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::: The week from hell :::

This was The week from hell!!! Nothing went my way health wise or diet wise. I had this stupid cold that didn't want to mature and leave... TOM jumped right in after few days... no mercy whatsoever! Not to mention the poor eating, drinking and exercising I was practicing for the whole bloody week!!! :-(

*sigh......*... I'm very unhappy with myself right now. Nothing to be proud of this week. So bad that I didn't even bother going to the gym this morning to weigh myself. I just don't want to know for another day or too... Blahh!!!

It really feels like I took 3 steps backwards this week. Not the place I wanna be in... but alas... exactly where I am now...

I need some TLC so bad....

::: :::

This Tip from Joanne Bednar is so very interesting... Don't we all have problems with the size of out thighs, whatever it is?

Whether you inherited your mothers stocky legs or were blessed with long skinny ones, you can still make them their best by training appropriately. While you cannot spot reduce areas of fat on your thighs, you can dramatically affect the shape of your legs with regular exercise. Use the following guidelines to train YOUR type of thigh:

Lean muscular legs: Don't we all wish we had these! If you are one of the lucky few blessed with legs that are strong and lean, you are not quite off the hook. You can still make improvements by incorporating variety into your daily fitness routine. You should shoot for a different type of exercise each day to challenge your legs on a regular basis. Vary your cardiovascular routine every day, and do different strength training exercises as well. For example, if you normally run 5 days a week, then you might run every other day and on the days in between do a cycling exercise. If you typically do the circuit at the gym, then try alternating it with compound exercises like squats and lunges from day to day. There is always room for improvement!

Short stocky legs: This is the most challenging type of thigh to work with because of the tendency to see more stored fat on the upper thigh. Many times this area is the last to go when losing weight, and most often it never completely goes away. You can, however, make the most of what you've got by training your stocky thighs appropriately. The biggest key with short stocky thighs is incorporating at least 5 cardiovascular workouts a week. It is also important to continually vary your method of cardiovascular exercise so that you can work as many different muscle fibers as possible. By incorporating different fibers on a regular basis you will shape your legs much more than if you just cycle everyday, for example. Weight training is very important for those with short stocky thighs because of it's shaping effects. While you may shy away from weights because of the fear of making them larger, weight training will actually increase muscle mass and utilize fat stores more efficiently. This, in turn, will help your legs appear more slender.

Tall skinny legs: While this may sound ideal for some, those who do have long skinny legs often complain of "chicken leg" syndrome. It can be a challenge to make long skinny legs more shapely. At least 2 leg weight training sessions per week (3 is better) will help you to add some shapely muscles over time. To speed things along, try increasing your weight-load by 5% each week. For cardiovascular training, focus on strength building types like step aerobics or the stairmaster.

::: Lorien @ 01:42 PM MT :::

::: Weigh-in day :::

I'm up 1 lb this week. How I LOVE this yo-yo thing, I tell you!!! Up and down, up and down, it's like going full speed in neutral!

I know why that happened, though. I was doing very poorly with my water intake this week (being out to nature a lot to places that don't have washrooms near by makes me try and stay dry, you know), thus my circulation for the last 3 days sucked, thus the gain.

Oh well... I have work to do, drink like a fish and all will be better next week .

I'm going to move my weigh-in day to Tuesday. It seems Mondays don't work for me... so let's try a change...

::: :::

I'm going to add this schedule here (and also to the tight bar), to see if I can reach my goal according to plan. My goal date is October 1, 2003. That means 19 weeks from now I'd like to lose those 22 lbs and reach 132 lbs. So, that's how I'll try to tackle this to a happy end:

May 20 - Today - 153.8 lbs.
June 17 - 149 lbs.
July 15 - 144 lbs.
August 12 - 140 lbs.
September 9 - 136 lbs.
October 1 - 132 lbs - Reaching goal!!!

We'll see .

::: :::

Tip of the day from Joanne Bednar:

To boost metabolism, exercise short and more intense. People always think that they need to go for 40 - 60 minutes to burn fat. Maybe you have heard that we don't start burning fat until 30 minutes into your exercise! This couldn't be further from the truth!!!

Here is how this whole thing works. If you exercise slowly for 50 minutes, you may burn a higher percentage of carbs and a less percentage of fat, but you burn less calories than if you exercised for 20 minutes at a higher intensity! So when you go harder for 20 minutes, you burn more calories and within that much greater margin, there is more fat that ends up being burned! And on top of that, that 20 minute bout keeps your metabolism higher longer throughout the day!

::: Lorien @ 04:22 PM MT :::

::: Is gardening a good workout??? :::

I guess it is, because I have muscle aches I didn't have before, not to mention my lower back pain. I started it yesterday with one hour, and already had another hour this morning. I worked with the fork to turn the soil, and took out lots of roots.

I'm lucky, though, since our garden is a very tiny one. I'd like to finish it before the weekend, because the forecast says it'll be rainy, and I want the soil to have a good soak.

So will it be ok if I do another hour gardening in the afternoon, and not go to the gym? I imagine I'll be in even more pain by evening time, but it has to be done. In the worst case, that will be my break day, and I'll compensate for it on Saturday, since Joe has to work that day. I sure hope the aches will go away by then.

Yeap, that's what I'll do *s*.

::: :::

Tip by Dr. Andrew Weil:

Herb of the Week: Garlic

"I can't say enough good things about garlic - it's one of my favorite flavors in cooking, and garlic's health benefits have long been recognized in folk-medicine traditions around the world. Even the scientific community can't overlook this aromatic bulb - research shows that garlic is good for the cardiovascular system. It lowers blood pressure and bad cholesterol (LDL) - while raising good cholesterol (HDL) - and inhibits blood clotting, which reduces the risk of heart attacks. In addition, garlic is a strong antiseptic, counteracting the growth of many bacteria and fungi that can cause disease. Eat more of it when you've got a cold, a sore throat, or an ear infection. Best of all, it's easy to enjoy this wonderful and delicious remedy".

What Joe had to say about it? "Yeap, I know Garlic is good for you. I just wish it didn't have such an awful smell!".

We use a lot of Garlic powder to overcome this obstacle. I wonder if we get the same benefit out of it as well...

::: Lorien @ 12:09 PM MT :::

::: Recipe time - Grilled Salmon with wine sauce :::

Add some healthy omega-3 fatty acids to your diet with a delicious salmon dinner.

It is a yummy recipe, very fit for a special meal, so I'd like to share it here. It came from Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute , but Joe made some changes to it. So there it goes:

Grilled Salmon 2 ¼ lb. Salmon fillet(s) 1 tsp. Olive oil 2 tbsp. Lemon juice or the juice of 1 medium lemon ¼ tsp. Salt ¼ tsp. Black pepper Preheat the grill and place rack so fish will grill about 4 inches from the heat. Rinse and pat dry the fillet(s) with a paper towel. Brush fillets with olive oil. Sprinkle

Wine Sauce

1 cup Chicken broth - fat free, reduced Sodium (any broth from a cooked meat can do as well. I used pork broth one time, and it worked as well)
1/3 cup Dry white wine (We bought a cooking wine the first time, but later used white wine we drink... both worked great, so I guess you can use the white wine you like)
¼ cup Green onions, chopped
1 Bay leaf
¼ cup skim or ½% milk
2 tsp. Flour
1/3 cup parsley, chopped

Mix chicken broth, wine, onions and bay leaf together in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered until sauce is reduced to about 3/4 cup. This will take about 20 minutes. Remove bay leaf. Stir milk and flour together with a wire whisk. Add milk mixture to the broth mixture, and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Continue stirring and cook for about one minute. Add parsley and cook for less than a minute. Set aside and keep warm until salmon is ready to be served. Pour about 2 Tablespoons on each serving of cooked salmon. Makes 6 servings.

::: :::

The link also gives the Nutrient Analysis of this recipe (First number is for the Salmon, and the second is for the sauce).

1 serving (1/6 of recipes) Salmon Sauce contains:
Calories = 205, 15.
Protein (g) = 34, 1.
Carbohydrate (g) = 0.5, 3.
Total Fat (g) = 6.6, 0.
Sodium (mg) = 210, 100.

So it makes good nutrition, it's yummy... Enjoy!!! *s*.

::: Lorien @ 10:20 AM MT :::

::: Weigh-in day :::

Lordy lord, I had such a huge surprise today!!! 3.9 pounds lost!!! Gone bye-bye!!! *s*. That puts me on 152.8 lbs for today, and a total of 60.0 lbs loss! Yes, I'm sssooo thrilled I can dance!

I really don't know how that happened. I was pretty good most of the week, but such a big loss? Didn't happen for a long time!!!

I didn't believe the scale, thought, so I asked the monitor if the scale was ok. She checked it... put a weight on it... and found out it shows 0.1 lbs more. So I guess it was ok, and hope it stays like that!

Workout wise, the gym was packed with people for some reason, so I only managed to do 25 minutes on the elliptical machine (287 calories burned) and then 2x12 on two upper body weights machines... That's it. Didn't want to wait for the treadmill, but I'm going for a walk a bit later, so - all is well! *s*.

Boy... Diet and health wise - It was such a successful day!!! I'm happy...

::: Lorien @ 03:20 PM MT :::

::: Shrinking in the wrong places :::

You know how your body start to shrink when you lose weight, yes? We all go through that process, and feel very happy when it happens. Going down a size gives me a feeling of a flowing stream of delight running inside my body, ya know. A sense of achievement and feeling proud do so much good for anyone's self image, right?

But hell, how do I make my body lose where I want it to lose, and then not lose where I don't want it to lose? First two places in my body to show lost are my face and my boobs. As soon as I start dieting... Bingo!!! They start to shrink pretty quickly, and keep doing it as if there's no tomorrow.

I love the fact my moon shape face lost at the cheeks area and let the cheek bone come out. This is good, and it suits me just fine. I adore the fact my second chin goes away too. Yuck, I don't like this part of my face! So all in all, my face always becomes prettier when I lose weight. So far so good *s*.

But what about my breasts? Those seems to have a mind of there own, and mind you, being 43 tells you something about their position regarding my waste line, hehehe *s*.

When I started dieting, they were somewhere in the D90 area. Now there're down to C40... and they're still getting small... *sigh*. Hubby is not really complaining, though he can't but notice the change. But being a boob guy, I know he'd love them to stay the size they were before. I'd love them too, but how do you make them?

And how do I make my thighs go smaller, ha? HOW??? Well, they do, to some extent, but not too much, and worse... the muscles starts to develop there now, and show. Mind you, all the women in my family had/have big thighs... so I got them too! Boy, the worries of a dieter ;-))...

That's what I said... I'm shrinking in the wrong places *s*.

::: Lorien @ 11:10 AM MT :::

::: Just another afternoon in casa Lorien :::

Nice workout at the gym today. 4 minutes on the bike, 30 minutes on the elliptical (Yeap, with only 1 short break to drink water and wipe the sweat) and 30 minutes on the treadmill... 643 calories burned. I like the smell of that burning!!! Felt SO GOOD on my way home!

::: :::

Had a small non-scale victory last night. We went to a party organized by the Jewish community here in Calgary in honor of Israel's 55th Independence day. And... they served Israeli food there, Falafel and Humus spread and Pita (both made out of chickpeas). I love those foods, but sadly my diet program tells me chickpeas are not good for me, so I stopped eating them.

Joe asked me if I'd like to have Falafel. I sure did... but... I said "NO!". I resisted the temptation, and felt great with it. YAY!!!
It's so good to be in control, isn't it?

::: :::

2 very helpful tips from Joanne Bednar I'd like to share today. Understanding those facts really makes it all clearer, and for me, it's always a boost to continue doing the right things *s*:

Fat provides our bodies with huge amounts of energy that we could never use up! You would think that fat is stored primarily on our legs and midsection, since that is where we see it in the mirror. We all have fat surrounding and cushioning our internal organs.

When someone who is thin begins to put on fat weight, the individual muscle cells are the first place it goes. The muscle of a lean man or woman looks like a filet mignon steak: very little fat in it. As that person puts fat weight on the muscle starts to look more like a ribeye steak, with visible streaks of fat running through it. It is only when the muscle cannot fit anymore fat into it that fat begins to accumulate under the skin... much to our dismay. The sad thing is society prizes these marbled steaks as "the best"!

Once the fat under your skin gets to a certain point, the excess fat begins to spill out into the bloodstream. Your doctor tells you your triglycerides are too high, and suggests you start eating a healthy diet and begin an exercise program. When you reach that point, it is definitely time to change your habits, because you are then at risk for coronary artery disease. If you are not at that point, dont wait until you get there to change your ways!

Overfat, unfit people have a low number of fat-burning enzymes. Fit, lean people have a high number of fat burning enzymes. As a beginner continues to exercise on a regular basis, their muscles become more efficient. Their muscles burn a little fat, but eventually they cannot keep up with the demands of the exercising individual. To become more efficient, the muscle cells actually recruit more fat burning enzymes! Then wa-la! You are a better fat burner! To continue increasing the number of these fat- burning enzymes, make exercise a part of your daily life, and find ways to continually challenge your body. BEWARE: if you stop exercising, your fat burning enzymes degenerate! This alone is reason enough to stay active!

::: Lorien @ 03:50 PM MT :::

::: Weigh-in day :::

Just a tiny annoyance... but still... I gained 0.2 lbs this week. Yesterday when on the scale, it showed a lost of more than 1 lb. I don't understand what happened... don't remember eating too much yesterday. In fact, I'm sure I didn't! But the scale doesn't lie, does it? So that's the situation. I can live with it for few days *s*.

Since I was a bit disappointed, I decided I'm gonna have at least one small achievement today. So I pushed myself at the gym, more than ever. I had 30 minutes on the elliptical + 30 minutes on the treadmill, and managed to burn 607 calories! YAY!!! *s*.
My goal, which was set only yesterday, has been achieved today!!!

::: Lorien @ 03:35 PM MT :::

::: Going out - battle of the wills :::

We had an unscheduled "pig out" last night. Friends wanted to go out for dinner, and we felt like joining them, so only 2 weeks after our last feast - we did it again! *s*.

It was a fun evening, and surprisingly enough, both Joe and myself took it pretty easy. Yea, we ate more than we usually do at home, but it wasn't like other times. We took it easy on the sweet stuff, though this place offers so many goodies for desert. Boy, one should have lots of restraint when looking at all they have to offer there *s*.

I sure hope, though, it won't take a too heavy toll on my weigh-in tomorrow 'cause I know I did so well this week! Oh well, I have to wait and see... I went to the gym today, even though it's my break day. Did 4 minutes on the bikes (while waiting for my favorite treadmill to be vacant), and then 40 minutes on the it and 20 minutes on the elliptical = 593 calories burned.

My goal is to make it to 600 calories burn per hour. It's not easy considering the fact I don't jog... I simply can't jog. Not yet. After 15 seconds, I lose my ability to breath normally, and I don't want to push myself too much... don't want to risk my poor heart *s*. Maybe one day I'll learn how to do it right.

So I try my best to push up the levels of workout I do, without jogging. On the treadmill, I'm already able to set it to 3.3 mph speed, and 9% incline. On the elliptical it's still hard, so I go on level 1 and try to speed up as much as my body is willing to cooperate with me. All in all, I'm happy with my improvement, and hoping to get to my goal in few weeks.

::: :::

Bev mentioned few days ago that no matter how long she goes with her diet, no matter how much she'd learned and how well she knows how to live a healthy lifestyle - it seems she didn't learn a thing, because of the fact she still loses control and eat sometimes like there's no tomorrow.

I bet each one of us dieting people have the same problem. I sure have it! And I came to one conclusion: No matter what I do, no matter how good I do, no matter what I've learned - in my mind I'll be always fat!

I have a brain of a fat person, one that always sends me signals of ravenous hunger. I know the rules, I know what I'm allowed and what not, I know what's good and healthy for me and what isn't - and yet there are times when no shade of control is to be found anywhere, and I stuff myself till my stomach cries for help.

Why am I doing it? I have no clue. My life is mostly calm and fulfilling, knock on wood *s*. I experience happy moments each and every day. My stress levels are being kept pretty low most of the time, and I'm happy with myself and what I've become. And still, I need food sometimes to give me something I don't get otherwise. What is this something? Hell if I know!

What I do know is, I'll have to diet for the rest of my life if I want to hang to my accomplishments. I'll always have those battles with food - I'll win some of them, and lose others, for sure. I don't know if I'll ever get the answer to what does food bring to my life that anything else can't.

I don't know... Maybe it's enough to be aware of the problem, and keep in mind I have it, and be cautious. But sometimes... this battle is so exhausting...

::: Lorien @ 01:29 PM MT :::

::: Tip: Gaining Control of Your Cholesterol Levels :::

This is from Dr. Weil. I like his tips a lot, and this one is close to heart since hubby does all these things, and his Cholesterol levels are back to normal!

For most people with high cholesterol, making dietary changes is one of the most effective ways to treat the condition. I suggest the following:

Keep saturated fat intake low: no more than 5 percent of daily caloric intake.
Increase omega-3 fatty acids, especially from fish.
Minimize consumption of refined carbohydrates.
Increase consumption of soluble fiber, such as oat bran.
Eat garlic, hot red pepper (chile), and shiitake mushrooms frequently.
Drink green tea regularly.
Eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, including leafy greens, orange and yellow fruits and vegetables, and red and purple fruits.
Eat soy foods and other legumes regularly.

::: Lorien @ 11:40 AM MT :::