KFC Double Down

Alright, so there's been quite some hub-bub about KFC's new Double Down sandwich. Basically, its 2 pieces of white meat chicken filets, 2 strips of bacon, cheese, and "Colonel's Sauce".  In essence, using the chicken filets as the bun. You also have the choice of having your chicken fried or grilled.  Now, I've seen and/or heard many that are saying how "gross" it is, and how "unhealthy" it must be.  So I just couldnt help myself to do a little comparison, and the results may or may not shock you. If any of these people who are crying bloody murder regarding the Double Down have ever had a Whopper or Big Mac, guess what?  The Double Down actually is "healthier" than either one.  I mean, its all fast food, so NONE are actually good FOR you, but in this case of "lesser of 2 (well, 4) evils", the Double Down (w/grilled chicken) would actually be your best choice.

Here's the nutritional info to help break it down for you:

http://www.wendys.com/food/pdf/us/nutrition.pdf
http://www.bk.com/cms/en/us/cms_out/digital_assets/files/pages/NationalNutritionals.pdf
http://nutrition.mcdonalds.com/nutritionexchange/nutritionfacts.pdf
http://www.kfc.com/nutrition/pdf/kfc_nutrition.pdf

Choose wisely people....

Running Recap 4/5 and JP Morgan's Run as One

Finished the week off with 3 runs, one of which was the JP Morgan Run as One (4mi).  As stated in the previous post, started the week off with a 4.8 mile run along the Cross Island Path.  On Wed., did 4 miles in Central Park, twice (and a little) around the southern (small) loop.  This by far was the hardest run, which I'm pretty sure the 90 degree day contributed.  Struggled big time to just complete the typical twice around, let along do the extra 1/2 mile to complete 4 miles.

JP Morgan's Run As One

A crisp 52 deg. F and 47% humidity at 9AM made for favorable running conditions for this race. Completing the run in 42:10, which was just over a 10:30 min-mile (see above). Not GREAT by any stretch of the imagination, but a good place to start. Remember, this was my first [real] race, EVER! But the most encouraging part of the day was making it through all 4 miles without really struggling at all. Legs felt strong, and was never really out of breath. Kept the heart rate under 180 as well.  Slowed down once for a quick H2O break, and that was it.  Did a nice sprint to the finish, and it was in the books!  Sadly, my left calf is now in pain, AGAIN. It seems to be playing a little ping-pong, in terms of pain. I guess I should be thankful that its never both calves at the same time. Hoping this one wont sideline me for another 9 days. Would like to continue ramping up my training.

Until next time...

Running Recap: Weeks of 3/22 and 3/29

In my previous post I mentioned being slowed by strained calves, which ultimately kept me off the road for 9 days.  So for the week of 3/22, I was only able to get 1 run in at the end of the week, which was a quick 1.6 miles, at the Cross Island Path (Crocheron Park to Northern Blvd). It was pretty chilly that morning.

I've done well recently, having gone out three times in the last 6 days, which included one which was my longest run yet! 2, 3, and 4.8 miles were my distances. Nike+ is still a little wonky, and not sure was calibrated correctly, but I believe I'm still in the ballpark of a 10 min-mile. A little quicker on the shorter run, slower on the long run.  My McDavid calf protector sleeves came in yesterday, so they'll be put to the test as I'm looking to get in another 4 tonight, before my "big" race (4 miles) on Sunday!  This will be my first "real" race (other than the JP Morgan Corp. Challenge, which I dont consider real), so, wish me luck!

Recap: Weeks of 3/8 and 3/15

Was only able to get in 2 runs each week, each of 3.5 miles, except for the first run on 3/8, which was only 1.75miles. Steadily trying to improve my pace each time out. I tried a "tempo" run and it completely wiped me out for the rest of the night. I got home, dug deep to make and eat dinner, took a shower and went to bed, haha. But it felt good to actually be able to sustain that through the 3.5 miles.

I've been hampered by strained calves, which is why I've been limited to 4 runs in the last 2 weeks. First it was my left calf, that healed and is ok now. But last Tuesday I felt a pull in my right calf.  It felt good enough Thursday to go out, so I did, but I apparently reaggrevated it.  So as of today (has been almost 5 days), and its still bothering me. I might just take the rest of the this week off and try to get out on Saturday this week (since its going to be sunny, not as warm though...). Been on a steady diet of ibuprofen and protein, hoping to hasten the healing process.

Oh, and I'm signed up for a 4-mile race on April 11th in Central Park.

This past saturday (3/20) I finally got a quick workout in. Its been a little while, but I wanted to work my way back in. Did pretty much a full body circuit, consisting of:

Squat to shoulder press
Pull up
Push up
Single leg Romanian Dead lift

Did 3 rounds, with a 2 minute rest in between rounds. Felt pretty good, legs were pretty sore the next day, as was my back. Chest wasnt very sore, neither were my triceps. Hoping to repeat the circuit again tonight.

Running Recap Week of 3/1 and a Horrible Reminder....

Spring is (almost) in the air and with that, came my first 4-run week. Ran on Mon, Tue, Thur and Sat., with distances: 2, 3.5, 3.5, and 3 miles; for a grand total of roughly 12 miles! Very productive week, with the Saturday run feeling very easy and energetic. I also split the Saturday run into 1.5 splits (CIP Path- Crocheron Park to Ft. Totten), doing an easy pace for the first 1.5, then intervals for the second 1.5.  Pace is still in the mid to high 10 min/mile- so definite room for improvement there. Weather is looking good (and warmer) this week, so hoping to match last week's outting.

So a couple weekends ago, we made a trip to PetCo to pick up some dog food for little Oreo. We were orignally going to pick up two 5-lb bags, but figured we'd save some money by just buying the big 20 pounder.  We didnt use a cart, because we didnt think we needed it.  I ended up just picking up the 20 lb bag and carrying it around. This is when I got a really really stark reminder of what it felt like to weigh 230+ pounds. As we walked around a little more, which could not have been more than 5 min, with an addition 20 lbs in hand, my knees and hips started to ache. I was getting fatigued. Just to think- at my current 205-210, with the added 20lbs, put me right back to where i was. That was a very scary thought. Never again, will I let myself go like that. Never.

Nike LunarGlide+

These arrived yesterday. The Nike LunarGlide+. Have not tested them out yet, nor will i have a chance to soon. I'd like to wait until most of the puddles dry up before i take them out for a test run. I do plan on using these as my race day shoe. A more thorough review once i've had a chance to try then out.

Yoga X

Completed most of Yoga X last night. I stopped just before the Yoga Belly 7 Series.

It was hard last night as my upper body was still sore from both previous workouts still. I tried doing the push ups in between, but really couldn't hack it. The rest of it was ok, went as expected from not doing it in so long.

The plan was to run tonight. We'll see if the snow melts. If not, I'll look to either Plyo, Intervals X+, or possibly Kempo Cardio X+.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Shoulders & Arms

Success. Still one of the easier (note: EASIER, not EASY, by any means) workouts of the bunch. My plan was to actually only do half of the workout, but I ended up doing the whole thing. Go me! But i did not do the bonus round. Not feeling the soreness too much yet, but I'm sure that will change soon. Meant to do Ab Ripper X afterwards, but I forgot.

Notes from the workout: I replaced the upright row with In-n-Out Shoulder Flies, as the upright rows are really killer on my right shoulder. I used 30 lbs for most of the bicep work, and grabbed the 10 lbs (30 and 10 are all i own) and worked till failure when i didnt hit 8 reps, with the 30s.

So today should be Yoga X. Still debating whether to do all or half of it. The plan was to do it in the morning, BUT! right, i failed to wake up, AGAIN! and i still need to find a day or 2 to get a run in. just too cold.

I'm holding off on numbering the days/weeks and calling this the start of round 3, because, i fear it may fizzle out like the last 2 tries.

A Good Start to a New Month

So, the plan is PlyoX tomorrow, and maybe Intervals X Plus on Sunday.

We'll see how I end up.

Lets just say, I ended up very well! Okay, let me back off a little bit and just say it went well. I really wanted to continue my half-marathon training, but that was virtually impossible with the sub-zero wind chills. I mean, I'm one that can take the cold reasonably well, but even I have my limits! I really wanted to hit some resistance training and cardio, though, so my solution? I did half of Chest & Back followed up with 25-30 min of Plyo X. I wanted to take it light on C&B, since its been a while. So I capped the push ups at 10 reps, and pull ups at 8 (doing what I could unassisted, and finishing up with the chair). And let me tell you, even doing that, was HARD! By the time I got to the dive-bombers, I was spent. And to imagine, I only did one round. Plyo went ok- though was disappointed with my perfomance. Thought it would be a touch better from my *four runs...wishful thinking I suppose. Perhaps I was spent from just doing C&B.

So, I woke up Sunday morning, motivated, and tackled Intervals X Plus. I actually did pretty well with this. It wasnt as hard as I last remembered it. Was able to do all the moves, except 2, which were the push up moves. I was incredibly sore from the day before, so there was no way I could do those. So they were pretty much extra 60 sec breaks, and I didnt take any more than that, which I was proud of. So to revisit the question of which is harder, Plyo or Intervals X? Hands down, PLYO X.

One thing I tried this weekend, which I read was good to do, was I did all my workouts with no sneakers. It was interesting. My ankles did get sore, since my ankles are all kinds of messed up, but I think I did alright. I find shoes get in the way sometimes, so I enjoyed it. It'll even help with stability, so may help out my ankles in the long run. I'm working out on carpet so impact wasn't much of an issue.

So I'm still incredibly sore today, but its such a nice feeling. Was going to pound out Shoulders & Arms this morning, but once again, failed at waking up. So, I should get it done tonight, which watching the Bachelor....haha. Dont ask.

'Till next time, BRING IT!

End of Jan Update!

It has been four weeks since I've started eating cleanly, and eating less in general, and its paid off pretty well, see for yourself:

1/4- 211.8 lbs @ 22.5% fat (47.7 lbs of fat)
1/29- 204.2 lbs @ 21% fat (42.9 lbs of fat)
Net: 7.6 net weight loss, (4.77 lbs of fat-loss, roughly 10%).

As you can see, about 40% of my weight loss was lean body mass as well, and that could be a result of restricting too many calories. Recent daily calorie requirement calculations has me around 2660 calories perday, if i am lightly active (working out 1-3 times a week). I have been averging about 1500 calories/day on the weekdays, and higher on the weekends, of course.

I have also been out running four times in the past 2 weeks, in an attempt to start my half-marathon training. Distances so far: 1.6, 1.6, 3, and 2 miles. Not the greatest, but its a start! I also did Ab Ripper X on Tuesday, and I'm still a tiny bit sore today, 3 days later. Had planned on doing a run yesterday, and one tomorrow, but the weather is not cooperating. So, the plan is PlyoX tomorrow, and maybe Intervals X Plus on Sunday.

We'll see how I end up.