I decided this morning it would be a good day to bike + swim. So all day long, I was picturing myself biking to the gym and gettin’ my swim on. I TRULY believe for a good evening workout you have to commit early to what you’re going to do and visualize it. Otherwise I picture myself bored and it always seems like more of a drag. Having thought about swimming all day (and pretending I was a hard-core athlete!) I was honestly excited to go when I got home. And it helped that the weather was nice! I don’t think I could swim in the winter in the dark – unless it was a heated pool!!
On the topic of swimming, I think I forgot to mention that after my foot surgery in college I swam a LOT. It was the only exercise I could do for several months (they didn’t have spinning bikes at Davidson, but I did spin a lot once I graduated and joined the YMCA). My recent interest in swimming was sparked by my leg injury, but swimming is something I have done regularly in the past. Just not in a long time!
What’s working well:
- Taking a HOT shower before entering the pool. It warms me up and then I turn the water to just luke warm before I turn it off. Then walking to the pool room I get cold and when I jump in the pool water actually feels warm. Great trick!
- Swimming in sets. You know how they always say keep goals to small measurable increments? I find that applies to swimming too. Rather than "I’m going to swim for 30 minutes" I think "I’m going to do 6 fast laps, 6 alternating laps and then a latter" and the time flies by because I’m counting small numbers.
- I made a rule that I only have to swim for 30 minutes. It helps so much to break up my workout. I might have wanted to swim for a whole hour, but I think that would burn me out – just like an hour of ellipticalling would – so I’m treating it as any other cardio and just doing 30 minutes along with some other short cardio or lifting.
Today I biked there and back (15 minutes each way) and swam for 32 minutes.
Sets
- 6 laps warmup freestyle (my upper body was SORE from pull-ups yesterday!!0
- 6 laps fast freestyle
- 4 laps kickboard + backstroke alt.
- 6 laps freestyle and breaststroke alt.
- Repeat #2-4
- Latter, all FAST freestyle: 6 + 5 + 4 + 3 + 2 + 2 (so I could end on the same side!)
I sipped on a diluted version of this coconut water drink while swimming (poured half the bottle into a big bottle of water). Whenever I have a sports drink – even if it’s a small portion – I never get hungry mid-workout and always have a much more even post-workout build (no drastic hunger that comes on fast.) Sure, you might not need to take in 300 calories of Gatorade during exercise to perform well, but I’m finding that a little fuel does go a long way.
I didn’t like this flavor as much as the lemon/lime – you couldn’t taste the coconut as much!
I showered at the gym and came home to find dinner made. Matt’s been such a big help for this busy girl!
I found a HUGE box of Food Should Taste Good chips on my doorstep yesterday and decided to schedule a Mexican scoop dinner.
I think this is my THIRD time sampling their chips. I told them that I’d sampled them before, but they offered to send me the newest flavors (which I haven’t had) and must have threw in the rest of the flavors as well!! I’m not complaining!!
I honestly DO think these are the best chips ever. Especially the lime + sweet potato flavors, which rock.
So for dinner I told Matt to cook up a can of kidney beans with frozen corn and peppers and tomato and spices.
And make a nutritional yeast sauce to go on top!
Nutritional yeast is very nutritious! Emily did a post about it with some information. It’s got lots of B vitamins, 15 minerals, and 8 grams of protein per 2 tbsp, 50 calorie serving. Hard to believe for this little flakey food!
I say it tastes like parmesan cheese + fish food + mac and cheese powder.
Go to Emily’s post for her cheese sauce recipe. Ours was not very flavorful and I wouldn’t recommend it!
We settled on the Jalapeno flavor of chips for dipping
We nearly ate the whole bag!!
We topped the bean + veggie saute with cheese sauce, the rest of our Don Sabrosa’s salsa and some Oikos. Plus a ton of chips!
I had about double the chips you see here – mostly because I was too lazy to get up and get a spoon to finish!
Magic Hat!
For dessert I had an end-piece of cantaloupe as I packed my lunch.
Gotta go clean up the kitchen and then go do some readin’!
Lauren @ A Fit Foodie says
Oh! I need to try those chips ASAP!! I’ve never seen them before. I’ll look for them Friday when I go grocery shopping!
Food Makes Fun Fuel says
Food should Taste Good is amazing and a great company local to MA! I hope you enjoy all those chips(in moderation)!
Heather (Heather's Dish) says
the chips look incredible! they’d make the meal for me 🙂 sounds like a wonderful post-workout dinner. YUM!
Sarena (The Non-Dairy Queen) says
Nice dinner! We love those chips too…they are gluten free! It is so easy to eat the whole bag. I am definitely a portion control girl when it comes to bags of food! You eat so much more from the bag! You just can’t help it when they are good! Have a great night!
Cynthia (It All Changes) says
Scoopable dinners are fun. Hunni and I love to scoop up my chili recipe.
Jessica @ How Sweet It Is says
So jealous of your FSTG chips! We love those babies!
Jenny says
I can’t imagine working out after a day at the office- if I don’t go beforehand, I’m pooped!
Stacey@http://stacey-healthylife.blogspot.com/ says
I love those chips and agree the sweet potato is awesome. I really want to try the lime. They are very addicting.
Lucy says
Bag portions are so off-putting! I think they must do that on purpose, though…make you not think about how much you’re actually eating so you finish the bag and get more! I always eat way more than I expect. Maybe secretly it’s actually because I having unopened bags around. It’s probably worth it to invest in “Chip Clips” like my mom has? Also, have you seen the latest episode of Glee? I don’t remember if you save them for special occasions, but last night had a scene or two talking about feeling “at home” in your body…made me tear up a little bit, actually. I’m a sap, what can I say!
jen trinque says
I love nutritional yeast but go through weird periods where I forget to use it. I like it on pizza instead of cheese (just sprinkled on at the end), sprinkled on popcorn, and made into a cheese sauce with cashews and spices and stuff.
Did you see today on Yahoo’s home page they had a big article on the superfood you should be eating but aren’t? And that superfood was sardines? You’re ahead of the crowd on that one!
Erin (Travel, Eat, Repeat) says
They absolutely make the best chips–I’ve only tried Multigrain flavor but all the other flavors sound intriguing, too.
Lindsay says
That shower trick is hysterical! I totally want to try it sometime. I hate swimming indoors and I hate swimming when its cold! I usually only swim in the summer in outdoor pools which warm up really fast in DC. But maybe I will try your trick sometime!
Lisa of Lisa at Home says
The chocolate ones are amazing! I’m so jealous you’re able to swim so regularly. The pool at my gym is outdoors; which is great in the summer but not so much in the ‘in between’ months.
Anna @ Newlywed, Newly Veg says
Oooh, I LOVE fstg chips!!! So yummy! Sorry the cheese sauce was a flop…it sure does look good!
Jil @ Peace, Love & Munchies says
Lucky gal! Those chips look awesome!
Hillary [Nutrition Nut on the Run] says
I think Matt should win #1 Husband award ; )
I love the Multigrain chips – soooo TASTY!
Lauren @ eater not a runner says
I’d love to try the sweet potato ones, sounds delicious!
Heather @ Side of Sneakers says
That’s quite a swim workout!!
I keep looking for the sweet potato chips, but so far I’ve only seen the Multigrain.
Kristin @ Iowa Girl Eats says
I loooove, love, love Food Should Taste Good Chips – I could eat the sweet potato ones for daaaaays! Lulky girl! 😉
Ashley says
Those are definitely the best chips ever. Even the plain “yellow corn” are the best yellow corn chips out there. What a fun dinner! Come over and we can go swimming together! 😉
Michelle @ Give Me the Almond Butter says
That dish is very similar to the nachos I had the other night!! It looks superb 🙂
Veggielady4life says
What a super fun glass! I love the little wink!
Thanks for the tips on swimming. I have made attempts in the past to pick it up, but I struggle so much with the breathing part… that I don’t have any energy left for the actual swimming. Any tips on mastering your breath while swimming?
laine @ beets, butter and mountaintops says
What do you mean by “latter”? And what do the numbers in #6 mean?
I love to swim, but do it in the ocean. In the summer I can bike to the little beach in about 7 minutes, swim for 45 (especially on the horrible hot days when I’m trying to cool my body to the core) and then bike home. I love it!
I do the same visualization with my yoga. It works!
Pat says
I think she means ladder 🙂
Janelle says
I love nutritional yeast “sauces” – and I think you described it perfectly as a cross between parm- fishfood – mac n cheese power. But not fish food in a gross way…anyhow, dinner looks great!
Kate says
Hahah. The “fish food” description made me laugh out loud, but yes, I have to agree with you! Personally, I’ve never tried eating fish food, but that’s what it LOOKS like. Nooch is by far the tastiest “fish food” in the world.
Jessica @ The Process of Healing says
Ohhh I LOVE Food Should Taste Good Chips, you are so lucky! Sweet potato is my favorite 🙂
Thank you for the tips on swimming! I really want to try it out as soon as I can exercise!
Kellie says
I would like to learn how to swim, I don’t know where to start. I also am afraid that my hunger would be massive after swimming. Something about the water seems to leave me ravenous.
megan says
Hi Kath,
I’m curious as to whether when you say “laps” (down and back) you actually mean “lengths” (one way)? I only ask (and am not asking from a judgmental place!) because if you really do mean laps, that means you did something like 50 laps in 32 minutes, which is amazing (I’m assuming it’s a 25 meter or 25 yard pool?)! And it would lead me to my next question which is how did you build up such speed? Anyway, I’m just curious because I’m training for a sprint tri, and it takes me about 18 minutes to do 18 laps or 32 lengths, so obviously you would be going much faster and could share some tips!
Meghan@traveleatlove says
I love Food Should Taste Good! I actually almost interviewed for a job there but the timing was just bad bad bad.
And you are a pretty hardcore athlete I would say!
Emily says
I am also curious about whether you mean “lengths” rather than “laps” and could you explain “latters”? Thanks!
Alice says
I can’t find ‘nooch’ ANYWHERE here and it is bugging me. Love the ‘Mexican Scoop’ dinner!
ashleigh says
I am obsessed with Nutritional yeast!! I literally crave it! Jalapeno chips? OMG I gotta get my hands on those!!
Jenn (www. j3nn.net ) says
I LOVE Food Should Taste Good chips!! They’re the best. 😀
Using nutritional yeast to make a cheesy sauce for nachos is an awesome idea! I have to big jars of it to use up.
Jenn
Hannah says
Cutest glass ever. And wow, they don’t skimp when they send you samples! That’s a rather impressive box of chips…
Amber K says
Oh my gosh FSTG chips are the BEST! Their best flavor is potato & chive with multigrain being a close second. So good. =)
Lisa @ bakebikeblog says
oh boy those chips do look good 🙂
lynn (The Actors Diet) says
i love the nooch (nutritional yeast)!
my husband just got the mark bittman “how to cook everything” app for his iphone and actually cooked his first meal! it’s so great – we are lucky gals!
Camille says
That may be the cutest glass ever!
jaclyn@todays lady says
Yum that dinner looks so tasty!! I need to try making a nutritional yeast sauce one of these days!!
Freya @ Brit Chick Runs says
I love nutritional yeast!! I only discovered it a month or so ago, but it’s already a staple. So much flavah 🙂
Sweet potato chips – yum!!
Kilee says
I love your tip for visualizing the workout ahead of time. Visualizing is a great tool to get yourself in the mood for a workout when you weren’t really feeling it. Also, I’m in LOVE with FSTG chips. I purposely don’t buy them them often because I know I will eat the bag up too quickly. The sweet potato ones are my fave!
Julie says
Wow the chips look good! And the rest of the dish too….
Thank you for writing about visualization before a workout. I’ve let that one slip for a while now, and can just feel how it makes me wanna skip runs, and want to take breaks while running. It’s amazing how much influenze the thoughts have on your ability to perform physically.
Emily @ The Front Burner Blog says
Such a good idea to put it on Mexican food – YUM! Cannot wait to try that…
🙂
Kath says
RE. Swimming:
Latter = ladder!! Oops! It means you do 6 laps, rest, 5 laps, rest, 4 laps, rest, 3…2…1.. A great way to mentally prepare yourself for 6+5+4+3+2+1 = 21 laps.
Laps = lengths. I decided that I’d call a length a lap because it’s easier to say and type!! But technically speaking, I’m referring to 1 length of the pool as 1 lap. (Sorry Megan, I am def. not that fast!)
If you want to learn to swim and want to go from splashing around to strokes, I say just get in a pool and practice. Watch what other people are doing. Or talk to a friend who you know can swim. If you haven’t ever set a toe into water, perhaps now’s the time for some swimming lessons!
Jon says
Workout # 4
Really short
All Free? 600
15 second rest? 6×75
kick or pull? 6×50
swim hard 5 second rest 6×25
total 30 minutes,
1500yrds
Workout #7
pyramid
Choice or all free
short rests, maybe 10 seconds.
4×50?
3×100?
2×150?
1×200?
2×150?
3×100?
4×50
total 50 minutes if the rests are short: 1800yrds
From: lunchtime workouts.com ( I’ve been swimming these for a few weeks every other morning before work total time 30-45 minutes.
Therese says
Glad I’m not the only one who thinks nutritional yeast smells like fish food (but I still love it)!
And LOVING the glass! I would drink from it every day and giggle! 😉
amanda says
I really wanna try those chips. I love jalapeno flavored anything! Habenero is even better!! BTW, I love the cute winking glass
Lindsay says
I am so jealous that these companies send you food to review! I have been wanting to try these chips for awhile. Enjoy them!!!
Dana says
How long does it take you to do your swim workout? I’ve been thinking about swimming lately as opposed to my normal workout but im never sure HOW long I should be doing laps for. any tips would help!
Lele says
I am completely in love with the idea of a scooping dinner. I am ON THAT!
megan says
i am so jealous of your chips! I love those…especially the sweet potato and lime too! i tried them for the first time a few weeks ago and I am hooked!!
Dawn (HealthySDLiving) says
All of thier chips are addicting! I haven’t had Jalapeno yet but I’d expect nothing less!
Sweet Potato=my FAVE!
Brittney says
I LOVE their chips and have also mentioned them in my blog!
http://littletower31.blogspot.com/2009/11/good-snack.html
The sell big bags of the multi-grain ones and boxes of the little bags at Costo 🙂
Molly says
My sister (from Charlotte) suggested I read your blog. I love it! I live in Alaska, and graduated from Duke (love that you are a fan). Anyway, love your posts, your dedication to a healthy lifestyle, and your attitude about life! Thanks for sharing all of it. Anyway, I also swam at Duke. Our warm ups were some version of a swim/kick/pull. Do you have access to a pull bouy? That usually makes things more interesting. Or hand paddles? That is fun, as well. In terms of sets, I suggest doing some sets in which you “negative split” your swim. For example, 4 100’s, with a focus on making the last 50 harder and faster than the first. Once you know your average pace, you can set your intervals with that basis. Anwyay, just some random thoughts from Anchorage, Alaska.
Kath says
Thanks Molly! I do have a bouy – I’ll have to use it. And negative splits sound fun too. If you ever come to visit CLT, let me know 🙂
Kim says
I made this for my hubby and I last night and it was not only easy… it tasted GREAT! The only substitute I made was using the Blue chips. That brand is wonderful!
I can’t tell you how happy I am to have found your blog. I really needed help with cooking ideas and inspiration. I stop by every day (though this is the first time I’ve commented).
I’m mixing some of your ideas, Dr. Fuhrman’s, “Eat to Live” and counting calories on Calorie King. This combination is really working for me. This morning I stepped on the scale….9 lbs down!! ( I have 30 to go). I could’t be happier! Now to somehow get myself more interested in exercise.
Anyway, Thank you so much for all of your help!
Kath says
Congrats Kim!!
Katie @ The Boston Marathoner says
I absolutely love those chips! I just started reading your blog and now I have an incredible urge to make oatmeal. I am a runner/blogger and am trying to improve my eating habits, so I’m looking forward to following your blog!