Challenge 3 Day 11

Did cardio. Drank water. Food was off to an iffy start because I woke up late.

cottage cheese
egg salad on whole wheat roll

coffee w/ cream
carrots
chicken breast

corn
cubed steak
tea w/ cream

homemade protein bar

Calories - 1350
Carbs - 116 (19 fiber)
Protein - 145
Fat - 38
C/P/F Ratio - 33.4/41.7/24.9

Protein Bar recipe

I can't remember where I found this - probably lowcarbfriends.com - but it was in my BFFM/BFL binder. I made the chocolate version.

Preheat oven to 350F

3 cups rolled oats
1 cup (about 92 grams/1 pouch) dry milk
4 scoops (120 grams) protein powder (chocolate or vanilla)
1/2 cup (about 16 grams) Splenda
1 cup (230 grams) low fat cottage cheese
1/2 cup egg substitute
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup sugar free Davinci syrup (chocolate or vanilla)

In one bowl, mix the dry ingredients. In another bowl, mix wet ingredients. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix well. Pour into a well greased (nonstick spray) 9x13 inch pan. Bake 15-20 minutes. Let cool on wire rack. Cut into bars.


Nutritional information for the chocolate bars I made

Cut into 9 bars (which the original recipe calls for):
205 calories
3 g fat
28 g carbs (3 g fiber)
20 g protein

Cut into 12 bars:
154 calories
2 g fat
21 g carbs (2 g fiber)
15 g protein

Cut into 16 bars (what I ended up with):
115 calories
1.7 g fat
16 g carbs (1.6 g fiber)
11 g protein

The verdict:

They aren't horrible. Slightly sweet with an oatmeal texture. I'll make them again. My 3 year old loves them! I might blend the cottage cheese in the food processor first, rather than just mixing it in. Oh, and even though I sprayed the heck out of my pan, it still stuck to it, so I'll use parchment paper next time.

Pics:

whole thing in pan

single serving

Challenge 3 Day 10

Weights were fantastic today!!! I bumped up and did 3x5:

goblet squats - 20 lbs
Romanian deadlifts - 47 lbs
lat pull downs - 17.5 lbs
Arnies - 20 lbs (and these were rough!!!)
one arm db rows - 20 lbs
low incline db press - 20 lbs

ball crunches - I actually do these as part of my warm up, 3x10

Food is ok. Calories could be higher, but I don't feel like I'm starving and I'm not lacking energy. I'm getting my protein, though.

cottage cheese
toast

chicken sandwich w/ mustard

chicken breast
green beans
coffee w/ cream

carrots
egg salad on whole wheat roll
tea w/ skim milk

shrimp
brown rice
tea w/ skim milk

tea w/ skim milk
air-popped popcorn

Calories - 1272
Carbs - 144 (28 fiber)
Protein - 127
Fat - 29
C/P/F Ratio - 43/37.8/19.2

Challenge 3 Day 9

I only did 20 minutes on the elliptical today. I'll bump up to 30 minutes next week. Maybe. I might try some HIIT with it. I like higher intensity, less time.

I was adding weights to my crap for tomorrow and did some curls with the dumbbells - 20 pounds! Go me. I only did 1 set of 5, but I probably could do 3x5 properly. I don't plan to add curls to my program right now. I hate curls.

Food was ok. I got off to a bit of a rocky start because I went a long time between meals, but I managed to get my calories up a bit. And I'm very proud of myself for NOT buying the junk food I wanted at the store.

hard boiled egg

cottage cheese
coffee w/ cream

chicken sandwich w/ mustard & pepper jack cheese
carrots w/ sour cream, mayo, mustard dip

stroganoff w/ whole wheat noodles & venison
tea w/ skim milk

tea w/ skim milk

Calories - 1344
Carbs - 106 (14 fiber)
Protein - 129
Fat - 46
C/P/F Ratio - 31.1/38/30.8

Challenge 3 Day 8

I bumped up to 3 sets of 10 today for my strength training, so I think I'm ready to add weight and go to 3x5. Except for Arnold presses. Those things suck. And I got 20 minutes on the elliptical, moderate intensity. I guess I am ready to get back into regularly scheduled cardio. I was going to go the HIIT route, but I think I'll do some longer steady state sessions for a while.

Food was better today, too. Hopefully it will keep up.

cottage cheese
hard boiled egg
toast

chicken sandwich

coffee w/ cream
fortified French toast

tea w/ skim milk
yogurt

tuna patties on whole wheat rolls w/ cheese & mustard
tea w/ cream

Calories - 1477
Carbs - 128 (29 fiber)
Protein - 164
Fat - 53
C/P/F Ratio - 31.1/39.9/28.9

Challenge 3 Day 7

I love Cheerios. They were BOGO free at the grocery store, and are perfect for my post workout meals. Yay! Unfortunately, a serving of Cheerios is not much. :(

On the bright side, weigh in today puts me at 144.5, so less than 30 pounds to goal. Since January 1, 2007, I have lost 46.5 pounds. I need to get around to doing measurements. I haven't done any since I started my second BFL challenge at the end of November. Maybe I'll do them at the end of February. That actually sounds like a good idea - I'll do my current program until then, and on March 1, start Baby Got Back properly.

Food was better today, thanks to the endless tea with cream. I will have to switch to milk though - 300 of my calories today were from the light table cream. Plus, it's not cheap to buy around here. So maybe I'll just put the cream in my coffee and stick with skim milk in my tea.

coffee w/ cream
cottage cheese
Cheerios w/ skim milk

tea w/ cream
chicken sandwich w/ mustard & pepper jack cheese

tea w/ cream
pinto beans
green beans
pork loin

tea w/ cream

tea w/ cream

Calories - 1462
Carbs - 115 (23 fiber)
Protein - 124
Fat - 61
C/P/F Ratio - 30.6/32.9/36.5

Challenge 3 Day 6

Workout was great today! I used the same weights and reps as Thursday. I'm going to shoot for 10 reps on Monday. The only thing I don't like is the ab workout. I think I'm going to go back to doing the Ab Boot Camp. I'll have to think about it. Or maybe drop abs altogether. My body fat will never be low enough to see the definition there, and my core gets a workout from the other exercises. Maybe some pilates instead of the boot camp. Crap, I don't know.

Food has not been so good. I knew if I joined the challenge on my private board that I'd fall into this trap. I'm afraid to eat because I want to win, and more than that, I just want these last 30 pounds gone. I know that eating so little is not the way to do it. But really, I'm not starving myself - most days I am over 1200 calories. Still, that goes against everything I've learned the last 6 or 7 months about eating - that I don't need a huge deficit to lose weight. I can rationalize and say that the lower calories lately makes up for the lack of cardio, but who am I kidding? Even if I were doing my cardio (which will resume next week), I would probably be just as hesitant to eat. I have to get out of this habit.

hard boiled egg

chicken sandwich w/ mustard
coffee w/ cream

cottage cheese
carrots
tea w/ cream

shrimp
cauliflower w/ oriental sauce
tea w/ cream

tea w/ cream

Calories - 1063
Carbs - 74 (11 fiber)
Protein - 98
Fat - 42
C/P/F Ratio - 27.7/36.7/35.7

Challenge 3 Day 5

I didn't eat enough today, but I did sit on my butt for most of the day - ok, all of the day. I still have a cough but I'm resuming cardio next week.

hard boiled egg
coffee w/ cream

chicken breast & onion omelet w/ salsa & sour cream
toast

chicken breast
carrots

eggs
venison patty on sandwich roll
tea w/ cream

tea w/ cream

Calories - 1193
Carbs - 76 (20 fiber)
Protein - 118
Fat - 54
C/P/F Ratio - 24.1/37./38.7

Challenge 3 Day 4

My legs are still sore, but it really felt great doing my workout. I bumped my reps to 3x8, with the following:

goblet squats 16 lbs
Romanian dead lifts 37 lbs (taking bar weight into account)
lat pull down 15 lbs (per side - my apparatus requires weights on both sides)
Arnold presses 16 lbs
one arm dumbbell rows 16 lbs
low incline dumbbell presses 16 lbs
ball crunches

I'm going to stick with this for at least the next workout, then maybe move to 10 reps. When I can do 10, I'll increase the weight.

Food is still just ok. I'm not eating enough, and I'm not following any sort of rules. I'm just trying not to eat crap.

banana
hard boiled egg

chicken breast w/ mustard
whole wheat sandwich roll
coffee w/ cream

cottage cheese

cottage cheese (again)

shrimp w/ butter sauce
whole wheat penne
tea w/ cream

Calories - 1300
Carbs - 118 (12 fiber)
Protein - 123
Fat - 40
C/P/F Ratio - 35.6/37.1/27.3

Challenge 3 Day 3

Oh, my aching legs! I love it and I can't wait until tomorrow's workout!!! I already have everything set up with the new weights - I just have to remember to go for 6 reps per set. If I can do it, I may go for 8 reps. We'll see.

fortified French toast
coffee w/ cream

grilled cheese sandwich

egg salad on English muffin

peanut butter
celery

chicken breast
steamed broccoli
tea w/ cream

Calories - 1309
Carbs - 127 (44 fiber)
Protein - 105
Fat - 62
C/P/F Ratio - 34.2/28.3/37.5

Challenge 3 Day 2

I did my strength training today, and it rocked!!! Even though I really underestimated how much I could lift, I thought it went well. I'll be increasing the weights for everything on Thursday, and increasing the number of reps to 6. I'll go from there. I really, really like the program - my quads are screaming right now - and I can't wait until next week when I can add a little cardio.

hard boiled egg (pre workout)

cotttage cheese
banana (post workout)

fortified French toast
coffee w/ cream

egg salad on English muffin
tea w/ cream

venison
carrots
tea w/ cream

venison

Calories - 1462
Carbs - 119 (25 fiber)
Protein - 159
Fat - 47
C/P/F Ratio - 31/41.5/27.5

Challenge 3 Day 1

I'm calling it a challenge because I'm still going to do things in 12-week blocks, and I couldn't think of anything better to call it. I'm actually doing a Biggest Loser-like challenge with some people from a private board I'm on. That started about a week or so ago. But we're all doing different plans and have different goals. Cash prize though, for the person who loses the most within their respective groups. I just can't remember if it's actual pounds or a percentage of our goal.

I hate to admit this, but I was too lazy to get up and work out this morning. It was cold, I was running late for an appointment, and I just didn't feel like dealing with it, since my husband never finished the handles for my lat pull apparatus. Fortunately, T-Th-S will work this week and I am definitely getting up and doing it tomorrow. My biggest problem with getting up when my husband does is that it's too damn cold. I desperately want spring to come. Drinking tea is the only thing that keeps me warm.

Since I didn't work out today - though I did walk around the aquarium with my son - I'm keeping it lower carb. I'm going to try to eat carby stuff pre and post workout. Fibrous vegetables are fair game any time. Breads, starchy vegetables, and fruits though, will be limited.

cottage cheese
hard boiled egg
tea w/ cream

turkey breast
brown rice
tea w/ cream

turkey breast
broccoli & chipotle mayo/sour cream
tea w/ cream

tea w/ cream

Calories - 1246
Carbs - 88 (13 fiber)
Protein - 115
Fat - 50
C/P/F Ratio - 27.9/36.5/35.5

New Strength Training Routine

So, I've finally settled on a routine to replace Body For Life. I'm going to start with Built's Basically Training, then move on to her Baby Got Back routine. At this point, I have no idea how long I'll be doing Basically Training, but I'm starting with 3 sets of 5, and when I can do 3 sets of 8, I'll add weight. When I get bored with that, I will switch to BGB. Basically Training is a full-body workout three times a week, whereas BGB is more specialized into dominant muscle groups with a four day split. I'm easing back in this week, with no HIIT (because I still have some lung capacity problems at times). I'll add that next week, I think.

Here's the plan:

warm ups - 10 of: any style pushup, squats, walking lunges

goblet squats (3x5 @ 15 lbs)
Romanian dead lifts (3x5 @ 15 lbs)
lat pull down (3x5 @ 10 lbs) [The plan actually calls for chin/pull ups, but I can't do those yet (not even negatives or assisted) so I think these are the next best thing.]
Arnold presses (3x5 @ 10 lbs)
one arm dumbbell rows (3x5 @ 15 lbs)
low incline dumbbell presses (3x5 @ 10 lbs)
ball crunches

followed by 20 minutes of moderate intensity, steady state cardio

The weight load may change, depending on how it feels tomorrow.

Eating will pretty much stay the same, except I'll be carb cycling, so more Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle style eating. Or, I'll just wing it.

Almost Not Sick Challenge Days 6 & 7

I had a lot of leftover soup broth, but the chicken was gone, so I just added a bag of frozen broccoli florets and ate that all day. I ate badly Saturday and today, I'm hosting a post-holiday dinner for my family, with a naughty menu. Ok, it's not too bad, I suppose.

Appetizers:
jalapeno poppers
deviled eggs
veggies & dip

Meal:
roasted turkey
stuffing
mashed potatoes
steamed broccoli
rice
scalloped potatoes
au gratin potatoes
dinner rolls
gravy

Dessert:
brownies
cheesecake

I'm not making a lot of food, so portion control shouldn't be a problem.

No weigh in today. I was 146 on Friday though.

This Cough Can Bite Me Challenge Day 5

No numbers today because I'm making a home made creamy, cheesy broccoli and chicken soup, and I plan to enjoy it. So assume it's a high fat, moderate carb & protein day.

cottage cheese
apple
tea w/ cream

cottage cheese
English muffin
coffee w/ cream

peanuts
English muffin w/ butter

cream of broccoli & chicken soup

10 M&M minis (I couldn't resist!!)

cocoa crispies w/ skim milk

peanut butter & jelly sandwich

Ok, so I lost it a bit at the end here.

Tired of Being Sick Challenge Day 4

I am soooooooooooo over this crap. I can't wait until Monday. My muscles don't even remember what it feels like to lift.

brown rice
venison
tea w/ cream

cottage cheese
apple w/ cinnamon & Splenda

chicken breast
sweet potato

eggs
bacon
English muffin
tea w/ cream

Calories - 1406
Carbs - 109 (16 fiber)
Protein - 138
Fat - 49
C/P/F Ratio - 30.5/38.6/30.9

Between Challenges Recuperation Day 3

I made it all day on just cough drops, so that's progress. I almost feel good enough to start working out tomorrow, but I figured I'd hold of a few more days. I still have the cough, but it's not as bad, and I can breathe a little deeper. I don't really expect to be doing any HIIT in the near future, but I may try walking.

fortified french toast
tea w/ cream

venison burger on English muffing w/ mustard & light mayo

venison burger on English muffing w/ mustard & light mayo (again LOL)

cottage cheese
apple

shrimp
brown rice
tea w/ cream

Calories - 1324
Carbs - 147 (32 fiber)
Protein - 140
Fat - 30
C/P/F Ratio - 41.4/39.5/19.1

Between Challenges Recuperation Day 2

I am going nuts not working out. I am definitely restarting Monday, whether this cough is gone or not.

cottage cheese
apple
tea w/ cream

egg salad on English muffin

venison burger on whole wheat bagel w/ cheese & mustard

venison meatloaf
mashed cauliflower w/ cheese & bacon bits
tea w/ cream

Calories - 1612
Carbs - 102 (16 fiber)
Protein - 148
Fat - 69
C/P/F Ratio - 25.1/36.5/38.5

Between Challenges Recuperation Day 1

Still have the nasty cough, and I've started wheezing at night. It's very discouraging to get winded just walking across the room. I know the only thing I can do is rest and drink fluids. So, that's what I did today. I actually drank all 10 cups of water. Go me! I'll soon have to start doing something physical, or I'll go nuts. Maybe go for a walk with my son.

Still trying to be good with the food, especially since I'm not burning much off.

cottage cheese
apple
tea w/ cream

cottage cheese
multigrain English muffin

chicken breast
sweet potato

green pepper, onion, & garlic omelet w/ cheese
tea w/ cream

banana smoothie

Calories - 1462
Carbs - 154 (17 fiber)
Protein - 131
Fat - 42
C/P/F Ratio - 40.4/34.5/25.1

Challenge 2 Day 49

This is officially my last day of my second BFL challenge. I weighed in at 148.5 pounds today, which is down from my last low, so that's good. I'll spend the next week still eating on plan while I research my next steps. I am looking into Built's Baby Got Back routine. I've heard a lot of great things about it. My husband is going to modify my weight bench so I can do things like lat pulls and rack pulls. He already showed me how to do chin ups and pull ups on it. I can't do them yet. I just don't have the upper body strength. But I'll get there.

Food was a bit high in fat today, but my calorie range was really good.

chicken & broccoli omelet w/ cheese
tea w/ cream
multigrain english muffin

tea w/ cream
cashews

homemade chicken calzone (even the crust was made from scratch!!!)

Calories - 1429
Carbs - 114 (18 fiber)
Protein - 76
Fat - 80
C/P/F Ratio - 30.9/20.5/48.6

Challenge 2 Day 48

No workout today. I'm wiped out. I have to take some time off to kick this cough. And I think when I get back, I'll be doing a new routine. I love BFL, but I'm getting tired of UBWO taking forever. I enjoy weight lifting (a lot) so I'm considering a different split. There is a plan I'm looking into, and eating will stay the same (except I might carb/calorie cycle). So, for the next week, I won't be working out while I let my body recover and gear up for the new plan.

Food one was pretty good today, considering I haven't really had an appetite.

cottage cheese
egg salad on mini wheat bagel
tea w/ cream

fortified french toast
tea w/ cream

peanut butter on mini wheat bagel

shrimp & pasta

cashews

Calories - 1444
Carbs - 155 (23 fiber)
Protein - 78
Fat - 68
C/P/F Ratio - 40.2/20.3/39.5

Challenge 2 Day 47

No numbers today, because my husband is actually cooking dinner. He's making stuffed catfish, and I really wasn't paying attention to what he put in it. Prior to dinner, I was up around 1100 calories. We had lunch at McDonalds, and I had my usual chicken salad, but I also had to try the new Chipotle BBQ Snack Wrap. Excellent, but very sweet. If it had just been chipotle, I'd have loved it.

I'm itching for this challenge to end. I want to make some serious changes to my work out routine. I only have 5 more weeks, so I'm sure I'll stick with it, but in the meantime, I'm going to be dying for something new. I have something in mind, but I want to research it further and straighten it out in my own head.

egg salad wrap

McD's salad w/ ranch
chipotle bbq snack wrap

tea w/ cream

stuffed catfish
broccoli

popcorn

Challenge 2 Day 46

I officially feel like a loser. I couldn't run this morning. I'd planned to just walk my normal distance (about 1.3 miles) but even walking winded me, so I only walked (3.2 mph) for 20 minutes. I better kick this cough soon. It's starting to annoy me. I didn't even do my ab workout today.

cottage cheese
whole wheat mini bagel

sweet potato
chicken breast
tea w/ cream

apple w/ peanut butter

venison burger on mini bagel
green beans
tea w/ cream

Calories - 1308
Carbs - 135 (23 fiber)
Protein - 106
Fat - 44
C/P/F Ratio - 39.8/31.2/29.1

Challenge 2 Day 45

I'm doing better today, but I'm still worried about cardio tomorrow. As much as I hate to, I think I'll have to slow down for the rest of the week. My lungs feel like crap.

My new LBWO is awesome! It's really challenging, especially the squats and lunges, but I enjoyed it today. It will be even more fun when I'm 100%!

Still working on appetite.

cottage cheese
whole wheat mini bagel

fortified french toast
tea w/ light cream

yogurt

shrimp
brown rice

chicken sandwich

Calories - 1335
Carbs - 154 (26 fiber)
Protein - 149
Fat - 28
C/P/F Ratio - 41.9/40.7/17.4

Challenge 2 Day 44

I'm on my way to 100%. I only took cold medicine once today, first thing when I woke up. I ate breakfast, did a few things around the house, then attempted my cardio. Every step, every second, made me want to cry. But I did it (without coughing) and at the end, my chest was killing me. I had to take a pretty long break before doing my ab workout.

Food hasn't been all that great today. I still don't have much of an appetite. Hopefully that will get better.

cottage cheese
apple

egg salad
whole wheat mini bagel

grilled cheese sandwich
tea w/ cream

chicken breast
green beans

tuna sandwich

Calories - 1284
Carbs - 123 (35 fiber)
Protein - 116
Fat - 53
C/P/F Ratio - 34.4/32.2/33.4

Challenge 2 Day 43

I woke up feeling better, but my workout totally kicked my butt. Just my warm up session on the elliptical wore me out. Then, a new routine with some new equipment took 30 minutes longer than normal. Fortunately, I don't expect the same problems next strength day. I am not, however, looking forward to any cardio and I will be really surprised if I can actually do it properly tomorrow.

I also didn't get all my water in. Even through it was quite warm here, I had the chills most of the day. So no water, no appetite. My numbers look bad. I won't be making a habit out of this though.

cottage cheese
hard boiled egg
skim milk

chicken wrap
tea

tea
ground bear (I just sampled the chili I made for my husband)

toast w/ butter

Calories - 1057
Carbs - 80 (22 fiber)
Protein - 89
Fat - 51
C/P/F Ratio - 28.2/31.4/40.4

Updated Exercise Routine

I'm not going to change up my cardio just yet. Mainly because I'm still sick and had a hard enough time just warming up this morning for weights. Plus, my treadmill is on it's last legs, I think. But for the record, here are the (approximate) paces I've been running:

Level 5 - 2.8 mph
Level 6 - 3.3 mph
Level 7 - 3.7 mph
Level 8 - 4.2 mph
Level 9 - 4.5 mph
Level 10 - 4.9+ mph

My husband got me an EZ Curl Bar the other day, to help with my skull crushers. So I decided to see what my bars weight. The EZ bar weighs 12 pounds and my regular bar weighs 12.5 pounds. When I list a weight on my blog or my fitness tracker, it only counts the plates I put on the bars, and not the bars themselves.

Upper Body

bench press: 25, 30, 35, 40, 35
modified push up

lying dumbbell row: 15, 17.5, 20, 22.5, 20
dumbbell shrug: 15

alternating dumbbell curl: 7.5, 10, 12.5, 15, 12.5
barbell curl: 20

standing overhead dumbbell press: 7.5, 10, 12.5, 15, 12.5
front raise: 7.5

EZ bar skull crusher: 5, 10, 15, 20, 15
close grip bench press (w/ EZ bar): 10

Lower Body

leg extension: 27.5, 30, 32.5, 35, 32.5
squat w/ EZ bar: 10

lying leg curl: 20, 22.5, 25, 27.5, 25
dumbbell lunge: 15

calf raise w/ dumbbells: 10, 15, 20, 25, 20
single leg calf raise

Still going to do the 6 minute butt blaster and bridges. Plus wrist curls (5).

Challenge 2 Day 42

Today was horrible. I feel like a slug. I didn't even weigh in because it hurt my skin to try to take my clothes off. I've figured out that I'm almost 90% normal if I remain medicated, but as soon as my 4 hour window is up, all my symptoms come crashing back. It sucks. I really, really want to be back on track tomorrow.

Challenge 2 Day 41

I'm starting to feel better, but I've decided to hold off on workouts until Monday, when I start the second half of my challenge. I'm still eating comfort foods and being lazy, and not caring, in general. But I do know that Monday I will be back on plan.

Challenge 2 Day 40

Sick again today, and now I have a cough/congestion. I wanted to do my LBWO but I just couldn't. I spent most of the day on the couch, under a mountain of blankets. I probably won't work out tomorrow, either. I want to rest, and restart fresh on Monday.

Challenge 2 Day 39

I am really sick today. I'm eating everything I shouldn't be and I don't care. Excuses, I know, but I don't care. I can't even get my water in because I'm so freaking cold.

I did work out though. My treadmill is starting to act wonky. I think I need a new one.

Challenge 2 Day 38

Cold weather really bites. It's making some things, such as getting out of bed early and drinking all my water, difficult. Since winter started, it's rare that I actually get up and work out when my husband leaves for work. It's much better just snuggling my son under the covers. So I'm wasting most of my morning. And I can barely tolerate drinking my water. I find myself spreading it out throughout the day, instead of getting it out of the way. I'll drink one 4-cup bottle, have a couple cups of coffee, then have the rest of my water (6 more cups), then more coffee sometimes. This is all much easier in the warmer months.

banana
cottage cheese

stuffed cabbage leftovers

air-popped popcorn
coffee w/ cream

light English muffin
peanut butter

shrimp
spaghetti squash
coffee w/ cream

coffee w/ cream

Calories - 1323
Carbs - 124 (25 fiber)
Protein - 125
Fat - 41
C/P/F Ratio - 36.3/36.6/27.1

Challenge 2 Day 37

In true New Year's fashion, I reflected on my last year of weight loss and browsed through my notebook where I logged my information before putting it on the computer. When I left for New York during the summer, I weighed in at 151 pounds. Today, six months later, I weighed in at 150 pounds. So in half a year, I've lost a whopping 1 NET POUND!!!!!!! I realize that there was a lot of up and down in that last half of 2007, but I did find it amusing that all I had to show for the last 6 months was a pathetic 16 ounces.

But then I realized that I have a lot more than that going for me. I've made great progress, nutritionally and physically, in the last six months. I've stopped the unhealthy practice of eating less and less. I've picked up a good habit or two. I'm stronger and leaner than I was 6 months ago.

And, looking at the big picture - I lost 41 pounds in 2007. I started 2007 at 191 pounds. I'm more than halfway to goal. So 2007 was nothing to sneeze at, and you're darn right I'm going to brag about my progress. I'm not ashamed of my mistakes along the way, either, because I have learned from them. So, here's to a healthy (but not necessarily perfect) 2008! Will I reach my goal of 115 pounds? Who knows. Will I be upset if I don't? Heck no. All I can do is just keep doing what I've been doing.

Back to your regularly scheduled blog entry...

I'm committing to 12 virtual 5Ks this year, on or about the first of every month. Today's V5K went very well. I did my regular BFL cardio in the morning, then a few hours later, did the 5K. I was trying to watch a show on my Zune, so I wasn't going as fast as I could have, but I still worked up quite the sweat.

January V5k stats: 3.11 miles in 50:05

(I can't tell exactly when I hit 3.1 miles because of the way the treadmill's tracker functions, hence the 1/100th detail.)

apple
cottage cheese

hard boiled egg
whole wheat mini bagel w/ cream cheese

coffee w/ cream
venison
cauliflower

cottage cheese

venison & bean stuffed cabbage w/ onion, garlic, tomato sauce

toast w/ butter

Calories - 1664
Carbs - 137 (31 fiber)
Protein - 185
Fat - 52
C/P/F Ratio - 31.1/42.2/26.7