Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Breakfast of Champions.

Did I really have leftover chili and cornbread for breakfast? Yes, yes I did. It was less "Oooh, you know what would be really awesome for breakfast? Chili!" and more "Sigh. I really don't want to end up throwing that stuff out 'cause I hate wasting food. And I still want my shrimp/broccoli/rice leftovers for lunch. Mom's taking me out to dinner later... Fuck it."

And it wasn't the worst choice. After spin class this morning, I did indeed have an appetite, so it was the ultimate mix of protein, fiber and carbs. Plenty of beans, tomatoes, onion and spicy peppers. Lean ground beef, so just the right amount of fat. And the cornbread had chopped green chiles and a bit of cheddar baked in. A bit of discomfort ensued because it was probably too early for so much spice, but I'm fine now. And still full.

Aside from eating something for the sake of getting rid of it, I'm also trying to change up my meal "routine," for... Fun? I guess you could say this new change kind of falls in line with the "Eat like a king for breakfast, a prince for lunch and a pauper for dinner" method. I typically eat in the opposite order, which is a pretty terrible idea, seeing as I'm an early morning workout person. Ok, maybe not terrible, but my smaller breakfasts eventually lead to increased snacking all the way through dinner, so time for a change.

I'm not planning on eating chili every morning, but I am going to try and bulk things up a bit, while also changing up my food choices. I've had this inherent (and ridiculous) fear of eating too much for breakfast for yeeears and it's just silly, given my activity schedule. No real meal ideas yet, and I still plan on keeping my beloved oats, fruit, Greek yogurt and peanut butter in the mix, in varying degrees. But I'll also be more open to things like tuna, veggies burgers, broccoli, tofu. Whateva.



In other news, I joined Daily Mile last Thursday and it's been pretty addicting so far. I added a mile-tracker widget to my blog homepage and it's fun seeing the number go up over the course of just a few days! It's motivating me to make time for a run just about every day, even if it's just one mile, and/or mixed in with another type of workout. Since Thursday, I've racked up 13.5 miles! A little over a half-marathon! Obviously I'm not ready to tackle such a feat all at once, but slowly chipping away at distance, one mile at a time, is still motivating nonetheless. And it's already helping me work on my goal of increasing speed.

Last note on workouts: At the gym on Sunday, I felt myself missing the incline trainers at my old gym (24 Hour Fitness doesn't have them). But instead of boo-hooing that I couldn't do my ol' 18-20% grade inclines, I decided to compromise and try one of the cross-country pre-set routines on a regular Precor treadmill, but increase my speed to jogging/running levels, instead of just walking. And y'know what? It was pretty damn awesome. I think the highest grade I had went up to 7%, but when you try to tackle that between 5 and 5.5 mph, your legs are workin' hard. And because it was pre-set, I could just go on auto-pilot for the most part, aside from when I wanted to adjust my speed. Glad I was able to discover something new and challenging!

And on a closing note, I ordered French Women Don't Get Fat this morning. I found a copy on eBay for under $5, free shipping. Mostly just curious. Not expecting it to change my life or anything. I won't be doing a full 'n' proper review after I finish it, but I'll definitely share any points of awesomeness that I come across along the way.

I suppose that's all for today. My goal is to make it through the week without catching Doug's cold. My boss was out sick all last week too and has been coughing ever since she came back. Gah. I am to germs as Nacho Libre is to corn:



Hope everyone is having a good week!

4 comments:

Amanda (Two Boos Who Eat) said...

LOL get those germs outta my face!

I love having "lunch or dinner" type foods for breakfast. I used to do it more often but for some lame reason I've stopped. I work out in the mornings too so a bigger breakfast makes perfect sense. Otherwise I'll be eating lunch at 11am instead of 1pm.

Tamara said...

@Amanda (Two Boos Who Eat)

Exactly. I was starting to get frustrated with how snack-y I am all day and how "OMG, STARVING!" I feel by the time I got home from work. Just seems like it would be easier and less stressful to eat more, earlier in the day.

Mari said...

The only time I tend to have lunch or dinner for breakfast is aroundt he holidays and I can NOT wait to have left overs!

I am interested to hear your thought on that book...make sure to fill us in =)

I know what you mean about looking at your miles...I am obsessed with my tally on the Nike Plus websites lol

Mo Diva said...

i am guilty of doing something similar with leftover steak, rice and beans... i added some eggs to it and made a breakfast burrito. It was very smart of me at the time but like you, my stomach was upset with me for a lil while after.
Its also nice to change up the regimen every now and then too. I often get sick of things... like omg if i have to eat oatmeal again one more time i will hurt someone.. but i never hurt anyone. I just go to town on a bagel in stead. oh bagels. MMM.