March Madness: Day 7

So the week is over and I’m feeling good.

I guess you can say, I have bad circulation. My hands and feet get cold often and sometimes, they get numb if I sit too long or I lean on something for an extended period of time. But since I started exercising more this week, I noticed that my circulation has gotten better even though the weather has turned for the worse. My hands tend to stay warm all day, while my feet still get icy cold. So, one out of two extremities isn’t bad…I’m working on it. Hopefully by the end of the 90 days, I won’t have to wear socks and jackets in the apartment even though it’s a cool 76 degrees indoors.

Also, every day this week, I’ve hit that mid-afternoon slump and it’s painful! I’m so tired, I just want to sleep…and after doing some quick research, I find the best way to deal with it…is to take a 20 minute nap. Man, why can’t the world adopt the siesta instead of trying to eliminating it. It’s so useful!

Exercise Plan

It’s rest day, but I did the P90X Stretch. My back and shoulders were a bit sore from Kenpo since I’m not used to punching, but my legs were fine. I’m ok with the kicking portion…my legs weren’t sore and I stretched out my glutes last night, so they felt fine in the morning. But as always, my hamstrings and quads were tight and the X Stretch worked them out wonderfully. My favorite stretch right now is the Kenpo quad stretch.

A lot of people tend to skip the stretch because it’s boring or they think they don’t need it, but I love it. When I stretch, it makes my muscles relax and increases my flexibility. Sometimes, I do additional stretches because some parts of my body need more than what the general stretching program provides. To me, stretches are vital to any exercise regime.

Food Plan

• Breakfast: 2 hard-boiled eggs, 1/2 cup cinnamon multi-grain oatmeal, and 1 blood orange, 1 cup coffee
• Lunch: veggie curry, mushroom stew, and 1 cup steamed rice
• Snack: pickled cucumbers
• Snack: 1 pork “taquito” with guacamole and chili sauce
• Dinner: beef and veggie stew
• Snack: 1 blood orange and 2 Girl Scout Thin Mints

I had mentioned that I was staying away from coffee because after years of only drinking water, the caffeine in a single cup is way too strong and it makes it difficult to fall asleep. But I enjoy a cup now and then, so to test out how much coffee I can handle, I’m starting with a half scoop for 1 cup of coffee. That might sound diluted, but with a French press…it came out rather nice. I can take coffee black, but if I want more sweetness, I add a little honey or sugar. If you really love coffee, you wouldn’t add all that cream and sugar because it dilutes the taste.

It’s Sunday soup day, so I made a super soup/stew that consisted of baby bok choy, ginger, beef, black eyed peas, sweet and bitter almonds, onions, and red potatoes. Light and hearty.

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