Saturday morning and out to breakfast!  We took my folks out as a thank you for when we were [...]]]> I loved the things all of you would say to your past selves!  Thanks for the comments on my photos, too.  There is always mixed feeling of shame and embarrassment in putting those up there. …

Saturday morning and out to breakfast!  We took my folks out as a thank you for when we were on the cruise and they watched Pixie and the house for us.  They have not been to Maude’s kitchen, so that is where we took them.  I love Maude’s!

I had my usual cheese omelet!

It was weird eating here before working out, as we have only come here on a gym workout day.  I actually was showered

John got a short stack of blueberry pancakes.  Fluffy white things, so good, but dense.

He could only eat half of these.

I thought these shakers were pretty cute.

Thanks Mom and Dad!

We then spent some time at their house looking at photo albums and laughing at my mullet in highschool from the 80s.     Needed to let breakfast digest for a couple hours before hitting the gym for my run!

I have never been to the gym on a Saturday afternoon.  It was full of preeners

Busted out 6 miles today:

I would not recommend a breakfast like the above on a longer run day.  I was getting a little bit of heartburn, which is really rare for me.

Segue to this FAQ:

I was wondering what you have to eat pre-workout? This is just me, and it has taken a lot of playing around to find my comfort level of food for workouts.  I exercise pretty much exclusively in the mornings because my work day starts at 10 am, and I don’t always know what time I will finish.  On run days, I eat a bigger snack – usually around 150 to 200 calories prior to going to the gym.  This is either accomplished with a bar of some sort (balance or Luna) or 1/2 a bagel/toast with PB.  Yogurt smoothies are also really good.  On days where I don’t run, but do lifting, I tend to eat about 100 calories of dates with nut butter.  If I have eaten a heavy dinner or had a late snack where I go to bed full, I won’t always eat a pre-workout snack on my lighter days.  I have not found that much difference if I eat or not at those times.  Otherwise, the snack gives me the energy I need to get through a longer workout.

If I exercise later in the day, I don’t bother eating a pre-workout snack as I have been already eating during the daytime.

After my run, I came home and had a snack:

Then a shower and some game playing:

I do like video games, but don’t get to play them as much as I used to!

And John made me this (yes, it is on the floor…:

It’s been a lazy day   and I love it!  It’s also been a really weird eating day.  I never really ate lunch because of the big breakfast, but had a few snacks. I am craving carbs like crazy (yesterday, too).  I think it is PMS, but irregardless, I am giving my body what it is wanting today.  So, I kind of felt like oats for dinner!

Isn’t that weird?  But it totally hit the spot.  I would rather give in to the cravings sometimes rather than eat way more calories trying to eat my way around it if I can’t get satisfied.  Know what I mean?

Question:  Do you give your body what it craves or do you work around it?

The start of the weekend for me.  I actually slept until 7am this morning.  I decided to have a nice long workout today with an [...]]]> Hey there!  Waving *hi* to all the new readers, there’s a lot!  Please say hi in the comments or send me an email   Hope you stay for a spell.

The start of the weekend for me.  I actually slept until 7am this morning.  I decided to have a nice long workout today with an exercise buffet:

• 20 minutes on the stationary bike (see, Debby??)

Lifting workout:

• Chin ups:  1 set of 3, 1 set of 2, 1 set of 2
• Barbell split squats:  3 sets of 8 at 65
• Incline dumbbell chest press:  3 sets of 8 with 25# dumbbells
• YTWL:  3 sets of 8 with 10# dumbbells
• Lunges:  3 sets of 8 with 35# bar
• Lat pull down:  3 sets of 10 at 60 pounds

Then I hit the treadmill for 2 miles of walking and 1 mile of running with speedwork.  It was nice knowing I didn’t have to hurry to get back to go to work!  John met me at the gym and he took me out for my football meal.  We went to Maude’s and we couldn’t have gotten there soon enough.  My arm was looking pretty tempting by this point.  I wanted a good protein hit, so I had a 3 egg cheese omelet.  I ate everything on this plate!

So. good.  We had some strange salt and pepper shakers at our table.

Not sure what’s going on at Prince Edward Island, but it can’t be good …..

This was a pretty late breakfast (1o am), so I never ended up eating lunch!  You know I don’t skip meals, but I also don’t want to eat just because. So, I got other errands done.

One of my New Year goals was to do something with my hair.  I haven’t had it cut in about 11 months, since I was trying to grow it out.  Well, not sure I was liking it, so I went and had it trimmed up and shaped.

This way I can decided to keep growing it, or cut it back to short again.  She took off probably 3 inches!  That’s a bit more than a trim.  I have to say that I love it   When I got back, it was snack time!

Plus this:

Okay, 2 of those…..  This has not really been a stellar eating day.  I took some time catching up on emails and my google reader!  Whew.

I mentioned the word ‘pizza’ near dinner time, and John was all over that.  We walked to get a slice.  This place down the road has a deal for a drink and 2 slices for $4.50.  We each eat 1 slice because they are pretty big. Talk about a cheap date!  I usually bring my own bottle of water since I don’t drink fountain drinks.  I got in the requisite broccoli on my slice

Mmmmmm…….

I am actually getting the protein powder post ready to go.  It will be up some time tomorrow.  Sorry for the delay!

Doing some R&R tonight.  I think Pixie has the right idea:

Giveaway for the Lose The Diet book ends on Sunday!

FYI: This was the charity I donated to for Haiti victims: Medical Teams International

Question:  Any fun plans for the weekend?

So I went to run this morning.  It felt so much better than the other day. [...]]]> Here it is, the last day of 2009.  The year was full of ups and downs.  Overall, I have to say that I hope 2010 goes more smoothly!  I’ll post my goals for the new year on the first.

So I went to run this morning.  It felt so much better than the other day. In fact, I went further than planned!

I slowly increased my pace by 1/1oth mile each minute until I was cruising at 5.5 mph.  I stayed there until 2.5 miles.  Then I increased by 1/10th each minute to get up to 6 mph, where I stayed until I finished mile 3.

Then came the challenge!  I increased speed again 1/1oth of a mile each minute until I was at 6.5 mph and stayed there for 5 minutes or so.  Super challenge was going up to 7 mph (8:34 pace), which I just bumped up to because I didn’t think I could do it incrementally.  I stayed there for 3 minutes!  Then I backed down to 6 mph again.  That felt so good to get back to that pace and my heart rate came down enough that I decided to go for an extra mile!  I ran 6 miles today    I was a puddle when I finished, but a happy puddle.

I was roaring hungry when I got home.  The pre run Balance bar only lasts so long!  Made protein waffles and taking Susan’s tip, I set the machine on high and cooked them longer.  They were a thing of beauty!

Topped with a banana mashed with a tablespoon of maple syrup and a sprinkle of granola. My tummy was the most happy of campers after this.

It’s been quiet on the work front today.  Got some shoveling in since we got an inch of snow today.  As if 6 miles of cardio weren’t enough

Had a hughjass BBQ chicken salad for lunch.  Nom, nom.

John won the football pics again this week.  I made real pity picks of the Raiders and Lions, so it serves me right.  He chose Steve’s Place for dinner (where you can get breakfast all day!).

So that’s what I had!

Have I mentioned how much I love breakfast lately??  Eggbeaters and cheese on a toasted english muffin and home fries.  It’s hard to mess up breakfast foods, and this was tasty!  I also had 1/2 a cantaloupe on the side.

John wanted dessert, so we stopped at Starbies where I got a tall skim cappuccino with honey drizzle.

And had a bite of his cupcake:

It was fresh and good.

Now it’s down time, movie time, and trying to stay up to midnight!

———————————————————-

Last Hot 100 update:  Overall review.

1. Duathlon.  DONE!!! (Oct)  I am so proud of this one.
2. Limit the number of eggnog lattes this year to 2 or 3.   I had 2 at Starbucks this year.  Did have a couple at home, but those are not as caloric as the cafe’s.
3. Keep a redline of weight in mind to not go over during the holidays.  I popped 1 pound above redline after Christmas, but that will go away.  I did pretty well maintaining this holiday season.
4. Complete the New Rules of Lifting for Women.  DONE!!!! (Nov) Another achievement I am very proud of.

5. Enjoy time with family during the holidays.  Love my family! I don’t know if I spent enough time with them, but I tried.

6.  Better organization of time to be productive.  I did so-so with this.  Some days were better than others.

7.  Do some freelance writing.  Lame LOL

8.  Run at least 2 more official 5K races this year.  DONE!  I seem to have no problem hitting my fitness goals.

Thank you to Steve for challenging us to end the year well!

If any of you want a new challenge for the New Year, Steve is hosting another one.  Check it out here: Perfect 10

Have a happy and safe New Year’s Eve!  See you on the flip side of the decade

Headed out to the gym today.  It turns out that one of the owners did pass away this weekend.  He was only 35.  Very sad.  The gym [...]]]> Looks like a lot of you use rewards points!  Thanks so much for all of your comments everyone!  I love logging in each morning and reading them. 

Headed out to the gym today.  It turns out that one of the owners did pass away this weekend.  He was only 35.  Very sad.  The gym will be closed tomorrow and Friday.  Not sure what will happen with the gym.

I did a little treadmill walking (wearing my new athletic socks!!), then hit the weights:

• Chin up:  2
• Barbell squats:  3 sets of 8 at 85 pounds

• Widegrip lat pull down:  3 sets of 8 at 60 pounds
• Pushups:  3 sets of 10

• Static lunge:  3 sets of 10 with 25 pound plate
• Prone Cuban snatch:  3 sets of 10 with 10 pound dumbbells.
• Incline reverse crunch: 3 sets of 10.

After that, I did the recumbent bike.  I haven’t been on any bike at all in about a month!  Mine is now officially hung up for the season

I picked John up and we headed for the Wednesday usual!

I know coffee is an addiction for me, but possibly bagels are as well.   Gone are the days were we would have them 4 to 5 days a week and mine would be a cinnamon sugar bagel with cappucino cream cheese (at Einsteins).  Plus sweetened coffee or a vanilla latte.  Who knows how Lori got to 250 pounds? – raise your hand!  It’s all about changes.

I hope to have the gingerbread cookie recipe posted on Thursday.  John got it for me and I just have to put it in post form.

I had a deep-seated chill for most of the morning which tea and a fleece jacket couldn’t get rid of, so I wanted something that would warm me up from the inside out for lunch.  That meant oats!

I put protein powder, pumpkin, cinnamon in it and topped with jam and almonds.  It worked and kept me nice and warm for the afternoon.  Is there nothing oats can’t do?  Of course, this lap warmer helped as well.

She looks so irritated that I was taking her picture LOL!

So yesterday I did well on the snacking front.  I did not get in 30 minutes of cleaning, though.  However, spending time with John at the cafe was totally worth ditching the cleaning!  Today’s mini goal is going to be to get in that cleaning after I sign off from this post and to RELAX!  I can’t believe I need to schedule that in, but there you have it.  I am also super behind on my google reader.  I haven’t even opened it today

Ever have one of those days where you just can’t even think of what to have for dinner?  I did one of those staring into the fridge things tonight.  John made himself eggs and sausage, which got me thinking breakfast again LOL.  I decided on a fallback standby of the waffle egg sandwich!

Breakfast foods for all 3 meals.  Does life get any better?

Ornament of the day:

A nutcracker (holding a french horn).  There is always a little humor with the nutcrackers for me because I went through period of playing in the pit orchestra for the annual Nutcracker performances every year and it got so I couldn’t stand the music for it anymore!  It was like a nightmare every time I heard it (and it is ubiquitous at this time of year).  As a joke, John has nutcracker music for the ringtone for me in his phone when I call call him.  I do like the music again now, though.

Don’t forget the cookbook giveaway if you haven’t entered yet!  Ends this Friday.

Off to clean and then relax!

NROLW Stage 6 A:  last workout!

Finally today we have hot water again, thanks to a new hot water heater (even though the ‘old’ one was less than 4 months old.) There are those days that just aren’t good, and laughing at it isn’t an option. [...]]]> Today was a good eating day. Good thing because yesterday wasn’t. Pretty stressful around here.

Finally today we have hot water again, thanks to a new hot water heater (even though the ‘old’ one was less than 4 months old.) There are those days that just aren’t good, and laughing at it isn’t an option.
But, today is a new day.

I got a new toy to play with, it’s actually a product I am reviewing, and it takes a ‘small step’ approach to weight loss. Just a little tease and I’ll post the review in a few days after I try to break it LOL! (J/K – it’s actually quite fun).

I need to extra focus on eating. Starting to let little snacks and stuff sneak in. I think I may have to ban granola from the house for a while. I tend to nibble on it. I hate it when a green light food becomes a red light food and I have to remove it from the premises for awhile. Removing the granola means getting rid of one of my very favorite brekkies for a bit (greek yogurt, honey, strawberries, granola). Maybe the change will be good.
I guess I am kind of like the warden, and certain foods have to go into solitary confinement when they can’t get along in the general population (aka my normal foods).

So, I am trying to think of something new for breakfast a couple days a week. No cereal, as that is problematic for me to munch on. I already do oatmeal in my protein pancakes.
I am thinking of making an egg sandwich using the Arnold sandwich thins and some cheese. Yep – that sounds pretty good!