Weekly Workout Thread 26th March till 1st April

[Dee*Jay]

Oh El, I am SO glad to hear and and FI are OK (for the most part anyway). Take time out to heal, and don''t worry, you''ll be back at it soon enough.

 

[KimberlyH]

El, I am so sorry about the wreck and so glad you are okay! How terrifying.

Mara, my crazy cravings only come about once a month, thank goodness! And most of them pass without the need for me to induldge them, but I was talking to John about hamburgers and french fries last night while falling asleep, so I must really need to have one!

Finally, I am going to work out today...WOO HOO! I''m still sick but I can''t take it anymore so elliptical here I come, with a box of tissues in hand.

Ellen, I meant to congratulate you on your noticable changes the other day and forgot! So congratulations, that''s awesome.

 

[aljdewey]

Date: 3/27/2007 9:26:41 AM
Author: Rod

Date: 3/27/2007 1:50:12 AM
Author: aljdewey

Maybe you haven''t given any thought to this, but it''s highly likely that you''re part of the reason that overweight person never comes back more than once.

He''s probably more acutely aware than you realize that you''re looking at him with a ''why are you bothering when you''re that slow'' look, or with a ''gosh, if I don''t kill myself today, I might end up looking like HIM'' look. Perhaps you mistake being overweight for being unintuitive, and if so, you''re dead wrong. Or maybe it''s just that you were oblivious when you were the ''what''s the point'' guy for someone else.

I really have to chime in here with FG. Most of the time, I really enjoy this thread and find a lot of inspiration in it, but today, it''s really struck a wrong chord with me....and especially your post, Rod. Over many weeks, I''ve read post after post exclaiming over society''s unhealthy habits and preaching about how people should just get up and move. That is, until some people DO.......and then the tune changes to ''why bother if you aren''t going to exert yourself as much as I do......oh, and look at ME going 13 mph.''

Maybe you don''t consider that others don''t mind taking a little longer to get to their goals. Maybe working out three hours a day just doesn''t work for their lifestyles. Maybe they just doesn''t give a rat''s ass about how their efforts compare to yours.

Or .........maybe they look at you and think ''gee, why is he bothering to invest effort in being attractive on the outside if he''s going to neglect being attractive on the inside?''

Well that''s just BUll Alj. I would NEVER look at someone in such a fashion. Again, I''m sorry my comments were taken so poorly. I don''t stare at people. I don''t do anything to make someone feel bad. I apologized earlier and I don''t intend to say I''m sorry again. I''m about the most gentle and kind person you could find and I am truly offended anyone took my comments in such a negative way. Geesh, don''t be so high and mighty.

Rod, I''m really not asking you to apologize again. Truth be told, I had been in the midst of composing my response early in the evening last night when I got sidetracked, so I didn''t see all the discussion that ensued afterward. I simply came back and picked up where I left off.

That said, I don''t believe you are intentionally staring at others or *trying* to make them feel bad.
My point was to make you realize (as Deco pointed out) that you don''t have to be overt about it for others to pick up on that vibe. Don''t kid yourself into thinking that some beginners in the gym aren''t acutely aware of the undercurrent of being noticed and judged.....they are, even if you don''t go up to them and say it aloud. That doesn''t mean they know that *you* personally are thinking it, but believe me, they know that some of the people around them are thinking exactly those thoughts.

Honestly, I believe you *are* a genuinely kind person........as am I. That''s why it truly disappointed me to see an attitude of "why is that guy bothering to even try" coming from you......someone whose efforts and enthusiasm I''d long admired. Having been in those shoes yourself, I''d have expected you to be a bit more empathetic, and maybe even *encouraging* to people who might be trying to start on a better path.

I''d have expected you to understand that changing from a lifestyle of no activity to one of activity is a process (crawl, walk, run), and that going from no activity to immediately gasping and panting at 13 MPH isn''t really a *sensible* way to embark on a lifestyle change toward activity.

Instead, what I perceived was a surprising dose of ''high and mighty'' (and gauging from the responses that followed, it appears I wasn''t alone), and it prompted me to respond in kind in the hopes that you''d understand how it feels to be on the receiving end of a like attitude. It''s not pleasant, and it feels hurtful. What you hear from me isn''t high and mighty; it''s disappointment at what I read as insensitivity from someone I''d always thought was very sensitive.

In truth, it doesn''t offend me personally; I think it''s long established on PS that I''m not much affected by what others think of me individually.

. However, I''ve enjoyed seeing more and more PSers here in WWT in the last few months....folks who''ve been brave enough to dip a toe into the WWT threads because they''ve felt they''re among friends and it''s safe. I don''t want to see that drop away, especially when I know it''s not what you''d want either, and that makes it worth the risk of being candid in how I felt reading it.

Oh, and I''d agree with Deco that it has nothing to do with being ''grown-up''.

 

[aljdewey]

Date: 3/27/2007 2:19:12 AM
Author: TravelingGal
Monarch, WOO HOO on your not smoking. You GO girl! (and go and go and go!)

Emphatically second this! Gosh, so many are doing SO GREAT at this! I just read that Shay is nearing the 90-day mark in her efforts to stop.

Congrats to all!

 

[aljdewey]

El, SO glad to hear that you weren''t seriously hurt! An eerily siimilar thing happened to my friend last week....she was on the way to work. Car in front of her swerved to avoid black ice; she swerved too but clipped it anyway. Flipped the car over at least once and landed on the passenger door side. Had it not been for her seatbelt, ugh......

Thankfully, she only had a few scrapes and some Kodak-color bruising from the seatbelt, but the car is totaled.

YIKES!

 

[ellaila]

Eleguin, I''m so glad you''re OK!! Black ice is one of my greatest fears

Having a scare like that definitely puts things into perspective, doesn''t it? Life is about enjoying, and yes part of that enjoyment should come from feeling good about yourself (being at a weight that is right for you, being in good shape) - but part of it also comes from yummy little treats like donuts now and then

And here''s my weekly blanket congrats to everyone for doing so great on not smoking and/or fitting into goal clothes and/or meeting calorie and exercise goals -- wooo hoooo!!!

 

[ChargerGrrl]

Eleguin- Oh my! Glad to hear that you''re better, certainly take the time to rest up.

This week will be a tough one for me, as I''ve been in training today and tomorrow and then take off on a business trip. So excercise will be at minimum over the next couple of days, but I plan to keep the eating in control.

I''ll check in later this week. Hope everyone is having a good week so far!

 

[eleguin]

Thanks for all the well wishes everyone. Winter conditions are so dangerous, sometimes we don''t appreciate just how risky it is to drive when there is snow, ice, rain, etc. You always hear stories, but then you forget and get in the car anyway. We definitely learned our lesson about driving in the snow/ice when it''s not necessary.

It was a rented SUV for us (the SUV factor might also have contributed to the flipping), but I guess whenever you flip a car, especially multiple times, the car is pretty much totaled. Our car looked completely destroyed. Luckily FI always insists on paying the extra $10 a day for rental car insurance, which was such a life saver. The rental company is taking care of everything (the paperwork, admin stuff) and the insurance covers our hospital costs as well. With all the stress from the event, the last thing we wanted to do was have to deal with admin stuff with insurance companies.

 

[Rod]

Date: 3/27/2007 11:09:53 AM
Author: aljdewey

Date: 3/27/2007 9:26:41 AM
Author: Rod

Date: 3/27/2007 1:50:12 AM
Author: aljdewey

Maybe you haven''t given any thought to this, but it''s highly likely that you''re part of the reason that overweight person never comes back more than once.

He''s probably more acutely aware than you realize that you''re looking at him with a ''why are you bothering when you''re that slow'' look, or with a ''gosh, if I don''t kill myself today, I might end up looking like HIM'' look. Perhaps you mistake being overweight for being unintuitive, and if so, you''re dead wrong. Or maybe it''s just that you were oblivious when you were the ''what''s the point'' guy for someone else.

I really have to chime in here with FG. Most of the time, I really enjoy this thread and find a lot of inspiration in it, but today, it''s really struck a wrong chord with me....and especially your post, Rod. Over many weeks, I''ve read post after post exclaiming over society''s unhealthy habits and preaching about how people should just get up and move. That is, until some people DO.......and then the tune changes to ''why bother if you aren''t going to exert yourself as much as I do......oh, and look at ME going 13 mph.''

Maybe you don''t consider that others don''t mind taking a little longer to get to their goals. Maybe working out three hours a day just doesn''t work for their lifestyles. Maybe they just doesn''t give a rat''s ass about how their efforts compare to yours.

Or .........maybe they look at you and think ''gee, why is he bothering to invest effort in being attractive on the outside if he''s going to neglect being attractive on the inside?''

Well that''s just BUll Alj. I would NEVER look at someone in such a fashion. Again, I''m sorry my comments were taken so poorly. I don''t stare at people. I don''t do anything to make someone feel bad. I apologized earlier and I don''t intend to say I''m sorry again. I''m about the most gentle and kind person you could find and I am truly offended anyone took my comments in such a negative way. Geesh, don''t be so high and mighty.

Rod, I''m really not asking you to apologize again. Truth be told, I had been in the midst of composing my response early in the evening last night when I got sidetracked, so I didn''t see all the discussion that ensued afterward. I simply came back and picked up where I left off.

That said, I don''t believe you are intentionally staring at others or *trying* to make them feel bad.
My point was to make you realize (as Deco pointed out) that you don''t have to be overt about it for others to pick up on that vibe. Don''t kid yourself into thinking that some beginners in the gym aren''t acutely aware of the undercurrent of being noticed and judged.....they are, even if you don''t go up to them and say it aloud. That doesn''t mean they know that *you* personally are thinking it, but believe me, they know that some of the people around them are thinking exactly those thoughts.

Honestly, I believe you *are* a genuinely kind person........as am I. That''s why it truly disappointed me to see an attitude of ''why is that guy bothering to even try'' coming from you......someone whose efforts and enthusiasm I''d long admired. Having been in those shoes yourself, I''d have expected you to be a bit more empathetic, and maybe even *encouraging* to people who might be trying to start on a better path.

I''d have expected you to understand that changing from a lifestyle of no activity to one of activity is a process (crawl, walk, run), and that going from no activity to immediately gasping and panting at 13 MPH isn''t really a *sensible* way to embark on a lifestyle change toward activity.

Instead, what I perceived was a surprising dose of ''high and mighty'' (and gauging from the responses that followed, it appears I wasn''t alone), and it prompted me to respond in kind in the hopes that you''d understand how it feels to be on the receiving end of a like attitude. It''s not pleasant, and it feels hurtful. What you hear from me isn''t high and mighty; it''s disappointment at what I read as insensitivity from someone I''d always thought was very sensitive.

In truth, it doesn''t offend me personally; I think it''s long established on PS that I''m not much affected by what others think of me individually.

. However, I''ve enjoyed seeing more and more PSers here in WWT in the last few months....folks who''ve been brave enough to dip a toe into the WWT threads because they''ve felt they''re among friends and it''s safe. I don''t want to see that drop away, especially when I know it''s not what you''d want either, and that makes it worth the risk of being candid in how I felt reading it.

Oh, and I''d agree with Deco that it has nothing to do with being ''grown-up''.

And that is why I apologized to begin with. I NEVER meant to be high or mightly I was once a lumberer at the gym. I was once the person who I''m sure people wondered if I''d come back. But I did and I kept coming back and I''m proud of what I''ve accomplished. Many here may recall my co-worker who is hugely obese. I have continued to encourage him and he is continuing to work out and feel pride in his accomplishments. I hope that the encouragement I have offered him will keep him working towards becoming healthier long after I''ve left this state.

In the meantime, I hope this subject is put to rest. I do understand and sincerely appreciate your perspective.

 

[Dee*Jay]

No workout for me last night, and probably none for me tonight either. I am working feverously to finish three annual projects that all come to a head in the next few days and they MUST be done on time or my firm will have a regulatory violation (

).

I was super good with my cals yesterday and the scale was kind to me this morning (I often wish I could do the Wednesday morning weigh-in on Tuesdays because that seems to be a "lighter" day for me LOL!) so I'm just going to hang tough and get these jobs done. Hopefully this weekend I should be able to get to the gym both Saturday and Sunday.

Monarch, CONGRATULATIONS!!!

 

[KimberlyH]

Silly me, monnie, I totally forgot to congratulate you!!!! As you know, I know how hard it is to quit, you are doing FANTASTIC!

 

[lovelylulu]

eleguin -- your accident sounds terrifying. i''m so relieved that the story had as good of an ending as possible. the blood in the snow really had me worried!! rest and recover!!! hope it''s speedy.

 

[Mara]

gosh, i should have listened to that little voice going 'hmm this could be taken the wrong way' about what i posted yesterday...and just NOT. because i would never want anyone to think i was being negative on them, my apologies as well. rod, i know that you worked so hard to get where you are at and you are so proud of it, i know you are a wonderful person (evidenced also by how you were so eager to help your coworker who needs to lose weight for health reasons) and that your comments were misconstrued. anyhow, i am glad that everyone seems to be back on the right track because honestly i hate to see this particular thread with any sort of dissention in it, it is such a haven, in my opinion, of positive engery and it totally keeps me motivated from day to day. even though i have reached my goals, i still struggle with some things as i mentioned yesterday, such as how to maintain the 'right' way. so i don't think anything is EASY at all when it comes to weight loss or finding that right balance of healthy lifestyle for us each individually.

and speaking of that NYC...you ask how to maintain without losing, that's what i am also trying to figure out! because as kimberly noted, she feels more comfortable not upping her cals even though she wants to maintin. i am kind of the same way. i don't want to add in another 200 cals a day to maintain. i like what i eat and when i eat it...and if i add too many cals in i end up feeling like a chowing sow. so i'd prefer to just stick with eating less during the week and then have two entirely splurgy days on the weekend where i know it won't affect me. and that seems to be working okay actually. but i am working out a little more now that i am off from work...so i am eating a little bit more too because otherwise i will continue to lose (i lost 2 lbs in the last 3 weeks). so i'm still fine tuning my whole thing too. just keep trying different things. also if you don't want to eat bigger portions of things, add in some higher calorie modifications that are good for you. like more PB or almond butter, or use real butter on bread instead of fake butter, or use full fat sour cream or yogurt instead of low fat or non fat, same with milks, start using 2% rather than 1% or nonfat. there are small ways to get more cals in a positive way without actually having to consume more volume. that's what i am learning about too. hehe.

TG, the berry thing was really yummy. the recipe called for frangelico or moscato but it would also be divine with a real thick ice wine like the bonny doon vin de glaciere (which is NEVER in stock at our local bevmo to my everlasting chagrin!!)...and i have another recipe for a similar berry dish with proseco, so i guess you can kind of use whatever suits your taste buds best. greg pronounced it very light and fruity, he loved it. and it felt like something you'd get at a restaurant so it's kinda fun! and would be great for a dinner party too, the presentation is so cute in the glass parfait cups.

the other dessert i want to try soon is an affogato, i saw this in a bon appetit...you basically have a glass parfait kinda dish like this again, then put a scoop of ice cream or gelato (the recipe called for chocolate but i thought vanilla bean would be awesome as well) in it, brew some espresso then pour it over the ice cream, top with a tablespoon of rum (i'd use kahlua since i like it better) and then a tsp of shaved chocolate. YUM. the espresso melts the ice cream and mingles with it and the liquer and the chocolate. i have seen this in some gelato places but it looked way more 'unhealthy' than this recipe, i thought wow this could be really tasty and under 200 cals total. plus i love coffee and ice cream and the two mixed sounds divine. so that is on the plan for trying this week also, maybe thurs.

see here i am talking about dessert already and it's 9:30am. i am officially obsessed.

elequin, so happy you checked in and sorry to hear about your accident , i am glad to hear everything is okay!!!

orangevixen are you still out there? coda? skippy? sevenwires? anyone else?

and monnie CONGRATS woman you are doing wonderfully with the no smoking thing, so proud of you!!! and yes i think saving the tiramisu for a party is a smart move, hehee. i know i would find portion control hard as well. i wish that more places had like 1-2 portioned kind of frozen desserts...i would be way more apt to buy it if it wasn't a big ole pie for 8 people or whatever. that's why i liked that single serve frozen tiramisu at whole foods...if i am in the area where the other one had it this week i am definitely going to stop and pick it up.

kimberly, nothing wrong with indulging a craving hehee. i have been craving chocolate layer cake for a week now. i almost got it the other night when we got dessert but i was seduced by the double chocolate mousse cake...which was divine. but now i am tempted to make a cake from CL or something just to get my craving out of the way. but then i don't want some big cake hanging around. argh! why can't local places make desserts that are not an arm and a leg on calories?? it would save me a lot of baking, haha. there are two other recipes i have been eyeing in the rachel ray magazine...a recipe for lemon cookies where if i use the recipe as is, each cookie is only 55 cals and also a brown sugar shortbread which would be about 80 cals. i thought the shortbread would be amazing heated up in the micro with some gelato on it...hehee. always thinking of dessert, damn.

anyhow, breakfast was 2 optimum power blueberry waffles (5g protein, 5g fiber, 1000 mg of omega threes!) with butter spray, flax meal, cinnamon and syrup and coffee. i am meeting a friend for lunch at this local place, it's about 1.25 miles away from the house so i really want to walk there, but the clouds are gathering outside so i might just drive as i don't want to get caught in a downpour. i'm hitting up the gym later today anyway, so the walk would have just been a 'bonus' and a way to get out and into the fresh air, but not if it's raining, hehee. hope everyone is having a great morning!!

 

[sevens one]

Oh El,
I''m so glad to hear you''re okay.
What a scary accident, you poor thing.

(btw what kind of vehicle were you in?)

take it easy woman!

 

[mrssalvo]

so i''m back. my gosh i didn''t realize how out of shape my heart is. i took a spinning class which I used to teach 3-5 times a week with ease. today, my heart was flying after the warm-up

and my legs burned just minutes in, not to mention the saddle soreness that comes when you''re not used to riding a bike

. i was so glad it was only a 45 minute class and the instructor actually had good music and not random chanting that so many spinning classes have. I''m wiped out but it really did feel great for my first day back.

I''m going to make the Chicken Souvlaki for dinner tonight. it''s sounds so good i''m already looking forward too it.

oh and I made this little appetizer the other day when friends came over and everyone loved it. there were no leftovers and i actually should have doubled the recipe. I used roasted vegetable Ritz crackers but I think it would also be awesome with flatbread, a pita or tortilla.

here it is:

Chunky Vegetable Hummus Spread

1 container (7 oz.) Atheno''s Original Hummus
1/2 med. cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup chopped red onions
1 plum tomato
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

Spread hummus onto serving plate. Top with layers of cucmbers, onions and tomatoes, sprinkle with the cheese

 

[Mara]

omg random fabulous find.

1/2c fiber one cereal (regular twig type)
almond milk
cinnamon

YUM. it tastes like cinnamon toast crunch but without all the extra cals and fat. what a nice surprise!

 

[KimberlyH]

It''s funny that maintenance seems to be difficult now that I''m calorie counting. Before I started doing so I had maintained my weight w/i about 5 lb. range for 5 years, which is pretty darn good for that long of a span. Now it seems like this might be more complicated than I thought. I think I''ll just keep on doing what I am for now and see what happens. I''ve been in about a 2 lb. range for the last 3 weeks (the scale bounces between 128-130) which is fine with me. I wouldn''t complain if I lost a few more lbs. but am not going to make any adjustments to do so as I am firm believer in listening to one''s body and letting it take you where it''s willing to go.

I had a great workout, aside from all of the nose blowing breaks I had to take! I burned 500 calories and was thrilled to be back on my trusty elliptical!

 

[Ellen]

El, it sounds like you two were mighty lucky, thank God you''re basically alright. Hope the head wound mends well, and take care of yourself!


Kimberly, thanks!

 

[Kaleigh]

El,
I just wanted to pop in and say I am so glad you are ok. That must have been terrifying to say the least!!
Black ice is so dangerous, but glad you are doing well.

 

[monarch64]

Eleguin, glad to hear you''re ok! Car accidents suck, don''t they.

Hey, thanks EVERYONE for the support! I feel pretty good, still have my random times where I don''t necessarily crave nicotine, but absent-mindedly think it''s time for one if that makes sense. Or I''ll think, maybe I could just have ONE, lol, but then I don''t because it would be that much harder to quit again, and I''ve done enough of that vicious cycle over the years. Other than that it''s about staying busy, and reminding myself why I wanted to quit in the first place, and how much better my life is without smoking...it''s kind of like maintaining a healthy diet--except you can NEVER indulge your cravings! So I will keep plugging away...I have gotten an amazing amount of things accomplished just so far as spring cleaning, etc. in the past few weeks because I have all this time on my hands that I used to use for my filthy habit! I even took my car and had it detailed inside and out, carpets cleaned, etc. because my DH had smoked in it (I had quit smoking in cars when we first bought this one for me) and it still smelled like old smoke, so that is even more of a motivator.

Mara, I think Dixie and I used to be into the almond milk...I haven''t bought any for a really long time, I don''t know why. I kind of forgot about it, I think! Anyway I will have to get some and use it with cereal again...that will be a good soft chew food for me if I let the milk soften the cereal first.

I''m taking Milo for a 1.5-2 mile walk tonight, and DH is OOT so I will have to figure out something fun for dinner and an American Idol snack...hmmm, a trip to TJ''s may be in order for a fun salad mix or whatever else looks exciting and healthy!

 

[TravelingGal]

Wow, that is one scary story E...so glad to hear you are OK!

Mara, I think it was an innocent enough question, and that Rod''s was an innocent enough answer (I certainly didn''t take it to be malicious in any way!). It was good of him to apologize for the perception, because I do think there was no bad intent. Anyway, I''m happy to get back to normal WWT programming...

Brekky was Fage with jam again (I can''t get enough of this new Fage...I just love the little blobs of boysenberries in the preserves.) Lunch is a TJ''s pizza as I think I need the carbs for a run today. I am going to try to do 5+ miles again, so that means about an hour of running (what can I say...I''m a slow trotter). It''s super windy right now so I am going to wait until after work hours to do it.

I think I''ll just have soup and salad for dinner...really don''t feel like cooking tonight!

 

[Mara]

Monarch yeah I would imagine you'd like the almond milk as an alternative to regular milk, esp if you go vegan right? I don't know that I love the taste on it's own but in cereals it adds a bit of sweetness that regular milk doesn't have so it's kind of a fun change.

So I ended up walking to lunch to meet my friend after all, the sun was out and clouds were white not black and while it was pretty windy, it ended up being a nice walk! There are so many restaurants down there that we don't know about, I walked around a few other blocks nearby as well to familiarize myself with what was down there...since now we have been talking about doing more walking to dinner downtown during the summer months. It was about 1 1/3 miles each way so I walked about 2 2/3 miles total. For lunch I had my fave salad at this place which is basically a bunch of citrus fruit with cheese and nuts, so it's grapefruit, mango, orange and then sliced avocado, bleu cheese, and pistachio nuts with a bunch of chopped romaine. I brought my own dressing and got theirs on the side (though actually interestingly enough after it sat there for an hour it didn't show up with a bunch of oil at the top like so many other places do, so I guess their dressing is pretty good after all!); and then I had a cup of their veggie minestrone which had a ton of veggies and beans in it and then the salad comes with a small slice of pizza bread...it's like their 'bread' on the side...I love it. They just give you one small mini piece so you can't overdose on it even if you try! lol.

I have a phone interview with a recruiter soon for a job I'm only partially interested in, then after the call I am going to go to the gym and do my elliptical workout. My friend was like 'how do you like the life of leisure, what do you do?'...I was like 'ummm walk to lunch, and then go to the gym and make interesting things for dinner?' hehe. I could get used to this, except for the not really supposed to be spending money part, so back to work I will soon hopefully go...hehee. But I'm enjoying the time now for sure. Esp all the activity I am able to get in, which won't always be the case.

Greg has rehearsal tonite so it's just me on my own with my crap reality TV this evening. I got TJ Shepherd's Pies for dinner and I'll make us side salads. I might just do gelato and berries for dessert or I might do angel food cake with berries or similar. I also have the frozen cherries from TJ's in the freezer and frozen mango too. I'm all about the fruit lately! hehe. Anyhow hope everyone is having a good day!

 

[Rod]

Date: 3/27/2007 12:39:36 PM
Author: Mara
gosh, i should have listened to that little voice going ''hmm this could be taken the wrong way'' about what i posted yesterday...and just NOT. because i would never want anyone to think i was being negative on them, my apologies as well. rod, i know that you worked so hard to get where you are at and you are so proud of it, i know you are a wonderful person (evidenced also by how you were so eager to help your coworker who needs to lose weight for health reasons) and that your comments were misconstrued. anyhow, i am glad that everyone seems to be back on the right track because honestly i hate to see this particular thread with any sort of dissention in it, it is such a haven, in my opinion, of positive engery and it totally keeps me motivated from day to day. even though i have reached my goals, i still struggle with some things as i mentioned yesterday, such as how to maintain the ''right'' way. so i don''t think anything is EASY at all when it comes to weight loss or finding that right balance of healthy lifestyle for us each individually.

and speaking of that NYC...you ask how to maintain without losing, that''s what i am also trying to figure out! because as kimberly noted, she feels more comfortable not upping her cals even though she wants to maintin. i am kind of the same way. i don''t want to add in another 200 cals a day to maintain. i like what i eat and when i eat it...and if i add too many cals in i end up feeling like a chowing sow. so i''d prefer to just stick with eating less during the week and then have two entirely splurgy days on the weekend where i know it won''t affect me. and that seems to be working okay actually. but i am working out a little more now that i am off from work...so i am eating a little bit more too because otherwise i will continue to lose (i lost 2 lbs in the last 3 weeks). so i''m still fine tuning my whole thing too. just keep trying different things. also if you don''t want to eat bigger portions of things, add in some higher calorie modifications that are good for you. like more PB or almond butter, or use real butter on bread instead of fake butter, or use full fat sour cream or yogurt instead of low fat or non fat, same with milks, start using 2% rather than 1% or nonfat. there are small ways to get more cals in a positive way without actually having to consume more volume. that''s what i am learning about too. hehe.

TG, the berry thing was really yummy. the recipe called for frangelico or moscato but it would also be divine with a real thick ice wine like the bonny doon vin de glaciere (which is NEVER in stock at our local bevmo to my everlasting chagrin!!)...and i have another recipe for a similar berry dish with proseco, so i guess you can kind of use whatever suits your taste buds best. greg pronounced it very light and fruity, he loved it. and it felt like something you''d get at a restaurant so it''s kinda fun! and would be great for a dinner party too, the presentation is so cute in the glass parfait cups.

the other dessert i want to try soon is an affogato, i saw this in a bon appetit...you basically have a glass parfait kinda dish like this again, then put a scoop of ice cream or gelato (the recipe called for chocolate but i thought vanilla bean would be awesome as well) in it, brew some espresso then pour it over the ice cream, top with a tablespoon of rum (i''d use kahlua since i like it better) and then a tsp of shaved chocolate. YUM. the espresso melts the ice cream and mingles with it and the liquer and the chocolate. i have seen this in some gelato places but it looked way more ''unhealthy'' than this recipe, i thought wow this could be really tasty and under 200 cals total. plus i love coffee and ice cream and the two mixed sounds divine. so that is on the plan for trying this week also, maybe thurs.

see here i am talking about dessert already and it''s 9:30am. i am officially obsessed.

elequin, so happy you checked in and sorry to hear about your accident , i am glad to hear everything is okay!!!

orangevixen are you still out there? coda? skippy? sevenwires? anyone else?

and monnie CONGRATS woman you are doing wonderfully with the no smoking thing, so proud of you!!! and yes i think saving the tiramisu for a party is a smart move, hehee. i know i would find portion control hard as well. i wish that more places had like 1-2 portioned kind of frozen desserts...i would be way more apt to buy it if it wasn''t a big ole pie for 8 people or whatever. that''s why i liked that single serve frozen tiramisu at whole foods...if i am in the area where the other one had it this week i am definitely going to stop and pick it up.

kimberly, nothing wrong with indulging a craving hehee. i have been craving chocolate layer cake for a week now. i almost got it the other night when we got dessert but i was seduced by the double chocolate mousse cake...which was divine. but now i am tempted to make a cake from CL or something just to get my craving out of the way. but then i don''t want some big cake hanging around. argh! why can''t local places make desserts that are not an arm and a leg on calories?? it would save me a lot of baking, haha. there are two other recipes i have been eyeing in the rachel ray magazine...a recipe for lemon cookies where if i use the recipe as is, each cookie is only 55 cals and also a brown sugar shortbread which would be about 80 cals. i thought the shortbread would be amazing heated up in the micro with some gelato on it...hehee. always thinking of dessert, damn.

anyhow, breakfast was 2 optimum power blueberry waffles (5g protein, 5g fiber, 1000 mg of omega threes!) with butter spray, flax meal, cinnamon and syrup and coffee. i am meeting a friend for lunch at this local place, it''s about 1.25 miles away from the house so i really want to walk there, but the clouds are gathering outside so i might just drive as i don''t want to get caught in a downpour. i''m hitting up the gym later today anyway, so the walk would have just been a ''bonus'' and a way to get out and into the fresh air, but not if it''s raining, hehee. hope everyone is having a great morning!!

Thanks Mara!!

We''re going to the gym tonight, but we''re not sure about tomorrow. It''s Charlie''s birthday tomorrow and we have massages scheduled in the afternoon. We don''t want to work out after having massages (kind of defeats the purpose) and it might not be a great idea to workout before the massages as it won''t have been a full 24 hours since we will have been to the gym. I do think we could do cardio before the massages as that''s something we can do every day without worrying about pushing muscles too hard. Since the massage place is right next to the gym, we might just get on the elliptical for an hour since we may not do any weights. I guess we''ll just have to see how we feel in the morning.

El, I too am so sorry about your accident. I hope you are feeling better.

 

[FireGoddess]

Monnie YAY for the not smoking!!

Elequin I am so sorry to hear about your car accident...very glad you''re okay - let yourself heal!

Mara, I LOVE Laughing Cow cheese. Unfortunately, I know why the ''laughing cow'' is laughing. He laughs at my GI distress from eating his ''light'' cheese. UGH. Was so sad to figure out (by eliminating foods one by one as I was doubled over suffering from intestinal cramping) that it was the LC cheese that was doing it. WAH. Can''t eat that ever again. Maybe it won''t do that to you, but be forewarned.

BTW, the no pudge mint brownies were UTTERLY AWESOME!!! Big raves from me, my SIL, and the coworkers I gave the rest to.

 

[Mara]

oh my gosh FG i wonder what it is in the cheese that could have been causing it? I will have to check it out next time I go to the store and look at the ingredient list. hmmm. well thanks for the warning haha!

i got the no pudge raspberry this time but haven't made it yet. i am tempted to just do the single serving size tonite to try it out and have it with fresh berries and gelato, hehee.

 

[FireGoddess]

I seriously wish I knew. I bought 2 wheels (of the wedges of cheese) and started seriously having intestinal cramping and gas

and noticed that every time I had some I had the problem. I had half a wheel left by the time I figured it out, stopped eating the cheese and was totally fine. Ate one wedge a week later just to confirm it was the cheese (I desperately wanted it NOT to be!!!) and the symptoms came back. So sad. I hope it''s just me. Or maybe it''s just their light version, but I''m scared to find out now.

The raspberry no pudge was next on my list now that I know I like the mint.

 

[katebar]

Sorry to hear of your accident El it must have been terrifying. Congrats to everyone else for the diligence and weight loss.
Well I am still on track but like others those blessed scales aren''t moving. But I have some new inspiration over the last few days. Oneof my oldest and dearest friends from interstate has been staying with us on a business trip. When we first met we both weighed 50 kgs over the birth of our oldest children we were tiny girls although I am quite a bit taller than her. Anyhoo over the years we matched our weight but she has never ever exercised. A few years ago she got a job as wine company rep andstarted attending lots of functions and of course drinking lots of wine. She put on a lot of weight but at her heaviest was a size US 12. Me on the other hand put on not so much weight but still enough not to be classed as tiny anymore. I have always exercised either gym pilates or what ever was in vogue and last year I bought and elliptical that really made me heart fit but alas not so fat fit.
Anyway my friend got a high management and very stressful new job. She told me she had lost some weight but boy when I saw her she was amazing. She has lost 10 kilos and is back to being a size 6. She has done this by slightly watching what she eats and that''s it. She does NO EXERCISE and drinks copious amounts of fine wines every week so I guess the stress of the job is what is contributing to her weight loss. She was a little smug about her look compared to mine cos''s we use to share clothes when we had different functions but she told me "wll we can''t do that any m ore because your clothes are too big.
I adore her and know I''m being silly but she sure has inspired me to lose these 5 kilos stat an I would never swap my life for her stressful and chaotic one but it does frustrate me that I seem to be doing everything right.
That''s the rave over thanks for listening.

 

[akw94]

FG, I LOVE that you can make only one brownie at a time. That is great! Now, I feel like I should at least just try them out.
Mara, I like the idea about using pumpkin for the brownies. That sounds really good!

Mara, I am tracking my foods but now I''m realizing that I haven''t been quite tracking them completely. I have put in all the big things but would sometimes miss a snack. Even yesterday, I had 9 pieces of fruit (3 strawberries, 3 chunks of pineapple and 3 slices of kiwi). Normally, I wouldn''t have included that but did yesterday and realized even the stuff I feel doesn''t hurt me, does have calories to at least consider. So now I am entering every little thing in and see if that helps a bit.

But here''s the kicker that I am so annoyed about! I weighed myself this morning and gained a lb!

I couldn''t believe that. I know that between Monday morning and this morning, I didn''t eat too much, worked out for 35 minutes so how in the world could I have gained. Sure, I realize weighing in daily is a mistake and I normally don''t but I just couldn''t help myself after Monday morning''s weigh in. So frustrating!! But I am still feeling positive just hating the scale right now. UGH!!

So far today I had a 2 multigrain waffles w/lite syrup and a glass of apple juice. Then for lunch a cup of pineapples in pineapple juice and a lean cuisine. I almost want to eat nothing else today so I don''t gain another lb but I know that''s not healthy so I won''t let the stupid scale control me. Oh, and 2 glasses of water so far.

Mara, your pizza substitute sounds so good! First, what exactly is a crumpet and where do you get one? Second, how do you prepare artichoke hearts? I get them sometimes at the WF salad bar and they are soooooo good but once I bought a package of frozen ones, thawed them out and tried to put them in a salad. They were so horrible. I know I''m missing something and wondered what the best way to prepare them is.

Kimberly, congrats on keeping your calorie goals! Thanks for the encouragement! I''m in remarkably good spirits and plan to swim tonight to take a load off my back and I just love to swim.
Great job Ellaila on the workouts! The chicken burgers and pineapple salsa sound great. I am getting hungry!

Monarch, congrats!! That is really fantastic! How long has it been?

Ok, this is getting too long and I just can''t make it through the rest of the posts. Hope everyone is having a good almost over Tuesday.

 

[Mara]

dixie don''t be discouraged by the scale. maybe make a pact to weigh yourself once a week only? the other day i was at the gym and i gained 2 lbs on the scale from 2 days before. now i know that''s not really accurate. but it still CAN affect you mentally. so if it is bothering you, remove the temptation yanno? then from week to week you may see changes...not day to day.

crumpets, well it''s like ''tea and crumpets'' but i never knew what they were before either really! they are just like little puffy bread rounds. they look like english muffins but it''s not split in half. they are soft. i got mine at TJ''s but i would imagine almost any store has them...they come in a pack of 8 (i wish it was more like 4 since 8 is a lot for us to eat unless we do mini pizzas like 2 nights a week). they are 90 cals and fat free, i was pretty happy to see that. and artichoke hearts, i buy the canned ones. you can get marinated ones but i get the ones just in canned aisle, they are in water and you just drain them and then you can eat them right out of the can if you want! i used them last week for our chicken quesadillas so i had some leftover that i put on the pizzas. but you can do sliced mushrooms, olives, basil etc. so many options!

when i was downtown walking i noticed we had an Amici''s pizza down there. i have never eaten at one but when i came home i looked them up and they got like one of the best pizza''s for this area and they have nutritional information on their website! actually pretty good and they also offer lower-carb crust and a lower-carb spaghetti option too (which probably means less cals too). for their mini/personal pizzas (7")...many of them are like 350-450 cals which is great! and then their garden salad is 25 cals with no dressing and they have a sundried tomato fat free dressing for 25 cals but i''d probably just bring my own. so i definitely am going to tell greg we should try them. even their pastas are not that bad! they have a small 4 cheese lasagna for only 450 cals. their small linguine with meat sauce is like 350 cals. if i got the large it''s like 800. which is really not that bad considering that a typical meat spaghetti plate at like macaroni grill is more like 1500-2000 cals. but pasta is so filling i would just get the small anyway. the one downer is they have some desserts but no nutritional information on them because i guess this was their corporate website and desserts differ from location to location. i emailed them asking them about if they have the info for the san jose location because i am curious, they have a chocolate layer cake and i''m curious! but anyway i am excited to see a healthy, fresh ingredient kind of pizza place option with good numbers because i have been wanting to try that place out (there is one in another city i have driven by and always gone hmmmm) and now we can just walk there and eat healthy and walk home...bonus!

anyway i''m off to the gym for more self-imposed torture soon...

 

[aljdewey]

Date: 3/27/2007 4:36:32 PM
Author: FireGoddess


Mara, I LOVE Laughing Cow cheese. Unfortunately, I know why the ''laughing cow'' is laughing. He laughs at my GI distress from eating his ''light'' cheese. UGH. Was so sad to figure out (by eliminating foods one by one as I was doubled over suffering from intestinal cramping) that it was the LC cheese that was doing it. WAH. Can''t eat that ever again. Maybe it won''t do that to you, but be forewarned.

REEEEEEEEEEALLY? Gosh, I''ve had this stuff a few times over the last 6 months and no problems so far, knock on wood!

That''s TERRIBLE - you poor thing!

We''ll have to find a key-lime substitute!