Yesterday was my surplus day, and oh man this girl wasn't playin' around. The food pic below is only a portion of what I ate. I'm pretty sure I topped the caloric input around 3300-3500 although MFP will have it around 3700 plus. It's hard when it's take out, because who all knows what extras are in each dish. So, I just take the average of the highest and lowest cals stated in whatever dish I look up and then choose accordingly when I track these kinds of meals.
There was also a Spicy Bacon Cheeseburger and Gorgonzola fries included in this meal, but those items in addition to the ones you're looking at are down the hatch at this point and being lovingly digested and processed by all my essential organs. I'll state this much, that piece of cake alone was assessed to be at 580 cals and this was taken from the price tag on the packaging in the bakery section at Albertsons.
I apologize in advance to anyone this may trigger. But, if you're scrolling past and happen to stop and read this - please keep in mind that this FS member "plans" these cals in, has a scale weight low of 119.4 lbs at 5'2, and estimated body fat % of 22% and works out 5 days a week with calorie burns that run between 300-600 cals/session. That doesn't even include 40-50 minute walking circuits done with a 16 lb. weighted vest. You can add on an extra 300 cal burn for those walks.
This is all to say, I can eat like this because it's planned in - it serves a purpose, and the energy from this fuel will be expended on other activities rather than ending up as extra padding on my arse! :-) Can someone eat that cake without doing all that activity and not end up with extra padding? Absolutely! But, it is likely the case that all these portions would need to be very moderated and portioned out. To that end, Mom and I split the pita and hummus starter and the serving of Gorgonzola fries. But, we both had our own piece of cake. And, well the Burger went down the hatch as soon as I opened up the box! LOL. The Mother's day flowers belong to my mother, but we both enjoy them. The smell and color were out of this world and it was nice to have her with me at the store and let her pick out whatever color she wanted.
And, yes I did eat breakfast and pre and post workout meals yesterday. My typical fare of steel cut protein oats, protein bar and chips, and a little cottage cheese with some celery with my creatin and BCAA's. For obvious reasons, I eat light before I dig into a surplus meal.
Now, I'm writing about this because the physiological phenomena of a surplus meal never ceases to amaze me. For my own data, it definitely necessitates an entry. What happens to this body when it takes in that many cals is simply such a friggin trip! Beyond the typical food coma, is the "food baby". And, of course at 119 lbs with some rather tight ab muscles, this food baby is nothing short of fascinating to me. And, yes I will lift up my shirt in the kitchen to show Mama, who will giggle profusely at my bloated belly that pushes out on those abs and frankly makes me feel like I'm doing 50 push-ups without even trying. I'll even get sore abs the next day at times from the bloat alone.
The second thing that becomes readily apparent is the proverbial carb load "pump". The veins in my arms are bulging and all the muscles in my legs and and arms get a nice good pump. I know it will be gone the next day or less bulgy, but it's a trip to watch, nonetheless.
The next part of this phenomena is the most uncomfortable one and it is also the reason I am thankful to only do this once a month, although in June it will be twice/month when the pool opens. I become hyper-metabolic. My metabolism, which is pretty low at this point just had a HUGE metabolic log thrown at it. My heart rate speeds up and starts beating around 80-99 bpm. This will be on-going throughout most of the night (about 12 hours). If you don't have a fitbit, let me inform you, this range for me is the "fatburn zone". Yup! you read it right - I start to burn cals while this body is processing all that food, because it takes and insane amount of energy for the body to digest all that food at once. I basically become and internal inferno and will break out in light sweats all night long.
To that end, I was smart this time and just pulled the small little bedroom fan out ahead of time. Thank the divine universe for that fan! My protein intake alone was estimated to be around 167 grams! But, take that with a grain of salt - these are estimates not exact or accurate counts.
Aside, from eating all that goodness my favorite part of this process is actually the next morning, which is right now for me. I'm not sure if it's and endorphin rush or just relief that all that food has made it past my stomach and is safely digesting in my intestinal tract, but I always feel really good, have a rush of energy, and my muscles feel recovered. Although, I still have some soreness today from yesterday's met-con, which included 50 burpees and 100 kettlebell swings. But, that's kind of to be expected. I refer to this almost euphoric feeling as a "glycogen high". I know my liver in addition to these muscles are well stocked with glycogen, which basically means my gas tank is nice and full for the next few workouts. I'm not gonna lie either, I also note my workouts are kick-ass after a surplus day. It just adds a little "pep to my step" so to speak. lol.
When I do 2 of these of month when swimming commences, I usually make the second one a little less calorically saturated and it averages out between 2400-2700 cals, which is a bit more reasonable and doesn't throw this body into hyper-drive as much. Especially, right now when access to take out can be limited and I have no clue when our Governor is going to fully lift restrictions much less what "go to" take out places will be open downtown when I return to work. Still, for anyone that is wondering - this is how my surplus days usually go.
I do enjoy them, but am glad they don't happen everyday. On the other hand, I am thankful for the fuel it provides the activities I enjoy, the opportunity to eat things I don't incorporate on the daily, and the extra fire it temporarily gives this metabolism. In about 5 minutes, I will go and weigh myself and put the number below. I'm always curious how much in water weight and waste alone will show up on the scale. I won't do an official weigh in on FS until tomorrow, but if anyone has read this far, you can see how much I lose between today and tomorrow. And, no I don't expect to weigh in at 119 lbs tomorrow, either. It usually takes a few days for this body to release all the H2O from the food that I ate. Am I worried I gained a few ounces? Nope - my weight range is set for 123-130 lbs. It's safe to say, there's wiggle room for a few ounces. Anyhow, time to go weigh and see what the verdict is....
drumroll...and the verdict is 123.2 lbs. for and increase of 3.8 lbs. Which is not too shabby considering I used to have a 5-7 lb. gain after these days. Anyhow, I hope you all have a blessed and wonderful weekend. See you in the morrow and HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all the Mama's!
