Posts from — April 2010

How was my run this morning?….

Thanks for asking.

I guess you can see it was not a good one.  Although it may appear to be caused by my Bride of Frankenstein hair and old school crooked headphones, it was really due to my bum hip.  The bursitis acted up big time in my left hip/inner thigh area.  I tried working through it.  I even stopped and did a little stretching, but with every strike of my left foot, the pain shot into my upper leg  joint.  I walked for a couple of minutes and it was worse.  I was really disappointed.  I had planned on doing 5 miles, but ended with 2.44.  My mind was so willing to do this run;  I was really into it.  But, my body was not. 

I started to get down about it, but while walking to my car, I reminded myself – “This is just one run.  Shake it off.”  I likened it to when I’ve had a day of overeating.  It’s just one day.  Or one meal.  It doesn’t have to scrap all the other good ones that I’ve had.  And one bad run, doesn’t have to set me up for a string of bad runs.  I want to take care of myself, not cause injury.  It’s part of living the healthy lifestyle.  Healthy means respecting my body enough to listen to it.  Today, it said, “enough.”  I listened.  So, “shake it off”  I did

***

The Giveaway!

After my bum run, I stopped to get some breakfast.  Today’s dashboard breakfast was courtesy of Subway!  I was sent a $10 gift card to try out Subway’s new breakfast sandwiches.

They have quite a variety of sandwiches ranging from Western Egg White Muffin Melt to “meatier” options of Bacon or Steak, Egg and Cheese Sandwiches. 

I like that you can customize your breakfast.  All of Subway’s sandwiches are available on your choice of English muffin, sub roll or flatbread with whatever toppings you choose.   When I ordered my breakfast sandwich, I was even asked if I wanted salt and pepper on it!

After much deliberation, I decided on the Black Forest Ham, Egg White and Cheese Muffin Melt …

It was good!  It tasted fresh and much like my homemade version.  I munched it down…in embarrassingly giant bites…

I was pleased to see the nutrition facts printed on the napkins…

And they serve coffee, too!

In addition to being able to have a healthier fast food option for breakfast, it was so reasonably priced.  At the location that I visited, my breakfast sandwich and 16 oz. coffee was $2.50!

Subway has offered to give 3 Loser for Life readers a $10 gift card to try out their new breakfast sandwiches.

To enter: leave a comment telling me which breakfast sandwich you would like to try.

For additional entries:  follow @SubwayFreshBuzz on Twitter and/or become a fan of Subway on Facebook  and leave me a comment telling me you did so.

Winners will be chosen (via random.org) on Monday, May 3.  All entries must be received by 9:00 p.m. EST.  I’ll announce the winners on Tuesday morning, May 4. 

Good luck, everyone!

(disclosure:  I received the gift card from Subway free of charge.  I was not paid for my review.  All opinions and experiences are expressly my own.  Whatevs, FTC)

Today, I mourn the loss of a good friend who was always there for me.  Very old, fragile and often times possessed, either moving at the speed of light or slowing to an almost screeching halt. 

But always there, through rough times and stormy weather. 

Today, I said good-bye to my tried and true…

I think my 5 miles on Sunday pushed her over the edge  

She served me well over the past 2 years.  Before I joined the gym this September, she was my main source of exercise in the early mornings.  She also was instrumental in my transition into running.  We had lots of fun on those 5K Saturdays!

Now, she’s gone.  She was about 16 years old.  It was time.

After the husband and I put her out by the trashcans gave her a proper burial, I came in for breakfast – Banana Nut Vitatop  with 1/2 tbsp. natural peanut butter (helloooooo, Bell Plantation, where is my PB2??!!)…

and the press…

I did some work around the house, then met up with Mom and Gram for furniture browsing (for Mom’s new house) and lunch.  We decided on Chick-fil-a (Gram’s favorite) where I always get my favorite there – Chargrilled Chicken Garden Salad with Light Italian…

Later in the afternoon, I dug into one of these new bars from Cascadian Farm…

Almond butter??  I’m all over it!

The nutrition facts are decent, too…

Crunchaaaay… 

I really liked these bars.  They are crunchy and sweet.  Maybe a little too sweet , but sometimes you need a little sumpin’ sumpin’ in the afternoon. 

I decided to make it easy for dinner and let us all join tastebuds and eat the same thing.  Hot dogs, fries and salad fit the bill.  Don’t worry, the family didn’t drag me over to the dark side.  I did it Loser for Life style! 

We all know that hot dogs aren’t the healthiest thing, but these guys are actually pretty decent…

They are made from select cuts of certified organic beef and are only 70 calories and 4.5 grams fat per dog!  The sodium is high, as with all hot dogs, but no higher than some of the canned soups out there.  And they taste fantastic.  Just like the full of fat ballpark kind!

I served them on whole wheat hot dogs buns from Trader Joe’s.  I’ve already broken the family in on these, so no complaints were heard there.  On the side, I made baked fries, a big salad and served up a few dill pickles.

My plate of goodness…

I only had a couple of fries for the taste because  I really was satisfied with everything else on the plate.

Since I didn’t fit in exercise earlier in the day, I headed to the basement after dinner for a workout.  Where is the treadmill ?

Instead, I found a new friend…

I spent 30 minutes getting to know this new friend, then did 15 minutes of strength training with 5 lb. dumbells…

• chest fly – 2 sets, 12 reps
• incline bench press – 2 sets, 12 reps
• lateral raise – 2 sets, 12 reps
• reverse fly – 2 sets, 12 reps
• shoulder press – 2 sets, 12 reps

It’s a start!  Every time I do strength training, I realize how much I like it.  I don’t know why I never seem to stick with it!   It’s really cool and makes you feel so strong when you’re done.

***

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Have a great day, everyone!

Do you strength train with weights?

Thank you all for the exercise suggestions on my off-run days!  I would like to start incorporating more strength training into my routine and it is definitely something I can crank out at the gym.  My gym is all machines and no classes, so for now, those are my only options.  I can always do a DVD or yogadownload.com at home for variety, too!

Let’s talk about motivation and exercise.  Yeah.  Those words seem to be mutually exclusive.  Like this morning, for instance.  I had NO motivation to run.  None.  Nada.  I kept finding things to distract me…computer, Twitter, laundry.  Anything to get out of running.  But, that nagging feeling was telling me to get OUT there!  I donned the kicks and began the run in my hilly neighborhood.

Surprisingly, within the first mile, I knew it was going to be okay.  My mind got in the game and my energy was strong.  I finished at 4.1 miles in 55 minutes!  I was so glad I pushed past the lack of motivation and just decided to git ‘er done  

How do you deal with lack of motivation to exercise?

***

Instead of a smoothie before my run, I tried out one of these new juice drinks that the folks at Cheribundi sent to me…

I opted for the one containing whey protein for some running “oomph”

Each bottle is said to contain juice from between 40 and 50 cherries!  According to the company, tart cherries provide a boatload of phytonutrients, vitamins and minerals.

The Whey Cherry flavor has the added benefit of  8 grams whey protein…

but, the others are just juice.

The Whey Cherry sure did live up to its tart cherry description!  It was tart but, not overly so.  It reminded me of pomegranate juice or a natural cranberry juice.  It did seem to work well as a before -run drink for me.  I had great energy the whole time!

After my run, I wasn’t up for eating anything so I just hit up the press…

But, it didn’t take long for my stomach to wake up!  It was close to lunchtime, so I went right to making a wrap with Applegate Farms Herbed Turkey Breast, bacon and lettuce, paired with Trader Joe’s Organic Black Bean Soup and a Gala…

Later in the afternoon, I wolfed down had some pretzels and a string cheese.  Gone in a flash before the pic!

I was craving chickpeas for dinner.  I had Quick Chickpea Curry in mind!  I changed it up this time with the addition of sweet potato.  It was great call!

Quick Chickpea and Sweet Potato Curry
(adapted from Everyday Food)

• 1 tsp. olive oil
• 1/2 yellow onion, diced small
• 2 small cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tbsp. curry powder
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 can (15 oz.) chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1 large sweet potato, cut into bite-sized cubes
• 1 1/2 tbsp. ketchup
• 1 cup water
• s + p to taste

In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium high.  Add onion and cook about 5 minutes.  Add garlic, curry and cinnamon;  cook about 30 seconds.  Add chickpeas, sweet potato, ketchup, s + p and 1 cup water.  Bring to a boil;  cover and reduce to simmer.  Cook about 20 minutes.  Uncover and increase heat to medium-high;  cook until sauce is slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.

Makes 2 generous servings.
Nutritional facts  per serving (calculated by www.calorieking.com):  346 calories, 4 grams fat, 209 mg. sodium, 63 grams carbohydrates, 12 grams fiber and 14 grams protein.

So good!

  If you have been interested in trying an Indian-inspired dish, but aren’t sure if you’ll like it, give this one a try!  It may not be authentic, but  it’s easy, flavorful and doesn’t require a lot of fancy or exotic spices. 

For dessert, I made Italian Almond Cookies …

How’s that for an international food night?!

Have a great day, everyone!

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