Interesting about the heart rate. Please keep tracking and see if it continues to be linked to your weight. Maybe water retention and/or fat gain made your heart have to work harder?

Saturday morning, and I am rebounding from last night, when I was so tired, I felt like a zombie walking from the laundry room back to my apartment. I had to use force of will to get an enormous load of colored clothing washed and folded -- I really needed to have at least one pair of clean capri pants for the gym on Saturday morning.

Weigh-in: Unfortunately 140.7. What the heck happened yesterday? This could be the adobo sauce for the chicken, which is half soy sauce and half vinegar. If so, I will be up again tomorrow, as I'm finishing this off for dinner tonight.

Meals for Today:

Breakfast: Chocolate ricotta muffin; egg bake with spinach, mushrooms and chicken sausage; yogurt with raspberries
Lunch: Arugula, roasted vegetables, walnuts, Craisins, lots of goat cheese and several forkfuls of plain hummus
Dinner: Adobo chicken with brown rice and steamed broccoli
Dessert: Chocolate chip cookie dough Quest bar, original recipe

Exercise for Today:

The usual 20 minute warmup on recumbent bike, then Workout 11C of Strong Curves Advanced program, then a Pilates mat class.

Facing Sunday morning with the usual mix of relief at getting to sleep past 5 AM, hopefulness with the whole day before me, sorrow at how soon the weekend is ending and a bit of tension over all the stuff I've got to do by the time "Fear of the Walking Dead" comes on at 8 PM.

Weigh in: Yes, 141.5, as I'd expected and feared, probably because of all the soy sauce in the adobo chicken sauce. That's one pound higher than last Sunday morning.

Meals for Today

Breakfast: Sadly, the very last chocolate ricotta muffin; egg bake with spinach, mushrooms and chicken sausage; yogurt with raspberries
Snack: A pretty decent peach, one of the last as we head off into apple season
Lunch: Spring mix, roasted vegetables, curried lentils, half an avocado, goat cheese, walnuts and golden mulberries
Snack: 60-calorie bag of Bare Fruit Granny Smith apple chips
Dinner: Simmered kale with crispy oven-roasted kale chips, miso-glazed salmon, steamed carrots
Dessert: Chocolate chip cookie dough Quest bar


Exercise for Today

Twenty minutes on the Cybex arc trainer, then Workout 11A2 of the Strong Curves advanced program. I was tired by the end of this, without any desire for accessory work for my arms. If I get in all my strength training workouts this week, I will finish this program.

Did my second workout with the trainer today. Something went "wrong" in my left thigh while doing lunges with hand weights. Continues to be sore when I walk. Hoping it'll be gone tomorrow when I have to work.

More and more of my clients are requesting dinner walks. I really don't want to encourage this but if it's what's in demand I can't turn them all down. This type of walk will be much harder in the winter so I will turn some of them down then.

Dagmar :strong:

Saef, I use Powerpoint to do my basic photo editing. Just select insert photo from the drop-down menu, choose "crop" from the editing tools, then do a right-click "save picture as" when you're done. Also, would you share your recipe for chocolate ricotta muffins? Your daily menu has had me hankering for one for a week now. Finally, I have to say, I find the SC workouts exhausting, and frequently end up skipping one of the upper body exercises (and sometimes one of each upper/lower) because I don't have the strength to finish. I can't believe you have the energy to do a complete one AND 20 minutes of cardio.

Michele, good on you for such a dramatic drop. Is the ONLY thing you changed this week that you added a 4th day of low-carb, or do you think you were also more careful about total calories all week? I have tried adding a 4th day now and again, and it has never resulted in a big weight drop - but I am all-but ignoring the portion size and total serving limits on non-low-carb days (that is, eating what non-maintainers consider "normally,") thus explaining why I endlessly cycle between 128 and 131.

The chocolate ricotta muffins were an experiment that turned out well.
I apologize ahead of time for my lack of precision in this recipe. I've used it for so many years that I tend to eyeball when I attempt a variation.

This came from me wondering how to use up a container of long-expired ricotta that I kept ignoring in my fridge till I read the date on it.

Usually to make the "wet part" of this recipe, I add either 1) three mashed bananas, 2) a can of pumpkin or, recently 3) pureed mango and mango chunks. This time, I decided to do some Google searching about ricotta in baked goods and got the idea of making the chocolate muffins, thinking of the sourness of some chocolate, like Hershey bars. (Apparently a lot of Europeans don't like Hershey bars because the sourness is so pronounced. But I used to like them.)

Chocolate Ricotta Muffins

The base, which underlies all of my muffin recipes:
1 1/2 cups of rolled oats
1 cup of whole wheat flour
1/2 cup ground flax seed
1 teaspoon EACH of baking powder and baking soda (for a total of 2 teaspoons of leavening)

Then the something-elses, which change the flavor and add nutrients or fiber from other nuts, grains or whatever else:
On this recipe, I added 1/2 cup of raw hemp seed, simply because I liked the flavor and got a bag marked-down from the food section of Home Goods
2 generous tablespoons of Trader Joe's cocoa powder for this recipe
1/2 cup of raw cacao nibs for this recipe, another find from the food section at Home Goods or TJ Maxx

The wet stuff:
2 egg whites -- it's okay if you use whole eggs, and sometimes I do
At least two tablespoons of plain unsweetened applesauce (or I'll sometimes dump in the whole tiny cup such as schoolchildren take in their lunch containers)
At least a cup and a half of part skim ricotta. I used a lot, since the unopened tub had expired three months ago & I wanted to use it up.
A cup and a half of Torani sugarfree syrup, mocha-flavored. If the batter looks dry, add more of this ingredient.

Mix together the dry ingredients, mix together the wet ingredients. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. As with all muffin recipes, make sure the mixture is fairly wet but don't overbeat.

Bake at either 350 or 375 for about 22 minutes or so.

Knock the muffins out of the tins fairly soon after you take them out of the oven, but do this carefully, because they could get squished or misshapen if they fall. (I often drop one on the floor.)

Cool on a rack that leaves the bottoms exposed.

Makes 2 dozen decent-sized muffins.

Store in a zip-lock bag. Must be kept refrigerated. These freeze really well.

Thanks for the recipe, Saef. I will try it but maybe with substitution of some cocoa powder and Splenda for some of the syrup. I too have a tub of ricotta that needs to be used up.

Alice, yeah, there's a lot of substitution going on there to avoid sugar and reduce the fat content. My home-made muffins are just about the last remaining baked goods in the world that I still eat, so I enjoy them inordinately. To others who eat a wider variety of baked goods, they aren't likely to be a big treat.

Monday morning, which I felt prepared for last night, though today I'm not so sure. Last week, I was planning to take off this Thursday and Friday, but the likelihood of that happening dwindled as last week wore on. My manager's back from a week of PTO & typically that means a lot of sudden demands.

Weigh in: Down a little, at 141.3. Not as good as Friday's weight, before the weekend and all the adobo sauce at dinnertime -- but I was 141.6 last Monday, and 142.5 on the Monday before that. Therefore I'm going to call it progress in the fight against three pounds. And yes, that's all: Three pounds. It's like fighting for about one square mile in a long-running battle.

Meals for Today

Breakfast: Coconut lime ricotta muffin, the first of a new experimental batch; egg bake with spinach, mushrooms and chicken sausage; yogurt with strawberries
Snack: A really large Cortland apple, not very flavorful
Lunch: Spring mix with roasted vegetables, almonds, golden gooseberries, and several pasty glops of plain hummus and guacamole
Snack: Another peach
Dinner: Vegetable stew with cannellini beans and lots of farro -- it's like oatmeal with vegetables for dinner
Dessert: Strawberry cheesecake Quest bar


Exercise for Today:

At physical therapy, 12 minutes on the Cybex elliptical, then 4x12 squats, first two sets unweighted, then 10 lbs, then 15 lbs, alternating with reverse crunches holding a ball between my knees 4x12. Then a circuit of hamstring curls, abductors and adductors 3x12 and 2x12 leg raises alternating with step-ups with 15-lb dumbbells.

Hi everyone. Sorry I'm erratic with checking in here.

I am down one pound since I was last here a few months ago. I was actually afraid to weigh myself, so I'm very relieved I have not gained. My commitment to maintenance is not as rock steady as I'd like it to be. I guess all I can do is keep recommitting. I'm trying to remind myself that I'm only two pounds away from my goal.

I am thinking that my strategy for this week will be lots of healthy soups and salads to fill me up.

Hope you're all doing well . . .

Andrea-- the main change I made was the addition of another low-carb day. I was more cognizant of keeping my meals within the correct portion size, and I *gasp* even went to bed slightly hungry several nights. The other change I've made in the last few weeks is to add more weight training. The combination worked last week. We'll see what happens this week!

Saef, thank you for the recipe. I don't buy or use ricotta. Is small-curd cottage cheese pretty similar, or should I make the investment? Are calories/ounce similar? Also, have you ever made rolled oats into flour by running it through a blender or food processor? In the back of my mind, I feel like I'd get better (fluffier? less wet?) results.

Michele, the absolute hardest thing for me is to push away from the dinner table without feeling full, and then not have dessert, or even fruit. Do you have any "tricks" for managing 4 such days more tolerably?

[QUOTE=neurodoc;5203886

Michele, the absolute hardest thing for me is to push away from the dinner table without feeling full, and then not have dessert, or even fruit. Do you have any "tricks" for managing 4 such days more tolerably?[/QUOTE]

I don't have any magic answers, but I am a very black or white person and I can follow rules pretty easily. After dinner, I have a decaf flavored coffee. I also chew sugar free gum. That seems to work for me. I have more difficulty when dh is home, particularly with portion size. He is a great cook and he loves to feed me big portions which I have trouble resisting. We don't go out much but usually a couple of times a week, and I hate to say I can only eat low carb so I sometimes don't. For example, this week my only high carb day is Wednesday. Thursday we are refinancing our house and dh and I will probably go out to dinner after. While I should eat low carb, we likely won't go anywhere with great options. Not the end of the world.

Andrea, I suspect you could use cottage cheese instead of ricotta, but since I don't count calories, I've no idea whether they're similar or far apart. That's probably a good Google search, though.

Waking on Tuesday with a stuffed nose, which means that the ragweed pollen count has risen over the past few days.

Weigh in: Down a little more, at 141.1, which isn't bad after working from home yesterday.

Meals for Today

Breakfast: Coconut lime ricotta muffin; the last of the egg bake with spinach, mushrooms and chicken sausage; yogurt with strawberries
Snack: A peach, just a bit underripe and crunchy
Lunch: Spring mix salad, steamed asparagus, salsa, guacamole, peanuts and the last of the golden gooseberries
Snack: A MacIntosh apple -- oh, the smell when I bit into it. The first of the new season.
Dinner: Vegetable strew with farro and cannellini and a chicken leg quarter
Dessert: White chocolate raspberry Quest bar

Exercise for Today:

I feel strangely bereft at the thought that Monday was my last day at physical therapy, and yet I didn't know it. I know, I'm the only person who's sorry to end that ... but the guys there were all former personal trainers who were lifting weights in their free time and I talked with them a lot through my sessions. And now those relationships must end. I need to stop by the place and offer a proper farewell.

Anyway, I was thinking of them at my regular gym this morning, getting in 20 minutes on the arc trainer, then workout 12A1 of the Strong Curves Advanced program. This will be my last week of this 12-week program, which has definitely changed my body. I've decided that I'll either repeat this program again for another 12 weeks, or pick a different program and then add some Gorgeous Glutes (yeah, yeah, those program names ....) to that routine. Also dropping the two days a week of physical therapy leaves me free to rework on which days I do what.

Today I have eaten a small apple fritter and a frosted chocolate pb brownie. Not a typical day for me! I'm not sure why I decided to eat those things, but I did enjoy them and feel satisfied for the moment. Maybe I can consider it an experiment - will I feel satisfied enough to be able to forget about food until I get home. And can I control my eating until I go to bed? By my reckoning, I can eat about 700 more calories today.

Saef, I was sad when my physical therapy ended almost 4 years ago, because when I was going it was like getting paid to exercise (since I could use sick leave for it). The PT office has an annual Christmas party which I've attended - see if yours has one.

Andrea, it is hard to be hungry at night. Can you move your evening meal to a later hour? Then it will be easier to tough out the time until bed. I sometimes have herbal tea with sweetener to get through it. For me, being a bit hungry at bedtime is a good indicator of dropping some weight. Even when I'm happy with the scale number I feel it's a good idea to be a little hungry one or two nights a week.

I always find it interesting when other people observe you and make comments, or ask questions. I had a new one today from a co-worker at lunch. She said, "I bet you have the best bloodwork". She said she's never seen me ever eat anything unhealthy. We then chatted about bloodwork, families, parents, genetics, etc. You never know what people notice about you unless they tell you....

New avatar, courtesy of DH and Photoshop (he's taking a course this term).

That's a cool avatar, Andrea.

Andrea Very cool avatar! :dancer:

Dagmar :dizzy:

That is indeed a fabulous avatar. (I feel sheepish in asking, but is that you?)

Wednesday, with an autumnal feeling in the air. I needed to grab a sweater as soon as I'd gotten into my gym clothes. I still drop an ice cube or two into my coffee before I drink it, but it's pumpkin-flavored.

Weigh in: Going in the wrong direction, alas, at 141.4.

Meals for Today

Breakfast: Coconut lime ricotta muffin; egg bake with ham, broccoli and spinach; yogurt with strawberries
Snack: Peach
Lunch: Arugula, artichokes, tuna, roasted green beans with bacon, and quinoa
Snack: MacIntosh apple, which felt more like mouthfuls of useful fiber than fruit to be enjoyed
Dinner: Vegetable strew with farro and cannellini and a chicken leg quarter -- probably too much farro tonight
Dessert: Cinnamon roll Quest bar

Exercise for Today:

20 minutes on the recumbent bike, then Workout 12B of Strong Curves Advanced. Another hard workout, with me feeling quite done-in afterward, particularly in my arms and quads.

Google indeed knows all. For any who are curious, ricotta is made from whey while cottage cheese is made from curd. They contain similar amounts of protein. Gram for gram, part-skim ricotta is more caloric than cottage cheese, but apparently cottage cheese has higher water content, so if you compare it by volume rather than weight, calories end up almost equal. Cottage cheese is apparently "runnier" so it's not advised for use in baked goods.

Yes, the avatar is me, sort of. DH actually took 2 different pictures of me, one doing a backbend and another standing, with my arms raised up behind me, then fused the upper half of one photo with the lower half of the other, and mirrored the image to get the heart shape. He is a creative guy!

Thursday, inching along in the post-Yom-Kippur holiday traffic, when all the cars are back on the road again, running through today's eight meetings, thinking of what's required for me in each meeting.

Weigh in: Even further in the wrong direction, at 142.1.

Meals for Today:

Breakfast: Coconut lime ricotta muffin; egg bake with ham, broccoli and spinach; yogurt with strawberries
Snack: 180-calorie bag of Bare Fruit Fuji apple chips
Lunch: Berry bliss Quest bar and Romaine salad with roasted eggplant, endive slices, tomatoes and cukes with chickpeas and kale -- tasted rather salty and vinegary
Snack: A peach
Dinner: Vegetable strew with farro and cannellini and a chicken leg quarter
Dessert: Chocolate chip cookie dough Quest bar


Exercise for Today:

30 minutes on the Life Fitness elliptical, with three different tricep exercises afterward, which felt kind of random.

Wow, Andrea.... that is really cool! And you look great!!

My dh came home yesterday... we took Ellie to puppy class last night and I had CPR training after work, so no exercise to speak of. We went out for salads last after puppy class and my weight is up 1.5 pounds. Hope that it doesn't keep going in that direction with dh home or I'll undo my entire loss from last week.

Next week, dh and I are going to a fancy chef dinner experience-- with multiple James Beard award winning chefs preparing dishes. I can only imagine the butter and other richness I'll consume them.

We are refinancing our house and closing tonight. Tomorrow evening we are taking the dogs to the vet. I'm just hoping to squeeze exercise in there somewhere....

Friday, thinking that farro and vegetable stew that I've had for dinner all week is not my friend, as I've been eating outsized bowls of it because it feels like nothing going down but has that pleasant mouth-feel of oatmeal.

Weigh in: One of those "glass of water" less weigh-ins, at 141.9.

Meals for Today:

Breakfast: Coconut lime ricotta muffin; egg bake with ham, broccoli and spinach; yogurt with blueberries with cinnamon
Lunch: Spring greens with roasted vegetables and toasted pecans, baby carrots with hummus and guacamole
Dinner: Vegetable strew with farro and cannellini and steamed shrimp
Dessert: White chocolate raspberry Quest bar


Exercise for Today:

Trying to substitute for my concluded physical therapy. That means 20 minutes on Cybex arc trainer, hill intervals. Then 4x12 squats, with three warmup sets, alternating with 4x20 raised-leg crunches and 4x20 reverse crunches with one of those weighty little exercise balls. Also 3x12 leg raises, 3x12 calf raises on Smith machine, 3x12 hamstring curls and 3x12 each abductor/adductor.

Saturday morning, not wanting to get out of bed. One of those mornings when the accumulated nervous tension of the past week has prostrated me. But why? The past week wasn't really so bad.

Weigh in: Down a bit more, at 141.5, back to where I was on Wednesday. If I want this number to go lower, I'm going to have to take this more seriously and go hungry sometimes.

Meals for Today:

Breakfast: Coconut lime ricotta muffin; egg bake with ham, broccoli and spinach; yogurt with blueberries with cinnamon
Lunch: Spring mix salad, cold asparagus and roasted cauliflower, toasted pecans, apple chips and several forkfuls of garlicky hummus
Snack: The biggest peach I've ever held in my two hands
Dinner: Farro with vegetables and cannellini beans, shrimp
Dessert: Chocolate brownie Quest bar

Exercise for Today:

20 minutes recumbent bike, workout 12C of Strong Curves advanced program and Pilates mat class.

In the perpetual cycle of ups and downs that is my weight, I am momentarily doing better, albeit in a relative way (still several pounds above goal, which is several pounds above what Saef would call my "secret-in-my-head" goal). Not sure why really, since my stress is through the roof recently, a combination of work expectations, "direct report" woes, and a toxic dynamic between DH and oldest DS that explodes in yelling and drama every week. This morning's eruption was a doozie- I'm still shaky and unable to concentrate. It's time to once again seek a family therapist/counselor, though DH is convinced that it won't help.

Sunday morning, with work churning in my head, because that's what I did yesterday, in addition to a trip to the grocery store and roasting the usual tray of vegetables. I'm writing an important PowerPoint for training purposes and doing some document assessments for one of my direct reports, the weakest one, as all of the meetings over the past week left me little time to focus on desk-work.

Weigh in: Up a half pound, at 142, exactly.

Meals for Today:

Breakfast: Coconut lime ricotta muffin; egg bake with ham, broccoli and spinach; yogurt with blueberries with cinnamon
Snack: Another two-fisted peach, as I call this enormous fruit. How did the tree branch bear up under its weight?
Lunch: Five-lettuce mixed salad with roasted vegetables, curried cauliflower, half an avocado, goat cheese, sunflower seeds and Craisins
Dinner: Miso-glazed salmon steak, steamed asparagus, half of a sweet potato
Dessert: White chocolate raspberry Quest bar

Exercise for Today:

The usual 20 minutes of cardio, this one on the Cybex, and then I FINISHED the Advanced Program of Strong Curves (which I believe is called *blush* "Gluteal Goddess"). I did 4x12 sumo deadlifts at 125 lbs., which is, okay, not remarkable, but I was hit by a car in mid-November last year and could not walk without a walker or cane for five months, and I was really frightened I'd never again be able to do something like this.

So, saef, it really is remarkable. :-) What kinds of vegetables do you roast? Dressing on your salad?

Andrea, how old is your oldest DS? I'm guessing a teenager. My DH and my DS were always butting heads in a loud and dramatic way. It was horrible. But it eventually ended. Kind of like the terrible twos eventually ended. It's just when you're in the middle of it and can see no end in sight that it's especially awful. Even if DH won't go to therapy, it might be helpful for you so you can cope with the stress. Hopefully you don't feel the need to be peacemaker.

Sheila, the situation has been going on for years- basically since oldest DS was 7 or so. He and DH are so alike in many ways, but rub each other completely the wrong way and neither one of them is willing to give an inch, back down, apologize or admit any fault. Problem is, the older DS gets the more I fear that it will actually come to blows (or that DS will just leave home). And no, not really a peacemaker, but each one airs his grievances to me about the other (DH can go on for hours) and the stress of watching and listening to them wreck each other's life is killing me.

Saef, way to go! I just started the "weeks 9-12" section of the Advanced Program, doing my first ever Zercher squats and Sumo DL, and I have to say they are HARD variations, even though I've done squats and DL for years now. You should be very proud of 4x12 sumo DL with 125 lbs; the book only calls for 3 sets of 6-12, so you outdid even Bret Contreras' expectations.

That's excellent, saef, pure and simple. :hug: Thanks for telling us - it's a great vicarious boost as I start my day!

Monday, with lots of little worries, like whether I'll get to the post office to mail another blouse that I sold on eBay, and to mail belated birthday cards, and where to put my car at 6 AM tomorrow while they pave the apartment complex, and whether I'll get paperwork-type stuff done today, which is unusually light on meetings.

Weigh in: Up more than another half pound, at 142.7, which was so dispiriting to see.

Meals for Today:

Breakfast: Coconut lime ricotta muffin; egg bake with ham, broccoli and spinach; yogurt with cantaloupe
Snack: Another big peach, bigger than the apple that I also put in my work tote.
Lunch: Arugula salad with roasted vegetables, farro, tuna, a couple baked tofu squares and sunflower seeds
Two snacks, a few hours apart: A large plum, and later, a small MacIntosh apple, which was smaller than the plum
Dinner: Chicken thighs in black bean sauce, cannellini & escarole, broccoli rabe
Dessert: Cinnamon roll Quest bar


Exercise for Today:

20 minutes on recumbent bike, then the leg workout that I used to do for physical therapy, with some tweaks: 3x12 squats alternating with 3x12 reverse crunches and 3x20 crunches; 3x12 each hamstring curls and quad raises; 3x12 weighted calf raises; 3x12 abductors and 1x30 resistance band burnout.

Saef-- that is amazing! You've come so far!

Andrea-- our experience was different but still frustrating. Dd and dh are alike in many ways-- she and I butt heads and I got along much better with older dd (who is more alike to me)... When older dd left for college, my relationship improved quite a bit with younger dd (she tends to be jealous for attention). I would recommend family counseling though even though dh doesn't think it will help. The right counselor can make such a difference.... I speak from experience!

Waking up to a weirdly warm & humid Tuesday, feeling dispirited and burnt out. This is the letdown after working all weekend on a project, getting it reviewed Monday, and then handing it in. Also, once again I'm in the thick of hiring and interviewing.

Sheila, I always roast summer squash, eggplant, some colored bell pepper and onion. Sometimes I throw in mushrooms or celery chunks or small bits of cauliflower, but it's always at least the first four.

Weigh in: Down, as I thought it would be, from all the trips to the ladies' room. I went down over a pound, to 141.6.

Meals for Today:

Breakfast: Coconut lime ricotta muffin; egg bake with ham, broccoli and spinach; yogurt with cantaloupe
Snack: The last of the bowling-ball peaches
Lunch: Mixed lettuce with cold steamed asparagus, salsa, half an avocado, goat cheese, dry-roasted peanuts and Craisins
Dinner: Chicken thighs in black bean sauce, cannellini & escarole, frozen mixed Chinese vegetables
Dessert: White chocolate raspberry Quest bar

Exercise for Today:

20 minutes on Cybex arc trainer, then, just for convenience sake, restarted the Strong Curves Advanced program, though of course going heavier than at the end of June. This was workout 1A1.

Thanks! I'm going to have to try adding roasted veggies. I'm getting bored with my salads.

Still weirdly warm and humid on Wednesday morning, such that I ran airconditioning while I was getting dressed & putting on makeup.

I'm feeling weary of living in the middle of a construction zone, as it's been over a year now since work on the flood wall began. The wall itself is done, but the place was torn up by heavy equipment and now the entire apartment complex needs to be landscaped and paved over again. We had a central green in the complex that got ruined by parked cars all summer and now is getting narrowed to accommodate emergency vehicles -- so that meant everyone was evicted from the onsite parking. I keep having to walk two blocks through the rain to my street parking space. Always, I worry about whether I'll get home from work too late to find a space, and whether my new car will be okay on the street overnight.

Weigh in: Down again, almost a pound, to 140.7.

Meals for Today:

Breakfast: Coconut lime ricotta muffin; egg bake with ham, broccoli and spinach; yogurt with strawberries
Snack: Found another bowling-ball peach, which had rolled behind something on the fridge shelf
Lunch: Arugula with artichoke hearts, farro, mixed vegetables, chickpeas
Snack: A plum that I have barely any recollection of eating and a small MacIntosh apple
Dinner: Chicken thighs in black bean sauce, cannellini and escarole, broccoli rabe
Dessert: Cookies and cream Quest bar

Exercise for Today:

20 minutes on recumbent bike, and onto Workout 1B of the Strong Curves program. Nothing like redoing a program to see how far you've come since the first round.

Thursday, in the office, wearing a suit, because I'll be interviewing a managerial candidate. There's a hurricane in the forecast, which used to fill me with panic -- but now we have our newly built floodwall. If only they would finish the re-paving. I got lucky & found a newly vacated & convenient parking space last night, but I don't know if that will keep happening.

Weigh in: At 140.6, down a glass of water.

Meals for Today:

Breakfast: Coconut lime ricotta muffin; egg bake with ham, broccoli and spinach; yogurt with strawberries
Snack: Really big orange
Lunch: Arugula, tuna, chickpeas, sunflower seeds, tabbouleh and raw veggies
Snack: Large plum, small MacIntosh apple
Dinner: Last of the chicken thighs, cannellini beans & escarole, broccoli rabe
Dessert: Cinnamon roll Quest bar

Exercise for Today:

30 minutes on elliptical, with resistance, alternating backward & forward. And then, almost at random, some accessory work on triceps: Close grip bench press, skullcrushers, kickbacks, rope pulldowns

btw, saef, I keep meaning to say how delighted I am that you have the new floodwall! All those meetings were worth it in the end.

Birchie, yes, WE DID IT! We have a wall! Though it's meant a year of living in a construction zone, and as I said, tension during the evening commute regarding whether I'll be able to park in a spot where I won't have to lug my laptop case & etc. too far in pouring rain before getting home. Soon we'll have a resized central green in the complex with a smooth coat of new blacktop and freshly striped parking lines. That is, if the hurricane doesn't interrupt the work plan.

Friday morning, with local weathermen sweeping their arms along maps of the East Coast of the U.S., showing the potential pathway of the hurricane. And also sorrowful pictures of the campus where the latest mass shooting has taken place.

Weigh in: At 140.3, another glass of water dumped out.

Meals for Today:

Breakfast: Last of the coconut lime ricotta muffins; egg bake with turkey bacon, broccoli and spinach; yogurt with raspberries
Snack: Large plum
Lunch: Romaine salad with roasted vegetables, almonds, goat cheese, sweet potato chunks, half an avocado
Dinner: Sirloin steak, steamed broccoli, sweet potato
Dessert: Brownie Quest bar

Exercise for Today:

20 minutes on recumbent bike, then a leg day, simulating my physical therapy sessions but heavier: 3x10 dumbbell walking lunges alternating with 3x20 crunches and 3x12 reverse crunches, then 4x10 squats, 3x12 Smith machine calf raises, 3x12 leg raises and hamstring curls, 3x12 abductor/adductor. Also fit in some concentration curls, during a break from the leg stuff.

Saturday morning, shivering over temperatures that dropped into the 40s overnight, in a drafty apartment because several rooms have airconditioners in the windows with imperfectly sealed openings. I am sitting here in fleece. Already my weekend routine is off because I didn't go to the grocery store at 7 AM -- not enough on my list at that store this week and also, I won't depart from a decent parking space without a really good reason.

I have work to catch up on this weekend again. (So what else is new?)

Weigh-in: 138.4, which means, apparently, that I shivered away several pounds overnight

Meals for Today:

Breakfast: Chocolate banana muffin; egg bake with turkey bacon, broccoli and spinach; yogurt with raspberries
Lunch: Spinach with roasted vegetables, marinated artichokes, toasted pecan pieces, half an avocado, goat cheese and some freeze-dried pear chips
Snack: MacIntosh apple
Dinner: Sirloin steak, broccoli rabe, roasted cauliflower
Dessert: Cookies and cream Quest bar

Exercise for Today:

20 minutes on the arc trainer, then workout 1C of Strong Curves Advanced, then a Pilates mat class that, of all things, had a lot of glute work.

Sunday morning, moving about my kitchen around 5 AM, in wind pants & fleece because the heat wasn't coming up yet, I heard voices in the hallway and the sound of heavy things moving. Opened my door a crack and saw my 92-year-old next-door neighbor being taken out of the apartment while seated in her wheelchair. It can't be for anything good.

Weigh in: Which makes being alive seem like a decent proposition, so I mind it less that the scale reads 139.5, up just over a pound overnight.

Meals for Today:

Breakfast: Chocolate banana muffin; egg bake with turkey bacon, broccoli and spinach; yogurt with cantaloupe and strawberries
Snack: A white peach with an interesting texture, drier and chewier on the outside, juicier on the inside
Lunch: Romaine salad, roasted vegetables, pickled mushrooms, goat cheese, half an avocado and pistachios
Snack: MacIntosh apple, sliced, to make it last longer
Dinner: Miso-glazed salmon, of course, with sauteed broccoli rabe, steamed asparagus and roasted cauliflower -- a filling dinner that no doubt will add another pound to my weight tomorrow morning
Dessert: White chocolate raspberry Quest bar

Exercise for Today:

20 minutes on the recumbent bike, then Workout 1A2 of Strong Curves, sweaty in the cold but humid weather and getting stronger.

Monday morning, with my batteries running down in the gym this morning, so that I didn't leave till sometime past 7 AM, quite late for me. I'm hoping for a quiet day to do catch-up on written work today. I've only got one meeting. Much of the company is down in Orlando at our enormous yearly event, which makes it oddly peaceful here.

Weigh in: 140.3, up another pound overnight. Always happens on the weekend.

Meals for Today:

Breakfast: Chocolate banana muffin; egg bake with turkey bacon, broccoli and spinach; yogurt with blackberries
Snack: A very large and very good MacIntosh apple
Salad: Arugula with roasted eggplant and squash, sundried tomatoes, baked delicata slices, grilled chicken breast
Snack: A white peach, this one too crunchy -- I need to put them out in a bowl on the dining room table
Dinner: Pork loin stuffed with dried peaches and capers, broccoli rabe, roasted cauliflower
Dessert: A pumpkin pie Quest bar, disturbingly close to a candy bar, bright orange with rice crispy things underneath it -- this thing was 220 calories and nothing like a pumpkin pie at all. It needed to be more like the cinnamon roll flavor, I think.

Exercise for Today:

20 minutes on Cybex, and again, a leg day, simulating my physical therapy sessions but heavier: 3x10 dumbbell walking lunges alternating with 3x20 crunches and 3x12 reverse crunches, then 4x10 squats, 3x12 Smith machine calf raises, 3x12 leg raises and hamstring curls, 3x12 abductor/adductor. Also fit in some concentration curls and tricep pulldowns on the cable machine during rest time from the leg stuff.