December 29, 2009

I'm back home and reasonably rested. I was exhausted and it will take me a while to catch up on my sleep. I plan to go to the gym tonight -- not hoping for much beyond a brief cardio workout and maybe some upper body.

More importantly, I am going to focus on weaning myself from the exceptionally large amount of carbs that I have consumed over the past two weeks. I love them and have no regrets, but I think I need to add some more protein to my diet.

December 26, 2009

An entire week went by with no blogging. I had great intentions of repeating the previous week's 400+ minutes challenge, but I was thwarted by a blizzard. I did manage to eke out some strong shoveling workouts and visited the gym 2x. Unfortunately, I think I ended the week at around 300 or so -- not bad considering.

It's a new week and the final week of the year. I am still on vacation and find myself surrounded by leftovers while feeling the effects of jet lag. The best plan is any plan at all -- I am going to strive for the 350 minutes of cardio and I will start brainstorming about what to do for January 2010.

Crazy Cardio Stats: Week Seven

Saturday - 30 minutes Shoveling/Building Snow Castle
Sunday - 90 minutes Shoveling
Monday - 60 minutes Elliptical; 15 minutes Hiking through Snow
Tuesday - 20 minutes Walking (In and Out of Department Stores)
Wednesday - 50 minutes Biking; 15 minutes Lower Leg Workout; 10 minutes Walking (O'Hare)
Thursday - 5 minutes happily going up stairs
Friday - 25 minutes Lower Leg Workout

Minutes: 320 minutes (not bad now that I count)

Even Crazier Cardio Challenge: 400+

Saturday - 55 minutes Bike; 20 minutes Upper Body Workout
Sunday - 40 minutes Elliptical; 25 minutes Bike; 25 minutes Lower Body with Abs
Monday - 20 minutes Walking
Tuesday - 55 minutes Elliptical; 10 minutes Abs
Wednesday - 50 minutes Elliptical; 5 minutes Arms; 5 minutes Abs
Thursday - 25 minutes Walking; 35 minutes Bike
Friday - 30 minutes Walking...in snow

Minutes Achieved: 400..go me!

December 17, 2009

Toffee is one of life’s greater pleasures. One of the truly wonderful things about low residue living is the lack of fiber in some of the greatest foods in the American diet: cream, butter, and sugar. The holidays provide endless opportunities to mix, bake, caramelize and melt these fine ingredients into many different shapes and forms. I have dived wholeheartedly into this task and can say that I have had the aforementioned ingredients in at least four different ways in the last week. Thankfully, I have matched each of these wonderful confections with a 60+ minute workout. And, as I plan to continue to bake this evening, I will first pay a nice visit to the gym downtown where I will sweat.

Deep in the recesses of my brain there is a little voice that says that eating toffee, fudge, and cookies, and more cookies throughout the day is not a good way to manage a diet no matter how little fiber there is. But, I will continue to drown out this voice with my IPOD and the endless renditions of “This Christmas” on the radio.

In all seriousness, the volume of my eating has dropped from last week even as the caloric content of my selected foods has increased. The increased exercise is helping keep it all in check and I am having a wonderful time using the kitchen to produce things that I can eat and share. Surely these skills can be put to use with other ingredients, but I have not found anything so wonderful as the magnificent three.

In closing, I would like to capture the spirit of the holidays and take a few lines to cite in excruciating specificity things that have made me thankful in just the past week (in no particular order):

· My kitchenaid and the balloon whisk (for mixing);
· My two ovens (for warming the kitchen and baking);
· My Jumprope (for when things are in the oven and I am feeling guilty about overindulging);
· My Husband (for trying my baked goods and then whisking them away to the office before I get carried away);
· Donny Hathaway and the Temptations (for the two best Christmas songs ever);
· Starbuck’s (for keeping me going throughout the day);
· Hulu (for mindless tv on demand);
· USPS, UPS, and FedEx (for working really hard to get my cards, new furniture, and everyone else’s stuff – ie., presents – delivered on time);
· Cold, dry mornings (for making my scarf collection seem less frivolous);
· Texting (for making it easy to stay in touch with family and friends);
· The gym (for keeping me sane);
· My flat iron (for counteracting the frizzing effects of the gym as it keeps me sane); and
· My mom (for reminding me of the simple joys of a full stocking on Christmas morning).

And, I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t take a few minutes to cite what I am not thankful for:

· Parking Police (for doing impressions of Scrooge and dispensing tickets with such joy).
· Sadness (for preventing people from being able to appreciate the simple joys in life).
· Wintry mix (for being ambiguous wetness that makes driving dangerous without the added prettiness of soft-falling snowflakes.)

December 16, 2009

Another day, another workout. I cut today's shorter than I would have liked. But, I still got it in -- that's what matters. I am feeling extremely tired despite the workout and coffee. I hope it begins to fade soon.

December 15, 2009

It's 10:30 and I've already done in my cardio and ab work. I enjoy the flexibility of working at home and think getting up at the usual time and going to the gym helps me stay disciplined. I feel myself getting stronger and I can see the tone, but my weight loss has stalled. I suspect that it has something to do with my holiday eating? I've been holding steady since Thanksgiving, which is definitely something to be proud of -- but, I am going to push harder over the next week. Why settle for ok?