Kim and I had a photo shoot/date afternoon-night on Saturday. We began the day by gathering our recycling and taking it to the city sponsored recycling center (WISH we had a service that came by and picked up recycling from the curb). How romantic, right? Next we gathered two of our five hounds (the two smallest, Belle the Pug & Jumping Jack Flash) and went to the local pet rescue for a photo shoot with a Santa, all proceeds to go to the rescue. So prepare yourselves for the uber cuteness that is to come of Kim, Santa, the little dogs & I. Next we headed North about an hour to Chattanooga. We drove down town to a little restaurant called Easy Bistro. We ordered the "Le Grand" which is a raw plate of 15 various oysters (including Kusshi from the West Coast, YUM), a few mussels, 1/4 pound of shrimp, and crab legs. We also ordered 1/2 a grilled lobster. I ate all with either lemon juice or a vinegar dip. Very little calories and DELICIOUS. Afterward we went to a movie theater next door to see "The Men Who Stare At Goats." Funny. Well, funny to us anyway. If your sense of humor isn't as twisted as ours you many not enjoy so much. Lots of subtle Star Wars references, a shout out to Psych (on of my favorite TV shows) & Silence of the Lambs. During the movie I had a NS Chocolate Crunch bar. After the movie we went to our favorite Indian restaurant in Chattanooga, Sitar. We ordered Channa Saag, spinach and chick peas, and Malai Kofta , homemade cheese stuffed in vegetable balls, cooked in a mild spices & creamy almond sauce. I also had two cups of chai tea. Lovely. We (read that to say I) ordered a bread called Puri. Deep fried puff of bread filled with air. Delicious. We ate about 1/2 of the food and brought the rest home, with the exception of the bread which I forgot. I was very pleased with the amount of food I consumed and my overall behavior during our meals out. Typically I'd have eaten much, much more at each of the restaurants, plus about 20,000 calories worth of pop corn at the movie theater.
Not much exercise yesterday. We walked up and down a flight of stairs in a parking deck. Unfortunately that was about it. I'm actually ok with that. I've had a pretty intense week of training so a day off is nice. I might do some cardio on Sunday. I haven't decided yet.
Friday means leg day for me at the gym. My mom took up the challenge and trained with me. We decided that as she did one exercise I'd do another so we wouldn't have to load and unload weights after each set. She did the same exercises as me, just in a different order. I began with 3 sets of leg presses (I usually do these later in the workout after I'm sufficiently warmed up and into the workout, I was so shocked by how heavy the ~ 600#'s felt I actually checked to make sure an elephant hadn't jumped onto the sled without me noticing). Next I moved to the true squat for 3 sets (I used my Cardillo belt, almost in the 3 set of holes, so close!), then on to hack squats for 3 sets, and finally finished quads up with 3 sets of leg extensions. This is the point where mom unapologetically bailed on me. I had to finish hamstrings alone. I began with 3 sets of standing leg curls, then 3 sets of seated leg curls, and finished with 3 sets of weighted hyper-extensions. Pretty good leg workout. I realized as I finished I wasn't nearly as sweaty as usual. I was actually freezing cold. The gym had the AC going full blast. Nice, but odd since it was about 45 degrees outside. Finished with weight training I made my way to the treadmill. Before the workout I had warmed up for about 10 minutes on a stationary bike. Now it was time for some more intense cardio. Usually on leg days I don't attempt any more cardio for hours, but with the extra cardio work I've done this week I felt I could handle it. I began and caught a string of good songs on my iPhone and before I knew it I had knocked out 51 minutes of incline 13, speed 3.9 for a total of about 950 calories burned (3 1/4+ miles, I think). Kim and I walked JJF after she got home from work for my final cardio of the day. I think I had a 2000+ calorie burn day (from exercise alone). Not bad at all for a leg day. 
I had a relatively good food day. Breakfast was a blueberry muffin, facon, a banana, and a slice of bread. My morning snack was yogurt. Lunch was chili and a fake chicken patty. My afternoon snack was a chocolate crunch bar. Dinner was a thick crust pizza with fake chorrizo & a fake chicken patty on the side. Dessert was a white chocolate chunk cookie. After my dessert I caved and had a couple of small bites of a double creamed gouda (I justified this because I didn't have any calories from carbs with dinner, weak, I know). Damn, cheese is good.
Tragedy struck this morning. I was gathering my food to prepare my breakfast when I discovered to my & Kim's horror we were out of our beloved fake bacon. What to do, what to do? Kim prepared her breakfast of egg beaters and veggie chorizzo while I substituted yogurt for facon. Not to bad at all. We did make sure to go shopping this evening to re-up our facon stash. Along with my yogurt this morning I had berries and multigrain flakes, a banana, and a slice of bread. My morning snack was another cup of yogurt. Lunch today was one of my favorites, tomato and corn chowder along wit a veggie chicken patty. My afternoon snack was an oatmeal raisin cookie. Dinner this evening was one of the meals I'd bee kinda dreading. Wedged potatoes and beef. I don't know why. I loved it. I had 3 servings of broccoli and cheese sauce along with the entree. Dessert this evening was.
I had an outstanding, day long workout (more or less). I began at the gym on the treadmill with my HIIT workout. 15 minutes of run a minute, walk a minute, with my run speed at 8.0 again today. I moved on to train arms next. 3 sets of press downs, 3 sets of overhead triceps extensions, and 3 sets of machine dips. For biceps I began with 3 sets of seated incline curls, followed by 3 sets of standing dumbbell curls, and finishing up with 3 sets of rope curls. During the workout I had two different people stop and congratulate me on my weight loss. Love those compliments and a great opportunity to sing the praises of NS. After the weight lifting was finished I returned to the treadmill for 35 more minutes. Part of the time was my usual uphill at a moderate pace, but I also spent some time jogging as well. After lunch and a little rest the pug and I walked two miles around the lake. For my final cardio exercise of the day Kim, JJF, and I walked around the lake again once she was in from work this evening. On the day I think I had about 110 minutes of cardio for around 8.75 miles. Most of this was walking, but more and more of the time is becoming jogging. I didn't intend for this to happen, but it kinda feels good right now so I'm gonna keep at it.
Today was a much better food day for me. No wild cravings late in the day. No desire to attack a box of Krispy Kremes. Breakfast was lowfat granola cereal, facon, a banana, and a slice of bread. My morning snack was a Supreme Protein Bar. Lunch was fettuccine alfredo & and a Morning Star Fake Grilled Chicken Breast. My afternoon snack was a double chocolate almond cookie. Dinner was one of my favorites. Veggie fajitas with veggie chorizo! My dessert was a chocolate chip cookie dipped in a cup of vanilla caramel tea.
I had a great workout and cardio workout at the gym. My old training partner DJ returned and trained back with me. Before the workout I did 15 minutes of HIIT cardio on the treadmill and got my run speed up to 8.0! We began the workout with a set of pull-ups (9 reps again this week, maybe I'll get 10 next week). We moved on to 3 sets of pull downs, 3 sets of t-bar rows, 3 sets of y-bar rows, and finally 3 sets of straight arm press downs. We were joined by a friend who is one of the owners/trainers of our gym for some more cardio afterward. I knocked out another 35 minutes on the treadmill. Part of the time I did my usual uphill walking, and the rest of the time I tried to keep up with everyone else jogging. I didn't do great, but much better that I thought I would. I burned about 650 calories in the 35 minutes of final cardio. When I returned home I changed out of my sweat soaked clothes to discover I had done so much cardio I was bleeding. My shirt was so wet that as I jogged and the material moved on my body it eventually scratched my chest and caused me to bleed. So I pulled a "sweat till you bleed" move (wasn't that from an old C+C Music Factory song?). Good sign of a workout. Later in the day Jumping Jack Flash and I took a quick 2 mile walk around the lake to wrap up my workouts for the day.
Last night found me driving to a property to check for a water leak at about 11PM. Out utility bill for the property was about $1000 more than usual. I couldn't find the leak, but I could hear water rushing through the main line coming into the propterty so I know we've got a problem somewhere. So at least I know what I'm gonna be doing for the next few days. Guess I better find my plumbers pants and get ready.
Cooler, rainy weather returned to our area so no dog walking today. All of my cardio would have to be done in the gym. I began my workout with 10 minutes of HIIT cardio on the treadmill. I again increased my run speed to 7.8 headed to 8.0 tomorrow. I trained shoulders next. I'm trying to use different exercises this week so I started with a military press machine for 3 sets, then on to a lateral raise machine for 3, next I did 3 sets of upright cable rows, followed by 3 sets of rear delts, and finally finishing with 3 sets of shoulder shrugs. I returned to the treadmill for 35 minutes of incline 13, speed 3.9 to finish my cardio for the day.
Instead I made a cup of tea and had a Supreme Protein Peanut Butter Chocolate Bar. It has a little more calories than most NS desserts, but only about 40 or so. I also ate a handful of arugula while watching The Biggest Loser. This was the first time I've suffered from a mass onset of wild cravings. Most, if not all, of those things would have made me sick if I'd actually eaten them, so I don't think I really wanted them. I just wanted the taste. Mainly the taste of nasty hot salty fried goodness, or something super sweet. I left out my 2 second ice cream craving in between the Reese's and KK's. Anyway, I more or less did well and hope I don't have to go through that again any time soon.
After my WI this morning Jumping Jack Flash & I had a nice 2 mile walk around the very foggy lake. Afterward I made my way to the gym and began with a 15 minute HIIT workout on the treadmill. I managed to keep my run speed at 7.5 today without feeling tired during the rest of my workout. Mom arrived just in time to train chest with me today. We changed things up a bit and began with incline dumbbell presses. I can remember the days when I used to press 120#'s in each hand. Today I tentatively began with 70#'s in each hand. I worked my way up to 75#'s for the final two sets. After the presses we moved on to the hammer strength decline machine for 3 sets, then on to a different chest press machine for 3 sets, next was the fly machine for 3 sets, and finally I finished up with 3 sets of dips. After the chest work we returned to the treadmills where I knocked out another 35 minutes. 80 minutes of cardio for the day.
I had a pretty good day eating wise. I did sneak and eat a bite of smoked gouda cheese late this evening. Maybe that was okay since I didn't have any olives on my dinner salad tonight. Breakfast began with lowfat granola cereal, facon, a banana, and a slice of bread. My morning snack was a Morning Star fake grilled chicken breast. Lunch today was a salad and a fudge graham bar. My afternoon snack was a chocolate crunch bar. Dinner (which I ate with Belle, the pug, instead of Kim since she had to work late, boo!) was maccaroni and cheese with beef, 2 servings of cauliflower with cheese, a salad, and a slice of bread. Dessert this evening was a double chocolate almond cookie along with 2 cups of Indian Chai Tea!
I had thoughts of either staying up very late or getting up very early to see/photograph the meteor shower that is going to occur early in the morning, but since I just saw a shooting star I think I'm gonna go to bed instead. If I stay up all night I will be useless all day tomorrow. If I was somewhere it was VERY dark, like say a dessert somewhere maybe I'd stay up and try to get a great view, but since I'm in the light pollution capital of the South I don't think I'll worry with it. I guess I'll just stay up waiting to make sure Kim gets home safely. Good night all.
Let me be the first to say I'm shocked that UGA actually won their game this evening. Pretty good game & I bet Athens will be rocking all night. UGA vs. Auburn weekend was always one of the wildest weekends of the year while I was in college. I guess 'cause it's a week or so before Thanksgiving and almost all of the students are in town for the weekend. As much fun as it used to be, I'm SO happy I'm home and not out somewhere in Athens tonight.
Before settling in to watch football Kim and I walked the dogs twice today. Once before breakfast for 2 miles and once before dinner for about a mile. That was all the exercise I did the entire day! Nice to rest some.
nda thing & serves it chilled, I love it). My afternoon snack was an oatmeal raisin cookie. Dinner was a large salad, grilled octopus, and 1oz of Humboldt Fog cheese! Dessert this evening was a fudge brownie. I'm pretty sure I came in below my usual amount of calories for the day, but with the reduction in exercise today I didn't notice it at all.
Good day at the gym. Well, it started even before the gym. Jumping Jack Flash & I took a 2 mile hike early as Kim was preparing to leave for work. I made my way to the gym afterward and knocked out over 15 minutes of HIIT cardio on the treadmill before moving on to my arm workout. Mom and our friend P trained arms with me. Triceps first. 3 sets of press downs, 3 sets of overhead presses, and 3 sets of rope press downs. Biceps next beginning with 3 sets of standing dumbbell curls, and finishing with 3 sets of rope curls. I returned to the treadmill for what was supposed to be 30 minutes of incline walking but ended up being only 25 minutes because I could feel a blister forming on the heel of my left foot. I bought some new shoes the other day and was worried they might cause some issues as I get acclimated to wearing them, but this problem was not related to the shoes, I wore some ancient socks that were so loose they were causing the blister. That's what I get for trying to find socks to wear in the dark. I had planned on walking again with Kim after she got home from work but she was "on call" last night and didn't make it home before 10 PM, so no second walk for me and JJF. I did get a great eyeball and finger/thumb workout playing the new Call Of Duty Modern Warfare game yesterday. I'm gonna limit my play time and make myself leave the house at least once each day over the next few days.
Another good day with my meals today. Breakfast was an apple strudel scone, facon, a banana, and a slice of bread. My morning snack was a cup of yogurt. Lunch was parmesan pasta and a grilled fake chicken veggie thing (Morning Star). My afternoon snack was a chocolate crunch bar. Dinner was spaghetti, broccoli & cauliflower in cheese sauce, and a large salad. Dessert was a fudge brownie.
I've picked up on a trend concerning my workouts today. Occasionally I have bad (as in I feel weak and exhausted) workouts. They all have been on days when my routine gets thrown off. Today was such a day. Kim was off work today so we slept in a little, had breakfast together, and just hung out around the house this morning. I didn't make it to the gym until after 12:30. My meals were kinda off as well. By 12:30 I'm usually finishing up my lunch. Today I'd just barely finished my morning snack. I began my cardio with about 17 minutes on the treadmill doing a HIIT workout. I increased my run speed up to 7.5 for the running portion of the exercise. When I finished on the treadmill I was tired. I usually do about 20 minutes (at a slightly reduced speed) without any exhaustion to speak of. I pressed on and trained back afterward. I began with 9 pull-ups (woohoo, I added a rep this week), then 3 sets of pull downs, followed by 3 sets of hammer strength pull downs, then finishing with 3 sets of T-bar rows. Normally I would have done at least 6 more sets but I was to tired to continue. I returned to the treadmill where I assumed I would grind out about 30 minutes of walking at incline 13, 
speed 3.9. I made it about 6 minutes. I was so exhausted that once I got home and had my lunch I went to bed for about 2 hours. This evening Kim and I did get in a two mile walk around the lake, so I did get in about 55 minutes of cardio on the day, but no where near my normal amount. So back to the trend I've noticed, I am evidently a routine freak. If my routine gets altered I don't preform well. If my meals are pushed back I feel weak. If I train later in the day I feel weak. Combine a few alterations to my routine and I might as well not even leave the house. Tomorrow my mom is scheduled to return to the gym and train arms with me. I'm gonna try to keep my routine on track and see if I'm able to have a good workout.
I had an "on" plan day, albeit a little off timing wise. Breakfast was actually the same as yesterday, oatmeal, facon, bread, and a banana. My morning snack was the same as everyday (see what I mean by routine), a cup of yogurt. Lunch was a little different toady. Since I was so exhausted I wanted to add a little more calories and protein to my lunch so along with my red beans sausage and rice I had a Morning Star Original Chick Patty (soy of course) used in place of my lunch veggies. My afternoon snack was a double chocolate almond cookie. Dinner tonight was another change using some more soy based products. I added some fake chorizo sausage and a couple of fake pieces of pepperoni to my thick crust pizza. I added a large salad to the pizza for my 2 of my veggies, letting the fake soy meats constitute the other veggie. Pizza tasted great (I did add a little sheep's cheese as my fat) and the salad was good as always. One of the things I've discovered I love on a salad is jicima (yambean). It is a Mexican veggie (taproot actually). It looks like a big root. It is mostly water, and tastes somewhat like an apple (yes, it's sweet). I love it. The only places we can find that have it are some of the small Mexican groceries in our community. Anyway, love me some yambean! Dessert this evening was a white chocolate chunk cookie along with a cup of Indian Chai tea!
Hurricane Ida has parked herself over the South and brought a large amount of rain to our area. My poor hounds have had to stay inside most of the day today. The precipitation has also put a damper on my cardio routine today. The only cardio I was able to do today was at the gym. I was running late so I began with only 12 minutes of HIIT instead of 20. After my shoulder workout I got in another 30 minutes on the treadmill at incline 12.9, speed 3.9. My mother joined me today for my workout. We began with military presses, then side lateral raises, moved on to upright rows, and then finished with rear delts. I went on to do a few sets of shoulder shrugs on my own afterward. Tomorrow we train back and I'll get to try to up my pull-ups into the double digits.
I had another "on" plan day today. Breakfast was maple brown sugar oatmeal, a banana, facon, and a slice of bread. My morning snack was a cup of yogurt. Lunch was vegetable beef soup (and it was extra good because I was freezing and soaked) along with corn and peas. My afternoon snack was a white chocolate chunk cookie. Dinner this evening was a large salad, macaroni and cheese with beef, broccoli & cauliflower in cheese sauce, and a slice of bread. Dessert this evening was a chocolate crunch bar & a cup of Indian Chai Tea!
e recieved a new shipment of teas and cheeses today (we've kinda gone cheese crazy). The teas were the before mentioned Indian Chai and Midnight Iguana. The cheeses were a triple cream called St. Andre, a 3 year old Italian Parmsean, a raw sheep's milk cheese, and an aged goat's milk cheese called Humboldt Fog. All were amazing (I sampled a tiny taste of each). The St. Andre and Humboldt look like cakes. I'm preparing a post on my personal blog about the cheese and will post a link here once it's published. Here's a pic to hold any of you cheese lovers over.
