Leafy Green Vegetables and cardio season!

Picture used from http://www.theluxuryspot.com/2012/02/04/health-spotting-kale-is-awesome/

At this point in my competition prep for vegetables I am eating leafy green ones only, and for fruits, berries and citrus only. I had been eating my regulars over and over again. Spinach, kale, Brussels sprouts, and broccoli were staples in my diet. Strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries for my go to fruits. I decided to do a little research and get some more variety into my diet! Turns out kale is actually the number one leafy green vegetable. It is an excellent source in vitamins A, C, and , has a good amount of calcium for a vegetable, and contains folate and potassium. Kale is easy to cook and versatile. I use it in my stir fry and omelets or on its own lightly tossed with olive oil and garlic powder then baked at 375 for about 10 minutes! Others great options I also found were collards, turnip greens, swiss chard's, mustard greens, Romaine lettuce, and cabbage! I can't wait to experiment a bit in the kitchen with these other greens! Some fruits I would like to add to my diet are raspberries, oranges, clementines, and grapefruit! 
Since I am only 3 weeks out from competition, it is all about leaning me out. We have added more cardio, less fruit and carbs, and I am tired! I now do 6 days of cardio, and by the 6th session I am pretty burnt out. They are not all high intensity, but from doing so little cardio while building muscle to doing much more on less food I am feeling the effects. I am just keeping in my mind the results that will follow all this hard work and discipline. I have been really lucky at the way my coach Jules was able to ease me into the diet and workouts gradually so nothing has been drastic or overwhelming. 

Last night I had a 30 minute HIIT sprint workout on the treadmill planned, but it was just too nice out to not be outside! So, a 45 minute steady paced jog with my little took its place! It was glorious! Sometimes the weather will motivate me more than anything else. This whole week is looking to be really nice so I'm hoping track workouts are in my future as well! 
Olivia and I are getting ready to head outside for some hopscotch fun! 
Happy Humpday everyone!! (Thanks Katie!)