Just a quick Hi - I am back to work today (but only for today). I figured it will good for my bank account if I work (and get paid holiday hours) as opposed to roam the stores and buy stuff that I don't really need. Boxing Day is good for that (i.e. for making you cough up $ you didn't need to spend in the first place).
Hope you all had a lovely Christmas. I am very proud of myself - I did yesterday a full hour of Jackie Warner's Work Out. It has 3 parts - Upper Body, Lower Body and Abs - each part runs for 20 minutes.
I was almost finished after the Upper Body (have to admit my shoulders are still a bit sore from all the shoveling). Lower Body was tough and I thought I would quit when I am done with that, but then when I was donel, I decided NO QUITTING and I finished everything. But man, I was soaked. I have to do her abs routine more often.
Lydia - I love the term "food porn"! Please do share the recipe for the chocolate chip cookie - sometimes, I need to bring cookies and such to a meetings at work and I am sure eveyrbody would love your choc. chip ones.
Elisa and Mel - please do tell how you make your latkes. I make what we call at home "potato pancakes" and I am not sure how different they are from latkes. Elisa, did you say you used sweet potatoes?
I am always ready to expand my culinary horizons.
Cheryl - too bad you don't live anywhere close. I would love to board my dogs with you. I am always so torn when I, once in a blue moon, need to board my dogs - I am sure I would be able to breathe easier if I could leave them with you. Maybe I could actually take a vacation every once in a while and travel, like normal people do?
Everybody else -
If you travel - I hope the weather is good and the roads are safe.
Oh, by the way, I weighed myself and I am now officially 45 lbs lighter than I was when I started on this fun journey. Ok, gotta go and get some and some serious work.
Hi Alena ! I'm working today too. It's not a holiday in the US but I think a lot of folks wanted the looong weekend. Since the city I work for doesn't close, our staff split as to having today or next Friday off. I don't have kids at home, so I was willing to work today and have next Friday off.
My gym is closed today so any exercise will be at home. We've had about 6-8" of new snow since Wed morning, so DH is getting his shoveling. If it stops and the roads are clear, we will go to Anchorage (50 miles) with another couple tonight to go square dancing. All weather dependent though. The gym is open Sat and closed again on Sun (which is always is). I guess because it's a small town, small gym, it can't afford to keep the hours of a bigger chain gym. There is a larger one about 1/2 hour away, but that's too far for me on a regular basis.
Location: Lyin' in a puddle of sweat on the floor.
Posts: 2,296
S/C/G: 235/201/175
Height: 5'7"
Alena, 45 lbs is awesome! When I passed 40 lbs, I thought, "that's a bag of dog food...day-umm!" lol...I'm a dog person, I can't help it!
Well, the holiday foodfest was ugly. Too much of the wrong food for 2 days. Thankfully, it's over for me, and I've never been so happy to be back OP! Lots of water today, have a LB workout to make up along with my UB lifting today, then I'm going to run as long as I can stand to, because I've got some serious work to do. Errands first, though, so I'd better get on them.
Mel, have fun with the skiing! I don't care you'll be burning like 3000 calories today...I'm not jealous!
Edit: Hi Pat We were posting at the same time. Have fun square dancing! I tried that two times, but it's not meant to be, I think. It takes me forever to get dance steps right, and SD moves too fast for my brain. I'm glad somebody can do it, though!
Pat, square dancing sounds like fun! That will burn some mighty calories!
I am keeping my fingers crossed for good weather for you. And when you are in Anchorage, and happen to run into a greyhound in a really fancy-schmancy coat, please hi for me. That is the only coat of mine (from previous years when I used to make greyhound coats) that is walking in Alaska.
Cheryl, good thinking - I have never thought of it in terms of dog kibble, although that line of thinking usually kicks in before anything else does. (I wish kibble was available in 50 lb bags - what's with the 40?)
Mel: Have a great time skiing today. I hope it's not raining there like it is here today. Thunderstorms really. Tomorrow is supposed to be 69 to 70 degrees. Weird.
Alena: Wow Lady! 45 pounds is awesome. Nice job getting that workout in yesterday too. That's the kind of commitment that will keep those pounds from every returning. My workout was a fifteen minute ride on my bike in the basement. I'm sick. Cold. It's typical. I always get sick between Christmas and New Years. Although it's been happening almost every years since I was in college it still takes me by surprise when it initially hits and then I remember. "Oh, yeah. That's right...." It usually kept me home on New Years Eve when I was younger. Now I'm too old to care.
Obviously no workout for me today. Unless you count the trips from my bed to the kitchen for fluids and vitamins and back to the bed again. It's really not that bad though. I've got a lot of books I'm trying to get through. I also really need the down time to put together some new functional fitness type routines that are a little different than the straight lifting I've been doing since fall. My routine it becoming so stale that I'm feel angry about it. How silly is that. I've just been really busy studying all the concepts and theories that support the exercises I'm doing but neglecting the nuts and bolts of my own program.
Pat: Have a great time square dancing this evening. I hope your DH has the enthusiasm to do this after shoveling all of that snow. Like Cheryl, I never really got the hang of square dancing. Where I grew up it was something that many people did at weddings and such. Most of the people grew up knowing how to do these dances before they were five years old. Not me. I always got lost in the circle and would miss half of the cues because I never could anticipate what would traditionally be called next. I will add though that they were a lot of fun especially with a group of really good friends.
Cheryl: No worries. Two days of holiday eating does not cancel out and entire year of mostly awesome choices and exercise. I actually look forward all year to this week in December when I'm grumbling about eating one more scrambled egg white lunch. The reality is this: after the brunch from yesterday and the perfect chocolate chip cookies my face feels bloated! Ugh. Really, my face feels and looks puffy. The scale is showing about a two pound increase and I swear it's all above my neck. So, instead of yearning for the treats in December as I often do throughout the year, I'm now reflecting and visualizing how great I felt most of the time during the year when I'm doing most everything right. Ahhh. Balance. Now, back to my book.
Oh Alena, the cookies. The secret is to use unbleached bread flour. Three cups instead of the 2 1/4 cup and 2 tsps of baking soda instead of 1 tsp when following the Toll House recipe. Also, refrigerate the dough overnight. 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes. Mmmmm. Not a crisp cookie. Not exactly cakey either but just in between. A spread that is just right. Oh, and use unsalted butter instead of margarine or shortening. This is of course for the benefit of your coworkers.
Hi all, checking in from atlanta where it's a lovely 55 degrees (but not sunny, so don't be TOO jealous!) I survived the eatfests and even was told about how I'm not eating much. Well, to be honest, southern cooking doesn't agree with my stomach anymore so I stick to things i know won't kill my stomach like potatoes and the non-red meats. I tried a biscuit (sans gravy) and some sausage (1 small dollar size) and that was eee-nuff for me and a small reminder of why I can't eat that stuff. Did a fbwo on C'mas eve and even trained my sister, who is 58. When she dared to say that a "woman her age" cannot do this stuff with her ortheoarthritis, I had to come right back and tell her about this "woman I know" who is a master trainer and lifter and that canNOT be her excuse any longer! (thanks for being that example Mel!) Then we went for a quick neighborhood walk before the dinner, and I sprinted up a hill and really really challenged myself. Back to the weights workout, the whole time my sister was like, why are you breathing so hard? It must be your asthma or I'm in really better shape than you ! I said I didn't really know (couldn't be rude and tell her). When we were done, she was watching me do my last few exercises and asked to try to lift what I was lifting. She was like, 'ok, now I'm breathing hard too - WOW!' So she got the point without me pointing it out. LOL Insted, I had tried to tell her that done correctly, lifting could be just as good of a heart pumper as cardio work, but she didn't quite connect the 2 until she wanted to lift my weight. I'm trying to get her to realize she needs a trainer and should join the Y but she thinks she doesn't have time.
Fran: That sounds like such a wonderful visit with your sister. It sounds like you not only may have motivated her but gave her some things to think about through your example. Go Fran Go
I hope everyone had a great holiday and good times with friends and family! We had our Hanukah party yesterday and yes, I made 10 lbs. of latkes, and yes I ate too many!! Thankfully, that's a once a year treat for me.
I have one or two more functions where I'm fairly certain that I'll be enjoying myself foodwise but I'm getting ready to get back on track. At least I have not used the bad food meals as an excuse to go completely crazy. I think that's what's kept me from the 10lb. holiday gain. I've only be checking in on the scale once a week or so and so far it's not too scary.
Alena - before I forget, you asked about the latkes. Latkes and potato pancakes are the same thing. I think latkes is a Yiddish word that's made it's way into the English language. As for recipes, I'm happy to share but mine are nothing special to other people, just to my family, because they taste exactly like my grandmother's. No sweet potatoes for me, although I've heard that's yummy. And most people put in onion, but not me. Mine are just grated potato (old recipe by hand, now just the steel blade in the cuisinart); they're drained well and then I add some flour, egg and salt and that's it. No real written down recipe but I'd love to hear what you do. And 45 lbs is amazing...good for you!!
Lydia - those cookies sound yummy but I think I'm off cookies for the next while! We're supposed to get some weird weather here too but not that warm. Maybe in the 50's and a lot of rain. We had a lot of snow so let's hope for no flooding!
Fran - that is a great story and good for you for being patient and being able to make your point in a much more effective way than the obvious! And I'll take 55 and sunny...that sounds quite lovely!
Elisa: Knowing all of the cookies you have baked this year for the holidays I'm sure your more than happy to walk away from the oven. Me too! Whenever the urge to bake something occurs in the summer I just recall these mid December bakefests and the urge passes quickly.
I've just finished reading Thin is the New Happy, by Valerie Frankel. It's a memoir of the author's battle with weight and the final desire to develop a healthy body image. Throughout the book I found a few similarities but I kept waiting for her to finally figure "it" out. Toward the end of the book I was about to lose hope for her long term success until page 238 when she witnesses a svelte and very fit woman in her seventies benching 125 pounds for 12 reps, stretches and does it again. She further writes about how this woman goes through her lifting routine in the free weights section as if she's done it a thousand times before when it occurs to her that she probably has.
I love how she goes on to describe this woman:
"She went on to perform feats of strength...that a forty year old man would crow about. The whole time this AARP pinup smiled as she moved around the equipment. She glistened with the sheen of accomplishment. She shone with an inner light of strength. I watched her go through her paces openly awed by the bionic septuagenarian." The woman sees her watching and winks at her in acknowledgment.
"What did the wink mean? Probably nothing...A covert message, 'Be good to your body, because it's the only one you will get." The alternative? Wind up like the obese women sprawled in the groaning lounge chairs who'd driven three blocks from their houses to the pool because it was too far for them to walk."
She goes on to say that she suddenly wanted to be that bench pressing granny. She wanted to be her at forty-one, fifty-two...ninety-two.
Here's the best part, "The choice was obvious, there was no more fooling around with weight loss and regain...activity, inactivity. At a certain stage in the aging process fitness shouldn't be a goal or an obsession. Fitness is life itself. You have to love your body as a living organism not hate it as a flawed decorative statue.....My new role model was the iron-pumping grandma with the fingerless gloves with the frosted blond hair. When the body image demons rattled the cage I would think of her and remember I only have one body and one choice."
I would have to agree. Now, how many of us reading this smiled thinking about ourselves doing this too in in seventies, eighties, and god willing, our nineties. Anyway, the image made me smile and I just had to share.
Location: Lyin' in a puddle of sweat on the floor.
Posts: 2,296
S/C/G: 235/201/175
Height: 5'7"
Alena, I'm guessing she could outrun me, too. I'm not bitter! lol. I'd love to be that buff at any age!
Yesterday I did the Crossfit workout, or a wimped down version, anyway. I just needed a change from running, and it had some lifts I hadn't tried before, so it was fun, and humbling, as usual.
Today I'm putzing around the house, trying to learn about strength building, and trying to come up with a rough plan for workouts over the next 2 months or so. I'm feeling pretty burned out on running lately, plus the rink might be closing for 6 weeks or so, which means I need to choose some alternatives for cardio. The lifting is going well, no problems, so I'm also taking a look at my short term goals for that, and trying to make sure my workouts are going to reflect that.
All our snow is pretty much melted...we had a little sunshine today, which was nice! I'd better get off here and get on with it! Hope you're all enjoying the weekend.
Please do share the recipe for the chocolate chip cookie - sometimes, I need to bring cookies and such to a meetings at work and I am sure eveyrbody would love your choc. chip ones.
and some serious work.
Nice job getting that workout in yesterday too. That's the kind of commitment that will keep those pounds from every returning. My workout was a fifteen minute ride on my bike in the basement. I'm sick. 
Cold. It's typical. I always get sick between Christmas and New Years. Although it's been happening almost every years since I was in college it still takes me by surprise when it initially hits and then I remember. "Oh, yeah. That's right...." It usually kept me home on New Years Eve when I was younger. Now I'm too old to care. 
I always got lost in the circle and would miss half of the cues because I never could anticipate what would traditionally be called next. I will add though that they were a lot of fun especially with a group of really good friends. 
Fran 
We had our Hanukah party yesterday and yes, I made 10 lbs. of latkes, and yes I ate too many!! Thankfully, that's a once a year treat for me.
Anyway, the image made me smile and I just had to share.
