Six Week Challenge: Day 31

Workout(s):
5:45 PM: 60-minute workout was a new rotation of circuits. It might be my favorite workout so far. We rotated through three six-minute stations twice. I started at the resistance station, followed by "get-ups" at the core station, and finally whole body resistance (squats, lunges, etc). I definitely feel better with each passing day and my energy is increasing by leaps and bounds.

Meals For Today:
Breakfast: Whole Wheat Chex with 1% mik and Iced Coffee with Fat-Free Vanilla CoffeeMate
Snack: Banana and a Blueberry-Oatmeal Muffin
Lunch: Grilled Chicken Salad with Sunflower Seeds and 1 tbsp of Ranch, no cheese and no croutons, 1 string cheese on the side
Snack: Orange and two slices of Whole-Wheat Bread with Peanut Butter
Dinner: Tilapia fried in EEOO and a side of steamed Green Beans
Total Water: 108 oz
Total Calories According to Calorie Count: 1660

Six Week Challenge: Day 30

Workout(s):
5:45 PM: 45-minute workout was a repeat of Monday. I was late due to a last-minute project so I missed the warm up. I must have been really tired from coming into work at 7 AM, because I was really low on energy tonight. It was also incredibly hot in the studio. Pacino did more dancing which is always worth a good laugh. I hope tomorrow's workout is better.

Meals For Today:
Breakfast: Berry Smoothie and Iced Coffee with Fat-Free Vanilla CoffeeMate
Snack: Banana and a Blueberry-Oatmeal Muffin
Lunch: Daniel went to a music festival in the mountains today with a friend, so I ran home to let Sophie out during lunch and made myself Scrambled Egg Whites on two Slices of Whole Wheat Bread with one Slice of Turkey Bacon and two Slices of Tomato and a side of Sugar Snap Peas
Snack: A Fuji Apple with 2 tbsps of Peanut Butter and a tsp of cinammon
Dinner: Salad with Grilled Chicken, Sunflower Seeds and 1 tbsp of Ranch (no cheese, no croutons)
Snack: Fat-Free, Sugar-Free Ice Cream Sandwich
Total Water: 108 oz
Total Calories According to Calorie Count: 1534

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.