So before I forget, or get sleepy I’ll post my meals for the day. So, I made gumbo, planted my tomatoes and peppers (with protection). Then had a swim and spent the quiet time before dinner stacking wood. Yep, more wood. Yet another neighbour is cutting down trees so we got about another half cord of wood (all we had room for really). Nice guy that he is, he’s going to split and stack the rest and we can take it in either the late fall, early winter, or even next spring.

I decided to have a shot at NROL starting tomorrow. I haven’t quite decided if I’m going to follow any of the specific plans, although I’m leaning towards the 4th one (the serious about lifting, but serious overweight one). I’ll read a little more, but start with the break-in sets tomorrow.

Food for the day:

Total: 2000 calories (25% fat, 34% protein, 41% carbs)

Breakfast: protein shake, orange (269)
AM Snack: beef jerky (108)
Lunch: multi-grain tortilla, mustard, roast eye of round, lettuce, apple (438)
PM Snack: hummus, flatbread (231)
Dinner: spicy meatloaf with roasted potatoes and onion, bean/carrot blend, butter, salad w/dressing (647)
Evening Snack: protein shake, fruit salad (307)

Yep, one big pot of chicken and sausage gumbo. Mainly chicken (4:1), but using soy flour instead of flour in the recipe. It was challenging to make the roux using soy flour and the texture isn’t quite the same. In the end though I think it turned out well. After I made it I found a low carb site that recommended xanthan gum and guar gum, but I think that’s mainly for thickening. I was trying to get the nutty taste that you get from a roux.

ETA: weighed out almost exactly 240 oz of gumbo, so I added a little over an ounce of water to make it up. So each of 24 servings will be 10 oz (plus rice). So it worked out to:

370 cals, 27g protein, 24.8g fat, 9.75g carbs

Yeah, yeah a lot of fat. It comes out as a 29% protein, 60% fat, 11% carbs. I could have reduced the fat using chicken breasts instead of thighs, different sausage, and hmmm… there’s the butter and the oil. Still, I’m happy with how it turned out. Using white flour would have only added 5 calories per serving, but shift the protein lower to 21g (with the excess going to carbs). I’ll tell you after 12 dinners of it if I feel it would be worth it.  :D  I suspect the only difference is that I would have a harder time working it in to a daily plan.

Well, it’s only been seven days, but it looks like mama raccoon has decided that we’re not good neighbours and she’s taken her family and moved out. I was pretty sure she was gone last night, but this morning I took a flashlight and double-checked under the cupboards the kits had sometimes been hiding under. None, living or dead. I was especially concerned about that last part as it was possible that one had died (or wasn’t going to make it) and that she had left it behind. So I’ve temporarily blocked their access, but think in the end it needs either a heavier gage wire or a board on the bottom of the door. But between the wire and a few things I’ve placed behind it I’m fairly comfortable that she won’t get back in.

I’m actually a little sad that they’re gone, but it really was for the best. I don’t think she realised how noisy the area was, and I’m not sure she was all that happy with us continually looking at her. The flash photography was probably a no-no, but I did do that when she was away.

Oh well, off to work in the back and maybe have a swim. We did the shopping rounds from hell this morning (my mother and I, although not always going into each store).

Metro grocery (to pick up prescription called in Sunday - not ready)
Popeye’s (lysine for the cats)
Deli (rolls for my mother)
Hearing aid place (piece for my mother’s hearing aid)
Sobey’s grocery (a few vegetables, but mainly for kielbasa for my gumbo)
Costco (the usual stuff)

home (only to unload)

Beer store (to take back green bottles that don’t go in the recycling)
Fortino’s (for a case of sparkling water for my mother)
Pet food place (running low, don’t want to run out)
Pharmacy (different one, hair colour about 1/3 off)
Bulk store (soy flour)
Supercuts (cheap hair cut)
Garden center (tomatoes/peppers - will be under plastic - too early for anything else)
Metro grocery (to get prescription that should have been ready earlier)

home (finished)

The thing is, everything is really within a decent distance. It still takes time though - about 3 hours. Of course, in my case, I’m not planning to go out again (unless I get work) for at least a couple of weeks. And then it will likely be to the garden center(s).

- - - - -

I completely zonked out last night. I was doing a combination of watching television and working at the computer. About 10:30 I was so tired I could barely think straight so I just decided to go to bed. I even recognized that I hadn’t posted yesterday’s meals, but it really didn’t matter. The annoying thing is that the damn cat seems to know how to tell time. Mon-Fri I’ve been getting up at 7:30, feeding them, then going out for a walk. This morning at exactly 7:30 Gus came a meowing and crying for me to get up. I ignored him, but I don’t think I slept much more than that.

So I did a 40-min walk with my mother in the morning (well, 32 mins with her, another 8 on my own), and had the major shopping day. Also, a little work in the yard (mainly raccoon clean-up and raccoon-proofing the shed), and a quick swim in the later afternoon. The one thing is that I did get it my fixins for gumbo, so I’ll likely make it today. The weather is supposed to suck, so it’s a good thing to do on a rainy Saturday. That’s the one thing about the tracking though. I know if I want to have it tonight I’ll have to get it done early enough to let it cool and divide it up. So, I may put it on the menu for Sunday dinner. I’ll probably go through NROL as well to see if I continue on with NROL4W on Sunday or jump to something else. I suspect it will be something else. I don’t want to use the word bored, but I think I’m in the mood for something new.

Food for the day:

Total: 2005 calories (27% fat, 32% protein, 41% carbs)

Breakfast: protein shake, orange (239)
AM Snack: beef jerky (108)
Lunch: multi-grain tortilla, mustard, roast eye of round, lettuce, apple (438)
PM Snack: hummus, flatbread (231)
Dinner: beef/turkey burgers, mult-grain sandwich thin, condiments, salad w/dressing (736)
Evening Snack: chocolate zucchini cake, fruit salad (252)

(I realised while posting yesterday’s stuff that I hadn’t posted the 7th either.  Bad poster!  I’m going to see if I can get them in order.)

I started with 15 mins of a warm-up, mainly just walking (a small amount of jogging) in circles around the pool. Then I did workout A2 from Stage 1 of NROL4W.

Stage 1, A2

A: Barbell Squat (front) - 65t/15, 70t/15
B1: Push-ups (floor) - 15, 15
B2: Bent-over Row - 65t/15, 70t/15
C1: Step-ups - 15e/15, 15e/15
C2: Prone Jackknife - 8, 8

40 mins, 299 cals, Max HR: 158 (89%), Avg HR: 134 (76%)

The workout was okay, but I’m just not loving it like I did the first time. It’s not easy, but I’m just not enthusiastic about it. It could be that I’m annoyed that I feel I’m so out of shape after such a short time. I’ll give it some time though, but might go back to Power Training, or give something else a shot (have an idea about that).

We did our morning walk down by the lakeshore today. It was a nice change and we’ll probably do something like that once or twice a week. The walk was a little longer, and I left my mother back at the truck and made it up to 40 mins. I ended up making myself a cooked breakfast as it was about 10am by the time I got to it. Then I spent the rest of the day doing housework, yardwork, and can’t think of much else. Tomorrow we’ll be doing the shopping day from hell. Four stores, then Costco…. followed by another three and maybe a haircut. Oh well, better to waste one entire day on it I suppose.

Food for the day:

Total: 2243 calories (23% fat, 31% protein, 46% carbs)

Breakfast: two fried eggs, multi-grain sandwich thin, orange (349)
AM Snack: none (0)
Lunch: minestrone soup, apple (321)
PWO Snack: protein shake, sour cherries (281)
PM Snack: hummus, flatbread (231)
Dinner: chili with cheese, multi-grain tostidos, salad w/dressing (785)
Evening Snack: protein shake, fruit salad (276)