Weekly Workout Thread 15th Jan till 21st Jan

[sumbride]

Ellen -

That''s AWESOME! Congrats to you and hubby!!!

I agree that counting isn''t everything. Right now I''m focusing on what kind of food I''m eating... trying to get back to more fruits and veggies, lean meats, whole grains, etc. That''s helping tremendously and it just TASTES better. Fat is important in the diet because it helps satisfy you, so a lot of people on really low-fat diets end up eating more just because they''re still "hungry". I''ve been on almost every diet out there and always had trouble following 100%. I don''t know if it''s my rebellious streak or what... but I''d get to like 99% and I just couldn''t handle the next step. I was flipping through SELF this month and they mentioned the "non-diet" where you change one little thing each day, keep what works for you and discard what doesn''t. THAT works for me. If I don''t like the routine, I''m not going to stick with it. So far it feels completely natural. I can''t say that about any other diet I''ve ever tried. I don''t get worked up about the calories, but I do pay attention to the labels. In the long run, I think that''s an approach I can live with.

 

[KimberlyH]

Date: 1/18/2007 12:42:17 PM
Author: CrownJewel
Kimberly

!!! I was over in the recipe thread and saw your beef tenderloin recipe and I was like, ''oh my gosh this Kimberly and on the same brainwave!!'' I didn''t know you had already seen my request for steak recipes. And I saw your note at the end about adding the cornstarch to make a sort of ''french onion gravy''...mmmmmMM! Sounds perfect! Thanks for posting that! I just have to go find some beef consomme. This week is going to be a Kimberly inspired cooking week. Tomorrow is the lasagna and Saturday or Sunday will be the beef tenderloin. I''m so happy we started a recipe thread!!

Yogurt and coffee and a rice cake for breakfast this morning for 178 calories. (By the way, I sometimes shop through FreshDirect.com and I noticed they have a lot of great nutritional information. I''ve been using that website to calculate some of my calories).

I find myself craving sushi ALL THE TIME. I think I need to take Rod''s lead and schedule sushi once a week. Maybe that will stop my cravings.

CJ: I am so happy to help! Another note that I forgot to make in the thread (I''ll go change it) is that the meat needed to be cooked a bit longer than they said. I like steak cooked medium-rare and when I cooked it following their instructions it was super rare! Our steaks were on the thick side (more heighth less circumference if that makes sense). You might want to look on another cooking website to get the exact timing down, I just cut mine to see if it was done, which makes for a less beautiful presentation. I am a huge lover of french onion soup and it was very similar, sans cheese. Cambells makes a good consumme, it''s in the soup aisle. I hope you enjoy.

 

[Ellen]

Date: 1/18/2007 1:10:57 PM
Author: sumbride
Ellen -

That''s AWESOME! Congrats to you and hubby!!!

I agree that counting isn''t everything. Right now I''m focusing on what kind of food I''m eating... trying to get back to more fruits and veggies, lean meats, whole grains, etc. That''s helping tremendously and it just TASTES better. Fat is important in the diet because it helps satisfy you, so a lot of people on really low-fat diets end up eating more just because they''re still ''hungry''. I''ve been on almost every diet out there and always had trouble following 100%. I don''t know if it''s my rebellious streak or what... but I''d get to like 99% and I just couldn''t handle the next step. I was flipping through SELF this month and they mentioned the ''non-diet'' where you change one little thing each day, keep what works for you and discard what doesn''t. THAT works for me. If I don''t like the routine, I''m not going to stick with it. So far it feels completely natural. I can''t say that about any other diet I''ve ever tried. I don''t get worked up about the calories, but I do pay attention to the labels. In the long run, I think that''s an approach I can live with.

I wholeheartedly agree. This ISN''T a diet, that''s the best part, it''s an eating for life style, and you don''t really feel deprived.

And yes, I believe we are supposed to eat fat, it DOES fill us up and keeps us going. What I find is, I actually eat LESS when I adhere to this way of eating, you don''t get ravenous and then gorge, and/or aren''t always hungry. Even when I get really hungry, it''s not that "bottoming out" feeling, like you''re going to get sick. My tummy lets me know it''s time to eat, but honestly, if it''s not feasable, I can go a few more hours, not that I recommend it.

Good for you, and here''s to success!

 

[Mara]

oh i will have to check out the baked ziti recipe, i love that stuff!!!

set up the crockpot with my crockpot chili today..1/2 turkey and 1/2 ground beef. so it's cooking at home!

ellen...i eat fat, carbs, anything i want. as long as i stay within a range. so for me it works really well. i did lower-carbs, lower-sugar, lower-fat in the past and i just can't deal with cutting things out of my diet. i need to eat whatever i want, as long as it's in small portions. it keeps me sane! for me most of it was about portion control and watching cals keeps track of that for me. actually...when i first started being more healthy, i just cut out BAD things...like obviously bad-for-me things. then when that was all done and i was pretty clean...i started actually counting and keeping track of what i was really eating. because too much of healthy stuff is still bad for you over the long-term. you can eat 5 lbs of fruit and probably still gain weight daily which i think most people don't get.

in general i also hardly eat anything 'white'...and i eat lots of whole grains, fresh fruits, etc. so really it's basically the same thing it sounds like. i don't drink sugary drinks either. but the one thing that worked for me was just keeping track of my cals and working out. easy peasy. and i could still have what i wanted...which is the important thing!! no deprivation.

add me to the list of bread addicts. i love making us things we can have french bread with. typically i cut thin slices and use real butter and then give greg 3 and i take 2. sourdough has less calories than sweet typically. i just flat out love fresh bread. and i was still able to eat is 2-3x a week and lose weight...ehehe.

i forgot that i am going to lunch today with my girlfriend from my old job. we chose vietnamese because it's healthy. having spring rolls and either a chicken noodle soup or their lemongrass chicken over brown rice. yum.

yay kimberly glad you are feeling better!! here's to continued positive progress for us sick/injured people. hehe.

 

[KimberlyH]

The key to my long-term success has definitely been, in part, knowing that I can eat/drink what I love (bread, wine and cheese come to mind, I told John last night that in my heaven these three items have no calories in my heaven) in moderation as long as the majority of my diet consists of healthy, lower-fat foods. The other thing was never saying to myself or anyone else that I was/am on a diet. When people asked my answer was always that I have been making lifestyle changes that include eating healthier and exercising. I pile on the veggies and salads, make sure I''m getting enough protein (John keeps stressing the importance of this to me because I''d started forgetting how important it is) and watch what I eat. Four years and counting is a pretty good track record, especially considering most people gain back the weight they lose within a year, and the longer I do it the easier it is.

Good work to both you and your hubby, Ellen!

 

[Ellen]

Mara, whatever works for you is best. Like I said, my post was directed more to those who might be lurking but thinking, I can't deal with counting claries. Personally, I can't either, and this allows me a way to eat, lose/maintain weight, and not have to. But more importantly, it obviously has added health benefits.



Kimberly, thanks, and you're right, the key to success is a life long way of healthy eating, not dieting, however that may work for each individual.

And I refuse to cut certain things out too. I still indulge occassionally... Nobody touch my beer.

 

[Mara]

miss turtle dazzle, did you find the baked ziti to be a little bland, aka needing more spices? the recipe seems kind of basic, and we're flavor and spice whores. i might adapt it a bit...but just curious what you thought about 'flavor'...let me know!

also there was a recipe in CL last month for spinach feta stuffed shells, probably a really similar kind of feel to the baked ziti but they also used feta i think instead of parm and a container of frozen spinach, the picture looked seriously yum. i want to try that soon too!

i think we're doing lasagna next week and i don't like to eat too much pasta so maybe we'll save baked ziti (maybe with some spinach?!) for the week after! i gotta start making a food schedule, lol! so many recipes, so little time!

 

[turtledazzle]

Date: 1/18/2007 1:51:41 PM
Author: Mara
miss turtle dazzle, did you find the baked ziti to be a little bland, aka needing more spices? the recipe seems kind of basic, and we''re flavor and spice whores. i might adapt it a bit...but just curious what you thought about ''flavor''...let me know!

also there was a recipe in CL last month for spinach feta stuffed shells, probably a really similar kind of feel to the baked ziti but they also used feta i think instead of parm and a container of frozen spinach, the picture looked seriously yum. i want to try that soon too!

i think we''re doing lasagna next week and i don''t like to eat too much pasta so maybe we''ll save baked ziti (maybe with some spinach?!) for the week after! i gotta start making a food schedule, lol! so many recipes, so little time!

Mara ~ I''ve been making this recipe a long time and don''t usually add any extra spices, but you certainly could add more if you wanted. The spices are in the jarred Ragu sauce -- there are a lot of types to choose from. I usually use the 7-Herb Tomato Pasta Sauce or the Sautéed Onion & Garlic Pasta Sauce. Some extra spices could pep it up a bit, but we like it as-is. I''ve never tried adding spinach, but that sounds good. I know what you mean ~ so many recipes, so little time!

Since the ziti recipe is so basic and simple (which is one of the things I like about it) and makes so much food, this is one of our staples for our large group ski trip each year. For those trips, one of my friends made a meat version by simply browning ground beef with spices (and maybe some onion and garlic), then draining, and stirring that in with everything else and continuing with the recipe as-is. Just a thought for someone who might like a meat alternative.

 

[Mara]

in case anyone is interested (and i'll post it in the recipe thread too) here is the crockpot chili i am making:

CrockPot Chili
7 oz lean ground 8% fat beef
5 oz lean ground turkey breast
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced celery
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (10.75 ounce) cans tomato sauce
1 can diced tomatoes with green pepper and onions
1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, drained
1/2 (15 ounce) can kidney beans with a tablespoon of liquid
1/2 (15 ounce) can cannellini beans, drained
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons ground chili seasonings (aka lowrys)

Serves...estimating about 4-6 servings depending on the size..aka Greg will eat way more than I will, haha! It looked like this recipe made a fair amount as it filled up almost 1/2 the 6qt crockpot..the original called for just about double everything (aka 2 cans of things) and it was 8 servings. That would have been WAY too much for us...even this will be too much for us as chili is really filling thanks to the high fiber in the beans. The original recipe had like 11g of fiber per serving. Also this recipe probably has a ton of protein due to the meats.

Total calories: ~1450

DIRECTIONS
Saute onions and 1 clove garlic in a bit of EVOO. Place the turkey and beef in skillet over medium heat with onions and gralic, and cook until evenly brown. In the slow-cooker/crockpot, mix in celery, extra 1 clove garlic, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, kidney beans, cannelini beans, spices, and chili seasoning. Cover, and cook 8 hours on Low.

I haven't TASTED it yet so I don't know how it's seasoned, I adapted the recipe a bit...but you might want to add more chili seasonings (or use the HOT version) OR add in chili powder OR both....depending on how spicy you like things. I am a wuss about spicy so I figured less might be more here.

We're going to top it with 2% shredded cheddar (1/4c is 80 cals) and low-fat sour cream (1 tablespoon is something like 30 cals). YUM!

 

[KimberlyH]

Miss Mara, I am so glad to be on the upswing of this stupid cold. I''ve been sick for a week and my energy level just sucks!

I burned 400 cals on the elliptical and then felt like I needed a nap! I''m drinknig some tea to re-energize myself as I need to get a bunch of school work done today.

We''re heading to old town San Diego for some yummy Italian food tonight. It''s been a while since we''ve had dinner down there, should be lots of fun. It''s a new restaurant for me, but John loves it.

 

[akw94]

Thanks for all the responses. This might be a silly question but when doing Tae Bo tapes, w/all the kicking and punching, does that count as strength training or does strength training specifically mean weights?

I used to do weights when I went to the gym but just stopped awhile ago. One of my goals was to incorporate it back in but I guess I just don''t like the gym much and like to leave asap. But I do have plenty of at-home exercises that I can incorporate. Things like leg lifts, that''s strength traning too?

Rod, my goal is overall fitness but since I have a lot to lose before I can really tone, I just wondered how much the weights help.

Lorelei, thanks for the water tip. I will try anything to get rid of those cravings. I love the idea of having a little chocolate daily but I haven''t gotten to a good point of stopping w/just a little so for now, I do try to avoid it. Hopefully one day I''ll have a bit more willpower. Mara, you''re right, it is about control... which I haven''t quite mastered yet!
Scarlet, I''ll have to try those Chocolove bars. Thanks for the suggestion.

Nejarb, congrats about the weight loss! I know I''m behind on this thread but keep up the good work!!

Amber, sounds like you''ll get some great exercise from your dog walks! Welcome to the thread! I''m not consistent on my posting but working on becoming consistent on my workouts and eating!

Ok, I''m only on page 3 of this thread! Time to stop for now but my quick update is 3 days workout done so far. I see no reason why I won''t make it to 4 this week and finally accomplish my 4 day goal allowing me that nailpolish. Who knew it would take this darned long for a little bottle of nail polish.. Geez! Eating has been pretty good this week and I''m feeling positive.

Have a good Thursday everyone..

 

[akw94]

Sum and DJ, Congratulations! Ok, I said I was taking a break but I guess I''m addicted.. only on page 4 now. Wow, this is long!

Anyway, great job on the weight loss!!!

I really need to go get that measuring tape!

 

[Mara]

dixie, for me strength training is when you use your body weight for something, like lunges, or pushups, etc...OR using weights for arms or legs or similar. tae bo with kicking and punching is cardio. but if you were doing those exercises resistance bands during class then that would be considered strength training for me.

 

[KimberlyH]

I just wanted to say WOW! and YUM! I just had Campbell''s Select Butternut Squash soup for lunch. It''s 90 calories and 1.5 g of fat for 1 cup (I had 2) and it was so darn delicious I just can''t believe it. If you''re looking for a new soup to try I recommend it highly. It''s got great flavor, a bit of kick (which I love) and you can''t beat the cals and fat for a good lunch! They come in brown boxes.

 

[bee*]

Rose, I dont take any vitamins daily. Im kind of hoping that by eating a healthy diet and fruit and veg that I wont need to take any.

Kimberley, Im the exact same in regards to telling people Im on a diet. Im just trying to change my eating habits in general for the long term. Any diets Ive been on previously, Ive always gained the weight back on as soon as Ive finished it. Enjoy the date tonight also

Ive been to the gym yesterday and today. I did 30 mins on the cross trainer and 15 mins running both days with a bit of weights thrown in for good measure. Ive had my crunchy nut cornflakes both mornings as usual, and for lunch yesterday I had a tiny bowl of pasta with a low fat cheese slice and a strawberry smoothie and I threw together a huge salad for dinner. It was delicious-lots of lettuce, onion, tomato, one egg, 2 spoons of hummus, sweetcorn and carrot....mmmmmm. I had the same again for my lunch and dinner today. The salad is so filling. I had it at 4.30 today as I was going out early and its now 9.30 over here and Im still stuffed.

 

[CrownJewel]

I ended up caving in and having sushi for lunch. It was a 12 piece roll with tuna, salmon, yellowtail, a bit of spicy mayonnaise and cucumber all in the middle, seaweed, rice, topped with avocado and 3 types of roe. I''m guessing that might have been 400 calories. So worth it though.

I think I was a fool to think that I could get excercise all winter by running in the park. NO way...it''s gotten too cold. So now I have to start researching gyms. A friend of mine is paying $75 a month at New York Sports Club. I need to find a less expensive gym!

 

[Mara]

lol a 12 piece roll with all that for 400??? try about 700-800!! a 6 piece roll with that kind of stuff would be about 400. sounds yummy tho and sushi and fresh fish is super healthy for the most part. lots of protein.

for lunch with my friend i had a rice vermicelli bowl with fish sauce and bbq beef. yummy. i took out like 1/4 of the noodles, they put way too much. and we had a spring roll each for appetizer. i'm sure it was a fair amount of calories but pretty healthy.

eating snack right now since we had a meeting that ran for almost 2 hours...snack is blueberries and 75 cal of kettle corn popcorn..yum.

 

[Mara]

just wanted to report in that i just tasted the chili and it''s AWESOME. seriously awesome. i''m not eating for a few more hours (just snacking on cereal now) but i can''t wait. YUM YUM and YUM. perfectly seasoned. highly recommended. it only cooked for 6 hours because my mom came over (when she dropped portia off) and unplugged it, but it''s still perfectly done. i just set it to ''warm'' for now.

 

[Dee*Jay]

So I was a little bit (um--maybe a LOT) bad... I went to this monthly industry group meeting and the hosts had an awesome spread of everything that I love the most. Brie, chocolate torts, mixed nuts, guacamole, I could go on. Anyway, I had a little of everything. Oh well, to that point today I had only had 471 cals and for dinner I''m having 1 cup of the happy hubby''s sloppy joe fixin''s (made with 95% lean ground beef) and 120 cals worth of baked chips.

I tried the treadmill at the gym tonight. I walked for an hour, but I only burned 293 cals so I made myself ride the bike for sixteen minutes to get an extra 107 cals in for a total of 400.

The Demon and I are on our own for the next several days while the HH is off skiing so hopefully it will be easy to be good!

 

[Dee*Jay]

Date: 1/18/2007 3:59:00 PM
Author: KimberlyH
I just wanted to say WOW! and YUM! I just had Campbell''s Select Butternut Squash soup for lunch. It''s 90 calories and 1.5 g of fat for 1 cup (I had 2) and it was so darn delicious I just can''t believe it. If you''re looking for a new soup to try I recommend it highly. It''s got great flavor, a bit of kick (which I love) and you can''t beat the cals and fat for a good lunch! They come in brown boxes.

The happy hubby often makes squash soup as an appetizer and he put a few giant prawns in each bowl. Or sometimes he''ll make a bigger pot of soup and more prawns and and we''ll have that with a salad for a totally yummy filling low cal meal. Your post totally made me want some--I''m making a list of things for him to cook for me when he gets back, LOL!

 

[Rod]

Date: 1/17/2007 11:54:49 PM
Author: Mara
yay congrats rod...hopefully your tampa place sells really soon!!!

i have been daydreaming about some houses we found in NC over in wake forest...but apparently only 20-30 min from raleigh triangle area so kind of the outskirts of WF closer to raleigh area...they are by bergen custom homes and divine!! the one i love is 2900 sq ft and stunning, on an acre of land bordering a forest with all wood floors, beautiful granite and cherry kitchen, the highest most awesome ceilings, lots of windows, etc. for 380k! lol. we could sell our place here and buy that and only have a 100k mortgage basically..which we could pay off within 3 years (i already researched salaries and jobs for us as well). so tempting. anyhow...we definitely want to check it out this may. the idea of moving is somewhat heartbreaking for me but we have to think about ourselves and our 'family' and what we need for the future...to have the best quality of life. we could afford to do so much more if we didn't live in such a backbreaking expensive place, esp as we think about starting a family. so we'll see.

anyhow, we just ate dinner, yum. i kept craving greg's cornmeal crust so he gave me an extra crust, lol and i gave him some of mine.

i seriously want to know what kind of oatmeal DJ is eating. unless it's like 1/4cup which is TINY. i can't imagine staying full for hours on that.

TG that recipe sounds yummy. so fun trying all these yummy recipes..i love food experimentation!

Mara, Wake Forest is very close and really considered part of Raleigh. We too were absolutely stunned at how much house you can get here. We looked at some houses less than a mile from my new office. Each home was custom built, on heavily wooded lots and the community which was actually small, was on this beatuiful curved and tree lined road that curved so peacefully down a hill. The thing was each house was beautiful. Each home, custom built, so no two looked alike. And the square footages from 3900 - 4300. All had beautiful hard wood floors, custom cabinets, stone fireplaces and had architecturally interesting plans. One of the houses had a beautiful stone fireplace in the master bedroom, plus a two story stone fireplace in the great room. And while these are really spacious and beautiful homes, they would still be better suited to people who had or wanted to raise a family. And while we could save money by buying one, our heart was still in the condo in the city. BUT.......for you and Greg, who ultimately want to raise a family, you can get SO MUCH house for your money. I know it would be hard for you to leave your family and friends in California. But if you do, you'll find a pretty nice lifestyle. And of course you'd have Rod and Charlie on your side to help you!!

 

[AmberGretchen]

OK, reading this thread made me so hungry that I had to go get dinner LOL! But I guess it was OK because I''m still only up to 980 cals for today, so plenty left to have something else when DH gets home in an hour.

Sounds like everyone is doing so well - its so great to read about how everybody is coping with everyday eating challenges. Those are a big thing for me, so its so helpful to hear about how everyone else deals with these common situations.

I''ve been to the gym twice so far this week, going again tomorrow. Normally I go 5 times a week but since I''m just easing back into it after being sick I figure 3 times the first week is OK. I''ve also spent 3 hours so far walking the dogs this week, which does seem like really good exercise. Plus we''re helping my mom clean out her garage this weekend (she''s the world''s most amazing pack rat) so that should be good for some exercise too. Fingers crossed she''s putting her house on the market in a few weeks and we''re hoping to use the profit on that as a downpayment to buy a duplex for her me and my DH.

Keep up the good work everyone - I''m so inspired by all of you!

 

[Skippy123]

Okay, yeah! I did step aerobics for an hour. I ate 25 Weight Watchers points. Yeah.
Great job everyone; thanks for the motivation!

 

[Mara]

oh i know rod...trust me..looking at these beautiful homes both of us were practically salivating. we don't really want too big of a house because you gotta take care of it...and we want something that would be big enough for us and potentially a child or two but not too big...we love a homey feel. our place now is 1850 sq ft and it's perfect for us...just a bit more living space would be nice for the future and definitely the idea of an acre of land is tempting. there is so much building going on over there but i don't like the cookie cutter 200 home developments as much as the idea of going with a more custom builder who is doing like 30 houses on a larger area where no one house is exactly the same, but it's still affordable. this development only has these 3 houses left (all diff styles), but the gal who emailed me said there is another development area they are doing next where you can choose one of these models if you like or other ones...and they build it for you. and we don't mind being a bit out of the 'hustle and bustle' to get more of a countryish feel BUT we definitely want to be close enough to drive in for work and/or dinners and fun things as well. you two are perfect for the condo life and we would totally consider that too if we weren't considering a family, but the whole reason we'd move from here to go somewhere more remote (for me) is to have a big home, and big land, and a small mortgage so we CAN have a family and one income and still have an awesome life. here we have two incomes, a beautiful town house and an awesome life, but if we threw a kid or two into the mix, things could get hairy if only one of us is working. so we're just considering options!! and honestly it's been a huge help having you report back how much you guys really like it there...because i'd kinda crossed it off my list as not quite as metropolitan enough of an area for us...especially diversity/liberal-ish and foodwise...lol. here where we are, we are 4 hours to the snow, 1 hour to the beach and ocean, 1 hour to SF, 8 hours to the desert (palm springs), 4 hours to gambling in nevada or reno..etc. greg likes the idea of having something similar in NC where you are just a few hours from so many diff things as well. anyway enough rambling. but thanks so much for reporting in like you do, it has really given us more food for thought to have a fresh perspective from someone who didn't really want to move and loved your climate especially, and has found happiness there.

okay onto WWT stuff...i just went for a 1.5m walk. hurray! and my stomach area feels okay, no worse than before. honestly i am starting to wonder what else is going on with my trunk area. this sounds so weird but i swear i have a big dent in one of my ribs. and i have had some 'pain' there in that area...recently...in the last few days. so now i am like well crap did i do something else? and i have a lot of soreness and tenderness like under my ribs on either side of my torso. my lower abs don't really hurt as much anymore as my sides and now my BACK is starting to. it could just be that trying to let my abs heal is putting strain on the rest of my muscles to try to compensate, but man. could i just be better already? i feel forever sore. greg says to go back to the dr but he told me it could take a few weeks to heal so i don't want to freak out thinking OTHER things are wrong with me when it's probably just overall soreness from the other muscles having to work harder to compensate for my abs.

but at least walking doesn't hurt anymore, keeping fingers crossed that continues since it feels so good to at least get out there and do something. tomorrow night i am going to attempt going to the gym to walk the flat treadmill because it's COLD out at night here so it's really no fun to walk, and i'd like to try a 2m walk tomorrow night, but i'd like to be in a warm environment. so we'll see. if that 2m walk goes okay, i am going to try walking again on saturday for another 1m or so around the neighborhoods during the day. then on sunday i might attempt the gym again. if i can just keep walking and feeling okay, i will be so happy...because it's at least SOMETHING active. i feel like seriously such a fat slug. okay i know that's silly and i know that i'm not...but mentally...it's just SO HARD for me to sit around and not do anything and have the snackies like i have been. i feel like a balloon. typically i would just work out a bit more and that's that but now that i can't...oh its very hard. i am dying to work out hard. wah! and it's like telling myself i can't eat that doesn't help. at least all my snacks are healthy. it's not like i'm eating chocolate cake!! i'm snacking on cereal, popcorn, fruit, etc.

so anyhow, time to eat some chili!! i'm jazzed. have a great night everyone....it's off to the couch with my heating pad for me!

 

[Rod]

OK.....Winter finally happened. Last weekend, we were walking around in long sleeve T-shirts without the need for a jacket. And the trees were beginning to bud out (not good when you realize it's only January), and we actually began to think we brought Florida's warmth to North Carolina. However, mother nature fooled us and we woke up to snow this morning. My first reaction was.....Oh.......My........God, but then I just sat and stared at the beauty of it all. It was about 6:45 when I looked out and the stillness and beauty was actually so reminiscent of my childhood in Maryland. And then we turned on the TV., and they said the schools were already closed and there were like 700 accidents and I just kind of remembered how being an adult and having snow, just wasn't like being a kid and having snow. Still, instead of getting in the shower and thinking I should try to get to work, we put on a pot of coffee and watched it snow until the snow turned to rain. Then when the roads were safer, we got ready, went outside and scraped the snow off our cars, and we stopped by Starbucks for a coffee to go and we went to work. It was sort of a party atmosphere at work and even as one of the big bosses, I couldn't bring myself to remind people we needed to work, so I let everyone just have a fun day.

Then when they said the roads were going to start freezing up later in the day, we let everyone go home early. Only, I decided how cool. I can go to the gym before 6:30 or 7:00 and I could get a full workout and be home before 9 PM, like a regular person. So, we worked out and we enjoyed our snow day just a little bit more. There weren't as many people at the gym as would normally be there, so I never had to wait for any machines. And I thought, gee this was a nice day.

Then we went to the grocery store and got nice big Chef Salads and came home and actually ate dinner before 9 PM. Then I popped a bowl of fresh popcorn (the old fashioned way, with real popcorn and real oil and salt - no butter thank you very much) and we sat on the couch and ate our popcorn with both kitties curled up in our laps.

What a lovely evening. Even if we hate this cruddy corporate apartment, we were all together on a cold night in our new hometown of Raleigh, NC., and all was just fine with the world. Just fine indeed.

I hope you had as 'warm' a day as we had.

 

[TravelingGal]

Well it looks like I caught something from one of ya...I''m sick!

Went to the music convention today and am SO glad I brought my own reinforcements! Nibbled on carrot sticks and had my salad while I saw other people eat absolute junk. Will do the same tomorrow.

Not much to post today. Have to get more work done and hopefully get better before tomorrow''s big meeting. TGuy has forbade me to head to the gym, which at this point would be stupid anyway.

Looks like there are so many good recipes to try!

 

[turtledazzle]

Confession time

So, I was all prepared to make the black bean soup that I posted on the recipe thread for dinner tonight. Well, FI unexpected had to work late tonight. I didn''t work out tonight because I was tired from my lack of sleep last night and, honestly, I''m quite sore from my M, T, & W workouts. I plan to work out Fri and Sat, so that''s 5 workouts this week ~ all good, no confession there.

BUT, since FI was not coming home for dinner, I sat down with cheese, triscuits, and a glass of wine for my dinner.

Definitely not one of my better food moments. Kimberly ~ we''re kindred spirits. I love wine, cheese and bread too (well, on some days I would trade the bread for potatoes!). I often joke that if I didn''t like cheese I would weigh about 5 pounds less. But my food habits are normally quite good ~ I am fortunate that I rarely want/eat sweets and I don''t like chocolate (don''t everyone pelt me at once!), so I''m defending my cheese dinner tonight! I enjoyed it and my wine very much.

After that I curled up on the couch with my fleece blanket and watched a couple of episodes from the first seasons of 24 and Veronica Mars that I checked out from the library. Then I took a nice long bath by candlelight and another glass of wine

. So, I have had a very nice indulgent evening and feel very relaxed. I think I can actually handle the weekend of wedding planning crap that we have to do this weekend.

 

[jadeleaves]

Mac & Cheese last night was awesome - hubby asked me, ''what brand is this?'' and I rolled my eyes at him and told him I made it from scratch with mara''s recipe.

''MARA? The diamond forum chick? Hmm.. maybe the forum isn''t that bad, if it gets u cooking!''

LMAO. He is impressed because I have cooked most of last wk and this wk, and he used to count himself lucky if i cook ONCE a week. I am becoming so domesticated!

I used wholemeal pasta spirals because I couldn''t find wholemeal macaroni, and i used double the spices. The truffle oil adds a nice touch to it!

The muffins are fantastic, and I think I prefer the banana berry ones better. I used macadamia oil for the buttermilk berry ones, and they turned out very moist. I had 2 for brekkie this morning and it kept me full till 1.30 without snacking at all.

I take all my staff out to lunch once a fortnight and they pick a restaurant, and today''s choice was japanese. I had teriyaki seafood, a couple pcs of tuna sushi, few pcs of sashimi, and didn''t touch the deep fried springrolls that came with my bento box!

Dinner tonight will be roast portugese chicken with a salad.

I burned 400 calories today at the gym on the cross trainer, and would have done more but I had an appt I had to get to, but it''s good to know that I am not as puffed out when I finished as I was at the beginning of last week when I started. Knowing I have to come here and ''account'' for my exercise and food intake gives me motivation to stick to it! Thanks guys!

 

[Mara]

haha oh my god i don''t know what my obsession is lately with cereal, but i had three small bowls of honey bunches of oats tonite and then one bowl of trix. lol!! and i had a cup of chili with some 2% cheddar and low-fat SC. now i am really full!! of cereal! haha. what is the deal?!

 

[portia]

DeeJay, sounds like you''re making great progress. Where do you work out? EBC? That is so wonderful that your HH cooks for you (and might I say fabulously from what I''ve read). My DH cooks too, but we go out or order out quite a bit. That''s where I strayed from the path to a healthy lifestyle. We both get home from work late and most of the time neither of us has the energy to cook.

Mara, I totally understand the cereal cravings.. quick, easy to make/clean up and tastes darn good when you just want something basic! Hope you''re feeling better!

Well, I''ve done cardio 3 days in a row now... yay! I''m really bad about the cardio, however I''ve been working with a personal trainer for the past year so at least I have good strength. I have limited range of motion in my left elbow so she''s able to adjust exercises so that I can build muscle without causing any problems. She''s great! However, she kicked my butt this week (I told her I wanted to amp up my workouts... oops!

) and with the added cardio I''m really hurting. Thank goodness for Advil!!