:: 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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