Cardio Slideshow

I read a nifty little slideshow while walking on the treadmill tonight.  I pasted some of my favorite fat blasting tips from the slideshow below.  Also, my immediate thoughts on each can be found in red.

Crank it up early
Working out harder during the first half of your workout and taking it easier during the second burns up to 23% more fat than doing the opposite, according to a study from The College of New Jersey.

This is pretty much the opposite of how I train.  Oops!

Catch the running bug
You’ll continue to burn fat after your jog: People who run for at least four hours a week melt more calories than non-runners, even when they’re not running, a Yale University School of Medicine study reports.

I try and try and TRY to like running… but I do not.  I do like sprinting. I don’t foresee that happening for FOUR+ hours a week. Ha!  I wonder if the non-running/control group was completely sedentary.

Guzzle green tea—or coffee
Downing five 5-ounce cups of green tea a day boosts metabolism, says Lyssie Lakatos, RD, author of Fire Up Your Metabolism. Two cups of coffee will also do the trick, one study shows.

I will drink more green tea!

Try aromatherapy
Exercisers who inhaled strawberry and buttered-popcorn scents torched more calories than those who sniffed neutral odors, according to research from the Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago.

I remember reading or hearing something similar about vanilla over a decade ago… might’ve been on Oprah. Don’t quote me on that.

Don’t forget your iPod
Women who walked while listening to tunes dropped two times more weight than women who didn’t, one study found.

I’d like to see this study.

Stay above 1,200 calories

"The average person’s body goes into starvation mode if she eats fewer than 1,200 calories a day," says Eric Berg, author of The 7 Principles of Fat Burning. "That’s stress, and stress creates more belly fat."

Yes, this is stress. *looks down at belly* I bet my feeding frenzy has nothing to do with it.

Think before you drink

Sipping as few as 90 calories’ worth of vodka can slow your metabolism by 73%, one study shows.

*plugs ears and sings* “Lalalalalalalalalalala.”  Ignorance is bliss. I did not just read that.

Get your snooze on
Sleep for a solid 8 1/2 hours instead of 5 1/2, according to research published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, and you’ll lose more fat. Sweet dreams!

I love this tip!  I find it easier to get at least 8.5 hours after drinking 90 calories (or more) of vodka.  

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Maybe all that rambling was pointless, but it did help the time fly by!

Tonight we had a veggie-fied dinner – meat free! I’m still not really feeling the protein… but I ordered new protein powder in hopes that I can bump it up a bit.

Tonight’s dinner! Some sort of portabella + peas alfredo-y pasta and garlicky multi-grain bread. The bread was good. The pasta was meh.

I used this:

It was DELICIOUS straight out of the container, but it was too cream cheese-y for my pasta. I added some garlic, butter, parm, and sour cream, but I couldn’t get the flavor I was hoping for. I think it was user error.

Oh! My bike pump came in today, too! So I filled up the tires and strapped the pump on! I love that it fits neatly next to my water bottle holder!  Too bad I can’t really reach down and get the water bottle out without toppling over. hahaha.

I wonder if I can find more of those linoleum tiles for the basement. Random.

I’m going to take a stab at meal planning tonight.  I haven’t been planning ahead, and I haven’t been seeing the progress I want. Time to clean things up a bit. I’d like to get back down to 120 and decide what happens from there. I usually don’t start losing strength until I’m around 115, so I am HOPING that means I won’t lose muscle.  I took inventory via photograph before I left the office… because I’m a goofball cool like that.

Pretty bare!  And those olives gross me out. I need to toss them.

Current Goals

1. 120 minutes of cardio (51:38 down); Hit legs 2x (weird split, but I like it – 1 leg session down, 1 to go!); Yoga 3x (0 down, 3 to go!)
2. Stick to a decent mac range rather than 5000000g of carbs per day. I will not be posting my macs.
3. Write type in journal blog almost daily.  Be more introspective.

Tomorrow’s cauliflower is beeping in the microwave! TTYL!

131.4 – I took her out

I rode my bike. The brakes are still a bit awkward, but I did pretty well, I must say. I think riding the husband’s bike several times helped tremendously.

I dig her. Yes, it is a girl. Now what to name her? LOL!

She’s speedy, steering is awkward, and sometimes she makes a lot of noises that I don’t think she should be making. LOL!

In other news, I think I might stop posting my weight in the header. This daily posting seems like a chore. I don’t have that much stuff to say! LOL!

Happy Hump Day folks!

Road Bike Excursion

Attempt #1: Unsuccessful.

Let’s just say I was awkward and feeling a bit uncoordinated. I thought I was coordinated. I have met my match.

The handle bars feel so far away, and I’m not comfortable leaning over on the bike. Also, just going down the block and back made my lady bits feel funky — and not in a good way.

A couple friends suggested spin to get used to the positioning. I will start next week. As for the lady bits, I’ll just have to buy a new seat or some lovely padded ass shorts. I wanted to build a bigger and bubblier booty, but I wasn’t planning on doing it this way!