are what I look forward to in a workout. My lack of respect for gymnastics was just ignorance. I had seen it on TV and the professionals made it look SO easy. I mean these guys pull themselves up on rings with such ease and do an Iron Cross as if it was as easy as standing up. My first time trying to pull myself up on rings was enough to give me a lifetime worth of respect for that sport. Some of the strongest and fittest people I have met have a background in gymnastics. Leaves me wishing I had taken on gymnastics when I was little instead of thinking I had a career as a Pro Wrestler. Oh well.
The Workout – Today’s workout was a couplet consisting of Olympic lifting and gymnastics.
5 Rounds10 Handstand Push Ups10 Power Cleans 155#
This was my first workout being upside down during Ramadan. It didn’t help with the dizziness I feel during workouts these days but I’m not sure how much of it was from not eating vs a surgery I had a few months back. Every since then, I seem to get a head rush a lot faster. I spoke with a fellow CrossFitter who recently had a surgery in the same area and he is experiencing something similar. I’ll have to consult with Dr. Google on this.
I was able to do the handstand push ups unbroken first couple of rounds and then broke them into 5s after that. The weight on the Power Cleans didn’t feel too bad. I was able to string them together as I normally do with that amount of weight.
Food
Sahoor – I had a scrambled eggs made in olive oil (2 eggs 3 whites). I added some green peppers, chili sauce, onions and tomatoes to it. I had one Paleo muffin left over from last week so I had that as well. I drank 1.5 liters of water. Looking back I should have had some meat in the morning to have some more energy for the workout.
Iftar – Today was a fish night and I made Peppered Lemon Tilapia. Fish has all of the nutrients an athlete needs plus more. It’s a great source of protein, it has the all of the healthy fats you need, vitamin D, calcium, etc. Who needs pasteurized milk when you have good fish?? This does require a little more time than the other dishes so plan ahead. It’s completely worth it. Also, tonight I made enough for two meals so I could have this for Sahoor as well. This recipe is for 2 servings:
4 Tbs of coconut oil
1 lemon
4 fillets of tilapia (or catfish, salmon, etc)
1 tsp of chaat masala
1 tsp of crushed pepper
1/2 tsp of garlic powder
sea salt and ground black pepper
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F while you prepare the fish. In an OVEN PROOF skillet (not repeating yesterday’s fiasco), heat up the coconut oil and lemon juice. Season the fish with sea salt and pepper and place into the skillet. Coat both sides and lay them side by side. Mix the chaat masala, crushed peppers, and garlic powder up and sprinkle on to the top side of the fillets. Place the fish into oven and bake it for about 30 minutes. You’ll see the pan starting to blacken but that’s ok. The liquid from the oil and lemon will keep the fish nice and moist.
I pulled out two of the fillets for dinner and added some salad to the plate. Maybe I just got lucky but the fish melted in my mouth every time I took a bite and the lemon juice that was sponged up inside would gush out. It was purely amazing and it will be making a repeat appearance. Oh since I made extra, I guess it will be making an appearance in the morning, YES! For dessert, I had a bowl of watermelon after taraweeh prayer. Perfect end to a good day for me.
Hmm, I wonder if there is a direct correlation between lagged physiological response and hunger. I suffered my first burn in a long time while cooking and it’s sort of a funny story. Not only did I do it once, but twice the same way! This is after making the mistake of putting a pan with a wooden handle in the oven. I mean who does that??
I know I’ve been posting a day late recently but I will try to get back to posting sooner. Also I promised a change up in Sahoor items and I will try to do that this week. Omlette and scrambled eggs are just so easy to make! So for Sahoor I had the typical 2 egg/3 egg white omlette with a ground chicken pattie. I drank the typical 1.5 liters of water as well.
The Workout – This is a quick body weight workout that can be done literally anywhere. Just warm up your core and stretch your legs with squats and lunges.
10 rounds for time10 hand-release push-ups10 v-ups10 squats
For Iftar, along with burning myself, I made Turmeric Chicken. Turmeric is a plant that is usually grown to powder form and used in curry based dishes. It’s used heavily in South Asian and Thai dishes. Recent research is proving some major health benefits in this plant including treating Alzheimer’s. Here is how the dish was made:
1/2 lb of chicken breast, diced – seasoned with sea salt and chili powder
1/2 an onion, sliced
1 clove of garlic, diced
1.5 tablespoon of turmeric
1/2 lemon’
handful of cherry tomatoes
1/2 tsp of sea salt
extra virgin olive oil
chopped of parsley
Coat a skillet (ahem, not a pan with a wooden handle) with olive oil and heat it up with medium heat. Once it’s warm, add in the onions and saute them for a minute or two. Add in the seasoned chicken to the skillet and let it cook for about 7-8 minutes. Add in the turmeric powder, garlic, and lemon. Stir it around and let it cook for another 10 minutes or so until it starts browning to your desire. In the mean time, set your oven to high broil. Coat your cherry tomatoes with salt and olive oil. When the chicken is done, add in the tomatoes and place the skillet in the oven. Listen for the tomatoes to start popping. Once they have popped, pull it out (with an oven mitt!) and add in the parsley. Done:
I burnt my onions a bit so that taste lingered. Other than that it smelled great and the turmeric was a great touch. Add some more greens to it and you have a meal!
So how did I burn myself? Well, my first mistake was using a pan instead of a skillet. Rookie mistake. Then, when I went to pull the pan out of the oven, my sister (assisting me) tells me it might be hot. It just didnt register in time. I found myself holding the burning hot handle thinking, hmm something isn’t right. Doh! So I came to my senses and used an oven mitt to pull it out of the oven and on to the counter. A few minutes later I went to transfer the chicken to a plate and I grabbed it again! Seriously?! I blame the hunger.
Lessons learned, pans do not go in the oven and things from the oven might be hot. Be careful kids..
So here is an issue we all face at some point during Ramadan and there is just no way of avoiding it. The Iftar invitation to someone’s house. I’ve been asked by a few people on how to do deal with that so I will share my experience with this.
First though, for Sahoor, I had my typical 2 egg 3 egg white omelette and a liter of water. I threw some hot sauce on it and had a Paleo muffin. I’ll try to switch up my Sahoor meal a little bit this week so I can share some more recipes. I have had some people send me some dishes that I will try to convert to be Paleo friendly as well.
Ok so Iftar: During Ramadan when you go to someone’s house for Iftar, you will see a sea of food. There will be everything from samosas to egg rolls, to rice and bread, and just about any other carb/sugar loaded fried food you can think of. Your success will depend on how you scope out the food, run a quick investigation of the setup, and come up with an attack plan on what will make it to your plate. Traditionally the fast is opened with a date, simple enough. Now comes the hard part. Some people will have appetizers before the evening prayer and main meal. Simply put, (if done wrong) eating these appetizers are usually the worst thing you can do to your body. Since you are probably really hungry at this point, there is a chance of overlooking the fact that 90 percent of the items laid out have been deep-fried and/or contain tons of carbs. Your stomach starts making the decisions at this point instead of your brain and before you know it, your plate is full of samosas and egg rolls. This is similar to grocery shopping on an empty stomach, I come home with nothing but frozen pizza and ice cream. This is where scoping out of the food comes into play. Learn what’s on the table, where it is, and evaluate what you really should be getting. Stick to that plan! Ignore your stomach and go for what seems to have the least amount of oil and bread in it. I scoped out a veggie dish and loaded my plate with carrots, celery, and broccoli. Yeah some of the other stuff looked good but I also knew what sort of pain my stomach would have been in if I took in the grease and bread. Appetizer, success!
So now on to the main meal. Same strategy should apply. Scope things out and come up with a plan. Stick with the basic rules, avoid the rice/naan(bread) and find the meat! I ended up finding a tray of tandoori chicken and beef kabobs. Jackpot! Yeah I got some looks as I bypassed all of the oil based dishes and rice, and especially some looks when I loaded my plate with tons of tandoori chicken, but oh well. Here was my plate:
I added some salad and mint yogurt to the mix. Main meal, success! Having Iftar at your relatives’ for friends’ house can be done but it requires a lot of self-control and obedience. Have a game plan and stick to it. Others around you will load their plates up with unhealthy items and it becomes that much harder to avoid those things. However, stay focused and keep your eye on the big picture!
After not sleeping much the past couple of days because of work and Ramadan, I managed to sneak in 7+ hours of sleep last night. I woke up feeling great and ready to tackle the day. Rest is key. Finding a way to get your rest is even key-er(?). If your rest and nutrition aren’t up to par, what you do in the gym is pointless. Last night I disconnected myself from everything, even shut my phone off at 10.30 pm (whoa what??). I prayed Isha and taraweeh at home and then it was off to bed.
Sahoor
Since I made guac last night, I was pretty excited about Sahoor! I made scrambled eggs with 2 eggs and 3 egg whites. I mixed in diced tomato, onions, sea salt, and some chili powder. Oh and of course, I placed a healthy serving of guac on my plate. I washed it down with another 1.5 liters of water. Breakfast of champions.
Workout
Again I was talked into doing the met-con when I had wanted to work on olympic lifting strength work. Oh well, I did ok. I modified the workout slightly to make it easier:
Row 400 meters3 Rounds15 Pull Ups15 Kettle Bell Sumo Deadlift High Pull15 Hand Release PushupsRun 200
Originally I thought I could run 400m (1/4 mile) but my throat dried up too much so I cut that in half. The rest was fine. I didn’t feel too dizzy but I was losing my grip on the pull up bar faster than usual. The hand release push ups are tricky. The first time I heard about them, I thought it was going to be easier than regular push ups. Turns out you lose all momentum when you touch the ground and raise your hands. They require a lot more stamina. If you have never tried them, try 15 or so right now, they’re fun. This was around a 12 minute met-con for me so it’s longer than the other ones I have done. I survived though so my body must be getting used to this! The fact that I slept well last night played a huge role in my performance today. I made a video to show the movements in case you want to try this out:
Iftar
Tonight I was able to have dinner with the whole family and we all shared some paleo food. A couple of days ago I made Steak Bites served on Carrots. I had some beef left over from that day that I had to use today so the dish resurfaced, this time enough for the family. Everyone loved it and the remarks I got (as usual when they try Paleo) were “Wow it actually tastes good”. Well, yeah! I’m not making cardboard over here. I’m proving every day on this blog that eating healthy doesn’t mean that you eat rabbit food all day. I have always been a food fanatic and don’t settle for just mediocre taste. If it’s going in my mouth, whether it’s ice cream or Paleo food, it better taste good! I have found that there are tasty alternatives for all of your favorite junk food dishes. For instance in this recipe, carrots replace rice. In doing so you have cut out tons of sugar, numerous grams of saturated fat, and countless amount of simple carbs. If I can do this, anyone can. Create that mind set, create your goals, and push your self to a healthier lifestyle. It doesn’t take long until you aren’t craving fried rice and pizza every night, trust me.
Anyhow, so my plate looked pretty similar to the other night except well, I had something left over from yesterday…. GUACAMOLE:
And with that, I am sadly out of guacamole. Time to make some more! If you have favorite foods (non-Paleo) that you want me to make using healthy stuff, comment and I will try it out. I plan on trying some unique things out this weekend!
One Fit Ramadan 