Weight and Resistance Training - LWL #271 4-10 September

:wave: Good morning!

We got rained on in the Peak district! Wind, rain and sheep! :lol:

BfL has not provided any encouraging results after the first week - but I'm keeping going. I always figure I can "go extreme" for 2 or 3 weeks before the wedding ;)

Hopefully my bike saddle is in the post :crossed: so will be cycling to work on Wednesday.

Legs at lunch, kickboxing tonight.

Food was a little pathetic over the weekend, but today it's going to be great! :D I just need to get me a MANGO! I wanted chicken and mango salad, but there weren't any mangos in the shop this morning!

Oooh good news on the knee front. I don't have to do those stupid things that were pounding my knees! Hooray! :D :woo: My instructor's taking them out of the grading because they're "too advanced" :mad: Now I feel like I HAVE to do them to prove a point! :lol: BUT this means that there is nothing standing in the way of me getting an amazing grade on this belt! I just have a couple of things to tidy up! :D

BfL has not provided any encouraging results after the first week
Be patient and watch the food! Remember it's a three legged stool: cardio, weights, and NUTRITION. Most people don't see real "in the mirror" results until week 6-8 or later.

Just finished a leg workout at a new "sort of" gym. It's almost all machines- but cheap! I can hide out there and not have anyone ask me questions although the place was filled with neighbors and ex-members of my current gym. My biggest gripe is that although I can do lots of quad exercises, there is virtually no way to do hamstrings since their ONE type of seated curl just doesn't adjust to fit someone my size, and my elbows are still too painful to do heavy dumbbell deadlifts.

Have a happy Labor Day to those in the US. Be careful at those barbeques ;)

Mel

I like that - a three legged stool! :yes: Must remember that one!

Can you get cable adjustments for hamstring curls? I saw a leg strap thing online once...

When I did my first BFL, I actually got bigger between weeks 2-9. I was building muscle faster than I was losing fat. However when the fat started melting, the results between week 9 and 12 were dramatic. When I went back and looked at pictures, you could see some of the changes around week 4 but I was so distraught over getting bigger, I didn't see it. I just kept going....and it was very worth it to not give up. In BFL 2 I reigned myself in on Free Day and saw even more results. It's very progressive if you stick with it. You can't change your nutrition like that, work out like that and NOT see results...hang in there!!!:goodvibes

Susan

Susan- Fru has been lifting, kickboxing and running for quite a while. She has a little nutrition problem ;)

Fru- Don't worry- I really don't think you are going to get bigger! You aren't a liftin' newbie. Just clean up the food, pass the pudding, and be patient :D You've got more than a week before your wedding.

I bought scallops to do on the grill for me, but the boys want burgers. Time to get grilling. I can't believe summer is offically over and tomorrow is a school day. Part of me is sad- we had no vacation at all this year, but part of me is glad to get back to the routines and get my son away from the $%#!! video games!

Anybody watch US Open Tennis this weekend? Each shot makes my elbows hurt. I'll probably never play tennis again. Too much getting fit :rofl:

Mel

Fru & I could be partners in crime! I actually asked dh today that if I did cardio 5/wk, lifted 3/wk, but still ate between 2000-2500 cals each day, could I just be considered "fit" but over-fat? Honestly, I've been this way so long that I'm not doing this to get into a size 8 jean, I'm doing this to not have all the other problems weight bring later in life, to feel good, and to not hurt to move. He laughed and me and said, but how hard would it be just to stick to 1500-2000 instead? Not too hard I guess, but boring. I'd have to give up all my little treats and eating out!! No FUN!!! (I know, replace the fun with other fun.)

Anyway, ubwo on Saturday, lbwo and cardio yesterday, nice fast-paced walk outside today with the kids for 35 minutes and hopefully some elliptical tonite as well.

Has anyone ever had a weird/bad reaction to a tetanus booster (tetanus/diptheria, Td)?

Fran, I get fevers and golf ball sized hard lumps from tetanus boosters. The last time I had one, it was sore for almost 2 weeks. I suppose it's better than tetanus :lol3:

Mel

Thanks Mel. As scary as that msg was, it was reassuring. I was conjuring up all kinds of crazy schemes and mis-vaccination scenarios in my head as I try to sleep tonite. I will not be signing up for another one of these short of having a body part dangling from my core. When I lived in PA, they used to always make you sign a little sticky that was inserted right in your chart, with the name of the vaccine, the lot number and the expiry date that was taken right off the vial, but apparently that's not a reqmt here in MD. Or maybe it was just a pediatric practice since kids get poked so often, or our very cautious docs there (Broomall Pediatrics), but it is reassuring to see with your own eyes what they are sticking into you. I have read in my laborious google searches this weekend, that reactions tend to get worse as you age because you've had more boosters and have more antibodies in your blood so you react much more violently. Even more reason I am staying AWAY FROM THE NEEDLE!

Susan- Fru has been lifting, kickboxing and running for quite a while. She has a little nutrition problem ;)

Just clean up the food, pass the pudding, and be patient :D You've got more than a week before your wedding.

Mel - THANK YOU for that wake up call! I think I need to paste that on a Post-It on my forehead! And DF's forehead too! I'll get him to "treat" me in ways other than dinner. Diamonds would be nice :lol: Aaaaaaaah a girl can dream! :rofl:

I'm doing ok yesterday - almost squeaky clean (1 cracker with cheese was the culprit!). Today, aiming for some great food, great HIIT and great kickboxing practice!

In kickboxing news - It's Blue belt test on Saturday! The stupid spin that was breaking my kneecaps off has been removed from the test :D :woo: That means that, with a little polishing, I will be able to do EVERYTHING PERFECTLY :yes:

In cycling news - my NEW saddle has arrived :hyper: Which means it'll be my first 14 mile each way commute tomorrow! :hyper: I can't wait! Think of all those calories burned! :lol: I'm going to eat breakfast en-route, so that I can take advantage of some fasted fat-burning cardio. :)

In other news - I am covered in a stupid rash! It may or may not go away before the wedding at the beginning of November. I'm thinking of bottling it and buying a furry shrug. :cry: I'm going to do all I can to try and rid myself of the pox! HC cream, Kykaree is posting me some paw paw cream, I've got cocoa butter cream that's supposed to take care of stretch-marks and skin imperfections and I'm going to try gently exfoliating to see if that might help skin renewal.

Hope everyone's doing ok
:hug:
Frus

Hi LWL,

It is already wednesday, and I still am getting my act together. Monday I did do the 1 hr powerclass, but today is wednesday, I had planned to go to the gym this morning, but I have to go to my manager since he requested my attendance for a "career counseling" talk. I have heard on the grapevine that there will be a reorganisation, and i guess he will tell me that i do not fit into the new organisation. I am very stressed out on this, and I notice that I have been stress eating as well and the scales have gone up.

Oh well, as long as I survive this morning everything will be OK. it is just a question of getting my priorities straight. Careerwise, my career was over once I got my burn out, so all I am aiming for now is to get a decently paid job with enough hours to leave time for more important things. Which is a difficult enough attitude to a workaholic.

Frus - carefull with what you put on to your rash! If you have sensitive skin, some things can actually make it worse. Are you sure it is not something you have newly added to your diet???

I'll come back after my career counseling to tell the result. You would think that managers could lay off on these sessions. They always pretend that it is for your good, while in my experience, it is an opportunity for them talk your head off and to show how great they are. I cannot remember a single usefull one of these sessions in my working career of 25 years.

Have a great day,
Rabbit

My rash is Pityreasis Rosea, which is some random virus-caused thing that can't be treated and will take a few weeks to go away. Meanwhile, I'm getting more spots! Ick! So I have hydrocortisone cream and stuff to try and get rid of it.

I bottled riding in today. I was thrown around a lot at kickboxing last night and I've got a bit of whiplash coming on. Plus I was exhausted last night - not enough food. So I am aiming at riding in on Friday, depending on how I feel and considering that I have a belt test on Saturday morning!

However, am all on plan with BfL - it's UBW tonight. Last night DF made creme brulee and I resisted, even though he tried to force it on me (just a teaspoonful but even so) and he made a funny face when I insisted I didn't want it. But that's his problem!

Frus: congrats on blue belt testing. A friend of mine who does Tae Kwon Do told me I would like kickboxing but after reading about almost getting whiplash (which I've had), I think I shall pass!!! I would love to find something like that which would help me build and not destroy my bones. I think it would be fun. I've tried some aerobic classes in the past few months and I HATE THEM. Is there something in a person's genetic makeup that would let them do aerobic classes that I just don't have. I hate just about everything about them, the room, the group, the instructor, the exercises, the music. I've heard they are addicting but I can't see how. I think I could become addicted to just about anything, but I can't handle aerobic classes. I've toyed with the idea of some kind of self-defense class (I took a few a long time ago) but am probably not ready for that.

As for job-related stress, Rabbit, I've been there. Surprisingly, not now. I was in tech support/software engineering back in the 90s when every high tech company was laying off. I loved the company I worked for and was never in danger of losing my job but it was so depressing to see the company being decimated. We were a GREAT company, full of good people and it helped me IMMENSELY to work there after my divorce...and then I watched it fold from the world's 2nd largest computer company into nothing. It was so sad. I went back to graduate school while there and they paid for it...I changed careers but was still unhappy and I eventually wound up in law school even though lawyers, as a group, are not known for career satisfaction. We don't have layoffs at large law firms but people leave all the time. It's the nature of the beast. I like my law firm a lot (having worked for a really horrid firm) but I'll never be attached as I was to my tech company. I found the whole layoff/career counseling thing extremely stressful and I did stress-eat over it, a lot. Hang in there!

As for me, I went away over the weekend and was in rough shape last night. I had my grandson with me over the weekend...so I didn't drink or even overeat but I didn't get a lot of sleep (I worry to death when he's with me and kept waking up with a start) and didn't eat as cleanly as I'd like and didn't get a lot of sleep....so last night at the gym I was dragging but still did cardio. About half way into it, I developed stomach cramps. My digestive system always goes out of whack when I travel (it's actually genetic). I hate that. It will take me a couple of days to get back to normal. Hopefully today is the day.

I also have to increase my water. I used to be so much better at it than I am now. Before my accident I easily drank a gallon or so a day but would get up 2 to 3 times a night to go to the bathroom...well you can't do that when you can't walk so I stopped drinking water and would eat sugar free popsicles for thirst. They are addictive. I love the things but haven't gotten back to my water routine. I am making a more conscious effort to drink water.

Have a productive day everyone!!!

Hi LWL,

Back from the career-counseling. As I thought, my manager talked about 55 minutes about the changes in the organisation, and the world at large, and in the last 5 minutes the effect on my career: I do not fit into the new organisation,(surprise surprise0, he advises my to switch to another job (no surprise either), the people where I work now probabely want to hire me next year, but they do not want me on the payroll, and my manager still is responsible for me but wants out of this.

All in all, nothing really new, except that I get the impression that he will probablely make the target that I get a new job somewhere in 2007, as opposed to per january 1st 2007.

Now for a sorely needed bit of rest and relaxation!

Rabbit

Aww, Rabbit, so sorry you had to go thru that. I hate, dread, and fear those conversations. Like, that's my thing I worry most about is that you just wake up one morning and it's time for the dreaded talk. It seems to work that way, anyway. Hang in there.

30 minutes on the treadmill today at 3.5 and incline of 4. Felt good on the old backside!

Hi all,

I can't seem to control my eating very well lately. I want to munch and munch and I don't know! I'm hoping its a phase that I can ride through and just do the best I can during the phase.

I went on a really good hike on Monday. I was so exhausted after it and my legs are still sore from it. I did a good ubwo at home last night using my new weights and weight bench. I need to do some cardio but for some reason, I'm feeling reluctant.

:hug: to you Rabbit. These "talks" are very stressful. Having been an employee for most of working life, and a "boss" for the last 5, I really try to remember what it's like for the employee. I hate having to reprimand them, and even developing career goals during their evaluations is painful at times.

Nelie - I have so been there. Wanting to eat, not knowing what it is that will satisfy you, trying lots of things. I don't know what makes us do that, but here's hoping it'll let up soon for you. :) Hiking will help I'm sure.

Managed a good cardio workout last night - loving my new ipod nano! I have a meeting tonight, but if I do weights at home, I can fit them in, even if not the whole workout. Something is better than nothing....

Nelie, when you hike at the Patuxent, do you go in on the Rt. 40 entrance? I'm real close to there and drive by it often and always tell dh we need to go in and check it out in there. I just wondered if it's hiking trails in there or just biking paths.

I’m on day 2 of “regroup” here. It all started with the Football game on Saturday and went downhill from there. Well, I did go to pilates in Saturday and got a bit of rollerblading in, but other than that it was just too much beer and too much food. I ate eggs and even fried cheese for the first time in ages. I am a social eater/drinker. When I am at the bar having a good time and my team is winning, bring on the Miller Lite and nachos, I tend to let it all hang out. Then, with the new tenants in the building the courtyard pretty much turned into cookout central for a couple of days. It was great to socialize and get to know the new neighbors, but I am paying for all that food and drink. Scale was up 4 lbs by Tuesday am! :eek: This morning a pound dropped off after a day of clan eats, lots of water, and a good session at the gym. Hopefully it won’t take more than a week to repair the backslide. I forget how quickly my body reacts to just a couple days of being off plan, ok well waaaaaay off plan in this case.

2Fru – sorry about the rash, what horrible timing. Glad to hear you’re sticking with BfL, I’m sure it will pay off.

Rabbit – Hope the career counceling went ok, sounds stressfull.

My cell phone went through the wash over the weekend so I’ve got to go shopping for a reaplcement. Hopefull I can get something pretty inexpensive, I’m already stressed about the next month’s finances with travel, hotel, car rental and other wedding-related expenditures coming up next month. Things always break at the worst possible time.

Hope everyone had a good hump-day!

:wave:

Susanje - it's not NORMAL to get whiplash during a kickboxing class :lol: We usually spend most of our time upright - I am doing stupidly advanced things which involve getting thrown on the floor. Unfortunately the guy who is throwing me at the moment is a black belt in Ju Jitsu. :doh: They do a lot of throwing and grappling and rolling around on the floor. I'm more used to staying upright and punching and kicking people! Unfortunately my floor skills are rubbish!

:hug: Rabbit - hope you're feeling a bit better. What a bind! Get down the gym and work out that frustration!

Nelie - I think there's some deep-seated stress mechanism that goes off just before you get married! I think I ate for England while I was trying to sort out my wedding dress back in May. Now I'm just trying to get the gain back off! Catch yours in time - you can do it!

I had a motivating thought last night - There's 8.5 weeks till the wedding. At 2lb a week (not very realistic but still) I could lose a stone (14lbs) before the wedding. I WANT to lose a stone before the wedding. So I am going ALL OUT to get 2lbs a week off! I even resisted my 6th meal of the day yesterday since I didn't work out. I figure feeling hungry isn't all that bad if it makes me fit into that darn dress and look "radiant" as somebody at work said yesterday, when they saw the skinny me in the dress!

Goal for the wedding - to be small enough to FEEL radiant as well as look it! ;)

Hi everyone! I hit a major milestone last night. I was at work and the person I am working for this week has no CLUE how to manage his time. So I had to stay late. Instead of blowing off the gym, I WENT to the gym in the middle of the evening (around 8 pm).

I've let my job keep me from my workouts convinced the sky would fall if I didn't. Well last night I said, you know what? Yes we have a deadline tomorrow but we're in good shape and I'll stay at the office all night if I have to but right now, I'm going to the gym for an hour...see ya!

I'm tired today (and have personal training tonight) but it was WORTH IT. I need to just be committed NO MATTER WHAT. And of course the sky didn't fall, in fact he didn't even know I was gone for that hour. !!!!

Need to get in here with you guys for accountability.

I've been dipping my toes in the waters of WT the last few weeks, but can't seem to get motivated or determined to do this new activity. I run on alternate days, so when I get home on the evenings to do my WT, I just want to veg. I really want muscle definition and WT is the only way to go, I believe. I'm not really a morning person, but may need to bite the bullet and get up an extra hour. That way I can have my alternate down afternoons. Or, get dressed at work like I do on my running days, so I just go straight to my basement and get it done!

I have a small gym in my basement with dumbells, weight bench, and even a weight machine, so there is no excuse. Laziness is not an excuse! What motivates you guys? I know when I don't feel like running, I make myself go at least a mile before I even allow myself to think about quitting. I've only hit two walls in my 4 mos of running, and it was due to high humidity/temp and feeling sick. Maybe if I come to this board more often, I will be inspired.

What keeps me lifting weights? I :censored: LOVE IT!!! ;)

I can't remember giving up on the weights since I seriously started lifting about a year or more ago. I think one nice thing is to have a physical goal to work towards. Perhaps you'd like to be able to show off and do 10 MAN push-ups/press-ups :eek: And you know you need to build strength in your shoulders, back, chest and abs for that. Or perhaps you'd like to build more strength in your leg muscles to help you in your running? Perhaps you want to be able to deadlift 100lbs. Or perhaps you want to be able to do a pull-up. Find a physical goal that motivates you and do it!

I'm not sure how the PTs on the board will react to this BUT - this is purely MY opinion and what I would do. If I wanted my "down" afternoons, then I would lift then run or run then lift vice versa on the same day, depending on what is easier for you to do (forget the fat burning thing at the moment).

OR perhaps you could just start off with one day a week? A full body routine, so you still get your down afternoons and are only sacrificing one of them. www.stumptuous.com has weightlifting routines for the full body - and is just generally great!

hrbabe - I think the entrance I go to is near route 40 but the entrance is off of rolling road? exit 13 of 695? There are biking paths and hiking paths. It was beautiful last weekend. I'd highly recommend it.

Frus - I'm stopping the eating today! Enough is enough... I am stressed, I feel it. I need to get in control before it is too late :)

softballmom - I'm with frus, I love lifting weights. Cardio? I require motivation for that :) I enjoy building strength and feeling my muscles.

Nelie - we should make a Bridal clean-eating pact! I am not touching ANYTHING even remotely naughty apart from one little treat a week. This could be a cookie, or something tiny. No eating fries, no puddings, no refined carbs. Join me?

Frus - no chocolate? no refined carbs? I do have to admit that I eat pretty well except DF tempts me with eating out on the weekends. Usually it is portioned control but a little more liberal in what I eat compared to the rest of the week. I'm going to do it though! I'll allow myself one treat and I'll tell DF that I want to eat clean. We can do this!

Softball - I started getting up an hour before my kids on Sept 1. I do my 1/2 hr of cardio and stretching, and then hop in the shower, then wake them up. I am SOOOO not a morning person, I swear to you! I'm the one who says one of the hardest things about raising kids is getting up early!! But now, I'm addicted. I do my treadmill (you could do weights) while I watch a movie from Netflix and after just 2 sessions I LOVE it. Is it MY time in the morning and I really look forward to it! Then, I do weights 3x/week, on Friday (nites, open time for me), Sunday and Tuesday. So really on on Tuesday do I have to "work it in". I work FT and have a busy schedule in the evenings with kids sports practices, so I really have scheduled my time to get it done. And if I don't get at least half of it done in the morning, before demands get placed on me, it won't get done.

Nelie - I know right where that is. You turn at that huge walmart complex. DD swims in that area and there's a friendly's restaurant on Frederick Road in downtown Catonsville (sinful food really!) I will have to get the family there this weekend, thanks!

Susan, I am the same way with the job and really lost alot of ground this past winter/spring with my busy project season. I vow to take your attitude in my next busy season. As I say, taking one hour a day for myself to exercise will likely NOT affect my rating for the year nor keep the project from being a success! So THERE!

Have a good day everyone!

Hi LWL,

Thanks for all the support! I spoke to the management of the department that hires me today, and he has comitted himself to checking out what is happening. So I'm trying to calm down, and not let this get to me too much.

No excercise today, I cannot put it into my scedule, but tomorrow I'm in for a bikeride and a weight session, and I hope to continue in this line in the weekend.


Softballmom- I joint the previous posts. I hate cardio, I know I have to go running, but I have not gotten myself sofar yet...I like weights and pilates on the ball a lot better !

Have a great day all,
Rabbit

I do have to admit that I eat pretty well except DF tempts me with eating out on the weekends.

Have you stolen my DF??? That's EXACTLY the trouble I have! It's usually because we're out and about exploring somewhere new. I guess I'm going to have to start packing picnics!!!! Although last time I packed a picnic we ate out too! :nono:

Maybe we should just yell at our DFs! ;)

So no naughty eating out fried stuff or puddings till our weddings :D :goodvibes: WE ARE GOING TO DO THIS! :hyper:

Hi LWL,

I feel very virtuous...I biked my daughter to a place where here class was meeting, then biked to the gym, did 1 hour yoga, 1 hour powerclass & biked home. That is excercise from 08.10 to 11.25...a soldid 3 1/4 hours! Together with 1 hour power class on monday, I am already at my weekly goal of 4 hours minimum!

After these 3+ hours, and with the words "don't worry for the next 4 weeks while I check this out" solidily in my head, the job related stress is much much less now. Also, I emailed my union representative, and I have an appointment with him on monday.

I'm going to celebrate with a tuna sandwich & a hard boiled egg.

have a great day all,
Rabbit

Glad things are working out a bit better for you now rabbit :hug:

Ok, so I'm ready to post my "yesterday summary" with you guys ;) :lol:

I ate really clean :yes: and not too much at all. I drank Red Bull (sugar free :angel: ) and erm... couldn't sleep very well :o But I got a GREAT workout in! I was actually PROPERLY fighting with the guys. I was getting hugged all over the place! :lol: I got my first fat lip! :lol: Some geezer nutted me, then proceded to hit me in the EXACT spot that he nutted me in! :doh: Oh well, it's not bad - I just look a little Angelina Jolie ;) Who needs collagen? ;) I got dragged into a corner by my instructor which just makes me laugh since he basically picks me up and carries me to the corner so we can beat on each other closely! I love being picked up! :lol: It makes me laugh so much since it reminds me that I'm a LOT lighter than I was! So here I am giggling away whilst being dragged around the dojo, then he puts me in the corner with his kit bag and I'm standing on all his stuff but I'm still beating him up! :rofl: Then at the end of the class I realise I stood on a buckle or something on his bag and I've got a massive bruise on the sole of my foot! What a bully! :rolleyes:

In the ladies class we had to do 20 seconds bag-work. Basically we were supposed to go all out. Everyone was just lightly hitting it and not making it move and not really going very fast. Then I got my 20 seconds and I'm bending the bag into the wall, breathing loudly, spitting everywhere, sweat flying :lol: and everyone just stares :eek: :rofl: I'm officially scary now! :yikes:

So I had a really enjoyable lesson last night! :D

Tomorrow is grading, but mine has been postponed to Tuesday because the other guy who is supposed to be throwing me on the floor, and I'm supposed to be throwing, can't make it on Saturday, so we are grading together on Tuesday. However I'm going to go and help out on Saturday and put the fear of God into the little children who are grading. I get to spar with them :D :hyper: I might even get to be examiner for some.

Today I'm eating really clean too! I've had quite a large-ish lunch since I plan a full body workout, yoga, then an hour and a half of kickboxing!!!! It's a different kickboxing club than I usually go to. I figure I'd just go and have a look and see what it's about... :nose:

Some little wedding things are getting sorted out. I have to go to the florist tomorrow and I REALLY can't be bothered! I'm thinking about getting a decent supermarket bunch of flowers and hand-tying them. :chin:

Oh yeah, and yesterday lunch I got in some HIIT on the hills! :D

Frus - Maybe our DF's are clones of eachother? Anyway my DF said he is going to help me and he told me that if I want to snack that I should drink my protein shakes instead of snacking. Of course nuts and raisins taste much better than my protein shakes. Also I'm almost out of chocolate protein powder.

Yesterday I ate pretty well. For dinner, I made a veggie pizza casserole. I know it doesn't sound all that healthy but it wasn't too bad. Due to all the veggies, it came out a bit watery but still good. Anyway I used whole wheat pasta layered with tomato sauce and a little lf cheese then topped with a bunch of mixed veggies - eggplant, bell peppers, onions, spinach, artichoke hearts, mushrooms and some homemade seitan (wheat protein) then topped with a little more lf cheese. I know something with lf cheese isn't the cleanest thing to eat but I figured it wasn't too bad either. I also served steamed green beans on the side.

For my exercise yesterday, I did 20 minutes of Tai Chi and 20 minutes of yoga. Tonight is legs at the gym.

lf cheese isn't bad at all - I reckon if you like the stuff and don't eat it ALL the time, then a little clean-ish food ain't gonna rock the boat too much! ;)

WTG with the Tai Chi! :D

Pledging for the weekend - eating out at Subway only this weekend and NO MATTER WHAT I am NOT having dessert ANYWHERE! :lol: I'm going to pack healthy picnic stuff to eat when I'm REALLY hungry.

Oh I should've mentioned, yesterday was the first time I tried Tai Chi. I bought a DVD and I have to say that it is harder than it looks! My DF and I might not be doing Aikido after all but we are looking at doing something else. The reasoning is that all the Aikido Dojos are far from where we live and from our experience, we probably wouldn't go as much as we'd want to. There are Wu Shu/Kung Fu Dojos near us as well as Karate Dojos so we might do those. One of the Wu Shu/Kung Fu Dojos near us offers Tai Chi and it looks pretty good. I've been wanting to try Tai Chi out for a while and I figured I would want to try it out at home before trying it out in a studio.

Ok so for the weekend...
I pledge not to go to our local italian market/sandwich shop. I love that place, they have subs with the best bread ever. The subs have salami, ham and provolone in them. DF and I have been splitting a sub every weekend... They are good but oh so bad.

I am also going to be mindful of what I eat in general over the weekend. If we eat out, I'll be picky instead of just getting anything. I've been getting a bit too liberal with our eating out and I need to nip it in the bud! Maybe we'll go to the Mongolian BBQ. The place isn't too bad considering you can eat a lot of veggies. I just have to watch what sauces I use.

Way to go with the clean eating you brides-to-be! \

2Fru – Remind me not to meet you in any dark alleys. :lol:

nelie – I love homemade seitan, and now that I have a food processor to do the kneading I’ll be making it lots more. I love Mongolian BBQ! I went to the one in Bethesda last July when I was in the area for a wedding. I learned that they have a reduced price for vegetarians! I’m pretty sure that is a new policy, too bad they didn’t have that when I lived just up Wisconsin Ave. Anyway, if you want to go totally veg you can save some $$$ there too. WTG with the tai chi, I’ve always thought that looked really relaxing and soothing.

Sounds like everyone’s mostly doing great getting in the workouts and eating clean, nice!

I’m feeling back to myself. The schedule at my gym is in a bit of an upheaval with the new fall season and instructors being shuffled around, but that should be all sorted out soon. There hasn’t been any evening spinning in 2 weeks. I’m getting a little sick of the elliptical so I hope things are back to normal like they say they will be this next week. I missed yoga class on Mon since it was a holiday and never really made up for it. Perhaps I’ll find an hour to do some at home in the next couple of days so I don’t go back to class next Mon too stiff.

There’s a football game tomorrow and a friend’s birthday gathering on Sunday, and I’m imposing a stiff 2 beer limit per event. It might be hard but it is totally necessary.

Happy weekend with clean eats to all!

Had very clean week since Sunday. Scales still stuck though :mad: I'm even fitdaying to make sure I don't eat too much. Sigh.

I can't see any changes either - but I might measure in a moment.

Today I've got kickboxing (just helping), ikea and the florist to contend with. Gah! Busy day. Want to stay in bed, but unfortunately my body has other ideas since I was awake at 6.30am! :lol:

Hey guys, the blister is shrunken today to where I think I can slap the bandaid on and resume cardio! So I'll just count yesterday as my one day off and get back onto things today. Have dd's first soccer game of the season today, gosh how I love those things. She's been with this group of girls since KG (second grade now) and it's a good group of parents and fun to watch how the girls have grown up.

Good morning, gang :coffee:
My first client canceled, so I've a few minutes before heading off to the gym for my cardio then 1 training session.

Food was horrible this week, but workouts were on. Hmmm...why can't I get the food part back? I cruised along for YEARS without too many problems, but now every other day is a problem. I'd say I'll stay clean today, but dh and I are going out to dinner at a very upscale restaraunt which is a rarity for us, so I know I'm not going to order a plain salad and naked fish:( That's assumng any of my clothes fit :lol3: Just reality. Tomorrow....

Mel

Shan - that is the Mongolian BBQ we go to, the one in Bethesda! They also have one in Tustin, CA (near the IKEA off the 5) and maybe other parts of So Cal. I don't know if you have been to BD's in California or not. It is 2 dollars less without meat, which is what I did last time we went. Maybe you can give me some tips about homemade seitan, I didn't know what it was supposed to look like and the outside was all soft and spongy. It reminded me of a sea cucumber. I did pan fry it into small chunks for my casserole though and it didn't taste too bad.

hrbabe - if you do happen to go to Patapsco, we start our hike on the most bottom parking lot. There is a blue blazed trail that goes down to the river and through a tunnel under railroad tracks, you make a left and you will run into a swinging bridge, if you cross the swinging bridge, there is another trail up to waterfalls. Overall it is very nice. Then on the way back you can go the same way you came or after you go back through the tunnel, you can cross the stream and the stream will be on your right. There is a red blazed trail that follows the stream. You will eventually see a white blazed trail which will cross the stream and go up towards the parking area. You will cross one road but don't take it, keep going on the white blazed trail until you see another road, which if you go to the right will lead you to the tire playground and near where you parked. I bought a trail map so that I wouldn't get lost but they have them posted at different points in the park.

Good news. I weighed on the scale today and it is less than I've ever seen, literally. I guess the kicking my butt into gear helped. I think I'm at 265 and maybe even 264 but my scale is funky and I don't use it for official weighing.

Hi all,

I didn't do too bad today. I went for a hike at Antietam National Battlefield. It was interesting but it was hot! The hike was supposed to be 4.5 miles but we got lost at one point and ended up being about 5 miles instead. I also ate out but didn't do too badly. We went somewhere and split a plate. I ordered grilled catfish and they brought me fried catfish! I about died... but then they brought me grilled catfish but didn't take away the fried catfish. DF sampled the fried catfish and I waited patiently for my grilled catfish.

I told DF tomorrow there is NO eating out :)

Oh my Nelie, I can't imagine hiking today! Our soccer was at high noon and we literally sat there melting. 91 plus the humidity must have put it at 96 or so! Awful! But soon we'll be sitting there with blankets wrapped around ourselves - that's what I kept telling myself to get thru our hour of misery today.

Thanks for the hints on the Patapsco. I had NO idea the area there had that much to offer. How exciting. Just hearing about swinging bridges, tunnels, and waterfalls, I know my kids will love it!