CG Max day 38/50 - hip thrust, bent over row, sumo squat, diamond press, fwd tilt curtsey lunge, upright row - with 7 minute cardio warmup. This went really quickly! I can feel my wrist still, but no sharp pain and the workout didn’t bother it at all.
I’m working on getting my eating in order. The time outside makes me hungry, and I found myself reaching for salty snacks AFTER having either grapes or yogurt and blueberries - just junk calories. Pulled that back together last night, and of course saw a drop in weight (probably water weight from the salt, but it has an emotional impact).
I need to do better eating the foods that lost me the weight and not get distracted by stale pretzels left over from Christmas as I come off the reta. Working on that and keeping the protein up. I’m prepared to gain if I must to build strength, but I want to be squeaky-clean on my days at home because I will continue to eat socially. We have a funeral this weekend, and I won’t worry about that day’s eating. But I can’t munch on junk at home AND be flexible when I’m out of my control zone, and meet my goals.
I have a heavy hand with the salt shaker, and also drink maybe 6 oz of Diet Coke with work lunches and eat smoked salmon regularly, so I’m thinking probably not. I’ve looked up daily recommended sodium, then spent a few minutes shaking what I estimate to be the amount of salt I probably add to meals over the course of a day into a paper plate and measured it, and I believe I’m hitting around what the government says should be the max.
I think I’m just having head games around the switch from cutting to not-cutting. I say “not-cutting” rather than bulking because I don’t want a bulk - I just want enough to fuel growth with - hopefully - some continued recomp. So I’d be okay with slow weight gain that comes from increases in good food, but this isn’t that. For example, I now usually bring maybe 4 oz of grilled chicken breast to work for a snack, and am prepared to up calories in that manner, but eating the salty pita chips left from the holidays isn’t what I mean to do. It’s another keep the goal the goal thing, but you know - actually DO the goal.
Alcoholic Anonymous, which has the BEST one-liners, advises “just do the next right thing,” and I’m trying to get back to that. So if I’m hungry at night, or even if I just have the munchies, yogurt and blueberries, not bullshit food.
and I believe I’m hitting around what the government says should be the max.
So a few factors at play here…
Salt contains sodium but is NOT just sodium. 1g of salt contains 388mg of sodium. Not sure if that factored into your equation.
But the other part is that the government RDA is for a sedentary and sick population. And in that regard, a lot of what we’ve found regarding the dangers of excess sodium was really more indicative of the dangers of insufficient potassium intake, as the two tend to exist in a harmonious relationship. Amongst athletes, things change, as athletes sweat more and deplete themselves of electrolytes as a result. Stan Efferding discusses this quite a bit, with a recommendation of 3-6g of sodium (not salt, but sodium itself) daily for active people.
I think I’m just having head games around the switch from cutting to not-cutting. I say “not-cutting” rather than bulking because I don’t want a bulk - I just want enough to fuel growth with - hopefully - some continued recomp.
I am so in love with this thought process. I think the notion of bulking and cutting has done so much more damage than good, because it lets nutrition dictate performance, rather than the other way around. We should always eat to support performance, and then we can have periods where we’re performing hard and eating hard and periods where performance is lower and so is the food.
And honestly, this was just a clever ruse for me to see how you feel about pickles. Great way to get in a few more electrolytes, scratch that salty cravings itch, and some folks even consider them a fermented food! Haha. But I also like adding salt to sweet things to enhance the flavor. And I throw it in with my coffee, because the salty detracts from the bitter.
This should be broadcast from rooftops, taught in health and home economics (if thats still a thing) classes to become part of common knowledge and parlance.
How those two function within the body seems to be a big blank spot in health/fitness knowledge.
Ah! Neat! I googled it real quick. I had not heard of that, but have heard of others. There’s the one they give people in the hospitals, but I haven’t really incorporated anything like them into my regular habit. I just reduced the sodium and got used to it for the most part, and started subbing with vinegars and citruses like lemon juice.
Actually, might grab some as a potassium supplement. 656 mg. Per ¼ tsp. Thats pretty good!
Are you all against the LMNT drink mixes? I usually mix one of those in with a gallon of water throughout the day when I’m losing weight. Seems to help.
Tailwind is awesome for workouts.
I use Re-lyte for a calorie free option. Similar to LMNT, more affordable and less… Trendy. Plus, Utah company, represent!
As a side note, that company, Redmond Life also makes smoked salt that is just… I’m drooling on my phone.
. Thats the good stuff.