Weekly Workout Thread 23rd April till 29th April

[Rod]

Great advice on going to a running store to buy gym shoes Becky. I was having issues with my toes going numb on the ellitptical until we went to an expert runniing shoe store and the salesperson who is a "real" runner helped me pick out the right style and size shoes for my feet. I had been buying shoes too small to begin with. So, it's definitely a great idea to go to a serious store and get professional advice. Like Becky said, they'll watch you run and walk to see if you pronate or supinate (turn in or out when walking/running). Don't go to the mall tennis shoe stores or buy your shoes at a department store. The guy's and gal's who work there were likely at McDonalds just before becoming "shoe experts." And while spending $100 for gym shoes sounds like a lot, the expense is SO worth it to avoid having foot issues later.

We had a fantastic dinner tonight at our 2nd favorite Sushi spot. Then we had coffee at Starbucks, came home, put on bathing suits and went to sit in the hot tub by the pool. Man, I had forgotten how terrific the amenities are in our building. There we were at 8 PM and we had the entire fitness center, pool and hot tub to ourselves. It was a fabulous night, with 1/2 moon as the sun was setting. It was breezy and cool, but not chilly. It was just perfect. And from the spa we have a great view of Tampa Bay. How lucky can we get??!!

I've got my interview at 9:00 AM, then, I'm free the rest of the day. I'm sure I'll meet Charlie for lunch. Do a little on-line job searching in the early afternoon, then hit the gym around 3 or 4 for a 2.5 - 3 hour workout. My legs are definitely feeling the 5 miles I ran today. That coupled with with the weighted lunges have me feeling a bit sore, so I need to work out those muscles over the next few days so I'm ready for a six mile run Friday.

Sounds like everyone's starting their work on a good note. Keep it up everyone!

 

[Mara]

becky how is the weather right now in raleigh? humid? sunny? just curious...when you are walking etc...do you like the weather out there? oh and i totally agree about going to a specialty store and getting the right shoes. i have done that and honestly they were not any more expensive than going to the store and buying them at like nordstrom or something and yet i got a real expert's advice!

anyway, went for my 3m walk after work to pick up portia...then we came home and i made dinner...which was a hodgepodge. we had the rest of the tandoori shrimp sauteed in a pan (they were so yummy after being marinated for a few days), and i made us grilled cheese sandwiches with 2% american cheese, and some TJ's red pepper roasted tomato soup. yummy. for dessert, we finally ate the small solid milk chocolate bunny my mom gave us at easter.

lol FG it's so funny that you just totally don't like the vitalicious brownies, i had one last week and i was trying to taste the wheat...hehe..but i really couldn't!! i know they aren't like real chocolatey chocolate brownies, but i think they are pretty good esp for nutritional value esp with some ice cream etc. but yeah sometimes i'd rather have a real, rich, dark chocolate truffle for 70 cals or something! kind of like the burger and fries you had to have lol.

kudos dg on a great checkup and for working out like you wanted to. yay rod for a nice long run!! hope sushi was yummy...i am meeting my girlfriend for dinner at my fave sushi restaurant tomorrow night, yummy.

go becky, sounds like you are doing really well!! stick with it woman. FG you too. kimberly, your dinner sounds like it turned out yummy. shortblonde, i will have to check out the brand of the mango butter tomorrow for you, it's at work now hehe. hope everyone had a great day today!!!

 

[TravelingGal]

Hello everyone!

I have yet to catch up on the WWTs, but I wanted to come in and say hello and that I am back on track after 3 weeks of work hell! Back to working out tomorrow, can''t wait. It has been really tough with the travel (I was in Las Vegas all last week...terrible on the waistline).

I missed you all! Looking forward to catching up on three weeks of posts tomorrow....

 

[gailrmv]

just wanted to check in and say hey. Rod I am really jealous of all the fun you are having in Tampa! Your life sounds great and you and Charlie sound like really wonderful people. So glad to read your posts and know that you are so happy these days!

My life has been crazy busy this week, and will keep up this way for about 2 more weeks and then things will be TONS better. I''ve kept up with my workouts and have actually been eating pretty well too. I''ve been eating at whole foods a lot. I get the divided to go plate, fill the big section with salad veggies, then one small section with protein and the other with carbs. It is easy to control portion when your plate (and wallet, at WF) do it for you!

I did have an ice cream indulgence on Saturday and enjoyed some fantastic lemon sorbet on Sunday but otherwise have been on the straight and narrow The scale is up 2 pounds but I hope it is a temp fluctuation since I cannot imagine anything I have been doing to gain 2 lbs!

That lemon sorbet really got me in the mood for summer!

 

[mrssalvo]

HI all, I hope everyone had a great weekend. even though I was away, my girl friends are all exercisers so we got up early sat. and hiked the hollywood hills. we walked for 1 1/2 hours at a brisk pace (i have no idea how far it was) but it worked up our appetites for breakfast. We went to this place called Eat Well and it was yummy.
We hit the gym on sunday morning only to be derailed at lunch for and In and Out burger. my hubby just raves about them and I''d never had one. My friend and I said, let''s get one and share but by the time we got there we were hungry and both wanted our own

. Anyway, all in all a pretty good weekend foodwise and squeezing in some activity. I''m glad to be back to my normal routine today.

oh and I got to go to Trader Joe''s and it is as great as you all say. I loved it in there. I did find out that we have Amy''s pizza''s and burrito''s which are made by the same folks as TJ''s so I can get some of the things you all rave about.

 

[Becky P]

YEAH! The running store just called, and the shoes they special ordered for me are in for me to come try out!! I have small, but very wide feet! So, they had to order the wide width in a smaller size. I''m gonna run by there tonight and pick them up, then bf and I will cook dinner, probably grill some sort of meat and have veggies and such, then we''ll go for a long 1hrish walk along all the trails!

Mara the weather here is pretty much the same every day - blue skies and sunny! I''ve been here 2 months now, and there have been a total of about 5 gray, rainy days, but when it rains, it pours. This weekend, it was a tad chilly in the mornings and evenings (shorts and longsleeve shirt chilly) and during the day it was up to 70''s, maybe 80''s? I''m such a bad gauge for the weather because I''m ALWAYS cold, but this weekend, I was good with a tank top and shorts. We washed the car, which was a blast getting all soapy and wet! The weather was just perfect! At this very moment, there''s a thin layer of clouds across the whole sky, but you can see the blue sky behind them. The 10 day forecast on weather.com says that it''s going to be 60ish to 80ish every day for the next 10 days, and it looks like it might be raining or thunderstorming a bit this weekend - boo... but, that''s still several days away, lots of the storms end up going north or south of us, so we don''t always get exactly what they predict, so we''ll see... I hope it''s not raining all weekend!

 

[KimberlyH]

Morning All and Happy Tuesday!

Welcome back, TG! So sorry you had such a grueling three weeks. Not so fun.

mrssalvo, was the In ''N Out burger delish? They''re one of my favorites, I don''t think I''ve been there in over a year though. If you leave off the sauce and cheese they''re only like 9 WW points, but I don''t know how that converts to calories, I just remember that from my WW days.

Today is a workout day. John is in charge of dinner, the rest of the day will be spent doing school work. Nothing to excitieng.

 

[Lorelei]

Next time I am out for dinner I am going to emulate Mara and have 2 puds!

I did 45 mins on the elliptical last night and it went well. I really am noticing it is blasting my abs with the hands free, far more than it did with using the arms, interesting...

 

[Mara]

yay lorelei for noticing that the abs are being helped along by the elliptical!! i have done basically no real ab work since i hurt myself back in jan and yet my abs are looking pretty darn good (except after a big meal when i look a few mo's preggo practically!!) with a bit of definition lines along each side (think the outline of the box holding the 6 pack lol) and i think a lot of it is walking and the elliptical with no hands. i actually can feel it in my abs when i do longer walks...seems like maybe i use them more then or something. definite perks!

becky...yeah our weather here is warm and sunny and mostly blue as well. i am curious about humidity, is it humid out there right now or when does that start? here in california our weather is dry. i think the humidity might be what i have the hardest time adjusting to, were we to move. the other place we are considering is austin TX but i think it might be worse humidity wise? not sure, we plan to check that place out later this year with some friends.

so breakfast this morning is a breakfast burrito homemade with la tortilla factory wrap, scrambled egg whites with 1/4c of shredded lf monterey jack cheese, and a bacon strip. it's an experiment because i am trying to figure out which foods keep me fullest longer. yesterday i just did egg whites scrambled with bacon and then a side of english muffin with jam. it worked pretty well, but the wrap has a little more fiber and now cheese for additional protein and some fat, so we'll see.

last nite after dinner and dessert, i had a 1/4c of the new gelato i got, mint with chocolate swirl which is basically like mint choco chip. amazing...seriously. i just love the creamy texture of gelato and the fact that all of these ones are 120 cals for 4oz is sooo fabulous. i wanted more but i held fast, haha, really i just wanted to try it so i just did the 1/2 serving. but it was really weird, even after our dinner and the chocolate and the ice cream i was hungry like an hour later. greg was like 'just tell yourself you aren't hungry' which i tried but i was still kinda hungry. so i ate a few pieces of cutup watermelon before bed. but he is right...i have to be more strict sometimes with my body, and i have been trying to do that. like i don't have to eat the minute that i feel a little hungry. i read it's actually good for your body to be hungry sometimes because then it never gets too 'complacent' about food processing and thinking there will always be more. plus i thought about it and figured, okay if i eat a small bowl of cereal now like 30 minutes before bed it just gives me calories my body will have to try to process but then i am going to sleep when my metabolism slows. so why even bother? and of course this morning i was fine and not even starving. this goes hand in hand with my whole 'listen to what you really want' kinda thing...rather than just going 'oh that looks good'. hehe. though i still do that one too.

anyway, today i am making a turkey avo wrap at work for lunch and taking another 1.5m walk. after work i am doing 2m around the buildings and neighborhoods and then going to meet my girlfriend for sushi !! i am really excited, it's been a few weeks since i had sushi. i am going to try to again, order with my brain and not my stomach lol, since last time my girlfriend didn't really eat 1/2 of what we ordered so of course i did. so we'll order a little less this time.

i am sure i have mentioned this but for anyone considering doing more walking in their workout regime, i totally recommend it. since i have been walking more and more, honestly my bottom half is leaner than ever. my thighs are getting so small!!! i know that is a problem area for many women so, seriously, if you have like 15 minutes in your day somewhere, just get outside and take a brisk walk. i love getting out of the building and into the sun and walking around for a little while.

most of the days that i am walking i end up walking about ~3-4m depending on the day. so that's about 6000-8000 steps. some days i go over and do more, or do 2 walks or whatever. i try to remember that article i read about the amish and how they typically clock about 14k steps a day, so about 7 miles overall...just doing their 'daily' kind of stuff, walking to a friend's house, or working in the house etc. and they eat 3 huge meals a day with dessert kinda thing apparently. so i just figure if i can keep it over the 10k step mark for the most part and do my maintenance lifestyle eating then i will be more than fine with 75% walking as my exercise. i actually like being out of the gym more as well. so anyway, just a shameless walking plug for anyone considering it. i think my body is still changing as a result of it...it's even more lean than before which i love!

mrs salvo, we love in n'out burgers and they actually are not that bad for you minus the sauce. but i think even with the sauce they are still only like 550 cals or something. the fries are kind of high...but you can get a cheeseburger and fries for about 900ish there i think. definitely not the worst out there and also they use all fresh ingredients so it's much healthier than a real fast food burger. we typically stop at an in n'out when traveling/driving, it makes great car food. hehe.

yay for returning TG..we missed ya!!! what did you eat in vegas? hehe.

 

[Rod]

Gail, I surely don''t mean to make you jealous of us. LOL We are surely enjoying our lives at the moment and like Charlie said last night when we were in the hot tub, for the first time in over a year, we both feel at peace with the world. We''re not in the middle of some horendous move. We don''t have a move to be weary of either. We can enjoy our beautiful home for some time to come and since our life has been such a roller coaster of late, that''s a really good thing.

Of course, I still need to find a way to pay for this place. But to that end I did have a good interview with a medical staffing company. I am completely intrigued by what they want me to do. They currently provide permanent placement services in higher level medical roles. What they don''t do and know they need to do is provide contract resources in medical staffing. And they don''t really have anyone on staff who knows how to do the contract side, which is why the interview went so well. I have nearly 20 years of contract experience. So, they want to teach me the medical side in return for my contract knowledge. The money at first would be a smaller base than I used to, plus commission. But, it might be a good move for me as I''d be learning something completely new and that could make me ultimately more marketable. They seemed impressed with me and they said they''d get together later today and see what kind of package they could come up with. So we''ll see.

I''m heading out now to meet Charlie for lunch. Then this afternoon, I''ll go to the gym for a nice long workout. My legs are not as sore as they were after my 5 mile run, but they are still a little sore, so I need to work those muscles to get over the soreness.

Mara: Becky is right. Right now is the best time of the year in Raleigh. The daily highs will be in the 70''s and 80''s and the lows will be in the 50s. When there''s a "Carolina" blue sky, it is lovely. When there''s a day of rain, it''s often a whole day of rain, which I truly did not like. When we left two weeks ago, there really wasn''t any humidity to speak of. I''m fairly confident that you''ll get a good dose of humidity when you go in late May. Summers are supposedly pretty hot in Raleigh and one year in particular they experienced more than 14 continuous days with temperatures in the 100+ range. The entire east coast is pretty humid in the summer but for me (after all I do love Florida which is super humid in the summer) humidity is not a problem. I actually find a humid climate to be a good thing. I don''t EVER have to put on moisterizers when it''s humid. LOL

Becky, I hope you love your new shoes. Getting the right fit can mean all the difference in your workouts!

Great job on the Elliptical Lorelei. I also alternate between using the arms and not using them and you''re right, not using them does force the core muscles to tighten.

 

[Skippy123]

Morning All!

Last night I made a package of Udon Noodles added shrimp and 1/2 bag of TJ peas. I had a 60 cal pudding w/southbeach chocolate oatmeal cookies and pineapple.

I did do my step aerobics! In fact it was funny because I slept in and missed step on Sat so a friend of mine teased me for not being there. I thought I was going to get away w/no one noticing

Today is suppose to be rainy and windy; I am crossing my fingers it warms up so I can go walking. I do have shoes from a running store and high recommend them watching you on the treadmill. I think I just needed to stretch my feet. I have been doing that the last few days and it really helps; my feet don't hurt as they did before. Gosh that helped; thank you guys!

I like all the food Ideas you guys give!!! It really helps out.

MRSS it sounds like you had a great time in California from this thread and another one I read somewhere! Great job on all the hikes!

Rod, I just saw your post! Great news on the interview; it sounds like they need someone just like you! Awesome

Happy Tuesday all!

 

[Mara]

kudos skippy on eating well and working out!!

shortblonde, the mango butter is from ''american spoon foods'' and here is a linkie:
https://www.spoon.com/catalog.phtml?PAGE=DISPLAY&cust_id=&user_num=&cust_status=&cat_id=7&sub_id=&prod_id=1472

rod glad to hear the interview went well! re: the whole rains for a day thing in NC, that happens here in california too. greg says that is the oddest thing to him, aka when we get rain, we GET RAIN. it typically rains for a half day or a whole day or sometimes 2-3 days in a row. then nothing for a long time. i guess in the east coast it tends to sometimes rain like for 30 minutes then that''s it? but there is more days like that? we literally have months of no rain. even in winter. so i don''t think that NC''s rain for a day thing would faze me..hehee. the humidity in the EC i have found doesn''t really bother me TOO much aka when we visit greg''s family and friends we were at a party in NJ and i didn''t think it was that humid but some guests thought it was, but i guess there are levels of humidity right? so we''ll see what may is like in NC i guess!!

i forgot my security badge at home today so i had to go home halfway and get it then traffic was horrible, totally blah morning. when i got here i was so hungry from all the stress hehe...so now i am having a light n''fit blueberry yogurt with a tsp of cinnamon mixed in and hot green pomegranate tea. hopefully this will tide me over til lunch.

 

[royalasscherlover]

i love american spoon foods! they are a michigan-based company, so i grew up eating all of their fruit spreads and they are the best! we always go to the store when we''re up north, and it''s great cause they put out all of their products to taste. i have had several of their fruit butters but never tried the mango, now i will have to go hunt it down. several stores here carry their products, so hopefully it will be relatively easy to find.

 

[Dee*Jay]

Hello all!

Last night's walk turned out to be much longer and colder that I had anticipated, but I was glad to be out and about. Tonight, barring any crazy client issues, I am going back to the gym for the first time in weeks--woo hoo! And since there is no restriction on my heartrate I plan on getting a good hard workout in.

If I stick to my plan I should be right around 1200 cals for the day. I've slipped a bit lately so I'm glad to have the work out motivation which for some reason pushes me to count my cals better too.

Rod, sound like this job might be great for you!

Becky, what kind of running shoes do you get? I get 5-1/2 D width from New Balance and I love them, but I'm always on the lookout for some others because the wider width is hard to get.

 

[AmberGretchen]

Hi everyone. Sounds like everyone is ticking along well, but it seems like its been a rough couple of weeks for some - this seems to be a busy time of year for a lot of people.

I went to the dentist this morning for my follow-up (thanks for asking Becky - I did see the note and I have lots of pudding stocked at home...don''t really like jello, it just creeps me out for some reason...). The bad news is that its not healed up yet and I have to wait at least another week until the wounds are healed before I can do any strenuous exercise, which means no gym

But apparently that''s normal and I don''t have any infection or anything so that''s good. But they said expect it to take about a month total before its completely healed, and at least one more week before the pain is gone and I can exercise and eat more normally. So I''m keeping my cals down, and trying not to be too depressed about not working out, but I''m worried that I''ll backslide somehow and gain weight or something. I was thinking I might try to walk a little bit this week if the weather gets nicer - that doesn''t count as strenuous, right??

Anyway, glad to hear everyone is doing so well - sorry to still be posting on the workout thread since I can''t right now, I just figured you guys would understand my frustration better than anyone since you''ve all been so good about keeping up healthy exercising lifestyles.

Mara - I''m going to have to see if I can find some of that mango butter...I''ve been eating a lot of Fage to counteract the effects of the antibiotics (sorry if TMI), and that sounds like a super-yummy add-in

Good luck with the new running shoes Becky. It sounds like you and me and DJ all have the same issue with the small wide feet - actually mine are just fat feet. The guy at the running store even said that to me last time I went to get new shoes!!

I''ve had good luck with Aasics recently as well - they come in D''s I think and they are cut pretty wide to begin with.

Rod - I''ll keep my fingers crossed for you for that job, sounds like it might be a great way to gain some very marketable experience. For sure medical stuff seems like a good field to be in because people will always need medical care

 

[Lorelei]

Amber, no need to apologise for posting here even if you can''t work out, feel free to post as much as you want! It all helps keep us and you motivated!

Hope you are all healed up soon.

Rod, I have my fingers crossed for you.

 

[KimberlyH]

AG, never apologize for posting here! It''s when life gets in the way that we need the most encouragement to stick to being healthy and we all face those issues in different ways (medical issues keeping us from exercising, illness, inability to eat as healthily as we might like due to work, etc.). Keep up the great work, and I''m sorry you''re still in pain!

 

[Mara]

AG ditto what lorelei said, just because people aren''t actually working out all the time or can''t because of an illness or whatever doesn''t mean you can''t post here. this is more like a ''healthy lifestyle change, working out, and eating right'' kind of thread to me. i mean where else can you write about burning cals and eating 2 desserts in the same post? hehee.

walked over to whole foods and got some peppered turkey for my wrap, and sliced canteloupe, more fage, and also they had this small container of pre-pack fresh mango salsa, yummy!!! it might inspire me to make us some fish tacos tomorrow night or something fun. so i got my 1.5m walk in right there but i might go out again this afternoon depending on how not-busy i am...a lot of the team this week is traveling so i have a bit of down time. it''s a beautiful warm sunny day here today.

DJ have a great workout!! AG hope you feel better soon. it took me a while to heal too. and honestly i think walking is fine...the trainers at the gym were sayaing they don''t even really consider it ''cardio'' because you typically don''t get your heart rate up that high. so maybe just take some leisurely walks. it would drive me nuts to be entirely sedentary!!

 

[AmberGretchen]

Thanks Lorelei and Kim and Mara - I agree this seems like more of a healthy lifestyle thread. And even though I can''t live a totally healthy lifestyle right now, I can do my best and it really does help to post here. Mara - I will try some nice walking. I might have to go to the mall to do it since its cold out here and the cold tends to trigger my asthma, but walking around the mall is definitely better than nothing - sedentary does drive me nuts!!

 

[Mara]

omg can i just say how much i love love love this mango butter mixed in with fage and some splenda?? i am seriously addicted. i just licked my container clean hehe. i also love how much protein is in the tiny 5oz container, 13g? yummy for the muscles.

went for a 1m walk a little while ago...i''m heading out from work in about an hour to do a 2-3m walk along the streets then meet my friend for sushi, yum yum i am SOO looking fwd to it!!!!

random aside that i just remembered but i was driving into work today and they had some radio show on where they are doing ''the biggest loser'' and i guess their dietician involved with the program was advising a woman who had lost 30 lbs but was stuck at a plateau. the dietician said okay you are actually doing all the ''right things'' with eating and working out...but now that you are plateau''d and closer to your goal weight, take out some of the carb foods you are eating and replace them with higher protein (lean protein) items. so the gal started doing that, and also kept eating a blend of carb and proteins before she worked out and i guess in the last month she got off her plateau and lost another 5 lbs. so for anyone plateauing and thinking you might want to mix things up, maybe try something like that.

hope everyone is having a fabulouso day!

 

[Rod]

Amber, ditto what everyone else said. This isn''t just about working out. It''s about being healthier and getting support, guidance and friendship from a wonderful group of people who are truly interested in living healthier lives. So young lady, put on some walking shoes and hit that mall! In Tampa, there are mall walkers all over the place. Especially in the hottest months and I get such a kick out of seeing them. They''re usually in pairs and and probably a bit older than you , but it''s obvious they are doing fitness walking and I think they''re great to be doing it. So don those shoes and get out there. LOL

I was feeling pretty sluggish this afternoon. I guess I didn''t sleep that well in anticipation of having an interview this morning. But, I pushed myself and went to the gym and I''m so glad I did. I did my full workout, but I also spent additional time on my legs, which magically are no longer sore and I spent more time on my chest and arms. As usual, I finished with an intense 35 minutes on the elliptical and burned close to 600 calories in that time. It also helped my leg muscles. I''m not sure exactly why pushing sore muscles helps them, but for me it really does.

Now, I''m waiting for Charlie to come home from the gym so we can have dinner on the terrace overlooking the bay. Such a lovely day in Tampa. I wish you all could be here!

Thanks for the good wishes on the job front. It''s my first interview and I''m still going to be careful. Besides, they haven''t come back with an offer anyway, so no decision to make just yet.

Have a great evening everyone!

 

[Skippy123]

Hi All!

I need to buy that mango butter; it sounds yummy.

I went for a 2.5 mile walk because it became dark and windy and had to cut my walk short. Oh well; I am glad I got some exercise in whooo hooo.

For breakfast I had fage and toast. Lunch pineapple, black beans and a banana. Snack cheetos 100 calorie pack. (I now have the individual packs ) keeps portions under control.

Not sure what I am going to make for dinner! Have a great and relaxing evening

See you in the mornin

AG glad you are here

 

[KimberlyH]

Had a good workout, did my schoolwork, watched some crap TV and John is going to make chicken tacos for dinner, YUMMY! I love tacos. Hope everyone is having a great evening! Enjoy your dinner on the balcony, Rod!

 

[gailrmv]

hi everyone!

Another super busy day here, and I didn''t get to go to the gym. I did walk an hour as part of my day and I''m getting ready to go walk another 30 min or so, maybe do some weights or yoga at home as well. I have only eaten about 900 cals today, too little! I''m not really hungry due to all the stress but I will make an egg white omelet and whole wheat toast, about 500 cals to round out the day at 1400.

Even though the scale is still within 2 lbs of my lowest weight in a few years (and I think that 2 lbs is due to the TOTM), I feel kinda gross lately. My workouts have been better than ever (i.e. running faster, longer, and feeling better while doing it) but I am getting really frustrated with the excess flab that I have. I feel like I have gained weight even though I have not. As I''ve written before it is really hard for my body to lose weight, and I''m frustrated that my progress has been so slow.

Well, I''m off for that walk.

 

[gailrmv]

I have to ask, what is Fage? It seems like everyone loves it!

Forgot to say, Rod I am glad your interview went well and I hope you get an offer!

BeckyP, what is the name of that running store you like? I have the opposite feet of yours - long and narrow. I like Adidas and New Balance best for me. I agree with your advice of going to a specialty running store. You asked about Durham, I think the nicest parts of town are the area new ballpark (maybe catch dinner and a game this time of year) and 9th street. It may not look like that much at first but there are some real hidden gems there for restaurants. Also, Parizade is worth making the trip for! I think they have dancing certain nights as well, not sure. Also, go for a walk around Duke's west campus and check out the chapel and the gardens. Let me know what you think!

 

[Skippy123]

It is greek yogurt high in protein. Here is a thread all about it:
https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/how-do-you-fage.59954/
Hope this helps

 

[FireGoddess]

Gail, it is a thick Greek style yogurt. Very good once you add in some other flavors - it''s pretty tart on its own. There is a thread called ''How do you fage?'' that has great ideas for mix-in flavors.

 

[AmberGretchen]

Thanks Rod - when the DH gets home he is actually going to go with me so I don''t feel so silly walking around the mall

I''m sure we''ll be younger than the average mall walkers, but I don''t plan to put on a pastel-colored track suit and bright white sneakers, so hopefully it won''t be obvious we''re just there to walk. Actually knowing me I''ll have the opposite problem - I look so young that people will mistake us for two of the many high-schoolers who hang around that mall on weekdays!!

 

[Rod]

Date: 4/24/2007 8:38:17 PM
Author: AmberGretchen
Thanks Rod - when the DH gets home he is actually going to go with me so I don''t feel so silly walking around the mall

I''m sure we''ll be younger than the average mall walkers, but I don''t plan to put on a pastel-colored track suit and bright white sneakers, so hopefully it won''t be obvious we''re just there to walk. Actually knowing me I''ll have the opposite problem - I look so young that people will mistake us for two of the many high-schoolers who hang around that mall on weekdays!!

Good for you Amber. I have this mental image of you now looking like a high schooler. Do you or DH wear a baseball cap tilted to the left or right? Not sure why young guys wear their hats tilted, but they often do. Anyway, now I have this funny image of you and your husband walking the mall. I hope you have a good one though.

Gail......you need to eat some food girl. 900 Calories is WAY TOO LOW for an adult, and I know we''ve discussed this before (though I can''t remember if it was about you), the body tends to go into starvation mode and tries to hold onto every calorie it can.

 

[sevens one]

Date: 4/24/2007 10:59:50 AM
Author: Rod
Gail, I surely don''t mean to make you jealous of us. LOL We are surely enjoying our lives at the moment and like Charlie said last night when we were in the hot tub, for the first time in over a year, we both feel at peace with the world. We''re not in the middle of some horendous move. We don''t have a move to be weary of either. We can enjoy our beautiful home for some time to come and since our life has been such a roller coaster of late, that''s a really good thing.

Of course, I still need to find a way to pay for this place. But to that end I did have a good interview with a medical staffing company. I am completely intrigued by what they want me to do. They currently provide permanent placement services in higher level medical roles. What they don''t do and know they need to do is provide contract resources in medical staffing. And they don''t really have anyone on staff who knows how to do the contract side, which is why the interview went so well. I have nearly 20 years of contract experience. So, they want to teach me the medical side in return for my contract knowledge. The money at first would be a smaller base than I used to, plus commission. But, it might be a good move for me as I''d be learning something completely new and that could make me ultimately more marketable. They seemed impressed with me and they said they''d get together later today and see what kind of package they could come up with. So we''ll see.

I''m heading out now to meet Charlie for lunch. Then this afternoon, I''ll go to the gym for a nice long workout. My legs are not as sore as they were after my 5 mile run, but they are still a little sore, so I need to work those muscles to get over the soreness.

Mara: Becky is right. Right now is the best time of the year in Raleigh. The daily highs will be in the 70''s and 80''s and the lows will be in the 50s. When there''s a ''Carolina'' blue sky, it is lovely. When there''s a day of rain, it''s often a whole day of rain, which I truly did not like. When we left two weeks ago, there really wasn''t any humidity to speak of. I''m fairly confident that you''ll get a good dose of humidity when you go in late May. Summers are supposedly pretty hot in Raleigh and one year in particular they experienced more than 14 continuous days with temperatures in the 100+ range. The entire east coast is pretty humid in the summer but for me (after all I do love Florida which is super humid in the summer) humidity is not a problem. I actually find a humid climate to be a good thing. I don''t EVER have to put on moisterizers when it''s humid. LOL

Becky, I hope you love your new shoes. Getting the right fit can mean all the difference in your workouts!

Great job on the Elliptical Lorelei. I also alternate between using the arms and not using them and you''re right, not using them does force the core muscles to tighten.

I''m just chiming in to say how happy you sound Rod. I am so glad that you are home. I love reading about your days in Tampa. I can almost imagine being there.

Enjoy!