Sleepy mornings

For the last two weeks, I’ve been struggling to get out of bed. I feel so tired when I wake up, I can’t really figure it out. I’m going to bed at a decent hour and should be getting plenty of sleep; anywhere from 6 to 8 hours depending on the night/morning. I do dream pretty wildly, so maybe my dreams are too active and I’m not getting enough quality sleep. I never really use to be a “snooze” button hitter, but I swear this morning I hit snooze every five minutes for a half hour. Yes, I realize I’m not getting any sleep if I’m hitting the snooze every five minutes, but I just don’t want to get out of bed! The worst part is that I know once I’m up and moving around I’m fine but it’s almost like I don’t want to do that. Bizarre! I’ve also become somewhat of a nap taker (when I can); just 20 minutes and I feel rejuvenated.

I finally got up this morning and ate a quick piece of toast with peanut butter and strawberry jam. I forced myself out the door to head to the gym. I’m glad I went because I felt ten times better once I got there. I worked my quads and abs. I know I was getting tired my last set of bench jumps because I actually missed the bench with my left foot/leg and ended up slamming my shin into the side of the bench. Ouch! Haven’t done that before, but it was bound to happen eventually, ha! I regrouped and finished it out. My goal was to step out 20 minutes on the Stairmaster, but only 1 of the 3 were working and that the "one" was being used. So I ended up doing 20 minutes on the Arc Trainer.

Dinner was very light and tasty this evening! I made a salad that included black beans, corn, couple of sliced olives, diced white onion, pieces of rotisserie chicken (got from Costco), sliced apple, feta cheese, topped with a dollop of hummus. D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S! I’ll be eating this salad or a variation of this salad for the next couple of days, plenty of leftovers! Next time I’m going to add a little more onions and some red pepper flakes. Several years ago, my friend Kimberly made a variation of this salad and I really enjoyed it. Not sure what made me think of it, but I’m glad I recreated it!

Argh, picture blurry! (new camera maybe?!)

I just realized today that I have a 5k in about 3-4 weeks. I haven’t been running all that regularly this summer. My goal is to run a faster time than my last 5k in May. I’m going to do some research on some 5k running plans that will help me to increase my pace.

Anybody have any suggestions on what I can do to run faster and survive; recommended training programs or plans that have worked for you?

Blueberry Banana Muffins

My mouth has been watering ever since I read ELR’s post about her blueberry banana muffins. She said everyone had to try them and I agreed! LOL! Yesterday, the idea of these muffins kept popping into my mind. I decided I had thought about them enough, it was time to take action. As I mentioned, after the gym last night I stopped by the grocery store to pick up some blueberries, bananas, whole wheat flour (couldn’t find whole wheat pastry flour), and some other random items I needed. After a shower and dinner, I created my first batch of homemade muffins. I’m really starting to enjoy making things, who would have thunk it!

I tried one of the smaller muffins last night. They turned out great!!

I had another one for breakfast this morning along with an egg and a mug of tea. It left me feeling energized and ready for the gym. I did my normal workout of warm-up, chest, shoulders, triceps, abs, and a 20 minute walk on the treadmill.

I made myself a blueberry banana Green Monster. It wasn’t my favorite. I couldn’t really taste the blueberries. I thought it would be sweeter than it was. I’m thinking I’m a blueberry fan when they are cooked. They seem more flavorful to me. Or maybe I’m just not picking out the right ones. I’m stumped!
After a quick shower, I came up with this concoction for lunch
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Baked beans, tuna fish from a can, olives, feta cheese, and red pepper flakes sprinkled on top. I know it doesn’t look appetizing and I realize it looks like it could have come out of one end or the other, ha! Believe it or not, it did taste pretty good. I think it would be better with black beans, but I had thawed out a whole container of baked beans and I need to eat them up. I had a few Kashi cheddar crackers on the side as well as a handful of carrots.

Note: I had written this post early afternoon, but didn’t get around to posting it because things came up. So just getting home, figured I would finish it up and share what I had for my afternoon snack and for dinner. Exciting, don’t you think?! I ate an apple and a Kashi granola bar around 3ish. For dinner I raided my mom’s refrigerator for leftovers. I mixed leftover mac & cheese with leftover ham steak. My sister made me a salad with sunflower seeds, Craisens, mozzarella cheese and light ranch dressing. Oh and I had what was left in a Cheetos snack bag. I spent most of the evening with my niece and nephew. But after they went to bed, my stomach was growling. So I ate a spoonful of peanut butter with chocolate chips strategically placed throughout my peanut butter mound. I also had a mug of mango peach white tea. It tasted as good as it smelled!

Kardea Nutrition Bar

Thank you to Kardea Nutrition for sending me samples of their nutrition bars; very generous!

From the Kardea nutrition brochure, about the founder: “Rob Leighton founded Kardea as part of a personal mission to lower his own cholesterol. Coupling a love for culinary creations with the science of natural cholesterol management, Rob founded Kardea to create great tasting, natural foods that enable daily compliance to heart healthy therapeutic nutrition.”

Kardea Nutrition gave me samples of each of their nutrition bars: Banana Nut, Cranberry Almond, Chai Spice, and Lemon Ginger. First off, I really enjoy nutritional bars when they taste good and are enjoyable to eat; these bars fit into this category. I like all of the flavors. My favorites are Banana Nut and Cranberry Almond. I also liked Chai Spice and Lemon Ginger but found them to be similar in taste. One just had a lemon flavoring. The bars look similar and share the same texture but are different based on flavor. They have a soft and crispy texture. The crispy part reminds me of rice crisps found in a candy bar. The flavors are light and enjoyable, not overwhelming at all. Yum!

I typically ate a bar as an afternoon snack. They satisfied my appetite for about 2-3 hours.

Thanks again Kardea Nutrition, I’d definitely recommend these to a friend!

Today’s workout

10 minute warm-up on Arc Trainer

Superset: 3 sets of 12 reps each
Good Morning Stretches – 25lb barbell
Leg Press on Hip sled Machine – 90lbs each side = 180lbs
Calf Raises on Hip sled Machine

Superset: 3 sets
Leg Curls Sitting – 75lbs (12 reps)
Walking Lunges – no weight

Abductor/Adductor machine: Light weight, high reps (2 sets)

20 minute cardio on Arc Trainer

Greek Pizza and Banana Soft Serve

My drive home yesterday was wonderful! I got home in just under an hour and that doesn’t happen very often. I left at my normal time, 4:30, smack dab in the middle of rush hour. My goal was to run last night but I wanted to wait until it cooled down a bit more. So while I was waiting I prepped for my dinner. I cut up olives, tomatoes, and white onion. I wanted to recreate a Greek Pizza I had the other week.

I headed out the door a little after 7. I forgot to bring my stop watch, so I’m not sure how long I actually ran. I’m guessing between 20-25 minutes. I ran up the road on the new path they just paved and then turned around and came back. I think it was about 2.5 miles. It wasn’t a good run. I once again started off to fast. I wore my running shorts for the first time and the dri-fit top that I got to match it. The shorts were all right, not sure that I’m the running shorts kinda girl. Just might be something to get use to. The top was annoying because it kept riding up my stomach…uhh…too small maybe? LOL! To top it off I started to get shin splints in my right leg. I’m glad all my ailments are sticking to the right side of my body…haha! It might be time to buy a new pair of running shoes!

Got home, stretched, showered, and prepared and cooked my Greek pizza. First I pre-heated the oven to 400 degrees. I used whole wheat pocketless pita for my pizza. I sprinkled mozzarella cheese, feta cheese, tomatoes, onions, and black olives over the top. I also sprinkled a little more mozzarella and feta cheese over the top. Place pita pizza right on the rack and cook for 7-8 minutes. I sprinkled some red pepper flakes over the top. Tasty!

Topped with spinach.

For dessert, I attempted to make Gena’s raw banana soft serve. I think it turned out pretty good. Although I think the next time I make it I might blend some chocolate syrup or flavored natural peanut butter with it, maybe even raspberries.

I started to melt some chocolate chips in the microwave, but I got impatient. So I just dumped the semi-melted ones with some frozen ones over the top.

This morning after my breakfast of whole wheat toast with peanut butter and strawberry jam, cottage cheese, and a cup of English Breakfast tea, I headed to the gym. I had a good workout which included a 7 minute warm-up on the Arc Trainer and weightlifting (chest, shoulders, and triceps). I did a small ab workout. I then completed 20 minutes on the Life Stride machine. I had the machine set on manual, level 8 and I did 1 minute at a 5 -5.5 pace and then 2 minutes at a 7.5-9 pace. I worked up a good sweat. I made sure I stretched really well afterwards.

After I showered I made myself a Green Monster. This time I used 2 cups of organic spinach, 1 cup of skim milk, ¾ of a banana, a heaping tablespoon of natural peanut butter, and a handful of ice. If you like bananas and peanut butter this is a drink for you! I liked it, but thought it could have been a bit cooler. I’ll add more ice next time. For lunch I made myself another Greek pizza.

The rest of my day will involve errands and then dinner with some of my best girlfriends! Happy Friday!

Vita-Mix = Green Monster

Guess what?! I finally got a Vita-Mix! For the last month or two, I’ve wanted to get one. I’ve been reading so many different recipe ideas and a lot of them require a good blender. I have a cheap one but it doesn’t blend frozen foods or ice at all and the last time I used my blender, it emitted a burning smell. Uh, not good! I’ve done a ton of research on Vita-Mix and other blenders and I have read nothing but positive things about this blender. Yes, it costs a pretty penny. But for me I feel like it will be a worthwhile investment. I had been looking online for good offers when my mom spotted a sign at our local Costco stating that the Vita-Mix would be coming for a two week period. It was a sign, it was meant to be!! I bought one yesterday. Brought it home and read all the instructions and recipe book, still have watch the dvd. My first blend was of soap and water to give it a nice cleaning, lol!

I was off to the gym early this morning. I completed a total of 30 minutes of cardio, my normal 10 minute warm-up on the elliptical and then 20 additional minutes on the Arc Trainer at the end of my workout. I worked my back and biceps, along with two ab movements.

One of the drinks I’ve really wanted to try is the Green Monster. I’ve read so much about them on all the blogs out there. I was so excited to get home after the gym, so I could attempt creating my first Green Monster. I desperately need to go grocery shopping and that was in my plans last night, but because of dinner plans I didn’t make it. But after dinner I quickly stopped by a grocery store to pick up spinach and milk, so I would have all the ingredients for this morning! I made the “Amazing” Cantaloupe-Banana Green Monster. I used 2.5 cups of organic spinach, 1 cup of skim milk, half a banana, about 1 cup of frozen cantaloupe, and a handful of ice. It was as good as everyone says it is. Very light and refreshing!! I can’t wait to try out different recipes to find my favorites! I paired the Green Monster with a slice of toasted Ezekiel bread with peanut butter.

Behold!

I know I look serious, but it really does taste great!

Weekend and Monday Recap

After a good 12 hours of sleep I was up at 8:30 Friday morning, ate a bowl of cereal, and was off to the gym. Since I’ve been very inconsistent on my workouts these past two weeks I worked my shoulders and arms (biceps and triceps). I started by running 1 mile on the treadmill. I started out with my shoulders, biceps, and then triceps.

Shoulders - 3 sets of circuit
DB shoulder press – 20lbs
DB lateral arm raises – 8lbs
Upright Rows w/curl bar – 10lbs on each side

Rested 1-2 minutes before moving onto next muscle group

Biceps – 3 sets of each movement
21’s (7 bottom half, 7 top half, 7 full) 20-25lb barbell
Concentration Curls – 8lbs/12 reps

Rested 1-2 minutes before moving onto next muscle group

Tricep – 3 sets of 12 reps circuit
Dips on dip width bars – body weight
Cable push-downs – 50lbs
Kickbacks – 2.5-5lbs

My remaining 20 minutes of cardio was on the Arc Trainer.

The rest of my Friday consisted of running errands, but before I headed out for those. The lovely UPS man brought me this:



The best part of all is that I only paid a few dollars in shipping, because I used a giftcard (from Christmas) that I hadn’t used yet. Fantastic! I haven’t used my camelback yet, still need to wash it. Time to start biking more, I have no excuses anymore…well my hard seat can still be used as an excuse, right?!

Saturday I spent most of my day by the pool or in the pool. I got a teeny tiny workout by catching my niece and nephew jumping off the side of the pool as well as bouncing them up and down in the water. I managed to get a bit of a leg workout in by squatting up and down…child and water resistance…it’s gotta count for something, right?! That night I went to dinner with my friend. I tried white salmon for the first time. It was cooked medium and centered on top of red lettuce and several slivers of sweet potato. There was a beet sauce that complimented the salmon so nicely. I ate every last bite and was tempted to lick the plate…it was that good! We also split a great bottle of Pinot Gris from Willamette Valley.

Sunday was a rainy day for the most part. No workouts for me, I spent most of the day with my sister running around. She was really good to me yesterday. I can’t thank her enough. Love You Sis!

The weekend went by so fast….and now its Monday and actually almost Tuesday. Work was pretty busy, can’t complain because it did make the day go by fast and I felt pretty productive. When I got home I thought about running, but decided I needed to do more of a stretching workout. So I pulled out my Power Yoga dvd and spent an hour doing that. I felt it was one of my better Yoga days; which isn’t saying much because I don’t do Yoga all that often. I would really like to get into it more, maybe one day find a class to take. I was also cooking dinner during my workout. Not the greatest ideas because my stomach was totally growling which can be very distracting when you are trying to concentrate on the poses. Dinner was fabulous. I had leftover breaded tilapia, with homemade potato fries, steamed asparagus, watermelon, and a tall glass of skim milk. It was quite satisfying. In a few, I plan on having two squares of Lindt (mild 70%) dark chocolate. My mouth is watering just thinking about it!

Yummy Deliciousness

The last two days have been a bit tough both emotionally and ultimately physically. My workout yesterday consisted of 30 minutes cardio, chest and back, and Week 4 Day 2 of the twohundredsitups challenge. Today I only did my Week 5 Day 3 of the onehundredpushup program. I was home in time to make it to my bootcamp class; however, I just couldn’t put on the class face today. I needed to rest. Seems to be the theme as of late, which thinking about, is making me quite frustrated.

This afternoon, my friend introduced me to Wegmans. OH MY GOODNESS…that grocery store is marvelous! Yes, I said grocery store. I’d rather not go into the psychology of why I find a grocery store so exciting. Let’s just say we managed to spend an hour in there and that wasn’t nearly enough time. I could have spent hours in there. So many fun things to look at!

I couldn’t believe how packed the store was around noon (went during lunch break). What were these people doing there, doesn’t anyone work? Ha! The only other “negative” feature I thought was that it felt pretty chaotic in there and that was mostly due to the people. There was no order to their shopping; people were all over the place. Everywhere I turned I felt like I was in someone’s way. I wasn’t too surprised because I felt these people shopped/pushed carts the way they drive. But anyone that knows me knows I don’t like crowds and I don’t like my bubble aka personal space being invaded by other fellow shoppers. Word to the wise, say “excuse me” if you would like to get at something that I or anyone else may be blocking at that particular time. I’d be pleased to move for you. Let’s use our manners people! Anyways, this irritation was only minor. I did really enjoy the store and can’t wait to go back when I have more time.

I left with a cantaloupe, raspberries, strawberries, red grapes, a black Honest Tea, Oikos Greek Yogurt (vanilla and strawberry), and the Cooking Light magazine and I only spent $23. GO ME! I washed and/or cut up all the fruit, except for the cantaloupe (got it a little green so it doesn’t ripen too fast). It’s all ready to eat!

My evening snack was yummy deliciousness, see for yourself:

Getting started again

Today was my first day working out since Friday; for me, this is quite some time off. After work on Monday, I decided that I would rest my foot one more day. Mostly because it was still way too hot to running outside and I didn’t feel like dragging myself to the gym. Therefore, I stayed home, finished my book, and completed Week 4 Day 1 from the twohundredsitups program.

Today my workout started with a 10 minute warm-up on the Arc Trainer. I focused on my quads. I did a three movement circuit, rested for 1-2 minutes and then repeated 2 more times. The circuit consisted of:

12 - Step-ups (per leg), 20lb dumbbells in hand
12 – Front Squats, 30lb barbell
20 – Bench Jumps, no weight

To ensure total fatigue, I completed 2 sets of single leg extensions. First set was 20lbs and I managed to complete about 8 reps per leg. The second set was at 10lbs and I was able to finish 6 reps per leg. I believe muscle fatigue was accomplished!

Hard, but great workout! Right after that I attempted to complete my Week 5 Day 1 from the onehundredpushups program. I did fine until I was suppose to max out the last set. I was supposed to complete a minimum of 45 pushups on the fifth set, however I managed only 26. I think my quad workout had more of an effect on my whole body than I thought it would. Depending on how Day 2 of Week 5 goes I might have to repeat this week. I’m not feeling very confident about completing 100 pushups in a row at the end of this program. This program should be called the 6 + weeks program! Ha!

And of course I finished off with cardio on the Arc Trainer. I did the Interval Program set at level 6 out of 10.

Sore foot, what's next?

I didn’t end up working out yesterday either. My foot was still sore even after I rocked the running shoes all day at work. I figured it wouldn’t do me any good to irritate it more. So instead I did a TON of stretches. My mom was so nice and offered to bring me dinner over. She had made roasted chicken with mashed potatoes and some veggies. She also brought me over an ice pack. Thanks Mom! For about one hour I iced my right foot.

Let me describe how my foot hurts; it’s my right foot, outside ankle area. The muscle or the ligament, I really don’t know which (probably ligament), that runs perpendicular to my ankle feels extremely tight and wound up. Imagine a rubber band pulled tight; now imagine it rubbing up and down against your skin every time you point your toe. That’s what it feels like under my skin; sort of feels that it is going to pop because it feels so tight. Or like that cramp or joint that needs to be popped but it just won’t pop. It’s very irritating and uncomfortable. It doesn’t hurt, but it doesn’t feel good either.

Its the same leg as my "sore" knee. I wonder if wearing my knee strap could be causing me to run differently on my foot? Does it have anything to do with my foot? I've never had any foot problems before. Hmmm...

Today I started out with a four minute walk on the treadmill. Then I proceeded to do 3 movements, 3 sets of each, for my chest, shoulders, and triceps. I threw in some abs in the middle of it all. I did supersets for most of the movements and did not rest very long in between. Since I hadn’t worked out in 2 days, I wanted to keep my heart rate up so that I was getting an aerobic workout as well as strength training. I felt pretty good. I ended my workout with 10 minutes on the row machine. Thought this would be a good alternative for my foot. I haven’t done the row machine in forever and WOWEE, my butt, legs, back, arms, and chest were really feeling it. I need to remember to incorporate that in more often. My foot felt a bit tight afterwards, but didn’t notice and discomfort while I was rowing.

To finish it off, I cleaned my house from top to bottom in 1.5 hours. Not too shabby!

Time to run some errands...I have to pick up some bread and salad for dinner tonight. Meeting up with some lovely ladies for a “girls night in!” Think Italian and lots of wine! Cheers!

Testing New Meal Ideas

This morning I woke up feeling pretty tired and couldn’t convince myself to go to the gym. Instead I rolled over and slept until it was time to get up for work. Last night I slept better than I have in a few weeks; uninterrupted pure sweet sleep. This is probably why I was so tired this morning.

Work started at 6am for me. Breakfast included a large mug of English Breakfast tea, bowl of Kashi Honey and Cinnamon oatmeal, and a serving of no sugar added applesauce. After breakfast and a bit more work. I did my only source of exercise today which was push-ups and sit-ups.

I started out with my progress test for the onehundredpushups program. I’ve been “stuck” on Week 4 for about two weeks, not because I felt like I needed to spend extra time on it but because for two weeks I forgot to do Day 3 of Week 4. Instead of starting Week 4 again for the third week in a row, I decided to proceed on to the progress test. I had to do as many pushups as I could at one time. This number helps me to determine which column I start in for Week 5, which I’ll begin on Sunday. I managed to pump out 44 pushups.

Next I finished Day 3 of Week 3 for the twohundredsitups program. I’ll start Week 4 on Monday. Like the pushups I managed to spend two weeks on Week 3 because I kept missing one day. I’m going to do my best to finish out these next two to three weeks correctly. Both the push-ups and sit-ups took me all of 15 minutes. That’s what I call a workout, lol, although, I’m itching to do something else. I’ll force myself to rest because my foot is still sore :(

For lunch, I had a Morningstar Farm Spicy Black Bean Burger on Ezekiel bread with medium cheddar cheese, red onion, spinach, and some ketchup. Delicious! Really enjoyed how all the flavors blended so well. My stomach felt content but still light. Not overly full! It was my first time trying Ezekiel bread as well as the black bean burger. I got the idea from ELR. She comes up with fantastic meals, making it very easy for me. Just means that I don’t have to think of new ideas on my own. I’m learning from other’s suggestions and experiences while building and creating my own! I rounded out my meal with Salsa Garden Sun Chips and a glass of skim milk.



Dinner was another new experience for me. I attempted to make Alaska Smoked Salmon Summer Pasta Salad. I first tried the salad at a wine festival at the beginning of June. They handed out a little pamphlet with several smoked salmon recipes, which included the pasta salad. I’ve wanted to recreate it for some time. I finally found most of the ingredients for the salad. Although the salmon is not from Alaska....shh, don't tell anyone. I invited my mom, sister, and the kiddos over to be my guinea pigs! It took me about 1 hour to finish the whole meal (prep and cook time). I’m a bit slow, but know I can make it quicker now that I know what I’m doing. We learned that the kids liked smoked salmon by itself! Dinner included the pasta salad and fresh cut peaches.

I thought it turned out pretty good. My mom and sister gave it two thumbs up (well that’s how I’m interpreting it, lol). I didn’t give it time to marinate, so I’m interested to see how it tastes tomorrow when I eat the leftovers for lunch.

I’d say my day of new food experiences was a success! I’m looking forward to incorporating these dishes into my meals in the future.

LARABAR

Yesterday, for the first time I tried a LARABAR. They are all natural fruit and nut bars. I tried the Chocolate Coconut Chew flavor. It had the consistency of a brownie. It’s not as sweet as I’m use too. But I must say that the flavor was light and I enjoyed the whole bar. To me they were filling and kept me satisfied for a good period of time. I ate it for my late afternoon snack, about 1-2 hours before my 5 mile fun. Not sure if there is any correlation, but I had a great run. A lot of times when I try a new energy bar I typically like the first two bites but after that I’m over it. Not this time! I’m actually excited that I like these bars. There are tons of flavors; slowly I’m going to try all the flavors and see which I like best.

I like how Lara, creator of LARABAR, describes her bars on the back of the wrappers:

“We at LARABAR believe that a healthy body, mind and spirit are derived from what you eat – and that food is healthiest and most satisfying in its simplest, most natural state. Made from 100% real food, LARABAR is energy in its purest form. A magical harmony of fruits, nuts and spices. LARABAR harvests the best natural ingredients to lift your vitality and sustain energy with every bite. Simple. Pure. Delicious. Enjoy the energy bar and start humming!”


Workout:
Warm-up: 10 minutes on Arc Trainer
Back and Biceps
Abs
20 minutes on Arc Trainer (Cardio, level 6)

My workout was pretty good today. I started out with my biceps and to warm-up I did two sets of chin-ups using my full body weight. I was able to do ten my first set and five my second set. Typically you should start with the larger muscle group and then move to the smaller muscle group. To change things up and to challenge my muscles I started out with biceps and then moved to back. My back is starting to feel a good sore, so I know it’s worked!

At some point today I noticed my right foot feeling sore. It actually feels as if I have a constant cramp in it. I’ve been stretching it off and on all day. I’m hoping that I can work it out. I might consider walking or biking tomorrow for my cardio. I’ll see how I feel in the morning.

7/17 Meals/Workout

Meal 1: Over-easy fried egg with 2 slices of whole wheat bread, applesauce, English Breakfast tea
Meal 2: Tri-color chickpea salad with Kashi whole grain crackers, hardboiled egg, glass of skim milk
Snack: Kashi chewy granola bar
Meal 3: Chicken breast, homemade sweet potato fries, broccoli, glass of skim milk
Snack: 4 Squares Lindt Dark Chocolate

Workout:
10 minute warm-up walk on treadmill
chest/shoulders/tris
3 sets of morning stretches - 20lb barbell
3 sets of leg raises (laying on bench)
20 minutes on Stairmaster (Free Climber) - level 8, 9, 10
Stretch

7/16 Meals/Workout

Meal 1: Kashi Go Lean Honey & Cinnamon Oatmeal, hardboiled egg, English Breakfast tea
Snack: Sugar free Pomegranate Applesauce and handful of blackberries
Meal 2: Leftover spaghetti, spinach leaf salad w/ sprouts, raisens, and low-fat ranch dressing (ick!)
Snack: Blackberry yogurt (Dannon Lite and Fit) <-- do you sense a theme?!
Meal 3: Chicken breast, homemade sweet potato fries (seasoned w/extra virgin olive oil, paprika, pepper, and sea salt), and steamed broccoli
Snack: 4 squares of the Lindt Dark Chocolate with a touch of sea salt

Workout:
Week 3/Day 2 of twohundredsitups

I got a little lazy today. Because of traffic I got home too late to make it to my Boot Camp class, so sad. So I sat down for 30 minutes to rest thinking I could convince myself to go to the gym to lift. Yeah, no luck in that department. Plus it was too hot to go running, too hot for me anyways! So instead I did my sit-ups and called it a night :) I did make a very tasty dinner though, highly satisfying.

CHOCOLATE and Energy Bar Mix-Up

After work today, I ran a few quick errands. My first stop was Sports Authority to return/exchange a pair of running shorts I bought last Friday. I’ve never worn running shorts and wasn’t sure how they were supposed to fit. So I wanted to try a size down from what I got. Figured out the size I bought was correct but also found out the shorts were on sale this week. So I got the $4 back, but exchanged them for a different color because I also found a purple Nike Dri-Fit tank top, on clearance, that matched a pair of dark brown/black and purple running shorts perfectly! Score!! I’ll write more about my new running outfit in a future post.

My next stop was to head next door to Borders. I wasn’t in search of a good book (although I’m always looking for a good read), but my mission was to find this chocolate:

I can’t take credit for finding this chocolate on my own. I kept reading Eat.Live.Run’s (ELR) blog about her discovery of this chocolate. I’m a huge chocolate lover and she just kept talking about how fantastic it was. Here’s where I first read about it (scroll down). I just had to try, so into Borders I went. Got up to the register and the lady asked me if I found everything and then she realized that I was only buying chocolate. I laughed and excitedly said YES!! She got a good chuckle out of it!

My review…I totally agree with ELR. It’s delicious, smooth, and melts in your mouth! At the end of the bite, it's like small salt crystals materialize and a small hint of salt hits the taste buds. I looked at the chocolate closely but couldn't see any granules of salt, magic? Ha! I'm not a big fan of salt in my sweets, but I think it works well with this chocolate bar.

My last stop was to the Vitamin Shoppe. I was looking to try the Amazing Grass Chocolate Whole Food Energy Bar. Again, I heard about these on ELR’s blog. They are all natural. When I went into the store I was a bit unprepared. I thought the name of the company was “Organic Green Superfood” and it wasn’t. What I figured out is that this is language that some natural food companies use (from what I gather anyways). I am just learning about all this natural food stuff. Long story short, I walked out with these:


I had a feeling they weren’t what I was looking for. I was right. I debated on whether I should keep them and give them a try, but after looking up their website and comparing them to the Amazing Grass website, I decided to return them (I called and the Vitamin Shoppe does refund unopened products). My reasoning....Amazing Grass had organizations (USDA, COOP America, Natural Products Association) accrediting/supporting their product. I couldn’t find anything on the other website. I’m not saying one is better than the other because I really don’t know. I had to go with my gut. Also, I’m not a energy bar fan, meaning I haven’t found any that I like, but this is recommended. I’d like to give it a try to see if they are tasty. If they are, I plan to only purchase them for when I travel or am away from home for long periods of time and need a healthy snack. I’m still in search of the energy bars…will provide my review at that time!


7/15 Meals/Workout

Meal 1: bowl of Special K protein plus, hardboiled egg, ½ mug English Breakfast tea
Meal 2: Tri-color chickpea salad with Kashi multi-grain crackers, 2 tbsp of peanut butter
Snack: plum
Meal 3: 4 hard tacos (only lettuce and cheese), glass of skim milk
Snack: glass of Sauvignon Blanc and 2 squares of Lindt Dark Chocolate

Workout:
10 minutes warm-up on Arc Trainer
Quads
1 set of obliques
20 minutes on Arc Trainer (Cardio program, level 6)
Stretch
Week 4/Day 2 onehundredpushups

7/14 meals/workout

Meal 1: over-easy egg, 2 slices of whole wheat bread w/butter, cottage cheese, English Breakfast tea
Vitamins: multi-vitamin and fish oil tablet
Meal 2: leftover Mexicali black bean pizza, plum, water, Diet 7-Up
Snack: banana strawberry yogurt (Danon light and fit)
Meal 3: tuna melt with sprouts mixed in, blackberries
Vitamins: calcium, vitamin C, and fish oil tablet
Snack: glass of Sauvignon Blanc and way too much peanut brittle

Workout:
10 minutes warm-up on Elliptical
Back and Biceps
Hanging Leg Raises and Bicycles
20 minutes on Stationary Bike
Stretch

Week 3/Day 1 twohundredsitups

I'm not sure how long or often I'm going to post my meals. Testing it out, seeing how I like broadcasting my habits and not so good habits... Although, the whole point of this is holding myself accountable and being honest with myself! Hmmm...sometimes not an easy task.

Knee Brace vs. Knee Strap

In 2007, I played the role of Horse while my niece and nephew played the role of cowboy and cowgirl. I took them on a nice horseback ride, crawling around on my hands and knees all over the house. While it was very entertaining, this old horse needed a break, so buck them off I did! I headed up the stairs (on two legs) and discovered that my right knee started to crack. It sounded like a nut caught in a nutcracker. Although annoying to the ear, it wasn't painful.

Every now and again my right knee would ache but it wasn't anything that bothered me. Until a couple of weeks ago; my right knee started to ache more consistently, during workouts and not. At the end of June, I went to see an orthopedic doctor. They told me I had Patellofemoral Syndrome.

According to the pamphlet provided me by the doc, printed by Syntex Laboratories:

This syndrome is caused by an irritation of the undersurface of the patella (kneecap), which is normally smooth. The irritation can lead to a roughening of the patella undersurface, a condition called chrondromalacia. The patella glides up and down in a shallow groove formed by the femur (thigh bone) and its covering ligaments. The pain is caused when increasing tension gradually increases the pressure between the patella and the femur. The irritation and roughening of the patella cause inflammation that causes pain.

Contributing Factors:

• When the patella is not centered in the groove of the femur, there is an imbalance that results in wear and tear.
• This poor alignment can be identified on special knee x-rays.
• Overuse, especially the pounding shocks absorbed during jogging, hiking, or downhill running.
• Knock knees
• Abnormal twisting or rotation of the lower leg
• Flat (pronated) feet
• Weak front and inner thigh muscles
• Previous injury to the knee
• Family tendency
• Obesity

Treatment: Rest, Ice, Medication, Physical Therapy, Surgery

They provided me with a knee brace and told me I could wear it as needed. They showed me the correct way to wear it. My question to the doctor was, "Do I have to wear this out of the office?" He just chuckled and ever so politely said no and helped me take the brace off. Here is what it looked like:



It practically covered my whole leg! It was extremely uncomfortable, hot, and constricting. Not sure how they expected me to workout in this thing. Needless to say, I did not wear the brace. My decision to not wear the brace didn't ease the pain. About a week ago, my knee was really bothering me during my Boot camp class. My instructor suggested I try a knee strap. A knee strap is so much more appealing than the crazy knee brace, but does it work?



Thursday I gave the knee strap a try during my Boot camp class. My knee felt supported and there was no pain. I felt a twinge here and there but nothing major. I tried it again Friday during my workout:

warm-up: 1 mile (1o min run)
stretch
strength training: hamstrings, calves, and shoulders
cardio: 20 mins on StairMaster
stretch

In the evening I also did a run/walk for about 1 hour with my friend on a gravel trail.

So far my knee feels great during my workouts! Now it could be all in my mind or it could actually be working. Hey, doesn't matter to me as long as I'm feeling comfortable during my workouts. I did notice when I took the knee strap off my knee felt a bit sore when I started walking. I'm going to try stretching after my workouts with it off, see if that will eliminate any of the soreness. I'll provide an update in about a week or so.