Lots-o-exercise

This stuff about getting back into the gym is really hard!! Who would've thought! Well, this week has gone as follows so far:

Sunday = ran a 10K race in the sun and heat
Monday = 260 sit-ups, porn stars and the worst most painful shoulder crap you could possibly imagine
Tuesday = 30 minutes cardio on the elliptical
Wednesday = had popcorn and licorice for dinner (they were out of sour patch kids...)
Thursday = fight club work out complete with kick ass kicks!!!!! and a really smelly T ride home
Friday (planned) = 60 minutes of cardio

So it seems that I've got the exercise on track, time to get back to getting the food on track. I'm hoping that with regular exercise, that the sugar cravings will abate. I'm guessing that I'll need a little more sleep and lots more water to help with that too though.

Somehow, in all of that, I haven't been able to write. That means lots of photos! Why now? Why tonight? Because I've got a big dinner coming up tomorrow and I'm fairly certain that it will be worthy of it's own post!

6/22/12

Clearly, an interesting food day since this was the only thing I photographed

 6/23/12--a Saturday

What a great breakfast! Ham, bacon, eggs with cheese and salsa and potatoes

 Mmmmm, drove all the way to Waltham for Pizza Hut...don't worry, I really ate all 4 pieces.

 What a great way to wind down the day! Ice cream at the Marina!

I don't know if you ever pay attention to the background of any of these pictures. For this one, though, you just have to. What a great sunset there was that night!

And some fresh oysters...and french fries on the water

 6/24/12

Post-race ham sub---lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, mayo, and mustard

No photo, but after the race, there was a banana, some frozen strawberries, and some chocolate peanut butter energy bar

 fro-yo with fresh fruit!

Mmmm, Chinese takeout!

 6/25/12

Chocolate filled croissant from Au Bon Pain

 Salad and pizza

 Snack after abs class

Too lazy or too tired to make dinner?

 6/26/12

fairly standard breakfast fare

 buffalo chicken pizza and salad

 Mmmm, frozen yogurt and fruit

And out for Ethiopian food with a classmate!

 6/27/12

Snap Crackle and POP!!!

 Panera!

Salad with strawberries, blueberries, mandarin oranges, and pecans

Turkey, bacon, and gouda on whole grain

 Bakery made snow ball--vanilla icing instead of marshmallow, but it did the trick

Steak quesadilla with guacamole

There was much unphotographed popcorn and licorice later on at the movies

 6/28/12

A little extra protein at breakfast this morning

 fries with rosemary and a falafel from Clover

Giant steak, broccoli and cous cous...I can't believe I ate the *whole* steak!!! This is how hungry the fight club makes me.

It's like a heat wave!

Summer is here and brought a heat wave!! It was in the 90's yesterday and today. I love this weather. Maybe I'm crazy. You know what's good about this weather? It makes me not want to eat so much!

Unfortunately, I didn't make it to the gym much this week...there was always something going on. The zoo had a giant corpse flower on display and in bloom...and then I saw a preview of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.

Tonight, I did make it to the gym though. 50 minutes cardio. Not great, but not bad. You wouldn't believe how difficult it is to work-out indoors when it's so hot and humid outside. Yes, I love this weather, but it sure is hard to get a good work-out in!

 6/19/12

I can't resist those darned chocolate muffins!

 salad and minestrone soup

buffalo chicken and bacon pizza

 6/20/12

everything bagel with scallion cream cheese

 mmmm, fruit!



So, I did have a firehouse salad for lunch, but forgot to photograph it...

nachos for dinner

 6/21/12

In all fairness, I ended up tossing the sticky bun away

Mediterranean salad with chicken

A little breakfast for dinner!!

Eat to be calm

I was poking around on the internet today...looking up anxiety and nutrition. This week at work has the potential to be a stressful one and I want all the back up I can get! So, I figured I'd see if there were any foods I should avoid and maybe some others I should add. Guess what. Don't you know that everything I love is on the 'Avoid' list! Ugh.

All my go-to's...coffee, sugar, spicy, dairy, fried food. Like I said, all the good stuff! Ok, all the not-so-good stuff.

So what is on the list of foods to eat to help reduce anxiety? Fresh fruits, veggies, foods rich in Omega 3 fatty acids, water, magnesium rich foods (black beans, soy), and foods with tryptophan. OK...so, all the stuff that I eat normally. Well, mostly. The trick is to avoid the crap that induces, or contributes to anxiety.

As we also know, proper nutrition alone will not keep us calm. Proper nutrition combined with exercise and some quiet time are necessary. As for me, I did make it to the gym today. One hour on the elliptical. As for quiet time...well, I turned the TV off and am in the process of cooking a nutritious meal for myself while writing this. What do you do for quiet time? How do you manage stress and keep yourself mentally calm?

 6/13/12

Admittedly, this was a late night snack on the 12th...

 keeping it healthy!

the pear was actually an after-gym snack and the yogurt was to satisfy my craving for something sweet

 6/14/12

OK, a little heavier on the breakfast...and definitely not avoiding the anxiety-inducing caffeine with that quad grande Americano!

 fries with Rosemary and chickpea fritter from Clover

free ice cream day at Simmons!!!


I think this was the day that I had popcorn and sour patch kids for dinner...evening at the movies

 6/15/12
satisfying a chocolate craving with a croissant

 nuts for a snack and a fruit cup

 mmm, sushi

red meat craving!

 6/16/12

there's Uncle Sam cereal under all that fruit and yogurt

 chicken and cilantro dumplings with dipping sauce

 continuing the red meat theme

Indian food!!!! Chicken Madras Curry, rice and daal makhani

 6/17/12

ice cream before brunch

 mmm, pancakes from scratch, kielbasa and fruit

nacho mania!

 6/18/12

satisfying yet another craving with a chocolate muffin

 the healthy part of the morning

yeah, I picked out all that crappy bitter raddicchio!

a little pork chop, smashed potatoes, and fresh green beans