quick and beasty

instead of going to the gym today, i switched things up and went outside to do my second fav running workout.

ladders.

block off a straight path of about 100 feet. (walk 1 foot in front of the other 100 times...ladies should prolly go for 115 unless you wear size 12.)

SPRINT 5 times (there and back is one)

then

WALK  the full 100 feet..(no hands on your knees!! breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth)..then turn around and walk back to the start line. don't take all day either, lol. that was your recovery/rest period.

then

SPRINT 4 times (there and back is one)...

do you see where i'm going with this?  yeah, all the way down to 1. oh and then? go from 1 all the way back to 5.  now, you're done. if you feel like you can do this workout one more time, you didn't go hard enough.  i understand that you can't go from 0 to 60 in a few seconds when you have either done little to no activity in a while, or haven't run your hardest in forever. so, start small and slow to prevent injury.  you can modify this workout several ways. 5 too much? cut it down to 3. maybe only go down the ladder to start (5 to 1) and call it a day. either way, it's a great sprint workout that gets your metabolism REVVING. high intensity sprinting can burn 600+ calories in just 20 minutes. you continue to burn calories even while resting vs. running long distance.  my kind of workout cause i have things to do. like cook.

a satisfying and filling meal was needed after a workout like that. however, that does not mean calorie dense foods are my only options. ever seen one of these?

spaghetti squash.  pretty intimidating.  cutting up raw sweet potatoes is a tough task for me, so i was not too excited to try and crack this thing open since it was pretty solid.   hungry-girl gave rave reviews to substituting spaghetti squash for the pasta in your spaghetti dish, but i was so sure that was a bunch of baloney.  so, here goes.  i threw the squash in the oven for 45 min on 350 to soften it.

that's more like it- i can work with that. after i let it cool, i sliced it in half.

just like a pumpkin, scoop out all the gooey stuff and seeds in the middle.

it really does look like pasta strands, huh.

after you scoop both sides clean, discard the shell.  unless you have a compost pile or something.  i seasoned mine with salt and pepper and just a tad bit of olive oil.

i topped the squash with my spaghetti meat sauce. can you tell making it pretty with garnishes was not a priority this time?  i was hoongry.  i added a 35 cal laughing cow cheese wedge and it melted a little from the heat of the sauce. YUM. and talk about filling- i was completely satisfied afterwards.  just 1 cup of spaghetti squash is a whopping 40 calories. are you serious? i had two big servings of it.  compare that to pasta which is approx. 200+ cals for 1 little 1/2 cup serving.

  the best part- Sonny liked it and i hope you do too!

le

sip your oats - strawberry mango oatmeal breakfast shake

i still had my egg white omelette with cheese this morning, but this time i felt like trying out this oatmeal shake i've been hearing so much about instead of my usual bowl.  i had some frozen mangos and strawberries in the freezer so i threw about a cup of them into the blender.  then i added some non-fat plain yogurt, unsweetened vanilla almond milk, and some rolled oats. (they're at the bottom!)

  fruity, creamy, and slightly sweet from the natural sugars. just right. (with a side of prenatal vitamin)

strawberry-mango oatmeal breakfast shake

the stuff:

• 1 cup frozen fruit
• 1/2 cup plain non-fat yogurt
• 1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 1/4 cup rolled oats

do this:

1. blend
2. sip

 i'm such a fan! my smoothie was around 180-200 cals and made one full 8oz glass.  choose your one, two, or three fav fruits and blend away.  you could also use greek yogurt, but i find that it gives my smoothie a weird, bitter, sour cream-like after taste.  the plain yogurt works better and still has a high protein count, 11 grams.  enjoy this as part of your brekky or a snack. happy sipping.

le

buffet, shmuffet

early service was amazing this morning!  so much so that  instead of heading back home, Sonny suggested we go out for breakfast this time.  i didn't mind at all, especially since he chose Luby's!!

people, i know there are a gazillion other brunch options we could have picked LOL, but Luby's is a childhood favorite of mine that i'll never, ever let go of.  i am more a fan of their lunch/dinner options (especially their mac n cheese), but they have a breakfast buffet that is crazy cheap and reasonable, as most buffets often are. *sigh*

it's goin down.

 i had a scoop of the veggie/egg scramble with salsa, hash browns, 1 piece of bacon from Sonny's plate, one pancake, and one piece of french toast.  the oatmeal was for the little guy, but i had a few spoonfuls of that too.

the food coma inducing buffet used to be a scary place for me.  i have mentioned before that my will power is  flaky and is sometimes non-existent. because of this,  i used to try my absolute best to avoid buffets completely.  however, who wants to live like that??  i have learned to have and promote a healthy relationship with food at all times.

you can conquer the buffet.

few of my fav tips:

• relax. calm down. it's not that big a deal.  this tip is actually per Sonny (unsurprisingly).  when we would be discussing dinner options and he dare throw out the name of a buffet, i'd always be like 'no!!! i would have worked out harder this morning!!' or 'no!! i don't want to get FULL full like that tonight!!'.  ok, nobody is forcing me to shovel food down my throat or get so full it hurts to move.  don't let the pressure of the abundance of food make you feel like you have to eat an abundance of food.

• stick with water. it's calorie and fat-free. the last thing you want to do is drink even more calories, carbs, and sugars when the buffet will most likely put you over your normal intake already.

• soup or salad first. is there a broth based (not cream) soup or salad available to start your meal with? go for it- it will take the edge off of your hunger.  if neither are available, load up on veggies.  again, you won't be so, so hungry and liable to inhale everything in sight by the time you are ready to eat the more calorie dense foods.

• scope out the entire scene (plate-free) before you dive in.  i can't tell you how many times i've started from the front of the buffet line and just kept piling my plate higher and higher cause i kept seeing things that i wanted!  doing a once-over helps you pace yourself, plan your meal, and weigh your options.

• MINImize your portions.  nothing wrong with wanting to sample/taste a bunch of different items at a time- heck that's what the buffet is all about.  just reduce your portion sizes. again, especially with the more calorie dense foods. if there are multiple sides i'd like to try, i'll get 1-2 heaping tbsp's of each.  maybe you only see 1 or 2 sides total that you want- ok, a bigger serving size is cool.  if it's pieces of something (chicken strips, pizza, wings, etc.) try one of each to start.

• sauce on the side, always. most buffets are self-serve, but if a server ever asks you if you want any sauce (tartar, syrup, salad dressing, etc.) get it on the side in a separate container.  you want to remain in as much control of your meal as you can at all times.

• use your resources. you didn't go to the buffet alone, did you?? (if you did that's totally OK.) talk to your friends and/or family!  put your fork down every now and then and carry on conversations between bites.  it normally gets quiet when people start eating in my house.  that's not a mandatory rule.  chewing with your mouth closed is though, haha.   if you did come alone and you are in no rush, bring a newspaper, your ipad, smart phone, etc., and read some articles, blogs, or do some facebooking.

enjoy your food, your company, and ultimately the entire dining experience.

ZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzz.

le

back to it

yesterday everything FOOD repulsed me!! although i certainly wouldn't mind, no, it's not what you think.  i'm guessing it was some crazy 24 hour bug because Sonny ate the same things i did the night before.  here's what we had:

sometimes i'll have a log of ground turkey that i have no idea what to do with.  so, i'll brown it up with some onions and shallots and throw in as many vegetables i can find.  i never had a name for it, but i recently read that what i've been making all this time is referred to as ragu. threw it over some pasta, sprinkled it with some cheese and avocado, and called it dinner.

the only thing i had to eat all day friday was the 6in. turkey subway sandwich my hubby brought home for me.  it stayed down, and i'm back to normal today. i took friday off from exercise as well, so i was anxious to get up and get moving this morning.  to the track!

i did one of my two fav running workouts.

'sprint the straights, walk the curves'.  i'm sure you've heard that track jargon before.  this is definitely a workout that a beginner can start with.  no track available?  you can also do this running through your neighborhood and use either a light pole or any  other landmark as your start and end points.  or, you could just could use a stop watch or count the 10, 15, or 20 seconds in your head as you sprint.  3 miles of that (12 laps) and i was toast. beginners, start with 1 mile and add on from there.  with anything, you get out what you put in. so SPRINT!!!  after all, it will be over in a couple of seconds.

Q: which is better, sprinting or long distance running?

totally depends on what your goal is, but for weight loss and/or maintenance, both.  fast or slow, your body will get use to whatever type of exercise you do no matter what. it's important to do a combination of speeds just to shock your body and keep your workouts different and exciting.

le

back to it

yesterday everything FOOD repulsed me!! although i certainly wouldn't mind, no, it's not what you think.  i'm guessing it was some crazy 24 hour bug because Sonny ate the same things i did the night before.  here's what we had:

sometimes i'll have a log of ground turkey that i have no idea what to do with.  so, i'll brown it up with some onions and shallots and throw in as many vegetables i can find.  i never had a name for it, but i recently read that what i've been making all this time is referred to as ragu. threw it over some pasta, sprinkled it with some cheese and avocado, and called it dinner.

the only thing i had to eat all day friday was the 6in. turkey subway sandwich my hubby brought home for me.  it stayed down, and i'm back to normal today. i took friday off from exercise as well, so i was anxious to get up and get moving this morning.  to the track!

i did one of my two fav running workouts.

'sprint the straights, walk the curves'.  i'm sure you've heard that track jargon before.  this is definitely a workout that a beginner can start with.  no track available?  you can also do this running through your neighborhood and use either a light pole or any  other landmark as your start and end points.  or, you could just could use a stop watch or count the 10, 15, or 20 seconds in your head as you sprint.  3 miles of that (12 laps) and i was toast. beginners, start with 1 mile and add on from there.  with anything, you get out what you put in. so SPRINT!!!  after all, it will be over in a couple of seconds.

Q: which is better, sprinting or long distance running?

totally depends on what your goal is, but for weight loss and/or maintenance, both.  fast or slow, your body will get use to whatever type of exercise you do no matter what. it's important to do a combination of speeds just to shock your body and keep your workouts different and exciting.

le