:: Day 56- 2/28/09 - Summary ::

Activities: 2pm Mission Peak Hike, loaded with 15lb for our trip training.
Ascent: 1:15 Woohoo!!!
Total calories: 1459 cal, HRa 166, HRm 177


11am: Brunch with Cristina and Marc @ St Michael's Alley
We split a St Mike's omelette and a toasted almond pancake.


4pm: Party at Mission Peak summit. Mikee surprised me with a chocolate buffet! Great way to use up the chocolate we got from Europe last year that is expiring!!

7pm: Dinner at MIL's place
Ooohh lala. this was good. so good.... I devoured every single dish but stayed clear of the white rice.

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:: Meal Plan 02/28 - 03/06 ::

Mikee will be out in Japan for a good chunk of this week so I'm going light. But I'm glad to have two groups to cook for this week to get some real therapeutic kitchen time! This week I'm only trying 4 recipes, everything still from Heidi Swanson's website.


Saturday
Seared Ahi Tuna
Spring Ragout

Sunday
Chick Pea Hot Pot

Monday
Leftovers

Tuesday
Barley and Bean Salad
Lively Yourself Up Lentil Soup

Wednesday
Leftovers

Thursday
Plump Pea Dumplings
Spring Tabbouleh

Friday
Leftover Vege Soup
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:: Day 55- 2/27/09 - Summary ::

Activities: It's a surprise...and here it is!
Some variation of the prison workout... Yes, be afraid. Be very afraid.
4pm, Prison Workout, 480 cal, 40 mins
Ladder 20/2 for Burpees/Tricep extensions
Random other prison exercises...

8am: Morning blend... chard, cucumber, apple, carrot, strawberry

Random snacks for the day: No snacks, I'm fasting. Snicker... betcha didn't see this coming. heh.

Main meal @ home
Cottage cheese muffins

Chicken with rice, easy way

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:: sad cow... ::

I came across this today... It really made me sad. Cows aren't supposed to look like this. I thought they were cute but now they just look like a mutant cow. Cowverine.


I did some research and might be heading east to oakdale to pick up our very own pasture-fed humanely-treated cow.

But we will need your help since we have no space to store 350 lbs of meat. If you live in the bay area and are interested in sharing some of our beef, please comment and let me know. Prices will come up to be cheaper or the same as your neighborhood grocery store (safeway) but you will be getting alot more for the same price. It'd be good to see if this endeavor can actually take off, it might be nice to do this regularly.
p.s. this video talk by Mark Bittman is particularly entertaining and informative.
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:: Day 54- 2/26/09 - Summary ::

Activities: Hmm... not reporting just yet because I don't want my body to suspect anything. Sshhh
HAH! Bet you didn't see this coming!!! I don't usually workout on Thursdays and I never run at 12pm!!! Got you, didn't i???
12pm outdoor shoreline run, 378 cal burnt, HRa 169 HRm 179

8am: Breakfast blend... chard, celery, carrot, apple, strawberry, banana


Random snacks: 1 carrot, 1 strawberry, 1/3 banana, 8 almonds, 3 apricots


2pm: Got suckered into a farewell party at work and had a homemade cupcake. HAH!! Bet you didn't see this coming either!!! LOL!


BYOD @ Derek's
Mushroom Brown Rice Casserole and maybe spicy polenta crackers!

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:: glorious day ::

Here are 2 things I have been doing differently:

a. Shock the body and
b. get back on supplements.

And yes, the body is finally responding!! woohoo!!!

Thank you so much Kaela and Kristin!!!
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:: Day 53- 2/25/09 - Summary ::

Activities:I haven't worked out two days in a row and today i'm doing double workouts! Didn't see that coming huh?? It's time to shock the body!! 715 cal total.
7am: Kettlebells, 40 mins, 359 cal, HRa 141, HRm 161
{2hand swings, 2 mins
bottoms up squats, 1 min
2 hand swings, 2 mins
Push-ups, 1 min
2 hand swings, 2 mins
Weighted ab raises, 1 min
Snatches (12kg), 1 min}
10 mins x 4 sets = 40 mins

5pm: Ladder interval, 30 mins, 356 cal burnt, HRa 166 HRm 173

8am: Regular morning blend

Random snacks: 1 Carrots, 1 apple, 1/4 cucumber, 1/4 banana

Dinner: Leftovers + Lazy Day Peanut Noodle Salad


p.s. I need a big backyard so i can have my own laying hens...
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:: Day 52 - 2/24/09 ::

It's Day 52 of the weight loss plateau. Still hovering on the 159ish. Got an e-mail from a friend who knows a thing or two regarding this dreaded wall, she said, "Yes, your body is definitely fighting back! Your metabolism may be slowing down or something's clogging up your system as you dump excess amount of toxins as you lose weight." I hope to get more yummy advice from her!

Activities:
Will try to do the kettlebells today with the 16kg.
Oops that didn't happen!

Breakfast: The usual blend.

Snacks for the day
Yawn. The usual.


Dinner for 6 is not an easy feat. That's why I make dinner at 6am. :P
Barley Mushroom Soup (Peter Berley) - 206 cal per serving

Thought we would have some hungry boys so I made a vege casserole as well (peas, spinach and zucchini baked in a light cheese sauce, on top of barley and brown rice inspired by Food Renegade's Gouda Vege Medley)

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:: Day 51 - 2/23/09 ::

Activites: I have a 5pm meeting today so hopefully I will be able to make it out for a lunchtime run. Yeah that didn't happen...

Breakfast: Usual morning blend of 1 apple, 1 carrot, chard/kale, frozen blueberries, 1/3 banana (141 cal)

Random snacks for the day:1 carrot, 1/4 cucumber,1/4 banana, 1 apple, 8 almonds, 3 pieces of dried turkish apricots (229 cal)


Main meal @ home (Allowance: 1,236 cal)
Cashew Curry Recipe served on millet polenta (It wasn't delicious but that's probably because I didnt have two of the key ingredients: sri lankan curry powder and coconut milk. I did my best to improvise but I doubt it even came close)


p.s. I sliced open my finger/fingernail yesterday so Mikee will be doing most of the cooking the next couple of days. :)

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:: Day 50 - 2/22/09 ::

Activities: The rain has rained on my parade. No mission peak summit attempt this week. The good news is the rain bought me some time to head to REI to get properly fitted for hiking shoes for our upcoming trip to Chile. I've decided to try the Asolo Stynger GTX light hikers, largely because its on sale!! Hopefully it's a good fit otherwise thank God for REI's great return policy.

4pm Treadmill Simulated Mission Peak Ascent, 2.3 miles (oops, really should've been 2.8 mi), Incline 15, 519 cal, HRa 163 HRm 173

Morning: a sliver of our banana bread, fruit and vege blend. Ready somewhere that the ratio of veg to fruit should be 2:1. But is carrot a fruit?

Random snacks: another sliver of banana bread, 1.5 apples, 4 almonds

Main meal @ home
Broiled lamb chops (They were on sale at whole foods, i could not resist!) This recipe is so easy it will surprise you. The chops were marinated just before broiling and the broiling process only took 20 minutes.
Millet Polenta (Mark Bittman)

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