Holiday Fitness Program: Week III

My Trainer: Tim Koffler

So this week went fine.

Sunday: Rest

Monday: 30 Cardio

Tuesday: Weight Training & 20 Cardio

Wednesday: 30 Cardio

Thursday: 30 Cardio

Friday: 30 Cardio

Saturday: Rest

Sunday: Weight Training & 20 Cardio

OK, Confession...my eating program fell apart on Sunday. I had a VERY stressful Saturday and spent the day trying to relax my nerves and read New Moon in bed and watched bad tv.

Sunday, I slapped myself silly and go to the gym. I did my weight training program and some cardio...went home and hell broke loose. I shouldn't have done it, but I baked some chocolate croissants...AND ATE ONE. NEXT...went to church and then went to Ezelles Fried Chicken and sweet iced tea. Dinner wasn't any better, picked at Port Salut cheese, dry Italian Salami, and sour dough bread with butter. To end it all, frozen Peppermint Patties.

New Week!

Holiday Fitness Plan and GIVEAWAY!!!

Holiday Eating is coming!!! YIKES. This time of year, all I can think of is, "Do I have enough time to bake the pumpkin cheesecakes, make the cranberry-citrus chutney, corn pudding, broccoli casserole, sweet potato casserole and then start again after Thanksgiving with the sugar cookies, gingerbread and the other Holiday desserts!!!?!!

OK, reality check. I still have 10-15 pounds to loose and I will DIE if I put any weight back!!! In addition, I plan on "trying" a bite of all the food that is served during the the holidays, starting with Thanksgiving. Can't have it all? We'll see.

This weekend, I met with a friend of mine, Tim Koffler, who happens to also be a fitness trainer. We use to work together when I was a the Program Director and he was, and still is, the Fitness Director at an athletic club in Seattle. He gave me a great workout that will get me through the holidays. Let's face it, we're all busy during this time of year, parties, dinners, shopping, Cookie Exchanges, Open Houses, Holiday Cheer, eating, eating, eating. This is the time that scheduling in the gym is crucial.

If you will be travelling or don't belong to a gym, no excuses!!! Tim has a great set of Travel Workout Cards, Exercise-To-Go, that you can take with you when you are away from your gym. This is my first GIVEAWAY and it's a good one!!!

Leave a comment bellow and let me know how you plan to balance your Holiday Eating and Fitness. On December 1st, I will randomly choose a winner.

I will be trying my best to get to the gym at least 5 times a week with the Resistance Workout included, at least 2 times per week. So, when I'm not doing cardio for at least 30 minutes, I will be doing the following 3 part workout.

My pictures are not the greatest, so please excuse me. Actually, I was doing a REAL workout, then when I took a break, I would snap a picture of Tim doing the exercise properly, so I cold remember. Tough workout for me, since I have been focusing on cardio the last few weeks and just a tiny bit of resistance training.

Great to have friends like this!

THE WORKOUT

Part I: 3 sets each

1. Cable Step Chest Press/ 65#/ 30 sec.

2. Cable Squat Row/ 80#/ 30 sec.

3. BOSU Up & Over with shoulder Press/ 5#/ 30 sec.

Part II: 3 sets each

1. Cable Fly on Front Foot/ 35#

2. Cable 1 Arm Wide Row w/ Rotation (Palm Down)/ 80#

3. BOSU Deep Squat

Part III: 3 sets each

1. Dumbbell Lateral Lunge Lateral Raise/ 5#/ 15 each

2. Dumbbell Squat Biceps/ 10#/ 15 each

3. Triceps Push up

OK, so I ordered this after the workout with WATER. Brie probably isn't the best choice, but I didn't know what cheese was included on my fruit & cheese plate. Anyway, I have been making my own protein bars and usually have almonds in my gym bags.

Good luck staying on your Fitness Plan. I'd love to hear what you are doing to stay on track during the holidays.

Rainy Days and Monday

Ah Mondays. Check email, boil water for tea and coffee in the French press, charge cellphone, make tea and coffee, eat breakfast (2 eggs), brush teeth, get dressed, go to the gym...phew!

Met a friend at the gym today. My friend is a cardio junkie, self proclaimed, so burning 600 calories today shouldn't be a problem. I did a little elliptical, then the rowing machine, then some arm and ab stuff, hit the bike (lame, I know), military press with the kettle bell, Russian twists with the 8# medicine ball...almost done, more crunches on the bosu, S-T-R-E-T-C-H...done.

Sadly, the steam room is undergoing some maintenance, so no steam today. OK, really DONE. I checked my heart rate monitor, burned 660 calories. I feel good about today. I brought some almonds and a banana (ate half) AND drank a lot of water.

Went to lunch, I'll tell you about that place in a later post. Asian food, kept it healthy.

Dinner for my family, hmmm. It's Fall and raining on and off, so comfort food is in order. Tonight I googled pasta, spinach, and ground beef and this is what I came up with - Beef Florentine. I love the last minute google dinner. I usually have luck with the recipes on AllRecipe.com so to the kitchen I went. Pretty easy to follow recipe and all I did was added garlic bread and red wine.

Beef Florentine
from Allrecipes.com

OK, just ok. I probably won't make this again. Nothing was wrong with it, I added a couple more cloves of garlic and red pepper flakes. I used frozen diced tomatoes from my friend's garden instead of the canned tomato sauce in the recipe. Oh, I also steamed my own spinach and used colby-jack cheese instead.

Ingredients:
2 cups medium egg noodles
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 (8 ounce) cans tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped
spinach, thawed and drained
1 (8 ounce) container cottage cheese
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
Directions:
1.
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta, and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
2.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
3.
In a skillet over medium heat, brown the ground beef until evenly brown; drain excess fat. Season with oregano, salt and pepper. Stir in tomato sauce and water. Remove from heat, and stir in cooked noodles.
4.
In a medium bowl, combine spinach, cottage cheese, onion, and Parmesan cheese. Spread half of noodle mixture in a large casserole dish. Layer with all of spinach mixture, then cover with remaining noodle mixture.
5.
Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Cover with mozzarella, and continue cooking 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2009 Allrecipes.com

Food and FITNESS Fascination

OK, I need to get serious about my fitness plan before the holidays get here. I've been keeping with the cardio part of my exercise plan, but have let the resistance training go a bit. Ugh! I'll be drinking 90 oz. of water daily, cutting down on some stuff in my diet, nothing major, sugar and white stuff, no carbs after 3 pm...blah, blah, the usual. I will still have some treats!I am meeting a friend to work out tomorrow, then a healthy lunch. We're working out at 9:30 a.m. and not lunching until 1:30 p.m. I made some energy bars to hold us over.

Energy Bars: chocolate chip peanut butter
1 cup leftover oatmeal
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup peanut butter
1 lg egg
75 grams Chocolate Protein Powder*
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line an 8"x8" square baking pan with parchment and non-stick spray.
Mix all of the ingredients together.
Spread in the pan. Bake 30 minutes.
Cool completely and then cut into squares.
*I used Chocolate Muscle Milk Light


Here's My Exercise Program
I will be following a Fitness Schedule I got from an previous trainer.

Day 1 (today): Arc Trainer for 45 minutes keeping my HR above 135
Day 2: 20 minutes cardio, I do the elliptical and then Resistance Training
Day 3: Elliptical for 35 minutes and Rowing for 10 - 15 minutes
Day 4: 20 minutes cardio and then Resistance Training
Day 5: Yoga or other Meditation ~ every day if possible
Day 6: 45 minutes cardio, anything, just keep moving
Day 7: Rest, Do something FUN!!!

Thursday...Royal Pains

New favorite show - Royal Pains, however, I don't know how many seasons it can last. Catering and event this weekend, so busy, busy getting everything ready.

(B) 1/2 chicken breast, water
(S) sugar-free hard candy, water
(L) 2 oysters, mozzarella stick, water
(S) cashews, water
(D) beef brochette, Caesar salad, red wine, water, sugar-free hard candy

Workout: 20 minutes step mill

Yikes, I should eat more veggies. I am still shying away from carbs. I know I can have them, but I REALLY want to lose weight. John & I went to Ruth Chris for dinner. The Beef Brochette appetizer and Caesar salad worked well for me. I didn't touch John's Prime Rib slider or FRITES.

Surprisingly, I didn't really want the frites, or the famous Ruth Chris bread pudding. Hmmm, change is good!

Wednesday, Wednesday

I must admit, I am still paranoid of Phase II. I did not eat any fruit or "carb" stuff today. Sadly, I avoided healthy carbs and scrounged around and ate poorly. At least I made it to the gym.

Workout:
30 minutes Eliptical and 15 minutes Row

(B) fried egg/ "leftover" beef tostada/ water
(S) cashews/ sugarfree hard candy
(L) "leftover" beef taco without taco shell/ water
(S) sugarfree popcicle
(D) steak/ cauliflower/ water/ sugarfree creamcicle

Almost Halftime!

(B) 2 oz. steak, spinach, decaf earl grey
(S) seasoned nori, water, plum, 1/2 sugar free jelled dessert
(L) 3 meatballs, sugar free hard candy, water
(S) cashews
(D) 2 oz. steak, tomato & basil, cucumbers, water, red wine

Workout: 45 minutes Arc Trainer

A warm day, low 80's, I know I should appreciate the warmth, when the drizzly Seattle rainy days come back, I will need to double my doses of vitamin D.

"Friday" DAY 13 - Pot Roast

Drizzly day in the Northwest. Great day for the gym!

Workout: 58 minutes and 495 calories burned
Cardio: 20 minutes Arc Trainer
Resistance Training: 3x - 30 seconds each
Military Press with kettle bell (8#)/ sit-up on Bosu/ dead lift with row (25#)
Cardio: 5 minutes Row and 20 minutes cycle

Again, I know there is a second half of my resistance training that I am ignoring. I will add that in when I complete Phase I in the South Beach Diet.

My son is flying to Arizona tomorrow to both visit my cousin, his favorite relative, and visit University of Arizona. I asked him what he wanted for his pre-trip dinner and he couldn't decide. I had already planned on making Pot Roast. My son doesn't like anything with a wine taste or tomato, so I have to make my Pot Roast with beef broth as the cooking liquid. In addition, my son isn't a big fan of carrots, so I will only add onion, garlic, and celery. The Pot Roast will be served with rice.

(B) 1 egg/ tomato/ ham/ iced decaf coffee
(S) sugar-free hard candy/ water
(L) poached salmon/ broccoli/ cucumbers & tomato salad
(S) peanuts/ water
(D) sliced beef/ celery/ water

One more day and I can have bread and wine again. Well, maybe just a little bit.

DAY 11 - Sugar-Free Food

I am on WEEK 2/ Phase I and I really want a new dessert. Sugar-free popcicles and jello are fine, but I feel like I am getting a pre-school snack. I found this on Kalyn's Kitchen blog.

Jelled Ricotta Pudding
(Makes 4 servings, recipe shared by Janet Davis and tested by Kalyn.)
1 pkg sugar-free Jello, any flavor that appeals to you
(this recipe is for 4-serving size package, double it for larger box of Jello.)
1 cup boiling water
2/3 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup cold water
Put ricotta cheese into bowl and stir with fork or wisk until it's slightly softened. Have four glass dishes (slightly over 1/2 cup each) ready on counter to pour the hot Jello mixture into. Put powdered Jello from package into large glass measuring cup, pour in boiling water and wisk for 1-2 minutes, until all Jello is dissolved in the water. Stir in ricotta, then cold water and mix together. Pour into glass bowls and place in refrigerator to set. I waited about 2 hours until the mixture was partly firm, then covered it with cling wrap.
Serve cold, from individual dishes.

Here's how my day went...

(B) 2 fried eggs/ half tomato/ water

(S) iced decaf coffee

(L) OK, I had luch at Monsoon today. No problem sticking on the South Beach plan!

albacore poke with cucumber & tobiko/ Chinese mustard greens with shiitake & ginger/ 5 spice & pork spare ribs - OK, a little fatty, but I haven't cheated since day 1.

(S) sugar-free hard candy/ water/ sugar-free fudgcicle/ mozzarella stick

(D) chicken/ spinach/ mushrooms/ cucumbers & tomato/ water

I only did half of my resistance training. Still not motivated. Well, at least I went to the gym.

Cardio : 20 minutes Arc Trainer

Resistance 2x: crunches/ squats/ military presses with kettle bells

More Cardio: 10 minutes rowing/ 10 minutes treadmill

DAY 9 - VERY Mellow Monday

(B) fried DUCK egg/ sauteed spinach/ ham/ water
(S) Mocha Ricotta Creme
(L) lean hamburger patty with cheese/ water/ pickles
(S) SUGAR-FREE creamcicle/ water
(D) roast chicken/ grean beans/ fennel salad/ water/ sugar-free popsicle

I found my workout spreadsheet from last year that I will follow it for the next few weeks. I am taking a rest day today.

Not much to report. Tired today. Tomorrow, tomorrow.

DAY 8 - Plum Harvest

No bike ride. Unfortunately, I let my son take my car last night, he spent the night at his friend's house, AND our bikes are in the back. Darn! Just kidding really. It's overcast outside and we decided to sleep in and watch random Sunday tv, with the exception of "Bollywood Hero" on IFC on Demand.

(B) 2 egg scramble with spinach and feta/ decaf coffee with skim milk, splenda & cinnamon

Almost noon and we'll eventually head over to my parents' house to help harvest plums. The tree is in desperate need of pruning, many of the plums are impossible to pick because they are too far up there. I laugh to myself each year when I watch my very short, Filipino short, family try to get that one perfect plum, which is far beyond reach. In most cases, after shaking the branches, the "perfect" plum will come down AND fall to the ground, only to be watched with sadness...however, someone will brush off the dirt, it's fine.

(L) greek salad/ cauliflower/ turkey lettuce wrap
(S) peanuts

I can't have fruit until next week Phase II. I will freeze what whatever plums are left, from my share of the harvest, that John & Tyler don't eat. Apparently, my uncle has made a plum pie for all of us to eat. I will have to be very clever with my reason for not eating the pie today. I have been on SO MANY diets, if I say I am on a diet, EVERYONE will either say, "Oh, it's just a small piece", or "You don't need to diet, just don't eat too much rice". Typical of my family. Love 'em, but I'll just have to say I have a stomach problem or something.

later in the day...
Went to the gym: 37 minutes on the treadmill=297 calories
I read the bit in The South Beach Diet about exercise; 20 minutes of walking a day. Hmm. Well, that would be going backwards for me, so I am going to get my regular workout back on track.

(D) skinless chicken/ ham/ shrimp/ tomatoes/ cukes/ water

Turned out to be a sunny and warm day. I made it through dinner at my parents' house without plum pie, rice, or wine. We picked a bunch of plums, which I will be either freezing, or giving away to friends. My parents also had heirloom tomatoes and figs from their friends and tomatoes from their garden which I picked for myself. I picked a couple green tomatoes which I plan to make Fried Green tomatoes with...for John & Tyler.

(S) sugar-free popcicle

One bit of sad news. My best friends' dad, who is also a close family friend, passed away tonight. I will be sending my thoughts and prayers to her and her family.