Crunch Time

I took this photo while John and I were out on a nearby hike last week. Isn't it a beauty? Makes getting outside and enjoying exercise a little easier with a view like that!

It is crunch time this week: John has a final due on Sunday. Time constraints!

Also - a good test to see how we can adapt our lifestyle a bit so as to still make time for exercise and good sleep.

We had an awesome ten mile hike on Sunday morning - felt really good! It is starting to warm up out here in the desert...nevertheless, we survived.

Then, last night we went on a 3 mile run, when it was about 85 degrees. Too hot! John got sick, and we had to forfeit our evening strength training DVD after that. Oh well - the run counts! We are going to have to go back to doing morning runs before work and the DVD on our own time since I do not have time for both.

The scale has been telling us that we are losing a pound a week, all while gaining muscle. I am happy with this! I am down to the weight I was in high school. WOW.

We are not sure if we even have any readers, but if we do, would you cheer us on? Our goal is to get healthy this year. Specifically, we are targeting belly fat - and it is hard work. Me personally? I am getting ready for baby. We are going to try to start a family next year - and I want to have healthy habits. A daily routine of exercise that I stick to.

Here we GO!

Feeling Fit

Addie here. I did some reflection this week (on our fourth full one on the new health plan that John and I established for ourselves). I have to say that I am pretty amazed with our results so far.

There are some small weight loss numbers showing up on the scale - just the way we wanted to see it - slow and steady.

But what really surprised me? How I am feeling. More fit, strong, healthy.

The last time I felt this way was right before the NYC Marathon in 2008. It was my first marathon - and would not be my last! I had not done any kind of strength training to prepare for the race though - and now that I have been using weights for four weeks, I wish that I had!

The 30 Day Shred video is so effective because you are combining cardio with strength training. Toning and firming muscles feels good. I feel a difference in my arms and - hello - I did my first EVER real deal push-up!

So that is my thought of the day - strength training has been my missing link. I think before I was afraid of bulking up. But, as Gunnar Peterson puts it, "Big is from eating, that is a fact." I think I am hooked ;)

Have a great week all and make time for yourself and your health today!

Day 30: Treadmill, Movie, and 30 Day Shred Video

Because of my current work schedule, we switch from evenings to morning workouts on Wednesday.  So this morning, when the alarm went off (in the middle of a REM cycle for me....groggy), we forced ourselves to move.  I think we woke up part-way into the video.

First was back to the 30 Day Shred video by Jillian Michaels.  I am still modifying exercises that might cause me injury because of previous issues.  Let me assure you: you work your butt off.

Then I ran on the treadmill and watched the movie "XXX" (No, the PG-13 rated action movie starring Vin Disel, nothing HR inappropriate).

It really does make it easier to run.  I did a full half hour, mostly at 5 mph, and include 1.0 (starts at 0.0 on the treadmill).  It felt good to get that in.  I'm not sure precisely how much calories are burned in an hour of exercise, but the treadmill estimated over 300 in a half hour at that rate and incline.

Thanks for reading and take care of yourself!

Day 29: Exercise

Keeping it up.  I'll make the post short and sweet: we did a core video, and went for a family walk around a local island. 

Thanks for reading and take care of yourself!

Day 28: Strength/Cardio ... Shred video and running

Today, back to the regular mid-week routine: alternating video's and shorter runs.


We decided to run first.  There is a little trail loop by our house that we like for shorter runs.  You can go out on it a couple of ways for shorter, or slightly longer runs.  We did the loop that is about a half hour for us.

Then back for another round of Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred.

I have decided to modify some of the exercises to consider my injury.  It means I'm not pushing quite as hard as they do on the video.  Some people wouldn't do that, and if you're un-injured, you would probably get a bit more out if it if you do really push yourself.  Since I just injured myself last week doing just that, I'm dialing it back a bit.  I'm still pushing myself in the sense that I'm getting up early in the morning to workout on days our schedule calls for that.

"There is a difference between muscle burn pain, and injury pain"

The important thing is to get the exercise, but you also need to listen to your body.  There is a difference between muscle burn pain, and injury pain.  The burn is good.  Throwing your back out = bad.

Thanks for reading and take care of yourself!

Running Tip: posture and form watching with a partner

Short running tip:

If you run with a buddy, (or your soul-mate) watch each for your running form and posture.  Especially if you run for long distances, any slouching, hunched shoulders, tightening hands, sloppy stride placement, etc, will be exaggerated.  The more physically tired you are, the more risk of bad form you have.

Thanks for reading and take care of yourself!

Week Four!

Ah - I did not get to writing as much as I had hoped to last week - internet issues at work are to blame. There is always downtime at my job, so it is frustrating when I can't make it productive.

John and I started our fourth week on our new health journey. And, there are some new challenges that have risen.

First - we now have John's folks living in the same house. We've been housesitting for them long term, and they are now home. We are still not sure if we are staying in this town much longer, but hopeful for a job change/move soon, so we feel it is temporary.

This is a challenge because we have had carefully planned meals, a pantry and fridge free from junk food, and a routine that is honoring to getting good sleep and exercise. I admit it is a bit of a struggle to have junk food in the house again - I have to squash old habits of allowing myself to have a treat whenever I want! Not the case anymore - much more thought is going into when I allow myself to splurge a little.

Also, every night I pack our lunches. I have started packing my mother-in-law's as well, as she really needs some encouragement in the healthy eating category. So far so good. She bought croissants to use as her sandwich bread (which John LOVES) but we are sticking to plain ole stone ground week - keeps us fuller, longer!

I am really proud of John. There is now a ton of soda in the house and he patiently waits for Friday nights to roll around for when he will enjoy his real sugar one.

SO! Week four is here. We still are doing our favorite basics: daily nonfat plain Greek yogurt with a fruit in it (blueberries today!), a daily boiled egg, almonds, and apples slices. Our breakfasts rotate but they are usually a whole grain and a protein combo. Dinner is one plate of food and is a protein and a vegetable. Good!

Tonight is a pot roast with potatoes, carrots, and pearl onions - slow cooking all day! I love crock pot dishes on Mondays because I am usually too tired from the busy weekend to cook...plus, John and I eat dinner together at home on Mondays and Tuesdays, so it is nice to have more time with him.

We ran 10 miles yesterday! I am sure John will write about it - a true accomplishment. Great company, too :) Tonight is level II of 30 Day Shred. Pray for us!

Until tomorrow,
Addie

Weigh-in

I'm down 6 pounds so far.

It's not blazing fast, but I'm eating right (not a diet), and getting good exercise in. 

ps. stock photo... I'm not 127 pounds.

Day 27: Ten-Miler

I'm back!  Woohoo!  I took it easy for a few days following a re-injured lower back/left hip area.  Historically for me, they say likely because of internal scar tissue, my left left will almost suck up into my left hip socket.  Yeah, it's a lame as it sounds.

So taking it light so I can recover and not try to foolishly push it and re-injure myself even more was the prescription.

We decided to try a nice 10 miler run down by the river.  It was gorgeous out!  We didn't push the pace too much, but we did watch each other for form.  And I also worked on my stride.

We stopped at a bathroom in the park on the out and the way back because *someone* has a tiny bladder.  I'm teasing, honey...  and we made it back in just over 2 hours - a good pace for us.  Especially considering it was the first 10 miler of the season.

Thanks for reading and take care of yourself!

Day 26: Getting Better

I'm getting better overall.  Today would normally be a 'rest' day for exercise with my current work schedule.  Addie and I have a long run planned for tomorrow.  We'll go easy on pace though.

I  hope you are out enjoying an awesome Saturday!  It's beautiful outside where we live.  Kinda sucks to be stuck working.  Boo!  :)  

Thanks for reading, and take care of  yourself!

Day 25: Still out

OK, OK, it's not that bad.  I'm still recovering.  In the past, it has taken a couple of days post-adjustment to for everything to 'settle' back into correct placement.  I also don't want to push it and re-injure myself.

Thanks for reading, and take care of yourself!

Day 24: Benched

Yup, this is me.  Sittin' by my lonesome... benched.  Injuries can take your momentum and crush it.

I do have an appointment with the chiropractor today, so I hope to be 'on my feet' so to speak, soon.

Day 23: An attempt

I made an attempt to get my back loosened up on the core ball and do some stretching.  I also did some dumb bell lifts whilst completely on my back.

I didn't want to completely give it up, but I also knew doing anything more would just injure me more and put me further behind.

Added complication is, I am working an almost 12 hour day, and with family back in town, transportation is down to one car for Addie and I.

"I'm a little bummed"

I wasn't able to get into the Chiropractor.  The only times they had open, did not work for me.  The good news is, the injury isn't totally debilitating.  If you've had back pain, you know that it can be completely debilitating.

I'm a little bummed that there is a break in the routine this week - especially since we had a little bit of indulgence over the weekend.  It wasn't outrageous, but I am trying to be focused  here.

There is always the next day.

Thanks for reading, and take care of yourself!

Day 22: I hurt myself... ah, dang...

I mentioned in an earlier post, I have a history of lower back injury.  I think maybe the combo of a lot of driving/sitting this weekend and then pushing it yesterday with Level 2 and whatnot, that I re-injured myself.

It actually feels like my hip socket is out place.  It's just below where I injured my lower back, and I have had issues with this hip and leg in the past.

I tried to get a half hour run in... I shouldn't have pushed it.  I guess the moral is: if you are injured, don't push it - live to fight another day.

"If you are injured, don't push it - live to fight another day"

So if this sounds like it could be you, and you end up in similar circumstances - please take care of yourself.  The routine will still be there tomorrow when you get back to it.

Thanks for reading, and take care of  yourself!

Day 21: Level 2 on Shred Video

Today, we ran down by the river for a full half-hour, a little over actually.  It is also getting hotter (June).  I felt like we pushed the pace a bit, which felt good. 

Some of the benefits of running with a partner, if you are able to, are accountability and conversation.  Running is a good time to clear your head. 

"I'm keeping on to work off the belly"

Then we stepped it up to Level 2 on Jillian Michael's Shred Video.  Man!  Talk about a good workout!!  My dumb bells were washed with sweat by the end of it.  Also: though it was a good, tough workout, it wasn't as scary as you might think having gone through Level 1.

I'm keeping on to work off the belly!

Thanks for reading, and take care of yourself!

Weekend #3 Reflections

It was pretty insanely busy the last few days - but this blog serves as a journal for us, and some accountability for our health goals, so here we go!

Thursday and Friday of last week we followed our diets to a T - lots of "powerfoods", protein, and variety. Good food! Friday nights' dinner is our cheat meal of the week, and then I realized that I had grabbed a healthy pizza, so we were really not cheating much at all aside from the 12 oz real sugar colas we downed...

However, there was some cheating on the weekend.

I purposely packed food for a weekend away so that as we were driving we would not be tempted to eat fast food. It worked! John and I had sandwiches on our road trip and did not much while at a family members house later in the day on Saturday. We even found a decent dinner while out in the big city before a concert: philly cheese steak sandwiches. Aside from the white bread, it had provolone and fresh beef!

However, we caved a couple hours later at the show were at thanks to the smells wafting all around us: pizza, nachos, popcorn, sodas, beer - it is amazing the way that brain is cued in to smells. So, we enjoyed a slice of pizza and some nachos - we did not finish 'em! And we got a soda after we had two waters. It was hot out...

The hotel we stayed at provided us with a free fruit and nut basket so that, in addition to a little leftover bubbly, would be our breakfast on Sunday. Healthy but not filling - thank goodness I keep a stash of Odwalla bars in our trunk! We met up with a friend on Sunday that introduced us to a little cafe that served amazingly rich breakfasts. This meal would turn out to be so filling that we did not eat again until about five hours later. We had six inch Subway sandwiches for dinner and saved the other halves for our lunches today - a good plan! Eating just half the sandwich is hard when you are used to eating a footlong, as in John's case - so I was proud of his decision.

All in all, I think that the only thing we should have done differently was not had nachos - there is no nutritional value. There IS in pizza, tho ;)

We have a new challenge starting this week, food wise: we have long term houseguests. How will we do meals together? What if we don't like their food or they don't like ours? I know that tonight there will be a pie in my kitchen. How do I say, "I'm sorry...I am trying to lose weight" when it was homemade with love? Ohhh goodness...need to be strong! This is for our health!

So today: we have the normal round of Greek yogurt & fruit, boiled egg, apple slices, almonds, a pudding cup and our sandwiches for lunch.

Taking it one day at a time....

Day 20: Rest Day and the experts at Harvard Medical School

Once again, I defer to the experts on the benefits of rest.

Benefits of Sleep
A resource from the Division of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School

"It may seem obvious that sleep is beneficial. Even without fully grasping what sleep does for us, we know that going without sleep for too long makes us feel terrible, and that getting a good night's sleep can make us feel ready to take on the world.

Scientists have gone to great lengths to fully understand sleep's benefits. In studies of humans and other animals, they have discovered that sleep plays a critical role in immune function, metabolism, memory, learning, and other vital functions. The features in this section explore these discoveries and describe specific ways in which we all benefit from sleep.

Why Do We Sleep, Anyway?

Although scientists aren't entirely sure why we sleep, they have many ideas about the functions of this mysterious part of our lives. While some of these functions may have deep evolutionary roots, others, such as sleep's potential role in memory and health, seem particularly relevant to life in the 21st century. more

Sleep, Learning, and Memory

It may not be surprising that it is more difficult to take in new information following a night of inadequate or disturbed sleep. What’s more surprising is that it is just as important to get a good night’s sleep after learning something new in order to process and retain the information that has been learned. more

Why Sleep Matters [6:13]

Sleep is vital for learning and memory, and lack of sleep impacts our health, safety, and longevity."

watch video

Thanks for reading and take care of yourself!

Day 19: Long Run... and a Cloud of Fail

Yep, confession again.  You know the point is, we keep getting back up when we blow it.

To understand the running fail, you would need to understand that the night before we got really crummy sleep.  It's bee a struggle for Addie for a while, which is actually part of why she started running before we were a "we".

We just don't function at our best without good sleep.  Emotions tend to be a little raw.  We might do a proper article on the science of sleeping at some point here.  Some people seem to do fine with little sleep.  I am not one of them.  Addie is a little better, but she tends to have a tougher time winding down at the end of the day.

The net of it is we did start out on an hour run that turned into about a 20 minute or so run, walk, and talk.

All is not lost.  You don't lose unless you quit.  We also had a bit of a long drive to see U2 play in Seattle on the 360 Tour!  Freakin' awesome!

We did a bit of moving around during the show.  I ran around up several levels and back down flights of stairs looking for a booth to get goods that didn't have a ton o' people.  We saw it with bathroom lines, and then further down the stadium a bathroom with no line.  I figured there could be the same for merch.  We also jumped around a lot during the show (which opened with Lenny Kravitz).  Sweet!

So the end result is we didn't exactly follow our plan, but we didn't totally blow it either.  And we got to see U2 live on maybe the biggest rock show production in history.

Tune in for week 4!!

Thanks for reading and take care of yourself!

Day 18: Stretching & advice from Mayo Clinic

Today is a stretching day.

Since I've already covered that I feel stretching is beneficial - and since I've freely admitted I am not a doctor or health expert, I thought I would have the experts at Mayo Clinic make my case for me:

Stretching: Focus on flexibility

You can stretch anytime, anywhere. Just follow these tips to do it safely and effectively.

By Mayo Clinic staff

"Stretching may take a back seat to your exercise routine. You may think that stretching your hamstrings and calves is just something to be done if you have a few extra minutes before or after pounding out some miles on the treadmill. The main concern is exercising, not stretching, right?

Not so fast. Although studies about the benefits of stretching are mixed, stretching may help you improve your flexibility, which in turn may improve your athletic performance and decrease your risk of injury. Understand why stretching can help — and how to stretch correctly.

Benefits of stretching

Studies about the benefits of stretching have had mixed results. Some show that stretching helps, while others show that stretching has little if any benefit. The main benefits of stretching are thought to be:

    * Improving athletic performance

    * Decreasing the risk of activity-based injuries

Stretching can help improve flexibility. And better flexibility may improve your performance in physical activities or decrease your risk of injuries by helping your joints move through their full range of motion. For instance, say your Achilles tendon is tight and lacks flexibility. If you do a lot of hill walking, your foot may not move through its full range of motion. Over time, this can increase your risk of tendinitis or tendinopathy in your Achilles tendon. Stretching your Achilles tendon, though, may improve the range of motion in your ankle. This, in turn, can decrease the risk of microtrauma to your tendon that can lead to overload and injury.

Stretching also increases blood flow to the muscle. And you may come to enjoy the ritual of stretching before — or better yet, after — hitting the trail, ballet floor or soccer field."

Day 17: Back to Running!

Yay!  It turns out that giving your shins a break and then putting on a movie (Pearl Harbor) while you're running on a treadmill works wonders.

We did the video first, another round of Jillian Michaels "30 Day Shred".  Addie did a push up!  She's very excited.  I think she will do a post about it!

On the treadmill, I was running a pretty good pace.  All in all, I feel pretty good about the week.

I don't feel like I am going hungry at all.  I'm eating every couple of  hours, and it's high protein and nutrient dense food.

"I feel really good about the progress"

I do have some injuries to overcome. But I feel really good about the progress so far.  Addie tells me she can tell I am getting thinner.

Tomorrow is a stretch day.

Thanks for reading and take care of yourself!

Days 16: Video and Treadmill on a huge incline

Wednesdays and Thursdays we do our work outs in the morning before Addie has to leave for work.  We do the video together and then I run on the treadmill (she runs after work).

Day 16, back to "30 Day Shred" with Jillian Michaels.  No, I still don't like her because it's a tough workout.  Oh, but wait -  yes, I do like her because we're seeing results.  I guess I can't have it both ways.  So, it's a good "Oh Lordy, is this over?" 

"So it's a good thing"

Because my shins were feeling beat up from Day 15, I put the incline on 4.0 on the treadmill.  It starts at 0, and goes up by 0.5 increments.  I also walked either at a 3 or 4 mile per hour pace for a full half hour.   I still burned a good level of calories and worked up a good sweat.  4 miles per hour is just at the breaking point where you can barely keep up a very brisk walk and almost need to jog.

Thanks for reading and take care of  yourself!

Day 16 - Meals from Tuesday, May 31

I decided to start posting about our meals the day after we have them - we are still sticking to plan, but that helps us keep track of substitutions when we need to have them.

These were our meals for Tuesday, May 31 - Day 16 of our "Shrinking Belly":

Breakfast: 1 Lean Pocket "breakfasts" - egg, bacon, low fat cheese one

Mid morning snack: Greek yogurt with sliced peaches & boiled egg

Lunch: Layered salad with romaine, spinach, roasted turkey slices, olives, chick peas, tomato, avocado, feta cheese, and low fat dressing. 8 oz of watered down 100% juice. Pineapple tidbits.

Afternoon snacks: almonds, apple slices, chocolate pudding.

Smoothie before and after hour long workout - berry blast.

Dinner: Slow cooked chicken and tri-color peppers with jerk seasonings. Small bowl of multi grain cereal for dessert (and to help our burning palates!)

What is your favorite post-workout protein treat? Smoothies work for us, but I also like string cheese and mixed nuts....

Day 15: Run, Shin pain, and Video... Getting Stronger though

OK, so today we ran together in the evening (I currently have Monday's and Tuesday's off at my work) after Addie got home.  I think I was still feeling a little sore from our camping experience.  At any rate, my calves were really feeling the shin splints.

!No me gusta!

I did have to walk it some.  I need to stretch more I think.

"We are getting stronger"

After we got back, we did another round of Core video with Gunnar Peterson.  We are getting stronger.

Thanks for reading and take care of yourself!

Weekend #2 Recap

As John wrote earlier, weekends can be a bit tricky - but we feel like we are really focused on our goal. I think that the way to "win weekends" is to plan as much as you can, and be flexible. For example, John had a 10 hour shift on Saturday. I planned on meeting him for his two meal breaks, so we could eat together. So, I planned ahead our meals, provided snacks for him to keep with him all day, and then I followed our plan while at home all day.

Saturday, May 28:
Breakfast - "hooked up oatmeal" with Craisins, whey protein powder, almond butter, maple syrup, organic milk, and pecans. SO good and so filling :)

Snack - boiled egg.

Lunch at 1pm - turkey burgers on whole wheat bread with ketchup (corn syrup free!), mustard, spinach, tomato, olives, and avocado. YUM! Apple slices for dessert.

Snack - PowerBar with protein. I, on the other hand, splurged on an Americano...I came by John's work with dinner on Saturday night: huge salads! I assembled them when I arrived so that they were fresh - we enjoyed them picnic style, too :) They had: romaine, spinach, tomato, olives, feta cheese, chicken, green peppers, garbonzo beans, croutons, and lite Caesar dressing. SO GOOD!

For evening snack we had little bowls of multigrain Cheerios with 1% milk.

Sunday, May 29This was a camping day, and we need to get a long run in anyways, so we started out with a breakfast of French toast (2 small slices each, no butter).

(ran 8 miles) snack: PowerBar with protein, and a cheese stick. (Post-exercise protein is really important to have when you are training for a race!)

Lunch: small bowl of homemade black bean and beef chili and blue corn chips

Afternoon meal: nitrate-free beef hotdog on a whole wheat bun with ketchup and mustard (when we arrived at the campsite).

Dinner: AMAZING slow cooked beef stew with a hoagie roll.

Dessert: S'mores without the graham crackers...a strange favorite of John's...and some cocoa. little camping splurges :)

Monday, May 30
My mom made us a hooked up breakfast: a bacon/egg/potato scramble with diced veggies in it. Also, a homemade pancake with blueberries and banana on top :)

Snack: leftover chocolate from S'Mores! Yep, we did.

Lunch: tuna melt on whole wheat pita with lowfat Provolone cheese, spinach, and tomato. We were hungry by 1:30, as breakfast had been at 8:30 or so...

Dinner: BBQ! We each had a cheeseburger with toppings and baked beans. No potato salad or chips for us. And, we shared dessert - homemade cheesecake. I am a sucker for homemade treats. And, it was worth it. We also brought along real sugar sodas and each had one of those. So, yes, a lot of calories, but a memorable afternoon.

We came home from the BBQ and promptly worked out - staying with our plan! We ate nothing more all evening. We felt full and satisfied, and had great memories from camping and BBQing with friends.

The memory that sticks with me from the BBQ was when we were sharing some of the reasons WHY we are doing this (for our HEALTH) and everyone was saying how they are worried about their own parents and wishing that their health was better. It made me think of how John and I are doing something now so we are better later. Amazing.

SO there you have it - we survived our second weekend on the "shrinking belly" diet. Next weekend will be very interesting - a road trip and a visit with family...

Stay tuned - and take care of yourself!

Day 14: Exercise. The moral is you CAN make time for this

Today, we woke up in the wilderness.  Addie's parents went camping for an extended Memorial Day weekend, and we decided to join them for one over-nighter.

I haven't set up my own tent in about 5 years.  I've been camping - but usually my brother, or whomever, is already bringing a bigger tent, and I just haven't needed it.  I discovered the rain fly has gone missing.  Oops.  We borrowed a tarp from Addie's Dad, but the tent has large patches of see through screen.  The screens are great for warmer weather, but not so much, when you're trying to keep the rain off.  Oh well, no biggie right?  It's practically summer, and it was about 80 degrees during the day.  And then the rain clouds came in.  Dang it!  I ended up tying our waterproof parkas over the areas that the tarp didn't cover.  That was adventure, part 1.

The other thing was allergies hit Addie pretty badly.

So between the wind flapping the tarp on the tent all night, and the allergies, she got very poor sleep.

We left early, came home and napped.  Then off to a BBQ with some friends.  We had cheeseburgers and even cheesecake dessert, so you don't have to starve yourself.  But we didn't gorge ourselves either.  We used self-control, even though it would have been easy to go back for a second round of everything.  Addie will do a post soon on the fact that in our eating plan, we are not 'skimping' food and going hungry all day.

"You can make time for this. 

Even if it ain't perfect"

We did get the video in: 30 Day Shred with Jillian Michaels.  It is getting easier we noticed, and we aren't doing it every day (which I think the program is designed for).  We are rotating in our program, which already includes marathon training and core exercises.  But it is encouraging to see progress.

We didn't get any running in.  Hauling camp gear count?  A little.

The moral of the story is this: we are average, normal folks, who are trying to balance work, family, and life's other curve balls in our schedules.  These are the things that get people off course.  You  can make time for this.  We are even if it ain't always perfect.  We still got a half hour of exercise in on a day when most people throw caution to the wind at a big BBQ and eat until you have to un-buckle your belt.

We met a new couple at the BBQ: friends of our friends.  They have a 9 month old, and the mother has lost about 38 pounds since giving birth by watching what she eats and running.  While taking care of a baby and a 2 year old.  More proof that you can do it if you decide to do it.

Thanks for reading and take care of yourself!

Day 13: Long Run

We did a long run today: 8 miles.  We were out for about an hour and 45 minutes, so not too far off our pace.  We did have some walking breaks, and I'd like to decrease those overall.

I spent a good chunk of the run working on my stride.

I felt it along my butt muscles pretty good.  But my shins and calves are feeling great!  The stretching and calf exercises seem to be working.

"It was a gorgeous day for a run"

The water was beautiful, and a lot of families were out with their kids at the parks, and also people walking their dogs.  Good times!

We're off to go camping overnight!

Thanks for reading and take care of yourself!

Day 13: Weigh-in

Ok, our peeps... weigh-in truth time.  This is the rubber meeting the road; and our feet meeting the scale.

This week, I'm down 3 pounds, and Addie is down 2.5 pounds.  Woohoo!

"I feel pretty good about that"

Granted, it is not so about the weight itself, as it is our overall health, fitness and physical shape.  But the fact is (and you can see the pictures for yourself here), in order to achieve overall health, fitness and physical shape, I need to drop pounds.  Losing fat and replacing it with muscle is the end goal.

As I pointed out in "My Belly Doesn't Like Me Either (and Your Belly Doesn't Like You)", belly fat is a killer.  That's not dramatic overstatement - it's the facts.  The links are there to help you do the research for yourself if you want.

So the real purpose for this exercise routine for us isn't vanity or merely 'looking good' - it's for our overall well-being, and to live healthy lives.

Thanks for reading and take care of yourself!

Day 13: Saturday, Rest Day

Today, is a planned rest day.  We plan on 5 days a week of exercise, 1 light day consisting of mainly stretching, and 1 rest day.

Though I am not Jewish or a Seventh Day Adventist, Saturday actually is the Sabbath, or rest day.  You can see it in the etymology - "Sabbath", Spanish: "Sabado", English: "Saturday"... "Sabbatical" is a term for an extended work rest.

"Plan your rest"

Saturday just happens to fit as our rest day in our work-out schedule because of my work schedule (Oh, the irony...).  We have a long run planned for tomorrow.


It's the weekend!  Enjoy it, my friends!

Day 12: Stretching

Today is a 'lite' day. 

I focused on just stretching.  I also slept in a bit.  I've talked about both things - both are important for your body, especially when you are pounding the tar out of it with a workout routine.

It may seem like rest is counter-intuitive to getting in good shape, but it's not.  Again, elite athlete's often get more sleep than most average people.  Also, stretching helps loosen your muscles up and work out some of the lactic acid built up during exercising them.

Today is Friday!   Do something fun!!

Thanks for reading and take care of yourself!

Day 12 - Meal Plan - May 27 (It's FRIDAY!)

We are *really* excited that it is a 3-day weekend. Well, sort of - John has to work on Saturday but we will enjoy a mini getaway.

Our plan for today includes a "cheat" meal, but a mostly healthy one if that.

(No Smoothie today - it is a rest day from working out).

Breakfast: a Jimmy Dean "DeLight" breakfast scramble.


Mid morning snack: mango slices and Greek Yogurt with Raspberries and honey.

Lunch: Sandwich: Lean ham, lowfat Provolone, spinach, romaine on whole wheat. Lowfat pudding cup, 8 oz of 100% juice.

Afternoon snack: Apple slices, almonds, boiled egg.

Dinner: homemade "pita pizza" with monterey jack cheese, green pepper, black olives, feta cheese, and sauce. Paired with a real sugar Coca-Cola - our only soda of the week and a treat!

Evening snack: light popcorn, woot ;)

I hope you have a great weekend! Take good care of yourself.

Day 11: Exercise (and Thoughts on a Strong Core)

Oh, the irony!  Yesterday, I write about the need for sleep.  Today I have a difficult time getting out of bed.

In my defense, 1) I did get out of bed and exercise, and 2) I did just start a new shift at work.  I'm basically on 12 hour days with the actual clock time, and lunch breaks, etc.  I left the house at about 8:45am and got home about 8:45pm.  Long day.

So the morning was not my friend.  However, I did get up and get the exercise in.

Today, I did a full half hour of Core exercises with Gunnar Peterson and about 15 minutes of stretching.  Gunnar isn't paying me to say so (though I wouldn't mind if he did), but I really like his exercise videos for several reasons.

"A Strong Core can only benefit you"

One, a strong core will help you no matter what.  It's why Joseph Pilates - a boxer (not just for the girls, dudes... Joe was a man's man...) - developed Pilates exercises.  Everything in our bodies is connected with our core.  So if you are a runner, a boxer, a __________ athlete of any kind, or a desk jockey like me, a strong core is beneficial to your overall physical well-being.  If you do a lot of sitting or driving (which involves a lot sitting) for your work, then all the more reason to pay attention to this.

I highly recommend a core exercise ball or a pilates mat in your cross-training regiment.  You can only benefit from it.

Other thoughts:  I'm definitely more sore overall after charging this all week.  So stretching is just that much more important.

Thanks for reading and take care of yourself!

Day 11 - May 26 - Meal Plan

It is already Thursday! We truly live for the weekends. John and I only get to see each other during our morning workouts at 5:30am and again at his dinner break at work at 5:15pm....and for an hour when he gets home at 8:45pm! EEK. It is a good thing I pack our lunch boxes as soon as I get home from work - planning pays off!

Todays meals:

Smoothie, first thing (before and after workout - I saved half of mine to enjoy after tonights' run).

Breakfast: 1 1/2 cups of a breakfast goolosh that I made: zucchini, turkey sausages, tomatoes, spinach, chicken stock, and orzo. Hearty!

Snack: Greek yogurt and 1/2 an Odwalla bar (protein one).

Lunch: Leftover Aztec Casserole (from Tuesdays' dinner)

Snack: apple slices, almonds, other half of Odwalla bar

Dinner: Roast beef sandwich on whole wheat with veggies, hummus, lowfat Provolone cheese, and tomato.

I am already looking forward to our cheat meal this weekend..... (pizza & coke...)

Happy almost Friday, everyone!

Day 10: Exercise

By now, if you've read through in order, today's exercise routine probably seems predictable:  30 Day Shred Video and then running on the treadmill.  So rather than go through the same-old, same-old about the routine, I thought I'd share some thoughts on the process so far.

Sleep
First, sleep is important.  You need sleep so your body can process the fat you are working off, and do repairs.  If you were to research what our bodies do when we are sleeping, you would be amazed.  Don't short-change yourself - give your body the rest it needs.  If you are significantly upping the exercise you are used to, this is even more important  because your body isn't used to it and all this work is a bit of a shock.

We live in a Go! Go! Go! culture that in nearly every way is "fast food" mentality (and not just in terms of diet).  So just in case you don't believe me yet, consider this: marathon runners like Deena Kastor and Kara Goucher sleep twice a day - at night, and during the day after they've run a training regiment that would kill most of us.  They literally get up, train, sleep, train some more, go to sleep at night; repeat.  These are the people who do 'fitness' for a living.  They are the elite.

"Moral of the Story: You need good sleep"

What about the other end of the spectrum?  The super-NOT-in-shape?  The contestants on The Biggest Loser start out as about not in shape as you can get, which is part of why they are picked for the show.  The trainers have them sleep a lot when they are on the ranch as well. Why?  Your body needs it to process what it has to process when you're working it hard.

The moral of the story: get sleep.

Injuries and Stretching
Other thoughts: I have two areas that traditionally I've  had to overcome: shin splints and a lower back injury.  I know I'm not alone.  I don't have knee, ankle, shoulder, elbow or wrist injuries, but those are other common ailments that afflict people.  We can let those things be an excuse to not exercise, or we can overcome them.  Note: Be Safe!  Don't injure yourself further, but there are things you can likely do (depending on the nature and severity of the injury) to work through it.

In my case, I have to be militant about stretching.  This may deserve it's own post someday - especially since there are different schools of thought - but, I do want to cover it a bit here.

Because of my lower back injury, I tend to wake up a bit stiff.  The good news is that with regular exercise, I tend to build muscle support where I need it to strengthen my back.  The bad  news is that it is possible to push it too far - especially if I haven't properly warmed up and stretched before-hand.  So for me, I absolutely must stretch so I'm not stiff and don't hurt myself.

Shin splints may or may not be super common for runners.  I haven't take a poll, so I don't know.  But if this is something that affects you, there are some things you can do to help.  I wear compression sleeves, do calf lifts and stretches.

Compression sleeve 

Calf lifts

Note: You don't have to have any weight or a barbell in particular.  You can also stand feet just slightly wider than shoulder width, place your hands on a wall or a post for stability and lift.  You can also use stairs.  The important thing is to build strength in the calves.

Calf Stretches

For me, this stretch is important before and after I run.

Again, as before, we are not doctors, nurses, chiropractors, certified trainers or nutritionists.  We are simply sharing what's worked for us.  If you have injuries especially, consult with your physician.

Thanks for reading, and take care of yourself!

Day 10 - May 25 - Meal Plan

I watched the Biggest Loser Finale online this morning and it was so inspirational! I love what the winner said, "weight loss really starts from the inside out."

Our plan for today took some careful planning as John started his new 4-ten hour shift weeks. So, we got a bigger lunch box!

6am - smoothie with whey protein, organic milk, frozen rasberries & blackberries, ice cubes, and a scoop of lowfat natural ice cream.

8am - Breakfast sandwich on whole wheat English muffin with egg beaters and a slice of Canadian Bacon.

10am - Greek yogurt with mixed fruit, boiled egg.

1pm - lunch, a Lean Cuisine with 19 grams of protein and 300 calories, a juicebox, and a small real dairy lowfat pudding.

3:45pm - snacktime: apple slices

5pm - dinner: chop chop salad with romaine, spinach, chick peas, olives, Feta cheese, avocado, tomato and seasoned chicken breast. Fat free Italian dressing. 1 oz of dark chocolate.

Evening snack: almonds and herbal tea

Wish us luck....

Day 9: Exercise

Today, since it was such a gorgeous day, we decided to run first.  We have a couple of loops in our neighborhood that are good for half-hour runs.  The one we ran on goes by a school and a couple of parks.  It actually ended up being closer to 40 minutes by the time we got back.

Then we did a Core Video from Gunnar Peterson.  It was one that I forgot about and it's at least mid-level if not higher.  It was good though.  I should mention - we are not affiliated with either Gunnar Peterson or Jillian Michaels.  We just like those videos, and they are ones we are using currently.

It was just over an hour to get it all in.  It feels good.

"It feels good to be doing this"

I tend to get shin splints - have since high school - so running every day is having an effect on my shins/calves.  They are really sore.  I have compression sleeves for them, and I need to do some stretching and lift exercises that target the calves.

Overall, I'm really excited about this.  Without a doubt, it is taking fitness to the next level for me.  If I can do it, so can you!

Thanks for reading and take care of yourself!

Day 9 - May 24 - Meal Plan

Last nights' workout was a toughie! I can't do another pushup for a day or so...Good thing we have some yummy food planned for today:

Breakfast: Clif Bar

Mid morning snack: Greek yogurt with mixed fruit and a boiled egg

Lunch: Turkey sandwich with spinach, lowfat Provolone cheese, and avocado on whole wheat. Small side salad and unsweetened iced tea.

Afternoon snack: handful of almonds, veggies and hummus, and apple slices.

Dinner: Aztec Casserole: 6 oz of ground beef (I am using steak strips), brown rice, cumin, onion, salsa and garlic - topped with lowfat cheese.

Dessert: real dairy lowfat pudding cup.

I'm seeing some "mainstays" in our diet that we both like everyday: nonfat plain Greek style yogurt with frozen fruit (thaws by the time we eat it in our lunches and keeps it cold!), apple slices, and almonds. These are easy to plan with!

John is excited about the steak tonight :)

Day 8: Exercise

Day 8 was back into it full throttle.  My schedule changed this week and I have today off.  So Addie and I worked out together once she got back from work.

First up: 30 Day Shred video.  Jillian, you still kick my butt...  I am currently on Level 1 of 3 and needing to catch my breath for some of it.  The hardest part for me is the shoulder work.

Then...

After getting good and sweaty (and working the heck out of my calves and shins) we ran for a half hour.  It's a good 50 minutes of exercise altogether.  I keep this up, and the belly is coming off.

Stay tuned.

"It's tougher.  This can only be good"

Other thoughts:  the running is definitely tougher after doing 20+ minutes of video.  Last season we did some cross training, but we would alternate days - running or a core video, not running and a core video (or shred in this case).  My breathing is getting worked, which is good: it should increase my respiratory endurance, which can only be to my benefit.

Also, at this point, I cannot image Jillian's Level 3...

Thanks for reading and take care of yourself!

Day 8 - May 23 - Meal Plan

Here is the meal plan for Monday, May 23rd!

Breakfast: whole wheat toaster waffle with avocado and turkey slices

Snack: Greek yogurt with fruit and honey

Lunch: Roaster Beef Sandwich with lots of veggies and lowfat Swiss cheese

Snack: apples, almonds, and boiled egg

Smoothie for before and after workout

Dinner: whole wheat pasta with sauce: diced tomatoes, pasta sauce, sauteed onions, green peppers, and ground beef

Getting back on track after a weekend that had some goodies in it...and a rough week prior.

Take care of yourself!

Weekend #1

Weekend Meals - Days 6 and 7: I wish included the sundae above, but no...sadly. Our "cheat" meal actually ended up being on Friday night - pizza and a real sugar coke. SO GOOD! We ran an hour and a half on Saturday too - so sort of "earned" another treat: some dark chocolate, about 150 calories worth.

Saturday: had a great omelete - spinach, pea, egg white/egg and Monterey Jack cheese. I kicked myself later for not using Feta cheese, but it was still good!

After our run we ate leftover pizza - John had two slices and I had one. Pizza is great before and after a run because you need post-exercise protein, and salt. We love it. So, it hit the spot. We caught a matinee on Saturday afternoon and it felt good to sit for 2 1/2 hours after putting in a 6 miler!

I heated up leftovers for dinner Saturday night - leftover stir fry and minestrone, and we split a panini. It had ham, lowfat swiss, spinach, tomato, and Ricotta. YUM!

Since dinner was at 5pm we had a snack when we got home - a yogurt and a cheese stick. We slept good thanks to that run...

Sunday - I had originally planned an egg dish, but decided to go with another powerfood: oatmeal. And not just any kind! It had: dried cranberries, whey protein powder, organic milk, almond butter, pecans, and ground flax seed! Super healthy!

Breakfast kept us full until an afternoon picnic at 1:45: A homemade sandwich with: turkey, avocado, lowfat cheese on whole wheat with spinach, tomatoes, and olives. Dessert was apple slices, they hit the spot.

We went to a birthday party after that and there was a make your own taco bar along with cakepops. We avoided the soda, chips, and second servings and figured we had saved close to 800 calories. We mindfully enjoyed a taco and a cake pop - and that would be our dinner! We only had an evening snack of hummus and veggies and yogurt.

I did our grocery shopping and we are stocked for this next week. The challenge next weekend will be how to go camping and eat right!

Have a great Monday, all -

Day 6: Exercise - Long Run

Long Run!

This may sound crazy to you - especially if you read the 'About Me' post and you've seen the pictures - but I LOVE long runs.

I didn't used to.

A little background: in High School I ran Cross Country.  But even that is only about 3 miles, maybe less.  For the vast majority of my life, I had not run more than that until I met Addie.  (I did run a five miler when I was in 4th grade... and with no practice...kids!).  When Addie and I got together she was training the NYC marathon.  She asked me if I would ever want to run a marathon with her.  We were dating, so I said "sure".  I mean, after all I might.  Don't judge.  You know you've all done that, or worse.  Girls aren't innocent here either: 'sure, I'll watch the game with you - I love this sport.  Oh, they wear interesting costumes'.  Ah dating...

Here's the interesting thing: I said it, and it was out there.  I began to run again.  At first it was a challenge to get a half-hour run in and run consistently.  Meaning, no walking breaks.  But then I did it.  Then one day I was out and felt really good.  I thought "I wonder if I could run longer?".  So I did.  Then I added more.  Then more.

Addie and I began training together.  Now she was training for the Chicago marathon.  Man, does this girl quit?  I got my miles up.  I still hadn't (and still haven't yet) lost the belly, but I can go for a long time.  We're not fast compared to the true competitors, but we can go far.

So I've run 20 miles now in my run training.  I don't know many people in the world have ever done that.  I was thinking Saturday that regularly running long runs (definition: at least an hour of running, or at least 6 miles, if your pace is faster) puts us in a category that few people are in percentage-wise.

"It's great to be out on the trail"

Where we live there are a few bridges, and the loop between the two most notable ones is about 5 miles.  We parked our car about 3/4's of a mile from the bridge in the park and ran it.  Woo!  It felt good.  About 6.5 miles overall.  We will get the miles up soon.  We're at the beginning of this season.  Soon 10 miles will be considered 'dialing it down a bit'.

There was some crazy wind for some of the run, but the sun was out, the river was beautiful, and it was great to be on the trail.

One of the things that is so nice to run with the two of us is a) we really love each other's company, and b) it's nice to get some thinking and talking time in.  Oh  yeah, our pace is such that we can talk most of the time.  We run about 12 minute miles.  About 11 and 1/2 when we get into the training season a bit.  With the cross-training, we are hoping to get a bit more lean, and then - who knows? - we might lower that mile average time. 

This year we (not just she) have spots already purchased for the Marine Corp marathon.  We'll have to do a post on that later...

Sunday - Day 7 is a day of rest with no exercise planned.

Thanks for reading and take care of yourself!

Day 5: Exercise

Okay, Back in the Saddle today.  I did the 30 Day Shred Video...  Man, I gotta say: I get schooled. 

Addie got some lighter weights because the idea in this video is not so much standard weight training where you isolate and "pump iron".  The idea is you work your whole body with intensity for the entire video.

Jillian Michaels, you kick my butt!

Then after the video, running on the treadmill.  Again, sweating pretty good by the time I got done.

I am also eating a very healthy diet, based on Abs Diet mostly.

The idea in the working out is strength, cardio and abs together.  On the days, I'm not doing the 30 Day Shred, I'm alternating with a Core ball workout.  I injured my back previously, and so building my core to stabilize my back is definitely a priority.  Plus, core strength is a central feature in many exercise regiments, including Pilates.  I noticed with the 30 Day Shred video, I work my shoulders a lot more than I am used to.


So, moral of the story: even if you experience a set-back in what you planned to do, don't give up.

GET BACK UP:

YOU HAVEN'T LOST IF YOU DON'T QUIT

Again, you can't control what life throws at you, but you can control your response to it.  We're all going to make mistakes, or fall short of what we set for ourselves.  I think I got a lesson in getting back up.  You haven't lost unless you quit.  Not the perfect first week (not over so far - 6.5 mile run planned for Saturday), but still I got Mon, Tues, Fri, and with Sat's run in, 4 days of exercise.  I planned 5, but 4 isn't bad.  Also, I upped the effort in my mid-week workouts from before.

This weekend, we will take my measurements and weigh-in to see if there are any results yet.

The immediate goal is: lose the belly.  The long-term goal is healthy living in exercise and what I eat.

Thanks for reading and take care of yourself!

Day Five - May 20th - Meal Plan

WOW, TGIF! We are soooo ready for the weekend. This week was really tough for us work-wise. I am grateful that due to our careful planning we did not stray from our diet, but exercise was a bit harder to do this week. Darn 5:30 alarms - it is just plain too early...

Meals today:
1. Smoothie with chocolate milk, ground flax seed, protein powder, frozen banana, ice cubes, and a small scoop of ice cream.

2. A Jimmy Dean "DeLight" breakfast bowl with potato cubes, sausage, and low fat cheese.

3. Greek yogurt with frozen mixed berries and honey.

4. Lunch: hooked up egg salad sandwiches (boiled eggs, mustard, ricotta cheese mix) with spinach, 2 slices of black forest ham, and low fat Swiss cheese on whole wheat bread. 8 oz of 100% fruit juice. Hummus & cucumbers to dip.

5. Apple slices and almonds.

6. Dinner: Slammin' Salmon: 1 can wild pink salmon, i whisked egg, 1/2 c ww bread crumbs, red pepper flakes, Old Bay seasoning, all mixed together and baked. Served on top of a bed of greens, with homemade dressing. Low fat dairy pudding for dessert!

Special treat: a glass bottle of real sugar Coca Cola. We have these every Friday night as part of date night and make up for it with our long runs on Saturdays. We hope to get out for an 8 to 10 miler tomorrow!

Have a great weekend, all ;)

Day 3 & 4: Exercise (Confession)

OK, truth time.

This last week at work has been grueling.  Mostly because of a conflict and the resulting outcome of the situation.  Losing meant a real setback career-wise and possibly the end of my time there; winning means upward and onward.

I literally lost sleep over it.  The night before Day 3 I got about 4 hours of sleep.  I woke up in the middle of the night, and tried to get back to sleep.  No dice.


I ended up getting up and doing some of the things that I meant to do: cleaning up my computer files, deleting some stuff, transferring some video content, etc.

But with Addie sleeping, it's not really the time to put on an exercise video or run on the treadmill.  Besides at 3am (or 4am) who wants to work out?  You want to be sleeping.

I ended up getting about another hour of sleep after Addie left for work.

So the net of it is that I didn't do anything for exercisie Day 3.

EPIC FAIL

Day 4 just as bad.

I at least got sleep, but at this point in the struggle at work, it looked like things were not going to go my way.  I was SUPER bummed.  Distraught.  Depressed a bit.  I just did not want to get out of bed.  I felt defeated.

The good news is that I did get the news I wanted Day 4.  Woohoo!  Sometimes in the midst of cloudy storms, the skies break open and sunlight shines through.  Also, Addie has been amazing: super-supportive, and very compassionate.  She's my other half, that much is for sure.

More on everything later.

Thanks for reading and take care of yourself!

Day Four - May 19th - Meal Plan

UGH. This morning was another one where work stress was so overwhelming that we decided that getting up early to work out together was a bad idea. Instead, we will have to go at it alone - an evening workout for me, and one later this morning for John. (He works 11-8 this week, I work 7-5).

SO! No smoothie for me this morning, I will probably have one tonight after I do the 30 Day Dread...I mean, Shred.

Meals today:

7am: Odwalla bar (just for Allie - John will do a smoothie)

9am: Nonfat Greek yogurt with frozen mixed berries and honey

11am: Boiled Egg

1pm: lunch: Tuna sandwich on whole wheat with spinach, lowfat swiss cheese, tomato, and a thin spread of ricotta cheese. Also a small cup of pineapple tidbits.

3pm: Apple slices, handful of almonds (John), instant oatmeal for Addie

6pm: dinner: stir fried veggies and a protein (need to check the freezer, I either have pork chops or ground turkey...). Dessert: real dairy lowfat chocolate pudding.

The only frustration with meal planning is that we are on different schedules. John eats his last meal at 8:15pm - it is so late! So you have to be more careful to stretch your food out. I pack it up in a cooler for the day and you just have to make it last! I got that idea from a former Biggest Loser winner - it is just smart planning.

Be good to yourself!

Day 2: Exercise

OK, so we slept badly last night.  So it was a little bu hao (Mandarin for “not good” or “bad”) in the morning.  Addie opted to work out after she got home and we have differing work schedules.

I have been stressed by the potential outcome of a situation at work.

So I slept in a bit.  I did get up with plenty of  time and did the workout by Gunnar Peterson in his Core Video training.  It’s not as hard core for me as the 30 Day Shred at this point because I am more used to the routine of the Core video.  You’re still working, it’s just older territory than the 30 Day Shred for me.

I was going to run on the treadmill and called Addie to give her an update (between sleeping in and the workout/getting up time, it had been a while since I’d talked to her)  We ended up talking about the work situation.  So yes, I did work out; but I also copped out a bit also.

“Excuses are as excuses does”

Thanks, Forrest…

Compared to where I was when I put on the weight, I’m ahead today, but compared to the goals for myself, not as much.

Lesson:  change jobs?

Thanks for reading and take care of yourself!

Day Three - May 18th - Meal Plan

Our workout got derailed this morning. John had a wee bit of sleeplessness in the middle of the night, ok so most of the night - so he was unfit for exercising. There are times when we need to choose sleep over exercise as it is just better for our bodies, and that was John's case today.

Nevertheless we can make up for it creatively! So, we took out today's smoothie as we don't need the extra calories.

So today's menu is as follows:

1. Small bowl of multi-grain cereal with organic 1% milk

2. Energy bar 3 hours later (Triple Threat PowerBar)

3. Melon pieces, one boiled egg

4. Lunch: Lowfat swiss and turkey on whole wheat with spinach and tomoto, brewed iced tea, apple slices, handful of almonds

5. Nonfat Greek yogurt with mixed berries, light string cheese

6. Dinner: Minestrone soup

These foods make up quite a lot of the Power foods listed on the Abs Diet - Almonds, Berries, Spinach, Dairy, Eggs, Turkey, Whole Grain and Breads.

And easy way to remember the Power Foods is this acronym:

Almonds and other nuts
Beans and legumes
Spinach and other green vegetables

Dairy
Instand oatmeal (unsweetened/unflavored)
Eggs
Turkey and other lean meats

Peanut Butter
Olive oil
Whole Grain breads and cereals
Extra-protein whey powder
Raspberries and other berries

That acronym helps me with meal planning :)

A new day tomorrow - and hopefully my arms will cooperate with Jillian's Shred DVD!