Yes! The back/legs superset workout is back!!! Watch out now!! I had a nice relaxing day and evening yesterday. It was a good day at work and I felt so rested. My BF came over last night and made dinner. Man! That boy can cook!!!! LOVE it! He made tilapia with some delicious spicy Asian style marinade (no, he doesn't use recipes) and also sauteed zucchini and mushrooms. I took a photo of my "Round 2" so I will post that later. It was so yummy that I probably ate more than I should but I'm okay with that. We also went for a walk because the weather is just that way. It was breezy and crisp...a true autumn day in L.A.!! Loved it!
Got some sleep but didn't sleep well. Oh well, that happens sometimes. Still got up early and hit the gym. I did my favorite Back and Legs Superset Workout! Love that workout. I have no idea why either, just something about it that always feels good. I followed that up with 15 minutes of jump rope. OH! And guess what?!? I've been trying to learn how to do a double jump (spin the rope twice in one jump) and today I did it. And not just once buy 20 times!!!!!!!! Not all in a row mind you. I would do 10 regular jumps and then one double and 10 regular again like that!!! It was so exhilarating! Yeah for me!!!!!
Then it was home for some kabocha protein waffles. Yeah, I forgot how tasty those are. So they were my first meal with about 1 tablespoon peanut butter. Oh my! Then my second meal was (and third meal will be) 1/2 cup oatmeal with 1/2 pear, 5 egg whites. Pretty tasty. This time I'm having salsa on my eggs. Yum! I love my homemade salsa.
Tonight I have some work to do for my new business (that of the homemade caramels) and also some laundry. Then it's off to another early night's sleep. Yippee!!! Good job me. Hope you're all having a splendid day. I think I may have a new recipe up very soon. Just depends how it turns out!
“Believe me! The secret of reaping the greatest fruitfulness and the greatest enjoyment from life is to live dangerously!” ~Friedrich Nietzsche
I think I was in the middle of a tornado!!! Woah! I just feel like my weekend was completely out of control. You've heard of burning the candle at both ends? Well, that was me FOR SURE!! My To Do List was very, very long. And sometimes I overestimate my abilities and underestimate the hours in a day!! That's what happened over the weekend. I forget somewhat important things like drive time or food preparation time or even just time to eat!! You know how we Americans do it!!! We are SUCH overachievers!!!!! Or envision ourselves as such, don't we? There is a limit to our time and our capabilities and this weekend I seemed to forget all that. At any rate, now it's Monday, a new day and a new week. I'm still running around like a chicken with my head off this week too. So I need to find a little time in the week, a little space for myself. I'll let you know when that is. In the meantime, I'm off and running. Yep, off to the races!
Got my workout in early this morning since I'm training my friends/clients tonight. It will be good. I can't wait to see them and help them along their journey. It's so fun. My workout this morning was really great! I did shoulders, bis and abs and then 20 minutes HIIT on the treadmill alternating between 10% incline @ 4.4 walking and 0% incline @ 7.4-7.8 running.
So my workout was really great!!
Shoulder press on Smith Machine - 15 rep warm up then 3 sets of 12 with 30#
Single side lat raises 20# - 3 sets of 12
Dumbbell front raise 12# - 3 sets of 12
Superset (SS) with Rear delt flies 12# 3 sets of 12
Dumbbell biceps curls 15# - 3 sets of 12
SS with Ab crunches on decline bench 10# plate - 3 sets of 20
Dumbbell alternating hammer curls 15# - 3 sets of 12
SS with oblique twist - 3 sets of 15 each side
Reverse ab curl - 3 sets of 20
Great workout...REALLY! And I don't even like running so that was just something I did out of necessity since all our treadmills are gone or broken. Yes, down to 2 treadmills and they were both taken!!! Aaaaugghhhh!!!!
My meals were pretty on point since I had a wild food day on Sunday. More about that later.
1) 1/2 cup oatmeal, 5 egg whites
2) Applesauce mini muffins with 1 tablespoon peanut butter - and yes, I do measure my peanut butter since I will overindulge if I don't!
3) 1/2 cup oatmeal with 2-3 tablespoons pumpkin, 5 egg whites
4) Pork chop, 1/2 cup kamut, some kabocha
5)1/2 cup Voskos Greek yogurt, 1/2 scoop protein powder, 1/4 cup pumpkin, cinnamon
6) 4 oz chicken with tabouleh, 1 cup pomegranate seeds (from my BF's friend's tree...YUMMY!)
7) Pumpkin Souffle w/ 1/2 tablespoon almond butter, 1/2 tablespoon coconut oil
So, are you curious about my Wild Food Day Sunday? It wasn't really that bad. I think I mentioned that I'm going to be selling my homemade caramels this year for the holiday season. In an effort to get some samples going I had to make a batch of them on Sunday morning. Well, when you make the caramels you don't scrape the pot out into the pan or you'll get some crystallized sugar on top and we don't want that! So you scrape it into a buttered bowl for "sampling". Well, I "sampled" about 1 cup of caramel!!!! LOL!! But it was a little too chewy so I thought I had overcooked it. Later I took them out of the fridge to test their softness and promptly ate one (hmmm....they are actually just right - not too soft and not too chewy) and then another (yep, I think they're just right) and another (just one more to make sure they taste right)...and so on...and so on....LOL!!! I have no idea how many I ate but it was too many!!! Note to self: wrap and bag the caramels ASAP or you will literally eat away at your profits!!
TUESDAY
So, here it is Tuesday and I'm just finishing up my post for yesterday. Yep! So yesterday I was still ridiculously tired from Friday night. All day long I was barely functioning and felt very scattered. So I was in bed by 9:15pm and asleep shortly after that. I got a lot of good rest last night and woke up later than usual this morning (about 6:10 or so) but lounged around in my comfortable and warm bed till almost 7!! It felt so good and I was ready to wake up when I finally did get up. I showered and ate, packed my meals and was off to work. Today is going to be a REST day for me! Yeah!
My meals so far:
1) 5 egg whites topped with basil and cherry tomatoes, 1/2 cup oatmeal with 1/2 pear and 2 tablespoons cashews and unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze - YUMMY!
2) 5 egg whites topped with cherry tomatoes, 1/2 cup oatmeal with 1/2 pear, 1/2 tablespoon coconut butter
3) Applesauce protein muffins with 1 tablespoon peanut butter
4, 5, 6, 7) Still don't know yet...
I feel so much better and so well rested today. I can actually think straight and THAT is fantastic! So here's to another great day to celebrate life, love, and happiness. Tuesday! LOVE YOU TUESDAY!! Again, I salute you!!
In reflection of how I feel about me and my life, one word comes to mind and that is happiness and this quote is still one of my favorites about happiness.
“Happiness is a butterfly, which when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you” ~Nathaniel Hawthorne
Wow! I think I'm still high from last night's fun! What a TRULY AMAZING evening!! It was really great! Last week I found out that Pato Banton was going to be playing at a venue that is fairly close to me. I've known about this reggae artist and listened to his music for over 20 years. His music is very positive and now that I've heard him perform I have to say that HE is also very positive. So my BF and I and a few of his friends bought tickets.
THE FOOD: First we headed to Wood Ranch Barbecue in Agoura Hills (still the BEST one!!) and I ate so much. Don't worry...all of you that are in the midst of your contest prep, I ate some really good food for you. I can't help it...I'm just a givin' gal!!! LOL! So, what did I eat you ask? Well, to start with they have incredibly delicious garlic rolls and they serve them HOT, not warm...oh no, HOT!! So of course I had to jump right on those.
Next we ordered the spinach artichoke dip served with salsa and tortilla chips. Let me just say that Houstons has nothing on this place where that dip is concerned. I think they use a lot more parmesan than Houstons. Delicious!!
My main course was baby back ribs with grilled white corn on the cob and smashed sweet potatoes with candied pecans!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! REALLY?!? Are you kidding me? Holy Toledo!!! The ribs were divine - sticky, sweet yet tangy, smoky...perfect! The corn on the cob was just okay but the smashed sweet potatoes....OH........MY..........GOODNESSSSSSSSSSS!!! I'm in love! Hahahahahahahahaha! Ridiculously good!
THE FUN: Then we headed over to The Canyon Club for the concert. This was the perfect venue for this. It's casual and intimate enough without being overcrowded. Pato Banton's music is good and his messages take you to a higher level! He is all about making the world a better place and loving one another. It was an AMAZING concert. He sang some oldies and some newer songs. He has an incredible rapport with the audience and it was the most uplifting concert I have EVER been to. He really connects with the audience and as I looked around at the crowd everyone was just so happy. Everyone was dancing and it didn't matter if they were good at it or not because they were all truly enjoying themselves and THAT is rare to see these days - a whole venue full of happy people enjoying themselves. VERY rare!!
At one point he had everyone hug someone new ("not the people you came with") and smile at each other. I mean, come on! Who spreads that kind of love around at concerts? No concert I've been to before. At church? Maybe. But at a concert? Highly unlikely!! He spoke briefly about meditation and listening to yourself and these were his words: "Turn off our iphone. Turn off your ipod. Turn off you ichat. Turn off your i-this. Turn off your i-that. Listen to yourself. Meditate. Whenever I'm done meditating I can see clearly what I need to do and where I need to be." Beautiful words, right? His final song was Stay Positive and what a great message. I've put the lyrics below.
THE PRAYER CIRCLE: Yes, after the concert he invited everyone to meet in the parking lot for a prayer circle and to be there at 12:30 am (about 15-20 minutes after he finished singing). And WOW! What a positive vibration buzzing through that group. He said some great things and let anyone in the circle give thanks however they wanted. It was just AMAZING! A couple of the messages or things he said:
No matter what goal you achieve you're still the same distance from your goal - don't get comfortable!
Expand to expand
Don't get wrapped up in material things - you can't take them with you
Treat people right so you can put some credit into "the other side" - you're just in this vessel for this lifetime
So as you can see I was majorly positively moved by this concert. As my BF said on the way home, how often do you go to a concert and leave thinking how much more you can do, what you want to accomplish, and just fully motivated to live your best life? It's rare. I leave you with this video, the lyrics from Stay Positive and a few lyrics from songs of his that hit home for me!
STAY POSITIVE:
Situation in the world is crazy.
We got to stay positive.
Stay positive, stay positive, stay positive.
Stay positive, stay positive, stay positive.
Live the life you love, love the life you live
and no matter what the crisis is.
Stay positive, stay positive, stay positive.
Every time me take a little look on the T. V.
seems like the whole world gone crazy.
War, famine and poverty
people are dying continually.
So many people are getting confused
so many reasons to get in the blues.
But with a little faith in the most high's plan
it gives me strength to sing this song.
Positive! Ooh yes we have to stay positive.
Positive! No matter what the crisis is.
Positive! Even when things gone wrong.
Positive! This is the time when you got to be strong.
Positive! Black, white, pink or brown.
Positive! Live in the city or you live in the town.
Positive! Ooh yes we have to stay positive.
Positive! No matter what the crisis is.
Live the life you love, love the life you live
and no matter what the crisis is.
When there's life to live, and there's love to give
why should you be negative?
You got to stay positive!
"The more you love, the more you care, the more you care, the more you share." ~Pato Banton
"Life is a struggle but never give in! "~Pato Banton
"When there's life to live and love to give why should you be negative? You got to stay positive." ~Pato Banton
Here they are in all their glory. I started at about 165 pounds in late August 2009 at age 42 and ended up at 125 on the day of my competition and am currently maintaining about 131 at age 44. My body fat went from about 33.5% to about 14%. I will post other photos later but I really wanted to get these posted before another week went by where I didn't post them!! ENJOY!
Hope this can serve as inspiration for some of you!!
Spray bottom of 9x13 baking dish with olive oil spray or Pam. Place fish in bottom of pan (may overlap). Mix remaining ingredients together. May add water but remember that the fish will make its own liquid. Bake in 350 oven for about 20 minutes, just until fish flakes easily with a fork. Serve with brown rice and grilled zucchini.
*NOTE: I had no brown rice made so this is actually white boil-in-a-bag rice!! And yes, my zucchini was rotten so I didn't have that either. I followed up later with a mighty green smoothie!! You know me!
Place tomatoes and jalapenos whole on a broiler pan or cookie sheet. Broil about 4 inches from heat for about 6-12 minutes turning once, just until charred. Remove. Separate sliced onion and place on a cookie sheet with the garlic cloves. Roast for about 15 minutes at 425.
Place jalapenos, garlic and onion in food processor and pulse till fairly finely chopped. Remove to a bowl.* Place tomatoes and all their juices in food processor (may have to do in 2 batches). Coarsely puree. Remove to same bowl. Add just enough water for right consistency. Add salt to taste. Add vinegar to taste. Serve immediately or refrigerate and use in a week or freeze for whenever! ENJOY!!
** NOTE: You may want to place the tomatoes in a bowl and then add the jalapeno garlic mixture to desired spiciness. That way you don't make the salsa too spicy for your taste. **
Can you see it? It's almost here! But until then I suppose I will just have to enjoy Thursday. So today my plan was to work out at night but I was up early so I figured I might as well get that done this morning since I'm only doing cardio and no weights. So off to the gym I went and did my 35 minutes incline treadmill at 4.6 and 15% incline. In there somewhere I did about 4 minutes of 5.0 at 10% incline.
Then it was onto the tennis ball since I'm having some real tightness in my hips/hip flexor/IT band. Nothing like keeping those areas loose! Helps in so many ways! And of course I did some stretching/meditation. Ahhhhhh.....feels so great!
Home again home again jiggety jig! To feed this girl...this little pig! LOL! So it was a new grain for me today...Kasha! While the kasha I ate is just roasted buckwheat, apparently kasha is actually a meal prepared with any grain. (Hmm...I just learned something! Yeah for me!) It's pretty roasted tasting but I liked it just the same. You know me, I bore easily so this was a nice change for me. I added some applesauce to it and also some honey and coconut butter. Ah, then it was perfect! Yummy in fact. I can't wait to use this as a savory grain. Watch out kitchen...here I come!! And of course there were egg whites to go with that. I just seasoned them with sea salt and bruschetta seasoning. Very tasty breakfast indeed. And satisfying!
Second meal down and looking a lot like the first with the exception that I put walnuts in my kasha and boy is that tasty! No coconut butter though, just almond milk.
Oh, and by the way, in case you're wondering how I'm feeling after yesterday's workout...OH MY GOODNESS!!! I am BEYOND sore! It hurts to do anything. It hurts to type this post in fact. Holding up my arms? Yes, painful. Moving them around at all? Even more painful. I'm pathetic. Hahahaha!!! I even stretched and took my glutamine. But wowie! I am SORE!!
Let me get on with my day. I'll update you later and post my salsa recipe and also my quick bastardized pescado veracruz recipe too. It's gloomy outside. LOL! Random thought!
We have not the reverent feeling for the rainbow that a savage has, because we know how it is made. We have lost as much as we gained by prying into that matter.~Mark Twain
Good morning! How is everyone doing this morning? I'm feeling some fire. And guess what I've decided. I've decided that I am just going to put my favorite mix (you know the one - dried cranberries, chocolate chips, almonds and/or sacha inchi) in my plan on a weekly basis. Why you ask? Well, because I LOVE the combination and the reality is that it's not that bad for me and it's a really good TREAT. Dark chocolate is good for you as are dried cranberries due to their high volume of antioxidants. And of course the good fats from almonds and sacha inchi are awesome too. So I have decided to have that once a week. Unless it starts adversely affecting me then I think I'm good. I'll keep you posted on that. And the truth of the matter is that I really, really enjoy that treat. With it in my plan I can fully indulge and enjoy! Whew! Glad I got that off my chest and out there so you all are in the know!
So I'm off to a great start today. I had a killer workout this morning and a great breakfast. And soon my second meal will be ready for my big ol' mouth! Ha ha!
Chest, Tris, Abs Workout Chest
Incline push ups 3x15
Regular push ups 3x12
Push ups off 15 # dumbbells 3x12
Dumbbell chest press with 20# 3x15 Triceps
Triceps push ups off dumbbells 1x10 (OK...this was really hard after knocking out all the previous push-ups. I can usually knock out many more of these but not this time!)
Single triceps kickbacks 1x20 each arm
Reverse triceps dips - 10 slow - rest, 10 lower half then 10 upper half - rest, 5 full then halfway and hold for 3 counts then pulse for 5 then 5 more full then halfway combos Abs
15 full leg raise/hip lift
20 reverse curls
20 crunches
20 reverse curls with 10 # plate between knees
20 crunches with 10# plate overhead
20 crunches raising both hips and shoulders with 10# plate between knees Cardio
20 minutes HIIT on stepmill - started at level 10 for 2 minutes then level 12 for about 13 then level 16 for the last 5 minutes - all on the speed training (that's my love and I am so happy when I can get THAT stepmill!)
Home for shower and food. My first meal was 5 egg whites and 1/2 cup oatmeal with HOMEMADE salsa!! Yummy! I haven't made salsa forever and let me just tell you how good it was and is and will be since I made a TON! DELICIOUS!! And I love that salsa is so freezable. Oh, yes, there will be many salsa meals to come. In fact I think I'm going to make a bastardized Pescado Veracruzano for dinner tonight. Yummy and perfect for this rainy weather! If I do, I will definitely post the very easy recipe. I'll post my salsa recipe later today as well. It's so rustic and just bursting with flavor. Ooh, I need to take a picture of it. Note to self! Hahahahaha!!!
So as you saw earlier my first two meals were with applesauce. But I didn't stop there. I also had half an Asian pear at Meal 4 and then dried cranberries at Meal 6. Hmmm...interesting. I think tomorrow I have to take it down a notch with the fruit. So my meals for today weren't really on but I suppose they weren't really off either.
As I wrote in my earlier post:
1) 5 egg whites with Bac 'Uns and Garlic Gold Parmesan Nuggets, 1/2 cup oatmeal with 1/2 cup homemade applesauce
2) 5 egg whites with Bac 'Uns, 1/2 cup oatmeal with 1/4 cup applesauce, 2 tablespoons walnut pieces
Then later:
3) 1/2 cup Voskos Greek yogurt, 1/2 scoop protein powder, 2 T pumpkin, 1 T cacao nibs
4) Mighty green mint smoothie, 1/2 cup cottage cheese + 1/2 scoop unflavored protein powder with some Mediterranean Greek Seasoning, 1/2 Asian pear - NO! I didn't combine all these things...all were eaten separately!
5) 4 oz tilapia, 1/3 cup brown rice, 1 rice cake with 1 T peanut butter
6) My fine mix of dried cranberries, chocolate chips, and almonds...oh, yes, and I added some Sacha Inchi too! Then later a pork chop. I know. I'm so weird with my food sometimes! And, yes, I think I may have overdone my fine mix a little!!
7) Will be vegetable soup with some egg whites and chili garlic sauce
My plan this week was to be 100% until Friday or Saturday and then have a refuel. Hmm..not so much! Oh well. As you all have figured out by now I don't beat myself up much about things like that. I just have to make better choices tomorrow and the next day and the next day...and so on...and so on...LOL!!!
I'm off to do some more cooking that I didn't finish last night! Have a great evening. It's almost Wednesday. Not sure yet what my morning workout is going to be but I'll be sure to let you know. Enjoy your shuteye tonight!!
Hahahaha!! I told you I'm going to make Tuesdays special somehow. So today I'm saluting Tuesday! Please join me. We can all salute Tuesday. Won't that be great?
Got up this morning bright and early and before my alarm. So up and at 'em and off to the gym I went. I did back and leg supersets. Followed that up with 10 minutes jump rope. Still loving my jump rope!
Workout - 3 sets of each superset:
Assisted pullups (12) superset with
Leg Extensions (30)
Dumbbell rows (12) ss with
Hamstring Curls (20)
Straight arm lat pulldowns (15) ss with
Stationery lunge pulsing at bottom only with foot on plate (30)
Hammer Strength lat pulldown underhand grip (15) ss with
Sissy squats (15) then pulses (10)
Seated wide grip cable row (15) ss with
Wide stance squat pulses with 25# plate (30)
10 minutes jump rope any way you want it!
Only 2 meals down so far:
1) 5 egg whites with Bac 'Uns and Garlic Gold Parmesan Nuggets, 1/2 cup oatmeal with 1/2 cup homemade applesauce
2) 5 egg whites with Bac 'Uns, 1/2 cup oatmeal with 1/4 cup applesauce, 2 tablespoons walnut pieces
Today is Make It Count Monday. Whatever you do today make sure it counts! Don't let this day be just like any other day. Do something today that will make it stand out from every other day in your life. Whatever it is, make it count! Can you eat 100% to your plan? Do you think you can do one more set of an exercise or perhaps even just one more rep? How about breathing? Can you take some more deep breaths? Perhaps try a new recipe? Call an old friend you've been meaning to call? Say I love you to someone you should but often don't? Whatever it is, make it count! Don't let another day go by that just becomes "another day". Do something, make it count, create a memory! That's what it's all about!
I had an incredibly rejuvenating weekend. It was so nice to have downtime and relax and enjoy the company of my BF. We just hung out, got in two really great workouts which I will try to recreate from memory and post later today.
MY GOAL THIS WEEK: I promised all of you before and after pictures and I still haven't posted them. I am definitely going to get those up by the weekend. It is my top goal since this Saturday marks 6 weeks post-comp! Wow! SIX weeks! That's crazy! Time has flown. Posting this here makes me more accountable so it will definitely happen!
My food is right back on track today. It was "relaxed" over the weekend but still pretty good. I ate a little more white bread than I should but I'm okay with that. I like having a little bit of flexibility in my weekend eating schedule. I just try not to get too crazy. For example, on Friday night we went to a Mexican restaurant. Yes, I ate some tortilla chips and salsa. But my main meal was shrimp ceviche. So that was a very good choice over something with refried beans and rice.
Today's meals so far:
1) 5 egg whites pancake topped with 1/2 cup oatmeal
2) 1/2 cup oatmeal with 1/2 cup Voskos Greek yogurt, 1/2 scoop protein powder, 2-3 T pumpkin, 2 T walnuts and cinnamon!
More to come later. In the meantime, today is my REST day since I hit it pretty hard over the weekend. Ahhh...rest and relax. I also forgot to set my alarm last night so I slept until I was well rested this morning! Luckily that was before work!
So, don't forget to do something today to make it count! Have a great day and here we come week! WATCH OUT!! We are on a roll!
“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.” ~Dr. Seuss
Yeah! Friday's here! Aren't you excited? I am! I'm not necessarily someone that gets excited for Fridays but this week I am for some reason. And guess what? It's HERE!!! WOOHOO!!!!
I woke up this morning and headed to the gym. It's cool and dreary here but I headed out just the same. I was planning on doing glutes and hams this morning. Uh...NO! Definitely not well rested enough for that. So it was 40 minutes steady state cardio on the treadmill 4.4 at 10% incline. I enjoyed a nice stretch and a little roll on the tennis ball (tight hips were screaming for some myofascial release!)
Then it was home for my first meal and then off to work for my second:
1) Chocolate Cherry Protein Shake - YUM! Hmmmm....I just realized while I'm typing this that I never did eat my carbs (I mean other than the cherries in my shake)!!!!!!! Hahahahahahahah!!! Man I'm funny!!!
2) 1/2 cup brown rice and 5 egg whites, 1 rice cake with 1 T peanut butter, kabocha w/ touch of Almond Breeze and cinnamon and Stevia in the Raw - yeah, kind of a big meal...yep!
I'm excited for the weekend to just relax and unwind and spend some time with the ol' ball and chain...oh, I mean my BF! LOL! Nothing much planned but to spend some time and relax. Maybe that's why I'm so glad Friday is here!! WOOT WOOT!!
Enjoy your Friday and your weekend if you don't hear from me!! Keep an open mind and see what possibilities present themselves!
“The world is full of people who have never, since childhood, met an open doorway with an open mind” ~E.B. White (American writer 1899-1985)
“There exist limitless opportunities in every industry. Where there is an open mind, there will always be a frontier.” ~Charles F. Kettering (American engineer, inventor of the electric starter, 1876-1958)
Thursday's over! I'm glad. It actually wasn't too bad considering it was a Thursday. But I'm looking forward to my weekend to be honest with you.
I woke up feeling a little tired this morning but got up and to the gym since I wanted to leave the nighttime open for whatever I felt like. Whether that be rest, workout, chat with friends, cook, ya know...whatever I felt like! I got to the gym and ended up doing giant sets for my shoulders and tris. It was good and I felt great. Then I headed into the aerobics room and did about 10 minutes of jump rope. I'm LOVING the jump rope!
Training:
Shoulders - 3 rounds, 10 reps each - rest about 1 1/2 - 2 minutes between
Dumbbell Shoulder Press - 20#
Single Side Lateral Raise - 15#
Dumbbell Front Raise - 12#
Rear Delt Flyes - 8#
Triceps and Abs - 3 rounds, 10 reps each - rest about 1 minute between
Triceps push ups off dumbbells - hands under shoulders/elbows shooting toward feet
Overhead Triceps Extension with dumbbell - 25#
Skullcrushers with dumbbells - 8#
Hip raises off a bench - keeping hips off bench
10 minutes of jump rope variety - jumping front to back. slalom jumps, moving forward, sideways and backwards, attempting to do double jumps (well, I guess I should call them double spins - twice around with the rope for each jump) - failed miserably but entertained myself!
Quick stretch and I was out.
My meals today were good and varied. My little friend Kabocha is back!! We're hanging out together again!
1) DELICIOUS Cinnamon Apple Protein Shake (1 scoop vanilla protein, 1 apple, lots of cinnamon, 1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond breeze, 8 ice cubes) - drank one glass full and poured the rest over 1 cup spelt flakes - heaven!
2) Kabocha with 1/2 scoop chocolate protein powder and Almond Breeze, 1/2 cup brown rice on the side
3) 1/2 cup brown rice mixed with tuna, 2 teaspoons olive oil and Bac'uns - dessert of kabocha with cinnamon and Almond Breeze
4) Pork chop, side of Ezekiel toast with 1 T NuttZo, dessert of chocolate chips, dried cranberries, almonds
5) 1/2 cup Greek yogurt, 1/2 scoop protein powder, 12 cinnamon almond meal crackers
6) Another pork chop, lots of kabocha
7) Hmmm...not sure yet...um, pumpkin souffle? OKAY!! A little coconut oil and NuttZo? OKAY!!!
It's off the computer for me and off to relax and get ready for bed, eat my final meal and put my head down for some good ol' zzzzzzzzz's. Have a good evening. I see Friday peeking out...
Watch out! It will ROB you!!! Of your energy!! Rollerblading/Inline Skating....it's dangerous! Or at least it is for me. No matter what day of the week or time of day I do this workout it KILLS me! I enjoy it so much when I'm doing it that I think I don't even realize how hard I'm pushing until I'm standing at the light waiting for it to change and I notice how hard I'm breathing. Yes, blading is a very hard workout! Anyone that doesn't think it is is clearly not pushing against the ground with each stroke to make the most of each stroke or they're not doing slalom turns when they're going "downhill". That's all I can say because it is NOT an easy workout. I LOVE it! I should sleep very well tonight indeed!
To finish out my meals for the day:
4) Pork chop and 1 spelt tortilla
5) Chicken noodle vegetable soup with 5 egg whites on side and 1 rice cake
6) 1 Ezekiel tortilla, 4-5 oz tilapia
7) Pumpkin souffle (and probably a mighty green smoothie - want the refreshment)
It's a little more online work and then it's off to slumberland!! Goodnight all!
Oh no! Watch out!!! It is Wicked Workout Wednesday!!! And, no, I'm not from Boston! LOL! I don't know if you feel it today...can you feel it? I have energy coming out of my pores so if you're anywhere near me you are certainly going to feel it. In fact, you're probably feeling it just reading about it here on this page!! Am I right? Feel that energy! Embrace it and do what you will with it!!
This is one of those days when it really, really sucks to have a desk job. I feel like I could go run, lift weights, hike, skate, swim and bike all day long today. What am I supposed to do with all of this energy?!? I ask you!
I started off the morning RIGHT! I got up and was at the gym by 5:30 or 5:40, I think. I did my back and leg superset workout and it was amazing!! I think I'm really liking doing the AM weights since NO ONE is there and you can really just get in and get it done! I followed that up with some jump rope for about 10 minutes. Finished it all off with some nice stretching and meditating.
For the jump rope, this is what I did with about 30 second rests between each set.
100 single jumps
100 single jumps
60 double jumps
60 skipping
60 single jumps
60 boxer style (why am I so uncoordinated doing those?!?)
60 slalom jumps
Gina had put jump rope in my program about 6 weeks out and I loved it. I haven't loved jump rope since I've been an adult. I was the BEST in my class in 3rd grade though so I must have SOME natural talent! Hahahaha!!
So it's back to work I go. Oh, by the way, my weight is up to 133. That's fine. I had decided that it could go up to 135 and I would be fine with that. We'll see what happens. I also know what to do with all my energy. I'm going to go skating after work!! WOOHOO!!!
And my food today, you ask?
1) Homemade veggie soup with sliced up egg "pancake", 1/2 cup oatmeal on the side
2) 1/2 cup oatmeal with 1/4 cup pumpkin, 1/2 cup Greek yogurt, 2 T walnut pieces, cinnamon - YUM!
3) 1/2 cup Greek yogurt with 1/2 scoop chocolate protein powder, 1 T cacao nibs, 1 rice cake
...more to come...
“Act enthusiastic and you will be enthusiastic” ~Dale Carnegie
Let me just wrap up yesterday so I can put it in its box and forget about it!!! LOL!!!
I didn't get up early because, why? Well, because I stayed up late of course!! So then it was definitely going to be an evening workout for me. I ate my breakfast and headed into work. I went in for my second meal and guess what? The yogurt looked like this...
Funky thing in my yogurt - YUCK!
Gross? Yes, I thought so too! So then I was at a loss...what was I going to do?!? I rummaged through my stash of goodies at work and came up with something so delightful I would like to have it again each and every day!!! Let's just call it Helluva Pumpkin Mess! I microwaved about 2/3 cup pumpkin for 30 seconds. Then I added about 2-4 T unsweetened vanilla almond breeze and 1 scoop protein powder and 1/4 cup instant oats and cinnamon. I heated it again for about 30 seconds. Then I served it up with some Cinnamon Almond Meal Crackers. Oh, man was it good!!!!
Helluva Pumpkin Mess on Cinnamon Almond Meal Cracker
So that meal was awesome but late and then we had someone coming into our office and bringing lunch. Well, normally I go home for lunch so I had no backup. We got food from El Pollo Loco. I ordered the skinless chicken breast which comes with side salad and veggies. It wasn't terrible but the veggies were way over done. So I was quite off track by now and I didn't go home at lunch which meant no workout clothes. I made my mind up then to skip Tuesday's workout and just hit it hard Wednesday. Afternoon snack posed a little problem since I again really had no plan for that and NO yogurt? :-( But again I made use of my canned pumpkin, chocolate protein powder this time, cacao nibs, and an apple. Weirder than the first time and not nearly as good but hey, it worked.
I think all the weird food during the day affected me badly. I headed out to Whole Foods after work to return the funky yogurt. Then it was off to Trader Joe's for some staples - veggies, almond milk, pork chops, eggs...and 2 Think Thin bars...yeah, uh oh is right! Headed home with my goodies and promptly dove into my first Think Thin bar! Don't worry, it was my first and ONLY! But unnecessary just the same. Just craving something, that's all.
So, to sum up my meals yesterday:
1) 2 cups puffed kamut, vanilla protein powder "milk"
2) Helluva Pumpkin Mess and 13 cinnamon almond meal crackers
3) 1 skinless chicken breast, 1 cup mixed steamed veggies, 1 salad with some tortilla strips and salsa for dressing, 1/2 cup kamut (thanks to Iris!!)
4) Chocolate Pumpkin Mess, 1 apple, 2 T cacao nibs
5) Think Thin Bar
6) Mighty Green Smoothie - cold w/ mint - soooo yummy!
7) 4 egg whites with 1 T olive oil, 6 cherry tomatoes, bruschetta seasoning - so, so tasty!
Weird day and very discombobulated! Oh well, it's over and wrapped up!
Roughly chop all veggies. Place everything in blender in order listed. Blend on high till blended. Pour into saucepan and heat over medium high till warm.
**Note: This was a little acidic so you may want to reduce the apple cider vinegar and add some vegetable or chicken broth to thin.
I added some tilapia. I'm sure it would also be good with shrimp or chicken.
I'm so excited because now I have my mighty green smoothie "winter style"!! LOL!
1 cup grated Mozzarella Almond Cheese (dairy free!)
1 t seasonings (I used Greek Mediterranean Seasoning from World Market)
Put cauliflower in microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 6-8 minutes, stirring about every 2 minutes. Add grated cheese and seasonings and mix well. Cheese will get melty. Spread on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper till thin. Bake at 400 degrees for about 20-30 minutes. Remove and add toppings or if you aren't adding toppings, just cut into quarters. Put back in oven for another 20-30 minutes till toppings are cooked or till crust is crispy.
Yes, I ate this basically as a cracker/side to my egg whites. Oh boy, is it delicious?
Today I made a plan to wake up at 6:15 by alarm unless I woke up before then and if I did I would head to the gym. I was still exhausted from my late night Saturday night. Well, I woke up about 4:45 and that was just too early so I didn't get up. I went back to sleep till 6:15 and that felt great. Then I was up and at 'em and my energy was feeling good!
My meals were different, interesting, weird, unique, off the wall...
1) 4 egg whites with bruschetta seasoning, tomatoes and Garlic Gold Parmesan Nuggets, side of oatmeal with cinnamon "sugar", 1/2 a grapefruit
2) Oatmeal mixed with pumpkin, cinnamon, side of yogurt/protein powder combo with cacao nibs and walnuts
3) Yogurt/protein powder combo, rice cake w/ 1 T PB
4) Fish taco on Ezekiel w/ lettuce, Mexican tomatoes, and almond cheese, side (dessert) of kabocha mixed with 1 t coconut oil and 1 t NuttZo
5) Tilapia and green beans
6) Double Hot Mighty Green Smoothie with Tilapia, 1 slice Rudi's Multigrain Oat bread
7) Cauliflower Pizza Crust, 4 egg whites, 10 cinnamon almond meal crackers - ***Random Meal Award Winner***
So kind of a weird food day but intriguing, don't you think? Definitely try all the items in Meals 6 and 7 if you get a chance. They're all easy to make and really delicious. The almond meal crackers should be eaten as a serving of healthy fat, equal to 2 T nut butter.The Double Hot Mighty Green Smoothie is just veggies so eat it whenever. And the Cauliflower Pizza Crust was more like a cracker. DELISH!! Really good actually. I'm going to see what else I can do with that. I didn't have any "pizza toppings" so I'll have to make it again when I do and see what happens with toppings.
It was a great birthday! Thanks to all who sent birthday wishes! It's so funny the myriad ways you can receive birthday wishes now. You have the text messages, the phone calls, the voicemail (for the missed phone calls of course), the emails, the cards, the hugs, Facebook, etc. Crazy, huh? Just...what...10 years ago, maybe 15 you would never have texted or facebooked somebody a birthday wish but now they make it HARD to forget to wish someone a happy birthday. Technology...you've GOT to keep up! ha ha!
I ate anything and everything I wanted and it was so much fun! As I stated yesterday I started out with 2 truffles...well, that is not where I stopped. I think by the time I left work I had eaten 6 or 8!!! They are ridiculously good! I also ate my birthday cake...yep, 2 pieces - 1 medium and 1 small but TWO pieces just the same. I also went out to lunch and had an amazing rosemary turkey burger. Okay, to be honest, I'm not even a big turkey burger fan but this restaurant uses mostly or completely dark meat and lots of rosemary and it's TASTY!! It comes with some roasted potatoes and salad. Oh! And of course they also start you off with tortilla chips and THE BEST pico de gallo!! It's so tasty! Then later it was on to dinner at a Korean BBQ Buffet. Oh goodness!! So incredibly yummy!!! I LOVED that too. I probably ate at least a pound of meat (beef and pork)!!
My BF came through in a BIG way yesterday and made my day very special for me!! And guess what? He got me my Beehive Blender I wanted!! Yep! Started out my day today with a Chocolate PB Protein Smoothie and it KILLED the ice in no time flat!! So excited!!! My coach Gina had also made a video of me and posted it on her site!! How sweet is that? I was so touched! I just want to thank all of you that expressed birthday wishes in some way or fashion yesterday. It means so much to me and it was really nice to have all that positive energy sent my way. I can ride on that energy for at least a week! THANK YOU ALL!!
And now it's off to enjoy my weekend. Have a great weekend!!
WOOHOOO!!!! It's my birthday! In celebration I got up early and headed to the gym for some HIIT! Yep, 5:30 and some pretty hardcore HIIT on the stepmill with speed intervals. Low interval was level 14 and high interval was level 18!! Woot woot!! I don't think I've ever done level 18 so good job me!!
So I come into this birthday weighing less than I've weighed on birthday EVER!!! LOL! Kidding of course but weighing less than I ever have at this height (about age 15)...a mere 29 years ago!! And feeling just as good if not better than I did then!! Can you believe it? Honestly a year ago I would not have believed it.
I already know that I'm getting birthday cake later today. My friend and coworker brought me my fave - white cake with fresh strawberries and whipped cream frosting from Phoenix Bakery !! Oh man!! I can't wait! I think I may be over my quota on all things good today since I started out with 2 truffles from Sprüngli in Switzerland.
My boss's wife just got back from Switzerland and brought a box of these! Their chocolate is the BEST! I don't know what they do to their cows but I love, love, love Swiss chocolate and butter. And when you go to Sprüngli in Switzerland you have to get the pretzel bread sandwich with BUTTER and ham! TO DIE FOR!!!! I love butter, to be honest. And yes, even though I rarely eat it now I still love it!!
BUTTER RULES THE WORLD!!!!
Mmmmmmmmmm........
Well, I better get back to work ! Hope you all have a GREAT and FANTASTIC day! Here's to birthdays!! They're fun!
“And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years.” ~Abraham Lincoln
Okay, it's Thursday. Who's ready to hit it? I guess I am since I was up and at the gym by 5:40am. I put in a good 35 minutes on the treadmill 4.4-4.6 at mostly 10% but some 15% incline. It felt good and actually my energy was really good but I didn't want to get on the stepmill because I find myself a little too competitive on that machine and kind of push it too hard. Especially since I did HIIT on it just last night!
Yesterday's Meals:
Before 1) Mighty green smoothie
1) 4 egg whites + 1 egg, 1/2 cup oatmeal with pumpkin, almond milk, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, cloves
2) Chocolate Zucchini Protein Loaf!!
3) 1/2 cup Voskos Greek yogurt, 1/2 scoop chocolate protein powder, 1/4 cup instant oats
4) Spaghetti squash, 5 oz tilapia, Ezekiel tortilla
5) Shrimp pate on celery, side of cucumber
6) Cream of mushroom soup from Whole Foods, 4 oz Rosemary Garlic Pork Tenderloin
7) Chocolate Protein Cake with 1 T NuttZo - mmmm.....so yummy!
Last night I did back, bis and abs. It was a GREAT workout! Very strong and highly motivated! And then I hit the stepmill for 20 minutes of HIIT doing about 10 minutes at level 12 then 2 minutes level 14 and then the last 8 at level 16, all on speed training and varying between single steps and double steps. AWESOME!! I worked so hard I deserved a nice long stretch and meditation which I took right there at the gym. Then it was off to Whole Foods.
Guess what? They are having a sale on Zevia soda!! If you don't know about this stuff, you should try it out if you're a soda lover! It has ZERO calories, ZERO carbs, and is sweetened with stevia!! This was made for me. Not only that but they have these yummy flavors: Dr. Zevia, Cola, Ginger Ale, Orange, Black Cherry, Twist and Ginger Root Beer. I have tried the Ginger Ale, Black Cherry and Ginger Root Beer and have LOVED all of them. And no artificial sweeteners OR sugar. It's a win win!
Blue Sky also makes stevia (well, Truvia) sweetened sodas. They're flavors are good too: Cherry Vanilla Creme (love!), Jamaican Ginger Ale, Creamy Root Beer, Cola and Lemon Lime. Cherry Vanilla Creme is the only one I've tried and I love it!
Today's meals:
1) 1 cup spelt flakes with almond milk, Chai Tea "latte" - made with protein powder of course...YUM!
2) Chocolate Zucchini Protein Loaf
3) 1/2 cup Voskos yogurt, 1/2 scoop chocolate protein powder, 1-2 T cacao nibs, 4 walnut halves
4) Mighty Green Smoothie first then Orange Spice Cottage Cheese Pudding with hazelnuts and Raisin Cinnamon Mochi - oh man!! WATCH OUT NOW...WAY TASTY!!!!!!
Orange Spice Pudding with hazelnuts and Raisin Cinnamon Mochi
Mochi close-up!
5) Spaghetti Squash with quick peanut sauce (peanut butter, chili garlic sauce, soy sauce) and tilapia - this was so surprisingly good
6) Spaghetti Squash with olive oil and Garlic Gold Parmesan Nuggets and 5 oz Rosemary Garlic Pork Tenderloin
7) Low-Carb Pumpkin Souffle from Nourished Fitness - OH YES!!! I HAVE ARRIVED!!! Are you joking? I just found this recipe tonight and made it instantly and it's sooooooooooo good. I put a little coconut oil and also some NuttZo on top!!! TRY THIS RECIPE!!!
1 scoop Cinnamon Roll Protein Powder (brand suggestions: BSN, All The Whey)
1/3 cup Pumpkin puree
1/3 cup Egg Whites
1/4 tsp Baking Powder
Pumpkin Spice & Cinnamon to taste
Stevia to taste
*Mix dry ingredients first then add in pumpkin and egg whites. For best results mix with a hand blender until well mixed. Pop into the microwave for 3 minutes. Pick your favorite topping depending on your nutrition needs (nut butters, maple syrup, dried fruit, etc)
Today I did a leg workout with my "client"/friend. It was a great workout and I really enjoy sharing my knowledge about working out and nutrition. It's quite fun and exciting. Got home later than usual but managed 2 more meals. Wow! What a great meal day!!! YUMMY! I love being this healthy and still eating some really tasty food!!
It's off to bed for me now so I can wake up early and head to the gym for my first workout as a 44-year-old!!!!! WOOHOOOOOOO!!!! Happy Birthday to ME!!!!!
Yeah, those two words don't really go together. Well, at least not in my book! Yesterday I was on a carb/sweet kick come nighttime. So you see this is how my meal plan ended up playing out yesterday. I lost control! Aahhh...but at least I FOUND my cravings!!!! LOL!!!
1) 5 egg whites, 1/2 cup oatmeal with 1/4 cup pumpkin, some almond milk, stevia, and pumpkin pie spice - yummy!
2) My HALF meal ;-) - 1/2 cup oatmeal with 1/2 an apple, 6 walnut halves & cinnamon, 1/2 container of Greek yogurt - Voskos with 1/2 scoop chocolate protein powder and 1-2 T cacao nibs
3) My OTHER HALF meal - 1/2 container of Greek yogurt - Voskos with 1/2 scoop chocolate protein powder, 1/4 cup (or should I say 1/2 of a 1/2 cup) instant oats, 2-3 T almond milk and 1-2 T cacao nibs
4) Rosemary Garlic Pork Tenderloin, LOTS of steamed green beans, spelt tortilla on the side
5) 6 oz broiled tilapia and kimchee! I just love my kimchee HERE IS WHERE THE TROUBLE BEGAN!!!
6-end of the night) 1 1/2 cups puffed kamut with almond milk and Just Like Sugar
Then it was onto the prunes (about 6-8)
Then it got worse...my new favorite...dried cranberries, raw almonds, dark chocolate chips - in truth this is a VERY healthy snack with all its antioxidants and healthy fat! The quantity however, might be the problem. I really don't even know how much I had but let's put it in the ballpark of about 20-30 almonds plus 2 chocolate chips and 2 cranberries for each almond!! EXCELLENT!! I am a CHAMPION in the truest sense of the word!!!
I thought of eating some more protein later but that just seemed frivolous at that point so I stopped eating all together.
I got a good night's sleep and then this morning woke up ready to hit the day in a big, big way!!! I knew I had to rein things in so I woke up early and hit up a mighty green smoothie - 1 green bell pepper, 2 stalks celery, 1 1/2 cups spinach, 2 stems of mint (leaves only), 2 Persian cukes, 1/4 c apple cider vinegar, 1/4 c aloe vera juice, 3 droppers stevia, 8 ice cubes. Great way to start my day...makes me feel so clean and healthy! Then I had to wash dishes, eat breakfast and make Chocolate Zucchini Protein Loaves!! I just finished eating a loaf and it was delish!!! Although next time I may even add a little applesauce since the cocoa powder is a little drying.
So my meals so far today:
Before 1) Mighty green smoothie
1) 4 egg whites + 1 egg, 1/2 cup oatmeal with pumpkin, almond milk, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, cloves
2) Chocolate Zucchini Protein Loaf!!
I'm off to a good start! Yesterday's shoulder workout was great! Oddly enough though just 3 1/2 weeks since showtime and I'm starting to feel the loss of strength. Next week I'm going to work on bringing my strength back. It could also just be with my travel and not working out on my regular schedule I was a little off. We'll see next week.
So, this weekend is my birthday weekend!! Yippee! I'm not usually excited for my birthday but for some reason this year I am!! I get to go listen to some jazz on Friday night - sounds good and relaxing and hopefully the rain will be gone by then since it's outdoors. Then on Saturday night I'm going to go to the 20th Annual Divas Simply Singing! Now this I am VERY excited about!! I love good music and incredible singers and this night promises to be one of those. I have never been but I've wanted to go for a while now. I'm sure there will be some good food thrown in the weekend as well! I also told you I was going to post my birthday wish list and so I will.
ERIN'S BIRTHDAY WISH LIST
iTunes Gift Card - I just won an iPod Touch and would love to fill it with some new stuff!
Cast iron griddle/grill pan from World Market ($20) - I know there are better, more expensive ones but that will work
Oster Beehive Blender - my blender works but after 22 years of working it's kind of slowly dying ($55-60) - Yes, I really would like a VitaMix but THAT'S not going to happen!
Cards/Hugs/Laughs ($free)
Gift cards from Trader Joe's (I know, pathetic!), Macy's, Target, vitacost.com
NuttZo, Just Like Sugar
Metabolic Drive Low Carb vanilla protein powder from tmuscle.com ($35)
Muscle Gauge Nutrition cake batter protein powder from musclegauge.com
That's about it! Feel free to shop away!!!HA HA HA!! I know they are all things I can buy myself but it's fun to make a list. Kids do it all the time so why not being a little childlike? Try it yourself, it's fun! Wish lists can be fun!!
Have a great day today! I am LOVING this rain!! I love rain in limited amounts!! It's always so fresh after the rain!
"The best thing one can do when it's raining is to let it rain." ~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
WOOT WOOT!!!! It's Tuesday! Hey, Tuesday doesn't have much of a reputation as a "day". You know, like Monday is back to work/school day, Wednesday is Hump Day, Friday is TGIF, Saturday is the weekend and Sunday is "church" day. But Tuesday and Thursday...they don't really have much clout, do they? Poor Tuesday and Thursday. Well, I'm going to celebrate Tuesday today! Yeah for Tuesday! What a great day - no stress of the week starting, no halfway through, no celebration for the end of the week - just an average ol' day of the week!
I know...I'm a little silly today. Got it! At any rate, I started my morning off with a bang as I said I was going to have to because of my Vegas last weekend/birthday this weekend combo! I headed to the gym at 5:30 and did 40 minutes of cardio - 15 minutes treadmill (4.6 at 15% incline) then 15 minutes stepmill (speed training level 10 then last 5 minutes level 14) then back to the treadmill for 10 more minutes (4.6 @ 15%). It felt good and I was glad I did what I said I was going to do. Yeah for me!
My meals so far:
1) 5 egg whites, 1/2 cup oatmeal with 1/4 cup pumpkin, some almond milk, stevia, and pumpkin pie spice - yummy!
2) My HALF meal ;-) - 1/2 cup oatmeal with 1/2 an apple, 6 walnut halves & cinnamon, 1/2 container of Greek yogurt - Voskos with 1/2 scoop chocolate protein powder and 1-2 T cacao nibs
3) My OTHER HALF meal - 1/2 container of Greek yogurt - Voskos with 1/2 scoop chocolate protein powder, 1/4 cup (or should I say 1/2 of a 1/2 cup) instant oats, 2-3 T almond milk and 1-2 T cacao nibs
More meals to come later! I'll keep you posted. I'll be heading to the gym tonight for some serious shoulder workout! It's been since Friday since I've worked out my shoulders. And I'm READY!! Watch out shoulders...you're going to get a little "challenge" tonight! Bring it!!!
Until later...
The fact is, that to do anything in the world worth doing, we must not stand back shivering and thinking of the cold and danger, but jump in and scramble through as well as we can. ~Robert Cushing
So today went well I think. I laid low...really low...practically on the floor! LOL!
I slept in till 9:00!!! I was just beat from Vegas and I think I was short on sleep before I even left and so I was shorter on sleep when I returned because I never sleep as well in a hotel as I do at home! So I slept in and ate when I got up (about 9:30 or so).
My meals today:
1) 5 egg white pancake topped with 1/2 cup oatmeal and pinch of sea salt, 4 oz almond milk on the side (just because I like it!)
2) 1/2 cup oatmeal with 1/2 an apple and cinnamon, mug of chocolate mint protein tea (oh my! I forgot how much I like that)
3) Shrimp pate with Ezekiel tortillas
4) Yogurt mixed with MGN cake batter protein powder and about 10 almonds and a WHOLE BAG of Myrna's Skinny Crisps - Cinnamon Crisps - I just bought these at Whole Foods and had little to no control over my eating them. They are GOOD! - low carb and gluten free! Dangerous!
5) Rosemary Garlic Pork Tenderloin with Green Beans (wanted Mashed Cauliflower but didn't have any cauliflower)
6) Chocolate Protein Cake with 1 T NuttZo
So all in all a pretty good food day except for that minor slipup with the Skinny Crisps. I think they meant Skinny Crisps when you don't eat the entire bag (supposedly 9 servings!!). Let's see what that adds up to - 450 calories, 31.5 g fat, 45 g carbs (only 27 net carbs though ;-)) 18 g protein!!! LOL!! That's AWESOME!! Look at me go!! Too funny! What can I do but laugh at my lack of self control? Tomorrow's another day and there are definitely a lot of things I could have eaten that would be much worse!!
Today I did not workout at all. I was going to just see how my day panned out. I did very little though actually. I did make it to the grocery store so I have lots of vegetables. I made my shrimp pate and Ezekiel tortilla chips. I also made my Rosemary Garlic Pork Tenderloin. I don't remember if I've posted that before but if not I will post it this week. So easy and very delicious!!
It's off to bed I go since I'm going to get up for fasted cardio tomorrow morning. Goodnight all! Sweet dreams!! Tuesday here we come! Let's hit it big! Tomorrow I'm going to post my Birthday Wish List. I never do that but I know some things I want so I might as well just put it out there. I don't expect presents but if anyone wants to know, at least the answers will be here! ;-)
Up and at 'em bright and early!! Before I even left the hotel room I had to have a couple of slices of zucchini loaf so I could take my vitamins and fish oil. Then it was down to the meeting room. We got situated and ready for our attendees and then I went to find what I could of food. I ended up with some hot water, 2 slices pineapple and about 1/3 cup berries. Thus my breakfast was 1/2 cup instant oatmeal (made with the hot water of course) with 1 scoop protein powder, berries and 1/4 cup walnuts. I ate the pineapple separately. It was tasty.
Here are how my meals played out in a hotel at a meeting from 6:30am till 4:45pm:
Before 1) 2 slices zucchini loaf
1) as listed above
2) Zucchini loaf
3) Puffed kamut cake with 1 T peanut butter and honey
4) From the meeting lunch: Romaine salad with some garlicky parmesan tomatoes topped with 2-3 oz swordfish and 3 oz tuna from the pack (that I brought) and balsamic vinegar and olive oil, a cup of spinach, chicken, egg soup (pretty tasty actually - must make it myself), 1 dinner roll with nuts in it (of course that was delicious - it's BREAD!!!)
5) Chicken muffins
6) Chocolate protein cake with 1 T PB
7) Throwdown dinner at TODD'S UNIQUE DINING in Henderson, NV
The highlight of the day was eating at TODD'S!! I love, love, love this place! I'm not sure what I like most about it. I stumbled upon this restaurant quite by accident and love it and have been back to it every year since I found it and once 2 times in a year. I actually met the owner and head chef Todd and he is very cool, very nice and knows his food. The food is always ridiculously fresh and the flavors are fantastic! I only wish it were a little closer to my home because then I could go more often. If you live anywhere near Henderson, NV you should definitely check it out. Or if you're visiting Vegas and feel a need to get off the strip and have a nice relaxing decently priced meal then head on over to Todd's. You'll love it! Here comes our meal...as only photos can do it justice!!
BREAD BASKET White bread brushed with garlic olive oil and caraway with raisins and the fluffiest whipped butter EVER
Flash fried Calamari and Rock Shrimp, spiced and smoky dipping sauce
Seared Scallops wild mushroom potatoes and pistachio butter
Grilled Skirt steak "On Fire” chili cheese fries and black bean sauce
Apple Cobbler with homemade Cinnamon Ice Cream
So, my review of Toidd's? GO HERE!! You must go to Todd's if you live anywhere near Vegas. It's such a nice break from the strip and the food is always very fresh and it's just a relaxing atmosphere and the flavors are so unique and just tantalize your tongue! I always get the same main course but switch up the appetizer, salad, and/or dessert. The calamari was amazing! Just my kind of thing - the batter/breading was very light and it paired so well with the pickled sliced chilies it was served with. My Skirt Steak "On Fire" was just as amazing as always - this meat is marinated for 3 days and with 7 different chilies. The flavor is so incredible! And the meat is incredibly tender! And then the fries, well, what can I say? They're handcut and then they have jack and cheddar cheese melted on top with some Chinese fermented black bean sauce! Seriously, I can't even tell you how good it is. RIDICULOUS!! This dish will have me going back to Todd's for many, many years to come. My friend's scallops were beautiful and the flavor was amazing. And the wild mushroom mashed potatoes that came with them were to die for as well. Then there was the Fresh Apple Cobbler and the INDESCRIBABLE homemade cinnamon ice cream! That ice cream mixed with the hot apple cobbler was almost too much for me!! This was the BEST dinner! I loved every morsel.
So, did I eat too much? Yes, definitely. We had to go walk around after that meal. And so we did. We walked around the Palazzo and Venetian and people watched. It seemed like each young girls we passed had on a short low cut dress and high heels but then the next young girl would pass us with an even shorter, lower cut dress and even higher heels!! And you could tell that very few of them are even semi-comfortable dressed this way since they were constantly pulling the skirt down or the dress up. It was just entertaining. Who knows? I could have been like that when I was younger but I really don't remember. I did wear some short things and some high heels but it just seems a bit much these days! Yes, I am an old fuddy duddy! LOL!!!
SUNDAY
Final day in Vegas! Yeah! I only had to work about half the day then it was off to the airport and home to good ol' Los Angeles!!! It sure gives you an appreciation for where you live and what you have at home!
My meals for Sunday were okay but I was ready to get home and eat right:
Before 1) 2 slices zucchini loaf
1) Same as yesterday but no nuts because I forgot
2) Zucchini loaf and then cereal bar later
3) Chef salad from the Bistro in the Venetian (minus the bleu cheese and bacon - well I had about a teaspoon of bacon bits) topped with sherry vinaigrette - very yummy salad. Fortunately (or unfortunately if you want to view it that way) the salad was served with white rolls that are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside and they were WARM and there was a lot of butter! Oh yes, I ate TWO of those and enjoyed every single bite!
4) 4 Ethel's chocolates that I bought at the airport - lemon creme, macadamia toffee, pina colada truffle, pecan cluster (turtle) - okay, their chocolates are really yummy and made locally in Vegas
After I got home from the airport I headed straight for the blender and made a
5) Mighty green ginger smoothie - celery, fresh ginger root, spinach, 1 zucchini, lime juice, stevia, cider vinegar and aloe juice
6) Bun with pork and shrimp and Imperial rolls (like an egg roll but much better) from a Vietnamese restaurant - the bun is glass noodles with pork, shrimp, cilantro, mint, carrot and served with a sweet/tart sauce. Of course I add some of their homemade chili sauce and it's such a fresh and tasty noodle dish!
I thought I was going to just eat salad when I got home because I was dying for vegetables but that was not the case. My BF picked me up at the airport (so nice of him!) and then we came to my place, I made my smoothie and drank it. So tasty. Then it was off to the beach for a quick drill workout (maybe 30 minutes or so) before the sunset. It was so nice to be in fresh air, at the beach even though it was cold. I was hot once we got started. It was great!!! Then we hit the Vietnamese restaurant after. It was a great way to come back to L.A.
To sum up my trip to Vegas, it actually was a good time and I enjoyed some really amazing food! I love eating food that I don't cook and just being able to enjoy, truly truly enjoy a meal! That is what life is made of. I'm so glad I'm not a guilty eater or that weekend would have just about killed me, right? I just enjoyed it and knew that whatever damage that food might do I was returning to L.A. and would have control over my food and workouts soon enough!
Today I have the day off of work and I'm just taking it easy and preparing for my week since I have to get ready to get a year older on Friday!! Woohoo!! My birthday is coming!!!!
It's off to get some things done. If a workout fits in my schedule today great and if not I'm just going to have to hit it hard for the rest of the week. Although my weight barely changed over the weekend (131 today), my body composition certainly did so it's back to hard workouts, clean eating and a little extra cardio this week.
Hope you're all off to a great start for your week. It's going to be a good one.
"Be happy while you're living, for you're a long time dead." ~Scottish Proverb
Ahh...Vegas...love it? Not me. I'm not a big Vegas person. I've been going to Vegas for 40+ years so I remember the "good ol' Vegas" and that's not what Vegas is now. It used to be a place you would go for a "cheap" vacation! NOT today! Soooooo not the case!! Everything is expensive in Vegas - the taxis, the food, the rooms, the shows. It seems like everything!! Luckily I was there on "business" travel. Well, actually I don't really get paid so it's more like volunteer work but same general idea as "business" travel in the fact that I don't pay for anything while I'm there. So recap here we come!
FRIDAY
My trip started off with a funny story (or maybe sad and a little disturbing...you decide). I'm shopping around in Brookstone and there is a younger, fairly good looking but clearly egotistical, fairly cocky looking guy in the store. One of the employees was trying to help him. Here's the dialog:
Employee (E): What can I help you find today?
Self-centered cocky dude (SCCD): I'm looking for something for my wife.
E: Oh, all right, do you have anything in particular in mind?
SCCD: Not really. I just want something that's really hip and cool.
E: Okay, what does she like?
SCCD: I don't know. What's a really popular cool item that you guys sell a lot of?
Okay, REALLY?!? You don't know what your wife likes?!? Can you imagine if his wife had heard any of this conversation? Appalling really! That's my opinion anyway...and you ALL are entitled to it!!!
Moving right along, boarded the plane (Southwest of course) and got a good seat. They close up the plane and we're off...except not really...we're driving all over LAX airport. Seriously we were taxiing all around the airport for about 10 minutes when the captain comes on. He's as confused as we are and says we won't be leaving for a good 20-25 minutes. We ended up leaving about an hour after hour scheduled time but must have made up some serious time in the air because I think our flight was only 45 minutes and it's usually about an hour. Landed basically the same time as my friend so we met up at her bag claim. I handed her one of my Cereal Bars upon seeing her and she LOVED it. Then it was off to the hotel. But NOT before getting ripped off by the cabbie!! Just a litte FYI for all of you: When you take a cab in Vegas to a hotel on the strip, don't let them take you through the tunnel to the freeway. That will cost you about double what it would cost if they take surface streets!!!
We get to the hotel (the Palazzo) and leave our luggage with the bellman who guarantees that our luggage will be "totally safe and locked up". "Feel free to leave it here as long as you like." Well, this is good because we have to get to the meeting room ASAP and check in on our exhibitors to make sure they know which table is theirs and can get their packages from the business package center. It was about 3:00/3:30 and we were going to be in that room till 6pm. So everything goes smoothly there. Just to tide us over I hand my friend one of the Jamie Eason Chicken Muffins and she LOVES that too. Then later I go to find a salad for us. The Bistro is closed so I end up heading over to the deli. Well, can you believe it?!? Only $11 for 2 salads!!! In the heart of the Venetian hotel!! I was shocked. Not that they were any deluxe salads but they were good enough and the ingredients were fresh. My friend went and checked us into our room. Then at 6 or 6:15 or so we got to go to our room. Once there, we only had a couple of things happen.
We called for our luggage and gave them the tag # and my friend's name.They said it would be up in about 10-15 minutes. Great. This call, by the way, was made on the speakerphone because the cordless handset was broken. That was the next call we made, to have the handset fixed. Then since I am allergic to down/feathers I had to have my bedding changed. My friend's bed was fine. That was call #3!! As we're waiting and it's been well over 15 minutes we get another call from the luggage people:
Luggage: Could you give us the ticket # again?
Me: It's O-555555555 (or whatever it was)
Luggage: Okay, right. (Clearly this was the number they were already looking for!) And how many pieces do you have?
Me: 2
Luggage: And could you describe the luggage to me?
WHAT?!? I thought the luggage would be safe, secured, locked up!! Really, you can't find our luggage? LOL!! Apparently they finally did find it and brought it up. The phone guy came and fixed our phone. We left before the bedding people came but knew it would be fine and they would change the bedding.
It was dinnertime after all and we were ready to eat. We headed over to Taqueria Cañonita in the Venetian. Here's what we ate:
APPETIZER
Ceviche Trio
Shrimp and Calamari Sangrita
Ahi Tuna with Cantaloupe and Rice Vinaigrette
Veracruzano with Manzanilla Olives
All served with flour tortilla chips!!
ENTREES
Carne Asada Norteña Grilled Black Angus strip loin steak, Poblano rajas quesadilla, borracho beans and grilled shrimp salsa
Piloncillo Pork Tenderloin
Center cut seared pork tenderloin with hoja santa tamal,
Pineapple mole and apricot tomatillo marmalade.
My review? The appetizer was DELISH! Very interesting combination of flavors and flour tortilla chips! I mean, come on! Who am I to turn down a chip, much less a white flour tortilla chip?!? My entree was good flavor but I thought since it was Carne Asada it was going to be thinly sliced. As you can see, it was basically a steak and about 10 oz at that! I ate almost all of it. It was very tasty. My friend had the pork and it was very delicious too. Especially with the hoja santa tamal. That was tasty. No dessert was necessary that night.
When we got back to the room the bedding had been switched and they had left these cute little boxes of chocolates on our beds. Aren't they cute? We ate THOSE as our dessert.
So it was off to slumberland and getting up at 5:15/5:30 to be in our meeting rooms by 6:30!
