Weekly Workout Thread 19th March till 25th March

[aljdewey]

Lorelei, it''s not that I "got off track"; I haven''t.....but it''s just that I seem stuck in limbo. After a few months of consistent weight loss (down 34 lbs.), I''m stuck for 3-4 weeks now with next to no movement. I''m still eating right and exercising, but have hit a roadblock in losing. I''m sure it will work itself out - always does - but hard being patient waiting for it to ''pick back up'', so to speak.

Rod and Skippy - congrats on making the right decisions for you.

So today I''m feigning being irked at our marketing folks.....we just did a mailer to some clients that included a 2 lb. box of Belgian chocolate, and today, they dropped SAMPLES off on my floor. YIKES! Nothing like a bowl of Total to be a chaser for a small nibble of chocolate! LOL

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 3/21/2007 11:05:30 AM
Author: aljdewey
Lorelei, it''s not that I ''got off track''; I haven''t.....but it''s just that I seem stuck in limbo. After a few months of consistent weight loss (down 34 lbs.), I''m stuck for 3-4 weeks now with next to no movement. I''m still eating right and exercising, but have hit a roadblock in losing. I''m sure it will work itself out - always does - but hard being patient waiting for it to ''pick back up'', so to speak.

Rod and Skippy - congrats on making the right decisions for you.

So today I''m feigning being irked at our marketing folks.....we just did a mailer to some clients that included a 2 lb. box of Belgian chocolate, and today, they dropped SAMPLES off on my floor. YIKES! Nothing like a bowl of Total to be a chaser for a small nibble of chocolate! LOL

Hang in there Aldj, it happens with me too, I tend to stay the same weight ( when I was using the scales) for around a month or so then I would drop 3 or 4 pounds all of a sudden. You will get there, but it is frustrating when you work so hard and the scales just won''t budge

Maybe try mixing up your workout routine a bit and see if that helps, that can often help to jumpstart a nice downward shift on the scales.

 

[aljdewey]

Date: 3/21/2007 10:03:29 AM
Author: Dee*Jay


Mrs. S., I don''t know why I bothered to *eat* the pizza last night when I could have just smeared the cheese directly on my a$$ and been done with it, LOL!

OK, Dee - you owe me ONE handiwipe to clean off my monitor! HAHHAHA - best laugh of the day! You''re in rare form

 

[ChargerGrrl]

Date: 3/21/2007 12:01:22 PM
Author: aljdewey

Date: 3/21/2007 10:03:29 AM
Author: Dee*Jay


Mrs. S., I don''t know why I bothered to *eat* the pizza last night when I could have just smeared the cheese directly on my a$$ and been done with it, LOL!

OK, Dee - you owe me ONE handiwipe to clean off my monitor! HAHHAHA - best laugh of the day! You''re in rare form

Another handiwipe needed here. Green tea and the keyboard do not mix!

DeeJay, you crack me up.

 

[ChargerGrrl]

G'Morning everyone- it's Wednesday, probably the toughest day of the week for me. Gotta get over that hump.

First off, CONGRATS to Rod & Skippy for putting yourself first and getting out of a challenging work situation.

TG- how did you ever just eat 2 GS cookies? Talk about willpower!

Mara- the Food Network show you caught was Quick Fix Meals with Robin Miller. She has a new cookbook and is doing the booksigning/demo circuit- I just got the schedule last week. She'll be in your neck of the woods on 4/26 at the Sur La Table on Santana Row. I still don't know which markets I"ll have to go to, I just want to get my hands on her book!

Ellen- FOUR POUNDS?? Sounds like your plan is working!

Had my usual oatmeal for breakfast, and added a banana this time. I don't do that too often, as it adds WAY more calories than just mixing in a tablespoon of unsweetened apple sauce. But I figure that once or twice a week is OK.

Mid-morning snack will be "fake" fage (the TJ's brand) with some splenda. I need to look into incorporating other stuff into it so it's not so boring.

I was going thru my stack of magazines last nite (crazy how they pile up!), and found a blurb about a calorie-counting site: thedailyplate.com I checked it out and it's GREAT! I may just use their food diary instead of the spreadsheet.

 

[Mara]

congrats everyone on the weight loss!! ellen i don't think it's that crazy to drop 4 lbs in a week, when my weight finally started dropping off it was in chunks like 2-4 lbs a week. at first you are like 'okay can that be right?!' but then the next week when it was still lower on the scale you are like OHKAY sweet! i didn't do the whole 'i lost 1 lb this week' at all..but my other friend who lost like 15 lbs over the last 6 months did a pretty steady 1 lb a week loss. however NOW if i drop weight it's about 1 lb at a time, or 1/2 lb at a time...much more slowly and steadily than when it was falling off.

okay so these chewy coconut bars are EVIL. in a yummy way. i had four last nite!!! thank god they are only 90 cals and 1g of fat each or it could be ugly. hahaha. i have given away half basically but the other 10 are calling my name. i scheduled 3 for today just because i know i will probably eat them anyway so might as well factor them in. at least they are healthy. hee.

breakfast this morning is steel cut oatmeal with sugar free syrup and cinnamon which turned out divine. i read recently that cinnamon has some really good health properties and it's so low in cals, like 5 for a teaspoon or something and i just flat out love the way it tastes so i have been trying to add it to more things to get extra flavor. the oatmeal is 150, syrup is 5 and cinnamon is 5. and very flavorful. love spices. i imagine it would be great with strawberries and fage as well!

alj...i'm sure you have read about plateaus but basically they tell you to up your calories AND your workouts, basically jump start your body into having to pay attention again. and don't undereat, really important. you too DJ with your low 1200 cal days and 500 cal workouts!! honestly if i ever eat under 1400 cals a day i swear i feel lightheaded and weak.

i'm still heating my leg and i have been stretching it, feels better for sure...so we'll see what i end up doing today. portia is at the groomers so it's just me today and i had a lunch planned but my friend had to cancel. tonite i think i am making the chicken quesadillas i was having a dilemma over...haha. esp now that i am not going to lunch with my friend.

CG, yes i found the robin miller info on the foodnetwork.com site last nite and the show i watched with all her recipes too. besides the quesadillas she did this awesome looking thai peanut salad with chicken that i'd like to try as well! i love the idea of making a batch of chicken in the oven and then shredding it and using it in dishes throughout the week. i didn't know she'd be local, how sweet i will have to try to catch the event that day, thanks! oh and dailyplate is great as well. i use dailyplate, dietfacts.com and also calorie-count.com pretty much interchangeably for finding information and counts on things. lol re the spreadsheet, my excel spreadsheet is soooo elaborate at this point that i could never use an online tracker anymore. hehee.

anyhow hope everyone is having a great day so far. here are my measurements/weigh in numbers:

height: 5'7"
weight: 131
arms: 9.75"
waist: 26.25"
lower waist: 33"
hips: 36"
thighs: 19.75"

pretty much the same as last week i think...if i am seeing changes they are miniscule, like a quarter of an inch which could also just be bloating or a big meal or something. so i'm pretty stable measurements wise which is nice. i love having 36" hips though now!! whee.

for comparison, i was thinking back to when i started on this whole thing, like last april? and my weight and measurements looked more like this from what i can recall.

height: 5'7"
weight: 151
waist: 30.5"
lower waist: 36"
hips: 41"

so my body has come a long way!!! yay for everyone making the same kind of progress i was making last year. it's so much fun. keep it up!

 

[Dee*Jay]

LOL Al and Charger -- handiwipes coming your way right now!

Mara, I actually do pretty well on 1,200 cals. Even back when I as in the throws of workout mania (i.e., before the chest pain) I would keep to about 1,200-1,300/day and I was working out 600+ a day too. No negative effects as far as I could tell; I never felt tired or lightheaded or anything. And of course there are some days where the 1,200 go right out the window and I end up some outrageously high cals. But I think, for me anyway, that if I try to be good to the tune of 1,200/1,300 when I can and then splurge on the days when we go out or that I'm simply just plain *bad* it all balances out for me.

Just had my LC and chips for lunch and I'm trying to decide if it's raining hard enough to deter me from a trip to Starbucks. I see umbrellas down on the street level but it's doesn't look too terribly windy out...

 

[appletini]

I had my own quick fix style meal last night. Mexican chicken. It was so yummy!

Mexican Chicken (for 2)

--2 frozen boneless skinless chicken breast halves
-- 8 oz salsa
-- 2 cloves garlic, minced

Mix together the garlic and salsa and put in a freezer ziplock with the chicken breasts, and then put in the freezer. The night before place the bag in the fridge to thaw. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

This was so yummy and tender and juicy. Although I''m starting to wonder what Tyson feeds their chickens b/c one of the breasts in the bag was so big it could have come from a turkey...DH and I split it b/c its was huge.

 

[TravelingGal]

Hehehe...well re: the girlscout cookies, I just took two and walked away. Then nibbled. VEEEERY slowly.

Congrats on all this weight loss. I''m still stagnant, and it''s tough, but I swear the inches are literally crawling down. I remember Mara had 3 or 4 months of nothing, and it seemed like she was doing all the right things. My goal was 10 pounds mid-may, and I am down 4ish, so we will see.

Here are my stats!

Two weeks ago
Weight: 141.7
Bust: 36.3
Waist: 32.7
Hips: 39.45
Thigh: 21.7
Arm: 9.9

This week
Weight: 142.1
Bust: 36.25
Waist: 32.6
Hips: 39.4
Thigh: 21.7
Arm: 9.9

 

[decodelighted]

Oh boy ... weigh in day.

So ... on Monday I was *CRESTFALLEN* to get on the scale & see the EXACT same # from last Monday. Was even *good* over the weekend & kept to just about 100 over my calorie max & had lots of exercise what with the 18 inches of snow

. Anyway - I was CONVINCED the scale must be broken.

I was all like "Babe -- our scale is broken ... It hasn''t MOVED" He just laughed at me. But, I guess I was wrong ''cause TODAY it was a whole pound down from Monday.

Do any of you ever try to stand on it "right"? I swear I hold my breath -- is breath "heavy"?

Maybe I''m all full up of Breath -- that''s it ... not my lard-engorged buttocks.

I think it''s time to face facts ... I can''t eat at the calorie "high range" EVERY DAY and then not meet my calorie *BURNING* goals day after day. RATS!

 

[Dee*Jay]

Date: 3/21/2007 3:40:42 PM
Author: decodelighted

Do any of you ever try to stand on it 'right'? I swear I hold my breath -- is breath 'heavy'?

Maybe I'm all full up of Breath -- that's it ... not my lard-engorged buttocks.

I noticed that I actually suck in my stomach when I get on the scale -- like that helps ONE BIT!!!

Holding your breath might work if you weight yourself under water, bouyancy being a factor and all that. Hmmm... maybe I should move my scale into the bathtub...

 

[canuk-gal]

Date: 3/21/2007 11:05:30 AM
Author: aljdewey
So today I''m feigning being irked at our marketing folks.....we just did a mailer to some clients that included a 2 lb. box of Belgian chocolate, and today, they dropped SAMPLES off on my floor. YIKES! Nothing like a bowl of Total to be a chaser for a small nibble of chocolate! LOL

HI:

Alj: Look closer to the nutritional facts on the Total box--I believe chocolate is part of the daily requirement

......

Congrats to those who are losing weight, as part of meeting their goals. Well done!!

Rod and Skippy--good for you doing what you needed to do professionally!

Wow these threads are action packed........

cheers--Sharon

 

[royalasscherlover]

welcome charger! there are all sorts of things you can do to spice up your fage. a couple of my favorites are to add lots of cinnamon, some vanilla, and then drizzle with honey and a couple chopped walnuts, or top with berries (fresh or frozen) and a small bit of honey.

i think i am going to have to start joining in these wednesday measurements...i only weigh myself infrequently at the gym, but the scale hasn''t really moved in about a month, even though i have been mostly good with my workouts and food. so i''m interested in measuring to see if i''m at least changing shape and substituting muscle for fat. i need to buy an appropriate "soft" measuring tape, though, as the only one i have is a stiff tape that doesn''t wrap smoothly around the body.

i have a bit of a headache today, but i''m going to try and do some time on the elliptical regardless. all the rain here has got me craving comfort food - i had tj''s creamy tomato soup for lunch, and i defrosted the last of the lasagna for dinner. for dessert i''m thinking of a cup of hot cocoa...

 

[FireGoddess]

RE: cinnamon...yes, it is VERY good for blood sugar levels and people with diabetes, prediabetes, or just wanting to avoid diabetes altogether. I read an article about 3 supplements to be taking to avoid diabetes and keep blood sugar in check...chromium, magnesium, and cinnamon (like, a whole tsp or two a day...I just take 2 cinnamon pills a day - yes, they sell it in capsule form!)

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 3/21/2007 3:40:42 PM
Author: decodelighted
Oh boy ... weigh in day.

So ... on Monday I was *CRESTFALLEN* to get on the scale & see the EXACT same # from last Monday. Was even *good* over the weekend & kept to just about 100 over my calorie max & had lots of exercise what with the 18 inches of snow

. Anyway - I was CONVINCED the scale must be broken.

I was all like ''Babe -- our scale is broken ... It hasn''t MOVED'' He just laughed at me. But, I guess I was wrong ''cause TODAY it was a whole pound down from Monday.

Do any of you ever try to stand on it ''right''? I swear I hold my breath -- is breath ''heavy''?

Maybe I''m all full up of Breath -- that''s it ... not my lard-engorged buttocks.

I think it''s time to face facts ... I can''t eat at the calorie ''high range'' EVERY DAY and then not meet my calorie *BURNING* goals day after day. RATS!

Ha! I totally try to "cheat" when I stand on the scale, but it doesn''t make a difference. I expel all the breath I have AND sort of dangle my pinky toes off the sides. I''m a mental midget, I swear.

I had my mom over for lunch and she kept commenting on how much thinner I looked. She''s a very sweet woman, but she never says that unless I have actually lost weight. Otherwise it''s "Are you working out much lately?" or "Your face looks swollen today." I told her I''ve only lost about 3.5 pounds, but she says she sees a major difference. My clothes definitely do fit better though, and I know what the measurements stats are saying, so this was all encouraging.

When I lost weight a few years ago, it took forever for the first 10 pounds. Like 5 months. So I wonder if my body is doing the same thing again this time. Hm. I did seem to lose more when I was doing about 1200-1300 cal a day, but I''m just not sure how long I can sustain something like that.

 

[Dee*Jay]

FG, on the cinnamon front, is it OK to just eat foods with in in them (like granola bars) or is the cinnamon too "processed" at that point to still provide a health benefit? My dad was diagnosed with diabetes two years ago (I can''t remember which is which in terms of type I and II, but this is not the one were people are obese--my dad has always been thin as a rail and very fit), his brother was diagnosed about 5 or 6 years ago, and his sister has been diabetic since she was a child, so I''m very interested in this information.

Ethel M also does a delish cinnamon truffle that I can now justify if it''s doing me some *good*!

 

[Mara]

weighing yourself is an imprecise art!!

really a lot of what the scale says has to do with things like how much water weight you are carrying. the best time to weigh yourself is in the AM they say, before eating, drinking anything etc. i know that is when my measurements are smallest too. really my weight can fluctuate 2-3 lbs depending...when i go to the gym it might say one thing and then i take off my jacket and guess what. my jacket weighs like a 1/2lb. really. and i don't wear my shoes either because they add like another lb. so really naked, in the morning is the best thing. lol. and if i just drank a big glass of water like an hour earlier, maybe it's adding more. who knows. after my workout, i typically weigh up to TWO LBS less. i wish that was my real weight but it's more like 'mara with no water left'...hahaa.

so really don't get discouraged gals, if the scale is not registering things as quickly or as consistently as you want it to. for me measurements were a huge motivator. and also people do see things like weight loss in your face as well and even just how people carry themselves i think. so there's lots of ways your body could be changing but the scale might just not be showing it yet. don't get down. it did take me what felt like FOREVER to see changes on the scale.

so i just got back from meeting my old coworker at this mall outlet near us, it's huge and they just opened a neiman marcus last call. omg i was in heaven and hell at the same time. they have a TON of theory stuff which i love, and a bunch of other sweet brands like joie and elle tahari, marc jacobs, juicy etc. so i spent like 2 hours there after my coworker went back. i really wanted a nice pair of dress slacks for my interview tomorrow but NOTHING was fitting me just right. there was a sweet pair of elle tahari sateen no front pocket ones in white which felt like a dream on but the butt and hip area was just a little bit baggy and they had some stretch so basically within an hour my butt would be baggy. and they didnt have a smaller size which probably would have just been too tight anyway. so unfortunately they were not meant to come home with me. but a few other goodies found their way into my life. hehe.

snack this morning before the mall was corn bran with FF milk and a chewy coconut bar. then when i got home right now i had a 200 cal grilled cheese sandwich (so good, i wanted another one) and a handful of grapes. i am supposed to go work out soon but i don't know, i am just not feeling the love from my leg right now!! but i want to do something...so ugh. maybe i will go and do a 1/2 workout, better than nothing. and tomorrow is a walk so i am pretty sure i can do that with no worries. for whatever reason my left calf outer muscle just doesn't love the elliptical right now but i NEEEDDDD my calorie burn. i'm like an addict.

anyhow sounds like everyone is having a pretty good day...hehe. DJ for cinnamon information, just google it. i read it in an article in a magazine at first, then found a bunch of stuff online. i personally love cinnamon so i am starting to add it to things like toast, oatmeal, and i'll do fage too etc. kudos TG on hearing the thin props from your mom...they can be the harshest critics sometimes!

 

[TravelingGal]

Well don''t push yourself too hard Mara...if you''re not feeling the love, then you should give yourself a break.

Forgot to add, I pushed the girlscout cookies onto my mom! Whoo hoo, they are out of the house! (I also gave her a box of crackers and TJ''s sundried tomato pesto torta. ha!)

 

[FireGoddess]

Date: 3/21/2007 5:14:58 PM
Author: Dee*Jay
FG, on the cinnamon front, is it OK to just eat foods with in in them (like granola bars) or is the cinnamon too ''processed'' at that point to still provide a health benefit? My dad was diagnosed with diabetes two years ago (I can''t remember which is which in terms of type I and II, but this is not the one were people are obese--my dad has always been thin as a rail and very fit), his brother was diagnosed about 5 or 6 years ago, and his sister has been diabetic since she was a child, so I''m very interested in this information.

Ethel M also does a delish cinnamon truffle that I can now justify if it''s doing me some *good*!

Yes, sprinkling cinnamon on your morning latte, or pancakes, or whatever is perfectly fine and is equally as beneficial in terms of blood sugar. However, the article I read said something like getting a teaspoon (which is a LOT!) a day would be ideal which is why I bought the cinnamon capsules at Walgreens in addition to the magnesium and the chromium picolinate instead of trying to eat that much cinnamon each day. But a cinnamon truffle sounds yummy.

LOL!

 

[Dee*Jay]

Thanks FG!

Just back from the gym. Did the elliptical for 65 minutes to the tune of 535 cals. I think the key to keeping my heart rate reasonably low and still being able to maintain a decent pace so that I''m not going so slow that I''m bored is to start out slower and take a little longer to build up. Not anything drastic, but I used to be able to get my heartrate up pretty high in the first 1 to 2 minutes, but now I''m taking it a little slower and I don''t have such a problem keeping it consistent.

And speaking of 65 minutes, this is the first time that I''ve kept going for the extra 5 minute "cool down" (which I did because I wanted to get in *just a few more cals*), but I''ve read that any aerobic activity over 60 minutes is actually bad becuase at that point you start using muscle instead of fat/carbohydrates for energy. Has anyone else read this? What do you think of that concept?

I''ve been VERY good today and I still have a chocolate pudding left to go. (Amazing how the smallest things in life can be come so thrilling, isn''t it?!) Plus I brought a bunch of work home with me, so that will distract me from wanting to eat something, at least somewhat anyway!

 

[Mara]

lol FG a cinnamon teaspoon is not that much for me. i LOVE cinnamon. i think i mixed about 1/2 a teaspoon into my oatmeal this morning. when i bake with it i end up using like 3x whatever the recipe calls for. i'm a cinnamon nut! cinnamon raisin bread is a total weakness, oooh more reason to eat it now!

DJ i never heard that about an over 60 minute workout but i don't know if i believe it (what about rod and his 3 hour workouts?!)...i know i have read anything over 45 minutes you should drink some water and/or maybe have a snack over 60 minutes to keep your body fueled but i never have had a problem that i know of, and i managed to get my body fat down to 19 which is great, so i am carrying a ton of muscle right now. plus honestly is an extra 5 minutes really going to burn that much muscle if that is the case? i tend to do 55 minutes then 7 minutes cooldown or 59 minutes and 6 minutes cooldown or something but 67-70 minutes is not unheard of for me as well.

so i went to the gym and on the way there i got into this mentality of 'just do it' so i got there, weighed myself and then just did it! i kept a steady pace throughout the whole thing and tried to keep my muscles and mental state calm...like no getting all worked up because a great song was on and going faster or whatever. doing it like this actually helped to keep my legs pretty steady and consistent and hopefully didn't put too much pressure on the wrong kind of muscles. i went for 56 minutes and burned 490 cals and then did about 15 minutes of arm weight training so about 530 cals total. my goal was 500 so that's perfect. tomorrow it's just walking and i might do 2-3 1m walks rather than a big 3m walk and see how my leg feels about that. walking around the mall and all that earlier was not a problem so i think a less 'military' walk schedule tomorrow but still getting out there and being active.

came home and had a 100 cal balance bar, those peanut butter crisp ones are hitting the spot day after day now, 5g protein and 5g fiber so it's perfect for an after the workout snack when i need to get my body some protein but we might be eating dinner in 2 hours and i don't want to overload on food but need to feed my muscles something that is yummy and low-cal. it tastes like a treat too. then i seasoned my chicken with the orange smoked glaze marinade and stuck it in the oven for the quesadillas later this evening.

now it's off to the shower and couch for a while to relax! hope everyone is having a great evening!

 

[ChargerGrrl]

shortblonde- THANKS much for the ideas on spicying up the fage. I''ll have to give them a shot.

I''m finally leaving the office and plan to head straight for the gym- I don''t want to be a "gym liar" hehehe. Being at work until this time is pretty late for me, but hubby is back east attending his great-aunt''s funeral so I''m not rushing to get home or anything.

Dinner will be a piece of Mara''s lasagna. We made it on Sunday before DH learned that he would be gone most of this week. We had it on Sunday & Monday eves, and I kept a piece for tonite. The rest is in the freezer. It was yum yum yum- great recipe!

That should then put me at around 1300 calories for today. I''m pretty pleased with myself.

 

[Mara]

good for you CG for getting to the gym!!!

on the fage, one of the best ways i have found to have it with mega taste and low on cals is with splenda and also low-sugar jam. the jam is like 25 cals a tablespoon and i just use a teaspoon for a 5oz fage container and 1.5 splenda packets. it tastes really sweet and yummy. also if you have a fave granola, throw in a little handful for more of a meal (or a great breakfast!). cinnamon, brown sugar, honey, sugar free syrups, even peanut butter can be mixed in. sometimes i put in strawberries, bananas and blueberries. you can even make a fage shake with bananas, splenda, chocolate sugar free syrup (or cocoa powder), or chocolate soy milk, etc. yum.

my chicken came out of the oven fabulous, it smells so good. now i''m just waiting for hubby to get home so i can start assembling and heating things up. whee.

 

[TravelingGal]

Just got back from a 4 mile run about an hour ago...had to cut a mile out since I was running late and I did promise TGuy we'd have dinner tonight. It was a small serve of Korean shortribs which my mom dropped off and some rice. He's out at the golf range so I get some quiet time to myself. Whee!

Gonna *try* and get a bit of ICUs with a pilates DVD, but I am feeling pretty wiped. I am at 1300 cals burned so far this week, so if I can get one more good cardio workout tomorrow, then I'll hit my goal of 2000 burned for the week easily with my Friday pilates.

I'm going to kick back on the couch tonight and do whatever the heck I want...love having the house to myself!!!

ETA CG, let us know how your workout went!

 

[Rod]

Thanks fo the kind wishes everyone. I did sleep like a baby last night and that told me everything I need to know. Of course my boss took more shots at me this morning and told me I was making a huge mistake. That I was going to be poor in the mortgage business, that Florida is a horrible place (I mean hello, I lived there for 12 years) and then he promises he'll change, he'll respect his employee's more, he can change. Then he tries to get me to reconsider and tells me it's not convenient for me to leave right now (like was I supposed to take his convenience into my decision making process??) and wouldn't I consider working remotely for just two months. It was embarassing actually, and while I told him initially I would think about it, I was walking past the printer and they were already downloading resumes of people who could be my replacement and I realized the sympathy I was supposed to feel was all staged and the second they had someone, they'd terminate me on their terms, not mine. So, I walked right back in his office and told him the act was demeaning and that I had made the right decision to leave and I would not take emotional blackmail and would not work remotely. So, he calmed down and then sent out a note to the entire company and told them I was having a mid-life crisis and going back to Tampa. Whatever?? I am a hard worker and credible, so I will do my absolute best for them until the day I walk out and for that I know I am doing the right thing.

It's Wednesday and I went to the gym right after work. It's just amazing how much better my workouts are when I'm not so stressed. Of course I should be somewhat stressed as in just a couple of weeks I will have no income, but somehow that's just not bothering me right now. I'm just so happy to be going home it just doesn't matter I won't have a job. We've actually decided to take a week when we get home and go to the beach and just relax, workout, swim, run and enjoy ourselves.

While I was on the elliptical tonight, they were showing a segmnt on TV, how utterly fattening Chinese Food can be. As an example, they showed that a dinner size portion of General Tso's Chicken included a full day's calorie limit, more than a full day's fat limit and double a full day's Sodium limit. Yikes, I haven't had Chinese food in about a year, as I knew it wasn't really that healthy, but I had no idea that just a chicken dish with rice could be so so bad. I'm glad they didn't offer the fat or calorie counts of sushi as I don't want to have to give up our sushi twice a week, but so far sushi hasn't helped me gain any weight whatsoever.

Tomorrow will be a much calmer day at work. They surely can't tick me off too much since I'm leaving and if they do, I'll just chalk it up to childish behavior. Then we'll do our third night in a row at the gym (which we formally gave 30 days notice on tonight!!).

We also gave notice on the apartment up here and I wrote our gym in Florida, which we had cancelled our membership in and they were kind enough to tell us all we had to do sign a reactivation form when we get home and our membership will be as it was. That's pretty exciting since we had not used 4 one hour personal training sessions we couldn't use up before leaving for Raleigh and they are keeping them on the books for us when we get back. I'm really really excited about picking up again at our gym in Tampa!

I hope you're all having a splendin evening!!!

 

[TravelingGal]

Wow Rod, can he even write an email like that and send it out to the company? That''s horrible! Good for you that you are leaving on YOUR terms and with your dignity intact.

And great news about your gym!!

 

[Rod]

Date: 3/21/2007 10:39:15 PM
Author: TravelingGal
Wow Rod, can he even write an email like that and send it out to the company? That''s horrible! Good for you that you are leaving on YOUR terms and with your dignity intact.

And great news about your gym!!

Thanks TG.......I''m so excited about going home and going back to our gym. I was totally happy at that gym, it''s where REBUILD ROD began and I have such fond memories of being there, our trainer, the people we had become friends with, etc. One thing I''ve learned through this episode is if you miss something badly enough and you can get it back, you should do it. Life is too short and I''m taking my life back it feels so right!!

 

[Mara]

rod..it's funny but now that i have been not working for about 1.5 weeks now..i find myself much less time oriented. it's kind of funny. but i take longer showers, i enjoy the silence or i might move more slowly doing laundry or putting dishes into the dishwasher. today i spent about 2 hours at the neiman marcus outlet and at some point i was thinking 'oh my gosh what time is it' then i thought, does it really matter? haha. i am not as 'rushed' with everything...because i have so much more time to do things! i always used to be really schedule oriented. so you will probably find that a week or two off (or a month!) can really kind of do you good, especially mentally!

so dinner was YUMMY!!!! definitely recommended, greg kept saying it was really yummy as he ate it. hehe. i'll post the recipe in the other thread, it was really fun and easy to make too. one of the other recipes that this gal made with the same orange glazed chicken was a thai peanut salad that looks yummy...i might make that next week. or use it for a tortilla chicken salad which could be yummy too. also i served the quesadilla halves with TJ's roasted red pepper soup with dabs of sour cream and additional pepper. perfect combo!

dessert...not too sure about. maybe chewy coconut bars, or an ice cream bar or a truffle. mmm.

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 3/21/2007 11:13:50 PM
Author: Mara
rod..it''s funny but now that i have been not working for about 1.5 weeks now..i find myself much less time oriented. it''s kind of funny. but i take longer showers, i enjoy the silence or i might move more slowly doing laundry or putting dishes into the dishwasher. today i spent about 2 hours at the neiman marcus outlet and at some point i was thinking ''oh my gosh what time is it'' then i thought, does it really matter? haha. i am not as ''rushed'' with everything...because i have so much more time to do things! i always used to be really schedule oriented. so you will probably find that a week or two off (or a month!) can really kind of do you good, especially mentally!

I took a sabbatical for 9 months during 2003 and stopped wearing a watch during that period because I was always schedule oriented as well. While I wasn''t working, I really didn''t have to give a hoot about time.

Now 4 years later, I still don''t wear a watch except for when I am on business travel (not fun to miss a plane). It''s still a wonderfully liberating feeling not to have to count on time so much.

 

[Mara]

Hehe so I spent some time tonite online doing searches ... on a mission to find a fairly complete list of favorite desserts that the collective WE are tempted by while eating out and what their calories are. Part of this is curiousity because when we eat out, I almost always get dessert wherever we go and sometimes I estimate what I am getting and I always figure 'gosh am I way off'...I still get it anyway because I have a sweet tooth but now I am curious!

So here's a big list of things I found online from various sources, articles, blogs etc. Portion size matters because who knows if this is a 4oz calc at a French restaurant vs a 8oz at a big american restaurant or something. But it gives you some idea and some of the sites had portion sizes too. Some I found more than once and it was interesting to see if they said the same kinda range...like both Tiramisu's are about 400. And there are three Key Lime Pies at around 450-550 so in a similar range. But there's one Bread Pudding on there that's like 900 and another that is 450, and both are actual desserts served at 2 different restaurants in Atlanta. So, very hard to tell...that's double! Who knew that Applebee's has a 230 cal chocolate raspberry layer cake? We NEVER eat there but now I am tempted to try this dessert. Chocolate and raspberries together is a FAVE.

So here's some data. Hope it helps maybe...at least now I know when I am out getting the 'apple crumb pie ala mode' that I can't cheat and put like 400 cals on my spreadsheet, lol!

The funny thing is that I typically 'budget' up to 500 cals for dessert at restaurants because I know they are bad, so I was kind of happy to see that most of the options on here are around 500ish...but some of the 1000 or 700 ones are scary!!

_____________________________

From Forbes '10 Worst Desserts'

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10497027/

Carrot Cake: 680
Apple Crumb Pie: 750
Death By Chocolate: 1200
Banana Split: 555
Strawbrerry Shortcake: 580
Key Lime Pie: 520
Bread Pudding: 480
Peach Cobbler: 450
Tiramisu: 440

From other various sources online:
Chocolate Souffle: 200-400
Frozen Custard: 275
Chocolate Mousse: 550 for 6oz
Chocolate Layer Cake: 550 for 6oz
Brownie: 600 for 6oz
Caramel Pecan Brownie: Boston Market: 900
Brownie with Ice Cream etc: 1200
Applebees Chocolate Raspberry Layer Cake: 230
Cheesecake: 430 for 4oz
Carrot Cake 4oz: 500
Poundcake: 550 for 4oz
Tiramisu: 400 for 5oz
Tapioca: 120 cals 4 oz
Key Lime Pie: 440 for 4.5oz
Strawberry Shortcake: 350 4oz
Angel Food Cake: 300 4oz
Apple Pie: 500 cals for 7oz
Blueberry Pie: 500 cals for 7oz
Crumb Topping or Crisp: 100 added cals to pies
Ice Cream for ala Mode: 270 cals added to pies
White Chocolate Bread Pudding: 950
Cinnabon: 810
Mrs Fields Cookies: 280-340
Bread Pudding Souffle w/Whiskey Sauce: 465
Chocolate Mousse: 230
Pecan Pie: 690
Gelato: 200-300
Zabaglione: 185
Tiramisu: 400
Flan: 300
Rice Pudding: 400
Chocolate Mousse: 250
Creme Brulee: 350
Chocolate Gateau: 436
Lemon Tarte: 450
Profiteroles: 600
Trifle: 270
Lemon Meringue Pie: 305
Cheesecake: 500
Ice Cream Sundae: 500
Bread and Butter Pudding: 505
Chocolate Fudge Cake: 400
Banana Split: 400
Key Lime Pie: 550
Mud Pie: 570
Chocolate Chip Cheesecake: 750