So, I officially joined the gym yesterday. I took the Ultimate Strength class (a free weights class) yesterday and today I did a step class. It was my first step class in over two years. I think I died at the gym. Every muscle in my body hurts. Even muscles I didn't know I had!!
Usually before my workouts I have one of my homemade, whole foods protein shake (more on this later). They fill me up, they don't just sit in my stomach leaving me feeling nauseous during a workout and they typically sustain me through even the most gruelling workout. I usually have a banana in the van on the way home with either another protein shake or a
green smoothie.
Today I was out of bananas. And being out of bananas, I couldn't make a smoothie. I drank my protein shake and headed to the gym.
I did a step class today (with a 20 minute warm up on the bike). According to
Livestrong, I burned 1432 calories while at the gym today. One protein shake
was not enough!Oh, but wait. I usually have a banana and smoothie in the van, right? Not today. I was out of bananas (and therefore couldn't make a smoothie, either!) Aaaahhhh!!
But it's ok because I went straight home. I drank a bucket load of water and hopped in the shower. I made myself an egg sandwich with
eggs from pastured chickens, using
ghee as my oil & pastured butter on my bread.
I grabbed my sandwich and the boys and I headed out the door. I knew with the additional fat and protein that I'd be fine until we got home.
I was wrong! Evidently when you burn nearly 1500 calories before noon your body begins to think it needs to eat to make up for those calories. Duh, right? We showed up at the park to meet our friends and by the mercy of God, one of my friends had brought lunch to share. Can I tell you how much willpower it took for me to not bulldoze all of my friends and claim that entire pizza all to myself? But it was pizza. Doughy, greezy pizza. Not my first choice but I was desperate. I had half a slice and thought "with enough water that should last me through our errands and until we get home." Phew. I had a plan. I took a swig of water as we were getting into the van and ....... nothing. Wha?! Where did my water go? From the back seat I hear "Oh, Mom, I finished your water because I was so thirsty from playing on the beach."
FUCK! That's ok, sweetie! I want to make sure you stay hydrated! Ok, ok....now we'll just go with plan B. Plan B. Plan B. What's plan B? I didn't have one. We headed to the grocery store and somehow, I'm not sure how, I manged to not buy every single piece of food that I came across. I did buy a lot of fresh fruit and some granola bars for the kids though. Ok, Plan B: I'll have a snack in the car while we make the
trek to get our milk.
I get the kids buckled in, I throw them each a granola bar and we head out of the parking lot. I. forgot. to. grab. a. snack. WTF is wrong with me?!? By this point I rationalize that I'm more thirsty than hungry so its ok. If only I had some water.
We get to the milk store and I start to feel a pounding headache come one. By this point I just want to get home. So we grab some milk and head home. That's I lost control. I've been home for an hour and a half and I've already eaten FOUR COUNTRY POTATO ROLLS dipped in ranch dressing.
I'm not worried about going over my calories. Good grief, I'd have to eat straight through until I went to bed to do that. But I am bothered that I let myself get so hungry that all logic went out the window. I was no longer as concerned with nourishing my body as I was with simply filling my stomach.
I now know that if I'm going in for a death march workout, I need to plan my food ahead a little more carefully.
It's all just part of my story. Have a good one, folks!
So, I survived the 90 minute step class. It really wasn't all that bad. There were a few other "first timers" in the class so she took easy on us a little bit. After the class I did about 20 minutes on the bike to get a little extra cardio. According to Livestrong I burned 2084 calories. Holy Shit!! I was not about to repeat this day, so I came at it with a plan. Before I worked out I had a Protein Shake & a banana. On the way home from the gym I had another Protein Shake and when I got home I drank a smoothie. I had made BBQ Pulled Pork sandwiches for dinner earlier this week so I had some leftovers and then took my shower. I had enough carbs & enough quality protein in my belly that I was feeling so much better. Throughout the day I had another Protein Shake and for dinner I fixed grilled chicken with roasted asparagus and fingerling potatoes. After dinner we went to DQ for a treat and then walked along the beach with the boys while they dug for crabs and skipped rocks. It was a lovely way to end the day and not once did start to feel the discomfort of being overly hungry. I ended the day with still over 1200 available calories remaining. It was a great day. 
