Tag Archives: workout

Cracked Up

by

My breakfast this morning wasn’t all it was cracked up to be; when I opened the carton, both of our last two eggs were cracked!

I forged ahead and heated up this package of Allergaroo Spyglass Noodles instead.

Topped with the 50% reduced white cheddar and chives that we supposed to go in my scrambled eggs.

It ended up being pretty tasty, if not all that breakfast-y.

My glass of skim milk with a chocolate milk straw helped.

I went to the gym this morning, so after classes (and my first big quiz!) the day is mine!  Adam dropped me off at the gym around 8, and I took my notecards on the elliptical for 30minutes at random, level 6.

What is your back-up plan if your breakfast falls through?

When Do You Work Out?

by

I liked yesterday’s early workout so much that I had Adam drop me off at the gym again this morning.

I did a treadmill workout – warm up + 1 mile run (9:17) + incline walking – 2.25miles and 30minutes, followed by a quick stretch and some abs moves.

I haven’t 100% come to a decision yet, but I think I’m going to move towards morning workouts from now on (vs. going at the end of the day after classes) –

cons of morning workouts

  • it adds a 3rd walking trip to my day (Adam drops me at the gym, I walk home to shower, I walk back for class, I walk home again)
  • I won’t have time to eat breakfast before my workout
  • it’s hard for me to wake up before 8

pros of morning workouts

  • my workout is out of the way for the day
  • not having to work out after class makes me much more likely to study before dinner
  • I can wear one thing from class through the end of the evening; I hate feeling like I “wasted” a cute outfit because I have to change into gym clothes at the end of class
  • I won’t have to stuff the aforementioned change of outfit into my purse to get it home from the gym

After a quick shower, I made myself a nice little breakfast.

A mug of cocoa,

half a Sandwich Thin with chunky peanut butter and honey,

and a juicy clementine.

The mix of flavors here was so satisfying.  I am super psyched that clementines are back in season, we’ve got a crate in our fridge!

I have one class on Fridays (biochem) and then my plan is to hole up in a coffee shop somewhere and power through some homework.

When do you prefer to work out?

Late Morning Wake-Up Call

by

Labs don’t start until next week, which means that my morning class was canceled today, yippee!  I took advantage of the found time and tried to make up a little sleep so I wouldn’t repeat yesterday’s walking zombie theme.

Once I got up, I took further advantage of the free morning and had the husband drop me off at the gym on his way out.  My extra long classes are really tiring, so I’m thinking I might need to move my gym time to morning time.

Today I did 30minutes on the elliptical, level 6.  Guys, I’m not gonna lie, this was hard!  Like legs burning, oh my god make it end hard.  Apparently no matter how much you run on vacation, you can’t take a month off of exercise without losing fitness.  Good to know.  Also good to know while I still have time to get back into shape before my March venture.

Even though I walked home through the snow, I couldn’t get my head around a hot breakfast this morning.  Instead I had the last of the tropical fruit mix, topped with pulverized coconut,

and a big bowl of Special K Red Berries with skim milk.

Do you tend towards hot breakfasts in the cold months, or solider on with cereal and smoothies?

Minimums and Maximums

by

Minus the fact that I lengthened it by forgetting my lunch until I was a block away, my walk to school actually wasn’t so bad!  I was cold, but not oh-my-gosh-I-think-I’d-rather-just-curl-up-in-the-snow-and-die-cold.

My first day of classes went well (this semester is going to be hard!) and p.s. my packed lunch ended up being delicious and satisfying.  To top off my good day, I even headed to the gym after class.

1mile in 9minutes 10seconds, followed by a quick .25mile walk cool down.

(This next bit is mostly on here for my records, feel free to skip ahead.)  I’m excited to get back to the gym, and I’m even more excited about a fun fitness thing that might be happening the second week of March.  I want to make sure that I am (1) ready, as in, in shape and (2) ready, as in, not injured so I made a loose workout plan for the next month.  In addition to strength training, the following are my minimum and maximum workout goals for each week.

  • 1/24 – 1/30:  run 1 mile; x-train 20-30minutes
  • 1/31 -2/6:  run 1.5 miles; x-train 25-35minutes
  • 2/7 – 2/13:  run 1.5 miles; x-train 30-40minutes
  • 2/14 – 2/20:  run 2 miles; x-train 30-45minutes
  • 2/21 – 2/27: run 2 miles; x-train 30-50minutes
  • 2/28 -3/6:  run 2-3 miles; x-train 30-60minutes

With between 4-6 cardio sessions each week, all done on the treadmill and elliptical.  Basically I want to get back into shape, but to force myself to move slowly so I don’t mess up my legs again.  I can walk as much as I want, but I want to stick to the maximum miles running on any given day.

Anyways.  When I got home this evening I was treated to a killer migraine, but I managed to push through and ended up with a banging dinner.

Lemon-Artichoke Risotto, a la Rachael Ray.

This was my first ever attempt at risotto and it ended up being pretty painless.  Stir, stir, stir, and you end up with a nice creamy dish.

Add leftovers and a few steps on the side, and you’ve got a great dinner.

Risotto,

leftover bbq chicken from yesterday’s pizza,

and some steamed brocoli.

Also a side of cheese, we watched The Initiation of Sarah while we ate 😉

Have you ever made risotto?

First Post of the New Year

by

2011 is off to a productive start.  Probably because last night I gave the husband his 5-4-3-2-1-midnight! kiss and then headed straight to bed.  It’s not an official resolution, but bedtime is going to be a focus of mine in 2011.

Healthy breakfasts are also going to be a focus, but that was kind of a flop today.  To be fair, I just got back from a 10day vacation, so the choice was candy or nothing.  (I went with nothing).

Instead I unpacked, put away all the Christmas decorations, organized my new day planner, and wrote up a grocery list and meal plan.  The husband and I also got in our first workout:  20minutes of strength and stretch moves, side by side on our yoga mats.

Next up was a trip to Wegmans to deal with the food situation. It was 50*(?!?) here today, so this was my entire outfit, no coat!

It was after noon by the time we got to the grocery, so we had a lunch date at the hot bar.

I got Brussels sprouts with honey walnuts, white beans and escarole, Asian style veggies,

and a single piece of sweet and sour chicken.

I looooove it, but more than a bite really is overkill/unhealthy.

After a quick trip home to drop off the groceries, we headed to date #2 – the movies.  We were both dying to see “The Black Swan” and were crushed when we thought it wasn’t going to come to Buffalo.  As soon as we saw the updated movie listing on Thursday we knew what our plans for the new year were.

While at the mall I took advantage of post-holiday sales and snagged some bras and hand soap, both of which were boring but necessary. We also checked out the new candy kiosk.

A quarter pound of sour gummi cola bottles makes for a very exciting movie snack.

During a very exciting movie! The Black Swan was gorgeous, and very tense. I realized during that credits that I was clenching my hands so hard I hurt my finger!

Our dinner plan was an easy peasy three ingredients.

Pasta, marinara, canned sardines.

The husband is obsessed with sardines but I’ve been too afraid until now to try them. The smell is less than appetizing, but fish – omega-3 – is so healthy for you and this is the only kind of seafood we can afford.

I had the husband deal with them – mash, pan fry with marinara sauce – until it was time to top the pasta.

Looks good, great idea, but ultimately not for me.  I ate about half of my plate but was gagging and putting on major theatrics the whole time.  It didn’t help matters that Adam way undercooked the pasta, perhaps I’ll try again another time.

Thank goodness we had a spinach side salad planned.

Topped with Newman’s Own Asian Sesame dressing and Sahale Snacks Valdosta pecans.

And thank goodness for popcorn!

How did you ring in the new year?

End of Vacation, End of 2010

by

Keeping this quick, I’d like to finish before 2011, thank you!

Yesterday afternoon we took a long walk downtown, admiring the scenery,

And relishing johnny-cake with cheese.

The evening brought a trip to XO with my parents, for a belated anniversary dinner.

So.Much.Good.Food. Adam and I split the crabcake appetizer.

And I stole bites of my parents scallops,

and lobster.

For our main meal the husband and I did some sharing. Bruschetta pizza,

Spicy Thai salad,

Baked goat cheese salad.

For dessert I stole a few bites of Adam’s chocolate peanut butter deal,

but I was mostly saving myself for German chocolate cake.

We ended our vacation today with a final morning run.  About a mile, with some additional walking. I am so freaking proud of us for working out every day we were here!

My dad made me a small fried egg sandwich for breakfast,

I had a final piece of cake,

and then we were off.

We bought chicken pates for flight number 1.

Plus a few handfuls of mint m&ms.

And Chick Fil-A for dinner on flight number 2.

Boo for crappy airport food; I’m ending the year with a tummy ache.

Goodbye 2010!

STT; Wednesday Afternoon – Thursday Afternoon

by

As predicted, yesterday afternoon was spent on a swim workout. My mom dropped Adam and me off at Morningstar beach for an hour. We had fun, but also got in a good workout. Adam would swim a distance away from me and then I would swim as hard as I could until I reached him. Repeat.

For dinner we refurbished pad thai leftovers.

Stir-fried with extra veggies – okra, carrot, broccoli, celery – and egg.

We also went to see The Fighter. I got in some fruit with apple slices as a movie snack.

And there was German chocolate cake waiting when we got home.

I had a (big) slice with a glass of skim milk.

Yum, good job mom!

For breakfast this morning I mashed a small banana with cinnamon, and spread it on two mini buns with almond butter.

Made quite the tasty little sandwich set.

The wind has been crazy recently so we spent the morning hiking around The Point and watching the waves crash.

I’ve snacked on a bag of cheez-its,

and split a gingerbread Clif bar with Adam.

Now (after this quick stop at school) the whole family is going for a long walk downtown.  The plan tonight is a belated anniversary dinner, and then tomorrow we fly on home.

STT; Sunday Afternoon – 3rd Anniversary

by

Sunday afternoon, after a quick trip home for provisions, we headed to the movies. We saw a matinée of True Grit, which I just loved. Cowboy movies are so not my thing, but somehow I knew this one would just rock my socks. The story line was funny and touching and I loved the vocabulary.

I packed a baggie of baby carrots,

and bought some Jordan Almonds at the theatre.

We did a quick and easy dinner when we got home.

Baked okra with ketchup,

cole slaw,

and two mini buns (split), toasted and topped with leftover spinach dip.

Plus dessert.

One of our guy friends was flying out Monday afternoon, so we met him that morning for brunch.

A few other friends came along and it was great to catch up with everyone.

I ordered a mahi mahi sandwich with a side of cole slaw.

Delish!  Mahi mahi is my favorite kind of fish, so light and flakey.

I left my bun, but devoured everything else.

Dessert (clearly I’m on vacation, who really needs lunch dessert?!?) came at home in the form of 7-layer bar.

Around 4 – we are really watching our sun exposure – Adam and I got in an afternoon workout. We headed to the beach, and amid the frolicing did 30ish minutes of hard swimming.

We met up with visiting family friends for dinner. I wasn’t feeling confident about the healthiness of the meal, so I supplemented with some baby veggies before dinner.

Good thing, because pizza was dinner. I ended up with a shrimp scampi slice,

and a bbq chicken slice.

Adam and I also split a Caesar salad with extra veggies.

And I had a piece of homemade toffee when we got home.

Today (the 28th) is our 3rd wedding anniversary!!! We’ve celebrated by spending the day doing things we both love. Like starting the morning with a run… We got in an hour+ workout that included a bit of walking, 2 miles of running, and the mile uphill walk home. Between today’s run and yesterday’s swim, both of our legs are pretty sore!

Next on the agenda was lunch at our favorite restaurant.

Plus some time sipping coffee and reading.

I ordered a Vietnamese Latte (sweetened with condensed milk),

and Adam and I split the spicy sweet potato wrap (with spinach and rosemary goat cheese).

We’re unsure of the agenda tonight – there’s a party we might skip – but all I really need is an evening with the (3year’s old) husband!