I’m not sure if I mentioned it here before, but I went out to dinner with a friend tonight.  It was supposed to be three of us, but (long story) one of them canceled at the last minute.  She picked a couple of places that had menus online, both with nutritional info.  It was nice because I could pick what I wanted, and knew that it would be within my calorie count.  Dinner wasn’t bad, although I think I could have done a better job on the sauce for the chicken. I ended up having Balsamic Chicken with seasonal veg (dropped the mashed potatoes) and then had one of their mini-desserts - mixed berry crumble (at 370, not too bad). The conversation was good though, so that makes everything better. I even gave up an apple and such this afternoon so I could add a drink.

The only bad thing was that when I went to get the turkey (to put in the brine I made this afternoon) it was still pretty much frozen. I’ve thawed it before in the fridge, but I guess it’s a little colder than it was at Thanksgiving. So, I put it back in the fridge and will check it tomorrow, but I suspect it won’t be thawed until Thursday night. I thought of trying to thaw it by another method tomorrow, however, that would leave me smoking it on Thursday (when we have company over).

So tomorrow morning I’ll have a shot at cooking one of the eye of round roasts that I bought today. If it works well I’ll likely do the other one later in the day (or early Thursday at the latest). I’ll also clean and tidy the lower level of the house, bring in some wood, so maybe I can light a fire and I won’t be frozen. Since the furnace is pretty much set at the same level as last winter I can only guess that weighing less is affecting my body heat levels. I normally run around the house in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt or tank. I guess I’ll have to start wearing more layers this winter.

That’s it for me tonight. I’ve had my snack and I’m off to my bed.

Food for today:

Total: 2312 (29% fat, 29% carbs, 34% protein, 4% alcohol)

Breakfast: egg/egg white omelet, honey oatmeal bread, jam, clementines (348)
AM Snack: none (0)
Lunch: protein shake with oatmeal and sour cherries (412)
PM Snack: zucchini spice cake (171)
Dinner: balsamic chicken with seasonal veggies, mini mixed-fruit crumble, jack daniels (1141)
Late Snack: protein shake, pomegranate (240)

I started off with 3 mins cardio (walking/jogging on the spot), the prescribed warm-ups, and then did:

Power Training - Strength Training (weeks 7-9)
Workout A2 (3 of 10)

1: Snatch Pull - 75t/5, 75t/5, 75t/5, 80t/5
2: Clean-grip Deadlift - 165t/5, 165t/5, 165t/5, 165t/5
3: Single-leg Supine Hip Extension - 5, 5, 5, 5
4: Push-ups (incline) - 5, 5, 5, 5
5: Bent-over Two-point Dumbbell Row - 40e/5, 40e/5, 40e/5, 42e/5
6: Push Press - 75t/5, 75t/5, 75t/5, 75t/5
7: Chin-ups (assisted) - 5, 5, 5, 5
8: Cable Woodchop - 10, 10, 10, 10
9: Four-point Plank - 45sec, 45sec, 45sec, 45sec

Total time: 75 mins
HR monitor: 458 cals, Max: 149 (84%), Avg: 119 (66%)

Yikes, I definitely struggled with this today. I’m not quite sure if I should count the deadlifts as 4 sets of 5, as there were a few extra seconds of rests here and there. In the end though I did do 20 of them, so I’ll just log them the way they are. The only issue I found was that my lower back was aching doing the push-ups (although it’s fine now).

Oh, and I managed to rig up the resistance bands (the ones with the handles) using the treadmill. I put one handle on the opposite side of the treadmill, and then looped the band over the deck (when it’s up it’s taller than me). I think I got the movement pretty close to the woodchop in the book.

My food is kind of all over the map though. I had breakfast before shopping and didn’t eat until I was done with the workout (which was after 2pm). So, instead of lunch I’ll have some kind of afternoon snack before meeting my friend for dinner. We eventually settled on a restaurant that has an online menu/nutrition guide so I’ve already decided on a meal… and a mini dessert. And even with a snack before bed, I’ll be within my plan for the day.

Of course, going out on a lifting day probably doesn’t hurt.