May 28, 2008

Procrastinator Jones

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That’s me! After an annoyingly, stupidly stressful afternoon of errands I got home and did a whole bunch of goofing around at home. The gym was definitely on the agenda, but it took me a good couple hours to work up the motivation/strength to go – especially once Peter and I got home and were having some great catch-up time. During my crazy afternoon I had a Luna Bar on the street:

New flavor! Definitely a good one, although it might have been a little sickly sweet almost. Snack was 180 calories, 28g carbs, 4g fat, and 10g protein.

Back at the house, it was nearly 10 PM before I got it together to go to the gym. Before I left I had a Pre Workout Snack of 1/2c nonfat vanilla yogurt and 1/4 cup Ezekiel Cinnamon Raisin Cereal:

Pre Workout Snack was 175 calories, 36g carbs, 1g fat, and 9g protein.

Since I only had 30 min at they gym before it closed at 11, I had to make it count! I did a really intense workout on the stepmill. I was POURING sweat the ENTIRE time. Even though I burned a normal amount of calories, I did it in a much shorter period of time. It really made me feel great! Stepmill= 473 calories burned.

I have to admit, I am kind of on the fence these days about CP vs. NYSC. Even though CP is amazing, and I really like all they have to offer: great classes, SWIMMING (which I’ve really enjoyed), great pilates instruction, rock climbing, boxing, the list goes on…NYSC has one thing going for it: LOCATION. It is right across the street. This allows me to procrastinate all night, but still get in a great workout…or sleep late and still make it to the gym and work on time – both things I’ve been known to do. I don’t know. I’m going to take some time to think about it. NYSC is so easy for my schedule that I can’t NOT workout. But CP is such an experience – really taking my fitness to a new level. Sigh. I guess it’s quality vs. quantity. What would you do?

I wasn’t really hungry for dinner, so I let P determine the menu. His creation was turkey and cheese on rye with mustard – typical boy sandwich. :)

Dinner was approximately 400 calories.

Night everyone – I’m exhausted from that workout!

 

May 21, 2008

Return to the Kitchen!

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I finally got back in the kitchen tonight to pack my lunch for tomorrow and cook dinner. It felt great! But first, a recap of the afternoon.
I successfully avoided the office goodies, whew! I don’t know why I’ve been having such a rough time with them lately. Some days they’re not even a speck on my radar, others it’s all I can think about. Anyway, I had an iced coffee around 4:30 to perk up.

I wasn’t hungry after my large lunch, so I headed over to the gym without a pre-workout snack. It was okay, but I wish I had gotten one – I was starving by the end of the night. I started out with cardio, and then jumped into a Pilates mat class, where I met CP’s Pilates teacher, Howard, who is the nicest guy ever! I used the pilates ring for the first time – that was interesting, haha! After class, I spoke to Howard about the Pilates Reformer classes that he teaches. He’s so positive and upbeat – I loved having him as a teacher in the large mat class, I can’t wait for a smaller reformer class! After the pilates class I did a bit more cardio, and then went for a swim. Even though I was at CP for close to 2.5 hrs, I loved every second of it. Pilates class and cardio = 450 calories burned.

On my way out of the gym, I realized I was starving and headed to the CP cafe for a snack. The choices were plentiful: anything and everything you could want! I liked how I picked my snack: I thought what have I eaten, what do I need to eat, re: food groups, fat, protein, carbs, etc. I decided on a banana to get some fruit in:

Snack was 94 calories, 24g carbs, 0g fat, and 1g protein.

When I got home I whipped up a new batch of chickpea cutlets from Veganomicon. These turned out to be the best of any batch I’ve made! Just incredibly delicious! I made a couple subs based on what I had in house: added fennel seed, extra paprika, left out garlic. Amazing. I had one of an Ezekiel hamburger bun (love) with ketchup for dipping. :)

Dinner was 393 calories, 56g carbs, 10g fat, and 26g protein.

This post has taken MUCH longer than it should have because I had to switch computers (luckily we have FIVE different ones in our small NYC apt – computer nerd bf) and upload pictures twice, boo. So I have to rush off to bed – but to close, here are some BEAUTIFUL flowers I saw today. I’m loving having my camera on me 24/7 because of the blog – I’m able to capture anything on a whim! Night!

 

May 20, 2008

Sweet Dreams and Dreamy Oats

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Morning!  Despite having gone to bed at 10:30 last night, I was still exhausted when I woke up this morning!  I could barely make it out of bed, and had to do my least favorite thing – take a cab to Pilates class.  Grrr, it’s so anti-health to take a cab to the gym – I feel so guilty, but otherwise I’d be really late for class.  Class was okay – I got scolded for yawning.  I’m starting to feel really frustrated with my Pilates classes.  They’re pretty expensive (relatively) and I feel like I’m getting scolded and reprimanded rather than encouraged and corrected. Maybe it’s just the idea of Chelsea Piers floating in the back of my mind, but I’m concerned about this.

Anyway, today was one of those mornings where I kept knocking my HRM against the reformer, so I’m just going to estimate.  Pilates class and walk = 400 calories burned.

Before I left, I had two mini-muffins:

Pre Workout Snack was 166 calories, 29g carbs, 5g fat, and 3g protein.

This morning breakfast was normal banana oatmeal, but I used a 1/2c hemp milk with 1/3c water instead of a mix of water, milk, and hemp milk.  This resulted in really creamy, dreamy oats!

Yum!  Unfortunately, I forgot the flax, boo.  I always forget the flax because it’s in the freezer.  Out of sight, out of mind.  Breakfast was 372 calories, 61g carbs, 12g fat, and 10g protein.

After work today, if I have time, I may hit up Chelsea Piers to see about this swimming pool.  :) Peter is leaving for the long weekend tomorrow, so he wants to go to a fancy dinner tonight – my choice.  Anybody got any good downtown restaurant recommendations?

 

May 15, 2008

You’re never fully dressed without a smile!

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I’ve had that song stuck in my head all morning! Normally, it would drive me crazy, but I’m in such a good mood today – I don’t mind! I made it to my Pilates class this morning, which was awesome because I had a great workout! The new location is closer to my house – so I don’t have to shower/get ready at the gym. Plus we have new people in the class, so it’s nice not to be the class dunce anymore. :) Pilates class and walk = 454 Calories Burned. I’ve missed my morning workouts! It felt awesome to be all stretched out and limber at 8 AM – and to know that I can come home and relax tonight without having to worry about making it to the gym.  Before I left I had my favorite slice of Cinnamon Raisin Ezekiel Bread with a tbsp Almond Butter:

Pre Workout Snack was 175 calories, 21g carbs, 9g fat, and 7g protein.

At work I had to jump into a meeting before I had a chance to eat, boo! But I did have an awesome meeting with my boss – PLUS, I finally received all the paperwork I needed and faxed it off to my insurance company. They’re reviewing my surgery today/tomorrow/next week, and I really really REALLY hope it’s approved! The operation is scheduled for June 9th, and I’ve already arranged for the time off, saved the money, and talked myself into deal with the pain – I’m ready!

After my meeting and faxing excitment, I had a bowl of Ezekiel Cinnamon Raisin Cereal with hemp milk, and banana:

This was great – definitely a good use of hemp milk, but surprisingly caloric! Breakfast was 571 calories, 120g carbs (this is mostly from the Ezekiel cereal – the Ezekiel bread has very little carbs, I wonder why this has so much?), 4g fat, and 20g protein.

Have an amazing day!

 

May 13, 2008

Strawberry Banana Oatmeal, Take 2

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Well, this morning I was supposed to start my new 7 AM Pilates class – same teacher, same students, different time and location.  Well, I woke up at 6:15 and without even really thinking about it, my body said ‘ No, thank you’ and fell back asleep.  Ah well.  I would have loved to have gone to Pilates, but I’m working on listening to my body – and sometimes it doesn’t always respond the way I want it to!  So I’ll do my makeup class this Thursday, and start new classes next Tuesday.  P is headed out with some colleagues tonight, so I’ll have time to go to the gym, make a nice dinner, and catch up on my ’stories’.  I’m looking forward to a relaxing, calm night.  If I wasn’t so scared of NYC bathtubs (no matter how much you scrub them), I would take a bath. :)

For breakfast this morning, I tried the Strawberry Banana Oatmeal again, this time as legit oatmeal:

1/2c oatmeal

1/4c hemp milk

1/4c nonfat milk

1/2c water

vanilla

medium banana

5 strawberries

1 tbsp flax

MUCH better.  Downright delicious!  Breakfast was 325 calories, 58g carbs, 7g fat, and 12g protein.

So here we have the much anticipated Bumble and Bumble before and after pictures:

Before:

And after:

They didn’t take off too much length, just gave it a ton of shape.  I really love it.

Alright everyone, have a great day!

 

May 8, 2008

Nobody Better Lay a Finger…

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…on my Butterfinger! Yesterday Tina at Carrots and Cake made Almond Joy Oatmeal. It looked amazing! That got me thinking – what other types of candy bar inspired oatmeal concoctions could be made? Butterfinger was the first idea to cross my mind. It was always my favorite candy bar growing up but – come to think of it, I haven’t actually had one in years! Anyway, so here is my recipe for Butterfinger Muesli:

  • 1/2c oatmeal
  • 1/4c nonfat milk
  • 1/2c nonfat vanilla yogurt
  • 2 oz unsweetened almond milk
  • 1 tbsp peanut butter mixed in (For normal oatmeal, I usually use the peanut butter on the spoon method, so you can get a little pb in each bite. But for this, when I wanted a pb infused concoction, where the smell and look was just as important, I feel that mixed in is the way to go)
  • vanilla extract
  • almond extract
  • 1 tbsp flax
  • 1/8c chocolate chips
  • And for the crispety crunch topping, 1 tbsp ground almonds

Mix ingredients. Store in fridge overnight. Makes 1.

Maybe I’m just Muesli-crazy these days, but I loved, loved, loved this combo! It really did taste like a Butterfinger bar. Again, this could be made on the stove as hot oatmeal, where the chocolate would melt a bit, yum! But making it as muesli gave it a dreamy creaminess.

This was soooo tasty. You could smell and taste the pb in every bite, and the ground almonds were fun to eat. Breakfast was 541 calories, 67g carbs, 25g fat, and 21g protein.

I skipped my Pilates class this morning because I had to be at the office early for a meeting, so I’ll make that class up on Tuesday. I’m not sure when I’ll make it to the gym today – I have to go uptown to my apartment after work to clean up because I have a guest staying there this weekend, and I’m supposed to have drinks with a friend tonight too. I’ll either have to rush or rearrange some things. Have a great day everyone!

 

May 6, 2008

Wimpola

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Morning, morning, morning! I totally could not get out of bed this morning. When I finally pulled myself out of bed, I promptly settled into the couch to read emails and blogs. Bad Kate! It got so late that I had actually had to take a cab to the gym. A cab. to the gym. Oh the humanity. Even so, I arrived 5 minutes late, grr. Before my cab-ride-o-shame, I had my fave Cinnamon Raisin Ezekiel 4:9 Bread with PB:

Pre Workout Snack was 175 calories, 21g carbs, 9g fat, and 7g protein.

Pilates class kicked my tail this morning. There are two other people in the class and I’m totally behind the other two. I am clearly the dunce – it’s quite embarrassing. The teacher scolded me this morning. She said I don’t speak up and tell her how I’m feeling. I don’t know what it is, but I’m definitely shyer (sp?) in class. There are just so many things to process and think about, that my mouth clams up! Since I didn’t walk today, I had a lower calorie burn than normal. Pilates class=350 calories burned.

It is officially my favorite time of year: street cart iced coffee time! The best 6 months of the year in NYC. Swoon. I had a cup this morning with a little fat free milk and Splenda:

Along with normal oatmeal: banana, milk, walnuts, flax, cinnamon, and vanilla:

All together:

Maybe it was the addition of the coffee, but I felt so full this morning! It was tough finishing my oatmeal. Breakfast was 380 calories, 59g carbs, 12g fat, 14g protein.

Feeling good and strong this morning! Have a great day!

 

May 1, 2008

Pilates and Work Oats

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Another day, another dollar.  This morning I woke up at 6:25, which is early (for me) and went to my Tuesday/Thursday Pilates Reformer class.  Today marks the end of the third week of classes (classes last for a month at a time), and I think I’ll sign up for next month’s session as well.  I’ve definitely noticed improvements in both my strength and flexibility, so I think it’s worth waking up early for those benefits.  I have to wake up especially early because the classes aren’t at the gym across the street, they’re at the gym an avenue and 8 blocks away. Grr.

Before I left this morning I had a slice of Ezekial 4:9 Cinnamon Raisin bread with a tablespoon peanut butter:

Pre Workout Snack is 175 calories, 21g carbs, 9g fat, and 7g protein.

 

Pilates was pretty good this morning.  Today we mainly worked on strength and lengthening exercises.  The instructor said we would feel like we were on a stretching machine afterwards – and I definitely do!  My hips especially feel really great – all loosey goosey!  Unfortunately I must have bumped my HRM during my workout because I went to check it halfway through, and it was turned off!  I’ll just estimate my calorie burn from past classes.

Pilates class and walk = 390 calories burned.

At work I had my usual breakfast of Old Fashioned Oatmeal, banana, milk, cinnamon, vanilla, flax and walnuts during my morning meeting:

 

Breakfast is 380 calories, 59g carbs, 12g fat, and 14g protein.

 

See you for lunch!