Ooooh it's nearly here!

Just one more week to get sexy for the big day! Mine is going to be spent in the gym, then I'm going to try and book a proper deep tissue massage for Saturday/Sunday since I'm aching all over after attempting break dancing/martial arts flips/rolly pollies!

Aim for today - incline benches, ab work, plyometric jumps and box-splits stretching. (The plyometrics and box splits are to help with doing the splits in mid-air for my next belt test )

Eating's been pretty good Fri & Sat, however Sun those bloomin choccies attacked me! I didn't manage to give them away on Saturday, but they are going out tonight and tomorrow and Thursday if there's any left. Fatten up the little kickboxers

Morning Fru You're sounding real chipper! You've got a week to get sexy and I've got a week to clean, organize, clean, wrap, shop, cook, clean.... oh, and work and get in all my workouts!

I haven't missed a single workout or eaten a stray crumb, but the scale is STUCK. I'm beginning to believe the stress connection, although I've lost weight through all sorts of family and personal disasters before. Who knows? Not much I can do other than keep on keepin on. Maybe I should add a shake, like Fran
I did cardio while watching an episode of the Everest show on Discovery channel. The elliptical seemed small potatoes compared to the big mountain!

Legs today....

Mel

Clean? What's that? That's what I like about Chrimbo at the moment, we don't have kiddies, don't have any tiny kiddies in the family so it's not a huge deal at the moment... Our tree is only a foot tall and we've got about 8 Christmas cards, it's not going to be a big deal

Good Morning LWL!

Mel: Hang in there, somethin's gotta give soon. My week looks more like yours than Fru's. Except add, (ahem) baking. I've got little guys and it just wouldn't be right to not offer St Nick a really good cookie.

Actually, we have been baking quite a bit. Every evening I have to wash down the kitchen because my three year old is assisting this year. I really think that trying to hold my cool while my preschooler throws flour and dishwater all over the cabinets and floor should count as some kind of fitness activity. I know it certainly does get my heart rate up and it takes the strength of Hercules to clean it up afterwords. It sticks like glue....

Fru enjoy these quiet holidays before you have children. It's the calm before the storm. No, really, I do enjoy it though. I get just as excited as my wee ones. Oh man, as I type my youngest is pushing his step stool over to the counter looking for red sugar sprinkles. This doesn't look good.... (I want to just hold them, "No put them back." "Please, get them out of the living room." "Oh geesh, don't oooppeenn," SIGH. And I got his big brother an ant farm for Christmas too." Well, if they get loose, they will be well fed. What was I thinking....

I'm looking forward to being able to have a proper Christmas with kiddie winkies, just not for a year or two just yet.

Morning all

I'm not feeling very well myself, tired, headachy and my sinuses are bothering me. Oh and I weighed myself this morning and the scale is less than kind. It is my fault although I did eat more sodium than usual yesterday but that is no excuse!

On Friday, I got "the talk" from DH. The talk being... "I don't care what you do but you need to stop avoiding exercise". So I did a good upper body and lower body this weekend as well as the elliptical. He is good to help me stop slacking off.

If I feel better tonight, I plan to do the elliptical although I didn't get much sleep last night so it is even harder to motivate myself when I'm lacking sleep.

JUST DO IT NELIE!

(must listen to my own advice - I've skived the gym, I feel like 'tocks... )

hi LWL,

Rabbit zooming by... mel, my week looks a lot more like yours! except that workouts are falling by the wayside. I am once again enjoying the full catastrophe... I have a divorce settlement dealine for january 1 st to buy my house, a mortgage bank department where no-one seems to be actually at their desk, crash at my stockbrokers website, and to top it all off..dear XH trows another handfull of sand in the works by insisting that his lawyers OKs the deed first. Since he only signed the settlement december 6th, (took him 2 months to get the settlement to his wishes), I feel sabotaged. I am SO READY to finish with him.

Just one more week. And I only have to take it one day at a time. Like Mel says: I only have to keep on keeping on.

Have a great day all,
rabbit

to all of you! Christmas gets to be so stressful, whether it's the actual holiday goings-on (Mel, Lydia, etc) or the fact that others have taken off work (Rabbit).

We have gone semi-lowkey this year. We finally got out the decorations and put up a tree yesterday. No outside stuff except a wreath. You can't see our house from the road, and we don't need to add to our already high enough electric bill. I've done NO baking, and won't. DH is on a new medication for sleep that also stimulates his appetite. I'm trying to help him at least choose healthier options.

I have however, fallen into a party/potluck sort of he**. I have 3 potlucks plus another party still to go this week. Oh, and I just realized, a birthday lunch to navigate. Made it through two parties and a potluck goodbye for our pastor this weekend. So far the scale is being good, which is to say it still says what it did on 12/1!

I'm off to the gym tonight. I have exactly 4 weeks before we leave for Costa Rica, so I'm motivated to get in as much exercise as I can. Plus if I'm there I can't be eating (or cooking!) right?

Have a great day!

I can't believe how excited I am tonite to be planning my meals for tomorrow! Having protein smoothie replacements for a week gives you a lot of time on your hands! Anyway, here's what I'm thinking and let me know how it sounds. I'm aiming for about 1500 cals and will do 1/2 hr cardio and 1/2 lbwo tomorrow as well.

B: Weight Control Oatmeal, maple and brown sugar w/cruncy oatmeal topping. (I hate oatmeal and am trying this as a last ditch effort to get some oatmeal in)

S1: WW English Muffin

L: Either ham/lf cheese or pb sandwich on ww bread. Red grapes

S2: 2 hboiled eggs, no yolks, w/w crackers

D: ww spaghetti w/meatballs in a plain tomato sauce, black eyed peas

I know this is not enough fruit or veggies, but I'm craving more whole wheat/complex carbs than simple sugars right now. Is that ok? Maybe I'll throw in a salad on Wednesday! I'm so darn chicken to eat ground-grown produce now though, to be honest. (e-coli)

So, tell me what you think of my meal plan for Tuesday!

Can you post the nutritional info on this. Sounds a bit processed with some hidden sugar but I could be wrong. Also where is the protein? There should be a lean complete protein source in every meal. Maybe add 1/4 cup of egg beaters.

If you don't like oatmeal, that is OK. It is a very good starchy carb but you don't have to include it in a good muscle building diet. You could opt for a good, unprocessed hi-fiber cereal such as All-bran or fiber 1. A cup of one of those with some berries, skim milk and a scoop of protein powder gives a complete fast and easy meal.

If you don't like oatmeal but do want to try to include oats in your diet, try mixing some uncooked old fashioned oats in some Fat free Yogurt or mix some uncooked old fashioned oats in the Pumpkin puree/cottage cheese mixture that someone (Nelie?) posted to these boards in the past. It is quite good.

Again, this doesn't qualify as a mini-meal. No protein

We are finally seeing some protein and the presence of pb shows you are not afraid of including some good fats in your diet . However, as you pointed out yourself, you are severely lacking in veggies. You really need to get some veggies.

From a BFL perspective, the first two are not compliant because of lack of protein. You also only have veggies in one meal instead of in at least two. So, if you are trying to do BFL, it needs some work.

From my point of view, not nearly enough lean protein sources and too much of a starchy carb to fruit and vegetable imbalance for my liking.

From a real life perspective. There are no bad carbs and no bad fats and they are foods that you crave and enjoy and therefore can stick to, so in that regard it is a definite thumbs up. You are also exploring new things with the oatmeal and making an incredible effort to clean up your diet. So again a definite thumbs up. Yes, it could be more BFL compliant and could be a little better, but in real life, it is so far ahead of what most people are eating, that if this is what you really want to eat today go ahead, enjoy, and be guilt free. It will get the job done!

Thanks Depalma, for taking the time to type that all out! I do need to do more research on what constitutes a complete protein, but I'm afraid I would be limited to having a slab of ham/turkey or a boiled egg with each mini meal, since I don't like fish, cottage cheese, cheese that you would cube, etc. But hearty thanks and I appreciate your vote of confidence that while not perfect, it's a move in the right direction!

OK, here's the nutrition lable for the Quaker Oats Crunch. I know it is not ideal, bc it does have some sat fat and sugars in it. But I see that even old fashioned oats have sat fat and 1g of sugar! So my question is only, does this have any place in a healthy eating program, or is it truly FOOD PORN? I LOVED this stuff, so I don't see it much different from people who eat oatmeal with added cinnamon, butter or sugar. I don't add to it, but can't stand it plain, but love it this way. So, does this have a place in a healthy eating plan, OR, would I be better off ditching this and going back to a cold cereal for breakfast like cheerios or kashi? THANKS! PS - I make it with 1/2 c skim milk, whose nut value is not included in the below bc you have the option of using water or milk. Oh, and while it was great, I'm still hungry. That's that incomplete protein thing hitting me, isn't it?


Serving Size 1 Packet Clusters/ 1 Packet Oatmeal (50g)
Serving Per Container 6

Calories 190
Calories from Fat 25

% Daily Value
Total Fat 2.5 g


Saturated 0.5g
3%

Polyunsaturated 0.5g

Monounsaturated 1g

Trans Fat 0g

Cholesterol 0mg
0%

Sodium 220mg
9%

Potassium 140mg
4%

Total Carbohydrate 39g
13%

Dietary Fiber 3g
14%

Soluble Fiber 1g

Sugars 14g

Protein 4g




% Daily Value
Vitamin A
15%

Vitamin C
0%

Calcium
8%

Iron
20%

Thiamin
20%

Riboflavin
20%

Niacin
20%

Vitamin B6
20%

Folate
20%

Phosphorus
10%

INSTANT OATMEAL: WHOLE GRAIN ROLLED OATS, SUGAR, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVORS, SALT, CALCIUM CARBONATE, GUAR GUM, OAT FLOUR, CARAMEL COLOR, NIACINAMIDE*, VITAMIN A PALMITATE, REDUCED IRON, PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE*, RIBOFLAVIN*, THIAMIN MONONITRATE*, FOLIC ACID*.

OAT CLUSTER: WHOLE GRAIN ROLLED OATS, WHOLE GRAIN ROLLED WHEAT, SUGAR, WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR, HONEY, OAT FLOUR, COCONUT OIL, RICE FLOUR, CORN SYRUP SOLIDS, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVORS, MONO AND DIGLYCERIDES, BROWN SUGAR, SALT, BHT (A PRESERVATIVE).

*ONE OF THE B VITAMINS

CONTAINS WHEAT INGREDIENTS.


Diabetic ExchangesServing Size: 1 Packet Clusters/ 1 Packet Oatmeal (50g)
Calories: 190
Total Fat(g): 2.5
Protein(g): 4
Total CHO(g): 0
Exchange Values: 2 1/2 starch, 1/2 meat

Can't you make regular oatmeal with splenda and vanilla and cinnamon? Wouldn't that taste as good?

Here's my two cents - only on the oatmeal front. I do like oatmeal so I'm coming from a different perspective but I prefer to eat natural homemade stuff and I've found a new very easy very yummy way to cook it so I thought I'd share it.

Oh, and it sounds weird but I think I got at least the beginnings of this recipe from the Joy of Cooking so I didn't make it up!

Put equal amounts oatmeal and boiling water in a small container and stir it together. For myself, I will usually do 1/2 cup of each at most. Do this at night and just let it sit all night (not refrigerated) in the tupperware. The next morning add whatever you like - some chopped nuts, raisins, chopped apples, bananas etc. I also add Sugar Twin Brown Sugar (yeah processed crap but it works for me) and cinnamon and then as much skim milk as you like for your prefered consistency. You can then even put it in the fridge for a snack or lunch, which is what I do. My husband eats it cold but I much prefer to warm it in the microwave.

I think it's soooo yummy but then again I love oatmeal!