Sticking to the Game Plan

Day 6:

Okay, sorry I did not post the pic of my pasta dish from Sunday.  To be honest, the dish was quite bland.  Instead of the Parmesan cheese that was recommended as "optional", I used smoked Gouda.  So it made the dish at least have a flavor. That did add calories, but I just shaved the Gouda and only used less than one ounce.

 Yesterday's dinner was scrumptious:

I made a swordfish steak and just grilled/steamed it in a tsp. of olive oil and some lemon pepper seasoning. For the side, that is a big portion of sauteed spinach that I cooked with a small amount of water until it wilted and then added a pat of butter (real kind).  Also, I cut up 1/2 of an avocado and squeezed some lime onto it.  Delicious and low calorie and good fats.

This morning I was up at 3:50AM.  I have accomplished so much already.  6 1/2 mile run- check done! Dog walk- check done!  Garbage out-check Done! etc. etc.  I ran with the running group that meets at 5AM and I am so glad I did.  Good run, good friends.

For breakfast today I have had 4 egg whites and 1 small individual package of egg beaters, scrambled with 1 c. spinach and some fresh basil chopped up in it.  I did spray my pan with a  little olive oil pam.  For my "side" I just put a little fresh salsa.  That should keep me full till lunch time.  Oh, yes, and I am having my chocolate-pistachio green tea with honey.  It is the only green tea I like.

Lunch today will be small.  Another Bocca Burger and that black bean - avocado - corn dish from Sunday.  Snack will be an apple.

Tonight's dinner is at Naples Flatbread and Wine Bar.  I will order my favorite dinner, the Mediterranean flatbread.  It will be cut in half, as they serve such large portions there.  And this is my only wine night.  I have not had one glass since 3/31/10 - part of my detox/cleanse plan.  

And it is working (down 2 lbs already).  I feel better and my run today was a great one.  Felt like I could keep on truckin! What is that old adage?  You are what you eat.  So true.

Lynda

1200 Calories

Okay, so I got the idea about 1200 calories from the biggest loser show. And from entering my settings on www.Sparkpeople.com website. But after reading several articles regarding women in the over 45 age group needing 1 hour of exercise per day to MAINTAIN their weight and reading how women after the age of 45 start to have their metabolism slow down and require less calories per day than before that magic number to MAINTAIN. I figure it is much better (for weight-loss purposes) to keep the calorie count in 1200-1299 range and exercise every day.

Today's breakfast was oatmeal pancakes (this is a file pic-I did not add banana):

	Oatmeal pancakes

I found this on www.sparkrecipes.com.  It is delicious, easy to make and makes 3 servings.  And did you check out that protein count?  Awesome.  Especially for vegetarians.

Now, since it is Easter Sunday, I am planning on a long dog walk (long for them is 2-3 miles) and 1 hour of weight training with a short bike ride today to the gym.  It is supposed to be another glorious day, sunny and in the mid 80's.

Lunch will be an avocado-bean salad and a bocca burger (more protein) again found on www.sparkrecipes.com.
Snacks for the day include a serving of 100 calorie Orville Redenbachers kettle corn fat free popcorn, a handful of apple chips from Fresh Market and 1 skinny cow vanilla ice cream sandwich for dessert.

Does that sound like 1200 calories?  Well it is if you measure and pre-portion out those serving sizes.  The total calorie count for the day only comes to 1,234 and I am well within my protein and fat and carb numbers that work for me for weight loss.

I will update and post pics of the dinner later in the day.

Spring has sprung!

My April promises to myself:

I am going to try to keep the calorie count to 1200-1299 every day. This promise will include pre-planning and calculating my meals in advance.

I am reading the Runner's world book, Run less, Run Faster. I plan to implement some of their program (more to follow). So far, the training only has you running three days per week and it highly recommends cross training to strengthen your runs.

8 Glasses of water per day.

Green tea (still not liking it), but I am drinking it daily. And 1 cup of coffee.

Yoga class 1 x per week; this will help with the running plan.

Weight training 2 x per week

Now, this week we have a training run tomorrow that is 12 miles. It is funny even writing this, as that is almost a half and now I use 12 as a gauge for my training runs.

Next week I am scheduled to do a 10k that is hosted by the Naples Philharmonic. They are going to be playing at every mile marker. Hal Higdon is going to be there signing books. Pretty cool, huh?

I forgot to add this one link:

www.womenshealthmag.com/nutrition/detox-diet?page=3

It was an interesting article and I tried this meal plan o 4/1/10. On 4/2, I can honestly say I woke up with flatter abs. Not sure why, but I did feel "cleansed" a bit. And I felt better, which is the real whole point of the article. This page link brings you to the sample two days of foods to eat. It is from Women's Health Magazine.

Happy Easter everyone!