Category Archives: no sugar day

Going no sugar today

What day is it? I am having one of those weeks where I can’t remember what day it is! I did wake up to lift this morning.

I had to defrost and scrape the car windshield, too. All because I didn’t want to back the car into the garage last night. I should show you a picture of it some time. You have to get it just right going in at an angle because of our back porch. Get it wrong and you will hit the pole on one side (done that) or the edge of the porch (also done that).  It’s truly annoying and even worse when we get the big piles of snow from shoveling.  But I digress…

Had a good workout today.  The gym was warmer than usual, so I sweated a lot.  Ewwww.

Exercise Set/rep/weight Muscle worked
YTWL 3 sets of 4 with 8# DBs Shoulders
Stationary Lunge 3 sets of 10 with 35# plate Lower body
Dumbbell Pull Over 3 sets of 10 with 25# DB Back
Trunk Twists 3 sets of 30 with wooden bar (it really weighs nothing) Core
Barbell Chest Press 3 sets of 10 with 55# bar Chest
Triceps Press 3 sets of 10 with 10# DBs  (20# total) Triceps
Single-leg straight leg deadlift 3 sets of 10 with 15# DBs (30# total) Hammies and balance
Lower Back Extension 3 sets of 10 at 80# Low back

I finished out the workout with 1.5 miles of walking on the treadmill. I had a weird urge to jog as well, but have I not learned my lesson?  🙄

I came home to a 1-minute waffle (that takes 5).

I was shooting for a no-added sugar day.  I have had sugar issues since this weekend.  John sends homemade goodies to his family for Christmas.  That meant the cooking weekend, which included 3 kinds of fudge and sugared pecans (my big weakness).  There was some left over and I proceeded to eat a lot of it.  I am not like other people who say “I had a couple pieces and it was too rich for me.”

I can really pack it away to this day.  It’s one of the things that scares me.  I can eat a lot of food and not be stuffed.  That’s how I know that I could go back up to 250 pounds.  It would probably be pretty easy if I allowed myself. But that isn’t going to happen. Gotta tough love myself this time.

For lunch, I had more of the meatless balls from yesterday’s post.  I split open a coconut flour biscuit, toasted it and spread it with laughing cow.  Topped with hot sauce.

A good amount of hot sauce!  It kind of looks like a weird version of Eggs Benedict.  Good, though.

I made lattes today, but the steamer wand doesn’t seem to want to work right on my new machine. Boooo….  The milk is hot, but no foam.

I have to call the company now and see what to do.  🙁

Work was busy for both of us today. Always a good thing, but it does make one tired.

We wanted a no-think dinner tonight.  So, John cooked up popcorn fish for us.  Guess who had hot sauce with another meal!  That would be me  😀

I haven’t bought pears in a couple weeks, so it was nice to have one again. My food was dangerously close to touching, though.  I don’t mind the broccoli touching the shrimp, but it must not touch the fruit!  We all have our weird food habits, right??

I am going to make it without sugar today.  I have these for later:

Now it is time to ride the bike trainer for a bit and then relax! Tomorrow is a busy day.

No-sugar day during cookie time?

Happy Monday to all! Festive holiday week coming up. It was cold at my gym again today. Not liking that at all.

Exercise Set/rep/weight Muscle worked
Barbell Squats 1 set of 10 at 55#
1 set of 8 at 70#

1 set of 8 at 80#

1 set of 6 at 90#

1 set of 6 at 100# !!!!

 Lower body
Dumbbell Pull Over 3 sets of 10 with 30# DB Back
Reverse Lunge with Forward Reach 3 sets of 10 with 12# DBs (24# total) Full Body
Captain’s Chair 3 sets of 10 Core
Close Grip Chest Press 3 sets of 12 with 45# bar Chest
Low Back Extension 3 sets of 10 at 100# Low back
Triceps Kickback 3 sets of 12 with 15# DBs (30# total) Triceps
Upright Row 3 sets of 10 with 30# bar Shoulders

I did a bit of treadmill walking afterward (and did that for warm up as well). I rocked the squats today! I think it was because I took a rest day yesterday. I hit the 6 reps at 100# pretty easily. I love having a strong lower body.  When I am in just the right position (meaning loose skin out of the way), I can see the indent of my quad muscles in my thighs.

Attempt at a no-added sugar day today.  Why I do this when cookies and fudge are in the house is beyond me, but I figured I wanted to get this challenge day out of the way as early as possible!

I had protein pancakes with blueberries for brekkie.  My pancakes stuck to the pan.  Shoulda made waffles…

Regarding the Woman’s Day article – I believe it is only online and not in print, so you will have to read it here. Please bookmark and refer to it often 😉

Lunch time!  I realized that I haven’t had eggs for a meal in a while – so I remedied that.

Lots of hot sauce.  I don’t worry too much about the sodium in the hot sauce, as I use it in place of salt in cooking.   This was also a tiny kiwi.  It’s from the US and smaller than the New Zealand ones.  Aren’t things normally bigger in the US?

Fran made a comment that made me laugh yesterday.  She said basically she couldn’t believe how much baking we do here (in the US) for Christmas.  I imagine she doesn’t even fully grasp the scope of the amount of baking that goes on. Such as these:

Platoons of cookies, tons of breads, all the treats out in restaurants and coffee shops.  It’s all an excuse to eat, eat, eat, and stuff our faces.   Like we in America really need much prodding to do that…

I like to have and bake cookies at this time of year because I don’t often do it the rest of the year.  I love homemade goodies.  I have decided that eating cookies like Oreos or Chips Ahoy just aren’t worth it taste-wise to me.  What I really need to experiment with this year coming up is small batch baking to make only 4 cookies at a time and see what happens.  I can’t just make up the dough and freeze it because I have no problem whatsoever with eating dough :mrgreen:

I avoiding looking near the fudge or cookies for my snack.

John made me a latte with protein powder, and I paired it with a nana.  I actually haven’t been super hungry today, which is quite a relief.

Cooked up a quick dinner tonight.  Gorton’s Shrimp poppers (or popplers, as we call them).

Certainly getting in my F&V today!

I am off to the mall tonight with my mother.  😯 😯 😯 I cannot believe we are going to the mall this close to Christmas.  That is usually on my  “never, ever, never” list of things to do.  Must be senility creeping in…

Wish me luck!  I am out of the house tonight and removed from temptation, so that means no-added sugar day today will be a success!

Note to cookies – I will see you tomorrow…

Question:  Cookie dough eater or only fully baked?

Showing off the bike trainer

Seriously – I love all of you out there!  I was a bit of a whiner yesterday and many thoughtful emails and comments were made.  Funny how you can never meet some people in real life and you just know they have your back 😀

I was up early this morning on the trainer.  Did 1 hour and rode 18 miles.  It was nice because I wasn’t out in the frost, I had tunes on (really weird while biking), and I could ride in just a sports bra if I felt like it (which I didn’t today).  My worse fear was that I would wake John up in the next room, but he sleeps right through it. Yay!

I had eaten some dates before and during the ride for fuel – then it was time for breakfast!

That’s the stuff.  I was thinking about giving myself an extra challenge to do 2 no-added sugar days this week per April’s suggestion.  I started with that yesterday, but then had some chocolate.  So today it was!

I worked today. Although one of my clinics was closed for the holiday, the others were open (or at least had a back log of work).    Thank you to all of the veterans and current serving military for all that you do for us!

Took a lunch break for some nice comfort food!  Baked breaded shrimp and hot sauce, plus a serving of grits!

That is a wedge of laughing cow on there, not a pat of butter, although that would be tasty…

Now that I finally have some pics – here is the bike trainer.  John and I got 2 different ones, as we each bought our own separately.  I went with a Schwinn because the reviews were good and the price was right.  This was on sale for less than $100.

Both set up in the spare bedroom. The towel is for the sweat – I am sure I have mentioned that I sweat.  A lot.  It’s even worse when there is no breeze to dry you off. 🙄

The back tire axle sits in the trainer and screws in.

They supplied an axle which fits this trainer, which was easy peasy to swap out.  Tire didn’t have to come off or anything.  It’s just like a long pin.

The back wheel sits on this roller, and the knob below is how you adjust the resistance.  You can still change gears with the bike and you will change the pedal speed, but not the actual resistance.  That’s nice for variety.

The front tire sits on a block (which was purchased separately for $15.  My block has 3 different sizes for different heights.  I also like the stability of 3 sides.

Nice view at the front of the bike 😀

My trainer is actually much quieter than John’s is.  There will be some friction noise because you have a wheel running on another wheel, but not really bad.  If you have studded or rough tires, it will make more noise.  The weird thing about it is when you stop pedaling, the tires stop pretty much right away.  Not like while real riding where you can lift yourself off the seat to take break and coast or adjust your nether region.  I feel kind of cool because I can now ride hands free like the pros do LOL!

I was able to swap out my bike computer from the front wheel to the back wheel.  Obviously won’t work on the front wheel as it doesn’t go around…  I can actually go a lot faster on the trainer than I can in real life, too.  Not sure why that is.  I really am so glad I got this!  Now I can do more than just run in the winter 😀

Afternoon snack of a latte in the sun:

Not pictured are the pretzel sticks I had.

Was busy with work and couldn’t quite finish before dinner.  Booo.  So, I took a break and fixed a plate.  Standard and easy – gotta love it!

That’s hot sauce at 2 meals today. :mrgreen:

After I finished up work, we headed out to relax a little at Panera – where I am currently posting from.  I would have loved a baked good, but I figured I hadn’t had any added sugar all day, so I would just stick with coffee.

Although in hindsight I supposed I could have had a butter croissant!

I had to take this picture of John.  He didn’t know I did it either.  He was working on a math problem and looked so serious about it.

So serious!  He is incredibly smart.  Other than just for marrying me…

Lifting Move of the Week – The Rest Day!

I woke up with a candy corn hangover today.  I found out that candy corn and peanuts make a good combo last night.  So after that, I figured today would be a good day to do the no-added sugar day for the week.  It was 30 degrees when we got up and decided to go for our mid week bagel.  Below the biking threshold, unfortunately.  It was weird driving there.  Cool Beans is all decked out for fall.

I had a sunflower bagel.

Yum!  I may reduce other types of carbs once endurance events are over, but never the bagels.

Working hard again today.  I think I would like a job where I was on my feet rather than sitting all day.  I used to do that.

Lifting Move of the Week:  The Rest Day! Yes – resting is a big component of any exercise program, and one that we often neglect.  So, since I am resting today, what better time to discuss?

The body actually does most of its strength building on rest days, not when you are in the gym.  And that goes for both cardio and lifting!  When you are pushing your body, you are using up stored energy, as well as breaking down muscle fibers.  When you take a rest day, your body goes to work busily repairing all those fibers and replenishing glycogen stores for the next time.

Sometimes I see these internet challenges where people are vowing to go 30 days straight of exercise.  That really is just too much unless you are talking about walking (which they usually aren’t).   You should do 1 or 2 rest days a week to give your body a chance to catch up.  I sometimes need a not so gentle reminder to do this.

Here are some signs of over training and a clue that you might need to take it easy:

  1. Constant fatigue.
  2. Really not wanting to do your workout, even if you love it.
  3. Getting sick more often.
  4. Increase in nagging injuries.
  5. Decrease in your exercise capacity or performance.
  6. Increased resting heart rate and blood pressure.

If you see multiple signs, it is time to take a break.  And not just one day, but take several days off and scale back what you do.

Insert lunch break here:

Clam strips!  I love how easy these are.  Just pop in the toaster oven for 15 minutes and it’s time to eat.

I received a fun box in the mail from Cabot Creamery, which contained these:

Cheese snackers! I will talk a little more about these tomorrow.  I loves me some cheese!  Makes a good snack on a no-added sugar day.

Afternoon latte with more peanuts.

I am having a serious issue with this jar of peanuts, which is very weird.  Peanuts are normally far down on my list of snacking nuts.  I think it needs to go up high.

I took some of today’s pictures on the stove because I am getting tired of seeing my boring tile counter tops.

Pink item of the day:  The stripe on my Saucony shoes.  These are an old pair of running shoes which have graduated down to every day shoes.

The Breast Cancer Site

I finished up work a little early, so I was able to get some potato slices roasting.  Usually these are sweet potatoes, but John had gotten that 5#  bag of little white ones a couple weeks ago.  It is really hard for 2 people to go through 5# of taters!

Served with chicken and broccoli. (Picture taken back on the counter top!).

Tonight is minimal TV night.  I decided I needed to get some stuff done, including rearranging one of the spare bedrooms to get ready to put our bikes up there.  Still need to get the indoor trainers, but first things first.

I am jonesing for some candy corn, but I will have these for my evening snack instead:

Question:  How good are you about taking rest days?

What’s blooming for spring?

It’s gonna be a warm one today! I lied the other day when I thought shorts to the gym were not going to happen while biking. I quaffed my protein and headed out.

Gym was fairly quiet today, as it normally is Friday morning. All the friendly people were there 😀

Exercise Set/rep/weight Muscle worked
Stiff-leg deadlift 3 sets of 10 at 70# Lower body
Close Grip Lat Pull down 3 set of 10 at 60# Back
Lying Leg Press 3 sets of 10 at 100# Lower Body
Incline Chest Fly 3 sets of 12 with 15# DBs (30# total) Chest
Reverse crunches 3 sets of 15 Core
Face Pull 3 sets of 12 at 30# Shoulders
Lower Back Extension on machine 3 sets of 10 at 100# Low back
Triceps Pull Down 3 sets of 15 at 30# Triceps

After that, I ran 2 miles on the treadmill at 5.5 mph. That is my comfort pace, which is about a 10:49 mile. I have to be careful because I just fall into this pace and don’t really challenge myself too much. Still got nice and sweaty, though!

After biking home, I was ready for breakfast. I made a layered bowl of cream of wheat (with egg whites) and blueberry sauce. Yum!

Today is the half day of work, so that is good,  not to mention I got a box delivered to me today. :happy dance:

Good thing I have pictures of the garden from spring so I can figure out where I already have tulips.

I really struggled to get myself to sit and work today. I would work for a while, then get up and do things, then work some more. Not a bad thing to do, but it makes it seem like a longer work day than it really is.

Lunch time was some of the chicken I grilled last night with basil-tomato Laughing Cow spread on it. Tasty that way.

I went outside to the garden after this. It still has some color.

You can see my fall mums are budded out, but not open yet. Still more blooming to come!

The gazanias are still going.

I am totally infatuated with the color of the sedum. It just gets deeper and deeper (then it turns brown).

Buddha and the gaillardas.  Sounds like a rock band, doesn’t it?

This is the side yard that I am going to do something with.

Looks pretty lame, doesn’t it? That bare patch is where we dug up a couple mulberry stumps.  The task this fall is to take it to bare ground and maybe move a couple plants over.

There is also a problem around here.  See this lady?

She has been coming around since spring.  Very young and obviously homeless as she is thin.  Very skittish until today.  She came over and rolled on the ground while I was planting tulips and inched her way over to me little by little.  Then she let me pet her.  My heart died a little.

I really worry about her as the road is so busy.  Not to mention winter is coming up and I have a feeling she may be in the family way if she is one of the pair that were doing unmentionable things in the yard across the street a couple weeks ago.

Do you hear that long, drawn out nooooooooooo?  That was John.  I saw fear in his eyes today when I was talking about the cat.

Afternoon snacks:

Fresh baked. This bread has raw walnut butter on it.

I have to say, raw nut butter just doesn’t do it for me.  Give me at least roasted and preferably  salted.

Like these:

Which goes pretty well with this:

Quite a nice evening out.  I got about half of the tulips planted.  I bought 65 bulbs.  I really don’t know what I was thinking.  Well, one pack is daffodils and they only came in a set of 25, so that is a chunk right there.

Dinner was cooking while I was out planting.  Sweet potato chips and fish sticks.

The fish sticks had a date with Frank’s.  Yum.

Notice anything missing from today’s eats? Added sugar!  Since that is part of my Hot 100 challenge to do once a week, figured I may as well do today.  Evening snack will be some more fruit.

Tomorrow will be a lot cooler.  We are doing a shorter ride and just going to the lake.  Probably no cupcakes, but there will be a sweet in store, that’s for sure!

Question: Any great and fun plans for Saturday?

Ch.ch.ch.changes…..

Lanacane review/giveaway – don’t miss it!

Ah, the last work day of the week.  I decided to take a rest day and make it a no-added sugar day.

Last night involved a moving up to 6th grade for my niece:


They were all singing here.  We were in the very last row way in the back, so I am surprised I could get a shot at all.  2 really good pieces of advice were given to them before heading to the big middle school next year:

– Choose your friends wisely

– Wear a helmet  (Safety first, as I love to say)

Sound advice, no?

We had pizza and a cake that Logan made and decorated all by herself:

Also, some pretzel M&Ms were had by me, since my sister bought them!  Twice in one week – eek!

That kind of inspired the no-added sugar day today.  I started off with oats cooked with egg whites and made parfait style with my blueberry sauce:

Then got to work.  It has been a frustrating week.  Poor John is probably really tired of hearing me complain about my current employer.  I decided to accept a position with another company, but I am going to start part time and see how the fit is before I give up my current job.  It pays less and I won’t have my benefits, but the plus side is that I can work whatever hours I want, so I can mesh my work schedule with John’s (and no more weekends unless I feel like it).  They also seem very relaxed and laid back, which is a big change from my current whip-cracking company.  They also were understanding about me starting part time to test the waters with them (I was up front about that).  So, not sure when that all starts, probably some time next week – which means I will be busy!

Lunch break for some tuna salad and crackers:

Tuna is starting to wobble back off the ‘like’ list LOL!

When I do the no sugar days, I eat dates to satisfy my sweet tooth:

These are so soft and sugary, too.  Maybe it defeats the purpose, but at least I get fiber and potassium with the sweetness.

Very good paired with a latte.

Dinner involved an experiment:

Roasted radishes!  I actually like radishes on salads, but I thought I would try roasting them to see what happened.  I have to say that I prefer them raw.  They got soft and lost that bite that radishes have.  Maybe if I roasted them longer (20 minutes), they would have gotten crispy.

I have lots of paperwork to fill out tonight for the new position, and a nice walk in store.

Tonight’s snack will be some clementines!

John got these at the store, surprised to see them at this time of year.  They are very juicy and oddly pale.

See you tomorrow for more what’s blooming in my garden (there is a lot!).