This was my smoothie on top of a 1/2 cup mix of these cereals total. It was like eating crunchy melty ice cream for breakfast.

Smoothie for Two:
1 scoop new protein powder.. i dont know the brand
1 cup 1 % milk

1 frozen banana

1/4 cup each of frozen cherries, frozen wild blueberries, peaches

1 T ground flax

teaspoon-ish of chobani ( there was only a little left!)

On to my response paper for African American Health and a run (maybe on campus ? )

Monday Monday Monday!

So after I got home from the store I put away all the goodies and had lunch!

Lunch:
Whole Wheat Fettucinni
Half Chobani Greek Plain and a drizzle of Annies Goddess Dressing
Fresh cut Veggies
Buffalo Grilled Chicken (2 oz)
leftover "fried" zuchinni, tomato ( I used a batter of egg white and chobani, then dipped in a 1:1 ratio mix of cornmeal & ww flour, then dropped in a pan with a thin coat of Smart Balance Oil...)

Yum!


After lunch I cooked dinner! ( see pic below! )I found it a great way to not nibble as I go because I was full from lunch.. I cooked grilled chicken breasts, hunts tomato sauce with added frozen (thawed) bell pepper mix and spinach... and i had cooked the linguini on sunday to last for a few days this week.. ( tonight I had class 4-7, then therapy with Jacob 7-8:30 so long night!)

Soul:

I attempted to use a new drain opener enzyme b/c our old sink keeps cloggin up! ick! Only problem is you can't run the sink for 6 hours post use... so I poured it down and went to finish up more laundry ( for Jeff- he usually does his own but I figured I would help him out b/c he is slammed at work this week)...Therapy with Jacob is totally therapeutic for me too- Its such an amazing time to see him progress and communicate!

Also, I Meditated earlier today after....

Body:
Yoga! 30 minutes felt AMAZING
yoga came after my strength training:
BBQ A ( lots of Abs today! 6 pack here i come!)

Mind: Read four more chapters of Gastronomical Me ( due Sept. 23 not tomorrow as I had thought thank goodness!!!).. AND at class tonight we worked on research for a lit review and next week we are supposed to have our "matrix" done. Well, I stayed after my group left and did the matrix for my articles, then emailed it to the group so they could copy and paste in their articles... that way we will stay ahead of schedule and I was motivated to do it!


Dinner: ( 9:00 pm .. i know its late! but I had a plan! ) thats a glass of lemonade NOT dirty water! I had grabbed an unpictured snack of nuts/cranberries/annies honey bunnies on the way to class at 4:00 to hold me over!

I am totally up for some dessert now ( blueberry cream pie ice cream or moose tracks.. hmmm???) and relaxing!

***** I totally had BOTH! I had a scoop ( literally the ice cream scoop worth) of each, plus a few bits of chocolate fudge in the moose tracks. Jeff and I both agreed we wanted more, but thankfully we both decided we were happy with the amount we had! ****

Grocery Store!

Here is what I got from the store this morning!! Yah I love having my house "stocked", especially since we are away this weekend... coming home sunday will be like "ahh" instead of " okay gotta figure out what to make with nothing!!" Food: Lots of frozen fruit and veggies to have on stock for quick meals/ smoothies, Powerade Zero ( now that I am running again I will have to rehydrate... when I get to longer (40-60 minute) runs I will go for regular powerade but for now the 2-3 -4 miles don't require too much electrolyte replenishing!
Protein powder ( never had it before so keep your fingers crossed its good!) ... True North Nut mix ( pecans, almonds, pistachios, walnuts, almost-perfect mix- i wish it had cashews)

And some non food stuff... A swiffer!!!!! I also bought ( if you can see on the right) a travel size

hairspray, travel size toothpaste, travel size "Wrinkle Releaser" I hope it works on my dress for the wedding- I want to bring a carry on only so I expect wrinkles!, and Zyrtec ( finally they came out with an OTC for indoor allergies, and to boot- a cheaper generic! i hope this helps with my asthma which is super expensive every month!)

Happy Monday!

Breakfast took place at a very hungry 5:30 am! Jeff had to wake up early to get to work- so somehow my brain thought I had to wake up at 4:50! 10 minutes before Jeff's alarm! ughh.. I laid there while he hit the snooze three times, enjoyed cuddling but at the same time I began to get annoyed that I couldnt fall back asleep and VERY hungry! So I finally got up and made smoothies for us!

Ingredients for two:

The last of my pure protein! (1.75 scoops)
The last of my frozen fruit! ( about 2 strawberries, 1 peach slice)
1 banana
1 T peanut butter
1 T ground flax
1.5 cups milk...

I drank most of it then went back up to read in bed Gastronomical Me... I fell back asleep (thank goodness) for two hours! I have a long day and had no need to wake up earlier than 8 ( or noon for that matter)... so I felt fine getting in another 2 chapters and another 2 hrs rest!

Reading then some Grocery Shopping (not too much because we leave for Buffalo NY early Friday morning!)

I had such great training sessions last week that I "forgot" to rest... I may rest today but I may do an intense yoga session which can be just as restorative.


....My view on REST: i try not to hate it.
It is hard for me to resist the urge to exercise. When Jeff first met me he was worried that I was an "obsessive exerciser", I like to think his mind has changed since he has gotten to know me so well.

I do NOT exercise for the sake of calorie burn, I do NOT exercise purely to lose weight as obsessive exercises may. I exercise because I just have THAT much energy built up every day- I have been a ball of energy since I was 3 ( i would dance around our living room ALL day... no lie .. my brothers couldnt stand me!).

Exercise helps me feel better about myself, better about my life, better about the world, and feel like a productive person! If I take a day of rest, i usually feel "not like myself". However, when I started training for the marathon and got up to 6, 7 mile runs every other day- I found rest days very beneficial.

I try now to get in one rest day a week and try really hard to enjoy the relaxation... some weeks I am succesful and rejuvinate. Last week I felt like I didn't need a rest day ( friday was almost rest, a little cardio, etc) . As I continue to re-build my running, I will begin to rest more like two days a week or even 3.

HAPPY MONDAY!

Strength Training Splits

CSTH... and BBQ (A) Let me preface by saying I try to strength train four times a week. I find that my splits ( the muscle groups worked on that session) are most successful for me as CSTH, the next time BBQA, repeat. It hits most of my biggest muscles groups and is easy to remember so I can walk into the gym confident ! For each exercise, I focus on my energy that day and pushing my muscles to failure... not really the "set" or "reps"- but do use those as a guideline. I try to do one exercise for each muscle group that session, and about 4 sets of 20... sometimes I can only get to 3 of 15 or so.

CSTH
Chest: I usually do machines vs. free weights but my favorites are: incline press, push ups, cable pulls.

Shoulders: Bent over fly. You sit and lean your chest onto your lap. Then lift your arms up on either side of you, with elbows slightly bent and the peak of your lift. You try not to lift your chest, you want to focus on your deltoids ( shoulders) doing the work. I use very light weigh because its such an isolated exercise.
* I also do overhead press, and just found a new exercise in this months Muscle and Fitness Hers... The Arnold ( you extend your arms above your head, then turn your wrists in and pull down...http://www.muscleandfitnesshers.com/training/102
Triceps: Push Downs, Overhead Extensions

Hamstrings: Curls, Romaine Deadlifts


BBQ A -I most often do this split at home with my 7.5 lb purple weights!
Back : Bent Over Row.. so you bring your arms up at your sides elbows/triceps parallel with your back. Lat Pull Down...

Biceps: Curls with Lunges ( 2 in 1), Hammer curls
Quads: Lunges, Leg Extension, Squats!
and Some exercises I found in SHAPE... You lunge back but then lift your leg that you went back with up in a 90 degree angle, knee up

Abs: Roman Chair Lifts, Side to Side bends, bicycles, and I try to use my "core" muscles with most exercises

Body: I ran 4 miles with NO pain!!! WOOOOOOHHOOOOOO!!! The whole time I just felt like " oh this is what I am meant to do it feels so great". I had lifted CSTH prior to my run, after I cooled down for 10 minutes on the elliptical. I also lifted and thought I should post what kind of exercises I do for the split "CSTH" vs. "BBQ A"

Mind: Read, Read, Read.... started Gastronomical Me ( first half of the book is due Tuesday )... and also got halfway through my research articles ( 9 on African American Health Disparities) due Wednesday. Jeff also read to me (how sweet!!!) while I cooked lunch!

Soul: hmm...we hung up two of our bamboo blinds my mom gave us last weekend ( they were a goal for the week) ... and I organized all the papers/articles/ notes etc..
Laundry, went over to dinner at Jeff's parents


Weekend Fooooood: Jeff and I both wanted smoothies for breakfast saturday and sunday ( he admited he is slightly addicted to them now, and I love them too!) ... we are out of frozen blueberries and cherries, so I used two frozen bananas, and some mixed frozen fruit today..

Lunch: Sandwiches & Veggies ( Onion squares from Fresh Market, toasted with buffalo grilled chicken, zuchinni and tomatos on the side, and I had a small red plum too)
Here is my "fried veggies" ..
Dip the veggies in a mixture of ( 1 egg white, 1/2 chobani plain greek yogurt) ... then into 1:1 ratio mix of cornmeal and flour, then in the pan THINLY coated with Smart Balance Oil ( I use as little as possible... but totally dont mind the healthy fat!! )

Dinner: Jeff's mom made "boiled peanuts" ... and turkey, stuffing with celery, mushrooms and onions, steamed veggies, and corn zuchinni cakes ( low carb version of potato pancakes)... I kept my portions small so that I could enjoy the apple cake for dessert.
Yum... and I didnt have to cook or mess up my kitchen!

from my research articles for minority health...

It has been argued that the reason for the relationship between one's identity and food choice behavior may be based on the use of food choices as a means of enacting one's identity and communicating it to others. As an example, a person who chooses to become vegetarian for ethical or health reasons would have a difficult time returning to meat eating without redefining his or her identity as an eater. (Devine 2005)