Weekly Workout Thread 3rd March till 9th March

[Mara]

welcome questionaboutsettings!!! i just wanted to chime in and say that it sounds like you are doing the right things...use sparkpeople to estimate how many cals you should be eating but a 1250-1500 range sounds about right for loss, that is what i was at when i was losing, also 2 lbs in 2 weeks is pretty good!!

it''s not realistic to expect to lose a ton of weight every week. doctors recommend 1-2 lbs a week. some weeks you might lose more, others less. just stay with it and realize it''s the long-term solution/goal, not a short-term fix. this should be a lifestyle change, eating healthier and working out...it doesn''t have to be all or nothing OR 10000% or 0%. just think of it long-term and you''ll be fine. hang out around here and get some tips from old-timers and others who are losing weight as well. welcome.

 

[Linda W]

OMG MARCY,

You are ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS!!!!!! I wish I could give you a great big HUG. We are all so proud of you. Most importantly, you are proud of yourself, for working so hard. What a great achievement you have accomplished. I don''t even know if I could have done that.

YOU ARE ONE AMAZING WOMAN!!!!!!!!!!!

Linda

 

[Rod]

Hey Everyone!

We had a wonderful dinner last night with out neighbor, then we had FroYo, which she had never had before (she LOVED it), but skipped coffee as we were having a major thunderstorm and it was pouring. The front went through during the night and we woke to blue skies, but quite windy and quite chilly temps. March is a windy month in Florida as the seasons definitely do change, even if ever so slightly. We had a great day today. It was too windy to sit on the terrace, so our kitty was thrilled when we had breakfast inside and she could sleep in our laps. Lunch was at our little Saturday deli, then coffee under the oak before hitting the gym. We worked out really really hard and decided to mix it up significantly, which is easier to do on a Saturday, when the gym''s not crowded at all. Whatever we did, I''m definitely sore, so I know I accomplished some things. We''ll be back in the gym agan tomorrow and plan to mix it up even more. We had dinner tonight at The Palm. It''s an expensive restaurant for sure, but since we belong to their "837" Club, I earned enough points over the last couple years for a free birthday dinner. We each had a nice salad, and then we split a 5 lb lobster and shared some creamed spinach as our side dish. Wow, dinner was just fantastic!! They have gargantuan desserts there, which I''m sure are fabulous, but we skipped dessert and just stopped off at Sbucks for a cup of coffee. It''s chilly enough tonight to wear leather jackets, so it was fun to sit under the oak and be all bundled up for a change!

FIRST...........YOU ARE FABULOUS MARCY!! Yes, you do look a bit grumpy in the middle pic (LOL), but MAN O MAN, do you ever look great in the most recent one!! Such an accomplishement!

PW, I''ll try to send some sun your way! I know the NE is being pounded by rain and the Ohio Valley is experiencing blizzard conditions. I''m so glad I live in Florida. When it rains here, it''s usually for a couple hours and then its over and the sky clears off.

Hey Gail, it''s nice to see you. I''m glad you are doing well and keeping up with your gym workouts for sure!!

Mara, I''m sure the 3 lbs will come off quickly. Carmel sounds like fun. We watch a lot on the food network (which is kind of funny, since we don''t cook that much) and Carmel was recently featured in a Giada Weekend Escape. It looked really nice.

Sorry you''re still struggling with the cold/flu Kimberly. You''ve certainly had more than your share of being under the weather this season. Feel better soon.

Good for you running your best 5 miles Phoenix!! I''m sure you''re going to do great at the 10K for sure!!

Welcome questionaboutsettings (I''m going to just refer to you as question going forward, OK?). Like Mara said, you should be really pleased with a 2 pound loss in two weeks. Anything more would be pretty unhealthy. A good goal is to lose about a pound a week and some weeks you may not lose any weight whatsoever. Don''t be discouraged. It takes a slow and steady pace to win the race.

Welcome to you too Selkie. I hope the prepackaged foods help you, but also hope you know one has to change ones eating habits forever to keep the weight off. Good luck and welcome again.

I hope you enjoyed the auction somethinshiny! Sorry you used too much mayo in the tuna salad. And good luck with the potty training.

Where''s my Skippy?

Sleep well everyone!

 

[somethingshiny]

I had a lucrative day of buying gems (see my thread in Colored Stones), walked around a lot at an auction (outdoors in 18 degree weather) and had the most yummy turkey club! Followed that with a trip to Walmart (ugh) and taco pizza and cake (of the sponge variety) at the in-laws. Potty training is coming along but not as well as I had hoped. I''m going to give him through the weekend to see if it''s something he will stick with yet.

Marcy Have a safe trip! BTW- that meal sounds like heaven!! Great pic, hot stuff!

Mara With workouts like those, that 3lbs will be history in no time!

Kimi I''m so sorry you keep getting sick. Hope you feel better soon.

PHX great time on your run! And, yay for lunch dates!

questionaboutsettings Welcome! I''m just going to call you QAS if you don''t mind! Oh, just saw that Rod has already nicknamed you Question. So, I''ll address you as "?" okay??

Rod I don''t know what FroYo is. I always assumed it was just frozen yogurt, now I''m thinking it''s a place??

Hello, all WWTers! Have a happy weekend! SPRING FORWARD!!!

 

[Selkie]

Marcy, you look fantastic! I''m so inspired by your success, wow.

Mara, did you make it to Carmel? I love it there, and Monterey too. I''m so jealous that it can be an afternoon''s trip for you!

My friend and I went on a 3.2 mile walk along the coast here at noon, enjoying the SoCal sun. Then DH and I headed off to my friends'' house for their daughter''s first birthday party, complete w/BBQ (I was good, only a small piece of steak and about 6 medium shrimp w/cocktail sauce). THEN they busted out the homemade ice cream cake, with chocolate ganache. Oof. Dark chocolate will always be my weakness. But, after counting it all up, and the fact that I was sticking to the plan earlier in the day, I still ended up at ~1500 cals for the day.

 

[Mara]

evening all...we're about to head off to bed but figured i'd post.

nope we didn't make it to carmel tonite...but i'll be there in a few weeks when a friend comes to visit, so no biggie, we just decided we didn't want to do the hour long drive this evening after being busy all day, so instead we just headed to Los Gatos and had dinner there, italian, yummy. and then natural tart frozen yogurt for dessert.

for those wondering what our natural tart froyo is like, it's not like SWEET frozen yogurt like you'd get at your local Yumi Yogurt froyo shop. it's TART as in lemony tasting tart, but creamy too. it's 20 cals per ounce and many of them are actually made from yogurt so it has protein as well. some sugars and carbs as well. anyway here's a picture of the place we went to tonite which is my fave thus far (and i have tried about 10 diff places), this is not a picture of what i got tonite but another one i had previously. you put fresh fruit in it, not syrup or puree but real fruit, as in blueberries, kiwis etc. you can also get fun things like japanese mochi in it (little chewy starch balls), and sometimes yogurt places put the yogurt over thin shaved ice and put fresh fruit all around it (i had one recently had that blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, kiwi and mochi, SO GOOD!)...it's awesome. also some places have flavored tart, like the place i went to tonite has blueberry tart and mango tart and their mango is TO DIE FOR. but most places just have 'original plain tart'.

so many people here are addicted to these places and there is almost one in every town...it's a 'craze' for sure (think like Jamba Juice when it was popular). anyhow, hope that helps clarify!!!

so anyway...we came home, played some scrabble, made some espresso, ate our desserts. before we headed off to dinner we took portia for a 2.5 mile walk in the waning sunlight and warmth. tonite we'll set the clocks fwd and to celebrate i went to this fab little german meat shop and got us sausages and marinated tri tip to bbq tomorrow night for dinner. we're meeting our neighbors for breakkie as well. anyhow, hope everyone had a fab day....happy weekend!!

 

[Lorelei]

Welcome QAS!!

Marcy....I am SO PROUD of you, what an incredible achievement, you look AMAZING!!!!

I cannot get over how marvellous you look in that latest pic, I hope you are busy buying a ton of gorgeous new clothes, you deserve them!!!

I did cardio Friday night and leg extensions, our normal routine is a bit messed up at the moment, but I am trying to manage on my own till things calm down.

 

[questionaboutsettings]

Hi guys, thank you all for the warm welcome - I appreciate it! Especially because I weighed myself this morning and I''ve gained back the two pounds I lost - so in two weeks of totally changing my diet and exercising almost every day, I have lost no weight at all. How is that possible? I was glad to read your message Rod about how some weeks you might not lose weight at all, because it feels like I''m the only one who can''t figure out how to diet correctly... I keep feeling like I should try a low-carb diet again, but I''m a vegetarian so it''s kind of difficult. Plus, it seems like there''s no reason a low-fat diet wouldn''t work if I stick to it.

Oh, and this is a long user name (left over from engagement ring shopping!) - question or ? works instead.

Mara - that dessert looks awesome! I wish there were one of those places in my neighborhood...

 

[Lorelei]

QAS, I know how frustrating it is with the scales, but you may have lost inches, or even built some muscle! Fat loss is what you need to keep in mind, not measuring it with the numbers on the scale so much, but how you look and feel, and how your clothes fit! Keep going, you WILL see a change on the scales soon anyway! Also things like TTOTM can make a difference too.

 

[KimberlyH]

Good morning all!

Mara, that dessert looks delish! Can I come to dinner tonight too?

It sounds yummy.

Welcome, QAS! I think you''re being way too hard on yourself. It make take your body time to adjust to the changes you are making. And losing 1-2 lbs. a week, or none at all, is normal. Your body is also going to fluctuate, especially if you don''t weigh yourself at the same time. My suggestion to you is to step away from the scale for a few weeks, keep doing what you''re doing and see if you start losing. If you don''t you may want to take a look at what you are eating, not just how much.

SS, hope the potty training gets easier. The auction sounds like it was fun.

Rod, did I miss that it''s your birthday??

Selkie, your walk sounds fantastic. And welcome to you too!

We went to the movies yesterday, then tried a new Italian place in La Jolla. It was a great meal and we sat where we could watch the kitchen working, that was fun (not a kitchen table, it''s just open and the booths face it).

I''m definitely exercising today. Either a walk or my elliptical but I''m doing something.

Have a wonderful end of the week all.

 

[Mara]

Kimi hope you are feeling better today..and sure come on over for dinner! Next time you come this way, if we meet up, we''ll be sure to go to an area where you can try the tart yogurt.

QAS...Kim is right about the weighing yourself etc. Seriously, my weight can fluctuate 3-4 lbs in the space of a few days. Many people advocate only weighing yourself like once a week or maybe twice a week but keeping a log. It might go up on one day but down on another.

Also, it took me literally a few MONTHS to see any weight change on the scale. And I was doing all the right things. Talk about discouraging! I think the way my body works though is I was burning fat and biuilding muscle which is more dense than fat. So the scale wasn''t moving and I was like whats going on! Then suddenly it dropped like 5 lbs. Then another 5 lbs the next week. So it was very weird for me. The scale is an inaccurate gauge in my opinion of what is going on with your body.

Just keep doing the right things and you will see a change. Also, re the low-carb or low-fat diet...don''t think of it like that. Just eat the ''right stuff'' for your body. Whole grain carbs, less processed foods. No sodas, less sweets, less sugar. More lean proteins (chicken, fish), I eat a lot of lower fat dairy like nonfat milk or string cheese for protein. Yogurt is a fabulous thing, mix it with fresh fruit or some jam for a treat. There are so many ways to get the right food for your body and not think of it like lower fat or lower carb. I do tend to try to do what could be considered as lower carb overall diet but it''s not like ''oh i can''t have that bread''..it''s more like...well i just worked out so i need some protien and a whole grain carb. You can still splurge at dinners, maybe like 1-2x a week, just make up in your mind what YOU will be comfortable with and keep in mind it''s more of a lifestyle change than a DIET. So what is best for you to be able to sustain FOREVER. It''s easier to think of it like that.

Anyhow, we are off to breakkie now with our neighbors, I am looking fwd to some pancakes (lol forget what I said about low-carb!)...but we plan to get out later today for either a long walk or a walk/run, we''ll see. Another lovely day here and our BBQ toniite should be fun!! Happy Sunday all.

 

[KimberlyH]

Mara, I''m thinking I''ll be up your way this summer, at least once, and a yogurt trip will be in order.

We just went on a long, good walk. We saw a HUGE rattle snake, he was at least 5 feet long. It was sorta cool, but a bit scary.

Not sure what we''re up to today. I have to teach the excretory system to 5th graders and I''m trying to come up with a good, interactive way to do so. No easy feat considering the subject matter.

Back to the drawing board.

 

[Skippy123]

Marcy, whoooo hooo girlfriend; you are sooo tiny!!! Woweee, good for you Miss!!

Hey LindaW; glad your daughter kept her weight off, that is awesome!

Welcome Selkie!!! Good for your walk; your barbecue sounds wonderful!

Rod, wow, your dinner sounds awesome; that is the only thing I don't like about living in the dessert is that we don't have fresh seafood. I love earning points for free things so that sweetens everything. hehee Wow, your evening sounded cozy

good for your awesome workouts!!! it is funny when you and Mara talk about workouts at the gym I always imagine you too in my gym at that particular elliptical or weight machine. hehee

Somethingshiny, wow, your son is doing awesome!!! Potty training wow, good for your little guy; he sounds like a cutie for sure!

Mara, do you know if my little town has any yummy looking yogurt like that?????? We use to have a TCBY and then they all shut down which is sad because that was my summer treat and now the most exciting thing I get is gelato for a splurge or McD's low fat icecream once in awhile. Enjoy your barbecue; ours was great yesterday and everything cooked on the grill is so much more tasty for sure!

Lorelei, good for your cardio Friday and leg extensions!!!!

Kimi, yikes/cool to the rattlesnake; I hear there are lots here but never seen any. I wish you lived closer so we could walk together!!!

Question, welcome, are you counting calories and measuring portions and writing down what you eat? That always keeps me in line; hang in there!!!



Well, I have been not working out and won't today even though the weather is fab! I have had horrible allergies because I can't take any medicine right before this scratch test because it may mask the intensity of my allergies so I figured it is safer to not work out for a few days. I plan to workout Monday afternoon.

Yesterday, I spent the whole day hanging out w/my friend and hubby that I never got around to posting. I woke up marinated the burgers, chicken in TJ's island teryaki sauce, and made a giant salad. Then my friend showed up and we went to the movies. We came back, hubby started the grill; I shared vacation pics and then ate the tastiest barbecue. I minced some onions and garlic and mixed them into the ground beef and used worchestire sauce and they came out sooooo yummy!!! Then for dessert I scooped some mango sorbet and drizzled it w/mandarine oranges with a little bit of the juices. The barbecue was a success, I think. hehe

The weather is beautiful outside; I am soooo looking forward to spring and then summer! These 2 seasons are my favorite so any good weather puts me in a terrific mood! Have a great day and hope it is sunny where you are

BTW, I found this great food calorie look up site called thedailyplate; I found it when I was trying to figure out how many calories were in my TJ's chickenless nuggets. It is great!!!

 

[Mara]

skippy what is your town in NM...i can check it out on Yelp and let you know if you have anything nearby.

sometimes i wish we lived in a place where there weren''t so many sweet treat options, it would surely make it easier for me to not indulge, but seriously it''s like every 2 blocks there is something tasty to try. one of the area''s oldest chocolatiers is LITERALLY up the street from us, so how can we not go there every month or so? hehee.

back from breakfast where i seriously consumed my weight in pecan buttermilk pancakes. greg was in awe at my consumption levels. i think i am way more able to eat a lot in the mornings when i am super hungry, i can''t eat as much at night at all. i also had scrambled egg whites with veggies and avocado. this place had a healthy side of the menu which was fab, my egg white omelet, fruit and toast was 400 cals but then the pecan pancakes were like a trillion calories, so i guess it balanced out haha. this place also has fabulous choco chip and hawaiian pancakes supposedly...which we''ll try other times. and our neighbors got the swedish pancakes with fresh lingonberry butter which we sampled, GOOD. so now i am feeling all energized but greg just wants to take a nap hahah.

we will go for a run/walk later though...but for now i guess we''ll just relax. portia also is having some bad skin allergies right now, so she''s getting a little patchy on the skin in certain areas, i left a message for her dermatologist but i''ll have to take her in next week. we feel so badly for her, she''s obviously a little itchy and uncomfortable so we''re just trying to keep her distracted and taking her for walks...i also have this spray that the dr gave me last year for her but it''s steroidal so i don''t like to use it a lot (anything that says i have to wear gloves when applying it doesn''t seem all that healthy for her right) but it seems to be helping so i am using it for now. i hope they can give her a cortisone shot which will help. basically she gets itchy then scratches when we are not around, drawing blood sometimes and making bumps on her skin...so then the bump irritates her more, etc, it''s a cycle. so if she wasn''t itchy then her bumps could heal.

anyway, hope everyone is enjoying their sunday!

 

[Skippy123]

Date: 3/9/2008 2:47:50 PM
Author: Mara
skippy what is your town in NM...i can check it out on Yelp and let you know if you have anything nearby.

sometimes i wish we lived in a place where there weren't so many sweet treat options, it would surely make it easier for me to not indulge, but seriously it's like every 2 blocks there is something tasty to try. one of the area's oldest chocolatiers is LITERALLY up the street from us, so how can we not go there every month or so? hehee.

(compared to SF and SJ); it is small but not really a town. I am in Albuquerque; thank you for helping me out and look forward to hearing if we do have something like that! Hey, I am typing in the Mara font for some reason. hehe We have this one place called Flying Star that is all over the city w/really yummy desserts; I avoid this place if I can.

I do wish we have the variety of places you all do though

Your breakfast sounds wonderful yum!! I hope Portia will be okay, keep us posted, poor pup. Enjoy your run/walk!!

 

[Sparkalicious]

Hi everyone!

Am I able to join?

I've gained a lot of weight over the past year and a half or so and am just now feeling mentally and physically ready enough to start taking ownership of my well being and controlling my weight or maybe, more accurately, weight loss.

Last week I worked out 3 days. While the workouts were not grueling, I felt very proud of myself for actually starting to do something active again. I was amazed at how vibrant I felt mentally as well.

If you will be so kind to accept me into your group here ... How does it all work?

 

[KimberlyH]

Hi Spark,

There is no special admission process, we''re just a group of PSer''s who like to be healthy (most of the time) and use this thread, posted weekly with an inspirational topic started by Lorelei, to keep ourselves motivated and accountable. We''re happy to have you! Some of us are maintaining weight loss, some are in the process of losing weight, so there''s a bit of something for everyone here. WELCOME!

Skip, the rattlesnake was cool, but a bit scary. A neighbor on his horse was going to go back and kill it. That made me sad.

We''re having pasta for dinner and laying low. After our long walk I started feeling exhausted and yucky again. Not so fun.

Mara, your pancake breakfast sounds yummy!

 

[phoenixgirl]

Welcome, questionaboutsettings! 2 pounds in two weeks means you''re doing it exactly right. I know that might seem like a slow pace, but think about it . . . in less than a year you''ll be at your goal weight. I started working out right about a year ago and lost about a pound a week until I hit my ideal weight. Keep up the good work!

Welcome, sparkalicious! That''s awesome that you worked out 3x last week.


Well, after my tiring 5 mile run on Thursday, I wasn''t sure if I would run today. But I felt up for it so I went for it. And I accomplished my goal of running 6 miles for the first time! I ran it in about 57.3 minutes . . . not as fast as my 5 miles but still a around a 9.5 minute mile. I purposely didn''t look at my watch after the first mile so that I wouldn''t stress about the time and would just try to keep my breathing/exertion reasonable so that I''d have that extra mile in me at the end . . . and it worked! (OK, I did peek at my watch near the end of mile 4 just to make sure I really was on mile 4 and not mile 3, but I didn''t try to figure out how fast I wanted to finish it after that.)

It''s amazing how averaging 9 min. 33 sec. per mile was SOO much easier than averaging 9 min. 17 sec. You wouldn''t think 16 seconds a mile would make that much of a difference. I''m guessing that there were hydration/food/etc. variables as well.

So I feel like my goal of finishing the 10k in an hour shouldn''t be a problem barring an injury or sidestitch or something of the sort. And secretly I''m hoping to finish it with a minute or two to spare. But I don''t want to jinx myself! I''m used to running in a park on a trail, and this will be running on a street (part of it paving blocks instead of asphalt) with 30,000 people, so who knows . . . it could be much easier than expected (no hills, and I think I might actually be running a little more than a mile at the park because the in thing to do is to run around all these fitness aperati that I don''t think the trail architect was counting as part of the mile) or much harder than expected (frustration of having people on all sides, monotony of flat surface, harder on the joints). We shall see!

 

[marcy]

Hi everyone. Happy Sunday.

I am back on track today. We had an English muffin with scrambled eggs for BF. For lunch I had about 3 oz grilled steak, a baked potato and some veggies. For supper we are going to have leftover pasta. I’m looking forward to some slow churned ice cream to finish the day – I haven’t had any for a few days. I walked 22 minutes (burned 100 cals) on the treadmill.
Mara, Kimi, PhoenixGirl, Question, Linda, Rod, Somthingshiny, Selkie, Lorelei and Skippy, I want to thank all of you so very much for the heartfelt congratulations and lovely compliments. It means more to me than you’ll ever know. This thread has made me less apprehensive that I can and will continue to succeed. While I can hold my own with weight loss, I am certainly an amateur when it comes to working out and that is where so many of you inspire me to try harder to incorporate some type of workout and exercise in to my daily routines. Just knowing so many of you have succeeded on maintenance and making these changes a lifestyle gives me comfort knowing that I will succeed as long as I continue to make the wise choices that got me this far. I am not on a diet, I am just living a healthier life.
Mara, glad to hear you are getting back in to your usual workout routines. I am sure you’ll be right back to where you were endurance and weight wise in no time. LOL about the “tapeworm”. You must make it look easy to eat what you want and be in great shape. I have not submitted my picture or story anywhere yet. I probably will this summer though. Enjoy the lovely weather and BBQ today.
Kimi, sorry to hear you aren’t feeling your normal perky self. Rest up this weekend and get well soon. The restaurant sounds yummy and fun to watch the kitchen work. Yuck to seeing a BIG rattlesnake. We are having leftover pasta for supper. Now that DH is cutting back on what he eats I have a ton of leftovers which is sad because I’ve never been fond of leftovers.
PhoenixGirl, that is awesome you ran your 5 miles in less time and even better you ran your 6 miles today. You’ll finish your 10K with minutes to spare. Glad you guys got to visit one of your fav restaurants this weekend.
Question, welcome to the WWT’ers. 2 pounds for 2 weeks isn’t that bad; you are off to a great start. Like Mara suggests go to sparkpeople.com and see what they recommend for daily calories. I am short and eat about 1200 to 1400 calories a day. Don’t be discouraged about the 2 pounds coming back – the scale will show fluctuations due to time of day, fluid retention, etc. Also as Lorelei mentioned you can be gaining muscle weight. I usually am loosing inches when I am not loosing weight. Just keep working at it one day at a time and you’ll see results.
Linda, I consider myself hugged. Thanks lady.
Rod, sounds like your dinner was wonderful last night. Yay for an intense workout at the gym. That is nice you can earn points at the restaurant to get a free B-Day dinner. Too cute you guys were bundled up to set underneath the tree. I bundle up being outside even in the summer. The reason I rarely used to smile in photos is because I wasn’t thrilled to have my picture taken – mostly from not wanting to see what I looked like.
Somethingshiny, I’ll have to go check out your gem shopping experience. It sounds pretty fun to me.
Selkie, your BBQ sounds great and the cake was well worth a few extra calories. You did fine. Yay for a nice long walk.
Lorelei, I did pick up some nice clothes yesterday. My $15 was a great find. Glad to hear you are getting in some workouts in spite of a hectic schedule.
Skippy, glad you had a great BBQ yesterday. It sounds like you had a great time with your friends. I had some steak cooked on the grill today; it was good. Thanks for the new website for calories. I use quite a few websites and will go check that one out. Good idea to stay out of the great outdoors while not taking your allergy meds. Good luck with your scratch tests.
Sparkalicious, welcome to the thread. 3 workouts last week is a great start.
Well, take care and have a wonderful evening.

Marcy

 

[Rod]

Evening Everyone!!

We had a really nice day today. The time change kind of created a later morning than I would have liked, but heck, we don't have any schedules to keep these days, so we can sleep in if we want. Ah, the joys of being completely unemployed and leading the life of leisure (more on that later). So, we just had a bowl of fruit inside (it was in the 40's when we woke up this morning, brrrrrrrr), then we headed out for a real breakfast at this little place just around the corner from our condo and by the time we got there it had warmed up enough for us to sit outside in the sun and enjoy real breakfast food. Charlie had buttermilk pancakes with real homemade sausage and I had scrambled eggs, one piece of whole wheat toast, homefries and a 6 ounce ham steak. Both were such a treat. From there we had the cars washed and then headed to Sbucks to enjoy coffee under the oak. It was just so spectactularly beautiful outside. I was not in the mood to go to the gym, and even asked Charlie if we couldn't go tomorrow. Afterall, we don't have anything to do tomorrow, but he felt that since we had such large breakfasts, we had to go work out. So, we went to the gym. My muscles were still a bit sore from yesterday's grueling workout, but somehow once I got there, I got going and managed to have a very productive workout and I'm really glad Charlie pushed me to workout. It is really nice that we're both into the gym thing, because if one of us isn't in the mood to go, the other can push us to go, which helps to keep us both working out. Dinner was just a nice big salad tonight. I've made the decision to lose another 10 pounds. Over the last 2.5 years I went from a 40+ inch waist and 240 pounds to a 32/33 inch waist and 173 pounds, but I still have some fat I'd love to see go and I'm thinking 10 pounds would be ideal. It will take me months to accomplish it as with the kind of workouts we do, I can't be too calorie deprived, but there are things I know I can cut out. So, Rod has a new goal of losing 10 more pounds and it will be kind of fun for me to do that.

somethingshiny, like Mara alreaded posted, FroYo is Rod Speak for Tart Natural Frozen Yogurt. We have a shop near us called Caliyogurt. The yogurt is naturaly tart, because it has active yogurt cultures, has no fat and no cholesterol, has natural fiber and is only about 25 calories an ounce. It's quite addictive if you like real yogurt and oh such a treat. It's nothing at all like TCBY or any of the other frozen yogurts that imitate icecream and who don't have active yogurt cultures either.

Good for you Selkie staying within your calorie count even with decadent icecream cake!!

Sorry your normal routine is messed up Lorelei, but I'm glad you're still finding the time for cardio workouts!!

I like Mara's shortcut for you QAS, so that's what I'll use! Don't worry that the 2 pounds showed up on the scale. One's body weight can fluctuate from 3 - 5 pounds one day to the next. The true measure is Body Fat. If you're working out hard, you can actually gain weight, while losing fat. So yes, sticking with a lower fat, reduced calorie diet (but not one so low that your body thinks you're starving it) will get you where you want to be.

Nope Kimberly, you didn't miss my birthday. It was in January. The restaurant that sends me the certificate always waits until after my birthday to send it, which is smart of them as we usually go there for my birthday dinner because they have Nova Scotia Lobsters, which are outstanding. Anyway, the certificate if good for 3 months from the date they issue it, so we waited until now to use it.

Hey Skippy. I'm a shellfish-aholic, so just I couldn't live where seafood wasn't plentiful!! I'm so sorry your allergies are making it difficult to work out. I hope the scratch test helps you determine exactly what you're allergic to (maybe it's the dust in the desert and you need to move somewhere warm and sunny, like oh I don't know - TAMPA!!) and you're able to work out again soon!

Welcome Sparkalicous. Good for you working out 3 days last week!!

YAYAY for running 6 miles Phoenix!! You're going to do great in your 10K for sure!!

Glad you're back on track Marcy and good for you walking 22 minutes on the treadmill!!

As much as we love our beautiful condo on the bay, we have decided to try to sell it. It's just so expensive and we don't want to blow through all our savings at this point. The futures just so uncertain at the moment and while we may wind up getting great jobs, our mortgage is so high and our monthly maintenance fee is outrageous at $1183/month. Gasp, isn't that awful? We were driving around this afternoon and saw an open house for these brand new "city homes," so we went in and they were really cool. If we sold our place, we could buy one of these and almost pay cash for it and never ever have to worry about what kind of jobs we'd have to have in order to pay the mortgage, so we've decided that while it may not be the best time to sell, it is the best time to buy, so we'll give it a shot and see what happens.

I guess that about does it for me. I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend. It's a new week tomorrow. Sleep well everyone!

ETA: Good Lord, Sorry for such a long post. I always feel so much better after my daily confessional on the WWT!!! I didn't mean to put you all to sleep though...........

 

[marcy]

Rod, your breakfast sounds wonderful and I am glad it warmed up enough to enjoy your coffee under the oak tree. Yay for setting a new goal of loosing 10 pounds, good luck with that. It sounds like the city homes might be something that works great for you guys. It would be nice to not have to worry about homeowner fees and a mortgage. http://www.gemsociety.org/info/igem11.htm

 

[Mara]

evening all, quick check in!! went for our run/walk today and man i was so zonked the rest of the day. those stupid pecan pancakes did me in i think! but at least i went out and was active. dinner was yummy with our various sausages, we also had alexa baked fries and TJ''s succotash as well. then we shared 4 individual desserts from this bakery that is newly opened and 2 cupcakes. i left the leftovers with our neighbors, get them out of my house! hehe.

rod, good for you on wanting to get more serious and lose a few lbs. i am toying with that idea myself actually. i am happy with where i''m at but i kind of want to challenge myself more and get a little more ripped now that summer is coming. i keep thinking it''d be fun to be a little leaner.

i am sorry to hear rod that you guys decided to sell the condo. i totally understand the reasoning but i know how much you guys love that condo, are you SURE you''ll be happy with a ''city condo'' or whatever...?? you guys wake up and have breakkie on the balcony overlooking the water almost every morning right? i guess i just want to throw out there to really think through this change, i know how tempting it is to pay cash for something and not worry about a mortgage...we think about it when we think about moving away but you do have to consider all the changes. you guys have been through so much in the last two years--decision after decision--just be sure you are thinking it through 100000% and not just getting too caught up in whats happening now in the moment to you guys and thinking about how nice it would be to be free of the condo then BOOM you sell, you''re unhappy with the new place, you guys get good jobs and then what? you''ll be bumming you sold the condo. anyway, just food for thought...again i DO know how tempting it is. good luck.

anyhow, tomorrow is work again, boo hoo. it was 77 here today, i think i got a tan while we were out running/walking, so at least we are enjoying fabulous weather lately -- we do pay through the nose for it hehee. tomorrow i have my trainer and i plan to get a walk in too so that''s my report. nite all!