Kristy's Blog

Finally working out after a month of getting settled

2009-10-16T08:46:00.001-07:00

So far this week I've worked out 4 days in a row. I'm feeling pretty superior about that. I've started Cathe's STS over and I don't remember week one being this hard. I think I've blocked it from my memory because of the trauma. Monday I did disk 1 (chest, shoulders & biceps). Tuesday I did Step Blast, which was the first serious cardio I've done in a month. It totally wiped me out. Wednesday I did STS disk 2 (back & triceps) and Thursday I did STS disk 3 (legs). Disk 3 was insane but I think I did better than the first time I tried it. I actually used weights for the crazy paper plate exercises and I still suck at wall squats but I was able to do all of the sets, even if I didn't use any weights.

My eating is back to normal too. I finally had time to go to the grocery store and get real food in the house. We'd been living on our food storage for a month, which gets old and repetitive, especially since we didn't have a whole lot of variety in our food storage yet. But it's amazing how long you can live comfortably on beans, rice, TVP, nutritional yeast, soy beans, flour and sugar.

In other news...

They finally gave me a mac at work. It's pretty sweet. It's a 2x2.93 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon with 8 GB of 1066 MHz DDR3 ram. In other words, it's rocketship fast. And I've got two monitors. I'm not sure how I lived so long without it.

Vegan MoFo Survey

2009-10-12T09:20:00.000-07:00

I'm not participating in the Vegan Month of Food (I'm not a prolific enough blogger to actually commit to blogging regularly about food) but I saw this survey and thought it would be fun to put on my blog.

1. Favorite non-dairy milk? I make my own soymilk for cooking and putting on cereal but my favorite for just drinking is the store brand from Sprouts (I actually think all of the store brand soy milks are pretty good).

2. What are the top 3 dishes/recipes you are planning to cook? This week I'm making some black bean and soy chorizo burritos, Isa's Edamame Pesto and the Pumpkin Baked Ziti from Veganomicon

3. Topping of choice for popcorn? Lately olive oil, salt and nutritional yeast

4. Most disastrous recipe/meal failure? Long, long ago, long before going vegetarian and before anyone could consider me a good cook, I made these horrible meatballs with rice inside. The recipe specifically said not to cook the rice before cooking the meatballs. The rice didn't cook like the recipe said it would and we ended up with meatballs with hard, uncooked grains of rice in them.

5. Favorite pickled item? The spicy carrots they have a taco shops sometimes

6. How do you organize your recipes? I have a bookshelf full of coookbooks in my kitchen. I also have some random, unorganized printouts from websites scattered around the kitchen. I should probably organize those.

7. Compost, trash, or garbage disposal? Garbage disposal. I would compost but that would involve stuff actually growing in my garden.

8. If you were stranded on an island and could only bring 3 foods...what would they be (don't worry about how you'll cook them)? Soy beans, no question, they're seriously the most versatile food ever. Mushrooms because they're the most delicious fungus ever. And chocolate because, duh, it's chocolate.

9. Fondest food memory from your childhood? We used to go to one of those pick-your-own peaches places every year and we'd bring boxes and boxes of fresh peaches and my mom would make peach jam. *drool*

10. Favorite vegan ice cream? Purely Decadent Chocolate Brownie Almond

11. Most loved kitchen appliance? My fire-engine-red Kitchen Aid mixer.

12. Spice/herb you would die without? I can only choose one? Um......cumin, I mean thyme, I mean coriander, I mean paprika, I mean ....

13. Cookbook you have owned for the longest time? My old Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. It's that red and white checked one with the three-ring binder cover. It's got some loser recipes in it (see horrible rice-meatball disaster above) but it's got a few good basic recipes that I've doctored and made my own over the years. The Sweet & Sour Pork became Sweet & Sour Chicken which became Sweet & Sour Tofu and has also been Sweet & Sour Seitan once or twice. The Swedish Meatballs has become Swedish Bean-balls and has lately become Swedish Tempeh-balls. How long have I had the book? I think it was a wedding present almost 15 years ago.

14. Favorite flavor of jam/jelly? I lust after the strawberry balsamic jam my friend Sarah makes

15. Favorite vegan recipe to serve to an omni friend? Veggie Lasagne, they're always surprised when I tell them there's no cheese in it. No one seems to be able to tell the difference between mushed up, seasoned tofu and ricotta cheese.

16. Seitan, tofu, or tempeh? I'd have to go with tofu because it's so versatile.

17. Favorite meal to cook (or time of day to cook)? I LOVE making desserts but I don't get to make them very often because of all those pesky calories.

18. What is sitting on top of your refrigerator? A fondue set that I've used maybe once. I swear, I'll make fondue any day now.

19. Name 3 items in your freezer without looking: Frozen blueberries, flax seed and frozen edamame.

20. What's on your grocery list? I just went grocery shopping over the weekend but I forgot a few things. I still need to get: chickpeas, veggie lunchmeat and nutritional yeast.

21. Favorite grocery store? The Henry's in Rancho Bernardo (San Diego). Sadly I live 400 miles away and I have to settle for Sprouts. Although Sunflower just opened nearby so it might become my new favorite but I haven't actually gone shopping there yet.

22. Name a recipe you'd love to veganize, but haven't yet. Chocolate meringue pie. I've seen a recipe for vegan meringue but I haven't been brave enough to try it.

23. Food blog you read the most. Or maybe the top 3? fatfreevegan, vegandad and veganfeastkitchen

24. Favorite vegan candy/chocolate? Dark Chocolate. I like Endangered Species brand.

25. Most extravagant food item purchased lately? I bought $5 worth of fresh basil to make pesto.

I've discovered the secret to weightloss..

2009-09-21T13:27:00.000-07:00

Moving refrigerators, pianos and heavy boxes every day for three weeks. The past three weeks has been a packing, moving and unpacking extravaganza while we've been moving into a different house. I've been noticing that my clothes are feeling a bit more comfortable than usual so I weighed myself this morning. Yup, 4 pounds down with no regular workouts. Anyone need help moving any time soon? Actually, I'm hoping to be done unpacking by next weekend so I can get back to my workouts.

In other news...

This past weekend we took a break from the whole unpacking thing and went up to Phoenix for the Fall Frenzy music festival. We got to see Fallout Boy, Blink-182, Flogging Molly and Social Distortion. There were more bands playing earlier in the day but we couldn't stomach standing around in 104 degrees. I like the Bravery and all but dude, 104 degrees! Fallout Boy was really good, better than I expected actually. Someone needs to tell Pete Wentz that summer in Phoenix is a whole lot more comfortable if you're not wearing a black hoodie on stage with bajillion degree lights pointing at you. He complained that it was as hot as lava. They played really well though, even if they were sweating to death in their black jackets. They played a cover of "Don't Stop Believing" which was awesome.

Blink-182 was as good as I expected them to be. They played all the hits and a few non-hits that should've been hits. The juvenile humor will never stop being funny (Tom DeLong dedicated "All the Small Things" to his penis"). It was great. It was everything I wanted it to be.

Flogging Molly was amazing! I don't know what I was expecting but I wasn't expecting them to be that awesome! They were everything that I wanted Dropkick Murphys to be (no offense to Dropkick Murphys, I still blame the crappy sound at crappy Soma). They rocked out non-stop for an hour and a half. I'm a little disappointed that they didn't play "Queen Anne's Revenge" but "7 Drunken Pirates" made up for it. I'd never seen people crowd surfing to Irish music before. I've also never seen anyone drink so much on stage. I'm not sure how someone can drink that much and not fall off the stage. They're definitely really, really Irish. Apparently they're huge in Arizona. They play in Phoenix on St. Patrick's Day every year.

Social Distortion was also great. I don't think I have enough tattoos or smoke enough cigarettes to be a real Social D fan though. We were definitely in the minority with the Social D crowd. By the time they were done, I felt like I'd licked an ashtray *cough* *wheeze* *gag* The music was awesome though and I knew almost every song. I still can't figure out why I've never gone out and bought any of their albums. Must be the tattoo/smoking thing. Mike Ness said we didn't have to go to work today but I decided against staying home, sleeping in, watching cartoons and eating sugary cereal like he recommended. As good as cartoons and cocoa puffs sounded, I don't think that "Mike Ness said I didn't have to work today" would be accepted as a valid excuse.

Anyway, it's back to work, reality and unpacking. Hopefully we'll be all unpacked by this weekend, because it's getting old. I miss my workouts.

Vacation!

2009-07-13T09:39:00.000-07:00

We just got back from our summer family vacation yesterday. Vacation was awesome. It was a classic family road trip. We drove from Tucson up to Page, AZ where we went kayaking in Lake Powell, which was a blast. Then we checked out the Glen Canyon Dam where the visitor's center had more security than an inner-city elementary school. There was a big sign that said "No Weapons, purses, bags or backpacks" and we had to walk through a metal detector. I guess there really are people who want to blow up that dam (not that I blame them, I understand Glen Canyon was breathtakingly beautiful before they filled it with water). We thought it was really funny that there was a shelf of Edward Abbey books and they didn't have "The Monkey Wrench Gang", a novel about a plot to blow up the Glen Canyon Dam. Edward Abbey was a park ranger who wrote lots of books about the southwest and HATED that dam. We thought it was funny that they even had any of his books at all. After Lake Powell, we drove out to Utah and laughed at all the quirky stuff in Utah that could never exist anywhere else (like the Missionary Mall with a giant inflatable missionary on the roof).

The next day we went to Timpanogos Cave. To get to the cave entrance for the tour, you have to hike 1.5 miles on a trail with a 1100 foot elevation gain. We're pretty experienced hikers and we thought it was quite the hike for just 1.5 miles. We spent the whole hike making fun of all of the inapropriate shoes we saw. Who goes on a 1.5 mile hike up a mountain wearing flip flops? Or rhinestone sandals? The views from the trail were amazing and the cave was awesome so that made up for a lot. After the tour, we hiked back down the mountain and got our first Junior Ranger patch of the trip. We've started collecting Junior Ranger patches from national parks. You have to do a little activity book and some of them make you attend a ranger program or pick up some trash. It's supposed to be for kids but there's no upper age limit. We're big nerds but we're okay with that. The Timpanogos Cave patch has a mountain lion on it. Then we hopped in the car and drove all the way to West Yellowstone, MT.

The next day was our first day in Yellowstone. It was amazing! The boiling mud pots were just about the craziest thing I've ever seen. There were also pools of unnaturally blue water that were boiling. Seriously, it looked like you could cook macaroni in those pools. When we went to see Old Faithful, we got to see Beehive Geyser while we were waiting. Beehive geyser is really close to Old Faithful and is more impressive but less predictable. It shoots water 30 feet into the air for about 5 minutes and it goes off roughly every 12 hours. It was about 2 hours late when we got there. A minute or two after Beehive was winding down, Old Faithful went off. It was very cool. We spent the whole day just driving to different areas and exploring the park. The park is so big that even if you had a month there you couldn't see everything. That night we went to a ranger program on wolves and finished our Junior Ranger booklets and spent the night in the Grant Village lodge right near Yellowstone Lake. The next morning we got our second Junior Ranger patch of the trip. It has a bear paw print on it. The second day in Yellowstone we spent more time hiking, which was really nice. We hiked to Yellowstone Falls, which was really, really beautiful (and got to see lots of inappropriate footwear on the way). We heard some really hilarious comments while we were walking by other people. One guy said, "Oh look, fit people" and then he said, "We shoulda brought water." Earlier that day, we got to experience a bison traffic jam. One of the bison herds decided to cross the street so a few bison were milling around in the middle of the road while the rest of the herd crossed. I'm convinced that they do that on purpose to stop the cars while the herd is crossing the street. The baby bison were super cute. What really shocked us were all the people getting out of the cars and walking right up to the bison to take pictures. Um, they're 2000 pound animals that can run 30 mph and really value their personal space. Walking up to a bison is a good way to get killed and this was a whole herd! The guy who really shocked us was the one who walked right up to them WITH HIS BABY! Holy crap! What was that guy thinking?! Later that day, after the hike, we saw a wolf. He was jogging through a field scoping out a bison that was away from the rest of the herd.

After Yellowstone, we drove to Grand Teton and camped in a tent cabin. The cabin itself kind of sucked but the park was beautiful! It was a lot less crowded than Yellowstone. In the morning we went on a 5 mile hike around String Lake. We walked for over an hour before we saw any other people. It was totally peaceful. We only saw one person with inappropriate shoes. We called him Bear Bate. He was by himself 2 miles from anywhere at 7:00 in the morning (prime bear feeding time), carrying no water, wearing flip flops and listening to an iPod. After the hike, we got our third Junior Ranger Patch of the trip. It has a moose on it. Sadly, we did not see any moose on our trip. That would've been super cool. On the way out of the park, we checked out Jackson Hole, WY (Harrison Ford lives there). It was very touristy and there were a lot of shops selling moose antler chandeliers and cheesy t-shirts.

On our way out of Wyoming and back to Utah, we checked out Fossil Butte National Monument. It was small and kind of lame but it was on our way and it was the only National Park site in Wyoming we hadn't been to yet and it was another stamp in our National Park passport book. Turned out they had 5 stamps and a Junior Ranger patch. Score! It was the fourth Junior Ranger patch of the trip and it has a fish skeleton on it. After that, we drove all the way to southern Utah so we could check out Cedar Breaks, Bryce Canyon and Zion before heading home.

The next day we hit Cedar Breaks National Monument and Bryce Canyon National Park. Cedar Breaks was amazing. It's now one of our all-time favorite parks. We drove up to the visitor's center at 10000 feet and hiked 4 miles (4 miles at 10000 feet is pretty tough for sea level desert people like us). Along the rim of the canyon are bristlecone pines which are the oldest trees in the world. They live about 5000 years. If you imagine what the oldest tree in the world would look like, that's what a bristlecone pine looks like. They're really gnarled and twisted and the dirt around the roots are all eroded away because the trees have been there for so long. They're very cool looking.

We spent that afternoon in Bryce Canyon National Park. The Canyon was really cool but the park was really crowded. It was all European tourists, which seemed really odd to us. Not bad, just unexpected. That was where we got our fifth Junior Ranger patch of the trip. It has a stick figure with a ranger hat on it.

We spent the whole next day at Zion National Park. We were coming towards the end of the trip and we were getting pretty exhausted from all the hiking so we only planned to hike two miles (the middle Emerald Pools trail) and ended up hiking 6. We wanted to go see The Narrows, which is where the canyon walls are so close together that you have to hike right down the middle of the river to get through. Turned out we had to hike for a mile along the river just to get there and then we just had to get in to say we did it. Then we were having so much fun and the water felt so good that we walked through the water for about a mile before we turned around. It was one of the coolest thing we'd ever done. Nick was wigging out for a while at the beginning because he hates getting his clothes wet but eventually he got over it. Sometimes we forget about his autistic quirks and that's one of them.

The next day we drove back to Arizona. We stopped at Pipe Springs National Monument, which was way cooler than we thought it would be. There's a spring there so people have lived there for thousands of years. The Mormon pioneers built a ranch there and they built the ranch house right over the spring so they had running water inside. It was really interesting. There were living history demonstrations so there was a guy making arrowheads and a guy making stuff out of wood and another guy showing how to make fire with flint and steel. Then we went to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, which was one of the coolest places I've ever been in my life. It was totally different than the South Rim. It wasn't crowded and it was a lot more rustic. The rim trail wasn't paved (hiking just isn't the same when you're not walking on dirt) and the lodge is overlooking the canyon and has a huge window with big cushy couches where you can just sit and stare at the canyon. They also have a back porch with chairs where you can sit. We sat on that back porch and stared at the canyon for about an hour. It was so relaxing and beautiful. I can't wait to go back. Then we drove to Flagstaff and spent the night there before driving home yesterday.

It was truly an awesome vacation. We went to 9 National Park sites in 10 days, got 5 Junior Ranger patches and hiked over 20 miles. We ate a lot of crap but the hiking balanced it out.

So "Active Recovery Week" has become "Get Stuff Done Week"

2009-06-26T08:37:00.000-07:00

I worked out a bit but I mostly just used my non-STS time to get stuff done. I did laundry, washed motorcycles, dealt with Emily's multitude of teenage girl issues (life was so much simpler when she was 11, can we go back to that?), just spent good quality time getting stuff done. I did a bit of running on the treadmill and went for a few walks but I didn't do a serious workout all week. Sunday I get to start STS Mesocycle 2 and my workout cards are all printed out and ready to go. Of course, I'll be interrupted by vacation after the first week but I don't think I'll get too derailed since we'll be spending all of our vacation time hiking and being outside.

Here's my workout plan for next week:

Sunday: STS Disc 13 (Chest, Shoulders & Triceps)
Monday: STS Disk 14 (Legs)
Tuesday: STS Disk 15 (Back & Biceps)
Wednesday: Low Impact Circuit (Timesaver Cardio Premix)
Thursday: Vacation (driving)
Friday: Vacation (Lake Powell)
Saturday: Vacation (Timpanogos Cave)

Recovery Week

2009-06-23T08:47:00.000-07:00

So I finished Mesocycle 1 of Cathe's STS system and I'm enjoying a much deserved "active recovery" week. Saturday I went running on the treadmill with Sean at the gym and it went really well. I think I've gotten faster from doing such tough workouts at home this past month. Then we went to Sabino Canyon with our friend Janet and walked about 3 miles. It was such a nice day, we just had to be outside. Sunday I rested and last night I ended up missing my workout due to life just getting in the way of stuff (I have to constantly repeat the mantra "Must not kill teenage daughter..."). I think tonight and Thursday I'll mess around with the Wii Fit and tomorrow and Friday I'll run. It's supposed to be 98 on Saturday (better than 103, which it's supposed to be tomorrow) but I think if we head out early enough, we'll be able to get a good hike in.

Finished STS Week 3!

2009-06-12T10:26:00.000-07:00

My legs are fried and my arms are jello but I did it. One more week and I'll be done with Mesocycle 1. I'm debating whether or not I should take my "active recovery week" after that since I already took a week off due to being sick. I guess I'll see how I feel after next week.

Emily's birthday dinner last night was fun. We got a bunch of veggie sushi and a bunch of fish sushi there was plenty for everyone to eat what they wanted. My asparagus sushi was pretty popular with the kids. Asparagus + avocado = best sushi ever! We also got some veggie gyozas (little fried dumplings with sauce) and some veggie spring rolls. It was quite the feast. After dinner they brought out a desert for the birthday girl. It was this amazing chocolate cake, strawberries, blueberries and ice cream. Wow! Emily loved her presents. We got her a really nice mummy bag for camp (and future camping/backpacking trips we may go on), a sleeping pad and pillow to go with the sleeping bag, a Swiss army knife, a basketball and the book "What the Dickens" by Gregory Maguire (it's about a rogue tooth fairy). After dinner the kids went outside and played basketball using two garbage cans for baskets.

Tomorrow we're completing the garage-junk-purging-process by having a yard sale. Big time fun, I know. Hopefully we'll have gotten rid of everything before 10:00. We took all the cheesy stuff like old clothes and books to salvation army already so the only stuff we have to sell is the stuff that's actually good. Hopefully we'll make enough money from the yard sale to buy a new charcoal grill. We've decided that me and Sean aren't smart or handy enough to operate a gas grill (which is one of the things we're selling).

My baby girl is 13!

2009-06-11T07:56:00.000-07:00

Today is Emily's birthday. It feels weird that my youngest is 13. Tonight we're going to go celebrate at Sushimatsu, a little sushi bar adjacent to Yoshimatsu Healthy Japanese Restaurant. They make the best veggie sushi ever. I love that when I ask my kids where they want to go for dinner on their birthday that they ask for Japanese food. No greasy pizza or burgers for us!

My workouts have been going well since my illness. I'm still coughing a little but I think my ear infection has finally cleared up. You know, I'd really like it if I could not be sick or injured for long enough to get to my goal weight. It seems like every time I get started, or right when I'm getting close, I get sick or I hurt myself and I get totally derailed. I was 9 pounds from goal two years ago when I sprained my ankle and then got that wacky infection in my other leg. I gained almost 20 pounds back after that and I'm still trying to get back to where I was.

On Tuesday I did cardio for the first time in two weeks and I thought I was going to die. It was pretty rough but I finished. Last night I did STS disc 9 (Legs) and it was lunge-and-deadlift-a-palooza. My lower back and butt and hamstrings are fried. Tonight after dinner I get to torture myself with disc 8 (back and triceps).

I don't usually do this, but I want to recommend a book. It's called Breaking the Food Seduction by Dr. Neal Bernard. It's a great book about how to eat properly so you don't cave into your food addictions all the time. This past week, I've been using the recipes for our lunches and dinners and the recipes are all fantastic. Every meal has been tasty and filling and super healthy and simple. Dr. Bernard rules!

My workout plan for the rest of this week and next week:

Thursday: STS Disk 8 (Back & Triceps)
Friday: Rest (walk dog for 20 minutes before dinner)
Saturday: Some kind of outdoor cardio. We'll either hike, play disc golf or go to the pool, depending on the weather.
Sunday: STS Disk 10 (Shoulders, Chest & Biceps)
Monday: Step Jump Pump (Step & Hi-Lo Circuit)
Tuesday: STS Disk 12 (Legs)
Wednesday: Drill Max (Timesaver Cardio Blast)
Thursday: STS Disk 11 (Back & Triceps)
Friday: Rest (walk dog for 20 minutes before dinner)
Saturday: Some kind of outdoor cardio. We'll either hike, play disc golf or go to the pool, depending on the weather.

Finally worked out after a week off

2009-06-03T15:01:00.000-07:00

I did STS disk 4 (chest, shoulders & biceps) last night and I feel great. I wanted to work out on Monday but I started feeling sick again in the afternoon. So I spent the evening relaxing on the couch and yesterday I felt a million times better so I jumped back in where I left off. My target weights for a few exercises were too heavy but most of them were just right. I think I should have my weight selections perfect right about the time I finish the 3.5 month program. Tonight I'm doing disk 5 (Back & Triceps) and then Thursday I'll do disk 6 (Legs) and then take the weekend off. So no cardio this week while I'm still recovering. I should be up to some cardio again next week.

I lost a whole week

2009-06-01T08:37:00.000-07:00

Right before our little trip to the Grand Canyon for Memorial Day Weekend, I started feeling a little sick. Just a little sore throat and cough, no big deal. The cough got worse and worse during the weekend and then on Sunday morning, we hiked 1.5 miles into the grand canyon. During the hike, the cough got really, really bad. On the way back up, I was coughing like crazy. It was still an amazing hike and totally worth it. Anyway, after the hike, my body decided that I'd had my fun for the weekend and it was done fighting. My nose started running and I was getting all stuffed up. My ears started hurting. I bought some Tylenol Cold at one of the gift shops and that helped for a while but Monday on the way home, I got really, really sick. My ears never popped coming down from Flagstaff so I felt like I was under water. I was coughing constantly and medicine wasn't helping. So, when we got home, Sean took me to Urgent Care. Turns out I had sinusitis, bronchitis and an ear infection. Yikes! He put me on antibiotics and this cough syrup with codeine. So I missed two days of work and a whole week of workouts. I'm still coughing and my ears still hurt a little but I think I feel up to working out today.

STS Disk 1 Complete!

2009-05-18T08:37:00.000-07:00

So I started Cathe's new STS workout series. There are 36 workouts in the series and you do them in order. You're supposed to do three per week. It's divided into 3 mesocycles and you take a recovery week after each one. The whole thing comes out to be a 3 1/2 month program. Since the STS workouts are only weight training, I get to just do my cardio on the in between days. One thing she wants you to do is find your 1 rep max for each exercise so you'll have a more effective workout each time. Basically, you pick a weight that you think you can do 10 reps with and then do the exercise until you can't do any more. Then you plug the weight and number of reps you did into the calculator on the website and it figures out your 1 rep max and what weight you should use when you do that exercise in the workouts. So for my Thursday night workout, I spent lots of time finding 1 rep maxes for different exercises. It ended up being a pretty insane workout all by itself. I didn't do all of the exercises just because it would've taken forever so for similar exercises, I just put in the same weight. So I took it easy all weekend and did disk 1 last night. Disk 1 was shoulders, biceps and chest and holy crap my arms are jello! Most of the weights were just about perfect for me but apparently some of my 1 rep maxes turned out to be really optimistic. I'll just have to use the calculator on the website again and plug in the weight I used last night and the reps I actually did to calculate new 1 rep maxes for those exercises. One thing that's really nice about the workouts is that you can print out a card for each workout that lists each exercise you'll be doing and what weight you should be using and has spaces to record the weight you actually used and how many reps you actually did. That way you can make adjustments for later workouts and see how you're improving from week to week. In the first mesocycle (the one I just started), legs are the third workout of the week but I think I'm going to make it the second one so I'll be able to walk during the weekend.

Here's my plan for Mesocycle 1:

Week 1:
Sunday: STS Disk 1 (Chest, Shoulders & Biceps)
Monday: Step Blast (Combos 1,2,3)
Tuesday: STS Disk 3 (Legs)
Wednesday: Step Jump & Pump (Step & Hi/Lo Circuit)
Thursday: STS Disk 2 (Back & Triceps)
Friday: Rest (Grand Canyon Trip)
Saturday: Hiking (Grand Canyon Trip)

Week 2:
Sunday: Hiking (Grand Canyon Trip)
Monday: Hiking (Grand Canyon Trip)
Tuesday: STS Disk 4 (Chest, Shoulders & Biceps)
Wednesday: STS Disk 6 (Legs)
Thursday: STS Disk 5 (Back & Triceps)
Friday: Rest
Saturday: Hiking or Body Max 2 (Timesaver Cardio)

Week 3:
Sunday: STS Disk 7 (Chest, Shoulders & Biceps)
Monday: Drill Max (Timesaver Cardio Blast)
Tuesday: STS Disk 9 (Legs)
Wednesday: Low Max (Step Combos Only)
Thursday: STS Disk 8 (Back & Triceps)
Friday: Rest
Saturday: Rest

Week 4:
Sunday: Rest
Monday: STS Disk 10 (Chest, Shoulders & Biceps)
Tuesday: Cardio & Weights (Timesaver Step)
Wednesday: STS Disk 12 (Legs)
Thursday: Imax 2
Friday: STS Disk 11 (Back & Triceps)
Saturday: Hiking or Low Impact Circuit (Cardio Blast Timesaver)

Week 5: Active Recovery Week - No weights!
Sunday: Low Impact Step
Monday: Step Blast (Combos 1,2,3)
Tuesday: Step Jump & Pump (Step & Hi/Lo Circuit)
Wednesday: Body Max 2 (Timesaver Cardio Only)
Thursday: Drill Max (Timesaver Cardio Blast)
Friday: Off
Saturday: Hiking or Low Max (Step Combos Only)

Hiking, Star Trek and a plan for the next 3 months

2009-05-04T08:38:00.000-07:00

On Saturday I went hiking instead of the workout I had planned. It was 3.6 miles and awesome. The cactus flowers are coming out and it looks like the giant saguaros are holding bouquets. It was a really good hike. It started out flat for a while and then it started climbing up the back side of Wasson Peak so it was a really good workout.

Saturday afternoon, I hit the fabric store. Why? Because I'm making me and Sean Star Trek uniforms for the midnight showing of the new Star Trek movie. We're going for the 1960s look. Sean's going to wear a captain shirt and I'm wearing one of the short little dresses in engineering red. I'm about 3 quarters of the way done. The dress is turning out really cute. I just need to hem it, put the trim on the sleeves and iron on the insignia.

I've decided that after my current workout schedule, I'm going to start Cathe's STS series. It's 40 DVDs and will cover all of my weight workouts for 3 months. It's insane and I'm a bit scared of it. But after seeing my friend Janet at lunch on Friday, I decided that I need to buy it. She's got a week left and she's reached her goal weight and she's looking amazing! I plan on ordering it on Wednesday when I get paid so between the time I finish my workout schedule and get my new videos, I'll plan my workouts 1 week at a time.

Here's where my schedule stands. I tweaked it a little because I realized that I had a bunch of weight workouts back-to-back.

Week 1:
S: Step Blast - done!
M: Legs & Glutes - done!
T: Low Impact Step + Stability Ball Abs - done!
W: 4 Day Split Lower Intensity Step + Weights - done!
T: Imax 2 - done!
F: Body Max 2 - done!
S: Rest - done!

Week 2:
S: Low Impact Circuit Cardio Timesaver Premix - done!
M: 4 Day Split Bootcamp + Weights - done!
T: Pyramid Lower Body - done!
W: Pyramid Upper Body + 30 min. walk - done!
T: Step Blast - done!
F: Rest - done!
S: 9 holes of disc golf - done!

Week 3:
S: 4 hours of moving heavy furniture - done!
M: Pyramid Lower Body + 30 min. walk - done!
T: Pyramid Upper Body - done!
W: Low Max - done!
T: Walked around Disneyland all day - done!
F: Walked around California Adventure all day - done!
S: Walked around San Diego stores all day - done!

Week 4:
S: rest - done!
M: 3 hours of typing - done!
T: 4 Day Split Higher Intensity Step + Weights - done!
W: 4 Day Split Kickbox + Weights - done!
T: Kick Punch Crunch - done!
F: Off - done!
S: 3.6 mile hike - done!

Week 5:
S: Pyramid Lower Body - done!
M: Low Impact Step
T: Kick Punch Crunch
W: Pyramid Upper Body
T: Off
F: 4 Day Split Lower Intensity Step
S: Pyramid Lower Body

Week 6:
S: Step Blast
M: Cardio & Weights
T: Imax 2
W: Complete Aerobic and Weight Training

Holy Crap! I've done this before!

2009-05-01T08:19:00.000-07:00

So last night I did Cathe's "Kick Punch Crunch" for the first time and a lot of the combos reminded me of the kickboxing workout I did at LA Fitness in San Diego. Let me take a moment to tell you about Deirdre, the satanic kickboxing instructor at LA Fitness. Dierdre was a bad ass martial arts person. She was very blond and very cute but I'm pretty sure she could kick any guys ass. Her workout was always pretty much the same every day that she was there and I always tried to go to her workouts because they were awesome. She always had me reduced to a quivering puddle of goo on the floor. She was very into the whole mind-body-kickboxing thing so she would make us yell and count out loud and stuff. And she would do this thing where we would kick front and back over and over and if she saw anyone in the room put their guards down, she would make us do 8 more reps. Yeah, she was pretty hard core. So anyway, back to Cathe, towards the end of the workout, there's this section of punching and kicking combos where I realized, I already knew them by heart. I knew exactly what move was coming next. I could even picture Dierdre, the satanic LA Fitness kickboxing instructor making us yell stuff. Apparently, Dierdre totally plagiarized that part of Cathe's workout! Now the majority of "Kick Punch Crunch" isn't quite as evil as the LA Fitness workout was but still, it's the closest home workout video that I've seen. I can't believe I was going to those classes 3 times a week. I was getting into pretty awesome shape then. I MUST do that one more often.

So here's where my schedule's at:

Week 1:
S: Step Blast - done!
M: Legs & Glutes - done!
T: Low Impact Step + Stability Ball Abs - done!
W: 4 Day Split Lower Intensity Step + Weights - done!
T: Imax 2 - done!
F: Body Max 2 - done!
S: Rest - done!

Week 2:
S: Low Impact Circuit Cardio Timesaver Premix - done!
M: 4 Day Split Bootcamp + Weights - done!
T: Pyramid Lower Body - done!
W: Pyramid Upper Body + 30 min. walk - done!
T: Step Blast - done!
F: Rest - done!
S: 9 holes of disc golf - done!

Week 3:
S: 4 hours of moving heavy furniture - done!
M: Pyramid Lower Body + 30 min. walk - done!
T: Pyramid Upper Body - done!
W: Low Max - done!
T: Walked around Disneyland all day - done!
F: Walked around California Adventure all day - done!
S: Walked around San Diego stores all day - done!

Week 4:
S: rest - done!
M: 3 hours of typing - done!
T: 4 Day Split Higher Intensity Step + Weights - done!
W: 4 Day Split Kickbox + Weights - done!
T: Kick Punch Crunch - done!
F: Off
S: 4 Day Split Bootcamp + Weights

Week 5:
S: Pyramid Lower Body
M: Low Impact Step
T: Kick Punch Crunch
W: Pyramid Lower Body
T: Pyramid Upper Body
F: 4 Day Split Lower Intensity Step
S: Cardio & Weights

Week 6:
S: Off
M: Complete Aerobic and Weight Training
T: Step Blast
W: Imax 2

Making Exercise a priority is a lot of work and kind of a pain in the ass

2009-04-30T08:40:00.000-07:00

I really didn't have time to workout last night but I did it anyway. Sean's parents took us out to dinner for Sean's birthday and then afterward we went to the bookstore to get Emily a new book (she finished reading "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" and just HAD to have "Restaurant at the End of the Universe" as soon as possible). Then we went back into the restaurant to use the bathroom (restaurant and bookstore are in the same mall) and I accidentally left the book in the bathroom (called the restaurant on the way home, they're holding it for me until I can go get it after work). Then, we had to buy Emily some graph paper so she could finish her science homework. By the time we got home, it was after 8:30. But I decided that exercise would be a priority so I worked out instead of sitting on the couch watching American Idol. By the time I got started, it was 10 till 9 and Emily was having trouble with her graph so I paused the video and went down to help her out. I didn't finish working out until 10:00. You wouldn't think it would be that difficult to squeeze in one hour of exercise out of 24.

I just had to post the schedule again so I could check off last night's workout.

Week 1:
S: Step Blast - done!
M: Legs & Glutes - done!
T: Low Impact Step + Stability Ball Abs - done!
W: 4 Day Split Lower Intensity Step + Weights - done!
T: Imax 2 - done!
F: Body Max 2 - done!
S: Rest - done!

Week 2:
S: Low Impact Circuit Cardio Timesaver Premix - done!
M: 4 Day Split Bootcamp + Weights - done!
T: Pyramid Lower Body - done!
W: Pyramid Upper Body + 30 min. walk - done!
T: Step Blast - done!
F: Rest - done!
S: 9 holes of disc golf - done!

Week 3:
S: 4 hours of moving heavy furniture - done!
M: Pyramid Lower Body + 30 min. walk - done!
T: Pyramid Upper Body - done!
W: Low Max - done!
T: Walked around Disneyland all day - done!
F: Walked around California Adventure all day - done!
S: Walked around San Diego stores all day - done!

Week 4:
S: rest - done!
M: 3 hours of typing - done!
T: 4 Day Split Higher Intensity Step + Weights - done!
W: 4 Day Split Kickbox + Weights - done!
T: Kick Punch Crunch
F: Off
S: 4 Day Split Bootcamp + Weights

Week 5:
S: Pyramid Lower Body
M: Low Impact Step
T: Kick Punch Crunch
W: Pyramid Lower Body
T: Pyramid Upper Body
F: 4 Day Split Lower Intensity Step
S: Cardio & Weights

Week 6:
S: Off
M: Complete Aerobic and Weight Training
T: Step Blast
W: Imax 2

Tweaking the schedule again

2009-04-29T09:12:00.000-07:00

Life got in the way of yet another workout. Monday night I spent all night helping Sean type up a paper for his class so I missed my workout. I'm glad I'm sticking with the schedule and tweaking it as I go though. It's taking me longer than a month to get through a month's worth of workouts but I'm getting through it. It's nice checking off each one. It makes me feel like I'm really accomplishing something. Last night I did Higher Intensity Step from 4-day Split with the heavy weights chest and back part. For some exercises, I lifted a lot heavier than I'm used to. I really surprised myself by making it through all the sets. I think I'll start lifting heavier on other exercises to see how I do.

Okay, here's my revised schedule:

Week 1:
S: Step Blast - done!
M: Legs & Glutes - done!
T: Low Impact Step + Stability Ball Abs - done!
W: 4 Day Split Lower Intensity Step + Weights - done!
T: Imax 2 - done!
F: Body Max 2 - done!
S: Rest - done!

Week 2:
S: Low Impact Circuit Cardio Timesaver Premix - done!
M: 4 Day Split Bootcamp + Weights - done!
T: Pyramid Lower Body - done!
W: Pyramid Upper Body + 30 min. walk - done!
T: Step Blast - done!
F: Rest - done!
S: 9 holes of disc golf - done!

Week 3:
S: 4 hours of moving heavy furniture - done!
M: Pyramid Lower Body + 30 min. walk - done!
T: Pyramid Upper Body - done!
W: Low Max - done!
T: Walked around Disneyland all day - done!
F: Walked around California Adventure all day - done!
S: Walked around San Diego stores all day - done!

Week 4:
S: rest - done!
M: 3 hours of typing - done!
T: 4 Day Split Higher Intensity Step + Weights - done!
W: 4 Day Split Kickbox + Weights
T: Kick Punch Crunch
F: Off
S: 4 Day Split Bootcamp + Weights

Week 5:
S: Pyramid Lower Body
M: Low Impact Step
T: Kick Punch Crunch
W: Pyramid Lower Body
T: Pyramid Upper Body
F: 4 Day Split Lower Intensity Step
S: Cardio & Weights

Week 6:
S: Off
M: Complete Aerobic and Weight Training
T: Step Blast
W: Imax 2

Another Disney Trip

2009-04-27T08:38:00.000-07:00

So we felt so guilty about Emily missing out on the trip to Disneyland with Nick, we decided to take her without Nick. And to make it even better, we told the nice people at the customer service desk that we were celebrating her birthday and they gave her a button with her name on it. Since her actual birthday is during the summer, we'll never go to Disneyland on her birthday. It's just not gonna happen. The rest of us have all spent lots of birthdays at Disneyland since we have spring birthdays but Emily's always missed out on that. So we celebrated two months early, is that so wrong? We had a great time. Emily got loads of attention for her fake birthday (she got a free desert at Cafe Orleans) and she got to drive the Mark Twain, which was just about the coolest thing we've ever done. After Disney, we spent the rest of the weekend in San Diego. It was nice. I ate a lot of junk for the past few days but it wasn't nearly as bad as it could've been. I also didn't get my scheduled workouts in so I'll need to tweak my schedule again to make sure I don't miss out on anything.

Here's my revised workout schedule:

Week 1:
S: Step Blast - done!
M: Legs & Glutes - done!
T: Low Impact Step + Stability Ball Abs - done!
W: 4 Day Split Lower Intensity Step + Weights - done!
T: Imax 2 - done!
F: Body Max 2 - done!
S: Rest - done!

Week 2:
S: Low Impact Circuit Cardio Timesaver Premix - done!
M: 4 Day Split Bootcamp + Weights - done!
T: Pyramid Lower Body - done!
W: Pyramid Upper Body + 30 min. walk - done!
T: Step Blast - done!
F: Rest - done!
S: 9 holes of disc golf - done!

Week 3:
S: 4 hours of moving heavy furniture - done!
M: Pyramid Lower Body + 30 min. walk - done!
T: Pyramid Upper Body - done!
W: Low Max - done!
T: Walked around Disneyland all day - done!
F: Walked around California Adventure all day - done!
S: Walked around San Diego stores all day - done!

Week 4:
S: rest - done!
M: 4 Day Split Higher Intensity Step + Weights
T: 4 Day Split Kickbox + Weights
W: Kick Punch Crunch
T: 4 Day Split Bootcamp + Weights
F: Off
S: Low Impact Step

Week 5:
S: Pyramid Lower Body
M: Cardio & Weights
T: Kick Punch Crunch
W: Pyramid Lower Body
T: Pyramid Upper Body
F: 4 Day Split Lower Intensity Step
S: Off

Week 6:
S: Complete Aerobic and Weight Training
M: Step Blast
T: Imax 2

Small Weekend Setback

2009-04-20T08:36:00.000-07:00

I was a little busy this past weekend so I missed my workouts and I'll have to rearrange my workout schedule. That's okay though. Life happens. And it's not like I didn't move. Saturday morning we went and played disc golf and then Sunday afternoon, we rearranged furniture for several hours. We (finally) got a new TV (47" Magnavox, did you know Magnavox TVs were made by Phillips? Neither did we, so if you're looking for a TV, save yourself $100 and get a Magnavox.) So, we decided to switch some stuff around. We realized that the office has become a storage area for stuff and no one was using it ever so we decided to turn it into a game room/exercise room. We moved the piano from the family room to the living room. We moved the green couch from the family room to the living room. We moved the purple couch from the living room to the family room. We moved the moved the old TV and the big wooden trunk we were using as a coffee table up to the office (I've got massive bruises on my arms from helping Sean get it up the stairs, I look like I've been beaten) and put the TV on the trunk. We moved one of the desks from the office to the family room and put the laptop on it (we put the mac mini in the entertainment center and connected it to the new TV and picked up a wireless keyboard and mouse, it's freaking sweet!) We moved the big leather chair and ottoman from the office to the family room and put it in the prime TV viewing position. We moved the little file cabinet from the office into the family room. We put the Wii (and all the Rockband and Wii Fit stuff) in the office. And I put all my exercise stuff in the office. Right now we have no seating other than a stability ball but I think we're going to get a few of those gamer chairs and maybe some bean bag chairs for seating. The old, old TV (the non-HD tube that's 27" and refuses to die even after our movers broke it) is still in there but we've got someone picking it up tonight after work (offered it up on craigslist for free and got so many responses, I think I probably should've asked for money). There's still more arranging to do in the office/game room/exercise room. We still need to hook up the PC on the other desk, shred some old papers and find a home for some stuff but otherwise, it's looking pretty good up there. It'll be nice to actually use that room for something. And it'll be REALLY nice to not have to spend 30 minutes getting my exercise stuff out and putting it back every day. Anyway, after all that work, I was pretty sore and tired so I didn't work out. So I'm tweaking my workout schedule so I don't leave anything out.

Here's the new schedule:

Week 1:
S: Step Blast - done!
M: Legs & Glutes - done!
T: Low Impact Step + Stability Ball Abs - done!
W: 4 Day Split Lower Intensity Step + Weights - done!
T: Imax 2 - done!
F: Body Max 2 - done!
S: Rest - done!

Week 2:
S: Low Impact Circuit Cardio Timesaver Premix - done!
M: 4 Day Split Bootcamp + Weights - done!
T: Pyramid Lower Body - done!
W: Pyramid Upper Body + 30 min. walk - done!
T: Step Blast - done!
F: Rest - done!
S: 9 holes of disc golf - done!

Week 3:
S: 4 hours of moving heavy furniture - done!
M: Pyramid Lower Body + 30 min. walk
T: Pyramid Upper Body + Abs from Cardio & Weights
W: Low Max
T: 4 Day Split Higher Intensity Step + Weights
F: Off
S: 4 Day Split Kickbox + Weights

Week 4:
S: Kick Punch Crunch
M: 4 Day Split Bootcamp + Weights
T: Low Impact Step
W: Pyramid Lower Body
T: Cardio & Weights
F: Off
S: Kick Punch Crunch

Week 5:
S: Pyramid Lower Body
M: Pyramid Upper Body
T: 4 Day Split Lower Intensity Step
W: Complete Aerobic and Weight Training
T: Step Blast
F: Off
S: Imax 2

It's okay, I didn't need my arms or legs for anything....ever

2009-04-16T10:12:00.000-07:00

After three days of heavy weights, my limbs are fried. I swear, last night I had a hard time picking up my three pound weights to put them away. My 12s and 15s are still sitting on my living room floor. I'm having a hard time typing today and my thighs scream at me when I walk. I'm glad I don't have any more weight workouts scheduled until Sunday. Something that I'm really proud of: since I got my barbell (best $35 I ever spent), I can lift MUCH heavier for lower body work. I was doing leg presses and squats with my barbell loaded to 45 pounds and I actually did every rep without missing a beat. I need to pick up some 2.5 pound plates though so I can go up in weight in 5 pound increments. 10 pound increments are a little much.

Here's what I ate yesterday
B: oatmeal with blueberries and soy milk
S: banana
L: Sandwich made with fake turkey, veggie cheese, mustard and lettuce on whole wheat bread, lentil soup
S: Homemade vegan chocolate pudding *drool*
D: Vegan mac & cheese made with whole wheat macaroni, nutritional yeast, veggie cheese and steamed brocolli
S: two slices of whole wheat bread with light margarine (I was so hungry after my workout that I was dizzy)

Workout: Pyramid Upper Body + 30 min. walk

Going into week 2 of my rotation

2009-04-13T08:55:00.000-07:00

Week one went pretty well. I got a new step because the Firm step I've been using is not designed for all that jumping around I've been doing (best exercise-related investment ever). I also picked up a barbell set from Walmart for $35 (2nd best exercise-related investment ever). I did all 90 minutes of Body Max 2 on Friday, which was insane. For those unfamiliar with Cathe Friedrich exercise videos, she's a crazy lady trying to kill me with exercise. 90 minutes is already a crazy long workout. 90 minutes with Cathe is bordering on suicide. Saturday was a much deserved rest day. Me and Sean had CCW class all day on Saturday, which was totally fun. When I get my little card in the mail, I will legally be able to carry a concealed weapon in Arizona. How sweet is that? Last night I did the cardio timesaver premix from Low Impact Circuit.

Here's the plan for this week:

M: 4-day Split Bootcamp with heavy weights
T: Pyramid Lower Body with Abs from Body Max 2
W: Pyramid Upper Body + 30 minute walk
T: Step Blast
F: Off
S: Imax 2
S: Pyramid Lower Body + 30 minute run

My poor legs!

2009-04-08T14:47:00.000-07:00

I'm rocking this new rotation. My legs are totally fried from Monday's workout but I'm not letting that stop me from getting my workouts in. My legs are really sore though. I've been stumbling around like a cripple today. Tonight is Lower Intensity Step plus heavy weights for shoulders, core and calves. I'm really looking forward to tonight's workout because I ordered a new step and a barbell and they should be waiting for me when I get home today. My old Firm step just wasn't designed for the workouts I'm doing now. I needed something more substantial.

Here's what I ate yesterday:

B: oatmeal with banana slices and soy milk
S: red grapes
L: Tofurkey and avocado sandwich on whole wheat bread with mustard and tomato slices and some tomato soup
S: apple
S: strawberry sorbet
D: Golden Potato and Tempeh Casserole with some purple cauliflower (how cool is that?) and broccoli

Workout: Low Impact Step + Stability Ball Abs

Off to a great start!

2009-04-07T09:43:00.000-07:00

My legs are all jello-y from my workout last night. I'm really looking forward to some low impact cardio tonight. I think low impact is about all I can handle right now.

Here's what I ate yesterday:
B: oatmeal with blueberries and soy milk
S: Red grapes and a small granola bar
L: burrito made with a 100-calorie whole wheat wrap, fat-free refried black beans, salsa, corn, red bell pepper and almond cheese with a cup of tomato soup
S: Small banana
D: Homemade bean burgers on a whole wheat bun with grilled onions and almond cheese. Also had baked sweet potato fries and mixed veggies.

Workout: Legs & Glutes

Now that I doing regular workouts again, I'm getting serious

2009-04-06T10:56:00.001-07:00

Okay, making exercise a priority these last few months has really helped. I don't feel like I have to scramble to fit it in anymore and I've had a little bit of weight loss. Now, it's time to get serious. I made a rotation for myself and I'm really going to focus on weight training because let's face it, I'm a weakling. Cardio's great and all but I really feel like I'm missing out by not spending enough time on weights. I've always had a hard time following a rotation because of life getting in the way but I figure if I don't have time for my scheduled workout, I can do something else and pick it back up the next day.

Here's my plan:

Week 1:
Monday: Legs & Glutes
Tuesday: Low Impact Step + Stability Ball Abs
Wednesday: 4-Day Split Lower Intensity Step (inc. weights)
Thursday: Imax 2
Friday: Body Max 2
Saturday: Off
Sunday: Low Impact Circuit (Cardio Timesaver Premix)

Week 2:
Monday: 4-Day Split Bootcamp (inc. weights)
Tuesday: Pyramid Lower Body + Abs from Body Max 2
Wednesday: Pyramid Upper Body + 30 min. walk
Thursday: Step Blast
Friday: Off
Saturday: Imax 2
Sunday: Pyramid Lower Body + 30 min. run

Week 3:
Monday: Pyramid Upper Body + Abs from Cardio & Weights
Tuesday: Low Max
Wednesday: 4-Day Split Higher Intensity Step (inc. weights)
Thursday: Step Blast
Friday: Off
Saturday: 4-Day Split Kickbox (inc. weights)
Sunday: Kick Punch Crunch

Week 4:
Monday: 4-Day Split Bootcamp (inc. weights)
Tuesday: Low Impact Step
Wednesday: Pyramid Lower Body
Thursday: Cardio & Weights
Friday: Off
Saturday: Kick Punch Crunch
Sunday: Pyramid Lower Body + Abs from Muscle Endurance

Week 5:
Monday: Pyramid Upper Body + Abs from Low Impact Circuit
Tuesday: Lower Intensity Step
Wednesday: Complete Aerobic & Weight Training
Thursday: Step Blast
Friday: Off

That Cookie Recipe Everyone's Been Asking for...

2009-04-01T22:30:00.001-07:00

Okay, this is NOT my recipe. It's from Vegan With a Vengeance by Isa Chandra Moskowitz. I just lightened it up a bit and used whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose.

Sparkled Ginger Cookies (the semi-healthy version)

4 tbsp. tubinado sugar (regular sugar will work but coarse is better)
2 c. whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
2 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 c. applesauce
1/4 c. molasses
1/4 c. soy milk
1 c. sugar (I use turbinado sugar)
1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease two cookie sheets. Place the turbinado sugar in a small bowl.
Sift together flour, baking soda, salt, and spices. In a separate large mixing bowl, mix together the applesauce, molasses, soy milk, sugar and vanilla. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet and combine well. If it's too wet to roll into balls, add a bit more flour. Roll into 1-inch balls, flatten into a disk, press the cookie tops into the turbinado sugar and place 1 inch apart sugar side up on a prepared cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes, let cool on cookie sheets for 3-5 minutes, transfer to cooling rack.

I'm a little nervous about this weekend

2009-03-24T08:27:00.000-07:00

I'm not gonna lie. I'm a little worried about the crap that might be going into my mouth this weekend. Me and Sean are chaperoning Nick's orchestra trip to Disneyland. Yup, we're going to Disneyland with two busloads of teenagers. I'm already stressing about the food. At least I'll be on my feet most of the time so that should help. I picked up some snacks for the bus ride. I wish I could pack some fruits and veggies but the state of California gets all bent about people bringing produce over the state line. Thursday night they're making us all eat at Hometown Buffet (you know, where crazy people eat). I've never been there but I'm pretty sure brown rice and tofu are not on the menu. Friday we're on our own for lunch so I think we're going to check out Cafe Orleans in New Orleans Square. We've never been there but the menu looks pretty yummy. I'm really tempted to try the vegetarian version of the Monte Cristo sandwich even though it's got cheese in it. Who can resist a fancy cheese sandwich, dipped in batter and deep fried? I'm not sure if I can. Friday night they're making us all go to a comedy improv show and feeding us pizza (please let some of it have vegetables). Saturday we'll be on our own for lunch and dinner. I think we're going to spend most of our time at California Adventure. We have to check in with the kids at the Walt & Mickey statue a few times during the day but we'll mostly get to just hang in the park by ourselves. Saturday night we're not leaving the park until midnight. That is so past my bedtime. Then they're going to load us back up on the buses and drive all night back to Tucson. Somehow I don't think there's going to be a whole lot of sleeping on that bus. At least we'll have all day Sunday to recover.

In other news, my weight loss has slowed. I need to make sure I'm getting a good workout everyday and try to get some walks in at lunch time again. We decided last night that we're going to stop having our weekly pizza nights until we get down to our goal weights. The pizza we get or make is relatively healthy but it's just way too easy to eat too much of it. Maybe I'll do burger night once a week instead. I can get some whole wheat buns, make some veggie burgers, grill some mushrooms and onions, bake some sweet potato fries. It'll be good.

Here's my food/exercise log for yesterday:
B: oatmeal with apples and soymilk
S: granola bar
L: Tofurkey and soy feta sandwich on whole wheat bread, salad with balsamic vinegarette and some baked potato chips
S: banana, snackwells cookies (that was probably a mistake)
D: "Lite" veggie pizza and whole wheat breadsticks

Workout: 50 minute jog on the treadmill

All my hard work is starting to pay off!

2009-03-05T07:36:00.000-08:00

I'm rocking this diet and exercise thing. In the past 17 days, I've lost 3.6 pounds. So according to my math, my calorie deficit is 741 and I'm losing about 1.5 pounds a week. So if I keep up this rate, I'll be back down to my lowest weight ever by the second week of June and all the way down to my goal weight by the end of July. Sweet!

Here's my food and exercise log for yesterday:

B: Oatmeal with apples and soy milk
S: Banana and a granola bar
L: Sandwich made with marinated and grilled tempeh and avocado on whole wheat bread and a pear
D: Swedish "meat" balls (made with white beans and gluten) with whole wheat pasta and steamed green beans

Workout: Cathe's Low Max