By Friday I was exhausted. I don’t know if it’s the extremely low carb intake this week but I was seriously dragging ass all week. I was ready for life to get back to “normal” too.
BREAKFAST:
2 scrambled eggs
Refried black beans
2 slices bacon (couldn’t eat the 3rd)
Salsa
I will admit that I do like the bigger breakfast part of this experiment. I am finding that I am much less hungry the rest of the morning, and usually don’t need my snack. And after eating mainly egg whites all week the yellowness of the regular scrambled eggs is sort of bizarre looking!
Calories: 330 | Carbs: 21g | Protein: 24g | Fiber 6g
SNACK:
Hard Boiled Egg
Eaten at 11:00am even though I was still pretty full from breakfast. I’m trying to make sure my blood sugar stays level throughout the day to prevent crashes. So far so good.
Calories: 70 | Carbs: 1g | Protein: 6g | Fiber 0g
LUNCH:
Baby Spinach with broccoli, black olives and celery
Leftover Mediterranean Chicken
I used the leftover chicken from Thursday’s excursion to the Greek Cart near my office. I’m out of the mixed greens so this salad is strictly baby spinach. I’m not a huge fan of the texture of baby spinach and would prefer it mixed in with “regular” lettuce.
Calories: 315 | Carbs: 28g | Protein: 26g | Fiber 12g
SNACK:
Hummus
Cucumber
Even though I wasn’t very hungry Friday afternoon I ate my snack because I was heading to the pool right after work.
Calories: 116 | Carbs: 11g | Protein: 5g | Fiber 3g
DINNER:
Turkey Burger with no bun
Canned Refried Beans with Cheese
Canned Green Beans
Black Olives
1 glass Syrah
It was a little strange to eat the turkey burgers without all the “fixings” and a side like fries or onion rings. But the dinner was tasty and satisfying.
Michael skipped the green beans. He made a comment about how he didn’t want “anything green” on his plate. He was burned out on veggies. I’m not burned out on veggies but I am definitely burned out on salads! I liked the green beans. The glass of red wine really hit the spot too!
Dinner was good but I missed my chocolate treat at the end of then night. TOTALLY looking forward to Saturday’s “Binge Day.”
Calories: 650 | Carbs: 57g | Protein: 70g | Fiber 8g
EXERCISE:
After work I swam my normal routine. The swim was really difficult and it was the first time this week I really noticed a difference in my endurance and ability in relation to the amount of carbs I ate. Having a super low-carb diet all week finally caught up to me. Swimming just plain sucked. I felt like I was slow (but I wasn’t in comparison to my time) and my arms were so fatigued I wasn’t sure I could continue to swim. I had to rest a lot–which I NEVER do.
There was also a silly girl that got in my lane and apparently didn’t pay attention to the etiquette of lap swimming. I was staying on one side swimming my laps and she seemed determined to swim down the center of the lane. I really have no idea why she was being so stupid and not getting the message that she was doing it wrong but it was really frustrating. By the time I was fed up with her and ready to tell her off, she finally decided to leave. Thankfully! It really baffles me that people who don’t know how to swim or are slow swimmers, get in the same lane as a FAST swimmer and then don’t follow the rules. Why would they want to get in the way?? I just don’t get it. When I was a slow swimmer I was intimated by the faster ones and stayed on my side, giving them plenty of space. New Swimmers: READ THIS PLEASE! And thank you.
Half way through my swim I started to feel better and less fatigued. I sat in the hot tub for a bit and then went home feeling deflated. The moment I walked in the door Michael commented that I looked exhausted. I felt run down and lethargic.
Calories Burned: 400
TOTALS FOR THE DAY:
Calories: 1,721 | Carbs: 142g | Protein: 143g | Fiber 32g
QUESTION: Can you tell a difference in your physical abilities when you eat more or less carbs/protein?
Lori
I don’t find too much of a difference in energy with lower carbs or higher carbs. A lot of my fatigue will have to do with sleep and how hard I have been lifting. Your carbs aren’t really all that low at 140 grams. I think if you go below 50, that has to be tough on energy.
Lisa Eirene
The carb intake this week has been significantly lower than what I normally eat. I slept well all week so I’m at a loss to explain Friday now. Swimming was just awful!