Snow on December 1st

We had a nice wintery December 1st. I got about 4 inches of snow. It sure was pretty.

Happy Holidays

I had a good summer that included a trip to Italy, Austria, Switzerland and France with my niece. But I ended up eating too much gelato and Swiss chocolate.

I've just recently gotten back into control again -- just in time for Christmas! Luckily, I have no cravings at all. I'll be spending a week in Indiana with family and have every intention of staying low carb.

I am excited about The New Rules of Lifting for Women which I should have in the next couple of weeks. So I'll start that in January -- wonder how it will be different? I read that it is a 6-month program. The gym is expanding and may have some classes I like.

We found a new trail on Tiger Mountain last week. We didn't look at what the elevation gain was, which turns out was probably 1000ft. That makes a difference in how long the hike is. We made it back around 4:30 and it was getting pretty dark. I've gone through my map and colored the trails we've done with colored pencil. I highlighted the elevations. I found a waterproof envelope at REI to put it in so we can check it even when it's raining.

This is a link to the map of Tiger Mountain trails:
http://www.ci.issaquah.wa.us/files/issfamily.pdf

I picked up a backpack in Switzerland that has the bladder for drinking water and loops for my hiking poles. I'm packing that up with a light, knife, bandaids and other things. Maybe Santa will bring me some small binoculars. I'll pack my bird book and camera too. There's usually something cool to take a picture of.

Week 1: -3 Total 3

I had very little cravings this week. I stayed pretty lowcarb. But I did have some nuts last night. My fbg was about 108 mid week, but the cashews bumped me back up.

fbg 144 --> 124
weight 234 --> 231
exercise 1 weight training, 8 hrs gardening.

I entered 3 days of food into Fitday and here are the averages.

Avg Calories 1365

grams cals %total
Fat: 86 776 58%
Carbs: 32 96 7%
Protein: 114 457 34%

I went into crunch mode at work and worked late instead of exercising Tue-Fri. I need to manage my time better.

Now that I'm not having cravings and feel more in contol, I will reduce my protein amounts by a couple of ounces.

Week 0 -- New 12 week challenge

I started a new challenge on the Bernstein forum where we check in on Saturday.

12 weeks ending June 30th. Let's see what can be done in 12 weeks!

Starting weight: 234
Starting fbg: 144
Starting measurements:
Waist 42.5, Hips 43.5 Ratio: 98%

Joyce's Week 0 goals:

Eating
30 grams carbs per day
23-hour fast on M, W
No nuts

Exercise every day!
Weight training M, W
Cardio Tu,Th
Hike F
Gardening or other on Sat, Sun

Thoughts
No negative talk. Change my programming with only positive thoughts.
Don't dwell on cravings. Focus on other things and the cravings will pass.

Ultimate goal
Lose 1-2 pounds per week
Keep bgs under 90

50th Birthday weekend

I've had a great weekend. Friday, 6 buddies hiked with me at Rattlesnake Ledge in the pouring rain. So we didn't get any pictures. But it was fun as usual. I made it up in about 50 minutes this time -- 10 minutes less. Plus I gabbed the whole time. I think the improvement is because of the Mon/Wed workouts. Still doing New Rules of LIfting or I guess I should say inspired by it. I'm doing some new things like seated rows and woodchoppers.

Saturday morning, my fbg was 85! All that gritting my teeth in March paid off. Finally, that last week was pretty easy to eat less.

My brother, sil and mom went out for steak, lobster and grilled asparagus. Yum! Later that evening, we had a couple glasses of some local wine. Pretty good stuff and my face was numb. We enjoyed the fellas playing some jazz music. The owner came out to meet us. When he found out it was my birthday, he brought out a piece of cheesecake with 3 forks. I had 3 bites. My fbg on Sunday was still only 89. So I'm very happy about that. Weight stays the same. Oh well.

Then we went to Snoqualmie Falls --lots of water because of all the rain.

It's March

Eating wise, I have had no problem staying away from the no-no list for the last couple of weeks. Now I really need to watch the protein portion size especially at dinner. We had some discussions on the Bernstein forum that made sense. One was about never cheating. I realize that I have to down-regulate my tastebuds. The longer I go without sugar or even salty chips, the less I will miss it. The other discussion was that most people eat closer to 3-4 oz of protein per meal. I'm pretty sure I go over the 6oz that Protein Power says I can have for now. So I need to make an effort to cut back there.

I had skipped 2 of the fat loss workouts so I still have one more to go. Then I start the new ones. Let's see if I can actually get there twice a week! I really need to because I want to work my way up to do that 4-exercise gigantic set. And that Tuesday night cardio wouldn't hurt me none either. I really enjoy that skating machine.

Bgs were around 113, then up to 130 which I can only guess is because I missed some exercise and had nuts and cream. But I need to make an appointment for a checkup -- ready or not. I guess it's been 4 years since I was there last.

Hike to Squak

We hiked Squak mountain today. I have to remember my camera, because the new moss is a bright green and the ferns growing out of the trees would make such a beautiful picture. We had a light snow this morning so it was very nippy, but sunny. I had to cancel out last Friday because I donated blood in the morning. They said no strenuous activity for 12 hours. I won't plan that for Friday's any more.

I had a bad week last week. I ate a few things I should not have eaten. I guess I was in a little funk about work. But this week has been great. I ordered a book called "What to say when you talk to yourself". It's more about changing your programming and ways of thinking. I only just started it. We had a discusson on the Bernstein forum about cheating. Many people say they never cheat. I know I just don't recover from cheating. I would really love to go down a size for my trip to Europe this summer and also for my niece's wedding in August.

New Rules of Lifting workout and Hiking update

I've completed 8 of the 12 A and B workouts from NROL Fat Loss I. I like working out in the evenings as I feel warmed up. I've been using 40# dbs for straight-legged deadlifts and I talked to Laura about using the 80# new barbells. So I will use those next week. I'm also doing squats with 90# right now. Coincidentally, Laura had us do the T-pushup and that will be coming in the Fat Loss II workout. I like to practice new things at Laura's.

The weather has finally taken a turn for the better. We hiked Rattlesnake Ledge and I made that in 60 minutes, which is about 15 minutes better than last year. I definitely feel stronger because of the M/W workouts. Then we did Poo Poo from the hangliding landing which is 1.5 miles and 1500 feet elevation. Just a beautiful day -- around 60 degrees.

I didn't have any foods not OTL (on the list :)) this week. Earlier this year, I had been having too many cheat days and then I just had a hard time getting back in the groove. Chips and ice cream mainly. I am going to use every trick I know to not have bad foods until my trip in July.

"Don't die wondering" is what they would say in tennis. I want to give this my best shot and just see what I can do. That spare tire has to go!

I made some braised cabbage after seeing Emeril make it. He said his kids love it. I really liked it too. I added just a dash of apple cider vinegar.

I've increased my fish oil to 3 now after reading Alwyn Cosgrove say it was the best fat loss supplement he knows of. After a week or so, I will increase that to 4. I'm also eating grass fed beef, omega-3 eggs and canned salmon.

Being snowed in is a good thing

It started snowing Wed afternoon, so I got home before it got bad. Then it's been icy so I haven't been anywhere for 3 days. This is good because I've gotten over my cravings.

I missed Wednesday's workout, but I walked up to Laura's Friday morning for a workout and I've also walked.

Hopefully, I'm back on track now. I'll do a few days of 19-hour fasting next week. I should be able to do it for a whole week now that I've lowered my carbs these last few days. My appetite is much less already.

Saw the bobcat again today. I think it was looking for some tasty squirrel to eat.

Asian beef, shiitake, bok choy soup

I made my beef bone broth last weekend along with some braised shortribs. This made the best soup I ever made. I hope I can recreate it again. The shiitakes have a unique flavor.

Braised short ribs with a little low-sodium, wheat-free tamari sauce and about 6 cloves of garlic in the last hour.
Simmered the beef bone for about 5 hours along with some vinegar.
After about 3 hrs, added braising liquid to broth and cooked for another hour.
Strained broth through cheesecloth and refrigerated overnight.
Allowed ribs to cool.
Next day, skim fat from broth.
In large pot, cook sliced shiitake mushrooms in coconut oil.
Add the broth and bring to a boil.
Add the beef picked off the short ribs.
Add sliced bok choy, frozen peas, sliced green onion, one bunch cilantro chopped, red pepper flakes and some sesame oil.
Simmer just a little more.

Serve with bean sprouts in a bowl. Add a little more tamari if needed.



Monday night, Workout B
Step ups/Dumbbell incline bench press
Bulgarian split squat/lat pull down
Romanian deadlift (straight legs)/swiss ball side crunches

The deadlifts this evening gave me a slight backache even though I kept the weight light (35# dumbbells). I was reading Performance Menu forum and there was a link to this article about doing press ups for back pain. I did about seven and the pain magically disappeared! Good stuff.

http://danjohn.org/gu11.pdf

I can really feel a difference after these workouts. I liked what the barbell squats did for my whole backside.

I fasted Monday until about 4:30, but ate regular meals today. Will probably fast tomorrow. Have really been fighting the cravings and did well today. Got into some potato chips yesterday, though.

Day 2 of the New Year - Diet and workout

Day 2 – so far, so good! It's always exciting to start a new thing. But I have my eating plan and exercise designed out and all I have to do is execute. Don't get into discussions of "should I/shouldn't I".

Workout
I printed my Excel spreadsheet with the workout and did that tonight for the first time. I used light weights to start with and it was a pretty easy workout, actually. But at least I have the weights written down and will know what to start at next time. My spreadsheet has groovy colors and I have it in a sheet protector in the file cabinet. If that's not a dork factor, I don't know what is! I don't care. I just focus on my workout.

On Tuesday night afterwork, I did the 19 minute total cardio. 5 min warmup, 1 min high, 2 min moderate (3 times) then 5 min cooldown. I used the elliptical and changed directions often.

Wednesday night, Workout A
Barbell squats/ Standing rows
Swiss ball supine hip extension/dumbbell push press (slight squat)
Rotational lunge/swiss ball crunch 8lb medicine ball

Diet

I'm doing a type if intermittent fasting where you condense eating to about a 5 hour window between 5 and 10pm. Basically, I skip breakfast and eat my lunch at work around 4:30 or 5. Then I eat dinner at home after my workout. But for the last 2 days, I've eaten around 2 or 3 because I felt a little shakey. I knew I had too much coffee, so today I switched to decaf after the first 2 of regular. Of course, my meals are low carb -- about 12g carbs per meal. I like the 3 carb Dannon light and fit yogurt. The little 4 oz. size is very filling.

Dr. Bert Herring has written a nice little book about fasting and is available for a free download.
http://www.fast-5.com/keystone.html

Yesterday, my weight was 236 which was up about 11 pounds prior to the holidays. My fasting bg was 160 which I'm not proud of at all. I had ice cream and potato chips way too often. Next week on Tuesday, I'll get back to tracking my weekly progress.