Weekly Workout Thread 18th Dec till 24th Dec

[Mara]

i definitely agree with your post coda, for me i have been lucky to get to the point to where it''s just doing it and i don''t even think about it. on days i feel like i''m tired or wish i could just go lay down, i just think okay another 60 minutes out of my day for something productive...it''s really not going to kill me. and in the end it''s done and it passes fairly quickly, and some days i think well i will just do 35 or 45 minutes and that helps motivate me but then when i am on the thing, i almost always push til 55-60. so mentally i can placate myself by going ''oh well if you really feel THAT tired, we''ll just do 35'' but then when i am there it''s like oh look its 45..oh look its 50. hehee. though yeah if i do feel really bad like something is wrong, i will stop and do less for that day. but it happens very rarely. so don''t worry dixie, just stick with it and i think over time (key component there) you will feel the same way if you do stick with it. some days i REALLY want to go work out too...typically on weekends when i think i feel more mentally like i have ''time'' to do the workout i really want to do including weights.

tybee i have been taking some airborne lately, because greg has been sick this week and i dont want to catch it so i was super jazzed to see how much vitamin c is in that stuff, i was like oooh 1000mg? does that mean i am burning 60% more fat today? lol! the mental games we play!!! but the idea of extra fat burn is sooo nice.

took some bran muffins to work and they were a huge hit even with my crap-loving boss who has been trying to push chocolate covered cherries and something frightening called ''holiday munch'' which is basically popcorn slathered and covered in grease, chocolates, and then some nuts and carmel thrown in for good artery-clogging measure. i know she thinks i''m a freak because i don''t jump all over it. but honestly it''s REALLY not appealing. i ADORE chocolate covered cherries, they are such a weakness for me. but i haven''t had one!! each time i think about it and i think hmmmm....and then i eat something else like my fiber cereal dry or have a muffin or something and i feel like i don''t need the cherries anymore. sometimes just thinking about indulging does it for me. hehee. i am sure i will capitulate at some point and chow a few down but the longer i can delay the better. and then maybe suddenly they''ll just be all gone by the time i''m ready to have one, haha.

breakfast this morning was nutrigrain waffles with butter and sugarfree syrup. can i just say how absolutely YUMMY this breakfast is? i really feel like i''m eating a big trough of fat or something but i''m not! that''s the best part. it''s very tasty, highly recommended for those looking for a bit of deviation from the cereal thing which is my breakast 90% of the time. lunch will be something light...maybe another soup. i''m going to try to just eat a low-cal lunch, have a muffin as a snack and maybe another muffin in the afternoon for my consumption today because of us doing this big dinner thing later, i''d rather not be all calorie crazy today then eat out tonite. if i can typically keep it under 1/2 of my daily calories up until a dinner where we ''eat out'' then i typically am still fine for the day...i may hit my MAX but i typically don''t go over and if i do not by too much. i have been eating more fish when we go out lately too. kinda craving it.

anyway hope everyone has a lovely day. dixie, maybe you should get over to a doctor if you feel like something might be really wrong.

 

[lovelylulu]

morning!

i made it to the gym

i was absolutely not in the mood and could only think that the pounding from running would amplify the pounding of my headache, but i''m really motivated to get in as many good cardio workouts this week before another full weekend of holiday delights gets underway. plus, i''m not certain what my workout options are going to be over the weekend...i''m really glad that i trudged through and can identify with a lot of the posts here today. about just getting on with it. some days i''m keen to run. but, not always. especially in the winter. but keeping up the exercise part helps me to enjoy the eating part

for the record, yesterday was also a good eating day.

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

As I had to drop off my SUV for servicing, I took the opportunity to exercise outdoors rather than taking the shuttle home. I am not a great runner, but managed the 6k jaunt home. I brisk air invigorated me, so when I got home I did a power ride and weights for another hour. While the weather is mild I should really walk/run outdoors more, instead of my daily indoor routines at home or gym.

I have been experiencing a great loss of appetite recently and my weight is being affected. Much (extended) family stress (health issues), and i feel it keenly. When I am stressed I don't eat. Anything. My DH told me my jeans looked like they were "falling off" and an old friend thought I looked "very thin". I don't have a scale, so I must be under 114 pounds (last meaurement), and as i am just over 5' 6' I don't want any weight loss. As odd as it may sound, when I have a lot of stress, I find it "difficult" to eat. Luckily, the exercise helps to relieve my stress.

Hope everyone is having a good day!

cheers--Sharon

 

[Mara]

yikes sharon...5''6" and 114 is very thin to begin with!! make sure to try to eat even if you don''t feel hungry, your body will be much happier!!

congrats lulu for pushing through it and working out. mentally...it would take a lot for me to miss the gym because i know i just have to make it up again another day and i''d rather just GET IT DONE and over with even if i don''t feel totally 1000%. plus i find just looking fwd to eating a fun meal like tonite when we are in SF really gets me motivated to get to that point. dixie has her nail polish and i have yummy eating out restaurant foods to motivate me! hehe.

 

[Tybee]

Oh My Sharon,

Please be careful! That does sound too thin. You might not even be aware of how very too thin you are. My friends used to joke with me that I looked into a "fat mirror" every morning because I couldn''t see how much weight I was losing. I''ve come across pictures, and they were right! Too thin is scary!

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

Thanks guys for your concern--I honestly do try, little bits at a time. Everyone deals with stress differently--some drink, some smoke--this, however, is my reaction. When my Father got sick and passed away, I dropped to a 104 pounds. Just couldn't eat, no appetite and no desire. Eventually I gained the weight back. And except for pregnancy, I have always been around 112-5 pounds.

We will travel to our family homes in another city to celebrate Christmas, and altho it may not be the happiest Christmas on record, at least we will be together. And since my sisters/Mom are great cooks, I think something may entice me......

Keep well ya'll--Sharon

 

[Modified Brilliant]

Thanks everyone for your kind birthday wishes

I''ve made the transition smoothly and without fanfare or hysteria

Remember the 3 day rule:
December 24th EAT EVERYTHING
December 25th EAT EVERYTHING
December 26th EAT EVERYTHING
December 27th BACK TO NORMAL EATING AND WORKOUTS

Easy, huh?

 

[Mara]

Date: 12/20/2006 3:42:53 PM
Author: Modified Brilliant
Thanks everyone for your kind birthday wishes

I''ve made the transition smoothly and without fanfare or hysteria

Remember the 3 day rule:
December 24th EAT EVERYTHING
December 25th EAT EVERYTHING
December 26th EAT EVERYTHING
December 27th BACK TO NORMAL EATING AND WORKOUTS

Easy, huh?

LOL I like that plan Jeff!!!

And that is pretty much how it will go for me except on Dec 24th I plan to work out and same on Dec 26th!!

 

[Rod]

Date: 12/20/2006 4:20:02 PM
Author: Mara

Date: 12/20/2006 3:42:53 PM
Author: Modified Brilliant
Thanks everyone for your kind birthday wishes

I''ve made the transition smoothly and without fanfare or hysteria

Remember the 3 day rule:
December 24th EAT EVERYTHING
December 25th EAT EVERYTHING
December 26th EAT EVERYTHING
December 27th BACK TO NORMAL EATING AND WORKOUTS

Easy, huh?

LOL I like that plan Jeff!!!

And that is pretty much how it will go for me except on Dec 24th I plan to work out and same on Dec 26th!!

LOL Jeff......I support you and will be with you in spirit, but I can''t join you. It took too much diet and exercise to get where I am and I just can''t mess with it. I will eat a fantasic dinner on the 24th (Lobster - Yumm). And we''re going to friends Christmas day where we''ve been told the menu is Lasagna, Chicken Parmesan, Ham, Caseroles assorted vegetables and Cheesecake and Cookies for desert, but I won''t be able to eat with abandon. Instead, I''ll be a polite and enthusiastic guest and eat a little of all, but not have seconds. We''ll be working out the 24th and the 26th, but taking Christmas day off.

Sakai update. She is making more progress and is constantly purring. We think she ate on her own this afternoon as her little tummy felt full and she burped while lounging on my shoulder. She looks and acts more like she did before getting ill. We''re now more than cautiously optimistic. Thanks again to everyone for the prayers. I know they''ve made a difference.

We didn''t work out today as promised. We had Sushi at our 2nd favorite Sushi place in Raleigh. It''s nice to have two Sushi restaurants we like. I''m sure we''ll be able to enjoy our life in Raleigh once our condo sells in Tampa and we finally have our things with us in a new home.

I hope everyone''s having a great week so far.

 

[Tybee]

Such GREAT news Rod! Purring! Such a good sign!
Happy Birthday Jeff!
I''ll totally follow your eating routine! I only wish that we were having lobster on Christmas like Rod, YUM!!!!
No big workout today, but ate light and took Penny for a long walk.
We walked about 4 miles, 2 to the dog wash and 2 back to air dry her. For some reason she is the only one of our two dogs that manages
to make herself super stinky. Had to clean her up for the trip to see my daddy on Friday.

 

[Modified Brilliant]

VERRRRRRRRY TOUGH CROWD!!!!

 

[KimberlyH]

Jeff,

I''ll be far far away from my elliptical from Saturday-Tuesday at my Mom and Dad''s so I won''t be exercising and eating as well as I normally would, so I''m sort of ascribing to your eating theories.

I''m sure we''ll take a few nice, long walks as my husband does not sit very well and my nephew is a blast to take to the park and on walks in his stroller. But my food won''t be normal (CL recipes, etc.) because that''s just not how my mom cooks. So I''ll sort of be joining you.

Happy belated birthday.

K

 

[galeteia]

Fit in 30 mins on the elliptical for a 253 cal burn, finishing a movie. It takes longer at an easier pace, but I need to tone up my legs because they are getting tired from all the exercising!

I''m off to see what the food damage is from our work christmas party. Mashed potatoes (small amount) slab o'' turkey, veggies, gravy, and ... 3 pumpernickel/12 grain rolls. They were small, I swear! I also had a cookie and a square of fruit cake. It was restrained.

Still, it wasn''t what I normally eat and I''m scared to do my calorie count...

Rod, I''m so happy to hear Sakai''s state is grounds for cautious optimism.

 

[nejarb]

I made Mara''s bran muffins last night and they are SO YUMMY! I did put orange in them but I diced it up instead of the blender thing. Also, I added some raspberries (thawed frozen) and the carrot. But I forgot the granny smith apple and I''m sure this would have added a nice zing to the muffins (plus more moisture) so I won''t forget that next time. I say the more fruit the better.

Also, I made a big pot of minestrone soup and it turned out super-good. More like a vegetable soup b/c I got carried away with the veggies but also a complete meal b/c it had beans and a little pasta. This is how I made it:

for simple stock: boiled chicken leg + thigh in pot of filtered water w/ top of carrot & outer layer of onion and let simmer (while I made the muffins)

olive oil in stock pot on med/hi, add carrots onion celery. when soft, add alot of garlic and a little fresh herbs at last minute before next step...
next step is turn to high and add a can of tomatoes (whole and squish up or diced or whatever) and then put a strainer over pot and pour in the chicken stock.
then add whatever veggies you want. I added diced potatoes, zuchini, frozen green beans and a can of each canalini and pinto beans (rinsed goo off 1st).
after it comes to boil turn down heat and wait a while. salt to taste.

I boiled a handful of pasta shells and added it and fresh grated parmesan cheese to the soup for dinner.

So I think that was a pretty healthy dinner. Too bad that I ate a thick slice of super-rich sheep''s milk camembert on toasted french bread while waiting for fi to get home last night. I shared the cheese w/ my little kitty and she went bonkers for it! Rod, maybe you could try giving some to your kitty. It was Nancy''s Hudson Valley sheep''s milk camembert and I think it has about 30% milk fat. serve it on tip of finger at room temp.

I did finally start exercising again after a few weeks of not doing much of it due to exams/vacation/graduation. I plan to continue going down to treadmill in my building every day and walk/jog at least three miles. But once I''m down there I usu just end up staying longer than that. I figure this plus sticking to the soup (minus pasta) and bran muffins, plus some fruit and salads, for a few days will kick-start my new fitness regime, whatever that is. It''ll probably be jogging (outside after I get an ipod--am I the only person left on the planet that still doesn''t have one?) and a bikram yoga class once a week. It would be great to go more often than that, especially now that I have the time, but it''s pretty expensive. If I remember correctly, it was $13 dollars per class. (unless you sign up to go like every day or close to that but then you''re paying a couple of hundred dollars a month!)

Well, I''m Jewish so Christmas for me means spending the morning jogging at the park, the afternoon in a Chinese Resturaunt, and the evening at the movie theater. I love Christmas!

 

[Mara]

i see everyone is gearing up for holiday eating, hehee...us too. nejarb i'm glad you liked the bran muffins, i am still loving them too. next time i might do a 1/2 recipe because let's face it...eating 21 bran muffins is a bit of a challenge. i've been bringing them to work and stuff and greg has been taking them but we still have like 10 left. haha. i am sure since today is my last day at work i will be eating them more at home too this wkd. that should take care of them. but yes i agree the fruit totally makes the muffin. next time i might put more apple. after a day or two they seem to get even more 'dense' so i find eating them with some coffee or similar helps make them more moist. next time i will add more water and let the dough sit a bit longer and maybe add a bit more milk. but they are still super yummy. total hit.

last nite was no workout, we went to see this show in SF where a bunch of 80-90's hit-sters were performing...it was kind of like a christmas night at the apollo according to greg. amazing show and they also sang some of their hits from the 80's and 90's! haha. it was pretty cool. then we went to this restaurant which we were both looking fwd to. we had dungeness crab wontons and then we each had a soup. i had the tomato bisque which was honestly out of this WORLD. i don't typically like tomato soups but this was a roasted tomato and pepper kind of puree, double strained and then right at the last minute they add the cream to bisque it. it was done PERFECTLY. i ate the whole bowl and it came with 3 small truffled grilled cheese sticks which appeared to have truffle oil and gruyere, yum. honestly i was full after that but luckily i got tilapia as my main dish and so it was a grilled light fish so i ate the fish which was done REALLY well and super light and flakey, and nothing else on the plate except for about 4 cherry tomatoes. after that i was really full so we didn't get dessert and headed home. so not too bad of a 'splurge' and i am so jazzed i tried the tomato bisque with the truffled cheese sticks. seriously awesome. that was my dessert mentally right there.

anyhow, seems like everyone else is doing well, congrats gala on getting your calorie burn higher each time, it does get easier that's for sure. i am actually now trying diff things on the elliptical to continue to shake it up a bit so my body doesn't get too bored.

oh i have some positive news on my end. about 1.5 months ago i bought these really cool dress pants from loehmanns, they are like this slightly stretchy but dress panty material with a light gray background and then super thin light dark gray and blue pinstripes all vertically down the pants and kind of a fitted upper area and then a wide straight leg. super cute. well when i tried them on they were just a wee bit too tight but stretchy and so they looked pretty hot! so i got them...and then later realized when i got home they were just a little too stretchy and tight to wear them out in public. a bit 'graphic' if you will around the leg and butt area and i realized i wasn't quite in the EXACT shape to wear them just yet. so i tried them on 2 weeks later for an event hoping they'd magically gotten bigger. nope. so at that point i had some other pants i could wear regularly for events so i just put them on the hanger and that was that. well last nite i realized these other pants i got (banana dark gray slacks which i love) had oil on them from traveling in my suitcase so i was scrambling in the closet to look for something. pulled out these things going 'what are the chances'...well they fit PERFECTLY. no more super revealing tight butt or leg areas...perfect on the waist. just divine. i was sooo jazzed because it meant i'd firmed up even more around my butt and legs and these pants were the living proof. only downer was that they seriously need to be hemmed, they are probably something like a 36 inseam because even my tallest pair of heels (like 4") doesn't lift them from the floor. so i will need to have that done now that i can wear them. but YAY for yummy pants fitting. hehehe.

the 2 lbs i lost last week keeps staying off at the gym so i guess that means i really lost it and it's not water weight. so yay for that too. so my total is losing 11-12 lbs since i started going all gung ho with my goals in may of this year. i don't want to lose more weight, i like continuing to firm up but it's kind of nice to see some evil scale validation too.

anyway hope everyone has a great day!! hitting up the gym after work and then tonite we'll eat something healthy.

 

[nejarb]

MAra that''s awsome about the pants!totally inspiring too. I have some tuxedo pants in my closet that are size 4 from bcbg that i only wore once on new year''s eve 4 yrs ago but they''re soo cute and i really wish they fit again! they''re not stretchy so there''s no squeezing into them. I would LOVE to loose 11-12 lbs. I know it''s not so much about weight as it is body fat % and how you look, but there is so much (at least for me, mentally) in the validation that comes with seeing that number go down. I''m going to buy a scale and a tape measurer today. seriously, i;m going right now. will report back w/ the grim results.

BTW, I froze 12 out of 20 muffins last night as soon as they cooled off enough to put in a plastic freezer ziplock bag. I prefer fresh baked but frozen is almost as good, especially w/ muffins.

 

[lovelylulu]

morning all!

congratulations on the pants mara. that has been a true test for me too. and it''s much better to shrink into pants than it is to grow out of ones you love!!

sharon: you seem pretty self-aware, but that weight:height ratio does seem awfully low. is there some favorite, comfort food you could make? it''s got to be better than eating nothing at all.

hurray for sakai! purr away.

i can''t wait for this week to end

. I''m actually working the week between christmas and new years, but i am utterly ready for the weekend to begin.

yesterday was another stellar food day. low calories, fat, carbs. high protein, veggies.

i made it to the gym and had another 450 cal. workout bringing the total to 1500 for the week. i have plans to make it there again this evening, but on friday is not an option since we''ve got tickets to the kennedy center.

jeff, i like your plan

, and while i don''t think i''ll have as much willpower as some of our other posters, i''m going to try to regulate portions!

 

[Mara]

lol i know, how fun is it to actually put on pants that were too tight and fit them perfectly. and they are soo cute. i just need to get them hemmed now. it''s funny because i have tall friends who are always like ''i can never find long pants'' and i always can find long pants..and sometimes too long!! maybe i have the long-pant finding gene and i am not even that tall. lol.

nejarb...freezing the muffins sound good. do you just take them out and heat them in the micro then?

 

[nejarb]

Mara, re frozen muffins: I put them in the microwave on the lowest setting (power level 1) for about 1 minute then slice in half and put in toaster oven (pre-heating while muffin in microwave) on highest setting for maybe 30 seconds to revive it. I also took a frozen muffin to school with me and it was thaw by the time I ate it. So you could leave it sitting out on the counter if you knew in advance that you''d want one.

I have a scale now. It shows body fat % and water %. And I have a flexible tape measurer.

weight: 145lb
body fat: 30%
waist: 28 at smallest and 30 at just under belly button. not sucking in but standing up straight
hips: 38 at what I think of as my hips, but 40 at largest possible place to measure, which was several inches lower than hips
thighs: 23.5
arms: 10.75

I figured out that the water % is not relevant if you are trying to monitor body fat gain or loss, but it is relevant if you are trying to monitor muscle gain or loss. The reason for this can be shown by the following example, which illustrates an experiment I performed today to test my hypothosis. (I like to pretend I am a scientist!)

If weight is 145 and body fat % 30, then you have 43.5 lbs of fat on your body. If you consume 1.5 lb (24oz) of water, your weight rises to 146.5, and your body fat % drops to 29.7% (my scale said 29.5 b/c it goes in .5% incriments). However, you still have 43.5 lbs of fat on your body. The thing that changes is non-fat weight. And that can be one of 2 things--water or other (other = muscle/lean tissue/bone). So the water % is only relevant b/c if that feature wasn''t there, and you gained or lost weight without the # of lbs of fat on your body changing, you wouldn''t know if this was due to a change in water or muscle (I feel safe assuming that a change in "other" is a change in muscle).


So...with all that said, my goal is to have only 35 lbs of fat on my body, at which point I will re-evaluate how I feel and look. I won''t set a deadline, but I predict that it will take me 2-3-4 months maybe. who knows?

 

[Dee*Jay]

I SOOOOOO do not want to work out tonight! It''s been the absolute gloomiest of days and I am just dragging in general, but if I say on this thread that I will go do an hour on the eliptical then I will be too embarrased if I have to come back later and say that I didn''t do it! Now that I''ve committed to you all in public I will be much more compelled to follow through rather than take the easy way out and climb onto the couch in the den with The Demon for a long winter''s nap...

The happy hubby is making turkey burgers for dinner tonight for the first time, so that should be interesting. (Sometimes his first shot at a recipe doesn''t turn out exactly like he thinks it will, LOL.)

 

[Mara]

lol DJ I hear you about not wanting to work out. I am consoling myself with the idea that I am not working out tomorrow, hehee. But I will work out tonite!!

We had sushi for lunch with our team which was yummy but not totally healthy. We had some random flash fried rolls and stuff. I had about 8 rolls, and 2 pieces of fresh salmon/sake which stuffed me!! And right now I just had a bran muffin for a snack. Dinner is who knows what but I want it to be easy and low-cal.

Aiming for 500 cals at the gym and then about 10 minutes of arm work. So hopefully about 550 cals total today.

Nejarb...my body fat is about 20-21% and I weigh 139 right now so I guess that means I have about 29 lbs of fat? hehee.

Hope everyone has a great night.

 

[Dee*Jay]

Well as much as I didn't want to, I went to the gym. One hour on the eliptical; 550 calories; 4.93 miles. Whew!!!

Now I'm munching on a little fiber one to tide me over while the hubby makes dinner. He surprised me by also making these awesome asian dumplings again that we had the other night, so even if the turkey burgers aren't fabulous we'll at least have *enough* food.

Mara, forgot to say, that's awesome about your pants! That only happened to me one time. I was randomly cleaning out my closet in the middle of summer and I came across these pants that I had bought the year before (they still had the tags on them) and they were just the tiniest bit snug when I got them but I (of course) figured I'd lose a few pounds and then they'd be perfect. I put them on and they looked GREAT, but they were heavy fabric and by the time the cold weather rolled around it was a no-go. They are still hanging in my closet and I probably don't have time to fit into them again this year, but NEXT YEAR I'M WEARING THEM! (If I were truly goal oriented I would say that by next winter they'll be too big for me, but one step at a time, LOL.)

Rod, how is Sakai today?

 

[clammer]

Thanks for the continued welcome. I''ve been doing really good at working out, but my eating has been terrible. I know that I just have to do it, especially since I''m going home mid-January for a few months and I was planning on a shopping spree, but I really like food. I also don''t want to be that person. You know what I''m talking about...when you haven''t seen someone for a long time and when you do you think woah she''s gained weight. It''s not like you want to think bad thoughts, but they just pop into your head. I haven''t seen any of my family/friends since I''ve gained half of my weight and I would really like to get rid of some of it before I get home.

I started lifting the other day. I figured I would lift about half of what I use to until I get back into the swing of it. Yeah, that so wasn''t happening. That was more of a wake-up call then not being able to fit into anything but my sweats. Not only have I gained 20lb, but I have lost all the muscle that I had worked so hard for.

OK everyone, have a happy and safe Christmas. I hope Santa is good to all of you.

 

[Tybee]

THANK YOU WWT!!!
tough day... sat in traffic a long time, came home and decided to just stay here and pack for our trip to see my dad tomorrow, then I jumped on this thread and was INSTANTLY inspired! I love you guys.
I hit the gym for 50 minutes of elliptical and tons of ab work.
Cheered me right up too! Happy holidays all, I''ll be off for a while, but plan on working out/running while we''re there.

 

[Rod]

I can''t believe I wrote this long note tonight and lost it trying to post it.........

Mara: Yeah on the pants fitting perfectly.

Nejarb: I laughed about your holiday. I''m Jewish too, but my family had Christmas, not Chanuakah. We didn''t have a religous experience. We had a materialistic experience. We had a tree, presents from Santa under the tree and hours and hours of recorded holiday music my father recorded on his reel-to-rell tape deck! It was warm and wonderful in my eyes.

Sakai Update: She continues to improve. This morning, after her tube feeding, she got off Charlie''s lap, went over to her food bowl and just started eating all on her own. We both got tears in our eyes. We still haven''t seen her drink water, but we keep her pretty hydrated. We''re hoping that if she eats on her own, she drinks too. Tomorrow morning we have an appointment with the vet and hopefully we''ll get more good news.

Today was our office gift exchange/cookie/cake-after-cake/ice cream/candy/fudge-gasm. I was a super good boy and while everyone was gorging on fudge and ice cream drenched in chocolate syrup, I ate an apple. I did have one small chocolate chip cookie that looked so good. I''ve worked so hard to be in the shape I''m in, weigh what I do and have clothes that fit correctly that I just can''t let myself indulge in fattening foods.

After the office party, I met Charlie at the gym and we did our normal 2.5 hour workout with 45 intense (covering over 8 miles and 700 calories) minutes on the elliptcal. Tomorrow, I took the day off to go with Sakai to the vet, do a littel shopping, workout at the gym and have Sushi at our new favorite Sushi restaurant in Raleigh.

We may not be in our beautiful condo on Tampa Bay for the holiday. And we may be in a one bedroom rented apartment with crappy corporate furniture, but we feel like two of the luckiest guys on the planet. With Sakai improving daily and my new job going so well, we think we''re very fortunate. It''s going to be a great holiday.

I''ll give an update tomorrow after the vet has seen Sakai. Thank you all for the prayers and good wishes for Sakai for us during my layoff, and move to NC. How lucky can a guy be to have such caring friends like you.

Rod

 

[Mara]

YAY Tybee and Dee Jay for pushing through it and getting so much accomplished tonite!! DJ who knows, next year those pants might surely be too big!! Once I started kinda getting on a ''roll'' with my fitness and all that...I started dropping sizes pretty quickly. The funniest part was I really just wanted to go from a 10 to an 8 kinda thing. And now I''m a small 6 and I am still like hmm still gotta do a bit more ab work...or these arms still need a bit of toning. So there''s always something for me to ''work'' on really.

Hit the gym and did 500 cals on the elliptical and then about 15 minutes of arm workouts. I also was 1.5 lbs less on the scale but I figure that was just typical movement kinda thing, even though I have never been less than 139. So we''ll see what it''s like the next time I go.

Thanks for the kudos on the pants, I am definitely jazzed about that!! Now just gotta get them hemmed..we''ll see how long that takes me.

Tonite it is NASTY outside, pouring and super cold...I was so happy that I don''t even blink about going to the gym anymore...I don''t even really have to think about it..or decide if I am or not etc. I just DO IT. and then I know I''ll be at home relaxing and so happy I went. Exaclty like I am RIGHT NOW! hehee.

Anyway dinner was chicken noodle soup and some toasted sourdough with butter. I also picked up some Dreyers Slow Churned Cookies and Cream for a snackie snack...but I''m pretty stuffed. Not too sure if we''ll partake in that tonite, hehee. 1/2 cup is 120 calories and 4g of fat. Not too bad!

So I have tomorrow off and I am getting a mani pedi that I need SO BAD it''s not even funny. Working FT has put a crimp in my self-pampering, lol! Anyhow I don''t plan to hit the gym up but maybe I will if I find some time. Otherwise I am working out Sat and Sunday. So I might go tomorrow and not on Saturday. we''ll see!! Tomorrow night we are going to the SF Ballet and having a fabulous dinner after at this fave place of ours. So looking fwd to that for sure!! And this time we''ll have dessert. hehee.

Have a wonderful Friday everyone, last workday before the holiday!! Rod, so glad to hear Sakai is improving slowly and surely!!! pets are the best.

Rebot, don''t be so hard on yourself! Just KEEP AT IT. honestly, self guilt or loathing gets you absolutely nowhere. Just show yourself that you can do it and that''s the best feeling.

 

[galeteia]

Did 32 min on the elliptical and burned 300 cals, while watching Batman Begins (thank you, tense mood music) and had basmati rice with egg for lunch and 3 of the leftover rolls from yesterday on my first break, a large pomegranate, and then when I came home I had some shredded wheat with soymilk because I was hungry. I''m about 170 cals shy of my minimum target, so I''ll have to find something to eat.

Speaking of yesterday, no wonder people gain weight over the holidays! Even though I used portion control, that single meal was worth approx 1,600 cals. That''s a day''s worth of food! Of course, it was my only meal of the day and kept me full all day... I had an after-work snack of cucumber and a few tablespoons of rice that still kept me under my calorie count.

But wow. Thank goodness I don''t eat like that often, or like those foods!

It seems lately that my problem has been finding things to bump my cal intake up to at least 1370, which is my minimum according to sparkpeople. I guess I''m accustomed to eating less food than I should because my thyroid is so lazy, I could eat about 800 cals a day and be fine, my metabolism is so slow.

It''s so easy to get discouraged by that, since it seems like I have to put in twice the effort a person with a ''normal'' metabolism does, just to get any results. I am definitely toning up but the weight is not shifting at all.

Oh well.

Tomorrow is my day off, and I plan to go for all-you-can-eat sushi. I''ll do an extra-long workout tomorrow ''morning'', so I can have a clean conscience.

 

[Mara]

gala i think it's so funny you have a problem meeting your min calorie goal!! i am typically trying to make sure i can stay in my range! typically i do something like a 250 calorie breakfast, then a 150 calorie snack between breakfast and lunch. breakfast is about 200-400 depending on what i eat. then a snack in afternoon is 150 calories or i do two snacks that equal 150ish. and then dinner is between 400-700 calories depending on what i have left for that day. the eating out HUGELY can mess with your calories for the day...which is typically why i try to sty on the low end of my range (or sometimes under) during the week...because we eat out on weekends, and then when i do have those splurge days, it all evens out in the end. averages are important for me for long-term. it's not really about my daily so much as it is about my weekly averages for both workout and eating.

you want to meet a minimum calorie goal? eat some bread or carb product. talk about a lot of calories. i LOVE bread so that's a huge weakness of mine. but i think i remember you are wheat allergic or something?

tonite i ended up having what i think was more like 2.5 servings of cookies and cream ice cream and man was it good!! and at least it was 1/2 calories and fat...it tasted like the full fat version, hehe.

so i decided i will definitely do something active tomorrow, and take P for a 45 minute brisk walk around the neighborhoods which should burn about 300 cals so that'll make up for the unexpected ice cream splurge and also keep me local to the house so that i don't have to get all the way to the gym and then back etc. i have a bunch of errands to run tomorrow that are christmas related, so i don't want to pack my day too full.

oh and on the sushi, i love it as well but just wanted to give an FYI that sushi rolls have a ton of calories. so that would be a good way to ensure you get your min for sure. one rainbow kinda sushi roll has about 500 cals and a california roll has about 300ish. something like 2 pieces of salmon/sake fresh is about 160 calories. and miso has a ton of sodium as well. but yes it's all super yummy!! and at least it's healthyish calories. hehee. that's what i tell myself anyway.

 

[galeteia]

Sushi is that bad?! But it''s so healthy!

Yeah, I can''t have wheat. Now and then I weaken (like the rolls) and my body sharply reminds me that I CANNOT eat wheat. I''ll spare you the details. Unpretty.

Well, maybe I''ll do a 1.5 hr low-intensity workout on the machine (or whatever the rest of the Batman movie works out to, maybe it''s more like an hour and some odd minutes) and that should take care of the serious calorie splurge that will be dinner. Since I work nights, I sleep in until maybe 12 or 1 pm, so I can get away with that being my only meal of the day.

Also, sushi has a ton of the one thing seems to positively affect my thyroid: seaweed is my friend. I take a supplement (a double dose, on the advice of my health care practitioner) every morning that is derived from seaweed, but I can always use the fresh stuff.

 

[Lorelei]

Great job everyone and CONGRATS on the trousers Mara - isn''t that the best feeling????

Rod - it sounds for sure like your baby has turned the corner!!!!

I know you will get even more good news from the vet, please let us know how the appt went, I know the vet will be so pleased with Sakai!!!

Haven''t been able to workout for the past 2 days, but I will get in a good session today.