Up early to exercise

So this research study fascinates me.  It basically says that if one exercises before one eats, the body burns more calories.  So this morning at 4 am when I was having my typical brush with insomnia, I thought "lets get up and try it".  So I did weights, pilates, a little stretching - hope it helps.  I do not think it would be wise to go hiking before breakfast here - there are mountain lions you know.

Zone day 2

So I have almost made it through day two but the witching hour is upon me - that time around 6 pm when I want a beer with my hubby.  Stay strong - mantra - no booze, no booze, no booze.  Time for some herbal relaxation tea.

So the diet today was/is

Breakfast
1 egg and 1 egg white omelet with a topper of 4 shrimp, bell peppers, a shitake mushroom, fresh basil, fresh oregano, garlic and red onion

16 oz. health drink - cherries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, 1/8 mango, 2 inches of banana, fresh turmeric, 1 brazil nut, 1/4 scoop of hemps seeds, 1 cup of raw spinach and water

Lunch
3 turkey meatballs with mushrooms leftover from dinner
1 cup homemade chicken/purple barley/veggie soup

Snack
Apple with 1/2 oz. of cheese
1/2 oz. of beef jerky

Dinner
Ancho chili rubbed flank steak - 3 oz.
1/2 c fresh garden peas - boiled
1/2 c cooked crimini and shitake mushrooms
Spinach salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions with tbsp. homemade dressing

Snack
2 squares girdelli 70% chocolate with 1 tsp. peanut butter

Exercise was a bit of a let down as I intended to ride Casper but the arena footing is still trashed due to all this snow and ice.  Did 30 minutes of yoga, 15 minutes of weights, 20 minutes of pilates but whimped on my hike due to more snow (which is falling as I type this).

This has to be the most boring post - sorry.  It helps to write it down.  It keeps me honest. Thank you for putting up with me.  How is your diet going today?

Poor Casper is the most neglected pony ever.
 

Jackie's new Workout

Amy Dixon/Paul Katami  - Double Down

Ok, Lady M - Here's a review of my new workout.  A little history - about a year ago, I stumbled onto Amy Dixon and her Breathless Body workouts.  I really enjoyed #1 but #2 left me cold so I never ordered 3.  Anyway, I was a bit hesitant to order this, although it got some great reviews.  I’ve done it several times now and here’s my assessment.

Instructors – I like Amy Dixon from her BB #1 and she is the same here.  Motivational without being cheesy, easy to listen to, easy to look at.  Paul Katami is the same, if anything he is more comfortable than Amy in this one.  So that’s a huge plus for me – instructors I can deal with over and over and over again.  And there are no annoying, distracting extras in the background. 

Routine – This is an interesting routine and it goes fast – one strength for 2 minutes and one cardio for two minutes with small breaks in between, repeated 8 times.  During each strength and cardio set, the exercise gets progressively harder (that's where the double down comes in). And it does get pretty hard, but not impossible.  The key is that you are going by the clock, not the number of reps.  If the exercise is challenging for you, modify it, slow it way down or go back to the previous exercise.  If you can only do a few reps, that’s ok – just do your best.  I like that.

Movements – These are designed to get you moving again, very important for us over 50’s, returning mobility to the body.  You just don’t realize how stiff you are getting until you try to do a Burpie – go on, Lady M, try it right now.  But unlike other workouts designed by youngsters for youngsters, I can get through this one without hurting myself.  The combo of strength moves and cardio is just right for me.  I finished this one exhausted but exhilarated, always a good thing.

I've been doing this workout and BB#1 3-4 times a week plus the exercise bike to get myself ready to run as soon as it warms up a bit.  The goal is to run a 5k at the end of April (wow, that's coming up fast ).  I’ve walked 5ks and half run a few but I’ve always wanted to make it through running strong the whole way.  I figure if I can make it through this workout, I can run 3 miles.  We shall see....

1st day in the zone

Step 1 - Weigh myself
Hmmm - how many ounces can I lose if I take of my pjs, and evacuate my orifices?  The answer is not much.  So starting weight this AM is 134 lbs - that's the baseline.

Step 2 - Come up with a zone breakfast
I didn't plan well for breakfast and lunch - just for dinner.  So I have come up with 16 oz of health drink with about 15 carbs and 4 fats and a concoction of tuna, hardboiled eggs, hummus, celery, bell pepper and green onion for 21 protein, 15 carbs and 5 more fats. Drink water

Step 3 -
Exercise -  Do some yoga. Drink water

Step 4 - Get out of this house and away from the kitchen until lunch when I can have some shrimp lettuce wraps and another health drink and drink water

Step 5 - Go take a hike and away from the kitchen again until dinner whereupon I will make Turkey meatballs with mushrooms and spinach over spaghetti squash.  Drink water

Ok that is the plan for the day - wish me luck

 

 

Big changes in March

So despite my best efforts of the last two months, I have not lost a pound.  I am working out a lot and hard, really pushing my limits.  But my body seems complacent to stay the heaviest it has ever been in my life outside of pregnancy.  I cannot seem to shake this stability.

So March brings THE DIET!  Yes I must force my fat cell into submission.  They can no longer hang around on my love handles - they must be burned for fuel.

The plumbishness must go

So I have chosen my old standby "The Zone" by Barry Sears.  This is a diet whereupon one balances the carbs, fats and proteins to keep the blood sugar from spiking and no it is not just about eating bacon not bread.  It is a piece of lean meat and lots and lots of lower carb veggies.

I have reserved three books from the library to help in this diet quest and will begin tomorrow.  My goal is not too lofty - just 10 pounds.  My love handles and belly.  But the biggest kick is no booze - this brings me to my next goal "THE BOOZE FREE MONTH".

Yes unfortunately research shows that giving booze up for a whole month has amazing health benefits. It lowers all the stress factors associated with the liver etc.  So wish me luck - this is gonna be way harder than the diet!

Pom power

 

 

 I have recently discovered pomegranates and quite honestly, cannot figure out why it took me so long.  They are amazing, delicious, antioxidant filled little bits of goodness.  They are  yummy on salads, great in health drinks, and delish as a little snack.  They also freeze well. At first they baffled me but I found a great tutorial on line of how to easily separate the arils from the rind.  It goes like this:

This is a pomegranate

Cut it in quarters

Break apart the rind separating the arils.   The rind floats, the arils sink. Pull the bits of rinds out of the bowl and throw them away.

 

Strain the water and what you have left are useable pomegranate arils.
 



Was gonna spend today inside...

but the sun came out so I went hiking instead - too nice a day to stay in.  Did about 12,000 steps for 3.75 miles in the Red Rocks Open Space.  It was a gorgeous day with lots of new white snow and bright skies.

 

good thing I had my hiking spikes cause I needed them

That's the Garden of the Gods in the distance

 

Insane Hike

So we have been buried under a foot of snow with more to come today.  Yesterday, instead of being sensible humans and staying in our dwelling, I suggested to his Lordship that we hike.

Hmmm - 20 degrees, snow falling rapidly but let's hike.  I must be mental.

We started from the house, walked up the road which was deserted (all the other smart people stayed home) and began the ascent toward the Intermann trail.  The snow was so deep that for every step, I slid back 4 inches - a situation that called for hiking spikes - luckily I had them. 

The first part of the trail was quite pleasant.  There was a lovely tree lined canyon where the snow and wind were subdued, with a magical feel of a fairy tale.

However, once we crossed Crystal Park Road, the trail goes sharply up Iron Mountain.  Most of it is exposed to the north and the wind and snow considerably more fierce.  We did, however, pass part of the trail that we helped to build last summer.  It was holding up fine, far better than me, who by this time was sweating profusely despite the wind chill.


We helped to build this section of the Intermann
You can see by the footprints that we are not the only morons who hike in the snow.

About the 3.5 mile mark, it seemed to have no end.  The little town of Manitou looked like a ghost town.  I was sure His Lordship would rather be doing other things.

We finally reached Pawnee Rd., but madness, having taking hold of both of us by this point, impaired our judgment.  We decided to keep hiking through to Ruxton Ave. After a further mile of trudging in a foot a snow, we emerged into civilization, only to find that both our favorite bars had quit early and sent their staff home.  In despair, we continued down the Avenue, wondering if this whole venture had been for naught. Suddenly, when we spied a bright window and what looked like central heat.  WE WERE SAVED! Yay for Swirl Wine Bar! These folks are hardcore.  Their sign said even the patio was open!

 

 

Disheveled and a little achy, we sat down to a delicious pint of  local IPA and a bowl of homemade beef stew.

 

 So we took 15,791 steps for a total of 4.98 miles.  With all this exercise, why am I not losing a little weight? Hmmm - wonder if the IPA and beef stew have something to do with that.

Hiking for Fitness

I have set a goal to climb the Barr Trail as far as Barr Camp in May.  In order to prepare for that, I am trying to hike 4 times a week.  On weekdays, I have been hiking 3 short trails and then on the weekends, his Lordship and I take a longer hike.

So todays hike was through the Garden of the Gods.  It was an unusually warm day - I think it set a record high.  I started on the Strausenback Trail.

 

It was quite pretty and the first time I actually hiked that particular route.  Here are some pictures.

 

I then hiked the Scotsman trail to the central garden trail.  I always try to hit the central garden 1/2 way through my hike as they have that most important of features - a flush toilet. 

 

I then took the Palmer trail around the west side of the park.  Here are a few picture of the central garden from the Palmer trail.

After out walking a group of very pokey trail horses, I ended up on the Siamese Twin trail and back at the car.  Total steps was 10771.  Aerobic step were 8282.  Mileage was 3.39. Tomorrow his Lordship takes me up a mountain so I hope I have the energy for that!

The Siamese Twins

Gumbo!!!!

We have Canivale coming up in our little community of Manitou Springs.  As part of the festivities there is the Mumbo Jumbo Gumbo cook off.  Unfortunately, I have a previous engagement and will not be able to attend.  However, I thought I would share my Gumbo recipe with everyone as it is a low fat version that is pretty darn tasty.  This recipe is not for Dr. Theda, however, as he is allergic to bell peppers. 


Yum Gumbo -let me share my recipe

Ingredients List:

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

1 large onion chopped

4 ribs of celery chopped

1 red bell pepper chopped

1 green bell pepper chopped

2 gloves of garlic minced or mashed

1-2 tsp. hot pepper sauce

1 lrg. can of tomato sauce

1 bottle clam juice

2 cups chicken broth

1 lb. of shrimp

2 chicken Andouille sausage

3 Tbsp. file'

 

Spice mix:

11/2 teas. sweet paprika

1 teas. salt

1 teas. cayenne pepper

1/2 teas. ground black pepper

1/2 teas. ground white pepper

1/2 teas. thyme

1/2 teas. oregano

2 bay leaves

 Saute' onions in veg. oil for about 5 minutes.  Add celery and peppers and cook 10 more minutes.  Combine the spice mixture in a bowl and set aside.  Stir the file' into the veggies and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.  Add dry spice mixture, hot sauce, garlic and cook another 5 minutes, stirring often. Add tomato sauce, clam juice, chicken broth, sausage and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for about an hour stirring occasionally.  Add shrimp and simmer for 2 minutes.  Serve over rice.

Saute' veggies in oil

Mix spices

Add as much chicken sausage as you wish - I like two

Add Tomato sauce, chicken broth, clam juice and sausage, bring to a boil and let simmer for an hour

 

Ready to eat over rice - yum