Weekend Wrap-up

I'm feeling good about the weekend. My meals were all OP and yummy, I exercised each day, and I even made serious inroads on the laundry.

DH and I went on a long bike ride this evening. When he bikes by himself he rides 40-60 miles. He's nice enough to slow down and accompany me on our hour-long rides. We have a great bike trail nearby, but usually prefer to bike on a route through some beautiful neighborhoods and a 150 acre National Park to avoid the crowds. We enjoy looking at the gardens, seeing the houses and there is very little traffic. Our usual route is just over 13 miles and takes us an hour or so. It has one big hill going out and another coming back. The hills aren't actually horrible, but I usually end up in the lowest gear spinning fast and hoping to make it to the top. I'm hoping to get fitter and breeze up that hill by the end of this summer. In nice weather (spring, summer & fall) we go out about three times a week.

My Couch to Five Kilometers C25K running program is going along well. I'm half way through week five (of the nine week program). It always seems like the next step will be harder (impossible), but I've managed so far and anticipate doing tomorrow's run as well. I downloaded a free podcast from itunes that has Christian music with the C25K directions. It's great not to have to consult my watch to time my runs and I love the music. The link, above, to C25K has a link to several podcasts with various languages and music. This is a picture of my running trail. It's in a National Park and absolutely gorgeous. Just five minutes from our house. I use the Nike+ with my Ipod and my little Nike+ Mini to the right of this post will always

tell you how I'm doing. I think, as I write this, that I've logged my 201st run and some 745 miles since I got the Nike+.

I did the C25k two years ago and was running well; I even ran a 10 miler a year ago April, but I slacked off and gained weight. I've never stopped "going running," but my running slowed and got interspersed with lots of walking over the past year. Now I'm getting back in the groove.

Tonight I made one of our go-to favorites, Marinated soy-lemon chicken. We had brown rice and a green salad with red leaf lettuce, avocado, cucumbers, and tomatoes. Last night it was grilled scallops (marinated in orange juice) and a salad (black beans, corn, chopped red pepper, cilantro, green onion, and avocado). Friday night we had a stir fry (sliced red peppers, green onions, shitake mushrooms, and flank steak) and whole wheat orzo mixed with tomatoes, fresh baby spinach, lemon juice, and toasted pinenuts. Lunches were all the same--fat free cottage cheese with fruit (sliced strawberries or canned mandarin oranges). This sounds boring, but I'm trying to stay far away from bread, pasta, or rice for lunch and this is what appeals to me now. And it's super easy. And, for now, it's working. Breakfasts all the same, too. Shredded (non-frosted) mini-wheats and sliced strawberries. Snacks: fruit (clementines, strawberries, natural applesauce), air-popped popcorn last night, meringues (100 calories worth each day), and my favorite, WW bars.

My Spring Focus challenge (see icon/link to the right) is to drink 8+ cups of water every day. So far, so good. It's definitely easier in the summer. Most days, I drink over 8 cups and I always have a glass of water by the bed. It's funny, but I'm even thirsty sometimes. I got a late start drinking my water today (I only had one cup before church and we weren't home until 1 pm) but I'm on my final glass now. I know that Weight Watcher's has changed to suggesting any liquid, but, for me water is better. I still drink fat free milk with dinner and have a very occasional cup of tea, but water is my go-to drink. I'm hoping my water chugging, my exercise, and my OP eating will bring good news at the scale this week.

Any suggestions for a quick non-bread, pasta, rice lunch?