Thursday, September 24, 2009

Never enough time.

So last night I went on a cereal mini-binge. Ugh. I think after anticipating how I'm going to be lowering my carb intake over the next few weeks, I, without really thinking, knocked out 2 cereal sample boxes that I got in the mail earlier this week, haha. (And in case you were wondering, the new Blueberry Pomegranate Total is pretty damn tasty.)

I'm not going to cut carbs completely, but some of the things I'm going to just stop buying are: bread, granola bars, crackers (in fact, I have a lot still sitting around going stale, so I won't bother trying to finish them off) cereal (though I might make an occasional exception for Kashi) and probably english muffins. And I need to wean myself off of popcorn. Baby steps though, haha.

I'm not going to make any specific changes starting on X day either though. The reality is, I'm broke until next week and I need to make do with what's already in the house until I can go shopping again. There are very few things I will flat out throw away because wasting food just isn't an option on my current budget. Also, these changes are going to be gradual. I'd love to hit the ground running with this, but it's just not realistic and I don't want to set myself up for failure.

FOOD:

breakfast:
egg beaters- 1
1/4 c. oats- 1
blueberries- 1
coffee w/ .25 c. almond milk- 0

snack:
lightfull smoothie- 1
11 almonds- 2
carrot/celery sticks- 0
PB2- 1

lunch:
healthy choice honey ginger chicken- 6
popcorn ball- 1

snack:
cucumber/bell pepper- 0
apple- 1

dinner:
salmon- 3
broccoli/carrots- 1
1 oz. avocado- 1

post-dinner:
peaches- 1
kashi waffle- 1

total points used: 22/22 (Wendie Plan)
activity points: 50 min HIIT routine- 7
WAPs: 4/35 remaining

Breakfast this morning was interesting. I was basically trying to re-create this recipe. I used 1/2 c. egg beaters, 1/2 c. blueberries, 1/4 c. old fashioned oats, about 1.5 tbsp. granulated splenda, cinnamon and about 1/2 tsp. of vanilla extract. I mixed it all together and dumped it in the skillet.

It was by far one of the most visually unappealing things I've made in a while, seeing as the juice from the blueberries turned everything, including the eggs, a nice blue-gray color. BUT, it actually tasted pretty damn good. The cinnamon and the blueberries clashed though. I added the cinnamon first, forgetting that I was going to add blueberries later. Had I left out the cinnamon (or used peaches instead of blueberries), it would've tasted even better. I couldn't get it to hold into a single piece though (I think there was too much juice from the berries), so it ended up being this weird, discolored scramble. But again, the taste was pleasant. Definitely something different that I'll look forward to improving in the future.

EXERCISE:

Made it to the gym this morning for HIIT.

Today's routine:
-15 min. run
-10 min. incline training
-15 min. stair master
-10 min. elliptical/cool-down

Since I went overboard with cereal last night, I decided to kick things up a notch this morning. I worked on my speed during the run. Got up to 6.5 mph and stayed there the majority of the interval. It was actually pretty comfortable (or rather, not as hellish as I thought it would be). I think my next goal to work toward will be 7 mph. Gotta keep changing things up! I must admit, I was pretty motivated by the girl running next to me who was up to 8 mph. I don't need to run that fast, but I'd like to be able to some day, just to say I can.

I made sure that I spent 15 minutes on both running and the stair master because those tend to be the big heart-rate boosters for me. And the stair master today felt particularly brutal. I did my usual "fat-burning" course (basically going up and down hills) at level 7 (highest level is 20). I've done that course before, but pushing it to 15 minutes was a challenge. Felt awesome when I made it to the end though.

All in all, it was a good workout. I'll probably go to gym again tomorrow, but will probably focus more on running instead of intervals. Maybe.
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Other than that, my morning was rushed. I got up 15 minutes earlier than usual, but somehow dragged major ass while showering/getting ready. Barely had time to finish my coffee. Ah well. I'm off tomorrow, so no more complaints.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Man alive I love cereal. Even though I don’t buy the sugary kind anymore (I miss buying my cocoa & fruity pebbles when I go to the USA. And Booberry, when I can find it). I could binge on it every day if I’m not careful.

Does Doug eat breads, granola bars, cereal, etc? I can’t imagine that kind of stuff going stale in my house. I always keep my bread in the freezer and just take slices out as I need them. Popcorn.. another weakness.. especially since I bought kettle corn topping while in the USA. SO GOOD. I love kettle corn so much.

Tamara said...

Doug eats bread with the occasional sandwich. Neither of us are real big bread eaters, so I'm good with just not buying it all together. He'll probably keep his own loaf in the house though. I know some days he's stuck in class all day and likes being able to pack a good ol' PB & J sandwich.

And he does eat cereal a lot more than I do. I don't think he'll miss granola bars though since I ate them most of the time.

We tend to buy our own special food items (he buys his Cocoa Puffs, I buy my almond milk), so I don't expect him to make the same eating changes that I'm planning on making with carb reduction. And that's fine. I'm looking forward to spending less money on processed stuff.

Oh, popcorn. I love it. Always have. And last time I went shopping, I bought a case of popcorn balls (they only sell them during the Halloween & Easter seasons), so I still need to finish those off. It would break my heart to just throw them away. haha.

Anonymous said...

Oh and thanks for the breakfast recipe link, which lead me to read tons of other articles on the site, and sign up for the newsletter. YAY more information to fill my brain.

Yay for running at 6.5mph. I run most of my 2 miles at that. I remember when I ran mostly at 7.0. and then 1 minute at 8.5. I miss those days. I hope I can get it back by focusing more on cardio again.

Anonymous said...

I don't know how I would survive without my airpopped popcorn... over the 50lbs I've shed over the year I've really become dependent on it and I really couldn't imagine giving it up...ever.

Breads too, I rely on whole wheat english muffins, and sometimes plain oatmeal with fruit for breakfast. I don't know what I'd eat in the morning without them.

Tamara said...

I'm planning on keeping oatmeal for sure, because it's still a healthy source of eneergy. Just trying to (slooowly) cut back on the refined, snack-y carbs that don't have much nutritional value.