Is there any worse way to start the day than forgetting your breakfast? Well thats what I've done. I weighed out my jumbo oats this morning, added my teaspoons of cocoa and sweetener then left it sitting on the kitchen side (well thats where I assume it is). Today has not started well.
I had a lovely night last night, didn't do my planned exercise DVD but will get back on that wagon today. We got to the pub about 7.40 and waited for about 15 minutes for my family to arrive. Considering my Nan had broken the end off a bone attaching to her knee a few weeks ago, she was back on her feet and speeding around again, was great to see.
I didn't hold back, not one bit when it came to food/drink. I drank probably 3/4 of a bottle of wine (a merlot, yum!) and food wise I had Pork Belly to start with some kind of parsnip puree and a red wine jus, followed by duck cooked 3 ways (no idea what the three ways were) with sweet potato puree and wilted spinach, then finished off with 2 scoops of tonka (its variety of vanilla apparently) with chocolate torte and 2 chocolate discs. Oh and a chocolate mint :)
The food was really rich, but the portions were small, so I didn't feel too bloated afterwards. However this morning the richness of last nights food hasn't sat with me to well.
On to todays food...
Breakfast: 200ml Skimmed Milk Protein Shake, 2 slices wholemeal toast with what I presume was butter, the canteen at work doesn't have a great selection of food or labels to tell you what things are!
Mid Morning Snack: Nothing needed, full from my crap breakfast and pre-occupied with work.
Lunch: Wholemeal Roll with Ham (l/f marg) and 200ml Skimmed Milk Protein Shake.
Mid Afternoon Snack: Banana, Apple.
Dinner: Homemade Hash Browns w/ 1.5 Quorn Sausages, 3 Large Mushrooms, Baked Beans, 1 Rasher of Bacon and a squirt of Ketchup.
Today at the gym I'm going to skip my abs class as this is the last time I'll be able to hit the gym until next Wednesday potentially (will depend on train strikes next week as to whether I'll be able to go on Tuesday or not). So plan for 20 minutes cardio on the Cybex Cross Trainer, then full body weights for around 40 minutes. Going to wear my HRM to make sure I'm working hard enough and not laming out.
The results of said gym session are in! My session lasted 57 minutes, split 20 minutes cross trainer then the rest weights, abs and mat work.
Max HR = 180 bpm (93%)
Average HR = 149 bpm (77%)
Cals Burnt = 446
After the 20 minutes on the cross trainer I did full body weights
Leg Press: 3x10 @ 145lbs
Weighted Single Leg Lunges: 3x10 @ 10kg (each hand), 30 on each leg in total
Weighted Calf Raises: 3x10 @ 10kg (each hand)
Squat & Deadlift: 3x10 @ 10kg barbell
Calf Raises: 3x10 (body weight off a step)
Side Step Squats: 3 x 12 (left leg followed by right leg = 1, so 24 leaps in each set)
Then a variety of arm weights which I didn't really count too well.
Shoulder Press (5kg weights each hand), Tricep Press (5kg then 4kg weights each hand), Upright Row (10kg Barbell), Hammer Press (5kg weights each hand), Front/Side Raises (2kg each hand).
Then onto abs,
Weighted Side Bends 3x10 on each side @ 5kg, and 10 star jumps in between the sets.
A variety of sit ups (regular, legs in the air, legs scissored, crunches, pulses)
Superman 2 x 10 + 1 x 30 second hold
Plank 2 x 15 seconds, 1 x 30 second
Inner leg raises 3 x 20 (on each side)
Outer leg raises 3 x 20 (flexed foot, pointed foot, flexed foot on each side)
Stretch and finish.
Wednesday 31 March 2010
Tuesday 30 March 2010
Save me from myself
Argh, why is self sabotage soooo easy. Why do I still crack at the silliest of things?
This is what I am contending with today. A colleague suddenly remembered that we had a drawer full of treats (from a Birthday last week and from a ski trip) so decided to get them out and place them right on the edge of my desk. You see that handbag, I'm sitting about 25cms away from that, so those boxes of goodies are an arms reach away.
I thought to myself, oh I'll have a Millionaire Shortbread. I'd just finished my lunch which felt quite unsatisfying as the weather is so crap outside I think I could have done with something warm/stodgy. Salad and cous cous just didn't fill the gap. So I had that shortbread.
Then just a moment ago, I gave into one of the Lindt mega mixes and had myself a mini bar of Lindor. Seriously, what kind of girl can resist the powers of Lindor? It's smooth chocolately exterior and it's melt in the mouth middle, it was designed to be in my mouth.
The only thing thats keeping me sane is the fact that its 3.50pm, which means only 1 hour and 10 minutes until home time. Must resist sampling the milk chocolate bars, the white chocolate bars, the noir bars, the hazelnut bars... and more Lindor bars.
Scale & Non-Scale Victory (NSV)
I forgot to mention yesterdays weigh in.
When I gain a little weight, I become fearful of the evening weigh in. So much so that on weigh in day I now weigh myself twice, once in the morning and once in the evening. Yesterdays results were as follows:
6am I weighed 9st 6 1/4 lbs
7pm I weighed 9st 6 1/4 lbs
I guess that means I can take it that I weigh 9 st 6 1/4 lbs then.
So that was my scale victory, now onto my Non-Scale Victory (or NSV for short). Remember last week when I was complaining that I felt bloated and horrible, well my gauge for that is usually a waist cinching belt I have. When I feel crappy it fits, when I feel skinny it hangs off me. Yesterday it was hanging off me. In another NSV I also caught sight of some abs before bed, only in certain lights can I see them, but there are definately muscles in there :D
When I gain a little weight, I become fearful of the evening weigh in. So much so that on weigh in day I now weigh myself twice, once in the morning and once in the evening. Yesterdays results were as follows:
6am I weighed 9st 6 1/4 lbs
7pm I weighed 9st 6 1/4 lbs
I guess that means I can take it that I weigh 9 st 6 1/4 lbs then.
So that was my scale victory, now onto my Non-Scale Victory (or NSV for short). Remember last week when I was complaining that I felt bloated and horrible, well my gauge for that is usually a waist cinching belt I have. When I feel crappy it fits, when I feel skinny it hangs off me. Yesterday it was hanging off me. In another NSV I also caught sight of some abs before bed, only in certain lights can I see them, but there are definately muscles in there :D
Will it ever stop raining?
I swear its been raining nearly non-stop for the past week or so. It rained all of yesterday, all of last night and its still coming down this morning. I know we're nearly April and theres the whole 'April Showers' thing, but I could really do with some blue sky and happy clouds.
Anyways, yesterday for dinner I had Moroccan Jewelled Cous Cous & Chicken wrapped in lettuce leaves. It was really tasty and not too bad for a cheat meal (the cous cous was pre-flavoured, I just add bits). This is the recipe:
Moroccan Jewelled Cous Cous
1 Packet Ainsley Harriot Spice Sensation Cous Cous
Handful of Raisins
1 finely chopped Red Chilli
Handful of finely chopped Sundried Tomatoes
Make up the cous cous as directed, and add the rest of the ingredients :) Easy huh.
I usually add a little bit of grated cheese to make it a little stodgier for wrapping in lettuce, and I've been known to chuck in things like peppers, onions and mushrooms too.
I didn't make it to the gym yesterday, boo to lunchtime meetings. Instead I opted for an exercise DVD when I got home. Apparently it burnt off 162 calories according to my HR monitor which is hardly ground breaking, but I guess its better than nothing.
On to today...
Breakfast: 200ml Skimmed Protein Shake, 30g Jumbo Oats, 150ml Skimmed Milk, 1 tsp G&B Cocoa Powder, 2 tsp Sweetener, 150ml Berocca.
Mid Morning Snack: Banana
Lunch: Baby Spinach & Rocket Salad with leftover Moroccan Jewelled Cous Cous and a few slices of ham.
Mid Afternoon Snack: Caramel Shortbread (~180 calories), Apple.
Dinner: We are eating out tonight at our local gastro pub for my Nans 90th Birthday (go Nan!), will report back as to what I eat.
I had a meeting at lunchtime which over ran, I really wish people would stop booking meetings around lunchtime - don't they know that it interferes with my fitness!
By the time I got back from my meeting it was after 2pm, so I was starving and had completely missed my window of gym opportunity. Plan now is to fit in a quick session of something tonight before we go for the birthday meal.
This week is looking like a bit of a nightmare all of a sudden...
Monday: no gym, exercised at home
Tuesday: no gym, meal out but trying to exercise at home
Wednesday: Gym
Thursday: Working from home, so exercise at home or a run
Friday: Bank Holiday, exercise at home/run, meal out in the evening
Saturday: Possible exercise in the morning, at a wedding from 1.30pm (so more meals out)
Sunday: 5 mile solo run (Mr H is busy)
Whilst that schedule does potentially see me working out every day, its not really the kind of work out I want. Still got to be better than nothing!
Anyways, yesterday for dinner I had Moroccan Jewelled Cous Cous & Chicken wrapped in lettuce leaves. It was really tasty and not too bad for a cheat meal (the cous cous was pre-flavoured, I just add bits). This is the recipe:
Moroccan Jewelled Cous Cous
1 Packet Ainsley Harriot Spice Sensation Cous Cous
Handful of Raisins
1 finely chopped Red Chilli
Handful of finely chopped Sundried Tomatoes
Make up the cous cous as directed, and add the rest of the ingredients :) Easy huh.
I usually add a little bit of grated cheese to make it a little stodgier for wrapping in lettuce, and I've been known to chuck in things like peppers, onions and mushrooms too.
I didn't make it to the gym yesterday, boo to lunchtime meetings. Instead I opted for an exercise DVD when I got home. Apparently it burnt off 162 calories according to my HR monitor which is hardly ground breaking, but I guess its better than nothing.
On to today...
Breakfast: 200ml Skimmed Protein Shake, 30g Jumbo Oats, 150ml Skimmed Milk, 1 tsp G&B Cocoa Powder, 2 tsp Sweetener, 150ml Berocca.
Mid Morning Snack: Banana
Lunch: Baby Spinach & Rocket Salad with leftover Moroccan Jewelled Cous Cous and a few slices of ham.
Mid Afternoon Snack: Caramel Shortbread (~180 calories), Apple.
Dinner: We are eating out tonight at our local gastro pub for my Nans 90th Birthday (go Nan!), will report back as to what I eat.
I had a meeting at lunchtime which over ran, I really wish people would stop booking meetings around lunchtime - don't they know that it interferes with my fitness!
By the time I got back from my meeting it was after 2pm, so I was starving and had completely missed my window of gym opportunity. Plan now is to fit in a quick session of something tonight before we go for the birthday meal.
This week is looking like a bit of a nightmare all of a sudden...
Monday: no gym, exercised at home
Tuesday: no gym, meal out but trying to exercise at home
Wednesday: Gym
Thursday: Working from home, so exercise at home or a run
Friday: Bank Holiday, exercise at home/run, meal out in the evening
Saturday: Possible exercise in the morning, at a wedding from 1.30pm (so more meals out)
Sunday: 5 mile solo run (Mr H is busy)
Whilst that schedule does potentially see me working out every day, its not really the kind of work out I want. Still got to be better than nothing!
Monday 29 March 2010
"That smells more like Chocolate Cake than Breakfast"
Ergh, doesn't the hour change suck?! I went to bed 1.5 hours earlier than I usually would last night because I was whacked, and this morning I'm still shattered. Being at work at old time 7am is not good. I swear it was like I was drunk, wobbling around the office, slurring and forgetting my words. I clearly need another hours sleep :)
Food for today:
Breakfast: 200ml Skimmed Milk Protein Shake, 30g Jumbo Oats, 150ml Skimmed Milk, 1 tsp G&B Cocoa Powder, 2 tsp Sweetener, 150ml Berocca. NB. It's my Choco Porridge that apparently smells more like Chocolate Cake than Breakfast!
Mid Morning Snack: Banana & a slab of homemade ginger cake from my boss. I <3 my boss :)
Lunch: Ham and Egg Salad with Low Fat Salad Creme/Mayo & 200ml Skimmed Milk Protein Shake.
Mid Afternoon Snack: Apple
Dinner: Lettuce wraps filled with Moroccan Jewelled Cous Cous and Chicken.
I doubt I'll be getting out at lunchtime for a run (due to the wet weather), so will probably do 20-30 minutes cardio and 30-40 minutes weights/abs.
Food for today:
Breakfast: 200ml Skimmed Milk Protein Shake, 30g Jumbo Oats, 150ml Skimmed Milk, 1 tsp G&B Cocoa Powder, 2 tsp Sweetener, 150ml Berocca. NB. It's my Choco Porridge that apparently smells more like Chocolate Cake than Breakfast!
Mid Morning Snack: Banana & a slab of homemade ginger cake from my boss. I <3 my boss :)
Lunch: Ham and Egg Salad with Low Fat Salad Creme/Mayo & 200ml Skimmed Milk Protein Shake.
Mid Afternoon Snack: Apple
Dinner: Lettuce wraps filled with Moroccan Jewelled Cous Cous and Chicken.
I doubt I'll be getting out at lunchtime for a run (due to the wet weather), so will probably do 20-30 minutes cardio and 30-40 minutes weights/abs.
Weekend Report
For my meal out on Friday night (which didn't happen til 8.45pm - *sighs*) I ended up having Salted Edamame Beans to start, followed by Duck Chow Mein, and a spoonful of Bento Box Brownie for pud. I felt quite pleased with my choices, although the salt in the starter and the extra soy sauce I added to my main course meant I drank about 2 pints of water after getting home! I really don't like eating late and because we didn't get into the restaurant until 8.45pm, it meant we didn't finish until about 10.30pm. Nothing worse than heavy stomach when your thinking about hitting the hay.
On Saturday we were up early and out at the Vets. Dolly has a lump on her right hand side that we've been monitoring for a while. They took a sample before and said it was just a fatty cyst, but we're still totally paranoid about it so took her back for a biopsy. She was a really good pug and let the vet get on with it - of course I'm sure she knew that she'd get a Gravy Bone from the nice ladies on reception if she didn't make a fuss. We should get the results sometime during the next week, fingers crossed they find nothing untoward.
After the Vets, we walked the pooches and got in the car and drove to Monkey World. We met some friends there and walked around the park for about 4 hours. We stopped to have some lunch and I found a spider in my handbag. I'm really good at controlling bad language around kids (and lets face it at an animal park, there are tonnes of them), but I cannot control what leaves my mouth when I find spiders. Within seconds my eyes had welled
up and I was ready to bawl, luckily 1 out of the 7 of us out was not afraid of spiders and she rescued it from my handbag and relocated it to a new home in some greenery. Phew. It was quite a good day out looking at Monkeys, it did make me feel sad though reading about the cirumstances in which many of them had arrived at Monkey World. Whole enclosures full of monkeys that were formally used for lab research broke my heart. The turnaround they have made from being kept in a small cage to living in a enclosure with large inside rooms and expansive outside play gyms is incredible and they certainly seemed to be making the most of it! Highlight of the day was probably the Orangutans out in the rain with blankets over their heads, they looked like ET.
up and I was ready to bawl, luckily 1 out of the 7 of us out was not afraid of spiders and she rescued it from my handbag and relocated it to a new home in some greenery. Phew. It was quite a good day out looking at Monkeys, it did make me feel sad though reading about the cirumstances in which many of them had arrived at Monkey World. Whole enclosures full of monkeys that were formally used for lab research broke my heart. The turnaround they have made from being kept in a small cage to living in a enclosure with large inside rooms and expansive outside play gyms is incredible and they certainly seemed to be making the most of it! Highlight of the day was probably the Orangutans out in the rain with blankets over their heads, they looked like ET.We got home about 5pm, fed the dogs and took them up to the park for a run around.
Food for Saturday consisted of:
Breakfast: 30g Jumbo oats, 200ml Skimmed Milk, 1 tsp G&B Cocoa Powder and 2 tsp Sweetener.
Lunch: Wholemeal Sub Roll, Scrape of L/F Marg, Ham, Tomato, PGBG, Babybel, Banana, Mini Sausage with some really hot chilli sauce (just to prove I could handle the heat better than my husband!)
Dinner: Homemade Meatballs with Red Onion, Mushrooms, Red/Yellow Peppers, Courgette, Chopped Tomatoes and spoonful of Fiery Chilli Pesto (yum!) and half a baked Sweet Potato.
On Sunday we had our 2nd 5 mile run. We knocked just under 7 minutes off our time from last week :). I think this was down to keeping to a steadier pace, so my heart rate only tipped above 180 bpm a couple of times. So we're now running nearly 10 minute miles for the whole distance, which hopefully we can hit next weekend.
Food for Sunday consisted of:
Breakfast: Pre-Run = 200ml Skimmed Milk Protein Shake, Post-Run = Banana and Strawberries, 2 tsp Sugar.
Lunch (at 4pm!): Leftover Meatballs (3) and Veggie Sauce with a slice of cheese mixed in.
Dinner: Salmon Steak, Egg & Salad w/ L/F Salad Creme/Mayo
Pud: Porridge, 150ml Semi-Skimmed Milk, 50ml Water, 1 bar of Dairy Milk (the old style Animal bars < 100 calories I think). I needed pud yesterday as I was in a grotty mood, the kind that only something yummy will get you out of.
After our run, we went to Southampton in search of wedding outfit accessories and some bits from Ikea. It was pretty successful, even if I did forget to buy some bits that were on my list. I ended up with a Coral Pink Bag from M&S and some Patent Grey shoes from Dotty P's for the wedding we're off to on Saturday :).
Food for Saturday consisted of:
Breakfast: 30g Jumbo oats, 200ml Skimmed Milk, 1 tsp G&B Cocoa Powder and 2 tsp Sweetener.
Lunch: Wholemeal Sub Roll, Scrape of L/F Marg, Ham, Tomato, PGBG, Babybel, Banana, Mini Sausage with some really hot chilli sauce (just to prove I could handle the heat better than my husband!)
Dinner: Homemade Meatballs with Red Onion, Mushrooms, Red/Yellow Peppers, Courgette, Chopped Tomatoes and spoonful of Fiery Chilli Pesto (yum!) and half a baked Sweet Potato.
On Sunday we had our 2nd 5 mile run. We knocked just under 7 minutes off our time from last week :). I think this was down to keeping to a steadier pace, so my heart rate only tipped above 180 bpm a couple of times. So we're now running nearly 10 minute miles for the whole distance, which hopefully we can hit next weekend.
Food for Sunday consisted of:
Breakfast: Pre-Run = 200ml Skimmed Milk Protein Shake, Post-Run = Banana and Strawberries, 2 tsp Sugar.
Lunch (at 4pm!): Leftover Meatballs (3) and Veggie Sauce with a slice of cheese mixed in.
Dinner: Salmon Steak, Egg & Salad w/ L/F Salad Creme/Mayo
Pud: Porridge, 150ml Semi-Skimmed Milk, 50ml Water, 1 bar of Dairy Milk (the old style Animal bars < 100 calories I think). I needed pud yesterday as I was in a grotty mood, the kind that only something yummy will get you out of.
After our run, we went to Southampton in search of wedding outfit accessories and some bits from Ikea. It was pretty successful, even if I did forget to buy some bits that were on my list. I ended up with a Coral Pink Bag from M&S and some Patent Grey shoes from Dotty P's for the wedding we're off to on Saturday :).
Friday 26 March 2010
Hooray for Friday
I'm really glad its Friday, it feels like its been a long week. I'm strangely excited about 'sprining forward' on Sunday morning to give us a little bit extra light in the evenings. I can't wait to be able to go for evening runs and walk the dogs longer, its going to be great!
I'm pretty pleased with how yesterday turned out, got in some good exercise which sorted my muscles out a treat (no aches and pains today) and I ate pretty well. The PBGB has now been frozen into individual portions, which means I should be sorted for super sweet treats for quite a while :)
Plan for food today...
Breakfast: 30g Jumbo Oats, 1 tsp G&B Cocoa Powder, 2 tsp Sweetener, 150ml Skimmed Milk, 150ml Berocca and on the way to work this morning I had a 200ml Skimmed Milk Protein Shake.
Mid Morning Snack: Probably a cake and champagne, we're celebrating our first day as an independant company at work.
Lunch: More leftover Peanut Stew with a little bit of wholemeal rice (officially bored with this after having it 3 days in a row!)
Dinner: I'm eating out with friends, going to Dim T which means that I will be having Duck Chow Mein (my staple at Dim T). I'm also going to resist the wine (as I had a glass earlier!) and sticking to the diet coke.
At the gym today I did 20 minutes on the cybex cross trainer at level 20/25/25/35 (each set was 5 minutes long). Then for weights...
Leg Press 3 x 10 @ 140lbs, 140lbs, 145lbs
Lunges 3 x 10 (each leg) 7.5kg weights each hand
Calf Raises 3 x10 7.5kg weights each hand
Calf Raises from a ledge 3 x 10 (no weights)
Bicep Curl 3 x 10 @ 7.5kg barbell
Standing Row 3 x 10 @ 7.5kg barbell
Shoulder Press 3 x 10 @ 7.5kg barbell
Front Raises 3 x 10 @ 2.5kg each hand
Side Raises 3 x 10 @ 2.5kg each hand
Tricep Dips 3 x 10
Man Pushups x 10 (still not doing them properly!)
2 x 20 inner thigh raises
2 x 20 outer thigh raises
2 x 10 butt raises (followed by 10 second hold)
4 x 10 single leg butt raises (2 x 10 on each leg, followed by 10 second hold on each leg)
60 sit ups (starting with both legs in the air, one bent x 10, extend bent leg to 45 degrees x 10, both legs in the air x 10, repeat on the other side)
In other news, I found a list of measurements I took in early February this morning. I haven't yet managed to compare them to recent measurements, but considering I thought Mr H had thrown them away its just a result to have relocated them!
I'm pretty pleased with how yesterday turned out, got in some good exercise which sorted my muscles out a treat (no aches and pains today) and I ate pretty well. The PBGB has now been frozen into individual portions, which means I should be sorted for super sweet treats for quite a while :)
Plan for food today...
Breakfast: 30g Jumbo Oats, 1 tsp G&B Cocoa Powder, 2 tsp Sweetener, 150ml Skimmed Milk, 150ml Berocca and on the way to work this morning I had a 200ml Skimmed Milk Protein Shake.
Mid Morning Snack: Probably a cake and champagne, we're celebrating our first day as an independant company at work.
Lunch: More leftover Peanut Stew with a little bit of wholemeal rice (officially bored with this after having it 3 days in a row!)
Dinner: I'm eating out with friends, going to Dim T which means that I will be having Duck Chow Mein (my staple at Dim T). I'm also going to resist the wine (as I had a glass earlier!) and sticking to the diet coke.
At the gym today I did 20 minutes on the cybex cross trainer at level 20/25/25/35 (each set was 5 minutes long). Then for weights...
Leg Press 3 x 10 @ 140lbs, 140lbs, 145lbs
Lunges 3 x 10 (each leg) 7.5kg weights each hand
Calf Raises 3 x10 7.5kg weights each hand
Calf Raises from a ledge 3 x 10 (no weights)
Bicep Curl 3 x 10 @ 7.5kg barbell
Standing Row 3 x 10 @ 7.5kg barbell
Shoulder Press 3 x 10 @ 7.5kg barbell
Front Raises 3 x 10 @ 2.5kg each hand
Side Raises 3 x 10 @ 2.5kg each hand
Tricep Dips 3 x 10
Man Pushups x 10 (still not doing them properly!)
2 x 20 inner thigh raises
2 x 20 outer thigh raises
2 x 10 butt raises (followed by 10 second hold)
4 x 10 single leg butt raises (2 x 10 on each leg, followed by 10 second hold on each leg)
60 sit ups (starting with both legs in the air, one bent x 10, extend bent leg to 45 degrees x 10, both legs in the air x 10, repeat on the other side)
In other news, I found a list of measurements I took in early February this morning. I haven't yet managed to compare them to recent measurements, but considering I thought Mr H had thrown them away its just a result to have relocated them!
Thursday 25 March 2010
Wet Wet Wet
I changed my plan for the gym slightly as I really wanted to run outside rather than on the treadmill. So gambling with the black sky I hit the streets. I wasn't planning anything hardcore today as my legs are still a little achey, I just needed to get them moving.
I decided to run to the bottom of a hill near my office, then sprint up it in 30 second intervals. Just as I reached the bottom of the hill it started to rain. It wasn't just a light shower, it was proper crashing down rain. Needless to say by the time I got back to the office I was soaked through. Not wanting to stop my session there, I towelled off my hair and hair dryed my trainers and put Tuesdays gym t-shirt back on (why it was still in my bag is beyond me, but it was better than wearing a t shirt that was dripping wet!) and hit the gym. I concentrated on upper body with some free weights and some abs work. The only thing I did for my legs was calf raises off a step.
I just checked out the distance on Mapometer and I'm actually quite suprised, it was 1.2 miles each way. Means my speed/time aren't too shabby either, specially as I walked (well fast walked) when I did my uphill intervals.
I decided to run to the bottom of a hill near my office, then sprint up it in 30 second intervals. Just as I reached the bottom of the hill it started to rain. It wasn't just a light shower, it was proper crashing down rain. Needless to say by the time I got back to the office I was soaked through. Not wanting to stop my session there, I towelled off my hair and hair dryed my trainers and put Tuesdays gym t-shirt back on (why it was still in my bag is beyond me, but it was better than wearing a t shirt that was dripping wet!) and hit the gym. I concentrated on upper body with some free weights and some abs work. The only thing I did for my legs was calf raises off a step.
I just checked out the distance on Mapometer and I'm actually quite suprised, it was 1.2 miles each way. Means my speed/time aren't too shabby either, specially as I walked (well fast walked) when I did my uphill intervals.
Walking like John Wayne
I missed the gym yesterday lunchtime so I could leave work early. All good I thought as I'll get home early and go for a run. However, after sitting at my desk for most of yesterday, when I stood up to leave work it felt like I'd been hit by a bus. My legs were like lead.Therefore, yesterday turned into an unofficial rest day, which is fine because I've still got enough time this week to fit in another 3 sessions.
The rest of the week should pan out as follows:
Thursday (today): Gym at lunchtime, 30 minutes cardio, 30 minutes upper body weights (to give my legs a shot at recovery)
Friday: Weather permitting a run outside at lunchtime otherwise just cardio at the gym followed by full body weights.
Saturday: Rest day, but we're off to Monkey World so will probably do a fair amount of walking. If I can remember to pick up a battery I might take my pedometer to see how far I walk.
Sunday: 5 mile run.
My evening plans have changed a little over the past few days too, so that will make being good a little easier for now. Tonight we have nothing planned, tomorrow night I'm off to La Tasca with some friends but I am driving so won't be drinking at all. Saturday we're off to Monkey World and will be apparently having a pub lunch and Sunday I need to go shopping but will be doing it alone so no stop offs in Starbucks.
I'm feeling a bit low at the moment, I feel uncomfortable in my own skin, this suggests I've probably put some weight on but I am yet to step on the scales to confirm it either way. I know I'm eating ok and I'm exercising well so I guess it will all sort itself out, but just wish I could shake this feeling. I need to remember that changes won't happen over night.
On to todays food...
Breakfast: 200ml Skimmed Milk Protein Shake, 150ml Berocca, Banana.
Mid Morning Snack: Scan Bran with Nutella
Lunch: Leftovers from dinner (wholemeal rice and peanut stew) & 200ml Skimmed Milk Protein Shake.
Mid Afternoon Snack: Ruby Orange
Dinner: Stirfry made with 1 pack stirfry veg, 2 large eggs, soy sauce, sesame oil, balsamic vinegar, five spice and black pepper.
Pud: Peanut Butter Goo Bar - last bit as the rest has gone in the freezer (thanks to Kat for the suggestion!)
Wednesday 24 March 2010
Days Like These
So yesterday got a little skewed. When I got home from work I shoved a piece of PBGB in my mouth as I was feeling really sleepy from an hour in the car already and didn't fancy another hour in the car with no fuel in me. Then, at Nandos I had a Chicken Breast Fillet Burger (Medium spice) with Pineapple and Cheese. I didn't have chips though. It was actually really rough though, it took chargrilled to all new levels of char. At the gig I had 4 or 5 bottles of Becks. I should really remember how many, but people kept shoving drinks in my hands. I did do a fair amount of dancing at the gig and spent about 30 minutes balancing on a bar stool so I'd get a better view (which I can really feel this morning), so guess that can count somewhere towards being good right?! When I got home I had another piece of PBGB, no reason really other than when I drink I get hungry. Guess at least it was better than a kebab or a burger or something.
Anyhoo, I had a really great night, great company, good music = good times. So I don't plan on dwelling on it too long.
Today will hopefully be a little better!
Breakfast: 200ml Skimmed Milk Protein Shake, 150ml Berocca + nearly a litre of water. Dehydrated much?! 5 x Scan Bran with Nutella.
Lunch: Jacket Potato, Baked Beans, Cheese
Mid Afternoon Snack: Banana and Grapes
Dinner: Peanut Stew (Carrots, Peppers, Sweet Potato, Peanut Butter, Stock) w/ a spoonful of wholemeal rice.
Not hitting the gym today as planned for my Abs class. Mr H has been on a 3 day training course finishing at 6pm everyday, today is the last day and he finishes at 3pm. So to avoid him getting grotty about having to wait around for me, I'm forfeiting my lunch break so I can leave at 4pm.
This means however that I'll be home by 5pm, which means that I'll have a few hours of the light left. I'm quite tempted (weather permitting) to take my first early evening run with some free weights and abs work at home. If its still as sunny as it is right now, I might even be able to convince Mr H to run our 5 mile route to the next village again :)
Anyhoo, I had a really great night, great company, good music = good times. So I don't plan on dwelling on it too long.
Today will hopefully be a little better!
Breakfast: 200ml Skimmed Milk Protein Shake, 150ml Berocca + nearly a litre of water. Dehydrated much?! 5 x Scan Bran with Nutella.
Lunch: Jacket Potato, Baked Beans, Cheese
Mid Afternoon Snack: Banana and Grapes
Dinner: Peanut Stew (Carrots, Peppers, Sweet Potato, Peanut Butter, Stock) w/ a spoonful of wholemeal rice.
Not hitting the gym today as planned for my Abs class. Mr H has been on a 3 day training course finishing at 6pm everyday, today is the last day and he finishes at 3pm. So to avoid him getting grotty about having to wait around for me, I'm forfeiting my lunch break so I can leave at 4pm.
This means however that I'll be home by 5pm, which means that I'll have a few hours of the light left. I'm quite tempted (weather permitting) to take my first early evening run with some free weights and abs work at home. If its still as sunny as it is right now, I might even be able to convince Mr H to run our 5 mile route to the next village again :)
Tuesday 23 March 2010
Nandos and Ragga Metal
It was really foggy when we got up this morning, Mr H had to be at work super early as he had an interview to do. This meant we were out of the house by 6.45am - crazy right!
Food today is as follows...
Breakfast: Protein Shake with 200ml Skimmed Milk, 30g Porridge Oats, 1 tsp G&B Cocoa Powder, 2 tsp Sweetenener, 150ml Skimmed Milk & 150ml Berocca.
Mid Morning Snack: Banana
Lunch: Mixed Salad with 1/2 a Tin of Tuna, a few tubes of pasta with L/F Salad Creme/Mayo & Protein Shake with 200ml Skimmed Milk
Mid Afternoon Snack: Apple & Grapes
Dinner: Nandos, planning to have a Chicken Breast Fillet Pitta for 414 calories.
At lunchtime I did a Body Pump class which went fairly well. I dropped my weights to 5kg overall and was fine with chest press/shoulder press, etc. It was the front raises that got me, I could get my arms up there, and I could get them down what I couldnt do was comfortably shift between the two, so once my arms were up I had to re-adjust my shoulder so I could lower them again. Needless to say it got rather tedious so I ended up doing some bicep curls until we moved onto the next exercise.
Tonight we're off to see some friends and Mr H's friends band at a venue in Reading. Am aiming not to drink, not only because I want to be as good as possible, but I also don't want to have a hangover tomorrow! This week is quite busy and it could quite easily go off the rails if I'm not careful...
Food today is as follows...
Breakfast: Protein Shake with 200ml Skimmed Milk, 30g Porridge Oats, 1 tsp G&B Cocoa Powder, 2 tsp Sweetenener, 150ml Skimmed Milk & 150ml Berocca.
Mid Morning Snack: Banana
Lunch: Mixed Salad with 1/2 a Tin of Tuna, a few tubes of pasta with L/F Salad Creme/Mayo & Protein Shake with 200ml Skimmed Milk
Mid Afternoon Snack: Apple & Grapes
Dinner: Nandos, planning to have a Chicken Breast Fillet Pitta for 414 calories.
At lunchtime I did a Body Pump class which went fairly well. I dropped my weights to 5kg overall and was fine with chest press/shoulder press, etc. It was the front raises that got me, I could get my arms up there, and I could get them down what I couldnt do was comfortably shift between the two, so once my arms were up I had to re-adjust my shoulder so I could lower them again. Needless to say it got rather tedious so I ended up doing some bicep curls until we moved onto the next exercise.
Tonight we're off to see some friends and Mr H's friends band at a venue in Reading. Am aiming not to drink, not only because I want to be as good as possible, but I also don't want to have a hangover tomorrow! This week is quite busy and it could quite easily go off the rails if I'm not careful...
- Thursday: Meal out for my Nan's 90th Birthday
- Friday: Night on the town with some friends (possibly dinner, but plan not to drink so I can drive home)
- Saturday: Monkey World (though this will be a picnic, so can pack good things!)
- Sunday: Shopping Trip which will probably involve lunch or a Starbucks stop.
Monday 22 March 2010
Just 4 days til Friday
And so Monday has arrived again... ergh.
I slept really badly last night, I had a really pathetic nightmare really early on in the night that left me feeling quite disturbed (dreamt my Dad got eaten by a shark!). Then I ended up with an insane amount of duvet which I was slowly baking underneath - but if I put legs/arms out, becuase the window was open I froze. I was also quite dehydrated so ended up drinking all the water I took to bed, needed more, but didn't want to get out of bed. Luckily Mr H said he would drive to work this morning, so I did manage to get a little bit more rest in the car.
Breakfast: Protein Shake with 200ml Skimmed Milk, 30g Porridge Oats, 1 tsp G&B Cocoa Powder, 2 tsp Sweetener, 150ml Skimmed Milk, 150ml Berocca.
Mid Morning Snack: Square of PBGB (Peanut Butter Goo Bar)
Lunch: Handful of Prawns in Low Fat Mayo/Salad Creme, Half an Avocado, Mixed Salad Leaves followed by 200ml Skimmed Milk Protein Shake.
Mid Afternoon Snack: Grapes, Strawberries, Banana
Dinner: Leek and Bacon with Pasta followed by PBGB.
For my lunchtime exercise, I took a 4k run outside coming in at 25 minutes and 55 seconds, burning off 247 calories according to my HR monitor. Best bit about it was that I ran for 2 miles before I had to slow down so I could blow my nose (stupid hayfever!). So I was pleased about that. Another highlight of my run was seeing a man in drag - no amount of black bobbed hair over the face and aviator shades will hide your broad shoulders, nor will walking like you have a pair of balls between your legs and painted nails will not disguise your gigantic hands. Infact, he reminded me of Shirley from Eastenders. Anyway, after my run, I hit the gym for some weights.
Leg Press: 3x10 @ 145lbs, 1x10 @ 150lbs
Calf Raises: 4x10 @ 20kg total weight
Lunges: 4x5 @ 20kg total weight
Hammer Press: 4x10 @ 4kg each hand
Bicep Curl: 4x10 @ 4kg each hand
Shoulder Press: 4x6 @ 4kg each hand
Tricep Press: 4x10@ 4kg
Side Raises: 2x10 @ 2.5kg each hand
Front Raises: 2x10 @ 2.5kg each hand
I spoke to the gym guy today about my shoulder and he said that so long as it doesn't hurt to continue working it with lower weights for now. I'm going to do body pump tomorrow with slightly less weight than usual and see how I get on.
Dinner was a bit of a failure tonight, we were home more than an hour late (as Mr H had a meeting that didn't finish to 6), so I made a quick dinner of pasta, 3 leeks, 6 rashers of bacon with the fat removed, 4 tbsp white wine, 4 tbsp double cream and black pepper. It was really nice, but so so rich. Because I'd waited more than an hour extra for my dinner, I was absolutely ravenous and ended up eating too much. I followed my splurge dinner with some more PBGB and spent the rest of the evening feeling really bloated and horrible. Its days like this that make me realise the importance of forward planning. It was an unplanned dinner, which resulted in a quick dinner with ingredients I could find easily and it wasn't as healthy as it could have been and I over ate.
Still, I'm sure so long as I don't go overboard too much this week it'll all even out.
I slept really badly last night, I had a really pathetic nightmare really early on in the night that left me feeling quite disturbed (dreamt my Dad got eaten by a shark!). Then I ended up with an insane amount of duvet which I was slowly baking underneath - but if I put legs/arms out, becuase the window was open I froze. I was also quite dehydrated so ended up drinking all the water I took to bed, needed more, but didn't want to get out of bed. Luckily Mr H said he would drive to work this morning, so I did manage to get a little bit more rest in the car.
Breakfast: Protein Shake with 200ml Skimmed Milk, 30g Porridge Oats, 1 tsp G&B Cocoa Powder, 2 tsp Sweetener, 150ml Skimmed Milk, 150ml Berocca.
Mid Morning Snack: Square of PBGB (Peanut Butter Goo Bar)
Lunch: Handful of Prawns in Low Fat Mayo/Salad Creme, Half an Avocado, Mixed Salad Leaves followed by 200ml Skimmed Milk Protein Shake.
Mid Afternoon Snack: Grapes, Strawberries, Banana
Dinner: Leek and Bacon with Pasta followed by PBGB.
For my lunchtime exercise, I took a 4k run outside coming in at 25 minutes and 55 seconds, burning off 247 calories according to my HR monitor. Best bit about it was that I ran for 2 miles before I had to slow down so I could blow my nose (stupid hayfever!). So I was pleased about that. Another highlight of my run was seeing a man in drag - no amount of black bobbed hair over the face and aviator shades will hide your broad shoulders, nor will walking like you have a pair of balls between your legs and painted nails will not disguise your gigantic hands. Infact, he reminded me of Shirley from Eastenders. Anyway, after my run, I hit the gym for some weights.
Leg Press: 3x10 @ 145lbs, 1x10 @ 150lbs
Calf Raises: 4x10 @ 20kg total weight
Lunges: 4x5 @ 20kg total weight
Hammer Press: 4x10 @ 4kg each hand
Bicep Curl: 4x10 @ 4kg each hand
Shoulder Press: 4x6 @ 4kg each hand
Tricep Press: 4x10@ 4kg
Side Raises: 2x10 @ 2.5kg each hand
Front Raises: 2x10 @ 2.5kg each hand
I spoke to the gym guy today about my shoulder and he said that so long as it doesn't hurt to continue working it with lower weights for now. I'm going to do body pump tomorrow with slightly less weight than usual and see how I get on.
Dinner was a bit of a failure tonight, we were home more than an hour late (as Mr H had a meeting that didn't finish to 6), so I made a quick dinner of pasta, 3 leeks, 6 rashers of bacon with the fat removed, 4 tbsp white wine, 4 tbsp double cream and black pepper. It was really nice, but so so rich. Because I'd waited more than an hour extra for my dinner, I was absolutely ravenous and ended up eating too much. I followed my splurge dinner with some more PBGB and spent the rest of the evening feeling really bloated and horrible. Its days like this that make me realise the importance of forward planning. It was an unplanned dinner, which resulted in a quick dinner with ingredients I could find easily and it wasn't as healthy as it could have been and I over ate.
Still, I'm sure so long as I don't go overboard too much this week it'll all even out.
Sunday Run Day
We were up at usual time on Sunday. At 8.30am I was chugging my protein shake ahead of our first 'Sunday Run Day'.
Breakfast: Protein Shake with 200ml Skimmed Milk.
After Run Snack: Protein Shake with 200ml Skimmed Milk and a banana.
Completely missed lunch!
Mid Afternoon Snack: Piece of Peanut Butter Goo Bar.
Dinner: Steak, Mushrooms, Courgette, Red Pepper, Yellow Pepper, Sweet Potato Wedges & a bit more Peanut Butter Goo Bar to finish.
So after Breakfast, me and Mr H set out for our run over to the next village. We took it relatively steady, slowing down only when my heart rate monitor tipped over 180bpm or we had a shoe lace malfunction. It took us just
under 33 minutes to reach the pond in the next village, where we stopped and admired the ducks for a while. It then took us 27 minutes to get back to our house. Its about 2.5miles each way, so 5 miles in total. The stopwatch recorded our time at just over 1 hour (we're talking 0.12 of a second over). We both really enjoyed it. It was a beautiful morning, and we passed lots of other joggers and cyclists who all said hello. After we got home we took the dogs for a 15 minute walk to aid our cool down and then I did some abs work. I can't wait until next Sunday. I'm sure we can smash our time if we spend less time looking at the ducks :P. I've actually looked up a way of extending our route into Crawley, if we run up the hill to the next set of crossroads it increases overall route by 0.8 of a mile, if we go to the next set of crossroads after that its another 1.36 miles. So lots to keep us occupied out that way for the time being. We may need to take a trip in the car to see if we can get to the next village after Crawley without hitting any major roads or any single lane roads with no where to bail off to the sides if cars pass us.
Breakfast: Protein Shake with 200ml Skimmed Milk.
After Run Snack: Protein Shake with 200ml Skimmed Milk and a banana.
Completely missed lunch!
Mid Afternoon Snack: Piece of Peanut Butter Goo Bar.
Dinner: Steak, Mushrooms, Courgette, Red Pepper, Yellow Pepper, Sweet Potato Wedges & a bit more Peanut Butter Goo Bar to finish.
So after Breakfast, me and Mr H set out for our run over to the next village. We took it relatively steady, slowing down only when my heart rate monitor tipped over 180bpm or we had a shoe lace malfunction. It took us just
under 33 minutes to reach the pond in the next village, where we stopped and admired the ducks for a while. It then took us 27 minutes to get back to our house. Its about 2.5miles each way, so 5 miles in total. The stopwatch recorded our time at just over 1 hour (we're talking 0.12 of a second over). We both really enjoyed it. It was a beautiful morning, and we passed lots of other joggers and cyclists who all said hello. After we got home we took the dogs for a 15 minute walk to aid our cool down and then I did some abs work. I can't wait until next Sunday. I'm sure we can smash our time if we spend less time looking at the ducks :P. I've actually looked up a way of extending our route into Crawley, if we run up the hill to the next set of crossroads it increases overall route by 0.8 of a mile, if we go to the next set of crossroads after that its another 1.36 miles. So lots to keep us occupied out that way for the time being. We may need to take a trip in the car to see if we can get to the next village after Crawley without hitting any major roads or any single lane roads with no where to bail off to the sides if cars pass us.
Saturday Report
So the weekend has been and gone, as always, far too quickly for my liking.
Saturday began well with a lie in until 10.10am! This is almost unheard of, but it felt really good :)
Breakfast: Slice of White Baguette with nutella (oopsie), Porridge Pancakes (30g Oats, 1 egg white, 100ml water) dry fried with nutella.
Lunch: Tuna Salsa Salad (Salsa was Red Pepper, Yellow Pepper, Red Onion, Red Chilli, Parsley and Lemon Juice).
Dinner: Olives, Mini Bruschetta, Sundried Tomatoes, a few Fudges Stilton Wafers.
Late snack: 2 Belgian Chocolate hot cross buns (194 calories each).
We had a lovely walk in the woods with the dogs on Saturday, it was raining but it was shower day for them, so they are allowed to get extra dirty. We were out for about an hour and I ended up almost as muddy as the dogs! When we got home they were showered and are now super clean (but now they are shedding their coats like there is no tomorrow, I'm not sure how they can lose so much fur and still have fur left on their bodies!)
Saturday began well with a lie in until 10.10am! This is almost unheard of, but it felt really good :)
Breakfast: Slice of White Baguette with nutella (oopsie), Porridge Pancakes (30g Oats, 1 egg white, 100ml water) dry fried with nutella.
Lunch: Tuna Salsa Salad (Salsa was Red Pepper, Yellow Pepper, Red Onion, Red Chilli, Parsley and Lemon Juice).
Dinner: Olives, Mini Bruschetta, Sundried Tomatoes, a few Fudges Stilton Wafers.
Late snack: 2 Belgian Chocolate hot cross buns (194 calories each).
We had a lovely walk in the woods with the dogs on Saturday, it was raining but it was shower day for them, so they are allowed to get extra dirty. We were out for about an hour and I ended up almost as muddy as the dogs! When we got home they were showered and are now super clean (but now they are shedding their coats like there is no tomorrow, I'm not sure how they can lose so much fur and still have fur left on their bodies!)
Friday 19 March 2010
TGI Friday
I'm so glad its Friday. I'm looking forward to a lie in tomorrow, I need one really badly! Will be the first weekend I've had at home with Mr H for a really long time, so should be nice to not have to worry about doing lots of things.
On todays menu...
Breakfast: 300ml Protein Shake with Skimmed Milk, 30g Porridge Oats with 150ml Skimmed Milk, 1 tsp G&B Cocoa Powder, 2 tsp Sweetener, 150ml Berocca.
Mid Morning Snack: 2 grapes, yes just two. I had a bad case of the grumblies and had a meeting with an external client (which incidently turned into wedding chatter - yay!) but I didn't want my stomach making more noise than me during that. The grapes seemed to plug the hole.
Lunch: Pepper & Chorizo Soup with 1 slice of Wholemeal Bread with Low Fat Marg & Protein Shake (Mr H got me my very own blender bottle, so I can now have my shake after the gym when I'm supposed to)
Mid-Afternoon Snack: Apple & Grapes
Dinner: Turkey Steak with Jewelled Moroccan Cous Cous (Moroccan Cous Cous, Roasted Red Chilli, Sundried Tomatoes, Raisins), Griddled Courgette and Mushrooms with Salad.
The gym was not very successful today. I did 10 minutes on the bike, increasing the resistance a level every minute, followed by 5 minutes on the treadmill @ 10kmph. I wasn't really feeling the treadmill love, I think because I've got my 5 miler planned for Sunday. I then moved onto weights.
4 x 10 @ 145lbs x 3, 155lbs
4 x 5 @ 10kg each hand lunges (10 on each leg)
4x10 @ 5kg each hand hammer press
3x10 @ 5kg each hand shoulder press - this was where things went wrong.
During my 4th set of my shoulder press, I took my mind off the game and something horrible happened to my shoulder. I've seriously never seen my shoulder/arm bend in this way before I felt it pop, dropped the weight (thank goodness it was quiet in the gym today) and as I lowered my arm it popped back into place. I nearly puked I was that grossed out by it (and that in itself would have been ming as someone else had already puked in the bin today!). Much like when I have to have major stuff done at the dentist and I pass out, I had to stay sat down for about 5 minutes with my head between my legs to stop myself passing out/being sick. Was seriously horrible.
Needless to say I didn't do anything else apart from some abs work for about 5 minutes.
It doesn't seem to be hurting, but I'll be resting it for the next few days and see how I go next week. I think I might return to the barbell where possible as I think at least if I get myself in that position again, at least I can get the other hand to help me out!
We went to see Shutter Island at the cinema on Friday night, film was ok, a little predictable though. I also had a diet coke and a small box of organic milk chocolate buttons (best bit about going to the cinema is proper glasses and exciting snacks!).
On todays menu...
Breakfast: 300ml Protein Shake with Skimmed Milk, 30g Porridge Oats with 150ml Skimmed Milk, 1 tsp G&B Cocoa Powder, 2 tsp Sweetener, 150ml Berocca.
Mid Morning Snack: 2 grapes, yes just two. I had a bad case of the grumblies and had a meeting with an external client (which incidently turned into wedding chatter - yay!) but I didn't want my stomach making more noise than me during that. The grapes seemed to plug the hole.
Lunch: Pepper & Chorizo Soup with 1 slice of Wholemeal Bread with Low Fat Marg & Protein Shake (Mr H got me my very own blender bottle, so I can now have my shake after the gym when I'm supposed to)
Mid-Afternoon Snack: Apple & Grapes
Dinner: Turkey Steak with Jewelled Moroccan Cous Cous (Moroccan Cous Cous, Roasted Red Chilli, Sundried Tomatoes, Raisins), Griddled Courgette and Mushrooms with Salad.
The gym was not very successful today. I did 10 minutes on the bike, increasing the resistance a level every minute, followed by 5 minutes on the treadmill @ 10kmph. I wasn't really feeling the treadmill love, I think because I've got my 5 miler planned for Sunday. I then moved onto weights.
4 x 10 @ 145lbs x 3, 155lbs
4 x 5 @ 10kg each hand lunges (10 on each leg)
4x10 @ 5kg each hand hammer press
3x10 @ 5kg each hand shoulder press - this was where things went wrong.
During my 4th set of my shoulder press, I took my mind off the game and something horrible happened to my shoulder. I've seriously never seen my shoulder/arm bend in this way before I felt it pop, dropped the weight (thank goodness it was quiet in the gym today) and as I lowered my arm it popped back into place. I nearly puked I was that grossed out by it (and that in itself would have been ming as someone else had already puked in the bin today!). Much like when I have to have major stuff done at the dentist and I pass out, I had to stay sat down for about 5 minutes with my head between my legs to stop myself passing out/being sick. Was seriously horrible.
Needless to say I didn't do anything else apart from some abs work for about 5 minutes.
It doesn't seem to be hurting, but I'll be resting it for the next few days and see how I go next week. I think I might return to the barbell where possible as I think at least if I get myself in that position again, at least I can get the other hand to help me out!
We went to see Shutter Island at the cinema on Friday night, film was ok, a little predictable though. I also had a diet coke and a small box of organic milk chocolate buttons (best bit about going to the cinema is proper glasses and exciting snacks!).
Thursday 18 March 2010
Peanut Butter Goo Bars
This is the first recipe (probably one of many) that I wanted to share. It is in no way, shape or form good for you. Those Oats you see listed in the ingredients... thats as healthy as it gets.
Ingrdients
8oz Melted Butter
8oz Brown Sugar
2 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
6oz Porridge Oats/Oatmeal
7oz Plain Flour
1/2 tsp Salt
160g Peanut Butter (I use smooth)
1 can of Carnation Sweetened Condensed Milk
200g Chocolate Chips, Smarties/M&Ms/Minstrels, Chopped Reeses Cups etc - use your imagination or use all of the above :)
Method
Mix together melted butter, sugar, soda, oatmeal, flour & salt until crumbly.
Set aside 1/3-1/2 of the mixture.
Press the rest into a greased pan (you want the finished product to be over an inch thick, so 8" x 8" ish)
Bake at 180 C for 10 minutes.
Mix peanut butter and sweetened condensed milk and pour over the baked crust.
Mix your chocolate of choice with the reserved crumbs and sprinkle on top of the peanut butter and sweetened condensed milk mixture.
Bake at 180 C for a further 20 minutes.
*dribbles*
This recipe also freezes well :)
Breakfast FAIL
Today has started off badly. I tried mixing my new protein powder with my porridge for breakfast - it turned it grey. I have issues with food that looks beige or grey. Not only was it grey, it tasted like crap too. Emergancy trip to the canteen was in order.
Breakfast: 30g Porridge Oats, 200ml Skimmed Milk, H&B Soy Protein, Milky Way (~200 calories), 2 slices of wholemeal toast with butter, 150ml Berocca. NB I didn't eat all of the porridge as frankly it was too nasty. I'll be sticking with regular porridge and a seperate shake in future. Whey protein works much better in porridge.
Lunch: Leftovers from dinner (minced beef, peppers, onion, chopped tomatoes, spices) with spinach & rocket salad & Giant Plum (again, its freakishly large),.
Mid Afternoon Snack: Banana
Dinner: Mug of homemade Pepper and Chorizo Soup and 2 slicecs of Wholemeal bread with low fat marg. Protein Shake with 200ml Skimmed Milk.
So I have a little confession to make, I stepped on the scales this morning. I know I shouldn't be weighing in at different times of the day and even on different days of the week, but it said 9st 6lbs. This pleases me. Really looking forward to see what the scales say on Monday next week, don't have anything planned over the weekend (apart from a possible drink with my Dad, but if the weather is nice we might walk to and from town for that), so I could be looking at a good result for this week.
At the gym today, I did 10 minutes on the bike, increasing the resistance every minute (I cycled 4k), 10 minutes on the treadmill (ran 1.5k), 10 minutes on the Cybex Cross Trainer (just under 1k). I then did my full weights routine with a few extras (Side Raises (2.5kg each hand), Front Raises (2.5kg each hand), Inclined Chest Press (5kg each hand), Calf Raises with Weights (10kg each hand), Squat/Deadlift (10kg barbell), extra Tricep Presses (2.5kg each hand), side abs thingies with 10kg weights). I feel like I've had a really good workout, was in the gym for an hour and a half!
Breakfast: 30g Porridge Oats, 200ml Skimmed Milk, H&B Soy Protein, Milky Way (~200 calories), 2 slices of wholemeal toast with butter, 150ml Berocca. NB I didn't eat all of the porridge as frankly it was too nasty. I'll be sticking with regular porridge and a seperate shake in future. Whey protein works much better in porridge.
Lunch: Leftovers from dinner (minced beef, peppers, onion, chopped tomatoes, spices) with spinach & rocket salad & Giant Plum (again, its freakishly large),.
Mid Afternoon Snack: Banana
Dinner: Mug of homemade Pepper and Chorizo Soup and 2 slicecs of Wholemeal bread with low fat marg. Protein Shake with 200ml Skimmed Milk.
So I have a little confession to make, I stepped on the scales this morning. I know I shouldn't be weighing in at different times of the day and even on different days of the week, but it said 9st 6lbs. This pleases me. Really looking forward to see what the scales say on Monday next week, don't have anything planned over the weekend (apart from a possible drink with my Dad, but if the weather is nice we might walk to and from town for that), so I could be looking at a good result for this week.At the gym today, I did 10 minutes on the bike, increasing the resistance every minute (I cycled 4k), 10 minutes on the treadmill (ran 1.5k), 10 minutes on the Cybex Cross Trainer (just under 1k). I then did my full weights routine with a few extras (Side Raises (2.5kg each hand), Front Raises (2.5kg each hand), Inclined Chest Press (5kg each hand), Calf Raises with Weights (10kg each hand), Squat/Deadlift (10kg barbell), extra Tricep Presses (2.5kg each hand), side abs thingies with 10kg weights). I feel like I've had a really good workout, was in the gym for an hour and a half!
Wednesday 17 March 2010
Whats the deal with the cake?
So alongside my desire to look better and be a healthier individual is a difficult love in life. That love is baking cakes/desserts. It's my dream to own a little tea & cake shop and do all the baking in house.
Therefore, this blog will not only track my personal fitness/health improvements, it will also track some dangerous cakes/puddings. Be warned, I do not believe in low fat baking, read recipes at your own risk.
Therefore, this blog will not only track my personal fitness/health improvements, it will also track some dangerous cakes/puddings. Be warned, I do not believe in low fat baking, read recipes at your own risk.
What happened to Monday and Tuesday?
I can't believe its Wednesday already, I actually had to double take the calendar this morning.
Today started as it usually does with 30g Porridge Oats, 1 tsp G&B Cocoa Powder, 2 tsp Sweetener, 150ml Skimmed Milk and 150ml of Berocca.
Mid Morning Snack: Banana
Lunch: Rocket/Spinach Salad with half a boiled egg, 2 new potatoes, 1/2 tin of tuna and a squeeze of low fat mayo & low fat salad creme.
Mid Afternoon Snack: Grapes/Apple & Bag of Wotsits (under 99 calories)
Dinner: Minced Beef, Green Pepper, Yellow Pepper, Chopped Tomatoes, Spices, Brown Rice. Protein Shake
I had a meeting over lunch so I missed my abs class - boo! so instead of my plans to go to town tomorrow during lunch, I did it today. I managed to pick up some soy protein rather than the whey I've been using (as I think its setting off my lactose intolerance something crazy!).
I'm going to use today as a rest day and get back to the gym tomorrow. The dogs are going to the park tonight, so that'll be an hour of running around anyway.
Today started as it usually does with 30g Porridge Oats, 1 tsp G&B Cocoa Powder, 2 tsp Sweetener, 150ml Skimmed Milk and 150ml of Berocca.
Mid Morning Snack: Banana
Lunch: Rocket/Spinach Salad with half a boiled egg, 2 new potatoes, 1/2 tin of tuna and a squeeze of low fat mayo & low fat salad creme.
Mid Afternoon Snack: Grapes/Apple & Bag of Wotsits (under 99 calories)
Dinner: Minced Beef, Green Pepper, Yellow Pepper, Chopped Tomatoes, Spices, Brown Rice. Protein Shake
I had a meeting over lunch so I missed my abs class - boo! so instead of my plans to go to town tomorrow during lunch, I did it today. I managed to pick up some soy protein rather than the whey I've been using (as I think its setting off my lactose intolerance something crazy!).
I'm going to use today as a rest day and get back to the gym tomorrow. The dogs are going to the park tonight, so that'll be an hour of running around anyway.
Tuesday 16 March 2010
Non-Scale Victory!
Remember those 3 Quality Street I had last night? Well they came out of a tin we had left over from Christmas, a tin that was 95% full. This morning I sent Mr H into work with the tin and told him to give them to his team. I know if the tin remains in the house, I'm only going to sabotage myself. Gold star for me.I had a pretty good day yesterday, and hope to continue that into today.
Breakfast: 30g Porridge Oats, 1 tsp G&B Cocoa Powder, 2 tsp Sweetener, 150ml Skimmed Milk, 150ml Berocca.
Mid Morning Snack: 5 Quality Street (yes I was so proud giving up the whole tin, but not before I'd grabbed a handful, worked rather well as an inhaler substitute as I desperately needed to take my mind off the fact I needed my inhaler but I didn't have it in my handbag), and a bite of my Nakd bar pre-gym as I was getting the grumblies.
Lunch: Rocket & Baby Spinach with Chicken and Sweet Chilli Sauce
Mid Afternoon Snack: Half a Nakd Bar and an Apple
Dinner: Smoked Salmon rolled with L/F Herby Philly, Spinach/Rocket Salad, 2 eggs and New Potatoes & a strawberry protein shake.
Body Pump was cancelled at the gym and was replaced by circuits. I didn't fancy that much, so I tried out my new weights programme (with some lighter weights as all the 5kg weights had been taken in for the circuits class, boo!).
So today went a little bit like this (note to self, take a notepad into the gym next time so I write down what I do to track it).
10 minutes @ resistance 15 on Cybex Cross Trainer
10 minutes @ 9kmph treadmill
4x10 @ 3kg (each hand) Shoulder Press
4x10 @ 3kg (each hand) Bicep Curl
4x10 @ 3kg (each hand) Tricep Press
4x10 @ 3kg (each hand) Chest Press
2x10 @ 10kg Bar row2x10 @ 10kg Squat/Deadlift
4x5 @ 10kg (each hand) lunges
4x10 @ 145lbs Leg Pres
s2x20 @ 3kg (each hand) Calf Raises
3x10 @ 3kg Side/Front Raises
4x10 @ 12.5kg Side Ab things
Also walked my pooches for 30 minutes.
Monday 15 March 2010
8 weeks until Dubai
It is 8 weeks until our holiday to Dubai. This means I really need to take these 8 weeks quite seriously if I want to make a difference to how I look.
Today is day 1 of Operation Hot Bod.
Breakfast: 30g Porridge Oats, 2 tsp Sweetener, 1 tsp G&B Cocoa Powder, 150ml Skimmed Milk, 150ml Berocca.
Lunch: 1 slice wholemeal bread, spread of low fat marg, ham.
Snack: Giant Plum (I mean freakishly large, must be from a GM crop of mutant Plums)
Dinner: Chicken Brocolli with Rice, followed by 3 Quality Street.
At 2pm I met up with some temp gym instructor from an agency (boo!) and planned a new programme for me. I'm still planning on keeping up the 2 classes a week (Body Pump + Abs Attack) and still want to keep up with the 10-15 miles a week I run, but ideally want 2 routines, one for upper body and one for lower body that will sculpt and shape my body into what I want it to look like. I'm generally happy with my weight and the way I'm shaped, but I'm not happy about how wobbly some bits are.
Well this is the plan I need to stick to:
Upper Body:
4x8 @ 5kg Shoulder Press
4x8 @ 5kg Bicep Curl (think they were actually called Hammer press or something?!)
4x8 @ 5kg Tricep Press
4x8 @ 10kg Bar row
As many 'man' push ups as I can do
Lower Body:
4x5 @ 10kg (each hand) lunges (5 on left leg/5 on right leg, rinse, repeat)
4x8 @ 145lb Leg Press
4x8 Calf Raises from step
3x12 Side squat lunge things over a step
Think that was all I was 'prescribed' but I plan to add in some side raises on upper body, and some regular squats/ballet squats and bunny hops on lower body and maybe some jumps + step ups onto the bench just to mix things up a little.
At the gym I did a few of each of the exercises and I followed it with 20 minutes cardio (cybex cross trainer and bike). I also walked the pugs for 30 minutes.
Today is day 1 of Operation Hot Bod.
Breakfast: 30g Porridge Oats, 2 tsp Sweetener, 1 tsp G&B Cocoa Powder, 150ml Skimmed Milk, 150ml Berocca.
Lunch: 1 slice wholemeal bread, spread of low fat marg, ham.
Snack: Giant Plum (I mean freakishly large, must be from a GM crop of mutant Plums)
Dinner: Chicken Brocolli with Rice, followed by 3 Quality Street.
At 2pm I met up with some temp gym instructor from an agency (boo!) and planned a new programme for me. I'm still planning on keeping up the 2 classes a week (Body Pump + Abs Attack) and still want to keep up with the 10-15 miles a week I run, but ideally want 2 routines, one for upper body and one for lower body that will sculpt and shape my body into what I want it to look like. I'm generally happy with my weight and the way I'm shaped, but I'm not happy about how wobbly some bits are.
Well this is the plan I need to stick to:
Upper Body:
4x8 @ 5kg Shoulder Press
4x8 @ 5kg Bicep Curl (think they were actually called Hammer press or something?!)
4x8 @ 5kg Tricep Press
4x8 @ 10kg Bar row
As many 'man' push ups as I can do
Lower Body:
4x5 @ 10kg (each hand) lunges (5 on left leg/5 on right leg, rinse, repeat)
4x8 @ 145lb Leg Press
4x8 Calf Raises from step
3x12 Side squat lunge things over a step
Think that was all I was 'prescribed' but I plan to add in some side raises on upper body, and some regular squats/ballet squats and bunny hops on lower body and maybe some jumps + step ups onto the bench just to mix things up a little.
At the gym I did a few of each of the exercises and I followed it with 20 minutes cardio (cybex cross trainer and bike). I also walked the pugs for 30 minutes.
Weekend
The weekend has come and gone with hardly any chance to really make the most of it.
Saturday started with Porridge Pancakes with a spreading of Nutella on the top, washed down with Berocca. I then cleaned 90% of the house - the only room that escaped me was the spare room because it will take a whole day in itself! By the time I had finished it was 3pm, so I made myself a ham sandwich, grabbed a shower and waited for Mr H to come home.
We nipped into town and I finally managed to spend my Joules vouchers I got for Christmas on a snazzy little dress. Its going to require some alteration as its a little bit baggy around the bust and I want to make the neckline sweetheart rather than straight across, but its still going to be so cute for when the weather perks up a bit. Its also a size 10 which pleases me.
We then went down to Warehouse where Mr H got me another stretch mini skirt (I bought 4 a few weekends back), this time its navy blue and cream stripe. So just perfect to add to my little collection of Nautical outfits :)
We stopped off at Waitrose on the way home and picked up supplies for dinner, we had Steak with Roasted Vegetables (Red Pepper, Yellow Pepper, Red Onion & Courgette) and a Sweet Potato Mash. It was delicious! For dessert we had 1 x American Idol chocolate to finish off the bag.
I had Sky+'d a lot of films whilst Mr H was away, so we had a few start/stops as we narrowed down which we wanted to watch and ended up with 'Bottle Shock'. It was about a guy who gave up the 9-5 to start a wine business in California at the dawn of the 'New World' wines. It was actually quite good :)
On Sunday we went to visit the in-laws at their new place on Hayling Island. Therefore, even though my day had started well with Porridge Pancakes, the rest of the day wasn't that great. I had some cheese/onion Pringles with dips, followed by a cold selection buffet style lunch. I had Olives, sundried tomatoes, a selection of cold cuts, salad, grated cheese, root vegetable mash, followed by an Amaretto chocolate sponge pudding thing washed down with a glass of wine.
Later I battled through a barrel of tea with no sugar (I don't drink tea, but was made a mug and if I do have tea, it needs sugar - but out of politeness I drank it anyway - YUCK!) and a chocolate cupcake. By the time it hit 6pm, not only was I stuffed but I was also wrecked and ready to hit the sack.
We got home around 7pm, walked the dogs, and had a picky snack dinner of olives, bread, cheese and cold cuts. After a heavy lunch, it didn't take much to fill us back up again!
So the weekend wasn't terrible, but I'm looking forward to having a good week starting tomorrow!
Saturday started with Porridge Pancakes with a spreading of Nutella on the top, washed down with Berocca. I then cleaned 90% of the house - the only room that escaped me was the spare room because it will take a whole day in itself! By the time I had finished it was 3pm, so I made myself a ham sandwich, grabbed a shower and waited for Mr H to come home.
We nipped into town and I finally managed to spend my Joules vouchers I got for Christmas on a snazzy little dress. Its going to require some alteration as its a little bit baggy around the bust and I want to make the neckline sweetheart rather than straight across, but its still going to be so cute for when the weather perks up a bit. Its also a size 10 which pleases me.
We then went down to Warehouse where Mr H got me another stretch mini skirt (I bought 4 a few weekends back), this time its navy blue and cream stripe. So just perfect to add to my little collection of Nautical outfits :)
We stopped off at Waitrose on the way home and picked up supplies for dinner, we had Steak with Roasted Vegetables (Red Pepper, Yellow Pepper, Red Onion & Courgette) and a Sweet Potato Mash. It was delicious! For dessert we had 1 x American Idol chocolate to finish off the bag.
I had Sky+'d a lot of films whilst Mr H was away, so we had a few start/stops as we narrowed down which we wanted to watch and ended up with 'Bottle Shock'. It was about a guy who gave up the 9-5 to start a wine business in California at the dawn of the 'New World' wines. It was actually quite good :)
On Sunday we went to visit the in-laws at their new place on Hayling Island. Therefore, even though my day had started well with Porridge Pancakes, the rest of the day wasn't that great. I had some cheese/onion Pringles with dips, followed by a cold selection buffet style lunch. I had Olives, sundried tomatoes, a selection of cold cuts, salad, grated cheese, root vegetable mash, followed by an Amaretto chocolate sponge pudding thing washed down with a glass of wine.
Later I battled through a barrel of tea with no sugar (I don't drink tea, but was made a mug and if I do have tea, it needs sugar - but out of politeness I drank it anyway - YUCK!) and a chocolate cupcake. By the time it hit 6pm, not only was I stuffed but I was also wrecked and ready to hit the sack.
We got home around 7pm, walked the dogs, and had a picky snack dinner of olives, bread, cheese and cold cuts. After a heavy lunch, it didn't take much to fill us back up again!
So the weekend wasn't terrible, but I'm looking forward to having a good week starting tomorrow!
Friday 12 March 2010
New day, new way of thinking
It's days like yesterday that make me realise how fragile the balance between eating well and eating terribly still is. I still am not in control. There is still a food gremlin living inside so that when I get angry or upset comes out to feast.
Today I'm in a better frame of mind, I'm still ill, but I slept ok, had a good drive to work and have started the days food off well.
Breakfast: 40g Porridge Oats, 1 tsp G&B Cocoa Powder, 2 tsp Sweetener, 150ml Skimmed Milk, Berocca.
Mid Morning Snack: Banana
Lunch: Jacket Potato, Baked Beans and Cheese
Dinner: Leftover Raveoli with Tomato/Mascarpone Sauce, followed by the last bag of Cheetos and..... 4... yes 4 Belgian Chocolate Hot Cross Buns (FAIL-FAIL-FAIL)
Good news is, that now all the immediate treats in the house are gone.
Today I'm in a better frame of mind, I'm still ill, but I slept ok, had a good drive to work and have started the days food off well.
Breakfast: 40g Porridge Oats, 1 tsp G&B Cocoa Powder, 2 tsp Sweetener, 150ml Skimmed Milk, Berocca.
Mid Morning Snack: Banana
Lunch: Jacket Potato, Baked Beans and Cheese
Dinner: Leftover Raveoli with Tomato/Mascarpone Sauce, followed by the last bag of Cheetos and..... 4... yes 4 Belgian Chocolate Hot Cross Buns (FAIL-FAIL-FAIL)
Good news is, that now all the immediate treats in the house are gone.
Thursday 11 March 2010
Computer problems and cancellations
Today started out all wrong, I've had computer trouble since I got into work and I've had 2 meetings cancelled so far today - theres only one meeting left today and I still don't have acceptance confirmed, so still chance that could go pear shaped too.
This is the first set of meals I will have tracked in my new blog, so here goes:
Breakfast: 40g Porridge Oats, 150ml Skimmed Milk, 1 tsp G&B Cocoa Powder, 2 tsp Sweetener washed down with a Berocca.
Mid Morning Snack: Bowl of chopped Ruby Orange and Apple
Lunch: 2 Slices Seedy Wholemeal Bread, 2 Slices Waitrose Smoked Ham, Tomato, Low Fat Marg, 1 American Idol Choc (milk chocolate coated salted caramel... dreamy!)
This is where it all went to pot. I got stressed because my meetings were falling down left right and centre, then I found out I was going to be alone for another 2 nights as Mr H had a music festival to play, and I also discovered that the hotel we were planning to book in Dubai has just about doubled in price!
So I hit the canteen. I picked up a can of diet coke, a banana, a giant smartie cookie and a bag of 87 calorie Quavers.
Second Wave Lunch: Diet Coke, Giant Smartie Cookie, Bag of 87 calorie Quavers (FAIL)
Afternoon snack: 2 Squares of 70% dark chocolate courtesy of a colleague.
Dinner: Shop bought Raveoli and Tomato/Mascarpone Sauce (FAIL), followed by 2x Waitrose Belgian Chocolate Hot Cross Buns (FAIL).
I'm still feeling crappy through this weekend 8pm-8am illness I have, so I didn't get any exercise yesterday apart from a 15 minute dog walk.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
The line has been drawn. Onwards and upwards.
This is the first set of meals I will have tracked in my new blog, so here goes:
Breakfast: 40g Porridge Oats, 150ml Skimmed Milk, 1 tsp G&B Cocoa Powder, 2 tsp Sweetener washed down with a Berocca.
Mid Morning Snack: Bowl of chopped Ruby Orange and Apple
Lunch: 2 Slices Seedy Wholemeal Bread, 2 Slices Waitrose Smoked Ham, Tomato, Low Fat Marg, 1 American Idol Choc (milk chocolate coated salted caramel... dreamy!)
This is where it all went to pot. I got stressed because my meetings were falling down left right and centre, then I found out I was going to be alone for another 2 nights as Mr H had a music festival to play, and I also discovered that the hotel we were planning to book in Dubai has just about doubled in price!
So I hit the canteen. I picked up a can of diet coke, a banana, a giant smartie cookie and a bag of 87 calorie Quavers.
Second Wave Lunch: Diet Coke, Giant Smartie Cookie, Bag of 87 calorie Quavers (FAIL)
Afternoon snack: 2 Squares of 70% dark chocolate courtesy of a colleague.
Dinner: Shop bought Raveoli and Tomato/Mascarpone Sauce (FAIL), followed by 2x Waitrose Belgian Chocolate Hot Cross Buns (FAIL).
I'm still feeling crappy through this weekend 8pm-8am illness I have, so I didn't get any exercise yesterday apart from a 15 minute dog walk.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
The line has been drawn. Onwards and upwards.
Some back tracking
To back track slightly, as of 1st March 2010 these are my stats:
Weight: 133.5 lbs
BMI: 22.21
Lean Body Mass: 99.09lbs
Body Fat: 25.78%
Bust: 35"
Underbust: 28"
Waist (narrowest point): 27"
Waist (navel point): 29.5"
Hips (over bone) 35.5"
Thigh (thumbs down): 21.5"
Thigh (widest point): 23"
Calf: 14"
Bicep: 11"
Forearm: 9.4"
Wrist: 5.5"
Weight: 133.5 lbs
BMI: 22.21
Lean Body Mass: 99.09lbs
Body Fat: 25.78%
Bust: 35"
Underbust: 28"
Waist (narrowest point): 27"
Waist (navel point): 29.5"
Hips (over bone) 35.5"
Thigh (thumbs down): 21.5"
Thigh (widest point): 23"
Calf: 14"
Bicep: 11"
Forearm: 9.4"
Wrist: 5.5"
Setting the Scene
I've been maintaining my body weight for nearly a year now. I know I'm capable of eating the right foods and keeping up regular exercise, but I still want more for my body.
This blog is to track what I'm eating, what exercise I'm doing, to document the ups and downs of the journey and to hopefully celebrate the successes along the way.
This blog is to track what I'm eating, what exercise I'm doing, to document the ups and downs of the journey and to hopefully celebrate the successes along the way.
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