Leave it to the wonderful folks at Prevention to have a 30-minute interval routine in the September issue --- one I can live with for the bike, so that I don't have to figure it all up by myself. WHEW! Because I can tell you, I was about to drive myself completely bonkers with my Excel spreadsheet -- trying to figure up a workable interval routine and figuring out calories burned. And to top it off, all my calories-burned figures are massively wrong; as in, "the workout only burned 10 calories in 20 minutes" wrong. Yeah. SO........ I think I'll try this routine and fuhgeddaboutit.
I did stop by Academy Sports on Friday evening to look for padded bike shorts. No go -- I know that REI sells them but the nearest one is in Asheville. Yeah, that's not far at all to drive but a little much for JUST a pair of shorts...... and God knows, these shorts are NOT exactly inexpensive to start. Instead, I picked up a more cost-friendly alternative -- a padded bike seat cover! WAHOO, right? Errrrrr. Well....... I got it home and it doesn't fit the bike seat at all. Okay, it fits the front of the bike seat -- which is where I need the padding most anyway. So I'm keeping it and using it. And I am debating whether or not to actually keep it on the bike, or use the cover as shorts padding (stuffing it in the shorts). Hey, it might work better that way!
As far as the weight thing, I weighed in again on Friday morning and it was slightly better. I did eat breakfast beforehand, but overall, it was within range and I am pleased. I used a few flex points last night at dinner for my Mom's birthday -- ate a couple of small yeast rolls at dinner and it was worth it. I don't eat them that often, nor did I add butter or spread or anything. Just the bread, and it was good. The one disappointment is that the "baked potato bar" -- which had nearly every potato topping you'd want -- didn't have salsa. Oh, I was looking forward to that!!! Instead, I went with a few pieces of broccoli and some ground pepper.
Back to breakfast: Ten years ago, you couldn't pay me to get up and eat breakfast, or at least not within 2 hours of rising. If I did eat breakfast, it was usually something cruddy -- a sausage or ham biscuit, or some pastry that was sugar- and calorie-laden, and probably had trans-fat levels that were catastrophic. These days, I can't imagine kickstarting my day without a healthy breakfast. I might go walk first, but you better believe as soon as I am done, I am in the kitchen! Studies show that breakfast eaters tend to have more successful weight loss and I believe it.
I choose to have a lot of points/calories at breakfast. One, I need the fuel, even with having eaten a snack shortly before bedtime. Two, IF there's a crisis and I can't have a morning snack until later (or depending on the day, not at all), I won't be completely ravenous when it gets to lunchtime, and I end up eating my lunch bag too ("you mean the foam insulation has 4 points?"). For me, it tends to be a high-fiber, high-protein cereal, skim milk and a banana...... OR a small omelet with egg substitute, a little reduced- or no-fat cheese, toast, a banana, and yogurt. Worth every point.
SO: What are you doing to fuel your body early enough in the day, and what are you doing to use the fuel you give it throughout the day?
I did stop by Academy Sports on Friday evening to look for padded bike shorts. No go -- I know that REI sells them but the nearest one is in Asheville. Yeah, that's not far at all to drive but a little much for JUST a pair of shorts...... and God knows, these shorts are NOT exactly inexpensive to start. Instead, I picked up a more cost-friendly alternative -- a padded bike seat cover! WAHOO, right? Errrrrr. Well....... I got it home and it doesn't fit the bike seat at all. Okay, it fits the front of the bike seat -- which is where I need the padding most anyway. So I'm keeping it and using it. And I am debating whether or not to actually keep it on the bike, or use the cover as shorts padding (stuffing it in the shorts). Hey, it might work better that way!
As far as the weight thing, I weighed in again on Friday morning and it was slightly better. I did eat breakfast beforehand, but overall, it was within range and I am pleased. I used a few flex points last night at dinner for my Mom's birthday -- ate a couple of small yeast rolls at dinner and it was worth it. I don't eat them that often, nor did I add butter or spread or anything. Just the bread, and it was good. The one disappointment is that the "baked potato bar" -- which had nearly every potato topping you'd want -- didn't have salsa. Oh, I was looking forward to that!!! Instead, I went with a few pieces of broccoli and some ground pepper.
Back to breakfast: Ten years ago, you couldn't pay me to get up and eat breakfast, or at least not within 2 hours of rising. If I did eat breakfast, it was usually something cruddy -- a sausage or ham biscuit, or some pastry that was sugar- and calorie-laden, and probably had trans-fat levels that were catastrophic. These days, I can't imagine kickstarting my day without a healthy breakfast. I might go walk first, but you better believe as soon as I am done, I am in the kitchen! Studies show that breakfast eaters tend to have more successful weight loss and I believe it.
I choose to have a lot of points/calories at breakfast. One, I need the fuel, even with having eaten a snack shortly before bedtime. Two, IF there's a crisis and I can't have a morning snack until later (or depending on the day, not at all), I won't be completely ravenous when it gets to lunchtime, and I end up eating my lunch bag too ("you mean the foam insulation has 4 points?"). For me, it tends to be a high-fiber, high-protein cereal, skim milk and a banana...... OR a small omelet with egg substitute, a little reduced- or no-fat cheese, toast, a banana, and yogurt. Worth every point.
SO: What are you doing to fuel your body early enough in the day, and what are you doing to use the fuel you give it throughout the day?
Comments
I also use some cream cheese (WW, of course) and a little sprinkle of cinnamon sugar. It gives me that sweetness that I ususally crave.
And I have a cup of coffee. Just one cup. I measure out my sugar..yes, I use plan old white sugar..and my powdered creamer. I know these things are necessarily good for me, but I use them in moderation and track them.