Weekly Workout Thread 16th April till 22nd April

[Skippy123]

Hey Kcoursolle; that is great you run! I want to ease back into running. I think I will try that in a few weeks. Mara, barbecues are so much fun, especially on a nice warm and sunny day!!! Best wishes.

I actually didn't make it to step this morning; I slept in. I exercised everyday this week so I thought today would be my break. My husband and I went shopping for pendant lighting; I am having the hardest time. I can't make up my mind; hubby was ready to buy some italian modern looking things since he was tired of me not being sure. We didn't leave with anything. Oh well. We also had some Indian food at India Palace and it was good. Next week is our 7 year anniversary and I can't wait!

I actually did want to go for a walk but it so windy out and the weather looks like it is threatening to rain and my allergy's are very bad because of the wind. No biggie; there is always tomorrow.

I am going to make Trader Joes chicken sausage w/whole wheat pasta and nice big salad for dinner.

I do have a question for you all. I tend to stick my belly out. I would love some exercise suggestions to maybe not do that anymore; I catch myself doing that and I notice it whenever I look in the mirror.

Any suggestions would be appreciated

Happy Saturday!

 

[NYCsparkle]

yay!!!! spring has finally come in nyc!!!!! i went for a great long walk today and have been eating healthy all week. tomorrow i''m going for a walk early in the morning, because i have a barbecue

to go to in the afternoon. i''ve been keeping up with the pilates dvds and i see a difference in my tummy area, so tomorrow morning i''m going to do a dvd before walking. everyone sounds like they are doing a great job of eating healthy and exercising.


its never too late to start or get back on the healthy bandwagon. (i tell myself this after the days i pig out)

 

[Rod]

Date: 4/21/2007 5:58:52 PM
Author: Skippy123
Hey Kcoursolle; that is great you run! I want to ease back into running. I think I will try that in a few weeks. Mara, barbecues are so much fun, especially on a nice warm and sunny day!!! Best wishes.

I actually didn't make it to step this morning; I slept in. I exercised everyday this week so I thought today would be my break. My husband and I went shopping for pendant lighting; I am having the hardest time. I can't make up my mind; hubby was ready to buy some italian modern looking things since he was tired of me not being sure. We didn't leave with anything. Oh well. We also had some Indian food at India Palace and it was good. Next week is our 7 year anniversary and I can't wait!

I actually did want to go for a walk but it so windy out and the weather looks like it is threatening to rain and my allergy's are very bad because of the wind. No biggie; there is always tomorrow.

I am going to make Trader Joes chicken sausage w/whole wheat pasta and nice big salad for dinner.

I do have a question for you all. I tend to stick my belly out. I would love some exercise suggestions to maybe not do that anymore; I catch myself doing that and I notice it whenever I look in the mirror.

Any suggestions would be appreciated

Happy Saturday!

Skippy, many here think I'm a broken record on this, but the best way to keep your belly in is to strengthen your core. I'm a core core core nut. I spend the first 20 minutes of virtually every 2.5 hour workout, working on my core (that's the tummy area including sides and back muscles). At a minimum, go to Borders and get a book called Core Performance Essentials by Mark Verstegen. It (along with our trainer who really emphasizes core training) changed my life.

 

[Rod]

What a nice day we had today. We picked up the new convertible at 11:00 (so much fun!). Then we had lunch at International Mall. Does anyone have an Earl Of Sandwich shop in their town? Wow, so good. Incredible sandwiches, on fresh baked for you bread. Yummy Yummy Yummy. Then we visited Nordstrom for the first time since coming home and we surprised our personal shopper there. She was so happy to see us and we were so happy to see her. Then we went to the gym for a nice long productive workout. Then we went back to the restaurant on Tampa Bay (Rattlefish Grill) and had a wonderful dinner and watched boats come and go and a spectacular sunset. We ended they day with a cup of coffee at Starbucks. All in all a picture perfect day to say the least.

Tomorrow, we''ll work out again, but have dinner at home. I hope everyone''s enjoying a wonderful Saturday!

Mara, definitely go to Mura, but don''t forget Second Empire if you can reservations (and if you have difficulty, we know the owners so we could call for you if you need help). It''s just about the absolute best restaurant in Raleigh (imho). Also, the Lobster Salad roll at Mura is better (again imho) than the blue crab roll. And don''t forget to write this one down. You have to have a Screaming Orgasm roll at Mura, and it''s not on the menu, so that''s why I''m suggesting you write it down.

 

[Skippy123]

I want pics Rod!!!!!

I will have to check out that book; thank you!

 

[AmberGretchen]

Thanks so much everyone for the nice wishes and the suggestions for soft foods. I''m happy to report that one side of my mouth has healed up enough that I can chew things that aren''t completely liquid (i.e. well-cooked vegetables) so at least that''s an improvement. I am still desperately craving something crunchy, but it seems that may be a while longer in coming.

Rod - your new car just sounds like so much fun!!

I''m so jealous of everyone going out for these yummy meals - DH says as soon as I''m able to have crunchy things we''ll go out for a splurge dinner to celebrate wherever I want, so something fun to look forward to!

 

[Mara]

glad to hear that everyone had a great day today...!! rod i definitely wrote down the screaming orgasm, don't worry, hehee. and i am looking into second empire as well...!!

so i got my 3.75m walk in this morning, then hit up whole foods, trader joes, and the regular store....jeez it took a while and the car was loaded down. i actually kept my pedometer on while walking the stores and shopping and i walked another mile in the 3 stores, crazy!! when i got home, we had a turkey wrap and then i made my sangria so it could marinate for a few hours...yummy. then we spent the rest of the afternoon getting the house ready and making some dishes...but it was pretty relaxed actually, we had a fair amount of time.

dinner and the bbq/party with the friends was a really fun time...i love hosting because our place is perfect for it, we have the space for it and the whole setup. apps were garlic hummus with thin sliced seeded baguette, pimento stuffed olives, and some WF salsa and chips. then for food we had tandoori shrimp grilled kebabs, green salad, with bleu cheese, pecans, and sliced strawberries, deviled eggs with bacon, an orzo pasta salad with feta and olives, glazed lemon carrots, and grilled herbed corn. for dessert i got a few things...which worked out perfectly, i found these mini dessert square cheesecake bites at TJ's, there were 30 in the container in 3 diff flavors (raspberry, peanut butter and vanilla!). so i got a box of those, then some of the Crave brownies that i love at whole foods which are tiny triangle wedge brownies that are like 100-150 cals each. and then i got a small container of those mini double chocolate chip cookies i also love at WF. so basically dessert was the mini square cheesecake bites, chocolate chip cookies and brownie wedges. it worked out amazingly because we literally have like 3 mini cookies, 1 brownie wedge and 4 cheesecake bites left. so just enough for us to have tomorrow or the day after and that's it. each cheesecake bite is 80 cals and each cookie is like 20 cals. hehe. i was a shameless dessert pusher, because i was like 'you guys have to eat these so i don't!!' the funny thing was all the actual food was eaten, literally every crumb. so we have absolutely no leftovers but the dessert which is awesome!

the sangria was a HUGE hit...i tried a friend's recipe which uses different fruit than i used last time, and i also mixed a few different wines and it came out really great. we literally went through 5 bottles of chardonnay, pinot grigio, and moscato and 2 of the 5 were magnums!!! these guys were bottomless sangria pits. it was pretty funny. greg was like 'am i going to have to run to the store?!'.

anyway, we had a fabulous time, it was so great to see all our friends...one of the guys we are friends with has been with his gf for a few years now, they broke up recently but now appear to be trying to work things out, which was really cool as we love the gal and it was a little weird when they split up. so it was nice to see them back together.

AG glad to hear you are feeling better. Rod glad to hear you had a great day!! hope everyone had a great day and is looking fwd to a happy sunday!!

lol...eta that since i was writing this, greg finished off the cookies so now we just have a brownie wedge and 4 mini square cheesecakes left, HAHA!

oh and a random note...we took some pictures tonite of the gang and groups and all that since it's been a while since we all got together and it was the first time i really noticed in photos that i look so much smaller than i used to. when i upload the photos and all that, maybe i'll post one but wow i can really see the difference in my arms and shoulders and all that too. yay for reaching goals!!

 

[Skippy123]

Mara,

Yah, for looking smaller in pics.

I decided I am coming to your house for dinner. heehee

It sounds like it was a huge hit

 

[Modified Brilliant]

Hi everyone.
Just stopping by to say hello. We had a death in the family that I would like to keep private.
I will accept your group condolences and well wishes.
This is why I haven''t been appearing here lately.

Spring has finally arrived in Boston and the weather is gorgeous!

Enjoy your day..wherever you are.

 

[KimberlyH]

Jeff, my condolences to you and yours.

Mara, glad your dinner was a hit.

AG, I''m so very sorry you''re in pain!

I almost always gain at least 1 lb. on vacation, mainly because of all of the salt that is in restaurant foods that I avoid at home...so I expect the scale to go up and then be just fine. The walking definitely helps and we did a lot of it. Our trip was bittersweet to be sure and I am glad to be home. I did managed to gain 1.8 lbs. but I''m sure it will come off as soon as I return to my normal eating habits.

John is making a light and healthy dinner for us tonight and I''m really looking forward to it. I enjoyed every meal we had while gone...but now it''s back to normal life again. We''re going to Maui in May and my bathing suit is going to look better on than it has in years!

 

[Dee*Jay]

Morning all!

My weight has been saying within a pound or two of the low point, so not working out these past few weeks hasn't really harmed me much, but I can't wait to get back at it. Last night I said to the HH that I haven't had a chest pain for a few days and so maybe I was cured--and not 10 minutes later I got one!!!

We went out to dinner at some new restaurant last night and it was really good. We opted for the seven course tasting menu and I ate every morsel of food they put in front of me--YUM!

Today I've got an open house from 1-3 (which is good because it gets me out of the house and away from the refrigerator, LOL) and the HH is grilling some chickenm and veggies for dinner so I should be pretty good cal wise.

Jeff, my sympathies on the loss in your family.

 

[Mara]

jeff sorry to hear about the death in your family, my prayers go out to you and yours.

breakfast this morning is french toast...greg got this soft white nutritionless bread a week ago when he was sick to make grilled cheese (he doesn't like my brown bread hehe) and we had some left and it's 50 cals per slice so i was like well lets just make french toast and get rid of it hehe. so i used egg whites, fat free milk, cinnamon and vanilla and made the mix, dipped the bread in it, then pan fried in a little butter with additional cinnamon on top. yummy!! we also are having center cut bacon and egg whites scrambled with coffee.

then i am heading out for a 3-4m walk around the neighborhoods, it rained last nite but is sunny right now with a blueish sky, but was supposed to rain today so we'll see how long the weather holds. after the walk and i shower/get ready i am going to a small quaint cute downtown area about 30 minutes away with my pregnant neighbor to help her look for furniture for the baby's room. when i return we are going to get ready again then head out to meet my cousin and his wife in tiburon (small town just north of SF) where they live to see their place then go into SF and have Moroccan for dinner which i am excited about since i have never had Moroccan before plus my cousin and his wife are very cool (they are just a few years younger than me) and we don't get to see them that much so it will be great to catch up.

so it's a busy day, but filled with fun stuff, though i wish we were maybe a little less busy today so there'd be a little more relaxing, haha. glad i got all my grocery shopping done yesterday. one perk i love about having a party here is that our house is so clean afterwards...our friends are really neat and all that so the house is not trashed or anything after a gathering so it stays really clean, we also have a ton of fresh tulips around and i got some new orchids and got rid of old dead ones etc. so the house is extra nice right now!

kimberly i agree with you on the whole scale up and down one or two lbs thing. i have finally realized that if the scale goes up 1-2 lbs after a few days of heavier eating, it MAKES SENSE. just like it makes sense when it goes down 1-2 lbs after a few days of light eating. so really as long as i am within that 4ish lb range, i am happy. and i am also much happier now that i am only going to the gym 2x a week because that means i can only weigh myself 2x a week which i think is better for my mental state because even though i know realistically that it doesn't matter and it tends to fluctuate based on a myriad of things, it does mentally affect you a little when you see the scale move up and down.

thanks skippy, visually really seeing those pictures kind of struck home to me that i am a lot smaller. kinda interesting i think because i think we tend to see ourselves one way while the world sees us another...not in a bad vs good or anything but i think because we see ourselves day in and day out in mirrors or clothes, changes are more 'nuances' to us than huge modifications like to those who don't see us that often.

oh and yesterday in addition to my long morning walk i ended up doing 300 jumping jacks in the afternoon for some conditioning. i am doing another 200-300 today along with a bit of ab work.

anyway hope everyone has a fabulous day today and enjoys their sunday wherever you are!!

 

[Lorelei]

Jeff I am so sorry for your loss. Just checking in everyone, I will be able to do the thread in the morning.

 

[Mara]

Date: 4/22/2007 12:53:12 PM
Author: Lorelei
Jeff I am so sorry for your loss. Just checking in everyone, I will be able to do the thread in the morning.

we miss you lorelei, how are you doing??? able to sleep a bit more i hope? i completely cannot function without sleep so if you are feeling rough, you should really try to sleep, take a pill or something if you have to. sleep is very healing!!

 

[Lorelei]

Hey Mara

I forgot to mention I bought some OTC sleeping pills and they actually worked and I slept for most of the night, which I really needed. I will take them for a couple of days then see if I can manage on my own.

 

[Skippy123]

Date: 4/22/2007 1:01:15 PM
Author: Lorelei
Hey Mara

I forgot to mention I bought some OTC sleeping pills and they actually worked and I slept for most of the night, which I really needed. I will take them for a couple of days then see if I can manage on my own.

Good news on the sleep. We miss you Lorelei!

So sorry for your loss Jeff.

Mara, you amaze me with all that you do! Walking, cooking you must be a high energy person. I think I am middle of the road.heehee I know people who go go go and then people who are super lazy; I am in the middle. I wish I had your energy!!! You should bottle it and then sell it; okay, now I am being silly. It is nice; it keeps me motivated to read your posts

Kimberly, that is great you only gained one pound; you should be super proud of yourself!!!! I am so glad you are back and I bet you have a new appreciation for San Diego; it is so beautiful out there!!! I have a few friends who live out there and I really enjoy visiting them there

DeeJay, great news on not gaining while not excercising! I hope you sell that house today!

I am going for a long walk today; it is gorgeous out. Yesterday it was so yucky with high winds and rain. It looks to be in the 70's. I think I will do so house cleaning and then go for my walk. I am making a big ole pot of black beans for dinner.

Happy Sunday all!

 

[Lorelei]

Thanks Skippy. I hope to be participating more next week in the thread, I have managed a few workouts this week, but due to the lack of sleep they haven''t been the best ever. But I will see if I feel stronger soon and can do more.

 

[Mara]

okay i uploaded the pictures, here are a few from last nite..!

 

[Mara]

and here is just me, i cut out my girlfriend who probably doesn''t want to be posted online!!

i also have the pismo pictures from a few weeks ago so i''ll post one of those of us and then one of the beautiful view!

 

[Mara]

and here we are at pismo beach on the pier...was it 2 weeks ago?! feels so long. and actually this is a good one of the view of the california coastline, so i won't bore you guys with more shots hehee.

time for my walk! and funny skippy because i am not necessarily high energy but i do like to stay busy. i like relaxing too but then i find that i look fwd to relaxing but then i get bored really quickly!! so i tend to stay more busy than not. but i love walking actually, it's really relaxing to me as well as being a great exercise as i have found. so i kind of get a two-fer. hehee.

 

[Lorelei]

Dang Mara, you look great!

Greg looks most fit and trim too!

 

[Skippy123]

Wow, those pics are great!!! You look like my yoga instructor and she is super fit! Great job. Your hubby is adorable. You should post those pics in the hang out "Putting Faces with Rings". You guys are toooo cute

I love the ocean in the last pic!

 

[royalasscherlover]

i love it when it''s nice outside - it''s been 75 and sunny and just perfect here for the whole weekend! yesterday i went for a nice long ride with my horse, and this afternoon we kayaked for about 3.5 hours with friends, then came back to my house and had a BBQ. the kayaking was a great workout, and nice to work my arms, since usually i just work out with my legs. i''m sure i''ll be sore tomorrow, but it was great fun.

eating last night at the party was pretty good too - i had a few bites of calamari, lots of salad, and 2 small pieces of tomato/basil/mozzarella pizza. plus a glass of white sangria, yum. today i had fage with berries and half a grapefruit for breakfast, no lunch (cause we were out on the river), and an early dinner of a veggie burger, tortilla chips and salsa, and a tomato/cucumber/feta salad with a bit of olive oil, lemon juice, and fresh mint.

lorelei, nice to see you here again, and i''m glad to hear you took something to help you sleep!

 

[Skippy123]

Yah for you Shortblonde!

I did about at 70 min walk I am tired! Good tired though! I saw some cute bunny rabbits hopping along the golf course! Yeah, to a refreshing walk; now time to make dinner.

Have a wonderful evening and see you Monday to start a lovely new week!

 

[Becky P]

AmberGretchen- Try pudding and jello. Those are pretty easy to eat too...

Mara- Enjoy your trip to Raleigh. I''ve got another restaurant to recommend... Red Room in Glenwood South. We went there on Friday night for my birthday, and it was AMAZING, AMAZING, AMAZING! It''s a tapas place, but the portions are pretty good size. We started with some sort of crab dip - SO good! Then, we had the shellfish paella, and it was very cajun-y in flavor. We had a filet, which was perfectly marinated, and cooked to perfection - so tender! And, we had the pan-seared scallops, which were also perfectly cooked. Then, for desert (in lieu of birthday cake), we had the chocolate fondue, which came with bananas, strawberries, graham crackers, apple, pear, and marshmallows. All in all, very amazing experience.

So, this weekend there was no official working out. LOTS of walking tho, and tons of stairs. We''re still getting all of his stuff upstairs to his apt on the 3rd floor, unpacking, hauling boxes. And, there''s a trail access point right outside his building, so we went for about a 1 hr walk on Saturday night. Oh, that''s one of the other great parts about Raleigh is the greenway - the city built trails all through the city and is committed to keeping green space for the residents, so there''s miles of trails all over the city!

Gail, thanks for the review of Durham! Anyplace in particular you''d recommend - I still have yet to do much exploring up that way. Our first trip up to Durham left us pretty turned off to the area, but I''d love to find the better parts and the good restaurants. I have been up to the Southpoint mall up there, and it is super nice!

 

[Rod]

Jeff, I''m so sorry to hear about your loss. Please offer my condolences to your family and friends.

Lorelei, glad you''re getting some sleep. With the stress I''ve had in the last few months, I''ve found OTC sleep aids quite helpful.

Mara, your barbeque party sounded wonderful. I agree with Skippy, I think you''re pretty high energy too. The pics of you and Greg are great. What a nice couple you make. The picture of you with water in the background made me think of you and whether you two could really leave CA., but I''m sure you''ll do what works best for the two of you. Becky, I agree on the Red Room. We ate there once and enjoyed the food, BUT and this is a big BUT, since it''s also a bar, it was too smoky there. I could never get over the fact that North Carolina as a tobacco state still allows smoking in restaurants. I know they are working on legislation that would limit smoking, but just before we left, they were talking about how they had to water it down (not sure what that meant) if there was any hope of the bill passing. Still, it''s disconcerting to me to eat and have smoke in the same place. There are restaurants that do not permit smoking, but it''s by the restaurants choice. For example, Second Empire, no smoking. BoneFish Grill (at North Hills) no smoking. But most restaurants that have bars do permit smoking at the bars, even if the bar is right next to the dining areas, and there are still restaurants that have smoking and non-smoking sections. Yuck. Anyway, something to think about if you go to the Red Room. Florida outlawed smoking in restaurants a long time ago, which every state in the US should do. (Rod Rant over, but there is nothing worse than a reformed smoker, so sorry for the rant)

Today was a really nice day. We had coffee, fresh fruit and a scone on our terrace overlooking the bay. It was breezy so it was hard to read the paper too, but there were loads of joggers, bikers, walkers, runners and roller-bladders to watch. We actually toyed with not going to the gym and going for either a skate or a run, but then we got busy and forgot and took showers, so we decided to head out, do some errands and go to the gym.

We had a really good workout at the gym, though I was a little sluggish to begin with. But then the endorphens kicked in and I had a pretty strong session.

There is a couple in our building. They have been married for 52 years and they are the nicest people and I guess when we left last December they really were sorry to see us go. Anyway, when we got home this afternoon they had called and wanted us to come up to their apartment for a glass of Champagne to celebrate our homecoming. We had such a nice visit with them. It''s funny how in our 50''s our peers are now like up to 20 years older, but age is a relative thing and these two are so energetic. In fact, Michael swims every single day for an hour in our pool. And Alecia has a personal trainer and works out in our fitness center in the condo three times a week. They both look in such good shape and it gives me and Charlie great hope for our 70''s!!

Then after our visit, we came home and ate a nice healthy salad and took a walk along the waterfront two miles to Starbucks where we had a nice cup of coffee then walked home. It was a fantastic evening for a walk. It was a little chilly and I had to put on a long sleeve t-shirt, but the stars were shining so brightly on the bay and the city skyline was just a wonderful sight to behold.

Have I mentioned how utterly happy we are to be back home!! Yes, I suppose I have! Anyway, I hope you had as wonderful a weekend as we did. Here''s to a bright new week filled with happiness and healthy moments for us all!