Tag Archives: oats

Will be productive for soup!

You know how yesterday I was saying how I didn’t get anything done? Today was a whole nuther ballgame!  I was raining when I got up (Hello Ida remnants), so I had to wait a bit until my gym opened up at 8am.  I had a Zone bar for a preworkout snackie.  Then off to the gym and hit the treadmill for 5 miles.  It felt good to really break a sweat.  You know you are on the treadmill a long time when you see people come in, watch them work out and then they leave, all while you are doing the same thing 😛

I arrived home ready to devour my arm and commenced to cooking some Banana, cashew butter, and apple butter oats.

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These were fantastic!  John was laughing at me because I kept saying “yum” while I was eating them.  Extra hunger = extra good taste.

Off to shop, passed by Great Escape on our way.

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Hit the outlet malls – serious sales going on today.

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And found a coffee mug that’s just right for me!

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We were hungry at this point and headed to Samantha’s where one of the soups of the day was Squash and apple bisque!  I just had to have a bowl with some fresh made wheat bread.

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Soooooo good.  It was a soupy kind of day.  Then it was off to the mall for more shopping.  We actually got a nice start on the Christmas stuff that we are buying.  We will make other things for people as well.

Took a break for this!

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I had a skim latte. John got an eggnog latte.   I am trying to wait until Thanksgiving before I have one, but I had a couple sips of his.  Eggnog is like crack to me.  I could bathe in its creamy goodness 😯

More productivity with grocery shopping and then a stop at the smokehouse to stock up on meat.  We got chicken breast, ground beef, turkey breast, boneless pork chops, and bacon. There are some great benefits to shopping locally if you can.  Boneless chicken breasts at $2.09 per pound!  I love that we can support local farmers and the local processor all in one fell swoop.

All of this happened by 4 pm!  We were on a roll.

Obviously had some fresh meat for dinner – chicken with a slice of bacon and laughing cow!  Yum!!!  It’s amazing how just 1 slice of bacon can add so much flavor.

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And a mondo amount of broccoli!

I am going to relax tonight with the hubby and watch movies.  One of those rainy nights just perfect for that!

Have a great night!

Breakfast with mom and my carbs

John and I met my mother for breakfast this morning.  No workout today.  I am taking it easy for my back.  We met at Cafe on The Park:

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Tiny place with a maximum occupancy of 27, but I don’t know where that many people would fit!  The prices are so low here, it’s crazy.  I would have loved french toast or a big omelet, but I saw that oatmeal was on the menu, so I went with that.  I also ordered a side of peanut butter and put a jam packet on it 😀

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It was just missing the banana!  Not sure why toast is served with oatmeal, but I managed just to eat 1 slice (I do love toast).  The 3 of us ate breakfast here for less than $12 – can you believe it?

This shirt was on the wall, and I got the biggest kick out of it.

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Lunchtime included a mango that I got this weekend.  They were on sale, so I had to get one.  Plus some kiwi.  Boca burger with laughing cow.  Num.

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It’s funny when you write a post, you never know what is going to stick out with the readers.  Yesterday I was focused on my strength workout, and it seemed everyone noticed all the carbs I ate!  I normally do not have that many carbs every day, but once in a while is not a problem.  Most regular readers know that I don’t eat a lot of actual bread or pasta (except for my bagels).  My carbs usually come in the form of grains (oats) or wraps.  Because I usually work out in the morning, I do the majority of my daily carbs for breakfast and only have fruit and veggies with my dinner protein.  And yes, I do eat bagels twice a week.  I love them and I don’t find food to be scary any more.  I think a lot of people are scared of breads.  Again, everything in moderation!  (I do have to say that phrase annoys me a little 😉  )

The main reason I don’t eat a lot of bread is because I am a volume eater and 1 slice of good whole grain bread can easily be 140 calories.  Sure, I could get the reduced calorie bread, but it either has splenda in it, or is too soft for me.  I loves me some hearty bread.  That is where the waffles come in.  Nutrigrain waffles are 140 calories for 2, so it makes for a perfect sandwich option!

My new buddy hung out by the window today.  Look how brazen he is!

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He says, “You want a piece of me??”

John made lattes today.  He almost always does them with a little something extra.  This has his homemade dulce de leche drizzled on top:

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I’m spoiled 😳

He also cooked dinner tonight as I made a dessert.  He did a stir fry of chicken and pineapple with teriyaki sauce.  Of course, you know what I had to add to that bowl!

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I really wish I could get John to eat broccoli.  He will sometimes try a piece, but he doesn’t like it that much.  He is eating more veggies in general, though – so that makes me happy.  He is almost at his goal weight, too (stinker….).

I will show a picture of what I made for dessert, but the recipe is being submitted for a contest so I can’t share just yet.  Be known that it is very good and a bit decadent:

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Gonna need to do some running tomorrow LOL!

It’s officially my weekend!  I have decided to goof around tonight and relax.  Watch Project Runway and have some couch time.

Question:  Project Runway viewer?

Blood donation and chilly run.

Woke up this morning and it was again 32 degrees!  I was going to run outside as I don’t like to drive to the gym just to run unless it is precipitating horribly outside.  So, I made some fantabulous oats for breakfast and got right to work:

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40 grams of oats, 1 medium banana (part cooked in, a few slices for garnish), blueberry jam, peanut butter.  (Note  it was dark out when I made these, too early).  So freaking good!  Some days food tastes even more amazing, and this was one of them.  Maybe because I was hungry, but not starving like after a workout.

Worked until 10:30 and saw the temp was getting close to 40.  I knew it probably wouldn’t get much warmer, plus we had afternoon stuff scheduled, so here I was contemplating the thought of being cold!

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….. nice camera……

I am just a wuss, because the cold only lasts about 10 minutes, then I get hot and sweaty when running, even in almost freezing weather!  3.2 miles of sweaty goodness, although I should have snacked before I went out.

Had a fun lunch of Total Blueberry Pomegranate (love this stuff!), lowfat vanilla yogurt and a chopped kiwi.  I have never had kiwi on my yogurt cereal mash before, and I liked it.  😀

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After more work, we took a break to donate blood.  It was lickety split because no one was in line, and my veins were really fast today.  I don’t even think it took 1/2 hour from start to finish at the snack table.

My iron was at 15.4  – Broccoli and chicken rock!!  My iron was higher than John’s LOL.

Afterwards,  I had a bottled water and 1 Lorna Doone (my favorite post donation cookie).

dooneDidn’t want the whole pack because we went out for a latte at Cool Beans, where I spotted my pink item:

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I chose a skim latte and it was tasty.

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Not too hot, either.  Most times, coffee shops make the lattes hotter than the sun and I burn myself.

Did more work before dinner and then wanted more fall-themed goodness:

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Chicken on wheat bread with Cabot reduced fat cheddar topped with cranberry sauce (toasted).  Plus more broccoli – go iron!!

I’ll be working late tonight since I flexed time to donate blood and have coffee.  Plus I have to make more soap.  Busy!  Sitting here snacking on some unpictured cashews while busting out this post.  I admitted them back into the house after being banned for a while and maybe it was too soon.  I’ve eaten too many today.  Think I will put them in the freezer.

PSA:  Don’t forget to donate blood if you are eligible!  It’s a little inconvenient, but you can save up to 3 lives with each donation.  I hope that whomever gets my blood will get a little bit of radiance. 😀

I also found out that it takes 5 days for your body to replace the red blood cells that you donate.  Ooopsss… I have a race on Saturday (weather permitting).  Might be a little slow – or at least that is my excuse and I am sticking with it!

Tomorrow is biking to bagel day, hopefully.  Catch you on the flip side!

Gearing up for the duathlon!

Don’t you love those days where you actually can sleep in, but can’t actually do it?  I was up before 7 am this morning.  Still dark out and I was all snuggly in the flannel sheets.  So, I just lounged a bit and woke John up to talk to him.  Poor guy.  Normally I pop out of bed and hit the gym while he sleeps in every day.

Nice weather here today, I really wish it would be this way tomorrow, but the forecast is looking dimmer and dimmer.  I won’t cancel the race unless it is snowing, and that’s just for safety of biking on snowy roads.  I might whine a lot, though!

I took a little more time for breakfast primping after being inspired by Susan doing that yesterday.  Plus the banana was a larger one, so I saved some to put on top.

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We went to a museum today to view a Degas exhibit.

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I really wish I could have taken pictures in there.  The great thing is that it did not focus on the ballerina pictures that he is most famous for, but all the music background shots.  Pretty neat!

I also  tried my hand at making pumpkin butter from Danica’s site, and substituted honey for the agave.  Simple and delicious.

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Spread some warm on a gingersnap (these are now hidden up high, thank you).

Pink item for the day spotted at Lowe’s!

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Then we stopped for coffee where I did a little carb loading  😉  (right??)

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Apple cinnamon scone.

So, check list for Sunday’s transition bag:

  • coconut water
  • balance bar
  • water bottle
  • bike gloves and stretch gloves
  • running hat
  • cell phone
  • tissues (runny nose from cold, I’m sure)
  • spare bike tire tube and CO2 filler and wrenches (hope I don’t need!)

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This is all going into my front bike bag (except I will be wearing the gloves.)

Planned outfit will be compression shorts and my long workout pants, technical turtleneck, workout jacket and fleece jacket.  I probably won’t wear the fleece for the run, but will need it for the bike.  I will be totally mismatched, but hopefully warm.  Colors include black, light blue, bright red, pink, and dark blue-grey.

Bike tires are all filled up and checked, and chain lubed up.

Here is a link to the race course

I am pretty excited, although starting to get panicky about the weather.  It’s going to be a smaller field.  About 80 preregistered.  Not sure how many will show up tomorrow and register with crappy and cold weather forecasted.  I am okay with coming in near the bottom.  I think the field will be more hardcore than the triathlon was.

Okay everyone!  I will post an update after the duathlon tomorrow when I get thawed out and back home after we go out for something warm and yummy when I am finished!

See you on the flip side…..

NROLW: YTWL video and no bagel??

Hello to my new visitors!  I was honored to be asked for an interview by Sahar for FatFighterTV and it was posted today.  I was given a Weight Loss WooHoo, which you can read about here. That was fun!

September challengers, don’t forget to do the final check in here!

Today was the last NROWL stage 5 workout:

  • Deadlift/bent over row:  4 x 4  at 75 pounds
  • Single leg partial squats:  4  x 4
  • Wide grip lat pulldown:   4 x 4 at 70 pounds
  • Back extension:  4 x 4 at 100 pounds
  • YTWL:  4 x 4 at 10 pounds
  • Crunches, reverse crunches, lateral flexion:  3 x 10
  • Prone cobra:  3 x 2 minute holds

Then it was breakfast time.  Long-time readers probably expect the usual Wednesday bagel, but not today!  Today is my mom’s birthday (Happy Bday MOM!!) and we took her and my father out to breakfast at the Silo Restaurant.

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There is plenty of opportunity to eat a lot of food there, but I decided to eat healthy instead with a bowl of oatmeal!

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There was a choice of strawberries or blueberries, and you can see what I chose.  I also sprinkled with a bit of brown sugar.  It was quite good and filling.  Actually more oats than I normally eat.  I was hungry after my workout today.

Chilly day today, mid 40s.  We turned the furnace on today for the first time.  Pixie is just a heat magnet now. It’s very hard to work when she does this:
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Yes, that is my current work spot.  How lucky am I that I can work in a rocking chair??

Here is my next video! Please forgive the set up and ending. I still need to figure out how to crop those off. I did it before with my triathlon videos, but forgot how I did it!  I’m no Stephen Spielberg.

Anyway – this is a move called YTWL.  Named that way because of the moves your arms make. You can feel free to sing YMCA when you do this if you want. 😀 If you try this, please start with no weights and build up. It is much harder than it looks. I am using 10 pound dumbbells and you can see how I struggle on the L part at the end. Also, some people point the weights horizontal on the T part. I do them parallel to the floor because I think it is easier on the rotator cuff (that’s just me).

We are off to my folk’s house tonight for cake, ice cream, and fruit – so wish me luck. My plan is just to have fruit and I have enlisted John’s help with that.

Question: Is there another NROLW move you would like to see me video?

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Monday morning! This was the last workout A for NROWL for stage 5. One more lifting workout this week.

  • 1 arm dumbbell snatch:  4 x 4  at 25 pounds
  • 1 legged dumbbell deadlift:  4 x 4  at 30 pounds
  • Bent over barbell row:  4 x 4 at 75 pounds
  • 1 arm overhead dumbbell squat: 4 x 4  at 15/30 pounds
  • Incline dumbbell bench press:  4 x 4  at 25 pounds
  • Planks:  3 x 2 minute holds
  • Reverse wood chop:  4 x 4 at 50 pounds
  • Leg matrix  3 times

Biked home.  It’s only a shade under 2 miles, but after doing the leg matrix, that is a tough ride!

Had a delicious bowl of banana oats topped with peanut butter.  I made the PB yesterday with some maple syrup.  Yum!

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Here is my first lifting video.  (Excuse sweatiness, I did this at the end of today’s workout.)  I wanted to showcase one of my favorite moves – the deadlift/row combo.  You can start with the barbell on the floor if you want, I just have it on this rack for convenience.  Important thing in this exercise is to not lock your knees and to flex from the hips, not your back when lowering the bar so that you don’t round your back.  * Note, if the sound isn’t down, you may want to turn it down to block out the gym noise.

Hope you enjoyed!

I’ll be back later with an anniversary post 😀

Last challenge check-in for September will be on Wednesday, since that is the last day of the month. Just a couple days to go!

7-miler and views of myself

After last night’s Reeses throwdown (which I lost), I knew I needed a little extra boost on the exercise front today.  Not to mention my football dinner 😀

I wanted to go at least 6 miles.  Had a Zone Fudge Graham bar to start with.  Bars and bagels really and truly are the best preworkout fuel, although yogurt smoothies come in a close 2nd.  I did a daisy loop around the house.  A newly mapped 2 mile run, which turned out to be way more hilly than I thought.  I was a little tired from that, probably because of yesterday’s workout.  I wound back to home, drank some H2O and did a 3 mile loop.  For whatever reason, around mile 4.5 I got an energy boost.  Back at home for more water and then another 2 mile loop.  7+ total today.  I didn’t wear my watch.  I have decided that on long runs where I have a set distance to go, I don’t want to know the time.  It’s depressing to look down and see 20 minutes and know that I have more than 45 minutes left, you know?  I figure I will be done when I am done.

In the spirit of Operation Beautiful – I am showing that I am beautiful when I am sweaty!

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Had super delicious oats when I returned.  John cooked up one of the pie pumpkins last night in the pressure cooker and here is some fresh pumpkin!

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Take *that* Libby’s!!

Added to my oats with a tsp of brown sugar and cinnamon and topped with cranberry preserves.

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So fresh tasting and yummy!

I am trying to think of ways to organize my blog into more helpful posts other than just me blabbing on about food and fitness of my own.  I am not sure if 2 posts a day is better or just 1.  I don’t like to overwhelm readers and I am not sure if it is better to have 2 shorter posts or 1 really long one as I am doing currently.  Any thoughts on this?

Yesterday I was talking with John over breakfast about the view I have of myself.  I had looked through some old pictures the other day and it is so weird seeing myself at 250 pounds in photos.  I almost don’t recognize myself in them.  However, I also look at photos of me now and think “Do I really look like that?”.  When I see myself in the mirror or look down at my legs, I have that sort of mix of still feeling heavy, yet feeling smaller.  I don’t know if I can describe it and not sure if any of you get what I mean.  Maybe it’s a feeling that is magnified by how much weight one has lost.  I said something to John about being chubby, and he said I wasn’t chubby at all.  In fact he called me a healthy dynamo, which kind of made me laugh.  Makes me think of this:

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John asked how long it would be before I saw myself as I really am, and I don’t know.  It’s like not seeing myself as an athlete, but I think I am a bit of one.  Certainly not of a professional caliber, but one nonetheless.  I really don’t know how to correct that way of thinking, either.  I don’t view myself in any negative light and actually tend to be kind of clinical in how I look at the areas that I think need improvement. Maybe that isn’t really a bad way to think, I don’t know.

I spent the majority of 40 years being overweight and maybe it will take 40 before I get used to seeing me as I am LOL!

Well – it was my football winning dinner tonight!  Decided on downtown Glens Falls and stopped at Prima.  Yum.  They normally aren’t open for dinner on Thursdays, but tonight was a special night.

I had a delicious panini made on artisan wheat bread, turkey, brie, sprouts, and cranberry chutney.  So good!

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After dinner we walked around downtown.  Prima was open because it was opening night of balloon fest weekend!  (Guess you know what kind of pictures are coming up in a day or so 😀  ).

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They let us walk inside this balloon.  Here is a view from the inside out!

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That was fun!

PSA – Another first time triathlete coming up this weekend!  Give PubsGal some love!

I’m off to do a little more work and indulge in my guilty pleasure of Project Runway!

8-miler, running thoughts and ice cream

Well – last night was ice cream at Friendly’s!  I got a happy endings sundae with butter crunch ice cream and peanut butter sauce.

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It was very good and I enjoyed every bite!  Plus it was nice just to get out of the house for a while.

So, this morning was the 8-mile jog!  Here is me fresh as a daisy before going out.

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Well, maybe not so fresh 😀

I fueled up with the other Odwalla bar that John got me before I went out.  This was tasty.  I packed along a POM juice, a bottle of water, and a few dates with cashew butter to have during my run.

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Went down to the track to do 32 laps (snore!!!).  Luckily, it was cloudy for 1/2 the run.  I did 4 miles straight, then stopped and drank the POM juice.  I got an instant rush from that (it is straight juice, after all!).  Then I continued on.  The sun came out after that and it started to feel really humid.  I felt like I was running even slower, which wasn’t true, it just felt like it.  Did 2 more miles (6 at this point), then stopped for a date and some water.  I had to really charge myself up for the last 8 laps.  There were maintenance people there working on the football field inside the track and on the school roof – they probably were getting a kick out of hearing me talk to myself.  The last mile was fairly hard, more from the point that I just wanted to be done.  Finished in 1:35:15.  Just about a 12 minute mile pace (or 5 mph). I was so soaked in sweat when I was done, I literally could wring out my trisuit (yuck!!).

Check out the GoWear fit  – it gave a calorie burn of about 1000 for this run.  Even if I knock 10% off of that just for fudging sake (mmmm….. fudge…) that is still 900!  You can see where I took the 2 stops.

gwfAnd yes, I do eat more on days like this.

It got me really thinking about whether I want to do a 1/2 marathon or not.  I know I could probably finish it, but I don’t know if the desire is there to, and that is very important.  When I was training for the triathlon, I wanted to do it and I was excited for it, even though I was kind of scared.  The 1/2 doesn’t feel that way.  I need to mull it over.  I told myself I would decide when I had done an 8 mile, but maybe I need more time.

Had a fabulously refreshing shower and made a late breakfast of chocolate banana oats!

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  • 40 grams of oat bran
  • 1 small banana
  • 4 grams of dark cocoa powder
  • spoonful of cashew butter.

Work is really slow today. That’s the downside of doing transcription.  No files = no work.

Lunch today is a tuna/hummus wrap (last of the hummus) and the last pear.  We really need to go grocery shopping!

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Neat online giveaway!

Run to the finish -It’s Amanda’s birthday and she is giving away a ton of stuff to a lucky reader!

(Teaser, look for a giveaway on my site next week!)

Lucky me that John fired up the grill and got some chicken going.   He used some Emeril’s seasoning that I got to sample for being a Food Buzz publisher.  The afternoon got busy!

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The last of the blueberries, and this was a frozen veggie mix.  Down to the dregs now of everything!

Preseason football tonight.  Are you ready??

Question:  Do you watch football, and if so, what team?  Go Broncos!

Morning eats

Not much to do today, so I am doing an early post!

Slept in again until after 8am!  Of course, I didn’t go to bed until well after midnight 😀

Lazed around a bit and had breakfast at home.  I know Sunday is usually bagel day, but J is out of town and we did go yesterday.  I was debating on running again today, but thought I would just walk after breakfast:

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Oat bran cooked with half a banana and topped with cashew butter.  Yum!

Took a walk for 2 or 2.5 miles, not really sure.  I just shot this picture for the heck of it and realized that I kind of like my thighs now!  Yes, they are bigger, but they are very strong and do so much for me – so I wanted to give them some bloggy love for all they do!  (Not to mention I think this picture makes my legs seem long – which at 5’2″ isn’t really true!)

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Lunch today was wonderful blueberries, yogurt and Optimum Blueberry cereal from Nature’s Path.  Yum!  Ate on the porch today, which was nice.

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Work is very slow today, lots of doctors on vacation!  So,  just puttering around the house.  Will be going out for some frozen yogurt later with my folks.

5 miler and 5 a day!

Had a goal to do a 5-mile run this morning.  Had some fuel of a toasted wheat english muffin with a couple tsp of almond butter.  Wish I could just blob the nut butter on there!

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I then went to the track and hit a comfortable pace.  I lost speed when training for my triathlon because I stopped doing speed work.  I wanted to finish the 5 miles in under an hour, and I just made it!  59:01.   And I could have gone further, too. That is a shade under a 12 mile pace, which is about 2 minutes slower than my 5K pace.  I know this is horribly slow to a lot of people (not that I care LOL) But, I wasn’t pushing or anything, just going for distance.  I want to test longer runs before I commit to doing a 1/2 marathon.   At this rate, it would take me about 2.5 hours to do a 1/2.  Do I really want to run that long?? I definitely need some knee braces for the longer runs.  I do not want any injuries and I would rather be on the cautious side.

I was really hungry when I got back and made some pumpkin oats with protein powder:

oats4The oats steamed up my camera!

  • 40 grams oats
  • 1 tsp brown sugar
  • cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup pumpkin
  • 1/2 scoop protein powder (stirred in at end)
  • topped with a spoon of cranberry preserves (found at the local smokehouse!)

Glad I did the run early in the morning, because  a light rain has settled in for the day and has continued.

Lunch was so good!  I was craving something salty (think it was from sweating so much during the run).  So I decided to scramble 1 egg with egg whites and topped with feta cheese.  Served with a side of those FSTG sweet potato chips (yum!!) and a wonderful nectarine.

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I didn’t have any veggies for lunch and I really try to get at least the 5 a day recommended F&V per day.

For snack, I decided to have some fruit with my latte.  Going on the 2nd day without a protein bar!

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Zipped through my work today!  Yay!  I was done by dinner time.  Decided to pile on the veggies – at least 2 servings of broccoli here, plus another turkey burger on a wheat pita.  Yum!

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Had a bit of a sweet craving, so nabbed one of John’s butterscotch candies!

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I’ll have another small snack later while watching the Tour!  It’s a hill day and should be exciting!

Fruit and veggie tally for the day:

Pumpkin, broccoli, banana, strawberries, nectarine.  A total of 6 servings.  And no cereal!!

Question: How many servings of fruits and veggies do you get in a day?