The Quest to be Fit

Tracking my journey to better health

Alternative Thursday February 26, 2009

For some reason this post didn’t get published last week… 

Sorry I’ve been MIA for a three days; I’ve had a crazy schedule and been a bit sleep deprived.  You’ll get a nice long post today though!  Oh, and I don’t know if many of you saw my post from Valentine’s Day, since I posted twice in one day and it may have slipped by.  Please check it out–Best Dinner Ever!

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Yo, what’s up in blogland?  I’m watching Millionaire Matchmaker right now…muy interesante.

Today was pretty good, rather fast, and tomorrow is Friday!!!  The day started off with a nice bowl of oats, standard Kersten-style:  steel cut oats, almond milk, water, Maranatha almond butter, raisins, and cinnamon.  (Reminds me I need to prep my oats for tomorrow!)

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Worky worky, then lunchy lunchy eventually.  Today was a ww bread butt with 1/2 a wedge LCL, 1 slice of peppered turkey, carrot and celery sticks, and 1/2 an apple.

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After a meeting and more work I had a snack of 1/2 cup lowfat cottage cheese.  In case you wondered, I haven’t been eating as much so I only buy the lowfat kind, rather than the fat-free kind.  Chris doesn’t like fat-free, either, so I might as well buy what he likes too.

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We left to go pick up our food order from New Seasons for our workshop, and I ate the other half of my apple in the car.  No pic…

The food was gorgeous!  And not much more compared to me creating it myself.  I forgot to take a pic of the third platter before it was attacked…it was a Mezze platter with hummus, spicy feta, dolmas, spanakopita, olives, and pita bread on the side.  The other two platters are pretty self explanatory, and were yummy!

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One of our workshop topics was alternative energy, and I really liked the presentation from our Calvert Investments wholesaler.  He is really passionate about the topic in his personal life, too, and even has solar panels on his house.  Great topic considering I’m getting the green bug and we’re in the Pacific Northwest where green abounds in many ways. 

I know, I know, my platters weren’t quite so green…I forgot to ask the New Seasons deli if I could bring in my own ceramic platters for them to use.  Maybe I can return them for re-use?

Sheesh, it is almost 11 and I have to get up at a normal hour again.  What did you all do today?  OMG, Real Housewives of New York is on.  I may have to watch it some…crazy divas and drama are sucking me in!

Nighty night, y’all!

 

Posty post February 21, 2009

Great title, I know.  Seriously going blank.

How was your Saturday? Mine was pretty good.  Let’s get back to Friday first, though…

Friday

Totally forgot to prep my oats even though I reminded myself while blogging :shocked:  As I got our lunches ready I put some vanilla Dannon Light’n’Fit and shredded wheat in a tub.  Some banana sounded good, too, so I brought one and a knife along as we left for Chris’ dental appt.  It was supposed to be quick, but totally wasn’t so I was starving by the time we got to work.  This was a yummy breakfast, though!  I forgot cinnamon…that would have made it perfect.

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Lunch involved integrating some leftovers from our workshop the night before.  I can’t let the leftovers go to waste, can I?!  My sando had a little bit of goat cheese, a few slices of dry salami, and spinach.  I wasn’t that hungry when we ate so I didn’t eat all the apple or grapes.

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Friday was a beautiful day in Portland…unseasonably gorgeous…. so I had no problem leaving work early 🙂  I ate a little snack of a Clif Nectar bar as we walked out to the car, since I knew I’d need something to fuel our next activity.  It is so weird…chewing the nut pieces in these usually makes my teeth hurt.  No, it’s not the bar, it is my TMJ; I clench my jaw and my teeth are a bit sensitized b/c of it.  Yummy bar tho!

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We hit up 24 Hour, where I knew I had to do an hour of cardio to make up for the lack of it earlier in the week.  My goal is to do 225 minutes of cardio per week (45 min 5 times per week), and since I was behind I needed to catch up a tad.  I did 45 minutes on the stair mill (whoa, that was hot and hard!), and finished with 15 minutes on the elliptical.  A nice ab session followed, and then I had fun watching Chris finish up his hoopin’ in progress.  Considering he hasn’t played much in a long time he is doing really well!  White men really can jump 😉

After cleaning up we hit up Fajitas for dinner.  I had like an 1/8th of a Casuela, some chips & salsa, and tortilla soup sin crema y queso.  I was SO full after consuming this that I couldn’t even have a sip of my La Casa.  I threw in a piece of gum and called it good.

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I did a few household things once we got home, and we went to bed at 10:30!  I didn’t fall asleep until after 11 I think, but it was nice to get in bed earlier than usual.  I think I’m going to aim to do that again tonight 🙂

Saturday

I got up around 7 for my second Master Recycler field trip:  Reuse in Action (or so I will call it…).  After getting ready I had my typical oats, but with a small twist:  I used chocolate almond milk instead of vanilla.  The chocolate flavor really didn’t come through, but that’s okay.  This was a yummy combo that I enjoyed with coffee con Silk vanilla creamer.

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The field trip was great 🙂  First stop was Free Geek, a charity dedicated to helping the needy get nerdy, as they say.  Basically you can donate any computer related item and they will test it, then refurb it or recycle it.  They build computers for schools, needy people, and their volunteers.  Pretty cool reuse in action!

Next stop was Community Warehouse, a charity dedicated to providing basic housewares to families in need.  They also have an estate store with various donated high end furniture or non-necessary items for sale.  The store helps fund about 1/3 of their operating budget, and had lots of cool retro and newer stuff in it.  I think I’ll donate to this organization in the future rather than Goodwill; I didn’t know that Goodwill dumps off unsold stuff to overseas locations where it is more of a burden than a help 😦

Third stop was SCRAP, School and Community Reuse Action Project.  This is another specialized organization whose mission is: “to inspire creative reuse and environmentally sustainable behavior by providing educational programs and affordable materials to the community.” They accept items that can be re-purposed in arts, crafts, and hobbies, which they then sell to the public in their store.  Really cool!  And super cheap…they aim to sell the stuff for 1/4 of what you’d pay retail, so it is a really affordable and fun resource for art centers, teachers, and others looking to find supplies or inspiration for their creative projects.

Fourth and final stop was The Rebuilding Center, which is the biggest construction & demolition (C&D) re-use seller in the country!  They collect re-usable/excess C&D items like cabinets, sinks, tubs, light fixtures, tile, doors, windows, and so much more.  This is a candy store for those doing renovations, remodels, or other projects around the home and yard.  The Center is run by Our United Villages.  Such a great place to visit!  Makes me want to re-tile the bathroom, do a new kitchen counter, and more.  The offices are really amazing, as they use mostly old doors to create the floors and walls, along with lots of other stuff to create the tables, beams, and more.  So cool.

I got home around 1, feeling a little delirious from not eating yet, and made up a plate of goodies:  hummus, spiced feta, kalamata olives, pita, strawberries, grapes, goat cheese, swiss cheese, apple, dolmas, and a slice of dry salami. This was a yummy sampling of tasty goodness, but I restrained enough that I didn’t feel full afterwards 🙂
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After letting that settle and waiting for laundry I was off to the gym for another mega cardio sesh and some weights.  My sports bras weren’t dry yet, so I ended up wearing a semi-wet one to work out in.  I figured I was going to sweat it up anyway so what did it matter, right?!

I started on cardio since Chris put me on a time budget, cranking out the same hour of cardio as yesterday:  45 min on the mill, then 15 on the elliptical.  Considering it was after 4 at that point I headed out.  I know I haven’t done a weights/resistance workout in the last few days, but I think burnin’ it up on the cardio is going to help me lose a few more pounds sooner for my vaca, so I’ve kinda put that as priority one lately.

Dinner was an exact repeat of last night:  small part of a casuela, chips & salsa, and tortilla soup w/o cream or cheese.  Tonight I wasn’t as full so I did drink about 1/2 of my La Casa 🙂

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Fo’ shizzle, yo.  I bet some of you out there think we’re crazy b/c of our Mexican food addiction…sometimes I think we’re a little crazy, too! 

What are your Sunday plans?  I think The Driz may be joining me in yoga!  Fun!  Haven’t seen her for awhile, so I get to check out her new haircut and catch up.  We should totally hook our men up to play basketball, as they’re both two tall white guys who play like no one’s business, or so it sounds like 😉  I think Chris will be out for awhile though since his ankle doesn’t seem any better today 😦  It is really weird…no swelling or sensitivity to the touch, but pain when weight is put on it and he flexes his foot while walking.  Tendon issue?  Ligament issue?

I be outta here.  I’m looking forward to a nice yoga sesh in the morning, and some good weights as well.  Hopefully the workout will motivate me to get all my housework done, too!

Later!

 

Tues to Wed February 18, 2009

Quickly my friends, as I’m tired.

Tuesday

Rather blue about my weight loss/fat loss progress… a client told me he’s lost like 20 lbs in 5 weeks on the South Beach Diet and I wanted to crawl in a hole with my measly 10 lbs in 3 months.  I mean, you guys see how I eat, it’s not that terrible, it’s no more than 1500 cals/day most days, and I exercise a lot.  I seriously think my only-half-an-hour of cardio January fucked up the progress.  Whatevs, I’m still motivated and pushing forward.

Usual oats:

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Turkey and ww butt sando, Kashi TLC crackers, F-f-f-fuji!

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The rest of my crackers with lowfat cottage cheese.

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The infamous Casuela from Fajitas.

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The ever familiar tortilla soup with jalapenos.

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The most decadent drink ever…La Casa.  Creamy heaven in a glass.

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I hit up the gym after dinner (I had just a few sips of the Casuela and gave that and over half of my La Casa to Chris), and felt a little out of it from my funk.  Did one of the four week bikini workouts, an ab workout, and 15 glorious minutes on the elliptical.  I didn’t do as much cardio intentionally; trying to do 45 minutes 4-5 times per week and thought I could use a lighter day time wise.

I ran by the store for a veggie and fruit stock up fest on the way home since I was feeling bad about my progress.  Figured I’m not eating enough fruits and veggies anyway, so buying a lot and integrating them more would be good.

Wednesday

Better day mostly, but I’m so tired. 

Loving the Maranatha in my oats.  If you remember from when I first put it in my oats I said it wasn’t flavorful enough there, but I was wrong.  Today it really shined through and was perfect.

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Different lunch today…a little too light.  Spinach salad with turkey and cucumber, carrot and celery sticks, and grapes.

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Dinner was ww linguine with Prego sauce and a little canned parm.  Classy, I know.  Tasty, but I forgot the pic!

Master Recyler class was good:  construction & demolition reduction/reusing/recycling; green building & renovation; and event recycling.  Great presenters and some tasty eats:  small homemade kumqwat (sp?) and cranberry scone, few tbsps Costco trail mix (waaaaaaay too salty).

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And that’s all she wrote, folks.  Here’s hopin’ your Wednesday was wonderful 🙂