Right there with you, Andrea.... I'm trying hard to balance a healthy lifestyle without being entirely rigid... it has resulted in my hovering around 130, rather than 125, or even the 120 of just a year or so ago.... I WANT to be lower... but not badly enough apparently.
Andrea, well, you wouldn't know this, but it's because there's the number here on the site, which is pragmatic and somewhat healthy (though slightly overweight by those wretched BMI charts) and there's the Secret Number in my head, the one that's well away from the overweight range, which is 135-138.
Friday, not wanting to get out of bed, but I had to, for physical therapy at 5:30 AM, and a scheduled appointment is a wonderful motivator. I really need this long weekend.
Weigh in: 142.2. Not much to say about this, except that I have eaten too much at regular meal-times: Salads that weighed in heavily, lots of sugarfree gum, where the xylitol may cause me to retain fluid, and salty stuff. It's easy to show up for every workout, make healthy choices, and still gain weight through quantity.
Meals for Today:
Breakfast: Pumpkin muffin with two tablespoons of peanut butter; yogurt with blueberries & cinnamon
Lunch: Spring mix with roasted vegetables, cold steamed asparagus, toasted pecans, goat cheese, half an avocado and golden mulberries
Snack: Four fresh green figs
Dinner: Two hamburgers, no buns, steamed broccoli
Dessert: Vanilla almond crunch Quest bar
Exercise for Today:
Physical therapy, 12 minutes elliptical warmup, then 4x12 squats with the bar, the second set with 10-lb plates on either end alternating with 4x20 crunches; 3x12 hamstring curl alternating with 3x12 adductor; 3x12 leg raises and 3x12 abductor; 12 minutes hill walking on treadmill.
Saturday morning of the much-longed-for three-day weekend. I haven't made many plans which means it may all dissolve into three undifferentiated days of Internet fixation and TV watching. And maybe that's okay, though I can think of other activities that might enrich my life a little and put something new into my head to think about.
Weigh in: 141.3, which is going in the right direction.
Meals for Today:
Breakfast: Pumpkin muffin; egg bake with asparagus, ham and red pepper; yogurt with blueberries & cinnamon
Lunch: Spring mix with roasted vegetables, fresh figs, walnuts, half an avocado and several forkfuls of hummus
Snack: Dried apple rings
Dinner: Two seafood sausages, steamed broccoli, simmered collards, and a bowl of gazpacho
Dessert: White chocolate raspberry Quest bar
Exercise for Today:
Workout 9C of Strong Curves, with a Pilates mat class afterward. The teacher remarked that I am getting better at balancing on a single leg. Well, yes because the left leg is stronger.
Sunday morning, after a restless night, with my stomach feeling acid and upset, during which I awoke at 1:30 AM and then at 3 AM.
Time for a more empowering avatar.
Weigh-in: 142 even, back in the wrong direction
Meals for Today:
Breakfast: Pumpkin muffin; egg bake with asparagus, ham and red pepper; yogurt with blueberries & cinnamon
Snack: Barlett pear, juicy and just slightly grainy, which is good
Lunch: Arugula salad with roasted vegetables, some home-made picked mushrooms, fresh figs, goat cheese, half an avocado and toasted pecans
Snack: Huge red-purple plum with golden flesh, a bit pointy on the end like a dreidel
Dinner: Hamburger with red pesto, half of a sweet potato, steamed green beans, gazpacho
Dessert: Cinnamon roll Quest bar
Exercise for Today:
Recumbent bike warmup, then workout 9A2 of the Strong Curves Advanced program. I've been ready for a while to get rid of my avatar that dates back to the wintertime, when I was leaning on a walker. So since Sunday morning is dead quiet -- only two of us in the whole gym around 7:15 AM on this Labor Day weekend -- I asked the nice girl at the front desk to snap a picture of me in full lockout after a purely experimental deadlift, the third in a series.
Ladies, that is 145 lbs. That's what I was hip-thrusting, and on a whim, I took off the bar pad & decided to try to deadlift it, to see if I could. There is no way that I could have done that even three months ago. I was trying to encourage myself a little, since I woke up feeling restless and did not like the number on the scale. I had to remind myself I'm more than that & there is some point in going to the gym.
Labor Day, waking at 4:15 AM, as though I have to labor. But that's okay with me because of all the "puttering" around my apartment that I could manage, which is mostly putting away stuff where I ought to have put it away earlier in the week.
Weigh in: 142.5. Up another half-pound. I knew this before the weigh-in, as I feel squishy around my waist and my ankle bones are mostly hidden -- I can press dents into them.
Meals for Today:
Breakfast: Pumpkin muffin; egg bake with asparagus, ham and red pepper; yogurt with strawberries
Snack: Another good ripe pear
Lunch: Arugula, roasted asparagus, walnuts, goat cheese, half an avocado, golden mulberries and garlic hummus
Snack: Fresh figs
Dinner: Hamburger with red pesto, half of a sweet potato, steamed broccoli, simmered collards
Dessert: Cookies and cream Quest bar
Exercise for Today:
20 minutes on elliptical, then duplicating my physical therapy workout as much as possible. But I had to use a Smith machine for squats, 70 lbs. 4x12 alternating with crunches, then 3x12 hamstring curls and quad raises and 3x12 abductor/adductor. Also did some accessory work on arms in between sets, for triceps and biceps.
I will NOT be intimidated by today, with its six meetings and two doctor appointments -- one with the insurance company's doctor, also attended by a paralegal from my lawyer's office, another with my therapist. I will just take it one hour at a time.
Weigh in: 142.4. Seeing it less than yesterday is heartening, even by a fraction, even if that could be the equivalent of drinking a glass of water.
Meals for Today:
Breakfast: Pumpkin muffin; egg bake with asparagus, ham and red pepper; yogurt with strawberries
Snack: Fresh figs
Lunch: Arugula salad with roasted vegetables, walnuts, Craisins, goat cheese and some guacamole
Snack: 180-calorie Bare Fruit cinnamon apple chips
Dinner: T-bone steak, steamed green beans, simmered collard greens
Dessert: Strawberry cheesecake Quest bar
Exercise for Today:
20 minutes on recumbent bike, then Workout 10A1 of Strong Curves. I upped the weight and tried to reduce my rest intervals which made this tougher than Sunday.
That's a great avatar, Saef!
There were two ladies at the gym yesterday that were lifting the exact same barbell/ weight. I was so amazed I walked over to peer at the weights to see what they were lifting.
Dh showed me his upper body routine and I'm quite sore today. We also did a ton of walking. He left this morning for Asia for two weeks. I'm bound and determined to get the scale to move in the right direction while he's gone. It's much, much too high for my liking.
I'm also grumpy that my AC that was just fixed seems to be leaking so I put a call into the AC guy. I'm pretty sure any visit he makes to me after work will disrupt my workout plans but I'll try to be flexible and figure something out. Of course, today's forecast is 102 and tomorrow's is 106.
Saef, I am impressed! You are quite strong! That much weigh does not bother your knee when you deadlift it? A very good sign that things are healing well.
Michele, do you plan to continue the upper body routine while DH is gone? I am still amazed at the changes in my appearance from sticking to a very moderate upper body routine week after week.
Saef, I am impressed! You are quite strong! That much weigh does not bother your knee when you deadlift it? A very good sign that things are healing well.
Michele, do you plan to continue the upper body routine while DH is gone? I am still amazed at the changes in my appearance from sticking to a very moderate upper body routine week after week.
I transformed myself 8 years ago using only small - 5 lb. and 8 lb. - weights and a body ball. Took 6 weeks of 3X per week, 30 minutes per workout. I hope to get back to that starting this Sunday with the new trainer. It'll be slow but steady I think. I'm envisioning 6 months rather than 6 weeks as the time span but I'll see what happens.
Saef, I am impressed! You are quite strong! That much weigh does not bother your knee when you deadlift it? A very good sign that things are healing well.
Michele, do you plan to continue the upper body routine while DH is gone? I am still amazed at the changes in my appearance from sticking to a very moderate upper body routine week after week.
Alice, no, my knees felt fine. My knees were pretty good before the accident. What has really weakened and requires continual rebuilding is my quads.
The humidity was high today and I soaked my shirt through in the gym, despite the airconditioning, and also had to work around an intense, wiry gray-haired guy whom I've never seen in the free-weight section on that time and day.
Weigh in: 142.1. Again, I'm just happy that it's less.
Meals for Today:
Breakfast: Chocolate ricotta muffin; egg bake with asparagus, ham and red pepper; yogurt with wild raspberries and a couple strawberries
Snack: Fresh figs
Lunch: Arugula with tuna, some raw vegetables and roasted vegetables, couscous and farro, and fresh tomatoes
Snack: Large dusty-looking red plum
Dinner: T-bone steak, gazpacho, simmered collard greens
Dessert: Cinnamon roll Quest bar
Exercise for Today:
20 minutes on the arc trainer, then Workout 10B of Strong Curves. Those parallel grip pullups are the hardest. I need to stop hunching my body. This was just a plain old tough workout,
I had one of the strangest bikram classes yesterday!
There was a new young guy that right off the bat seemed odd. Before class he was doing some weird poses and mumbling. During class (which was unbelievably hot and hard as it was over 100 outside), he was the most distracting person I've ever seen. Smack dab in the middle of the room, in front of the instructor, flopping around, talking, sighing, falling over repeatedly... you name it. As a result, everyone near him was falling out of poses and we were all trying to focus, yet looking at each other. The instructor tried to tell him to breathe.... Finally 3/4 of the way through class, the instructor had obviously had enough. He told him he knew he was new, but he needed to calm his energy down. The guy said he understood but got even worse. Then, the instructor said something about how the guy was acting like a toddler and needed to toughen up! The next thing I know, the guy is sobbing for the rest of class. The instructor finished 5 minutes early and left. Then the guy went out and they chatted. I was hoping he was giving him pointers or telling him not to return. When I went out a few minutes later, World War III had erupted. One guy was livid and saying we all needed our money back and that this guy never should have been allowed to stay. A lady started arguing with him that she was right next to the kid and she wasn't complaining and that he should show some compassion. There were people arguing both sides of it (the young kid had left so he didn't hear this). During class I kept wondering if he was "special" so I had more compassion than many others. I just wonder if he'll come back again (it was his 2nd class) and if so, what the instructor will do. Very weird.....
