Sunday night is often the time when we prepare our meals (or at least plan for the meals) for the coming week, reflect on the week that passed, hopefully be proud of some of the things we followed through with, while thinking about what we can improve upon. It’s a chance for a new start, or a continuation of good habits we have formed.  I have a love/hate relationship with Mondays as I’m sure many do – while we may feel blue because the weekend is over, it’s also an opportunity for another chance at bettering our lives.

This week I will introduce HIIT workouts to my weekly routine again – I have mostly stayed away from cardio so far this year, because I wanted to focus on cleaning up my diet first.  Sometimes when you change TOO many variables in your life, you can’t tell which one is the reason to why things are happening, this is why I only alter one thing at a time so I can properly track my progress.

That being said, while my diet certainly hasn’t been “competition prep stellar”, it is much better than it has been and I have seen a drop in fat, but I now would like to take it a step further, accelerating my fat loss – so will be doing 2-3 HIIT work outs a week.  Not going to do steady state cardio, I really feel that my weight training workouts are incredibly efficient as they are (I do many more sets and reps than I’ve done in the past and am completely knackered after I’m done, heart rate is way up and I’m sweating like a pig!) so if I can keep my diet in check I’m golden.   I need to focus on keeping all the muscle I’ve gained over the past year, I feel it has been substantial, but right now I’m too “big” to see it. That will change soon! 🙂

I found a great hill in my neighborhood where I will sprint up hill for about 30 seconds, take 1 min rest, and repeat about 10 times (that is the goal. I may have to start a bit lower, this hill is STEEP, lol). Warm up is 10 minute fast power walk, and cool down is 5 min brisk walk uphill. No more than 15 min HIIT, with another 15 min warm up/cool down.  I will try this for two weeks and will report back on my progress.   Outdoors is my favorite place to do cardio (I hate the treadmill or any indoor cardio equipment) – of course it has been tricky living in New York where we’ve had tons of snow lately, but not looking for any excuses anymore, so outdoors it is!

I will leave you with a chicken recipe for all you chicken heads like myself.. tired of the same old chicken breast? I know I am – so here, try this one out!

TANDOORI CHICKEN w/TOMATO CUCUMBER RAITA

4 servings

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp cumin

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper

pinch of ground nutmeg

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast (about 1 lb), trimmed of fat

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil or sunflower oil or Pam Spray

Preheat grill to medium high or oven to 400F.

Combine all the spices in a large sealable bag – place each chicken breast between sheets of plastic wrap. Pound with a meat mallet (or back of a saute pan if you don’t have a mallet) until flattened until an even thickness, about 1/4 inch. Brush the chicken with oil or spray w/Pam.

Oil the grill rack – grill the chicken until cooked through and no longer pink in the middle, 3-4 minutes per side. Alternatively, bake in oven for 20 minutes.

To make CUCUMBER RAITA:

1 cup non fat greek Yogurt

1/2 cup finely chopped cucumber, seeded and peeled

1/2 cup tomato, seeded and chopped

1/4 cup minced red onion

2 tbsp chopped fresh mint

1 tsp ground cumin

juice of 1 lemon

1 tsp sal

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl, refrigerate until ready to serve.

Makes  1 3/4 cup – for 4 servings.

Calories per serving total meal: 209, 7g fat, 8g carbohydrates, 27g protein

 

Photo Credit: Eating Well magazine