Spring Is Near

On Sunday, the temperature climbed to 10 degrees Celsius. If the roads had been clear of the winter debris, I would have been outside on the bike.

Soon.

I even spent some time on Sunday cleaning my Colnago — even though it was already spotless — and inflating the tires.

I noticed that I had not updated my progress for Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Sorry about that. Life was a little bit hectic towards the end of last week. But never fear. Here are the results from those four days. And a few notes on what I generally eat just to keep things a bit more interesting.

Thursday

Nutrition

Breakfast
Unless I am travelling, I always have the same routine for breakfast: 250ml of skim milk, a single serving of high quality protein supplement, and strawberries. Throw in some ice and a blender and it makes for a refreshing and satisfying strawberry smoothie. I also take in high quality multi-vitamins and Omega-3s.

Calories: 140, Carbs: 14 grams, Protein: 20 grams, Fat: 0 grams

Lunch
Most days I work right through lunch. I bag this meal and it is always the same: a serving of raw carrots, an apple, a small turkey sandwich with mustard only and a serving of low-fat cheese.

Calories: 391, Carbs 52 grams, Protein: 24 grams, Fat: 11 grams

Dinner
The dinner varies somewhat each day. And depending on how much exercise I take on, I may supplement intake to ensure that I eat above a certain minimum. Interestingly enough, I do not experience significant hunger nor do I have any urge to overeat. I am convinced that the food industry creates products that encourage over-consumption of calories. With my current program, my biggest worry is not taking in enough calories.

Calories: 783, Carbs: 123 grams, Protein: 40 grams, Fat: 16 grams

Total intake
Calories: 1,314, Carbs: 187, Protein: 84 grams, Fat: 27 grams
Sodium intake of 1,853 mg and total fibre intake of 24 grams.

Exercise

Rest day.

Stretching

Light stretching session.

Friday

Nutrition

Breakfast
Calories: 140, Carbs: 14 grams, Protein: 20 grams, Fat: 0 grams

Lunch
Calories: 391, Carbs 52 grams, Protein: 24 grams, Fat: 11 grams

Dinner
Calories: 782, Carbs: 123 grams, Protein: 40 grams, Fat: 16 grams

Total intake
Calories: 1,314, Carbs: 187, Protein: 84 grams, Fat: 27 grams
Sodium intake of 1,853 mg and total fibre intake of 24 grams.

Exercise

Ran out of time to do a planned spin. I had rehearsals for Saturday morning and I needed to spend time working through the charts. I hate missing workouts.

Stretching

No stretching.

Saturday

Nutrition

Breakfast
Calories: 140, Carbs: 14 grams, Protein: 20 grams, Fat: 0 grams

Lunch
Calories: 476, Carbs 61 grams, Protein: 24 grams, Fat: 16 grams

Dinner
Calories: 782, Carbs: 123 grams, Protein: 40 grams, Fat: 16 grams

Supplemental
Calories: 340, Carbs: 53 grams, Protein: 25 grams, Fat: 3 grams

Total intake
Calories: 1,739, Carbs: 250, Protein: 108 grams, Fat: 35 grams
Sodium intake of 2,060 mg and total fibre intake of 25 grams.
Net caloric intake after exercise: 977.

Exercise

Very hard interval training. Burned 762 calories in one hour. Ouch. And I could not take in enough calories to get above the 1,000 mark. I am trying to keep the intake to about 1,500 or so calories until I get the power to weight ratio back to summer riding form. At this rate, it may only take another five or six weeks. Unless I pass out!

Stretching

Light stretching session.

Sunday

Nutrition

Breakfast
Calories: 140, Carbs: 14 grams, Protein: 20 grams, Fat: 0 grams

Lunch
Calories: 476, Carbs 61 grams, Protein: 24 grams, Fat: 16 grams

Dinner
Calories: 782, Carbs: 123 grams, Protein: 40 grams, Fat: 16 grams

Supplemental
Calories: 340, Carbs: 53 grams, Protein: 25 grams, Fat: 3 grams

Total intake
Calories: 1,739, Carbs: 250, Protein: 108 grams, Fat: 35 grams
Sodium intake of 2,060 mg and total fibre intake of 25 grams.
Net caloric intake after exercise: 1,017.

Exercise

Another very hard interval training. Burned 722 calories in one hour. Could barely walk after two days of intervals. This might be one reason why I am so looking forward to riding outside — I won’t do quite as much interval training outdoors.

Stretching

Light stretching session.