Good morning all! I hope you all had a great weekend!
Welcome Beachfeet! It's great to have you here and I hope that you enjoy our daily support!
(Okay ~ I wrote all this out, and then remembered that I had already told you all in the last thread ~ I'm just showing how great my brain works on Monday morning! )
As for me, I found out that I have patellofemoral syndrome (sounds nasty, doesn't it?) Actually, it just means that my kneecaps are rough, and don't fit into the thighbone properly. So, I have an appointment to start physiotherapy on the 19th, and I have to do certain stretches and strengthening exercises on a daily basis to help. The great news is that I can go to Curves, and only have to skip a couple of the machines, so I'm pretty happy about that. I'm going this afternoon, and I can't wait.
My weekend was ok ~ Saturday was awesome, got all my water in and ate really well, and then I blew it yesterday (sort of planned) The local village had it's community turkey dinner yesterday, and I splurged with gravy, butter and pumpkin pie! But I don't feel guilty ~ as I've said before, I would much rather be on the pudgy side, and occasionally eat the stuff I love. I'm never going to be shaped like a supermodel ~ I just want to be healthy and fit!
Anyway, I hope all is well with you guys, and look forward to hearing about your weekends!
Here's this weeks plan: (depending on my knees of course! )
Mon - Curves only
Tues - Curves, bowling
Wed - Swimming
Thurs - Curves only
Fri - Swimming & maybe Curves too
MarvinTM: I'm so sorry to hear about your knees!! That sounds rough! At least you have a diagnosis now though, so maybe things will get better after this? I'm glad to hear you can still go to the gym!
Mmm...hearing about your gravy made me sooo wistful! And reminds me of my own bad weekend!!
I did a better job of keeping hydrated over the weekend than I usually do, and limited my snacks -- but we had takeout Chinese last night! Nothing fried (I had chicken in black bean sauce, and we passed on our favorite treat -- the incredibly greasy scallion pancakes), but I know it wasn't good for me. But like you say, Marvin, I know I can't give up my favorite foods for the rest of my life, so I just have to learn (and have been learning) to make healthier choices when I do have them.
As far as exercise, I got in 4 of my 5 workouts this past week, which is about what I was expecting, so I'm not displeased. Saturday's workout was the one to fall, unsurprisingly.
For this week:
M: Basics: Sculpting w/Weights
T: Basics: Fat-burning
W: Rest day
Th: Prime Power: Lower Body
F: Prime Power: Total Body
Sat: Basics: Abs, Buns + Thighs
Sun: Rest day
I already completed Monday's assignment, as I had a doctor's appointment this morning -- I worked out before going, and then came to work afterward the appt. I ALSO walked to work from the doctor's, which is about 30 minutes at a moderate to brisk pace. I also have to stop by Whole Foods on my way home to pick up some meat, so I'll walk that as well -- 20 blocks, which is approximately 1.5 to 2 miles.
It's a good thing I'm getting in this extra walking, because I'm already not sure I'll be able to fit Friday's workout in -- I'm supposed to be going out w/girls from the office (read --> drinking + fatty foods!), and would have to fit in a workout in the wee hours before work (without disturbing the neighbors!). We'll see! Hope everyone else is having a good start to their week!
Oh, and a special hi to beachfeet! I didn't see your last post on last week's thread! Welcome! Sounds like you're doing a great job thus far meeting your goals!
Update on the walking plan: DH took a walk outside the office today + decided to run to Whole Foods while he was out, so that walk is cancelled! I can't begrudge him though, since it would be "extra" for me today + he has an even harder time fitting in exercise time than I do.
Special note: I thought I was tired sometimes when exercising at night?! Ha! Nothing compares to the sheer lethargy I experienced trying to get through my workout this morning! I think it was because I hadn't had anything to eat or fully hydrated myself before I started, so my "gas tank" wasn't full, and I just ended up exhausted. Something for me to keep in mind!
This weekend was a challenge. Unexpected trip out of town, but i survived. Didn't get in any exercise, but made good choices with food.
We are leaving for vacation on Wednesday so my exercise commitment will be to walk the beach every day. Fun, sun and the beach - sounds great to me. I can't wait. Only part i am not looking forward to is the 1,000 mile drive. oh well, i will pack good snacks for the ride to Gulf Shores, Alabama.
MTM - I'm glad things are moving forward with your knees. Hopefully things will improve now that you know what is wrong and how to treat it. By the way, i love mashed potatoes and gravy, never will give them up. Enjoy your workouts this week.
Copperblu - Four workouts this past week is a great accomplishment. You have been doing a lot of walking which is a great add on to your planned workouts. Morning workouts take time to get used to. Hopefully you will find the right combination of water and food before your workout.
Welcome to beachfeet. That's what i am gonna come back from spring break with after all my walking on the beach for the next 10 days.
I don't know if i will be able to get back on line before we leave. So I will check in with everyone when i return. I will miss my daily posts and i will think about you. Don't forget about me.
mustang sally: In case you get this before you go -- have fun on vacation!! Sounds great! Beach walking is great exercise! And smart move planning ahead for the drive -- those "pit stop" snacks are SO bad for us! It sounds like you've been dealing really well with the curveballs that life's throwing your way, and you've already got a good "plan of attack" so that your vacation doesn't derail you -- good job!
No worries, I'm not switching to morning workouts for good (desperate need for sleep + neighbors below=no morning workouts for me) -- just did one yesterday morning because I had time, since I was going into work late. I keep thinking I'll add some gym work in the morning, but thus far haven't been able to get out of the house in time. But the battle continues!
I already reported on my Monday workout, since it was in the morning, so all I have to report is that I did end up taking that second 30 minute walk after all -- DH surprised me by deciding to leave work around the same time I did, so I walked 10 blocks down to DH's office, and we walked another 10 blocks to the further subway stop together.
Eating: Had my yummy turkey/red pepper/avocado whole wheat pita for lunch, plus my standard snacks of 10oz baby carrots pre-lunch, and lowfat triscuits + 1 stick partskim string cheese mid-afternoon. For dinner had a huge salad, followed by pasta w/meat sauce (made in a healthier way by adding italian chicken sausage to packaged marinara). Didn't do as well with water yesterday and ended up w/a headache -- apparently now that my body's used to being hydrated, it won't accept anything less than 2 liters plus!
Hope everyone had a good Monday and/or is looking forward to a healthy Tuesday!
P.S. I've come across some healthier recipes for mashed potatoes, for those of us that are addicts -- let me know if you'd like me to post 'em!
Hey Sally ~ don't worry ~ we'd never forget you! I'm too jealous of your holiday to not think about you! I hope you have a great time ~ and congrats on making good choices this weekend!
Copperblu ~ I finally got the chance to make your healthy meatloaf for dinner last night, and it was FABULOUS! DH really loved it, and with lunches today, there's none left now! After two successes with your recipes, I'm anxious to learn some more from you... wanna share thos mashed taters recipes? We grow a whole whack of taters every year and I have unlimited taters in my wellpit!
Good on you for your 4/5 workouts ~ that's 80%! Which if I recall correctly is a pretty good grade! Congrats!
As for me ~ I had a great eating day ~ low in fat and lower in calories than usual, which is good, to make up for my ultra high day on Sunday! Got almost all my water in, which is okay, but...
I'll admit it, I chickened out yesterday and didn't go to Curves..... I decided I'd take my dogs (and cat) for a walk instead and sure enough, I had to sit with ice on my one knee for a while after. I'm gonna look at a knee brace thing today, and maybe that will help. I'm also gonna take an anti-inflammatory before I do any exercise today, and hopefully that will help. I still haven't decided for sure whether I'm going to Curves, but at least I'll get bowling in, and that's gonna be hard enough. We only have three weeks left in the season....
Note: While these recipes are for Russett potatoes, I prefer my mashed potatoes made with unpeeled red potatoes (that's the way my mom makes 'em!), which might change the nutritional details slightly, but I can't imagine by much. I just like the extra flavor + a "lumpier" mashed texture -- I've received rave reviews from DH, who never in his life imagined that you could do anything so weird as to mash red potatoes + leave the skins on.
I also sometimes like to mash up some sweet potatoes (boiled + peeled) with a little maple syrup + touch of butter. They're so sweet, they hardly need any help (or extra butter)!
Yep ~ I bought some sweet potatoes to have on Friday for my Mom's birthday/Easter supper, and I can't wait ~ they're my favorite! I really should make them more often, but I can't seem to get past the "holiday" thing....
Thanks for the ideas for the taters. My favorite one is to bake red potatoes ~ they are soooo much softer and tastier than your plain old white tater.... try it sometime, and you'll see what I mean. It all started cause dh brought up red taters from the wellpit, instead of the white ones I wanted, so I said what the heck? Oh, heaven!
Yesterday was not good for my diet! We ended up short on time between grocery shopping and bowling, so we ended up at A&W! Oh well, it doesn't happen very often, so I won't worry too much (just a little!)
I didn't make it to Curves yesterday either because of my dumb knees, which are still aching today from bowling last night.... I wish I could just cut them off sometimes and be done with it! I'm not sure if I'm going to get there today either, with the way I feel right now, and then I have so much to do tonight to get ready for our Easter do tomorrow ~ baking, etc... I will get a workout with all the walking around my kitchen We'll see how I feel later today and I'll decide then..
So, where is everybody? Come out, come out where ever you are!!! (Except for you Sally, walking on the beach!)
Looks like we're on our own this week, Marvin! Islandmama, Big Sal, MinyMony, beachfeet -- where are you all? Hope you're out walking!
Did my Basics: Fatburning last night and had a shrimp curry thing w/brown rice for dinner. Snacked an awful lot! Lately I've been very snacky -- and I'm not even PMS-ing! I don't get it. Drank all my water though, and surprise surprise, didn't get that headache that's been plaguing me.
Today's my rest day, so I think I'm going to stay later at work (I've been leaving at 5:30 to go workout) + finish up some things, in the interest of overall stress reduction, if not immediate reward.
Hey Marvin, we must have been posting at the same time!
I've never tried baking red potatoes! Roasting them (in a turkey pan or something), definitely -- is it about the same?
Cooking is work too! I'm sure you're going to be running around like mad! That burns calories! (so long as you can keep from tasting everything! )
Be careful w/your knees though, and sit down when you can -- we don't want you taking yourself out of commission for good!
Have a Happy Easter w/your family, and I hope your d*mn knees are feeling better + not quite so ornery soon!
The more I think about it, the more I think that I should not push my knees into Curves this week ~ I may however try to get up early tomorrow and go for a short lane swim before work... (Oh, how I wish that I could go after work, but that means not until 8 pm, which means another commute back into town.....)
Anyway, my Mom is sick, so I don't have to make the birthday cake that I was going to make tonight ~ I can do it tomorrow. (I was going to take it to our work do tomorrow, so that we could all share a little, with no leftovers for me, but she probably won't make it to the lunch tomorrow) Anyway, I'll make it tomorrow night for our family get-together and any leftovers will go to work with dh.... he is, and works with, very efficient garborators!
He called me this afternoon to remind me that he and the guys from work are going to a hockey game tonight, and thus, I have the house to myself for my baking and veggie cutting! (and nibbling ~ but veggies are ok, right?) That means, loud Beatles, a lite dinner of mac and tomatoes (which dh doesn't like), and peace......
Of course, it also means that I alone have to feed and water the chickies and the kitties and the doggies and the fishies and the birdies..... <sigh> what a tough life!
BTW ~ I mean just plain baking the taters... you know, wrap in foil and place in hot oven or BBQ for 30 mins.... Though I do love oven roasted too.... Mmmmmmm.... A friend of mine is doing Atkins right now, and I just cringe when I see her eat! I could NEVER limit my carbs! I just love breads, and taters, and pasta, and veggies! Alas, I digress.... (ooooh, big vocabulary, huh )
I'm sorry to hear your mom is sick! I hope she feels better soon -- and can enjoy her cake!
Sounds like a nice night to yourself -- Beatles + your favorite foods? What could be bad about that!
Of course, as you said, there is the menagerie...
I couldn't cut out carbs either -- I've stopped having the severe carb "addiction" I used to (I used to eat small MIXING BOWLS of pasta when I was younger), and don't need to have pasta ALL THE TIME like I once did, but it's the fruits + veggies that get to me! I can't imagine cutting out fruits + veggies! What about my beloved salads? All the yummy crunchy things?! Never!!
My update: rest day yesterday, so stayed late at work + went out to dinner at a pub w/DH. Had a big burger (bad), but no cheese (good) and didn't eat all the fries (good).
Today I forgot my Kashi at home and will have to make do with some instant oatmeal. Grr. Instant oatmeal has only 3g fiber compared to 10 in the Kashi!
Tonight: Prime Power Lower Body and all those d*mn dips.
Oh also, further fitness-related update: I succumbed to the urge + bought a "sitfit" from www.fitter1.com. It's a small inflatable disk shaped pillow/"ball" for your chair that supposedly provides the same benefits as sitting on a Fitball as your chair -- strengthening core muscles + improving posture and so on. We'll see. At any rate, at least it will keep me from slouching.
Also, bought 5 Firm tapes on sale. Two 5-Day Abs tapes, a 5-day Stretch Tape, Tough Aerobic Mix, and Vol. 5. Someone stop me before I spend again!!
Menagerie! I'd call it a zoo! I should advertise and charge people admission to see everything!
Had a great night last night ~ got all my baking and chopping done, cleaned up and still had time to relax a little...
Had a low fat, whole wheat quesadilla for dinner with non-fat sour cream and salsa, and then kept busy with my stuff. All my daily totals were perfect, so I'm thrilled with that. I just wish that I could exercise. I've decided that I will again take the weekend off of any serious exercise. It's going to be nice out, so I'd like to do a little gardening, and maybe try a walk or two, but other than that, I'll take it easy. Then on Monday, I'll try out Curves again. I at least have to get in there and weigh in, as much as I dread it, but I haven't weighed in about 3 weeks!
Today, we had a staff pot-luck lunch for Easter, and I splurged a little, but mostly stayed with (mostly) healthier choices.
Found out this morning that our accountant has finally (!) got our taxes done, so I am anxiously waiting until tonight to find out whether I owe or not.... Aargh! I hate waiting!
Good news too! Found out that Kashi is going to be available in Canada starting on May 15, so I've already found out where they are going to carry it, and have plans to get there and buy some so I can try it out. Which products do you recommend of theirs?
Anyway, off I go to do some work ~ talk to you later!
I'm just showing how great my brain works on Monday morning! 
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That sounds rough! At least you have a diagnosis now though, so maybe things will get better after this? I'm glad to hear you can still go to the gym!
And reminds me of my own bad weekend!!
Oh well, it doesn't happen very often, so I won't worry too much (just a little!)
