Garbage That GOO!

30 Day Challenge - Day 10

Monday, October 27

So Monday was my cheat day. I didn't have serious junk cravings. In fact, I stayed home and pretty much ate fairly healthy food, just more of it and more carbs. No planning, just went with what I wanted when I was hungry.

I wanted the last two real farm fresh eggs for breakfast, so I had those, along with one omega-3 egg from the store. I scrambled them in a little butter, sprinkled them with fresh dill, salt and pepper and ate with a sliced tomato on the side. Having eggs in butter reminded me of eating at Grandma's. I don't know where she got her eggs, but probably from Great Aunt Mary's chickens. I loved my eggs!

Then I had pancakes. From a mix. With NO protein powder added, so they stayed tender. Kodiak Cakes brand, I like this mix! Ingredients are simple, 100% whole grain wheat flour, 100% whole grain oat flour, non-fat dry milk, dry honey (honey, wheat starch), leavening (sodium bicarbonate, sodium aluminum phosphate, monocalcium phosphate), egg whites, salt. Add water. I usually also add cinnamon and two tablespoons of flax meal. A half cup or 60g of mix makes three 4" pancakes, which I ate with butter and maple syrup. Also had a lean chicken/apple sausage link sliced on a bed of lettuce.

There is no meal plan! The thing about the "Cheat To Lose" cheat day is that you DON'T plan your cheats ahead of time. You eat what you crave at the moment on your day and only until hunger is satisfied. Then you eat again when you are hungry again. I don't get overly carried away with tracking it either... if I want to, I do, if I don't, no biggie. This time I did sort of track it, so you can entertain yourselves with my "eats".

I know, oatmeal for dinner is weird. It happened to be my craving at the time!

I don't know if I can keep up the current blogging pace... my shoulders and arms are either reacting to the weight work or too much time on the computer typing! I will still try to update once a day if I can.

Nutrition

Day 10 - Cheat Day - What I ate

Training: Cardio

11:49 AM Nordic Track - steady state.
21:36 minutes. 283 calories. Average HR 75% Max HR 83%.

Training: Resistance

None. I had thought to do push-ups, but my shoulders are bothering me so badly I didn't.

Water

Got my gallon in.

Weight

222.4

30 Day Challenge - Day 9

Sunday, October 26

I discovered Paula's Pumpkin Protein Pancakes! GREAT recipe!

I found the recipe under Leigh's 30 Day Challenge-Official Challenge Thread on the JP Fitness Forums. But when I can find the source, I like that, gives credit where it's due. I will have to go check on some of her other recipes!

What I really like about this recipe, aside from the great taste, is that there are only a few ingredients needed, it's fast, and it has great macros and plenty of protein. I actually messed with it a little for my first attempt, adding a bit of flax meal and substituting a whole egg for one of the whites. But I fixed a second batch exactly per the recipe and it was just as good!

Otherwise, Sunday was a rest day. I'm seeing my weight creep up a bit, but I think that is because one increases carbs at the end of a Cheat To Lose week. I.E. it's normal so I'm not worrying. I'll probably spike on Tuesday and then hopefully will be going down from there again. I did make some brown rice up to freeze for next week and to eat over the weekend and possibly on my cheat day as well.

I also made a meal plan... which I followed except for I wasn't that hungry and wanted to go to bed, so I did not eat my last meal. The Mediterranean Salad would have had a little olive oil in it, so I opted to use that on my 4th meal along with a little balsamic vinegar. So I was below my recommended calories by 186 calories.

Nutrition:

Day 9 Meal Plan

Training:

NONE WHATSOEVER

WATER: Easily got my gallon in!

WEIGHT: 222.0

A simple egg white omelet

And a not so simple post about it!

Readers liked my fish salad post... so here's another meal I frequently cook. It's a low fat meal, but if you want to dial in a little more fat, that's easy to do... use a few whole eggs instead of all whites. Grate a little parmesan on the omelet or add some nuts with the veggies. Or slice the apple and top with peanut butter!

Don't do ALL the above at once, unless you are Michael Phelps! ;^)

If you need lower carb, nix the apple and add fats. This is pretty much the kind of meal you can tailor to WHATEVER your desired macro requirements! If you are a guy and need more protein, add chopped turkey. Or have a lean sausage link. Want more starchy carbs? Add a side of oatmeal or pancakes.

I switch veggies/fruit and seasonings out as desired. Italian seasonings work quite well, so do French blends. If you like heat... feel free to add it. Salsa is good on omelets! A sliced tomato is nice in place of the apple.

This was my Meal 1 for Saturday 10-25-2008.

Ingredients:

• 7 large egg whites (or as per your protein/cal needs)
  This came to about a cup of egg whites.
• 1 cup of sliced zucchini or approximately one small whole zucchini.
  I don't get too crazed with measuring green veggies as a rule. I DO measure my fats/protein/starchy carbs more carefully.
• 2 large brown or white button mushrooms This will look like a lot sliced, but they shrink way down when cooked. Adjust according to mushroom desire.
• Seasonings: I used a pinch of turmeric to color the egg whites, then also used turmeric, chili powder, garlic powder and iodized sea salt to season the veggies. I shake the spices in lightly and never measure. (Cashews are a lovely nut to add with this seasoning mix!)
• 4 large leaves fresh basil
  (I roll them up and slice in a chiffonade style.)
  
• Medium apple (Slice or munch whole as desired.)

How to make it:

Heat an 8" non-stick pan on medium. Start slicing your zucchini and mushrooms. Once the pan is sizzling hot, I'm ready to toss the veggies in. You can use a spritz of oil or not as desired. Once the veggies are in the pan, I sprinkle my seasonings over them and give the pan a good shake.

Then I separate my egg whites into a glass Pyrex measuring cup and whisk them up. I continue to shake the pan at intervals until the veggies are done. It's kind of a flip action, but not to the point stuff is flying out of the pan! Once the veggies are done, put them aside in a bowl. Quickly rinse the pan and scrub with a handled brush to remove any carmelization from the veggies that might make your eggs stick, then put it back on the stove. It will heat up quickly!

Once sizzling again, spray some olive oil in the pan and add your eggs/egg whites. As the edges get hard, you can push them in and let the runny whites fill in on the edges. Or you can try to lift them up and let the runny whites go under. I do this a couple times, then I turn the heat down a notch and cover the pan for 1 minute and 20 seconds.

When you uncover, you should see a few bubbles and the eggs will be mostly set, perhaps a little runny on top. You don't want too much of that, or it may be difficult to flip. If needed, recover the pan for a few seconds.

I like to flip my eggs so they are cooked on both sides. You may prefer to add veggies and fold the omelet over to serve at this point.

I am NOT good at pan flips, so I slide the partially cooked egg "pancake" out onto a plate and use the plate to neatly turn the omelet back into the pan with the uncooked side down. Then I spoon my cooked veggies on half of the omelet and set the timer for another 2 minutes. If you want to top your veggies with some nuts or grated cheese, this is a great time to do so! You can also put strips of cheese slices down before you add the veggies.

After my timer goes, I loosen the finished omelet with a spatula and then slide the whole thing out on a plate, using the pan edge to flip the unloaded half of the omelet over. I top with the basil, then usually also add a little sea salt and ground pepper. Add desired fruit or side and munch away!

This nice, plate filling meal came in under 250 calories! And for inquiring minds... this is a modern plate circa 2005 and measures 10.25" in diameter. As for cooking time... somewhere between 20-30 minutes is what it takes me to make my omelet. This post took far longer...

30 Day Challenge - Day 8

Saturday was a hectic day. I had to get up, take measurements, get my meal plan in place (OK, I did most the night before, but then tweaked it in the morning), get my exercise and get showered and take photos. Then I had to convert the RAW photo files, crop and resize, create a composite and make my Saturday check-in post in order to stay in the challenge. And naturally, I wanted to see how everyone else was doing...

And in all of that, I also had to grocery shop. Which was poor planning on my part, because I ended up really tired yesterday and was very tempted by candy in the store! I actually picked up a piece at the checkout counter, but then changed my mind and put it back.

So my meal plan was not ideal... when I made it the night before, it included some turkey salads. By morning, I realized I was going to be a crazed person and substituted some shakes in instead. It was a smart move... after shopping, I was too tired to be on my feet to cook.

I will say this, printing the meal plan to paper was a lifesaver! I just crossed stuff off as I ate it. I'm liking the meal plan idea better and better. Dialing my food in SPECIFICALLY ahead of time will help me stay on target. And I am learning to weigh things by grams for more accuracy.

Nutrition:

Day 8 Meal Plan

Training: Cardio:

12:47 PM Nordic Track - 2 minutes on, 2 minutes off. 4 intervals.
22.5 minutes in all. 1.8 miles. Average speed 4.79 mph.
Average HR 79% Max HR 90%! 323 calories burned!

Actually, I had NOT planned to do intervals for the day... that was a change! My plan was to do my TRX trainer, using the TRX Express Workout DVD. That gives bodyweight resistance exercise, plus you get a decent cardio boost.

Plans changed abruptly however when just starting into the TRX warm-up (some squat rows) I had a bad pain in the side of my left thigh! I tried a few more gentle rows and a few regular assisted squats to see if the pain was momentary and might work out, but it got worse. So something is irritated there and for now... squats have left the building.

So, I was upset and irritated but I just decided I wanted to get some exercise. So I left the TRX hanging and jumped on the Nordic Track. I might have slightly over-cooked that... 90% of my heart rate is perhaps a bit too high right now, though it only got up there at the very last interval. Still, at the point I was cooled down enough to get off the NT, I nearly slipped the skis ahead of myself and had to grab the hip rest fast to stay upright. OTOH... I sure did burn some calories in a short space of time!

Training: Resistance:

Didn't really happen. I tried a few pushups using the TRX after, but I was not up to it. So then I just laid on my stomach on the floor and practiced some of the Pilates abs our water aerobics instructor has been teaching us in our "dry land" class. I was feeling that later in the day, so I guess I am starting to get the hang of it. Then I stretched for a good while.

30 Day Challenge - Check In

Stats for Saturday 10-25-2008!

Starting weight: 223.4 pounds
Height: 5'7"
Age: still 51
Current weight: 221.2 pounds.
Weight lost since start of challenge: 2.2 pounds!
Inches lost since start of challenge: 5.367 inches!

Don't you just LOVE the steep plunge in pounds since my Cheat To Lose re-feed day last Monday?!!! I admit, Tuesday's weigh-in was alarming, but it's all good now! My graph looks like the Alps!

The previous measurements were taken October 2nd, 2008.

Don't be fussed by the 3 digits after the decimal... I take three sets of measurements and average them to hopefully offset the fact that it is hard to get the tape measure not to slip about on my fat rolls.

Now for the pictures! I am linking the picture to a larger version.

I nearly had a panic attack after the first time I posted pictures... but that doesn't seem to be happening this time. Yet. It sure isn't fun doing them, sigh! Maybe one of these days that will change.

OK, that's it for my check in! I did do a meal plan today, and I've been following it, in spite of major temptation at the grocery store this afternoon. But nothing I wanted (Can we say Reese's Peanut Butter Cups?) was on my meal plan so I did not cave. I can't say my body is fond of this much of a calorie deficit, I've been hungry today, but wow, 2.2 pounds gone and some 5 inches! That's GOOD progress for me! So hopefully I can keep it up until the end of the challenge!

And while I don't feel up to posting the actual size of my panties publicly... my underwear is feeling baggy lately. I got an older pair in one size down out of my drawer this morning and they fit!

Fish Salad - the visual

I grabbed a shot of my 4th meal of the day with the very last dregs of my camera battery... so it may not be the very best shot.

This meal is similar to Meal 3, only with some 69g of avocado added. Both meals were fixed at the same time, with the exception of the cut avocado. That was added right before I ate. I know, I know, the meal plan actually said 75g. But half of the avocado I bought just didn't quite make it. I saved a few fat calories, so sue me!

All prep and cooking time was about 20 minutes for TWO meals! If that isn't HEALTHY FAST FOOD, I don't know what is.

Ingredients:

• 60g of mixed organic salad greens.
  I get these at Safeway in a big tub.
• .25 cup of sliced green bell pepper
• .25 cup of canned kidney beans
• 6 ounces of cod fillet raw
• .5 of a medium avocado or approximately 70g
• .25 each lime. A quarter of a small lime yields close to 1 TBSP of juice

Wash and dry the fish fillets. Rub them with some salt and pepper on both sides. Heat a non-stick pan on medium heat. When hot, spray with a little olive oil spray. Add the fish. Cook 3-4 minutes per side for about a 1" thick fillet. Meanwhile, do your salad greens/veggies. Top with warm fish or cooled fish, squeeze the lime over it and enjoy!

This meal comes in at under 350 calories. You can see more of the nutrient breakdown on my Day 7 Meal Plan.

If preparing for a future meal, once the cooked fish is cool, then add it to the salad and cover with Saran Wrap. Or store in a re-sealable container in the fridge. I love it best warm, but it's great cold too! This is a very easy sort of meal to modify to your personal specs. OK, if you don't like fish... use lean ground turkey, chicken or something.

30 Day Challenge - Day 7

This morning I did a meal plan in my Crosstrainer 6 software. I "printed" it to HTML... and also trimmed out some of the excess columns for saturated fats, sodium, sugar and cholesterol to make it easier to read. My sat fats are never high... and as I don't have blood pressure or cholesterol issues, I don't worry much over sodium and dietary cholesterol. Actually, as I have an enlarged thyroid, doc wants me sprinkling my food with iodized salt at least some of the time. I use iodized sea salt.

I am on moderate GI/GL carbs for the next three days... as per CTL. Hence things like legumes and fruit and starchier veggies entering my meals. It tastes good too... I can use the carbs!

Note to self: Print meal plan to paper... had to turn on my computer to remember meal three!

Nutrition:

Day 7 Meal Plan

Fish oil cap or teaspoon w/every meal.
Multi-vitamin and Glucosamine Chondroitin w/MSM (for my bad knee)
BCAA's at the gym. (Xtreme Formulations ICE)

Water so far: 156 fluid ounces. Aiming for the usual 192 fl.oz. Might exceed it... I'm thirsty!

Back from the gym... I just whipped through fixing Meal 3... very tasty. Took me 18 minutes from arriving in my kitchen to sitting down with it to eat. Now that's FAST FOOD... but also HEALTHY FOOD!

Training: Cardio

10:27 AM Nordic Track - 14 minutes, 1.2 miles, 5.1 mph. Calories 130.
Average heart rate 79% Max heart rate 84%.

11:45 AM "Out of the Water" conditioning class w/dumbbells.
12:08 PM Instead of class aerobics, did exercise bike.
- 13.5 minutes, 3.6 miles, 16 mph. Calories 163.
Average HR 71% Max HR 76%. Returned to class.
(I sit on a swiss ball in class so I don't irritate feet.)

01:11 PM Walking - 3 mph for 9:49 minutes. Calories 93.
Average HR 64% Max HR 69%.

01:30 PM Bicycling - 15.7 mph, 17:30 minutes, 4.57 miles. Calories 225.
Average HR 74% Max HR 81%.

All heart rate data is from my well-used Polar F11. I love this gadget... I can set it up so that it records each of my little drib and drab exercises as a separate file for later perusal. I customized the "strong girl" logo off of a guy version on the Polar website. Constant reminder of my goals!

Note to self: Might skip second round of bicycling now that I can use class time for that. Leigh is saying we don't need to go too crazy on this kind of a calorie deficit. Given how ravenous I was when I got home, she is probably right.

Training: Resistance: MAX OUT PUSH UPS

In between stuff at the gym, I did 3 separate sets to max out on the counter push ups.

1st time - 9 reps
2nd time - 9 reps
3rd time - 5 reps

WEIGHT: 221.8 lbs (down 1.6 pounds from 223.4 on 10-17-2008)