Not feeling good in general. Could be the flu. My daughter covered the van in vomit yesterday on the way out to an egg hunt/basket decorating farm thing. My husband crashed early last night too. I might be next. The squats were fine. I'm working my way up to pistols, but my legs are much weaker comparatively with my other body parts right now.

I know that feeling. One of my son's classmates got Coxsackie virus last week and we just assumed we would all get it too.

Working up to pistols is one of those things that makes you feel like you have accomplished something. Not a lot of people in my gym do them, although there are one or two people who are working up to it.

I know that feeling. One of my son's classmates got Coxsackie virus last week and we just assumed we would all get it too.

Working up to pistols is one of those things that makes you feel like you have accomplished something. Not a lot of people in my gym do them, although there are one or two people who are working up to it.
I'm getting pretty close to some of the goals I set months ago. I've got the L-seat mastered and I'm pretty close to a hanging pike. Last night I managed a set of 20 pushups, and then I actually collapsed on the 20th rep of the second set. :lol: Pistols would be a cool thing to be able to do.

I believe in fate and destination
But so much of that lies in our own hands
If you know what you want,
Just go on out and get it

If you want love if you want faith,
You just believe a little
If you want love if you want peace,
Turn your cheek a little,
If you want love you've got to give
~Sammy Hagar

I've been changin' the scene, if you know what I mean
Good things are comin' my way
And now I'm livin' my life, and I try doin' it right
Sun shinin' every day

Well it's only gettin' better, and a change is gonna come my way
Yes it's only gettin' better, better every day
~Tesla

One of the threads caused me to check out my horoscope yesterday for the first time in years. Here's today's:

If you have been planning to make some changes at home, this is the right time to begin. This is a favourable time for rearranging or moving furniture, redecorating, etc.

You may rely on the support of your friends and family.

Don't start a quarrel with your loved one over an older lady in the family! Yesterday, my husband bought airline tickets so that we could go and visit both of our families in Manitoba this summer. We'll be there for about ten days. It might be pretty hard to manage a new job schedule around these summer excursions, so I'm almost hoping that I don't get offered a job. The interviews will be good learning experiences regardless.

I spent most of yesterday at the Employment Resource Centre. It took me about three hours to complete Level 1 of the Excel Tutorial. Two more levels to go, then I'll move on to learning Power Point. This could take a while. I was going to also do the Word Tutorial, but I think I can fake it pretty well. Perhaps levels 2 and 3 might be helpful.

My husband was describing the Human Factors (http://www.usernomics.com/human-factors.html) department of his company to me last night. It sounds really exciting, so I've asked him to start digging around a bit to see if they might possibly be able to make any space for me starting in September.

I've also been examining my online investment account. It has enough money in there for me to make a few investments, if I can figure out where to put it. I've been starting to research some Mutual Funds and stocks, but it's tricky to understand it all.

These fund managers didn't sound all that confident in themselves:
All mutual funds have a level of risk that comes from changes in the market and changes in the economy. Fund shares will fluctuate in value. Losses are possible. New technologies, in which we invest, may be feasible, but not cost effective. The Fund may not choose among them wisely.

So I'm thinking I'm probably almost as sharp as some of the fund managers. I've pulled some of my "favorite" stocks from each of the mutual funds that interested me, and I'll be keeping my eye on them.

Procter and Gamble (http://www.pg.com/investors/sectionmain.jhtml)
Johnson & Johnson (http://www.investor.jnj.com/?textOnly=false)
Wellpoint Health Networks (http://ir.wellpoint.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=130104&p=irol-irhome)
Amgen (http://www.amgen.com/)

So I suppose the horoscope is quite accurate!:nod: I'll do my best to avoid starting a fight with my husband about my mother or mother-in-law.:p

And tonight, I'm going to do a really great leg workout!

Desire is the key to motivation, but it's determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal - a commitment to excellence - that will enable you to attain the success you seek. ~ Mario Andretti

That leg workout went pretty well. I don't feel it as much in my quads, as I normally do, but my knees are a little wobbly, and I feel like I have raised my body temperature almost a dozen degrees. I don't think I pant and sweat as much as that when I do cardio! (At least, I didn't during this morning's cardio session.)

Even though I haven't yet uncovered my bench and barbell that are buried underneath all my basement junk, I thought that attempting deadlifts for a change would be a good idea. They need work. I'm pretty sure I should be able to do three sets of twelve reps at 22 pounds per arm much more easily than I did.:o I was feeling a lot of strain in my back as I did them, and not so much reaction in my hamstrings. I think that's why I quit doing them in the first place. It's starting to sound like a better idea to buy myself those 52.5 pound adjustable dumbbells (http://www.fitnesssource.ca/product_info.php?products_id=2814&osCsid=55dfb05fe53c1dd615c235f873388095). I told myself I would, but $700 bucks for them plus the stand just doesn't sound reasonable.:nope:

Have not been eating perfectly. :bang: These carbohydrates, they call my name. They sing to me.:whistle: I think it might be wise to consider investing (http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_15/b3928129_mz070.htm) in yogurt companies.:p
Meal 1
1 slice bread with peanut butter
1 banana
1 cup coffee
Meal 2
1 apple
1/2 C homemade granola
3/4 C fat free yogurt
1/2 C soy milk
Meal 3
1/2 English muffin
1 slice ham
1/2 C spinach
4 small tomatoes
1 L water
Meal 4
1/2 C fat free yogurt
1/2 C soy milk
1/3 C homemade granola
1 cup coffee
Meal 5
spinach, cabbage, and mandarin orange salad with 1 T light dressing and 3 T sunflower seeds
Meal 6
2/3 C steamed cauliflower
2/3 C meat sauce
Meal 7
3/4 of a banana
3/4 C fat free yogurt
1/2 C soy milk
1/2 C Vector cereal
Can't even guess at my calories, and I'm not sure I want to know how little protein I managed to consume. :bang:

Lately everybody's thinkin'
Me, my, only I thinkin' for me.
Here lately, everbody's talkin', baby.
But we all know that talk is cheap.
We can make it happen if we make a try.

All the nights awake and the tears we've cried
Could fill the seven seas.
So, c'mon, ev'rybody, c'mon, ev'rybody,
We gotta give ourselves, gotta give ourselves a hand, yeah.

And before it falls apart, yeah, yeah,
Why don't we live a little, give a little, straight from the heart.
And if this old world gets ya down, yeah, yeah,
You gotta pick it up and toss it in the air, kick it all around. Kick it!

I don't even know how I wanna say, but I know what I wanna say.
Do you know where I'm comin' from?
As the bass plays on, and still the guitars strum,
While the Colonel beats the drum, so the whole band plays along,
And the whole world sings a song, yeah,
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
~ Tesla - Stir it up

My hamstrings are still feeling it from Wednesday night. :doh: I will take more time to warm up the next time I do my deadlifts.

I start my job training Wednesday morning, then I'll be working for the first couple of weeks in May. A few weeks after that, there's a second session.

My husband has his sights set on the top rung of the corporate ladder. When he doesn't feel challenged enough, he starts looking to shake things up, so he has warned me that things might be changing.

My daugther was at a Karate birthday party this afternoon and now wants to be in a martial arts class. I looked into that several months ago, but didn't find a place that I was satisfied with. I'd like to look into it again, but I think I'll wait and see what the soccer schedule is going to be like. The place where she was at the party has adult classes as well. It might be fun to get involved myself.

I threw this togther for lunch:

Curried Apple Chicken Salad
1 granny smith apple, chopped
1/2 C steamed cauliflower, chopped
1/4 C fat free sour cream
1/4 C fat free yogurt
1/2 tsp curry powder
pinch cloves
1/2 C chopped chicken breast
1/4 C sliced almonds

Turned out really tasty. :eat:

If we only knew that we could have anything we wanted we would set more goals. ~ Earl Nightingale

I overdid the caffeine yesterday. Sometimes it doesn't take much. I had two cups of coffee first thing in the morning, then one later in the afternoon, and a glass of diet Pepsi. I was anxious and jittery for about an hour. I'll have to swap some of those coffees for herbal tea.

My older daughter just told me "When I get older, I'm going to make my kids eat healthy too." Okay, so it's a start. She still makes it sound like it's a punishment, but she understands the importance and why I do it. I'm going to take her to the "Good Food Festival" this weekend. It's not really a nutrition thing; it's a celebration of all things delicious.

She's growing up so fast.:cry: One of her favorite tv shows is The West Wing. I'm going to have to adjust my ideas about which movies are appropriate for her to be watching. There's not much of a choice available for 10 to 13 year olds. My husband let her watch the Harry Potter movie last night. Nothing disastrous happened. :lol: I've heard good things about The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (http://sisterhoodofthetravelingpants.warnerbros.com/), so I've put it on hold to borrow from the library.

"The clearest sign of wisdom is continued cheerfulness." ~ Michel de Montaigne

That's great that you are teaching your daughter the healthy lifestyle habits from a young age. I have noticed that many of the adults I know now who are very healthy had parents that taught them healthy eating habits from a young age and encouraged them to participate in sports. I'm sure it must be a challenge for you as a prent since many of the larger fast food chains directly target kids in much of their advertising.

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (http://sisterhoodofthetravelingpants.warnerbros.com/)

I saw that. No disasters will ensue. Pretty good movie. Wifes choice of course. I would never have picked it on my own.

Today has not been a good day. I could tell right when I got out of bed, so a big part of today's feel-good strategy has been cosuming large food volume. After having breakfast at 8:00, I went back to bed until noon.

Meal 1
2 slices toast with peanut butter
banana
decaf
water
Meal 2
1/2 C fat free strawberry yogurt
apple, 1/3 C oats cooked in 1 C water
decaf
Meal 3
1 C minestrone soup
section of pomello
Crystal Light
Meal 4
couple of toast crusts
a bit of leftover salmon
1/2 apple
sugar free Jello
decaf
Meal 5
1 C homemade granola with 1 C chocolate soy milk
Meal 6
water
4 celery stalks, plain, raw
decaf
about 1600 calories (my target is about 1700-1800, but I'm pretty sure I've been above that for the last couple of days)
about 60 g protein. (My target is closer to 100).

I have terrible gas. So bad that my family is making jokes about me. I've been careful about taking lactase enzyme with dairy, so I'm starting to think it might be something else. I might have to try giving up wheat and see if that makes a difference.

That's great that you are teaching your daughter the healthy lifestyle habits from a young age. I'm sure it must be a challenge for you as a prent since many of the larger fast food chains directly target kids in much of their advertising.
I try not to go overboard in forbidding junk food. They don't get chocolate covered granola bars, fruit drinks, and gummy snacks in their lunch every day like their friends do, but I do allow them occasionally. Ironically enough, I take my daughter out to McDonald's every Thursday for lunch. We share the two cheeseburger meal with a side salad and diet Coke. It's only 360 calories between us, so I bring along fruit from home to eat when we're done before I take her back to school.

It's so hard when I have to, and so easy when I want to. ~Annie Gottlier

I might have to try giving up wheat and see if that makes a difference.

Hi Guava. Before giving up wheat I would try switching to gluten free grains if you have not already. Could allow you to keep eating flour.

Good Food Festival (http://www.goodfoodfestival.net/):eat:
ice cream - black cherry, and chocolate
frozen tofu "ice cream" sandwich
kiwi apple juice, strawberry banana juice, pomegranate juice
apple cider
blueberry juice
guava juice, fruit punch, pineapple coconut juice
coconut water
acai juice (http://www.monavie-acai-juice.com/) - smells weird, but tastes pretty good. Expensive. I hope I win the draw for 5 cases.
ginger orange tea
tropical fruit drink
invigorating tea
columbian coffee
dark roast coffee
mocha tofu smoothie
soy milk
rice milk
spinach salad
spinach salad with chicken
apple
strawberry
lasagna
tortellini
ravioli
mock chicken nugget
taco chips with hot sauce
pita with barbecue sauce
chicken with whisky barbecue sauce
potato soy chips
corn soy chips
veggie chips
rice with coconut curry sauce
curry chicken
butter chicken
chicken dumpling
rice with sundried tomatoes
breakfast bagels - flax, whole wheat, musli, apple cinnamon
bread - whole grain, flax, nine grain
garlic bread
basil parmesan bread
bread dipped in maple olive oil
sticky rice with red bean paste
salty sweet peanuts
cajun peanuts
cranberry energy bar
vanilla yogurt
yogurt with musli
mango yogurt
banana bread
turtle fudge
chocolate tofu cake
chocolate energy bar
chocolate shortcake
chocolate pudding
chocolate cake
chocolate truffle

I consumed ALL items in the above list today. It was hard work. If you don't see me again, I've exploded.

"I like a cook who smiles out loud when he tastes his own work. Let God worry about your modesty; I want to see your enthusiasm." ~ Robert Farrar Capon

179 x $0.87 = $155.73. Not bad for my first day of work, but my legs are killing me. My supervisor says I am 43% done, which is great news, because my husband is leaving on a business trip Thursday and Friday, then leaving for another business trip Sunday to Wednesday, so I've got to magically find some extra time to get finished before next Saturday. I asked her if I could bring my daughter, and she said that would be okay. I'll try to squeeze in a couple of hours today, if I can find a way to keep her busy in the van while I knock on doors.

congrats on your first day of work... and way to go eating all those free samples at the food festival.

Good morning Guava.

I've also been examining my online investment account. It has enough money in there for me to make a few investments, if I can figure out where to put it. I've been starting to research some Mutual Funds and stocks, but it's tricky to understand it all.

These fund managers didn't sound all that confident in themselves:
All mutual funds have a level of risk that comes from changes in the market and changes in the economy. Fund shares will fluctuate in value. Losses are possible. New technologies, in which we invest, may be feasible, but not cost effective. The Fund may not choose among them wisely.

So I'm thinking I'm probably almost as sharp as some of the fund managers. I've pulled some of my "favorite" stocks from each of the mutual funds that interested me, and I'll be keeping my eye on them.

Procter and Gamble (http://www.pg.com/investors/sectionmain.jhtml)
Johnson & Johnson (http://www.investor.jnj.com/?textOnly=false)
Wellpoint Health Networks (http://ir.wellpoint.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=130104&p=irol-irhome)
Amgen (http://www.amgen.com/)


Hi Guava! Congrats on the job, sounds like its keeping you busy for now. Sounds like an exciting time in life for you right now!

I was just perusing the last couple pages in your journal catching up, I noticed you mentioned your investment account. I am an advisor and I recommend everything to my clients from some stocks/bonds, managed funds as well as insurance products etc...whatever is suitable for that family/persons needs/goals. Dont get to scared reading those disclosures they are merely "worst case scenario" disclosures that the industry requires investment companies to make regarding equity investments so that clients dont get the impression that returns are guaranteed. Your best bet is to find a fund with a good 15, 10 and 3 year track record and a total return over the 15 years of 8%+. Try to find funds that have low sales charges and management costs that meet your investment goals and also have those types of returns I mentioned before. Index funds may also be something that you could be interested in as they more or less will give you around the same return the main indexes see (s&p/DowJones etc...) or at times a bit better. I would be glad to give you any other input if you ever have any other specific questions...just PM me.

This morning I saw numbers I've never seen before.

51.6 kg. I don't think that's a good thing.

I thought I might gain weight with this job, but it seems like I'm just so busy that I'm not eating anything other than fruit and rice cakes. I'm more than half done my assignment after about 18 hours of work. My supervisor is calling me "her star" because her other crew members have about 10 to 20 percent done. I have until Sunday the 13th to finish, so I'm taking a break now until Saturday. Driving makes me nervous, so for most of my route, I pulled along my paperwork in the wagon, and when I did bring the van, I parked it on the side of the road and walked up the driveways. Some of the farmers with long driveways thought I had a screw loose I'm sure.

So, I'll have a chance tonight to lift weights tonight for the first time in six days. The last time I've gone that long without weight training was when I was on holidays in February. I'm getting plenty of walking in still, thank goodness. My daughter managed to convince me yesterday that we should walk to her reading program at the library. It's more than a mile away, but I was crazy enough to agree with her. :p She got a nice ride in a wagon; spoiled princess she is.

And now I'm a soccer coach. Back in January when I registered the girls, I agreed to be a "team parent", so they stuck my daughter on a team with no coach, and have requested that I team up with another parent to organize the kids and get them playing. Anyone here ever coached soccer before? I need a five minute intense training drill.

It's Arts Week in the area, so I might tour some galleries with the girls on Sunday if I don't take them out on a census route with me.

It's a happy day. Things make more sense when I'm busy. :D

Your best bet is to find a fund with a good 15, 10 and 3 year track record and a total return over the 15 years of 8%+. Try to find funds that have low sales charges and management costs that meet your investment goals and also have those types of returns I mentioned before. Index funds may also be something that you could be interested in as they more or less will give you around the same return the main indexes see (s&p/DowJones etc...) or at times a bit better. I would be glad to give you any other input if you ever have any other specific questions...just PM me.
Whew! Sounds like I should read the Wealthy Barber again. A lot of that stuff is still pretty hard for me to wrap my brain around. My husband has been doing such a good job of investing that I usually end up letting him handle it. (He does my taxes too.:o ) I haven't been faithfully checking my bookmarked stocks. I'll have to get on that.

One man has enthusiasm for 30 minutes, another for 30 days, but it is the man who has it for 30 years who makes a success of his life. ~ Edward B. Butler

Whew! Sounds like I should read the Wealthy Barber again. A lot of that stuff is still pretty hard for me to wrap my brain around. My husband has been doing such a good job of investing that I usually end up letting him handle it. (He does my taxes too.:o ) I haven't been faithfully checking my bookmarked stocks. I'll have to get on that.

One man has enthusiasm for 30 minutes, another for 30 days, but it is the man who has it for 30 years who makes a success of his life. ~ Edward B. Butler

Wealthy Barber=GREAT book. One of the handful that I recommend to my clients.

G'Day! Coaching young kids at futbol is a blast! (speaking from experience)
I remember one drill, but you'll probably get better advice from others.

Anyway, just wanted to stop by briefly to say thanks
for posting in my journal.
I have at least 3 follow-up posts in mind over there, to what you said.
One entered, two to go.

Just curious: before you quote somebody,
do you look them up, to know more about them first?
If you don't already know more about Yogi Berra,
I think I could tell you stuff about him that would leave you ROTFL.
That's not meant to diminish any power in his quotes...

Join me in my happy dance.
http://www.bswc.co.uk/smilies/woohoo.gif
http://www.infotrek.co.uk/uploadedimages/dancing-banana-yellow050507112209.gif

http://forums.stuffz.net/images/smilies/banana.gif
I've delivered 505 forms in a combined total of about 24 hours, and have just 20 forms left to do, which I should be able to complete in about an hour tomorrow.
http://www.u-blog.net/rhapsody/img/JiggyBanana.gif

Somebody sicced their dog on me today, but I can run fast :lol: , so I kept on going like the Energizer Bunny. I was sufficiently rattled however to ask that my husband chauffeur me once I got to the farm section. I got it done nearly twice as fast that way, and didn't have the stress of trying to figure out how to back up in a narrow driveway.:tu:


Just curious: before you quote somebody,
do you look them up, to know more about them first?
If you don't already know more about Yogi Berra,
I think I could tell you stuff about him that would leave you ROTFL.
That's not meant to diminish any power in his quotes...
Hmmm.... no, I don't usually find out more about people before I quote them; that would be a good idea. However, I do search out quotes from people that I already admire. For example, Drew Barrymore has said many things that have special meaning to me. She makes it possible for me to learn from some of the mistakes that she's made.

Yogi Berra's quotes are good because they sound like they don't make any sense, but they are peculiar in such a way as to make you look at common occurrences in different ways than what you're used to.

“When things are perfect, that's when you need to worry most.” ~Drew Barrymore

http://img246.echo.cx/img246/9682/gibsonshootcircle0fk.gif

M@

http://www.tvdance.com/ferrisbueller/2a.gif

http://www.tvdance.com/ferrisbueller/farleypro1.gif

http://home.cfl.rr.com/thasmagal/images/smandance.gif

M@

http://www.tvdance.com/napoleon-dynamite/horse04z.gif

http://img81.echo.cx/img81/8241/bdan5ni.gif

M@

http://img81.echo.cx/img81/8241/bdan5ni.gif

M@

I dont think I can top that.:bow:

Im am however going to try like hell.

Don't make me bring out the big guns...I don't wanna get banned.

M@

http://home.cfl.rr.com/thasmagal/images/smandance.gif

M@
This one's winning.
Is there another version of the Spiderman dance out there? It seems vaguely familiar.

http://www.spacespider.net/protected/misc/gay-spiderman.gif

There are many, oddly enough. This is the one you're probably thinking of:

...Andy beat me to it.

I think someone here had it as an avatar for a while, actually.

M@

Don't make me bring out the big guns...I don't wanna get banned.

M@

New thread. VIP. Anything goes. Well almost anything.

There are many, oddly enough. This is the one you're probably thinking of:

...Andy beat me to it.

I think someone here had it as an avatar for a while, actually.

M@


That spidey seems a bit too Village People :D

There are many, oddly enough. This is the one you're probably thinking of:
Yeah, that's the one. But I am now favoring the policeman one George posted in the VIP gallery.

This guy (http://www.banterist.com) is writing about his travel adventures in China. It reminds me of the three years of hell that I went through there, but, at the time, I didn't have quite the fortitude to laugh at myself. Of course, it might have been funny if we were just visiting, but if you're living there, it takes on a whole new grim reality.

We went on that same boat tour in Guilin. When they said meals were included, we don't think to pack snacks, but we forgot to consider that 90% of what they would serve us would be inedible. (pigeon, anyone?) We were so darned hungry after the six hour cruise that the pigeon was strarting to sound REALLY tasty.

If you read "using the squat toilet (http://www.banterist.com/archivefiles/000348.html)", consider that the accompanying graphic illustrates the cleanest squat toilet I have ever seen in all of China. I would have been happy to see a toilet like that in most any facility I visited. This must have been in the five star hotel. Door to the stall? Are you kidding me? There were no stalls in most of the ones I came across. No room for modesty in China.

If we do not find anything very pleasant, at least we shall find something new. ~ Voltaire

I just read "Using The Squat Toilet".. Well, the one thing that puzzles me i......n-n-n-h-H-H-U-U-U-R-R-R-L-L-L-L-orrrrk-orrrkkk!!!...:o ....sorry...

There are so many beautiful places near my house. I was off looking for someone's house this morning and came across the most picturesque farm. I'll have to bring my camera along next time I'm in that area again.

My crew leader loves me. She called me this morning and asked if I would enumerate the women's prison. I said of course I would. So I did the training for it this morning, and I'll be working on it Tuesday. Unfortunately, I have little choice in when to do it; it must be during the time that my mom is visiting, but I have trouble passing up the opportunity to earn $300 for a few hours work.

My crew leader was telling me that she used to conduct focus groups (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Focus_group) in her home. That's an excellent stepping stone to get me where I want to go. I already know how to make coffee and brownies, I just need to hire someone to keep the house clean. ;) I didn't get around to asking her yet if she has any tips on where I can look for leads, and when she can have my glowing letter of recommendation ready. :p

I felt a little empty this morning before she called, but having this new project on my plate has really perked me up. The floor is vacuumed. I still have to mop, but that will go quick.

Nickelback is too intense for today, so I've dragged out my favorite Romanian music. Have a listen.
1 (http://download.yousendit.com/B2E9A68420A2AECF)
2 (http://download.yousendit.com/A3B384B12C14663F)

Oh, put me in, coach - I’m ready to play today;
Put me in, coach - I’m ready to play today;
Look at me, I can be centerfield.
-John Fogerty

Congratulations Guava... now that Jason (txitalian) has gone AWOL, and Roger (bluestreak) has "closed" his journal, yours is now the most viewed "active" thread on JSF. Next in line behind you was Brian (abguy) but he has also gone AWOL, then comes the original wh0areume "journal of cool" (also moved/closed). Pam (rockenmama) is the next active thread, but she's 10,000 views behind you at this point. Then comes PUG (gone), then Adam (chicanerous), which is amazing since he only has eleven pages of posts... must be all that editing. Rounding out the top ten are Chameleon (yay Tanisha!) and Hibiscus (who popped into Chameleon's thread the other day, yay Hibby!). #11 (woeisemma), #12 (hairymonkbubble), and #13 (flounder) are the last three with more than 10,000 views, and they are all "inactive" (no posts since January).

You've put a lot of research into that philly. Are you at work now? I might have to quit my job if they let me slack off like that. :p I get bored and distracted way too easily.

I did not realize Bluestreak closed his journal. I'll have to look into that and see if I missed anything. Big things are happening.

“Popularity is not an indication of quality.” ~ Vanna Bonta

(At least John took away those damned stars I was whining about.)

You've put a lot of research into that philly. Are you at work now? I might have to quit my job if they let me slack off like that. :p I get bored and distracted way too easily.

I did not realize Bluestreak closed his journal. I'll have to look into that and see if I missed anything. Big things are happening.

“Popularity is not an indication of quality.” ~ Vanna Bonta

(At least John took away those damned stars I was whining about.)

It was only one click to gain all that info. And I do telephone sales, so I spend a lot of time on hold. Besides, you are doing so well at your job. When are the next elections for Prime Minister? I think you should run.

It was only one click to gain all that info. And I do telephone sales, so I spend a lot of time on hold. Besides, you are doing so well at your job. When are the next elections for Prime Minister? I think you should run.

Funny you should mention that. No can do. I'm sure it's only a matter of time before my husband gets into politics, and I haven't been able to beat him in any major debates yet. :p He has two interviews next week to advance into a position that carries with it the extra power that he deserves.

I do my best work when I have well-defined tasks. I'm still expecting the Department of Parks and Recreation to call and offer me an interview for the Registrar position.

I am so bored it's sad. Must go and do something productive. :bb: My husband will be back again tomorrow night. :claphigh:

I just got my package of forms for the prison which I'll be visiting on Tuesday.:blank:

I've been using Jergens Natural Glow Daily Moisturizer a few times a week. I didn't actually realize when I bought it that it's a gradual self tanner. The only thing it says on the tube is that it "creates a healthy summer glow all year long just by moisturizing". I thought that just meant it had shimmering pearl particles in it like the last one I bought. But no, I now have a nice toasty look.:cool: I didn't take before and after pics, so I present to you this guy (http://www.theimpulsivebuy.com/wordpress/2005/08/02/jergens-natural-glow/) instead.

My husband got home from his business trip last night, and my mom will be coming tomorrow. Paramount Canada's Wonderland (http://www3.paramountparks.com/canadaswonderland/) is open this weekend, so we might all head off there on Sunday.:) I've got to see if any of the coasters match up to the thrill of The Incredible Hulk Coaster at Universal Islands of Adventure. We have season passes already, so we can go whenever we feel like it.

Today is supposed to be a cardio day, but I've given up on cardio for now, other than walking. I will probably do a leg workout.

It's a wet breezy day, but perfectly comfortable. We've reached that lovely season where you don't need to run either the heat or the air conditioner. The house is staying near a comfortable 24 degrees, and I finally had a decent sleep last night without a sweater on.:p

I'd heard that The Varieties of Religious Experience by William James is near the top of the list for 100 best nonfiction (http://www.primapublishing.com/modernlibrary/100bestnonfiction.html), so I requested it from my library. It's too intellectual for me, so I took out another one about religion as well. I keep hoping that someday this stuff might make some sense to me.

"The future, higher evolution will belong to those who live in joy, who share joy, and who spread joy." --Torkom Saraydarian

Congratulations Guava... now that Jason (txitalian) has gone AWOL, and Roger (bluestreak) has "closed" his journal, yours is now the most viewed "active" thread on JSF. Next in line behind you was Brian (abguy) but he has also gone AWOL, then comes the original wh0areume "journal of cool" (also moved/closed). Pam (rockenmama) is the next active thread, but she's 10,000 views behind you at this point. Then comes PUG (gone), then Adam (chicanerous), which is amazing since he only has eleven pages of posts... must be all that editing. Rounding out the top ten are Chameleon (yay Tanisha!) and Hibiscus (who popped into Chameleon's thread the other day, yay Hibby!). #11 (woeisemma), #12 (hairymonkbubble), and #13 (flounder) are the last three with more than 10,000 views, and they are all "inactive" (no posts since January).


wow... I'm in the top 10?? how did that happen? :confused: :p lol... now if only all those people who must be viewing my journal would post something :p hehe la la la

and to get this back to Guava :D I love those day's you don't have to run the heat or the air.. of course here in Florida there are only two or three of those day's in the spring and another two or three in the fall :p

Hey there... my desk calendar says that today's the Canadian Census.

Hope it all goes well for you and that you'll be back posting soon!

We leave for vacation (http://www.niagarafallslive.com/) bright and early tomorrow morning. We've got a room with an incredible view and a nice big jet tub.:D

“I find it fascinating that most people plan their vacations with better care than they plan their lives. Perhaps that is because escape is easier than change.” ~Jim Rohn

I just got my package of forms for the prison which I'll be visiting on Tuesday.:blank:

I've been using Jergens Natural Glow Daily Moisturizer a few times a week. I didn't actually realize when I bought it that it's a gradual self tanner. The only thing it says on the tube is that it "creates a healthy summer glow all year long just by moisturizing". I thought that just meant it had shimmering pearl particles in it like the last one I bought. But no, I now have a nice toasty look.:cool: I didn't take before and after pics, so I present to you this guy (http://www.theimpulsivebuy.com/wordpress/2005/08/02/jergens-natural-glow/) instead.

My husband got home from his business trip last night, and my mom will be coming tomorrow. Paramount Canada's Wonderland (http://www3.paramountparks.com/canadaswonderland/) is open this weekend, so we might all head off there on Sunday.:) I've got to see if any of the coasters match up to the thrill of The Incredible Hulk Coaster at Universal Islands of Adventure. We have season passes already, so we can go whenever we feel like it.

Today is supposed to be a cardio day, but I've given up on cardio for now, other than walking. I will probably do a leg workout.

It's a wet breezy day, but perfectly comfortable. We've reached that lovely season where you don't need to run either the heat or the air conditioner. The house is staying near a comfortable 24 degrees, and I finally had a decent sleep last night without a sweater on.:p

I'd heard that The Varieties of Religious Experience by William James is near the top of the list for 100 best nonfiction (http://www.primapublishing.com/modernlibrary/100bestnonfiction.html), so I requested it from my library. It's too intellectual for me, so I took out another one about religion as well. I keep hoping that someday this stuff might make some sense to me.

"The future, higher evolution will belong to those who live in joy, who share joy, and who spread joy." --Torkom Saraydarian

I was looking into using this but someone told me they could not stand the smell when they tried it. How about you? The review you linked to said the smell was good.

I think it's Dove that has come out with a competing product. Know anything about it?

P. S. Enjoy your time at Niagra Falls. When I used to live in Buffalo, N.Y., it was fun to go up there...

We leave for vacation (http://www.niagarafallslive.com/) bright and early tomorrow morning. We've got a room with an incredible view and a nice big jet tub.:D

“I find it fascinating that most people plan their vacations with better care than they plan their lives. Perhaps that is because escape is easier than change.” ~Jim Rohn

Have a great time Guava! Rent a barrel.

We're back from our two night vacation. I was a little disappointed that my husband was urgently needed at work this morning, so it cut our available time considerably, but the time that we had was fabulous!

We went to the casino, and by playing the quarter slots, I was able to make $5 last more than an hour. :p The following night, I found the nickle slots, so I had twice as much fun. We also went to a comedy club, which was fantastic, and we filled the rest of the time with a whole bunch of other activities that only adults do.;)

I found an amazing store that sells so many delicious-sounding varieties of coffee (http://www.victoriateas.com/CA/customer/home.php?cat=15&page=1) that I may just have to keep going back until I've tried them all. I bought a small package of maple cream flavor, and a pound of Four Seasons blend, which is a mix of chocolate, caramel, hazelnut and cinnamon flavors. Across the street, they had the most amazing bakery, with gooey cinnamon buns, fruit-infused muffins, chocolate-chip-covered cookies, and nut-topped brownies, but I wasn't hungry at the time, so I'll have to return for a treat on another occasion.

We watched a glass-blower (http://www.rossiglass.com/about-us.htm) at work, and I was so impressed that I decided to buy a creatively misshapen bowl. (I didn't like their famous cranberry glass, but I quite liked the blue piece I chose.) But, my most prized purchase is the bug under lucite (http://www.sunshinejoy.com/insect_jewelry.asp?Category=31&Name=Insect_Jewelry) that I'm wearing around my neck. I chose the weevil pendant with a glow in the dark background, and I love it.:nod:

I have NOT been sleeping well. :( I will have to take a couple of days to experiment with eliminating my two or three daily coffees, but today's not a good day, and tomorrow doesn't sound good either. I'll slowly prepare myself for it.

I was looking into using this but someone told me they could not stand the smell when they tried it. How about you? The review you linked to said the smell was good.

I think it's Dove that has come out with a competing product. Know anything about it?
The smell of the Jergens is not very nice. It's fine while you put it on, but the chemicals react uniquely with your skin, so the smell would be different for each person. I don't normally wear perfume, but I do have to spritz myself a few times to cover up this smell. I haven't heard of Dove's product, or wasn't aware that it had a self tanner in it.

There are two kinds of adventurers: those who go truly hoping to find adventure and those who go secretly hoping they won't. ~ William Trogdon

Just wanted to pop in and say it is good to see a name I remember from back when... being back (at least for the mean time) I will follow your profile again. Glad to see youre still with it.... and glassblowers are amazing watch. One of my favorite things is watching our glassblower fix our science equipment or make new things... such an art.

The smell of the Jergens is not very nice. It's fine while you put it on, but the chemicals react uniquely with your skin, so the smell would be different for each person. I don't normally wear perfume, but I do have to spritz myself a few times to cover up this smell. I haven't heard of Dove's product, or wasn't aware that it had a self tanner in it.

There are two kinds of adventurers: those who go truly hoping to find adventure and those who go secretly hoping they won't. ~ William Trogdon


Ahh... too late... I already bought a couple of bottles and one for the face... how long does the smell last? Would it help to put it on early and have it gone in a couple of hours? Are does it stay with you all day? Maybe putting it on at night and let the smell sleep off...:lol:

Nice! I dig the bug jewelery (http://www.sunshinejoy.com/insect_jewelry.asp?Category=31&Name=Insect_Jewelry). I've been looking to get a durable necklace. These look like they may just fit the bill. Thanks!

M@

Justitia, the scent of the lotion gets stronger until about 3 hours after you apply it, then it either fades, or I get used to the smell. You might put it on maybe an hour before bedtime (so it won't stain the sheets) then shower it off in the morning.

M@, you must acquire some bug jewelry. Mine is so cool it literally changes my day when I wear it.:nod:

I'm on phase II (part three, I suppose) of my job now. I have 4 1/2 weeks to collect 150 unreturned questionnaires. I'm almost 20% done after 6 or 7 hours work today. I hope to be half done by Monday. My crew leader expects me to take on a couple more assignments after that (in groups of 24 or 48 questionnaires) but I'm not enjoying this so far, so I might just call it quits when the time comes. It might be less stressful for me to slow my pace to match the other people that are doing it, but I'm of the mindset that I'd rather have it completed as quickly as possible. It insanely affects my diet and exercise schedule too. I need carbs when I'm feeling sensitive. I ate only bread, peanut butter, yogurt, oats, apples, and strawberries today. (But plenty of them) :blank:

It's a busy day tomorrow. I'm starting the day by helping to distribute uniforms and showing half a dozen 5 year olds how to play soccer. Then I meet with a landscape architect to design my dream garden. After that, I've left messages for several people that I'd like to pick up their forms if they still have them.:gl:

"Ive missed more than 9000 shots in my career, ive lost nearly 300 games. 26 times ive been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I have failed over, and over, and over again in my life... and that is why i succeed." -Michael Jordon

Justitia, the scent of the lotion gets stronger until about 3 hours after you apply it, then it either fades, or I get used to the smell. You might put it on maybe an hour before bedtime (so it won't stain the sheets) then shower it off in the morning.


"Ive missed more than 9000 shots in my career, ive lost nearly 300 games. 26 times ive been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I have failed over, and over, and over again in my life... and that is why i succeed." -Michael Jordon

Thanks for the info... it was just exactly what I needed...

And what a great quote.... I will remember that... in fact I think I will print it out and post it around. I need this right now...

Good going in both you work an your assessment of it for yourself... :)

My garden is going to be a LOT of work and will cost me a lot more than what I estimated.

Half a dozen of the people I've followed up on have already completed the questionnaire online. I'm supposed to have them redo it with me if it was more than a week ago. It's not a big deal for the short forms, but I refuse to ask them to redo the form that takes nearly an hour.

I was planning to still be out working right now, but it's wearing on my nerves.

My crew leader is drinking margaritas. I had a huge bowl of hazelnut gelato with sugar free chocolate sauce. I may move on to the tequila later on.

Laughter and tears are both responses to frustration and exhaustion . . . . I myself prefer to laugh, since there is less cleaning up to do afterward. ~ Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

I tried to get these files but the link was expired.:(

<snip>

Nickelback is too intense for today, so I've dragged out my favorite Romanian music. Have a listen.
1 (http://download.yousendit.com/B2E9A68420A2AECF)
2 (http://download.yousendit.com/A3B384B12C14663F)

Oh, put me in, coach - I’m ready to play today;
Put me in, coach - I’m ready to play today;
Look at me, I can be centerfield.
-John Fogerty

So my quote cheered me up.

I tried to get these files but the link was expired.:(
I uploaded them again for you.

Sarutarea Ta by Ambra and Tiger One (http://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=download&ufid=C17E2AD80B7F2A82)
Marcela by Bosquito (http://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=download&ufid=219475241B6FE999)

It's not my fault that there are computer errors in Statistics Canada's computer system.
If I don't hunt these questionnaires down, someone else has to. I'm pretty good at it, so it might as well be me.;) So I went out again and collected another 10 questionnaires and left reminders for dozens more.:D

Now I think I'll do a good workout before I settle down to a comfortable sleep. I'm hoping that if I'm nice, my husband will agree to drive me around tomorrow to do some more paper chasing.:)

The cure for grief is motion. ~ Elbert Hubbard

I walked for two and a half hours in the hot sun.

I now seem to have a combination of heat stroke and strep throat. It's so bad, I've prepared a liquid emergency diet plan for tomorrow, because it feels like I'm not going to be able to swallow.
I made grape jello mixed with yogurt and blueberries
I'm stocked up on tofu and frozen berries, so I'll have a smoothie for breakfast
A big bowl of mushy oats might be nice for lunch.

At least today was a "normal" day for food.
meal 1
toast with peanut butter
banana
coffee
water
meal 2
water
1 C cherry tomatoes
2 cobs of corn
meal 3
1 C cherry yogurt sprinkled with 1/2 C cereal
5 strawberries
meal 4
turkey burger and bun with onion, spinach, pickles
1 C raw baby carrots
diet Coke
meal 5
turkey burger (patty only)
1 C steamed broccoli
diet Coke

82g protein. My target is 100.Fitday estimates less than 1400 calories for that. That doesn't sound right. No wonder I can't bulk.:cry:

So, I'm off to bed then

When dreaming I'm guided through another world
Time and time again
At sunrise I fight to stay asleep
'Cause I don't want to leave the comfort of this place
'Cause there's a hunger, a longing to escape
From the life I live when I'm awake
So let's go there
Let's make our escape
Come on, let's go there
Let's ask can we stay?
Can you take me higher?
To the place where blind men see
Can you take me higher?
To the place with golden streets
Although I would like our world to change
It helps me to appreciate
Those nights and those dreams
But, my friend, I'd sacrifice all those nights
If I could make the Earth and my dreams the same
The only difference is
To let love replace all our hate
So let's go there
Let's make our escape
Come on, let's go there
Let's ask can we stay?
Up high I feel like I'm alive for the very first time
Up high I'm strong enough to take these dreams
And make them mine
~Creed

I think fitday is pretty spot on, looks like very little calories to me.

I remember your own advice once was never to drop below 1500 cals. Food for thought.

Id advise more caloric food. :nod:

Guava, that's undereating....bump things up and eat something of substance. Veggies are filling but have little cals.

You know this stuff already. Eat something of substance. Some rice or a sweet potato. Have some cottage cheese with natural applesauce with one of those meals.

;)

At least today was a "normal" day for food.
meal 1
toast with peanut butter
banana
coffee
water
meal 2
water
1 C cherry tomatoes
2 cobs of corn
meal 3
1 C cherry yogurt sprinkled with 1/2 C cereal
5 strawberries
meal 4
turkey burger and bun with onion, spinach, pickles
1 C raw baby carrots
diet Coke
meal 5
turkey burger (patty only)
1 C steamed broccoli
diet Coke

82g protein. My target is 100.Fitday estimates less than 1400 calories for that. That doesn't sound right. No wonder I can't bulk.:cry:
Are you sure this is a bulk? It looks like cutting to me - even for a small frame.

Are you sure this is a bulk? It looks like cutting to me - even for a small frame.
No, it's maintenance.

The low calorie days balance out the days when I have cake and ice cream. I will try to keep it more balanced.

Definitely will be eating more sweet potato tonight.:)

Seeing as how it is summer and I am becoming more aesthetically directed, and seeing as how my month-long ab attack back in February went quite well, I am doing another self challenge to keep myself focused:

The 28 day Butt Blast.

I realize you can't spot reduce fat, but that's not going to stop me from trying to achieve that illusion.

The first two weeks will be a mini-bulk, with a daily target of 2000 calories or more of mostly clean food(salmon heavy).

The next two weeks will be a mini-cut with a daily target of 1450 to 1550 calories (strawberry heavy)

I will lift at least four days per week, with at least two of those days being a lower body workout, including deadlifts and bench step-ups.

The first two weeks, I will do cardio for at least 90 minutes per week high intensity or at least 180 minutes walking. For the second two weeks, I will do cardio at least 120 minutes high intensity, or at least 200 minutes walking.

Current scale reading:
53.2 kg, 17.3 % body fat.

Target scale reading
53.5 kg, 15.5% body fat.

Today is a good day to start, which makes Monday July 3rd my target date.

"I just use my muscles as a conversation piece, like someone walking a cheetah down 42nd Street." — Arnold Schwarzenegger

If you want to do wonders for your butt....forget the cardio and just do squats and lunges.... you'll be much further ahead than cardio will ever bring you. IMO.

Good luck though with whatever you try ;)

p.s. I like your quote on the beaver LOL

Does your gym have a glute machine like this? It kicks ass!
http://www.exrx.net/AnimatedEx/GluteusMaximus/LVKneelingHipExtension.gif

http://www.foolserrand.com/funneh/graphic/bunny-steals-cookie_400w.jpg

Does your gym have a glute machine like this? It kicks ass!
http://www.exrx.net/AnimatedEx/GluteusMaximus/LVKneelingHipExtension.gif
No, I don't go to a gym. I do those with ankle weights, but 10 pounds doesn't seem to do very much.

Gordo, makes sense. I'll do stair climbing and high resistance elliptical as my cardio.

Why is there a bunny eating cookies in my journal?

Why is there a bunny eating cookies in my journal?

...because I read your journal, but don't usually have anything worthwhile to contribute, so I posted a ky00t picture of a bunny stealing a cookie. :)

...because I read your journal, but don't usually have anything worthwhile to contribute, so I posted a ky00t picture of a bunny stealing a cookie. :)

That does not look like a real bunny...looks like a sock puppet? :confused:

...because I read your journal, but don't usually have anything worthwhile to contribute, so I posted a ky00t picture of a bunny stealing a cookie. :)
thx
http://www.h6.dion.ne.jp/~yuebing/040414/11150019-s.JPG

:)

No, I don't go to a gym. I do those with ankle weights, but 10 pounds doesn't seem to do very much.

Gordo, makes sense. I'll do stair climbing and high resistance elliptical as my cardio.

Why is there a bunny eating cookies in my journal?


You can also do that exercise with resistance bands fairly easily.

I was going to comment "nice beaver" but was afraid it might come out wrong...doh...:doh:

So I requested another 48-bundle assignment. My husband thinks I'm nuts. I'm coaching soccer Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday evenings, I'm landscaping the back yard, I'm volunteering at the school's sale next weekend, I'm cleaning out the garage, and yesterday, tada, I finally cleared away the clutter to uncover my weight bench in the basement. A nudge in the right direction, and suddenly you can't stop me. I precooked a bunch of chocolate tofu oatmeal pancakes for breakfast, I'm going to buy a half dozen more cans of salmon and tuna, and today, I'm headed off to pick out a retaining wall for the bag yard. Diet was okay yesterday, if you consider that the large serving of brownies that I ate were fat free and low sugar brownie. (I'm the "snack lady" for my daugther's soccer tonight. I'm going to put that cake on skewers with bananas, pineapple, and marshmallows.)

My legs are not sore YET, but I worked them HARD yesterday. It was sort of an all-day workout, which may have been a mistake. I started early in the day with dumbbell bench step ups, then did deadlifts a few hours later. After I had the basement cleaned up, I did hamstring curls and leg extensions on the bench. Then before bed, I did squats, wall slides, ham curls with the ball, and sissy squats. Whew!

There are as many reasons for running as there are days in the year, years in my life. But mostly I run because I am an animal and a child, an artist and a saint. So, too, are you. Find your own play, your own self-renewing compulsion, and you will become the person you are meant to be. ~George Sheehan

So I requested another 48-bundle assignment. My husband thinks I'm nuts. I'm coaching soccer Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday evenings, I'm landscaping the back yard, I'm volunteering at the school's sale next weekend, I'm cleaning out the garage, and yesterday, tada, I finally cleared away the clutter to uncover my weight bench in the basement. A nudge in the right direction, and suddenly you can't stop me. I precooked a bunch of chocolate tofu oatmeal pancakes for breakfast, I'm going to buy a half dozen more cans of salmon and tuna, and today, I'm headed off to pick out a retaining wall for the bag yard. Diet was okay yesterday, if you consider that the large serving of brownies that I ate were fat free and low sugar brownie. (I'm the "snack lady" for my daugther's soccer tonight. I'm going to put that cake on skewers with bananas, pineapple, and marshmallows.)

My legs are not sore YET, but I worked them HARD yesterday. It was sort of an all-day workout, which may have been a mistake. I started early in the day with dumbbell bench step ups, then did deadlifts a few hours later. After I had the basement cleaned up, I did hamstring curls and leg extensions on the bench. Then before bed, I did squats, wall slides, ham curls with the ball, and sissy squats. Whew!

There are as many reasons for running as there are days in the year, years in my life. But mostly I run because I am an animal and a child, an artist and a saint. So, too, are you. Find your own play, your own self-renewing compulsion, and you will become the person you are meant to be. ~George Sheehan

Guava - those cake and fruit skewers sound like a GREAT idea! I am going to tell my wife about those as she is always looking for creative snacks etc...especially for when we have kids.

Its pretty funny, because if we lived in the same town I think our families would cross paths based on the similar interests we all hold. Things like fitness of course, but also landscaping (I know this is a temporary interest for you), soccer (I coached, reffed and played all my life), investment and who can forget the chocolate shop.

You are looking good for the summer, very fit and trim. Best of progress with your bulk and cut over the next several weeks!

:bang: (http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=24445)

Today's been a weird day.

I've recently been looking outward in an attempt to make myself feel better about myself. It's been working in a small way, but I don't think it's the ideal strategy. I keep trying to add things to my life to try to make it more exciting, when all I really need to do is consider the gifts I've already been given.

I'm going to try to chill out for a while, think about the preexisting things in my life that bring me joy, and focus on them. :)

I'm either moving into phase two of the sickness I've been teetering on the edge of, or my grass allergies are back. Sniffle sniffle.

meal 1
chocolate tofu oatmeal pancake
cherry yougurt
honeydew melon
coffee

meal 2
1/2 can salmon
two small pices bread
1/2 cucumber
3/4 tomato
1/2 red pepper
2 green onions
1 T salad dressing

meal 3
1/2 can salmon
two small pieces bread
green onion
1/4 C broccoli
1/4 C plain yogurt

meal 4
two slices bread with peanut butter
1/2 C fresh pineapple

meal 5
1 C raw spinach
1/2 C spaghetti
3/4 C meat sauce

I might take my girls to the circus tomorrow night. :)

If you are seeking creative ideas, go out walking. Angels whisper to a man when he goes for a walk. ~Raymond Inmon

I might take my girls to the circus tomorrow night. :)

The circus is so much fun for adults and big kids. Do it if you can, for the kids.:)

cool! well hidden messages.

Just wanted to stop in and say I love the avatar! You look great!!! Way better than the gymnast, oh, and I guess the Beaver, too :p

Anyway, have fun at the circus if you decide to go, and feel better soon!

cool! well hidden messages.
You like that, huh? Watch posts carefully. Points will be awarded for attentiveness. ;) (http://entertainment.tv.yahoo.com/entnews/wwn/20040413/108186840004.html)
Thanks bellezza. I can hardly believe that I'm the one in that avatar. Must be some kind of trick photography.

I didn't get my new assignment yet. Maybe she'll forget that I requested one. She let it slip that I get a bonus for each week that I work, so the longer I drag out this first assignment, the more I get paid. :confused: Sounds like I'll have time to go to the circus tonight. :lol:

My second favorite holiday is coming up. Canada Day is July 1st, and this year we're going to celebrate in the nation's capital (http://www.foundlocally.com/Ottawa/Entertainment/Festival-CanadaDay.htm)! Oh what fun it will be. :D

Could you let down your hair
Be transparent for awhile, just a little while
To see if you're human after all

Honesty is a hard attribute to find
When we all want to seem like
We've got it all figured out

Well let me be the first to say that I don't have a clue
I don't have all the answers
Ain't gonna pretend like I do

Just trying to find my way
Trying to find my way the best I know how

Well I haven't memorized all of the cute things to say
But I'm working on it
Maybe I'll master this art form someday
If I quote all the lines off the top of my head
Would you believe
That I fully understand all these things I've read

I'm just trying to find my way
Trying to find my way
Trying to find my way the best that I know how

Well I haven't got it all figured out quite yet but
Even if it takes my whole life to get to where I need to be
And if I should fall to the bottom of the end
I'll be one step back to you, and

I'm trying to find my way
~Lifehouse

Circus was okay. It's getting harder to impress me. After seeing "The Lion King" show twice at Disney's Animal Kingdom, it's hard to find anything else up to par. The traffic was insane. Parking access was horrible, so after driving down three one way streets and getting dead-ended twice, we found a spot about a mile away and walked there. I was proud of myself for not breaking down in tears. Driving is my absolute strongest stressor. My daughter had free children's tickets, but we couldn't find the ticket booth to get me one so we just joined the big huge line, and the guy at the front let me in without a ticket.:confused: They shot a guy out of a cannon. That was pretty neat. The acrobats were cool, but not any more talented than others I've seen. My favorite part was the little dog in the stuffed elephant costume. He was adorable.

I picked up the girls early from school, and we didn't have any time to eat before the show. They shared a popcorn and a snow cone. We finally got to the restaurant at 6:50, but we didn't get served our food until 7:30.:( By then, everyone was starving.

meal 1
chocolate tofu oatmeal pancakes
yogurt
coffee

meal 2
bread with peanut butter
banana
water

meal 3
granny smith apples
1/3 C canned cherries
1/3 C granola
1/2 C yogurt

meal 4
water
1 orange

meal 5
half an order of beef broccoli stir fry from the restaurant
slice of bread
diet Coke
two bites from each dish of chocolate peanut butter ice cream

Sniffle sniffle. Still not 100%, but it feels wimpy to take a break. Tuesday night I did two sets of bicep curls, two sets of tricep extensions, three sets of tricep dips, 25 crunches, 25 leg lifts, two sets of lateral raises and a set of front raises. Last night after coming home exhausted from the circus, I forced in two sets of six pullups, a couple of sets of bent over rows, a set of 20 pushups, fifteen crunches, and two sets of 8 bench press. My poor abs.:cry:

“A beginner does eight repetitions of a certain exercise with his maximum weight on the barbell. As soon as it hurts, he thinks about stopping. I work beyond this point, which means I tell my mind that as soon as it starts aching it is growing. Growing is something unusual for the body when you are over eighteen. The body isn’t used to ten, eleven, or twelve reps with a maximum weight. Then I do ten or fifteen sets of this in a row. No human body was ever prepared for this and suddenly it is making itself grow to handle this new challenge, growing through this pain area. Experiencing this pain in my muscles and aching and going on is my challenge. The last three or four reps is what makes the muscles grow. This area of pain divides a champion from someone who is not a champion. That’s what most people lack, having the guts to go on and just say they’ll go through the pain no matter what happens. I have no fear of fainting. I do squats until I fall over and pass out. So what? It’s not going to kill me. I wake up five minutes later and I’m OK. A lot of other athletes are afraid of this. So they don’t pass out. They don’t go on.” - Arnold Schwarzenegger

Circus was okay. It's getting harder to impress me. After seeing "The Lion King" show twice at Disney's Animal Kingdom, it's hard to find anything else up to par.


I have 3 friends that are tumble monkeys in that show :)

Awesome quote!!

I have 3 friends that are tumble monkeys in that show :)
In the Lion King?! I love those cute little monkeys. I'd go back to Florida just to see them again!

I'm still in the middle of an identity crisis. My crew leader said the nicest things about me today, so I'm determined to do my best to keep pleasing her.:p I have some forms to drop off tonight on the way to soccer practice, then to pick them up tomorrow. She'd like me to do a couple more assignments, which I'd really rather pass on, but it's hard for me to say no.

I think I'm quite possibly quite sick, but I can't seem to be able to slow down. (Laying off the caffeine might help.) I can see a crash coming on; I'm bracing myself.

I ate half of a Promax Double Fudge Brownie (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00024D3HG/103-4493729-6932642?v=glance&n=3760901) with some oranges and yogurt for supper tonight because I didn't feel like cooking for myself after making two separate meals for the rest of the family.:bang: I don't normally buy protein bars, but it was on clearance last week at the drug store. It was pretty tasty, but I should have had my vegetables instead.:nono:

The more I train, the more I realize I have more speed in me. ~Leroy Burrell

I have 3 friends that are tumble monkeys in that show :)

The Festival of the Lion King at Animal Kingdom is my absolute favorite part of DisneyWorld. We always save it for the last thing we do there, and I always cry a little at the end. I'm a pansy little girl like that. :cry:

I eat a Promax bar almost every day. The guy at the GNC sells them to me at cost... $5.00 a box. I have a Coconut Caramel on for my 9pm meal right here on my desk at the Y.

I'm a pansy little girl like that. :cry:

:nod:

Pansies are my absolute favorite flower.:nod:
http://www.cherylh.com/cards/alaska%20blue/images/pansies.jpg
I bought dozens of them and planted them liberally around my house. Their "faces" make me smile.

I'm playing around with some more trick photography. I might add some of the good ones to my Gallery of Truth in the members section; it's pretty funny what different angles and lighting can result in. I have huge shoulders.:bb:

I'm in the middle of a house-cleaning-weight-lifting-wasting-time circuit training. I get bored easily, so this style works well for me. So far I did 20 wall slides (warm-up), made the bed, 12 lunges right leg (22 pounds), 12 lunges left leg (22 pounds) put away some laundry, 15 squats (22 pounds), swept the kitchen, 12 lunges right leg, 12 lunges left leg, put away some laundry, 15 squats. I started carrying my weights down to the basement to do some bench step-ups, but it felt pretty hard, so I just walked up and down the stairs again three more times with the weights.:D Still left to do: hamstring curls, leg extensions, and another few up/down routes on the stairs.

yesterday

meal 1 7:15
toast with peanut butter
banana
coffee

meal 2 forgot to eat until 2:00 :doh:
chocolate tofu oatmeal pancakes
cherry yogurt
water

meal 3 4:30
1/2 promax bar
chocolate tofu oatmeal pancake
cherry yogurt
orange
diet Coke

meal 4 9:30
decaf
2 C raw spinach with banana chips, dried cranberries, smoked almonds and raspberry vinaigrette

"Physical fitness is not only one of the most important keys to a healthy body, it is the basis of dynamic and creative intellectual activity." - John F. Kennedy

Is it a sign of sickness to view Black Forest Frozen Yogurt as evil?

No. I've tried that one (the our compliments version) it was too sickly sweet for me (and I have a pretty decent sweet tooth) ditto on Jumbleberry....didn't like it.

Chapmans decadent chocolate, vanilla, and cherry frozen yogourts line our freezer. Nothing beats the vanilla :tu:

Made these cranberry-lemon muffins (http://www.lutheranwomen.ca/community/receta003.htm) the other day and while they are a little tart (and heavier since I use whole wheat flour). They are good, they need more lemon flavour than the recipe calls for though. I skip the glaze.

http://www.lutheranwomen.ca/images/cranlemon.jpg

Is it a sign of sickness to view Black Forest Frozen Yogurt as evil?

No. I've tried that one (the our compliments version) it was too sickly sweet for me (and I have a pretty decent sweet tooth) ditto on Jumbleberry....didn't like it.

Chapmans decadent chocolate, vanilla, and cherry frozen yogourts line our freezer. Nothing beats the vanilla :tu:

Made these cranberry-lemon muffins (http://www.lutheranwomen.ca/community/receta003.htm) the other day and while they are a little tart (and heavier since I use whole wheat flour). They are good, they need more lemon flavour than the recipe calls for though. I skip the glaze.

http://www.lutheranwomen.ca/images/cranlemon.jpg
Are you reading my archives?

You're on topic, but you're not on topic.:confused:

I LOVE the black forest frozen yogurt. I haven't bought any in a couple of months though. (I think I may have decided it's too sweet as well. I'm even mixing my Splenda-sweetened cherry yogurt with plain to tone down the sweetness.) I've been eating hazelnut gelato. Isn't gelato supposed to be dairy free? I don't know why they call this gelato.

Do you have lemon extract? I bought some in Romania and it is incredible. I think it might be stronger than what you can find here. I make these (http://brunch.allrecipes.com/az/RspbrryLmnMffins.asp) raspberry lemon muffins myself, but with fat free yogurt and Splenda instead of sugar.

You're on topic, but you're not on topic.

LOL just bouncing around (a little old mixed with new)....

hehe, sorry for the confusion...I think I got cross-linked along the way somehow.

lemon extract? No. just that Real Lemon juice (green bottle) stuff. I'll probably do them again with a couple of TB's of jemon juice added.

I noticed that source is offering the Lemon Meringue Parfait (http://www.yoplait.ca/source/en/Dessert.aspx#) in the 650g containers. The sugar is a little higher though for yogourt (compared to plain) but might work well in the muffin recipe for adding lemon taste and a little sweetness (in the grand scheme of things it won't be a huge deal).

sorry for the confusion...I think I got cross-linked along the way somehow.
I think I know where you came from. I'm trying to fix that link. I had it set to jump to page 9, which for starts at May 27th, but may have gone further back for others. :confused: I've never properly figured out that "jump to post" notation, with the p or the # or whatever other special numbers and characters you need to use. I've asked John about it three times and still can't remember.

I love the lemon meringue yogurt, but the taste wouldn't be strong enough for the muffins. Love my flavor extracts. This is the one I have. (http://www.oetker.ca/cgi-bin/WebObjects/oetker.woa/wa/page?focus=CA&option=prd_321&destination=page_36)

My triceps grew yesterday. I could feel it. And my butt is growing today. Ouch.:lol:

yesterday
meal 1
toast with peanut butter
banana
coffee

meal 2
black bean chili with barley
cucumber, tomato, onion and peppers with French dressing
(I bought a couple of cherry peppers (http://www.lowfatlifestyle.com/flavoring/peppers_fresh_dried/cherry.htm) at the grocery store, and used this in my salad. I forgot to wash my hands afterwards. I got an itchy eye, and after I scratched it, I was crying for about an hour.:lol: )
water

meal 3
hazelnut gelato ice cream cone:o
coffee

meal 4
chicken breast in a whole wheat pita with tomato and spinach, peanut butter, yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, and freshly harvested lemon balm:)
decaf

meal 5
nectarine

I'm drinking too much coffee.:nono:

"If you always put limit on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them. " - Bruce Lee

meal 1 7:15
toast with peanut butter
1/2 large banana
coffee

meal 2 10:30
puffy egg white, spinach, and crab conconction I invented that tasted terrible. I think next time I'll make crab cakes or crab crepes from my canned crab.

meal 3 1:00
coffee
:spank:

meal 4 4:00
1/2 C cherry yogurt
1/2 large banana

Still quite hungry. Checked fitday and its says only 600 calories so far. :eek: Do you know there's only 80 calories in a can of crab? :confused: I should try to pack in about 1400 more calories in the five or six hours left before bedtime. Good thing there's cake in the fridge.:lol: I'm not sure yet what I'll have for supper besides sweet potato and broccoli. My husband is barbecuing ribs, but I have this belief that ribs are evil, so I think I'll pass on them.

Need to drink much more water as well.

"Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly until you learn to do it well." ~Steve Brown

I should try to pack in about 1400 more calories in the five or six hours left before bedtime. Good thing there's cake in the fridge.:lol: I'm not sure yet what I'll have for supper besides sweet potato and broccoli. My husband is barbecuing ribs, but I have this belief that ribs are evil, so I think I'll pass on them.
I suppose ribs are no more evil than cake is.

I decided that the ribs wouldn't kill me, so I ate a piece about the size of two decks of cards (including bones). Did it really have 700 calories and 53 grams of fat (http://www.thecaloriecounter.com/Foods/1000/10089/1/Food.aspx)? Wow. Also ate 1/2 large sweet potato, a few broccoli florets, a pink lady apple ;) , 1/2 promax bar, and a cherry yogurt.

Before bed workout last night:
two sets 6 pull-ups
two sets 12 upright rows 22 pounds
two sets 12 bent over rows 22 pounds
two sets 20 supermans
15 pushups
8 bench press 22 pound dumbbells
20 shrugs
20 crunches
20 leg raises

Anyway, I'm not at all hungry today. I wonder if it's just psychological.

meal 1 9:30 am
apple cinnamon oatmeal flax pancake
maple flavored organic yogurt
coffee

meal 2 1:30 (not yet)

"Energy is the essence of life. Every day you decide how you're going to use it by knowing what you want and what it takes to reach that goal, and by maintaining focus." ~Oprah Winfrey

And so begins Week #2.

I had to force myself to eat yesterday.

I couldn't stomach anything after breakfast until 3:00. At that time, I made a fruit salad with banana, fresh pineapple, fresh raspberries, and ate it with cherry yogurt and apple oatmeal pancakes. At 4:00, I ate half a pink lady apple. At 5:30, I had three small tomatoes. At 6:00, I had a bowl of Shreddies with milk and fresh raspberries, and at 6:30, a bowl of fat free butterscotch pudding with granola. Before bed, I had toast with peanut butter and a banana. I can't force myself to meet my protein intake when I'm not well. Carbs are my comfort food. Unfortunately, I'm lactose intolerant, and, even though I took 4 tablets of lactase enzyme, I still suffered all evening from the 2 C of dairy products I consumed in such a short time.:o

I'm still pretty bummed out. I'm hoping it's physically related, because psychological problems perceive to be a lot more difficult to solve.:bang:

Because I was tired, I wasn't in much of a mood for a workout, but I wanted to get one done anyway. I strapped on some ankle weights, and did the type of leg raises that aerobics instructors always used to recommend, along with some crunches, wall slides, and modified reverse hyperextensions.

My husband's gone to Orlando for the week.:(

I have soccer for the little one tonight, soccer for the big one tomorrow and Thursday. I have a few more Census questionnaires to follow up on, and I'm considering picking up one more little assignment. If I'm still bummed out, I'll plan some kind of outing for Wednesday evening. Aparently, my daughter is a pretty good bowler. She was at a birthday party on Saturday and picked up a prize for her skills.

Promise yourself to be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind. Look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true. Think only of the best, work only for the best, and expect only the best. Forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future. Give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others. Live in the faith that the whole world is on your side so long as you are true to the best that is in you! ~ Christian D. Larson, American Author and Educator

Hey Guava, Hope you feel better soon! I know how it is when you get into those funks sometimes. Sticking to my routine is always what helps pull me out of it. Everyone is different though, so I hope you can get back in gear soon!

Sticking to my routine is always what helps pull me out of it.
Yes, I feel better when I force myself to do healthy stuff.

In honor of national blood donor week (which coincides with World Blood Donor Day (http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=28877)), I made myself an appointment to donate blood today at 2:00. Now I have to make sure my nutrition is up to par.:p

My husband is barbecuing ribs, but I have this belief that ribs are evil, so I think I'll pass on them.

:eek: Blasphemy :nono:

Trim them well (this is where people screw up and all the misconceptions about ribs comes in).
Remove the membrane on the underside.
Slow Boil them for several hours.
Finish on the grill for about 3-5 mins
(sauce after they come off the heat...totally optional....I don't but I do for the kids).

Very tasty/healthy/lean perfect food anytime :claplow:


Hope you're feeling better. Save the flu's and the like for the winter....get out there and enjoy summer!

I made myself an appointment to donate blood today at 2:00. Now I have to make sure my nutrition is up to par.:p
Until of course, the post blood donating cookies and juice. ;)

I've been rejected. :( My iron is at 122, whatever that means, and they require a level of 125.

So I'll be religiously taking my vitamins and eating plenty of iron-rich foods (they gave me a list) until my next appointment in the middle of August.

meal 1 7:30
toast with peanut butter
banana
coffee

meal 2 10:30
apple oatmeal pancakes

meal 3 1:00
spinach salad with dried cranberries and smoked almonds
smoked turkey sandwich on whole wheat with lettuce and tomatoes

meal 4 2:30
two oatmeal cookies
peach drink
coffee
(They wouldn't take my blood, but they still let me eat their snacks.;) )

Thanks to Daniel Powter and the miracle of St. Johns' Wort, I'm feeling a little better now.

I've got the hotel booked for our Canada Day vacation weekend.:D

Catch on fire with enthusiasm and people will come from miles to watch your burn. ~John Wesley :confused:

I've been rejected. :( My iron is at 122, whatever that means, and they require a level of 125.
Did they have you fill out the questionaire before the iron test? Both times I've done it they've almost not let me donate. You can't donate if you've lived in Europe for 5 or more years since 1980 but according to them Ukraine doesn't count. :rolleyes: I ask because you've lived for extended periods in many countries.

I'm glad to see there is another coffee drinker in our midst. It seems I've become addicted. I enjoy a fresh cup morning and evening. I used to never drink it.

Did they have you fill out the questionaire before the iron test? Both times I've done it they've almost not let me donate. You can't donate if you've lived in Europe for 5 or more years since 1980 but according to them Ukraine doesn't count. :rolleyes: I ask because you've lived for extended periods in many countries.
Yeah, I'm a little worried about that. I only lived in Europe for 3 years. Romania was not one of their target countries either. (Odd, because it has one of the highest rates of AIDS (http://www.chron.com/content/chronicle/special/99/hiv/romaniacover.html) anywhere - half of the pediatric cases in all of Europe.) They didn't seem concerned about China.

I'm a little discouraged with my fitness program. The whole point of all of this is to be a healthy person, and if my iron puts me at a level where I'm not healthy enough to donate blood, then my goals are not structured properly.

For blood donors, the iron level is required to be slightly higher than what is considered the “normal range.”Approximately 10 percent of those individuals who register to donate are temporarily deferred and the majority of deferrals are due to low iron. The body does not store iron well and the level can fluctuate almost daily. An increase in iron intake will generally raise the level and allow an individual to meet the requirements to donate.

So my iron level is normal *Sigh* but I never said I wanted to be normal. I expect to be exceptional. I'll be more conscientious about my daily multivatimin, but I'm also going to focus a little bit more on the health aspects of the foods I choose. There's probably something "healthier" I could be eating each morning than toast with peanut butter and a banana.

I'm also only 8 pounds away from their cutoff for low body weight. I should give some more serious consideration to bulking, and not with muscle; my body fat percentage is already borderline low.:(

I'll chew on this for a while, and I'll try to come up with something a little more cheerful to post a little later.

Do not look for rest in any pleasure, because you were not created for pleasure: you were created for joy. And if you do not know the difference between pleasure and joy you have not yet begun to live. ~ Thomas Merton

I'm also only 8 pounds away from their cutoff for low body weight. I should give some more serious consideration to bulking, and not with muscle; my body fat percentage is already borderline low.

IMHO, you SHOULD consider bulking with muscle. The fat will tag along for the ride (it does for everyone) but you'll minimize the damage if you are mindful of focusing on muscle gains.

Here's yesterday's update then:

meal 5 5:30
toast with peanut butter
banana
cherry yogurt
granola

meal 6 7:30
watermelon

Due to this week's crappy nutrition, I will not be cutting next week.:nope: My calories have probably only been meeting my maintenance level; no extra for growth. Problem is, the only thing I feel like eating on top of my "regular" foods is toast and peanut butter, cereal, and yogurt (Or cake and ice cream. I can always eat cake.). Could be just my mood, or it might be the season. Maybe some protein powder would be a good idea. I opened up one of those huge cans of salmon this morning, which I plan to eat most of today.

My daughter was vomiting explosively last night, so we didn't get to go to soccer. She was so heartbroken; she loves her soccer games.

We were visited by a travelling art gallery. At least, that's how I like to look at it. A student from one of the local art schools came by to sell some paintings. I told her I bought one last year and didn't have any more room for any more art, but she insisted she wanted to show them to me anyway. So we all sat at the front step while she leafed through the stack on our porch. We had great discussions about perspective, texture, and color. My older daughter has a really keen artistic eye.

I was planning a run on the elliptical, but after mopping the floor, it appeared to be a beautiful day, so I took a brisk walk to the library to return three gardening books and choose two more.

The garden is coming along slowly. Rather than carting away 1.5 cubic yards of lawn, my husband decided we should pick out all of the stones by hand and enrich it with fertilizer and peat moss. He was out there for more than six hours on the weekend, and I've been at it a couple of hours already, plus I've made three trips to the garden centre. My little one got a kick out of helping me spread out the "cow poop" yesterday afternoon. I planted some sweet woodruff around half of the bottom of my tree out front. I'd planned to put some coleus on the other half, but I couldn't find it at the garden centre. I just noticed it as I was pulling out of the parking lot, but by then it was too late.:doh:
http://www.ashland-city.k12.oh.us/ahs/classes/hort/2004/may10/woodruff.jpg
http://www.webaccess.net/~paulevi/photos/coleus.jpg

I feel successful today.:)

"Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it." ~Maya Angelou

Europe
That's why I can't donate blood, but I hate needles anyway. :lol:

Guava bulking
Guava's bulking journal is one I would definitely subscribe to. I'd be really interested in it, and Guava I think you'd do great! :nod:

meal 6 7:30
watermelon

It may be a matter of differing opinions....but watermelon by itself is not a meal. Course you possibly eat it by the whole melon so who knows ;)
(I know I do....once I get started with watermelon I can't stop :D ).

Guava's bulking journal is one I would definitely subscribe to.

Ditto. It might show people that you don't need gobs of protein to bulk...quite the opposite mindset. Guava would be a good advocate for that.

It may be a matter of differing opinions....but watermelon by itself is not a meal. Course you possibly eat it by the whole melon so who knows ;) "Mom, where's the watermelon? It was here a minute ago." :D

No, I just had a few slices.

It's still very hard for me to make that psychological leap to bulking. It is so firmly ingrained that women are meant to be tiny dainty creatures that it's hard to push against that ideal. Even though I'm so small that I can't buy my clothing in a regular clothing store, it still doesn't seem right to want to be bigger.:bang: I hated being overweight.

I called it a night early yesterday, but then I said "It's only 9:15, I could do a few tricep dips." Or 20 of them twice, and 2 x 8 tricep extensions (22 pounds) and 2x10 bicep curls (22 pounds) and 2 x 6 hammer curls (22 pounds) and 2 x 12 shoulder presses (22 pounds) and 2 x 12 bent over rear deltoid raises (8 pounds) and 2 x 12 middle back shrugs (8 pounds)

If I bulk, I'll be needing an upgrade on the dumbbells.

I have a really hard time trying to get the "appropriate" amount of calories into me on "off" days. On days I'm not feeling quite right, I don't trust my appetite (it feels more like cravings than hunger), so I probably end up not eating as much as I should. I'm not proud of what I ate today. (which is remarkably similar to what I've been eating for the last few days):

2 slices whole wheat bread
1 T peanut butter
1 banana

3 slices whole wheat bread
300 g wild sockeye salmon
1/4 C spinach
1 green onion
1/4 C plain fat free yogurt

1 slice whole wheat bread
1 T peanut butter
1 banana

1/4 C chicken breast
1/2 C steamed broccoli
1/4 C sweet potato

1 slice watermelon

leftover crust from pizza

1 orange

I'm still hungry, but I don't know what to eat. I'm snacking on fresh blueberries until I decide. There were a whole bunch of different foodsI was thinking about eating, but I didn't eat them because I knew I'd have to report them here.

I have barley soaking on the stove. It's going to be a bean salad tomorrow.

Am I meeting my nutrient requirements?
Vitamin A
Intake - 226.67mcg
RDA - 800mcg
28.33%

Folate
Intake - Folate 329.98 mcg
RDA - 400 mcg
82.5%

Iron
Intake 12.2 mg
RDA - 15 mg
81.35 %

Zinc
Intake 9.21 mg
RDA 12 mg
76.77 %

1526 calories 27% from fat, 46% from carbs 27% from protein (100g) 28 g fibre.

Not so bad. Protein and fibre are on target, and my mutivitamin makes up for the missing nutrients. However, I should be eating at least 300 calories more for maintenance, or at least 500 calories more for a slow/moderate bulk.

I fixed up last night by having some Shreddies before bed. It put me up to par for iron and folate, and at 99 % for vitamin A.

The macronutrient graph looks really pretty if I can manage to get carbs at exactly half and protein and fat at 25% each.:D So there's my goal; a pretty graph.;) If I knew how to print the screen, I'd show you how nice and balanced it looks.

Calories Eaten Yesterday
grams cals %total
Total: 1751
Fat: 47 421 25%
Sat: 10 94 6%
Poly: 13 121 7%
Mono: 17 157 9%
Carbs: 248 846 50%
Fiber: 36 0 0%
Protein: 107 430 25%
Alcohol: 0 0 0%

Today:
meal 1 7:30
Red River Cereal with raisins
coffee

meal 2 11:00
barley bean salad with red pepper and green onion
1 slice whole wheat bread
100 g sockeye salmon

meal 3 2:00
Red River Cereal
cherry yogurt
Slimfast bar
:spank:

meal 4 4:45
steamed broccoli
roasted walnuts

meal 5 5:30
whole wheat pita
lean ground beef and TVP with taco seasoning
spinach, tomatoes
fat free sour cream
salsa

Calories Eaten Today
grams cals %total
Total: 1831
Fat: 39 355 21%
Sat: 8 71 4%
Poly: 14 126 7%
Mono: 13 118 7%
Carbs: 294 975 57%
Fiber: 51 0 0%
Protein: 94 375 22%
Alcohol: 0 0 0%

Nutrient requirements that fitday tracks are bang on.:tu:

If I could eat 3 eggs and 3 egg whites, I'll get to 25/50/25 for today:D But I don't think I can hold 2104 calories. I should have eaten them instead of the Slimfast bar.:doh:

Today's workout (done this morning instead of tonight):
deadlifts 2x20 x 22 pounds
leg extension (single leg) 2x12 x 40 pounds
ham curls (single leg) 10 x 30 pounds, 6 x 30 pounds (damn, this hurts my shins and calves!)
dumbbell bench step-ups 12 each leg 22 pounds (these are not fun. I wish my bench was shorter)
various indescribable glute torture

Let him who would move the world, first move himself. ~ Socrates

The pick your own strawberry season will begin Thursday June 15. We will be picking daily 9-4:30, 7 days a week. Weather permitting, the season should last 3 weeks. The price for pick your own strawberries is $1.60 per pound.

:claphigh: :claphigh: :claphigh:

Yesterday I made Oatmeal Peanut Butter Tofu Cookies.

I reduced the sweetener by 1/3, and I doubled the tofu by mistake, so I added an extra 1/2 C each of oats and peanut butter. They were even better than usual.

HOLY COW THESE THINGS ARE HEAVENLY (http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?p=302938&r#post302938)!

I have trouble keeping them in my freezer without stealing one once in a while, and my kids go absolutely nuts for them. I had to limit them to four each yesterday or they would have finished the whole batch. They make perfect bribes for any imaginable chore I might dream up.:D

"I can feel the wind go by when I run. It feels good. It feels fast." - Evelyn Ashford

The pick your own strawberry season will begin Thursday June 15. We will be picking daily 9-4:30, 7 days a week. Weather permitting, the season should last 3 weeks. The price for pick your own strawberries is $1.60 per pound.

Thanks for reminding (http://www.jonesfamilyfarms.com/) me.

June 15
Bread, whole wheat, 100% ( 3 regular slice ) 207 4 39 8
Peanut butter ( 1 tablespoon ) 95 8 3 4
Banana, raw ( 1 cup, NFS ) 138 1 35 2
Barley ( 0.2 cup ) 130 1 27 5
Kidney bean salad ( 0.3 cup ) 105 4 14 4
Cereals, Red River ( 1 cup ) 154 3 27 6
Raisins ( 0.2 cup ) 87 0 23 1
Tuna, canned, water pack ( 0.6 cup, NFS ) 96 1 0 21
Zucchini, includes skin, cooked,( 1 cup, sliced ) 29 0 7 1
Yogurt, frozen, chocolate, lowfat milk ( 0.5 cup ) 114 2 22 5
Textured vegetable protein, dry ( 0.3 cup, NFS ) 67 0 8 10
Chickpeas, canned ( 0.3 cup ) 86 1 16 4
Pepper, sweet, red, raw ( 0.3 cup, NFS ) 12 0 3 0
Onions, young green, raw ( 1 small) 2 0 0 0
extra lean hamburger (2 sandwich) 672 26 63 45
Totals 1993 50 287 115

Total: 1993
Fat: 50 449 24%
Sat: 17 149 8%
Poly: 11 96 5%
Mono: 19 174 9%
Carbs: 287 993 52%
Fiber: 39 0 0%
Protein: 115 460 24%
Alcohol: 0 0 0%

Deficiencies :(
Fat-Soluble Vitamins
Nutrient % RDA
Vitamin A 44.56
Vitamin D 16.44
Vitamin E 69.87
Vitamin K 21.04

Major Minerals
Nutrient % RDA
Calcium 51.39

I did, however, take a multivitamin.

2 sets 6 pull-ups
2 sets 20 pushups
2 sets 12 upright rows 22 pounds
2 sets 12 bench press 22 pounds
2 sets 12 shrugs 22 pounds
20 crunches
1 set 4 pull-ups

June 16
Bread, whole wheat, 100% ( 1 large slice ) 79 1 15 3
Peanut butter ( 1 tablespoon ) 95 8 3 4
Kidney bean salad ( 0.6 cup ) 209 9 27 8
Chickpeas, canned ( 0.2 cup ) 57 1 11 2
Pepper, sweet, red, raw ( 0.3 cup, NFS ) 12 0 3 0
Zucchini, includes skin, cooked, ( 1 cup, sliced ) 29 0 7 1
Strawberries, raw ( 1 cup, NFS ) 46 1 11 1
Textured vegetable protein, dry ( 0.2 cup, NFS ) 45 0 5 6
Extra lean hamburger, ( 1.5 sandwich ) 504 19 48 34
Spinach, raw 7 0 1 1
Carrots, raw ( 1 cup, NFS ) 47 0 11 1
Total 1129 39 142 61
I feel full.:blank:

Total: 1129
Fat: 39 353 33%
Sat: 12 109 10%
Poly: 10 86 8%
Mono: 15 136 13%
Carbs: 142 465 44%
Fiber: 25 0 0%
Protein: 62 248 23%
Alcohol: 0 0 0%

Deficiencies :(
Fat-Soluble Vitamins
Nutrient % RDA
Vitamin D 16.44%
Vitamin E 68.77%

Water-Soluble Vitamins
Nutrient % RDA
Thiamin 97.94 %
Riboflavin 85.06 %

Trace Minerals
Nutrient % RDA
Iron 3.72 %
Zinc 83.43 %
Selenium 34.65 %

Major Minerals
Nutrient % RDA
Calcium 32.94 %
Magnesium 89.86 %

Also, I took a multivitamin.

My little girl wouldn't let me go to the strawberry farm yesterday, because she wanted to come with me. So we went this morning. It's such a beautiful drive out to the farm, and the farm itself is gorgeous, so we had a fantastic day. :) We picked 14 pounds of strawberries. I picked out the ripest ones for immediate consumption, picked out the largest ones and chopped them into eighths and froze them to add to muffins, and froze the smallest ones whole on a cookie sheet to eat in fruit salad or make margaritas with. :p I'm not quite sure yet what to do with the other 8 pounds.:doh:

My husband will be home from Orlando in an hour.
:claphigh:

As we acquire more knowledge, things do not become more comprehensible but more mysterious. ~ Albert Schweitzer

Yesterday got better when I added another cup of strawberries, cup of yogurt, some cereal, more toast and peanut butter. Adding more food means more nutrients for the day. Logical enough.

Total: 1773
Fat: 52 468 28%
Sat: 15 135 8%
Poly: 13 119 7%
Mono: 20 182 11%
Carbs: 256 853 51%
Fiber: 43 0 0%
Protein: 89 354 21%
Alcohol: 0 0 0%

Low on vitamin D (16.44%), selenium (90%), and calcium (76%).

Not a diet I'd specifically recommend to anyone, but because I will always put my peace of mind ahead of my appearance, I'd still call it a success.

Today is not going good. I'm presently incredibly nauseated, which may be from the gummy-worm-topped-chocolate-frosting-coated cupcake I bought at the sale to support our school.:doh:

Can't shake the sniffles. It would have been better to be sick for a day instead of having this queasiness lingering on for weeks.:mad: Not a good time to be in the middle of a "transformation". I'm not expecting great results by the beginning of July, but I am expecting "results" because of the sheer amount of strength training that I'm doing. I was not going to do anything last night, but I couldn't let myself go to bed. 12 squats, 10 lunges each leg (22 pounds) 2x12 sissy squats, and a bunch of other stuff that I forget because I was such a zombie when I did them. (At one point I was too tired to get up off my floor to get into bed, but once I did convince myself get up, I did a workout.:flex: )

So far today:
Total: 705
Fat: 23 209 30%
Sat: 5 45 6%
Poly: 6 53 8%
Mono: 10 94 14%
Carbs: 114 400 57%
Fiber: 14 0 0%
Protein: 22 88 13%
Alcohol: 0 0 0%

Need more foods rich in Vitamin A, Vitamin D, Vitamin K, Vitamin C, Vitamin B-12, Folate, Iron, Zinc, Calcium.

That's a tall order.:eek: Sounds like maybe some eggs, cottage cheese, and spinach (and strawberries :D ) might do it. We'll see how things are going later on. http://www.clicksmilies.com/s0105/wuerg/vomit-smiley-001.gif

"We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life, when all that we need to make us really happy is something to be enthusiastic about." ~ Charles Kingsley

woman! you have some energy :tu: and ive noticed that about women with children..it s as if they re suddenly endowed with phenomenal amounts.

dont feel too bad about the blood donation...
i got so pumped up once, even though i absolutely hate the sight of needles! so anyway... i get to the blood bank and the woman clears me ... i sail through my nervous pangs, she attaches the bag!...and suddenly this lady (the doctor) comes screaming, why are you taking her blood! ok so im 5 4' and weigh bout 112 lbs, i never thought of myself as underweight or deficient ....anyway i thought i was going to die!! ... cutting the story short she wouldnt take more than half a bag, and consoled me saying it would do for a baby .. i never went back again!!!!

Even when I'm trying to bulk, I have trouble eating over maintenance calories.:bang:
Total: 1717
Fat: 46 412 25%
Sat: 10 90 5%
Poly: 14 127 8%
Mono: 17 154 9%
Carbs: 243 818 50%
Fiber: 38 0 0%
Protein: 104 416 25%
Alcohol: 0 0 0%

Did not meet target for Vitamin D, K, B-12, Iron, Zinc, Calcium :( but I took a multivitamin.:)

woman! you have some energy :tu: and ive noticed that about women with children..it s as if they re suddenly endowed with phenomenal amounts.

dont feel too bad about the blood donation...
i got so pumped up once, even though i absolutely hate the sight of needles! so anyway... i get to the blood bank and the woman clears me ... i sail through my nervous pangs, she attaches the bag!...and suddenly this lady (the doctor) comes screaming, why are you taking her blood! ok so im 5 4' and weigh bout 112 lbs, i never thought of myself as underweight or deficient ....anyway i thought i was going to die!! ... cutting the story short she wouldnt take more than half a bag, and consoled me saying it would do for a baby .. i never went back again!!!!
:lol: I'm not this crazy when I'm not in the middle of one of my "plans". I don't like cardio, but I love lifting weights. It never feels like a chore to me.

I'm 5'5", and about 118 pounds, so I'm not sure if it would necessarily be unwise to donate blood or not. Their cutoff is aparently 110 pounds, but I did not see a scale anywhere, so I'm assuming that if I look healthy enough and pass the iron test, I'll be okay. If I get turned away when I go back in August, I don't think I'll bother trying again.

Last night's workout:
2 sets of 20 tricep dips.

To finish off the day a little better balanced, I need a source of vitamin D that's high in protein. Today was a very high carb day because I'm still not feeling myself. I've eaten mostly low fat no sugar added whole wheat strawberry muffins and fat free cherry yogurt. I've been eating generous amounts of strawberries. I also had a small beef and soy burger, and a large spinach apple and raisin salad, and a bowl of cereal with almond milk on it. The almond milk is fabulous (http://www.bluediamond.com/retail/breeze/index.cfm). In 1 C it has 60 calories. 8g carbs, 1 g fibre, 2.5 g fat, 1 g protein. It meets 20% of my daily calcium needs, and 10% each for Vitamin E and phosphorous, and 2% of my iron needs. But most importantly, it is silky smooth and absolutely delicious. If it wasn't $4/L, I would drink it several times a day every day.

Calories Eaten Today
grams cals %total
Total: 1558
Fat: 38 341 23%
Sat: 10 92 6%
Poly: 11 95 6%
Mono: 14 128 8%
Carbs: 253 906 60%
Fiber: 27 0 0%
Protein: 67 267 18%
Alcohol: 0 0 0%

So I'm short about 30 g of protein, and could handle another 10 to 12 grams of fat. 8 egg whites plus two eggs would do it, but that doesn't sound very tasty.:p

Surprisingly, today's diet meets my recommended daily allowance for all nutrients except Vitamin D. (well, actually only 90% folate, and 95% zinc, but that's very close.;) )

Garden construction work is close to being done, so I can go tree shopping tomorrow in preparation for planting this week.
:claphigh:

My crew leader is fabulous. She's going on vacation at the end of June, so she's taking turns doing a route with each of her crew members, spurring them on. Together, we finished up two of the collection units that I was having trouble with several houses on. Normally, I'd be able to do about 15 to 25 cases in an evening, and we did more than 50, so I don't feel so bad about the extra 55 cases in my last collection unit that she dumped on me.

"One of the greatest discoveries a man makes, one of his great surprises, is to find he can do what he was afraid he couldn't do." ~ Henry Ford

Beginning of week three.

It is psychologically impossible for me to bulk in the summer, so I'm just going to keep at what I'm doing and maybe lower my body fat percentage.

No workout yesterday, other than digging, shovelling triple mix, and moving stones.

Our school is selling a cookbook. They didn't publish any of the recipes I submitted. All the ones they printed are some variation on triple chocolate pecan fudge, or cheesy chicken chimichanga.:rolleyes:

Looks like it might rain for the rest of the week. We could use a break from the heat, but it might complicate our planting schedule.

Your eyes must do some raining if you are ever going to grow. ~ Bright Eyes (Bowl of Oranges)

Today's diet is very similar to yesterday's.:blank:

I'm consistently low in Vitamin D. I need to eat more tuna and salmon (http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/vitamind.asp). (No thank-you on the cod liver oil.:nope: )

Iron, calcium, and folate intakes for today are slightly less than my recommended amounts (but I took my multivitamin). Summer is tricky in general for me because I'm not as attracted to a wide variety of foods. I could eat only fruit, peanut butter, yogurt, and whole wheat bread until August and be perfectly happy.

I purchased the main parts of my garden design. I didn't go back to the same nursery where I had the plans drawn up, so they didn't have the same plants available, but the woman there assured me that her dogwood was the same as the one on my plan.

Wolf Eyes is the one in my plan.

Cherokee Chief is the one I bought.

From my internet search I have determined that they are not even the same variety (http://eppserver.ag.utk.edu/dogwood/june2002/dcvs.htm). One is a flowering dogwood, the other is a Chinese dogwood. I know so little about gardening, I have no idea whether this will impact my plan or not.:bang: :gl:

Looks promising anyway.

http://www.millernurseries.com/images/products/product_613.jpg

"Once in a great while, the wonderful workings of nature produce a truly outstanding plant possessing the good traits of its parents and further endowed with beauty and merit far beyond that of its predecessors. Such a plant is “Cherokee Chief.” Colorful blooms appear before leaves in spring, luxuriant green foliage all summer turning bright scarlet in fall, bright red berries in fall and early winter, plus an interesting branching habit makes the flowering dogwood one of America’s most handsome trees with a special interest for every season of the year. Blooms a beautiful deep red."

I did my various ankle weight and stability ball torture from 8:50 to 9:50 (Whew, that was a long 60 minutes!) and was going to call it a night after checking in here last night, but after checking out John's butt (http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?p=304993#post304993) (Wow. :eek: :D Thanks for the link M@ ;) ), I decided to do several more sets of lunges, squats, and deadlifts before bed. I'm hoping to feel pain today; then I feel more like I've made some progress.

"Focus more on your desire than on your doubt, and the dream will take care of itself. You may be surprised at how easily this happens. Your doubts are not as powerful as your desires, unless you make them so." ~ Marcia Wieder

Today's diet is very similar to yesterday's.:blank:

I'm consistently low in Vitamin D. I need to eat more tuna and salmon (http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/vitamind.asp). (No thank-you on the cod liver oil.:nope: )

Iron, calcium, and folate intakes for today are slightly less than my recommended amounts (but I took my multivitamin). Summer is tricky in general for me because I'm not as attracted to a wide variety of foods. I could eat only fruit, peanut butter, yogurt, and whole wheat bread until August and be perfectly happy.

I purchased the main parts of my garden design. I didn't go back to the same nursery where I had the plans drawn up, so they didn't have the same plants available, but the woman there assured me that her dogwood was the same as the one on my plan.

Wolf Eyes is the one in my plan.

Cherokee Chief is the one I bought.

From my internet search I have determined that they are not even the same variety (http://eppserver.ag.utk.edu/dogwood/june2002/dcvs.htm). One is a flowering dogwood, the other is a Chinese dogwood. I know so little about gardening, I have no idea whether this will impact my plan or not.:bang: :gl:

Looks promising anyway.

http://www.millernurseries.com/images/products/product_613.jpg

"Once in a great while, the wonderful workings of nature produce a truly outstanding plant possessing the good traits of its parents and further endowed with beauty and merit far beyond that of its predecessors. Such a plant is “Cherokee Chief.” Colorful blooms appear before leaves in spring, luxuriant green foliage all summer turning bright scarlet in fall, bright red berries in fall and early winter, plus an interesting branching habit makes the flowering dogwood one of America’s most handsome trees with a special interest for every season of the year. Blooms a beautiful deep red."

that's a beautiful tree and I think it'll work out just fine... the layout is more important than the exact type of tree you use... as long as it is a similar type and you place it in the spot that you intended to put a tree I think it'll look great :tu:

(Wow. :eek: :D Thanks for the link M@ ;) )

:lol:

Happy to help. I've always had an ass like a frying pan so that post made an impression on me when he put it up. :tu:

Fine, I have weird eating patterns.

I had no broccoli in the fridge, so I opened up a can of green beans for supper. It occurred to me that back when I was eating from my mom's kitchen, a can of vegetables would be enough for the whole family of four, and supper was the only time we were served vegetables. Now, it's only one small part of my greens for the day.:) 1 can of green beans - 52 calories - 3 servings of vegetables.:eat: I think that means I had about 15 servings of fruits and vegetables today.:eek: :confused:

I'll post my fitday today, because it's not too bad. I can't seem to be able to get the calories up. Look at that list. It's a lot of food!

Bread, whole wheat, 100% ( 2 regular slice ) 138 2 26 5
Peanut butter ( 1 tablespoon ) 95 8 3 4
Banana, raw ( 1 medium (7" to 7-7/8" long) ) 109 1 28 1
Bread, whole wheat, 100% ( 1 regular slice ) 69 1 13 3
Tuna, canned, water pack ( 0.25 can) 48 0 0 11
Spinach, raw ( 6 leaf ) 13 0 2 2
Apple, cooked ( 1 cup, NFS) 74 0 19 0
Granola 0.25 cup 64 1 13 1
100% Bran ( 0.2 cup ) 36 1 10 2
Almond milk ( 0.3 cup ) 18 1 2 0
Milk, cow's, fluid, 1% fat ( 0.3 cup ) 31 1 3 2
Spinach, raw ( 6 leaf ) 13 0 2 2
Peanut butter ( 1 tablespoon ) 95 8 3 4
Chicken, breast, ( 1 thick slice) 34 1 0 6
Tomatoes, raw ( 5 small whole ) 96 2 21 4
Carrots, raw ( 1 cup, NFS ) 47 0 11 1
Beans, green, canned ( 1 can ) 52 0 12 3
Chicken, breast, ( 1 cup, cooked, diced ) 221 5 0 42
Yam, cooked, ( 0.6 cup, cubes ) 95 0 23 1
Pumpkin, canned, ( 0.3 cup ) 25 0 6 1
MORI-NU, Tofu, silken, soft ( 1 slice ) 46 2 2 4
Crackers, graham ( 0.3 cup, crushed ) 108 3 20 2
Honey ( 0.1 cup ) 103 0 28 0
Egg, whole ( 0.25 large ) 19 1 0 2
Yogurt, nonfat milk, no sugar ( 0.5 cup ) 50 0 8 5
Total 1698 39 255 108

That last part is a pumpkin pie. Well, not a real pumpkin pie. A guava version of pumpkin pie with tofu and no added fat. Topped with vanilla flavored yogurt instead of whipped cream.

Fat: 39 348 21%
Sat: 8 75 5%
Poly: 11 99 6%
Mono: 15 134 8%
Carbs: 255 851 52%
Fiber: 42 0 0%
Protein: 108 432 26%

Low on Vitamin D, Zinc, and Calcium, but I took my multivitamin.

I didn't do any strength training yet (I'll see how long I feel like staying up), but I played a game of soccer with the little one, walked the girls to and home from school, and covered some miles while enumerating.:tucool:

There are as many reasons for running as there are days in the year, years in my life. But mostly I run because I am an animal and a child, an artist and a saint. So, too, are you. Find your own play, your own self-renewing compulsion, and you will become the person you are meant to be. ~George Sheehan

Why do they sell trees at a garden centre 15 minutes from my home that aren't even in my growing zone?:mad:

I'm going to have to call them and see what they can replace it with.

:rolleyes: Same tree, grumble, grumble....:nono:

I had pumpkin pie for breakfast.:D

Why do they sell trees at a garden centre 15 minutes from my home that aren't even in my growing zone?:mad:

I'm going to have to call them and see what they can replace it with.

:rolleyes: Same tree, grumble, grumble....:nono:



did your tree die already? :cry:

did your tree die already? :cry:
Ha! No, but it would have in the winter, if I hadn't covered it. I need a hardier plant that I don't have to baby.

I called the nursery, and they'll refund my money, but it's a bit of a pain for me to drive out there. Turns out they DID have a Wolf Eyes dogwood, but it wasn't out on display.:bang: It was on hold for someone, and she decided not to get it. I don't know if it will still be there by the time I get to go back and look at it. Maybe I'll send my husband tonight.

My lilies are in bloom.:) I think I'm getting the hang of this gardening business. I may be ready to prpare that berry patch by the time fall comes around.

I did 25 pushups before bed last night, just because I can.:flex:

Broccoli is expensive in the summer. :blank: Salmon is the plan for supper.:eat:

is 'growing zone' one of those gardening terms I don't know about?:confused: I'm having salmon tonight too:eat: and steak:drool:

is 'growing zone' one of those gardening terms I don't know about?:confused: I'm having salmon tonight too:eat: and steak:drool:
Could be I'm just not calling it the right thing.

The Canadian Plant Hardiness Zone map has long been familiar to serious gardeners. First produced in 1967, the hardiness map is a visual tool that depicts geographic areas statistically associated with the survival of native and horticultural plants. In Canada, hardiness is not just about temperature. The Canadian hardiness zone system combines seven climate criteria: minimum temperatures, maximum temperatures, frost free period, summer rainfall, snowfall, a wind factor and January rainfall, to delineate zones. http://www.unec.net/of_interest/Plant-zones_frost-dates.htm

The salmon was pretty tasty. It came frozen in a meal with white rice, but I didn't eat that part, and had some melon instead.

Calories Eaten Today
grams cals %total
Total: 1622
Fat: 30 269 17%
Sat: 8 70 5%
Poly: 9 80 5%
Mono: 9 83 5%
Carbs: 215 777 50%
Fiber: 21 0 0%
Protein: 129 517 33%
Alcohol: 0 0 0%

Low on Calories, Vitamin D, E, Iron, Zinc, Folate, and fibre. :(

Did three hours of collecting overdue census forms tonight. The last house was full of whackos. I visited there twice already, and they wouldn't fill out the form so it could be ready for me. The father was in the middle of a "very important ping pong game", so he sent his 14 year old son to fill it out with me. I had to spend half an hour trying to struggle through it with random family members who didn't know each other's birth dates.:rolleyes: Then the father wanted to check the son's responses before I left.:bang:

"If we are ever to enjoy life, now is the time, not tomorrow or next year... Today should always be our most wonderful day." ~Thomas Dreier

Calories Eaten Today
grams cals %total
Total: 1812
Fat: 53 474 27%
Sat: 11 102 6%
Poly: 16 144 8%
Mono: 20 183 10%
Carbs: 263 890 51%
Fiber: 40 0 0%
Protein: 95 381 22%
Alcohol: 0 0 0%
deficiencies: vitamin D, folate, zinc, calcium

Meal 1 7:30
Bread, whole wheat, 100% ( 2 regular slice ) 138 2 26 5
Peanut butter ( 1 tablespoon ) 95 8 3 4
Banana, raw ( 1 medium (7" to 7-7/8" long) ) 109 1 28 1

Snack 10:00
Cookie, caramel, with nuts ( 1 cookie ) 70 4 8 1
(someone bought it for me)

Meal 2 1:30
Peach, raw 73 0 19 1
(forgot to bring lunch with me when I left at 9:30 for my shopping trip:doh:)

Meal 3 2:30
Salmon, steamed or poached ( 0.5 cup, cooked, flaked ) 99 3 0 17
Vegetables, mixed, frozen, cooked, ( 0.5 cup ) 54 0 12 3

Meal 4 4:00
Pumpkin, canned, with salt ( 0.3 cup ) 25 0 6 1
Egg, whole, ( 0.3 cup ) 68 5 1 5
Crackers, graham ( 0.3 cup, crushed ) 108 3 20 2
MORI-NU, Tofu, silken, soft ( 1 slice ) 46 2 2 4
Yogurt, fruit variety, lowfat milk ( 0.5 cup (8 fl oz) ) 125 1 23 5

meal 5 5:00 (not hungry)
Broccoli, cooked,( 0.6 large stalk ) 47 1 9 5
Yam, cooked, ( 0.5 cup, cubes ) 79 0 19 1

meal 6 6:30
Bread, whole wheat, 100% ( 3 large slice ) 236 4 44 9
Peanut butter ( 1.5 tablespoon ) 142 12 5 6
Flax seeds ( 0.0625 cup ) 45 3 3 2
Raisins ( 0.2 cup ) 87 0 23 1

meal 7 8:15
Chicken, breast, ( 0.5 cup, cooked, diced ) 110 2 0 21
Salsa, NFS ( 2 tablespoon ) 9 0 2 0
Carrots, raw ( 1 cup, NFS ) 47 0 11 1
Total 1812 53 263 95

I exchanged my tree for the right one.
http://www.ca.uky.edu/HLA/Dunwell/CkWolfEyesYDweb1.jpg
Cornus kousa ‘Wolf Eyes’ is a somewhat shrubby, broad spreading kousa dogwood. It is considered among the best of the C. kousa variegated forms, and there are a bunch. The creamy white margined leaves hold up well in sun or shade. Late spring blooms of four, pointed white bracts last for several weeks. In late summer, the plant is covered with red-orange raspberry-like fruit.

It will grow to about 6 feet tall and the same width, but right now it's a little baby. I will plant it tomorrow and post pics.

"The greatest good you can do for another is not just to share your riches, but to reveal to him his own." ~ Benjamin Disraeli

I'm going to start reading Men's Health instead of women's magazines.

Men's Health
"Working with your middle trapezius - a tough muscle to target - can add bulk to the region between your shoulder blades and improve your posture."

Chatelaine
"Last week a trainer at my gym encouraged me to do one bicep move after another with as much weight as I could handle. The next morning I woke up with arms so swollen they wouldn't fit into my sleeves. I looked like the elephant man's freaky little sister. Obviously, the guy was a moron."

Men's Health also has better recipes, great nutrition articles, a new angle on sex advice, and more drool-worthy photos .;)
http://www.summitmedia.com.ph/images/pressrelease/December_05/menshealth_dec05_hr.jpg

Last night's workout:
hammer curls/shoulder press 6x22 pounds (failure)+ 2 hammer curls; 6 x 22 pounds + 2 hammer curls; 6 x 22 pounds + 2 hammer curls
tricep extensions 3 x 12 x 22 pounds
bent over rows 3 x 12 x 22 pounds
plank 2 x 1 minute
crunches 20
reverse crunches 20
lateral raises 2 x 12 x 8 pounds
front raises 2 x 12 x 8 pounds
tricep dips 2 x 12

Shouldn't I be able to do shoulder presses with the same weight as I'm using for hammer curls? I feel weak. I hate shoulder presses, so I haven't been doing them.:o They're probably the secret to covering up that crazy looking bony bump on my shoulder.

“When one considers that the dominant intellectual approach of the growing number of self-styled “experts” in the bodybuilding field is characterized by approximation, contradiction, equivocation and evasion, it is little wonder that an entire generation of bodybuilders - many of the top champions included - finds itself bewildered and without rational guidance. However, let me assure those who refuse to allow the flame of their passion for a more muscular body to die, who, having some awareness of the role of facts, logic and reason in their lives: There does exist a science of bodybuilding - and it can be understood by anyone willing to exercise the required mental effort.” - Mike Mentzer, The Science of Bodybuilding,

They're probably the secret to covering up that crazy looking bony bump on my shoulder.

OMG guava, that's supposed to be there! :bang:

Overhead pressing's going to hit the upper pecs and anterior delts. If anything it'll accentuate your entire collarbone area, especially the acromial extremity (bony bump). If the camera were six inches higher you'd see it sticking out on that MH cover model above.

...and yes, you should read Men's Health. Men shouldn't.

Guava, I just wanted to stop in here and congratulate you on what you've achieved. Every time you change your avatar, I'm amazed at how stunning that particular part of your body is. You've truly crafted yourself the ideal female physique, and it's pretty damn sexy. I hope there's a girl like you in my future somewhere. :D

:claphigh: :claphigh: :claphigh:

Last night's workout:
hammer curls/shoulder press 6x22 pounds (failure)+ 2 hammer curls; 6 x 22 pounds + 2 hammer curls; 6 x 22 pounds + 2 hammer curls
tricep extensions 3 x 12 x 22 pounds
bent over rows 3 x 12 x 22 pounds
plank 2 x 1 minute
crunches 20
reverse crunches 20
lateral raises 2 x 12 x 8 pounds
front raises 2 x 12 x 8 pounds
tricep dips 2 x 12



you look great ...woohoo! way to go girl ... so how long does you entire routine take including warm up and how long do you rest between sets

Guava, I just wanted to stop in here and congratulate you on what you've achieved. Every time you change your avatar, I'm amazed at how stunning that particular part of your body is. You've truly crafted yourself the ideal female physique, and it's pretty damn sexy. I hope there's a girl like you in my future somewhere. :D
Thank-you. What a sweet thing to say.:)

The back avatar I'm using right now was taking back in November. My back actually looks sort of freaky right now. I have a more current pic, but it's not nearly as symmetrical as this one, so it makes me uncomfortable to look at it.

Abigail, my workouts are about as erratic as my diet. I start lifting when I feel like lifting, and stop when I feel done. I keep going when I can, and rest when I feel tired. I don't usually even look at the clock. Sometimes within the same workout I'll do superset style or partial circuit training. For instance, the rest period after my hammer curls last night was the length of time it took me to a) wash my face b) brush my teeth. The only rest I took between the sets of tricep extensions were filled with crunches and reverse crunches. I read one page of Men's Health between some of the other sets, or did some stretching. I took a fifteen minute break on the computer downstairs before continuing with the tricep dips.

So, depending on the day, my workout might take 15 minutes, or two hours, but during the two hour workouts, I've taken some liberties with random rest times, generous amounts of stretching, and catching up on my reading.

My husband thinks the bump looks weird.

I just received the new Men's Health mag and learned Guava is an exotic fruit...boosts your immune system (pg 30). Never knew what a Guava was till now.

My husband thinks the bump looks weird.

Could it possibly be a bone spur? I think my elbows are pointy if it makes you feel any better.

I just received the new Men's Health mag and learned Guava is an exotic fruit...boosts your immune system (pg 30). Never knew what a Guava was till now.
Not only is guava a fruit, but it's the best (http://www.thefruitpages.com/bestfruit.shtml) fruit.;)

Last night, I had mostly fruit and yogurt for supper. (Gee, I hope I don't get FAT (http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?p=338015#post338015)!:eek: :lol: ) More specifically, I had crepes stuffed with strawberries and bananas, and generously dolloped with strawberry chantilly (http://www.yoplait.ca/source/en/Dessert.aspx) yogurt.

It's a good thing I had a plan drawn up for my garden. I never would have put these things that far apart! Yikes! It's going to take a long time for them to fill out.

Temporary Attachments:

Yep, I think placing young plants too close together in the initial planting is the #1 mistake made by amateur gardeners (and home builders, for that matter). Most folks want instant impact and have no patience or vision. :rolleyes:

#2 is probably planting something in a climate zone or area of the yard where the temperature or sun/shade requirements of the plant are not appropriate. Sounds like you've done a pretty good job of handling both of those issues. Congrats! :tucool:

Also, I second the words of many JSF-ers in congratulating you on your fitness success. Looking great! :flex: :claphigh:

Yep, I think placing young plants too close together in the initial planting is the #1 mistake made by amateur gardeners (and home builders, for that matter). Most folks want instant impact and have no patience or vision. :rolleyes:

#2 is probably planting something in a climate zone or area of the yard where the temperature or sun/shade requirements of the plant are not appropriate. Sounds like you've done a pretty good job of handling both of those issues. Congrats! :tucool:

Also, I second the words of many JSF-ers in congratulating you on your fitness success. Looking great! :flex: :claphigh:
Thanks for the congrats, LateStart. I haven't figured out my "microclimates" yet, and I can't remember where the sun or shade is at each time of the day (and as it changes seasonally). I really should start keeping a gardening diary. I filled in the empty spaces there with 16 small coleus plants, forgetting to check whether they prefer the sun or the shade. If I like it, I try to plant it.:o That area gets a lot of strong sun in the morning and early afternoon. I think I'm in luck:

Easy and versatile, coleus grows nearly everywhere, in bright sun or deep shade, indoors or out.

I have the Rustic Red and Fairway Salmon Rose (https://www.veseys.com/store.cfm?cat=331) varieties.

They're preparing an offer for a promotion for my husband. They were pretty surprised when he asked for a 30% raise in base pay, but that's how much he's taking home in overtime pay right now, which he won't be able to claim as a manager.

July 3rd is not going to be a good day for me to end this butt blast, since I'm going on vacation over the weekend. I'm going to take a lot of my own food (I requested a fridge and microwave for our hotel room), but for three days I won't have very much time to do cardio and might have some difficulty finding the right equipment to weight train with. I'll take some pics tomorrow and if they look different enough from the start, I'll call it the end.:p Next time I try a bulking challenge it will have to be as it's getting colder outside. I think I've lost 1 kg since three weeks ago.:o

Ottawa is further away than I thought. We'll leave early in the morning on Friday and won't get there until evening. We're going to check out the prices on portable DVD players, so the kids don't go nuts on us.

My crew leader is fabulous. She threw a party for her enumerators last night, and I don't think we stopped laughing the whole time. I had two margaritas, prime rib, mashed potatoes, buttered carrots, and bacon beans for dinner. Didn't get home until after midnight, then she took me out this morning to do some forms. Because she uses a different technique, I was able to earn about six times as much as I normally do. We're going out again on Wednesday night for my last day of work, which I'm pretty excited about.

A vigorous five-mile walk will do more good for an unhappy but otherwise healthy adult than all the medicine and psychology in the world. ~Paul Dudley White

Current scale reading:
53.2 kg, 17.3 % body fat.

Target scale reading
53.5 kg, 15.5% body fat.

Scale says 53.4 kg 17.7 % body fat.

But that's not what the scale has been saying for the past few days. I ate more than usual this weekend, so it's a little thrown off. Friday it was saying 52.8 kg.

I think I can see a change, so I'm pleased. I've been afraid to lift high intensity on the legs because I didn't want them any bigger, but whatever I've been doing seems to be working.

I'm going to continue the "glute heavy" workout throughout the summer, and maybe I will continue to see more "lift".

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I see a big difference... seems to be working great! Congrats.

Thanks Novamatt.

Last night's workout:

Part 1 (morning)
ham curls (single leg) 2 x 8 x 30 pounds
bench step ups 2 x 36 (15 pounds) each leg

part 2 (afternoon)
bridge (http://gymball.com/bridge_exercise.html) holds (various timings)
reverse hyperextesions 2 sets of 100 (pushed reallyhard to get this)
squats 2 x 12 x 22 pounds
ham curls with stability ball 3 x 16 plus additional bridge holds

I feel spent. I'm planning to take a break from exercise and "diet watching" this week, but I get such satisfaction from it that it's hard to give it up completely.

I was insanely hungry today, so I just went ahead and ate insane amounts. (At least, it seems like insane amounts of food. I sometimes have a hard time telling.)

3/4 C pumkin
2 eggs
3/4 C oats
2 T ground flax seeds
3 T chocolate chips
chocolate cherry yogurt
1 1/2 C coffee

2 musli "breakfast pitas" (something like a cinnamon raisin bagel, and nearly as big)
1 1/2 T peanut butter
1 C decaf

4 slices watermelon
1 C decaf

12 shrimp with pineapple and red pepper salsa
3/4 C chopped broccoli
1 C decaf

2 slices pizza with pineapple and olives

2/3 C low fat granola
1 1/2 C low fat organic soy milk
2 C decaf

My calves must have gotten some good secondary workouts these past few weeks. My right leg has always looked quite a lot different than my left leg.:confused: I wonder if they're somehow unbalanced and if there's something I should do to try to even them out.

“The only way to be a champion is by going through these forced reps and the torture and pain. That’s why I call it the torture routine. Because it’s like forced torture. Torturing my body. What helps me is to think of this pain as pleasure. Pain make me grow. Growing is what I want. Therefore, for me pain is pleasure. And so when I am experiencing pain I’m in heaven. It’s great. People suggest this is masochistic. But they’re wrong. I like pain for a particular reason. I don’t like needle’s stuck in my arm. But I do like the pain that is necessary to be a champion.” - Arnold Schwarzenegger

I think I can see a change, so I'm pleased.

And well you should be... that's a hell of a change. Nice work! :tucool:

Holy crap Guava! There is a huge difference! Your entire backside, including your upper thighs have been slimmed and lifted. That's phenomenal :bow: I want to do whatever it is you're doing because that's my problem area :lol:

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Wasnt it just last summer where you didnt have the confidence to wear a two piece? Great work!

:claplow:

Thanks guys. I thought maybe since I got only one comment yesterday that I might be imagining the changes that I saw.

Naturegirl, that's my most stubborn area as well. I've been super-conscious of it right since the start, and it always seemed like an irreparable problem. I didn't want to go lower down in body fat percentage, so there didn't seem to be a solution to it. I'm somewhat surprised that my plan actually worked. To me, it looks like I've achieved spot reduction in fat, which is aparently impossible. And the numbers not changing is a little bit surprising as well. This shows the importance of using tools other than your scale. I've been chiefly trying to keep the focus OFF my legs while weight training, because the last thing I want them to do is get bigger; however, putting the focus on more glute-specific work seemed to do the trick (step-ups, bridge holds, and reverse hyperextensions mainly). I'm not sure if my butt grew or not.

badgolfer, I'm comfortable enough in a two piece, I just lack the fearless oblivion that's necessary to pull it off in public.

"The good bodybuilders have the same mind ... that a sculptor has. If you analyze it, you look in the mirror and you say, okay, I need a bit more deltoids ... so that the proportion's right, and ... you exercise and put those deltoids on, whereas an artist would just slap on some clay on each side." - Arnold Schwarzenegger

Guava, you've seemed to have completely reshaped your entire body. I would say the person on the left has a pear shape but the one on the right is now a perfect hour glass. (Your shoulders widened too :tu:) Overall more symmetrical and pleasing to the eye. Great job :claphigh:

Thanks guys. I thought maybe since I got only one comment yesterday that I might be imagining the changes that I saw.

:doh: I guess I should've commented then. I know you've been self-conscious about the pics in the past and thought that if I said something you'd remove 'em sooner.

It looks like your glute-ham linkup is really taking shape. I have no idea how you accomplished this since it's supposed to be next to impossible to achieve short of the most minimal bodyfat ever. Do your heels lift up when you sit down?! :lol:

I wouldn't think you'd need to worry about your thighs getting bigger since you're not eating at surplus. :confused:

You're looking toned and fit and sexy. I also have intense calf-envy. :eek:

:bow:

(Your shoulders widened too :tu:)
I'm pretty sure that's an illusion. They have definitely widened since July 2004 however. I was looking over some pics from then, but those I am too self-conscious to post.:o
Do your heels lift up when you sit down?!
They do. Why?:confused:

Shopping trip today, because my husband sent me to submit his passport application. (He's going to Japan.)

I picked up a portable DVD player for the car with 7 inch screen, an electronic travel game for each of the girls (CandyLand and Sudoku), an activity book for each of the girls (Strawberry Shortcake and The Incredibles), and a book for each of them (Animals and Canadian History). I also picked up a CD with the national anthem on it and other patriotic music. Then I rented Nanny McPhee, and bought previously viewed copies of How To Lose a Guy in Ten Days ($5) and My Date with Drew ($4). (I still haven't seen Failure to Launch, but I'm patient. I'll wait till they sell the previously viewed DVDs. It's not like he's going to stop being sexy.:rolleyes: )

Then from the garden centre, I took home a chocolate peppermint plant. It smells so unusually chocolatey. I suppose I could make tea from it. I also finally found some sugar free syrup for flavoring coffee. (They had vanilla, hazelnut, or chocolate, so I bought the chocolate.)

I am in love with the Compliments brand fortified organic soy milk. It eliminates the need to take multivitamins.
Amount Per 1 cup
Calories 90 % Daily Value *
Total Fat 3g 5%
Saturated Fat 0.5g 3%
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.5g
Monounsaturated Fat 2g
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 130mg 5%
Potassium 340mg 10%
Total Carbohydrate 10g 3%
Dietary Fiber 0g 0%
Protein 6g 12%

Vitamin A 8 % Vitamin C 4 % Calcium 30 % Iron 8 %
Vitamin D 40 % Vitamin E 6 % Thiamin 25 % Riboflavin 35 %
Niacin 20 % Folate 30 % Vitamin B-6 10 % Vitamin B-12 60 %
Phosphorus 25 % Magnesium 15 % Zinc 15 % Copper 6 %

Look at the totals from yesterday!

Am I meeting my nutrient requirements?

Fat-Soluble Vitamins
Nutrient % RDA
Vitamin A 517.88
Vitamin D 188.36
Vitamin E 321.2
Vitamin K 533.73

Water-Soluble Vitamins
Nutrient % RDA
Vitamin C 349.23
Thiamin 244.51
Riboflavin 267.47
Vitamin B-6 146.47
Vitamin B-12 333.19
Niacin 151.25
Folate 153.92
Trace Minerals
Nutrient % RDA
Iron 157.54
Zinc 137.17
Selenium 225.52

Major Minerals
Nutrient % RDA
Calcium 126.95
Phosphorus 297.28
Magnesium 205.32

Calories Eaten Today
grams cals %total
Total: 2002
Fat: 74 663 34%
Sat: 24 214 11%
Poly: 16 147 8%
Mono: 28 250 13%
Carbs: 249 861 45%
Fiber: 33 0 0%
Protein: 100 401 21%
Alcohol: 0 0 0%

Not a disaster after all.

"Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint." - Mark Twain

They do. Why?:confused:

:eek:

I was being a wiseass (pun intended) since the undercurve of people's buttocks is usually excess fat and skin that stretches out and firms up when the leg is engaged. I figured that, since you've almost totally eliminated that surplus, your skin wouldn't be sufficient to deal with your leg at a 90-degree angle and your heels would lift up.

You went to drop off a passport application and came back with a portable DVD player, videos, videogames, books, DVD's, and CD's? Maybe I'd better rethink my aspirations to marriage? :confused:

Then again, a lot of that was for the kids. If I were to have daughters as cute as yours I'd probably just hand over my wallet and go look for a 2nd job. :rolleyes:

Guava, you look great!!! Your body is so tight and sculpted ... I'm extremely jealous - which translates to motivated to work harder now, so thanks! keep it up :tu:

FINALLY I get to see some pics before they are deleted. You look AMAZING!!!! Keep up the great work Guava!!!

I also have intense calf-envy. :eek:



***

I also finally found some sugar free syrup for flavoring coffee. (They had vanilla, hazelnut, or chocolate, so I bought the chocolate.)


Did you find the Davinci? I love the vanilla and caramel, and have now gotten to where I'll use the rasberry, too. Haven't seen chocolate local yet.

Looking fit, btw, as others have commented.:tucool:

Those calves are ROCKIN! What awesome definition and tone.

Did you find the Davinci? I love the vanilla and caramel, and have now gotten to where I'll use the rasberry, too. Haven't seen chocolate local yet.
No, it's Oscar's. I remember now they also had B52. Vanilla didn't sound that tempting, because I usually just put a splash of extract in my coffee.

You went to drop off a passport application and came back with a portable DVD player, videos, videogames, books, DVD's, and CD's? Maybe I'd better rethink my aspirations to marriage?
And bread, and bananas, and apples, and a plant, and syrup,....

Yes, I do know I'm spoiled silly.:D

I keep asking my husband if I should buy these dumbbells (http://www.fitnesssource.ca/product_info.php?cPath=18_121_346&products_id=2814), and his answer is always "Whatever makes you happy, dear.":p

I am confident, however, that If I showed you my monthly expenses, it would still come below a large proportion of households, because I'm such a bargain hunter. I'm sure my grocery bill is about half of what regular people spend, I buy much of my clothing second hand, we don't eat out much, or rent movies very often, and I've never spent more than $90 on a bicycle, or bought a new car when the old one was still working fine.:moon:

"Luck isn't random. It's about doing things that create an impression that you are someone worth helping." Marc Myers author of How to Make Luck: 7 Secrets Lucky People use to Succeed

I keep asking my husband if I should buy these dumbbells (http://www.fitnesssource.ca/product_info.php?cPath=18_121_346&products_id=2814), and his answer is always "Whatever makes you happy, dear.":p

[/I]

I have had those on my wish list for a while now. Here is a shot of me a couple weekends ago at Dick's Sporting Goods trying them out...

I have had those on my wish list for a while now. Here is a shot of me a couple weekends ago at Dick's Sporting Goods trying them out...


I got the ironmasters instead, because they just feel so much more durable (and you can load on more weights). Those plastic parts just felt like I would find some way to break them.

If you don't need as much weight as the ironmasters allow and want a cheaper but similar setup (actually, I think it is the old Ironmaster design), look at Hoist quick change DBs. They are about the same or less than those you're looking at.

If you don't need as much weight as the ironmasters allow and want a cheaper but similar setup (actually, I think it is the old Ironmaster design), look at Hoist quick change DBs. They are about the same or less than those you're looking at.
$30 in Sacramento (http://sacramento.craigslist.org/spo/175103520.html). That's a lot better than $500.
I figure I need about 40 pounds, so that would do.
I suppose I should keep browsing ebay.

Dumbells are definitely on the list of better things to buy than P&G.

$30 in Sacramento (http://sacramento.craigslist.org/spo/175103520.html). That's a lot better than $500.
I figure I need about 40 pounds, so that would do.
I suppose I should keep browsing ebay.


That's a great buy. If they were here, I'd buy them :)

They probably aren't quite as easy as the selecttechs or whatever they are called (reebok I think even sells a smaller version of the selecttechs), but they looked a lot more durable to me.

Hey Guava,

Can you point me to where your "glute heavy" workout is detailed anywhere? You got my wife interested.

Dumbells are definitely on the list of better things to buy than P&G.

Agreed, they will probably attribute more to some type of growth in Guava's life than P&G...especially if she buys it and then wh0 tries to weasel some shares into his portfolossio.

Morning Guava!

Morning Ryan.:)
Can you point me to where your "glute heavy" workout is detailed anywhere? You got my wife interested.
:D
It's not "detailed" anywhere. You have to read between the lines.

For the three weeks, I was lifting weights about 5 or 6 times a week, with two or three of those workouts having a lower body focus.

25th
Part 1 (morning)
ham curls
bench step ups
part 2 (afternoon)
bridge holds (various timings)
reverse hyperextesions
squats
ham curls with stability ball plus additional bridge holds

19th
various ankle weight and stability ball torture from 8:50 to 9:50 (Whew, that was a long 60 minutes!)

16th:
I was not going to do anything, but I couldn't let myself go to bed. 12 squats, 10 lunges each leg, 2x12 sissy squats, and a bunch of other stuff that I forget because I was such a zombie when I did them. (At one point I was too tired to get up off my floor to get into bed, but once I did convince myself get up, I did a workout

14th:
deadlifts
leg extension
ham curls
dumbbell bench step-ups
various indescribable glute torture

11th
Because I was tired, I wasn't in much of a mood for a workout, but I wanted to get one done anyway. I strapped on some ankle weights, and did the type of leg raises that aerobics instructors always used to recommend, along with some crunches, wall slides, and modified reverse hyperextensions.

9th
I'm in the middle of a house-cleaning-weight-lifting-wasting-time circuit training. I get bored easily, so this style works well for me. So far I did 20 wall slides (warm-up), made the bed, 12 lunges right leg, 12 lunges left leg, put away some laundry, 15 squats, swept the kitchen, 12 lunges right leg, 12 lunges left leg, put away some laundry, 15 squats. I started carrying my weights down to the basement to do some bench step-ups, but it felt pretty hard, so I just walked up and down the stairs again three more times with the weights. Still left to do: hamstring curls, leg extensions, and another few up/down routes on the stairs.

5th
My legs are not sore YET, but I worked them HARD. It was sort of an all-day workout, which may have been a mistake. I started early in the day with dumbbell bench step ups, then did deadlifts a few hours later. After I had the basement cleaned up, I did hamstring curls and leg extensions on the bench. Then before bed, I did squats, wall slides, ham curls with the ball, and sissy squats. Whew!

The "various glute torture" I refer to once in a while usually consists of lifting my legs at different angles while I have ankle weights attached, or marching and "skating" with resistance bands looped around my ankles, or simply flexing and holding my glutes while standing or lying.

Guava,

I have now removed the picture of me testing out the Bowflex dbs so as not to take up space in your journal with my mug. :D

I'm finding a fair amount of what I will refer to as "negative energy" on this forum, and it's draining me. I need to spend less time on the internet, and more time out in the big bad world. I'd like to take a rest from thinking "this person is annoying" and "I wish I could be more like that person". It really doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things.

Last night's census work was a bit of a disappointment because we didn't have as many forms to collect as my crew leader originally intended, so she agreed to pay us hourly and took us out for ice cream. (I'm suffering today, because of my silly lactose intolerance. I should have settled on the sorbet.:bang: ) I went out tonight and Tuesday to collect forms as well, and those were considerably more pofitable. The next phase will be paid hourly, and I'm not sure whether I'll choose to continue on with that part or not. The further down the list we get, the more "undesirables" are on it.

Krista (http://www.stumptuous.com/me.html) lives in Toronto. I don't know how I didn't know that. Based on her autobiography, I wouldn't be surprised if my husband has met her husband. Anyway, I learned today that she arranges a fun get-together every month, and I've asked to be on her mailing list. She'll probably even let me push her Smart Car.
http://www.stumptuous.com/gallery/albums/album11/IMG_0436.highlight.jpg (http://www.stumptuous.com/gallery/view_album.php?set_albumName=album11)

We leave tomorrow for our Ottawa vacation. It's going to be a huge amount of fun; my favorite day of the year is this Saturday.

We'll be right in the middle of a huge crowd of face painters, rock climbers, buskers, museums (free entrance), puppet shows, crafts, high divers, Skyhawks and all sorts of other random fun.

The SkyHawks parachute demonstration team will demonstrate their aerial maneuvers and skill by jumping above Parliament Hill and landing in Jacques Cartier Park at approximately 11:30 a.m. Prior to their parachute demonstration, the SkyHawks' feature video will be shown on the giant screen on Parliament Hill. Shortly thereafter, Canada's famous aerobatic team, the Canadian Forces' Snowbirds, will execute their traditional Canada Day ‘Starburst' at approximately 12:30 to open the festivities on Parliament Hill.

Another sure crowd pleaser is The Musical Ride (http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/musicalride/index_e.htm). I've seen it once before in Winnipeg and was completely entranced with the expert manouevers.

The Musical Ride consists of the execution of a variety of intricate figures and cavalry drill choreographed to music. Demanding utmost control, timing and coordination, these movements are formed by individual horses and riders, in two's, four's and eight's at the trot and at the canter. Months of training, practice and many kilometres/miles around the riding school make horse and rider one.
I called the hotel to confirm that my refrigerator and microwave would be there as requested, and he said the policy is "first come, first served". When I explained that there really wasn't any way for me to get there any sooner, he had very little sympathy for me, but when I asked him what I would do when my food spoils, he assured me that the conceirge would be happy to store my food for me. :lol: Must be a pretty fancy place I booked.

Happy Canada Day!!!
http://howieluvzus.com/wp-content/canada.flag.gif

There are no limits to the majestic future which lies before the mighty expanse of Canada with its verile, aspiring, cultured, and generous-hearted people. ~ Sir Winston Churchill

I hope your vacation is a restful one, and that you return to us refreshed and reinvigorated. I wouldn't worry too much about the forums... they ebb and flow depending on who is active. I've also noticed the vibe change in the past few days, and I can almost pinpoint it to the activities of certain individuals who have the knack of "pushing buttons." Like everything else, there are good days and bad days. May all your days be circus days. See you on the other side.

"pushing buttons."

:evil:

"pushing buttons."

Pot calling the kettle black!

Have a GREAT vacation Guava! We will look forward to hearing from you when you get back! :jumping:

bump!

Hey Abigail!

The high training did me in. I am a sloth.

My husband cornered me yesterday and demanded to know my BMI. (Okay, fine, it wasn't quite that dramatic.) I told him I thought it was 19. He said if it was 18.5, he was supposed to be taking me to a doctor. I assured him that my diet and exercise program is perfectly healthy and not excessive, and that my body image was just fine. But aparently, he'd be more comfortable if I gained some weight, so I'm going to give it a bit more of a try. (Of course, I considered that his main motivation could be to feel less guilty about his elevated BMI.)

Canada Day was fabulous, especially the Musical Ride (dancing horses :whistle: ) and the little side trip we made on the way home to the Hershey Factory to load up on chocolate. No fridge and microwave in the hotel, and they even woke us at 5 am with a fire alarm and announcements every 30 seconds until 5:30. I had such bad cramps Saturday evening that I had to trek back to the hotel for a two hour nap before catching up with the rest of them for the fireworks. Then my little one threw up in the middle of the night. Excitement all around.

It's so hot I haven't been feel like working out. I've been doing about four sets of exercises before bed each night. I'd like to be doing more. I did do a bit of a half-hearted attempt on the weird machines they had at the hotel (air powered :confused: ), but since I wasn't feeling 100%, it was not 100% effective.

One of my fuschias is in bad shape. It's a shade lover and I have it out in the sun. :doh: The other one is okay because it's a different variety. My chocolate peppermint died because it didn't get enough water while we were away, and my lilies' blooms are fading. I may need to buy some new plants. Chrysanthemums should start to bloom in a couple of weeks, but my husband killed two of them last fall trying to tidy them up, so I only have two left. This whole gardening thing, I'm still just learning how to maximize every moment of the growing season. I'll plant some grape hyacinth bulbs in the fall, because my crocuses didn't offer quite enough sping oomph.

The girls are home for the summer now. I'm trying to plan activities to keep us busy, because if I don't I'll waste all the time away. I am SUCH a huge time-waster if I don't have every minute of my day planned out. :bang: We have season tickets to Canada's Wonderland, so I imagine we could make a weekly trip of it. Our trip to Orlando back in February has renewed my interest in roller coasters. I have to go to Ohio (http://www.rense.com/general69/cedar.htm).

I need someone to give me a kick.:bang:

"Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant."~ Robert Louis Stevenson

I'm sure as soon as you wind down from your trip your motivation will be back up. I took a good swing with my foot. Your kick should be arriving to Canada shortly ;)

Our trip to Orlando back in February has renewed my interest in roller coasters. I have to go to Ohio.

Totally! Cedar Point rocks!

Cedar Point rocks!

:nod:

belezza girl, you've got a powerful kick. My girls are in the neighbor's swimming pool; I got the main floor tidied, the dishes washed, the laundry put away, and the floor vacuumed. After lunch, I must yet scrub the toilet, do two more loads of laundry, and mop. And I might just be feeling up for a full workout tonight.:bb:

Sandusky, Ohio is closer to me than Ottawa. :confused: Might make a good road trip.:tucool:

It's about time for some more fresh strawberries, so I might head out early tomorrow morning for some more picking.

My husband wants to buy a car. I thought maybe he'd want a BMW or something, but, no, he has dreams of acquiring an identical copy of the car he first bought.:nod: He bought a 1984 Mustang shortly after we met (he was 17) and sold it shortly after we got engaged in exchange for a much more fuel-sensible Suzuki Swift. The Mustang he wants is $3000. He sold his about 11 years ago for $800 I think (though it was barely functioning at the time).:p

He says I should buy a motorcycle like the half dozen other women on my block. I told him I'd rather have dumbbells.:bb:

Hey Abigail!

The high training did me in. I am a sloth.

My husband cornered me yesterday and demanded to know my BMI. (Okay, fine, it wasn't quite that dramatic.) I told him I thought it was 19. He said if it was 18.5, he was supposed to be taking me to a doctor. I assured him that my diet and exercise program is perfectly healthy and not excessive, and that my body image was just fine. But aparently, he'd be more comfortable if I gained some weight, so I'm going to give it a bit more of a try. (Of course, I considered that his main motivation could be to feel less guilty about his elevated BMI.)



Dont! give in .. to the guilt trip :)

She'll probably even let me push her Smart Car.

you get anywhere near that smart car yet!!

hey ! you re falling off page 2!!

hey ! you re falling off page 2!!
Hmmm... if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have to keep making myself accountable. Thank-you, I think.:confused: :lol:

So, I'm a little more relaxed this week, but that's okay; I'm not slacking anymore. I went out for a nice long walk last night - to the library (closed by the time I got there, so I couldn't check out any new gardening books:doh: ), and then to get some groceries. I bought a whole bunch of stuff (including several pounds of pork tenderloin, lean ground beef, extra lean ground beef, and 10 pounds of potatoes), so it was a bit of a workout carrying it home. Friday night I did a moderate/light upper body workout, and Thursday night I did a moderate lower body workout.

I took the girls out to the strawberry farm on Thursday, but they had no strawberries left to pick.:( The grocery stores are still selling local berries, so I bought one pack of local and one pack of US grown. We did a blind taste test, and they were surprisingly equally delicious.

I've signed up for another week of chasing delinquents. My crew leader has gone on holidays, but she's arranged for someone else to gather together some blitz crews. He must have heard that I'm motivated by praise because he convinced me to join them by saying that my name has frequently come up in a favorable manner among my supervisor's supervisor. So I'll be going out on Thursday night and Friday night for five hours each. In the meantime, I can dream up new ways to spend my $120.:whistle:

To keep my husband appeased, I'm trying to eat each time I'm hungry instead of keeping myself just on the brink of satisfaction. Gaining a pound a month wouldn't be too much.

I'm exploring new music by Papa Roach, Hinder, Fallout Boy, P.O.D, and Theory of a Deadman (http://www.theoryofadeadman.com/). (Yes, they sound exactly like Nickelback. Chad Kroeger produced their album and co-wrote six of their first ten songs.)

Success is going from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm. ~Abraham Lincoln

If I don't post something, Abigail is going to come and hunt me down.:p

Every part of my body above my navel is in pain. Why does it take DOMS 48 hours to reach me now when it used to arrive after about 12 hours? After a really super good workout, I feel omnipotent for the entire next day. That was yesterday. :D It's a really cool feeling - "I am stronger today than I have ever been in my life." :flex:

Yesterday I took the girls to Canada's Wonderland and it really wore me out, so I'm in a bit of a funk today. Food so far:

1 C low fat peach yogurt
1 egg
1/2 C oats
1 large peach

1 C low fat peach yogurt
1 C diced cantaloupe
2 T ground flax seeds

I'm going to the MuscleMag store this afternoon to visit my dumbbells. I don't think I'm ready to buy them yet, but I'd like to take another look.

I was supposed to be going to the bank, but they can't see us today, so instead of changing the time for the sitter, I decided just to make a shopping trip of it. Later, I'll be meeting my husband for dinner and a movie. He's been acting like he's seventeen lately, so I'm preparing advance strategies in how to steer him away from the back row of the theatre.:whistle:

If you cannot be a poet, be the poem. ~David Carradine

Every part of my body above my navel is in pain. Why does it take DOMS 48 hours to reach me now when it used to arrive after about 12 hours? After a really super good workout, I feel omnipotent for the entire next day. That was yesterday. :D It's a really cool feeling - "I am stronger today than I have ever been in my life." :flex:


:claphigh: :claplow: :claphigh: that's such a great feeling, isn't it :nod: :tucool:

Hey Guava,
I took Justitia to Whole Foods this afternoon. She said that you had given her permission to eat fruits. I bought $25 worth of Rainier and sweet cherries. But I didn't want to eat them until I got your permission.

Eat the cherries.
With some chocolate.
:)

Carpe diem.

Click (http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/click/).

Hey Guava,
I took Justitia to Whole Foods this afternoon. She said that you had given her permission to eat fruits. I bought $25 worth of Rainier and sweet cherries. But I didn't want to eat them until I got your permission.


Eat the cherries.
With some chocolate.
:)

Carpe diem.

Click (http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/click/).


:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

But I think I OD'd on the fruit. I am sitting here all bloated again, having eaten a peach, a banana and a bag of the Ranier Cherries and 1 lb of strawberreis. I think Ineed to cut back now.... sheesh...

I think I need ot go back to my normal diet.

Thanks Banditfist for the trip.... you drive a neat car..;)

Justitia,

Fruit has a lot of volume. If you're not used to eating very much, it will fill you up quite quickly.

Slow and steady wins the race, they say.

Sometimes I feel like I haven't come very far in the last few years. I've been sort of trying to bulk since July 2004, (I was 52.0 kg, and there were a couple of photos where I looked frighteningly thin.) but it's been very hard to do psychologically. I seem to have a "set point" at about 117 pounds, which I think is sort of funny, because I had a very firm set point of 130 pounds for several years.

My weight has hardly changed at all. I haven't really been keeping track of my body fat percentage, but it's been jumping around quite variably.

I haven't taken measurements in months, but photos are showing that my shoulders and chest have gotten considerably wider. My waist looks like it's gotten smaller, but that might just be a lighting illusion. The fat in my thighs has diminished or redistributed itself.

Not to mention, I've been really happy with my diet lately. I don't feel right if I don't have spinach and broccoli and berries or oranges every day. I've gotten to know which foods will satisfy me (yogurt), and which foods are better left to small quanitities (boxed cereals, nuts).

Scale says 53.0 kg, 16% body fat. I feel comfortable here.:)

Justitia,

Fruit has a lot of volume. If you're not used to eating very much, it will fill you up quite quickly.

Slow and steady wins the race, they say.

Sometimes I feel like I haven't come very far in the last few years. I've been sort of trying to bulk since July 2004, (I was 52.0 kg, and there were a couple of photos where I looked frighteningly thin.) but it's been very hard to do psychologically. I seem to have a "set point" at about 117 pounds, which I think is sort of funny, because I had a very firm set point of 130 pounds for several years.

My weight has hardly changed at all. I haven't really been keeping track of my body fat percentage, but it's been jumping around quite variably.

I haven't taken measurements in months, but photos are showing that my shoulders and chest have gotten considerably wider. My waist looks like it's gotten smaller, but that might just be a lighting illusion. The fat in my thighs has diminished or redistributed itself.

Not to mention, I've been really happy with my diet lately. I don't feel right if I don't have spinach and broccoli and berries or oranges every day. I've gotten to know which foods will satisfy me (yogurt), and which foods are better left to small quanitities (boxed cereals, nuts).

Scale says 53.0 kg, 16% body fat. I feel comfortable here.:)

:confused: Rockin Mama's, Guava's, :confused:

Both are great!!!!:nod:

Wow, Guava. I can't even tell you how amazing your pics are. You were never big, but in the July pic you are absolutely flawless. You've done a great job. You have the ideal figure IMO. Keep it up! :tu:

Wow, Guava. I can't even tell you how amazing your pics are. You were never big, but in the July pic you are absolutely flawless. You've done a great job. You have the ideal figure IMO. Keep it up! :tu:Thanks belezza.

I've never been big since I've been a member of the forums, but I was overweight 1993-1996 (155 pounds). When I got pregnant, I went up to about 190, then was "overweight" until a year after giving birth, then spent about 3 years at a "normal" weight 130 pounds, then pregnant/overweight for another two years, then back to 130 until just before I joined the forums.

Amazing what replacing a few kilos of fat mass with lean mass
in all the "strategic places" :) can do for you.

Keep up the great work! (espicelly the lunges :) )

Shahar.

I told you your shoulders got wider, Guava, do you use a tape measure to track at all?

I told you your shoulders got wider,


I agree... you widened your lats too... you have a much better v-taper now which is part of the reason your waist seems so much smaller than it used too... you look awesome :nod:

Yes, you look so firm and tight in your latter pictures. You've got more definition and everything :) The biggest shape-up looks to me like your tush. The difference is amazing! It's so lifted I just cant believe it, and look ---- you've got a gap between your upper thighs :D
Great work Guava :bow:

Guava, since I told my wife about your economical butt lift, she's demanding to know details of the glute heavy workouts. I know you had given some vague info before, but any chance you could just summarize it into the names of a few exercises (or descriptions if names don't work) and just a relative idea of how often (once, twice, more/week?) you did them. Even if you have to make up some details, that's fine.

I know you mentioned, lunges (with dumbells?)
bridges (reps, sets?)
something about ankle weights?

I know it's silly to ask for details, as of course the best thing for her to do is try some things out and see how it works, but sometimes people just need to be told to do something a certain way, just to start their own revisement of a routine, as they will most certainly do. Thanks!

Scale says 53.0 kg, 16% body fat. I feel comfortable here.:)

:eek: :bow: :drool: :o

I told you your shoulders got wider, Guava, do you use a tape measure to track at all?
I tracked at mybodycomp for a while (now fittogether.net) but I quit using the tape measure because the camera is more accurate. I find that I get so much of a variance based on measurement error and/or water retention that the fat/muscle composition changes are very difficult to see in the measurements. I don't think my neck grew and shrank, the first arm and shoulder measurement seem unlikely high, I don't believe my calves shrunk, and I can never figure out where to measure "hips". My hips aren't anywhere near my hip bones. :confused: Even though my waist is still the same 26 inches as in October 05, it's a firmer 26 inches. The tape wouldn't have shown the butt lift either.

Feb 2004/ Oct 2005/ July 2006
Weight 123.20/ 118.00/ 117.00
Shoulders 43.43/ 41 / 41.5
Chest 36 / 33.8 / 34.2
Waist 27/ 26 / 26
Abdomen 28/ 27 / 26.5
Hips 35 / 32 / 33
Thigh 21.8 / 21.2 / 20.6
Knee 14 / 13 / 13.2
Calf 14.8 / 14.5 / 14.3
Ankle 8.25 / 8 / 8
Neck 13.48 / 14 / 13
Arm 11.48 / 10.25 / 10.5
Forearm 9.59 / 9.5 / 9.6
Wrist 6.17 / 6.09 / 6.09

My waist/hip ratio is graphed at the "very high risk" category.
Your Body Fat Level Is: 20.64%:lol:

You look great Guava!

I know it's silly to ask for details, as of course the best thing for her to do is try some things out and see how it works, but sometimes people just need to be told to do something a certain way, just to start their own revisement of a routine, as they will most certainly do. Thanks!
I lifted weights five to six times per week. Every second workout was a glute heavy workout, so that means two to three times a week. I wouldn't recommend this for more than six to eight weeks. Key exercises were lunges with dumbbells and dumbbell bench step ups or walking stairs while holding dumbbells. Also included squats with dumbbells, sumo squats with a stability ball against the wall, butt lifts or ("bridge" or "pelvic tilts") and tush tucks as here (http://library.thinkquest.org/12153/butt.html), but with one leg extended straight, sissy squats (http://www.abcbodybuilding.com/exercise2/sissy_squats.htm), ham curl with stability ball (http://www.shape.com/workouts/78), front lying leg lifts (reverse hyperextensions, or "half supermans"), side lying leg lifts with ankle weights, walking with a resistance band tied around my ankle, "skating" and "marching" with a resistance band around my ankle. Less frequently, I also included deadlifts, ham curls, leg extensions.

I can't recommend numbers of reps or sets, because sometimes I worked out for 15 minutes, and sometimes for an hour. Sometimes I took long rest periods, sometimes short. Sometimes I picked the "easy" exercises, and sometimes I wanted more of a challenge; depended how I felt. It was never planned out in advance.

Thanks guava. Wow, that is a hell of a glute workout. I understand you probably didn't do them all the same day but still, so many different workouts, it's quite the variety.

No wonder your butt looks so damn good :p

Have you ever tried to do the swiss ball ham curls with your arms straight up in the air? It adds some difficulty, plus it's a lot of fun falling all over the place the first couple times you try it out :lol:

Anyway, happy Friday!

Gravityhomer, yes, I get bored easily. Usually it was about five or six exercises per workout; sometimes more sometimes less, but never the same workout twice. :p

Belezza, yes, I've tried it with arms straight out to my sides. Gives a bit of an ab workout with the stabilizers that way, but it's not as effective for the glutes because I can't do more than two or three without falling over. :lol:

Thanks badgolfer, M@, Naturegirl, Chameleon, Black-Dawn, Justitia. :)

I working again today. We're going to try for about 7 hours; that's a pretty long day for me. :lol: Not sure if I'll be going out tomorrow, but I'm set for a Wednesday evening blitz.

I'm applying for a new job. "Employment Specialist". Don't know when it starts; don't know how much it pays, but it's a government funded centre, so that's always good news.;) Requirements are pretty vague. If I can just convince myself that I'm qualified, it shouldn't be too difficult to convince them that I'm qualified. :p

This was lunch today. Might end up being supper too, because I'm not sure what my crew leader has planned for our dinner break.

Pinto Bean Energy Bars Yield: 30 Bars
nonstick cooking spray
2/3 C orange juice
1 cup chopped pitted dates
1 C chopped pitted prunes
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup Splenda
1 1/3 cups quick cooking oats
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 C ground almonds
1/4 C ground flax seeds
15 oz can white beans, rinsed, drained, coarsely chopped
1 egg
1/4 cup each raisins, currants, dried cranberries, dried cherries
1/2 cup sunflower seeds, divided
1/4 C granola

Line a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan with foil. Lightly coat foil with nonstick cooking spray. Preheat oven to 350 F. Cook the orange juice with the dates and prunes in a sauce pan until soft. Add remaining ingredients, except half of the sunflower seeds and granola. Spread in prepared pan. Sprinkle with sunflower seeds and granola. Press down firmly.

Bake in preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes or until edges of bars are lightly brown and center is firm to touch. Cool completely. Use foil to lift out of pan; cut into bars. Freeze bars, wrapped in foil, up to 3 months.

Note: they were WAY too sweet. I'll leave out the brown sugar next time, and add about 2 T molasses instead.

Lord, grant that I may always desire more than I accomplish. ~ Michelangelo

If I don't post something, Abigail is going to come and hunt me down.:p

:D

and i agree with chica... your tush looks great :tu:
i want the V taper too (we dont seem to have a smiley that whines )

keep up the good work

If I can just convince myself that I'm qualified, it shouldn't be too difficult to convince them that I'm qualified.

This is too awesome. I'm stealing it.

Lord, grant that I may always desire more than I accomplish. ~ Michelangelo

Another brilliant quote...hrmm...which one to .sig. :confused:

Hi, when i look back to your pic with your baby and your now pics the transformation is just awesome!!! I especially admire your legs, as that is my weak spot!! how long did it take you to start being happy with your legs/amount of fat/muscle definition?? I mean at what body percentage did they start to look real good, if like me this was one of the places you really deposit excess fat? i haven't avoided leg exercises except for my calves (and biceps) which are naturally VERY muscular (under the fat ;) )

Alos just to say i have read loads of your nutrional/food comments and your food choices/macros is how i naturally eat tho am trying more low carb right now to see if it makes a difference/shifts a two month plateau..

anyway KEEP IT UP :tu:

Hmmm... when I can... I am going to try to incorporate your glute workout.... You got great!!! results.

how long did it take you to start being happy with your legs/amount of fat/muscle definition?? I mean at what body percentage did they start to look real good, if like me this was one of the places you really deposit excess fat? i haven't avoided leg exercises except for my calves (and biceps) which are naturally VERY muscular (under the fat ;) )

Alos just to say i have read loads of your nutrional/food comments and your food choices/macros is how i naturally eat tho am trying more low carb right now to see if it makes a difference/shifts a two month plateau.
Thanks for popping in Jedi! I took a look at your pics after you sent me a private message several weeks ago. We seem to be built very similarly.

I never work my calves either.:lol:

I actually was happy with my legs back in July 2004, except that at that point I felt that my upper body looked emaciated. I focused my effort at that point on my shoulders, lats and chest to try and build up my upper body more to balance it out. By February 2005, I'd reached success in that area, but I was slightly less happy with my legs at that point. (I hadn't been working them nearly as hard as my upper body.) I thought I would never even out, but I was satisfied with focusing on my strong points. Then, just a few months ago, I thought it would be worth a try to bump up the effort on my lower half, and, surprise, surprise, I liked the results.

Keep in mind that I do not like to do things quickly, and that improved body composition is but one of my fitness goals. I wouldn't say this is how long it "should" take a person to where I got to aesthetically. That's just how long it took me to find the path where I am now.

I really don't know what my true body fat percentage is, and I don't keep records of what my body fat scale readings have been in the past, other than what I may have sporadically reported in my past journals. I had one called Peak Season for Guava and one called Summer Progress Phase is Over. You'll have to look for those yourself if you're curious.;)

Good luck in your eating shift. I do not promote my particular macronutrient ratios as a better method for reaching body composition goals; I ended up with those numbers because I believe the balance of foods in my current diet are the healthiest and most satisfying for my lifestyle right now.

Temporary attachments - legs August 04, upper body October 04, legs July 05, upper body July 05.

Wow, seeeexy! :D You look awesome, Guava. So long and lean.
I wish you well on the new job too :gl:

Thanks a lot for detailed reply Guava:) I love the way people on these boards seem so interested and geuine, its cool:) .... I have been into healthy eating for years and years... and I am wondering if your slower approach and macros aren't the best too, at least for me, the thing is when i was on 50/25/25 approx, I was meeting almost all my nutritional needs according to Fitday, anyway except low on Vit D (thats ok as body produces that anyway esp with all the sun we get) and K... whereas with low carb I amm lacking lots of stuff.. now i do know its hard to say these days even with all the fresh produce i use how much good vit/mineral content there really is, but i do think we shd be aiming for as much as we can from food before adding the multivit....

Also your post made me wonder if i shouldn't just take a slower approach rather than I want this signed and sealed by the end of summer and then on to maintenance.... I don't want to become obessional and i want to lead a balanced lifestyle that i can keep up :) I guess have been furstrated by the plateau and not sure where to go weights wise as I really don't want to get a lot more muscular as I feel it would start to look unfeminine on me rather than nicely defined ;) sorry for ramblings, but wante to say that your post helped me to process my thoughts a little further... merci


Thanks for popping in Jedi! I took a look at your pics after you sent me a private message several weeks ago. We seem to be built very similarly.

I never work my calves either.:lol:

I actually was happy with my legs back in July 2004, except that at that point I felt that my upper body looked emaciated. I focused my effort at that point on my shoulders, lats and chest to try and build up my upper body more to balance it out. By February 2005, I'd reached success in that area, but I was slightly less happy with my legs at that point. (I hadn't been working them nearly as hard as my upper body.) I thought I would never even out, but I was satisfied with focusing on my strong points. Then, just a few months ago, I thought it would be worth a try to bump up the effort on my lower half, and, surprise, surprise, I liked the results.

Keep in mind that I do not like to do things quickly, and that improved body composition is but one of my fitness goals. I wouldn't say this is how long it "should" take a person to where I got to aesthetically. That's just how long it took me to find the path where I am now.

I really don't know what my true body fat percentage is, and I don't keep records of what my body fat scale readings have been in the past, other than what I may have sporadically reported in my past journals. I had one called Peak Season for Guava and one called Summer Progress Phase is Over. You'll have to look for those yourself if you're curious.;)

Good luck in your eating shift. I do not promote my particular macronutrient ratios as a better method for reaching body composition goals; I ended up with those numbers because I believe the balance of foods in my current diet are the healthiest and most satisfying for my lifestyle right now.

Temporary attachments - legs August 04, upper body October 04, legs July 05, upper body July 05.

Temporary attachments - legs August 04, upper body October 04, legs July 05, upper body July 05.

Your body is truly beautiful, Guava... both in 04 and 05 as well as today...

No wonder all the guys here have a crush on you...;) (of course your wit and sharp mind round everything out so nicely.....:nod: )

:moon: Your body is truly beautiful, Guava... both in 04 and 05 as well as today...

No wonder all the guys here have a crush on you...;) (of course your wit and sharp mind round everything out so nicely.....:nod: )

Totally agree justitia, cool body and personality :)

:o
Aw, you guys are so sweet.:)

I have to agree with Jedi as well as Justitia! You are looking QUITE AWESOME Guava!! Body and personality to match!

:moon:

Totally agree justitia, cool body and personality :)

I finished updating my resume and writing my cover letter, but I haven't submitted it yet. I want it to be just perfect, and I have until Friday to add any finishing touches I might think of. I'm not sure how much I'm supposed to brag about my accomplishments. :confused:

Today is ridiculously hot again, for about the tenth day in a row, with ridiculous humidity. I don't like exercising when it's warm. But at least I tend not to overeat either. It will be a "fruitful" day.

Biking seems to be the "in" thing.

Clad in skin-tight spandex and donning aerodynamic helmets, Jake Gyllenhaal (in red), Matthew McConaughey (in black) and Lance Armstrong (in white) (http://www.tmz.com/2006/07/06/studs-in-spandex/) put the pedals to the pavement, staying together throughout the entire workout. TMZ contacted reps for the actors to find out what (if anything) they're in training for, but it turns out they just all love to ride!

I bought a bike several weeks ago, but I haven't been on it yet. :o Must get out more.:spank:

When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments. Here was a machine of precision and balance for the convenience of man. And (unlike subsequent inventions for man's convenience) the more he used it, the fitter his body became. Here, for once, was a product of man's brain that was entirely beneficial to those who used it, and of no harm or irritation to others. Progress should have stopped when man invented the bicycle. ~Elizabeth West, Hovel in the Hills

I finished updating my resume and writing my cover letter, but I haven't submitted it yet. I want it to be just perfect, and I have until Friday to add any finishing touches I might think of. I'm not sure how much I'm supposed to brag about my accomplishments. :confused: You might consider finding someone in a career services position to critique it. In my experience, I've always had people point out things I never noticed before and it definitely helped!

You might consider finding someone in a career services position to critique it. In my experience, I've always had people point out things I never noticed before and it definitely helped!
Normally I would, but considering the nature of the job, (one of the main tasks is to help clients in their job search) I thought it would be rather ironic. I e-mailed a copy of the cover letter to my mom and sister, and they both said it was fantastic. So I sent it in yesterday afternoon. Now, just to cross my fingers and wait for the interview. I'm pretty sure this position is at a building they are constructing on the site of the school that both my daughters attend. As a bonus, there is a day care there as well, in case I need it. The ground breaking for this project is in August, so I'm guessing that the opening is for some time in October.

I'm working again tonight. My crew leader is unfortunately not as organized as the previous one was, so we're not bringing in as many forms as I did before, but since I'm being paid hourly now, it doesn't matter, except for this gnawing feeling that we're wasting time. I have to be extra careful that I bring paperwork (and a large bottle of water) along with me, because last time we were out, he left me on a street with six forms, and picked me up an hour later. I was done in 28 minutes.:doh:

I'll be spending the rest of the morning at a "splash pad" or the pool with the girls, then taking them to do a craft at the library in the afternoon, in between a couple of stops to buy clothing and groceries.

I just learned last night that there's a drive-in movie theatre not that far from where we live. Cars and Pirates of the Caribbean is playing; sounds like it might be fun to do over the weekend.

I have incredible pain in my abdominal region. So bad that it woke me up in the middle of the night and necessitated two pain relievers and a heating pad to alleviate. I did not directly work abs yesterday, but I did 8x3 pull-ups with my strength training workout, which might have caused some strain. Ouch!

"Far away there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow where they lead." —Louisa May Alcott

Drive-in movies are the best. I definitely recommend it.

Best of luck getting an interview.

We were taking the Jung Typology Test (http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes2.asp) in Chameleon's journal. I've taken it before, but it's always interesting read about my personality again. It has always produced a VERY accurate assessment of anyone I've seen take the test.

My results came up INFJ, and from various sources, here's what describes me

INFJs focus on possibilities, think in terms of values and come easily to decisions. The small number of this type (1 percent) is regrettable, since INFJs have unusually strong drive to contribute to the welfare of others and genuinely enjoy helping their fellow men. This type has great depth of personality; they are themselves complicated, and can understand and deal with complex issues and people.

INFJs place great importance on havings things orderly and systematic in their outer world. They put a lot of energy into identifying the best system for getting things done, and constantly define and re-define the priorities in their lives.

Because the INFJ has such strong intuitive capabilities, they trust their own instincts above all else. This may result in an INFJ stubborness and tendency to ignore other people's opinions. They believe that they're right. On the other hand, INFJ is a perfectionist who doubts that they are living up to their full potential. INFJs are rarely at complete peace with themselves - there's always something else they should be doing to improve themselves and the world around them.

They have strong empathic abilities and can become aware of another's emotions or intentions -- good or evil -- even before that person is conscious of them. This "mind-reading" can take the form of feeling the hidden distress or illnesses of others to an extent which is difficult for other types to comprehend.

INFJs are concerned for people's feelings, and try to be gentle to avoid hurting anyone. They are very sensitive to conflict, and cannot tolerate it very well. Situations which are charged with conflict may drive the normally peaceful INFJ into a state of agitation or charged anger.

INFJs have a strong love of learning, and they tend to do well academically. Through persistence, diligence, and conscientiousness, they complete their assignments on time. They are likely to enjoy research and will go great lengths to find answers.

INFJs enjoy investigating the possibilities and meanings beyond the actual facts and realities. Reading holds a particular fascination for them because it allows them to have quiet reflection time and engages their imagination. They also like the written word (and rely on it more than the spoken word) since it is usually better structured and more coherent with a ready-made framework.

INFJs write and communicate well because they want to formulate their ideas clearly. They place high regard on their reader and audience. They seek to communicate their ideals to others. When their ideals need to be championed, they speak up in an enthusiastic and impassioned way.
I was trying to predict what my husband's result would be, but I guessed wrong. Lately, he's been acting like an introvert, but he was the furthest from that when I met him. Turns out, he is exactly fits the first recommended mate for me.:)

The oracular INFJ may opt for the inventive ENTP. Charming, suave, urbane, humorous, witty, fantastically easy to approach, venturesome, even reckless.

Highlights for him:
ENTPs are usually verbally as well as cerebrally quick, and generally love to argue--both for its own sake, and to show off their often-impressive skills. They tend to have a perverse sense of humor as well, and enjoy playing devil's advocate. They sometimes confuse, even inadvertently hurt, those who don't understand or accept the concept of argument as a sport.

ENTPs have little patience with those they consider wrongheaded or unintelligent, and show little restraint in demonstrating this. However, they do tend to be extremely genial, if not charming, when not being harassed by life in general.

ENTPs are known for their quest of the novel and complex. They have faith in their ability to improvise and to overcome any challenges that they face. They are highly independent, and value adaptability and innovation. They may be several steps ahead of others in encouraging and valuing change. They hate uninspired routine and resist hierarchical and bureaucratic structures that are not functional. They need freedom for action.

ENTP's are confident in the value of their pursuits and display a charming capacity to ignore the standard, the traditional, and the authoritative. As a result of this open attitude, they often bring a fresh, new approach to their work and their lives.

I like his recommended career choices:
dictator, computer consultant, international spy

check, check, check ;) :lol:

I just watched "My Date with Drew". She is such a sweet woman. I liked how the gifts they chose for each other were so absolutely perfect :)

Drew Barrymore was in a movie eleven years ago (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112571/) in which she falls in love with Matthew McConaughey's character. I know I've seen that movie before, but I'll have to see it again. I also must see Lucky You (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0338216/), and I have a big list of movies to see in the future. Arrested Development (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0475934/), The Loop (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0448022/), Dear Delilah (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0361497/), Hammer Down (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0402241/), and Music and Lyrics By. (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0758766/) They've been busy.

21 Suggestions for Success
1. Marry the right person. This one decision will determine 90% of your happiness or misery.
2. Work at something you enjoy and that's worthy of your time and talent.
3. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.
4. Become the most positive and enthusiastic person you know.
5. Be forgiving of yourself and others.
6. Be generous.
7. Have a grateful heart.
8. Persistence, persistence, persistence.
9. Discipline yourself to save money on even the most modest salary.
10. Treat everyone you meet like you want to be treated.
11. Commit yourself to constant improvement.
12. Commit yourself to quality.
13. Understand that happiness is not based on possessions, power or prestige, but on relationships with people you love and respect.
14. Be loyal.
15. Be honest.
16. Be a self-starter.
17. Be decisive even if it means you'll sometimes be wrong.
18. Stop blaming others. Take responsibility for every area of your life.
19. Be bold and courageous. When you look back on your life, you'll regret the things you didn't do more than the ones you did.
20. Take good care of those you love.
21. Don't do anything that wouldn't make your Mom proud.

I love those personality tests- I always come up as borderline INFP/ENFP. They're interesting tests, but I use them as entertainment only. I'm a firm believer in having a person look at you individually to discover what's wrong with you :lol:

-L

Lael, being an INFJ, I like to read those things to confirm that there's nothing wrong with me. :lol: It's comforting to know that other people just like me exist, and that my character traits, both positive and negative merge together to make a complete and balanced whole.;)

We decided not to go to the drive-in. The movie starts at 9:20, and because it was a double feature, it was expected to run past 1:30 am. Too late for the kids to enjoy, and not the type of movies we'd normally pick without the kids.

My stomach cramps are continuing, plus bloating. It's a nasty case of PMS, which used to occur every month in high school, but now happens only a few times a year. It's highly annoying because they mask my hunger cues, which I rely on greatly to make the correct food choices. I really have trouble estimating how much food I "should" be eating, and if I feel cramped and bloated, I can't tell the difference between hunger, thirst, stress, and boredom. Fitday says I burn 2400 calories with no additional exercise, but that doesn't sound right to me. I think my maintenance is closer to approximately 1800 calories. I probably ate near 2000 calories yesterday, which is fine.

Never think that you're not good enough yourself. A man should never think that. People will take you very much at your own reckoning. -- Anthony Trollope

That looks similar to Myers Briggs tests I've had to take several times. I wonder what's different. I always end up INTP with an extreme bias toward the thinking side of the thinking-feeling line. I've apparently got no feelings :D

That looks similar to Myers Briggs tests I've had to take several times. I wonder what's different. I always end up INTP with an extreme bias toward the thinking side of the thinking-feeling line. I've apparently got no feelings :D
Hmmm... Good question, so I did some research.;)

Myers-Briggs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myers-Briggs_Type_Indicator) is trademarked and require the test purchaser to sign a code of ethics, so any tests that are circulating around for free can't be called that.

When I wasn't sure about whether my answers were valid, I went back and changed a few questions. When the new results came up, it only showed that my introversion had changed from 89% to 33%. I think I was cheating the test on the first go-around to insure that I'd come up introverted. :o The retest results are probably more accurate for me.

You are:
moderately expressed introvert
moderately expressed intuitive personality
slightly expressed feeling personality
distinctively expressed judging personality

We went to Canada's Wonderland yesterday. They had acrobats on trampolines at the diving show. We stopped at McDonald's on the way home for supper, and I didn't feel like having a salad, so I ordered a double cheeseburger. It was so greasy it made me feel a little nauseous.

I should be getting more things done this summer. :bang:

I have spent my days stringing and unstringing my instrument, while the song I came to sing remains unsung. ~Tagore

I had a half day testing session once with a psychologist for a job change that included a very in depth Myers Briggs, but it came back virtually the same as one I'd taken in about 100 questions for a supervisory class. So, this Jung test is probably very similar, but some of the more in depth work might weed out some of the self introduced bias you were talking about.

I always find it interesting to read the stuff, because a lot DOES hit close to home.

My stomach cramps are continuing, plus bloating. It's a nasty case of PMS, which used to occur every month in high school, but now happens only a few times a year. It's highly annoying because they mask my hunger cues, which I rely on greatly to make the correct food choices. I really have trouble estimating how much food I "should" be eating, and if I feel cramped and bloated, I can't tell the difference between hunger, thirst, stress, and boredom. Fitday says I burn 2400 calories with no additional exercise, but that doesn't sound right to me.


I put in "Seated work" (no extra movement) as my baseline for Fitday, and it says I need around 2000-2100 calories per day for maintenance with no exercise. I know from actual experience that 2000 calories/day and no workouts makes me gain weight, so I do think Fitday just isn't a good indicator of actual caloric needs.

took the jung test - turns out im an INFJ too ... i never really considered myself an introvert :confused:

Hmmm... Good question, so I did some research.;)

Myers-Briggs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myers-Briggs_Type_Indicator) is trademarked and require the test purchaser to sign a code of ethics, so any tests that are circulating around for free can't be called that.

When I wasn't sure about whether my answers were valid, I went back and changed a few questions. When the new results came up, it only showed that my introversion had changed from 89% to 33%. I think I was cheating the test on the first go-around to insure that I'd come up introverted. :o The retest results are probably more accurate for me.

You are:
moderately expressed introvert
moderately expressed intuitive personality
slightly expressed feeling personality
distinctively expressed judging personality

We went to Canada's Wonderland yesterday. They had acrobats on trampolines at the diving show. We stopped at McDonald's on the way home for supper, and I didn't feel like having a salad, so I ordered a double cheeseburger. It was so greasy it made me feel a little nauseous.

I should be getting more things done this summer. :bang:

I have spent my days stringing and unstringing my instrument, while the song I came to sing remains unsung. ~Tagore

And so my "off" days continue. I wish there was something I could do to snap out of it.

I'm still not eating well. Not crap, but not perfect. Yesterday I had spinach, ham, poached eggs, and an English muffin for breakfast, two rice cakes and an apple for lunch, a donut and a coffee for a snack, a salad with grilled chicken for dinner, and blueberries, yogurt and oats for a bedtime snack. I suppose it could have been much worse. *Sigh*

I'm trying to drink more water, and for some reason, I'm finding it really difficult. I'm topping out at about 24 oz. per day. :bang:

I did however have a not bad workout before bed - bicep curls, tricep extensions, tricep dips, side laterals, front raises, pull-ups, and pushups.

I'm uncovering some repressed hostility towards my husband. He asked me a couple of days ago to get rid of some clothing he's had stashed in boxes for the last five years. It upset me more than I believed it would. To me, it feels like he's resigned to never again fit into his 36 inch jeans and size large t-shirts. That pisses me off, because when I met him, he was a size small and had a 31 inch waist. His BMI was lower than mine. He's gained more than 40 pounds since we got married, and I've been patient, but it seems I must be getting increasingly frustrated. His physical appearance was not what attracted me to him in the first place; it was his warmth, his generosity, and his incredible drive and enthusiasm. He's done amazing things in other areas of his life throughout the time that we've been married, but the weight aspect is saddening to me because I'm currently so excited about fitness. It sucks that I can't make him include it as one of his priorities. He's at a very high risk for developing diabetes because of his family history, but he has absolutely no knowledge about the glycemic index, drinks regularly, and never exercises.

But I seem to be panicking about everything this week. If I don't have something to be worried about, I invent something. :(

Tomorrow, we're going to see my husband's mom and stepfather. He has to take six hours out of his life three times a week for dialysis treatment, so we won't actually get to see very much of them while we're there. After that, we're spending two weeks with my mom, whose husband has cancer.

:bang: :bang: :bang:

Dammit, where are the happy pills?

"If you could kick the person in the pants responsible for most of your trouble, you wouldn't sit for a month." ~ Theodore Roosevelt

Sorry you are having a down day

The significant other weight thing...What is the right answer there? I have no idea.

My girlfriend gained some weight during some medical issues she had. Some was hormonal things with all the stuff they were giving her, some is her addiction to Cokes.

Like you said, I was not originally attracted to her only because of what she looked like, as we'd been friends to one degree or another for years. However, at some point, if one person works to stay in shape and the other doesn't, it can definitely cause some friction.

She's losing some of the weight back now, but I think she thinks I'm over the edge with how I treat my health/fitness since coming back from cancer last year. I can't say anything to her about her habits without coming off like her ex, who was basically a jerk to her about that stuff constantly, even when she was pretty much in shape and very athletic. I'd like to help in her latest desire to get in shape, but she's one of the type who thinks she'll get too bulky if she does anything but the machines at high reps, diets by not eating much (maybe 1000 cals/day at times causing binges later), etc.

It isn't even really the appearance issue as much as it is the difference in attitude. Hard to put my finger on what is really bothering me, but I don't know how to address it without seeming a superficial jerk or a know-it-all, so I just try to ignore it. Probably not the healthiest thing, either.

Funny thing was, one of the minor reasons she said she wanted to date even before I was diagnosed last year was that I kept myself in shape!

It's funny (not really funny) how hard it is to shake the mainstream view of how to get fit. Even 6 months into JSF, I still harbored a lot of those views.

For younger women, maybe a transformation thread like my one for fit women over 42, would be useful but that the only ones on there be fitness models and not body-builders. For women concerned about "not getting too big", I think body-building women scare them, even the ones not using enhancements.

Not to hijack this thread but ....

I think she thinks I'm over the edge with how I treat my health/fitness

she's one of the type who thinks she'll get too bulky if she does anything but the machines at high reps, diets by not eating much (maybe 1000 cals/day at times causing binges later), etc.


WRT to my wife, ditto and ditto. :nod:

Tough situation, for sure. I have finally resorted to toiling quietly, in the hope that my results will utlimately prove inspirational. We'll see ... :confused:

So, I'm having a great time, doing neat things, but I am removed from my comfort zone, which is causing erratic behavior. My mom was pretty surprised when I burst into tears this morning, but that seems to be a not uncommon occurence when I visit.

Odd creatures, people are.

We were at McDonald's for lunch on Monday, and my mom said to me "I never feel very good about ordering a cheeseburger for lunch. It's not very healthy" I told her that one of my favorite meals to order from The Golder Arches is the famous cheeseburger with a diet Coke and a side salad drizzled with half the packet of balsamic vinaigrette. Makes a nice lunch for under 400 calories. However, on this day, I had packed myself leftover chicken and steamed broccoli and carried it in the cooler. I don't know why she hadn't done the same. She decided to order two chicken fajitas (still a decent 400 calories, and less fat than the cheeseburger) but then served us lasagna for supper.:confused: I declined the lasagna and prepared myself a bowl of yogurt, an apple, and some granola. The next day, she decided to order in pizza for supper, so I decided to eat a salad and a peanut butter sandwich.

Also, she ate more than six slices of nanaimo bar between the two days.:confused:

It doesn't bother me how she eats except for the wondering aloud why she's not losing weight.

Home sweet home in only 40 hours.:p

My mom was pretty surprised when I burst into tears this morning, but that seems to be a not uncommon occurence when I visit.

Odd creatures, people are.

How so? Her being surprised or you bursting into tears? :confused:

Why on earth are you bursting into tears? You're with mom! Get a hug.

Guava's back! /swoon

Ahh, time spent with family. Truly interesting, it is. Me and my parents/bro live accross the country from our extended family. That allows us to thoroughly enjoy ourselves when we visit them every few years, because it's not often enough for each others' idiosyncrasies to get old and start fights.

I'm home, so I can do my happy dance and breathe a big sigh of relief.
http://www.theofficeexperts.com/forum/images/smilies/dance.gif

There are certain expectations at my Mom's place that I don't have to deal with when I'm here. She and my sister and her are quite opinionated, and I tend to sometimes get unnecessarily hurt by what they say. My brother-in-law makes a complete sport of it. But at least it makes me thoroughly appreciative of how tolerant my husband can be of my silly mood swings.

Happy to be back to my weight set and pull-up bar. I'm looking forward to a good workout tonight.

Once you become self-conscious, there is no end to it; once you start to doubt, there is no room for anything else. ~Mignon McLaughlin, The Neurotic's Notebook

Welcome home. :)

It doesn't bother me how she eats except for the wondering aloud why she's not losing weight.
I know exactly what you're talking about here, unfortunately. A friend of mine is the same way, and he is always complaining about how he's tired too. When I made the suggestion to just try taking a walk at night, he said "I'm too tired to walk." :bang:

And I hate when out of shape friends try to school me in the subject of nutrition. I once went out to eat with him. He had pizza, I had salad with chicken on it. Then he proceeded to tell me how my salad was probably just as bad as the pizza. When I attempted to explain that it was one of 6 small meals I had that day, and that it had veggies in it, he said "so does my pizza, it's made with tomato sauce." :eek:

This is the same guy that once asked me for help losing some fat (for Spring Break, of course). When I asked what he ate that day, he mentioned Burger King. When I said he needed to stop all that fast food, he said "no wait, it was healthy, I mean it was the fish sandwich and fish is good for you!"

I hate when out of shape friends try to school me in the subject of nutrition.

Craving some fast food? How about some candy? Or maybe you're trying to stay healthy by eating that bagel and cream cheese instead of an Egg McMuffin. Well, wrong move! It's better for you to eat TWO Egg McMuffins than one bagel with cream cheese.

Want to know more about the food you eat? PLAY THE NEW EAT THIS NOT THAT GAME! (http://www.womenshealthmag.com/article/0,6176,s1-2-63-1041-1,00.html?cm_mmc=Newsletter-_-2006_Jul_25-_-Nutrition-_-Eat.This.Not.That.Game) And see if you're a nutritional champ.

I scored 10/11 on breakfast and 10/11 on lunch. (The script on the other categories was messed up.) Can you beat my score?

I do try to give people credit for trying to understand nutrition. It takes more than a little basic knowledge to know what's healthy and what's not, and even when you do have the basic knowledge, it's still sometimes hard to guess what ingredients are being used in what amounts. For instance, the "Fruit 'n Fibre Muffin" at McDonald's is marketed as a healthy snack. Makes sense. Fruit's good, fibre's good. But, it should be more accurately classed as a small meal. At 420 calories and 17 grams of fat, it makes up nearly 25% of my target daily calories and 35% of the total fat I normally consume in a day.:eek: That makes the 6 grams of fibre that it supplies (25% of my target) considerably less impressive.

On the other hand, a lot of people get offended if you try to correct their misconceptions. I don't know if she really thinks that lasagna is a healthier choice than a burger, or if she just has different priorities at different times of the day.

I do find it quite sad what types of meals most families are serving. I did relax my diet quite substantially while on vacation, but I still could not completely adapt to society's standard of a meal. When my mom served the lasagna, that was the complete meal - no salad, no soup, no steamed vegetables. The following night, she did same with the pizza - no vegetable sticks or salad alongside. I ate once at my sisters while I was away, and she served a "buffet" type meal with chicken pieces, two pizzas, a ring of garlic sausage, cheese, a shrimp ring, puffed wheat squares, macaroni salad, and cheesecake. That's it. She was worried it might not be enough, so she asked me to put out some "Cheezies" for the kids, and I actually refused.:o I was glad that I'd brought a sweet potato with me so that I'd have something to eat with my meal. I've learned to accept that other people do not have the same idea of what constitutes a meal as I do. Most of the restaurant meals I ate were supplemented with additional fruits and vegetables that I purchased at the grocery store and carried with me. I'm sure a lot of people find me nauseatingly annoying, but I'm much happier when I'm enjoying what I'm eating.

It's better for you to eat TWO Egg McMuffins than one bagel with cream cheese.

I'm going to have to go ahead and go to my grave not believing this. Fewer calories? Perhaps. Healthier? I just can't see how.

I'm impressed that you know which sticky bun is healthier.:D

But I couldn't help thinking that most of those choices were in the same category as "Which dump truck would hurt less if it ran you over."

Now I sound like some sort of neurotic health-food nazi.:o Look what you people have done to me:bang: I'm going to go have a carrot to cheer myself up.

Now I sound like some sort of neurotic health-food nazi.:o Look what you people have done to me:bang: I'm going to go have a carrot to cheer myself up.
:lol: That's exactly the feeling that I have. But it's usually a good feeling.
I'm going to have to go ahead and go to my grave not believing this. Fewer calories? Perhaps. Healthier? I just can't see how.
Healthier? I'd think so. Bagels have more sugar than English muffins, and cream cheese is loaded with saturated fat. Egg sandwiches are full of great nutrients, and have more food volume per calorie than bagels and cheese. For myself, it's a wiser choice because it would keep me feeling full longer. Interestingly enough, bagel with cream cheese was the "meal" my sister packed when we went to the beach. (I packed apples, oranges, nectarines, and granola)

But again, yes, it's hard to judge. I caught my husband telling my girls about a certain light "juice" sweetened with artificial sweeteners was "healthier" than another option. I don't avoid giving my girls Splenda, but I don't want them to start equating "calories" with "bad", so I explained that instead of choosing foods with the fewest calories, we should choose the items with the best ratio of nutrients to energy. It can get quite complicated, especially when it seems the rest of the world IS trying to lose weight and IS trying to find the lowest calorie items available.

I remember a few months back searching the freezer section for the Lean Cuisine frozen meal that had the fewest calories. I kicked myself when I realized I was trying to find the food product that would give me the least amount of energy for my money.:doh: Now I look for the ones highest in protein and fibre, and with the most iron, if listed.

But I couldn't help thinking that most of those choices were in the same category as "Which dump truck would hurt less if it ran you over."
I feel that way nearly every time I step into a restaurant. That's why you'll find me carrying so much food around with me. I enjoy the taste of what I prepare myself more than most of the options that are available in eating establishments.

"Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strength. When you go through hardship and decide not to surrender, that is strength." ~Arnold Schwarzenegger

I do find it quite sad what types of meals most families are serving.

Why worry about everyone else? If people want change, they'll change. Personally I wouldn't give it much more attention than a passing quip. I certainly wouldn't angst over it.


cream cheese is loaded with saturated fatSome, not all, there are trade-offs though.

It's better for you to eat TWO Egg McMuffins than one bagel with cream cheese.
Even better, double the egg on one english muffin and chuck the other crappy bun. That would be a bigger improvement. A lot more air in an english muffin as well.

so does my pizza, it's made with tomato sauce.
Pizza can be healthy, if homemade. It's usually the cheese and the choice of oil that kills commercial pizzas. Whole wheat crust would be better but few make those.

I scored 10/11 on breakfast and 10/11 on lunch. (The script on the other categories was messed up.) Can you beat my score?
That focus was obviously weightloss. It was ho-hum at best. I scored about the same....but again, it purely depended on where your focus was. This seemed almost purely calorie based. So, it was fairly easy to anticipate the answer.

Pizza can be healthy, if homemade. It's usually the cheese and the choice of oil that kills commercial pizzas. Whole wheat crust would be better but few make those.

For awhile, I was buying Boboli whole wheat crusts (http://boboli.gwbakeries.com/product.cfm/upc/7313001239) and making a variety of relatively healthy pizza types (ie bbq chicken, turkey pepperoni). That was before I was reading deeper into the labels for enriched flour in whole wheat stuff, so I can't say if it was as healthy on the crust as I thought it was. I can't find their ingredients on the website, but it did taste good :)

I can't find the whole wheat version at my store anymore. I think I was getting them at the Publix that closed. May have to check out a Publix across town to see once I start upping my carbs again. It would be a nice evening PWO meal I think :)

My husband bought me a copy of Smart Couples Finish Rich (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0767904834/104-3053674-7453505?v=glance&n=283155) (Canadian Edition) for Mother's Day. I wasn't that excited about getting into it, because I already know a lot of the basic investing strategies; my problem lies in the application of these strategies.

I was pleasantly surprised. It starts out asking you to identify your five most important values, then encourages you to rearrange your spending habits so that they reflect what is important to you. So for me, I have health, confidence, balance, growth, and love in my values circle. It doesn't make sense for me to buy a big screen tv or spend money on five star hotels, but it does make sense for me to pay big bucks for private leisure activities for the kids, fitness memberships, and psychotherapy. ;)

The author gives some great advice about how to get started on managing your finances. Our utility bills and bank statements have literally been collecting in a loose pile in the corner of our dining room :o . But after yesterday, they are now filed nicely under descriptive headings in our filing cabinet.:D Then I took the quiz with my husband. I now know our approximate net worth, our monthly overhead, what percentage of our income we are saving, and our insurance details. Whew! It was a considerably upsetting for me to learn that my husband spends about 50% more on alcohol for himself than we spend on food for him for the same period of time. :eek: It goes so far in the opposite direction of my values that it makes me steamin' mad, but it is satisfying some of his values, so we will take it to discussion.

I'm stalling on my workouts because of the baseball injury to my knee. I can't kneel or squat, and that's a good excuse for me to be doing very little. I bought The Wedding Planner on VHS yesterday, so it might be time to dust off that old elliptical. (I think it was February the last time I was on it.:o )

Money is like manure; it's not worth a thing unless it's spread around encouraging young things to grow. ~from "The Matchmaker"

I can't get my VCR to work.:bang:

But I'd already decided to go on the elliptical, so I had to do it to music instead. I hated, hated, hated the first five minutes of the workout, but at the 20 minute mark, the one I promised myself I had to go until, I was in a really good groove, and I didn't want to stop. I feel so good, I might even do another cardio workout tonight.:D

Exercise Test #1 of my new heart rate monitor determined that my elliptical is a very poor estimate of how much work I'm doing. At one point, the elliptical recorded my pulse at 82, when my heart rate monitor was reading 177. My recovery period is also much longer than I anticipated. I don't like cooldown, so I quite often skip that step. So, here's the heart rate monitor readings from when I put it on to when I took it off:
41:12 minutes (3 minute warmup, 23 minutes on elliptical, 15 minutes random walking around the house)
time in zone 15:51
average heart rate 151
max heart rate 185
323 calories burned (231 of these were in the first 26 minutes)

My elliptical read 23 minutes, 4.2 km,
362 calories burned.

I'm not sure how significant all those numbers are, but for now it's sufficient just to have recorded it. I'll figure out what to do with the information later.

It was a little scary to workout with the heart rate monitor on. Every time it started beep beep beeping faster, I expected to see a nurse come running or something.:lol: I suppose there must be a silent mode, or maybe I'll just get used to those zone indicators.

Initial song on workout:
I said doctor, is there nothing I can take
I said doctor, to relieve this bellyache
I can't catch myself, hey doc I'm sick
I'm feelin' all run down, I'm sinking like a brick
I've seen dots in front of my eyes
But you talk about coconuts, and you're feeding me limes?
Different remedies you're giving to me, but nothing's working
Doc, if you don't tend to me I'm gonna be the big bad wolf
And blow your house down ~Baha Men

Concluding song:
And if you say this life aint good enough
I would give my world to lift you up
I could change my life to better suit your mood
Cause youre so smooth ~Santana

It was a little scary to workout with the heart rate monitor on. Every time it started beep beep beeping faster, I expected to see a nurse come running or something.:lol:

:lol: I had the same reaction the first time I wore one!! As I was on a treadmill it also ran the message "GRIP HANDLES!! GRIP HANDLES!!"

So today, I find out if the six weeks of iron supplements have been enough to raise my iron into the elite level. I have an appointment this afternoon to donate blood.

My daughter also has an appointment to do a tryout for the competitive stream in the gymnastics program. That could be really exciting. I'd always wanted to go further myself in gymnastics, but didn't really get started early enough, so now I can live out my dreams through my daughter.:p Kidding. I'm very conscious of her delicate personality and how much of an obstacle it will be to her as it was to me. The start of the season will be rough on her if she has a new coach, but I think if she keeps at it for four hours per week throughout the year, she'll be shining in no time. She loves gymnastics enough to push through what's difficult.

I'm coaching her soccer game tonight. I'm hoping that my older daughter will set up the drills for the thirty minute practice before the game because it's pretty hard to come up with activities that will keep them interested.

I feel like I've been slacking for the last couple of weeks, but when I look at it objectively, I'm not really doing that badly. I don't ever feel like I'm on a strict plan, but when I do check it out, I find that nearly every single "good" day I eat less than the amount of calories it takes to maintain my weight. On "cheat" days that I have cake or cookies or other treats (a couple of times a week), I usually compensate with removing other calories so that I end up eating near maintenance. So I'm left with usually only a few days out of every month that I eat over maintenance calories, regardless of how poor my diet might be. We went to a friend's place for dinner last night. I think I ate too much, but I felt bloated enough for the rest of the evening for me to be in the mood for a "light" day today.

What we can or cannot do, what we consider possible or impossible, is rarely a function of our true capability. It is more likely a function of our beliefs about who we are. ~ Anthony Robbins

hemoglobin 130 g/L
blood pressure 106/58
pulse 63
118 pounds
lived in Romania, visited Turkey, Bulgaria, Spain in the last three years
took Accutane in March
had a bit of a headache yesterday
never given anyone money or drugs to have sex with me
never had sex with anyone who has been given money or drugs for sex

That's a really tough test to pass. It's amazing that anybody ever qualifies to donate blood.

So now I'm bandaged up in several places, and I look like I've been beaten up.

Soccer game went okay. I am not an extrovert, but I do a pretty good job of pretending I am when I need to. One more week for me to coach, then the following Saturday is the last day of the season.

Daughter #2 is registered for two sessions of gymnastics which start in September. Daughter #1 is registered for hockey, but I'm not sure when that starts. They will likely both do swimming lessons as well.

We'll be visiting my census crew leader at her cottage the day after tomorrow. We're talking about drinking too many magaritas and blitzing her neighbors. :p

It's lack of faith that makes people afraid of meeting challenges, and I believe in myself. ~ Muhammad Ali

Daughter #1 is registered for hockey, but I'm not sure when that starts. They will likely both do swimming lessons as well.

Hello guava, I just wanted to say that
Your daughters are quite lucky to be introduced to healthy eating
and exercise at a young age. Even more so when you consider the
opposite direction in which most of the developed world is heading
in terms of nutrition and healthy lifestyle.

:tu:

Shahar.

I agree! You're giving them a great starting point!


Hello guava, I just wanted to say that
Your daughters are quite lucky to be introduced to healthy eating
and exercise at a young age. Even more so when you consider the
opposite direction in which most of the developed world is heading
in terms of nutrition and healthy lifestyle.

:tu:

Shahar.

Hidee ho neighbor. I dig your new avatar. I also love how avatar comments soon become ambiguous because they change so often. 3 weeks from now no one will ever know which avatar I'm referring to <evil cackle>

That's pretty much it. Hope your VCR is feeling better:lol:

Hidee ho neighbor. I dig your new avatar. I also love how avatar comments soon become ambiguous because they change so often. 3 weeks from now no one will ever know which avatar I'm referring to <evil cackle>

That's pretty much it. Hope your VCR is feeling better:lol:

I like your avatar! :D

The couple of days at the cottage were nice, but I'm still not comfortable having someone else control my food.:( I took strawberries and spinach with me to eat for lunch on the road (girls ate at Dairy Queen) which was fortunate, because the fruit and vegetables were really sparse for the following 48 hours. The first evening, I was served roast chicken, mashed potatoes, salad, and peach cobbler. Toast and peanut butter for breakfast the next day, ham sandwich for lunch, and deep fried chicken and french fries for dinner. Toast and peanut butter again for breakfast, then we went to a restaurant for lunch. They all ordered fish and chips; I ordered the Caesar salad, picked off half the croutons and all the bacon bits, and left behind the pieces of lettuce that were drenched in dressing and cheese. The McDonald's we stopped at for dinner on the way home didn't have the salad I liked so I ordered the fatwise cranberry orange muffin, which is far from healthy. As soon as I got home, I had an apple, some frozen berries, and some fat free yogurt, and immediately felt better.

I haven't been very excited about exercise recently, because I don't really want to lose fat, and don't really want to gain muscle. I need to find some skill or measurable health check that I'd like to improve.

I remember at one point I was aiming for a look similar to Serena Williams (http://www.openboxlatino.cl/protectores/wallpapers/serena_williams_wall.jpg), but now I'm thinking Kelly Ripa (http://www.superiorpics.com/pictures2/Ripa_JS140751642.jpg) is more in line with how I'd like to look. She's clearly been working out.

Regis: You should take up a sport.
Kelly: I should take up tennis, let me tell you why. I am very competitive.
R: Not good enough.
K: And... I think that my arms... could be strong.
R: <feels Kelly's arm>
K: Don't squeeze them right now!
R: They are pretty muscular and beefy... they could power a ball.
K: Well... they're beefy. I think I could put my arms behind my shot.
R: That's what I'm saying!

Hidee ho neighbor. I dig your new avatar. I also love how avatar comments soon become ambiguous because they change so often. 3 weeks from now no one will ever know which avatar I'm referring to <evil cackle>

4 days from then and I don't know which avatar you guys are talking about. I had one up there called "secrets" for about half a day, but wh0 gave me a hard time about it. I was tired of listening to his whining so I changed it to a knife in a watermelon, which offers an interesting contrast between innocent childhood delights and cold-hearted violence.:lol:

Hope your VCR is feeling better:lol:My VCR feels fine, and I am finding ways to work around it until it eventually succumbs to my demands. Hope your back (http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?p=360193#post360193) is feeling better.:(

"It has been said that our anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, but only empties today of its strength." ~ Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Another go with my heart rate monitor.

Two minute warm-up
twenty minutes on the elliptical
Two minute cool down

Avg heart rate 164
Max heart rate 181
224 calories burned

elliptical display:
24:00
4.4 km (I think. Maybe miles.:confused: )
337 calories

I'm wondering if my recovery is unusually slow. It took a further 2 minutes to bring my heart rate below 125, and a further 15 minutes of slow walking to get it below 110. I'd rather skip the cool down completely.

What to Eat (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0865477043/sr=1-1/qid=1156176428/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-3488096-3287358?ie=UTF8&s=books) by Marion Nestle was on display at my library, so I borrowed it. It claims that it is a guide to "Savvy food choices and Good Eating" It's a breath of fresh air to finally come across a book that doesn't tell everyone we need to lose weight, but I've been disappointed that her focus is not on health, but slants rather towards food safety and political issues. After a quick search of the web, I'm not surprised (http://books.google.ca/books?ct=result&q=marion+nestle). She also tends to let her personal taste preferences dictate what people "should" be buying. (ie. milk and soy are not essential, but fish is.) I take issue with her produce ranking that puts imported organically grown fruits and vegetables over local conventionally grown fruits and vegetables. I don't believe there is a difference in health, and I believe that the energy and waste in shipping methods overshadows any benefit to the environment that organics may have. (Besides the fact that local farms are likely to have used more natural methods even if they haven't been bothered to become certified organic.)

I'm still drinking too much coffee and not enough water. My target is less than two regular coffees, and less than two decaf coffees per day, but I've been drinking about two each for the last couple of months. I have a modest target of one litre of water per day, and I'm sometimes not meeting it.:bang:

A healthy body is a guest chamber for the soul: a sick body is a prison. ~ Francis Bacon

Thanks for the book review. Reminded me of one I've been thinking of buying with a similar title (but probably a bit different direction): Real Food: What to Eat and Why ( http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1596911441/ref=wl_it_dp/103-0494855-3291811?%5Fencoding=UTF8&coliid=I1VZPTXTM115BL&v=glance&colid=20A4EPZ43E3JL)

I've had that one in my Amazon wish list to remind me I might want to read it when I get time.

Anyone who enjoyed Fast Food Nation would enjoy What to Eat. Thanks for the book review. Reminded me of one I've been thinking of buying with a similar title (but probably a bit different direction): Real Food: What to Eat and Why ( http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1596911441/ref=wl_it_dp/103-0494855-3291811?%5Fencoding=UTF8&coliid=I1VZPTXTM115BL&v=glance&colid=20A4EPZ43E3JL)

I've had that one in my Amazon wish list to remind me I might want to read it when I get time.
I read the review on that, and I'm sure it's not one that I could get into.

I don't know the complete reasons, but I've conditioned myself to not enjoy the taste of butter, and will only eat red meat, and cheese or other full fat dairy in very small quantities. I'm not sure if the health studies have been conclusive in either direction (but I'm leaning towards "lower saturated fat is intake is preferable"), but I think it may be because I've naturally developed more of a fondness for food with more volume. I can't think of a diet I could configure with those whole foods whose intake would keep me satisfied at the caloric totals my body requires. I wonder what percentage of your daily caloric intake would be coming from fats on this style of eating.

I'm trying to remove most of the artificial sweeteners from my diet, but it's quite difficult for me to do so. Right now I can afford the extra calories for some honey, but I still feel guilt when I do it. :o I also know that if I don't keep up the same level of exercise, I wouldn't be able to.

I have a modest target of one litre of water per day, and I'm sometimes not meeting it.:bang:

I read somewhere that either Jennifer Aniston or Gwyneth Paltrow puts a full liter of water beside her bed each night, and when she wakes up she doesn't get out of bed until she's finished it.

Anyone who enjoyed Fast Food Nation would enjoy What to Eat.
I read the review on that, and I'm sure it's not one that I could get into.

I don't know the complete reasons, but I've conditioned myself to not enjoy the taste of butter, and will only eat red meat, and cheese or other full fat dairy in very small quantities. I'm not sure if the health studies have been conclusive in either direction (but I'm leaning towards "lower saturated fat is intake is preferable"), but I think it may be because I've naturally developed more of a fondness for food with more volume. I can't think of a diet I could configure with those whole foods whose intake would keep me satisfied at the caloric totals my body requires. I wonder what percentage of your daily caloric intake would be coming from fats on this style of eating.

I'm trying to remove most of the artificial sweeteners from my diet, but it's quite difficult for me to do so. Right now I can afford the extra calories for some honey, but I still feel guilt when I do it. :o I also know that if I don't keep up the same level of exercise, I wouldn't be able to.

I'm doing too much in the way of artificial sweeteners myself, but don't feel too guilty about it. I probably should. Aspartame bothers me more than using Splenda.

I'm of the mind that balanced diets can include fats, and my blood work is looking good and I'm feeling good while cutting with up to 45% fat in my diet (most except my 2 whole eggs a day unsaturated). I wouldn't stay at that level all the time, though. I need more fruit and starchy carbs (at the right times) for balance and maintenance.

I think there are different ways to be healthy, or humans wouldn't have survived around the world in so diverse a group of areas with so diverse a set of diets. There are obviously things that aren't good for you, but some stuff that has been the "enemy" to the mainstream I'm learning isn't always bad if you're sensible about it.

All that to say I understand your take. My mom eats a lot like it seems you do. Healthy with more carb based fruits and vegetables.

BTW, I posted a some quotes from a WSJ article about some studies that have been coming out lately about the uptake of nutrients from food being aided in many cases by fats in meals. Some stuff was absorbed 2-15 times better with some oil (studies were done with avocados and other fats including oil). Pretty interesting. Unfortunately, the link from WSJ is now pay, so you can't read the whole piece, although I did find a link to one of the studies on avocados.

I don't put any sweeteners in my coffee when I drink it at home. I use vanilla soy milk, and that's sweet enough. I'm trying out several different options for soy milk. The one I have right now is So Nice (http://www.sonice.ca/english/beverages_vanilla.cfm), which is sweetened with evaporated cane juice. I'm not sure if that's a good thing.
250 ml
Energy (cal) 100
Protein (g) 6
Carbohydrate (g) 11
fiber 1
sugar 8
lactose 0
Fat (g) 3.0
polyunsaturates 1.6
monounsaturates 0.6
saturates 0.8
cholesterol 0
- omega-6 0.4
- omega-3 1.2
Sodium (mg) 130
Potassium (mg) 380

Those numbers are much better better than the ones for So Good (http://www.sogoodbeverage.com/beverages_vanilla.cfm) (Sweetened with corn syrup solids. Is that bad?)
250 ml
Calories 180
Protein (g) 9
Carbohydrate (g) 26
fibre 0
sugars 13
lactose 0
Fat (g) 5
Cholesterol (mg) 0
saturated 0.8 + trans 0
omega-6 polyunsaturated 2.6
omega-3 polyunsaturated 0.4
monounsaturated 1.2
Sodium (mg) 140
Potassium (mg) 380

About the same as Natur-a (http://www.nutrisoya.com/index_.php?langue=en&section=2&sous_section=2_2), but I think the stats from Almond Breeze (http://www.bluediamond.com/shop/natural/almondBreeze32.cfm) are a little better. For pouring in my cereal, I try to buy the "original", or, better yet "plain" when they are an option, because they always have much less sugar than the flavored ones. But for coffee, I like the flavored ones.

That book got a little more interesting around about the 20th chapter. I read about the evils of high fructose corn syrup, but I'm not sure I completely understand it yet. I'm hoping that if I read these nutrition books often enough, it will finally sink in.:bang:

Oh, the pain.

This is the longest period of time I've ever gone without a decent weight training session. And I'm stiff. If I don't give those muscles a good workout, they don't support me very well.

So I did another workout on the elliptical, and while yesterday it was my breathing that was labored, today, I had a dull pain above my knee and my lower back. I will definitely be doing squats and good mornings tonight, after a good stretching.

Duration
25:13
in zone 5:07 :doh: :confused: (I missed that display yesterday.)
Average heart rate 164
max heart rate 182
221 calories burned

Wow, that's exactly like yesterday's reading. I'll have to check what my "zone" is and see if I can stay in it a little longer next time.

Elliptical readings
24:00
distance 4.5
316 calories
I went further, but burnt fewer calories because the average resistance level that I set was lower

In celebration of my knee finally healing, I'm taking the girls swimming this afternoon.
:claphigh:

School is starting in just a couple of weeks, and I'm getting the feeling that I didn't get enough done this summer. We'll try to make it out to Canada's Wonderland again at least once before the end of the month.

I'm intending to apply for the jobs that are open for election day, but I keep putting it off.:spank: DeadlineAugust 31.

When just starting out on a new journey it's only natural to feel vulnerable. After all, it may seem that you have much to lose. But may I remind you that never again, at any other point in the same journey, will you have so much to gain. ~ Mike Dooley

How 'bout joining the party on my birthday thread :D

We went to Canada's Wonderland yesterday.

I packed my own food, of course, but it didn't seem to work very well for me. My mistake was in packing peanut butter sandwiches and an energy bar for lunch, because they take up less space in the back pack and do not require refrigeration. They ended up being too calorically dense. I felt so hungry at lunch that I ate past the point of being full, then ate a smaller late supper to compensate because I was so stuffed. It all balances out to a fantastic caloric balance at the end of the day, but it was uncomfortable at the time.

I must pack salads with me when I visit theme parks.
I must pack salads with me when I visit theme parks.
I must pack salads with me when I visit theme parks.

We went to see the show "School of Rock" yet again. I'm amazed at how much my focus has shifted to body image. This is not the same cast, but, as an example, the backup singer was significantly larger than the lead singer featured in this shot (http://themeparks.about.com/od/themeparksphotogalleries/ig/Paramount-Canada-s-Wonderland/Now-That-s-What-I-Call-School.htm). I was quite embarrassed that her exposed midriff distracted me as much as it did. I don't know what kinds of standards we should hold to the entertainment industry. I'd like to think of it as simply a costume problem. The lead male singer was clearly obese, but, because he wasn't showing off his tummy, it didn't detract from the show.

So, I'm estimating that lately my calories in have been equalling calories out (but have been less than stellar nutritionally:bang: ), so my weight is staying constant. However, my strength training has been insufficient, so I'm feeling slightly puffy and stiff (and de-energized). :bang: Must get back to my regular workouts.

If you have a great ambition, take as big a step as possible in the direction of fulfilling it. The step may only be a tiny one, but trust that it may be the largest one possible for now. ~ Mildred Mcafee