Poor Assessment

Hello from shameville. 1st assessment where I had not lost any weight or made any significant improvements. I have been working out with Joey for 5 months now and this was the pits because every other month he and I both have been impressed with my assessment results. The good news is: I did not GAIN any weight, I lost about 2 inches total between arms and waist, but all other measurements and weight stayed the same. I LOST strength in arms and legs *I have been doing cardio but slacking on weight training. I also just maintained my HR post 3 minute steps 160 bmp. My resting HR was 96, YOWZA. I am quite sure that this is just nerves because I knew the results were going to be crappy, because I had totally let myself punk out over the last month. So in honor of my new resolve so I can avoid the walk of shame next month I am posting a few workout photos today.

Back to Working Out

Been hitting the gym the past 2 days. Wednesday I improved my treadmill 5K time again...down to 40:15 and what was most exciting about this was that I jogged/ran for 35 of those minutes straight. What an awesome feeling! I also did BICEPS and TRICEPS. Today was workout with Joey (my trainer) we worked LEGS followed up by 45 on elliptical at 7-9 resistance. Felt great through. I had some new tunes that helped me through my workouts.

Back to the Gym for Success

After a much less than stellar workout earlier, I was feeling peppier this evening and headed back to the gym. I cranked out a 5K in 40 minutes which is my best time so far. I even ran sprints of 7mph which is faster than I have been able run. Glad I went back, now I am relaxing post-shower thinking about reading my new book:

Turning Shepherd's Pie into a Casserole

This is how my Shepherd's pie began. I had the great idea of subbing barley on top instead of mashed potatoes. Unfortunately my barley ended up like this...


Needless to say I had to sweep up all the barley and scrap that idea so I made a mixed veggie casserole instead. The colors were so pretty.



I also tried my hand at making some GRANOLA bars. I made some Cran-Orange, Apricot and Almond bars. There were a little dry but had a great flavor!






Today I struggled a little with my workout. I worked out with Joey (my trainer)and I usually am able to push a little harder and we only did BACK and BICEPS but I was wiped out. I am afraid I may be trying to beat a little cold (runny nose, slight sore throat this AM) which may explain the unexplained wimpiness. I was wanting something cold on the throat when I got home and I tried making Banana "SOFT SERVE" for the first time. I had cut up a bunch of sale bananas yesterday and froze the slices all spread out on parchment paper so they wouldn't be stuck together. After frozen I dumped them into a big gallon Ziplock bag. I threw 1 1/2 cups frozen bananas, about 1/2 cup vanilla almond milk, 1 tbsp chia seeds, and 1 scoop vanilla protein powder in the blender. Once it was thick and smooth and topped with pecans and semi-sweet chocolate chips. Yummy! That made me feel a little better, but now I think I want a big mug of hot tea now that I have cooled off.

Cooking Bug

Made it back from ATL today and went directly into SPRING CLEANING mode around the house. After lots of laundry, organizing, bill paying, and dusting it was time for the gym. Worked out with the trainer today CHEST, TRICEPS, and SHOULDERS. I was a little surprised when he told me he wanted me to alternate 4 minutes of walking with 4 minutes of running (not jogging, running) repeated 4 times. I have not been running for more than a minute at a time and I didn't want to fail, but I think he has a better idea of what I can do than I realize myself. I am not going to lie, the first set was really hard but then it got easier. After my 4 sets I was at 2.7 miles and I decided I had to get to 3.2 miles so I did another set and completed my 3.2 miles in 42 minutes. I can't wait to keep seeing improvements like this!

I left the gym feeling great (sweaty=great). I am sure people at my neighborhood Ingles wondered why I would visit their store in such a condition. After being gone for 4 nights I needed some vegetable/fruit matter for the house. I picked up some asparagus, broccoli, zucchini, and CHIPOTLE sweet potato fries which I roasted together with a little olive oil and more chipotle flakes and celery salt.

I pulled out 2 frozen tilapia fillets and misted them with olive oil, sprinkled them with dill, and covered them with capers and lemon slices and baked until done. YUMMY and super easy!

I also threw together a broccoli and cauliflower casserole. I added navy beans for some protein, cream of celery, sharp cheddar, brown and wild rice, and 1 egg. In the crock-pot eggplant curry is cooking away. I try and cook ahead when I have a stretch of work coming up so I have items to take for lunch and stuff to eat when I come home in the morning so I am less likely to make poor choices.

Enjoyable day off!

Totally sweaty 1.5 hour workout. LEGS and ABS today, followed by 45 minutes on the TREADMILL alternating between 5-10% incline. Yes, I will be walking funny tomorrow and the next day.

Yummy salad chock full of goodies, ran by the grocery post-workout and kept thinking of things to add to my lettuce (tomato, red onion, mushrooms, turkey pepperonis, alfalfa sprouts, green olives, and sunflower seeds) topped with some balsamic vinegar. Easy on the eyes too.

After salad came chicken. No-bread chicken parm hit the spot!

Went ahead and cooked some curried chickpeas and mushrooms for tomorrow since it is back to work for me. the steam kept fogging the lens = )

Couple of hours post-dinner I was snacky (not all that surprising considering the workout I did), so I had some SUPER sweet strawberries with a little Kashi and more almond milk. Did you know strawberries make great presents?

In other news today...Killer is still not feeling well. I was hoping that with the antibiotics on board she would start feeling better. Here's hoping that tomorrow is a better day for her. I'm nervous about her going under anesthesia on Monday! I am CURIOUS however to see what she will look like after a hair cut. She has never been groomed before. But, between now and then I've got 2 nights of work ahead of me.

Today's Workout

Today was TRICEPS and CHEST day! I just started working out with a trainer one day a week last week and following his recommendations for a total of 4 workouts per week. Followed my strength training routing with 45 minutes of CARDIO - decided on TREADMILL today. Have greatly increased my cardiovascular stamina since starting back at the gym in January. Was able to jog/run 15 of the 45 minutes. Some great music always helps get me through a workout!

Love this dance to Imogen Heap's instrumental version of Aha!



A little throw back...




This gave me a little umph at the end of my workout.