Hey guys,
Today is completely gorgeous outside, and I’ve hit all of my to-do’s so far, so that puts me in a gorgeous mood!
I woke up this morning around 10 AM. I goofed off for a while and had two oatmeal zucchini mini-muffins:
Pre Workout Snack was 151 calories, 25g carbs, 5g fat, and 3g protein.
Then I hit the gym for some cardio. I tried some new workout music - some mashups by Girl Talk. I’m obsessed with him right now! It really inspired my workouts. I’m always amazed how music really affects the intensity and duration of my workouts. I did the treadmill with weights, Cardio Wave (which I’m really starting to love by the way), and the stepmill. I really pushed myself on the stepmill - my heart rate was in the 180s! I started to do the elliptical after getting off the stepmill, but I felt almost nauseous and my nose was starting to throb. I took that as a bad sign, and cut my workout short. Cardio Smorgas = 451 calories burned. My nose is still hurting a few hours later, so I’m kind of worried about that. 
After showering and preparing the apt a bit for an afternoon of cooking, I met Arielle at Quantum Leap for brunch. I started off with an iced coffee (unpictured, sorry!) For an entree, I had the Strawberry Pancakes Stack: two strawberry pancakes with strawberries and bananas. It came with whipped cream, but I opted out of that.
Reminds me of a similar brunch I had a few weeks ago! This restaurant was organic and vegan - so these babies were delicious. I probably ate 4/5ths of this. Brunch was estimated at 550 calories.
For the rest of the afternoon I’ll be cooking! My favorite thing. Then we’ve got to head out to party! What a tough day. 
i love girl talk!!
Yum I want those pancakes! I hope your nose feels better, but it’s good you listened to your body and stopped when you did
You are right music works like magic. Strawberry pancake is so yummy.
Enjoy the party and weekend.
How did you lose all the weight you did so far??? and how many calories do you typically eat a day. I’ve been struggling so hard to lose weight.. any advice would be awesome!
Thanks!
Your brunch looks way more responsible than my brunch. However, I have decided to tell myself that I really needed the protein rush of huevos rancheros with beans and rice. Which reminds me — I notice reading past entries of your blog that you always say you feel fantastic after getting on a roll with eating piles of fruit and veggies, salads, etc. I, on the other hand, have noticed that I feel mega-lethargic when I go vegan for more than a few meals in a row. How are you getting the protein? Is that the secret of all the hemp milk, bars, etc?
Strawberries and bananas on pancakes, always a good combo.
The music you listen to while working out makes a TON of difference. I automatically speed up or slow down without even thinking about it based on what song plays next. I can be completely at the end of my rope and then an upbeat song will come on and I’ll get a whole new jolt of enery.
The food looks gooood. I really want to make zucchini muffins now.
Gliding calm - me too! Recent discovery for me!
Ashley - Re: stopping workout, you know, I wasn’t going to stop, but I thought about what P would say if he was there - that’s when I quit. He’s much more cautious than I am - I’m more likely to power through the pain.
Pat - Thanks, you too!
KrisT - I usually average around 1500 calories a day (but I’m tall - 5′9). I workout 5 or 6 days a week, burning around 400 calories per workout. My best weight loss advice would be to take one day at a time. You can’t control tomorrow; you can’t control yesterday; you can only control today. You can only do your best right now. I still have to remind myself of this. Despite my loss, I still have a ways to go until my ultimate goal. I just try to do the best every day; celebrate my wins, forget and learn from my losses. As far as practical advice, there really is no magic formula: move more, eat less. If there was a third part to that, I would add eat better: fruits, veggies, whole grains. Hope that helps! Good luck with your journey!
Sara - Great observation! I do feel awesome from a ton of fruits and veggies - but protein is definitely key too. I eat alot of beans for protein, I’ve found. Plus, you’re right, a good bar is a good protein source. Plus cottage cheese! You can get 30g of protein from 1 cup of nonfat cottage cheese - only 130 calories. Total bargain. Usually my awesome veggie/fruit lunches contain cottage cheese, so that would make sense. Fiber is really good for satiety and energy, I’ve found. So maybe up your fiber for your vegan meals to make them give you more staying power?
Brittany - totally.
Kristie - you’re SOOO right. I couldn’t have said it better.
- Kate