Today I started my day off right with Catherine's spinning class - Johnny W. and Jane H. (not Horton) were there - they both go to the Cathedral (church) with me. (AND I saw Alonso G. before my workout - it was a regular 'Cathedral' morning :) )
I sweated A LOT in Catherine's class (which she did say at the beginning was going to happen). It was harder than it's been in the past, but I really think that that's because I'm pushing myself more and more in her classes - and I'm still able to do everything that she has the class doing. I then had a great mini consult with her afterwards and had some important questions answered (good NEW ideas for snacks, meals, etc.). I'm sure my old roomie's can attest to this - but I have a hard time eating the same food over and over again. And eventhough I know this about myself, I will often get myself in a pickle and get bored with food and then eat something horrible for me... well, that happened recently - and Catherine gave me some good new ideas for snacks that I'm going to mix in with my current snacks so that there is more variety and less boredom for Julia ;)
The rest of the day has been spent on thesis work - I'm beginning to get really stressed out about deadlines, etc. I'm not entirely sure how it's going to work out - but I'm working hard at trying to finish up everything!!! And in between large chunks of time of writing and making maps, I'm doing these workouts :)
Starting this Saturday (Laura, John & Reg - I PROMISE this will happen) I am going to get out there with my bike and start a routine that will gradually increase every time I get outside to cycle... Saturday, I'm trying for a measly 20 miles... then 25 (on 3/3), 30 (on 3/6), 35 (on 3/10), 40 (0n 3/13), 45 (on 3/17), 50 (on 3/20) - just in time for our 50 mile ride on 3/28. It'll all work out - I'm counting on it!! This Saturday, I will be spinning in the morning and riding in the afternoon - this is all based on good weather - I'm definitely a fair weather cyclist... :)
One of you loyal followers asked me to share some tidbits of info that we are gleaming from this HCC experience - I believe I tried this a couple of weeks ago - but I decided today as I try to revamp my workouts and eating habits, to share some more tidbits and as I type them out, I will remind myself as well :)
What we learned on 1/14/10...
Alcohol & Weight loss are enemies
- an occasional drink can have a place in a healthy lifestyle
- however, if you are exceeding the one drink/day you're sabotaging your weight loss
- alcohol is metabolized differently - if you are eating WHILE drinking, that food is stored primarily as fat
Workouts should be based on the FITT principle:
F = FREQUENCY = how often you exercise/week
I = INTENSITY = how hard you work; monitor your heart rate
T = TYPE = what type of activity you are doing
T = TIME or duration (want to be doing it for long enough that it is beneficial)
Healthy Snacks: 1/2 pear, 1/2 grapefruit, 1/2 apple, 1/2 orange, 6 strawberries, 15 blueberries (most fruits like pears, g.fruit, apples, etc. = 2 whole servings, so you have to halve them to make it one serving.... We're only allowed 2 servings of fruit a day because of the sugar levels...)
More healthy snacks: 1/3 cup brown rice & beans, 12 almonds, 12 walnuts, 1 TBSP non fat yogurt, 1 hard boiled egg, 2 hard boiled egg whites
We're encouraged to mix those snacks: walnuts/almonds, 1 TBS yogurt, 15 blue berries; 1/3 chicken breast & peppers; 10 red grapes, 1/4 cup beans and 1/4 cup rice
My hardest part has been putting together these snacks - because snacks to me, are a lot different than what these trainers have in mind... an idea I got today was to wrap a little bit of ground turkey in a leaf of romaine lettuce to make a mini lettuce wrap - if needed, dip in mustard (I did it today - tasty!!) Another thing I tried today was greek yogurt (fage) with strawberries and cinnamon = very tasty!!! Greek yogurt has 15 g protein for one of those cups of yogurt... Catherine suggested adding a little quinoa to the yogurt with blueberries and cinnamon - I'm going to try that tomorrow!
Fun little things to know: Greek yogurt has not only 15 g protein but only 90 calories/ serving (this is clearly going to vary with container sizes...)!! Cinnamon is an anti-inflammatory - so loading up = good!! (I just found this out today.) Quinoa = a complete protein in and of itself - and it's a whole grain - it's really amazing and I love it.
I think that's probably enough for today - and it certainly makes up for missing yesterday :)
I'm sorry the thesis deadlines are stressing you out, Jules. Just keep on plugging away at it and it'll be finished before you know it.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you're working out is going amazingly well! I wish I could say the same about my couch potato self!
I'm so proud of you and please know that I'm here if you need anything (well, except for thesis help, because I wouldn't be any help with that). Love you, Jules!
I love quinoa too! I just bought a HUGE bag of it at Costco, so I've been trying to find lots of recipes to use it up. Just made some great quinoa cornbread and a stellar white bean/spinach/quinoa soup.
ReplyDeleteThat's a lot of cycling! I'm going to ride outside today for the first time since it got cold, but I only have an hour, so we'll see how many miles I get in. Be careful! Use a blinking light on the back!
ReplyDeleteBarb: Maybe we could walk the bridge when it warms up before the bridge run/walk? I'm not entirely sure what I'm going to do about the thesis - but I may be calling hour hubby soon... ;)
ReplyDeleteLaura: I would LOVE your quinoa recipes... I can send you mine as well - though, I really just add it to stuff... and if I use it as a side, I cook it in veggie broth to give it a flavor burst :) It's really good 'under' stirfry :)