RealCdn - NROL4W Training Log

[realcdn]

It was a gorgeous day outside again so I spent a good portion of it outside. No, not sitting on the patio reading/listening to my audiobook. I think that's the biggest difference I see in myself this summer. I'm more willing to move around, to do more around the yard. Even other summers when I would plant a lot of pots I didn't even take the time to keep them at their best. Yes, some of it is time related, however, I was home last summer and the one before I didn't leave for work until 3pm in the afternoon.

So looking at the weather forecast I've decided to take my rest/maintenance week this coming week. Although the wrist is not perfect it's really not the issue. I've just been having so much fun playing in the garden that I thought I'd keep going and enjoy the weather. So between my stats from June, and wearing the HR monitor all of yesterday and most of today, I'm reasonably convinced that my maintenance level is around 3000 cals a day (possibly higher). That's without any scheduled exercise. It does include some general gardening and my daily swim though. So for the next week I will attempt to eat at maintenance levels (or even slightly above). Yikes! I'm aiming for 3000 but will consider 2900 - 3200 acceptable. I'm not worrying too much about the protein levels but I will probably still try and keep them above 30%.

I know the concept of taking a break means not planning and eating until satisfied, or even a little full. With the best will in the world I suspect if I tried this I'd either go massively over, or horribly under. So I will pretty much plan what I'm going to eat. Maybe the next time I do this (every 12 weeks) I can manage to let go a little. This time though I have to plan.

I was out shopping tonight for a few things (going to bake tomorrow) so I picked up some chicken bacon (? not so sure about this), some flat bread I usually buy for company, and a cheese ball (nice one, made without cream cheese). This should allow me to add to my usual foods without too much trouble. Oh yes, and there will be a happy hour too! Probably not more than one drink though (something I already do once in a while anyway). I did not buy ice cream or candy or chips. I know I do not have enough willpower to avoid scarfing them all down in one shot. I'll also get the two lamb rib racks out of the freezer and will see what I can do with them later in the week. Oh yes, and a dinner out at the British pub fare place (that has no really good choices).

And I will not freak out if/when I gain weight from the changes. It's only a week and I know that back to my usual routine in the following week I will be able to drop anything that I've gained. Feel free to remind me of this statement if I start whining mid-week.

Oh yes - the raspberries from today's afternoon snack were from the garden (first of the year). The green peas are pod peas which I love eating raw (split the pod and scoop 'em out.

Food for the day:

Total: 2134 (30% fat, 34% carbs, 34% protein)

Breakfast: cracked wheat oatmeal bread, peanut butter, jam, grapefruit (341)
AM Snack: almonds (164)
Lunch: whole wheat tortillas, smoked turkey, mustard, cheese, apple (497)
PM Snack: soy nuts, protein shake, green peas, raspberries (305)
Dinner: balsamic pork tenderloin, broccoli, butter, salad w/dressing (504)
Late Snack: cherries, protein shake (323)

[poodle984]

Hi! I just started reading through your log, and I just wanted to give you mad props. Its nice to know that I'm not the only person on here who has more than say a six month journey to make :-) keep up the good work!

[realcdn]

Thanks

I saw that you've joined the challenge as well. Now you'll need to start a log. In for a penny in for a pound, right?

[realcdn]

Okay, forgive the food porn, but I just had to share. Oh my goodness, this turned out so well. This originally was meant to be a 9x13 cake, but I cut the recipe in half, lightened it up and made it in an 8x8 glass dish. So this piece pictured is 1/16 of the recipe. Oh, did I mention that it's only 116 calories and tastes fabulous? That's down from 181 calories that the original would have been. I took pieces to one of the neighbours and got back rave reviews. So I decided I should share.



A Recipe for Weight Loss: Chocolate Zucchini Cake

The interesting point is that between the two pieces I've given away (my mother is off delivering the 2nd one) there are only 7 servings of it left. That was to some extent the plan.

[foodfromafar]

Yummy cake!!!!

[L'ilJ]

That cake looks delicious! I may have to try the recipe this week. I'm always trying to get my son to eat veggies (he'll be 4 in a few weeks) and it's just impossible. I don't want to FORCE them on him so I may have to sneak them into things like cakes and such. Right now I add frozen broccoli to his smoothies and he's none the wiser.

Enjoy your rest/maintenance week!

[realcdn]

Originally Posted by foodfromafar

Yummy cake!!!!

Yes, yummy enough that I'm planning on getting rid of most of the rest of it already.

Originally Posted by L'ilJ

That cake looks delicious! I may have to try the recipe this week. I'm always trying to get my son to eat veggies (he'll be 4 in a few weeks) and it's just impossible. I don't want to FORCE them on him so I may have to sneak them into things like cakes and such. Right now I add frozen broccoli to his smoothies and he's none the wiser.

Enjoy your rest/maintenance week!

I don't think he'd even guess that there were veggies in this cake. I've given it to people before (the fuller fat version) and nobody ever thinks of it having vegetables in it. The zucchini is what keeps it moist. I think if I was just making it for myself I'd leave the chocolate chips off the top and just treat it like a cake brownie. For me that would take a serving under 100 cals. Although I suspect at 4 he'd probably like the chocolate chip icing.

[realcdn]

Okay, so I'm started on my first day of trying to eat maintenance (or even above). I figured that rather than try and sum it all up at the end of the day that I would open Notepad and ramble a little as I go. Then I'll post it in the evening. Or if it gets too long I might post it later in the day. Don't worry, I don't intend to do this every day!

So last night I did a stock up on a few added extras (but nothing really dangerous). One of the things I was looking for was a breakfast meat to perhaps add to my eggs. I miss bacon, but at 190cals for two slices it's something I just decided to stay away from. So I went last night specifically thinking about bacon. The regular bacon was what I should have bought but I thought it was probably too big a package to get through in a week. I don't plan to have eggs every morning. So the store I was in didn't have turkey bacon, but it did have chicken bacon - and there was a coupon.

Should have bought the real bacon and tossed it/froze it at the end of the week. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't bad, but the instructions tell you to put a tsp of oil into the pan to cook it in. So 90 cals plus 40 cals... and I'm only 40 cals shy of real bacon? Okay, so I know it's less saturated fat, but still. The next day I'll try it just plain in the non-stick pan. This morning I gave the pan a 2 sec spray of canola oil spray (20 cals) and it turned out okay. I suspect it would be wonderful in a BLT sandwich or something like that. It wasn't too bad with the eggs. However, there wasn't enough fat left to fry the eggs so I added my usual tsp of butter. Hmmm... 90 + 20 + 34 = 144. If I'd used two slices of bacon I could have just fried the eggs in the bacon fat... yum. Oh well, lesson learned.

I managed to get rid of the retained water I've been keeping pretty much all week, so I'm feeling good this morning. Slept in an hour (hey it's Sunday) but now I think I'll head for the garden and work off a little of my breakfast. I'm going to play with my zucchini cake recipe as well but my mother had a 'no sleep' night so she's back in bed. I can leave the baking until the afternoon if I have to.

So, I'm back, although running late. I think that has more to do with sleeping in and not moving so fast in the morning. I managed to work in my morning snacks at three different times. One of them was the planned chocolate cake that I made, and it was so good. I ended up cutting it into smaller pieces which was a good thing. The zucchini I'd estimated was way off (which I figured it was). And I'd forgotten about the spray for the dish. No matter though as a small piece was still only 116 calories. And if I'd cut it into 12 pieces it still wouldn't be a bad choice. I've had feedback from two other people (third one later) and nobody could tell that I'd lightened up on the sugar and pretty much removed the fat. Yay me!

Of course now it's almost 3:30 and I finished my lunch about 3pm. I really notice a difference in habits. I know I'm supposed to let my hunger guide me, but I'm not hungry in the least so I'm sticking to the plan. I could still probably eat more of the cake (but I won't). I might even work on getting rid of the last section after my mother comes back. She's down the street with a double portion I cut for one of the neighbours. I'm thinking of cutting off her piece and giving the rest away. I really just wanted to see if this could be made as a party dessert (which it most definitely could).

Anyway... back outside to check on the plants. I'm also thinking about a swim when my mother gets back. Then it's a drink and snacks on the patio before dinner. Although I seem to be running out of time today.

[SpacecityPaula]

WOOT that looks absolutely delish Anne. Will definitely have to try it later this month for my birthday!

[Bytsi]

Cake? For me?!?!?

[realcdn]

Originally Posted by SpacecityPaula

WOOT that looks absolutely delish Anne. Will definitely have to try it later this month for my birthday!

Originally Posted by Bytsi

Cake? For me?!?!?

It's funny you both mentioned that but technically it will be a birthday cake for one of the women coming. It's not a birthday party, but we'll likely use it as an excuse for cake.

Oh, and it gets better. I was playing around with the numbers in FitDay later and realised I had messed something up. So it's actually only 106 calories per serving. Okay, I suspect that 1/12 becomes a much more likely sized piece now... so that's 141 calories.

[SpacecityPaula]

Still looks delish Anne

[realcdn]

It feels like it has been a long day, although I don't think it is. Pretty much every meal was later than usual. It's not really a complaint, but I realised how much I'm used to the routine with the exercising. It kind of keeps me on a tighter schedule. ie. I have to do X because if I don't I won't have time to do Y. Not that any of that would usually apply on a Sunday, since it's usually a rest day anyway.

Ah well, tomorrow I'll try and get up and moving a little earlier. I still have my menu to plan for tomorrow although I think it's likely going to be a chili night. A nice fuss free meal. The rest of the day involved a very nice swim, drinks on the patio and dinner on it as well tonight. It was just perfect weather for it - not too hot, not too cold. I'll just take a few more minutes and try and rough out tomorrow's menu before I head to bed. I did that for today, making adjustments when needed. Although I really didn't change much, really just the normal adjustments. Yep, definitely not good about just going with the flow.

Oh, and all the cake is gone. I had a piece, my mother had a piece, and I foisted the rest of it off on three different neighbours. Next time I make it I'll cut pieces and freeze it, but today it just seemed like a better idea to get rid of it. When I do freeze it I'll make a point to put it out in the freezer in the garage, in the back!

So day 1 was a success. I did manage to get the calories over 3000, but just barely. I'd really like to do it without filling in with protein shakes but I really find that I'm used to doing it. Maybe tomorrow I'll do one with fruit so it feels more decadent. At night though I kind of like it as an end to the day. I did notice that in the morning I ended up splitting the snack into three mini-snacks, although this is something I tend to do a lot.

Food for the day:

Total: 3008 (33% fat, 30% carbs, 33% protein)

Breakfast: chicken bacon, two fried eggs, cracked wheat oatmeal bread, grapefruit (552)
AM Snack: almonds, protein shake, chocolate zucchini bread (405)
Lunch: quesadilla made with whole wheat tortillas/cheese, salsa, green peas, apple (489)
PM Snack: protein shake, red pepper hummus, cheese ball, flat bread crisps, carrots, celery, pisco sour (489)
Dinner: sirloin steak, asparagus, mushrooms, butter, salad w/dressing (753)
Late Snack: cherries, protein shake (323)

[Celestialmom]

Hi Anne,
Just checking in--your progress and workouts look great as always, but no fair on the food porn! Hope your rest week goes well and your caloric "experiment" is useful. Celeste