Lessons Learned

Snacked on some edamame leftover from Wednesday's dinner.

I was so glad I took the time to make a turkey sandwich last night. Loved the turkey from Lionettes! This sandwich featured turkey, lettuce, pickles, and Spinach & Artichoke hummus.

I went to the gym with a plan in mind. I was going to use the foam roller, do some kind of cardio for 20 minutes, and then sit in the sauna. Plans got destroyed when I finished my 20 minute run on the treadmill and decided to use the foam roller for a few more minutes. One of the trainers (Dave) was nice enough to show me how to stretch my glutes using a small ball. It can get deeper into the muscles than the foam roller.

We started talking about my back issues and my background in gymnastics and cheerleading. Dave ended up spending 20 minutes with me, going over different ways to work my abs besides crunches. My rectus abdominals are overworked and everything else is under worked. He also showed me some exercises that target multiple muscle groups. Instead of doing a circuit and working one muscle at a time, I can do one or two different exercises and work more major muscles. My workouts are usually limited to my lunch hour so that was a major score.

(I'd love to share some of the exercises with you guys but he went over so many that I'm have trouble remembering. I'm going to try to write everything down later on tonight)

I'm always afraid to approach trainers, especially since I'm not paying for a session. But he said that if I ever see a trainer hanging around, just ask what his or her favorite core exercise is. Learning a new move or two a week would be great!

~Do any of you know any good core moves? Or websites with exercise demos?~

I had a cup of Gingerbread Spice tea for my afternoon snack. I loved the way it smelled and the first couple of sips were great. But as the tea cooled, it was too sweet and thick for me. Maybe I let the bag steep for too long?

I nibbled on a handful of prunes. These have been sitting in the fridge since Jared has his appendix out at the end of August. I should probably look for an expiration date.

The prunes didn't fill me up, and I didn't want to eat more and OD on fiber. I tried a new Bear flavor: Chocolaty Cherry. I liked the mix of the sweet chocolate bits with the tangy cherries. Chewy texture with bits of crunch.

Out With the Old

This is the LAST frozen Healthy Choice meal that I will eat and post about on this blog. I have nothing good to say. As the picture shows, this was gross. A sticky mass of pasta, paper thin piece of chicken...blah!

I needed to please my palate. I can't believe I forgot about the bag of candy pumpkins in my desk.

Today's outfit!

I walked on the treadmill for the first 5 minutes I was at the gym. My hip was bothering me so I found a foam roller. Once I felt better, I went back to the treadmill and walked for another 30 minutes. Titanic was on the HealthWorks movie channel. Jack and Rose's love story was a nice escape from my workday!

I snacked on a PB&J Dipped Mojo bar. At first I couldn't taste the jelly and it seemed like the bar was just going to be peanut butter. But as I continued to chew, the jelly taste slowly developed. I swear it was magical! Clif Mojo bars are awesome!

Since it was so cold out, I drank a cup of tea to warm up. I've been a big fan of Celestial Seasonings for a while. I've had this box since last Christmas and I can't believe I waited so long to try it. It tasted like a melted candy cane, minus all of the stickiness and potential for cavities. Plus it had a subtle vanilla flavor. I need to incorporate more tea in the afternoon at work.

My stomach was going crazy so I snacked on this Bear Naked bar I snagged at the race last weekend. Another flavor/textre success! The fruit and nut combos usually work out well.

I had been planning this meal all day! I googled "how to cook spaghetti squash." So easy! I poked holes in my squash and baked it at 375 for 1 hour.

I made some chicken marinated in Italian dressing and boiled water to cook a bag of frozen edamame.

The spaghetti squash, hot out of the oven! I removed the seeds and then used a fork to scrap out the "spaghetti."

I topped my chicken with feta cheese, added sauce to the spaghetti squash, and sprinkled some sea salt on the edamame. Twas a wonderful dinner. I'm really proud that I am taking teeny tiny baby steps towards becoming a good cook.

AND...
Big changes are going to be happening to Crunches for Cupcakes. I'll keep you posted!

Vitamin Zzzz Deficiency

Jared and I debated bringing a full length mirror back from my parents' house yesterday. After climbing on the tub again this morning, I'm wishing we had decided to fit it in the car. I'm wearing my new red flats to work today, a gift from my mom for helping her dress shop. They're from the Naturalizer outlet so I'm expecting them to be comfortable. I like the fact that they have a slight wedge heel. Any extra inches to help lengthen my legs and make me appear longer and leaner!

I was SO tired when my alarm went off. I hit snooze as many times as I could get away with before I had to get up for work. I think the 5K and the excitement of being with my family took a lot more out of me than I realized. I'm going to try to go to bed before 11 tonight.

I ate Dannon yogurt and the last of my Bear Naked granola for breakfast once I got to work. I was psyched to try the Strawberry Kiwi yogurt, but found that it tasted very similar to strawberry. I would've appreciated a stronger kiwi taste.

The newest addition to my Halloween Decorations! My mom sent me home with these cute little rubber duckies. (I think they are in the Prize Box at the dentist office where she works) They glow in the dark! I love their little Halloween costumes. My cousin has a HUGE collection of rubber ducks so I'm going to bet that my mom is mailing some to her in South Carolina!