:: Day 19-21 - Tahoe ::

I'll be in Tahoe this weekend and will be hiking Mt Tallac . In my opinion, one of the BEST hikes in northern california. I hope to burn thousands of calories but yes, I'll continue to monitor my diet (except for the carbo loading meal tonight)! It'd also be nice to get a kb workout while i'm in the woods, by the lake etc. We'll see if DW lets me take belle on the trip. I'd be happy to pay more for gas for her passage.


See you guys on Day 22 - Week 3 weigh-in. :)
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:: of cancer ::

apparently, I am on my way to not getting cancer! woohoo!

1. Get some exercise, Check. (Women who exercise for 2-3 hours a week can lower their risk of breast cancer by 20-30 percent.)
2. Stop after one drink. Er, let me think, Check. (Definitely not a problem)
3. Pile on the fruits and veggies, Check. (People with the highest intake of f/v are powerhouses of antioxidants, minderals and nutrients that keep cells healthy.)
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:: Day 18 - Summary ::

Workout:
- 6am: 53 mins kb, 588 cal, HRa 156 HRm 177
1. 30s 16 lb swing, 26 lb swing, 30s rest {20 mins}
2. 30s 16 lb RH swin, 30s 16 lb LH swing, 30s rest {20 mins}
3. Snatches 10R/10L, 12R/12L, 15R/15L, 12R/12L, 10R/10L {13 mins}
I read tosp's blog, a fellow kb-er, about how she did snatches until she felt her arm was going to fall off. I've never felt that before, so I clearly have not worked hard enough and that was my goal today. I succeeded... my arms and hands are still kinda shaking 30 minutes after my workout. I worked hard!!!

Pre-workout:
a bite of banana

Breakfast: 300 cal
2 egg whites, soft boiled 120 cal
2 flaxseed toasts 100 cal
1/2 cup smoothie 80 cal


Mid-morning snack: 110 cal
1 banana 110 cal

Lunch: 370 cal
5 oz wild atlantic salmon dry cooked 256 cal
150g mashed carrots, salted 57 cal
1/2 apricot 29 cal


Snack: 120 cal
1 kashi granola bar 120 cal

Dinner: BBQ at MIL's. Uh oh. I've requested her special eggplant recipe to keep me full and keep me away from the delicious steak she's preparing.
I'm not sure how many calories i assumed but i'm guessing it's in the 600 range. Tmrw, I plan to kick ass at another kb workout.

Total caloric intake: 880 cal + dinner
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:: the first victory dress ::

Every girl needs a little sumthin sumthin... what i call a victory dress. Or victory jeans. I have a victory dress lined up that i hope to wear in 1.5 weeks at cousin debbie's wedding. I saw it some months ago, on sale, a beautiful lavender dress from anthropologie, except it was too small for me. Bought it anyways, can't say no to $29.95. Over the past couple of weeks, the zipper has been going higher and higher. Very soon, I'll be able to fit into it.

The same happened with a pair of lucky jeans I bought a year ago that i couldnt even get past my hips. But it was only $19.95!!! That's my next victory milestone. :) And then comes the college clothes! (Which I've secretly horded on to in the hope I will be that slim again)

Every girl needs a victory outfit.
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:: Day 17 - Summary ::

Workout:
- 6am: 60 mins bootcamp, 643 cal, HRa 150 HRm 178

Pre-workout: 80 cal
1/2 cup of smoothie

Breakfast: 247 cal
2 egg whites, soft boiled 120 cal
2 flaxseed toasts 100 cal
56 g blueberries, 27 cal


Mid-morning snack: 110 cal
1 banana 110 cal

Lunch: 219 cal
3 oz turkey tenderlion 102 cal
truckload of bok choy, prepared MIL style 100 cal
55 g blueberries, 27 cal

Note to self: Need to eat oatmeal at breakfast, hungry at 1130am!

Snack: 120 cal
1 kashi granola bar 120 cal

Dinner: 390 cal
4 oz wild salmon, non-stick 200 cal
2 slices flaxseed bread 100 cal
salad 20 cal
1/2 skinny cow, 70 cal


Total calorie intake: 1,116 cal
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:: back in the game!!! ::

This is the scoreboard for this week. I'm on the scoreboard!!! Not bad for having 1 week less than everyone else!!

This week’s Big Losers:
1st: Jan
2nd: Tied between Mark and ME!
Honorable mention: Jenny

Overall Big Losers**:
1st: Jenny
2nd: Mark
3rd: Jan
Honorable mention: ME!
* Names have been changed for confidentiality reasons.
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:: Day 16 - Summary ::

Workout @ 6am (523 cal burnt)
- 25 mins run, 2 miles, 307 cal burnt, HRa 164 HRm 176
(I shaved off a minute from my last 2 mile run!!! yay!!!)
- 20 mins quickie kb, 216 cal burnt, HRa 160, HRm 174
miscellaneous swings, snatches 10R/10L, 15R/15L, 15R/15L, 10R/10L, misc swings

Pre-workout: 1/2 cup smoothie 80 cal

Breakfast: 280 cal
2 egg white soft boiled, yolks removed 120
2 flaxseed toasts 100
1 tsp bovril 10
1/4 cup soy milk 25
12 grapes 25


Mid-morning snack: 30 cal
15 grapes 30 cal

Lunch: 250 cal
4 oz turkey tenderloin, grilled 118 cal
chinese vegetables 50 cal
Chocolate pudding 90 cal

Apparently, the size of our stomachs are the size of our fists. Judging from this photo, the size of my lunch is bigger than my fist! But at least most of it are veges. :)

Afternoon snack: 120 cal
1 kashi granola bar

Dinner: ==CHALLENGE!== We're eating out with some friends at my favorite chinese restaurant. Discipline and restraint must be exercised. [update] I'm proud of myself in that i only ate 1 round tablespoon of rice. But, I did OD on tofu stew and fish. I think I _might_ have kept it under 800. More bells tonight?

Total caloric intake: 760 cal + dinner
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:: Week 2 weigh-in ::

I'll be honest, I so did not want to weigh in today. It gets discouraging week after week not seeing your name on the scoreboard. I know that I'm doing the right thing for my body and my own personal goals but i still cant help but feel demotivated... Anyways, i weighed in at 194 lbs. Not bad for 2 weeks. Not much fluctuation in the last few days but I do feel alot stronger.
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:: accuracy or precision? ::

Last christmas, my sister-in-law's family gave us a kitchen scale as part of our christmas gifts. The intention originally was so that we could measure stuff for baking. Especially since some of the recipes are in the metric system.

Now, I can use it to calculate the weight of everything I am eating. Argh - i AM a calorie nazi now! The good news is that I'm usually under-caloried so I dont have to be too worried about the scale. Am I being accurate or precise? My husband says accurate. I say, I'm just being anal. :)
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:: Day 15 - Summary ::

Workout: 60 mins bootcamp, 567 cal burnt, HRa 142 HRm 174
The cals burnt today are on the low side. Not unexpected since we did mostly ab work and some sprints. I do feel my cardio improving though and recovery is much better these days.

Pre-workout:
1 bite of banana. I was running late!

Breakfast: 260 cal
2 egg whites with yolk removed, soft-boiled 120 cal
2 flaxseed toasts 100 cal
1 tsp bovril 10 cal
15 grapes 30 cal


Mid-morning snack: 110 cal
rest of banana

Lunch: 360 cal
4 oz wild atlantic salmon 200 cal
1 minieggplant 20 cal
Boiled chinese vegetables 50 cal
sugar free chocolate pudding 90 cal


Mid-afternoon snack: 120 cal
1 kashi bar

Dinner: 460 cal
4 oz wild atlantic salmon 200 cal
boiled chinese vegetables 50 cal
3 mini slices of turkey tenderloin 60 cal
15 pieces of asparagus 30 cal
1 tbsp fried rice 50 cal
1/2 skinny cow 70 cal

Total calorie intake: 1310 cal
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:: healthiest chinese dish ever ::

When my mother-in-law found out about my healthy lifestyle initiative, she made this dish for me. This recipe totally agrees with my diet! Not only are eggplants packed with nutrition, they are also low in calories and can be deliciously dressed up in this easy-to-make number. I watched my mother-in-law make it yesterday and could not believe how easy, and tasty it was! I had to share this!



Mother-in-law's Steamed Eggplant Deliciousness

- 6 mini-eggplants (The long and slim ones, 1" diameter), halved length-wise
- garlic, minced
- ginger, minced
- green onion, minced
- soy sauce
- pinch of sugar
- sesame oil
- vinegar (I used white wine vinegar)
- 2 tbsp water
Calories per serving: 80 cal
Serving: 2

1. Steam the eggplants, skin facing down for 15 minutes until soft and squishy.
2. Mix all the other ingredients together in a small bowl. I don't have exact amounts so you'll just have to play by ear. :)
3. Remove from steamer and mix with condiments in another bowl
4. Serve rightaway or chill for a couple of hours and then serve. The longer you chill, the more the eggplants are infused with flava! It's total DELICIOUSNESS and so low in calories!!! Each mini eggplant (about 75g) is only 20+ cal!
WARNING: Garlic breath is inevitable.
Variation 1: Do the same thing with any asian vegetable!
Variation 2: Same thing with silken tofu, but does not marry too well with ginger/garlic combo.
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:: if you snatch, they will come ::

yes, the blisters are here. After 80+ snatches today, those darn things appeared. Joe was right, I may need gloves. But I really want to tough it out because I like the tactile feedback I get from direct contact with Belle. I may have to remove my wedding band though, it's pretty banged up because of all the friction with Belle.

I'm still gonna work those snatches - it's been the only thing that's gotten my heart rate >180 so far. You know the feeling you get when you hit a real good return in tennis? I get that feeling everytime I nail a snatch and it feels _awesome_. Woohoo! :)

Here's a pic of what the finish position of the snatch looks like. I felt like a model today in the gym- my husband came into the exercise room and started snapping pictures! At one point, he actually distracted me during a rep. But I didn't chase that rep. Like Joe said, never chase a bad rep. When I'm doing a transfer, I am reminded of the guys on the trapeze. It's all about physics really.
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:: Day 14 - Summary ::

Activities:
The husband wanted to workout at the 24hour today, so i tagged along. And the best part was, I could just bring my kb with me! I am going to name my kb "belle". :) I did my longest kb workout ever, I'm not sure exactly what I did in terms of moves, but I did know I completed at least 80 snatches :) woohoo!
- 61 mins kb: 61 mins 749 cal HRa 165 HRm 182

Breakfast: 305 cal
2 softboiled eggs with 1 yolk 140
2 flaxseed toasts 100 cal
1 tsp bovril 10 cal
1/2 banana 55 cal


Mid-morning snack: 120 cal
1 kashi chewy bar

Lunch: 300 cal
small piece of wild salmon
steamed eggplants
stirfry vegetables, bokchoy


Mid-afternoon snack: 55 cal
1/2 banana

Dinner: 380 cal
- steamed mini eggplants 60 cal
- steamed bok choy 30 cal
- bowl of chicken oats with flaxseed and egg 200 cal
- chocolate pudding sugar free 90 cal


Snack: 70 cal
- 1 flaxseed toast with ovalmaltine spread

Total calorie intake: 1,230
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:: scale obsession ::

I need to stop looking at my scale ... the weight fluctuates too much for it to give me any meaningful data. I'm also trying to fight the disappointment that the weight loss is not happening as quickly as I would like. argh.

Just to give you a little bit of insight into me, I work for the "man" in a 9-to-5 job as a researcher. On the side, I enjoy designing wedding photobooks and invitations. My specialty is in creating maps + directions! Here's a sample of my latest work:
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