Pineapple Victory

When I bought groceries the other day I picked up yogurt because it’s just one of those staples I like to have in my fridge.  It’s sort of dumb though because in the colder months I don’t really enjoy it for a meal (unless it’s the dessert like crack yogurt from Liberte which I can indeed enjoy anytime).

So rather than skip past it I decided to incorporate it with my morning oatmeal.  Apple Yogurt Oats!  Yes please!

Nothing to it.  I just cooked up some steel cut oats as per usual with water, UVAB, flax, cinnamon and chopped apple instead of banana.  Then topped that with more apple, raisins, and a big scoop of organic vanilla yogurt.  It added creaminess and a welcome tang to the breakfast Buddha bowl.

I know I had a cup of coffee too but was distracted by the oats. :)

I stuck to one cup because I was hitting the gym earlier in the day than usual and I worry about heartburn.  Thursdays are now my second cardio + core day of the week, so I did exactly the same workout as Monday…although I pushed myself harder with my planks and decided to abandon the 10 minute cooldown on the Cybex.

Post gym purse snack was a White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Luna Bar (which did not set off my sweet tooth like I worried it would).

A quick bigass salad for lunch.

In the big silver bowl:  mixed greens with fresh herbs, tomatoes, mushrroms, cukes, and EVOO, white wine vinegar and s&p.

With a wedge of triple cream camembert for protein and deeeeliciousness…and multigrain Wheat Thins as a shovel.

Afternoon snacky poo…

Easy peasy dinner.  Leftover veggie pizza.  Eaten cold because I was hungry and too impatient to wait for it to reheat (remember, this place is a no microwave zone these days)…

Side dish of rutabaga fries and ketchup for dipping.  Rutabaga is decidedly my favourite veggie for baking.

After dinner I went for a boredom stroll through Walmart.  I had a duplicate Blu-Ray to return and some household things to pick up.  Generally boredom shopping in a store like that leads directly to the junk food aisle…but not this time!  Maybe it’s because I thought about it before I went, or maybe it’s true that I’m all junk fooded out right now…but either way the only “extra” that came home with me was dried pineapple (um, and a $5 copy of The Goonies! oh ya!).

Back at home I made myself a victory treat.  Homemade Vanilla Rooibos Tea Latte?  Don’t mind if I do. 

At bedtime I did end up struggling with insomnia again.  It had gotten a lot better over the holidays but this is twice in about a week that I ended up laying there struggling to sleep.  At around 1am I got up and drank water, ate a handful of the pineapple, tried watching TV, then succumbed to a melatonin around 2am.

Which made getting up this morning so freaking hard.  Stupid insomnia.

Storm Watch

That's right. Here in Halifax we are due for yet another Winter storm today. Expecting it to start snowing around noon and the prediction is for 20+cm of the white stuff...PLUS...blowing freaking ice pellets and other fun things like that. This is not my impressed face.

Soooo....at least it's a good TV night....and I haven't had a Shred session with Jillian since the weekend so I think we'll meet up for a sweat and I can follow that with some more downloaded yoga. I didn't get a chance for yoga last night because I was fiddling with my new computer for a few hours after work (goodbye stupid Works, hello again Office!) and didn't even head to the gym until 8:00. So by the time I worked out, got home and ate dinner (at 9:45!) there was no time to properly digest for yoga before bed.

My workout last night consisted of a great run on the treadmill. Fast-paced 5 minute incline warmup, then my running/walking looked like this: 5 min run/1 min walk/4 min run/1 min walk/4 min run/1 min walk/1 min sprint/1 min run/1 min sprint/1 min walk. I wanted to keep going, but believe it or not there were people waiting for treadmills at 8:30pm on a Wednesday. The gym can be really busy at the oddest times! I then grabbed a mat and headed over to the mirrors where I did another set of Eurydice's bum exercises, three sets of different crunches, and one set of deadlifts (thanks Randi for mentioning those...I would never have thought of them!). I totally need to work on my form, but I think I had the right idea.

By the time I finished at the gym and grocery store it was really late and I was honestly considering stopping for fast food on the way home, but I talked myself out of it right away because I've been having a good week and didn't want that rock of grease sitting in my tummy overnight. ewwwww. So instead I made my fabulous salad and had it with egg salad on half of a fresh ciabatta bun (both of my freezer options were still frozen solid). I was soooo proud of myself!

Miss Jen! I want to thank you for your fabulous comments. You always tell me how hard I rock just when I need it. Most of the time I feel like I'm not really giving it my all, but you show me that you see me differently and that makes me feel great. Thank you for that!!

I haven't been tracking or writing down my activities or anything anywhere other than my blog this week and I think it is working well for me. I usually try to make notes on my calendar about what activity I did and whether I was OP or not...and then if I have blank spots or cross things out it makes me feel like I failed. So, unwittingly this week I haven't been doing that and funny enough I have been pretty much exactly OP and I've gotten some form of a workout in every day. Interesting. Go me!

Today's menu....

- coffeeeeeeeee w/ brown sugar & skim
- 1/2 ciabatta bun w/ natural PB & 1/2 sliced banana
- fruit salad w/ 100 cal cottage cheese cup (strawberry)
- baked rice chips, cauliflower & lemon dill hummus
- chili from freezer (it's thawed now!), tossed salad with ranch & salsa and some of those little tortilla strip salad toppers
- tea and a new baked treat (if I have time to bake...seems like the thing to do during a snow storm...either scones, banana muffins or a variation on Tina's Oatmeal Bars)

Rock On, Girl

That's right....this girl had NO candy at the movies. Didn't even want it. Packed my lulu bottle full of water and was happy as a clam (well, as long as clams really are happy...what an odd saying).

:)

Sore

I am stiff from my neck to my ankles. Hamstrings and one hip are finally loosening up after being well worked at warm yoga on Sunday, but shoulders/back/neck are feeling the effects of the double load of shoveling yesterday. Thank God for the great neighbor that cleared the heavy snow plowed into my driveway this morning. I will still have to go out there and do some final clearing and deal with the mess between the cars though.

I did do a nice short relaxing session from yogadownload.com last night. Lunar Flow #1. Ended up being the perfect choice since it focused on similar moves to my Sunday class at Breathing Space and helped with the tension in my hamstrings and hips. I have two more free classes downloaded and if I enjoy those I will probably go for a couple of the longer ones and pay for them. I had a great podcast from them last year that I loved, but it got wiped from my iPod and I haven't figured out which one it was yet. It was just about the most perfect 20 minute yoga workout ever.

Today is a gym day, so hopefully some of the ice on my car loosens up this afternoon (I see a lot of scraping in my future) so I can go after work tonight. Last Wednesday I had really wanted to head downtown to try out one of my gym's other locations' yoga class so I will try for that again, but if timing doesn't work out then I will head to my usual location for cardio and crunches.

Due to the excessive amounts of shoveling and time spent in the icy weather yesterday I decided I had earned a baked treat. So I dug out the bag of Quaker Low Fat Bran Muffin Mix I've had in my cupboard forever and made a dozen...1/2 the batch I added blueberries, the other 1/2 batch I added shredded carrot and pumpkin pie spice. So proud of myself for sticking to the muffins and not giving in on chocolate chip cookies or something else that I would have stuffed myself with. I ate my two earned muffins and reveled in my NSV!

Hooray for another day totally on plan!

Today's menu:

- coffee with skim & brown sugar
- blueberry bran muffin
- Liberte Svelt vanilla yogurt with fresh strawberries & blackberries
- leftover Gardennay red pepper & black bean soup with dollop of light sour cream, Garden of Eatin multigrain tortillas, 1 oz light cheddar, salsa
- grapes
- 1/2 apple after gym if needed
- beef stew, toast with Olivina margarine, leftover green beans
- carrot bran muffin with tea

(approx 24 points)

Not Cookie Monster

I didn't get to workout yesterday. Work ran long until 6pm, then I still needed to get a few groceries for dinner. By the time I shopped and cooked and we ate, it was too late to go to the gym. Besides, I can't work out on a full stomach. Booooo. It was too dark, cold, and slippery to even walk around the neighborhood either. Such is life. I'll try again today as long as DBF brings the car back at a reasonable time...he's got some shopping to do! :)

I do have an NSV though! After dinner DBF made himself hot chocolate and had a stack of those Superstore Decadent Chocolate Chip Cookies....which I friggin love considering they are a storebought cookie. I didn't have any. I was actually stuffed from dinner and definitely didn't have any room to spare in my menu. And you know what? It didn't bother me at all. Funny, if I had been alone with that stuff I would have eaten it no problem...but because I've told him I'm on a stricter plan this week I didn't want to cave in. Nice.

Dinner last night ended up being chicken in PC Blue Menu Butter Chicken Sauce. It was pretty good and decent on the calories. I snazzied it up with some sauteed onion, mushrooms, and wilted spinach. Served with roasted cauliflower, a few baby potatoes, and papadums that only sort of turned out. A bit higher in points than I had planned, but all pretty healthy so I was happy with it.

Today's plan...

- coffee w/ sploosh of light egg nog x 2
- instant oatmeal with 1/2 banana
- Chunky Chicken Noodle soup, Bacon Dippers, cheddar cheese
- clementine
- granola bar if I need it
- dinner is either spaghetti with homemade meatballs (with added veggies in mine) or possibly dinner at a friend's (which will either be pizza or something I have no control over...)

I opened the candy corn

Gah. I bought candy corn like two weeks ago (maybe more?) because I had an idea to use it for a decoration. I should've known better. For two weeks it's been taunting from it's little plastic container, but I was good. As long as it was closed I didn't have an issue.

So why did I open it yesterday? Cuz I was cranky and bored. Bad. Bad. Bad. And grabbing by the handful didn't help. Try counting that...not easy.

But..... you know what? I felt so crappy and guilty about it, that last night I got off my ass and went to the gym. Yup, at 8:00pm I could see that my cranky mood wasn't going away on it's own so I dragged myself out the door and to the gym. By the time I got there I only had about an hour and a half to work out, but I got in a full 45+ mins of cardio and two sets of squats, lunges, crunches, etc. Felt good and I'm proud of myself.

Still ate way too much yesterday, but sure don't feel near so guilty anymore.

And now....off to the gym again for a little cardio and my full strength training routine!

Vanity Sizing

Boy is my shoulder stiff today. Thankfully my chiro gave me a day off in between appointments!

I managed to squeak in a sweaty 25 minute jaunt on the elliptical at the gym last night. I went in planning on doing about 45 minutes, but I had other things to do so couldn't stay. It was a good workout for the time though. I'm really enjoying the good elliptical right now (I call it the "good" elliptical because the gym has two types and I find the stride too short on the other ones.) It has all sorts of different settings, and I usually use the variable cross-country, but last night I used the straight intervals and it was a good workout for my legs.

Does anyone else shop at RW&Co fairly regularly? Have you noticed any changes in their sizing? I have bought work clothes there on and off for years...and I used to be at least a size 10...sometimes a 12 depending on the fit of the pants/skirt. Then when I started losing weight I was more like an 8, sometimes 10. I have noticed that often I wear a small shirt there now...but not always. Anyway, I was in there on Saturday trying on every dress on the rack and I was picking up 8s, but the girl was grabbing 6s...and in the end I bought a SIZE FREAKING 4!!! Seriously, even if that's vanity sizing, it's amazing. The dress is a form fitting strapless on top, with a bit of a flaired skirt...quite simple...but I'm still having trouble believing it's a 4.

The dress pants I got are a size 8, and the pencil skirt is a size 6. I bought a size 8 straight skirt there in February and it's already sloppy big around the waist, which I found odd. My weight has maintained so I'm guessing I've lost inches around the middle. I don't notice in my jeans, etc because I wear them more around my hips. I ran into my trainer last night and asked her if she could pull my measurements from when I started the gym in March so I can get remeasured and see what the deal is.

Anyway, today's plan is for another lovely walk at lunch (it was crisp, slightly warm and gorgeous yesterday!) and then hopefully a proper cardio/strength workout after work.

Today's eats...

- Kashi Crunch with vanilla Almond Breeze
- coffeeeeeeeeee
- grapes
- toasted ww english muffin with egg salad
- carrot sticks
- mini-banana
- leftover pork loin chop, steamed brocolli, roasted spuds
- club soda cupcake

Today's goals...3 litres of water, walk, stay on plan

PS: I finally updated my other blog if you are interested...

The Chickenburger

Yesterday was still a good day, but lunch ended up being a tiny cheeseburger, some fries and a small vanilla shake at The Chickenburger instead of the spinach salad. I had wanted to take Mom there, as it's just one of those places you should visit when in Halifax...and so we did. :)

DBF and I did go for a walk last night though, plus I eliminated a few snacks to help even things out. All in all, I'm pleased with the day.

Today I have a stupid work teleconference to prepare for (yes, you've been reading that a lot here...the new bosses are big on these), plus I have a chiro appointment this afternoon, so no gym for me. Hopefully we'll be able to get another walk in tonight though.

Today's menu....

- blueberry bran muffin, coffee, fresh canteloupe & strawberries
- lunch will be that spinach salad & pita with hummus from yesterday
- some sort of afternoon snack: All Bran bar maybe
- dinner is tacos! hard shells, extra lean beef, veggies, lotsa salsa, smidge of cheddar & light sour cream, small glass of skim milk
- after dinner maybe some yogurt or grapes or a couple of Lifestyle cookies or something

Oh, and just a minor note: on Monday night DBF went to the store for milk and asked if we wanted anything....I actually started out asking for Dairy Queen but he said he didn't want any so I decided not to either. Mom got a McFlurry anyway, and it didn't even phase me! Woooo!

Rocky Mountain Willpower

OK, this is the biggest friggin NSV of the month. I'm giving myself the Golden NSV Award 2008 right now. (Fine, I made that up, but I'm so freaking proud of myself.)

I was at the mall....trying to find a cute clutch for my dinner outfit for tomorrow night. (The fact that I didn't find one is another story...) Smartly, I did eat my dinner right before I went so I wouldn't be hungry. But who needs to be hungry when there's the smell of chocolate wafting around the mall.

Normally I would get past those lovely cocoa smells by maybe grabbing a coffee, but I already had a latte today and I didn't feel like a boring old decaf coffee. So I kept walking, walking, walking. I passed the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory THREE freaking times. Not on purpose, but I swear it's like the scent of chocolate was dragging me past their display window. I even went downstairs to get away from it (telling myself I was going back to look at another store...haha) but there's a Laura Secord down there!

Thankfully, Laura doesn't really do it for me. Too perfect and prissy in her presentation.

But RMCF has big globs of fun fudge, and those macadamia moguls, and bigass tigerbutter cups, and even though I don't really dig on candy apples those hugeass chocolate and candy covered things they sell just look so damn good.

As I was leaving the mall, I had to go past one last time...but because it was 8:59 I couldn't bring myself to interupt the poor girl that was trying to close up. Wait, no, screw her! It was MY willpower dammit. If I'd really wanted it, I wouldn't have cared that she closed in one minute. HA, so ya, yaaaieeee me.

But I have learned that I need to plan that as one of my splurges sometime soon. They don't show them on the website, but they had cookies there that were loaded up just like those apples....I saw one that was a hugeass choco chip cookie, topped with seafoam candy and then coated in chocolate. Oh. My. God. *drooooooool

Go Go Gadget Gymbo

Yesterday I just didn't feel right all day. Lethargic, headachey, and just off. I've felt like that quite a bit lately, so hopefully it has something to do with whatever chiropractic problems I'm having and after my visit today things will start to perk up for me.

I ended up working mostly from the couch yesterday and just felt a constant need for a nap. 4:30 came and went, and I was still working and feeling tired so my big plan for an afternoon gym trip didn't happen. I ended up making dinner early so I'd be ready when the Kijiji guy showed up to look at our fridge (he bought it, thank God!). I'd at least made myself presentable by the time he came.

After he left I was just laying on the couch staring at the TV and decided that was stupid. It's 8pm, the gym is open til 10pm, get off your ass woman! So I did. Went upstairs, switched into my workout gear (as opposed to the other Lulu gear I was already wearing), filled my water bottle and went. Yaaieeee me.

I had to cut my HIIT a bit short and left one thing out of my strength routine to make sure I didn't run overtime....we have to be out of the gym BY 10pm. It was still an excellent workout and I'm proud of myself for sucking it up and not just giving in to laying on the stupid couch. Came home for a bowl of yogurt , chopped banana and berries and the best shower I've had in a while.

No gym today....have a chiro appointment in a couple of hours and I don't like to aggrevate things by working out. If the weather was nicer I might go for a walk, but Mother Nature is being a cow this week. No biggie though, my body could use some relaxation once I'm not so stiff anymore.

Eats for today are eating up some stuff from the fridge...

- PC BM bagel w/ natural PB & 1/2 banana
- skim milk
- coffee
- Greek salad w/ light feta & crackers with goat cheese
- granola bar
- grapes
- grilled marinated shrimp, with steamed veggies, maybe some Asian slaw
- Bear Paws & tea

One Fish Two Fish

I was invited out for dinner last night, which was a nice change for mid-week! We had planned to go to a nice restaurant downtown, but when we got there they said that we needed reservations. Wha? It's Tuesday and 3/4 of the restaurant is empty. Apparently they had a few big tables coming in soon. So we ended up just going to the pub across the street....which is fine, but I'd been planning some shellfish or grilled fish or something and at a pub I rarely trust anything that isn't deep fried. Ordering seafood at a low-end pub always seems like food poisoning just waiting to happen to me. So I ordered the fish & chips. But I only ate one piece, a tiny handful of fries, and the 1/4 cup of coleslaw...then I was full and busy chatting with my friends so happily had the rest packed up for tonight. I didn't even have a drink...just diet Coke.

I tried to figure it out when I got home, and even if I ate 15 points worth...which I probably did...I was still right on my points for the day. I was busy catching up on blogs and work when I got home so I didn't even consider an evening snack. This is HUGE for me. haha.

So all in all it worked out.

This night out did cut out my idea to go for a walk last night, but such is life. Visiting with friends overrides a walk most of the time. :)

I'll be heading to the gym late afternoon today. I'm powering through work so hopefully I'll be done by about 4:30...I want to hit the gym between 5-6pm as I have to be home for a Kijiji guy to come see our fridge. No walks or bike rides since it's gross, windy & rainy out today.

Today's menu is pretty easy...

- Starbucks triple grande no-fat vanilla latte (I'm heading out for this right now!)
- All Bran Bar
- grapes
- Italian Soup with croutons
- cucumber slices & what's left of the baby carrots
- maybe 1/2 banana before the gym if I feel like I need it
- leftover fish & chips
- Bear Paws & skim milk

Stiffalicious

Yup, still stiff. Mostly it's just going down the stairs that is a problem. I must look hilarious.

This didn't stop me from getting myself to the gym for my cardio session last night though. I ended up going much later than planned, due to some Kijiji visitors...but I would've just laid on the couch given the opportunity so instead I didn't even sit down. Just grabbed my bag and went (it helps a lot when I already have my bag all packed). I was feeling sort of emotionally crappy for some reason and started thinking about food...so I'm really glad I made it out the door.

Did 20 minutes power walk on the treadmill, 20 minutes on the crosstrainer (two 5 minutes sets running forward, two 5 minute sets running backward), and 10 minutes on the recumbent bike. It should have been 20 minutes on the bike but I was running out of time and wanted to get in a full series of crunches. I love that apparatus that helps with crunches....still a great core workout without all of the stress on my back....it's the one you lay on and sort of rock yourself forward with your arms. I do a set of 25 normal, then 25 with knees to the right, then knees to the left, then another 25 normal. 100!

You would think with all this exercise I would sleep better but I'm still having trouble. Overactive brain starts working too much as soon as I turn the light off. Last night I went to bed by 11, read until 12, tried to sleep until 1 but ended up turning the light back on, getting a piece of cheese and reading until 2. So needless to say when my alarm went off at 7:15 for the gym I didn't listen to it. I think that was part of the problem on Monday morning...I'd barely had 5 hours sleep....and I wasn't about to have that happen again. I'll try to get there after work today since I don't have plans until later this evening.

It's HIIT on the treadmill today, plus strength training...somehow I think I might have a lot of trouble with the lunges though!

- Special K vanilla almond w/ vanilla Almond Breeze
- coffeeeeeeeee
- fresh pineapple
- Greek salad with fresh focaccia & hummus
- granola bar & skim milk
- mini Babybel if I need it
- leftover grilled smokie & steamed veggies
- wine & snacks at neighbors tonight! :)

Ingoring the cravings...

Yes, that's what I'm doing sitting here. Ignoring the fact that I busted my butt all day and now I want ice cream. Technically I could probably have it without much consequence, but it's more that I know I don't need it so I'm trying to be good. Tomorrow night I'm going to the movies and I would rather have a treat then.

Today I did really good. I ended up not having the pita pitza...just ate some extra veggies and dip. Didn't even have the iced coffee...didn't need it. Then come dinner time I didn't feel like getting cleaned up just to go get food, so I used up the last hard boiled egg and made egg salad on a Ble Menu bagel. Yummy and way healthier than the chicken strips I wanted to go get. I snacked on a serving of Junior Mints throughout the day too....actually you would all be proud, I'd poured the box into a bowl and when I realized how much was there I put half of them back for tomorrow!!

So now I have points to play with and it's 9:00. I'll likely just go for a bowl of cereal as that always seems to help satiate the cravings. Maybe some tea too. Hope everyone is having a great Saturday night!

And she does it again!

:) Good day here again!! I added in a couple of baked hashbrown patties (I was craving fries, but skipped McD's and came home...wooooo NSV). I earned the APs for them at the gym, so still all OP. I ended up going out shopping later than planned so decided to skip the SB iced coffee and had a serving of Junior Mints while I watched a movie tonight instead (NSV #2, as it is a huge-ass box and I only ate my one serving!).

I'm so proud!!

Candy Victory!

And there you have it. A day without candy. A day OP. A trip to the grocery store with no harm done. Whew. Thank God!!

And with the internet/phone/cable being out, you would think this would send me into a tizzy looking for treats and comfort food, but noooooo I kept busy (in the kitchen no less) and made it all the way til now!

Get this... while waiting 6 FREAKING HOURS for the internet to come back up I busied myself by making fruit salad, tuna noodle casserole, and marinated salmon and chicken. I was even going to do some baking but was missing a few ingredients. Too bad, because on a day like today I wouldn't have pigged out on the baking...I had it under control. Oh well, it's probably for the best.

Take THAT stupid candy. I'm done with you!

Silly Holiday Hours

Wouldn't you know it...I go for Day 6 at the gym and it's closed. boooooo! After an excellent trip to buy new shoes, I felt inspired to test them out. I thought the gym was open until 5:00 today, but alas it closed at 4:00. :(

So home I came and got the dog and my iPod and off we went for a good, long, windblown yet sweaty walk around the neighborhood. The sun is shining at it was just what I needed!

Gym Recap

I know it's kinda late, but I wanted to say I'm proud of myself...AGAIN! Weeeee!

This morning I just couldn't face the alarm when it went off at 7:20, then 7:29, then 7:38.....I finally felt bad for DBF and just turned the bloody thing off. Next thing I knew, we were waking up at almost 10:00! Oops. Definitely not going to make it to the gym, especially since I'm supposed to be working by 9-9:30.

So I busted my ass on work all day long. Didn't mess around on the internet or stop to watch TV or anything...just worked right through, so by 4:00 I felt good that I had done all of the day's work and snuck off the gym. Now, in the past, I would've crapped out and said "oh well, I missed it..." but I've done so well lately that I just couldn't let myself down.

Today was cardio day, so I hopped on the treadmill for another session of C25K week one. Sooooo much better on the treadmill than the stupid cross-trainer. I did the running intervals at 5.5 and the brisk walk at 3.7. I could've kept going, I was in a groove!

After that I had wanted to stay on for incline intervals, but there was a waiting line for the treadmills so I had to give mine up. So instead I used the elliptical (which I hate because the stride isn't long enough) because it has an adjustable incline. I did 3 x 5 minute intervals at an incline of 6, with 2 minute recoveries at an incline of 2...all at level 5.

I ended up burning well over 300 calories according to the machines...which is about 100 more than I had guesstimated. Weeeeeeeeee! (and yes, I do take the machine calculations with a grain of salt...)

Tomorrow will be my much needed day off from the old gym, but I bet I'll miss going. Saturday morning I plan to hopefully try out a class, but it'll be my third day of C25K and it's strength training day.

Whew.

Impromptu Gym Trip

Yup, that's right...you heard me....Impromptu trip to the gym! Activity NSV for me!

Instead of eating my lunch at my computer today, I decided that I would head to the grocery store to grab a few things and get some fresh air. Since it's too windy to walk anywhere I was feeling a little guilty about no activity. Then, while putting on my mascara I got this burst of inspiration and decided to go to the gym while I was out. It's my day off for strength training, but who says I can't do cardio?!

So.... using my trusty iPod, I tried out the first episode of Couch to 5k on the cross-trainer (I still don't have proper running shoes for the treadmill, plus I can move faster on the cross-trainer). That was 5 minute warm-up, then 1 minute interval runs (8.5mph) and 1:30 minute recovery walks (5.5mph) for a total of about 25 minutes. I skipped the cool down at the end because I was going straight to my other machine.

Next I decided to try incline intervals, so over to the treadmill I went. I did a quick 1 minute warm up, then ramped it up to an incline of 12 for 5 minutes intervals, with 2 minute recoveries at an incline of 5. I did this for 20 minutes, then cooled down for 3 minutes.

To finish up the hour, I rode the recumbant bike for 10 minutes at level 5 on random. Finished this with a 3 minute cool down.

According to the machines I burned close to 400 calories today. Woooohoooo! Not bad for my day off!

(Of course, now I'm way behind in work so I should get to it!)

Gym Recap

I'm pretty proud of myself today. Yesterday was a much needed day off from the gym...my cold seems to be just that, only a cold (not a stupid sinus infection like I usually get)...and the day of rest has helped kick it in the butt. DBF had to work today, so I easily could have lounged around in bed but I still got myself up on time and went to the gym. I almost talked myself out of it because it started snowing while I was getting ready...but I just told myself that it was only an hour and that I could suck it up and drive home in whatever little bit of snow accumulated in that time. Yaieee me. I'm still congested, but it didn't stop me from powering through my sprint intervals. I'm so stoked!

I really wanted to try the Basic Ball & Step class this morning, but this cold has a strong enough hold that I don't want to stress my body out too much and make it drag on....so it will have to wait until next week.

I did:

Cross-Trainer: level 5 - 5 minute warm up, followed by sprint intervals of 30 seconds with 1:30 minute recoveries for 15 minutes, 3 minute cool down.

Strength Training Routine: 3 sets 12 reps

3 sets of ball squats

Stationary Bike: 10 mins at 85 mph, level 5, 3 minute cool down.

Hopefully the snowstorm doesn't make it so I can't drive out tomorrow. I'd like to try out the 1 hour Yoga Flow class in the morning.....

Today I'm eating...

Three days on plan without hardly having to try! Today will be Day 4!

pre-gym: Fibre Source Apple Cobbler granola bar
post-gym: 1/2 cup vanilla Almond Breeze
- coffee
- ww toast w/ natural PB & 1/2 banana
- 1/2 portion ff vanilla Activia yogurt w/ fresh blackberries
- Lipton's chicken noodle soup w/ added frozen veggies
- saltines w/ light cheddar
- Peanut Butter ice cream
- Lipton's chicken noodle soup w/ added frozen veggies
- saltines w/ light cheddar
- a few Toffeefee
- Fruity Cheerios w/ skim milk

(edited: I ended up a sickypants, so the pesto chicken dinner plan went out the window)

33/22 + 4AP

Activity: 25 mins high intesity cardio, 15 minutes low intensity cardio (4)

Water: 2 litres (I think I can, I think I can)