Six Week Challenge: Day 29

Workout(s):
6:45 AM: Walked Sophie 1.25 miles at the Greenway.

5:30 PM: 50-minute workout was a repeat of last Tues/Thurs. I had a really good workout tonight. My endurance and strength has definitely improved and I feel really great. I actually received three compliments tonight...

Compliment #1
Debbie (fellow challenger): "Have you lost weight? You look like you've lost weight."

Compliment #2
Chris & Jeff (co-workers/fellow challengers): "We were watching you tonight and you were a machine!"

Compliment #3
Tara & LaCinda (friends from Tuesday night Bible study): " You look great. Definitely not as tired as you did the first night you started the challenge."

Meals For Today:
Breakfast: Scrambled Egg Whites on 2 pieces of Toast with one slice of Tomato, 1/4 a Bell Pepper and one slice of Turkey Bacon. 4 oz of Orange Juice and Iced Coffee with Fat-Free Vanilla CoffeeMate
Snack: Watermelon
Lunch: Leftover Homemade Veggie Pizza
2:30 Snack: String Cheese, 7 Multi-Grain Crackers and one Banana
4:00 Snack: Pita Chips - I had to have a second snack because I was starving
6:45 Post Workout Snack: Chocolate Milk
Dinner: Salmon with Peppers and Sugar Snap Peas steamed with Olive Oil, White Wine, Lemon Juice and Salt and Pepper
Total Water: 104 oz
Total Calories According to Calorie Count: 1971

Six Week Challenge: Day 28

Workout(s):
50-minute workout was good, but boy was it hot. Here is my attempt to describe today's workout: All of the Workout 180's were set up in a circle around the perimeter of the room. Six 180s were lined up in the middle of the room. We started out with 6 people doing 15 repetitions of various exercises (plyometrics, resistance and core). Once you finished your 15 reps, you joined the outer circle and someone from the outer circle took your place. While in the outer circle you had to do cardio. It was a good workout. I definitely feel tired tonight.

Meals For Today:
Breakfast: Berry Smoothie and Iced Coffee with Fat-Free Vanilla CoffeeMate
Snack: Oatmeal-Blueberry Muffin
Lunch: Apple, Cranberry, Turkey and Feta Salad with a side of Cucumber and reduced-fat Cottage Cheese
Snack: One Banana, Toasted Slice of Whole Wheat Bread with a Tbsp of Crunchy Peanut Butter
Post-Workout Snack: Chocolate Milk
Dinner: Heated Wrap consisting of Flat Bread with reduced-fat Cottage Cheese, Baked Skinless Chicken Breast,Feta, Salt and Pepper
Total Water: 104 oz
Total Calories According to Calorie Count: 1501

Six Week Challenge: Day 27

Workout(s):
Sunday is my rest day, which is a good thing since the bee sting on my foot has swollen considerably and I am having trouble walking. Hope the swelling goes down by tomorrow. It has been nice to lay on the couch and watch movies and nap though.

Meals For Today:
Breakfast: Bowl of Cereal with Milk and Iced Coffee with Fat-Free Vanilla CoffeeMate
Lunch: Turkey Bacon, Smoked Turkey, Tomato and Lettuce Wrap and Watermelon on the side
Snack: Berry Smoothie
Dinner: Homemade Supreme Veggie Pizza
Snack: Non-Fat, Sugar-Free Ice Cream Sandwich
Total Water: 32 oz
Total Calories According to Calorie Count: 1452

Six Week Challenge: Day 26

Workout(s):

12:30 PM: We decided to head up to Linville Gorge to do a 5-mile hike to the Linville Falls. 

As we were loading the car and getting ready to leave, I stepped on a bee that got stuck between my sandle strap and my foot. Subsequently stinging the arch of my right foot. So instead of getting in the car, we came back inside where I immediately put ice on my foot and took a Benadryl. After some contemplating, I decided we should proceed with the trip.

Linville Gorge was beautiful. The temperature was perfect. The first part of the hike was pretty crowded - we went to three lookouts where we could view the Falls from above. Lots of people and lots of dog. Sophie still feels the need to "protect us" and she growls at all other dogs, regardless of their size.

The second half of the hike was down into the gorge. This part of the trail was less populated. At the bottom of the falls, we were able to wade in the water and even managed to get Sophie to swim for the first time - she didn't like it, but she did it. After a snack of an orange and half a Clif Bar, we headed back to the car.

The only negative of walking into a gorge is that you have to walk out. Which means the end of your hike is the more tiring.

 

Meals For Today:
Breakfast: Bowl of Cereal with Milk, Iced Coffee with Fat-Free Vanilla CoffeeMate and Watermelon
Lunch: We stopped at a Chik-fil-a in Morganton on the way to Linville Gorge. I opted for the Chicken-Strip Salad with no croutons, no cheese and minuscule amount of ranch dressing. Glass of water.
Snack: An Orange and half of a Pretzel Peanut Butter Clif Bar
Dinner: After our hike, we were too hungry to wait to get home to eat. Our initial choices of places to eat were Sonic, McDonald's, Wendy's and Taco Bell. Since we don't have a Sonic near us, we opted for that. We consulted our book Eat This Not That and decided to compromise. We picked a Sonic Burger with Mustard, Ketchup and Pickles and a Bacon Cheddar Toaster Burger. We each ate half of both burgers. It was delicious.
Total Water: 48 oz
Total Calories According to Calorie Count: 1463

Calories are low, even with the two fast food stops. Fat percentage was on the high side (38.6%), but it was worth it after our 5-mile hike.

Six Week Challenge: Day 25

Workout(s):
6:45 AM: We got up early Friday to walk Sophie at the Greenway. We got in the car, rolled down the windows so Soph could hang her head out, and started down the driveway. When the car started moving, there was a terrible noise, so Daniel stopped and got out to investigate. Turned out that we had a seriously flat tire on the front passenger side of the car. So we got back out of the car (which confused and probably disappointed Sophie) and I walk her in the neighborhood while Daniel changed the car tire. We walked about a mile. Afterward the three of us got in the hammock together and enjoyed the cool morning before the day got started.

5:30 PM: Last night's workout was the toughest yet. We rotated through 5 different 5-minute stations, twice. I started at the plyometrics station. We did a series of jumps on and off of the Workout 180 platform. Second station was cardio. This was an obstacle course that included doing the inch-worm the length of the room. For me, this did more to wear out my arms than it did to give me a cardio workout. Following this was core exercises. Then on to resistance and finally balance. I enjoyed the workout, but man it was tough.

Meals For Today:
Breakfast: Bowl of Cereal with Milk and Iced Coffee with Fat-Free Vanilla CoffeeMate
Snack: Watermelon
Lunch: I had to run a work errand during lunch, so I grabbed a Chicken-Strip Salad from Chick-Fil-A while I was out. No croutons. No cheese. And maybe a teaspoon of ranch dressing. Glass of water.
Snack: Pita Chips, a Banana and String Cheese
Dinner: A couple of slices of pizza from Wolfman chased down with a couple of glasses of water.
Total Water: 96 oz
Total Calories According to Calorie Count: 1639

So last week Anna challenged me to go 10 days eating cheat-free. Also eliminating as much fat from my diet as possible. I am all for doing this. Unfortunately, coming off of a trip with no time to plan meals or grocery shop made this week a poor week to start the challenge. Overall, I did pretty well. But starting today, for the next 10 days, I am going to take this challenge seriously and see what happens.

Six Week Challenge: Day 24

Workout(s):
5:30 PM: Tonight was a repeat of Tuesday's workout alternating 60 seconds of cardio with 60 second intervals of calisthenics. I enjoyed the work out and can definitely tell a difference in my energy level. The hardest part was being stiff from last night's resistance-only work out. When I got home tonight, I hopped in the tub and took a cold bath - hopefully this will relieve the soreness and stiffness that seems to exist from my waist to my knees. On a happy note, my knee pain has completely subsided.

I feel kind of bad... I have chosen sleep over getting up and walking Sophie with Daniel in the mornings. She doesn't need me to go, but it is nice to hang out with them before I go to work. Will have to try to get up in the morning.

Meals For Today:
Breakfast: Non Fat Vanilla Yogurt with Granola and Iced Coffee with Fat-Free Vanilla CoffeeMate
Snack: Watermelon
Lunch: Leftover Salmon, Jasmine Rice and Mixed Vegetables from BoneFish Grill
Snack: Pita Chips, a Banana and String Cheese (I am not one to play with my food, but I really enjoy eating string cheese by pulling it apart and eat one string at a time...)
Post Workout Snack: Chocolate Milk
Dinner: Eggs Baked in Tomatoes and Red Peppers
Total Water: 96 oz
Total Calories According to Calorie Count: 1818

Six Week Challenge: Day 23

Workout(s):
5:30 PM: Tonight was 60 minutes of resistance training. It was a good workout and I am definitely feeling all of my muscles now that the work out is over. I hope I sleep off some of the muscle pain.

Meals For Today:
Breakfast: Non Fat Vanilla Yogurt with Granola and Iced Coffee with Fat-Free Vanilla CoffeeMate
Snack: Cherries
Lunch: Tuna on Whole Wheat Tortilla, Fruit Cup and a Luna Bar
Snack: Pita Chips and an Orange
Dinner: Celebrated that Daniel is now a professional engineer by eating at Bonefish Grill. I had Bread, Grilled Salmon with Lemon Butter Sauce and Steamed Broccoli and Steamed Vegetables.
Total Water: 120 oz
Total Calories According to Calorie Count: 2376

Six Week Challenge: Day 22

Workout(s):
5:30 PM: I was a little nervous about tonight's work out since I basically skipped for 4 days while traveling. Thankfully it didn't kill me, but it was definitely a tough 60 minutes. New format this week. Tonight was alternating 60 seconds of cardio with 60 second intervals of calisthenics. I have to say that tonight's work out is my favorite so far. It was a lot of fun and I worked my butt off. I am looking forward to tomorrow.

Meals For Today:
Breakfast: Non Fat Vanilla Yogurt with Granola and Iced Coffee with Fat-Free Vanilla CoffeeMate
Snack: Cherries
Lunch: Leftover Penne with Chicken and Asparagus
Snack: Homemade Hummus and Pita Chips, Sugar Snap Peas
Post Workout Snack: Chocolate Milk and Apple Slices
Dinner: Rice, Chicken and Fajita Veggies from Chipotle
Total Water: 96 oz
Total Calories According to Calorie Count: 1871

Six Week Challenge: Days 18, 19, 20 & 21

Travel Weekend makes for poor eating and little exercise...

Friday Workout(s):
Skipped due to traveling.

Friday Meals:
Breakfast: Bran Muffin (mom's recipe) and Coffee with Fat-Free Vanilla CoffeeMate
Snack: Cherries
Lunch: Leftover Supreme Veggie Pizza with Mozzarella and Feta
Snack: Homemade Hummus with Pita Chips and an Orange
Dinner: Chicken Selects from McDonald's
Total Water: 50 oz
Total Calories According to Calorie Count: 1931

I have a hard time drinking enough water on weekends and/or when traveling. This weekend has been no exception. Food on Friday was not too bad, even with a quick stop at Mickey D's.

Saturday Workout(s):
2:30 PM: Tread water at the pool for 20 minutes. I always forget how hot/humid it is in Tennessee. I showed my family the Workout 180. But got derailed from actually doing the workout. Who wants to work out when there is a 2-week-old you could be holding?

Saturday Meals:
Breakfast: We spent Friday night in Nashville at Daniel's Grandmothers. She got up and made us a 6 o'clock breakfast of eggs, bacon, sausage, biscuits with gravy, fruit and coffee with cream and sugar. I sampled everything and didn't overeat. It was really good.
Snack: Tall Iced Coffee with Milk and Vanilla from Starbucks
Lunch: Turkey sandwiches, Chips and Dr. Pepper
Dinner: Homemade mashed potatoes with gravy, carrots, baked chicken and a salad with a little ranch dressing
Total Water: 32 oz
Total Calories According to Calorie Count: 2619

Ate fairly well for being on the road, just high calories and no real workout to offset it. Feeling lethargic - possibly due to traveling or the heat and humidity.

Sunday Workout(s):
Excuses. Excuses... Skipped - too hot and too humid and I am too tired and too dehydrated.

Sunday Meals:
Breakfast: Two glazed donuts and a coffee with cream and sugar
Lunch: Chef Salad with chips
Dinner: Hot dog and potato salad
Snack: Made my dad a Banana, Strawberry and Vanilla Pudding Pie for Father's Day
Total Water: 32 oz
Total Calories According to Calorie Count: 2264

Should have skipped the donuts, or at least limited myself to one. For being a travel weekend, I don't think I have ate that terribly. Should have made time for exercising, but have been out of sorts due to the hotter weather and just plain tired for travelling and staying up late/getting up early. Have had a good visit. We miss Sophie - hope she did ok at the Animal Hospital she has been boarding at here in Memphis. Have had a great visit with my family. Nice to be with Dad on Father's Day. My niece is adorable. Glad to have this time with her.

Monday Workout(s):
7:30 AM: Picked up Sophie from the Animal Hospital and took her to walk 2 miles at Shelby Farms. Sophie loved it. Tics loved Sophie. I did not love the humidity/heat in the early morning.

Monday Meals:
Breakfast: One of mom's Homemade Banana Muffins and a glass of Milk, one serving of leftover Strawberry, Banana, Pudding Pie.
Lunch: Steak and Feta Salad at Demos in Lebanon with Water and Dr. Pepper
Snack: Half a Twix
Dinner: Quarter Pounder with no cheese from McDonalds, half a Small French Fries and a large Sweet Tea
Total Water: 16 oz
Total Calories According to Calorie Count: 2148

Six Week Challenge: Day 17

Workout(s):
Went into work early this morning (had a Friday deadline, that ended up getting pushed back a week). By default, I missed out on Sophie's morning walk.

5:30 PM: 60 minute workout following the 10-20-20-10 routine again. Today was a good workout. Didn't kill me, but a good challenge none-the-less. I requested some ab work (and so did one other person) so Anna treated us to some good core work at the end. Knees are good tonight.

Meals For Today:
Breakfast: Non Fat Vanilla Yogurt with Cranberry-Orange Multi-Grain Snack Mix and Coffee with Fat-Free Vanilla CoffeeMate
Snack: Cherries
Lunch: Leftover Penne with Chicken and Asparagus
Snack: Bran Muffin (mom's recipe) and a Banana
Dinner: Supreme Veggie Pizza with Mozarella and Feta
Snack: Breyers Heart Smart Double Churn Vanilla Ice Cream
Total Water: 120 oz
Total Calories According to Calorie Count: 1900

After talking with Anna today, I am working on increasing my caloric intake to help increase my metabolic rate. Starting next week I am going to do a 10-day food challenge (at Anna's prompting) to see if my hunger increases and to focus on eating completely nutritious food (no cheats). I am also working to add in calcium.

Six Week Challenge: Day 16

Workout(s):
Had a doctor's appointment this morning, so I skipped out on walking Sophie. Instead I dropped Daniel and Sophie off at the Greenway on my way to the doctor. My doctor was not concerned about my knee pain (at this point). She thinks the pain is from overuse. She told me to listen to my body and continue to use ice post workout.

5:30 PM: 60 minute workout following the 10-20-20-10 routine again. Each day has become easier. My knees didn't hurt tonight, so that is a good thing. I am feeling stronger and definitely have more energy during the actual workout.

Meals For Today:
Breakfast: Bran Muffin (mom's recipe) and Coffee with Fat-Free Vanilla CoffeeMate
Snack: Cherries and Cranberry-Orange Multi-Grain Snack Mix
Lunch: Leftover Spinach Pasta Salad
Snack: Hummus with Pita Chips and a Banana
Dinner: Penne with Chicken and Asparagus
Total Water: 88 oz
Total Calories According to Calorie Count: 1944

Daniel offered to do fast food tonight because we were both feeling tired, but I decided that cooking doesn't take that long and it wouldn't be worth it because 1) we already have spent the money on groceries, 2) I do feel worse when I eat out and 3) we will be travelling all weekend and eating out plenty. So no Chick-fil-a or Dominos Pizza as a middle of the week pick-me-up for the Moore household.  

 

Calories are high tonight because of the Spinach Pasta Salad - it is full of the good fats such as olive oil and olive. I don't feel too bad since those are considered healthy fats. Most days have been aiming at the 1400-1700 calorie mark and have done pretty good (over all) with this goal. I have continued to struggle with getting my proteins to be 30% of my diet and fat at 20% (they have been the other way around). Today I checked out the book Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guidebook from the library. I am hoping it will give me some incite into getting my fat and protein portions corrected.

 

 

Six Week Challenge: Day 15

Workout(s):
6:45 AM: Walked Sophie 1.5 miles on the Greenway.

5:30 PM : 60 minute workout - continued with the 10-20-20-10 workout. Ice packs last night must have helped tremendously because I was able to do most of the cardio at the right intensity. By the end of the workout, my knee was not loving me. I have ice on it again tonight. I am going to the doctor tomorrow morning for a *final follow up visit for my blood clot and I am going to ask her about my knee...

Meals For Today:
Breakfast: Bran Muffin (mom's recipe) and Coffee with Fat-Free Vanilla CoffeeMate
Snack: Strawberries
Lunch: Spinach Pasta Salad
Snack: Cranberry-Orange Multi-Grain Snack Mix and a Banana
Dinner: Italian Fish and Veggies
Total Water: 96 oz
Total Calories According to Calorie Count: 1501

Six Week Challenge: Day 13 & 14

Sunday Workout(s):
Sunday is the rest day so I stuck with walking Sophie.
9:30 AM: Went for a 1.5-mile walk on the greenway.
7:00 PM: Went on a 0.5-mile walk in our neighborhood.

Meals For Sunday:
I am not going to lie, I was feeling sorry for myself because Daniel is off having a good time in Texas and I am home alone. My response was to treat myself to a #1 from McDonalds. I know I could have settled for just a burger and maybe a small fries, but I went all out and got a Big Mac AND fries AND a Dr. Pepper. And it was GOOD. But it did not make me feel any better, or miss Daniel any less.
Breakfast: Cascadian Farms Honey Clusters Cereal and Coffee with Fat-Free Vanilla CoffeeMate
Lunch: Aforementioned #1 combo from Mickey D's
Dinner: Dinner wasn't much better, but it was gooooood. One serving of fat-free, Double Churn Vanilla ice cream with a serving of Cranberry-Orange Multi-Grain Snack Mix. Maybe not the healthiest day, but I did enjoy it.
Total Water: 32 oz
Total Calories According to Calorie Count: 1556.

My caloric intake was in a decent range, but the healthiness of Sunday's food was not so great.

Today's Workout(s):
Didn't sleep that great last night - maybe due to my crappy nutrition yesterday. Slept in and only had time to walk Sophie about 0.25 miles in our neighborhood, for which I felt TERRIBLE. I ran home at lunch to play with her to make up for not having time to walk this morning.

5:30 PM : 60 minute workout - we are now doing a 10-minute warm up followed by 20 minutes of steady cardio, 20 minutes of resistance training on an unstable platform and a 10 minute cool down. I had a tough time with the cardio because my knee was hurting and I really couldn't handle the impact of the exercises. Also got a cramped calf at the end of cardio - possibly due to my high sodium intake yesterday (thank you Big Mac and Fries). I REALLY LIKED the resistance coupled with the unstable platform. I felt like i had a good session with that. I didn't care for tonight's music set, but Pacino danced for us, which made it worth it.

7:15 PM Came home and had a pretty wild dog. Opted to take Sophie on a 1.5 mile walk at the Greenway to make up for missing her walk this morning.

Meals For Today:
Breakfast: Cranberry-Orange Multi-Grain Snack Mix and Coffee with Fat-Free Vanilla CoffeeMate
Snack: Cherries
Lunch: Spinach Pasta Salad
Snack: Hummus with pita chips, Sugar Snap Peas
Dinner: Spanish Halibut
Total Water: 96 oz
Total Calories According to Calorie Count: 1485

Six Week Challenge: Day 12

Workout(s):
My knee is still bothering me so I opted for long walks with the dog instead of the high-impact 180 workout. I plan to get back with the program on Monday.

9:30 AM: Went for a 3.5-mile walk at Colonel Francis Beatty Park. We walked the single-track mountain biking trail in reverse. It was the first time I had been out there on foot. The walk through the woods was nice and Sophie did well with all of our encounters with mountain bikers. Her trail etiquette is slowly improving.

7:00 PM : Went on a 1-mile walk through the neighborhood. Halfway through our walk, Sophie saw a rabbit and went kind of crazy. I hate how she sounds when she wants to get a rabbit (or squirrel or any other wild animal). She can chase all she wants in our fenced back yard, but not when we are walking onleash.

Meals For Today:
Breakfast: Cascadian Farms Honey Clusters Cereal and Coffee with Fat-Free Vanilla CoffeeMate
Lunch: Leftover pizza
Snack: Iced Cafe Latte
Dinner: Black Bean and Corn Quesadillas
Snack: 2 Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookies
Total Water: 48 oz
Total Calories According to Calorie Count: 1360

I Want To Check You For Tics

Daniel and I have regularly been taking Sophie to the Greenway and various dog parks to help her get socialized to people, bikers and other dogs. This can be a challenge at times since she is already two years old, but we are slowly getting her accustomed to new things.

When we walk her on the Greenway, it is very comical. She chooses to run in the 2-4 foot high grasses that grow on the side of the trail. All you can see is the leash and the moving grasses and occasionally a glimpse of her as she bounds through the tall grass.

This morning I took her out to Colonel Francis Beatty Park for a 3+mile walk on one of the trails. She did really well. We are still working on cultivating her trail manners, so every time a mountain biker came towards us on the trail, I would have her step off to the side of the trail and sit and stay while the bikers passed. This was a good teaching experience. She only barked/growled a couple of times. She also did really well walking on the leash. In some places I was able to let it out to the full 16 feet, but other times I kept it a manageable 3-6 feet so that I was able to control the situation and get her to obey me.

We saw a few other dogs - mostly labs swimming in the lake. Sophie is content to get her paws wet when she is hot, but she is not one to get fully into the water.

Sophie's strongest sense is her smell. She doesn't always see or hear animals, but if she gets a scent, she gets pretty wild. I experienced this today when she smelled a squirrel. She started baying and running in circles. Nothing I could do would calm her down. I had to let her chase the scent for a little while before she would calm down.

Over the past month we have found a couple of tics on her during her post-walk grooming. She especially needs grooming after running in the grass at the Greenway. She truly loves this type of running and we enjoy watching her.

So far our mid-morning walk had its desired effect - it wore her out and she is sleeping contentedly on the floor (verses whining or being mopey about Daniel being away).

Six Week Challenge: Day 11

Workout(s):
I skipped the morning dog walk today because my stubbed toe was still bothering me (the nail is a faint shade of purple) and I wanted to give it some extra time to heal. Sleeping in on a Friday was kind of nice too.

5:30 PM: 60 minute cardio/resistance workout. During tonight's warm up, my right knee started hurting. I didn't push as hard as I could because I didn't want to have full-blown knee problems. Good workout, but I plan to take it easy this weekend.

8:30 PM : We got home from eating at our favorite local pizza joint and Sophie was waiting, harness in mouth. We figured we better take her for a walk since she "asked." We walked about 0.5 miles around the neighborhood. The humidity outside is stifling.

Meals For Today:
Breakfast: Bran Muffin (mom's recipe), Coffee with Fat-Free Vanilla CoffeeMate
Snack: Cherries and Almonds
Lunch: Leftover Brown Rice with Zucchini and Red Peppers
Snack: Tuna, 1 Slice of Whole Wheat Bread and an Orange
Dinner: For my cheat meal, I chose to eat at Wolfman Pizza in Cotswold (my favorite and the staff knows us, which is nice). I ate three slices of the Big Bad Wolf (minus the Banana Peppers) and 24 oz of Dr. Pepper. DP is probably my biggest cheat of the day, but it was soooooo good. I could have made due with 2 slices instead of 3, but I love this pizza.
Total Water: 80 oz
Total Calories According to Calorie Count: 1733

Lower calories early in the day, made my cheat dinner not so painful. I can tell that my choice of a broad variety of nutrient-rich food and lots of water has really made me feel good throughout the day. I have lots of energy and have not experienced any heart burn. I would be interested to have my cholesterol checked after this challenge to see if my numbers are better.

Six Week Challenge: Day 10

Workout(s):
6:45 AM Walked the dog on the Greenway: 1.5 miles. We saw a deer. Earlier this week we actually saw three deer. We have decided that Sophie is more guided by her smell than she is her sight because she didn't seem to notice the deer.

5:30 PM: 60 minute cardio/resistance workout. Today was the first day we finished the workout and my response was "That was it?" The trainer has lightened the workout somewhat (due to participants complaining... to be clear, I have not complained). I can chalk up my extra energy to a "lighter workout" or I can pretend it is because I am getting in shape. In truth it is a combination of the two. I am feeling good and have no soreness or stiffness. My energy throughout the day has definitely improved and I feel good about the menus I have been creating for myself.

Meals For Today:
Breakfast: Half serving of Eggs Baked in Tomatoes and Red Peppers (from Eat, Cheat & Melt the Fat Away), Coffee with Fat-Free Vanilla CoffeeMate
Snack: Strawberries and Pecans
Lunch: Craisin-Turkey-Apple-Almond Salad with Feta (from The Abs Diet for Women)
Snack: String Cheese, Pretzels and Sugar Snap Peas
Dinner: Broiled Salmon with a Peppercorn-Lime Rub and Brown Rice with Zucchini and Red Peppers
Total Water: 120 oz
Total Calories According to Calorie Count: 1493

Six Week Challenge: Day 9

Workout(s):
5:30 PM: 50 minute cardio/resistance workout. I missed the warm up today because I had a project that had to be wrapped up before end of day. We went back to the 4-minute pyramids because so many people complained. To be honest, I thought today was not too bad. I need to work on bringing my own intensity up during the cardio part. The resistance bands are providing a decent workout for me. I have increased the amount of resistance every day and I am feeling good.

I skipped out on walking the dog with Daniel this morning. For some reason I woke up at 4AM and didn't go back to sleep until 5:30. I opted to sleep in lieu of our daily walk.

Meals For Today:
Breakfast: Bran Muffins (mom's recipe) and Coffee with Fat-Free Vanilla CoffeeMate
Snack: Cherries and Pecans
Lunch: Leftover Sesame Chicken Edamame Bowl with Brown Rice
Snack: Tuna on a slice of whole wheat bread and one Orange
Dinner: Garlic-Rosemary Lamb Chops and Oven Roasted Potatoes
Total Water: 96 oz
Total Calories According to Calorie Count: 1664

Six Week Challenge: Day 8

Workout(s):
7:00 AM: Walked the dog on the Greenway 1.25 miles.

5:30 PM: 60 minute cardio/resistance workout. More pyramid training - tonight we did five 5-minutes of pyramids of cardio and resistance. I am looking forward to being finished with pyramids. Tonight one of my friends asked if I would be interested in participating in the Rambling Rose Triathlon in September. There are only "charity" spots left, but I am seriously considering signing up.

Meals For Today:
Breakfast: Bran Muffins (mom's recipe) and Coffee with Fat-Free Vanilla CoffeeMate
Snack: Strawberries and Almonds
Lunch: Leftover Sesame Chicken Edamame Bowl with Brown Rice
Snack: Baby Carrots, String Cheese and Pretzels
Dinner: Frozen Thin-Crust BBQ Chicken California Pizza Kitchen Pizza
Total Water: 96 oz
Total Calories According to Calorie Count: 1436

Six Week Challenge: Day 7

Workout(s):
7:00 AM: Walked the dog on the Greenway 1.25 miles.

5:30 PM: 60 minute cardio/resistance workout. Tonight we did a pyramid workout. One minute of cardio at 50% exertion, one minute at 60%, one minute at 70% and one minute at 80%. Followed by a 30 second break, then 3 sets of 15 reps of resistance. Repeat. I enjoy the resistance training but I loathe this type of cardio training. The only kind of pyramid training I have ever liked is spinning.

Meals For Today:
Breakfast: Eggs Baked in Tomatoes and Red Peppers and Coffee with Fat-Free Vanilla CoffeeMate
Snack: Cherries and Almonds
Lunch: Craisin-Turkey-Pecan-Feta-Granny Smith Apple Salad
Snack: Tuna on one slice of whole-wheat bread and Sugar Snap Peas
Dinner: Sesame Chicken Edamame Bowl with Brown Rice
Snack: Breyers Heart-Smart Cookies & Cream Ice Cream
Total Water: 96 oz
Total Calories According to Calorie Count: 1448

Six Week Challenge: Day 6

Workout:
Recovery Day. Enjoyed taking a nap this afternoon. Took care of grocery shopping and laundry. Spent an hour painting the basement.

Meals For Today:
Breakfast: Frosted Mini Wheats and Coffee with Fat-Free Vanilla CoffeeMate
Lunch: Grilled Cheese with Tomato, Cherries and Sugar-Snap Peas
Snack: Berry Protein Smoothie (from The Abs Diet for Women)
Dinner: Tilapia fried in EEOO with steamed Green Beans tossed with EEOO and almonds (from The Abs Diet for Women)
Total Water: 32 oz - I have a harder time drinking enough water on the weekends
Total Calories According to Calorie Count: 1348

Six Week Challenge: Day 5

Workout:
10:00 AM: This morning we got up early and headed to South Mountain State Park to go hiking. We took Sophie and hiked a total of 4 miles. We had a good aerobic section that was 20 minutes of climbing stairs. This was also a good leg work out. It was our first time to take Sophie hiking and she did great. At the beginning we had her on the Gentle Leader to keep her from pulling too hard on the leash and also to help her around other people and dogs. For the technical parts, we put our retracting leash on her harness so that she could go at her own pace and we didn't have to worry about her falling. We coaxed her across a 50-ft river crossing - this was a huge accomplishment as she has shown signs of fear at crossing running water. We also came across 3 separate groups of horses (a total of 7 horses). This was by far our biggest challenge with her. She was simultaneously petrified and protective of us. One of the guys on a horse asked if she was a "bear dog," I told him that she only thought she was. The waterfalls were beautiful and it was the perfect day for a hike.

I got off the band wagon (a little) regarding my food intake. This is Daniel's fault. We stopped at a Sonic on the way home and he really wanted to split an order of Ched-R-Peppers. How could I resist? We don't live near a Sonic. Then tonight we headed out to a movie and he really wanted to stop and split a small blizzard at Dairy Queen. It has been a long time since we have gone to DQ, so I gave in. I promise I will be better the rest of the weekend.

Meals For Today:
Breakfast: Honey Nut Cheerios and Coffee with Fat-Free Vanilla CoffeeMate
Snack: Half a Peanut Butter, Chocolate Chip PowerBar
Lunch: Tuna, Multigrain Crackers and Pretzels
Snack: Split an order of Ched-R-Peppers and a Cherry Limeade Slush from Sonic
Dinner: Leftover Tuna Casserole
Snack: Split a small Brownie Batter Blizzard from DQ
Total Water: 32 oz
Total Calories According to Calorie Count: 1942

Six Week Challenge: Day 4

Workout(s):
6:45 AM: Got up to walk the dog - 1.5 miles on the Greenway in the pouring rain.

5:30 PM: Post-60-minute workout and feeling great. Took a cold bath after last night's workout and didn't experience any stiffness today. The cardio parts are the toughest on me. I love the resistance and the balance board. There were 4 handles on my piece of equipment today (instead of 2). I had been thinking it would be a good idea to have easy access to 2 separate bands when doing the circuit training that we are currently doing. The 4 handles allowed me to use the higher-resistance red bands whenever we worked a stronger muscle or the lower-resistance yellow band handles when we worked a weaker muscle. When you are doing 30 second intervals, it is impossible, to stop and unclip/clip handles to change your resistance. The extra handles allowed me to get a better workout.

Meals For Today:
Breakfast: Oatmeal and Coffee with Fat-Free Vanilla CoffeeMate
Snack: Bran Muffin (mom's recipe) and blueberries
Lunch: Leftover Homestyle Tuna Casserole
Snack: Baby Carrots, String Cheese and Pretzels
Dinner: It's Friday night, don't judge me... Chipotle Fajita Chicken Burrito (no sour cream, no guac) and a Mr. Pibb
Total Water: 96 oz
Total Calories According to Calorie Count: 2383

I believe in having a weekly cheat meal (and I am a firm believer in not cooking on Friday nights, I need a break). I will try hard not to make it into a "cheat weekend."

Six Week Challenge: Day 3

Workout(s):
6:45 AM: Got up to walk the dog - 2 miles on the Greenway.

5:30 PM: 45-minute workout was good. Still suffering stiffness in my quads. Took a cold bath tonight to help relieve the stiffness. Feeling good. Wish that my face didn't turn bright red when I work out, but this has been my lot in life and there is nothing I can do to fix it...

Meals For Today:
Breakfast: Berry Blast Smoothie and Coffee with Fat-Free Vanilla CoffeeMate
Snack: Bran Muffin (mom's recipe) and blueberries
Lunch: Leftover Penne with Chicken and Asparagus and 1 String Cheese
Snack: Tuna on 1 slice of Wheat Bread, Sugar Snap Peas
Dinner: I had planned for Black Bean & Corn Quesadillas but realized I didn't have corn on hand, so instead I raided the fridge and cupboards and did my own version of a homemade tuna casserole, loosely basing it on this Homestyle Tuna CasseroleHomemade Mac & Cheese recipe. I substituted whole-wheat rotinini pasta for elbow macaroni and left the cream of celery soup out of the casserole.
Total Water: 96 oz
Total Calories According to Calorie Count: 1900

Caloric intake is a bit higher that I wanted, but what can you do when you have to create a meal from nothing?

Six Week Challenge: Day 2

Workout(s):
7:00 AM: Got up to walk the dog - 1 mile on the Greenway.

5:30 PM: 60-minute workout was much better today. It made a huge difference that the temperature in the studio was cooler and they brought in 2 ginormous box fans. I increased my caloric intake and felt a lot better - no bonking today. During the day I did not experience soreness, but definitely had some stiffness in my legs. Have to wait to see how I feel tomorrow, but so far I am feeling really good.

Meals For Today:
Breakfast: Eggs Baked in Tomatoes and Red Peppers (from Eat, Cheat & Melt the Fat Away) and Coffee with Fat-Free Vanilla CoffeeMate
Snack: Bran Muffin (mom's recipe) and blueberries
Lunch: Craisin-Turkey-Walnut-Apple-Feta Salad (from the Abs Diet for Women)
Snack: Hickory-smoked tuna with 5 reduced-fat Ritz crackers, 6 baby carrots
Dinner: Spinach, Tomato and Sausage Pasta Toss
Snack: Pudding with Strawberries and low-fat Graham Crackers
Total Water: 120 oz
Total Calories According to Calorie Count: 1751

The trainer told me to try to eat approximately 50% carbs, 30% protein and 20% fat. I am good on the carbs, but need to work on swapping my percentage of protein and fat intake.

I have been comparing three different nutrition/fitness sites to see which I like best. I have been using Calorie Count for several years and I really like the ability to analyze my recipes and search for just about any type of food. Anything you can't find, you can add calorie information manually. Its overall functionality is good and I like the charts.

Back in November I checked out SparkPeople to see if it was any better. I like how it organizes the Nutrition information and how it includes cholesterol intake (this is important to me because I have high cholesterol). The breakdown on charts for food is amazing on this site. Unfortunately, the food search option is nothing compared to Calorie Count.

Today I checked out FitDay, the site recommended by the trainer. Its fitness charting is better than the other two sites. I love all of the charts on this site, however Calorie Count is far superior in its ability to search for/input foods you are eating and analyze recipes.

I wish there was a site that incorporated the food searching capabilities of Calorie Count, the cholesterol overview and nutrition graphing of SparkPeople and the fitness graphs and charts of FitDay. A girl can wish...

Six Week Challenge: Day 1

Workout(s):
6:30 AM: Got up to walk the dog - 1.5 miles on the Greenway.

5:30 PM: The Workout 180 Challenge was definitely a challenge for me. A wake-up call that I am severely out of shape. I know things will get better, but I also know it will probably feel worse before it feel betters. It was pretty hot/humid today and I struggled through the second half of the workout. Hopefully tomorrow things will be better, but I am expecting some intense soreness to work through.

Meals For Today:
Breakfast: Bran muffin (my mom's recipe) and Coffee with Fat-Free Vanilla CoffeeMate
Snack: Strawberries
Lunch: Leftover Penne with Chicken and Asparagus
Snack: Orange
Post-Workout Snack: 1 String Cheese
Dinner: Salmon with Italian Veggies
Snack: Breyers Heart-Smart Cookies & Cream Ice Cream
Total Water: 112 oz
Total Calories According to Calorie Count: 1388

Six-Week Workout Challenge

Today marks the start of a six-week, workout challenge that I am participating in. This challenge is for an infomercial for the Workout 180 (a product developed by the company I work for)... DRTV, here I come.

I am planning on tracking my progress and my experience here. I figure if I am going to have access to a trainer and a free workout plan, I am going all out. I am not expecting a drastic change in weight over the next six weeks, but I am hoping to lose inches and get a good schedule started that I plan (hope) to keep up. I used to work out pretty religiously, but since I started working at enventys, I have had trouble incorporating workouts into my life.

I am excited about the possibilities. To be honest, today is orientation and I am dreading the "before" picture that we are required to take. I don't mind getting on a scale and being measured doesn't bother me, but the idea of getting in front of a camera in spandex and a sports bra kind of freaks me out.

Meals For Today:
Breakfast: Berry Blast Smoothie and Coffee with Fat-Free Vanilla CoffeeMate
Snack: Blueberries, 1 glass of water
Lunch: Spinach, Sundried Tomato, Chicken, Pecan and Feta Salad with Sesame Ginger Dressing ( a variation of my brother's recipe), 1 String Cheese, 1 glass of water
Snack: Sugar Snap Peas, 1 glass of water
Dinner: Penne with Chicken and Asparagus and 1 glass of water
Snack: Pudding with Strawberries and Graham Crackers

According to Calorie Count my calories for the day totaled 1,647.