Good Morning LWL

I woke up to our first snow of the winter. Highly unusual for here, by now we've usually seen quite a bit. Luckily it's already stopped with just a dusting, so now "snow cardio" for moe today.

Normally, Monday would be leg day for me but I'm thinking about changing my workouts this week to 3 full body lifting days instead of my usual 5 day split. Last week I began to feel like I was taking much longer to recover from my workouts than I should. I'm not getting sick, I'm taking plenty of vitamins and glutamine, it's just time to take some sort of break or short-term change. Last year I took one "on purpose" break from lifting early in the year, then several surgeries caused enforced lifting breaks More than I wanted! I looked back at the calendar and realized I've been going about 14 weeks without a change in my routine other than different exercises and weights...so it's time. Let's see if this resolution lasts until this afternoon when I have a break in clients to get my workout done

For those of us not doing a 10 or 12 week formal program, do we really need to take breaks? It's a lifestyle and life isn't a 12 week challenge...right? Yup, I think we do need gym breaks, or at least a change from the regular routine. That doesn't mean to combine it with a week's food fest or to forego all physical activity. I'm planning on doing a lighter full body workout and light cardio, keep my eating clean. But I think my muscles and skeletal system need the rest from heavy lifting, as well as the mental pick-up that I'll get from taking the week off from trying to constantly push the envelope. Next week I expect to come back to my old split with new enthusiasm and fresh muscles.

Gotta go, have a good one

Mel

Good morning! I'm not up as early as the runners and I'm still in my pyjamas! Just enjoying the Monday quiet. I love it. I'll eat when I want and exercise when I want.

Thanks to you gals that chimed in while I was stuffing my face yesterday. I had too many calories but my percentages were not bad. Protein was 32%, Ilene

I went for a walk yesterday in enough layers that I could hardly turn my neck. My DH and I were talking this morning about dressing for the cold. He's a carpenter who works outside. Last week they built a shed, roofing and all ... brrrr!
Is there a thread somewhere about outdoor gear? I know lots of gals here run in the cold? If there's not, can I start one?

Today is lower body and cardio and I promised my stiff old carpenter hockey player husband that I'd learn more pilates for core strength so that I could teach him.

Wondering if I could join your group for support, you seem to be the most decicated to exercise and a healthy lifestyle. It has been 11 years since I have dedicated any quality time to exercise and my health and it shows in how I feel and look.

I'm 42, 185lbs and I feel like I'm 82 I lift 3xwk, and do pilates and swim 2-3xwk. I laid off of cardio machines due to tingly feet (it has stopped), I will resume the cardio machines as more of the weight comes off. I'm a vegetarian, I do eat diary but no eggs. I eat very little sugar and no caffeine. Thats my program in a nut shell. Going into it slowly watching calories and fat intake and get MOVING!!

Hope everyone has a wonderful Monday.

Hi all,

This weekend I finally felt like I was in the exercise groove again because not only did I do weights but I did cardio afterwards (except for the day I did legs, I had wobbly legs after that). I have been doing the elliptical and did 30 minutes on Sunday which was kind of a short torture session I was on one of the ellipticals which changes the elevation, which is not the one I normally do, and I decided to do a program. Well the program not only changed my elevation but at certain points told me to pedal backwards or forwards. I wanted to kill the stupid machine.

Other thing I've noticed lately is some massive migraines when exercising and also sometimes after. I just changed medical insurance so I will probably go get a checkup pretty soon.

Of course you can join us!! The more the merrier and we LUVS newbies .... and don't tell the other gals on the rest of the forum but we do have the bestest gang around .... Except for maybe the Maintainers group and the Cool Runners, ah heck they're all Great... But anyways I'm rambling .... So just WELCOME to you....

I had a really good LEG workout this morning.... It had been a week and a half since my last leg workout and I KNOW I'm going to be feeling some pain tomorrow... I didn't do any cardio today because of doing the legs and I'm kind of missing it... But I'll do some tomorrow of course...

Food was so-so this weekend... Friday and Saturday were write-offs... but Sunday and today are super good ...

Nelie -- Very happy to see that you are getting your groove back... I missed you when you were away... Any good recipes lately?

Artmaker -- Good luck with your calorie deficit... Sometimes that's all we need to budge that scale, but loosing inches is a great feeling isn't it?

Mel -- Thanks for reminding to switch up my routine a bit... I haven't taken a break in quite a while, but during the month of December I was lifting much less often than I usually was... November was also a month of slacking off for me ... This reminds me that someone at the gym gave me a 3 day split routine that seems quite interesting I'll post it in the Exercise Thread...

Well that's it for me... TTFN...

Oh ilene!
I made a new recipe last night, well not really a recipe but kind of a "throw these things together and they taste good". I was thinking about making an antipasta type salad thing and I said why not so this is what I did.

(I'm so bad at counting how much I put in things but this is an estimate)

1/2 can of artichoke hearts
1/3 can of small olives, cut in half
1/5 lowfat mozarella ball, diced
4 oz of lean ham, diced
5 baby carrots sliced
5 mushrooms sliced
2 celery stalks, cut in half lengthwise and sliced
10 grape tomatoes, cut in half
5 thick slices of cucumbers, quartered
2 sweet baby peppers (or 1 sweet bell pepper would do)
2 tbsp of low calorie italian dressing (I chose one with 35 calories per 2 tbsp), you don't need to drown them in it, just enough to coat them and flavor.

Put it all in a tupperware container, shake it up, put it in the fridge and serve when needed.

Last night, I ate some of this over a bed of lettuce. Today, I ate this without lettuce.

Of course you can add more or less ingredients to suit your needs, I picked a tupperware container and kept adding ingredients until it was full.

Welcome to you, dzbzsz. You are much nicer than I am - I just barged in and started posting and asking questions. These ladies just moved right over and made a spot for me on the weight bench. I gotta agree, they are dedicated and friendly and welcoming.

Nelie - that salad sounds great. I would probably do my "secret" dressing. I like the idea of hummus, but not the taste of sesame. So I drain a can of garbanzo beans (save liquid) and put the beans in a food processor with lots of garlic, a couple of teaspoons of lemon juice, a teaspoon of olive oil and as much of the bean liquid as I need (1-2 teaspoons) to get the right consistency. I use it straight as a dip or mix in a little balsamic vinegar as a salad dressing.

This morning I tried "Ilene's pancake" with a little pumpkin and water to the recipe. It must of been a Monday or something, because it was way too thick and never solidifed and ended up down the disposal. Plan "B" was my new "Pumpkin Pie" - 2 T fat free cttage cheese, 2 T fat free yogurt, 2 T pumpkin puree, cinnamon and splenda to taste and 1/4 c Uncle Sam cereal on top. I promised my trainer I would bring him a serving on Wed.

I am always trying new foods and recipes. Last night I made buffalo burgers and will use the leftovers in a red sauce tonight. I bought a fish called "Opah" (not Oprah) for tomorrow. My fish guys says it is lighter than tuna with a swordfish consistency. I'm game for something new. In fact, one of my New Year's resolutions is a new recipe every week. Tomorrow I will share my "Spanish Cod" recipe - this is so good and so unbelievably easy!

I had a good workout this morning. For some reason I am having problems getting back into the swing of things since my illness in Dec. I figure January is about "showing up" and getting my weight levels back to where they were in Nov (before I got sick). In Feb I can start trying to move up again. What I am trying to do this week is up my cardio to 60 minutes, as a drive to get to the 90 in the new USDA guidelines. I want a t-shirt that says "gym rat" for my birthday!

OK, so hear is a question my 28 year old male trainer can not answer (mostly because I cannot ask), but I know you ladies will love to share your experiences with me: Do you see a difference in your strength and weight levels right before TOM? I am due Wed and could not lift the same weights and maintain control as I did last week. So, is it TOM or did my slacking weekend catch up with me?

I cut my foot! Two slices into the arch. It hurts and I haven't done legs or cardio today. I think I'll weep!

SusanB -- How the he** did you do that??

I'm sure I have mentioned before that I am a klutz? My loverly husband was putting away his own laundry and in my excitement I didn't see a couple of baskets. He thinks I cut it on a basket. But I think there were secret daggers in the baseboard or something.

Oh, Susan, ouch!!! My heart goes out to you

Susan B - oh no! I hope your foot will heal soon. I'm a klutz too, and that sounds just like something I would do. In fact, the other week I slipped, fell down the garage stairs onto my butt, and sliced my hand open on the side of the heater on my way down!

dzbzsz, welcome! This is a great group of folks and we love new people too.

Ellen, I make a similar hummus recipe too, and I don't like tahini either. I find that I can leave out the olive oil all together if I want and it tastes just fine.

Well, the "hand weights workshop" was more of a class than a workshop, but it was fun. I was scared when the teacher started doing fairly complicated aerobics-type things as a warmup, but it got better as it went along. It reminded me how much strength classes don't usually work well, though - it's just too hard to cater to everyone's varied levels. A full third of the ladies in the class gave up before the end and left because it was just too hard for them (and not to badmouth them because good for them for trying, but how can someone (not recently ill or something) not be able to lift 2 lb dumbbells over their heads more than a couple times? holy cow). I went a chunk heavier and had a good workout, especially with the combo lunges and arm work, but I think I'll stick to my regular routine in the future.

Hi all,

wellcome to dzbzsz, and SusanB: bad luck, get well soon!!

Did my cardio today again, same as yesterday and sunday; today 10 mins rowing, 30 mins excercise bike, 30 mins jogging in place. It was pouringdown rain , so as I watched outside my bedroom window and saw the day begin I was very glad to stay inside.

Meg, I do agree about changing every once in a while. I am currently on a couple of weeks cardio only, to let my tennisarm heal. I do miss the soreness of the weightlifting though. On the other hand I read that the idea is to change routines regularly because the body adapts so well to what it is asked for that it will get more efficient (so the workout does less good0 after a while.

I thought i was losing weight last week, but the scale was way up again over the weekend. Sometimes it does that just before i really do loose some, so I am keepeing my fingers crossed.

Have a good day,
rabbit