Feeding My Mitochondria, and Kicking Up My Metabolism in the Gym too…

I’m so glad I set this three-day challenge for myself. It’s so easy on my brain—generally when I set challenges, they’re complicated or they take a lot of thought and very specific effort (like schedules of what to eat when, etc.). This simple plan to nourish my mitochondria is specific regarding amounts of certain foods per day, and for some reason it’s just easier for me to implement it (and stick to it, and not use willpower—which, by the way, I am NOT a fan of using).

Yesterday, I ate Chicken and veggies for breakfast. I know, it’s weird, but it was already in the fridge and I needed to get to work.

Side note: I occasionally buy the kosher rotisserie chickens at Wegmans in Pittsford (I can’t find them anywhere else)—they are not organic certified, but they have no antibiotics, hormones, etc., and they are free range. I usually eat some of the chicken for one meal (Joe won’t eat it—he doesn’t like chicken), and then I turn the rest of it into chicken salad (usually with just grapeseed vegenaise–because I hate the texture of regular mayo when I scoop it–and pesto). So I had that and some cold asparagus for breakfast. I could do worse, that’s for sure!

I won’t give you a boring play-by-play of my food—let’s just say I ate everything I was supposed to eat on a daily basis, but I haven’t had seaweed or liver  yet (tomorrow, I guess. I have some seaweed I can incorporate into a salad, but I’m still scared of the liver).

At one point, I steamed cauli and put pizza seasoning on it—it smelled great, but tasted so meh. So I added butter and cheese, and then it was fabulous! No pics of that. It sure was ugly—and the lighting here in the evenings is just ridiculously bad.

The high points were two fabulous chopped salads (I use a mezzaluna to chop them–in a glass bowl, then it doesn’t make a mess), and the low point was the plain cauli. Oh, and full disclosure, my breakfast today consisted of coffee and about 3 Tbsp of peanut butter. I know, it’s weird, but it was already in the fridge and I needed to get to work. (ha)

Chopped: 4 cups mixed greens, 5 mushrooms, 1 red pepper, 1 oz goat cheese, 1 cup chicken/pesto salad...with a macadamia oil + pesto dressing (2Tbsp pesto, 1-2 Tbsp mac nut oil). Add everything but the dressing to a glass bowl, chop with a mezzaluna (or chop everything on a board and dump in a bowl). Then add dressing. Awesome! Also, I ate like 4 times this much.

 

Chopped (the best way to eat salad!): 4 cups mixed greens, 1 cup leftover steamed (cold) cauli, 2 oz cheddar cheese, 5 mushrooms, 3 Tbsp pistachio nuts, 1/4 cup raw sauerkraut, and macadamia/pesto dressing. I was a little worried about this one as I threw things in...but it turned out to be amazing! I love macadamia nut oil, and the pistachios added just a little sweetness (raw, unsalted). I realize it's not pretty---but chopped salads generally aren't!

I worked, did a HIIT workout that I made up with the Ugi Ball and The Equalizer for 30min, and then cleaned the house (mostly. I left the bathroom for Joe–that’s his self-proclaimed chore, and I am so fine with that). I also went on a 6.5 mile walk today.

I like this mitochondria-focus I have going. It feels productive and manageable. On Saturday, however, I’ll be flying to Cali, and all bets are off for a few days. Not really—in Santa Monica, there are tons of healthy restaurants and juice bars and stuff. Kristen and I both have a pact not to repeat what we did for her 30th birthday weekend. Sleep a little. Eat a little. Drink a lotRepeat…for 36 hours, and then fly home. I feel queasy just thinking about it. But hey, you only turn 30 once (or maybe twice, because I was 31 when we did that!).

Notes on my mitochondria: I know that what I’m doing is feeding them well, and I enjoy having that visualization to encourage me to keep emphasizing the importance of keeping these things in my diet regularly. I also realize that eating this way does much more than feed my mitochondria—there is a lot of fiber, healthy fat, protein, and just loads of micronutrients. Many of the things I stand tall for in life, really.

Notes on my HIIT workouts: I didn’t include the one I did today–I wrote it on scrap paper about 5 minutes before I did it, trying to take into account all the principles I’ve learned about opposing muscles groups, high and low impact, and effective exercise pairing. I think I did a good job—I didn’t budget in any transition time between intervals (I just alternated harder and easier exercises), and I like it that way—then I can’t stop and think about how difficult the workout is! I want to make one point about HIIT—it sounds intense, and it is. But High Intensity Interval Training can still be Low Impact! I have a few HI(LI)IT that I’ve made up–I have them because when I have worked out in apartments and places where I can’t jump around and be loud, I still want the intense workout. So for people with joint issues, the low impact workouts can be great–and you don’t have to feel left out of the HIIT craze (which is not really a craze—research is showing it as the number one way to burn fat).

Random: I was going to get so much done tonight, but I ran over to my Mom’s house (across the street) and it was so nice out that we sat on her porch and drank wine. I do not take one single day of living near my Mom for granted. I know it’s not going to last much longer (a year, maybe?)… so I’m soaking it all up.

 Did you try the Feed Your Mitochondria Plan? How did it go?

How do you kick up your metabolism? 

Do you do HIIT workouts? With or without equipment? My Gymboss interval timer is dead–totally. New batteries didn’t revive it. But I downloaded an app, and now I just have to decide whether that’s sufficient or if I want to spend $20 on another Gymboss. Would you?

 

9 thoughts on “Feeding My Mitochondria, and Kicking Up My Metabolism in the Gym too…”

  1. good luck with that liver today, lisa! maybe you can run out of time and just go for the pb from the jar! haha! (i love pb from the jar, can a snack be termed as a HIIT snack? because it is very tasty and quick!).
    i’ve never tried a HIIT workout…i am a steady-state cardio lover.
    that is interesting that joe does not like chicken! a taste or texture thing?
    so glad you got over to your mom’s – i love your comment about not taking one day for granted.
    good luck today as you prep for santa monica! go live it up out there!!

  2. Thanks Cathy! I think with the chicken…it’s more of it’s-a-gross-animal-and-raw-chicken-is-creepy! Joe is pretty particular about where his food comes from (so even when it regards something I like once in a while, I still think it’s a plus for him to be like that in my world—he understands when I have rules about what I eat!).

    I should make a new label—my HIIT snacks!! Love it. Haha 🙂

    Did you get the awful storm and hail last night? I thought we were going to be carried off to Oz or something!
    Hope your day is great!

  3. I love HIIT workouts and I use my iphone as a timer. I feel so charged and ready for the day when I start out like this. Have fun this weekend! Sounds a lot like my weekend coming up. We are heading to Knoxville, TN to visit with some great friends. It will leave us crawling to the car on Sunday…

  4. I’m a big fan of chopped salads too.  🙂  And that cauliflower with Italian seasoning and cheese sounds pretty good…maybe add fresh tomato or tomato sauce for a pizza flavor?

  5. I LOVE chopped salads!  Have you been to Half Moon salads in pittsford or Victor?  They have excellent salads!  I really want to try HIIT workouts, but don’t want to buy a Gymboss.  How does the app work?  Is it sufficient?  Have a great vacation!

  6. Jennifer Johnson

    Did you try liver yet?  I bought some angus liver a month or so ago.  I soaked it in milk kefir before hand because that is supposed to make it taste better.  In the end, I decided I liked it best ground up and mixed with ground turkey into meatballs.  I also liked it with bacon.  Not sure if you eat bacon, but that helped too! LOL Going to farmer’s market tomorrow for more liver.  Maybe I’ll try something new.  
    Oh and I have love seaweed now.  Dulse is good and the regular wakame – i just throw it in the pan when I am cooking salmon.  Yum

  7. I tried liver when my Mom made it—it was a liver and onions thing…and we all hated it. Lol. I’m definitely going to grate it and add to meatballs or something like that. I have it in a one pound frozen chunk, so I just can’t figure out how to just thaw a little to use it—I sure don’t need that much! It’s good to know you’ve tried it! I think with bacon sounds like a great idea—since bacon has a strong flavor, it should help cover up the liver-y-ness, right?!
    I have generally stuck to seaweed salads for my seaweed consumption, but do have dulse flakes too that I use when I remember. I love the idea of throwing it in the pan! Thanks so much for the suggestions 🙂

    On Fri 04/05/12 22:08 , “Disqus” notifications@disqus.net sent:

  8. The app is fine….once I figured it out. Lol. I haven’t tried out all the features, but I think as long as I’m not intending to clip it on myself during workouts (which I really don’t do), I probably will stick to the app (even though I’m a sucker for gadgets…).

    I love Half Moon! I can even get my nephew to eat there (although, when we lived by the pittsford one, they didn’t yet have the smaller size…so I had to split one with him and just eat whatever he picked for it—blech, steak and ranch dressing and stuff. But at least he was eating salad!). I always forget about the one in Victor. Actually, I bought my mezzaluna after the PIttsford one opened because I just love the choppy-ness of the salad so much!

    On Fri 04/05/12 19:58 , “Disqus” notifications@disqus.net sent:

  9. The liver might be sliced. I bought one frozen from local farm and when I thawed it out it was cut into 4 pieces. Check it out. Maybe you can pry it apart. Lol. Good luck

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