Hi - I've been so busy that I'm not doing much posting anywhere lately. I need to step off this roller coaster - which is both work and home related. Getting two people ready to go on two separate vacations is, well, interesting. Eating has been so-so. My weight is the same even tough I've upped by exercise by about 80% with the new program I've joined. I've also begun some PT for my right knee as well. I see no end to the busy-ness until I actually leave for my cruise next Friday, but I'm trying to be a little more accountable about my food at least.

B - 2 eggs, ww toast, 1tsp jelly,
S - blueberry yogurt
L - Smart ones Sante Fe Rice & Beans over mixed lettuce with lf sour cream and salsa, with avocado
S - ??
D - small grilled steak, veg, and a starch (how's that for definite?)

Ex: 1/2 hour elliptical

Thursday:
B - shredded oats, blueberries, skim milk
S - nsa hot cocoa, apple
L - pasta and meat/spinach/mushroom sauce
S - small can of pineapple in juice, yogurt/blueberries/granola
D - bok choy tofu stir fry over noodles
S - watermelon
E - NRLW 8B (almost done with stage 1!!)

Last night's dinner switched to tamales after a vendor stopped by the office...I shouldn't do that! My weight is up--hopefully only due to sodium.

B~ww toast
S~carrots
L~smart ones entree, small apple
S~yogurt
D~sushi

This is the first week in a while that the scale has been consistently headed downward. I don't know what I changed but I'll take it!

Actually, I do know what I changed...I started pushing my shoulder hard so I could get -real- workouts in. Of course, now the shoulder hurts more, which might make this slightly unsustainable.

Plan for today:

B - Egg white, veggie, and chicken scramble, toasted mini bagel
S - Greek yogurt w/ strawberries and blueberries
L - Grilled chicken salad w/ grilled veggies, light honey mustard dressing, a few croutons, a laughing cow
S - Popcorn
D - Helping Sarah and her coworker do wedding flowers for the coworker's friend...so she said she wanted to make us dinner in exchange. LUCKILY, the coworker is the one who has bonded with Sarah over the fact tha t they both struggle with weight (she's maintaining a 30 lb loss within a 5 lb range), pack big bags of healthy food and snacks, etc. So even if I can't plan for it exactly, I know its not going to be a heavy meal.
S - Fruit Floe Bar

E - My plan is to do the 90 min "Ultimate Tae Bo" DVD for a longer cardio session today.

Amanda - cool on the scale going down! And, a yoga video update - I did the Yoga Fitness Plus video last night for the first time since the Yoga Fitness Fusion last week. The Plus keeps moving at a higher pace for longer, I believe. Wore my HRM and I burned 140 on Fusion, hit 255 again last night on Plus. The standing balances (Warrior 3, airplane, etc) are tough for me and get my heart pumping, and there are a lot of those in Plus. Be careful with your shoulder!

Went to Longhorn last night, had the 7 Pepper Sirloin Salad, next to no dressing. Not terrible calorie wise, but lots of fat. I did get it without Bleu Cheese, so that helped. Cut teh grass in 95 degrees for the majority of my exercise, 45 minute yoga video before bed.

Today:
B: smoothie, coffee
S: blueberries, cherries, string cheese
L: grilled chicken salad
S: rachel's vanilla chai yogurt, kashi go lean
D: vindaloo chicken over wild rice
S: mayfield brown cow junior I imagine

E: going to try to hit some strength training with short cardio follow-up as soon as I walk in the door after work

Morning all! Yesterday had a bump in the road at lunch. I ate my salad which was good, but then the teens in our Summer Reading Program brought in warm pancakes they made in the "Teens Cook" program. Sigh. They were whole-grain, but still. I just ate one.... And the grilled steak turned into pepper steak stir fry, and while calories were okay, the soy sauce added sodium. Not weighing today.

B - Cheerios with skim milk, walnuts, blueberries; ww toast;
S - yogurt
L - salad with lf asian dressing
S - some kind of fruit
D - I have to go to Anchorage to the dentist, and then be back here for a 7 pm meeting. I'll stop and get something - hopefully not too bad.

Ex: Lower body workout before work

Hi everyone! As I said when I posted Monday, I've been really busy this week and away from the computer, but I've been POP. Since I've been out in the heat so much I've been getting up at 5:20 every day to work out before I go to do my field work, since I know I won't go after a day in the sun working hard. Really proud of myself.

I'm determined to stay OP this weekend, so I'm going to try and post my plan (brainstorming for my meals for the week right here).

Friday:
S - small banana
gym - walked 2 miles, lifted - back - 35 minutes, stairmaster 15 min. HIIT
B - 1 c. oatmeal w/ cinnamon, 1 c. skim milk, coffee w/ 1 Tbsp. h&h
S? - 1/2-1 oz. raw almonds
L - 1/2 oat bran pita pocket w/ 2.5 oz. canned salmon & 1/2 Tbsp. light mayo, cucumber
S - 6 oz. lowfat yogurt, 1 1/2 cups fresh pineapple chunks, rest of almonds from earlier
Possibly walking dogs at the humane society.
D - Friends are getting together, BYOB and ordering pizza. I'm going to bring my own Fresca or Crystal light to drink, and either bring something or order a grilled chicken salad (no cheese, light dressing) from the pizza place.

Sat:
B & S - mini ww bagel, 1 T. lt. cream cheese, 1/2 oz. lox, 1 c. skim milk, coffee w/ 1 T. h&h, small banana
Maybe going blueberry picking?
L & S - 1/2 oat bran pita pocket w/ 2.5 oz. canned salmon & 1/2 Tbsp. light mayo, cucumber, 6 oz. lowfat yogurt,
E - Kayaking with a bunch of friends
D - Restaurant w/ said group of friends - It's a seafood place I've been to before and am sure that they must have some steamed/boiled/blackened shrimp on the menu, b/c all seafood places here do. I'll get those, veggie only if it's not fried, or eat a veggie when I get home. Chicken salad or chicken sandwich if I'm in a real pinch.

Sun:
B & S - mini ww bagel, 1 T. lt. cream cheese, 1 tsp. jelly, 1 c. skim milk, coffee w/ 1 T. h&h, blueberries or banana
E - bike ride or power walk for an "active rest" day? We'll see...
L - Not sure. I've got veggie burgers and light whole wheat buns if I can't come up with anything else. Cucumber, yogurt, probably get a watermelon or cherries, nuts...
D - Sitting down right now to come up with a meal plan for the week! I have some scallop squash to roast.

Megan - on the working out in the morning! I actually worked out all of the last four days - my goal was to get the exercise in anytime, I'll get back on the morning track next week!

Amanda - question for you about your HRM - when you track your exercise calories do you back out your maintenance calorie for that time period from the number of calories the HRM gives you for the exercise?

Yesterday ended up with several changes to the food, but stayed OP with the calories. And exercised for an 1:45 total. Woo hoo! DSS all weekend, so planning now how to survive calorie wise - we cook at home most meals now, but the meals he will eat are limited so we have a lot of fish sticks, sandwiches, spaghetti and pizza. I bought some bananas, apples, grapes and strawberries, so have lots of fruit options.

Hey - I bought some laughing cow - the light french onion and the regular swiss. What do I eat them with?

Today:
E: treadmill as soon as I walk in the door at home, I swear. Or, while DSS & DH are settling after dinner preparing for bath time. If I exercise today I can comfortably take tomorrow off, and maybe even Sunday...
B: smoothie, coffee
S: string cheese, blueberries, cherries
L: grilled chicken salad
S: rachel's vanilla chai yogurt, kashi go lean, maybe trail mix if there are calories left
D: leftover chinese food while the boys have fish sticks - diced white chicken with jalapenos, brown rice
S: skinny cow, or yogurt/kashi with yogurt if I've missed snacks and am low on the calories in the evening

Shannon - re: the HRM, no, I don't bother usually. My resting calorie burn is ridiculously low, and its all comparative anyway, since those numbers mean nothing for my actual body (as evidenced by the "It says I should have lost 2 lbs and I gained 1" conundrum when I first purchased it).

Re: the laughing cow - on crackers, on apples, crumbled over salads, mixed with dijon and stuffed inside of a burger, on a tortilla with some turkey for a quick wrap...the list goes on.

Yesterday I ate entirely too much healthy food. It WAS healthy (Kashi pizzas...at least I got protein and fiber) but honestly, I went overboard. Tired, in pain from shoulder, and cranky - seems to be a trigger.

Onward to today:

B - Egg whites, veggies, turkey breast, toasted english muffin
S - Greek yogurt w/ berries
L - Since we weren't home last night, I have nothing pre-made, and no idea what Im going to eat. I'm guessing its going to be a salad with some deli turkey and possibly some hardboiled eggwhite.
S - Popcorn
D - Roasted veggie pasta w/ ground chicken (FiberGourmet Whole Wheat pasta).
S - Fruit Floe Popsicle

E - 60 min cardio, 60 min strength. I'm going to have to stay in my gym clothes and stagger it in 30 min intervals throughout the day, due to a crazy meeting schedule - half hour of cardio done, half hour to go.

I'm having a nasty case of the munchies today.

Friday:
B - shredded oats, blueberries, skim milk
S - apple
L - Panera @work: half mediterranean veggies sandwich, salad w/lf dressing, piece of baguette, 1/4 choc chip cookie, then the munchies kicked in . . .
S - snack bag of chips, blueberries, small ice cream thing (about the size of two bon bons? the VP was giving them out), 3 sticks of gum, and I still want more.
D - planning on leftovers, so probably pasta with meat spinach sauce.
S - probably more watermelon
E - might walk the dog, might take him to the dog park